My Week in Review

Highs

• Last Sunday, KB and I hosted a fabulous Easter lunch
• I made it back to the gym more than once this week
• Got an overwhelmingly great response to the launch of my fetus blog
• Fun nights with my DC boys Reed and Tom--even ended up at a strip club (hilarious story for another time)
• Three nights of boozing in a row and no drunk texting...or at least no texts I regret
• Finally got to meet KB's gay husband
• I found $20 on the ground at the liquor store

Lows

• Sunday's festivities led to a nasty hangover Monday morning
• My washer flooded part of my apartment Tuesday night

Follow Fowler's Fetus

I work in a very unique environment. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows what type of birth control everyone else is taking; there are diagrams of the female reproductive system all around; and it’s not uncommon to see pregnancy tests or contraceptive sponges on the table in the lunchroom free for the taking. I have a plastic (unused) speculum in my office (from a session I attended on how to do your own cervical exam) and there are condoms and lube I gathered at coalition events in my desk organizer.

We tend to get a variety of interesting materials in the course of our work, and there are a number of small plastic fetus models floating around the office. We got them during our research on Crisis Pregnancy Centers. One of my former co-workers used to hide her plastic fetuses for others to find; my fetus usually rests in a tray of jumbo paperclips on my desk. Sometimes when I’m deep in thought or reading, I play with it like a little stress ball.

I was watching this AT&T commercial the other day where the father goes on a business trip and sends his daughter back at home pictures of her stuffed monkey around NYC. I decided to put my own little twist on the commercial and started taking pictures of my fetus model all around and posting them to a new blog. At first I kept it pretty quiet, made the page private, and invited just a few people who I knew would be entertained. I wasn’t sure if everyone that reads this blog in its various forms (blogger, myspace, facebook) would appreciate the fetus humor. Hell, I’m still not sure, but I have shared it with enough people who have found it hilarious that I thought I would share. If you don’t like it, don’t look. It’s fairly new, but the Easter pics are pretty humorous. Check them out.

Who Needs Cadbury Eggs When You Have Champagne?

Easter lunch was fantastic! Great food, tons of champagne (next time we are getting a case), and some of the most amazing and delightful people I know. Hands down the *best* Easter I have ever had! I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of "urban family," and I really want to embrace it more this year. DC really is home and it's the home of my choosing, and yesterday I spent a holiday with the "family" of my choosing.

In addition to a nasty hangover (thanks, Easter Bunny!), I woke up to this email from one of the attendees:

I want to thank you for probably the best Easter I have had since I was a kid. I had so much fun. Too much in fact. I definitely blacked out last night, forgot to walk my dog last night and woke up in my clothes at 6am. Disaster! Please let me know if I did anything stupid or if I need to apologize for anything. And thanks again for an awesome time.

P.S. I definitely almost puked on the bus on the way to work this morning.

Totally made my day. And being "urban family" means never having to apologize for any stupid thing you might have done or said after too much champagne.

Bring on the advil and H2O...

Reason #103 why it's great to be single...

One of the things I enjoy most about being single is being able to do whatever I want and not answer to anyone. No one is annoyed if I sleep all day; no one is waiting on me to make plans; no one is upset if I am late or difficult.

Today, I slept most of the daylight hours and spent the rest of the day grocery shopping for tomorrow’s Easter feast.

It’s incredible to have this freedom. If I want to aimlessly roam around three different grocery stores (which I did) looking for the perfect ham, I can! I’ve always been a ridiculous shopper. I’m exhausting. I know this about myself, and have always preferred to shop alone—even in high school when going to the mall with your girlfriends is customary.

Now I’m baking a ham and prepping for a fabulous Easter lunch with KB and DC friends. I can’t wait til tomorrow—I’m so excited!

Don't Box me in!

Lately I seem to be bombarded with relationship talk, and it has me thinking about the different boxes we get put into in other people’s lives: the friend box, the fling box, the girlfriend box, the Friday night sex girl box. Sometimes we get to negotiate our box, and other times we just wake up in a box and wonder how we got there. Sometimes you take the box you can get now and hope for an upgrade. (I don’t really believe in boxes, so of course I think you can transcend them! I’ve never been good at compartmentalizing my life—I am ruled by my emotions and I like all aspects of my life to mingle together, messy and connected.)

