Another busy day in DC town. Work kind of sucked, partly because of the cold and wet weather (wind chill of 39 degrees? what is Winter like?) and partly because my supervisor can be ridiculous. But it was ok because thanks to Slickdeals.net I found out about a free mini-facial that the Origins store is doing! I made an appointment last week so today after work I went and had my first ever (mini) facial. It was GREAT. And the sales scheme WORKED because now I want EVERYTHING in the Origins store. Did you know their products are all natural, contain no petroleum based ingredients, contain no animal products, and are NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS?!!! So no cancer and no blind bunny rabbits at Origins!! So... that's why it costs so much I guess. Ugh. I'll hit up ebay and see what I can do. Forget clinique.
I was still feeling great from having someone rub my face with nice smelling things when I was walking to the metro and I saw this one homeless man who is always at this stop. He is in a wheelchair and I saw a woman give him some money and I saw him smile really big. Then I saw a little handwritten sign that read "Today is my birthday, I am so blessed!!" and I immediately started digging around for any cash that I had to give him. It was really touching- and I have seen this guy at this metro stop several times. He had a little portable heater plugged in next to his wheel chair today.
Beyond the homeless birthday man is the table where people aggressively get you to sign up for absentee voting. In the past I've just seen the volunteers shouting at all the rush hour metro people to sign up but today... today there was a woman playing a guitar and singing into a mic some song that she was making up on the spot that basically consisted of: "Going to be out of the county on election day... vote absentee .. vote absentee... avoid the lines on election day... vote absentee... vote absentee.... make sure your voice is heard... vote absentee ... vote absentee..." it was irritating and endearing at the same time.
On that note, today I mailed my absentee ballot off to North Carolina where hopefully it will be put to good use in turning North Carolina blue. I got off the metro at Union Station to go home and put it in a mail box outside of the post office. I had a hard time letting it go, it was so unceremonious, not at all like real voting. I wanted to shout afterwards I JUST VOTED, I VOTED EVERYONE! But I didn't. Voting is so special and exciting. I was especially thrilled to vote in Union Station. I'll never get sick of Union Station.
When I got home I made some dinner (E is back!) and then the guy from the yard sale where I bought the two framed pictures brought them over! They are beautiful- I'm very pleased. This weekend, once the Halloween festivities are over, I will hang them up.
Tomorrow is another big day because it is the annual DC Drag Race. Apparently all the drag queens in Washington all come to Dupont Circle the Tuesday before Halloween and parade up and down 17th street and at 7PM there is a HIGH HEELED DRAG QUEEN RACE. I'm there.
Showing posts with label Barack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack. Show all posts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Yard Sailing y el Dia de los Muertos
Today I went to more yard sales with T. We had enormous luck for most of the day- rich people yard sales and items from around the world- my favorites! I got a lot of Christmas presents. It's always good to start working on Christmas presents before you are strapped for cash in December with no ideas. That's the pits. So it was a successful day. It really was a beautiful day (unlike the monsoon that was yesterday) and I wore the exact right thing to enjoy the weather to the fullest. It's days like this that I really dislike my apartment for its lack of windows. The price we pay for living in one of the nicest neighborhoods in DC is that in order for us to afford it we are in a basement apartment. Our windows aren't even windows- they are "light wells." I refer to it as the "time warp" because you never know what time it is when you are inside- it's like a mall. During the week it's fine because we're gone during the day- it's the weekend when I would rather just go out all day while it's light and not be stuck in the time warp.
At the yard sales I found a Holga camera (scenester, I know!), some yarn for household purposes, a great picture frame, a drawing of a fat hippo, two baking sheets, a muffin tin, two cake pans, and a hippo cookie cutter (what's with the hippos today?) and other various christmas present type stuff. Oh, and a great looking Anthropology book: The Anthopology of Media. I love smart yard sales! I couldn't resist that book even though it looked like a text book- it had recycled art on the cover. T and I also cruised the outside parts of Eastern Market, a way cool part of DC near my house that has vendors on the street selling antiques, vegetables, jewelry, international stuff, different things. Yard sales are so fun because the price no longer reflects the actual price of the item- however much it may have cost retail. It takes on a price of the amount of space it takes up vs. how much money the people can actually make off of it. A delicate balance but the winner is always the shopper- if he or she has the space.
Here is a picture of the awesome bumper sticker I got at the Democratic headquarters in VA last week:
I am constructing a shrine / memorial to my dog Sam who died in April. I am still grieving a lot about it because we had her for 16 years- a large part of my life. Since I studied Day of the Dead so much last year for various projects and classes, I've decided to construct a shrine in the theme of Day of the Dead to Sam. Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in parts of Latin America- I studied it in Mexico. It is actually Days of the Dead, because it lasts for I think 3 days. It happens every year around the end of October and the beginning of November. The idea is that during that time all the souls of dead people come back to the place where they were buried to "check up" on their family. The families all come home and create lavish feasts and shrines to their dead, cooking their favorite food and offering it to them. People stay up late celebrating the lives of the people they loved- it's a big party that goes on and on. It reminds everyone that the dead are still with us, they never leave for good, and that you are always connected. I read somewhere that it is believed that if you don't put on a good feast and shrine for your dead person they will be offended because all the other dead people will have all their nice feasts and things- and you would never want to disappoint your dead person! They're dead!
