National Building Museum

Ahem, so it has been a little while before I blogged, but unfortunately life has a way of getting in the way.  So I saw that there was a new exhibition at the National Building Museum about Anacostia, so I was interested in seeing it.  I had only been to the Building Museum once for the worst job fair ever, so I had not been eager to go there otherwise.  Anyway, Nicole and I went there today after brunch.  It was $8 to get in to see the exhibitions, but they also had an area where you could play mini golf.  I'm not a huge fan of mini golf, so I declined. 

Our first stop was to an exhibition called "Washington: Symbol and City".  I really liked it alot!  It had a history of the buildings in the city, and the different architects.  It talked about how rowhouses were for the poor people, and only the wealthy could have free-standing homes.  Obviously different now!  It was interesting to read about some of the history of places like Dunbar High School (which was not a vocational high school at first because the administrators thought that was demeaning to African American children), as well as the Wardman houses which were built all over the city.  I also got to read about how Union Station evolved as part of the Baltimore Ohio railway, and the development of Rock Creek Park.  There were a ton of different facts about DC, and I learned alot.  But one of the things I was telling Nicole that I liked so much was that there were so many names that I could now tie to places (Eg, Banneker Pool, James Hobans). 

The next exhibit we went to was called "Cityscapes Revealed: Highlites from the Collection".  It was all about the different architectural styles and the materials used.  It was somewhat interesting but the architecture was sort of over my head.  Next we went to was an exhibit about Kevin Roche.  He is a famous architect who designed buildings for many different people/companies.  His focus was on architectural simplicity and how to make buildings work with the areas surrounding them.  He had designed buildings for the government, including a Smithsonian building that was to be planned for farming and fishing- it was later shut down by the Nixon Administration, John Deere buildings, and the Herbert Hoover Building.  Again, sort of over my head.

We went to the Anacostia exhibit after that, and I really liked it.  Apparently Anacostia was originally a very popular place for the Native Americans because of the two rivers intersecting.  They had a thriving area, but when the highway came in it isolated Anacostia from the rest of the city.  Obviously some of the area has become somewhat blighted, but the exhibit was a mixed media presentation by teenagers who lived there.  It focused on diversity and how things had changed.  There were poems, photos, and ipods with interviews about Anacostia.  In fact, one of the photos was of someone I knew from tutoring! She works in Anacostia as well.  They showed a video of some of the teenagers putting the exhibit together, which was also neat.  Overall it was a very interesting exhibit, and I liked it alot. 

The last exhibit we went to was called "House and Home" and it showed the various types of homes and styles.  It had a wall of all of these random pictures from all around the United States, some old and some new.  All of them were very unique.  They also had this video playing about these different kinds of homes which were really neat.  There was this tiny home that was for someone looking to have a smaller carbon footprint.  Every square foot was utilized, but they said that people using them would often have to rely on outside resources (as in, no plumbing).  Still, it was a neat idea as a guest house or something.  They also had a video about the dorms at this art school in Baltimore, which gave the students room to create art, a building that was supposed to be for disabled and homeless people to live but had communal areas they could share such as laundry and kitchens.  It showed people living in these homes, and it was really neat and well done. 

This exhibit also had some interesting facts about different kinds of housing, including public housing; specifically, Cabrini Green in Chicago.  It was a famous housing project that was torn down, in favor of a mixed-income project called Park Place, I think.  But it was cool how there were different prices for each apartment and it was not clear who was living where.  There were still some things that needed to be worked out, but it was a really interesting idea.  They also had a section on communal living where people had shared areas such as kitchens and parks, but that they had their own homes.  That was also interesting, if not a little cult-like =).  There was also something about a Musician's Village in New Orleans which was developed by Harry Connick Jr. and someone else, where the people built their own homes along with Habitat for Humanity.  They also had something about revitalizing LeDroit Park through gentrification.

Overall, this has been one of my favorite museums, surprisingly.  I was not expecting that at all given my bad job-fair experience, but I feel like I learned alot about DC and it's architectural and sociological history.  It was well worth the admission cost, and I would love to go again, especially if I had friends/family who wanted to visit.  It wasn't crowded at all, and I think its location away from the other Smithsonian buildings as well as its admission cost keep some people away.  However, I would definitely recommend it!

