Mini Roadtrip!

Hot on the heels of our minivacation to Chincoteague island is our miniature roadtrip!

The journey begins in Virginia on Saturday morning, from which we will travel (with dog, via rental car) to Chicago. From there, we go around noble Lake Michigan to Frankenmuth where a wedding will be attended (by us, not the dog) on Sunday.
Then we turn south, and spend the evening in the bosom of my family (Troy, MI). Early monday afternoon, we return to Chicago where I will take a flight directly back to Washington.

A circuitous route, to be sure, but one that accomplishes many goals:

1. A WEDDING will be attended
2. CLAIRE will be returned to CHICAGO, where she will spend two months (with DOG) conserving an ASSYRIAN FRIEZE for the University of Chicago Oriental Institute (awesome)
3. My family will be VISITED

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Pictures and reflections on Chincoteague and this road trip to be posted after my return!
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I am going to miss her; and the dog.
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Fabled Aunt and beloved blog-reader Barbara commented on the previous pony-related post:

I too wanted to go to Chincoteague to commune with the ponies. Settled for (long story) sister island, Assateague, home of massive herds of mosquitos, which are driven up and down the beach each night by Park Service sprayers.

A clarification: the Chincoteague ponies actually live on Assateague island, and are herded across to Chincoteague only once a year. Perhaps Barb was closer to her goal than she realized?

A spoiler for the upcoming post: WE SAW PONIES (3)!

What I Want You To Take Away From This Is That I Have Not Been Fired

It's been a rough month, here on DeWitt, and I apologize for the lack of updating.
Claire's schooling has become increasingly time consuming. We both knew this would be a rough semester, but it only recently reached an apex of difficulty. To ease the situation, I've been picking up some of Claire's duties -- mainly, giving the dog a morning walk. The upside of all of this is that Claire will finish her MA in two years, as opposed to the two years +1 summer term recommended by the school.
The downside is that we've been extremely busy. The past few weeks have felt very "rat race:" I get up in the morning, I walk the dog, I go to work, I come home after dark, do dinner, and then have about an hour before I go to bed. I can't say I've been in the best of moods, so it's probably for the best that I was staying off the Blog Horse. That is, unless you want to read a bunch of "OH, WOE IS ME"-isms.
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As you may have gleaned from Twitter, I have moved out of the McLean offices of SAIC. From today until June, I'll be operating out of a cubicle at Ft. Belvoir. So:

I have not been sacked.
I have not been promoted.
I have not joined the Army.

Although that guy I met in the elevator while I was leaving McLean with my office in a box probably does think I got fired. Oh well!
Hopefully, Belvoir will be a shorter commute. But with all the security and driving through the base, I am not sure.
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This morning was meant to be Day 01 at Belvoir, but that's in question now. I scoffed at last night's Winter Storm warning -- they issue those things for a few flurries. However, the 4" of snow and more coming down gave me pause this morning. In Michigan this would be annoying, but mostly a non-issue; once I got the truck to the main roads, everything would be fine. But here in the good ol' NCR, the situation is more complicated.
There are no plows here, only salt trucks. So, main roads aren't so much "clear" as "incredibly slushy." There's a two-hour delay at the base, which I am utilizing to blog. I am going to take it nice and easy on the way in. I like my job, but I am not willing to die for it. Or crash my car for it.
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I took the dog down to check and see how bad Route 1 was, and also grabbed my camera. Please enjoy these pictures of a snowy Virginia, and a puppy.

From MarsEdit Images

From Tenzing

From Tenzing

From Tenzing

From Tenzing

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I met a man while walking the dog today. I mentioned that Tenzing was an Icelandic dog, and from Chicago, so he was used to snow. The man said, "that's why I figured the President didn't shut down the government today!"

Along with all the other activities, the Obama administration ushers in a new era of shutting up and dealing with the weather.