Many people have made a career and written a lot of books telling women all the rules they should follow to avoid certain boxes. In fact, KB just received such a book in the mail from her mom last week. It’s not a new concept, and I understand the logic. However, I just find much of it to be a great big o’game—one I don’t really have the desire or willpower to play.

I was talking to my brother last week and I was amazed at how logically and practically he approaches dating. He recently met a girl and although she was great and he was interested, there were several reasons why they shouldn’t get involved—including some professional entanglements. So he very matter-of-factly declined, put her in the friend box, and moved on. I’m just not that practical or rational! Like most other areas of my life, I approach dating with emotions and abandon. No matter what the odds or reasons why I shouldn’t, I find myself wanting to go for it. Hey, why not?

I just can’t seem to escape these conversations lately. Every TV show, movie, or chat with a friend keeps leading back to the topic of defining relationships. Are we just friends? Are we more? Is he just not that into me? Come to think of it, we’ve been doing it most of our lives. Do you like me? Check the box for yes, no, or maybe. It’s just more intense these days and at times R-rated—if not parental guidance, then some other guidance would be greatly appreciated.

A Day for the Books

Anyone that talked to me last summer, especially in August, knows I had to take on a grueling project for work that definitely was not the highlight of my year! My organization was working on a second edition to our textbook, and even though we had a team of editors and contributors, my team and I were tasked with a sizable amount of formatting, editing, and manuscript preparation. This job is usually handled by our Training and Education Department, but their director was out on maternity leave and it fell to me. I had a great team helping me and by the end, all of us hated the project.

But all the hard work paid off when advance copies arrived at my office today. At first, I really wasn’t that affected by their arrival. I didn’t want to look for fear of seeing an error that it was too late to correct. But as the day went on, I started flipping through the book. I even used it this afternoon to look something up. It is a great resource already!

On another book related note, I looked at a friend’s Kindle today. I have been on the fence about Kindles, because I really, really love books. I love the way they feel in my hands and the way they smell. Today I even took a big whiff of the new textbook. Although I do get most of my news online, I still have a special place in my heart for newspapers. Instead of becoming a crazy cat lady, I have always thought I would be a crazy single lady with a house full of stacks and stacks of newspapers. 

I just can’t get completely behind the idea of the wireless reading device. My friend (the Kindle owner) said he doesn’t love books and newspapers any less post-Kindle, but it is just so convenient. I admit, I do see the appeal for commuting, and it was pretty cool. Maybe by Christmas I’ll be completely sold.

Road Trip to VA

I’m so sleepy after a whirlwind road trip deep into Virginia, but it was definitely worth it. I took off yesterday afternoon, hopped in my car and headed out of the city. Traffic was absolutely insane. These days, the extent of my driving is a few miles to the grocery store a couple of times a month, and I forgot how much I hate traffic. Hats off to all my comrades in Texas who sit through that kind of thing every day on their commutes. No way I could do that!

A friend from out of town was in Chesapeake for work and I went to hang out for the night. He was there in Feb and we went to Virginia Beach and had a crazy night that resulted in me stripping down and running into the Atlantic Ocean in 40-degree weather. What can I say? I love the ocean.

Well last night, I stayed out of the water, but still had a great night. We hung out at a cool little bar that served sweet tea vodka and ended up staying so late that most of the restaurants were closed (welcome to suburbia) so we had to order Chinese food with the really cool bartender and have it delivered to the bar. For some reason I was so amused by this. I guess, because it was such a fabulous and different way to spend a Wednesday. Sure beats sitting on my bed alone watching my Sex and City DVDs and not sleeping. I love nights like last night. I seem to specialize in these types of rapid trips and random moments. I think it’s important to take every chance to do the things and see the people you want…even if it’s only for a few hours.

Plus, I got Sonic on the way home today. The closest one is in Fredericksburg, about 40 minutes from DC. Yeah for tater tots and a vanilla Coke!