I get by with a little help from my friends

As promised, here's a little more about my crazy fun weekend, complete with really big fish, restaurants run by organized crime groups, Bugs Bunny, Mii, and lots of friends!

Friday night, I went to Wolftrap to see "Bugs Bunny Over Broadway". They played Bugs Bunny cartoons on the big screen, which were accompanied live by the National Symphony Orchestra. It was a unique adventure, and highly entertaining. I went with a young doctor from one of the neighboring singles wards, and we would have sat by my roommate and her friend if we'd been able to find them. Oh well. I must include that if you're going to let members of the opposite sex be in control of the music, you probably shouldn't have a playlist called "In the Bedroom". I have no idea what was actually on the playlist, I chose John Mayer instead, but I was intensely curious. Also, walking someone to the door after a date is courteous - not even putting the car in park as you thank her for the evening is not.

Saturday was Zoo Day! First, however, we decided to go to breakfast. The first restaurant hardly acknowledged our presence, and the food just looked sad, so we left. The second restaurant was top notch though, since it was run by the Russian Em Ay Eff Eye Ay. (Sound it out, I don't want these guys googling me and then killing me in my sleep or something.) Seriously! Our host totally looked like the head dude's nephew, and everyone else looked like they could possibly be "in the family". Plus, they tried a little too hard to blend in. I think the tables were leftover from the early 80's and the decorations, well, Darin put it best when he said "It looks like my grandma's house!". (PS - Go read Darin's blog - In My Humble Opinion) Random chickens, Santa and Mrs. Claus, a mini-dress form, a Russian ballet dancer doll, and a poster of Washington, DC at night that lit up! However, the food WAS good, and we had a good time of trying to identify all the decorations.

We made it to the National Zoo just before noon, and enjoyed walking around and seeing all the animals. The Amazon exhibit had these gigantic fish I'd never seen before, but they were really cool looking. I was briefly pouty when it didn't look like we'd be able to see the pandas, but the frown was quickly turned upside down. We also saw birds, lions, tigers, beavers, a seal, orangutans (including one on loan from Hogle Zoo), gorillas, elephants, a hippo, and a guy with a really scary mullet. Since it was about a million degrees with 250% humidity, the activity was followed up with Slurpees and hanging out in the swimming pool. Perfection.

Saturday night, I survived watching a performance of the show I've been choreographing. It was fun, but I'm relieved that it's over. The evening ended with a viewing of "As Good As It Gets" with my roommate and the security boys.

Sunday morning, I visited Josh and Courtney for breakfast and Wii! I have to admit, that's pretty cool. I do realize it's been out since December, but I hadn't played until now. Courtney made me a Mii that lives on their console, and it actually does look vaguely like myself. Of course, I sucked at playing, but I'll totally get better. I was also amused that they'd made a Mii for each of the possibilities for their currently unborn child - a girl and a boy. I guess they'll just delete whichever one it really isn't. Church was good, and then I joined my Maryland friends for dinner and conversation.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, made possible by fantastic people!