Arrrrgh!

I just walked around Times Square wearing an eye patch and searching for sailors. For fun. Pictures and details to come. Shiver me timbers.

Phil's

For the past two nights in a row I have found myself doing the exact same thing, and it is a thing that is totally out of the ordinary for me. On both Tuesday and Wednesday I went to Phillip's Continental Lounge at Grove and Libbie. I had never been there in my whole life. In fact, I worked less than a block away for over six months and yet I never even knew the place existed. And not only did I go to Phil's (I don't know if people really call it that, but I imagine they do) two nights in a row, but both nights I watched my only episodes of American Idol this whole season. The only episodes in my whole life, actually. How bizarre is that?

Phil's is a diner-type restaurant and bar in the near West End that has been there since the 30s. It's full of old black and white pictures of Richmond. The first night Justin and I walked in and there were some guys sitting at the bar staring at us who looked like small town regulars. Finally they stopped staring and let us know we could pick any table we liked and a waitress would get us some dinner. It was eight o'clock, so the TVs were both tuned into American Idol, and they even turned up the volume so the whole place could listen in. A small crowd of middle aged and gray-haired folks crowded around the bar to watch. I was a little astounded at the whole situation.

Tonight I ended up going there after potluck with Jennifer. Again, American Idol was turned up, though one of the workers had to keep turning the volume even louder to compete with the radio still playing in the background (when I googled the Lounge I found this: "More Reasons to Go: There is background music while you dine.") There wasn't quite as much of a crowd tonight, but I imagine it's because everyone was joining the millions of other Americans sitting in their living rooms and biting their nails over who would be their new Idol.

Hair Cut

Yesterday I got a hair cut. I don't really want to talk about it yet because the jury is still out on whether it's cute or not. Part of me feels like I have crazy lesbian rock star hair, and I don't really like any of those words to describe the way I look.

The hair cutting experience, however, was amazing. I went to Mango in the West End. I knew of it because I used to have to take pastries there every morning when I worked for the coffee shop, which is now closed and totally empty and depressing. Anyway, I had never been to a place like this.

First, they give you a black robe and you can go take off your shirt in a changing room, and they have lockers to put your things. I put the robe on, but didn't remove my shirt. That would have been weird. Then you're supposed to get coffee, but I think they were out, so that was a little disappointing.

Next the shampoo girl becomes your best friend ever by giving you a head massage. It's always nice to have someone else shampoo your hair because you can imagine they're giving you a head massage, but this girl really was. It was great. And she didn't ruin the whole moment by making you come up with small talk. It was silent and beautiful. After the massage she put a hot towel over my head and let me sit and relax, then she came back and did more massaging as the towel was slowly removed. She even used the towel to get the water out of my ears. How thoughtful.

From there my "designer" came and we got to the cutting part. At one point my earring came out and flew to the floor, so we stopped to look for it, and then I had three fancy salon ladies in black pants and heels on the floor searching for the stupid tiny earring I've worn for three years straight. I felt embarrassed about all the fuss, but finally one of them actually found it.

When it was time to leave I got a $10 discount because my stylist had been running late, so that was nice. And even though this place sounds super expensive it really wasn't, compared to everyone else (above the Hair Cuttery of course). They even gave me a gift bag with little bottles of fancy shampoo and conditioner.

And to top it all off my boyfriend came to meet me and tell me I look cute, even if we're not really sure it's true yet.

Weekend

I did interesting things this weekend. At least, interesting for me.

For example, Friday night I found myself being the only girl at an apartment with a bunch of tattooed dudes. This usually doesn't happen to me. We walked to a crazy college bar and played a round of bowling on an arcade game. And on the way there we passed a guy playing the banjo.

Then on Saturday I found myself at a blogging get-together. Sure I have a blog, but not like those guys. This get-together was at an old firehouse, and involved me buying a t-shirt.

Next I drank my very first (small and watered down) mint julep. I also watched my very first horse race. Who knew they only last two minutes long?!

