Confession

In a little over a year, I will be taking [insert state here] bar exam. Which, is really just going to be... so awful. Like there is literally nothing pleasant about this time next year, and roughly the two months preceding it.

Which means that in a little more than a little over a year, I will, in theory anyway, have a real live legal job lined up, and will become a practicing attorney.

I find this fact pants-crappingly terrifying.

This is my confession. Incidentally, I just got off of Skype with an old high school friend of mine who is now in Mississippi of all places, and a large chunk of our conversation was a kind of collective disbelief that we are, in fact, adults. There are legitimate kids now, younger than us, and we are not them. We are old and, in my case, in a year will be fully independent, theoretically competent adults. Or at least we will expected to be. This is expected of me, who has only ever known childhood, adolescence, and youth.

I don't think I am dumb, and I know that I can probably handle it. It's more of a shock that it is actually happening. Growing up, that thing we call "adulthood" seemed so far off into the future, this kind of shadow thing that, even though you heard about it, and knew that conceptually, in the abstract, one day you would reach it, you never *actually* thought it was going to happen to you.

And then it does. Even in my "young adult" days, which was college until about now, I could put on the aires of responsibility, and had more freedom, but in the end, I could always play the "student" card. I was (and am, for a few more months, anyway) relatively insulated. You don't think about the time passing, at least I don't. And it passes quickly. And it happens so fast, it creeps up on you, you don't see it coming, so when it finally does happen, you wonder if you are really ready for it. You want "another five minutes" to get ready. But it has already happened, and the question is whether you can handle it.

Adults always seemed so... old, and together, and I always thought by the time I was an adult, I would have it all together, that the pieces would all be in place, and that I would know what to do. My parents, and any adults I knew, always seemed like that to me when I was a kid. And now I am starting to realize they were probably winging it as much as I am. And as anyone does. That realization, I think, is the real source of fear or dread or whatever. The knowledge that at some level, we are all throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks. But we are still to make something of that shit-flinging, and "not fuck up."

In the end, most people figure it out. I will too, I am sure. It's just so... sudden. To quote The Grateful Dead (or Jimmy Buffett, depending on what recording you are listening to), "woh oh/what I want to know/where does the time go?"

Life

Me

And because I referenced it in the blog, and it is relevant, and I like the song:

Uncle John's Band by The Grateful Dead. Alpine Valley Concert 1989

Good Boy

Got a bit of bad news today. My parents' dog --and my adopted dog when I am home visiting my parents-- is apparently really sick, and not in the getting-better kind of way. Apparently he'd been acting sick for about a week, and he'd stop eating and drinking, and that, coupled with the nature of whatever it is he has, means my parents are going to have to put him to sleep tomorrow :(. Even though he wasn't the dog I "grew up with," since my parents only got him a few years ago, while I was in college, I did a lot to take care of him when I was home, and he was a pretty righteous dog. Only dog I ever knew that actually chased his tail, and then would catch it.

It sucks to lose a pet, and I am sorry that I can't be there to say good-bye, as it were. I am glad that I was able to hang out and play with him when I was home in March. And that the boyfriend got to meet him. Anyway, there is not much to say about this. The fam only had him for a few years, but what years they were.

Peace out, Coco. You will be missed.

Coco, aka Kokomo. Aged 10 years

Sorry for the downer posts the last couple days. Will try to come up with something more cheery for the next installment.

Forever Young

Also known as "the depressing part of YouTube." I spend a lot of free time on YouTube, and eventually stumble onto things that are poignant. As probably everyone with an internet connection knows, the other day Glee actor Cory Monteith was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada. As of yet, no cause of death has been released. I am not a "Gleek," nor do I watch the show, really. But at 31, it is always sad when a promising young person suddenly passes away.

It reminded me of a bunch of videos I had found the other night on YouTube, tributes to stars over the last 100 or so years who died young -- often before reaching their 30th or 40th birthdays. The tragic part about it, is the "what ifs" and the unfulfilled potential. People who at a very young age had accomplished a lot, had burst on the scene in a flash of blinding light. What else would they have been capable of?

