August 30th or Church and Airplanes

Sunday

One of the downsides of traveling quite a ways to church (which I’ve never had to do since I’m a Utahn), is that you have to get up at 7:30 to make an 11:00 church meeting. And then, if you stay for ward choir afterwards, you don’t get home until 4:30. Church is really an all day affair. But, church was the highlight of my day today. My ward (the D.C. 2^nd ward) is one of the nicest singles wards I have ever been to, if not THE nicest. Everyone was very welcoming, energetic and interested in getting to know everyone. All of the talks given were well-prepared and lifted my spirits. They took everyone’s pictures, introduced everyone after Sacrament meeting, and we had a mix and mingle event instead of a Relief Society lesson. I met a lot of people and felt very at home. After church I stayed for ward choir and then caught a ride home with one of the ward members who has a car. It was so nice to see beautiful Maryland (where the church is) and NW D.C. above ground! Not that the gray cement outside of the metro windows isn’t interesting, but the old historic buildings in Georgetown and the beautiful trees in Maryland take the cake.

When we finally got back from a long day of church, a bunch of people went to go visit the National Zoological Garden, another great free event in the D.C. area, known for their giant pandas. I went with them, only to realize in the Metro station that we wouldn’t make it before the zoo closed (a lot of things close at 6:00 p.m.). So the group decided to wander around the mall. Since I did that yesterday, I decided to go back to the Barlow. I came back and rounded up some friends willing to take a chance and have an adventure with me. Andrea told me about a park just above the Reagan airport where people go to watch the planes take off or simply admire the beautiful D.C. cityscape. After not knowing if we would really make it in time, and almost aborting the mission when the metro train didn’t come for half an hour, we finally made it to the airport. We found the little path and made it to Gravelly Point just in time for the sunset. Success!! It was worth the effort. All eight of us crammed on to my little fleece blanket with stars and we chatted about life, planes, and some more life. We could see the Washington Monument and the Capitol building, and the park overlooked the Potomac river. We made it back to the Barlow center around 9:15 p.m.

Now, I am sitting at my desk, sucking on the giant pixie stik that the Comcast people gave me yesterday and listening to good music. Life is good.

Waiting for ward choir to start. Sierra looks angelic.

(We were sitting in the sun because the church has over active AC like the Barlow and all the Smithsonians.)

Despite many obstacles, we made it to Gravelly Point.

Before I figured out "sunset mode" on my camera.

After I figured out how to use the "sunset mode" on my camera. (The Washington Monument looks like Big Brother. Or the all-seeing eye from the Two Towers. We'll just generalize by saying some authoritarian symbol from a science fiction novel.)

August 29th or Petruchio and Old Glory

August 29, 2009

After sleeping in (my excuse: I’m still adjusting to east coast time), and eating my delicious leftovers for lunch, a bunch of us headed out exploring.

We walked toward the mall and, after being handed free pixie sticks and a “veg-fest” brochure, arrived at the Lincoln memorial. It is big and white and awe-some like I remember. Oh, and cram packed with tourists. However, miracle of miracles, I got a picture of me and Abe with no one else. (Thanks, Abby!) I would love to go back there and take some pictures at sunset.

We started wandering toward the Washington Monument. Travel hint: the mall looks a lot shorter than it is. But. It is not short. It is long. They sprinkle park benches here and there for those with weak constitutions (I will refrain from putting a political joke here.), and steadfast determination and scary geese spur everyone else on. We stumbled across a WWII memorial with a nice fountain and cool picture opportunities. We finally made it to the Washington Monument only to find that all of the tickets for today were already distributed: A downside of not planning.

At this point we were swimming. Swimming in what? You might ask. A valid question, and to those of you who haven’t had the opportunity of walking around D.C. on a very warm, extremely humid (it was overcast) day, I’m not sure if an appropriate metaphor exists. All I can say is that I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to live under the sea, and now I know. In order to dry off, we popped into the nearest air-conditioned building. It happened to be the Smithsonian museum of American history. We saw the original flag that inspired “The Star-spangled Banner” in 1814 and a cool exhibit on the history of water transportation. I didn’t realize how many movies about boats there are: Pirates, The Hunt for Red October, Titanic etc. I relived all of them in that exhibit. We also saw a replica of a 1950s suburban household and learned about the history of the atomic bomb. The Smithsonian is well-put together. The exhibits are very visual and the writing is informative but not overly heavy. And I learned cool stuff! For example, pirates didn’t really make people walk off planks (they got that reputation from Peter Pan), and Julia Child got in a car accident the day before she got married (she was okay, obviously).

