This ain't Beaufort County

Things to read this week

2010-08-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

All things I wrote. Shameless self-promotion commences.

1 - Tobacco industry analysis determines that tobacco companies have all these new smokeless and other kinds of products, but really they just keep raising prices on cigarettes to make money. So don't smoke.

2 - I wrote a sports story. I find this ridiculous.

3 - Y'all know how I've been itching to write health stories? I contributed to this one, about our annoying annual massive food-safety scare. I'd link to all those stories I wrote at Scripps on the subject, but that would require more time than I have. So read up!

You have an extra month to visit

2010-08-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's pretty much decided that I'll be here for September as well. The blogging will continue. Hopefully the volume will increase.

Much of this week was spent apartment-hunting - one-month leases are difficult to find - but I've done some fun/weird things as well. First, I wrote a story about a clown. I also wrote a ton of boring stories I won't make you read.

I experienced Berry Chill yogurt for the first time and met another UNC grad in Chicago. A friend from school has a friend from school who lives here. Since Jane left me *tear* I needed a new North Carolinian to hang out with.

And I saw "Eat, Pray, Love." Now that I've heard him talk, I understand why Penelope Cruz is with Javier Bardem. His voice totally makes up for the nose.

I read the book a while ago, so I don't remember it well enough to know if the movie is particularly true to it. I do know that the main character annoyed me as much in the movie as in the book, but the scenery was beautiful enough to make up for that.

Explorers

2010-08-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

I had another visitor last week, which meant more exploration. This time, we went to neighborhoods I'd never even heard of. Chicago is a lot cooler than I realized. Some of the fun things we saw:

Cupcakes in Lincoln Park. There's also this famous hotdog stand, but

Brian was merciful and didn't make me eat one.

Both Obama's and Frank Lloyd Wright's houses in Hyde Park. Wright's house is really cool. Obama's house is hidden behind a bunch of ginormous trees. Secret Service (or some similar cop character) yelled at us for even thinking of getting a closer look.

Chicago Air and Water Show practice. Big. Planes. Top Gunnnn.

White Sox v. Tigers game. Brian's team won, I got a new hat, everyone went home happy.

Robots + Dinosaurs

2010-08-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Seriously, what could be better?

Okay, okay, it's been a week or so since I posted. Again. I'm a failure.

Here are more pictures from Hank's visit last weekend.

We went to the Field Museum of Natural History, where they have reconstructed a dinosaur named Sue. That's really her name. She's also a robot. It's

awesome.

Hanky and I also went to lunch in Lincoln Park, to see Sam's exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center and to a comedy show at The Second City. Plus we ate delicious, delicious food. Come on back and visit me, buddy.

Hank and Emily explore

2010-08-07T18:23:00.001-07:00

Hank's here to see me! Great news. We explored.

First we went to a farmer's market and got breakfast. Then we went to the Art Institute. I wrote a story about a photo exhibition there. You

should read it.

After lunch, I took Hank where I take everyone who visits me - to see the Sears (now Willis) Tower, Millennium Park, the bean, etc. Touristing is fun. Lastly, we ate

pizza.

Oh yeah, and we saw an awesome movie last night. Hank and I both thought "The Kids Are All Right" was fantastic. We highly recommend it.

Photos! Including Tiny Precious Children.

Spotted: Things transforming

2010-08-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I didn't actually see anything transform, but they are filming Transformers 3 outside my office building this week. On Monday, everyone was super excited about it and went to the windows during all our breaks. By today, everyone was over the explosions and stuff.

I didn't see anything that exciting happening except for the same car chase scene over and over. I don't know if you can tell, but a yellow car crosses the bridge and spins out, then another car crosses the bridge, almost hits the firetruck and spins out.

Optimus Prime, I just know that you are this close!

Right, Harry Potter time

2010-08-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

I had a bit of a Europe reunion this weekend. Alexi moved up here last week to start a job with Food Network (so cool!), and Farah was up for a friend's wedding, so we got together for coffee yesterday and then Farah and I explored the city a bit. It was so great to see them again! (That's Farah, the most gorgeous person ever, in the picture with me.)

The best, or I guess silliest, part of that little adventure came mid-afternoon, when Farah and I decided to walk around near Millennium Park. We wound up in this little garden thing by the Art Institute, and after we'd hung out for a few minutes, up walked Harry Potter and the gang. I'd completely forgotten that June 31 was Harry's birthday, meaning he turned 30 yesterday. This crowd did not forget. They went all out.

First we stalked them for a while trying to take pictures. Then we gave in and posed with them. Wish I'd thought to dress up in celebration. Alexi and Farah might not have liked that though.

Tini and Eric are married!

2010-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I left off blogging for a bit when I went home, and I didn't get back to it last week, but now I'm in the game. I'll post later about my week/weekend so far, but first, Tini's wedding:

Cristina and Eric got married in Mebane, N.C., last weekend, and it was the hottest day of my life. I really felt for the boys in suits and stuff. It was beautiful, and we danced and had lots of fun. And now Tini and Eric are married! So exciting! They're moving to D.C. pretty soon, and I can't wait to hear what shenanigans they get up to there.

My camera died almost the moment I arrived in Chapel Hill, and I'm still waiting for Brian to send pictures to me (he let me borrow his camera, good man). But you can see extremely beautiful ones here, on Tini's photographer's website. The photo in the post is of me, Brian, Kemp and Rose at the reception, which was also in Mebane.

Coming later today: Harry Potter. Yeah.

There's one in Greenville

2010-07-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already, spend some time today or tomorrow exploring the Washington Post's really fantastic Top Secret America project. It's a fabulous presentation, both in the amount of reporting and in the way the research is displayed on the site. The Post really gave this one all they had, which is wonderful as I'm sometimes less than impressed with their web content.

If you go to the map showing where intelligence groups are located, you'll notice there's something in Greenville. I can't figure out what it is. Someone find out and let me know 'cause I'm interested.

Do you get to wear a tutu?

2010-07-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

I had a sort-of slow week last week, I guess because companies are trying not to make much news before they release quarterly earnings. That starts in earnest for me this week.

But I did work on one story most of the week. It's about Best Buy. You should read it.

In other news, my little mommy and Dad came to visit me in Chicago this weekend! Yay! We ate lots of yummy food that I can't afford when they're not here, and we went to another Cubs game (they won again!), and we saw Billy Elliot! (Skip to the 4:30 mark if you get tired of Elton.) It was fabulous.

Haven't spotted Optimus Prime yet, but don't worry. I'm still on the lookout.

Presidential Ab Point!

2010-07-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Check it.

It took me four weeks

2010-07-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

... to realize what Reuters folks were talking about on a couple of issues. First, it took me until yesterday to figure out that when the reporters discussed who would do "COL" they were talking about who'd write a regular blog post called "Check Out Line" on the consumer team blog.

And it took me til today to figure out that I was getting emails directed to "RAM folks" because "RAM" stands for Reuters Americas. Which is where I am. I'm catching on, I promise.

No Prince of Tides

2010-07-13T05:46:00.001-07:00

I interviewed an analyst yesterday named Pat Conroy. Now those are common names, but naturally I still had to wonder if he was that Pat Conroy. So I asked. Conversation went something like this (not real quotes, but you get the gist).

