Back in DC - woohoo and Ugh at the same time

Traveling to DC again today. I arrive at Logan Airport at 2, I have tickets for the 4:45 shuttle, I am thinking that maybe I can get on earlier flight, they suggest the 3:45, I tentatively and timidly agree.... The entire scenario sounding eerily like this terrible experience!

But No! This time things are going my way. The plane arrives, it leaves, the plane is mostly empty, I am tempted by the shameless US Airways/Bank of America VISA promotion being made by the flight attendants, I get to DC earlier than expected and with a pretty nice view of the city coming into National Airport, I must say. Everything was finally going my way with this DC trip, except...

I did not consider the timing that well. My change of flights put me into DC and into DC traffic at 5:20 pm. Apparently, DC rivals Boston in its rush hour travel woes. In fact, it is so similar, I almost forgot I was on some Potomac River road rushing up to Bethesda, and thought I was on Storrow Drive along the Charles River. Alas, it took me an hour to drive what had taken me 15-20 minutes in the past.

Thankfully, the hotel had a fully stocked bar and friendly bartendress to welcome me and nurse my rush hour wounds. I do love this city. There is a Metro station right next door so I am going to run into downtown tomorrow when I get some time.

The Lion, the Witch and the "Wardrobe"

I was watching the Chronicles of Narnia again the other night (come on now, a geek like me never watches such a movie just once or twice, especially with a new high def TV). I had to wonder, "why a Wardrobe?". I mean, it could have been anything, right?

"The Lion, the Witch and the Broom Closet"
"The Lion, the Witch and the Pantry"
"The Lion, the Witch and the Hope Chest"

By why stop with furniture? The opportunities are endless....

"The Lion, the Witch and the Airport Bar"
"The Lion, the Witch and the Swingers Lounge"

Sometimes I just don't understand where they come up with specifics about titles. Of course, it is pretty specific - not quite so much as "Snakes on a Plane", but still...

To Dude, or not to Dude

Dude (noun), from the biblical Duderotomy - 1. A familiar person or friend. 2. An exclamation of excitement or surprise ("Dude!"). 3. An exclamation of disappointment ("Dude..."). 4. An exclamation of confusion ("Dude?").

Until recently, I have been somewhat intimidated by the word "Dude". I have never been entirely certain when it is appropriate to use it, while others toss it around so naturally. I always feared that I would sound like some geek trying to sound cool, like I was playing with the cool words.

Not anymore! I have been watching this season of "Amazing Race" and I have learned that "Dude" is a completely universal word. In fact, you can have entire conversations using only the word "Dude" and have it be understood by both parties, as is often the case with hotties Tyler and James. It apparently can mean anything, and its meaning is derived completely by the tone with which it is delivered. See the following soon to be used in real life example:

Fancy Waiter: Would you care for another glass of Boujoulais Magnifique 1987 with your Filet du Bouef Marienne, Monsieur?
Me: Dude!

Furthermore, I have learned that "Dude" is NOT gender specific. Despite my initial belief that it referred to males, apparently it does not. Rob on Amazing Race refers to his girlfriend Kimberly as "dude" all the time. See the following hopefully not soon to be real life example (again):

Lady at Airport Security: Sir, you forgot to remove your notebook computer from its carrying case - you will have to step aside and have it swabbed for biologicals.
Me: Dude....

See ya, Dude.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

I have been offline for a while, sorry about that. November has been a long and busy month. Thankfully, it ended with vacation and Thanksgiving - basically I just gave thanks for getting through the month.

A quick recap of some of the high points:

I had to head off to Washington, DC for a conference and it was something else. I had a nice time down there. The people of DC seem so much nicer than Boston. I had a great time there. I have to head back there this week for training. I hope the travel is better this time though, the last time the only shuttle flight that was canceled was mine (naturally). And I had to wait for six hours before another opened up. Ugh.

The democrats took back the house and the senate. Finally, some sanity in America. Of course, the Senate majority revolves around Joe Lieberman, who is really more of a republican, elected by republicans. Having the dems back in power will take some of the sting away during the next two years. How much more buffoonery can we take, anyway?

I had to move into a new, smaller cube at work in a new part of our office. Amazing how much difference 2 feet can make. At least I get more natural light there.

Work has been nutty. We are growing fast, and I have been working hard to be sure that the support systems have been in place to support it. I feel like all I do is work or think about work. Luckily I now have a staff in place to help with the growth. Otherwise I would have been given a nice bed in Shadybrook by now.

Yes, Shadybrook. If there are any other General Hospital viewers out there then you know Luke and Laura were reunited when a miracle drug revived Laura, briefly in November. Unfortunately, she returned to catatonia fairly quickly (no, it is not a former Soviet republic, it is a state of psychosis - I checked). I am a sap when it comes to Luke and Laura.

I bought a high def television, a 40 inch LCD Sony and promptly watched like 16 hours of Star Wars in high definition on Cinemax this month. Hot stuff guys. High def is truly hot. Now I understand what the "HD" channels in the high 800's on the cable channels are for!