so we're getting out early this afternoon...should i go hunting for protesters? ;)

i should actually be reasonable and get home so i can have time to go running and then frantically clean my room so the parents don't have a heart attack when they see it...

IMF protesters arrested in DC

it's actually rather sad...500 people are arrested in this city and the thing i have to look forward to is the "new england clam chowda" kevin scored for us for lunch.

it's so pathetic i find it funny.

if you asked me back in february of 2000 if this would happen, i would have said absolutely not. yet here i am, looking at the dates for mayer's fall/winter tour. he's going to be headlining at the patriot arena on 11/29 (same venue as tori a few weeks earlier), and i had absolutely no desire whatsoever to see him perform live.

what, do i not like his music anymore? of course i still enjoy his music. i'm a fan of his and will be for a long time. do i follow his success as much as i used to? no, but i still check in periodically to see what's going on.

but do i want to see him headline a show at a large arena like the patriot? absolutely not. i'd much rather remember the small mayer shows i saw--at higher ground, at paradise. considering that i had a hard time seeing him headline at lupos in providence, i think i'd find a much better use for the money that would go to a ridiculously overpriced ticket to see him headline an arena show.

it's funny--i'm so excited about seeing tori, and that's at the same venue...but since it's my first experience with seeing tori live (and i consider her a very established name) and we've got great seats, i'm estatic. with john, i've sat down and spoken with him. i've sat at a table with a small audience and watched him perform a solo set, and i've been in the front row at paradise, looking directly up at him while he looked down at me.

i'm sorry, i just can't enjoy sitting in a huge arena and watch the little figure on the stage that is john mayer. not gonna happen.

alright, so i came into the city early this morning expecting to be surrounded by protesters clogging union station and attempting to wreak havoc on the city's public transportation. i wanted to see protesters, i brought in my camera to document the mayhem, etc. etc. etc.

i walk out of union station with dan and see police officers across the street from the fountain, but have i seen a single protester?

big negative.

and i, for one, am disappointed by this. what, a little drizzly weather and they don't show up??? the union station demonstration was supposed to start at 7:30. i was there at 8:30 and there was nothing. i think it's important for people to speak out against what they don't believe in--and i always give protesters (who handle things civilly) credit for getting out there. so when i saw no protesters, no nothing...yes, i definitely was deflated a bit.

but there's a lot going on downtown, apparently. we've got "the today show" on, as normal, and the channel 4 news is covering the marches and civil disobedience. i only hope that i can catch some of it when i get out of work tonight...perhaps i'll have to take a little walk before i head right home.

i remain optimistic about today--i'm bound to have a good day, as the rest of the week has been so tricky. and, in about an hour, my parental units will begin the trek here! goody...

my thoughts are with LEAPers this weekend. :)

i swear it's just one of those weeks.

i decided to pass up the chance to see "igby" because i wasn't feeling overly well at the end of my shift yesterday--something that is still continuing today. upon arriving home last night, i got into my pjs and curled up on the couch to watch the boss on "60 minutes II" and the season premiere of "the west wing"--how much do i LOVE THAT SHOW--and then went right to bed.

woke up at 7:15, the time i'm normally on the metro to get to work. aurgh--i jumped out of bed, threw on clothing, ran a brush through my hair and put on my glasses, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast and ran out the door. so here i am at work, tired, cranky, without a lunch which means i have to buy lunch either here or at union station if i want to eat (undecided as to whether or not i will at this point--as i did have a big dinner of chipotle last night because i decided my face looked thin when i got home from work) and i'm expecting a million phone calls today and i just want to be able to get through the day so i can go running (in my "i don't feel well and i'm going to pity myself" mood, i decided to take yesterday off) and get back on track. not to mention that i want to get to tomorrow so i can observe the protesters and wait for my parents to arrive...

hey, it's been a lousy week, but it's almost over, so it's all good.

i need to take some pictures of higher ground when i make the burlington trip columbus day weekend--all this talk about tearing the building down didn't really hit me until today. it's crazy to think that it probably won't be there in a year--especially when put in the perspective of all the things i've experienced there: socials (including the senior slide show--huge memory right there), a ton of concerts (including cherry poppin daddies--collin and will in the zoot suits--and melissa ferrick) and concert-related activities. thinking of kicking the snow away from behind riggott's car so he could get me and michelle down to higher ground to meet with and interview john mayer and glen phillips...i can't believe it won't be there anymore...

not to mention that i am shocked by all of the work that is going on on campus. i'm gone for a few months and there's a new dorm, work beginning on the welcome center and now this cafe cheray thing??? this is making me feel incredibly old.

