2012 Washington, DC Color Run

Proof!

Friends that look cray together, stay together.

Big Country

Tonight as I was making all my meals for the week, I decided it only best to:

1. Drink the "wine of the week" from Market Street Wine Shop

2. Add olives to my cous cous

3. Listen to my old mixed CDs that have been collecting dust in my car.

I picked the wine because it was $5.25--a steal!--and because it has a crab on the label. Plus, it's a little sparkly. Can't go wrong. I added the olives because I saw it on Pinterest and I seriously can't stop eating them. Your life is better knowing this. 

The CDs that were living in the attachment of my visor were my old go-tos. There's my second copy of Songs About Jane (the first one literally had a hole burned through it and I'm pretty sure contributed to the demise of my car's sound system). There's the Blacksburg 2008 Epic Power Hour!!! Always a solid choice when I want to feel incredibly happy and sad at the same time. There's John Mayer's Continuum... 

I also found, 'It Was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times'--my 18 year-old heart's attempt to understand and rage against my first heartbreak. I was particularly disturbed to find that this one no longer works, as I think it features the auditory stunners of Avril Lavigne, No Doubt, and the ever-classy N.E.R.D. 

The one I finally decided to play through and through was aptly named, "Shoot Me Now." I'm starting to see a theme here. It's funny--I think this CD was crafted somewhere between my junior and senior years of college, and while some songs hold strong, others have completely different meanings to me. Obviously, Apologies is features front and center. But there's also the Dixie Chick's 'Home,' and Fiona Apple's Criminal; not a song that I would now associate with feeling miserable. On the contrary, this is one of the best sing-in-your-car-till-your-heart-bursts-with-new-female-pride songs. There's a mixture of Dave Matthews; a few David Grays; obviously Beyonce; and finally, the most depressing song that ever was, Coldplay's See You Soon. 

Let's face it--this song is on every somewhat sad to heart-wrenching mixed CD I've ever created. I think it's my secret sad song, because it's never one you hear playing anywhere, ever. Yet every time it comes my way, I'm transported back to a tiny plane flying from New Orleans to Charlottesville in 2004 and it's just as moving now as it was then. 

Anyway. I guess my pointless point is this: find your old mixed CDs. Grab some wine. Treat yoself to an emotional meal and thank me later. 

Over and out. Don't get excited. 

Midday Pick-Me-Up

What speaks Spanish but doesn’t come from Spain?

Resides in the cold and dark despite the summer heat?

Is brown when born but tends to lose its color when exposed to humans?

Is a little old school but people still think it’s pretty sweet?

Has Hannah written all over it?

There's a Whole Wide World Out There

...and here are some shots of what I've been doing...

Watched my baby bro graduate from college...

...went to Cape Charles with these fools. Seriously contemplated buying a couch.

Trekked to the motherland with my best friend and a cool crew. Ate at the nicest, most wonderful restaurant I'll probably ever eat. Sat next to Samuel L. Jackson; saw a man walking a tortoise; kissed a stranger on Frenchman; lounged in Audubon Park; stayed on St. Charles; shopped for Panama hats; gave french kisses to french bosses; remembered why I loved this city.

Flew to Philly/NYC with a group of 8th graders to check out all the tourist spots I've never seen...

...and so much more. I'll give this thing a go again, maybe...

I Wish I Had Done Everything on Earth With You...

Pretty pumped about this....




Now if only Wes Anderson and Baz Luhrmann would have a love child....

Short Little Span of Attention

The Myth of Fingerprints

(...or more like All Around the World!)

Last week/this week was certainly a logistical whirlwind, and I fall back in "normalcy" tomorrow morning. I just got back from a quick fun weekend in California--we stayed at a beautiful hotel within walking distance to the wharf; I learned how to play poker (sortofnotreally); we hiked Lombard to see the curviest street in the country; and we braved what was one of the longest airport fiascos that I've ever encountered. 

But let's start over. On Thursday, I went to work and was bombarded with calls, emails, and visits about one of my groups. All hell was in the process of breaking loose--late for breakfast, lost in Arlington, bus wreck on the National Mall!! Oh lawd. I had to leave at noon to drive to DC to meet one of my groups, so I put up my out-of-office, hit the road, and met one of my favorite teachers at Arlington National Cemetery. 

It was a gorgeous day, and things couldn't have gone smoother--everyone was smiling, happy, and thankful... why can't everyone be like that?! Ok, so maybe it was a little too beautiful outside (I got sunburned on my nose, noooooo) and maybe I did take my bra off in the middle of the cemetery (to be fair, it was behind a tree. I was hot! What do you want from me?!?). But overall--great visit. 

Anyway, drove home, stopped at the Moo Thru, got myself a Moundz Milkshake, and booked it back to the 'ville to get ready for my 6:00AM flight. 

So delicious...

4:00AM. Wake up call. Scramble around and head out the door to pick up CV at her house and then make our way to the airport. When we arrive, everything seems to be working...except they tell us our 6:30AM flight is cancelled. Awesome! There are no other flights until Sunday, unless we want to cab to Dulles for a 11:50AM flight. Sooo....2 hours later (10hours after I'd just left), we're back at IAD and waiting for our flight. It's not as horrible as it sounds...we got a long, sit-down breakfast, stocked up on mags, and flew from IAD to LAX to SFO and only arrived 4hours late for our event. No biggie.

This does not look promising. 

... commence shitting of pants...

Not the Blue Ridge...

Thankfully, the event went very well--everyone had a great time, I didn't notice any major snags, and the beds were oh-so comfy when we collapsed after the event. The next day, we got to explore a little more and it was sooo pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

Sigh. We had an amazing dinner at The Slanted Door down by the wharf and called it an end to a short and sweet weekend away. The next morning, our 3:45AM wake-up call goes off and we say farewell to the Omni San Francisco to head to the airport. Everything seemed to be going just fine (does this sound familiar?)....until we're 3 hours into the flight and the captain comes on the speaker to announce that there are "dangerous storms in Chicago" and we'll have to land in Peoria Airport (aka bumfuck Illinois) to wait it out. Basically, this is his way of saying kiss yo ass goodbye. 

Like this will really make a difference...

Impending doom.

We wait it out for an hour. On the runway. With no AC. Finally, we're able to fly the 30 minutes to Chicago, and by this point, we've already missed our connecting flight. The good news: it was cancelled, so we're not alone. The bad news: the next flight's not till 7:30PM. This can only mean one thing--Margaritas!!! The airport bar has never looked so good...

Not SFP.

Chicago is fugly.

Meanwhile, as we creep closer and closer to 7:40...the weather worsens....and the flight is delayed to 9:40...then 10:05....then finally we're on the plane--lightening and thunder and flying cows are all around and if there were ever a time for me to praise a holier power, this would probs be it. Despite Mother Nature's wrath, we take off. I am not speaking lightly when I say that it is a miracle we made it home alive/with vomit-free clothing. It.was.awful.

All in all--we got home at 2:00AM Eastern time, a mere 12 hours after we were originally supposed to arrive. I'm not going to say, "I told you so," when it comes to my belief that people are not meant to fly...but srsly. 

Overall--great weekend! It was nice to be a baby jet-setter and I always love visiting beautiful cities. San Francisco definitely had a different flavor from the last time I was there, as a wide-eyed, ecstatic recent high-school grad, but I loved it just the same. 

Do I really have to work tomorrow? Is it July yet? The countdown to NOLA has happened full force, and I absolutely cannot wait!

xoxo,

Hannah