27

Apparently March Madness leads to April Run Amok. It also means, the Month o' Visitors.

Note to self: When finishing thesis next spring do not accept house guests in April.

(Note to Christie and parents: Very happy you came to town this year. Please don't misunderstand my appreciation. Of course, if you're Christie, you book a trip 9 months in advance and people have no choice but to accept you into their homes. I kid! She's been nice enough to host me in SF on numerous occasions.)

In fact, Christie and I had a blast Easter weekend, along with Christie's Santa Cruz friends and MY neighbors Liz, Brian, and the new little Adriana. Now that she's moved to London (yes, the one in England), she takes full advantage of her time in the U.S., where everything is "half off!" British pounds. Of course, I couldn't just sit back and watch her shop her little heart out. So perhaps my credit card faced a little damage as well, but dammit! I got my tax refund and it IS my birthday month.

Yes, month. All of April belongs to me. Hooray! Actually, the day o' birth was April 10, but I like to milk it for all its worth. The day before, Vahan took me out for tapas and showered me with gifts (highlights included a box of Godiva chocolates, and Maureen Dowd's "Are men necessary?" Gotta love a man with a sense of humor. Of course, I shouldn't forget the book "The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team." Oh that sense of humor.)

The night of, we took the MARC train up to Camden Yard to watch the Tigers beat the Orioles, hang out with Drs. Freddy and Laura, and for me to eat every possible bit of junk food in the stadium. Amazing but true: If you eat an Italian sausage, french fries, two beers, peanuts, cotton candy AND funnel cake you won't get sick. This must be why I'm capable of eating anything in a foreign country. There should be a medal for that.

This past weekend my parents were in town for much D.C. tourism, Eleeza's-new-life-tourism, and general parent-child bonding. They had planned their trip around the annual cherry blossom festival, unfortunately mother nature had other thoughts in mind. Namely, an unwelcome repeat showing of the tail end of winter. Gusty winds, rain, and cloudy skies couldn't keep us from the tidal basin, or the Jefferson Memorial, or the Smithsonian. Yes, my feet still hurt. But I probably needed the walking after all the eating we did.

So now I'm down to the last two weeks of school. I'm six classes, two final papers, and a 10-minute documentary away from being halfway through graduate school. It's a little surreal, but definitely welcome.

The new 27-year-old me is looking forward to what my 28th year on this planet may have in store.