Year: 2014

Zero bars.

For your viewing pleasure.  Vince’s video masterpiece from computer camp a few weeks ago.  First is the trailer and second is the actual movie.  I just love that all the kids in this movie (except for the dark-haired girl) live within 2 miles of each other and have grown up together.

Capitol Hill reception.

UCS’s new president:

Jeremy’s work had a Hill reception last night to introduce their new president to “Washington” – a debut of sorts.  The organizer of the event asked if someone could take photos at this event and Jeremy, very cleverly, volunteered me.

Because Nat was still on vacation, I could only do this event if Jeremy took care of Edda so I attended this UCS event without Jeremy.  It had complicated logistics involving a camp pick-up and meeting on the street corner at Union Station and a heavy reliance on Google Maps.  I’m so impressed with Google Maps.  DC was grid-locked with traffic and Google Maps took me in some round-about way avoiding all the accidents and traffic tie ups and major freeways and put me at Union Station in less than an hour.

This is a classic photographic set-up – a set-up which I never find myself in. A dark room, no windows.  People milling around eating finger-food.  It’s pretty hard to make it look interesting in photographs since nothing really interesting is happening.   But I did what I could.

Here’s an important person:

And another important person:

Finally, a few more important people:

I am the luckiest.

I am the luckiest.  I’m learning to hold two contradictory feelings in my hand at the same time and have it be OK. I’ve always wanted something to be one thing or another which I’m learning is never really so.  Without Rett Syndrome (unlucky) I would have never met these wonderful women (lucky!).  They are part of my everyday and I’m forever grateful.  Jeremy was kind enough to cook us a delicious dinner – he and Edda were honorary members of girls night in.

One of my favorite things to do is to do something with someone that they love to do.  I’ll do anything at least once if it’s your favorite thing ever.  Genealogy, stamp collecting, hockey games – all of it’s a lot of fun if you are with someone else who loves it to pieces.  Marta loves, loves, loves makeup – so we set up some lights and admired her huge makeup collection and then had her do all our faces.  Makeup is foreign territory for me, I didn’t even wear any makeup at my wedding.

I wish I got a photo of my face (which I loved and Marta told me was an everyday look), but it was late, I was a little tipsy and the photo was forgotten…  Next time.

Oak Ridge, TN & Toilet Tank Size

Oak Ridge, TN has one of our Nation’s top labs.  Yet, it seems to me, these Federal supports don’t translate into its wealth.  I guess, the majority of people work here probably stay in Knoxville instead.  Knoxville is very close to here.  But, even at Knoxville, the in-bound and out-bound air traffic are pretty limited.  Sometimes, the air ticket from here to Washington DC is more expensive that for the cross country.

People here are nice and very friendly.  But, social fabrics here is quite different than those in Washington DC.  The money here is much, much useful than those in Washington DC.  And there is no production work in Washington DC,  Here, at least, we produce materials for the security of our nation.  All Washington does is solely paper work and re-distributes the wealth of our nation. Of course, it retains the best part for herself first and then distributes the remaining parts to those people being taxed to its limits.

I heard the other day, someone gets an outrageous university speaking fee which probably is many times more than the average people earned yearly.  How true it is that as Ronald Reagan said “Government is the problem, not the solution”

Big government is even worse.  Big means that it digs in deeper to our daily activities.  It treats its citizens as uninformed masses.  It legislates everything possible.  It regulates our water heater with an extra expansion tank.  As far as I can tell, the old one without expansion tank is just working fun.  But, certainly, it is less safer than the new one – theoretically.  But, the installation cost is double.  What if I just don’t have the money to do it.

Believe me or not, it even regulates our toilet tank size.  With smaller size, I flush at least three times more than the grand old one – much bigger yet just flush once.  In the end, which one actually saves water?

Vince back from camp.

Vince spent a week at American University going to computer camp.  He managed to convince 7 of his pals to join him, so camp was like a big 5 day sleepover with his best friends.

Here’s his counselor, Scoop.  They all have clever nicknames, so Scoop’s real name is forgotten.

Two of his pals – Owen and Bryson.

They signed up for movie making.  I’m hoping to post some of the movies on the blog soon.  His counselor spent a minute talking about special qualities of each kid at the closing presentation, so this was Vince’s.

Photographer for hire.

Every few months, Jeremy asks me to take some photographs for some work thing.  They are very strange photo assignments – sometimes involving our minivan, other times involving Elizabeth Warren.  Yesterday’s assignment was taking photos involving ice cream and an electric vehicle charger.

Edda was not impressed.

We ordered so much ice cream that it wasn’t necessary to have dinner afterwards.  This electric chargine station is located a two minute walk from the house.