One of the benefits of having Trustees at the school is that they give out “goodies” from time to time.  Literally like the rich giving to the poor.  I benefited from this hand-out on Monday night, when I went with two coworkers to see the Sox play.  In the Pavilion section box seats.  It’s basically where the fancy-fancy people sit….and me, when given a ticket.  You can enjoy the air conditioning in the restaurant/bar area, which still has a beautiful shot of the field, plus a million flat screens to give you detail.  When you’re ready to sit down, you go out onto the box seats which place you just high enough above the game that you feel like you are controlling them with your fingers, like puppets :)  Yes, I felt like royalty.  The only downside is that you can’t bring mixed drinks out there.  Apparently hard alcohol and sports fans aren’t always the best combination.  So of course that just meant that I snuck mine out.  Hey, I’m gonna have my rum and cokes and ain’t nobody stopping me. 

I stopped by the Post Office this morning to pick-up a package from Gummy; my long-awaited Finger Rolls have arrived!  Up in Hudson Falls, there is a place that has amazing rolls.  And by amazing I mean buttery and fatty and delicious.  Gummy sent me some for my birthday last year (score!) and because of my move, waited until I got to Boston to send me my batch for this year.  There are about 15 of them and I’m guessing they will last no longer than three hours.  Kidding.  At least six.

I started my new job, in my new city, so I’ve been pretty busy and haven’t had time to post until now. It was really hard to say goodbye to DC and all the friends I’ve made there. I know that I will definitely be back to visit soon (I promise!), but until then, I’ll just keep the memory of The Blue Castle in my mind.

My last day at work happened to coincide with our last day at the building. We moved into our new building this week, but before we did, I had everyone take one last shot outside.

On Saturday I packed up the U-Haul (and by I, I mean the two high schoolers I hired - and by U-Haul I mean Budget…it just sounds better for the story) and said my goodbyes to Tiff and Sheila. Even though I’ve know her for less than a year, Tiffy Taffy has become one of my favorite people and I’m seriously going to miss her.

Next, I headed up to Jersey to see my cousin and her family. She had a little girl, named Malina, last year and I had yet to meet her. Malina was completely infatuated with Toby…who, in turn, was not amused that a one year old was chasing him. I think he’s used to begging for attention and this kid threw him for a loop with all her lovin’.

I was surprised with a little blue box on my birthday; my good friend, Leif, sent me a beautiful bracelet. It’s funny because I have the same one already, just the fake. Now I’m authentic and shit

Pretty!

To continue the weekend fun, we had a Luau on Saturday night to celebrate my Birthday and Going Away. We decorated in 100 degree heat - Toby finally used his baby pool - and cooked bucket loads of food. Good times.

The Roomies

Beth and I

Sheila’s dog, Jackson, getting tanked

Friday night was the End of the Year party for KIPP. It was held at Station 9 on U Street - a lot of fun. Besides the usual suspects (ie coworkers) my brother, Bonnie, and Rachael also traveled on over to celebrate. And celebrate we did. Despite the hot weather (it was SO HUMID at even midnight!), we all had a great time.

Tiffany and I

The girls of KEY

SHayes and I

I hadn’t planned on writing tonight, but I’m sitting here in bed, exhausted from the long day, watching CNN. First, I listened to Hillary give her non-consession speech. Now, I listen to Obama speak of his clinching of the nomination.

There is only word I can think of to summarize his presence on stage tonight - humbled. You can tell how filled with emotion he is, especially when he dedicated this evening to his Grandmother. I just feel so proud. Proud to be part of this nation at this time in our history, when we are making history. It’s a great feeling and I can’t wait until November.

Yes We Can.

Bonnie was over Friday night for dinner and we were watching the Sox on TV. Turns out they were in Baltimore for the weekend, so we decided last minute to try and get tickets. What a great idea it turned out to be - we were there to witness Manny hit his 500th homerun! There were SO MANY Red Sox fans there, we did Boston proud. So while I’m sure you’ve seen the official footage of his hit, you haven’t seem my amateur video. Let me set the scene. Bonnie brought her digital…but forgot to charge the battery. I didn’t have mine…cuz I though she was bringing hers. All we had were our cell phones (shit-tay picture taking ability) and a disposable. Yes, with real 35mm film. I decided to *try* and tape his at bat with my new cell phone. I apologize in advance for causing everyone motion sickness

BTW, check out ALL the people in the stands taking pics. It’s a virtual sea of flashes!