I really enjoyed the “First Ladies” exhibit with the gowns donated by all of the first ladies (Mrs. Lincoln had a ridiculously small waist), and the replica of Julia Child’s kitchen. It was packed, of course, but well worth the wait.

At this point some of the people in my group headed back to the Barlow Center. I was meeting Stephanie and Jake at 5:00, so I stayed behind alone.

And it felt great.

We’re not in Jerusalem any more, folks. No, “three people at all times” rule. I love America.

I wandered along the mall, saw a flock of tourists on segways, listened to the birds/bugs in the trees (trees are loud here), and made my way to meet Steph and Jake.

I had some time to kill so I went into the museum of crime and punishment. Correction: I went into the museum of crime and punishment’s gift store. Tickets to the actual museum were $20 and almost guaranteed to be a tourist trap. I imagine the gift store is the coolest part anyway. They had reprinted newspapers from big crime events like the JFK assassination and the day John Dilinger was killed. I ended up buying a little whistle to put on my keychain. I didn’t know what time I’d be walking home and it was cheaper than the pepperspray.

I was still a little early, so I went to wait in line for tickets to the show we were going to see. The Shakespeare Theater company hosts a “free for all” season once a year in which they put on a show completely free for anyone who wants to come see it. The catch: you have to be at the box office when it opens to get tickets. We did get tickets (there was a very long line), and then went to eat dinner at Fuddruckers. It was good to see Steph and Jake and they provided words of wisdom about big city living and empathy about the humidity. We wandered a little after and then went to the show.

We saw “Taming of the Shrew.” It was superb. The acting, the set, the jokes, the scene change music—it was all top notch, but Petruchio stole the show. I have never laughed so hard in a Shakespeare play. They really did a wonderful job; I am not sure I can be as effusive as they deserve. I was simply floored. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Then Steph graciously showed me how to refill my Metro card and then Steph and Jake walked me home (it was about 11:30 p.m.). After getting ready for bed, writing in my journal (read: my laptop), scrips, and my book, I got to sleep around 1 a.m.

We’ll see how long that schedule lasts.

The most patriotic obelisk in America (and we didn't even steal it from Egypt like the Brits).

At the Lincoln Memorial with my pixie stick holstered like a saber.

Swimming---er walking, to the Washington monument. The lovely items you see on the cement next to the reflection pond are goose poop. Surprisingly big.

I turned around after taking the previous goose poop picture.

WWII memorial, "the Price of Freedom"

Each star represents 1,000 American lives lost in WWII.

Yes. I am from Utah. This picture proves it.

Abby and I feeling close to the motherland.

I wanted to see what everyone was looking at. (In the Smithsonian)

I had to explain to the nice man what a pixie stik is.

Julie and Julia and Lynne.

Can you see me? I'm all the way in the glass doorway in the back.

The first ladies exhibit in the Smithsonian. The lights are kept low so the fabric doesn't disintegrate. There were a few dresses missing... but, then again, Hilary did always wear the pants in that relationship...

There was a costume sale in the Shakespeare store before the show. If only I didn't have luggage limitations!

First Impressions Or August 28, 2009

Here I am, in the same country, but a different world. I don’t expect all of my blog posts to be this detailed, but this is all still new to me, so you get a play-by-play.

FLIGHTS: Yesterday morning I flew out of Salt Lake at 8:30 a.m. While I was waiting to board a nice young guy sat down next to me and started a conversation. His name was Mark and he went to Weber State. He laughed out loud when I told him I went to BYU. I sat next to him on the flight to Denver and we talked the entire hour (he was very talkative). He told me about the first time he got drunk, his job as a music critic for a punk/ska website, and how much he loved New Jersey. Every once and a while he would take a stab at BYU and I would correct any misinformation.

Him: I can’t believe YouTube is blocked at BYU.

Me: It’s actually not anymore.

Him: Oh.

Him: I can’t believe BYU doesn’t let BYU democrats meet.

Me: Actually they do let BYU democrats meet and there are more of them than there are in the BYU republicans club.

Him: Oh.

Him: I can’t believe you aren’t allowed to stay up past midnight.

