ok kiddies...behave yourselves tonight, but don't forget to have some fun as well! hopefully i'll heed my own advice...

and greg gets what i've started referring to as "the jp award"--italian chocolate with hazelnut filling...it's like a piece of a wonka bar--only italian...and with hazelnut filling...so really isn't anything like a wonka bar...only it's wrapped like one...without the golden ticket and with italian written all over it...ok yeah bye.

a new simplesimon!!! this always brings me such joy...i'm going to post this and link it to the site, hopefully without pissing off the author...i just love the most recent selection he sent....

today could be

people want to read stories
and poems and see movies and
they want them to be about
love and finding love and loving
love and losing it

and they tell their stories
and give people these labels
"the one that got away," that's
one, and the names and faces
correlate with an idea that
someday love will find them
drinking tea at night
when they've already given up looking

so they pretend to give up looking
and they tell themselves,
"i guess i am just one of the sad ones"
and they tie nooses around their necks
swallow too much of something or other
the things they use to kill them

or they will walk around with a glazed face
waiting for the person who recognizes those eyes
to come and step up to them
in the idle highway of the unexpected evening
The Night When Everything Changed:
so they keep markers by their calendars
so the box can be marked immediately,
as soon as the chance comes to do so,
The Day That Everything Changed.

this is an incredibly intense experience.

happy halloween to you!

i've always loved halloween--the opportunity to dress up and play and all that--i think anyone who loves theater must love halloween, at least in some respect. since i had my opportunity to play on saturday (and then some), i was planning on keeping it pretty low-key this evening--probably relax at home and whatnot.

now, i might bust out little red riding hoood one last time for a trip to georgetown. or maybe i'll just go to georgetown and say i'm donna from the west wing. or maybe i'll just go for a drink or two. and then there's the possibility that i won't go. the opportunities are endless.

regardless, happy halloween--have fun partaking in halloween debauchery and eat lots of candy. :)

score! mr. r talks about sister sarah in the article about herrouet hall! everyone involved with st. michael's theater knows (or should know) about sister sarah...and i love the quote, "theater kids have a good imagination."

i've always found this interesting, as my earliest memory is from when i was two and a half (insert "awwww" moment here: the memory is of visiting my mother's hospital room after she gave birth to my brother--i remembered some aspects of it, such as the color of the walls and the kind of phone she had there, that she didn't recall), but then don't really remember much until i was probably four years old.

i had been more than a little nervous about heading over to the capitol on my own to drop off flags, primarily because i was convinced i'd get hopelessly lost and look like an ass...i'd been over there twice before, but only once recently (like i really remember anything from my first week here, right?).

but i gave it a shot this afternoon, trying to balance a stack of flags and not look like an idiot and, sure enough, i conquered the capitol. well, i conquered the route to this one particular location within the capitol. at some point, i'll actually have to take on going above the basement floor, but i take little steps so i can have little victories.

when everyone's back from campaigning, i want to take a tour of the building so then i can sign up for the capitol tour course and be able to give tours to people--i'm really looking forward to this, as it'll give me the opportunity to interact with constituents on a different level and be able to show off the place i actually work at--not to mention take on more navigational skills. i've slowly been aclimating myself to the senate buildings--this is a more difficult process than one might think, certainly more difficult than i thought it would be when i first arrived. when you have a bunch of buildings where the hallways all look the same, it's pretty easy to get lost. but if you get lost, that means you have to find your way out of it as well, which means you aclimate yourself. so it's all good--as long as you don't need to be back right away...

oh, how much am i looking forward to going running tonight...

david gray is going to be at the patriot center.

