sondre.
ice skating in the sculpture garden--i've got some real skill.
12.14.2008
12.07.2008
Mount Vernon
These pictures are of a recent trip to Mount Vernon. By far one of my favorite places visited. It's no wonder George Washington never wanted to leave...I didn't either. I was able to go back for a ward Christmas party and tour it at night, by candlelight. It was even more enchanting the second time because it was the first snowfall.
During both visits we had our fair share of crazies on the bus rides there. The first time there was a woman who kept asking Ashley to guess her age. Luckily I had my ipod in. Ashley left her with $5 and a granola bar. The second time, I was fortunate enough to sit by this frail old woman who upon sitting down said, "Have you been at Cambridge?" I was confused whether or not she was talking to me. When she proceeded to answer her own questions, I realized she was out of her mind. I attempted to ignore her angry two way conversations with herself for the next 20 minutes. That was a fun ride. Unfortunately, I did not have a granola bar to leave with her.
During both visits we had our fair share of crazies on the bus rides there. The first time there was a woman who kept asking Ashley to guess her age. Luckily I had my ipod in. Ashley left her with $5 and a granola bar. The second time, I was fortunate enough to sit by this frail old woman who upon sitting down said, "Have you been at Cambridge?" I was confused whether or not she was talking to me. When she proceeded to answer her own questions, I realized she was out of her mind. I attempted to ignore her angry two way conversations with herself for the next 20 minutes. That was a fun ride. Unfortunately, I did not have a granola bar to leave with her.
12.02.2008
Pictorals.
Daniel Radcliffe is somwhere in this crowd. If you look very carefully you can see part of his red and navy hat in the middle. Yes. I know.
After taking this first picture, the man asked if we wanted another. I don't really know what that's all about or why he thought we needed another. I hope he found my pose in the second one more acceptable.
Ashley may have had some problems with her skirt riding up...
I would like to draw attention to all of our hats. First, mine--the flopping buckle is very prominent in this picture. Second, the two colored hats look like unto something hobos would wear. Not because they aren't cute, but becuase of the way they ride up on their heads and don't cover their ears.
My bedroom at Grandma Saki's...
New York, New York
About a week ago I went to New York City for four days. Although I was excited to go, in my mind, our New York trip marked the end of my lovely DC experience. So it was kind of bittersweet.
Friday morning we reluctantly left to go catch our bus. I say relunctantly because of our amazing experience and service on our last trip to NY. This time we tried to avoid the whole boarding in an alley/breaking down for two hours situation by using a different company. After getting off the metro and wandering China town trying to find our bus, we quickly realized that we once again chose a sketchy bus. We eventually found the "station", which I must give this company credit for at least having a building, however dirty it was. This bus ride was fine and we got to NY around lunch time.
We had to take the metro to where we were staying and were introduced to the metro, which at first seemed impossible. Instead of simply having a red, blue, orange, and yellow line, we had to navigate transfers between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, B, C, D...express line, or local line, uptown, across town, etc. This might not seem a huge challenge, except we had all our luggage with us. Let's just say I had the smallest suitcase. And for anyone who knows how much I pack, that is a telling statement. I am proud to state that by Saturday we had mastered the Metro and by Sunday discovered the luxury of a cab.
Anyways we soon arrived at Ashley's Grandma's apartment....on the upper east side. We really hit the jackpot with our connections. Her house was between Park and Madison. We lovingly referred to our home away from home as the Penthouse. Her apartment was AMAZING. Everything was beautifully decorated, it looked straight out of Horchow magazine or something. It was pristine and luxurious. I didn't want to touch anything. There was beautiful artwork everywhere that you knew cost a fortune. From the dining room there were views of Central Park and my bedroom looked down on St. James church.
Friday afternoon we went to tour the UN Headquarters. This was really cool. We got to see the General Assembly Hall and see the desks of each country. I can only imagine the feelings when they are actually meeting, leaders from nearly every country. Afterwards we went to the MET. From what I saw it was amazing. However, we were exhausted and didn't have the patience to see a lot. We visited the Egyptian and Roman exhibits which were really cool then mostly just looked at impressionist pieces. They are my absolute favorite and the pieces we saw were spectacular.
