Indianapolis

My final interview of the season led me to Indianapolis for a couple of days earlier this week. I was excited for this trip for a few reasons, the big ones being that it signaled the end of my interviews, I loved the site I was visiting, and it meant exploring a new city. However, in the days before I left for Indy, a cold front settled over the region, and I was facing below-freezing temperatures in the single-digits. Yikes! I was determined to still find a way to explore, even if it was bitterly cold, but I have to admit I was a bit nervous.

Things started off a bit rocky. My first flight was delayed due to a mechanical problem on the plane, causing me to miss my connecting flight. The airline worker at the gate desk had no idea where my checked baggage was, so of course I was nervous the entire flight about whether it would end up in the right place. Then, the morning of my interview, the taxi I had arranged to pick me up to bring me to the site failed to actually arrive, making me late for my interview. Uuggghhhh.

But after that, things were good. The interview went well, and afterwards I bundled up to do some exploring. I was staying at an apartment in a cool neighborhood on Massachusetts Avenue, and I wanted to walk downtown so I could see all of the shops and restaurants along the way. It was cold, but not unbearably so, so I wandered around for a while, peering up at the lovely structures around me. I forgot my nice camera back in DC, but my simple point-and-shoot helped me capture some of the scenes.

They just don't make buildings like this anymore! 

 Massachusetts Avenue

Scottish Rite Cathedral

Cenotaph Square

Obelisk Fountain at Indianapolis World War Memorial

Indianapolis World War Memorial

Indianapolis World War Memorial

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Indiana Statehouse

After a while, once the adrenaline from my interview had completely worn off and the cold had made my fingers clumsy, I realized that I couldn't take the cold anymore. This girl needs to invest in some good lined gloves! I headed back to the apartment and promptly set up camp on the couch in my flannel PJ pants and warmed up with hot chocolate and some delicious pizza from a restaurant down the street. Wonderful!

It would have been nice to walk around more, visit the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, and take in the Indy skyline like I did in Pittsburgh, but honestly, I was just too cold and tired. Oh well! Part of me is disappointed that I wasn't able to do more during my visit, but I could also see myself returning to this area. If there's one thing I've realized during my interview travels, it's that there are so many great cities in this country, and I'd really like to make more of an effort to see them. The Northeast will always have my heart, but that doesn't mean I can't also love other places. :)

2013 Inauguration

Well, after Monday's post went live, I was prepared spend the morning at home, watching the Inauguration festivities from the comfort of my couch. It was going to be quiet, warm, and simple.

Then I changed my mind.

I don't know if it was a burst of craziness, patriotism, or general enthusiasm, but the hubs and I threw ourselves together and raced out the door around 10:30 that morning, determined to make it to the National Mall by 11:30. Inauguration or bust!

It ended up being a totally different experience this time around. The metro pulled up just as we got down to the platform, and the train was nearly empty-- most of the Inauguration attendees had already packed in hours before. We walked from Farragut North, excitedly shuffling down 18th Street. The crowds were smaller, but everyone was still excited.

We ended up standing in the same general area that I had been in in 2009. The Mall wasn't as crowded so we were able to walk around to get the best view of the jumbotron. People cheered and took photos around us, and everyone just looked around them in awe, as if we were all a little unable to believe we were really there.

It wasn't perfect, of course. Our jumobtron ended up having technical difficulties, and it was impossible to hear most of the Inauguration service, which made people pretty cranky. That was was disappointing, as we obviously wanted to actually hear and see what was going on. Even if that ended up being a letdown, I was glad that we went down there. It was an important moment in our nation's history, and it was fun to spend the morning doing something like that.

I may have done some experimenting with a permanent marker... :)

When we got home, we snuggled on the couch as originally planned, ate cupcakes, and watched The West Wing until parade coverage started. This Inauguration might not have had the tears and manic excitement of President Obama's first inauguration, but it was exciting nonetheless, and I'm glad that we decided to join in on the fun.

