Listening: I'm wowed by the lyric loveliness of REM (currently listening to "Daysleeper").

Reading (perhaps quality): Goffman's "Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life". Seems especially applicable after a month in the working and going out worlds.

Reading (definitely pulp): A Bertrice Small trashy romance. Doesn't matter which one, they're all trashy.

Drinking: Cherry flavored seltzer water.

July 16, 2002
9:46 pm

Things have changed. Not surprising you'd say. I mean it's been two years and a Masters degree since I was last living in DC.

When I left in August 2000 I was 26, in a job with good coworkers but many aggravations, unsure about what I wanted to do (just that I wanted it to be different than what I was doing), dating a great guy I was sad to leave, and part of a fragmenting but awesome group of long time friends.

And now? Have a great job actually using what I learned in school, a strong feel for the field I want to be in (with an accompanying belief that I rock at it), a relationship that's over but that taught me so much about what I want next time, a group of friends who've done their own thing for a couple of years but are making room to welcome me back. It's different, but good.

Still, I miss California. On the news the other night there was a story making fun of a proposed Berkeley ban on non-organic/ shade grown/ fair trade coffee. I was practically pressed against the screen trying to recognize the street, the cafe's. I miss my family - being able to see them whenever, seeing my niece and nephews, being the daughter the sister the aunt who's there instead of the twice-a-year visitor. I miss non-humid weather, my old view of the Golden Gate, the Free Speech Cafe's foccacia and avocado sandwiches and Strada's coffee. I miss being in school and working with the professors (though I'm not delusional enough to say I miss schoolwork). I miss my friends back there (the ones from High School and from SIMS- in particular my project partners, my Survivor/CSI/long talk companera, the bike-riding El Cerrito residents, and the stitch-and-bitch/ books-at-the-bird ladies). All kinds of cools stuff is going on and I'm not there.

I know I chose to come back here, and I'm glad I did. Getting off the train in DC, breathing in the humid summer air and stepping onto the platform at Union Station I knew I was home. I love Washington, and I missed my mother and sisters back on the East Coast, and my friends here.

You'd think after spending almost half my life I'd be used to being split this way. But it still sucks.

Enough moaning.

Am in class for a lot of this week - XML today and tomorrow, and Photoshop I think Thursday and Friday (still waiting for confirmation from the Training Unit - as a former technical training coordinator I know the job is tough but as a class member I'd like to know if I'll be in class the day after tomorrow or not). The XML class completely rocks - the instructor explains things clearly, can answer questions on the fly, and casual enough so I find myself thinking if he's so relaxed it's not hard at all. Did some DTDs a couple of years ago, so I wasn't completely clueless. But I tell you, getting a few validation errors is humbling when you're used to being a smartypants. But good for me, I suspect.

Have experienced more training in the last month at the library than I have over my career before this. Most of what I already covered I already knew - damn, I TA-ed a class where Information Architecture loomed large. The courses that are left - this XML, and the two graphics courses are things I know functionally but not proficiently. Looking forward to being able to use the tools the way they're supposed to be used, rather than the I suspect circuitous way I've been doing things. Or maybe the programs really are that weird? Likely.

Doing (life and related tasks): First day of an XML class (really good), coffee with a friend (also good).

Doing (crafty stuff): Looking for new additions for my collage walls, may work on my new chunky sweater if the apartment cools enough to make touching wool bearable.

Wanting: A shorter walk from home to the metro (was tired this morning, it seemed a bit long).

Anticipating: Meeting up with with a couple of people this week, finally getting those alterations and shoes done.