Red Zeppelin
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Weekend: March 01, 2009 - DCaversary
Happy one-year DCaversary to me and Chompy. One year ago today I packed up about 1/5 of my worldly possessions, threw 4/5 in a huge dumpster, and moved from the 60 degree winters of Tallahassee to the 60" of snow winters of our nation's capital. It seems like just yesterday Steve and I were standing outside at 1am fighting about what to bring in the house. Thank God it wasn't snowing like this.
Here's what I've learned about Washington in the past year:
1) You don't get to vote. Well, you get to vote but it doesn't count for anything.
2) People from DC get surprisingly upset if you say you're from DC but actually live in VA or MD. I caught myself doing it a couple months ago.
3) I think most DC residents would be happier if they could pin their resume to their shirt and walk around with it there all day.
4) It's not as unsafe as it's made out to be. I've never really seen a problem aside from regular-city problems. There are a LOT of homeless people but I've never run across any sort of incident.
5) Everyone here is transplanted from somewhere else so there's no real sense of community.
6) Everything is expensive. For real. Real real.
I just started typing while I was waiting for a video of Chompy to upload but it's still not done. Hmmm.
FriendFest2009A is 12 days away and that's exciting. It's interesting that we've had two months of back-to-back Friday the 13ths. There's too much snow on the ground for me to get any coffee so I've spent the past couple of hours in this horrible fog.
Ok, that video is never going to finish.
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Monday: March 02, 2009 - New FB Pictures
Today I added a new set of pictures to Facebook: the undergrad years. Scary to think that four years can be magically compressed into 17 photos. While doing it, I realized I got friend-dumped for the first time by someone who I actually considered a friend. Maybe it was an accident since as far as I can remember I haven't done anything wrong him.
I need to do grad school next but since I had a digital camera for at least the last year of it there are a lot more pictures to root through. Maybe over next Christmas I'll scan a bunch of my parents' pictures of childhood so I have a copy. I have a feeling that scanning pictures is not really a high priority for them.
I've decimated the first two seasons of Six Feet Under and I'm halfway through the third. I forgot how great that show was. When I first watched it in 2001 (it was on after The Sopranos) I didn't really care for it. Ah, the times they are a'changing. [Comments: 1]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 03, 2009 - Tax$imple
Let's say you're ready to quit your job. Your boss, knowing he would be lost without you, says, "Name your price". You, knowing he would be lost without you, say "$120,000". Now you're making $120,000 a year.
Being a good boss, he pays you what you asked for and, being a good employee and consumer, you spend it. You put a down payment on your house, you buy a car, you buy a TV. Then, a few months later, you go to work.
Your boss says to you, "Are you sure you're spending my money the right way?" "Your money?", you reply. He goes on to tell you that it is in fact his money because he paid it to you and although you spent it, you were still spending his money. You come back with that once you were in possession of it, that it became your money and that he has absolutely no right in the least to say anything about how you spend your money.
So why do we complain about how our tax dollars are spent? It's not our money anymore. I wish everyone calling in to NPR would just up and worry about their own problems because SURPRISE! if everyone just worried about their own crap we wouldn't have these problems in the first place. [Comments: 2]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 04, 2009 - LOST
Well that was another crappy episode of a once-good show. The characters have all gotten so predicable and boring that I think I might be ready to call it quits. An episode about Sawyer being in love with Juliette? Really? That was the best you could come up with for an episode this late in the game?
I really need to find a new TV show to watch. I've only got one season of Six Feet Under to watch left. On the bright side, the Cubs start playing in about a month--opening their season April 6th against Houston at the Astrodome. They lost last night to the White Sox in what I will only describe as a comedy of errors for both teams.
Becky got us some ballet tickets tonight so we're going to see a bunch of short pieces before hitting up some bars. The last time I went to the ballet was for Valentine's Day like three years ago with Jamie and I feel asleep right away. We left at intermission to go watch Lost--back when it wasn't totally retarded. Hopefully I'll fare better this time.
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Thursday: March 05, 2009 - Ballet Night
Around 5:30 last night I left to pick up Becky so we could use her free tickets to see the New York City ballet.
We stopped at Quigley's/Tonic for a charity-type dinner where everything we ate yielded a 25% donation to some group that brings food to people with debilitating diseases. In true Quigley's/Tonic style, the service was horribly slow and the food not nearly as good as you hope. They also replaced the avocado BLT with a salmon BLT and it's not nearly as good. It's like a salmon sandwich and who wants that when they're expecting a BLT?
The ballet opened to a Shostakovich piano concert that was pretty awesome. During the intermission we went out on the balcony and got to see a pretty awesome view of the city--the view that I wrongfully assumed I would see every day before I moved here. The second act was a Vivaldi set (gag) paired with a more modern style of dance that made up for 30 minutes of I-V-I-V-I. If there's anything in this world more boring than Baroque music I'd like to know what it is (Steve, that is not an invitation).
We left early and went across the street to the Watergate where Becky knew Matt the Bartender and we swapped stories for an hour. I wish I knew more famous people so I could use them in stories but alas. Hooray for Becky and her many connections. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Weekend: March 08, 2009 - Weekend Update
On Friday I watched Abby while Jamie was in Philly. The night consisted of chatting online with Chris and Jen and rifling through a couple of episodes of Six Feet Under. I sorted through my IMPORTANT BOX and tried to reorganize my filing system. It was so boring I went to bed around midnight but unfortunately I watched the most traumatic SFU episode and then couldn't sleep. I had the same reaction the first (and second) time I saw it so even though I was prepared for it, I still laid awake. Best show ever.
