The Smithsonian National Zoo has some baby lions:

I sort of thought they might be the cutest felines in the District. Because, man, were they cute. The entire crowd was ooo-ing and ah-ing and just about melting from the cuteness as they stalked each other and their mothers and their father and did things like fall off ladders, trip over their own feet, and hunt branches. (Overheard: Parents trying to avoid explaining sex and mating in a lion pride. Small child, pointing at one of the two females: Mommy, there's the mommy lion, there's the daddy lion, is that a teenage lion? Is it helping? Mommy: ....)

Then again, this video of Olive snarfing down a CARROT is also pretty freakin' cute:

yes I am breaking a three month blog hiatus to post pictures of cats. shh.

It only took eight months, but I finally got around to hanging pictures in my apartment. It's now pretty much complete!

Living room, with a print by Hilary and a painting by an old friend, Lynn Peterfruend

Other side of living room, maps wall:

Visit Palestine (with jars by Steve and more family photos, ignore the mess on the table):

Bedroom, with two of my dad's photos:

Another photo by my dad, with family & friends photos:

Paintings my aunt got in India years ago:

Kitchen art:

Tiles my grandmother got in Europe many years ago:

More photos with detail shots on Flickr!

It's just about six months in! Time for a 32 Things list update.

1. Fix my shoulder. This one is not so fun, unfortunately, but it's necessary. I've torn at least a tendon and possibly the cartilage in my right shoulder. Once I know exactly what's going on my doctor will be able to figure out how to treat it. I'd like to avoid surgery if I can--maybe I should make that next?
Mostly accomplished! After four months of twice-weekly PT, several massages, and a long break from any exercise involving my upper body, my shoulder is pretty much fixed.

2. Avoid shoulder surgery if at all possible.
Yes! I will not need shoulder surgery, barring any unforeseen accidents/relapses.

3. Regain my strength/range of motion. I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to where I was before the injury in the next year, but that's definitely my goal. I was aiming for 10 pull ups without stopping, and I'd gotten to 8; I'd love to get to 10 or even back up to 8.
I'm working on this one. I'm up to 45 knee push ups! Next week I'm starting to work on regular push ups. I can still do at least a few pull ups (not sure how many; at least three but I stopped for fear of hurting myself) but I've been very cautious, so I haven't started doing those again.

7. Learn DC's Metro system.
I now generally get on the train going in the right direction! I've also mastered the buses in my neighborhood.

9. Visit every museum in the District.
I'm making pretty serious progress on this list. One of these days I'll devote an entire post to it.

10. Register to vote here.
Done! I even voted earlier this week, which was kind of an adventure. Let's just say I'm quite good at picking the underdog....

12. Hang up pictures in my apartment.
Well, I've started this. Two down, something like a dozen to go.

13. Frame the last few things I need to frame, like my MPH diploma, and hang those up as well.
I've framed a few things and will do others as finances allow.

14. Find a rug that matches my living room.
Done!

15. Keep my apartment in its current lovely uncluttered clean state.
hm, well, I'm generally decent at this. My table and the chair I keep my clothes on are always full of stuff, but the rest of the place is quite neat, and I clean at least once a week.

16. Get the cats down to a healthy weight.
Another in-progress goal....

17. Keep my new plants alive.
Plants are still alive, and thriving.

20. Volunteer with Casey Trees on a regular basis.
Done! I voluteered about half a dozen times over the spring planting season, and have signed up for a couple of fall plantings (they start in October).

21. Buy most of my veggies at the local farmers' markets.
I've done quite well at this over the spring and summer. I also buy all of my eggs, almost all my fruit, most of my bread, and my occasional flowers at the farmers' market. In fact, the only times I've bought fruit or vegetables at the store are when I couldn't find something specific at the farmers' market (it's been a bad summer for kale...) or if I missed it because I was out of town for the weekend.

22. Eat something new I've never tried before.
I feel like I've done this, but I can't think what it was. I know I've eaten at lots of new places...

23. Try something again that I've had before and hated (kim chee? Ethiopian food?)
I've tried Ethiopian food again, and yeah, still don't like it. I'm willing to eat it, but I don't love it. So that's an improvement. I tried to try kim chee again, and yeah, still hate it. I tried taking a bite out of a piece of cabbage and all I could do was spit it out. blech.

27. Keep up my weekly evening out (at a new place every week) with Hilary and a rotating cast of characters.
Done--we don't make it quite every week, but it's quite regular.

28. Make some new friends.
Also done, thanks in part to the weekly nights out with Hilary, as well as thanks to Kristen and Frank, and to my lovely colleagues at work.

Read what I've got left to do in the next six months here.

