the boys I mean are not refined

Today was about friends & food, two of my very favorite things! I spent the morning and most of the afternoon visiting my friend who's attending Georgetown. She's a compulsive shopper and so she dragged me all around M Street, which I complained horribly about and secretly loved. I did find the exact awesome boots I've been looking for, but not for $69. Maybe if they magically go down to $20, haha. I'm cheap, okay? And very broke.

We had lunch at Amma's Kitchen in Georgetown, and it was AMAZING. SO GOOD, GOD. I had the saag paneer, which is a spinach and homemade cheese dish served with rice, and it was delicious. I cannot rave about it enough. All of you DC people? EAT THERE. And then after wandering around for another few hours, we stopped at Baked & Wired, a cupcake coffeeshop. The cupcakes were yummy - very dense cake and perfect buttercream - but I like my coffee roasted darker.

And then for dinner, I met up with two of my teachers from high school who I ADORE. He was my physics teacher and softball coach, she was my English teacher and lit mag advisor, and they are the absolute stereotype of a bickering old couple. They took me to P.F. Chang's in Fairfax Corner, which I LOVE. I got Dan Dan Noodles like always because they are spicy chewy perfection. We talked about everything and they bickered like always and it was amazing. I'm going to drop by softball practice tomorrow afternoon to see all of my underclassmen. Softball & lit mag were pretty much the only two things I enjoyed in high school and it's because this couple is so amazing. I love them.

Best day of break, definitely. I'm so full and so happy. It's a good feeling. ♥

Happy birthday, Sam Winchester! Please know that if you belonged to me, you would be spending the day on a tropical island instead of, y'know. Um.

Yesterday: Senior Day! Our class took over an entire IHOP, then had senior speeches (my god, some girls were crying for five hours straight. Tons of fun, let me tell you), then the faculty softball game! Which is stupidly unfair, because two of the faculty are former minor league baseball players who consistently hit the ball over two soccer fields onto either Jermantown Road or Route 123. WHATEVER, FUN TIMES. And then the senior musical that night, Kiss Me Kate - I never knew how many boys could sing! It was a good way to round it all up.

Today was the first day of my senior internship as well. Rather than start off on a normal day, they needed someone to help out with the Flower Mart carnival they cater at the National Cathedral. I worked from 7 this morning until 8 tonight and was standing from 9-6, so my knees HURT, but other than that I had a good time. I'm surprised how many kids my age were there - I know they won't be around during my actual internship in the kitchen, but it was fun for the day.

One of the girls is honestly straight out of a YA novel. She's that quirky, fun, silly sidekick who says anything (and seriously looks exactly like she could be marlisle's little sister, by the way). Two minutes after she met me, she asked me out for coffee (we were early and the owners hadn't showed up yet), and as we were walking back, she just said, "You're really pretty. Not to be awkward or weird, but I just thought you should know." It was just completely platonic and something a best friend would say, but. No one has ever straight-up told me that, and I can't believe her or anything, but it seriously made my day. She works at their other location, but I really wish we could work together and I really want to get to know her. It was the sweetest thing ever.

MMM SLEEP NOW, FLIST TOMORROW. ♥

The past 36 hours have been a whirlwind, and I can't even think of everything that's happened. Starting with last night - I got a chance to attend the Virginia Inaugural Ball last-minute thanks to a friend. He grew up with Mark Warner's daughters and his parents are like their godparents or something, so Mark called him when he found out he had extra tickets. (I will never, ever get over how connected a few of the people I know are. It's kind of insane & surreal.) We also got a chance to sit down with Mark and just talk later in the evening. Politics aside, he's a really easygoing, friendly guy - although he definitely slammed Idaho in his speech. Although I will admit we are pretty much the reddest state in the country.

I obviously felt incredibly out of my league, but it was surprisingly fun and we had a great time - the theme was Celebrating Turning Virginia Blue, which was awesome, and the cover band was fantastic. It was mostly late classic rock and there were way too many old people who knew all the lyrics to current pop songs. My friend and I desperately wanted them to play Centerfold, which is pretty much our theme song, but no luck. We still danced and generally made idiots of ourselves anyway, because we're talented like that.

And then this morning. I can't even describe some of it, because I've never experienced anything even close to it. We walked into D.C. around seven and wound up in front of the Washington Monument. Yes, it was fucking freezing, but I wasn't too bad for most of it because I wore ski clothes - my lips were numb by the end, though. Anyway, the crowds were fantastic. Every single person was so happy, so excited to be there - strangers were talking to each other, which I honestly never see in D.C.

Everything mostly quieted down during the speeches, though there were a few strong rounds of 'Hey Hey, Goodbye' & 'Hit the Road, George' when Bush was announced. And when Obama first appeared on the screens - the best kind of pandemonium. People were sobbing, praying, screaming in happiness. You couldn't possibly stand in that crowd and not believe you were witnessing history. The hope Obama has given to America is tangible.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. President Barack Obama I chose this quotation for my senior yearbook page back in September. Obama's ability to inspire hope and faith in America is incredible - literally, so extraordinary it seems impossible - and I can't wait to see what the next decade will bring. Yes we can. ♥

A group of us went into DC last night to celebrate the end of exams. We saw Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Kennedy Center, and it was pretty good. It's only the third major play I've seen, and it didn't even come close to Rent or Wicked, but I was pleasantly surprised just because I didn't expect much. (I wanted to steal the dogs, by the way. I'm really not a fan of chihuahuas or pugs, but they were adorable.)

Highlight of the show: There! Right There!, aka Is He Gay or European?. I stopped breathing halfway through because L and I were both thinking of Señor M and couldn't stop looking at each other. It cracks me up even now.

It's still so surreal to me sometimes, being in DC. Driving across the Arlington Memorial Bridge towards the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument & the White House on the right and Georgetown on the left... I don't think I'll ever get used to it.