I need a little help, Internets!

I have to provide a picture of myself to be considered for a starring role in an Engineering Week video for middle-schoolers! It will be format similar to "Myth Busters"; The video is also supposed to demonstrate to kids that engineers are cool (which won't be easy). It needs to be what I feel shows "the real me". That's my only guidance. Suggestions?

Oops, I Did it Again.

It's almost as if I'm trying. In French class, I once again provided the day's entertainment by mangling their beautiful language. Specifically, I mispronounced Vladimir Putin's last name. In French, his name is spelled "Poutine". Mind the "e" on the end. That's the difference between pronouncing it correctly (poo-TEEN) and calling the Russian president a dirty whore (poo-TAN). Apparently the term is far more offensive to the French. I'm glad our teacher has a good sense of humor. The conversation went something like this (but in French):

ME: Freedom of speech in Russia is being diminished by Poo-TAN...
TEACHER: You used a bad word.
ME: [thinking I messed up a verb tense] Oh, OK, um, Poo-TAN is...
TEACHER: [cringing] No, no, the other word...
ME: Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [cringing/laughing] Yes
CLASSMATE 1: Poo-TAN?
ME: How does one say Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [further cringing/laughing] Poo-TEEN
ME: Poo-TEEN, not Poo-TAN? What is Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [cringing/laughing]
CLASSMATE 2: I think it's like um...
ME: Oh! Like...
CLASSMATE 2: ...like in Spanish.
ME: Ahh.
CLASSMATE 1: So don't say Poo-TAN??

Amazon

Did you know Amazon.com now has DRM-free music downloads? Well, you do now. No need to install extra software (like iTunes), and there are no restrictions on how many devices or computers you can put your music on. Customer service is really helpful too (like, say, if you close the window before your song's done downloading...oops). While you're looking around, have a listen to Rodrigo y Gabriela--they're cool and different. "Tamacun" is my new favorite song to run to, and "Orion" is great too.

I also updated my "Where I Like to Kill Time" sites at the lower left. Check them out if you, too, need to kill time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. Dena & I did the SOME (So Others Might Eat) 5K Turkey Trot this morning (picture below), and I shaved over 3 minutes off my time. I did it in 33:31, which means my pace was under an 11 minute mile--a huge improvement (I'm sloooooow). During the last half of the race, my left ankle was bothering me, and when I stopped to shake it out and rotate it a bit, a gray-haired old lady ran past me. That definitely motivated me--I wasn't going to let an old lady beat me (not that there's anything wrong with old ladies. I love 'em). As a result of my awesome running, I feel no remorse for the 3 pieces of pie I've had today!

Dena & Me (and the Washington Monument) before the race:


(L-R:) Me, Turkey, Dena:


And, purely for my own embarrassment, me near the finish line. Looking a little irritated:



I learned this week that the way to say Thanksgiving in French is "jour de grace". For whatever reason, in class on Tuesday, my brain decided to substitute "coup de grace", which is very different. So I wished everyone a happy death blow! Even after I realized my error, I kept accidentally saying it. Now it's a running joke.

Happy coup de grace everyone!

Annoy-a-tron

Muahahaha...

New Hobbies

I've fallen into two new hobbies, without totally intending to: hiking and running. Seems out of character, no? But this sounds about right: I had to buy new shoes for both endeavors. I bought some cool new hiking boots a couple months back, and I've been hiking twice now. The first was a 5-miler around Sugarloaf "mountain" in Montgomery County, and the second was a 7-miler on the Maryland Heights trail in Harper's Ferry. You can see the pictures here. I was planning a third (9-mile) hike up Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley this weekend, but I realized that was totally insane, considering the in-laws are coming for Thanksgiving in less than a week! So that's on hold until after the holidays. I've also been running, and will do my 3rd 5K on Thanksgiving. I'm working on increasing my running distances, and today I actually ran 4.5 miles. My goal is to run in a 10-mile race next spring. All this is to prepare me for the arduous Longs Peak hike next August. An aside: the Longs Peak hike has sections with fun names like "the Narrows", "the Boulder Field", "the Ledges" and "Satan's Buttcrack" (okay, the last one might not be real). But the result of my efforts so far? I'm now only 8 pounds more than my driver's license weight (meaning, I've dropped about 10 pounds), and I can put my hands on my hips without grabbing hold of two handfuls of fat!

GRE Update

I think I did pretty well. I won't have my official score until the essay is graded, but I got a 750 Quantitative and a 710 Verbal. I can't find any official cut-offs, but I imagine I did well enough to get into the schools I'm applying to, and maybe even qualify for a scholarship or something. At least I'm done! Now I can finally clean my bathroom, which I've let reach a male-bachelor state of uncleanliness while preparing for this test!

Bon Voyage, Leslie

Below are the pictures from our final happy hour with Leslie. We're so happy she and Trey are starting their new life in Guatemala, but sad that she's leaving us. But, this just means I now have an excuse to go to Guatemala (like anyone needs an excuse!).

Perhaps I should explain the first picture. I suggest weird activities when I've been drinking. Like arm wrestling. I've been doing push-ups lately (part of my Longs Peak preparation), and I guess I thought some feats of strength were in order. I guess I need to do some more push-ups though, because Leslie beat me. As did everyone else except Lisa (who was probably just being nice). Tom, temporarily possessed by Satan, cheers us on.



(L-R) John, Leslie, John, Tom's hair:


(L-R) Me, Leslie, Lisa

(Stay tuned for Girls Gone Mild, Guatemala Edition)

Drag Race 2007

Last Tuesday was the annual High Heel Drag Race in Dupont Circle. Remembering how cold we were last year, and how long we stood around, my friends and I showed up only a half hour before the start. That was a mistake, because 17th street was so crowded, there was no way to see what was happening in the street! So, my friend Jeff and I squeezed straight through the crowd and into the street itself, thinking our SLR cameras might be enough to pass for press. Well, that worked for a little while. I got several good shots in before an event staffer told me to get out of the street! But I would've had free reign (no pun intended) of the street if I was a drag queen. So, next year I think I'm going to wear a prom dress, a lot of makeup, and a big 'ol wig and shoot to my heart's content! Click on the picture below to see all my pictures from the night.