I haven't had that much fun watching a movie in a theatre in a LONG time!

So....since odds are most of you haven't seen "State of Play" yet, I'll do my darndest not to spoil it for you. But can I just say that if you live in D.C., you MUST see it (at some point in time -- you have no idea how hard it was for me to spend $10 on a movie. If you wait till the DVD, I won't hold it against you).

Most of the movie is set, if not filmed, in D.C. So much fun to watch! And if you're a true local, you'll catch the inaccuracies, which is kind of fun as well.

And the best part? The two most suspenseful scenes were set in CRYSTAL CITY!!!! Yes, that's right, one of the scenes was filmed a block from my apartment. I probably won't sleep well tonight, but it was SO worth it. Without giving anything away, let me give you a play-by-play:

Someone on the phone in a deep, dark voice: "He's in Crystal City."

Kara and I look at each other and mouth "No way!"

Russell Crowe is driving.....and drives right down the Route 1 off ramp onto 15th Street! Kara and I start screaming and pointing at the screen as they show a shot of the Americana Hotel. "Aaaaaaahhhh!!!!" Yes, it was embarrassing, but awesome because everyone else was doing it too. Well, maybe not everyone, but seeing as how the theatre was just a few miles from Crystal City, it was practically everyone.

P.S. My favorite part about the Americana Hotel is that more often than not, most of the lights in the sign are burnt out, and it has been known to read: "ICANA HOT". Love it.

Anyway, I'm sure you're all waiting for my endorsement of the actual movie, instead of my ramblings on Crystal City's moment in the limelight.....but.....oh, come on, just go see it if you love political thrillers with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright-Penn, Jeff Daniels....need I go on?

She dreamed a dream....

OK, so I know you get fowards and youtube clips all the time from folks. BUT....well, just watch it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Susan Boyle:


And if that didn't warm your heart enough, check out this flash mob in an Antwerp train station:



OK, admit it, there are some really cool people in this world. I'll never sing like Susan Boyle, but I have GOT to get into some of that flash mob action!

Happy Easter

Here's an Easter thought for the day, in case you were looking for one. Elder Holland spoke about Christ in the most recent LDS General Conference, a week ago, and he shares a great message. This YouTube video has some music and scenes added -- kind of neat. If you want to read the full talk, you can go here. Happy Easter, everyone!

CARACAS, VENEZUELA!!!

I don't think there's much more to say, except that I'll be leaving in October and I'm REALLY excited!!! Great timing, since my lil bro gets home from his church mission in August. I'll spend the summer in D.C. learning Spanish and getting job skills training, and then I'm off!!!

I met President Obama today!!!

April fools! :)

But....I did get to go on a West Wing tour -- pretty sweet! I don't know how often these chances come around (I just knew somebody that knew somebody), who knows if I'll ever get to do that again. My Dad always tells me the story of when he and my Mom were dating....she offered him a spot in a West Wing tour, and he turned her down and I think still regrets it to this day. Lucky for me, they still got married :)

Pictures are forthcoming (the one above is from the White House's website).

I love living in D.C.

MBTI + 3 days in the middle of nowhere = WAY too much introspection

So I just took that Meyers-Briggs-Tsomething-Isomething, and I also just spent 3 days in the middle of Nowhere, West Virginia. What it all boils down to is this:

Contrary to somewhat-popular belief, I am an extravert. I've long known this about myself -- I LOVE being around people. It doesn't ever get old. It doesn't mean that I love talking all the time, nor does it mean that if you stick me in a car with someone who drives me crazy that I'll thank my lucky stars....but generally I think me + people = good times. Friends, strangers, family, co-workers, doesn't matter -- I don't need much alone time, which is good because I don't usually have any. For this reason, I love big cities. Always something to do and someone to do it with.

But.

When given alone time, I love it too! I love jogging for hours on my own, visiting museums by myself, reading a book in a park alone, spending time in nature just....thinking. In fact, I've just spent the past hour sitting here in my room thinking about this, and loving every minute of it. For this reason, seeing all the little homes in the middle of Nowhere, West Virginia gave me country-folk envy. How would it be to live that slower-paced lifestyle? Would I get bored or frustrated after a few days? Or would I find value in the time I had to myself, or the time I spent making deeper friendships with my neighbors? Would I focus on and appreciate things more, without so many distractions? I think I would like it.

Personality assesments are nice because they give a frame of reference and identify tendencies or preferences. But I think the MBTI struggles to take into account my strong sense of liking-whatever-situation-I'm-in-and-adapting-my-approach-to-whatever-needs-to-get-done.

If I live in West Virgina, I'm going to like it. (Note: this is note even a remote possibility right now. I'm just sayin'.) If my boss wants me to think "big picture" and come up with big ideas, I can shuck my "S" here-and-now-factual tendencies without too much trouble. If someone wants to level with me in a logical "F" fashion, I'm good with that. Tell me like it is. If a friend invites me to spend the weekend, and we don't have concrete "J" plans, it doesn't kill me.

I like to think I roll with the punches. Put me somewhere, and I'll like it. And, in case you were wondering, what this all comes down to is........I don't think I'll ever be able to decide whether I want to be a city girl or a country girl. Can I be both?

First Day!

So, I was about to start complaining about a bunch of things (it was kind of a long day), but then I realized that's the thing about some FSOs that drives me the craziest. And I figure, at least on my first day, I can try not to fit the complaining-FSO profile :)

So, I will tell you the part of the day that was hilarious: riding home on the metro, we stopped in the middle of the tunnel. I wasn't feeling so good. And felt even worse after we stopped. The metro driver came on the PA and said "Train in front of us, we'll be moving shortly." A few minutes later he said "There are actually two trains in front of us, we'll be moving shortly." The next announcement was "So, one of the trains ahead of us is having door problems, so we may be here for a few minutes. But then we'll be moving shortly." He paused. "I know I've said that several times to you, and, um....we're still sitting here." Too funny. His candid comment made my day.