things got worse, then things got better.

i still miss the details, but it turns out i'm not the one, you'd think at a private university they'd actually have their crap together and do things to actually help their students. instead, i'm caught off guard like a freshman.

Friday, I decided to take the day off after the week i'd had... good thing too because while on duty, some people in my building decided to smoke something they shouldn't which resulted in an administrative search... how humiliating, to have some guy go through everything you own. I was embarrassed just watching. I felt pity for them and sadness. We found drug paraphenalia (which the officer had to tell me what it all was, i had no idea...) and just random pills after random pills. Their parents are spending 35,000 on their education and their wasting time on recreational drugs. I don't get it... People make such bad choices.

After the search was over, I was called down to the lobby because a kid was passed out in the lobby and not responding. We got him standing eventually... he had no idea how he'd gotten in the building and couldn't tell us where he lived at first. His shirt was a mess, people had written in marker all over him, and shaving cream on his face and he kept asking about a nonexistant sweater... is this a good night? or is this humiliating? I wouldn't let him leave until the 4-RIDE van came to take him home. He thanked me when he left, a lot of people probably wouldn't.

It's not a matter of judging these people. it's just knowing that they could do better. It's about worrying about people you don't even know and what happens to them and showing kindness when they may not ever remember.

life lessons, life lessons.

hopefully tonight isn't as crazy though.

i need prayer.

i need to get my priorities in order and somehow they unintentionally haven't been.

i need to pay attention. i miss things that everyone seems to get. i keep screwing up and thankfully no one has seemed to notice so far.

i just realized today that i need to register for classes tomorrow.

i kept forgetting to set up interview appointments for site-placement next semester. i pray that i get one. i pray that i get one that will be encouraging. i pray that i don't come off like the complete idiot that i feel like.

i am completely lost in the whole court/arbitration/ lawsuit stuff with K.C. Jewelry... i want to say 'screw it' because the money doesn't matter... but i can't keep being taken advantage of.

i feel really lost right now. i need someone to take care of me. i can't seem to get it together and do it all myself....

weekend in summary....

well, I called Christie and James at 11:00 on Friday night and was really disappointed when James told me they were only like an hour or something out of Richmond, because that meant they we definitely not going to make it before like 1. So at 11:30 when there was a knock on my door Christie was NOT who I expected to see. Turns out James is a big liar (but we knew this) and was actually in DC when I called. It was a very good surprize.

After we parked their car and unloaded their stuff into my apartment, I took them on a secret adventure and didn't let them know what was up until we got off the metro. Soooo, we toured the monuments at night, which I'd heard was really cool. (Technically I heard it was really cool when you're drunk, but as that i don't really. well. get drunk. i thought we'd just go anyways.) So at like two in the morning we're on the mall, looking at how freaking huge the Washington Monument really is. Fun thing to try: if you sit at the base of it, with your legs up against the monument, it looks really really really amazing. We also went through the Lincoln Memorial, WWII memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Wall. End result: it looks really cool at night when you AREN"T drunk as well. And it isn't crowded.

Then at three in the morning we made macaroni and cheese. Because, well... it's delicious anytime, but especially after walking around DC late at night.

Saturday we got up kind of early and Christie and I made breakfast (cinnamon pancakes, hashbrowns and bacon) proving once again that we would make fabulous wives. At least to James. After breakfast we headed to the zoo, which is free. And we made friends with a giraffe. And managed to locate all the animals from Matagascar (well, except the penguins. but we found a pciture of a penguin, so it totally counts.)

after the zoo we met Mary for lunch in Dupont Circle and ate at a very cute French cafe. We saw a man peeing in a urinal (poor door placement) and made a video with the whole crawfish adorning Christie's lunch. I went with a vegetarian dish even though James told me I needed to eat protein and was very happy that I couldn't have a conversation with anything that ended up on my plate.

