Fede Alvarez made a short film entitled "Ataque de Panico!" or "Panic Attack!" and uploaded it to YouTube. He invested $300 in the 5-minute movie and his investment has paid off. The BBC reports that Alvarez uploaded the video on a Thursday and by Monday, his inbox was full of e-mails from Hollywood Studios.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sheer Awesomeness
I don't watch the show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO... dont' even have HBO at the moment. The main character Larry David was the executive producer/director whatever of the show "Seinfeld".
Well for his current show (CYE for short) he basically dusts off the old set and produces a "new" episode of Seinfeld... 11 years has past since it went off the air.. but I think it's an awesome testament to the fact that if they wanted to, they could bring it back and it wouldn't miss a beat.
Well for his current show (CYE for short) he basically dusts off the old set and produces a "new" episode of Seinfeld... 11 years has past since it went off the air.. but I think it's an awesome testament to the fact that if they wanted to, they could bring it back and it wouldn't miss a beat.
Friends Don't Let Friends Shop @ Best Buy
A coworker of mine just bought a new 50" plasma tv. Me and several other coworkers glowingly referred him to monoprice.com. The ONLY place to go to buy wall mounts, and any type of cable or wire or electrical component you could think of. Seriously. I bought my wall mount for my 50" plasma for $19... and I bought 2 10' long HDMI cables for $5 a piece.
Best Buy charges upwards of $100 for a wall mount and close to $50 for a 6' hdmi cable. Don't get screwed!!!!
Best Buy charges upwards of $100 for a wall mount and close to $50 for a 6' hdmi cable. Don't get screwed!!!!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
On My Way
So I was driving home from work today when a young gentleman caught my eye. He was wearing a white shirt with a huge airbrushed dollar sign in the middle.
I immediately said to myself, "I need a shirt like that"
I immediately said to myself, "I need a shirt like that"
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
On Blogging....
Blogging has sort of gotten boring to me. I'm not going to start up with the same frequency that I had before. I will post something when I find it truly amusing or enlightening.
Yesterday we were up in Baltimore (Fells Point) going to a flea market, and just basically walking around by the harbor and grabbed a bit to eat at a sidewalk bistro.. where all the waiters were very... ummm... good dressers with fancy hair (you understand)?
Maria walks back to put more money in the parking meter while I take the boys in to use the bathroom. Maria runs into the restaurant to find me yelling out "the car is gone, someone stole the car!". I don't get too worked up at this point. I take the boys and tell her I'll go down to verify. I get to the spot I left the car and what do you know, there it is sitting there in all it's glory in the same spot we left it only a few hours ago. I call Maria and tell her the car's gone... to be met with about 5 seconds of silence on Maria's end... until I know I'm being mean and let her know it's still there.
She got really pissed when I started joking around with her about the whole thing... and I told her I was going to blog about it. She cussed me out a bit and I told her I was joking, then last night after we got home she complained to me that "you don't blog anymore" and I told her I would if I could tell the car story.
"Go ahead", she said.
Yesterday we were up in Baltimore (Fells Point) going to a flea market, and just basically walking around by the harbor and grabbed a bit to eat at a sidewalk bistro.. where all the waiters were very... ummm... good dressers with fancy hair (you understand)?
Maria walks back to put more money in the parking meter while I take the boys in to use the bathroom. Maria runs into the restaurant to find me yelling out "the car is gone, someone stole the car!". I don't get too worked up at this point. I take the boys and tell her I'll go down to verify. I get to the spot I left the car and what do you know, there it is sitting there in all it's glory in the same spot we left it only a few hours ago. I call Maria and tell her the car's gone... to be met with about 5 seconds of silence on Maria's end... until I know I'm being mean and let her know it's still there.
She got really pissed when I started joking around with her about the whole thing... and I told her I was going to blog about it. She cussed me out a bit and I told her I was joking, then last night after we got home she complained to me that "you don't blog anymore" and I told her I would if I could tell the car story.
"Go ahead", she said.
Monday, June 15, 2009
In the land of lean beef
So we went to New York this past weekend with all the kids and a good friend of ours. We left Baltimore around 8:00am or so and got to Brooklyn around 11:30. Why Brooklyn you may ask? Free parking and easy access to the subway.
The subway... I guess i'm spoiled with the subway in D.C. (nice wide walkways with air circulation, no trash piled up over my head, and ELEVATORS AND WIDE ASS TURNSTILES TO FIT YOUR STROLLER OR WIDE ASS THROUGH). That was probably the most aggravating part, that at most subway stations there were no attendants or anyone who worked there to help you. So I had to lug the strollers up and down stairs and I had to set off alarms at nearly every entrace as the only way I could see to get the stroller through there was to open the big red handled door that said to only open in an emergency.
Times Square was a little sureal. I've seen it countless times on television, but going there and walking around in person was a neat experience. So busy with so much going on... so many vendors, so many people, so many taxi cabs (wow... a sea of orangish yellow). I ran into a guy and I think he put a curse on me (he yelled at the top of his lungs as I continued to walk away.. laughing nervously). Kids got to ride the ferris wheel in toys R us and got to marvel at the huge T-rex in there as well.
