Saturday, January 27, 2007

Today

Last night I came home exhausted and with a headache from hell. After a quick hello and goodbye to Mal (she's gone to Richmond for the weekend), I retreated to the dark hole of my room and went to bed at eight. For a few hours, I drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of the sounds of my other roommates enjoying their Friday night. The last time I glanced at the clock was at 11. From then until 7:45 AM I remained asleep.

Today was my first morning of training at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. I'll be trained in counseling and basic interactions with the clients that come into the CHPC. For the next five weeks of our Saturday morning training, we'll begin with breakfast and then cover three hours of material.

There are twenty other women besides myself, the biggest volunteer group they've had to train thus far. We crowded into a small room and each sat on padded folding chairs. I felt like a sardine and the binder that they gave me opened up wider than my personal space provided. It was that way for all of us. Thus, there were a lot of "sorry's" and "excuse me's" given and heard throughout the morning as binders and persons collided.

We opened the morning with introductions. There were various ages represented, but most of the women were about my age. Everyone seemed eager and excited to get started. So, after intros, we dove right in to the material. In looking at our agenda, we'll be covering a lot of literature, but we'll also be watching some videos.

After training, I came back to the house and read for a little bit. It was a beautiful and sunny day here in DC. Though Drew and I talked about going to a movie or museum, we ultimately decided so stay in and create our own masterpieces. haha.

Drew has been doing some web work and for the past four hours, I've been working on the painting that I mentioned in a previous posting (January 18). It's harder than I thought and an artistic stretch for me. I usually enjoy painting serene landscapes, with a fence or something here and there. This cityscape is out of my painting comfort zone!

Monday, January 22, 2007

FYI: More pics

Just in case you haven't scrolled down far enough... I added a few pictures from Friday night to that post!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Saturday and Sunday

Last night at Rock It!'s was great. By the time everyone showed up, there were about a dozen of people in our party. The bar was pretty busy, but not nearly as crowded as it became once the karaoke machine came alive! Within ten minutes of the time that the sign-up sheet was unveiled, there were already 40 people on it. Luckily, we were warned by someone in our party, so we made sure to get in line soon and put our names on the list.

Since you're all curious... Drew and I sang first of our group. We sang Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's song, "Where is the Love?" A few songs later, Mal, Karen, myself, and a few other ladies in our entourage belted out "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (which we realized once onstage that none of us really knew that well). As our final performance Mal and I did a classic crowd pleaser, Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places." It was so much fun and definitely an entertaining evening!















Gettin' ready to sing, er, make some strange noises while holding a microphone.















And again except with Karen...


Today was just as awesome and has to be one of my favorite Saturdays spent in DC!! It was one of those days where everything I did was completely due to the wonderful city in which I live.

After church today, Mal and Karen split from Drew and me. Karen had to pack, with the intention of heading back to NC. Drew and I went to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I had never been there, but had been meaning to go for quite a while. We wound up spending three hours there as we tag teamed with a tour guide and she walked us through the majority of the museum and talked about the years between Hitler's first position of power (1933) through the end of WW 2. The museum was intense and several times I couldn't help but get a little emotional.

After our travels through history, Drew and I walked outside and were greeted with HUGE snow flakes and a white winter wonderland. We crunched through the two inch powdery snow and met Mal and Karen at the Sculpture Garden cafe. We found out that Karen was still in town, due to the snow, and we used that as an excuse for her to stay longer! Once at the cafe, we all sipped on yummy hot chocolate while we watched snow ball fights, ice skaters, and kids running in the snow outside.

"It's just like a snow globe," Mal said. And it really was... that or one of those little snow villages that you see around Christmas time.

Mal and Karen were planning on ice skating and Drew and I were easily persuaded (well, I was... Drew took a bit longer) to join. So, we rented ice skates and skated on the Sculpture Garden's rink (what is normally the biggest fountain in DC and is the one that I am sitting by in my profile picture to the left).
















Catching snow flakes... and Drew looking like he's eating a firefly or tinkerbell.
















Right after we landed our double axles...

