In motion

2008-04-23T11:03:00.000-04:00

Monday night at 8pm, after Human Anatomy Lab:

(Wiping off the board)

Doc: So how long does it take you to walk home, Dat?

(packing books and lab manual into biker bag)

Dat : About 25-30 minutes..more on the 30 side in rain like this.

Doc: Oh, so with all that walking and riding, you're in pretty good vascular shape.

Dat: Yep. Use to be in better shape, but with work and class, I'm maintaining.

Doc: Never enough time in a day.

Dat: I use to be a fat kid, big fro, plastic brown glasses.

Doc: No! I would have never seen that. What made you get in shape?

Dat: Girls.

Doc: How true that is.

2008-03-27T11:53:00.001-04:00

26 years old and I'm still living.

When I went to London my Junior year at GW, I booked the flight to arrive a few days before my program started. I got a hotel room for two nights as well in the Earl's Court area. I remember thinking how exciting it will be to not only go to London, but to have a few days by myself to sight see and explore. I can walk the streets and be anonymous for a few days without schedules or obligations.

Upon landing at Heathrow I remember thinking how absolutely terrified I was. Did I fill out the right visas? Am I taking the right tube line? How do I get LBS? Though, I was still excited about the city.

When I finally got into the city, checked into the hotel and dropped off my stuff, it all hit me. This is what one call's free-will. I walked the neighborhood and stopped in at a fish and chips shop. It was almost an authentic London experience, except I suspect the people working the Fish and Chips counter were Vietnamese like me. I checked into a cyber café (which also become one of my favorite coffee shops) and e-mailed everyone I knew. At night I went to the local pub and made conversation with the Australian bartenders. This was all good except I was still by myself, unassociated and without. Being anonymous for too long in a city can consume one, yet it's also liberating. Like we need another person to confirm ourselves. Though, I do think everyone should travel at least once in their lives.

I guess that is how I would describe turning 26. I have my family in Boston, and things are going well with B. We're moving in together and her family surprised me with a little celebration on Sunday over Easter lunch, which was really nice. School and work are going well. And I have good friends far and near. But at 26, no one really questions your decisions. You're free to choose to do something without really having to answer to someone.

Lunar Eclispe

2008-02-21T10:15:00.002-05:00

Some interesting information I found out about the Lunar Eclispe that happened last night:

The defeat of the Persian king Darius III by Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC was foretold by soothsayers when the Moon turned blood-red a few days earlier.

Stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any more supplies. Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realized that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504. He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night. The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg Columbus to restore the Moon -- which he did, in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

ICKY LIVES

2008-02-07T11:28:00.001-05:00

ICKY IS ALIVE!!

I already has him in his burial box. I thought it would have been appropriate to bury him in an old tea box named the Black Pearl, since we did host a pirate party for his first molting back in October of 06. So late at night I hear scratching coming from the box and almost shit in my pants. It was ICKY! I pick him up and his outer shell fell off and inside was a freshly molted, naked hermit crab!

I felt really guilty and am a little traumatized by the nature of events. I got him some new sand and a heating pad for his cage. What an emotional roller coaster.

RIP Icky

2008-01-18T08:42:00.001-05:00

Work sucks and my hermit crab of 2.5 years just died.

I should have stayed at TPW for another few years, even if it meant being part-time, making chump change and not having vision benefits. I believe the death of Icky is directly related to my busy work schedule. Those bastards killed Icky.

It could have been his change in diet. I use to feed him this special crab food that stunk. I switch to flakes with coconut and he loved it at first. Then he just stopped eating for about a month. I 'm going to check if the food was made in China.

Though, he had a good life a large cage, a log to roll around, a climbing wall and a little wading pool with a palm tree.

I'll always remember his molting. We threw him a pirate party. It was pretty awesome

Classes start next week and i'm strangly looking forward to them.

2008-01-14T22:59:00.001-05:00

We can't really commute in together any more since I wake up at 5:45 AM and try to get to work by 7 AM. But we try to catch a commute home together, especially on the quiet days. She sends me a message or I send her a message, 'hey, ETD (estimated time of departure)?' and we'll debate it over. If she sends me the message, I know anymore then half an hour and she'll reply back, 'okay, I'll just take off now.' It's not a big deal for me to stay later though. I get overtime pay and perks like dinner and a cab home, but the twenty minutes of company is nice.

We meet on the corner of 17th and Connecticut, her side of the street. It's cold and she waves me to the escalator and we race down. We sit next to each other on the train. I take her work keys and tease her, and when I put them back I take her lip gloss. She doesn't notice until I make fun of her big bag. And we talk about our day. She pokes at me leg telling me about her crazy boss. She picks her cat's cat hair off me while I tell her about her crazy cats morning shenanigans.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T10:46:00.001-05:00

"Holy Shit, what a year," He says looking at his cup of Starbucks coffee, black, no sugar.

11pm, the Friday before Christmas after a 13 hour work day, 60 hour work week.
He picks up his phone and speed dials number 4.
"Hey, just finished my exam. Did okay, got a B. Yeah, exhausted. Hey, I'm going to go pack, just come by whenever."

Must print out flight ticket, pack. Shit. My clothes are all still dirty. Pack them anyway. Am I forgetting anything? Must go Christmas shopping tomorrow.
11:40pm. I need a beer.

I'm home now. Sitting on the couch and eating a chocolate chip cookie. It's 10:45 am and feeling pretty good. Merry Christmas!

to live in a box

2007-11-26T15:23:00.001-05:00

E-mail sent out at 2pm:

Hi everyone,

As you may know, the Firm is planning on upgrading to the Office 2007 suite of applications next year (and presumably Adobe Acrobat 8). I sent an e-mail to the Firm's new CIO, suggesting that the Firm purchase licenses for two plug-ins for MS Word and Adobe that would enable users to... etc, etc.

My Response 3pm:

How about adding an Easy Button. That would be awesome.

Response to my Response:

Can you give me a description and/or weblink? I've never used an Easy Button (I'm assuming it automatically redacts?)

My Response:

Oh, sorry. It was a joke, in reference to those Staple's commercials. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

wow

Day 1

2007-11-21T07:35:00.001-05:00

What a wierd dream. Sorry I have not been updating. It's like having an accident on a construction site, and then you have have to reset your sign. 0 days with no accidents. So this is Day one again, but I'll be sure to pick up posting regularly after the holidays since I'll have my new and niffty Macbook and I won't have to sacrifice billable hours to type up a post. I hate my profession.

So about my dream, and I hate posting about my dreams because they really are senseless and no one really cares. I actually find it annoying when people tell me there dreams, just to tell me their dream, not that anything was particularly interesting about them. Mine was particularly interesting, at least I thought so.

Actually, now that I think about it, there wasn't much interesting about it except I was a ghost hunter visiting Eastern Europe on the hunt for evil spirits. Then I went into a pub and had a beer wit hserveral of my friends, one of them who turned out to be an evil spirit I was suppose to hunt. The dream tails off to where I'm playing soccer in a fierce competition with lots of trash talk.

Interpretation of dream: 1. I miss competitive sports; 2. I secretly want to be a ghost hunter.

I've lost it

2007-11-15T07:37:00.001-05:00

It's 7am, I'm dancing in my office to Offspring, part of my Smashing Pumpkin's Pandora playlist www.pandora.com.

I've woke up at 4:30am to study for chemistry.

One week to Thanksgiving, one week to Thanksgiving, one week

Relief?

2007-11-14T11:58:00.001-05:00

My work inbox looked like it exploded. I worked from 8:30 AM to 9 PM yesterday. I call those 3 a days, because it's usually so busy that I have to sit at my desk and eat all three of my meals in the office.

Today isn't looking much better. The relief sets in when I know I can't stay past 5 PM, because I have to go to my Biology Lab. Don't know if that's any reason for relief either.

Although, today I do get to have lunch with the old crew, the peeps I use to work with. That should be awesome.

Not much else going on. I'm pretty excited about Thanksgiving, which reminds me - order Cake Love's cup cakes.

Morning Radio

2007-11-13T10:08:00.001-05:00

I was listening to morning radio this morning. In Boston, we have WBZ which is fantastic. It's straight news, weather and sports. In DC it still haven't found the right station. Hot 99.5 FM, the pop music station was on at the gym. Topics included - Furries-people who like to have sex with mascot costumes on, whether or not ambidexitrous people are also bisexuals, and Kanye West's mother (my respects).

Then while getting dressed I had what I thought was the Washington Post Station on. It wasn't. I realized this when the topic of human cloning came up and the caller and host debated the merits of the Billy Crystal movie, 'Multiplicity, for about 5 minutes. On second thought, maybe it was the Washington Post Station. CNN's channel was a little more interesting. The topic was 'Should religious organizations remain tax exempt?' No opinion there except there are a lot of scam churches out there taking advantage of the dumb and poor…hmm Scientology.

Good news. I got an A on my Bio exam last week. Just have to bear down for the last few weeks of the semester for finals and the Chem exam I have this Saturday. Work is getting pretty busy too, and that dry throat is starting to get to me.

Any suggestions on AM radio stations?

Happy Veteran's Day

2007-11-12T13:57:00.001-05:00

Don't have much to write about today. I got an e-mail this morning from a Fraternity Brother who is stationed in Iraq.

I'll leave you with that, but with a little rant. Every politician out there is saying support your troops.

Well, how about making some sacrifices to support your troops?

Those soldiers coming back and to war shouldn't have to worry about not getting the proper medical treatment, proper equipment and rehabilatative support.

All, hope this e-mail finds everyone doing well. Not sure where I
left off, so hopefully this brings everyone up to speed. I have
finally figured out how to send pictures, but unfortunately now I am a
bit too busy to do it. Maybe in a couple days...

