long overdue snow stories, part one

With the snow fast receding, I feel the urge to share two D.C. snow(insert-second-half-of-portmanteau-related-to-disaster) stories.

After the Saturday storm on Feb. 6th, she and I were suffering from a bit of cabin fever. I decided to take a walk to a park near Seven Corners. In the summertime, I spent a few afternoons at the park playing on the waterslides, reading in the sunshine and playing minigolf with various too much free time afflicted friends. After this storm, it was a considerably different landscape.



It doesn't look it, but the snow was nearly waist-deep in spots. It took quite a bit of effort to trudge through with my camera and tripod, but I did manage a few striking shots with the polarizing filter on my lens. This, however, is not my photo blog, and neither the point of this post.

As I was about to leave in a sweaty heap from the unfortunate lack of snowshoes, I saw two guys walking into the park with their snowboards. Curious, I tailed them to the lone hill in the park. These two clever guys had found a small, hidden gem to ride for distraction. I struck up a conversation with them. I quickly hurried home to get my board and join them.

My better half dropped me off on her way to the gym, and I got my first experience in riding fresh powder.

Not out west. In a county park. No lift ticket needed, but I had to earn every twenty second run with the hike back up.

Absolutely worth it, though.

snowtiquette?

This Florida boy is not really up on his winter rules. This winter has given me a few clues into rules of engagement.



Get after the shoveling while it's still falling. It makes it much easier when it finally stops.

Salt works, but only to a point. When it exceeds more than a few inches, the only thing salt does is make removal easier when you can finally find sidewalk underneath. I can't believe that I've gone through 50 pounds already this year. This winter decided to go big to make me go home.

On to etiquette for snow, snowtiquette if you will. Most people seem to have the common decency to not park in spots that were cleared by the sweat and muscles of another. People who are new to snow obviously don't know this. Compounded by a complex that was wholly underprepared and underfunded for this winter, parking spaces are at a premium indeed.

Yesterday, I spent about an hour for the common good clearing some other spaces out with my neighbors. The two spots that we use were finally clear of snow and ice after some heavy duty salt application. Upon returning home from work yesterday, she discovered someone had parked in her spot.

I don't mean some random spot that we "claimed" with a bucket or chair, saying don't park here. I mean a paid spot in our complex that our landlords included with our rent. There's few of them, and we have the right to tow from the spot without warning.

Angered at this breach of snowtiquette, I quickly texted my landlord for the phone number for the towing company and scribbled a terse note for the offender's windshield. Calling the towing company did me no good. They said they weren't towing from paid spots, "per management". My guess? Management knows that there aren't enough spots now for residents because their snow removal budget was blown in December.

We hemmed and hawed about whether or not to call again. Conditions worsening, we were of the opinion that it seemed awfully selfish to tow someone because they're in "our spot." On the other hand, I shoveled out the spot; I put in the hard work; I salted it to clear it completely. Am I completely off-base to expect that I should be able to park there instead of some jackass stealing my hard work? Would her car get keyed after the offending SUV was snatched by a tow truck? I tend to hate tow trucks for being nothing more than glorified car thieves, slightly less so since moving out of Gainesville.

Waking up this morning, it appears that the spot is now empty, rendering my indecision a moot point. If that's not the case, what should I do? It's whiteout conditions; I doubt a plow has been through yet.

In the comments, tell me what to do. Comical, ridiculous responses always appreciated.

bring on the snow!

I was out walking the District today. Nothing like an unplanned and unwanted snow day to kill any sort of momentum you have in the classroom. At least I won't have that pesky three-day weekend for Presidents' Day like I was planning! I just hate time off.

I was quite impressed with the snow removal capabilities in DC. The streets were cleared, including side roads and alleys. Sidewalks, for the most part, were also salted and shoveled. On my normal side of the Potomac, VDOT was a little slower to act, as usual. By the time I got up at 7, the temperature was already above freezing. Shoveling was a breeze today, as was getting the snow off windshields and whatnot.

