Friday night I did something I've never done before: I went out late on a Friday night to see a comedy show. One of the guys I've mentioned on this blog before--South African comedian Trevor Noah--was in DC doing a series of four shows. Actually, he was in Arlington, but for his sake, we'll pretend it was DC. As he noted in the beginning of his set, it's easier to say DC than Virginia because people understand "DC." Anyway, he was absolutely hilarious and had great social commentary on US airport security practices, why soccer is such a great game, why toddlers are evil, and a great critique of women who bottle up their thought and misinterpret men's comments. For instance, when a woman asks if she looks fat in something or wonders why a particular piece of clothing no longer fits, the man usually offers a hypothesis. But while he was just opining that perhaps she gained weight, all she heard was "FATTY FATTY FATTY FATTY FATTY." Hence, discord between the sexes.
I'm glad I went out Friday night; I'm going to try doing it more often. There's an elevated plaza at Tysons Corner Center that is now doing free concerts Friday nights, so future Friday nights may be spent there just relaxing while listening to some up-and-coming artists. I feel like I'm finally starting to take advantage of some of these cultural events that living near a city (Washington) and a wannabe city (Tysons) offers!
And in case you need a short Trevor Noah fix, he does a mean Jacob Zuma. At our show, he noted that Zuma told FIFA ahead of the 2010 World Cup that there wouldn't be a terrorist attack because al-Qaida sent him a letter, and while they may be terrorists, they're not liars. :)
July has been a month full of memories, and remembering things from years past. It's been a few years since I rode a bike (as in, perhaps 7 or 8 years), but earlier in July, I bought a bike. With the metro opening near me--yes, here it comes again, a reference to the metro--I decided I needed to branch out and get new forms of transportation. Plus, my doctor told me to exercise more, and since running isn't my thing, I figured biking would be good. So on July 5, I took the plunge and got a bike and having been biking around the Virginia suburbs here and there as my heart desires. Even though it's been so many years, it came back quickly. What they say is right: riding a bike for the first time in a long time is easy, as easy as riding a bike. :)
And then part two of remembering happened this past weekend on a trip up to New Jersey and a part of the state I spent a few years (well, a summer and a half, really, but it was still "home" for a bit). As I got closer, I very much remembered the roads and the landmarks. It had been 18 months since I had been there and six years since I spent any real time there, but I knew the area. I find it amazing how well my mind--well, many peoples' minds, really--can store that information and remember for years into the future. Even though the road was widened, new buildings were put up, and the landscape changed to make room for new future developments, I knew the area. Fascinating.
For the past two summers there has been an incessant chirping during the day in one of my bathrooms coming from the vent. It basically sounds like a family of birds has taken up nest in my house. Problem was, besides that one place, I seemed to be unable to locate the source of the chirping. This past weekend I went into my attic and had a look around. THANKFULLY, no birds. Yet the chirping continued. I was about to chalk it up to weird echoing when yesterday, for the first time in a long time, it was silent. Dead silent.
Then oddly, this morning, my bedroom and my kitchen (my bedroom is right over my kitchen) had this weird smell, as if a skunk was right outside or an animal died. My mind immediately connected the two incidents, but I had no proof, of course. To air out my house and eliminate the odor I opened all the windows in my bedroom and kitchen and, as if on cue, the birds in the trees outside my house started chirping. I rushed back to the bathroom and, lo and behold, it was the same chirping (or, at least in the same rhythm). Further, when I went outside to that area, there was a poor bird that looked like it might have been dead right in that area. Mystery, I believe, solved.
Sadly, with the birds having taken up residence in a tree right outside a vent that apparently leads straight to my bathroom, I'm afraid the noise will continue. However, there is some comfort in being rather confident that I don't have birds living in my bathroom and one of those birds not living in my bathroom didn't die in my vents. Unless I get evidence to the contrary, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Because animals can be incredibly cute (well, are usually ridiculously cute), this dog melted my heart. Definitely man's best friend, even when being mean to baby man.
Today Fairfax County hosted an open house at the temporary end of the beautiful new metro line. I'm 3 miles away, and since I anticipate using the metro a lot, I figured it'd be a good idea for me to go check it out. I want to be prepared and know before it opens how to get from train to bus, where parking and bikes go, etc. Basically, I want to be prepared.
It was a mixed bag of success. I know the layout of the station and the associated facilities, but the folks there to help us new commuters were not as knowledgeable about things as I would have expected them to be. I thought some of my questions would be easy to answer and part of a standard FAQ, but apparently I was wrong. I guess I'm going to have to spend the next week doing my own research to answer my questions. At least I have the bus and metro schedules now to refer to.
Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station
Entrance to Buses/Bike Room/Parking
In any case, next week will be an exciting time for me. Yes, that's more than one post about public transportation, and I'm sure there will be more. The whole reason I moved as far into the suburbs as I did was knowing that the metro was eventually coming, so this justifies the move three years ago!
I've been meaning to work on my French; I think knowing a foreign language is an invaluable asset for anyone, and I had made a lot of progress studying French from middle school through college that I have a nice base to start from. Well, this week, I once again began to study French. It started out cobwebs, but even after just 30 minutes of conversation, it started coming back.
Vive la France?
Problem, though (because there's always a problem). I also have a nice base in other languages, and when my vocabulary in French starts waning, as it oh so often does, I just naturally find a language where I know the words. I don't speak French. Or Portuguese. Or anything else...I speak my own hodgepodge language. I remember a couple years back when a bunch of people in northern France were convinced I was from Belgium because of my accent and poor vocabulary. At least I sort of blended in, right?
Of course, a downside(?) to studying French again is that I find myself silently (usually) narrating my life in French just to see if I can do it. I also probably mutter the words sometimes. The people at the supermarket must think I'm a complete weirdo, walking down the aisles speaking in tongues. Such is life out in the suburbs, I suppose!
Not only are all of DJ Earworm's mash-ups awesome, but he even did one in French...that totally and completely feels like summer!!!
