Quiet on the Set!

I thought when I left NY that I wouldn't come across any more movie sets. I was wrong. Comedian/actor Owen Wilson has been in town for nearly two months for the filming of a 2011 movie called "Hall Pass."

There is a beautiful neighborhood near me known as the Brookhaven Historic District. It bounds the golf course of the Capital Country Club. A couple weeks ago, I found the country club on a Google map and went to check it out—to see if it would be a good place to go walking. It was beyond good. I fell in love with the neighborhood and its tremendous homes. The streets are lined with dogwoods, cherry trees, and multi-colored azaleas. The lots are huge, and the homes are fantastic. This quickly became my running trail.

On Saturday I was doing my run when I passed a security guard and some seriously long electrical cabling at an empty lot on Club Drive NE. I asked the guard what she was guarding, and she said they were filming the movie "Hall Pass" there with Owen Wilson. "Owen Wilson!? I love Owen Wilson!" I told her.

On Sunday, when I jogged past her again, I asked her if she was still waiting for the crew to show up. She said, "No, they start filming tomorrow night." So, on Monday after work, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk up Club Drive.

Sure enough, large trucks came up behind me, heading to the filming destination. The road was marked "Closed," but that didn't stop the Jaguars, Mercedes, and Lexuses of Brookhaven from navigating their home streets. Nearing the set, I saw all the lighting equipment set up and the trucks lining the street. A stunt company vehicle passed me.

I spoke with one of the guys in charge, who was standing in the front yard next door toof the adorable yellow house where filming was to take place beginning after dark. He explained how they'd come in two weeks ago and planted that huge tree in the middle of the front yard of the yellow house, and that the owners were ecstatic about it. Of course, they were also happy about the fee they received to allow filming at their home. He pointed to the front yard, which was scattered with kids' toys and bikes, and told me, "Those are my props." I took pictures of the crew and their vehicles, which you can link to here.

Pretty cool. I didn't stick around long enough to see Owen Wilson, although he's been spotted several times in Atlanta since arriving in February, per several online blogs and news articles like Follow Owen Wilson and Christina Applegate To Atlanta's Hot Spots and Farrelly brothers and Owen Wilson bring Hollywood to Castleberry Hill (Atlanta).

The Yellow Cars of Georgia

You don't live down here without knowing what a Neti pot is. I can't get over how bad the pollen is in the South. As of last week, all of the cars in Atlanta were coated with a thick layer of yellow stuff. I'd walk up to my car to get into it, and I could literally blow pollen off the trunk lid. There was so much of it that I didn't want to touch my door handles! And I park in a garage.

It's a strange sight to see people using their windshield wipers to clear the pollen off— as if it were snow. Getting the stuff off your car is impossible. It keeps coming back. It reminds me of how cars look in the Northeast after a big snow when they're filthy from the road salt and dirty snow.

Yesterday I couldn't take it anymore. I had a free coupon for a $12.95 car wash, so I used it. I knew the line would be long, but the wait wasn't too bad because there were about 20 people working there. When my car came out, it was blue again. I was ecstatic to be able to touch the door handles. I felt squeaky clean, like I'd just had a long shower.

So I put the top down, (only temporarily, because you don't want the pollen inside your car too), and I drove to my brother Dave's for a dinner party—at which one of the big topics of conversation was, you guessed it—allergies. By the time I left that evening to come home, the first light coat of yellow was already on the car.

Walking around in sandals in Dave's heavily wooded back yard yesterday, I came back to the house with yellow toenails (previously painted red), yellow feet, and yellow shoes (inside and out). After sitting on a porch swing, my jeans were coated with the stuff. Puffs of yellow smoke emanated from the denim as I slapped away the pollen.

My poor sister-in-law Judy is really suffering because of her allergies. In fact, "pollen count" actually makes the news here. They've been talking about it on the news for at least a week now, saying this will last another month. A bad day is a pollen count of 1,500 particulates per cubic meter. Last Wednesday, that number topped 5,000. We had a temporary reprieve on Thursday when it rained, but the pollen is back in full force now.

See the MSNBC Video: In South, worst pollen in years, where the "run" on allergy medicine is causing pharmacies to restock their shelves daily.

Meet Baby II, the "Bimmer"

I think I'm in love. Prior to this year, I'd never seen the inside of a BMW car before, much less driven one. In fact, for years I'd stereotyped BMW drivers as snobby speeders, zipping in and out of traffic with no regard for those of us in our practical Japanese cars or American hybrids.

