Guns

So, I shot guns today. A glock 22, glock 27, and an mp5. I didn't do too badly for someone who has never held a gun that isn't plastic. I got to bring my target home and a couple of shells home so I will show y'all on Sunday. I suppose the real shock of the day is the fact that I didn't leave with a hole in my own body somewhere.

Flying Solo

I had a fairly productive day today. I got up at 9, showered, packed up all the stuff I won't need this week, and headed towards the zoo. The National Zoo is amazing. It's organized really well, minus the lack of maps in a few areas. Really pretty foliage and lots of animals, though they were taking refuge from the heat today. I did see quite a few though. One thing that freaked me out was the fact that the spiders were not in any sort of contained area. Wtf. I can't deal with spiders. And daddy, consider this my one week reminder to kill the damn deck spider!!

Tomorrow I think I'm going to wander around the mall. I am going to either go to the Jefferson memorial or to the Albert Einstein memorial. I kind of think the Einstein one sounds totally cool. Will probably hit the 9/11 Pentagon memorial, too.

The countdown hath begun. One week from today I will be sleeping in my own bed, though most likely not alone. I'm sure I'll have two cats who will be attached to my hip. I'm looking forward to Sunday like no other. I can't wait to see all of you guys.

More pics up on FLICKR. Good night.

Explosives

Yeah, we watched shit get blown up today. It was pretty neat. I uploaded a few pictures to FLICKR. The one of the really big explosion was an unintentional shot. It scared the CRAP out of me so much that I jumped and when I did, I hit the shutter release button.

Napping at the Smithsonian

So, when Stacey and I were sophomores in high school, we (along with 100 other students from South) came to DC for the inauguration. We had packed warm clothes, but they were in our suitcases under the bus. When we got to the city, our chaperone decided to just kick us off the bus and let us wander the city on our own. We only had windbreakers on us and it was raining. We still toured the city and saw the monuments and several museums. By the end of the day we were cold and tired and ended up falling asleep in one of the little theaters in the museum.

When she was here last weekend, we kind of made it our mission to find that theater because we had no idea where it was. After 8 years those things kind of slip, which is kind of sad. We did find it though. It was in the Air and Space museum. Little bit pathetic we couldn't remember since we had to walk past like 20 giant airplanes to get to the room, but still. Odd little reminiscence that I'm sure you really wanted to read about but we were happy. Oh, and we also saw Roseanne Barr in the Air and Space when we were here in 2001. We had to wander the cafeterias of museums to figure it out, but yeah. Good times.

Pictures

Sunday Stacey and I went to the Natural History Museum to see Night at the Museum. We also walked around Air and Space and went up to the top of the bell tower in the Old Post Office building. Yesterday we went to the National Archives to see all the totally awesome historic documents and did a night walk of the monuments last night. Pretty awesome. I think I walked more than ten miles with her this weekend.

Pictures are up on FLICKR and Facebook.

Stacey!

My best friend from high school came into town today. It was pretty awesome. We haven't seen each other since the summer after we graduated high school. We went to the American History Museum (Lincoln!), the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument, the World War II memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran Memorial wall, and Arlington Cemetery. Busy day. It was great, though! Pictures are on Facebook and HERE on flickr.

Great Weekend

I had a great time this weekend with my friends. I'm pretty sure I already wrote about Piola. Great restaurant. Loved the Gnocchi. Wrote about Harry Potter, too, I believe. We toured the Capitol on Saturday. That was a really neat building. Though, that just goes without saying. Afterward, we headed over to the Library of Congress. Again, totally awesome. After that was a trek towards coffee and flip flops. Neither were much of a success but adventures are fun. We had originally planned to go out to the bars that night but after wandering over to King Street and finally partaking in sustenance we all decided we were way too tired to do anything so we packed up and headed home.

I felt a little blah on Sunday so I laid around the apartment until 2ish and I met everyone at the Holocaust museum. Very humbling experience. We weren't able to get tickets to the permanent exhibit so I will have to go back for that. Another failed coffee trek followed and then we got food at the American History Museum. Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum ended the evening (for me anyway). The girls wandered around the monuments after I left to come back home. Work called.

Today I had to work. Incredibily boring day. I met the girls at the Archives station after and we headed into Georgetown for dinner. We ate at this slightly famous restaurant called Zed's which serves Ethiopian cuisine. Totally awesome foodstuffs. You eat with your fingers, too, using this bread-like stuff that they serve. Very unusual buth worth the random trek into Georgetown.