Bachelor Chow

The perfect meal for any occasion!*

"Delicious" Recipe

Pour Vegetable Chip Crumbs over lukewarm microwaved Tostito's Queso dip.
Eat with the slightly less destroyed chip remnants from another bag.
Remember that you have a beer left in the fridge.
Remember that beer has calories; and therefore qualifies as food.
Realize that the beer is, by comparison, the gourmet part of the meal

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My super power is, without a doubt, the ability to not feel hunger. For some, when their bellies begin to empty they feel an immediate drive to rectify the situation.

If it weren't for the regularity of meals, I would blast right through the day without even stopping for a scone. This was particularly true in college. I have memories of my Freshman year, spent under a loft bed in West Quad. During finals/midterm time, I would often go a whole day without eating, simply because I was distracted by a paper I was working on.

Sophomore year continued this habit. At one point, I recall eating nothing but bread, water, and Nutella for about a week. The problem was that although I could cook, and had the facilities to do so, I frequently found myself struck with an intense lethargia. More than once, Kris would drive herself across town and drag me downstairs to NYPD and force me to eat something.

"Oh no, I'm not hungry at all." I'd say. "But, my! Is that ziti pasta mixed with chicken and sauce, wrapped in an 8" long baked roll? My goodness! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM."

The regularity of work and living with Claire -- who does feel hunger -- has changed all that. But every now and again I fall into my old habits. I know this has happened when I look up at the clock and realize I've spent hours watching Sean Connery clips on YouTube, instead of making dinner.
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*Read: when Claire has driven back to Illinois for the Holidays with the dog, in a rental car, and this is all you can muster.

The Blessed Puppy

October 4th is the feast day of St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order. He's been a favorite of mine, if only for taking off all of his clothes just to make a point.

However, St. Francis is known for much more than being an idealistic streaker. He's famous for his empathy towards animals, especially one episode in which he preached to a flock of birds. I've always heard the story as an example of Francis' characteristic kindness toward all the creatures of the Earth. But, in The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, it is suggested that preaching to birds was also a satire. An expression of his frustration with his message not being received by those he preached to: no one was listening, so he may as well preach to birds.

According to Wikipedia, he said thus:

My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to Him; for He has given you freedom to wing through the sky and He has clothed you…you neither sow nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you and your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He blesses you abundantly. Therefore… always seek to praise God.

To celebrate his Feast Day, many churches hold a special service for animals -- specifically, pets. However, it is occasionally expanded. The first Earth Day celebrations at the Cathedral to St. John The Divine involved a procession of many of the animals from the New York Zoo -- including elephants, I am told.

The highlight of the service is the blessing of the animals. It was for this, that we sojourned down to the beautiful Washington National Cathedral to get Tenzing, the puppy, blessed.

Blessing of the Animals

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I am still completely excited for my new job!
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Tomorrow, I hope to attend the Small Press Expo. Ben Katchor, author of Julius Knipil: Real Estate Photographer, Bryan Lee O'Mally, author of Scott Pilgrim, and Tom Tomoorrow are to be in attendance. Awesome!

Why Isn't There A Song Called, "Tropical Depression?"

That storm was lame. I have sat through much more intense and frightening storms in Michigan. Sure, none of them lasted for over six hours, but still...!

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We gave Tenzing a bath yesterday. He was not upset, but clearly was only tolerating the situation. New pictures now on Picasa.

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Big news of the day is that I have an interview for an internship with the NFPRHA on Thursday. I am very excited. I want this job.

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Preposterous Song Lyrics #1: Ride My Llama, by Neil Young.

I met a man from mars
He picked up all my gui-tars
And played me a traveling song

This is ridiculous on many levels, but most importantly the song flagrantly ignores several facts about Neil Young's guitars. In 1979, when the song was released on the album "Rust Never Sleeps," Neil Young owned well over 10,000 guitars. Furthermore, it is well known that most of Neil Young's guitars are so massive that only Neil Young himself is strong enough to string and play them.

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Someone should make a band called "Inverted Smokestacks."

