New York, New York!

The Addams Family poster in front of the Lunt Fontanne Theater, yes that is snow you see falling. The first day it decided to snow was the only day I decided to take a day trip. I will say that the slushie snow was the only unfabulous part of the trip.

Sandra and I waiting for the bus at Union Station, 6:30am on a Saturday. After two DC buses, we boarded the Bolt Bus for a 4hr15min nonstop ride to Port Authority. I will say I have learned to have patience by being in DC, and I now have far more patience than I ever thought I would have.

Times Square, although in my mind I see it as the heart of Broadway, we did stop at McDonald's just so we could say that we had lunch in Times Square. There was a crazy protest going on while we had lunch, all we could see were umbrellas and hear people screaming excitedly. It was exciting!

Before the show, Sandra and I had about an hour to kill, so we did what any sane adults would do: got to the Time Square DISNEY Store!!! They had adorable Tigger ornaments, and since we both love Tigger, it seemed appropriate to take a picture.

I SO wanted to by a Rapunzel outfit, they were super cute and sparkly, but alas they were too small :(

At Cindy's Request...

I forget to mention some crucial details about our adventure yesterday.

First was Cindy's insane flirtation technique to which she promptly displayed by hitting on a group of Marines while we were waiting in the long line at the White House. She waltzed right up to them, and I watched in awe and amusement as she chatted up this group of 10-15 people. She is very charismatic.

Second was when we were at the Post Office, on our way down from the tower. One of the riders commented to his buddy that Amish country was the Utah of the East Coast. Cindy quickly rose to Utah's defense, and once again, I watched in both awe and amusement.

Cindy, I hope this post met the standard of your last request. :)

Me, Sandra, and Cindy in the Tower

A Cindy-themed day

All right, so we are halfway through the semester! One of the things on my To-Do list for DC was an obvious task 'Go To White House.' Today, we had our tour of the East wing at noon. It was a great activity and a fun opportunity to see all the other interns, we've all been crazy busy lately. Part of this greatness was that I got to visit with Cindy. Cindy is an intern from UVU at Rep. Cheffetz's Office, and she's the one who organized our tour.

After we finished the tour, we noticed a protest going on in front of the White House (by we, I mean myself, Sandra, Cindy, Talisha, and Matt). We watched for a few minutes, and then hit up the White House gift shop. I found all of the perfect DC gifts for for my family, especially for Max & Kate.

Cindy and Sandra and I continued our journey to the Post Office Tower, and stopped briefly for lunch in the food court (meatlover's pizza and lemonade). I purchased the perfect souvenir for myself, a rose-colored   pashmina scarf, before we went up to the tower. It was AWESOME!!!!!

Cindy then insisted that we go to the Capitol so she could give us a tour. We walked for what felt like forever, and arrived 30 minutes before closing. Cindy condensed her 2.5 hour tour down to 1/5 of the time, ridiculous! She did a great job. Pictures to come, as Cindy took all the photos of the day on her phone and promised to post them to FaceBook before the day was over. My feet are SO killing me.

*Added this morning by Cindy, here are the photos:

Me and the Capitol

Me and Cindy

Me and Sandra at the White House

Me and the Ike statue in the Rotunda

A girl and her cat

Not 15 minutes ago, I left my apartment en route to the lobby to facebook until our mid-semester meeting. As I locked the door behind me, I saw a girl coming down the hall, also heading to the elevator. She was carrying a large carry case, her large cat, and crying hysterically.

My first thought was that her boyfriend had just broken up with her and she was leaving. As we waited for the elevator, she called someone on her phone, and told them that she thought her cat had died. She was sobbing at this point, and my heart went out to her. She hung up the phone, looked at me, and through her tears apologized for making such a scene.

I asked her if she needed a hug, and she opened her arms. I hugged this complete stranger for a good five minutes, as she told me about how this cat was her baby, and that she had just moved out to DC and didn't know how to get to the 24-hr Veterinary Clinic. Her friend called her back with the directions, and I asked her if she needed any help with anything. She said no, but seemed to feel better that I had asked.

