Cupcakes!

I just found out that there is a company called Curbside Cupcakes. This company drives around Washington, DC selling cupcakes at random locations. You can keep an eye on their locations by becoming a fan on Facebook. How awesome!

Serenity

I found the National Gallery Sculpture Garden this weekend and it has a great fountain.

There are benches around the circular fountain that is shaded depending on the time of day.

In the winter, it becomes an ice skating rink. How awesome!

March of Dimes and Climate Change Rally

This sign just explains my neighborhood.

Sunday, with some co-workers, we walked for the March of Dimes. Here are some selected photos from the walk.

You know this building. We walked around the National Mall twice equaling 4 miles.

We claim to be the best country in the world and how come the USA has higher infant death rate than 27 other nations?

After the March of Dimes walk, I headed over the Climate Change Rally ( the inner hippie had to be satisfied). There were cool booths giving away seeds, fribees, reusable bags, satellite shaped cookie cutters (Thanks NASA!), UV beads that change color in the sun, and you could even have your face painted like one of those blue avatar people.

Some hippie kids from Oberlin College blocking my view of Robert Kennedy Jr.

This picture shows the stickers I collected throughout the day.

The 'kill vampires' refer to the electrical plugs in the wall when they are not being used.

City Life

I have had a request to post more, so I am going to try to honor that request the best that I can. I was told to keep a notebook to write things down.

This week has been full of experiences.

The escalator on the south side of my metro stop is out of order. I do not mind the inconvenience, because it is a little bit of exercise coming up the steps.

Earlier this week, I was walking back from the gym and I saw about 6 rats within 100 meters. Yeah, yeah, I know I live in a city, but it was a strange occurrence. The rats were just looking for food and not caring who saw them. It seems that the rats knew about the daunting rain storm. How do they sense these things? I think the next time I see some rats out and about at 8pm, I will put my umbrella in my purse for the next day.

I did make a phone call the the Washington, DC Department of Health to report the rats.

To honor Earth Day, Washington Sports Club's Columbia Heights location has added Green Revolution technology to the spin bikes so they can produce energy for the club. I guess I will be reducing my carbon footprint as I reduce my flab.

It seems as it gets warmer, more people are walking their dogs in my neighborhood. I makes me smile to see happy dog. My favorite is this Bichon Frise that has long hair that looks like dreads and of course it lives in my favorite house on Kenyon St. It makes me miss my family dog a little bit.

The corner of Kenyon St. and Sherman Ave. there is a carving into the sidewalk that says, "Waffles?"

This Thursday, walking to my house I passed five cop cars breaking up some fight between teen girls. I am not sure what was happening, but at least I feel safe because there are plenty of police squads in the area. Walking by this ruckus, just made me smile and I loving where I live.

Friday, I had a great evening. I experienced typical DC happy hour at the Public Bar. The only saving grace was the roof top bar, great company, and the TV in the mirror. When the bar started to fill up with smokers, two of my friends and I went out for Indian food at Indique in Cleveland Heights. I really recommend it because of the atmosphere and the chaat appetizers were great!

Traveling....

Sorry about the long delay in posting. Last week, I got harrassed by some crazy lady at the park near my work. She started mumbling something that she wanted to mug a guy but didnt because I was staring at her. Oh life in the city!

I was in Dallas, TX for a conference last week. I was lucky enough to have time to see the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza that is dedicated to telling the story of JFK assassination. It was very surreal looking down at the grassy knoll where JFK was shot. There seems to be a calm around the area. JFK did great things like starting NASA, the Peace Corps, and expanding civil rights. Thank you President John F. Kennedy.

If you ever get a chance to go to Dallas, you should eat at the Pyramid Restaurant. They have a rooftop garden and use herbs and vegetables for their specials. Get the Walkabout if you crave some liquid libation, made with Johnny Walker, lemon, rhubarb syrup, cinnamon stick and a candied hibiscus flower.

The weather was great in DC this weekend! I was lucky enough to participate in a Earth Day celebration on my block by cleaning up the streets! It was fun and I made my neighborhood look better. I am lucky to live in a city where there are so many things going on in the area.

This weekend, the soccer field were full or action with school kids and adults playing the sport they love. I did find it pretty strange to smell weed coming from the playground in the middle of the day.

I got to meet a cute little puppy as I walked to grocery. My Giant (my grocery store) had rhubarb for sale so I plan to make my own Walkabout this week.

Tourist Season

Today, my day started out by giving directions to tourist in the metro station. After work, I braved the crowds of people and charged down to the Lincoln Memorial to take in the atmosphere, read, and people watch. You were able to spot the tourist families and couples by the big camera around their neck and/or a fanny pack at their waist. There were large lines at all the hot dog vendor's carts buying ice cream to satisfy that hunger of something cold. I reached the reflecting pool and I over heard families speaking Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Punjab, and the U.S. Southern drawl. Walking up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial is daunting task.  When you reach the statue of this great man, you feel the sense of awe and grandeur of his accomplishments.

The view of the of the reflecting pool, the Washington Monument, and the Capital Building are peaceful in the afternoon light. The architectural design is a marvel and should be admired.  The hoards of school groups swarmed the memorial, and you could over hear their conversations over which state is name was more important to them. Teenage boys slide down the railings below signs asking them not to do so.

Locals dodged the tourist to get in their afternoon run before they ventured home for the holiday weekend. Trying to get home from Metro Center was a task because of all the tourists and locals alike waiting for their trains. When I reach my little part of the world, it was a sign of relief.

Sounds of the Heights

Spring has sprung!

An email went out at work this morning soliciting for a picnic at lunch. So a bunch of us, went down to Farragut Square and had lunch on the grass, shared stories, and received our allotted amount of Vitamin D.  Thanks to the Clay County Health Department, we were able to play Frisbee until we had to return to the office.  The people sharing the green space participated and caught the overthrown Frisbee.

I have started walking to the Mount Vernon Metro stop from my office for some extra exercise in the afternoon. On L Street, I found a table selling different earrings made from bottle caps, beads, twine, and plastic. I decided to buy a pair made from Tusker Beer caps. The man selling the earrings asked me if I have been to Africa. I rambled my list and I think he was pleased and shared with me that he was from Kenya.

This evening, I was lounging in my bedroom enjoying the music from either a high school band or Howard University's band. All of a sudden, I head Pure Romance by Lady Gaga. It was a very good rendition.

Everyday, I am enjoying my neighborhood more and more.