Really?

If you gave me a list of 1000 possible events to happen this year, that would have been the last one I would have picked.

It appears that you can't run away from things that are running after you.

Work gripe

We've had some people from India in the office for the past few weeks. We've always worked with the offshore team, but it was interesting to work with them face-to-face.

They've been on the project for the past 3-4 years, so I thought they would be very well-versed in it and know it backwards and forwards. I was wrong. They seem to know less about it than me!

My sister has mentioned this before - that Indians in general will pretend to understand what you're saying and agree with you, but in fact will walk away with a completely different understanding of the conversation.

It's actually been very frustrating working with them. I'd like to say that it's mostly a cultural barrier, but our project manager, who's also Indian and has been working closely with them for a much longer time, seems to get frustrated as well. I don't know how he has the patience to deal with them. They've only been here for a few weeks and I'm already done with them, yet he's had to deal with them every day for years.

It's also hard to get mad at them, because on top of constantly agreeing with you, they also work much longer hours and never complain about the amount of work.

I was excited when I heard they were coming onsite, but I've been disappointed overall. I also wonder what they do for much of the day, since it seems to take them an inordinate amount of time to finish some tasks.

Leprechaun Lap!

St. Patrick's Day was my favorite holiday back in Dallas (not counting my birthday, of course).

They have a parade on one of the main streets downtown, and it's a huge block party starting at like 10 am until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. A bunch of organizations have kegs in the parking lots and everyone's in a really good mood by the time the parade starts at 11am.

I went to the official parade in DC last year, and it was pretty lame. Half of the organizations didn't even have any sort of Irish affiliation and there weren't any politicians, plus there wasn't any alcohol allowed on the parade route.

But this year I found something sorta similar in spirit to Dallas' celebration called the Leprechaun Lap. It's basically a bar crawl of 9 bars in midtown DC. I'm not sure why they had it this weekend instead of next, but it was pretty fun and a good way to see of the lesser-know bar in the area.

The official bar for the after-party was incredibly sketchy. You'd think that since there was only one bar for it, it would be big and prominent. But we actually walked by it a couple times before even realizing we passed it. The only signage for it was a small paper printout on the door. We had to take an elevator and the entire bar was a small room that could barely fit 50 people.

The main reason I wanted to do the Lap was for the beads. We missed our chance at the first bar to get some, and we soon realized that the only way to get any was to ask someone else for theirs. I'm actually shocked that asking a big white guy for his worked. I half-expected him to either cuss me out or just say no. But he willingly gave his up.

My favorite part of the night was when a black guy offered some patrolling cops beer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Will Ferrell!

I went to New York City this weekend to see Will Ferrell's George W. Bush impression on Broadway (two out-of-town trips in one month!).

He's probably one of the funniest mainstream comedians out there today (Ferrell, not Bush), and I thought it would be an awesome opportunity to see him live.

It was a hilarious show, and I would highly recommend watching it when they show it on HBO later this month. When you combine the great comic abilities of Ferrell with the wealth of material that Bush provided over the past 8 years, you get a great show that had me laughing from the beginning to the end.

I don't want to ruin it, but I will say that one of the more bizarre (but brilliantly performed) moments was Bush's recounting of his relationship with Condolezza Rice.

I'm always in awe of people who can command an audience for that long without missing a beat. Although there were a few other minor characters, Farrell was the only one who had a speaking part and he completely carried the show, leaving most of the audience laughing throughout the entire show.

Vegas-ed out!

Wow, that was quite an interesting trip. The idea to go to Vegas had been floated around for awhile, but the fact that it actually came together, and with the people that actually went, it was bound to be ridiculous. And it delivered.

There were 2 distinct groups: 1) me, and 5 of my former co-workers from Dallas and 2) my co-worker's friend in DC and 4 of her friends.

Ethnically, it was white people, black people, and me.

Let's break it down day-by-day.

Day 1 (Friday): Got to the hotel around 11:30pm. My flight was delayed about an hour and a half from DC, so from leaving work at around 5 until I actually got to Vegas, it was about a good 10 hours of traveling. The bright spot about waiting in the airport for 3 hours was that I was sitting across from this ridiculously hot Brazilian girl. I was worried that everyone would already be out and about, and I'd have to wait for someone in the hotel, but it turns out that they had basically been waiting in the hotel lobby for most of the night for people to arrive.

Once I got there, we went to Planet Hollywood and played poker for about 3-4 hours. I lost a good amount of money on one hand. The most annoying thing is that I played the hand all wrong. If I had gone all-in instead of called on the turn, OR folded instead of calling on the river, I'd have been a lot better off. Ugh. The casino was pretty nice, and I liked that the poker tables were in front of the clubs. Anytime a group of hot girls walked by, the game basically stopped.

