Fun with Friends

I woke up this morning and was excited to see that it hadn't rained.  Well, at least it looked like it was dry outside.  I got to go play some tennis with Kristine.  That was so much fun!  I haven't run around like that in ages.  Amazing how good it felt to be out on the tennis court :)  

After that, I got to go help Darin and Melanie move into their place.  I'm so excited for them.  I loved their place.  I think they are going to be all sorts of good once they get unpacked.  As for the move, we had a bunch of helpers and there really wasn't that much stuff.  They even treated us to pizza and pop when it was over!   The apartment is in a complex that's similar looking to the one Darin used to live in and I live in now.  It was funny, because four of the guys there had lived in my current apartment at one time or another.  Soon, I'll be passing my spot on to some fresh grad who will, more likely than not, be coming here from Utah.

Papa Cito

A week ago, my dad, whom I frequently call Papa cito - I'm fairly certain that's incorrect Spanish, but oh well - came to visit me. It was the first time that a family member has made the trip out here to the DC area since I moved out here a year ago.

It was great to see him. I had had the idea that maybe he could come a couple of months ago. I had been thinking about making a trip out to Utah to visit before school started, but it just did not look practical from most any angle I looked at it. I simply did not have the time or means to make it happen. When I realized that, I decided to ask my dad if he would come out and see me. Judging from his reaction, it was like I had given him a Christmas present (not just the usual, but one he actually liked :) He made the arrangements for his flight and worked hard to get his work schedule under control so that he could take the time away.

I had a great time with him here. I got to take him over and show him around George Mason Law. We also took a trip to the National Archives and looked at the Consitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. After that, we went and got some grub and watched Get Smart (which both of us found to be much funnier than we had anticipated - I would recommend seeing it) On Saturday, I took him to the Maryland side of Great Falls. We took some pictures and watched the kayakers that were negotiating the Potomac right there. We also got to see a demonstration of the lock system on the Chesapeake/Ohio canal that runs parallel to the river. That was actually pretty cool. Saturday night we relaxed with some hefty servings of ice cream and watched the Olympics.

On Sunday, my dad gave me a blessing before church. That had been one of the main reasons I had asked him to come. I have received a blessing each year of college and did not want to embark on my law school journey without the added strength and comfort that comes from a priesthood blessing.

At church, my dad spent a couple of hours helping me get the clerks' office into a workable state. I could not have done it without him and was sorry he got dragged into it, but grateful for his help.

After church, we went over to Bronwyn & Emma's house for dinner. I had invited a bunch of friends and B & E were gracious enough to allow me to host the dinner at their place ( I don't really have a dining room at my place) Anyway, I was in charge of the main entree which was a dish called Saucy Chicken. The recipe is a favorite of mine that my mom makes. She got it from Aunt Renee. Anyway, things were going well with making the food until I noticed the cook time in the oven was supposed to be 2 hours! Steve heard that and went to Brad's for pancakes ( I would have joined him if I wasn't hosting :D As a result, we had plenty of time to sit and talk until dinner was ready. Overall it turned out good with the Saucy chicken, egg noodles, baked potatoes, salad, bread, and yummy dessert. I was stuffed to the rafters! After dinner we all hung out and talked. It was a lot of fun. It reminded me how lucky I am to have such good friends! Oh, I almost forgot; I looked hot in my chef's apron :P

On Monday, my dad and I visited the Masonic Memorial to George Washington and Christ's Church in Old Town Alexandria. We made a quick visit to Five Guys before I took him to the airport. It was a quick trip, but I was so glad he came.

Good times!

Okay, so I realize I haven't written on here in ages. I've been busy - reading my friends' blogs, playing Zelda, working, you know, with life in general. Actually, it was reading my friends' blogs that motivated me to write this.

So, this past Thursday, I had the chance to meet up with an old high school friend, Bria, and her husband Kris. The two of them got married earlier this year. I sent Bria and some other high school friends and email early last week to update them on how life out here was going. Come to find out, Bria and Kris were getting on a plane to DC. I was totally surprised to hear that they were coming to town!

We decided to go walk around Georgetown and get some dinner. We met up in Rosslyn and walked over to Georgetown and took a stroll down the main drag there. It was fun to hear about how their lives are going and all of the new changes with work, buying a home, etc.

We also had a chance to talk about politics, both international (read Russia, Ukraine & Belarus) and domestic. It was interesting hearing Kris in particular talk about one of the presidential candidates. I enjoyed his perspective and learned some things I did not know that helped me view that person with less animosity.

Beyond the political, we also talked about movies and our various occupations. At some point, Bria asked me more about what my experience has been this past year with getting ready for law school and dealing with setbacks related to the LSAT. She has a family member who is experiencing many of the same challenges in another field. This led to a discussion about trials and faith and practical strategies for dealing with these kind of problems. I was grateful for the exchange of feelings and insights that occurred. I love how close I feel to people after we share lessons that we have learned and the faith that keeps us going.

Before that night, I had met Kris previously, but did not know him well. I was grateful to get to know him better and to see how good things were between him and Bria. It is wonderful to observe my married friends and to see them thrive!

My First 10K!

Okay, so this weekend has already been wonderful. I had the chance to go down with Kristine and Melissa to run a 10K yesterday in Richmond. We stayed with Kristine's friend Brandon, a 2nd year dental student. Brandon lives in this sweet house with three other aspiring dentists. We got there the first night and crashed in his living room. In the morning we got up and cruised in to town. The race was along Monument Ave., so named because of the monuments that seemed to be located at every major crossroads. As I was running, I didn't pay much attention to who all of them were, but the first one was of Stonewall Jackson.

Before beginning the race, I was blown away by how many people were there. I think they said they had around 30,000. The whole street was packed with port-a-potties as far as the eye could see... The race began around 8:30 with the Men's Elite division. They were running for the national championship. We got separated from our group while we were warming up before the race and ended up starting with wave J - the 1hr group. They had gone to our wave F and started. At first it was hard just to get going. There were so many people that you couldn't take big strides, but we moved to the sides and were able to pass and work our way more into the open. At this point I was running with Kristine. We wanted to keep a pace of about 8:30. I don't remember exactly how the miles went, but I know that we had several miles that were really fast - around 7:15 or 7:30 and others where we slowed down so as to not get burnt out before the end. Around mile four I decided to press forward a little faster. I got drinks twice as we were running. I think both times I slopped them down the front of me only managing to get a swallow or two. I'll have to work on my technique. I forgot to say that when we started out, it was raining lightly. Nothing bad as we were working hard and not really noticing it. I did have a problem during the last half of the race with my eyes watering as sweat dripped into them. Ah the joys of a beginner.

Anyway, mile five was a monster. I swear that one took forever. I think it was my slowest mile - around 9 minutes. Then for the last 1.2 miles, I tried to pick up the pace. I finished with a time of 52:12, just a tad quicker than the 8:30 pace. At the end as I stopped I felt like I was going to cramp up or be sick, but neither happened. I was fine after a few deep breaths. I was very happy to have finished. I was also pleased because that's the furthest I've ever run continuously in my life.

Here's a picture of Melissa, me, Brandon, and Kristine after the race. If we look a little wet and bedraggled, you can chalk that up to the rain :)

After the race, we had a wonderful time attending conference at the stake center. We ate a tremendous amount of food at Applebee's (I love that place) and took in some ice cream together after priesthood. We finished the night with the Kansas vs. North Carolina b-ball game and some blistering foosball action. I suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of a formidable opponent.