Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Moving at the speed of life

This morning we set up in the marathon finisher village area, which coincidentally was also right near mile one on the course. I got to watch the runners come by today, which didn't happen so much in Chicago since we were swamped giving out free stuff for our grassroots efforts there.



Nate and his mom ran the marathon, and they finished in just under four hours, which is great considering he's coming off of a stress fracture and hasn't run more than a half marathon in several months.

I also appreciate that when the marines do something, they go all out. Take for instance road closures. Where any other race would have put up fencing, cones, and barriers, the Marines used school buses, police cars, and armored FBI trucks to block roadways.



We had a successful day and a very successful weekend in general with new records for data capture, lots of ice baths, and good numbers all around. The finish area was packed today, but many of the people there were simply waiting for a metro train.



Almost everyone in this picture is waiting to get on the metro. The wait was likely for the better part of an hour (if not more) just to get down into the station. I'm glad we had a two block walk back to the hotel.

After wrapping up at the finish line area, Molly and I hopped a metro train (it wasn't so packed at this point) to go see Perry and Megan and their new 1 month old, Parker. On the way, our conversation ended up, among other things, on the sense of time this job brings with it. I have done ten times more in the last four months than in any other four month period of my life, yet it's flown by. I don't know where the time has gone, yet event one or two events ago feel like they were months in the past. Overall, I think it's a really good thing. While at the end of the tour it will feel like it was over very quickly, I've certainly been busy enough to not feel like half a year of my life has disappeared. Anything but, really.

Perry and Megan are doing well, and are surviving the chaotic schedule that comes with a newborn. We went for some Mexican for dinner and enjoyed catching up and sharing some laughs.

Speaking of nothing in particular, I figured an update was in store for anyone who is confused as to how I've been typing the letter J recently. Well, the key is gone, but the little rubber pad is now back in place and can still be pushed down to record a keystroke.



I wonder which key will go next.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Endorphin High

The last two days have mostly been consumed with working the expo, but today was my afternoon off so I decided to go for a long run as part of my training for whatever half-marathon I can run during the remainder of the tour (likely San Antonio). I set off expecting some rain, but I ended up facing a torrential downpour for nearly 4 miles, and hard rain for much of the rest of the run. I found out what it's like to run with lead weights for shoes. Given the rain, wind, and extra water weight, I felt great and was really happy with the run. I ended up doing about 12.8 miles in an hour and fourty five minutes, with an average pace of just over eight minutes. Compared to how I felt after running the half in Philadelphia, I feel great today. A little sore, but I've definitely come a ways from running that half untrained. I ran miles 7-9 at a pace just over 7:00 per mile, and I feel like that should be manageable for a half marathon if I continue training in the meantime.



During the run while getting pounded by rain and spray from passing cars, I experienced what many runners would refer to as the runner's high. As I was soaked to the bone running through 6 in deep puddles, I felt completely happy and at peace with the world. The endorphins kept kicking in for a few hours after the run, and I was feeling rather bubbly as I rode the metro back to the expo and perhaps a bit too energized when I got back to help break down our booth, as the coworkers were a little more worn down than I was.

Lyndsay stared off into space...



While Molly dozed against the wall tops.



At least we get to sleep in tomorrow! Instead of getting up at 4AM as normal, we'll be able to get up around 5:30 and walk two blocks from our hotel to set up our tents. That will be a welcome change.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

WARNING: Tons of pictures!

Today I started off the day by hopping the Metro over to the national mall area. First I checked out the Smithsonian sculpture garden. One sculpture I saw last time I was in DC but had to check out again is this one:



It's designed so that it appears to be a 3 dimensional house no matter what angle you look at it from. It moves as you do. Artwork such as this is really great.

And then there is artwork consisting of random cubes of metal stacked oddly...



I feel like I could have come up with that. If I make a sculpture of wooden spheres stacked on each other can I get it put in the Smithsonian sculpture gallery too?

My favorite part of the sculptures was actually watching the elementary schoolers on a field trip where their assignment appeared to be to draw what they saw, but throwing gravel and asking if they could climb on the pyramid occupied much of their time.



Next up I headed into the National Museum of Natural History.



I chilled with the dinosaurs for a while. T-Rex is looking toothy as always.



Most people are creeped out by the thought of big dinosaurs eating them, but to me, it's all the little guys that I don't like. Seriously, if you have a T-rex chasing you it's obvious you're in trouble, but if you have a bunch of these little guys sneaking up on you -



You can expect to be nibbled to death. It's like in movies with robots where the big evil robots always have little tiny helper robots that don't just kill you outright - they torture you while killing you by methods such as mini-saw blades, electrical shocks, mini-rockets, etc. (think back to the Transformers movie last summer, crappy as it was).

While living with dinosaurs may not have worked out so well in the survival category, the ice age may not have been much better. This dude doesn't look like he would have been very friendly.



And wouldn't it be awesome to live in a coral reef? It's a party under the sea!



A lot better than chilling with this guy in the depths of the ocean.



One of the more important (if not obvious) principles I live by...



Though I suppose there are many ways that could be interpreted. I just try not to be the prey that manages to fall on a tree right in front of the predator (don't tell me it actually hauled that thing up into a tree).



Look at this guy! He's managed to evolve to the point where he has a trunk built into the side of his shell for storing... stuff. And to get access to his spare tire!



Completely unrelated to the animals, I also saw the Hope Diamond. You know it's some serious bling when the camera can't even capture the diamond because it shines too brightly.



Also of note - I'm pretty sure I was the only guy in the room. Oh, girls and their diamonds. And they all wanted to know how much it was worth.



