Who’s Excited for Summer?!!

People, this is big: This is my first free summer in several  years.

No more wedding planning. No grad school classes to take.

Free time.

Free. Mother-fucking. Time.

Words cannot express my extreme anticipation for all the awesome time this summer is sure to bring, now that I am more available than ever to participate in said awesomeness. There are so many things I want to do, but I know it's not practical to do all of them, but here are things I'd love to do this summer:

Pig Roast: This is actually already scheduled. My best friend Scott and his various college friends/former roommates and co. throw a pig roast each summer. If you have never been to a pig roast, you are missing out. It's like an awesome cookout, with lots of drinking, music, playing games, and a roasting pig producing the most wonderful scents. I went to one in high school out on a farm where 2 pigs were roasted--it was almost a religious experience. Now, some people have told me they find the notion disturbing, but I find it reassuring. I am picky about eating meat (I have seen too much evidence of terrible practices in producing, packaging, and distributing meat in the US), so for me, it's nice to know where the meat is coming from. It's from that pig. Right there. Mmmm, pig. Plus, for a fan of all things pork like me, there are few things better than being able to go up to the actual pig and choose the meat that looks most delectable.

Go to a wedding: Ok, this one is also already planned. Our wedding was the first of 3 this year from our group of college friends. The second one is this July, at a nice park with the promise of barbecue. I love living in the South. It will be the first wedding we attend as a married couple, too, which is pretty cool.

Expand my culinary skills: I love cooking and baking, but I want to learn to make a wider variety of dishes. I want to build up a solid repertoire of healthy foods I am so comfortable making that I don't need to refer to the recipe, and that are convenient enough to make on work nights. I want to cook things I've never made before, that I've been too intimidated to try making, or too busy to devote a day to. I want to master a tres leches. I also want to try to replicate some of the insanely good food we had in Puerto Rico on our honeymoon, such as pastelon de dalva, the best gazpacho ever, the avocado pizza, and maybe even the ossobucco in guava broth I had on our last night there. Luckily, we got a few new kitchen wares for our wedding. I have already started my culinary adventures this week, so I'll be posting on that along the way.

Gain bar tending abilities: I love booze. I know what goes into a variety of drinks, but mostly basic, classic cocktails. And I am not really comfortable making a lot of drinks, especially when they start to involve more then 3 ingredients (including the garnish). I want to learn how to make more cocktails (again, well enough that I can do them from memory). Also, as with food, there are certain cocktails I want to recreate from our honeymoon, such as tamarind rum punch and an elderflower cosmo.

Travel: I am addicted to traveling. I crave it. I get strong urges to go places. Travel makes me feel renewed and refreshed. I get a vicarious travel high looking at pictures other people have taken on their trips, or watching the Travel Channel. Even watching movies. I don't need to go far away--I love exploring new places in the DC area. I just want to see and experience new places and things. I also want to go to Gettysburg, just because it's one of my favorite places to visit and I haven't been this year. And, I really, really, really want to go to the beach. I already got a week of beach time during our honeymoon, but I'd really like to go somewhere like Rehoboth for a few days, especially since last year when we went we spent most of our time indoors due to a combination of bad weather and marathon sessions at the Dogfish brew pub. (Lesson learned: Beach first, then brew pub--otherwise we'll never leave to go back to the beach)

Go to museums: I haven't been to any museums since I went to New York earlier this year, and it's making me itchy for an exhibit. I get antsy when I haven't been to a museum for a while. I don't have anything specific in mind, but maybe a day trip to Richmond, Baltimore, or Philly. There are also some DC museums I haven't been to in ages.

Go to an Orioles game: I don't like the Orioles (I'm a Rangers fan), but I do love their stadium so very much. If you have never been to Camden Yards, you should make it a point to go. Even if you don't like baseball all that much. Go for the experience. The atmosphere of the stadium absolutely transports you --the stadium just feels like it's from a different time. Also, the food is fantastic. Plus, if you go to a night game, you can make a day of it by going to the Baltimore Aquarium in the afternoon, and who doesn't love getting a little quality shark time?