Central park was pretty cool too... at least what I could see of it. Went into FAO Schwartz and the kids got to play on the big piano (cue Tom Hanks).
Overall it was a cool trip. A bit too much for just a day trip with the kids, I would love to go back sans kids and stay for a night. Go out to eat and maybe see a show or something. Pictures!
The subway... I guess i'm spoiled with the subway in D.C. (nice wide walkways with air circulation, no trash piled up over my head, and ELEVATORS AND WIDE ASS TURNSTILES TO FIT YOUR STROLLER OR WIDE ASS THROUGH). That was probably the most aggravating part, that at most subway stations there were no attendants or anyone who worked there to help you. So I had to lug the strollers up and down stairs and I had to set off alarms at nearly every entrace as the only way I could see to get the stroller through there was to open the big red handled door that said to only open in an emergency.
Times Square was a little sureal. I've seen it countless times on television, but going there and walking around in person was a neat experience. So busy with so much going on... so many vendors, so many people, so many taxi cabs (wow... a sea of orangish yellow). I ran into a guy and I think he put a curse on me (he yelled at the top of his lungs as I continued to walk away.. laughing nervously). Kids got to ride the ferris wheel in toys R us and got to marvel at the huge T-rex in there as well.
Central park was pretty cool too... at least what I could see of it. Went into FAO Schwartz and the kids got to play on the big piano (cue Tom Hanks).
Overall it was a cool trip. A bit too much for just a day trip with the kids, I would love to go back sans kids and stay for a night. Go out to eat and maybe see a show or something. Pictures!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Big House
So MARLA and I somehow, someway, won foster parents of the year for Wicomico County. Each county in the state every year picks a family to be their family of the year. I think we were chosen in hopes that MARLA wouldn't be as big a pain in the ass as she has been in the past towards our local DSS.
So we were invited to an awards banquet to the "Government House". We had not idea what the "Government House" was and we both weren't terribly excited about going. I figured it was just some government building... like an office conference room or something drab. When we got the directions and headed towards downtown then it dawned on us that we were going to the Governor's House for this shindig. MARLA did NOT want me to wear a tie... but I insisted I would rather be overdressed than under dressed. And I found that I drive a bit like an A**hole when wearing a dress shirt and tie.. not sure what's up with that?
So we get to the House and we have to wait out on the sidewalk. We are about 10 minutes early (imagine that) and we have to wait until 3pm on the nose to go inside. It was rather chilly but the time flew by and we got inside.
I had been inside before back in middle school on a field trip, it's a nice place. Huge vaulted ceilings... huge mirrors and paintings... huge spiral staircases. MARLA and I are both totally starving and we had no idea if we were going to get food or even a drink. As we sat down we saw people with plates loaded up with food, so without any delay I darted towards the buffet table and loaded up. Pretty nice spread all around... had a lot of kid friendly foods (chicken strips... french fries, the french fries were REALLY GOOD). About 100 - 200 people total I would imagine.
I was tempted to steal some silverware or something but I didn't. Stealing is wrong.
The Governor was milling about... as was his wife (who was hosting the event) as well as their children running around. O'Malley looked like a guy getting ready to hit the boardwalk in his untucked white shirt and blue jeans. We had pictures taken with the First Lady and everybody at our table was really nice and friendly. Overall it was a fun time and a nice little "thank you" from DSS and Mrs. O'Malley for us foster families. MARLA will have to post the picture as she has the login info.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
The new Silversun Pickups has been dominating my music listening lately. Their new CD came out last week and it's pretty good. "Panic Switch" is the first single (which has a catchy as hell base line).... but "The Royal We" is by far the best song on the album.... I play it so freaking loud in my car. Honorable mention to "there's no secrets this year" to sounding like some good old fashioned SP... (smashing pumpkins...).
It's pretty easy to see the similarities... first you'd find them besides each other alphabetically, they both have a female bassist... both have a member who is Japanese (not me) and well.... just listen to the second song.... like it's ripped straight from Siamese Dream.
It's pretty easy to see the similarities... first you'd find them besides each other alphabetically, they both have a female bassist... both have a member who is Japanese (not me) and well.... just listen to the second song.... like it's ripped straight from Siamese Dream.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
This Video Sums Up My Weekend
If you are in any way uptight or a loser don't bother watching... but I find this video hilarious. It was the theme of our weekend heading up to Fallingwater.... totally by accident. (explicit) We also played a game at the wedding reception.... guess who used to be a man. We knew the minute we hit the lodge who it was... it was totally like the episode from Seinfeld
Seriously... so many awesomely funny this happened the trip was a total blast.... as well as a total blur (from being so short). I am totally going to attempt a proper synopsis tomorrow as I need to go to bed... but it's totally lol material (to me anyway).
Seriously... so many awesomely funny this happened the trip was a total blast.... as well as a total blur (from being so short). I am totally going to attempt a proper synopsis tomorrow as I need to go to bed... but it's totally lol material (to me anyway).