My platoon is moving out to COP Ellis tomorrow morning. Finally.
Looking forward to getting there and starting our mission. Time
hasn't necessarily been dragging, but it will start going much faster
once we get busy.

I am complete with my "Right-seat" rides, for those in the military.
For the majority of everyone else, that means I'm done driving around
in the backseat of my counterpart's HMMWV reconning my AO and the
routes in and out of Baghdad, barely being able to see out of a tiny
porthole of a 6 inch thick window. So far I have seen most of the
FOBs and camps on BIAP (Baghdad International Airport)...man do those
people live the sweet life (ahem...Kathleen, Katrina, Jeff). You
wouldn't even know you were in a warzone in those places...The east
side of BIAP used to be some of Sadaam's palaces or something and they
have these great sculptured resevoirs...anyway...

I have been all over my AO, known as Radwaniyah (also known as West
Rashid, Ghartan, southwest Baghdad, etc.) If you google earth
Baghdad, look for the airport on the western side of the city (its
huge you cant miss it. Then draw a line due south, and another
southeast...you'll notice it forms a rough triangle of
farmland...thats my AO...its rather large.

Today, we ran the gauntlet through most of Baghdad taking some of the
major routes (for those who have been here you know them) that lead in
and out of the International Zone. In case anyone was wondering,
there are no traffic laws in Iraq that I have been able to discern as
of yet. Especially for Coalition Forces... we stopped in the
eastbound lane because of a suspicious object in the road, called it
up to EOD, they came, and then we crossed the median and kept
travelling east in the westbound lane against traffic. The Iraqis
just dive over to the right side of the road and stop to let your
patrol pass by. Its like being Magneto from X-men and just tossing
anything metallic away from you.

The International Zone is the super, duper secure sector of Baghdad
also known as the Green Zone (because its the only "safe" place in
Baghdad and you have to travel inside it at a "green" level - weapons
cleared). Its the main downtown part of the city that houses the US
Embassy, a bunch of Sadaam's old palaces, his parade grounds with the
large arched sabres, etc, etc, etc. When I said that BIAP was nice, I
was partly lying b/c the IZ is where its at. The U.S. embassy had the
nicest manicured lawn and gardens I have seen in a very long time, and
right next door was "Freedom Rest" (a place for soldiers to go for a
local R&R) with its 3 LARGE swimming pools. Sadly for the guys from
1-18's RECON platoon, the embassy was closed for a holiday today. I
guess someone forgot to tell the rest of us...and the insurgents.

I'll close it up with this...I finally figured out what to ask for in
those care packages. First of all, my church youthgroup sent
homebaked cookies and those guys ate up 3 boxes worth in a matter of
hours. They loved them and it made them all smile even though they
like to act like a bunch of tough guys. I think since we will be
living out at the COP it would be great if you all could send simple
things like magazines (Maxims, US News and world report, sports
illustrated, etc.) and some papers from wherever you are (i have guys
from all over the states). Also, candy is always nice. Partly for us
and partly because they like tossing it out to the Iraqi children (who
like pigeons in NYC are trained to expect it everytime your patrol
goes by). Anything else just use your imagination, we are living 60
dudes in a small compound with 2 houses and maybe only 1 or 2 days
back at FOB Falcon per 2 weeks. Anything that can make a place feel
like home or a snack or something to remind them of something other
than Iraq. Thats it. Long email and gotta run.

Best,
Paul

Dog tendancies

2007-11-11T22:48:00.001-05:00

An easy weekend.

We took Amelia the cat around with us on errands this morning. She's a sweet cat. B is getting her use to car trips for the hour and a half drive to Delaware this Thanksgving. I think we treat her more as a baby then a cat.

Sadly, the truth is I wish Amelia was a dog, and she does have dog tendacies. I played fetch with her on Saturday, but in reality she was playing catch with me. For some reason, the cat likes crumpled paper. So I crumpled up a piece of my chemistry lab and sent it down the hallway. Amelia not only chased it down, but she brought it back to me in her mouth looking for another throw.

So while on errands we brought her into Pet Smart with us (in her pet carrier, of course) and picked out a harness and leash for her. Yes, a harness and leash for a cat.

Yep.

Busy Days

2007-11-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

I almost forgot about the blog today. Last night I went out after work to a birthday party at Buffalo Billards for a co-worker and friend of B. Great guy who we'll call Sal. He turned 29 and was out looking for a hurting, meaning it was his one night to get shitty and not feel bad about it. I don't know, but I think I must be old because I almost wanted to go home and take a nap instead of going to a bar to socialize. But I had a good time.

Saddle up to the bar, partner. The corner bartender is slow, thinks he's god to all the revelers. I move to the main bar, whose tall, amazonian blonde is a capitalist. Get him a drink and get him to pay quick. You win, amazon. Blue moon beer with an orange slice in pint. Talk football with the guys. Hey friend, how is so and so. Give me a hug, I really think you are a great guy. Girl looks tired. Stranger is alsready singing to Springsteen.

I'm hanging out and having a retreat night with B tonight after a long day of chemistry.

Conversations with Abe

2007-11-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everybody. I have a bobble head Abraham Lincoln sitting on my desk. It's from the National's V. Mets game back during the summer. It's actually really nice. I use him as my moral guidance throughout the work day.

Me: Shit, I'm never going to get this all done.
Abe: Maybe you should stop browsing facebook every hour for 15 minutes.
Me: Oh.
Abe: And on that topic, maybe you should clean up your desk. It looks like it threw up and I'm rather bothered by it.
Me: Oh, yeah. I'll do it.
Abe: Now.
Me: Yes, Mr. President.
(I bobble Abe's head)
Abe: Goddahahahauhmmit!

Early Riser

2007-11-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

"Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun"

My phone rings. When I got my new phone, I thought it was a cool alarm tone to wake up to. I think popular tv show themes are the way to go with ring tones. You get the good thirty-seconds of play that feels complete because that's all they play during the introductions anyway.

It's cold.

5:45am - Still dark and wishing I could go back to dreaming about playing outfield for the Red Sox.

29 degrees.

Brush my teeth, put in my contacts, grab my work/gym/school bag, and bike to the gym.

5:45am use to by 6:30am in high school, 7:30am in college if I had an 8am class, 7:45am while I worked at TPW.

I hope 5:45am is as early as it gets.

Hi

2007-11-07T07:33:00.000-05:00

I seemed to have forgotten how to write. It's like a weekend where I forget to call my parents and I try to avoid calling them the next weekend out of the guilt brought on by my Mom and Dad saying, "so, where have you been?"

I've learned that the term for such a behavior is "avoidance behavior," one of the many terms I'm learning while taking Introduction to Psychology. I'm also taking Biology 107 for majors, and Chemistry 101.

Oh, and I have a new job at a bigger law firm. I work for their corporate group doing the simular type stuff as before. I still make it to the gym, about twice a week at 6am and sometimes on Sundays.

I have another new goal, though - to write for 180 consecutive days. Mark it down. This is post one. This 95 year old Grandmother from Spain inspired me http://amis95.blogspot.com/

I changed the title of my blog. Synchonicity was good, but I found another blog with it as its title and it didn't sound so good anymore, like finally getting a cool shirt, but it's not cool anymore cause everyone has it. So In Motion is what I'm in, constant movement. It's a scientific law or something like that.

Congrats Red Sox!

beginnings

2007-06-28T16:17:00.001-04:00

Hoa jumped. He didn't fall or slip. There was no wind or gust. Standing on the edge of Thien Cam Son (Heaven's Forbidden Mountain), Hoa jumped. His eyes wide open, the origin for all rivers in the Mekong Delta glitter in the half waxing moon to his right. The darkness of the deep valleys quiet his mind as he falls. Eyes close.

Hoa is 13 now. He slide tackles an older boy in his school at full speed. The older boy lands on his back and Hoa jumps up and breaks away with the soccer ball.

"Ha, He's a firecracker," says Kim, Hoa's father. Kim stands with the other farmers in the Soc Tran watching thier sons play soccer. He has a young face and his hands are coarse from hard work. The grin on his face rest easy as he strokes his chin.

Kim's wife, Lua, sits with her sister-in-law Kui rolling fresh spring rolls for the feast tonight.

2007-06-28T09:50:00.001-04:00

Toss and turn,

toss and turn.

4 am and I am wide awake.

Two more hours and I'll bike 7 miles to the gym.

Rolling stone.

Don't worry,

Keep on moving.

On the waitlist,

what about loans?

where will I live?

What's the plan?

2007-06-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

"Wait.. so who was she?"

Laughs, "Liam had a very interesting weekend."

"She was cute. I thought - good for Liam."

"She's a friend from High school who is living in the area...with her boyfriend."
"Oh"
"..yeah and she's looking for a way out of her relationship."
"what?"
"yep"
"She's using Liam?"
"Well, they're kinda using each other."
"Bravo, Bravo"

Acceptable violence

2007-05-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

It's Baseball Season

2007-04-25T11:57:00.001-04:00

In the middle of Farragut Square, a black man held up a mega phone, sweating in the sunlight of mid-morning. He held up a leather bound bible and talked about the apocalypse. He said, there is only one hope, one redemption. And then he began to clap his hands together and sing about Jesus.

I gave him the evil eye and resisted the urge to yell out the one instictive phrase that has been born in my blood - Yankess Suck. Not because I have anything against Jesus, but because he was wearing a Yankees shirt. Poor mofo has to turn to religion after watching his team lose 5 in a row.

Roof Shot

2007-03-12T23:40:00.000-04:00

Qoutes

2007-03-09T16:10:00.001-05:00

Qoute of the day:

"It's like her head is in my ribs." - Very Preganant Secretary.

