back east

i've been in virginia since monday night. it's been a blast. mostly, i've been at the seminary in alexandria looking at curriculum for my rotten ungrateful children. i found the things i want to use, and am actually excited about implementation and planning. yay. and i've been hanging out with friends and catching up on their stories. and riding the metro into dc. i miss that town.

what a great place, seriously. it's messy and busy and full of noise and i love it. i ate chinese food at my favorite hole in the wall in china town-- the new big wong. seriously, that's the name of the place. it's on H street nw, you should go there sometime. get the general tso's chicken with a bowl of hot and sour soup-- you will not be dissappointed.

and last night, oh night of nights... i met my old roommate melissa, and after tea and sympathy at her precious house in our old neigborhood, we metroed to shaw for one of the great meals in the history of western civilization.

at 14th and U street NW, in the dc, there is a lovely little spot, framed in yellow and red. it's ben's chili bowl. you can google the name, and go see their website. it will make you very hungry and jealous that i used to get to eat there all the time. when i worked about three blocks from ben's, way back in the day, i would go in and get a chocolate milk shake with extra chocolate about twice a week. that's one reason my ass stayed the exact same size from san marcos to dc and back. those damn shakes... nectar of the gods, that's what.

those milk shakes may very well have helped me keep my sanity. lord knows there was precious little of it left by the time i moved back to the terra firma of texas. milk shakes, cheese fries, and half-smokes drenched in chili. yay.

there was a guy named rob who worked behind the counter, and every time my old office mate and dear friend hope would hit the door, rob would start making our order-- a cherry shake for hope, a chocolate one for me, one half-smoke split down the middle, and an order of cheese fries with two forks. and by the time the two of us had finished filling the incredible juke box in the corner full of funk in the way only two really sheltered white girls can, our order would be sitting on the counter, between our two favorite stools. and even on days that were bad days, the lights and grease and friendly conversation in that place would wrap us up in familiar smells and laughter, and enable us to brave the harsh environs of the office of the farting boss. ahh, nostalgia.

in other news, you MUST see (read that--run, don't walk to your nearest video store or netflix cue) True Stories. this is the funniest movie i have seen in ages. it's so off-beat, so bizarre, and so circa 1986 mocumentary that i may have to buy my own copy. for those of you who grew up in brady, have ever been to brady, or have ever heard me tell a story about brady--you must see this movie, because you will know just about everyone in it. as an aside about small town humour, tuna christmas is playing at the kennedy center right now. what a hoot!!

ok, gots to run and eat and go catch a plane. pray delta doesn't loose my bags between here and atlanta and on to austin. catch you on the flippy.

mil besos--r