PS- Sorry for the lack of pictures!  My computer is very slowly dying and I need to get another one, and we were also not allowed to take pictures in the exhibits.

Roosevelt Island

This is not part of my adventure but this showdown was awesome!

So on Sunday I bonded with nature again.  My partner in crime/nature Aliea was in town, and she had suggested we go to Roosevelt Island.  Neither of us knew much about it, but Aliea had some friends who had gone before.  We went out there with Maggie the dog, and it was surprising how quickly we were able to get there.  Roosevelt Island is only open for foot trails, so there were no bikers to run us over.  There were not a ton of people there, which was nice.  The island had many different uses before becoming a park-it was inhabited by Native Americans and then had belonged to George Mason’s family and then it was a Civil War refuge.  The park had plaques around the trail that described interesting thing about nature.  I didn’t realize how a fallen tree actually contributes to nature and wildlife, and how stone turned into soil.  The park had a long wooden bridge that crossed the swamp; we saw cattails, but no swamp like creatures, which was preferable.  I told Aliea that if we saw any snakes I would be terrified.  It was really neat, there was a path to the water and when we went out we were able to see right across from Georgetown Waterfront, and we could hear the music. 

We ALMOST left the island before seeing the monument of Teddy Roosevelt.  It was really nice, there were bridges and a humongous statute of Roosevelt.  There were columns that had different quotes about nature, youth, and statehood.  The lawyer in me really liked the one about statehood =)  The island was really nice though, it was small and uncrowded, and even though it was 97 degrees outside you could barely feel it since we were under the shade.  The only time it was hot was when we went on the water.  It took us about two hours to get around the island, so it was a nice but quick trip.  I would definitely go again.    

Natural History Museum

On Saturday my plan was to go into work and do some overtime.  However I heard that the power was out in my work building so I could not go in.  Hence, I decided to go on an adventure.  I felt bad that I had not gone to the Museum of Natural History yet, so I figured that was my next stop. Of course I chose to go on a Saturday when there was no power in much of the area, so the place was packed.  Nonetheless, I had a good time.  I started out in the Oceanic Hall, where there was this neat exhibit about Wright whales, among other things.  They are called "wright whales" because they were the RIGHT whales to hunt, due to their blubber and petroleum. 

After that I headed to the African Voices area, where they showed the history of different areas of Africa with the culture and the slave trade.  It was really interesting, and I got to see different artifacts and masks.  They had this interesting section on apartheid as well.  After that I headed to the Fossil Mammals section which was also kind of cool.  For whatever reason, there were a lot of sloths, haha!  The dinosaur section was of course packed, but I did really like it from what I could see.  Soon after I went to the Mammals Hall, which was also packed.  There was a lot of interesting facts about horses, zebras, and giraffes, which I liked.  The museum also had an interesting exhibit on the Chilean miners.  I cannot imagine what it would have been like to be down in that mine for so long!  The exhibit also showed the news cast of each of them coming up.

On the second floor there was an exhibit on Gems and Minerals, which was absolutely beautiful.  I thought of one of my best friend from college Sam, the geologist!  There were a ton of really beautiful stones, and they discussed the origins.  They talked about different mines around the US, one of which was Morefield Mines, which I went to in elementary school.  I got to see the Hope Diamond, very lovely.  I would have liked a better view, but it was packed.  There was a live butterfly exhibit, but it was crowded and you had to pay to get in, so I did not go through. 

 However my favorite section was the Human Origins area, where they had human skeletons and they talked about the different traits. Apparently you can tell the age of a skull based on the seams on the back and how far apart they are. They also showed two skeletons lined up together of different ages, and you could see how the bones were different and more aged. They showed how a human skull can be reconstructed to show a face, very CSI. It also showed the differences of ethnic origin in the skulls, which I thought was interesting.  They also tied in the bones to the ancient settlers in Jamestown and other historical figures.  That area I probably could have walked around for a really long time, if it were not so crowded and if I was not a little brain dead at that point. 