See movies in the theatre: There's just something I love about a cool theatre on a hot day and watching a movie, especially while drinking an icee. I have been informed that there is some movie about a mutant half man half flying beast called "Batman" that arrives in theatres this summer, and that I am obligated to see it. So be it.

Be outdoors: I want to go to the mountains, and since I am lucky enough to live so close to the Blue Ridge mountains this shouldn't be a problem. I want to camp, go tubing, canoeing or kayaking, and I want to go horseback riding, which I used to do all the time when I was younger and haven't done in years. I just want to be in the sun.

Spend lots of time at and in the pool at our apartment: I love the smell of chlorine in the summer. When I was younger, most of my summer days were spent in Dallas in my grandparents' backyard swimming pool. We have a small, but decent, pool at our apartment, which also has plenty of chairs for poolside reading. There are few things finer than drinking a bottle of booze poolside while enjoying a good book. We are probably going to buy a house next year, which will mean no more pool time fun for this girl, so I need to get my kicks while I can.

Musicals! I want to see The Book of Mormon while it is in town. Tickets haven't gone on sale yet, and I am pretty sure they're going to sell out immediately, so I'll need to be very on top of this to make it happen. (As is turns out, it's not coming until next summer. Damn. I still want to see it.) 


Anyway, I want to see Newsies! (Which requires a New York trip-woohoo!) My dear cousin and I used to watch Newsies on VHS when it first came out, and both fell in love with Christian Bale's mediocre accent and singing ability. ("So that's what they call a fam-lee, muddah, fadduh, dawtuh, son.") After a lifetime of singing songs about the plight of paper boys who just want to seize the day (and also form a union) I am thrilled that this is now a Broadway musical extravaganza that I can enjoy in person. And luckily, I know other people who want to go, too, since here's no way my husband would ever agree to see it. (I tried to force him to watch the film once, and learned two things: Bill Pullman is not a draw for anyone, and native New Yorkers like my husband do NOT enjoy little kids butchering New York accents. Also, he did not accept that there was a character on crutches named Crutchy.) And, I still want to see Anything Goes, also in NYC, but that one is also going on tour and stopping in DC next year, so no rush there.

Write: I have things in my head I need to get out. Lots of stories and poems that are only half-formed and won't be complete until I start actually writing them out. I love writing, and once I start I have a hard time stopping, often leading to marathon sessions where my hands can't keep up with my brain in trying to get words on paper or screen. This sometimes prevents me from starting to write, as I know I won't be able to finish other important things if I get caught up in my writing and don't want to stop, but now, it won't be such a big deal if I do.

Read: I’ve got some books I’m excited to read. I’m also contemplating reading A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings now that the second season has ended. I have decided I don’t want to read ahead, so that I’ll still be surprised when I watch the show, but I think I’ll have a richer understanding of some of the minor characters and oblique references if I read the books the first two seasons were based on.

Art! I have a some paintings in mind. Some acrylics and gauche. I also want to set up an etsy account and try to sell off the massive amount of work I have that currently resides in a serious of large portfolios under my bed. I mean, it's not like anyone is seeing it now anyway, and I don't have room to hang even a portion of it, so I might as well make money off it, yes? Yes. 


So yes, as I said, I may not be able to make all of these things happen, but in any case, I'm sure this summer is going to be fantastic anyway. Because it's summer.

Philadelphia Freedom!

           This past weekend I took a day trip to Philadelphia with some friends. The drive up was blissfully traffic-less, a miracle considering we spent a good deal of our time on 95. Despite the inconsistent weather leading up to the trip, it could not have been a nicer day for touring. One of my friends is originally from a Philly suburb and came up with our game plan for the day, so after arriving we walked directly to Little Pete’s diner, where I had challah French toast with fresh strawberries, which was fantastic. This was the first time I had seen many of my friends since during the semester, so it was great to catch up. I was momentarily jealous when they were talking about what classes they are taking in the fall, until I remembered how crazy school made me.

