The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.

Washington, DC.

It had never really been a place that I have had any particular connection to other than its proximity to where I live. Now that I am in my second summer of interning in our nation's capital, I think I'm starting to really love it. I think a lot of this has to do with being twenty one. I have started to appreciate restaurants in a way that I never have before.

When I was younger, the only items I would ever order at a restaurant were hot dogs or macaroni. And if you ask any of my friends, they will tell you that I'm known to have a pretty bland taste in food. I don't know what changed - maybe I just matured and am no longer a princess who wants everything to be exactly what she wants (okay, maybe I'm still kind of like that). All I know is that I LOVE going to new restaurants and trying new combinations of tastes and fruity, fun cocktails. And although I'm 100% confident I am moving to Manhattan in the next couple of years, the wait won't be as bad as I thought it would.

DC has some of the best new restaurants. Unfortunately, a lot of this is due to gentrification. However, going out to DC is my favorite thing to do right now. Whether I'm going out for froyo, a burger, cocktail, or bucket of tots, I pretty much always have a good time. Let's not forget about Downtown Silver Spring. DTSS is like DC's younger, slightly less attractive sister. You can find me there several days a week.

Restaurants/Bars That I Love In The DC Metropolitan Area (In no particular order)

1. Tonic at Quigley's Pharmacy (Foggy Bottom) - this old pharmacy turned restaurant servers amazing burgers, pizza, cocktails, and most of all, tots.
2. Sticky Rice (Northeast) - this new fusion-y restaurant brings the yuppies into Northeast. They make up for it with their own take on tots (variation on sauce) and fabulous sushi options, like ones that include goat cheese (yum).
3. Ceviche (Silver Spring) - delicious empanada trios, jumbo garlic shrimp, and REALLY good cocktails.
4. Austin Grill (Silver Spring) - can you really go wrong with Tex-Mex and Texas-style margaritas for $11? Hint: the answer is NO.
5. McGinty's (Silver Spring) - though not nearly as funky in its aesthetics as the rest, this is the place to go if you want sweet potato fries (and honestly...who wouldn't?), good times, or a Blue Motorcycle. Caution: Blue Motorcycles are lethal.
6. Jaleo (Bethesda, Gallery Place) - tapas. 'Nuff said.
7. Franklin's (Hyattsville) - another funky one with good food. Also, they brew their own beer!

Point is, these places, and DC's inherent awesomeness, make DC a place that I will surely miss when I move to New York. So let's go grab some yummy food, drink and be merry!

Money Makes The World Go Around.

Long time no blog. I've been pretty busy since the end of school. First came exams, which weren't too bad. I had around two weeks of absolutely no obligation, then began WORK. I have come to enjoy coming to work (excluding waking up at 7:30 am, mind you). I like helping union members who call in with problems - makes me feel important. :-)

In the beginning of August, I am flying into Italy for a three week language course. I have this expectation that me and Italy will click. I got this from reading Eat, Pray, Love, of course.

Gotta get back to work!

When I Grow Up.

I wish I could know for sure that I will be financially secure when I'm older. As much as I'd love to believe that I will be able to make a living just acting, this is probably not likely. Such is life. The more enjoyable a job is, the less it will pay. BAH.

The most immediate dilemma with my future is what to do after I graduate. The options that I've come up with are either doing some sort of acting conservatory or graduate program, or get my Master's in something that will actually get me money. OR I could possibly do a Master's degree in something other than theatre AND take classes at an acting studio. That probably makes the most sense. Le sigh.

There are several careers that I will accept as my fallback. I'm using the term fallback loosely - I am almost 100% sure that I will pursue one of these careers regardless of what happens with acting. I hope so, at least. I must stay motivated!

The only legitimate careers I can see myself having are either something in the psychology world or in publishing. For some reason I love reading, writing, editing, etc. Methinks this is because I have such a hard time formulating coherent sentences when I am speaking. I tend to shift direction when I'm speaking halfway through a sentence - this is no bueno. When writing, I can make sure what I'm trying to say is somewhat coherent. But I digress.

Please oh please oh please let me make some money in the future. That'd be fab.