Her cat looked like my old cat Lucky, only he was rather large, kind of like my cat Sugar Ray. My initial reaction to seeing her was to say "I like your cat" as I myself miss my pets in SLC like crazy. I'm glad I instead offered her a hug instead of complimenting her cat.

The whole scene just reminded me how easy it is to offer someone a seemingly basic action (a hug) and how much it can help them. My heart broke for her, I hope she will be okay.

On My Own

So today was the Utah/Pittsburgh game at Pittsburgh; half the interns went up to catch it, and another group went on a day trip to Shenendoah Valley. I refused to stay in my apartment all day, so I went on an adventure. I started at the Smithsonian Castle, and then made my way to the Freer Gallery, with a sidestep to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Gallery. From there, I walked to Chinatown to see the American Art and Portraiture Gallery (National Portrait Gallery). Then I got hungry, so I walked from Chinatown to Union Station and went window shopping before buying a delicious Turkey sandwich and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Potbelly's. Finally, I decided it was time to come home. I followed my long day of cardio up with a hour nap and then 2 hours at the gym. Next weekend, we have the White House Tour, and the weekend after, it's NEW YORK!!!!!!!

Photo and Video of the MLK-themed protest

Smithsonian Institution-The Castle

Freer Art Gallery on the Mall

National Archives statue

Exhibit in the Portrait Gallery

MJ cartoon, way cool

Madonna quote on the wall, love it!

Nightseeing

So, Sandra and I went out to see the memorials at night yesterday, and here are a few highlights.

This is the view of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

Hello Mr. Lincoln

White House at night

Me and the White House at Night

Overall, we had a ton of fun. I fee like we walked forever, but by the time we got home we were totally beat and ready to sleep for a day or two. It was a bit annoying on the way home, only because the train wasn't running to our stop, so we had to take the long way home on the Metro. Other than that, it was a fun activity to end the killer week with.

Touched By An Angel

It's crazy, I feel like I've been simply spinning my wheels for the last three years. Never stopping to breathe, never stopping to think, never stopping to feel; it wears you down after awhile. Being busy, so busy, you never really stop and be honest with yourself.

If you could look at yourself in the mirror, take it all in, and be truly honest, what would you say to yourself?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never gave you a chance to feel anything the right way; heartbreak, heartache, or even to let someone love you. I'm sorry I ignored your concerns and fears, and pushed aside your spiritual needs. I'm sorry that I lost track of what real happiness is. I forgot what it felt like to feel anything, not knowing what to do about it, and constantly forgetting to let you heal.

I'm sorry that you don't know how to love because of me. I should've tried harder the first time to put your broken heart back together, and given you more time to understand love in general. I wish that it wasn't my fault that you can't trust others, or be entirely honest with anyone.

I'm sorry I stopped listening. That's changed.

An angel came out of nowhere, kicked down my door, and let me have it. I love you, so why would I knowingly and intentionally hurt you just because? This angel was just one of the many, but the only one to look me square in the eye and say, "What are you doing? Seriously, why?" I don't know why she came to me out of nowhere, out of the blue, to me, right then and there. But I understood.

Dear Me, I'll be better. You deserve the best, the highest honored respect, and all the love and happiness anyone could ever desire. I promise I'll be better, because I love you so much. Thank the angel, every day, every night, and never forget how it feels to be this way. Ever again.

Obsession: The Addams Family Musical

Okay, so immediately following my first Theater Singing class with Ian D, The Addams Family Musical premiered on Broadway.

I downloaded the soundtrack just because it sounded interesting, and, sadly, I didn't fall in love with it.
However, it has become one of my main musical squeezes out here when I ride the Metro. Because of this, I am now determined to hop a bus to New York and see it at the Lunt Fontane theatre at some point in time this month (October, Halloween, etc). When I do this, I plan on waiting outside the back entrance to convince Brooke Sheilds (who is currently playing Morticia) to sign a playbill for Ian D. I have made this a mission, now all I need to do is pick a date and swipe my credit card.

I will say that I am aprehensive about traveling to New York alone, but I honestly believe that this endeavor would be one worthwhile.
For your entertainment, below is a performance of the show's opening number.

I will complete this mission, if not for me, then for Ian D!