Category Archives: The District Of Columbia

DC, briefly

By nopasanada | Published: May 3, 2010

“If you haven’t time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded.” ~Robert Brault

Scene: A park. Friday evening.

I walk in.

Noah (age 4 1/2): Look! My friend is here!

Me: What friend?

Noah: YOU!

Me: Mark this down, April 30, 2010 Noah is thrilled to see me.

Me, moments later: Noah, what’s my name?

Noah: What is your name?

Me: Heather.

Noah: Feather! That’s a nice name.

Me, in tears.

Amy, sings softly: “Sunrise, sunset…swiftly through the years”

Also posted in Grace in Small Things | 3 Comments

Just a thought

By nopasanada | Published: April 5, 2010

“Whenever it is possible, a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money.” ~William Lyon Phelps

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am and I shouldn’t but I do. Like this morning when I was walking across Capitol Hill in DC and I noticed how genuinely happy and impressed by our nation’s capital they all were. This month I have four trips to Washington the thought of which throws me into a grand tizzy with dramatic facial expressions and hyperbole. While I’m having a melodramatic moment there are hordes of people who come to Washington thrilled to be inside the beltway in this ‘seat of power’. I walk past folks whipping out their cameras to capture this memory and realize that I need to tap into my wealth of luck more often and learn to appreciate things. A novel concept, I know.

All of that said when I was in Houston for Mom 2.0 I did two small roundtable discussions on how parents/people in general can involve themselves in the political process. If there is one thing that would make my heart burst it would be for people to love politics as much as I love politics. Because, you guys? I love it so very much. Anyway it was the past conversation at Mom 2.0 coupled with walking through the House office buildings that led me to another thought:

Let’s say that there is an issue out there that affects the masses. And I’m going to use workplace flexibility as the issue because a) it affects everyone and b) because the blogosphere has been abuzz on this issue. I’m going to present this issue because while I am trying to be more positive and appreciative, I am also trying to look at things from different angles. For example the White House doesn’t necessarily write policy. They drive it of course and help to influence what goes on legislatively but it’s congress that writes the laws. The White House can hold 156 forums but if Congress isn’t fully engaged then you get nothing.

So with workplace flexibility and since it’s a labor issue I think of those who have the most invested in what happens in the workplace; the labor movement. Now is the time when someone will tell me how God awful unions are and they’re corrupt and blah blah blah but I can unequivocally say that they’re a force to be reckoned with. Not only that but they are the gold standard for workplace flexibility; they are what the Department of Labor and the White House want for other businesses to achieve when it comes to this issue.

In my head – a little utopia – I could only think; If you have a workplace problem why not go to AFL-CIO (the umbrella labor federation)? Or join forces and go to a member of congress? Preferably a member of congress on the Ed and Labor Committee on the House or the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee member in the Senate? Because that is what I would do: I would join forces – which sounds so hokey but it works – with others in the same boat and I would lobby the shit out of members of congress. I would find members who are amenable to my cause and those who might be against and I would fax them and write letters and let them know that workplace flexibility is a huge problem in what is the most advanced nations in the world. I would tell them that workers fear for their jobs when their kid gets the sniffles. I would tell them that work/family balance* is laughable. I would say that people should be able to have better control over their lives and that setting a national standard is the best place to start.

Anyway, this is just a thought. A long, rambling thought. But yeah, that’s what I would do.

*Great post on this issue from Huffington Post here

Also posted in Humdrum, Poliogue | 5 Comments

D.C.

By nopasanada | Published: May 26, 2009

“You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it’s all right.” ~Maya Angelou

Last week I went for drinks with a friend who had recently moved from DC back to Upstate, NY. Stop right there because I know what you’re thinking. Don’t give me that look. I get The Look all the time when I tell people who were blissfully unaware that I’d moved from DC to Albany. It’s the ‘What the hell were you thinking?!” look And then they start speaking to me very slowly as if not to make any sudden movements that might promote more poor decision-making.

The truth is that for some the decision to move from down there to up here is the right decision even if it seems that said decision might have been made after a crack pipe and three shots of whiskey. But I’m here for…well…let’s not discuss time frames and the subject of Real Life and pay grades and silly things like ‘reality’. Let’s just say that I’m here and not going anywhere else anytime soon. The end.

