washington, DC thru airBandB

Last week I made a short trip to DC for business and decided to give this new service a try -- www.airbandb.com. It's an organized mix of couchsurfing and craigslist subletting. You contact the home owner directly and rent by the night(s); it could be a portion of the house, a private room or the entire home, and sometimes they include breakfast and tips about the area.

My two nights stay was at Melissa's studio in Dupont Circle, which I chose for its central location and close proximity to the meetings I had scheduled, and also because her apartment looked chic and the type of environment I'd want to stay in..

Here are photos and notes from my stay--

the entrance into Melissa's studio. the whole place has a light, clean and airy feel to it. 

to the right are photos of where she's lived, including Paris, Boston, New York and Puerto Rico. 

she has a remarkable bookcase structure that lines her wall, giving it a full yet not cluttered feeling.

and a mini grand white piano.. i want one! if only i played the piano..

i love scoping out people's texts, especially their cookbooks. she has one of alice waters! a true foodie.

where i slept..and also the two kitties, which would not leave me alone..

'tis all. it was a short stay, i wish i could have been there a bit longer if only to enjoy the studio and Dupont a bit more. Who knows, it was such a last minute trip that I suspect I'll be heading over to DC again shortly. I'll definitely be using airbandb.com again..thinking of a trip to Monterey!

PPIA at Princeton

i've just been given the the woodrow wilson school's graduate alumni directory. this is unbelievable.

other thoughts. i've fallen in love with DC all over again.
i'm thinking about moving to vietnam after i graduate.
i can't stop thinking about life after graduation.
i'm exhausted. two weeks of jsi left.
econ quiz tomorrow. i want sleep. and coffee.
horseback riding this weekend.
i'm going to miss this when it's over.

why i love dc

Now I'm in Washington, DC, one of my favorite happenin' places in the world!

It's been rockin', I've been training as a student organizer in Change It, an environmental grassroots program, where I'll be leading 200 eager student activists on how to kick ass on their college campuses. Lots of exciting events to come like a lobby date with my rep, Congressman Adam Schiff and a big talk with Rep. Henry Waxman on the Safe Climate Act (awesomeness, especially because he's from Cal!) and this hasn't been confirmed but I'm crossing my fingers, a meeting with Senator Barbara Boxer, my heroine.

I love DC.

Other reasons: Two days ago I joined Members of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Iraq War Veterans, family members, progressive groups and many more concerned citizens at the "Call to Action by Candle Light," a rally by the Capital to push Republicans in the Senate to end their filibuster on the vote to end the war. It was unbelievable, I felt like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe I was five feet away from so many politicians and activists like John Lewis, many of whom I've admired only from afar. It's also unbelievable that the Republicans, a small tyrannical minority in the Senate won and carried through with the filibuster the next day.

Last night I went to Suzanne Willett's comedy show called Feminazi. The setting was chill, in the back alley of a bookstore basement-converted-coffee shop. I didn't enjoy the humor as much as I did the talk about feminism afterward. The crowd featured older women in their 60s, middle-aged mothers and many more young female college students. Of a lot of things I learned that night, one for certain, is that I'm going to establish a day care center at my future workplace, if one does not already exist at that time!

Enough talking..

Time for some dC sightseeing!

Pictures from Washington, DC

Finally uploaded are some random pictures from Washington, DC. Enjoy!
to view them click here.

reflections on this semester

it's my last night in washington, d.c. holy shit. i don't believe it. sure my bags are packed, my room is empty and there's no food in the kitchen cabinets, but still i feellikei'll wake up in a couple days and head for work at the greenpeace office. a bunch GOTers have left for home.. for good. to me, it's only as if they've left for a short vacation sort of like thanksgiving. michelle just packed her car and is heading back to new hampshire. now it's hit me. no more cruising on our bikes or in her car with the plastic bag-window shield which read "have a nice day." funny story was that someone broke one of her back windows all to take her adapter and dance shoes. they didn't even take the printer/scanner/photo-copier chilling in the trunk! oh well, no more.. no more sightseeing and me takingabajillion photos like a happy go-crazy tourist. no more waiting for each other to get out of work late at night at jaleo or austin grill. no more salsa dancing or getting into clubs with "our" IDs. no more hanging out with our friends, aaron and edgar. no more thrift shopping for one-dollar dresses. no more indulging chili and chocolate shakes. no more lemon grass tofu! what am i going to do with myself? it's a sad and scary thought to think of not hanging out with my sidekick, mitch. there's no doubt we had the time of our lives, and for that i'm so very thankful. she better be reading this while planning for our summer excursion in south america.

