Freelance Reporter

Dear friends,

I'm sorry I don't write on the weekends. Even on the 3-day holiday weekends. I really do try to schedule writing time during the weekend. But I fail. So I am sorry. I feel (as usual) like we have lifetimes to catch-up on!

I had a fun-filled Memorial Day weekend. Eric and I went to the National Zoo on Sunday...along with the rest of the population of DC. Ugh, it was too hot, too crowded. We saw some lions, some tigers, some lemurs. But then I overheated and needed to find an exit strategy pronto.

But we didn't leave before seeing the adorable Ant Eater!!! So cute!!! He came right over to me! Here he is:

I also went to my dear friend Angie's birthday celebration yesterday. Just a few friends and a few glasses of sangria on a rooftop patio. But it was lovely. I had a perfectly delightful Memorial Day weekend.

Ok, so now onto the exciting news =)

Last Thursday, I saw a post on Facebook from a friend of mine from grad school. He asked if any of his DC journalists friends were interested in writing a story about the National Spelling Bee for a newspaper in Ohio. Even though I haven't written for a newspaper since college (over a decade ago), I jumped at the opportunity. So I messaged my friend and I told him I was absolutely interested in writing this article. He gave the newspaper editor my phone number, and the editor called me that evening.

So ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to announce that I will reporting on the Scripps National Spelling Bee for The Repository in Canton, Ohio! This is my first freelance job as a journalist! This is exactly the kind of life I've been dreaming of!

Very excited, but also very scared. I don't want to f**k this up for the newspaper, or for the student who I'm writing about. I'm their only correspondent on the ground in DC. If I blow it, they will have no story from the National Spelling Bee. So basically, I cannot blow this!

I feel confident that I've done all the research ahead of time that I possibly can. I've read The Repository's last four articles on the National Spelling Bee. I've gone to the official spelling bee website and read their Wikipedia page, too. I've contacted the father of the contestant I am writing about, and even though I haven't heard back from him yet, I am fully confident that I will find him (and his son) after the competition tomorrow.

Oh, Nelly, I'm nervous.

But Eric is doing me the biggest favor in the world and DRIVING me to the Gaylord Convention Center (at the National Harbor) at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. Aww, bless his heart! He's doing me this huge favor because the National Harbor is not very easy to get to by public transport. To get there, without a car, I would have to leave at 5:30 AM, take the Green Line train all the way past Anacostia, to the Southern Avenue Metro Station, which is across the border, in Maryland. Then, from there, I would have to take a 30-minute bus ride all the way to the National Harbor. Best case scenario, if I didn't have to wait for a train or a bus, the journey would take me an hour. But I happen to live with a very generous and kind man, and he will drive me there, and spare me the "Lord-of-the-Rings Journey" through Anacostia in the wee hours of the morning.

I have NO idea what tomorrow will be like. But honestly, I think I'm going to love it. Whenever I've been a part of any major news story (the re-opening of the Washington Monument, the royal wedding, Obama's first inauguration, etc.), I've always wanted to be in the press box, reporting on the event, rather than just spectating. I wanted to write a story about the Washington Monument a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't have anyone to write it for.

But tomorrow will be the dream. I will be at the major news event, reporting on the event, not just living it. To me, I don't feel like I've really lived an experience until I've written about it. I always felt that way.

I have my press credentials. I have my laptop. Hell, I even bought an iPhone (and added myself to Eric's AT&T phone plan) on Saturday so that I can send updates to my editor back in Ohio throughout the day, even if the WiFi goes out. I am ready for this. I've studied this. I've talked about this. Now it's time to go be a reporter.

Oh, and I went jogging this morning! I know! Me?! After Eric and I had breakfast, we kissed goodbye, and I got into stretch-pants and a big t-shirt, and I jogged to U Street and back! It was only 30 minutes, and it was on-and-off jogging-and-walking, but I did it! I figured, it's time.

It's time to be done with not fitting into clothes and cropping my body out of photographs. It's time to make my body as happy as I've made my mind and soul. Everything else is going great in my life. So it's time to overcome my body dilemma. I'm so grateful for my health, my body, and everything that body does for me, but it's time to do better. It's time to get back into shape. I'm working on every part of me. This is the year it all gets better.

So I shall end with a recent photo of a very grateful Leila. This picture was taken in the patio of my local bar, the Wonderland Ballroom, last Thursday (the day I got the job at the Ohio newspaper).

 I also had my hair done that day. It was a big day. I could (and still can) feel the Earth shift that day. Things are happening. It's all happening.

I love you all.

~Leila

P.S. It's time to rediscover all of your favorite episodes of The Sherman House Webisodes at www.shwebisodes.com.

