Whizzing week and a strange Sabbath

Dear Reader,

Another guest post from the other half of J. Creasy. Let me tell you about the adventures we've had this past week.

Monday and Tuesday were our slow days. I had an interview on Monday, which was uneventful enough in its own right (although finding the right building was hilariously difficult). My sweet husband later picked up one tired interviewee at the Anacostia stop. The rest of Monday and Tuesday was spent scouring job banks and looking for connections.

Wednesday the crazy started. In the morning, I drove to Arlington for an interview. As soon as I got to the end of our street, the GPS on my phone started freaking out and blanked out the map while rerouting. I turned in the direction I hoped was correct, and drove up over the 11th St Bridge into town. Praying for Google maps, I got onto 695. Right then, it started working, and thankfully I was headed right where I needed to be. Whew.

Once that adventure was over, Jonathan and I headed out for our weekly grocery shopping date. It's really quite fun. We get a glorious thrill from parking lots that are free, and Costco always provides amusement. This week we saw a short, perfectly balding priest in black robes with a crucifix around his neck. Man does not live on the Word of God alone, but also on the bread from Costco, I guess.

In front of the Library of Congress.

Wednesday evening, we headed to CHBC (Capital Hill Baptist Church, "Cap Bap," etc.) for the weekly Bible study lead by Mark Dever. While everyone is still filing in, he reads from a red leather book that seems to be a collection of letters written to Spurgeon. After that, he pulls out different books and booklets on various topics, free to anyone that promises to read them soon. So far, I've read "God and Politics" and "The Baptist Faith and Message." This week I got a booklet about the nature of Christ, which I might read later today.

Thursday started out by me having a phone interview with a local institute. The minute it was over, Jonathan and I hopped on the metro to Capital South. He headed to the Congressional buildings for a meeting with a fellow Eagle Scout, and I walked to a local lunch spot.

Once Jonathan was done with the meeting, we ate, and parted ways at the metro. I headed to Chinatown for an interview, and he had coffee with Jason, one of our new friends.

When I got out of my 'view, I met up with Jonathan and Jason at Labyrinth Games. Jason is an aficionado of board games, so when I got there, the guys were playing slightly obscure board games at tables in the back of the store. I love it when friends introduce us to new experiences!

Oh, hey. Ever heard of the cherry blossoms in DC? Yeah, they're kinda famous. We finally got to go see them!

Thursday afternoon was deliciously warm with a cool breeze. Jonathan and I wandered down to the Jefferson Memorial along with hundreds of other people. It was my first time seeing the cherry blossoms in person and I loved it.

Friday we met Chad, who first encouraged us to move to DC, and encouraged us again now that we are here. His warm personality and genuine happiness that God had placed us here was evident. After that, Jonathan and I attended an event at AEI, where the former director of the CIA and NSA commented on his most recent book. Geez, we were a little out of our league.

When we got home, Jonathan had a phone interview, and then we prepared for the Good Friday service at CHBC. After such a wild week, it was good to have time for reflection. There was singing, Scripture reading, and a short message. After taking communion, we sung It Is Well, a favorite hymn for both me and Jonathan, and tears rose in our eyes.

Now, we come to today, Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

Think back about 2000 years ago. Jesus died yesterday. And a strange thing happened - the temple veil to the Most Holy Place was torn in two, from top to bottom. There's nothing separating us from the presence of God anymore, but our Messiah is still buried.

Tomorrow, come quickly.

~VA

An Aspiring Native, Day 4.5

Jonathan asked me to do a guest post on Creasy Capers, since I am capering a Creasy, after all. So here are my impressions of our capitol to date.

DC is unique among large cities because of the strict building height requirements. Instead of the slivers of sky among metal and concrete that is typical of metropolitan areas, DC has a wide open sky, horizons glimmering with aspirations. Often Jonathan and I drive over the 11th St SE bridge at sunset, the Anacostia river a lustrous gold inlaid with battleships and bridges.

Another splendid feature of DC is the plethora of museums and galleries, most of which are free.

The Museum of Natural History is among my favorites so far, especially the gems. The vibrancy of colors and patterns that spring from the dark, lowly mines astounds me. Rocks with natural tree-like etchings, minerals with swirls of grass green, translucent towers of crystal, dazzling yellow formations, mysterious opals. These and more fill my mind to overflowing, flashes of some great unfathomable painting.

Humanity's touch beautifies this city too.

The national mall has street drummers and sax players on sunny days, and the music strokes and pulses above the murmur of voices. Laughter is a flickering solo, foreign intonations the harmony. Closer to our little neighborhood here on Pleasant St SE, the sounds of the city are much different. I hear more helicopters than birds, and the ceaseless pitch of police sirens could be likened to the absent hum of crickets.

