My apologies for the lack of updates; I know it has been awhile. I've been busy with my stream of beloved guests, and my evenings have become increasingly filled with outings in this glorious city. But here's an update of what's been going on for me since I last blobbed, the Reader's Digest version:
I am writing this post as a bonafide 21-year-old. July 15 has now come and gone, and while I don't really feel older or wiser, I do feel more legal. They do let Louisiana girls into bars around here I was assured by a bouncer at an Irish pub a couple nights ago, at least ones with of age IDs. My first cider on tap in the U.S. wahoo!
The birthday itself was a wonderful celebration shared with old and new friends. My good friend from USC Julia came to visit me for the week and we were joined by fellow AEI interns and my friend Claire from Baton Rouge for the night's festivities. We first attended AEI's intern happy hour where I proudly drank my first legal beer, Corona of course, and then went out for a Mexican dinner in Georgetown (good but no El Cholo) and some barring.
Celebrating 21...the day finally came!"
I'd like to think Daniel Radcliffe gave me a personal birthday present: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out on my birthday! Julia and I went the next day and I've been again since with my sister. It is quite the cinematic masterpiece, or at least a highly entertaining two and a half hours for Potter fans. Quick anecdote: the night my sister and I went to see Potter, the man sitting behind us belched loudly (really, really loudly which my sister and I cracked up about for a few minutes) as the movie was starting and then kept cracking his knuckles and making loud comments during the movie. We decided to move, and as we did so, my phone fell onto the floor and all the pieces came apart. I spent the next 5 minutes on my hands and knees in the dark theater while the man laughed at me. Lesson learned: loud belching is an omen of worse things to come.
Julia's too-short visit also included a lovely afternoon of jazz in the sculpture garden, some quality time with Lincoln, and a day in Georgetown. I bid her adieu early Sunday morning and welcomed my next visitor, my sister, on Wednesday. Katherine didn't care so much for the DC sights (she asked me "what the shit happens here?" as we were standing in front of the Capitol) and we headed to NYC for the weekend.
I spent five weeks in the Big Apple the summer following my junior year of high school and got to know the city pretty well during that time. It was great to be back and to hit up some of my favorite places and Katherine's too (she did the same program last year). Since the Moser girls have seen all the major sights before and didn't really want to do them again, we were free to do what we do best: eat. We ate alot, walked alot, shopped alot, and just took in the vibrancy of the city. I was reminded last weekend just how vibrant the city is. It has a very different feel than DC; it is much more diverse and much more alive, especially at night. It was refreshing in a way and in another way made me miss Los Angeles.
One really enjoyable thing we did was go to a Yankees game. Since starting playing for the Brooks Brothers I've gained a new appreciation for baseball and we both really wanted to see the new stadium and take in a game. The baseball way of life is a nice one indeed: sitting outside in warm air and eating hot dogs is an excellent way to spend a few hours, and it doesn't hurt that the Yankees have some good looking players. Other highlights of the weekend including strolling around in Central Park (I made it to the castle, one of my favorite spots), eating tons of delicious food, and walking around in Times Square at night.
Katherine left Monday and Jennifer arrived that afternoon for her one night in the city. We catz had a blast going to dinner in Georgetown and then out to a couple bars. We even managed to run into filming for the Real World DC, which is not so "real," but it's funny to think of those people as my peers and not much older than me, which is how it has always seemed. On Tuesday Jennifer and her friend Leif from study abroad came to have a delicious lunch with me at AEI and then off they went, and I was sad to see them go.
Things have been picking up as they are ending, and this past week has been very busy as well. On Tuesday night we had our intern appreciation dinner and sappy me got sentimental thinking of leaving this city and the friends I've made here. I've been very fortunate in the past year to meet lots of wonderful people from all around the world, and the DC saga will soon be another page in the memory book of my mind. In this final week I want to revisit some of my favorite places, especially the Lincoln Memorial at night. There is no better place to think and to just enjoy. I will miss my good friend Abe dearly.
Other things I will miss: living two blocks away from the White House, nighttime strolls in humid air, AEI food, AEI cookies, seeing the monuments and memorials at night, a metro system that takes you the places you want to go, random musicians in the streets playing Jeff Buckley, a 24-hour 7-Eleven on the ground floor of my building, and feeling like I am in the middle of things...the list could go on, I am sure.
There are things I won't miss, working 9-5 and tempermental dorm laundry machines being two of them, but I won't recant that list here. It is short anyway and it needs to roll around in my brain for a while longer before I share it with the world. And even though I will miss alot, I'm looking forward to going back to things and people I've been missing for a long time. One week in DC, a few days in BR, and then this Helen will be back in Troy.
Julia's too-short visit also included a lovely afternoon of jazz in the sculpture garden, some quality time with Lincoln, and a day in Georgetown. I bid her adieu early Sunday morning and welcomed my next visitor, my sister, on Wednesday. Katherine didn't care so much for the DC sights (she asked me "what the shit happens here?" as we were standing in front of the Capitol) and we headed to NYC for the weekend.
I spent five weeks in the Big Apple the summer following my junior year of high school and got to know the city pretty well during that time. It was great to be back and to hit up some of my favorite places and Katherine's too (she did the same program last year). Since the Moser girls have seen all the major sights before and didn't really want to do them again, we were free to do what we do best: eat. We ate alot, walked alot, shopped alot, and just took in the vibrancy of the city. I was reminded last weekend just how vibrant the city is. It has a very different feel than DC; it is much more diverse and much more alive, especially at night. It was refreshing in a way and in another way made me miss Los Angeles.
One really enjoyable thing we did was go to a Yankees game. Since starting playing for the Brooks Brothers I've gained a new appreciation for baseball and we both really wanted to see the new stadium and take in a game. The baseball way of life is a nice one indeed: sitting outside in warm air and eating hot dogs is an excellent way to spend a few hours, and it doesn't hurt that the Yankees have some good looking players. Other highlights of the weekend including strolling around in Central Park (I made it to the castle, one of my favorite spots), eating tons of delicious food, and walking around in Times Square at night.
Katherine left Monday and Jennifer arrived that afternoon for her one night in the city. We catz had a blast going to dinner in Georgetown and then out to a couple bars. We even managed to run into filming for the Real World DC, which is not so "real," but it's funny to think of those people as my peers and not much older than me, which is how it has always seemed. On Tuesday Jennifer and her friend Leif from study abroad came to have a delicious lunch with me at AEI and then off they went, and I was sad to see them go.
Things have been picking up as they are ending, and this past week has been very busy as well. On Tuesday night we had our intern appreciation dinner and sappy me got sentimental thinking of leaving this city and the friends I've made here. I've been very fortunate in the past year to meet lots of wonderful people from all around the world, and the DC saga will soon be another page in the memory book of my mind. In this final week I want to revisit some of my favorite places, especially the Lincoln Memorial at night. There is no better place to think and to just enjoy. I will miss my good friend Abe dearly.
Other things I will miss: living two blocks away from the White House, nighttime strolls in humid air, AEI food, AEI cookies, seeing the monuments and memorials at night, a metro system that takes you the places you want to go, random musicians in the streets playing Jeff Buckley, a 24-hour 7-Eleven on the ground floor of my building, and feeling like I am in the middle of things...the list could go on, I am sure.
There are things I won't miss, working 9-5 and tempermental dorm laundry machines being two of them, but I won't recant that list here. It is short anyway and it needs to roll around in my brain for a while longer before I share it with the world. And even though I will miss alot, I'm looking forward to going back to things and people I've been missing for a long time. One week in DC, a few days in BR, and then this Helen will be back in Troy.
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