Donde esta Miguel Cintron?

Saturday night we had a nice going-away party for Mike Cintron. He's taking leave this week to pack up his stuff, then he's off to PCO (Prospective Commanding Officer) school in New London, followed by pre-deployment training. Then he's off to his ship, the 110' patrol boat USCGC Adak, WPB 1333. So, we wanted to make sure he got to see as many of his friends from work, school, dance class, etc, before he left. There was smoked pork and chicken, empanadas, homemade margaritas, chips & salsa, curry kabobs, pie... a great spread. And lots of folks made it: the Kesslers, his boss from HQ, Drina and his friends from dance class, etc. Our classmate Jill Malzone, who just started at headquarters, even made it. I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

I'm sorry to see Mike go, since I've enjoyed sailing, biking, and so forth with him while he's been in DC. But Mike has wanted to go back to sea, and his own command is a great opportunity (and a testament to his abilities as an officer). And living near headquarters means every time some old friends and classmates rotate out (Ron Caputo, Heidi Park, Mike), others rotate in (Jill, Dave Kessler, maybe Kirk). I just hope Mike has a good tour and takes care of himself and his crew over there.

It bears mentioning that I just heard from my old friend from Mt. Abe, Steve Schlesinger. Looks like the Army is posting him to Fort Belvoir starting this summer. This is the first time one of my high school friends has moved to the area, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm already planning a barbecue in my head, where I can introduce Vermonters to Virginia Tech and Coast Guard friends. A real "When Worlds Collide" kind of scenario.

Homeward Bound

I signed the lease yesterday for New Home Candidate #3. I'm planning on moving in on the 10th of February, so I need to be packing right now. I'm excited about this place: the price was reduced significantly, they are doing a lot of work on the house before I move in, and they are planning on doing more. Right now they are putting in new medecine cabinets, repainting the interior, working on the floors, rehabbing some of the radiators, and making some electrical tweaks. The owner is planning on repainting the porch and other parts of the exterior come summer, and possibly doing work on the bathroom and the kitchen. Also, he has offered to install an automatic garage door opener. Now I just need to find reasonably affordable movers, and I am gone.

The Paths of Glory Lead But to the Grave

The evening begins with presents and margaritas...

Steph & Aaron and Dan. First basket of chips are gone, some quesidillas, and the first round of margaritas.

Ian is dubious

Jane, Dan, Mike

The Kesslers. *Awwwwwww*

Steph & Aaron

...he's got those bug eyes... creepy

Dan is very excited about the delicious marble cake Jane made. From scratch. Awesome.

This one's for the ladies

Steph Morrison, Aaron Scholer, Jane Louie, Ian Peters, Dave & Sadie Kessler, and Mike Cintron took me out for an outstanding dinner at Taqueria Poblano tonight, for my 28th birthday. There were margaritas, and pork tacos, and presents, and homemade cake. I am very lucky to have friends like these, both here and in Japan, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, and Vermont. Thank you, everyone.

Dr. Freeze

When I was young, any time it got significantly cold, well below zero, Dad would have us conduct this exact experiment to demonstrate just how cold it was. It never worked this well, but I don't think I'd like to be in an environment where it would. Pretty neat, though I suppose you could fake it fairly easily.

In other news, the Reds have fired their general manager and are looking for a replacement. I think my brother Chris should apply. But really, anyone who locks up Adam Dunn in a long term contract is fine by me. If they can find pitching as well, so much the better.

Lastly, today I turn 28. I got a card from my godparents Big Poison and Aunt Wenda that exhorted me to not "think of it as you getting older, but your show getting picked up for another season." It begs the question: am I a drama, a sitcom, a CSI knockoff? Man, I hope I'm Knight Rider.

Previously, on Dan...

(image from Universal Pictures Television Germany)

Happy Birthday, Sara!

In her youth

Today is Sara Best's birthday. Remember, Sara: I'll always be younger, you shriveled old crone.

Traffic School

Okay, everyone listen up. A flashing red means stop. A flashing yellow means proceed with caution. If a traffic light is displaying the two in two directions, it is identical to stop signs on one street and nothing on the other. It does not mean "Do everything possible to create an automotive Thunderdome of chaos at this intersection, right now." Did anyone take drivers' ed? It's right there in the Code of Virginia (and most other states).

So, guess what happened on my drive home last night?