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor.

This week has been full of good idea bears! I have gone to the gym every day this week thus far - I even went twice yesterday! Now this may not be a big deal for the exercise savvy, but for me, it's monumental. The times - they are a changin'.

More importantly - this weekend is the fabulous drunken day that is known as Tigerfest. Because Towson is a huge party school, this is the event Towson students most look forward to. Like on Homecoming, the assumption is that most students will wake up earlier than usual simply to start getting drunk, and will maintain that intoxication for the whole day, and maybe even the whole weekend. Thus, Tigerfest is basically a whole bunch of drunk (mostly underage) people on a field. Towson is trying to cut down on the amount of irresponsible drinking, and, if I'm correct, is limiting the Beer Garden to two beers per person. That is bad idea bears. This just means people will get drunk ahead of time, and cause even more of a ruckus. This is going to be fabulous!

Oh the debauchery that will ensue.

Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.

Yesterday and today have been good in terms of honing my domesticity. Last night I baked a cake (not from scratch, but isn't that still being domestic?), and today I bought groceries and most miraculously, cleaned my room! My floor is spotless, minus the odd bobby pin or penny. Despite the random bobby pins and pennies, my room is ridiculously better off than it was this morning.

Before my roommate and I went to the grocery store, I began to move things around in my room. This was brought on by my father's delivery of a Pilates chair that I didn't know I was receiving. 'Twas a fabulous surprise. Anyhoo, I tried moving things around to make room for the chair. At the peak of my unsuccessful reorganization, there were three items of furniture along the second longest wall in my room, making my tiny room look even smaller. This, clearly, was not going to do. The roommate told me to relax and deal with it when we returned. I took her advice, and came back with A VENGEANCE (yes, that's not a proper usage, and yes, I had to look up the correct spelling), resulting in a slightly reorganized, much cleaner room.

All in all, today was a good day. I even left out some goodies! Here is an official recap - I was surprised with a Pilates chair, ate Chipotle, got the new Kelly Clarkson CD for free from some radio station that had a spinny wheel in front of Boston Market (they made me win on purpose!), got groceries, cleaned my room, and typed this blog. Actually, I also started writing another stupidlamedorky chick-lit novel. I know, I'm a tool.

Domesticity - I will make you proud!

Let's Get Physical.

Today marks the one month anniversary of my surgery. Which means I can go back to my usual exercise routine! Not to say I am someone who works out all that frequently, but when you are not allowed to do something, it seems all the more desirable. The same goes for certain kinds of foods during Passover, which also happens to end today. Tonight, rather. Pizza is not something I eat every week, but when you are not allowed to eat pizza for a week, it can be tough. We all desire what we can't have. I know that all too well. Le sigh.

ANYWAY, as the date clearly underlines, we are nearing the end of the school year. My last exam is May 18th, which means I have a little over a month left before summer. This is fabulous news. When ever the school year comes to a close, the end can't come soon enough. In the middle of the year, I'm perfectly fine with waiting. When the end is in sight, however, waiting is excruciating. Last year, when I went home during exam week, it was cold. That's depressing. At least stupid April rain seems to be taking a break. Today is sunny and warm, with a cool breeze. Faboo.

I should really pay attention to Anthropology instead of blogging. Alas, this will never happen. :-)

A New World Whispers In The Shadows - Time To Fly, Time To Fly.

I'm back to reading Eat Pray Love. I always start reading it because I remember how much I enjoyed the Italy part, then I get stuck while reading about her experience in India. Not that it's bad or boring, it's just slightly lackluster in comparison to Italy. Anyway, I FINALLY have reached Indonesia, where she is attempting to find balance in her life. Bali sounds like the most amazing place in the history of the world. Minus Italy, of course. This book is so appealing to me because of her successful abandonment of all that previously ailed her emotionally and mentally. If I could stop worrying and over-analyzing I would be much happier in life. Now I'm on one of those five minute kicks where I decide I'm going to start doing yoga and meditating. I would love to have a higher quality of life. Meaning healthy eating, exercising, and keeping my mind and heart healthy and happy. That would be fab. I think then I would be truly happy.