I've got some catching up to do

Lunches and Dinners have proved difficult to come by. It's not like I can't find food; it's that I can't find cheap food. "I'd like to pay under $5 for lunch just once." That's how I thought during Week 1. But now, I have a plan. See, On Monday, I go to Cups (it's a deli, a coffee shop, and a buffet all-in-one). I'll purchase a Milano (it tastes like the #3 at Substation 2 [salami, ham, and cheese]) for $5.99 and a coke for $1.00. I will eat half of the Milano and leave the other half in the fridge in our office for the next day. The next day, I'll buy a coke and a couple pieces of fruit for about $4.00 total. That's a grand total of $10.99 for two days. Not a bad average, if I may say so myself.

And while you may get bored of the same sandwich every day, I will not. It's what I like and once a day is not over-doing (hyphenated?) it. Dinner's been sketchy. Most days I eat dinner; in fact, I've skipped dinner only once (Saturday) b/c I had a large, late lunch at the ESPN Zone. And let me tell you this while I'm here. The ESPN Zone is trash. Don't waste your time. It's basically a huge plasma screen on which ESPN is displayed, surrounded by smaller plasma screens broadcasting the WNBA, European football, and college baseball. Apart from the size of the screen, the only difference b/w the ESPN Zone and home is that you have to pay $2.00 for a coke and $10.00 for a burger at the Zone. I'd rather stop by McDonald's.

Back to dinner. I didn't eat dinner Monday, but that doesn't count b/c I was too busy moving in and driving around in the rain.

*Tuesday I ate my Hungry Man salisbury steak dinner back at the room. I was tired from work and didn't want to go out.
*Wednesday I ate at the food court in the Pentagon City Mall. I just had 2 huge pieces of pizza from a joint similar to Sbarros.
*Thursday - Confidential (how can food be confidential, you ask?)
*Friday I had the horrible experience at Outback (which you can read about further down).
*Saturday I ate a late lunch at the ESPN Zone, so I didn't eat dinner.
*Sunday I ate at La Lomas, a Mexican restaurant on Massachusetts Avenue. The food wasn't too expensive and the shrimp quesadilla (as always) was fabulous.
*Today, Monday, I ate at the Flames at Union Station. After work, I took the orange line to Carrelton to pick up my sunglasses and apartment keys (which I left on my car keychain. I've been using a spare) from Mr. Razmgar's car dealership, located just two blocks from the station. I actually picked up 2 pieces of fried chicken from this Chinese place (pray for no food poisoning) and cheese fries (basically McDonald's fries with melted cheddar cheese poured on top) and a pink lemonade from Flames.

Last Friday, I took a tour of the Saudi Arabian embassy. Security was so high that I could take a picture of the Saudi flag only if I was across the street from the embassy. When I entered, I was forced to surrender all of my belongings until the tour was through: wallet, cell phone, camera, etc. I were taken into a theater and were shown a 20-minute propaganda piece on Saudi Arabia. I didn't know this, but evidently Saudi Arabia is one of the richest, most powerful countries not only in the Middle East, but also in the world! Confidential. I ask him what he thinks of Wahhabism. Of course, Wahhabism doesn't exist; who'da thunk it? Wahhabism is merely a western illusion, he says. So I ask him what he thinks about the Wahhabi Quran-- I mean, the illusion that I read from last semester in school. He breaks a little, claiming that a man named Wahhabi exists and that he did write a Quran....... He starts going off on something completely different. Satisfied, I quit my interrogation.

tomorrow - meeting Elizabeth Dole, Trent Lott, a congressman from Maine who lives in my apartment building, and the kindest girl in the world who happens to be interning for..... Senator Harry Reid :o)

I'm out.