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February 27, 2003
I Lomo'd a Photo
I couldn't help it. I see these photos all over the web and I felt a need to get into the action. I had some help.
{via kottke.org }
Posted by kafi at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
JOB OPENING: PERSONAL/EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO CEO
Goobiebabybutt@XXXXX.XXX is having trouble finding an assistant.
PT Assistant sought for house-related duties in Alexandria. Duties include: light housecleaning, dog walking, pet sitting, local errands(grocery, post office, office store)bill payments, answering phone, light clerical work. Hours are 8am-noon Mon-Friday. Pay is $250 cash per week. Relevant experience preferred. Must like pets. Must have car and cell phone.
I wonder why Goobiebabybutt is having such a difficult time finding someone to fill the position? Could it be her email address or maybe it's just the salary and car/cell phone requirement?
{via craigslist}
Posted by kafi at 01:25 PM | Comments (2)
February 26, 2003
Real World on Real World?
Last night I was watching "talking head" TV and who did I see but that girl Lindsay from Real World Seattle. She was reporting on Alton from the current Real World in Las Vegas. Apparently he was arrested blah blah blah, who really cares? With so many interesting and exciting things going on in the world, who has time for crap like this? I feel like the news is letting me down.
Posted by kafi at 10:26 AM | Comments (1)
Light Snow Brings Rush Hour to a Halt
One inch of snow turned my short 8 mile commute into an hour long saga, to be continued this evening, I'm sure. I was reminded of my commute from downtown Baltimore to D.C., a trek I didn't mind making because I like driving, the BW Parkway is pretty and it gave me plenty of time to wind down in the evenings. I'd pack a portable breakfast, a mug of coffee and a water bottle and I was set for my 35 mile drive. But this morning was just ridiculous. I wasn't prepared. I had my coffee, but no water and nothing to eat. I started to get irritated until I tuned into the local shock jock's show. That gave me a good laugh and helped me to relax as I moved, bumper to bumper along the highway.
Posted by kafi at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2003
What is happening to the News?
The other night I was watching the national news. You know, the serious news to keep up with, well, serious national and world events. And there was a story on reality TV. It was described as being the crack cocaine of TV. Then the interviewer used the "b" word. I was shocked. Who needs reality TV when the news has become just as sensational?
Anyway, last night I watched Fear Factor and Joe Millionaire to get my nightly fix. I could feel my brain melting and soon after I was unable to string together a coherent sentence. Ahh, the wonders of the boob tube.
Posted by kafi at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2003
Caution! Exploding Prawn Heads!
The $20.00 entrance fee prevented us from going to Fado yesterday for a couple of pints of Guinness. It did, howver, present the perfect opportunity to try the new beer restaurant, R.F.D. just a couple doors down. How could we go wrong with a place that boasts over 300 beers and 30 beers on tap? Believe me when I say things went wrong the minute we stepped into the restaurant.
The decor still had an asian feel, leftover from restaurants that had occupied the building in the past (I should mention this place is in Chinatown). Jade colored tiles, random international beer posters and fine white tablecloths and silverwear all came together and screamed confusion. Kevin found the waitstaff in polo shirts and baseball caps annoying and the service even more annoying. I'll just say we really didn't have much in the way of service at all.
After ordering a couple of what turned out to be mediocre pints, we placed an order for buffalo wings, the only "bar" food on the menu. Thirty minutes and another couple of pints later, we inquired about our wings. "Oh yeah, the other waiters keep taking your order before I can get to them." Ten minutes later, he arrived at our table with a plate of shrimp and prawns on the house, for being so patient. Kevin does not like prawns. After our first visit to the aquarium together watching the shrimp with their little shrimp legs hop throughout the water, Kevin pretty much had it with crustaceans. He was throughly grossed out. He thought he'd seen the worse at the aquarium. He had not. Immediately, I took a prawn by it's tail and attempted to pop off the head. Instead, I sprayed prawn brains and guts all over our perfect white tablecloth. After attempting to hide the mess I made, I tried again and ripped away the meat from the shell. Kevin sat there in horror watching me, murmering something about Daryl Hanna in Mermaid. It's a wonder he was able to continue eating. I apologized to him and continued to eat.
When the buffalo wings finally arrived, our waiter announced the wings were on him for taking so long. Since lobster and crab and salmon served with crab and rockfish stuffed with crab and boar and venison stew all seemed a little decadent for a beer restaurant, we ordered a couple of burgers while we had the waiters' attention. Someone in the kitchen must have felt really bad about our order because Kevin received a double cheeseburger instead of the single he had ordered but that still didn't make up for the missing dill pickles and the room temperature fries.
One may ask, why we stayed at the restaurant as long as we did. Well, after 45 minutes and placing a couple of orders we just figured we'd ride the experience out, for whatever it may turn out to be. At the very least, we ruled out one restaurant in Chinatown. And there are still plenty of other places to get a good pint in the city.