On Saturday I drove around Arlington, played some basketball in Spring Valley, then gave up Abby to Jamie before driving out to Sterling to hang out with Briecca, Sam & Co. I learned that Sam is a pilot and that his friend is a better drummer than me. Hah!
Since it was so nice on Sunday I walked the Capital Crescent Trail while I waited for my elbowed ribs to heal from basketball. I walked to the Chain Bridge then followed it in through to the end in Georgetown before backtracking my way to Glover Park. It took a good four hours before I got home but it was nice to maximize my alone time since I'll have a full house for just about the rest of the month. [Comments: 7]· permalink ·
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Monday: March 09, 2009 - Six Feet Under
Last night I finished Six Feet Under, the greatest show to ever to be on television. Even though it didn't earn straight A's when Brian reviewed it, and it had a couple of B episodes, I can't fathom a better-written/better-acted show. Every character is completely unbelievable from the very outset yet as their stories continue they never veer off the path of their character--each one does exactly what they would do regardless of consequence just like a real person. I think it has the most gratifying and appropriate series finale that you could ask. Even great shows like Seinfeld totally blew it in their last episodes. It was also created by Alan Ball, an FSU alum so that makes it even better.
I'm making good progress on the in-depth cleaning of my house. Rest assured, gentle readers, that even at its worst my house is nowhere near as disgusting as it was Tallahassee. I should have bought a Dyson years ago.
Good luck to Kathy, who is about to defend her dissertation! [Comments: 4]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 10, 2009 - The Feast...It is ruined
Jamie and I finally got our meal at Old Europe for lunch and it was excellent. We had the psycho waitress who once yelled at me for having my feet in the aisle but she seemed to be back on her medication this time and we escaped without incident.
After lunch I finished collecting my clothes to be given away in three lawn-sized trash brags. I distinctly recall not having any wear-around t-shirts a few years ago and apparently I solved that problem several times over in the past few years. I also recall at one point in grad school owning three pairs of jeans; also no longer the case. Chris Green would be proud.
I also finished reading Maya Angelou's new book and started another. It's amazing how much reading you can get done when you're not watching old television shows compulsively.
Brian hosted Steak Night and grilled us up some tasty steaks. I had stopped at Safeway to buy a case of beer but there was only one woman working so I stood in line there for an amount of time roughly equal to my drive. I kept telling myself I should just leave and go to a gas station but I'd already stood there for so long that I should just wait it out. When I finally arrived, Anna, Ella, and Anna's sister Becca were already there and we sat around and watched Arrested Development while feasting. Eventually Rebecca joined us and we watched Ella's antics for a few hours before going home. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 11, 2009 - Like You Don't Even Know
My house is going to be clean like you don't even know for the many Fests this month. I have about four laundry loads left and some dog-washing and vacuuming left to do but on the whole I'm in pretty good shape for Chris' arrival Friday evening.
I've got a good 12 of 12 in the works since I have a lot to do. I already missed my 10am meeting at Wachovia but whatever, it's my money and I call the shots. That's what you get for paying me like .000004% interest. I still need to pick up Abby from Jamie's before I do another load of laundry and then drive out to Reston.
PromotionCode.org is almost up to 100 fans on Facebook so if you're not already a fan, it would be nice of you to become one as a personal favor to me. It's rare that I mention anything work related so you should feel honored to be a part of today's entry.
There was big news on the FriendFront last night but I'm not sure if it has been disseminated fully enough for a mention. You know who you are, you just let me know. [Comments: 3]· permalink ·
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Thursday: March 12, 2009 - 12 of 12
9:30am: That's starting your day off right. Get up early and somehow manage a pink/orange. It's no pink/pink but we'll take it.
9:45am: All bundled up and ready to take Chompy out.
11am: Fresh off a work call and filled with coffee it's time to wrestle with the laundry. No, my sweatshirt is not tucked into my pants. Yes, I am wearing a sweatshirt and wear it in public.
12:00pm: I had a 10am meeting with my like 18 year old financial planner. I figured he'd learn a valuable lesson in patience if I came two hours late.
1:15pm: Time for a quick coffee at the SBUX that I try to avoid.
1:30pm: Winning at Grab Ab, one of my favorite games. She really stunk. Like for real. Real real.
3:00pm: At the doctor's office in VA for a check-up. The woman behind me was 20 with three kids so I know I had her beat.
5:30pm: Crashing at Brian's with some Chick-Fil-A and Booty. I figured I should eat after giving up some blood. The rest of my problems throughout the day were based on a lack of blood.
9:10pm: They reopened "my" Starbucks for me to give me a tea. I had already exceeded my coffee intake for the day.
9:30pm: But Abby, why are you offering me a toy of appeasement?..
9:31pm: That's why! Bath Ab!
11:30pm: Online chatting with friends afar. But not for long.
1am BONUS: Bedtime for all my bitches. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 17, 2009 - Happy FriendFest2009
It is FriendFest2009A.
