On: Ms. Rowling would be proud, Our digs, and the Newest member of the Pagan family...

This will be a bit of "DC in Review," mostly documented by pictures.

Primero: Welcome to Hogwarts--I mean, Georgetown...
This is the view of GU as seen on the Key Bridge (the bridge that crosses the Potomac, connecting Arlington & Georgetown)

I half expected to see "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" etched above the doors of Healy Hall. I can't say that I've read any of the H.P. books, but after doing some substantive research, I dare say it looks a bit like... Well, I'll let you be the judge:


vs.


Blessed indeed. This is where Jon gets to learn for the next year. Classes begin in ten days, so there will be more to update then.

Segundo: River Place

This is the building in which we live!
Gotta love the bricks. This place is nice and reasonably quiet--offset enough from Washington, DC so as not to be RIGHT in the middle of everything, but close enough to the city to enjoy it when we want to. It's also just two blocks away from a metro station, so we're a short ride away from all of the museums/restaurants/excitement. We're also a three minute drive away from the Pentagon and other cool monuments.

This is the view from our parking spot (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol in the background). Very cool.

We're still organizing the apartment, but once it's done, we'll post more pics.

Tercero: Gainfully Employed!

As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I start working at my new job on Monday! Last week I accepted a position with a consulting firm that is about ten miles from our place here in Arlington. I am very excited... They do helpful work, I start at 9:00, AND they observe casual Fridays (and by "casual" I mean they wear jeans)!

And to get to this new job/around DC...

We are the proud owners of a new car! Again, so blessed and so excited!

A serious thanks to everyone who has been praying for us. We have had a great transition and on top of all of this--cool apartment, beautiful campus, great new job and smooth wheels.

On: Glasses...

Showin' off the specs... That's all...

On: Prepare! I found some pictures and I want to blog as much as possible before I start work on Monday!

Warning: Possible Thunder Showers...


Last week Jon and I met up with some friends for dinner in Georgetown. As we were walking back home across the Key Bridge, we exchanged some, "I think it's starting to sprinkle," s. Before we were half-way across, the heavens opened up and dumped several thousands of gallons of water all over the DC metro area... and us.

No joke, it was like the scene in Forrest Gump where Tom Hanks is describing, "big ol' fat rain."

On the brighter side, it was warm outside, which made things nicer. Jon and I raced back home, laughing hysterically, soaking wet and squishing around in our shoes. Welcome to DC.

After getting into the elevator to get back to our place to dry off, one of the people next to us smiled and said, "They just sneak up on you sometimes." Good memories:)

One of my favorites:

On: Geeks...

Our beloved lappy with all of our pictures on it recently decided to stop working...

Thankfully, we live near a Best Buy. We've given the lappy to the Geek Squad with the hope that they can revive it. I'm sure they can.

Once it's up and running, more pictures and posts of what we've been doing here in DC!

On: JPs in DC...

After two weeks of "good-byes" and a few tearful moments, Jon and I boarded our red-eye and headed off to DC (Arlington, VA, to be exact).

We flew out Monday night, landed in New York the following morning, then landed in DC on Tuesday around mid morning. They were some of the least hectic flights we've ever had--no lost or "abandoned" luggage, no crazy plane acrobatics, no offensive perfume. Excellent.

On Wednesday we rented a truck from a very helpful Jeremy and iphoned our way to the pick up sight in Maryland to retrieve our relo-cube. After unloading the cube and re-loading our life into the truck, we noted only minimal damage to some of our things: chipped mirror, gauged dresser, broken cirque du soleil mug, dirty couch--nothing outrageous. Then we drove back to Arlington, making sure that we didn't take the wrong highways that didn't allow trucks...tricky. Next came another round of unpacking and hauling all of our things up to our new place. Since we live on the ninth floor, we were singing the praises of the freight elevator and hand truck that made our move much, much easier.

Now we're just in the process of unpacking and organizing! As some of you may know, our place is small, but we've discovered that it's very cool. More pictures to come once we put everything away. For now, this is a picture that a kind Japanese lady snapped for us in the Sacramento airport--we actually ended up sitting next to her on the plane.

