Better get on it...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Disintegration of Intellect
I wrote this last December. I never posted it though. Most of the entry is now completely irrelevant. Enjoy!
Although I have never laid claim to be a writer, I have a severe case of writer’s block. Since beginning to write my first academic papers for graduate school, its like a light has been shut off in my head, and I have been rendered nearly incapable of committing to paper anything of consequence. However, I have a plan. In order to purge this foul affliction, I plan to write about a lot of stuff. Somehow and someway, maybe it will knock something loose and I will be able to finish my final papers for this first semester back in grad school.
I last wrote an entry 2 months ago and it goes without saying that things have been extremely busy in the days and weeks since then. Starting with Halloween, I can say that a good time was had by all at the party and I was so glad to be done with the planning and decorating that I hope I haven’t spoiled the enjoyment of this holiday. Either way, we broke our living room ceiling fan with a severed head and have only just repaired it.
The football Rebs were on a tear in the later parts of the season and scored glorious victories over the hated LSU Tigahs and the other school in Mississippi. If you aren’t from the state, you probably can feel me when I say who cares about the other school? Maybe in baseball or basketball, but football? That program is futile. Nonetheless, it was a great season and I hope that Peria Jerry knocks Graham Harrell’s head through his ass in a few weeks in Dallas. I wish like none other that I could get down to the game, but it looks like this year just isn’t the year for me and Rebel football. Unfortunate, but life goes on.
Thanksgiving was spent with Jacqueline’s family, which is always a good time. Her family parties on Thanksgiving. So the week was spent gorging myself on all manner of foodstuffs and blowing shit up with her uncle and family. A holiday well spent if you ask me. It wasn’t the most restful week though, and it took some time to recover from the holiday.
For Christmas, we are planning on heading to Ohio for her padres Christmas party and then heading south to Alabama for the remainder of the break. I get two weeks off, so it will be a good chance to reconnect with the southern United States for a while. We are even planning on taking a trip to New Orleans for a day or so once we get down there. JQ has never been there and I never had a trip to the Big Easy that I didn’t like or at least regret something about later.
I feel sometimes like I am spinning my tires so to speak. I guess its just youthful impatience concerning all things, but it still gets on my nerves quite frequently. There is so much to do and at times I guess I let things get to me, or at least a lot more than they used to.
I have been hitting the exercise bike a good bit lately, which has helped me in catching up on reading. I got a strap to sleep with that keeps my plantar tendons stretched out and it has greatly helped with the heel spurs. I have been running maybe once a week recently just to test it out, and I have done pretty well. I also got back in the weight room as well, which has felt great as it has been far too long since I last lifted.
I miss the old Facebook sometimes. Before it was infiltrated by parents, teachers, employers, stalkers, and high schoolers; it was awesome. People could post racy comments and scandalous pictures relatively without fear of it coming back to them. Now-a-days, it has become very tame and while I understand and appreciate its utility in the world at large, there is something to be said about college kids having their own little domain where it was okay to champion immaturity.
Although I have never laid claim to be a writer, I have a severe case of writer’s block. Since beginning to write my first academic papers for graduate school, its like a light has been shut off in my head, and I have been rendered nearly incapable of committing to paper anything of consequence. However, I have a plan. In order to purge this foul affliction, I plan to write about a lot of stuff. Somehow and someway, maybe it will knock something loose and I will be able to finish my final papers for this first semester back in grad school.
I last wrote an entry 2 months ago and it goes without saying that things have been extremely busy in the days and weeks since then. Starting with Halloween, I can say that a good time was had by all at the party and I was so glad to be done with the planning and decorating that I hope I haven’t spoiled the enjoyment of this holiday. Either way, we broke our living room ceiling fan with a severed head and have only just repaired it.
The football Rebs were on a tear in the later parts of the season and scored glorious victories over the hated LSU Tigahs and the other school in Mississippi. If you aren’t from the state, you probably can feel me when I say who cares about the other school? Maybe in baseball or basketball, but football? That program is futile. Nonetheless, it was a great season and I hope that Peria Jerry knocks Graham Harrell’s head through his ass in a few weeks in Dallas. I wish like none other that I could get down to the game, but it looks like this year just isn’t the year for me and Rebel football. Unfortunate, but life goes on.
Thanksgiving was spent with Jacqueline’s family, which is always a good time. Her family parties on Thanksgiving. So the week was spent gorging myself on all manner of foodstuffs and blowing shit up with her uncle and family. A holiday well spent if you ask me. It wasn’t the most restful week though, and it took some time to recover from the holiday.
For Christmas, we are planning on heading to Ohio for her padres Christmas party and then heading south to Alabama for the remainder of the break. I get two weeks off, so it will be a good chance to reconnect with the southern United States for a while. We are even planning on taking a trip to New Orleans for a day or so once we get down there. JQ has never been there and I never had a trip to the Big Easy that I didn’t like or at least regret something about later.
I feel sometimes like I am spinning my tires so to speak. I guess its just youthful impatience concerning all things, but it still gets on my nerves quite frequently. There is so much to do and at times I guess I let things get to me, or at least a lot more than they used to.
I have been hitting the exercise bike a good bit lately, which has helped me in catching up on reading. I got a strap to sleep with that keeps my plantar tendons stretched out and it has greatly helped with the heel spurs. I have been running maybe once a week recently just to test it out, and I have done pretty well. I also got back in the weight room as well, which has felt great as it has been far too long since I last lifted.
I miss the old Facebook sometimes. Before it was infiltrated by parents, teachers, employers, stalkers, and high schoolers; it was awesome. People could post racy comments and scandalous pictures relatively without fear of it coming back to them. Now-a-days, it has become very tame and while I understand and appreciate its utility in the world at large, there is something to be said about college kids having their own little domain where it was okay to champion immaturity.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Touch ‘em All
Well, since it has been so long since an update, I may as well go ahead and post a special season premiere episode today. I say today rather loosely, since I typically start a post one day only to finish it the following week. Oh well, here goes.
