A Run to Remember

Rachel’s Randomness
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“Yeah, I had an adrenaline rush. It’s very common. You can Google it.” - Edward Cullen

I love how music helps to pump up adrenaline in my body. Music speaks to every fiber of my being and if you hang around me long enough, you’ll figure out that I can’t listen to music and not move in some way to it; that or sing along with it – it’s a natural urge.

“Safety Dance,” performed by Glee of course, drummed through my head and set a steady rhythm for my feet as they pounded against the concrete on my run with Michal. She, being the better runner of the two of us, took the lead. We ran towards the Iwo Jima monument (keep in mind that this is Memorial Day weekend). There is a bike trail that Michal found, weaving alongside the Arlington Cemetery for a bit leading us over the Potomac, which sparkled like a shiny, blue sapphire in the sunlight. I found myself grinning from ear to ear as the breeze soothed away some of the heat and humidity of the afternoon – I praised God several times for being young, healthy, and alive. We found ourselves at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and I eagerly dodged in and out of tourists to get to the top to see Honest Abe himself. There he was, sitting all majestic on his throne-like chair. I felt his marble cold, yet warm eyes on me, as if he were saying, “I expect great things out of you young lady. Don’t squander your gifts or lose sight of the eternal things for your own personal gratification.”

Seriously, though, who gets to go on such a historic and scenic run like that every day?!! Michal and I felt like locals, running alongside the Potomac as tourists on their buses and with their cameras passed us by. Cool feeling, despite that we are only three-month locals – ha ha! On our run back towards Iwo Jima, we spotted several men and women in uniform and lots of kids with matching t-shirts on. It was pretty crowded. Michal got ahead of me, as I was passing close to the monument, I saw this middle-aged guy yell, “Over here!” and cup his hands in the air in order to catch a ball that I assumed was coming at him from somewhere. Okay, so quick freeze frame here and side note: I’m usually the one with the target painted on my forehead. Can’t figure out why other than I’m tall or just seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s funny because I always know when it’s coming and just brace myself for it – yet it’s like I’m in the kind of dream where you’re running but can’t seem to get anywhere. Back to ball coming out of nowhere. So I literally cringe and squat as I run, hoping to avoid the football - *WHAM!* - right across my right temple – I had to laugh, although I was annoyed at the kid who threw it. Come on! In a crowded park around the Iwo Jima?! I was grateful to find it was a soft football and not a real one, which would have left a bruise. I didn’t need another bruise added to my already flourishing collection.

It was definitely a girl’s day and I enjoyed every bit of it. It was sweet. Michal and I showered and met up with Jeff in Old Town (Alexandria). We did a little window shopping, I snapped photos, and we stopped for dinner at a little European bakery. It was delish! I then treated Michal and myself to the first Starbucks we’ve had since we’ve been in D.C. It had been four months since Michal had had one. Jeff had left to hit up some nightlife before we headed to Starbucks – so we took our times strolling back to the Metro at Kings Street. The trees along the wide avenue were strung up with twinkling white lights.

Getting home after our rendition of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" on the Metro, which had people rolling their eyes at us, we got comfy and sat on my bed for a hot date with Mr. Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice.” Of course we sighed and had teary eyes when Mr. Darcy tells Elizabeth at the end, “If however, your affections have changed, I must tell you that you’ve bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. And never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”

It was a banner day. That is all. Goodnight my loved ones!

Note: For more pics of my adventures, refer to my facebook albums, which I update often.

Peace out,
Rachel Duke

Metro Madness

Rachel's Randomness

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"I want you to be swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a dervish." - Meet Joe Black

The news floor of The Washington Times is full of the sounds of computer keyboards gently clacking, the murmur of various reporter's voices and the occasional ring of phones. It reminds me of closing my eyes, holding my breath, and going underwater at the ocean -- listening to the sounds of people above you, the splashing, and the crashing of the waves. I randomly click on my Jabber chat video feature to check my appearance at 3 in the afternoon. I look tired, pinched, and deeply reflective - I've got to watch the frown lines between my eyebrows - the skin there was almost scrunched together.