When I first moved though, it was awful. Unbearable. I was homesick for a place that was never my home but I had made it such. I had put together a support system with the right people and places that made me feel as if DC was where I was supposed to be. And moving was like throwing a wrench into my plans; into the newer, more improved version of myself and a life I had made thus throwing me back to a place I had sprinted from six years prior as a child. I still do the what if thing. What if x, y, and z hadn’t occurred? What if I had made different decisions? What if I had moved to Denver instead of staying in DC? But that game can wear you out and catapult you into the agony of wondering and questioning motives and reasons for why. Instead I’m going to focus on the good! Because there is good! Due to awesome scheduling I’m in DC for several of the next few weeks. Recently there has been an influx of emails asking me what to do when in DC. Because I’m an expert who knows where to find beer and a JCrew on the same block.

Here is my list of places I plan to hit up while I’m in town. That is if I have time (HA!) and funds HA HA!) and some sort of mechanism to get me from Capitol Hill to Georgetown without it taking 45 minutes in rush hour (HA HA HA!):

Proof: A newish wine bar in the NW neighborhood of Gallery Place/Chinatown. Everyone knows the sommelier there and they have several delicious Malbecs to choose from and the cheese is so good that this one time Emily ate it off the floor.

Vapiano: Brings a little bit of Europe to DC. The perfect meeting place for a group of friends. It’s like sitting in your living room. When you leave there’s a bowl of gummy bears at the door.

Chef Geoff’s: The first ‘fancy’ restaurant I went to when I moved to DC. It really isn’t all that fancy but it has great happy hour specials that involve beers the size of your head. The downtown location has awful service but the upper NW location is pretty out of the way for tourists. And yet I keep going.

Good Stuff Eatery: Spike from Top Chef owns this joint. Apparently the burgers are the bomb. It’s near the Hill which means I can stop there on my down time. Haven’t been yet but have heard from a foodie’s wife that it’s pretty darn good

Café Bonaparte: Crepes! Crepes! And more crepes! Both dessert and like real food. Where there’s nutella, there’s a way. They also have seasonal drink recipes and I’m a sucker for anything that comes in a champagne flute.

Lauriol Plaza: Someone once said that this is the best Mexican food ever(!!!!!) but I beg to differ. Lauriol Plaza is great for the atmosphere. It has a huge outdoor eating area that is crowded during the summer so get there early and stay late. I love a boisterous crowd and swirly margaritas. Doesn’t everyone?

Georgetown Cupcake: Cupcakes are in and from what I’ve heard, these cupcakes are the best. I haven’t been but I’m now looking for a new place to get my fix since Cake Love went down hill. From what I understand the line is around the block on weekends so I might have to sneak there tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll report back.

Georgetown in General: Great shopping. Good restaurants. Don’t forget your pearls and your best Ralph Lauren. Everyone looks exactly alike but there’s an Anthropologie, it’s hard not to go back.

The Hill: My favorite place to just go and walk around. The east side of the Capitol just got a facelift so I suggest checking it out. Go to your member’s office to get a tour. Or call me up, I’m well versed on the frieze in the rotunda.

Downtown Bethesda: Just meander, people watch with your buds and check out the cute shops. It’s come a LOOOONG way in the past five years and Maryland doesn’t get enough love.

The Portrait Gallery: It took me about five years of living in DC before I stepped foot into a museum and that was the National Gallery. Since then I’ve attended an evening fête at the American History Museum which is the best way to enjoy a museum; at night with no crowds. I’m hoping to go to the Portrait Gallery in the next few weeks because I miss museum hopping. But there are dozens in DC and all free. So pick one and explore.

Gallery Place/Chinatown: Restaurants. Good restaurants. Proof is there as well as PS7, Zatinya and shopping. I like the Urban Outfitters there way better than the one in Georgetown.

A Nats game: We don’t have professional sports in Albany. It makes me weep to have to go to the Bronx for a game. In DC it’s just around the corner and tickets are always available. Wear your brightest red.

A friend’s house in Dupont: Find a friend and stake out their patio. Head to the Whole Foods on P Street for organic everything and have a barbecue. All of my favorite outdoor summer picnics involve beer and a townhouse.

I know that I’m missing a whole bunch of places but I will add and amend as soon as possible. Swearsies.

