Fall

The tomatoes are ripe for picking, the sun is sleeping in a little later, and nights out require a light sweater.

 

In High School, we'd be getting ready for homecoming. The votes would be handed out today in Homeroom for the king and queen ballots. I would spend the day reading over plays that Stoughton's offense may run against our defense. The class officers and I would meet up at lunch to talk about the dance, the ralley and parade. I remember reading Kafka's 'The Trial' in AP English during this time of year. 

 

Thursdays would be a light practice day - Helmet and no pads in preperation for a game tomorrow. Coach Branch would be standing tall at 5'4" barking out defensive plays. Coach Perkins would be smacking O'B on the head with his clip board becuase he did a three-step drop and pass instead of a five-step drop and pass.

 

After practice we'd go to Serrano's and load up on pasta and more pasta, talking about plays and watch whatever college game was playing or a Red Sox game.

Immigration segregation

Check out this article in the post this morning about immigration and illegal immigrants in Reston, VA: Town Police may enforce immigration laws . I don't quite get the animosity these people have against illegal immigrants.

 

Some highlights from the comments section:

 

Stegman says: "I hope this goes through. We are tired of bending over for these invaders. Weve been forced to celebrate the illegal conquest of our towns by these illegal immigrants, and weve had enough. Fight Back!!!"

 

Right, Stegman, like Maria the cleaning lady is really sticking it to you.

 

Baspartan says: "Jim Webb and the DNC should take a lesson from so many grass roots upheavals. The COUNTRY is fed up with politicians who want to legalize illegal immigrants and continue to give them welfare checks. Voters will take it out on those national candidates who are not willing to get tough on ILLEGAL immigration. Amnesty is wrong! The Dems are wrong for opposing walls, identication and deportation. The voters will prove that at the Midterms just like they did in Herndon last year."

 

Can you picture this guy beating his kids and not talking to his one gay son who is dating a Korean man? He's the guy who orders a Fagitas.

 

This is about the twenty-billionth reason why I will never live in VA , although they do have good Wineries.

Hump Day

My office is right outside Conferance room B, the interview room. I actually had my interview with the firm there. I also witnessed the firing of one of the most notorious disliked attorneys I've seen come through here. That was satisfying.

 

We are currently interviewing for secretaries. That is what I am witnessing today. Our HR lady is notoriously incompetent and so New York that it is debilatating. What do I mean? We've been working understaffed for 5 months and she hasn't found replacements yet. The one replacement she did find was a guy whose car broke down on his way to DC so he decided to stay in North Carolina. She's impersonal, loud, likes to hear her own voice, avoids eye contact and when she has nothing to say in response, she'll use a "well, that's that," or "That's what they say," or "Okay, all well then."

 

The latest woman that walked into interview chugged down a gatorade before walking into the conferance room. She talked about her high school word processing class - which wouldn't be so bad except she's 50 +. I also heard her utter, "I love to work."

 

Really?

Take me back to paradise

Morning Swim at Little Maho Beach

Trunk Bay on our Taxi ride

I should just take B and run away to St. John.

So I saw a Bum Fight

Actually, while walking to the gym on Monday, I saw one Bum drop his trash bag, back track 10 feet to where another Bum was standing, and throw a right hook followed by a left upper. This all happened during rush hour on the corner of Pennsylvania and 19th street in the soup kitchen park. The guy that got hit fell over like pile of bricks.

 

A cop was right there watching the whole thing in DC Cruiser. Obviously after the punch, the bum with the trash bag got arrested.

 

The sad part was...it was the high light of my day.

Taste of Bethesda

A little over three weeks away, but you mention food and festival - I'm there!

 

Taste of Bethesda

Boyz...with the z

Got back from Ultimate Man Weekend on Sunday. Two things I've learned from a weekend of meat eating, football watching, sports playing and beer drinking:

 

1. No matter how old you get, playing football on the beach will never get old.

 

2. Staying up late and drinking beer around a table with your buddies has to happen more often.

 

 - 2006 Ultimate Man

9-11

I still can't quiet come to terms with what happened five years ago today.

 

When I woke up that Tuesday, I remember doing the 15 minute walk over to Funger hall in a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops. I remember having a lecture on the invisible hand in the free market and then Professor Dunn, of my economics class mention something about an accident in New York.

 

It was a beautiful late summer day. I stopped by J street for a cup of coffee to keep awake for my astronomy class. And as usual, I sat in the sun out in the plaza reading the paper and sipping on some coffee. People were running around the center of campus with their Cell phones out. Nicole, my roommate's girlfriend, stopped by with her friend Lilly and told me a plane had hit the pentagon, a bomb exploded outside the state department and down by the white house. It's connected to the crash in New York. Shawn, a fraternity brother who lives a block from the State Department, said he heard a loud bang that morning.

 

I walked into J street to see what was happening on TV and people came together in silent groups staring at the televisions until a security guard told us to get out. There was a bomb threat.

 

Nicole and I walked back to my dorm. Pedestrians and commuters moved in a furry across H street, 22nd street and pretty soon all of DC. We crossed Pennsylvania Ave. There were sirens coming to and from GW Hospital and the skies were full of helicopters. Down past 17th street on Penn Ave, Nicole pointed out some smoke. We quickly walked back to my dorm on New Hampshire only to have us turned away again, another bomb threat in the underground garage.

 

Campus police told us to go to the Health and Wellness Center. That is where I remember seeing the second plane hit and hearing about Flight 93 that was supposed to be headed towards the White House, a few blocks from GW. I wasn't scared, I remember being sad and awfully angry. How dare they? and who were they? cowards.

 

Cell phones were not working and people were rushing to administrative offices to send out e-mails to their families to tell them that they were okay and not to worry.

 

We went to another friends apartment around 6 that evening. It was on the 11th floor of a high rise and a block from the State Department, The Kennedy Center and five blocks from the Lincoln Monument. As the late evening sun glowed orange over DC's prime rush hour, the city and skies were eerily dead. We could see the smoke come up from the Pentagon.

 

With CSPAN blaring in the background, Pablo told us his sister, on her way to work, saw the plane that hit the pentagon fly really low across 395.

 

I don't quiet remember what I thought or felt besides angry and sad for the victims and families. The only thing I was sure of was that tomorrow was going to be differant.