Congratulations to Dr. Biddick Smith who completed her doctorate at THE Florida State University yesterday.
More to come later.
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Monday: March 23, 2009 - And We're Back
FestsWeek is now officially over and guests from far and wide are now safely back (or on their way to being safely back) to their hometowns after visits to see our nation's capital and Chompy's favorite owner.
The first ones into town were Chris and his small pup Oreo who came in last Friday after an exhaustive drive from Lowell. We quickly fell back into old times: eating cold pizza, drinking beers, and failing songs on Expert in Guitar Hero. On Sunday we were joined by the principal bassist of the Huntsville Symphony and Pre-Eminent Linguist Michael and Chris who made the trek in from Indiana. In addition to significant amounts of sight-seeing (read: walking) we were able to cram in several games of Hoopla and even managed an Old Timey game of poker with Chris E. slaying me, Michael, and Jamie while Chris G. made pepperoni bread.
After Chris E. left for Houston, we hit up the zoo and the African Art Museum. We also managed to get inside the capitol building after my 1.9m parking job prevented it the last time. Additionally, we got some photos at the White House and the snipers didn't shoot us. In true DC fashion, I also picked up a $100 parking ticket. Such is life. C&M left Friday morning and I had the rest of the day to clean up after Oreo and prepare for JenFest09B.
Saturday afternoon, after cleaning up piles of Oreo-barf, I trekked out to Dulles to pick up Jen and then we drove back to Reagan/National to grab Chris. We grabbed some lunch then spent the day hanging out. Chris and The Non-Ookie Cookie headed back Sunday morning and Jen and I headed out to Sterling so I could take everyone's money at the many-times-over scheduled poker game.
Yesterday we trotted out to the National Gallery so she could take in the Van Eyck and I could Kandinsky-spot (the whopping one). After the museum I was introduced to Battlestar Galactica via the 9-hour series premier.
Lesson learned from FestsWeek: Be grateful for the friends you've got because you're never going to find better ones. [Comments: 4]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 24, 2009 - Back To The Grind
After dropping Jen off at IAD at 5am, I came back to DC, napped until 10am then went back to the grind. This particular grind involved taking Chompy down to Tenleytown to see the vet about her ripped-off thumbnail. Apparently it will fall off completely in time and we got some antibiotics for it. The whole trip lasted maybe ten minutes and it still cost ~$80. I need to start charging $480/hr too.
I spent most of the afternoon making the final edits to Kevin's bass piece so I can send it out on Friday. I always hate finishing a piece and then knowing the tedious task of editing awaits. Since I don't actually play the bass it takes even longer to make sure things all look the way they should.
In the evening I went shopping, then came back and finally watched Lost from last week. The ABC site finally worked around 7:30 and I took in the drivel that has become Lost. Wow, there's a second Ben in 1974. Wow. Big shocker. Wow. No one saw that one coming a million miles away. I watched a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother to cleanse the Tv-palate while looking for hotels in New Zealand and pretending to drive a left-handed manual on the left side of the road.
Exciting. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 25, 2009 - Busy as a Bee(dog)
March is almost over and what will have been the most interesting month of my living in DC will come to an end. Other than the regularly-scheduled banalities, the only "exciting" thing on my list is a charity poker game on Saturday at the Austin Grill in Rockville. If anyone else would like to play let me know and I'll pass along the info. It's for breast cancer research so the buy-in is $70. I've spent $70 on worse things.
April is a far more boring month, with a whopping two dates on my calendar having dots for things to do--and they're not even things to do, just birthdays.
Since Lost sucks now, I actively went out last night instead of sitting home and watching it. I'll watch it today so that I can understand what's going on with the emails from everyone. I met up with Annie for some beers and hear about her and Marc's trip to London. It was like Lost but interesting and without the skips in time.
To make up for today's boring entry, here's a feel-good video. Down 31-3 in the 4th quarter, FSU comes back.
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Thursday: March 26, 2009 - Controlled Narcissim
I took Chompy back to the vet because her nail hadn't fallen off and her paw was swelling up. The vet response was to give Chompy a little dog-cast after ripping off the nail with a pair of pliers. She took it better than I did, with the waves of nausea crashing around me in the little room. It's a good thing they taught me how to make a new cast--they did this because apparently dogs with enough focus can chew through them. That's my girl. By 8pm I had her new cast made and on.
One of my ex-girlfriends from college, Stacie, was kind enough to send me a biography of my teacher from undergrad. I ripped through it in two nights (ok, I might have skipped over some of the performance reviews). Even though I had planned to go to bed early, I came across the list of "notable" students in the book: seven of them. I know I have narcissism issues; this is no secret. That said, how was I not listed third? I know that both Michael Torke and Jerome Kitzke are both more famous and rightfully there. Fine. However, the rest of them--you've got to be kidding me. I looked up the guy listed #6 online and his only award was 2nd place in a statewide competition in 2001. That's it? Oh, for the record, I won 1st ahead of him.
I'm trying hard not to turn this into a how-awesome-am-I post but come on! Over a hundred publications? Hundreds and hundreds of performances? Dozens of commissions? Having a Pulitzer Prize-winner refer to your music as "a corpse with make-up on"? I've got it all and I totally deserved that #3 slot.
