Summing up DC 2005

I was reading in an article about what makes a Washingtonian and I realized that I do have some of the mentioned characteristics. What I like about DC is that it has an identity. Granted our reputation is not as grand as NYC but definitely more unique than say San Diego or Jacksonville. So I have come up with my own short list of identifying factors of Washington.

1. The daily specials are named after lobbyists or politicians eg. Pat's pot roast, DeLay's double decker turkey club
2. Suits come in two colors: black and gray
3. Tom Siestemia's word is golden
4. Everybody has an opinion.
5. Habib makes the best burritos
6. We all know the best place to score good cocaine is a Senator's neighborhood
7. Everybody is a Federal employee or a consultant
8. We all know and love Tai Shan
9. Bush is a four letter word
10. A mother under 30 raises eyebrows
11. It is an un-spoken rule that on the escalators it is walk left, stand right
12. Most of the bus boys, cabbies, and panhandlers have Master's degrees
13. It's National not Reagan
14. Your familiar with the term DINK
15. We all talk politics yet very few of us actually care

Movin'

I hate moving! Actually I hate packing. I had to take a break from the tedium of stuffing boxes. It is so hard for me to decide what gets packed and what goes. Like what do I do with my bowl full of pennies? I don't want to throw away money but I don't want to lug the thing around with me. Banks charge a fee for taking change and nobody is impressed when you buy your coffee with pennies. God what a dilemma! What about my junk drawer? What box does that go into? God knows that I have raided that drawer in panic moments looking for tampons, safety pins, buttons, quarters, twisty ties, rolling papers, extra keys, advil, gum, cork screw, matches, batteries, etc. I can't just throw those things away! I would not be here today without the saving grace of my drawer.

What really ticks me off is that all of our stuff is going into storage. Not accessible storage but PODS storage. Which means, once its gone...Its gone until you are ready to have it shipped back to you. God I can see myself now...Trying to break in to the storage to retrieve my favorite panties that I packed.

On a good note, my dog got groomed and she looks so good. The best $100 I have spent in a long time.

My cutsie wootsie panda

My panda likes to play in a bucket filled with hay. It is THE MOST adorable thing to watch. He gets inside of it and squirms around and falls out on his head. One of the docs disagreed in the cuteness of my panda and showed me a picture of his newborn grandchild! YIKES! Shit those newborns are ugly...how is that cute? I have never really looked a a picture up close. Shit! Did we all look like that? We compared pictures side by side and in the end he agreed...baby pandas are cuter than blotchy newborns. Duh...anybody can see that! At about 1 they start looking human, before that...not so much. As Todd informed me the thing to say when you see a newborn is "Why that is a fine baby!". That way you don't have to lie and say it's cute. Todd, your so smart! That is why I love you!

I could just stare at my panda all day, he makes me smile as I perform boring statistical tests. Having the ability to watch the panda while I do work is a perk. I have to make sure my next job has streaming video:)

Paaaarttttyyyy

What a Party! Holy SMOKES! You know that it was good when the last person leaves at 5am Sunday morning. The hangover I had actually speaks a lot. When is the last time you had that pulsating pain right behind your eyes? Yep, I had that and then some. Here is a count that I did at various points in the night.

9pm:
28 people
8 bottles of red
6 bottles of white
24 beers
1 L Rum
1 L Jack
1/2 L of Wild Turkey


12am
29 people
1 bottle red
1 bottle white
some liquor
lots of making out (including in both the host's beds!) You know who you are!
about 20 really FUCKED up people

5am
10 people
NO ALCOHOL
Really FUCKED up people including my old boss with really purple lips
the wierd ethnic bottle of whiskey that has been sitting around was even gone

noon next day
ONE BIG FAT HEADACHE

All in all, I think everybody had a great time. Thanks to everyone for coming when I know there were a bizzillion parties going on this past weekend. We feel really loved! I had a great time and I realized that if we decide to stay in DC it will be for one reason, and that is because of our peeps. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such interesting and talented friends. I must have done something right in my past life:)

Shaving legs

My dental hygienist tried to make a comparison about flossing and brushing. She said that not flossing after brushing was equivalent to only shaving one leg. I must have looked blankly at her for some time because she replied back "you don't shave only one leg do you?" Well duh, of course I only shave one at a time who has the attention span and tenacity to do both?

American Public Health Association

Ok, I am tired! I have spent the past 2 days (2 more to go) walking around the Philly convention center trying to increase my knowledge of health care. The more I learn, the more I realize this world is fucked. I mean it...I am enlightened but also discouraged, there is so much to fix. We have some real problems and even the brightest minds are scratching their heads. I feel really small here. I am surrounded by the health gods and I am mere peon compared to them. The only people who want my time are starving grad students who want to intern at the PC. When I see the crowd, I duck into the ladies room. Its like I have "I WORK AT THE PC" tattooed across my head. They want my attention (actually they want an internship) and I want the big people's attention. Yet they flick me off just like I do to the grad students. God, what a cycle. Uhhhh the frustration! When will I be the big guru in PH? It seems that being wrinkly and having 2 grown children is a prerequisite.

I have made A LOT of contacts already which is always a good thing. The ability to network alone was worth the cost of admission. You can not leave here without a job. Who cares about the talks! Actually, the talks are very informative and I have met new people and re-connected with old friends. The field is quite small when I think about it, almost incestuous. Regardless, it is always nice to be recognized.

God, I am so tired I could fall over. So I am out...

Star Panda

bbc.co.uk
My panda is a STAR! Follow the link to his first public performance. What a ham! It is like he was playing to the cameras the entire time. Cute meter is way off the scale!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2005/12/08/VI2005120801129.html


Secondly, Sat at 8pm EST animal planet is going to show "Birth of a Panda" and guess who it is? It is a special that will go about an hour. The show looks very interesting. I will be in Philly for a conference but you better believe I will find someone to tape it for me. That way I can watch it over, and over, and over, and over...

Since I can't have a real panda for x-mas I am considering buying myself a fake one. Geez they are about as expensive as the real thing.

Good laughs

This is awesome! It made my day!

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end.php


http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html

Smiles and frustration

Today I need lots of smiles and these pictures makes me smile. Me, Greta and Lori in New Orelans before Katrina...when life was good. Todd and Court...they always make me smile.


I could not find my PC badge this morning. Which in itself is not too problematic except that it had my smart trip card and the key to my office on it. Uhhhh what a bad way to start my Monday. Now I am procrastinating because I have a project I must finish by 4pm and I lack the energy to do it. Thank GOD today is my last day of class...I am spent. Fourteen weeks of advanced statistical methods is enough to bore even the most passionate researchers.

Christmas List

My Christmas list for 2005

1. Less war more love
2. Population control(not through disease)
3. Cessation of rape as a tool of war
4. More trees, more space
5. Fewer republicans, more independent thinkers
6. Fewer religions and more faith
7. Full bellies and clean water which=healthy babies
8. Decrease in poverty with an increase in fair trade
9. Less corporate greed, more charity
10.More pandas


...and no more suffering. If your surprised by this picture, than you need to read more. This should not happen and shame on us for letting people starve. Maybe the US should ask Santa for some ethics this year and Peace on Earth.