Now I have to Blog About the Redskins

Yesterday was hands-down the worst football game I have ever seen. I mean, I've been through a decade of mediocre to bad football from my beloved skins, but this was awful. Embarrassing. I've never been happier to NOT have any Cowboy fans as friends. 

The worst thing might be having to hear kids in my classes who look (and sound) like they know about as much about football as my 3-year-old cousin laugh about the Redskins. Listen you pasty Hatchet reporter, tell me the name of our quarterback and maybe you can laugh at our team. 

A big part of me is tired of defending this team, but I know I still will because it's almost habit. But what happened yesterday was a mockery of this great franchise I love, this franchise that has been dragged through mud by Dan Snyder.

I've never liked Eagles fans (at all), but my friend Kelsey did make me feel a little better today when she said to me, "Hey, it's okay...we have a dog-killer on our team." But an hour later I overheard her and another Eagles fan having this actual discussion: "How many dogs do you think he killed?" Philadelphians are weird.

I will not blog about the Redskins...

...tonight. I'm not going to blog about Kanye's VMA incident either - anyone who listened to the last cd he put out knew he lost his mind a year ago.

I will talk about, though, this whole Michelle Obama as keynote speaker thing going on. Apparently, if GW students complete about 4 million hours of community service, she will speak at commencement in the spring. I would love, love, love for this to happen. BUT I feel there are a few logistics standing in our way. For one thing, the only people who really care about the graduation speaker are seniors, and seniors are just about the laziest students on campus (apart from those who were way too drunk/lazy their freshman year and are now cramming in hopes of raising their fractured GPAs). 

It looks like we may have to rely on those go-getter underclassmen who care so much about the "status" of GW that they would DIE to be able to tell their high school friends about having Mrs. Obama as our speaker. [Sidenote: These are the same kids who consistently brag about GW being the most expensive school in the country (which it no longer is), or still tell people that Kanye West played at Fall Fest 3 decades ago.]

A girl in one of my classes this morning said something along the lines of "I can't believe she wants to speak here! It's like, so Ivy League." I can't even delve into how many things about this comment disturbed me, but really? Our school is about 3 minutes away from where she LIVES. I don't see her being too put out by it, (especially since the Exchange is on the way back?)

"It Ain't About Black and White Cause We Human"

I read a lot of Chuck Klosterman. If you like reading and you haven't explored his works, I highly recommend him. But anyway I was reading him tonight (which is actually semi-creepy sounding, to read someone), and I stumbled on this passage:

"This is a city with Republican bars and Democratic bars. Those establishments are filled with idealistic underpaid interns who are killing themselves with anyone who could put them in a position to network with someone else. It seems like a thrilling, confusing, horrific way to live. In New York, people are unhappy on purpose, because unhappiness makes them seem more complex; in Washington, D.C., it just sort of works out that way."

This statement got me thinking, and actually not about whether or not Washingtonians are depressed, but about the differences between people living/from different cities. And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that there may be two kinds of people in many ways. And these two kinds are people associated with DC/Boston and people associated with New York/LA. And here are some of my thoughts...

-DC/Boston people have a much different outlook on their sports teams. They are almost pathetically defensive when their sports teams are sucking, and blame it on something being unbalanced in the universe rather than admitting that their team is just BAD that year (see Red Sox, Redskins fans). New York and LA fans complain or make huge monetary moves (see Yankees). Furthermore, DC/Boston people tend to have somewhat goofy and "off" franchise players (see Gilbert Arenas, Jon Papelbon, Ovechkin, etc.), whereas NY/LA fans adore people that nauseate me more than Friday morning classes (see Kobe, A-Rod). 

-Unexplainably, young NY/LA people are obsessed with clubbing, or going to a "Lounge" to wear a lot of black sequins, spend tons of money to sit at a table and drink overpriced alcohol. What is with Lounges? Why do I need to wear heels to go somewhere that's name sounds relaxing? These people also tend to enjoy the same music Abercrombie plays.

