Ok. I don't know if it was that mystery bug that got me last night night but I am itchy! Or maybe I am having a bizarre side effect from Alka Seltzer. Eyes itch. Skin itches! Nose itching. ARGH! Problem is if I take an allergy pill I will fall asleep. But at least I won't itch.
9/24/2004
Seasons
So I have lived thru the end of spring (May) and a DC summer.
I loved it! It was so hot. Heat is my friend. Except for the one day (pre-Joe's arrival) when I decided to take the metro from VA to the Smithsonian, in flip-flops, walk thru two museums and then walk to the WWII memorial, then I was going to trek back to the metro then decided forget it. Before I melt I will take a cab to Georgetown where I was meeting friends.
That day was too hot. But I survived. Kudos to my Old Navy flip-flops.
I thought it was Fall the other day. But it was a tease. It got hot again the last two days. The only hint that it's fall is that the lighting has definitely changed. It's that mellow, glowy fall light that I think is beautiful. Gives me the same feeling as when I am able to exerience twilight. You know when all the yuck from your day is just erased, just by being in the aubergine hued light.
I loved it! It was so hot. Heat is my friend. Except for the one day (pre-Joe's arrival) when I decided to take the metro from VA to the Smithsonian, in flip-flops, walk thru two museums and then walk to the WWII memorial, then I was going to trek back to the metro then decided forget it. Before I melt I will take a cab to Georgetown where I was meeting friends.
That day was too hot. But I survived. Kudos to my Old Navy flip-flops.
I thought it was Fall the other day. But it was a tease. It got hot again the last two days. The only hint that it's fall is that the lighting has definitely changed. It's that mellow, glowy fall light that I think is beautiful. Gives me the same feeling as when I am able to exerience twilight. You know when all the yuck from your day is just erased, just by being in the aubergine hued light.
9/23/2004
Austria:wine as yummy:poop
We went to the Austrian Embassy for a wine tasting tonight. "Just don't," you say. "Run away quickly," you say. "Just grab a bucket and scoop some semi-wet sludge from the Potomac," you say.
I say: You are correct sir. Austrian wine is pure ass.
Seriously, it's bad. Thank you Jane and Sarah for turning us into total California wine snobs. You and your fancy "tasting" parties. :-( We really miss y'all.
Anyway, back to the smelly crack vinyards. We tasted all four wines they had on offer (two red, two white), and instead of waiting for the movie that was planned, we bailed to Guapo's on Wisconsin in Tenleytown and got yummy take-out burritos. Damn were they good! All the dirty Austrians gave us to eat was bad cheese and pumpkin oil (don't ask). The Austrian Embassy itself was okay, but the UAE Embassy next door was totally cool! The architecture was modern-meets-Alhambra, and we're sure that the Egyptians next door were really jealous, since they basically have a concrete box for an Embassy.
Slovakia was also having some sort of event, which we were tempted to crash, but we were afraid they would think we were Austrian invaders (since we were coming out of the Austrian Embassy....get it....oh, forget it. It's too late and I'm too full to be funny). Jenny got totally chomped by a massive mosquito and now has a giant West Nile infected blazingly red welt on her arm. Gross.
That's it for now, we have to get one more Angel episode in before we crash out for the night. As Ozzy says, we love you all!
I say: You are correct sir. Austrian wine is pure ass.
Seriously, it's bad. Thank you Jane and Sarah for turning us into total California wine snobs. You and your fancy "tasting" parties. :-( We really miss y'all.
Anyway, back to the smelly crack vinyards. We tasted all four wines they had on offer (two red, two white), and instead of waiting for the movie that was planned, we bailed to Guapo's on Wisconsin in Tenleytown and got yummy take-out burritos. Damn were they good! All the dirty Austrians gave us to eat was bad cheese and pumpkin oil (don't ask). The Austrian Embassy itself was okay, but the UAE Embassy next door was totally cool! The architecture was modern-meets-Alhambra, and we're sure that the Egyptians next door were really jealous, since they basically have a concrete box for an Embassy.