I am so glad I got a chance to go over there, even if it was a bit crowded.  I think it was neat that they had so many different exhibits that had mass appeal.  The museum was really interesting and I am glad that I can finally say that I've been!  

Capitol + Gallery + Food Tour

It was a rather action packed weekend, so I'll try to give you the play by play =).  On Saturday morning I met up with my friend Uyen and we toured the United States Capitol.  I had scheduled a 9:30 tour, but they made us get there early.  In the visitor's center there was an "Emancipation Hall", where there were statutes of famous people who served as emancipators.  Before the tour stated we watched a film about the Capitol, and then we were divided into groups of about 20, where we were given tours of some of the main rooms in the Capitol.  The first room we saw was the Statue room.  There were probably about 20 statues surrounding the circular room.  The most interesting part was the center of the room which was supposed to be the exact center of the Capitol, which determines which quadrant of DC you are in.  The neatest part was a bust of Abraham Lincoln.  The artist left the ear off of the statue, to symbolize his unfinished presidency. 

This little child stood in the middle of the Capitol, so cute!

Next we went to the Rotunda, and that was absolutely beautiful.  They had these artists construct the art around the band of the rotunda.  Apparently it took three different artists to complete the work.  At the top there are the 13 maidens to signify the 13 colonies, George Washington, Liberty, and one other?  Lastly we went to the room where the House of Representatives used to meet.  It was a small room, and the tour guide showed us how the room echoed and John Quincy Adams used to pretend he was asleep at his desk and he would eavesdrop on the other members.  We also got to see where the desk spaces were for the members.  The tour ended there, and I wish I could have seen more.  So if you or any of your friends has access to the Capitol, please give me a more extensive tour!

Nonetheless, the day continued in an upward pattern.  Uyen and I got mimosas at brunch, and then went to Tru Orleans and had a hurricane.  I got my hair done, and then met up with Jess at the Hamiltonian for a gallery opening.  Apparently the gallery had given several artists a scholarship to work over the year, and their end of the year project was to make a piece of art with some obstruction based on what they may have normally done.  So there were two or three requirements of things that they could not have in their art.  One artist had a picture of what looked like growing mold, one had a project with rocks sticking out of it.  My favorite piece were these beautiful lanterns that were hanging in the middle of the room.  They were paper lanterns with outlines of different people and things.  Apparently the artist made these during a block party on her block in Baltimore, and there was a picture of people helping her make them.  Part of her requirement was to have neighborhood involvement, so she had that. 

After the gallery we had dinner at Alero and then went to my friend Mira's house for her goodbye party.  I got home late, did some things around the house on Sunday morning, and then met up with Katie to do this food tour.  I had no idea what to expect, except that we would (hopefully) be eating a lot of food.  We went to four different restaurants.  The first was District of Pi.  They have an awesome beer list, and they served both deep dish and thin crust pizza.  I got to sample both types of crust.  The deep dish had meat and tomatoes, and it was quite delicious.  I am partial to deep dish pizza though =).  I also got to try the thin crust pizza with zucchini and onions.  It was delicious, and just thinking about it again makes me hungry.

Hungry and sad at District of Pi!

We went to Restaurant 701 on Pennsylvania Ave, and that was a total bust.  The restaurant was completely empty, but they did not let us sit down.  They gave us an amuse bouche of rockfish tartare, and sent us on our way.  I was pretty annoyed at that point, because I was still hungry. The tour guide said that there was some miscommunication with the restaurant.  Our next restaurant was Rosa Mexicana.  They made a ton of guacamole, and Katie and I ate a bunch of it while drinking sangria.  My mood improved greatly after this!  I am a sucker for guacamole, I could probably eat it daily.  Our last restaurant was Ping Pom Dim Sum.  I was excited to go there because I have recently discovered my love for dim sum, and I had not been to this restaurant.  I got to have a vegetable roll, and a shrimp dumpling.  I was pretty full at this point, and Katie and I left.  The food tour was fun, but we had also paid half price for it.  I would not have paid full price based on the quantity of food we received.  I now want to go to District of Pi and Ping Pong Dim Sum for full meals!!!