-LA/NY people are tan. Really tan. Bostonites are often Irish/pale, and Washingtonians just spend too much time waiting for late (and sometimes crashing) metro trains with their Capitol Hill badges. Compared to the "city that never sleeps," DC/Boston people can sometimes look like part of the fucking Twilight cast.

That's about all I can mull over right now, but there's sure to be more in the future. I considered briefly including people from Philadelphia, but they don't really fit in either of these categories. My friend who is from the Philly area and sadly an Eagles fan was immensely proud that he had just bought a Michael Vick Jersey. They are a strange breed. Pun completely intended.

Ch-ch-changes

I'm officially back at GW to start my senior year, which of course commences with a weekend full of debauchery before classes start. 

It already feels weird to be part of the oldest class on campus. Walking around today in my Chris Cooley jersey it crossed my mind that I was pretty much older than 75% of the people surrounding me. This is especially weird considering that at least once a month I still get mistaken for being a freshman in high school. But my train of deep thoughts ("Age truly is just a number!") was interrupted when a man missing half his teeth stopped me outside the Marvin Center to show me his Redskins tattoo and shout "HAIL!", which alarmed a few freshmen parents.

In other news, the crappy walkie talkie phone has been replaced with...a blackberry. I know how GW of me this transition is, but I can't lie - I love this phone. Hopefully it lasts longer than my ipods. In a strange parallel universe-like turn of events, my friend Brendan (the baby) broke his phone in the same week and has now had to revert to using an old skool nokia phone. This creates a lot of issues for him, and when he looks at me, depressed and frustrated with his crappy piece of plastic, I can only shrug at his 12-year-old Nick Carter face and turn back to my BBMs.

DC = Football Town

It's been a bit of a hiatus from the blog, but...

Thursday the (God sent) Washington Redskins play their first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Thank God. As I previously mentioned, I appreciate/enjoy baseball (except when I'm being accused of being eleven years old), but at this point in the summer DC wakes back up with the growing anticipation of another football season, because DC is a football town.

Obvious, I know. But truly, the Skins are something interesting to consider. The Wizards suck and the Nats suck, but even when the Redskins haven't won a super bowl since '92, we set records for attendence and are the second most valuable franchise in the league. Besides that, there is the complex optimism of the Skins fan, who is eternally optimistic and consistently disappointed in this goddamn Syder era. Seriously, I sometimes feel that that SOB is some kind of spy sent from Dallas to send our franchise to hell (also known as Detroit). Meanwhile, the Caps have the biggest hockey star in the league and are the most talented/successful pro team in a sport people care about in this city, but it just doesn't compare to the Skins fanbase.

Analyzations aside, let the emotional rollercoaster that is the life of a Skins fan in the fall begin.

Cellular Telephones

I'm going to sound like a brat here, but I'm pretty sure that I have the shittiest cellphone out of anyone I know. My phone is almost exactly like this samsung one, except that it doesn't have a cool jazzy background. It's a glorified walkie talkie that sometimes texts. Because it doesn't have the capability to download ringtones, mine is a little electronic tune that sounds suspiciously like Gwen Stefani's "If I was a Rich Girl."

After two years of sharing the same ringtone as 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirls, I really want an I-Phone. Honestly, I just want it for the applications. I just want to look at LOL cats and have my phone make light saber noises (two applications my friend Alaska HAS on her I-phone).

But really I'm pretty challenged when it comes to handheld technology. I love ipods, but I've been through three due to some jackass accidents on my own part. Blackberrys intimidate me, but I can't get an I-phone yet because I have Verizon. My friend told me that Verizon is "on the brink of a huge deal with apple" to get the I-phone, but I feel like I've been hearing this rumor for two years. And I feel like this rumor is being perpetuated by someone at verizon...probably the same person who installed my ringtone selections...the best one being one that literally made my friend shake his head and say, "Worst ringtone ever."

