Another day in the Tundra — dashed hopes edition

Dun. Dunn. Dunnnnn … that’s the sound of something — like my dreams — grinding to a halt. Or at the very least, our travel plans.

This morning it’s a toss-up between two phrases vying for Favorite:

1) Trip Insurance (wish we had it)
2) Silver Lining (desperately searching for one)

The first call from American Airlines came yesterday afternoon: Wednesday morning’s flight canceled.

No worries; we’re flexible — new booking on a Tuesday evening flight to Miami.  Ever resourceful, I phoned up my gal pal JJJ and we were all set for a PM reunion on South Beach. The second call came a little after 10 o’clock last night: Tuesday evening flight canceled.  Next up?  A Saturday morning departure. That equation looks something like this: (lots and lots of hard work + happiness + joy + planning + deposits) X (snow X 24-34 inches + phone calls from airline – 4 days at the beach) =

Clearly I’m not a mathematician, but you get the point.

Anyway, since the trip is technically still on, here are some front runners in the Silver Lining Department:

1) I’ll get to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremonies after all.
2) The airlines called before we left, so we are stranded at home rather than in the airport — which, by definition, I suppose means we are not stranded at all.
3) While not on vacation, we are also not at work — the city is still completely shut down.
4) The vacation days we save are vacation days we can use some other time (this one is a stretch, but it popped into my head anyway).
5) All the Big Universal ones, like we are healthy, employed, not in Haiti, etc.

And for those of you in a cave, here’s a remarkable video courtesy of DCist courtesy of whoever made it that, had I made it myself, I would have titled: Why We’re Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon.

Books not bullets (see ya when we get back!)

The Capital Weather Gang in DC is calling for another 10-20″ of snow for Tuesday-Wednesday.  If, somehow, we can either avoid that or — otherwise miraculously — the airports are still functioning, we are slated to head out of this winter wonderland on Wednesday morning for a vacation in Costa Rica.

It’ll be my first trip to Latin America, and I’m excited about it.  Having grown up in the South and lived and worked in Europe, I’ve always either been navel gazing or otherwise focused on Western Europe.  So I don’t know too much about Costa Rica.  I’ve been reading up recently, and just yesterday was sent a link to this article from the BBC.

I’m intrigued by Costa Rica’s eco-tourism, and I also recently started hearing about its consistent rankings near the top of the “happiness index.”  There’s a bit about that in the article, as well as links out to more info about the scale.  The article also reports that “Analysts say that Costa Ricans’ apparent happiness could be down to a whole series of factors in addition to greenness: strong social networks of friends, families and neighbours; ubiquitous social and education programmes; and tolerance of social divisions and different opinions.

“Mr Montealegre says there is another factor. ‘A popular piece of philosophy in Costa Rica says no argument or quarrel should last more than three days,’ he says.”

In general, it sounds like heaven.  And since the country abolished its military in 1949, “Successive governments have poured money into books, not bullets.”  That’s a country I look forward to learning more about.  See ya when we get back!

P.S. It also looks like Costa Ricans are about to elect the first woman to be president of the country, Laura Chinchilla.

Update 1: Wednesday morning flight canceled; trying to beat the storm and get to Miami Tuesday night.  Crossing fingers!

Update 2: It’s President Chinchilla to you.

Update 3: We’re not going anywhere until at least Saturday.  New depressing post to follow.

We’re having some weather!

Call it what you will: Snowpocalypse; Snowmageddon; Snowgasm; or, one of my faves, snOMG!

We thought we got the big one back in December; not so.  This weekend’s Snowpocalypse walloped us with two feet of snow over about 36 hours. Seriously, by comparison, December was a warm up.  Unforch, we may not be out of the woods yet, with another storm predicted for tomorrow. Here are some shots from the weekend.

Things began innocently enough on Friday afternoon; this was around 2pm as I headed to the bar!

By comparison, here’s the same shot not quite 24 hours later, around 11 o’clock Saturday morning:

Before I get ahead of myself, though, let’s jump back to Friday pm, when we came sliding out of the bar around 8.  Here are a few shots that I snapped as we shuffled home.

