Lunchtime Conversation

Is that guy wearing he-capris?
- Z, on the way back from Moe's

And that was funny enough to make my day.

Good news, too. I was at the home office today, and my boss stopped by to tell me he's putting things in motion to pull me back from my current assignment as a glorified admin assistant. I get to be an engineer again, which is very exciting. The only drawback is biking to that office is much more problematic, since we don't have showers there. I may have to talk to the facilities folks and try to figure something out. Maybe the office next door has something?

But the important thing is getting back on track, work-wise. This current assignment is a dead-end, from a career perspective. And that has made me very aware and self-conscious of how much I have neglected my professional development. I've been on the job for five years - if I had been on the ball, I could have gotten my master's through distance learning, and my PE license. I apologize for the crude language, but in the words of my old sailing coach Karl, "why don't you unfuck that?" So I've started getting the information to put together my PE package, and after that, I may just roll right back into school. Better late than never.

And if you're looking for inspiration to get a grad degree in naval architecture or marine engineering, you could do worse than the SY Maltese Falcon. Now, I've already loved enough ships for a lifetime - nothing will ever replace Inferno and Eagle in my affections. But this ship is magnificent. I couldn't care less about the luxury cabins and dining rooms. But one person can sail her through a tack in less than 2 minutes. I missed stays enough times on Eagle to appreciate how amazing that is. Even so, the best part for me is figuring out the compromises of this Dynarig concept - can't fan the yards, or adjust the tilt, she seems to heel a lot, etc.

[photo courtesy www.charterworld.com]

Indoc

I was channel-surfing last night and ended up on the Military Channel. It's like the History Channel, but even more old war footage. At any rate, the program that had just started was on the US Service Academies. I've seen things like this before, so I watched so I could make fun of the Air Force kids at with their blue bus driver hats at the government play school out in the Springs. And maybe catch some little bits about my old home at CGA.

The show focussed on the first summer, variously called Beast, Plebe or Swab Summer. I admit I learned a few things about the other academies' first year programs, but it reinforced my perception that the other schools got all the good toys. Of course, none of them have EAGLE, but she wasn't even mentioned.

There wasn't a lot about New London; most of the hour concentrated on Colorado Springs, West Point, and Annapolis. So it took me until the 2nd CG segment to realize those were my swabs they were filming. As I paid closer attention, I was able to pick out my old classmates acting as cadre. I was away from the school during most of that swab summer, mostly on at aviation familiarization or sail training on the Luders yawls. So I never knew there was filming going on. It's a shame they didn't come aboard EAGLE - that's were Swab Summer really stands apart from the other indoctrination programs.

At any rate, I got real kick out of seeing my erstwhile classmates and swabbies in action. I think this program might be part of a series - I will be sure to check the channel in the future.

Underway is the Only Way

After many busy weekends, I finally got Betty back on the water on Saturday. So, of course, the air was light and fluky. I had hoped to sail past the Alexandria Waterfront Festival, but there simply was not enough breeze to get there. In 4 hours of sailing out of Gravely Point, I didn't get farther than the south end of National Airport. In fact, I had to use the pedal drive for most of the the return leg. Even so, any day on the water is good. I've been getting a lot of compliment on Betty, usually at the dock. But on Saturday I was overtaken by a Catalina 25, and then a ski-doo, and all the occupants were appreciative. "Where can I get one of those?"

I hoped to go sailing again on Sunday, but there was even less breeze. I did get a chance to go out to brunch with Sarah, Steph & Aaron. We went to The Evening Star Cafe, and it was excellent as always. I was pleased to hear Sarah liked it, since she & Paul have been looking for a place to succeed their neighborhood brunch spot back in New Orleans.

Not sailing worked out well, since it forced me to do something productive with my day. Specifically, clean up my bike after riding in the rain last week. It was a mess, but now it rides like a dream. Very satisfying work, too - stripping the bike down, cleaning, re-greasing bearings and chains.

And the cherry on top was free cake. Yes, free cake. Steph had made some, but she and Aaron are both out of town, so I did them a favor and took the cake off their hands. Chocolate. But you must have ice cream to go with you chocolate cake. None at the house, and I didn't feel like going to the store just for ice cream. So with Can-Do American spirit and frontier-style ingenuity, I made my own. Just like Davey Crockett.

• 1 Gallon ziploc bag
• 1 quart ziploc bag
• Ice cubes (about 2 trays)
• 6 teaspoons Salt (ideally rock salt)
• 1/2 cup Half&Half or light cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Fill the large bag with the ice and salt. Place the rest of the ingredients in the small bag and seal it. Seal the smaller bag inside the larger bag, surrounded by the salt and ice. Now shake it all for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the smaller bag from the larger, then open the smaller and eat the ice cream inside.

