Sitting On My Porch On a Warm Spring Morning

This is just a little poem I thought up while I sat on my porch last Sunday. I quickly wrote most of it down after coming inside, so it's a little rough, but I wanted to get it down somewhere. Third stanza pending. Thanks for indulging me!

Sitting On My Porch On a Warm Spring Morning

I sit on my porch,
The sun entombs me in its warmth,
And I will be happy if I never move again.
But then the breeze swirls me up,
Left, right, back, and again,
and my hair twirls, accepting its invitation
To dance,
and they move together as one,
Free and happy in the sunshine.

The sun is radiant, so I close my eyes
And my other senses take over.
The birds sign and call to each other
As though they're perched right next to me.
The bees buzz hello and goodbye
As they whiz past in their daily work.
The wind tickles my feet
And the sun blankets my outstretched arms.
The happy smell of fresh laundry floats by
In the air -
It comforts me and transports me to
The backyard of my childhood.
Spring is a season that indulges all of the senses.

Hi, My Name is Kate, and I'm a Ballerina

I went to a concert with some friends Saturday night. It was kind of last-minute, and it was kind of late in the evening - the main act went on stage at about 10:30pm! It was also the night before St. Patrick's Day/St. Patrick's weekend. Just for reference. Luckily, by the time I got there, the first opening act was over (though I hear they were great), and the second opener was really good, so it was worth the late start.

The venue was called the 9:30 club, and it's a little club with standing room on the ground level, and a few bleachers in the rafters. I've been there for a few shows, and I like it a lot, actually. It's a more intimate venue, and you can't really be too far from the band, which I think is great. I feel much more connected when I can actually see their faces, you know?

We ended up standing near the front, on the right side of the place, which was really great because the main act, Jukebox the Ghost, set up their awesome keyboardist on that side of the stage, so I got to watch him the whole time - and I was impressed. I kind of fell in love with him. But that's neither here nor there.

The best part of the night actually came during the 2nd opener, as my little group of friends and I were dancing to the band, Matt Pond. One guy in our group was really going at it - he likes to dance and he had a lot of energy - and this woman and man were right behind us. They were probably about 45 years old or so, and the guy was standing there, kind of swaying, but the woman was getting into the music a little more. At one point, she tapped my friend on the shoulder to say that she liked our other friend's dancing - and she made an immediate best friend, because he just ate that up. As did she - as he got more bouncy and into it, so did she just behind us (I could tell her energy by how often her purse bounced off me - it was a good gauge of how into the song she was. She liked most of the songs).

Then at one point, the woman tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see if she wanted to tell us more about how she loved our friend's dancing, but instead she came close to yell into my ear, "ARE YOU A BALLERINA??"

Slightly bewildered, I responded, "I was when I was little!" By little, I was referring to when I was 6 years old. Though I like to think, once a ballerina, always a ballerina. However, at the time, I probably wouldn't have legitimately claimed ballet as a talent.

The woman's eyes got really big and she smiled and said, "OH MY GOSH, HOW DID I KNOW THAT?!" Which left me unsure how to respond. Because I had no idea. But I'm guessing my hair pulled back in bun, albeit a messy one, had something to do with it.

Then she commented that I "have the aura of a ballerina, and that is so cool!!!!!" She sent a wish into the air that she could have that, and at this point, I had no idea how to respond other than with a couple very sincere thank-yous and bewildered looks about whether I should be taking her seriously right then or not (I decided I would, because I might as well).

Then she said I could (we could?) teach these boys a thing or two about dancing, and I laughed and said I working on it, and then I awkwardly turned back to the concert and tried not to feel too awkward and watched as I attempted to keep swaying to the music like I had been before.

But with more pointed toes, straighter posture, and feet in the 3rd position, of course.

Mmm, Girl: Older Gentleman Edition

I had to go back to work two nights this week, from 10-11pm (my life is the worst), for a conference call sort of thing that my boss was doing for people back west. I was there to help get people queued up to ask questions, so I talked to them first before quickly before getting them lined up on the call. Aside from the late nights, they were good calls, I had fun with my coworkers, and I talked to some really nice, thoughtful people.

One older gentleman stood out to me in particular, more so for his last comment before I transferred him than for the question he wanted to ask. The conversation ended with this:

Kate: "Well, thank you for your question, {name of older gentleman}, I'll add you to the queue."

Older Gentleman: " Great. And what's your name?"

K: "My name is Kate"

OG: "Oh! Like 'Kiss Me Kate'!"

K: "Ha, yup, I've heard that quite a bit before!"

OG: "Yeah...I bet you kiss a lot of guys, with this lovely voice that you have."

K: "uh, ha, well, thank you! And thanks for your question, I'll add you to the queue..."

He seemed like a really sweet older man. And we all know that compliment is getting stored away and remembered forever. I'm going to put it in my "self-esteem book" to boost me up later.

