2012 Photo Project - February - Silhouette

Ugh. I'm way behind on my photo project for no reason except laziness! The first half of February was supposed to be spent photographing images in silhouette. Finally I decided to march myself down to the National Mall to see if I could capture the planes flying in low across the Washington Monument. Unfortunately when I got down there I realized that planes were departing across the Mall instead of arriving. This means that the planes were much higher in the air when they crossed the monument than they would be if they were incoming. Oh well. Enjoy!

Cooking!

My President's Day Monday didn't start off quite according to plan but I'm back in the saddle and ready to go. I have a full day of cooking planned that will be fruitful but easy.

Sausage and Peppers:
Dice one green, one red, and one yellow pepper along with one large sweet onion. Peel one head garlic and toss all with olive oil. Spread on cookie sheet and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove casings from 5-6 mild Italian sausages and break apart. After 25 minutes, place on cookie sheet and into oven with vegetables for another 25 minutes (50 minutes total for the veggies, 25 minutes for the sausage).

Remove, toss together, serve hot.

Simple Roast Chicken:
Remove giblets and rinse one whole fryer or roaster chicken, inside and out. Loosen skin and tuck lemon slices and peeled garlic cloves between the meat and skin. Stuff one lemon, halved, and additional garlic into the cavity. Spread softened butter over skin, salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in a 350-degree oven according to chart for chicken's weight.

This should do it for lunch and dinner all week... throw together some wild rice or a salad as a side dish and slice off some of the chicken. Easy and delicious!

Nice Change of Pace

I'm having a very nice morning, for a Wednesday. Ordinarily I'm up and out the door in fifteen minutes flat. I leave for work so early that I just can't bear to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary. My morning routine has been chiseled to its essence; perfectly efficient.

Today, for various reasons, I don't need to be out the door until about 8am, a good couple of hours later than usual. But because I like to keep my sleep schedule consistent I woke up at the same time I ordinarily would. And my goodness is it nice to have a slow morning!

I've made coffee (which I never do at home on workdays, no time for a cup), checked my email, am watching the morning news. In five minutes I'm going to jump in the shower and I'll STILL have about an hour to relax, read, and get organized before heading out the door.

I could get used to this. Maybe. I do like that early start time means early quit time but this change of pace is quite nice.

Rebelling Against Busyness

I have a strong work ethic but no need to compete with the world over how busy I am. I've never understood people who wear their hectic lives as a badge of honor. Sometimes I wonder about their time management skills. Sometimes I wonder what they're avoiding by setting up their lives in such a way that they don't have a second to breathe.

Probably the most striking way in which I've actualized my low threshhold for chaos is in my decision not to have children. Another is my decision not to pursue the corporate career-ladder and rather keep a job that, while stressful, has defined hours and a generous vacation policy.

Rather than be impressed by people who are "crazy busy" (I hate that phrase), I usually feel sad for them, most often while practicing my banjo for an hour followed by an evening of reading, practicing yoga, prayer, and a good meal.

These are the ways in which I live well. Not by running myself ragged all day every day.

To each their own.

Did I Have A Good Run?

I was thinking about this today as I finished up my lap around the Washington Monument. What does it mean to have a good run?

Does it mean that the run felt easy or effortless? I don't necessarily want every run to feel easy. That would mean I'm not pushing myself and improving my endurance.

Does it simply mean that I finished? I should hope that's not the only indication as I always have to finish. The alternative would be to set up camp with the Occupy Wall Street folks in McPherson Square!

Does it mean the absence of stomach or muscle cramping? I could get behind that I guess. On this particular run I struggled with a side stitch briefly but it went away. My legs felt a bit heavy but not crampy. I felt fatigued on and off but finished relatively strong.

Overall I think it's a combination of these things plus just how much fun I have. I've been trying not to over-think it: no timekeeping, just the most basic of mileage tracking. Running for fitness and stress relief but not thinking about weight or control. Trying to get out there even when I don't really feel like it.

So I guess every run is good - but some are better than others.

Photo Project: January (2) - Abstract

Well, my second photo project for January was supposed to follow the category of Abstract but instead I think it became Modernism. Is there a difference? All abstract is modern but not all modern is abstract? I don't know.

