hiya stranger.

alright alright – i’m more than a stranger at this point. 5 months of nothing… ridiculous. it’s too bad i’ve been such a blogger bum - stephen and i have had an awesome past few months. but between 8 weddings and applying to business school, my free time has been sparse. now that the matrimonial season is over and majority of my apps are completed, i’m ready to pick the proverbial pen and dish on life.

at the moment, i’m on the train sitting at penn station, not quite halfway through my 5+hr ride from new haven to dc. what better time than to play a little online catch up. honestly, i should be sleeping – i’m exhausted! stephen and i spent the weekend up at west point this weekend to see his cousin “little ernie” who plays football for army. unfortunately he’s out for the season with a fractured metatarsal (foot), but it was a great opportunity to escape and catch some prime leaf-peeping. the campus was beautiful and its overlook onto the hudson river, breathtaking. i can only imagine though how depressing it must be the in winter… great stone buildings, grey uniformed cadets, bare trees, an icy cold river and overcast sky… brrr.

on sunday, we got together with stephen’s step-grandmother, "mor mor" in swedish, and attended service at the cadet chapel on campus which was a treat in an of itself. it’s been 3 years since we last saw carla which is a pity because she’s so delightful! she was married to stephen’s mother’s father for 44 years… dr. john prudden – a truly brilliant man in nearly every subject, who was a witty as he was ornery. a harvard-trained doctor and dedicated oncologist, he passed away in 1998 from the one thing he spent the most time researching – cancer. it was truly a pleasure to visit carla’s home and get to see all his young handsome pictures. although i never had the pleasure of meeting "grata", from the stories and pictures, i do know who stephen takes most after.

that afternoon, we said our goodbyes and took the train into nyc’s grand central station. there stephen left to catch a quick dinner with an old friend before busing back to dc. instead, i met up with another one of stephen’s cousins, austin, and headed northeast to new haven. after just submitting my application to the yale school of management 10 days ago, i was on my way to visit campus and fulfill my invitation to interview. since i had only been to connecticut once before to see extended family in greenwich, i was excited for the adventure. it was great to have another buddy on my 2nd train ride of the day, and even better for it to be a yale som alum. although austin just graduated back in 2007, the school has since drastically changed its curriculum to walk the talk of an integrated approach to management – especially in accomplishing its mission of educating leaders for business and society. it ties in very nicely with my relevant experiences working for a private sector company in the public sector world…. yay federal government.

after a light dinner, i snuggled up in my nice comfy bed at the omni (thank goodness for corporate rates ☺) and tried to sleep away my anxiety. this morning, i woke up excited and ready to explore the unknown – yale university. after meeting with some prospective students, we got to pick a class to attend that morning. being the nerd i am, i chose an upper level course on making management decisions with spreadsheets! not knowing what to expect, i found the class highly engaging – especially the professor’s creative approach to an otherwise dry subject of optimization problems. the class was very participatory, most likely due to the collaborative environment fostered by a small class size. we next got a tour of the business school which is basically a handful of 100+ year old mansions that are connected by an underground labyrinth of classrooms and other facilities.

i found the tour guides to be very knowledgeable and was especially pleased to learn one of mine was focusing on the what i plan to study – a hybrid of financial economics and strategic consulting. he took his mid-1st year international trip to singapore and met with some sovereign wealth investors; this was particularly intriguing given the controversy of swf impact on U.S. control of assets. i was also excited to hear of his plans to take jeffery garten’s (former som dean and the barefoot contessa’s husband!) class next semester on “understanding global financial centers” which involves a 2 week trip to new york, london, dubai and hong kong. very cool. after a quick lunch, i jetted back to the admissions building for my 1pm interview, which i thought went well… being the very first day that interviews began, i had both an admissions officer and a 2nd year student in training conducting the session which was a little intimating, but at least i got it done early! fingers crossed.

afterwards, i headed back to my hotel, changed out, checked out and spent an hour and a half walking around yale’s campus before i had to catch my 4pm train home. can i just say… WOW - absolutely gorgeous. i’m sure the bright red and yellow leaves helped add to the academic new england atmosphere, but i was shocked at how ornate and stately ALL the buildings were…. even the local power plant blended in with collegiate charm. i was hoping to get together for a quick coffee with austin’s fiancée, katrina, who is wrapping up her phd in environmental economics at yale, but i was having serious cell phone issues. it’s too bad – we had such a great time chatting when we linked up in the city back in september… and i was dying to see her new ring!

overall it was a fantastic trip. i love visiting historic places and was so thankful all the travel logistics went so smoothly. but now time to return to reality – and oh, yeah, get out the vote tomorrow! finally. i’m beyond tired of this endless campaign and very ready to party hardy accenture-style at the iconic willard. yeah – you could say i really do enjoy the integration of public and private sectors ;)

i once was blind...

