My two worlds

I've had sufficient time now since I returned back from my two week Christmas break in Utah to settle back into my DC city life routine. I've started graduate school (I'm getting a Master's in Public Policy at George Mason University) and I'm back to the full-time work grind. Coming back and forth from Utah to D.C. has become an emotional roller coaster ride for me. Whether I'm flying to DC or I'm flying to Utah, I feel like I'm going home and I know that there are people that I love and familiar places in each of them. This feeling is amplified by my acknowledgment that these two places couldn't be more different, which is obvious in the activities that I participate in and I notice subtle differences in my personality depending on where I am.

Exhibit A:

Here I am at Silverton Mountain Resort in Colorado with a bunch of "Mormon Hippies," or my people. We had skinned up (skinning up a mountain involves attaching skins to the bottom of your skis which prevents you from sliding backwards so you can go up and then when you take them off you can ski down) and then we skied down one of the most incredible runs I have ever taken in my life. Probably a foot and a half of fresh power on a clear day in a big open bowl. It was indescribable, the rush that I felt taking my first turn when we were up at 12,000 feet with friends cheering me on was one of the highlights of my break, maybe even my year, or maybe even my life.


Then this is me a few weeks later in the President's press room. Yes that podium right behind me is where President Bush speaks at the press conferences he holds. My old roommate Staci was kind enough to ask me if I wanted in on a last minute opening she had for the prized west wing tour. You can only get one if you know someone who works in the White House and will take you. She works in the President's speech writing office, and I can testify that you can't blame his writers for how he manages to mangle his words. We were the only people in the west wing besides secret service agents and one of the most memorable moments was when we were in the lobby and taking a picture in front of the presidential seal when my friend who was taking the picture said "I really wish I was lying when I said a secret service agent is walking towards me like he wants to arrest me." Secret Service Man was not happy with us and our cheesy tourist ways.

Exhibit B:

One of my favorite places and a few of my favorite people. Cross country skiing in American Fork canyon with Brad, a friend from college, my brother Brian and our puppy Jackson. I love downhill skiing, but there is something about the tranquility and fluidity of cross country that is totally addicting. And Brad and I have a yearly cross country reunion tradition, he is what I would call an extreme cross country skiier. I know, you would think it was an oxy moron, but he really is, he goes off jumps and everything. Such a blast. That is another great thing about coming home over the holidays. I get to see friends like Brad, who is going to law school at Pepperdine, but also comes home for the holidays to spend time with his family. I also got to spend a lot of time with my dear family and especially with Brian who had recently returned home from a mission in Jackson, Mississippi.

This was a beautiful evening I had last week ice skating with a few friends at the sculpture garden that is part of the Smithsonian. You walk there and are surrounded by monuments and museums and then you enter the sculpture garden which has a lot of beautiful pieces that rotate periodically. They also have jazz concerts here and you can just bring a blanket and listen and lounge on the grass in the summer, and during that time the ice rink is actually a fountain. Last week the atmosphere was perfect with white Christmas lights hung around the rink and everyone stylishly bundled. The weather was perfect as well. Sarah and I choreographed an ice skating routine, it had some very elegant moves including twirls, but also some non-conventional moves such as the funky chicken and the robot, but don't you worry the judges gave us perfect tens.

Exhibit C:

I am probably the least fun person in my family, seriously. Those are definitely my parents, and they are definitely sledding while being pulled by our truck in the church parking lot (hookybobbing is the correct terminology for those of you not yet aware of this cutting edge sport). So I think you get an idea of how my family rolls, this was my parents idea for a Christmas morning activity. Is it any wonder why I just can't get enough of them?


Another highlight in my month that I have been home was visiting the Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz exhibits at the Corcoran Museum. Also this gem, Nuttin But Stringz, I saw perform at a civil rights tribute on Martin Luther King Day at the Kennedy Center. Absolutely incredible.