I had just finished a great, although brief 10 minute interview with Dr. Douglas Weiss, the Executive Director of Heart to Heart Ministries. Nice man with a soothing voice - but not creepy soothing - he knows his stuff. I would go to him with marriage issues I think. Wait, that thought right there scares me. Scratch that - haha!

Okay, so I'm going to give you all a brief sum up of my week - the main things that stood out in each day - so that you're not tempted to "drop me like third period French." (for those of you who appreciate Ocean's 11)

Tuesday: Our bus driver, Alan, who drives us between Union Station and The Washington Times, thinks everything I say is hilarious and he loves giving me a hard time, but I give him a hard time back. He has dubbed me "Speedy" since apparently everyone here feels that I'm in need of multiple nicknames. Interesting Metro ride home Tuesday night. I stood up from my seat thinking the Metro conductor had completely stopped, only to find myself catapulting backwards grabbing nothing but air. Fortunately I half landed back in my seat, the other half of my bottom bone went *SMACK* into the armrest. Needless to say I will have a knot and bruise there for a long time - haha. Now THAT scene wasn't awkward at all. I had to laugh at myself and shrug it off to get people's eyes off of me. Finally put a collage of pictures I cut out of a Vogue magazine on my wall. This issue featured Matt Morrison from GLEE and Kristen Stewart from the Twilight series. Yay for our apartment looking more girly!

Thursday: Had another Metro adventure. I've figured out that the Metro only likes me every other day of the week. Got trapped on the Metro - the doors would not open on it. So we had to wait for 15 minutes and they still wouldn't open, then went up to the next station to turn back around to Metro Center. It was such a nuisance plus I started to feel claustrophobic and scared. Keep in mind that this all happened during rush hour when everyone is packed in like sardines. I kept muttering under my breath, "Dang it, dang it." When I learned that we would have to go to the next stop I groaned. There was a women in a wheelchair in front of me who looked back at me and said, "They have to go up to the next stop so the doors will open. Just chill - it's no big deal." Ha! Easy for you to say - I've never been trapped in a Metro car before and I don't think you struggle with tight places like I do. Decided not to say that out loud to her. Coming home from working out I noticed that it seemed like EVERY woman walking around or out of my apartment complex was pregnant! I wanted to say out loud, "What the heck?! What's with all the babies? Is there something in the water here?!" I even looked down to check my own stomach - whew - it's flat. Later that night the fire alarm in our building went off. It was so loud and obnoxious. I felt bad for all the firemen who had to come out for no reason. Yeah, Michal and I didn't even sweat about it and stayed in our room - we'd figure since we didn't smell smoke it was good. Took the firemen forever to figure out how to turn the alarm off.

Friday: I officially hate my feet. They look like I've been to battle and back again. I'm all bruises, blisters, pussy sores, and achy arches. Yes, I know I've shared this all before, but if I thought it was bad then, wow, it's nothing compared to now. I had my NJC session with Dr. Bird today. We mostly discussed our reading of this book titled, "The Law." Great but short read; it really broke down what the law should be and what socialism was. One of the main messages of the book talked about legal and illegal plunder and how socialists practice legal plunder and make the law their own weapon. We also concluded from the reading that consensus does not establish morality. I really enjoyed what I learned and what was reaffirmed in class today. Tonight I went to Georgetown for the first time since I've been here. It was so beautiful, cute and picturesque! I mentally kicked myself for not bringing my camera. Can't wait to go back and explore more. I was out with Natalia and Michaela - sweet girls. We grabbed some frozen yogurt which I had been craving since I got to D.C. It then started to rain. I thought of Margaret in Sense and Sensibility telling Marianne (after she said it wasn't going to rain), "You always say that and it always does!" It turned out to be a torrential downpour, which turned the crosswalks into the next best thing after Noah's flood. I've never got THAT accidentally wet before. I had to kick off my shoes and walk around barefoot, which of course felt superb on my open blisters. This whole scenario was so unbelievable that it became comical. Michaela nearly wiped out five times in front of me to which I died laughing each time. I had to admire her incredible balancing skills - I would have hit the concrete each time. She also, every time we'd encounter a puddle would lose a shoe and it would start floating off downstream - ha ha!!!