Me: We are allowed to stay up past midnight.

Him: Oh.

He was interesting and nice to talk to. But I’m also glad that we didn’t sit next to each other for another four hours. I got off my plane in Denver, went to the bathroom, and walked right on my plane to Baltimore. I sat next to a nice flight attendant who was going home. She asked if I was a student and then asked about my internship. When the flight got more crowded another woman came and sat between us. She sat on the right row because all of us had books that we wanted to read. I was reading “East of Eden” and the woman next to me was reading “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Poor girl. She finished it on the plane and was trying her darnedest not to sob or snort out loud. She used a lot of tissues.

We got off the plane in Baltimore, I bought an overpriced (and disgusting) turkey cranberry wrap and waited for my luggage. Miraculously, it all arrived! I heaved it off the conveyor belt, carefully stacked my 40 lb duffel on top of my 50 lb suitcase. Then I started the long and arduous journey to the SuperShuttle counter. Okay, it was only about 25 yards, but it seemed very long and arduous with 90 lbs under my left wrist. As soon as I checked in I got on a shuttle. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Barlow Center, but I got here at about six o’clock. I dropped my bags, got a short tour, and went and found second-hand sheets, towels, and a pillow in the laundry room.

DINNER: Then a few of us got together and walked down Pennsylvania Ave. to find a place to eat dinner. We passed several places that looked good to me (Thai, Ethiopian, etc.), but they didn’t look appealing to the group. We ended up at a very cute French pastry shop/café in the middle of Georgetown. I don’t remember what it is called, but it was very good and vaguely reminiscent of Zupas. I got a fresh cup of strawberries (traveling makes me crave food that hasn’t been processed) and a plate of chicken pesto pasta. The restaurant itself was beautiful and looked very European inside. It had dark wood, two levels, and old wicker chairs.

SAFEWAY-GATE: We walked back to the Barlow and then some of us ventured to Safeway. We walked about ten minutes and happened upon the Watergate complex. We crossed the street (and I kept my eye out for corruption and controversy, since we were at the Watergate), and went down an escalator to the small Safeway in the basement. I bought shampoo, toothpaste, and some fresh food. We will probably go there often, I can already think of things I need to get on Monday.

With our arms heavily weighed down with bananas and toothpaste, we walked back to the Barlow center. Losing circulation in my fingers, I couldn’t help but smile in the warm, humid Washington air. I am here. I can handle this.

And it’s going to be fun.

A picture of my room. My sheets and comforter are compliments of a nice soul who left them behind because they had better things to take home.

Yes, those are my real feet.

My closets, fully stocked and fantastically wrinkled. Yes, the set up is almost identical to Jerusalem. The buildings were built about the same time...?

My cute roommate Holly. She just got back from spending the summer in Russia and graduates in December. (Her sheets are very cute and they match! ... which is more than I can say for my sheets...)

I'm off to see the District

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., I will fly to Washington, D.C. for a four-month internship. Hopefully I will arrive there in one piece (after wrangling with all of my luggage, that really will be a feat). Be assured that I will drop all of my stuff and go skipping around the city the second I arrive (after a quick swing by the laundry room--thanks Andrea!).

Here is my address until December 12. If any of you would like to come visit me, that would be splendid.

Lynne Gabrielsen

Room 406

2520 L St., NW

Washington, D.C. 20037

(Mostly I post this here because I'm afraid that if I write my address down on a piece of paper it will be sucked into the black hole that is my mother's office, never to be seen again. At least on my blog my address won't go to the big recycling bin in the sky.)

I am a redneck. Literally.

After unexpectedly spending three hours in the 100+plus degree sun with no sunscreen, no shade, and no chance of going inside, I became red and white all over.

Being blessed with fair (aka "pasty, pasty white") skin, I burn more easily than anyone would expect. No one else I was with got even close to burned, and I got roasted like a marshmallow at girls' camp.

(Sadly, even though my legs are radiating heat right now, the burned portion actually looks normal in this picture.)

Luckily, a regimen of aloe, tylenol, cold water, and loose-fitting clothing has allowed me to sleep and wear more than underwear around the house.

My cell phone is a horcrux.

I just spent hours looking for my phone charger, which I threw into one of many boxes heading toward my parents house on Friday. I tore apart boxes of cookware, clothing, plugs of all sorts and size, lotions, and shoes--lots of shoes--to no avail. Why does such a little piece of plastic control so much of my life? Sitting amidst the strewn tupperware and laundry I pondered that question. Finally, I think I've got it.