Life has gotten incredibly busy. I feel that I have generally been pretty busy here in Washington, D.C., but I am now feeling that everything has accelerated. There are many reasons for this. Between striving to kick ass at work, actually applying myself to my grad school studies, Freemasons, NYLF, my awesome girlfriend, and trying to still have some fun; it would be safe to say that I suffer from time constraints every now and again. The problem with all this is that my life becomes something akin to the balloon theory when speaking of the illicit drug trade. You squeeze one side only to have it bulge out somewhere else. Apparently, I have yet to master the art of time management. Whenever I feel like I am rocking the house in one place, I come to realize that I am slacking in another. It’s very discouraging sometimes. At time when I feel I am getting the hang of everything, I somehow learn that not everything is in balance. Balance. To me balance is an essential aspect of, well, (forgive the Eagles reference) “taking it to the limit”.
Either way, this year has been great so far. My work has been going very well. I have a new boss that has been a much greater mentor and reference in 6 weeks than my previous boss was in 9 months. I think (and hope) that I have finally bought into the idea that I will be required to make sacrifices in order to get ahead. I have come to realize that I certainly should have spent more energy on my studies in undergrad. It’s tougher than I thought to come from Ole Miss with a mediocre academic record and make it here. Everyone here has a degree, many of them with master’s degrees. The bar is set pretty high here in our nation’s capitol. So now, a couple years after leaving Ole Miss, I am endeavoring to atone for some of my past sins concerning schoolwork. For the first time in my life, I am actually spending more than cursory concern towards my academics. I actually bought the books for this semester, and what’s more is that I am actually actively reading them. It’s amazing how much more you get out of class when you do the reading and then pay attention (most of the time) in class. I have the utmost confidence and faith in my abilities, but it would have been nice starting from a place with more solid footing so to speak.
D.C. has been an interesting place these days. The inauguration was incredible. The city was electric and the atmosphere was like that of Mardi Gras in NOLA.
Continued March 5th.
Back to the inauguration. Jacqueline and I were unable to get to work since the whole city was shut down for the most part. We got up and had a nice breakfast, and then watched the festivities on television that morning. Once it got to be about 11:00am, we jogged down to the National Mall, watched the inaugural address, jogged home and watched the rest of the day on the news. For all those suckers who got up at 4:00am and froze their asses off all day long, it would have sucked to have been you. I left the house at 11:00, still made it down to where I could see a Jumbotron (trust me, 98% of the crowd had the same view that I did) and still was present for a moment which will go down as a keystone in our nation’s history, and got back home. The only differences were that I was 4 miles in better shape and a good deal warmer, and all of this was accomplished in only 90 minutes. Kudos to everyone who realized the moment for what it was. Our President was right though in making sure to point out the difficulties that we will face in the coming years. What this great nation needs is something to work for; some inspiration. JFK said in1961 that we would put a man on the moon in less than 10 years. At that point, we had never even put a man into orbit. In less than 10 years, the United States put a fucking man on the moon which was something that all generations of humans have dreamed about since our cerebral cortexes were evolved enough to allow for conscious thought.
I am going to jump around quite a bit, a lot has happened since my last entry and I guess I have a lot on my mind as well. Bear with me.
For this section, I have some minor book grievances to air out, plus a Subway shout-out. These aren’t necessarily new items, just a couple things that have been bothering me lately.
Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling is a huge pussy. She could have slammed the door shut with absolute authority on what will go down as one of the greatest literary works of our time. Her books inspired millions to read and charged the imaginations of both children and adults all over the world. She could have ended her story in a way that would have been a coronation for Harry being one of the greatest tragic heroes of all time. It could have been epic. It could have been legendary. Instead, she sold out. She is dead to me.
Romans. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is too damn long and much too dry to ever conceivably read in its unabridged fashion. Seriously, I know he wrote it in the 18th Century, but please, how much time do you really have to have to write something like that, much less read it. Gibbon 1, Reeves 0.
Twilight. In another example of the whole Man:Mars –Woman:Venus thing, the great majority of the women that have read the books and seen the movie prefer the books. The guys tend to prefer the movie. Why? The movie cuts out all the boring romantic bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, I like romance just fine, it’s one of the joys of life; but when I have other shit to do, reading 100 pages worth of it just doesn’t get me going.
Five Dollar Footlongs. Quite possibly the best thing since crack.
Alright now, on to this years goals and aspirations.
Run a 10K in 40 minutes or less: Got injured last year and could not train adequately for this. Looking good so far this year.
Read 40 books. This is the year. I can feel it.
Begin saving in earnest. Have been pretty lazy about this. Once again, this is the year.
Naval Lodge representative to Allianza. It should be a tremendous help to my Spanish and to my understanding of Freemasonry by attending this lodge once a month.
Promotion. This one may be difficult given the economic circumstances.
Weekly music practice. I will never learn to play piano without practice. I have to make some progress this year.
Learn to draw. I always wanted to know how to draw. I have found I can teach myself just about anything, so here goes.
Write the book. I know for an absolute fact that my stupid stories will never be published. That being said, it never hurts to put it all down.
So it’s now well into the afternoon. Another long day and evening upcoming. No rest for the wicked. Looking forward to the weekend. Looking forward to getting some rest.
Live triumphantly.