(This is us awake for many, many hours).

On: "It's good..."

Oh my gosh... Some friends of ours recommended "Enchanted" as a movie to add to our netflix queue. Sweet movie, although I think this scene is our favorite. Listen for, "It's good..." We can't say these two words without laughing now.

On: Bon Voyage BSA...

July 3, 2008 was my last day at the BSA. I have to say that I had the pleasure of working with the best co-workers I've ever had. Also, I sat in the greatest cube of all cubedom-- they (cubies) took the liberty of strategically hiding Big and Small (the wooden drawing figures) on day the last... Very sweet.

Admittedly, the last eight hours were full, but not hectic. It was actually a very special day, full of Cilantro's and toasting frozen yogurt with J, L and M. Every office should have a J, L and M--the thought of not seeing them during the work week anymore is very sad...


And so the last day came and went. I filled out the paperwork. I said my goodbyes. I caught the 43 (Davis Express Bus) one last time, and then I walked home listening to Collin Hay, Ben Folds and Paul Simon--while humming. Then I sat down and took in the days events, trying to digest the fact that the following week, I would not be going back to the office. To a degree, I still feel like I'm just enjoying a long weekend... [Photo illustrates some of the contents of my desk that I carted home like a crazy person--or a person who forgot to bring a box for the contents of her desk on the last day of work].

On: Happy Birthday America. And Matt...

Happy fourth of July from Team Pagan!!!

I believe that God created our balcony just so that we could have the best view (in Davis) of sunsets and fireworks...

Proud to call the U-S-of-A home? You bet we are:) To all of our friends (and those we don't know) in the service, thank you.

Today also happens to be my brother's birthday, so I thought I would take a moment to acknowledge him and the celebrities with whom he shares this special day:

1. (*My favorite*)Giraldo Rivera
2. George Steinbrenner
3. Ann Landers
4. Rube Goldberg
5. Calvin Coolidge
6. Abigail Van Buren
7. Louis Armstrong
8. Nathaniel Hawthorne
9. Matt (standing)
   
10. The USA (According to Leon, it's actually July 2)

On: Beyond, "If the shoe fits...."

I've taken a fancy to trying on hats in different stores (prep for when I am old and start to where purple or track suits). I found this one recently, and while I've never been "hot for Hilary," I had to include the mug in the shot... It matched the hat (kind of).

On: Take me out to the....

I think the last time I went to a baseball game was when I was six or seven years old... Recently, we went to a River Cats game (local AAA affiliate of the Oakland A's)--what a great time!




This was Jon and me chillin' in the shade while it lasted...













The view from our seats! This picture was taken somewhere in between the eating of the classic baseball junk food: hot-dogs, nachos, icees... It's all part of the event, practically a requirement.






And then the sun moved. Some of us don't tan so well, and don't care to tan, which is why we wear giant, floppy white hats to outdoorsy events. This is fine, but then the poor guy behind you is forced to stretch a bit to see what the players are doing.

On: Tablelessness

This afternoon, I was sitting at our dining room table:

















A few hours later:

I was sitting in the void that our table once occupied.


So as not to be confused, we are intentionally selling things off before we move. This picture just captures the realization that having guests over for dinner will require a creative spirit.

On: Things that go 'bump' in the night...

I can't be absolutely sure of it, but our down-stairs neighbors are either filming some kind of WWII film or they're recording an audition DVD for Stomp...

It is nearly 2am.

This is actually kind of funny. I mean, really, who is up this late on a Sunday and WHY are they opening and SLAMMING all of their cupboards??? It's like down-stairs neighbor thought to himself, "I need to RACE around the kitchen and make myself a midnight snack that will require ALL of my cookware!" From the sounds of it, he will top the night off with a soothing pseudo-jam on guitar hero.

I wish no harm to down-stairs neighbor. Maybe he's just an insomniac that wishes that he were asleep. Maybe he's hard of hearing. Maybe he works a wonky shift. And look at the good that has come of this: another blog post.

I'm going to try to catch some Z's and hope that down-stairs.... WHAT??? Now it sounds like their holding a conversation in two different rooms...

Thank goodness for ear-plugs.

