An ode to monuments at night, taking the train alone and being legally brunette

Elle Woods never saw it coming. The poor thing.
And to be honest, I don’t think D.C. did either.

But ready or not, within the past week or so, I not only stole Ms. Woods’ thunder as sorority girl gone legal expert, but I like to think that maybe, just maybe, I stole a little bit of THE capital’s limelight, even if it was only short lived.

Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages – a reenactment.

Straight from New York City for five days only to the lovely, historical, spotless town of D.C., the one, the only (drum roll please)……… KP (or Katie Packer – because the least I can do in a town which requires all of its workers to wear suits daily is use my formal name).

From my humble abode I made my way to Penn Station – all by myself, I may add. My 40lb. suitcase and I hobbled up and down staircases and across crosswalks until I reached the Acela Express waiting area. Sitting and slurping on an iced coffee with a book in hand, it hit me that for the first time in my life I was a “big girl” – traveling for business all by my lonesome to a city I knew very little about. I somehow managed to not only get my ticket, but make my way down to the train tracks, get on the train, snag a seat (though I rode backwards the entire time), and get safely to D.C. Once at Union Station in the capital, I reaffirmed my “big girl” status by hailing my very own taxi cab and getting to my hotel in Arlington, VA safely.

The purpose of my trip, which I believe I failed to mention, was to represent my sorority, the Delta Kappa chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon, at our biennial convention. Essentially, it was the convergence of 70-some-odd chapters and our national staff. As the president of my chapter, I attended meetings, participated in rituals and even got to carry my chapter’s flag during what I have dubbed “The March of the Girly Girls.”

While I learned a lot about my sorority and the other chapters at this highly anticipated convention, my favorite part – by far – was Grand Chapter. Though I can’t divulge too much (sisterly secrets, ya know?), I am proud to say I chapter of y secrets, you know?), her chapters at this highly aniticpated convention made a difference. With my business-attire clothing and my glasses placed firmly on my face, I stood before the entire grand chapter and contested a proposed amendment to our national constitution – using Robert’s Rules of Order, of course. When it came time to vote, nearly every delegate chose to strike down the proposal. Mission accomplished.

To add a cherry on top of my deliciously sweet triumph, when I went to the bathroom during a break, one of the alumnae delegates spoke with me even though I never met her before.

“Hey, Delta Kappa,” she said. “Thanks for that.”

Move over Elle. Legally blonde just became officially legally brunette. Well folks…that’s it. I’m sold. Law school, here I come.

When I wasn’t tied up being a mover-and-shaker, I ventured to Georgetown to meet up with a best friend from college, Chantalle, whose classy nature and love of good food lent themselves nicely to a wonderful night. We went to Mei nYu for Asian-fusion food and some time to catch up. We blabbed on and on about our internships, our lives and, of course, boys. We vowed to meet up again in Georgetown before I left to go back to the city, so that’s exactly what I did.

I took the other delegate representing my chapter, Danielle, with me to brunch at Leopold’s, where we met up with Chantalle again. Though this visit was much shorter, Danielle and I made some time to stroll through all the shops on M Street, which seemed to be an exclave of Soho, before heading back to more meetings.

After our long day, Danielle and I, along with some new friends from the convention, were itching to tour the famous monuments at night. We climbed the steps to the Lincoln Memorial, gazed into the Reflecting Pool, stared up at the Washington Monument, walked around the World War 2 Memorial and posed by the gates of the White House. So much history in so little time.

Though I do admit I enjoyed my five-day stay in the foreign city where the Metro stops at midnight and the street are freakishly clean, my heart couldn’t help but beg, “Take me back to Manhattan,” so I took the Acela Express back to my fantasy island. Home, sweet home, at last.

Jess missed me probably as much as I missed her, so to celebrate my homecoming (and her sister’s stay at our apartment), we went into Brooklyn for “NYC’s best pizza” – as rated by Zagat’s and New York Time Out.

