P.S. I found the hotel

In the summer of 1996, I planned a surprise bday cruise for a guy I was dating. The only hitch was to get to the cruise he had to drive this beat-up car from Ithaca, NY to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. To ease the trip, I had planned for a pit stop at a DC hotel purported to be pretty swank. Unfortunately, with neither of us having visited DC, we got lost looking for the hotel. Around midnight, we found ourselves passing the white house, seeing the beautiful green lawn in front and then, we turned left. Street walking ladies of the night approached the car, I started panicking and crying. Ultimately, we just gave up and stayed at a different place that was "aw-ite." Through tears in this roadside motel, I shared with him the surprise that we were going on a cruise -- not the ideal "surprise!" setting, nor was it a pleasant introduction to DC.

13 years later, I am back in DC taking in the city a new way. This morning, Xiao Shi & I took in brunch back at Kramerbooks & Afterwards (so yummy!). We also did some people watching at Dupont Circle, including some women on the drums wanting to fight against Femicide in Africa; visited the Farmer's market; and took a double decker tour of the city. Time with her also highlighted things about myself that can be annoying:

• I notice odd things -- like statues atop high buildings
• I say "I know" a lot, when I acknowledge what people are saying

I also noticed my self-consciousness coming back out. My inner-introvert struggles with wanting to be a voyeur, whereas my outer desire to be more social makes my mouth run nonsensically. **lame** I fear that the result is that though I'd like people to feel free to do their own thing, I still am not given off a sense of relaxation within myself. Thus, I'm happy Xiao came to visit since I got to know the city and see myself through new eyes.

The weekend also presented good work perspectives on career opps & what I've enjoyed in the working world. The experience has reinforced that I like making tangible impact to help others. And some things I've disliked...

1. IT related-projects. They've been getting placed at the end because there's less new learning, and therefore less intriguing
2. Analysis for analysis sake. Research that will end with a work product that gets put on a shelf as a "nice to know" is a disappointment.

But more importantly, recognizing these weaknesses, I need to get over them. Ultimately, it'll be my attitude that closes doors in my face.

At the end of the day, our tour bus ended at the Intercontinental Hotel. A distant memory was triggered that this was the name of the hotel from so many years ago. It's like the world has come full circle, but this time I was successfully able to penetrate the hotel (and even find the ladies room). Perhaps, with physically opening this hotel door, I can change my attitude mentally re-open some other ones.

Tomorrow, the next adventure starts, and I will fly to Haiti. Wish me luck!