For the record, they also excluded my sworn enemy from college--and he too should be on the list. That's how serious it is. Srsly. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Weekend: March 29, 2009 - All The World Is A Stage
The reason I don't really get into many Tv shows or movies is that I tune out once the characters start doing things their character would never do. The villain should never repent or learn from his mistakes--that's how he rolls. I spent a good week as the anti-me and thankfully that show has ended. As a cosmic reminder, I broke my iPhone and one of my dumbbells.
On Sunday I went out with AK-47, my favorite person who I don't get to see regularly although hopefully Sucky Crosby Still Nash & Young will restart soon. Anne and I walked around Georgetown sharing our A-list stories of dating disasters in and around the DC area. As the only other person who has dated regularly up here it was nice for my misery to have some company. We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant; Cafe Devan (I think?) and I bravely ordered some grilled chicken.
After she dropped me off I thought a bee had landed on my hand, swung it, threw my phone on the ground, and realized it was just a small blossom. Ah, spring. The screen is cracked down the middle but it seems to be working just fine so I'll probably wait to replace it until it starts leaking poisons through my skin.
On the bright side, everything is now in full bloom and exceedingly beautiful. [Comments: 0]· permalink ·
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Monday: March 30, 2009 - All The World Is A Marmol
The Cubs kick off the 2009 season in Houston on April 6th. That is right around the corner. It was determined a few days ago that my favorite player, Marmol, would not be the closer but instead be the setup man. While I find this disappointing, I am looking forward to yelling MARMOL! for the next six months.
I haven't paid much attention to Spring Training so that I wouldn't be burnt out by the time the real games started. I did that last year and by the time the end of May rolled round watching the games had become a chore.
I have four extra tickets for a Cubs/Marlins game in Chicago. You are welcome to take one for free under two conditions: you pay for your own airfare and you root whole-heatedly for the Cubs. The game is Sunday, May 3rd at 1:20pm CST. Yes, the date and times are right. Yes, the date and times are right. Yes, the date and times are right. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 31, 2009 - Traded!
Yesterday morning I got the bad news. I was traded off my softball team, a solid two weeks before the season started. I had auditioned/tried-out for a good team, the Monarchs, and made it. Now, though, I learned I was going to be on a team called the Warlocks. Super. I emailed another league to see if there were any openings but I think I might be stuck. Who gets traded in rec-league softball? I need an agent.
Last night Becky and I met up at the Capital City Brewing Company in Shrlngtn (the town without vowels) for some happy-hour beers. It was a cool place but sadly infested with douches. On the bright side, they had a beer sampler in these little mugs (pictured) that were pretty good. She agreed to go with me to see the Verdi Requiem on Sunday and I am super-excited.
It's one of my favorite pieces of all time, and always on my list of pieces that "everyone should know". One of those triumph-by-mankind sort of pieces that even people who have no interest in classical music should like. For you philistines, I've added a video of the most powerful section, the Dies Irae, for your benefit.
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Happy one-year DCaversary to me and Chompy. One year ago today I packed up about 1/5 of my worldly possessions, threw 4/5 in a huge dumpster, and moved from the 60 degree winters of Tallahassee to the 60" of snow winters of our nation's capital. It seems like just yesterday Steve and I were standing outside at 1am fighting about what to bring in the house. Thank God it wasn't snowing like this.
Here's what I've learned about Washington in the past year:
1) You don't get to vote. Well, you get to vote but it doesn't count for anything.
2) People from DC get surprisingly upset if you say you're from DC but actually live in VA or MD. I caught myself doing it a couple months ago.
3) I think most DC residents would be happier if they could pin their resume to their shirt and walk around with it there all day.
4) It's not as unsafe as it's made out to be. I've never really seen a problem aside from regular-city problems. There are a LOT of homeless people but I've never run across any sort of incident.
5) Everyone here is transplanted from somewhere else so there's no real sense of community.
6) Everything is expensive. For real. Real real.
I just started typing while I was waiting for a video of Chompy to upload but it's still not done. Hmmm.
FriendFest2009A is 12 days away and that's exciting. It's interesting that we've had two months of back-to-back Friday the 13ths. There's too much snow on the ground for me to get any coffee so I've spent the past couple of hours in this horrible fog.
Ok, that video is never going to finish.
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Monday: March 02, 2009 - New FB Pictures
Today I added a new set of pictures to Facebook: the undergrad years. Scary to think that four years can be magically compressed into 17 photos. While doing it, I realized I got friend-dumped for the first time by someone who I actually considered a friend. Maybe it was an accident since as far as I can remember I haven't done anything wrong him.
I need to do grad school next but since I had a digital camera for at least the last year of it there are a lot more pictures to root through. Maybe over next Christmas I'll scan a bunch of my parents' pictures of childhood so I have a copy. I have a feeling that scanning pictures is not really a high priority for them.
I've decimated the first two seasons of Six Feet Under and I'm halfway through the third. I forgot how great that show was. When I first watched it in 2001 (it was on after The Sopranos) I didn't really care for it. Ah, the times they are a'changing. [Comments: 1]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 03, 2009 - Tax$imple
Let's say you're ready to quit your job. Your boss, knowing he would be lost without you, says, "Name your price". You, knowing he would be lost without you, say "$120,000". Now you're making $120,000 a year.