LOOK AT THIS.

this is the view we will have to see tori amos and howie day on november 12.

SIX ROWS BACK.

i am absolutely bursting with excitement to the point of nearly bouncing up and down in my seat.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

going to see "igby goes down" this evening (yes, i am taping "the west wing" and will be home for most of it), so i'm going to try to write a movie review tonight (keep my criticism practices going). the buzz about this film has been nothing short of stellar, so i'm excited...it's my one indulgence of the week that i'm allowing myself. :)

the closer my parents' trip here comes, the more excited i'm becoming. excited about seeing them, excited about having people from home here for a little bit, and excited about having my things here so i can feel settled in. i realized yesterday that my guitar will be with me again. while i still can't play to say my life, knowing that i will have it there to try to play when i'm stressed is fantastic. not to mention the rest of my non-work clothes and more work clothes and a think comforter for my bed so i can feel all cozy when i wake up in the morning and my photographs to put on the walls and in frames and posters and a tv so i can watch things in my room and my stero so i can actually listen to the radio and the furniture i've been missing and my weights so i don't have to do everything at the gym and all of that fun stuff that i haven't needed as far as getting by, but have really missed in the past month.

there is a possibility that i'll be going to see "igby goes down" with chloe and nicole tonight, although i think it all depends on how i feel, as i've been a little less than 100% the past day or so. if i do, i'm obviously taping "the west wing" (TWO HOUR SEASON PREMIERE TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and enjoying it when i get home...

i'm determined to have a good day today. i got here and had a surprise email from a member of my dc actf crew (spencer!), so it started off on a good note and will continue on one, dammit!

by the way, i am really looking forward to seeing what the IMF protests are like on friday...when i was last in dc at actf, i spent my last afternoon taking photographs of another huge protest on the ellipse and got some wonderful shots--i plan on trying to cover this event in a similar manner.

beth: to answer a question you asked--did the phone call brighten my day? not so much. making an appearance in the office, however, certainly did.

while i still prefer my artist/actor/rock star types (what can i say? if they brood, are creative, or play guitar, i seem to become smitten every time), i must say that in my days here, i have gained a definite appreciation for a man who looks good in a suit.

these two points are, obviously, completely unrelated. ;)

this concludes my incredibly superficial post.

like there was any doubt...

Which My So-Called Life Character Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

ok, forget discussions of how much i <3 the library of fucking congress. i abhor the library of congress.

after a long, frustrating morning, i trapse over to the loc during my lunch break, figuring i can pick up my books, head back to the building and have twenty minutes to down my salad (it's not like i'm trying to eat a five-course meal here, afterall) before heading back to work.

i pick up my books and check to make sure i don't have to do anything else before heading to the door. security stops me and says i need to get the books charged.

now i've been patient. i've been understanding. at this point, i'm pissed off.

"where do i go to charge out the books?"

down the hall to this random door. fine. i go through said door and get a look from the woman there that says, "what the hell are you doing here?" i ask to charge the books. she sends me through another door to another woman who obviously doesn't want me there. she asks what i want. i ask to charge the books. she starts to but stops, saying i don't have an account. she sends me through another door and down a hallway to a guy so i can set up an account. he doesn't want me there. i'm doing everything in my power to not scream. i get my damn account, charge my damn books, and get back to work (without eating) just in the nick of time.

AND when i get to the elevator, the damn "senators only" light is on, so i have to walk up the four flights of stairs so senators can get on on floor two and get off on floor three.