I'm glad I am a man.

Ah, please put down your phone

2007-03-05T11:08:00.001-05:00

We have a filer that comes into the office to update the SEC code books. She is sitting in the conferance room across from my office door, and she's been on her cell phone for the past 3 hours, since 9am this morning.

Not that I like to stereotype people, but I get a kick out of stereotypes living up to their stereotypes. B and I were once driving up Wisconsin Avenue when we spotted two Hispanic guys riding a moped. The guy driving the moped dropped the other one off at the bus where there was a pick up truck with more Hispanic guys in the truck bed waiting for him. I almost clapped my hands in appreciation of the scene. How can you miss two fat guys riding up a steep hill on a moped?

Snippets from her cell phone conversation, and that's if she not listening to her ipod instead:

"She's like a Lane Bryant big. 14 plus. And I'm not saying thick. She's like big and rotund. And not really my heiiight, Cause I'm like a small, medium height, but you know, It's not anything not ordinnaray, but not my height."

"I'm not saying nothing. but you are...where are you? ...See you way out there and I'm here and I ain't going way out there. I don't even mean it like that, but I do. It's a trip and two."

"I'm just trying to say, sometimes I want to be at my place and sometimes I just don't feel like being there at all. Like Last friday, all I wanted to do was be home, and like last night. I couldn't even stand it....what? What are you talking about? Are you even listening to what I am deciphering to you?"

Meanwhile DT walks into the conferance room, an attorney from North Dakota, as white bread as it gets, calmly enacts the no see, no hear policy and checks out a book on mortgage lending.

"If we are having a serious discussion, I'm sorry to be joking, Hello? Hello? I have no right to be dissing the seriousness of your points. Hello? Hello?"

I hate Mondays.

Pan's Labyrinth

2007-03-05T10:42:00.001-05:00

After watching numerous Oscar awards go to Guerillmo Del Torro's Pan's Lybyrinth last weekend, I thought it be fun to see.

Awesome. Awesome Awesome movie. It hits on two very compelling topics, Love and War. Taking place in Post War repression of Franco's Spain, a little girl, Ofelia enters a world of fairy tale. Her world is contrasted against the dark realities of brutal violence and war. It's a tear jerker, but it's a good thing I don't cry.

I was either going to see this or Reno 911 Miami.., I'm glad I saw this.

2007-02-28T15:51:00.001-05:00

From 2007_02_26 - ...

Beast of No Nation

2007-02-22T10:09:00.001-05:00

I've been reading this book calle Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala. It's a short novella, about 150 pages, but each page full of dramatic imagery of war and violence. It's part of this new genre of lost african boys - fighting in civil wars and desperate of hope. I'm almost done with it, but the main charecter in the book is only 12 or so. He goes from a life of literacy to being forced to kill for the rebels and be sodomized by the guerilla commander.

Disturbing to say the least.

2007-02-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

Icky my Hermit Crab

2007-02-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

2007-02-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

2007-02-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

Morning

2007-01-17T10:02:00.000-05:00

HAHA

THe DCists commenting on the most recent VA legislative suggestion.

Commenting on a proposed resolution that would have the state apologize for slavery, the 79 year-old Hargrove suggested that African Americans ought to "get over" slavery, then put his comments in context by noting that we don't "force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ". Wow. It's like the state is trying to act extra-offensive to make up for the void left by George Allen.

Long Pause

2007-01-11T23:10:00.000-05:00

She came in to my room late at night - dinner with friends. I had just worked out and ate left over chicken soup I made last Sunday.

She looks at me with sad and serious eyes and says, "I was thinking, and intuitively, I don't think you really want to go to Law School..and it's not that you aren't working on your applications are working hard on your personal statement, it's just that you always sound more excited when you talk about doing something else even if it's doing something like shaving sheep hair off sheep on a small and remote island off the coast of Cape Cod."

I blinked, looked up from my glass of scotch, a long day of filing form 4s, proofreading stockholder notices and rewriting opinions for managing partners and said, "well, of course not, but it's what I'm doing now."

She blinks (the type that is slow and hard and almost makes you pee in your pants), "What is the point then?"

I don't know, I think. I think that I should become a lawyer because it's important. It gives you authority, etc...."It's Important"

She doesn't believe it. She looks like she wants to sock me in the face and say, Liar. I know that look.

She winces (pain), looks up and says, "well, we don't always start out where we want to, but it takes courage to get to where we do. I have friends who aren't exactly doing what they want to do, but they do the other so they may get to do it."

Confused, "What?"

"Betty! Miguel's girlfriend works for a publishing company, but she wants to write children's books. She's not doing exactly what she wants but, she's working in the indusry! (Pause) (Long Pause) and I don't care that you are working on the second largest bank offering in history....You are not doing what you want!"

"What do I want to do?"

"Write...right?"

"Yeah, but it's complicated...And I think it's important what I'm doing now..."

"Well, I found some thing on Monster today..writing jobs. You write a little bit, and maybe a few uninteresting columns and build a portfolio."

"But it's probably a salary cut."

"Yeah, but it's what you want to do. You don't want to but down the road 15 years from now at the age of 40 wondering what you could have done.....(long pause) 15 years? wow. That's it."

Girl gets all introspective and quiet.

I think and blink my eyes, quietly thinking about where I'm coming from and say, " My Dad works 12 hours a day at a small upholstery shop in the next town over from my house making a few bucks more then me an hour. When he gets sick, that's it. If he gets hurt, that's it. When he breaks down, I'm it. My Mom works the night shift at a medical supply company. She wraps needles and plastic tubes in plastic and puts them in boxes for far less then I do sitting at a desk proof reading bullshit for some attorny who makes 4 times what I do."

"Well, why do you think they came all the way from Vietnam for?...so you can be miserable?"

I didn't know what to say except that I wanted to do this...become an attorney, work corporate and make money. I thought that if I became a lawyer and made lots of money, my parents would be proud. My writing would always be there for me...like a friend that I could abuse and throw away...and when i needed her most, she would come back and love me with her arms. But it's not exactly like that. Writing takes practice and determintion...and a bit of talent. What do I got, anyway?

Conclusion? I don't know what to do.

Restaurant Week 2007

2006-12-20T07:59:00.000-05:00

Washington DC's Restaurant Week

January 8-14 and look who is participating: 1789 (sadly, it looks as if they have already been booked up all week for dinner).

2007 is already looking up

2006-12-14T09:40:00.000-05:00

From DAN SHAUGHNESSY's article in the Globe welcoming Matsuzaka to the Red Sox:

Take the ball every fifth day, pitch your heart out, make no excuses, say only good things about your teammates, salute the fans, sign autographs, smile, and act like you are enjoying yourself. Let the experience of pitching for the Red Sox at Fenway Park wash over you like a soft summer rain. You're going to love it here.

New Years Eve

2006-12-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

The problem - "Hey, so what are you up to New Year's Eve?" and worse, "What do you want to do New Year's eve.." implying that you must spend the most overrated night of the year with person requesting not only your presence, but also take responsibility for planning both yours and whomever's overrated night.

In response to the $125 cover charges, binge drinkers who park themselves at open bars and inflated cab prices I offer you my top ten things I'd like to be doing on New Years Eve.

1.Not pay a $125 to go to a party that serves unlimited amounts of booze to hang out with a bunch of overly ambitious party-goers who feel more privileged then you because they paid $125 too. Trust me, I've done this before. It ends well only for the VIP people who paid $200 because they don't have to wait in line for Zelco Vodka drinks and Canadian Mist Whiskey. These things can be fun if you go in a group, unless you have that one whiner in the group who is horribly self-indulgent and miserable that night because she doesn't have anyone to kiss at midnight and gets all depressed cause she is 15 pounds heavier then last year and for some reason has gas and feels bloated...so she's not dancing either.

2.Dressy cocktail parties. These can be fun as long as you like the people there. I went to one of these last year and had a blast. It works because I like meeting new people, the music is not ear deafening so you can make conversation, and it's comfortable. Once the Jack Daniels came out, I sorta remember my dance partner falling into a Christmas tree, a late night dinner at a kebab place with a homeless man, and a bus ride home at 3am. Classy.

3. Football - I would really like to be playing football. Co-ed would make it more fun because then you can't take the game as seriously, and if you do, look in the mirror and say, "I'm a douche-bag." (for those who remember, I use to play in a co-ed flag football league last year for a congressional league. We ended up playing really well and getting to the Superbowl. Then I realized it was getting too competitive and the fun wasn't there anymore. I called myself a douche-bag and opted not to play this season.)

4. Rock Climbing - There's a gym in Rockville, MD cleverly called the Rockville Climbing Center. How cool would that be. "What did you do on NYE?" "Oh, I just hung around and climbed a 100' rock wall with some buddies."

5. Scrabble - I wish I could play more often. So, I'm a dork, but speed scrabble while drinking -I'm a cool dork.

6. Beer Pong - greatest game in the world.

7. A bottle of McCullen 12, Tom Waits and hanging out with the dog (although I don't have a dog currently in residence, I'm picturing an 80lbs chocolate lab, who likes to fetch and play tug of war). I do this when I feel like being alone, cause usual I am alone when I do this. Tom Waits is under appreciated in the female arena, hence I only do this alone...conclusion - I'd rather not do this unless I'm alone, but I'd rather not be alone.

8. An intimate dinner with the girlfriend. Some place nice with wine, dessert. This is always nice, but especially nice on NYE. You rehash where you are, where you've been and where you are going, but together, and NYE is one of those times where you can bring up those type of conversations, without one or the other thinking, "Is he/she thinking about abandoning ship?" And of course, everybody likes sex.

