A Year Later

Fort DeSoto State Park, St. Pete's, FL

Flying into Chicago today I found myself contemplating my move a year ago this week to Tampa. Having received an unexpected job offer in October 2011, I knew the moment that I left the meeting that I would accept the position and move to Tampa in the spring. As I look back on it, I am kind of shocked at my lack of hesitation and then excitement as I left D.C. in March. I like living in the capital region, I love Virginia, but I felt care free as I hit 95 and headed South. I had a furnished apartment, baseball, pools, and beaches awaiting me, not to mention an awesome professional opportunity. The ensuing 6 months were filled with sun and hard work. Tampa wasn't my favorite city in the world, but I embraced the area as much as I could and explored the state a bit in my free time.

St. Augustine was by far my favorite weekend trip. Complete with historic forts and winding narrow cobblestone lanes, I felt like I was in another country in another time. I took the beaches for granted by the end of the summer and missed "real trees" quite a bit, but ultimately I was thrilled to add another location to my "places lived" list, this one far different than any other.



Next came Boston. Again, I was incredibly excited with no hesitations about taking the job with the Romney campaign. After a whirlwind post-convention week of flying up to accept the job, packing up my Tampa apartment, taking a train back to D.C., and spending 2 days to switch over my clothes in D.C., I was headed to New England. Surprisingly, it wasn't until my final hours in D.C. that I started to grow anxious about my lack of bed and residence in Boston. I'm a planner (even by profession!), yet here I was moving to a brand new city where I didn't know anyone and I had no idea whatsoever where I was going to be sleeping that night or for the next 2 months. I had 2 suitcases, a bag, and 2 unaddressed boxes in Alexandria with instructions for my roommates to send them once I had an address...Every morning that first week in Boston I checked out of my hotel, checked my bags at the lobby desk, and spent each free moment at work looking for housing while also learning something completely new on a team that had been together for a while.

Chatham, MA

Looking back, I'm not quite sure how I maintained any grace! Thankfully it was less than a week before some girls offered to let me move in with them. 6 girls. 2 BR. 4 blocks from HQ. I jumped on the opportunity, packed up my bags, took a taxi to Sears to buy an air mattress, taxied to my new building that I had never seen before, and sat in the lobby until one of my new (stranger) roommates brought me key. Ha. Seize the day!

Sunrise view from my living room air mattress

Thank God my roommates were great, as were my coworkers as a whole. I have never worked with such a competent team working together towards a shared goal. Towards something we believed in, supporting two men that we grew to respect and admire, for a country that we love.  It isn't possible to explain the bonds built with people you eat, work, sleep, and breathe with for 2 months; people that I didn't know before September, but are now friends that will last a long time. We laughed, we cried. We had birthday cake for a dog. We envied those living life on the road, but celebrated every time we refreshed Eventbrite and watched thousands flock to Red Rocks, Fishersville, and West Chester. We ran the bases at Fenway after belting out "Sweet Caroline," took in the infamous "Plymouth Rock," in all of it's esteemed glory, the beautiful Cape, fall colors, the witches at Salem, Lexington & Concord, and followed in Paul Revere's footsteps down those cobblestone streets. We ate pizza nachos, made friends at the "gas station," did pub crawls, and had campaign prom. We left it all on the field. Boston represents all of that. It will always hold a special place in my heart, as will that old building in the North End. 

Boston morning run

Despite the disappointing outcome and the ensuing months of job searching, I don't regret for a second taking that leap last year. It was an adventure I will never forget and may never have the opportunity to do again. The relationships built through all of it and the memories created will not easily be forgotten. 

Final view of Boston

St. Patrick's Day, Chicago River

So now, here I am. Starting anew once again. While I'm not moving to Chicago for the job, starting here for the first couple of days seems dejavu to my last 3 jobs, each starting in new cities. Not sure what this one will have in store, but que sera sera.  

In Sunlight and In Shadow

I came across these moving words while reading last night and wanted to share. Though a fictional work, I feel that this paratrooper's observations while preparing to embark on a mission carry deep emotion and accuracy that I will never entirely understand.

"In a vast, prayerful order of silence, thousands of men went about their separate tasks. Even before battle they had entered into a deep connection with those, past and future, who had found or would find themselves part of a great host, moving as if without will, coordinated and sanctified by death. This pointless and tragical fugue had rolled through history since the beginning. The pace may have varied, but the harvest was steady over time, its momentum increasing and undiminished. It moved evenly, treated all passions equally, and was as cold and splendid as the waves in winter.  

