Small things that have changed my world

- an arm case for my iPod so that I don't have to carry it while I work out. I did this for way, way too long.
- suitcase with four spinner wheels. I like it so much, I'm sometimes just walk around my house, spinning my luggage. JUST BECAUSE.
- greader, even though it has been entirely too long since I'm on top of it on a regular basis.
- baked cheetos. so amazingly delicious.

You know what your day needs?

Animal mugs

Drinks are better out of an elephant.

I love Renn Fest

and turkey legs.

Election Night?

How did it go? Too busy picking up last CSA of the year, grubbing with Kfront, and video chatting with two lovely ladies to partake in the electorate process.

Now to bed with Netflix and Aero bars.

Hello November

I may never blog anymore but it is November and I can't let a three year streak go to waste. So you get my thoughts for a full month! Isn't that awesome? I think so.

So for starters, I have to say the one week I actually care about sports (baseball in particular) has come to an end. Go Giants, but most importantly, go Colombians! So happy that Edgar Renteria did so well this post season. Props to Barranquillos!

What's odder, the fact I'm blogging or the fact it's about sports?

Shall I Tumbl?

So while I haven't written anything here in some time, I am still active with the whole Twitter business.

Shall I switch to a tumblr? Seems to be more my speed - snippets of my thoughts and photos. But I'm so attached to rizado. Hmm, thoughts.

Glug, glug

So, I’ve totally drunk the NTC kool-aid. Oh, you say you don’t know what that means? Non-profit Technology Conference in the hizzouse, babeh! I just got back from Atlanta and boy, are my arms tired! Thank you, I’m here all night.

(Note: just typed that as “hear all knight.” Because no one at the Round Table will be overlooked.)

I've been to conferences before and had some eh sessions and some pretty stellar (hurting the next day, have to vomit in a trash can on the street [sorry, Mommy]) off hour good times, but I think this is the first time where I was engaged both in personal conversations with new folks AND with the actual work part of the conference. Who woulda thunk?

Maybe it isn't fair to compare NTC (relates to work I'm actually doing every day) to AAM in Philly last year, which was all about work I wanted to be doing but would have little hope of doing it at all in the near future, hey, here's a beer to cry into. Instead, I found myself taking notes and marking in the margins what I wanted to do when I get back to work. I was exchanging business cards and saying we should follow up and because I'm a nerd about being a nerd, this excited me.

Y'ALL, I WAS RECOGNIZED.

As in, I was walking down the street on my way to a happy hour outside the conference center and someone stopped me and said , "Hi, are you Tatiana? Do you work for Oceana? I GET YOUR EMAILS [emphasis mine because!!]" She was awesome (hey, Lori!) but honestly - who would have thought that little pic of me at the end of an email asking you to nominate the next ocean hero (until April 18th) would land me in the public eye. Well, social media do gooder public eye.

All of this is to say that I'm so excited that NTC is in DC next year. The good times, they won't be stopped.

As for the social side of the conference, let me just say: Thursday night was a fantastic dinner, where I broke sushi rolls with Wendy Harman aka American Red Cross Twitter lady. During the meal, she was just cool. Friday, after the party [roof top, basil gin lemonade, lunging with new Aussie best friend], was the after party [Coca Cola museum, dancing, whiskey sours, splits, had director of the whole shebang comment on my skillz, zomg], and then an after after party [beers, pizza that I don't think we bought, detailed retelling of epic love stories]. Cut to a four hour nap and I cried at lunch because I was so tired.

Tired little nerd goes to sleep with images of next year's conference dancing (literally, there is dancing) in her head.

I went to Portland and I all had was a fantastic visit and a renewed love of my current city

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I have recently been to Portland. Karel moved out there two years ago this summer and I've been lucky enough to see her since then, since she comes back east to visit her fam. But it was high time for me to go call upon her, and so I embarked on my third trip to the West Coast.

Like my visits from Boston to visit her in NYC, my time was centered around food and shopping. And lo, the food. AND LO, THE SHOPPING. Oregon has no sales tax. Saving that extra 6% made me all giddy so I picked up - skinny jeans, pink cardy, white Chucks, a green and yellow plaid cape (yes, really), and an embroidered skirt. We'll see if I fit in all of it after the food. Mexican, southern, Indian, hot pot, grilled cheese, late night crepes, BALUT (hopefully with video soon) and more. Stuffed.

But more than eating and shopping and simply being with my lovely Karel, I found something I have been sorely missing for some time : a love of DC. When I first moved down here from Boston, I was excited about my grad program but sad about leaving my boyfriend behind. I was living at home, which was great on the wallet and hanging with my parents was fun, but it was hard to be in a new city without a real strong friend base. They were there, but arranging time with them wasn't casual - I had to book their time in advance and arrange for sleeping arrangements.

When I moved in with Lauren and Sam in March 2008, not only was I single for the first time in several years but I was on my own again after 6 months of being at home. I was so happy to just be, I think I could have been in any city, but I really loved DC, going into the city proper for school, hanging out with my roomies on our back porch, parties throughout the summer, etc. When I moved to DC proper last summer, I was excited for even more exploration. And I had it. And it was good.

But this year has been a bit different. I felt like DC was old hat, nothing new. I started thinking more and more about moving, leaving the mid-Atlantic, leaving the country. Not immediately, but starting to think about it in real terms, starting to save. Enter Portland.

Don't get me wrong. Portland was awesome, though I would say that of any visit with Karel. But being there, with its spread out quadrants, its suburban feel, I felt myself falling back in love with DC a little bit more each day. I certainly found neighborhoods that I loved - the Pearl, Nob Hill, Mississippi - but overall, the density just wasn't there for me. This is an odd thing for me to say because my main issue with NYC is that the city is just... too much. All on top of me, with no rest. I guess Portland is the opposite- too spread out, too much space between the neighborhoods, the places I want to be. DC is just right; different neighborhoods bumping up agaisnt each other, flowing quasi-seamlessly from one into the other. I want to know more places, expand from just Dupont and Columbia Heights, Mt Pleasant and Petworth, U St and (shudder) Adams Morgan. I know that Portland is a city I love to visit.

And DC is a place I love to call home.

When in Portland

do as hipsters do.

Here's the inspiration photo. We'll see if I can pull it off once I wash my hair.


Ok, back to having fun with this gal.

Jonny knows me so well

The man knows how I feel about Venn diagrams.