23 in DC: January 2010

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Where Does the Time Go?

What an awesome weekend!

Friday: Met up with Mr. Lanning (an old friend from Walla Walla) for drinks and dinner at a French restaurant near the zoo. It was restaurant week in DC so we got an amazing deal and the food was incredible. We explored north DC a little and then I called it a night.

Saturday: Sort of interesting day. Ended up at Bailey's (where I've been going on Saturdays, nice little pub nearby) where I made a couple of new friends and lost horribly at Cricket.

Sunday: An old coworker from WW took me to dinner at Marcel's, which is this crazy nice French restaurant in Georgetown and then to a play at the Kennedy center. The food was out of this world. We started off with rosemary bread and olive butter, accompanied by a duck confit amuse-bouche. Then I had pheasant with mushroom foie gras, dry-aged beef tenderloin with roasted pears and potato gratin, and instead of dessert I opted for a sampler of five cheeses, each with its own pairing (like fresh honeycomb or Marcona almonds). Our waiter was the sweetest gentleman ever, and insisted that I have the dessert anyway because it was so good, so he brought me out the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. Pistachio soufflé with chocolate ice cream and chocolate soufflé with pistachio ice cream. Heaven. And as if THAT weren't enough, they brought us out a tray of goodies with some truffles and tarts on it. I think the staff was a little excited because I was speaking French with them, so we received excellent service. Then they took us in a sedan to the play and picked us up afterward. The play was called "Shear Madness" and it was pretty funny. It was audience interactive so we had to "help" solve a murder. Apparently the way the audience votes/picks up on clues determines the outcome of the play, so it's different every time (and it's half improvisation anyway).

After the play I met up with someone at a place called Whitlow's, which is this interesting little bar that does trivia on Sunday nights. It was by far one of the best dates I've been on. In fact, the only better date was the one yesterday. Which brings me to

Monday: Definitely slept in and then read in bed for a few hours :). Then I went to a late lunch with the same guy from Saturday night. We ate at this place called Café Salsa, where I ordered something completely foreign off the menu (I guess it was Columbian) but man, it was amazing. Then we walked down to the pier, had some coffee, and chatted for a few hours while we listened to some guy beat drumsticks on random things. It was so beautiful outside, as you can see (once I get pictures uploaded).

I'm still waiting for them to finish repairing my computer so I will finish this post later! :)

Miss you all
XOXO
Love love love
Kellie

Friday, January 8, 2010

When Nerds Unite

It is indeed a small world. I met someone who's organic chem prof took over the organic chem position at Whitman College the year after my organic chem prof retired. I didn't know her but I knew of her. Now, the person who taught me organic chem, Skip Wade, is basically a legend. He went to Harvard and was drinking buddies with Watson (who, with Crick, discovered the structure of DNA) and wrote our textbook for our class which is used all over the country. Well, this person I met is a TA at Georgetown for an organic chem lab and he uses Skip Wade's textbook! And he knows the person who replaced Skip Wade. We actually had an hour long discussion about the textbook and how much a character Skip is. And about chemical mechanisms.

Nerdy, but it amuses me quite a bit.

Not much else is new. Should be a fun weekend--Curtis and I plan on going
out Saturday and hopefully rallying some others to join us. In February I
am going to New York for a few days, so I am thrilled about that. I have a
date on Monday, volunteer orientation Tuesday (I'm going to start working
with homeless children), and Wednesday I get to see an old Walla Walla
friend (Mr. Lanning if you're from WW and curious) and make dinner at his
place. I'm excited to start getting out more--on Saturdays as needed I'll
be helping at a soup kitchen in downtown DC so afterwards I plan to do lots
of exploring since I'll already be in the area.

I will, of course, keep you updated and share pictures!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

First Weekend of 2010!

New Year's was fantastic! Dinner took place at a beautiful, delicious Mediterranean restaurant on U-Street. We then tried a couple of bars in the area until settling on one that we liked. It had a great vibe--small, pool tables, darts, Foosball, and fun people. There were nine of us total, and I think everyone had a great time. I made several new friends and had a blast getting acquainted with the others there. I even got to watch the ball drop in a manner which was appropriate for counting down the new year (as opposed to watching it at 9 pm and having three hours to go...)! And I have to say, this was definitely my favorite New Years so far :)

New Year's day was quiet and relaxing. Sunday I went to the National Archives and Museum of National History (see pics below). It was a great day, even if the wind chill made being outside extremely unpleasant.

Next week is a full week of work, which will be interesting considering that hasn't happened for a few weeks. I'm sure it will be long but I am looking forward to a regular routine again.

I will try to take more descriptive/interesting photos. Usually I just get distracted and forget!

Love and miss you all,
XOXO LOVE LOVE LOVE