Apr 29, 2011

There is No Purpose or Anything Interesting in this Entry

So I feel like when I usually sit down to write a blog, I usually have a purpose in writing it or a topic I wish to expand upon because A) I have no one to physically talk to or B) Everyone I know is sick of hearing me talk (most likely scenario). 

But today, I have absolutely nothing extraordinary to contribute to the world- but I guess that is generally the purpose of a blog. You just type words, hit "Publish" and your revelations regarding Doritos and cream cheese (don't knock it til you try it- preferably with a few drinks in you first).

I think it is a combination of me being alone in a law office and also procrastinating finishing my last paper ever for university that has lead me to becoming inspired to write... about nothing.

Regrettably, I also went out to McFadden's last night which is the cheesy college bar on campus. A friend was having a happy hour and naturally it lead to a group of about ten of us pounding back $2 drinks until that group of ten slowly shrunk until it was just me and my vodka cranberry. Needless to say, waking up this morning was... interesting. I popped 3 advil, downed an egg and cheese sandwich from Brueggers and prayed that I would make it through til 5:30. It's only 9:22 am and I can already see how this day is going to be a struggle.

At least I have lunch with a friend at 1 to look forward to. I am also thinking of trying to rally for another Happy Hour after work but I may need to hang my head in shame and call it a night. But, knowing me, Happy Hour trumps everything. And I was apparently so fond of yelling last night, "We're so young! We have to enjoy EVERY minute!" Oh yeah, I was that girl.

I also found out that my two Chilean BAFs (best amigos forever) are going to be leaving in about 10 days. Which makes me incredibly sad. This is the problem with international friends- eventually they (or you) return back home. And yet, I still keep making friends with people from countries I could not find in any Sporcle game (I generally fail at any sort of geography. The difference between my right and left is still somewhat challenging for me). It's always been a sort of a joke with my friends of how I am subconsciously drawn to people from different countries. It's a blessing a curse.

The one thing that really annoys me about having non-American friends (and let's face it, about 90% of my friends are non-American) is that the 'compliment' "You don't act like an American". OK, I get it: everyone in the world hates us. We're neo-colonialist capitalistic bastards- I've heard it all. But at the end of the day, I was still born in this country and I am still proud of it.

I grew up a first generation American on my father's side. I remember before he got his green card, my brother and I would threaten that we had INS on speed dial if we ever got mad at him. I remember him struggling with his English and getting so offended when people wouldn't be able to understand him. Yet, he loves being American. He chased down his American dream and accomplished so many amazing things.  He is still a Moroccan, French and Israeli- but he is also proud of his American identity. And I am too. There are definitely times that I get annoyed with this country and admittedly, I do not plan on living here in the future, I am proud that I grew up in such an amazing country.

End rant. 

Apr 27, 2011

Barcelona, Burritos and Beer

So today is a really integral match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Whenever these two rivals play each other, the match is referred to as "El Clásico". And today is another match between them for the UEFA Semi-Finals. Sadly, Barca lost last week to Real and subsequently lost the Copa del Rey cup (which ironically was dropped by Real Player Sergio Ramos.. which in my humble opinion is basically a sign that God had really wanted Barcelona to take home the cup). So the heat between these two players is going to be especially tense. Which is why I had to send an e-mail out on Sunday to my internship explaining that I had to leave early, which my roommate so subtly and tactfully suggested was a really dumb idea. 

Okay, firstly internships are unpaid. Hence, I am not receiving wages for the labor which I am performing (I still cannot really understand exactly why I am doing this to myself) so if I need want to leave work early to watch a match, I should be able to... Right? Secondly, this is a BFD, and I am a senior and my priorities pretty much lie with Barcelona, burritos and beer (not necessarily in that order). I have the really obnoxious (not for me, but pretty much for everyone else around me) of doing the whole I'mjustgonnadowhatevermakesmehappyandscrewtherest kind of mentality, so soccer will trump work any day of the week (especially Monday through Friday).

But for all of the 2.5 Americans that actually do care about soccer, watching Barca play Real is like watching a Beyonce and Christina Aguilera diva-off. You have two amazing teams, with incredibly talented footballers playing with Spanish pasión. It is also a great chance to see two immensely talented players duel off: Barca's Lionel Messi and Real's Cristiano Ronaldo. 

[Source]

These two players are insanely, ridiculously good. The only difference is is that Messi represents all that is good and pure in the world and Ronaldo is the devil. Although they are really both the stars of the team, I think that a lot of the time the focus of the game turns into a rivalry simply between these two players and each match is really just between Ronaldo and Messi. There are, however, so many other amazing footballers and I think today is going to really prove how talented Barcelona is as a team. 

I actually wrote this the night before while watching The Daily Show so I have yet to actually know who has won the match. So... hopefully it is Barca because otherwise it's going to be a pretty depressing day. Especially since after Barca lost last week, I submerged myself in shots of tequila and red wine. 

