![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/4612890169_7540794d94.jpg)
Mount Pleasant
thank heaven for little girls |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
firsts: saturday market |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
![[]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4613504386_4571cd1e95.jpg) |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
the zoo |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
![[]](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4584813455_02198fa7aa.jpg) See All the Photos on Flickr:
the zoo |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
almost there |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
![[]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3480/4564491828_2d3e3df452.jpg) our entrance to the zoo (the bridge, by the petting zoo) has been closed for construction since february, which has put quite the crimp on our spring. wondered by today, and its all back to normal. of course, we didn’t have enough time to make it past the sign, but maybe next week. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
exodus |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
we’re back, and it looks like DC had every bit as much “fun” as we thought while we were gone. while we were out, one of our favorite ways of keeping up with the snow was by following darrow montgomery’s photos at washington city paper’s blog. the above photo was taken about 100 feet from our place (for those who know Mount Pleasant, that “open” sign is at Heller’s Bakery) during the height of the second storm. i can’t really fathom what it must have been like. in the end, our long weekend in Austin for Auntie Nadine’s wedding turned out to be an 11 day journey. and, based on the size of the snow drifts, it seems being “stuck” in 40 degrees-and-rainy Austin was probably the best option. still, it’s good to be home. PHOTO: the above photo is courtesy Darrow Montgomery and/or the Washington City Paper. check out the rest of Darrow’s work, and the City Desk blog. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
how at&t has made me hate my iphone |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
I think I should have guessed something was wrong last fall, when i accidentally left my iPhone in the car overnight. the next morning, when i realized what i had done, i secretly wished that my window had been smashed in and my iPhone taken. Rock bottom came two months later, when I dreamed that my iPhone was stolen … and i woke up bummed that it didn’t actually happen. Don’t get me wrong, i love my iPhone. It’s arguably the best thing that I have ever owned. it’s just not a phone — because for it to be a phone, i’d have to occasionally get AT&T coverage within the borders of Washington, DC. It turns out that my problem is a mixture of the science behind AT&T’s network, and location-location-location. The range of each cell tower shrinks as more and more people us that particular tower. In DC, all the towers are on the beltway. When the network gets busy, the coverage retreats from the center of the city towards the edges … which is exactly where I don’t live. So, once the new version of the iPhone came out (and another gazillion people started using AT&T’s network) my reception went from spotty to non-existant. When I walk around Mount Pleasant on an average day, I get limited, spotty access to AT&T’s vinatge EDGE network. I’ll average about two hours of cell coverage a day in my house, but more often than not those tenuous bars disappear as soon as I try and make a call. In Columbia Heights, I don’t even get that … my phone tells me I’m roaming. Last week, I actually ducked into the Columbia Heights metro station because I needed to make a call. As far as i can tell, the best chance of getting a signal up here is to go underground. To date, my only hope for salvation comes because Gizmodo.com is giving away a new Google Android if you write in to them and tell them why you deserve one. Which I did.
So far, they have had 12,000+ comments, so I’m guessing i’m not going to be first in line to win. Either way, my contract with AT&T is up this summer, and once it expires, i’ll be long gone. It turns out that it doesn’t matter how great your phone is, if your network blows chunks. PHOTOS: Street in Mount Pleasant, DC by Chambo25 via a Creative Commons license; Darth Phone image courtesy Gizmodo.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
first christmas, part 2 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
truth be told, we knew going into today that sparklet’s first christmas was going to be a little underwhelming for her — we’re still at the stage where the only thing about Christmas that captures her attention are the Christmas tree lights, and the tree’s been up for four weeks now.
we got her a couple of small things centered around Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, but this was definitely the calm before the storm … we slept in until 10 am, dawdled around with breakfast until noon, didn’t start unwrapping presents until 2 pm, and took our dear, sweet time. i’m pretty sure that’s the last time we’ll be able to say that. if sparklet has a christmas of awe and wonder this year, i’m thinking it’s going to be when we go to see the Christmas lights display at the National Zoo. she’ll stare at our little tree for hours, so i can only imagine what will happen when she sees dozens of displays at two or three times the size. Explore the Photo Set:
first christmas |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
![[]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4220811303_7c9155f016.jpg)
photos: snowfall in mount pleasant, dc |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
holy moses, it’s actually snowing?!?
it seems like every other year, the D.C. weathermen predict at least one “major” storm that will paralyze the city … although, seeing that three inches of snow is more than enough to bring D.C. to its knees, i guess “major” is a relative term. we’re supposedly at 10 inches, which would already puts us in the top five storms of the last twenty years. we got 24 inches of snow my junior year of college, a much smaller storm (maybe a foot?) in high school, and i remember using a yardstick to measure a 20+ incher back when i was seven or eight. outside of those, we’ve had way more false alarms than anything of interest … which is a good thing, because in the end D.C. is a southern town, and southerners (a) refuse to walk or use public transit, and (b) only think they know how to drive on snow. Explore the Photo Set:
snowfall in mount pleasant, dc |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
![[Snow, Mount Pleasant, Washington, DC.]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2740/4196898153_06e23492fa.jpg)
first pub |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sparklet’s First Pub: Holiday Party w/ Ashley, Sarah, Jennifer and Ryan @ Tonic, Mount Pleasant, Washington, DC. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
first halloween |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
well, a month ago, we certainly had a different image of halloween.
we obviously didn’t think that we’d have a sparklet to costume … and we really thought that the lady sparkler could go dressed up as Juno, or maybe a pregnant Mary Magdalene to my Jesus. our beloved maid of honor actually went out and bought sparklet a pumpkin costume, but it unfortunately didn’t live up to its advertised sizing (it was “one size fits none” not “all”). so, yesterday when we were in dupont circle, we ran to the local children’s boutique, and bought the last decent costume off their shelves (giraffe) at 40% discount. if anybody from work asks, we picked out the costume as an ideological statement … and she’s dressed up as either (a) the Conservancy’s adopt an acre in africa project, or (b) the number one teething toy in Paris. halloween is quite a big deal in mount pleasant, and our neighborhood shuts down streets to make room for all the trick-or-treaters who come in from around the city. we wandered around a bit with the baby giraffe-let in her stroller, but it was way too early (5:00pm) and it was raining to boot. even so, we saw tons o’ princesses and vampires, and more than a few ninja outfits from a children’s television show that i couldn’t figure out. no candy was purloined (she’s too young for us to keep a straight face) or purchased (our building requires card key access, and has no other kids) but it was a lovely afternoon none-the less. oh, and a nice warm up for next year … Explore the Photo Set:
photos: first halloween, washington, dc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
![[]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2514/4061597617_cb9719f3e9.jpg)
i was walking around the neighborhood today, trying to get baby sparklet to take a nap, when i passed a stressed out mom dealing with three boys on bicycles.
one of the boys was babbling about how his bike was a rocketship, and how he was having a really hard time making sure it didn’t explode.
i smiled, inwardly, thanking heaven for little girls.
half a block later, i see a 6 year-old girl in a fancy pink fairy dress, pell-melling down the hill at full speed, oblivious to the traffic, screaming:
now *that’s* more like it.