For the Record

I had the best of intentions of getting caught up on the blog this weekend, but my computer failed me. Something to do with a corrupt file. So after a half hour on the phone with Dell and an hour an the phone with Max, my computer genius friend, I have two options, restore my computer to day one settings and lose everything, or try and salvage three years worth of schoolwork and memories. I'll go with the latter (depending on how much that'll cost me). And you thought blog posts were few and far between before. Just don't hold your breath waiting for the next one. :) Hopefully I can get this problem rectified soon and get back to blogging as usual. I've got some great stories to tell...

Living it up Jimmy Buffett style

What are your twenties for? Yeah, that's right - doing the things you can't do when you're thirty.

It's all about not being tied down to other people. It's about being able to do stuff you wouldn't normally do when you had someone else to worry about. It's about living in the now. It's about being flexible and spontaneous. It's about being as responsibly irrersponsible as possible. It's about having fun and not worrying about tomorrow. It's about making serious decisions over beer after a long day at work.

And that's where this story begins.

The setting: Cap Lounge, a few blocks from the Capitol
The company: A few of the guys from work and Torrey
The discussion: The January Situation

We're all out of a job in January. Most of our leases are up at the end of the year. Oh, what to do? One of the guys has the luxary of living at home, but if he decides not to go overseas for further education, then he's buying a boat - well a very large yacht. And there's enough room for two other people. One of the guys jumps at the idea of living on a boat on the Potomac. A bit of a step up from living in a van down by the river. (he doesn't live in a van down by the river, I was just thinking of the Chris Farley SNL sketch - roll with me on this one)

As the scenario is discussed, I start thinking "this sounds like a pretty enticing living situation." The metro is close. If I work on the Hill, it's a twenty minute walk. Rent is comparable. IT'S A BOAT!!! It'd only be a year. Why not? When else would I have an opportunity to live on a boat? I get along with the guys from work. All the living amenities are there. Yeah, the quarters might be cramped, but I'm fresh from the dorm mentality where you don't have a lot of space. I can deal. Did I mention IT'S A BOAT????

Well, something to think about for sure. It's still six months away. A lot can happen in that time. Nothing is set in stone. How awesome would that be, though?

Any thoughts on the situation would be welcome.

On an unrelated topic, while sipping our brewskies outside of the Lounge, we spotted several Members walking down the street: Raul Grijalva (AZ-D), Patrick Kennedy (RI-D), Patrick McHenry (NC-R) and several others that I'm not good at recognizing yet.

Oh, summer...

It's summer. You know how I know? First of all, it's soooo hot! And it's starting to get humid. Plus there's tons of sweaty, smelly tourists EVERYWHERE. And the French Open just came to an end. I totally forgot it was on, so I only got to see the men's semis and both the final matches. Watching the French Open is like a summer kick-off tradition for me and I totally missed it. I hate not having cable.

I'm going to leave you with a clip that is not from the French Open, but rather from a Miami tournament where Russian Mikhail Youzhny beat the crap out of himself for a mis-hit. This man's crazy with a capital c. Crazy I tell you!

Opera Awesomeness

It’s no secret that I’m a big opera fan. A few weeks back, Mel traveled to Austria for a museum and library conference with her boss (more on Mel’s boss in a future post). Mel is such a good friend/roommate and always tries to bring us back little mementos from her destinations.

Guess what she got me? Oh, it’s too good for words so just watch:



Oh yeah, that’s marionette opera!!! But Salzburg takes marionette opera super seriously, so the dvd I have is a much higher staged quality. Plus it’s got a super star singing cast including Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland.

If that’s not awesome enough for you, then check out Lego opera. Uh huh, Lego opera.



Enjoy the awesomeness that opera has to offer.

Rudy and the Wedding

Our legislative director was getting hitched in Baltimore. The office was given Friday off so we could make the trek out there in time for the 5:00 nuptials. The scheduler and I were taking the train from Union Station. While waiting against the wall for her, I noticed this important looking man walk by. It took me just a quick second to register that Rudy Giuliani was passing in front of me. I was too shocked by the fact that Rudy was in Union Station to even try chasing after him to say hi. So I smiled extra hard and hoped that he caught that. I immediately emailed Michelle and told her about my sighting.

We got to our hotel in Baltimore and put on our fancy attire. Because of traffic, we barely made it to the church on time. In fact, we walked down the aisle just seconds before the bride. The wedding was at the Basilica, which is absolutely beautiful!!! As was the ceremony.

The reception was at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, which is right on the harbor. It was a gorgeous setting and everything about the evening was awesome. Most of us from work were in the far back corner. We felt like the kids table at Thanksgiving time. They split half of us up, probably for the best. The food was great, the dancing fun, the libations flowing, and the people merry. A fine combination for a great time.

