lentils, lentils, everywhere

here's what i cooked/ate yesterday.
lentil soup can go a far way apparently;
i've used it in wraps with hummus,
fried it up and tricked it out,
and here are my latest creations:


lentil quesadilla:
basically i spread some lentil soup, red onion,
grated cheese and hot sauce on a tortilla,
sandwiched it between another and fried that sucker up!
with a side of sour cream and bbq sauce
and a salad to boot, this one is surely a winner.


lentil soup with egg on top:
fried some eggs, threw some more hot sauce on,
and then ate them together like some delicious lasagna.
this dish is the protein packer, and i'll need it often
considering my reestablished work out routine.
long live lentil soup!

mandy with an m

last week i hosted my first exchange student.
her name was mandy, and boy was she german.
she reminded me a lot of myself when i first went to germany:
eager, pensive, limited and 24.
similarly she took way too many photos.


i showed her the joys of DC eating,
burgers and baseball games (thanks katie!).
she sure did like her salads though.
she also found hard-boiled eggs disgusting.
german!


we went to some museums and saw some art,
drank some pepsi and watched a hot dog being eaten.
i hope she likes american culture!


here's what i gave her when she came to visit:
photo book present, maps, towels and toiletries.
i tried to right all the wrongs that were
done upon me by my previous host family.
i made sure her privacy was maintained!
but nonetheless i have no idea how people host
for an entire year. good luck, mandy!

views from the apt

did i mention i moved in with fouad?
these things should obviously be noted.
to commemorate such a wonderful event,
here are some night shots from the apartment.


right by union station...


right by the capitol...


right by this tree...


... i like trees.

legos & lomography

went to a lego exhibit at the national building museum
with the visiting family and to explore the city further.
tons of kids, some expected drama, and chicken fingers.
anyway, aimee lent me her lomograph, which is
basically a shitty camera that takes 8 photos in 2.5 seconds.
pretty interesting results, huh?


here's one of the 6 or so lego buildings this one guy made.
normally it costs $5 just to get into this junk,
but my dad threw a fit and managed to get us in for free!
good old fashioned american-style customer is always right
told by a disgruntled, short-tempered austrian man.
my mom thought they'd call the police! (as usual)


how in the world this image was created is beyond me.
all i know is CVS took forever to process this film,
and maybe they threw some extra red dye in with the roll.


also i think it's safe to say that
lomography is not the most precise type of photography.
these short clips are better done with my flip video.
truth be told lomography is a one time only thing for me!

girl, whatchu think?

here are some obligatory photos of
black women staring at interesting art displays.
check out the (free) national museum of african art,
where circumcisions and head shavings stand side by side.



more info: http://africa.si.edu/

cultural observations

there is something wrong in both of these photos.
can you spot the problems?
the license plate for one is amazing.
the chili cheese hot dog for $2.99 is equally so.
notice the dog face as the background for the website.
very fitting for the quality of food served there.
oh how i've missed america*.


*plus tax & fatlings

juggles, chuggles, snuggles

so there's a cultural gathering every sunday in a nearby park.
fouad's childhood friend brian invited us to go frolic,
and frolic we did: drumming, juggling and dance to boot.


you know the party is good when a sassy five-year-old
wearing matching bright red shades and booty pants
sits nearby and blows bubbles to the beat. cute!


these heavenly hunnies were doing the african equivalent
of the macarena, which let me tell you only looks good
in still form. their jiggle and shake were nice though.


feel the beat? fouad and i tried out the drums for the first time,
and i at least realized pretty quickly how difficult it was.
gotta pick up an instrument and practice, practice, practice.


we also realized the conditioned response of the juggling stare:
that glazed over, unfocused but extremely concentrated look
of managing 3 balls in the air instead of just 2.
i hope to continue learning!

did i forget new york?

i suppose it's after the fact,
but i spent some days and my birthday
living it up / sobbing in new york city.
this is like 2.5 weeks ago maybe,
but since coming back it's felt like months.


the equivalent of a döner does not measure up in nyc.
overpriced, sloppy, iceberg lettuce-filled and tough,
the kebab experience made me weep shortly thereafter.


interesting people do exist in america,
and their morbid obesity is not the only drawing quality.
they sometimes dress like garbage bags while carrying
garbage bags and collecting (you guessed it) garbage.


anna, fouad, jordan, chris and rochelle oh and i all went to the museum,
saw some interesting art and felt jet-lagged oh wait that was just anna and i.
fouad and i were dressed in suits and stuffed full of free desserts at the time.


the photos makes me nostalgic.
trip to california in september :)

high definition pigface

HDPF, one of many new acronyms i have recently developed since life in DC.
tru blood is probably the only TV show i loosely follow these days,
despite its main character sookie stackhouse featuring a bright pink, feces-covered snout
(amongst tons of other plot filling and completely idiotic scenarios).
at least you can see her curly tail and soppy locks in high definition.
time for TV to vanish for good?


i think it's amazing that i have the option to watch anything in HD,
and not streamed through megavideo on my laptop.
it's been like a lovely oasis here in the apartment with fouad,
and i look forward to many great times to be had in DC.