Posted by kafi at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2003
Housekeeping
For weeks now I have been updating and tweaking my stylesheet. My archives kind of looked right, but not really and the homepage wouldn't budge. Rebuilding resulted in nothing and I was getting angry. So I finally decided to take a really close look under the hood and what did I see? I was referencing the wrong stylesheet. So, my intended design is finally being unveiled. Derrr!
Posted by kafi at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2003
Selling a Lifestyle
When I was in San Francisco last summer, I drooled over the West Elm furniture in the Dwell magazine placed on the night table in my hotel room. So immediately I sent away for the catalog. When it finally arrived I had to wrestle both my roommate and my boyfriend for it. As I pored over the beautiful furniture and home decorations, I had Trading Spaces dreams of transforming my apartment. Alas that never happened, but I can still dream. Why will West Elm be successful? It is the mastermind of Williams-Sonoma, targeted to me and others like me, Starbucks sipping, Target-on-the-weekend shopping, Ann Taylor wearing weekend warriors like me. They will succeed the old fashioned way, when people had to pick up a telephone and place their order. Actually, there are plans for an online presence and retail stores in the near future.
And then there is CB2 the brainchild of Crate & Barrel, with pretty much the same target audience. I hear they have plans to open a store in DC when they find the right spot. I know the right place. It should be near the MCI center, which isn't far from where the H&M will be built. Or at least one of them.
CB2 sells "fun" items, like a more upscale Target, whereas West Elm has a more sophisticated offering of home furnishings. I look forward to shopping at both stores, or at least browsing.
The Washington Post explains the CB2 core audience:
• Urban professional, age 25 to 40, on the cusp of peak earning years.
• More likely to live in a loft, apartment or townhouse than a house in the suburbs.
• Skeptical, impatient and highly mobile.
• Known for spur-of-the-moment purchases, devoted to techno gadgetry.
• Likes trends, but not gimmicks.
• Gravitates to the cool and casual.
yep, that's me.
{via Washington Post}
Posted by kafi at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
A Non-Survivor
Imagine my horror as I found out that Ryan,the first person to get kicked off Survivor is from my hometown. He completely misrepresents Columbia. On the radio he came off as a complete tool, saying such things as "bada-bing". I mean, who says that?
Posted by kafi at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2003
Anne's Place to offer Code Orange Special
I'm confused. What is a ** CODE-ORANGE SPECIAL ** and why would a Guest House in Dupont Circle offer such a thing? Does that mean the apartments are stocked with 3 days worth of food, plastic sheeting, duct tape and a map of an escape route?
Posted by kafi at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2003
Housebound Another Day
Today, instead of lying around and being miserable, I got up with a purpose and made my first of 3 attempts to shovel my car out of the snow. Session one resulted in being able to walk alongside my car. After session two my car was unveiled, revealing a beautiful coating of granular ice. Session three was supposed to happen tomorrow, but upon the insistence of the roommate, I continued to remove the 4x3ft snow bank, courtesy of my local plowers. This last session was most interesting, for I laid eyes on neighbors I had never even seen before.
The women were extremely chatty and friendly and the guy with the jeep was helpful. Had he not started removing the snow blocking my car, my achy, tired arse would have been inside, lounging on the couch with a steaming cup of french roast coffee. But I felt impelled to stay and continue the work and even managed to move my car a couple of feet (with the help of a neighbor and the roommate). Sick with cabin fever, I hope to make an escape tomorrow, although that is highly unlikely given the lack of tread on my tires, the fact that work is officially closed (I think) and the snow emergency currently in effect.
That just gives me more time to watch movies, eat fresh baked cake and homemade pad thai. Tomorrow I shall be productive. I will print photographs, make a CD for Kevin, update or redesign my portfolio and continue reading Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, a book that has convinced me that eating ground meat, among other foods, just isn't worth the trouble. Eric Schlosser gives insight into the meat packing industry and their safety regulations, or lack thereof. A very interesting and worthwhile read.
Posted by kafi at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
Chinese New Year
Given that I have been housebound for the past 24 hours, I had a little time to add more photos to the site. The day was mild compared to winter we've been having and the sky was beautiful, which helped the photos.Posted by kafi at 12:08 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2003
New Photos
Sundays have been reserved for taking photos around the city. These were taken Feb. 9 before and after the Chinese New Year parade. The parade photos will be up in a couple of days.Posted by kafi at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
snowed-in weekend
Normally I welcome snow days. Just not on the weekend. It is only Sunday morning and I am bored out of my mind. I've read the news, I have my to-do list, but not being able to leave my place gives me cabin fever like you wouldn't believe. My weekends aren't spent at home, they are spent running errands, visiting the parents and friends, getting a great cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop and taking photographs around D.C. Maybe I'll just work on my resume or update the photo section of my site. Yeah, that sounds like fun.Posted by kafi at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2003
Mass Hysteria Across the Nation!