The Suit

Dear friends,

British R&B group Soul II Soul had a great song back in the early 90's called "Back To Life" (the lyrics went, "Back to life, back to reality, back to the hear and now"). Hmm, great song. I'm listening to it right now, while I type this, because the words are very fitting for my life right now.

Don't worry, I'm not going all the way back to how my life was before the start of "Dream Month". I'm not applying for any full-time office jobs right now, but I am starting to get back to work. I visited a temp agency on Monday called Trak Services. I worked with them when I first moved back to DC in 2012, and I got my previous office job through them. They're great.

So I visited Trak Services on Monday morning and spoke with my rep about what kinds of jobs I'm looking for. I told them that I'm only interested in temporary jobs, just a few days a week (but I'm also willing to work occasional week-long jobs). I told them that I'm pursuing a freelance lifestyle so that I will always have time to work on my creative projects. I said that I was looking for short-term gigs at conferences, reception, admin, data-entry, etc.

The only thing I needed was a black pant suit. Ugh. A lot of the conference jobs require a black suit and white button-up shirt. I told my rep that I would go out a buy a suit that day. Ugh.

I don't own a black pant suit. Let me be more specific. I don't own one that FITS me anymore (my waist-line declared war on my body two years ago and is continuing to annex more and more land mass). And, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, I HATE SHOPPING!!! These things ALWAYS end in tears. But if I want to be able to work temporary jobs, I have to own one black suit.

My first attempt to buy a suit was right after my Monday morning meeting at Trak. I told them I would buy a suit immediately, so I walked out of that office and immediately started to look for women's clothing stores. I soon found an Ann Taylor shop on Connecticut Ave. NW, south of Dupont Circle. No one came over and asked me if I needed help, so I walked around the shop by myself. I didn't see ANY clothing in a size 14 (and let's be honest, even 14 is a little tight these days), so I got frustrated, and I left.

Later that night, my roommate Marguerite asked me how my day went. I told her about the soul-crushing attempt to buy a suit. She empathized and agreed that the clothing industry does NOT make it easy for women to buy...well, anything. We all come in different shapes and sizes. She recommended that I try the big department stores at the mall at Pentagon City. So I agreed to do that in the morning.

The next day (Tuesday, of this week), I took the Yellow Line train to Pentagon City, bright and early (I've lived in DC off-and-on since 2008, and this was my first time EVER at the mall at Pentagon City, but that's really just because I hate malls so much). I made the mistake of walking into an Express store first. Ugh. No one there to help, and no sizes bigger than a size 8. Another fail.

I then walked into a Nordstrom's. It took me ages to locate the women's suits part of the store. But I found it. I was already defeated and on the verge of tears when a sweet blond girl named Jill asked me if I needed any help. I said, "I really do. I have to buy a suit for work, but I've already tried two other stores, and no one has my size, and I'm huge, and I'm about to start crying again." She was kind and attentive and offered to help pick out some different suits for me.

After about 45 minutes of taking clothes off and putting clothes on, I eventually found a jacket, shirt, and pair of pants that fit! It all needed to be altered (the pants were about a foot longer than my own legs), but it all got around my hips, my waist, and my broad torso. I was ecstatic! But not about the price. Ugh.

The white blouse was $74, the black pants were $248, and the black jacket was $448. The alternations were $17. For a crushing grand total of $833.20. Ugggghhhhhhhhh. But I bought it! I bought it because I hate shopping. I bought it because Jill, the sales lady, was so sweet and helpful! I bought it because I wanted the whole ordeal to be over with. I bought it because I couldn't handle walking into anymore gosh-darn clothing stores. So I bought it.

All I could think was, "I'm going to have to work a hell of a lot of temp jobs to pay for this damn suit. I thought about the fact that the damn suit cost almost as much as a month of rent. I thought, "Is it even worth it?" But I need a suit. I will need that stupid black suit for every temp job that I will ever have, ever again. I will use that suit for substitute-teaching jobs. I will even use that suit when I go on my book tour.

I bought that suit because I believe, deep down, that I will be able to afford that suit one day. One day, I will pay-off my $19,000 in student loans with a single check. One day, my publisher will hand me a check for $100,000, and I will laugh to myself about how much I once freaked-out about buying a damn suit. I will laugh because I will realize that that $100,000-check would not have been possible if I hadn't taken a leap of faith one day and decided to quit my job in an effort to be a writer, once and for all. One day it will all have been worth it, and I will laugh.

I'm going to the hair salon this afternoon. Along with my $800 suit (gulp!), I've also decided to tidy-up my hair a bit, now that I'm heading back into the job market. I have...some grey hairs, you may or may not know, and I need to go to the salon and have them covered up. And while my friend Ted really wants to see me dye all of my hair grey, I'm just not ready to take that step. I think I'm a cute brunette. And I like getting the occasional red or blond highlights. I'm not ready to give-up on my brown hair quite yet. So off to the salon I go, to spend more hundreds of dollars that I don't have. Ha!

