?

Log in

No account? Create an account
seder at Uncle Alan and Aunt Susan's - A Suburbs Boy Living a Country Life

[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][Profile]

[My Flickr Photos]
April 6th, 2004
12:38 am

[Link]

Previous Entry Share Next Entry
seder at Uncle Alan and Aunt Susan's
The gefilte fish, I actually tried and found reasonable. It happens. Matzoh ball soup is good. Quinn was adorable...he was confused by the Hebrew, but got the idea that we were doing a strange sort of toast with the wine glasses. He also started singing along and actually doing a pretty passable job at the call/response type parts where you sang back what the reader sang. [Forgive me for the vague descriptions...I'm not even "observant" of my chosen pagan and UU paths these days, and I never learned much more Yiddish than "Oy!", let alone Hebrew and judaic traditions.]

He was absolutely thrilled to get to spend time with his cousins (my 1st cousins, his 1st cousins once removed--but he's closer in age to them than I am). The whole family busted on me about my Jackets [sob], especially after occasional reports of the rapidly widening scoring gap came in. My mom's family is all from Hartford, so the UConn sentiments were running high. Even my Arkansas-born dad was rooting for the Huskies.. TANJ. Okay, those of you who know me well are probably flabbergasted thatI'd spend more than two words on sports, let alone a whole paragraph. Suffice it to say that I was excited for my school friends, fraternity brothers, etc., because they are jazzed. Personally, I don''t care--but it gave us something to tease each other about.

We had a fantastic time at the National Air and Space Museum Dulles Annex (otherwise known as the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center). The several hours on my feet walking around, perhaps aggravated by the car ride yesterday made my syrinx (NINDS Syringomyelia Information Page) act up, causing the signature (for me) sharp pain in the chest at the base of my rib cage. This is actually referred pain caused by that particular nerve bundle getting "the squeeze" from the syrinx and not any actual trauma--but trust me, it hurts just as fiercely as if something really was wrong there...before my diagnosis I once drove myself to the ER when the flare up extended to some partial numbness, pain, and tingling up the chest and out the left arm.

Highlights from the NASM triip: seeing Enterprise up close and personal--made more poignant by the missing leading edge segments from both wings, removed at the request of the Columbia accident investigation board to support replicating and exploring the conditions leading to the disaster, particularly, of course, the ice/foam strike. The museum is expecting them back relatively soon, although if one of them was used in the test, rather than as a model to build or validate a test article--it'll have to be restored--anyone who saw that footage knows the size of the hole the test strike made, and its implications for the accident investigation.

In just a few hours, I give my case study briefing to the NDIA Modeling and Simulation Committee. Be thinking about me tomorrow morning, okay? My client liked my briefing--he says that he "loved every slide." Have I mentioned that I love my client? Now I hope I can only do a credible job with the briefing.

(18 comments | Leave a comment)

Comments
 
[User Picture]
From:geminigirl
Date:April 5th, 2004 09:45 pm (UTC)
(Link)
I all out cried when I saw Enterprise. Especially with the missing wing pieces.

I can't wait until you can get up closer to the Space Shuttle.

Did you check out the Close Encounters exhibit?

(My big disappointment with the Annex, other than $7 parking was that you couldn't see more of the interior of the trailer from the moon landing. But I'm a space whore...the space stuff was the best part of the whole building for me.)

[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:40 pm (UTC)

it's been so popular...

(Link)
that the parking is already up to $12...and you can expect to wait a long before parking if you go on the weekend.
[User Picture]
From:geminigirl
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:43 pm (UTC)

Re: it's been so popular...

(Link)
I wonder if it's less expensive to take the bus from downtown...
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:58 pm (UTC)

Re: it's been so popular...

(Link)
hmm....which bus? If there's a direct bus from downtown, I'd say most likely...
[User Picture]
From:geminigirl
Date:April 6th, 2004 08:16 pm (UTC)

Re: it's been so popular...

(Link)
There's one from Air and Space on the Mall out to the Annex. I forget how much it costs.
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 7th, 2004 01:59 pm (UTC)

Re: it's been so popular...

(Link)
Oh, that's very cool...I'm sure that's the way to go.
[User Picture]
From:marveen
Date:April 5th, 2004 09:59 pm (UTC)

Huskies? Has UW made it to some playoffs somewhere?

(Link)
...seriously, I have no idea.

But I really envy you the chance to see the National Air and Space Museum (Dulles Annex). I don't think I'll get to an air and space museum this year.
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:39 pm (UTC)

Re: Huskies? Has UW made it to some playoffs somewhere?

(Link)
oh, is that supposed to be Husky's? UConn is what I mean...

I don't know much, either...
[User Picture]
From:puzzledance
Date:April 5th, 2004 10:30 pm (UTC)
(Link)
Of course Quinn was adorable. Isn't he always?

I've heard that the National Air & Space Dulles Annex is excellent. I'm glad you finally had a chance to go.

I don't think you've ever mentioned the syrinx before. It sounds scary.

I hope the briefing goes well! Good luck!
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:37 pm (UTC)

it was scary...

(Link)
now it's just annoying when it acts up...

I thought I had dodged the bullet when I felt fine after the tour, but it caught up to me later in the day.
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:38 pm (UTC)

hmm...

(Link)
I can't believe I never mentioned it before...
[User Picture]
From:puzzledance
Date:April 7th, 2004 12:53 pm (UTC)

Re: hmm...

(Link)
You haven't! I'm sure I would remember something like that!
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 7th, 2004 01:53 pm (UTC)

Re: hmm...

(Link)
nice new icon...
[User Picture]
From:puzzledance
Date:April 7th, 2004 04:25 pm (UTC)

Re: hmm...

(Link)
I've had it for a while, but I don't use it very often -- usually for commenting rather than for posting.
[User Picture]
From:firebitch
Date:April 5th, 2004 10:34 pm (UTC)
(Link)
Oy Gefilte!
I know, it makes no sense at all, but I love saying it.
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 6th, 2004 07:36 pm (UTC)

* pat pat *

(Link)
whatever makes you happy...
[User Picture]
From:owenthomas
Date:April 6th, 2004 09:47 pm (UTC)

Kewl!

(Link)
So there wasn't a completely insane, backed-up-to-the-highway line of cars this time?
[User Picture]
From:happypete
Date:April 7th, 2004 01:57 pm (UTC)

Re: Kewl!

(Link)
Yes...we only had a couple of cars in front of us...

Definitely during the week is the time to go.
Powered by LiveJournal.com