I have never like politics, but I have voted in every major election I've been eligible for. One vote probably doesn't make a difference, but I always feel like it is one right that I have that I should exercise. In both of the presidential elections I voted in previously, my candidate lost.

The New Job
On Wednesday, October 29, 2008, I started in my new position at Georgetown as the Manager of Information Systems and Technology Contracts. So far it has gone fairly well, at least as far as I can tell. As with any job, there is a certain learning curve involved, so I've had to ask quite a few questions. Once I get the basic procedures down. though, I can start working on making it my own. I already have a couple ideas that I think would help the processes out a little bit. I just want to make sure I'm comfortable with everything before I start messing with any existing processes. One thing that I am really happy about with this position is the fact that I'll get to telecommute once a week. I've been looking for a position that offered that for a while now, and finally have it. I've decided to telecommute on Mondays, but won't be starting that until around Thanksgiving - when I should be more comfortable with everything that I'm doing.

Halloween 2008

Halloween
I haven't gone out to do anything for Halloween in quite a few years. This year, since I would be going out by myself meant that I was going to attend a few parties that I'd been invited to. So, the first stop on the evening was to a party hosted by a few guys I play softball with. The picture you see here is a shot of all the guys who were at the party who played for our softball team (the Money $hot$) during the summer and fall leagues. (As a side note, after the team finished 0-18-0 in the summer league, we finished 9-8-1 in the fall league). Anyway, it was quite a good time, as with the number of people who attended, they ended up going through three kegs by midnight.

I'm the guy in the blue and yellow face paint. My shirt said "Go Ceiling" on the front, and "Ceiling is Number 1" on the back. What was I? A ceiling fan. A little humor for you there.

I ended up not making it to the second party ("by accident"). When I got back to Shirlington I got a call from a friend who lives in my building and I met his wife and him at Bungalow for another hour and a half. After shutting the bar down (and playing some pool), we went back to the club room for a little while. I ended up being up until a little after 4 AM - the latest I'd been up in a few years.

All in all, a great Halloween.

Fitness
I've been fairly dedicated to my workout routine for the past two months. This weekend marked the fact that I've been on a weight training program for an entire month. I have noticed that it has gotten easier to get my butt downstairs to work out the more I've been doing this. Based on the exercises I've been doing (as well as the cardio I do nearly every day), I can definitely see results. I've lost about 25 pounds since June, and I can see a change from the weight lifting, which is what I really wanted. They say if you can continue to do something for 60 days, it becomes habit. If I can get through November and keep this up that whole time, I should see some fairly significant changes. I've already seen about 15% increases in the weight I can lift.

Travel
In the next two months, I'll be traveling to a few places. Over Thanksgiving, I'll be returning to Michigan again. I'm actually hoping they see some snow on Thanksgiving again, because I rarely get to see any measurable amount here in DC. I'm planning on driving up, and may go to Canada as well for a day or two. In December, my mom is taking us to Disney World. She took me for my law school graduation, and she's going to be taking everyone again as Tom will be graduating from PA school next summer - but this was the best time to go, as over the summer it was likely both Tom and his girlfriend would not be able to go. I'm sure it will be quite a bit different than the last time I went to Disney, but I'm really looking forward to it. We're going December 20-24, which unfortunately means I'll be flying back in to DC on Christmas eve, and won't be spending the actual holiday with my family. I might go up for New Years and Tom's birthday, but haven't decided yet. It all depens on the financial situation.

So, that's the story for the last couple of weeks. I'll try to update again soon with some more thoughts....

For the first time in about 20 years I have found myself seriously considering hanging up the skates, and leaving hockey behind. I have always enjoyed the sport (though not always the management that went along with the various teams I've been a part of), but lately it has lost its lustre. Maybe it has to do with the team losing more than I thought we would, but I've never wanted to quit just based on losing. More likely than that is probably the feeling that I can't play at the same level I could 4-5 years ago, during what I consider to be my prime playing years.

Alumni Weekend '08
This past weekend was the annual University of Richmond Ice Hockey Alumni weekend. I have now been back for all three times this event has been held. It is amazing to me that I last played for UR in 2004 - time sure flies. Anyway, it was certainly a weekend of memories (good and bad), debaucery, and some hockey. I took some pictures and plan on a blog entry specifically about this sometime this weekend.