There is a dizzying array of lines in the metro escalators that fascinates me. The escalator at our local stop almost seems to pitch forward - the vertical cracks of the walls compete with a dozen other angles; gravity itself seems confused - have I fallen down a rabbit hole?

As a wishful artist, I ache at times to portray the wonders I see here. Yet, instinctively, I know that the visions I see are too intricate to be detailed, too universal to be contained on a canvas.

One last sensation: Jonathan and I have agreed that the metro station is an odd place. The air is a bit dank and stuffy, but there is a constant wind from trains whisking by. I am reminded of a quote from my favorite author, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” The metro hints at our path to yet unknown adventures.

~VA

An Aspiring Native, Day 4

You wouldn't believe the intersections in DC.  I'm sure many places are worse, but when I think intersection, I generally don't think 14 red lights pointing every angle but straight up and straight down.  Yes, this is, in fact, an intersection Virginia and I encountered trying to find our way around the city.  In just two weeks I have become a pro at crossing six lanes of traffic in 150 feet to exit on the opposite side of the highway, and of parallel parking my massive Dodge Charger into places I would have otherwise thought impossible just 16 days ago.  Dad would be proud of that.  In fact, the stress of driving and of shopping in ridiculous grocery stores downtown have made something as simple as shopping in Walmart intensely relaxing.

Oh, what do you do to relax?

Oh, we shop at Walmart.

...

One thing I have unfairly neglected to tell you about thus far is our wonderful new church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church.  At the recommendation of my former pastor, Chris, I did some research on it before moving, and have started attending since we moved.  After our first Sunday there, Virginia and I have been nearly every time the doors have been open.  We *love* it.  Solid teaching, both Sunday morning and night and Wednesday, like-minded couples (we went out to lunch last Sunday and are planning to go out again tomorrow with couples there), and just an all around warm and welcoming atmosphere have led us to attend the membership classes, with a hope of joining.  We have yet to find work, but reader, we have found a church.  And to us that is just as, if not more, important.  I haven't felt so alive and so happy to be a Christian in many years.

Today, we spent our day finishing up the membership classes at CHBC, and then met our new friends Carla and Jason at Pi (literally, π) Pizzeria - which is our new favorite pizza joint - and then toured Ford's Theatre (saw the actual gun that killed Lincoln), finishing with a stack of 15,000 books all about Lincoln himself:

From there, we headed over to the National Art Gallery, where just inside we got to see the Navy Chorus perform a few songs.  I really wished that my sister Jessica could have seen them - they were immaculate.  To get from one section of the museum from another, you have to go through an underground tunnel, that is really difficult to describe, so I'll just show you another picture:

The lights move in patterns all along the ceiling and down to the left, and we could still hear the haunting lyrics of a song called "Prayer" being sung by the Navy Chorus above as we went through.  It was beautiful and eerie.

Still underground, there is a massive book/art/merch store for the Art Gallery, and there is a coffee shop/food court that, again, I wished my sisters could have seen, as I know they would have enjoyed themselves.  There, we swapped stories with our new friends on how the other met their spouse, got married, etc.  It was so relaxing to have a good and natural conversation with another couple.

I have decided, upon a very brief tour of the Gallery, that it is my favorite museum to date.  The atmosphere is incredible - it is as if I could nearly hear physical manifestations of all my dreams and aspirations as an artist floating about me in the rotundas and corridors that were filled with art.  I fully intend to return soon with a pen, some paper, and perhaps some classical music, and just see where my inspiration takes me.

The weather this entire week has been beautiful.  Virginia and I have been wearing shorts and tshirts, taking walks, enjoying a few of the early cherry blossoms, and making plans to go see outdoor attractions when we can.  Today, however, we awoke to cold temperatures, and discovered that snow is coming - as soon as tomorrow.  Some people are speculating this could have a negative effect on the coming cherry blossoms, but that remains to be seen.

Well, this is where I will leave you.  I had an interview for a position with a congressman last Thursday, but have yet to hear anything.  We have both been applying to many, many jobs, and Virginia has an interview on Monday.  Please be praying that we would get something soon.  I think, despite our many adventures, we are both beginning to get a little stir-crazy.

Here's to hoping your bracket is doing a lot better than mine, and that this post finds you with a smile on your face with the promise of warmer weather soon.

Yours,

J

Something that is completely new to me this week: An ad promoting a tattoo convention April 15th in Baltimore.  No further details were provided.

"Nmmjhm/ ..,.VHN.TYDRM,KERMEKUJMEDMN MN"

Alley would like to inform you that running laps around the room dragging one of Virginia's shoes is his new favorite activity, and that he is considering taking up fashion as a hobby.  I cannot confirm nor deny my endorsement of these activities.

An Aspiring Native, Day 3

If you know anything about the DC area, you would know that the area in which we live, Anacostia, doesn't have the greatest history.  Racial tension, crime, and what have you have been problems, but, in the last 10 years, things have been looking up.  We hadn't had any evidence of these friendlier improvements until recently.