Tomorrow Michal and I are going to sleep in, (as I glance at the clock that reads 1:15 a.m.) and then workout and go walk around Old Town in Alexandria tomorrow in the afternoon. It'll be a nice girl's day. I shall write more tomorrow and shall be more witty and entertaining. I'm so burned out and can't think of clever movie quotes at the second. I've got a lot of work to do. Goodnight my friends and family!

Peace out,

Rachel Duke

Food for Thought

Rachel’s Randomness
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“Always resignation and acceptance. Always prudence and honour and duty. Elinor, where is your heart?” - Marianne Dashwood

Food. Isn’t that a beautiful word when you’re starving, as I was? For indeed that one simple word was in the forefront of my mind. I had had no food since this morning. My stomach growled hungrily as I stepped through the loud, pushy bevy of elderly French people, into the wonderful mixture of Italian aromas that greeted me in the Olive Garden. What annoyed me the most is when one of the French ladies loudly insist that she walk through the door first and looked at me as if I had intentionally cut her off. Good riddance – and they call Americans loud?! My despair grew as I heard that there would be a 40 minute wait. Forty minutes?! On a Sunday night?! Seriously people?! What foreign planet have I dropped onto? I think Dallas can spare some of their restaurants and send them this way because they seem short of them in Virginia. That is all.

Michal and I got the delicious soup and salad. I ordered minestrone soup. Their breadsticks at the “OG” as we now call it, are addicting – so I limited myself to two. After she and I had three small bowls of salad and two bowls of soup – which we scarfed down – we groaned at how full we were. We didn’t know how we were going to get up, so Michal said, “Maybe we should just roll out in these chairs.” It struck us both so funny and it just kept getting funnier. Between fits of giggles I said, “Yeah, can you just see us rolling in these Olive Garden chairs across the parking lot – race you to the car!” More peals of laughter and finally tears were pouring down both our cheeks, as Jeff’s group of puzzled and somewhat concerned friends looked on. Every time we tried to explain, it just wouldn’t come out and we’d laugh all the harder. Brian finally said jokingly, “What’s going on here? Did you all just start cutting onions on the table?” That didn’t help and I was gasping for relief and air. Again, Brian said, “Oh, do you need my asthma inhaler? Oh wait I didn’t bring it. I’m going to die but I hope you all don’t.” I was at the point where I wanted relief from my laughter so much that I was yelling my laughs to get more air. Good times.

Today we went back to The Washington Times. I did research on women and their struggle with pornography and called to schedule an in-person interview with Joshua Harris, writer of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” and “Sex Isn’t the Problem, Lust Is.” He also is the pastor of Covenant Life Church in Maryland. I’m hoping and praying it works out. I’m excited.

Although today was a good day in so many ways and got texts and IMs that made my heart smile and made my day, I was very keenly homesick at the same time and was tempted to hop on the next plane. On the Metro ride home, when I was alone with my thoughts tonight, I asked myself in doubt, “Why am I really here? What’s the point?” But then I had to remind myself of how God has guided my footsteps to this place, time, and moment and that He has a purpose for all this, which I cannot see. God has always been and always will be faithful. As my dad is fond of saying to me, “God has a good plan for your life because He is a good God.”

Michal and I worked out hard again today. Wow, I feel more in shape than I have in months. I’ll come home a thinner and more toned woman I’m thinking. Tonight was the series’ finale of 24 – can you say, emotionally raw and INTENSE?!!! It was a great ending and even I teared up at the end. I’m going to miss Jack Bauer – he is my hero – and it is one of the best TV shows ever.

Goodnight my friends and family!!! Continue to lift me up in prayer and let me know how I can do so for each of you.

Peace out,
Rachel Duke

Running Towards the Goal

Rachel’s Randomness
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"Endure. You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face - the right choice." – Alfred Pennyworth

Well I’m happy to report that I made it through week one of D.C.! This has been a day of solace, reflection and relaxation. Michal and I did manage to get a lot of work done and run a little over two miles.

