Softball Mums

This morning I signed up to join the Cal in the Capital softball team. After a lot of trouble trying to get on the team, I finally did and showed up to the first game against the Republic National Committee. The other team didn't manage to get a field to play on, so we had to wait a long time to get an open field, by which time it was already dark and raining. After I was able to bat (I shot it right between center and right, but the center fielder was able to catch it), it started raining really hard and we had to call the game with us losing. Really sucks.

Biking Mums

A few of us went on this crazy bike ride to Mt Vernon. It was like 20 miles there and 20 miles back. Some people got lost and the group of 10 couldn't stay together. The bikes were really crappy and one person's bike even broke and he had to hitchhike back. But in the end everyone made it home and it was really fun.

USA Mums

I left work about 30 minutes early today to watch the second half of the Spain-US gold cup semi-final match. It was amazing! The US was able to outplay Spain and win 2-0. They will be playing in the final on Sunday and I can't watch to watch that.

Also at work today, John Berry, the Obama-appointed director of the Office of Personnel Management who is openly gay, came to speak at the Peace Corps. It was a very good and moving speech about LGBT issues in the federal government.

Sick Mums

I just made and ate too many potstickers from trader joes. My stomach hurts so I'm going to lay down now.

Train Mums

As you may have seen on the news one of the metro trains in DC collided with another killing a bunch of people and injuring many more. The line on which it happened is one that my roommate takes everyday to get home. When we got back home afterwork and heard what was going on on the news, we immediately called him to figure where he was, but his phone was not going through. In the end, it turned out he was in fact okay, almost getting on the train before making a detour to mail something at the post office. It's really miraculous and yet tragic at the same time for those who were on that train.

Basketball Mums

Today I went to play basketball at the YMCA and the only people there were like these high school kids and one middle school kid. The middle school kid was talking a lot of trash to me because I was older so when he tried to shot the ball over me, I blocked it really hard and he started crying. Now I feel bad.

5k Mums

Today was the ACT Run for the Rainforest 5k. I woke up super early this morning and went to the Marymount Ballston campus. After getting a bag full of free stuff and stashing it behind a bush, I lined up at the starting line. The race itself was okay, but I think I didn't pace myself well, as usual. I basically ran really hard for 4 kilometers and died on the last one. It was also raining really hard with thunderstorms. I think I finished somewhere around 23 minutes, but I'm waiting for them to post the times online to know for sure. Here's the t-shirt I got:

Cooking Mums

I didn't go to work today and instead just ran some errands and stuff. I tried to cook sausage pilaf. It turned out pretty well but it was not as flavorful as I wanted.

Ragu Mums

At work I had a meeting and the whole chain of command was in it. It was me, my supervisor, my group's boss, the department's boss, the chief of staff and the director of the whole entire Peace Corps. Pretty cool.

We had a potluck and everyone else cooked really cool stuff. My room just made like spaghetti with ragu sauce and it was very plain and crappy. But everyone took it really fast and I didn't get any. So I took a lot of their food (especially the mashed potatoes) and I ran away to my room.

Baseball Mums

Today I went to the Congressional baseball game where members of congress play each other, republicans vs democrats, at the stadium where the nationals play. They're actually pretty good at baseball. A bunch of us from Cal in the Capital went and rooted for the democrats. The final score was 15-10 democrats. woohoo.

Exercise Mums

Today I got back from work and ate a bunch of food. I initially cooked all of these potatoes that I bought, along with the curry sauce that Ivy sent me and penne noodles. I had too much potato left so I decided to make mashed potatoes and I ate that too. Feeling really fat I went to the YMCA and ran for a full hour on the indoor track. I'm really tired now so I will go to sleep.

Whole Mums

Today I went to this conference on water scarcity in Australia and California. I thought it was really interesting and it would be interesting to go to Australia to do a PhD in water conservation. The talk today made me once again think about what I'm going to do in the future (2-3 years from now). It's kind of scary thinking we'll have to go out into the real world or else hide in the shadow of academia for a few more years.

I also went to Whole Foods and was able to buy a bunch of stuff for only 10 dollars. Whole Foods isn't actually that expensive if you take the time to find the cheap deals. The best deal there was the Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade for 99 cents a bottle. Here is a mum modeling with a bottle (which I already drank completely):

I got to start running more. I think I will try to run around the National Mall again after work if it isn't raining.

Hungry Mums

A bunch of us went over to Arlington, VA, to get some dim sum for lunch. It was okay, but the service was not the best, nor was the food. After that we went over to the American history museum and took a look around there. I thought it was really cool, especially the display of the flag that Francis Scott Key saw when he was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner. Also the exhibits showing all of America's military conflicts was really interesting.

After that, I came back and watched the Lakers/Magic game (the Magic lost). I was really hungry so I ate a Shin Ramen, mac and cheese, and two quesadillas. I feel sick now.