BUT NOW I CAN TOTALLY SEE!

amen for lasik. that's right - i finally took the plunge and underwent the laser. after 3 reschedulings and 2 full months of wearing glasses (UGH!), the day finally arrived where i could pitch the frames for good. i never quite understood those people who WISHED they wore glasses - are you crazy?! i still vividly remember the day back in the 4th grade when i got the fateful news that i needed corrective lenses. i cried and cried into my mother's arms, begging that the reality was not true. but alas to no avail...so i got some supercool early nineties glasses - y'know the ones that took up half your face, yeah - and tried my hardest to believe i was no dork.

but after a year of annoyance, i was successful in coaxing my parents that i was mature enough to get fitted for some contacts. although i certainly had my fun with them, sporting various colors throughout my teen years, i also suffered many a times with angst - from the oops, "kitties sleeping on my pillow will definitely cause irritation" days in the 6th grade to the severe infection/inflammation months in the 11th. and then eventually things just normalized, and the routine became something that went without thought. except for those brief moments every morning and evening when i was reminded my true state of vision...i couldn't see squat. ok, ok, maybe 3 inches in front of my face - but does that count?

although i have always had in mind the magic age of 25 to get laser correction, it wasn't until i changed eye doctors a few years ago that things really started to come together. i have to say my eye doctor is GREAT. i recommend him to anyone that i know and have at least 5 friends who have gone and have recommended him to their friends. of course, it is pretty cool that he's also the team eye doctor to many of the Washington sports teams...Wizards, Nats, D.C. United to name a few. like i said, he's GREAT. whereas most optometrists are monosyllabic as they go through the routine eye exam, dr. smithson is very personable and actually explains to you what he sees and why it matters...or doesn't.

when i went in for the first time back in 2006, i found out much to my surprise that i had astigmatism in my right eye...and while my contacts were both regular lenses (not toric as the right should have been), my glasses had BOTH lenses corrected for astigmatism! seriously, i'm never going back to a mall eye doc ever ever ever again. i was shocked!

with that quickly fixed, i was again stunned to find out that i had in fact dry eye syndrome. although my contacts NEVER bothered me, my poor eyes were severely suffering from oxygen and moisture deprivation. i wouldn't not have thought much of it, until dr. smithson quickly explained the consequences of corneal neovascularization, which is basically the blood vessels grow in toward the cornea to bring oxygen to an otherwise suffocating eye. and that if something wasn't done, this condition could worsen and ultimately lead to blindness upon rupturing of one of those vessels in the cornea. eek!!! so i listened, and wore my oxygen permeable, properly fitted, regular on the left and toric on my right, lenses during less hours of the day. and sure enough, just as he described those encroaching blood vessels did a literal u-turn as my eye started to breath again! amazing.

and then following 2 solid of years of showing overall eye health improvement and a stabilization in prescription, i was finally given the green light this past spring that i was a good-to-go lasik candidate! after 15 years of utter dependency, i was more than ready for freedom. yesss. once i was put through a battery of tests, i was scheduled with dr. mark whitten of tlc vision (tiger's doc among other athletes) for my oh-so-anticipated surgery.

now it was originally scheduled for 4/11 but after a major misunderstanding on my part (who knew the lenses actually SHAPE your eye?) preventing accurate waveform topography measurements during the pre-op, that didn't happen. ooops. so instead of risking the irreplaceable, my surgery day got pushed a month later to 5/23. of course only to find out on my next pre-op appt they didn't realize one of my lenses was a toric...apparently this shapes your eye more than a regular lens...and that i needed to be out of my contacts for a full month before measurements could be taken. sigh. fortunately, cindy, dr. whitten's right-hand technician for the last 15 years, was great in working with me to move the surgery back just one more week and scheduled me to come in the day before the surgery to redo the measurements for validation.

so after everything checked fine on thursday (finally finally), i rolled in friday morning with my designated driver in tow. after a quick exam, i was given some valium :), a surgical cap and escorted to the surgical suite. while stephen watched from the window, i was assured that there was nothing i could do to screw things up - whew! after being flooded with numbing drops, the whole procedure was done within a matter of minutes. not more than 10, honest! and dr. whitten was so encouraging...every second he would say, "great", "perfect", "beautiful", "fantastic" - certainly helped put me at ease! and as soon as it was over, i was able to see - whoa what a feeling.

i was left with some tylenol PM so between that and the fully in effect valium, all i would want to do was to go home and take a nice long nap. i called my parents on the drive home, eyes closed because of the dryness but so elated that if i did open, i could totally read the road signs! stephen swung by wendy's to pick up my usual #1 plain with cheese and was so patient in helping me eat as i tried to keep my eyes rested. once my belly was full and my whole being fully relaxed, i collapsed in my freshly made bed (thanks hon!) for a nice long nap...of course i didn't forget to wear my new fashionable sleep goggles.

