Seriously great news. If you watch the clip, be sure to watch all the way to the end. The ovation for Rep. Murphy is truly astounding. And the closing is one of the most positive and affirming things I’ve heard the president say since the 2004 Red States-Blue States Speech.
In my own life and relationships, there are two things I won’t do: I don’t walk on eggshells, and I don’t lie. In my own small way, I reaffirmed that earlier this very week. And indeed, no one should have to, not to any extent. This, in the immortal words of Vice President Biden, is a Big Fucking Deal.
EDIT: And now the Senate has passed START III. Amazing. Amazing. Incredible. Fantastic. News.
Let’s celebrate our independence, and the return of Common Sense to Washington (however briefly), with a little Prince. ”Could I make you breakfast sometime?” Oh wait.
The TSA is dumb. It’s a stupid agency, which should no more exist than should the Capitol Visitors Center.
Now that they’ve instituted backscatter machines (great! skin cancer, here I come!) and invasive genital groping, I’m just waiting for the first convicted sex offender to be discovered working the “security” line. It’s going to be just great.
I’m not a morning person, and once refused to small-talk with a TSA boarding pass-checker. I wasn’t rude, I just said, “I’m tired. It’s not a very good morning, please just check my pass so I can board my plane. Thank you.” She got all pissy and said, “YOU’RE JUST THE KIND OF PERSON WE’RE TRAINED TO LOOK OUT FOR, YOU TERRORISTY BITCH” basically, and flagged me for secondary screening.
I said, “Ma’am, if I were up to no good, I’d either be acting nervous, or being as NICE AS PIE to you. I’d not be being honest about the fact that I’m kind of bitter that I have to catch a 6:35 AM flight for my crappy job.” File under, DUH.
Yeah…that was five years before the shoes, scanners, etc. It’s going to have to be some big-ass emergency for me to get on a plane again. It’s bad enough for women who get secondary screening when passing through magnetometers, just because they wear underwires. Please forgive me if I don’t want strangers seeing my naked body or feeling me up while clothed. I’ve been traumatized enough in life, thanks. I’m terrified my own man might get an eyeful. Strangers? NO.
Fake security theatre, I won’t miss you when I move away from DC next month. I really, REALLY won’t.
UPDATE: And raise your hand if you’re creeped out by those “report suspicious activity” recordings, featuring Secretary Napolitano, that get played on the bus!
Yes! It’s almost Hallowe’en! I don’t know why I am so excited about it. Uh, I don’t get very many trick-or-treaters at my place (just a few neighbors’ kids); I don’t have anywhere to go, party-wise; I’m exhausted, having had three virtually sleepless nights in a row. Yet, I’m totally psyched!
Is it because I carved a pumpkin for the first time in years? (Pro tip: when attempting to roast pumpkin seeds, season. Which means, keep salt in the house. I say this with love.) Is it because I thought up a good costume for the first time in years, even though I won’t actually use it? It’s really good and involves absolutely noflammable synthetic fabrics; I guess I will file it away for future reference. Is it because the day care center’s trick-or-treaters were so damn cute when they came by the library this week? Firefighters and bumblebees…some things stay the same. Is it because this could be my last Hallowe’en in DC? Today I brought a pumpkin cake to the office, for basically no reason other than I was overwhelmed with the urge to bake one.
Tomorrow’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear should prove entertaining. Folks coming in from out of town? TWC predicts sun and a high of sixty degrees, with winds around 10-15 MPH. So, basically perfect autumn weather. Earnest liberals, jaded hipsters, and zombies will all be there together. Acting all civil, and whatnot. At least some of them will roll on over to Georgetown, where they will get their crazy on, out in the street all night. Should make for some hilarious people-watching opportunities.
In other news, yet more driving will take place this time next week; yes, I’m returning to Albany for another round. Oy. I feel like The Original Red-Headed Stranger.
What are you going to be for Hallowe’en?
Lyric of the day: “Gotta get my sweet inspiration; the one that won’t let me down”
Flashback of the day: Burying the needle on the Northway.