On: Glimpses of Past Js...

This morning, as I was on my way to work, I was thinking about the different events that I'd like to update on our blog... I think that if I had an unlimited amount of time to devote to this, it would be much more impressive.

I still want to post photos from DC, and indeed, I will. For now though, part of the year in review (in pictures):





Jon (and me--out of sight) laughing as we tried to get a candid shot...









The two of us realizing that speed-walking up a steep incline while being passed by super-fit senior citizens means that we should probably hit the gym...






Jenn hanging out by the lofts, slightly voguing... It happens on occasion.








More pictures will come... Oh yes. I know that free weekends are in my future...

On: Happiest with Suitcases...

Tomorrow (well, in about 4 1/2 hours), Jon and I are flying to Washington, DC! While this will be a quick trip, it is very exciting. One of our favorite past times is feeling out of our element and we both love airports. I'll keep you posted. There will be pictures, and there will be updates!

On: In the wee small hours of the morning...

Alright, so the hours may not be "wee" or "small," exactly, but it is late...

And why am I up so late? I'm studying metric prefixes and that which is chemalicious. I have an exam tomorrow. The first of many to come. Yes.

In times of confusion, it is so helpful to have a husband who rocks the socks off of chemistry. He untangles my conversions and makes sense of my figs, the significant ones.

On: More Highlights!

More (incredibly belated) highlights from our honeymoon--the Italian chapter.

On: Florence and Paris Highlights!

Please, take a moment to get nice and comfy with our shamefully late follow-up post on our honeymoon through Italy and France!

Since pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words a piece, perhaps it would be better to let our photos do most of the talking:Don't leave home without it! The TURTLE TUBE!!!! In short, it can only be described as a life-saver! We wore these everywhere, you'll see pictures of them soon...


Beautiful views: This was just some of the beautiful scenery--the beginning of it anyway. This was taken during out last leg of the trip as we flew over the French Alps. Wow.


Turtle Fur in Action: We prefer to think that we looked like ninjas, not crazy people. While Jon isn't wearing his, if you look closely at his ears, you'll see that his head is being hugged by 180s, the coolest ear-muffs ever.
For the Art Enthusiasts: ...and then we reminded ourselves that we were, in fact, alive and staring at the Pieta AND the Mona Lisa (at different times). All of the art that we saw was unbelievable. We've seen these paintings and sculptures in art books/art history classes/movies, but standing in front of them was ethereal.

On: Updates...

New posts to come! We promise! Yes!

On: Hang-Ups...

What travel wouldn"t be complete without a few minor set-backs? Some highlights:



Planes, Trains, and (eventually) Automobiles:

After getting a feel for Rome, Jon and I decided that we would attempt to book train tickets from Florence to Paris--an over-night experience. Unfortunately, upon reaching the ticket window, we were told that there was no way we were taking a train to Paris at any time of day, anywhere near the dates we needed. No local trains. Nothing. We knew that we would be able to work something out, although I admit I had unnerving visions of us flying above the French Alps in a cargo plane full of chickens and crates... Long story short, we were able to book tickets to Paris, but our travel will be longer than expected. We are leaving tonight (Dec. 28th) from Florence and we are taking an over-night train to Geneva. We should arrive around 9:30am and we will have a few hours to hang out before leaving for Paris. What a miserable detour, right? Oh well, I suppose we will survive in a country best known for it;s beauty and chocolate...:) Once we get to Paris, we will more-than-likely have to take a cab to our new hotel, since the one we had booked originally is closed for construction.

Afflictions:

I would love to say that I was able to keep my cold to myself, but unfortunately, I cannot. Jon came down with a massive head cold the day a day or two before we were supposed to leave for Florence. He has been a great sport about it, but no one likes to be sick, especially on their honeymoon, especially thousands of miles away from home. He is feeling better now though, so pray that his health continues to improve.

