summer reading list

compiled from kramerbook's visits, talks while walking through Georgetown and along the tidal basin, and recommendations from some DC heavy hitters. plus my own thoughts.

1776, David McCullough
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama
No Apology, Mitt Romney
Going Rogue, Sarah Palin
This I Believe, NPR
Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
Don't Take the Last Donut, Judith Bowman
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
Arrow of God, Chinua Achebe
Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum
Persuasion, Jane Austen
I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
Stones into Schools, Greg Mortenson
Angels and Demons, Dan Brown

suggestions? critiques? let's hear it. this is the summer of books.

provo (does not equal) dc

disclaimer: this is a total downer. i just need to get it out of my system and then i'll be fine. i'm glad i'm here. really. i just have a lot of feelings.

not once have I heard a motorcade, or even sirens.
the cars here don't stop when you walk out into the road
everywhere seems so empty. where are the people, people?
the boys seem so young in their plaid shorts and polos. maybe they should wear fancy suits all the time.
I feel old. quite old. But up until 2 weeks ago, I felt quite young.
there are mountains and parking lots, instead of monuments and history
Coming up on the columns of the Maeser Building is not as cool as coming up on the columns of the Lincoln Memorial.
You can't just open the door of your apartment and yell out into oblivion and have someone answer you, like in the Barlow. (trust me, I tried. total failure)
Where are the minorities?

but there are some familiar things, like Barlow friends, hard beds, and garbage trucks outside my window at 7:15 am. and seeing old friends sure does feel good.

adjusting. takes time.
tomorrow will be better.

(packing...my favorite hobby)

DC to Denver
(layover)
Denver to Seattle
Seattle to Spokane
Spokane to Seattle
Seattle to Salt Lake

5 planes, 9 days. oh boy.

Tomorrow marks my return after a four-month hiatus from Provo. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I am however, getting really good at telling how heavy a suitcase is just by lifting it, and airport security pretty much knows me by name.

Also I changed my blog header today, because "destination:dc" doesn't really apply anymore. welcome to my post-washington life.

let's go to Canada, let's leave today

My mom and I took Five Iron Frenzy's advice and took a trip to Canada yesterday.
Our goal: the Vancouver LDS temple open house.

It was windy and wet, but the temple is incredibly beautiful, and there is such a special spirit that comes from it. The members were all so excited to finally be getting a temple in British Columbia.
Yay for Canada, even though I didn't get a stamp in my passport and it took over an hour to cross the border. I'm not a terrorist.

DC recap...

From the Capitol

to the White House,

New York

to Valley Forgeto Gettysburg,Snow-mageddon

to wonderful springtime,I mingled with some big-whigs,but really just loved living with some of the best people ever.
love DC
love the Barlow

It was in DC that I learned how to think, how to question and how to know what I believe.
It was in DC that I learned about politics, culture and people.
I grew and learned so much about myself.
I thrived on city life.
I figured out with certainty what I want to do with my life.
I learned how to be productive, but still enjoy life. Diligent, but adventurous.
I strengthened my relationship with my Savior.
I learned to be professional.
I lived with 40 stranger who quickly became some of my favorite people in the world.
I laughed, danced and sang my way through city streets and the Metro.
I loved my life.

What a blessing it was to spend the best semester ever in Washington, DC. I got a little teary-eyed as I flew out yesterday and reminisced because I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Love live BC/DC Winter 2010!

the end of an era

Today was the last day of my internship. It still hasn't hit me, but as I walked home from Dupont today for the last time, I thought about everything I experienced and learned from my internship.

I know what I want to do with my life, and have a pretty good idea how to get there. I found a love for political communications and a quest for accuracy and truth.

so, goodbye desk

goodbye office entrance.goodbye narcissistic mirrored ceiling elevator.

goodbye running to catch the metro
goodbye lunchtime walks around the streets of van ness.
goodbye aim.

I have a new found love:

roller derby.

A group of us braved SE DC on Saturday for the DC Roller Girls league championship bout.

I was excited, but found roller derby isn't quite what I imagined. Yes, some of the girls are quite large. Their outfits are weird. They have crazy names (Condeleeza Slice? Lois Slain?) They push each other. But I didn't realize how much strategy is in the game. After the exhibition game was the championship: Scare Force One (motto: why we gotta be so awesome alla time?) vs DC DemonCats. By the end, we had the strategy down and were getting so into the game. and sitting in the "suicide seats" on the edge of the track and having some players slide into us was quite exciting too.Salt Lake has a roller derby league. You better believe we'll be going to check it out.