Being a good boss, he pays you what you asked for and, being a good employee and consumer, you spend it. You put a down payment on your house, you buy a car, you buy a TV. Then, a few months later, you go to work.
Your boss says to you, "Are you sure you're spending my money the right way?" "Your money?", you reply. He goes on to tell you that it is in fact his money because he paid it to you and although you spent it, you were still spending his money. You come back with that once you were in possession of it, that it became your money and that he has absolutely no right in the least to say anything about how you spend your money.
So why do we complain about how our tax dollars are spent? It's not our money anymore. I wish everyone calling in to NPR would just up and worry about their own problems because SURPRISE! if everyone just worried about their own crap we wouldn't have these problems in the first place. [Comments: 2]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 04, 2009 - LOST
Well that was another crappy episode of a once-good show. The characters have all gotten so predicable and boring that I think I might be ready to call it quits. An episode about Sawyer being in love with Juliette? Really? That was the best you could come up with for an episode this late in the game?
I really need to find a new TV show to watch. I've only got one season of Six Feet Under to watch left. On the bright side, the Cubs start playing in about a month--opening their season April 6th against Houston at the Astrodome. They lost last night to the White Sox in what I will only describe as a comedy of errors for both teams.
Becky got us some ballet tickets tonight so we're going to see a bunch of short pieces before hitting up some bars. The last time I went to the ballet was for Valentine's Day like three years ago with Jamie and I feel asleep right away. We left at intermission to go watch Lost--back when it wasn't totally retarded. Hopefully I'll fare better this time.
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Thursday: March 05, 2009 - Ballet Night
Around 5:30 last night I left to pick up Becky so we could use her free tickets to see the New York City ballet.
We stopped at Quigley's/Tonic for a charity-type dinner where everything we ate yielded a 25% donation to some group that brings food to people with debilitating diseases. In true Quigley's/Tonic style, the service was horribly slow and the food not nearly as good as you hope. They also replaced the avocado BLT with a salmon BLT and it's not nearly as good. It's like a salmon sandwich and who wants that when they're expecting a BLT?
The ballet opened to a Shostakovich piano concert that was pretty awesome. During the intermission we went out on the balcony and got to see a pretty awesome view of the city--the view that I wrongfully assumed I would see every day before I moved here. The second act was a Vivaldi set (gag) paired with a more modern style of dance that made up for 30 minutes of I-V-I-V-I. If there's anything in this world more boring than Baroque music I'd like to know what it is (Steve, that is not an invitation).
We left early and went across the street to the Watergate where Becky knew Matt the Bartender and we swapped stories for an hour. I wish I knew more famous people so I could use them in stories but alas. Hooray for Becky and her many connections. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Weekend: March 08, 2009 - Weekend Update
On Friday I watched Abby while Jamie was in Philly. The night consisted of chatting online with Chris and Jen and rifling through a couple of episodes of Six Feet Under. I sorted through my IMPORTANT BOX and tried to reorganize my filing system. It was so boring I went to bed around midnight but unfortunately I watched the most traumatic SFU episode and then couldn't sleep. I had the same reaction the first (and second) time I saw it so even though I was prepared for it, I still laid awake. Best show ever.
On Saturday I drove around Arlington, played some basketball in Spring Valley, then gave up Abby to Jamie before driving out to Sterling to hang out with Briecca, Sam & Co. I learned that Sam is a pilot and that his friend is a better drummer than me. Hah!
Since it was so nice on Sunday I walked the Capital Crescent Trail while I waited for my elbowed ribs to heal from basketball. I walked to the Chain Bridge then followed it in through to the end in Georgetown before backtracking my way to Glover Park. It took a good four hours before I got home but it was nice to maximize my alone time since I'll have a full house for just about the rest of the month. [Comments: 7]· permalink ·
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Monday: March 09, 2009 - Six Feet Under
Last night I finished Six Feet Under, the greatest show to ever to be on television. Even though it didn't earn straight A's when Brian reviewed it, and it had a couple of B episodes, I can't fathom a better-written/better-acted show. Every character is completely unbelievable from the very outset yet as their stories continue they never veer off the path of their character--each one does exactly what they would do regardless of consequence just like a real person. I think it has the most gratifying and appropriate series finale that you could ask. Even great shows like Seinfeld totally blew it in their last episodes. It was also created by Alan Ball, an FSU alum so that makes it even better.
I'm making good progress on the in-depth cleaning of my house. Rest assured, gentle readers, that even at its worst my house is nowhere near as disgusting as it was Tallahassee. I should have bought a Dyson years ago.
Good luck to Kathy, who is about to defend her dissertation! [Comments: 4]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 10, 2009 - The Feast...It is ruined
Jamie and I finally got our meal at Old Europe for lunch and it was excellent. We had the psycho waitress who once yelled at me for having my feet in the aisle but she seemed to be back on her medication this time and we escaped without incident.
After lunch I finished collecting my clothes to be given away in three lawn-sized trash brags. I distinctly recall not having any wear-around t-shirts a few years ago and apparently I solved that problem several times over in the past few years. I also recall at one point in grad school owning three pairs of jeans; also no longer the case. Chris Green would be proud.
I also finished reading Maya Angelou's new book and started another. It's amazing how much reading you can get done when you're not watching old television shows compulsively.