On the way back from the hotel, we were planning on going to another place for karaoke. One guy didn't want to go, so he proceeded to cross the street to go back to the hotel. Right in front of a cop car. Ten seconds later, we look across the street, and he has his hands on the hood of the cop car! To make a long story short, two of the black guys in our group were violently patted down in plain sight of everyone and then abruptly let go - with no ticket, no arrest, nothing. Everyone in our group was convinced that it was because they were black and that if any white guys in our group had done the same thing, nothing would have happened. End night 1.

Day 2 (Saturday) - I couldn't sleep at all the first night. I'm not sure why. The day wasn't nearly as exciting as Friday night. We went to eat (and witnessed an old man pass out) and then walked around a bunch of casinos, before joining group 2 for dinner. Due to a number of factors (women in the group, bad organization, long wait at the restaurant), we didn't have dinner until almost 11:30pm. On the cab ride over to Fremont Street, there was more racial drama as one person made the remark that Obama wasn't "black enough." After everyone finally calmed down, we found what's probably the best game in Las Vegas if you just want to chill and get free drinks: Pai Gow. Basically, you get 7 cards and have to make 2 poker hands - one with 5 cards, and one with 2. In order to win, you have to beat both of the dealer's hands. 75% of the time, it's a push. End night 2.

Day 3 (Sunday) - Most everyone left in the afternoon, so we basically only had time to eat lunch. I and my Vegas roommate walked around to the other casinos for the afternoon and then met up with the other group for dinner again at this frantic sushi/Brazilian/Peruvian restaurant. We went to the Hard Rock casino afterwards (I swear, I could watch the go-go dancers all night), and then back to Fremont Street - minus the drama this time. I had never seen the light show on Fremont before, and it was bizarre to say the least.

Overall, a great trip. I've been to Vegas 4 of the last 5 years, and it's always a different experience depending on the people. I think that 11 people is probably too big of a group, but somehow it worked out with this group, even with the drama and awkwardness of not knowing everyone. If anything, I would have liked to play a little more poker, but we definitely did everything one should do in Vegas.

Digital TV Transition

I really don't understand how our government works.

First, the House defeated the bill to delay the digital transition under some crazy rules that the Republicans created last week which required a 2/3 majority to pass.
- Several issues with this: since when does the minority party get to invent new rules? why was this rule created in the first place? does the rule apply to every bill presented, or just this one?

Now, the House passed the bill after removing the ridiculous 2/3 majority rule. The votes were more or less the same, with Democrats overwhelmingly voting for it, and most Republicans voting against it.
- So, the rule just went away? How did the bill come back on the House floor? Can bills just come back for votes after creating and then revoking rules at will?

(I'd love to provide links, so you don't think I'm making this up, but I can't find the articles online... the ones I read were off my iphone..)

I'm sure there are major repercussions to all TV networks and providers for this delay since the schedule date was only a week or so away.

Inaugural Insanity!

The crowds this weekend in DC were ridiculous. I've been to past Obama events so I thought that I was ready and prepared for the massive number of people that would infect the city, but I really wasn't.

The Lincoln Memorial event was very manageable, mostly because it was far enough away from any major streets or metro stops that there wasn't any congestion. The event itself was pretty fun, with artists like Beyonce, U2, and Bruce Springsteen. Surprisingly, the biggest crowd-pleaser was Garth Brooks.

Tuesday's actual inauguration was beyond description. Bars didn't close until 3am, and the Mall officially opened at 4am, so I had the insane idea of going straight from the bar to the Mall. I could easily have been convinced otherwise, but my two friends easily went along with the idea.

Oh, and the night started with a Bhangra party at a sushi place and I ended up talking to a girl from London for a good part of the night. I think it was an appropriate beginning to the longest day ever.

A few eye-openers:
* There were at least a thousand people walking with us from the Metro to the Mall at 5am - most of who did not seem like the kind of people who would normally be up at that hour.
* My friend decided that a potted plant right under a lamp post in plain view of everyone walking to the Mall was a good public urinal.
* There were no security checkpoints at the Mall. Just a bunch of cops standing around, and 4-5 snipers on each of the museums.
* Being out in sub-freezing temperatures for a longer period of time doesn't mean that it will feel warmer later. It will feel just as cold.
* 7 hours in the cold feels a lot longer than 7 hours in normal temperature.
* 7 hours standing still with little room to move feels a lot longer than 7 hours sitting comfortably.
* 7 hours standing still with no sleep is a very long time.

