9/25/2008
9/12/2008
Back to School
Well, I'm a student again. It's official: I'm currently enrolled in UMUC's M.S. Non-profit and Association Management program. Honestly, it was time to get moving again. I've been feeling a little (a lot) stalled lately, and since my company will pay for my continuing education, I decided to take them up on it.
UMUC is the University of Maryland University College, a fully accredited school based in Adelphi, MD (it's not a division of UM College Park, although they are in the same UM system). The classes are all online, which is the only way I could really swing this with two kids under four years old and a full-time job. UMUC is the only web-only program I could find that was fully accredited. Having it be right next door was just a nice bonus.
My first class is a non-credit course on how to conduct graduate-level research. I'm very glad this is required, as I probably would've skipped it otherwise, and the information I'm learning will be indispensable when working in my "real" classes, which start in a couple weeks.
I'm under no illusions that this isn't going to take a gargantuan amount of work and time normally spent watching soccer. :-( But at least I have a goal to work toward again, something that I haven't had for quite a while. It feels good.
8/24/2008
Six happy years of marriage!
Well, today Jenny and I celebrated six years of marriage (ten together) with a romantic dinner appropriate to our parenting situation. You can see it in the photo below. :-) This pretty much sums up life with two kids under four. I love you honey!
8/22/2008
On set!
Well, I'm on set today shooting the training video for work. Today we are doing the narrator and courtroom scenes. Drama is fun!
8/20/2008
8/15/2008
Lights, Camera....
So at work we're shooting a movie. Well, really it's a video, but humor me here. I've been charged with heading up the production of it, and we are now at the point of casting. My director has forwarded over sample videos of a dozen or so actors reading for various parts in the video, and I get to choose who plays what. I feel like a younger, bald, non-pedophile Woody Allen.
I'll have my people call your people.
8/12/2008
7/25/2008
New baby gear
Oh! I almost forgot, we're getting some new, cool baby gear for Joseph.
They have something for Sylvie, too!
They have something for Sylvie, too!
The weekend has landed!
Shaping up to be a busy one. We have to bite the bullet and hit Ikea to get Boo a new dresser and start moving bedrooms around. We are leaving Joseph to his own domicile and moving into the guest (soon-to-be master) bedroom. This means much furniture swapping is in my future. Not. looking. forward. to. moving. all. that. shit.
Soccer last weekend was brutally hot. It felt a lot like what I imagine playing soccer in a knee-deep Amazonian swamp tucked into the armpit of a 400-pound Russian sailor while wearing a heated, soaking wool sweater after a night of heavy drinking might feel like (without the benefit of the night of heavy drinking). In other words: really, really muggy. I'm hoping that it will be better this Sunday. Not that I have anything against sweaty armpits, mind you.
Soccer last weekend was brutally hot. It felt a lot like what I imagine playing soccer in a knee-deep Amazonian swamp tucked into the armpit of a 400-pound Russian sailor while wearing a heated, soaking wool sweater after a night of heavy drinking might feel like (without the benefit of the night of heavy drinking). In other words: really, really muggy. I'm hoping that it will be better this Sunday. Not that I have anything against sweaty armpits, mind you.
7/24/2008
7/21/2008
7/20/2008
The way we were!
Tonight I found some old photos of us from around the turn of the millennium.... Man we look young. I think I've aged 30 years in 8. It's crazy how you don't think you look any different as the years go by, only to see some old photos that knock your delusional ass back into reality.
Partying like it was 1999...because it was 1999.
New Year's Eve 1999
7/18/2008
7/16/2008
New study: Most children opposed to health care
Study: Most Children Strongly Opposed To Children�s Healthcare
Unfortunately, Republicans really believe this.
7/15/2008
7/14/2008
Musical weekend
This weekend I went to check out my buddy Andrew's new band, the Brokedown Playboys, at the Quarry House in downtown Silver Spring. The QH is a nice place to see bands (and a great place to play, too. MyLOH played there and got free Belgian ale all night long), and the beer list is just insane. I went with Sylvia's friend Charlotte's dad, Bill. We had gone to Baltimore to see the previous incarnation of the Playboys, then known as Ron Scott's Four Star Combo (the BP is the combo minus Ron Scott). It was interesting to see how the band had developed without a "front man." The band seemed tighter and more focused, and the sound was much better (Andrew's guitar playing is fantastic rockabilly precision, and his Tone King amp is smooth as a greased mink). I like Andrew's vocals better than Ron's, too, to be honest. Plus I always like to support my friend's bands, because goddammit, it's hard to get people off their asses and into a club these days.
