Leesburg, VA (USA)

[what an honor to be included in the IOC! - the switch to the new software was made on schedule (0040) and I spent around an hour and a half observing use of the system I have been working on for more than a year - I talked to a lot of people and learned a ton - if it weren't so late, I would have stayed a little longer - with a wintry mix expected, I left around 0230 and headed home - I was mindful of the time and saw plenty of men in blue - however, I made it without any problem and went to sleep (0330) - woke up (involuntarily) around 0800 - enjoyed some time with the kids for a few hours before the twins left for a church class - Mollie and I accepted the delivery of our new furniture (!) - finished assembling a TV stand I bought a few weeks ago - by 1500, I had a big headache - so I went to sleep for a few hours again...]

Somers Point, NJ (USA)

[started the day around 0600 - took care of work emails and some responsibilties I needed to finish before noon - had breakfast and then departed for home - stopped for gas (off US-40 in New Jersey and only paid $3.49 (as opposed to the nearly $4.00 I saw in Virginia early in the week) - I don't understand the wild swings... - made it across the Delaware Memorial Bridge by 1000 and then used DE-1, US-40 and US-301/US-50 to get back to the Beltway - arrived (with some flurries and cold drizzle) home around noon - spent several few hours taking care of company and program work before catching a few hours of sleep (1730) - I got invited to attend a milestone at the nearby ARTCC) - woke up around 2100 and drove up to Leesburg - this was my second visit to the facility (see MAR 2012) - Bev met me and took me to the pre-brief, where I saw Brian, Rod, Jim and Arun - spent the time between 2300 and midnight talking with people who I have only previously heard on the phone - being there for the mid-shift brought back some memories of Navy flights... - ready for the IOC!]

Egg Harbor, NJ (USA)

[another free breakfast, another long day of meetings - started at 0830 again - we got a lot done, and the bonus of the day was when Sabrina and Kevin drove over to Tony Baloney's to pick up some Ole Cheesesteaks for everyone (mmmm!) - we wrapped up a little early (1645) and I spent just a little longer today finishing up work-related tasks - I had seen a Friendly's nearby and wanted to have dinner there, so Sabrina and I (both Massachusetts kids) had that restaurant's version of a three course meal: bottomless sodas, entree (sandwich) and a sundae (reeses peanut butter & fudge) - the whole thing was like I remembered from years ago (and the price was right) - drove back to my hotel and spent the evening packing for my trip in the morning - bed early again]

Egg Harbor, NJ (USA)

[started the day with free breakfast - saw some folks from our team, who chose the same hotel - drove up to Egg Harbor and barely made our meeting (lots of lights, school buses, etc.) - had a full day of productive meetings (lunch at the cafeteria) - we finished around 1700 and I spent additional time taking care of company emails - Sabrina called and said she didn't know where the group dinner was going to be and needed a ride - I hurried back to the hotel and picked her up, before driving us to Charlie's in Somers Point - I went there before (see SEP 2012), but had never actually had dinner - Ian was there (first time we've all gotten together in New Jersey) - Joseph and Larry wanted to try the famous BBQ wings, so we got an order of 35 (!) - I also tried an order of BBT (buffalo boneless wings) - needless to say, we were not able to finish our food - one of our co-workers a lot of food back to the room! - Sabrina, Ian and Bill went into Atlantic City to find a casino, but I passed - spent the evening catching up on additional company emails and finishing my annual self assessment - watched some TV before getting to bed relatively early]

Somers Point, NJ (USA)

[had another work trip this week (left Tuesday due to Presidents' Day) - took care of some work emails early - departed the house around 1100 and used US-50 (Bay Bridge) and US-301 to get to US-40 (and I-295) - crossed Delaware River around 1400 and drove to Atlantic City via US-40 - all the way, played with my new hands-free (Bluetooth) device (it worked well!) - got my visitor pass and then met Sabrina in the conference room (a little earlier than the sheduled meeting) - took advantage of the free internet to try to update my iPhone - however, something went wrong with the download and my phone reformatted! - fortunately, that wasn't as bad it sounds (I have only used the phone for "fun things" and not "important things") - hardly anything lost - had our meeting with Sharon and then everyone departed to get ready for dinner - I managed to recover my cell phone before I drove down to Somers Point (via Shore Road), where I met Sharon, Bill and Sabrina for dinner - had an interesting appetizer at The Crab Trap called broccoli rabe (with sausage) and then had a good turkey dinner - we finished our meal close to 2200 - drove to the nearby hotel and checked in - spent the rest of the evening updating my computer and fixing some bugs that have occurred since my last trip - went to bed around midnight]