What’s playing now? Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” off Honeysuckle Rose.
Wow, and you thought a couple weeks was a long time to go between postings. Boy, my dear darling six readers, you probably thought I was dead! But, I’m not dead yet.
It was just that grad school took over my life for the summer, and then I went on a long vacation. So I got sort of out of the routine. Will you take me back?
What’s happened between then and now? Well! A lot, actually. I did quite well in my summer classes, thankyouverymuch. Then, a delicious vacation featuring a nice long guest starring visit from KT, which was relaxing and a lot of fun. (Cuts the Cat adored him, and now I’m just not good enough anymore.) I wrapped up said vacation with a trip to the old homestead to visit mom, catch up with my bff MS, and take cousin ATB out to the county fair for his birthday. We had a grand time visiting, riding the rides, eating deep-fried Oreos. (Thank God they’ve made their way to the North.) It was the first two-week vacation of my working life, and fantastic from start to finish.
Then…school started up again. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown a few weeks in, and decided that there was, in actual fact, a real reason why I had held off going to grad school for seventeen years. It’s because I don’t want to do it. So…I withdrew from classes. (Best to do it with a nice, high GPA…just in case I ever decide to go back!) I’ve got two semesters to decide whether to re-enroll, but I don’t think I shall.
This month, I went on a three-day mini-break to CNY. And lo! I was able to really enjoy it not only because of my amazing host but also because I’ve, you know, got some inner peace for the first time in a long, long time. Because…
I’ve decided to move back to NYS.
Holy crow! Yep. I’ve lived here for half my life, and have gotten tired of living on the work-work-work treadmill that is this town. I don’t exactly love what I do for a living, so it’s no fun absolutely dreading every single social situation when the first thing out of the mouth of everyone you meet is, “What do you do?” Ugh. It’s about ten million times worse than, “What’s your major?” Over the past year, with a lot of help from my friends, I’ve managed to face a lot of the issues which prevented me from even contemplating such a move. It’s nice to be able to look back and realize there really are things I’ve missed. Holy Cow. Mywonderfulfriends. My mom. The Catskills. Lakes and streams that are accessible without fighting for hours, through a hundred miles of traffic. A near-total lack of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad McMansion developments. It’s time to go home, to improve ye olde work-life balance, to really enjoy those things.
To that end, I’ve embarked on a job hunt: not too far north, not too far west, and not the city. Ideas are welcome! I’ve already had one interview, so we’ll see how the hunting goes…
There’s lots to talk about, and it’s obviously not all about me. We’ve got not-witches running for the U.S. Senate, for God’s sake! The jokes write themselves. All of which is a very long-blog-posty way of saying…I hope you will take me back, dear readers, because it’s back to normal…or as close as I ever get to normal, anyway.
And to that end, tidbits are back!
Lyric of the day: “Now it’s been years, but there you were, like a Mustang, redlining every single gear”
Flashback of the day: Batman, and how I really don’t remember the movie itself very well.
What’s playing now? Death Cab for Cutie’s “Summer Skin,” off Plans.
Holy crow, people, it’s been a while! There is much to update, and it will happen soon. But I noticed something on the Intertubes today that I just have to comment on:
OK, so this bride is feeling screwed. I get it. (We won’t talk about the whole Bard Chapel quote…because well, I don’t feel like reliving the trauma…) But come. the. frell. on. woman. Look at a map. Seriously. While you were “up at Bard getting [your] Master’s,” did you ever venture off Rt. 9G?
Oh, and uh…Yahoo? 1) Pick up the damn phone, and 2) you need to look at a map as well.
First of all, it’s Dutchess County, with a T. You may think it’s spelled wrong, but it’s named after Dutch people.
Second of all, while Clermont’s mailing address says it’s in Germantown, it’s actually pretty far from ye olde Palatine Pizza. It sits much closer to the actual locality called — gasp! — Clermont.
Third of all, Clermont is not “five minutes” from Rhinebeck, and neither is Germantown. More like fifteen miles. Not even the Secret Service drives that fast. Unless someone invented teleporting when I wasn’t looking.
