Confession

In a little over a year, I will be taking [insert state here] bar exam. Which, is really just going to be... so awful. Like there is literally nothing pleasant about this time next year, and roughly the two months preceding it.

Which means that in a little more than a little over a year, I will, in theory anyway, have a real live legal job lined up, and will become a practicing attorney.

I find this fact pants-crappingly terrifying.

This is my confession. Incidentally, I just got off of Skype with an old high school friend of mine who is now in Mississippi of all places, and a large chunk of our conversation was a kind of collective disbelief that we are, in fact, adults. There are legitimate kids now, younger than us, and we are not them. We are old and, in my case, in a year will be fully independent, theoretically competent adults. Or at least we will expected to be. This is expected of me, who has only ever known childhood, adolescence, and youth.

I don't think I am dumb, and I know that I can probably handle it. It's more of a shock that it is actually happening. Growing up, that thing we call "adulthood" seemed so far off into the future, this kind of shadow thing that, even though you heard about it, and knew that conceptually, in the abstract, one day you would reach it, you never *actually* thought it was going to happen to you.

And then it does. Even in my "young adult" days, which was college until about now, I could put on the aires of responsibility, and had more freedom, but in the end, I could always play the "student" card. I was (and am, for a few more months, anyway) relatively insulated. You don't think about the time passing, at least I don't. And it passes quickly. And it happens so fast, it creeps up on you, you don't see it coming, so when it finally does happen, you wonder if you are really ready for it. You want "another five minutes" to get ready. But it has already happened, and the question is whether you can handle it.

Adults always seemed so... old, and together, and I always thought by the time I was an adult, I would have it all together, that the pieces would all be in place, and that I would know what to do. My parents, and any adults I knew, always seemed like that to me when I was a kid. And now I am starting to realize they were probably winging it as much as I am. And as anyone does. That realization, I think, is the real source of fear or dread or whatever. The knowledge that at some level, we are all throwing shit against the wall to see what sticks. But we are still to make something of that shit-flinging, and "not fuck up."

In the end, most people figure it out. I will too, I am sure. It's just so... sudden. To quote The Grateful Dead (or Jimmy Buffett, depending on what recording you are listening to), "woh oh/what I want to know/where does the time go?"

Life

Me

And because I referenced it in the blog, and it is relevant, and I like the song:

Uncle John's Band by The Grateful Dead. Alpine Valley Concert 1989

Good Boy

Got a bit of bad news today. My parents' dog --and my adopted dog when I am home visiting my parents-- is apparently really sick, and not in the getting-better kind of way. Apparently he'd been acting sick for about a week, and he'd stop eating and drinking, and that, coupled with the nature of whatever it is he has, means my parents are going to have to put him to sleep tomorrow :(. Even though he wasn't the dog I "grew up with," since my parents only got him a few years ago, while I was in college, I did a lot to take care of him when I was home, and he was a pretty righteous dog. Only dog I ever knew that actually chased his tail, and then would catch it.

It sucks to lose a pet, and I am sorry that I can't be there to say good-bye, as it were. I am glad that I was able to hang out and play with him when I was home in March. And that the boyfriend got to meet him. Anyway, there is not much to say about this. The fam only had him for a few years, but what years they were.

Peace out, Coco. You will be missed.

Coco, aka Kokomo. Aged 10 years

Sorry for the downer posts the last couple days. Will try to come up with something more cheery for the next installment.

Forever Young

Also known as "the depressing part of YouTube." I spend a lot of free time on YouTube, and eventually stumble onto things that are poignant. As probably everyone with an internet connection knows, the other day Glee actor Cory Monteith was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada. As of yet, no cause of death has been released. I am not a "Gleek," nor do I watch the show, really. But at 31, it is always sad when a promising young person suddenly passes away.

It reminded me of a bunch of videos I had found the other night on YouTube, tributes to stars over the last 100 or so years who died young -- often before reaching their 30th or 40th birthdays. The tragic part about it, is the "what ifs" and the unfulfilled potential. People who at a very young age had accomplished a lot, had burst on the scene in a flash of blinding light. What else would they have been capable of?

And yet, when I watch these videos, and read about these people, sometimes I wonder. I wonder, is it better to have your youthful star burn brightly into the night, even if that star of passion must quickly flame out? Or it is better to live a measured life, slowly waiting for time and age to find you, while you go about doing whatever it is you do? The people in these videos, in many ways lived more than most who make it to two, three, four times their age. And they are forever remembered as their star was burning, not after it had long burned out. If nothing else, they had interesting lives, which is more than most can say. The real trick is, have the interesting life longer, keep the star burning long after day has broken. But very few people, it seems, in that way, get to have their cake and eat it too. But perhaps this is all romanticism. No matter how long you live, what matters is the life in the years, not the years in the life. How we all forget.

Incidentally, these lists are why I will never do drugs. Also, "the 27 club" is as tragic as it is unsettling. So many iconic figures (particularly from the Boomer generation) died at 27.

In case you are in need of quiet reflection:

A tribute to young musicians lost

It's sad to realize that the silent era is all but a fading memory now

The "27 club"

Forever young

To close, I leave some thoughts from smarter people than myself on the subject:

"They that love beyond the world can never be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies." ~William Penn.

"Oh how wrong we were to think that immortality meant never dying." ~Gerard Way.

"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." ~Joan Borysenko.

Random Things about D.C.

I have been in the District now for almost two months (more than halfway done with my time here...wow). In that time, I have observed some things about the city and its inhabitants that are idiosyncratic. Every city does have their idiosyncrasies, but DC seems to have a lot, and a lot of "ticks" that are rather unique to it. Here is a list of some of the more prominent things I have noticed:

1. Charter schools. On my walks to and from work, and around the city generally, I tend to observe the scenery and world around me (sometimes at the expense of looking where I am going...whoops). I have noticed something strange: I haven't seen one "normal" public school. All of the non-private schools are some form of Charter school, which is really more like a quasi-private public school. I know that charter schools are becoming more of a (somewhat controversial) thing in cities --Chicago has several, whose ads are always gracing the insides of El cars-- but Chicago and most cities also still have their regular "neighborhood" public schools. In two months here, I have yet to see one regular public school. This is actually one of the first things I noticed when I got here. It's weird, and gets me wondering if DC is on some kind of program or policy where all of its public schools are now charter?

