I think I briefly mentioned before that Erin and I won free tickets to Spamalot which I promptly turned into a birthday gift (along with a trip to New York City). Well, we're here at the Shubert Theater waiting for the show to start. The theater itself is gorgeous, very ornate with all of the trimmings.

More updates and a review to follow!

Current Mood: surprised

Last night Erin and I learned we had an uninvited house guest staying with us, a baby chipmunk.

It all started when I noticed our cat Minnie running around the living room chasing something. I figured she was batting around one of her catnip-filled toys, but she looked like she was having too much fun which prompted me to check it out.

I found her chasing a chipmunk! It was fully grown and moving very quickly. It very quickly ran underneath the radiator heater in the kitchen and disappeared into the wall. Minnie stood guard for a while watching for it to return, during which time I heard a small squeaking noise from the living room. When I looked under the table, I found a little ball of fur curled up next to a power strip with several AC adapters (see the picture). With the amount of heat those adapters generate, I imagine it was a warm place to be! We quickly locked Minnie in the bedroom as by this point she was going crazy and wanting to play.

Upon closer inspection, the little ball of fur was a baby chipmunk. We're not sure how old, but his eyes were open and he did move around a bit. We thought "Chippy" would be a good name for our newest house guest. After a brief phone call, the local SPCA sent someone out at midnight to "rescue" our baby chipmunk. The young woman who came was very nice, said Chippy's mother would likely not return and took him to a wildlife refuge where Chippy will be raised until he is old enough to be released back into the wild.

Even though some would call Chippy and his kind "rodents", he was pretty darned cute. Knowing that he will be well cared for despite the disappearance of his mother left me with a nice, fuzzy feeling.

Be sure to check out more of Chippy's photos.

Current Mood: hungry

One other thing I want to do next weekend in NYC is go to the new Bamn Automat. They seem to be developing a new cult following, but I'm up for new experiences! For more pictures, check out this blog entry that I found through Google.

And people seem to really love it. The reviews are great. Apparently no single item of food sits out for more than 15 minutes so everything is fresh and tasty.

I'd love to open one of these in Adams Morgan!

Current Mood: excited

I won free tickets to see Spamalot next weekend on Broadway!

Not only has it been over a year since I have been in New York City, but I've never seen a Broadway show. When I tell most people that, their jaw drops in amazement. But then again most people forget that I have only lived on the East Coast for 5 years now, and that for three of them I was a poor college student. At $80 per ticket, Broadway is pretty much cost prohibitive when you're a student (and before you mention the discount ticket booth in Times Square, I'll say that I'm just too lazy to stand in line for several hours).

In this case, I actually won two free tickets from American Express as part of their Membership Changes Everything campaign. They have some pretty sweet deals available, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Oh, and this will also mark my first experience taking the $20/seat Chinatown bus. According to the hard-hitting news reports that aired recently on the local networks, I should be fearing for my life and all. But actually, I'm just really looking forward to going!

Current Mood: bouncy

Still feeling the effects from jet lag, Erin and I decided to take it easy today by staying near the hotel. Just down the street from the hotel's front door is the Jardin du Luxembourg, or Luxembourg Gardens. According to our guidebook, this park is to Paris what Central Park is to New York City. It is a tree-laden haven in the center of an otherwise bustling city. People of all ages visit the park to read, run, sunbathe, and picnic.

The park features several gorgeous fountains, complete with dozens of benches and chairs. Some of the grassy areas are open for people to walk on and sunbathe while other areas of grass are just for looks. There are also a few playgrounds full of kids, and ping pong tables (however you must furnish your own paddles and balls). Several sidewalks snake through the park that are perfect for runners/joggers/walkers. There were also dozens of Parisian men (of all ages) wearing shorts. We spent some time sitting in the shade eating our sandwiches we brought for lunch.

The fresh air replenished our ambition, so we continued to walk 10 minutes south from the Gardens to the Cimetière du Montparnasse, the Montparnasse Cemetery. The cemetery is another sanctuary in the heart of Paris, surrounded by dozens of cafes and brasseries. Erin suggested we go in search of a particular statue named Le Baiser de Brancusi, or simply "The Kiss", located along the cemetery's eastern wall.

The weather has been great these past two days (mid-70's and sunny during the day), and these two parks located close to our hotel really helped to bring a couple of sleepy-eyed travelers back to life. I also pulled together a map that shows both the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Cimetière du Montparnasse (as the large green patches in the center of the screen) and a green arrow that points out the hotel's location.