Boy was I wrong. BMW enthusiasts know a good thing when they see it. The first time I drove one last month, I was in heaven. It was a used Arctic Blue 3-series convertible. The ride was smooth, the car a timeless beauty, and the attention to detail and owner comfort beyond exceptional. I had to have one.

I admit, I had similar feelings for the Mercedes CLK convertibles. Driving those cars was like walking on air. I now knew what I'd been missing all these years. I've owned Hondas, Toyotas, Datsuns/Nissans, Volkswagens, Ford trucks, a Ford SUV, a Ford hybrid, a Chevy, a Mazda, and even (briefly) a crappy GM sedan. But never a luxury car. Never a convertible.

Car shopping was a pain. It's a full-time job that is full of disappointments (at least three cars were sold out from under me during the process, including the Arctic blue one that I wanted). But it's also a chance to meet interesting people. There was Jimmy, the 67-year-old widower out in the country who asked me to a dance after test-driving his '99 Mercedes-Benz SLK. Although Jimmy was sweet on me, I decided against roadsters after driving that car—a two-seater just does not provide enough space around me. I wanted a four-seater convertible.

There was the 6'1" tall massive mountain of a woman from New Orleans with four cats who told me about the time she parked her brand new Mini Cooper in a friend's driveway in Florida. She'd left the top down when the automatic lawn sprinklers came on and drenched the inside of the car, ruining the radio. Bummer. I didn't buy that car, either. It was cute, but not me.

Yup, met lots of interesting folk.

Then there was the whore's car. I was stepping into a used blue 2006 BMW 325Ci convertible at an importer's lot when a middle-aged black woman with long hair stopped on the sidewalk directly in front of the parked BMW. She was staring intensely at the car—admiring it, I presumed. I said, "It's pretty, isn't it?" She said, "No." Interested in her opinion, I asked her, "What makes you say that?" She looked at me and announced, "Because that's a whore's car."

I couldn't stop laughing. Either she'd already been drinking that day, or she was a zealous Southern Baptist who thought I needed saving. Possibly both. When I told the dealer about it later, he apologized. I laughed, "I'm from New York - I've seen it all."

Two days later I went back and bought the whore's car. And I love her. One of the cool things about BMW is their 4-year 50,000-mile free maintenance program and warranty. Nice. I took it in and had a free inspection and oil change this past week. Talk about getting the red carpet treatment. This dealer's service department didn't hesitate to put me in a brand new white 2010 BMW 328i sedan to use as a loaner while they worked on my BMW.

Man, the sedans are even smoother rides than the convertibles! I almost felt fickle for enjoying it so much. Oh, and BMW doesn't return your serviced car to you without washing it first. Granted, the valet key copy I had made cost me 50 bucks, but for some reason I didn't mind paying it. (A master key copy would have been $175. Yikes.)

Lucky for me, the week I bought the car, my brother Dave introduced me to two neat women who own a startup technology company here in Georgia, and I found myself employed just five days later.

To top that off, it was 80 degrees and sunny today—literally a perfect day. I, of course, found an excuse to leave my home office and go to my brother's home office to pick up some network equipment for the job. I sure took my time on that drive! The sun felt great.

Yeh, yeh. I am fully aware that in about six weeks I'll be complaining miserably about how much I am sweating in the sweltering humidity here. . . .

Man, I can't believe how much I'm enjoying it here. Atlanta - of all places. Hmm.

Hello, Prince Charles (and Other Dignitaries)

Apparently when General Stanley McChrystal stopped in at Camp Bastion and spoke to my sister-in-law Jacqui, he'd already heard about the fact that both she and her son Jason were deployed to Afghanistan. He sought her out and asked her about it. She was sure to tell the General, "If you see my son, tell him to write his mother." She really drove that point home, as you can see from the newspaper article referenced in my last post!

Man, she has a great sense of humor. But how else do you survive a war in the middle of a desert far, far away where you can't tell the good Afghans from the Taliban, and you never know if you're going to step on an IED and lose a limb?

Jacqui sent me email later today saying that her son's best Marine buddy Kevin, a machine gunner like Jason, was thrown from his turret when his vehicle struck and IED. His back was severely broken. Kevin was flown from Camp Bastion to Germany immediately for surgery. The good thing is, he still had some feeling in his lower extremities. I'll definitely be saying some prayers for that kid tonight.