 
Let me wrap this up with a bit of good news about my present situation. While I was at the Mall at Pentagon City on Tuesday, I popped into the Apple Store to say hello to my dear friend, Landon, co-creator of Church Night. Landon was just about to embark on his 15-minute break, so my timing was perfect. We walked to a coffee kiosk and Landon bought me an iced coffee (I had been sweating from the moment I stepped foot inside of that Nordstrom's, and I hadn't stopped sweating, even after I left).

Landon asked me if I would be willing and able to come work for Church Night as a production assistant (PA). I had been a PA for a Church Night film shoot a couple months ago, and Landon and Linsay (the other co-creator of Church Night) thought I'd be a perfect PA for the actual nights of the show. I told Landon that I would be HONORED and DELIGHTED to work for Church Night, in any capacity that they needed me.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I have my first freelance job!!! I'm going to be working for Church Night!!! And I don't even need that damn suit!!!!

"It's all happening." (Below is a clip from the movie Almost Famous, where the characters use that line...sorry for everyone reading this on a mobile device who can't watch this clip below because of the Flash player).



It's all happening.

Love and happiness to all of you, my friends.

~Leila

P.S. All your favorite episodes of the Sherman House Webisodes are always available to stream at www.shwebisodes.com!

All Good Things...

Dear friends,

All good things must come to an end.

Below is a 30-second clip from the last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Q says to Picard, "Goodbye, Jean-Luc. I'm going to miss you. You had such potential. But then, again, all good things must come to an end." You have to be on a computer or laptop to watch it, something about Flash not working on mobile devises.



My "Dream Month" has come to an end. I can't believe it's been a full month! But I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

Life used to go by very slowly. When I was working the office life, doing the same thing, day-in and day-out, always waiting for weekend, a single week would feel like a lifetime. Life used to be dreary. I used to think that that's how life was supposed to be. I used to think that growing-up meant tolerating misery. But I don't think that way anymore. Not after the month that I've just had.

My new philosophy is this: Make this life great! It's meant to be fun! Have adventures, learn new things, get outside more, and create something that moves you and moves others, too!

Stare at beautiful flowers, bake a cheesecake, imagine one day living in that gorgeous high-rise condominium, drink a glass of port, tour a historical landmark, watch your friend perform at a music festival, peruse a chocolate shop, explore a new culture, wear a sun dress, make a pasta salad, tour a winery, go to the top of the Washington Monument, face a fear, watch local comedians, make a collage, read a book (write a book!), eat from a food truck, attend an old friend's graduation, go to a new friend's BBQ, and climb to the top of a mountain!

No, really. Go do one of those things right now! I'm not saying you have to quit your job, like I did. But hey, if you want to quit your job, then by all means, quit your job! I'm just saying that life is fun! It's exciting! And it's all of these things RIGHT NOW! Don't wait until you're retired to enjoy life. Life is an adventure, and it's an adventure today!

So the "Dream Month" is over. What's next? Well, now it's time to start earning some money again. I had an interview at a temp agency this morning. I told my representative that I'm looking for a freelance lifestyle from here on out. I told her that I was looking for one, two, or three-day gigs. I said I would even be happy doing the occasional week-long job. My goal is to keep working on this blog and keep working on my book, while working temp jobs to pay some bills. I even plan to sign-up as a substitute teacher here in DC. I want to keep my schedule open and flexible. I don't want to give-up this "Dream Month" lifestyle completely. I just need to integrate some money-making into this new creative lifestyle. So that's the plan.

I wish all of you a Dream Month. I wish all of you a Dream Life!

All my love,
Leila

P.S. All ten episodes of The Sherman House Webisodes are available to stream for free at www.shwebisodes.com. 

More "Doing" Than "Writing" (In 5 Parts)

Dear friends,

I am so sorry that I have neglected y'all (and this blog) for over a week! Today is Thursday, of the fourth and final week of my "Dream Month" - the blessed month where I never had to wake-up early for work or do anything that I didn't want to do. It has been a spectacular month so far and an overall highly enjoyable experiment in the art of living. Have you ever wondered what your life would look like if you didn't have to go to your job every day? How would you spend the 24 hours of each day if you only had to do exactly what you WANTED to do? Please friends, do save up and buy a month of your life, and live your ideal life for one whole "Dream Month." And find out what you would do if you didn't have to do anything at all. It's fabulous.

The reason I haven't written in over a week is because I've been so busy doing things that I haven't given myself the time to write about it all. Life has been hugely exciting! Let me give you a quick overview.

