So I haven't really felt like posting for the last few days because first I was busy packing and graduating, and then I was in a blah mood. More on that later. First let me catch you up on the week. We had a pretty chill craftnite. I forgot my camera, so thanks to Amy and Heidi for letting me steal their pics. Amy was practice-teaching hairpin lace, which she was going to teach the next day at A Tangled Skein. Hillary and Heidi volunteered to be guinea pig students.
Amy also was just excited about it and wanted to share. Heidi had a brief moment of "not getting it" and then ten minutes later, had a headband.
Classic Heidi. You go girl.
Lorraine and I just crocheted. Here she looked like an old lady crocheting while rocking in the rocking chair.
Then on Thursday I packed all day then headed to yoga with Heidi. Beforehand we we to see Made of Honor which was really cute. Then we went to yoga followed by coffee at McGinty's, which we had also done last week. I smell a tradition brewing...haha no pun (originally) intended.
Then Friday was graduation. The day started out rainy. I should have seen this as an omen.
My mom, dad, and brother Edward made it out, along with my bff Alison.
The first ceremony was with only for the School of Social Work, and we were formally given our hoods via faculty putting them on us. I was so lucky to have my favorite professor hood me. I had her for two classes. The second I pretty much took because I wanted her to teach me again. I happened to also like the subject. I just wanted that symbolic gesture of her giving me so much knowledge, and now sending me off into the world to be a social worker.
We skipped out on the actual graduation, which took place in Baltimore right near the school and included the entire university. They said it would only take 2 hours, but we decided that traffic in and out would be horrible. It was bad enough just getting out of the first ceremony, and there were only 400 student graduating. This would be thousands, and in a city during rush hour. I'll just have them mail me my diploma. They have to give it to me. It cost me a lot of money and time!
So we trekked back to Silver Spring to eat at the Macaroni Grille.
I splurged on an expensive meal. Hey, I earned it. I won't say what it is, just that my vegetarian friends would
really not approve.
Just as we were leaving, I got a message that changed the rest of my weekend. It was Vara. There was a problem with our application for the apartment. All day I was thinking that Saturday would be moving day and how excited I was. At this point I thought,
I knew it was too good to be true. Our application was started by someone who left for vacation days later and then taken up by a new guy who didn't know that they first guy was on vacation. Hence, the application was temporarily lost, and then when they finally did find it on Wednesday they just then began processing it. Then on Friday hours before the close of business they discover a problem. When we finally reach them again, we find that he just left for the day, and the receptionist is about to blow Vara's head off for calling when she doesn't know anything and can't help us. What she did know is that we cannot move in on Saturday. I was so confused; I wanted to figure this out for myself.
Me and my alcohol-drenched blood went down to the leasing office. I'd wished I hadn't had so much Chardonnay. But the logical part of me knew that I had to resolve this, and the fact that I was plastered was extremely inconvenient. When we got in the office and were waiting to be seen, I downed a cup of coffee, which, despite the fact that it's a myth, sobered me up a little, even if only psychologically. At that point I'd take what I could get. The woman was really nice and stayed late to investigate (hey, that rhymes). She found out that there was a problem with one of our credit reports. I don't want to put my friends' business out there, but I'll just say that it involved the existence of an unknown credit card. We had to wait until Monday for the woman to speak with the man behind the curtain.
So that's what I've been doing ever since. Not moving. Not putting furniture together in my new apartment. Not hanging up pictures or organizing kitchen stuff. I've been waiting until Monday. Vara came over that night because we both needed a distraction.
We had spaghetti and beer on the floor among all my belongings packed into boxes and then we watched Clueless, reciting lines that we first heard in adolesence and realizing that we both loved Josh the stepbrother.
On Saturday I woke up and decided not to have a pity-filled day. It was beautiful outside and I would rather be there than inside a stuffy apartment looking at my unmoved boxes.
So I got in a pretty cotton jersey dress (I like to feel pretty on days with beautiful weather...it just adds to it or something) and trekked into downtown Silver Spring.
