I want to

break free.

weak.

I caved.

I make a pact with myself that I won't listen to Christmas music until Thanksgiving day. Then I can listen to it all I want. This year, I broke. Easy. I was so close! Less than a week away!

The shame.

I needed some Christmas cheer, alright??

Veteran's Day, 2007.

I went into D.C. yesterday and met a man standing by the Vietnam Memorial. He was dressed in his Veteran clothes and was standing in front of a particular part of the wall. I asked him if I could take his picture and he asked me if he could introduce me to his guys. Three of his men were killed, all in their early 20's, when their boat flipped over during a gunfight. He showed me their names in the wall and told me he shows them to kids when they walk by. He asks them how they honor their Veterans, and they tell him, "with respect." He tells them to honor their Veterans by going to school, getting an education, and making something out of themselves. While it's horrible that this man even had to stand there, hopefully something good will come out of him speaking with the children. Hopefully at least one child will listen to him and take it to heart- get an education, make something out of themselves.

So today, on Veteran's Day, respect and remember every soldier we have lost, but also every soldier who has survived and lives on to tell their story. Live your life with meaning and ensure the loss of so many men and women was not in vain.

I am forever appreciative of everything our men and women in uniform have done, and continue to do, in order to protect our country and keep us safe.

silence

Asking for peace and quiet in the middle of a busy office in DC is like asking a vegan to eat a steak and wash it down with some milk.


I need a vacation.

welcome to my life.

US Economy: 2,000. My bank account: 8.

After realizing that should my landlord deposit my rent check before Thursday evening I would have exactly $8.00 in my account, I decided it was time to make a budget plan. Upon further review of my spending:income over the month of October, I have come to the realization that I spent over $2,000 on bills (some of which were emergencies, in my defense), gas, food, and various crap. Unbelievable. This coming from the girl who used to spend no more than $30 a month, and only if forced by peer pressure to go out to dinner a few times. Aye dios mio.

Needless to say, the money train has stopped. I am spending no money on anything but bills, gas, and groceries. Christmas presents will have to wait until December when I've had the month of November to take my bank account away from the brink of extinction. I suppose I felt no qualms about spending because I thought I had so much money all of a sudden. Moral of the story? There is such a thing as having too much of a good thing.

"Sweeeeeeeet Caroline, Woah Oh Oh!..

...Good times never seemed so good, SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD!"


My Red Sox are now the 2007 World Series Champions!

HELL YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!!!

Hush, now....

As disgusting as this weather is, I love it when it rains.

The city is quieter when it rains.

Where's Jim when you need him?

I've been wondering lately, how it is a 20-something who has been in an office environment for only four months now, knows office etiquette better than the federal officer in the next cube over who happens to have 20 years of experience in a certain intelligence agency?

I present my case.

Screaming into your phone about your gutters not being cleaned properly, passing gas rather loudly (on more than one occasion), a mid-morning in-cube manicure... Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy- but can you save the clipping and filing for the privacy of your own bathroom and take some gas-x with your lunch?

Maybe it's my years of shared housing throughout my college years that taught me certain habits are best left behind closed doors- especially in cramped quarters. On a Monday. After four hours of sleep. Who knew those years of shared rooms, bathrooms, tiny kitchens, messy living, being woken up at 3am by your drunken roommate, hearing said roommate have sex 15 feet away, etc., would turn up to mold me into the outstanding office etiquette savvy individual I am today? They do say college builds character! The real test will be if my 9-5 does the same....