This afternoon I worked on editing a video clip and I began to hear the gentle, soothing notes of the Emma soundtrack. It almost surprised me but then I remembered how Michal was in love with the fictional Mr. Knightley. I prefer Mr. Darcy myself, so it’s good that we are in love with different men – haha! Turning my head and smiling at her I said, “A party is a party, but a party on a winter’s eve….I would rather fall short by two than exceed by two.” We both laughed, remembering the ridiculous Mr. Elton.

Michal and I are pretty much in sync when it comes to knowing the same music, appreciating the same authors, loving the same musicals, and quoting the same movies. We shock each other at how we can finish each other’s sentences or finish off a movie quote. While crossing the street one day, Michal said, “I’m too young to die!” (It is a quote from The Legend of Zorro). Laughing, I finished off the second part of the quote: “I have my whole life ahead of me!” I swear people around us, if they don’t already, are going to get sick of us or think us extremely strange creatures. We even randomly burst into chorus and sing, “Jessie’s Girl,” “Sobbin’ Women,” and “Going Courtin’.” The last two songs are from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Good times.

One of my goals while I’m here is to build up my cardio endurance. Michal is training for a half marathon and we both push each other to exercise, even though it feels like we walk around the entire city ten times. We run two miles this afternoon – we ran past Iwo Jima – wow, who gets to do that every day? It felt good to get my legs pumping in the cool evening air that promised rain. It is a whole new thing for me to go running across crosswalks and through traffic. You can’t help but feel you’re in your own version of Live Free, Die Hard, as your blood is pumping, your breathing is labored, the music is pounding against your ears, and you’re on high alert for cars as you cross the street.

I love how my roommate and I have such similar tastes – a match made in heaven – haha! Michal loves the story of Emma as I mentioned earlier. I told her about the newest Emma that BBC had recently released and she watched it and loved it – I was pleased.

A revelation (you could call it a conviction) occurred to me as I was showering tonight that blew me away. I just have to share it with you all and put it down on paper so I don’t forget. I promise I don’t mean it to offend and it’s for me to tell myself as well. Well, here it goes. People, I think I can safely assume, drink mostly to the point of getting drunk, to get some sort of relief, fulfillment, and happiness which is lacking in their life. Why then, as Christians, do we do the same? We shouldn’t! God and our relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, should consume all of that emptiness, discontentment, the lack of happiness and fulfillment. We should be vibrant, filled with joy, so satisfied with who we are in Him that people around us should be asking for the reason for the hope that is within us.

Well that’s my sermon of the week and I’ll end on that I think; that, and how I don’t know how long I can survive in the world of journalism without translating everything around me in a spiritual light. It’s frustrating and shallow how we are so ready to make everything merely a matter of scientific fact. People shy away from the word: sin. I’ve done enough venting for one night. Tomorrow is going to be homework reading day and then church. Hope each of you has an awesome Sunday!

Peace out,
Rachel Duke

Anticipation: Makes Ya Stronger, if it Doesn't Kill Ya

Rachel’s Randomness

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“You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve.” - Jane Austen

I make my weary feet move me upstream through the press of people, some stop to turn their heads at my very bold, popping, should be a construction sign, orange and pink workout clothes. It is rush hour here in D.C. and it is “every man for himself.” I must say that I am happy to report and am quite smug about how quickly I’ve learned my way around the Metro system. I even follow the path of the regular commuters as they climb, or run, up and down the left side of the escalators.

It is often uncomfortably warm underground in the Metro. I call Dad while walking down the escalator to catch my ride home. Home; wow that word sounds like an oasis to my weary body and soul. Cannot wait to get home, tidy up, take out the trash, make my bed, and eat some dinner! I’ve discovered something – all underground transportation systems smell the same. It’s hard to explain or place the exact smell, but I’ll give it a shot: dank, mixture of various colognes and perfumes, train fumes, but also like a wet cave. Ok, so that was a random rabbit trail – back to Dad. So as I talk to Dad, and reflect on my experiences in D.C. so far, I realize something; something that took me by surprise, and I was in utter disbelief and almost denial. I HAVE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR ONE WEEK?! That’s right – just one; one week. Seven days, 168 hours. Ok then, well with that revelation flashing in red letters across my mind, I take a deep breath, telling myself to take things one day at a time.