after 5 blissful hours of sleep i woke up refreshed and seeing better than ever, especially upon the commencing my new 5-eye-drops-an-hour regimen. feeling ready for some more grub, i enjoyed my all time favorite comfort food - ritzy chicken casserole - that i strategically pre-made that morning. stephen and i then packed up a tote with a bottle of wine, glasses for 2 and picnic blanket. we walked 2 blocks to rosslyn's gateway park to celebrate my new eyes by watching the free friday screenings of james bond movies held throughout the summer.

perfect weather, free popcorn, a 007 movie classic with the occasional engine roar of DCA airplanes flying straight overhead... it was a truly great way to end a life-changing day. here's to modern miracles.

winston & tweety.

for over a year now, our little lions have loved the bird feeder we have hung on our patio. while most of their days are spent lounging around and cat napping, this one feature provides endless entertainment and intrigue to otherwise rather boring lives. especially now with spring in swing and summer on its way, all the chipper birdies have been out in full flight with bellies a-grumbling, making our little balcony a very popular hot spot.

usually stuck behind a glass window pane, franklin and winston are tortuously tempted by our feathered friends. upon spotting such a winged creature, they freeze in pose, fix their gaze, open their mouths and start "chirping" at their wistful prey. no matter what you do, they are fixated in a trance. if only they could get their tufted paws on just one!

well this weekend, they had their chance. between the two of them franklin has always appeared to be the more skilled hunter....at least with insects. he can bat them down, capture them between his paws and scarf it down before you are even aware of his kill. what a little bugger. winston on the other hand appears more careless and clumsy...prompting stephen to call them the true pussy of the pair. of course, i rebut by trying to, although ineffectually, defend his honor. he's not worthless!

but this weekend winston proved his prowler status all on his own...twice!

both on saturday and then then again today, 2 different birds flew into our apartment and with one bounding leap, the fierce yet graceful lion swiftly captured the fleeting bird between his teeth. the first time we were both astonished...or rather, i started jumping around screaming for the unlucky bird's life while stephen remained on the couch, merely impressed with winston's fortitude.

the 2nd time was a bit more exciting, as i let winston keep the little sparrow in his mouth instead of forcing him to spit it out. bad kitty. this time he ran into the apartment and crouched down while the bird remained completely still. but as he tried to adjust his grip, the bird escaped and frantically flew around, bumping into windows, trying desparately to get out with his life. but as winston quickly caught him yet again, this time we pushed him back onto the balcony to release frightened being to where in belongs - the open air.

poor winston was so upset...not only has he forever lost, for the 2nd time, his captured prey but his flighty-feathered playmate as well. he wasn't really in for the kill anyway, just a good time. but that's ok, his plumed teaser toy fortunately has the same effect AND without the risk of avian flu. ew.

rolling THUNDER.

memorial day weekend. although this is the first in a long time that we've actually been in town for the holiday, we were well aware of the tradition of bikers rolling into town to honor pow/mia soldiers - a.k.a rolling thunder. and with over 1/2 million bikes come to honor these missing troops, it is quite a sight (and sound). all weekend you could hear bouts of engine revs and roars...leaving me stuck constantly humming the classic AC/DC song thunderstruck. i just can't help it.

with the amazing weather we've been having lately, all the windows are open, and the vespa has gotten some good use. we rode it up rock creek parkway yesterday to head our church's annual spring picnic. of course we passed many many bikers - kind of intimidating. although the big roll into the city wasn't until today at noon, they all congregate in the pentagon parking lots the morning before their big parade downtown.

as stephen rode the vespa to the mall for his weekly get together of sunday morning frisbee/soccer, i had the car to head to dsw to pick up a pair new running shoes. taking route 110, to pentagon row, i always pass the pentagon and surrounding lots. usually dead empty on the weekends, today it was a sea of glinting chrome and black leather. and it went on and on and on - i was amazed!

after scoring my favorite asics kayano's for only $85 (on clearance from the $135 MFRP)!!, stephen and i returned home at the same time...just after noon. he recounted his almost full on embarrassment by getting stuck in the motorcycle rally - all these massive harleys and stephen on his little red italian scooter. lol.

we then decided to put on our new running shoes and take the 15 minute walk to iwo jima memorial. believe it or not, i've never been even though it's practically in my backyard. it was all decorated for the weekend and tourists/bikers were everywhere snapping shots. as we walked around, stephen explained all the battles engraved around the memorial base where the marines have fought. it's astounding how much military history he retains - he could go into succinct tactical detail if i had only asked! rather, i just wanted to the gist of why we were there and what the outcome was. :)

between the motorcycles, iwo jima, shopping sales and countless bbqs we've been to this weekend, i have to say it's been quite the ideal memorial day. THUNDER!