Slovakia was also having some sort of event, which we were tempted to crash, but we were afraid they would think we were Austrian invaders (since we were coming out of the Austrian Embassy....get it....oh, forget it. It's too late and I'm too full to be funny). Jenny got totally chomped by a massive mosquito and now has a giant West Nile infected blazingly red welt on her arm. Gross.
That's it for now, we have to get one more Angel episode in before we crash out for the night. As Ozzy says, we love you all!
Screw the poor....again
This just in: Republicans are assholes.
They don't even bother hiding their disgust for the poor anymore. Ack.
They don't even bother hiding their disgust for the poor anymore. Ack.
9/20/2004
The Moral Issues
“'It’s the moral issues for me,' said Vicki Burgess, 49, a hairdresser from Fraziers Bottom, W.Va. 'He’s pro-life and that’s what I am. ... I’m for a marriage between a man and a woman. ... Those issues are my top issues.'”
How can you debate people like this? In a day and age where we are murdering innocent Iraqi children with giant bombs and letting the real 9-11 plotters off the hook for killing 2,000 Americans, hairdressers in WV list gay marriage as their #1 issue. This is insane.
But let's forget about the Iraqi children for a second. Since the news never shows them, maybe you can make the case that it's not her fault that she doesn't care about the bloody, unjust war in Iraq. So one would think that she might be more concerned about her own welfare or the fact that her county in WV has an annual per-capita income of only $20,471 and ranks 16 out of WV's 55 counties with a 6.17 personal bankruptcy rate.
On the other hand, who cares as long as we do everything we can to prevent two people who love each other from getting hitched, right? THAT's what's really important. Unreal.
How can you debate people like this? In a day and age where we are murdering innocent Iraqi children with giant bombs and letting the real 9-11 plotters off the hook for killing 2,000 Americans, hairdressers in WV list gay marriage as their #1 issue. This is insane.
But let's forget about the Iraqi children for a second. Since the news never shows them, maybe you can make the case that it's not her fault that she doesn't care about the bloody, unjust war in Iraq. So one would think that she might be more concerned about her own welfare or the fact that her county in WV has an annual per-capita income of only $20,471 and ranks 16 out of WV's 55 counties with a 6.17 personal bankruptcy rate.
On the other hand, who cares as long as we do everything we can to prevent two people who love each other from getting hitched, right? THAT's what's really important. Unreal.
9/17/2004
Make No Mistake: McCain is a tool/New Jenny-Joe News
From today's Washington Post.com (bold is mine): "Senator John McCain, the maverick Arizona Republican who has lately emerged as a strong supporter of President Bush, called Thursday for the Supreme Court of Florida to allow Ralph Nader's name on the state's presidential ballot.
The state's highest court, which was deeply embroiled in the contested election in Florida in 2000, is to hear arguments on Friday on whether the Reform Party is a legitimate national party and whether Mr. Nader can run as its party's presidential candidate in the Nov. 2 election.
Polls indicate that Mr. Nader draws votes from Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, which could help President Bush in close states like Florida. Mr. Nader won more than 97,000 votes in the state in 2000. Most of those votes, analysts from both parties agree, would probably have gone to Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, and would have won Mr. Gore the presidency."
On the Jenny/Joe front:
Last weekend my folks were in town, and we had a real blast hanging out with them. We went down to the WWII Memorial on the mall, toured Julia Child's kitchen at the American History Museum, and went to the National Cathedral, where it was—unbelievably—West Virginia Day. Is that weird, or what? We even ran into and met Gov. Bob Wise in the Cathedral. Strange how things work sometimes.
This weekend Jenny's sister, Liz, is in town. Should be a good time if Ivan doesn't rain on our parade the whole time.
I've been loving my new iPod Mini that Jenny got me for my b-day. I'm rediscovering CDs and music long lost in the CD collection, till now buried under a pile of god knows what in my closet. Current playlist: Smiths Best Vol. II, Lou Reed Vicious, Archers of Loaf vs. the Greatest of All Time. Good stuff.
