Washington, DC (USA)

[after work, we said farewell again (still fun again!) to Tim, our co-worker - met up with everyone at Poste]

Washington, DC (USA)

[after work - met up with happy hour group at Bar Louie to say goodbye to Tim (a co-worker who found a new job) - it was sad to see him go, but we sent him out in style...]

Washington, DC (USA)

[had a chance to get together with a group of guys I've met in the city during the last few years - two of them hired me at my job but moved on to other opportunities - the Nats were playing an afternoon game today (against the Giants), so got out of the office around 1500 - trouble with the Metro, but eventually made it to the Center Field entrance, where everyone was waiting - got a free hat today (now I finally have one for the Nats) - game started at 1605 - we had great seats along the first base line (near where Randy's daughter was acting ball-girl) - it was prime "foul ball" alley, but we didn't get any (although we witnessed some scary hits of fans nearby - sun was in our eyes and we couldn't see the incoming...) - we also had great seats for the Presidents' Race (Abe won easily) - Lee's kids (and their grandparents) were sitting a few rows back - teeny-bopper girls behind us kept getting on the Jumbo-Tron - meanwhile, lots of good conversation and adult beverages while the sun slowly set behind the third base seats - weather was great - stayed until two outs in the Ninth and tried to beat the rush to the Metro (ended up missing a two out, two run home run where the Giants took the lead for the first time in the game - poor Nats couldn't recover...) - first loss in all of the games I have been to since 2011... - it took almost two hours to get home, with the wacky Metro schedule and lots of people trying to get home - still worth any trouble, though!]

Warrenton, VA (USA)

[had to drive out to our customer site today - left around 0645, used Fairfax County Parkway and I-66 to US-29 and made it right around 0800 (with a gas fill up included) - met up with Allison and Ed and took care of meetings for around three hours - my friend Bev was supposed to meet up with me for a tour of the facility but her plans changed at the last minute - with the free time, decided to head back to our company HQ in Chantilly - wrapped up a work TelCon in the parking lot and then had lunch with my boss, Jackie, at the new & improved dining facility - made rounds to see a few folks I don't often get a chance to work with in person - then headed home - used I-66 to Fairfax County Parkway all the way back to Springfield and then did some errands (drycleaning and haircut) - back at home to finish out the work day (phone calls and emails)]

Paris, VA (USA)

[Mollie and Brenna talked to me about going out west of the city to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend (brought back some memories of a trip I took with the twins in AUG 2007) - we headed out on the road around 1645 - errands on the way - this made us late for Mass at Kim's parish, but we got there (Great Falls) almost in time - it was great to hear her play again and the kids like the shorter than usual service... - we departed around 1830 and headed south on Baron Cameron Avenue - missed turn onto Reston Parkway and ended up driving all the way (via Elden Street) into Herndon - found a Popeye's for dinner - back on the road, we made our way towards US-50 on Centreville Road - it was a pleasant drive along the Lee Jackson Highway - we saw lots of places we haven't visited before (western suburbs with big car dealerships, nice homes, etc.) - highlight was the last few miles before we reached Sky Meadows State Park (passed through small, historic towns like Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville) - we arrived just as the sun went down behind the hills (close to 2000) near Paris, Virginia - Mollie and I had found this park on one of our adventures recently (see MAY 2013) - it was a lot different this time (crowded with lots of people from the city) - there were representatives from the Smithsonian and NASA, describing the Perseids - it took a very long time to get really dark - but we were lucky, since there had been a cloud cover until then - lots of people had obnoxious bright lights that made it hard to adjust to the night sky (eventually, many of them left - due to boredom, I suspect) - the moon was just a sliver and we could see bright stars and planets (along with lots of aircraft) - around 2200, we started to see a few shooting stars - unfortunately, it was not as exciting as we had hoped - still, the three of us had a nice evening (not hot and not too cold, comfortable in our chairs and blankets) - we talked to lots of amateur atronomers with high-priced telescopes - every time there was a meteor, the entire group ooohed and aaaahed - park rangers told us we had to leave at 2230 (sad)... - we drove south on US-17 and made it onto I-66 very quickly (and didn't hit any deer fortunately...) - made good time and arrived at the house by 2330]

Chantilly, VA (USA)

[what a whirlwind day! - I had planned to spend it out at our company headquarters in Chantilly, but things changed quickly and I ended up in the City by the end of the work day - started out early (Fairfax County Parkway to I-66 and VA-28) - arrived in time (0800) to meet up with some folks I am working on a research project with (remotely, up to now) - spent a few hours with them and then joined the new hire course (in progress) - I had intended to meet up with our new employee (Allison) - before the class was done, I had a nice talk with my friend, Kim - at noon, I got a call from Chris that I needed to hurry Allison to the city to take care of some onboarding tasks that hadn't (for some reason) gotten finished - we split up to get our cars to the closest Metro lots to our houses - one thing worked out: timing was perfect (she ended up on the same Yellow Line train as me, with some text coordinatin) - we got our admin exercise done within an hour or so - got her to the office building and introduced her to a few co-workers, strategizing the next few days - by the end of the day, I forgot where I had been... - got home late this evening]