And yet, when I watch these videos, and read about these people, sometimes I wonder. I wonder, is it better to have your youthful star burn brightly into the night, even if that star of passion must quickly flame out? Or it is better to live a measured life, slowly waiting for time and age to find you, while you go about doing whatever it is you do? The people in these videos, in many ways lived more than most who make it to two, three, four times their age. And they are forever remembered as their star was burning, not after it had long burned out. If nothing else, they had interesting lives, which is more than most can say. The real trick is, have the interesting life longer, keep the star burning long after day has broken. But very few people, it seems, in that way, get to have their cake and eat it too. But perhaps this is all romanticism. No matter how long you live, what matters is the life in the years, not the years in the life. How we all forget.

Incidentally, these lists are why I will never do drugs. Also, "the 27 club" is as tragic as it is unsettling. So many iconic figures (particularly from the Boomer generation) died at 27.

In case you are in need of quiet reflection:

A tribute to young musicians lost

It's sad to realize that the silent era is all but a fading memory now

The "27 club"

Forever young

To close, I leave some thoughts from smarter people than myself on the subject:

"They that love beyond the world can never be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies." ~William Penn.

"Oh how wrong we were to think that immortality meant never dying." ~Gerard Way.

"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." ~Joan Borysenko.

Random Things about D.C.

I have been in the District now for almost two months (more than halfway done with my time here...wow). In that time, I have observed some things about the city and its inhabitants that are idiosyncratic. Every city does have their idiosyncrasies, but DC seems to have a lot, and a lot of "ticks" that are rather unique to it. Here is a list of some of the more prominent things I have noticed:

1. Charter schools. On my walks to and from work, and around the city generally, I tend to observe the scenery and world around me (sometimes at the expense of looking where I am going...whoops). I have noticed something strange: I haven't seen one "normal" public school. All of the non-private schools are some form of Charter school, which is really more like a quasi-private public school. I know that charter schools are becoming more of a (somewhat controversial) thing in cities --Chicago has several, whose ads are always gracing the insides of El cars-- but Chicago and most cities also still have their regular "neighborhood" public schools. In two months here, I have yet to see one regular public school. This is actually one of the first things I noticed when I got here. It's weird, and gets me wondering if DC is on some kind of program or policy where all of its public schools are now charter?

2. There are three types of people (well, professionals anyway) in DC: 1)lawyers, 2) consultants, or 3)consultants who want to become lawyers, and vice versa. Literally everyone I have run into in DC --whether coworkers, or people at "networking" events, or the time on the Metro I randomly ran into a girl I graduated high school, operates in one of those three categories. I guess there is also the odd doctor, because people get sick and need hospitals, but like everyone else is a lawyer or a consultant. Even people who are not actively practicing in those areas, have some kind of degree (JD for law, idk what for consulting) that is geared towards law or consulting. I guess this is not surprising, since DC's industry is government, and government is mostly lawyers, and what private sector there is, is geared toward supporting or catering to government. But I have never really been in a city with such a generally homogenous group of people.

Image courtesy of memegenerator

3. No one is from here. Kind of an addendum to the above, but very few people I have met are from DC, or even the immediate surrounding area. Again, this makes sense, because it is the nation's capital, where people come from all over the land under the federal government's jurisdiction to (in theory anyway) govern the country. In a lot of cities --particularly New York and Chicago-- you get a lot of people that were born, raised, and stayed in the city or immediate surrounding areas, and have never left. Or they left briefly and then came back. Of course DC is physically smaller and has fewer people than these cities, so it is natural that there would be fewer native DC-ites, but just how few there are is kind of surprising.

4. People here talk in code. Again because DC is ground zero for government business and (more to the point) bureaucracy, there are lots of departments of the government all over the city. There are also just a lot of agencies --public interest, NGOs, think tanks, etc. And much of the work that is done in DC, is codified in and carried out pursuant to federal statutes. What do all of these three things have in common? If you guessed, "You can essentially boil the names of those entities down to easy-sounding acronyms," you'd be right: FEC, FTC, CII, SEC, ACLU, FOIA. All important and prominent thins within the District, all will fun acronyms. And for the most part, people only refer to these things by their acronyms. But, for the uninitiated, it means they pretty much speak in code: when every noun in a sentence is some kind of acronym, the sentence has no meaning if you don't know the acronym. May as well be speaking ancient Greek. So yeah, that took some getting used to. I guess that is why they call DC "alphabet city."