Fourth of all, hey! You got something correct! Rhinebeck is, in fact, between Clermont and Staatsburg, geographically.
After all, no matter what you hear about the Secret Service bullying local police, they’re not idiots; and Troop K is not run by complete morons. This isn’t their first rodeo; they have advance people working out the necessary road closures out now. If you’re nice to the troopers instead of whining to the press, they’ll probably give you what you need to know as soon as they can. The Clintons are a presidential family, sure, but it’s not Woodstock, OK?
So here’s my advice: print up a nice map with a detour for your guests. They’ll probably have to drive about ten extra miles, but it’s scenic as all get-out. (I know, I had to detour off 9G myself this spring.) I mean, I know Google Maps tells you you just have to go through Rhinebeck, but there are paved roads all over the place up there. Warn your vendors — who, if you have any sense at all, are locals — that they’ll need to take the back roads. If you have to spend some time on the phone calling individual guests ahead of time, then by gum you’ll just have to do that yourself.
And if you can’t do that, then take up my friend Jeanne’s offer to help with your wedding. She’s awesome! Heck. Just do that anyway!
Well, people. It’s My Fabulous Mom’s birthday! On this day, the world was made a much better place when she was born. I mean, we already had Ringo Starr, but she’s way cooler.
I hardly know where to start. She’s the youngest of three girls, and enjoyed it growing up. She was a cheerleader, if you can believe that my mom was a cheerleader. (I know, right?) She loves sports, and you should see her house on Thanksgiving. It’s like Bizarro world: her husband is in the kitchen making the turkey and stuffing, while we’re in the living room watching the football.
When she was still a young thing, I came along. And boy, did she sacrifice it all for me. I can’t imagine how she did it. She worked like a crazy person to make sure we had what we needed, and always managed to make sure that I was able to take advantage of any opportunity which came my way. School trip to Russia? Made it happen. Traveling to the prom in Carolina? Made it happen. Graduation trip to Britain? Made it happen. She always expected only that I try my best to do well at whatever I was doing, and give her the respect she deserved. I hope that I was satisfactory there. Well, except when I was a teenager, but, well…I was a teenager.
Mom, you’re the greatest. Thanks for doing everything you have done for me over the years. You’ve been the most wonderful, supportive, and giving mom I could ever have dreamed of. I love you so much.
Birthday Lyric of the day: “the girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors, and the boys try to look so hard”
Birthday Flashback of the day: Moving back to Red Hook…again
Birthday song that’s playing now? The Killers’ “I Can’t Stay,” off Day & Age.
This morning, PetaPixel (one of my favorite photography blogs) featured an item about two photogs who rode around on the Miami city Metrorail snapping non-commercial photos, just to see how far they’d get. Turns out, they didn’t get even to the first stop. Now, that’s problematic in and of itself…non-commercial photography is, in fact, permitted and the front-line security doesn’t seem to know that. It never fails to amaze me, actually, that this is the case. People! You get tourists all the time! And they like to take photos! You should know this! Don’t even get me started on DC’s Union Station issues.
But, this problem of photogs being harrassed is nothing new. That’s not actually what grabbed my attention. What really got me was a particular comment on the item. This commenter sort of ranted and raved about how these photogs were just wasting police time, and breaking the law anyway, and should not be doing terrorist-like things, such as taking photographs of tourist attractions. Of course, it was the private security guards who called the cops and wasted their time; it was not illegal anyway. Sigh. Then, after a couple of other commenters challenged him, he started in on the archaic nature of the Bill of Rights (“the BoR was written in a different time”), and that people just shouldn’t be taking pictures because, uh…terrorism! Or something. (Ah, the blogosphere…)
I’m a resident of the nation’s capital region. This sort of attitude fills me with despair.
“The BoR was written in a different time?!” Oh my. Actually, while it’s true that the eighteenth century was, you know, not exactly yesterday, let’s make a note of the fact that it’s Independence Day weekend and focus on why the Bill of Rights exists. It was written because, after seven years of bloody war, the utter failure of the Articles of Confederation, and bitter negotiation and ugly compromising to get the Constitution ratified, people like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson realized that the original Constitution was actually still not enough; the BoR was introduced in 1791. It pushed ratification over the finish line and is enshrined next to the Constitution at the National Archives.
