Folger's Cafe Latte Mocha Fusion coffee house beverage mix is no substitute for real coffee, but when you don't have time to run downstairs, it's not half bad.
Ten days into January and it's finally cold enough to warrant hats and gloves. 31 degrees this morning, oh no!
The last two Capitals games I've been to have been fantastic. Both huge wins, goals by the young stars Ovechkin and Semin and others, as well as solid play by the veterans - and last night Donald Brashear got a goal. Donald Brashear! He's like an NHL version of Ryan Priem, Scoring Machine (2 goals in his 4-year BU career)!
The above in English: Donald Brashear does not exist to score goals. He is there to lumber around the ice and slam people into it. He was almost a boxer, but became a hockey player instead. No, I don't know how that happened either.
On walking home from the metro: I may not be much of a runner at the moment, but I challenge anyone to a one-mile dash down crowded city sidewalks. One mile, under twenty minutes. I think that's good. Is that good?
The shitteth has hitteth the fan-eth here at work, so I'm out!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
President Ford's funeral procession, January 2, 2007
I went to see Gerald Ford's last departure from the U.S. Capitol this morning. Below, a near stream-of-consciousness journal entry written while sitting in a cafe in Georgetown. With pictures! I went all second-person on you near the end, my apologies.
So. Notes on the funeral. I got to the west side of the Capitol Building around 8:45am this morning and joined the thin crowd of people in the morning sunlight at the edge of the street. I think it was 2nd Street but really have no idea. We waited quietly for the procession at 9:30. It was chilly, but the sun was warm, and the Capitol policemen in their blue parkas rode around on their bikes and told us to stay back on the curb (see photos below). A couple of reporters tried to get in but they turned them away, and one foolhardy photographer got yelled at when he set his tripod up in the street.
The whole ceremony took maybe 30 minutes. A fleet of Capitol Police motorcycles rumbled in to the grounds, and DC Metropolitan Police (MPD) officers were present as well. The Capitol dome stood grey-white against a clear blue sky, and the leaves rattled in the trees when the wind blew.
The Capitol motor pool and one of the officers making sure we behaved ourselves.
Finally, the honor guard appeared on the steps. I had a horrible angle and so could only see a few of them in the distance, plus the shiny tubas of the Marine Corps Marching Band, but they stood outside for a long time (as the coffin was carried slowly down the steps, from what I saw later on CNN). There was a 21-cannon salute (I’d assumed they were rifles but they were definitely loud as cannons) from the trees behind us, making everyone jump and one little girl nearby start to cry momentarily. The smoke from the cannons drifted past us and floated towards the Capitol as we stood out the steady cannonfire.
More people had arrived after I did and they took vantage points on the steps of the Russell Senate Building; they may have had a better camera angle but I’ll never know for sure. I was shooting black and white film as well as digital, and the solid click of my camera was a welcome long-lost sound. I’ve neglected film in favor of digital but there’s really nothing like it.
Anyway. The vehicles. While we were waiting, a set of chartered buses came through – probably with the Congresspeople on board. Then the Capitol motor pool lined up in the street and pulled out just before the main procession, after the ceremony had finished (see below). It was an endless stream of police cruisers – Capitol and DC police – and black sedans and SUVs. Protection details are made up of black Suburbans. Many had tinted windows, many more had the red and blue add-on lights. There’s actually a shop out in Falls Church, Virginia, that installs LCD lights for official vehicles.
The black SUVs and the rather scary-looking bike cop.
The cars pulled out of the Capitol entryway at a decent pace – SUVs first, sedans, more motorcycles, then finally the hearse itself, flying small American flags from its fenders. There was a black SUV with a camera crew directly in front of it, the camera aimed out the open back window at the following hearse.
The second hearse. I shot the first one with film.
One person near me asked why there were two hearses, when the second one passed by us – I shot the first one in film and the second one on digital. It’s in case something happens to the first one. A breakdown, or worse - you never know, even at a funeral – and many of the black Suburbans are empty for the same reason. I didn’t see Betty Ford, but I believe she would have been in the car directly behind the hearse. If memory serves, that’s where Nancy Reagan was, at her husband’s funeral this past June. President Reagan’s procession had the same long line of vehicles: two hearses and a motor pool escort.