Posted in The District Of Columbia | 20 Comments

How I’ve missed you

By nopasanada | Published: March 18, 2009

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” ~Author Unknown

A few minutes ago I realized that I missed my DC friends more than I had in weeks past. Perhaps the generally insanity of the last few months has turned my long time relationship with DC into one night stands. I stop in, do my thing and then I’m doing a walk of shame through BWI the following morning. In part of letting so much of the city go, I’ve let my friends go. I miss them loads and while I’m currently sitting on my couch with nowhere to go and no options, I long for the days when I sat on my couch and racked up text messages wondering where I could be on this glorious night. It’s getting warmer and almost time for sitting on the rooftop of Lauriol Plaza and drinking swirly margaritas. Or beers and baseball and late nights in Dupont just because.

And like that I miss it with that same dull ache as I had when I first moved. I’ll be back in late spring. The perfect time to sit out in Georgetown and probably a few times over the summer. It’s that strange type of missing where you forget all about the summer of the cicadas and the perpetual traffic jams but remember a great kiss in Farragut North or prancing in Bethesda arm in arm with your best friends on a pinot grigio high. I would go back to it all if I could. But I can’t.

Also posted in Inebriated prose | 6 Comments

The Rambler

By nopasanada | Published: February 5, 2009

“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn’t wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” ~Sharon O’Brien

I had to make a quick trip to Pentagon City to return two dresses to Nordstrom. If you ask why I went all the way to Pentagon City for this return it is because it’s far easier to hop on the metro on my (FREE) trip to DC to return something to Nordstrom than drive the four hours to the closest locale. Each time I am reminded that I live so far from what used to mean so much to me – I mean THE SHOES. Good God Almighty, THE SHOES – I hang my head down and pout. Which reminds me of a very bratty story that I must share that involves me crying on the street of Puerta del Sol because I hated Madrid with every fiber of my being because I couldn’t find shoes in my size and I begged my mother to let me come home. I stayed, but again to use the Lord’s name in vain: GOOD GOD.

Anyway, during today’s sojourn, I stopped in Sephora to purchase lip product. I returned back to my hotel later with one warm and fully functional hand and another hand with bluish-gray finger tips because the temperature in DC had dropped to Upstate NY on a good day levels. I hurriedly opened my new product and behold, IT HAD BEEN USED. It was clear lip product with a trace of lip gloss on it and smeared all over the top and again GOOD GOD, I may have thrown up a little. So I plan to trek my ass to Sephora when I get home and complain loudly about why they’re selling pre-used lip product. Because no one wants red berry stain on their brand new lip moisturizer.

I’m still flummoxed by the events of the last month and I know, I KNOW I should shake those feelings off with a little shimmy but I cannot. The Things are still swirling about but one of The Things needs to see the light of day because I’m still not over this my uncle calling me fat/my mother not defending me/him smirking and quoting some parable when I told him I was highly offended/him writing a comment on my blog about my reader’s lack of intelligence/why weight is such a highly sensitive issue/the fucking fantastic photo of him eating fried chicken with all of the above as a caption. But really, why is it OK for overweight men to loudly mock the way women look? Why is it OK for someone you are related to be purposefully hurtful and when you say, “Hey! That made me cry!” they respond with a guffaw and quote the Bible? I’m not seeing the OK with any of these things.

But wait! There’s more! I’m going to try something different with this site to hone in on what little writing ability I have. Trust me, if you’ve read any earlier entries you’re probably thinking that I’ve improved right the fuck up and deserve a gold medal AND a bong hit, but alas, there’s still more perfecting to do. My friend Jen says that I’m very efficient about things and I pondered this and realized that yes, I am and my efficiency is going to either work out for me in the end or I’ll end up a failure with shitty narrative skills. We shall see. That said, I have a bit of a crush on Plinky. I tested it in Beta and thought, “I don’t get it” and now I do. It’s full of prompts and a few of the prompts have brought back memories. Like the one that asked, “Describe the coolest thing you’ve seen in another country”. And I responded with the penis I saw on the ground in Pompeii, Italy depicting where the nearest brothel was located. Oh, the Italy stories, like trying to escape and being left to fend for myself in Rome and crying and being in love and the world’s greatest puffy coat jacket with removable sleeves and a fondness for gelato. A simple prompt gets the cauldron of memories to rumble and boil over. So there are stories. Lots of stories to tell and I’m all giddy with anticipation to tell you all about it.

Also posted in Blogology | 17 Comments