2. There are three types of people (well, professionals anyway) in DC: 1)lawyers, 2) consultants, or 3)consultants who want to become lawyers, and vice versa. Literally everyone I have run into in DC --whether coworkers, or people at "networking" events, or the time on the Metro I randomly ran into a girl I graduated high school, operates in one of those three categories. I guess there is also the odd doctor, because people get sick and need hospitals, but like everyone else is a lawyer or a consultant. Even people who are not actively practicing in those areas, have some kind of degree (JD for law, idk what for consulting) that is geared towards law or consulting. I guess this is not surprising, since DC's industry is government, and government is mostly lawyers, and what private sector there is, is geared toward supporting or catering to government. But I have never really been in a city with such a generally homogenous group of people.

Image courtesy of memegenerator

3. No one is from here. Kind of an addendum to the above, but very few people I have met are from DC, or even the immediate surrounding area. Again, this makes sense, because it is the nation's capital, where people come from all over the land under the federal government's jurisdiction to (in theory anyway) govern the country. In a lot of cities --particularly New York and Chicago-- you get a lot of people that were born, raised, and stayed in the city or immediate surrounding areas, and have never left. Or they left briefly and then came back. Of course DC is physically smaller and has fewer people than these cities, so it is natural that there would be fewer native DC-ites, but just how few there are is kind of surprising.

4. People here talk in code. Again because DC is ground zero for government business and (more to the point) bureaucracy, there are lots of departments of the government all over the city. There are also just a lot of agencies --public interest, NGOs, think tanks, etc. And much of the work that is done in DC, is codified in and carried out pursuant to federal statutes. What do all of these three things have in common? If you guessed, "You can essentially boil the names of those entities down to easy-sounding acronyms," you'd be right: FEC, FTC, CII, SEC, ACLU, FOIA. All important and prominent thins within the District, all will fun acronyms. And for the most part, people only refer to these things by their acronyms. But, for the uninitiated, it means they pretty much speak in code: when every noun in a sentence is some kind of acronym, the sentence has no meaning if you don't know the acronym. May as well be speaking ancient Greek. So yeah, that took some getting used to. I guess that is why they call DC "alphabet city."

Pretty much this

Movie Project, aka Operation No Boredom

So, I haven't done much in the last couple weeks. It has been ungodly hot and humid here (really, people, we built a city on a drained swamp why, exactly?), and when it gets into the 90s and humid, and stays in the 80s and 90s late into the night, there is exactly one thing I want to do: stay put in my AC'd room and watch TV. Since I don't have TV here, I have been watching movies on Netflix and Amazon. It started one night with an inexplicable urge to watch Ghostbusters II, mostly because I wanted to watch the Statute of Liberty walk through downtown New York City. It has kind of grown from there. Since I have been watching a lot, I figured I would comment on them here, since many are old favorites.

Note: I am choosing these movies purely for their fun entertainment factor. Many of them are not what you would consider "high cinematic art" --there is no Schindler's List here-- they are movies to beat the heat. So please don't judge me for my movie taste :). Also, SPOILERS. I am going to post a clip of, and comment on, each of these videos. It will undoubtedly have SPOILERS. So if you have not seen these movies, this is your SPOILERS warning. In order of viewing:

1. Ghostbusters II

Full disclosure: I loved the Ghostbusters movies growing up. They were a legitimate feature of my childhood. I haven't watched Ghostbusters II as much as I have watched the first one, but it is definitely something I have seen before. I loved the movies because of their paranormal bent, and the sharp witticisms and wisecracks that only Bill Murray, Dan Ackyroyd, and Harold Ramis can bring. Apparently II wasn't well received at the box office. I am not sure why: it is not as good as the first one, which was basically comedy genius, but sequels rarely are. But it still had solid performances by the cast, and enough of that goofiness from the first movie to make it solidly entertaining. Also, the Statute of Liberty walks through downtown New York City, blaring Jackie Wilson. Awesome? I think so.

2. Analyze This

Mob movie as comedy. Starring Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, is about a New York-area Mob boss (DeNiro, naturally), who has a personal crisis and starts seeing a square shrink (Crystal), so that he can once again be able to do the things that mobsters do. That is, whack people without crying about it. It was a thoroughly entertaining movie, and has some great gag scenes --such as the "hit a pillow" scene-- that play up the more ridiculous aspects of both the Mafia lifestyle, and psychotherapy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the movie was written by Harold Ramis.

3. Volcano

I wanted to watch a destruction movie, but I couldn't watch Independence Day yet (I'll get to that). So I chose Volcano, a movie from 1997 that asks, "what would happen if an active volcano emerged in downtown Los Angeles?" What happens is, a lot of people and things burning up, and the better part of Los Angeles getting covered in ash and lava (the native Northern Californian in me says: suck it, LA!). I hadn't seen the movie in several years, but it basically delivers what it promises: two hours of destruction and mayhem. So if that is what you are in the mood for, the movie does it pretty well. And while over-the-top, it does have strong performances, lead by Tommy Lee Jones (and a very young, pre-fame Don Cheadle, who I did not know was in the movie before I watched it this time). While definitely a "popcorn" flick, it (thankfully) doesn't stray too far into the melodrama and/or terrible acting trap that a lot of destruction movies get sucked into.

4. Deep Impact

Also known as the "other" apocalypse-by-huge-asteroid movie to come out the same year as Armageddon, this movie is about --you guessed it-- the peril Earth is put in when it is discovered that a huge asteroid is going to come crashing down and send us all into nuclear winter. Particularly since it came out around the same time as Armageddon, it is usually disfavorably compared to that movie. I can't decide if it is worse, better, or the same. Because while the premise is the same, they are very different movies. One, Deep Impact is much darker: (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) unlike in Armageddon, Earth isn't totally able to stop disaster. They are able to spare total extinction, but a part of the asteroid still hits Earth, and basically puts the entire east coast (and pretty much most of its inhabitants) under 1,000 feet of water. Also, Armageddon primarily focused on the oil workers sent up to blow up the asteroid, their training, and the salvation mission (and Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler). Deep Impact casts a slightly wider net: while it does tell the story of those sent to destroy the asteroid, it also focuses on other people who are involved in, and are effected by, the discovery of the asteroid. More than Armageddon, the focus seems to be on the way an "extinction-level event" would impact how we live what would be the last moments of our lives, and how it would effect the relationships with the people we care about. In that way, it is kind of interesting. Also, Morgan Freeman plays the president of the United States, because of course he does.