The state's highest court, which was deeply embroiled in the contested election in Florida in 2000, is to hear arguments on Friday on whether the Reform Party is a legitimate national party and whether Mr. Nader can run as its party's presidential candidate in the Nov. 2 election.
Polls indicate that Mr. Nader draws votes from Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, which could help President Bush in close states like Florida. Mr. Nader won more than 97,000 votes in the state in 2000. Most of those votes, analysts from both parties agree, would probably have gone to Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, and would have won Mr. Gore the presidency."
On the Jenny/Joe front:
Last weekend my folks were in town, and we had a real blast hanging out with them. We went down to the WWII Memorial on the mall, toured Julia Child's kitchen at the American History Museum, and went to the National Cathedral, where it was—unbelievably—West Virginia Day. Is that weird, or what? We even ran into and met Gov. Bob Wise in the Cathedral. Strange how things work sometimes.
This weekend Jenny's sister, Liz, is in town. Should be a good time if Ivan doesn't rain on our parade the whole time.
I've been loving my new iPod Mini that Jenny got me for my b-day. I'm rediscovering CDs and music long lost in the CD collection, till now buried under a pile of god knows what in my closet. Current playlist: Smiths Best Vol. II, Lou Reed Vicious, Archers of Loaf vs. the Greatest of All Time. Good stuff.
8/31/2004
Beach Trip and a new guitar!!!!
This past weekend, Jenny and I went down to the Delaware shore to visit Rehoboth Beach. Our hotel was a total dump from the outside, but the newly renovated rooms were okay, and most importantly, clean. For the record, we stayed at the Henlopen hotel. It's right on the beach, so the locale is nice, but Rehoboth seems to have changed a bit since my last visit in '95 (or maybe I'm the one who's changed). We were looking for something a little more quaint and quiet. Lewes beach perhaps? We may try that one next time. Still had a good time overall, and the weather was fantastic (although the water was pretty chilly).
When we got back to D.C., I noticed that someone was selling a Les Paul Standard (with DesertBurst finish) on craigslist. Craigslist.org, for the uninitiated, is a Web site that is sort of like online classifieds. Anywho...I contacted the guy, went to see the guitar, and bought it from him. I've been wanting a L.P. Standard for a while, and this one amazingly has all of the features I would have ordered from the Gibson factory were I custom ordering a L.P.: '60s style thin neck, desertburst finish, chrome hardware, lots of great flames in the maple top, and the price was $600 lower than a brand new one (it's a 2003). Check out the photos of the beach trip and the guitar here.
My birthday is on Thursday, so we're going to Millie and Al's in Adams Morgan for beers. Fun! Then Jason is coming down this weekend to join us for a group house with some of Jenny's work friends at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. Let the fishing begin!!!!
When we got back to D.C., I noticed that someone was selling a Les Paul Standard (with DesertBurst finish) on craigslist. Craigslist.org, for the uninitiated, is a Web site that is sort of like online classifieds. Anywho...I contacted the guy, went to see the guitar, and bought it from him. I've been wanting a L.P. Standard for a while, and this one amazingly has all of the features I would have ordered from the Gibson factory were I custom ordering a L.P.: '60s style thin neck, desertburst finish, chrome hardware, lots of great flames in the maple top, and the price was $600 lower than a brand new one (it's a 2003). Check out the photos of the beach trip and the guitar here.
My birthday is on Thursday, so we're going to Millie and Al's in Adams Morgan for beers. Fun! Then Jason is coming down this weekend to join us for a group house with some of Jenny's work friends at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. Let the fishing begin!!!!
8/21/2004
Tennis Anyone?
Joe and I went to the Legg Mason Tennis Tournament last night. My office took us and about 15 other employees. It was fun and we got to see Andre Agassi play and win!
The New Jersey Devil
Went to the New Jersey shore with my mom and her friend Jane to stay at Jane's Beach House (Jen's writing the blog entry this time). It was fun. Had a great timing riding the bike around from the bay to the beach -- the island is only 3 blocks wide!
