July 2006 Archives
This week and next week shall be noted as the Extended Weeks of Moving here at The Elms, and it's not just because Josh and I have been steadily shuttling loads of our stuff between here and the Townhouse. I've noticed a distinct exodus of people from our apartment complex, so much so that it is basically resembling the almost-emptiness in the parking lot that I noticed when we took the first pictures of where our apartment would be a year ago. I'm not complaining, though, since the emptiness is making it easier to secure cushy parking spots that make it easier to load up the car.
I was doing just that earlier this week when I passed by two of our newly-moved in, soon-to-be-former neighbors downstairs. So, apparently new leases are gradually being signed, and by the end of August, this place will fill back up again. Good for The Elms. At any rate, these two were just meeting each other. Both were Tech grads from years past and seemed really nice and friendly. What I want to know is: where were all of the friendly neighbors this whole past year? We had Brigid and Chris, the semi-mysterious young bro/sis or couple across the hall. We once held flowers for a girl next door, and the guys diagonally across from us left a computer outside their door for a week or so. But other than that, neighborly communications have been, well, dismal. It only seems natural that some more talkative people will move in as we leave. Our new landlord gave me a quick rundown of our neighbors at the townhouse, which include a couple of friendly Asian families, a young professional married couple, and some mysterious Neighborhood Antisocialites at the end of the block.
It remains to be seen whether any of these people will play a part in the Coors Park Era, but I think I'm going to make more of a concerted effort to at least meet them this time around.
Beyond the crazy DC driving, Wednesday night was full of other types of exciting and fantastical things. For one, finally getting to see my girlfriend was very nice indeed. For two, after leaving Maryland I met up with our new landlord and his wife and secured the keys to the new townhouse. It was the first time that the place actually felt like somewhere we were going to move into!
And another exciting revelation from Wednesday night turned out to be Steve's surprise success in scheduling a White House tour. Originally for Tom's bachelor party but delayed due to 60-day wait lists, a group of 20 friends and family members are now go for launch for a increasingly rare White House tour this coming Saturday. I'd been lamenting the fact that I haven't really gotten all the tourist-y DC things out of my system yet, but that I wanted to wait for the summer crowds to die down... but this tour will certainly do for now, with another national landmark under my belt.
Also from this weekend, it was cool getting some people together to actually use the volleyball court outside the apartment. Thanks to the Coffeys and Debra for coming over! Jen, Stephen, Gina, and I beat the rain later in the evening by playing some wild-n-wacky new "bored" games.
Now, if I suddenly find out that all the expenses associated with moving are somehow free, I'll be set!
Wednesday night, I experienced another adventure in DC City Driving. My one goal was to just get up to Gina's house from work, normally a 45-or-so minute drive that mainly consists of a jaunt up Connecticut Avenue. After Joe's wedding last weekend, we hadn't had a chance to see each other, and I was bound and determined to get there. So naturally, I had to leave work a little later than usual, and naturally there was backup as a result of a large wreck when I'd only gotten as far as Woodley Park.
I was completely stuck. I hadn't noticed the warning sign that had been posted until I was part of the doomed span of traffic that had nowhere to turn off before the accident zone. Not one to be foiled by such a lousy turn of events, I fumbled around in the backseat for my trusty DC Metro Map and got creative. The warning sign was diverting people to Wisconsin Avenue, so I thought I might try reverse psychology and just try to get far enough north to be past the accident and return to Connecticut a free man. With the Beatles' Abbey Road blaring in my CD player, I pulled an emergency U-turn right in place and began my journey.
I'm pretty sure I saw Polythene Pam once or twice as I was crawling through Northwest DC side streets at a snail's pace, but I'm certain I saw some nice houses and neighborhoods through Cleveland Park and beyond. Not that I'd ever be able to afford them, and not that I want to live in the city. And I detest driving in it. And there's a lot of crime. Still, it was a change of scenery, though not a welcome one.
At any rate, I had to change my plan about 40 different times as I came upon dead-ends, unexpectedly closed roads, and congestion from cars wandering aimlessly without the help of a map similar to my hawesome one. To make the final turn that led to freedom, I had to hop a bit of curb because some VW Beetle (ironic, no?) had gotten too optimistic and was stuck in the middle of a bizarre 5-way intersection. All in all, though, I escaped back onto Connecticut with minimal damage done and my stress levels rapidly returning back to normal, and with the turns I took being equal to the turns I made. I pulled onto Gina's street an hour and forty-five minutes after leaving work. By the time I saw her, none of that mattered so much.
