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.

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