Brian hosted Steak Night and grilled us up some tasty steaks. I had stopped at Safeway to buy a case of beer but there was only one woman working so I stood in line there for an amount of time roughly equal to my drive. I kept telling myself I should just leave and go to a gas station but I'd already stood there for so long that I should just wait it out. When I finally arrived, Anna, Ella, and Anna's sister Becca were already there and we sat around and watched Arrested Development while feasting. Eventually Rebecca joined us and we watched Ella's antics for a few hours before going home. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 11, 2009 - Like You Don't Even Know
My house is going to be clean like you don't even know for the many Fests this month. I have about four laundry loads left and some dog-washing and vacuuming left to do but on the whole I'm in pretty good shape for Chris' arrival Friday evening.
I've got a good 12 of 12 in the works since I have a lot to do. I already missed my 10am meeting at Wachovia but whatever, it's my money and I call the shots. That's what you get for paying me like .000004% interest. I still need to pick up Abby from Jamie's before I do another load of laundry and then drive out to Reston.
PromotionCode.org is almost up to 100 fans on Facebook so if you're not already a fan, it would be nice of you to become one as a personal favor to me. It's rare that I mention anything work related so you should feel honored to be a part of today's entry.
There was big news on the FriendFront last night but I'm not sure if it has been disseminated fully enough for a mention. You know who you are, you just let me know. [Comments: 3]· permalink ·
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Thursday: March 12, 2009 - 12 of 12
9:30am: That's starting your day off right. Get up early and somehow manage a pink/orange. It's no pink/pink but we'll take it.
9:45am: All bundled up and ready to take Chompy out.
11am: Fresh off a work call and filled with coffee it's time to wrestle with the laundry. No, my sweatshirt is not tucked into my pants. Yes, I am wearing a sweatshirt and wear it in public.
12:00pm: I had a 10am meeting with my like 18 year old financial planner. I figured he'd learn a valuable lesson in patience if I came two hours late.
1:15pm: Time for a quick coffee at the SBUX that I try to avoid.
1:30pm: Winning at Grab Ab, one of my favorite games. She really stunk. Like for real. Real real.
3:00pm: At the doctor's office in VA for a check-up. The woman behind me was 20 with three kids so I know I had her beat.
5:30pm: Crashing at Brian's with some Chick-Fil-A and Booty. I figured I should eat after giving up some blood. The rest of my problems throughout the day were based on a lack of blood.
9:10pm: They reopened "my" Starbucks for me to give me a tea. I had already exceeded my coffee intake for the day.
9:30pm: But Abby, why are you offering me a toy of appeasement?..
9:31pm: That's why! Bath Ab!
11:30pm: Online chatting with friends afar. But not for long.
1am BONUS: Bedtime for all my bitches. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 17, 2009 - Happy FriendFest2009
It is FriendFest2009A.
Congratulations to Dr. Biddick Smith who completed her doctorate at THE Florida State University yesterday.
More to come later.
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Monday: March 23, 2009 - And We're Back
FestsWeek is now officially over and guests from far and wide are now safely back (or on their way to being safely back) to their hometowns after visits to see our nation's capital and Chompy's favorite owner.
The first ones into town were Chris and his small pup Oreo who came in last Friday after an exhaustive drive from Lowell. We quickly fell back into old times: eating cold pizza, drinking beers, and failing songs on Expert in Guitar Hero. On Sunday we were joined by the principal bassist of the Huntsville Symphony and Pre-Eminent Linguist Michael and Chris who made the trek in from Indiana. In addition to significant amounts of sight-seeing (read: walking) we were able to cram in several games of Hoopla and even managed an Old Timey game of poker with Chris E. slaying me, Michael, and Jamie while Chris G. made pepperoni bread.
After Chris E. left for Houston, we hit up the zoo and the African Art Museum. We also managed to get inside the capitol building after my 1.9m parking job prevented it the last time. Additionally, we got some photos at the White House and the snipers didn't shoot us. In true DC fashion, I also picked up a $100 parking ticket. Such is life. C&M left Friday morning and I had the rest of the day to clean up after Oreo and prepare for JenFest09B.
Saturday afternoon, after cleaning up piles of Oreo-barf, I trekked out to Dulles to pick up Jen and then we drove back to Reagan/National to grab Chris. We grabbed some lunch then spent the day hanging out. Chris and The Non-Ookie Cookie headed back Sunday morning and Jen and I headed out to Sterling so I could take everyone's money at the many-times-over scheduled poker game.
Yesterday we trotted out to the National Gallery so she could take in the Van Eyck and I could Kandinsky-spot (the whopping one). After the museum I was introduced to Battlestar Galactica via the 9-hour series premier.
Lesson learned from FestsWeek: Be grateful for the friends you've got because you're never going to find better ones. [Comments: 4]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 24, 2009 - Back To The Grind
After dropping Jen off at IAD at 5am, I came back to DC, napped until 10am then went back to the grind. This particular grind involved taking Chompy down to Tenleytown to see the vet about her ripped-off thumbnail. Apparently it will fall off completely in time and we got some antibiotics for it. The whole trip lasted maybe ten minutes and it still cost ~$80. I need to start charging $480/hr too.
I spent most of the afternoon making the final edits to Kevin's bass piece so I can send it out on Friday. I always hate finishing a piece and then knowing the tedious task of editing awaits. Since I don't actually play the bass it takes even longer to make sure things all look the way they should.