free for all.

every year for few weeks in late may, the shakespeare theater company holds free concerts in rock creek park. it's been years since we've been, but this year we thought we would try and turn it into a double date with our friends john & d'ann. the real trick is getting the free tix. since you are only able to get them the day of the performance, a beautiful sunny day friday makes that probability all the more scant. so after my online reservation attempts failed miserably (timed out pageloads = supreme frustration), i implored stephen to save the day. so at lunchtime, he scooted to the harman center in chinatown to stand in line for the coveted tickets. and he picked them up in a breeze!

after returning home from work, we packed a mini picnic, picked up our friends and headed up the beautiful parkway to the carter barron amphitheatre. what a great quick escape...surrounded by serene lush greenery, you absolutely forget you are in dc. a gorgeous day turned into a chilly evening. during intermission i made stephen go get my accenture/NMAI chief joseph blanket from the car so i could fully enjoy the rest of this great play. :)

i truly loved the modern take on this classic, hamlet. with many of the actors juilliard trained and frequenters on the long-time soap, all my children, the drama was very present - a much needed ingredient in any of shakespeare's works. and of course the delightful combination of wit, double entendres, pregnant phrases, and plot twists makes for an entertaining time.

it also brought back many memories of my one and only writing class i took in college - shakespeare and film... my professor, ann cole brown, who during one of our individual review meetings, noticed my tridelta pledge pin and recounted her delta days at michigan. a few years later as a delta officer, we were looking for a new academic advisor, and i recommended her whole heartedly. she was awesome - funny, warm and courageous...breast cancer survivor. and she really brought shakespeare to life for me which is a gift i will always treasure. thanks ACB!

better together.

happy anniversary to my love!

honestly, it's hard to believe we've been married as long as we dated...3 years. i find it funny how the perception of time changes. it seemed like our dating years were so drawn out and slow-moving, whereas now, we are beside ourselves in no longer being newlyweds. weird.

we also found this anniversary a kind of odd one to celebrate. maybe it's because it was a busy wednesday or the not-quite-yet-a-milestone status... so instead of the typical hoopla, we just we decided to take it easy. hey, at least we weren't stuck on a trans-atlantic flight like last year!

upon returning home, i was greeted with a sweet kiss, a funny card and a beautiful bouquet of pink, red and white gerbera daisies. stephen was so upset that our favorite flower shop, ultra violet, was closed today, but he certainly didn't lose any points in my book. since i had to run off to my weekly golf lessons (my swing is getting sooooo good), we decided to do a late dinner afterwards.

apparently we both had cravings for italian, so after picking stephen up we decided to find a good but laid back place that served pasta. after walking around clarendon for awhile we finally succumbed to the usually disdained chain - the cheesecake factory. surprisingly it was quite hopping at 9pm mid-week. who knew?

after some peach bellinis and a split puttanesca, we enjoyed a relaxed reminiscence of our years together as one. from the good to the bad, the ups and downs... evaluating our past to dream about the future. it was a fun and fulfilling time just "being" with my best friend. although some things have changed, some things never will. and we both agreed, we are far far better together than apart.

i love you, muttley.

back to reality.

after spending 2 full months working from home, today is my official day back to reality. although i've enjoyed logging onto my laptop in my pjs for the past several weeks, i have to say i'm actually looking forward to some day-to-day structure. either that or i'm super bored of the countless CBTs. but at least i got to take FULL advantage of our company's "bench" policy for consultants between projects...in my 3 years with the firm, this is an absolute first.

fortunately for me my upcoming project is a mere 10 minute walk from home. and my role should be all the more interesting... it entails some immigration-related strategy work for the department of homeland security's US VISIT program. really, it's quite exciting! at least i'll stay challenged over the next 6 months. bonus: my new team seems super sharp AND cool. i'm pumped.

so in the spirit of getting back into the grind, i thought i do a quick post on the contents of my "commuting bag" - repacked with all the essentials. y'know, because my 1/2 mile walk is so unbearably long. :)

contents (l-r): longchamp bag (from mom via paris), heels & crocs combo, stick of deodorant (for icky muggy days), go-to water bottle, 2 mini cases for cosmetics and such, diva sunglasses, airborne (life saver), daily planner, favorite parker pen, pink ipod nano (vday gift!), keys with self-defense mace & gym card, aquaphor tube (obsessed.), mini brush, cellie, metro card, change purse/flip wallet/card holder, duck umbrella (april showers...), badge.