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Famous People I've Run Into Lately
Omar Epps - Works at Giant here in Salisbury
Joe Koy - Is a Social Worker in Wicomico County
Robert Dietzway - (ok, not famous but this dude at my church looks EXACTLY like him... it's errie)
Samuel L. Jackson - Was at the Inauguration (this is the only one that is legit... all the rest were stunt doubles)
Joe Koy - Is a Social Worker in Wicomico County
Robert Dietzway - (ok, not famous but this dude at my church looks EXACTLY like him... it's errie)
Samuel L. Jackson - Was at the Inauguration (this is the only one that is legit... all the rest were stunt doubles)
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Delicious?
I post that as a question because I don't know yet. What better way to enjoy your immaculately landscaped yard than to sit outside on a warm evening drinking hot tea and feasting on some chocolate dipped strawberries & granny smith apples from Edible Creations?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Great Video
This song was playing on my zune... so I searched to see if it had a music video... which it does... which is awesome. Love the 2d hand drawn pseudo 3d cutout style... this video goes out to anyone who knows someone who's been near or in a California wildfire. The stuff the people are worried most about saving cracks me up.... MY COWBOY BOOTS!
Apparently this is based on a true story... not sure who's story... but it's a bit tragic towards the end but very cool video nonetheless.
Apparently this is based on a true story... not sure who's story... but it's a bit tragic towards the end but very cool video nonetheless.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wife Thought I Was Being Dumb
Most men (and women.. well... probably not women, not that many at least) who have a yard to maintain probably can relate to this. Whenever I use my weed-eater or anything else that vibrates a lot (like a chainsaw.. etc.) I get what I call "itchy arms". This past weekend I got done with a weed wacking session and after I was done I started itching my arms to help the itchiness go away. I told Maria that I get this every time I use power tools that vibrate my hands and arms for any extended period of time. She laughed and said it was from the pollen and grass particles landing on my skin.
So... what do you know? It's a medical condition (or can become one with prolonged continuous use of vibrating power tools) called HAVS or Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome.
Anybody else deal with this or am I just a freak?
So... what do you know? It's a medical condition (or can become one with prolonged continuous use of vibrating power tools) called HAVS or Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome.
Anybody else deal with this or am I just a freak?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Fringe Benefits
Talking about some of the fringe benefits we have here at work made me think of this commerical from back in the day. Still makes me LOL
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
An Update
One case down... one to go!
Thank you for providing information about the recent bank reversal. We have reviewed the information and determined that you will not be held liable
for this reversal because as you followed the guidelines of the
unauthorized payment protection plan.
Any funds that may have been temporarily held are now available in your
account
Sincerely,
PayPal
Total Blank
It's not that I don't have anything to post about.... I'd just rather post about not having anything to post about.
So I have this big ass headache with PayPal going on. Basically what happened is that I sold my tv on ebay... and someone paid for it with "buy it now" only a few hours after I posted the auction. He then messaged me and stated the TV was for a birthday and if I could overnight it to him. I was just so happy that I sold the tv (that's a whole other blog post) that I really didn't think things through at first. I told the guy that overnighting something like a big-ass plasma tv was expensive, but I gave him a quote anyway. This tv I was selling was just discontinued and the newer model is not as desirable as the older model I was selling (they are going on ebay for a premium as we speak).
So the guy sends the additional amount and I ship the tv on a Saturday afternoon via FedEx. I then message him with his tracking info and that's that... (or so I thought).
Like I do with all money in PayPal, I transferred all of the money out of PayPal into my checking account. If you read PayPal's TOS you will see that basically they can freeze your account at any moment for nearly any reason they deem reasonable and hold it for up to 180 days. For this reason and this reason alone I never kept a large balance in my paypal account.
So I talk with a friend of mine the next morning who happens to be doing a lot of sales through ebay and paypal. He tells me of this scam he heard about while shipping items at the post office, a scam involving ebay, paypal and the buy basically reversing the charges then keeping the item. I tell him this isn't happening to me... well more like telling myself this and keeping myself positive about it.
That night the more I thought about it the more this transaction fit the profile. Guy with zero feedback buys big ticket item with "buy it now". Guy asks for it to be overnighted (to avoid charge reversal before he has the item) and also asks for item to be held at the FedEx facility instead of being delivered to the address attached to the credit card. It all made sense and I looked online, found out that paypal phone help was available 7 days a week so I gave them a call.
I asked them that I suspected a fraudulent purchase of my item I sold on ebay and asked if I should contact FedEx and have them hold the item until I figure this out. I was then put on hold by PayPal and after about 5 mins the lady came back on the line and told me not to do anything. To let the transaction complete as I didn't have any proof of any foul play (besides my instinct and common sense). She also tells me not to worry and that I am protected 100%. I say ok, and thank you and hope that I'm wrong.
3 days later I get an email from PayPal saying there was a credit reversal and that my account is frozen until I take care of my negative balance. I immediately get on the phone with paypal to see what the next course of action should be. The guy tells me that there is an investigation starting and I will get an email with a few days outlining the steps in the dispute process. I also tell this guy I called earlier in the week before the item was delivered and another PayPal agent told me to let the transaction complete. And that if in any way PayPal expected me to be on the hook for this after telling me I was 100% covered that they were sorely mistaken. I'm as polite as I can be for being raging mad and we end our call.