Me: Are you the Great Santini?
Him: No. Are you from 'down there'?

This, of course, caused me to joke aloud about how my accent gives me away every time. To which my team leader responded that he didn't think I had an accent (except when I'm nervous, of course). Now this gave me pause. I like my accent. I don't want to sound like a Midwesterner. They pronounce their 'a's strangely and call Pepsi 'pop'. I don't want to pick that up!

So ... tips for avoiding annoying speaking habits, anyone?

Death by monkey

2010-07-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

I saw it yesterday! You should too! Don't go in 3-D 'cause that stuff's too expensive, but it's totally worth it.

More than okay.

I don't care where LeBron goes

2010-07-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

But tonight when he does his big reveal, I'm going to watch. That probably sounds a little weird. I mean, I really could care less who he plays for. I don't even really like the NBA. I'll probably pick a team once I get a real job and move somewhere, but right now, LeBron James could move to Bulgaria with Bobby and it wouldn't bother me.

But I'm still gonna watch. And it's because the PR is genius. I mean, check out this site. They're calling it "The Decision." It's brilliant. ESPN is airing it, then Fox Business is doing a special on what his decision means. They're all preparing for the LeBronocalypse.

So I'm going to watch the madness. Join me. I'll probably tweet sarcastically about it.

In other news, I found a UNC grad at Reuters. I have a basketball buddy. My work is complete.

Swan Dive!

2010-07-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

I found something life-changing today. Okay not really, but it makes me really happy. A new Old Spice ad from the "I'm on a horse" guy! View:

I sort of wanted to try to blog this for Reuters because those ads have become such a phenomenon (Hello Ladies), but I didn't spot it until a few days after the ad showed up online. Since I was late, I figured I'd just blog about it here. Seriously, this find was the biggest achievement of my day.

Plugging away on a story that hasn't turned into anything yet. I've done approximately 95 million interviews, but I'm pretty sure it'll only take about 95.13 million to find the story and make it excellent. No really, it's going to happen. Have faith.

I am America, and so can you.

2010-07-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday America! Yay! I missed everyone in Beaufort County on the 4th, but I guess I'm getting used to being gone for Bubba's fireworks.

Jane and I had company this weekend, which meant I got out and did a whole lot. On Saturday, we went to a Cubs game and watched 'em win. Wrigleyville is an

interesting time, guys. Also Kraft turns out to be based in Chicago.

We also did great, touristy things like go see Millennium Park and the Bean again, and we went to this food fair called Taste of Chicago. No one ate a turkey leg. Fair fail.

And for those who were concerned, the lobster is not from the Gulf (can you read that in the photo?). So that's good to know.

The Chicago History Museum receives a grade of ehhhh on my museum-

excellence scale. Having museum'd my way across Europe, I'm becoming quite the snob.

Last thing. I don't remember if I posted this before, but I wrote a pretty

awesome story last week. I worked my tail off on it, spent a good part of the week trying to get it worked out. You should read it. Make me feel good about my contributions to the world.

Step into my world

2010-07-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

I got into work at 6 a.m. today and was the first one there again, so I figured I could use my alone time to take some photos of my space. This is it. I have two monitors. Aren't I something?

And there's the coffee cup I use every morning when I make

cappuccinos. Yummy. Also my ID badge. I have two of them. My building is fancy.

In our final piece of

news, I have a

bed! It's in our living room, and it's pretty cute. I haven't slept in it yet, and I think it probably needs another pillow or two. But air mattress no more!

Some morning reading

2010-07-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I had time to do this morning update thing, but I found this piece from the New York Times really interesting and rather upsetting. I've been emailing it to friends all morning. The best excerpt:

"Most of the countries where people said men and women had equally good
lives, Professor True said, “are only beginning to question and challenge
gender discrimination and injustice, which have been taken for granted and
seen as legitimate.”

“There is a lower consciousness of the gender differences there because
men have always dominated,” she added. “Women have not had the opportunity to
band together to challenge the power of men.”

For more lighthearted reading, there's always the worst first-sentence-for-a-novel contest. Check out the winner for children's literature!

Where were you on Christmas Day?

2010-06-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

I spent the day fighting with a story that never came into being, but I also watched/listened to a LOT of CSPAN. I just like, ok?

The day's conclusion: Elena Kagan has a fantastic sense of humor. Not sure I heard any real answers to questions, although every news organization is covering her like crazy. But I did hear this, and it made my day.

I really wanted to embed the video, but it wouldn't work. You have to click the link. Sadfaces. At least it's cued up for you!

Gym shorts and Barneys

2010-06-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Total redneck faux pas today: I went to Barneys to get my favorite Bobbi Brown mascara that I can't live without. But I also wanted to go for a run, so I didn't want to take a shower first. I thought an appropriate solution would be to wear workout clothes shopping so that people would know I was on the way somewhere athletic. Mom ALWAYS does that. It's OKAY.

Apparently not. People looked at me real silly. Maybe 'cause I had this shirt on.

Anyway, I applied for jobs today. This is stressful. Would someone out there just call me, offer me the best job ever and let me get on with my life? Yeesh!

Walmart, beans, belly-dance, Thriller

2010-06-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

A new blog post! Hooray! No really, sorry they've been so sporadic. I'm still trying to get used to my new routine. But it's been a full week, so I can't use that excuse anymore.

Anyway, I wrote another Walmart story. There's a photo of pro-Walmart protesters at the thing in the story. You have to read it to know what I'm talking about.

This (left) is the concert area thingy in Millennium Park. I went there briefly after belly-dancing lessons in Grant Park, which I was much

too nervous to photograph.

This thing is called the Bean, and it's a weirdly famous Chicago thing. You put your head up against it and take pictures of yourself all distorted-looking. It's useful a) because tourists think it's goofy and like to photograph themselves with it and b) because little kids can be amused here for hours. I saw a group of five girls laying under it for about 10 minutes.

Lastly, I went to a memorial service for Michael Jackson at his childhood home in Gary, Indiana. Guys, meet sketchy thriller jumpsuit dude.

Big box stores on the way?

2010-06-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

I spent most of today working on a story about Walmart. You can read it here, but basically Walmart wants to come here and not everyone wants it. I guess I always assumed big stores like that were scarce in cities for space reasons. Turns out that ain't the whole story.

Anyway, I got to go to a press conference held by the mayor's office at a school ... somewhere far away. The press folks took a van out to it. That was interesting. And then I wrote a story. And that was my day. Great! Go read the story!

I am failing you all

2010-06-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely negligent about blogging this past week. I apologize. I kept sitting down at my computer with every intention of writing a post and then getting distracted by, like, this. "Your goodness has redeemed me. Die, emperor scum."

In the last week at work, I have written two stories (here and here), contributed to another, sat in on a conference call with folks from Mattel (all that Barbie knowledge really came in handy) ... and done other stuff that I can't remember right now. I've also explored significantly. That thing they call a beach ... well, I still think that's an exaggeration, but little kids play roller hockey near it, which is hilarious.

Look what I saw though! People dancing at an art museum! The most 80s guy ever! And Barack Obama owns a salon? Okayyyyy.

