Making Progress

So I've been in DC for a full week now and I have made a little bit of progress. In the next two days I should be scheduling two interviews for next week. I'm not going to go into much detail about the interviews in case they don't work out, but I will say that I am pretty excited about one, and not quite as excited about the other. I feel like I have a good shot at both of them, but probably better chances at the one that I am less excited about. Anyway, I am excited to finally have some interviews on the horizon and I am pretty sure that neither of them would be happening if I were still in Colorado instead of here.

My goal for tomorrow is to buy a suit to wear to these and future interviews. In preparation for this I have spent most of the day today online trying to learn about suits since I have never shopped for a suit before. I learned that three-button is sort of the current suit fashion, but almost to the point where it is almost passé. I learned that non-vented tends to look better and sleeker, but might not be as comfortable (but doesn't really have anything to do with ventilation). I learned that flat-front pants are probably better for skinny guys like me, and pleated pants are better for bigger guys but most skinny guys should avoid pleats. I learned that worsted wool generally seems to be the preferred fabric.

Although a few of my more frugal relatives would probably suggest that I go first to the local thrift store for my new suit, I will not be going that route. I think I will start by going to Express on M street in Georgetown even though they don't really have suits and it will probably be a waste of time. I will probably end up buying SOMETHING there anyway though because I seem to have no self-control in that particular store (is it the trendy music that they play in the dressing rooms? who knows...). After Express in Georgetown, I will probably go to Macy's downtown. If Macy's doesn't do it for me, then I will probably go to the Men's Warehouse, which appears to be more expensive, but also probably has a better selection than Macy's.

I am a little bit worried about going solo without a non-biased second pair of discerning eyes, but I also shop better alone because I don't feel like I am wasting someone else's time, so maybe going solo will be good. I'm not really looking forward to spending the money on a suit, but if it helps me land a job more quickly then I guess it is probably worth it.

So things seem to be happening and I am excited about it even if nothing is really set yet. Hopefully I will totally dazzle these people with my awesomeness and they will want me to start right away. Once I get a job squared away, then my next order of business will be to find an apartment to live in. After that, I suppose an awesome girlfriend would be the next order of business.

Ethiopian, who knew?

Last night I went out for Ethiopian dinner with Lisa and William. The last time I had Ethiopian food was when I was 8 and came to DC with my family to visit Lisa and she took us to an Ethiopian restaurant. I remember hating it profoundly and being very crabby. Lisa says that shortly afterwards, I told her in all seriousness that, "it was the worst experience of my life." It has been kind of a joke in our family ever since.

Well, I've grown up a lot in the past 15 years and so when William proposed that we go out for Ethiopian food last night, I was all for it. It ended up being delicious and it might be one of my new favorite kinds of food. I have also looked up how to say "Ethiopian" in Spanish, just in case I find myself needing to ask any Spanish-speaking girls out on a date to Ethiopian food. You never know, can't be too prepared... Incidentally, it is etíope.

Congratulations!

I went to Safeway this morning to buy some groceries. Since I never shopped at Safeway in Colorado, I didn't have a Safeway discount card, so when I checked out at the register, I asked the cashier if I could have one. After filling out the form, she handed me my new Safeway card and congratulated me, "Congratulations sir! Here is your new Safeway Club Card!" I didn't think it was a big deal to get a grocery store discount card, but since she used the word "congratulations" I decided that I should just chock it up as one of my first accomplishments in DC.

First Night + Beer = Fantastic

It might be the several beers that I had tonight at the Sierra Club free beer night at a local bar, but so far, almost 12 hours in, I am LOVING DC. I met more interesting/smart/motivated/attractive people tonight than I have meet in almost a year of being a bus driver in Vail and living in Edwards, CO. I almost can't think of a more perfect way for me to start out what will hopefully be a wonderful new chapter in my life, I am just that pleased. It might be a bit early to pass any judgment, but I think this might be one of the best decisions I have ever made. I think I made a good first impression with at least 9 people, maybe 10. One of them was a pretty attractive dark-haired girl who I suspect speaks Spanish, and another is a lobbyist who deals with transit system issues.

That's all I really have to say about it right now. I have precisely no plans for tomorrow, but I hope it will be awesome! Alright, I'm going to take all of my things off of my bed and put them back into my duffle-bag and go to bed dreaming about how awesome tomorrow might be. Night all!

Packing and Moving

I don't REALLY have time to be blogging right now since I should be furiously sorting/packing/cleaning/tidying, etc...

Last night was my last shift as a Vail bus driver and I'm not feeling any nostalgia yet, but I guess I did only clock out a few hours ago. I have enjoyed being a bus driver and I think I will miss it sometimes. Nonetheless, I am feeling mostly excited about my impending move to DC. Actually, the past few weeks have been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster; most of the time I feel really good about this whole DC move, but sometimes I can't help feeling a little more pessimistic and worrisome about all the unknowns (and sometimes wonder what the hell I am getting myself into).

Anyhow, I am planning to head down to the Denver/Boulder/Berthoud area today before flying out tomorrow morning, but looking around my room I wonder how I am possibly going to finish packing today. My room is a disaster even though I've been "packing" for the past few days now. It would be easier if I were driving out there and could simply throw everything in my car, but since I am flying there I have to decide what to take in my luggage, what will be living at my dad's house, and what needs to just be thrown out or given away.

On that note, I guess I should stop writing this blog and get to packing!

DC and/or Bust!

After a few weeks of pondering, contemplating, calculating, planning, and preparing, I think I am finally committed to moving to DC. A few weeks ago I took the first big step towards making the move when I told my boss that I didn't want to be scheduled for any more shifts (I guess you could say that I quit, but "quitting" sounds so hostile to me for some reason). This morning I finally took the next big step and bought myself a plane ticket. I guess it wasn't a REALLY big step though because thanks to credit card miles the ticket only cost me $50, but still, psychologically it feels like a big step. I feel like I'm committed now. I feel like I'm past the point of no return since it was a non-refundable ticket and there is now way I will ever see that $50 again.

I still have no job or apartment prospects yet, which certainly adds to the stress and uncertainty of the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure it will all work out all right. Even though I don't think they have the space to spare, Lisa and William are being so kind as to let me stay at their place while I look for a place to live. And as for the job, well... I've been sending out a few resumes and cover letters, but have not heard back about anything, which is disconcerting. I'll probably just getting whichever McJob I can after I've been there for a month or so.

So my last day of work is October 21st, and then I'm flying out on the 23rd. Pretty exciting (and a little bit scary)!

Today's video is "Always On This Line" by Sarah Blasko. I first heard of Sarah Blasko not quite a year ago when my sister came back from Australia where she went to one of her concerts. She kind of reminds me of Sarah McLaughlin for some reason, but it might just be because they look a little bit similar and are both named Sarah. As for this video, I think it is neat to watch, but I'm not sure what it is about being in front of a microphone that makes her dance like that... maybe she has some Norwegian blood in her system.

Anniversary

I completely forgot to commemorate this blog's 2-year anniversary a few days ago (October 6th). Last year on that date I posted a "First Anniversary" entry in which I did a fairly thorough analysis of the blogging and commenting that had transpired in the previous 12 months (including a neat Excel graph!). I got a little bit of criticism for being over analytical, so I won't make another month-by-month graph, but I still think it's interesting to look at some stats.

Overall, there seemed to be fewer comments this year compared to last year. Interestingly, the aforementioned "First Anniversary" post had the most comments with a total of 11. In second place was "Useful Degree" with 10 comments. Finally, in third place was "The Wave" which elicited 7 comments. Those numbers are down markedly from last year, but it's probably my own fault for not posting as much as last year.

On the First Anniversary post, I counted 107 total posts, but since then I only count 65 posted entries in this second year. I do, however, have a lot more unpublished "draft" entries, indicating that I was still writing plenty, but I didn't like what I was writing so I didn't publish as much of it.

Like I said, I'm not going to make a month-by-month graph for your viewing pleasure, but there are some month-by-month trends that I notice. Last year I noticed that I tended to post more blog entries when I was busy with school, and I notice that trend again this year as last October through December were noticeably my most prolific months. Those were also the three months when I was going crazy finishing school, working at my linguistics job, AND getting hired and trained for my upcoming bus driving job. Conversely, March, July, and August were all pretty lackluster months. I must have been feeling particularly dejected in July because I wrote a lot of drafts, but only managed to publish three entries; one about a dream date with Judi Dench, another called "Deleted" which almost doesn't even count as a real post because I didn't really even say anything in it, and finally one post about my road rage incident.

Okay, so it looks like I've gone and over-analyzed my blogging habits again this year, but I think it is interesting and I enjoy reflecting upon it a little bit. I also enjoy going back and reading my posts and remembering what I was doing and thinking in months past. Anyway, keep the comments coming because I always enjoy them, and I'll try to keep writing posts, not necessarily for your entertainment, but more because I enjoy reading them months and years afterwards.

Today I'm putting up a video from M.I.A.'s awesome new CD, Kala. The song is called "Jimmy." Like most of her videos, this video is kind of strange, but I think the song (and all the other songs on the album) is pretty cool.

Mercer for President in 2008

My uncle sent me a link for this lesser-known 2008 democratic presidential contender and I just had to pass it along. Hillary and Obama not really doing it for you? Well there IS another choice!

Sadly, this promising candidate isn't even listed in the Washington Post's so-called "full coverage" section on the presidential field... at least not yet anyway...

I am sure that will change when more people discover this man who embodies so much of what I think America wants and needs in a good president. He is smart, articulate, and judging by the size of the American flag on his website, he must also be very patriotic. It is also obvious that he is highly committed to being president and has been chasing this goal his entire life. Here's the #1 reason listed on his "Reasons for Candidacy" page:

"The United States Federal Congress has encouraged me to want to become President of the United States so that I can do what the President of the United States of America is supposed to do and complete the federal and military government biography and autobiography in development in Eye Spy Community-Military Intelligence (All Three) Business and Commerce Intelligence Education across the board National and International."

If you are still floundering about which presidential candidate to support, give Lee L. Mercer Jr. a look. You can read about his stance on all the issues (especially the "Concern of Circumstances" issue) at his website, Mercer for President 2008. Please spread the word and help get this guy elected!

Ankle Injury Update

I went to the ER yesterday to get my ankle checked. Luckily since I hurt it at work it was covered under worker's compensation (which is good because I only have a high-deductible health insurance plan that is pretty much useless unless I have a major health issue).

I don't have a lot of experience in hospitals, but it seemed like a pretty standard visit. My vitals were taken (I was happy to see that I have excellent blood pressure), and then I was wheeled down the hall in a wheelchair to wait for my X-rays. After a few quick X-rays, I waited a while longer to see the doctor and hear the verdict. While I was waiting, some paramedics brought a girl in on a backboard and put her on the bed next to me. They closed the curtain, so I couldn't see much, but I heard everything. She and her husband had hit a patch of ice on the highway and slid into a stopped car on the side of the road. I think she was mostly okay, but I don't know how her husband fared.

Finally the doctor came and told me that I had not broken anything and that it was just a sprain, so I should be back on my feet in a few days and everything should be back to normal in about two weeks. I had been imagining all the worst scenarios, so I was glad to hear that it was just a sprain.