The Stephanie Experience Featuring Homer

Toilet

2009-04-26T09:22:00.002-04:00

It sucks when your truck breaks as you are on the way to buy a toilet. Then, when you get the truck to the shop and get back on your way, you end up having to un-box said toilet in the Lowe's parking lot to fit it in your sedan. And look ridiculous with a toilet seat-belted into your backseat.

PS--The whole point of this blog's existing to update family & friends of my travel? Not so much for now. My new boss, while better than my old boss (at least he speaks English), is not allowing travel for a while. So prepare for infrequent posting and posts on enthralling topics like buying toilets.

Yankees

2009-04-02T12:40:00.003-04:00

To the men on the Red Line headed into the city this morning:
When I got on the train there were at least 5 of you. You pretended not to notice me from your aisle seats, a few feet away, looking able-bodied and wearing comfortable shoes. You kept your eyes averted for a full half hour so as not to see me standing there, carrying two bags and wearing heels. Just FYI, even independent-minded women like it when a man is a gentleman and offers his seat. Further proof that regardless of the location of the Mason-Dixon Line, Maryland is NOT the south!

Pictorial Evidence, as Promised

2009-03-27T20:05:00.001-04:00

See how we even coordinated our outfits?

TMI?

2009-03-25T22:06:00.000-04:00

I recently realized that my attention span isn't always long enough to finish fastening my pants. What I mean is, I've noticed that my mind will wander off to other things and I'll step out of the bathroom with my zipper down if more than three steps are required. I've caught myself routinely doing this with one pair of pants, and deduced that it's because that pair has an interior button, and TWO exterior buttons. By the time I'm done with all that, I'm already bored and forget the zipper! I noticed it the other day too when I wore a belt (I so rarely wear a belt with dress pants). The same thing happened--I did up the buttons, fastened the belt, and forgot the zipper. One of these days it's going to get pretty embarrassing. The only explanation I come up with is that I'm too cerebral to be bothered with the minutiae of maintaining my modesty….that, or I'm a huge airhead. I'll go with cerebral.

WTF M-NCPPC*?

2009-03-09T20:29:00.006-04:00

I run enough on the Rock Creek Trail that I've learned the location of many public porta-potties. Sure, they're unpleasant, but far more pleasant than the alternative, which is peeing in the woods and risking getting poison oak or poison ivy in places you really don't want it. Besides, I'm pretty sure I can't identify either species. So I wasn't too worried on Sunday morning when I went for a run and, as I was parking, noted that my body felt it was time to be rid of all that coffee. I knew there was a porta-potty about a quarter of a mile from where I parked. As I ran up, I saw it wasn't there anymore. No matter, there would be another one about a mile away. When I arrived, that one wasn't there either. Hmmm. Well, that sucked, but there is another one about one more mile after that. Also not there. I'm smart enough that I started to see the pattern, so I can't say I exactly expected the next one to be there either. It wasn't. But, that particular porta-potty had been next to a community clubhouse/sports facility, so I figured I'd just use whatever facilities they had at the clubhouse. As I ran up, I was relieved to see there were bathrooms on the outside of the building. Finally! Success! Except when I tried the handle, the door was locked and there was a sign that said "These facilities for use by permit only. Use porta-johns provided by M-NCPPC." Arrrgghh!! By this time I was almost halfway through my 7 miles, so I just continued on to my turnaround point and finished my run. I contemplated going in the woods, but the trees don't have leaves yet, so there was no hiding from the hundreds of people frolicking outside on the first nice weekend in months. The silver lining to all this is that I stayed motivated throughout the run to keep my pace up!

*Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission

Great White North (okay, not quite)

2009-03-02T17:35:00.004-05:00

I'm in training this week in a non-Metro-accessible location. So, it figures that on the first day in 3 years that I actually needed to drive to work to accomplish my job, we'd have a horrible snowfall. It also figures that work wouldn't be canceled, and there had been no communication from my training coordinator what to do in such an event. So, I just left myself an extra half hour to get there. I still ended up being 30 minutes late, because my commute took two hours! For comparison, I left for home after training at 4:15, and with the combination of clear roads and light traffic, I made it home in 35 minutes. With as much advance warning as we had of the snowpocalypse, I would have hoped some of the more major roadways (ahem...the Beltway maybe!) would have at least had some attempt at clearing prior to 7:30. That's asking too much I guess.

I did my good deed for the day when I was stopped at a traffic signal and noticed a pair of gloves laying on the trunk of the car in front of me. Figuring I had enough time before the light changed, I hopped out of my car, grabbed the gloves, and knocked on the driver's window. It took me two or three attempts to get the driver to stop talking on her cell phone and look at me. I ended up being kinda curt with her, shoving the gloves in the window as I shouted "Your gloves! Your gloves were on the trunk!" Not the benevolent, good-samaritain-thing I was going for!

Freetown Pictures

2009-02-22T17:32:00.002-05:00

I finally got around to culling through the thousands (literally) of pictures my teammates and I took from our trip back in October. They're mostly from our leisure time in the evenings/on our weekend. There was some actual work accomplished too, but those pictures are really really boring.
Click Here.

I must be crazy...

2009-02-18T20:20:00.002-05:00

...because I signed up for my first marathon--the 2009 Chicago marathon! My friend Dena, who's run 5 or 6 marathons, managed to persuade me. It's not until October 11, so we're going to come up with a training schedule when she returns from TDY in March. I figured, why the heck not? I'm not getting any younger, and I love Chicago! Plus, maybe this will be the extra edge I need to finally exist at my driver's license weight.

Simon

2009-02-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

more music charts

I loved this. And yes, it's a joke for old people.

Whoa

2009-01-31T18:58:00.002-05:00

Good gravy, I hadn't realized it had been more than a month since my last post! I don't have any real excuse except that there wasn't much blog-worthy to write about for a long time, and then when there was, I was very busy. But I'm not busy right now, so I'll do a little post.

The most exciting thing recently is that I got to meet Hillary Clinton. Not only did I get to be in the foyer when she reported for duty at the State Department last week, but I also got to be in the room later in the day when she and Biden and Obama announced the new middle east/central asia envoys. Yesterday, Secretary Clinton gave 45 minutes (originally only going to be half an hour) to a group of us representing State Department "affinity groups". I was there as the representative for the Young Professionals Society (YPro). I had a full 60 seconds of her undivided attention while I explained our organization, what our members are about, and what our concerns are. I was really nervous, since I was acutely aware of not wanting to waste her time, but hopefully it didn't show. I did notice right before it was my turn to speak that breathing was no longer an unconscious biological process. It took effort. I'd breathe in...expect my body to do the usual breathing out thing, which wouldn't happen...and then make a conscious decision to exhale. Then I'd think, hmmm, guess I should breathe in again. Rinse, repeat. It was like that for about 3 minutes and I was worried about making myself hyperventilate or something. I also noticed a peculiar tingling in my hands as I neared the last 15 seconds of my spiel. Maybe I hadn't breathed in a while and oxygen wasn't reaching my extremities. At that moment, I realized everyone in the room was looking at me. Which OF COURSE they were, because I was the only one talking, but the thought popped into my head "what if they're looking at me because I look like I'm about to pass out?". But that didn't happen.

Before we started the meeting, she walked around the conference table so we could each introduce ourselves, shake her hand, and get a picture. Hopefully they'll get the pictures to our group somehow so I can post it here! She was very gracious and personable. Good handshake. I noticed her wedding ring set was interesting, although I'd be hard-pressed to remember how it looks now. That's pretty much my synopsis. It's going to be hard for me to top that experience anytime soon!

I am white and I like stuff

2008-12-21T14:59:00.004-05:00

I must like stuff white people like. And I actually suggested that this year's party be a mustache party (and got shot down by Zach, party pooper)!

Merry Christmas Y'all

2008-12-21T11:39:00.002-05:00

We're heading off to Texas at the beginning of the week to spent the holidays with my mom. My Christmas present to you are these "LOLHomers":

Where I Demonstrate How Immature I Really Am

2008-12-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

Stacey and I happened upon this restaurant in Gettysburg back in November. Naturally, I had to take a picture:

Ernie's Texas Hot Weiner Lunch. Maybe people had a more mature sense of humor in 1921?

15 Seconds of Fame

2008-12-09T21:44:00.002-05:00

Watch this video on the State Department website:

http://www.state.gov/video/

Scroll down on the right to "MOU Signing with the Department of Energy" and start watching at 15:00. My name is mentioned at 15:30. I'm not on camera, but I'm standing up with an awkward smile just to the left of the audience (you can see them all looking over their shoulders). The guy talking is my boss's boss (very nice guy).

Thanksgiving Recap

2008-11-30T19:23:00.002-05:00

Things I'm thankful for:
1. Having a friend who loaned me her wet saw
2. Having the father-in-law here for the weekend to help me learn how to tile
3. Sweet, sweet progress after 3 months of inaction:

(Jim and I did up to the black part together yesterday; I did everything above that by myself today, including mitering the %$#&@ last black piece on the left)

4. A new personal record for the 5K! I ran the So Others Might Eat Trot for Hunger in 28 minutes 44 seconds (that's 9:15 minutes/mile!)
5. Riesling

Gettysburg

2008-11-16T21:53:00.002-05:00

Stacey's in PA for the week for work, so I drove up and rescued her from the Quality Inn for the day. We had lunch and did a driving tour of the Gettysburg battlefield(s). Not long after she said she hasn't had morning/afternoon sickness in quite some time, poor Stacey threw up on Gettysburg. We had both ignored her earlier statement that reading maps in the car makes her queasy. At least she chose a stop sign as a target, instead of the adjacent monument to the 11th Massachusetts Cavalry! She was very considerate, worried that some nice family would have been looking for that particular marker, and she would have sullied their experience by throwing up on it. She was embarrassed, so like a good friend should, I comforted her by telling her I'd thrown up out the door of the very same car barely two months ago (yeah, mine was after a party, not a pleasant Sunday drive). Here's a picture of us in front of the spot Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address--nearly 145 years ago to the day!

Note: No monuments were harmed or vomited on in taking this picture.

November 7, 2008--The Day I Finally Own My Bachelor's Degree

2008-11-07T06:00:00.004-05:00

One Bachelor's Degree:

Student Loans: $20,897
Scholarships/Grants: $6,000
Senior year living expenses on credit card: $4,500

Making the last payment on your student loans: Priceless

Freetown, Part 1

2008-11-05T21:13:00.002-05:00

There's a lot to write about my second visit to Freetown, so I think I'll do a multi-part series. Freetown remains one of the more interesting places I've been for work. But like last time, I've brought a cold back with me. I think the stress of travel does a number on my immune system. This time I took four engineers with me (3 contractors and one colleague), and being the team leader meant that I felt like the team "mom", constantly having to make sure that everyone was taken care of and nobody got lost or hurt. But it was a good group, and everyone was enthusiastic and open to trying new things!

The trip didn't start out too well. The flights were fine, but I arrived in Freetown minus one bag. Actually, it didn't bother me too much, because it wasn't my luggage--I was bringing something to a colleague. But I still had to wait in line in a tiny, stifling office to file a claim. It was so hot, when I signed the form, it was wet from the airport employee's sweat having dripped all over it. That done, we took the helicopter from the airport to Freetown proper. I was expecting it to be scary, having heard about these horrible Russian helicopters held together with chewing gum and duct tape, but it wasn't bad at all. Actually, it was kinda cool to walk out to the helicopter with its rotors still turning! Like in the movies!

The Country Lodge Hotel was nicer than the Cabenda, so that was good too. I had a mosquito net hanging over my bed (which I realized, too late, that I should have used), but the sheets and towels seemed clean. I woke up the first morning with a horrible headache, probably due to dehydration. So I popped a couple Tylenol from my little refillable travel bottle and went about getting ready. But I stopped 10 minutes later and thought...wait, is Tylenol blue? Oh no! I started my day by taking two Tylenol PMs!! I was a bit groggy that first day.