9. Throwing a party. Even after all the talk about having NYE being overrated, I would still throw the party..even if NYE is the one night in the year where most people on average get black out drunk, most people on average randomly hook up with someone, more often then not the police will show up. If the house is still standing and no one died, then you are guaranteed to have thrown a most successful party..also, as long as you do not run out of booze before 3am.

On another note, I once threw one of these parties while on break during my sophomore year of college. It was only suppose to be a few people and of course, a gazillion showed up. My parents came home to find my Cousin bleeding from his mouth (he was showing us how he could do one handed pushups) and puking; a good friend's girlfriend at the time was in the bathroom giving some other dud a blow job, slut; a few other underaged kids puking outside and a romping, hip-grinding party going on inside. Let's just say It's still talked about to this day. And thank god my parents were wasted too. It hit me how drunk my dad was when he decided to go around and take pictures of me and my friends with the new digital instead of kicking everyone out and grounding me for life. 12/31/01 Baby!

10. Take it easy and have a kick ass brunch the next morning. New Year's Day Brunch is probably my favorite part about NYE. a. I love Breakfast; b. Mimosas are delicious; c. BACON; d. BACON e. BACON. Being unproductive is encouraged, and football is on ALL DAY. Last year I think I saw King Kong at the Uptown Theatre. Not that it was a mistake to go watch a movie or anything, but being hungover and watching an action packed, visually jarring moving on a huge single screen theatre is not the best idea during a hangover.

Saving Baby Miriam

2006-12-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

Boston Glob Story - Saving Baby Miriam

Trailer

2006-11-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Livings

2006-11-20T17:49:00.000-05:00

While I'm busy at work protecting rich investors and corporate money-makers, the girlfriend is off saving the world. Here is a project of hers that got into the front page of the Washington Times last week.

I did buy diapers for an organization helping out low-income families with newborn babies this Saturday. Give me extra props because I felt like everyone was staring at me while I picked out the size three, super-absorbant Huggies.

Cashier: Paper or plastic?
Me: (Well, they are plastic diapers so..) Plastic, thanks.
Cashier: Do you have a bonus card?
Me: (Hands her the Bonus card) Nice, I saved $4 on the diapers....(Pause) They aren't for me...I mean, They aren't for my baby either..They're for that group outside collecting...Nevermind. Thanks.
Cashier: Have a nice day, sir.

2006-11-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

Office vampire was showing off her mangaled feet in the reception area today..gross.

Sundays

2006-11-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

"We're cooking that dish you like..where we cook on the table," mom says. My mouth is watering because I can picture the set up and already smell the butter melting on the electric griddle. It is set up in and around an assortment of thinly sliced raw beef, scored calamari, and jumbo shrimp. There is a tangy pineapple sauce nestled next to plates of lettuce, cucumbers and rice noodles. The table is glowing and warm.

"Have you eaten yet," she asks.

"Not yet. I'm doing a little work today. I might pick up something on the way home."

"Well, eat something good. It's getting cold here. Hold on, your Dad wants to talk to you."

"Okay"

I can picture the little rolls of rice paper are out too, lying next to freshly picked spears of mint leaves.

"Hi D. You watching the game tonight?"

"Of course"

"Good, I think Peyton is going to cry again."

"I Hope so. How is the kitchen looking?"

"It's okay, maybe by the time you come home for Christmas, it'll look brand new."

"Yeah, I'll buy my tickets soon."

"Okay, be good. Talk to you next week."

Happy Halloween

2006-10-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

The Artificial Turf

2006-10-25T09:25:00.000-04:00

I caught this column in the Post this morning - Silver Spring's Turf.

The author is all about saving it, and I have to agree that Urban planning has to take into account these type of open spaces. College Universities have them. GW has Kogan Plaza and the Quad (like every other college campus). Urban Planners have to plan responsibly and not just go where the money goes.

The space is great for the weekly farmers markets, outdoor film festivals, jazz fest and so on. People hang out and relax on it, and people watch. It's a shame it'll be torn up for construction this spring.

BUT am I the only one who thinks artificial turf is also kinda creepy? Sitting on it makes the hairs on my neck stand up a bit, like it's going to get up and swallow me whole into it's pit of artificial astroness and It's victims will become agents of the turf, roaming around to conform others to its plastic turf laying until the world is converned in green astro turf. Or that its grass will start growing all of a sudden to drown me in a sea of green where it slowly decomposes its victims and grows more.

I'm all for saving it, infact, I'd like to take it to the next step. Let's make this Pinnoccio a real boy and plant some real grass, maybe a bush or two, a row of trees and some benches. That'd be cool.

Icky Update and my pelvis hurts

2006-10-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

I don't really know how it happens, but I just get put in charge of stuff. Like last year, people wanted to do fantasy football. The boss comes into my office - "hey Dat, why don't you set it up" Next thing you know, I'm Commissioner Dat. Softball wasn't my idea either. I said, "sure, I'd play." Other people did the research, next thing you know I'm the one buying bats and gloves and writing the e-mail updates each week. I'm all about the idea of ' anything worth doing, is worth doing right.'

Last night I was pitching one of those softball games where you feel like you've finally gotten into groove. I have five or six strike outs and only walked two players. Anyway, on one pitch at the top of the last inning, I got a line drive four inches above my manhood and went down like a pile of bricks. Good news is, I got up and made the play at first. hoorah! So it goes. My pelvis is sore and I can still have kids.

Update: Icky is moving around a bit. He hasn't come out of his shell yet. He's probably still exaughsted. It'll take him another few days until he finishes growing his exoskeleton. And I was serious about the Pirate party. This is one of my reminders for it.

Congratulations Icky!

2006-10-17T11:21:00.000-04:00

Icky, my Hermit crab of a year and a half now just molted. Molting is the process hermit crabs and other antropods go through when they out grow their exoskeletons. They burrow into the sand for about a month and store lots of food and water. Then it'll take a week or so for the hermit crab to get out of it's shell and another 10 days for it to regrow his exoskeleton.

I'm pretty proud of the little guy. I had noticed he has been pretty quiet in the past week and gave him a bath on Friday night. I checked his cage on Sunday morning to find what looked like a dead Icky hanging out of his shell. It wasn't! It was his exoskeleton. I almost tossed the whole cage out before I noticed his little naked claw hanging out under his hard shell. Whew.

And to think of the hard life he has had - His friend Steve dying early on to unknown causes, then almost being abandonded after weeks of neglect. Flies and bugs were crawling into his cage before I got to him.

His cage is clean now. I got him some carribbean blue sand, a new water sponge and made him a log cabin which he is quiet fond of. Sometimes during the day he hangs out on top of it, taking in the view, enjoying some fine hermit crab food, probably thinking about Steve. At night he'll crawl underneath it to sleep.

He likes to work out too. He'll pick up and toss around his log now and then. I've seen him benching that thing with one hand. Takes after his owner.

We're throwing a pirate party for him this weekend - Seriously. And if anyone knows a good place to get hermit crab gifts and accessories - drop a line.

2006-10-06T16:38:00.000-04:00

A heart wrenching cause - Please help

Dreamland

2006-10-06T12:10:00.000-04:00

She looks like a little girl,

Sleeping and Drifting,

Curled on white sheets,

Legs and arms curled up,

Underneath an ocean of white comforter.

Her red hair swims in a mess of blue covered pillows,

Lazily danging into the pool.

While Rain drops against the window,

Light and easy, she drifts off to Dreamland.

Shit on the poor

2006-10-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

What ever happened to responsible capitalism?

New York Time article about dumping waste alond Africa's poor Ivory Coast.

Fall

2006-09-28T10:17:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-27T10:13:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-20T14:16:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-15T16:16:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-13T17:40:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

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

Taste of Bethesda

Boyz...with the z

2006-09-12T18:22:00.000-04:00

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

2006-09-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

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.

LIfe is a highway

2006-08-25T17:17:00.000-04:00

WRITING POSITIONS AVAILABLE
St. John Tradewinds newspaper
seeks a qualified writer for a
special columnist position.
Position includes writing a
weekly column. Column topics
would consist primarily of
St. John issues as they relate
to its native population.
Candidate must be able to
meet weekly deadlines.
Please send cover letter,
resume and writing samples to:
St. John Tradewinds
Attn: MaLinda Nelson
P.O. Box 1500
St. John, VI 00831
or fax to 693-8885

Maybe some of you have been following my count down on gmail. Six more days till Maho Bay. B and I will be embarking on a five day vacation to St. John for some beaching, snorkeling, sailing and four wheel driving. Not that I hate my job or anything, but everyone seems so miserable around here. It weighs on the shoulders day in and day out and may one day break someones back.

It just doesn't feel right, sitting in an office for 10 hours a day, five days a week. Say you average a 9 hour day, work 48 weeks a year, take 2 weeks of vacation and another handful of days for sick days and holidays. That's 2/3rds of your year spent working 2/3rds of your waking day (an extra hour for commuting). And the 1/3rd you have to yourself, you spend thinking about that 2/3rds of your life at work. 1/3rd of you that is awake and yearning for something more...fulfilling, something beautiful. And like a car pushed to the limit, we're given a little oil to keep the gears going, accepting our fate on this congested highway. The volume 1/3rd of the way up on the radio playing commercial after commercial. buy me, you need this, eat here. Looking out our fogged windows at the world around us.

Yikes, I need a vacation. Maybe I'll apply for that job too.

Boston Massacre

2006-08-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

I know. I haven't posted anything in a while. It's that end of the baseball season race where the winners get seperated from the losers and after the recent Boston Massacre, I know where my team lies - with the Chess club kids who get made fun of by the AV kids.

There was a tug at the heart this past weekend each time I watch Damon come up to bat:

We went for a beer and I proceeded to order way too glasses of Glendivich 18, neat.