Thirty minutes, a blister (poor Mal), and forty cold toes later, we called it quits and headed back into the cafe to warm ourselves. That called for more hot chocolate and some time to dry off our jackets and gloves.

By the time our fun was over, it was dark. So, we hopped aboard the metro and then walked the rest of the way home. It's amazing how walking in the snow never seems as cold as walking without it.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Friday night

Last night's restaurant was much better than I imagined it would be. I'd heard mixed reviews about it and the fact that it was WAY far out of the city was another reason why I didn't have high hopes.

Mallory, our friend Karen (visiting from NC), and I hopped aboard the metro and rode it for almost thirty minutes to get to our destination stop. It was freezing last night, so I was delighted to find that the restaurant was just over a block from where we exited.

When we arrived, my low expectations leapt considerably as my eyes took in the rich wood floors and deep red decor in the restaurant. Candle flames danced all around and added an elegant touch. We were greeted by someone who asked to check our coats and then another host led us to our table. By pure luck, we had the best table in the house. It was off in a little room towards the back of the restaurant that could be closed off to the rest of the dining area by a linen curtain.

We weren't the first to arrive. Dave and our other friends Archana and Abby were waiting. About five minutes after we sat, the last two (of our eight person party) arrived.

The menu was superb. Even though it was limited, there were still many options to chose from. I chose a carmalized onion and potato ravioli served with shrimp, dried red peppers, and a sharp cheese sauce as my appetizer. It was one of five on the menu. For my entree I had filet mignon (of course!) that was crusted with black and red pepper seasoning. It was complimented with sauteed mushrooms, onion rings (random sounding, but delicious), and what I can only describe as some type of potato and cheese fritter. Mmm. It was amazing. Finally, for dessert I had a slice of chocolate cream pie with a three-nut crust topped with whip cream and chocolate shavings. To compliment each course, I also added a "wine tasting" that featured a generous sample of wine.

Our dinner lasted for about two and a half hours. It was perfectly paced and the conversation was great. I really enjoyed our separate room and think it added to the free-flowing ways of the conversation. One of the guys in our party, whom I hadn't met before, was also from Winston and had gone to UNCG. Small world, eh?

Willow was a complete success. Everything was delicious and the service was exceptional. Our server had knowledge about the menu and personality, but also did not hover over our table.

I love restaurant week in DC!!

Tonight's plan is karaoke. Mallory, Drew, Karen, and I will be meeting Dave and some of our other friends at Rock It! Bar. haha. Sounds interesting, eh??










Taken during our super long metro ride out to Willow.









Our party- you can see the "privacy curtain" in the background. We left it open the whole night.





Yeah, I dunno... it was just a fun picture. I think we were showing off our truly sophisticated sides.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

A fast week

Having Monday off really threw me for a loop. I was going to take the trash out tonight, but realized that today was Thursday (and has been all day)... the trash guys came this morning. Hmm.

The good news is that I'm peering at Friday and almost there.

This weekend should be fun. This week in DC is restaurant week, which means that participating (normally expensive) restaurants around town are offering a discounted, flat rate menu. Throughout the city, dining venues are offering a limited menu, featuring an appetizer, entree, and dessert of the patron's choice for the low cost of $30.09. Not shabby, folks. A lot of the restaurants that offer such a deal would normally be around $60+ a plate. So, tomorrow night we're going to Willow, a little place in Arlington.

Saturday night should be just as fabulous. We'll be rocking the evening with a little karaoke. I haven't sang karaoke in a long time and I'll be going with Mal and Drew, so it should be fun. We're meeting some of our other friends there (including DC Dave) and some of their friends. I think it'll wind up being a pretty good sized crowd. So, if you hear some strange noises coming from the DC area there is no need to worry. It's just Mal singing. haha!! :)

I've found a picture that I'm anxious to attempt painting. Mal took it on her recent trip to NYC and I really like it. What do you think??














I was a little jealous today when we didn't get any snow, but NC did. What's up with that?? They're predicting something on Sunday or Monday. Maybe we'll get a DC blizzard!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Update

More weekend updates to come soon. In the meantime, I've copied and pasted the article that I wrote of in my last post. Now, you can actually read what prompted me to write the editor.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Letter to the Editor

I couldn't resist writing a letter in response to an article that I read in the Chronicle for Higher Education. I'd suggest reading the article (I've copied and pasted it below since the link didn't work) before checking out my response.

