Washington D.C.

Saturday I drove up to Washington D.C. to see my amazing friend Amira, who attends medical school at GW.  I was fascinated by the drive, and the change of landscape.  I went from being in a small town (Charlottesville) to the middle of nowhere.  At least, that is how I felt.  There were a few houses along the "highway" and some general stores, but not much else.  About a half hour outside of D.C. I started to get excited. Why? Because there was civilization.  Now, many of you may be thinking that I was excited about all of these stores because of my stark drive.  I assure you, that is not the case.  I was super excited about seeing a Super Target, next to a Best Buy and a Lowes, and then a few minutes later a whole shopping center and a mall.  Some days I don't mind living in a small, college town.  Everything that I need on a daily basis is 10 minutes away.  That being said, the speed limit is mostly 25 mph (so slow!), and the shopping is anywhere between 20 minutes and 1 hour and 20 minutes away.  I have been fortunate to grow up in a place where everything I could possibly need or want was so close (for the most part 30 minutes).  Something that I am currently grappling with is the small-ness of this town.

That being said, my short trip to Washington D.C. was fantastic!  It was great to catch up with Amira, who I haven't seen since August, and walk around our Capital.  The White House is so much smaller than you think it should be, with the Executive Offices being right next door.

The Row Houses in D.C. are beautiful.  They contain their own style.  You can tell many of the new buildings from the older ones due to a difference in architecture.  I wish that the new buildings would be built with the same style as the older ones, but alas, they are not.

It is always fun to go to a new or different places, because you learn so much about them.  I am so grateful that I got to spend this weekend with Amira catching up.  It is like we have never been apart; we finished each others sentences multiple times.

Cheers to a great weekend with a great friend, and to future trips!

Smiles

Hi!

A blog post to update you on my weekend.

I went to the DMV.  I got there at 7:45 am and left an hour later.  I was amazed at how fast I got out.  I did not have to take the written test as I had a valid California license (yeah!).  Since I was done early, I was second in line to get my car wash at the dealer and was in and out in 15 minutes.  Next, I went to Costco.  Costco just opened on Thursday; I am happy it is here but wish it was here a month ago.  I bought 2 large cheese pizzas, salad, chicken breasts, chicken broth, etc.

Last night, a group of people came over from my program.  We had so much fun!  We spent a lot of time laughing and talking.  It was different hanging out with a group of people who are all research scientists; it was great because we laughed at each others jokes and noticed little things about the Prince & Me (the movie we watched) that nobody else would have noticed.  I hope that we all get to hang out again soon.

By the way, these are the cupcakes I served.  You can see the process of frosting them, moving clockwise from 11 to 10 o'clock.

Today, I tried my crockpot for the first time.  The lentils came out perfectly, but the chicken breasts were a bit dry.  It will take some time learn how to use it properly.

Additionally, I went to a Pure Barre class today.  It worked all of my muscles.  I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow (and no, that is not sarcastic).  I liked it enough that I bought a 10 pack.  As I am not sure what my spending looks like, I am going to try and go once a week until I get on my feet.

This week is going to be very busy, I am attending a Cardiovascular conference!  My first one as a graduate student.

That's all for now! More to come soon.