Damon: you all right man?

Me: F.. you, ass.

Damon: I thought you were my friend?

Me: I hate you. You're dead to me.

Damon: Remember that time we all dressed up to look like cave men? We can't forget the good times. That's all we have.

Me: (Visibly drunk and slurring) Here's a $50 (throw it at Damon. Falls over a little) Thanks for the good time, whore!

(Damon slips the money in his pocket, downs his beer and leaves crying)

Me: Good riddence. Bartender, give me another scotch and one for my invisible center fielder.

Three thoughts this morning

2006-08-16T12:07:00.000-04:00

1. I need a hair cut.

2. Work sucks.

3. The Red Sox are sucking a lot.

Sick?

2006-08-07T15:22:00.000-04:00

Well, the secretary who gets paid a lot more then I do is sitting at her cube reading a trashy love novel. Now I haven't seen the title of it, but there is a woman on the cover of it in a blue colonial dress that shows enough cleavage to make a holy man sin. Enough with the bitterness that usually comes with a Monday, what I really wanted to write about is my weekend battle with a virus.

Now I haven't been seriously sick in a span of two to three years. The last time I was sick may have been Senior year of college during the winter after finals. It was one of those two days, out of commission, fever type things. I've had my colds and sore throats, but nothing lasting longer then a few days. Maybe it's because I eat well, and exercise a lot, but maybe it's my fondness for a dark glass of whiskey, or a combination of everything.

This Saturday, however, yours truly got sick. during the day I felt fine, but then 2pm hit, and I felt like Sonny Liston after Muhammad Ali's knock out punch that no one saw. I had shivers, my head felt like it was going to give birth to Athena, and my stomach was doing its own macherena. What did I do? I tried to go out. It was suppose to be one of those blow out party nights where you wake up the next day wondering why you have a receipt for 3 Gatorades and microwavable Mama Celeste green pepper pizza in your hand from Rite Aid. Alas, I did the 10 minute walk to the Metro with the whole heated intention of getting on but, I walked in to the Giant supermarket instead. I bought all the drinks in the supermarket that was splashed with labels yelling ANTI-OXIDANT, VITAMINS, HEALTHY, etc...and Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Walked back home and proceeded to sleep for thirteen hours.

By noon the next day, I was fine. I helped a friend move, went to the mall, did laundry and weeded the garden. So was I really sick? Can I continue my streak and say 'I haven't been sick for so and so long' or does the streak count start over? I say no. It was simply a mere inconvenience. Although there was a half hour period during my inconvenience where I did want to be back in Boston, climb up the stairs to the master bedroom, knock on the door and tell my loving parents, "I feel sick." Such a baby.

Heat index

2006-08-02T12:26:00.000-04:00

In extreme heat, one has to learn a certain patience. The heat index is at a suffocating 102 degrees Fahrenheit in Washington, DC. People will act a little crazy and sooner or later you'll be acting a little crazy. It's like Night of the Living Dead, where we all start walking like zombies, bumping into each other, our mouths open and legs apart, moving to a cool shade and air conditioned buildings.

While on the Metro yesterday morning at Union Station, an angry black man walked on screaming obscenities at a balding middle-aged white man. Black man had a disc man, big head phones, a black tank top, black hat and black jean shorts. White man had on a white shirt, red tie and gray slacks.

White man says, "I don't appreciate being threatened."

The Black man stands up and out of his seat, braces himself on the bar and yells, "Fuck head. If I was a threatening you, You'd be lying on the ground bleeding right there." He points in between the metro seats. "So, no I'm not fucking threatening you, ASSHOLE!"

The morning rush hour commuters all look at each other with the expression - it's really too hot and too early for this.

I saw a little old lady dancing in line at the Whole Foods in Silver Spring last night because in her hand was peacan ice cream.

I haven't lost it yet, but I had this desire to walk through every bubbling fountain on the way to work this morning.

I just got this message from Metro

2006-08-01T16:07:00.000-04:00

Disruption at All Stations towards All Stations. (Expect crowded conditions and delays due to extreme temperatures.)

Cooking with love

2006-07-27T10:21:00.000-04:00

I'm currently reading Bill Buford's HEAT. It's about this writer who becomes a slave in Mario Batali's Three Star NYC restaurant called Babbo. It's like watching a good documentary. Buford is funny in his humility and inspirational in his efforts and observations.

One of his observations I particularly liked this morning is his description of a phenomenon called cooking with love. When you cook a meal for someone, it is a seduction. He watches the chef's at Babbo, and even the most mercurial tempered chefs will smile while they are coming up with a new dish for the staff to try out. They are not only providing sustenance, the one basic human need for life, but they are also providing joy, playing with taste buds and obviously hoping you cream your pants. Buford makes another particularly good point, "what else do you stick in a person?"

Personally I defer from the 'kitchen talk,' but the idea of cooking with love is why I do like to cook. I don't ever call myself a good cook, especially after reading this book that describes processes called reducing, pureeing, and bias-slicing, but I do think my double effort and love for it does manage to produce something edible. I do cook with love. I also write with love, as frustrating as these two crafts can be.

The other night I chopped up fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden, carved day old French bread (perfect for bruscetta when toasted). I took the bread and dipped it in olive oil, toasted it and made a beautiful bruscetta for a beautiful girl - now that was a seduction.

I haven't made a dessert yet, in a long time actually, but I have a recipe for canned cherries, roasted almonds, meringue that gets molded with alcohol to look like a spewing volcano when lit - now that will be some night.

L Bomb

2006-07-25T13:56:00.000-04:00

11 pm in bed. Lights are out, the air conditioning blares and a soft glow comes off the halogen lights of the adjacent building and through the closed verticle blinds. It leave verticle stripes and shadows through the room. R&B plays in the back ground.

She: I'm sorry if I cornered you in bed last night
He: No, not really... I mean you didn't move around in bed that much. You did hog the blanket, but that's not new.
She: (Chuckles) No silly. The other thing.
He: Oh, The L bomb.
She: What?
He: The other thing.
She: You mean that - I love you.
He: Well, I wouldn't have said it back, if I didn't mean it.
She: It's okay if you're not ready. I mean we're all differant people with differant experiances who arrive at differant conclusions...
He: (tries to interrupt) but
She: I mean that pregnant pause.. I could see that your brain was working - 'well, I could say it back and we'd make out, or I could not say it and be in the dog house,' and well, that's okay. You don't have to say it back just because I did.

(Pause)

He: (touches her face with his calloused palm. Smooth and warm) Well, the pause was for dramatic affect and could we not use the word pregnant?
She: (pouts) I'm being serious.
He: Well, so am I. Love is not a term I throw around lightly, and yes you did catch me by surprise. And I was thinking during that pause, but not about my options, but about how great life is to have given me a gorgeous girl who loves me. I'm crazy about you.

(She kisses him on the cheek)

She: You're sweet.
He: And I love you.
She: Really?
He: Absolutely. Everything about you.

(She moves her body closer to his, wraps her legs around him)

He: Well, see now you are cornering me.
She: Well, I'm sure you can figure a way out.

2006-07-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

DC Restaurant Week!

2006-07-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

August 14th - Augst 20th

See the site for details:

http://www.washington.org/restaurantwk/

Lunch will be a pre-fixed three course meal for $20.06.
Dinner will be a pre-fixed three course meal for $30.06.

I'm looking forward to hitting up Oceanaire. Definetly going to Galileo (meaning to post about my last experiance there soon), and maybe Butterfield 9 for lunch.

Rant

2006-07-19T23:17:00.000-04:00

There are moments before a days end where I will think about the one question a high school guidance counselor is suppose to ask - So, what do you want to do for a living? Thinking back on that question, I don't actually recall it. It was more, "So, Dat. What schools did you have in mind?" Maybe Mr. Walgreen, who was not only the best guy in the world and our Junior class advisor, but also, my guidance counselor just thought I already had a direction? And maybe there is a percentage of 18 year-old, high school seniors that do.
For me, it wasn't even until May 15, 2004, the day of my college graduation, that I actually thought about 'making a living.'

Throughout high school and my undergraduate career, I have always been drawn to the social studies and the humanities categories of study - History, English, Humanities and Sociology. And like a liberal fool, I pursued these interest without giving much thought about life after GWU. A practical path would probably have led me to a masters in Chemical engineering working for some cosmetics company trying to find a formulae to cure male baldness.

However, before I left GW, I did manage to discover hints of joy in the process of creative writing. I wrote short stories, award winning plays, screen plays, horrible poems and a few decent non-fiction essays.

So What do I want to do for a living?

Good question. But like a good reader and an out-of-practice, mediocre writer - we have already reached that conclusion.

Write.

Life as a corporate paralegal

2006-07-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

D: Hey, Joe! What's that term you use for staying late?

Joe: EATING DICK, as in D.I.K

(pause)

Eating Dinner in the KITCHEN.

Making Steak tonight

2006-07-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

I like to marinade steak in:

Half a cup of soy sauce

tsp of salt

tsp of pepper

tbl of sugar

3 cloves of crushed garlic

Marinade for 24 hours. And half an hour before cooking toss in lime juice and vinegar to help tenderize the meat.

Health kick

2006-07-13T09:16:00.000-04:00

So I've been on a health kick. Well deserved, I have to say. This is the third morning in a row where I've had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast. Lunch has been consisting of at least one serving of fruits and/or vegetables. That goes the same with dinner. Shrimp and basil pizza on Sunday, stuffed green pepers on Monday, Chicken swarma on Tuesday, pork chops and fat free baked bean on Wednesday. When will this madness stop!!??

Why is the health kick so well deserved?