Following the short horse race I found myself eating dinner and drinking beer at an Exxon. That's right. Hanging out at the gas station.

From the Exxon we walked to the Innsbrook Pavilion and saw the Strokes perform. I had heard of them, but never actually heard them. So that was fun.

Then came Sunday afternoon, where I found myself eating Shiwarma and stuffed grape leaves at the Lebanese Food Festival. Saw some Lebanese dancing, too.

I mean, who doesn't want to move to Richmond after reading about the awesome things one can find herself doing here?

Virginia is for History Lovers

Saturday Justin took me to Charlottesville and Lexington. After visiting with his aunt and uncle in their log house on the side of a mountain we went to Lexington and walked around the Virginia Military Institute, or VMI. I'm not used to military schools, or the military for that matter, so it was so crazy for me to see all these young guys in uniform standing around display cannons. It felt like glimpsing the Civil War, but really it's 2006 and those guys will go back to their bunk rooms and instant message online just like every other college kid. Also, VMI is where Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson once taught, and if you don't already know, he happens to be my seventh great uncle.

After VMI and Lexington we stopped by McCormick's Farm. Cyrus McCormick is the guy who "invented the first successful reaper and founded the harvesting machine industry." The buildings were closed for renovation, but it was a cute area near a stream and surrounded by sheep and cows. We even went on the Interpretive Trail along the stream and learned about the ecosystem and how McCormick liked roasted chestnuts.

Next came Charlottesville. We walked all over the University of Virginia. I liked it a lot. Justin likes to categorize the Virginia public schools pretty broadly/stereotypically, and he doesn't describe the UVA kids very nicely, but I'm not gonna lie, I feel like maybe I would have wanted to go there if I were from Virginia. Or William and Mary, which is a school I really did want to go to when I was applying.

It was so nice to get out of Richmond and into the country for a day. The weather was beautiful and I feel like we saw a lot for one day. I definitely want to go back though, since there are tons more awesome places to see. I've been to Jefferson's Monticello before, in the sixth grade I think, but I would love to go again. I also want to visit Madison's Montpelier and Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland. There's also a Frontier Culture Museum that I'm interested in, and I want to see the Natural Bridge, which I'm told was owned by Jefferson and surveyed by Washington.

As an American history lover, these sorts of things make me giggle with glee.

Observation

While orange soda is delicious, it does nothing to help one stay awake!

Today I was *that* girl...

You know, the one who brings leftover fish to work and then microwaves it to stink up the whole office? Yeah, that was me. What a disaster.

The license plate said "Fresh" and there were dice in the mirror.

Last night I had a little brush with the rich and famous at the Jefferson Hotel. I was working at the after party for A Midsummer Night's Dream, put on by the symphony, ballet, and opera. Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air were the narrators for the performance, which is hilarious, and were both at the party. Uncle Phil and I are pretty much best friends now. I mean, he did ask me where the restrooms were, after all.

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

Last night Justin took me on a date to Chuck E. Cheese's. It was pretty exciting. After eating a whole bunch of pizza and drinking soda out of kid-sized cups we headed over to the games. Did some ski ball, knocked over some clowns, raced frogs, flipped coins at dinosaurs. Afterwards we counted up our valuable tickets and headed for the prize desk. It took a lot of deliberation, but we finally left with me wearing a purple bracelet that resembles a Koosh ball and Justin with a magnetic Chuck E. Cheese pin that lights up. The date concluded most appropriately with ice cream sundaes at Friendly's.

W. Franklin St.

During my lunch break today I took a walk down W. Franklin. It was amazing. The sun was out, trees were green, buildings were neat. A lot of it was through VCU territory, and it was nice to see the different department buildings, converted from old houses. African American studies, art history, politics and government, psychology. All kinds of neat ideas and things are being said and written and read and thought about on that street. And I saw a student wearing a black punk rock shirt and denim shorts, carrying a brief case in this left hand.

