A Long Overdue Update

It has been quite a while since I made a post. I apologize if you check in on me here and are constantly disappointed with the same old thing. Here's what you missed.

We sold our house on Capital Hill and bought a 1-bedroom apartment in the Southwest Waterfront area of DC. Moving is no fun, but we did it with the help of a moving company that carried the stuff. We had to pack and unpack. We're almost completely settled. We just have some pictures to hang.

We are loving the new place. We are eight stories in the air with a balcony that we are loving. We bought a table and chairs and have been using it a lot. The place also has a gym and an indoor pool. It is like living at a resort. We have had a few issues (AC not working great at first, toilet problems, window treatments, etc), but we are sorting through them.

Also, since my last posting, my triplet nieces all graduated from college! The all got degrees on the same day (in two different ceremonies) at my Alma mater, Towson University, near Baltimore, MD. Both Shane and I went to the ceremonies and then they had a party the next day. Two are going to be teachers and one, like her Uncle Mark, got a Mass Communications degree. Congrats girls!

Kelly, Megan, and Nicki at their grad party.

Me, Megan, Shane, and Kelly after their grad ceremony.

Shane and I with Nicki after her ceremony.

Our "empty" house just before leaving.

We never counted the boxes, but there was many.

The view from our balcony.

A Day at the Beach - Manasota Key, FL

Shane and I went to the beach today at Manasota Key, in Florida, and I took these pictures.

Cactus Measurement - Keeping Track

I bought a cutting of my big cactus to Florida last Christmas. I have had the original plant for about 30 years. The original plant has grown so tall and wide (see below) that we are not taking it with us when we move in June. The people buying our house were very happy to have it.  I am taking a taller, thinner cutting with me to our new DC 1 bedroom apartment, and I gave my mom another smaller cutting.

We noticed the Florida cactus already seems taller. I measured its height today so I can keep track of how fast it is growing. It measured 22 inches.

The original cactus I've had for 30 years +

Our Florida House from the Rear

I went kayaking today and took a picture of the back of our house. Actually, this shot was taken last month, but I did kayak today and could have taken it. The light was better last month.

President Obama Supports Marriage Equality

I'm sorry it took me a while to post this, but here is video of the President of the United States saying he supports gay marriage. I watched it live yesterday at work on CNN with my boss and another co-worker. I got goosebumps. I'm very proud our president finally took this risk. Very cool.

Look for Cosmo's Moon Tonight

Get ready for a super moon tonight - Cosmo's Moon! Love this scene.

Poor Rider Etiquette Rampant on DC's Metro

The riders of DC's Metro system aren't always known for good rider etiquette. Though you can't see in the photo, this metro car is fairly full (there are no empty seats and some people are standing). To discourage people from sitting next to them, people often sit their bags on the seat next to them or sit on the aisle side of the seat. This forces people who want to sit to ask them to move their bag or move over, which most people usually will do. I've never seen someone say no. I just think it is rude to force people to have to ask to sit. Interestingly, many times these people will be reading the Bible as they hog two seats.

Celebrating 14 Wonderful Years Together

Today, Shane and I are celebrating our 14th anniversary. This photo was taken last year during our trip to South Dakota. We will be dining out tonight at one of our favorite restaurants on Capitol Hill, Acqua Al 2. We are in the middle of selling our house and buying a new condo (cause we need a little more stress), so this is going to be a busy month for us. It will be nice to take a little break and enjoy a nice dinner. Love you Honey! Can't wait until we have a place in NYC!

We Have a Contract On a Co-op Apartment

This is the view from our balcony of our new apartment. It is on the seventh floor of Harbour Square, a co-op in Washington DC's Southwest waterfront. It is hard to see in the photo, but you can see the DC waterfront beyond the trees in the distance. The view looks much better than this photo shows.

We are downsizing to a one bedroom apartment so we can eventually buy in New York, but the building we're moving into is awesome. There is a large, indoor pool on the first floor and a nice gym. We're close to the Metro and many nice restaurants on the waterfront. Also, they are in the process of revitalizing the area big time.

We're hoping, if all goes well, to be moving in around June 1. Keep your fingers crossed.

Our DC House Is Under Contract!

It has been just over a week since we listed our house for sale. In that time we had two open houses and numerous people tramping through the house every day. Today we received two offers. One was a very good offer--full price and cash. We accepted and the house is under contract with the only contingency being the home inspection. We feel VERY lucky to get such a great deal.

We loved this house, but selling it will help us to make our dream of having a place in New York City a reality. We plan on buying a small one bedroom condo in Southwest DC (near the waterfront), pay off our house in Florida, and get a small place in NYC. I can't believe it is really going to happen. Amazing!