After a late night of merriment, we got a late start to the day. We weren’t in any hurry to leave Baltimore and wanted to see what the city had to offer. Our hotel was super close to the harbor, so we walked in that direction and eventually made our way to the Maryland Science Center. “Body Worlds 2” was currently on display and since the three of us hadn’t seen it, we decided to take a peek at the innards of the human body. Boy was it crazy!!!

I really can’t give much detail to the Body Worlds display. It’s really one of those things that you just have to see.


After staring at cross sections of dead bodies, we had a hankering for some food. So we strolled along the harbor until we came to a Mexican Cantina place. We wanted to sit outside and dine and so did all of the pigeons. They don’t really make good company.

After a satisfying lunch, we headed back to the district.

Meet my new friend Barbara

So I’ve gotten pretty good at waiting in lines. Mel and I waited over four and a half hours for Nats season opening tickets and I waited an hour and a half for standing room tickets for the season closer of Macbeth. On May 8th, I stood in line again.

Barbara Walters just wrote her memoirs and I read in one of the Hill rags that she was going to be at the local bookstore that’s a block away from my office singing copies of her book. I didn’t think much of it the first time I saw the ad, but when I saw the ad a second time on Wednesday, I thought it’d be cool to saunter on over and get a book signed. It’s Barbara Walters for crying out loud!! The lady has interviewed some of the coolest people ever. She’s like a living legend of broadcast television. Plus, let’s be honest, she’s not getting much younger.

The book signing was scheduled for 12:00. I headed over at 11:30. The line was out the door, but someone said book signings generally move pretty quickly. I figured I’d be back to work by 12:30 at the latest. I purchased two books, one for me and one for Mel and took my place in line – outside and in the rain.

You make friends in line, and I talked to a lady who had been to a Hillary Clinton book signing. We just chitchatted for a while to pass the time. And in true star fashion, Barbara Walters showed up at 12:30 – a half hour late. But I suppose she’s Barbara Walters and can do what she wants.

I thought of what I would say to Barbara. I’m sure she always gets asked the following: Who’s your favorite person to interview? Who do you wish you could interview past or present? What was Castro like? etc, etc… But I wanted to be different.

My turn finally came up to meet Barbara. At first, she seemed distant and like she was just going through the motions of signing the book. So I tried to connect to Barbara and make a lasting impression. Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: Hi Miss Walters. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a huge fan of opera and Beverly Sills. I was really touched by your friendship with her and the poignant words you said about her upon her passing.

(Barbara looked me tenderly in the eyes and grabbed my hand and squeezed it obviously touched by my concern)

Barbara: Thank you. She was a dear, dear friend of mine. I miss her dearly. Such a terrible loss in my life and to opera. Thank you so much for your kind words.

Me: Yes, she seemed like a truly nice person. Thank you so much.

Barbara: Thank you.

Someone took our picture and I headed back to work, two signed books in my hand, a smile across my face and a great story to tell.

PS The book is off to a great start. Ms. Walters has paved the way for women in broadcast journalism and it’s just great to hear all the stories from her life and how she got to where she is today. If you ever want to read it, you can borrow my personal signed copy.

Bust out your cots, we're gonna be here a while

We pulled a couple late nights at work a few weeks back. Some important legislation came to the floor including the Iraq War Supplemental and the Farm Bill. Plus, there was some issue with a House clerk submitting the wrong Farm Bill to the president or something, and the president signed the wrong version of the Farm Bill. Google it for all the details. They eventually figured out the mess and straightened everything out.

During the evening, I took a quick break and trekked across the street to Tortilla Coast for a roommate’s birthday. After two margs, I headed back to work. I think I left work at 9:30/10-ish. On my way out, there were a bunch of members coming back to their offices from the Capitol. I saw two of Arizona’s delegation, John Shadegg and Jeff Flake. I smiled extra big at them as I passed by trying to keep myself from shouting out, “I’m from Arizona!”

Then I walked home in the dark - the best way to see DC, all lit up.

Excursions around the Capitol

I was sitting at home one Saturday afternoon with not a whole lot going on. I decided to grab my camera and go for a walk. What you are about to see are various sights and locations that I see on different occasions while living and working in DC. Enjoy.

Around the corner from my house

My favorite address: No. One Third St. NE because it says "No One"

I'm easily amused, I know

Beyond the Library of Congress flags is the Cannon House Office Building - the place I call work

Some weird thingamajig on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. I was hoping I could find some obscur door that would lead to some secret underground passageway. No such luck.

The exterior of the Botanic Gardens

Someone got married there

Some ducks just doing their thing in the Capitol reflecting pool

My homestead (brick house, blue trim)

The End. Until I'm bored on another random Saturday and take another stroll through some part of town. Most of what you just saw I pass on the way to and from work. Except for the ducks and the botanic garden. But sometimes after it rains quite a bit, you can find a duck and some of her babies chilling out in a puddle on the Library of Congress grounds. They make me smile when I see them.