Reuters, Chicago, Day 1

2010-06-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today was not only my first full day in Chi-town but my first day of work at Reuters as well. It is a miracle I didn't get more lost. Because let me tell you a secret about Chicago: It is bigger than Washington. Right.

All in all, my day went pretty well. Most of it was spent figuring out computer programs, reading up on companies I'll cover, and locating the best - and cheapest - lunch places. Everyone was friendly and helpful, which was a relief. Also I learned how to work the cappuccino machine, so I can already tell that this will be a successful summer.

Upside: Band outside the office at lunch playing Tom Petty's "Refugee." Downside: I have to be there at 6 a.m. tomorrow. I don't want to talk about it.

I'm going to be real dorky and touristy tomorrow and take some pictures of my route to work so that you all may experience the magic.

On Stanley Cup-watch

2010-06-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Chicago! I made it! I'm here! Hooray!

So if you missed the previous post on the subject, I'm here to work for Reuters. I'm assigned to the retail team, but I'll know more about that when I start working tomorrow. For now, I'm all moved in, I have most of my stuff put away, and I've even been grocery shopping. Now I'm watching James Carville on CNN. I feel so settled.

Wish I'd been here and settled last week when all the Stanley Cup madness went down. I'm going to keep my eye out for mullet-haired hockey dudes doing strange things with the cup.

Anyway, I'm taking suggestions of things I should do while I'm here. Priority 1 (pizza) is taken care of. Priority 2 (get a bed) should happen soon. I hope. Stay tuned!

TOGA! TOGA!

2010-06-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I have never seen "Animal House." I know it

involves John Belushi and togas. That's about it.

Anyway, I went to a toga party in Greece. Appropriate, right? I tied that sucker out of a bedsheet all by myself. Notice how we're throwing up the UNC in the front of this photo.

Also witness the Cleopatra makeup I put on AB and myself. I got really into this toga theme.

Next day, Athens! I could have used more time in Athens. There's so much to see! Like the Acropolis. And the Parthenon. And a giant marble stadium. And gyros.

I flew out of Athens yesterday, and I got into New York this morning for training for my summer internship. That's in Chicago, which is very much not Beaufort County. The blogging will continue until morale improves ... doesn't Hank have a shirt that says that? Anyway, more to follow as I explore more unfamiliar territory!

Greece, day 2

2010-06-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Greece, day 2. Today, we went on a "sailing" trip (they never actually put up the sails) and hung out on the beach. Yesterday, I wandered all over the little island we're staying on. Check out a few photos!

Venice! Fake David! Sistine Chapel! The Pope! Pompei!

2010-06-04T00:19:00.001-07:00

I'm on a boat on the way to Greece. These are pictures from Austria through Pompei. I have few words to go along with them, but enjoy.

Farah and I are way tough. We're

going whitewater rafting in Austria.

A couple of shots from Venice, which was beautiful!! Maybe my favorite city so far.

Aaaand Florence (to the right), AB's old stomping grounds. I wish we'd had more time in those two cities because they are beautiful.

Roma ... Guys. I saw the pope. That's what's up.

Also, like, the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and all that good stuff.

Lastly, Pompei. We stopped there on our way out of Italy. By that point, I was a little tired of seeing ruins. Still, it's pretty impressive to tour.

This one is short

2010-06-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to blog in Italy, and I haven't actually even loaded any pictures on my computer yet. It's been quite busy. We've been to Venice, Florence and Rome! Look forward to when I find the time to post those pics.

Leaving today for Greece! We're taking an overnight cruise thing out to the islands, then a couple of days beaching it before we're off to Athens. More on Italy and Greece later, I pinky promise. Just wanted to update right quick!

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

2010-05-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we left Munich and headed back to Austria for a couple of days at the "Alpine Center." I don't know if that's its official name or if that's just what we're calling it, but it has a sauna. We don't have much planned here except whitewater rafting this afternoon, so we're making it our catch-up-on-sleep weekend.

On the way here, we came through

Salzburg, which is where "The Sound of Music" was set and where parts of the

movie were filmed.

The town fortress is in the background of some scenes. We actually toured the whole thing because we thought the

wedding was filmed in the chapel, but somehow we got faulty information on that. You can see the view from the fortress.

The Nonnberg Abbey was used for lots of exterior abbey shots. The interior stuff was recreated elsewhere, I think, but you can wander

around some parts of the abbey.

Maria goes by this fountain when she sings "I Have Confidence." I saw that in a book in the fortress gift shop, so I assume it's true. It looks vaguely familiar. I need to watch that movie again.

Lastly, a couple photos from Munich. Just for fun.

Climb every mountain, ford every stream

2010-05-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

We're back in Germany after a couple of nights in Lucerne, which turned out to be a blast. (I spoke too soon on the Swiss people - everyone was unbelievably nice after I wrote that post.)

So we

climbed Mount Pilatus, which is 7,000 feet or something.

And by "climbed it" I mean that we took cable cars most of the way up, then took a few stairs

to the top. We were seriously high up in the air. Check it.

We also went to a Swiss folklore dinner, which was short on actual lore

but heavy on dancing, music and yodeling. Our table won a prize for the best yodeling. The prize turned out to be shots of something that tasted like a tree. Don't accept prizes in Switzerland, guys.

I have lots of photos from Munich, where we are right now, but I'll put those up later. For now, us in Liechtenstein (and yes, I did have to look up how to spell that):

Switzerland: Best shopping thus far.

2010-05-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm shopping my way through Europe. I just have noticed lots of cute, cheap clothes here. Plus the dollar is way stronger against the franc (sp?) than the euro, so it's actually cheap. Loves it.

I'm in Lucerne, but since I last blogged, we made our way all

throughout Germany. A couple of pics from that, plus video ...

Cologne, brief lunch stop. Literally, we were there about an hour. There's a pretty cathedral thingy, but I think that's about it.

Castle spotted while on a cruise of the Rhine River. There are lots of castles in Germany, meaning we've all spent several days designing our ideal castle.

Aaaaand the video I promised. Too many castles in one day + restless college grads = 3-legged race. (Quality might not be the best because I had to make it teeny tiny so it would upload fast enough. I'll put the better one up at some point, I guess.)

I Amsterdam

2010-05-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm in Amsterdam tonight, heading all over Germany tomorrow. Amsterdam is pretty, and playing on the canals is lots of fun, but the best part of this section of the trip was our bike ride through the Dutch countryside earlier today. It's so gorgeous here! I want to move!

Not really. Dutch is a

weird

language. Pictures:

Chocolate tasting in Brussels. We were there for lunch plus a couple of hours yesterday. Did you know Belgium is famous for a statue of a little boy peeing? People there have a weird sense of humor.

Wooden shoes. We saw a demonstration of how they're made today, as well as one on how

cheese is made (YUCK!). I even tried a little bit of the cheese, just in the interest of really experiencing the culture.

Windmill spotted on a bike ride through the Dutch countryside.

This was pretty much everyone's favorite day so far on the trip.

I Amsterdam. (I'm posing on the "e" if you couldn't tell.)

Au revoir, Paris

2010-05-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

Leaving Paris tomorrow at ridiculous a.m. (6:30). We're heading off to Brussels for part of the day and then Amsterdam for a while. Not sure how often I'll be able to blog in those locations (the free internet herehas spoiled me even though it's been unbelievably slow), but I'll keep trying to keep up.

