The Song

You might notice various lists on the right side of my blog - lists of the books I'm currently reading, the DVDs I'm currently watching and the cds I'm currently listening to. I've added a new category called "The Song." Many of you who know me, know that I'm the kind of person who gets a new toy, plays with it incessantly and then get bored with it and then moves on to the next thing. I do this quite often with songs. For the last 15 years or so (probably longer than that) there is always one song that I'm really obsessed with and I'll play it on repeat. Not only that but I'll learn all the words and then belt it out in the car. My sister and my parents had to deal with this for years. They had to listen to "Beat It" or "That's the Way Love Goes" or "This is How We Do It" or "Can't Touch This" over and over and over until I got sick of it and didn't want to hear it again.

I don't know how some people put up with it. I remember a year ago, I became obsessed with "La Tortura" by Shakira and one night, poor Crystal had to hear it on repeat while we got ready, and then while we drove (in her car, I might add) to the bar and then on the way back (with 4 boys in the car). I don't know why she didn't throw the CD out the window. Probably because she knew I would jump out and run after it.

Anyways, since the advent of iPods and me driving around alone in my car, I usually obsess on my own, with no audience so I thought I would keep you guys updated on my latest song obsessions. In trying to recall some previous obsessions, I came up with:

"Layla" (original) by Eric Clapton (I think Matt had to deal with this one)
"La Tortura" by Shakira (as referenced above)
"U + Ur Hand" by Pink
"Juicy" by Notorious BIG
"Queen of the Night" by Whitney Houston
"PYT" by Michael Jackson - this one never really goes away but every so often, I will play it over and over
"A Whole New World" by Aladdin and Jasmine (not to be confused with the one sung by real people)
"Southern Man" by Neil Young
"Piece of My Heart" (the Faith Hill version, NOT Janis Joplin)
"Money Aint a Thing" by Jay Z
"Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain
"Walk Through the Fire" from the Buffy Musical
"Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
"Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey

Last week it was "Because the Night" by Patti Smith and now its "Who Knew" by Pink. I think that by the start of next week I'll have a new one.

Dude, Where's My Car?

I haven't seen my car since Monday afternoon. I found a street about 4 blocks away where you don't need a DC permit to park. So, I parked there on Monday and haven't been back since. Not sure if that's smart but am I seriously supposed to walk 4 blocks after the long days I've been having (got home at 8:30 last night and 9:15 tonight) just to check on my car? I am a little unnerved that I haven't seen it but I'm sure its ok - its not like I parked in SE, its parked in front of a multi-million dollar home.

In other news, there was an article in today's post about construction at the Smithsonian. "Raising the Roof: Smithsonian Celebrates Construction of Gigantic Glass Ceiling" Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that's hilarious?!

NFL Hottie and Hot Dogs...

Actually just one winner - Brett Favre. I didn't realize how hard it would be to tally the results and I'm just too exhausted from my first day at the new job to figure out who should be ranked where. But based on the handful of responses I received, Mr. Favre gets the #1 spot. He was ranked the most often and ranked higher than most of the others. Honorable mentions go to Tom Brady, Jason Taylor and Reggie Bush.

In other news - there is a hot dog stand right by my new office building. Actually, there's about 3. I discovered them when I had to go into the city last week to get my picture taken for my ID badge. Getting the photo taken only took about 4 minutes and I didn't want to just go home so I stopped at the stand and bought a hot dog. The nice lady who runs the stand kept calling me "baby" and asked what I wanted on my hot dog. I told, her, paid my buck-fifty and ate it as I walked through the city. I've always wanted to be one of those city girls who has a cool job and has a hot dog stand where I can just ask for the "usual" and they'll know how to fix it up for me. My new goal is to visit the same stand so often that eventually she'll know my face and know how I like my hot dogs. It'll be a cold, winter day and I'll show up in my boots and cute winter coat, blackberry attached to my waist and I'll go up to the stand and the woman will say "hey baby! You want the usual?" And I'll just smile and nod and she'll hand me a hot dog with mustard and ketchup and relish. She'll ask me how my day is going and I'll respond with some clever old adage like "oh you know how it is - another day, another dollar..." and she'll agree and say "don't I know it!"

I'm giving myself till Christmas.

NFL's Hottest

I'm trying to figure out who the NFL's best looking players are. Week after week, I read ESPN articles that rank teams based on offenses and defenses; they rank players based on completion rates and total rushing yards, etc. While I realize how important all those stats and rankings are, I'm also curious about who the hottest players are. But, as Heather pointed out, I'm not the best judge since my taste in men is a bit suspect so I need your help. Rank the top 10 of the following candidates and email me at aneesadin@gmail.com (or just leave a comment on this blog) with your picks. I'm going to post the results some time next week. And fellas, I know this isn't really your cup of tea but your input would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you feel I've missed someone, then just write him in. Enjoy :)

Name: Tom Brady, #12
Position: Quarterback
Team: New England Patriots




Name: Peyton Manning, #18
Position: Quarterback
Team: Indianapolis Colts




Name: Jason Taylor, #99
Position: Defensive End
Team: Miami Dolphins





Name: Brett Favre, #4
Position: Quarterback
Team: Green Bay Packers





Name: Jevon Kearse, #93
Position: Defensive End
Team: Philadelphia Eagles




Name: Eli Manning, #10
Position: Quarterback
Team: New York Giants




Name: Terrell Owens, #81
Position: Wide Receiver
Team: Dallas Cowboys






Name: Brady Quinn, #10
Position: Quarterback
Team: Cleveland Browns




Name: Matt Leinart, #7
Position: Quarterback
Team: Arizona Cardinals




Name: Lito Sheppard, #26
Position: Cornerback
Team: Philadelphia Eagles




Name: Tony Romo, #9
Position: Quarterback
Team: Dallas Cowboys






Name: Tedy Bruschi, #54
Position: Linebacker
Team: New England Patriots





Name: Brian Urlacher, #54
Position: Linebacker
Team: Chicago Bears




Name: Reggie Bush, #25
Position: Running Back
Team: New Orleans Saints

An Event 15 Years in the Making...