The first one is a sculpture in front of the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art and the second one is the National Museum of the American Indian.

Hockey Rant

I am in a relatively unique position of rooting for a team that isn't the home team. There's absolutely no chance of me switching loyalties; I've been watching the Red Wings play since I was a child.

And I hate to sound smug but I just love watching the Capitals receive a slice of humility.

For some reason they (and their fans) have the infuriating habit of believe that they're God's gift to the NHL - a claim which, I will henceforth show, is ridiculous.

1. They obtain Alex Ovechkin, he has a few great seasons and they start calling him the 'best player in the universe.' Despite the fact that this simply isn't true on its face (there are five hundred Ovechkins playing in the KHL right now; Stateside Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk are more consistent performers, etc) Ovechkin hasn't really made good on that label. He has yet to win a Stanley Cup.

2. They blow their wad early, every season. They have one or two great seasons but they either don't make the playoffs or don't make it past the last round. This season, they started off great (seven straight wins, a franchise record) but tank mis-season, fire their coach, and still can't dig out of the hole. They're in 8th place right now which squeezes them into the playoffs but isn't anything to brag about.

They do.not.perform. and yet their fans are full of hubris.

So this afternoon they lost in overtime to their arch-nemesis, the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a hard loss but this is a team that needs to work for their wins. They can't rest on Ovechkin. Their reputation needs to fall more in line with their performance. They need to stop acting like entitled brats, put their head down, and work.

Meanwhile, the humble Wings will, as always, pose a serious risk to any team who would dare to reach for Stanley. We may not win, but we'll be in the top few teams left, quietly, as always.

Kitchen Renovation

I live in a great building. It's about 200 years old and was originally built to serve as a convent. All the units are small but spacious - enough for one person (a nun) to live and study. The building precedes the Capitol but my unit has a great view of the Dome and, in winter, of the Washington Monument.

Living in an old building has its challenges, and one of those is that, well, it's old. Before I bought it the prior owner did some renovations and not all of them succeded. The bathroom and floors are great; the windows and kitchen need a lot of help.

The granite countertops and appliances are nice and new but it seems like the contractors just kind of forgot to finish the rest. There's a large gaping hole in the wall under the sink to the extent that all the pipes are visible. Also the cabinets weren't cut correctly and have lots of 'mistakes' in them - mis-measured cuts and drilled holes in the wood for the handles were just kind of left there.

Plus, the cabinets are ugly.

I originally hired a contractor to fix the hole under the sink but he gave me a quote for new cabinets (all new, not resurfaced) that I just couldn't pass up. So, the contents of my kitchen are currently in my living room and the guys arrive tomorrow to begin the replacement.

Once this is done it will be the end of the major improvements I'll have to do. One thing about owning a home, though, you can always find more projects....

Stay tuned for pics and updates!

Photo Project - January (1): Pairs

As part of my new year's resolutions I have designed a photography project for myself. The point is simply to keeping shooting all year round and to take more risks. I generally don't like to take a photograph unless I am relatively sure it will turn out well. But I want to get better at being creative; I also want to take advantage of what DC has to offer in terms of photographic opportunity. There are tons of street fairs, festivals, people-watching opportunities.

So each month has two categories. One for the first half of the month and one for the second. The categories are general and open to interpretation. They're just to be used as guides.

I went for a walk this afternoon to work on my first category - Pairs. I saw a nice pair of benches in the shadow of the Capitol.

A little ways past I came to the Capitol reflecting pools which was filled with ducks and seagulls. I found these two lovebirds and think they definitely count as a pair!


Since I was down on the Mall already I decided to a) stop by a museum I'd never been in before and b) take the suggestion of my dad and his wife to see Andy Warhol's exhibit called Shadows. On the way out I noticed this pair of nuns sharing a snack at the Hirshhorn Gallery cafe. I'm not really comfortable taking candid photos overtly so that's why this one looks like more of a snapshop than a photograph - I left the camera hanging around my neck and shot without aiming!

Next Up: Modernism. Stay tuned!

Hard Sell At the Bank (Part Two)

This isn't really a hard sell just another bank thing that's annoying me lately. The chatter. And it's not the tellers' fault. From the continuity between employees I can tell they've been trained to do this, but really, I don't want banter. I just want my quarters or my cashier's check and to go home.