In the evening I went shopping, then came back and finally watched Lost from last week. The ABC site finally worked around 7:30 and I took in the drivel that has become Lost. Wow, there's a second Ben in 1974. Wow. Big shocker. Wow. No one saw that one coming a million miles away. I watched a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother to cleanse the Tv-palate while looking for hotels in New Zealand and pretending to drive a left-handed manual on the left side of the road.
Exciting. [Comments: 5]· permalink ·
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Wednesday: March 25, 2009 - Busy as a Bee(dog)
March is almost over and what will have been the most interesting month of my living in DC will come to an end. Other than the regularly-scheduled banalities, the only "exciting" thing on my list is a charity poker game on Saturday at the Austin Grill in Rockville. If anyone else would like to play let me know and I'll pass along the info. It's for breast cancer research so the buy-in is $70. I've spent $70 on worse things.
April is a far more boring month, with a whopping two dates on my calendar having dots for things to do--and they're not even things to do, just birthdays.
Since Lost sucks now, I actively went out last night instead of sitting home and watching it. I'll watch it today so that I can understand what's going on with the emails from everyone. I met up with Annie for some beers and hear about her and Marc's trip to London. It was like Lost but interesting and without the skips in time.
To make up for today's boring entry, here's a feel-good video. Down 31-3 in the 4th quarter, FSU comes back.
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Thursday: March 26, 2009 - Controlled Narcissim
I took Chompy back to the vet because her nail hadn't fallen off and her paw was swelling up. The vet response was to give Chompy a little dog-cast after ripping off the nail with a pair of pliers. She took it better than I did, with the waves of nausea crashing around me in the little room. It's a good thing they taught me how to make a new cast--they did this because apparently dogs with enough focus can chew through them. That's my girl. By 8pm I had her new cast made and on.
One of my ex-girlfriends from college, Stacie, was kind enough to send me a biography of my teacher from undergrad. I ripped through it in two nights (ok, I might have skipped over some of the performance reviews). Even though I had planned to go to bed early, I came across the list of "notable" students in the book: seven of them. I know I have narcissism issues; this is no secret. That said, how was I not listed third? I know that both Michael Torke and Jerome Kitzke are both more famous and rightfully there. Fine. However, the rest of them--you've got to be kidding me. I looked up the guy listed #6 online and his only award was 2nd place in a statewide competition in 2001. That's it? Oh, for the record, I won 1st ahead of him.
I'm trying hard not to turn this into a how-awesome-am-I post but come on! Over a hundred publications? Hundreds and hundreds of performances? Dozens of commissions? Having a Pulitzer Prize-winner refer to your music as "a corpse with make-up on"? I've got it all and I totally deserved that #3 slot.
For the record, they also excluded my sworn enemy from college--and he too should be on the list. That's how serious it is. Srsly. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Weekend: March 29, 2009 - All The World Is A Stage
The reason I don't really get into many Tv shows or movies is that I tune out once the characters start doing things their character would never do. The villain should never repent or learn from his mistakes--that's how he rolls. I spent a good week as the anti-me and thankfully that show has ended. As a cosmic reminder, I broke my iPhone and one of my dumbbells.
On Sunday I went out with AK-47, my favorite person who I don't get to see regularly although hopefully Sucky Crosby Still Nash & Young will restart soon. Anne and I walked around Georgetown sharing our A-list stories of dating disasters in and around the DC area. As the only other person who has dated regularly up here it was nice for my misery to have some company. We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant; Cafe Devan (I think?) and I bravely ordered some grilled chicken.
After she dropped me off I thought a bee had landed on my hand, swung it, threw my phone on the ground, and realized it was just a small blossom. Ah, spring. The screen is cracked down the middle but it seems to be working just fine so I'll probably wait to replace it until it starts leaking poisons through my skin.
On the bright side, everything is now in full bloom and exceedingly beautiful. [Comments: 0]· permalink ·
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Monday: March 30, 2009 - All The World Is A Marmol
The Cubs kick off the 2009 season in Houston on April 6th. That is right around the corner. It was determined a few days ago that my favorite player, Marmol, would not be the closer but instead be the setup man. While I find this disappointing, I am looking forward to yelling MARMOL! for the next six months.
I haven't paid much attention to Spring Training so that I wouldn't be burnt out by the time the real games started. I did that last year and by the time the end of May rolled round watching the games had become a chore.
I have four extra tickets for a Cubs/Marlins game in Chicago. You are welcome to take one for free under two conditions: you pay for your own airfare and you root whole-heatedly for the Cubs. The game is Sunday, May 3rd at 1:20pm CST. Yes, the date and times are right. Yes, the date and times are right. Yes, the date and times are right. [Comments: 6]· permalink ·
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Tuesday: March 31, 2009 - Traded!
Yesterday morning I got the bad news. I was traded off my softball team, a solid two weeks before the season started. I had auditioned/tried-out for a good team, the Monarchs, and made it. Now, though, I learned I was going to be on a team called the Warlocks. Super. I emailed another league to see if there were any openings but I think I might be stuck. Who gets traded in rec-league softball? I need an agent.