What force, he wondered, could paint such a canvas and command such dedication while never failing, again and again, to take sons from mothers, husbands from wives, and fathers from children? Unable to hesitate or protest, he looked toward the weapons and equipment he had made ready many times over, and felt love that would forever abide for all those he had followed, and all who would follow after, in thrall of his tide." 

From In Sunlight and In  Shadow, by Mark Helprin

Memoirs of the Funemployed

This building is magnificent no matter what the weather.

Newest word in my vocabulary: Funemployed

Funemployed: The state of being without a job, yet having lots of time to enjoy fun activities during otherwise normal working hours (Urban Dictionary).

Hmm, I guess I can work with that. Today, specifically, was applying for multiple jobs, tracking down multiple college transcripts (you'd think I'm trying to build a fake identity with the hoops they made me jump through), leaving the house exactly one time to go to the post office to send that transcript request, and reading through old college essays in search of the best writing sample. Not so fun, but when every day is Saturday, I suppose you have to make some time for the real stuff.

I have gone on more hikes in the last month than in the last 2 years combined. I have been to the gym every day since I joined. I've started reading the newspaper every day. I've gone without make-up. I eat normal, healthy meals. I went to Vermont. I've volunteered. I have watched far too many Netflix series. I've practiced trivia. I've left my hair piled on top of my head all day. I've had lots of meetings. I've gone to Minnesota twice. I've started blogging again. I have done my best to appreciate this unique time in my life and really, I have enjoyed it.

But... I like working. I like having a purpose. I like earning my own money. I like getting up, getting ready, and leaving the house for the day. I like being challenged. I like being gainfully employed. It's been good. It's been real. I will miss parts of it. But it can end any day now and I will be just fine.

Week 2 Picture: The U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

The last few days have been incredibly foggy in D.C. It was so dense one evening, I nearly missed my exit coming home because I couldn't tell that the 14th street bridge had ended with the abyss that was on either side of me. That same night, I stared for a good minute at this gaping hole that is the Capitol before realizing that's where I was!

Ring out the old, Ring in the new!

Happy New Year! I'm officially 3 years into this blog and attempting to bring it back in 2013. Unlike my first year in D.C., when I knew no one, had 4 hours of commuting each day, and spent every evening with the exact same routine, I cannot commit to a picture a day, but I AM aiming for one a week. I'm still debating whether or not Instagram pictures should be allowed on here. I'm feeling a sleight moral dilemma about it. Other resolutions this year....buying something new at Trader Joe's every time I go (this week was Kale...I don't even know if that's cheating and basically lettuce, but it's new to me...), running a half marathon, and finishing learning the guitar or the bagpipes...Oh, and finding a job, that's a good one.

I keep saying I'm going to blog about my experiences and reflect upon 2012, but it is seeming less and less likely. Stay tuned.

Week 1 Picture: Chatham, Fredericksburg, Virginia

I'm feeling like this is a bit of a cheat since this is one of the first locations I ever posted on here, but now it reminds me of Virginia's own Downton Abbey (or at least one of their summer cottages) so I'm counting it. For the history of it...click back to 2010. My thoughts when I visited this year were more about the landscape and the excellent wedding photos that could be taken at this estate! The backyard (originally the front of the house), overlooks the river and has steps leading down into a large open courtyard that I can only imagine would be lovely in the warmer months. A wrought iron fence serves as the center of the stairwell before taking stairs down on either side. The fence has music notes designed into it with a number of measures. I wrote down the notes and just now played them on the piano. It wasn't a tune I recognized, but the notes were definitely intentional and made sense! The gardens had charming brick columns that seemed to hold no purpose, but I'd like to believe that they are wrapped in ivy and canopied by the trees in the summer, creating a tunnel perfect for Sound of Music type strolls. 

Prima Ballerina

"This sounds fun, interested?" That's what I sent to Carly a week or so ago after reading about a local Barre class on Groupon. Barre, as in what ballerinas stand on their tip toes next to while squatting slowly, listening to nice music and raising their arms above their heads with all the grace of a beautiful swan. So we signed up. $39.00 for 5 hour long classes. A steal.

Classes filled up fast, so in the mean time we joined a gym and have been feeling especially fit. Our first class was today at 7:30, so I had 20 minutes at home to briefly stuff my face with pita bread, hummus, cheese, tortilla chips, and a couple of chocolate covered blueberries. Let's just say my yoga clothes weren't looking so sharp by the time we ran out the door.

