Valentine

It's a gray and rainy Monday Valentine's Day. I visited Trader Joe's yesterday and got my favorite treat-dark chocolate covered cherries (could anything be better?)-for my Middle East Dept. coworkers and fellow CSIS intern Mai Lan, whose birthday is tomorrow. Loay brought me a nice red rose and there were free pink cupcakes on the sixth floor. (Though I appreciate the festive thought, I generally avoid things that are unnaturally pink, especially where food is concerned.) Plus, I get bright, cheerful popups on my computer screen all day that remind me that it's not too late to order Valentine flowers from FTD.com. But I already blew my budget on the chocolate covered cherries. Even though I know Valentine's is a Hallmark holiday, and suffers dramatic over-commercialization, and even though I've never had a Real Valentine's Day date with flowers and candy, I still like it. It's like the first whiff of spring.

I joined an Argentine Tango class. (And not just because I want to be more like Lisa, who is persistently inspiring and joined a hip-hop team!) Because I've always wanted to learn how to tango. It's nice to actually get up and do something you've been meaning to do for a long time. I swing dance, occasionally, when the mood hits me, and I do that decently, or at least, not embarrassingly, but I thought I should branch out and Try New Things. It meets on Sunday afternoons - and what else am I doing on Sunday afternoons? - and it's cheap and taught by a small and spunky woman. "What is the difference," you say, "between Argentine and any other kind of tango?" Well, I'll tell you. The frame. In Argentine, you stange straight, but lean forward slightly, so you're leaning on your partner, but in International (or American) you stand straight, independent of your partner. Now I have to find a place to go practice!

Friday night-Saturday morning was a weird 24 hours. I took my online Econ final, and the grade turned out merely mediocre, despite my confidence while taking the test. On my way home, while stopped at an intersection, the car in front of me BACKED INTO ME and then drove away through the green light. A hit-and-run. Luckily, I wasn't hurt, and neither was my car, but dude. Unacceptable. Everyone at the intersection kind of stared with bewildered smiles. A few people stopped and yelled at me, "Are you all right? You're car's fine!" It was just odd. Then my phone started beeping hysterically (it's old, I think it will spasm to death one of these days) and turning off and on. The next morning I woke up to the sound of two ambulances and a fire truck: my uncle was taken to the hospital for breathing trouble, which turned out to be pneumonia - not critical, but still serious enough for hospitalization. It was surreal. By the time the previously-mentioned, almost-22 Mai Lan and I saw Andre Kertesz's exhibit at the National Gallery on Saturday, things seemed less surreal. At least, nobody was backing into us or our cars.

My new favorite blog, not counting those of my friends, whose blogs I read religiously: Chocolate and Zucchini. For fellow foodies. Also check out some of the musicians and CDs she mentions in the interview. They're great!

Lori, all soundtrack-related news makes me think of you and your deft ability to name composers.

Part of me thinks this is amazing. The other part is horrified that they dare touch Gene Kelly's legend.