In the meantime, pics from yesterday and today:

Me in front of the Louvre yesterday

afternoon.

Look how pretty Paris is! The green,

and the little ponds, and the Eiffel Tower ...

oh wait. No. No, the Eiffel Tower

is a massive lump of unattractive steel. Sorry French dudes.

Lastly, a

bunch of UNC kids in front of Sacre Coeur.

There's music and breakdancers and sketchy people out there on Friday nights. Lots of fun.

Desolee, je ne parle pas francais

2010-05-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

So I don't speak much French anymore, I learned today. It was our first full day in Paris. Ordering in restaurants is, like, tough. I panic a little bit every time someone speaks to me in French. My face turns really red. Haha but I'm starting to pick it up a little again, so I wish I had more time to practice.

Anyway, some photos:

Look! Me on a boat! In front of the Eiffel Tower! That was last night's Seine Rivercruise.

Jeff Cantwell, this photo (at right) is for you. Look, your girlfriend really is in Europe with me.

We went to a perfume museum today. Morgan sprayed some pretty scents on himself and wanted AB's thoughts.

Also went through Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. Here's the Venus de Milo (aka Aphrodite). We also saw the Mona Lisa, which looks exactly as expected and which was surrounded by absolutely ridiculous numbers of people. Probably those crazy "Da Vinci Code" fans.

More London

2010-05-19T16:24:00.001-07:00

I'm in Paris now, but I have more London pics to post and can save the Paris ones til tomorrow. These are from yesterday:

In the British Museum, which is nowhere

near as awesome as the Newseum :)

Trafalgar Square is gorgeous. And Morgan is, like, five years old.

The rest of the pics won't load, so I give up. Yay Paris.

The London adventure ends

2010-05-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today was our third and last day in London. I think in three days, I've done everything I would have wanted to do in a week. My back hurts. But it's been awesome. Photos:

St. Paul's Cathedral. We didn't actually tour it, but we did tour

Westminster Abbey. But since they won't let you take pics inside, you

get to see my cool one from St. Paul's (left).

This photo says funny things about London. Free beer with haircut, double-decker bus, gorgeous building.

All I have time for tonight. More tomorrow, perhaps.

The blog is back!

2010-05-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

I warned it might happen, and it did. The blog is back! I'm in Europe for four weeks, then Chicago for the summer, and I think those adventures warrant blog posts. After all, none of those places are Beaufort County. So start reading again!

I won't have internet access often while I'm overseas, so I'm going to mostly limit myself to photos. Here are some from London, where I arrived (exhausted) yesterday morning and will remain until early

Wednesday morning.

At left, my dinner Monday night. Fish, chips and English beer. I could not eat all that food.

At right, the Buckingham Palace guards practicing for the queen's birthday parade.

And finally, me being Harry

Potter. It was inevitable.

More later ...

Thanks for sticking with me!

2009-08-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Greenville and will be home or traveling til school starts in a few weeks. I guess that means there's no longer a need for this blog. I mean, Chapel Hill ain't Beaufort County, but you don't want me to blog about my normal life - half of you are there, and the other half are my parents.

This is a farewell post. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me from January til now. I had an incredible time in DC, and I loved sharing it. Mostly, of course, I loved having a forum for my thoughts, observations and opinions (and, in my family anyway, a captive audience!).

Should I find some new and pressing reason to resume the blog, I'll let you know. For now, though, let's look at some of the awesome things I did during the summer:

-New roommate, new friend group, new set of cheesy touristy photos.

-Lots of movies, most of the $5 variety. Some sweet, some mildly disappointing, some appetite-stealing, some too silly for words (literally; it was apparently so silly I never bothered to blog it). Some an EPIC adventure worth doing twice.

-Bill Clinton, Mary Tyler Moore and a JoBro, NC politicians and, um, monsters?

-Fireworks! And birthdays! And birthdays with fireworks! And birthdays with songs? And a new kind of pizza day.

-Ouch, ew, darn. Is it lame that that's one of my summer's biggest takeaways? Almost as important as that feeling you get when you realize that you might - maybe - have a future in something you once weren't mentally prepared to do.

Thanks again, everyone. Can't wait to see you in Chapel Hill!

Final dinner, last full day

2009-08-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Last night was our final dinner with everyone together (although one couldn't make it). Several people headed out this morning, and Kate is moving to her new apartment today. The rest of us are leaving tomorrow morning or, in the case of a couple of people, staying for another week or two of work. I have to be out of my apartment in City Hall by 11 a.m. tomorrow!

Anyway, we went to an Italian restaurant in Georgetown last night, and it was de-lish. Wish I'd gotten a photo of the whole group, but you can tell from the ones I did get that we were all there.

Plan for today (my last full day!): Brunch and Eastern Market, HBP for the second time (Katie Nagel hasn't seen it yet) and packing like whoaaaa. Stay tuned for photos ... I'm trying to fill an entire album on Facebook in just one week. Simple task for most, enormous challenge for me.

Probably the last time I'll do this

2009-07-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

Until someone gives me a job and pays me to do it. I would be totally good at it. Like this guy.

-Cash in a freezer is a national joke now, apparently. I didn't really think most people were using that one often, but it turns out I was wrong.

-Somebody really needs a candy bar. That's just gross.

-Other somebodies don't need candy bars. No really, all kidding aside, I've been reading a lot about obesity since I saw Bill Clinton earlier in the week, and this is an interesting post. Part of an escalating back-and-forth that I would link to, but something new will come up as soon as I do. If you're that interested, I trust you can find it yourself.

Weird ...

2009-07-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm back at home after my last day of work. Weird ... I'm no longer an intern, between internships or gearing up for an internship. I'm actually going back to school. Again, weird ...

Took me the whole summer to do it, but I finally took a picture of the CQ interns. Yay for us! We're fabulous. Great lunch buddies.

So I've got tomorrow and a few hours Sunday morning, and then I leave DC for who knows how long. One last time: weird ...

If I'da been there, if I'da seen it ...

2009-07-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

The House passed fairly massive food safety legislation yesterday. If I'd thought about it, I'd have asked to shadow someone up at the Hill and watch the vote. But I didn't think about it, so I'm stuck reading about the legislation.

In case you're curious, the bill that left the House yesterday included recall authority and traceability rules, which I wrote a bangin' story about, and rules for inspections, which I didn't exactly write about but did cover differing safety regulations. Which is similar.

Last day ... deja vu

2009-07-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

It's my last day of work at CQ and, like last semester, I don't really have much to do. I guess they figured it'd be weird to send me out somewhere on the last day because there's nothing for me to cover on the schedule.

I guess I'll clean out my desk for a few hours. We're going to lunch as a group with a couple of the internship coordinators ... and then I guess I'll clean some more. Someone must have noticed how messy I am and realized I'd need the whole day to get that stuff done.

I'm moving out on Sunday, so there's just time to do a few last-minute fun things with my friends. More on that later ...

Happy Birthday?

2009-07-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

I was editing this to make it look cooler, but Movie Maker kept crashing, so I gave up. Apparently I didn't hit "go" in time to get the whole song. But that ain't the Happy Birthday song I know!