5. Sleepy Hollow

This movie is not that cartoon that we all grew up with. It's a bone fide horror movie. I love horror movies (not those crappy slasher movies, but things like The Shining or Amityville Horror). Starring Johnny Depp in a characteristically Johnny Depp-offbeat-creepy role in a creepy movie, the movie is really part horror and part Sherlock Holmes. It is 20 years after the American Revolution, and Johnny Depp (aka Ichabod Crane), a New York City police detective, is sent upstate to investigate the gruesome murders/decapitations of several prominent citizens of the town, Sleepy Hollow (which is actually a real place). He learns that the town citizens blame the murders on an evil spirit known as the headless horseman but Depp, a "modern man of the (almost) 19th century," is determined to use logic and science to discover what he believes to be the mortal murderer. So much of the movie is Depp following clues and piecing things together, all while the horseman keeps picking off victims. It was a really good mystery and horror movie, and it had me fooled: (SPOILER) like Depp's character, I assumed the supernatural horseman would be revealed, in the end, to be a mortal murderer, using superstition as a cover for his crimes. Nope, the horseman is definitely dead, and definitely an evil spirit. But, there is a mortal culprit behind the horseman's deeds. Depp leads a strong cast that includes Cristina Ricci and Michael Gambon (yes, Dumbledore). Also a brief cameo by Christopher Lee (yes, Saruman). I personally liked it because it combined three of my favorite movie genres: period, horror, and mystery.

6. Soylent Green

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! One of the most iconic movie lines from cinematic history. Starring Charleton Heston(fun fact: my grandmother starred opposite Charleton Heston in their high school play, (obviously) before he was famous), the now-familiar (and often cliched) movie tells of a dystopian future where there are too many people and not enough food to go around. So guess what they do to fix that? I have to admit, I am not usually a big fan of dystopian-future movies; particularly ones from the 70s give off kind of a weird (and dated) vibe, but it was worth it to finally see a movie that has become very ingrained in popular consciousness. It was an OK movie -- entertaining, a bit melodramatic, but ultimately not my favorite genre . It was interesting to see, as my dad would say, "what the future used to look like" -- that is, what people thought "the future" (which today would either be the present or the near future) was going to be like. Apparently, stylistically and in fashion, very much like the mod 60s and 70s. Obviously, they didn't get a lot right. One theme that was very prevalent in the movie was the effects of environmental degradation, particularly global warming, and how it exacerbates the dystopian human condition. This movie came out before environmentalism was "cool," and "going green" was mainstream, so I was curious whether or not it represented one of the earliest moves by Hollywood to get onboard with the whole "green" thing.

7. The Usual Suspects

Who is Keyser Soze? The Usual Suspects has become a modern classic and a cult hit, and for good reason. It is basically another detective/whodunit movie: After a boat blows up in a Southern California harbor, killing 23 people aboard, a federal detective from New York flies out and interviews Kevin Spacey, the only witness to survive the explosion, in order to figure out what went down. The story is very well put together, and leaves the viewer guessing --particularly in light of the ending-- what from the story is true, and what is fiction. Spacey does a great job as Victor Kint. I had seen the movie when I was younger, but I don't think I really "got" it; a lot went over my head. As far as crime mysteries go, this movie is really great. By now most people know the "big twist" --and I did going into it-- but honestly, I don't think it detracts too much from enjoying the film, because unlike a lot of movies that use the "big twist ending" device, the story leading up to and setting up the twist is compelling and well-done in and of itself. Like, it would be a good movie even without the twist ending. All the acting performances are strong, and it is just a very well put-togther film.

8. Independence Day

Independence Day. What is there to say? It is the megablockbuster alien invasion/destruction movie that really launched Will Smith into A-list stardom. For the five people who don't know the film, basically a hostile alien force descends on Earth, destroying its major cities, in the couple days leading up to July 4. Smith, along with Jeff Goldblum, are tasked with finding a way to fight back before all of humanity is wiped out. I really like the film: it has some good one-liners, has plenty of explosions and destructions, is a quasi-war movie, and features one of the better "inspirational" movie speeches (in my opinion) out there, right up with the "FREEEEDOMMMM!" speech given by Mel Gibson in Braveheart. A lot of people don't like the movie because they think it the plot, and how it is resolved, is ridiculous. And it is. But you know what? The movie is about rote entertainment: come in, watch, be entertained. Get lost in a movie for a couple hours. If the movie is compelling for other reasons, I don't need anything to make total, 100% logical sense. And for a movie that really is just about spectacle, some comedy, and aliens, it does its job well. I really like it for what it is. In fact, it kind of has become a mini tradition of mine to watch "ID4," as it has come to be called, on actual Independence Day (the final climatic battle between mankind and the aliens occurs on July 4).

9. Labyrinth

Holy 80s, Batman! I loved this movie growing up as a kid, and would regularly watch it when it popped up on TV. Last night, when I was feeling a bit under-the-weather, I decided to watch it in the spirit of, how much does a movie from your childhood change when you watch it as an adult. You know what I mean: references, insinuations, jokes, and plotlines that kind of went over your head as a kid, that you "get" seeing it as an adult, and it changes your understanding of the movie (for better or worse). Granted, it has literally been probably a decade or more since I last saw the movie, but at least from what I can remember, a surprising amount of the movie, was about the same as I remember it. A few minor details about why characters did things were more clear than I remember them being as a kid, but for the most part it was the same movie. So either the movie didn't have a lot for adults-only things to "get," I was an unusually perceptive child, or I mentally haven't progressed beyond that of a 10-year-old. There were a couple major differences that I noticed now, though: first, wow is this movies from the 80s. I mean it was --it was made in 1986-- but if a movie could encapsulate the over-the-top pop culture of the 80s, this is that movie. Hello, copious amounts of syth music! Secondly, awkward sexual tension. So David Bowie plays Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connolly plays Sarah, sent into the Labyrinth to find her baby brother, who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King (you had to be there). As she makes her way through the Labyrinth, Sarah has several run-ins with Jareth, before she ultimately reaches the castle where her baby bro is kept. And, at least on the part of Jareth, there is definitely an undertone of attraction and sexual tension towards Sarah. Which is cool... until you realize that Jareth/Bowie is like 30-something, and Sarah is supposed to be like 13. So, ew. I really liked the movie growing up; I can't say I like it as much after a more "mature" viewing, but it still held my attention, and is a good piece of fantasy moviemaking by the same guy that brought you the Muppets.