Meanwhile, I had no idea that Prince Charles was as old as he looks in these photos. Here he is in Radiology, with my sister-in-law smiling behind him, to the left.

Family in the News!

Yesterday the Florida Times-Union printed an article about my brother Pete's family. It's pretty good, talking about how Pete's wife and son are both deployed to Afghanistan. Here's the link:

Mom’s in the war zone — but so is her son

Southern Hospitality

I used think that the "southern hospitality" was a myth. Maybe I was living in the wrong part of the South. Either that, or I was just in a bad mood for a really long time.

I've been in Atlanta for four weeks now, and I have to say that I'm blown away by how friendly, outgoing, and approachable people are here. Today I was pumping gas (into my new car) at Costco. There was an SUV adorned with two flying American flags parked in front of me. The little old lady who owned the vehicle looked at my car, then looked at me and asked, "Do you watch TV?"

She proceeded to inform me of a recent news story describing how the static electricity created by getting in and out of the car caused a fire after a woman had gotten back into her car seat after engaging the gas pump. The victim (who was unhurt) failed to discharge the static by touching the door before going back to the pump. (See video here. Also, the full story is here.) In any case, this very sweet woman just wanted me to know about it so that I'd be safe at the pump.

Last night I was following my brother in his car to a local WIT meeting. Being new to the area and not having a navigation system in my car, I usually have a Google map printed out when heading to a new destination. I had the top down on my car. At a stoplight, I'd pulled out my map to see where we were when a woman in the car next to me asked me if I was looking for a particular street. She and her boyfriend, the driver, offered to help me find my way if I was lost!

A couple weeks ago, at the post office, I overheard the female postal worker at the counter casually (and sincerely) call a female customer "Sweetie."

Not to mention, I've had a number of positive interactions in retail businesses here. (Shocking!) I've been shopping for new clothes lately at Macy's, Filene's, Marshall's, and other department stores; 95% of the retail clerks I've come across have reached out to see if I need help. Oh, and they all spoke English. In D.C. there were a number of frustrating experiences where I couldn't communicate with a retail worker because she/he only spoke Spanish. That happened twice at two different Marshall's stores. Who hires people who don't speak English for customer service work?

I did encounter one rather strange individual while car-shopping last week. I'll save that story for another blog post. After all, I need to post pictures of my new, already beloved convertible!

Restoring Order

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since my last blog posting. Well, that's because I've been moving (yet again). I am officially in my 47th abode. Oh, and this is a new state for me—Georgia. So that makes 11 different states (plus Bermuda) that I've lived in.

Don't ask me how I ended up moving this far from New York, especially after I swore I'd never live any further south than Virginia ever again. I'm not a fan of sweltering humidity. Truth is, it's a lot more affordable to be unemployed in Atlanta than in D.C. or NY. So I blame the recession, combined with the absurd cost of living in the D.C. area, for my latest move. Plus I have family here that I don't get to see often enough.

The only thing I'm lacking at this point is a car. In the 12 days that I've been here, I've learned that Atlanta has THE worst public transportation system I've encountered. I live on a major arterial that runs right into Buckhead and out to the suburbs, and yet there is only one single bus I can hop on to go up the road. And that bus only goes about a mile before it's at the end of its route. Not to mention, it runs about once an hour. Pretty useless.

I live near a Marta train station, but the only time that will help me out is if I'm going to the airport. Everyone here agrees that the trains are pretty useless for commuting.

So a car will be a necessity here—something I haven't had to deal with in nearly three years. The insurance will be expensive. I found out that my medical insurance will increase by a whopping fifty percent. My renters insurance tripled. My apartment (plus storage) is 35% cheaper and 14% larger than my place in Virginia. At least the lower cost of housing makes up for the outrageous cost of insurance.

Baby and Jelly survived the trip, which was a 10-hour drive. Baby, as usual, made it quite clear to me that she was upset about moving. Cats are creatures of habit. They don't like sudden, drastic changes in their environment. Baby knew what was up the minute I started packing boxes in December. They were both unhappy about being stuck in a closet/bathroom on moving day.

Then when I put them in their carriers for the road trip that Saturday afternoon, Baby cried for nearly two hours of the 7-hour drive to a South Carolina motel. She finally gave up. The next morning she repeated the dramatic routine, but we were at my brother's place just 2-1/2 hours later, so it wasn't as big a deal.

