Duh.

I'm all for scientific research. I think it serves a very useful purpose for society at large, for the economy, blah blah blah - in essence for many things. If scientific research didn't exist we would still be thinking the Earth is flat and blood-letting to cure disease. What I don't understand is the purpose of scientific research that does not seem to bring anything new to the table. Some recent examples of studies I have read about in EurekAlert! where all I could think of was "tell me something I don't know":

• "Study finds that discrimination varies by gender and race"

• "Childhood mental health problems blight adult working life"

• "Backpack straps can decrease blood flow to the shoulder and arm"
  

• "Basic yoga moves could help prevent falls in women over 65 years old" (Ok, maybe not so obvious to the majority of the population, but to a yoga practitioner that's like telling them the sky is blue.)

And my favorite "Duh" study of the day:

• "Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women, according to a University of Michigan study of a nationally representative sample of US families."
  

While we're on the topic of science, I have just a couple of words for the creationist tour guides of a natural history museum (see Dateline video below): that's totally irresponsible.

Recent obsessions

- Bedtime Tunes.
- Eat, Pray, Love.
- Mint tea.
- Recapturing lost memories from college with Hot Butter (my friend who has just moved to DC from South Beach).
- Cheery cherry blossoms, kites on a Mall, orchids in a botanical garden sanctuary.
- Waking up to songbirds and spring smells in my little pad in the Palisades, and then walking to work in the sunshine .
- Curry cravings (especially the Panang Curry from Bangkok Joe's).
- Crate & Barrel yuppiness.
- The blog 'Stuff White People Like' (sarcasm, people).
- Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii.
- Blockbuster Access (currently on my to-watch list: Atonement, Darjeeling Limited, Ghandi, The Simpsons Movie, Across the Universe, The Syrian Bride, Boys Don't Cry...and about 50 others).
- Kotobuki: the best & cheapest sushi in DC.
- Grinding my own coffee.
- Rooting for my homies from Davidson College in the NCAA tournament...until they lost to Kansas (even though I didn't go there, Davidson will obviously always hold a special place in my heart! And there is something so gratifying about seeing 'the underdog' win).
- Yann Tiersen's "La Chute" and attempting to play it on the piano.
- Enur's Calabria 2008. This song would make a dead person dance.

Work is hard; playtime is harder

Just got back from a three hour lunch with my coworkers in Georgetown for a goodbye party for a colleague who is moving back to Paris. Aaaaand now it's ten til four the last day before my Thanksgiving break actually starts. I'm really feeling super motivated to work. Woot.

Happenings

- Reading Bridget Jones' Diary for the second time because it's so funny. She's my hero.
- Attending crazy hair party tomorrow evening at Redbull's place. Think might wear hair in Princess-Lea style but punkier.
- Fondue for MF's bday Saturday yaaaaaay.
- Went to Citronelle to spoil the fy-an-cee for his birthday last night. In a nutshell: amazing. He almost started crying it was so good.
- Thanksgiving. MMMM!!!

70%

I feel like I've made it through my quarter life crisis. Hurrah!

Perhaps it's because I like my work and my co-workers. Perhaps it's because I'm engaged. Perhaps it's because I'm less strapped-for-cash than I was two years ago. Perhaps it's a combination of several things... in any case it is a wonderful feeling to feel like I've figured things out. Mind you, I haven't figured things out entirely, maybe only 70% or so, but I am much further along on the "figuring-things-out" spectrum than I was when I was two months from graduating from college. What I can say, after having been out of college for three years and made it through the rough ride of the quarter-life crisis, after having had the first job and the first big bills to pay, and the first real twenty-something relationship, is these are the things I want for my life:

- Painting in a sunlit room on a Saturday afternoon.
- A piano, and the time to play it.
- The company of a dog and cat.
- Enough money to buy some groceries at Whole Foods.
- Picnics in the park and hiking in the mountains.
- Living in a place that has cobblestoned, tree-lined streets and the changing of the seasons.
- Tea: chai, Earl Grey, jasmine...

Funny, these are the same things I have wanted basically since college, and they're mostly free. I guess the things that continue to make you happy don't really change, regardless of how high you've climbed on that proverbial ladder.

For you artists out there:

-What to do when you're bored with those hands of yours
-Creepy lifelike sculptures that will titillate your sense of perception
-Pretend you're Jackson Pollock (click your mouse to change colors)
-All about Dali, with wallpapers for your computer

Oof!

I have made it through a "big deal" kind of event. I know you probably don't want to talk shop, and I probably shouldn't give many details. But suffice it to say that my boss' boss (the kind of person who always travels business class, lives in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, has the corner office with crown molding and a mahogany desk) was in town for an extended weekend... and everything went very smoothly. Whew. I also met some very interesting people: we had a dinner - lobster, scallops, rockfish mmm! - for 15 at the French Ambassador's residence on Friday evening, visits to various organizations on Monday (which was a very strange and eventful day, the low point of which the embassy chauffeur ran over a cat in Arlington). I'm not going to go into much more detail, but I will also say that sometimes, when you are the only 25-year old woman in a room full of men who are directors of such and such and hold PhDs in so and so, it is a) hard to get people to pay attention to you and b)when they do it is hard to get them to take you seriously. I will leave it at that.

After my diplomatic dinner on Friday (I had been on my very best behavior) I was ready to let my hair down. Man Friend, our buddy "Tetra" and I went to a coworker's place for his goodbye party (he left for France last Sunday). This coworker is the archetype of the French dude - kinda short, long dark hair, glasses, a big fan of Ricard, with the pitch-perfect French accent, and as soon as he saw Tetra and MF promptly gave them a sweaty kiss on each cheek. We proceeded up to his apartment where there were about 50 people crammed into a smoky and smoking hot living room, dancing and bouncing around to bad 80s music with crazy hats on their heads. I love how French people really could care less what they look like when they dance. It's such a refreshing change from the pretentiousness of American clubs. And there's no grinding! Needless to say it was a great time, but it was nothing compared to the party we went to on Saturday.


Another coworker (yes, the French do lots of parties, and do them well) lives in a house on Foxhall with two other internationally-minded types: a Frenchman and an Italian. They always throw theme parties; one was a white party where you had to dress in all-white; another was a Hawaiian luau. This one happened to be a "back to school" party (read: Catholic schoolgirls, of course). Total damage, ie number of empty bottles lying around on Sunday morning (and this is according to my coworker, whom I will call Le Toulousain) was:

Whisky : 2
Gin : 2
Rum : 8
Wine : 20
Vodka : 12
Beers: 100+

Le Toulousain and his housemates throw some sick soirées. Tetra had so much fun we had to drive him home before we resorted to duct-taping him to a sofa so he wouldn't get into too much trouble (more on that some other time).