Lucky Strike

Bowling goes clubbing?

The D.C. Tri Club had their holiday happy hour last night at a little downtown bowling alley called Lucky Strike. I happily attended, met some new people, and bowled a REALLY crappy game. This isn't your typical smokey, redneck-filled bowling alley. No, this is bowling D.C. style. Cosmic bowling for adults, if you will. A little pricey, but definetly a cool place to hang out.

Look forward to going back. For more info check this little article out by the Washington Post.

Its official.

Probably the greatest lunchtime snack, EVER!!!


...that is all.

Wisp

Took a day trip out to Wisp, which is located in FARRRRR western Maryland. Like, FAR!

As soon as I arrived at the mountain it started snowing, it was perfect. At first the wind was gusting, and made it a bit dificult to see but after an hour it let up and kept on lightly snowing enough to put a fine powder down on the trails.

It was my first time at Wisp, and it has all the making of a great ski destination...it has the snow, the temperatures, the location, BUT the mountain. The trails are just too damn short. They have the steepness, but a few turns later and you're at the bottom waiting in line for a ride back tot he top. I spent most of my time in the terrain park, which was weak at best. A couple rails, a tabletop, and a little spine...hardly big at all. Oh well, next time I'll try some other places.

It was still sweet to get out there, though!


Good Song: Mobius Band - Radio Coup

mmmm, snow.

Its been mighty cold in the nation's capital over the past week or so. We've gotten a few inches of snow here and there....which means the ski resorts out in the mountains have been getting their fair share too, and making more as we speak.

Wisp is having a special this weekend to coincide with their season opening. $7 dollar lift ticket for the entire day on Sunday in honor of their 50th anniversary! Can't pass that up! I'll be sure to report back, and let you know how it compares to the 'Nut and good 'ol Wintergreen. I'll hopefully have a couple pics of me carving through that fresh pow-pow (translation: fresh snow), as well!

See you on the slopes!

Good Song: matt pond PA - Halloween

Holidays!

Guest entry from Dwight K. Schrute (the one with the elf hat)...


GOOD MORNING INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To you, my incredible internet, I dedicate my blog. You, the world wide web, make all of our lives possible. What did we do before you existed? How did we get by?

Here's what you provide me, what you allow me:

1) The ability to check my e-mail

2) Holiday shopping for all my friends (11) and family (43).

3) My blog

4) Videos of violent accidents

5) The ability to research weather patterns, the klingon language, the karma sutra, and/or chevy slant-6 engines from 1979-1982.

6) German culture

7) Images of women

Speaking of women, what is up with the fairer sex? Why are they so moody and impulsive and emotional?

Dear readers of Schrute-Space (many, many of whom are women) I need help in understanding what makes chicks tick.

For instance, I will hear a certain girl say "Do I look fat?" And I will respond, "What do you mean by fat? In some cultures, (bush pygmies), you would be considered 'hefty' or 'chunky' even. But to others (wisconsin) you would be as skinny as an anorexic."

My observations are true and correct and yet I'm the one who has to apologize and buy 8 dozen roses and a dinner at Red Lobster in order to make up for it.

As Science officers Spock or Data would say, "highly illogical, Captain."

Speaking of which. Who would win in a fight?

Spock, Data, Bruce Lee or Sly Stallone from 'Judge Dredd'?

Thoughts?

That is all.

Dwight K. Schrute

PS. Christmas is upon us. This year I have decided to dress as an elf. On my head at least. The rest of me is dressed as Dwight.

PPS. I want everyone who reads this blog to have a wonderful holiday season (including Hannukah and Kwanzaa and Ramadan) and I want everyone who doesn't read this blog to have a sucky holidays.

CVS = Rip off

First, the bad news:

It cost me over $90 dollars to get 4 rolls of film put on a CD when I took it to CVS. It also took them almost a week to do this. Ridiculous? I think so. I would highly recommend NOT taking any film to CVS to have developed. Or, if you do make sure you know exactly what you're getting and how much you can expect it will be. Don't get ripped off...like me. Damn it.

The good news:

The film I did have put on CD is pretty good, I'd like to think. I posted them to my Flikr account for your viewing pleasure (just click on the link to the right). These were taken when I was travelling across the country to different Xterra races setting up a mobile retail store during the summer of 2004. It was a pretty good gig, I gotta tell you. Theres nothing like riding your bike, hiking, and camping in some of the most picturesque places this country has to offer, oh and doing a little work now and then, too. Enjoy!

Good Song: Badly Drawn Boy - You Were Right

Earth Magnet.

Dislocated finger. Yah, I know...it doesn't look that bad, and that may be because I was lucky enough to pop it back in place before it swelled too much. I assure you that did not feel good either. Yay, lucky me!!

How did I do it? Mountain biking, duh. The first decent sized downhill of the day I, being my awesome self, was trying to be a little too fancy going through a big pile of leaves. Little did I know, that underneath that well placed pile was a lovely tire grabbing ditch. A little turn here, and a wobble there, aaaand goodbye front wheel hello ground! Along with the finger, came a few strawberries on the knee, elbow, and hip. Have you ever been in the shower after you just got one of those bad boys? Wow, does it sting! Oh well...it happens.