What?!!! Tornado warning???

Yep, that's right. Severe thunderstorm warning and a Tornado watch. How crazy is that??!!! I think we ARE in Kansas.

According to the Weather Channel: "A severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect until 0415. Doppler radar continues to indicate a line of sever thunderstorms capable of producing destructive winds in excess of 70 mph. The storms were moving rapidly east at 60 mph. These storms will produce strong, damaging winds that will come on quickly. Also expect near zero visibility with rain and numerous lighting strikes. Also a tornado watch is in effect for the warned area. Tornadoes can develop suddenly from severe thunderstorms. Be alert for rapidly changing weather conditions as storms approach."

It's pretty crazy out there. Wouldn't want to be the poor fool who was out there when the skies opened up and the rain just pounded down...

Office Awesomeness

So two of our district staffers were in town towards the end of April. Penny and Teresa came in for a district fly-in and both gals are such a hoot to hang out with. We met up with them Tuesday night, and had an interesting convo. Thanks T!

A couple of us went to the Hawk and Dove Wednesday night for a light dinner. Penny, T, and I were walking towards the direction of Union Station and as we were walking, some person starts honking at us. It's our old CoS Patty. She's now working for a VA member. I told her to let me know how the election is going and if she needs help because I desperately miss the campaign trail.

Thursday was scheduled to be the big office get-together at Cantina Marina so everyone could chill and chat. Prior to that, a couple of us took an office field trip to the Library of Congress. Two of the DC guys had never been. For crying out loud, it’s across from where we work and they’ve never been. The shame!!!

The Library of Congress is probably my favorite building in DC. The murals are painted with such vibrant colors. There are so many books and so much history. It’s Congress’ library – it’s my library!

Anywho, Thomas Jefferson donated most, if not all, of his private collection of books to the Library of Congress. His books are on display and they are old, and super awesome. It’s amazing the diverse collection he had.

Cantina was fun. Super crowded, but it’s always good to hang with the office peeps.

I guess the point of this story is if you come to DC, you have to see the Library of Congress.

The Places I Go, The People I Meet

This trip took place April 25-28

After three months away from a place you've lived your whole life, you start missing some things. So after three months in DC, I headed back west to get a dose of western awesomeness. I was on a soccer team in Flagstaff before I moved, and they encouraged me to meet them in Vegas for a soccer tournament. I didn't need much encouraging. It would be prime opportunity to get out of the district, play some quality soccer, hang with some good friends, and meet up w/ my padres.

So off I went on a trip that turned out to be pretty awesome. I met a new friend on the plane. I had a layover in Atlanta, and this girl I was sitting next to had been coming to DC with her company to work for a couple of weeks. She was scheduled to come back a few weeks later, so I gave her my email and told her to let me know when she got back in town.

It was great to see all the Flagstaff girls again. We didn't do so well in the tournament, but it was still a lot of fun, which after all is the most important thing. The team is loaded with a good group of girls, and I was bummed to have left them after finding them just this past summer.

Mom came up to Vegas that afternoon. My wardrobe was desperately lacking in some areas, so we did some power shopping. We met a pretty nice lady in the JC Penny dressing room. She gave some pretty good input on the clothes I picked out and picked up a few things for me to try on even though she was off of work. We chatted a bit, so I’m going to take this opportunity to wish her and her son well.

Father rode the Harley up and met us for dinner. Rather enjoyable I must say. Although, he kept pestering (get it – pest) me about the mouse. Definitely not a rat.

After dinner, mom and I did a bit more shopping and headed over to Barnes and Noble so I could pick up a book for the plane ride home. Standing in line, this lady sparked up a conversation with me. We covered everything from where I worked, what I was doing out here, the presidential election (this always makes me nervous – never know if you’re talking to friend or foe), outgoing personalities, Arbonne, etc.

Apparently this lady was drawn to my outgoing personality and the ease at which I was able to hold a conversation with her. She thought I was the perfect match for reaching out to others with a product that she endorses. I was dead tired, yet managed to discuss all of these things for well over thirty minutes. I gave her my blog address, so if she’s reading, here’s my shout out to you: HELLO! :)

After our losing streak ended with a win on Sunday, madre and I finished up some shopping and she dropped me off at Misty’s house. Misty is a talker. So we talked. For a very long time. And I was tired. But I listened. Because she had a lot to say. And I hadn’t seen her in forever. Misty is such an awesome, energetic person. It was a great opportunity to sit and visit with her. She took me to the airport early Monday morning and I came back to DC.
What I miss about Arizona and the west: the sunsets, good friends, friendly people, open skies, dry heat, cars, family…