Girl: "I wonder how much it's worth!"
Guard: "It's priceless. Too valuable to put a price on."
Girl: "Yeah, but, it's gotta be worth you know, a ton of money!"
Guard: "Priceless."
Girl: "I'll marry you if you turn the other way while I steal it!"
Guard: "Not like I don't get that a hundred times a day."

Next up I headed to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Disclaimer: If you're not an art person, you may as well skip the next section.

One of their main galleries at the moment is works of Georgia O'Keeffe contrasted with photography of Ansel Adams. Here's O'Keeffe's "Manhattan"



And here is George Washington as partly painted by Gilbert Stuart. He didn't finish it (nor the matching portrait of Martha) which actually makes the two paintings more famous. Also of note, this is the painting that the Washington head on the dollar bill is modeled after.



Another interesting gallery was of Herblock's various political cartoons featuring presidents. I thought this one of the economy going to Hell in a handbasket was very fitting for the times.



Another gallery, titled "Ballyhoo!: Posters as Portraiture" was pretty much what it sounds like. It featured various posters (some older, some newer) as portraits.



This is the first time I've ever seen Lance Armstrong's signature in person.



I still don't get modernism.



A custom Steinway & Sons piano commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt.



Finally, an interesting work of contemporary art. This one features outlines of all 50 states in neon light tubing, and in each state TVs of various sizes replay footage of historical events and cultural aspects each state is known for. This one gave me a bit of deja vu, as I'm 99% sure I've never been here before, yet it seemed oddly familiar.



After exploring the two museums, I met up with Nate and Molly for lunch at... wait for it...



After lunch (The Steakhouse - romaine, cherry tomatoes, grilled onions, steak, and blue cheese dressing), we headed to the national archives. Nate's main motivation was to relive more parts of National Treasure after our Philadephia experience, but I mainly wanted to see the important documents and revive memories of visiting the archives back in 1997.



The Declaration of Independence hasn't fared particularly well, but "In Congress" is still fairly legible, as is the remnants of John Hancock's signature.



The constitution is doing much better, and is still readable for the most part.



Then we had to go to the expo. When we got there, we found WMDs!



Guys were running around in full camo gear with gas masks. I just can't believe they actually made the signs.

The expo is at the DC Armory, which is basically an old gym.



Nike's presence is nothing compared to Chicago. Brooks is the title sponsor for this one. I didn't really notice the creepy mannikin staring at the camera until just now.



And finally, the booth across from us had a massive number employees. They had probably 10 people working at a 10'x10' booth, which meant at least 6-7 were in front of the booth at any given moment. As a result, there was no way to really get to the booth or figure out what the booth was for unless you looked at their t-shirts.



Thirty pictures later, you've made it! Congrats.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Playing with Light

Tonight Stephen and I wandered back towards the same walk I took last night in search of a cache and because Stephen wanted to see the Marine Corps Memorial. It's a much more serene place when there aren't busloads of people milling around (I was completely on my own last night).



Stephen took a picture of me taking a picture of him with the Carillon. It was interestingly timed, as Stephen would appear to be a Borg trying to assimilate me and bring me back to his cube-like thing. (I can't believe I just referenced Star Trek.)



The highlight of the walk was the interesting lighting. We started messing around seeing what these magical lights could do.



The black lines weren't visible to the naked eye.



Stephen the sorcerer - or picture taker, depending on the context.



This one is just plain bizarre. I somehow caused my camera phone's light sensor to freak out.



After that walk I parted with Stephen and went the other way through Rosslyn. I saw a car get pulled over by a cop, only the driver's idea of pulling over seemed to be stopping in the middle of the road. That's never a good way to get a cop on your side.



I passed Ood Video... they need to rebrand anyway. Ood has a bit of a ring to it.



Did someone lose some money? Anybody? Just, you know, a little tiny bit of change. No big deal. If you drop the B after the number, it's only $24!

Trodden

You remember a while back I posted pictures of Ferarris and other expensive cars parking out front of hotels? It doesn't have quite the same draw to upscale customers that, say, parking the Crocs truck out front does. I mean come on, this just says "people with money stay here," doesn't it?



That said, having the desk clerk tell us we could park the trucks in the hotel driveway for our stay was pretty great.

In other news, we have been in DC 24 hours and have already eaten at Chop't twice more - last night for dinner and today for lunch. I want to figure out who owns that company and tell them to franchise it like there's no tomorrow. It wouldn't work in every market, but it would certainly be a popular place in a lot more areas than just New York City and DC.



Last night I went for a walk from our hotel over towards Arlington cemerety, which is less than a mile away. The cemetery is truly overwhelming during the day, but at night in the dark and quiet it's kind of a surreal place to be.

On my walk I also stumbed upon the what I now know is the Carillion. Last night I simply saw this odd-looking tower with dim lighting.



The Carillion was a gift from the Netherlands in the 1950s to pretty much symbolize that they think we're great and want to be buddies. It hold 50 large bells in the top that are tuned to four octaves of the chromatic scale plus two extra notes, and it can be played. Apparently it plays pre-recorded tunes at noon and six each day, but there are also live concerts from time to time in the summer.

I also saw the Marine Corps War Memorial. I had always thought it was simply called the Iwo Jima Memorial, but it has the name because it represents all the different wars Marines have fought in. It's fitting that the finish line for Sunday's marathon will be right next to the memorial.



This time around we're staying in Rosslyn right near where we stayed at the Palomar hotel last time we were through. It's a good area to be. walking distance from the Metro that takes you right into DC, as well as walking distance to Georgetown and Chop't. It also seems to have the tallest buildings in the DC area (remember the building height regulation within DC itself.



Today we set up for the expo in the morning. This went rather seamlessly and we were done by noon. Nate and I went for a 5 mile run (and then ate Chop't) and now I'm sitting in the room updating the blog after just having had a conference call.