At my brother's, we had an entire 1,700-sf finished basement apartment to ourselves. So I couldn't understand why the kitties hid under a bed on the cold tile floor, refusing to come out for about an hour. There was so much exploring to be done, so it was bizarre behavior for cats. I realized later that they were probably terrified because they could smell my brother's dog Buddy (a sweet, harmless yellow lab).

After the movers left my apartment that Monday, I went back to my brother's to gather up the girls for their final, brief car ride to our new home.

As soon as I took them out of their carriers and they saw (and smelled) our "stuff," they were ecstatic. There were boxes stacked everywhere, but the girls recognized our things, and thanked me profusely with extra affection for a couple days. Even Jelly, who has never been a "lap cat," crawled up on top of me while I was reading in bed that night and snuggled in on my chest, purring. That's a first.

So here we are. I'll be done unpacking, organizing, and decorating by the end of this weekend. My multitudinous bruises are finally starting to fade, and my sore muscles are starting to feel better. Moving is a tremendous amount of work (especially when your movers fail to produce enough manpower to do the job during the timeframe that you have the loading dock at your apartment reserved—but that's another story).

I'm off to visit my mom and dad (in my brother's borrowed car). Hmmm. It's been about 13 years since I lived within driving distance of my parents. That definitely means more gumbo for me! :)

White Hurricane

Today, 02-10-2010, it is warmer in Reykjavik, Iceland, than it is here—by 20 degrees. We are in a white-out; visibility has been as short as ten feet on the highways. The wind has been howling around my building and up through the elevator shafts all day. My apartment door has been vibrating and the wind whistling outside the windows since I woke up this morning.

Even though I live in a completely enclosed high-rise, trying to open my front door earlier today was difficult due to an invisible and powerful draft. I had to push hard to get back into my place.

We have been in a true blizzard since early this morning, and this afternoon we broke the record for the most snow in D.C. in one winter—the total is nearly 56" now.

Looking out the window, all there is to see is whiteness. Newscasters are interviewing people snow-boarding down hilly streets in D.C. Some guys were out there playing football in the bitter cold and swirling snow. One idiot was out for his regular jog. The news reporter interviewed him near some trail, and when the camera man pulled back, both the jogger and news guy were standing up to their thighs in snow. How do you jog in that?? Geez. That can't be healthy!

Last night the mail carrier didn't come till after I went to bed, so I finally did get a Law & Order DVD and a movie from Netflix. I am sure we won't get any more mail delivered for another couple of days. I spent the day packing and organizing my boxes and containers for my move. There is very little left to pack, and I still have a full nine days before the movers arrive to load the truck.

Here is an unusual sign in the elevator of my apartment building, and some pictures taken from the lobby:

Snow 5.0

You kno-o-o-o-o-w. . . I was pretty sure that when I left New York just over a year ago, I turned left. But now I'm not so sure. This is the South. I'd swear to it. Last time I looked, Virginia is below the Mason-Dixon line.

But we are in the midst of our fifth significant snow of the season. Since 4:00PM today we've gotten another inch of snow where I live, and it's only going to get worse through the night.

Roofs are caving in from the 12 million Olympic-sized-pool-fulls of snow that fell in this area last weekend. Grocery stores are sold out of bananas and dozens of other items. The Federal Government has been closed for days (although that can be a blessing because for once we don't have to hear about congressmen fighting like kids on a playground over the Health Care bill).

Schools have been closed since last Friday and are already closed for the rest of this week. I haven't gotten any mail delivered to my home since last week. And if I don't get my Netflix movies soon, I'm going to have to get a new hobby.

Of course, my cats think that I live strictly for them now because I'm home so much, and they are taking extreme advantage of that situation. Boy are they going to be in for a rude awakening when (if) I find a new job. Well, first we have to move.

At least I've fninished quite a bit of packing for my move. This time I'll make it a point to double-check my route—I gotta be sure I turn left when I leave D.C.

Another 8-12" On the Way

Schools are already closed for tomorrow. The Metro is still down - no trains, no buses. They are running some underground trains, but that only helps if you're only going one to three stops (like Crystal City to the Pentagon, for example). The airport finally reopened today, but flights out were limited.

The roads are still being cleared here. The piles of snow are huge! Many of the sidewalks are treacherous. I walked around Old Town, Alexandria, today for over two hours, so I can vouch for that. The problem is that the street plows push the snow right back up onto the street corners, blocking in pedestrians.