New Low: Eleven

So last week I made it out to my first baseball game of the summer. There were two great things about it right off the bat - I got the tickets for free and it was a Red Sox game. Woo woo!

Two minutes into the ball park a guy old enough to have fathered me approached my friends and I, requesting an "open mouth kiss." After attempts to shake this creeper, he left, telling us happily, "I'm going to be that creepy older guy you talk about for the rest of the night!"

Nats ball park usually doesn't fill its seats, but that night it set a record for attendance after selling out. I set a record of my own. After attempting to buy a beer in the stands, the beer guy made me get out my ID after he yelled, "How old are you, eleven?" Eleven years old. An all time low.

The really disturbing thing to me is that in the same night as being accused of being eleven, my friends and I were hit on by several more lurking 35 years old+ guys. As I often say to my friend Brendan - creeeeeeepy.

Return to Craigslist

My friend Lovett is spending the summer in Buenos Aires, and I have begun a mission to visit her at some point in August (wisdom teeth surgery...you're getting pushed back again). However, this potential visit poses some serious obstacles. Okay, basically just money.

I'm working at an unpaid internship all summer, and due to my lack of profits, my parents are bound to be less than generous with possible donations/sponsorships toward my BA adventure. Therefore Lovett and I have hatched a plan that has take me to a place I fear and avoid like guys from New Jersey...

Craigslist.

I've already expressed my sentiments about personal ads on Craigslist, and now I've explored the job section. While I've come across a few potential babysitting gigs that I may be able to handle, I was more interested by a man who was seeking essentially a young white woman who could teach him how to meet and talk to other single white females. This ad seemed like it could get me into some situations reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs or Hitch. Who said this job market is busted?

Seven strangers picked to live in a house...

Never before this year have I felt so fortunate to live in Washington, D.C. The year 2009 first brought our nation's capitol the charismatic and inspiring President Obama, and now, the 23rd season of The Real World.

That's right. Unless you've been living in Africa for the past 6 months like my friend Hannah, you've probably heard that MTV will begin production on The Real World: Washington, D.C. this summer. Rumor is they've already bought a house on 20th and S, which I may note is not far from my friends' place, which is officially called "The Mansion." Vevmo.com has posted this photo of the alleged Real World house:

This is my one issue. Does anyone else feel like this house is kind of ugly from the outside? I don't know, maybe just because there are such gorgeous houses around NW. I'm sure the inside will be sick.

The next area of speculation is where the Real World cast will go out. D.C. is a bar city, but I fear that the cast will fall into its smaller, shady club/lounge scene. Because I know very little about that side of the city, I'm going to make a few predictions that I've discussed with friends and strangers:

1. Adams Morgan - I feel that this is going to be the best bet to run into the cast. Everyone knows A Mo has the craziest nightlife. I predict the Reef, Madams Organ, Grand Central, and a few others. Something tells me they won't be around 18th and Red or the Mill though...

2. Georgetown - Gtown is going to be tough because of our city's love of red tape and making most degeneracy difficult. However, I could definitely see a few of our favorite college bars letting in the production and camera crew, aka Champions, Old Glory, etc. It might be a crap shoot though.

3. Dupont - I mean, they're living there so obviously they'll be out there. I would love to say that we could run into the cast at Lucky Bar or Front Page, but as popular and fun I find these places, they're small and I just don't see them letting the whole MTV crew in. Other than that, what do I know about Dupont night life?

Next up, jobs. Every season, the Real World makes the cast work for some company/business. They'll probably get some gig helping an obscure interest group working for DC voting rights or something else nobody who watches the show gives a rat's ass about, but how great would it be if they worked at something like this in 94 degree DC summer humidity?

Or they could at least be rickshaw drivers or something. I mean, something a little entertaining that would get them out there on the streets where people could buy hotdogs or "Stay Off the Grass" t-shirts.