In the past three weeks, I have participated in two trips to Fugo de Chao, an all you can eat buffet at Foxwoods, Dimsum in Chinatown, two steak dinners, a family BBQ and a 13 hour drinking marathon.

The plain oatmeal that sits infront of me at this moment is no Washington Deli Bagel with veggie cream cheese, but I tell myself, "That will do pig, that will do."

Some pictures from Naushon

2006-07-12T14:01:00.000-04:00

Sunset from Bridge
Old Stone Mansion

Back at it

2006-07-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

I've been on vacation!

Yep, I'm back. Hi Blog!

Rubber sidewalks?

2006-07-02T14:05:00.000-04:00

Rubber Sidewalks?

Home is where my stomach is

2006-06-29T11:31:00.000-04:00

I don't usually get homesick, but the thought of going home makes me even more anxious for the occasion. I'm leaving on Sunday and won't be back until the following Sunday. What am I looking forward to?

1. My parents oh-so-unbelievable cooking

2. Drinking in the back yard with my dad

3. BBQing

4. Beer Pong and bar hoping with the amigos

5. Pick up basketball games

6. Playing with the little cousins

7. Hercules, my wimp of a poodle-terrier mix

8. Hitting up the beaches

9. Spending a day on Naushon

10. Spening another day on Martha's Vineyard

11. Showing a special someone all of it.

Just to elaborate how good my parents cooking is - what follows is a tribute:

I didn't realize how good their home cooking was until I had left for college. I guess I had assumed all parents can cook like they can. Growing up we never went out to eat and only on rare occasions would order pizza. Once I got to college, I was shocked! It's not that the food at GW and around campus was bad, it just wasn't incredible. Even to this day, when I go home to Boston there is only one restaurant I really look forward to: 174 Pond Street.

They make everything from scratch, using authentic Vietnamese recipes with their own improvisions. They know the good markets to get fresh seafood and vegtables. My dad grows fresh peppers. Our kitchen is huge, and their collection of cooking tools are expansive.

My dad is the mastermind. He's an incredibly ingenuitive man. My sister took my parents to a thai restaurant in NY a while back. Two weeks later he was making a Pad Thai that would kick all other Pad Thai's butts. He used more scallions, a lighter vinergar mix and fresh sprouts.

My mom is the desert chef. She makes this pound cake that requires whipping eggs until they are foaming. The end product - AMAZING. She is also an expect at the proportions of Vietnamese coffee, brewed on top of sweet condensed milk right on top of your glass.

Other incredibles: Mom's spring rolls, Dad's steak tips, Their Pho -Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup, Dad's friend rice, Mom's fried bananas, Dad's sushi platter, Mom's tomato and beef stuffed tofu, Dad's Shrimp dumplings on sugar canes, Mom's surf and turf crepes.

Okay, I'm hungry now.

Psuedo-Maturity

2006-06-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

The office vampire still amuses me with her vacant intellect, pungent racism and pseudo-maturity. What I mean by pseudo-maturity is best exemplified by what I over heard her complaining about the other day.

Secretary 1: Been typing away all day on forms in the back room there.
Office Vampire: I use to work an associate in another law firm that had me typing away at forms all day.
Secretary 1: Boy, my fingers are tired.
Office Vampire: One time, he clearly made a verb error and so I fixed it for him on the form. He comes up to me and starts yelling at me - 'how dare you change that!' obviously he was upset a mere Secretary had corrected him.
Secretary 1: Did you ask him about it?
Office Vampire: No, but it was clearly wrong. As an attorney he should have known that. Needless to say, my stint there didn't last too long.
Secretary 1: I have to get back to work.

Then there was the time she got really angry and complained to our receptionist about the amount of fruit the partner she works for takes from the fruit salad bowl we get every morning. Yes, I get breakfast for free at work. No complaints here, but the Office Vampire.. well..

Office Vampire: This is getting ridiculous. Every morning S. walks in and gets a big bowl of fruit leaving the rest of the office with scraps.
Receptionist: Well, he is a partner and the reason we have fruit in the first place.
Office Vampire: Yeah, but shouldn't we order two bowls. I mean one for S. and maybe a secret one for the rest of the office. It's just not fair. He comes in early and has his pick.
Receptionist: I'll have to ask G about that.
Office Vampire: I mean he takes all the strawberries, kiwis and oh yeah, orange slices and leaves us the melon!
Receptionist: No one else has complained.
Office Vampire: He's just so freaking cheap. ahhh!

Sorry, this was all within this past week. She also got in a fight with another secretary about the fact that she has been assigned two nights to stay late in July -OUT OF THE WHOLE MONTH OF JULY. She referred to it as forced labor. It's not like you are not getting paid overtime for it. And because she's an older lady, wears glasses, dresses conservativly, even presents herself in an intellectual manner - one would assume she had the maturity level of a nun at a dinner for the Pope. Not so much. It's more along the lines of an 8th grade school trip to Washington, DC. You know, the kids that try to do pulls up while the metro train is moving.

Lean Cuisine is not Made for Men

2006-06-27T14:06:00.000-04:00

Every Saturday or Sunday evening while I'm strolling through my local Giant Grocery Store, the age old debate everyman struggles over rages on in my head : What do I want to eat...specifically...what do I want to eat for lunch?

Now I've been through my phases. I used to pack a sandwich, unusually turkey or ham on spicy mustard between slices of wheat bread. It would accompany an apple or piece of fruit of some sort and maybe pretzels. Yeah, I got bored of that quickly. I would really have to load my sandwich with a half pound of turkey for any kind of satisfaction. And think of all the separate items that have to be bought - lettuce, mustard, meat, bread, tomatoes; the effort one has to put into making lunch the night before; and finally the satisfaction factor vs. work put in. It all added up to boring and not worth it. And have you ever had a sandwich sit in mustard for 8 hours? Not appetizing.

There was the Tuna Nicolese salad phase. Lettuce, tuna, egg, olives and oil and vinegar. Again, it's great freshly prepared, but have you had a salad after it's been soaked in dressing for 8 hours? Not appetizing, and obviously the cost/benefit factor wasn't up to par.

A few weeks ago I happen to swing by the frozen food section. I'm a bigger fan of frozen vegetables then I am of canned vegetables. Taste fresher. Wouldn't you rather be frozen to be preserved rather then canned in some weird juice? And holy cow was Lean Cuisine on sale. Each one had a delectable name and picture - Chicken Carbonera, Three bean chili, Chicken Fettacini, Pepper Meatloaf. Each packed in a convenient white box with a promise of a flavorful healthy meal after a five to seven minute stint in the microwave.

So I bought a bunch and have been bringing them to work for lunch. Of course I have to clearly mark which Chicken Carbonera mine as to not confuse them with the other Chicken Caboneras the secretaries and ladies in the office bring. That should have been my first clue. No other male brings lean cuisine for lunch or any other frozen/microwavable instant meal for lunch. Only yours truly, the polite Asian kid. So I am now the polite Asian kid that has lean cuisine for lunch.

Not only do I have to wait by the microwave for my meal to be cooked, I have to make small talk with the middle aged to shouldn't-you-be-retired-aged Secretaries. I'm okay with small topics like weather, vacation plans and movies, but don't expect me to have an opinion on American Idol or what's that show with the people on the Island..Gilligan, but not as funny. Anyway, I'll find myself saying - so what's for lunch - referring to their frozen meal. There will be responses like 'Oh, I have the mac and cheese. I like the Fettuccine, but it always upsets my stomach.' Thanks for the tip.

The worst part - The absolute worst part - I'm still hungry. 268 calories equals two very refreshing Sam Adams which I would prefer over a lean cuisine any day, but there is this stigma about drinking at work - the Europeans do it, so we shouldn't.

I've learned my lesson - lean cuisine is not for men, and now will go hunt out a meaty sandwich.

Fogo de Chao

2006-06-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday I had the manliest meal I've ever had. Last Sunday, my roommate R went to Atlantic City to help run a Police Expo, something that he has been doing for the past gazillion years. Right before he left that Sunday, He asks me, "Have any bets you want to place?"

Without skipping a beat I pull out a twenty and tell him to bet Black, Red, Red, and then Black. I had gone into a trance, it was this weird zone - a type of rhythm athletes pick up. I was Dwayne Wade for a good five seconds.

That night while laying in bed with my girlfriend, R calls. I think to myself, shit, he forgot something. Nope. He says, "Hey Buddy, I just won you $290!"

And so this past Saturday, we go out in style to Fogo De Chao. It's a classy joint on 11th and Penn. It's colored by bachelor parties, expense accounts, anniversaries, birthday parties and high rollers. It's an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. This place is definitely not PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) friendly but more for my PETA (People for the Eating of Tasty Animals). They bring out huge skewers of Fillets, tips, lamb, chicken, parmesan pork and sausages. Each patron gets a coin with green on one side and red on the other. With a flip to green, the servers come by with these chunks of meat, slice you off a bit with a sword until you flip the coin over to red. They have one waiter dedicated to solely bringing you out side dishes of fried bananas and cheddar and chived mashed potatoes. The salad bar is an array of fresh vegetables, sun dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, a large wheel of parmesan cheese and anti-pasto meats, including smoked salmon.

R and I have cocktails, a bottle of really good Kenwood Merlot and about a cow and a half each. It was much needed male bonding time. I forget sometimes how much we've been through together and how much we've seen. Yeah, so It was a man date! And it being a man date, I rightly fished the meal off with a large glass of Macallen 12 on the rocks and R had an Irish Coffee. Not Irish enough, he said.

I'm still in a bit of a food comotose.

Happy First Day of Summer!

2006-06-21T15:39:00.000-04:00

The hot heat of the sweltering subway made the morning commute a mad rush of pissed off pedestrians. I didn't like it one bit, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face because it's the first day of summer.