(image from kisrael journal)

Neeeeerrrrdddd

My new glasses

Picked up my new glasses - it's nice to have a set not held together by tape and a hairpin. I also like how these look compared to my old set. I always felt those lenses were too big and round. Dad's new rimless set looked very keen, I think, so this is as close to that look as I could get. The folks at Pearle Vision said they didn't think they could do rimless for my prescription. I think that's because I have some astigmatism, and that makes the edges of the lenses too thick for rimless frames to work. These look pretty okay, though. And soon my nifty prescription polarized sunglasses will be done, too.

More Birthdays

Church St, NW DC

Went to the Birthday Weekend party for Abby Benson and her friend Esmerelda on Saturday night. It was at Abby's place, a few blocks from DuPont Circle - it's an extraordinary place she's living in, a few doors down from the church in the picture above (courtesy Windows Live Local). It was a great party, and I got to meet a number of Abby's friends, her brother, etc. After a few beers there, I decamped with Steph & Aaron and went down to Murphy's in Old Town. We didn't stay long, but we bumped into folks that Aaron knows somehow and made small talk for a while.

I had forgotten how far a walk it can be from Old Town to my place. And I was much more tired than I thought, so I was pretty beat when I got to my front door. But it was a fun night. Things should be a little slower this week, which will let me get caught up on my reading. Unfortunately, starting next week I should really get to work packing up for the move.

Also worth noting, Mike Cintron, Kate Higgins, and Chris Keene have all gotten orders to assume command of 110' patrol boats in the next few months (Adak, Baranoff, and I don't know which one Chris got). It's fantastic news, and I know they will all be extraordinary skippers. The drawback is this means Mike, Kate, and Chris will all be moving away soon. It is a great achievement, though, so congratulations to each of them.

Happy Birthday, Megadeath

Meredith Morrison

HTM-Hell

I've been monkeying around with the code for this website, trying to personalize it some, make it a little more memorable. I have met with... limited success. This is because I am completely and utterly ignorant of HTML code. The only successes I've had, adding the banner image of Eagle and changing the title font, have come from copying example code available on the internets. It has brought up some bad memories of required C++ programming in college. I think I may not be destined for a career in website design. Got any (simple) ideas for improvements? Leave comments.

The Story of O's

It has been a busy few nights. Saturday was mostly given over to errands and resting after all the excitement of Friday night. Sunday night, however, Chris Ogle came by again. We met up for dinner and a few beers with Jen & Blake Stockwell, who have just returned from what sounds like a great vacation sailing in the Virgin Islands. I hadn't seen them in a while, nor had Chris, so it was a lot of fun. Chris then crashed at my place and spent the holiday checking out some sites in DC. I had to work, like a chump. But he came along afterwards to look at the rentals, and then we got back to my place just in time to welcome Kirk. He's in town very briefly to interview for a position at the White House. Around 6:30 Mike Cintron joined us, and we went down to Mai Thai in Old Town to meet Tim Haas (sp?), Steph Morrison & Aaron Scholer for dinner. Chris had to split to make it back to Yorktown, but he got to at least say hi to everyone. Good times, all around.

New Homes

Please feel free to leave comments or email about any of the New Home Candidates I've been posting. I'd like to see what other people think of these places. Here is a map showing the locations of the places I'm looking at right now; I haven't visited 2619 Randolph, 2713 Dewitt, or 331 North Patrick yet, but they're on the slate.

New Home Candidate #4

3023 Manning in Del Ray / almost Chirilagua.
3% more rent, 5% less space. 2BR, 1BA. Half finished basement, wall to wall carpeting on 1st and 2nd floors. Central air and heating. Enclosed porch, small back yard on alleyway and park.


Exterior, showing enclosed front porch

Inside of enclosed porch

Living room/dining room

Living room, stairway to second floor

Kitchen

Laundry room in basement

Finished portion of basement

Back bedroom

Bathroom

Front bedroom - though these photos make the two BRs seem indistinguishable. In fact, they are.

New Home Candidate #3

Leslie Avenue in Del Ray.
18% more rent, definitely more space (don't have figures, though). 3BR, 1BA. 1 story with finished attic and basement storage. Oil heat, window units for AC. Hardwood floors, fireplace, sun room, garage in basement. A little worn down - kitchen and bath haven't been redone in a while, by the look of it. Interesting house, though.


Front exterior

Living room w/fireplace

Sun room. Radiator covers have been stored here while work has been going on in the rest of the house

Master bedroom

Bathroom, with access from master bedroom and hallway

Another view of the bathroom

Second bedroom

Dining Room

Kitchen... a little retro, maybe

Middle of attic

North end of attic

Cedar closet in attic

South end of attic

Basement with washer and dryer

Doorway from basement to garage

Northern exposure