It is truly a gorgeous winter wonderland out there! It was nice to see the sun today, but that won't last long. My face is still red, which I can't explain. I took more pictures and just posted them to a new Picasa album.

Tomorrow around noon we are expecting the next winter snow storm, with accumulations of up to 12" by Wednesday morning.

This was yesterday's view from my apartment window, around dusk:

4th Quarter Interception Scares Cats

Woo-hoo! The Saints are about to wrap up this Super Bowl. With less than 5 minutes left, Tracy Porter of New Orleans stepped in front of a Colts receiver and ran the ball all the way down field for a touchdown.

Baby was at my feet just before the exciting play, and Jelly was across the room resting peacefully in her bed. As soon as I saw the interception, I jumped up and whooped! I was jumping up and down clapping and hollering as Porter ran toward the end zone when Baby ran off. As soon as the play ended, Jelly got up, headed to the bedroom and went straight for the bed skirt, where she ducked under the bed.

It's Saints 31, Colts 17. I love Peyton Manning (he is incredibly precise), but I am rooting 110% for the Saints. They deserve a Super Bowl win.

Blizzard Photo Album Posted on Picasa

I went out at 11AM today to enjoy the deep snow. It is just beautiful out there. I tromped over to the Patent & Trademark Office, where the snow was up to 21" deep. There were a few steps that I took here and there where I had no idea just how deep it was until I found myself up to my thighs in snow!

When I came across my favorite ZipCar (named "Dalai Lama"), I decided to have some fun and clean it off.

Then I was headed to the back entrance of my building (I was going to go in through the loading dock area instead of ruining the marble floors and carpet of the lobby) when I spied a few snow shovels propped up against a trash bin. I grabbed one and spent the next hour digging out a pedestrian path through a 4' wall of snow that was originally created by snow plows after the last snow. It was a challenge.

It was either do that or go to the gym, and I wanted to be outside in the snow, so I dug until I was done (and totally wiped out)! At one point I wasn't sure I could finish, but I wasn't going to leave it partway done. I felt like I'd burned a thousand calories by the time I was done!

When I stepped inside the loading dock area I realized my pants were frozen in places, my hair was frozen with ice where it peeked out from under my snow hat, and every piece of clothing I was wearing was pretty much soaked through and icy.

Two hours after I first went outside, I got back to my apartment, put my wet clothes in the dryer, and took a hot shower. It was a weird sensation, feeling the hot water run over my frozen skin. I heated up some chili after that and read an email from my friend Rashmi up in Maryland where there was nearly 30 inches accumulated. Her car was completely buried in the parking lot and she couldn't open her front storm door due to the big drift up against it.

This is amazing. A church in D.C. essentially collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow. The newscaster said it looked like someone had sat on it.

Nearly 200,000 people are out of power. I really feel for those folks. I've got it good up here on a high floor where I never need to run my heat because my apartment is warmed by those around it.

Here's a link to some photos on Picasa. Enjoy!

D.C. Blizzard Feb. 2010

Woman Walks 3 Miles in Blizzard to Use Sandwich Coupon

I was severely disappointed to hear that the Postal Service has suspended mail delivery today—meaning no Netflix movie for me tonight—but there's plenty of entertainment on the all-day local TV news coverage of the Blizzard of 2010.

A local NBC news station has quite the eccentric reporter, Pat Collins. He's standing outside beside Connecticut Avenue, interviewing people who venture near him in the snow. Each person who comes along is asked to insert the yard stick into an untouched pile of snow and provide us with the measurement live on TV. Thus far, the snow has measured 17 to 21" deep there in downtown D.C.

One local woman that Pat interviewed, bundled up and wearing a backpack, walked to Giant so that she could use a coupon before it expired to get a free deli sandwich. Sure enough, she came back with the sandwich a little while later and allowed Pat to dig it out of her backpack to display for the camera.

Another woman, wearing sneakers and heading for her daily jog, was interviewed regarding the plastic kitchen garbage bags, ZipLoc bags and rubber bands that she'd used to fashion some snow boots to keep her feet dry during her run.

Last night, I was watching the news when a reporter who was streaming video live via Skype or Ustream came across Senator Tom Daschle stuck in the snow. The NBC photographer got out of the vehicle and helped push the senator's car out of the snow. Of course, the video hit YouTube shortly thereafter.

Then you've got your darker humor exposed in stories like Gun-Free Snowball Fights Planned, a headline suggesting you can leave your bullet-proof vest at home this time—referencing the incident of late 2009 when an angry off-duty cop brandished a weapon during a harmless D.C. snowball fight.