A new family member....

So I promise I won't become a crazy person and make this blog about my cat or post frequently about him.  But, it was a bit of a saga to get him, and it was part of my personal happiness journey.  Around the time I started this blog I knew that I wanted another cat just because I was lonely at nights.  I was not sure of everything though as it has been hard dealing with the sudden loss of my cat in February.  After he died, I had no intention of getting another cat.  I even donated all of my cat supplies. 

At first, it was my hope to get a foster cat.  I was not sure that I wanted a permanent cat for fear of getting a bad match.  So I contacted the Washington Humane Society and filled out a foster application.  Several days went by, no answer.  Two weeks went by, no answer.  I got annoyed and applied to foster at another shelter, and no answer.  So, I started looking into adopting a kitten.  I went to the Washington Humane Society just to look at kittens, but there were not any that I liked enough.  I went to look at the adult cats as I was there, and there was a black cat who came right up to me.  I petted him and walked away, and he moved so that I'd pet him again.  He jumped into my life and made himself at home.  I thought he was really sweet but I wanted a kitten. 

I went to the Washington Animal Rescue League and found a kitten I liked.  I was then interviewed and the lady very nicely told me that unless I got two kittens I was not getting the kitten I wanted.  When I waivered I was told that I was "not a good match" and I left without a kitten.  I cried and called my mother, and realized that if I wanted a cat I would either have to get two kittens or get an adult cat.  I researched and realized why they wanted me to take two kittens.  I still did not know that I wanted two kittens, and so I decided to go look at the cat I saw at the Washington Humane Society again.  When I got there I went over to him and picked him up, and after that he would not leave my side.  I decided that I wanted to take him home.  This time, the interview was a breeze.  The coordinators at the shelter were so happy that he was being adopted, which made me think that perhaps he had been passed over before.  I had heard that all black cats are often passed over and people do not like them as much.  I was able to take him home that day.  His name at the shelter was "Chip" but I decided that name was dumb.  I researched online for black cat names and came up with "Obsidian".  Obviously that's quite a mouth full, so I decided that he would be "Obie" for short.  He has been very grateful thus far, but our first night was a little rough in that he could not decide whether to explore the apartment and snuggle with me. 

Nonetheless, I have definitely enjoyed having him thus far, he is very sweet.  I think the story has a happy ending because he gets a good home and I get a companion.  A symbiotic relationship indeed =)

Obie was fascinated with the washing machine.

New York New York!!!

So this weekend I had the privilege of going to New York City with my friend Green.  I have been to New York many times, but I had not actually hung out in the city since 2004.  We went to New York to celebrate Green's 30th birthday. 

Our bus drive took a sum total of 6 hours, when it should have taken 4.  During that time there was this super obnoxious girl having multiple conversations on her phone simultaneously.  I was really hoping there was some website that focuses on obnoxious people on public transportation, and I could post her picture to humiliate her.  Alas, no such luck.  Anyway, Green and I were able to master public transportation such that we could get to our hotel.  We wanted to maintain a budget so we stayed at one of the Pod Hotels.  They are budget conscious but the rooms are TINY.  Nonetheless it served our purpose quite well.

Once we checked in we met up with my friend Matt and we went to Candle 79 Restaurant.  It was a fancy vegan/vegetarian restaurant.  We split the nachos after our amuse bouche, and it hit the spot to curb some of our hunger.  As an entree I ended up getting this pasta with seitan, which is a meat substitute, and it wasn't bad!  Green and I split this amaaazing peanut butter dessert.  After that we went to St. Mark's Street in the East Village, to a "speakeasy" called Angel's Share.  We had several mixed drinks, and for whatever reason all of mine smelled like old lady's perfume.  Fail.  Then we went to miscellaneous bars on St. Mark's Street and then got a slice of pizza.  We then went back to midtown where our hotel was and ended the night at a bar nearby. 