Didn't you think she was about to say "You look like a monkey" when she says "uniquely American"? How disappointing.

Um. Awkward.

2009-07-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Spy Museum is not this racy during the day, let me tell you. It is pretty awesome at all times.

Here's another story about the same thing. It's racier, fyi.

Rally your spirits, little Olympus

2009-07-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

I love rallies. They're such good opportunities for photos and video and stuff. If I had a decent camera (and fully charged batteries), today's single-payer rally at the Capitol would have been like field day. Not that I don't appreciate Charlotte, my little point-and-shoot. I love her.

And yes, I do name all my appliances. Step off.

Anyway, I have photos, and I'll post them as soon as I get home. But what I most wish I'd gotten on video I didn't think to capture. When I arrived at the rally, a group was on stage leading the crowd in a single-payer rendition of "Standin in the Need of Prayer" (I think that was what it was anyway). Followed by an adaptation of "America" from West Side Story, with mildly offensive imitation Puerto Rican accents and everything.

I did not take a "Happy Birthday Medicare" cupcake, but props to them for having 'em.

FYI, Youtube doesn't play on my work computer, so if those links are not the right songs, I apologize. Just trying to help you out.

The price of my Dumbledore finger

2009-07-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

After all this reporting on health care stuff, it was only fitting that I have a fun health issue of my own this summer. I was lucky it was just the Dumbledore finger (here are new photos for those of you following its progress).

As you know, I got a tetanus shot and had the little guy drained at the emergency room. Mom called today and said the bill was more than $1,000. Insurance paid for much of that, but wow. My new project: Find out how much it would have cost to have the same procedures in a non-emergency setting. I'll get back to ya.

Speaking of Dumbie, he's so named because (it hurts me to realize that I have to explain this to the Muggles among you) in HBP, Dumbledore gets into a battle that kills his hand. I tried and failed to find a good photo, but it turns all black and dead-looking. Just like Dumbie.

And now that I'm on a Wikipedia-linking spree, did y'all realize that there are uses of the word "Muggle" outside the realm of Harry Potter? And that it's a slang term for marijuana? That JK Rowling. So edgy.

Cookie dough v. cheesecake

2009-07-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

Cecily, Susannah and I were in line for Ben & Jerry's ice cream courtesy of the folks who own CQ's building today and having trouble deciding what kind of ice cream to get. Chocolate chip cookie dough or strawberry cheesecake ... difficult choice. Until ...

Girl behind Cecily in line: I want half cookie dough, half cheesecake.

Cecily (in an awed voice): Did you hear that? She's smart.

I'm eating my ice cream right now and thinking cookie dough was a good choice.

No vote, but at least there's ice cream

2009-07-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

I feel like now is as good a time as any to point out that since the House won't be voting on health overhaul legislation on Friday, I won't get to see them vote on the tricommittee bill. What a bummer. I haven't gone to a floor vote in the sixish months I've been in DC, and back when they were talking about maybe voting on my last day of work, I thought that'd be a great end to a summer dominated by health care.

Oh well. We have an ice cream social today, so I don't feel too bummed.

Sorry Becca

2009-07-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

Time (and the National Bureau of Economic Research) says you're doomed to be less happy in life than Hank or me. Lizzie, on the other hand, you're golden. Lucky you.

'Course everyone who has seen this already knew all that:

"They got little hands, little eyes, walk around telling great big lies ..."

The Ugly Truth is that ...

2009-07-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

Katherine Heigl somehow always plays the same character. In every movie. Despite that, and despite shockingly bad reviews, I sorta liked it. It was silly and a little vulgar, but it was cute. It was worth the $5 at the theater at Union Station (love those $5 Tuesdays).

It would have been cuter if Gerard Butler had kept that Irish accent from P.S. I Love You, but it worked. Not that I could ever pick out a real accent (or even a good fake one) in a crowd, but apparently he's actually Scottish? (Wikipedia tells me that's their flag.)

I really would like to blog about more interesting things, but I haven't had a creative thought all day long. It's just been one of those days.

You'll have so many babies. 400 BABIES.

2009-07-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

Remember that post when I said I don't tell dead baby jokes anymore because that's kinda weird?

It ain't as weird as this:

One day, I'll be as cool as those babies. Um, and if you're confused about the 400 babies reference ... you shouldn't be. (Yes, Mom, the usual warning stands. Don't click the link if you don't want to hear the bad word.)

Hey look, Bill Clinton!

2009-07-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

The former prez spoke at a conference I attended this morning on obesity. So cool! I was interested to see Clinton invited to an obesity conference because he was once a famously unhealthy eater, but he looks like he's in better shape now. And he's definitely passionate about childhood obesity.

Is it weird that whenever I leave an obesity event - and I've gone to several in the past two months - I always feel an inexplicable urge to eat lots of junk food? So counterproductive. Which brings me to ...

PIZZA!

Daily Tar Heel rocks my socks

2009-07-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

And other UNC students' socks as well, it would appear. The Princeton Review names us the best college newspaper in this year's college rankings, released today. (Thanks, Andrew Dunn, for that screenshot, which loads way faster than the Princeton Review page.)

You can see all the rankings, in which we also earn the interesting position of #5 jock school, here.

A note to N&O blogger Eric Ferreri and/or whoever is behind @newsobserver on Twitter: Not ranking among top 20 party schools does not equal lame. Just so you know.

Best internship perks

2009-07-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

I noticed as I returned after lunch today that someone finally made a name plate for my desk. People have asked me all summer why I don't have one, and with one week to go, they appear to have remembered me. Anyway, a comment via Twitter from News & Record editor John Robinson reminded me of goodies from past internships. I thought I'd recap for your enjoyment.

Scripps Howard gave me a flashlight, which was cool, and a messenger bag, which was really, unbelievably awesome. I use it to carry my computer when I go to the Hill. It's going to be my new backpack at school.

The N&R gave me a t-shirt. It's really cool. I wear it a bunch.

The News & Observer gave me notepads. Actually, every internship did. But the N&O's say "News & Observer" on them, so that sets them apart.

I don't remember if I got anything good at the Daily Reflector. The Daily Tar Heel makes you pay for everything. I think we're going to declare Scripps the winner. Step it up, CQ. There's your competition.

Tiny precious children love Harry too

2009-07-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

The KidsPost sought reviews of HBP from diminutive Potter fans, and it's really funny. My favorite is probably the first one on the second page. The very last one is the weirdest. Read it. I'm not the only person in this area who got unbelievably hyped for Harry.

Date with Ikea

2009-07-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

Katie Nagel and I went to see (500) Days of Summer last night in Georgetown. I recommend it. Not a huge Zooey Deschanel fan, and the movie is a little depressing at times, but we laughed a lot and really liked it. I'd been wondering what happened to that precious, nerdy guy after 10 Things I Hate About You!

Heads-up to any boys who might be thinking of asking me out. This is where we should go on our date:

Don't yell. Please don't yell.

2009-07-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

I wrote another abortion story today. I've tried to steer clear of that topic since getting yelled at early last semester, but it's not something I could avoid forever. I do write for a health publication. My story is about this. But it's not in Time.

Anyway, hopefully no one will call and yell at me about this one. I don't tell dead-baby jokes any more, just in case (not that that's what got me in trouble before). If I did, I'd ask how you keep a baby from falling in a manhole ...

