Touring

When I moved here I thought that one of the bonuses of living to DC was the easy access to national treasures held in museums and monuments. However, I have fallen victim to the "you never visit when you live there" syndrome and had not even set a toenail in one of the Smithsonians. The last time I set foot near a monument was the day after my friend Liz and I drove here from Boston.

All of that changed on Saturday. Jason has been on my case for some time about how we need to DO something during his visits here. I know he's right, but somehow amid running errands and important things like watching The Simpsons we can be pretty lazy when he's here. I am now determined to go to a museum each time he comes.

Our inspiration to get off of our butts and head downtown came in the form of his parents who were in town this past weekend too. How's that for good timing? So I met his parents and they were very nice. (I have yet to hear their reviews of me, but I'm hoping for raves.) Jason's mom loves museums so they spent 3 days in a row I think just wandering through as many museums as they could.

Saturday morning Jason and I headed into the District. We met up with his parents and then split up again so they could go look at some art and we could go the Air and Space Museum. Plus they had to get to their super-duper, doubleplusgood tour of the White House, including a visit to the Oval Office.

The Air and Space Museum was my first Smithsonian adventure. Because of my dad and my Papaw, I have lots of early exposure to airplanes and airplane museums. When Mamaw and Papaw came to Tucson, we all went to The Pima Air Musum where I remember being completely in awe of the huge planes. I adopted a gigantic cargo plane with a bulbous appendage on its nose and named it Goofy. Another time, we went to see the missile silos out in Green Valley. I thought of my dad a lot as we went through the museum, which was very appropriate since it was his birthday Saturday!

Highlights included:
- Recently declassified information on early spy satellites. Jason's favorite fact: before digital imaging, the satellite cameras took pictures and then jettisoned cannisters of film with parachutes that were snagged by airplanes. In one early picture of Red Square you can see the long line of people waiting to see Lenin's Tomb.
- Lots of stuff on the early space program. I've always been a fan of The Right Stuff and did a huge report on the Gemini Project in 5th grade.
- The World War One exhibit, which actually wound up being more about WWI than strictly about aviation in the war, but since I'm a history buff, I liked it. WWI was such a tragic war. My great-grandpa (Pop) was gassed in the trenches in WWI and lived to the ripe old age of 86. We're a hearty bunch.
- Jason's favorite, the aircraft carrier exhibit. I liked seeing the planes take off and land from the bridge.

Afterwards Jason bought me an insanely expensive soft pretzel (because I was craving one and he's nice that way) and we walked around a bit, enjoying the beautiful, very non-January weather. We walked through a sculpture garden where a hippie couple asked us to take their picture, and then took ours in return.

See the pyramid behind us? It's made of cinder blocks and goes up in steps, like something at Teotihuacan. I really wanted to climb it. Jason said no. Fine, then.


We met up with his parents at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. I'm always so surprised at how much I like some kinds of modern art because I typically think of myself as having more traditional tastes. But the giant circle of perfectly composed fragments of flint really grabbed me. And so did the faceless black head on the black piece of wood titled "Do Not Go Gently." And the giant swirl of wire dry cleaner hangers. There was a great Calder fish mobile that I'd love a miniature of.

Then it was off to Old Town for a seafood dinner and ice cream at an old-fashioned soda shop.

Sunday was busy as we went to church, drove Jason's parents to the airport, attended Evensong at the National Cathedral, and hung out with Jason's crazy friend Frank, his wife, and basically his wife's ENTIRE family. Good thing I'm not shy anymore, huh? I actually had a great time, especially watching all the little kids run around. And run around they did. I think I'd be very tired as a mom.

Working Girl

I'm working again. The little firm where I've been working told me on Friday that they'd like to have me back after the week I took off in Boston and turning in my DC Bar application. So I'm here now and apparently I'm sort of a lawyer. This morning the partner gave me some work to do on a few cases. About an hour later, one of those clients called the office and asked for the partner. When I called him to transfer the call he sounded surprised and said, "That's your case now" and gave me succinct instructions on what to do. I actually talked to a client and sounded responsible and together and told him I'd call him back later because I just got his file and I need to look through it. So I'm learning the delay tactics right away, which is apparently very important in the legal profession.