1.  Saturday, May 10th, EU Embassies Open House.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, I dragged Eric to the British and Belgian Embassies here in DC. Every year, most of the embassies in DC open up their doors to the public (and generously hand out free shwag). This was the first year that I took the initiative to go to the EU Open House. The week before, I dragged Eric through six non-EU embassies.

As we all know, I have a "slight" affinity for British culture, so we went to the British Embassy first. We saw the ambassador's residence (as beautiful as a palace) and the perfectly-tended gardens. We talked to people at the Scotland and Wales tables. We got some free Walkers shortbread cookies and ate some bangers for lunch. I took selfies with cardboard cut-outs of Kate & William and the gang from Harry Potter. And I registered to win a Downton Abbey-themed gift basket (if I haven't heard from them by now, I probably didn't win, I'm just now realizing). It was the most fun I had have ever had in an embassy.

Then I dragged Eric to the Belgian Embassy. For those who don't know, I lived in Brussels for two months, back in 2009. I was an intern at the State of Illinois - West European Office of Trade and Investment. Oh, the MAGICAL time I had in Belgium. I gained a sense of confidence and joy in Belgium that changed me forever. I truly hope to go back and visit one day soon.

But back to the Belgian Embassy. We stood in line for...I don't know...maybe an hour. It was quite the popular embassy. But it was absolutely worth it when we got inside and were showered in chocolates and beer. Seriously. Everyone 21 and over got a free bottle of Belgian beer. And everyone got free boxes of Belgian chocolates. It was a delightful (if crowded) tour.

Our feet were pretty exhausted from all that standing in line, so we decided to go home after Belgium. But I will return next year to tour many more embassies!


2.  Sunday, May 11th, The Winery at Bull Run, Virginia.

The day after we toured the embassies, Eric drove me to the Winery at Bull Run in Centreville, Virginia. Eric had bought an "Amazon Local" gift certificate for snacks and commemorative wine glasses from this particular winery, and we realized that this gift certificate was about to expire. So even though it was Mothers' Day, and we knew that the place was going to be crowded, we went anyway (because we didn't want his $22 gift certificate to go to waste!).

Hilariously, no wine is produced at the the Winery at Bull Run. You can drink and purchase wine, but it's not a working winery. So there was no guided tour to go on. It's essentially a large estate that sells wine and is a nice place to have a picnic. So we took Eric's gift certificate to the lady at the cash register and asked exactly what we could get for it (since there was no winery to tour, and the gift certificate explicitly said that the coupon could NOT go towards any alcohol purchases). We were told that we could get our choice of bread and cheese, plus $24 worth of non-alcoholic purchases from the gift shop.

So, in summation, with Eric's $22 gift certificate from Amazon Local, we received a baguette, a hunk of Gouda cheese, a tin of peanut brittle, and a chocolate bar with bits of orange peel. I don't know if Eric got his money's worth, but we at least had a pleasant walk around a lovely picnic area that day. :-)


3.  Monday, May 12th, Washington Monument Re-Opening Ceremony.

Monday was a BIG day! The Washington Monument re-opened, after being closed since the earthquake in 2011. And Al Roker came to DC to host the party!

Eric had to take the train to New York City for work that day, and since he's still relatively new to the DC Metro system, I volunteered to wake-up with him at 4:45 AM and make sure he caught his 7:00 AM train from Union Station. We took the Metro together to Union Station, found the kiosk where he could print his tickets, I wished him a safe journey, and we said good-bye.

I then took the Metro to Smithsonian and got in line to get one of the first tickets up to the top of the Washington Monument that day. There were only about 50-or-so people ahead of me in line when I arrived at the Monument at around 7:30 AM. While waiting in line, I befriended a journalist from The Washington Post. I could see him talking to the people at the front of the line, so I figured he was writing a story about the re-opening. I walked up to him and asked is he was looking for quotes for his story, and he said that he was. So I said something along the lines of, "The Washington Monument is a symbol of mankind's aspirations to be godlike. It's a symbol of the infinite possibilities of the human mind." And my quote made it into the web-version of that story...for the first 10 hours or so. But when I clicked on the link to the story the next day, my quote was gone. Oh well.

The Park Rangers started distributing tickets before 8:00 AM, which was very kind of them. I soon got a ticket to travel to the top of the Washington Monument at 1:30 PM that same day. Huzzah!

After procuring my historic ticket, I walked to the southwest side of the Washington Monument, where they were preparing for the 10:00 AM Re-Opening Ceremony, hosted by Al Roker! ;-) I saw that all of the chairs were set-up, but no one was sitting in them. So I asked a Park Ranger if I could sit and watch the ceremony. She said absolutely and showed me where the members of the public were invited to sit. So I sat down in the front row, at the very end of the isle. I was as close to the podium as any member of the public could get.