Buses were still running on Wisconsin Ave — they suspended service that night around 11 and they still aren’t back in service, as of mid-morning Monday.

Heading down Calvert St:

And beautiful 39th Place.

Then BAM!  Morning.

Ye ole Bill Mobile — as it should be: parked.

I.D.I.O.T.S.  Seriously: where are you going?????

This is my fave, as you may be able to tell from my new header:

Gotta say: love it.  The storm was amazing and we were lucky enough to not lose power, unlike a lot of people in the District, MD, and VA.  By mid-afternoon, however, I was ready for it to stop.  I’m a worrier by nature, and as the day wore on I seriously began to get concerned.  Enter wine and neighbors who came over for dinner, and all was well.

And then, the next morning.  Oh. My. God.

This is the intersection of 41st and Davis:

We descended the path down into Glover Archbold Park:

We hiked around in the woods for an hour or so then returned to reality.  Reality was: 1) Cabin Fever — people venturing out:

2) Americans love their cup holders — J’s car seemed perfect:

3) Give Peace a Chance — when hippies attack [my car]:

4) Digging out — not that I didn’t love the peace sign:

5) Staying safe — that’s our fire hydrant:

Anyway, if you don’t think it will bore you to tears, the full show’s here.

Now I have to go dig out shorts, t-shirts, and swim trunks to pack for Costa Rica. Here’s hoping we can get out of here!

Geaux Saints!

I left too soon

In this latest installment of Olympics Fever (Kwan Style), let’s examine just how bad my timing in life truly is.  Why is that, you wonder?  Because now that I no longer live in Boston, Michelle Kwan does.  Okay, okay, I left Boston two and a half years ago, so it’s not like we were ships passing in the night, but still: I lived five blocks from where she is standing in this picture!

According to the Globe article, “The most decorated figure skater in American history (two Olympic medals, five world titles, nine national championships) now totes a backpack crammed with books, a computer and a Kindle.

‘My friends here know me as Michelle the Student,’ she says.”

Oh my god.  Heart, be still.  She has a Kindle?!

Upon reflection, a bit of distance is probably a good thing.  Seeing as I’m not terribly good with celebrity encounters, I would likely make a fool of myself if I ever actually ran into her; or otherwise I could end up spending inordinate amounts of time patrolling the stacks in Ginn.  Or worse.

In the end I love her even more knowing that she’s gone back to school, that she seems happy, that she’s gotten on with her life and that, periodically, she watches videos of herself on Youtube.  Me too, sister; me too.

T-minus (here we go!)

The Vancouver Olympics kick off in just 9 days!  Somehow the Olympics were not yet on my radar four months ago when I booked a trip so I will be out of the country for the opening ceremonies and the first [deep breath] 10 days of competition!  Whatever.  I’ll live.  All while trying to pretend like I have a healthy perspective on these things.  Recently my internal monitor has been saying things like: “Idiot, why in the world are you worried about missing the Olympics when you will be missing them because you’ll be relaxing on a beach in Costa Rica?”  I know; I know.  And still …

So I’m soaking up all the unnecessary and ridiculous Olympics Angst before I leave, starting with this: courtesy of the New York Times — profiles of “stars of yesteryear.”

I’ve also been warming up my mouth trumpet so I will be ready to play the theme music constantly during my vacation in solidarity with all the athletes, spectators, fans everywhere, and that douchebag Bob Costas.  Listen:

In 2002 during the Salt Lake Games, I annoyed everyone in the library by trumpeting the theme (à voix basse) whilst pushing my cart around and rearranging book displays.  One of my colleagues who actually went to the Olympics that year brought me a magnet which I promptly affixed to the forward grill of my metal pushcart. It was fabulous. That was the year of Michelle Kwan’s victory — [eh hem] over adversity if not her actual opponents.  I’ll never forget it.  Luckily much of the 2010 ice skating drama will not go down until I am back at home and glued — friendless and unashamed — to the television coverage.  I can’t wait to find out what kind of adventure and excitement this year will bring.

