Andare, Partire, Tornare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everybody's workin' for the weekend Arrgh! My computer burped, so I lost the entry I was working on. Here's the second take. It's been two days of commuting to the Big City, and boy, has that ever been an adventure. I'm taking part in a unique Washington D.C. phonomena called slugging, which is basically organized group hitchhiking. You stand in a line at a predesignated spot, and drivers who want to drive into the city using the HOV lanes (three or more people per car) swing past, holler, "Pentagon!" or "18th and F" and in climb people headed in that direction. It's free, and speedy. For a more indepth look into the culture, you can go to Slug-Lines and poke around. The only problem is I don't know the city that well, so sometimes my car selection is a little dicy - yesterday I ended up on the opposite side of the Washington Monument from where I wanted to be. Had to hoof it, and it took me 20 minutes to get to the office! (I hate walking in a skirt and dressy shoes- from now on, I'm going in in tennis shoes, and just changing at work) Work is fine, except I feel bloody useless so far. There's nobody to train me, really, so I've been sitting at the computer starting at the blasted database system, which is totally non-intuitive, and poking around to see what works. This tuesday, I get a tutorial on the scanning software, and I think I can coax an ARGUS tutorial out of her as well. My list of "how is this done" questions is getting longer! On the other hand, I finally got the computer to relinquish the flower wallpaper it had been using, and replaced it with the Cimabue fresco of the Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Francis, from the lower basilica of Assisi. I'll count that as a triumph, no matter how minor. It makes me happy every time I look at it. I must admit to feeling a small tinge of panic in the back of my brain - not because I don't like the job, or because I don't think I can handle it, but because it's so very real and grown-up. I want to kick and scream and sleep in until eleven and stay up until three am, and just do what I feel like doing. Unfortunately, the paycheck for *that* sort of job is very, very minimal. I'm sure as soon as I get to do some fun stuff at work, the feeling will pass. Not, as I was tempted to write, as soon as I become acustomed to the bridle and the saddle and the spur! A little melodrama for your day. My friend Jess just got back from Italy, and sent me long email about her exploits. She's a really pretty girl, and consequently racked up a large number of proposals (of marriage - and others) while was there with her equally pretty blonde sister. Please note that I love her a lot, and that I'm almost sick with jealousy! Not so much because of the men, but because of the time spent there. She did visit a couple of awesome places that I missed out on, although she's a Baroque fiend, and I'm not quite as enthusiastic. My friend Lisa and I spent a week in Rome walking past one of the most famous Baroque churches in Rome, and completely didn't recognise it for what it was...shame on us, bad art historians! (FYI, it was San Carlo alle Quatre Fontane, with the cool Borromini facade that wiggles all over the place) Gotta run - heading to a barbeque with two good friends who I haven't seen in quite a while. There are *some* benefits to moving back to Virginia! 5:38 p.m. - 2001-07-14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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