Apr 26, 2011

Weekend Round Up

So this weekend was incredible. Friday was really blegh- work dragged on and on but then Friday my roommate and I ordered in Chinese food and watched T.V. I love my bumming around on Friday night routine.

Saturday we got to sleep in and then we headed to Georgetown for this French fair that we thought was happening except it was actually for the weekend of the 28th. My bad. But we improvised by buying a baguette and some fromage and pate and stuffing ourselves with that. We then ambled around Georgetown and did what we do best: shop and kill time. 

The rest of the day was spent smoking nargila outside and then napping. Finally we managed to get ourselves dressed to head over to our friend Agustin's house for his birthday. And by Agustin's house, I mean his house/the Chilean embassy (his father is the ambassador). There is just something so crazy about slamming back tequila shots next to art that costs more than my entire college education and my parent's house's mortgage put together. 

The party was so much fun and we ended up staying there til about 5. There was considerably less salsa dancing and a much higher percentage of coupling off. I swear the heat brings out our wild sides. We then walked back with our friends, with my friend Simon slung on my arm as he sang nonstop Spanish songs. Then there was the spontaneous poptarts purchase at Walgreens followed by watching the sun rise as we meandered back to campus where I fell asleep in one of those amazing drunken stupors.

2:00pm rolled around and I got woken up with a call by Simon wanting lunch. Again managed to dress myself and was so impressed with the amazing 80 degree weather (good job DC!) We headed over to Dupont Circle where we grabbed burgers and then sat in the circle. Jenn and I then put on an impromptu Easter egg hunt for Pablo, who we knew was a little homesick for Chile. It was hilarious to watch him 'hunt' for eggs around Dupont and then subsequently watch Simon destroy them. We then got coffee at illy (seriously the best coffee in the city) and head back to campus where I proceeded to take yet another nap.

Again managed to get up around 8:00 and we head over to Pablo and Simon's where we get the brilliant idea to watch Paranormal Activity. Now, I first saw this film a year ago when I was studying in Tel Aviv, Israel. I watched it with my roommate and we then got the absolutely brilliant idea (are you beginning to see the pattern of how many brilliant ideas I have?) to convince my other roommate (an incredibly sweet, mildly naive and ridiculously gullible Texan) that she is being haunted. We keep this act up for a week- moving doors around, leaving faucets running, slamming windows... the whole shebang. So, I thought I had this movie in the bag; there would be no way I would be scared. Wrong. I could not stop screaming. 

First of all, the four of us were all piled up on one big bed. Secondly it was insanely hot in their room (we discovered yesterday it was because they have had the heat on- they never knew that they had the option to turn it off. Boys) so we were all really scared, holding on to each other, cramped in a small bed and really hot and sweaty. And thirdly- and best of all- it was storming in DC that night. I'm talking thunder, rain and lightening- it was the perfect night to watch a scary movie.

The best part, though, was watching Simon freak out and yelling out every single curse word in Spanish involving every single kind of body part. It was one of those priceless, Hallmark kind of moments. 

Last night, I had another brilliant idea to get everyone back together to watch the sequel. So naturally we all pile back into bed and start watching the second one, except the internet kept dying out so the movie would keep stopping in the scariest of moments so that the movie ended up being some bizarre form of psychological torture. The third one comes out in June and I am planning on reuniting us all in Chile to watch it.

So that was the weekend. It passed by way too fast and thanks to the 500 pictures that Simon took at the party, I will soon be able to update this post with some visual evidence of some of the antics of that night (people being thrown in pool, me fighting someone (by fight, I mean gently shove but I was convinced I was a total badass) and generally awkward run-ins with a boy who thought it was a good idea to bootytext me (seriously- don't even try it, I will mock you mercilessly in a public arena). 

I also realize how incredibly long this is... so feel free to just post a "TLDR" in the comments and instead tell me about your weekend? Sharing is caring. 

Apr 25, 2011

Why I Don't Care about the Royal Wedding

Everyone is talking about the Royal Wedding. It's trending on Twitter, there's a Lifetime movie about it, you can even buy toilet seat souvenirs of the soon-to-be-newlyweds. It is literally inescapable. With an estimated 2 billion people expected to tune into the wedding next week, it is a subject that is one everyone's minds. Unfortunately I have not passed a single day this month without hearing something about this damn couple. And that is why I have decided to compose a little list of why I personally do not give a damn about the royal wedding.

Apr 23, 2011

People at Sephora Make Me Happy

Sephora is a dangerous place for me. I am one of those people who wander in, latch onto the first salesperson they can find, talk to them for thirty minutes and somehow end up with an empty wallet and a variety of little potions and small bottles of well... stuff. BUT they had a 15% off sale (they seriously never have sales) and Jenn and I decided to run up there quickly in between classes on Thursday to check out the goods. 

Now, I am not a make-up guru. I am the kind of girl who gets giddy when I see that some of my eyeliner from the day before managed to survive the night so that I don't have to exert myself in applying eyeliner again the next day. So basically, I am really, really lazy.

