April 1, 2011

Stopping to smell the roses

On Wednesday night, while I should have been going to the gym and getting in a good workout, I instead chose to catch up with a college friend who lives in DC. Sometimes you just have to take a break and have some fun! I didn’t regret the decision at all – we went for dinner and with two of his friends, and then one of my coworkers came to join us for the later part of the evening, when we checked out a few bars on U Street. And when I say later, I do mean “later” – I was out till 2am! I can’t remember the last time I “manned up” enough to go out that late on a weeknight, and I was certainly paying for it the next morning, but again, life is short and you only live once. Besides, I had a blast!

Despite the fact that my week in general was fairly slow, Thursday always seems to go by way too fast, because it’s a travel day instead of a full day at the client. I didn’t quite get done everything I wanted to (that’s what the plane is for, I guess!), but I did take some time out to go to a sit down lunch with coworkers. (Noticing a common theme here yet?) I can’t remember the last time I’ve taken a lunch break instead of just picking up something and eating at my desk while I worked – it was such a nice treat! Lately I feel like I’ve read a lot of blogs about what people do on their lunch hour (go to the gym, catch up with friends, etc), and I’ve been feeling very left out because I don’t get a lunch hour. But today, relaxation was mine!

We went to Zola, an upscale and fairly pricey restaurant in the same building as the Spy Museum, and it was delicious! However, while my coworkers all chose either the comparatively inexpensive grilled cheese or burger ($14 each), I decided that what I wanted was the lobster salad. With the dressing on the side, it could even be deemed healthy! The lobster salad was $22, but in the spirit of “only living once,” I decided it was worth the extra $8 to me to have it instead of one of the cheaper-but-less-what-I-was-in-the-mood-for hot sandwiches. Unfortunately, when the bill came, the manager grabbed it, looked at the total, and said we each owed $21. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation – if I were out with friends, I would have pointed out that mine was more expensive and put in extra; however, it felt mercenary to do that with coworkers. In fairness, I was the only one who didn’t get soda/iced tea to drink (I stuck with plain water), so that evens it out a little but more… but I still felt guilty only putting in $21, when my meal cost alone was $1 more. What would you have done in that situation?

The period between lunch and when I needed to leave for the airport was far too short, and I ended up working away on my computer for the entire cab ride to the airport. (One of the major things I did not get to even with that extra time is a completed race report – hoping to finish it up on the hop from Amsterdam to Warsaw, and get it posted sometime Friday afternoon – apologies for the delay).

But now, off I go – to the heavenly land of vodka. Here’s hoping I can still find some fancy beer made by monks – I’ve been getting quite used to that on my other trips across the pond!

Happy Friday, everyone 🙂

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5 thoughts on “Stopping to smell the roses”

  1. Have a great time in the Land of Vodka. I will be enjoying a self-imposed era of prohibition.

    Lunch was an awkward situation. I hate when someone splits the check evenly when I’m either the one person that slurged or the one person who didn’t. But, I guess he thought it would make paying quicker and easier. Good think you didn’t order bombay martinis too! haha

  2. I make it a point to leave for lunch every day. I mostly just go to the gym or Target.

    Have fun in the land of Vodka. One of my friend’s husband’s is there for business now.

  3. That map totally cracked me up. My husband is super into maps (that’s actually his job – computerized mapping) so we have them in every room of our house. I sent him your post so he can admire too. Anyhow, have a great trip!

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