Anyway, I don't think the letter I write to the client this afternoon with all of his documents attached will be signed by me since a) I'm not really a lawyer at this firm, and b) I'm only DC bar-pending after all, but it's still cool to feel trusted and like they think I can actually talk to a client for 5 minutes without completely trashing the firm's reputation.

Guess Who's DC Bar-Pending?

That's right, baby!

Kelly Needs*

Kelly needs a quivering antennae.
For when the cable goes out and I've watched all my Tivoed stuff, I presume. Or to aid my sensory perception and help me keep away from predators. One of the two.

Kelly needs some editing
You tell me.

Kelly needs friction massage.
Mmm, yes, please!

Kelly needs to be part of a loving, committed marriage.
Don't look at me. Google said it.

Kelly needs to prepare and think about a hundred different things.
Always.


*Type "[your name] needs" into a Google search and let the hilarity ensue.

BAR NUMBER!

Freakin' &%#*@#*@!!!

Sorry.

I just discovered that I'm still missing one little thing from my DC Bar application. My bar number. I just emailed the nice lady at the Supreme Judicial Court to ask her about whether it actually is the number that was on my swearing in materials because if so, then no problem. If not, then I need to find out how to get the number and I'm really hoping there is some magical way I can get it tomorrow so I can turn in my DC Bar application, which turned out being the ONLY reason I went to Boston this week (as you all may remember) and didn't try to get any temp work and why after I pay rent next week I'll be eating Mac and Cheese with Tuna for awhile.

The Interview That Really Wasn't

As I told Jason, apparently the reason I came to Boston was to pull together the materials for my DC Bar application. I didn't really have an interview it seems. Oh sure, I put my suit on and had the jitters and took the T down to the firm and met with one of the partners. But as soon as we sat down in her office she basically said that she saw my resume and thought it was interesting and wanted to meet with me, but who knows when they'll be hiring again, but it's good to have resumes on file.

Um...K.

So we chatted for 20 minutes or so and I told her about me and my experience and she told me about the firm and said she'd pass on my info to the health care people too.

Afterwards I stopped by the office of the attorney I interned for last year to say hi. When I explained the not-so-much interview to her she looked flabbergasted and said, "Are you kidding? They had you come up for that? That's bizarre." After a pause she said, "Well, maybe they're going to be hiring someone in the near future and wanted to get you in to talk to kind of feel you out." So that's a thought I suppose.

I'm trying not to feel too discouraged. I liked the firm a lot from their webiste, and everything the partner told me today just confirmed my initial impression. It sounds like they would be a great firm to work for. But that hopeful, maybe they'll hire me feeling is obviously gone since, you know, they're not hiring.

On the other hand, right now I have about 27 resumes out there and I've only heard back from 5 firms. I know one firm that I sent a resume to in DC is actually hiring because the HR person called me asking me to send them a transcript and writing sample too. And next week I'll get on the job boards again and send out some more. One young attorney I was talking to who did this process not too long ago told me that she set a goal for herself to get out 3 resumes a week. Since January 1 I haven't had a problem meeting that standard, so I just have to keep it up.

It's been great to be here this week though. I turned in my swearing in materials and am officially a barred attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts! I got my law school certification and my certificate of good standing from Mass to turn in with my DC Bar application, which is complete except for entering in the date that I was admitted to the Mass Bar. Tomorrow when I get home I'll print out the DC Bar app and Friday I'll head down to the DC Court of Appeals and hand it in, thus making me eligible for contract attorney work and maybe I'll be able to not drain my bank account in between every paycheck for once.

I also got to have lunch and dinner yesterday with 2 different friends. If anyone is wondering, the Sesame Shrimp Salad at John Harvard's is excellent. I'm also a big fan of their chicken pot pie.