Click the link to the old post. I used to write a lot, huh? Now I'm lazy.

Dumbledore's not dead

2009-07-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Dumbledore died in HBP, so why did he wait until after that to join Twitter? Creepy.

He joins the Barrel Monster (who appears to have abandoned Twitter), Cookie Monster and the AP Stylebook on my celeb list.

I think I need more to do in my spare time.

Who knows when that'll happen again?

2009-07-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

I almost saw the Nats beat the Mets yesterday. But I didn't. We went out to the stadium only to get there after all the $5 and $10 seats had sold out. Most of the group didn't want to spend $20 to watch the Nats lose - it happened on Monday - to a team we didn't care about, so we went home. And then the Nats won. Oops.

Unrelated: Bossnappings? Relatively amusing. Blowing up your workplace? Kinda crazy. Easy guys.

No job, nasty nail

2009-07-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

So, to clarify, I did not get hired today. Bummer. I didn't find out a whole bunch about the sale either. Roll Call is buying CQ, and the merged company will be called CQ-Roll Call Group. Not sure why they picked that order, but Roll Call-CQ Group sounds weird, so maybe that's what's up.

In other news, doesn't my fingernail look gross? It's starting to heal, but it looks pretty dang nasty.

Hired?

2009-07-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

We have a big staff meeting at CQ this morning. It was announced yesterday afternoon, and we weren't really given details about what it'd be about. The interns made sure we were included on the meeting; we want to hear what's going on as much (or, you know, nearly) as anyone.

We all have our guesses, of course. Politico shares theirs with the blogosphere, as do these guys.

My guess, as I told my editor yesterday: it's probably about how they want to hire me. I'd hold a full staff meeting to announce that if I were them. In fact, I'd hold a press conference. So we'll see.

Until I know more ... Look! Pizza!

Update 12:05 p.m.

Here's Roll Call on the sale. Looks like nothing will change until after I leave.

Two weeks notice

2009-07-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

I have two weeks left in D.C., so I need some last-minute recommendations of things we must do before going home. Suggestions have included a Nats game (we might be going on Tuesday) and the Holocaust Museum (that one's a little trickier, lines are ridiculous during the summer). So email me or post your ideas in the comments.

This weekend, by the way, I discovered that I like lots of kinds of sushi, went out to Alexandria, watched lots of Lost and wandered around with Katie Nagel and other friends.

And today, something completely different

2009-07-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving the office yesterday, one of the editors grabbed me and asked if I could help with something different today. I'm always looking for opportunities to meet people at CQ and figure out what the hundreds of reporters do every day, so I said I was in.

They sent me to the Hill to work with the documents team. TopDocs, they call them. CQ posts documents in its databases from, like, everything. I don't even know what all goes there, never having used the databases much. But when there's a bill markup, like the appropriations ones today, docs people go to the markups to keep track of the amendments. That's what I did today.

It was a cool experience, mostly because I met a lot of younger folks. I'm always interested to see where reporters start at CQ. I also learned an important lesson, which is that going to the Hill for the day with no computer is very unwise! It was a loooong day.

Food documentary and free tacos

2009-07-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

I finally saw Food Inc. yesterday. It was a lot like The Jungle! But with video. And interviews with awesome farmers. And lots of gross animal shots. No socialism, although there was some anti-capitalist sentiment.

I knew a lot of the information presented in the film already from having covered food safety stories for so long, and the documentary is obviously very one-sided. But it was free - sponsored by Chipotle - and I enjoyed it. I do think I learned a good deal. And I got a pass for a free taco at Chipotle :)

It's official. I have updated Facebook.

2009-07-16T14:38:00.001-07:00

For about two years, all I had in my favorite books section was a quote from the N&O about the momentousness of reading your first Jane Austen novel. It would take a lot to change that. Like this, from yesterday's Washington Post: "'Harry Potter' is 'Pride and Prejudice' with wands."

I feel like that quote probably explains my childhood. "Pride and Prejudice" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" were arguably the most important books I read between the ages of 10 and 18. Both shaped my life (and reading habits) in different ways. I'm obsessed with both.

I think writers at the Post just get me this week. Before I met Harry/Mr. Darcy, I was a Nancy Drew kid. After my parents gave me the first book to keep me from reading any more Baby Sitters Club, that is. But the Nancy obsession didn't survive elementary school. Given my excitement about HBP and my tradition of reading P&P every Christmas and summer, those stuck.

Louise is back!

2009-07-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

She must have needed to get some air. I couldn't get her to turn on last night, this morning OR when I got back from work. In a stroke of genius, Kate recommended that I take her downstairs and get the IT guys to check her out. As soon as I took her downstairs, she turned right on. I felt like an idiot for bringing her down, but at least she's back in the land of the living.

On a completely unrelated side note, I would have felt extremely uncomfortable covering this.

"Attractive?" "Well yeah. She has nice ... skin."

2009-07-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

Um, question: Did anyone expect HBP to be funny? Cause I sure didn't. And it sure was.

My friend Luis thinks Dan Radcliffe and Rupert Grint should be in a Judd Apatow bromance together. I wouldn't go that far, but there was definitely some wonderful, awkward, teen-angsty humor. I was pleasantly surprised.

Not to give a blow-by-blow of the entire movie, but the ending is disappointing and anticlimactic. Not enough Fenrir!! Not enough battle!! On the whole, though, I liked it a lot. And I feel that it was worth getting not nearly enough sleep before interviewing a congressman to go see it at midnight.

Kid who plays baby Tom Riddle, I salute you. You are, in fact, unbelievably creepy.

I'm LOST without Louise

2009-07-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

I really want to blog about Harry Potter right now, but my computer, Louise the laptop, has died. It will not even turn on. I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm going to leave it off all day in hopes that that will revive it some. I'm using Kate's to type this, but I don't want to steal hers for long. Sad, sad day.

Real problem: What am I going to do about watching LOST if my computer doesn't wake up!?!? I just finished second season! I must continue!!!

Stuff to read if you're STOKED FOR HARRY!

2009-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

No really. I'm so excited. I'm reading 'em all.

-I'm not sure how much darker it can be if it's rated PG, but I love the description of Alan Rickman as "effortlessly oily."

-These look-how-cute-they-were things used to be cool, but the actors haven't changed since Goblet of Fire.

-I want to be an "evangelist for Harry" too! And I think I've found my costume for tonight.

-A factory where Brits mint creepy, pale kids? I probably should have been British.

-We're Hermione fans? So, so false.

Look, I found the source of the ticking:

Stuff to read. If you're bored.

2009-07-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Things you should check out:

-Something I wrote that you can read! Great!

-I didn't even know there was a Butner, NC. Maybe because very, very few people live there. But dang, Wikipedia updates quickly.

-Their mothers must be proud. How was there not already a record for skinny dipping?

-NOT THE BAGELS! The second part of the headline is more alarming, but bagels grab my attention every time.

Happy Birthday Alexandria

2009-07-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

Apparently Alexandria turned 259 over the weekend, so we went to celebrate with the residents. This was more like I thought July 4 would be: The Alexandria Symphony played Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Stars and Stripes Forever (click the link, I'm pretty sure that's NCADA), little kids had glow sticks, parents brought picnics, big fireworks over the water. It was great.