Here Comes The Story of the Hurricane

Hanna hit us around 7am. I don't care if it's a Tropical Storm, I am going to call it a Hurricane. Sounds more impressive.

As referenced in my twitters, I had to take Tenzing out to pee this morning in the rain. Unfortunately, the little blighter stayed true to form and needed to sniff around for about ten minutes before he could poop. Have you ever stood out in the rain, commanding your dog to poop in an authoritative voice?

The Weather Channel says we're in for 6" of rain -- possibly more. Cool.

Today's Playlist

1. Hurricane -- Dylan

2. Rock You Like A Hurricane -- Scorpions (Note: appropriate, since we are going to be rocked like a hurricane, and not actually by a hurricane.)

3. Hurricane Eye -- Paul Simon

4. Any Credence song, since they are all about rain

5. Down in the Flood -- Dylan/The Band

6. The Hurricane Song -- The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.

Everyday Can't Be Sunday...

The trouble with holidays is that when you are unemployed, they are a hinderance and not celebratory. Sure, I could use it as an excuse to not get any work done, but I already did that last Tuesday, and it was a day without distinction.

When you are waiting to hear back from perspective employers, publishers that might want to buy your story, or people you've contacted to interview, weekends and holidays are terrible days. This weekend/holiday was particularly annoying because the Metro has ceased servicing our station for some major track revision. Sure, you can hop a shuttle bus to DC National (I was told by a particularly tired and vitriolic DC native whom I met in the JFK airport that I should never refer to it as "Reagan") but that it is unbelievably annoying.

I should channel my restlessness into writing, or working for the Obama Campaign. Or just swallow my pride (and dreams) and take another gardening job.

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It's actually been a very nice weekend. Tenzing finished his medication, and he seems to be completely recovered. Today, he went to the dogpark for the first time in ten days. It did him a world of good -- he was also going stir crazy.

Claire has finished her orientation, and will begin classes in earnest on Tuesday evening. We agree that being a student is the best vocation.

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I realized that I didn't really talk at all about PEI. Nor have I delivered any pictures. I will rectify this shortly.

Earthbound, Penguins, Elitism

A penguin has been granted Norweigan Knighthood.

How the mighty land of vikings has fallen.

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My friend Kris has an interesting post about why having an "Average Joe" in the White House is a catastrophically bad idea.

This is the same reason why I do not listen to any show that has a call-in segment that values the opinions of the average listener/viewer.

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Real-live rocket scientists say that, as of right now, we will never reach the stars.

I beg to differ. With the current job market, I am willing to bet that there are thousands of college students hanging around, not doing much, that would love to be blasted into space as part of a multi-generational flight to the stars.

With all the English Majors that would (undoubtedly) be on board, expect a glut of star-gazing based books of poetry, and multi-volume epics with titles like, "Spending 40 Years Sharing A Room With A Man Named Carl Who Snores," or "Doesn't This Thing Have 'Reverse?'"

Of course, I assume they'd go crazy and end up eating each other. Maybe we should send cults into space? I think most of them are expecting it anyway. They're already trained to invest their lives in sketchy plans.

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Tenzing has Kennel Cough. It is potentially dangerous, but the vet is not concerned. I'm medicating him with antibiotics, and he seems to be doing fine. The sneezing is actually kind of cute.

The only downside is that he can't play with other dogs, or go to the dog park. He is not impressed.

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Dig George Abbot White's photos. He's an alum of the now defunct Generation lit-mag, but hangs around with the GargALUMS a lot.
Try to find me!

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Applied for many, many jobs today. Many in journalism, many in publishing.

Free-lance articles shaping up nicely. Here's hopin'!

Now It Can Be Shown

Upon my arrival in Galena, I noticed that my camera had finally bitten the dust. I was exceedingly disappointed, because it's such a beautiful place to be.

So, rather than deprive you of images I bought a new camera.

Lazy Galena Days

BONUS TENZING VIDEO!
Listen to me talk to a dog in a ridiculous voice!
Enjoy never-before-seen footage OF MY ARM!