Falls Church, VA (USA)

[Nicky got me an appointment at the dentist (for the first time since I've lived in Virginia) so I could get a cleaning and checkup - Mollie came with me (trooper that she is...) - we took the Beltway to Braddock Road and then drove over to Little River Turnpike in Annandale - we found a gas station there where the price was $4.09 (a HUGE difference from our $3.79) and we wondered what kind of emergency could justify such a price... - the dentist gave me a big list of things I "need to take care of" - amazing how the Navy didn't ever suggest these things but, now that it is my money, I "should really have that done" (we'll see) - it took longer than I wanted it to, but I repaid Mollie with a trip to the Five Guys next door (for her first burger there) - as we were driving to our next adventure, we stumbled across the highly regarded Thomas Jefferson High School (for gifted students) - we tried to follow Nicky's directions to the furniture store ("it's close to our house") but ended up having to double back towards Falls Church (!!!) before we found "Bob's Discount Furniture" - the place, which I have seen many times in TV advertisements, was just what we needed (for years, I have promised the kids and Nicky new furniture - once the "low bidder movers" won't touch our stuff) - Mollie and I found a great kitchen table (to replace the one we bought in 1995) and we also picked out a bedroom set for her - financing was easy (even on the holiday) and we enjoyed ice cream at Bob's Diner (everything was free) - we were able to take home a cute lamp for Mollie (shaped like the Eifel Tower) but had to wait for the rest to be delivered - we walked next door and explored a bicycle shop (saw some good stuff for when it gets warmer) and spent some time in PetCo (Mollie's favorite) - before leaving, we bought some items in BestBuy (things we have needed for some time) and then drove home - whew!]

Arlington, VA (USA)

[saw folks running towards St. Dominick's when I arrived at work this morning (0725) - figured out I could attend Mass for Ash Wednesday right across the street from work (very convenient!) - Erica came down from New Jersey today and I met her for some meetings in the middle of the day - the result of that was that I didn't get as much done as I hoped - after a full day, took the Orange Line out to the Courthouse station (Arlington), where Randy met me with his car (1800) - he drove us to a place called The Quarterdeck (near Fort Myer) and we had drinks and dinner with Lee - it was a great evening, filled with anecdotes and future planning - the weather was pretty miserable, but the restaurant was good - Randy dropped me off at Rosslyn station and I was able to catch a Blue Line train down to Pentagon and (almost immediately) switch to the Yellow Line - made it home around 2200]

Arlington, VA (USA)

[after work, went with several guys from work (in Kevin's car) to Pentagon City - we met up with still more friends at Chevy's Fresh Mex (across the street from the Fashion Centre) - this was the latests in our post work meet-ups (the last was the day before the "end" of the Mayan Calendar in December) - spent several hours at the restaurant, drinking margaritas and eating some good Mexican food - headed home around 2130]

Rockville, MD (USA)

Nicky and I drove up to Rockville to attend a memorial service for my cousin, Michael Coogan. He passed away a few days ago. It had snowed the night before, so we had to clear out the driveway and drive carefully all the way. We arrived just before the service was supposed to start (1000), but then realized we had been duped by the famous iPhone Map app - we ended up at the wrong church (Mary Magdalen Episcopal). After recaging (and looking for other results on the internet), we eventually located the 200-year-old St. Mary's Parish in downtown Rockville. It was a little building on a hill (next to a modern church, built to fit the large congregation of the present-day). The service was very well done, presided over by an Irish priest, who spoke in Gaelic for much of the service. There were a lot of people in attendance. Afterwards, we drove to Pat's house and paid our respects to her and her daughters. We spent a few hours visiting with everyone, meeting many of Michael's friends and relatives, before we drove back to Alexandria.