Beauty is not putting any restrictions on the little voice that's within you. --Tangie Ambrose

Thanksgiving was busy - I spent Tuesday through Thursday in Greenville at my aunt, uncle, and cousin's, and Friday through Sunday in Washington D.C (getting back to Due West late last night.)

Chip brought his friend Jenn from Clemson for T-break.  Jenn brought her dog Sadie.  I got to see the Brittany spaniels, Terry and Jeffrey, again.  Thanksgiving day (Thurdsay) was nice...I just feel out of place eating at the Commerce Club, where we go to eat.  I mean, I've been eating there for the past four years and you think I'd be used to it by now.  It's beautiful - at least 14ish stories up in the air with a beautiful view of Greenville.  Not the best food ever, but decent...LOTS of food.  To be honest I could go for a home-cooked meal but I am simply grateful that I have food to eat. So lemme throw it right up here and say I'm not complaining, just saying that I really haven't gotten used to eating in such a high end place of dining.  The people I meet through my aunt and uncle are all really nice, I guess it's just that I don't know the people and feel very unfamiliar around there.  I also feel that I could be spending part of my time helping other people or serving them.  That sounds really cheesy to say I'm sure, and I do enjoy spending time with my family, I just would like to find balance between enjoying the material luxuries of life and giving back to those that don't have access to things like food and shelter.

Early Friday morning Shannon and I packed up a cooler of sandwiches, fruit, cereal bars, and chips for Friday and Saturday and started our road trip to Washington, D.C.  We listened to a lot of music and talked a lot at some times, at other times drove in silence.  I'd like to think it was a comfortable silence on the other end, but for me, sometimes I felt like neither of us just had nothing to say.  Anyways, Shannon brought with her Henry, which is what she named her GPS navigator that she hooked up in my car.  It was quite helpful, but sometimes it confused us and we had to backtrack and recalculate.

Friday night we arrived in Arlington, Virginia (about ten minutes away from Washington, D.C.), and didn't have really anything to do that night except eat dinner at this little diner restaurant on the first floor of the hotel.  Worst dinner ever.  Okay - the chilli cheese fries as our appetizer were great, but everything else was blech.  I ordered a Philly cheese steak and it was the most awful thing I'd ever eaten.  The person who served us our food had no personality whatsoever, and said maybe two words to us.  He kind of watched us too, like he had nothing better to do.  But to be honest, I can see why because 1) he most likely didn't speak much to us at all because he didn't know very much English and 2) the place was completely dead.  noone was in there, and it was just uncomfortable.

But, the next morning we woke up and walked/rode the Metro all over town.  We saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln, Vietnam, and World War II memorials, the Capitol building (just the outside), Museum of National History, the Old Post Office, many Starbucks, one ridiculously posh McDonald's with gold plated doors, and several interesting homeless men - some nice, some grateful, one scary.

Saturday we saw Tegan and Sara - a twin sister musical group from Vancouver, who were as well our ultimate reason for coming to D.C.!  They had an opening act called Northern State that rapped and spat rhymes like whoa, and Tegan and Sara sounded great.  My favorite songs, Are You Ten Years Ago, Walking With A Ghost, Dark Come Soon and The Con, were amazing!  They opened up with Dark Come Soon.  They told funny little stories in between their songs like crazy Youtubers, neighbors drinking gin, cheap hotel rooms, video cameras, etc.  We were laughing hard.  They seemed really down to earth and great girls - it would have been so awesome to meet them!  I did get to meet Northern State though, and they signed a poster for me. 

All in all, it was a good trip.  It was an amazing opportunity.  I know if I had the chance, I'd take it again to visit that town, but ultimately, I wouldn't enjoy living there.  It's just too cold!  However, I know if I move to Indiana when I graduate I'll be even colder.  I don't know what I'm doing after graduation.  I don't even want to go there right now....anywho, g'night.