Inauguration Memories

I decided not to head down to the Mall today for the Inauguration. I'm disappointed about this, but ultimately, I didn't want to brave the crowds and the cold on my own, so this year I'll be watching the shindig from the comfort of my couch.

The past few days have brought back a lot of memories about my first year in DC. It was 2008, a big election year, and as I adjusted to this strange new place, I was surrounded by a palpable surge of energy in the air. It seemed that everywhere I turned, people were passionately, intelligently debating politics. Everyone had an opinion. It was thrilling for me, especially coming from the jaded, esoteric atmosphere of New York City. Here, it seemed, people experienced politics and world events at a higher level, and they weren't afraid to show it.

It was never a question of whether I would go to President Obama's inauguration. I had to. The city was alive with the promise of hope and of change, and hundreds of thousands of people flooded the city just to witness the swearing in of a new president. I remember waking up so early that morning and watching the news on my tiny TV in my Connecticut Avenue studio apartment and seeing reports of people waiting to take the first metro trains of the day from the ends of the lines just so they could be the first to take their place on the National Mall. I peered out my window and watched people walking down the street, making the long walk downtown in the dark, bundled up in multiple layers to try to combat the cold.

I put on three pairs of socks and wore a pair of tights under my pants. I wore four shirts underneath my winter coat. Under my mittens, I had on a pair of gloves. Satisfied, I waddled down the street to the metro station and waited. Several trains passed, stuffed to the gills with smiling, cheering people. I thought it would be impossible to board a train- they were all so full! Finally, I spotted a tiny free space on a train and squeezed in. If it were a regular work day, people would have been cursing and sour-faced at how packed the train was. Instead, people were laughing and joking about it. There wasn't space to fit a slip of paper in between the passengers, but it didn't matter. We were all just so excited.

I got out at Farragut North to meet my friend. We still had a decent walk ahead of us, but we didn't care. We were so proud to live in the District, and we were so excited to be attending a presidential inauguration. It was so cold outside. We tried to walk briskly, but my fingers turned numb anyway. The sidewalks and streets were crowded with people, all of us heading for the Mall. As the Washington Monument came into sight, the cheers grew louder. We had to walk in roundabout ways, as many streets were closed and being guarded by police. No matter! We cheerfully took the detours and walked on.

Finally, we arrived at the Monument. It was still a few hours until the inauguration began, but already half of the National Mall was full. We couldn't see the Capitol, but the jumbotrons that lined the Mall ensured that we would all get a view. Around me, people stamped their feet, trying to regain feeling in their toes and blew on their gloves, trying to warm their fingers. Again, it was so cold. The insides of my ears hurt, and my hands felt useless. Still, we waited.

It was worth it. I cried when I saw President Obama's face on the screens. The rest of the crowd cheered, cried, sang, and did about just about anything they could to try to express how moved they were. This was a day of hope, and we were there. We were there.

We laughed when the specific words of the swearing in were fumbled. We took photos of the screens and tried to text our friends and families, though it would be another hour before any messages could be sent. There were just too many of us. There were so many of us.

Afterwards, frozen to the bone, I made the six-mile walk home, stopping in Dupont Circle to get a box of cupcakes. No inauguration, I thought, should pass without a cupcake. When I got back home, my entire body hurt. I couldn't move my fingers. I was so tired. I was so cold. So I wrapped myself up in a blanket on the couch, reached for a cupcake, and watched the parade on my TV. Fatigue took over, and I eventually drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

That was my Inauguration memory. Today, somebody else will make theirs. Today, I am proud to have made DC my home. I am proud to have I was there memories of so many moments over the past few years.

Sunday Currently : 3

This weekend involved equal parts being a blob and being active. The hubs and I took a journey down to Eastern Market in one of my favorite DC neighborhoods, I practiced my Mad Photography Skillz, I did some reading, and we did some honeymoon planning.