We hung out at my apartment this evening, playing Friends Scene It and Rock Band. Everyone was kind of tired so a quiet evening was best for all. We also got ice cream at Cold Stone.

I have uploaded pictures from their visit to Facebook and Flickr. View them HERE

Fun

I started to write a blog, but I just realized it was ridiculously out of whack due to lack of sleep. I've been up nearly 21 hours now. Way too long. So, here's a run down of what's going on in my world.

Had a tour yesterday. I held a big-ass gun.
My friends came into town.
We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Best hamburger ever. Grandma would LOVE it.
Hung out at my apartment.
Played insomniac.
Woke up at 5:30 after 3 hours of sleep.
Worked.
Set up my first real interview for a post-grad job.
Accidental three-minute power nap at my desk.
Attempted real nap after work. Failed.
Went to dinner at Piola. Had the best gnocchi ever. That was one of the foods Joe introduced me to in San Francisco at this little restaurant near his apartment. It is amazing.
Saw Harry Potter. I'd write more about that but I don't think anyone who reads this actually cares about the movie. It was funny but also strayed considerable from the book. Okay, that's all I'm really writing.
Now I'm back and it's 2:30 in the morning. I really need to go to bed so on that note. GOOD NIGHT.

Hrm

Not really anything to blog about since I just saw most of you a few days ago. Miss you already! My friends are coming this week - Gail and Mollie. We're going to do a nighttime tour of the monuments for photos, tour the Capitol building, go to the Air and Space Museum because Buzz Aldrin will be there, and have drinks at an Irish Pub. I'll take pics and post them after the weekend is up.

July 4, 2009

Productivity

I had a fairly productive day yesterday. I helped Jess move her stuff into her new apartment in the morning. We came back to my apartment and hung out. We wandered around Alexandria and found some restaurants within walking distance of me. It's actually really pretty around here. We went to the movies and saw The Proposal. That movie is one of the funniest I've seen in a while. I laughed a lot. Betty White is hilarious (so were Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock). We walked over to this place called Potbelly's for dinner. It was kind of like a Quizno's/Penn Station type deal. We walked to King Street which is the historic district. Lots of restaurants and shops and whatnot. On our way back we passed a Whole Foods grocery store so we picked up some food. Which was probably a good idea considering my only food options prior to the trip were fruit snacks and ravioli. Went to the gym after the store and then came back, read for a bit, and went to bed. I know most of you know this already, but I'm flying home on Wednesday night and staying through Sunday evening. CANNOT wait to see you all!

Hrm

Not really a whole lot to report here. I spent the weekend apartment shopping with my old office mate from Terre Haute who is moving here. She found a place on Sunday and is moving in on Friday. Work is work. It's easy stuff. Deidrich Bader (Oswald from the Drew Carey Show) was on my train on the way home tonight. My roommate scored us a White House tour for next Wednesday. That's about it. Have a good weekend. To my familia, love and miss you all.

Nationals V. Red Sox

Hello again. I went to the Nationals V. Red Sox game with two of my roommates. Red Sox kicked ass. 11 runs to 3. It was amazing. I <3 the Red Sox. I have a Washington Nationals baseball cap because I figured I could support them while I'm out here, but not if they're playing the Sox. I cut out a B and covered up the W on my hat. I looked like a tool, but it was totally worth it... Until it fell off and then I looked like like a traitor Nats fan. Today we had speeches to go to in downtown DC and then we had a "free day" of sorts. We went to the Newseum. It was amazing. I loved it. I bought a shirt, of course. I'm pretty sure all of you news junkies would totally dig that place. Back to work tomorrow. I'm volunteering for an hour at Family Day. I really like my new location. I actually understand the stuff that I'm doing and I can do it well. Anyway, I'm really tired so I'm going to bed. Good night and enjoy the following pictures.

I'm alive

A metro train crashed in DC near the Maryland border today on the red line. Thankfully I was on the opposite end of town. I take the yellow line in. Really sad about the two people who died, though. I started at my new position today. Definitely better than the last. I'm helping my roommate learn Spanish right now and then Jeopardy at 7:30 so short entry tonight. Love to you all.

