Project 365

I haven’t mentioned this here, because I wasn’t sure that I would actually make it past a “Project 5”. Back in March, I decided to embark on a photographic “Project 365”. This means that I need to take a picture each day. There’s no requirement on what that picture needs to be. I’m trying to make the photos representative of the day, if there’s something special about that day. If it’s an ordinary day, I just find anything. I’m trying to not overload the project with cat pictures, but of course, they are the most photogenic thing in my house.

Check out the badge below for some of my Project 365 pics, or visit my Project 365 set on Flickr.

Dear Beltway Parents

Imagine that you are driving on the beltway with your child snugly cinched in their car seat (or in their seatbelt, if they happen to be over the car-seat weight and height limit). Suddenly, your child tells you that they have to go to the bathroom NOW. Do you (a) take the next exit off the beltway and find a gas station (or other suitable restroom) or (b) pull over onto the shoulder and take them into the shrubs along the side of the interstate?

I hope that most of you answered (a). But a frightening number of parents choose option (b). In fact, even one parent choosing (b) is frightening, in my view.

I have to admit that I’m not a parent, and I never plan to be one. So, I’ll never know the scream of a child who needs to use the bathroom immediately, and I’ll never know the urgency. (Though, I have spent a day with my two, very cute, nieces, but one was still in diapers, and the other was pretty good about telling us when she needed to go.) However, it just seems common sense that letting your child stand alongside an interstate, especially the Washington DC Beltway, is very foolish thing to do. I would rather clean up a wet child.

Why do I bring this up? Because I saw a car pulled over on the beltway on my way home from work tonight. Walking away from that car was a woman and a small (4 or 5-year-old, maybe) child. It was clear that they were heading toward a small stand of trees.

This reminded me of an incident several years ago. Over Thanksgiving weekend 1999, a father pulled the car over on the Beltway to let the kid use the trees as a restroom. While he was doing his business, another car crashed into his parents car, killing his parents and seriously injuring his sister. All I can think is what a f—ing selfish act of his father. The kid did not deserve to lose his family, just because he needed to go to the bathroom. And you know that this poor kid probably blamed himself. But it’s the father’s fault.

So, just in case you’re ever tempted to take option (b), let me just slap you in advance. Pull off the damn beltway at any of the non-interstate and non-tollway exits, and you’re likely to find several accommodating gas stations or fast-food restaurants. It’s not worth the risk to yourself and it’s certainly not worth the risk to your child.

Tags: rant

Why do I feel like a Piranha?

I just got off the phone with my Dad. His mom has been in long-term care for several months now, and he and my aunts are holding a garage sale this weekend with much of what they had cleaned out of her apartment earlier this year. They are giving all of the grand-kids a chance to pick out things that they want to keep.

I can’t get home for the sale this weekend, so Dad called me this evening to describe the items in the sale. I had him put my name on a few things, but I have to say that I’m feeling a bit dirty.

Grandma’s not gone yet. She’s 96. She moved from her apartment to assisted living last year, and then to a long-term memory care place in April. She’s not going back to her apartment, and she doesn’t have much short-term memory. She can’t even remember if someone visited her 10 minutes ago. But she’s not gone yet.

I know she’s not going to get better. Her memory is gone. Her apartment is gone. She can’t take care of herself and she won’t be able to take care of herself again. Her things have just been sitting in storage for a couple of months. But I still can’t help feeling weird about rustling through her things and picking at the remains for a momento or two.

Tags: family

What makes a happy Barb?

Vanilla Coke Zero

’nuff said.

Tags: comfort

Mental Note

When setting up the DVR so I can try out a new show, just set it to record all instances of that show instead of just the first one. Why? ‘Cuz there just might be a two-hour premier, which the DVR will only catch half of. Grrr….

Tags: rant

Bad Bike Ride

For the first time since I got my bike over 4 years ago, I’ve had a bad bike ride. Andrew and I have biked in 100-degree temperatures, put up with asshole cyclists, and pushed ourselves further on the bikes than I thought possible. But up until now, I’ve enjoyed those rides — the 100-degree day was still fun, because we were exploring some residential streets near our house that we’d never been down before. In fact, those streets were hilly, and even in the heat, I was able to navigate them without hopping off my bike and walking. The long rides we took last year zapped my energy for the rest of the day, but I really felt good about the day in general.

This morning seemed like the ideal biking morning – the sun was shining with a few clouds in the sky and the temperature was in the lower 60s. We set out at around 9AM, sans sheatshirts or jackets, in anticipation of the the temperature warming up a bit as the morning wore on. Silly us. Our first destination was a huge yard sale about 8 miles away, just off the W&OD trail, and by the time we got there, the temperature had dropped, the wind picked up, and clouds had taken over the sky.