That's it for this addition of Operation No Boredom. I am sure there will be more movie viewings to come.

Back in D.C.

Well, I am back in DC. Have been since Friday evening. One reason I love the East Coast: It's like Europe -- in a few hours, you can be somewhere completely new, unlike in California (where I grew up), where five hours of driving in any one direction and... you're still in California. The Greyhound bus service is great for moving around the East Coast: cheap and easy. So I left Connecticut on Friday morning. Since I didn't really have a reason to rush back to DC, I decided to give myself a few hours in New York City (I had to make a connection there anyway to get the bus back to DC, so why not). I had hoped to meet up for lunch with some law school friends who are working as summer associates in NYC, but alas they have like, actual jobs right now, so they couldn't meet up. So it was just me.

I have to say, there is nothing quite like a day in the City to lift one's spirits. It was a perfect day, too: I got in around 11:00AM, and it was sunny out, slightly breezy, probably in the mid-70s and not humid. I inevitably ended up in Times Square again (because that is where the Port Authority bus terminal is and, let's face it, I always inevitably end up in Times Square when I am in New York, purposefully or not). Because, unless I am seeing theatre, Times Square is not my most favorite part of the city, I high-tailed it out, and walked north towards Central Park. I grabbed some lunch at a diner (it was "meh"), and then parked myself under the shade in Central Park, and proceeded to read my book. It was, in a word, delightful. I got to intermittently people-watch, which I always like to do in New York City. I would have liked to have walked around and explored more, but I was lugging a bunch of crap with me -- my heavy laptop case, my grocery bag of clothes, and my purse -- so walking around would have been both unpleasant and impractical. So I enjoyed the scenery and great weather instead. Central Park is like one of my favorite places in NYC anyway, so it was all good.

On my way to Central Park, I spotted The Soup Man, the restaurant that inspired the "no soup for you!" bit from Seinfeld

Central Park. How could you say "no" to this?

I love this town

New York City: always love to see you, always hate to have to leave you. I hope one day I can make it back, permanently.

Anyway, I am back in DC now. On Saturday, I went to a Washington Nationals game, against the Colorado Rockies. It was a sunny day, but holy hell was it hot. I had seats in the sun (naturally), so I even splurged and bought a Nationals baseball cap at the stadium so that my face wouldn't fry. Even then, about halfway through the game, I had to move into an empty seat in the shade, because I was starting to feel like I was getting heat sickness or something. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late, and while I didn't get heat stroke, the back of my neck and the tops of my shoulders got a bit cooked.

You know who else got cooked? The Nationals. I didn't get to the game until the top of the 3rd inning, and already the Rockies were up 3-0. Bad sign. The game ended up 7-1 Rockies; the Nationals only got their one home run in the 9th, and besides that, I can probably count on two hands the number of times a runner even got on base, through the whole game. It was kind of bad. The Nationals could neither hit, nor strike people out. The halves of innings where the Rockies were batting, probably lasted twice as long as the half of the inning where the Nationals were at bat. Too bad, so sad. Other than the heat and the outcome, though, it was fun to go to the game, and I am glad I went. You can do worse for $25.

Entering Nationals Park

Washington Nationals v. Colorado Rockies

Scoreboard. Not actually reflecting the sad state of the score of the game, however

In other news, I get to start my job tomorrow! Security finally came through. Won't be able to blog about the job, so this will be the last update on that front. But at least I can start, and this odyssey is over. Huzzah!

Escape from D.C.

On Tuesday of last week, I left D.C. The malaise and frustration of my job situation there (still not resolved) finally got to me, and I had to get out. Luckily, my boyfriend's family lives in Connecticut. Actually, it was my boyfriend's idea that I take time out from the District, as being there was driving me batty. His family very graciously let me crash with them. So I boarded a bus on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning I was in Connecticut.

Connecticut has been a much-needed break. I pretty much have hung out with his family, who have been very gracious; it has been really nice to be around people I know and like-- I had been kind of isolated in D.C. I even got to go to his cousin's high school graduation (which made me feel really old. One of the high school graduate speakers noted that in the year that the class of 2013 was born, The Lion King movie came out in theatres. Holy crap, I *remember* seeing The Lion King in theatres with my family. How am I that old. Also: high school kids look *young*. Growing up, they always looked older to me; now, they look like kids. Wow.). I also saw an interesting interpretation of the musical Cabaret at a local theatre in town. It was pretty good, but super intense. If you don't know the show is about, it basically chronicles the dying of the liberal, Weimar Republic in 1920s-Germany, and the rise of the Nazis, as told by characters who work at and are involved with a burlesque cabaret. It's already an intense show (the emcee character always freaked me out), but the show ended with a directors-choice tableau of a bunch of corpse-like figures in rags heading in lines into a door with hazy gas emanating from the opening. Yeah, it went there. It was a strong choice, but definitely not one required by the show. My thoughts at the end of the show were pretty much along the lines of, "well, that escalated quickly."

Below are some of my pictures from the ten days that I was here.

One day, one of my boyfriend's aunts took me and boyfriend's kid sister to the beach. I had actually never been to the beach on the East Coast (save for Coney Island in New York, but even then I went for the rides, and didn't go to the beach). It was pretty much a perfect beach day -- sunny, a slight breeze, and warm. The water was still pretty cold, though -- too cold to go in much more than to my knees. But that was refreshing. And despite putting on 70-proof sunblock on three times in as many hours, I got a little well done on my shoulders. This is what you get for being of Scandinavian extraction -- a people who see the sun for maybe three months out of the year, and aren't built for, well, sun. Also known as, I be white (well now, my shoulders and arms are more of a pink/red color. Not that I will get a tan out of the deal). But otherwise, it was a perfectly gorgeous day, and the beach was lovely.

