Yessss!

Just when I was starting to feel sort of melancholy over the fact that I’d be missing fireworks here in the nation’s capital…

I left work at 3p and hit the worst traffic of my life. Then I thought to myself: “Eh. Going out of town is starting to seem like a really good idea.”

D and I are off to Boston at the crack ‘o dawn tomorrow morn. The trip also marks a very big first in our relationship: We’re going to the same airport, at the same time, riding the same plane together, to end up at the same destination!

Hey. Don’t make fun. It’s quite a milestone for a pair who’s lived on opposite ends of the country.

Things are also good on the homefront. My cousin is at long last out of ICU and was finally able to meet little Kaylee (now it’s official) after more than a week after giving birth to her. I think a future trip to Chicago is in order to greet the new baby and lend a hand with her siblings.

So, after a strenuous week, I am finally ready to enjoy some down time. Happy 4th—see you Monday!

Home

The intarwebs is a funny thing; in the last couple of years, it’s helped me form new friendships and gotten me back in touch with friends of yore. A lot of them are married, having babies, becoming famous singers and jotting it all down on their blogs.

I suppose after catching up with everyone else (like most of you catch up with me—here!), I feel a bit homesick. And really thankful that I met a guy who comes from the same place as I do, and that he’ll be walking through my door any minute.

Puppy Without Front Legs Gets Help from Model Airplane Wheels

After a rough day at the office, this warmed my chilled heart right up.

Meet Hope: the Maltese puppy who was born without two front legs. Such a sweet story.

Free Text Help from Google

I hate phonebooks. I love Google.

I’ve been using Google 411 since I moved to DC—a free 411 service which also sends a text to your phone with all the pertinent information about your listing (phone number, address and mobile map).

Today I discovered a whole new world of Google text help that I can’t wait to try out. Ryan Swigert gives some tips:

Text: pizza 45202 to find out the pizza restaurants in that zip code.

2. Miss the game? Text: score reds to find out the latest score for that sports team.

3. Playing the market? Text: stock TIF to find out the latest price for that stock.

4. Going on a trip? Text: weather boston to find out the week’s forecast for that city.

5. Someone stump you in Scrabble? Text: define prestidigitator to find out the definition for that word.

Awesome!

Excited!

…To see Ella this weekend. This isn’t helping matters. It feels like Christmas!

An Early Arrival

We had a pretty early arrival this afternoon in my family. Her name is Caley (spelling subject to change), and she said hello to the world at a mere four pounds, four ounces.

Hold good thoughts for mom and baby during these next few hours; though if she takes after any of the rest of us, she’s already tough—and she’ll just go through life a bit smaller than the average gal.

Baby girl number two is showing signs of keeping her August arrival date. Thankfully.

In Numbers: A Week at the Office

4: The floor I used to sit on with the rest of the Global Marketing department

3: The floor I was abruptly moved to on Monday so that a part-time temp had a place sit with the team

1; 26: Pounds of rubberbands; black, medium-point Papermate pens inherited in my new spot

0: The number of new floormates who have acknowledged my existence since Monday

2: Flights of stairs climbed in order to print something in color

4: Yogurts eaten

1: Big career realization

I’ve been thinking…

…That Colin Meloy is to 2008 indie music what Ben Gibbard was to 1998 indie music. Even their looks are markedly similar.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, for four months maybe. So anyway, you better get hip to Meloy before he blows up and you can’t stand going to his/Decemberists shows anymore because of the lame crowd. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

[Jam of the Day]: Colin Meloy, Red Right Ankle

Who didn’t charge her camera for Pearl Jam?

That would be me. So I only took a few photos/snippets of video. But here they are for your viewing pleasure.

D and I en route.

Daughter…and then the camera dies.

So. I feel like kind of a jerk, but this definitely wasn’t the best rock concert I’ve ever been to (and I had high hopes that it might be). For one thing, as you can see in the video, there were no video boards. Which meant unless you were in the very front row, you didn’t have much to look at.

Secondly, and I know some of you disagree, but I just get bored with long, drawn-out jam sessions.

Thirdly, I’m not sure how you can be Pearl Jam and get away with not playing more than a couple of your best hits. Which, I suppose, points to the larger issue: I may be a fair-weather Pearl Jam fan. To that end, I really wanted to hear Vedder do “Big Hard Sun” from Into The Wild. Maybe next time.

I can’t stand for hours on end. Just can’t. In fact we ended up checking out midway through their second encore. Also, when bands do more than one encore, I think of the last ever scene of the Golden Girls. Every. Single. Time.

Well. Now I’m busy watching Golden Girls clips….and recording the reruns on Dan’s DVR. [Evil smirk]

Big Wheel

It’s true that I’ve never liked roller coasters, have no urge to sky dive, and would sooner eat a raw slab of meat (Dances of the Wolves-style) before bungee jumping.

Dating someone like D, whom I’d categorize as very adventurous, I feel like a wimp on most days, and a far cry from the rough and tumble girl I used to be. So while I’ve been chastising myself for being a shrinking violet in terms of intense physical adventure (and hey, I think I deserve a break given past injuries), I also started opening myself up to the possibility that I’m a different kind of risk-taker.

See, I’m the kind of person who will tell you to quit your job if it’s making you unhappy, even if you haven’t found a new one yet. I’m also the kind of person who will pack up her car and move herself across the country. (Twice in three years is pretty adventurous, no?) I’m the kind of person who will encourage you to take big risks in life…but not at the blackjack table, or throwing yourself off of a cliff.

But in spite of figuring out the kind of risk-taker I am, I’ve still felt compelled to push myself in other ways—areas that may seem small to you, but feel big to me.

So this morning I got up at 8 and went water skiing, something I’ve previously been scared out of my mind to do. (Not a huge fan of water…or crashing into it at a high speed.) After that I went to the salon and, under the guidance of my friend Roberto, did something to my hair that Play-it-Safe Megan would never do.

I’ll never be chasing the next adrenaline rush, and I’ll always be fearful if you riding a motorcycle without a helmet. These things will never change.

But taking the risks I have—whether it’s moving 2,000 miles away, or falling face first into the Potomac—have, for me, paid off big.

What chances have you taken lately?