Saturday we walked down Fifth and basically froze to death. The entire weekend was FREEZING. It was an average of 29 degrees, and then factor the humidity into that. When we got out Friday morning I soon realized the difference a hat can make. I quickly purchased the first hat I saw from the nearest vender. It featured a huge silver buckle on the side that made it completely flop to one side of my head. It was hideous. But it was warm. Fifth was amazing. It totally got us all in the Christmas spirit. The famous Christmas windows were unfortunately not up yet, but there were lights and wreaths everywhere. The streets were insane with shoppers. One store that almost gave me a panic attack was the American Girl Doll Store. I learned while there that Samantha is being discontinued. As she was the one I had, I was very disappointed. We worked our way down to Time Square to wait in line for our discount broadway tickets. It was FREEZING here. We literally almost died. However, it was all worth it to get 2nd row tickets to see Hairspray. After we went to Strand Bookstore--famous for its 18 miles of books. Because we are all bookworms, this stop took a little longer than expected. Also it was around this time that Ashley picked a fight with an anti-turkey PETA worker. Most excellent.
Afterwards we were all starving and about to passout, cold and tired. I will admit, I was especially whiny. We went back up to Time Square and were all frustrated because we couldn't find anywhere to eat. No one wanted to make an executive decision. We decided to go into the Marriott and ask the concierge what was fast and close and good. On our way in we saw to older men walking out. I was in the process of turning to my friend to tell her how much one of them looked like Elder Holland, when to my surprise she was calling out that exact name. It was all so fast and we were so stunned that we hadn't realized we were passing Elder Holland and Elder Perry. The two stopped to chat with us for a minute. They asked us where we are from and what we were doing there. We told them we were with the BYU Washington Seminar and just visitng for the weekend. Elder Holland made some comment about how we have the lives everyone else wishes they had. Which was funny coming from him, who is an apostle and in NY himself. His life sounds pretty exciting too. They told us they were there for meetings and then commented on how cold it was while Elder Holland touched mine and Kristen's freezing cheeks. Elder Perry asked if he could have Kristens earmuffs. Ashley and Paige kind of got the shaft. And that was that, they went on there way and hopped in a car. IT WAS SO CRAZY THOUGH. What are the chances of running into two apostles in the middle of Time Square. And the timing was just perfect. Had we been there earlier they still would have been in the hotel and had we been there a second later they would have been in the car. Anyways, we finally found somewhere to feed our starving stomachs and then went to the play.
Hairspray was great. I loved every minute of it. It was fun being on the second row and seeing everything so close. It felt like the good old days when Grandpa would take me to see all the plays in his amazing seats. I think I actually owe my love of broadway to Grandpa and talking me into seeing Cats with him. After that night I was done for. There was one thing that was slightly disspointing to me. The week before, Ashley Parker Angel, former member of the Original making the band, O-Town, had just finished his time playing Link. Just imagine what that could have been. Regardless, the cast was amazing and I loved the play.
After the play Paige and Kristen called Ashley and I, telling us to run over to their theatre. They had seen Phantom and we were planning on meeting up afterwards to walk home. The key to this story is that Daniel Radcliffe, for Grandma and Grandpa--the kid who plays Harry Potter, was coming out of Equus and getting in his car. Ashley and I were knocking people out of the way to get there as quickly as possible. People were lined up on both sides of the street anxiously awaiting his grand exit. Paige and Kristen had a front row view on the opposite side of the street so Ashley and I booked it across when the Police Officers weren't looking. I was kind of afraid of them catching us--they were loud scary men who obviously didn't understand the gravity of this situation. Anytime a person would stick a toe on the street they would flip out. I was kind of hoping they would try to tazer us or something to add to the excitement, but to no avail. As we waited the minutes seemed like an eternity. However, we were lucky enough to be able to admire the Equus posters and advertisements all over the building, which featured Daniels naked chest morphed with a horses head. This is the play in which he is basically nude the entire play riding around stage on a horse. Finally Daniel came out, we may or may not have made contact. The later is the more reliable option of the two...he was way shorter than I expected. So short that he simply disappeared in the crowd. Every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of his baseball hat. Then he got in his car and disappeared into the night.
Sunday Ashley's cousin, Julia, was kind enough to show us around for the day. We went to brunch at Sarah Beth's, which is famous for being delicious. I feel safe saying that it lived up to its reputation. I still crave the cranberry french toast and pumpkin waffles. We then meandered around Soho and the Village. This was kind of a whirlwind and I was dead from not sleeping at all. I really wish we would have spent more time down there shopping and exploring instead of a quick overview. But it was ok, it was good to get a feeling of the area. That night Grandma Saki hosted a dinner with Ashley's relatives that live in the area.