So, as many people already know, I'm crazy about Troy Aikman. I've been crazy about him since I was about 9 years old. I grew up watching him on TV and I guess you could say he was my childhood hero. I had my entire bedroom covered in Dallas Cowboys gear - I had my mom make me a duvet, pillow cases, and curtains. I bought a blue Troy Aikman jersey that I proudly wore to school, even on Mondays after the Cowboys lost.

I was so inspired by Aikman's performance in the 1994 NFC Championship game (they lost) that I wrote him a fan letter. I vividly remember being so inspired by the fact that Aikman didn't give up and I think I saw him encouraging the rest of the team to play hard. I think it was in that instant, when I fell in love. Yes, a complete school girl crush. I convinced my dad (an avid Redskins fan) that I HAD to write to Troy and tell him how he had inspired me. Some how, Dad found me the address and I remember laying on my stomach in front of the TV, writing out my letter to Troy. And everything I wrote to him was true - as a little girl and then as a teenager, any time things got hard, I always thought of Troy Aikman and his ability to stay in the game and play as hard as he could, no matter how bad they were losing.

Trust me, I realize how dorky that sounded but its totally true. I guess my crush on Troy Aikman wasn't the same as a crush a teenage girl would have on a normal star - I feel like there's more to it than just that. Anyways, now that Mr. Aikman is up in the announcer's booth, I've decided that I should really try to meet him. Every now and then, he announces Redskins games here in DC. That means that at some point, we will be within a few miles of each other and I have a chance of running into him. I'm going to start practicing what I'll say to him when I get to shake his hand. Not that I haven't been rehearsing for 15 years ;)

Update

So, I haven't really updated this blog as much as I would like to. I always come up with ideas for posts and start writing them and never finish. I just looked through the incomplete ones and for some of them, I can barely figure out where I was going with it. So, I'm going to make a resolution (yes, I know its not New Year yet) to complete what I start. So, whether its a blog post or the Ikea Hemnes shelf/drawer unit thingy that's been sitting in the living room with no door for about 5 days, or a box that I have opened but not completely unpacked, I am going to start finishing things.

Anyways, in light of that spirit, I'm going to do a mega post with a condensed version of all the unfinished posts from the last couple months. And some of it will be in past tense and some will be in present. Deal with it.

August:
Other than the massive crack in the windshield, the car is driving fine. Its taking a lot of time to get used to how big the body of the car is but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I just hope I don't have to do a lot of parallel parking. (Is this foreshadowing? Hmm....)


September:
Football season is FINALLY back!!! I'm a little disappointed with my fantasy picks but I think I'll be okay. I didn't get LT, who pretty much carried my entire team on his back last year but I'm excited about Steve Smith, Frank Gore and TJ Houshmanzadeh. Not too excited about Mark Bulger, though. I think I took him with my second pick and I had my fingers on Tony Romo's name. I had even peeled back a corner. NOT because he's the Cowboys' starter (or because he's dreamy) but because I KNOW what I saw last season and I KNOW it'll be good! But, like a moron, I listen to Jason, who reassures me that a) Romo will be a good back up to have and that b) i can draft him in later rounds since he's sure no one will pick him up. Well as luck would have it, Candice picked Romo up RIGHT before I was going to. DAMMIT!

Also, there is a new job offer in the works - quite possibly my dream job (for this age). We'll see how it works out.


Early October
Restaurant Eve is quite possibly the BEST restaurant I have been to this year in the DC area! At the beginning of the year, I told myself I would try more DC area restaurants and not stick to my old favorites. So, I had been to Smith & Wollensky, Blue Duck Tavern, DC Coast and a few others I don't remember off the top of my head. But, we went to Restaurant Eve last night for Court's bach. party and the food was absolutely amazing. I had cream of parsnip and something soup to start. And then prime rib for dinner. That was some of the best steak I've had - I'll even go so far as to say better than the fillet I had at S & W. The rosemary fingerling potatoes were also exquisite. I've made rosemary roasted potatoes and they tasted NOTHING like the ones I had at Restaurant Eve. It was almost as if they found a way to infuse the rosemary flavor into each piece. Then for dessert I had birthday cake - yup that's right. A mini birthday cake - yellow cake with white icing. It was yummy to say the least. Plus, Abi brought some of the wines from the vineyard she works at so we had several bottles throughout the night. Apparently, the restaurant has a "no BYOW policy" but since Abi works where she works, the sommelier was more than happy to oblige.

The Wedding
As far as American weddings go, Court and Tom's was quite possibly the most perfect one I've been to. Ok, so I've only been to one other but I'm counting the ones I've seen on TV too! It was on Sugarloaf Mt. at a mansion and the weather was perfect and the bridesmaids looked perfect and the cake was perfect and the music was perfect. I think I started tearing up when I saw Turk walking to the altar and they overflowed when Abi walked past. Courtney looked stunning and the ceremony was beautiful. I can't even describe how perfectly that ceremony fit Tom and Court. It wasn't stuffy and boring - it was full of life and Courtney was throwing her head back and laughing and really enjoying the moment. She came out to the Allman Brothers song, "Blue Sky" and Tom put his glasses on so he could see her as she walked towards him. And I cried some more. Turk read a poem and then the kiss was so romantic! And don't even get me started on the food - crab cakes and steak!! How can you go wrong with that!? It was all amazing. I think the whole event was simply breathtaking and it really made me stop and consider their relationship. I know that there is a cliche about single women at weddings and how it makes them want to get married and such and I don't want to fall into that category. But, I will say that being there and witnessing it made me want to strive for a lot more in my pursuits. As dorky as this sounds, it made me want to find someone who is as perfect for me as Tom is for Court and I really don't want to settle for anything less.


End of October:
Why, oh why did I listen to Jason and not go with my gut!?!?!? It is now almost week 9 and Romo's QB stats are second only to Tom Brady's! And I've since benched Bulger with his bruised ribs and lackluster performances for Brett Favre. My fantasy team is not doing well, despite having some high scoring players :( At least I'm starting Favre, who I love and adore but apparently, not as much as Chris Berman does.