(Now, photography is actually not allowed inside the Archives Rotunda. It’s sort of ironic, in that Alanis Morissette way. But photography’s not banned there because the good folks at the NARA are afraid those packs of elementary school kids are going to set fire to the place, or anything like that. It’s actually to do with flashbulbs and light meters; the documents are already pretty severely light-damaged.)
So, whether or not he wants to bring a camera, that dude should come visit. It’s free! Happy Fourth of July, Americans! Play your Friday Musical Interlude while waving sparklers and watching fireworks this weekend.
Lyric of the day: “Feel free to shout it out; speak your mind, spit it out!”
Flashback of the day: Fort Ticonderoga field trip. (Best field trip evah!)
What’s playing now? Cutting Crew’s “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” off Broadcast.
It’s KT’s birthday, everyone. Rest assured, he’s still the same charming wise-ass we all knew as kids.
We’ve known each other since we were 12, on and off through the years (I came and went from the old hometown a few times, you see). By the time high school finished, we were good friends. KT used to sit somewhere nearby in several classes (T, W, you know, alphabetical order); he was constantly stealing my notebooks and drawing in them, thus preventing me from taking notes on those days when he showed up for class. I must have graduated with fifty Guys in my English notebooks. I’m pretty nerdy and this habit of KT’s was quite an area of concern for me, at least until I was admitted to college and stopped caring mid-way through senior year. We lent each other books and music, and joked a lot. In the end we left each other “study hall chats” in our senior wills. Heh.
Fast-forward to Boxing Day, when KT and I met up for a cup of coffee in town as we were both “home for the holidays.” What was expected to be a 30-minute catch-up session turned into a few hours of genuine, grown-up conversation. A pleasant holiday meeting turned into smack-talking emails during the NFL playoffs. Smack-talking emails turned into hilarious phone calls and suddenly I have my old, dear friend back again!
KT appreciates that I can understand what he’s talking about, when he talks about his work. He’s generously shared that work with me, and I treasure it. Meanwhile, he listens patiently as I rabbit on about any old thing, and encourages my small kernel of creativity. We make each other laugh, and agree that vanilla milkshakes are basically pointless. A springtime highlight was a grand couple of days’ visiting together on the old home stomping grounds, and I hope that KT will remember to keep me on his itinerary as he hits the road this summer and fall.
If you need someplace to store your X-Box or whatever, it’s welcome, as are you. I envy you. Happy birthday.
Lyric of the day: “under the tree, the river laughing at you and me”
Flashback of the day: Tim Burton’s Batman, obvs.
What’s playing now? Liz Phair’s “Supernova”, off Whip-Smart.
Photo of the day:
Is he like Zoolander? Can't look to his right?
PS — You laugh, but I am confident that you’ll be thanking me for the Range Rover game when you’ve been on the Interstate for a while.
So, I’m having some issues coming up with presentation topics this week. If anyone interacts with government agencies on any level, and thinks to oneself, “Boy it would be great if…” and finishes that sentence with some technospeak — please let me know.
I have a few ideas, and once my partner and I settle on something I’m sure we will knock it out with no problems. But it’s kind of off-putting just now. Oh well…Hoya Saxa! I will work at Monumental. I will work at Monumental. I will…
Anyhoodle: topic ideas are welcome. I’m hoping to finish the outline while next to the pool this weekend…yes, I’m headed for Va. Beach and a girls’ weekend away with SNZP and JD, which should be fun! SNZP doesn’t know I plan on picking her brain for another paper that I have coming due in a few weeks, but I figure if I do it poolside, while bringing her a steady supply of cocktails, she won’t mind so much.
Last night I saw a beautiful bit of space junk burning up in the sky. So, for today’s Friday musical interlude:
Tubular!
Lyric of the day: “It’s wrong to wish on space hardware. I wish, I wish, I wish you cared.”
