Healed by DC Greenery

I was not in such a great mood yesterday. Extremely irritable, hurt by people's inconsiderateness, frustrated and all that ugly jazz. But then I realized that I happen to live in a beautiful place and it was a gorgeous day.

So I decided to walk it off and let my beautiful surroundings heal my soul...

I walked 5 blocks south of my work building and took pictures while I ate my sandwich and carrots. Talk about multi-tasking.

One day, I will rent one of these bikes and ride all over this town.

This cute little guy was not camera shy :)

There's something about the sound of running water that's...supposed to be soothing lol. It was kind of loud but it was pretty

Park rangers on the National Mall. Sweet job.

The school groups are just starting to flood the capitol.

And there she is in all her glory

Quaint benches that have heard so many fascinating conversations.

These guys REALLY brought a smile to my face!

He's a handsome fella

Busy mama!

Reason #6 I moved to DC - all the beautiful greenery!

This one had admirable balancing skills. Glad he's not hurting for grubs - look how big he is!

The American Studies major in me geekin' out (Constitution Ave)

Cute statues :) Gotta represent the national sport at the nation's capitol!

Really proud to be an American in this beautiful city

Getting back to GW campus - these are some of the sororities/fraternities.

Found this on campus - cool!

Then I went back to work, slightly refreshed and trying to be positive (which usually comes naturally). After work, I planned to walk to the "Beyond BYU 2012" networking function at the Capitol Visitors Center put on by the BYU Political Affairs Society. It was a 50 minute walk, but I thought it'd be a good way to see the city. So I wrote down the directions and went. It started out pretty well...

The thoroughfare on Pennsylvania Ave

Back of the White House

Awesome statue!

This is a beautiful library

NPR building!

I ended up taking a wrong turn or street somewhere and got lost in a somewhat scary neighborhood. I asked a lady where the Capitol Visitor's Center was and she said I was FAR from it lol. Good thing my phone still had enough battery left to pull up a map. Turns out I was about 13 blocks north of the event. ARG.

I had no idea why I was going (I didn't need to network cuz I just got offered a full-time permanent job as Executive Support Assistant to the Associate Dean of Health Affairs at GW Medical School! Praise the Lord, I'm gonna be able to afford grad school without going into debt!), but I felt like I really needed to be there. Well, I finally got there, sweaty after 90 minutes of pounding the pavement.

I prayed that I would meet at least one person I KNOW and LIKE. Turns out there were a ton of people from my ward. AND I saw 2 of my American Heritage students!! (I was a TA a year ago) I absolutely love running into my old students, especially when they're doing well and chasing their aspirations. Emily and Trevor, you made my night :)

The capitol is dazzling at night.

I tagged along with Jason from our ward to make sure I didn't get lost again.

All's well that ends well!