I've also had a good time with Jason. It's almost like we're a normal couple, hanging out every day, running errands together, being all, well, normal. Like last night he had a choir practice so I went to dinner with Santa Cruz Jenn (who is Cambridge Jenn while doing a post-doc this year) and then met up with him afterwards. We came back to his place and watched a movie (Shaun of the Dead. Hilarious! I was only too grossed out when one of the cast was, um, disemboweled. Ewww! But they're zombies, so that's to be expected). Normal is so nice when it's just been a weekend here and a weekend there for the past 5 months.

So, Um, That Was Kind Of Weird

Something weird happened today as I was sitting in the dining room of my new hair stylist getting my hair cut. I was checking out the titles of the books on her bookshelf as she trimmed away when suddenly the room went kind of skewed. It was only for an instant, but for that instant I had a full sense of what people are talking about when they say "the room was spinning." Weird, right?

When I was younger I remember family members talking about how Nana had vertigo. When I looked it up in my Funk & Wagnalls (yes, I owned my very own Funk and Wagnalls) it only confused the matter more because I got the idea that it meant you get sick because things seem to spin around when you're up high. So could Nana not stand on stepstools or ladders or what? At 5' 10" Nana was a giantess in her small Missouri farming community, but I don't consider 5' 10" to really be a high place. So why did she get vertigo?

Of course seeing the Alfred Hitchcock movie several years later just confused the matter for me.

I think what it means is that things just spin, period, without you necessarily having to be up high. So is my spinning head this morning a touch of vertigo? How do you know if you have vertigo? Do I have a propensity for vertigiousness because my Nana had it?

On the upside, my hair is cute again! I am so thrilled. I haven't had my hair cut in 8 months. 8 MONTHS! For the past few years I've been getting my hair cut on average every 3 months. Then right before graduation I got my hair cut, dyed and highlighted, which lasted me through the graduation celebration, the Bar and my post-Bar trip. I fully intended to get a trim before heading to DC in the hopes that I would look stylish and impressive for any potential interviewers, but it didn't happen.

Days, weeks and eventually months passed with my hair getting longer and more scraggly. I sent an email to the ward listserv and got several hairdresser recommendations, but I just never got around to it/didn't want to fork over the money. It occurred to me last week that I should probably get my hair cut before my interview on Wednesday so I at least feel confident and pulled together. And lo and behold, this week a girl sent an email to the listserv advertising her sister's hair styling services. She just had a baby and is working out of her home and is super cheap.

Sign? Why, yes, I think so.*

I went over to her apartment this morning. When she opened the door I was duly impressed by her cute haircut and sassy highlights despite having given birth a mere 7 weeks ago. That's dedication to style, people. I knew I was in good hands.



* I'm just going to say everything that happens in my life from now on is a sign. It's more fun that way.

I've Hit the Website Wall

I was going to write an entry last night, but I was just too darn tired and wound up dozing off in front of the TV watching a Tivoed episode of Waiting For God at around 10:30 PM. Some of you may say, "Why, Kelly, 10:30 is a perfectly respectable time to be dozing off." And I would reply, "Yes, that may be true, but I'm usually a night owl who goes on 6 or 7 hours of sleep and I don't need to be up until 7 AM because I have fine-tuned my morning routine so that I can shower, eat breakfast, and catch some Headline News and my daily Weather Channel report all before I catch the bus to get me to work at 9. Plus, I usually wind up talking to Jason at 11 or 12."

Last night I had a feeling reminiscent of hitting that wall last July when I was studying for the Bar. That wall where no more information can be crammed into my head and all further reading and lectures are just clicking sounds. See, I've been writing a website. No, not this website, the website for the firm. (Huh, I never put that whole "this is a website and that is a website and maybe that website is the reason I'm not writing much lately on this website" thing together before). I did some writing for the firm's website before Christmas, but the majority has been done since the holidays. Right now the website document is 104 pages, and I think I probably drafted at least 60 of those.