This ceremony was amazingly simple and quiet, except for the police radios; one homicide earlier that morning, we heard; and the Star Spangled Banner played faintly from the Capitol steps. The contrast of the cannon salute was startling, especially without the usual noise of traffic.
Once the last car had passed, traffic was allowed back on the road. I had time to put my cameras away and cross the side street, but I stopped to snap a few photos of the Marines returning to their buses with their instruments. As we all headed down the hill towards the Mall, some of the Capitol cyclists passed us, telling each other to stay to the right because car traffic had resumed. It was quick and somewhat anticlimactic but a fitting and simple procession for an unpretentious President.
I walked away from the Hill past the Department of Labor, where Ford’s name was etched into the marble on a General Services Administration plaque (see below). Oddly fitting. As I headed down Pennsylvania, another procession came towards me: MPD cruisers flanking a set of nearly-empty Metro buses. Was it Congress returning to the Capitol? I have no idea; it was probably too early for the end of the funeral. But the police sirens were on and the caravan was speeding.
Gerald Ford honored with a GSA marker on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The contrast between Reagan and Ford was almost startling - the departure procession alone was evidence of their vastly different final wishes. Last June, I stood with the MPD honor guard along Independence Avenue in a dreary summer drizzle; they stood at attention and saluted when the hearse passed by. Ford had no such guard, and his procession went quietly up Pennsylvania Avenue instead of back down Independence.
There’s much more detail online, but the two processions into the city were very different as well. Reagan had the flag-draped caisson, the riderless horse with the boots turned backwards in the stirrups, the full parade march down past the buildings and monuments. Ford had a hearse that paused at the WWII Memorial to honor his service, and his coffin was carried past both House and Senate before it rested in the Rotunda.
A few words about the lying-in-state: if you go, it’s an extremely quick visit after a wait in line. The velvet ropes are arranged in two semicircles around the coffin, and you only get to walk about halfway around the circumference before you have to turn and walk back and exit the Rotunda on the same side. The guards tell you quietly to keep moving, and the honor guards stand still and straight in their places at the head, foot, and sides of the flag-draped stand. There are flowers in wreaths – not many, but some. The atmosphere inside the great dome is oppressive, solemn, but somehow peaceful. People are there to pay their respects and no one speaks above a whisper. It’s the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to take your companion’s hand – for strength, for compassion, and to affirm in some part that you’re not alone.
When you leave the Rotunda, you’re directed down the stairs into the space beneath the dome. It holds museum cases and various photos and memorabilia, but you don’t notice these because you’re allowed to sign the condolence books. You take the Bic pen and try to add eloquent words to the scrawls of others before you, but it’s difficult when you’re leaning over a table with strangers next to you scribbling their own names in the other books.
And finally you emerge into the rainy day, clutching a card they gave you that you didn’t read, opening your umbrella against the light rain that you’d stood in for about an hour before entering the Capitol. You feel strangely content, like you’ve done your duty as a citizen respectful of the office of the President. It’s a part of history and not an unpleasant way to spend New Year’s Day, 2007.
Flags will be at half mast for 30 days.
So. Notes on the funeral. I got to the west side of the Capitol Building around 8:45am this morning and joined the thin crowd of people in the morning sunlight at the edge of the street. I think it was 2nd Street but really have no idea. We waited quietly for the procession at 9:30. It was chilly, but the sun was warm, and the Capitol policemen in their blue parkas rode around on their bikes and told us to stay back on the curb (see photos below). A couple of reporters tried to get in but they turned them away, and one foolhardy photographer got yelled at when he set his tripod up in the street.The whole ceremony took maybe 30 minutes. A fleet of Capitol Police motorcycles rumbled in to the grounds, and DC Metropolitan Police (MPD) officers were present as well. The Capitol dome stood grey-white against a clear blue sky, and the leaves rattled in the trees when the wind blew.
The Capitol motor pool and one of the officers making sure we behaved ourselves.