Monday we wrapped up seeing stuff that we hadn't hit yet, the Library, some more of 5th, the Plaza etc. Then we got on the bus in the early afternoon to come home. I was excited to come home because that night we were seeing Sondre Lerche! SO so So SOSOS good. For those of you who don't know, he basically did all the music for Dan in Real Life and is featured at the end during the wedding scene. He was AMAZING! After hearing him live, his voice seems masked on his albums. He played all my favorite songs and blew my mind....and heart, and soul. Afterwards, he went back to help sell CD'S and T-shirts, take pictures and sign autographs. I got a signed polaroid with him in which he is biting his lip. I think that action clearly symbolizes the sexual tension between us. He clearly wanted me, even though he is happily married to a Norwegian model/actress. He was adorable in person. Love, love, love.
And that my friends is my New York trip. Pictures to come.
Friday morning we reluctantly left to go catch our bus. I say relunctantly because of our amazing experience and service on our last trip to NY. This time we tried to avoid the whole boarding in an alley/breaking down for two hours situation by using a different company. After getting off the metro and wandering China town trying to find our bus, we quickly realized that we once again chose a sketchy bus. We eventually found the "station", which I must give this company credit for at least having a building, however dirty it was. This bus ride was fine and we got to NY around lunch time.
We had to take the metro to where we were staying and were introduced to the metro, which at first seemed impossible. Instead of simply having a red, blue, orange, and yellow line, we had to navigate transfers between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, B, C, D...express line, or local line, uptown, across town, etc. This might not seem a huge challenge, except we had all our luggage with us. Let's just say I had the smallest suitcase. And for anyone who knows how much I pack, that is a telling statement. I am proud to state that by Saturday we had mastered the Metro and by Sunday discovered the luxury of a cab.
Anyways we soon arrived at Ashley's Grandma's apartment....on the upper east side. We really hit the jackpot with our connections. Her house was between Park and Madison. We lovingly referred to our home away from home as the Penthouse. Her apartment was AMAZING. Everything was beautifully decorated, it looked straight out of Horchow magazine or something. It was pristine and luxurious. I didn't want to touch anything. There was beautiful artwork everywhere that you knew cost a fortune. From the dining room there were views of Central Park and my bedroom looked down on St. James church.
Friday afternoon we went to tour the UN Headquarters. This was really cool. We got to see the General Assembly Hall and see the desks of each country. I can only imagine the feelings when they are actually meeting, leaders from nearly every country. Afterwards we went to the MET. From what I saw it was amazing. However, we were exhausted and didn't have the patience to see a lot. We visited the Egyptian and Roman exhibits which were really cool then mostly just looked at impressionist pieces. They are my absolute favorite and the pieces we saw were spectacular.
Saturday we walked down Fifth and basically froze to death. The entire weekend was FREEZING. It was an average of 29 degrees, and then factor the humidity into that. When we got out Friday morning I soon realized the difference a hat can make. I quickly purchased the first hat I saw from the nearest vender. It featured a huge silver buckle on the side that made it completely flop to one side of my head. It was hideous. But it was warm. Fifth was amazing. It totally got us all in the Christmas spirit. The famous Christmas windows were unfortunately not up yet, but there were lights and wreaths everywhere. The streets were insane with shoppers. One store that almost gave me a panic attack was the American Girl Doll Store. I learned while there that Samantha is being discontinued. As she was the one I had, I was very disappointed. We worked our way down to Time Square to wait in line for our discount broadway tickets. It was FREEZING here. We literally almost died. However, it was all worth it to get 2nd row tickets to see Hairspray. After we went to Strand Bookstore--famous for its 18 miles of books. Because we are all bookworms, this stop took a little longer than expected. Also it was around this time that Ashley picked a fight with an anti-turkey PETA worker. Most excellent.
Afterwards we were all starving and about to passout, cold and tired. I will admit, I was especially whiny. We went back up to Time Square and were all frustrated because we couldn't find anywhere to eat. No one wanted to make an executive decision. We decided to go into the Marriott and ask the concierge what was fast and close and good. On our way in we saw to older men walking out. I was in the process of turning to my friend to tell her how much one of them looked like Elder Holland, when to my surprise she was calling out that exact name. It was all so fast and we were so stunned that we hadn't realized we were passing Elder Holland and Elder Perry. The two stopped to chat with us for a minute. They asked us where we are from and what we were doing there. We told them we were with the BYU Washington Seminar and just visitng for the weekend. Elder Holland made some comment about how we have the lives everyone else wishes they had. Which was funny coming from him, who is an apostle and in NY himself. His life sounds pretty exciting too. They told us they were there for meetings and then commented on how cold it was while Elder Holland touched mine and Kristen's freezing cheeks. Elder Perry asked if he could have Kristens earmuffs. Ashley and Paige kind of got the shaft. And that was that, they went on there way and hopped in a car. IT WAS SO CRAZY THOUGH. What are the chances of running into two apostles in the middle of Time Square. And the timing was just perfect. Had we been there earlier they still would have been in the hotel and had we been there a second later they would have been in the car. Anyways, we finally found somewhere to feed our starving stomachs and then went to the play.