Last night Becky and I met up at the Capital City Brewing Company in Shrlngtn (the town without vowels) for some happy-hour beers. It was a cool place but sadly infested with douches. On the bright side, they had a beer sampler in these little mugs (pictured) that were pretty good. She agreed to go with me to see the Verdi Requiem on Sunday and I am super-excited.
It's one of my favorite pieces of all time, and always on my list of pieces that "everyone should know". One of those triumph-by-mankind sort of pieces that even people who have no interest in classical music should like. For you philistines, I've added a video of the most powerful section, the Dies Irae, for your benefit.
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Good Things Take Time...
-6 days until FSU Football (2010)
Random Picture...
I snuck up to the Helipad while we were docked in Jamaica.
I snuck up to the Helipad while we were docked in Jamaica.
Time Machine:
09-10-2009
· 09-10-2008
· 09-10-2007
· 09-10-2006
I took the day off blogging but only because I was thinking of you.09-10-2008: It seems like just yesterday I was dreaming about Dr. Spencer and the Corkasaurus. Turns out it's been a whole year. Last night I was talking to Chris Green and he's going to do a guest entry next week to catch everyone up on his life so get ready! Later in the evening I was thinking to myself that it would nice if a bunch of people would write "catch-up" entries so that we could find out all of the exciting things that have been happening since we interacted on a daily basis. Even the people that I've seen/talked to somewhat regularly, I don't really know the full-blown details of what's going on with their lives. Here's where you come in--you too can write an entry to catch everyone up. Send me an email and I'll give you a date from which to start. Then you can post on here in the next few days/weeks. Just think--between 150 and 200 people reading all about your interesting life! And to think I get to live that each and every day.
09-10-2007: Apparently Britney is back after performing at the MTV Music Awards over the weekend. Everyone railed against her out of shape body and poor performance. While I won't comment on performance (I didn't see it, although I'm sure it was a abysmal), she just had two kids. She's not a miracle worker, she can only look so good.
In sadder news, it looks like my mentally-vacating grandmother is headed for an assisted living facility. That sounds really cold but for the past year my dad has dutifully driven over there to attend to her every day and took a sabbatical from work the past six months and she apparently can't even remember that he visits at all. There's been some speculation that since she's lived alone for so long her memory deteriorated into nothing because she never really had to use it; she's at the point now where she can easily ask you the same question six times in ten minutes. It's really sad. I really don't envy the decision my parents have to make at all.09-10-2006: Chompy, what's this? jamie and I scored some tickets from her sister's husband's parents for the Troy game so naturally we went. The game even more horrible in person than it could have been on TV. FSU couldn't hold onto the football to save their lives. De'Cody Fagg was the only trustworthy receiver and there were no, and I mean no, trustworthy rushers. I wish I knew what went on in Lorenzo Booker's head. I bet it's something like, "'Lo, listen" (it should be pointed out that Lorenzo sounds strikingly similar to Alex) "don't dance this time. Just run straight ahead." Then he gets the ball and his feet take over. "Damn it, feet. Stop doing this, we've been over this a zillion times!" And that goes on like that every play.
Their damn band would not shut up. They played under our band the whole time since of course the eight members of the TSU band could not be heard over the Marching Dorks. They played when we had the ball...or Troy had the ball...or there was a timeout. However, the largest trigger to their playing was...our band playing. Which was funny because there were so few of them that you only realized this after FSU's song stopped and the Troy band kept going. Anyway it was horrible. Next week is Clemson and I'm going back solely to beat the shit out of their fan who kept tapping my head last time. I know Jamie doesn't believe it but after eight months of fighting at least twice a week I'm feeling pretty confident I could kick some frat-ass.
In sadder news, it looks like my mentally-vacating grandmother is headed for an assisted living facility. That sounds really cold but for the past year my dad has dutifully driven over there to attend to her every day and took a sabbatical from work the past six months and she apparently can't even remember that he visits at all. There's been some speculation that since she's lived alone for so long her memory deteriorated into nothing because she never really had to use it; she's at the point now where she can easily ask you the same question six times in ten minutes. It's really sad. I really don't envy the decision my parents have to make at all.09-10-2006: Chompy, what's this? jamie and I scored some tickets from her sister's husband's parents for the Troy game so naturally we went. The game even more horrible in person than it could have been on TV. FSU couldn't hold onto the football to save their lives. De'Cody Fagg was the only trustworthy receiver and there were no, and I mean no, trustworthy rushers. I wish I knew what went on in Lorenzo Booker's head. I bet it's something like, "'Lo, listen" (it should be pointed out that Lorenzo sounds strikingly similar to Alex) "don't dance this time. Just run straight ahead." Then he gets the ball and his feet take over. "Damn it, feet. Stop doing this, we've been over this a zillion times!" And that goes on like that every play.
Their damn band would not shut up. They played under our band the whole time since of course the eight members of the TSU band could not be heard over the Marching Dorks. They played when we had the ball...or Troy had the ball...or there was a timeout. However, the largest trigger to their playing was...our band playing. Which was funny because there were so few of them that you only realized this after FSU's song stopped and the Troy band kept going. Anyway it was horrible. Next week is Clemson and I'm going back solely to beat the shit out of their fan who kept tapping my head last time. I know Jamie doesn't believe it but after eight months of fighting at least twice a week I'm feeling pretty confident I could kick some frat-ass.