Our group of five ran with the local Hash House Harriers that Monday, and everyone enjoyed it. Joe and I opted to run, and the three others joined the walking group. As we ran through the back alleys, past people cooking dinner and taking care of their evening errands, I noticed more this time than last that the locals were really friendly. They seemed to enjoy the novelty of runners running through their neighborhood. Everyone smiled and waved, and little kids high-fived us. I guess it's because running for exercise is somewhat less common in Sierra Leone than it is in the US. People would even help us by pointing the way if we lost the trail. We had to fjord a small stream of runoff/trash/sewage, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to jump across without stepping on something right at the water's edge. Unfortunately, that something I selected as my push-off point was less solid than I had thought, and my shoe sank down in the muck! Ewww! When I got back to the hotel, I immediately threw out my socks and washed my feet and legs three times, then coated them in Purel! So far, my foot hasn't fallen off or become diseased, but I'm totally glad I've had all my shots. I considered not bringing my shoes home with me, but ended up double-wrapping them in plastic and plan to run them through the washing machine with a cup of bleach.

We went running again on Saturday near our hotel with a guy, Bob, we met at Monday's Hash. While we were running, one local man pointed at me and yelled "I admire this lady!" That kept me motivated at least until the next hill! Again, I guess it's not all that common for expats to run through these neighborhoods, and perhaps they don't see too many white girls doing it. As we ran through one street (and let me clarify here, that "street" means a 3-foot wide rocky dirt slope running between tin-roofed shacks that is as much a drainage channel as it is a street), Bob stopped to chat with some people. One lady sitting in front of her house yelled at me and Joe, who had been greeting people with "Hi" and "Good morning", to talk in Krio. I obliged by using the one greeting that I knew, "How de body?". Apparently that was the right thing to say--she smiled and laughed and seemed really pleased. The only thing that marred the run for me was that my cold had already started, so I ended up walking up most of the hills (and it was very hilly).

I'll post pictures soon, but there are a lot to cull through. More later....

Eww

2008-10-22T19:13:00.004-04:00

Today I left work early for an appointment, so ended up back at my regular Metro station mid-day. I walked to the parking garage, and as I was rounding the corner to enter the stairwell, I heard the sound of water clattering to the concrete. My immediate thought: Uh oh, a water pipe must be leaking! But when I got to the doorway, it wasn't a pipe leaking--it was a person! Some dude with long blond hair and a US flag bandanna was standing at the landing (with his back to me, thankfully) peeing onto the stairs below. At 12:30PM! Who does that?!?! A crazy person, perhaps, so instead of calling him out, I just turned around and walked into the elevator instead. How I would have hated to be coming up the stairs from below! Gross! I had always assumed this stairwell got its perpetual urine smell from someone's late-night bladder urges...guess I was wrong!

Speaking of eww, when I was in N'Djamena the other week, I took a picture of a really awful public art/public service announcement painted on a wall. It warns one to be sanitary, because the Cholera is a killer! Also on the ewww front, we ate lunch at some fairly good places while in N'Djamena, but two of my colleagues got pretty sick after eating lunch at a middle eastern place. The dishes were served with diced tomatoes, onions, and lettuce on top. I scraped the veggies off my falafel, but these two guys didn't. I asked one if the tomatoes were worth it, and his answer was an emphatic "no"! I ended up giving him my last round of Cipro. Which reminds me, I need to get more, but I don't have time to go before I leave for Freetown this weekend. But one of my friends has some slightly-expired Cipro she's offered me. How proud my mom must be--here I am considering taking someone else's expired prescription medication! Haha!

I'd say it was a good trip overall, but I didn't get the impression there was a lot to do there. We stayed at the Meridien, which was alright (not the best place I've stayed, nor the worst). We ate dinner one night at the Kempinski, which seemed realllly nice (for Africa anyway), but is Libyan-owned and possibly for that reason we weren't allowed to stay there. I practiced my French with our drivers and also during meetings. It was great! I understood about 90% of what was said. Our locally-employed colleague didn't interpret everything, but I think that might be because our team leader and I both understood what was going on without it (or, he's crappy at interpreting). But even if that's true, I don't hold it against him, because he was a pretty cool dude. He and his wife are Canadians who have lived in N'Djamena since the late 70s and over the years have adopted 16 children (in addition to their biological children). They're very well-known and popular in the City, because they run a private school. It started out as a tutor for their youngest child, and other people they knew asked if they could have the tutor teach their kids too; now, their enrollment is 600 students at 3 campuses!! Several of the government officials we met with were taught by his wife.

It was really hot there (around 100 F). At one meeting, the building's power had gone out, so we met in a kinda dark and stiflingly hot office. In the middle of our meeting, the power came back on, and the people interrupted the conversation to bring in a fan and get the AC unit started. After the meeting, when we were saying our goodbyes, one guy explained that we had looked so hot, they were trying to cool us down. He pointed to me and said that "la blanche" (the white girl) had become very red! I had honestly tried really hard to make it look like the heat didn't bother me, but I guess I didn't succeed!

Pictures here.

Dragging Pants Solution!

2008-10-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

Finally, something for the girl who walks/takes public transportation to work! I saw these in Shape magazine. They keep your hems rolled up so they don't drag the ground while wearing your walk-to-work flats! I usually need to re-roll my hems multiple times during my commute, and often my pants still end up dragging the ground, so I'm really excited about these! I'm ordering a set in black now, but after I get a good look at their construction, I may try to make my own.

Googling

2008-10-11T10:54:00.003-04:00

Is it embarrassing to admit I Google myself every once in a while? Well, I do. And this time I actually found something cool: I made it onto "Eye of Dubai"! They mistook me for a "Mr." unforunately (I was trying to dress conservatively, but really??); at least they spelled my name right! They misspelled Mona's name and left Suzanne and Alene out entirely.

Damn Terrorists Ruining My Day Off

2008-10-03T07:27:00.004-04:00

I'm working from home today. Except for the part where I'm going to go in and work from work later in the afternoon. It's hard to get done with everything that needs doing before I'm going to be out of the office for a week (I leave tomorrow). Sigh. Part of it is directly related to the fact that terrorists blew up a Marriott last week. Because of them, I'm working on what was supposed to be my day off. Damn terrorists. Okay, don't think I'm insensitive, complaining about how I have to work on my day off when a lot of people were killed or injured. But perhaps my reader(s) will realize how important the war on terror is when they recognize that a world where terrorism exists also directly impacts my leisure time. Although, perhaps my leisure time would be less impacted if I stopped procrastinating on my blog and started actually working....

Bored at Work? I've Got Something for That

2008-09-21T21:09:00.003-04:00

Here are some of my new favorite sites (updated nearly every day):

GraphJam

FAIL Blog

Photoshop Disasters (careful--this one sometimes has scantily-clad women, since its content is mostly pulled from advertising)

Passive-aggressive notes

13.1

2008-09-14T20:28:00.002-04:00

I ran/completed my first half-marathon today! It was actually a pretty nice run (on the Rock Creek Trail and Capital Crescent Trail), despite the heat and humidity. The record high for September 14 is 94 degrees, but we only got up to 93. I'm not sure what the humidity was, but it was enough to feel like I was swimming through the air. I looked like I'd been swimming, too, when I finished. My shirt and shorts didn't have a single dry spot on them! All that water/gatorade intake (plus not getting to the starting line early enough to use the bathroom before the race) means I lost about 9 minutes total waiting in line for porta-potties. So, my recorded pace was 12:26, but I would have been between 11:00 and 12:00 had I not had those long stops. But I realized that my comfort was more important than my time; without an iPod to distract me, I had little else to think about for 2 hours and 47 minutes but my full bladder. So, lesson learned for next time: get to the start early enough to rid myself of my coffee! Below is a picture of me at the finish line. Those shorty-shorts aren't doing me any favors. I wish Zach had gotten a shot of me with my weight on at least one leg; maybe then I would have had the appearance of some leg muscle!

My Cellphone is Dead

2008-09-10T21:43:00.002-04:00

So, my cellphone apparently died in its sleep last night. I used it around 9:00PM, but when I woke up this morning, it wouldn't turn on. Naturally, I thought it was just that the battery had run down. Apparently not, because all attempts to revive it (plug it in) have been unsuccessful. I can't believe it's really gone! I've only had it since February. What a piece of crap. Anyway, don't try to call me. Looks like I need to buy a new cellphone this weekend.

This and That

2008-09-08T20:37:00.004-04:00

This is what happens when you go weeks without a real post--you get a list:

1. I run my first half-marathon this Sunday! Wooo! In celebration, I plan to gorge on something wonderful/terrible afterwards, like crepes filled with Nutella.

2. Did you know I love Nutella so much I've started looking for more inventive (i.e., more frequent) ways of eating it? I like to have it on toast after my long runs. I had it on a banana as a snack the other week. I've started stirring it into my oatmeal in the mornings too. Sometimes I just plain admit I'm kidding myself by trying to use it merely as a condiment and walk over to the pantry and have a spoonful straight out of the jar.

3. I narrowly avoided hitting a herd (pack? flock?) of deer on the way to work this morning. The car next to me was not so lucky. The flock of deer ran straight into the road from the right from whatever frightened them in the subdivision. Since there aren't any natural predators or hunters in the city, I'm sure whatever they were running from was not nearly so frightening or lethal as the cars traveling at 45 mph. But that lack of rationalization is probably why we haven't been looking to the deer to solve America's dependence on foreign oil. I've never actually seen a deer get hit by a car. It was terrible and heartbreaking, but at the same time, I couldn't help but say "whoa!" in recognition of how improbable it seemed. It launched upwards off the windshield of the car to my right, flew completely over my lane, and landed in the turn lane. I guess I can hope he was just stunned, since it didn't look like the car was damaged (it kept going, although at reduced speed), and he wasn't there on my way home tonight. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

4. I have a cool work/networking event to go to tomorrow afternoon, where I'll get to meet some cool higher-ups (you may have even seen one of their names in the news). So of course, I have an inordinately huge zit just to the right of my chin, not unlike Chris on The Family Guy. It's probably going to rob a pharmacy tomorrow.

5. I'm going to N'Djamena, Chad the first week of October! I really want to get this "Chad is Rad" shirt to wear while I'm there, but I'm afraid they'll think I'm making fun of them. But really, it would be irony, because I find it ludicrous when people come to DC and wear "I heart DC" shirts while they're still in DC. Plus, I don't think Chad has much tourism, and I'm pretty sure I won't find any shirts there proclaiming Chad's radness. But I think it might be wise to wait until I get back to get it. Then again, they speak French there, so maybe they wouldn't notice since it doesn't say "le Tchad est rad."

6. For my mom: pictures of the other Stephanie's new puppy

Hilarious!

2008-08-28T12:45:00.002-04:00

According to the caption, "The Iraqi military demonstrates how not to do jumping jacks." Looks like they need a little remedial PT instruction. It gets funnier if you watch it multiple times.

Click here for the video at Military.com.

(Work watchers beware--it has audio)

A New Blog is Born!

2008-08-23T18:42:00.001-04:00

I have started another blog called "I am Not Lisa Walkup"! Check it out:

http://IamNotLisaWalkup.blogspot.com/

Longs Peak

2008-08-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

We're back from Longs Peak and the soreness in our legs has receded. Mad props to Jeff for planning a kick-ass adventure vacation. Last Wednesday Zach and I met up with Doug, another member of the Kimley-Horn (or Killme-Horn, if you prefer) alumni association at the Denver airport and drove up to Estes Park. We stayed at a nice little place called Mary's Lake Lodge, and shared two condos between ten of us. Scott (the only one still at KHA), his wife Irene, their baby Evan, his parents, and her brother were in one condo and Jeff (KHA alumnus and the trip planner), Leslie (his wife), Doug (KHA alumnus), Zach, and I were in another. It was great to see everyone again, and it reminded me of the good points of living in Tucson (namely, the cool friends I made).

