Photos from Im's Visit

Im emailed me pictures from the weekend, so here they are. I have just turned the heat on in my apartment. It's cold and rainy. The pond by w--oh no! That was my fire alarm going off (just in my apartment), apparently set off by the heat. I fanned it into submission and turned off the heat. And put on a sweatshirt. Don't worry, Mom, I also called Chea.

Onto the photos:
On the metro on the way to see Cleve Jones.

Pho with Joey, Thomas, and Jake (Kim's' guy friends). Jake was eating the remainder of everyone's pho.

At Rock Bottom, Im and Su pour over the menu.

The evening was highly pleasant, and also highly funny. Su and Helene.

Su and Julia thought this was just a nice photo. Im thought otherwise.

Someone ordered an ice cream sundae, and 5 girls devoured it promptly.

Back at my apartment, hunkered down for the night.

Brunch the next day at Nest. We got to eat outside. Most of the Smithies we ran into were also wearing Celebration shirts. Again, I thought this was a nice photo, and Im had other ideas. :)

My fritatta.

The march went past the white house. I was surprised how close they let us. The sign on the right of the White House says, "Hetero is not Beter-O"

The interracial marriage sign I mentioned.

Julia was very enthusiastic about keeping the chanting and cheering going.
Su, Helene, Kim and Julia marching. You can tell that we had plenty of space to move around once the march got going.

Kim and Im at the rally. We found a nice spot in the shade and collapsed in a heap.

Still waiting for the picture with Girlyman. I have really been enjoying listening to their new CD. A thing I like about them is that not all of their songs have the same musical style. There is bluegrass (Girlygrass), straight up folk, a song that sounds like the Andrews sisters, and a pop-y boy band ode to Obama. These guys really rock.

Girlyman

This post describes the Girlyman concert in great detail. If you have no interest in this group, I would recommend skipping it and just reading about the March in the post below.

As if the march was not enough, Sunday also brought a Girlyman concert. I cannot even describe how much I love Girlyman. From the moment they came on stage to the moment they left, I was grinning a big stupid grin. The concert was extremely high-energy. They played many of my Joyful Sign favorites: Hold it all at Bay, Through to Sunrise, and Joyful Sign, and I started bouncing at each intro. I love Doris more each time I see her. Her voice is so strong and she really gets the sentiment of the song out there. Got to hear her do "Storms were Mine" and "Say Goodbye," as well as several tracks from the new album. I liked the new songs more the second time I heard them (this concert), and bought the new CD.

As always, Girlyman gave a great all-around show, in between as well as during songs. There was a tuning song about Nate "believing in inequality," and a dead-pan sarcastic riff about the pains they take to avoid recycling, including saving those 6-pack holders to toss at seagulls. Swine flu came up as well, with me wildly cheering. They suggested that each type of flu should have an animal associated with it--they gave the examples of goat flu and the exotic koala flu (if you had traveled to a far-off country). This was joke. There are no such flus.

The funniest part of the evening came when an audience member thrust a note at Nate. After he read us dinner specials off the back side of the note, he started fiddling with his pants as he read us the front: "Nate, your fly is down." "You a**-holes!" he admonished Doris and Ty, "My fly's been down for half the show and you didn't tell me!" Doris admitted that they usually check flies before their shows, but had forgotten. Nate asserted that it was all her and Ty's fault. "No," corrected Doris, "we check our own flies, not yours." There was much hilarity all around, and a tuning song about the fly with some back-up singing. Nate then proceeded to check his pants between each song.

The opening band was excellent as well: Po' Girl, a zydeco-ish group from Canada with such varied instruments as a clarinet, several guitars built by their own guitarist, an accordian, a washtub, a glockenspiel, and an enthusiastic drummer with headmotions like Animal in the muppet band. They were much fun to watch. The women were very physical with their instruments (they played all of the funky instruments).

We had quite a merry crowd there: Rowan, Kelsey, myself, my concert buddy Allie, G (a friend of sbolts), and 2 other Smith alums. I got there early and saved us awesome seats, which really enhanced the experience. We made friends with our neighbor and her mom, who were basically sitting among us, and ate dinner while chatting excitedly and waiting. Despite our exhaustion from the march, the evening left us all deeply content. A picture should follow in several days of a bunch of us with Girlyman. We got our CD's signed, which was kind of embarrassing. I don't really like meeting people I admire, because I never know what to say. But they were quite gracious, and just as cute up close.