From Work

I've been listening to this. You should, too.

My lunch break was longer than usual because I couldn't stop looking at these.

Sometimes I admire my own handwriting.

I like names with the middle initial B. Especially when the last name could be an adjective. Like, Johnny B. Goode, or Freida B. Saine, or Skye B. Gray.

Ways my life isn't like movies/tv/teen magazines made me think it would be:

My high school didn't really have lockers. I feel like that knocks out whole genres right there.

I've never been to a pool party.

I haven't fallen in love at first sight.

Not one of my friends drives a convertible.

I never went to a Greek party in college.

My friends and I have never had a regular burger joint to hang out in.

Road trips never seem to live up to all the hype.

I never went in a boy's dorm room.

Friends don't climb through my bedroom window.

Reading Again

I have, for the past several months, been on a somewhat involuntary reading hiatus. When I flew home for Thanksgiving I was reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. [As an aside, I accidentally hit the paste shortcut instead of the italics shortcut, and this appeared: Cheese Ghostkersandwich.] I was enjoying the book, but the chapters are very long and I hate to stop in the middle of a chapter, so after the plane ride the book was set aside for a while. Then the while got longer. And I also hate to quit reading a book after I've started, so I was unwilling to start something else that might be a faster or easier read. So I didn't read at all, and instead stuck to crosswords and sudokus to fill my spare time. This whole time I was a little sad about how I couldn't get myself to read for fun. I even have a stack of New Yorkers I haven't looked at yet. The worst part is when I tell someone I want to go to library school. "Oh?!" they say. "You must really love to read then." "Er...um...yeah..." I respond as I shuffle my feet and look away. I mean, librarians don't stop reading for four months straight!

So, the good news is, I have ended my readers block. At least I hope so. I have, reluctantly, given up on Marquez for now, though I plan to finish the book some day. A friend gave me The Jane Austen Book Club to read on my recent plane ride, and I just finished it. It was fun and light- the perfect read to get me back in the swing of things. Now I am reading J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey. I'm pretty excited about it.

Confession

Sometimes I shave my legs just because I worry I might get into a car accident and I'm embarrassed about what the emergency medical people will think when they have to cut my pants off.

another one

I saw another awesome old man last weekend when I was in Tacoma. He was sitting at a high table in the crowded cafe of a fancy grocery store looking at a book about trains. He wore a fisherman's hat covered in various colorful pins. And best of all, he was playing with a yo-yo.

some recent things

I went to Bin 22 in Carytown and really liked it. It's Betsy's Coffee by day, but a cute wine bar by night. I tried three different wines (a sampler, not three full glasses!) and liked them all, but I'm not a wine person so I can't remember what they were to tell you. And with it I had some toast with warm cheese and apple and pear slices. You should check it out if you like wine, or cute places. Because it's good for both.

I saw the most awesome Jewish man ever. He had a cowboy hat with a Star of David on it and a novelty tie with more Judaic symbols. And he was old. This was in an actual temple.

My Grandpa didn't die of a heart attack yesterday. Turns out he didn't even have a heart attack. But when we thought he did, and when he woke up for the first time and had blue fingers, he made sure to list the songs he does not want sung at his funeral. "Don't sing 'Shall We Gather at the River' [in a sing-song heavily drugged might not live but in good humor voice]," he said.

20 Questions

On a just-for-the-heck-of-it trip to Short Pump Mall last night Justin and I found the most amazing game ever. It's a small handheld electronic version of the game we all know from road trips as Twenty Questions. You think of anything in the whole world, and then after you answer a series of twenty questions the game tells you what you were thinking. IT READS YOUR MIND.

Justin tried it first, while I was preoccupied playing Tetris. He thought of spaghetti. Twenty questions later ("Is it bigger than a duck?" "Can you put it in an envelope?") it told Justin exactly what he'd been thinking: "I can't believe you were thinking of... SPAGHETTI." How did it do that?