2.2.03.

i will be at that show and it will be amazing.

i knew i'd get another chance to see him live! he played burlington back in april of 2001, but i wasn't able to go to the show because i was (amusingly enough) in washington for actf (side note: this appearance in burlington prompted the interview question posed to john mayer in a moment of silliness: "if you were david gray, would you let us interview you?"). while it won't be quite the same at the patriot center as i'm sure it was at the flynn, it's still going to be a great show.

why is it everyone i want to see is playing at the damn patriot center, though? i want small venue shows!!! that said, i should probably think about buying a ticket for the guster show at the 9:30 pretty soon...

i've been coming up with ideas for the basis of my novel. this is thrilling to me--to be able to write whatever i want and go nuts with it. i haven't written nearly as much as i would like lately--besides here, that is--so having a reason to sit down for a little while each evening will hopefully give me the kick start i've been needing. it's been difficult to feel motivated, as i sit at a desk for hours each day, and sit down and write more, if that makes any sense...

but i feel the creativity percolating, and i'm looking forward to unleashing it come friday!

tori's new album is a delight. i picked up the limited edition at sam goody's in union station on my way home from work ($15.99 for the limited edition? revelrevel) and listened to it on the metro ride and walk home. the rain that ws falling around me helped set the mood for the tori-enjoyment, and i loved it. each track has something special that i enjoy--the fact that i'm seeing her in less than two weeks is slowly dawning on me, and i'm getting incredibly excited! from the sound of beth's squeals over the phone last night, i get the impression that she's somewhat excited about the concert too... ;)

last night i had one of those dreams where it's impossible to tell that it was actually a dream...i don't remember a great deal of the specifics, except that it took place in d.c. with a bunch of friends from high school i haven't seen or spoken to in ages, and it ended with me hooking up with my high school crush (who, if real life is anything like dreamland, only got better with age). it was a niiiiiice dream--twas a pity to wake up.

"We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence." - Joseph Roux

happy birthday hun.

ugh...i'm really not feeling being here today. all i want out of life is to curl up in my nice warm bed and sleep...

i'm not quite getting what this is...i'm hoping it's just that i'm getting a cold or something. i just feel so run down, but i have no real reason to--i've gotten mad sleep the past two nights. it doesn't help that it's cold and dreary outside...

blearg.

i know beth must be all sorts of excited today.

as am i! what will i be picking up on my way home from work this afternoon?

the new tori album!!!! :)

i found it hilarious that chiefmoose.com was featured on the news this morning--no official reaction from the moosester, however. c'est la vie.

i've been freezing at work (again) for the past couple of days...not a fan. not to mention that i'm encountering a slight problem with my professional wardrobe (namely, the affect on my professional wardrobe that my running and excercising is having--grrr). but it's all good. i was absolutely exhausted last night--i've been really tired for the past four or five days--so i fell asleep around 9:45 (i know, i was shocked too). but, of course, i woke up at 2, 3:30 and 5:25 completely ready to start my day. once 6:25 rolled around, however, all i wanted to do was stick around in bed for a few more minutes.

never fails.

the more i read about mraz, the more intriguing i find him. i think i will have to buy "waiting for my rocket to come" very soon--it's currently at No. 2 on my list of music i intend to buy (No. 1 being, obviously, tori's "scarlet's walk" TOMORROW!!!!). mraz seems to have the musical talent of a howie or john, but with a kickass attitude and still has a bit of the underground feel we all know i love (what can i say? i admit that i do get a slightly elitist kick out of knowing about a talented musician before the general public).

needless to say, the fact that he's playing the higher ground show with howie on the 18th makes me want to scream with envy...st. michael's people should go to the show and call me from the venue--with mraz on the other line telling me that he wishes i was there...well, perhaps that would be a bit much, but it would make an amazing belated birthday present (hint hint, wink wink--and if you REALLY love me, you'd have mraz AND howie telling me they wish i was there). while he'll be here in d.c. right before then (i think he's actually here the day before), he's opening for jewel, and i don't feel like spending the money for a big show when he'll be playing an opening set. and besides, there's a "been there done that" feel to seeing jewel live (saw her at woodstock and, while she was fine, the set didn't exactly pull me in either).

i'm writing a novel next month. both my mother and beth called yesterday to tell me about nanowrimo.com and, needless to say, i'm thrilled about it. i signed up this morning and can't wait until friday.

oh, and by the way, go here. vote for averi. help them open for the goo goo dolls in l.a. you can vote once a day.