What's a Girl Gotta Do??

There is either something wrong with the cosmic forces that control this universe or my perception of things is completely off.

I'm 25 and after years of dating, I thought that I would have gained some sort of insight or knowledge that I didn't have 10 years ago. And for the most part, I think that is true. I don't believe in fairy tales or Prince Charmings anymore. I don't assume that all wayward romances will end in a chase and some sweet, dramatic gesture like they do in the movies. I know I don't have it all figured out but I usually feel like with every passing year and with every new experience, I learn something new and as a result become wiser.

Then, as it has a way of some times doing, life throws me a curve ball. There is someone who I have amazing chemistry with. We can talk on the phone for over an hour about absolutely nothing and have a ball. We have fun doing all kinds of random things together. He makes me laugh when all I want to do is cry and even though he won't admit it, I know I make him laugh too. We love trying new things together and he's done some of the sweetest things that anyone has ever done for me. We're both incredibly physically attracted to each other and many times, various people have commented on the way we look at each other. But, we're not together and we never were and we never will be.

I'm the kind of person who needs to find answers to questions that puzzle me and I usually can't let something go until I do - no matter how mundane it is. When things haven't worked out with other men, there's usually been a reason as to why it didn't. Some times it hasn't been clear but I've usually been able to find it. I've never been able to find the reason as to why me and him can't be together.

I've tried countless times to convince myself that the chemistry is one-sided but after 2 and a half years, its just not possible to ignore it. I've tried to convince myself that he doesn't really care much at all - that he acts the way he does with me with everyone else. That doesn't work either. The mystery never got solved - I just eventually stopped trying to figure it out.

But now, the old questions have crept back up and they're begging to be answered. Its my own fault for letting him get to me. You know what they say - "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." I'm back where I was 2 years ago and this time the stakes are much higher. We've grown to be good friends - I've come to care about him with almost the same intensity as some of my closest friends. After just 2 years, he knows me better than a lot of people.

I know we won't be together. He won't get on a plane and come rescue me in Paris. He won't chase me to the air port as my flight is leaving. I know he won't climb up the fire escape with roses. And I know I won't get the answer to my most pressing question, which is "why don't you want to be with me?" I already know how this story ends. I know that eventually the questions will get the better of me and they'll keep gnawing away at my mind and my heart until the only solution will be to cut him out of my life. And that's the saddest part of the story because I'll have lost a good friend.

The question that alarms me the most is "If I can't make it work with him, under these circumstances, then who can I make it work with?"

Apartment Hunting in DC

So, its been a couple weeks and I've been searching for a place in DC. I haven't been searching too hard - I've sent out several emails to people who have posted places on Craigslist and I've gone to one open house and visited one apartment. I've been a bit lazy :)

I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of the Open House - its just not a good way to pick a roommate because there's just too much confusion and awkwardness. And it almost feels like a sorority/fraternity rush event. There's way too many people there at the same time for you to even remember who is who and most of the time, I can't tell who the current roommates are from the other idiots like myself who are looking for a place to live. You know why? Its because the other searchers keep striking up conversations with me about where they're from and how long they've been here and they want to know how long I've been here and what I do. I start talking to them and turning on the charm, only to find out 5 minutes later that they don't live there and have no bedroom to offer me.

Making appointments with each person is definitely the way to go. Last night, I saw an apartment on Conn. Ave in Van Ness and fell in love! First of all, the location is perfect! 2 blocks from the red line and in a really nice area! Its not downtown at all but close enough. Second, the apartment itself is really nice. Its not too new (since I hate new places) and not quite old enough, but its nice. The room is a decent size - it would fit my bed, dresser, nightstand and perhaps a desk. Third, the price is REALLY good! And 4th - the cherry on top, if you will, is that the roommates seem really great! One of them works for an NGO that helps women in developing countries and the other works in Education. They seem very mature and worldly. They were friendly, without making it seem like we had to be best friends and do everything together if I moved in or go out and get "wasted" together. AND they offered me a glass of red wine - they like to unwind with a glass of wine after work - sound like my kinda girls!

I just hope that the 15 minutes they spent with me were enough for them to realize that I'm their best choice for a roommate :)

Taking the Plunge

Over the last week, I've been searching for housing in D.C. Yup, that's right - the District of Columbia. Austin, TX is a no-go and it looks as though I'll be in the area for a while. I might as well take the plunge and move in.

I've always wanted to live in the city and some roadblock always managed to stand in my way. But now is the time. I'm not scared of being stranded in the city, or of having to live in a teeny tiny room and pay an pay an exorbitant rent or of running into the boy I used to date with his arms around a new girl. Things are different now - I can afford higher rents and I like old places and quirky neighborhoods. I have a car so if I feel suffocated by the city, I can leave any time I want. And the boy? He's still the same boy who hasn't changed so I'm not scared of him any more either.

Yup - its finally time. The only question is where? Adams Morgan? Cleveland Park? Mt. Pleasant? Columbia Heights? I'm going to have to do some exploring.

Stay tuned....

If I Celebrated Christmas...

this is what I would have on my list.

Whole New Ballgame...

So, I've tried not to blog about this topic and for the most part, have been quite successful. I didn't want to sound like a broken record or for this to be a "Sex in the City-esque" blog but I should have known it was inevitable. This blog revolves around my thoughts about various topics that enter my mind and as a single girl in her 20's, it was going to come up sooner or later.

Why does it seem like most of the guys who want to date me need a manual or a guidebook? Newsflash, fellas - if you are interested in a girl and you get her number, CALL HER AND ASK HER OUT!!! Guy meets girl. Guy likes girl and wants to get to know her. Guy asks for girl's phone number. Guy asks girl to go out to dinner. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, you would be surprised how few men in this area actually get that. I feel like I need to clarify what a date is.

This message especially goes out to the overgrown frat boys - you know who you are in your flip flops, backwards baseball caps and Abercrombie t-shirt that is obviously too small....