Basically over the past month or so I have had a crash course in elder law, trusts and estates law, and disability law. I knew some of the trusts and estates stuff from the Bar and from the class I took last Spring, but in a more general sense, not in the detail that is needed to fully explain the concepts. This is the way it's gone down: the attorneys give me a topic, I research it for a couple of hours, and then write write write some little synopsis that is client-friendly. I've learned a massive amount of information, but as of last night, my brain is full. One of the attorneys and I were making final edits to a section last night and as she was explaining a fine point that needed to be added, I realized that I no longer had any idea what she was talking about. Good thing it's almost done.

My one consolation is that unlike the Bar, I don't have to spew all of this information forth on a 2-day exam in the next week or so. I just tuck it away and hope I can sound smart if someone in a future interview should happen to ask me about it.

Should I Feel Bad About My Illegal Car?

Or reasons why it's good to be a sweet-looking girl with a nice smile and the ability to make her eyes look very big and pitiful.

I took my car to get inspected on Saturday. It didn't pass the safety inspection, but I got the sticker anyway. My car has had a light on on the dashboard for, oh, about a year. I've read on some message boards about it and apparently it's rather common in my car and often ends up being nothing more than a short and not a real indication that there's a hazard. I've had oil changes and been on road trips in the meantime and the car is ok. The ONLY way I can get it checked out is to pay $80 to the dealer so they can hook it up to their extra-fancy, super-secret Ford machines to diagnose the problem. $80 bucks! And that's not even to fix it or anything, but just to hook it up. Those of you who've been reading for awhile know I've never been what you'd call "well-to-do" and $80 seems rather extreme in my mind for not even fixing the problem.

So Saturday the guy came into the waiting area at the gas station and told me that the light was on and asked if I had a place where I could take it because that was a problem for the safety inspection. I'm sure I must have looked pitiful as I told him that when I was in Massachusetts I was told that only the dealer's special machines could figure out the problem and it would cost me $80 just to get my car hooked up to the machine. He said, "Hold on" and went out to try to hook my car up to their machines. No go. So I sat there waiting for him to finish the emissions check (which I passed fair and square) wondering where I was going to come up with $80 to get the light checked, not to mention whatever it cost to fix the thing if there was, in fact, a problem before January 31st.

The guy pulled my car out of the garage and I went out to meet him. He leaned in and said, "I'm going to pass you. But you have to get that checked as soon as you can." I nodded dumbly and thanked him profusely and drove off with my happy little inspection sticker on the windshield.

I'm feeling a little bad about this now. Like it was ok when I knew the light was on, but I still had a passing inspection sticker and knew I was fine according to the state. But now I've been told it's not ok, not really.

Here's the thing though. Last year the light was on and the Massachusetts gas station people had NO problem with it. I thought for sure it would come up, but they didn't mention it. Now, Virginia and Massachusetts have some sort of reciprocity going with their inspections so I figure it's not a huge deal if the Mass guys didn't even mention it. Of course, there's also the slim chance that my boys at my gas station in Cambridge let it slide because I always went there for gas and such. Hmm....

Well, I'm going to try not to feel too bad about it and just as soon as I am making a decent amount of money such that shelling out $80 for nothing more than hooking my car up to a machine doesn't make me choke and sputter with indignation, I'll get that light taken care of.

The Firm

It seems rather unfair that just as I'm getting really comfortable at the firm where I'm working, my last day is Friday. I've enjoyed being there, even though the atmosphere is pretty stressful at times. Not only is the workload crazy busy, but they just fired an attorney who basically didn't do anything for the four months that she worked there and they're trying to clean up her messes. A couple of clients have already terminated the firm because of their frustration with her.