Coming home we had to make a pitstop and I tried to stop in Piney Barren to do so. No such luck. It turns out that there are "no working restrooms" in all of Piney Barren. Very weird. The area is odd as it's the 28 mile drive between off-island and on the island and it's pine trees in sand as far as the eye can see. I could see Tony Soprano, taking care of business there, if you catch my drift.
I guess there is a ton of folklore associated with the area. Supposedly there is a devil/dragon-like creature that lives there in the woods. Didn't see any dragon...bummer.
Coming home we had to make a pitstop and I tried to stop in Piney Barren to do so. No such luck. It turns out that there are "no working restrooms" in all of Piney Barren. Very weird. The area is odd as it's the 28 mile drive between off-island and on the island and it's pine trees in sand as far as the eye can see. I could see Tony Soprano, taking care of business there, if you catch my drift.
I guess there is a ton of folklore associated with the area. Supposedly there is a devil/dragon-like creature that lives there in the woods. Didn't see any dragon...bummer.
8/02/2004
Follow-up to the idiot king
From the Washington Post's late edition, reporting that today's terror alerts were based on intel gathered BEFORE 9/11:
"President Bush and Vice President Cheney said in separate appearances yesterday that the new alert underscores the continuing threat posed by al Qaeda. At a news conference announcing his proposed intelligence reforms, Bush said the alert shows 'there's an enemy which hates what we stand for.'"
No it doesn't. All it shows is that you, Mr. Bush, are more than willing to exploit Americans' already frazzled nerves and play on their insecurities (which you carefully cultivate) for your own political gain.
"'It's serious business,' Bush said. 'I mean, we wouldn't be, you know, contacting authorities at the local level unless something was real.'"
Um, you know, for some reason, I don't, you know, believe him.
"President Bush and Vice President Cheney said in separate appearances yesterday that the new alert underscores the continuing threat posed by al Qaeda. At a news conference announcing his proposed intelligence reforms, Bush said the alert shows 'there's an enemy which hates what we stand for.'"
No it doesn't. All it shows is that you, Mr. Bush, are more than willing to exploit Americans' already frazzled nerves and play on their insecurities (which you carefully cultivate) for your own political gain.
"'It's serious business,' Bush said. 'I mean, we wouldn't be, you know, contacting authorities at the local level unless something was real.'"
Um, you know, for some reason, I don't, you know, believe him.
The idiot king who cried wolf?
We're on heightened alert here in Washington, D.C.'s financial district. What sucks even more than being the target of some fundamentalist nutjobs intent on instilling fear in my heart and mind is the actual danger posed to me by Islamic terrorists. I'd like to know, mr. fundamentalist nutjob president, when I'm really in danger. But thanks to your outrageous policy of using the "terror alert system" to further your political gains, I can never be sure if I'm really in danger or if I'm just being played by you and your cronies. That sucks. And so do you.
Okay, breaking away from politics and terrorists and Islamic crazies for an update: Jenny is on another business trip to Boston this week, and I miss her already. She got to have dinner with Jason last night, though, which is cool. I just received the 20-disc Fugazi live retrospective on Friday. It's awesome, of course, and the best parts are when Ian berates the moronic slam dancers in the crowd. Priceless.
The Scotch tasting was pretty fun. I learned about how Johnnie Walker Black Label is made, how to drink Johnnie Walker Black Label, and how a splash of water can "open up the aromas" of a shot of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Can you guess what type of Scotch they were advertising at the event? Actually, it was kind of interesting to see how such targeted marketing works. I basically paid $50 to sit through a 2-hour infomercial. At least they plied us with free whisky. Better than a Johnnie Walker Pocket Fisherman event, I guess.
Okay, breaking away from politics and terrorists and Islamic crazies for an update: Jenny is on another business trip to Boston this week, and I miss her already. She got to have dinner with Jason last night, though, which is cool. I just received the 20-disc Fugazi live retrospective on Friday. It's awesome, of course, and the best parts are when Ian berates the moronic slam dancers in the crowd. Priceless.
