Block Island

I wrote this on the ferry on the way to Block Island, Rhode Island from New London, Connecticut.

I don’t know if it’s my 11th or 12th consecutive summer going to BI. At this point it doesn’t really matter – it’s a long-standing tradition that I hope never ends. My best friend (whose family’s house I go to on BI) and I often talk about hoping to be able to bring our kids to Block Island in the future! Some recurring themes of my history of going to BI: I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve taken an indoor shower on BI. Blackberries grow wild in many places throughout the island. Rebecca invariably braves the thorns to harvest enough to make a pie. Heated arguments over the dinner table, usually involving the use of the word, “lesbian.” Grilled swordfish with lemon. Grilled asparagus A plethora of beauty products from The Body Shop (Rebecca’s older sister works for TBS) Rebecca and I claimed the Pink Room to be ours when we're there together. It is so named because it was painted bright pink several years ago. It was decided that the color was a bit too much, so someone sponged white over the pink. It’s interesting. It's the only room that has its original early 90s paint job. We have the best conversations right before going to sleep. Rebecca’s various (and my) projects have included assembling a swing, making lamp shades out of bottle caps from Rwanda, talking about building a bed….

After that point, I think I started getting a bit queasy from staring at a screen on a boat! My weekend at Block Island was too short, to put it bluntly. I've been spoiled by too many carefree summers in the past where I've spent at least a week there. I've resolved to store up at least a week's vacation for next summer.

Here are some pictures of beautiful Block Island:

Today is my godsister Martha's 15th birthday. I just got off the phone with her and her brother Nathan (he turns 11 on the 20th). I really miss these two kids. They are as close to being my siblings as is possible for people unrelated to me. Their parents are my godparents and longtime friends of my parents. My dad and I have a longstanding ritual of Saturday morning breakfasts with them at the Black Mountain Bakery in Black Mountain, NC. They are why Asheville/Black Mountain is my home.

woooooo i love dc

So much has happened since I last posted here. The amount of love I have for my job and the people I work with has increased. I'm starting to feel home here in dc. A friend/colleague has an apartment on the top floor of the building across the street from my office that she is letting me live in for a month for free. I can see the Washington monument when I am sitting on the toilet. I wish I could afford a place like this. It's tiny, not even 500 sq ft and it's 1300 a month. Yeesh. I'm enjoying it while it lasts though. I just returned from biking around dc. I've started going out on my bike as soon as it starts feeling cooler and riding around until it gets dark. Sometimes I'll stop at a grocery store or a park. When I get home, I look at google maps to see where I've been.

I haven't completely moved out of Sophia and Gene Larkin's home. However, they do host several kids during the school year, and space will be tight. I might spend some weekends with them and certainly will visit with them lots. Their hospitality is mindblowing.

Leads on housing: I'm viewing two group houses this week. One seems especially promising, and a former PP employee lived there once. I can't wait until I have all my necessities in one place in dc. Right now I have belongings at work, Sophia's, the apartment across the street, and in Asheville. I feel that Asheville will be my home forever. I hope my dad never moves away from there. However, I am loving living here in dc. There's great ultimate frisbee, great people, great food, great civic conveniences, great resources...etc. And this city is so much smaller than I thought it was.

I have been increasingly stressed out as of late. I was feeling a bit displaced last week. On top of that, last Thursday night I went on a ridealong, which consists of riding in a PP van around dc from the hours of 12 midnight until about 4. I witnessed prostitution, potential labor trafficking, pimps, johns, and a very lonely part of dc life. I won't go into detail, but I'll say that Thursday night/Friday morning sobered me to some harsh realities of eaking out a life. I don't even know what I think about the whole mess right now. Tomorrow morning, I have a check in with some staff and some other people who were on the ridealong with me.

I haven't had any more dreams about my mom lately. It might be because I am just so tired after every day. I'm sorry to those of you I've been out of touch with lately. I really do think of my loved ones constantly, but cannot devote the time to call each and every one of you and give you the attention you all deserve. The coming weeks should be better.

looking for a home

I've started looking for a room or apartment. The number of scams I've come across on Craigslist and rent.com is amazing. Luckily, I'm being overly cautious and never give out any info that's too personal. Apartments and rooms are outrageously expensive here, rivaling NYC in price. I'll probably end up paying about 800 dollars a month for a room - not even my own apartment! AH!