A date, typically, involves dinner and/or drinks, maybe a movie or a walk or bowling or ice cream or going to a museum (if you live in a big city) or a concert. Think along those lines.

A date is NOT texting her to see if she wants to go to 1223 later that night, it is not a bar crawl in Bethesda and DO NOT under any circumstances ask her if she wants to come over to your filthy apartment and watch reruns of "Family Guy" on your ridiculously large and expensive flat screen/HD TV while you and your roommates roll up a joint and proceed to get stoned.

It seems like a lot of guys in their 20s are just re-living their college years but with the added benefit of a salary from a full time job. I almost feel like its an insult to my intelligence when someone wants to set me up with one of these goobers. Maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I would have swooned at the opportunity for one of these idiots to get my number. I surely would have eagerly waited around for him to call or text me 3 or 4 days later, hoping for an invitation to dinner or some other cool, fun activity. I would only be slightly disappointed to receive an invite out to "the bar." And, I would have gone. After meeting at the guy's house or apartment to "pre-drink" and play beer pong, we would have made it to the bar (with a bunch of his rowdy friends) and then I would have the nerve to be disappointed when this guy doesn't turn out to be the intellectual, funny, sophisticated man I had expected.

Luckily, I've wizened up a bit.

So fellas, if you come across a lady that you find attractive and interesting, just call her and ask her out on a date - a real one. Show her that you're willing to think outside the box and put some effort into getting to know her. Meeting up at your local college watering hole, buying her cheap beer or rail drinks that are on special and then taking her to your bedroom in your shared house to hook up with her no longer works. Calling or texting her to hang out at your place to watch a movie is also lame for a "first date." We're not in college anymore, kids - its a whole new ballgame.

Aaron's Leg

This was just too funny to keep to myself. My friend, Aaron, is just starting graduate classes out in Nevada. During a game of Frisbee he scraped his leg up pretty badly. After practice he went to 7-11 to buy hydrogen peroxide, Neosporin and bandages. As you can see from the picture, they were missing one of these goods.

We were trying to decide if it was appropriate for him to wear shorts to class that day. When I said it was not a good idea, he complained and whined that it was 110 degrees outside. He also noted that the pad was adhered to his leg with some scotch tape. I contemplated what would be worse - showing up to class, in shorts, with a maxi pad taped to his knee or arriving in pants and having the bloody pad slip out of the leg of his pants.....

Buy Toyota? Maybe not....

So, after years of insisting that American cars were way better and way cooler than foreign ones, I started changing my mind. Instead of looking for speed and power and pure American muscle, I started looking for reliability and quality. Convinced by my aunts and uncles and mother and friends that a Toyota or a Honda was the way to go, I headed over to Darcars in Silver Spring to test drive a vehicle. When my uncle and I arrived, we met up with the salesman who had sold my family many cars in the past (at one point, my aunts/uncles bought 3 Toyota Sequoias in one month from the same man).

The first thing I told the salesman was that I wanted a manual Corolla in black or white. The first car he took me to was an automatic Corolla in some champagne color. I had to repeat the specifications about 3 times before he got it almost right. This time, he took me over to a “super white” Toyota Camry with a manual transmission. When I told him I wanted a Corolla, he looked at me, frustrated and said that for ever 300 cars they get in that is an automatic, one is a manual. At that point, I should have walked out of the dealership, but my uncle insisted that I test drive.

After 4 painstaking hours, I drove home in my brand new, Super White Toyota Camry. I finally had the coveted Toyota – this car was going to last me years, if I took care of it. The salesman was excited, my uncle was excited, the financier was excited. Everyone was excited but me.

My family and friends loved the car, upon seeing it. I started warming up to it. I need to explain that one of the main reasons I was apprehensive was because I had just signed on to a $17,000 loan!! I’m not one who spends feely so it was quite hard to sign on the dotted line (s).

“At least nothing will go wrong with this car” I told myself. Boy, did I speak too soon. After just 5 days of owning that BRAND NEW CAMRY, I noticed a crack in the windshield. Nothing had hit it – it just cracked. The crack started all the way at the end of the windshield on the driver’s side. I was crushed.

Through all my fears and apprehensions, I thought I was getting Toyota quality and craftsmanship. Upon seeing the crack, I called the dealership and spoke to someone in their repair shop. The woman was extremely unhelpful and told me that my warranty doesn’t cover glass and that they didn’t even fix glass and windshields in the shop.

A few days later, I drove the car to the dealership and spoke to the salesman who sold me the car – the same salesman who sent me pre-written “thank you” letters for choosing Darcars for my automotive needs, the same salesman who told me that if I needed anything, to just call. I told him about the crack and he didn’t even offer to look at it. Instead, he told me it would probably cost me a little over $100 to fix and offered to have their glass company call me.

I just signed up to spend $1700 on a car and wrote out a check for $2,000 as a deposit. Why would I want to spend another buck fifty on a new windshield!?!?! Alas, I awaited the phone call and it never came.

I’m going back to the dealership today to see if they will do anything for me but my high hopes have been dashed. I can’t say for sure but I feel like if I had stuck with American, the windshield would have at least held out for a couple years before cracking.

Update

This post is just so that I have all my thoughts/feelings written down and documented. Feel free to read or not read or just skim.


So, I spoke too soon and put way too much pressure on the rest of Saturday and Sunday to rise to my challenge of being better days than their predecessors. Saturday afternoon, I was at the hospital with all of my family members, tending to my grandmother, when I decided to call my father at the hospital. The CCU nurse told me that he wasn't able to speak because he had an oxygen mask on. This was startling because when I spoke to him on Thursday and Friday, he seemed fine and it looked like he was ready to leave the hospital.

So, my dad's nurse gets on the phone and starts saying something about oxygen and machines and I was very confused so I asked him to start from the begining - from when my father was brought into the hospital. He spoke for 15 minutes and I really didn't understand what he was saying most of the time. He went into a lot of detail - every turn of my dad's condition from his heart to his kidney (he has a donated one) and then, eventually, the current problem - his lungs. He would explain every medication they gave him and the result, but all of this in "doctor-talk," a foreign language that I don't understand. All I could gather from the nurse was that my father was in critical condition and while it was not necessary at that moment to fly down, if his condition did not improve within 24 hrs, a doctor would be contacting me because it would be very serious.