Tourist/Nationals

Had a busy day today. The roommates and I were kind of lazy this morning but then decided to wander into downtown DC to be tourist-y. We saw the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Washington Monument. After that we went down to watch the Nationals (Washington D.C.'s professional baseball team) play. The Nationals are not very popular so the park was pretty dead. Around the 4th inning we decided to try to sneak off into some better seats. We got distracted by the shops and such and ended up just randomly sneaking peaks of the game in between wandering around the park. I actually have no idea who won. We got tickets for the Tuesday night game too. They're playing the Red Sox. SO totally stoked for that one!! We'll stay for the whole game. Got tickets for both for $10 each. I uploaded a few random pictures from today. I have a ton more but it's a pain editing them in picnik and I forgot my photoshop elements install disc at home. HERE is the link to my flickr site again. The last 11 pictures are the newest ones I added.

Two Weeks In

Well, I've been a resident of Alexandria, Virginia for two weeks now. Still kind of strange. I went to work today. Did random stuff, learned random stuff, am still definitely not interested in it. Picked up the roommate on the way home - she just got in from a conference. We went out to Galai Thai for dinner and had miso soup and sushi for supper. I ate sushi. Though, mine was cooked... Maybe next time I'll try something raw. Probably not though. We got coldstone afterwards. Both places are right next door to me. I got a call during dinner telling me I was being moved. No more driving for me! I report to work in DC starting on Monday. I'm pretty excited. Tomorrow me, Kate, and Jess are going to see the Washington Nationals play the Toronto Blue Jays. They both suck, but baseball is fun so yay. We're going to see the Nationals play the Red Sox on Wednesday. Totally stoked for that game. Hrm, not much else going on here. We're watching movies now. Have a good night. Miss you all!

Update

Well, we had career day yesterday. I turned in my resumé to several people who are hiring. I might get called for interviews in the upcoming weeks. Who knows? I'm not even sure I want to stay out here. I kind of like the Midwest, shocking as that may be. I didn't hear anything all day about my transfer, and then this evening at 8 my phone rang. The guy I've been dealing with wanted to call and just check in and let me know what was going on. The place they were going to put me didn't have an opening so they put in requests at another area, which he thinks should go through. Hopefully I will know by Friday. I went out to dinner this evening at the Thai place across the street from my apartment. I met my office mate from school who was in town for a conference. Other than that, I haven't really been doing much. I'm still adjusting to getting up early and working all day. I'm so tired by the time I get home and I go to bed early. Gah. But, on that note, I'm going to go turn on a movie and go to sleep. Thank you, Netflix Instant Queue.

Awake

I'm up well past my totally awesome, typical 10:00PM bedtime. It's kind of noisy in the apartment right now so I don't foresee sleep coming anytime soon. Tomorrow is kind of a free day at work. It's the career fair so we get to go listen to different units speak and then talk with them and pass out our resumés; maybe even interview for positions. I've already spoken with recruitment about possibly staying on once the internship is finished and completing my schooling via online. If a position is open, it's a likely possibility. Who knows though? Okay, I need to find my headphones so I can drown out some noise and attempt sleep... Good night.

Wild Saturday

I have apparently lost my ability to sleep in already. I was up and going by 7:45. It made me a sad panda. Me + morning = :-( Oh, well. I suppose I'll deal. Maybe I'll sleep in tomorrow? Anyway, the roommates and I decided to be lazy today. I played a little bit of guitar hero and then we watched some movies in our PJs. We watched Madagascar, Saved, Edward Scissorhands. We finally got off our asses and hopped on the train to Pentagon City where we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Harris Teeter (grocery store). At BB&B we bought pillowcases that you can color with crayons. Epic roommate bonding experience. Pictures to come later. My roommate, K, made dinner. We had a chicken casserole thing. It was really good. We colored our pillowcases and watched more movies this evening. Decided to continue our Johnny Depp theme. We watched Sweeney Todd because it was indirectly connected to the previous JD movie (Edward) and are now watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (cannibalism connection). That's about it for today. Who knows what will go on tomorrow. Oh, and I finally got those pictures uploaded to my flickr page. Here is a link to the set CLICK HERE. Use the little Virginia/Washington DC set to wander through all the pics. There should be 26. Oh, and mom and dad, I got your card today! Thank you and miss you too! Love you!

