Celebrating Roe in DC

Monday marked the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized abortion. One of the cool parts of my job is I get to go to lots of events this week around DC to celebrate.

On Monday I went to a vigil on the steps of the Supreme Court. It snowed in DC Sunday night so we were surrounded by the remnants of snow and a group of very obnoxious anti-choice protestors. After the vigil, we went to a Capitol Hill wine bar for a reception featuring Kathleen Turner. We were so excited and when we arrived Ms. Turner was mingling throughout the crowd. Nervously we got drinks and contemplated what we should do and say if by chance we were able to speak with her. Much to our surprise and delight, she actually came over to us and just started talking about the protestors gathered outside the bar. It was so cool! I have to say she isn’t as tall as I imagined from seeing her play Chandler’s dad on Friends, but she looks exactly like she does on screen. And that trademark voice is real. We found ourselves standing near her just to listen to her speak. Everything she does is dramatic – she flips her hair like it is a great effort, she speaks her mind and is really quite a presence.

Ms. Turner was amazingly nice and just talked to us about protestors and her day visiting Nancy Pelosi and other representatives on the Hill. As much as we wanted to be natural, we couldn’t help but be star struck. I made the decision that we just weren’t going to be ultra cool and so we asked her to pose for a picture. We got one quick shot and luckily we are all smiling with our eyes open. I love the shot – in fact, we are all framing copies for our offices! Nerds, I know.

Part of my job is blogging and this week I personally wrote a blog about Monday’s Roe activities for my organization. You can view it and the accompanying pictures at www.prochoice.org/blog.

At least I’m not an idiot-stick-figure-with-no-soul…

If you know me or have ever met my dog (my Pomeranian Mr. Big), you may have heard me mention my love of all things "Sex and the City." My friends and I followed the show and I have a collection of SATC memorabilia, a vast knowledge of the show’s characters and what some might term an obsession with the series. In some ways I really relate to the show’s main character – I even have a wifebeater that reads, "I’m a Carrie."

No, I don’t have $40,000 worth of shoes (I work at a non-profit people), nor have I dated my way through Manhattan, but I do understand being difficult and clumsy and wanting so much to just be simple and graceful.

In one of my favorite episodes, Carrie ends the show by saying "I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it, and chair committees, and write thank you notes, and I can't feel bad about that." That quote pretty much sums up my life.

I think I am a fairly fun person. I was recently joking with Wes that I am "hours of entertainment." I was surprised that he actually agreed and when I pressed him for examples of how I can be so damn entertaining, his answer supported the fact that no matter how hard I try, I’m not one of those neat, "put together," perfect type of girls. He said, "give you a bowl of red pasta and a white shirt." Not exactly what I was thinking. I was hoping he would say I’m fun when I’m dancing, or my witty banter is engaging, but he highlighted one of my quirks. If you’ve ever eaten with me, you know I have a tendency to spill, dribble, or drip. In college it was the stuff of comedy. People used to say, "If you feed them they will grow" in reference to the crumbs on my breasts.

Sure, I can see how it is cute and endearing, but I have always wanted the poise and grace I so definitely lack. I am the girl that trips over her own feet all the time. If there is a way for me to do something embarrassing, I find it. Sometimes I look for the candid camera because there is just no way that I can believe this is my real life.

So on that note, I decided to start this blog. I know I have been lapse in communicating since I moved to DC, and I do want to be better. This is my small attempt at sharing my life with friends across the country. I may not be able to walk around Dupont Circle without tripping over my own ballet flats, but I can type and tell others all about my missteps and adventures.