The media has done a fantastic job of instilling fear and anxiety. Terror threats! Buy duct tape, seal off your safe room! Stock up on supplies! In DC, there have been random allusions to an escape route, but if you ask anyone on the street about it, they are clueless. Poor communication is contributing even more to the chaos. If there is an escape route, it should be announced on TV, radio, websites, everywhere. While Americans are being spoonfed little useless tidbits of information about how to protect themselves, real issues are going unnoticed. Things like knowing if my local hospital (both near home and at work) is prepared for a biological attack. Is my workplace prepared.
AS of about 4:00pm this afternoon, I received an email from the President stating that the organization is prepared in the event of an attack. Given the organization I work for for I am not suprised to hear this, but it's still nice to see everything detailed in a tidy little email.
I've also been taking advantage of google's translate button to read some oversea's news:
LeFigaro
more info
Washington Post
Red Cross
Homeland Security
Posted by kafi at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2003
What is Wrong with People?
I just removed a link from my web site. While building my new site, I hastily added a bunch of links which I am removing, but apparently, not quickly enough. As I spent a bit of time reading some of the sites I could potentially be linking to, I had to refrain from writing nasty comments on their sites. Okay, I wouldn't actually stoop to writing cruel and nasty comments, but I was tempted. Those poor, whiny souls. What I found most disturbing is that these people have friends commenting on their every post, enabling them to whine and cry about their pathetic little lives.
Posted by kafi at 05:30 PM | Comments (0)
Heart Day
Tomorrow is valentine's day. With nothing planned, Kevin and I quickly decided it would be easiest to go to dinner at Anatolia. Dinner is always consistent and satisfies my taste for kebab, plus we always go there for our "couple events". Jokingly, I told Kevin I wanted roses, diamonds and chocolates. I care for none of these things. I won't mention what I'd really like, but if he's smart, he will be doing a little shopping this evening.
I've never been the holiday-type. November through February are torture as far as the holidays are concerned. The friction and expectations and general expense make me yearn for St. Patrick's day. Why? It's simple. What beats a holiday centered around good company and great beer? To me, it kicks off the festival season, my favorite time of year when family and friends converge on the streets and celebrate culture, food, music, art and each other.
* Don't forget the Washington D.C International Wine Festival at the Washington Convention Center , Feb. 22-23. Buy your one day pass by Friday for $50 and sample wines from all over the world, attend seminars and enjoy cooking demos by local chefs.
Posted by kafi at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2003
Showing Signs of Stress
4:00 am woke up on couch with lights and tv on
4:05 am went to bed
6:15 am alarm went off
7:10 am got out of bed
7:50 am forgot my lunch as I left for work
8:10 am confrontation with truck driver who tried to cut me off
8:20 am arrived at work and nabbed one of the last 3 parking spots
8:45 am spent quality time with cell phone customer service rep about my non-working phone.
The verizon wireless rep was one of the most helpful customer service reps I have ever spoken to on the phone. And my phone works again!
The confrontation with the truck driver was most interesting. After I refused to allow him to run me off the road, he opened his window and threw something at my car. Well, that's when I pulled up to his window and mouthed a few things at him. I am normally pretty docile, but not when you try to run me off the road. Yet again, another example of a bad Virginia driver, although I say that as if they are really good drivers. I thought southerners were supposed to be congenial. I guess just not on the road.
Posted by kafi at 09:11 AM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2003
What Not to do on a City Street
Yesterday morning Kevin told me a story that happened to his friend about a brief confrontation he had with a woman "holding" a parking space for a friend. Now how this woman thought her body could deter a vehicle from parking in a spot is beyond me. Once the cops showed up she got obstinate and the officer handed her a ticket. The friend? He finished parking his car.
Last night we were downtown and decided to move the car a little closer to our hangout spot. Walking to the car we passed an irrate looking woman standing in the street. I didn't think anything of it until we passed her twice in the car looking for a parking spot. Needless to say, the woman was not willing to move, claiming her husband had been driving around looking for a spot as well.
To make along story short, Kevin backed into the spot. The woman was yelling, so he called for the police officer at the corner. The husband pulled up and motioned for his wife to get in the car and once they took off, the officer pulled up and told Kevin he did the right thing. For those of you who don't live in the city, believe me when I say you cannot hold a parking spot. Not only do you risk getting hit by a car, you could also get ticketed for being pertinacious.
*The woman was ticketed for not cooperating with the police. I don't know if there are any legal ramifications for standing in a parking spot, but I'd advise against it if you are in DC.