Pretty much this

Movie Project, aka Operation No Boredom

So, I haven't done much in the last couple weeks. It has been ungodly hot and humid here (really, people, we built a city on a drained swamp why, exactly?), and when it gets into the 90s and humid, and stays in the 80s and 90s late into the night, there is exactly one thing I want to do: stay put in my AC'd room and watch TV. Since I don't have TV here, I have been watching movies on Netflix and Amazon. It started one night with an inexplicable urge to watch Ghostbusters II, mostly because I wanted to watch the Statute of Liberty walk through downtown New York City. It has kind of grown from there. Since I have been watching a lot, I figured I would comment on them here, since many are old favorites.

Note: I am choosing these movies purely for their fun entertainment factor. Many of them are not what you would consider "high cinematic art" --there is no Schindler's List here-- they are movies to beat the heat. So please don't judge me for my movie taste :). Also, SPOILERS. I am going to post a clip of, and comment on, each of these videos. It will undoubtedly have SPOILERS. So if you have not seen these movies, this is your SPOILERS warning. In order of viewing:

1. Ghostbusters II

Full disclosure: I loved the Ghostbusters movies growing up. They were a legitimate feature of my childhood. I haven't watched Ghostbusters II as much as I have watched the first one, but it is definitely something I have seen before. I loved the movies because of their paranormal bent, and the sharp witticisms and wisecracks that only Bill Murray, Dan Ackyroyd, and Harold Ramis can bring. Apparently II wasn't well received at the box office. I am not sure why: it is not as good as the first one, which was basically comedy genius, but sequels rarely are. But it still had solid performances by the cast, and enough of that goofiness from the first movie to make it solidly entertaining. Also, the Statute of Liberty walks through downtown New York City, blaring Jackie Wilson. Awesome? I think so.

2. Analyze This

Mob movie as comedy. Starring Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, is about a New York-area Mob boss (DeNiro, naturally), who has a personal crisis and starts seeing a square shrink (Crystal), so that he can once again be able to do the things that mobsters do. That is, whack people without crying about it. It was a thoroughly entertaining movie, and has some great gag scenes --such as the "hit a pillow" scene-- that play up the more ridiculous aspects of both the Mafia lifestyle, and psychotherapy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the movie was written by Harold Ramis.

3. Volcano

I wanted to watch a destruction movie, but I couldn't watch Independence Day yet (I'll get to that). So I chose Volcano, a movie from 1997 that asks, "what would happen if an active volcano emerged in downtown Los Angeles?" What happens is, a lot of people and things burning up, and the better part of Los Angeles getting covered in ash and lava (the native Northern Californian in me says: suck it, LA!). I hadn't seen the movie in several years, but it basically delivers what it promises: two hours of destruction and mayhem. So if that is what you are in the mood for, the movie does it pretty well. And while over-the-top, it does have strong performances, lead by Tommy Lee Jones (and a very young, pre-fame Don Cheadle, who I did not know was in the movie before I watched it this time). While definitely a "popcorn" flick, it (thankfully) doesn't stray too far into the melodrama and/or terrible acting trap that a lot of destruction movies get sucked into.

4. Deep Impact

Also known as the "other" apocalypse-by-huge-asteroid movie to come out the same year as Armageddon, this movie is about --you guessed it-- the peril Earth is put in when it is discovered that a huge asteroid is going to come crashing down and send us all into nuclear winter. Particularly since it came out around the same time as Armageddon, it is usually disfavorably compared to that movie. I can't decide if it is worse, better, or the same. Because while the premise is the same, they are very different movies. One, Deep Impact is much darker: (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) unlike in Armageddon, Earth isn't totally able to stop disaster. They are able to spare total extinction, but a part of the asteroid still hits Earth, and basically puts the entire east coast (and pretty much most of its inhabitants) under 1,000 feet of water. Also, Armageddon primarily focused on the oil workers sent up to blow up the asteroid, their training, and the salvation mission (and Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler). Deep Impact casts a slightly wider net: while it does tell the story of those sent to destroy the asteroid, it also focuses on other people who are involved in, and are effected by, the discovery of the asteroid. More than Armageddon, the focus seems to be on the way an "extinction-level event" would impact how we live what would be the last moments of our lives, and how it would effect the relationships with the people we care about. In that way, it is kind of interesting. Also, Morgan Freeman plays the president of the United States, because of course he does.