My family quickly nominated me to fly down to Tampa so I booked a ticket for that afternoon. Now, let me interject that it might sound like I was very together, when in fact, I was not. I was crying my eyes out and holding onto my cousins/uncles/mother/aunts for dear life when any of them reached over to hug me. Within a half hour, I was given more than enough cash to cover a hotel room, plane ticket and other expense while in Florida. Now, if these were normal circumstances, I would been ecstatic to have tons of cash (not my own) to spend while taking a vacation in Florida. Unfortunately, its not the case and I would give anything to be sitting in my room, reading a book on a typical, hum drum Saturday morning.

I said good bye to my family in my grandma's hospital room, including grandma herself and of course, I started bawling and so did everyone else in the room. I got home, grabbed a suitcase and started throwing random clothing into it, praying that I could turn some of it into a wearable outfit. My friend drove me to the airport, hugged me good bye and then I was on my own and a nervous wreck. To make matters worse, I got picked to go through the special security where I had to go through that machine that blows air at you and then a gruff looking security guard went through all my belongings with a fine tooth comb. Eventually, I found myself with an hour and a half before my flight started boarding and started to look for fun airport activities to calm my nerves.

Five minutes before I'm about to board, I've got a cup of coffee and a couple magazines (Ms. and Vanity Fair), a new pair of headphones and have started to calm down. My cell phone starts to ring and I look down and see it is my cousin, Asma calling. Thinking she is calling to tell me to have a safe flight, I pick up, cheerfully, trying to sound like the strong, responsible Aneesa they've sent to Tampa to take care of things. On the other end of the line is a tearful Asma who tells me my grandmother has just passed away.

Shit.

Now, I know that my friends have constantly joked with me about how my life often plays out like a television show or movie but this is starting to get ridiculous. I think that if all of these events happened to me within the span of 2 - 3 shows, the critics would say there's too much drama and that it won't make the ratings soar through the roof, as the producers had planned. It would backfire and there would be no Emmy nominations and no TV Guides that I would grace the cover of.

As my plane lands in Tampa, it is dark but I can still make out the palm trees, which gives me a strange feeling. Usually, whenever my plane lands any place where there are palm trees, I get excited because I know I'm in for a good time.

Ok, can't write any more. To be continued.

18 miles

I'm calling this post 18 miles because this was supposed to be the week that I was training for 18 miles and this Saturday morning (ie: right now) I should be running it. However, this was quite possibly the week from hell. Let's review, shall we?

Sunday - Grandma has a stroke.

Monday (Rest Day)- kickball game on the mall, which I get lost going to. Who gets lost on the National Mall??!!? Its very simple and I was given clear directions. I even printed out a map and contemplated standing in it (ala Joey) to find the Mall. I decided to get off on the Smithsonian stop and get out on Independence Ave instead of my usual exit, which would take me right onto the Mall. I figured I would be right where I needed to be and it would make things easier but in fact, I got very, very lost and missed the entire game. No worries - drank a lot and got to know my teammates.
Miles logged: I'd say 1-2 miles, at a fast pace trying to find the kickball game

Tuesday Morning (5 mile day, with hills) - Get to the College Park Metro, where I had left my car overnight since I stayed at Turks and broke her TV only to find that my tags were confiscated and I couldn't get them back without having my dad talk to the MVA, which takes us to the later part of the day:

Tuesday Afternoon - Can't find dad. Have called over and over and over - cell phone and home phone. It is alarming because a) I just need him to talk to the MVA and b) he NEVER waits this long to answer his phone. Call aunts and uncles - no one has spoken to him since Saturday afternoon, which was the last time I spoke to him.
Miles Logged - Zero

Wednesday - (Cross Training Day) Still haven't found dad. In state of panic but still making stupid jokes, which is throwing people off. Decide to call dad's cell phone company and explain situation. They tell me he hasn't made any outgoing calls since Saturday. Decide to call Florida Police and they do a wellness check. He is not home and the neighbor hasn't seen him since Saturday.
Cross Training: constantly furrowing brow and pacing around office in panic

Thursday - (5 miles, tempo run) Am about to file missing person's report and get a call from aunt - dad is in hospital and has been since Saturday due to heart attack.
Miles Logged - none

Friday Afternoon (Rest Day) - Get call from boss. Contract will not be renewed for next year because I suck as a personal secretary (which is fine by me). Reeling from fact that the girl who got Straight A's and never got sent to the principal's office just got fired. Drive to Potomac to pick up car that friend's mom has graciously loaned me so that I'm not sharing with mom any more and can finally have own schedule and go running.

Friday night - Car needs new battery - try to jump start and make it to auto body before close. Get phone calls from family. Decided not to put grandma on ventilator. High tail it to hospital in Frederick.
(Rest - very little)

Saturday morning - 18 miles
I'll let you know if this happens but the chances are slim to none.

Things can only go up from here. This puts a lot of pressure on Sunday and Monday, as the starting days of next week. Lets hope they rise to the challenge.

Lie to Me

One of my most favorite quotes from a tv show:

Buffy: Does it get easier?
Giles: You mean life?
Buffy: Yeah, does it get easy?
Giles: What do you want me to say?
Buffy: Lie to me.
Giles: Yes, it's terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the
bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats. We
always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives
happily ever after.
Buffy: Liar.


Something that I've been wishing for since college ended was for the 30-year-old me of the future to visit the 20-something me of the present and tell me all the words of wisdom I'm hoping I'll have after this decade of my life comes to a close. I feel like there is so much that I don't know yet and it would be very helpful for the 20-something Aneesa to know it now, rather than later. Now, I know that the only way 30-something Aneesa will figure those things out is by 20-something Aneesa making mistakes but mistakes aren't fun to make.

