Yorktown

Last Saturday, we went to the 225th anniversary of the Battle @ Yorktown, VA.

I am from the OTHER Washington, as in the state, and I have no recollection of this all-important battle during the Revolutionary War. Not to say that the education system let me down as a child. Its just that the happenings of the eastern United States 200+ years ago went in one ear and out the other.

I (heart) history, just not when I am tested on it.


I learned an important lesson on this particular sunny Saturday. Do not, under any circumstance, give your email address to a Revolutionary war actor/volunteer. Even if it is your junk email account. I have received 4 group emails* (see spam) since Saturday. He is a nice enough guy(on the left), just REALLY passionate about these reenacments.

Those costumes are extremely expensive, and I was suprised to see the following these events have. People from all over the country convene and a good time is had by all.

change

The past year has been filled with big changes. (in no particular order)

1. marriage
2. three different jobs
3. leaving Provo
4. un-paid internship in NY
5. living apart for the summer. this one was interesting to say the least as I had 4 single roomates and no Elissa :(
6. 2nd internship/slave job
7. supportive law school spouse (wink)
8. renting a real house
9. finding real job (still working on that one).

The hardest change so far? Getting a Virginia license. Yeah. So I am lame. During my 4.5 years as a college student I proudly displayed my WA drivers license to anyone who would ask to see it. I didn't get very many requests, but thats not the point. I had my identity as an outsider, a rebel without a clue if you will.

Lenny the Lumina had his matching License plates 111-AHM (*) (* changed to protect my identity ;) Whenever I would drive my 4 door grandpa-mobile around P-town I would happily display that plate like a badge of honor. "Hey...I'm not from Utah, check out my Washington plates. That is why I am a better driver than you."


Now, I look at Lenny and all I see is assimilation. As far as anybody knows, I am from VA, I have always lived here, and I'm not going anywhere. This is entirely not true! I am from the great state of Washington, birthplace of the apple and grunge music.


Don't get me wrong...Virginia is a beautiful state...HELLO! "It's for Lovers" TM. It's also home of the Dave Matthews Band and Philip Morris! I just miss the noteriety (albeit small), of standing out a little in a sea of bland license plates. I live in Virginia now, and that is not gonna change anytime soon.

Now that I am in Nascar country I need to take some pride. Tom Cruise drove a Lumina in Days of Thunder. Beat that.

paradigm shift

Two weeks ago, I had a paradigm shift.

I know thats a rather heady way to begin a post, but there is not a simpler way to describe the events that transpired to get me to this declaration.

It all started on the morning of September 20th. About 7:30am I did one of those half awake full body stretches. You know the type that causes your legs to defiantly resist the movement by involuntarily spasming (well not a REAL spasm... *ask if you need further clarification on the morning stretch). On this particular morning, I was not even 15% awake when I did the stretch. The next thing I knew, I was SCREAMING, as pain shot from my lower back. I could feel it all the way down in my legs. I swear that Elissa about had a heart attack as she was still fast asleep when she was instantly woken up by my outburst. No matter how I moved, it hurt.


Back story: A week previous to this occurance my back had started hurting at work as I was shuttling clients from a hotel to a photoshoot. It wasn't too bad, but the pain was annoying.

Anyway, long story short I "threw out my back." as the old-timers say. I insisted to Lissy that I needed to go to work and plead my case. When my boss saw me, she knew that my shuffle walk was a result of said injury and allowed me to go home. Both Wednesday and Thursday were spent on my back, watching episodes of 24; the most highly addictive show on TV. Don't start unless you have the stamina to watch at least 2 a day. Other side effects include perpetual teeth clenching.

Back to the story. I learned a few important lessons while being quasi-immobile for 2 days.

1. Never take your back for granted. EVERY movement you make involves your back, and when you are injured, every movement you make can be felt in said back. ouch.

2. When you have legitimate back pain, if something drops on the ground, its as good as gone. At one point, I dropped the entire container of Q-tips on the bathroom floor. They might as well have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle...they were GONE.

3. Too much 24 makes you paranoid.



COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU....

"The Paradigm Shift Continues" (Including excerpts from the crazy phone story and the trauma of getting a VA license).