CafeChatNoir

Let me preface this entire discussion with: Had I known about the vigil/protest/rally in Lafayette Park on Sunday night, I would have been there, but I didn’t find out about it until it was too late.

Well, maybe not a riot, but indulge me. I am not much of a peace vigil/protest kind of gal, never have been. I’m not sure they serve any real practical purpose, but that’s what’s great about America – you can go out and do such things without worrying about someone breaking down your door in the middle of the night and shooting you in the head for your troubles. (Thought on my more cynical days I do wonder if the current administration isn’t hard at work on that little problem…)

That being said, with not one, but two vigils scheduled last night, I decided to head up into DC to see one of these up close and personal and see what it was all about, and on a decidedly selfish note, to see if I couldn’t snag a few decent pictures of it all. So, I got home from the gym, cleaned up and headed out, camera & directions in hand.

First stop, the C Street entrance to the Department of State via the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. This vigil was organized by Amnesty International and was billed as a “Vigil for Ceasefire in Lebanon/Israel Conflict”. While I’ve never been officially affiliated with AI, I’ve never really had any problems with their work either. The event was scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6:30. I was running a little late, but but figured things would be in full swing by the time I got there. I stepped out of the Metro station at 5:30 and saw two groups of people coming back with AI stickers on their shirts. Given that it’s a 15 minute walk from Foggy Bottom to State, this means AI hadn’t been able to hold their attention for more than 45 minutes or that the cops had already shooed them off.

Undaunted, I headed over to State anyway. When I arrived at the C Street entrance there were only a few stragglers left, with “Don’t Invade Iran” t-shirts & posters. Well, there’s your problem – this may be a town full of multi-taskers, but they’re not so much into cross-demonstrations. If you come out for an Israel/Lebanon peace vigil, you’re not looking for an anti-Iranian-invasion rally. I lost a little respect for AI on the bait and switch tactics there.

I had some time to kill until the next round and decided to wander around a bit and eventually headed over to the White House & Lafayette Park. Way back in the day Lafayette Park was the protest spot, given it’s location directly across from the White House, with usually at least 2 or 3 groups out at any given time protesting something. I’d forgotten about the sanitizing efforts that have gone on over the past few years, and now it’s basically dead. Just one small group that’s been there as long as I can remember, and that’s it. I liked it better when it was an actual living example of freedom of speech in this country.

Wandered around some more, and then back on the metro and up to the Israeli Embassy, supposed site of vigil #2 of the day, scheduled to kickoff at 7PM. I got there at 7:15, and if there had been a vigil or any attempt at it, the Mossad obviously took care of it and scrubbed any evidence of it’s existence. (I’m more inclined to think it simply didn’t materialize.) But, all was not lost as I still had some daylight and wandered up Van Ness a little farther and looked at all the pretty houses.

Did get a few pics during my hikes:

Statue near Virginia & Constitution:

Organization of American States:

The White House

The lone protestors in Lafayette Park:

You knew this was coming. I found the checkbooks. Leaving the gym yesterday, I opened the door, and there they were in the car between the door and the driver’s seat. The place I looked at least a dozen times already.

Well, at least I know where they are now…

Girl Scout Camp Still Sucks How many of those girls will be going for the computer science merit badge next summer?

Went for a run today, and completely bonked. The upside is bonkage is not painful, your body just says, “No thanks, we’re not doing this anymore” and there’s no arguing it. The downside is when you pick a route that has no shortcuts home.

Stumbled on a nifty little website today: Upcoming.org – don’t know how long it’s been around, but the more that use it, the better it will be. Have to say that it’s annoying that I can’t seem to find a truly comprehensive site with the various and sundry DC events that are going on. Craigslist is OK, but kind of hit or miss, and I’ve yet to find anything *really* good.

Well, I’m an idiot, but we knew that. The other night I managed to upend my purse in a dark-enough parking lot that I didn’t manage to get everything picked back up and in my purse. The casualties? Two checkbooks… Argh. After tossing the car just to be sure I hadn’t somehow thrown them on the floor of the car while getting everything gathered back up I realized they were goners.

So…called PFCU, stopped all the check numbers past the last ones written, and they didn’t even charge me for it, which they could have easily done and I wouldn’t have argued it. (I’d just take it as a dumbass tax.)

The upside is that I never got around to ordering checks with my current address on them, so if someone finds them and decides they want to stalk me, well, they’ll be at the wrong address.

The kicker? I usually don’t even have these in my purse.

I think I managed to lose my two checkbooks last night along with every other piece of paper in my purse. This is not good.

Odd things, though – have wallet, cell, PDA, and found the other pack of smokes I had in the wheel well of the passenger side. Perhaps the rest is in there somewhere?

Cleaning out the car will be the first order of business tomorrow to see what I can find, and then cancel them if needed… Dammit, I hate this.

I got a voicemail the other day from the kennel – they were checking in to see how the critters were all doing and to see if they’d enjoyed their vacation. Unfortunately, the connection mangled the name of the specific person that called, so I sent an email to them letting them know I could tell they’d obviously had a fine time cause they were all so relaxed and happy and mellow when they got home, and thanking them for taking such good care of them. I got this response from the GM:

Thanks you so very much for taking the time to send this note to my team. I will be sure to pass on your notes to the staff that do not have access to email. It is unfortunately a rare treat for them to get a note of thanks so please accept my thanks on their behalf and we look forward to see all three of your babies again in the very near future.

Old Towne Pet Resort – simply awesome.

It’s sad that when someone does something very well, it’s rare that anyone says anything.

Poor dog just walked in and looked at me and I swear his face says “WTF, it is DARK out, why is it still hot?!”

Yes, it’s midnight and 86 with a heat index of 96.

Well, apparently heat makes DSL crap out or some such nonsense as my connection has gone down again. Tried to get online w/the cable company to see about ordering their services and of course, the order site is down on Tuesdays and Thursdays… So, I’m stuck on dialup at the moment, and just couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

OK, you’re reading a race report on an open water swim race, and in the “Pre Race Routine” section, you see:

Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Found my way to the kitchen and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late. Grabbed my wetsuit, and my swim cap.. picked up our friend in seconds flat. Found my way to the lake and had some water, and a whistle blew and I went into a swim…

Please tell me you get the reference…