To Remember

Last Monday I went with my friend Anne to the Pentagon Memorial. I've been to almost all of the memorials and this one by far is my favorite. It seems to me like it was more thought out than the others . . . There's more detail to it. When we got there we didn't really know how to make sense of what we were looking at, but then we started talking to a nice "older" couple who explained it to us. They said that the walk way around the memorial is made out of the rubble of the building, then they pointed out how you can see on the Pentagon, where the plane crashed. Chilling. Then there are these interesting markers coming out of the ground. They pointed out that the direction the marker is facing indicates where the person it's representing died; in the plane or in the Pentagon. The markers are arranged by birth year and has each person's name on the end of it. If that person had family members who also died in the attack, their names are listed below the marker, in the water. You are then able to go around and find the site for each individual in the family. The youngest person to die in the attack on the pentagon was born in 1989 and both her parents and sibling were killed along side her. Going to any memorial is a somber experience, but the fact that I distinctly remember 9/11 enhanced this particular visit. It's surreal to actually stand in the place where this tragedy took place and remember all the things that went on during that period of our country's history. I guarentee this won't me the last time I go there.

I would highly recommend that if you ever get the chance to visit DC, that you put The Pentagon Memorial on the top of your places to see. Just a little tip: take the metro and go at night. There's not really any place you can legally park at the Pentagon at anytime, and also if you go at night it's all lit up and it adds to the atmosphere.

I Want You

Watch. Listen. Act.

Passion Play

Today was a big day for two of my absolute favorite people in the entire musical world. Both Joshua Radin and William Fitzsimmons released their new albums! (Note: if you haven't realized this by now, let me just point out that I tend to get a tad passionate about music. Especially when it comes to Josh ;) ).

Let's start off with Joshua Radin a.k.a. the love of my musical life. If you haven't heard him before then you obviously need to check out my playlist. :) The man has been compared to Nick Drake and referred to as a modern day Simon and Garfunkle. Josh's new album is called Simple Times and it's brilliant. A little different than the first album, but it's still Josh. Let me just tell you why I love this man so much (well, one reason anyway). Colombia Records signed Josh probably two and a half/three years ago. He went with them because they said they'd produce his album just as he recorded it; no changes. Then when it came time for the sophomore record, they wanted him to make changes; move towards more of a mainstream/pop-ish sound. He wouldn't do it. He bought himself out of his contract and signed on with Mom and Pop Records, an indie label and was able to release his music how he feels his music should sound. Even if you hated his sound, you'd have to respect the guy for that.

The album has been up on i-tunes for the past four weeks and beat out Metallica for the number one selling album it's first week out. I was going to wait for the hard copy, but I just couldn't hold myself back. I did of course, order a hard copy but of course it wasn't in the mail. Hopefully tomorrow! Josh also performed on the Ellen Show today. I was stoked until I got home and found that the DVR did not record the event. Tragic. I feel I handled myself well though; no tears were shed, I didn't break anything, just complained a little. Good thing I'm going to see him perform live this weekend, or thing may not have turned out so pretty . . . Now if someone could just get the clip up on youtube . . . :)

Next we have William. William Fitzsimmons also released and album today called The Sparrow and The Crow. It's his third album, and possibly my favorite. I can't get over how talented this man is! I first heard WF towards the beginning of the year when I noticed him on the Hotel Cafe Tour's line-up. I instantly bought one his albums and later fell in love with it so much that I had to have the other one as well. Imagine my delight when I found out he had a third album on the way!

I pre-ordered the cd rather than waiting to buy it on i-tunes because it came with a free subscription to Paste Magazine ("the entertainment magazine for thinking adults, Paste looks for "signs of life" in music, film, and culture") and I like getting mail. I'm generally not big into the whole pre-order thing, but this time it turned out to be the best thing I could have done because when I got home on Friday afternoon, the cd was sitting in my mailbox . . . that's four whole days before I could have gotten it anywhere else. The album is amazing, I can't wait for November 7th when I get to see him perform the songs live!!!

For more details on Josh, William, or the Hotel Cafe tour, or to listen to their music, direct your eyes to the right side of your screen. For those of you who are directionally impaired, just take a look at this . . . (Josh appears at approx. 6:07) ;)

Someone Else's Life

Wow! I have been so busy these past two weeks going on all sorts of fun adventures. I really do feel like I'm living someone else's life. There is just so much opportunity to go places and see things! I've been to Baltimore, Fredricksburg, Annapolis, and all over DC. I've visited the National Aquarium, the Naval Academy, The Bureau of Printing and Engraving, The Capital Building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, The Botanical Gardens, The Sculpture Garden, Barack Obama's office, Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown, and so many other places, all in less than two weeks! It helps that I've had a friend in town visiting for the past week. I haven't done too much in DC on my own since I've moved here, mostly because I have other things going on. Now I have a renewed excitement about going to all the different museums that exist right in my backyard! So cool . . . I have a bunch of pics to go through, and some that I'm waiting for my friend to send, but don't you worry, I'll post some soon! ;)

I can't believe how blessed I am to be able to do all these things, it's absolutely amazing. Up next on the list: Harrisburg, PA!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

I pretty much have the greatest job ever. I play all day, go to museums, and take naps. Then at night I get to go to baseball games! Okay, well, that's what I did tonight anyway. Last week Kent mentioned that he was going to give me his company's tickets for an upcoming baseball game. He said there would be six tickets and two parking passes. I was excited to go because I LOVE going to baseball games, but then I realized I don't exactly know six people around here. I invited those I did know and a girl I met in my ward. Then I used the good old listserve (a yahoo group for my ward) to see if anyone else was interested in coming. We ended up using five of the tickets, though I did get plenty of emails saying people wished they could come.

So the game was the Washington Nationals (obviously) versus the New York Mets. I'd heard our team isn't all that good, but I was still confident we'd have a good time. There's something about going to a baseball game . . . it's a happy thing no matter what team wins! The game actually turned out to be pretty good. Our seats were awesome (right behind home plate!), there were some great plays, and the Nats won! What more could you ask for?

Here are a few pics to prove I was there!

Best Thing In My Life

Meet Garmen. Without her I would be absolutely lost. Literally. I don't know how people find their way around this crazy place without some kind of GPS system! Between the one way roads, streets that have two names, lanes that change direction depending on what time of day it is, and all the TRAFFIC, I'm shocked peopole ever get it straight. I would never dream of leaving home without little Garmie. I guess it just comes with time . . . If a three year old knows how to get around, I guess I'll eventually figure it out! And if Garmen ever breaks, at least I have Matt and Ingy to tell me when I'm going the wrong way.

As wonderful as Garmen is, it hasn't been 100% correct. I went to find a Wal-mart last week, but after following the directions and arriving at the supposed destination, there was no Wal-mart to be found. Later that night I tried another location and Garmen lead me to the right area, just the wrong shopping center. Maybe Wal-mart needs to pay Garmen a little more money . . . At least if I get lost I can always find my way home!

I will say that I am quite proud of myself. Today I made it to and from Matthew's school without Garmen's help. I did go to Spencer's house on Sunday without it, but I needed some help on the way home . . . it was dark. :)

You are the one I've been waiting for, today! Pt. 2