The only picture I took all weekend	March 28, 2006

I am lovin’ my camera, but this weekend I just wasn’t whipping it out like I should be. I swear to you, I did loads of fun and exciting things, but this sad and lonely-looking photo is the only one I took. And I took it while drunk (big surprise). At RFD, on Saturday night. While Steve was in the bathroom.

That’s my glass of Hoegaarden so prominently featured – it is my favorite beer. I am a huge fan of pretty much any Belgian White – Hoegaarden, Allagash, Ommegang… and that Seasonal White that Sam Adams has out right now isn’t so bad. I’ll drink Blue Moon in a pinch, but I don’t like the flavor as much. I would never pretend that I am any sort of beer snob (put a Coors Light in from of me, and yes I will drink it), but I do have my favorites.

Years ago, this nutty little Jew I know named Joe told me that it’ll never do for me to try to pass myself off as an art snob while drinking beer – respectable art snobs drink wine, or cosmos, or whatever. I’m not a fan of wine. I’ll have white wine with my holiday turkey dinner or such, but that’s about it. And I think most mixed drinks are too sweet or taste too much like Windex or something (though I do enjoy an occasional gin & tonic). So I drink beer, sometimes in large quantities. This article says that that makes me “experimental and constantly creative in thought and behaviour.” I’ll take it.

As promised... H-I-L-A-R-I-T-Y	March 23, 2006

As I mentioned a few days ago, there was a St. Patrick’s Day party, and there were pictures taken, and it is time for me to share them. This party was on Friday at O'Levy's Irish Pub (aka Jon's House), and Steve and Janet provided the evening’s musical accompaniment. In true rockstar girlfriend fashion, I ensured that their performance was well documented.

	Masked Marvel (aka Steve and Janet) serenaded us with olde Irish tunes. In this picture, I think that they look like elementary school music teachers, and that makes me laugh.
	Here you see all the folks wearing green and enjoying the music while drinking green beverages in a very well-decorated room.
	And here you see what Steve looks like when he is belting out a Tenacious D song.
	Here are drunken party-goers singing along to the olde Irish songs. I think this was the one with the cats and rats and elephants, or whatever.
	More folks watching the show (I think, actually, in this picture, they are watching Steve drink his Irish car bomb because we didn't mess up during Finnegan's Wake).
	Even after the singing ended, the Irish car bombs continued...
	And then Paul spits fire. I sincerely wish I could've gotten this picture to turn out better (I am still learning how to use my camera's bells and whistles). So those are some of the pictures - maybe not the most hilarious set of photos ever, but a good indication of what an entertaining Friday night looked like.

Food Glorious Food	March 21, 2006

Up until last night, I’ve had kind of an Old Mother Hubbard thing going on. I’ve developed this tendency to stop at Whole Foods on my way home from work and pick up the things that I need to make dinner for that night, rather than stocking up my cupboard in any respectable fashion. I love to cook, and I’ve been pretty annoyed by this inefficient system that I’ve got going. It leads me to go out to eat more than I should.

Last night, I bit the bullet and went to Giant after work. I spent over $100 (if you include the cashback* that I got to pay for the cab ride home), and I now have a fridge that is bursting with goodness. This makes me waaay happier than it should. Once previously, I posted on the subject - going grocery shopping really shouldn’t be something that I get so excited about, but it does, and I can’t help it. I got home, unpacked all my stuff, and stood in my kitchen marveling at how many dinner choices I had. It was overwhelming. (Note: The photo above prominently features the great big bowl that my friend Stephanie gave me as a housewarming present last year, as well as my beloved lime green kitchen table. Currently, the fruit bowl contains one fewer orange, one fewer banana, and no zucchini, ‘cause I ate them all).

*Cashback was my pick of the Oscar-nominated live-action shorts, and you can download it from iTunes for $1.99. I also recently read that they’re turning it into a feature-length film.

Cables, chargers, connectors	March 19, 2006

In the wake of the Katrina disaster, I found myself sitting in my living room one day, thinking about what I would do if I was told I had 15 minutes to pack up my life into a suitcase and scramble out the door. It occurred to me that in such a stressful situation, I’d be likely to forget some stuff. So I jotted down a list. Here are the first 10 items on that list:

1. The Envelope (where I keep my passport, SS card, birth certificate, etc.)
2. Laptop
3. Laptop power cord
4. Cell phone
5. Cell phone charger
6. iPod
7. iPod AC adaptor
8. iPod connector cable
9. SoundDock
10. SoundDock power cord

Now that I have a digital camera, I’d probably add it, its battery charger, and its USB connector as items 11-13. It’s funny how these things all precede clothing, toiletries, and family photos (though those things did make the list).