Posted by kafi at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2003
Forgive Me for I Have Sinned
This past week I
1. watched an hour of Joe Millionaire
2. watched 2 hours of the Real World
3. watched 1.5 hours of the Battle of the Sexes on MTV
4. watched Kingpin
I feel the need to attone for these sins. Although the brain numbness is punishment enough, I still feel like I need to win back some of the brain cells I've lost. At least I didn't watch the MJ special. It is prime time programming like this that leads to bad things happening in the world.
It all started with Barbara Walter's interview with Anne Heche on Sept.6 of 2001. We all know happened the following week. Then there was the Living with Michael Jackson special that aired last week. One day later, it is announced that America is on high alert (code orange). And next week, another program is supposed to air on MJ. What will happen next?
Posted by kafi at 12:04 PM | Comments (1)
February 07, 2003
Snow Day
Looks like we got about 5 inches of snow last night, which makes today a snow day! But since I am so in love with my computer, the first thing I did this morning (6:00am to be exact) was hop on the internet and check out the news. Since it's impossible to be on the computer and not do any work, I have already checked email and worked on some files.
Since the sun has finally come out, it's time to brave the roads and maybe take some photos along the way.
Posted by kafi at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2003
Newspapers on Blogging
Seems like news papers are now taking a little interest in personal publishing. Or more accurately, I should say the media is starting to notice the increasing presence of weblogs on the internet. I suppose it is a good thing that more vehicles are appearing on the market to make weblogging more acessible. However, I find the more recent magazine-style weblogs the most interesting. Sites like The Morning News and Gizmodo provide me with daily dose of something interesting and relevant. Gizmodo is for the ultimate techy geek. I always feel more in touch with my geeky side after reading Gizmodo. via Meg and Anil
Update on my mood from yesterday? Partly cloudy with a chance of precipitation.
Posted by kafi at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2003
What I want to be when I grow up
I want to be:
a gourmet chef
an art dealer
a world traveller
a freelance photographer
What I am currently doing to achieve my goals:
Cooking on a weekly basis (need to step it up though)
Not visiting enough galleries often enough
Planning a trip to the Sea of Cortez
Taking pictures on the weekends
What I can do better:
Everything right now. Since I am in a bit of a slump, it helps to see these items permanently etched and a click away.
Oh, and what is irritating me right now?
Just about everything and everyone to keep it simple. Especially dumbass VA drivers who consistently drive like (a.) they are the only people on the road and (b.) they have the power to make up their own rules of the road. Also, people who have the power to make decisions that affect others and knowingly choose to make poor decisions. What's worse is when they don't realize they are making poor decisions. And I am not in a position to say anything to them (because if I could, I would).
I'm back to being surly and even for this brief moment, I am not ashamed to admit that it feels really good.
Posted by kafi at 02:37 PM | Comments (1)
February 04, 2003
More Joeisms
I have a very bad habit of watching Joe Millionaire on monday nights. Peer pressure did it to me, I'll admit. But really, it's hearing things like this that keep me tuned in every week:
"Did you get those breasts, I mean dress, in Paris?" and " I just hate lying to these girls, it's eating my brains out." This guy is really something special.
Posted by kafi at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2003
Calling All Hands
Because of a meeting I attended earlier this morning, I got to the all-hands meeting just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, they only set up enough chairs for the first 50 people to get to the meeting room, so the other 60-70 people get to stand for the 2 hour meeting. The state of the department was not quite as dreary as I thought it would be. As a quasi non-profit, the public looks very carefully at how we spend our money.
My biggest fear, of course, was that there may be another reduction in force. It may happen, it may not happen. Having survived several company lay-offs over the past four years, I've come to realize it is just a fact of life in my industry. I have picked up some very good habits over the years, namely keep your resume up to date, your portfolio immaculate and have several cover letters targeted to the different types of jobs you may apply for. Some of my friends call me a pessimist, always preparing for the worst. Well, when you've been laid off and you know that preparation is key to getting back on your feet.
Posted by kafi at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
Top 33, Baby!
Kiplinger has rated my alma mater as one of the top 100 best values in in public colleges.
Posted by kafi at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2003
Driving
To ease my mind, I went driving today. I visited with my mother who gave dainty luncheon meat sandwiches from a meeting she had yesterday at the house. My brother was also visiting, so we spoke a bit about his new apartment. My mom showed me photos from her trip to New Mexico. For the past two years my parents have been trying to get me to go New Mexico. When I ask them why they are so adamant, they don't really have a reason beyond, "We just think you should go". I think they enjoy the serene and spiritual quality of the land.
I also drove to Baltimore to look at the houses, but nothing really stood out. I also found that Eastern Market is more interesting in the late afternoon than in the morning on Sundays. Being fidgety can cause people to do strange things. For example, why on earth was I driving all over the place for no particular reason but to get away from where I was?
Posted by kafi at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)