Why we Never Went Back to the Pharmacy in Rome:

Jon was having trouble sleeping because of his cold, so we decided to take a short walk to the pharmacy near our hotel to get some Nyquil or Tylenol PM in order to welcome some much needed Zs ( I honestly cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard--so no possessives and no contractions). This particular pharmacy was not like one that you would find in the U.S. Everything was either behind the counter or behind glass, making it absolutely necessary for us to use our broken Italian/English to ask for what we wanted. (Sigh). So we tried to explain our request to the woman behind the counter, who pulled some Aleve off of a shelf, then some cough syrup, etc. until she had about 4-5 medicines on the counter for us. Since none of them were what we were looking for, we tried to politely thank her and leave, but she stopped us with a loud and abrupt, "You don't WANT?" Had there been a hole to crawl into, I think we would have... After leaving, we were convinced that we were surely black-listed, and we resolved never to return to that pharmacy, and Jon toughed out his cold symptoms without sleep aid.

*****************************************************************************************************************
Considering the amount of time that we've spent here, our set backs have been few and far-between. The great thing about all of this is that nothing is familiar. Nothing. The lifestyles are different, the language is different, the food is different, transportation is different. When so much is unfamiliar, we tend to cling to things that are familiar. God is familiar--and He has really blessed us with hang-ups and gifts like brief interactions with familiar things. We have met some very friendly American, Canadian and Japanese tourists, and the language barrier really hasn't been insurmountable. The Italian people we have spoken with have been very friendly and helpful. We have definitely made some great memories here--and to think that we leave for home in just a few days!

On: Italy--Installment Due

*Pronounced "Doo-aye." Hahaha, love Italian:)



ROMA:



Where we stayed: The Welcome Residents Hotel. This was not actually a hotel, it was an apartment building. While we had all of the comforts and services of a hotel, the room we stayed in was like a very small studio apartment. It was nice to have stayed in a place so close to Termini Station (where you can find cheap food). It was clean and the staff was very friendly--they spoke English very well and weren't completely insulted by our broken Italian.



What we did/saw: I am convinced that Jon and I walked about 340689743068 miles--all entirely worth it for what we were able to see and experience:) First and foremost, we saw the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. After taking the advice of a 2006 tour book, we arrived outside the Vatican around 7am with the expectation that the doors opened at 8:45am. Were it not for a native that was kind enough to inform us that 1) we were in the tour group line and 2) that the doors didn't open to guests without reservations until 10am, we would have had a problem on our hands... So we killed some time at a cafe (where I had the BEST caffe con latte EVER) until we saw some tourists start to queue up. As it turns out, we were let in a little after nine since there weren't as many tour groups. Nice. The Vatican Museums were beautiful, but the coup-de-gras had to be the Sistine Chapel. Jon and I sat agape for quite a while staring up at the ceiling. It was absolutely breath-taking. We paused only to rest our necks and talk about how unbelievable it was that we were sitting IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL marveling at priceless beauty.

We also self-guided our way through St. Peter's Basilica, where we saw the Pieta.... It was enough to draw the breath out of both of our lungs. The Pieta is probably the most beautiful sculpture the world has ever known. And we saw it. And photographed it. Although that proved to be a little difficult since it was encased in its own private room--dimly lit behind several inches of bullet-proof glass. None-the-less, we stood for as long as we could in front of it, then wandered around the rest of the interior. We also happened to meet some people from the states in our efforts to find english speaking tourists to take our picture. Very nice women from Tenessee.

Other sights included the Coloseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. We'll post pictures as soon as we can. We also decided that a trip to Rome wouldn't be complete without going to the Opera! Bravo!!! We sat in a box with two other women from London, and while we had no idea what the actors were saying, we had a great time watching the plot unfold and clapping enthusiastically with the rest of the audience at the encouragement of the Maestro. SO FUN!!!

How we got around: The subway system in Rome turned out to be a very convenient mode of transportation for us. The ticket machines were English-friendly, and it was fairly inexpensive to get around. Short of the metro, we walked everywhere. Great exercise, and probably one of the better ways to see Italy.

Favorite Quotes:

Jon: "Nobody sculpts anymore. Nobody takes a slab of marbel, a hammer and chisel, and makes it look like Jesus."

On: Italy--Installment One

(Jon and I will be sure to post pictures once we've arrived back home, but for now, we'll just give you the run down)

Italy. Is. Amazing.