An unexpected plus was running into another musician friend, John, who plays bass in Her Next Friend, a band that opened for MyLOH on a couple of occasions. Nice guy, and I hope to collaborate with him in the near future on an upcoming project.
Speaking of projects, I have a new single up on the myspace site for ¡Coño! called "Fool You All." Check it out...IF YOU DARE!
7/10/2008
Goodnight, America. I miss you already.
The end is neigh, as they say. Someday, in my old age, I will tell Sylvia and Joseph of the America they never knew. The one where you could speak freely without fear of being labeled a traitor. The one where you could fly on an airplane without being suspected a terrorist. And the one where you didn't have to fear that the government was going to break into your house or tap your phones on a whim.
Yesterday, the Democrats in the Senate followed the Republican minority into the abyss and effectively shredded the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads (bold mine):
"Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Maybe a staffer for one of the following worthless assholes who voted for the despicable FISA bill will Google "Fourth Amendment" and actually read to his or her boss what it used to guarantee (especially galling/surprising turncoats in bold):
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
You all disgust me. Not to ramble, but I am reminded of a very prescient Aesop's Fable that the above Senators would do well to take to heart when looking back on their decision to join the Republican "patriot" cause:
The Tortoise and the Birds
A TORTOISE desired to change its place of residence, so he asked an Eagle to carry him to his new home, promising her a rich reward for her trouble. The Eagle agreed, and seizing the Tortoise by the shell with her talons, soared aloft. On their way they met a Crow, who said to the Eagle: “Tortoise is good eating.” “The shell is too hard,” said the Eagle in reply. “The rocks will soon crack the shell,” was the Crow’s answer; and the Eagle, taking the hint, let fall the Tortoise on a sharp rock, and the two birds made a hearty meal off the Tortoise.
Moral: “Never Soar Aloft On An Enemy’s Pinions”
Yesterday, the Democrats in the Senate followed the Republican minority into the abyss and effectively shredded the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads (bold mine):
"Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Maybe a staffer for one of the following worthless assholes who voted for the despicable FISA bill will Google "Fourth Amendment" and actually read to his or her boss what it used to guarantee (especially galling/surprising turncoats in bold):
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
You all disgust me. Not to ramble, but I am reminded of a very prescient Aesop's Fable that the above Senators would do well to take to heart when looking back on their decision to join the Republican "patriot" cause:
The Tortoise and the Birds
A TORTOISE desired to change its place of residence, so he asked an Eagle to carry him to his new home, promising her a rich reward for her trouble. The Eagle agreed, and seizing the Tortoise by the shell with her talons, soared aloft. On their way they met a Crow, who said to the Eagle: “Tortoise is good eating.” “The shell is too hard,” said the Eagle in reply. “The rocks will soon crack the shell,” was the Crow’s answer; and the Eagle, taking the hint, let fall the Tortoise on a sharp rock, and the two birds made a hearty meal off the Tortoise.
Moral: “Never Soar Aloft On An Enemy’s Pinions”
7/09/2008
Date night: Infant-sitting edition
It's Tuesday night, baby. Tuesday is the night when we...watch Woody Allen movies. It's business time!
Netflix DVD of Woody Allen's "Manhattan" in DVD player: check.
Sylvie in bed: check.
Joseph fed and asleep on the floor in his papoose: check.
Beer for Mommy in Sylvie's baby cup: check.
Curious George book serving as impromptu coaster for said beer: check.
Cheddar cheese goldfish within easy reach: check.
We're ready.
Step 1: Begin movie.
Step 2: Turn up volume to hear dialogue over six-week-old's snoring.
Step 3: Laugh at Woody Allen.
Step 4: Fall asleep ten minutes into the movie.
This is parenthood.
Netflix DVD of Woody Allen's "Manhattan" in DVD player: check.
Sylvie in bed: check.
Joseph fed and asleep on the floor in his papoose: check.