Life has gotten incredibly busy. I feel that I have generally been pretty busy here in Washington, D.C., but I am now feeling that everything has accelerated. There are many reasons for this. Between striving to kick ass at work, actually applying myself to my grad school studies, Freemasons, NYLF, my awesome girlfriend, and trying to still have some fun; it would be safe to say that I suffer from time constraints every now and again. The problem with all this is that my life becomes something akin to the balloon theory when speaking of the illicit drug trade. You squeeze one side only to have it bulge out somewhere else. Apparently, I have yet to master the art of time management. Whenever I feel like I am rocking the house in one place, I come to realize that I am slacking in another. It’s very discouraging sometimes. At time when I feel I am getting the hang of everything, I somehow learn that not everything is in balance. Balance. To me balance is an essential aspect of, well, (forgive the Eagles reference) “taking it to the limit”.
Either way, this year has been great so far. My work has been going very well. I have a new boss that has been a much greater mentor and reference in 6 weeks than my previous boss was in 9 months. I think (and hope) that I have finally bought into the idea that I will be required to make sacrifices in order to get ahead. I have come to realize that I certainly should have spent more energy on my studies in undergrad. It’s tougher than I thought to come from Ole Miss with a mediocre academic record and make it here. Everyone here has a degree, many of them with master’s degrees. The bar is set pretty high here in our nation’s capitol. So now, a couple years after leaving Ole Miss, I am endeavoring to atone for some of my past sins concerning schoolwork. For the first time in my life, I am actually spending more than cursory concern towards my academics. I actually bought the books for this semester, and what’s more is that I am actually actively reading them. It’s amazing how much more you get out of class when you do the reading and then pay attention (most of the time) in class. I have the utmost confidence and faith in my abilities, but it would have been nice starting from a place with more solid footing so to speak.
D.C. has been an interesting place these days. The inauguration was incredible. The city was electric and the atmosphere was like that of Mardi Gras in NOLA.
Continued March 5th.
Back to the inauguration. Jacqueline and I were unable to get to work since the whole city was shut down for the most part. We got up and had a nice breakfast, and then watched the festivities on television that morning. Once it got to be about 11:00am, we jogged down to the National Mall, watched the inaugural address, jogged home and watched the rest of the day on the news. For all those suckers who got up at 4:00am and froze their asses off all day long, it would have sucked to have been you. I left the house at 11:00, still made it down to where I could see a Jumbotron (trust me, 98% of the crowd had the same view that I did) and still was present for a moment which will go down as a keystone in our nation’s history, and got back home. The only differences were that I was 4 miles in better shape and a good deal warmer, and all of this was accomplished in only 90 minutes. Kudos to everyone who realized the moment for what it was. Our President was right though in making sure to point out the difficulties that we will face in the coming years. What this great nation needs is something to work for; some inspiration. JFK said in1961 that we would put a man on the moon in less than 10 years. At that point, we had never even put a man into orbit. In less than 10 years, the United States put a fucking man on the moon which was something that all generations of humans have dreamed about since our cerebral cortexes were evolved enough to allow for conscious thought.
I am going to jump around quite a bit, a lot has happened since my last entry and I guess I have a lot on my mind as well. Bear with me.
For this section, I have some minor book grievances to air out, plus a Subway shout-out. These aren’t necessarily new items, just a couple things that have been bothering me lately.
Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling is a huge pussy. She could have slammed the door shut with absolute authority on what will go down as one of the greatest literary works of our time. Her books inspired millions to read and charged the imaginations of both children and adults all over the world. She could have ended her story in a way that would have been a coronation for Harry being one of the greatest tragic heroes of all time. It could have been epic. It could have been legendary. Instead, she sold out. She is dead to me.
Romans. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is too damn long and much too dry to ever conceivably read in its unabridged fashion. Seriously, I know he wrote it in the 18th Century, but please, how much time do you really have to have to write something like that, much less read it. Gibbon 1, Reeves 0.
Twilight. In another example of the whole Man:Mars –Woman:Venus thing, the great majority of the women that have read the books and seen the movie prefer the books. The guys tend to prefer the movie. Why? The movie cuts out all the boring romantic bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, I like romance just fine, it’s one of the joys of life; but when I have other shit to do, reading 100 pages worth of it just doesn’t get me going.
Five Dollar Footlongs. Quite possibly the best thing since crack.
Alright now, on to this years goals and aspirations.
Run a 10K in 40 minutes or less: Got injured last year and could not train adequately for this. Looking good so far this year.
Read 40 books. This is the year. I can feel it.
Begin saving in earnest. Have been pretty lazy about this. Once again, this is the year.
Naval Lodge representative to Allianza. It should be a tremendous help to my Spanish and to my understanding of Freemasonry by attending this lodge once a month.
Promotion. This one may be difficult given the economic circumstances.
Weekly music practice. I will never learn to play piano without practice. I have to make some progress this year.
Learn to draw. I always wanted to know how to draw. I have found I can teach myself just about anything, so here goes.
Write the book. I know for an absolute fact that my stupid stories will never be published. That being said, it never hurts to put it all down.
So it’s now well into the afternoon. Another long day and evening upcoming. No rest for the wicked. Looking forward to the weekend. Looking forward to getting some rest.
Live triumphantly.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sandro Botticelli Was Gangster
This past weekend, I was walking through the National Gallery of Art with Jacqueline when I came across a peculiar painting. It was in Gallery 10 or something like that, which in this room the principal attraction is the only painting by Leonardi da Vinci that is kept in the U.S. While that painting was cool enough I suppose, there was another that caught my attention. Behind the da Vinci and to the right was a Botticelli painting that made my day. I like how people take their video cameras to art galleries and take video of the famous works. I can imagine those are some great home videos! And damn, my relatives never showed me any vacation movies from art galleries! I can just imagine the commentary...Either way, here is the painting that I am talking about.
Love him or hate him, Sandro Botticelli invented the West Side connection. Not only is this strapping gent throwing up the sign, but he even has that telltale gangsta lean going on. Not to mention that this guy is rocking the dew rag as well a pimp tunic. The painting is actually called "Portrait of a Youth", but who cares?