Current Mood: excited

My web server was starting to run out of disk space, and instead of spending several hundred dollars upgrading the disks or moving to a new server, I decided to move my photo album to a professional host.  I did quite a bit of looking, but ultimately chose a Pro account with Flickr.  I like their interface, and their terms of service seem ironclad enough to host my photos forever.  Over the past few days I've moved my huge collections to their new home.  Among the tagging and RSS features, the one key feature that sold me is sorting my pictures on a calendar by date taken.  It's a neat way for me to look back on what was visually happening in my life on any given day during the past 5 years for which I have digital photos.

So anyway, check out the new photo album.

If you happen to have a Flickr account, please feel free to add me as a friend and I will gladly return the gesture.  Enjoy!

Current Mood: cranky

I live in Washington DC near the National Zoo.  Freaky things happen in this town all the time: buildings are evacuated, Metro cars searched by police armed with automatic weapons, and buses never run on time.  However last night it hit a little closer to home.

At around 2 AM, a helicopter began orbiting near the Zoo (which is right outside my balcony) with its spotlight beaming to the ground and occasionally passing my bedroom window.  Helicopter flyovers are also nothing new in this town where dignitaries hitch rides on US Marine choppers all the time.  However, this was no Marine helicopter (it looked like a commercial model that police and news stations use) and it was 2 AM.  After about 20 minutes of this continued activity, right in the middle of my natural sleep cycle, I decided to do something about it.  I did what any responsible DC citizen would do, I called 911.  The lady who answered was a bit surprised at my complaint, and said that it was a DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) helicopter flying over, in search of an armed criminal.  She suggested I take shelter in a secure location, and to keep a lookout for some guy wielding a gun.  She said if I saw anything I should definitely call back.

I thought this alarmist response was a bit immature, though this town is occasionally known for its instances violent crime (mostly political types disposing of bodies in Rock Creek Park, anyone remember Chandra Levy?).  The helicopter continued to fly over in the same pattern for over an hour more, and then disappeared.  This morning's Washington Post contained no news of the incident, and its website had no mention.  The MPD  incident blotter also contained no mention.  As a taxpaying resident I would like to know why this helicopter interrupted my sleep for so long, but alas, a communist-style government has decided I should have no further details.  I am left only to trust that the DC Council and the MPD have my best interests in mind, and that such a cover up is in my own interest.

I can only hope that I fare much better this evening. So far, so good...

Current Mood: excited

A little more than a year ago Erin and I made our first trip together to Amsterdam and Paris.  We had an absolute blast, and it was a great way for us to get to know each other better.  We're making the trip again this year, in early June.  We'll be spending a week in Paris, and then will take Thalys (the high speed train) first class to Amsterdam.  After three days in Amsterdam and possibly including a trip to Den Haag, we'll return to Paris and fly back to the States (directly to Dulles).

We are very much looking forward to it.  I've been promised that in addition to visiting art museums and monuments that we will be touring several Parisian breweries.  The only thing better than a brewery is the free beer that awaits at the end of the tour!

Current Mood: confused

I woke up this morning at, according to my alarm clock, 9 AM.  I came out to the living room and noticed that the cable box showed the time as 10.  My laptop had also displayed 10 AM as the current time.  Clearly I had forgotten to set my clocks ahead one hour last night.

This may seem silly, but it's really the first time I've ever not noticed the time change the night before.  Usually the newspaper has some sort of notice on the front page, the news media discusses it endlessly in the days leading up to the change, and someone reminds me somewhere.  This year, none of that happened.  It all seems a bit odd, but in any case the glitch has been corrected and all of my clocks show the correct time.  Hopefully I'm not the only one who didn't notice this!

Current Mood: energetic

It's an election year, which of course means there is going to be that one hot-button issue that predominates media coverage and political rhetoric.  And of course, it has to be a play on the fear of terrorism that refocuses Americans' attention from the questionable war in Iraq and the rising price of crude oil.  This year it happens to be the debate over how to handle illegal immigrants.

Congressional leaders are hoping to gain favor with their constituents (favor they are quickly losing as Iraq moves closer to a civil war and the body count keeps rising), and the xenophobes like those of the minuteman project are finally getting their fifteen minutes of fame.  At the end of the day, nobody is disputing the fact that we need migrant workers to help run our economy, and so far none of them have come to the US for any other reason than to seek a better life.  Despite what the minutemen want us to believe, the only people bringing "dirty bomb" materials across the border are Department of Homeland Security investigators testing the system.

However this could really mean nothing.  In 2004, the hot-button election issues were stem cell research and abortion rights.  Almost two years later, Maryland has approved a measure that would fund stem cell research with state funds, and the so-called "retrial" of Roe v. Wade still hasn't received a willing audience in the Supreme Court.  In the months after the upcoming election, there may still be some debate on the immigration issue.  I would imagine that the politicians will have moved onto the next hot-button issue, the minutemen back to patrolling the borders, and the immigrants silently receiving their overdue amnesty.