Holy moly, I forgot that when I first moved up here, it was 100+ degree weather. The last couple of days have returned to that, pushing the heat index to the triple digits, and the actual temperature hasn't been too far behind. I'd made plans to wash my car one evening this week, but my car melted before I had the chance. Merely walking between buildings at work has made me much more aware of the possibility of embarrassing pit stains. You'd think DC was built on a bunch of swampland or something.
I have learned another tidbit about life in the DC area, though: they (we?) like our color-coded threat level charts up here. Of course you have the old-time favorite Homeland Security Advisory System and the spoofs thereof. But today, the similar Air Quality Forecast and Action Guide was all over the news. The redder you get on this bad boy, the more stagnant and humid and bad the air is than usual - and God help us all if we reach purple. Today was a code red, baby, so I hope those of you up here managed to stay cool or stay indoors. As for me, I went through half of my Nalgene bottle walking the three blocks from work to the Metro station. Then I lost even more time checking for embarassing pit stains. What is the summer coming to?
This past weekend was Joe and Tiffany's wedding. Most of you probably know that Joe was my best friend growing up, since first grade (we didn't have kindergarten together). Over the years, we grew closer, apart, and then closer again as middle and high school wound up and we found ourselves with a lot of common ground. We've got the kind of friendship that, as he wrote in my senior yearbook, "it would be a crime against humanity if we didn't keep in touch" (or something to that effect). I've tried my best to do just that, though it naturally isn't always easy to make work and school vacation schedules match. At any rate, It was, an honor to be included as one of his groomsmen for this grand occasion. From the Friday night rehearsal, the following cookout at Yatesville lake complete with bocce ball and a twist on the old standard beanbag toss called "cornhole," to the daylong festivities and ceremony surrounding the Saturday wedding, it was almost like I had never left West Virginia at all. The three of us groomsmen kept Joe's nerves at bay until he could finally see Tiffany walk down the aisle, which we accomplished by playing a makeshift game of cornhole with floral styrofoam and cardboard stands in the back room of the church.
Amanda and Mary, the other half of the high-school quartet and Joe's cousins, were also there, and I was grateful for the chance to catch up with them, albeit briefly in between the various groomsman duties at the reception. I met many members of Joe's family that I never had before, which is always cool, and I got to know his cousin Andy, the best man, a little better. I talked with his brother Jon a bit about engineering stuff. Even though I've always kind've felt like an adopted son hanging out at Joe's, it was cool meeting the rest of the family.
One other highlight of the ceremony was when one of Joe's co-workers from one of the local TV news stations arrived in a news van and offered to tape the wedding using one of the pro cameras. Saying "if we're going to do this, we're going to do this right," he then proceeded to mic up Tim, the minister, so the audio would come through on the tape. There are perks to working at a TV station, I see now.
Looking back on the weekend, it still seems really weird that Joe is married, but it was obvious that the bride and groom were deeply in love with each other, so I know that they'll be just fine. Joe, thanks again for having me in your wedding - it was an honor. And Tiffany, I look forward to getting to know you better - hopefully you won't have to work the next time I'm in town!
It's wild to look back and think that the four of us went from this:
To this:
...in about seven years.
Gina and I have seen three concerts each weekend for the last three weeks. Now we're on a bit of a concert-going break until August, to accomodate her work schedule and to take a trip or two. For your enjoyment, here's a quick review of the three shows:
1. Dave Matthews Band, June 24 @ Nissan. Seeing a Dave show during the summer is as much a staple for me as baseball games, swimming pools, and cookouts are for others - but you knew that already, right? Ben and Amanda joined us this time around. This year's tour is as good as or better than any in recent memory, thanks in no small part to a quality batch of new tunes. We heard a few of those at our show, along with a solid all-around set. I didn't hear "JTR" or "Best Of What's Around," though, so I guess I have to keep going to shows until I do. We managed to get under the pavilion and out of the rain halfway through the opener's set... so we stayed dry. Score. Parking lot departure time? 1:45 AM. Ouch. I hate Nissan for that.
