You too, can save up to three lives

I gave blood today for the first time. Even though I knew I shouldn't be, I was really nervous beforehand. They had to reboot the computer over three times to get me registered, and I was starting to think it was a sign that I shouldn't give. It finally went through and I ended up having no problems, although I took longer than average to finish.

I had a good experience and highly recommend everyone do it.

Catch Up

Since it's been a while since I've blogged, I'm going to review a couple of highlights from my last month.

Nick visited me at the end of January. We went ice skating on a fountain in the middle of the Sculpture Garden next to the National Gallery on the National Mall. I have been wanting to do this for so long and he was kind enough to humor me. I enjoyed it immensely.



Maria and I went out for a spicy night on the town.



My parents also came out for a visit.



We went to Great Falls. It was beautiful and way more than I expected to find. We were able to hike around and even saw a couple of kayakers go down the falls. Very impressive.



It was wonderful having them visit. I can't wait for them to come again.

Yodes-Jarvis

I had such a great weekend with one of my favorite people of all time, Yodes. Acknowledging the relativeness of distance, living six hours away from her felt incredibly close. Since I have heard so many stories about her life in on "the land" I had to actually see for myself.

When I got there, Rachael gave me a tour including the house, bunnies, and big lake. The bunnies were really cute, I have to admit. And although it was offered, I didn't partake. The area they live in is really beautiful. They are surrounded by so many gorgeous trees including a few palms.

Their house has a really great feel - even though Yodes is not a fan of the "real" tree trunks apparently holding it up. For anyone who knew us when we lived in Haury, you may find some karmic justice in the fact that her house is very cold at night. The entire house is heated by a gas fireplace located in the living room. It is quite cozy except when it is not on - which is every night.





Yodes and I ate some good Thai food with a friend of hers, followed by some crazy madgab. On Sunday Matt joined us for some tasty sushi.

Matt then exceeded all expectations of hospitality by helping me fix my headlight. This turned into way more work than either of us anticipated. We would have failed had it not been for a spicy YouTube video of some guy changing his own headlight to disco music and slow pans.


This is our victory over the headlight picture. Please note our "north carolina cozies". At many points in the headlight changing process we were amazed that we had use of both our hands while still having a beer within reach.

Inaguration

I have gotten a couple of questions about how crazy DC is right now, and all I can say is that I have no idea what it's like. Since today is MLK day and the entire city is shutting down tomorrow, I kind of have a four day weekend. I realize that people are flocking to DC in droves just as I am leaving it, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the time and go visit my friend Yodes in North Carolina. So I left. Yodes and I haven't lived within 5 states of each other in so long, and now that we are relatively close, I hope to see her a lot more.

I'm nervous about getting back into the city. We'll see how it goes.

Montgomery County Library

Yeah! I finally have a local library card again! The entire time I have been living on the east coast I have felt a void, and I finally realized what was needed to fill it. Books. I have accepted the fact that few libraries will be as brilliant as the Denver Public Library. According to Hennen's American Public Library Rating Index, Denver was rated the 7th best library in the nation. The District of Columbia, however, was rated in the bottom 5. Yikes. I'm not exactly sure where Montgomery County ranks in comparison, but my card does include access to all District of Columbia libraries. While I may not have the service and selection I so came to appreciate in Denver, it is still library access, for which I am excited. And even though I only got my card today, my hold list is already growing.

So good in their day

View with caution. . . I was inspired to take this trip down memory lane by an episode of He-Man I ran across.

Texas

I've been back just long enough to make new travel arrangements and will by flying to Houston on Wednesday. This time I'm not traveling for a conference but to do some work with a Crisis Counseling Program following Hurricane Ike. I'm very excited. Should be spicy.