Studies Link Circumcision to Reduced HIV Risk
By DAVID GLENN
Circumcision of adult men appears to be a highly effective method of reducing HIV transmission, officials of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced in December. The announcement may bring a decades-long argument among medical researchers and social scientists closer to resolution.

The institute's Data and Safety Monitoring Board voted to cut short two large-scale, randomized studies of circumcision in Africa. Early results showed very strong effects, and the board decided that it would be unethical to continue to withhold treatment from the men who had been assigned to the control groups. Those men will immediately be given the option of being circumcised.

The two studies, which got under way in 2002, were conducted in regions of Africa where boys are rarely circumcised as infants. The studies offered half of their participants — those who were randomly assigned to the treatment condition — the option of being circumcised as adults. Participants in both the treatment and control conditions were offered counseling about sexual risk-taking and an array of general health services.

One of the two studies, based in Uganda, found that newly circumcised men's risk of acquiring HIV was reduced by 48 percent. The other study, based in Kenya, found that the risk was reduced by 53 percent.

The Uganda study was led by scholars at the Johns Hopkins University and at Makerere University, in Kampala. The Kenya study was a collaboration among scholars at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Nairobi. Both studies received their principal support from the National Institutes of Health.

Epidemiologists have long suspected that circumcision reduces men's risk of acquiring HIV in heterosexual sex. Some social scientists have cast doubt on that theory, but the new controlled studies have effectively proven the epidemiologists' case.

http://chronicle.comSection: Research & PublishingVolume 53, Issue 18, Page A12

And my response:

To the Editor:

As an avid reader of the Chronicle and someone with a personal interest in medical advances, I was drawn to your article entitled, "Studies Link Circumcision to Reduced HIV Risk" in the January 5th edition. I didn't make it past the first sentence in the second paragraph before I did a double take. Considering the subject matter, David Glenn's wording almost made me fall out of my chair. Needless to say, my attention for the rest of Glenn's article was "cut short" as my eyes kept drifting back to his uncaught (uncut?) pun. Thank you for publishing important discoveries in health and also for the chuckle on an otherwise slow afternoon.

M. A. Duncan
Washington, D.C.


I still haven't heard anything from the editor yet. Hmm...

Sunday, January 07, 2007

2007

I have been unbelievably slack in my posting. Thanks, Dean, for getting me motivated again.

It's been a great year so far. The holidays were busy with traveling and catching up with the fam and friends. Mal and I just arrived back to town from NC. The weekend was spent in Fayetteville as we celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday. It's a miracle to think that six months ago he was told to make plans for his funeral. Instead of "remembering" him this weekend, we celebrated his victory over leukemia, his life, and of the future to come.

Since Thanksgiving, things have been a blur. Along the way, I remember working a bit, but was mostly caught up in traveling. Between St Thomas and going back and forth to NC, I barely had time to think.

I'm going to be better at posting... and hopefully will post a few times a week.

I didn't make a resolution this year. I still have a few items from a list that I made in the fall. I think it's been a couple years since I've even made a New Year's resolution.

I'm feeling pretty good about life in general. I'm still enjoying my job. My family is well. Mike and I are doing great. I'm becoming more involved in life here... venturing out and making new friendships. It's amazing to just recap what's happened in the last year.

A year ago from today, I had no clue that DC is where I'd be at this moment. I was unhappy in my job, feeling unchallenged and discouraged because I knew it wasn't the field in which I'd be happy. I was living at home and anxious to live on my own again. I wasn't in love, heck, I wasn't even looking for it. Well, I wasn't looking too hard anyways! I was enjoying my single life and my close group of girl friends whom I still miss.

So, things have changed and I have too. 2006 was a great year. It was full of adventures, a new love, new friendships, a new city, and new challenges. I'm curious as to where I'll be in another year. What will 2007 bring? Where will I go? Who will I meet and what situations will change me?