The Scotch tasting was pretty fun. I learned about how Johnnie Walker Black Label is made, how to drink Johnnie Walker Black Label, and how a splash of water can "open up the aromas" of a shot of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Can you guess what type of Scotch they were advertising at the event? Actually, it was kind of interesting to see how such targeted marketing works. I basically paid $50 to sit through a 2-hour infomercial. At least they plied us with free whisky. Better than a Johnnie Walker Pocket Fisherman event, I guess.
7/29/2004
Buffilicious
Jenny and I finally got the DVD player set up properly again. Of course, Buffython ensued. After a bunch of sangría from Kramerbook's Afterwards café, the demon dance numbers are, shall we say, bizarre-o-ramic.
Johnny Walker Scotch tasting at the British embassy tomorrow night. Wish me luck!
Johnny Walker Scotch tasting at the British embassy tomorrow night. Wish me luck!
7/25/2004
Aborted Pandathon transforms into Ethiopian lunch
Try googling that headline...I bet its the only one you come up with! ;-) Jenny and I got up this morning with full plans to visit all of the city's panda statues, but were thwarted by a trip to Eastern Market (where we bought a cool formica cocktail tray that perfectly matches a set of formica coasters we already had). I think it may...wait for it....be time for a swanky D.C. cocktail party at our abode! Of course, that would mean actually fully unpacking the boxes that have begun to plague our life. Anyway, back to our day, we ended up in Adams Morgan for Fasika's, which was closed. I was hoping to have Ethiopian for my late celebration of job getting, so we went across the street to Meskerem, which was just as tasty. Mmmmmm.....injera! I fricking LOVE Ethiopian food, man! Jenny puts up with it 'cause I love it so much, but I'm just glad she'll humor me.
Yesterday we went to see the Orioles versus the Twins in B'more. Fun (and fast—under 3 hrs!) game, but we couldn't get the hell out of there and ended up in helltown trying to get back to I-95 (along with some other gamegoers). No fun waiting to get carjacked while inching through a crappy neighborhood in bumper-to-bumper game traffic. I hate Baltimore. We're hopeful that the Expos will come to D.C. and we'll get to inch through Anacostia instead. MUCH safer. ;-)
Yesterday we went to see the Orioles versus the Twins in B'more. Fun (and fast—under 3 hrs!) game, but we couldn't get the hell out of there and ended up in helltown trying to get back to I-95 (along with some other gamegoers). No fun waiting to get carjacked while inching through a crappy neighborhood in bumper-to-bumper game traffic. I hate Baltimore. We're hopeful that the Expos will come to D.C. and we'll get to inch through Anacostia instead. MUCH safer. ;-)
7/20/2004
Kerry party time! Bush sucks major dookie!
Jenny and I attended a Kerry fundraising party tonight in the Kalorama neighborhood hosted by a super-nice dude named Ed. Ed is a realtor, and his apartment is the most amazingly decorated space I've ever been to in my life. Seriously, we wanted him to come do our house. We donated $200 to the Kerry campaign and enjoyed Ed's catered snacky-poos, wine, and beer. We met a nice girl named Julia, who is also a California transplant, and had several enjoyable conversations with other guests. The big thing though is that everyone there hated Bush, which felt SO good. Back to Texas, son. You've f*&#ed up America enough. Time to go back to that Saudi oil money you've been hiding in your sealed records. What a bozo. Ker-ry! Ker-ry! Ker-ry!
GO DONATE MONEY TO THE KERRY/EDWARDS CAMPAIGN NOW, DAMMITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.johnkerry.com
GO DONATE MONEY TO THE KERRY/EDWARDS CAMPAIGN NOW, DAMMITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.johnkerry.com
7/15/2004
Salsa/Merengue lessons
Jenny and I joined a group called The International Club of D.C., which sponsors cool Embassy events and other stuff. Last night we went to learn how to do Latin dancing. Pretty fun. It's funny to see how the 3/4 English/Scottish/Irish/German/Dutch side of me takes over completely and kicks the 1/4 Spanish side to the curb whenever a latin rhythm comes on. On the flip side, maybe I could really swivel my hips to some Highlands bagpipes?
7/13/2004
I GOT A JOB! THANK FRICKING JEHOSAPHAT!