2. Tim McGraw / Faith Hill, June 30 @ Verizon Center. Brian and Sarah joined us. This was the second night of a two-night stand for Tim & Faith, which was added by popular demand. It amazes me just how many country music fans there are up here in the DC area. I guess a lot of them come from the surrounding areas, which are certainly more rural, but I bet there are more than a few youngsters out there with a couple of cowboy hats in their wardrobe. Not that wearing a cowboy hat automatically makes you "country," but I digress. Unfortunately, the main aspect of this show can be summed up in one word: bronchitis. Faith played her set and was just fine, but Tim was losing his voice and was visibly uncomfortable with a sore throat during his part of the night. This is a shame, because he's usually entertaining during one of his normal sets, even though he's not my favorite artist ever. It's also a shame because we paid a pretty penny for our fourth-tier seats. He did his best to keep the show moving, letting the audience or other bandmembers sing vocals, but they had to cut most of the duet finale out, and they didn't sing many of the songs Gina wanted to hear. Boo. I hear they're planning a refund event for ticketholders at the end of their current tour, so if they do, kudos to them.
3. Brad Paisley / Sara Evans / Josh Turner, July 8 @ Nissan. The group was Katie, Gerritt, Mel, Mel's roommate Rachel, and Rachel's sister Bekah (sp). Continuing the country kick, we got ourselves into Nissan a lot earlier this time around, and we had a MUCH better experience. Timing is everything at Nissan, where they try to empty 26,000 people out of ONE exit. I made some Emergency Sandwiches for the parking lot after the show, and we made sure to fill ourselves before heading into the venue. We had lawn seats for this show. I hadn't sat in the lawn in a long time, so I was a little nervous, knowing that lawn neighbors can ruin a show for you. We were lucky, though. Everyone at this show - people of all ages - were there to have a good time and, for the most part, actually listen and sing along to the music. I realized that's one thing I do end up liking about country music: that many people of all stripes can relate to it, and you can usually end up singing along to a tune after just hearing the first verse. Sometimes simplicity is the best songwriting virtue, and as all three of these perfomers showed, that doesn't mean that the simple songs have to be meaningless.
I was duly impressed by the up-and-coming talent of Josh Turner, and Sara Evans has a great voice and some really catchy tunes (and she's hot). And then, of course, I've been waiting to see West Virginia's native son Brad Paisley for a while. I respect him for the songwriting and the guitar playing and the sense of humor, and for singing with William Shatner. He puts on a good show, that's for sure. He and his band played one of the jammier sets I've seen at a country show, which suits me just fine. He also demonstrated some of his animation creations on the big screens, some of which can be found at his website. You can tell that he's having a good time on the stage, and I'd definitely pay to watch the fun again. Nissan parking lot departure time: 12:30ish.
Wow! I think we've gotten a reprieve from the rain, finally! At first, all the storms were romantic and gave me time to reflect, then they got annoying, then they were damaging and frightening for a lot of people. Then, it was sunny for a day, or maybe an afternoon - I'm not sure. Either way, it looks like we're going to have a dry and sunny weekend for the festive weekend we have planned... unlike the Fourth earlier this week.
The holiday started out innocent enough. I got up early and did some cleaning before heading over to Gina's for an afternoon cookout with her family. The plan was to hang out there for a while, eat, and possibly join up with some friends in DC. When Mark and Gina's mom started the grilling and Gina's grandparents arrived, phase one was well underway... except that the weather forecast was calling for rain to come moving in quickly. So, we all pitched in and managed to get the food on the table as the menacing clouds rolled in and opened up in a heavy downpour. It was tasty.
About ten minutes into dinner, however, Gina's grandmother was talking about how closely she was watching the large red maple in Gina's backyard. The wind had been buffeting all the trees around the neighborhood for a while, and she was worried about it striking the house. Gina had been jokingly urging the power to go out after it blinked a few times. Seconds later, a third of the red maple split apart with a crack that sounded like lightning and went crashing down, landing across the fence dividing the yard between Gina's house and her neighbor's. It fell in the best way possible, narrowly missing both houses, but it was still a shock. In rapid succession, the power flickered and died, the result of another branch severing some power lines a block down the road. We all sat in stunned silence for a bit, while Gina apologized profusely for joking about the power outage earlier.
As it turns out, no one was hurt in any of the damage in the immediate area, and the tree didn't do much damage to their neighbor's house. Gina was without power for nearly a day and a half, though, and when I got back to my apartment that night, mine was also gone. Needless to say, we didn't venture down to the Mall for any fireworks, since more storms were on their way to downtown DC. Instead, we drove and walked to Kensington's display and managed to catch the last few minutes of it in a high school parking lot. This was definitely one of the more memorable Independence Days for me!
I've got some pictures of the tree and the aftermath on Flickr now, too.
And now, it's time to enjoy the sunny weekend!