I come home to find this message from the NWS:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS...THIS STORM IS LIKELY TO PRODUCE 12 OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW IN THE WATCH AREA...WITH A GOOD CHANCE FOR LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER 20 INCHES.
* TIMING...SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE MORNING FRIDAY...CONTINUING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.
* TEMPERATURES...HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S FRIDAY. FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...TEMPERATURES WILL BE 25 TO 30 DEGREES.
* WINDS...EAST 5 TO 10 MPH FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT...BECOMING NORTH 10 TO 20 MPH SATURDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE SIMILAR TO THE DECEMBER 19TH STORM. PLAN FOR SUBSTANTIAL DISRUPTIONS TO TRAVEL FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

Oh, goody! If you work for VDOT, please go talk to someone in the snow removal department for the District. I'd really like to go to work next week. Judging by your efforts after December 19th, I'm not really confident you'll get the roads cleared before Punxsutawney Phil's six weeks of winter are up.

At least my camera still functions, and I can take some more pretty photos...

climbing obsession

Used to be that climbing was the sole focus in my life. I'd spend at least three hours climbing at the gym 3-4 nights a week. Besides heading to the bar for a show, it was really my only social outlet in Gainesville.

Times have changed. A few more things have entered my social life. I'm engaged. I have friends outside of the climbing gym. The climbing gym, at least initially, didn't seem to take as many outdoor trips, despite the paradox of being closer to good stone. I threw myself headlong into photography yet again and have discovered I quite enjoy it since it meshes well with other interests. I took up snowboarding. Weather around here in the wintertime is too wet to have good climbing days. On the dry ones, it's rarely above freezing, which kills those days too. Summertime is manky and damp; holds are slippery and feet don't stick. Fall is perpetually hectic and even weekend trips are hard to come by. We'll see how this spring turns out, but it's looking like my best climbing is going to be at beloved Horse Pens 40 for spring break. It was going to be Bishop out in California, but the logistics just didn't work out. Road trip insteaad! I can live with that.

Thus begins the training regimens of years past. When I'd try in vain to break above the prior plateau so I could finally send my project. I'm top roping more lately, and trying to build bouldering endurance for our week-long trek to Steele. On the hit list this trip: Mortal Combat, Hammerhead, Earth Wind and Fire, The Beach, Millipede, Genesis, Chrisifix, and Getcha Some. Three have fought me tooth and nail, three I've never battled, and Genesis is just awesome.

Any tips to help me break out of my training slump?

prayers for peace

When Bob married my Aunt Barb, I thought it'd be a long time before he felt like family to me. In my mind, I felt like my life had been so long that the time before I knew Bob would always be longer than the time since he came into our lives. Of course, I was wrong. I had no perspective.

I'm not really sure when the change in perspective occurred. Maybe it was when he always made time for me to get a beer at the Moose. Maybe it was his selfless giving to making Granny laugh. Maybe it was how he sent care packages to every one of my friends when they were deployed. Or that he continued to ask about how they were doing eight years later.

I know the change was so gradual that I never noticed. Family is like that. One day, your cousin is feeding you mud pies; the next, he's standing by your side, trying to cheer up the rest of the family as they try to make sense of the incomprehensible.

Bob wasn't all laughter and smiles. He came off a bit gruff when I was younger. As I came to realize over the years, he kidded the ones he loved. If he didn't like you, he wouldn't waste his breath. Just like most of my friends.

Hammerhead. Testa dura. Governor. Friend. Uncle. He passed away this afternoon after a fierce battle with cancer. Judging by the reactions of the rest of my family, I'm not the only one who's going to miss him.

amazing photography

A friend of mine from Gainesville is a professional photographer. Ever since she started posting photos online, I anxiously waited for the next installment. This is a multimedia project she worked on that's recently been posted on Vimeo and her company's website, Straw Hat Visuals. Go Gators!

Ok, so I thought I'd be able to embed the video to share. Guess not. The Vimeo link goes to the video. The company link goes to theirs.

getting out the crock pot

Top Chef introduces me to many different ingredients and flavor profiles. When I happen to have the ingredients on hand, I'm more likely to introduce them to a dish.