We arrived at the class and our teacher Denise told us to pick out 2lb, 3lb, or 4lb weights. As per usual, I scoffed at the 2-3 and went with 4, thinking it seemed low. Any illusion of an enjoyable new work out was shattered when we heard Denise say "boot camp." When Charlotte Church came on the iPod, she laughed and asked if we should work out to that. Yes, yes I think we should. I like The Prayer..I like that music during a stress relieving Pilates work out.

Apparently I didn't sign up for the right class, so our punishment was to not get a spot along the side walls, but rather along the back, in the center of the room. With the mirrors glaring back at us, we were on center stage. First up in Boot Camp was cardio. Since I don't do work-out videos, this was not a good start to the class. Since I don't dance without the help of a choreographer, that wasn't good either. Denise didn't seem to recall that Groupon offered this deal to all of Tampa (including those who haven't done this before), so there was no instruction whatsoever. This resulted in me waving my arms in the air with the occasional off-beat stomp and butt shaking. Thanks to the mirrors, I could see Carly too. At one point I was laughing so hard at myself that I could hardly keep up the charade. I hope Denise didn't see and think I wasn't taking it seriously. The first time I looked at the clock out of misery was less than 7 minutes into the class.

The 4 lb. weights didn't last long. Oh, I was too prideful to put them down, but after a good 10 minutes on each arm, things didn't feel nice. The actual "barre" part of the class was minimal. We did a lot of standing on one foot to the point that it was my knee that was in pain, not my muscles. Carly was sweating so bad next to me that she figured she must be way out of shape...I took it to mean I was just doing everything completely wrong.

I started cursing ballerinas about 40 minutes into the class. All the little skinny chicks around the class looked perfect standing up on their tippie toes. Actually, even the far from skinny chicks looked perfect standing on their tippie toes. So I'm pretty sure it was just us struggling. Carly says she saw some cheaters, but I'm not convinced. As my sincere irritation continued to grow, I didn't have warm thoughts for Denise either. I also had the growing suspicion that we weren't going to get to finish with stretching, sooo that ruined the light at the end of my tunnel.

Oh, I almost forgot, Denise lies. She starts the countdown at 8 after you've been going for a while. It goes something like this, "All right let's finish up-- 8.....7.......6.....keep it strong!....5......keep that stomach in.....4....relax those shoulders.....3.......almost there keep holding.....2.......1...let's hold it extra long.....OKAY, only 15 more seconds!" No joke. I don't operate that way. If I'm giving my all for 8 seconds, don't make me do it again. If you tell me I'm done and then make me do it again, I'm not going to believe you. Clearly she hasn't heard the story of the boy who cried wolf.

We ended the class with "burpies," which apparently is the ballerina name for an up-down. I was pouting at this point, so mine were crappy. I've never done such a lame push-up. Those wimpy knee push-ups? I don't even know how they actually work. When those were done, the stretching began. At this point, my left knee was hurting so bad that I was doing double the "work" on my right leg. Since the stretching hurt too, it didn't really matter anymore.

Finally. It was over. I wanted to book it out, but somehow we were the last two in the classroom so I was forced to chit chat with Denise. As I stood there with my hands on my hip and my legs shaking in places I didn't know could shake, she asked me how I liked the class. I wasn't about to lie and say I liked it, but I couldn't tell the truth either. With what I imagine was a less than convincing smile-chuckle, I said it hadn't been exactly what I expected. Since I thought perhaps she had noticed my one-leg work out at the end, I mentioned that my knee had started hurting pretty bad. Her response? "Yea...you know how I kept telling you to move your foot closer to the bar? That's why."

Thus ended my one and only experience with Barre Boot Camp.

Lesson Learned: Don't think that a deal on Group-On will teach you how to be a beautiful ballerina. You can always be beautiful, but most of us will never be ballerinas.

Who knew?

