Crazy coincidences and lots of red

The third week of my job (why did I almost write "internship"??) is off to a good start. I finally went to the book club meeting that I've been considering attending for the past two weeks. We are reading The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria. It's all about politics and democracy and economics and history and all those things I avoided like the plague (and real life) while at Furman, so it's a bit over my head and definitely not so much on my interest level. But I met some new people that all seem very nice and interesting so I'm definitely going to hang around for a while. Until they kick me out because I'd rather read fiction...

This weekend was also filled with some new experiences. My roommate Sam and I went to Great Falls Park on Friday afternoon (see below). It was nice to get back to nature for a little while and hang out with my new roommie. And it was a gorgeous day for being outdoors so it made me happy.

Then on Saturday we explored the city some more. We went to the National Geographic Film Festival to hear a lecture. On the way to the auditorium, a random guy on the street decided to give Sam some unsolicited fashion advice (he said her shrug looked like something a grandma would wear). Turned out, he was on his way to the lecture, too, so we all sort of conversed as we walked even though he had made a really awkward comment for no apparent reason two seconds before. I didn't understand but I just went with it. You never know who you might meet. Including, but not limited to, the Red Dress Runners (below) that passed us down the street from the lecture. None of them would explain why they were running in red dresses or in general but at least 100 people (male and female) must have been involved.

After that strange sight and many pictures, we (I?) decided a beer was in order, so we stopped at the Lucky Bar on Connecticut Ave for a nice mid-afternoon drink. Later, we walked around Dupont Circle and found a really cool bookstore with a restaurant attached to it where I ate chocolate cake for dinner and our waiter was a guy Sam knew from Charlottesville. Talk about a small world--and amazing cake...

Luckily, Sunday wasn't nearly as interesting so I got my laundry done and made vegetarian chili, which I will be eating for the next week. Mmm Mmm.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, here is a bad picture of my office. I will try to take a better one that more accurately reflects the space we have and the windows.

Also, for pictures from the ERG boat trip, check out My Flickr Pictures on the right toolbar thingy.