We all ate dinner together at a pizza place the first night. Scott said something along the lines of "Cool! Pizza and beer!", at which point for the first time ever in my life, I exerted peer pressure on a friend to NOT drink! We were all "No! You'll dehydrate! You won't acclimate to the elevation as well!!!11!1" Speaking of hydration, we all took hydrating very, very seriously. So seriously that I think one of us peed at least every half hour for the next two days. After dinner we went to the grocery to stock up on food for the hike. We were so obsessed with making sure we were properly nourished, it looked like we were going to be back-packing for a week instead of 12 hours!

On Thursday we did a little sight-seeing in Rocky Mountain National Park. I have my pictures from that day here. There are a LOT of pictures of Mountains, mountains whose names I don't even know, but I felt the need to put them all on Flickr. Needless to say, there was scenery and nature everywhere. I managed to run into another Aggie (class of '87, living in Boston now) who recognized my ring. We also visited every rest stop in the park, due to our hardcore hydrating. Thursday night we went to an Italian restaurant where we ate carbs like it was going out of style. Then we went home, packed up and tried to go to sleep while it was still light out.

On Friday, we got up at 2:30AM. We got to the trailhead (elevation ~9,500 feet) at 3:00AM and were on the trail by 3:10. The first part of the hike through the forest was in the dark, so we couldn't see much. I was already stressing out about the effort it was taking to breathe, but I think this was more due to nervousness than altitude! We continued hydrating, meaning we stopped for someone to hop off the trail and pee every half hour. Girls are at a real disadvantage here. At least when it was dark, you didn't have to go very far for privacy. The other times I went, I was able to wait until we got to the trail's privies. They're gross, but I'll take that over peeing in the open (and risking peeing ON your pants/boots...um, not that I did this or anything)! We had planned to take in 100 calories every hour, but I think we all got snacky every time we stopped. I tried Gu for the first time. It's better if you think of it as pudding. I do love saying "Gu", though.

As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words, especially if they have captions, so you can get most of the story from my pictures and also Jeff's. The hike was really, really taxing. By the time we got through the boulder field, I was pretty spent. I had to stop and catch my breath after just about every move. The view through the Keyhole, at the top of the boulder field, was fabulous. So fabulous that I lost my footing, ended up with both feet stuck in a crevice and fell backwards. For a second I thought I was in for a serious fall, but having both feet caught prevented that, and instead I landed squarely on my tailbone. Ouch. About 30 minutes later, when we were about 1/4 of the way through the Ledges, I realized I was done. Actually, I realized I was done at the moment I was about to climb up on some rock and looked down to see that if I slipped I'd fall a thousand feet or so to my death. I decided that even if I had the strength at that moment (which was actually questionable), I wouldn't later and might yet fall to my death. So I said "I'm done" and Zach and I turned around and headed back for the camp sites in the boulder field to wait for the rest of the group. We actually waited there, lying on a rock in the sun like lizards, trying to stop the shivering, for about 4 hours. I had brought an "US Weekly" to read for just such an eventuality, so it could have been worse; plus, the views were still great. So, we skipped the last mile (and 1,000 feet), but still made a good effort by doing the first 6 miles and and 4,000 feet of climb (reaching 13,200 feet). I'm totally okay with being a coward. At least I'm alive to be called one.

Jeff and Leslie summitted about 2.5 hours after we parted ways. The others got to the Trough or the Homestretch, but ran out of gas before the top. After looking at Jeff's picture of the Homestretch, I'm even more impressed that he and Leslie made it up, and back down, it. We all had headaches from the altitude, but they went away later in the day when we descended further. I also experienced some nausea up near the Keyhole, but that also might have been fear!

The hike back to the ranger station and our cars felt way longer than on the way up, but I suppose that's the case with all hikes. We finished nearly 15 hours after we started! Jeff is thinking of planning another adventure vacation for 2010. In his words "without something to plan, I'm just some guy working out of his house." What will it be? Via Ferrata? Whitewater rafting? Cliff diving? Bushkazi? Whatever it is, as long as it isn't biking (don't own a bike, don't plan to buy one), I'm in! And just in case, I'm going to get a membership at a climbing gym.

Quote of the Day

2008-07-28T21:17:00.003-04:00

[RE: Baby seals]
"They're tasty too! Just like chicken (only better, because you know you're eating baby seal)!"

Math

2008-07-25T23:04:00.003-04:00

I was driving back from a meeting with some colleagues yesterday, when a story came on NPR that said "For anyone who still believes that boys are better at math than girls, a massive new study published today in Science shows there's no difference." Really? People believed that until this week? I honestly thought people stopped believing stuff like that 30 years ago. Anyway, NPR started the story by asking how many solutions there are to the equation x^2 - 15 = 0. Easy, I know (2). But in a car full 4 men and one woman, guess who was the only one who knew the answer? Thank goodness it was an easy question, or I would have lost some of my street cred with them. The story went on to say that girls still aren't well represented in engineering. That's true. Any girl who's been in an upper-level engineering class can attest to that (In almost all of mine, it was me, one other girl, and about 20 boys). Then again, It's great odds if you're a single girl. Frankly, I kind of like being the only young female (or the only female, period) in meetings and such. People remember you and tend to listen to what you have to say, providing you're not shy about it. Which, um, apparently I am not. My car-mates also joked with me about my forceful way of handling part of the meeting. The term "bossy" may have been used. But actually, they were complementary about it. Clearly, some middle-aged men think a bossy girl engineer is pretty cool.

Girls Gone Mild, Baby Edition

2008-07-14T20:36:00.003-04:00

Saturday was Leslie's baby shower (it's only a little more than a month before Kira Shaye arrives)! Here's a picture of me, Leslie, and Lisa. Doesn't Leslie look cute? They made fun of me for powdering my nose and touching up my lipstick just before the picture...but look how shiny I am (that's WITH the touch-up)! If I hadn't done that, the flash probably would have glared off my face so much I'd just be a big white patch on the left side of the frame.

On a separate note, I've decided that I'm going to invest in some "running skirts". I read about them in Runner's World, and I think they'd satisfy my inner cheerleader. Especially since my true motivation in high school for trying out for cheerleading/drill team (each time very unsuccessfully) was the cute little uniforms they got to wear at school on game days. In that respect, I think a few cute running skirts will finally make my life complete. The best part is the little built-in modesty undies are called "spankies"!

Quote of the Day

2008-07-07T19:07:00.004-04:00

Two quotes, actually. The first is from Zach, the second is from a colleague who had to employ some creative problem-solving:

"Segways are like walking...but without all the dignity."

"[Telling someone you'll solve their storm drainage problem by] using the words Squeegee and Squeegee Team don't exactly instill confidence in them that you know what you're doing."

Old Rag Mountain

2008-06-29T15:28:00.005-04:00

To celebrate Zach's birthday yesterday, Rob, Lisa, Joe, Zach, and I hiked Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park. It's nothing compared to Longs Peak elevation-wise, but it was good preparation. The 7.5 miles and 2200' of elevation climb are just about half of the total distance and elevation gain we'll do at the end of the month. Both this and Longs Peak are "Class III" scrambles, so that was good practice. You can see some pictures that Rob and I took here. I'm not as sore today as I expected to be. Mostly, it's just the sides of my glutes. I guess I don't use them much! It sure was hot and humid yesterday; we were pouring sweat pretty much the whole time. But the post-hike hamburger and fries (and for me at least, margaritas) were that much better, having been hard-earned!

In other news, I took an oral exam on Friday to see how my French has progressed. I was rated a "2" in speaking ability and "2" in reading comprehension on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being about my ability in, say, Chinese and 5 being my ability in English. 3 is considered fluent, so this means I'm pretty functional, but still somewhat limited in terms of overall vocabulary and understanding of colloquialisms. For example, I think my boss is a 2/2 in English. Frankly, I think I'm more of a 2+ (they give +'s to people who are in-between levels) in speaking ability, but I'm borderline and it's a subjective test. Also one of my testers was a bit rude to me (and no, she wasn't from France!)--maybe that influenced my score. At any rate, I plan to keep reading a French news/opinion article every day on the train to work and listen to the Radio France International Podcast on my ride home every night. I think I'm also going to make it a goal to attend a French conversation event at least once a month. Fortunately, I have some friends and colleagues who are also in various states of learning French, so I won't have to go it alone.

Long Time No See!

2008-06-21T16:36:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in so long that by now I'm sure I've lost even my dad as a reader! Things have been pretty busy, naturally, so I have plenty of excuses for not maintaining my blog. Here are my excuses in order of precedence:

1. Zach's sister's wedding. Being the wedding coordinator was, um, stressful. That's what happens when the mother of the bride is Martha Stewart and not only insists on doing the flowers for the church, but also hosts the rehearsal dinner at her house and also a mini-reception at the church before the real reception. Frankly, I'm going to need a couple Tums just thinking about it. The highlight of the evening was when I got to the reception and my work was officially over. My friend red wine and I spent the evening together, culminating in me no longer possessing my usual verbal filter and stage whispering that one guest's hair was "OUT OF CONTROL" (within earshot of the subject). Seriously, he looked like Donald Trump might if the Donald were 20 and had long blond hair. Also, I found out that a (former) member of the extended family once got a little stabby and attempted to kill another member of the family (whom she was married to at the time). Can't beat that kind of family gossip with a stick!

2. Work's been busy. The end (of the fiscal year) is nigh.

3. I'm running again. Thankfully, my wounds have healed, and I'm even running without an ankle brace. I credit my new "special kid shoes" that keep me from overpronating.

4. We got a Wii. As expected, I suck at most games, but that doesn't prevent me from trying not to suck.

In other news, it's AFI SilverDocs time! Yay! I've been going since we moved here and, Lisa Simpson-style, I won free passes on NPR. Wednesday was Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma and tonight is Bulletproof Salesman. Next week I'm going to see The Toadies at The Black Cat (for $15, how can you go wrong?). The last time I saw them in concert (Dallas, 1996), my friend Bobby tried to protect me from the mosh pit with his own 140 pound body (so sweet, yet questionably effective). Being so close to the stage made the bruises and ringing ears worth it.

Cool (and Thrifty!) Internet Fashion

2008-05-11T16:20:00.006-04:00

For the first time ever, I actually bought something after clicking on a web ad that caught my eye. Apparently, I was the target market. I bought this bandeau dress from American Apparel in black. I was sold on the bajillion (okay, 15) ways to wear it and all the positive reviews. Watch the instructional videos--it can also be worn like a skirt and with a little creativity, a shirt. If I like it enough, I might go back for it in another color. I also bought the sheer jersey scarf in light blue, since $15 more got me free shipping. It also has 15 purported ways to wear it, but some of them are a tad sketchy. Frankly, I'm not sure I have the cojones to walk around in public with a band of fabric wrapped around my chest and pretend it's a shirt! I also got these adorable (and comfortable) shoes from DSW online (YES! They're ONLINE now!). I had tried them in the store, but they were out of my size, so I just came home and bought them. They're cute enough to warrant the $5.95 shipping, I think.

At least I have a stamp in my passport from Barbados now

2008-05-11T14:40:00.005-04:00

I'm back from Georgetown! Sorry kids, no pictures this time. Actually, I took a whole lot of pictures, but they're of things like curbs and pumps and storm drains--not something my target audience (hi Dad!) is looking for. The trip was uneventful and mercifully short--we finished quickly and left a day early. The flights home were uneventful (well, unless you count having my backpack soaked by some mystery source of water while in the overhead bin an event), but the number of times I went through immigration/checked my bag was comical. I got to Cheddi Jagan Airport in Guyana at 3:45AM, got my ticket, checked my bag, cleared immigration, and got frisked by security. Then I flew to Barbados where I cleared through immigration, picked up my bag, cleared customs, got my onward ticket, re-checked my bag, cleared through immigration again, and went through security (seriously, Barbados, this is very inefficient). Then I flew to Miami, where I cleared through immigration, picked up my bag, cleared customs, re-checked my bag, and went through security. At least handling my own bag every time I landed gave me confidence that it would be on the carousel in Washington!