I'd love to say that when the moment finally arrived, there was a flow of tears and shouts of joys coming from everywhere and that it was a very emotional moment. Honestly though, I think most of the people were freezing and exhausted by the time it came around, and any observable emotional response may have been muted because of it.

It ended up being an endurance test more than anything else, but I think it speaks volumes that so many people willing reached outside their own comfort zones to experience this moment.

If I had to do it all over again, I probably still would - I would just make sure to wear more layers and get some sleep beforehand ;)

Death by Inauguration?

I know this is a terrible thing to bring up on the heels of an historically awesome occasion, but what if someone were to die during the inauguration?

I'm not talking about an assassination. I mean if people die due to the large crowds and terribly cold weather. I really don't think the city is prepared for a large crowd, and all of their preparations to date seem to be based on a projection of 2 million people.

But what if it ends up being much larger - like 4 million?

I think the crowds on Sunday will give a really good idea of how many people plan to show up on Tuesday and how prepared the city is to handle the crowds.

I just hope no one dies.

Everyday Normal Crew

Best part at 4:30 mark..

Jack of all Trades

I love how he speaks exactly the same way whether he's talking about pancakes or how change has come to America:

They're here (well some of them)!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17019.html

According to the State Department, it's not a foreign dignitary. And another unnamed White House official admitted it's not a member of Bush's family.

Who could possibly be staying at Blair House? It's pretty apparent that Bush stopped working months ago, so it's clear that it's not a guest on any official business.

hey there, 2009!

Fuck you, 2008.

It's over between us. I really wanted things to work, but you had to go and ruin it. I wish I could use the 'it's not you, it's me' line, but I can't. It really is you. It's all your fault.

Things started out pretty well, and we had some good times during the primaries in the spring and heading into the summer. But why did you have to rack up the gas prices? And why the hell did you let the Chinese get away with so much during the Olympics?

I'll admit that the election was a great night, and I'll never forget it, but why did you have to ruin that moment by creating so many other problems? Our relationship was starting to look up and then you had to create an economic collapse and multiple foreign policy catastrophes within months of each other? You're such a bitch. It's almost like you wanted this to fail from the beginning.

I'm done with you. 2009 may not be perfect, but at least she can't be any worse than you.

Cruise!

For Christmas vacation, my family and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas.

It started out pretty rough. About half an hour before we were supposed to leave to catch our flight, the airlines called to tell us that the flight was canceled. Luckily, there was another one leaving at Reagan at the same time.

We met my sister in Newark, but again, luck was on our side. The train to the airport and baggage lines delayed her a bit, but the flight was also delayed so everything worked out.
--
The cruise itself was pretty awesome. The rooms were bigger than we expected and the ship was basically a giant, moving city. They had all sorts of activities, like ping-pong, shuffleboard, air hocket, foosball, basketball, a casino (I won 2nd in the poker tournament!), a gym, parties/shows in the evening, live music throughout the ship, etc.

The best part was probably the food. They had both formal sit-down and buffet restaurants. Since it's a pre-paid amount for the entire cruise, we didn't have to worry about paying at each meal. We definitely took advantage of this and ate several times a day. It was kind of a weird feeling not having to pay a bill at each meal and just leaving after we were done.

They also had nightly shows, including a comedian, a Broadway-esque revue, and the sort of show one might find in an amusement park. Other than the comedian, the show weren't all that great, but they were a nice way to end the days.

We were supposed to visit 2 islands, but the weather prevented us from visiting the second one (which was owned by the cruise company!). I would say that Nassau isn't even worth one full day, but we were stuck there for 2...

On the way back, we had a day in Miami. We were all pretty exhausted since we left early that morning and had walked around all day at the Vizcaya house. We all napped for a couple of hours and then headed to South Beach for dinner.

I've only been to Miami twice and both times we went to South Beach after sunset.
---
I'm definitely a convert when it comes to cruise ships. I expected tiny rooms, a bunch of old people, and to be bored for much of it. None of that was true. Although it seems like we didn't do a whole lot, I was never bored. It was relaxing and yet there were still enough activities to keep the days interesting.

I'd go again.

NYC!

I went to NYC this weekend for my sister's birthday dinner, and I had a great time.

It might seem like an odd reason to go all the way up there, but there were a lot of other people going that I hadn't seen in awhile, and I didn't have any other plans in town, so I went.

The bus ride itself was uneventful, although I will say that having electrical outlets at each seat and a driver that speaks English are both major pluses. They also took out rows of seats, so there was a lot of leg room. Highly recommended - (http://www.boltbus.com)

I had to switch trains when I got into the city, and as luck would have it, my train was closed for maintenance. There was another (hot) girl who also needed to take the same train, and I think she may have motioned towards me while we were leaving the station. I'm not sure though, because that would be really weird since we had literally just met and there was no reason for it.

