Houston, we are go for landing.
I normally don't post too much about work, but there's just so much relief and a huge sense of accomplishment, that I can't help myself. Today is our Go-Live date, and it's looking good! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the day plays out well. There are some minor things that need to be addressed, but besides that, we're good to go. Woohoo!
The Comedy Store
For something different, Angela came up with a friend to see a comedy show with us last Friday night. With traffic and what-not, Marc and I thought we weren't going to be able to make it, but Angela and Francis arrived just in time. We were a little late getting to the show, but we still made it.
One drawback? We had to sit in front. Of course as soon as we made our way up front to take our seats, the comedian onstage started ripping on us. Whoops! We hurriedly turned off our cellphones as he very passionately said, when one phone rang, "I'm serious about that phone, man, I'm going to shove it up your @$$."
I think going to the show was what each of us needed (or at least I think I can speak for me, Marc and Angela). We've all been stressed out with each of our own lives so it was great to just unwind and have a few good belly laughs.
It was also good to stay up and really catch up with each other, something Angela and I did, long after Marc had drifted off to dreamland. I guess being geographically distant takes a little of our closeness away as well, but I'm glad to know that we can always bounce back when we do reconnect.
In the morning, we grabbed some brunch at The Omelette Parlor then made a day of buying our Halloween costumes, splurging at the local yarn store, and trying our hand at making sushi rolls (which was fairly successful). Angela then had to go off and watch a concert, and we went to a birthday dinner for Anami.
Sunday was the usual: mass, then a little work at the gym, and then an afternoon hike to clear our minds and get ready for Monday again.
Owen's River Gorge
It's Monday morning, and I have a big smile on my face just remembering the weekend. I was able to trade in Saturday work for a late night this week, so I had the full weekend to play. After a painful visit at the dentist on Friday, I refused to do my recovery time the old-fashioned way, so I armed myself with antibiotics and painkillers, and hopped in Marc's car for a trip out to the Mammoth area.
We spent both Saturday and Sunday in our newfound playground. Owen's River Gorge is one of the premier climbing areas in that area, with hundreds of the kind of climb that I like - long, fun, and really high. We only stayed in one area both days, but it was enough to keep us entertained. It's one of those places that we're definitely going back to, hopefully when I'm less drugged and able to climb harder. :P
Washington DC
Well, I think I've given myself enough time to organize the pictures from the trip, and again failed horribly, so a text-only play-by-play will have to suffice. And lazybones me, I'm just going to cut and paste an email that I sent Tintin soon after we got back (with some modifications thrown in). So here goes:
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I'm still coming down from my vacation high. It was so much fun, I didn't want to go home. We flew in on a red eye, left LA around 11:00 Wednesday night and got to DC around 7ish the next morning. It was a really tiring flight, and some guy in the back was snoring so loud. I think I only slept about three hours. Tapos we had to get our luggage pa, ride a shuttle to the rental car place and drive to Marc's friend Claude's house. So you can imagine after all that, we were so tired. Mike, Claude's life partner, was there, so siyempre we had to go through all the niceties and hellos. And their cleaning guy (Price) was there, vacuuming like crazy. When Mike left for work, Price was still there (apparently, he's usually there the whole day when he comes). I sat down on the couch and Marc sat on a recliner, and we agreed to just rest for a few minutes before heading out to drive around.
Marc's version of the story was, "Cathy keeled over" and I just fell asleep daw right there, within one or two minutes. He saw me fall asleep daw and suddenly he couldn't keep his eyes open din.
Cut to about an hour and a half later, after Price had cleaned and vacuumed his way all around us, I finally raised my head and grunted. Marc didn't move. I had to make louder sounds while I stretched before he finally woke up. Haha! Went to have brunch in Georgetown, and drove around the rest of the day, trying to plan out how we were going to walk through downtown and go to all the places we wanted to go to. Went to the zoo too since we found ourselves in that area (we got lost several times).
Thursday night, dinner with Claude and Mike.
Friday, we drove to Great Falls in Virginia to do some climbing. Super beautiful park, I'll send you pictures when I get them organized (
Cathy's note: So you know that Tintin hasn't gotten any from me either, hahahaha). The climbing area was directly above the river, and there was no one there since it was a weekday, so we were so relaxed and it was so much fun. When we got home, Mike and Claude were already there, so we had dinner with them again at an Indian restaurant.
Saturday, Claude, Marc and I went for an early morning run. Claude's training for a 10-miler, so he wanted to do ten miles that morning, but there was no way Marc and I could do that. So after a couple of miles, Marc and I turned back and let Claude finish the rest of the run on his own. We ran back to wait for him at home. In the afternoon, we went to see one of their other friends who lives in Maryland with his wife and two kids. Very nice couple, and their week-old baby was so cute! I wasn't able to take pictures because the whole time we were there, I was holding her. That night, Marc and I just drove around the Mall, went to the Lincoln Memorial, etc., etc. Loved the Reflecting Pool.
Sunday, went to mass while Marc hung out with Claude. Then Marc, Claude and I went out to do some sightseeing. We went to the Roosevelt Memorial, the Portrait Gallery, then went to a sculpture garden nearby. Grabbed a snack at a tea place and introduced boba for the first time to Claude (like Zagu, remember?). Then that night, we just ordered pizza and stayed in - watched Notting Hill with Mike. Afterwards, when Mike and Claude went to bed, Marc and I went for a walk to check out the houses in the neighborhood. That's when I started to think that I really want to try living there. The houses were gorgeous, and the vibe in the city was just different. The only thing is, I don't know if I can take winter there. I'll try visiting in the wintertime next time.
Monday, I got blisters from walking around. We went to the Air and Space Museum, the National Geographic Museum, and again went to some war/presidential monuments. Saw the White House too (with snipers on top). It was our last night so we had dinner again with Mike and Claude at this really yummy sushi place. Had ice cream afterwards :P.
May pahabol pa kami nung Tuesday before we left. We packed in the morning tapos loaded up the car and left to go see this private collection Marc had been wanting to see, The Phillips Collection. It has his favorite Renoir kasi. Tapos we went to the airport na, dropped off the car, and suddenly everything took its toll on us - we were so tired and I was just sad that we were leaving.
When I got back to work, I couldn't quite keep up with what people were talking to me about, I couldn't focus so much. I kept thinking, "I have to be here for 8 hours? Shouldn't I be walking around somewhere trying to look for the next museum?" Sigh!
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'Nuff said.