Off to Guyana

2008-05-03T19:01:00.003-04:00

I'm off to Georgetown tomorrow morning. I'm not exactly excited about going, but at least we're staying in a better hotel this time! We're doing a topographic survey, so I'll be outside all week in the best possible weather conditions: 90 degrees and raining. Awesome.

Guitar Hero

2008-04-23T21:42:00.003-04:00

Last week Lisa bought Guitar Hero and she and Joe both got guitars, so we had a Wii party and rocked out the only way people who don't actually play guitar can! So, I'm proud to see four undergrads from Texas A&M doing something this cool. Click on the video below for a demonstration of their Guitar Hero playing robot, "Slashbot". It translates pixels from the screen into button pressing/strumming on the guitar. It's reported to be around 90% accurate and hasn't been defeated by a human. Cool!

Foot Update

2008-04-21T20:50:00.002-04:00

It's official, I'm not running the 10-Miler this weekend. My foot is feeling much better (the x-ray showed it wasn't a stress fracture), but not all of the pain is gone. I don't want to risk further injury, so I'm sticking with no-impact exercise this week. At least I found a coworker who wanted to run this particular race but hadn't signed up in time. He's about 50 years old, but according to his bib he'll be a 30-year old female named Stephanie on Sunday! On the bright side, he's much faster than me, so the results they post on the web will make me look awesome. I'll have to look on Sunday afternoon and see how I did. So, while this is disappointing, I've already signed up for the Army 10-Miler on October 5. Just think--If I manage to injure myself before every big race, I'll stay in a state of perpetual training!

Dubai

2008-04-20T19:00:00.000-04:00

First off, mad props to United for upgrading the seats in their 767s. My flight between Washington and London was the most kick-ass flight ever. Each seat in business class not only fully reclined into a relatively comfortable bed, but everyone had their own personal entertainment center with about 30 movies to choose from, several TV shows, video games, and a juke box program. I'm a nerd, so I watched a documentary on Darfur. Then I ate. Then I watched an episode of 30-Rock. Then I slept (for 4 whole hours!!). Then I listened to a little music. The Emirates Air flight between London and Dubai was nice in terms of service and also had little entertainment centers (I chose to watch "Juno"), but the seats weren't the awesome lie-flat kind. That was somewhat mitigated in my mind by the adorable hats the flight attendants wore. I love adorable hats. Years ago, my desire to join the Navy was somewhat influenced by the cute hats I could have worn. During the descent into Dubai, out the window I could see "The World" and Palm Jumeriah Island, which is the smallest of what will eventually be three "palms". I didn't take any pictures, since it was dusk and really hazy.

Construction in Dubai is going on like crazy. I've never seen so many cranes in one place in my life! You'd drive down the freeway, and there were literally dozens of skyscrapers, all next to each other, under construction. One hopes that the contractors' quality control is keeping up with the pace! The Burj Dubai is currently under construction but is already the world's tallest structure.

I was really intrigued by the way Emiratis dress. Normally, I think the concept of requiring women to cover themselves as backwards and misogynistic, but I realized in Dubai that Emirati men are every bit as covered up. More, really. The black robes Emirati women wore were in many cases fairly fitted through the arms. They actually appeared to be lighter in weight than what the men wore, which were basically floor-length heavy white men's dress shirts. Both sexes had their heads covered at all times. Some women had rhinestones on their robes, and there was certainly no rule against nail polish or makeup. Honestly, the women looked pretty elegant and mysterious. Of course, we did see some women in the full-face niqabs, but we also saw girls dressed like good old eastern European hootchies too. Dubai was kinda "Arab Lite".

Unfortunately, we were only in Dubai for 3 days, so didn't do much touristy stuff at all. The night after we arrived, three of us went to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant near the Burj al Arab (where I took this picture). One lady and I had originally planned to go to a bar that night, but jet lag had caught up with us, so we only did dinner. Incidently, we didn't eat any Emirati food while there. It's apparently not very good, and you really don't find "Emirati food" restaurants. The second night in town, someone from work had us over for dinner. The third night, one other lady and I took a cab to a mall where we heard we could get custom jewelry with our names written in Arabic. I made the cab driver's day by accidentally tipping him 100% of the fare. Actually, I gave him more than 100% of the 50 Dirham fare, because I handed him 102 Dirhams. For some reason I thought I had handed him a 50 note. I'm not sure where 40 of my IQ points went at that moment, but there you go. I did get the necklace, though. Actually, I ordered it, and someone at our office there is going to mail it to me when it comes in. Hopefully it will say "Stephanie" and not "Ho-bag", because really I wouldn't know the difference. We took another cab ride back to the hotel, and I had enough time to order room service, shower, pack, and then it was off to the airport for my 1:00AM flight. So, I guess I would have liked a few more days in my luxurious hotel suite, but that's the problem with work trips--you're there to do work.

The next morning I arrived in Paris for my rest stop. I was proud of myself for speaking only in French the whole time. Even when I became somewhat lost trying to get back to my hotel (the street wasn't on my tourist map), I asked for and received directions in French. I didn't feel like doing a whole lot, but I had a nice little lunch/chocolat chaud at Angelina (Where I asked the waitress for "the advertisement", instead of the bill...oops. That's what I get for trying to be fancy and say "I am ready for the bill" instead of "I would like the bill"). I bought a book (L'Espionne, about Virginia Hall), had a nice little walk through the Jardins Tuileries, and then had an even nicer nap back at my hotel. Later I had a Kir at a little pub, did a little browsing through Printemps, then had dinner at a fancy (and friendly) restaurant near my hotel. The wait staff were really nice about giving me the chance to practice my French. One waitress asked if I was Canadian. Which I guess means my French is now good enough that I pass for Canadian! Which is good, since technically I am.

Dubai Pictures

2008-04-16T21:04:00.003-04:00

I'll write more on Dubai soon, but for now you can look at my pictures.

I'd intended to write a post this afternoon, but I ended up going to three different doctor's appointments instead. The first was to my primary care physician to look at my foot (which has been hurting since my awesome [for me] 30-minute 5K this weekend), the second was to a radiology clinic to have my foot x-rayed, and then I had a dentist appointment. Results: I have a cavity, I may or may not have a stress fracture in my foot, and I probably have at least three more follow-on appointments (one to get the cavity filled, one with an orthopedic specialist, and for some reason my PCP thinks I should come back in a week). Man, that's a lot of doctoring for a basically healthy person. This is why I never go to the doctor. Looks like I may not be able to do my 10-miler on the 27th. :(

Home Again

2008-04-12T14:28:00.002-04:00

I've been home for a week now, but it's been a very busy week. Among other things, Zach and I ran in a 5K race today (his first), and I finished in 30 minutes even. Zach was a little faster, but we don't know how much because he didn't know to look at the clock when he ran across the finish line.

I'm still working on culling through my Dubai pictures. I'll do a post on Dubai soon. For now, I'll just tell you about some new music I discovered during my stop in Paris. I saw Renan Luce's video for "Les Voisines" on TV while I was packing and looked him up on YouTube. There, I found "La Lettre" and can't get enough of it! Here's a brief synopsis of the song for the non-francophone: The adorable Renan Luce receives a misaddressed letter, opens it anyway out of curiosity, falls in love with the author, realizes she intends to commit suicide, drives to her town to meet her (and stop her), realizes she's pregnant, but says the baby can call him Papa if it wants. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a place to purchase the mp3 online and had to resort to the old-school route of buying a CD. Hopefully it will arrive in the mail soon!

Robot Goat

2008-03-21T22:53:00.004-04:00

This is really cool, yet it also terrifies me just a little. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded this robot pack mule by Boston Dynamics. The buzzing noise you hear is apparently the motor. You might have nightmares after watching this. (& thanks to Tom for providing the link)

"When White People Dance", or "Caucasia Knows How to Party"

2008-03-17T20:37:00.005-04:00

That's Tom and me doing The Robot. It may look like I'm balancing something incandescent on my head, but that's just a lamp behind me.

In other news, I found out that I'm going to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) the first week of April! And I'm stopping over in Paris for a day on my way back, because I'm allowed a 1-day rest stop. Sweet. We'll see how motivated I am to get out there and practice my French after an all-night flight (it leaves Dubai at 1:00am and gets into Paris at 6:00am).

Capital Running

2008-03-07T21:51:00.007-05:00

Last night 3 work friends and I ran 7.5 miles after work. It was a really nice run: along the Potomac between Arlington Memorial Bridge and George Washington Memorial Bridge, across Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, then down the National Mall to the Capitol and around the Capitol to my friend's house northeast of Union Station. The only bad part was the "hill" portion of Capitol Hill, which was somewhere in the 6th mile. I entertained the thought of quitting right about then, but as soon as we got back to level ground, I was fine. I also feel good that I finally got the quintessential Washington experience of running on the Mall. My ankles were still both stiff from my experiment of not wearing ankle bracing during my 2-mile run on Tuesday. I wore my ankle wraps last night, but felt the stiffness almost continually. My left ankle, as usual, was the bigger problem. By the time I got home, it didn't really hurt, but the muscles were so fatigued (or something) that I couldn't really walk normally either. I spent about 30 minutes googling Tendonitis/Tendonosis/Tendonsynovitis and fretting about what was wrong, but a little ice, ibuprofen, and overnight resting did the trick--it's more or less normal today. I think I'll take Sunday off, though.

The Kool-Aid will have to wait...

2008-03-04T20:25:00.003-05:00

That's what I get for counting my trips before they're...um, hatched. Guyana has been pushed off until April, mostly because my counterpart in Georgetown is being (as a colleague for whom I have the utmost admiration put it) a "manbitch". That's okay, though because I'm not exactly looking forward to going back. In fact, I'm totally cool with not going back ever, but that's not really an option. My other trip that was supposed to happen now-ish was to Belgrade. If you've been watching the news, you get why that trip is postponed. A little matter of a mob setting part of the U.S. Embassy on fire and all. We'll go when things are a tad friendlier!

In case my previous post regarding music worried you, it worried Zach too. He said I was "letting myself go". Like listening to (and admitting listening to) Justin Timberlake and the Black Eyed Peas is the sonic equivalent of going to the grocery store barefoot and wearing hair curlers. Fear not, I usually temper my online music purchases of Top 40 crap with something a little more respectable, at least so I can justify also liking the crap. My new favorite song is MGMT's "Time to Pretend". It's one of those songs I'll make myself sick-to-death-of within weeks because I hit repeat at least twice every time it comes up on my iPod. Another song that I really want to buy, but can't find, is Bohses Madchen ("Bad Girls") by K.I.Z. I heard it on German MTV while in Turkey. I feel like it's okay to like mass-produced MTV hip hop intended for people 10 years my junior if it's German. Regardless, check it out for yourself at YouTube. (Try not to let the goofy white dude doing backflips and making stupid faces ruin it for you.)

Shout Outs

2008-02-28T18:59:00.004-05:00

I think it's time to give a little shout out to all my friends. Well, the ones who've made recent changes to their online presence anyway:

So Very Varied

Ian's blog has a new name and a new format. Check it out for craft & decorating ideas, music recommendations, and recipes. He's good with power tools, is a fabulous cook, and once re-purposed sale-rack clothes into a messenger bag . If I were a man I would so try to steal him from Bobby. Speaking of Ian and Bobby...

Ian & Bobby's Adoption Website

Do you know someone who is facing an unexpected pregnancy and is considering adoption? Consider Ian and Bobby.