I saw fireworks from the freeway and behind closed eyes I cannot make them go away
Cause you were born on the fourth of july, freedom ring
now something on the surface it stings
that something on the surface it kind of makes me nervous who says that you deserve this
and what kind of god would serve this? We will cure this dirty old disease
if you've got the poison I've got the remedy

the remedy is the experience. It is a dangerous liaison
I say the comedy is that its serious. Which is a strange enough new play on words
I say the tragedy is how youre gonna spend the rest of your nights with the light on
So shine the light on all of your friends because it all amounts to nothing in the end.

I wont worry my life away.
I wont worry my life away.

I heard two men talking on the radio in a cross fire kind of new reality show
Uncovering the ways to plan the next big attack
they were counting down the days to stab the brother in the be right back after this
the unavoidable kiss, where the minty fresh death breath is sure to outlast his catastrophy
dance with me, because if you've got the poison, I've got the remedy

the remedy is the experience. It is a dangerous liaison
I say the comedy is that its serious. Which is a strange enough new play on words
I say the tragedy is how youre gonna spend the rest of your nights with the light on
So shine the light on all of your friends because it all amounts to nothing in the end.

I wont worry my life away.
I wont worry my life away.

When I fall in love I take my time
There's no need to hurry when I'm making up my mind
You can turn off the sun but I'm still gonna shine and I'll tell you why

Because

the remedy is the experience. It is a dangerous liaison
I say the comedy is that its serious. Which is a strange enough new play on words
I say the tragedy is how you're gonna spend the rest of your nights with the light on
So shine the light on all of your friends because it all amounts to nothing in the end.

I wont worry my life away.
I wont worry my life away.
I wont and I wont and I wont, etc.

i don't know precisely what it is, but i am in a fantastic mood this morning. just have had a smile on my face since i woke up. i'm going to go with it and be happy...hell, it's significantly better than the alternative, right?

i had the jason mraz sampler waiting for me when i got home...big, huge thank you goes out to tikki for sending it my way. it's fantastic--i think listening to it on the metro on my way in this morning helped contribute to my great start...it has "the remedy" (see above), "you & i both" and a live track of "i'm ok" that rocks the casbah. good times...

after a lowkey friday (i felt like i had been hit by a truck by the time i got home friday, so i just crashed), i participated in halloween debauchery on saturday. after pre-party preparation at erica & carrie's, the six of us piled into a cab and headed to the zebra lounge for the cua party held there. $15 at the door and an open bar--we took advantage of this situation. it was fun to talk and meet some new people, and i found this odd self-confidence that i didn't know i had--let's just say i hope it sticks around for awhile. little red riding hood (whore) was appreciated, and i enjoyed being able to play around in a fun costume and wear kickass boots without feeling foolish.

after a stop at a random house party in dupont, the party continued at the hard rock, where a fun time dancing and whatnot was had. it was a very enjoyable evening and with sunday spent catching up on sleep and relaxation, an enjoyable weekend overall.

my parents are visitng this weekend to celebrate my birthday on sunday, so i'm looking forward to that...good times good times...

and let's give a hand to the russians for the "oh shit" moment of the week...you think they'll think twice before using that stuff next time?

i'm sure everyone knows, but senator wellstone was just killed in a plane crash while campaigning in minnesota.

i was never able to meet the senator, but i saw him a couple of times and he seemed like a great man. we ran over to his office shortly after they confirmed that he was on the plane to see if there was any way we could help--answering phones, whatever--and everyone is, naturally, a wreck. the press is camped outside the front door of the office, so we went around to a different entrance. we didn't go into the office, but we talked to daschle's o.m., who's down there helping out, and we asked if there was anything we can do and offered to help in any way possible. the staff was in a meeting, but the people we could see were, obviously, a wreck. i just wanted to bust through the door and give them hugs and a shoulder to cry on.