5. Sleepy Hollow

This movie is not that cartoon that we all grew up with. It's a bone fide horror movie. I love horror movies (not those crappy slasher movies, but things like The Shining or Amityville Horror). Starring Johnny Depp in a characteristically Johnny Depp-offbeat-creepy role in a creepy movie, the movie is really part horror and part Sherlock Holmes. It is 20 years after the American Revolution, and Johnny Depp (aka Ichabod Crane), a New York City police detective, is sent upstate to investigate the gruesome murders/decapitations of several prominent citizens of the town, Sleepy Hollow (which is actually a real place). He learns that the town citizens blame the murders on an evil spirit known as the headless horseman but Depp, a "modern man of the (almost) 19th century," is determined to use logic and science to discover what he believes to be the mortal murderer. So much of the movie is Depp following clues and piecing things together, all while the horseman keeps picking off victims. It was a really good mystery and horror movie, and it had me fooled: (SPOILER) like Depp's character, I assumed the supernatural horseman would be revealed, in the end, to be a mortal murderer, using superstition as a cover for his crimes. Nope, the horseman is definitely dead, and definitely an evil spirit. But, there is a mortal culprit behind the horseman's deeds. Depp leads a strong cast that includes Cristina Ricci and Michael Gambon (yes, Dumbledore). Also a brief cameo by Christopher Lee (yes, Saruman). I personally liked it because it combined three of my favorite movie genres: period, horror, and mystery.

6. Soylent Green

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! One of the most iconic movie lines from cinematic history. Starring Charleton Heston(fun fact: my grandmother starred opposite Charleton Heston in their high school play, (obviously) before he was famous), the now-familiar (and often cliched) movie tells of a dystopian future where there are too many people and not enough food to go around. So guess what they do to fix that? I have to admit, I am not usually a big fan of dystopian-future movies; particularly ones from the 70s give off kind of a weird (and dated) vibe, but it was worth it to finally see a movie that has become very ingrained in popular consciousness. It was an OK movie -- entertaining, a bit melodramatic, but ultimately not my favorite genre . It was interesting to see, as my dad would say, "what the future used to look like" -- that is, what people thought "the future" (which today would either be the present or the near future) was going to be like. Apparently, stylistically and in fashion, very much like the mod 60s and 70s. Obviously, they didn't get a lot right. One theme that was very prevalent in the movie was the effects of environmental degradation, particularly global warming, and how it exacerbates the dystopian human condition. This movie came out before environmentalism was "cool," and "going green" was mainstream, so I was curious whether or not it represented one of the earliest moves by Hollywood to get onboard with the whole "green" thing.

7. The Usual Suspects

Who is Keyser Soze? The Usual Suspects has become a modern classic and a cult hit, and for good reason. It is basically another detective/whodunit movie: After a boat blows up in a Southern California harbor, killing 23 people aboard, a federal detective from New York flies out and interviews Kevin Spacey, the only witness to survive the explosion, in order to figure out what went down. The story is very well put together, and leaves the viewer guessing --particularly in light of the ending-- what from the story is true, and what is fiction. Spacey does a great job as Victor Kint. I had seen the movie when I was younger, but I don't think I really "got" it; a lot went over my head. As far as crime mysteries go, this movie is really great. By now most people know the "big twist" --and I did going into it-- but honestly, I don't think it detracts too much from enjoying the film, because unlike a lot of movies that use the "big twist ending" device, the story leading up to and setting up the twist is compelling and well-done in and of itself. Like, it would be a good movie even without the twist ending. All the acting performances are strong, and it is just a very well put-togther film.

8. Independence Day

Independence Day. What is there to say? It is the megablockbuster alien invasion/destruction movie that really launched Will Smith into A-list stardom. For the five people who don't know the film, basically a hostile alien force descends on Earth, destroying its major cities, in the couple days leading up to July 4. Smith, along with Jeff Goldblum, are tasked with finding a way to fight back before all of humanity is wiped out. I really like the film: it has some good one-liners, has plenty of explosions and destructions, is a quasi-war movie, and features one of the better "inspirational" movie speeches (in my opinion) out there, right up with the "FREEEEDOMMMM!" speech given by Mel Gibson in Braveheart. A lot of people don't like the movie because they think it the plot, and how it is resolved, is ridiculous. And it is. But you know what? The movie is about rote entertainment: come in, watch, be entertained. Get lost in a movie for a couple hours. If the movie is compelling for other reasons, I don't need anything to make total, 100% logical sense. And for a movie that really is just about spectacle, some comedy, and aliens, it does its job well. I really like it for what it is. In fact, it kind of has become a mini tradition of mine to watch "ID4," as it has come to be called, on actual Independence Day (the final climatic battle between mankind and the aliens occurs on July 4).