I also ate this linzer cookie:

It was just as delicious as you imagine it was. You're jealous, I know. It's okay.

This was my first week back after the winter break, and I was adjusting to my work schedule and clinical placement schedule. There are some changes from last semester that I'm still adjusting to, and I need to think of how to best spend my time. This was a slow week, but I felt tired, anyway. Since I'm traveling this week again for my final interview, things will feel a bit thrown off. I'm just hoping that I readjust quickly and muster up some energy so I don't feel like an Eeyore.

Truthfully, I had a major case of the blues earlier this morning. That darn restless anxiety has been creeping up on me again. It's the feeling of being in a messy room, where every out-of-place paper seems to be taunting me. I tried to write this post a few hours ago, when that feeling was whirring through my mind, leaving me confused about exactly why I felt so sad. So I went for a quick run, did some dishes, opened up the windows, put on some bright blue pants, and went outside. I'm now in Starbucks, feeling rejuvenated, caffeinated, and happy. My goal for today was to feel at peace again, and I think I've done that. It's amazing what a little activity can do for the soul! 

reading : A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, which is unexpectedly enjoyable. I thought I wasn't a Hemingway fan, but old Ernie has drawn me in, anyway. Also reading a photography book from the library with the hope that its knowledge will be magically transported to my fingers. 

writing : A mental to-do list. More apartment-cleaning, planning meals for the week, laundry. 

listening : To Mumford and Sons. "Babel" usually soothes me and wraps me in feelings of contentment. I also tend to sing along, which always makes me happy. Being in Starbucks, I also have the hustle-and-bustle of the city in the background. Nothing like Inauguration weekend in DC, that's for sure!

thinking : Not so much thinking as dreaming. I've been in my head a lot lately, in both good and bad ways. Must get out, physically and mentally. 

smelling :  Coffee. Rich, delicious coffee.

wishing :  That I had an easy solution to ongoing financial stressors. The hubs and I are poor grad students, and that won't change for a few more months. We'll still be grad students, but slightly less poor. I know it's worth it in the end, but I just really want to be able to afford to pay off my student loans. And my rent. Wah!

hoping :  That the hubs wants to do some outside beer drinking with me later this afternoon. I just want to stay outside when it's warm out!

wearing :  Bright blue pants from J Crew Factory, my favorite college t-shirt, and a bright blue scarf that smells like vanilla. Bright colors tend to pull me out of my mental funks, and today is no exception. 

loving :  My city. I know I've been writing about this a lot lately, but walking the streets of my tourist-laden neighborhood, I am reminded of how it is really very cool that I live here, especially on weekends like this. While I don't think I will trek down to the Mall for the Inauguration tomorrow, it's still really awesome to be here for an event like this. Politics aside, there is something to be said for witnessing major moments in history that just happen to be in your backyard. DC, you have really captured my heart. 

wanting : To be embarking on our international travels, snapping away on a nice camera, and watching sunsets with the hubs. I have a serious case of wanderlust.

needing : To get back on a consistent schedule. Staying up too late, sleeping in too late, and sitting in basically the same spot for four hours is not doing anything for my self-care. 

feeling :  More at peace. If I had answered this this morning, I would have said that I was feeling sad, uneasy, and agitated. Thankfully, I have booted that out the door and am feeling happy, productive, and alive. Very alive. 

clicking :  On the Sunday Currently! This has very quickly become my favorite link-up, and I love reading everyone's posts and discovering new bloggers. I'm very new on the blogging scene, but this link-up makes me excited to be here and starting this journey.

And on that note.... link up with Lauren!