Luckily I had all of my money in the bank before the chargeback took place. PayPal cannot just dip into your bank account to retrieve the funds, and even if they did break the law and do that you can dispute the charges with your bank - get the money back and block PayPal from any further transaction attempts.
I uploaded all of my receipts, airbill, all correspondence with the "buyer" and all proof that I am in the right and as much a victim as the guy who's credit card was stolen. While they told me I was 100% protected it turns out that she was shoveling a lot of crap. The seller in most cases of a chargeback is not covered by any guarantee... all it takes is a asshat buyer to know how to use the system to get a free item AND sock the seller with losing both the item and the money for the item. Gladly I was not THAT naive to think I was actually protected and left my money in there. I have found a great resource on what to do in my situation called paypalsucks.com. Their forums are filled with people in my same situation and their stories and how they went about getting their money back and stopping the collection calls/harrasment.
It turns out what I do is NOTHING. I have my money... PayPal is the one out of money here since techincally they charged the stolen credit card, not me. PayPal touts their advanced "fraud detection" but that's such a joke. If your protections are so advanced how did you let this happen? What is the purpopse of even using PayPal then?
If you use PayPal alot please read around on this website to educate yourself on what PayPal says it can do with your account in their Terms Of Service you are forced to agree with just to have an account with them. paypalsucks.com has a great page where they take the whole TOS and break it down and explain what it means.
PayPal is not a bank or financial instiution and even if they take me to collections it cannot impact my credit report since they do not have my social security number. I'm just glad I was looking out for myself and have all my bases covered. And most importantly, PayPal dosen't have a penny from me!
http://www.paypalsucks.com/forums/
So I have this big ass headache with PayPal going on. Basically what happened is that I sold my tv on ebay... and someone paid for it with "buy it now" only a few hours after I posted the auction. He then messaged me and stated the TV was for a birthday and if I could overnight it to him. I was just so happy that I sold the tv (that's a whole other blog post) that I really didn't think things through at first. I told the guy that overnighting something like a big-ass plasma tv was expensive, but I gave him a quote anyway. This tv I was selling was just discontinued and the newer model is not as desirable as the older model I was selling (they are going on ebay for a premium as we speak).
So the guy sends the additional amount and I ship the tv on a Saturday afternoon via FedEx. I then message him with his tracking info and that's that... (or so I thought).
Like I do with all money in PayPal, I transferred all of the money out of PayPal into my checking account. If you read PayPal's TOS you will see that basically they can freeze your account at any moment for nearly any reason they deem reasonable and hold it for up to 180 days. For this reason and this reason alone I never kept a large balance in my paypal account.
So I talk with a friend of mine the next morning who happens to be doing a lot of sales through ebay and paypal. He tells me of this scam he heard about while shipping items at the post office, a scam involving ebay, paypal and the buy basically reversing the charges then keeping the item. I tell him this isn't happening to me... well more like telling myself this and keeping myself positive about it.
That night the more I thought about it the more this transaction fit the profile. Guy with zero feedback buys big ticket item with "buy it now". Guy asks for it to be overnighted (to avoid charge reversal before he has the item) and also asks for item to be held at the FedEx facility instead of being delivered to the address attached to the credit card. It all made sense and I looked online, found out that paypal phone help was available 7 days a week so I gave them a call.
I asked them that I suspected a fraudulent purchase of my item I sold on ebay and asked if I should contact FedEx and have them hold the item until I figure this out. I was then put on hold by PayPal and after about 5 mins the lady came back on the line and told me not to do anything. To let the transaction complete as I didn't have any proof of any foul play (besides my instinct and common sense). She also tells me not to worry and that I am protected 100%. I say ok, and thank you and hope that I'm wrong.
3 days later I get an email from PayPal saying there was a credit reversal and that my account is frozen until I take care of my negative balance. I immediately get on the phone with paypal to see what the next course of action should be. The guy tells me that there is an investigation starting and I will get an email with a few days outlining the steps in the dispute process. I also tell this guy I called earlier in the week before the item was delivered and another PayPal agent told me to let the transaction complete. And that if in any way PayPal expected me to be on the hook for this after telling me I was 100% covered that they were sorely mistaken. I'm as polite as I can be for being raging mad and we end our call.
Luckily I had all of my money in the bank before the chargeback took place. PayPal cannot just dip into your bank account to retrieve the funds, and even if they did break the law and do that you can dispute the charges with your bank - get the money back and block PayPal from any further transaction attempts.
I uploaded all of my receipts, airbill, all correspondence with the "buyer" and all proof that I am in the right and as much a victim as the guy who's credit card was stolen. While they told me I was 100% protected it turns out that she was shoveling a lot of crap. The seller in most cases of a chargeback is not covered by any guarantee... all it takes is a asshat buyer to know how to use the system to get a free item AND sock the seller with losing both the item and the money for the item. Gladly I was not THAT naive to think I was actually protected and left my money in there. I have found a great resource on what to do in my situation called paypalsucks.com. Their forums are filled with people in my same situation and their stories and how they went about getting their money back and stopping the collection calls/harrasment.
