i've probably written in the past about the little things in life that i love, but i'm not sure i made it any kind of formal post. figured i'd start a new somewhat recurring series of posts about some of the esoteric things that bring me joy.
i love convenience stores. much of the appeal is derived from my love of road trips, which are always punctuated with frequent stops at gas stations and thus the convenience stores they often have. i love scratch and win lottery tickets (more on that in another "things i love" post), packaged processed food, and coffee- all staples of the convenience store. i love the classless atmosphere of the convenience store- guys in beamers and suits waiting in line for their coffee behind hardened women buying marlboro lights and mexican day laborers buying iced tea by the half gallon. i love the fact that you can see all these things whether it's three in the afternoon or three in the morning.
next time you stop for gas, see if you can appreciate the inner beauty of the quickie mart. it's america in a 600 square foot fluorescent-lit room (that smells like hot dogs).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
they're the people that you meet, when you're walkin' down the street...
a story from the holidays that i never got around to posting...
we (the 5 of us) joined fellow stags stacey and irish and their kids in NYC just after christmas to do the holiday city thing. met at 30 rock, saw the tree, walked up 5th to see the windows and made our way to FAO schwartz. cut across 59th from there to columbus circle to make our way back down broadway, walking along the park side of 59th street. (those unfamiliar with NYC- disregard that paragraph, as it adds absolutely nothing to the story other than the setting.)
we were across from the NYAC when a few black suburbans pulled up to the curb right next to us. a few guys get out to stop the westbound traffic on 59th so that someone from the car could get to the NYAC across the street. stacey and erin stood around watching to see who would get out, while irish and i marched forward with the kids. we walked back to ask what they were doing, and erin replied "watching some middle-age woman waiting to cross the street"- right at about the same time that stacey realized that the woman was hillary clinton. stacey clapped and gave a little cheer, and senator clinton came right over to her and erin and engaged them in conversation.
the guys and kids made it back to them in time to have the kids at least say hello and wish the new secretary of state well. i realize that while she wasn't campaigning she's still a politician, but she was nothing but pleasant, genuine and friendly. let's hope her meetings with heads of state are as enjoyable for her as this was for us.
we (the 5 of us) joined fellow stags stacey and irish and their kids in NYC just after christmas to do the holiday city thing. met at 30 rock, saw the tree, walked up 5th to see the windows and made our way to FAO schwartz. cut across 59th from there to columbus circle to make our way back down broadway, walking along the park side of 59th street. (those unfamiliar with NYC- disregard that paragraph, as it adds absolutely nothing to the story other than the setting.)
we were across from the NYAC when a few black suburbans pulled up to the curb right next to us. a few guys get out to stop the westbound traffic on 59th so that someone from the car could get to the NYAC across the street. stacey and erin stood around watching to see who would get out, while irish and i marched forward with the kids. we walked back to ask what they were doing, and erin replied "watching some middle-age woman waiting to cross the street"- right at about the same time that stacey realized that the woman was hillary clinton. stacey clapped and gave a little cheer, and senator clinton came right over to her and erin and engaged them in conversation.
the guys and kids made it back to them in time to have the kids at least say hello and wish the new secretary of state well. i realize that while she wasn't campaigning she's still a politician, but she was nothing but pleasant, genuine and friendly. let's hope her meetings with heads of state are as enjoyable for her as this was for us.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
a new beginning
put aside your political ideology- today is a day to identify yourself only as an american. as with any new endeavor, the only way to succeed is to begin with the belief that we will. if you believe in the merits of intercessory prayer, then take a few minutes today to ask for God's grace on our new president and the country as a whole. if you don't believe in prayer, then at least wish president obama well.
then, republican or democrat, god-fearing or godless, pledge to do your part to correct this mess and get this country headed the right way again.
then, republican or democrat, god-fearing or godless, pledge to do your part to correct this mess and get this country headed the right way again.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
can't wait until he's in a group of his peers
if you happen to check on the official finkipedia blogs, you might notice that delegate steve's blog now redirects to a new site: steve shannon for attorney general. steve's been in the virginia house of delegates for a while now, and is trying to take his platform of support for the police and victim's rights to the office of the attorney general for the commonwealth.
check out the site and support him with your good wishes and even a few sheckels if you so choose. i'd love to be able to blog about steve meeting his colleagues from other states, if for no other reason than to use use one of my all-time favorite pluralizations.
check out the site and support him with your good wishes and even a few sheckels if you so choose. i'd love to be able to blog about steve meeting his colleagues from other states, if for no other reason than to use use one of my all-time favorite pluralizations.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
liberal media? you decide.
as you know if you've been reading along, i voted for barack obama, and truly believe that he can make a difference. but i'll be the first to admit that in a broad sense, the media treated him with kid gloves and gave the mccain/palin ticket a much shorter leash on most issues. this of course won't stop now that the election is over- i'm sure we'll find that issues that arise during this presidency will be presented in an entirely different light than during the last.
case and point: just read that obama's nominee for treasury secretary, timothy geithner, has been found to have made some tax mistakes and had some issues with an immigrant housekeeper. nominees have been railroaded for both these issues in the past, yet the articles from wsj.com and washingtonpost.com both seem already to give geithner the benefit of the doubt. it may very well be true that these were honest mistakes, but both the journal and the post (especially the post in this blog post here) seem ready to sweep this under the rug so as not to disrupt the coronation next week.
case and point: just read that obama's nominee for treasury secretary, timothy geithner, has been found to have made some tax mistakes and had some issues with an immigrant housekeeper. nominees have been railroaded for both these issues in the past, yet the articles from wsj.com and washingtonpost.com both seem already to give geithner the benefit of the doubt. it may very well be true that these were honest mistakes, but both the journal and the post (especially the post in this blog post here) seem ready to sweep this under the rug so as not to disrupt the coronation next week.
Monday, January 5, 2009
only XXVII days to go!
christmas and new year's festivites are over with, which can only mean one thing: time to get started planning finkbowl. creeping up fast- less than 4 weeks away, if you can believe it. preparations include: scouring the cookbooks for fun new recipes, paying for everything in large bills and asking for singles as change, and brainstorming for this year's saturday night contest (think i've got a good one this time).
and here's the official announcement of something i leaked to some of you over the past few months- super sunday this year will include the inaugural finkbowl 5K, to be run on sunday morning at 10AM. there'll be a 1 mi fun run and a full 5K, with prizes to the winners. i'm planning on designing some t-shirts too, hopefully will have them available for purchase at cafepress soon.
may be a bit ambitious for the morning after a finkbowl eve celebration, but i think it will be a fun way to bring a little fitness (not to mention yet another competitive event) to a great gathering. now get out there, get in shape, and show us what you've got.
and here's the official announcement of something i leaked to some of you over the past few months- super sunday this year will include the inaugural finkbowl 5K, to be run on sunday morning at 10AM. there'll be a 1 mi fun run and a full 5K, with prizes to the winners. i'm planning on designing some t-shirts too, hopefully will have them available for purchase at cafepress soon.
may be a bit ambitious for the morning after a finkbowl eve celebration, but i think it will be a fun way to bring a little fitness (not to mention yet another competitive event) to a great gathering. now get out there, get in shape, and show us what you've got.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
happy new year
winding down the christmas break. all the decorations are down, house is back to "normal" (whatever that term means), and the christmas music is gone from finkipedia.
should get back to a more normal schedule of posting here over the next week or two. some great stories from the break that, as erin likes to say, are "blog-able". hope to get the time to jot them down here.
should get back to a more normal schedule of posting here over the next week or two. some great stories from the break that, as erin likes to say, are "blog-able". hope to get the time to jot them down here.
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