             After we stuffed ourselves on diner food we walked over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, AKA home of the Rocky steps, as the street vendors hocking Rocky shirts would have it known. We saw some people foolishly attempting to run the steps in foam flip flops. Not a good idea, people. The Chagall exhibit was really great. We also saw exhibits on men’s fashion and controversial photography. The modern design exhibit was very cool. It was displayed like an ikea store, and the inclusion of a Mac desktop from 1999 made one of my friends observe that we are officially old now that our high school computers are museum relics.  We also wandered into what became my favorite exhibit of the trip. I am a huge fan of poster art, and this exhibit was exclusively health & medical posters promising tonics to cure everything from gout to alcoholism. Sure, some people stared at us as we laughingly yelled "check out the syphilis" and "the ten commandements of tuberculosis!" at each other, but these posters were really funny. My favorite was the anti-marijuana poster, which made me wonder two things:

1. Why are they injecting weed? 2. Why would a kid be discouraged if you are going to promise him wild parties and orgies? No wonder the war on drugs has always been a lost cause.

              We explored the permanent collection for a bit. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s a really impressive and diverse collection, spanning across the globe and covering pretty much every time period. There is even a life size Hindu temple and Japanese tea garden. Before leaving Philly we settled into a bar called Bishop's Collar, where we had some very curious quesadillas. Fresh blackberries and blueberries were mixed in with the pico and the guacamole. We were all dubious at first, but the berries were a delightful addition. After snacking we buckled into the car and headed home.

             All in all it was a pretty perfect trip.  Oh, except for the part where a girl in our group got escorted by city police away from the Liberty Bell because she had airplane bottles in her person. Be warned, kids, Philly doesn’t mess around with bag checks.

And Like That, It's Over...

Grad school has dominated my life for the past two years. Weekends were sacrificed to endless reading and writing, weeknights spent either in class or doing homework. I fully realize that no one made me go to grad school, it was a completely voluntary endeavor, although it was very necessary if I want to have a career in art history, which is my passion. As I paid for grad school myself, and as I am what some people might consider a "perfectionist" about my grades, I couldn't see spending all the money and time if I wasn't going to kick ass and get awesome grades, so I devoted myself to my school work.

Still, the entire time I was in grad school all I could think of was what I would do after school was over. I would have free time! I would take trips, I would see friends, I would reorganize every room in our home, I would spend more time with my fiance, not forsaking his company so I could spend my evenings reading Michael Leja or Wanda Corn. After two years of feeling like I was missing out, like my life was somehow on hold, I am free! Graduating two weeks ago was a surreal experience. Suddenly those two years that had seemed interminable felt as though they'd gone by in no time at all, and I found myself second-guessing "Am I really ready to graduate? Should I have taken X, Y, or Z class? I wish I had taken a class with so-and-so professor. Should I apply to PhD programs? Who will hire me now?"

When you go to school full time while also working full time, you have to plan ahead and make the most out of your time in order to have any kind of balance between work, school, and fun. Now I find myself almost paralyzed with possibilities. What will I do today? I could paint, I could write, I could play video games. I could lay by the pool. I could do nothing at all. I feel like I am wasting my time because I'm not doing anything. One of my graduation gifts was a Kindle, which my marvelous aunt and uncle pre-loaded with a multitude of books. It's one of the more thoughtful gifts I've received, yet I keep feeling that sitting around reading old Philip K. Dick stories is somehow lazy. Don't I have a paper to write? Isn't there some deadline I have to meet? My fiance got me three video games I really wanted for graduation (L.A. Noire, Heavy Rain, and Red Dead Redemption) and I've played each of them a little so far, but I feel bad that I'm not playing them more, as if there's some sort of finite time I have to play them in or else I'll have missed my opportunity, as if they are an obligation not recreation. It's bizarre - I have spent so much time thinking of entertainment and relaxation as something I had to fit in during a small amount of time that I am somehow failing if I don't do everything all at once.