Beach at Rocky Neck State Park beach in Connecticut

I love the beach. A perfect sunny day

The other favorite thing that I did while in Connecticut, I actually did today. There is a small community farm in my boyfriend's hometown, so this morning and early afternoon, I walked over to the farm to see the animals. Animals always make me happier and lift my spirits when I am frustrated and feeling down (as I have been due to my job situation), so I thought it would do me good to go hang out there for a while. I stayed about an hour, and even got to pet a bunny! I took several photos of the cute animals.

Ain't nobody here but us chickens

There was even a rooster

Sheep! The sheep were my favorite. I want a sheep

They even had a black sheep (actually, they had two)

Llama. Didn't realize they were so big

Derp.

Alpaca. Herp Derp.

For a goose, this one was surprisingly chill. Didn't mind that I got within a couple feet of it to take the picture. Didn't even move

A Turkey. Looks like he survived the holidays unscathed

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home...

Considering how calm and generally happy being around animals makes me, sometimes I think I missed my calling. Ah well, such is life, as they say.

Because I can't put off reality forever (nor can I mooch forever), tomorrow I head back to D.C. The bus route I am taking stops in New York City, so I am giving myself several hours to hang out in the city. New York City is always good for the soul, so I think having some time to hang out there will help me feel better about things. Man, I miss New York City...

Art and Law

This weekend, I actually did things. Things worth writing about. On Sunday, after meeting some people for lunch, I headed over to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, which is near George Washington University in Foggy Bottom (it is located at 2700 F Street NW). They have a program at the Kennedy Center called the Millennium Stage, which showcases short performances every day at 6:00PM (you can check here for their schedule of performances).

View of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts

The performance I happened to see on Sunday ended up being something right up my alley (I hadn't really checked ahead or anything). It was a wind ensemble called the Fairfax Wind Symphony, performing selections from musicals! Including my all-time favorite musical, Les Miserables. It was a very nice event, and I thoroughly enjoyed the music. It was interesting to see how they arranged the music, both in terms of turning songs written for full orchestras into something that could be played by just wind instruments, and in terms of creating the arrangements so one song kind of flowed into another (they grouped the songs by what musical they were from, and created arrangements so what they played was really one piece comprised of pieces of the songs).

On Monday (I know, not technically the weekend. But since I am not working, it is basically the same thing), I actually got up early, and managed to get over to the Supreme Court of the United States (herein SCOTUS), in hopes of getting in to see the Justices render some opinions from the bench (and since there are several opinions in the pipeline that would be landmark cases, to see history). Apparently, though, not everyone who goes gets in to see the show -- it depends on seating capacity in the courtroom, which varies day by day due to a number of factors. After just barely getting in, (I was the first person they did not allow in to the courtroom after waiving in members of the public from the line. Then, at the last minute, they had more seats open up, so myself and a few others got to go)I saw them issue two opinions. Unfortunately, I actually don't remember their names. Also, I did not take a picture of the SCOTUS building because they are apparently working on cleaning the exterior marble, and so instead of the usual impressive facade, all that is there is a scrim with a print of the front of the building on it. Not exactly picturesque.

I did manage to get a picture of the Chief Justice John Marshall statute inside, however

The first opinion found that federal prosecutors cannot retroactively increase a convicted prisoner's sentence based on the federal sentencing guidelines, as the Court found that this would amount to ex post facto application of law and punishment. 6-3 decision, with I believe Thomas, Scalia and Alito in dissent.

The second opinion had to do with raisin growers in California, the 5th Amendment, and some obscure agricultural statute from the New Deal era. From what I could gather, it sounds like the Court found that raisin growers can raise constitutional arguments to enforcement of terms of the statute in front of the agency in charge of enforcing the statute. Unanimous decision.

If you are interested in seeing the SCOTUS, check their court calendar for more information. Here is their calendar for the October 2013 term.

View of Congress from the Supreme Court building

After finishing at the SCOTUS, I went across the street to the Library of Congress, because it is an epic and gorgeous building, and took photos. They really do not "do" subtlety in DC, do they?

The Library of Congress

The gorgeous interior of mosaic epicness

Finally, I went down to Alexandria, VA, again, to pick up the painted pottery that I created a few weeks ago. Behold my epic masterpiece...

Ta-da!

Miniver Cheevy, Creepy Doctor Who Angels, and Me

I came across this poem online tonight; aside from not being an alcoholic, I can relate to the mentioned character's predicament (although I feel like the poet takes a somewhat dim view of Miniver Cheevy, from the tone of the poem). I was born in the wrong time. I don't relate well to modernity, many of my morals and sense of justice are rather anachronistic, and I would rather have been born in another time (in the past). Apparently this feeling is rather common -- many people feel like this, others feel they were born too soon (not getting to benefit from future technology). Some people into spiritual things maintain that it is old souls from previous lives being unable to let go. Who knows? All I know is, I am Miniver Cheevy.

Miniver Cheevy

By E.A. Robinson

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,

Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;

He wept that he was ever born,

And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old

When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;

The vision of a warrior bold

Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not,

And dreamed, and rested from his labors;

He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,

And Priam's neighbors.

Miniver mourned the ripe renown

That made so many a name so fragrant;

He mourned Romance, now on the town,

And Art, a vagrant.

Miniver loved the Medici,

Albeit he had never seen one;

He would have sinned incessantly

Could he have been one.

Miniver cursed the commonplace

And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;

He missed the mediæval grace

Of iron clothing.

Miniver scorned the gold he sought,

But sore annoyed was he without it;

Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,

And thought about it.

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,

Scratched his head and kept on thinking;

Miniver coughed, and called it fate,

And kept on drinking.

Another symptom of my wistfulness for the past, is my wish that the Creepy Doctor Who Angels were a real thing. The Angels are recurring characters on the reboot of the British TV series, Doctor Who. They are creatures who are invisible when they attack you, but can only attack if they are not seen. If they are seen, they freeze in place and look like normal (or sometimes really scary looking) stone statutes. But their form of attack is what interests me: when they touch you, you "die" in the present, but that is only because they send you to some place and time in the past to live out the remainder of your natural life. Most people I know find the Angels really scary or freaky. I find them awesome and often find myself wondering aloud whether the Angels would be amenable to bargaining over where they send their "victims." Because I would totally let them zap me back without a fight. Also, apparently they are called "weeping angels."