21st Birthdays

I love 21st birthdays. Now going into my senior year and a few months past my own night of shame, you'd think, like a lot of college students, that I'd be sick of those facebook invites of "So-and-so's finally 21! Pregame at (insert apt. here) then out to (insert DC bar that everyone goes to every 2 weeks anyways)!" No way.

If there's one thing college students know how to do, it's celebrate holidays. Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas season...they all make for great parties. And 21st birthdays are pretty much more holidays thrown in on random weekends throughout your college years. Two of my best friends turned 21 this past week, and I may have enjoyed the evenings more than them.

My one friend Katherine loves 21st birthdays so much that she has celebrated her 21st birthday for her past 3 birthdays! 

Like every other wonderful occasion in the world, there's the downside to 21st birthdays - your friends who are still under 21. Everyone has those friends whose parents had the brilliant idea to put them in kindergarten as young as possible and then they don't turn 21 until the fall of senior year. Like my friend Brendan, who is often called the "baby" (this is not just because of his age but also his complete lack of facial/body hair). However, the upside is that these usually make for the best birthdays of all because everyone can finally go out without worrying about some big bouncer on a power trip!

Not being an 8th grader

Saturday, I was mistaken for an eighth grader. For the third time this spring. Seeing how I am 21, I can't help but feel a little offended. To make matters worse, today I went to Radio Shack to buy some supplies for people at my office (power cords, etc.) and the guy behind the counter asked me if it was for a science project. I can't make this shit up.

Everyone older tells me that this isn't a bad thing, that it's good to look younger than your age and when I get older I will love it. But here's the thing, there's a big difference between being 30and looking 25, and being 21 and looking 14. Have you looked at your middle school yearbook lately? Do you remember what we all looked like in eighth grade?

It's almost enough to stop me from wearing hair ribbons. Almost.

Creepin on Craigslist

Is there some weird transition that goes on when you turn 27 where you have to get interested in things on the internet that us younger twenty-somethings deem sketchy? For example...Craigslist. The other day I heard this woman on the metro (late twenties/maybe thirty) talking to her friend about a date she was going on with a guy she met from Craigslist. Does this seem kind of like a bad idea to anyone else? I mean, Craigslist? At least go on EHarmony or something - maybe a website that doesn't have a killer stalking around personal ads?

Songs that remind people of people, More about blogging

Have you ever had someone tell you that a song reminds someone of you? For me, it's usually not a good thing. I never get something like, "That song 'Beautiful' by James Blunt reminds me of you." I get, (this is a real example) "That song 'Let Me See Your Hips Swing' from 'Knocked Up' reminds me of you." (For those who don't know what I'm talking about, it's the song playing while drunk Katherine Heigl is dancing with the funny chubby guy throwing invisible dice). What does that reference say about me?

BLOGGGGGIIIIINNNGGG/Boats/The lamest sports time of the year

So, I decided to start a blog. I was inspired by multiple job interviews during which I was asked if I had a blog, and told that I should start a blog. So here I am, blogging away.

My blog kind of sucks right now - I know that. I couldn't think of a clever name for it, but hopefully "Mego Blog" will not be permanent. I'll probably spend most of my time tomorrow at work thinking up catchy/witty names for this thing.

I got out of the city for the day and went to Annapolis with my friend Katie. We went to this annual Greek festival in her town, then out on her dad's speed boat. Let me just say that I had no idea how expensive boats were, and now all I want is a boat. I can't even drive one. If I could just one day own a boat I swear I wouldn't ever wear a captain's hat or play "I'm on a boat" on my boat. But you know, if I got a boat I probably couldn't even think of a good name for it, which I think is important for a boat. I'd probably end up naming it "Mego Boat."

On another topic, as a sports fan, I fear that we are closing in on the worst part of the year to follow sports. Before you know it, the NBA basketball finals will be over and it will be 3 months before football starts. We have baseball, (and truthfully few summer activities beat kicking back at a night game with friends), but you can only get so excited about the vast number of games 4 months before October.

Thank God for major league lacrosse right??

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