The reason I like that particular quote so much is because I'm starting to realize how much easier life would be if that were the case - if the "good guys" and the "bad guys" were clearly marked - that way you would know what to expect from a person. It would also be extremely helpful if the good guys were, in fact always "stalwart and true" and the bad were always consistently bad. Growing up, I always thought that it was the case. Now, as I'm older, I realize that its not.

Its the little things...

Tonight, I found myself craving peanut butter. This doesn't happen very often. My cravings are usually more ornate and require more than 3 ingredients, a trip to the local grocery store and at least 20 minutes in the kitchen. Today, as I was watching a random episode of "Friends" for the 30th time (I don't have cable in my room) I got a craving for a peanut butter sandwich. Not pb+j but just white bread, lightly toasted with a smooth layer of JIF's peanut butter and honey. It was absolutely heavenly. I got to thinking about peanut butter and what a staple it is in everyone's cupboards and that led me to some fun memories. I can't simply just enjoy a sandwich - with me, everything requires a detailed thought process that I must share.

I feel like almost every American kid has had a peanut butter (and jelly) sandwich and we all have our preferences. Some like it crunchy, some like it creamy (me!), some of us like our peanut butter sandwiches with bananas, some with grape jelly, others with strawberry. A combination I've never tried is peanut butter with orange marmalade. That one might be interesting. When I was younger, I didn't really have an appreciation for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was always a disappointment in my lunch bag when I realized mom had run out of deli meat for the week and resorted to peanut butter and jelly. It was even more annoying when the accompaniment was the sugar free strawberry jam my father always used on his toast every morning (sugar free because he was diabetic). The worst was just peanut butter by itself. That was always a heartbreaker.

But, when I was actually eating the sandwich, it always ended up being okay. Actually, not just okay but great. The combination of the peanut butter and jelly (grape jelly, if I was lucky) went well with the capri sun I always had - lotsa sugar! Somehow, I would manage to have globs of jelly plop down onto my lap, which I would try to wipe off with my hand, resulting in a sticky mess. My mom always wrote goofy notes on the napkins she would include in the lunch bag and for some reason, I always felt guilty using them to wipe my mouth (or my pants) but never had a problem chucking them into the garbage can on my way out to recess without a second thought.
Its funny how something as simple as a peanut butter sandwich can evoke such fond memories. I miss being 9 - I miss the days when mom packed my lunch, when I actually got recess every day, and when my biggest issue was trying to grasp the concept of prime numbers.

Tonight, I definitely enjoyed my sandwich - just peanut butter and bread at 10:00 PM on a weeknight.

Ok, so this post was a bit random and I'm not quite sure where I was going with it but I just thought I'd share some of my thoughts from tonight. I know what you're all thinking - Aneesa needs a life! Or a hobby, or a pet, or...dare I say it? A man??

Stay tuned next week for my ode to oatmeal - another staple American product that is often taken for granted.

Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in...

I've come to develop a love/hate relationship with the city of Washington D.C. over the last few years. When I started my job at the Senate, I loved Washington. I loved getting off the train at Union Station and seeing the dome of the Capital building as I made my way over to work. I was so excited about it that on any given day, you could see me happily bouncing to the Hart building in my suit and sneakers, Lean Cuisine in a plastic grocery bag in hand. I loved the streets, even though I couldn't really navigate them and I loved the National Mall, even though I got lost on it and I loved the Metro, even though it smelled and I had to deal with loud teenagers on my way home. I loved all the distinct neighborhoods and how they each had their own flavor. D.C. screamed power and prestige to me. We were a city of movers and shakers - Supreme Court judges, Senators, Presidents, heads of think tanks, lawyers and lobbyists.

But, recently, I had started to hate the city. The Capitol dome I once admired brought to mind greedy, corrupt politicians. The nice restaurants were full of pretentious food and wine snobs. 18th Street in Adams Morgan was riddled with drunken twenty-somethings waiting in line for a slice of ridiculously large pizza and Takoma Park was full of over grown hippies who went about in their capitalistic hating bubbles. I longed for the simplicity I felt I had found in Texas. I longed for down to Earth folks who listened to country music, worked hard during the week, watched football on Fridays (and Saturdays and Sundays), raised families and took pride in their patriotism. I longed for the idea of middle-America that I had worked so hard to preserve as a democratic Senate staffer. (Never mind the fact that most of the folks I’m talking about tend to be republicans!). I set my sights on Austin, Texas, where I could enjoy the weather, the live music, the friendly atmosphere – a place where it doesn’t matter what job you have, how much money you make or who you know. I had all but said adios to the city of Washington, D.C. until the past couple weeks.

The city and I have had a few moments where it almost feels like its asking me not to give up on it – not to leave with bad feelings and to remember the good times. These moments are few and far between but they’re there – soft whispers of the love that once was. One of the distinct feelings that rushed back was the same one I would get when I returned from visits to other cities. I remember getting the feeling on my back from Hilton Head, SC back in high school. Angela and I drove back together, took a wrong turn and ended up on 395 and accidentally drove into the city. But the moment I saw the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and of course, the glorious dome of the Capitol Building laid out before me, I got a cozy feeling – I was home.

I got the same cozy feeling recently when I had to drive into Arlington for a meeting, early on a Saturday morning. I drove from 16th Street, through Dupont Circle and into Georgetown, where I took the Key Bridge into Virginia. Seeing the city on a weekend morning is very different than driving through it late at night. It seems simple, elegant, and beautiful. I got to watch the transgression of the neighborhoods from the residential homes and churches on 16th Street, to the urban, hip U Street, through Dupont Circle and on into Georgetown. There is nothing like seeing Georgetown on a Saturday morning. Most of Washington D.C. screams history and Georgetown is no exception. The fine shops in old rowhouses that line the cobblestoned streets seem to perfectly blend the rich history of the colonial port city with the upscale neighborhood it has become. And seeing it in the morning, when it wasn't littered with people made it much easier to appreciate the beauty.