The Space Shuttle Discovery Flies by My Office

I was telling some of my co-workers that the Space Shuttle Discovery was supposed to fly around DC today around 10 a.m. We went over to the kitchenette, because it has a view of the Pentagon and the Potomac River. We had heard that it would be flying up the Potomac. We were just standing there for a minute with them thinking this was a big waste of time. I decided to take out my phone and get my camera ready in case we saw something. As I reached for the phone, one of my co-workers exclaimed, "Oh my God! There it is!"

It was flying over the Pentagon, which is very close to our building. It was amazing, but went past in just a few seconds. We all ran to the other side of the building so we could see it flying away. It was amazing. It made several laps around DC, but it never got as close as the first time we saw it, and I never got a good photo. These photos are from the Washington Post. 

Titanic Sinks 100 Years Ago Today

Since our house is for sale and we were having an open house this afternoon, we needed to be out of the house today. For part of that time, we went down to the DC waterfront and visited the Titanic monument. As you can see below, there were several wreaths and flowers left in memory of that fateful day 100 years ago. There was also an interesting article in the Washington Post about a group of men that visit the memorial each year to drink a toast to the men that sacrificed their lives for the women and children on that ship. Here's a link. By the way, the realtor told us there were a gazillion people at the open house today, but we haven't had any offers yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

Making Ourselves Scarce Along the Waterfront

Since our house is now for sale, we're spending the day at Haine's Point, a park on DC's waterfront, across from Reagan National Airport. The weather is perfect and this little duck swam over to say howdy.

Our House in DC is For Sale

We've decided to take the plunge and sell our house in DC. Here's the MLS listing if you are interested. There are 30 photos posted. We plan on buying a small, 1-bedroom condo in DC, and eventually also have a small condo in New York City! Cross your fingers!

Ain't Nobody Got Time for Bronchitis

Pat Robertson REALLY Does Not Like Demons

I saw this video on Joe My God's blog.  I knew Pat Robertson was a little loopy, but this compilation of clips where he thinks everything is demonic is Hell larious... Praise Jeebus!

Sophia Vergara from Modern Family on SNL

This is a funny sketch for Saturday Night Live with Sophia Vegara from Modern Family. Her costar for the commercial was "Penelope Cruz," played by new cast member Kate McKinnon. We had it on the DVR and just got around to watching it last night.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #330

Was your hand on that end table's leg?   

This is my idea for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #330. It has been a while since I've done one of these. Let me know if you have any ideas for a caption too.

Happy Easter!

Running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler race on Sunday. Though I had run a marathon in the fall, I was in no shape to run a 10-mile race. I had problems with my sciatica (self-diagnosed) and have not been running much.  Anyway, I signed up for it months ago and since I already paid (yes, I'm a cheapskate), I ran it.

I did OK, but was about 7 minutes slower than when I ran the same race 2 years ago. My net finish time was 86 minutes and 31 seconds. I was very happy to have finished in under 90 minutes.

I was on the race Web site today and found a slew of stats about the race that I thought I'd share here.

I came in 5,211th of the 16,840 finishers of the race. Not bad for 50. That means I finished ahead of 69 percent of all the racers and ahead of 81 percent of all the women who raced. Of all the racers, 57 percent were women and 43 percent were men.

Among men, I came in 3,401st place with 3,770 finishers behind me. About 47 percent of male finishers were ahead of me. In my division (Men aged 50-54), I came in 195th with 268 finishers behind. About 44 percent of finishers ahead. The winner of my division was Mark Neff, also 50, who ran the race in 57 minutes and 27 seconds.

 

During the second half of the race I passed 157 runners, but 410 runners passed me (bastards!).

 

I averaged about 6.9 miles per hour or 8 minute, 39 second miles during both the first and second half of the race.

 

The winner of the race, a man from Kenya,  fininsed in 45 minutes, 15 seconds, which was a course record. When he was finishing, I wasn't even halfway done yet, because I didn 't cross the start line until more than 4 minutes after the start--there was lots of traffic.

 

The oldest finisher was George Yannakakis, 80, who finished in 90 minutes and 34 seconds--only a few minutes slower than me.  In fact, even if I had been in the men's division for 70 to 74 year olds, and finished with my time, I would have come in fourth. The winner of that division finished in 81 minutes and 11 seconds.

 

I barely beat out to Heide Moebius, 73, the winner of the women's division for 70 to 74 who ran 10 miles in 88 minutes and 54 seconds, and Imme Dyson, 75, the winner of the women's division for 75 to 79, who finished in 93 minutes and 11 seconds.