It has been mentioned to me that this blog has become, for lack of a better word, boring. Lines of white text on a black background. Simple, dark, unremarkable. Well, in taking this advice to heart, I will strive to insert a little living color here. Maybe some pictures and whatnot might pop up from time to time as well.
Now I just need to learn to insert some youtubery and all will be golden.
And just for good measure, here is one more for today. This one is of Coimbra, the town in Portugal where I lived for 7 months.
Monday, January 5, 2009
End of Year Recap
Well, here is the holiday letter that Jacqueline and I sent this year. If you want an email copy, just let me know.
Well this year has been another whirlwind of activity. For the sake of brevity, I will only hit the highlights.
For starters, Jacqueline and I found an awesome apartment in the Kalorama Triangle in Washington, D.C. It’s a great area and a really nice part of the city (in between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park/Adams Morgan). I am sure many of you have seen the pictures of the apartment and we have been busy upgrading ever since. We plan to stay in our current place for at least one more year before looking at moving up and out.
In February, we had the good fortune to take a vacation with Jacqueline’s family to Costa Rica. We flew into San Jose without mishap, rented a car, and boomed northwest to an area near the Volcano Arenal. I spent half a summer in Costa Rica several years ago and visited this great resort, Tabacon, at the foot of the Volcano. The only problem was, since I did not drive the trip myself, we underestimated the difficulty of making the trip in the dark through unfamiliar countryside. After some time was spent getting lost (read as horrendously lost) we finally made it to the resort. After hiking around the volcano the following morning, we spent some time relaxing in the hot springs before setting out for the Pacific Coast. We stayed with the rest of Jacqueline’s family in San Manuel Antonio, a beautiful surf town on the southwestern side of the country. While Costa Rica may only be about the size of West Virginia, getting around the country requires a great deal of time and patience. After arrival on the coast, the rest of the trip was quite relaxing. Between swimming in the pool and the ocean, walking along the beach, watching the monkeys, sunbathing, and relaxing, the rest of the trip was immensely pleasant.
In pursuit of higher education, both Jacqueline and I have been busy. I started a graduate school program in Global Communications/Latin American Affairs at George Washington University, while Jacqueline has been busy studying for the GMAT in advance of applying to business schools in the area.
Professionally, we are both doing very well. Jacqueline left BLS to begin a career in the financial sector and is now with Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm for high dollar accounts. She is working in client account management and looks forward to moving up within her company. I am still working with Boeing in Missile Defense Systems and looking to climb up the corporate ladder myself.
In terms of health, we have both been great this year! Jacqueline’s immune system is still not quite back up to snuff, but greatly improved over last year. She has taken up yoga and loves it. Frankly, yoga is too hard for me, so I have stuck to running. However, I have developed some heel spurs recently; I guess it’s my first real harbinger of old age. I have gotten back on the exercise bike to maintain some fitness and in the weight room as well. We are both striving to eat well and making sure we get our daily vitamins.
Besides work, school, etc, we have both been extremely busy in D.C. Jacqueline joined a dance/cheerleading squad for a minor league football team and has had a great time doing it. She plans to try out for an arena league team next season. As for me, I followed in the footsteps of my grandfather and joined a Freemason lodge in the area. It has already been a tremendous experience with respects to charity and fellowship, and I look forward to growing within the organization. Otherwise, we have filled our time with numerous other pursuits. We met Senator John Glenn a few weeks ago and Senator Bob Dole during the summer months while showing friends around the city. We witnessed the bedlam that engulfed most of the city on election night. We happily cheered on participants of the National and Marine Corps marathons (thank goodness those are over with).
We had a good year in regards to sporting events as well. Boeing has a corporate suite at the new Washington Nationals stadium (baseball) that we were able to attend a few times. We made it to two Redskins games, a couple of Wizards games against the Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball), and also to a few Navy football games.
We have also had the good fortune to entertain some visitors this year. Thanks to all who were able to make it up and allowed us to share some of the good things about our city. It was great having all of you, and everyone certainly kept us on our toes. To Ms. Deborah, Mimi, Maria, Nate Dawg, John, Leslie, Stephanie P., Alison, Amy, Jerome, Carter, Stephanie B., Adam and everyone else if I have forgotten; thanks for visiting. I also got a great deal of practice if I ever do the tour guide thing like I am always talking about.
For the holidays, we will be spending a couple nights in Ohio with Jacqueline’s family and then heading south to my family in Alabama on the 21st. We are planning to spend a day or so in New Orleans before Christmas and taking in the sights of the Big Easy. (Voodoo tours!) Once again we are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza this year. I like to say that it makes us children of the world, but I think Jacqueline just likes it since she gets more presents…Oh well.
So, last but not least, a brief look at the year ahead. Weddings. That is all.
No, just kidding. The next year should bring nothing but success. Jacqueline’s brother, Pedro, is getting married to a wonderful woman in Cabo San Lucas in June, and we are looking forward to taking a week in the sun soaked beaches of Mexico. Another one of Jacqueline’s best friends, Jessica, along with some of her favorite cousins, Andrea and Ian, and her friend Sylvie are getting married as well! Congratulations to all of them and we wish them nothing but the best of luck in the future.
As for us, life will always be on the upswing. We have done pretty well in meeting our goals this year and I expect nothing short of another wonderful year in 2009. Thank you to all who have helped shape our experiences in this city. We have had some great opportunities here and we have built a good life for ourselves in our nation’s capitol. We hope everyone has the very best of holidays and a very happy New Year as well. We also would like to extend our warmest wishes for health, love, and happiness in the coming year!
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin
Well this year has been another whirlwind of activity. For the sake of brevity, I will only hit the highlights.
