friday photo | omedetou!

You see that goofy guy in the back left on the top photo? He's getting married next weekend. And a great number of the people in both these photos will be there. I'll be in Ecuador - I think en route to or in the Galapagos on the day of his wedding. And let me tell you, there's just about only one thing that could make me want to be anywhere else in the world while I'm laying my eyes on the Galapagos Islands for the first time, and that is Eric - or any of these friends - getting married. Okay, it doesn't even require a wedding. A reunion! A get-together! Any chance to see these friends, and I'd do just about anything to make it happen. But this time I'll settle for nervous, giddy excitement and anticipation for my girlfriends to send me pictures and live updates throughout the wedding. Omedetou (congratulations) to one of my very favorite people in the world and his about-to-be wife. She is one lovely, lucky woman, and I know him well enough to know that whomever he picked? He's a lucky guy, too.

friday photo | could-be christmas card edition

The mismatched furniture from when Matt and I said we wanted a global theme but went with what's cheap and free. Theo's crazy eyes because he hates being picked up but he sure loves being included. The vase of flowers in their sweet spot of a perfect bloom, a gift from Zander just because. The giant smiles brought on by hours of laughing until we cried playing Cards Against Humanity (and introducing my mom to Cards Against Humanity). Family.

Leave me your address because you might just see this photo again with a Merry or a Happy, uncropped, all perfect flaws included.

I'll be blogging less throughout the end of the year, as I attempt to cram a month's worth of freelance work, day job work, and finishing up my graduate school applications into the next week before Zan and I leave for Ecuador (a week!). I hope to pop in here and there to post a picture or share a story next week and/or while I'm in Ecuador, but in case life gets the better of me, I want to wish you all such a merry, happy, joyful holiday season that's absolutely filled with love and your hot beverage of choice.

friday photo | halloween in japan

These aren't the best pictures, but they certainly are the best memories. When you're an expat living in a new country, you relish getting to know the locals and local traditions and customs. You also relish celebrating some of your own traditions with other expats. For Halloween in 2009, we planned a party at Mike's, one of the only Mexican restaurants in our prefecture (state). We wore costumes, and my girlfriend Callie and I went as Beyonce and her dancers from the "Single Ladies" video. And today I'd tell you I'm embarrassed looking at the photos and videos of me dancing from that night in that leotard and those tights, and boy, do I mean it, but I'm also so happy that I did that and was a little crazy and uninhibited and went all out. We drank margaritas and got funky with it during the Cha Cha Slide and spoke in Japanese phrases but mostly in English and we made the traditions of our home countries come alive in a small Mexican bar in Iwakuni, Japan.

I'm challenging all the Halloweens from this year out to beat that one. It's stiff competition.

friday photo | theo turns 3

The smell hit me before I fully opened the front door. It forced its way out of the house, punching me in the nose during its rushed exit. I took a staggered breath through my mouth, trying to keep composure. Frustration rose up like an erupting volcano within me, too fast for my mind to react, and tears pooled in my eyes. I forced myself inside the house and into my room - the first door on the right - and saw a pool - a wet pool - of dog poop surrounding Theo's crate and creeping through the cracks of my hardwood floors.

Theo was curled up in a ball as far back as he could go, staying away from the mess; it was obvious he'd done everything he could not to soil his bed and his crate. He'd had to go and couldn't hold it. I reached over and unlocked the door, soothing him, encouraging him to come on out. It was the 4th time I'd come home to the same mess, and with resignation, I thought, "I can't do this anymore. I have to take him back."

I retreated to the kitchen for cleaning supplies, and as I started in on the dirty work, tears worked their way down my cheeks. Right then, Zander walked in.

We were still in the number of dates that I could count on both my hands. This new guy that I was dating and really liked walked in to a house that reeked of feces, and there I was on all fours, my gloved hands covered in poop. It was also the first time he'd seen me cry. I kept trying to think of words to say, and none came out.

He took one look at me in my state, Theo huddled in a corner, scared, and said, "Why don't I take Theo for a walk?" And it was gracious and the perfect thing to say and do and gave me time to finish cleaning Theo's mess and myself up, and by the time they came back, Theo was bounding again, and I was clear-eyed.

In truth, I really did consider giving Theo back to K-9 Lifesavers, the organization through which I adopted him. The first few months I was in over my head. He was stubborn, hard to train, and then there was the nonstop diarrhea, that I thought was separation anxiety. It turns out it was parasites, and thank god because we've never had a problem since then.

I kept him, though, thinking, "Just a little longer," and we took an obedience class together, and he was the quickest learner in his class. He wanted to learn and wanted to make me happy and loved his treats. I discovered that hot dogs and bologna are all right to him, but he'll do anything for a squeaky ball.

I started taking him to parks, and I saw that he can jump sky high to catch a ball in his mouth, and he'll bring it right back to me. We went out for hikes, and I struggled so much with him pulling on his leash and I got so frustrated and angry, and then one time Zan said, "Let's take off the leash." And I was terrified he was going to run away or get hurt, but he stayed with us the whole time, and when he'd run ahead, he'd run right back to check on Zander and me and wait until we gave him a pat on the head before he ran back out to sniff some more. Theo was born to be a trail dog.

I know, too, about Theo, that as energetic and rambunctious as he is, he's a total softie and sweetheart on the inside. He doesn't just like to cuddle; he loves to spoon. His bed and his crate are his safe place, and even though I don't need to lock it and I never do anymore, he will always retreat to it to feel comfortable, and at home.