After lunch we went back over towards the Capitol for some museuming... we ended up going to the National Museum of Art but really barely had time to see much of anything before it closed. Once james gets the museum as his house though, we'll ahve plenty of time. Since we got kicked out of the museums, we headed out to the mall to see the Capitol Building. It was really nice and we got to see the sunset over the Capitol Building and Washington Monument. James got icecream adn i got rocks in my shoes. Even though the three of us were pretty tired from walking about 10 miles in one day, Turkey ball was invented. And it's the best way to waste time walking to a metro station.

the metro is fun. except when you get yelled at for swinging on the poles. But thats what they're THERE FOR, geez.

Saturday night I took Christie and James out to Georgetown... M street is full of cute stores and trendy restraunts... Christie and I tried to go shopping but we forgot James was a boy... We actually randomly found this mall built into the ground or something that was really amazing... We got icecream at Ben and Jerry's which was horribly overpriced but so is everything here. We walked up next to the canal, which I'd also heard was really pretty at night, which it was but was nothing compared to the monuments. We ended up near the Watergate and hit up the Safeway underneath it to get some food for breakfast in the morning.

We came back to my apartment sort of early. I tried to get James to dance to Shania Twain but he woundlt (but i could tell he wanted to.) And we tried to watch Donnie Darko but we all passed out way before it ended...

This morning I woke up early to shower (as there were three of us who had to get ready) and christie started harrassing me after i got out of the shower about making the muffins for breakfast and how she couldnt find the measuring cups... when i finally get out of the bathroom 'ice Cream and Cake' starts playing adn there sit Christie and James with 24 donut holes each with a flaming candle stuck in it. Oh my friends, so sneaky. Turns out Christie had gotten them at safeway without me noticing. I'm beginning to think I'm bad at picking up on things.

James made huge muffins and i accidently burnt them because i forgot to take them out while he was in the shower. They were TOTALLY still edible though. We all went to church at Capitol Hill Baptist and were only like ten minutes late. Christie and James wanted to see the White House so we metro-ed over and tried to find the snipers on the roof, we walked a bazillion miles to the Chipotle near my apartment and got huge burritos (burrithippos) that were very good but definitely not Flaming Amy's. By the time we got back to my apartment and their 3pm departure time was delayed by the fact that we all fell into our beds and had one of the most glorious full-belly/exhaustion naps ever. They finally headed out around 4:30 or so.


It was a good weekend. I couldnt have asked for a better birthday weekend. mostly I was just glad to see my friends and get to share the city with them. its a really fun place when you're not here by yourself. i've gotten tons of telephone calls, text messages, IMs, facebook wallings and emails all wishing me a very happy birthday and i can say without hestition...

it was.


-meredith*

this week is FINALLY over.

monday, I had a presentation on Jeff Koons for my painting studio.
tuesday, I had a 3-5 page paper due on defense mechanisms
thursday, I had a 10-15 page research paper due on scribbling (yes. scribbling.)

needless to say, it was a BIT stressful.

but last night I went to class at 7, turned in my paper, and left halfway through class to go see Thrice and Underoath play at the 9:30 club. I was a little nervous going by myself. but it all went well. because i'm lazy, i'm just going to put up what i wrote in my away message to summarize:

well, i left class halfway through and maybe no one noticed? Found the club without a problem thanks to a very nice homeless man who escorted me there for all the change I had in my pocket. Show was amazing. Leaving was kind of hilarious, at least 80 punk kids all on the same metro. Eavesdropping on conversations today proves that highschool kids are idiots. And I saw not one but TWO of 'those guys' sitting next to me that wore the shirt of the band they went to see. Nice move. Walked back to my dorm (un-mugged) behind what can only be described as a gaggle of nine gay guys. At one point, two started skipping ahead Wizard-of-Oz style... and the response by one of the gaggle was "Are they TRYING to be a victim of a hate crime?" And I laughed quietly and unhomophobically to myself.

and that was my night.

as it is now Friday, i can FINALLY relax. I've been looking forward to cleaning my room all week (crazy, huh). i'm going to do laundry. and i have groceries being delivered (i love the city)... and OH YEAH... Christie and James are coming tonight to spend my birthday weekend with me. i knew there was another reason i was excited ;)

i'm sure there will be stories and pcitures to follow.

till then, mere*