Afterward, we wandered over to Old Town and got "old fashioned" ice cream. Which tasted like normal ice cream to me. But it was yummy!

I love the smell of newsprint in the morning

2009-07-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

How many times can I talk about how I would move to the Newseum before everyone gets bored of hearing it? I think you have to be there to really get it. Anyway, I had a fabulous visit on Saturday.

I wanted to do things differently this time, so I went to lots of the videos instead of all the same exhibits. I was there from about 10:30 a.m. til close (again). I also went to a q&a with NPR's ombudsman (like a public editor) and talked about torture, health care coverage, the Internets and community interaction.

Photos:

The whole group on the balcony at the top of

the Newseum, with the Capitol behind us.

Tyler and Barack are in the Newseum.

The Newseum's Food Section has crab dip. Yum.

Everybody looks cute in 4D glasses.

Not tonight, dear. I'm on deadline.

2009-07-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

Dear journalism school, thank you for paying to send me to the Newseum tomorrow. I love the Newseum. As previously stated, I would live there.

Everyone else is all, "Let's go for a few hours and then go shopping," or "Let's go for a few hours and then go exploring." And I'm all, "Okay, see ya. I'm staying ALL DAY."

Nobody puts Jody in a cubicle

2009-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

As you might have guessed, I had lunch with Jody and the new us today. They were all friendly, and I've read a few of their stories and think they're probably pretty good. But they aren't us. PS, have y'all seen the video we made?

It was also a pretty weird experience because there were supposed to be lots of us talking about finding jobs and internships and stuff, but only two of us came. And everybody already knew Isaac because he works for Scripps. And, um, I'm unpaid. I don't exactly have a wealth of advice to share.

And they put Jody in a cubicle. A cubicle in a corner, no less. Thanks, Alex, for putting it so succinctly.

And this is funny.

Random collection of my thoughts ...

2009-07-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

Someone feel free to explain this to me. It's following me on Twitter, and it wants my vote for something or other. Beyond that, I don't really understand.

Also, while you're at it, go ahead and explain this. Really? I mean, I think we can add that to the list of things I would never allow my parents to do. Or ask my parents to do, whichever was actually the case here. Goes on the list after ... I can't even think of anything that would go close to that on the list. Examples escape me. My wit is limited today.

This headline offends me. I don't care if it's true.

Know what tomorrow is? It's PIZZA DAY!!!! And you thought Pizza Day ended in April. More on that tomorrow ...

Whose dog was that?

2009-07-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

Fabulous story of the day - I covered a House hearing about bottled water today. Random, I'm aware. This is probably much more entertaining than the story I wrote (haven't read it yet).

Anyway, here's the good part: Toward the end, I'm drawing flowers on my notebook because that's what I do when I have to sit in one place too long, when suddenly everyone around me sits up straighter and starts giggling. So I sit up straighter too, just in time to see a staffer quietly pick up a small dog and carry it away to a side room. No idea where that little guy came from.

Then, once the hearing was over, Rep. Bart Stupak walks down off the dais (can you call it that? It's raised) and says, to no one in particular, "Whose dog was that? Think he wanted some bottled water?"

Update 3:09 p.m.

You also could read this version. Apparently this story got a lot of attention today on the news and stuff.

Why we need Twitter, part deux

2009-07-09T05:07:00.000-07:00

An extension of my first post on the usefulness of Twitter (aka Shaq), this may become a regular feature on my blog. It would be similar to the I Hate Duke series, only this one would be more spread out. Anyway, today I am thankful that Twitter gives me an uncomfortable amount of information about acquaintances' lives because that kept me from going to Maryland for the morning.

Here's how it went down. Right before I left to go to the NIH for a swine flu event (which would have been cool; Kathleen Sebelius, Janet Napolitano, etc. will be there), I spotted on Twitter that CQ Homeland Security intern Kevin was about to head up there.

Now I know from past experience that CQ doesn't need two reporters covering the same event. Not really looking forward to spending my morning at an event only to find out that one of us wouldn't get to write a story, I called my editor. Now I'm covering this instead of high-tailing it out to Maryland. All thanks to Kevin, intrepid reporter.

Not that I have anything against Maryland. It's just far.

Poll Time: Harry Potter

2009-07-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Okay guys, I'm (obviously) going to see the new Harry Potter movie at midnight when it comes out next week. Kate and I will hopefully buy tickets tomorrow. Which means I now need to decide how I'm going to dress up!!

I need your help. Post ideas in the comments, or email me suggestions. I've included photos of the previous times I've dressed up to welcome Harry into my life, once as Professor Trelawney and once as Tonks. Who should be next?

To get you in the mood, here's the trailer (baller like you can't even imagine):

"Did I know he was the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time? No."

How many shades of red can you turn?

2009-07-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

Embarrassing moment of the day: I covered this panel thing with a bunch of congressmen who are also doctors. It was all about health care, billed as a chance for the "real House doctors" to discuss the overhaul stuff from the medical perspective. That's not the embarrassing part.

During the panel, all these people's phones kept going off. I was annoyed for the panelists because, hello, that's rude. I checked my phone to make sure it was silenced after the first one rang, and after that, I got seriously irritated. RUDE.

Anyway, at 5:30, another phone starts playing weird music, and I'm looking around, ticked, for the idiot who won't turn it off. It keeps going and going. Then I realize that it's awfully close to me. Then I realize it's my alarm, reminding me to take my antibiotics for my finger. I set an alarm because if I didn't, I'd forget to take the meds every six hours. And apparently the alarm sounds even if you silence your phone. So that was my phone going nuts for ages while I stare around looking for the jerk who won't turn off his/her ringer.

My finger hurts less

2009-07-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

I got my fingernail drained. My friends Katy and Chris determined that it looked worse today than yesterday, so I sucked it up and went to the emergency room at GWUH.

I thought maybe a Sunday would be relatively slow, but I had to wait about three hours before anyone saw me. Not that surprising - my emergency wasn't really an emergency - but it was a long afternoon, and I didn't have a book because I went straight from Eastern Market.

Anyway, they stuck a hole in it, squeezed all the blood out (I didn't watch), wrapped it up in a huge bandage and gave me a tetanus shot. And that was that. I'm probably going to lose the nail, but I was prepared for that. I should have taken a photo of it all big and blue. I didn't, but check out my bandaged finger.

Awesome day. Sarcastically speaking.

Update 7/7

Changed the bandage on my finger. Don't look at the photo up close if you're easily grossed out.

4th of July

2009-07-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was lots of fun. Not as much fun as hanging out on the Pamlico, maybe, but we had a good time. We went to the parade (slow-moving), hung out at the pool in our backyard (sunburn), cooked out at a friend's house (hot dogs, duh) and watched the fireworks from near the Capitol. Good times.

Fun fact, of which I would loooove for the makers of my digital camera to take note. When there's a mode on the camera for fireworks, it should allow me to take firework photos. That does not look like a firework. Technology fail.

I learn things reading the news

2009-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, normally it wouldn't merit posting that reading the news teaches you stuff. But I learned two fabulous lessons today, and I got 'em both from Time.com, so I consider that worth sharing. Plus I'm too lazy to post about the 4th - it was fun, photos to come - so I figure this can fill the vacuum.