The Becks

Scott and Irene are now part of the blogosphere! They're engineers. They take artsy photos. They like Rodrigo y Gabriela. They're going to hike Longs Peak. They're cool!

Mike's Art (MySpace)

Long-lost friend Mike recently got back in touch and is now devoting his life to his art--check it out. Note to at-work viewers: this page is musical.

As for me, I'm now addicted to Flickr Stats. I can log on and see a daily breakdown of which of my photos were viewed and how people got there. I get a lot of traffic from unjobs.org, since I tend to have photos of third-world countries. Also, people have arrived at my photos by searching for "tonsils", "drag prom", "drag college", "bavarian dance" and "grabbing boobs?".

And in case you care, I'm taking the week off from running. I think I slightly injured my calf during my long run, and then definitely injured it on my Tuesday run (I think it was the "hooray! I'm done!" downhill sprint). Hopefully a week won't undo all my progress.

Yet Another Running Update

2008-02-24T18:40:00.003-05:00

I ran 7 miles today. It was my longest run so far, and I didn't walk, but I had to stop a couple times at traffic signals (I'll admit, I was happy for the brief respite). One long-sleeved shirt proved fine for 38 degree weather. As I was running, I was reminded of a quote by some feminist runner named Kathrine Switzer:

The biggest change is the mass social acceptance. People used to think I was a freak. Now women of all shapes and sizes run all the time. And they’re not just beautiful and slim and wearing pink gossamer tights. They jiggle along at a 12-minute mile or spring along at 6:30s. And everyone just ignores them because they’re part of the landscape! That’s what I love.

I guess that's supposed to be inspirational to me. But I can't get past her implication that slow runners are obviously big fatties whose huge jiggly asses prevent them from running any faster. Seriously, thank you lady, I don't already feel slow and fat enough without you pointing out that I hardly "spring" along. Way to motivate!

Speaking of motivating, some of you may be wondering how one can stay motivated to run for more than an hour. I choose music, and I found today that I had nearly the perfect playlist with no compulsion to skip songs; give it a try. Some songs are embarrassingly bad, but sometimes the cheese factor is a big motivator!

1. Eric Prydz "Call on Me" (fun)
2. Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine" (old school)
3. Spoon "Don't You Evah" (my new favorite song)
4. Erasure "Breath of Life" (reminds me of how much I listened to them in high school)
5. Muse "Supermassive Black Hole"
6. Justin Timberlake "Love Stoned" (actually, this may be my new favorite...don't judge)
7. Cold War Kids "Rubidoux" (but cut off the hidden track at the end)
8. Kaiser Chiefs "Everyday I Love You Less and Less"
9. Bananarama "Cruel Summer" (way old school)
10. Kanye West "Stronger" (almost too obvious, but a nice hint of Daft Punk)
11. Justin Timberlake "SexyBack" (I am indeed bringing sexy back)
12. Rodrigo y Gabriela "Diablo Rojo"
13. The Bravery "Honest Mistake"
14. Black Eyed Peas "My Style" (also with JT. embarrassed that I own this)
15. Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" (even more embarrassed)
16. Tracy Chapman "Fast Car" (it feels good to sing the chorus when nobody's around)
17. Gwen Stefani "What You Waiting For?" (oddly inspirational lyrics, esp. "Take a chance you stupid ho")
18. Marilyn Manson "Rock is Dead" (good end-of-run motivator)
19. Daft Punk "One More Time"
20. Linkin Park "A Place For My Head" (also good last-mile motivator)

Running Update

2008-02-23T11:48:00.002-05:00

I ran my first 10K last weekend. While I was not fast by anyone else's standards, I did very well for me. My pace was an 11:02-minute mile, so I finished in just under 68 minutes (no walking). I learned how many layers I need to wear for running outside when it's 31 degrees (fact: it's not 3 long-sleeved layers). Also, even though my new little running ski-cap promised "wicking" action, it couldn't possibly keep up with the gallon of sweat my head produced. I looked like a drowned rat when I finished! But my new running gloves worked out well (with snot-absorbent panels! I didn't realize why the terrycloth was there until the middle of my run, when I was pleasantly surprised at their strategic location!).

Freetown Pictures

2008-02-22T16:49:00.002-05:00

Did everyone have a chance to click on the spam link in the comments on my first Freetown post? I wish I wasn't so inept and could figure out how to delete it. Anyway, I've finally managed to post all my pictures to Flickr. Enjoy.

Freetown

2008-02-17T20:31:00.009-05:00

I went to Freetown, Sierra Leone the first week of February, and it was probably my most interesting trip to date. And I'm pleased to report that none of my previous predictions came true (except the one about mosquitoes--more about that later). We brought a consultant with us, and when I first met him (waiting for our plane at Dulles), he said he was sure his cooler of sample bottles would get left on a runway somewhere; my mind automatically said "That's okay, you're the one who gets eaten by a shark."

The flights were pretty uneventful. I found that there's some good shopping in Heathrow while on layover--it's kinda like a mall. I went in a souvenir shop and was this close to buying a Princess Diana commemorative book and some humorous British underwear, but I was able to contain myself. When we finally landed in Freetown, we were greeted with the Africa smell. I don't know what it is or how to describe it; I really can't even remember what the smell is like until I get there and think "oh yeah, there it is". It's like a subtle aroma of earth, mildew, and open sewers. We stayed at the airport hotel for one night since the night's last ferry left before our plane landed. It wasn't great. The AC worked really well. Too well, in fact, and I couldn't get the remote control to turn it down or off, even when I replaced the batteries. At least mosquitoes tend find other lodgings in the face of cold AC. Continuing the theme of cold, the next morning I let the hot water in the shower run for about ten minutes before I figured out that there would be no hot water. It was a very brief shower.

Our expediter met us with a cab to the ferry that would take us to Freetown. On the way there, we came across a mob of about 20 or so young men walking in the road, waving sticks and branches, and yelling about something. The cab driver slowed way down and put up all the windows, but was able to pass. We asked what it was, but the expediter just said "African culture". I'm not sure if it was a demonstration or not! When we got to the ferry, tickets for the "first class" lounge were about $1.50. The lounge was stuffy, though, so we chose to stand on the deck the whole time. My gigantically heavy suitcase was carried up the two flights of stairs to the lounge by a local man...on his head. Zach had complained the day before about how heavy it was, but we'll talk when he runs up the stairs with it on his head. Also, I'm pleased to announce that we have a new winner of Stephanie's "World's Worst Bathroom" award. The Juba International Airport ladies' room, the incumbent since 2006, was narrowly ousted by the Great Scarcies Lungi-Freetown ferry ladies' room. Naturally, it was a squat toilet (virtually a prerequisite to earn the title). Not only did it completely lack privacy (I looked in the open doorway from the deck and straight into the face of a woman using the facilities), but the clincher was that apparently there wasn't running water for the sink, so there was instead a big vat of water for hand washing. Seeing all this convinced me that I could hold it until we got to the hotel.

Despite the Hotel Cabenda's logo looking an awful lot like Sheraton's, it was not the Sheraton (but at least they have a website!). Unfortunately, the AC didn't work very well at all, and there was no adjustment that I could find. Although I never saw or heard them, there must have been mosquitoes in my room because I would wake up with more mosquito bites than I went to bed with. That is, until I wised up and started applying Deep Woods Cutter before going to bed. Plenty of hot water though! I used my own sleep sack, towel, and showered in flip flops. I can't say I was disappointed though, because I expected it (otherwise, why would I have been traveling with a sleep sack, towel, and flip flops?).

We managed to fit a little recreation into the trip. We spent the Sunday of our arrival at Beach Number Two (named after River Number Two), courtesy of a local construction contractor who invites all his various expat friends out to his beach house every Sunday for food and drink. We met some friendly Brits, Aussies, and Lebanese folks, and I actually swam in the ocean (no obvious sanitary sewer outfalls). I practiced my French on the French Charge d'affaires, and while I think he appreciated my enthusiasm, I don't think I impressed him with my mastery of the language! On the way back into town from the beach, we encountered several instances of the Sierra Leone version of a kids' lemonade stand--young boys erect a crude drop-arm across the road and demand money to let cars pass.

One night we ran with the local Hash House Harriers through alleys, backyards, between clotheslines, and past feral dogs. I guess we went around 4 miles. It was a side of Freetown I wouldn't have otherwise seen. My newish and very white running shoes look a little more broken-in now that they have a permanent rusty color from running through the dirt roads. I felt a little strange running past women and kids carrying water to their houses...like my life isn't difficult enough, so I have to run around in the heat to increase the difficulty level. As I was running past a couple women sitting near the road, I heard one of them say "white people", but didn't catch the context. It wasn't said in a derogatory way--it sounded matter-of-fact. Maybe she was saying "These white people run past here every Monday. Don't they have anything better to do?"

The food was pretty good at the various hotels and reputable beach restaurants. I ate macaroni and cheese for dinner two nights in a row, but by choice, not out of fear of food-borne illness (I love mac & cheese only slightly less than Old English Sheepdogs). One night we ate with a couple recent college grad Peace Corps volunteers who knew one of our Freetown colleagues. I likened them to puppies--by which I mean that they were altruistic and friendly and loyal to each other the way puppies are (and yes, cute too, but too young for this old lady).

What surprised me most about Freetown was that it was in such better shape than Monrovia. There was more electricity, more running water, and fewer burned-out buildings. I just got the sense that things are on an upswing after the civil war, rather than still stalled in misery. Our work involved understanding the regional water supply by visiting the various dams, reservoirs, and treatment works. Visiting one catchment involved a 2 hour (round trip) hike through the jungle! I was glad for my hiking boots...but of course the water authority employee who guided us wore plastic sandals. I added another large souvenir mask to my small collection; Zach is thrilled. Like so many trips before this one, I came down with a cold a couple days into it. I didn't feel too bad, I just had a really annoying cough (annoying for me, and everyone on the return flight around me).

Leaving Freetown was not quick or easy. We started for the airport 7 hours before our flight time. We thought the ferry left town at 3:00PM, so we didn't leave the office until 1:00. Unfortunately, it was actually a 2:00 ferry, and traffic ensured that we didn't get there in time. But I doubt we would have been able to get our vehicle on the ship anyway. The next ferry was scheduled for 5:00, and by getting in line at 2:05, we were already near the end of the queue. We ended up sitting in the car (with the AC) for another hour and half waiting for the ferry to load. The ferry was totally full by 4:15, so the 5:00 ferry left at 4:30--probably the only thing that actually happens ahead of schedule in Freetown. At least this time, our luggage stayed in the vehicle while we went up on deck--so nobody had to carry my suitcase on their head. At the airport, while our expediter was working on things, we briefly saw our Peace Corps friends one last time in the cafe (they were done in Freetown and heading to Europe to backpack around for a while). Then we went through security and my tweezers and teensy manicure scissors were confiscated. I argued with security, unsuccessfully, that I've been able to carry them throughout the US and also Frankfurt and Paris. They almost took one of my hairbrushes because the end was pointy. Who knew they were more restrictive than the TSA? Actually, I think they're just overly cautious because Air Brussels has its own people do a second check of your luggage right before you get on the plane, and they get mad when the airport people haven't been thorough enough. 30 hours later (and one successful upgrade to business class), I arrived home. I'll post my pictures tomorrow or the next day--I want to put a couple of my coworkers' pictures in there first.

