DC Snowmageddon/Snowcalypse 2011

In all fairness to what you are about to read, in the last 36 hours I have seen types of precipitation that were altogether new to me (i.e. what I am calling sleet-hail, which is a baffling combination of the two, but somehow more like having someone dump a bucket of slush on you from an advanced height).

So, yesterday morning I wore some nice leather dress shoes to work, which along with the suit I was wearing, made me a little over-dressed for my office. On the other hand, I felt like it was appropriate for having breakfast and having my picture taken with Sen. Franken (which was very cool). Well it turns out that was the least appropriate footwear for the day that I could have chosen. I should have realized that morning, when it was raining, that perhaps leather shoes would not be the most practical, but I could not be bothered. I'm from Minnesota, after all, home of winter weather.

It continued to precipitate, more or less constantly, throughout the day with the temperature dropping all the while. By the time I left work things had turned a little messy. The rain/sleet/snow transition had occurred - which equated to DC's streets turning into parking lots full of tired, aggravated people all trying to get home. One of my friends told me about a co-worker whose 45min commute turned into an 8 hour commute last night. Ridiculous! Work was delayed two hours this morning on account of all the snow.

Now, I don't particularly mean to be judgmental, but it happens from time to time. Seriously though. This is the Capitol of the country and it snows pretty much every winter here (not a lot, but you know, at least once). You'd think people would react with some amount of practicality and levelheadedness to what is a fairly routine fact of nature. Not so. People lost their flipping minds. Maybe this is just my Minnesotan wintry elitism, but people, it was approximately four inches of snow. Tops. A wet, gross snow, to be fair. But it's not like you literally couldn't drive, that's just user error.

A bunch of people lost power too, which is somewhat understandable given the nature/moisture content of the snow. But my friend who I had drinks with this evening said the power company told him they hoped to have power back up to everyone by the 30th. Let us pause. The 30th??!?!?!! It's now the 27th. Yes, by all means that seems totally reasonable...what? By way of explanation, the power company said there were some repair delays caused by no being able to get their trucks down some of the roads. Okay, that might be plausible if there were say...2 feet of snow. But four inches (again, I'm being generous)? Here's my solution: just go ahead and drive down that snowy road. Unless the repair truck also happens to be a fancy European sports car, it seems like the clearance is more than equal to the task. But that's just me.

Interesting ads and customer service

Okay, it's been a few days. I still need to develop this as a habit, I think. In recognition of the brief hiatus, I'm posting about two completely separate and random thoughts.

So it's possible that this is a ubiquitous thing and I've only noticed it since moving to DC and using public transit all the time, but I've taken to noticing some of the big money advertisements more. For instance:

 This is a Monsanto ad on a banner at my Metro stop. Now, I'm not making any value judgments here (that will come in approximately one or two sentences), I just find it amusing that Monsanto is positioning itself as the defender of family farming. Now I'm not saying farming doesn't have a huge impact on the country, but because this advertisement asks you to buy into the sentimentality of farming - that this one guy (and people just like him) are pure good of America. I happen to agree, actually, that farmers do drive the country to some extent. Which is to say we are all dependent on the agricultural production of our arable land, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of hard questions we need to be asking regarding fertilizer and pesticide use, GMOs, irrigation techniques, water usage and the impact of field drainage systems on surface and ground water (to name a few). I'm all for farming, I like to eat food at much or more than the next guy, but let's not pretend the family farmer is the easy answer to anything. But hey, go ahead and draw your own conclusions, the website is right there on the banner if you want an unbiased view (oh, actually that address takes you straight to monsanto.com, though there are some very nice pictures of farming families on their company website).

This one is also great. So, you may have heard of this small tragedy that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico about a year ago, which then continued for several months with massive international coverage and scrutiny? Right, well this seems to be an effort by the oil industry to re-frame their product. See, oil and natural gas are really, really good things, they help make medicines. And the nice woman holding that Erlenmeyer flask is saving lives! Well this is part of a larger campaign to influence public perception. This is actually least direct one that I've seen. The rest quote some figure and emphasize some aspect of American life that impacted by oil. Fine, whatever.

I also just wrote a long-winded (and I thought very amusing) story involving my coffee mug, customer service, the basic goodness of some people and my own ridiculousness, but somehow I erased it and cannot get it back. Very frustrating. Maybe I'll take another go at writing it later.