Okay, I don't actually have one of those books.

But I'm seriously considering starting one now.

The Snowstorm That Almost Was, But Wasn't Ever Really

Well, so much for that "Snowquester," or the "Sequestorm," as I like to call it when I feel like being different from everyone else.

The Federal Government, surrounding school districts, and countless private companies closed their doors today in anticipation of a giant snowstorm that could potentially ravage DC. Or not - we've all been here long enough to know that the District of Columbia has a weird effect on weather phenomena: it kills storms in its tracks.

However, we've all also lived here long enough to know that the imminent danger of a storm is just as effective as an actual storm in terms of getting a day off work and enjoying the benefits of a snow day.

The timing was just unfortunate for me, as the House was still in session (at least until the afternoon), and therefore, we were open and working. It was a bummer because I could really use a good free day off work (who couldn't??). But on the flip side - the commute was beautiful. No one was out. The trains were running quickly according to rush hour traffic, but there was no one on the trains. No one on the roads. No one anywhere. It was kind of great.

Until I remembered the reason no one was out and in my way was because they were all still tucked cozily in their beds.

Jerks.

I think the only way I came to terms with this non-snow day was in knowing that I would've been working as much had I been at home, canceling and rescheduling today's meetings and answering my boss's calls about random things, and I probably would've been annoyed by it all because it was my day off, my snow day! At least being at work, it was easy to move around the schedule and meetings with all my resources right in front of me, and my boss stayed busy with meetings, so it was just a normal day. Sometimes I think I'd be a great teleworker - and then I have to do work from home one time and I realize I'd be terrible at it. I'd always feel like I was privileged and shouldn't have to do as much. So it's probably good that teleworking is not an option in this job...

So anyway, I spent the Sequestorm working, acting like it wasn't really happening - which wasn't too hard, since it actually wasn't really happening. But I learned something today: I was meant to live in DC. They name everything here (the Snowquester, Snowmaggedon - maybe just snowstorms, actually), and I like a good nickname for meaningful events (I mean c'mon, all of our family reunions and gatherings are paloozas by name). This city and I get each other.

Farewell Snowquester!! May you and all your slushy rain keep our environment green and luscious! Thanks for ushering in Spring in spectacularly unimpressive fashion!

Oh Hey There.

Hey friends.

Remember that time that I had a blog and wrote in it and stuff? Yeah, me too. Those were the days.

I feel like this happens every couple months or so (or weeks, whatever) - where I have absolutely nothing to say.

I've been hibernating these last few weeks. It's been freezing out - 30s, feels like 20s, with terrible wind. Then a quick 50 degree day - Summer! - and then back to freezing. I recognize that my freezing is not like the freezing of other, colder regions, but it doesn't mean I haven't almost completed my transformation into an ice cube. A friend of mine said to me the other day that I was radiating freezingness. My lower legs were purple and were ice to the touch. It's been that way for the last few weeks...

And the cold has stalled my brain, so I have nothing to say! It's horrible, I hate it. The most mental activity I've been able to muster lately has been in practicing my lithp with a roommate and occasionally talking in a british accent. I honestly feel like I'm short-circuiting. Ahem...I mean, I'm thort-thircuiting.

But I suppose life has happened still. I'm still living, even if most of it is purely day-to-day survival mode.

There was a time in February where I went on a last-minute trip to Chicago, which was not a warm getaway, but it was a beautiful escape for a long weekend. And 50 games of Dr. Mario later, I came back to Virginia to find that 40 degrees was indeed warm compared to the -2 degrees that I left in the Midwest.

And I joined a gym closer to home, so I've found that to be a good way to both get me out of my house and warm me up quite nicely. It's also not too busy, which makes me very happy. Plus, two times I've gone, Marquette basketball has been on ESPN on the TVs, so I've been able to enjoy seeing them. The gym also allowed me to finally finish an audiobook I've been struggling through for the last 5 months...it just got really boring in the last 4 very long chapters...but I finished! I claim it as an accomplishment.

And I'm sure I've done a few more things, though if I think about it, I really can't recall having done anything at all.

Basically, I'm just waiting anxiously for Spring. I've pulled out my brightest articles of clothing and I shaved my legs (okay, I've done that all winter, but not terribly often, if I'm honest...). I'm in desperate need of some rebirth and life renewal. I'm about to turn into a zombie. And I've never really gotten into the whole supernatural zombie/vampire/werewolf trend going on, so I'd rather not turn into one.

So hurry up, Spring! At least get here in time for my brother's trip here with his family! I don't have enough good cold-weather activities to entertain them with!

But to end on a happy note (the complaining nature of this post is unfortunately a rather accurate portrayal of my attitude lately...), here's a song that kept me all sorts of spunky and peppy yesterday whenever I started to feel my energy lagging. It's my "I'm ready to live again!" song. Feel free to get up and dance if you'd like. I know you want to.