Oh Mums

Today I went to the Natural History Museum and it was pretty cool. I really liked the gems exhibit. It reminded me of this old store that was in the Great Mall that sold rocks and gems. That was my favorite store ever. Here are some pictures from the museum:

Aquatic animal exhibit


Mammals exhibit

Gems exhibit

Five Mums

Today I went to go try Five Guy's Burgers and Fries. Someone told me it was like a East Coast In-n-Out so I knew that I had to go try it. Well I know that I was going to be bias with my love of my In-n-Out so I'm just going to say a few things about Five Guys and not compare them.

• Love the free peanuts
• Love that the patties are juicy and hand-formed
• Love the free things you can put on your burger (no avocados though)
• Hated the french fries, too salty (I did get the cajun fries though, next time I'll get the original)
• Hated the price (cheeseburger, large fries and drink is 13+ dollars? seriously?)

In the end, it was all pretty good and I will definitely go back there, but not that often. Eating there makes me miss In-n-Out.

Funny Mums

Today was pretty good. A lot of us from Cal in the Capital went to this Portuguese place called Nando for someone's birthday. They have this peri-peri chicken that's so good and Portuguese rice (which is basically spanish rice, spicy) that is really good. Afterwards, someone got a cake for the person and gave it to me to store in my room, and I handed it to Allen to put in the fridge. Well he thought it was upside down and so he went ahead and flipped the box over and put it in the fridge. Anyways, when we gave the cake to the birthday person, it was a total wreck, but still delicious.

Also I got a package from Ivy! She gave me a lot of stuff including ramen, candy, keychain, and more! Look at these pictures of sleeping bags she made for the mums:

And more stuffs.

Thanks Ivy! I miss you so much.

Tired Mums

Today I went to go meet my roommate at the Capitol building where he works, but he lost his wallet. All I have to show for it is this picture of the building.

It was incredibly humid and warm and just generally nasty out. Also, there was a shooting at the Holocaust museum and I heard that the guard that was shot ended up dying. The shooter was this 80+ year old man who hates black and jews. Terrible.

Basketball Mums

Just a quick post tonight. I just watched the Orlando Magic beat the Lakers. Earlier I went to the YMCA and did leg workouts so I will probably be sore tomorrow. I'm thinking about going to go try this place called 5 guys tomorrow. Supposedly, it's like a east coast in-n-out. I'll go ahead and bring my bias in.

State Mums

Instead of going to work as normal today, I attended a conference at the State Department called "Program Evaluation in the Foreign Affairs Community" and it seemed really official. I think the State Department is really cool and I'd like to have the chance to work there one day. The conference overall was pretty interesting, hearing about how different groups in the foreign affairs community and the equivalents in Canada and Great Britain review different programs and make them better. There were breakout sessions and I heard the Counselor Affairs, the people who organize your passport and visas and the embassies abroad, and how they improve their stuff.

After work, I made the hella long was home in the humidity, while wearing a suit, it was terrible.

Cal in the Capital had this talk today also with this guy Zac Coile. He's director of communications for Senator Barbara Boxer, and he gave like a look into the behind the scenes of politics and stuff, pretty cool.

After that, I went to the YMCA to get a membership. ran like 2 miles or so on the indoor track and then played some basketball a little. I was the only asian there. Actually, sometimes I feel like the only asian guy in Washington DC. You don't really feel the meaning of minority until you leave California.

I have a 5K run for the rainforest run Jun 20 and I really have to start training. My goal is to get under 22 mins. Previously, I ran a 5K in San Francisco Golden Gate Park and on my sprained ankle, I got a time of 36:43, losing to Ivy by 1 second. She ditched me at the finish line. Alright, I need to go to sleep because I'm really tired.

Farming Mums

Today I went to the farmer's market up at Dupont circle and looked around. The crabcake samples they were cooking were amazing, as was this bread place. Reed and I finished a whole loaf of this Italian rosemary bread already. As I was about to buy some stuff, it turns out I had no cash, so I ended up going home empty handed.

After that I went to the YMCA and signed up for a membership to play basketball. I got really tired really fast, which was embarassing. The YMCA is huge, but I think it costs a lot at $130 for 2 months, so I better use it a lot.

We then rushed to the Cal in the Capital founder's house for a bbq and it was cool. Met a lot of the other people in the program, ate some hot dogs, ate a lot of pesto pasta by myself in the corner. I think food is the greatest thing ever. Sorry for the lack of pictures today, I forgot my memory card at home all day.

Art Mums

I woke up this morning and it was like Christmas! All of the students from the other UCs were moving out and they left all of their stuff in the hallway. So I spent like an hour just going from floor to floor grabbing everything I could including: 3 pillows, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, coffee filters, oven mits, globe of the world, a table, and a portrait of George H. W. Bush. It was awesome.

