Look what I found!

This is a great yarn store I found in Eastern Market in DC (yep, put me anywhere in the world and I'll find yarn!) I had looked up this store on the internet, and had resigned myself to not going to it because I thought it was too far away from a metro. However, I was walking around Eastern Market (i.e. getting lost) and I accidentally stumbled upon the store... I nearly died and went to yarn heaven! The store is Stitch DC, and I believe there are three branches; you can visit their blog for store locations, hours, etc... they even have FREE patterns for knit and crochet! They are a bit expensive, but they have some really nice, luxury yarns. I got two skeins, and I can't wait to go and get more... I just have to consider paying for them! I couldn't take a picture of my yarn yet, because my room is a cave. Anyway, more adventures to come!

4th of July

I have to admit, I don't usually do much to celebrate the 4th of July... it's just not high on my priorities list (sacrilege, I know!). However, this year I'm in DC, which is kinda like July 4 headquarters! We ended up going to sit at the Lincoln Memorial (which was uber cool) at 7 and waiting around 2 hours for the fireworks to begin at 9:10. It was pretty crowded and noisy with fellow firework enthusiasts, but once the fireworks began the crowd literally hushed. The fireworks were launched off the reflecting pool in between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial (the one that Jenny from Forest Gump wades across) and because of that they seemed so huge and so close to us; it was really cool! I had Ray Charles' America the Beautiful playing on loop in my head; it's one of the only patriotic songs that I really love, and it really made the whole event; the fireworks, the crowd, everything... feel really special! Hope you guys had a nice day yesterday too!

July Calendar

I seriously thought I wouldn't be able to do it, but here it is just for you (Lucky thing I got out of seminar early tonight!) Although I couldn't make my typical calendar this time, I was able to Inkscape this one out of thin air fairly quickly... let me know if you guys like it!
As always, visit my flickr or photobucket to download and save the picture (in the appropriate size to your computer. Then just set it as your background!

Here is the short story:
Beepo the sprite is a little sad that its not raining... but Pik knows something that Beepo doesn't!

Sooo busy!

I'm soo busy! Updates: Berrysprite will most likely be postponed until the end of July. What I've been doing: I'm running out of clean clothes. I spent $40 on groceries at Safeway, which is located in the bottom of the Watergate Hotel (yes, THAT Watergate Hotel). We get back from researching at 6pm or 7, do homework until 12 and then get up at 6 or 7 (depending on the day). We even have homework on the weekends (I guess the Smithsonian really IS hardcore!) There really is no time for a proper blog post, so hope this is okay.

Capital Building:


John Walsh of America's Most Wanted (my grandma loves that show!) is the new covergirl of the Crime and Punishment Museum, which is located in Chinatown. It's like he's selling shampoo!

Dupont Circle and the Inn

Hee hee, thanks for all the comments guys! While I'm having lots of fun being by myself, it can get lonely being in a new/strange city by yourself... there's no one to say things to, like: "Hey, look at that tree that looks like a foot." So it's so nice to read all your comments on my blog and flickr! Don't worry though, I won't be by myself for much longer; tonight is my last night in the bed and breakfast I'm staying in, and then tomorrow it's off to George Washington University. If you ever come to DC, I would highly recommend staying at the Inn at Dupont Circle South. It's a bit old and a little expensive (for a college student... but they were the cheapest I could find in comparison to the other rates for hotels and B&B's I saw while I searching on the internet.) The room I stayed in the first night was called the Queen Anne Room, I think, and it was very spacious and lovely.


Here is the Dining Room; they put out refreshments for the afternoon and night-time!

Here is the atrium! It's a nice place to eat because you're technically in the Garden, but you're still inside!

The room where I've been since the first night is this little one, appropriately called "the nook," there isn't even a closet! But who needs a closet anyway? All I need is a bed, and that's the essence of "the nook."
Here's the front architecture of the Inn; it's the white part in the middle. DC has much more vegetation than I thought it would... Dupont Circle is especially nicely greened!

