The Empirical Manifesto

I called Dillard's in a bit of a panic. I explained to the sales guy that I had requested four pairs of slacks be delivered in D.C. and that I only saw the charge for one on my checking account. I impressed upon him the importance of having those slacks in D.C. when I arrived. He gave me his name and extension and asked that I call him back. When we spoke again, he told me he had contacted the individual who'd made the shipment, she'd acknowledged her mistake, and that they would pay for 2-day delivery to get them there by Monday (which is fine - I don't require them all this weekend). I was grateful they were able to correct this on such short notice, as the scenario I'd played out in my head prior to contacting them concluded much differently. Sometimes I'm too hard on people.

I was blessed with an empy seat between myself and the other passenger on my row. I smiled, she smiled. It was a moment of perfect understanding. Until she moved to sit directly next to me in the middle seat! What's up with that? Then, in a perfect example of life imitating art, this young, thin, woman pulls out her GIGANTIC Inspiron, and I pull out my tiny X1.

It dawned on me only after I was asked for ID upon check-in, that I was still using my expired driver's license. I showed my busted, split (from the Civil War Watervliet stamp) expired license no less than three times to get on the plane. And though thankful for that, I'm curious if it's going to hinder me getting back. I mean, I can see trying to board a plane with an expired license as being probable cause for Homeland Security to detain me. I would have brought my passport if I thought that would have done any good, but it too, expired earlier this year. Maybe I'll just walk the earth, like Kane in Kung-Fu.

My flight was half an hour late. photogoot showed up an hour early to greet me. As soon as he saw me he threw me the keys. "I've been in the bar for nearly two hours, you're driving." After many U-turns leaving the airport we parked the car and walked several miles winding through Crystal City smoking cigars. We ended up at Ted's for bison burgers & scotch. Another cigar on the long walk back. He'd reserved a room at the Doubletree in Crystal City - 7th floor, overlooking the Washington monument, the Capitol building, and the Pentagon. We sat in front of this panaramic view drinking Pilsner Urquell and visiting until 0300.



0900 wake up, shower, dress, Starbucks. Packed, we hit Georgetown and walked several miles downhill, snapping pictures along the way. At the bottom of the hill, Chipotle. There was no question. We entered, and dined. This was his first time, but I'd walked him through the process the night before and followed up with a mock-order so he could definitively outline his choices. It was grand! I had two scoops of hot and lost structural integrity about a quarter way through. It was very nice. Lunch gave me the energy to march straight up those couple of miles of hill we'd previously come down and photogoot expertly navigated me to the Washington Hilton.



After I'd unpacked, ironed and put away my clothes, I went straight to work. The highlight of the evening was when the large group of elderly Nuns came out of their meeting, and ran smack-dab into the 300+ drag queens who were having their annual beauty contest in the same hotel! It was quite a show.

After all the walking I've done since I hit DC, I was feeling rather restless after work, so I changed clothes and hit the streets. I kept up a very face pace as I trekked down Connecticut Ave and then back up in a 30-minute round trip identifying a Chipotle within walking distance, and stopping to buy a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash - three items I'd failed to pack. I'll head the other direction tomorrow night and see what else turns up!



The entire set of Goot originals can be found here.

I had a most enjoyable evening with...nuns! As my new client is a Catholic run non-profit organization, we are occasionally asked to provide technical support to outlying 'ministries' (read business units), and as a matter of course, we supply set-up and maintenance of executives' home offices. This evening, I was asked to provide support at the home of six sisters, after work. Having not been around that many nuns since I was in Catholic private school (and the memories that brought about), I really did not know what to expect.

I began my work on their PC, and about half-way through, we broke for dinner.

These ladies were the most engaging, most entertaining group I have been around in a long time. I had a delightful time, especially since I had one of my hardest, longest days of work. Now, I'm not hoping they're PC breaks again, but if it does, I'd like to be the one out there again after hours to fix it!