Bike Move Jam

Ne quid nimis (Moderation in all things) - Publius Terentius Afer

It was a good weekend, and I enjoyed everything I did. But it would have been nice for it to have been... less.

On Saturday I got up early so I could drive up to the north end of Rock Creek park with my trail bike. I headed down the Capital Crescent Trail to try to catch Steph & Aaron on the second of their two legs of Tom's Run. It is a 200 mile relay race, mostly on the C&O Canal. Teams divide into pairs, with one person biking along with a runner, periodically switching out, until the meet the next pair and do the hand-off. It's a neat event, as much about planning and logistics (pickups, sleep schedules, food, etc) as the actual racing. I met them just south of downtown Bethesday, and biked with them up to the end of their leg. After briefly meeting up with them at the overall finish line, I split for my next task.

It's strawberry season, so I went up to Larriland Farm again to pick enough for jam. Perfect weather for it, and luckily not many people out in the fields. There were a few passels of adorable children ("Mommy, when we get home can we make strawberry shakes? Shakes shakes shakes!"), and I got what I needed in short order. I also made my yearly stop at the Etchison Country Store on the way home for one of their delicious pulled pork sandwiches, and the "small" soda that weighs in at 40 oz.

I got home just in time to stow the berries before Meg picked me up to go get her Uhaul truck in Falls Church. After a lot of hard work by her friends and family, we got her moved to her new place near Shirlington. Really nice - the apartments are arranged around small courtyards, terraced down the side of a hill so most have small balconies with views towards Arlington Ridge. You might be able to watch the DC 4th of July fireworks from there.

After refueling and returning the truck, I got home at about 11pm. Sunday was less physically taxing, but also quite busy. I tried to help restore a friend's internet connection, then had to do all my own chores like mowing my awful lawn and doing laundry. And I had to make the jam (consult the back of you Sure-Jell brand pectin for recipes) before the berries had been in the fridge for too long. Now I have an okay-looking lawn, clean clothes, and more than 192 oz of strawberry jam to distribute. I just wish I could have moved some of these things to another weekend. I really wanted to go sailing.

Criminiminiminal

From the City of Alexandria Municipal Code:

Sec. 10-4-40 Location of parked vehicles.

No person shall park a motor vehicle on any street except close to and parallel to the right curb or the right edge of the roadway; provided, that a vehicle may be stopped close to and parallel to the left curb or left edge of the roadway on one-way streets and may be parked at an angle to a curb or roadway edge where permitted by proper authority and where the space is clearly marked for such parking. (Ord. No. 3402, 9/16/89, Sec. 91)

I had parked in front of my house on Thursday, and Friday night I noticed the ticket. I have never seen a cop car in my neighborhood except for responding to minor traffic accidents or the one small fire. But apparently they do make patrols past my house. So, don't park on the street facing against traffic, unless you are trying to offload $40.

First Person Singular

Steph and Aaron wanted to try their recipes for their upcoming rehearsal dinner, and invited Sarah & Paul, Dave, and me over to be their test panel. They made steak and chicken fajitas with red rice, accompanied by Steph's very potent sangria. It was all excellent, but I dug deep and nitpicked so I could give them "constructive feedback." I would have gone back for third, fourth, and fifth helpings if I had the room, though.

It was an interesting evening as well, for a few reasons. Since Steph & Sarah both row, and Aaron is their coach, the conversation naturally turned to crew quite a bit. Which was fun, but left Dave, Paul and I with less to contribute to the conversation. The crew discussions were interwoven with wedding talk, since Steph & Aaron are very busy preparing for theirs. Sarah & Paul had some excellent stories from their wedding (including lingerie, friendly advice at the Post Office, and arrests for public drunkeness), and Dave shared some thoughts from his and Sadie's. I had nothing at all to say at this point, so I just listened - some very funny stuff. So it was a good time, even if I didn't bring much to the table.

The Strokes

I biked into DC this morning to watch the 14th Stonewall Regatta on the Anacostia. Steph, Sarah, Abby, and many other friends and acquaintances were racing, so I joined Sarah's husband Paul, her parents, and her dog, Louie, to watch and cheer. It was a long day, but a great deal of fun. I managed to get up close to the start of two of their races, and just barely made it down the river to the bridge in time to snap some photos. The slide show below should have a a link in the lower left to an album of the photos if you want to take a closer look.

I admit I'm a little envious of my rowing friends. Not for the actual rowing - I figure if I'm on the water, I want the wind doing the work. But I talk with Steph and Sarah often about their training and races, and it seems like they get a great deal of satisfaction from the experience. I doubt I have the competitive spark anymore to get up at 0430 to practice anything like they do. But they have this hobby, this sport, and it is something of substance they choose to do with their time. That is a fine thing to have, and I'm very glad for them. They did pretty damn well today, too.