It turns out what I do is NOTHING. I have my money... PayPal is the one out of money here since techincally they charged the stolen credit card, not me. PayPal touts their advanced "fraud detection" but that's such a joke. If your protections are so advanced how did you let this happen? What is the purpopse of even using PayPal then?
If you use PayPal alot please read around on this website to educate yourself on what PayPal says it can do with your account in their Terms Of Service you are forced to agree with just to have an account with them. paypalsucks.com has a great page where they take the whole TOS and break it down and explain what it means.
PayPal is not a bank or financial instiution and even if they take me to collections it cannot impact my credit report since they do not have my social security number. I'm just glad I was looking out for myself and have all my bases covered. And most importantly, PayPal dosen't have a penny from me!
http://www.paypalsucks.com/forums/
Friday, March 06, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Just Listen To The Whole Thing
When John Mayer first came out I didn't like him at all. His first album was full of mushy "girl" music that just wasn't my cup of tea. But in the past few years his skill as just a raw guitarist became evident to me. I would love to see him live... can't deny the skills.
Watch live video from DREWS MOVIES AND ♫IN H.264 on Justin.tv
Watch live video from DREWS MOVIES AND ♫IN H.264 on Justin.tv
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Miss P
My big girl Pearl is 3 years old today!
Send your love her way... I'm sure she'll appreciate it (as much as a 3 year old can appreciate things!)
I love you Peezy
Send your love her way... I'm sure she'll appreciate it (as much as a 3 year old can appreciate things!)
I love you Peezy
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
I Can't Make This Stuff Up
Seriously? Although tragic and horrific... with the line of work this guy is in I find a sliver of humor in the fact that he started a TV station in New York to counter Muslim stereotypes. Wow... I think you failed, bud.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Clapping Will Be Heard In The Distance
Next time my boss acts the fool i'm hitting him with the Lightning Bolt, Death manuver... nothing beats it. Seriously
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Circuit Chitty
So I popped into Circuit City's "Liquidation" Sale the other day just to see what the deals are like. People were buying stuff left and right to my amazement.... I guess there are people out there... a LOT of people who don't know about the internet. Prices are way lower on the exact same television sets at numerous online websites. (namely newegg.com, amazon.com, 6ave.com, buy.com, woot.com, etc....)
As I walked out of the store with a smirk on my face someone asked me if I needed any help. I said "no, I'll be back when your prices aren't so high" and walked out.
Circuit City's "liquidation" sale is a JOKE. 15% off MSRP? (seriously? nobody sells tv's even close to their MSRP) LOL
I guess I should feel bad for people who think they are getting a great deal.... but I don't.
As I walked out of the store with a smirk on my face someone asked me if I needed any help. I said "no, I'll be back when your prices aren't so high" and walked out.
Circuit City's "liquidation" sale is a JOKE. 15% off MSRP? (seriously? nobody sells tv's even close to their MSRP) LOL
I guess I should feel bad for people who think they are getting a great deal.... but I don't.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
January 20th, 2009
We got up to Baltimore around 8:30pm Monday night. Dropped the kids off at Maria's mom's house and went to her father's to get to bed early. We already had our plan of attack to try to get as close as possible and to also try and stay as warm as possible. The weatherman called for temps in the mid 30's... but I don't think it even got out of the 20's.
So we layed out all of our layers of clothes... thermal underwear, sweatpants, jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve thin sweater, light jacket, heavy coat, 2 layers of ski gloves, ear warming band and a nice thick winter cap. Maria and I both stuffed every pocket we had with food, water & snacks... we were taking some cash with us but we figured the less we had to spend (and wait in hellacious lines) the better. Went to bed around 9pm and set the alarm for 2am (yes, really!)
2am came a little faster than we would have hoped, probably because neither of us got a decent 5 hour sleep and were a little restless. I can't say I was super excited... more nervous about the crowds and the amount of people and security we would be going through. But we got it into our heads early that we would be ready for the worst... the worst lines we have ever seen... the worst crowds we have ever seen.... the worst weather we have ever seen... etc....
Around 3am We headed on out the door and jumped in the car to drive to the nearest Metro station "New Carrolton". It was about a 30 minute drive away... with surprisingly little traffic, but lots of police pulling over tractor trailers... for whatever reason. We get to the Metro station with still very light traffic... but as we pull up we notice a pretty long line to park in the garage, so we shoot across the street and into the satellite parking. Lot was only about a quarter full, so we didn't feel to pressed about getting out of the car right away... but as we sat there watching cars and people stream in and out we figured we should get a move on and see if there is a line forming yet. It is now 4am.
We are in our first real crowd at this point... not a lot of people, but you can tell that we all have somewhere we are in a hurry to get to. We get into the station and start to head for the turnstiles when a security guard yells "end of the line".... oh, ok... so there is a line, no problem. So we follow the line down the hall... up the stairs... and up out into the rear parking lot. The line stretches out of sight over the curve of the long narrow parking lot. After a bit of wide-eyed "holy crap this is a lot of people already" we start to try to find the end of this line. We walk a good 5 minutes and finally get there... probably 1/2 mile long at least.