The next morning (er, noon) Green and I went to Roosevelt Island on the tramway.  We were able to walk around over there and we took some pictures; it was a lot of fun!  After that we went to meet up with Matt at the Barbecue Festival.  I had been looking forward to this as I love BBQ more than I can say.  However, the lines were two hours per truck, so we ended up going to a BBQ restaurant down the street.  I still got to eat pulled pork and drink beer with my friends, so I called it a win.  After eating our weight in BBQ, the three of us went to Central Park.  We walked down by the boathouse and took some pictures. 

I just thought this was cute!

After returning to the hotel to get ready we went to see Wicked.  OMG, it was so incredibly good.  I did not really like the Wizard of Oz, but Wicked made me like it more.  The music was great, the acting was good, and it was just a wonderful experience.  Minus the small bathrooms...but Matt got us some rum and cokes that we could drink during the performance, so that was pretty awesome.  After the show we ventured into Times Square.  It was crazy busy and I was super overstimulated and wanted to like...eat a McDonalds burger or something!  Green wanted to go to the M&M's store and it was a little insane.  I cannot imagine what it is like to work there.  We went to Emmet O'Lunneys Irish Pub nearby and hung out, and then Matt left and Green and I went to the bar near our hotel.  All I will say was from that point forward the night took a somewhat ridiculous turn =)

Green and I woke up rather hungover, and we ate some breakfast and went to the Puerto Rican Day Parade.  It was a lot of fun, but we were only there a little while before we had to go to catch our bus back to DC.  It was an amazing trip, I think it was well deserved.  I cannot wait to go back again!

Artomatic (Part 1)

While this may not be a "new" thing for me, I do love going to it.  It has been a few years since they have done the program.  It's a free art show where local artists display their artwork, and it's a HUGE show.  This year the show is in Crystal City, and there are 11 floors of art!  We only got through 2 floors, so I plan on going back.  Hence the "part 1" of the title. 

When I got there my friends Amanda and Elsye were at a beer/wine tasting that was part of the show.  After the tasting our plan was to start on the 11th floor where Elsye's friends art was displayed.  However, we got distracted on the third floor where the tasting was.  My favorite artist on the floor was a photographer named Yacouba Tanou.  He was a photographer and he used color in an amazing way in the photographs.  There were photos of an immigrant rights rally with an American flag and some Howard University Cheerleaders.  I didn't snap a photograph because I was worried about somehow debasing the art, but I got over that a little later =)

After that we went to the 12th floor.  We stopped at Elsye's friend's exhibit.  It was photography inspired by the breakup of her boyfriend.  It was desolate photographs from different rundown areas.  I really liked the way she had displayed her business cards.  There was definitely some interesting art work.  I took some photographs of the work that I liked, such as the display with cupcakes in the boxes. 

I walked into this one room and it looked like receipts.  But actually it was this writer who wrote things about escaping the corporate world, and just general frustrations.  He actually had this machine that you could push a button and it would print this little "receipt" with one of his ramblings.  I printed one, and it said

"4:17AM, 15 Jan 12.  I'm ranging further afield in my dreams.  My ghost sluiced out the drainpipe and rippled down the sidewalk to Best Buy, where it coiled in front of a mobile phone display.  I extruded golden fingers and scrabbled at the grass, mewling."

I could not tell you what that means!  But the exhibit was interesting.  There was also a woman named Jolene Sugarbaker whose artwork was dedicated to trailer parks.  It had green carpet with pictures and different photographs describing trailer parks.  It was very interesting- she even had a tote bag that said "I'm from the trailer park" with an RV thing next to her.  Elsye nudged me and said that really anything can inspire you, and really, it was true.  The last thing that I saw that I really liked was an exhibit of photographs of different personalized license plates that were categorized based on what they said.  I looked for license plates that I recognized, but did not see any. 

Overall the experience was a good one.  I had a lot of fun seeing all of the different art.  Some of it was weird, but some of it was super interesting and beautiful.  After giving it some thought I realized that of all of the different types of artwork, I was drawn most to the photography and the mixed media.  I like photography because it can be so clear to find the meaning.  That's not necessarily the case for paintings.  My sister is into mixed media, which is perhaps why it was of interest to me.  I will definitely go back again so that I could get through the other 9 floors!