tis the season

Rather be here:



ETA: Our turn now, perfect storm..



A little blurry, but the baby dog does not appreciate storms and is hiding here:



I'm enjoying the rain:

Memorial day

So, briefly, I have an invite to the WH tomorrow to attend the goings on with my stepmom. She's in town from Indiana for the whole wreath laying thing and I will be going with her if for no other reason than to see the inside of the WH (and of course, honor those who died). I personally sacrificed my mental health braving the monuments and the crowds with her today so in some small way, I feel like I've paid a price too.

He Who Must Not Be Named will be there since I guess technically he's still semi-relevant for such things. I trust that he will not actually talk to me given that any response I would have would get me tossed out. I'll certainly report back on the details if they prove interesting enough. I'm not going to pass up this kind of opportunity just b/c I'm not happy (understatement) with the current tenant. I mean hello, I gotta scout out my office for when Hills makes her improbable comeback.

I can feel your jealousy from here. Do not deny such things.

ETA: So here are a few pix I took with my phone from this morning. Frankly, I was kind of suspicious that the invite was even legit when my stepmom told me about it so once we made it past the east gate on to the grounds of the WH, I was like ok, roll with it, you know? And then there was this huge spread for breakfast in the dining room, it was quite surreal. I had some fresh berries and cream under that pix of Abe. Crazy. Like who does that except the visiting head of state of Whereverland.

(Aside: All the rooms were decorated in a style I like to call Tacky Old Splendor. In the dining room, there were crushed gold velvet curtains that, in a pinch, one could fashion into Scarlet O'Hara/Carol Burnett. Lots of old pictures and knick knacks, none of which were small enough to fit in my pocket, not that I would ever consider pilfering of course hello)

And then, we all stood in line (there were about 100 or so various/sundry guests) and each had our picture taken with GWB. I know, I know, but it was hard to turn down the chance. Dance with the devil, I say. My stepmom asked if he was going to have a long day (b/c you know, he barely runs the country anymore so what does he do) and he jokingly said to ask him that at 9pm tonight and I said 'yeah, I read that was your bedtime' and he laughed. If he weren't a potential war criminal, he'd be a kinda fun guy maybe.

We all then got escorted out to Arlington Cem and sat in the sun for the ceremony to honor those who have died fighting. It was hard to be there listening to him talk while feeling that he is responsible for 4000+ of them in Iraq. Lots of ambivalence this morning to be sure.

Anyway, here are a few pix:

This one is looking out the window of the WH towards Constitution Ave, where if you were a tourist, you'd look through the gates up at the house. You can see the curve and columns of the front:



Bill was hanging out in an entry way near the orange juice and coffee:



Hill, on the other hand, was downstairs in a hallway right near the women's restroom, hmmm:



Laura was at the ceremony, sitting on the far right. Her face never moved, I kept checking:



He Who Shall Not Be Named:



We got an official proclamation souvenir and I got an unofficial souvenir - a White House restroom paper hand drying towel. Yes, it came to that, I have no shame:



When we are mailed our copies of photos with GWB, I shall share that with you - that's really the money shot, is it not?

So there you go, a run down of my morning. I didn't take as many pix as I could have but you know, gotta live in the moment. Hopefully next time I'm in the WH, we'll all be more excited about the occupant, yes?

Hi from Hotel California

Hi.I have checked in/do not anticipate checking out.

A view from the convertible:



The drive north. Lonely as a cloud in the golden state:



Lots more pictures and stories to come on this trip fo sho. Look for cameos by the Canadian's arm and possibly the ocean.

ETA: Enjoying a lovely Japanese garden..



And now it is time to put the top down and drive along the coast and unplug the phone and computer..no more work, lots more play.

ETA2: We decided we liked this beach the best, I'm going to pretend we're still there..



2.5 more days on the left coast and 2.5 more days with my Canadian = ready to be done with the former, way not enough time left on the latter.

ETA3: So obviously, I am back. Two weeks away is a long time and I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel it for awhile too. I have three more travel trips between now and the end of June and honestly, all I want to do is hole up somewhere quiet and away from people. I'm getting that familiar not-liking-people feeling again and mostly that is from being forced to interact and be mentally engaged without the requisite downtime. It most definitely affects my mood and behavior, as evidenced by the fact that it took forever for me to relax even a tiny bit when I was on the most perfect beach or among big huge old redwoods with someone I love spending time with. I couldn't turn it off even for her. Which sucks. And I'm sorry.