Enter the spice rack. Earlier in the summer, I used the ground ginger and basil on it to season a fillet of salmon to give it a distinctly Thai feel when it was finished with the slab of grilled pineapple. To tie this tale together, Top Chef this week had a pork competition. One of the cheftestants (yes, that's really what they call them) made a tenderloin that she seasoned with fennel and paired with sweet potatoes and apples. I've never had fennel before, so I didn't particularly know what it tasted like. It's on the spice rack. Experiment time!

Ingredients
3 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/2 bag of dried lentils, rehydrated
3 sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
25 oz. jar of plain applesauce
12 oz. your favorite Oktoberfest beer (or soup stock)
approx. 1 tsp. fennel
cinnamon

Layer the ingredients into a six quart crock pot. If yours is smaller, adjust quantities accordingly. I put the potatoes on the bottom, then lentils, then cubed pork, and finally applesauce. Season somewhere in between and add the liquid. Cook on high for 4 hours or so. If you want to cook it longer on low, I'd recommend browning the pork first so it's still recognizable at the end of the day.

Serve it over rice on a rainy day. It was pretty delicious. It'll be here all week.

how's this go again?

I seem to have forgotten to post here lately. I'd make some lame blogger excuse, "I'm too busy," but that's a lie. Direct your attention more to the photographic outlet of my creativity. This writing thing just ain't doing it for me anymore.

I guess I'll still occasionally post here, but it won't be as timely, and it'll sure be less rant-like. To tide you over, check out some climbing action from last weekend. We had a good day, ate some Mexican food, and showed Bella how to be a crag dog.



When I got home, I went on a three mile run. She's been training hard, and I finally got the all clear to start running again. The Run for World Peace 5K is next weekend. I'll keep you posted.

restaurant week, round 4

I just went searching through my archives for the remnants of past Restaurant Week delights. Turns out, I was so full of delicious food, I blogged not about them. Either that or I tagged them differently. When I get home sometime, I'll search and tag them properly.

In any case, this is the fourth Restaurant Week I've been in D.C. for. This time around, we decided on a French restaurant. I've only had French food once before. I thought I wrote about that one too, turns out not. Anyhow, I was pleased once; I figured why not try again? The joint is called La Bergerie. The deciding factor between this and another highly-regarded one was the simple fact that La Bergerie offered dinner also. Some restaurants only serve lunch, in order to keep their normal clientele happy at dinnertime, or to not lose so much money with the prix fixe menu offerings of the week.

The choices were hard. For the appetizer course, she had perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned diver scallops. She shared, so I got to partake as well. Melted in my mouth. I chose the beef carpaccio. It was drizzled with white truffle oil, shaved parmesan cheese and some sort of strange lettuce variant. I thought it was delicious, but as I've learned in the past, my taste buds have a much broader range of delight than some. She was less than impressed. Had I not tried escargots last summer for Ma's birthday, I would've gotten them. It wasn't because I didn't like them last time; it was the desire to try something new.

For the main course, she had salmon on a bed of lentils. She found it delicious and ate every bite. I went a little too safe and got the roasted chicken. It was different; the other offerings on the menu were a little too boring sounding. The chicken was a little overdone, but the preparation was creative and inspired. It was stuffed with chicken livers, which gave the chicken the prototypical rich French flavor. The braised celery and sauce on the plate were interesting. Not bad, not great though. I did sop up the sauce with the baguettes still on our table though, just like the Southern boy I've come to be.

Dessert. Where Frenchies shine. Creme brulee; predictably delicious sat across from me. Souffle as tall as a wine bottle and as light as air placed under my nose. A bit like eating a warm cloud of cotton candy, with an airy eggy texture though. The hazelnut topping really complemented it well.

I doubt we'll go back to La Bergerie, though not for lack of quality. I'd like to see their "normal" menu to see if there's anything else that screams, "Eat me" on it. I do like French food, but as rich as it is, it should be mind-numbingly delicious.