See ya later Tara

My good friend Tara is leaving tomorrow for a cross country journey to her new home, California. Yes, that's right, I'm being abandoned yet again. If this keeps up I will have no friends left here in DC.

She had her final work event this weekend at Kings Dominion and invited me along. We drove down on Friday to go to the opening night of Halloween Haunt with her friends Stephanie and Andy...here we are:

Somehow Stephanie secured free VIP passes, which meant we got to wear these AWESOME skull wristbands and eat free food.

One thing you might not know about me is that I am TERRIFIED of haunted houses. Once when I was younger, I opted to sit in the car while my cousin and all of her friends went to the haunted forrest. So going to Halloween Haunt was a really big deal for me. I was really nervous to go inside:

It wasn't so bad once we got inside. See, I'm smiling...

...but not for long. As we meandered through the park, we happened upon a section with a clown theme. If there is one thing I hate more than haunted houses it is clowns. There are a kabillion clowns milling around and they would come walk next to you, or behind you, or just get in your face. Here is the SCARIEST clown walking behind Tara...

He did so for like 5 minutes...CREEPY!!!

Here is Tara and I standing in line for our favorite ride, Volcano. There were so few people in the park that we only stood in line for about 10 minutes...

When we got up to the front of the line, we were informed that the ride had stopped, and that although they didn't know how long it would be down we were welcome to wait if we'd like...

We decided to wait for a little bit. But then a little bit became a little bit longer, so we decided to move on to another ride.

Tara absolutely loves the big shot or big drop or whatever it's called. You know the ride, it takes you higher than the moon and then just drops you? Yeah, I hate that ride. But because I'm a good friend, I decided to accompany Tara. This is me freaking out...

And here we are on the way up. I was so scared that I swore more than I did when I went snowboarding for the first time. It was THAT bad!


After my stomach had dislodged itself from my throat we went on the rebel yell. This is a double roller coaster with one train going forward and the other going backwards, and you race each other. We went on the forward train and we kicked the backwards trash. This is Tara and I so excited that we didn't have to wait in line (see all of the empty stalls behind us?) We ended up going on that ride three time in a row (without having to get out of the train). I think twice is my limit. That last time was pretty brutal.

The final ride of the evening was the Hypersonic. It is, according to Kings Dominion's website, "the only compressed air-launch coaster in the US. It's unique acceleration, zero gravity airtime and free fall sensations combine to make Hypersonic an incredible coaster experience." I love this one, almost as much as I love Volcano. See how happy I am?

Apparently, the unique acceleration, zero gravity airtime and free fall sensations also make my hair go crazy. People in line were looking at me and laughing when I got back from my ride...

Here's a better shot, isn't it awesome?! I totally left it for the rest of the night, even when a handsome Venezuelan tried to get me to ride the big shot with him.


We went back to the hotel to rest up for another full day of thrill rides. Saturday we were up early to help hand out t-shirts for the work event, which earned us free entry into the park. Woohoo!! Here I am in the booth dancing to the lame music they pipe through the speakers.

After we put in our time it was park time once again. Here I am driving the mystery machine while we waited for Nick and Lara to join us.

We finally connected at Tomb Raider. That ride flips you around so much that you practically come out of your seat. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little terrified. Here's the Saturday crew, Lara, Nick, Tara and I:

And the three lovelies. One of my favorite things about going places with Tara is she takes a million pictures in order to get the perfect one. I think this was number 3 of at least 10...

It was a really fun weekend. In two days we managed to ride pretty much every ride in the park (at least the good ones) and rarely did we wait in line longer than 15 minutes. It was a perfect send-off for Tara, even though I refuse to say goodbye. I just can't handle it right now. I'll deal with that when she comes back to pick up her dog sometime in the next few months. In the meantime, have a great trip and be safe ok?! :)

Oh, and before I forget:

T minus 7

My apologies for the blurry and grainy pics of late. I somehow corrupted my camera's memory card and have not yet replaced it. And yes, I plan on posting pictures of my (too) quickly disappearing paper chain every single day until Saturday. :)

Relating

If you didn't watch it last night, you need to stop reading this right now and go here to watch the season premiere of The Office. It was so HILARIOUS! It brought me to tears and the last half really hit close to home. I won't elaborate any more because you really need to watch it, but I know now what NOT to do before my race next week.

countdown

the last few weeks in blurry pictures

I've reached capacity on my cameraphone, so I took some time to upload them to my computer. Thought I'd take the opportunity to bring back the "week in pictures" segment of my blog for an encore performance.