Equality March: The Weekend Continued

I wasn't sure what to expect at the Equality March. I've never marched politically before. These pictures were taken by Celeste Lavin and Alex Guyton. From the metro, people streamed towards the meeting place in every imaginable t-shirt and rainbow bits of clothing. As we waited for members of our party to pee in Starbucks, I got more and more excited, as Kim cooly surveyed the surroundings. She does not tend towards bouncing up and down the same way I do.

There were so many people marching! It took a while to get moving, and for a while we were a giant pack. But after a bit the streets widened, and there was plenty of room to move about while marching. This space also allowed us to vary our pace, which brought us into contact with many different groups of people. We saw a group from West Virginia, one from Kentucky, a bunch of drag queens, and Dan Choi, an army Lt. who was just discharged from the military for publicly coming out. He was there with his partner and people cheered every time they saw him.
There were many, many homemade signs that made us clap or laugh. A sampling is pictured below.




This one says, "Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out fine," and was one of my favorites.
A sign that made everyone cheer and tear up was held by an interracial couple: "Our marriage was illegal too."


The cheering was one of the best parts. Different groups led cheers at different times, and Julia of our group led several as well. Cheering and chanting made the 2.3 mile walk move quickly, and boosted the energy. It gave me goosebumps to think of all of us, there together, with similar goals.
Some cheers:
"What do we want?" "Equality!" "When do we want it?" "Now!"

I said, Hey, ho
That homophobia's got to go (this had a great rhythm)

"Show me what democracy looks like!"
"This is what democracy looks like!"

Gay, straight, black, white
We deserve equal rights

Out of the closet and into the streets!

Obama, Obama,
Let Mama Marry Mama (I didn't hear this, but others did)

I'm really glad I went. We had good weather, and even got a little sunburned. I was happy to see many women, people of color, and people of diverse ages. Many allies as well as gay people. I think it was a successful turn out.

What a Weekend!

This was a weekend I will not soon forget. My camera went on the fritz on Saturday afternoon, so I will have to rely on others' photos, but I wanted to write about it now anyways.

Friday, October 9: After a very long commute home, I raced out the door to 6th and I Historic Synagogue. There was a Rick Recht service and a Jewish Transgendered speaker that I did not want to miss. It was part of a monthly event called "Sixth and the City," which has dinner and drinks, and tends to involve much awkward mingling. My plan was to just attend the service and talk and bolt out of there. But when I walked in, I saw people I knew! I met T and K at one party, enjoyed talking to both of them, and did not get their contact info. About 4 months later, I walked into another, unconnected party at Rowan's house, and there they were! Again, I had a great conversation with T, and left without contact info. And there they were at 6th and I!!! This time, I got their information. Being there with people I knew made a huge difference. Joy Ladin, the speaker, is a very skilled writer, and the piece she read to us was moving and well-written. She spoke about her experiences at the Wall in Jerusalem, first as a man with his children and wife, and then as a woman alone. It was less about the differences in the two sections of the Wall, and more about her journey as a person. We were all riveted. And then we had dinner at Joy Ladin's table. We stayed until 10:30 talking (with eachother). New friends?

Saturday, September 10: Im et al arrived around 3pm. Im, Kim, Kim's best friend Helene, and their other friend Su all drove down from NJ to sleep on my floor and attend the Equality March on Sunday. We departed my house after a short tour to hear Cleve Jones speak at Busboys and Poets. Cleve Jones is the founder of the AIDS Quilt, and has been a gay rights activist for about 35 years. I heard him speak at Smith, and we were all excited to hear what he had to say. As we walked toward the venue, it was clear that everyone else near us was going the same place we were. We all started smiling, realizing that people were actually here for the march!! Busboys and Poets was seriously crowded.
We could not even get inside, but instead joined dozens of other people in watching through the open walls. We actually had a great view, if tired legs and hungry bellies. The first speaker was Sherry Wolf, a socialist GLBT activist. She was fairly radical, but said many things I agreed with. The main idea I liked was the one that gay people go to work and come home like everyone else--we've got the same things on our plates as everyone else, and should have the same rights. Etc.
The best part was probably the energy of the crowd. When Sherry finished speaking, people inside the restaurant started chanting, "L-G-B-T! We demand equality!" Cleve Jones spoke only for a short time, and didn't say anything too profound. The funniest thing he said was, "How many of you have seen Milk? All I have to say about that film is, I was that hot!" In case you don't remember, he was the curly-haired young guy in the film with the big hipster glasses. Actually, he looks in that film remarkably like many hipster Smithies, despite the time-period and gender differences.