I scored my seat for the ceremony at around 8:00 AM. The ceremony didn't start until 10:00 AM. So I had some waiting to do. I befriended these two lovely grandmothers who were sitting next to me and had travelled from Northern California. We saved each other's seats while we took turns sneaking into the Hospitality Tent (which was only there for invited guests) for free water and bags of free shwag.

The event finally started, and the speakers included Al Roker (as I've mentioned), government officials, National Mall officials, and the rich guy who donated $7.5 million to the restoration of the monument. A children's choir sang, an American Idol sang, and a man and woman dressed as George and Martha Washington sat in the audience and watched, while the audience baked and burned under the hot DC sun (my tan lines still haven't gone away).

But it was a delight and an honor to have been able to attend (something I never would have been able to do with a normal 9-to-5 job and schedule). And at 1:00 PM I returned to the monument to get in line for my trip to the top.

I had always wanted to travel to the top of the Washington Monument since I moved to DC in 2008. But I was always too chicken. I was afraid that I'd have a panic attack at the top or be killed in a terrorist attack on the monument. So I never went. But on this day, this historic re-opening day, I had no excuse NOT to go to the top. If the Washington Monument is supposed to be a symbol of mankind's infinite possibility, then I was going to believe in myself, and trust that my mind and body could survive this journey. And I did. The views from the top really are incredible. And I once again believe that mankind can do anything. And I believe that I can do anything, too. There is no spoon.


4.  Tuesday, May 13th, Vision Boards. 

Two things happened to Tuesday. One, I felt overwhelmingly ill. And two, I worked on my "visions boards".

Maybe it was all the excitement and activity of the previous three days, but on Tuesday, I felt weak, nauseated, headachey, and feverish. I did no have the energy to write. I spent the day doing laundry and working on my vision boards instead.

I had been working on these vision boards on-and-off for over a week, but Tuesday was when I worked on them the most. They're just cut-outs from magazines and newspapers of things that I'm interested in, or things that inspire me, or things I would like to achieve.

I would like to one day work with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling, so they're on my vision boards. I would like to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner one day, so that's on my vision board. I would like to write for the Washingtonian Magazine, the City Paper, or the Express, so they're all on my vision boards. I would like to travel to Italy, write a British sit-com, see The Kids In The Hall perform, and take a dumpling tour of DC, so that's all on the vision boards as well. Etc., etc., etc.


5.  Wednesday, May 14th, State Department and Church Night (busy day!).

On Wednesday, I attended an event for DePauw University alumni at the U.S. State Department in Foggy Bottom. The event was hosted by DePauw alumnus Douglas Frantz, of the class of '71. He is now the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Public Affairs for the State Department. He gave a speech entitled "From DePauw to Diplomacy."

The event was very...fancy. I was the only one there in sneakers and white socks. But there were tasty nibbles and an open bar. The event cost $25 to attend, so I tried my hardest to get my $25 worth of white wine and cheese.

I truly enjoyed my time there. And it was a real treat to be able to see inside of the State Department! Mr. Frantz's speech was interesting and insightful. He was a journalist for over 30 years before moving to the State Department, so I asked him how he got his first newspaper job, and I asked him how he got his first book published. I met very pleasant fellow alumni, and overall had a great time. I then frantically searched for a taxi to get my ass to the Wonderland Ballroom for Church Night!

Church Night really is a hidden gem in the world of DC arts and entertainment. It's a comedy/variety show hosted by the Revered Dr. Stevedore Maybelline Bidet Esq. and Youth Minister Kathy Piechota. Parishioners of Some Souls Church enjoy hymns like Chumbawamba's "Tub-thumping" and Madonna's "Like a Prayer." Everyone is also welcome to receive the communion of "Shots-n-Tots," a tater tot and mini shot of whiskey.

The theme of last night's church service was feminism. The guest musicians and comedians were all women and the Altered Boy Randy St Oats Jr. wore a tight-fitted t-shirt that said, "This is what a feminist looks like." 

The cost to attend this "alternative church service" is just $5, but for $10, you get a pew seat. Last night was the first time that I had ever had the pleasure of a pew seat at Church Night, and it was well worth it! I got to hear and see all of the entertainment perfectly (there are usually folks in the back of the bar having their own conversations, and it makes it harder to enjoy the show when people are chatting around you), and it was the most hilarious Church Night I had ever witnessed. Blessings and light, it was a hell of a great show!


And that there, my friends, is what I've been up to this week. I've been "doing" a lot more than I've been "writing." But tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully I will have time for some tamer activities tomorrow, like simply reading and writing.