It’s Sunday, and Steve and I were supposed to connect last night, but the gods of starter motors decided that we weren’t meant to. This means that I am separated from my weekend bag, which contains my cell phone charger, my digital camera’s USB connector and its battery charger. Which means I’m totally fucked. The two things that I’d like to do most right now are make a slew of phone calls (Michele, Robin, and Mom, you top that list, FYI) and upload my H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S St. Patrick’s Day photos to my blog. But, I can’t. So I’m bummed.

Other things I feel like yakking about… Did any of my fellow NW DC residents lose sleep last night because of that helicopter? Beginning at about 4:00 this morning, there was this helicopter making a circle whose circumference fell directly above my apartment building, flashing it’s search light through my blinds every 2 minutes or so. A circling helicopter can never be a good thing – outside of being loud and flashy, it left me somewhat freaked out and unable to get back to sleep.

This morning, I forced myself to watch Requiem for a Dream. It’s one of those movies that I knew I should see, so I added it to my Netflix list, and it actually arrived at my apartment weeks ago, but I haven’t had the desire to watch it. I had heard that it was really rough and depressing, and throughout the movie I was thinking, “What’s all the fuss about? It’s kinda weird, but not that bad.” And then I hit that last 15 minutes. God damn. That’s an anti-drug commercial if I’ve ever seen one.

Pedestrian Etiquette, or… Pedetiquette!	March 16, 2006

I don’t have a car. My boyfriend has a car, and I do spend a lot of time in his company, but when I am not, you better believe that whatever I am doing, I am doing on foot. I walk to and from work everyday, which Yahoo Maps says is 1.7 miles each way, but it certainly doesn’t feel that far. If it is raining or I am burdened with groceries or something, I’ll take the bus, but typically, I spend a lot of time on sidewalks.

For the most part, I love this. I love that I get some exercise while I am making transportation happen. I love that I get to spend a little time outdoors, rocking out with my iPod. I love that I’m being kind to the environment and I get to feel all urban with my fellow sidewalk-junkies. I see the pissed-off folks in their cars, honking and pounding their steering wheels as yet another dumbass turns from the wrong lane in Thomas Circle. I pity them and their road-rage.

But I do sometimes feel something that is somewhat similar – I guess you’d call it sidewalk-rage. When I am on a sidewalk, I am trying to get somewhere. And there are always these people in my way. I am tall, and when I have a destination, I tend to walk pretty fast. There are these slow-walking people who haunt my sidewalks, and I have something to say to them…

If I go blazing past you at lightning speed, but shortly thereafter, we both find ourselves stopped at a Don’t Walk sign, you will note that I will not meander out into the street in desperate anticipation of a break in traffic that I can run through. I am a sane and civil individual, and I will wait on the curb like Officer Friendly told me to. This does not mean that you should stroll up and stand directly in front of me, only to resume your slow-walking once the sign says Walk. ‘Cause I’ll just have to pass you again at lightning speed – didn’t you see me do that the first time?

There. I’ve said it. This sounds suspiciously like those stand-up comics who dig into folks who drive slow in the left lane, which is the lamest form of comedy out there. But I never claimed to be a comedian, really.

Ich bin frei! Ich bin frei!	March 14, 2006

There’s a scene in Antonio’s Line where the priest has just left the priesthood and is running through the streets casting his robes aside, yelling the above (in Dutch, ‘cause it’s a Dutch movie). That’s about how I feel right now (free, that is, not Dutch).

Many of you have recently had to hear me whine about my fear of being selected for jury duty for a 16-week trial. And today, the judge excused me. I can’t say why he did it with any sort of certainty, but when I was called in for my interview, he asked me to clarify some of my previous responses, in which I expressed my concern about the trial’s violent subject matter, and how it may cause me to get emotional. So maybe that’s what got me excused? But yeesh – I have a hard time imagining that anyone wouldn’t say that. “Oh, murder? Violence? Photos of bloody crime scenes? Yeah! Bring ‘em on!” So who knows. I’m just happy that I don’t have to think about it anymore.

Now you all are wondering, “Goodness…. what the hell kind of trial is she talking about?” I know that, since I am now excused, I am allowed to talk about it, but I just kinda don’t feel like I should on my blog. So, call me if you wanna know the dirt.