Shirlington Village Oktoberfest Nerfed
Every year Capital City Brewing Co. celebrates Oktoberfest by inviting a number of breweries to Shirlington for beer sampling. This has been a great event, and was probably my favorite event in Shirlington (mainly because I couldn't care less about the Theatre stuff). It used to be that for $25 you got unlimited tastings - and with 42 breweries with multiple beers, that was a necessity. But thanks to complaints of teetotalers and generally grumpy people, the Virginia ABC has stepped in and nerfed the event. Now you are only allowed 10 drink tickets in the small sampler glasses - about 1/4 of a pint glass. That means you get about 2.5 beers for $20 (the new price). So, it's kinda not worth it anymore. It's a shame, because this was a great event.

Norovirus Outbreak at Georgetown
So, almost 200 students became sick at Georgetown this week after eating at the dining hall (aka Leo's). They closed down the dining hall for a couple of days while they were searching for the cause, and totally disinfected the building. My initial thought was "Wow, I'm glad I don't work on Main Campus anymore!" They later discovered that it was norovirus, a virus that is transmitted through faecally contaminated food. Really I'm not all that suprised it happened, given that a load of crap (literally) sat on the floor of the 3rd floor of St. Mary's Hall right in front of the elevator for about 5-6 hours a couple weeks ago. I'm not saying the two incidents are related, but.... At least now we at GU will be in a cleaner state of mind!

Vice Presidential Debate
I'm not a political person - in fact politics just tend to make me angry - but I did watch a large portion of the VP debate. I hadn't been planning on it, but it was on the TV on the treadmill I was working out on in the gym, so I decided to watch it. I consider myself still an undecided voter. I don't particularily want another Republican, but I'm not in favor of the Democrats policy of big government. I'm also dubious that either McCain or Obama can actually bring about any positive change. That being said, I don't understand how people are saying that debate was a tie. I thought Palin looked lost for a large portion of the debate, constantly losing her place in her notecards. I think she looked flustered many times, almost like a deer in the headlights. (Not to mention she sounds like a Canadian - and do you really want someone like that in office?) Biden seemed much more intelligent, but kind of like a whiner. All in all, I thought it was mostly a he-said-she-said battle of who did what, and not a whole lot of actual talk about the issues and platforms.

That's about it for now. There have been some other interesting developments this week, and I hope to have another post about those sometime soon.

I actually held off writing a blog entry on this for a few days because I wanted it to sink in to myself before I told everyone else about it (though if you Facebook, you probably already knew)...

On Wednesday, I heard from my friend Frank (who runs the fantastic blog The Soft Lounge), about a trivia night that he would be hosting in a part of the city that I had not been to. It turns out that the trivia would be own on U Street at a place called Solly's U Street Tavern. I haven't participated in team trivia in a long time, and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I headed down to the bar. It turns out that the trivia nights are used as a fundraiser for various philanthropic goals. The night that I went, it was to benefit the fight against Luekemia.

Anyway, I heard about the trivia night a little late (the night before), and I tried to round up some friends and/or co-workers who would be interested in attending. Unfortunately, I had no luck with rounding up anyone, so I headed down by myself. At least I would know Frank, even though he was the MC of the event.

So, when I arrived, I filled out a team card, for a team of one - since I didn't know anyone there. (I was the "Fight or Flights"). Anyway, I was fully prepared to have to take on the trivia questions b myself, but luckily, Frank had a few other friends who showed up for the event a little later on. So, I ended up teaming up with Frank's friends. We didn't do great, but we weren't terrible, either. I think we finished in the middle of the 10 teams. All the while we enjoyed some cheap food and Yuengling lagers. There were, however, way too many football and Bill Murray questions. I'm pretty sure it was the latest I've stayed up on a Wednesday in a couple of years.

Anyway, it was a load of fun - and I've really needed to have some fun lately. I will definitely be going back, hopefully with a few more people next time. Anyway, if you are in DC on the first or third Wednesday of the month, stop by Sully's around 8pm for trivia. Frank's a great host, and you will have a great time.

