i should update this blog more regularly!

But work gets in the way. I find that when I get home from work I just feel like hanging out with my cat or watching episodes of Mad Men online. However, being a structured hippie, the necessity of keeping up my blog eventually wears away at my laziness. On a side note, I was recently given the moniker, "structured hippie" by the executive director of P Project who is very type A and a republican! I'll take it.

I moved into my new rooms in my new house (that I share with two others) about 10 days ago. The house is in NW DC in a neighborhood called Petworth. This neighborhood is becoming increasingly gentrified by young people, such as myself, who cannot afford to live in more desirable parts of the district. Personally, I like it. I live in a 1930s rowhouse which is 2.7 miles away from work. I can park on the street without the threat of tickets or towing! I bike to work weather-permitting, which is a great start to my day and much quicker and more efficient than taking public transportation. It takes me about 20 minutes to bike to work. When I take the bus and/or metro, it takes at least 35-45 minutes.

Over Labor Day weekend, I went home to Asheville for the first time since my move to DC! The drive was long, but without a doubt worth it. I was able to see a big chunk of the most important and beloved people in my life. I'm always in awe of the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains whenever I have been away from them for more than a week. The weekend passed too quickly. I brought my cat, Simone De Beauvoir back to DC with me. It's going to be rough for my landlord's cat to get used to her!

After getting back to DC, I was very homesick for Asheville and my family. I still am. I think one day I will move back to the Asheville area. There are too many important people there for me, and the faster pace of DC life isn't sustainable long-term for me (though I am loving living here now!). Adding to my stress is an increased workload at work. There are lots of major events occurring this month that I am primarily in charge of planning and preparing for. I guess it's great experience...though quite nerve-wracking at times.

I wish I could talk to my mom one more time. I talked to my dad tonight and he zeroed in on a lot of what I have been thinking about lately with regard to my mom. She would be ecstatic with the path my life has taken in the last year. I wish she could see where I am and what I am doing. I think about her and the craziness surrounding her death every single day. I worry that my memories of her are romanticized. I can't forget that for a few years, our relationship was on the rocks. I am just so sorry she died when she did.