hell on earth?

aka newark airport

i promise to commit no acts of violence

for the last several weeks, i've been stalking craigslist for a "new" bike. i've actually been saying for over a year now that i really need a bike. well, a bike and a facial, but i guess the later will have to wait. as i'm incredibly vertically challenged, finding a bike that works has been really difficult, if not downright impossible (if i don't want a barbie bike, that is. and, dad, I DON'T WANT A BARBIE BIKE. STOP SAYING YOU WILL GET ME ONE FOR CHRISTMAS).

long story short, i bought a used 13" Trek 930 today. then i took it for a ride out to the airport and watched planes land for awhile. i rarely say this: what a great tuesday. maybe it's because it's really thursday for me, since tomorrow is my last day in the office this week. that must be it.

interpol . not even jail

project ORANGE : complete

project ORANGE

the actress is always breaking things

an update on my life:

i like orange. can you tell? i think i'm going to paint my ceiling orange in the apartment.
we've officially renewed our lease on the apartment. expect more out the window shots for the next year.
yesterday i helped one of my successors move into his apartment. the 'new kids' will be kicking us out soon. what in the world am i going to do?
i don't know what i'm going to be doing in august.
i've gotten a few soft offers, but right now i really need to decide if i want to go into traditional practice or if i want to stick to this "community" side of our profession.
i should have been working on my portfolio this week instead of my new blog layout
but i didn't. i worked on the new blog layout.
i hope you like the new blog layout.
i've had 3 parts to a root canal and it still isn't finished.
i still can't run on my ankle, but it's getting better.
our pool finally opened.
what in the world am i going to be doing in august?
can someone find me a job?
i'm going to miami next weekend, and michael is actually going to be able to come with me. check out where we're staying
i only have 6 weeks left on my term, but i still have 3 trips and two conferences/meetings in DC before i'm done.
when will i find time to do REAL work?

pavement . date with ikea

new blog layout!

as promised, i've finally got a beta version of my new blog layout up-and-running. be aware, there are a few kinks, and it'll probably be a few days before they're all worked out, but i really do hope you like it!

there was a time...

when i didn't care about comments on my blog. nope, didn't care at all. i was blogging for me and only me (oh shut up, there's nothing more narcissistic than a blog) and didn't care who came to visit or read. that day has past. i'm leaving for san antonio this weekend, and when i get back there had better be comments on my blog.

someone out there cares, right?

UPDATE: in a fight with my computer and internet connection, i managed to mangle my template beyond recognition. please excuse the old one for awhile...

welcome candi!

my friend candi has started her own blog. go check it out!

it's a lie to serve the truth

location . locked in the office temp . 76 humidity . 77% conditions . humid

architecture satire at its best: check out gutter.curbed.com (not to be confused with their sister site, curbed:dot:gutter:dot:com).

blonde redhead . hated because of great qualities

think i'm drunk enough to drive you home now

location . home
temp . 74
humidity . 87%
conditions . thunderstorm

i've spent most of the last two weeks in the wonderful world of tooth decay. for someone who's only ever had two cavities, this has been quite traumatic. it actually all started about eight months ago when i thought i cracked a filling, but i wasn't completely sure, and it only hurt for a few weeks, so i decided to do nothing about it. advance to right before vegas, biting into a chunk of chicken, and PAIN. PAIN. do you understand, it was PAIN. went to the dentist about two weeks ago and discovered my negligence had resulted in the need for a pretty serious root canal, one that even my highly regarded dentist didn't want to touch. so he referred me to an endontist...
advance to today, me calling to get an appointment with said endontist (yes, i KNOW it is two weeks after the first appt, and i should have called MUCH earlier. stop scolding me. stop, i say) who of course doesn't take my insurance. after consulting with both my dentist and the endontist it was clear that if i wanted a TOP QUALITY root canal, i'd better go ahead and fork over the $1200 up front and deal with insurance later. out of curiosity, i decided to call my insurance company to see "approximately" how much i could expect to get reiumbursed. the answer? an unapologetic "300 dollars." 300 DOLLARS! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? i can't afford a $900 root canal, and even if i could, i'd rather spend it on something like new clothes. or shoes. or another vacation. NOT A ROOT CANAL. mr. worlds-best-endontist is a little too good for me, apparently.
so i call for an endontist in-network. luckily, there's one only a few blocks from work (because i can't let a pesky thing like a root canal keep me from making the world a better place for architecture students), so i called him up, and the secretary asked me if i could come in RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW. like the guy has nothing to do RIGHT NOW. like he's sitting in his office with a drill in one hand and a grin on his face just WAITING for his next victim. so i said NO WAY, but i can totally come tomorrow.

death cab for cutie . champagne from a paper cup

sad song, last dance, and no one knows who the band was

after nearly a year of searching, i believe i've finally found THE BEST restaurant in chinatown. i know you're all relieved. you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult, right? surely there are at least 5 restaurants competing for that title, and all you have to do is eat at all of them constantly before you find that one special dish, and you can proclaim a winner. instead, the fridge is filled with half-full take-out containers, the drawers filled with take-out menus, and us left less-than-impressed at just about everything we've tried. IT'S CHINATOWN. COME ON. there's no reason i should have to go all the way to georgetown (or adam's morgan or singapore bisto - mmmm singapore bistro...) for good asian food.
that all changed today. after a year of making fun of the name "cafe deli" for an asian restaurant, we decided to brave it. 30 minutes later with our bellies full of peanut chicken and garlic chicken, we proclaimed a winner. it didn't hurt that the place is DIRT CHEAP. nothing is dirt cheap in dc. basic take-out will always set you back at least $25. however, every single person that came in except for us ordered the lemon-grass curry (insert meat or tofu here). think they know something we don't? maybe that's lunch tomorrow...

modest mouse . baby blue sedan

eleven hundred miles is too far inside a car

location . back in the district temp . 74 humidity . 44% conditions . cloudy

at my insistence, michael and i spent the entire weekend driving. i know that sounds impossible, and perhaps it is, but just to prove i'm not exaggerating (much), here is a break down of the weekend:
depart: friday @ 3:00pm
arrive: tuesday @ 1:00pm
total # of hours: 94 hours

time sleeping/in hotels: 44 hours
time at weddings/getting ready for weddings: 13 hours
time driving: 37 hours

ok, so that wasn't as revealing as i hoped it would be. but WE DROVE ALOT.

why all the driving, you ask? why not, i say. a good road trip is necessary every once in awhile. but everyone that knows me knows i prefer to fly, so that doesn't make much sense. hrpmh. i'll just tell you: we drove out to illinois for luke's wedding. you remember luke, don't you? luke-from-architecture-school-luke? luke was fun. i miss luke. but the wedding was great, very informal, very luke (and barb. very barb, too). after that, we drove another 4 hours to columbia, missouri to attend a wedding of some friends of michael's. in a really strange coincidence, there were about 10 people who were at BOTH weddings... some people that were friends with luke and friends with the wife of michael's friend.

modest mouse . a life of artic sounds