It's about time.
After a tough month of interview after pointless interview, the American Academy of Actuaries has hired me to be their Publications and Marketing Production Manager. The title ain't much, granted (I'd rather have something with "editor" in the title), but they actually offered me a decent salary with full bennies, and the office is a mere four stops from my METRO station (UDC/Van Ness). It's a small staff of 40 or so people, which means I'll be a man with many hats to wear around the office. My main job will be to coordinate the production of Contingencies, the bi-monthly magazine they produce. Check the place out at www.actuary.org. In addition, I'll be doing the newsletter and tons of marketing collateral. I'm going to try to push the editing/writing angle as well once I'm fully entrenched in the place. I'm psyched.
The apartment is currently awash with cardboard, as we've yet to find the floor since the move. Slowly but surely, I'm digging us out into the land of normal people again. It's been f*&king hot here this week, so I'm concentrating my efforts in the "cold room," aka the sun room with the glass doors closed off and the A/C blasting as hard as it will go. Ahhh, sweet Freon.
Jenny's computer won't recognize our new wireless network, but my Mac did with few problems. Macs rule. PCs suck. I must say, dragging the laptop all over the apartment, sans wires of any kind (I'm writing this from the living room comfy chair), is pretty damn cool. Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes.
After a tough month of interview after pointless interview, the American Academy of Actuaries has hired me to be their Publications and Marketing Production Manager. The title ain't much, granted (I'd rather have something with "editor" in the title), but they actually offered me a decent salary with full bennies, and the office is a mere four stops from my METRO station (UDC/Van Ness). It's a small staff of 40 or so people, which means I'll be a man with many hats to wear around the office. My main job will be to coordinate the production of Contingencies, the bi-monthly magazine they produce. Check the place out at www.actuary.org. In addition, I'll be doing the newsletter and tons of marketing collateral. I'm going to try to push the editing/writing angle as well once I'm fully entrenched in the place. I'm psyched.
The apartment is currently awash with cardboard, as we've yet to find the floor since the move. Slowly but surely, I'm digging us out into the land of normal people again. It's been f*&king hot here this week, so I'm concentrating my efforts in the "cold room," aka the sun room with the glass doors closed off and the A/C blasting as hard as it will go. Ahhh, sweet Freon.
Jenny's computer won't recognize our new wireless network, but my Mac did with few problems. Macs rule. PCs suck. I must say, dragging the laptop all over the apartment, sans wires of any kind (I'm writing this from the living room comfy chair), is pretty damn cool. Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes.
7/09/2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 + CIA trouble
I thought I couldn't hate George W. any more. I was very wrong. Went with friends last night to see Mr. Moore's newest at the Loew's Theatre in Georgetown and left thoroughly disgusted. It's not that I didn't already know about the way that asshole Bush and his fat brother stole the election, how he swooped his bin Laden buds out of the country after 9-11, or how he and the über-evil trio (Rummy, Wolfowitz, and oil-tanker Rice) got us into an unmanageable, unnecessary, illegal, and totally stupid war in Iraq; but having it up there in all of its ten-foot, silver screen glory was infuriating in a whole new way.
What I can't figure out is this: Why is it that I, an admitted foreign-affairs junkie who watched the news almost every day, saw my first graphic image of charred, blown apart, and dead Iraqi children yesterday in this movie? Maybe if the "Christian" Bushies out there were forced to watch "compassionate conservatism" at work, they might change their minds about our current illegitimate regime. Other firsts: scenes of wounded and dead U.S. soldiers; out-takes of a glib, monkey-faced George W. cracking jokes about his golf game moments after taping an oh-so-concerned warning to the American people about the dangers of Al-Queda...er...Saddam; Congressmen literally RUNNING away from Moore on the streets of D.C. rather than having the guts to explain why THEIR sons and daughters are too valuable to send to the war they themselves voted for. It's disgusting. Go see it. If you're a Republican or a "swing" voter (god only knows what that means), DEFINITELY go see it.