Apparently, there's about 30" of snow in Howard County, Maryland, where I own a townhouse. (Since my tenant can't seem to provide the rent to me on time, there's no doubt in my mind that she won't bother to shovel the sidewalk.)

I'll be outside soon enough to take more pictures.

First Snow Images

When I was a kid, after coming in from playing in the snow we'd strip off all our wet outer clothing in the garage, go inside the house, put fuzzy slippers on, and drink hot cocoa in front of the fireplace.

Today, when I came in from shooting some night photos of the heavy wet snow, I plopped down in my chair, put my laptop in my lap (for warmth) and immediately downloaded my pictures to the computer, compressed them, and posted them on my blog.

Gee, things have changed. But I did have fun out in the snow! Brrrrr. The wind was whipping up icy snow. That stuff stings when it hits you in the face.

Here are a few images, taken within a few blocks of where I live. It's a new camera, so I had to mess around with the settings to try to get pictures at the right exposure that aren't blurry. Still working on figuring that out. This camera has more settings than I know what to do with. But a handful of the 68 pictures that I shot during my brief excursion seemed to come out OK.

Bracing for the Snow

The snow has started falling here. It's a wet snow right now, and the weatherman predicts 18-30" for this area. On Wednesday I got a ZipCar to run errands. I really didn't need to buy a lot of food. It was more important than anything that I got milk. I can't go a day without milk.

All week long, any time you turn on the news here, they're talking about the big storm headed our way from Texas. It's going to be rain for the southern states, but a ton of snow beginning with Virginia and heading north from here.

When I went to Whole Foods Wednesday around 5pm, it was a bit more crowded than usual, but I got in and out quickly. Then today I saw this story on the news—last night around 7pm the Whole Foods near my home was so inundated with last-minute shoppers that they actually had to close for a half hour to process the folks in there! Then they had to let groups of people shop in shifts. Too funny. One woman was on her cell phone panicking because they wouldn't let her in right away.

Funny, last night I realized that I had everything I needed except for green vegies. I wasn't going to be able to go three whole days eating just corn with my lunch and dinner meals. So this morning before the snow started, I walked to Whole Foods to buy some frozen peas and broccoli. I also needed to check my mail box downtown to see if my stupid tenant had mailed the rent for February yet. Nope. Of course not. It's time to take legal action against her—something I dread because of the amount of time that it will consume.

A wet snow started to fall on my walk to town. It was 36 degrees out, and the flakes melted as soon as they touched my clothing, so it was more like being out in a light rain than snow. But I got my peas, came home, took a shower, washed my hair, put my sweats on, and am ready to spend about 2-3 days in this chair. Thank god we have a gym in my building. Plus, what a great time to have the Super Bowl. That will keep people occupied on Sunday.

Go Saints!

When Will the Precipitation End?

Man, I can't believe it's snowing again. On December 20th we had a record snowfall of 20 inches, which delayed my trip home from NY for five hours. The snow from that winter storm stuck around for a while. Not long afterward, we suddenly had a day near 70 degrees.

Then, on January 20 we had severe rainstorms that delayed my flight home from Atlanta by five hours. On January 30th we got seven inches of snow. The sidewalks are still slick with thick, lumpy ice from that, and today while walking home from errands, I saw people still shoveling snow.

For tonight, the weatherman has predicted another 3-6 inches of snow. For Saturday and Sunday, an even "bigger" winter storm is coming. How big? Who knows? They haven't said yet. They just keep calling it bigger than the last.

So my plans for tomorrow are all cancelled. I had a car reserved for the whole day, but ZipCar was kind enough to allow me to cancel penalty-free due to the forecasted snow accumulation.

Even when I lived up in NY I never saw this much snow. Sheesh! On the bright side, living in an apartment building has its advantages, as does not having a car. . . .

NutriSystem: After Five Months

I must say that NutriSystem works. I started the program five and a half months ago and, although it took some getting used to (requiring much humor and sarcasm), I've lost 25.5 pounds.

During the first 35-day program, I stuck to the NS diet nearly 100%. For the next 35-day batch of NS food, I stuck to the diet maybe 75%, which stretched out my supply of NS food by a few weeks. But since then, I have yet to complete the third round of NS food that I'd ordered back in December; I've successfully been able to mix the NS food with non-NS food every day and still lose weight. On many days I've avoided NS food altogether, substituting my own stuff—albeit in the same vein as the program.

