In the Nick of Time

Look what's here!

Yeah, my number is blacked out.  I don't want people from the Interwebs calling me.

Of course, I had to have them overnight, express shipped because doing everything just before it absolutely must be done is how I'm rolling lately.   Suddenly this weekend, it struck me that I was about to start the "tour" without business cards. (Other than the lame-o ones with just my name and number that I've basically only used to hand out to boys in bars.  Um, not kidding.)  Moo.com is ten kinds of awesome though and they had these little puppies to me in four days looking all snazzy like I planned them months in advance.  Thank you, Moo.

After a phone conversation this morning solidifying another meeting on my Boston schedule, I briefly had what I thought was a heart attack (for reals, I was contemplating dialing 911...or at least screaming very loudly), but appears to be some sort of spasming muscle near my ribs/diaphragm.  Consequently, I ate a lot of vegetables for lunch and did some yoga just to check my stress levels.  I haven't reached nirvana, but I'd say I'm a bit more serene than how I woke up.  Sometimes breathing just feels GOOD.

I plan on spending the evening at a chill dinner with a friend and then sipping red wine while I study up on The Food Project and Haley House, my first two appointments.  In an ideal world, I'd also finish my piece on Common Good for Zomppa, but after my almost-emergency this morning, I probably won't push my luck.  I need something to do on the plane, right?

Technology is Fallible and Other Lessons

The Washingtonian Mag event at the National Building Museum.  Also, the last site my iPhone was seen working properly.

While I was attending the Washingtonian Magazine "Best of" event last week, my iPhone had a little whoopsies!.  When I bought the phone, my lovely friends at the AT&T store (where I am a regular due to things like slamming my phone into metal poles and flushing it in the toilet of Nationals Stadium) were apprehensive.  "Do you really want to invest in an iPhone with your, er, 'luck'?", they asked.  And, of course, I did.  So, they fitted me with the sturdiest (and most awkward) protective cover that money can buy and sent me on my way, no doubt frowning sternly and hanging their heads as I trotted off, forever the optimist.

I do hate to live up to expectations.

The Best Of party was very colorful this year.  Last year, it was under a big tent (indoors) and was quite dark.  But, the chefs were cuter in 2010- so what can you do?

Yet, here I am.  I discovered that the...let's call it a "slide"my phone took across the metro station last week was perhaps less gentle than I initially thought. At first, everything seemed fine.  Then, in the middle of a treadmill run last week (it's hot as hell here and I have a delicate nature), it suddenly cut out during an episode of 'Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!' (Yes, I'm also a nerd...we covered that in another post.)  It then refused to play ANY public radio podcast in its entirety.  The damn thing still plays Lil' Wayne and Bon Iver but draws the line at NPR podcasts.  Seriously?! (sigh. seriously.)

People line up for various "best" restaurants tastings or drink offerings.  (Yes, yes, the drinks *might* have had something to contribute to the iPhone mishap.)

Mostly, I just make up excuses to photograph the guys working the event.  This guy is rolling corn in huge vats of butter.  And still smiling.  I like that moxie.

This was a spicy bison tartare sample.  Um..YUM!

Now, I find myself wondering what to do about this.  A new iPhone costs big dollars, and it's very possible I can limp this puppy along for a while.  Then again, I have terrible luck, and it could be a degenerative problem (I have this issue with boyfriends a lot) and slowly degrade until it cuts out in Boston right before a crucial phone meeting.  My lazy and practical sides will continue to duke it out for the next 24-48 hours until they come to a resolution I can live with for the weekend.  Won't it be suspenseful to find out if I can navigate a rental car around Boston, make every tightly scheduled appointment in far flung corners of the city AND keep my iPhone functional?  Wheee!  Good times.  I can hardly wait.

Now, excuse me while I go breathe into my paper bag.

The National Building Museum is really the prettiest indoor place in DC, I think.  

{In other news, this week's M@M post is up over at Zomppa.  Check it out here.  Melons and summer dinner parties are this week's topic.}

Pretty bar.