One-Week Update

Not much to write about tonight. I have been here about a week now. I like it. It's a lot different than Terre Haute, but it's fun. Work is going okay. I'm currently in the process of getting transferred to a different department. I'm not where I'm qualified to be, but I'm changing next week sometime. Tomorrow we're going to the grocery store and maybe to bed bath and beyond to get a few things to decorate this sad, sad white apartment. The pictures below are my view from my bedroom window (minus the traffic - that's from the living room). Tomorrow I will upload all of my pictures to flickr ( www.flickr.com/photos/ashleynh84) if you're interested in seeing them in a slightly larger size. Anyway, it's 11:45 which means it's like two hours past my bedtime now so I'm going to sleep. Good night.



George Washington Masonic Temple

Traffic on 95 (and this is light!)

The Washington Monument

The Capitol Building

More pictures

Chandeliers in the lobby

Building from inside the courtyard

Tree in the courtyard


Gym!

Courtyard!

Courtyard X2

Pool through the window - It was closed because of storms

Pictures!

Inside my complex...


Lobby sitting area

Business area

Lobby

Club room


Elevator

Down my hallway

Living room + dining room + sunset

Kitchen

J and D's bathroom

K's and my bathroom

J's and D's bedroom

K's and my bedroom - I can see the capitol and the Washington Monument from that window

Interwebs!

I finally have internet at the apartment! Totally exciting. I had my second day of orientation today. We had lots of fun filling out a ridiculous amount of forms.... Had some issues with state forms, but that's all taken care of now. Hanging out at the apartment right now getting caught up on internet stuff. I have stuff to do for my classes but I'm still waiting for my books to get here so I can't. Hopefully I can get an extension? I don't really have a lot to write about now. I think I'm going to see if the roomies want to play pool in the club room or maybe just go walk on the treadmill. I might steal one of the roommates cameras later and take pictures of my apartment.

A few pictures

I'll post more when I take some. I can't get my kit lens to auto focus. I manually focused it to take some pictures of the inside of my apartment, but it turns out I'm not that great at that. HaHa. I'll give it another go later on.



My apartment



Eisenhower Station across from my apartment.

First Day

Today was my first day on the internship. We all went to headquarters for day one of a two day orientation. It was mildly amusing/boring. The speakers were funny, but at the same time it did last from 8AM to 4:30PM. We have another day of it tomorrow and then the real stuff starts on Wednesday. Sunday we took the train into the city to check out where we'd be going and then wandered around. We ate at this little place called Cocina Mexicana. Well, I didn't eat because I still felt kind of sick. It was more of a tapas restaurant than what we think of as Mexican food in Terre Haute. Last night we watched the Tony awards. Neil Patrick Harris was the host and I <3> I got up at 6:30 (yes, I did) this morning and we took the train in. We don't have to do any transfers to get where we're going so that's nice. The roommates are pretty cool. I'm home now and going to go upstairs soon to fix dinner as soon as I edit and upload some pictures for y'all. They'll be up soon. Miss you all! Hope you can come out sometime.

I'm Here

Well, I made it to my apartment in Virginia. I left Carla and Kevin's at 8AM on Saturday morning and pulled into the garage at 4. It was a fairly uneventful trip. Very little traffic so it was a relatively quick trip, I suppose. One of my roommates went to spend the evening with her parents at the hotel and another went out with her family so the third roommate and I wandered around our apartment and then took the Metro to Pentagon City Mall in search of a splitter cable for my Wii. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. I felt pretty sick. Threw up a couple of times. Don't know what has gotten a hold of me but it's not very fun. The train is right outside my window and is pretty loud so that kept me up, too. On another note, I can see the capitol building and the Washington Monument from my bedroom. I'll upload pictures as soon as I take some. Maybe I'll try to get that done today. I can only access the internet from the club room right now because our modem is messed up so for the next few days posts/contact may be scattered.

First post

Well, this is going to be my extremely boring blog detailing my random little adventures while interning on the east coast this summer. I'll be working and living in Virginia for ten weeks. I leave on the 5th of June for Ohio where I'll spend the night and then leave from there in the early morning of the 6th. I've destroyed my credit cards preparing for this trip, buying all new clothes and such, but it's totally worth it. I hope to update regularly, but I'm not great at doing these things so we'll see. I doubt I'll write again until I get settled so until then, buenas noches.