We met up with Kim and Helene's CDO friend Julia and headed back to Bethesda for dinner. Su was craving Asian food, and everyone else was freezing, hungry and had sore feet, so we headed to Rice Paddies Grill for inexpensive and filling pho. We spent the rest of the evening at Rock Bottom having drinks and snacks 7 Smithies, 1 boyfriend, and 3 of Kim's high school friends. It was good times all around and we were out waaaay past my bedtime. For once I felt like I was actually in my 20s, out with friends at a bar. Everyone bedded down for the night on the floor of the second bedroom in my apartment. It reminded me of when all of my cousins and I used to have a sleepover around Hanukkah.
I will write about the march later, with photos from other people's facebooks. Now I am off for coffee with Rowan.

Taste of Bethesda and Crafty Bastards

This post is woefully overdue.

Last Saturday, my mother's visit coincided with both the Taste of Bethesda and the Crafty Bastards, two events I have waited all year for. We started off at the Taste of Bethesda, where many of Bethesda's 200 restaurants set up booths and offer small bits of their menu in exchange for tickets. We skipped breakfast in favor of an early arrival, walking about 5 minutes from my house to the festival. I love large event set-up, so being out on this fine day, watching cooks and vendors arrange their tables and grill meats made me joyful.
We watched a 16-piece swing band do a sound check, admiring the cafe-like tables.
Jaleo, which, as you may recall, I have previously enjoyed, cooked a paella to feed 450 people. Mom and I checked back on its progress through the festival.
We found out that the heat is mostly in the center of the pan, so after something is cooked it is pushed to the side so it does not cook to death. Here they are making room for several gallons of mushrooms.
The rice is cooked directly in the pan, with the addition of much broth (mushroom broth, and I think chicken broth too. This was a chicken paella).
We sampled many different foods: shrimp shumai, a philadelphia roll, crab mac and cheese, chana masala, and a samosa.

When we were full, we headed to Crafty Bastards, an alternative arts and crafts fair in Adams Morgan. They have all sorts of funky crafts, many which are repurposed from other things:
These purses are old book covers. There was also jewelry made of nuts and bolts and clothing made of other clothing. Many of the booths had hand-made banner like this one:
Lots of screen printing (tshirts and posters), jewelry, items that look cool but have no use, and baby cloths. I ran into literally half a dozen people I know--5 Smithies, 1 Nice Jewish Girl, and Jason! We took a picture to prove to our mothers that we had actually seen eachother in Washington!
This donut was actually a floor cushion. I love Crafty Bastards.
Despite our large lunch at 11am, Mom and I found ourselves hungry, so I introduced her to the joy that is frozen-yogurt-that-tastes-like-yogurt. I'm sure this has another name, but my title is highly descriptive: it is frozen yogurt that does not try to taste like ice cream. It is cultured like yogurt. I tried the raspberry flavored with strawberries and little rice dough balls. Mom had plain with m&ms and strawberries. Totally hit the spot.

Sukkot, Yogurt, and More of those green plant balls

I'm at my kitchen table right now, after a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond that left me feeling less than enthusiastic about my home improvement plans (namely, buying an iron and some bowls). But, I am now happily eating whole-milk yogurt from the Blue Ridge Dairy, purchased at the Dupont Farmer's Market with honey from the Shenandoah Valley, purchased at the Manassas Farmer's Market. Local bliss. This has done much to improve my mood.

Monday, October 5: Miriam and I made plans to meet up after work. She had had a hellish day, so I gathered a small present for her, which I stashed in my purse so it would be a surprise.
Miriam was appropriately grateful.

The lovely vegetation gift did not accompany us to dinner at Nest, a cozy new restaurant off the beaten path in Bethesda. Relaxed atmosphere and a menu with many tempting choices. Afterwords, Miriam and I strolled in the fall night air, savoring the comfortable quiet that comes with knowing someone for about 13 years.

