"Labor Day Schmabor Day, what a dumb day. To hire a jerk, to send him away, to celebrate Labor by playing all day." - Garfield Cartoon

Over Labor Day I took off from the District and headed back to Des Moines to see my boyfriend (of several years now). It was much-needed (avoid LDRs at all costs if possible) and we got to re-group, spend time together, and iron out plans for the future. A lot is TBD (the future usually is), but we're both excited for what comes next for us, together and individually.

I saw District 9 while there which was actually quite good. I need to read more on the Apartheid movement in South Africa, but the film was engaging, visually well-done, and also thought-provoking. Growing up we had very close friends from South Africa so it's always been a place I hoped to visit.

On the way to the Midwest I finished most of the September 2009 issue of The Atlantic and also finished Elizabeth Strout's Abide With Me. Her book, Olive Kitteridge, was given a strong recommendation in The Atlantic's summer reading list. Since I couldn't find this book, I checked out one of her other novels. It's set in Maine and touches on the life of a Lutheran minister's life and others in his community, how they deal with the realities of their situations, and how they cope with the decisions they make.

Up next this week: Catching up on work (trying to focus) and jumping into Atlas Shrugged.

Virgin Mobile Free Festival 2009

In one exhausting, feld swoop, I got to see Blink 182, Weezer, Girl Talk, Franz Ferdinand, Mates of State, St. Vincent, The Bravery, The National, Wale, Taking Back Sunday, Public Enemy, Jet, and The Hold Steady at the Virgin Mobile FreeFest... I got to see and hear a fair amount of them and have only a small spot of sunburn on my head to show for it. :) (Picture courtesy of Francis Chung - DCist.com)

Policy

Saturday night, the friends and I dressed up a little more than usual and headed to Policy for a friend of a friend's birthday, just 2 blocks South of U St. on 14th St. It was super crowded, a bit pricey, lots of people who wanted to be "seen", but I would go back. I really liked the decor; the walls had a lot of graffiti (as you can see in the picture) but it was accented with delicate chandeliers and good lighting. The U Street area in general is usual a safe bet for good bars. Bar Pilar, Alero, St. Ex, Ulah Bistro, Nellies... any of those are good weekend/happy hour choices. (Picture courtesy of Jodi Westrick)

The District (In-depth... )

Check out a friend's great review of MidCity Cafe in the heart of DC.

Justin's Cupcakes

Before finally securing an outlet to get back online, I secured a Red Velvet cupcake by this guy. Apparently he doesn't have his own storefront yet, but I hear one is opening in McClean soon. Cupcakes are delicious. Actually much better than Red Velvet in Metro Center, on par with Hello Cupcake in Dupont (not even close to Georgetown Cupcake, but is anything as good as Georgetown Cupcake? No.)

Chinatown Coffee: True minimalism

The irony of Chinatown Coffee is not lost on me. Apparently they limit the number of outlets that are available to customers (I got the last open table to find there was no outlet in sight). My poor little 3-year old Toshiba lasts a maximum of 30 minutes. So yeah.

Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the place. Genuinely minimal. Not like, "We went to Ikea and bought minimalist Swedish furniture" but like, minimal as in just tables and chairs, unfinished brick wall, one single orange color on the opposing wall, stainless steel accents and, of course, no outlets. Now that is minimal.

My iced coffee (a summer staple of mine with two splenda and room for half & half) is pretty good as well as the music and general commraderie of the people here. I actually saw a couple walk in ready to camp out and study together, only to find no empty tables. A random guy reading his book saw them and said "Take the other half of my table... I don't need all the room." They are now discussing a Latin American book that one of them was reading. And now, as I was writing that, another gentleman asked if he could sit at the table next to them. They have just formed an odd, happy little table of people drinking coffee and eating cupcakes. I like that.

Time to go before my laptop powers down. Looks like Chinatown Coffee has succeeded in forcing me to forgo the internet and actually read my book. I like that, too.

Dentist Woes

I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but leaving your dentist of 20 years for a new one--especially when you have to have something done besides a cleaning--can be a bit stressful. My experience did turn out better than anticipated. I felt much more relieved when I saw pictures on the office walls of my new dentist with Senator Bob Dole and Condoleeza Rice. If he was good enough for them... well, that works for me.