it's tiny.

the worst oil spills in history.

new york 01: new york has no starbucks.

day 1: my roommate Natalie and I arrived at our dear friend Chelsea's house late Thursday night via Chinatown bus. I had some unfinished work to do before Friday so I didn't know what to do when I found out Chelsea didn't have internet access. but no fear, right, because there's a Starbucks on every corner? well. it took my about 20 blocks to find one, and then it was $3.99 to get access. it was fun, though, to get lost and see some random streets in New York on my first morning. I didn't feel like a tourist, especially on my way home when I dropped in a city market to get some fresh bagels and some fruit. Meg Ryan, right?

new york: nonfiction.

i never had a real affinity for the city of New York until my best friend in 7th grade, Karly, came back from vacation. she seemed to know so much about broadway, fashion, news and stardom. she was in love with New York, so naturally, i was too. even though i had never visited the city, i planned to apply to NYU when i graduated high school.

come time for applying for schools, i did all the right things to apply to NYU. i applied and didn't get in. i don't remember being heartbroken or even disappointed. i had already gotten into BYU which was an idea i hadn't entertained fully until i didn't get into NYU. who knows what my parents were thinking when i applied to go to college at not just a prestigious, expensive school, but one in the big apple. they probably knew all along i wouldn't get in, but never dashed my dreams. not once. i think i remember my mom asking me if i thought i was going to live like Felicity if i went to NYU. of course i didn't have plans to, but i'm sure the romantic notion entered my mind once or twice when i was writing my essays. i don't blame her one bit for guessing that's what i had in mind.
for the most part, after my NYU application, i lost interest in the whole New York thing. i know i was excited freshmen year when i heard Newsweek reserves two internship spots for BYU's journalism program--that was my dream. to write for Newsweek in New York.

the longer i studied and explored my options, New York faded. it wasn't so much that New York was any less appealing, but India, D.C., etc. were so much more appealing. after meeting a few people who talked incessantly about New York that it drove me mad, my affinity for the city lessened. i guess before i went, the glitter rubbed right off.

well, i went there for the first time over Memorial Day weekend. how can i say what it was? all i can say is that it was a lovely city, and i can see myself living there for some time. i don't know about continuing to visit there...there's too much hustle and bustle. but if you got me a small apartment on the upper west side (dream on, right?) and gave me a city-dwelling dog, fresh flowers in butcher paper, and some reusable grocery bags, i could do it, could love it. yes, i just described Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail. and that sort of sums up the city for me. everything that is meaningful to me in New York City revolves around movies. namely Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail--my two favorite movies (Titanic is now third if you were wondering). I tried to reenact both movies as best as possible.

Karly is currently doing the communications internship there, and i couldn't imagine anyone more suited. that girl is going places--wherever she wants. it doesn't have to be New York City, but it could be if that's what she wanted.

although i will always be a Utah girl, i think Washington D.C. suits me well. i like the small-ness of it, the cleanliness, the professionalism, the style, the class. but i can't say New York didn't have it's beautifully designed parks, a love of books, the smell of coffee, the raw magic of street performers, and all the symbolism of upward mobility, materialism, and the great American Dream.

two things:

1. i really like wishing wells.

2. i've started washing my hair with only shampoo. i used to use conditioner every time i washed, but then some girls at the Barlow said they only use conditioner once every few times. so i tried it. it has revolutionized my entire routine. some of the effects include: faster to blow dry, less oily scalp (except at the beginning because my scalp was adjusting), less oily face, when i wake up in the morning, my hair is still straight!

i've never seen titanic.

until tonight. and i love leonardo dicaprio. and this movie.

more pictures of brotherly love.

annique is a sweetheart and just started playing these kids.

me, kailey, natalie and jeff in front of Constitution hall.

i messed around with Peter's camera a little.

ryan and emily are the best married couple. i want them to adopt me.

our professor's girls.

me and natalie

my lovely roommate natalie took lovely pictures of philly. i thought i would share some of them.

oil spill(s).

photos by boston.com

the 49-day-and-counting oil spill has most likely invoked in you the same reaction as me. it's making all of us sick. the amount of oil spilled is certainly alarming. i read (via mongabay.com) a statistic today that on May 31,

the federal government says that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has currently released approximately 504,000 to 798,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf based on forty one days of leaking: about 2-4 percent of the United States' one day consumption.

2-4%.

photo

and a co-worker of mine also led me to some reports that while we make a huge fuss over the Gulf spill, people in the Nigerian Delta are used to it. read the guardian to learn more, but what I understand is that oil spills take place multiple times a year off the Nigerian coast in much higher amounts than the Gulf spill.

In fact, more oil is spilled from the delta's network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of a major ecological catastrophe caused by oil that has poured from a leak triggered by the explosion that wrecked BP's Deepwater Horizon rig last month.

That disaster, which claimed the lives of 11 rig workers, has made headlines round the world. By contrast, little information has emerged about the damage inflicted on the Niger delta. Yet the destruction there provides us with a far more accurate picture of the price we have to pay for drilling oil today.

A spokesman for the Stakeholder Democracy Network in Lagos, which works to empower those in communities affected by the oil companies' activities, said: "The response to the spill in the United States should serve as a stiff reminder as to how far spill management in Nigeria has drifted from standards across the world."

national cathedral.

the national cathedral is so amazing. i know i keep saying things are my favorite, but this is one of the coolest things i've been to in dc. i feel like Catholic masses are part of my heritage, and something about them makes me feel like home. it especially makes me miss my mother.

Nats' game.

me, becky, hannah.

andrea, natalie.

andrew, seth, talyn. so typical.

go Nationals!

me at the u.s. capitol.

press conference.

Nancy Pelosi's office.

a few weeks ago, one of our briefers was Kay King (read her awesome BYU Marriot school commencement speech here) who works with Nancy Pelosi on the Council of Foreign Affairs. in addition to speaking with us, she allowed us to hang out in Speaker Pelosi's office and balcony for a while. it was incredible! definitely one of the coolest things i've done in d.c.

the view from the speaker's desk.

these fresh flowers were everywhere. doesn't she have great taste?

this amazed me. this is a birthday present from President Obama. it is the original manuscript of a hearing for a bill that Speaker Pelosi's father sponsored in 1940, and that Eleanore Roosevelt testified at. isn't that the most thoughtful gift?

another thoughtful birthday gift.

did you know Nancy Pelosi has five children, who she raised at home until they were all grown, after which she became the 60th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives? so incredible.

on the balcony.

bike ride to mount vernon.

on May 14, a bunch of us BYU interns rented bikes in Virginia and rode them to Mount Vernon. I can't say I really appreciated Mount Vernon until I visited it, but George Washington's former estate is beautiful.

the path there was absolutely beautiful. it made me feel like home again.

me and becky en route.

i loved these fields all over the estate. i had to wonder if George and Martha every had a Saturday afternoon picnic there.

or tea out on their back porch,

looking at this view.

i loved this tree in their backyard.

the mansion

General Washington planted this tree. couldn't believe it.

in the museum they asked, "how many cities and counties are named after Pres. Washington?" of course, i knew of one...

the tomb of George and Martha Washington.

I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. john 11:25-26

i saw these boys several times throughout the day at Mount Vernon and sort of fell in love with them. this is them down at the wharf.