Current Mood: busy

I felt it would be a shame for March to go by the wayside without posting an entry.  Life has been very busy recently, but it's a good kind of busy that leaves me with a nice feeling at the end of the day.

The past few months have flown by, and the weather is definitely getting a lot nicer.  I've put another couple hundred miles on the Vespa in the past few weeks, and earlier this week Erin and I rode down to the tidal basin to check out the cherry blossoms.  I took several pictures that I'll soon post to my photo album for all to check out.

On an entirely different note, Erin and I will be going to Paris in mid-June.  We're both very much looking forward to it, we had a blast last year when we went.  This time we'll be flying directly to Paris, and from there may travel to either Madrid or Amsterdam.  I haven't been to Madrid in years, but it tends to be a little hot during the summer.  Amsterdam is always a good time and comfortable in the summer.  We'll have to see!

I'll definitely try to update again soon, but no promises!

Current Mood: nostalgic

I was recently reminded of my high school yearbook quote, always good words to live by!

"Seize the time... live now.  Make now always the most precious time.  Now will never come again."

Current Mood: contemplative

I'm selling a cell phone of mine, the Motorola RAZR V3 (GSM version), on eBay.  If you're in the market for a GSM phone, or know someone who is, please pass this along to them!  It'll probably go for $150-200, which is significantly less than the retail price of $400.  Take a look at the eBay listing!

Current Mood: hungry

I'm always amused to read about new government legislation that limits individual rights, but lawsuit-weary companies taking the initiative is really quite odd.  See this article about how several major UK-based chocolate companies are labeling their products with warning labels.

Current Mood: sleepy

I'm really not surprised by the content of Bush's State of the Union speech tonight.  It's the same rhetoric we've been hearing for five years, and I'm not sure it's any more believable than it has been in previous years.  When incentives are created to encourage people to use renewable energy and to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, then I'll believe progress has been made.  Words just don't do it for me ;-)

I do think the mention of Bush and Clinton's 60th birthdays this year was hilarious.  Watching the State of the Union address is really about finding those few gems of humor!

Current Mood: pleased

I wrote the following review about a new phone I've been testing, the Treo 700w, for a couple of websites. I posted it here in its entirety for everyone else to see.

I have been running around with the Treo 700w for a couple of weeks now, and I absolutely love it. The Windows Mobile 5.0 platform is significantly more stable than previous WM versions, and the Verizon service has been superb.  Here is the breakdown:

PROs:

• WM 5.0 is a very solid platform


• The device itself is packaged well: the keyboard provides speedy input, the display and lighted keypad are bright and easy to use at night


• The camera produces amazing images, for a phone-based camera


• Signal strength is unparalleled in the DC area with VZW


• Included WM applications function flawlessly, and it took less than two minutes to set up Exchange ActiveSync via EVDO


• EVDO is lightning fast, and is highly available in this area


• Battery life is much better than expected, especially after I altered ActiveSync to update only when I have new e-mail available (otherwise, EVDO stays connected constantly and really drains the battery)


• Paired seamlessly with my Motorola Bluetooth headset

Current Mood: excited

Friday night I went with Erin's family to see the Capitol Steps perform live at the Ronald Reagan Building downtown.  They are a skit/comedy/musical group that pokes fun at all sides of the political spectrum, and they do it very well!  They featured songs about everything ranging from outgoing Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan to a debate between Kerry and Bush about why the chicken crossed the road.  There was even a song with Bill and Hillary Clinton making fun of the 2008 presidential election.

If you're interested in going to one of their shows, they offer one every Friday and Saturday night at the Ronald Reagan Building.

Current Mood: high

When I moved to DC earlier this month, my car insurance rates nearly tripled. Combine that with the fact that I could never find a parking space anytime after 5 PM (meaning I couldn't go anywhere at night and expect to come back to a place to park my car).  I made the decision to invest in a new Vespa LX 150 scooter.  It fills in the gaps left by Metro, and has so far been extremely easy to park (just tether it to a lamp post or tree, and let it sit on the sidewalk).

The 2 gallon gas tank only cost $4.30 to fill, and is advertised to get gas mileage as high as 75-80 mpg.  It's very zippy with amazing acceleration and has a very comfortable seat.  The part that will take a little getting used to is how other people react.  I've gotten a lot of turned heads, and outside the grocery store today one woman even stopped walking to watch me lock up my Vespa.

I'll post more pictures of the Vespa during the next couple of weeks to my photo album.

Current Mood: amused

This is fun, and so many of them are true!

You Know You're an Expat Kid in the Middle East or Have Been When...

1. You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled.)
2. You flew before you could walk.
3. You have a passport, but no driver's license.
4. You think California is cold.
5. You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.
6. You run into someone you know at every airport.
( Read more... )

Shamelessly stolen from somewhere... I can't remember.

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