My cell phone (and by extension, my cell phone charger) is a horcrux.

I've always wanted to live in Harry's world, and now I have unassumingly adopted a small part of it. (For those non-conformers who refuse to read Harry Potter, a horcrux is an object that contains a portion of a wizard/witches soul. It takes exceptionally dark magic to sever your soul an capture it in a horcrux, but it also conveniently makes you essentially immortal.) After examining the rest of my life, I have identified several other candidates for horcruxy (?). Ahem: my MacBook, my iPod, my expensive floss, my old pink slippers, my chapstick, my lotion, my copy of "Peace Like a River," my memory of "(500) Days of Summer," and the soundtrack to "The Last Five Years."

While some of those items may be intangible, they are all items that without which, I would cease to exist.

So, before you point out that horcruxes are, in fact, evil, just remember that while my soul might have been split to the point that the essence of my humanity is in question--

I am nearly invincible.

Okay, so dreams come true at Lake Powell, too

We (Rachelle and I) went down to St. George this weekend and spent all of Saturday on Lake Powell with Rachelle's parents and friends.

It was rockin. If you've never been to Lake Powell, look at these pictures and then imagine it 10 times more beautiful.

On Saturday, my face hurt from smiling so much and today my arms/necks/back/legs hurt from having so much fun on the tube.

We saw the beautiful sights, climbed some impressive rocks, and watched Kael land a backflip on the wakeboard! It was unreal!

Amazingly, we all managed to escape in one piece, no concussions, and no debilitating sunburns.

To sum up: Sitting in the front of the boat + sunglasses + warm/perfect day + Lake Powell = heaven on earth

As of today I've had 29 roommates

I am a senior at BYU (and have been for a few semesters), and I have lived in Provo since September 2006 (with study abroad and internship exceptions). Since I have lived here in "Happy Valley" I have lived with 29 beautiful girls at various times. We have had adventures together, handled breakups together, managed cooking disasters, and squealed/giggled together about exciting life news. I've lived with return missionaries, friends from high school, friends from Jerusalem, and absolute strangers.

But I love these girls and it's so exciting to see how their lives turn out!

Key:

[ ] roommate for more than one time period

* married/engaged

^ on a mission/ has a mission call

@ expecting a baby

Fall 2006-Winter 2007--45 Fox Hall

Britt Linde (in room)

Maren Christiansen

Paige Christensen*

Charlie Nicholes

Allison Funk

Spring/Summer 2007--Elms, W113

Jen Stewart* (in room)

Shannon Adams*

Emma LaSeuer^

Jessica Fisher

Lisa Owens

Katy Baxter*

Fall 2007--408, Jerusalem

McCall Barrick (same side of the room)

Amber Patterson

Rachel Mildenstein

Winter 2008--Elms, B208

Lindsey Porter*@ (in room)

Nicole Heder*

Lana Holt

Rachel Goodwin*

Jackie Quinn*

Spring/Summer 2008--Elms, B208

[Lana Holt (in room)]

[Nicole Heder*]

Ashley Esser

Randi Billings

Abby Tryon

Fall 2008, Winter 2009--Elms, B208

[Nicole Heder* (in room)]

Andrea Kinghorn^

Kelly Cook^

Emily Edwards

Kylie Pack*

Spring/Summer 2009--The Colony, 433

Rachelle "Roxie" Doxey (in room)

Jenessa Simmons^

Erin Meyers^

Nicole and I at a tennis match summer 2008

Fox 45 roomie reunion summer 2008 (l-r) Paige, Britt, Charlie, Allie, me

Summer 2007, "Deathmatch" with Charlie and croquet mallets

I won.

Roomies in Jerusalem. (l-r) McCall, Rachel, Amber, me

Summer 2008 Abby, me

B208 Girls' night! April 2008 right before three of our roommates got married. Lindsey, Nicole, me, Lana, Jackie, Rachel.

At Yoasis, Jackie, Nicole, me, Lindsey, Lana, Rachel

Summer 2008 at Vivian Park. I have been roommates with all of these girls at some point in time. (l-r) Erin, me, Nicole, Andrea

July 15, 2009. Dropping Erin off at the MTC--she is off to Thailand! Me, Jenessa, Holly, Erin