Weeping angel in attack mode. Still failing to see how falling victim to one of these would be a bad thing

Link Round-up: Nice Things

There seems to be a lot of negativity in the world these days, and a lot going around to make people feel down. From violence and turbulence, to a non-existant job market while the loans stack up, sometimes (or often) it can be difficult to keep a positive disposition. Often when I am feeling frustrated (which seems to be, for me anyway, the most prominent negative emotion to surface lately), I go online to try to find distraction, and something reaffirm my faith in the world. So I am instituting a new feature to the blog, that will pop up from time to time: Link Round-up. Link Round-up will be a collection of five links to "things" found around the internet, with a mostly-positive theme attached to them (things that are funny, things that are cray-cray, etc.). Tonight's round-up are things that are "nice," as in things that when I saw them, I went "hey, that's really cool/nice." Without further ado:

Nice Things

1. Finding out that my friend Kathryn was selected as poet of the month. She also has a blog, which you can check out here.

2. Brazil using superheroes to fight pediatric cancer.

3. Ten year old owning it on America's Got Talent.

4. Finland starting new mothers out on the right foot.

5. Separated pets being reunited with their owners after the Oklahoma tornado.

On Kangaroos and Happiness

My languishing while I wait to start work has engendered a bit of insomnia on my part (not so much insomnia, more like I have nothing to wake up for, so I wake up later and thus go to bed later. It is a vicious cycle). So I have taken to YouTube as part of my late-night hanging out.

Last night I found myself on YouTube, watching a two-part, very good BBC documentary (side note: BBC always has consistently quality programming. Like seriously, why do they get Doctor Who and we get Keeping Up with the Kardashians? There is more quality programming on two BBC channels than the whole of American television. But I digress) about this hardcore, rugged Australian man who cares for and rehabilitates orphaned kangaroos at his sanctuary in the middle-of-no where outback. The two-part series was entitled Kangaroo Dundee, and aired on BBC a couple months ago, apparently. The man, Chris Barnes, lives in a literal shack (no electricity, a glorified Bunsen burner as his stove) on his land, where he cares for "'roos" for a living. Ever since the show aired, the guy has been getting thousands of dollars worth of donations, plus ten marriage proposals from random British women (and it is not hard to see why: six feet, seven inches tall, pretty attractive, rugged Australian man with a cool accent. Plus he tenderly cares for cute baby 'roos for a living, and is totally --and adorably-- devoted to them. It's like the perfect chick-attracting formula). The show was endearing to watch, sometimes made you laugh, sometimes cry. But it was just so heartwarming to see someone give his all to help helpless creatures, and to see the kind of happiness such a simple living caring for these animals brought to this man.

Which brings me to my main point: I have noticed something in watching a lot of animal videos and animal mini-documentaries on YouTube (did I mention I have a lot of time to kill right now). Namely, it seems like the people that work with these animals, which often entails giving up a lot of the "creature comforts" that those of us living in modern society have come to expect, seem to be a lot happier and a lot more fulfilled in what they are doing than the people who stay in the hubs of modern society, and pursue jobs and careers that allow them to try to keep up with all the "creature comforts" of that aforementioned society. "Kangaroo Dundee" doesn't have an easy life: he lives alone in the outback (a place, as Cracked.com likes to remind us, whose pass time seems to be devising ways to kill us), battling the elements (mostly for his 'roos, not himself), and has basically forgone most of what makes modern living "easy" (and hygienic). And yet watching the documentary, I could tell that he has found a peace and a satisfaction in his life that is very rarely seen. He seems to be "living" a lot more than a lot of people. I wonder that, in eschewing a traditional modern life, and in devoting himself to these animals, he has discovered something that all of us stuck in the endless cycles of job-bills-money-relationships-commitments-"having things" --the "treadmill" that you often hear modern society compared to-- are missing. And maybe can never have while we run the treadmill. Perhaps there is something to be said for the "simple life." Perhaps we really don't need all of this "stuff" -- and all of the things we are told we need to do to obtain said "stuff" -- that we are told we need.

I am not stupid. I know that I have been fully acclimated to the pace and standards of the modern Western society. I would probably freak out at not having electricity or a real stove. But then I remember being a kid -- and I mean a young kid, prior to middle school -- I always liked going out into the wilderness, or playing in the creek beds in the hills near my childhood home. Mud and dirt and all of that didn't bother me as much, and I think I was more tolerant of less-nice conditions. Over time, that became less and less true. I imagine this might be true for a lot of people. I wonder if, in this transformation as we grow up and adaptation to modern expectations, we don't lose something. I think most people would give an arm or a leg to be as contented as the guy in the Kangaroo Dundee documentary appears to be. May we all be as happy and fulfilled as Kangaroo Dundee.

Also, you should visit his website, and if you have the means, totally donate to his cause. Because, adorable kangaroos.

Book Review: The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear

Still not working, I have spent a lot of my down time reading. Before leaving for DC I packed a recent acquisition with me, The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. I had seen it in a used bookstore in Berkeley, CA, but the store was cash only and I had no cash on me. So i made a mental note of the book, and bought it online. Given the large amount of free time I have, even though it is roughly 700 pages, I have finished it.

As a side-note, reading for pleasure is such a welcome change. I don't know how long it has been since I have really read for pleasure, either due to time constraints or "reading burnout" from 90% of my out-of-class work being reading material. It is really nice to just read a great story. So I am grateful to this book for letting me rediscover the simple pleasure of just reading a story.

The Review:

The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear is a novel written by German author Walter Moers. If I had to describe the book in one word, it would be: delightful. This novel is essentially a children's story for adults. I imagine that children would like it as well, but it also should appeal to any adults who still retain child-like wonder at a good story.

My copy of The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear

Part fantasy, part adventure story, the novel tells the tale of Bluebear, a blue bear who lives on the mythical continent of Zamonia. It tells the story of the first half of his life -- or rather, the first 13.5 of his 27 lives as a Bluebear (as all Bluebears have 27 lives). A "life" in the story is essentially a chapter in the novel, each chapter describing a distinct time, in a distinct place, where Bluebear got into a distinct adventure. The reader follows Bluebear as he goes through all of these stages of the first 13.5 periods in his life, from adventure to adventure.