So we get in line and people are buzzing... everybody is talking, laughing... taking humor in the facial expressions of people walking by still in that wide-eyed "holy crap this is a long line" look on their face. I have the Canon Xti around my neck... and snap some shots of the line and Maria. The flash draws the attention of the couple in front of us, a couple from Connecticut who drove down just days before. We started talking cameras and we both were Canon fans so we hit it off pretty good. We had a pretty long conversation with them that made our wait in line go by fairly painlessly. We had been outside for about 45 minutes now... so far so good, still have warm toes and fingers!
So we get into the turnstile area and just fly through with our pre-purchased commemorative Obama metro tickets and up onto the platform. We wait about 5 minutes and jump on the first train that arrives... and after a few moments we notice the same couple we met in line a few seats back and continue our conversation. We also start talking with several other people around us... everybody has a story to tell, and everybody we met and conversed with were great. One lady sitting next to us was an Obama volunteer who gave us some insight into what her training was like and how she got the opportunity to help out. She was from South Carolina and wasn't too fond of the cold that morning.
So we get into downtown... the first major stop where most people got off the metro, Federal Triangle. That stop was packed! We pulled in and people were nearly pressed up against our subway car. Maria and I couldn't believe that people that it was a good idea to get off at this stop, but most everyone we were talking to either had tickets or had to get off there to help with their volunteer work. We stayed on the metro until the Foggy Bottom exit... well past the mall (about a mile), but we figured we wouldn't have any crowds to deal with or very many issues with secuirty. Plus it would give us a chance to hit up any coffee shops or doughnut places for a quick breakfast meal before it got crazy.
We didn't see much open at this point... it was about 5am now and we were in "walk towards the Washington Monument mode". The one mile walk went by pretty quickly and we were up to the back edge of the mall in no time. We started seeing our first waves of security and street closures... this whole end of town was shut down and there were national guard/military at nearly every street corner. As we started walking on the grass field surrounding the Washington monument we could look over and see the white house, and looked straight ahead to see the long line of Jumbo Trons and lights. The capital was well lit and decorated for today's upcoming festivities... it was quite a sight that sent chills up my spine (or maybe that was just the cold?).
It was a this point when you really started taking in the magnitude of what we were going to witness this day. Police lights flashing everywhere... military humvees and solders walking the streets at every turn, helicopters buzzing overhead. It was truly an electric scene that really was quite awe inspiring. This is a big f**king deal I said to myself....
We keep walking and pass all the news outfits.... CNN, MSNBC, FOX, local news people... people in crowds behind reporters acting like fools trying to get their ugly mugs on TV. We didn't see any places serving coffee or hot chocolate yet... so we figure we should just keep walking and see how close we can get. I figured before coming that the crowd would already be close to the Washington monument... but it wasn't even close yet. We got up pretty close, way closer than we expected... and stood there for a while. The constant streaming of people behind us filled in around us pretty quick, about an hour later you couldn't tell how far back the crowd was. So after standing there for a bit we were bored... and getting a bit chilly. A few people started sitting down or laying down to kill some time... it is about 6am now.
We kill time by talking.. shivering.. getting bumped into by others. At times the wait unil 10:30 seemed to drag on... but were had some cool people around us and eventually started visiting with those around us. Everyone we talked to or sat next to were so friendly and again, everybody had a story to tell. This older couple next to us was from northern Ohio.. and scoffed at how people were complaining about the cold.. saying that northern Ohio winters were much worse. He was also a Cleveland browns fan that was pretty bitter about the Ravens and thier success. The couple behind us was from San Diego California... and it was an understatement to say they were cold. I don't think they could function below 70 degrees as they lay there bundled up under some blankets shaking.
So the sun starts to rise and most people are sitting down now... people are getting pretty cold and a bit cranky about it. The jumbo trons come on shortly after sunrise and start replaying the concert from a few days previous. The crowd really got into it when Garth Brooks was singing... I didn't think I was in a Garth Brooks type crowd to tell you the truth.. but it was fun and you could clearly tell that most everyone was still in good spirits and still excited about what the day had in store for us.
Maria and I were numb at this point... our toes and fingers were not doing so hot. And once your hands and feet get cold it's all downhill from there. We decide to take a walk on the side street and see about getting some coffee or hot chocolate as we still had a few hours to kill. For as many people that were there it was surprisingly spread out and easy to get from place to place. So walking in front of the National Air and Space Museum I spot some police horses coming my way. I snap a pic of them... then notice a small group walking behind... and I locked eyes with the tall guy in the middle and then realize that it's Samuel L. Jackson! Pretty cool celebrity sighting... by the time I take his pic knowing who he is he's already walked past. I'm not one to fawn all over celebs so I figure oh well... and we head back to our spot. Maria doesn't believe me at this point... and I'm a bit bummed I didn't get a good shot. Then about 10 mins later it dawns on me that I might have a pic of him afterall and I start looking on the camera and BAM! There he is, clear as day... "I have to show this to somebody" I tell Maria and turn around to the couple from California and show them to their shared excitement..... and Maria thought they wouldn't care... pffft.