The place: Di Fara’s.
The locale: A small, smoky pizza parlor with only two people working – the cook and the person taking orders.
The cost: Between $20 and $30 a pie….and they take cash only. Quite an operation, if you ask me.
The patrons: At least 20 people gathering around to order pies.
The history: Apparently, the owner (aka the sole cook at the place), who is easily more than 60 years old, has been operating his business since the 1960’s and refuses to let any one else make pizzas because he has to touch every single one to make sure it has his stamp of approval.
The result: Amazingly delectable, thin crust pizza made with only fresh ingredients (fresh basil, fresh olive oil, fresh mozzarella and fresh veggies). But because the owner/chef is older, to put it nicely, you end up waiting an hour and a half for your food.

Was it worth it, you ask? Well despite having to wear our sunglasses at night and in the restaurant because the smoke from the older-than-old pizza oven was burning our eyes (Purple Haze should be rewritten as Pizza Haze) and despite the long wait, the pizza was better than we imagined. After one slice each, we were stuffed to capacity and got a box so we could take the rest of our pie to go.

One pizza box and twenty minutes later, the three of us girls decided to get in our exercise and walk from Brooklyn back to Manhattan – Brooklyn Bridge style. We crossed the mile-long bridge and ogled at the NYC skyline that resembled Lite-Brite. We snacked on our cold pizza. And we even got a glimpse at the “hidden” waterfalls coming from the bridges.

So while you may say that age-old monuments and clean streets are so much better and more historical than a bridge with water falling from it and pizza that takes nearly two hours to get, I would respectfully beg to differ. D.C. has nothing on my NYC – my dear, old, dirty town. The country's capital won't become my capital any time soon.

upDate

You see, I’d rather be having fun than writing about it.

At least that’s my sorry attempt at an excuse as to why I haven’t written in a long time.

But while that’s dandy for me, I realize it’s simply not fair to not clue you in on my existence that has become New York. Perhaps we should make this a bit exciting. Heck, let me take you on an upDate.

The Pick Up - making things less awkward
So it’s been a while. Over a week, to be more accurate. And though you would think I would have oodles of adventures to report on…I simply don’t. Life for me has gone from lightning speed to a thunderous halt. Fine. I am exaggerating a little. OK, maybe a lot. Not a halt. Not even really a lull. Just more of a relaxation-chill-start-savoring-everything period because this summer is flying by in a New York minute.

Well dear friends, where did I leave you last? Get on you’re A-game and get dolled-up. I’m back, live and in-color, so let’s hop in the cab, shall we? And we’ll begin our date.

Small Talk - a quick fill-in
My days lately are filled with shopping around and eating. Jess and I have been meandering from 5th Ave. to SoHo to Chinatown to Brooklyn and back again, looking for nothing in particular, but nonetheless looking. We pick out all the things we wish we could buy (ie: the Cartier LOVE bracelet and Harry Winston engagement rings) until we are exhausted and feeling depressed by our lack of money.

Other days we sit out in Central Park or upstairs at Barnes and Nobel to read (I am ecstatic to inform you that I just finished my new favorite book of all time, “Water for Elephants” – read it!). And yet other days (and nights) we chat-and-chew with friends, whether we are just hanging out in our apartment and meeting our neighbors or meeting up with friends for brunch.

And how could I forget? Last weekend, Jess and I caught part of the Gay Pride Parade – where the males-turned-females had WAY better bodies than we’ll ever have. Yes, we were genuinely jealous.

The Dinner – the real meat and potatoes – hardy enough to satiate any appetite that has been starved by my lack of writing recently
Jess and I didn’t realize we were popular. As ridiculous as that may sound, I got used to getting at least 3 phone calls a day from the different groups of friends I have acquired during my new life-within-my-life. I always had offers to hang out, or go out, or veg out every day and every night. Until I was just out.

As the 4th of July approached, he was going here, she was going there, so-and-so was traveling, etc. And so while Jess and I have had great plans all along, the Fourth, which probably should have been the epitome of our summer, the accumulation of all things great, the best-of-the-best of all Katie and Jessica Adventures thus far, was flat-lining…and fast.

Funny thing Jess and I have learned is that you don’t realize you were popular until after you’ve already begun your downfall. It happens in a flash. One day you get calls. The next, you don’t. Everyone has plans. Your not included. The good news, we have also learned, is it’s easy to recuperate.

