March 2006 Archives

It's concert ticket season, folks, and it's aching me to have to pass up on so many good opportunities to see good shows around here. My concert-going goals are threefold: first, I have a list of artists or bands that I would still love to see live at least once. Now, add into that the fact that there are some bands I've seen before as an opener or co-headliner that I want to catch as the main event. And finally, with so many famous or historic venues around the area, I want to be able to say "hey, yeah, I caught so-and-so at the such-and-such-a-place."

So, on my short-term venue list, I've got DAR Constitution Hall, Wolf Trap, the Birchmere, and State Theatre. All I have to do is wait for all the elements to come together (price/act/date/location/secret handshakes), and I will be in for some great music and a well-rounded concert-going experience. I'm also hoping that my street cred will grow with each song played, and that's obviously going to power my new clean-fuel street-cred hybrid car. Wish me luck.

Recently, Gina and I were trying to figure out a movie to watch, rent, or buy. We were heavily leaning toward Walk The Line, but at the time it was all rented out, and the DVD had just been released, so it was still a bit pricey. Suddenly, on the discount rack at Circuit City, I noticed a brand-spankin' new copy of Maverick for just $9.99. Naturally, it didn't take us long to decide after that.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the 1994 Mel Gibson movie or the TV series on which the film is based, they both follow the adventures of gambler Bret Maverick (and, in the TV show, his brother Bart) in the Old West. James Garner also stars in the movie version, returning to the Maverick universe since leaving the TV show in the early 60's. In quick summary, it was a great pick for a light-hearted film with a few action scenes, some romance, some poker, and a lot of humor. Give it a shot; it's a nice classic.

Did you catch the abbreviated Maverick family tree up there? Bret and Bart. Heard those names before, perhaps?

I always knew that my name, and its one-t goodness, had some kind of connection back to Maverick. I even watched parts of the movie in the years after it came out, when it showed up on TBS and the like. But somehow, it wasn't until I finally watched it start-to-finish, commercial-and-distraction free, that I finally, finally figured it all out. My brother and I are the Mavericks of the new generation. There are so many similarities, after all! For instance:

• Bart was generally considered to be the older brother, with Bret as the younger. We've got that covered.
• Bret Maverick is left-handed, at least in the movie. So am I.
• Bret Maverick as both James Garner and Mel Gibson, and with Jack Kelly as Bart, were all portrayed by some of the biggest male sex symbols of their time. Oh yeah, baby. There's no denyin'.

I really don't think we need to go on.

Seriously, though, I'm going to have to ask Mom and Dad again just how much they liked that show. I know Dad loves Westerns, but you'd think they'd have mentioned it a little more over the years. At the least, I'd think that I would have picked up on the connection a little bit more before now. It could be that I just never asked, but I think it's high time I did. I'll let you know what I find out.

Recently, the DC City Council finally unveiled their new plans for the Nationals baseball stadium, due to be completed in 2008. I've been closely following the developments of the stadium, hoping that the city and MLB would eventually arrive at a deal. Why? Because the new site is just a few blocks away from where I work, near the Navy Yard. Before recently, I knew it was close to work, but until now I didn't know just how close.

This is very exciting, for multiple reasons. First, any evening baseball game is going to be just a 15 minute walk away. Second, all of the new business that will be generated by the new stadium is going to revitalize that whole neighborhood. And that, my friends, will inevitably lead to shops, restaurants, and other neat things - goodness knows it wouldn't hurt to have a few more options for a long Friday lunch. There's a sizable hitch that I can foresee, though, and that's the added traffic when you factor in the new Dept. of Transportation buildings down M Street. If they do the Metro renovations correctly and don't totally screw up the modifciations to South Capitol Street, however, it seems to me (in my limited experience) that the area will survive a little more spring-and-summer congestion.

Pardon the expression, but sooner rather than later, being in Southeast is gonna be a whole new ballgame.

When the chocolate chip from my cookie slipped unseen into the fold of my shirt and melted into a brown mess onto my shirt and khakis, I probably shouldn't have gotten out of the van. The average onlooker might have gotten the wrong idea, eh?

I'm back from my latest Jersey adventure, as promised. It was in the mid-eighties earlier this week in the DC area, and it snowed while we were driving around this morning in the Garden State. Since it's cold down here now, I can only surmise that New Jersey makes things colder. There's bound to be some way to bottle this power and sell it on the market.