100 Best Novels: Tender is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald is hereby declared the master of the romantic tragedy. Is this a grand, sweeping statement? Absolutely. For sure, there are many other writers who hold their own in this category, but after finishing Tender is the Night, I was reminded why Fitzgerald makes me swoon, seriously swoon. It's not just that he writes against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, though that certainly helps. It's not even because Jay Gatsby is so tragically flawed and makes me want to run along the beaches of Long Island's North Shore reaching out to green lights across the bay. Fitzgerald had the gift of spinning characters who captivate you and make you wish that they could come to life and glance your way so that you could experience the warm thrill of being known by them. These characters are an enigma in so many ways, but as you get to know them, you learn their terrible secrets, and you are a bit shocked and repulsed at first, but ultimately your heart aches at their demise because deep down, you loved them. They were terrible and lovely, and you loved them despite that, or perhaps because of that. It's not always clear.

It's maybe not surprising that I've always loved tragedies more than comedies. Happy endings are great, and I certainly hope that my own life has more laughter than sadness, but when it comes to literature, I am hooked by a plot that punches you in the gut and leaves you wanting more. There's a beauty to flawed characters that is just so captivating to me. Tender is the Night was no exception in this regard. The story of the glamorous, desirable Nicole and Dick Diver is at first reminiscent of Nick Carraway entering the world of Jay Gatsby. We have the young 18-year-old Rosemary who discovers the Divers' world while vacationing on the French Riviera and falls in love with Dick. Soon, however, as the narrative shifts from Rosemary's lovestruck perspective, we learn that the Divers' world is not all glamour.

(Some spoilers below!)

As the story unfolds, it grows darker. More and more we see that the power differentials between various couples (Dick and Nicole, Dick and Rosemary, Mary and Abe, just to name a few) are slowly shifting, with sad, pathetic Dick growing more and more destructive as Rosemary thrives in her acting career and Nicole recovers from her schizophrenia relapse. There are a few moments where, in the face of Dick's shattering of the illusion of him as all-powerful, it is suggested that perhaps it was all a fantasy to begin with. Perhaps, Dick's business partner muses, he never thought highly of Dick at all.

I think what made me so sad about Dick's ending is that it was just so pathetic. He fizzled out. There was no dramatic flourish before he exited the world. Instead, he faded into obscurity. Even his attempt to grasp at the shadow of his charming self with Mary North before leaving the Riviera ends flatly. He seems to give up on it with a laugh, as though he realizes that to resume that persona would be a joke. Why bother? Nicole moves on without him, and Dick becomes nothing more than a fuzzy rumor. Part of me wants to believe that Dick, freed from his obligation to Nicole, was able to live more simply and find happiness. Maybe once he no longer had to play the role of husband doctor, he could let go of the magnificent facade he used to live behind and choose a different life, rather than having it yanked away from him. His final scene with Mary makes me think that at least part of him made the choice to walk away. If he really wanted to stay, he could have put on a marvelous show.

While Dick certainly charmed me, even at his lowest moments, I felt quite differently about Nicole. I started off feeling lukewarm about her and then was very angry with her at the end. It was upsetting to me that she left Dick after all he had done for her. How could she have an affair with Tommy when Dick so clearly needed help of his own? Then I thought about how they had both changed so much and how in reality, nobody should stay in a relationship out of a sense of obligation alone. Ultimately, Nicole couldn't stay with Dick, not after what they had both become. In some ways, she was stronger than him by the end, yet still unable (or maybe unwilling) to be his caretaker as he had been for her. Still, as a I realized when I reread the last couple of pages, I don't think her fate was as rosy as she might have wished. As she goes to rise to see Dick on the beach, she is pulled down by Tommy, suggesting that just as Dick had started as her guardian and caretaker, Tommy would also retain the power in their new relationship. Even recovered, Nicole doesn't get to control her actions, or maybe even her fate.

It's impossible to read this book without thinking of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's personal lives. It made me think that Scott was committed to Zelda and didn't want to leave her side, even when her illness must have put considerable strain on their relationship. Even so, both of them had affairs, and Scott turned to alcohol-- they were both fairly destructive. It's sad to think that he may have viewed himself as a Dick Diver of sorts, doomed to pathetic failure, unable to produce anything of worth. I hope that at the end of his life he was able to view himself as stronger than that.

