4 posts tagged “culture”

It was SOOOO jam packed! I haven't had a weekend like that in a very long time, and while it was entirely exhausting, it was even more completely fabulous! Friday night I went to see my friend Ginger's awesome band, The Hall Monitors. They were absolutely incredible, and they played with The Shalitas from Brooklyn, who were equally as incredible. I totally have a girl-crush on all three of those Shalitas. You have no idea! So Friday night was spent having an awesome time, listening to great music with my girly-posse. Saturday was some work at home, a serious spring cleaning, and then my roommate cooked chicken cacciatore for us and two of our friends. It was a really fun, relaxing evening. And what made it even better was the fact that my friend totally gelled with my roommate and her friend. After dinner we all bonded over an awesome table of desserts at Le Matins de Paris - I got this incredible Fruit Bingsoo which I'm pretty sure I dreamt about on Saturday night, lol. Of course, we ladies were out late enjoying these incredible desserts, so when we finally got back home, I was almost too tired to play some Guitar Hero... but I managed to bust out a few songs, watch 2 episodes of Veronica Mars - one of the best shows ever - and then I finally crashed. I was so tired on Sunday morning, thanks to being up too late and the time change.

Sunday was the usual brunch at the best restaurant ever, and then Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center. It was AB-SO-LUTE-LY HYSTERICAL! It was more than I had anticipated and even more gut-bustingly funny than I could have anticipated. And all that political incorrectness in the heart of PC-World really made it all the more hilarious. Seriously, every day, I just think of how freaking blessed I am to have such great friends, and to have such a full and happy life. I know I've been over-the-top schmoopy lately, but seriously, I'm just so ridiculously content, and I'm going to ride the wave for as long as I can. ;) And tomorrow I'm heading to the orthodontist to get the first installment of my braces on - I'll get the rest on on Friday. I'm so excited! I'm going to have the most beautiful, perfect smile. After tomorrow, my teeth are never going to look the same again! And THAT, my friends, is one of the many reasons why I've been so ridiculously happy lately :)

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

1. I started my new job on Monday
2. I attended a talk at work given by Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States.
   
3. I found out I have the opportunity to be deployed to the Middle East for my job to perform the same civilian duties that I do at my job stateside - HOLY! CRAP! Yes, its dangerous, but its also an incredible opportunity to see a culture, a place in the world that most people won't ever get the opportunity to see in this lifetime
   
4. The sky is the limit at my new job - I have good feeling about this one :D
5. I attended a renowned pianist's performance at the residence of the Egyptian Ambassador tonight. And the Egyptian Ambassador personally welcomed me to his home and shook my hand. Nice! It doesn't get much cooler than that. Oh yeah, except for my new job :D
   

This past Sunday, the Washington National Opera sponsored a live simulcast of La Boheme, which was being performed at the Kennedy Center. The event was to give people - who might not normally get the chance - an opportunity to see a live opera performance... bring Opera to the people. It was broadcast on the National Mall, near the foot of the Washington Monument, and also to a few theaters in the DC area, and 35 schools - college and high school - across the nation. It was an absolutely incredible experience! I feel so lucky to live in such an amazing city - there are always so many things going on, and a never ending menu of cultural events.

I had always wanted to see La Boheme, and had the opportunity once at Penn State, but things ended up not working out. Of course I was disappointed, but I knew there would be other opportunities. And what an opportunity it was this past Sunday! The weather was perfect! It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, hot - but not too hot, with a tolerable amount of humidity. My roommate coordinated everyone, and we had a good turnout - about 8 of us, brought blankets and food and had a picnic on the Mall, while enjoying the opera. And it was fantastic! The director of this particular production of La Boheme, Mariusz Trelinski, brought his own interpretation to it, and it was incredible!

And the most exciting part - as if *free* opera on a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the National Mall wasn't exciting enough! - Placido Domingo, the General Director of the Washington National Opera, came to speak to the crowd at intermission. It was so exciting, and so amazing to see this incredible man standing just a few feet in front of me. I know I'm a huge dork, but I loved every single second of the entire afternoon. Definitely a worthwhile experience, and one I hope to repeat again next year. And maybe catch a few operas for a good price - thanks to Generation O - in the meantime ;)

p.s. For those of you who don't know, the musical Rent was loosely based on the story of La Boheme - its definitely a contemporary Opera, one that's relatable and certainly very enjoyable.

While I was at home this weekend, my Aunt handed me the local paper and told me to read some of the opinion articles. I don't often find myself reading said local paper for various reasons, one especially being that I'm not home and can't read the physical paper and the website is a usability nightmare. However, this article really stood out to me, and I thought it worthwhile to share. (I can't embed the article because the site doesn't support it... heck, they don't even include the Author's name on the article! I'd like to give her credit, but I can't remember it either...)

It's really worth it to hop over to the Times News website and read the article. Its gives some new perspective for us to be thankful for the bodies we have instead of lamenting the unattainable bodies we don't have...