This blog post is dedicated to some of life's greatest discoveries. Laugh and enjoy, but no judging, please :)

1. As a child growing up in Minneapolis, we'd drive down Lake Street and pass Walter Drug. Newer to spelling and reading, I was under the impression that Walter Drug was somebody's name and "drug" was actually "Doug," the same name as my dad. One day in Sunday School, we wrote our parents a letter for our teachers to send them in the mail. Such a fantastic idea! What a surprise it would be for my unsuspecting parents to receive a letter from their own daughter! I wrote the letter and my teacher addressed it under my close supervision. To my dismay, she addressed it to Doug and Patti. Naturally I had to fix the spelling error, so when she wasn't looking I slid the envelope across the table and changed it. Sometime during the anxious waiting that week, we drove past the store and just to be sure I asked my mom what the store was called. My heart nearly stopped when she told me. I was mortified. How could I have put such a terrible word on this surprise letter to my parents!? Sadly, my excitement turned to dread and I was forced to spend the rest of the days waiting for the mailman on our porch swing in hopes of intercepting the mail before my mom would see this bad word in place of my dad's name.


2. I once carried around a chocolate Easter bunny covered in tinfoil for several days before realizing there was chocolate inside. I thought it was just a pretty bunny.

3. I pride myself in having played many different sports growing up. Tennis, soccer, softball, basketball, swimming, volleyball, etc.. But before all of this, it was ballet and tap dancing that had my attention. Every night our instructor warned us not to jump off the stage, but to take the stairs. Every night, we longed to ignore that counsel. One evening, no doubt in anticipation of our upcoming show or under the false illusions of being a great ballerina, I leapt off that stage in true Juilliard fashion and promptly ran into a table. I cried all the way to the ER (though somewhere I got an ice cream bar in there) and still remember walking into that room that was starched white with nothing but a silver table in the middle. My tears slowed as I asked my dad where the sewing machine was. Relief washed over me, my anxieties cast away, as he informed me that being "stiched up" didn't mean that my head would be placed under a Singer. Phew.

4. I didn't know until 2011 that there was a difference between VW and BMW.

5. I was reading one day in college and saw the word "breakfast." For the first time in my life, I wondered why I had always said "breakfrast." ....there isn't an "r" in there! I was soon comforted by the fact that Jessica Miller and my sister both still added the r, so I guess that one wasn't just me :)

6. You know how the bottom of a billboard will have a name written on it? (See picture: "Jones" on the left) I always thought this meant that every family gets a turn at picking what to place on a billboard. I got fed-up one day driving past the old Sears building on Chicago Avenue and asked my parents when it would be our turn. Such a let-down.

7. I always thought the Delta blankets were free for the taking on airplanes. Last year I was informed this is not the case.

8. In 5th grade Rachel J and I got caught passing notes and had to put the notes on the teachers desk. To my utter embarrassment, Rachel had written that "breaststroke" was her best stroke in swimming. I quickly scribbled back that it was "breathstroke," distressed that she thought that it included "breast" in the name.

9. I spent one summer biking around Lake Nokomis spreading my bubble gum on my tongue and sticking it out for the world to see. I was so proud to have perfected blowing bubbles that I didn't check in the mirror to see that I had done no such thing and really was just sticking my tongue out at everyone we passed.

10. My first diary entry ever was written at the age of 8 and went something like the this, "Dear Secret Diary, I like someone and if you can keep a secret I will tell you how (who) I like." I proceeded to list a number of boys in my 2nd grade class. These lists lasted until at least the 8th grade. Why I thought this was the point of a diary and that lists of 5-10 boys were acceptable, I will never know.

11. My parents went on 3 different cruises while I was in grade school. My mom wrote us each a note for every day they were gone and Mrs. Gregg would give them to us each morning or evening. On the final cruise in 4th grade, I read a Titanic story one day at school. I knew it might be a bad idea, but told myself it was okay because I would know by evening that mom and dad were okay. That night, Mrs. Gregg gave me two letters since she wouldn't see me the next morning before we left for school. I asked her how she already had the letter and she had to explain to me that my mom was not sending them each day from the ship...I didn't sleep much the rest of the week.

12. I thought my dad played for the Minnesota Twins and knew Kirby Puckett before I was born because he had a picture at the Dome in a Twins jersey. I told someone that once camping and they told me they they recognized my dad's name, verifying my story.

13. Barney warned kids of putting sunscreen on around their eyes. I thought he warned to be careful when putting sunscreen IN your eyes, so I called Bekah in one day to put sunscreen in both of our eyes before we went to the beach.

I didn't believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, walking on clouds, or that the Tooth Fairy was anyone but my parents giving me a silver dollar under my pillow, but somewhere along the way I made all of these assumptions. I can only surmise that there are plenty of puzzling discoveries yet to be made! 

D-Day. Don't ever forget.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force--

You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in the free world. 

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely. 

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strengths in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together in victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! 

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of the Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. 

--General Dwight D. Eisenhower