Friday, March 27, 2009

Happy Birthday to all and to all a good night...

It’s after midnight, so I’ll only write a little bit here before going to bed. Today was a fabulous day, both at work and at home, despite my accomplishing very little besides turning in the three papers I had already written and working a little bit on the fourth one, due next week. I really want to get it done earlier, though, so I can concentrate on the research paper next week and the week after. It’s hard to believe that the semester is really drawing to an end. I’ll definitely miss Washington D.C., but I’m also really excited about going home and seeing the family. And I can’t believe how wonderful it is to have such a light workload. Only one twenty-page paper and then I’m practically done!!!! Amazing, right?

Anyway, the main reason why today turned out so well was that it was my supervisor’s birthday at work. Ergo, at least half the day was spent in partying: We had TWO cakes AND, for the first time, I went out with my supervisors to lunch! We walked to Chinatown and find a nice Chinese restaurant, where I ordered something relatively safe-sounding with noodles and vegetables, which turned out to be 1) very large 2) hot, 3) difficult to eat, 4) not what I had been wanting, and 5) all of one taste. But I managed to eat it and like it anyway. Someday I’ll get the knack of ordering Chinese food, I promise! Until then, though, a picture menu would be really nice...

It rained today, also, which was kind of nice since it gave me the first real opportunity to use that sturdy umbrella sent to me by my loving family. I used it on the way to work, and then just enjoyed getting wet on the way home—it makes my hair a little curly and just feels lovely and refreshing! Rain, glorious rain—I’ve really missed it in Utah!

I stayed at work a few minutes late to finish some stuff, and then walked home just in time for the Kennedy Center concert at 6. Only it wasn’t a concert—it was some high school group performing “The Taming of the Shrew” in one act, and an original skit called “Variations on a Scene,” wherein maybe 10 couples acted out different versions of the same story. It got a little boring after couple number 7, but I stuck around until about 6:55, and I was sitting in one of the very back seats where I had to strain to even hear them, so that says something.

After the performance, I got some oatmeal at Safeway (can you believe I’ve run out of both the oatmeal packets from home!?! The end really IS coming!) and went home. I packed a bag—Valerie’s bag, since I didn’t have one of my own—for our Philadelphia trip tomorrow, and am excited to be going to Valley Forge and Independence Hall. I will try to take pictures and post them more diligently over the weekend, but please be patient with me. The pictures from the Capitol turned out pretty rotten, and I do not know yet how cooperative my camera will be. Fortunately, we’re still planning to have a picture party at the end of the semester, wherein I will hopefully be able to acquire a lot of better-quality pictures of the places we’ve been.

As for the birthday thing mentioned in the title, I found out when I got home that it was Jamie’s birthday (have I mentioned Jamie on this blog before...? Yes, yes, I have), and that she had run into someone on the Metro whose birthday was also today, AND it was Valerie’s dad’s birthday (so she called him on the phone and we all sang to him...sorry Dad, I wasn’t quick-thinking enough to have them do the same for you on Valentine’s Day)! And I seem to recall it being Julie Hughes’ birthday a day or so ago..........sooooooo Happy belated birthday to you, Julie!

1 comment:

Kirsti said...

I was kinda flattered until I realized that the "to all" in the title excluded me after all. *sigh*

Good luck with the Chinese food thing; I can't figure it out how to order excellent Chinese food even when the menu is in English.

I notice that your comments and the "Posted by" indicate that you blogged after midnight... does that mean you were successful in convincing your blog to post more truthfully? Congratulations, Rufers -- you are an inspiration to us all!