Everyone else is great, though. We can be sassy and sarcastic and be appreciated for it - in fact it's encouraged, as long as the work gets done. The partner is from Newton, MA and thinks it's great that I went to BC. When we were writing up the employment manual he said that the inclement weather policy was whatever they said in Newton, MA. I replied that they never close the schools in Newton, MA and he said, "Exactly." So I typed up "Please refer to school closures in Newton, MA to determine whether the office will be open or not." My alternate policy was "The office might be closed due to inclement weather, but I wouldn't bet on it." He thought that was hilarious.

He can be a protective dad-type. On Friday he asked me if I was going to Boston over the coming weekend and I told him no, but I would be going in a couple of weeks. He looked concerned and asked me if Jason ever comes down here because it's not very fair for me to be the only one schlepping myself around (he sprinkles Yiddish words liberally in his conversation). I assured him that I go up to Boston one weekend a month and Jason comes down here another weekend. He looked satisfied and said that was alright then.

And here I have to say good-bye and start somewhere else. It's too bad they're not hiring another attorney because despite the stress and the craziness I would so apply for that job.

Knock On Wood and Don't You Be Counting Any Chickens

I got an interview. At a law firm. In Boston.

OK, now that I'm home I can tell the story. No names will be used, because I have learned much from Dooce. Actually it's not so much a story as a narrative sentence. Last week I sent out about 9 resumes to some smallish firms in Boston and today one of them called me to schedule an interview. Hurrah!

But here's the thing. It's like I was getting prepped for this starting yesterday. Yesterday I started emailing all of my temp agencies to let them know that my current assignment ends on the 20th. I got the impression from all of them that I should keep them posted but they'd really like to know when I get my DC Bar application in, and to be sure to fax them the stamped copy of the DC Bar application, and, oh yeah, how's that DC Bar application coming.

Yesterday afternoon I met with a woman over at the temp agency I'm working with right now. They place legal support staff, no attorneys, but it worked out pretty well this time. Originally I was hired to be the secretary, but after they hired their new secretary, they kept me on to do deeds and research and write articles for their website. Anyway, the temp agency lady seemed all hot and bothered about TWO prospective positions, both permanent. One was for a paralegal, one for a research assistant.

I told her that was great and all, but I would still be looking for a job as an attorney and I don't know if these people would want some sort of set commitment. She asked me if I would consider being hired on in this other capacity, if they could then bring me on as an attorney within 6 months. Yeah, ok lady, you go tell the law firms who they're hiring as an attorney. I'm sure they'll love that. I told her I was looking for a job as an attorney and that money was a factor as well, explaining to her how much I could potentially make once I get my DC Bar application in and that I have loans, etc. If she could work something out, fine, but I left there thinking, "I'm not holding my breath."

So I got back to work feeling kind of discouraged about my future in the DC legal scene. Basically I came to the conclusion that I need to get this DC Bar application thing done already. I started thinking about my options and concluded that maybe I could come up to Boston for a few days the week of the 23rd and show up at my law school and the Supreme Judicial Court to get my various certificates that I need for the DC Bar app. Just before I left work I emailed a woman at the SJC to find out how quickly I could get my Certificate of Good Standing if I turned in my swearing in materials in person.

Then things started falling into place. Last night I checked flights. Lo and behold Air Tran had just started a HUGE sale. It's the cheapest ticket I've seen in between here and Boston since Jason and I started with our bi-monthly trips. And it's only $50 to cancel. I figured if I got a temp job that week after all then I could cancel and it wouldn't be a huge deal.

This morning I had a reply from the woman at the SJC who told me I could get my Certificate immediately if I showed up and turned in all my materials in person.

About an hour later the firm called to schedule an interview.

Hmmm. I guess I'm going to Boston week after next.

Jason says I look for signs too much and I'm too fatalistic, but I just think that when everything falls into my lap in a tidy little package, it's not all happenstance. I'm not trying to decipher it really. I mean, maybe the firm and I will not click and it won't be the right job. But maybe this was the reason I needed to get up there to get the DC Bar app done. Or maybe the firm and I will rock each other's worlds. We'll see. Either way I'm excited that I'll be able to get the application done finally and I'm excited about the interview and I'm excited that I don't have to wait 3 weeks to see Jason after all.

