So many song title jokes...but only one blog entry!

As I was sitting alone on a Saturday afternoon...all by myself (in case you didn't get the context) I decided the only way to figure out how to survive in DC was to make sure that I knew where the local Costco and REI are located (maybe I should own a gun too...but I'm talking BASIC survival!) So, I googled it (which should be a verb in the dictionary) and found out there were both quite near to each other...IN VIRGINIA!!! Holy crap I have to travel across state lines...oh yeah, DC is only ... this big on a map and it was all still within the Beltway (yeah...I know local talk). But I found it anyways, and found some essentials and a little entertainment after a long week of doing teacher stuff (needless to say...I needed this break).

Unfortunately I still got lost and eventually caught in torrential thunder and lightning (that I'm sure caused the power out at the White House...good thing he's on vacation!) After a rainy day I decided I needed a good beer. Thusly, I found my new East Coast Mecca/Watering Hole (is that sac religious to say that?) Its not within walking distance, so it can't be my watering hole, but I think you understand the importance of this discovery!

I was feeling expeditious after this discovery, and decided to walk a few blocks more to a huge mall near the Verizon Center (home of the Washington Wizards) and catch a movie...because I can't hear enough about SuperBad. So, after about an hour of laughing my pants off in that movie...there is a scene where cops are drinking and having a shooting contest with a minor until they are startled by a police siren. At that exact comedic moment...the FIRE alarm in the building goes off. A few people in the theater are laughing still until they realize its a real alarm and not the movie. So, we exit the building like a heard of cattle out into an alley and the pouring rain! Pretty excited about that, but I got a free ticket to go see it again and made it back in time to meet Howard's interesting friends!

I would've posted a bit about this morning's trip to IKEA with the new roommates, but I think there is enough material for a stand-up comedy act about how RIDICULOUS IKEA is...I hate that place. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for roommates. We all thought it was pretty painful, but we may also have to go back to get items once we actually move it...in the meantime I'll try and teach them the beauty of the internet and home delivery!

I hope you all are doing well, I miss you, and I hope I get a chance to call some of you soon (that I have been promising myself to call) but feel free to email and call anytime. I'm a working man now, and unlike some of you...that doesn't mean I can check my Facebook at work! I'll let you know how the first day goes, talk to you soon.

I may not have told you...

...but I moved again! My nice friends Judith and Pawan, had a surprise visit from Pawan's mother. Then managed to put me up on their couch for two nights, while Judith and I attended
the "Back to School" event for all DCPS teachers at the Convention Center (I also got my bearings on the Metro system...I can't wait to stop driving my car!) So after they found out mom was coming, they had given me a heads up about a possible housing opening at a friends place.

Howard. That's his name, and he totally reminds me of a character from a movie, but I can't put my finger on it yet (I'll let you know when I figure it out!) So, I ended up calling Howard about the space. It turns out that another friend of Judith/Pawan/Howard was living there and is getting married, so has moved out his stuff and the place is VACANT until the 1st (no way...that's perfect for me!) and since Howard is the property manager (and also resident) for the landlord, he said it wasn't going to be a problem. He also mentioned that he was going to have a "Yard Sale" in the living room of this apartment, and that he and the other folks in the building would be having some friends over (a party) on Saturday night (None of that sounds like a problem for me seeing as it is this place or the street).

So, after being reassured by Judith, that Howard (though slightly odd) would be a totally nice/normal guy to live with for a week...I moved in Friday afternoon. He is probably the most unique person I've met since moving to DC, and I won't describe him until I can figure out the movie character connection (don't worry I'll be living with him all week). But the party was definitely another unique group of people (including a free-spirited, dazed-and-confused old man, who aspired to move to Eugene of all places...most likely to get into tree-hugging as a profession), and a man named John, who was very interested in how I was recruited by DC Schools and wanted to talk about recruitment and technology in schools (because he is in the tech business and wants to crossover to working for the school district). Needless to say, this was probably only an interesting conversation for the two of us...but just to prove there was a point to my story...he's going to give me an air mattress to sleep on this week! (I know...sweet story Jake!) Alright...but I'll break the other part of my day into another post!

The Thai Roma Experience...

So, I have been craving thai food for a while. As i was walking this afternoon, I saw this "Thai Roma" place at a distance, and thought to myslef: "What do you think Jake? Thai or Italian?" Well, it turns out that when I went back for dinner, it was just Thai...but there is more than just the food that I want to tell you about. I sat down alone (as if I was waiting for a date...but now I'm sitting alone with my computer. Dead giveaway! Loser.)

Listening in on the loud Texan conversation across the room (yeah, they were that loud) I thought...I have to pee...and it couldn't hurt to leave the room for a second. I won't give you the play by play in the bathroom, but the gnats flying in my face give you a feel of the ambiance and feelings I was having. As if a sign from somewhere above the toilet, the words read: "Spending too much time in the bathroom?" Why yes I am (at least in this disgusting excuse for one) thanks for asking! And then situated next to the sign were pamphlets for a urinary infection pill (I don't know but you should ask your doctor if you are interested)...not punchline to the joke I was looking for, but I laughed anyways.

Back out in the dining portion of the restaurant, I was chuckling too myself over some average tasting thai food (that always comes so fast...which is good because chuckling by yourself in a corner is creepy!) Then, just before I thought this experience couldn't get any better...good ole' George dubbaya walked in and offered to buy me a drink and pay for my meal...


...now at this point of the entry, you may remember that Jake is the worst story teller you've ever met, and may need to lie to get out of a terrible ending to a story! So, in reality I saw a sign that said "free wifi at Thai Roma" and I thought of telling someone else this story!

Well, so this is not a complete waste of an entry, I thought I'd let you know that I am switching housing tonight...I'm such a freeloader! I called up the other lady who initially offered to bail me out, and I'm going to crash on her couch as soon as her husband is around to let me in! I'm sure he'll be glad some random fool is freeloading even though she (Judith) is very gracious about the whole thing. I didn't get kicked out of the other place, but I can't imagine anyone wants a stranger around for too long. Alright, I should probably settle up and stiff the guy on a tip (let me know if you think it is okay to decrease the tip according the waiter's understanding of your English...I mean...come on...this IS America!) Talk to you later,

Jake

p.s. I'm totally kidding about the tip!
p.s.s. I'm still a terrible person...

A little too close to home...

...in a good way! If u can't tell that is a Starbucks on the right of the picture through the pouring down rain that i experienced on the way from work today. I think it will remind me of home every time it rains...except there is some funky smell when it rains here!

It looks like they are really going to let me teach! Here's the classroom to prove it! So i met my principal and a few assistants and secretaries. Everyone was surprised to see the new guy at school before i was getting paid...but its better than not knowing what i'm doing. Speaking of that...still haven't seen a math book. Oh well, i've got a lot of organizing to do still. I'll let u know more soon.

I even have an office...