Back in D.C.

Hi all!

Made it through wedding season. I had such a nice time at both weddings and seeing all my wonderful friends. How fun! I am so lucky to have such smart, interesting, thoughtful, pun-y and funny friends. We laughed a lot. The wedding in Nashville was just delightful with a live blue grass band, wildflowers, soul food, and a thunderstorm outside our lantern-lit tent. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid and of reading the seven Jewish blessings. I loved being a part of the celebration.

I have just one paper left and I start my internship tomorrow. I suppose I'll actually start exploring D.C. this weekend or next week when I'm done with the paper. Sigh. I feels like summer but I'm just not quite there, yet. Anyone know anything about how China and Islamic empires are similar, even though China didn't really have religion and Islamic empire did? Submit answers within. I'll footnote you!

One quick story - on the plane home today, Memorial Day, Southwest said a few words of praise for the military and then let any military persons off the plane first as a show of gratitude. A thin, fit woman was the only one who walked off. Then, after she got off, someone on the plane (who, I kid you not, could not buckle his seat belt because his belly/gut was so big) said, "I bet she was just a military brat and just followed daddy around." I could not believe it! Some people are so rude and inappropriate (and insecure?) that they have to disrespect others like that. I was truly ashamed for this man, especially because of how quickly I felt shamed in stark contrast to how proud and impressed I felt when I saw this woman walk off the plane on her day of honor. Really, people? I wish I knew I should have said and then I wish I had the guts to have said it.

What would you have said? In all honesty: is there an appropriate, respectful remark I could have made? Leave me a comment!

Next stop...

In Nashville, stay tuned for more. One thing I have noticed, I see the U.S. Census people ev-er-y-where! I think that's pretty cool. Solidarity. Jobs for the people by the people. On the ground mobilization, organizing, and communities getting to know each other. I like it. So far I've seen them in Denver, D.C., Philly, and now in Nashville. Same little U.S. Census briefcase bags and groups of people working with pencils and bubble sheets.

friends!

Just a quick update to say that mainly my time has been spent with friends, the friends' families, and friend's babies. I had such a lovely time at A&M's wedding. So cool! I was her Chumerit - Jewish guardian. I spent the entire day with her through the hair, make-up, dress, setting up, breaking down. Really, her family treated me as another sibling and were just wonderful. The wedding itself defied a lot of American traditions - bride and groom saw each other a lot before the ceremony, it was in a large loft-like space (worked perfectly!), had appetizers and a buffet, no meat, lots of vegan food (red quinoa, hummos, cheeses, veggies, salads, avocado on multi-grain sandwiches), Israeli music and other shows of their personality. Also, there were cool wedding guests who flew in from all over the world. I had a great time. I feel so lucky because I am equally friends with the bride and groom. And, after the whole shebang was over, I got to see them the next day, just the 3 of us, for dinner and left over champagne.

I've also been staying with A&U (and O and K). K is 3 weeks old and just so cuddly and cute. I don't have the goods to make him happy (milk) but I can trick him long enough until A can feed him. And, he'll sleep on anybody all curled up like a little frog. O is a good big sister. We're sharing a room so far. It's been pretty fun dancing, eating, playing, reading with her. It's constant energy and a lot of talking. I've always loved kids, but now I'm slowly feeling more confident with little toddlers, babies and newborns. I no longer have that panicky, "Ah, I have no idea what to do with a baby! What if it starts crying?" type of feeling. I definitely don't always know what to do and can't always stop the crying, but it feels less foreign now. Baaaabies are cute.

I've been outlining my exam on technology as a way toward new utopian vision of human rights. Uh huh, that's right. I don't know what it really means either, just trying to use the language I know my teacher wants us to use. Ick. Hope that gets written somehow.

May flowers

Here I sit at a vegan-only cafe in Philly with the hippest of the hipsters and the punkiest of the punks. I have let the bloggie fall to the wayside with the understanding that I would be blogging daily again in the summer. I'm not done with my Quarter work (1 paper, 1 final left), but I've left Denver, not to return until mid-August. The past Quarter was especially hard - law school politics and slaps in the face, grad school politics and less-than-stellar professors, and my internship took a turn for the worst. I have been battling plantar fasciitis and heel spur, so running has been iffy, slow, and painful, if at all. I haven't been dating or meeting anyone. All meals have been pretty much alone and, well, all of Denver has been pretty lonely. All told, I'm pretty much ready for a break from Denver and school.

... Thus! I'm in D.C. for the summer doing an internship. My generous friend, Elizabeth, has kindly let me stay in her Dupont Circle one bedroom place for the summer. It's a beautiful apartment with a twelfth floor view of the city, matching red kitchenware and plenty of books on Latin America. The JCC is across the street and gives 35% off to students. Monty, a big black woman - perhaps not Jewish? - sits at the front desk and takes good care of me. Work is 1 mile away (hellooo showing up sweaty to work!), and I'm excited to start on June 1. More on that later. For now, I hopped on a bus up to Philly for my dear friends' wedding. I'll be here playing with Andi, Uti and Oni (3 yrs) and Kai (4 weeks) for the week, while also working on my paper. Then, I head to Nashville to see Jessica and celebrate Ariel and Sam's wedding.

It feels so good to be back on the east coast. My mind can stop constantly figuring out what time it is ET. My hair is back to true curly with the humidity. There are black people around, and Indians, and Asians, and even white peo who look different from each other. There are people down the street who I want to look in the eyes, talk to, and smile at. I don't feel stressed, even though there are school things to do still.

I will miss the ability to hop on my Italo, my bike, and go for a 60 mile ride. I'll miss meeting Katie on the Platte for a quick 2 hour ride. I'll miss the births of 3 of my friends' babies. I'll miss dry, sunny trail runs until 9 p.m. and bananagrams at St. Marks with Tony and Gracie. I will miss those things. But, I'm looking forward to rejuvenating myself -- will I get to a point where I am excited to be back in Denver, where I feel proud again to be a DU student? I'll just have to see where I will be in 3 months. For now, I am pretty happy to be somewhere new, to be myself, and to be far away from Denver.