Theo is a bit of a scaredy-dog, but don't tell him I said that. He hates grates and walkways he can see through, and he'll shake and shiver and lay down and put up a fight, but if I need him to cross one, he'll do it with some encouragement. 

Theo's also an adventure-lover. He has come with me on a roadtrip to Georgia, up to Canada, to wineries all around Virginia, and places in between. He loves to cross creeks and streams and he's jsut fine with a little bouldering. He loves the outdoors more than any other place. He's curious and fun-loving and will do anything for a car ride. I'd like to say he gets it from me, but I think we were just meant for each other.

And Theo is a Mama's boy. Zander is his fearless leader and best friend and nobody can play fetch or tug-o-war with Theo like Zan can, but at the end of the day, he will do anything to protect me and can't stand to be far from me.

Theo, ahem, Sir Theodore Prince of Bagle Hounds, turned 3 yesterday, which means we've had 2 whole years together. He's my little man, my protector, my best pal, and the best dog in the whole world.

What can I say?

The best relationships in life are worth dealing with a little bit of shit from time to time.

1. the day i adopted theo 10/10/11 // 2. theo on rehoboth beach // 3. theo in rock creek park

friday photo | golden hour on the national mall

I had to give it everything I had. If I failed, I could accept that. But I knew that if i did things halfheartedly and they didn't work out, I'd always have regrets. -Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Since I've lived in DC, I've wanted to be a great many things: a journalist working at overseas bureaus, a public relations problem solver, a diplomat, a student, a bartender, a writer, and even an actress. All my childhood dreams collided the moment I stepped foot in this city. It's a cerebral city that feels like a small town; it fosters ambition and makes you want more.

DC drives aspirations because so many talented, smart, well-connected people live here. But ultimately, DC isn't a city for dreamers; even its most iconic monument is on the straight and narrow, structured, designed to aesthetically please without breaking any rules. It endlessly appeals to the intellectual and realist and very soul in me. I think I learned to be a dreamer and a romantic, but I was born with my nose in a book and my sights set on somewhere and something that was more.

I have such big goals for the next few years: expanding my freelance writing career, taking the GRE, graduate school, and joining the Foreign Service. And for the first time ever, I see how all the seemingly arbitrary choices I've made along the way - studying in South Africa, teaching English in Japan, starting this blog - have led me to this moment right now.

bylines...

5 things you probably didn't know about kyoto 

scenic drives in the dc area 

friday photo: football season is here

I've been reluctant to see summer go. I feel that way every year. It's one of the reasons I was drawn back to LA over and over again for years. But on the east coast, summer refuses to stay longer than a single season, and every year, as temperatures steadily drop a degree here and a few there, I wistfully cling to it - refusing to put away my sundresses and sandals, shivering long into mid-September nights. This year, I basked in summer's offerings - day hikes, a camping trip, time well-spent napping and reading at the beach, slowing down time with old friends and speeding it up with new projects, long days and slow evenings with the taste of the grill in my dinner. But every year, including this one, just as I consider packing up my bags to chase summer, small reminders of what Fall brings sneak into my routine and my line of sight. The return of football, the thought of picking apples and the memory of the smell of apple cake in the oven, and the imagined taste of hot cider, and the vision of Shenandoah National Park in fall - with a brisk breeze and leaves of a thousand colors falling down over my steps, and pulling out skinny jeans that have nearly gathered dust and knee-high boots that have done the same - these are all the things that warm me when the sun's rays stop, and I think this year, Fall is going to be as filled with love as its fading predecessor.

my bylines...

best places to run in tokyo

best day hikes from dc (starring zan & me in the picture!)

guide to the saijo sake festival in hiroshima (one of my best memories of my year in japan)

 

friday photo | an elephant hluhluwe-iMfolozi park, sa

I've been thinking lately that the standard advice encouraging people to travel when they're young misses something. I've been thinking that with a little bit of age and life experience, traveling means something deeper to me. I've honed some of my passions and talents - writing, and what I look for and seek out when I travel - that were only just budding when I lived abroad as a student and was still pink with fresh-out-of-college newness. Photography has become a hobby, and I see photos I took then that are out of focus and lacked an eye for composition, and I wistfully think, "If only I could do that again now, a little older, a little less green." But then I read my photo captions on those blurry ones, and they're bursting with uninhibited joy and fervor for life, without a trace of self-doubt, and I feel the happiness on the face of that girl then fall onto the lips 27-year-old me now. And I wouldn't trade having traveled then without what I know now for anything. I should be so lucky to be 21 again, my first time in the world - eyes wide with wonderment and a camera memory card packed to capacity with a shot of every elephant I see.

bylines...

10 best spots for photos in washington, dc 

kyoto's best museums

friday photo | trekking on the great wall

I think back, and I wonder what Callie said to me that day, her arms outstretched, our conversation animated. That day felt bigger than life, impossibly real, we're really here, surreal. To walk and talk on the Great Wall with a girlfriend, that is one of the best days I've ever had.

other things by me in other places... 

summer concerts at wolf trap national park for the performing arts

biking, hiking, and running along the c&o canal

tokyo summer festivals

visiting japan in summer

friday photo | virginia wine

Virginia wine country looks and tastes and smells like home these days. @ Phillip Carter Winery 

Embracing Virginia's Terroir from Appalachian America

friday photo: upside down on the acropolis

Beware: hanging out upside down at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece may get you in trouble with security. But it sure is worth the view. (photo rights are my own)

Celebrate the Acropolis' extraordinary past on BBC Travel