Away We Go

Last night I went to see Away We Go with my friend Erika. I loved this movie - I thought it was funny and touching and had a perfect ending. This has nothing to do with the fact that my brilliant cousin, Anne Yvette, worked on this movie. I think I would have loved it anyway, because, well, she also works on Law & Order and I don't watch that, ever.

It's apparently not in wide release yet, because my sister Leslie told me it's not playing near her, but if it's playing near you, go see it!

Lights! Camera! Action!

Or, just the lights part of it.

Since last week they've been filming a movie in my neighborhood. All I end up seeing are craft services and random trailers and trucks, but my friend Erin did meet Paul Rudd last week. She said he was very nice and super adorable. I've also heard people have spotted Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson about town.

Paul Rudd told Erin it's a romantic comedy, but we don't know the name. I'm excited to see it - I love to see my city and even more, my neighborhood, on the big screen!

La Princesse à Londres

I had a great time visiting England! And as you can see, they welcomed me by putting my name in neon!
We packed a lot in to a three-day trip. We met my college sorority sister Jess, who is living in London with her husband and baby, for lunch at Canteen. We went on a picnic with Bryony & Greg's friends Helen & Richard. We went to the Hertfordshire County Show. And Bryony and I went to the Victoria & Albert and to see Billy Elliot, which we both loved.
But the most exciting thing? On the train on Saturday, on the way back to St Albans from London, we sat with a crazy guy! With teeth so black they were about to fall out of his head! He started off standing behind us, but then he asked Bryony to give up her seat for him. Which she did, because, well, he was crazy. Here is a sample conversation between us and Crazy Guy with Bad Teeth.
me, talking to Greg: blah blah blah
CGwBT: Are you American?
me: yes
CGwBT: From New York?
me: no, Washington
CGwBT: Oh, Obama. He's not going to last.
me, mistakenly thinking he didn't understand our political system: um, he gets four years. Our system's not like yours.
CGwBT: They killed Bobby and Jack Kennedy! They'll kill him too!
me:
CGwBT: have you been to the Bronx?
me: no.
CGwBT: Do they have murders in the Bronx?
me: um, I guess.
CGwBT: and prostitutes?
me: um, they have a zoo! It's famous!
CGwBT: What is the Bronx?
me: one of the five boroughs of New York City.
CGwBT: What is the Bronx?
Greg: She just told you, one of the five boroughs of New York City.
CGwBT: But what is the Bronx? I am the Bronx.
and on and on and on. We talked about Kissinger, and the Vietnam War, and how I don't know my own history. When we arrived at St Albans, we let him get off first and made sure he went the opposite direction!
More pictures here.

I'm Going to London on Friday!

So, you know what's up. A movie poll!

Happy Birthday to me!

And to Miss Paisley.

So, most of the time, I sit at my desk without shoes on. As a result there are several pairs of shoes under my desk. I slipped two shoes on, and without looking, got up to go to the bathroom. I looked down when I was halfway there and I realized one was black and one was brown! (I meant to be wearing the black ones.) I scurried back to my office to change and made it before anyone saw me.

I think I need to stop keeping multiple pairs of shoes under my desk. This is not working out well for me.

Adventures on the Bus #235

Last night getting home was a nightmare. It's been raining here for what seems like forever. Sort of like living in Belgium again. I think that makes traffic worse.

I managed to sneak out of the office at 6:30 last night, but I didn't get home until nearly 8! And I didn't stop anywhere on the way home. I waited about 40 minutes for a bus last night. There should be one every 10 minutes. Then the traffic.

What was worse, though? There was a guy sitting about two rows behind me snoring. Very loudly. Everyone was laughing and it did not wake him up. The amazing thing was he started snoring right after I got on the bus, and I get on at the second stop. So he couldn't have been on very long, but he was in a very deep sleep.

I put on my iPod. It didn't help.

I was not in a good mood last night.

Here's hoping today will be better!

Happy Shakespeare's Birthday!

Like my new tattoo? Sadly, it's temporary, and already half Will's head is missing. I spent yesterday in the heat selling drinks at Shakespeare's birthday party.

Monkey Wine

Last Thursday, my friend Nicole and I went to Grapes with the Apes, a wine tasting event at the National Zoo. It was quite fun, although I was disappointed that there weren't more local vineyards there. Virginia has a lot of vineyards, and despite what my parents think, they're not all bad.



Anyway, we were waiting in line for some tastings when all of a sudden I felt something very wet and cold on my back! The girl behind me had dumped her glass of wine all over me. Luckily, it was white wine, not red, and I wasn't yet wearing the adorable coat I'm wearing in the above photo. I would have been really mad if that had gotten wine on it. Anyway, the girl sort of halfheartedly apologized, and did not offer to pay for my cleaning. Of course I would have said no, because I was just wearing cotton (see: had not yet put on adorable coat) but she still should have offered.

Oh well. I've managed to dry out.

Celebrity Sighting!

Over the weekend, I went to New York. I stayed with my cousin Anne Yvette, and met up with Molly to see In the Heights, which was fun. But the most exciting thing was on my flight home. Hillary Clinton was seated right behind me on the plane! I sat next to one of her Secret Service agents. In case you are wondering, Hillary drank tomato juice, and did not have a snack.

And, in answer to Amy's comment on my last post, I have no intention of discontinuing the blog. I know I've been a horrible poster so far in 2009. Work has been insane. I've been working since the first of the year in a different building, and working crazy hours. But, this week, that project ended, so things are calming down and going back to normal. Hopefully that means blog posting will too.

Dating Tips from the Princess

Just a quick photo, totally unrelated to the story I am about to tell, of what I woke up to this morning. Snow! But I am still at the office.

Anyway. Last night I went to dinner with my friend Allison. We went to Jaleo, which is one of my favorite restaurants ever, anywhere in the world. Tapas. Yum. We hadn't even placed our order yet, when our waiter came over and said to Allison, "were you just telling her how you just got asked out?"

Allison said, "no, I was telling her about a sort-of stalker I have..."

Waiter replied, "Oh. Well, I am just about to go on my first date since my marriage ended and I'm a bit nervous..."

And Allison and I proceeded to give him tips. Well, mostly Allison did. My tip was "maybe you should have a drink before you go."

He seemed like a nice guy. I hope it works out for him. Although maybe he should stop inserting himself into his customer's conversations for dating tips.