(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment

This weekend. to enjoy the unseasonable 82-degree early August weather, we decided to enjoy a longer hike that would put us in the sun for a large portion of the hike. So, we decided to head out to the Manassas National Battlefield Park. We ended up hiking about 10 miles of trails on the day, which took us approximately four hours.

I'm heading back to my parent's house for a week vacation between June 28 and July 6. Of course I'll be staying at my parents house, and I assume they want to see me and spend time with me (seeing as how they are my parents and all), but there is so much else to do. I think it was easier when I was in law school, and most people were still centrally located.

I took my father's truck out for a drive on Sunday, before I left to return to my now-home, DC. It occurred to me just how much it had changed around there in the 7 years I have been gone. (Wow, seven - that's a long time!) Anyway, while some things felt familiar, most looked drastically different. It was almost surreal, in a way. Even then places where I spent a large amount of time - the old house, Lakeland Arena, and Lakeland High School - have changed so much in the time I've been away, that it doesn't feel right anymore. Of course, it could just be that it really isn't home for me anymore.

I do intend to move back to my home state someday. Of course, it is easy to say that myself, but I have a wife to think about now, and potentially children in the future. Who knows what will happen in the next several years?

I think the thing that bothers me most when I go back is the feeling that I've lost touch with my roots. I grew up in a neighborhood, but it was still fairly rural. I spent my summers with nature either in Michigan, or at my parents farm in Canada. I still love nature (and dislike the crush of people that you get in the city), so being reintroduced to that environment sort of tugs at me.

Of course, I have responsibilities and friends here, too. I mean, I left for one game, and my hockey team loses 9-2. Ouch. Blame me, I guess.

First of all, while the mortgage brokers clearly have some of the responsiblity for the large amount of forclosures, so do the people who actually agreed to these things. I'm sorry, but people need to take responsibility for their own (stupid) actions. If I break the law and get caught, I need to take responsibility. If I take out a stupid loan for a house that has horrible terms, I need to take responsibility for that. I know it is harder now to declare bankruptcy, but these people should not be able to get out from under what they agreed to.

How about making it easier for people like me to actually own a home, before bailing out people who grabbed more than they could afford? How about helping the person who just wants to own something , before giving a free ride to someone who doesn't deserve it?

Better yet, I have $90,000 worth of student loan debt - why doesn't the government bail me out of that? If they did, I might actually be able to afford to live in DC!

All I'm asking is that the government give out benefits to all, if they are going to give out anything at all.

In undergrad at Oakland, we had the dreaded "general ed" requirements that were completely not pertinent to most student's chosen path of study. (Art History for a CS major? P-shaw!)

At Richmond in law school, one had to learn the basics, so of course you got your torts, civil procedure, property, etc. out of the way in the first year. Then you had a couple of years to essentially decide what you wanted to take. Most people chose to focus on the classes that were going to be pertinent on the bar exam. I did as well, but I mixed in a lot of courses I was particularily interested in (Law and Religion, anyone?).

Now, in Georgetown's Master's program in CS, I'm faced with the same thing. Right now, the bane of my existence is my (required) Systems Fundamentals class. I have many problems with this class, not the least of which is it being required for the degree. Also, the actual premise of the class sounded like it might be sort of cool - build a microprocessor. However, on the first day of class that went out the window, and we are nice and far away from the stated course objective. And don't get me started on course load! I'd say more than half of my first year law school classes were less intense than this one. 5 homeworks, 5 projects, a midterm, a final exam and a 10-12 page (single spaced) final paper. The sheer amount of work in this class has been mind boggling to me. What really ticks me off is the fact that I would never have been taking it except for the sheet fact that it is a requirement. Why can't I focus on something that interests me?

In any case, I'm seriously considering dropping this class. I'm not sure if it is the level of work, my disdain for the subject matter, or the fact that I just can't seem to get this stuff (despite seeking out help from the Professor numerous times). The fact remains that this is quite possibly the worst class I have had in 9 years of college. And I had Vishnubhotla at Oakland, so that is saying something!

"Bar codes on students are really handy."

A question was asked about what the rationale for giving applicants to a University an identity at the University, before they are accepted. It was suggested this was for a sense of community, and another person spoke up and said "branding." The reply was, "We don't brand students anymore. We stopped doing that 20 years ago." There were also several "yee-haws" yelled.