On my way back, instead of driving back over the Key Bridge, I took 66 and drove past Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery is a place I've always wanted to visit but haven't gotten around to but just driving past it, elicited the same haunting yet proud feeling I get whenever I visit any of the war memorials in the city. As I drove into the city from 395, once again, I saw the best parts of D.C. laid out before me and I got that same cozy feeling. This is my city – this is where I’m from. I'm starting to realize how lucky I am that I get to call the Nation’s Capital my home but like with any relationship, its easier to appreciate things when they're gone and while D.C. will never leave, I will and hopefully I'll grow to love it more when I go.

Picture courtesy of Keith Stanley, www.kestan.com

Thoughts of Independence

On a cold, Sunday morning where would you expect to find a 24 year old, single girl? Laying in bed after a night of partying? On a morning jog at the park? Sipping a latte and reading the Sunday Post at Starbucks? Perhaps. Where was I this Sunday morning? I was at Home Depot. My closet doesn't have a shelf or bars and after 2 weeks of keeping my clothes in cardboard boxes, I decided to take matters into my own hands and "build" a closet. I consider myself to be an independent woman so I figured that doing it for myself was my only option. I went to Target to find one of those closet contraptions that consists of shelves and bars that you can install yourself. The box insisted that it would be easy and that I would only need the help of a few simple tools. I had put together a few Ikea items here and there so I thought "this should be a piece of cake." Hah. I armed myself with the tools from my uncle's garage (all ones he had never used), opened the box and emptied out its contents. I skipped the first instruction, which was to identify all the parts and make sure they were all present. I always skip that step - its for chumps. Three hours and a terrible backache later, I had succeeded in finishing step 1, which was to find and mark the studs 87.5 inches above the ground. I had an eye doctor appointment, so I used that as a breaking point. When I got back, I noticed a truck with a construction company's name on it in our driveway. My aunt explained to me that she admired my efforts and thought it was "cute" that I was going to try to install it myself but that at the rate I was going, the closet wouldn't be done until next month so she called over the handy men they use and paid for them to install the closet. They had it done in about 35 minutes. Its the thought that counts, right?

Greetings from Levittown 4.0!

The one thing that I had pushed to the back of my mind during this move was my strong distaste for the suburbs. There’s a lot I’m already starting to miss about the city. I miss the simple street names - First Street, Second street, M Street, etc. Here, they have really cheesy names that are trying hard to convey a bright, safe (boring) existence. For example, I live on Golden Meadow Drive, which is off of Scenery Road. Also, there's really no such thing as walking to grab a bite to eat or walking to the metro since the closest one is about a 20 minute drive!! There aren’t any nifty little shops and ethnic restaurants in a neighborhood with old buildings and houses that have seen many decades of change.
I’m trying to look at the bright side, though. Its not all terrible - there are some benefits, such as parking. In suburbia, there's sprawling shopping malls with free parking in large, spacious lots. I don't need to worry about breaking into a sweat while trying to parallel park my car in front of a restaurant as the customers who are eating on the patio outside watch me in amusement as I shift back and forth, trying to fit in between the large SUV in front of me and the Civic that's taking up part of MY parking spot, only to realize that I have no quarters, nickels or dimes for the meter. That's another thing - I'm hoping to start appreciating pennies a lot more now that I'm in the suburbs. There is nothing more annoying than needing to feed the meter (after spending 10 minutes fitting into the damn spot) and opening your wallet to find 5 measly pennies. I used to always zip it up, search through my pockets and then re-open it, hoping that they had somehow magically turned into a nickle to buy me enough time to get change for the twenty dollar bill that I had probably JUST taken out of the ATM for (that I probably paid a $2 fee for). That is definitely one thing I will NOT miss about living in the city.
Back to my distaste for the suburbs. I appreciate a big old Target and pretty tree lined streets but I really don't need to keep reading the bumper stickers on the backs of various mini vans and SUVs proudly proclaiming that the driver's child is an honor roll student at Middle School. I hate how there's nothing authentic about the "burbs." I miss the random coffee shops, used book stores and interesting architecture of the city. I miss the metro and the random bricks you see scattered about the city and the abundance of happy hours filled with people my age. Check back in with me in two weeks and the abundance of Olive Gardens, Best Buys and two car garages might have me actually missing the fast food joints, liquor stores and ethnic hair salons that littered Georgia Ave.

God Help Me!

Tomorrow morning (rather, later this morning since it is currently 12:45AM on Saturday) I am going to attempt to drive a large, 17 foot UHaul truck through northeast DC, load it up with all my belongings and drive it to my uncle's house in Germantown. The largest vehicle I have ever driven is my aunt's Toyota Sequoia for about 5 minutes before I determined I was a serious hazard behind the wheel of such a monstrous piece of machinery and gave up. This time, I have no choice. There is NO ONE to drive the truck but me. What's a girl to do?? I'm not going to lie - I'm terrified. I anticipate a lot of angry honking, perhaps some middle fingers raised in my direction, a few curbs that I miss and run completely over and maybe a minor "bump" when I try to park it. I'm just praying to God (Allah) that I won't have to reverse at any point in my journey.

Keep your fingers crossed - I'm hoping I'll live to tell the tale!

DVD Rant

Lately, a lot of folks have been talking about how new video formats will soon be replacing DVDs and I'm not too excited about it. Well, HD-DVDs are okay because according to Shivram (one of my tech gurus), we'll still be able to play old DVDs. But, I'm not enjoying the speculation that people will start downloading movies from programs like iTunes and be able to use a contraption that hooks up to your tv and your computer to watch a movie. That sounds like too much work for me. Yes, it means you don't have to wait to go to the store to purchase the DVD or wait for netflix to ship it to you, but downloading and connecting cords from a computer to a TV and then dealing with any complications that arise is just unnecessary. It's so simple to open up a DVD case and pop it in the DVD player and start the movie!!