so many people and adventures have impacted my life these past several months. ah, amazing. thank you, thank you! the people at GP--especially my coordinators, amy and jon. two of the most patient people who are understanding and insightful in every way. my mentors and friends. my fellow GOTers--acclamations all around. i've learned that when--"damn, that shit's fucked up" to do something. oh, the go-arounds, the travels, the campaigns, the damn petitions and simulations. good times. my friends at jaleo-- always made me smile and really enjoy doing what i do. thanks for welcoming with warm hugs and kisses and good spanish food. friends outside of gp and jaleo --because of you, i was much cooler in the two workplace realms. thanks for good company and conversations and even at the much needed times, clean laundry. thinking about leaving dc is making me nostalgic--i'm sad about it all. at the same time, i couldn't be more happy. living in dc for the semester has brought so much light to my life--the wealth of knowledge and all-around experiences in the travels of just being in our nation's capitol, driving along the coast, topennsylvania, campaigning in florida, more campaigning in amsterdam and much more fun, the trainings and speakers, the last-minute trip and big event in new york city, the interactions with all different people at so many different locations, the established relationships and friendships, the hard work ethics, the extensive online pcc courses, the museums and monuments, the bars and dance clubs, the good food, books and music. everything. my time and enjoyment here has come full circle and i can satisfyingly saythati'm ready to go. i'm excited for home and all that lies ahead.

i just can't get enough

I’ve only been in DC for a little over a week and yet it feels like I’ve lived here all my life. OK that might be a bit of a hyperbole but really, I feel like I belong. I don’t know what it is but I absolutely love it here. I think just being away from family and living on my own encourages me to get out of the house and explore the wonders of this great city. I don’t have any family obligations. I don’t have to be home at a certain time. I don’t have to worry about worrying my parents. I’m free! (Well, that is with the exception of the Greenpeace Organizing Term, my Political Science, Anthropology, English and Humanities online and independent study classes, hosting at Jaleo, serving at Cosi, and completing college transfer applications by the end of November. Of course, cooking, cleaning, and laundry are all added bonuses that fall in line with sightseeing, hanging out with friends and locals, and sleeping. Call me crazy but aside from losing a significant amount of sleep, I’m doing well!

here alas, here alas

I'm in DC! And it's amazinggggg! The first two days were groggy but since it's been absolutely gorgeous. There's so much to do and I'm glad I'm doing it all (or at least trying)! My house doesn't have internet access yet so I'll make this quick. Luckily, Gallaudet University across the street has guest computers for free!..So, yesterday was awesome. I found a bike at the flea market down the block for $20 bucks and it's a classic Panasonic (didn't know they made bikes) from Japan. It rides quite well might I add. Later that night a bunch of my roommates who are also part of the Greenpeace training program rode around Downtown DC and then around the Capitol. The Capitol was my favorite part..the rideways were nicely lit and open and almost deserted. It would be too cool if I just camped out there one night. Today was just as cool if not even more..woke up at 7 to check out the farmers market in DuPont Circle. Everything I saw I wanted to eat--all the organic fruits and vegetables, freshly baked pastries, brewed cider. It's almost dinner time and I'm getting hungry so I'll quicken this up! Then Michelle and I rode around the area with our bikes and applied to this really unique cafe. The manager was very personal, almost father-like, so nice and understanding, it makes me want to really work there except that later we applied to Jaleo, known to be one of the best restaurants in DC and got called to go in tomorrow for training. It's tough because at Jaleo the pay is great and the location is almost perfect. In between the two interviews we strolled around the White House. I never felt so touristy..I was snapping photos left and right at every angle and position! The stupid part is that the White House isn't all that great. It looks way better on TV. But at least, now I can say I've visited the great place. Now, the next step is to work in there. In the big office. One day. One day.