Doomed Trip of Doom

2008-02-01T08:13:00.000-05:00

I think the bureaucratic difficulty I've had getting to today (I depart for Freetown tonight) indicates that this trip is completely doomed. I've been trying to get to this point since November; even so, that didn't prevent me spending most of my day yesterday babysitting my travel authorization and making a total pest of myself to the people who needed to clear on it. And, when my ticket was finally issued at 6:00PM, they took away my business class on my return flight (due to new regulations). Funny thing is, I'm the "team leader" and the rest of my team, who already had their tickets, are all in business class. Sigh. I'm on a waiting list for an upgrade using my miles for the last half of the return--but I'm not hopeful. So, since this trip already has doom written all over it, I'm going to make some predictions:

1. My flight out of Dulles will be delayed due to weather.
2. This will cause me to miss my connection in London. The other two people traveling with me will expect me (as team leader) to fix everything.
3. We will arrive in Freetown 12 hours later than expected.
4. Our luggage will not arrive with us.
5. Because of our late arrival, we won't stay in the airport hotel and will have to sleep sitting up in chairs in an un-air conditioned terminal.
6. The ferry taking us from the airport to Freetown will sink, but I will manage to swim to shore. One of my teammates will be eaten by a shark.
7. My luggage will arrive in Freetown 3 days later. When it does, all my underwear will have been stolen & someone will have used my toothbrush.
8. The contractor's sampling vials containing various acids will never make it into the country. But it won't matter, because the contractor was the one eaten by the shark.
9. My hotel room will be full of mosquitoes.
10. I will get food poisoning within the first 12 hours and spend the rest of the trip hugging the toilet and hanging out with the mosquitoes in my hotel room.
11. On the return to the airport, we will take the helicopter because the ferry sank. The helicopter will crash; I will miraculously survive unscathed, but my luggage will be incinerated.
12. My flight out of Freetown will be canceled, and I will have to wait in Lungi for 2 days.
13. When I finally make my connection somewhere in Europe, I will not get upgraded to business class, due in part to my looking like a vagrant after surviving a helicopter crash and wearing the same clothes for 3 days (and the same underwear for 7).
14. I will arrive home approximately 2 weeks after my original return date after making connections through Frankfurt, Oslo, Dushanbe, Sao Paulo, Chicago, and Atlanta.

The only thing that makes me feel better is that in buying some new music this morning for my trip, I discovered that DRM-free Justin Timberlake is now available on Amazon.com--Oh, happy day (Yes, I like Justin Timberlake. I'm aware that's not cool)!

Oh, and my Ankara pictures are here. I probably won't do a write up, since I generally don't if I take another trip before writing about the first one. Synopsis: It was really cold. I saw Ataturk's mausoleum. Turkish food seems to involve a lot of butter and sour cream. The Turkish word for "thank you" is 6 syllables.

I'm Back

2008-01-19T11:03:00.001-05:00

I'm back from Ankara. I got home last night 7 hours late, minus one suitcase, seriously sleep-deprived, and looking somewhat unwashed, but otherwise safe and sound. I'll post pictures and reminisces soon!

Dammit, I'm going to be on a plane!

2008-01-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

There's a pantsless Metro ride planned for the afternoon of January 12. That would have been such a cool birthday gift--seeing a railcar full of pantsless people. Read more at DCist. It kinda reminds me of flash mobs, which was a brief fad I'm sad I never got to experience. Oddly enough, flash mobs were purportedly created "as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters, and highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of 'the next big thing.'" (I so totally wanted to be a part of the next big thing--guess the joke's on me!)

Spanish Love Song

2008-01-05T12:11:00.001-05:00

How I wish someone would sing this to me....

Alternate Transportation

2008-01-02T21:10:00.001-05:00

So, I found out that the airport that serves Freetown (Sierra Leone) is separated from the city by a bay. Actually, I had heard this previously, but didn't really think anything of it--that's what bridges are for. Except that I discovered today that I have two options of getting from Lungi Airport to Freetown: Helicopter or hovercraft. Hm. I guess around the end of this month I'll either experience my first helicopter ride or my first hovercraft ride!

And you know what? Looking back at my last post (and what I wrote above), I seriously can't believe I wrote that. Really, who the freak am I, summiting mountains and running 10 miles and riding on hovercrafts in Africa? Where's the Stephanie who's scared of riding a bicycle? Oh wait, I am still scared of riding a bike. No worries.

Year in Review

2008-01-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

Looking back at 2007, I traveled, but not as much as I maybe would have liked. I only went to 3 new countries--Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, and Paraguay (4 if you count my unplanned day-long stay in Brazil). But 2008 looks busier in terms of travel, since I already have plans to visit 3 more countries by the end of February (Turkey, Sierra Leone, and Serbia). I'm still basically enamored with my job. Hopefully that will continue. In fact, I think things will get better, since one guy I work with (whom I don't particularly care for) is leaving, and his replacement will be a friend that I worked with at Kimley-Horn. My goals for 2007 were mostly met--I've been taking French for almost a year now (check), I finally bought an SLR camera (check), and I hit South America...but not Asia. My goals for 2008 are:

1. Finish a 10-Mile Race;
2. Summit Longs Peak;
3. Go somewhere (anywhere) on the Asian continent;
4. Practice more with my new camera (aiming for one "assignment" a month);
5. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

That last one is going to be a bit harder than the others. I thought grad school (public policy) was the answer, but I still haven't figured out where to go. Or when, really. Or what I'll do after that. All this possibility is paralyzing!

Craptastic Voyage

2007-12-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

It rained the entire drive home yesterday. Not just drizzle, but pouring rain. I drove for a while, to give Zach a rest, but he said watching how tense I was while driving was almost as stressful as just driving himself. I'm normally a stress-case anyway, and driving in the rain with the worry of a flat tire didn't improve things, so I only lasted about 2 and a half hours out of what should have been a 13-hour trip. Oh yeah, the flat tire thing; as we left Milan, the flat-tire warning light came on (fancy, I know). It wasn't too low, so we figured it must be a slow leak, aired up, and drove on. I didn't like the uncertainty of such an assumption, but what else can you do in a situation like that?

We were fine for about 10 hours, at which point the warning light came on again. This time, we bought a can of fix-a-flat, did that, and got back on the road. Not 20 minutes later, the light came on again. This time we pulled over at a gas station, and the tire was so low that it didn't even register on the tire gauge. We reconciled ourselves to the fact that we weren't going any farther on that tire (Run-flats are equivalent to a spare--we couldn't go another 200 miles at freeway speeds on it). We called roadside assistance to tow our car to Roanoke where we could expect to wait a day or so for our freakin' super special tire to be special ordered. We were going to have to wait about an hour and a half for the tow truck. Not happy campers. While we were sitting in the car discussing this (in a pleasant and amiable fashion, of course), a middle-aged guy (a local) tapped on the window and asked if it was our rear tire and said he could probably help fix it. We were hesitant to accept his help, but after a while, agreed that we had absolutely nothing else to do for the next hour or so.

He and his friends must have either worked at the gas station or were good friends with the people who did, because they went inside periodically to get cardboard to lay on and dish soap to test the patch with. They helped us identify the leak--which wasn't too hard; once we aired it up, you could hear the air gushing out of the giant hole--and they sent me inside for a $3 patch kit. Then the guy laid on the ground (in the rain) and put the patch in. A couple times, he said if this patch didn't work, he'd run to his house and get his own tools. But in the end, the patch worked, and we made it home (albeit, a few hours later than projected). We were so thankful for this random act of kindness; they insisted it was no trouble, but it meant the difference between us being stuck in Roanoke for the weekend and us getting home that night. Zach got them to take a little money for their trouble, and we're going to send a thank you to Barry's Exxon in Buchanan, VA (exit 162 off I-81, in case you're ever in the area), figuring they'll get it eventually (we didn't even get a name), but it just doesn't seem like enough. I guess the only real way to pay something like that back is to do something similarly nice for someone else in need. Perhaps this was my karmic-repayment for helping a couple friends in need last week. Regardless, my New Year's Resolution for 2008 will be to look for opportunities to help others the way these guys helped us.

Happy Boxing Day, Y'all!

2007-12-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

I hope you had a great Christmas and are enjoying a Boxing Day full of leftovers. I've spent most of my week off working out, reading, drinking copious amounts of wine, and baking. Zach's parents had a party Sunday night, and one of the guests wore the exact same sweater I got for the Ugly Christmas Sweaterpalooza (scroll down a few posts for reference, if needed). Of course, I didn't say anything to her--I couldn't think of any way that conversation could go without my either coming off like a jerk who was making fun of her sweater or as a 29-year-old with the fashion sense of a 65-year-old.

I've actually managed to run every day except Christmas, which is good, because my daily pie intake has skyrocketed since arriving in Milan. I've been going to the Y with Josh & Stephanie, who are into working out since they got back from Iraq. Josh said I was in "good shape for a civilian", which I took as high praise. I just now signed up for George Washington Birthday 10K (February 16) and the George Washington Parkway Classic 10-Miler (April 27th). Now I have formal goals, so that should keep me motivated (the fact that I just paid $70 in various registration fees will help too)!

I watched my new DVD of La Vie en Rose last night (Thanks Mom!), which was really good, although nobody else wanted to watch a depressing movie with subtitles, so I watched it by myself. I'm also reading Long Way Gone, which is a memoir of a child soldier in the Sierra Leonean civil war. Again, kinda depressing, but I figured it would be timely since I'm going to Freetown at the end of January!

P.S.--I have also stopped answering to "Stephanie". After so many false alarms for the other Stephanie, I now wait until someone either comes and finds me to see why I didn't answer, or I wait for them to clarify with "Stephanie Beth" or "Stephanie Jo". Note: I only go by "Stephanie Beth" in Tennessee; don't expect me to answer to that anywhere else!

Sweaterpalooza '07

2007-12-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday (the 9th) we had the much-anticipated Ugly Christmas Sweater/Our Basement Doesn't Suck Anymore Party. We ended up with more booze left over than what we started with, so I'd say things worked out well! I'd say roughly half our guests had enough Christmas spirit to wear an ugly Christmas garment. Zach's friend, Stephanie (not to be confused with his sister Stephanie or his wife Stephanie; maybe I should have titled this post "Stephaniepalooza"), won the grand prize because she had the only Christmas sweatshirt that also played music. Click on the picture below to see the whole set. You may note that Stephanie (sister) and Josh start out in Christmas finery, but changed part-way through the evening; they were afraid people who just met them would think they were hicks from Tennessee who always dress like that! Dress like what? I thought my sweater was beautiful and festive.

Sheepie Rescue!

2007-12-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

Watch this link from the weather channel of an Old English Sheepdog being rescued from an icy pond. Poor thing! But she's safe now!

I need a little help, Internets!

2007-11-29T16:22:00.001-05:00

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.

2007-11-28T12:28:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-24T20:19:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-11-22T10:39:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Muahahaha...

New Hobbies

2007-11-17T16:47:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-10T16:50:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

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.

Trivia

2007-10-23T18:55:00.000-04:00

I will never say the word "testify" with a straight face again!

PS--Asuncion and Harper's Ferry pics coming soon.

Guyana vs. Paraguay

2007-09-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

As I prepare to leave for Paraguay tonight, I decided that instead of writing up a longer entry about Guyana, I would just compare my experience there with what I anticipate in Asuncion.

Things I think I will like better about my Asuncion trip:
1. The free massage you get with every two-night stay at the Granados Park Hotel.
2. I don't anticipate having to wear bug repellent to bed or having to wear flip-flops in the shower.
3. There will be trustworthy eating establishments that aren't our hotel or some other hotel. That's not to say Georgetown didn't have KFC and Popeye's, but we were warned that they weren't sanitary.
4. There will be less pressure on me on this trip. Georgetown was about storm drainage and flooding, where Asuncion is about preserving trees. Nobody expects me to know anything about trees--I'm a civil engineer. I'm just there because I'm the Contracting Officer's Representative and I'm the Chair of the "Sustainable Sites" committee in our Energy and Sustainable Design Program. Hopefully I'll learn something!
5. I probably won't see raw sewage in open drains along the side of the road.
6. There's no coastline, but if there was, I bet it wouldn't smell like sewage.
7. I will still have to fly with a cold, but maybe my ears won't feel like I'm being stabbed in them every time we land. Maybe.