I can tell I'm not the only one. When people are running errands they're distracted. They have a lot on their mind.

I was next in line and could over-hear the conversation between a teller and the man in front of me.

Man: I'd like to deposit this into xyz account.
Teller: Okay, is this your account?
Man: No, the account is for someone else.
Teller: You didn't lose a bet did you?
Man: I didn't what?
Teller: Did you lose a bet?
Man:
Teller: I only ask because last week someone came in with a deposit for a third-party account and he had lost a bet and was paying it off.
Man (confused): Oh.
Teller: Anyway, you didn't lose a bet did you?
Man: I... no...?

I mean, I get it. They're trying to pass the time while they do their entries on the computer, but people are just not into banter at the bank. I know I'm not (especially when I think the teller is gearing up for Hard Sell Part One).

I wish I could get quarters out of the ATM!

Hard Sell at the Bank (Part One)

I've noticed something new in the past few months - the hard sell at the bank. I hate it.

This is how it usually starts:

Teller: Everything going okay with all your accounts?
Me: Yep!
Teller: Finding everything you need online and happy with your savings APY?
Me: Yep!
Teller: Do you own or rent your home?

Ughhh..... here it comes.

Me: I own.
Teller: May I ask what your interest rate is?

At this point I don't want to continue the conversation. Not only am I happy with my rate but I am not interested in refinancing even if a lower rate were available.

Me: 5%
Teller:

See? I know it's a good rate. They usually can't match it. I just hate the whole build-up to the offer. You can't cut them off mid-conversation and refuse an offer they haven't made yet (rude!) but it makes me anxious to know that the offer is coming.

Just give me my two rolls of quarters so I can go do my laundry!

$ocks

In the scheme of things running is a relatively inexpensive form of exercise. Past purchasing a couple sets of good quality wicking gear (which really should last for years) and purchasing shoes every 5-6 months there aren't many associated costs. You don't need expensive equipment or any monthly memberships. Just lace up your shoes and go!

Running has its own set of logistical issues, however. It does weird things to the body. Blisters, side stitches, digestive issues, planning what to eat so the stomach will be empty at running time, route planning, dealing with cars/dogs/creeps. And there are one or two hidden expenses that I just hate but I've found, over the years, are necessary.

One of those is socks. Good quality, thin, wicking socks. Not the kind you can just grab at TJMaxx for $3/pack, but a product you have to make a special trip to the running store to buy for $10/pair. Ugh! But it really is necessary. Once you drop $90 on a good pair of shoes (which is absolutely necessary for enjoyment of the sport) it just doesn't make sense to put anything cheap between shoe and skin.

And so, all my socks being threadbare, I am coming to grips with spending $20 on two pairs of socks to wear while running. But my blister-free feet will thank me.

Happy New Year

So it's 2012 already. Yikes! Time flies.

We rang in the new year in a tiny cabin at Douthat State Park in Virginia. The weekend was spent touring the area, spending time by the fireplace, reading. For dinner we cracked open the last bottle of Chianti that we brought back from Italy; J noticed that the cork was dated September 10, 2011, which was the day we left for our trip! Almost like the wine was bottled just for us.


This photo was taken at Mountain View Cemetary in Clifton Forge, VA. Shooting cemetaries is hard but sometimes you get lucky. One of the interesting features of this photograph was completely accidental - the tower way in the background that provides some distance perspective. I didn't notice it until the post-processing stage but I think it adds an element of vastness to the image.


The day was frustratingly cloudy. The sky, treeless mountains, and river all seemed to be the same color. This was taken while standing on a rickety footbridge suspended by wire and swaying in the breeze.

While driving we stopped by the Hot Spring waterfall in Hot Spring, VA. Again, no contrast between sky and elements but the falls were quite pretty.

Finally a little bit of color peeking out from between the clouds!

Resolutions!

Man, I love resolution time so much!

Let's see: this is what I posted this time last year.

1. Stop interrupting people. This is a terrible habit.

2. Pay off 15k of my student loans. At that point I hope to just knock the remainder off with my savings.

3. Develop a consistent running regimen. I don't care so much about mileage volume but consistency is key.

4. Follow my simple Bible in one year plan. Already started.

So how did I do? Let's go through them one by one.