Blessings and light to all of you!

~Leila

P.S. Check out all ten episodes of The Sherman House Webisodes for free at www.shwebisodes.com!

The London Book

Dear friends,

I am halfway through the third week of my "Dream Month"  (I don't want it to end!), and I've FINALLY started working on my novel. I have no regrets about how I've spent the last two and a half weeks. I've needed time to rest and recover from my former 9-to-5 life. I've needed time to work on this blog. I've needed time to go out and have fun in this city again (tour of the White House South Lawn, the Bluegrass Festival, embassy open houses, the Wonderland Ballroom Sundress Fest, etc.). I've needed time to cook. And I've needed time to veg on the couch and watch hours of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I have no regrets.

But I finally started working on my book today. The book, for those who don't know, is the story of how Eric and I met while I was living in London. The book is a collection our emails, from the time we met in 2011, until I moved back to DC in 2012. It's a great will-they-or-won't-they love story. I think it could make a great novel. And I think it could also make a great movie (starring me as Leila, and, oh, Jake Gyllenhaal as Eric).

The book is already written. It's all there, in the emails. The problem is, there are A LOT of emails (ay caramba!). This is what I learned today when I sat down to copy-and-paste our emails from Gmail to a Word Document: we wrote over 450 emails to each other. We wrote a lot MORE than 450 emails. Gmail counts a single conversation of emails as one email. Some of those conversations contain over 10 emails between Eric and I! Some of those conversations contain only one single email. But still, that means that I have somewhere between 450 and 4500 emails to go through, edit, and turn into a book! Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

I am having doubts. I am scared. What if this never gets done? I mean, I really believe in this book, but I honestly can't see an end point.

Chapter One, for instance, covers the emails that Eric and I wrote to each other on Facebook when we first met. So these emails are from July 16, 2011, to July 28, 2011. That chapter is already 10,000 words long!!! Chapter Two, so far, covers our emails from July 29, 2011, to August 3, 2011. That chapter, so far, is OVER 21,000 WORDS LONG!!! And Eric and I wrote to each other up until I moved to DC in October 2012. Now try doing the math!!! Gah!!!

So I'm kind of freaking out. It's just that I've been planning to write this book for years. I know it's my destiny to write this book. I know it's a great story. And I know that, one day, after it's all been written and published, I know that it's going to give hope and joy to girls just like me - strange and frumpy girls, girls who thought they'd never find a loving and caring relationship. This book will be for all those girls who always fell for their best guy friends, only to be told, "I just don't think of you like that." This book will be for all those girls who never felt girlie enough or pretty enough to find love. I'm writing the kind of book that I needed to read in my twenties. That's who I'm writing this book for me. I'm writing it for me and for anyone who thought they'd never find love. 

I guess I just have to accept that this is going to take a LONG time. And I guess I'm ok with that. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I'm also writing this book as a memento of my time in London. I lived in London from 2010 to 2012, and I still think about it and miss it every day. It's a magical city, in a beautiful country. And those two years changed me in such a profound and beautiful way. It feels like I became an adult in London. I learned how to be alone. I learned to LOVE being alone. I learned that I am my favorite company. Even on a Friday night, I could go to the theatre or the pub with friends, or I could go home alone with an Indian take-away dinner, and either way, I was perfectly happy. Yes, I met and fell in love with Eric while living in London, but I didn't end-up with him until I learned that I was completely happy ending up with myself. And that's the truth.

And that's the story I want to tell. But, oh Nelly, it's going to take a long time to tell that story. But I'll get there. One bite at a time.

Once again, I'm ending with a picture of the author. This picture was taken at my old job, in London, in 2012. I was the receptionist at the Rail Safety & Standards Board (RSSB). I wrote most of my emails to Eric while at this reception desk.

I miss that job! I miss the wonderful friends that I made at that job. But when I start to get too nostalgic for the past, I need to remember that my present is rather perfect. I am living my "Dream Month." I am living like a full-time writer in Washington, DC. I live in the neighborhood that I love, surrounded by the people I love. I miss London. But I know that I'm exactly where I need to be.

And speaking of a perfect present, Eric has just come home from work, and I need to prepare dinner. I'm making us chicken parmesan, but on a bed of broccoli instead of spaghetti (we're trying to cut-down on the starches). This girl is hungry and ready for dinner!

Sweet dreams to all of you, my friends!

~Leila 

P.S. Be sure to catch all 10 episodes of the Sherman House Webisodes at www.shwebisodes.com!

Pasta Salad

Dear friends,

I have been using this "Dream Month" to write, relax, walk, meditate, reconnect with my heart, and reconnect with this city that I love so much (it's Washington, DC, for all of you first-time readers out there). I am currently in the third week of my "Dream Month", and I'm discovering the joy of another activity --> cooking.