I moved to DC seven months ago last weekend. In honor of that momentous anniversary, here's seven things I love about DC, in no particular order:
1. Free museums. The Met can't be beat and I miss it terribly, but the Smithsonian's breadth is amazing, and it's all free.
2. The architecture: DC in general, and my neighborhood in particular, is full of interesting buildings, neat details, and, of course, major historical sites. I love just walking around looking at things here. And it's all human-scaled which makes it much easier to see. (I've been told by several people that the reason is that nothing can be higher than the Capitol, so I googled to check, and that's actually wrong. Nothing can be more than 20 feet higher than the the width of the street it's on. Interesting!)
3. I love how green DC is. The City of Trees is definitely the greenest city I've ever lived in.
4. Weekly dinners with Hilary.
5. Regular get-togethers with Kristen and Frank, and getting to see Nico grow up.
6. I still can't quite get over the fact I go by the White House every single day. I run by there in the morning, pass it on the bus to and from work, frequently cut through the park in front if I walk home, and shop at the Thursday Farmer's Market just outside the gates. How cool is that?
7. The small town/big city vibe: it's small enough that I run into people I know on a regular basis, and small enough to feel homey, but big enough that there's always something going on, lots of places to go, and many, many fascinating people to talk to.

And, to be even: seven things I hate about DC:
1. The Metro
2. Our lack of representation in Congress. (Yup, surprise surprise, I'm already an ardent supporter of DC's voting rights.) This is what taxation without representation looks like.
3. The protesters and tourists who drop in, take up tons of space (and spew their hate), and forget that people actually live here.
4. The disparities in the city. I don't think the wealth disparities here are greater than they are in NYC, but it's much more segregated out into rich and poor neighborhoods, and overall the disparities here are pretty appalling.
5. The schools (related to 4). Even though I don't have kids, it still bothers me how bad the educational system can be.
6. The humidity. It's inhuman.
7. The drivers. It feels like I'm putting my life at risk every time I cross the street.

It's time for my monthly post! I meant to post a couple of weeks ago on the actual day: this blog recently had its three year birthday (August 11). Since I started this blog, I've gained one decade, been adopted by two cats, had three different jobs (plus a round of unemployment), resided in four cities, and lived in five apartments/houses. Not bad. I've slacked off a lot on posting in the last few months, for a variety of reasons. Part of it is that I am busy and less inclined to spend time at home online; part is that I no longer take my camera everywhere so I'm less likely to shoot pictures to post (don't want to blend in with all the tourists!); and part is that I am just generally uninspired to write lately. Life is a comfortable and enjoyable routine of work, social time, and exploring a new city, but it's just not that exciting to write about. No worries, I am not abandoning the blog, since I just renewed the domain for another year. But don't expect more frequent posts or anything.

I did grab this cool shot with my phone a couple of weeks ago:

This is in NW DC/Georgetown right near Dumbarton Oaks and just a few blocks from where Hilary used to live! I was pretty surprised--had no idea there were deer in the city. I don't think you can really tell from the photo, but it was a BABY deer and it's mother. So cute!

So last week there was an earthquake in DC which was basically the first earthquake in recorded DC history. It was all of 3.6, and I totally slept through it. I definitely picked the best year ever to move to DC.

Later that day I went to work, as one does. I came back to my office from a meeting to discover a couple of emails from our office manager: the first, saying there was a suspicious package investigation going on outside the building and a corner was blocked off. The second email informed us that the investigation had now been upgraded to a bomb threat, and several blocks were now blocked off, and the bomb squad had been called in. Cue nervous conversation around the office. Shortly thereafter, a Very Serious voice came over the intercom and announced that we all needed to move away from the windows and not stand on a particular side of the building. Of course, my office is on that side of the building AND has windows. So I headed over to the other side of the office to see what my colleagues were up to--lots of quite nervous conversation, and looking out the interior windows into the lobby to try to figure out what was going on. We watched some officials come into the lobby and shoo people away from the doors. A security guard was stationed in front of the doors to prevent people from leaving. At one point he went out to the street to see what was going on and then came running back in--not something to inspire confidence. Another announcement over the intercom to inform us the basement parking garage was now on lockdown. My coworker called a friend over at Homeland Security to try to find out what was going on. This went on for, literally, an hour. Meanwhile we're hearing that all the neighboring buildings were being evacuated.

And, the anticlimax: another announcement over the intercom to inform us that all was well and it was not a bomb. We found out later that it was a briefcase full of "electronic testing equipment", whatever that is. In any case--certainly a more dramatic Thursday afternoon than I'm used to!

Nats vs. White Sox, originally uploaded by zannect.

I won tickets at a raffle at work to see the Nationals play. The game was last week and it was pretty much a perfect game except for the fact the Nats lost in the 11th inning. But it was a gorgeous evening, the game was well played, and Strasburg is a phenomenon even a non-baseball fan like myself can appreciate. Hell, I might even switch over my primary allegiance--yes, as a born and raised Massachusetts native, the Red Sox are in my DNA, but the Nats can use all the fans they can get.

And, the coolest part: OBAMA was at the game!

