Before the Crack

I got up at my usual time this morning (6:30 am) and was faced with the age-old choice: get out of bed or hit the snooze. I thought about my average snoozing time, and realized just how much I could get done every morning if I just rolled out of bed. Feeling inspired, I turned off the alarm, got up, and went for a run around my neighborhood. I can't believe how dark and cold it was! There was not even a hint of a rising sun anywhere. I can't say this experience will cause me to shorten my snooze time in the long run.

Last night I was going to attend the High-Heel Drag Race (exactly what it sounds like), an annual event in DC. However, "visible smoke" spotted on the red line metro prevented me getting there. Bummer.

The Finished Product

Here are my pie and little loaf of bread.

Yummy. . .

I am currently overwhelmed with the good smells of baking bread and apple pie. I am anxiously waiting for both of these items to come out of the oven, and can hardly stand the tempting aroma. Besides these two culinary delights, I also made a very tasty fruit smoothie this morning. I have spent more time cooking today than I have cumulatively for the past six months. I also may have gotten my fill for the next six.

Bet on Red

Atlantic City was a great trip. It was a fun city to visit and suprisingly productive.



The beach was fantastic, even though it was so cold.



So. . . when he heard I was going to Atlantic City, Nick told me to bet $100 on red. I didn't take this seriously. Roulette has never been my choice in a casino. In addition - betting $100 dollars at once goes against every Mennonite bone in my body. Today was the last day of our conference, and I had gotten through the trip losing less than $30 in slots. After the conference ended we packed up, had all of our stuff in the car, and were ready to leave without any roulette. At the last minute I drug my co-worker back into the casino. After twenty minutes of staring at the roulette table, I finally stepped up, changed some money, and bet $100 on red. And I won. I took my $200 and got as far away from the casino as I could. Here's a pic of me and my winnings.

My Mom, the Rock Star

Having finally gotten around to uploading some pictures, I want to share from a great weekend I had about a month ago. My mom came out to visit me. It was awesome to have her here and to explore a little more of the city with her. Reprising our first trip to DC about twelve years ago, we did some paddle boating on the tidal basin.


My housemates and I also introduced my mom to Rock Band. This is her playing some Aerosmith - definitely a natural rocker.



We also bought me a dresser and chair from Ikea, the assembly of which consumed an entire evening.

I can't wait for her to come back!

Atlantic City!

Woo-hoo! I'm in Atlantic City. I'm here to attend a conference for work. We have a small event tonight, but most of the day has been spent getting here, gambling, and checking out the city. I'm staying at the Tropicana - the "most exciting casino in Atlantic City". That's according to them, however, so I'll wait awhile before I concur. It is looking promising, though. It's pretty nice to be right on the beach, although I feel like I would enjoy that a lot more at a different time of the year. So far I've checked out the boardwalk, some Trump Casino, Caesar's, and the Wild West Casino. All very spicy.

What exactly do I do?

Before I even got this job I was discussing with my good German friend Raphael what exactly "technical assistance" is. He could not conceptualize the use of the word "technical" to mean anything beyond having to do with technology. He made a good point. However, as a technical assistance specialist, I do very little with technology, and still manage to fulfill my job description.

So far I would say that my job takes on two major functions - helping states implement crisis counseling following a disaster and improving how we do crisis counseling. The latter being a fairly lofty goal that I certainly won't fulfill on my own.

Did that clear everything up?

Ikea

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some of my favorite cousins while eating sweedish meatballs and shopping for scandinavian modern style furniture. Amy, Jonathan, and Chelsae all made the trek to Virginia to shop at Ikea, where I joined them. It was so good to see them! This is the closest I've lived to any cousin in a long while.

Besides that, the job is going very well. I'm still in the pretty steep part of the learning curve, but getting there. It's really interesting, and hopefully that will continue.