So flying back, we had to divert around these huge columns off anvil-shaped clouds and I could see them boiling up as we flew by. I later learned that those were the tornadoes over Kansas yesterday and that made me miss home. Like pack up the dogs and drive out west and stay there out on those prairies kinda missing. The time change has me all screwed up and I can't seem to let go of all the shit I have waiting for me back at the office to do and getting my ducks all in that pretty row without a chance to say how nice before I have to prepare for the next thing and the next trip and whatever. Clearly, I'm burning things from both ends a bit too much right now and I'm not particularly appreciating it nor am I able to figure out how to balance. This will be on my list of things to do..in July.

Things I lost (in the fire): The power adapter for my iBook, a firewire, my ipod connector, my chance

Things I found: Two cool rocks and a painfully white shell, the temperature in CA changes from HOT to chilly to HOT to windy to cool to dirty to windy to HOT to perfect in one car ride, the blackberry off button is just an illusion

Things I miss: That beach with you.

faith

Holy frak. I have about 1.8 million things on my mind (which is the price tag of a proposal I have been putting together) and am trying to pack for a two week trip (which is stress/salvation rolled into one) when I simply had to take a time out and let my head go somewhere else. I just finished watching the latest Battlestar Galactica episode Faith and hot holy hell. This show is killing me...man. My love for tortured prophet-heroes knows no bounds. It's also a testament to the level of stress I'm under that it also managed to wrest a moist eye from me as well. Man.

Anyway, I need to get my shit together tonight and finish some of those 1.8 million things and attempt to remember everything I need and somehow make my way to the airport tomorrow morning and land in SF and then drive up north of there and presumably be in a hotel room in California tomorrow night with enough time to re-read a 100pg proposal and prepare for a 1.5 day meeting where I negotiate the impossible and then pick up my Canadian and forget about everything else for awhile.

The question is: Can this be done without completely losing my mind? The answer = Try Again Later. Thank you Magic 8 Ball, may I have another?

there's no place like home

I'm only happy when it rains.



Reminds me of storms in my favorite state..

Greasy spoon

One of many reasons I enjoyed my latest work trip, old skool diner for bfast this morning:



More pix later from a city who shows some serious lilac love and has a whole festival celebrating them. You know what a girl I am about lilacs hello.

Communism and TAINTED MILK!

I kinda have to share this letter with you that I got from my Dad this week. I love that man, but I have to say he gets a little unhinged about the topic of smokers rights. Yes you heard me. The right to smoke. It's like his Roe v Wade.

See, I'm all for prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars because I don't smoke and like not having to be around it to have a meal or drink. He of course is a lifelong smoker. Two worlds colliding so we go round and round about it. He clipped something out of his local newspaper this week and sent it in the mail along with a letter. I'm transcribing the letter for you word for word. Don't judge him, he just wants us to live free or die.

Hey Peanut,

April 26th - 2008 - Remember this date 28 years from now - I think by then you will look back and say what happened? We let a few city councils, county, state & government agencies make all the decisions that affect our lives. What next?

Well you can't eat this or drink that or drive that car or truck and on and on - I'm sure the word is "communism" I'm sure you have read about Japan - Germany - North Korea & Russia and others that had to live by it. Not a pretty picture but it happened.

So with all that said, I shall say no more "well maybe" on the subject. However I have decided to stay around for another 30 years to see how your generation is going to survive and handle the problems the government has decided for you.

Love ya, Dad

what are you doing?

I joined Twitter, I don't know why. It's Friday night!

Not sure how it works completely but expect constant short text updates saying Arrested from an Egyptian prison or Drunk again from the gutter or Lost in space from Starbuck's bed. Anyway, I guess you can "follow me" somehow by clicking on the Twitter thing to the right. This technology thing, how you say? It puzzles me.

Bottom line: I promise to make them entertaining, succinct, and if at all possible, gay. Holla.

ps. I saw the cape lady today after work for the first time in a long time. Naturally, she was wearing her flowing cape (hence how I spotted her) and naturally, it was like the hottest day of the year so far at 80+ degrees. Perfect cape weather! I didn't know it was Renfaire season already. I've not received the memo.

pps. I am off this weekend to upstate NY for work so expect a hearty HIGH from there-ville.