DC - the rest of the story

Ok, It has been an extremely busy week. Right now it is Friday night and I'm still doing WORK. In between I'm writing this, getting things done around the house, etc. I have a few huge projects to do and I'm reading manuals, digesting information, and formulating plans. When I need a break I jump up and do something else. At least at home I can play music, snack, etc. Currently a song has captured my attention: Sister Hazel's "Truth is".

So let me tell you about my visit with Steve from the Hygiene Chronicles. I was pretty tired Tuesday night, thanks to Liz, but I was very excited about seeing Steve. Steve is a very warm, genuine, and inviting person. I've been reading his blog for a little over a year. He is a great story teller and can really highlight the humor in a situation. Having dinner with him was no different. He conveyed the challenges of parenting a child with three other people. I'm not so sure that doing it solo is harder. Consider that you have to cooperate and coordinate with three other people. I do believe that Corey is one fortunate little boy to have four wonderful people helping to raise him.

While talking to Steve, he mentioned that he doesn't like write with pen and paper. Liz said the same thing the night before and I asked them both the same question, "Are you left handed?" They both reacted with surprise and responded the same way. Yes. I am the same way. Give me a keyboard because if you ask me to write it out on paper it likely is not going to happen. I'm sure there is a scientific study that can tell us why, but for now I'll enjoy the intriguing mystery that connects us.

We talked a bit about the National Zoo. You have to go see the tigers and other big cats really early in the cool mornings. That is when they are most active. The National Zoo also has a giant pacific octopus. That is a WICKED cool thing to see when they feed it. I'm serious, WICKED cool.

Sharing and talking with Steve was over all too soon, so I hope we can do it again before too long. I plan on being back up that way soon, and I plan on taking some trips up there with my son during the fall for the museums and the zoo. While Steve made it clear that they won't watch any of my animals, I'm wondering if that counts for my son. :-)



Now, on my way home from DC I spoke with The Exception. I'm going to call her TE since I haven't asked if I could use her name and I don't see it on her blog. TE is a great listener. I feel like I talked the whole time. We talked some about my work and some about the area down where I live. I was a little wound up so I think I rambled quite a bit. It was a great conversation. It was actually too great of a conversation. I forgot to stop and get gas. The truth is I don't remember the drive at all from the southern end of the HOV on 95 south to Richmond. So, we were rudely interrupted when my car ran out of gas. Luckily I was at an exit with a gas station and only had to walk about 200 yards to get some. We'll have to pick up the conversation at another point in time because I have come to the realization that even with a bluetooth headset, talking while driving is not safe. Besides, there is a question I keep meaning to ask that I forgot while we were on the phone!

One thing about meeting these exceptional people is that it doesn't feel like meeting someone new, but rather a good long time friend. The openness and honesty that they write with makes talking with them very easy. The connections are stronger than I would have expected and really took me by surprise.