The transition from planning every minute of every day to just hanging out and doing whatever I feel like as the day goes on has been surprisingly unsettling. This past weekend, Memorial Day, much of my time was spent watching movies and tv, just relaxing. In the back of my mind the planner in me kept nagging "you could be doing so much more today." I woke up each morning immediately trying to plan my day in blocks ("If I run first I can be done working out and showering by the time the pool opens, then I can spend X amount of time at the pool reading my kindle, then I can write letters and emails to people I've neglected this semester, then I can reorganize my closet, etc, etc) only to end up spending the majority of the day just talking with my fiance and watching tv.

While I'm still adjusting to free time, I am definitely loving it. The last week of school, during which I had to complete my Comprehensive Exams, was brutal. I didn't sleep, I was pumped with a constant stream of caffeine and I was panicked and stressed at the thought that if I didn't pass I wouldn't graduate, and I'd have to do the whole exam process all over again. So, although it still feels a little weird that I don't have to do anything, I definitely appreciate the freedom of being able to do things on the spur of the moment without feeling as though I'm betraying my studies. Besides, I might as well enjoy this now, because with the wedding less than a year away I am sure I will miss this free time when I am running around like crazy coordinating with vendors, family and guests.

These Are a Few of my Favorite Things

As anyone working while going to school can tell you, one of the hardest things to do is finding time to have fun. Which is pretty terrible, since the longer you are in grad school, the more you really need fun. So as not to go crazy. Thus, I consider this weekend a huge triumph, as I was able to fit so many of my favorite things into one weekend!

Let's go to Movies! My dear cousin joined my fiancé and I to see the latest Harry Potter movie. I have never read the books (well, actually, I tried to read the first, but felt it was hackneyed and poorly written, and gave up) so I didn’t totally understand everything that happened, but it was still enjoyable. It has every British person ever in it. Don't miss Oliver Cromwell's cameo! Plus, I got to see some ridiculous trailers. (More on that in an upcoming post)

Beer, Glorious Beer! It had been too long - I think 2 weeks, maybe - since our last visit to Dogfish, and to my delight they still had the Punkin Ale on draft. The Punkin has a special place in my heart as it was the first Dogfish beer I ever tried, years ago in the bottle. It (and of course  Scott’s invite) was what drew me to the Dogfish Alehouses in the first place. I also enjoyed some Old School Barley Wine, which is fantastic, and tried some of the Dogfish Ale which was new to me. We got to hang out with one of my brothers, sister-in-law, and my super-cool niece over tasty food. It was a pretty nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

It's the Sport of Kings, Better than Diamond Rings, Football! One of the reasons for going to Dogfish was to watch the Cowboys game, which was not being shown locally. To say this season has been rough for us Cowboys fans is an understatement, so it was pretty nice that we won. I was excited, until of course I remembered how sad it is to be worried about beating the Lions, and how indicative that is of the terrible mess this season has been. Now I know how Redskins fans feel. So that’s all I need to say about that. Moving on! Later that night...

If Music be the Food of Love...To celebrate my cousin’s birthday, I bought tickets to The Frames’ 20^th anniversary tour at the 9:30 Club. The show was pretty amazing. I love 9:30 because you get to see great bands in a really intimate setting. As always at that venue, there was a pretty eclectic crowd in attendance, which is great for people watching. Unfortunately, we found ourselves standing behind some local college kids who I nicknamed Little Rachel Maddow, Little Janeane Garofalo, and their boring friend. They stood in a little pack doing the same nerd bop (lock hips, bend knees) for every song, and then still doing it when there was no music at all. I’m basically a magnet for freaks.