It was still worth it, cause those trails at Patapsco were some of the nicest I've been on in the greater D.C. area. Next time I just won't try and be so damn fancy.

Peace!

Good Song: Nada Surf - Concrete Bed

Are you kidding me?

...and I thought D.C. real estate was crazy expensive!

Price of Air


Good Song: Imogen Heap - Clear the Area

Take the L.E.A.P

Well,

Instead of my typical day of sitting in a cubicle doing work my company had a "Community Meeting" for all the Goverment consultants. A sort of "All Hands" meeting, if you will. It was pretty well done. Of course there were the usual speakers trying to get you motivated, and feel good about what you do, but that is to be expected I think. Alot of prizes were given away, including Ipods, Irobots, and other trinkets for staying awake during the speakers, and paying attention. Whatever gets it done, right?!

The final key note speaker was a man by the name of Steve Farber. He has written a book called The Radical Leap, and it discusses the concept of "Extreme Leadership". What is extreme leadership you ask? Well, according to Mr. Farber it relates to L.E.A.P (of course, another acronym) which stands for:

L = Love, E = Energy, A = Audacity, P = Proof

And to me, I think it really makes sense...and more importantly relates to not just business, but ANYTHING we have a hand in. Because you have to have Love for what you do, be Energetic about it, contain Audacity to make changes when necessay, and have Proof of results. All of which, when combined, creates a successful leader AND a succesful person. In addition to this concept, he also discussed the "OS!M". The OS!M stands for "Oh, shit! moment". Or, that moment when you think you've bitten off a little more than you can handle, when you want out, but you keep pushing ahead to see success. An OS!M. The exact thing that pushes our boundaries, keeps us honest, and motivated to pursue excellence in anything we do. Everyone should be working to find their OS!M. Its what divides the winners from the losers. Interesting stuff, and something I believe I've experienced recently, and can see the benefit from.

Hopefully, you do too.

Later!

Walk-Thru?

Contrary to popular belief you cannot walk through a "drive-thru". Atleast not a Taco Bell one. Some friends and I put this myth to rest late last night, to prove to ourselves that, as awesome as it sounds, it just can't be done. We were forced to then make friends with the driver of a car behind us, and hop in with him so that our orders of Grade F Beef concoctions could be taken. MMMM, nothing better at 3am! So just a warning to those of you out there who may also be contemplating this act: The Taco Bell employees will not acknowledge you, and never take your order. So just make some friends with a not-too-sketchy car, and you'll be set!

Good luck!

Good Song: Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies! They Are Neighbors!

Black Friday...

Ahh yes, the start of something BIG...another holiday shopping season. How many different blogs, news sites, etc. have something related to this very special Friday after Thanksgiving? I'm betting about every single one of them. Of course they're all writing about different aspects of it...from fights that break out over a crappy xbox 360, to how low wal-mart is selling their kill me elmo dolls, how much money stores will be raking in, and so on...And I would just like to let you know that I, too, have given in to this holiday of consumption and purchased a (drum roll, please) Digital Camera!

Not just any camera though, a Kodak Easy Share C340...hey, they even threw in a FREE printer dock so that as soon as I get back from my crazy expeditions in the wild (concrete) jungle of D.C. I can immediately print these bad boys out to share with all! Weeeee. In reality, I got it because I think I see some pretty cool stuff while I'm out biking, hiking, snowboarding, socializing, etc. and in this day in age, with my short memory span caused by information overload, I need documentation to show that yes, in fact, I did go to *insert destination* or wherever. So there you have it, and be on the look out for some sweet pics as I start playing with this cool gadget. Hell, the picture you see at the top of this post was taken with the new camera....Its just a picture of my room BUT I added some nifty effects to make it look like a cartoon. How you like me NOW?! Haha.

Well, be sure to enjoy your extended holiday, and don't eat too much. Peace!

Good Song: Youth Group - See Saw

Winter Wonderland

Today, November 23, 2005 at aproximately 6:30pm in Arlington, VA ITS SNOWWWWWWWWING!!! (Shout out to Southie)
Coming Soon: WhiteGrass, Snowshoeing, Snowboarding, Snow Angels, and Hot tubs. I love winter!

Bring it on Mother Nature!

We lost...

Whew, that was intense! The guys league indoor soccer team I play for lost a hard fought battle to the first place team in the league. Unfortunately, we were leading 5-1 at the half and managed to squander that away and lose 8-6 or something like that. The other team suspiciously had some new talent that was recruited during half time, and consisted of skilled hispanic old guys who were very good. We may have to take this up with the comish, but then again....its only a game! I scored a couple goals, but felt like complete crap playing...I don't think the fact that the game started at 11pm nor that I had gone to a bar for a drink beforehand had ANY effect on my motivation to play in that game. Haha, live and learn.

Afterwards, I gave a good friend of mine a call who recently moved out to California with his wife. Its always nice to catch up with old friends, talking about great memories and just having a sounding board for personal struggles. Good times!

Later on!

Good Song: Bloc Party - Banquet(Phones Disco Edit)