Finally, the honor guard appeared on the steps. I had a horrible angle and so could only see a few of them in the distance, plus the shiny tubas of the Marine Corps Marching Band, but they stood outside for a long time (as the coffin was carried slowly down the steps, from what I saw later on CNN). There was a 21-cannon salute (I’d assumed they were rifles but they were definitely loud as cannons) from the trees behind us, making everyone jump and one little girl nearby start to cry momentarily. The smoke from the cannons drifted past us and floated towards the Capitol as we stood out the steady cannonfire.
More people had arrived after I did and they took vantage points on the steps of the Russell Senate Building; they may have had a better camera angle but I’ll never know for sure. I was shooting black and white film as well as digital, and the solid click of my camera was a welcome long-lost sound. I’ve neglected film in favor of digital but there’s really nothing like it.
Anyway. The vehicles. While we were waiting, a set of chartered buses came through – probably with the Congresspeople on board. Then the Capitol motor pool lined up in the street and pulled out just before the main procession, after the ceremony had finished (see below). It was an endless stream of police cruisers – Capitol and DC police – and black sedans and SUVs. Protection details are made up of black Suburbans. Many had tinted windows, many more had the red and blue add-on lights. There’s actually a shop out in Falls Church, Virginia, that installs LCD lights for official vehicles.
The black SUVs and the rather scary-looking bike cop.
The cars pulled out of the Capitol entryway at a decent pace – SUVs first, sedans, more motorcycles, then finally the hearse itself, flying small American flags from its fenders. There was a black SUV with a camera crew directly in front of it, the camera aimed out the open back window at the following hearse.
The second hearse. I shot the first one with film.
One person near me asked why there were two hearses, when the second one passed by us – I shot the first one in film and the second one on digital. It’s in case something happens to the first one. A breakdown, or worse - you never know, even at a funeral – and many of the black Suburbans are empty for the same reason. I didn’t see Betty Ford, but I believe she would have been in the car directly behind the hearse. If memory serves, that’s where Nancy Reagan was, at her husband’s funeral this past June. President Reagan’s procession had the same long line of vehicles: two hearses and a motor pool escort.
This ceremony was amazingly simple and quiet, except for the police radios; one homicide earlier that morning, we heard; and the Star Spangled Banner played faintly from the Capitol steps. The contrast of the cannon salute was startling, especially without the usual noise of traffic.
Once the last car had passed, traffic was allowed back on the road. I had time to put my cameras away and cross the side street, but I stopped to snap a few photos of the Marines returning to their buses with their instruments. As we all headed down the hill towards the Mall, some of the Capitol cyclists passed us, telling each other to stay to the right because car traffic had resumed. It was quick and somewhat anticlimactic but a fitting and simple procession for an unpretentious President.
I walked away from the Hill past the Department of Labor, where Ford’s name was etched into the marble on a General Services Administration plaque (see below). Oddly fitting. As I headed down Pennsylvania, another procession came towards me: MPD cruisers flanking a set of nearly-empty Metro buses. Was it Congress returning to the Capitol? I have no idea; it was probably too early for the end of the funeral. But the police sirens were on and the caravan was speeding.
Gerald Ford honored with a GSA marker on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The contrast between Reagan and Ford was almost startling - the departure procession alone was evidence of their vastly different final wishes. Last June, I stood with the MPD honor guard along Independence Avenue in a dreary summer drizzle; they stood at attention and saluted when the hearse passed by. Ford had no such guard, and his procession went quietly up Pennsylvania Avenue instead of back down Independence.
There’s much more detail online, but the two processions into the city were very different as well. Reagan had the flag-draped caisson, the riderless horse with the boots turned backwards in the stirrups, the full parade march down past the buildings and monuments. Ford had a hearse that paused at the WWII Memorial to honor his service, and his coffin was carried past both House and Senate before it rested in the Rotunda.
A few words about the lying-in-state: if you go, it’s an extremely quick visit after a wait in line. The velvet ropes are arranged in two semicircles around the coffin, and you only get to walk about halfway around the circumference before you have to turn and walk back and exit the Rotunda on the same side. The guards tell you quietly to keep moving, and the honor guards stand still and straight in their places at the head, foot, and sides of the flag-draped stand. There are flowers in wreaths – not many, but some. The atmosphere inside the great dome is oppressive, solemn, but somehow peaceful. People are there to pay their respects and no one speaks above a whisper. It’s the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to take your companion’s hand – for strength, for compassion, and to affirm in some part that you’re not alone.