I was actually surprised by the number of people that came up to me while I was waiting for the bus in DC to ask me questions about another bus. There were lots of other people waiting and I've never thought of myself as looking all that approachable.
-------------
The dinner party on Saturday was pretty fun. My sister's two friends from Austin who are now also in New York were both there and it was fun to catch up with them. One of her high school friends was there too and it was amusing to hear what he's doing now. We went to a cool bar afterwards (she had reserved a minibar which had empty bottles along all the walls as the decor - my new iphone wallpaper!).

It's always interesting to meet "significant others" to see what characteristics people you know look for in their mates, and of course, to do your own analysis of whether the looks/personalities match up the way you would want.

I didn't have much time today, but I hung out with my cousin for most of it. We played a little bit of DDR at his place (he's going to a DDR-inspired off-off-Broadway play tonight), then brunch and then Grand Central (where they had a big Christmas fair). I had an enlightening conversation with him over brunch, and saw a side of him that I hadn't seen before.
------

All in all, a really fun weekend and hopefully some good pics to come...

Britney's back!

In case you missed it, Britney released her latest CD - Circus - this week.

As with all her CDs, it took me a few listens to really like it. All in all, I think it's more rounded than Blackout and displays her talents better.

I find it highly amusing that she can spell out a curse word in one song, but then two songs later, the actual word is bleeped out. But maybe that's just on the basic CD?

Here's the video for the title track:

Circus

Hard to say the girl's not in shape:

Brit's Bod is Back

News?

I had a heated discussion with my dad yesterday about the news media already announcing some of Obama's Cabinet members, even though they haven't been made official.

The main sticking point I had was that although they named the attorney general (some black guy from the Clinton years), they wouldn't do the same with Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State - even though both candidates seem to be at the exact same point in the nomination process.

In general, though, it seems like the news media should hold off on a lot of these nominations until they become official. I'm not suggesting the press should only report what the government says to report, but I think for some things, there's no reason to try and "be the first" to report an announcement. I really don't see the point.

Obama's Victory Speech

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/05/text-of-obamas-election-night-speech/

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.

Overall, I had the same reaction to his Virginia rally speech - not his best, but he finished strong.

The moment itself spoke much louder and carried much more emotion than he could ever convey in words that night anyway.

Inauguration 2009!

Historic Night

And so it ends.

After 2 years of endless campaigning, Barack Obama has become the first African-American president-elect and the first Democrat to be elected President in 12 years.

His journey has been nothing short of historic and his victory tonight reflects both America's desire to be inspired and Obama's own tireless campaign strategy to reach every corner of the country.

I went to the rally in Virginia yesterday, and even though he was an hour and a half late, and the entire ordeal took much longer than it should have, seeing 100k people enjoying themselves at a political rally is probably something I will never forget.

Whether Obama will be able to accomplish all of his agenda items is something that remains to be seen, but his power to inspire and to "get out the vote" cannot be denied any longer.

Campaigning

I don't understand the idea of campaign yard signs.

I get the ones that advocate a certain policy position or vote yes/no (only one, obviously) on a certain proposition.

And if it's actually in someone's yard, I can understand that - people are strong supporters of a candidate and are proud to express their support to the world.

But what about the ones that are in a random field or especially the ones right outside the polling place? Is the premise that, if someone has no idea how to vote, they will suddenly pick a name since they saw a sign for it? God, I hope not. The mere thought of that scares me - I would much rather those people don't vote at all.
----
I'm also skeptical of voter registration drives. If people don't care enough to register to vote on their own, is their vote really worth it? Since everything is done by secret ballot, simply registering someone to vote also isn't enough. There's no way to tell if they actually voted for the candidate that registered them, or even if they'll end up voting at all.

It's also been reported that face-to-face contact with voters is the most effective way to register someone. Well, yeah, but that's because there's probably a lot more pressure to sign the form than to simply hang up the phone.

Although it's admirable to get more citizens involved in the democratic process, the reasons for which it's being done aren't so admirable. By reaching outside the normal electorate, Obama is basically conceding that the current voters wouldn't elect him into office.

If that's the case, and the new voters are only voting for him under pressure, where's the win in that? And more importantly, if he does win, will he have enough political capital to make any bold moves once he's in office?

Mac whore

So I officially became a Mac whore today.

I traded in my ThinkPad at work for a MacBook Pro.

I now have a regular MacBook, a MacBook Pro, an iPhone and an iPod (albeit an old one).