Thursday evening, as Virginia and I were struggling to get the massive amounts of broken down cardboard from our living room to the curbside, up walked a smiling gentleman in a grey suit.  Earl, our neighbor of the brick house on the corner (in my opinion the prettiest house on Pleasant Street), is from Trinidad.  I love his accent, and he loves our house - calling it the Governor's house because of the larger white pillars on our front porch.  Earl has lived in Anacostia for at least 12 years, so he has seen the bad days, and assures us that we picked a lovely street to live on.  He invited us to a big party in June that has apparently gained much acclaim in the area and abroad (he told us he has been invited to a big Caribbean cruise where he will cater food and provide the music).  In June, on a particular night, Earl hosts a party just for native Anacostians where he has steel drum music, everyone wears white, and he provides lots of Caribbean-style food.  I'm pretty excited, as it will be my first "block party" I've ever been to.

When I was in Boy Scouts, one of the many roles I had was to be the troop (and really anyone else's) bugler.  There was a merit badge for bugling where you had to memorize 40 tunes and play them for a Scout Master, and, to my surprise, as sun set on Friday, I heard Retreat being played on a trumpet.  Retreat is the song that is played any time a flag is being lowered - and with the beautiful sunset out our window, the song stirred up feelings of nostalgia and patriotism I haven't felt in quite some time.

On Saturday we continued to check off places from our To See in DC bucket list, with a tour of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  We brought a packed lunch with us so we could complete our tour of the Museum of Natural History (as we were rushed last week with my family), but I couldn't remember if we were allowed to bring food inside.  We successfully hid our lunch behind a construction barrier near one of the entrances - it was still there when we came back - but we found out shortly after entering the museum that you can indeed keep packed lunches with you, as long as they are securely packed.  Still, we felt pretty cool that no one found our stash.

A hilarious thing I almost forgot to mention: while we were in the Gem and Mineral section of the Natural History Museum, were heard a kid in front of us scream "DAD I FOUND LAPIS."  Apparently he thought the blue gemstone to our left was lapis lazuli - an item found in the gam Minecraft.

Well that's all I have for you so far.  I went to visit Congressman Duncan today for advice for my job hunt, as we have a history together (he came to my Eagle Ceremony, and I've interviewed him before for school) - the meeting was uneventful, but I wasn't super surprised.  I went mostly just to pay my respects now that I'm a "DC native."  I have an interview with a Congressman for a temporary job this Thursday though.  I'll keep you posted.

Until next time!

-J

"Cvgfnsxgbn" - Levi says he's been looking for Alley for his installment of the blog post, but can't find him.  He suspects the puppy/kitty is eluding his chase yet again.

Inspiring quote from a friend: "If ever you look up at the Capitol building lit up at night, and you aren't reminded why you moved to DC, filled with an overwhelming sense of patriotism, and encouraged in your mission, maybe you've stayed here too long."

Despite taking an hour to cover about 17 minutes of driving, our goodwill trip paid off.  I think DC looks pretty good on us.

An Aspiring Native, Day 2

As most of you know if you've read any of this blog, I am a sucker for anything Germany/Austrian.  In fact, I keep an eye out for anything that would remind me of my time there a few summers ago, and as I was compiling my Things to See in DC list, I came across the Biergarten Haus on H Street.  Elated, I decided to pay it a visit that very night, as Virginia and I had done little but unpack and attempt to organize since I wrote you last.  As it turns out, the inside of the building (and the garden in the back) looked just like the Hofbrauhaus Hawkins and I visited in Munich.  While fare there is a bit pricey, I would highly recommend it to anyone fond of German food/drink/culture.  Everything is imported - thus the price.  We also decided we would love to live in that area one day, as the houses all look something like this:

Both Virginia and I have been job hunting the last few days (she has a virtual job, but is virtually exhausted of not seeing people on a daily basis, and that's a downright shame in DC), and one job she stumbled across searching for museum jobs was "cheetah care."  Yes, as it turns out, the Smithsonian is currently looking for someone to handle their cheetah preservation, and, based on the exhibit we visited today, Virginia would only occasionally be targeted for food, based on her height, weight, etc.  Who knew?  (For those of wondering, she was going to begin the application process, if only just to say she's applied for a job so...unique...but as it turns out you have to have worked a particular federal paygrade previously to be considered.  Go figure.) 