I saw kids playing in the fountain,
flying kites,
and rolling down a hill;
and a play battle between what had to be the 2 tiniest dogs in the world.
I picked up Craft: magazine, and then plopped myself on the turf to knit my cotton market bag.
I soaked in the vitamin D which made me feel revitalized...don't worry. I had sunscreen.
Then I got a call from Ali. She had to go to College Park to drop something off for her sister and knew I needed cheering up, so she asked if I wanted to go to Ikea. I told her that no one ever needs to ask me that, just say, "drop everything, we are going to Ikea."
We had a bit of nostalgia on the UMCP campus. Ali and I lived in the dorm right next to her sister's.
Here is the Gymkana gym, our second home for three years.
A nice display of cacti from Ali's sister's room.
Here is our sophomore dorm room (second up) with an air conditioner--a travesty! We had to use box fans!
And the bush in which we found our remote control the morning after the tornado.
They still used this sign I drew in 2001 when I worked at the front desk!!
Then we went to heaven.......I mean, Ikea.
A see-saw.
I love this table.
I went in for fabric and shadow boxes and came out with a rolling pin, flour sifter, dish drying rack, and grater. I hadn't liked any of the fabric (or duvets that I could turn into fabric), and the shadow boxes were out of stock. Ali bought a clothes drying rack. We also had sveedish meatballs for dinner.
Look at my total--$6.66.
Then the day ended with a little bowlarama at Strike Bethesda. I did surprisingly well, except for the time that I let go of the bowling ball as I was swinging it back, just like what happens in the movies. I couldn't stop cracking up, unlike the woman it flew towards.
Steve
Me
Ali
Steve
So now it's Sunday. I'm going to spend the day contiuing to pack and clean so I don't get charged (you should see this list of...
If you don't clean this we will charge you...), while doing mock interview situations in my head. I have one tomorrow with the CEO of a psych hospital. eek!
I think it's gonna rain.
Hopefully next time I post I will be about 200 feet away in my new apartment. We'll see.
whilst attending the usual knitting group and craftnite,
and spent time at the House of Houck helping Amy organize pre-move to Alaska
(whilst doing yoga. Apparently, I do forward fold without thinking about it).
Amy got an arm tattoo. 
SIKE! It's a tattoo sleeve.
Then Friday night before the move we had a painting party. Wasn't a whole lot of fun at the end, but we got it done. It literally took 2 hours to get the paint mixed at the hardware store. They do it by hand at this one. Next time I'll go to Home Depot.
Tommy stopped by.
Vara was a virgin wall painter. She did a really good job.
Lilac and chocolate. In the wrong light, it looks like neapolitan ice cream.
We were re-energized by pizza late into the night.
So the whole next day was spent moving, which was a bitch, and I also had no time for or access to picture-taking. I'm actually trying to block the day from my memory. I swear I'm gonna sell a bunch of shit before moving again.
Then we stopped by the Q-H. It was me, Heidi, her awesomely fun friends Sean and Kelsey, who are also artsy peeps,
and Tommy and his friend Dan. 
Then the following week was spent unpacking (which I'm still doing), going to
where I bought these cookies for craft nite, among (lots of) other stuff, going to knitting and craftnite
and going to my new work for a physical. Oh did I mention that I got a job? It's at a residential treatment center in Rockville, MD, working on an adolescent boys unit; I'll do family, individual, and group therapy, assessments, and other social-worky things.
and it tickled a little.
My lady was really funny. She spoke no english and I think she had never used a digital camera because she picked mine up off the counter and made a face that was a combination of awe and confusion. She decided to try to take a picture.
This is her.
The other girls got their eyebrows waxed too. Ouch. I need to do mine too soon. This pic was followed by "I can't believe you're taking a pic of this."
We came home and made sangria
and a scrumptious dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach; all from scratch.
And that brings us to right now. (When I was a kid my mom would tell me the story of what we did that day as a bedtime story. She would always end with, "and that brings us to right now" or something like that, and I would always giggle).