9. Labyrinth

Holy 80s, Batman! I loved this movie growing up as a kid, and would regularly watch it when it popped up on TV. Last night, when I was feeling a bit under-the-weather, I decided to watch it in the spirit of, how much does a movie from your childhood change when you watch it as an adult. You know what I mean: references, insinuations, jokes, and plotlines that kind of went over your head as a kid, that you "get" seeing it as an adult, and it changes your understanding of the movie (for better or worse). Granted, it has literally been probably a decade or more since I last saw the movie, but at least from what I can remember, a surprising amount of the movie, was about the same as I remember it. A few minor details about why characters did things were more clear than I remember them being as a kid, but for the most part it was the same movie. So either the movie didn't have a lot for adults-only things to "get," I was an unusually perceptive child, or I mentally haven't progressed beyond that of a 10-year-old. There were a couple major differences that I noticed now, though: first, wow is this movies from the 80s. I mean it was --it was made in 1986-- but if a movie could encapsulate the over-the-top pop culture of the 80s, this is that movie. Hello, copious amounts of syth music! Secondly, awkward sexual tension. So David Bowie plays Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connolly plays Sarah, sent into the Labyrinth to find her baby brother, who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King (you had to be there). As she makes her way through the Labyrinth, Sarah has several run-ins with Jareth, before she ultimately reaches the castle where her baby bro is kept. And, at least on the part of Jareth, there is definitely an undertone of attraction and sexual tension towards Sarah. Which is cool... until you realize that Jareth/Bowie is like 30-something, and Sarah is supposed to be like 13. So, ew. I really liked the movie growing up; I can't say I like it as much after a more "mature" viewing, but it still held my attention, and is a good piece of fantasy moviemaking by the same guy that brought you the Muppets.

That's it for this addition of Operation No Boredom. I am sure there will be more movie viewings to come.

Back in D.C.

Well, I am back in DC. Have been since Friday evening. One reason I love the East Coast: It's like Europe -- in a few hours, you can be somewhere completely new, unlike in California (where I grew up), where five hours of driving in any one direction and... you're still in California. The Greyhound bus service is great for moving around the East Coast: cheap and easy. So I left Connecticut on Friday morning. Since I didn't really have a reason to rush back to DC, I decided to give myself a few hours in New York City (I had to make a connection there anyway to get the bus back to DC, so why not). I had hoped to meet up for lunch with some law school friends who are working as summer associates in NYC, but alas they have like, actual jobs right now, so they couldn't meet up. So it was just me.

I have to say, there is nothing quite like a day in the City to lift one's spirits. It was a perfect day, too: I got in around 11:00AM, and it was sunny out, slightly breezy, probably in the mid-70s and not humid. I inevitably ended up in Times Square again (because that is where the Port Authority bus terminal is and, let's face it, I always inevitably end up in Times Square when I am in New York, purposefully or not). Because, unless I am seeing theatre, Times Square is not my most favorite part of the city, I high-tailed it out, and walked north towards Central Park. I grabbed some lunch at a diner (it was "meh"), and then parked myself under the shade in Central Park, and proceeded to read my book. It was, in a word, delightful. I got to intermittently people-watch, which I always like to do in New York City. I would have liked to have walked around and explored more, but I was lugging a bunch of crap with me -- my heavy laptop case, my grocery bag of clothes, and my purse -- so walking around would have been both unpleasant and impractical. So I enjoyed the scenery and great weather instead. Central Park is like one of my favorite places in NYC anyway, so it was all good.

On my way to Central Park, I spotted The Soup Man, the restaurant that inspired the "no soup for you!" bit from Seinfeld

Central Park. How could you say "no" to this?

I love this town

New York City: always love to see you, always hate to have to leave you. I hope one day I can make it back, permanently.

Anyway, I am back in DC now. On Saturday, I went to a Washington Nationals game, against the Colorado Rockies. It was a sunny day, but holy hell was it hot. I had seats in the sun (naturally), so I even splurged and bought a Nationals baseball cap at the stadium so that my face wouldn't fry. Even then, about halfway through the game, I had to move into an empty seat in the shade, because I was starting to feel like I was getting heat sickness or something. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late, and while I didn't get heat stroke, the back of my neck and the tops of my shoulders got a bit cooked.

