52. Galentine’s.

Today, came home to a package from friend emily (lowercase is to denote that this is a different Emily than previously mentioned; also, that is how she signs her name). Opened it to find a card, cookies, chocolates, a screen print and a sticker, all sent in the name of friendship.

I’m thankful that Parks and Rec created a holiday for ladies to celebrate ladies. But I’m even more thankful to know emily, who met me at the soul-sucking student newspaper more than 7 years ago and has spent the subsequent years commiserating over the challenges of being in our 20s, despite the many states between us.

Here’s to emily and more years and more Galentine’s Days.

51. Gravity.

I filed a story today that included a mention about protozoa (basically, these marine worms eat protozoa, and then the worms are eaten by fish like flounder, and on and on the food chain goes), which of course made me think of the fictional singer Protozoa from the Disney Channel classic “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.”

That resulted in this song being stuck in my head all day:

50. Hitchcock.

Spent the evening at the Corcoran Gallery of Art for a Hitchcock-themed evening with friends Amy and Mackenzie. Wandered through the galleries. Posed for photos. Cut out paper wings to make a bird (need to watch The Birds).

Much of the evening was spent in line waiting to make some screen print art. It was a test of patience. Mack may have gone a little cray.

The final result:

Definitely framing this.

49. Gentle.

My choir’s March concert is fast approaching, and we’re plowing through so much music in order to prepare. (As previously noted, it’s not exactly my favorite, but I’m warming to it.)

One of the pieces is “Gentle Words,” a modern arrangement of a Shaker song. Composed by Kevin Siegfried, it’s a beautifully haunting piece. And for whatever reason, tonight, it particularly resonated with me.

You can listen to a snippet of the song here (it’s No. 22), but the best way to hear it is to probably come to our live performance (there’s my plug!).

48. Slow.

I’m often on the go. When I’m not at work, I’m at choir rehearsal or volunteering at 826DC or wandering through a museum or buying books or attending some event I helped organize or grabbing drinks/food with friends. It’s not unusual for me to have back-to-back things to go to and it’s not unheard of for me to accidentally double or even triple book myself on any given night.

But today, I took it slow. Lazed around in bed until the live ice dancing coverage started. Watched the entirety of that Olympic event’s broadcast. Read a good chunk of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Went to the grocery store. Read more. Cooked dinner. Now watching more Olympics and doing laundry.

It’s nice. Relaxing. Makes me feel ready for the rest of this week.

Maybe I should have more slow days.

47. Step.

Experienced the movie “Step Up” for the first time tonight thanks to friend Mackenzie. It was pure magic (and the high school felt like a throwback to my LVA days). I actually can’t believe that I’ve managed not to watch it for so long.

Now would be the moment for a perfect GIF of Channing executing dance perfection, but I’m writing this post on my phone because my Internet has failed me once more and I have no idea how to insert images on a mobile device. Expect an update later.

Update the next morning: GIF as promised.

46. Ukulele.

While I was in Hawaii last year, I bought myself a ukulele for my birthday. It hasn’t gotten a ton of use since then — partially because, prior to this purchase, I’ve never attempted to play any sort of string instrument in my life, and partially because roommate Kaitie told me I had to have it fixed because the tightness of the strings was going to make the neck snap.

Not heeding her advice tonight, I’ve been trying to tune it, but the last string seems to have come so loose that I can’t get it to hold an A unless my hand is holding…whatever it is that you use to change the string’s pitch (like I said, I’m not a string instrumentalist — BUT I can tune it by ear, and doesn’t that count for something?).