I Guess I'll Just Always Wonder

Two things left me scratching my head this week:

• At work they are collecting food to make a Thanksgiving meal to give to needy families. My floor was assigned to bring in canned tomatoes. I've no idea what traditional Thanksgiving dish requires canned tomatoes. I asked around, including locals, and no one had any idea what canned tomatoes would be used for. Any guesses?
• While walking to the Metro one morning this week a man who was pulled over to the side of the road rolled down the passenger side window and asked me if I was wearing a slip. I responded in the negative and hurried on my way. Why did he ask me that? Was he just curious? Conducting a survey? Did he need one? If I had said yes would he have asked to borrow mine or to buy it from me?

Philadelphia

I spent the weekend visiting friends Brian and Brett in their new city of residence. We visited some historical sites, toured U Penn, ate some delicious food, and had lots of fun. I love that my new city is so close to other fun cities.

How Would You Dispose of a Large Pile of Packing Materials Including Three Wooden Pallets?

Drive around in the cover of night dumping it into random dumpsters? Because that's what I did.

The Muffin Thief

I am now two weeks into the everyday-for-the-rest-of-my-life phase of life. It's not so bad. I like having my evenings free of homework, but I am always tired when I get home from work so it takes a lot of effort to actually do something worthwhile with that free time. I'm sure all of you already know this as most of you are already a few years into this phase of your life.

So far I like my job and I love the people I work with, but today I encountered the first person at my office that I do not like. The story starts yesterday at the end of the work day when my boss told me it was her turn to bring in something to share with our department for breakfast (someone different takes a turn each Friday) but she had to work late so she wasn't sure what she'd have time to do. I offered to take over her day: a way to help my boss and impress my coworkers with my baking skills--perfect. So I made some delicious muffins and brought in grapes that were cut into manageable clumps of 2-4 grapes. Everyone liked my offering, of course. Towards the end of the work day there were a few muffins left and a woman in the office wanders over to my desk bringing my bag and plastic containers and asking people along the way if they wanted another muffin. A coworker who is more vocal than I says, "I'm sure Kirstin will just take the leftover muffins home." I chime in, "Yeah, I'll eat them for breakfast if no one is going to eat them." By this point the woman has arrived at my desk and sets down the bag and containers but says, "I'll just take the muffins home. I didn't get any and there are only two left." Sorry, what?! I had no expectations of taking muffins home--I brought them in to share--but if there are leftovers then I should get them. And what bothered me the most was 1) the tone of her voice--she spoke as if she were doing me a favor by taking the muffins off my hands; and 2) the fact that she lied--I could clearly see that there were four muffins in that bag.

As she walked away the coworker who spoke up looked at me like did that really just happen? Then we spent the last 20 minutes of the work day retelling the story and hearing more anecdotes about that woman's bizarre behavior on other occasions. I'm happy it turned into an opportunity to bond with some coworkers, but tomorrow morning when I wake up and have no muffins to eat I'm going to be sad. 

Day Clubbing

 Day clubbing is the term used to describe sight-seeing all day long by the unemployed job seeking of DC because they have nothing else to do. (Perhaps this term is used elsewhere, but I've never heard it before coming here). When I've had friends in town I've joined them in day clubbing, but have stayed closer to home "running errands" when by myself. However, I decided I should take advantage of my free time and spend more time in the District, and I might as well document my adventures. On my way from the Metro to the first museum of the day I passed a square that had several food trucks parked in it and I just couldn't resist these Korean BBQ tacos.

 My first stop of the day was the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum where I toured their period rooms. After looking at all these historically furnished rooms, I left wanting to decorate a house in the "Colonial Revival" style and to sew something. Then I went to the Renwick Gallery's "Something of Splendor" exhibit featuring decorative arts from the White House. Street food + free museums = perfect day clubbing activities for those on a budget (which most day clubbers are).

I ended the day by wandering around the Georgetown area for awhile then sat on a bench to read a book and eat some treats I picked up at Georgetown Cupcake.

Birthday Weekend

 I went to New York City for the weekend to visit Danielle and celebrate my birthday. Here I am on the Brooklyn Bridge. We spent Friday wandering around the city, window shopping, eating, and getting manicures.

 We got birthday cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery.

 It took me two tries to blow out that one candle.

On Saturday we went to see How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, which is currently starring Daniel Radcliffe. Afterwards we waited outside and he signed my playbill! This is the best picture I got, which could be of any guy in a baseball cap.

But here is the playbill he signed.

If this weekend was any indication of how the coming year will be, 27 is going to be great.

Letting Go of Fears and Jealousies

This week I've been thinking about what in my life I need to let go of in order to let more good things come in. Today in church a couple of scriptures we read really stood out to me:

Doctrine and Covenants 67: 3, 10:

3: "Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive."

10: "Verily I say unto you that it is your privilege ... that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me ... the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am."

These scriptures made it very clear to me what two main things could be holding me back right now:

1. Fear: fear of never finding a job, fear of the job search itself, fear of not making friends, fear that moving to DC was a mistake, fear that I will end up a failure and back in my parents' house in Draper by Christmas

2. Jealousy: jealousy that others seem to find the things I seek faster than I do; jealousy that others have found better jobs, better housing, etc.; jealousy that others seem to get what they want without having to first struggle for awhile

Letting go of fear and jealousy won't necessarily make anything happen sooner, although acting without fear might bring opportunities I would otherwise miss. But letting go of fear and jealousy will most definitely make the transition to DC less painful and less scary. I need to remember that He is in control and always willing to help me if I do my part. I need to not worry about what others have because I don't know what their inner struggles are and if I am going to honestly compare myself with others I don't think I would find myself lacking in blessings. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to move to DC after law school and even though I do not find myself here with my dream job in my dream apartment with a million friends, I do find myself here. Everything that I needed to make the move out here came together when it needed to. Things will continue to work out for me if I do not let fear and jealousy get in the way. As I learn to let go of fear and jealousy I know that I will be able to see God's hand in my life and that He is giving me exactly what I need when I need it.