As many of you may know, I managed to come down with a cold two days before our departure. However, I happen to be married to a saintly man who really stepped up to take care of some very necessary, last minute details.

Jeremy was kind enough to take us to the airport on the 19th. After getting turned around only once (had I been driving, it may have taken a little longer), we made it to SFO with plenty of time to spare. Overall, our flights went very well. All three of them:) San Francisco to New York (JFK)-- New York to London (Heathrow) and London to Rome. Unfortunately, colds put a bit of a damper on landings... I couldn't hear for about 24 hours and as you can imagine, congested ears are affected by changes in cabin pressure. The cold improved after landing though. Our luggage arrived safely and we had little trouble finding our hotel.

Adjusting to the change in time was another event:) I believe we woke up at 3:45 am on morning one... Yes! When we decided that we couldn't get back to sleep, we got up, showered, hung out, watched the same news stories loop on CNN for a few hours, then went down to breakfast.

As an aside, it became abundantly clear that you just can't eat pastries every morning and not expect to feel a little doughy. Even with all of the walking. Pastries are delicious, but not good to eat every morning...

Anyway, the following days were better in terms of our circadian rhythms synchronizing... On average, we've been waking up around 5am. This is an improvement!

On: Last minute surprises...

Right. Generally when you think "vacation" you think of relaxation and sight-seeing, etc. You do not usually think of Afrin and Kleenex...

As ridiculous as it sounds, I've actually managed to come down with a cold TWO DAYS before our 475670368420847502587 hour flight to Rome! Nooo!!!! Hahaha, and I think I've given it to poor Jon, who is doing a much better job of fighting it. It's been a very unusual cold--one day I was fine, a few sneezes (which is not unusual), and the next morning I was slugging down a cold buster and carrying a box of tissue everywhere.

To add to the excitement, we got an email at 7am this morning from Expedia telling us that the hotel we reserved in Paris would be closed for construction during our requested dates... After talking with the Expedia people, we discovered that the hotel had found us different accommodations (which will actually save us money), and that we will have a place to stay after all. It's a little further away from the original hotel, but it should be fine. The good news is that we have a place to stay, and that's the most important detail.

All evidence that God has a sense of humor and that He never gives us more than we can handle:) We'll have a great time, I'm sure, but please pray for our health!

On: Franciscan Benedictions...

I realize that this is a Franciscan benediction, but this is a beautiful image to accompany a beautiful prayer:

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships
So that you may live deep
Within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice,
Freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your
Hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with
Enough foolishness
To believe that you can make
A difference in the world,
So that you can do what others
Claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to
All our children and the poor.

Amen

On: Fair Game...

In the Pagan household, November 1st marks the beginning of the Christmas season:) Or, at least the beginning of the season for listening to Christmas music... The day after Halloween, I stepped out of the shower to hear Stevie Wonder and India Arie singing "The Christmas Song." It got better... You know, Neil Diamond. The Statler Brothers. Josh Groban. LOVE IT!!! Ok, so Jon is a bigger Diamond fan, but I am learning to love it.

So! If you have any suggestions, do let us know! Our play-list is always growing!

On: Dieting...

I don't normally bake. Baking requires measuring things. Usually, the things you measure are quite messy. Or spilly. Sometimes, you realize that you don't have a sifter, so you resort to MacGyver-like baking tactics. Inevitably, this means a bigger mess...

However! This weekend, Jon and I caught the baking bug and made some spectacular creations! Last night, I felt that if I didn't make almond biscotti, I wouldn't be able to sleep. So I did. It was only a minor disaster... My dough was very wet... It wouldn't roll into logs... So I mushed it into (what looked like) hillsides, baked them, then sliced them into rectangles (instead of fans). Then baked them again. They actually came out looking and tasting very biscotti like! A success!

Then, this morning, Jon decided that we should make chocolate-chip cookies. He is an expert:) We did try a secret ingredient though, which, actually, made for VERY tasty cookies! We both decided that we would adhere to healthful diets after the cookies are gone. Incidentally, this is also what we said a few weeks ago when we made cake... But we had such a good time hanging out, making amazing cookies and listening to Christmas music:) What a great weekend--Grammy, you would be very proud.