14th and Mass, crying like a baby, saying goodbye to someone very special. You forget that there are people willing to go out of their way, to inconvenience themselves, to be kind to you. The generosity of others is something that sticks with you longer than anything.
My ride will be here soon, I don’t think it has ever been so hard to walk away from a city before.

The show last night was FANTASTIC. If you know me, you know why this is an incredible statement. I hate bar shows, I hate the crowds, the standing, the shuffling, the inability to see, the long sets by bands I’ve never heard of(I even skipped seeing Mike Doughty, who I love, because I didn’t liek the venue he was at). Leave it to Mark to pick bands and a venue that would change all that for me. We got there, met our friend James (who doesn’t have a website but should), and managed to be early enough to be at the stage.
The first band was okay, I think everyone liked them more than I did. They weren’t bad, just not great. The second band, Rogue Wave was very very good. They rocked hard. AC Newman was the headliner and was also incredibly good. The keyboard/guitar guy was right above me, we played a little eye tag, that made my night. Mark has incredibly good taste in music.
So, after hours of rocking out, and many vodka tonics, Mark drove us over to DC culinary institution Ben’s Chili Bowl for 2am chili cheese fries! We talked, we laughed, we talked some more. Sitting there at 2:30 in the morning with people who are genuinely fun and interesting, just cemented my decision to move here.
Back at the hotel by 3am. The stress, the running, the 4 week low grade fever, the 2am chili-cheese fries, the decisions, everything that sits on my soul lately just came crashing down. Unfortunately, there’s no one you can call in the middle of the night. I rode it out til dawn and called my mom. Mom’s are good, you can call them, bawling your head off and they make it better with just a sentence or two. Lovely.
Mark picks me up in the morning and we head to Virginia to an Indian Buffet brunch. Yeah, that’s right…brunch, in Virginia, an Indian Buffet! I met a lot of Mark’s friends and ate a lot of Indian food (though not as much as I would have, 2am chili cheese fries…).
After brunch we headed to Whole Foods where we discovered they had no espresso!!!!! I left Mark with the cryptic shopping list and headed to Starbucks (there’s one on EVERY corner). Crisis averted I found Mark, harassed the uninformed cheese counter lady and we headed back to his place with the fixings for a very nice meal.
Dinner was rack of lamb with a beurre rouge, mashed yukon golds with burnt green onions and asparagus with lemon butter. Mark’s friend Amy joined us. Personally, I think there is nothing more fulfilling than feeding people good food and to watch Mark and Amy inhale their dinners was satisfying, I even gave Mark my last lamb chop just to watch him enjoy it.
I go home tomorrow, James is taking me to the airport after I have a last lunch with Mark. I know I’ll cry, I’m a girl like that, but if anything was made clear to me this weekend it was that I am making the right choice.

Yesterday
* Indian food with Mark for lunch YUM!
* The tiny aquarium in the basement of the D.O.C. FUN!
* The Museum of Natural History, trilobites, monotremes, dinosaurs, spent all the time I wanted to there, HOORAY!
* Dinner with Jason then walking, talking, drinking, talking. FABULOUS!!
* Hulk Hogan on Biography, INSOMNIA!
Then today…
* Dim sum with Jason, YUM
* Coffee and talking and geeking out with Jason, YELLOW CARD!!
* Meeting Mark at the zoo (and it should be noted that Mark made a special trip in the rain JUST to meet me at the zoo, JUST so we could see the hippos. Mark is a good friend indeed), HIPPOS!
* Seeing AVP at the Uptown in DC. MASSIVE screen, just fucking massive, with great sound and a balcony. Defying popular opinion I’m going to give this movie a thumbs up. (I’m sorry, Alan, I just couldn’t wait, I’ll still see it with you)
* Now I’m off to see AC Newman at the Black Cat. I’d better see you there!!!

Tired
So last night Mark and I go to dinner then go back to his place to hang out and catch up. I brought my laptop so I could get my email and whatnot.
It was a giggly good time. Actually, Mark doesn’t giggle, but I do. It was so good to just hang out with him, no plans or activities or running around, just hanging out.
Unfortunately, all my previous running around and his long days at work caught up with us. We were exhausted. Sigh, I wish I could travel like other people, with the constant excitement and siteseeing, but whatever. We needed calm and we got calm. Nice. Very nice.
When I went to bed last night I took the 853,769 pillows on my bed and made a nest. Good move, I slept really well. Bad move, I slept through the alarm and overslept. I don’t feel to bad about it though. I’ve been to DC, I’ve seen the sites many times, I don’t feel bad if I miss a few.
Mark and I are going to lunch today, Indian food! Later I’ll hit the mall and visit the aquarium and the natural history museum. Then dinner with another friend.
Tomorrow…HIPPOS!!!!!