Today has been a long day, just as this week has been a long week. It’s been very demanding, but good. It weirds me out at times to realize that I am an adult and am on my way to becoming a young professional. I almost am tempted to turn around at times to look for me and say, “Where did you go and when did you suddenly go ‘POOF!’ and grow up?!” While being an adult has many advantages, at times I feel like none of them are particularly glamorous. Peter Parker (and yes, I’m about to quote a movie. Deal with it.) in Spiderman best sums it up: “With great power, comes great responsibilty.”

I feel this desire to blog every single day because I want each of you to share the same excitement and experience the same passion; to see, feel, touch and smell D.C. with me. But there never seems to be enough time in the day and I have so much to do when I get home that times flies by and I drop, like one utterly spent or dead, into bed.

I sit on my bed, even now, predictably munching on animal crackers and sipping chocolate milk, debating what I want to tell you because there is so much to tell. Well, I’ve concluded that most of the things that I would share would be “boring” according to your mind. Like Inigo Montoya says in the Princess Bride, “I will explain. Wait, no, that is too long. I will sum up.”

Yesterday was my first day with The Washington Times! It was a very other worldly and heady experience; let me tell you that right now. I was saddened to see a lack of young, vibrant people on the newsroom floor, shooting around ideas, dreaming of possibilities, showing off their tech skills. That is what I’m used to when I hang around the journalism department at SMU. Everyone was very welcoming. Michelle Philips, my roommate Michal, and myself, from the NJC, are interning together, but are assigned to different departments. We missed both buses waiting at Union Station because the driver didn’t recognize us. Carleton Bryant, multi media director at the Times, and the man who’s authority we are under, had to come and personally pick us up. Carleton, as he insisted us calling him, is quite an unexpectedly colorful character, but at the same time often a mystery. It’s very edgy being around him. I must take a second to point out that he’s a tall, slender, middle-aged, African American man with gray speckled across his head like ‘snow’ on a TV screen. I thanked God the moment I met Carleton, for all my guy friends He has placed in my life and how I’ve learned how to handle their sometimes quirky humor. For instance, all three of us were in the back seat of his car. I decided that since he had the AC turned off that I would crack the passenger window, which of course mused my hair and smelled of diesel. It was either that or melt. Michelle cracked her passenger window as well. As she did that, I heard a gentle click of Carleton locking the windows and wondered why in the blue blazes would someone lock the windows after they were rolled down? I shrugged it off and then hear him say, “Oh, by the way, the back windows are broken so you can’t roll them up.” Michelle gasped in horror, laughed nervously, and said in a sorry voice, “Oh no!” I rolled my eyes and decided to be bold and give him as good as he gave. I shot back without blinking and laughingly said, “He’s giving us a hard time Michelle. The windows aren’t broken.” Carleton said something like, “Oh no?” I said, “I heard you lock the windows.” He looked taken aback and then pleased. Looking in the rearview me at me he said, “So, you’re the smart one, huh?” We all laughed.

After meeting most of the staff at the Times, and filling out all the paperwork, Carleton gave us a tour of the building – about which there is much to be said. I will say that he was forever giving me a hard time and was very entertained by my knack to explore and dart unafraid into dark hallways, as if I owned the place. Michal whispered to me at one point, after I pointed out all this, “It just means he likes you the most.” I guffawed. Carleton introduced us to Victor, the editor of the National desk. We girls shuffled over to greet him again, having met him in the morning meeting. He smiled and said, “You’re Michal and you’re Michelle.” Turning towards me he seemed to have pulled a blank, but that’s okay since I seem to have that effect on people – haha – he finally just gave up and said jokingly, “You’re ‘the other one.” Wow, now that’s original and doesn’t creepily remind me of the “Others” in LOST. We all laughed and I pointed out that he remembered their names because they were the M&Ms. So yes, that is now my nickname, for better or for worse; at least until I earn another one, which better be fast.