That job opening inspired us to take a trip down to the Smithsonian Zoo, as it is free, and we had to move our car off the street in front of our house for the weekly street cleaning (which, as it turns out, didn't happen.  Apparently it's a hit-or-miss type thing with a $200 penalty if you get caught with your car on the street during cleaning time, which is every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30).  We got to see almost every section of the zoo minus the Amazon section and the petting zoo (which was mostly goats...suffice it to say neither Virginia nor I have any desire to pet a goat any time soon), which included giant pandas, giant tortoises, lions, tigers, and (sloth) bears, oh my!, zebras, all kinds of reptiles, monkeys, gorillas, lemurs, *gasp for air* and really every other kind of creature you can think of.  It's a great zoo, and I can't wait to visit again.  I've included some pictures at the end of the post so you can see a few of the highlights.

Life in DC is going pretty well so far.  Job hunting is exhausting, and all I have to speak for up to this point is one job rejection - which I applied for over a month ago when I was still in TN.  Virginia had her first metro experience today, which we loved, but we are still getting used to the walk from our house to the Anacostia station.  Lots of loiters, which we aren't used to.
Any and all prayers would be welcome, as we are doing our best to fit in, be productive, and pursue what is we were meant to.  I really like the sound of that.

I'll write again soon!  I hope you are well.

J

Interesting people in the metro:

1) Catholic cowboy, sighted in the Gallery Place Metro.  Wearing 10 gallon, black cowboy hat, and a matching black priest's collar.
2) Girl with two large buns in her hair with roses peeking out of the tops.
3) Random teen guy who got the number of another random teen girl within 5 minutes flat.  Props, bro.  Hawkins would be proud.

P.S. nbbgv jjhn - Alley says he is attempting to get a tan at the window, but is seeing no progress.  Updates to follow.

Being a panda is rough work.

Caught this vulture pre flight.

Virginia's cheetah.

Green tree snake.

One of my favorite poison frogs.

VA and the Cassowary.

I'm a big fan of flamingos.

An Aspiring Native, Day 1

Well, I am writing to you from our new house in Anacostia, Washington DC.  What a ride it has been getting here.  We got up around 6am on Friday morning and hit the road with our car, the family van, and a Budget moving truck crammed full of our belongings.  The drive was a crazy one - the temperature when we left was around 32 degrees, a few hours later it had risen to around 52, and by the time we arrived it was back down around freezing again.  It took us nearly 12 hours of driving to get here (my dad is a truck driving master though, so nothing was damaged and everyone arrived safely), and once we arrived it took us several more hours to get everything piled in the house.

We spent our Saturday sightseeing with the family, as Jennifer has never been to DC, and Mom hasn't been for quite some time (Dad and the kids having come for youth summer camp).  Our first stop was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, being one of my favorites.  Due to lack of time we did a quick tour, but Virginia and I have plans to go back soon and take our time with it.  It's still mind-boggling to me that we live so close and can get in for free whenever we want!

From there we started the long trek to the Washington Monument, and then continued even further down to the Lincoln Memorial (I most enjoy the view from the steps).  Completing our giant circuit, we headed back to the van and made a food-stop at District Taco (our housemates Jacob and Alyssa took us there on our last visit and we loved it...think a better version of Chipotle with more food than you can handle), and then a quick stop by the Peregrine Espresso shop.  Upon a little further research (and the Google query "best coffee shops in DC"), I found out that we had stumbled upon one of the best shops the city has to offer: and it's locally owned!

Sunday saw everyone minus me, Virginia, and Jacob (my brother, not to be confused with my new roommate) heading to Capitol Hill Baptist Church.  Virginia was sick that day, but it is the church we intend to attend regularly starting this week.  I'll be sure to update you once we visit.  We said our goodbyes later that afternoon in the parking lot of a Walmart (the parents had to pick Jacob back up, as he had spend both nights with us in our new house.  As a side note, Costco was a mad house when we went...there were more people crammed in the aisles than I thought humanly possible, and the check out line went well over halfway through the store.  Talk about an adventure...), and my family headed back to dear old Tennessee, leaving Virginia and I to open a new chapter of our life.  It wasn't easy to say goodbye to my family (even though they may think otherwise sometimes), because they have been my closest friends since I graduated last May.  And now here we are, in our nation's capitol, hoping to change our little slice of the world in some way or another, not knowing anyone or having any friends waiting to meet us.  It's quite a change!

Yes, we are terrified.  But a new friend of mine told me that if you aren't terrified to begin with, you aren't doing it right.  So...let's just assume we're doing it right.

Currently I am emailing connections for possible job openings, looking online for job openings, writing to you, and compiling a list of places that we would like to see.  Our goal is to use the weekends to explore as much as possible - museums, restaurants, coffeeshops, pubs, whatever.  Speaking of which, if you have any suggestions for places let me know; I would be super interested.

So here I am, an Aspiring Native of Washington DC.  Any tips, hints, or suggestions are welcome.  I'll write to you again soon!

-J

Brand new things this week:
1) A police helicopter shining a search light in your bedroom window.
2) Moving to a new state.
3) Grocery lines half the length of the store.

P.S. lcllcvklixcjvpf;cx - Alley says he misses you.