Instead of turning back after purusing the yard sale (and picking up a couple books for our Halloween give-aways), we pushed on to Reston, just another mile or two down the W&OD. The hope was to spend a bit of time in Reston, where they were having a “Pet Fiesta”, rest up and then head back home.

By then, though, I was getting a bit cranky, I was downright cold, and just wanted to get home. We made it back into Vienna, but I was feeling iffy about whether or not my legs would be able to pedal all the way home. In Vienna, we had to part company with the W&OD trail, but still had 3 miles to get go before we were home. Just after we got off the trail, I got a raindrop right in the eye. The rest of the trip home there was a bit or rain, still windy, and just not a fun ride.

I actually did make it home under my own power, but I was completely wiped out. After a shower and lunch, I snuggled up under my covers with two cats for about 3 hours. I’m still a bit out-of-sorts.

Tags: bike, suckitude

Exercise your right to vote!

I entered the “Insomnia Photo” [link no longer exists – 1/2014] contest, which may end up being more of a popularity contest than anything. The judging will be based on “peer” votes — the top three peer-voted pictures will get prizes, and the top 25 of the peer-voted pics will get passed along to the judging panel. Oh, and the “list all” entries page lists the pictures in order of the “points” they’ve received through the peer voting, so early votes will set up the pictures that get the most voters.

Anyway, go vote for my picture here. You can find it by title, “Tenacity”. You probably need an Apple ID to vote, but if you’ve purchased songs on iTunes, then you already have one, plus it’s free to sign up.

Oh, and this might be a direct link to my pic [link no longer exists – 1/2014].

Tags: photography

Gah. I need a shower!

Andrew and I were coming home from DC on the Metro. It’s a Saturday, and we were boarding in the middle of DC (Metro Center, for those of you familiar with DC), so naturally we had to stand for a little while. At the first stop, one guy got off the train, leaving a complete seat empty (i.e two seats together). I quickly went to grab it, but the guy’s bag was still in the seat. Andrew tried to call after him, but the guy had already disappeared. We took back our places next to the door, and just before the doors closed, the guy came back on. We thought maybe he was just coming back to grab his bag, but turns out he was doing god-knows-what out on the platform, and left his bag to hold his seat.

The second stop, he disappeared again, but I saw that he didn’t have his bag in his hand, so I figured he’d be back again. He was. During the ride to the next station, he approached a cute girl who was standing near Andrew and me if she wanted to sit next to him, since he had a seat free. I wondered if she was pregnant (her back was to me at first), and thought, well that’s nice. Nope, turns out he just wanted a pretty girl to sit with him.

At the third stop, the seat behind this guy freed up, so Andrew and I grabbed it. I didn’t really pay him much mind anymore, since I could engross myself in Mini-Golf on my spiffy new video iPod.

At some point (not sure how many stops later), I heard an odd sound – at least, odd to hear on the Metro. I heard a tinkling, like water being poured. I looked around, and noticed the guy in front of me kind of hunched over in his seat, his head bowed looking at his lap.

He couldn’t be, I thought. But kept watching.

After a short time, he shook one of his hands, which was in his lap, and zipped up his fly. In his other hand, he had a styrofoam cup.

I gave a horrified look to Andrew, who was reading his book. He looked back at me uncomprehending.

The guy got up at the next stop, and took his styrofoam cup with him. Thank the goddess, since that was no Mountain Dew in his cup.

I was ready to throw up. As soon as the door closed, I turned to Andrew and said, “That guy peed in his cup.” I convulsed with the willies. Gawd. A guy had peed into a cup in the seat in front of me. Gah. Gah. Eew. Then I made Andrew move to another seat, at the other end of the train.

But. WTF? I mean really. What has to go through someone’s head to think that that is even remotely okay? Seriously? What? I would never, in my wildest dreams think that it was okay to pee in a cup on a public train. Do people really have that little respect for their fellow human beings? Gah!

And I can tell you that it’s going to be a while before I can take the Metro again. I mean, last time I did, someone peed in a cup.

Tags: life in the city

I’m totally addicted…

…to this.

Go. Now. Watch an episode or two.

I love Liza. She’s so cute, and I totally want her to find a guy….but then there would be no more 39 Second Single…so I’m torn.

Tags: reviews

Spring is in the air…

I suppose that spring has been in the air for a while – it’s supposed to be crappy, odd, oscillating weather in the spring, right? But today was beautiful.

We started with a 13 mile bike ride. We took the W&OD trail from Vienna in toward DC. Just after the Falls Church Metro station, there is a small park where I had to stop and play on the swings.

After lunch, we stopped at the garden shop and picked up some mulch, flowers and herbs. I spent the afternoon mulching the front yard and planting flowers in our deck’s flower box. I’ve told Andrew to place bets about how long I’ll be able to keep those pretty, pretty flowers alive. I’m guessing they’ll be overrun by weeds by early June. Any takers?

Tags: bike