Have you ever seen that commercial where all the suites run out of their office building celebrating like it was the last day of school? People are pushing each other out in office chairs, and station wagons screech out of the parking lot - a dream deferred.

So I've come to terms that I can't have two months off during the summer - in reliation I'm set on happy hours and weekend trips.

Stay tuned for Dat's list of the top 100 things to do before the end of the summer.

As a preview: Today, I'll be kayaking in Georgetown. Tomorrow is lunch at The Hotel Washington

Saturday is BBQ Fest

Ogled

2006-06-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

He stared without embarrassment at the attractive brunette standing in the line across from him. Lunch time at The Corner Bakery on H street is always entertaining. He wore a grey suit, red silk tie and white shirt. His sun glasses pushed back his blond floppy hair, and his brown eyes ogled without abandon at the petite brunette in a white skirt, pink collared shirt and amber necklace. Her taller friend had noticed the staring and chuckled in whispers to the petite brunet. Floppy handed over his credit card to the cashier without removing his eyes from petite brunette, and he smiled a big and confident grin, like a contender about to get his prize.

More giggles pursued as the ladies hurriedly left the cafe to sit outside, their laughing escalates as they walk father away.

Perhaps I should have told him that his fly was way down and his little buddy was out staring without embarrassment as well.

From the Rooftop

2006-06-12T23:47:00.000-04:00

He waits on the corner of 17th and Penn, white shirt, crisp and clean, Ipod plays Jay-Z - cool and confident. It's a regular Wednesday, beautiful and warm. A slight breeze blow in from the west, but nothing unusual. It's early April and tourist season is in full swing. The retired who have too much time in their hands and the middle schools kids who have too much energy in their hands descend like hungry sight seeing vultures on our meticulously clean, Roman Inspired, North West, DC.

The e-mail said lunch, rooftop. Is it a date?

He did kiss her, or she him, or maybe they just both kissed each other on that Saturday night. They definitely danced. He had spun her and twisted her in an an intricate and beautiful pattern of steps all night while his heart wound up in knots. She's beautiful, he thought. Don't hurt me, she thought. Who could hurt someone so sweet, he thought. Please, don't let me down, he thought. He's cute. He had forgotten that they were there that night for his Birthday celebration. There would have been more shots, dumb faces and frat brother antics. Things were different tonight and his friends knew. They let him dance with the cute red haired girl. And her friends, who knew him as the nice guy, did the same. And they had all danced too, or at least watched the boy and the girl dance right up to the intimate moment where he felt like undoing all those knots in his heart - he kissed her and she leaned in, thinking Finally.

An old woman with her fanny pack walks buy with her matching accessory of a husband. Both in blue jump suites. She in platinum blond hair and he in a black taupe. And she walks up without him even seeing her stride across the street. In a white flowery spring dress, hair down, light and beautiful, she says Hi. And like that, Lunch had become a date.

He hurridly puts away the Ipod, thinking she probably thinks I'm a yuppie tool, and wow, she's like spring. And in that moment winter and all it's harsh storms had melted away leaving absolutely no marks or residue. She smiled like an opponent up to a challenge and thought, I want to make him mine.

They ordered salads and ate on the roof that afternoon. The conversation revolved around little things like work and the gym, especially since they both work in the same area and go to the same gym, but the metaphors were deeper.

He, "so, weren't we suppose to go to Yoga."
She, " Yeah, but don't you remember getting really drunk on your birthday?"

Might as well have said:

He, "I wanted to see you in tight pants and then show off"
She, "Do you remember kissing the night before when we had planned yoga?"

And they talked more and more, over salads from Cosi. He was late getting back to work and so was she, but so what. They talked about their families, their past and plans and dreams. Movies and books. Camping, music and life! The Westerly breeze cooled them from the hot sun. They sat over looing the Old Executive Offices and down to Ohio Drive, the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Mermorial.

Life wasn't meant for tourists.

Big Life

2006-06-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

I've spent the last week on a vacation and now I'm back. What have I come to conclude? Nothing really. It's often such a cliche that people come back from vacations with a great epithany. I got absolutely wasted and partied with my friends from High School. We were loud, at times obnoxious, and we drank a lot.

The two days I spent in VA beach was absolutley awesome. One night we had a blowout BBQ. Then there was the National's and Dodgers Game, the BBQ in Georgetown, the drinks on the patio, all the damn walking, Mr. Smiths, The girl with horses and a face like a cadaver. The night out in chinatown, "she's your queeeeeenn to be," the beer pong, the sea food, lots of two-buck chuck, blunts, blunts and more blunts, Angry Neighbors, free dinners, the Stamp collectors convention, Hookah in Adams Morgan and the meal at Capital Q.

Can't write about something if you do nothing. Now I just have to process all of it. WOW.

Running list of fun things I've done this summer already:

Camping at Cunningham falls

Three Red Sox games and Three Nationals games already with another one in the Diamond club on Wednesday

A night at the Opera,

Late night smores,

I'm sure there is more.

And I just booked my tickets for a four day trip to St. Johns (www.maho.org)

Life's too short to just sit around, right?

Been on a vacation

2006-06-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry. I haven't written in a while. I haven't even really written in my journal either. I've been on a bit of a vacation. Mentally, I've been checked out since the parade of rejection notices. Physically I've been out of the office for the past week and away from my computer. Don't worry. I haven't been holed up in a hole of an apartment contemplating the Earth's tectonic movements (although I did catch this one show on the History Channel about a prophet that did predict large polar shifts happening dramatically soon. But haven't you ever notice Prophet sounds like Profit?).

I've actually been enjoying my summer. I've gone camping in Cunningham Falls, I've gone to the opera, happy hours, Virginia Beach, BBQs, dancing, parties and dinners. The past week has been a combination of all of the above. I am buying time. Wagering my beliefs against what is expected of me....or at least what I thought my world expected of me.

Chillax...Let's go dancing and let time stand still for a bit.

Resposne to a post editorial

2006-05-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301528.html

Dear Mr. Vlanton,

I read your editorial in the post today and really appreciated the light you shed on the millions children who are far too often ignored on this topic of immigration reform. But I think what you propose is too ideal and too harsh.

But however many people are eventually able to gain legal status, there is one thing that should be required for all seeking to make a new life in this country: education. It is a matter to which Congress has thus far paid little attention.

Any new immigration bill should require that all immigrants 25 or younger, before qualifying for permanent resident status, graduate from high school or earn a GED.

Like you, I strongly believe that education is the key to success. It is something my parents have always stressed to me. But I also look at my parents story and believe it was an impossibility. My mother and father and my father's two older sisters and younger brother all arrived in the US as Immigrants from Vietnam in 1981. My oldest aunt was 25 at the time, my mother and father both 20 and my uncle, 17. They had lied about my uncle's age to the immigration officials to make him eligible for high school. My father was also eligible for high school, but the administration had denied him the right because of his lack of English speaking ability. I was born six months after their arrival, and so he had no choice, but to make money to support his family and his younger brother. My mom took a few English courses to be able to read and write, but she too had to get a job.

Education, even free education is a luxury for the immigrants that arrive in this country with nothing more then the change in their pocket. I don't disagree that there should be more programs and legislation to help immigrants obtain a high school degree or GED, but I do disagree that it should be a requirement to become a citizen.

Eventually my Uncle went on to BU on a full scholarship to get his masters in education. My Mother and Father and Aunts all took the US citizenship exams and passed the requirements to be able to say the Pledge of Allegiance in historic Fanuiel Hall.

What made their journey successful is their desire to achieve a better life, which is a unifying value all immigrants have. They want a better and safer life for their children and their children's children. The Regulations congress comes up with in the coming months will have a strong affect on the fabric of this country and what it means to millions of people. I'm not saying make the process easier, but I say approach immigrants with more compassion and less as problems who need to be assimilated, reeducated, and fenced out like rodents.

OH dear

2006-05-22T10:06:00.000-04:00

This is an e-mail I got this morning:

Good Morning D,

I wanted to check in with you regarding your plans for law school. Have you made any decisions as of yet. If so, and you are planning to leave the Firm, I need to begin working on hiring your replacement. Please let me know what you will be doing.

Thank you very much.
NEW HR LADY FROM HELL

I should really thank this lady. Without her, I wouldn't have finnagled my way to a 15 percent raise*. Also, (like I should talk) aren't you suppose to put question marks after questions? And as a public service announcment - Don't use fancy fonts in work e-mails with undistinuishable shades of blue, closing lines should end in commas, and the closing "thanks you very much," makes you sound like you are three.

*15 percent raise story. So one day my co-worker gets and e-mail from a friend at GW who just recently graduated directing my co-worker to GWU work website. There at the site, was a description of a job that started a two dozen bejamins higher then both what I and my co-worker were making. I thought, hey that's odd. It describes exactly what i'm doing now. Hey, wait, that's the hiring lady in New York. Hey! That's my law firm! What did I do? I sent my resume with a short sarcastic e-mail to one of the partners the HR lady and our recpetionist - for kicks. Anyway, that Friday my boss took us lowly and morally demoralized paralegals out to lunch to 'discuss.' HR went into a ruckus, The managing partner basically made the New HR Lady give us prorated raises, and I came out of the ordeal looking like Ferris Bueler on his day off.

So you couldn't just pull him over?!?!

2006-05-19T15:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/18/national/main1633196.shtml?source=RSS&attr=HOME_1633196

Smiles

2006-05-19T15:27:00.000-04:00

I can't complain. Life has been great lately. I had one of those mornings coming out of the shower where I thought, "Hey, it's good to be alive." I went to the Red Sox Game on Wednesday night, an Opera at the Kennedy Center last night and Tonight I'm going camping for the weeked with my gorgeous girlfriend.