The things I learned:

1) Hornswoggle is a word, but also a professional wrestler. I'm willing to bet not one of you knew either of those things.

2) Ignoring all the Sarah Palin stuff, there is a real town called North Pole, Alaska. And it's kind of far from the real North Pole. They celebrate Christmas in ice, though, so that's something.

Happy Birthday America!!

2009-07-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

New song for the National Mall

2009-07-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Kate and Brian went down to the Folklife Festival (I'm skipping because I need to run; I'm mean if I go too long without exercise), and this song seemed appropriate. We have it stuck in our heads. Now you will too.

How to win at trivia

2009-07-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

Be awesome like us. That's right. We won.

At left, the guys are hard at work on the super-long trivia quiz.

Victory!

We won a $50 gift certificate, so we just used it to pay for everything we got to eat and drink. Good haul.

The whole winning team. Team Platypi, for some reason. Personally, I thought we should be Team Roy Williams. I don't know how Team Platypi won when Team Jody Beck couldn't, but life doesn't always make sense.

I do not do poetry, but if I did ...

2009-07-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

If I were an ode-writing person, I would write an ode to long weekends in this space.

But I am not an ode person, and I don't do poetry. Instead, I'll just express to you all that I am thrilled at the prospect of not working on Friday. I'm going to sleep late (assuming my throbbing finger permits it), maybe go to the pool, explore the city ... who knows. I'm mostly focused on the sleeping late part.

Finger update: I showed it to someone yesterday in hopes of bragging about my war wound, and they thought I had just painted my nails blue. I'm going to paint the rest red and white and pretend it's my American spirit shining through.

Monster is to oddity as Gate is to scandal

2009-07-01T13:55:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I post things on Twitter that I then decide are really clever and should be promoted elsewhere so more people can smile at my silliness. This post is one of those times.

The N&O has a story today about a "sewer monster" located underneath Cameron Village. This is disgusting. It's actually a cute story, considering the narstiness of the topic at hand. Read it. Be entertained.

The real question, obviously, is if we're officially going to add "monster" to the end of every unexpected and unusual thing that appears in the Triangle. Barrel monster, sewer monster ... it's the new "-gate."

I'd give more detail, but my fingernail hurts

2009-07-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

Photos from the weekend:

Cristina modeled for art-museum statues in a previous life.

Created by the director of special projects for the state of eternity. Just wondering, who is the director of everyday, normal projects for the state of eternity?

Barbecue festival bunny? I don't know, it was toothpaste-related.

If this were a Stephenson family vacation, Eric Stam would have received the Good Sport Award for a) sleeping on the floor both nights and b) hanging out with a lot of women all weekend.

OW OW OW OW OW OW

2009-06-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

I smashed my finger in a door at the Post Office today. My entire hand has turned blue and purple, and I am convinced that it will fall off tomorrow. It is twice the size it should be. Also I can't use my pointer finger, which makes typing excessively difficult. You are so lucky to be getting this update.

Also, I would just like to note that Googling "bruised nail" returns a surprising number of sites, but clicking on them is unwise. I am about 13,000 times more terrified that I'm about to lose my finger than I was before asking the Internets what to do about it. Unfortunately, the only advice the Internets provide that doesn't make me feel sick to my stomach is to put ice on the little blue guy, which, at this time, makes my finger hurt even worse.

Becca, you better be so nice to me for sending you that stupid postcard 'cause this is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

For Twitter-haters (cough Tini cough)

2009-06-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Definitive answer for all the haters out there: this is why you should have Twitter. Because Shaquille O'Neal is tweeting "Yo Momma" jokes. Forget all the valuable things I learned today from Twitter (everyone should read this). Shaq is why I tweet.

Um, a warning: Some of his jokes are rude. Just so you know.

Dark Week plans

2009-06-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

Congress is on recess this week to celebrate the 4th in their home states, so not a whole lot going on with health care. In fact, it's what my editor calls a "dark week," which I assume means HealthBeat isn't publishing until after the weekend.

To fill my time, I'm working on stories for CQ Politics. They do lots of advance stories for political geeks like me about the 2010 congressional races, so I'm helping with that. It's nice to have a change of pace, plus y'all can actually read these since the politics site is free!

There are more people in the office than usual, I guess because they're usually on the Hill. I think I like it when lots of folks are around. They bought us bagels this morning, and I'm totally for that kind of generosity.

Had a great weekend with Tini and Eric, but I want to wait til I have photos to post about that. So more this evening, with maybe some updates about my plans for the 4th.

Birthdays and chicken pot pies

2009-06-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Founding Farmers for Kate's birthday last night. I totally recommend the chicken pot pie. I have no idea why I ordered that - guess I was just in the mood - but it turned out to be the best and most popular dish at the table.

We also discovered that this bar around the corner from Lindsay's office has trivia nights on Mondays. As someone with a decent-sized store of completely useless knowledge, I am a huge fan of trivia games.

Yay fun photos of Kate's birthday! Thanks Gwen.

Please be better than this

2009-06-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely not funny, otherwise I would make a joke about sketchy Dookies or an insensitive comparison. But it's too horrible and sad for that. That poor child.

But it does raise the question: What the heck is going on in the Triangle this summer? First N.C. State's Easley mess, now a Dookie decides the old lacrosse issues weren't uncomfortable enough.

Please, UNC, do not join the race to the bottom. Please.

In tribute

2009-06-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

The dance that every kid in America knows, especially come Halloween:

Poor guy certainly had a crazy life.

Happy Birthday Kate!!

2009-06-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today is my roommate's 22nd birthday. If you know Kate, you should call her. Now. And sing and say embarrassing things. We're going to Founding Farmers for her birthday dinner, and I'm exciiiiited!

In other news, no one should ever have press conferences outside at noon. It's so unfair. You have to wear sleeveless shirts to avoid dying in the heat, but then you come back with lovely rose-colored shoulders. In the shape of your sleeveless shirt. Super.

This is my 300th post. I need a life.

Don't we know someone named Sugar?

2009-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

I have never been to a hearing more crowded than the diabetes thing in the Senate today. Millions and millions of little kids, pages and congressional interns packed into this room to see Nick Jonas. Lots of photogs. Not so many reporters.

Poor guy must have been nervous. Some congressional intern fainting in the middle of his testimony probably made him uncomfortable (yep, that happened). Mary Tyler Moore and Sugar Ray Leonard didn't quite get the teen crowd all fired up, but the committee senators were excited to see 'em.

The photos are:

1) A tiny, tiny sliver of Nick Jonas' face. Epic fail on getting a good one, even though I got pretty close.

2) Mary Tyler Moore and Sen. Susan Collins

Take me with you!

2009-06-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm going to post about the diabetes thing once I get home and can load my (pathetic) photos. For now, though, are you guys watching this Mark Sanford thing? His poor family.

And poor me, Hank and Mom are going to see David Sedaris without me tonight. It's so unfair. I live in the fun city. Why can't David Sedaris come hang out with me? Actually, he probably has been here, but Twitter didn't tell me about that.

Also, in case you're curious, he's probably going to Quail Ridge Books instead of Barnes & Noble because B&N says he tells falsehoods.