Okay, enough ranting. Here's a funny/scary story. On our way home to McLean after the movie, already chock-full of anti-Bush hatred and paranoia, Jennifer accidentally takes a right hand turn 1/2 mile too early...straight into the CIA headquarters at Langley. Easy enough to do; it's really dark out there, and the road is not marked enough. No big deal, think I, and we pull up to the intercom to tell the guard that we just made a wrong turn and want to turn right around and go on our merry way, thanks a lot, God Bless America, and all that.
"Please pull forward to the barrier and the officer will assist you."
Uh-oh.
"Please turn off your lights and your car's engine."
Two squad cars swoop in behind us, blue lights going full bore. I'm now convinced that if these guys find out what movie we just went to see it's going to be "next stop: Guantanamo."
"Hi, officer, just wanted to turn around, made a wrong turn, sorry."
"This is a restricted government facility and property of the CIA. We must do a background check on every person who comes through the gate. What is your social security number?"
Thirty minutes later, after running both our license plates, SSN's, and DL numbers, they tell us to leave and not come back. Of course, according to the officer, we are now on file and will be charged with trespassing should we return. No chance of that, I assure him.
All this happened, because, as you all know, spies and terrorists usually pull up to the front gate in S-10 pickups and Hondas, announce themselves, and politely ask to turn around. What the f@#k? What are we coming to in this country?
On another note: Moving into the apartment today. Wish us luck that everything arrives, and in one piece!
What I can't figure out is this: Why is it that I, an admitted foreign-affairs junkie who watched the news almost every day, saw my first graphic image of charred, blown apart, and dead Iraqi children yesterday in this movie? Maybe if the "Christian" Bushies out there were forced to watch "compassionate conservatism" at work, they might change their minds about our current illegitimate regime. Other firsts: scenes of wounded and dead U.S. soldiers; out-takes of a glib, monkey-faced George W. cracking jokes about his golf game moments after taping an oh-so-concerned warning to the American people about the dangers of Al-Queda...er...Saddam; Congressmen literally RUNNING away from Moore on the streets of D.C. rather than having the guts to explain why THEIR sons and daughters are too valuable to send to the war they themselves voted for. It's disgusting. Go see it. If you're a Republican or a "swing" voter (god only knows what that means), DEFINITELY go see it.
Okay, enough ranting. Here's a funny/scary story. On our way home to McLean after the movie, already chock-full of anti-Bush hatred and paranoia, Jennifer accidentally takes a right hand turn 1/2 mile too early...straight into the CIA headquarters at Langley. Easy enough to do; it's really dark out there, and the road is not marked enough. No big deal, think I, and we pull up to the intercom to tell the guard that we just made a wrong turn and want to turn right around and go on our merry way, thanks a lot, God Bless America, and all that.
"Please pull forward to the barrier and the officer will assist you."
Uh-oh.
"Please turn off your lights and your car's engine."
Two squad cars swoop in behind us, blue lights going full bore. I'm now convinced that if these guys find out what movie we just went to see it's going to be "next stop: Guantanamo."
"Hi, officer, just wanted to turn around, made a wrong turn, sorry."
"This is a restricted government facility and property of the CIA. We must do a background check on every person who comes through the gate. What is your social security number?"
Thirty minutes later, after running both our license plates, SSN's, and DL numbers, they tell us to leave and not come back. Of course, according to the officer, we are now on file and will be charged with trespassing should we return. No chance of that, I assure him.
All this happened, because, as you all know, spies and terrorists usually pull up to the front gate in S-10 pickups and Hondas, announce themselves, and politely ask to turn around. What the f@#k? What are we coming to in this country?
On another note: Moving into the apartment today. Wish us luck that everything arrives, and in one piece!
7/07/2004
Great news!
I hadn't written about this before, but my father has been having some serious medical issues. So much so, that he needed to come up to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to get a second opinion on a pretty grave diagnosis. Well, after our appointment this morning in B'more, we are elated, since his oncologist told us that although he does have the disease, it is so early and the disease is so slow moving that he doesn't even require treatment and should only go in for blood work every three-to-five months. We are so excited. It's really great news!
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