This is actually a good thing because I continue to lose weight while avoiding the NS MREs and occasionally indulging in a meal out or other treat. I have a thing for the Whole Foods cold bar, which I treat myself to once a week. WF also has these fantastic black bean quesadillas and chicken quesadillas that you can buy in the pre-packaged meals section. Oh, and I love the WF chili and some of their soups. Costco chili is pretty good, too.

So I've been substituting entrees. The rest is easy—I just eat lots of fruits and vegies. When I am hungry for a snack, I automatically reach for a piece of fruit, a container of yogurt, or a handful of almonds. If someone offers me a cookie or some candy, I politely decline. ("I don't do that anymore.") If I indulge one evening on a meal out, then I skip dessert the next day or do an extra workout. It all seems to balance out in the end.

It works. The idea behind successful weight loss is learning to eat right. It means breaking bad habits. It's basically that simple. It is really no different from quitting smoking. You just have to decide to do it. Once it becomes habit, it requires no second thought. Of course, excercising is necessary for good health, so that element goes without saying.

There is one drawback, however. If you lose a bunch of weight while unemployed, then you end up without a wardrobe. That's the situation I've gotten myself into now. Fortunately, I had saved a bunch of my smaller clothes in a big box that I dug out of the back corner of my storage closet a few weeks ago. I hadn't seen most of those clothes since 2004—when I was a smoker! There were items in there that still had the tags on them. It was like Christmas!

Meanwhile, I've made several trips to Good Will in a ZipCar. This time, I'm not keeping my fat clothes. I never plan to wear them again! Besides, I'm tired of packing and hauling three separate wardrobes (in three different sizes) every time I move.

So the good part is, I do have some clothes I can wear. Granted, my selection is limited, but I can't complain. It sure will be fun to go clothes shopping when I find myself employed again. Hopefully that will happen by this spring.

How I Jinxed My Own Flight

The words came out of my mouth at my mom's house about four hours before my flight time: "No worries - Delta is always on time." It was raining cats and dogs—with tornado warnings plaguing the Atlanta area Sunday afternoon—so I suspected there might be flight delays. But Delta.com told me my flight was on schedule.

I should have known better.

Driving my sister-in-law Judy's Celica, I left my mom's house 65 minutes ahead of time for the presumed 50-minute drive, plowing through a torrential downpour to get to the Marta train station. I had planned to park the car in the Marta garage, hide the Garmin navigator and my mom's house key in the glove box, leave the car key on a tire, and catch the 5PM train to the airport for my 7:20 flight.

My biggest mistake was picking up the phone to return a call from Judy. As a rule, I don't like talking on the phone while driving. We were only on the phone for a minute, but it was just enough for me to miss my turn. The Garmin recalcuated, adding five minutes to my arrival time, which was cutting it close.

To make matters worse, the streets were flooded, so I had to drive slowly. As time passed, my arrival time on the Garmin lengthened to the point that I decided I'd just have to take the 5:20 train. This relieved some of the stress to get there on time, so I stopped to fill up the gas tank.

But the rain came down even harder and I seemed to hit every red light. This time when the phone rang while I was driving, I simply ignored it. That was my second mistake because it was probably Delta calling me to tell me my flight was delayed, in which case I wouldn't have rushed.

I got to Marta close to 5:12, knowing I'd have to rush to get a ticket. I parked quickly, tucked a $10 bill into the ashtray to cover parking and, in my hurry, threw the Garmin, the house key, and the car key into the glove box. No sooner had I shut the door than I'd realized my mistake. I'd locked their only key inside the car. Great. But I had to run to catch the train, so I decided I'd call Judy as soon as I got on the train. I'd just have to pay her to hire a locksmith.

First, I couldn't find the way to the trains and climbed three or four flights of stairs before I realized I was going the wrong way. When I finally got back on track, I struggled at the machine to determine what kind of ticket to buy. I got the ticket and ran up to the platform. As soon as I got on the train I got the call from Delta. The automated voice seemed to take forever to spit out the message that my flight was delayed until 8:32. Just before the doors closed, I jumped off the train to deal with the car problem.

After several phone calls with Judy, my brother, a locksmith, and my insurance company, we determined that I should just get back on the train and go. I tried to re-use my Marta ticket, but was forced to buy a new one. (Rip-off!!).