I AM PISSED.

yes, ladies and gentlemen, yesterday is continuing into today. but i will conquer these days, despite the bullshit and the fact that i'm not feeling the fact that i'm still freezing and now extremely hungry...NEAH!

i do not <3 the library of congress anymore. while i appreciate all that it offers the nation (and, since my office is just down the street, all it offers me), i went through an ordeal trying to figure out how to make the system work for me last night.

after work, i went over to the adams building (since the website said jefferson closes at 5:30 on mondays) and presented my printout sheets for the three books i wanted. the very nice gentleman working the book request desk informed me that all of the ones i wanted were in jefferson, which (contrary to the website) closes at 9:30. so i filled out the requests and he called them over for me so they'd start looking for the books while i walked over to the other building (keep in mind that i'm from vermont. walking through the tunnel from one library building to another boggles my mind). i got to the reading room in jefferson (which is absolutely GORGEOUS) and walked up to the desk to say i was waiting for my books. the people at the desk vaguely gestured to the opposite side of the desk, murmuring something about how my books would be there when they were found.

while i waited, i was roped into conversation with an older guy who wound up talking about the bullshit of the red tape that comes with so much of washington bureaucratic systems and how it all comes down to race. needless to say, i did not want to particpate in this discussion, but there was no where else i could really wait for my books, so i listened with half an ear and, when the time came, found a way to escape.

walking up to the desk again, i asked the people to explain how the system works--how long i can take out the books and whatnot. and then i find out about the stupid system they have. i had to wait for the books to arrive so i could fill out another request slip for each book, place slip in book and put the books on a shelve, where they would be processed the next morning, at which point i could take them out of the reading room. since i was there at 6:30, an hour and a half past the limit for same-day requests, i had to wait. so i had to wait until 7:10 for them to find my books, then fill out three slips of paper, shelve the books again, and leave empty-handed. and i get to walk back to the l.o.c. during my lunch hour so i can actually pick up the books and bring them home.

it's a good thing this library has almost anything i could want, because otherwise, i'd be a whole lot more angry than i was last night. it was the perfect end to a perfectly long, frustrating day--filled with phones ringing off the hooks and tension. when i got home, i went running (which my body did not want to do, but i convinced myself--and was partially right--that running would clear my head and remove some of the tension in my body. true enough, i was exhausted after a mile and a half) and then came home to make dinner and confirm flight info with my father for my trip home for thanksgiving. while making dinner, i managed to lightly cut my finger. this is not a problem normally. however when one is cutting a slice of lemon (read: citric acid), this is not fun.

but i digress. today is shaping up decently enough, i suppose--it's really starting to feel like fall, so i'm happy about that. i'm sitting here in a sweater, shivering--but that's a combination of this building being cold (a lot of marble and high ceilings makes for drafty hallways) and the fact that my mother's probably right about my having an iron deficiency. i finally had to go outside and stand in the sunshine for a few minutes because when i looked down at my hands, the fingertips, besides feeling like icicles, were bone white. i don't think that's a really good thing--time to start taking the vitamins again.

in other news...one of my roommates got her first byline in the national journal today! she is certainly deserving of a revel...revelrevel...

i <3 the library of congress. i'm going to stop over there after work this afternoon, i do believe. and i'm going to, if all things go according to plan, pick up at least "alias grace", "someone who'll watch over me" AND lee blessing's "a walk in the woods."

*squeal of delight* this is like christmas! all the things i've been wanting to read without having to either search everywhere or pay an arm and a leg for my own copies! life is good.

how does one spend one's day when working in the office? prompted by donnie darko, engaging in a deeply philosphical discussion about the sexuality of the smurfs. prompted by this quote, which i have been using as an away message all day:

First of all, Papa Smurf didn't create Smurfette. Gargamel did. She was sent in as Gargamel's evil spy with the intention of destroying the Smurf village, but the overwhelming goodness of the Smurf way of life transformed her. And as for the whole gang-bang scenario, it just couldn't happen. Smurfs are asexual. They don't even have reproductive organs under those little white pants.

care to add your own two cents on the matter? add a comment, show you care.

hi, have i been living under a rock?!?!?

david gray will release his fifth studio album, a new day at midnight on october 5th

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

naturally i spent last night enjoying all that is the emmy awards. after all, dear "west wing"ers were up for a wonderful 21 nominations, so i had to see how many they picked up.