Hairspray was great. I loved every minute of it. It was fun being on the second row and seeing everything so close. It felt like the good old days when Grandpa would take me to see all the plays in his amazing seats. I think I actually owe my love of broadway to Grandpa and talking me into seeing Cats with him. After that night I was done for. There was one thing that was slightly disspointing to me. The week before, Ashley Parker Angel, former member of the Original making the band, O-Town, had just finished his time playing Link. Just imagine what that could have been. Regardless, the cast was amazing and I loved the play.
After the play Paige and Kristen called Ashley and I, telling us to run over to their theatre. They had seen Phantom and we were planning on meeting up afterwards to walk home. The key to this story is that Daniel Radcliffe, for Grandma and Grandpa--the kid who plays Harry Potter, was coming out of Equus and getting in his car. Ashley and I were knocking people out of the way to get there as quickly as possible. People were lined up on both sides of the street anxiously awaiting his grand exit. Paige and Kristen had a front row view on the opposite side of the street so Ashley and I booked it across when the Police Officers weren't looking. I was kind of afraid of them catching us--they were loud scary men who obviously didn't understand the gravity of this situation. Anytime a person would stick a toe on the street they would flip out. I was kind of hoping they would try to tazer us or something to add to the excitement, but to no avail. As we waited the minutes seemed like an eternity. However, we were lucky enough to be able to admire the Equus posters and advertisements all over the building, which featured Daniels naked chest morphed with a horses head. This is the play in which he is basically nude the entire play riding around stage on a horse. Finally Daniel came out, we may or may not have made contact. The later is the more reliable option of the two...he was way shorter than I expected. So short that he simply disappeared in the crowd. Every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of his baseball hat. Then he got in his car and disappeared into the night.
Sunday Ashley's cousin, Julia, was kind enough to show us around for the day. We went to brunch at Sarah Beth's, which is famous for being delicious. I feel safe saying that it lived up to its reputation. I still crave the cranberry french toast and pumpkin waffles. We then meandered around Soho and the Village. This was kind of a whirlwind and I was dead from not sleeping at all. I really wish we would have spent more time down there shopping and exploring instead of a quick overview. But it was ok, it was good to get a feeling of the area. That night Grandma Saki hosted a dinner with Ashley's relatives that live in the area.
Monday we wrapped up seeing stuff that we hadn't hit yet, the Library, some more of 5th, the Plaza etc. Then we got on the bus in the early afternoon to come home. I was excited to come home because that night we were seeing Sondre Lerche! SO so So SOSOS good. For those of you who don't know, he basically did all the music for Dan in Real Life and is featured at the end during the wedding scene. He was AMAZING! After hearing him live, his voice seems masked on his albums. He played all my favorite songs and blew my mind....and heart, and soul. Afterwards, he went back to help sell CD'S and T-shirts, take pictures and sign autographs. I got a signed polaroid with him in which he is biting his lip. I think that action clearly symbolizes the sexual tension between us. He clearly wanted me, even though he is happily married to a Norwegian model/actress. He was adorable in person. Love, love, love.
And that my friends is my New York trip. Pictures to come.
11.17.2008
Election Night...
For election night I went to the RNC party at the Hilton and then observed the celebrations in the streets/White House afterwards. They went on until about 3 in the morning. Since we are on the same street as the White House, everyone had to pass by us to get down there. We are about 9 blocks away. At about 1am, we ran down there. It was insane. The streets were lined with cars and there was a constant stream of peole the entire way there. All physical boundaries were completely disgregarded. People were high fiving, embracing, and chanting "yes we can, yes we can." Outside the White House was a mob of people celebrating. Mostly I was tired and felt overstimulated. But it was amazing to be apart of such a historic moment! Here are pictures and some videos.
Kristen and I...
Two other interns...
Haley and I...
The results come in...
In front of the White House...around 2am.
Kristen and I...