It feels like we JUST got DVD technology! I got my first DVD player in 1999 and since then I've built up quite an impressive collection from almost every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the special edition of Pulp Fiction to the limited release (before it goes into the "Disney Vault") of The Little Mermaid. Some might argue that numerous DVDs take up space but I like my collection! Its displayed as proudly as my book collection! I like my DVD cases - they're nice and shiny and full of cool graphics! Well, I like all the cases except Season 6 of The Simpsons - that one's annoying since it doesn't line up on the shelf with the others. I'll admit, I was slow to jump on the DVD bangwagon for fear of letting go of my VHS tapes, and it took me a while to accept iPod and digital music, but enough is enough. I'm not going to blame the companies who come out with this technology - I'm going to blame the techno geeks who rush out to purchase the latest, most up-to-date technology. They're the ones who eat up the new stuff and make it popular and thus, force all of us to adapt. Well, not this chick - I'm sticking with my good old-fashioned DVDs. Humph!

Addendum to previous post

Ok, so according to Bryan, Matt's "fish guy" is actually Bryan's fish guy since he is the one who found him. However, Joe also claims credit for the fish guy. We're looking into the matter to find the truth.

Lets examine the facts:

The fish guy is in Georgetown
The fish guy sells sushi grade fish
Joe is the "sushi" maker in the apartment
Bryan works in Georgetown
Matt wears a lot of jewelry.

I'll keep you posted.

End on That.....

I am going to consider dinner a success! I wish I had taken photos of the completed meal, but as usual, I forgot! I put a lot of effort into the presentation and didn't document it! So, you're just going to have to take my word for it. I ended up buying the tuna steaks from Giant. I know, I know - why didn't I go to Whole Food's or Matt's fish guy in Georgetown? (Side note: My friend Matt seems to have a "guy" for everything. It seems like any time I mention using professional services - dry cleaning, auto, hair styling, Matt knows somebody and scolds me for not asking him first cause I could've gone to his "guy.")
So, why didn't I go to Whole Foods for the steaks? Simple - because I really didn't want to make a $50 meal into an $80 one.

I started off with golden potato and leek soup with cheddar toasts (pictured above). I added a bit more cream than it called for and a lot more seasoning. I added rosemary and lots of pepper. It turned out great! The main course consisted of pan seared tuna steaks with a ginger shitake cream sauce, roasted broccoli with fresh Parmesan and rice pilaf with sauteed onions. Everyone loved it - especially the cream sauce and Candice said she enjoyed it more than the fillets we had at Smith & Wollensky!

We ended the meal with Whole Food's Strawberries & Cream cake, with 5 candles and an off key rendition of "Happy Birthday!"

As my friend, Matt says when you accomplish something great, end on that! That was the meal of the month for me and nothing else I do (this month) is going to top it.

Pan Seared Tuna?

So, in my attempt to be something I am not (a gourmet chef) I am going to make pan seared tuna steaks tonight. I wish I could've been satisfied making chicken breasts or some sort of pasta dish, but I think I'm ready for the next step in my quest for culinary excellence. I've been pouring over websites (Food Network and Epicurious) as well as old issues of Cooking Light magazine and both of my copies of The Joy of Cooking. And, as usual, I'm driving myself crazy with all of the choices that I have.

I want to start off with golden potato-leek soup and cheddar toasts and then move onto the main course. The only problem is trying to figure out if any of the Asian inspired tuna recipes I've found will be complimented by the soup.

As of right now (and I say that because this menu has changed several times in my mind over the course of the last 12 hours), I'm planning on serving:

-Golden Potato-Leek Soup with Cheddar Toasts
-BLANK (Herb or sesame) crusted, pan seared tuna with
BLANK sauce or BLANK relish or BLANK salsa
-Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf

Knowing me, I'll back out and just make a staple, boring old pasta dish, as usual. Cooking on weekday nights is so much harder than when I've got the whole day to do it. Hopefully, I'll actually use my digital camera and take some photos of my culinary achievement (or defeat). Luckily, there's a frozen pizza in the freezer, just in case.....

Quote of the Day

Who can guess what 1992 film this quote is from?

"Attention Rex Manning fans, to your left you will notice a shoplifter being chased by night manager, Lucas. This young man will be caught, deep fried in a vat of hot oil and served to our first hundred customers. Just another tasty treat from the gang....."

Moving and Marathons

Ok, so I have a little less than 2 weeks to go before I move home and before I start marathon training. Both endeavors have raised puzzling looks from some of my friends and family who don't understand why on Earth I would voluntarily leave a fun house with an amazing room that is a 15 minute drive to work and a short metro ride from everything else (ie: bars) to move into my uncle and aunt's basement in Germantown, MD. Simple: FREE RENT! This means that I'll be able to pay off bills, save money and most importantly - buy stuff! I'll be able to eat sushi whenever I want without worrying! Well - I might have to worry about mercury intake but I'll have to research that - not sure if it effects sushi =/ I can buy a new, expensive jacket without worrying about how I'm going to feed myself for the next 2 months. I'll be able to complete my Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends and West Wing DVD collections! I'm sure there's other stuff I want to buy but these were the first things that came to mind. I know there'll be a few pairs of shoes thrown into the mix, as well.

Secondly - the one that puzzles my mom the most - why I would volunteer to run 26.2 miles! My mom remembers what I was like in elementary school! I HATED running! I was the kid who faked stomach aches and head aches to get out of going to school on the day of our PT Tests -running a mile to me was a worse fate than eating cafeteria food (unless it was pizza Friday). I could never finish on time, let alone run the whole mile! In high school, when I played field hockey, I would complain over and over again about running with the rest of the team and whine to my coach about how it was much more important for me to practice my goal keeping skills. The once-a-week 20 minute run they made me participate in made my stomach turn in fear all day. I wasn't able to concentrate in Geometry because I was too worried about field hockey practice later that day! And now, 15 years later, I'm trying to run a marathon! I really don't know what got into me when I signed up - I'm just hoping to make it to the finish line without dying. I'm scared as all hell because the most I can go right now is 3 miles and that's tough. We start officially training at the end of this month so I've got 2 weeks to pre-train so I don't embarrass myself in front of the other Team-In-Training members! I'll keep everyone updated on my progress!