My weekend in photos	March 13, 2006

Though I could’ve been far more militant about it than I was, I made an attempt to do a thorough job of documenting my weekend. There were big gaps where I was far less camera-ready than I should’ve been (say, for example, all of Sunday). But here, for your viewing pleasure, is an average weekend in the life of Ellen:
Friday was a very dull day at the office. I kept getting distracted by the gorgeous sunny weather outside and this gargantuan construction site that I stare at when I am bored. I had a lot of stuff to do, and I was doing it, but the whole time I was doing it I was also staring at the clock. Once 5:30 struck, I bolted to the metro, went to meet Steve, and we went for Mexican food (which all sane people start to crave once the weather gets warm).
And then we headed to the bar where some friends of ours were going to be playing. But we were early. So we played pool and smoked to pass the time.
Then we saw some total rock stars doing their rock star thing: The Alphabetical Order, Estilo, and Erik Bradford.
After the show, our beloved buddy Chuck invited us back to his house to play Jenga. When we got there, however, unpleasantness, and not Jenga, was waiting for us. I’ll spare you the details, but here are two tidbits of wisdom I picked up that night: 1) one should never start their evening by single-handedly consuming two bottles of wine; and 2) that Febreeze air-sanitizing stuff is a godsend.
Saturday was another gorgeous day – we opened the windows in the marning, which created more sill-space for the kitty to sit on. He’s into that.
My day got going with the sad sad realization that my favorite pair of comfy brown shoes had bit the dust – the sole was worn straight through. And where else do you go when you’re in need of shoes?? DSW! Since the weather had been so warm, my desire to buy a replacement pair of comfy brown shoes was quickly replaced by a desire to buy comfy brown sandals. Voila.
After putting the shoes back in the box and lacing up my hiking shoes, Steve and I went to Wakefield park for a little afternoon hike. For the most part, the landscape was still pretty gray and wintery (and peppered with deadly-looking power lines and conductors and the like), but signs of spring showed through in a few places. And thanks to the wonders of Digital Macro, I was able to capture the teeniest signs (the white flowers in the picture below are each about one inch tall).

That night, we went to dinner with Steve’s brother, and then we went to see The Hills Have Eyes (which is not a film that I would say I highly recommend). Sunday we did a whole bunch of shopping in Tyson’s Corner, met up with some buddies in from out of town to eat Italian food before watching the Sopranos premiere. We also watched the premiere of Big Love, which is interesting, but I can’t say I am in love with it (yet). All of these things were entertaining, but I neglected to document any of them – I need to get in the habit of irritating everyone everywhere by snapping pictures of everything!

The coolest toy in the world	March 9, 2006

I love my new camera. Not only is it tiny and sexy, it has nifty features that probably all cameras have nowadays, but they’re new and exciting to me.

My favorite so far is the “Digital Macro” mode. If you take pictures in this mode, it allows you to get extraordinarily close to your subject and still remain in focus. See my artful desktop still lifes below:

Regular mode:	Digital Macro:
Regular mode:	Digital Macro:

Ah… and this is just the beginning! I’ve only made it to page 6 of the manual and I’m already overwhelmed by all the coolness. It’s like I’ve finally become a complete person.

Coming soon... content!	March 6, 2006

Gotta love it when mom comes to town. Feeling somewhat guilty at the fact that she will soon be spending a bunch of money on my brother (I simply must call him and thank him!), my mom offered to buy me a present while she was in town. This was unexpected! I recently got a promotion at work (‘cause I rock), and was planning on buying myself a digital camera once I got my first post-promotion paycheck. But instead, I suggested that mom could buy me that as my present… and she did!

Here she is: The Canon PowerShot SD450. My oh my is she tiny (3.4 x 2.1 x 0.9 inches) and snappy-looking. It’s mega-bizarre that I have never had a digital camera of my own. Every freaking job I have had in the past 5 years required me to do some photo work. I’m a freaking graphic designer. I had a freaking darkroom in my basement growing up. It’s just sad. So here I am, 27 years old, finally coming into what I feel is my birthright, more or less.

Anyway, I expect that I may go a little nuts at first – look! my shoes! look! a street sign! look! my stapler! – but I feel that will be a good thing for this blog, since I’ve gotten so lazy about posting. Now I’ve got a new gimmick to breathe life into this thing!

We had to backorder the camera – it should arrive within a few days. Keep your eyes peeled…