Two other interns...
Haley and I...
The results come in...
In front of the White House...around 2am.
WWF
The next few posts are going to be out of order because I only have certain pictures to incorporate. Friday morning we all awoke to find fliers posted on each door down the hall. The fliers read "WWF (Wrestling With Females) and had each girl on the floor paired with another person that they were supposed to wrestle in a match the following night. We were told to wear the closest thing we had to spandex--clearly this key ingredient really excited me. I was paired with Haley for the first bracket. Throughout the day I heard remarks from both guys and girls whom all had their bets on Haley winning the entire thing. I tried not to listen to these naysayers, as I was up against her first. However, when it came down to it she bailed. Apparently she gets to competitive or somethign and didn't want to hurt anyone. I don't really know what that's all about. Anyways, over the course of Saturday evening, my respect level for about 85% of the girls on the floor increased dramatically. I wasn't sure many people would participate, but to my surprise they did! When it came down to it, Ashley and I were first to wrestle...we felt a lot of pressure to set a certain standard for the entire night. I feel I can safely say we accomplished this goal. We began by bowing, something people continued to do afterwards. We even had it timed so we did flips and threw one another over our backs and stuff. Our moves were insane. I even made Ashley bleed. That cut our match a little short because we thought her earing ripped through her ear--but it didn't, so don't worry. I think I would have felt guilty for the rest of my life had I truly mangled her ear. There weren't an even number of pairs, so Ashley and I both moved on to round II and wrestled each other again. We needed to declare a winner from the first match still. She ended up winning. However, it was after this match that I caught onto the fact that you were out if the other could pin your shoulder against the ground for three seconds. Somehow I missed the fact that it was your shoulders that had to be pinned. Had I not missed this simple and obvious part of the game, I think I could have gone on a little farther.
Mine and Ashley's outfits...I was even able to incorporate my handy dandy F-pack (fanny pack). Obviously I couldn't wrestle without my Hulk Hogan handlebar mustache and Ashley with her matching unibrow and mustache.
Because our matching outfits, you can't tell whose body is who in some pictures. Take the one below for instance. I had the forsight of wearing a headband to tell us apart in all the madness.
Look at the technique and impecable form....
These are all of the WWF wrestlers piled on the champion, Megan. She is in red on the bottom.
Here is a video of my defeat. I hope you all appreciate my great humility.
Mine and Ashley's outfits...I was even able to incorporate my handy dandy F-pack (fanny pack). Obviously I couldn't wrestle without my Hulk Hogan handlebar mustache and Ashley with her matching unibrow and mustache.
Because our matching outfits, you can't tell whose body is who in some pictures. Take the one below for instance. I had the forsight of wearing a headband to tell us apart in all the madness.
Look at the technique and impecable form....
These are all of the WWF wrestlers piled on the champion, Megan. She is in red on the bottom.
Here is a video of my defeat. I hope you all appreciate my great humility.
11.12.2008
Veterans Day
Tuesday we all had work off for Veterans Day. Obviously there were many ways to celebrate, being in DC and all. This holiday has never particularly struck me before--it was just a day off school, gladly taken. However, being able to honor all the individuals who have and continue to serve our country was a wonderful and rewarding experience. We got up early and headed out to Arlington Cemetery. At 11:00am on 11/11 they always have a service to commemorate the signing of the WWI armistice. They have a ceremony in which they lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns and then have a service in the amphitheater, featured in the pictures below. Vice President Cheney was the guest of honor, thus laying the wreath and speaking at the service. They noted one particular person, the last surviving veteran from WWI. He is now 108 years old and living in West Virginia. My favorite part of the ceremony was the Procession of Colors. The flags were all carried by veterans. It was really touching to see these older people so proud to be participating in this event. The outer ring of the amphitheater, which forms a sort of balcony was filled with veterans. They were also many dispersed throughout the crowd. Below is one of my favorite pictures from the event, a veteran saluting the flags during the Retiring of the Colors. You could truly sense their deep respect for the country and the ideals it represents. Overall, everything was beautifully done. After the ceremony, there was about a ten minute walk out of the cemetery. We got the chance to walk past the thousands of tombstones. As we were walking down the road I noticed one veteran seated in a lawn chair between some of the graves. He had placed flowers on one grave and three round, smooth rocks along the top of the tombstone. I don't know if these had particular meaning but it was clear that he had known this individual. This scene was very moving to me. Although each of these graves may simply appear as stones to me, to these veterans they all represent individual faces and stories.
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