I arrived at the airport around 7PM. While verifying my 8:32 flight, I noticed that two earlier flights to D.C. had been cancelled. Yikes. This was bad. Another monitor later didn't list my flight at all, so I made my way to the gate and found a seat. It wasn't long before the announcement came that my flight was delayed till 11PM. No explanation was offered. Aargh. That's when I moved to the floor and plugged in my phone and laptop to get them charged up for the wait.

Thank god for the NFL play-offs. Everyone in the crowded airport was watching the Saints game on TVs everwhere. The crowd at my gate was a ton of fun. It was pretty exciting to see the Saints win in OT (despite the three bad referee calls in a row).

Long story short, the flight was delayed till 11:20. But by then we were still boarding and delays weren't even being announced by the busy Delta gate rep maintained a surprisingly fantastic attitude throughout the hectic ordeal. Fully boarded, we still didn't have pilots. After the safety check and the long line of planes waiting to take off, we finally took off at 12:20AM.

Arriving at DCA around 2AM, I went all the way to the Metro station, only to find it closed. Geez! What kind of subway closes at night?? Argh.

I had to make my way back to the cabbie stand, where the line was about 100 deep at that point. My entire plane was standing there. I road with two other strangers to my neighborhood, but the cabbie wouldn't let us split the bill, gouging us to pay full price each. It was a rip-off, but at that point I didn't care. I was tired, hungry, and just wanted my bed. Even when the meter read $16.01 and he quoted me $17.60, I just handed him a twenty in the pouring rain and wind and went inside my building.

I've only travelled three times in the past 1.5 years, but leave it to me to pick two return trips during the biggest east coast storms of the year. Both times I kept saying, "Everything will be fine." Wrong. See, I jinxed it!

Never again. From now on, I go back to assuming the worst.

Note - At least my 'girls' were really glad to see me...

Jelly Weigh-in

This morning I decided it was time to weigh Jelly. I've been trying to get her to lose weight. It's not easy to get one cat to lose weight when you've got two, because it's difficult to separate food bowls when they both have free reign of the house. Plus, Jelly will eat anything.

So first I weighed myself. Then, I picked up Jelly and weighed both of us. The good news is that I lost half a pound. The bad news is that Jelly found it.

Arrgh. She's up to sixteen pounds! Last time I weighed her she was 15.5, which was bad enough. But 16 is over the top, especially considering she supposedly weighed 13.5 when I first adopted her (at least, that's what her paperwork indicates). I've got to do something more to help her lose weight.

I keep trying to give her less food and have cut way back on letting her lick the yogurt lid. But then she cries with her squeaky little voice to get me to put something in her empty bowl. It's pathetic. And pretty hard to resist. I feel like such a bad "mom" watching her cry next to her empty bowl. Then I feel like a worse mom for giving in.

The key is to get a job and get out of the house. Then I won't have any temptation to give in to her protests. This is the most demanding cat I've ever met! Lovable, yes. That's the problem. It's too hard to resist that chubby little jellicle face, especially when it's backed by the most pathetic squeaks imaginable. Trust me, the squeaking is a killer. You've got to hear it to believe it.

Even as I type this, she is reaching her little white paws up to the armrest of my chair, looking me straight in the eye, and squeaking with unbearable desperation. When I get up out of my chair, she gallops to her empty bowl, her belly paunch swishing from side to side. I put a small amount of kibble in her bowl. She chomps it down like there's no tomorrow. The bowl is clean within seconds. Sigh. . . . I'll try again tomorrow.

Family Reunion in Afghanistan

My nephew Jason the Marine arrived safely in Afghanistan yesterday and was reunited with his mom at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand. Jacqui the Navy doctor was in tears, as she loves both of her sons to pieces.

Jason and his brother Matt are great kids. Matt is such a rock star. Yesterday he was promoted to Commanding Officer of his high school NJROTC unit. Earlier in the week he finished a marathon in the balmy Orlando 26-degree weather - in just 4 hours 20 minutes. The previous week he received another Congressional nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy. There is no doubt in my mind that he will one day be President, or something better - like Master of the Universe or King of all that is Good and Right in the World. Something like that.

I'm so proud of both of my nephews. Of course, it goes without saying that their father is proud too. I gotta hand it to my brother - he raised some pretty awesome young men.

Jacqui just sent us these pictures. Thank god for the Internet!






We're all praying for their safe and speedy return to the states later this year. Your prayers are welcome!