This is not a profound novel in the way that something by an author like Kafka or Cormac McCarthy is "profound." It does not to aspire to pretensions of being the next great work of literature. But in its own unassuming way, it is, because the author gives over completely to a world of uninhibited imagination. And he is able to do so through compelling storytelling such that the reader cares about the characters, even though they are wacky and fantastical, such as the blob-like alien Gelatine Prince Qwerty from the 2364th dimension. I have read a lot of books and novels and short stories; I tend to be kind of an at-arms-length reader, so I often don't get personally invested in (or react to) the characters any more than a standard reader would in order to enjoy the story. That being said, in all those stories and books, I have rarely had such a palpable dislike or outright hostility towards a character, than I had towards one of the main villains in the novel, a equally fantastical and not-at-all-real Trogolotroll. I think that the fact that the author can elicit such emotion and response from readers to characters who, by their basic external descriptions, are patently absurd, is a testament to the compelling strength and effectiveness of Moers' storytelling, plot and character development. The novel succeeds because while it maintains an almost childlike creativity in putting the world of Zamonia to paper, it manages to realistically convey experiences and emotional responses to those experiences that the adult reader would recognize from our own world. As a law student who spends her days in the mire of the very real reality of everyday life, of always looking at the world through the lens of the completely logical and sound, escaping to this world of gleeful non-logic and zaniness, was a welcome and much-needed break. As a law student or lawyer, you sometimes get moments where you can be creative (think of defenses like "the Twinkie defense"), but don't often get moments where you can imagine. I thank this book for allowing me to do so.

Other reviewers of the book (on Amazon.com) have said that the novel is stylistically and structurally similar to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and that if the reader enjoys Hitcherhiker's, he or she will enjoy Bluebear. Having never read Hitchhiker's, I cannot attest to the validity of this statement. But, I can say that if you are an adult who enjoys stories that celebrate imagination, that give over to the fun of storytelling, while all the while retaining something fundamentally and recognizably "human" in the experiences it relates, then you will enjoy this novel.

The novel is, as I said, a bit over 700 pages, but is actually a pretty quick read. The language is not complicated, and it is quick-paced. It is also interspersed with equally delightful illustrations of the characters and Zamonian landscape, which cuts down on the actual word-length of the novel.

Example of Moers' whimsical illustrations. From page 276

Overall, I would give the book 8.5/10.

Memorial Day Weekend

I have been super lazy about posting this week, so for that I apologize. Today's post relates to last weekend, actually. Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, which if you couldn't guess, is kind of a big deal. So I decided that, if I was going to do touristy things, like see monuments, I might as well do it on the weekend when the monuments are going to be going all out -- decorations, commemorations, etc. The following will be a chronicle of what I did and saw that weekend, mostly in picture form with some commentary.

Saturday:

On Saturday during the day, I did the monument tour. Having looked up "things to do in DC on Memorial Day weekend, I found that a lot of the war memorials would be decorated with special memorial ribbons and flowers, and that at the memorials for wars for which there are still living veterans (read: WWII, Korea, Vietnam), there would be little ceremonies. So I walked around. I managed to catch the tail-end of the WWII Memorial's service for those KIA and the few (now very old-- hard to think that the "greatest generation," and WWII are so on their way out, and in a few years very few will be left) veterans who were in attendance. I was fortunate to catch the national anthem singing and flag-unfurling. Here are some of the pictures from the various memorials:

Memorial gathering at the WWII Memorial on the National Mall

Example of the memorial flowers that were being laid at all the war memorials. I wonder who paid for/sponsored these individual flower bouquets, and how

WWI Memorial in the distance

Memorial wreath set in the WWI Memorial. I have always felt kind of bad for the WWI Memorial/veterans. Compared to the epicness and pomp and circumstance given to the other war memorials, it always feels kind of lonely and forgotten. I guess it makes sense, since the other war memorials commemorate wars in which people still living fought, and WWI for us Americans was not as much a colossal part of our history as it is in say, Europe, but it still always struck me as a little forlorn and sad. I guess that is what happens when there is no one left around to advocate so much for its remembrance

Entering this Korean War Memorial, I saw that someone had set this picture of (who I assume is/was) a Korean War veterans, from French-speaking Canada (I always forget that, more than say Vietnam, Korea was a U.N. effort. I guess that explains why the U.N. logo is all over the memorial, and the names of pretty much every major western power, plus a few from Asia). From the picture: "Gerald Ferlotte. 1928-2009. Royal 22nd Regiment of Canada. Tu nous manque Papa [We miss you Papa. French speaking skills for the win]."

Korean War Memorial with memorial flowers and wreaths laid about

Memorial wreath commissioned/paid/sent (?) by a group of South Koreans in thanks for our veterans' and KIA's efforts in ensuring that South Korea =/= North Korea today. The wreath reads: "We remember you forever. With [? Word is partially obscured] people of the Republic of Korea. Presented by Class of 1963, College of Commerce, Seoul National University." Unfortunately, I cannot read Korean so I do not know what the script in Korean says

View of the line at the Vietnam War Memorial. For all its length, it moved pretty quickly

Memorial wreaths sponsored and laid by various Vietnam veterans groups

So apparently every Memorial Day Weekend for like the last 20 or something years, something called "Rolling Thunder" happens. I had read about it online, that "Rolling Thunder" was going to sponsor a bunch of events in the District over the weekend, but I didn't pay much attention to what it is Rolling Thunder is or does. This last weekend, I found out who they are and what they do.

This

Apparently, "Rolling Thunder" is a group of Vietnam-era veterans (and their spouses/allies) who also happen to be massive, Harley-Davidson-type bikers. Specifically, it is a biker club for Vietnam veterans and friends, whose mission it is, is to raise awareness of and pressure politicians/the military on the issue of military troops who are still POWs and MIA, and whose cases have not been resolved/bodies not been recovered, etc. So every Memorial Day Weekend, they host a huge (and I mean huge) biker rally in DC, to bring awareness to the POW/MIA cause, and to remember those who served in and/or were killed in Vietnam (and by extension, other wars generally, although their focus seems to be Vietnam). You can learn more about their group and what they do on their website. So basically, for the weekend, DC was taken over by hundreds of aging, Vietnam veteran, leather-clad biker dudes, often with long hair. I did not know that the aging patriotic biker veteran was a demographic, but by the showing in DC, apparently it is. The whole of Constitution Avenue (the street that runs along the north edge of the National Mall) from about the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial was just strewn with hundreds of motorcycles. I have not seen so much black leather all in one place before, complete with very "'Merica"-type patches, a smattering of Jesus-y patches, and several "Jane Fonda is a traitorous bitch" patches (to be fair, if what I have read about some of the things she did in her more radical youth are true, then I can't really disagree with that assessment. Since Vietnam and all that craziness was well before my time, however, all I know is hearsay and what I hear on the internet, so I will reserve judgment as to the validity of these statements). It was definitely a glimpse into a different world.