For starters, Jacqueline and I found an awesome apartment in the Kalorama Triangle in Washington, D.C. It’s a great area and a really nice part of the city (in between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park/Adams Morgan). I am sure many of you have seen the pictures of the apartment and we have been busy upgrading ever since. We plan to stay in our current place for at least one more year before looking at moving up and out.
In February, we had the good fortune to take a vacation with Jacqueline’s family to Costa Rica. We flew into San Jose without mishap, rented a car, and boomed northwest to an area near the Volcano Arenal. I spent half a summer in Costa Rica several years ago and visited this great resort, Tabacon, at the foot of the Volcano. The only problem was, since I did not drive the trip myself, we underestimated the difficulty of making the trip in the dark through unfamiliar countryside. After some time was spent getting lost (read as horrendously lost) we finally made it to the resort. After hiking around the volcano the following morning, we spent some time relaxing in the hot springs before setting out for the Pacific Coast. We stayed with the rest of Jacqueline’s family in San Manuel Antonio, a beautiful surf town on the southwestern side of the country. While Costa Rica may only be about the size of West Virginia, getting around the country requires a great deal of time and patience. After arrival on the coast, the rest of the trip was quite relaxing. Between swimming in the pool and the ocean, walking along the beach, watching the monkeys, sunbathing, and relaxing, the rest of the trip was immensely pleasant.
In pursuit of higher education, both Jacqueline and I have been busy. I started a graduate school program in Global Communications/Latin American Affairs at George Washington University, while Jacqueline has been busy studying for the GMAT in advance of applying to business schools in the area.
Professionally, we are both doing very well. Jacqueline left BLS to begin a career in the financial sector and is now with Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm for high dollar accounts. She is working in client account management and looks forward to moving up within her company. I am still working with Boeing in Missile Defense Systems and looking to climb up the corporate ladder myself.
In terms of health, we have both been great this year! Jacqueline’s immune system is still not quite back up to snuff, but greatly improved over last year. She has taken up yoga and loves it. Frankly, yoga is too hard for me, so I have stuck to running. However, I have developed some heel spurs recently; I guess it’s my first real harbinger of old age. I have gotten back on the exercise bike to maintain some fitness and in the weight room as well. We are both striving to eat well and making sure we get our daily vitamins.
Besides work, school, etc, we have both been extremely busy in D.C. Jacqueline joined a dance/cheerleading squad for a minor league football team and has had a great time doing it. She plans to try out for an arena league team next season. As for me, I followed in the footsteps of my grandfather and joined a Freemason lodge in the area. It has already been a tremendous experience with respects to charity and fellowship, and I look forward to growing within the organization. Otherwise, we have filled our time with numerous other pursuits. We met Senator John Glenn a few weeks ago and Senator Bob Dole during the summer months while showing friends around the city. We witnessed the bedlam that engulfed most of the city on election night. We happily cheered on participants of the National and Marine Corps marathons (thank goodness those are over with).
We had a good year in regards to sporting events as well. Boeing has a corporate suite at the new Washington Nationals stadium (baseball) that we were able to attend a few times. We made it to two Redskins games, a couple of Wizards games against the Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball), and also to a few Navy football games.
We have also had the good fortune to entertain some visitors this year. Thanks to all who were able to make it up and allowed us to share some of the good things about our city. It was great having all of you, and everyone certainly kept us on our toes. To Ms. Deborah, Mimi, Maria, Nate Dawg, John, Leslie, Stephanie P., Alison, Amy, Jerome, Carter, Stephanie B., Adam and everyone else if I have forgotten; thanks for visiting. I also got a great deal of practice if I ever do the tour guide thing like I am always talking about.
For the holidays, we will be spending a couple nights in Ohio with Jacqueline’s family and then heading south to my family in Alabama on the 21st. We are planning to spend a day or so in New Orleans before Christmas and taking in the sights of the Big Easy. (Voodoo tours!) Once again we are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza this year. I like to say that it makes us children of the world, but I think Jacqueline just likes it since she gets more presents…Oh well.
So, last but not least, a brief look at the year ahead. Weddings. That is all.
No, just kidding. The next year should bring nothing but success. Jacqueline’s brother, Pedro, is getting married to a wonderful woman in Cabo San Lucas in June, and we are looking forward to taking a week in the sun soaked beaches of Mexico. Another one of Jacqueline’s best friends, Jessica, along with some of her favorite cousins, Andrea and Ian, and her friend Sylvie are getting married as well! Congratulations to all of them and we wish them nothing but the best of luck in the future.
As for us, life will always be on the upswing. We have done pretty well in meeting our goals this year and I expect nothing short of another wonderful year in 2009. Thank you to all who have helped shape our experiences in this city. We have had some great opportunities here and we have built a good life for ourselves in our nation’s capitol. We hope everyone has the very best of holidays and a very happy New Year as well. We also would like to extend our warmest wishes for health, love, and happiness in the coming year!
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin
Monday, December 15, 2008
Breakthrough!
This is what I have been waiting for all along. I had yet to feel that familiar academic panic that accompanied every finals season in undergrad and I met hubris for my lack of effort and concern over classes. Every semester culminated with a week spent in the library poring over books and outlines crafted from half assed notes jotted down on the sometimes rare occasion that I made it to class. This term was a little different at least. I attended almost every class and only missed for legitimate reasons. I have had such a terribly difficult time getting back into the necessary mindset for writing academic papers. But here I am. 2:45 in the morning on the last week of class; caffeine ripping through my body like heroin and wide awake with work in the morning. I remember those days from undergrad when I would shamble from class to class and final to final after not sleeping for 40+ hours just counting down until I was done. I remember that I started the idiotic and sometimes almost disastrous practice of being good all week during finals only to go out with a vengeance the night before my last Croft final. Why? I honestly have no idea. I can say that I never bombed that last Croft final though in all of my years of slacking at Ole Miss. The last one, even through a semi-intoxicated haze in the aftermath of capping the semester off in a blaze of glory, was never as difficult as the first one. The first one was the one I really had to buckle down for.
