This is how we roll

[Photos: "the curtain"- seperates the riff raff in economy class from the rest of us; Lisa enjoying the fine bouquet of a crisp chardonnay while lounging in her roomy bucket seat]

We took a quick trip out to Los Angeles to see my sister this weekend. The connecting flight from Pheonix to DC was overbooked. Surprisingly instead of getting bumped off, we got bumped up into 1st class. We're usually the shmucks developing deep vein thromboses in the economy class. We were like fish out of water in 1st class. "The wine's free? In that case, just leave the bottle..." We did our best to pretend to be hot s**t as people filed past us to get to their seats in the back. Once the stewardess snapped the curtain shut to keep out the riff raff, our hedonistic journey home began. Roomy bucket seats, real wineglasses, dinner on china, attentive stewardesses... I can get used to this.

Memorial Day

Today, we pay our respects to the American soldiers who have given their lives in defending our country. We can only hope our current leaders, who's decisions affect the lives of so many in our military and their families, would never put these soldiers at risk without absolute justification to do so.

Natural History Museum

Lisa had an early morning meeting at work and they put her up at a hotel near metro center. We used this opportunity to spend a couple of hours viewing the bones and various creatures holed up at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We got separated by a few hundred million years when Lisa lingered in the Paleozoic while I evolved forward through the Pleistocene. A quick cell phone call brought us back together in a place where large mammals ad just started populating the earth.

Running with the MCRRC

I managed to roll out of bed at 730am this past Sunday to meet up with the Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC) at Ken-Gar Park in Kensington, MD. Although I plan to run in their Experienced Marathoners Training Program which begins in July, I thought it would be worth coming out to meet some of the other runners who get together every weekend to put in long runs. I jogged down to the park which is a mile from our house for a warm up. Another MCRRC training program, the First Timer's Marathon (FTM) Training Program was already in full swing. There were probably a good 50-60 runners at the park when I arrived. The runners divided up into pace groups based on their current level of fitness ("there's a place for every pace" is the FTM's motto. I joined up with a pace group of 6 other runners, where we averaged 7:50 miles for 10 miles. Our actual pace was around 8 min miles for most of the run, but an enthusiastic 6:25 final mile skewed things towards the faster side.

Ken, one of the runner's in my pace group happened to have a cooler full of beer left over from a party the previous day, that he broke out to share with the other runners (unsanctioned by the MBRCC of course) so I hydrated myself with a Corona, met many of the others who had gotten this beautiful spring morning off to an early start, and jogged home.

All before 10 a.m.

Garden Flowers

This was the first spring that we spent in our new house in Kensington. The couple that sold it to us were pretty good in the garden, and left us with some really amazing flowering plants. Lisa has started planting a few herself. I'm pretty clueless as to what many of these flowers are, but Lisa can name most of them. Click here to see a sampling of the colors we've enjoyed so far this spring.

DC Barbies

A circulating email that I received this weekend. Not sure who claims ownership, but it's pretty funny.


Reston Barbie:
This princess Barbie is sold only at The Reston Town Center. She comes with an assortment of Coach Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a longhaired foreign dog named Honey, and a "cookie cutter" $2,000,000.00 house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with "augmented" version.

Springfield Barbie:
This modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Windstar Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full time occupation or secondary education. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

Prince George's County Barbie:
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Pontiac with dark tinted windows and a crack pipe. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills). U nless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

Great Falls Barbie:
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and Scioto Country Club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

Fredericksburg Barbie:
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams, Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a Confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

Herndon Barbie:
This collagen injected, rhinoplastic Barbie wears a leopard print o utfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available.

West Virginia Barbie:
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of another Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

Falls Church Barbie:
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, archless feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her "Willow." She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Clintonville Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

SouthEast D.C. Barbie:
This Barbie now comes w ith a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangster Ken and his '79 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

Dupont Circle Barbie/Ken:
This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple "snap-on" parts.

Arlington Barbie:
This doll comes equipped with happy hour schedule and north face fleece. Her seemingly Republican day outfit turns into a tight pair of seven jeans and a sluttly top in the evening (but the pearl earrings stay in of course). She comes with an overpriced condo and flashy car that she never drives since the metro is a block away. Graduated Frat Boy Ken is sold separately but comes with a pair of new balance shoes, a hat from the college he graduated from, and a polo shirt with a collar you can flip up or down.

Ashburn Barbie:
No employment of any kind, various credit cards all paid off by workaholic Ken. Ashburn Barbie has 2 children who attend day care even though she doesn't work, so she can shop all day or hang out at Starbuck's with her friends. Includes BMW and a $1 million house, which was bought with an "interest only" mortgage.