Sunday:

Sunday I did not do much during the day; the big event was the annual Memorial Day concert on the Capitol lawn, which was an evening event put on by PBS. I like outdoor concerts, and the lineup (of both singers and hosts) had sufficient "name-recognition" appeal, that I thought, "hey why not?" The gates opened at 5:00PM, and the event started at 8:00PM. So, starting about about 3:30, I hung around the reflecting pool of the Capitol, waiting for the gates to open. I figured that if I did that, I could keep an eye on the line area, and get in line when it started to form, to ensure a good seat, since it was open grass seating. The highlight of waiting for the gate to open/to get in line, was seeing a Mama duck herd her 8 little ducklings all along the reflecting pool. It was kind of adorable, so see the poor put-upon Mama duck try to keep everyone together. They as a group made a lap around the reflecting pool, all the while getting much attention from the patrons milling around. I did not take a picture because I did not want to scare the baby ducklings, but trust me when I say that it was adorable.

The concert itself was very good, and surprisingly moving. It was basically about honoring fallen soldiers and veterans who have served. Interspersed with thematic music (one song of which was "Bring Him Home" from the musical Les Miserables, sung by the guy currently playing Jean Valjean on Broadway. It was a fitting piece for the part of the event honoring current military personnel, and it didn't hurt that it is one of my favorite songs from my favorite musical. And he nailed it.) were little vignettes that told soldiers' stories. One particularly poignant story involved an Afghanistan veteran's battle with PTSD after his tour, and ultimately his succumbing to the depression. The man's widow and children were in attendance, and I must admit I even got a little misty. Same for a vignette honoring Charles Durning, a well-known Hollywood actor who passed away this last year. Apparently prior to Hollywood, he served in WWII, and was quite decorated, having being with the first landing party on Omaha Beach at D-Day, as well as having liberated a concentration camp. Apparently in the past he had been a speaker at the concert, so they played video clips of past years where he described his experiences at D-Day and liberating the camp. He described in pretty stark detail, so it was definitely humbling and saddening to hear. I was also really happy to see that they specifically called some Korean War veterans on stage for recognition. For a long time, Korea was the "forgotten war," shoved between WWII and Vietnam, so veterans from Korea often didn't get as much recognition, attention or help as veterans from those other wars. It is nice to see them finally getting their due. As he does every year, Gary Sinise acted as co-host of the concert. Ever since playing Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, I guess he has really gotten into the cause of wounded veterans, and does a lot of charitable work for them, including playing for them through his Lt. Dan Band. The concert is one of the things he is really involved with. Gary Sinise is a class act, both as an actor and a person.

Here are some pictures of the concert, which admittedly could be better. Unfortunately, while I had a good seat, we were still pretty far back as they had a separate section for veterans and family right in front of the stage (as it should be).

Walking to the event at Capitol Hill, I caught a glimpse of the "Rolling Thunder" ride that the group does around the Mall, which apparently happened on Sunday

View of the Capitol from the reflecting pool

It was a full house, all the way back to and up the steps of the Capitol

Concert stage just prior to start

Gary Sinise and his co-host, Joe Mantegna

American Idol winner Candice Glover singing the national anthem

Jessica Sanchez, from Glee also performed

Colin Powell also spoke. I couldn't get a good shot of him, so here he his on the jumbotron

Actor Ed Harris also gave a good speech at the event

Korean War veterans being honored at the concert (they are in blue coats)

Capitol and crowd, a-washed in light during the concert

In all, it was a really good concert, full of talented singers (and the National Symphony Orchestra on accompaniment). It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go, so I am glad I went. The weather that day was mid-70s, totally clear skies, and low humidity, so you pretty much could not have asked for a more perfect concert-going day. I think the concert, even though some may think it a little hokey because of the hardcore patriotism, was a great event, and the highlight of my weekend (and stay here thus far). It was also what my dad would call a "cross-cultural experience," given that the event was a haven for, shall we say, the type of people that one does not often find in the "blue" cities and states in which I have lived. But I guess it takes all kinds.

Monday:

Monday, which was actual Memorial Day, I went to the DC Memorial Day parade. I didn't take any pictures because I was kind of in a bad spot, plus people's heads were all in the way. So while I was able to see, it was not a situation conducive to good pictures, and I think I was a little burned out by trying to get good shots while jostling between peoples' heads at the concert. Basically, the parade was your pretty standard parade: a lot of high school marching bands from around the country, playing a smattering of contemporary and patriotic music. I always wonder how the bands get selected to play, because you could definitely see a range, both in terms of geography, but also in terms of the demographics of the bands and their respective ability to pay for flashy (or not) instruments and costumes. But generally speaking, for high school bands, they were pretty good. Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna were present as well, in a float as honorary grand marshals. In between the bands, they had people dressed up representing pretty much every war the Americans have fought (Revolutionary,1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, our current wars), plus specialized groups representing different veteran groups or time periods (veteran groups for Japanese WWII veterans, Philippine veterans, Native American veterans; plus things like the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution), some boy scout troops, etc. It was a little awkward when it got to the Civil War, since it was a civil war, so all veterans of that war were technically American, so they had people dressing up as and people in affinity groups for both the North and the South. But, history is history, and it takes two sides to tango. But it is always a little strange (given where I am from) to see people flying flags with the stars and bars.

Mostly, I enjoyed the parade. There were a few people around me who were, for lack of a better term, assholes; I won't get into it, but people need to a) mind their own business and b) be respectful of those around them (by that I mean, don't scream babbling, incoherent, annoying nonsense into the ears of those around you). Which several people were not. I would have enjoyed the event more but for those assholes, but I tried not to let it ruin my experience. Note to world: don't be assholes.

That pretty much sums up Memorial Day Weekend 2013, highlight of DC 2013 so far. I still haven't been cleared to work, so I have just been kind of hanging out. Hopefully that will end soon.

Grand Army of the Republic (Civil War/Union side) memorial near Archives metro, with memorial flowers