Allow me to be frank. There is a perfectly normal reason for my not posting in two months. Assuredly, it was not because there was nothing of note to report. Oh no. There was plenty. The problem was one that I never anticipated. Writer’s block. In the worst kind of way. I was too busy thinking about how the hell I was going to write end of term papers that I forgot a key component of good writing; sometimes you simply have to get things off your chest. Just write. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or uses great syntax or clever euphemisms. Just put it out there. The quickest way to knock something loose is to go throw everything you’ve got down and see how it all lays out.
This first semester in grad school was a struggle. Maybe for those of you who have already had your first term back in school know what I am talking about. It sucks. It’s different. I feel like I have regressed in general intelligence, although I have this awful suspicion that I simply am not as bright as I would like to give myself credit for.
Strange memories this nervous night in our nation’s capitol. I remember those nights in the library or the honor’s college on campus. The honor’s college always seemed to be absolutely freezing and was never the most comfortable place to study, but at least it was open 24 hours. Those long outlines used for Croft finals and going over them time and again, all in search of that big picture idea to convey back to the professors that spent the semester trying to pry into our heads between all the malted hops and bong resin. I remember working through the night and getting to that stage where being awake isn’t really applicable any more, but rather just being. I remember staying up all night working on a project, heading out to help judge a JROTC field meet, then immediately heading to Memphis for a Jay-Z concert. As if that wasn’t enough after going sleepless for 40 hours, my drunk ass friends needed a driver and decided to stay at a house party until dawn. All of this was capped off by throwing a football with friends as the sun came up over Huntington Place, still unsure of what exactly had happened over the last 46 hours, but nevertheless strangely excited and altogether proud that I had been awake for that entire time.
I feel like it’s a new dawn and a new day. I promise to blog more. The music is slowing down.
Live triumphantly.Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Restless Rumblings...
Before I packed up for the weekend on Friday, I began an entry that was full of cautious optimism for the coming weekend. Ole Miss had just enjoyed a media sponge bath and the football team scored a glorious upset of the Florida Gators. However, after fumbling the ball away on Saturday and being forced to watch my other team meltdown on Monday Night Football, I must think again how nice it would be to support a team that actually wins consistently. The one good thing that came out when Pandora opened the box that Zeus gave to her and Epimetheus was hope. Hope springs eternal.
Early fall is one of my favorite times of the year to run. Things start cooling down after a long hot summer, and familiar trails change colors and reveal new perspectives that were previously unseen or unnoticed. This year however, in the middle of a personal revival of sorts concerning running, I am struck down by injury. Not of the accidental kind either. This injury is the first of its kind, which makes it all the more infuriating and frightening. My friends, I have developed a heel spur in my right foot. Not very dramatic, no; but it's the first developmental overuse injury that I have sustained thus far in my young life. I have developed this little bastard through a combination of both glorious and vainglorious lifestyle choices. Nemesis #1 can be solely attributed to wearing flip-flops during every season of the year for the past, I don't know, 16 years or so...Other than that, take your pick of these: not changing workout shoes often enough, running on pavement too much, blah blah blah, rah rah rah. The point is thus, I hate getting out of bed with shooting pains in my heel. It's not a good thing to wake up to, period. I have since ordered some sort of magical foam that promises to not only provide comfort and support, but also to reverse the process that made me grow this calcaneous crook of bone. It sucks. This morning, I woke up feeling quite a bit upset, besides the sore foot. This economic bailout package is bullshit. I read the original piece of legislation that failed in a vote on the House floor. The reasoning behind the failed vote was that Speaker Pelosi gave a partisan speech that “hurt the feelings” of many of the Republican congressmen and congresswomen. They got their feelings hurt. Please. They can handle having their entire lives examined under a microscope while campaigning for office, and yet, when it comes to one of the most important pieces of legislation they could hope to vote on, they get their feelings hurt and clam up. Then, to sweeten the deal for everyone, they throw a bone to those who didn’t vote for it. That’s right, for all of those who didn’t vote for this package, they got their piece of the 700 billion dollar pie. The original bill was 108 pages, and relatively succinct as far as congressional bills go. The final version was 451, and filled to the brim with pulled pork sandwiches. And yet, with everything else going on in the country, almost no one took any notice of this. All the money that is supposed to be going to financial institutions, banks, lenders, mortgage companies, and small businesses will instead be going to funding projects like these: a $2 million tax benefit for makers of wooden arrows for children; a $100 million tax break to benefit auto racetrack owners; $192 million in rebates on excise taxes for the Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum industry; $148 million in tax relief for U.S. wool fabric producers; and a $49 million tax benefit for fishermen and other plaintiffs who sued over the 1989 tanker Exxon Valdez spill…
My friends, we are doomed. We let things like this happen. Then we reelect the assholes that are responsible.
Not that it matters anyway. The bailout package itself will bring many of the aforementioned financial institutions under government control. Soon, we will be purchasing our insurance, mortgages, medical care, and loans from the government. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to socialism…
All is not lost. It was a beautiful weekend in Washington, D.C. Jacqueline and I spent the entire weekend together doing lovely couple type things. Next week, we will have been together for two years, which is inconceivable. It has been wonderful, and nothing to expect but more wonderment. She is awesome.
Classes are classes. I don’t really feel like I am a student again. It really just feels like I have a couple extra meetings during the week. I will have to put my nose to the grindstone though soon, midterm papers due dates are closing in. Work goes well, and I hope to interview for a significant promotion soon. Hopefully my good karma is back on top.