I went to a bunch of museums and looked at stuff around Dupont Circle. They were pretty cool and I especially like the Phillips collection, which was a bunch of art. I liked this piece a lot, but I wasn't sure what to make of it.

!

There was also another piece that I had done a copy of when I was like 8 or 9 years old.

After that I went to Julia's and got an empanada. It was so good and I love that they're open until 3:30 AM every night. The food in DC is a bit pricy, even at $3.75 for a single empanada, but it's almost all really good. The problem that I have with the food here is that, with the exception of Julia's, the ethnic food kind of sucks and is really bland.

Terrible Mums

Today was terrible. I woke up late, but I got to work on time somehow by running fast. Good thing it was casual Friday. At work, I just entered in surveys all day until I had to go send a message to someone. I was so awkward and such a stupid intern while doing it. I felt so stupid and it rained on me on my way back home. I tried to get a free donut on my way home, but there were too many people at Krispy Kreme. Instead, I drowned my sorrows in pita bread and hummus from Trader Joes.

Later that day, after everyone left me to hit the bars, I tried to do laundry and it worked, but when I took my laundry out, my white t-shirts were now pink t-shirts. You can't really tell from the picture below, but they are.

Yeah, tried to lift weights in the weight room too, but I got owned because I'm so weak. Going to go try to run to Arlington Cemetary tomorrow morning, That might be cool, especially since it's the anniversary of D-day when Allied troops stormed the beach at Normandy.

Coffee Mums

I started getting coffee a lot from this placed called Caribou Coffee. Their cold pressed iced coffee is really good, it's keeping me awake through work. However, I fell asleep right when I got home today for a few hours after eating too much and feeling sick. I also watched the Lakers-Magic game today (go magic), and it was weird watching it from the East coast. I am used to watching sports stuff that airs from like 5-8 or something, but the game wasn't on until it was already 9 PM or something here. It must really suck to watch like an A's game that goes to extra innings, I'd be up till like 3 AM watching those.

HAPPY BURFSDAY IVY! I miss you a lot!!!!

Rainy Mums

This morning I went to this talk this morning on environmental dispute resolution in Latin America. It made me feel important, but I felt really stupid not being able to find the room inside of the enormous Ronald Reagan Federal Building.

I got back from work and went to this park to check it out. After playing a little bit of basketball, it started raining really hard. Like really hard with high winds and thunderstorms. My roommate Reed and I went running all of the way to the Jefferson Memorial in the rain and got soaked, but it was really fun. Got a free bag from the Peace Corps office today and it was pretty cool.

Lost Mums

For those of you who know me, you know that I hate being lost. I was looking for Target last night because I don't have a pillow so I walked down 14th street for forever until I was in this place with a bunch of federal buildings (federal triangle). My legs were already sore from running (I ran from UCDC center to Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Memorial to the Capitol Building, past the White House (twice) and finally back home to the UCDC Center, 7.5 miles). The run was a good way to see everything, but when I was looking for Target I was so tired that I had to take the Metro Rail home. Here are the two tickets I already bought.



Well, the next day was the first day of work. Work was fun, met a lot of people and I am having trouble remembering everyone's name. I signed up to see some talks at the Woodrow Wilson center tomorrow so that should be cool. Had some Indian bistro place for lunch. My supervisor Alice-Lynn paid, but the food was not that good.

I was suppposed to get a picture taken for an ID card for the UCDC center, and they forced us to take the picture some time between 1-5. But I had work till 5. So at 5, I ran all of the way back in the disgusting humidity and got all sweaty to find that I was too late and that they would charge me $50. Dammit.

First Mum Day

Today is the first day of work. I'm really nervous. I'll be working as an intern in the Peace Corps headquarters in the Office of Strategic Information, Research, and Planning. I think I will be working with a survey that the peace corps is conducting with peace corps volunteers around the world. The main idea is that the peace corps can utilize the network of worldwide volunteers to find out information about the program and the places around the world. I'm kind of sleepy having not slept well on the plane and with the time difference and everything. I'm going to go try some coffee somewhere.

Mums on a Trip

Finally arrived in DC. Left SF at midnight last night and the flight was cramped and terrible. The lady next to me lost her wedding ring and I couldn't really sleep because people kept bumping into me as they walked down the aisle. I was really relieved when we got to Dallas Fort Worth airport at like 6 in the morning (Central time). I was hungry so I ate some Wendy's breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns... with pepsi:


When I got on the next plane and took off, it was just as cramped, but I fell asleep for a long time. After landing, I had to take a shuttle to get to the Metrorail system. Some thoughts about Metrorail:

• It is like BART... but from the 1980's
• Metrorail stations look just like from the game Fallout 3, just without the zombie guys
• Foggy Bottom is a funny name for a stop

Got to my room finally after walking through downtown. Not as hot as I thought it would be, but it's only early June. My room:

Alright... I'm going to go walk around for a bit and look for lunch or something.