So now the dignitaries and celebs are on the terrace of the capital and we can see them on the screens. People are getting excited and are naming off the people as they were recognized. And pretty soon some big wigs started pulling up in their motorcades. You could see the video of them driving down the street and had no idea of who they were until they got our of their limos. Most everyone was greeted to cheers (except Bush and Cheney got a fair amount of jeers.. not surprising in a group of Obama supporters).
Overall it was a tremendous experience and we had infinitely more fun than I imagined we would. To me is was mostly how cool everyone we met was... how we were all sort of in this thing way over our heads and were just along for the ride. I was glad to be there and glad that I can tell others that I was there to witness history. Even when I got back to work the next day... very openly anti-obama coworkers were very interested to hear my story from the day before. It is a day I will not soon forget.
So we layed out all of our layers of clothes... thermal underwear, sweatpants, jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve thin sweater, light jacket, heavy coat, 2 layers of ski gloves, ear warming band and a nice thick winter cap. Maria and I both stuffed every pocket we had with food, water & snacks... we were taking some cash with us but we figured the less we had to spend (and wait in hellacious lines) the better. Went to bed around 9pm and set the alarm for 2am (yes, really!)
2am came a little faster than we would have hoped, probably because neither of us got a decent 5 hour sleep and were a little restless. I can't say I was super excited... more nervous about the crowds and the amount of people and security we would be going through. But we got it into our heads early that we would be ready for the worst... the worst lines we have ever seen... the worst crowds we have ever seen.... the worst weather we have ever seen... etc....
Around 3am We headed on out the door and jumped in the car to drive to the nearest Metro station "New Carrolton". It was about a 30 minute drive away... with surprisingly little traffic, but lots of police pulling over tractor trailers... for whatever reason. We get to the Metro station with still very light traffic... but as we pull up we notice a pretty long line to park in the garage, so we shoot across the street and into the satellite parking. Lot was only about a quarter full, so we didn't feel to pressed about getting out of the car right away... but as we sat there watching cars and people stream in and out we figured we should get a move on and see if there is a line forming yet. It is now 4am.
We are in our first real crowd at this point... not a lot of people, but you can tell that we all have somewhere we are in a hurry to get to. We get into the station and start to head for the turnstiles when a security guard yells "end of the line".... oh, ok... so there is a line, no problem. So we follow the line down the hall... up the stairs... and up out into the rear parking lot. The line stretches out of sight over the curve of the long narrow parking lot. After a bit of wide-eyed "holy crap this is a lot of people already" we start to try to find the end of this line. We walk a good 5 minutes and finally get there... probably 1/2 mile long at least.
So we get in line and people are buzzing... everybody is talking, laughing... taking humor in the facial expressions of people walking by still in that wide-eyed "holy crap this is a long line" look on their face. I have the Canon Xti around my neck... and snap some shots of the line and Maria. The flash draws the attention of the couple in front of us, a couple from Connecticut who drove down just days before. We started talking cameras and we both were Canon fans so we hit it off pretty good. We had a pretty long conversation with them that made our wait in line go by fairly painlessly. We had been outside for about 45 minutes now... so far so good, still have warm toes and fingers!
So we get into the turnstile area and just fly through with our pre-purchased commemorative Obama metro tickets and up onto the platform. We wait about 5 minutes and jump on the first train that arrives... and after a few moments we notice the same couple we met in line a few seats back and continue our conversation. We also start talking with several other people around us... everybody has a story to tell, and everybody we met and conversed with were great. One lady sitting next to us was an Obama volunteer who gave us some insight into what her training was like and how she got the opportunity to help out. She was from South Carolina and wasn't too fond of the cold that morning.
So we get into downtown... the first major stop where most people got off the metro, Federal Triangle. That stop was packed! We pulled in and people were nearly pressed up against our subway car. Maria and I couldn't believe that people that it was a good idea to get off at this stop, but most everyone we were talking to either had tickets or had to get off there to help with their volunteer work. We stayed on the metro until the Foggy Bottom exit... well past the mall (about a mile), but we figured we wouldn't have any crowds to deal with or very many issues with secuirty. Plus it would give us a chance to hit up any coffee shops or doughnut places for a quick breakfast meal before it got crazy.
We didn't see much open at this point... it was about 5am now and we were in "walk towards the Washington Monument mode". The one mile walk went by pretty quickly and we were up to the back edge of the mall in no time. We started seeing our first waves of security and street closures... this whole end of town was shut down and there were national guard/military at nearly every street corner. As we started walking on the grass field surrounding the Washington monument we could look over and see the white house, and looked straight ahead to see the long line of Jumbo Trons and lights. The capital was well lit and decorated for today's upcoming festivities... it was quite a sight that sent chills up my spine (or maybe that was just the cold?).