We tried a few more times, but we were stupid and picked easy things like suitcase, coffee mug (it guessed tea cup), and bed. Then we pulled out the big guns. Ninja. "Is it an animal?" Yes. "Does it have short fur?" No. "Is it dangerous?" Duh. Seventeen questions later: "Is it a NINJA?" Arghh!

At this point we decided the game must be cheating by listening to us say our thing out loud. We thought we could trick it. Covertly we decided our thing would be Bed (a stupid choice we quickly realized, way too easy), but we always said "telescope" out loud. "Is it soft?" "A telescope isn't soft!" we replied as I pressed Yes. But we had no luck. "You tried to trick me...but are you thinking of a BED?"

Seriously guys, this game is amazing. It turns out it comes from a web site, where you can play the exact same game without shelling out the twenty bucks. I just tried it using Cricket Bat, a thing Justin kept wishing we'd tried last night. At question 17 it guessed cork, at 20 it guessed pool cue, at 22 baseball bat, and finally after "Is it originally from Europe?" it said "I am guessing that it is a cricket bat?" So apparently the internet version goes beyond twenty questions when it's LOSING, but it still guessed cricket bat by question 25. Amazing.

Goodbyes

Tomorrow is my last day of work at the coffee shop. Here are some people I will miss:

Chris, the guy who works at UofR, always gets two bagels, a super coffee, and a newspaper, and who has been excited and supportive about my grad school plans while others seem to say "why do you want to do that?"

Gloria, the older black woman who comes in every day for a few hours before she goes to work, always gets a muffin (warmed up, please) and a small coffee, reads the paper without buying it, and loves to tell me when Hechts is having a sale.

Bob, the crazy artist who talks a lot and is honest about how he doesn't really like his wife.

Gary, who always gets a large Coke and enjoys telling me about the upcoming basket/football game he's going to attend.

Willem, the writer from New York who has never actually published anything.

Mary, the older woman who used to get a large iced cappuccino every morning until her doctor told her to cut back, so now she gets this made up drink we do just for her and that she thinks us girls make better than Jerry.

The nice lady who owns the shop next door (I don't know her name, though she's one of the only customers who actually knows mine) and always gets a small coffee but in a medium coffee cup.

And finally, Jerry. Though he could be a pain at times, maybe even most of the time, we had fun.

In my mind...

...I'm going to Carolina?

I visited NCSU (what we will call "State") and UNC-Chapel Hill (or, "Carolina") this weekend. It made me more excited about grad school. I drove the three hours to Raleigh and met with the director of the Public History program at State, then two current students showed me around and talked for a long time, which was great. I liked the school and the area seems nice. I learned that I will basically go to State for two years to get my history degree, then spend the third year over at Chapel Hill for the library degree.

I spent Friday night with my friend Allison from college. She goes to Duke. It was fun to see her apartment and get excited for one of my own in the area soon. And she took me to this amazing market/restaurant/cafe/wine store called Foster's that I will want to visit again. I had French toast with apples and walnuts.

I also went and impulsively got a haircut in Chapel Hill Saturday morning. Locks of Love is going to get all of my hair, because it's short now.

Finally, I must begin to prepare myself to be a member of the Wolf Pack and get excited about sports. Things are pretty intense down there I think, and I should probably try not to miss out on all the fun.

Southside Fun

Saturday after I got back from Raleigh Justin took me out for exciting times South of the James. First we had barbecue and beer at this random but good place off of Genito (I think?) and then we went bowling. I always like bowling. I think I am also slightly good at it for a girl. I hate to qualify it this way, but whenever I'm in mixed groups I always beat the other girls but maybe not all of the boys. This time I did beat the boy though. All four games. And once he even got four strikes in a row, which I was totally impressed by, but which was apparently not good enough to beat my amazing score.

Also, we played Ms. Packman. I love her. It brought back all of my Nintendo memories. Justin said I beat him at this, too, but he had never played it before so I will not boast.