If you click on the photo and then "all sizes" and then "original size" you might sort of be able to see a guy in a white shirt and a Sox hat. That's him. Blurry cell phone pics are not so great; I could definitely see more detail in person!

I'm settling in well to life in DC! My job is great; I'm exploring new restaurants and places to go out (at least one new place a week); checking out the museums; attending other DC cultural events (World Cup games shown on giant screens in Dupont Circle? yes! Open embassy days? yes! Pride parade? yes!); and hanging out with friends, both visiting and local. It's true, everyone comes through DC for work and it's awesome. Also, surviving mishaps such as cat-induced computer malfunctions, food poisoning, cats with eye infections, the wonky Metro, and other similar adventures. Oh yeah, and bemoaning the weather. I do not know how this New Englander is going to survive the summer here. Seriously, I'm already ready to die and it's only mid-June. We've already had a week straight of 90+ temps and the humidity is killer. What do you know, it's not the heat, it's the humidity! One thing I do love here is how late the days go--it's not even the Solstice yet and it's still light out till after 9pm. Love it!

Here's a selection of photos from the last couple of months:
Grad school friends mini-reunion
My cousin's wedding in Ohio
Lightning quick secret trip to NYC to see a couple of friends get married at City Hall, with bonus amazing sushi
Hanging out with the cats
Apartment preview

It's been a few years, but since I recently moved to a new city and I just had a birthday last weekend I thought it would be fun to make a new list: 32 things to do before I turn 33.

1. Fix my shoulder. This one is not so fun, unfortunately, but it's necessary. I've torn at least a tendon and possibly the cartilage in my right shoulder. Once I know exactly what's going on my doctor will be able to figure out how to treat it. I'd like to avoid surgery if I can--maybe I should make that next?
2. Avoid shoulder surgery if at all possible.
3. Regain my strength/range of motion. I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to where I was before the injury in the next year, but that's definitely my goal. I was aiming for 10 pull ups without stopping, and I'd gotten to 8; I'd love to get to 10 or even back up to 8.
4. Assuming my shoulder heals, learn how to rock climb.
5. Fix my chronic hip and back pain, so I can:
6. Run another half marathon. Or some other interesting race that's at least 10 miles.
7. Learn DC's Metro system.
8. Get comfortable in DC--I know a few places decently well, but there's so much I've barely even heard of or have no idea how to get to easily.
9. Visit every museum in the District.
10. Register to vote here.
11. Travel outside the country--Germany, Scotland, England, Japan, I'm looking at you! And Paris and Greece and Italy and Spain and Amsterdam and Egypt and Iceland and and and....
12. Hang up pictures in my apartment.
13. Frame the last few things I need to frame, like my MPH diploma, and hang those up as well.
14. Find a rug that matches my living room.
15. Keep my apartment in its current lovely uncluttered clean state.
16. Get the cats down to a healthy weight.
17. Keep my new plants alive.
18. Read through my giant stack of unfinished books--I'm partly into at least half a dozen, I need to commit and finish them!
19. Get a library card here in DC. Find my nearest library.
20. Volunteer with Casey Trees on a regular basis.
21. Buy most of my veggies at the local farmer's markets.
22. Eat something new I've never tried before.
23. Try something again that I've had before and hated (kim chee? Ethiopian food?)
24. Host a Pie Day party in 2011.
25. Go see some good live music here in DC--I live just a few blocks from some of the city's best music venues, I need to check them out!
26. Find good sushi, good brunch, and good bagels in DC.
27. Keep up my weekly evening out (at a new place every week) with Hilary and a rotating cast of characters.
28. Make some new friends.
29. Update the design and banners on this blog (now with vintage 2006 design).
30. Sew something I can (and do) actually wear.
31. Find the perfect leather jacket.
32. Actually send this year's New Year's cards, instead of finding them in a box at the end of March, written & stamped, but not addressed....whoops, sorry about that, if you didn't get a card from me this year!

Here's Mandi's list, and my list from a few years ago, if you're curious. 363 days to go!

family, originally uploaded by zannect.

My parents came to visit this weekend! Despite the pouring rain on Saturday, we had a great time. We spent hours in bookstores (Busboys & Poets and Kramerbooks), ate an amazing meal at Zaytinia, and managed to fit in four museums in one day. whew!

Saturday started at the National Museum of the American Indian, where we also had a really good lunch--it might have the best food court of any museum ever. Next we headed over to the Botanic Gardens, where we saw the orchid exhibit. It didn't really compare to the National Orchid Garden I visited in Singapore last summer, but the conservatory was a nice place to spend some time and take some photos. Next we headed up to the National Geographic Museum, which was a little disappointing--the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit was sold out, so we just checked out a few photos. We ended the day at the Renwick, where we caught an amazing exhibit of arts and crafts created in the WWII Japanese American internment camps.

I kept telling my parents they really needed souvenir FBI sweatshirts, but for some reason they didn't agree with me. oh, well, Christmas is coming!