There are many reasons I like it at this B&B: the staff is really nice, it's clean, the breakfast is really good (every morning there is fresh baked bread, omelets cooked to order, etc) and it is literally 2 dozen steps to the Dupont Circle Metro stop. Dupont Circle itself is a great place to stay if you are in DC; it's got a really great night scene and is a notable gay and lesbian community. It's really nice; great architecture, and it seems pretty safe.

There are lots of little places to eat (some are expensive, a few are not)-so far I really like Cosi and Julie's Empanadas. Although it's a bit more expensive (around $7-$10) their flatbread, sandwiches and salads are so good; I like the Bombay Chicken Salad. Julie's Empanadas is open extremely late and it costs $3.41 per empanada... so far I've eaten the turkey with spring onion and the Chilean beef (with raisins, ripe olives, hard boiled egg and beef) and both were super yummy and filling (one should be good for a meal). Both Cosi and Julie's Empanadas are mere minutes away from the Inn.

Flight to DC

Yay, I begin my DC journey! My flight out of Honolulu was at 7:30 pm, and my family came to see me off (with hugs, lei, and spending money... they're so sweet!) It was a last minute rush to make sure everything was packed, but I got all of my essentials; including a rice pot and yarn (hey, I'm going to be in DC a month. The weight limit for American Airlines was 50 lbs, and my suitcase was 49.8 lbs! I don't know how I did it... the actual suitcase was around 20 lbs and everything I added in made up the rest; I didn't even have clothes in there! Well, my ticket to DC from Honolulu was $500 dollars, which was SUPER cheap considering I flew over an ocean and a continent (4835 miles or 7780 km). I used kayak to find the fare, in case anybody's interested. Anyway, considering the distance and price, my flight was 7 hours to Dallas Fort Worth, with a 4 hour layover there, then 2 hours to Regan International Airport in DC.

Here's the best part... I was upgraded to FIRST CLASS on the Honolulu to Texas part of my journey for FREE!!!!! I was so psyched; I have never been on first class (as I could never afford it!) It happened like this: my flight seat was unassigned, and there were directions that said to go to the ticketing agent for further instructions. When I went up they told me to wait a few minutes until my name was called. I waited and waited; almost everybody had boarded! Then they called me up and gave me my ticket. When I looked on it, it said "FIRST," and I thought that there was a mistake. But they seated me in first class! What happened was the economy cabin was completely full, and there were three empty seats in First... lucky me and my nonchalant ticket booking!

Everything was so nice... I'm totally spoiled now! The plane was a 737 so it had those seats that are like pods that recline all the way back, until you're lying down! The stewardesses had a never-ending supply of free drinks (even alcohol... to bad I don't really like alcohol!) and everything was served in real glasses and real plates, no trays in first class baby! I almost wanted to ask, "How much do I owe you?" and I had to keep stopping myself from looking around every five minutes, because of course everybody else in first class had actually paid the fare for it! First course was a little jar of mixed nuts and pineapple. They came around with a hot towel; good think I watch a lot of movies because otherwise I might not have known what to do with it (I learned from the Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler!) When they asked if I wanted Vinaigrette or Miso Cilantro dressing with my salad I was a little confused, but I snapped out of it and got the Vinaigrette… it was HUGE and delicious, with goodies like soybeans and shiso, cucumbers and beets; we even got a choice between a sweet roll and a cheesy breadstick! All of that came on a little black tray with a matching napkin, an orchid flower as decoration, personal salt and pepper shakers, and a little cup of whipped butter. For dinner we had a choice between stuffed salmon and lasagna roll; of course I got the lasagna, which was deliciously filled with ricotta and fresh spinach. Just when I thought we were done, they came around with a dessert alcohol tray featuring amarettos and creams, and a wine pairing with dessert cheese and grapes. Like I said before, I’m not a big alcohol drinker, but the stewardess came around and said, “Would you like an ice-cream sundae?” I was already so full, but come on… when else will you get ice cream on a plane? So I got the vanilla bean ice cream with strawberry sauce (we had a choice between mango syrup, strawberry or hot fudge… we also could have had pistachios and whipped cream). SOO delicious. I usually don’t sleep on planes but I was so full, and at the touch of a button the seat became a bed, so I actually slept instead of doing all my readings and work. It was SOOOO nice, and just what I needed to start the trip!

Here’s hoping you guys will get upgraded too!