I'm not turning this blog into the movie Julie & Julia (which, you need to see if you haven't already seen it), I'm just discovering something new and joyful to do with my new-found free time. Free time. Why don't we all make more time for free time? Beautiful insights and new experiences are often only discovered during free time. Even if you don't want to take-off a whole month from your job, I highly recommending taking the time for free time, even if for only a few hours a week. Free time. It does a body good.

So every day, of this "Dream Month," I've tried to write a little, read a little, exercise a little, and I've even started to cook a little. I've never taken the time to do that before. But these days, I wake-up while Eric is getting ready for work, and I make us a little something for breakfast. Some days it's avocado on English muffin, and some days, it's plain Greek yogurt with honey and banana. Look at me, making breakfast! I've never made the time for a healthy breakfast, ever before in my life. For the past few years, I've had to be at work so early that I would wake-up just in time to shower, leave the house, and grab a fast-food breakfast sandwich on the way to work. I've been doing that since 2010, and the health results have been devastating. Ugh.

But now, I'm making breakfast! Like a grown-up. Or just like any human being at any age who doesn't want to die of heart disease at the age of 40.

Not only am I making breakfast, but I'm also taking the time to actually cook dinner. And I love that I have the time to make dinner! Again, back in my old 9-to-5 office life, I used to come home from work and immediately feel grumpy, starving, and tired. So I would make whatever was quickest and easiest to make. But now that I have this time, and now that I have someone else to cook for (for the first time in my life), I'm enjoying the process of learning to cook.

I'm not making a Beef Wellington any time soon, so don't get too excited. (Beef Wellington, pictured below.)

But I'm starting with pasta salad. Today is the second time that I have made pasta salad since the start of my "Dream Month." The first time, I bought a box from Target that came with the dried pasta and a packet of spices. I just mixed-in some mayonnaise and a couple packets of tuna, and dinner was served. Today I was more adventurous. I bought pasta, but then I added my own spices, mayonnaise, some ranch dressing, and then I got really adventurous and added edamame, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. So I mixed it all together and put it in the fridge to cool. (Confession, the image below is not a picture of *my* pasta salad, but, eh, it's close enough.)

But here's where I'm getting out of control. As soon as I finish this blog entry, I'm going to deep-fry some cubes of tofu, then I'm going to cut up an avocado, and I'm going to add that to the pasta salad as well!!!!! I must be insane!!!!

I must also be the most boring individual you know. Pasta salad. That's all I've got to write about today. Pasta salad. The most exciting and unique insight to the universe that I have today is pasta salad.

And I couldn't be more grateful. Thank goodness I don't have anything more dramatic to write about today. No drama, no disease, no fights with friends or loved ones. I have a really simple life these days. The highlight of my day has been making pasta salad. You may call it boring. But I call it the time of my life.

I wish all of you a beautifully boring and peaceful day.

~Leila

P.S. The Sherman House Webisodes, plus extras and downloads, are all available and free to watch at www.shwebisodes.com.

Chocolate, Tea, and The Secret

Dear friends,

Today is Monday. And I am pooped! I am taking it easy today and recovering from one of the most action-packed weekends I can remember. Saturday was spent touring embassies during the annual Passport DC event. Eric and I walked to (and through) and embassies of Mexico, Ecuador, Congo, Kazakhstan, The Philippines, Peru, and Botswana. And then we ran out of steam and walked home. I am still sore.

Yesterday was spent the Wonderland Ballroom's annual Sundress Fest. Eric and I were there from 12 PM until 7 PM. We ate brunch, drank beer, sang karaoke, and participated in a beauty pageant (ok, so Eric didn't do the last four things on that list, but I did). I love the Wonderland Ballroom, I love my neighborhood, and I love that all of my DC friends live here. It's the most I've ever felt like part of a real community. We had a fabulous day!

Oh, but I am sore and exhausted today. So I'm just going to tell a quick story about my chocolate-and-tea tour of DC on Friday. Last week was rainy, dark, and gloomy. It rained all day last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So Friday was the first time I had ventured out in days. I was craving chocolate-covered strawberries, so I got up in the morning, got dressed, and took the bus all the way down 16th Street to M Street. I was looking for the Edible Arrangements store. I was sure that they would have chocolate-covered strawberries. But they didn't have any ready for spontaneous purchase (the only make them once they've been ordered).

So I thought I would just keep strolling down M Street and tour the neighborhood. I came to Connecticut Ave. and found the Godiva store. Oh, sweet mercy! They were hand-dipping their chocolate-covered strawberries when I walked in. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be ready to sell for another 30 minutes. But that was for the best, because, at $42 per box (each box containing just 6 strawberries), they were seriously out of my prince-range. But, oh, it was a joy to simply stroll through the Godiva store.