There are so many other things to say about the themes in this book. Destruction, war, wasted potential, youth... there are multiple threads that reinforce the structure and progression of this novel. Overall, I thought it all made for a lovely read. Tender is the Night is gripping, and even when I didn't particularly care for some of the characters, I still felt invested in their stories. Fitzgerald is one of those writers who invokes a flutter of excitement within me, and this book didn't let me down. Well done, Mr. Fitzgerald.

What are your thoughts on Tender is the Night?

Who else could compete for the title of master of romantic tragedy?

***
100 Best Novels

1. "Ulysses," James Joyce

2. "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," James Joyce

4. "Lolita," Vladimir Nabokov

5. "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley

6. "The Sound and the Fury," William Faulkner

7. "Catch-22," Joseph Heller

8. "Darkness at Noon," Arthur Koestler

9. "Sons and Lovers," D. H. Lawrence

10. "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck

11. "Under the Volcano," Malcolm Lowry

12. "The Way of All Flesh," Samuel Butler

13. "1984," George Orwell

14. "I, Claudius," Robert Graves

15. "To the Lighthouse," Virginia Woolf

16. "An American Tragedy," Theodore Dreiser

17. "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," Carson McCullers

18. "Slaughterhouse Five," Kurt Vonnegut

19. "Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison

20. "Native Son," Richard Wright

21. "Henderson the Rain King," Saul Bellow

22. "Appointment in Samarra," John O' Hara

23. "U.S.A." (trilogy), John Dos Passos

24. "Winesburg, Ohio," Sherwood Anderson

25. "A Passage to India," E. M. Forster

26. "The Wings of the Dove," Henry James

27. "The Ambassadors," Henry James

28. "Tender Is the Night," F. Scott Fitzgerald

29. "The Studs Lonigan Trilogy," James T. Farrell

30. "The Good Soldier," Ford Madox Ford

31. "Animal Farm," George Orwell

32. "The Golden Bowl," Henry James

33. "Sister Carrie," Theodore Dreiser

34. "A Handful of Dust," Evelyn Waugh

35. "As I Lay Dying," William Faulkner

36. "All the King's Men," Robert Penn Warren

37. "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," Thornton Wilder

38. "Howards End," E. M. Forster

39. "Go Tell It on the Mountain," James Baldwin

40. "The Heart of the Matter," Graham Greene

41. "Lord of the Flies," William Golding

42. "Deliverance," James Dickey

43. "A Dance to the Music of Time" (series), Anthony Powell

44. "Point Counter Point," Aldous Huxley

45. "The Sun Also Rises," Ernest Hemingway

46. "The Secret Agent," Joseph Conrad

47. "Nostromo," Joseph Conrad

48. "The Rainbow," D. H. Lawrence

49. "Women in Love," D. H. Lawrence

50. "Tropic of Cancer," Henry Miller

51. "The Naked and the Dead," Norman Mailer

52. "Portnoy's Complaint," Philip Roth

53. "Pale Fire," Vladimir Nabokov

54. "Light in August," William Faulkner

55. "On the Road," Jack Kerouac

56. "The Maltese Falcon," Dashiell Hammett

57. "Parade's End," Ford Madox Ford

58. "The Age of Innocence," Edith Wharton

59. "Zuleika Dobson," Max Beerbohm

60. "The Moviegoer," Walker Percy

61. "Death Comes to the Archbishop," Willa Cather

62. "From Here to Eternity," James Jones

63. "The Wapshot Chronicles," John Cheever

64. "The Catcher in the Rye," J. D. Salinger

65. "A Clockwork Orange," Anthony Burgess

66. "Of Human Bondage," W. Somerset Maugham

67. "Heart of Darkness," Joseph Conrad

68. "Main Street," Sinclair Lewis

69. "The House of Mirth," Edith Wharton

70. "The Alexandria Quartet," Lawrence Durrell

71. "A High Wind in Jamaica," Richard Hughes

72. "A House for Ms. Biswas," V. S. Naipaul

73. "The Day of the Locust," Nathaniel West

74. "A Farewell to Arms," Ernest Hemingway

75. "Scoop," Evelyn Waugh

76. "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," Muriel Spark

77. "Finnegans Wake," James Joyce

78. "Kim," Rudyard Kipling

