So here we go folks, I'm jumping back into the pool of a regular routine. I intend to continue the English version of this blog with an exploration of my latest city, Washington D.C.
It's going to be a bit messy this first post back, but that always seems to be the most challenging part with anything you've let go for a while.
Let's start with a quick musical introduction, shall we?
In essence, the past three months have been spent in mourning. Well, maybe I should rephrase that so it doesn't sound so much like I was crying myself to sleep like a toddler (who didn't get any ice cream because she didn't eat her vegetables at dinner.) Late summer and early fall 2012 could be categorized as "The Meantime." I somehow always end up by a body of water during these periods, pondering the ways of the world and the power of nature. This year, I spent two months by the Atlantic Ocean and then one quick month by the Chesapeake Bay. This included (but was not limited to) bike rides to and from work (sometimes but not always involving singing silly songs with my sister), daily gossip with some very lovely Cape May ladies, wine (lots and lots of it), sunsets and sketching by the sunken ship, hours beyond hours of driving back and forth on 50 and 95, and playing catch up on all of the latest American TV series. So without further ado, here are some of the songs that are so strongly tied to these moments and this whole general process of growing up, closing that French door, and moving towards this new path in the capitol of the good ole US of A.
- Kathleen Edwards,
Change The Sheets and
Empty Threat. This lady writes some pretty heavy stuff. My sister introduced me to her a while back, but ole Kath didn't really make sense to me until this year.
-Athlete,
Second Hand Stores. I've always skipped their whole CD to get to this song.
- Ellie Goulding,
Lights. I've had a girl crush on Ellie ever since
she sang with Lissie back in the day.
-Ben Howard,
Three Tree Town. This is the best song to just sit outside (preferably with a beer in hand) and just stare up at the stars. His latest song,
Esmerelda has made me fall even more in love/obsessed with his incredible talent. It's already on replay for this winter season.
-Elissa,
Ayami Bik. I think that I have all of the dance remixes of this song after going to Tunis. What attracts me the most is that darn violin. In fact, I have brought my old friend with me to Maryland to get back into that pastime and maybe one day sound like these men. Until then, I'll just blast it while driving on the beltway (snake arms and all).
Speaking of driving down 95, I'd like to quickly, very very quickly, vent about how horrible Maryland drivers are. I know that Northeastern drivers are known to speed, but Maryland is another ballgame. I mean let's be honest here, did this state ever focus on turn signals or merging onto the highway during driver's education classes? I probably have honked at more people over these last two months than the past eight years. They speed then quickly brake to look at a squirrel that just climbed up a tree across the street. Or even better, some drivers will switch to the slow (right) lane to speed up past someone and then only come to a complete stop because, oh hey look, there's a merging lane that needs to get in here too. The Philly attitude comes out quite often.
Moving onwards, last weekend I was so fortunate to finally see one of my oldest friends,
Ranjani, perform downtown with the local progressive hip hop star, Chris Stylez. They had never met prior to that evening's performance, which made the night so organic and spontaneous. The location of this event was pretty nifty as well. Bloombars, located in Columbia Heights, is a hip little two story building (with a tea room on the top floor!) Volunteer run, donation only based, Bloombars is exactly what the soul needs for a cultural and inspirational trip. Part concert venue, part theater, part poetry jam session, part children's story hour, Bloombars has a lot to offer for the creative type. I am excited to keep attending their events and hopefully, even with my crazy hours, volunteer once in a blue moon.
Recently, I also was able to check out a few of the local farmer's markets. With Ranjani, I was able to check out DuPont Circle's market a few weekends back. Last weekend, Andrea and I decided to venture out to the closest market in downtown Silver Spring. Finally, this past Sunday, we discovered Eastern Market in downtown DC. It only took us 1 1/2 hours to get there thanks to metro delays, but it was a good find. I cannot wait to go back to the flea market to buy a bunch of fun doodads to decorate my still somewhat empty room.
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| The outdoor side of Eastern Market |
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| I have never seen a black squirrel. How cool! |
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| One of the only trees left that had contrasting leaf colors. |
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| Playground at the Wheaton Regional Park. I'll be testing out those awesome slides soon! |
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Yesterday I decided to skip the electronic-based work out center and just get outside. I wanted to smell the crisp air and hear the leaves crunch under my feet. I made my way to Wheaton Regional Park, a mere 15 minute drive from my apartment. It reminded me a lot of Robbins Park back home. This park was large enough to drown out the sounds of construction, traffic, and daily life, but small enough to walk around within an hour. As much as I've been telling other people that teaching is just not for me, seeing all the little tots running up and down that green hill made me miss wiping snotty noses and brushing dirt off of clumsy children. Well not really those particular daily events, but maybe just their confidence in telling me that a dinosaur is indeed in the room above us stomping around because he is hungry.
Out and over,
La Petite Pamplemousse