I am assigned to mostly cover the family beat at the newspaper. My mentor’s name is Cheryl Wetzstein and she’s been with The Washington Times for 27 years. Fun, great lady – even better and a sign it was meant to be – she is left-handed, like me, and loves movies! We became acquainted and she told me that she has been doing a lot of articles and columns on men and the issue of pornography. I pitched her an idea about writing an article, or several (depending on all the angles) talking about women and their struggle with pornography because most people generally think it only concerns men. Cheryl loved the idea and already has me researching. I got to tag along to a meeting on Capitol Hill with her and I got an one-day press pass that got me through the basement of the Capitol. It was so cool! It was like going through secret tunnels. We even rode this mine train looking shuttle that whisked us along to the other side of the Capitol. I came within touching distance, for the first time in my life, to several senators and various members of Congress – talk about heady.

Well, my loved ones, my bottom is going numb from sitting so long and I must give this brain some rest. Each of you is sorely missed and I will see things throughout the day that remind me of you in some way. I’ve said just enough to bore you and yet not quite enough for a novel – haha! You all must ask me about the P.O.V. rooftop experience where I got to sip wine and look out through the inky blackness at the magical lights of D.C.

Peace out,
Rachel Duke

Don't Despise Small Beginnings

Rachel’s Randomness
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“Is there any felicity in the world superior to this?!” – Marianne (Sense and Sensibility)

The clock seems to tick faster as I am sprawled out, with my legs up, on the plush, somewhat worn and dirty, leather recliner, which used to be white but is now more yellowish in hue. I’ve never understood the reasoning behind people who buy white leather furniture. I think it is rather ironic that people typically buy it because it’s pleasing to the eye yet, inevitably and eventually, it turns into an eyesore. I would call the soft pitter patter of the rain a soothing lullaby and romanticize the description of it had I not been out in it all day long. It has been a constant, annoying drizzle as we walked from Metro to Metro in the D.C. area with merely two little umbrellas shared betwixt four girls.

My feet, if they had a mouth, would be moaning and screaming at me in agony as I forgot to pack flats in my purse this morning before heading over with my roommate, Michal, to the National Press Building. Thank you, Mom, for packing Aleve! You would think I would not have forgotten that important detail, having lived in London for five weeks last summer doing study abroad through Southern Methodist University. I went D.C. for the first time when I was nine, but am enjoying it so much more as an adult, a lover of all things historical, and as a journalist. To me, it feels like a miniature version of London.

I have got to tell you at least a little bit about the apartment I’m staying in, which is located in Rosslyn, Va. It looks like an ordinary brick building, and you have to have a key to buzz yourself in at the second set of glass doors. So you sort of feel like you are in a New York apartment building. We even have a guy at the front desk 24/7. Our apartment number is 236, which is cool because 2x3 = 6 – yeah that’s how I remember it anyway. When you walk a very short distance down the hallway, which they have at Arctic temperature, we are the first door on the left. Inside our studio apartment, the entire left wall is composed of mirrors. It struck me as odd and I immediately thought of the scene in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, when Admiral Croft is about to rent the Elliot estate. He walks into Mr. Elliot’s bed chamber and exclaims when he notices all of the looking glasses in the room, “I’ve never seen so many looking glasses. There’s no getting away from oneself.”

Michal and I are hard at work to make our apartment look more homey and girly. There was a huge American flag hung opposite of the wall of mirrors that we both concluded looked way too much like a bachelor pad. Just this evening, we took down the sign of independence and expressed our own liberation; ironically with a poster of the London skyline.

First day of orientation went fairly well and I really like all the interns I’m with in Group 2. Fortunately, Michal is among them. We were all a bit antsy to know with what media outlet we had been placed with. Both Michal and I squealed and hugged each other as a way of congratulations as we found out that we both were working for The Washington Times. Michal looked over her shoulder grinning and said, “It’s such a ‘God thing’!”

Well, like I said, the clock is ticking fast and reads 1:08 a.m. Sleep is beckoning. Lessons have been learned today, and tomorrow is round two. I begin with The Washington Times on Thursday. I can’t wait to hit the gym or go running around the Potomac! Goodnight my friends and loved ones. As Michal’s friend tells her, “Sleep sweet!”

Peace out,
Rachel Duke