1. I still have a problem interrupting people but I have been trying to be a better listener and corral my eagerness in conversation. You would have to ask my friends or significant other whether I have improved.

2. Not quite 15k but close enough to 10k last year that I'm happy... and also slowing down a little in order to beef up my savings.

3. Done and done!

4. Welp, that one didn't work out so well.

How am I resolving to improve myself this year?

1. Cash flow a kitchen upgrade and then add 5k to liquid savings as well as at least 3k to my Roth IRA.

2. Read more for pleasure. This may or may not include getting involved in my church book club.

3. Become more involed with my family. I have a nephew now as well as a baby cousin just down the street. I want to spend more time with them and really get involved in being an aunt!

I think I'm going to start with those. Basic and attainable. I hope!

National Arboretum

One of my favorite places in DC is the National Arboretum. Located in the hood and not near the metro, this place is almost never visited by tourists and rarely by in-towners either. There are amazing gardens and walking trails, a bonsai collection featuring some trees almost 1,000 years old, and the old Capitol columns that were left there and forgotten about during a renovation of the East Wing a long time ago.

It's one of our go-to places for a weekend run... hilly and scenic, you can do as little as three-miles or as many times around as you need to make your distance goal.

We took my father and his wife there yesterday for a short jaunt around the grounds before dinner on their last night in town. The sun was going down but I captured a few of the classic scenes: a bench from the Assian collection and the columns themselves.

Rainbow!

My father and his wife are in town for a visit and on their way home from a museum texted to let me know that an enormous rainbow popped up over Pennsylvania Ave!

I could see it from my window but I wanted to get a head start on one of my new year's resolutions, which is to take more photographs, so I ran outside in my bare feet and snapped a quick picture from my front porch.

Too bad the rainbow didn't arc over the Capitol dome! Oh well.

Was it worth standing on a soaking wet driveway with no shoes to get this shot?

HI MATT

Thanks for catching up on my posts :) I am going to be ready to blog starting in the new year. I have a 12-month photography project that I will be sharing here and hoping to have a bit more of a social life/a bit more to talk about.

Hardware Store Hero!

I have a topcase on the back of my scooter that's great for storage but not very well manufactured. This is not my scooter but this is what one looks like:

The topcase has been an ordeal from the start. At first it wasn't installed properly and almost came off completely while I was riding! Also, one of the hinge pins that attaches the lid to the base walked off, so not only was the whole case about to come off my scooter but the lid could have been pried right off my a motivated thief.

J, my Main Hero, took the thing back to the dealer for a reinstall but a few days ago I noticed that the same hinge pin had fallen out. So I get a terrible rattle whenever I ride over uneven pavement and the whole thing just feels unstable.

I went to the hardware store yesterday to see if I could get a nail and some crazy glue but the hardware store man had some other ideas. So I brought my scooter to the store today and he spent a good 20 minutes carting different sizes of nails and screws in and out of the store until he found the right one. Once he started he was absolutely determined to help me finish the project and get the hinge fixed! His fix has made my case even more secure than it was when I first bought it. There's absolutely no rattle and the lid fits tightly on the base.

The cost of the screw was a whopping $0.45 but I tipped the guy $5 for his dedication. He was very surprised and very thankful, but he really, really helped me out. Let's here it for nice guys at the hardware store!

Cats are weird

My cat Elena is the queen of finding the most perfect, cozy, tucked in spot to nap. She will also often fall asleep smack in the middle of the hardwood floor. Doesn't make sense!

Tourists and their photos!

I spend a lot of time on the National Mall, usually while running but often to visit a museum exhibit or a friend. And I see a lot of tourists and tourists take a lot of photos. Quite often I will turn around once I'm behind the photographer and see what they're shooting. Sometimes I just have to laugh! All of the great photo ops - monuments, the Capitol, the sculptures, the gardens - sometimes people just take pictures of themselves standing in front of nothing!

Today I was running and noticed someone taking an odd photo - sure enough, when I got past them, I saw that the person in the photo was just standing in front of a tree. If they had turned a little to their left and had the photographer move over just a little, they could have had the Capitol in the background! Why wouldn't they want that? Maybe they're arbor enthusiasts but... I doubt it.

People are strange!