Update: The Blog

Ah, life is full of unintentional comedy these days. I went downstairs to my kitchen, not hungry enough to make a big meal, but not sure the tiny need to eat I had was worth making something in my kitchen filled with giant appliance boxes that are taking up enormous amounts of space but at least doubling as some -- any -- counterspace. Well anyway, that's why god invented Ramen, right? So I opened the cabinet to get a bowl....remembering that all my dishes have been sitting out on the kitchen table for weeks. I'm stirring the noodles in the pan and look down at my bowl. A spider had taken up root in it. Awesome.

Anyway, I think you can expect the blog to get a little sparse, as it has been for awhile. I'm in the midst of some crazy projects (one is a new side business you'll be hearing about soon) and all the home renovations -- well, now that I know I'll be writing them for Washingtonian, I tend not to need to run home and vent on TTtC right away. Especially when I can just live-flickr-pix it.

I did really want to get up here and write a very long thesis about why August Rush is the Worst Movie Ever, but sadly I have not had time. But believe me, it was comedic gold. If I ever get angry at the world again I might just sit down and pound it out (so expect it any second now).

Oh god, there *was* something living in the chimney

You know my newly exposed chimney with the giant holes? Well I was standing by the stove tonight, cooking the last two eggs (last two anything) left in the house, and to my left I see something big enough to catch in my peripheral vision scurry like mad from the dining room and by the stove, back towards the chimney. It had to be a mouse -- nothing else is that big and moves that fast.

I know there are probably worse things going on my house that could happen, but I knew way before I bought my first place that *this* was the kind of shit that was going to freak me the hell out. Giant spiders, cockroaches, vermin large and small. I really cannot deal with unsanctioned animals of any kind inside my house. Remember the rat?? I do. And though I'm sure the mouse is snugly inside it's little coal-covered box bed tonight, you can bet I'm going to have nightmares about it running across my face for the next 6 hours.

Ugh.

Done and done...or, not.

Just got home, in time to find out why my alarm didn't go off at 9am this morning...since it was set for pm. I'm a little shocked there isn't one single photo yet on Flickr from today's photo shoot. I took a few myself, but I have 500 photos from California, 300 from a behind-the-scenes shoot from weeks ago, event photos to put on a cd, and more, so they may not see the light of day soon.

Now I only have my Washingtonian blog to write, some news feeds to scour for post ideas, perhaps writing a few reviews I've had in my head for awhile, doing some of that work work that I bring home the bacon with, thinking up a name for my new business, eating this on-the-verge-of-going-bad grapefruit, and watching last week's Top Chef episode, all to do before I go to bed. It's 9pm according to my alarm -- go!

Hey look....

Someone went to our Emerge Exposed panel and took lots of notes.

I know I've been slacking on the blog. I've been trying to catch up in real life and having marginal success. Today, naturally, I have to go to this photo shoot thing that I was asked to help plan (for, it seems, no apparent reason) and there's also no apparent reason for me to go except to serve as damage control officer, as usual. Either way, it's another 5-6 hours I'll spend stressing out that I could be at home getting shit done.

The good news is my kitchen renovation is heartily underway. The chimney has been exposed giving about 8" of new space, and I went to Ikea yesterday to scope out cabinets and hardware, and settled on the kind I plan to go with. Last night I graphed out the entire space, chose each cabinet, then went to Lowes.com to buy my new dishwasher, microwave, sink, faucet, and garbage disposal. Things are under way!

Remember you can keep up on my renovation adventures over at Washingtonian every Tuesday.

Overheard on the plane:

My middle-seated neighbor on the plane (a defense attorney in central Cali -- if you'd like to know the rest of his life story, just give me a buzz) was accompanied by his 6-7 year old boy in the window seat.

As we took off after an hour delay, the kid got more and more excited, giving us a running commentary on what was going on, and then said as our wheels left the ground, "We're like Stephen Hawking!!"

Which, however inaccurate, just became my favorite moment ever.

Later, Bitches

I'll be 70 degrees and mild for the rest of the week and into next. My voice is back, I'm done with project #2938490, and I'm headed on my virgin trip on Virgin America, nonstop to LAX. I'll be gorging myself on this and some of this. Doing a little work because God says it must be always so, but mostly visiting family and pretending my life will magically become calm and peaceful by the time I return to D.C.

Not likely, but it won't make the mexican feast any less delicious or the sun any less brilliantly sunny for the next six days. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go find my bathing suit.

Whew!

It has been a long, crazy week. Also, I'm beat. And it's not over.

I think we can say the opening of Exposed went pretty well. (Whew.) A decent number of folks showed up, even if you don't count the ones who didn't want to wait outside in a line in the rain.

I spent Saturday inside on my couch, cuddled up watching DVDs (The Weather Underground, Shawn of the Dead, and 12 Monkeys). The next morning I had a giant, almost 100% cheese omelet at Florida Avenue Grill, followed by a Vonnegut play in Virginia, promptly followed by getting sick. Ugh. It's sort of like run-of-the-mill cold meets mono. Anyway, I stayed home yesterday, mostly slept all day, and finally hauled my ass to work -- for the first time in four days -- around noon today. I'm feeling better, but I kind of just need a vacation, I think. And someone to clean my house.

Tomorrow we have our special Exposed event, which I'm excited about. The panel is pretty much sold out, but come by at 8pm if you want to check out the show during the post-panel open reception.

Oh, and my kitchen contractors emailed me last Saturday telling me they could start...Wednesday!! Wt heck? I thought we were on the same page about starting in late March, but maybe they thought I would like it if we moved it up a little. So in the wake of Exposed I was suddenly thinking about how fast I could unpack my entire kitchen, research and buy a dishwasher and microwave, and contact my flooring contractors....and I was like, no way. I called them up and told them we couldn't start until the 27th, when I get back from California, which they were totally fine with. Crisis averted, if it was one, which...it wasn't, but you know. What isn't these days.

Okay, time for more sleep.