When you leave the Rotunda, you’re directed down the stairs into the space beneath the dome. It holds museum cases and various photos and memorabilia, but you don’t notice these because you’re allowed to sign the condolence books. You take the Bic pen and try to add eloquent words to the scrawls of others before you, but it’s difficult when you’re leaning over a table with strangers next to you scribbling their own names in the other books.
And finally you emerge into the rainy day, clutching a card they gave you that you didn’t read, opening your umbrella against the light rain that you’d stood in for about an hour before entering the Capitol. You feel strangely content, like you’ve done your duty as a citizen respectful of the office of the President. It’s a part of history and not an unpleasant way to spend New Year’s Day, 2007.
Flags will be at half mast for 30 days.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
A whole post. About shoes.
It took a while, but I have finally entered the world of wearing heels to work. Bandolino, Macy's, Ann Taylor, and of course Payless. And a pair of sneakers to run to and from the bus. And a Bandolino suit!
click to enlarge
I seriously didn't have any black pumps to wear with skirts. My work shoes have usually been cute but comfortable (flats, mostly) but man, it's so fun to wear heels.
click to enlarge
Wore these today at the holiday party. Didn't slip in the spilled chocolate from the chocolate fountain.
click to enlarge
The first time I wore these, the annoying guy at work said I looked "sporty". I turned around and told him that's what I was going for: sports. In spike heels.
click to enlarge
These look best with pants. Kind of difficult to match, but they work with khaki.
The g-woman in her humble kitchen.
click to enlarge
Whew, looking a little rough after a long day!
click to enlarge
I seriously didn't have any black pumps to wear with skirts. My work shoes have usually been cute but comfortable (flats, mostly) but man, it's so fun to wear heels.
click to enlarge
Wore these today at the holiday party. Didn't slip in the spilled chocolate from the chocolate fountain.
click to enlarge
The first time I wore these, the annoying guy at work said I looked "sporty". I turned around and told him that's what I was going for: sports. In spike heels.
click to enlarge
These look best with pants. Kind of difficult to match, but they work with khaki.
The g-woman in her humble kitchen.
click to enlarge
Whew, looking a little rough after a long day!
Friday, December 8, 2006
Baby It's Cold Outside
New photos for December...
Here I am, loitering near the White House after a Christmas party at the University Club. Which sounds better than it actually was - a horde of short Republican men, smoking cigars and wearing unfortunate pants-and-jacket combinations.
click to enlarge
A new coat! Surprisingly similar cut to the plum colored one above, but it's Mom's... and it's fabulously retro with funky buttons. Mom, this photo is for you.
click to enlarge
Here I am, loitering near the White House after a Christmas party at the University Club. Which sounds better than it actually was - a horde of short Republican men, smoking cigars and wearing unfortunate pants-and-jacket combinations.
click to enlarge
A new coat! Surprisingly similar cut to the plum colored one above, but it's Mom's... and it's fabulously retro with funky buttons. Mom, this photo is for you.
click to enlarge
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Gratuitous hair post
My hair throughout the three years I've lived in DC:
A midnight-black bob:
click to enlarge
Red and short:
click to enlarge
Growing it out, flipping it up, and lightening it:
click to enlarge
Blonde and long and such a bad color for my skintone (but when I had that tan, woo!):
click to enlarge
The current incarnations... long, auburn, and curly:
click to enlarge
And BRIGHT RED (my hair vs. Jean Grey of the X-Men):
click to enlarge
Edited to add a new hairstyle on 12/8!
Finally a HAIRCUT. Oh man, I can't tell you how much I needed it. My stylist said, "Are you sure you want to cut that much?" Yes, I was sure. (When you can't brush the tangles at the end of the day, your hair is NOT healthy. Actually, I think the five inches she cut off were the last bits of bleached hair from last summer.)
