fun times this weekend.

friday night's happy hour turned into friday night's debauchery. went to buffalo billiards with a bunch of people from work for the "welcome to the group vickie and dan" happy hour. it was nice to be able to see how people from the office interact outside of the office...then erica, her roommate carrie and i went to lucky's bar for an event held by carrie's law school (or something along those lines). after a little bit of time there, we moved on to dan's cafe in adams morgan to meet up wtih the office group again. dan's cafe is home to the flask and bucket special. for twelve dollars, one gets a glass of the alcohol of one's choice, a chaser, two glasses and a small bucket of ice. while i did not partake in said special (yet--after such a long, emotionally draining week, i had a few drinks at happy hour and realized i would be on my way to a bad drunken stupor instead of a good one, so i made sure to remain only buzzed), i did witness it and know that i will partake at some point in the future. then we all headed to patrick's for a party there, where fun times were had. while heading back to respective apartments, e & c & i experienced the "big slice" at pizza mart--for three dollars, you get a slice of pizza that must be three times larger than any other slice of pizza i have ever seen. we're talking mammoth, gigantic, colossal proportions here. and when you're buzzing, it is tastier than any pizza i've had in a good long while (although i will say that i don't know if it quite hit the spot like manhattan's pizza in burlington after a knock-you-on-your-ass long island iced tea).

walking around the streets of adams morgan was amazing--the area was pulsing with life. people pouring out of bars, clubs, restaurants onto the sidewalks, blowing away the steam from the pizza slices that precariously balanced on thin paper plates and squares of aluminum foil. cars attempting to dodge the people who moved out into the street, honking horns that blended in with the bass pumping from the bars--it was an amazing explosion for each of my senses. if i ever get to the point where i take something like that for granted, i need to leave immediately.

i woke up pretty early on saturday and went for a run, then relaxed for awhile before heading out to find dccd, a music store i had read about online. this place rules--the underground, badass, shades of "high fidelity" place i've been searching for. it's a bit of a hike to get to from the metro (i thought it was closer to dupont, but it's actually in adams morgan), but so worth it. good prices, good selections. different bands i'd heard of but could never find much information about--wilco, spoon, finch, etc.--and they've got it there. and there are stations set up where you can sit down, relax and listen to one of five cds they have at that particular station, so i listened to "rush of blood to the head"--coldplay takes the next step, fucking brilliant--and the latest wilco--i've got to get it at some point soon. howie's album was available to listen to at one of the stations--i couldn't help but laugh.

wound up going to eastern market shortly thereafter to experience everything available there on the weekends--fell in love with that as well. there's a market area that sells produce, meat, breads, flowers--you name it--inside during the week, but during the weekends, vendors open up shops all around the outside of the market. you'd think it's your typical farmer's market type deal, but there's something about the atmosphere that gives it a special feel. i got such a kick out of being able to look through the vegetables and fruits...moving on to the craft stalls across the street to see what special little trinkets are available...

relaxed at home saturday night for most of the time...chloe, nicole and i went to bethesda and hit up ben & jerry's (aw...vermont!), but it was nice to just relax and watch television and not have to do anything.

and then there was sunday. around 1 maybe, i get voicemail from the fuck yeah tour (meg, christine, the guy, jesus kleist) with the announcement that they're on their way to d.c. yeah yeah! they arrived at casa victoria, relaxed for a bit, then we headed out to do the sightseeing thing (the mall and surrounding monuments). got back to my metro and raced to chipotle, praying it was still open (score--it's open til 10, even on sundays) and i introduced them to my new favorite mexican-type food. after searching for a grocery store that was still open, christine and i left everyone else at the apartment, hopped on bikes and rode farther up the street, searching for the market the guy from clyde's said would be our best bet to buy beer. after passing two closed liquor stores and riding uphill (hello, watery legs), we wound up at a 24-hour cvs and learned that there was nowhere in the area that would sell this late on sunday. but at least it was an adventure...spent the rest of the night playing some card games with the beer the tour still had in mary jane (and a little rum for me) and all fell asleep in my room watching "the family guy" (i got a special episode played for me: the episode where he becomes a lobbyist for the tobacco industry on capitol hill).

i will admit that i had a brief relapse of sorts (put two and two together and you'll know what i'm talking about), but it was only for the night and i am right back on track. not overly thrilled with myself in that respect, but what are you going to do?

you can tell when i'm missing the internet, when i have to blog about my entire weekend--but it was a very good time and it was wonderful to have some st. michael's life in the area--i had a great time but also realized how much i miss everyone. hearing about who the gang ran into during their road trip and how everyone's doing--it was comforting, but also made me realize that people are starting their new lives in different places--and i want to be able to at least know how they are all doing.

so yeah, that's where i'm at right now. another day, another week, another set of adventures just around the bend. i'm hoping the gang stops by the office around my lunch break so i can see them before they head off, but regardless, it was great to be able to have my first houseguests and show someone a bit of my area of the city (as much of it as i happen to know, that is). it was just great to have some friends around that i'm not still in the process of getting to know. a comfort that came at a great time.

revel...revelrevel.