Horribly blurry photo of my favorite building in Philly. The lights twinkle at night.

Signs from the train.

Geek alert!! I played Lord of the Rings Risk (it was my first time) with my friend Scott and SMOKED him. Here's the winning board.

Abby's first attempt at picture taking

Thomas' first attempt at picture taking. I tried my best to get in the shot.

What I drive by every Thursday on my way home from tutoring

Sometimes I just like taking pictures of myself. Is that so wrong?!

Icing my knee at work using my workout pants to keep the bag in place.

I don't know if this is a picture of my cute yellow bag or of the work in progress on the top of my head.

Thomas' failed attempt using the self portrait feature of my phone.

And success!!!

Me and Thomas (picture courtesy of Abby)

Marti and Abby (photo courtesy of Thomas)

Me, by Thomas

Thomas, by Abby

Me and Thomas, by me

Abby getting ready to twirl

knees be damned

I haven't run the marathon yet and I'm already planning my next races. The rundown so far??

January 13 - Rock 'n' Roll Arizona 1/2 marathon With 70 bands playing throughout the course, there's no need for my iPod.

April 6 - Cherry Blossom 10 mile run It's the race that started it all, it just has to become a tradition.

June ?? - Yorktown Sprint This one's a triathlon, you bike and run through the Yorktown battlefields. Cool no?

You should run (bike and swim) them with me. Are there any other cool races I should run?

Just like old times

Itunes has recently launched a new section called ItunesU, where you can download, free of charge, courses (among other things) from various colleges around the country. After taking a civics quiz that my co-worker sent to me (you can take it here) and sucking at it, I decided to brush up on my history. I downloaded a history class from Berkeley on the topic of the Civil War. I listened for the first 10 minutes and then I basically passed out, which is exactly what would happen to me pretty much every single day when I was in college. It's good to know my zeal for learning remains the same.

running in circles

Things at the office have been quiet, so I took advantage of that fact and went for a run at my gym across the driveway during lunch. It has been so long since I've run on a treadmill and I had forgotten how incredibly boring it is. I ran 4 miles and didn't go ANYWHERE. I totally felt like a hamster. It's a good thing I had an awesome playlist to help occupy my mind.

I think that tendonitis is contageous. BOTH of my knees were hurting during my run, and now my left knee feels like there is a screwdriver shoved up underneath my kneecap. Awesome huh? However, today was actually a good run, in that I didn't allow my knees to beat me. I ran all 4 miles with only one 15 second walking break and two quick stops for water. Yay for mind over matter!! I kind of feel like a real live athlete for running through the pain. Don't mess with me ok?!

There was a lady running in front of me who rocked out 2 miles in 13:51. Is that incredible or what?! I couldn't run that fast if my life depended on it.

Here are the songs I listened to. They come from the playlist I made for the 16 mile run that never was and I really like it. I put a bunch of mellow stuff in there and I am surprised at how much I love it. It really calms me down and clears my head.

1. Semiotic Love - Blaqk Audio
2. Feel Alive - Benassi Bros.
3. Tracking Treasure Down - Gabriel & Dresden (and someone else that the iPod screen cut off)
4. Superstylin' - Groove Armada
5. Adagio (Adapted from Adagio for Strings by Albinoni) - Amici Forever
6. La Petite Fille De La Mer (from Stranger than Fiction) - Vangelis
7. You're Not Alone - Olive
8. Angelicus - Delerium
9. Let Me Talk To You Prelude / My Love - Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland
10. Storms in Africa - Enya

Reason #729 I love DC

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today; 84 degrees, a slight breeze, bright blue skies as far as the eye can see, not a cloud in sight, which just so happen to be the perfect conditions for a picnic. I packed up my book, i-pod, blanket, chair thingy and headed out for one of my favorite spots for a little r&r. On my way I stopped to get a sandwich from The Italian Store (they have THE best sandwiches, as Corey can attest) but there were about a kabillion Redskins fans crowding the place looking to stock up on essentials for the home game this afternoon. Luckily a new Japanese takeout place recently opened up next door and the place was absolutely empty....

Eel, cucumber and avocado rolls are my favorite. I crave them often.

This was the view from my blanket, three of the most recognizable images of DC...

If that wasn't enough, here is Arlington Cemetery on my right...

...the Netherlands Carrillon behind me. The bells play every 15 minutes. Love it...

...Here's the Iwo Jima Memorial on my left...

...I can't leave out the view above me.

I did some reading...


Some relaxing....

And even more reading (notice the monuments just beyond my arm).

It just doesn't get much better than this.