Happy Mother's Day

to a few mothers I met in Tanzania this past February, and to the mothers of Lisa's and my families.

Kitchen Remodeling Part 2: Santa Cecilia Arrives

Two weeks ago we had our kitchen countertop demolished in order to prepare for installation of a new granite countertop. We roughed it going without a kitchen sink, dishwasher, and range during this time. It actually makes you realize how pathetically dependent we have become on the creature comforts that living in a developed society affords us. Also, why would anyone want to drop hard earned American pesos on a slab of rock that will simply be used to chop vegetables and support a toaster and coffee maker? Lisa and I justified it, to ourselves at least, by saying that if we are going to invest in anything, it may as well be upgrading our house. The DC housing market, bubble or no bubble, is still a good bet for your money.

It finally arrived: 600 lbs of Santa Cecilia granite, cut from a quarry in Brazil yesterday... an ornamental rock in a kitchen in Kensignton, MD today.

The three guys who installed it were late due to a previous job that went longer than expected. They arrived after 4pm and literally worked straight til 10pm. They didn't stop once for bathroom breaks, and barely paused to drink some Coke/water that I offered them. Unfortunately because our kitchen was out of commission, I didn't have any food to give them, so they worked straight through dinner. There were many times they actually RAN to their truck to get supples, om prder to try to be more efficient. In the end, they did an absolutely fantastic job. Oh yeah, they happen to all be hispanic. All I can say is that if you show up with that kind of work ethic, I don't care if you are American or non-American, legal or illegal, you have my business.

Endangered species

Couples without kids are the endangered species of the thirty-something set. For the twenty-something individual, this distinction goes towards living life as a bachelor/ette. You just moved out of your parents house/got a job/degree and are just getting ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor in the most selfish and hedonistic fashion. You suddenly look up and realize the landscape around you has changed. Your single friends have all somehow paired up and disappeared in search of the green pasteurs of matrimonious bliss. You find yourself a single homo erectus in a world of married homo sapiens.

On that note, here's a picture of a beaming Kara and a somewhat relieved looking Rick taken right after his marriage proposal was accepted in front of Kensington Palace in London.

There's an epidemic, and it's not avian flu

No she's not ours, but it does seem that once you hit your mid thirties, the peer pressure to put one of these guys in the oven increases exponentially, if you haven't done so already. Babies are everywhere amongst our friends these days.

This is the first portrait of Sandy's (Lisa's cousin in Pittsburgh) and Kurt's lovely little lady, to be named later. It's baby #2 for these guys... IN LESS THAN A YEAR. They gotta be taking steroids.

Admire me...admiring myself

Cos I'm a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk
I shake my little touche on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my cat too sexy for my cat
Poor pussy poor pussy cat
I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my love
Love's going to leave me

Wheeling Flower Shop

Lisa's father, Rod McGonigal, purchased and successfully ran the Wheeling Flower Shop for over 50 years in downtown historic Wheeling WV. Last year, he retired and sold the business to Lisa's brother Al and his wife Brenda. Brenda's putting in the muscle while Al helps her out on weekends. We were glad that the business stayed in the family after all the effort Mr. McGonigal put into it.

More photos can be found on my photosite at 2006 May: Wheeling WV; Katie's Communion

Katie's First Communion

Lisa and I took a quick jaunt to Wheeling, WV to see our niece Katie's first communion. Katie and the rest of the kids were all pretty darn cute.

More photos are published on my photosite under 2006 May: Wheeling WV; Katie's Communion. Before the mass started, I wasn't sure if whipping out a 10 inch white Canon telephoto lens would be appropriate. This concern quickly disappeared when it became evident that the parent paparazzi was out in force.

Although the trip was brief, Lisa and I were both glad we were able to make it.

(Photo above: Mrs. McGonigal, Buttercups, and Lisa on the way to see Katie's first communion)
(Photos below: Katie and more Katie at St. Alphonsus)

39* 02' 37.33'N; 77* 04' 22.03"W; 323 ft above sea level

[Photos: above, view from one mile above our house; below, less than 1/4 mile]

These are the coordinates to our house in Kensington, MD, it case anyone feels the need to drop a smart bomb down our chimney. The altitude refers to the highest point of the roof... so in order to really nail this one, you should key in coordinates approximately 15 feet lower.

I realize that Google Earth has been out for a while now, but the Mac version debuted only recently. I don't know if this is the coolest thing I've ever seen... or one of the scariest.

Contemplation at the Reflecting Pool