                Of course, no concert would be complete without the requisite terrible opening act. We have all seen some terrible opening acts, but every now and then we endure one so awkwardly unenjoyable that they stick with us forever (I’m looking at you, Detholz!...who I also experienced at 9:30) Sunday night’s emotional scarring came courtesy of one Jake Clemons. When you walk out on stage and declare “We’re gonna play some ROCK to get you warmed up!” you had better at least pretend to rock. After his declaration of Impending Rockdom, he immediately broke  into a slow acoustic jam and started singing “I never was enough something something until something something about drinking from our wedding cup.” The three of us stared at each other with a complete look of WhatTheFuck? on our faces. His “music” could best be described as an unfortunate blend of David Gray and Counting Crows, with a sad sprinkling of Chris Martin.  His bass player just kind of stood slumped behind him, and at one point I was convinced he was catatonic. 

               The only thing worse than Jake's music was his attempted banter between EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. He would spend five minutes explaining how deep the next song was, which was never the case. At one point my cousin leaned over to ask “If you have to explain that much, doesn’t that mean your lyrics aren’t good?” Excellent point, cousin! My favorite song set-up had to be when he introduced one as being sad and sooooo emotional because it was about a time when a young guy had to deal with his girlfriend’s unexpected pregnancy. It took all my strength not to scream “Ben Folds already did that, you tool!” I wish they had just played Brick over the P.A. instead of letting Jake sing. [Speaking of Brick, why doesn’t WASH FM play that song in the Christmas rotation? It also occurs around Christmas, it has the word "Christmas" in it,  just like the damn Christmas Shoes song. Honestly, if you can justify playing that song just because it happens to take place around December 25, then why not play Brick: “I’ll see your Child Scraping Pennies  to buy his Momma Shoes and raise you one Boy Who has to Pawn his Christmas Gifts to Pay for his Girlfriend’s Secret Abortion That Neither of them Really Want her to Have Which Leads to Nothing but Depression for Everyone!”]Anyway, at long last, those magic words came from his lips: “We’ve got just one more song for you," and SweetFancyMoses, it was about time. I was shocked to look at my watch to see that he had only been on thirty minutes.

Still, I can't be too hard on Jake. He did manage to do one good thing- he made The Frames look even better by comparison. (Not that there was any chance they wouldn't) This was exciting for me, as it was my first time seeing them in concert. For those of you not familiar and  incapable/too lazy to use Google or Wikipedia, The Frames are an Irish rock band whose lead singer, Glen Hansard has appeared in a few films. A few years ago he won an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly from Once. Like Jeff Buckley, he has one of those voices that can make a song sound both uplifting and tragic at once, defiant yet defeated. I am always scared that when I see someone live for the first time they will disappoint me, and all the love I built up for them over the years will dissipate. The moment Glen walked out on stage I knew I would not be let down. When they finally came out on stage the crowd went absolutely insane.The show was unbelievable. And LOUD. In a good way. I think it was the perfect venue for really being able to hear Glen's voice and to really experience their music. They played a really long set, and were really interactive with the crowd. I am a sucker for accents, which made everything they had to say even more funny. 

During the second half of the set they played about five songs in a row with no break at all, just letting the songs bleed into each other, which was really cool. Among the five was Star Star, which was probably my favorite song of the night. In addition to their own songs, they played around a little with covers and random tunes. I am still trying to decide if the best part was when they started singing Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or when they slipped into Billie Jean. A ginger Irishman singing Billie Jean in a crazy falsetto. Marvelous. He even did a little MJ twirl at the mic after one of the "Oooh-hooos!". The nicest surprise was the violin solos, which you don’t usually anticipate at a rock concert, but were really impressive. Being an Irish band, the violin is part of all of their songs, but in concert the violinist, Colm, really stood out.  If you get the opportunity to see The Frames, I recommend it as they put on a great show. If nothing else, you can listen to them for free on Pandora. It was the perfect end to an awesome weekend and a great way to start a short week at work.