I was raised to my second degree in Freemasonry last week. It has been a good journey so far. I have learned a great deal and have met interesting people from all over the world. It seems strange to me to walk in the footsteps of Presidents, and so many others of such high esteem. I hope to do them proud one day. The best parts about the lodge are the fellowship and the charity. There was a significant hole in my person for a long time which I was unable to pinpoint. Then I thought back to a conversation I had with my grandfather when I was very young. He told me (roughly paraphrased) that there would come a point in my life when everything was on the upswing. I would be getting my feet under me personally, professionally, socially, etc. I would then start to think what was missing. He then told me to bear in mind the fraternal orders based in philanthropy. The man was near prophetic in his foresight, for he nearly described my exact situation. I think it is very important to devote time to those less fortunate. There is very strong evidence that those who give of themselves lead longer and fuller lives, are less susceptible to many diseases, and are more satisfied with their lives in society. All these are very strong motivating factors, and if you do good things, I believe you can reasonably expect good things in return.
On a somewhat unrelated note from the bailout package, I have been thinking a good deal about where our society will fit into the national history when it is all said and done. I have come to conclusion that our society will be known as the Great Society of Pussies. We have never known true hardship or abject poverty. We have never known true social conflict, or true war. Most of us have never known what it is like to truly struggle to make it day to day. We are a bunch on whining, complaining babies that expect everything to be made right by the few of us willing to put forth the sweat, blood, and tears to do it. I am in no way proclaiming to be exempt from this epitaph either. I am just as guilty as most everyone else. As a more or less avid student of history, I consider it a damn shame that my generation may be the tooth decay in the national grill so to speak.
Buy your books now, they will be obsolete and out of mainstream use in 15 years. Some years thereafter, they will be collectors’ items for the eccentric.
All is not lost. The Bald Eagle will soon be removed from the endangered species list.
I feel better after some venting and airing out some of the grievances that have been levied on the world by poor leaders and stupid people. I feel that we get so wrapped up in the little things that we forget to look at the big picture. The world has become a rapidly changing and evolving place. It’s an exciting time and place to be alive. It’s a great day to be alive.
I leave you today with several quotes.
"This is a very personal relationship, 'value', has two good factors for a human being. First, what he can do with a thing, its use to him. And second, what he must do to get it, its cost to him. There is an old song which asserts 'the best things in life are free'. Not true! Utterly false! This is one thing that will bring about the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments might fail because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted, and get it. Without toil, without sweat, without tears. The bottom line is that nothing of value is free. Even the breath of life is purchased at birth only through gasping effort and pain. If we had to sweat for our blessings the way that a newborn has to struggle to live, we would be happier, and much richer. As it is, we should be pitied for the poverty of our wealth."
Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers
"Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not.''
Bill Gates
"A state is not a mere society, having a common place, established for the prevention of mutual crime and for the sake of exchange...Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not of mere companionship."
Aristotle
And one more from the good doctor. We miss you good sir, the world needs more of those who swim against the tide every, single, solitary day.
"They herded us out of the ready room and called a ragged kind of cadence while we double-timed it across the wet grass under the guava trees in back of the hall, and finally burst through a well guarded access door held open for us by Secret Service men just as the balloons were released from the ceiling. It was wonderful; I waved happily to the Secret Service agent as I raced past him with the herd onto the convention floor. The hall was so full of balloons that I couldnt see anything at first, but then I spotted Chancellor up there in the booth and I let the bastard have it. First I held up my "Garbage Men Demand Equal Time" sign at him. Then, when I was sure he'd noticed the sign, I tucked it under my arm and ripped off my hat, clutching it in the same fist I was shaking angrily at the NBC booth and screaming at the top of my lungs: "You evil scumsucker! You're through! You limp-wristed Nazi moron!"
I went into the foulest back-waters of my vocabulary for that trip, working myself into a flat-out screeching hate-franzy for five or six minutes and drawing smiles of approval from some of my fellow demonstrators. They were dutifully chanting the slogans that had been assigned to us in the ready room- but I was REALLY into it, and I could see that my zeal impressed them."
Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.
Don’t settle for the status quo. Live Triumphantly.
Early fall is one of my favorite times of the year to run. Things start cooling down after a long hot summer, and familiar trails change colors and reveal new perspectives that were previously unseen or unnoticed. This year however, in the middle of a personal revival of sorts concerning running, I am struck down by injury. Not of the accidental kind either. This injury is the first of its kind, which makes it all the more infuriating and frightening. My friends, I have developed a heel spur in my right foot. Not very dramatic, no; but it's the first developmental overuse injury that I have sustained thus far in my young life. I have developed this little bastard through a combination of both glorious and vainglorious lifestyle choices. Nemesis #1 can be solely attributed to wearing flip-flops during every season of the year for the past, I don't know, 16 years or so...Other than that, take your pick of these: not changing workout shoes often enough, running on pavement too much, blah blah blah, rah rah rah. The point is thus, I hate getting out of bed with shooting pains in my heel. It's not a good thing to wake up to, period. I have since ordered some sort of magical foam that promises to not only provide comfort and support, but also to reverse the process that made me grow this calcaneous crook of bone. It sucks. This morning, I woke up feeling quite a bit upset, besides the sore foot. This economic bailout package is bullshit. I read the original piece of legislation that failed in a vote on the House floor. The reasoning behind the failed vote was that Speaker Pelosi gave a partisan speech that “hurt the feelings” of many of the Republican congressmen and congresswomen. They got their feelings hurt. Please. They can handle having their entire lives examined under a microscope while campaigning for office, and yet, when it comes to one of the most important pieces of legislation they could hope to vote on, they get their feelings hurt and clam up. Then, to sweeten the deal for everyone, they throw a bone to those who didn’t vote for it. That’s right, for all of those who didn’t vote for this package, they got their piece of the 700 billion dollar pie. The original bill was 108 pages, and relatively succinct as far as congressional bills go. The final version was 451, and filled to the brim with pulled pork sandwiches. And yet, with everything else going on in the country, almost no one took any notice of this. All the money that is supposed to be going to financial institutions, banks, lenders, mortgage companies, and small businesses will instead be going to funding projects like these: a $2 million tax benefit for makers of wooden arrows for children; a $100 million tax break to benefit auto racetrack owners; $192 million in rebates on excise taxes for the Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum industry; $148 million in tax relief for U.S. wool fabric producers; and a $49 million tax benefit for fishermen and other plaintiffs who sued over the 1989 tanker Exxon Valdez spill…
My friends, we are doomed. We let things like this happen. Then we reelect the assholes that are responsible.