Snap ‘N Slide, Ladies!

A year ago, the day after President Obama’s inauguration, my best friend and I went down to the Mall to check out the aftermath.  Work crews swarmed the Mall trying to restore it to its pre-inaugural condition, an amazing feat considering the nearly two million people who had been there the day before.

We stumbled upon this MSNBC ice sculpture cast aside though not quite melting:

We got a couple of close ups of the Capitol, from near where I had been standing the previous day:

And, of course, we ran into Nancy and Udean’s Christian Tours outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

But the *best* part of all was inside the American History Museum.  We got there late in the day, not long before closing, and after spending a little while visiting Julia Child’s kitchen, we decided to swing by the First Ladies exhibit to check it out and see whether or not Mrs. Obama’s portrait had been hung yet. The museum closes promptly at 5:30, so naturally we did not enter the First Ladies exhibit until approximately, oh, 5:28.  Such was our good planning and fortune, however, because what we found was a really remarkable scene.  The exhibit was full of people, mostly African American women who were trying to get their pictures taken  beneath the portrait of Michelle Obama which was, indeed, already hanging in the gallery.  Here it is:

The security guard was doing the best job she could to a) make sure these women were not disappointed and b) make sure we all got the hell out of there so they could lock up!  In an effort to keep the line moving, the security guard was standing next to Mrs. Obama’s picture and intoning: “Snap ‘N Slide, Ladies!  Snap! N! Slide!“  All while snapping her fingers and rotating her arm at the elbow.  It was fabulous.  People were literally snapping and sliding as fast as they could, slipping past the smiling guard and out the door.  We watched this scene for a few minutes and then left the museum ourselves.  It was an extraordinary sight.  Everyone was in a great mood; people were so happy to have their pictures taken beneath Mrs. O’s portrait.  Even the guard seemed like she was enjoying herself, although the long line of excited visitors made it obvious she was going to be late leaving work that day.

Give me [Lady] Liberty or give me … wait

Ummm, thanks to Towleroad for pointing to this story out of Charleston, SC — where there is a proposal afoot to erect a male version of the Statue of Liberty in Charleston Harbor.

At this point it’s only a proposal.  Not so for another version of Lady Liberty that stands in my home town.

As this article from the New York Times reported back in 2006:

“As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and ‘Jehovah’ inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of Kirby Parkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek.

It was not clear if she was crying because of her new home, her new identity as a symbol of religion or, as the pastor said, America’s increasing godlessness.”

Here are some photos I took of the Statue of Liberation Through Christ when I was in Memphis in 2008:

Somehow I don’t think New York Harbor or the River Seine ever thought they’d have any competition from other Ladies [or Gentlemen] Liberty.  Guess they never considered what a versatile gal she is.  As Ms. Nelson said back in 2006 when the Times interviewed her:

“‘It’s a big issue.  Liberty’s supposed to have a fire, not a cross.’”

Nor, I might also add, a penis.

Talk about robbing the cradle

Here is the latest update from the New York Times about John and Elizabeth Edwards’ separation.  Way to report!

“The development comes after Mr. Edwards belatedly admitted last week that he fathered a child in 2007 with his mistress, Rielle Hunter, who will be 2 years old next month. He had previously denied the allegation, which is the subject of a book set to be released next week.”

Mais quoi?

Let the craziness begin!

Nancy Kerrigan’s dad died and that, in itself, is sad.  The circumstances surrounding his death, however, are bee-czar.  Her brother’s in jail; I don’t know if he’s an official suspect, but he’s being held on $10,000 bail.  The press, in general, is totally ridiculous, so I was well pleased to see the following about Mark Kerrigan: “Mark Kerrigan is a dog lover who feels most comfortable spending time alone with his pets.” That’s great.

Anyway, I love skating drama.  Last weekend the U.S. Figure Skating Championships wrapped up and now it’s on to Vancouver.  Though, according to this New York Times piece, getting what you always wished for may not be all it’s cracked up to be.  Just ask Nancy Kerrigan.