Friday, May 27, 2005

off again

before disappearing to Poland for the next 10 days, I thought I'd leave you with a wonderful little piece of California:

.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

camera

I've been on a photo-taking hiatus...for unknown reasons....but no more. My camera will be busted out in force the moment I get home this afternoon. too much of life is being missed....not being captured in its color, its richness. (new/old Lu'au pix are on the photo site now)

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Food

I love lists. Ever see High Fidelity? (gotta love John Cusack) I'm always thinking about my next mix CD, and I have lists of music I want, music I love, music I have to make my friends hear, music I want to hear, etc. I think people like us (John Cusack and I) carry lists over into other parts of life....like...Here it is, my favorite restaurants (In no specific order). The food is definitely good here (atmosphere and who you're with helps too....)

-Pizza Nova, Harbor Drive, San Diego CA
-Huck's Waterside Cafe, Pascagoula MS
-Busara (Thai), Tysons Corner VA
-Yama (Japanese), Chain Bridge Rd, Vienna VA
-Grace's Fortune, Bowie MD
-Rivermill, Draper St, Blacksburg VA
-The Homeplace, Catawba VA
-Steamers, Chincoteague VA
-Squatters Seafood, Indian Beach NC
-Old Town Mexican Cafe, San Diego CA
-El Guadalupe's, Blacksburg VA
-Anthony's, Harbor Drive, San Diego CA
-Pot Belly's, Harbor Center, Annapolis MD (also in Crystal City VA)
-Burrito Brothers, Rte 7, Mclean VA
-Bottoms Up Pizza, Richmond VA

I'm sure I left something out.....but oh well. Ever wish instead of typing you could just plug the computer into your brain, and download it all? It would be so easy...I always have too many thoughts to make sense of, so it always gets so filtered down. I cant deal with more filtering this morning....

Monday, May 23, 2005

state update

In May: VA, MS, AL, NC, WV, CA, NV, DC and of course MD. I'll be honest, it feels weird to be home. SoCal stories on the way....

Sunday, May 22, 2005

blah

I like the word blah. it can really describe a whole lot, really fast. Anyway, I feel like being mysterious tonight, so I'm going to describe my recent thoughts with single words.....they could be sentences, but the one word pretty much covers it.........displaced, awed, concerned, unprepared, confused, denial, awake, scattered, concerned, resolve. Understand? eh....maybe. Dont you hate it when you dont really know what I'm trying to say? Well, enjoy life when it doesnt throw you curve balls.

time zones suck. time travel would rock. I want to quit my life and just drive..........and drive.......of course I'll be back in time for work. Because I'm dependable like that.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

third eye

I wasnt going to put anything up today....but here's a swing dancing story from a friend's site...that I thought was hilarious. enjoy:

**Spooky dance of the night:**This little chinese guy asked me to dance...As soon as we started dancing he said, "so your name is Amy"...I hadn't even told him. He proceeded to tell me he knew my name because his "third eye" told him. He said everyone has a third eye on their forehead that allows them to see deep within a person. As soon as he said it I put on my "spiritual armour" and he could not guess anything else about me. He seemed nice...but felt a little spiritual funkiness when he started talking 'bout the 3rd eye... He kept telling me he was incredibly rich...and he had 4 different jobs as his "main" job (meaning I think he was full of poo). He eventually asked me for my #... Didn't want to let him down, so I gave him A number...not my number....but A number.

Monday, May 16, 2005

I've got all my teeth

just went to my sisters graduation from West Virginia University...and from all the speakers I've come back with the following basic points:

1. West Virginia jokes arent funny anymore
2. West Virginia football beat Virginia Tech twice in the last 4 years (they cant let it go. Who won the ACC this year...I wonder?)
3. The West Virginia economy is going to knock the socks off the rest of the country in the next 2 years.
4. Everybody that's anybody was raised in a small coal-mining town.

I'm not kidding. This is what we were told....many times....

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Where were you...?

Okay, now that my brain has settled....think about how there are some things so ingrained in our memory, even if they didnt happen directly to us, we knew what we were doing at the very minute that they happened. It seems that every generation has one or two of those instances, where you can ask the question "where were you?" of anybody you come across, and they'll know exactly what they were doing. Here are some of the things that come to mind, spanning the last 60 years:

-Pearl Harbor is Attacked
-Cuban missle crisis (granted, it lasted longer, but unforgettable)
-Kennedy is shot
-The Challenger explodes
-9-11 Terrorist attacks
-Beltway sniper attacks

Notice they all have to do with tragic loss. The iron curtain fell in Europe, a good thing, but I'm a bit more fuzzy on what I was doing then. perhaps some people remember the Lunar Landing in the same light, but we certainly dont speak of the repercussions the same way. Totally different vibes are created. I know what I was doing when I learned of every single attack from the DC Sniper. I remember vividly. I remember the fear. the fear that had to be similar (though probably less intense) than that of the Cuban Missle Crisis. This last one on my list I grant is not as far reaching, and well known, but around DC it is.

The two that most influenced me would have to the be the Sniper and 9-11. In both cases we're confronted with a dark piece of information that something has gone drastically wrong, in a place dangerously close to our loved ones. The pentagon is attacked, federal buildings are evacuated, the city is a mess, another plane is coming in. Where is my father? Is he okay? Where will he be when this other plane comes in? Suddenly the fact that he works in FBI Headquarters isnt so exciting. Another shooting. This time in early morning at a PG county school while busses are unloading. Which school? Was it a teacher? Are they okay? Okay, so its not a teacher. So my mom is safe. But then I find the school is in my hometown. 3 hours before he struck I had driven past the very spot where the sniper supposedly made a "nest". According to the cops he was there then. waiting. creepy. very creepy.

Its amazing the imprint on our lives these evil people can make....

Bama

hmm...no massive cool pix today, I'm sifting through the debris floating in my head, figuring out whats good to talk about. traveling and then staying out late can cause a bit of a train wreck in your head if you're not careful (in case you didnt know). Anyway...just got back from a trip for work, and this trip has in so many ways re-ignited my desire to do well in my job. I wouldnt call it a passion (its not the same as the real passions I have), but more of a drive to do well. So for this month, here's the state list so far (I'm in VA almost every week anyway, so I dont know if that counts. Is DC a state yet?). States besides Maryland:

-Virginia
-West Virginia
-North Carolina
-Alabama
-Mississippi

I was only in Charlotte, NC during a layover, but that counts, right?. wow, I am tired. I double punctuated that last sentence on purpose. So of course I have lots of thoughts from sitting in a plane and stuff, but I'll save those for later. For now, check out this ship that I hung out around for a bit in Mobile. Its very impressive....wow, the things man has built...I mean this thing shot shells that weighed the same as VW beetles, and they had a range of 21 miles! It had devices that solved all sorts of algorithms....but not with computers....with little gears and dials and stuff. Mind-boggling craftsmanship.

www.ussalabama.com

Friday, May 06, 2005

schmooze

hey whats up? not much going on. I went with a friend to a DCBIA (District of Columbia Building Industry Association) awards dinner last night downtown. That was pretty cool, alot more fun than I expected. Mayor Tony Williams was there, and even Marion Barry. Cool food. Very elegant atmosphere, perfect for schmoozing and networking......

(yes, I have connections.....I hope I can get into more of these)

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Hasselhoff

BREAKING NEWS: David Hasselhoff has been named "International Star of the Year" in India. No Joke. Guess it just took a while for them to see how cool Knight Rider really is.

Even more amusing, awards were handed out at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ.

Fulfill your craving: http://www.davidhasselhoffonline.com/