It can't rain all the time - so the saying goes.

The career issues are going to take a back seat for a while, even if I have brief panick attacks about it.

Can't help but love the Red Sox

2006-05-18T09:41:00.000-04:00

..even after they lose one.

Red Sox Article from a Washington DC Columnist??

Pancakes with Shakespeare

2006-05-16T10:58:00.000-04:00

Scene is making pancakes with William Shakespeare, the great 16th century playwright/poet.

D: Hey Bill, that pancake batter looks a little runny. Maybe you should add some more flour.

Shakespeare: What do you know about making pancakes anyway?

D: Nothing. I was just making a suggestion.

Shakespeare: Hand me the flour.

I hand him the flour. He eyes about two table spoons into the batter and continues stirring.

Shakespeare: You have any bananas?

D: Nope, sorry.

Shakespeare: How about some chocolate chips?

D: None of that either.

Shakespeare: How do you expect me to work with this?!

D: It smells good.

Shakespeare: Sure It smells good, but it's the chocolate chips and the bits of bananas that make life great.

D: Yeah, Banana and Chocolate chip pancakes sounds pretty delicious.

Shakespeare: I'm talking about life, you fool. Hand me some of that brandy you have.

I hand him a bottle of brandy.

Shakespeare: Open up that champagne too.

D: Bill, it's only 10..

Shakespeare: (Interrupting) Who are you?

D: Dat

Shakespeare: Who am I?

D: Bill

Shakespeare: No, not Bill. I am the great William Shakespeare, The Bard of Avon, the Greatest dramatist the English Language has ever seen, The King of the Play and you are just Dat.

D: Well, I have won an aw...

Shakespeare: (Interrupting) The world is a stage, just Dat, and you choose and pick your roles. Don't ever let anyone or anything else define who you are. Drink Champagne at 10am, make banana and chocolate chip pancakes.

D: This isn't one of those ...cause you never know when it's all going to end...speeches?

Shakespeare: Do I look like a cliche? No. Look at that pancake batter. It's plain. It's a blog of congealing, white, uniformed, single textured...grey matter. Now I swirl a little brandy in it, and it's complemented by brown swirls. and If you had chocolate and bananas, we'd have beautiful chunks of deliciousness throughout our bites through life.

D: I'll remember to have chocolate chips and bananas around next time.

Shakespeare: D, drink some champagne with me.

We toast and drink

Shakespeare: Just make sure you your pancake of a life is full of brandy, bananas and chocolate chips, and don't you ever just simply syrup it over. I'd rather you just eat it real and plain.

D: Gotcha, Bill.

Love never goes out of style

2006-05-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

She applies her edible mint fresh lip gloss, checks her hair - down and around her shoulders and smiles at me. Into our second glass of Beajoles-Villages, she smiles and says, "This is the shirt I wore on your birthday."

I say, "well, this is the shirt I wore on my birthday too." and here we are a month later - wrapped together, full from dinner at Mama Lucia's, sipping wine.

"We should get ready for Katie's party," She checks her wrist watch, pinky up.

"What time is it?"

She makes her famous face of resignation, "It's already 9!"

"Where does the time go?"

Bravo Steve Almond

2006-05-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

I actually met this guy a few years ago at a book reading at Olson's. He's a funny guy and his book, My Life in Heavy Metal is hilarious. He has this one short story in it about Washington, DC and dating across party lines.

Condoleezza Rice at Boston College? I quit.

Treading water

2006-05-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

The world looks so big to us 20-somethings. The roads are plenty; and like the city of Boston, full of one ways, round-abouts and redundancies. It's the journey that matters, right? Relationships are tricky. Even friendships are subject to change. Most of us have spent the later 20 or so years school where the goal was to get good grades and do well in sports. Study for a Test and get an A. Go to Practice, and win the game. Isn't it all a game?

I remember this game I played with my friends when we would go to Old Silver Back Beach. Chris's little brother, Dave would stand on the beach with a small, pick rubber ball.We would be out in the water, far enough to be treading water, but not past the sand bar yet. Dave would then throw the ball towards us and we'd swim as fast as we could to the ball. The person who picked it up first and threw it back to Dave, won. We didn't keep score or anything. Dave would throw it. 15 or so yards aways in the water, and I'd dive and swim towards it with all my might. Like a beacon, the little pink ball bobbed up and down out of the Atlantic ocean.

So what am I doing? I'm just treading water right now, waiting for that pink rubber ball to be thrown.

Just Vibrating Molecules

2006-05-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Sitting at Dan's Cafe with Albert Einstien on a Saturday afternoon. I sip on a Scotch and soda water and he's knocking back Southern Comfort on the rocks.

It's a precarious world, isn't it, Al?

"Yes. Very precarious indeed. I mean you could step outside and get hit by a bus tonight. Maybe even tomorrow."

I take a gulp. "Thanks, Al. What I meant is its structure. Things that make sense today, sometimes don't make sense tomorrow, like one day people thought the Earth was flat, a few years later Columbus goes lands in America thinking it's India."

"Well, D. What you are talking about is relativity." He takes a sip. Turns his chair and opens his arms. "Imagine" He says, "that the whole universe is the space inbetween my arms."

I nod and sip.

"So that's my relativity."

"Are you saying I should just imagine a world inbetween my arms?"

"Yes, but make it bigger and give everyone their own world too. We're all living within our own worlds - each uniquely differant, each with our own frames for referance - a metaphorical windshield. It's a shock how we can effectivly communicate at all."

"But we can."

"Yes, catepillar. Because we can agree on methods and meanings - to a degree."

"What if we all decided to stop agreeing."

"Total chaos, D - which could happen, like you getting hit by a bus."

"So everything is relative, Einstien?"

"Yes, and I also think to say that we're all just vibrating molecules from some big bang billions of years ago. Swirling and bumping into eachother, which is to say - to believe you are truely in your own world is idiotic."

"But you just..."

"I explained relativity. What is more important, beyond our social science, is the philosophical science - That we all share in the unique human experiance. I emphasize human experiance and less the unique."

"Another drink, Bartender."

Washingtond DC Theatre Scene

2006-05-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Stage in May

That's life

2006-05-01T11:33:00.000-04:00

The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to take the turn.

Well, I didn't get into any of the law schools I had applied to. So what now? That's a very good question.

In the mean time, I've just been enjoying myself. Things at the office have been a little strange, but consistantly busy. I've been seeing a new girl who is great and keeps me on my toes. The inspiration to write is there. I've been running around creating stories in my head, letting my 'Mark Twain's metaphorical Tank' fill up.

I guess rejection is always hard to take. Everything I've done in my life has always acheived some level of sucess. I don't think I was ever really diligant enough to apply to Law school. I didn't quiet want it or think I was ready for it. There are too many questions I want to answer about myself before I can commit myself to that type of career. Maybe later on down the road, I'll apply again, but right now I think I should focus in on my writing, possibly get a new job, maybe even in a new career field. Any ideas?

Morning

2006-04-27T10:29:00.000-04:00

If the Metro lines are the arteries of the city, then Washington, DC had a major heart attack today. It's hard to start a day off on a good foot when two red line trains break down and then the one your on suddenly decides it has to empty out at Judiciary Square. Two trains later and an angry commuter orgy on car five, pre-coffee and breakfast: I'm here at work, bombarded by a series of priorities, deadlines and Outlook e-mails with that little annoying chime of an exclamation point. Does IT maintenance between the hours of 2am and 6am really need to be priority? If so, I've been desensitized.

Legs Akimbo

2006-04-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

Laying in bed I play with her red hair, "Where have you been the past five months?"

Tom Wait's gruffs out a lonley, single man's love song - "Been thinking about you, Gin and Vermouth"

"Busy," she says.

"Me too"
"You know, I had my eye on you since the first day we met, a year and a half ago?"
"Really?"

All these double knit strangers, I just can't get in.

"I always thought you were cute too."
"Really?"
"You think I really enjoy watching the Oscars?"

Well I'll be dreaming about you tonight, baby

She pecks me on the cheek, "it just feels right."
"You're gorgeous."

Dementors

2006-04-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

I stand by the coffee machine, pouring hot water into my maroon mug and a bag of Earl Grey tea. The vibrations of an 18 wheeler streech up behind with the stomp and flop of birkenstalk flats, unmistakably the Office Vampire. She screeches a "Happy Monday," and waits until I acknowledge. Shortness of breath, dilated eyes - I'm in panic mode. The hot water is still filling up -a 30 second process, which now feels like an eternity in purgatory.

"Morning, OV," I say - unavoidable hellos are a bitch.

There's only one logically way out of the kitchen for me and OV, a mother of one, divorced, aged 64 years, stands in my way and I already feel her vortex of a wormhole for happy thoughts sucking all the fun I had this weekend out of my mind and body. Where is Harry Potter's Petronus when you need one.

"My cats have been at it again. They keep stratching at my new curtains. But they're so cute. They're so intuitive. I get along with my cats better then people...and I got Betti a new bed this week..."

Just shoot me, right now.

She continues "... have you been following the story about the kitty that got trapped inbetween walls in NYC? Amazing story, the cat was there for two weeks and...."

I can't breathe.

M walks into the kitchen to toast his bagel.

She continues "...Hi, M. Is that sesame seed? You ever wonder what a sesame is? Like what they grow into?"

Poor Bastard. Avoid eye contact, avoid eye contact and walk quickly.

feeling political this week...

2006-04-20T12:48:00.000-04:00

Hu Jintao and President Bush

$285 billion in free trade = Lost of an Independent Tawain, Condoning of Religious Intolerance, Repression of free thought and freedom of expression.

But then again, it's just smart politics....or as I like to think, a compromise of our basic principals.