So anyways, I'm making a shrine to Sam for Day of the Dead, even though she is not buried here. I think she'll probably come by to see me even though I'm so far from home. It's really hard to build the thing because I'm still so sad about it. I've got a lot of pictures of her and her collar, some special nuts I brought back from Mexico that were used in another ritual, and today I got an icon of Mary at a yard sale. I seriously cry every time I spend any kind of time thinking about it, but it is comforting to know that Sam is still around. I really want to believe in ghosts and Day of the Dead because I want her to still be near me. I'm pretty sure I heard her ghost at home over the summer once or twice. I think a lot of why it was so hard to be at home this summer was because I was tryin
g so hard to avoid thinking about Sam. It's so easy to distract yourself when you're busy- not so much when you have nothing to do at home. Sometimes I am happy and content that Sam is around "spiritually"- and I am happy that she isn't old and weak and having a hard time. But usually I'm just devastatingly sad. Being an only child and she being my one dog that was always around is just really hard. I've never grieved anyone that was this close to me so I guess this is my "learn to grieve" part of my life.
I guess I should also say that I am completely serious about all of this stuff. I am not sure I should even be writing about it on the internet but I'm lonely right now and just need to write. I've never missed someone or been so sad about something in my life.
So ANYWAYS. This weekend was very laid back, but kind of lonely. I'm looking forward to being busy again so that I won't be alone with my thoughts for very long.
At the yard sales I found a Holga camera (scenester, I know!), some yarn for household purposes, a great picture frame, a drawing of a fat hippo, two baking sheets, a muffin tin, two cake pans, and a hippo cookie cutter (what's with the hippos today?) and other various christmas present type stuff. Oh, and a great looking Anthropology book: The Anthopology of Media. I love smart yard sales! I couldn't resist that book even though it looked like a text book- it had recycled art on the cover. T and I also cruised the outside parts of Eastern Market, a way cool part of DC near my house that has vendors on the street selling antiques, vegetables, jewelry, international stuff, different things. Yard sales are so fun because the price no longer reflects the actual price of the item- however much it may have cost retail. It takes on a price of the amount of space it takes up vs. how much money the people can actually make off of it. A delicate balance but the winner is always the shopper- if he or she has the space.
Here is a picture of the awesome bumper sticker I got at the Democratic headquarters in VA last week:
I am constructing a shrine / memorial to my dog Sam who died in April. I am still grieving a lot about it because we had her for 16 years- a large part of my life. Since I studied Day of the Dead so much last year for various projects and classes, I've decided to construct a shrine in the theme of Day of the Dead to Sam. Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in parts of Latin America- I studied it in Mexico. It is actually Days of the Dead, because it lasts for I think 3 days. It happens every year around the end of October and the beginning of November. The idea is that during that time all the souls of dead people come back to the place where they were buried to "check up" on their family. The families all come home and create lavish feasts and shrines to their dead, cooking their favorite food and offering it to them. People stay up late celebrating the lives of the people they loved- it's a big party that goes on and on. It reminds everyone that the dead are still with us, they never leave for good, and that you are always connected. I read somewhere that it is believed that if you don't put on a good feast and shrine for your dead person they will be offended because all the other dead people will have all their nice feasts and things- and you would never want to disappoint your dead person! They're dead!
So anyways, I'm making a shrine to Sam for Day of the Dead, even though she is not buried here. I think she'll probably come by to see me even though I'm so far from home. It's really hard to build the thing because I'm still so sad about it. I've got a lot of pictures of her and her collar, some special nuts I brought back from Mexico that were used in another ritual, and today I got an icon of Mary at a yard sale. I seriously cry every time I spend any kind of time thinking about it, but it is comforting to know that Sam is still around. I really want to believe in ghosts and Day of the Dead because I want her to still be near me. I'm pretty sure I heard her ghost at home over the summer once or twice. I think a lot of why it was so hard to be at home this summer was because I was tryin
g so hard to avoid thinking about Sam. It's so easy to distract yourself when you're busy- not so much when you have nothing to do at home. Sometimes I am happy and content that Sam is around "spiritually"- and I am happy that she isn't old and weak and having a hard time. But usually I'm just devastatingly sad. Being an only child and she being my one dog that was always around is just really hard. I've never grieved anyone that was this close to me so I guess this is my "learn to grieve" part of my life. I guess I should also say that I am completely serious about all of this stuff. I am not sure I should even be writing about it on the internet but I'm lonely right now and just need to write. I've never missed someone or been so sad about something in my life.
So ANYWAYS. This weekend was very laid back, but kind of lonely. I'm looking forward to being busy again so that I won't be alone with my thoughts for very long.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Rainbows and Moonbeams
Oh yeah!!! I basically got a job offer today through a voicemail (?) but that's ok with me! I still have to give them my references but OH YEAH!!! Success!
Also WHAT'S UP DEMOCRATS!!! BARACK IS THE MESSIAH!! HE WILL SAVE US ALL!!! I was pretty sure that when he opened his mouth tonight at the DNC rainbows and moonbeams were going to come out but instead it was RAINBOWS AND MOONBEAMS OF HOPE?! I sure hope he can deliver because there are a lot of people who really believe that the man is going to save us all, myself included. So I guess I'm a member of the church of Barack. Let us pray.
I'm back in South Carolina. I'll try to post more now that things are actually happening.
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