Apr 22, 2011

Bipolar D.C.

One day its 80 degrees, sunny and gorgeous. The next day rain. The next day they say it will rain (damn you Al Roker) and there is nothing but clear skies and warm weather. Go figure. Now it is raining and cold and all I wanna do is curl up in my bed and watch Lifetime for the rest of the night.

But it is Friday. Which means it is somehow already the weekend. How did that happen? It seemed like yesterday was an hour away. But it was a really good week. Monday was spent at work and then Chabad Passover seder where they had dozens of bottles of wine. Like dozens. They take their commandment to drink four glasses seriously (and by drink, you literally have to drink the entire cup in one sip. You are basically shotgunning Manishevitz).

Apr 10, 2011

Weekend Round Up

God must have a wicked sense of humor. After spending the better half of Friday afternoon swearing off all burritos until I am either 50 or get a gastric band, I ended up eating yet another burrito on Saturday, but it was completely against my will. It just so happened that California Tortilla was catering the lunch at my monthly mentoring get together (I'm kind of like a big sister to a DC area student but much, much cooler) and naturally I had missed breakfast that morning so I was so starving. I devoured that burrito while inside, I was crying silently. Now do you see how many problems I have and what a struggle it is for me to live?

Anyways, after a quick nap I met up with some friends to see DC United play LA Galaxy. Surprisingly DC United did not lose. Not so surprisingly, they still sucked. My town's peewee league plays better than half the players on that team. Ben Olson needs to pick his game up.

Apr 8, 2011

Shabbat!

I always find it ridiculously hard coming up with things to blog about. I also tend to blog solely on Fridays when I am at work, have finished/given up on all my homework and am waiting for 5:30 to roll around so I can get my Shabbat dinner on and then sleep for fourteen hours. Basically, it is when I am at my most bored and uninspired. And the constant rainfall that I only catch glimpses of on my security monitor doesn't help any to pep me up. 

Buttt anyways... While I feel like I have had a really interesting past couple of weeks, I cannot for the life of me remember anything remarkably special. I have had some pretty good parties and nights out, a few fun Saturdays, some nice Barcelona matches, a night at the Israeli Embassy eating the most amazing noodle kugel (like life changing)... All in all, I really think my senior year has been the best year in my college career. I've think I've also had enough shenanigans for some good "remember when" catch-up sessions with friends and a few dozen more "Never have I ever" games. 

This weekend is shaping up to be a pretty good one as well and is especially needed after the chaos that was Monday through Friday. It felt like I just never came up for air this entire week. While speaking to my parents last night after coming home from the Israeli Embassy event, I remember nodding off so much that my mother finally gave up on trying to maintain any sort of conversation. As soon as my head hit the pillow  I was out. And then by some miracle I clothed myself and got to work where I then spent the remainder of the day studying Spanish (literally five hours) until I decided to ditch the salad I had brought with me in favor of a burrito from California Tortilla. And I bought it fully knowing I now have $20 on my debit card. I just convinced myself it was cultural immersion and part of my quest in becoming fluent and thus being quadrilingual so therefore, one day the pay-off would ultimately pay for the cost of this lowly burrito. I could rationalize plundering convents to myself if I had to. Although I imagine there would not be very much to plunder... 

And for the sacrifice of my dip into Spanish culture via burrito, I now am the proud baby of a five pound food baby and a very upset stomach which has been crying out for a heatpad and Tums for the past two hours. 

Which also makes me excited to head home, cook a beautiful Shabbat meal and rest my satisfied and possibly new morbidly obese body on my bed and call it a week. 

Ever since New Years I have been making a conscious effort to not go out on Friday nights. And it's been pretty successful. The lines have been a little fudged- I did go to a house party one Friday night but it was on campus so I didn't have to pay anything so I'm okay just calling it an oneg and absolving myself of any guilt. I have also been hitting up the Shabbat dinners around DC and finally realized what I have been missing these past four years. Seriously, Shabbat dinners are where it's at. Free food. Free alcohol. Drunk rabbis dancing on tables. As long as you can will yourself to not roll your eyes every time someone talks about their Birthright bus and how "life changing" Taglit was for them and make sure to keep your comments to an inaudible whisper whenever a short, excessively hairy Jewish guy tells you about his work at the DOJ (you can really put any acronym here), you can survive a DC Shabbat dinner.

But Shabbat, in its essence, is truly something special. It's a time when you get to just put the entire world on pause. You've had an insanely busy week? You put on 2 different pairs of earrings (happened to me twice this week)? No worries- today you don't need to stress about anything. All you need to do is sit, relax, have a glass of wine, have some post-dinner shots, hang out with friends and sleep. Tomorrow, wake up when you do, eat another meal, and hang out. No stress. 

I think Shabbat should be something universal. Or if not universal, then at least DC. Especially with this budget nonsense. I think if everyone took 24 hours to just chill out, we would be a lot more productive. And with that wisdom, I leave you all. Shabbat Shalom