I crossed Connecticut Ave. and found another treasure - a store called Chocolate Chocolate. I couldn't believe my luck. I couldn't believe that I had stumbled upon two different chocolate shops on the same block! This place was beautiful, and a free sample of the toffee-bacon chocolate sent me to another universe! Here's a peak at their selection.

But as I wasn't actually hungry at the moment, I got away without spending any money. But one need not spend any money to have fun at the chocolate store. One need only the joy of the sights and smells to feel fulfilled (and a free sample helps, too).

I walked north along Connecticut Ave. and stopped in Dupont Circle to read a newspaper near the fountain. I got up after 20 minutes and kept walking north until I ran into Capital Teas. My friend Laura had told me how amazing this shop was, so I stepped in to have a look.

 

This place was even cooler than I had imaged. There were 50 different tea selections all along the wall, all available for smelling. Above the teas was a sign that said, "Stop and smell the teas." And that's exactly what I did. Because it was only noon on a Friday, there weren't many customers at that moment, so the store manager personally described each and every tea for me. He took each jar off of the wall, one at a time, let me smell it, and described the origin of the tea, it's health benefits, and how much caffeine it contained. Talk about customer service!

In the end, I bought a 4 oz. container of the chocolate mint tea. It's so yummy! It tastes like a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie!!! I thanked the manager for teaching me so much about tea. I left the shop and kept walking north until I made it home.

When I got home, I did something silly. I watched the movie The Secret on Netflix. I know, I know, it's hoaky and silly, but I kinda needed it at that moment. I had been experiencing inexplicable and unnecessary anxiety lately. I was feeling nervous for no good reason whatsoever! And I couldn't shake it. It was the reason why I had had no appetite in the chocolate shops. I just felt nervous.

So I watched The Secret to remind myself about some basic principles that I had forgotten. I needed to be reminded that my thoughts create my reality. I needed to be reminded that what I focus on expands, so I better return to focusing on what do I want (peace, calmness, contentment), rather than focusing on what I don't want (anxiety, stress, nervousness). The movie reminded me to focus on contentment, and it also made me realize that I want to make a visualization board. I see things in newspapers and magazines all of the time that inspire me and give me ideas. But then I recycle the newspaper and forgot about the idea. So I'm going to start cutting out articles and pictures that give me ideas, and I'm going to glue them on cardboard and make visualization boards. Yay!

But here's the moment that I became a firm believer in the laws of intention, attraction, and visualization.

On Saturday night, Eric and I drove out to Gaithersburg to pick-up his coffee machine that he was having serviced. On the way back, we drove down Connecticut Ave. (wow, that street keeps coming back into my stories) through the neighborhood of Chevy Chase. We passed by a video store called Potomac Video. I had read online recently that this video store was going out of business, so they were selling all of their inventory.

Back-up for a minute. Remember how I'd been watching all of those Steve Jobs documentaries and movies on Netflix recently? Well, Eric reminded me about a made-for-TV movie called Pirates of Silicon Valley, that came out in 1999, starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates.



So I really wanted to watch this movie! But we couldn't find anywhere to order it online! It's not on Netflix, not on iTunes, and we couldn't even buy it from Amazon! I could just watch a couple of clips from YouTube. But I really wanted to see that movie again!!!

So as Eric and I were roaming around Potomac Video, we thought about how cool it would be to find Pirates of Silicon Valley in that store. We couldn't find the DVD in the drama section, but Eric found a wall of random VHS tapes. I thought I would use this moment to test out "the secret". I said to the universe, "If you present to me the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, then I will 100% believe in the law of attraction, and I will never doubt the universe again."

And in less than five minutes after uttering that prayer, I found a VHS copy of Pirates of Silicon Valley! I screamed!!! I couldn't believe it had worked! I asked the universe for something very specific, and I got back something VERY SPECIFIC! I literally screamed when I saw it! I was in shock, but in euphoric shock. I knew it had worked. And I knew that I could use this law of attraction to bring into my life every hope, desire, and dream that I could imagine.

And you know what? I haven't felt a ting of anxiety since.

It works. Say what you want. Say it out-loud. Feel the feeling of what it would be like to have that thing. Focus on what you want, not what you don't want. I asked for a movie. And I got it. I asked for contentment and peace. And I got it. I am now asking the universe to make me a full-time (and published) writer. I'll let you know what happens next.

Have a great night, my friends. And don't be afraid to ask for exactly what you want. The universe will provide!

Peace and happiness to all of you!

~Leila

P.S. Don't forgot to re-live all of your favorite moments of the Sherman House Webisodes at www.shwebisodes.com.