Not that it matters anyway. The bailout package itself will bring many of the aforementioned financial institutions under government control. Soon, we will be purchasing our insurance, mortgages, medical care, and loans from the government. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to socialism…
All is not lost. It was a beautiful weekend in Washington, D.C. Jacqueline and I spent the entire weekend together doing lovely couple type things. Next week, we will have been together for two years, which is inconceivable. It has been wonderful, and nothing to expect but more wonderment. She is awesome.
Classes are classes. I don’t really feel like I am a student again. It really just feels like I have a couple extra meetings during the week. I will have to put my nose to the grindstone though soon, midterm papers due dates are closing in. Work goes well, and I hope to interview for a significant promotion soon. Hopefully my good karma is back on top.
I was raised to my second degree in Freemasonry last week. It has been a good journey so far. I have learned a great deal and have met interesting people from all over the world. It seems strange to me to walk in the footsteps of Presidents, and so many others of such high esteem. I hope to do them proud one day. The best parts about the lodge are the fellowship and the charity. There was a significant hole in my person for a long time which I was unable to pinpoint. Then I thought back to a conversation I had with my grandfather when I was very young. He told me (roughly paraphrased) that there would come a point in my life when everything was on the upswing. I would be getting my feet under me personally, professionally, socially, etc. I would then start to think what was missing. He then told me to bear in mind the fraternal orders based in philanthropy. The man was near prophetic in his foresight, for he nearly described my exact situation. I think it is very important to devote time to those less fortunate. There is very strong evidence that those who give of themselves lead longer and fuller lives, are less susceptible to many diseases, and are more satisfied with their lives in society. All these are very strong motivating factors, and if you do good things, I believe you can reasonably expect good things in return.
On a somewhat unrelated note from the bailout package, I have been thinking a good deal about where our society will fit into the national history when it is all said and done. I have come to conclusion that our society will be known as the Great Society of Pussies. We have never known true hardship or abject poverty. We have never known true social conflict, or true war. Most of us have never known what it is like to truly struggle to make it day to day. We are a bunch on whining, complaining babies that expect everything to be made right by the few of us willing to put forth the sweat, blood, and tears to do it. I am in no way proclaiming to be exempt from this epitaph either. I am just as guilty as most everyone else. As a more or less avid student of history, I consider it a damn shame that my generation may be the tooth decay in the national grill so to speak.
Buy your books now, they will be obsolete and out of mainstream use in 15 years. Some years thereafter, they will be collectors’ items for the eccentric.
All is not lost. The Bald Eagle will soon be removed from the endangered species list.
I feel better after some venting and airing out some of the grievances that have been levied on the world by poor leaders and stupid people. I feel that we get so wrapped up in the little things that we forget to look at the big picture. The world has become a rapidly changing and evolving place. It’s an exciting time and place to be alive. It’s a great day to be alive.
I leave you today with several quotes.
"This is a very personal relationship, 'value', has two good factors for a human being. First, what he can do with a thing, its use to him. And second, what he must do to get it, its cost to him. There is an old song which asserts 'the best things in life are free'. Not true! Utterly false! This is one thing that will bring about the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments might fail because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted, and get it. Without toil, without sweat, without tears. The bottom line is that nothing of value is free. Even the breath of life is purchased at birth only through gasping effort and pain. If we had to sweat for our blessings the way that a newborn has to struggle to live, we would be happier, and much richer. As it is, we should be pitied for the poverty of our wealth."
Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers
"Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not.''
Bill Gates
"A state is not a mere society, having a common place, established for the prevention of mutual crime and for the sake of exchange...Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not of mere companionship."
Aristotle
And one more from the good doctor. We miss you good sir, the world needs more of those who swim against the tide every, single, solitary day.
"They herded us out of the ready room and called a ragged kind of cadence while we double-timed it across the wet grass under the guava trees in back of the hall, and finally burst through a well guarded access door held open for us by Secret Service men just as the balloons were released from the ceiling. It was wonderful; I waved happily to the Secret Service agent as I raced past him with the herd onto the convention floor. The hall was so full of balloons that I couldnt see anything at first, but then I spotted Chancellor up there in the booth and I let the bastard have it. First I held up my "Garbage Men Demand Equal Time" sign at him. Then, when I was sure he'd noticed the sign, I tucked it under my arm and ripped off my hat, clutching it in the same fist I was shaking angrily at the NBC booth and screaming at the top of my lungs: "You evil scumsucker! You're through! You limp-wristed Nazi moron!"
I went into the foulest back-waters of my vocabulary for that trip, working myself into a flat-out screeching hate-franzy for five or six minutes and drawing smiles of approval from some of my fellow demonstrators. They were dutifully chanting the slogans that had been assigned to us in the ready room- but I was REALLY into it, and I could see that my zeal impressed them."
Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.
Don’t settle for the status quo. Live Triumphantly.
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