Tuesday, October 6: Work Monday and Tuesday was extremely busy. My phone never stopped ringing, and every time I got off the phone, I had a new message waiting. It's a different kind of productive on these types of days, measured more by the number of people who have gotten off the phone with their questions answered and feeling better about something than by letters written or emails sent. On Tuesday I also gave 2 presentations to the employees of the county landfill. I was pleased with the presentations, and got good questions. These questions brought up points I had missed, or things I forgot that most people don't know. I talk about flu so much that I sometimes forget what most people think of when they think of H1N1. I also got to take a tour of the landfill, which was really cool. The views from the top of the carefully-constructed mountain were quite scenic--trees and hills as far as the eye could see.

In the evening on Tuesday, I went to Sushi in the Sukkah, put on by the local Chabad women's group. The sukkah was decked out!
In addition to the artistically arranged food here (including kosher sushi from New York), we rolled our own sushi and discussed the connections between sushi and the holiday of Sukkot. Both involve wrapping. On Sukkot you wrap yourself in the sukkah, one of two mitzvot involving wrapping (our host N. cited the other one as being immersion in the mikvah, but I wonder about laying T'fillin or wrapping oneself in a tallis. Since it was a women's group and Chabad women do neither of these things, I kept my questions to myself). Also, the lulav and etrog bring together the "4 species" in one group, which you then shake in all directions (east, south, west, north, up, down--in that order) to show that G-d is everywhere. When rolling sushi, different foods--rice, avocado, fish, etc--are brought together. Soooo, not a super-intellectual comparison, but it works.
It was a fun evening, but I missed the "outside" feeling that most sukkahs have. This one, while spacious and well-lit, had canvas sides and tightly spaced bamboo skak (the roof, which must be made of natural materials and leave space to see the stars). The sukkahs in Rochester have corn-stalk roofs, and most have wooden sides. A very different feel. Even though I technically fulfilled the mitzvah of eating in the sukkah, I don't feel like I did.

Wednesday, October 7: I drove behind this truck on my way to work this morning and it made me smile back.
Work was fairly low key today, a welcome break. It certainly feels like fall in the office, as we have candy corn in our candy dish (everyone digs for the candy pumpkins), hand-picked apples at the ready, and gourd decorations.

Through Friday

I guess it's been a whole week since I last posted. There have been some changes in my life in the last week. Monday was Yom Kippur, which I did not feel as ready for as in years past. I managed to take from the day what I could, and finished it with a break fast with the Nice Jewish Girls. I got to chat with my friend Becca about life and curly hair. I was happy to see her before she left for Israel for a short trip. In taking pictures, we also re-created a certain pose taken while we were acting in a certain play named after a certain part of the female anatomy. I will not post that here, but suffice it to say that it is not the sign for "pizza."

The week at work was quite busy. There have been daily changes in dates for something important we are waiting for, and it has involved a lot of time on the phone. I spent several days calling school nurses and principals (not all private schools have nurses) and asking them how flu season was treating them. Saying the same thing to everyone who answered the phone (hi, this is Abby calling from the PW Health District. I wanted to speak to someone about H1N1 flu. Who would be a good person to talk to?) for a total of 54 schools got old after a while. And our office is finally clean again! I think we are all happier for it.

My living situation has changed, and I am living solo for the month of November in the same apartment. I am slowly redecorating and rearranging a bit to accomodate the reduction in furniture. In some ways, I feel like I am starting over.

This weekend, my mom came to visit! My dad was in Australia, so it was just us girls. We had a wonderful and very full weekend!! On Friday we went downtown in Bethesda to Mon Ami Gabi. Going out for dinner in that part of Bethesda on a weekend night feels glamorous to me, somehow. Maybe because I so often walk past other people dining there. The food was certainly something to talk about! Mom and I both had mussels in a white wine and cream sauce with onions. I love moules, and there is nothing better than sopping up that flavorful sauce with crusty baguette (or eating it with a spoon, for that matter). As a side, I had whipped cauliflower, which was fluffy, and probably made so delicious by some combination of cream, butter, cheese (maybe) and definitely some sort of animal fat (chicken stock? bacon fat?). I did not ask, just spooned it up with happy moans. I was too busy eating to photograph, but here is someone else's delectable photo of moules marinieres.