79. "A Room With a View," E. M. Forster

80. "Brideshead Revisited," Evelyn Waugh

81. "The Adventures of Augie March," Saul Bellow

82. "Angle of Repose," Wallace Stegner

83. "A Bend in the River," V. S. Naipaul

84. "The Death of the Heart," Elizabeth Bowen

85. "Lord Jim," Joseph Conrad

86. "Ragtime," E. L. Doctorow

87. "The Old Wives' Tale," Arnold Bennett

88. "The Call of the Wild," Jack London

89. "Loving," Henry Green

90. "Midnight's Children," Salman Rushdie

91. "Tobacco Road," Erskine Caldwell

92. "Ironweed," William Kennedy

93. "The Magus," John Fowles

94. "Wide Sargasso Sea," Jean Rhys

95. "Under the Net," Iris Murdoch

96. "Sophie's Choice," William Styron

97. "The Sheltering Sky," Paul Bowles

98. "The Postman Always Rings Twice," James M. Cain

99. "The Ginger Man," J. P. Donleavy

100. "The Magnificent Ambersons," Booth Tarkington

Pittsburgh, Part 2

After thoroughly enjoying the view of Pittsburgh's downtown skyline at night, I knew that I needed to see it up close during the daytime. Although I was leaving the city in the afternoon, I decided to spend the morning walking around downtown and seeing what the city had to offer. I started in Point State Park, which is along the riverside and features Three Rivers, the point where the Allegheny and Monogahela Rivers converge to form the Ohio River. Although it wasn't terribly early when I headed down there, the park was nearly completely empty, my only companions being the geese who were resting in the grass.

It was a little cool out that morning, but still warm enough to walk around with my coat open. There was a cute café seating area that must be nice during warmer months. Even with the quiet and lack of people, I could easily envision this park being lively in the summertime.

After walking through an underpass, you can check out the Fort Pitt Museum and the Fort Pitt Blockhouse. I decided to bypass those and head straight for the riverfront. 

Since I was the only person who seemed to be going for a morning stroll along the riverfront, I found it very peaceful and serene. The rain from the day before lingered in the damp air, and fog was slowly rolling over the water. I enjoyed the solitude of the environment, and while I would love to sit on one of the riverside benches with a book on a sunny day, there is something to be said for the quiet. A sunny day would attract crowds, which would change the experience. Not in a necessarily bad way, just different.

Three Rivers

There is a large fountain at the point where the three rivers meet, but it unfortunately is under construction until the summer, so I wasn't able to see the fountain or go to the very tip. Even so, I thought the view was spectacular!

After getting my fill of the riverside, I decided to head over to Market Square, which is basically just a town square. On my walk over, I kept looking up at PPG Place, a building that is striking both in its height and its architecture-- it looks like a mirrored castle! I think it is my favorite part of the Pittsburgh skyline, and I was excited to see it up close on my walk. Market Square was quiet on this particular Saturday morning, and I loved the contrast of the short brick buildings from earlier days alongside impressive structures like PPG Place. It's both quaint and modern, and it seemed to capture the spirit of Pittsburgh pretty well. 

Christmas tree and ice skating rink at PPG Place

Market Square

Shortly after, I had to head back to my hotel to meet my airport shuttle so that I could return home to the hubs. Pittsburgh definitely wasn't the depressed steel and mining town I had expected, and I was delighted to have enjoyed the city and my time there. Given my short stay, there was a lot that I missed out on, but the things that I did see were great, and I felt very content to just walk around and see what the city is like. I certainly wouldn't mind returning to see other parts of the city with the hubs!