It was a this point when you really started taking in the magnitude of what we were going to witness this day. Police lights flashing everywhere... military humvees and solders walking the streets at every turn, helicopters buzzing overhead. It was truly an electric scene that really was quite awe inspiring. This is a big f**king deal I said to myself....
We keep walking and pass all the news outfits.... CNN, MSNBC, FOX, local news people... people in crowds behind reporters acting like fools trying to get their ugly mugs on TV. We didn't see any places serving coffee or hot chocolate yet... so we figure we should just keep walking and see how close we can get. I figured before coming that the crowd would already be close to the Washington monument... but it wasn't even close yet. We got up pretty close, way closer than we expected... and stood there for a while. The constant streaming of people behind us filled in around us pretty quick, about an hour later you couldn't tell how far back the crowd was. So after standing there for a bit we were bored... and getting a bit chilly. A few people started sitting down or laying down to kill some time... it is about 6am now.
We kill time by talking.. shivering.. getting bumped into by others. At times the wait unil 10:30 seemed to drag on... but were had some cool people around us and eventually started visiting with those around us. Everyone we talked to or sat next to were so friendly and again, everybody had a story to tell. This older couple next to us was from northern Ohio.. and scoffed at how people were complaining about the cold.. saying that northern Ohio winters were much worse. He was also a Cleveland browns fan that was pretty bitter about the Ravens and thier success. The couple behind us was from San Diego California... and it was an understatement to say they were cold. I don't think they could function below 70 degrees as they lay there bundled up under some blankets shaking.
So the sun starts to rise and most people are sitting down now... people are getting pretty cold and a bit cranky about it. The jumbo trons come on shortly after sunrise and start replaying the concert from a few days previous. The crowd really got into it when Garth Brooks was singing... I didn't think I was in a Garth Brooks type crowd to tell you the truth.. but it was fun and you could clearly tell that most everyone was still in good spirits and still excited about what the day had in store for us.
Maria and I were numb at this point... our toes and fingers were not doing so hot. And once your hands and feet get cold it's all downhill from there. We decide to take a walk on the side street and see about getting some coffee or hot chocolate as we still had a few hours to kill. For as many people that were there it was surprisingly spread out and easy to get from place to place. So walking in front of the National Air and Space Museum I spot some police horses coming my way. I snap a pic of them... then notice a small group walking behind... and I locked eyes with the tall guy in the middle and then realize that it's Samuel L. Jackson! Pretty cool celebrity sighting... by the time I take his pic knowing who he is he's already walked past. I'm not one to fawn all over celebs so I figure oh well... and we head back to our spot. Maria doesn't believe me at this point... and I'm a bit bummed I didn't get a good shot. Then about 10 mins later it dawns on me that I might have a pic of him afterall and I start looking on the camera and BAM! There he is, clear as day... "I have to show this to somebody" I tell Maria and turn around to the couple from California and show them to their shared excitement..... and Maria thought they wouldn't care... pffft.
So now the dignitaries and celebs are on the terrace of the capital and we can see them on the screens. People are getting excited and are naming off the people as they were recognized. And pretty soon some big wigs started pulling up in their motorcades. You could see the video of them driving down the street and had no idea of who they were until they got our of their limos. Most everyone was greeted to cheers (except Bush and Cheney got a fair amount of jeers.. not surprising in a group of Obama supporters).
Overall it was a tremendous experience and we had infinitely more fun than I imagined we would. To me is was mostly how cool everyone we met was... how we were all sort of in this thing way over our heads and were just along for the ride. I was glad to be there and glad that I can tell others that I was there to witness history. Even when I got back to work the next day... very openly anti-obama coworkers were very interested to hear my story from the day before. It is a day I will not soon forget.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
We Survived....
We had a fantastic time at the Innaguration earlier today.... but I'm too tired at the moment to go into it tonight. I will leave you with a game. First correct guess wins my utmost respect (it's not that hard really).
Spot the celebrity in this photo. (click to enlarge)
Spot the celebrity in this photo. (click to enlarge)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Flip 'Em The Bird
3 out of the 4 teams left in the NFL Playoffs have a bird as their mascot.
Just realized that.... kinda weird.
Just realized that.... kinda weird.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
On a Mission
Maria and the kids are going out of town for the day so I can paint the living room unhindered. I of course will stop @ 4:30pm to watch the Ravens whip up on the Titans.
If anybody wants to get me a flacco or reed jersey go right ahead!
If anybody wants to get me a flacco or reed jersey go right ahead!
Monday, January 05, 2009
School Days
So today Holden was supposed to go back to school. He's at that age when he simply loves school and he was excited about his first day back after the holidays.
And then that little boys joy was crushed by AM Pre-K being cancelled due to an unfortunate case of DENSE FOG.
And then that little boys joy was crushed by AM Pre-K being cancelled due to an unfortunate case of DENSE FOG.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
New Year's Resolution
This will be the first January where I am actively going to the gym several times a week to workout. Not looking forward to the influx of people trying (many in vain) to fufill some sort of new years resolution and making me wait to use certain equipment.
Hopefully by the first week of February things will settle down.
Hopefully by the first week of February things will settle down.
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