it's tough--i know before i held this position, i just saw senators and politicians as people who stand there and debate things before voting on them. not really anything beyond the suit. and i obviously didn't think about the masses of people who work for each politician--in offices in washington, home states, etc. and i'm sitting here, trying to imagine how senator wellstone's staff got through learning of their boss' death while watching cnn during an otherwise typical friday afternoon. i joke about my role working for the senator, i admit that. but, even after only a couple of months here, if something happened to the senator, i'd be a wreck. once you assume a position in the shadow of a man like that, you get to experience little bits of everything they deal with. you see how the public affects the work you do, how the media plays a role, how one statement, one call, one whatever, can influence everything. when the senator struggles, you struggle. and when the senator does something amazing, you get an incredible feeling of pride--pride for both the senator and yourself for being a part of that, no matter how small a part that might be. it sounds cheesy, i know, but it's true--the person you work becomes a part of you.

and to have that ripped away--i don't even know.

my senator was speaking on cnn when we got back from senator wellstone's office, and i almost cried when i heard his voice on the phone. he was choked up and emotional, and that's what did it for me--to hear him so upset was almost too much.

let's just put it this way: i've seen many things since arriving here, but this is one that i didn't expect to deal with. it's difficult and it's incredibly eye-opening. i can't believe i'm here for it.

THIS IS THE GREATEST SITE EVER.

look at the FAQ.

oh.
my.
god.
i.
love.
it.

much as the sniper issue is complex and sure to become stranger as we discover more about the situation, i'm not going to lie about it--hearing that the gun has been tied to most of the shootings brought me a feeling of relief.

yesterday was amusing, to say the least. i met sydney pollack (shook his hand, introduced myself, and managed to contain my utter giddiness) and spoke to someone to speaks to bono all the time (so i'll tell myself it was almost like speaking to bono himself). went to front page for a couple of drinks with chloe, nicole and nick, which was fun, but i wasn't totally into it and was being chatted up by a nice (but uninteresting) guy (who, however, paid me my second, "you look just like donna from 'the west wing'" compliment--i'm sorry, i'm flattered, but long blonde hair does not make me a donna clone, much as i'd like to be one), so i headed out after an hour and a half or so.

since thursday night means chipotle, i stopped by for my weekly dose of chicken fajita burrito goodness. imagine my glee when the guy working the register (who i say hi to each week) told me my meal was on the house...i can't wait to tell chloe that i'm officially a regular--she'll crack up.

and i'm fish-sitting for the next week and a half or so--since ed's going to vermont to campaign, i said i would look after snappy for him. so now i have a fish to greet me when i come home at night...it's the closest thing to having a pet i've experienced in years--probably since sixth grade.

it's not like you can really screw up taking care of a fish for a little while...right?

i hope the day comes when someone describes me as "dreamistic."

while we discussed the sniper on tuesday, colin asked me if when i thought they'd catch him.

"they won't catch him off guard," i replied. "the only way they'll get him is if he wants to be caught."

so now they think they've got the suspects--and it looks to me as if that's exactly how it played out.

i'm not trying to take anything away from the police forces involved in the investigation--they had to piece it all together, after all--but i find it a bit too much of a coincidence that they find the suspects about an hour after chief moose tells the media that the sniper wanted him to announce that the suspect has been caught. they were sleeping in a car. these people are smart--they would have known that events were unfolding, so why would they be sleeping in a car in such close proximity to the area? if they didn't want to be found, they would have been busy driving away.

it's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next few days--but there's my theory. take it as you will.

in less pressing matters, a repeat of "the west wing" gave me the opportunity to participate in house viewing of "the bachelor." oh my god--how hilarious is that show? it's along the same vein of "real world," since we just sit there and bash the people on it...hehehehehe.