Dance Dance Revolution

This is an awesome website, although if you're skittish about the booty talk, then I would suggest not clicking on any of the Booty Bass buttons.

It took me back to my days as a raver. Yes, your local good little Mormon girl has been to a few raves in her time. I was always the designated driver, but frankly I never felt like I needed any mind-altering substances to enjoy myself. In fact sometimes I would get so wrapped up in it that I think I would have been too overwhelmed with something else in my system. Just me and several hundred other people all writhing around to the beat in a huge smoky room (or one time on the fringes of the desert) with lights flashing everywhere. Soon it was 4 AM without me really realizing it.

There were also lots of good times in the Happiness Is Submission to God apartment* with me, Santa Cruz Jenn, a blue lightbulb in a ball-shaped Japanese lantern, and an Orbital CD.

I never dance anymore. Well, that's a lie. I dance in my bedroom. I dance in my bathroom. Just the other night I shook my booty a little to New Order when Jason and I were cooking dinner. I just don't dance so much in public anymore.


* On Euclid and 6th in Tucson there is a building with "Happiness is Submission to God" painted on the side. Jenn and I lived in one of the attached apartments. Yeah, how cool were we?**

** My apologies to Jordan for snagging her asterical comments, but they're very useful.

Will Work for Student Loan Payments

I was in Boston this weekend. I always feel so popular when I'm in Boston, and not just because I have a cuddly boy there who seems to think I'm neat. I go to church and I have friends. Check it out, I have FRIENDS! Friends who are happy to see me and tell me so. One said she always feels a little happier when I'm there at church with them. Yes, I'm sure she was exaggerating a bit, but that's not the point. It still made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I'm feeling a bit more positive, probably partly because it's been less than 24 hours since I've seen Jason.* But there are a couple of other reasons.

First, in the mail today I received instructions from Massachusetts telling me how to get sworn in remotely. According to them I just have to get sworn in via a method recognized by the jurisdiction where I am getting sworn in. Anyone happen to know how you can get sworn in in DC? Do I have to go to a judge, a clerk of court, a notary?

I'm still waiting to hear back from Mass as to whether I got the requisite 133 on the MBE. It would be nice if they'd just TELL US how we did on the MBE. What's the big secret? Other jurisdictions give people their scores when they tell them whether they passed or not. I'd kind of like to know, since the MBE was FREAKIN' HARD whether I barely scraped by and my essays made up the slack, or if I surprised myself and got in the 150's or higher. It would also make this whole waiving into DC process less complicated. But then they couldn't charge me $25 just to tell me whether or not I got a 133. Not to give me my actual score, mind you, but to say, Yes, you did get above a 133, or No, you didn't get above a 133.

Anyway...

What was the second thing...? Oh yeah.

Second, the job postings are looking up, in that firms are actually posting a job or two here and there. A couple of them actually want entry-level type people. For awhile the job board that I pay a monthly fee for was chock full of volunteer attorney positions, but no real jobs. I don't think a board that charges you a fee should be allowed to post volunteer projects when you can probably google volunteer + attorney + boston and come up with the same thing. Maybe I'll write a strongly-worded letter telling them exactly what I think about that.

Third, my temp job got extended until the 20th, which gives me one more week of a paycheck, which is always a good thing. I'm liking this job pretty well because they do a lot of health care and estate planning stuff. It reminds me a bit of what I did at my job while I was in law school. I'm researching and writing, but then they also have me drafting deeds and some other things that feel more useful. They got rid of an attorney at New Years (but they're not hiring another one), so I'm helping wrap up some of her cases. It's almost like lawyering! Sort of.


*Um, yeah, have I mentioned that I really like him? Oh, you noticed?

Blogging

I have come to the realization that there is a distinct lack of funny going on at Chez Blog Kelly. This time last year I had a couple of friends who told me they read my blog and it cracked them up and I should really write, which was my failsafe in the back of my head should the whole law thing not work out. Well, the law thing isn't working out yet, but I don't think I can fall back on my writing prowess since a) I don't think I can find anyone to pay me to write a blog, and b) my writing is dreary and dull lately.