Beer for Mommy in Sylvie's baby cup: check.
Curious George book serving as impromptu coaster for said beer: check.
Cheddar cheese goldfish within easy reach: check.
We're ready.
Step 1: Begin movie.
Step 2: Turn up volume to hear dialogue over six-week-old's snoring.
Step 3: Laugh at Woody Allen.
Step 4: Fall asleep ten minutes into the movie.
This is parenthood.
7/07/2008
Sylvia turned three and the 4th of July
Sylvia turned three this past weekend and we are all amazed how fast time has flown by.
Her birthday bonanza party was at our local pool club and she and her friends had a blast!
They swam, played in the sand, wore cone hats and devoured cupcakes.
We also have a really fun annual event in our neighborhood: the 4th of July parade. All the kids participate and march around for about two blocks. It's very cute! Sylvia and her best friend, Charlotte marched very well together and waved their flags! How patriotic!
6/20/2008
Operation: Take Advantage of D.C.
No, I'm not talking about our überfantastik D.C. public employees. It's not that kind of taking advantage. No, today we're talking food. Good food. Ethiopian food!
Live a little: Dukem makes a mean veggie combo platter
In what I hope will be the first installment of an ongoing series, I am chronicling my adventures at lunchtime in the nation's capital. Since I work downtown at the middle of the Red line (DC Metro's main street, as it were), there is no excuse for sitting behind my desk with my food every day. With so many free (or almost free) things to see and do, literally within walking distance of my office, I'm determined to keep from living life like some schmuck stuck out in an office park in Fairfax all day.
I have already made a couple of trips down to the Smithsonian (the Hirshorn Gallery and the Holocaust Museum), but, alas, forgot my camera. I brought it today so I could share with you my Friday adventure: a trip to U. St./Cardozo and lunch at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Dukem.
U Street NW is a funny neighborhood. It is the traditionally black entertainment district of the city, but after the 1960s riots, it went downhill fast. What brought it back up to speed was a steady influx of immigrants from Latin America and east Africa (principally Ethiopia and Eritrea). The neighborhood now is an eclectic mix of those cultures combined with African-American holdouts from the '60s and newer, loft-dwelling white couples in fancy new condos.
The neighborhood sports some great bars for live bands, like the Velvet Lounge (my old band played our first gig there), and, of course, good restaurants like Dukem and (although not my taste) the world-famous Ben's Chili Bowl.
Today I feasted on the veggie combo platter comprising spicy split lentils, yellow peas, greens, cabbage, and salad and washed it down with a rich and thick Beck's Dark. The On the TV above me was an old Germany vs. Belarus Euro 2008 qualifier that I hadn't seen. Life for lunch was indeed good today.
Satisfaction on a beautiful Friday
In what I hope will be the first installment of an ongoing series, I am chronicling my adventures at lunchtime in the nation's capital. Since I work downtown at the middle of the Red line (DC Metro's main street, as it were), there is no excuse for sitting behind my desk with my food every day. With so many free (or almost free) things to see and do, literally within walking distance of my office, I'm determined to keep from living life like some schmuck stuck out in an office park in Fairfax all day.
I have already made a couple of trips down to the Smithsonian (the Hirshorn Gallery and the Holocaust Museum), but, alas, forgot my camera. I brought it today so I could share with you my Friday adventure: a trip to U. St./Cardozo and lunch at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Dukem.
U Street NW is a funny neighborhood. It is the traditionally black entertainment district of the city, but after the 1960s riots, it went downhill fast. What brought it back up to speed was a steady influx of immigrants from Latin America and east Africa (principally Ethiopia and Eritrea). The neighborhood now is an eclectic mix of those cultures combined with African-American holdouts from the '60s and newer, loft-dwelling white couples in fancy new condos.
The neighborhood sports some great bars for live bands, like the Velvet Lounge (my old band played our first gig there), and, of course, good restaurants like Dukem and (although not my taste) the world-famous Ben's Chili Bowl.
Today I feasted on the veggie combo platter comprising spicy split lentils, yellow peas, greens, cabbage, and salad and washed it down with a rich and thick Beck's Dark. The On the TV above me was an old Germany vs. Belarus Euro 2008 qualifier that I hadn't seen. Life for lunch was indeed good today.
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