She asked why, and told a story about a woman who was meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time and wanted to chop all her hair off. But Jenn persuaded her not to, because she'd spent so much time coloring and highlighting this woman's long hair. Stylists as therapists.
So I'm back to the Scully hair -Season 8, this time, it looks like. The photo's cropped funny so you can see my star lights (courtesy of IKEA). They're probably the only lights I'm going to hang all year, but I've got a wreath on the door and Christmas carols in my heart. *cough*
A midnight-black bob:
click to enlarge
Red and short:
click to enlarge
Growing it out, flipping it up, and lightening it:
click to enlarge
Blonde and long and such a bad color for my skintone (but when I had that tan, woo!):
click to enlarge
The current incarnations... long, auburn, and curly:
click to enlarge
And BRIGHT RED (my hair vs. Jean Grey of the X-Men):
click to enlarge
Edited to add a new hairstyle on 12/8!
Finally a HAIRCUT. Oh man, I can't tell you how much I needed it. My stylist said, "Are you sure you want to cut that much?" Yes, I was sure. (When you can't brush the tangles at the end of the day, your hair is NOT healthy. Actually, I think the five inches she cut off were the last bits of bleached hair from last summer.)
She asked why, and told a story about a woman who was meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time and wanted to chop all her hair off. But Jenn persuaded her not to, because she'd spent so much time coloring and highlighting this woman's long hair. Stylists as therapists.
So I'm back to the Scully hair -Season 8, this time, it looks like. The photo's cropped funny so you can see my star lights (courtesy of IKEA). They're probably the only lights I'm going to hang all year, but I've got a wreath on the door and Christmas carols in my heart. *cough*
Welcome!
Welcome all! This blog is going to be a photo account of my life and times in the great District of Columbia. It'll have everything - my neighborhood, my friends, touristy stuff and monuments; all the best of the randomness that happens here every day.
We're going to try a thumbnail photo, see how it works. Click on the image below to enlarge it:
Well hey, for not having a tripod, that one came out pretty good!
That was my view of the fireworks on the National Mall. It rained just before dusk, but turned out to be fantastic weather for the fireworks and not too crowded, either. Jess and I brought a mutual friend Rob and picked up a Hill intern who was there by himself, so the four of us ooh-ed and aah-ed and then went home.
We had to huddle beneath a metro awning while the thunderstorm passed by, and when we walked out to the Mall we found they'd evacuated everyone while it rained. So we got decent seats - too bad for the families who'd been there since the early afternoon! - and spread out blankets and set up our chairs. I actually walked home from the Mall that night, with a huge group of tourists and families. The DC police were trying out their city evacuation plans again (it was a minor disaster last year, I believe) and it seemed to work much better this time. They have to plan where the traffic flow will be diverted, and I'm sure they were working overtime in the command center in the headquarters that I visited once.
So! Well, it looks like this has been a success, so I'm going to sign off here. Mom and Dad, I hope you enjoy this blog - it's like me babbling at you over the phone, only with pictures!
We're going to try a thumbnail photo, see how it works. Click on the image below to enlarge it:
Well hey, for not having a tripod, that one came out pretty good!
That was my view of the fireworks on the National Mall. It rained just before dusk, but turned out to be fantastic weather for the fireworks and not too crowded, either. Jess and I brought a mutual friend Rob and picked up a Hill intern who was there by himself, so the four of us ooh-ed and aah-ed and then went home.
We had to huddle beneath a metro awning while the thunderstorm passed by, and when we walked out to the Mall we found they'd evacuated everyone while it rained. So we got decent seats - too bad for the families who'd been there since the early afternoon! - and spread out blankets and set up our chairs. I actually walked home from the Mall that night, with a huge group of tourists and families. The DC police were trying out their city evacuation plans again (it was a minor disaster last year, I believe) and it seemed to work much better this time. They have to plan where the traffic flow will be diverted, and I'm sure they were working overtime in the command center in the headquarters that I visited once.
So! Well, it looks like this has been a success, so I'm going to sign off here. Mom and Dad, I hope you enjoy this blog - it's like me babbling at you over the phone, only with pictures!
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