You know who else got cooked? The Nationals. I didn't get to the game until the top of the 3rd inning, and already the Rockies were up 3-0. Bad sign. The game ended up 7-1 Rockies; the Nationals only got their one home run in the 9th, and besides that, I can probably count on two hands the number of times a runner even got on base, through the whole game. It was kind of bad. The Nationals could neither hit, nor strike people out. The halves of innings where the Rockies were batting, probably lasted twice as long as the half of the inning where the Nationals were at bat. Too bad, so sad. Other than the heat and the outcome, though, it was fun to go to the game, and I am glad I went. You can do worse for $25.

Entering Nationals Park

Washington Nationals v. Colorado Rockies

Scoreboard. Not actually reflecting the sad state of the score of the game, however

In other news, I get to start my job tomorrow! Security finally came through. Won't be able to blog about the job, so this will be the last update on that front. But at least I can start, and this odyssey is over. Huzzah!

Escape from D.C.

On Tuesday of last week, I left D.C. The malaise and frustration of my job situation there (still not resolved) finally got to me, and I had to get out. Luckily, my boyfriend's family lives in Connecticut. Actually, it was my boyfriend's idea that I take time out from the District, as being there was driving me batty. His family very graciously let me crash with them. So I boarded a bus on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning I was in Connecticut.

Connecticut has been a much-needed break. I pretty much have hung out with his family, who have been very gracious; it has been really nice to be around people I know and like-- I had been kind of isolated in D.C. I even got to go to his cousin's high school graduation (which made me feel really old. One of the high school graduate speakers noted that in the year that the class of 2013 was born, The Lion King movie came out in theatres. Holy crap, I *remember* seeing The Lion King in theatres with my family. How am I that old. Also: high school kids look *young*. Growing up, they always looked older to me; now, they look like kids. Wow.). I also saw an interesting interpretation of the musical Cabaret at a local theatre in town. It was pretty good, but super intense. If you don't know the show is about, it basically chronicles the dying of the liberal, Weimar Republic in 1920s-Germany, and the rise of the Nazis, as told by characters who work at and are involved with a burlesque cabaret. It's already an intense show (the emcee character always freaked me out), but the show ended with a directors-choice tableau of a bunch of corpse-like figures in rags heading in lines into a door with hazy gas emanating from the opening. Yeah, it went there. It was a strong choice, but definitely not one required by the show. My thoughts at the end of the show were pretty much along the lines of, "well, that escalated quickly."

Below are some of my pictures from the ten days that I was here.

One day, one of my boyfriend's aunts took me and boyfriend's kid sister to the beach. I had actually never been to the beach on the East Coast (save for Coney Island in New York, but even then I went for the rides, and didn't go to the beach). It was pretty much a perfect beach day -- sunny, a slight breeze, and warm. The water was still pretty cold, though -- too cold to go in much more than to my knees. But that was refreshing. And despite putting on 70-proof sunblock on three times in as many hours, I got a little well done on my shoulders. This is what you get for being of Scandinavian extraction -- a people who see the sun for maybe three months out of the year, and aren't built for, well, sun. Also known as, I be white (well now, my shoulders and arms are more of a pink/red color. Not that I will get a tan out of the deal). But otherwise, it was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the beach was lovely.

Beach at Rocky Neck State Park beach in Connecticut

I love the beach. A perfect sunny day

The other favorite thing that I did while in Connecticut, I actually did today. There is a small community farm in my boyfriend's hometown, so this morning and early afternoon, I walked over to the farm to see the animals. Animals always make me happier and lift my spirits when I am frustrated and feeling down (as I have been due to my job situation), so I thought it would do me good to go hang out there for a while. I stayed about an hour, and even got to pet a bunny! I took several photos of the cute animals.

Ain't nobody here but us chickens

There was even a rooster

Sheep! The sheep were my favorite. I want a sheep

They even had a black sheep (actually, they had two)

Llama. Didn't realize they were so big

Derp.

Alpaca. Herp Derp.

For a goose, this one was surprisingly chill. Didn't mind that I got within a couple feet of it to take the picture. Didn't even move

A Turkey. Looks like he survived the holidays unscathed

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home...

Considering how calm and generally happy being around animals makes me, sometimes I think I missed my calling. Ah well, such is life, as they say.

Because I can't put off reality forever (nor can I mooch forever), tomorrow I head back to D.C. The bus route I am taking stops in New York City, so I am giving myself several hours to hang out in the city. New York City is always good for the soul, so I think having some time to hang out there will help me feel better about things. Man, I miss New York City...