SNL writer and anchor Seth Meyers performs at the George Mason University Patriot Center, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. (Jordan Frasier)

Live from George Mason…it’s Saturday night!

Head SNL writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers was on campus tonight for the fall comedy show and he brought laughs and brains to the Patriot Center.

I’m pretty familiar with Meyers’ work from SNL, which is much different than stand-up comedy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight.  For that matter I didn’t even know what to expect from a comedy show, because so far as I can remember, I’ve never been to one.

I didn’t come away in a hysterical state, but I did get a few good laughs in.  More than anything I came away with an appreciation for the way Meyers thinks.  He was able to think on his feet at a speed I’ve never seen.  People would yell things from the audience and he was so quick with a witty comeback that I was amazed.

After the show we got to see Meyers drive by in his chauffeured SUV and he rolled down the window to wave.  It was a pretty fun evening for a $5 ticket!

Ingrid Michaelson Concert, Oct. 14, 2010. (Jordan Frasier)

I don’t make it a practice to be in DC after dark, not that I don’t feel safe, but just in case.  But today Ingrid Michaelson was in town and performing at a venue in the northern part of the district.

The place wasn’t the easiest to get to, but after hopping several metro lines, we arrived in the simi-shady area of DC.  Luckily all of the people at the concert were normal looking and decent.  Everyone was fine except for what I assume was a newlywed couple who was pushy and annoying as heck.

I’m not a massive fan of Michaelson, but I know and enjoy several of her songs, but her concert was great.  I’m tempted to say that the time she spent telling stories between songs was almost better than the music because she is a great and hilarious story teller.

In other news, I get a flu shot today.  The vaccine was being given out for free on campus and there was no line, so I figured what the heck.  Everything was great until I sat in the chair and read the nurse’s nametag that said, “student nurse.”  Luckily she was a good student nurse and the injection went well.

Me sporting my new haircut with an apple I bought today at the campus farmer's market. I'm also wearing a sweater for the first time this fall because it's nice and chilly today!

After moving past the initial frustration of getting my Zip Car account set up, today I took my first Zip Car for a spin.

For those of you who don’t know, Zip Car is this cool short-term car rental program, so today I rented one of the cars located on the Mason campus and drove myself to get a haircut and to the grocery store.

I felt a little bit like a car thief getting in this strange car that was just parked in a random spot with the keys already in the ignition.  It made me kind of nervous.  But before long, and after a momentary panic of not knowing how to get the windshield wipers going (it rained today), I was on my way.

Me in the Zipcar.

I was driving a Scion and it was a pretty zippy little car, especially for someone who hasn’t been behind a wheel in over a month.  It was also great to listen to the radio.  I never think to listen to the radio when I’m not in a car, so that was fun.

Now the other big event was the haircut.  I have been worried for months about having to get my hair done away from my normal haircut location in Vancouver.  But luckily the girl who cut it at the Hair Cuttery today did a pretty good job and I can live with the results.

The National Book Festival on The Mall, Sept. 25, 2010. (Jordan Frasier)

For the tenth year, bibliophiles and their favorite authors converged on The Mall for the National Book Festival and for the second time I was one of them.

The National Book Festival with the U.S. Capital Building in the background. (Jordan Frasier)

During my first visit to the NBF two years ago, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was able to see several well-known authors talk about their work. I heard from Marc Brown, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Laura Bush and others.

This year there weren’t as many authors I was excited to see, but the event was great nonetheless. I’ve found that it’s great to hear the stories the authors have to tell, even when I haven’t read their work, or for that matter ever heard of them.

You might remember the 2008 book festival when Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager were talking about their children’s book. Their presentation was one of the first events of the day, and with public transportation I could only arrive so early, but I was determined to see their presentation.

In 2008 the Bush Administration was still in office and under full Secret Service protection, so I had to “gate crash” before White House gate crashing was cool.

The line for the Bush event was a mile long and there was no way I would get in, so I lied and cut the line. I’m not proud of it and karma caught up with me in the book signing line, but at least I got in.

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The cupcakes I bought! From L to R from top: Mint Cookies and Cream, Caramel Apple, Red Velvet, Chocolate Squared, Peanut Butter Fudge, Key Lime. (Jordan Frasier)

Georgetown Cupcake in Washington DC (Jordan Frasier)

For the first time since being back on the East Coast, I went into DC this morning.  I stayed in the Georgetown area where I went to some fun shops, had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and then got cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake!

I love a baked good, but I’ve never found a cupcake that was really impressively good.  That changed in Georgetown.  The Georgetown cupcakes are moist and flavorful and delicious!

You might recognize Georgetown Cupcake from their television show, DC Cupcakes, that airs on TLC.  While in the super crowded shop, I only recognized one person from the show, but it wasn’t either of the main people.  The show wasn’t being filmed today either, but it was good fun to go.

See more pictures after the jump!

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The first week of school is over, so the only logical thing to happen next is a three-day weekend. I find it kind of silly that after only a week of getting back in the swing of things, we have a day off, but oh well.

The week went pretty well for me and it seemed to pass very quickly. All of my classes seem interesting, even if several of the classrooms sport uncomfortable rock-hard chairs, and the one class about Virginia state politics that I was worried about is fine too.

There is not much out of the ordinary to report: I’ve just been getting into a routine and getting to work with Connect2Mason.com. Right now I’m working to expand our staff of reporters so that we can really get to work covering some news. I have started a new hobby of running on a treadmill. It’s not the most fun activity I have ever partaken in, but it releases some energy.