Anyway, French class continues this week. Instead of missing a whole week, I'm going to call my class every morning (we meet in a conference room) and participate via phone. A nice coincidence: one of my classmates is also going be in Asuncion. He arrives Thursday for a conference and is staying at the same hotel, so he's going to bring me the homework (reading an article) for Friday's class! Bonne semaine!

Sneezing Panda

2007-09-27T20:37:00.000-04:00

This video is short (and workplace appropriate) and made me laugh out loud like nothing has in a long time!

Coming soon: Fond memories of Guyana
Don't miss: Continued progress on the basement

Also, I'm leaving for Asuncion this weekend, so I don't imagine I'll get around to writing about San Francisco. I only had 4 hours of tourism anyway. Pretty much encapsulated in these pictures.

Wine Tasting

2007-09-15T22:34:00.001-04:00

A group of us, mostly engineers (party!), went wine tasting last weekend. Thanks to Dena for organizing our biannual wine trip! And sorry to Lisa for spilling wine on her in the van....I guess I should have respected the open container law. You can see my pictures here.

If you don't understand what I'm doing with the baguette, you should really watch this. Actually, you should watch all of the Flight of the Conchords videos before HBO makes YouTube take them down! My favorites include this one, this one, and this one. This one is Zach's favorite.

Basement Progress!

2007-09-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Zach is taking pictures every day of progress on the basement. It's fun coming home every night to see how far they've gotten. I don't want to be a nag, but I think I'm going to have to ask them to hook the washer and dryer up again. They've been sitting there unhooked for almost a week, and I'm going to need to do laundry soon. Or find a laundromat. Or do what I did a couple years ago when the dryer broke mid-load: bring a basket of wet laundry to work and ask around if I could use someone's dryer at lunch (might be weirder now that I Metro instead of drive...).

Check back daily for exciting pictures!

Vernissage

2007-09-06T21:57:00.000-04:00

I learned a new word this week, from a coworker: vernissage. At happy hour tonight, we briefly discussed the fact that said coworker was at a "vernissage" enjoying free wine and appetizers. We agreed that we need to look into this vernissage thing--free wine is definitely better than $8 a glass!

Upcoming Travel

2007-08-17T20:55:00.001-04:00

2007 is the year I finally make it to South America! I booked my plane tickets today to go to Asuncion, Paraguay the first week of October. Unfortunately, the flight is just under the 14-hour mark, so I have to fly coach. Bleh. And I am apparently going to spend 9 hours in a middle seat. We'll see if it's less comfortable than my 7 hours wedged between two large oil workers on the way to Malabo. Also, I'll probably be going to Georgetown, Guyana in mid-September. Don't worry, I won't drink any Kool-aid while I'm there!

Flickr

2007-08-12T19:08:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I check my Flickr account to see if someone has left a comment or made one of my pictures a favorite. So just now, I realized that the subject of this photo,

found it and made it one of his favorites! Apparently his name is Emery Carl and he is a busker who looks through Flickr for pictures of himself.

Crappy Week

2007-08-09T21:33:00.000-04:00

1. I actually have to work overtime this weekend. And I'm going to have to go into the office to do it! That, and my boss is unappreciative (and somewhat disapproving of) extra effort. He doesn't understand that my being requested (by someone at his level) to participate in something does not mean I volunteered. Whenever I see him, he says some variation of, "Well, now you'll know better not to volunteer next time."

2. Our AC is broken again. Hello new heat pump....on the eve of signing the contract to have our basement finished, which means we'll have to refinance our home equity line.

3. I think I narrowly avoided being molested on the Metro on the way home today. This (normal looking) dude sat next to me, said he was visiting from out of town, and proceeded to ask me all about myself, what my job is, what I do on weekends, How long have I been here? Why did I move here? Do I travel? To Delaware? Really? What kind of projects do I work on? Really, pharmacies? The way his arms were crossed over his bag, I thought it was an accident at first that his hand was on my leg. But after shifting twice (the second time with an "Excuse me", that was actually a pointed "Excuse YOU"), I realized it might not be an accident and I was worried that things were going to go, um, south. So I announced that this was my stop and moved to another car. Perversion averted. I guess social deviants and major cities go hand in hand.

Stop the Crocs!*

2007-07-30T18:17:00.000-04:00

One reason not to come to DC--"The growing Croc-wearing army continues to fan out across the city"! Here's an interesting article about "shoe entrapment" in the DC Metro escalators. I must say that I think sling-backs and mules are bigger escalator hazards (if you choose to walk up or down, rather than stand there like a lump).

*Well, you get a pass mom--but only because you're a nurse. Although this girl disagrees.

More From My Boss....

2007-07-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

I can hear most of what goes on in the kitchen next to my desk. This morning, I heard the voice of a woman (who had a baby about 2 months ago) yelling, "I already had the baby! I just haven't lost the weight yet!" and then my boss apologizing profusely.

Seen while walking to work...

2007-07-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

A maroon Lexus with a vanity plate that said "SEDUCER".

Seriously?? I wish I saw the driver.

Recent Correspondence from my Boss

2007-07-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

Recent e-mail excerpts, just so you know what I'm dealing with....

Friday:

Jon*:

Please be feminized the [program] and assist other [group] engineers, if they need your help.

Thanks,

PointyHairedBoss

Monday:

[group]: If you have any comments or clarifications with regard to SLA, it is a good time to raise the question or calcification.

PointyHairedBoss

Tuesday:

Mark brought me his meeting for the Lessons and Leaned Committee and he needs his alternate members of this meeting....

Thanks,

PointyHairedBoss

*Names changed to protect the innocent.

Credit Card Fraud

2007-07-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

I recommend you check your bank statement (if you use a debit card) and your credit card statement(s) to see if there is a charge from VIP Tune in the amount of $29.99. We had this charge on our card, but we knew we hadn't made a purchase like that. A little internet research showed that we're not the only ones. I'm sure the perpetrator thought people wouldn't notice an innocuous $29.99 charge. A call to the bank fixes all--money refunded and new debit card winging its way to our mailbox. Of course, we have a really nice bank. Individual results may vary.

Me as a Simpson's Character/Seattle Pics

2007-07-01T13:28:00.000-04:00

Here is what Zach and I would look like if we're ever guest stars on the Simpsons:

You can create your own at The Simpson's Movie website (create your own avatar). Be forewarned that to actually get an image file, you'll have to do a screen print, paste it into a picture file, and crop out the rest of the "screen". Not exactly user friendly, but an idiot like me can do it, so you can too!

The last few weeks were a blur of multiple flights from east coast to west coast and back again. I didn't take any pictures in San Francisco because I was only there for two days and three nights. If I'd known, I would have taken my camera to the architect's offices we were working out of, because they had beautiful views of both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. Their whole office was fabulous actually. Architect offices are always so much fancier than engineer offices. Perhaps because engineer offices frequently have burly sun-burnt men traipsing in and out with mud all over their shoes (although few burly men would admit to traipsing). Back in my own building, they keep us engineers contained to the ugliest two floors, the "nerdery" if you will.

My second cross-country trip within one week was to Seattle to see Anne, my Washington friend who moved out there last year. She and Mike and new baby Zach are doing well. Zach was premature, but has put on more than a pound and a half and is doing great. Anne was a great tour guide of her new city and showed me all the high points. We went to Pike's Place Market, The Seattle Museum of Art, the sculpture garden, gasworks park, a weekly street fair, the Seattle Conservatory, and a movie from their International Film Festival ("Miss Gulag", a documentary about a beauty pageant in a Siberian women's prison). Fun! Click on the crazy guy below to see my pictures.

Young Professionals for the Cure

2007-06-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

Two of my colleagues and I ran the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K on Saturday. Our team was called "Young Professionals for the Cure" and was through our work Young Professionals networking group, which has a running club. This was my first race of any kind and certainly the farthest I have ever run without walking. We did it in 40 minutes, so we were pretty pleased with ourselves. Afterwards we enjoyed waffles, eggs, and homefries at a greasy-spoon near Ford's Theater. We figured we'd earned it! Click on the picture below to see more pictures.

Rolling Thunder

2007-05-27T15:32:00.000-04:00

My first excusion with my new camera was to go into the city for the Memorial Day "Rolling Thunder" Motorcycle rally. Here are my pictures! I let the camera do most of the work in selecting the apertures and shutter speeds this time. As it becomes more second-nature, I'm sure I'll be able to change settings without missing shots. Today I mostly worked on creating interest through where I chose to focus. The only thing I regret about my day was that I didn't get a hot dog. I couldn't cross the motorcycles to get to the other side of the street where the vendors are. Oh well, I got an oreo shake from Potbelly instead! Now I need a nap!

Busy Busy

2007-05-26T16:21:00.000-04:00

Lots going on the next couple weeks!

1. Tomorrow, I'm going to go down to the Mall with my new camera to take pictures of the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally.

2. On June 2, I'm going to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. 5K (just over 3 miles) is farther than I have ever run in one...um...sitting? If you'd like to donate, see my page. I'm running with a group from work called "Young Professionals for the Cure". I was hoping we could work a boob pun into our name, but got overruled. Either that, or I wanted to make shirts that utilize my frequent spelling error: "Fight Beast Cancer!"

3. On June 10 I'm going to San Francisco for 3 days. Our meeting agenda didn't work out to my advantage, so I will get home Wednesday night and have to turn around and fly back to Seattle on Friday afternoon. At least now I won't miss the last day of my French class--we're having "petit dejeuner" together!

4. Oh, and I'm going to Seattle! I'll get to see my friend Anne and document her swelling cankles with my new camera before she has her first child. Should be a fun long weekend of a little sight-seeing, seafood, coffee, and foreign films.

New Camera

2007-05-13T20:35:00.000-04:00

I got my new SLR last week. It's a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI. I also got one prime lens, an EF 28mm f/1.8. I haven't had much time to play with it yet, but here are my first pictures. Click on Stampy's skeptical face, below, to see! I'm a loser and used autofocus on these--I'm not done reading the instructions and my photography book!

Joshua Bell in the Metro

2007-04-10T20:51:00.000-04:00

I found this Washington Post article linked in another blog. It's a long read, but worth it. If you don't have time, here's the synopsis: The Washington Post planted world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell in the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station as a street artist during morning rush hour. Just about everybody ignored him. Sadly, I could have just as easily been one of them. You get so used to trying to ignore other people (because they're annoying, crazy, dangerous, dangerous-looking, or foul-smelling) that you tend to filter out just about everything. Zach and I almost blustered past an act of kindness this past weekend as we entered the Metro station. A man with a woman and two kids came up to us saying "Do you need tickets?" and tried to hand something to Zach. Our gut reaction was "Let's get away from these people!", but it turned out they just wanted to give us their day-passes, since they were done with them. So we rode the Metro for free all night. A random act of kindness from a stranger. Maybe this article will as a reminder to me, and everyone else, to take time to appreciate life and beauty wherever you find it. Even if it's 7:13AM and you haven't had your coffee.

Long Time No Post

2007-04-08T12:02:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since my last post, but that's because not a lot has been going on. Nobody really wants to hear about the HOA meeting I went to or what the weather is like here (cold). Seriously, we woke up to snow yesterday. Wah?

I'm not even sure it's worth breaking my silence to talk about last night. A group of us went to see my favorite band, the Kaiser Chiefs, at the 930 Club. It was awesome. There seemed to be a lot of British people there. Before the concert, we went to a restaurant called Dukem, which was my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine. It was really good, although strange not to get any utensils (you tear off pieces of injera bread and pick up the food with it). Dukem was near 2 other Ethiopian places, and there was an Eritrean place across the street from the 930 Club. Apparently, you can't swing a dead cat on U Street without hitting an Ethiopian restaurant! One friend said that area is known to be "Little Ethiopia". In other news, my trip to Cameroon in May has been called off. I'm a combination of bummed (I wanted to check another country off my list) and relieved (2 weeks is a long time to be away).

