Archive for the 'DC' Category

06Sep 2007

Um, uh, please stop?

in Essay, Creativity, DC and Papaya. 2 Comments

Maybe it’s that Papaya woke up last night crying and proceeded to spend a few hours throwing up every twenty minutes or so, but today I’m a bit cranky. She is better and eating again, even napping, but I’m very annoyed at my mid-day NPR experience. I’m obviously addicted to blogging because I started to think about how to blog this as I drove home listening to the story…

Our local NPR Station is for the most part, great. I even got used to the Diane Rehm Show which freaked us out at first because of her spasmodic dysphonia which makes her sound a whole lot older than she really is. So…today I’m driving post-lunch-date with my toddler and the show is on and it’s about something I love; Books!

Guest host Steve Roberts is talking to John Heath (award-winning teacher, scholar, lecturer, and co-author of “Who Killed Homer?) and Lisa Adams (a recipient of the Woodall Essay Prize and the McCann Short Fiction Award). A woman calls in to talk about Harry Potter and how she’s glad to, um, hear that, um, the book will, uh, be taught in classrooms, um, in, um, 10 to 15 years for sure! Okay, I get that the caller is nervous about being on the radio and it happens. In the next five minutes I noticed more um, uh, um out of these WRITERS who are on the radio and even the host than I cared to count. Mr. Heath and Ms. Adams were a great improvement from the female caller but I was so sad to hear intelligent commentary punctuated by uh.

Why was I so annoyed? Because I love listening to NPR and I tell myself that hearing intelligent conversation from adults other than her parents (we mostly grunt at one another) is good for Papaya. Now, with Diane off on some vacation my poor toddler is reduced to learning that instead of a moment of silence (perfectly acceptable in conversation) adults say uh, um, uh a lot.

Dear God help WAMU if my toddler wakes up from this nap and starts punctuating her sentences with uh and um.

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05Jul 2007

House guests

in Friendship, DC and Pictures. 1 Comment

This week we hosted my friends from Hawaii (who now live in Ohio) for the 4th of July festivities in DC.

We took them all over in the course of 2 1/2 days - so much so that they often begged to go home and nap. Even so, they seemed pleased to have seen so much - The Air & Space Museum (both),my living room, Natural History Museum, The White House (okay, only the visitor center, but it was cool), ESPN Zone, my living room, The National Mall, Manassas National Battlefield Park, my living room, The Pentagon (including the chapel and 9/11 memorial where the plane hit) and of course, my living room.

at the White House
In front of the Death Star White House

Tourists
Tourists.

Papaya cheating on us with Kea & Brandy.
Did I mention my kid totally cheated on me?

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Little Ballerina by Papaya Mom on July 12th, 2007
Papaya may well have enjoyed the very best day of her life, ever, today.

Friends by Papaya Mom on March 16th, 2007
It's great to work with friends.

What makes me happy? by Papaya Mom on November 21st, 2007
Around the Holidays? Helping.

Popularity: 51% [?]

05Jan 2007

I met him and I almost swooned.

in Obama, DC, Pictures and Babywearing. 3 Comments

Pissy girl.
Total groupie moment.

Standing with Papaya, just past Noon on the steps of the The Rayburn House Office Building looking out over a Cindy Sheehan protest to my right and the Capital straight ahead and the Supreme Court Building beyond that. Wow, living in DC is awesome (okay, Northern Virginia).

As I drove into the city I listened to NPR and the Senate Chambers call roll, appoint a Speaker of the House, A Majority Whip, a Minority Whip and so on….it was happening, as LOCAL news here.

So, standing on the marble steps with my daughter on my hip in a ring sling, up walks……Senator Obama!

I walk up to him like a HUGE dorky groupie and tell him I am also a Punahou alumni. I had no intention of mentioning that I graduated from a local public school after I was expelled from Punahou for “suspicion of possesion of marijuana” because, really, even though he probably did the same thing at some point, he’s a Senator now. And if I’m lucky - he’ll be President someday.

So then he walked on, after a warm smile, a hand shake, and asking me if I was from Hawaii. I felt dumb. I should have said something long and eloquant that would inspire him to make that jump and run for President. But really, as much as I’d like it, the timing IS his choice and if he wants more time in the Rayburn working for Illinois - lucky them.

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Workout! by Papaya Mom on March 23rd, 2007
The new Season of Workout is on tonight!!!! I'm LOVING it.

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Oh, how I love to bake.

Debate by Papaya Mom on June 4th, 2007
I'm bothered by the idea that Senator Clinton is called "the frontrunner" when I so truly believe my candidate is.

Where was I today? by Papaya Mom on January 12th, 2008
At the .

Obamaniac by Papaya Mom on March 8th, 2007
My life has become busy in such a good way.

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