I've come up with a couple of reasons why my blog is less lighthearted than it used to be.

1) I have a boyfriend now. I have to save all my funny for him so he will be continually entranced by my wit and think I'm the most interesting girl ever and, as a side benefit, not notice my expanding hips. He reads the blog too so I can't be all funny here and then go send him an email saying the same thing. I think he'd feel a bit unspecial.

2) Um, if you haven't noticed, my life just isn't really feeling all that lighthearted lately. I have student loans coming due that I have no possible way to pay and am sending off forbearance and deferment forms when what I really, really want to be doing is sending in payments so my debt will actually go away someday.

I'm making half of what I could be making because the freakin' state of Massachusetts still hasn't sent me the info on how to swear into the Mass Bar so I can send in my DC Bar application. I've called several times and have been told that it's coming. Never mind that I'm almost 98% positive that I gave them my new address so the fact that they sent my Bar results to my old address first and by the time it got forwarded to me I had missed the RSVP for the swearing-in ceremony is distinctly their fault.

My thighs and hips are expanding and I'm feeling like all that hard work I did last year was for nothing because I've basically gained it all back now. I'm not up to pre- and early-Boston weight, but I'm up nonetheless. And I just can't get myself out of bed at 5 AM to go swim, which is the best way my body loses weight, because I'm working all day and trying to look for a real job at night.

I'm really lonely here in DC. I talked about that before, but it's still true. However, I had dinner with a friend last week and got invited to a SCANDALOUS Adult Tupperware-esque Party (by a Mormon friend, no less) in a couple of weeks, so that has helped.

I'm continually discouraged in my job search. I get myself all psyched up, thinking I'm going to hit the job boards and send out resumes to firms and network with my contacts and SOMEthing will work out of course! Then I actually go to the job boards and realize that no one hires entry-level attorneys. I send out resumes and get a pile of thanks, but no thanks letters. I talk to my contacts and am told that the job market sucks (I'm paraphrasing).

This time last year I was stressed out, but I still had hope that I would find a job, that this move to DC would work out great. So I apologize for my blog being so bleh lately. I want to keep it going because it is a good outlet for me, but it's not as fun as it used to be for me either. I don't know...I guess I need to think about it.

Day 3 of No Sugar and Food Is Already Conspiring Against Me

Today at work we have a lovely selection of Ghiradelli chocolate squares, dark chocolate covered almonds, AND a Godiva chocolate selection. I curse thee, gods of sugar! Thou willst not tempt me with thy fine confections!

This has pointed out to me HOW MUCH crap I've been eating because there's always crap on the counter at work and why my hot butt pants officially fit again after being baggy for months. I draw consolation from the fact that even though this means I'm back up a size, at least my butt looks hot.

I discovered last night that the Gingerbread Cake on the stand right when you walk into Trader Joe's has sugar listed as the 5th ingredient! I figured that was good enough as I picked it up to take over to a friend's house for dinner. Step away from the Chocolate Midnight Cake and go for the Gingerbread Cake.

What the Neon Green Sticker On the Ford Explorer in Front of Me Said

"This car violates New York City parking laws. Your street was unable to be cleaned because of this car."

They don't kid around in New York. Not only do they give you a ticket, but they tag your car with a bright green, apparently unremovable sticker that tells the neighborhood why they have the dirtiest street in the city that week. Which sticker also explains why the anal-retentive neighbors have slashed your tires.

That's Right!

Your Nail Polish Color is Red

How you're unique: You have an incredible eye for style and art Why your style rocks: You are classic and classy - and that's hot! What this color says about you: "I'm smart, sassy, and sexy. And I know it."

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

Here are a couple of pictures of the gingerbread house that Jason and I made in December.

I'm particularly proud of our cobblestone pathway of generic M&M's.