We ended up getting together with some friends at a rooftop gathering with a make-shift BBQ involving none other than Mr. George Foreman. A cheeseburger and a handful of chips later, we all made our way to the side of the top of the 28-story building in the drizzling rain to catch a glimpse of the glitter lighting up the cloudy sky.

I had a view of not one, not two, but three different sets of fireworks, each more beautiful and bigger than the next.

Coffee Talk - about work
My internships have been going well, relatively. I say this tentatively, not wanting to sound ungrateful, as people would probably kill me to be me. But honestly, who actually wants to spend their days working? At Universal, I have gotten to be a part of focus groups, listening to albums that won’t be released until September, and I have also gotten to see some more live performances in our office’s music lounge. Of course, I still work on mass-mailings to radio stations and personal errands, but I love, love, love the other interns. So much in fact, that Jess and I (but mostly Jess) planned an intern happy hour for after work at a dive-bar called Whistlin’ Dixies. Being “sorority girls” and all, naturally, we would be the social planners. Though we hate to be cliché, we enjoyed planning and bringing our office of interns together. Duh!

Us Weekly is well….Us Weekly. All the writers, editors, photo gang and the rest of the crew have to bust their chops in order to pump out the next week’s issue. It still amazes me that they are capable of birthing a publication each week like clockwork. I transcribe, write blog updates and observe quietly…’nough said.

The Ride Home - my thoughts
You know, the more I think of it, I do more in one week than most people do in a month, so I am actually realizing my lull lately comes from the fact that I am turning into a New Yorker….I just expect to be running to do things. Jess and I really need to get back into exploring museums, going to the hottest clubs (though we did go to Coyote Ugly the other night!), seeing Broadway shows and spotting celebrities. But I guess at this point, now more than a month in, I don’t crave the touristy stuff like I used to. I am actually enjoying being a typical city-dweller. Oh - do you know that the other day someone stopped to ask me for directions? KP: 1. NYC: 0.

The Good-Bye - a sweet story to razzle-dazzle ya and make sure you're hooked

My obsession with the Olsens led me to a particular interest in a Sun Dance Film Festival film called "The Wackness" guest staring the one, the only Mary-Kate. After lots (and by lots, I do mean a good two hours) of research on the ever-so-handy Internet, I learned that there would be a free screening of the film at a movie theatre not even five-minutes from my apartment. Fate - I'd say so. So I shot an e-mail to the production company and scored two passes - one for me and one for Jess, of course - to the showing (KP: 2). Though the passes suggested we arrive at the theatre early, I had no idea that that translated to "get there at the crack of dawn in order to see if you can snag a seat."

As you can imagine, Jess and I didn't even make it half way through the line before we were told to leave because the threatre was full. KP: -1. NYC: 1.

Now hold your horses because if you know me, you know that I am not going to settle for this. This city can't knock me off my high-horse without putting up a fight....so that's exactly what I did.

Once the crowd of 100 cleared and the amateurs stopped their bickering with the man at the door ("Please, I am dying to see this movie. I'll sit on the floor!"), little old me stepped up to the plate to take a swing. Barce yourselves....

"Hi. My name is Katie and I am interning at Us Weekly (flash my badge). I really need to get in to see this movie, if you know what I mean. Are you sure me and my friend can't just sit on the floor of the movie theatre. It's pretty vital that I see this movie tonight (bat my eyelashes while Jess's draw drops open)."

Crack! This one's out of the park.

"I mean if you really want to I am not going to stop you...and I am by no means telling you you can...but do what you need to do."

Home run. KP: 5. NYC: -3. So Jess and I popped a squat on the nasty theatre floor and enjoyed our flick thoroughly.

As if that's not good enough, somewhere in the midst of this upDate, I began to date.

Simply dinner (sushi) and a movie (Wall-E) and, above all, good conversation -something that is surprisingly difficult to come by these days.

So with that, I’ll leave you, just as a good date should end…wanting more....

(Watching fireworks from the rooftop... notice the Empire State Building right behind us, which was lit up with red, white and blue lights)