More on this and other new stories as the week continues!

I knew it was going to be a bad day when the bird pooped on my car while I was stuck in gridlocked DC traffic. Forgive me for being graphic, but when you've had a bad commute already, it's just a giant slap in the face to watch avian poo collect on your driver's side window.

Things just got weirder from there.

Take, for instance, the fact that I'm now in New Jersey on a business trip. On the upside, I'll be coming home a day earlier. On the other upside, the crazy New Jersey roads didn't confound me this time! I was ready for their jug-handles and upside-down U-turns and Sarlaac pit monsters. Also, since I'm not here in December, there was enough daylight left for us to negotiate the main road in front of our hotel. It lasted long enough for us to scope out several (and I mean dozens) Dunkin' Donuts and a Chili's, where we ended up eating.

I think our hotel is in the middle of mutating from a Radisson to a Marriott, though, because there are random empty rooms and missing furniture everywhere. As I was walking down my hallway, I saw a random room stripped of all furniture except for a single conference room table. The armoire in the corner had packing tape all over it. There are mysterious signs everywhere, stating in overly ornate font that "YOU'RE STANDING ON THE VERGE OF SOMETHING EXCITING!" The next time we're here - in two weeks - this place may be completely unrecognizable, like a child TV star who hits a growth spurt between seasons, or Daniel Radcliffe in the next Harry Potter movie.

Before the hallways start shapeshifting anymore, I'm going to try to find the gym in this place. Wish me luck.

Okay, here's the thing. My time management skills have sucked lately, or maybe it's just that there have been lots of important and fun things going on in the evenings. Whatever the excuse, I haven't had time to put down any thoughts at all into any kind of rational form. Gina and I celebrated three years of dating last week (wow!) by going out a couple of nights, one of them to the Kennedy Center. As for the rest of the time, I've been having a war on some ants in my apartment, trying to get some Jimmy Buffett tickets, and battling the suddenly-warm temperatures and all the pollen and energy-sapping features that come with it. And to add to all that, I learned last week of a three-day trip to New Jersey I'll be taking for work, starting tomorrow.

So, I have to leave this entry as yet another uncreative catch-all here's-what-I'm-doing thing. However, I'm going to bring the crappy old laptop with me to the hotel, and I have essentially nothing else to do in the evenings, so I'll almost assuredly write something. Anything!

P.S. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep watching 24 this season if they keep tugging - nay, ripping - at my heartstrings like this!

Writing entries while there's a two-hour special episode of 24 on is not necessarily the best idea. This will take twice as long as it otherwise would, and the entry will be half as long, but with Tony and Kim both making appearances tonight, this is a heaping helping of tension and suspense.

This past weekend just happened. It included such things as a night of Cranium at Steve and Mandy's, a night of skating/lasertag/arcade games in Manassas for Brian's birthday, and my quick jaunt to Richmond to be a groupie for the Wesley Singers. You might notice some of the funny pictures on this entry right here. You might even want to click on them and take a look at the others, no?

Let me just say one more thing: I should have gone on to Atlantic City Friday night, because I played that Wheel of Fortune arcade game and won the jackpot of 500 purple tickets. We all pooled our winnings together and got Brian a big pink plastic hammer, some fuzzy dice, and a Whoopee cushion for his birthday. I did my part!

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back.

I didn't really have time to do any kind of writing from last Wednesday, when I learned of my grandmother's passing, until now. In fact, I really don't have a lot of time to do anything special tonight, but I started to feel bad letting Ramble On be neglected, however justifiable the reasons.

I want to post some reflections, some more photos, and some goofy things when I get the chance. I want to write actual stories again. I want to be able to pick up my guitar at will and be able to start penning some songs. I want to have the time to do all this (and I probably don't), but if I manage myself well enough, I can make it happen.

One thing that this past weekend gave me was a newfound zeal for taking advantage of all the opportunities I have, right here and right now. In addition to a sense of acceptance and a time to grieve, I also took away a renewed sense of family. My mother's side of the clan is so huge that there's never going to be an occasion for everyone to be in the same place again, but I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with more of my aunts, uncles, and cousins as time goes on. And as always is the case with family, you have to take the good with the not-so-good, and learn from it all.

So, if you're reading this, keep on checking back. I think the coming months are going to be really cool.