Macbeth

2007-03-18T10:37:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night I went with a friend to see Macbeth. This wasn't an ordinary version of Macbeth. It was at the National Museum of the American Indian, and the play was performed in the Thlinket (pronounced Klinket) language, with English subtitles projected above the stage. There was still a bit of English--during Macbeth's & Lady Macbeth's soliloquys. My friend and I saw another of our coworkers, an architect, there as well. Of all the random places to run into someone you know! It was a very good, very enjoyable production after an always enjoyable, always expensive meal in the museum cafeteria. I had a pulled buffalo sandwich and 2-glass bottle of wine for only $28. It's random opportunities like this one that make me enjoy living here! Plus it gave me something to talk about in French class the next day. Our instructor always starts by having us tell him and the others what's new. Sometimes our discussions turn political, such as on Wednesday when we discovered that our class contains a member of PETA and an avid hunter! A frustratingly slow argument in broken French ensued!

Falafel Night

2007-03-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

Some of us did our semi-monthly Falafel Friday on Friday night. If you haven't been to Amsterdam House, ask me to take you there when you come visit! This time, instead of ending our evening with Falafel or just going to a nearby bar, we went to see The Last King of Scotland. It was really good. The moral of the story was "don't sleep with dictators' wives". I think that's something we can all learn from. The biggest eye-opener for me on Friday was not how barbaric Idi Amin was, but what a great movie theater Landmark E Street Cinema is! Not only do they serve beer and wine, but they specialize in foreign films, documentaries, and independent films. I can't wait to see Volver, Avenue Montaigne, and Pan's Labyrinth. Also, The Namesake is now a film!

Tiring Week

2007-03-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Getting back into the habit of studying (and also working 9-hour days) has proven to be tiring. My French class is really great, though. We meet for an hour & 10 minutes every morning for the next 15 weeks. There are 6 of us and an instructor, so there's plenty of individual attention. Unfortunately, it also means I can't slack off for even one day, because our instructor forces us to converse! I was a little worried about being put in the "Elementary Plus" class (There's Beginner, Elementary, Elementary Plus, Intermediate, and probably also an Advanced class). However, I'm learning a lot, and I think I'm keeping pace with my classmates. They have had more recent French experience, so their vocabularies are a little more extensive than mine, but my pronunciation is pretty good. In fact, a woman I met at a party last night was fluent, and she said my accent was good! So that makes two people who've complemented my pronunciation now. If only my vocabulary catches up!

Speaking of the party, it was a birthday party for a coworker. Lots of wine, lots of food, and hula-hooping. Yes, the hostess bought a couple hula hoops. Some of the guests were pretty good at it. My friend Lisa and I were not. Trying to figure out how to do it became somewhat of an obsession around 11:00PM. But I never got the hang of it. To my surprise, Zach was actually able to do it. Oh well. I stuck a piece of "Happy Birthday" confetti to my forehead, and either the dye leeched out or it irritated my skin, but whatever it was, I had an imprint of the words on my forehead for the rest of the night. Mercifully, it's gone today.

Malabo

2007-02-25T11:18:00.001-05:00

If I had a dime for every time someone asked "Where's Equatorial Guinea?", I would have...about a dollar right now (FYI, it's here). It's very small, not actually on the equator, and it's the only African country where Spanish is the official language!

On my flight from Paris to Malabo, I was surprised that about 70% of the passengers were Americans, and about 95% of them were oil workers. I think I was one of 3 women in my cabin (coach). I was in coach due to my stopover in Paris, and I had a middle seat (grrr! My travel agent is supposed to get me aisle seats!) sandwiched between two oil workers. One was a Dutch guy of average build. The other was a gregarious (fortunately, the gregarious thing was diffused early on), fat American whose leg was so big that the armrest wouldn't go all the way down. Both my seatmates spilled over the armrests into my seat. The corpulent American also had a problem with sleep apnea. He snored loudly. Can one do something with gusto while asleep? If so, then with gusto. So, his 5-hour nap was probably not too restful. At one point, both my seatmates were snoring. It was a very uncomfortable seven hours!

If you set your expectations low, you won't be disappointed. That's my new motto. I was expecting my suitcase to be lost or at least pilfered, but it wasn't. I was expecting our hotel to be horrible, but it wasn't. Actually, the Hotel Paraiso was much nicer than the place we stayed at in Liberia. It did have a few quirks. Like most African buildings, only the rooms, and not the hallways or lobby, were air-conditioned. The bathroom was kinda crappy. The shower was a tiny little corner stand-up shower, which was odd given that the bathroom was relatively large. It had a hand-held shower head, but there was nowhere to mount it, so you had to set it down to lather and pick it back up again to rinse! Instead of a bath mat, there was a rubber welcome mat in front of the shower. I noticed after a couple days that all the welcome mats used around the hotel said "Bienvenidos", but my (bath) mat said "Welcome". I guess this was a nice little touch for the English-speaking guest! I had a spider in my shower the first morning, and washed him down the drain. The second morning, either he or one of his buddies was back. I was able to avoid him, so as long as he didn't mess with me, I didn't mess with him. Housekeeping was hit or miss. You had to leave your key at the front desk in the morning if you wanted to have someone make up your room, although sometimes my coworkers would return to their rooms, not having left a key, to find the bed made up and fresh towels in the bathroom. I never got fresh towels. In fact, the one day I turned in my key to have the housekeeper make up my room, she actually left it dirtier than before (she poured a cup of coffee in my sink and didn't rinse it down, so there was dried coffee all over the basin). I decided not to bother leaving the key on subsequent days! One morning, we woke up to no water. Actually, there was just enough water left in the pipes that I got halfway through washing my hands before it gave out. I called the front desk, and although I'm not sure if my call was helpful, water was restored about half an hour later. The power had gone out the night before, so maybe their well pump was off. The power went out frequently, but they had generators that would kick on within a few minutes, so we weren't without power for long. This was the first place I noticed that the water smelled...not good. Oh well, you gotta shower!

Overall, I felt a little like I was in the Carribean the whole time, what with the tropical climate and the spanish-speaking. They actually spoke some French there too, since the bordering countries are French-speaking. That was kinda handy when I was in a souvenir shop. When "bargaining" (I add the quotes, because I'm not sure what I do could really be considered bargaining) I couldn't think of how to say "too expensive" in spanish at the time (although I can now...thanks brain), so I said it in French. I'm also better at numbers in French, so the shopkeep and I did those in French too. And when I couldn't think of a word in French, I'd switch back to Spanish! It was ugly, but we communicated. And I got another mask for my collection (which is now up to 2). Zach hates this one less.

I couldn't really get a feel for what the culture was like in Malabo. Everyone wears western clothes. Everyone has cell phones, and everyone answers those cell phones whenever they ring, regardless of what they're doing. We did not have a single meeting where our counterpart didn't take a phone call. We thought it was rude, but I guess it's okay over there! They probably didn't even realize we would mind! There are a lot of Americans there, but we almost never saw them, because they pretty much keep to their respective oil companies' compounds. Speaking of oil companies, a couple of us got a quick tour of the natural gas pipeline that Bechtel is constructing. They are almost complete with a suspension bridge that takes their pipeline from their compound down a few hundred feet to a jetty at the coast. It is something like the 300th longest suspension bridge in the world, but it is the only inclined suspension bridge! Seriously, aren't you jealous that I saw it and you didn't?

My flights back home were business class and therefore comfortable. I watched "The Queen", thus saving Zach from having to see it with me. I surprised myself by tearing up whenever Princess Diana's death was discussed! I didn't want to cry in public, so at least 3 times I had to take a drink of water and look up at the ceiling to control myself. This is what being Canadian has done to me. Instead of pictures of Donny/Jordan/Joe on my walls when I was 13, I had pictures of the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York, because I thought they were so awesome and stylish. Is it any wonder I was never one of the cool kids? Anyway, when I got to Dulles, my bag was the second one out of the chute. Awesome. Pictures here.

Where I've Been

2007-02-11T17:10:00.001-05:00

Soon I'll write all about my trip to Malabo. But for now, I found an interesting site that allows you to graphically track where you've been! I can see that I really need to hit the north and central parts of the U.S.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Asia and South America look very sad with no red!

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Slight Update

2007-02-03T08:36:00.000-05:00

I realized how delusional I was when filling out my travel authorization forms and saw that I was declining lodging expenses for two nights in a row. I decided I'd really like a bed and a shower at least one of those nights, so now I'm still leaving Sunday night, but I'm staying Monday night in Paris. Now I can have a nice "last meal" before Malabo. It works out well, because I'll still end up catching up with the rest of my team during their Paris layover on Tuesday. Our flight into Malabo has been delayed for runway repairs, but only for one hour. Construction being timed to the hour? I'll believe that when I see it!

An update on Malabo; someone told me it was wise to bring your own sheets. Not that our $240/night hotel doesn't provide them, just that they might not meet your standards of clean. So we went to REI last night and I got a sleep sack like people use for hostels, a chamois-like bath towel (it rings out 90% dry and has its own loop to hang it on, say, a shower rod), and these cute little pucks that unfurl into semi-disposable towels/wash clothes. I also got no-rinse shower wipes. I'm not going to get a shower Monday, so I'll just have to clean up in a public bathroom. I suppose I could go native, seeing as I will be in France, but I think I'll stick to the American fastidiousness! The wipes have specific instructions to use all 8 of the wipes in the package, and even break it down by body part. Seems they don't want the person with no sense washing their face with the same one they just used on their butt! :)

Travel News!

2007-01-27T22:32:00.000-05:00

I just got back from an ASCE conference in Princeton. Home of the Hyatt hotel that does not have free internet access. I found out right before I left the office for the conference that I'm leaving for Malabo, Equitorial Guine a next Sunday! Um...woo hoo? I have a 12-hour layover in Paris on the way out, so while I'm there I'm going to cab into the city, have a meeting, and cab back out to the airport. That way, I'll kill two birds with one stone without having to extend my trip or lose my ability to fly business class (a layover counts towards my eligibility to fly business class, but stopping in Paris for a night would mean both flights are too short to qualify). I'll probably be really tired during my meeting. We'll see if I ever think this is a good idea again!

2007-01-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

There's not much going on worth writing about, but I guess that hasn't stopped me in the past!
1. My pointy-haired boss finally relented and allowed me to enroll in morning language classes. I've always thought the best job in the world would be one where they pay you to learn a foreign language. Okay, so I have to do other stuff to earn my pay too, but for one hour a day from February through June I'll be learning French! I'm hoping what I learned as a child is buried in the recesses of my mind and these classes will bring it back to the surface. Two other colleagues and I have also formed a French practice group during lunch once a week.
2. Around midnight last night Zach woke me by saying "The police have surrounded our house." Actually, it was not our specific house they were surrounding, more like our corner of the subdivision. It looked like half of the Mo. Co. police department crashed a party, and dozens of 16-22 year old thugs were pouring into the street. That must have been some party! Now why weren't we invited?!? Maybe because we were already asleep at midnight on a Friday.
3. We bought a new microwave to replace the one Zach got in college because the turntable started to sound like it was haunted. I already warned you there's not much going on around here.
4. I'm going to Princeton this weekend for a conference. At least I can cross New Jersey off my list. Only 19 more states to go! I really should make more of an effort if I'm going to make it to all 50 states. West Virginia has been only an hour away for the last three years. Maybe that's more a reflection on West Virginia than it is on me.
5. We bought dogs boots today. They just don't quite work as well as I thought they would. They don't fit right. And the dogs try not to put any weight on the boot-wearing feet. With one boot on, Homer tried to keep that leg as far from his body as possible and walk with his remaining three legs. I thought it would be just plain cruel to put the other 3 on. We're returning them tomorrow. I almost peed myself with laughter anyway, so it was worth the trip to Petsmart.
6. Stampy is studying to be a psychiatrist: