Cleaning up my files

Here's a short clip I took on one of my last leisurely walks around Prague. Yes, you might say I'm still in mourning.

In other news, I just got back from eating Maryland crabs (albeit out of season) with my roommate Jordana (originally from Manila, Philippines), her mom and 4 aunts, and our friend Heather. Jordana's mom and aunts (all a year apart) happen to be having a sisters week together on the east coast. It's always a treat when you actually get to put names with faces. I've heard so much about Jordana's mom, her Tita Tessie and Tita Dolly, married to a Polish-American with a daughter named Krysia, and all the other titas and cousins. Let's see I think I now know how to say "older sister" in Tagalog and Korean. Filipino culture, with its Spanish influence, is rather warm for Asia. Similar to Spain and France, you give everyone a peck on the cheek even if it's the first time you meet them. I truly love America's diversity.

And, now back to Praha.

On the lighter side - BoSox Fan Gets Hit With Flying Pizza - I Kid You Not

Okay, I think we're all in need of a little levity. Get a kick out of this foul ball mishap with flying beer and pizza at a recent Boston Red Sox/Los Angeles Angels game at Fenway... I don't know how or why I was on You Tube, but somehow I came across this gem. My favorite part starts around the 1:20 mark (approximately). It provides good, deep, raucous laughter. At least it did in my case! The network game announcers add some rather amusing commentary... a bit in the vein of Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk on National Public Radio. Enjoy.

Today was an odd day or was it typical? I sometimes get overwhelmed with life here in D.C. By that, what do I mean? Well, for instance, I went out to grab a bite of lunch and decided to try a new place down the street called Pot Bellies. They make a really tasty sandwich and very yummy shakes and smoothies. However, getting the sandwich can be a rather trying experience. For starters, you stand in a wrap around line or queue. As you near station one, a guy yells out at you something like, "Maam, what can I get you?". They he yells at the next 5 people behind you. Lucky me, I'm a quick learner. Once I yelled my order back and got up front, I realized that if I wanted a smoothie that this was my opportunity to make that known. So the guy shouts my order down to the end of the food servers' line. Miraculously, after I pass through the sandwich making stations I get to the end of the line where I pay for my tuna on whole wheat and mention I ordered a smoothie. The clerk turns and comes back with my boysenberry smoothie. I give her my card and the transaction is complete. I've got my goods and I think I've got my sanity.

Do we really need to yell at each other? Is it really necessary to process as many people as possible as quickly as possible through the line? I guess that's business. But, it almost seems mechanical. Granted it was rather efficient, but it was loud and boisterous and I felt like cattle being herded by some cowboy, only without the hat and lasso. And, all this, despite the fact a live folk artist played her guitar in the background. I'm sure the restaurant is aware of the managed chaos that ensues every day and this live music is a way to calm the stressed out souls waiting in line. Because, after all, we only have a 45-minute lunch break. Well, here's just a thought for all you would-be restauranteers ... there is a dearth of food places in Southwest DC so open up a few more good ones! The photo is not DC, by the way, but New York City, the view from on top the German House, looking out over the East river and Queens.

Today was off for other reasons. Instead of stories of yet another suicide bomber in Iraq, Morroco, Algeria, or Afghanistan, today's tragic news that filled the airwaves in the States was that over 30 people (mainly young students) perished at Virginia Tech University at the hand of a young assassin. I immediately thought of my hair stylist Kim's daughter who is a freshman there. I hope and pray her young daughter is safe. What a horrible, horrible tragedy for the university, community, and country as a whole. Violence seems to be the top story no matter where you turn these days... world news, national news, local news. It's constantly in our faces. I expect tomorrow that I will wake up to NPR and hear about -- yes, you guessed it --yet more violence.

Last week I watched the movie "Blood Diamond" about the civil war in Sierra Leone, child soldiers, and conflict diamonds (literally blood diamonds). I was particularly struck by a profound couple of sentences the diamond smuggler Danny Archer speaks to the American journalist Maddie Bowen. Archer, in a moment of deep reflection on the continent of his birth and his life experiences, remarks "Sometimes I wonder if God will forgive us for the things we do to each other. But, then I think, God left this place a long time ago." Archer is referring to the violent conflict and mess that seems endemic to much of Africa, in this case the Sierra Leone civil war in 1999. I happened to discuss this with my friend Heather who pointed me to Corrie ten Boom's "The Hiding Place", the true story of about the ten Boom family and their efforts to safeguard and provide shelter to Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland. Heather reminded me of the words Betsie ten Boom spoke to her sister Corrie as they lay in lice-infested barracks in the concentration camp Ravensbruck: “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”

Through my eyes

So, lucky you. I seem to have insomnia.

Can someone please tell me what our friend Punxsutawney Phil had to say back on ground hog's day? Mother Nature has proven to be a mean temptress this year. We have a few beautiful days here and there and now I hear word of the possibility of snow flurries in coming days? Now I love the white stuff, but I'd really like to enjoy DC amidst the sunshine of a comfortably warm spring day.

Funny things always seem to happen on the metro. Some days I get packed in like a sardine. Usually this requires exercising my nascent surfing skills. Getting a pole or something to hang onto is not necessarily a given. So far, I've survived relativly unscathed. However, there were one or two episodes where I fell into the person next to me (no one very dashing, unfortunately), but I have to say I've learned a lot from the likes of "Blue Crush" and "Point Break" or perhaps it was Pee Wee Herman in my childhood days. But seriously, making a bit of a game of it, that is testing my balance, really helps me take my mind off the fact that 7 times out of 10, I get motion sick from the frequent stopping and jolting back and forth. Yeah, I probably need the patch or something. When it get's really bad, I tend to think back to a joke told by my old high school friend Jason Radice. Jason loved to joke about going to an amusement park and riding one of those pendulum-like pirate boats and pretending he needed to vomit. Hmmm, I wonder if I could get people to back off and make some space?

This morning's metro ride I was inundated with Boy Scouts. They took up all the seats! To their credit (and the leadership of their Scout masters) the young cub scouts were rather well behaved, all decked out in their respective badges, scarfs, and regalia. Of course, they were boys, and boys will be boys. I heard a good number of giggles along the way, but nothing too outrageous. Just a bunch of boys enjoying the ride, especially being out of the confines of school.

As for me, I actually latched on to a pole and listened to Billie Holiday while I attempted to read part of The Washington Post's freebie, The Express. I read a short article about the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic achievement, paving the way for the integration of major league baseball. A number of hall-of-famers in the article lamented the fact that many young African American boys today grow up not even knowing what Robinson did. Many former players and sports writers are particularly concerned that current African American participation in the sport has dropped to a historic low of 8 percent. The Post's Michael Wilbon argues that baseball "is being passed over instead of passed down". Rather, basketball and LeBron's 90 million dollar contract with Nike -- even before stepping foot on the court --seem to have the upperhand with African American youth.

These are definitely fast times we seem to be living in. What does Ferris Bueller say? "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." As I ride the metro this morning with all the other Virginia commuters, scurrying to work with our mp3 players, BlackBerry devices, books, newspapers, briefcases, laptops, and magazine numero uno, The Economist, when I stop and think about it, I guess I'm pretty glad for the boy scouts. I'm glad they distract me from my morning rush. I'm glad I take a moment to watch them peer through the metro train's windows. After all, you never know what you might be missing.

Easter Sunday

Here I am with my mom at the Washington National Cathedral on Easter Sunday. We attended an Easter Organ recital in the Cathedral nave.

Mom and Dad amidst the cherry blossoms. It was rather cold and windy!

A little wind-blown I am, but nevertheless!

Did you know that the cherry blossom is the symbol of the Japanese samurai?

Our Last and Hopefully Final Snowfall for the Season

Not to confuse you or maybe I am intentionally doing so hehehehehe, but making up for lost time, here are a few pictures of our last and we hope final snowfall of the season. I forget the exact date, but I believe it was the day of the Oscars. What a marker! All I remember is that church was actually canceled and I threw an impromptu dinner party for my friends in the neighborhood!This is the entrance to my friend Heather's apartment looking out from our living room window.

The stairs leading out from our apartment building door. This white stuff was a surprise!

Of course, I was the one out documenting the snowfall. Contrary to my childhood years of shoveling snow, I left this up to my neighbors this time around! Below is our snow-covered street of North Calvert.

Guss' Pickles

A few weeks back I wrote about my trip to NYC and our 30 minute wait for pickles. Well, here are pictures of Stephanie's pickle travails. Only in NYC! And, oh for the love of a dill!

Washington's Cherry Blossoms

On Wednesday I decided to take a long jaunt from my apartment in CourtHouse to the Tidal Basin. Here is the Jefferson memorial amidst the cherry blossoms. This is by far the most beautiful time of year in D.C.

Life after the last 3 months

So, perhaps you're wondering, where is Christine these days? Short answer: I've been laying low. After working really, really hard these last few months (when I say hard I don't necessarily mean the hours but the pressure, stress, and intensity of the position), I realized a good healthy break was in order. That is what this week has been. Monday I went to the Washington Nationals opening season baseball game against the Florida Marlins. Of course, the Marlins would beat the Nationals 9-2, but it was an amazing day for a game, sunny, dry, 80 degrees. What better way to inaugurate one's week off than a game at the ballpark. There's something about the energy of the fans, their bright red and blue shirts, their youthful enthusiasm, sometimes overly aggressive cheering, and of course, the compulsory wave. When you enter the stadium you are transported into a different world where only the pitcher, batter, ump, and the other 8 men on the field, the balls, strikes, hits, foul balls, frankfurters, sausages, and ice cold beer matter. You could be sitting next to a lawyer, a UPS man, a dentist, a doctor, a teacher, a butcher, an engineer, a waitress, or a 12-year old on spring break. That's the joy and the wonder of the baseball park.

The rest of the week I've had a combination of catching up with people, taking care of errands that have piled up, cleaning the apartment, and having some quality quiet time, reflecting on Holy Week. Today I actually took a leisurely walk to the Tidal Basin which is home to many of DC's famous cherry blossom trees. It took a good chunk out of my day, but it was worth it. I love the fact I can walk from my little old apartment to downtown DC, to the heart of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall and to the Tidal Basin. Now, most people who live in Arlington, VA might find me a bit extreme (it took me close to 3 hours for the whole trip), but if you know ME, you know I love to WALK. I'm a believer. Yes, I took a good number of pictures of the cherry blossoms, but I shall wait to post them. You know, I'd like you to come back to read so there needs to be a lure.

As for finishing up work, I have to say last Friday was the one of, if not the best, last day I've ever had. I basically closed up shop and took every advantage of connecting with people before I left. I went with three other colleagues for lunch at Mount Vernon, where we sampled some of George Washington's original whiskey recipe and indulged in southern cuisine. I have to say this Yank is getting a bit soft around the edges! These southerners sure know how to make a fine barbecued shredded beef and scrumptious little pumpkin and spice tarts. Driving back along the George Washington Parkway along the Potomac river, I was in awe of the natural beauty of this area. When you sit in a cubicle most of your day, you forget that this whole other world exists. I definitely needed this breath of fresh air.

Friday after work my colleagues at work took me and another PMF Brad out for drinks. It was simply a fun time to have all the conversations we never quite got to in the work environment because, naturally, there is no time for such talk. Or maybe that is just me stuck in my stress bubble! Anyway, I was really touched by the people who came out and the open doors to several friendships. I'm happy to say Brad is returning to his respective federal agency which is also located in what some people affectionately term the 'fed get' (federal ghetto - a sterile couple of blocks along Independence where a number of agencies are situated). So, it looks like I'll have a lunch buddy now and then. I walked away on Friday night breathing a sigh of relief that this chapter was finished and on a good note and that I was blessed by making yet a few more friends. I do hope we'll keep in touch. Actually, I think I'm on the hook as a result of one conversation to organize a breakfast for Faiza with my mother's famous belgian waffles sometime in the near future.

A final note on my rotational assignment: it was one of the most challenging things I've done, working press issues, being out of my element, thrown into a frying pan of sorts with deadlines and curve balls around every corner. To say the least, it stretched me beyond my limits. I don't know about you guys, but do you ever feel like you're in over your head? Do you ever wonder how on earth and why you have been placed in a certain position? Well, I often have those thoughts. And, at those times I dream of life as a barrista. Starbucks from what I understand has a generous benefits package for its employees.

Well, I've been humbled -- that is the best way to describe it. But, I'm also leaving feeling incredibly privileged to have served (albeit briefly) with my colleagues during this critical time in our nation's foreign policy. And, yet again, I'm immensely grateful for God's sustaining strength during this time.

Now on to Good Friday tomorrow and meeting up with my parents in Baltimore.

Wishing you a very blessed Easter.

Christine