The Metro

I feel a bit provincial writing about the Metro. Maybe I'm coming a little late to the game, like "wow, light bulbs are pretty great, right?" But not having lived in a city with a well-planned subway system before, maybe I am coming a little late to the game. In any case, I feel I'm entitled to my own impression, so here it is:
I love the Metro.
Sure, the system here is a little old and worn. More worn at some stops than others. But it's great. The sheer novelty of taking an escalator into the earth in one area of the city and emerging in another just 10 minutes later (supposing, of course, that you've timed trains exceedingly well) is just great. Now, I live just a short couple block walk away from the nearest stop, so that certainly makes it feel more convenient. Also that my nearest stop is serviced by four separate lines, that helps too. Nevertheless, it really is wonderful.

Oh. And work is starting to pick up a little bit. Tomorrow I have my first real meeting scheduled, so that's good.

On the job

Well, first day on the job today. Nothing really momentous to report, it was a pretty slow day. I met most of the other folks working on putting this thing together and worked on getting up to speed on what's been done so far. Working on the operations/logistics side of things means that I'll have my hands very full and my fingers in most aspects of the conference, but the reality at this point is that not all those different moving pieces have been identified. So I worked today on trying to identify as many of the areas of responsibility that we will have, specifics will have to wait. I wish there was more to say here, but the day was pretty anticlimactic - still though, it's exciting to be part of something so big.

MLK Day

So, I tried to find a service project to do in my new community, but was unsuccessful. I am also going to try to get tickets for a celebration performance at the Kennedy Center: Info here. In the meantime, I visited the Lincoln Memorial and stood in the spot where Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, looking out over the reflecting pool. There is an engraving in the stone to mark the event.

Day One

Welcome to my little blog. This jump from snowy Minnesota to Washington D.C. has been in the planning/wishful thinking stage for a while. Luckily (and rather suddenly) I have been given the opportunity to make this a reality. And what better way to chronicle my experience here than an online journal? I'm not sure how often I'll update or what shape the content will take, but here it is...

So here I am, in our national Capitol. Travelling went remarkably smoothly, with only minor challenges along the way. First...I misjudged the weight limits on checked baggage, which resulted in a little panicked, last-minute repacking (after also repacking prior to leaving for the airport because I has GROSSLY underestimated the weight of my suitcase...by about 30lbs, who really needs shoes anyway?). No worries. My suitcase and backpack ended up weighing in at 50lbs and 49lbs, respectively. I was only delayed for a short time in ATL on the way to DC because some other plane was parked at our gate when we arrived. The only other mishap was truly minor - my shuttle driver inputted my address wrong into his GPS (NW instead of SW). End result: a slightly longer ride and the opportunity to see the Capitol and Washington Monument glowing against the night sky. I'll take it.

I fell into what seems to be a pretty great temporary housing arrangement. I am renting a bedroom in a townhouse, with my own bathroom, hardwood floors and wood-burning fireplace (I don't know why I'm so excited about this, I may never use it). I am easy walking distance to a grocery store and three Metro stops. Oh, and the National Mall - more on this in a second. I even have four big north facing windows. All in all, I am pretty happy with this arrangement so far.

A quick word on DC: I have been here a handful of times before. I remember a family vacation, when I was much younger, that involved DC. The memory from that visit that stuck with me most was walking around the National Air & Space Museum. It was very cool, especially since I had plans to be an astronaut (who doesn't, at some point?). I was also here in high school for National History Day, my group did pretty well in the state competition and got a trip to DC to compete at the national level. Well that was fine, but I was more interested in the time we got to spend in the city, touring museums, seeing the Capitol, etc. I've been fascinated with this city for years, and now I am finally here.

I had big plans for today, my first day in DC: obtain my SmarTrip Metro card and unpack. Success! My thought was to head to Metro Center to buy my pass because it would give me the opportunity to walk around a bit and get my bearings. I got side-tracked. I ended up on the National Mall (which is a very easy walk from my new home), sitting on a bench about halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, reading the newspaper and sipping coffee. That didn't last very long because it was a little chilly and windy. I've found it is a little difficult to read the newspaper when it's blowing around and you can't really feel your fingers. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. After I gave up on the bench-sitting, I again headed toward Metro Center. Only to be distracted by the National Museum of American History. I stayed strong and just walked straight through it, but came back immediately after procuring my Metro pass. I happily spent the next several hours wandering around various exhibits and learning - Science & Innovation, the Presidency, Abraham Lincoln just to name a few. 

Plan for tomorrow: running on the Mall.