obviously i wanted janel to win for supporting actress, but i was very pleased to see stockard channing pick up the emmy. john spencer's win was wonderful, as was, obviously, allison janey's (see? you're press secretary, you get mad props). we won't talk about how i think martin sheen was ROBBED! but the academy made up for it by giving the show best drama. and i was happy to see jennifer aniston get her lead comedy emmy for "friends" (although i have to say, while i appreciate brad pitt--i am female, after all), is it just me or does he currently resemble leonardo dicaprio's "hi, i'm apparently trying to look like a sleezy frenchman--no offense to the french, but still).

the weekend was entertaining. another friday night on the town--happy hour at the bottom line followed by relaxation at patrick's and dancing at adam's mill. collapsed into my bed around 4 a.m.--woke up the next morning and realized that i feel old--i used to be able to do that without problem constantly--what happened?

saturday was relaxing--chloe and i made a blocbuster run and decided on donnie darko--a brilliantly interesting film that i thoroughly enjoyed. i recommend it if you like indie films--and if you like jake gyllenhaal (which i can now say i really do). i enjoyed the opportunity to just spend some time doing nothing--all i really needed to worry about was going for my runs (i'm up to running two miles now--my legs are only slightly pissed off at me and i'm a happy camper) and figuring out what i wanted to watch. while i've typically been exploring each weekend, i enjoyed not for a change.

hillary is shorter than i thought she would be.

i was talking to chloe on our way to front page last night (where, since she knew one of the bartenders, we got our cranberry vodkas in pint glasses--score!) about the tori concert, and she expressed interest in going as well. apparently fairfax is only about a half hour's drive from my apartment and she said she could drive--yeah yeah! the concert's over a month and a half away and i don't even have tickets yet, but i'm still sitting here, giddy just thinking about it...

so another friday workday comes to a close...and i prepare for another friday evening out on the town. i figure i'm fully justified in having a good time this weekend, as my parents will be in town next weekend. not that i won't have a good time having my parents here, because obviously i'm looking forward to it, but i just won't be going out (thus saving money) and whatnot--ok, i can feel the hole i'm digging growing deeper the more i try to justify what i wrote so yeah. bye. :)

i knew it would happen...

i do everything i can to get howie to play burlington again while living in vermont. three weeks after moving to washington d.c., i learn that howie will be playing higher ground in november.

but i get to see him supporting tori..

tori tour dates (try saying that five times fast)...

november 12th, i will finally have my first live tori experience. not to mention the amusing/shocking/terrifying/depressing/hysterical experience of witnessing howie day performing in a venue other than the small club/coffeehouse scene i've grown to know and love...

i'm realizing how quickly the next couple of months are going to go by. my parents are visiting next weekend to bring the rest of my belongings (wow, i'll actually feel moved in!) and enjoy some d.c. fun times...i'll be going to vermont a couple of weeks after that. michelle and beth visit over veterans' day weekend for the 203 reunion/jack johnson experience, then i'm home for thanksgiving and i'll be home again for christmas. it's strange to think about it that way...but good!

inspired by my "west wing" experience today, i visited the 2002 emmy website to see who was nominated from my show...this makes me so happy to see:

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Alias • ABC • Touchstone Television
Victor Garber as CIA Agent Jack D. Bristow

Six Feet Under • HBO • The Greenblatt/Janollari Studios and Actual Size, Inc., in association with HBO Original Programming
Freddy Rodriguez as Federico Diaz

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Dulé Hill as Charlie Young

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
John Spencer as Leo McGarry

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Judging Amy • CBS • Barbara Hall/Joseph Stern Productions for 20th Century Fox Television in association with CBS Worldwide, Inc.
Tyne Daly as Maxine Gray

Six Feet Under • HBO • The Greenblatt/Janollari Studios and Actual Size, Inc., in association with HBO Original Programming
Lauren Ambrose as Claire Fisher

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Mary-Louise Parker as Amy Gardner

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Stockard Channing as Abigail Bartlet

The West Wing • NBC • John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Televison
Janel Moloney as Donna Moss

look at that domination! lovely...