Small town girl in a big city....or big city girl in a small town...?

All right, here it is, after much anticipation...Harriet the Spy's first official post! All right, for those of you who know me better, you've already thrown the red flag and are calling bull...yeah, you're probably right, but hey, we all know I can be quite lame (one of my best qualities, I must admit!) so why shouldn't my blogs represent their maker?

I have just celebrated my first New Year's holiday in the DC area since moving here in May. I had been looking forward to welcoming 2008 in a glamorous big city setting. What actually happened? I sat in my house armed with chocolate, mamosas (which were excellent, by the way), an assortment of chic flicks, and two gal pals. After the first movie ended around 1:00 am--and don't worry, we paused Hitch at midnight to toast the New Year, but then continued on--the three of us decided to call her a night. So much for big city glam, eh? It was then that I started pondering that whole notion of a fish out of water. Am I that fish?

I definitely still have some small town tendancies that are a huge part of my character. They've definitely played a major role in my adjusting to big city life. I love the fact that I can consider myself small town, heck, I'm not even from a town. The closest town was 11 miles from my farm. I realized this past week when I went back to Iowa, however, that I'm definitely becoming more and more used to big city life...and...do I dare say it...maybe even prefer it?

First of all, there were the Wisconsin airports (yes, airports is plural) and my real-life experience comparative to Steve Martin's in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I won't type all that out now...that may be my next blog. But being stranded in Madison, WI and then Milwaukee, definitely reminds you that you are no longer in the city. Advantage: Big City

Then, there were the bars. Ah, small town bars I will always love, despite the fact that there are mullets as far as the eye can see. But who knew that you could buy a top shelf Long Island Ice Tea for under $5? And of course, you can't go wrong with $.75 beer bottles. Yes, it was good to be back. Advantage: Small Town

Small town restaurants, however, are different than the small town bars. My family and I went out Saturday evening to enjoy a nice dinner on my last night before I headed back to the Big City. We went to a nice restaurant (yes, the waitress sported a mullet) and I requested to see the wine list since they only had the word "wine" printed on the menu. Laughter broke out throughout the entire restaurant and all eyes turned towards me. It was one of those moments when you fear that your fly has been down during a major presentation, or that you've been walking around with a train of toilet paper stuck to you shoe all day. I couldn't think of what I had done wrong when the waitress said (and this is quite classicly put, I must say!), "Honey, wine list? I can tell you the wine list. It all comes in a box--what'd ya want: red, white, or pink?" Another round of laughter ensued. Advantage: Big City

Finally, superficial as this sounds, there's the shopping. Call it lack of availability, selection, different cultures, whatever. You simply cannot find the same things in a mall in Omaha, NE and the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, VA. Advantage: Big City

Now don't get me wrong. I loved being home every minute. I may be biased, but I think there are very few things more beautiful than the landscape of our family farm. And nothing beats enjoying the serene stillness that exists in the country early in the morning (and/or late at night) from our hot tub. (Huge Advantage: Farm) And my family is the most important thing in the world to me--closely followed, of course, by friends--I truly treasure every second I get to spend with them, especially more so now that I live so far away. But, every time I come back to DC, I'm happier to be back and I love this city even more.

So there you have it. I know I'm small town--and I love that so very much--but maybe there's a city girl part of me that's stepping up to the plate with each month that passes.

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The Christmas Presents

Ah yes, Christmas, the day of giving :) Nah, this isn't going to be anything about being jaded and all. I just thought the picture on the left is funny. Well a Merry Christmas to all and hope everyone got the presents they want.

Oh by the way to the contributors for this blog, please feel free posting photos. It can liven up any blog entries. All the photos you upload are actually placed on your http://picasaweb.google.com/home account. Also it can be a great way to share photos and all. I'll be adding a slideshow to this blog too. I don't know what to put up yet. Maybe photos of us doing our group thing like the pumpkin patch and stuff. Let me know, posts some comments.

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Major League Bargain or Major League Trouble?

The Washington Nationals have been busy so far this off season making already two trades that will bring some new players into DC and the new ballpark. Thats all a great idea considering the rather poor state of play from the Nats for the first few years and the need to add excitement to the opening of the new ballpark. There is only one potential landmine here, these guys they are bringing in all have lengthy and detailed problems of off the field indiscretions. In the past few years lets look at some of the acqusitions by Jim Bowden and what kind of baggage they bring to the Nats:

Dmitri Young, who was picked up by Bowden and the Nationals in 2006, has well documented off the field problems when he was with the Tigers. In 2006, Young went through a divorce, was treated for alcohol and substance abuse, and depression. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a young woman after an argument in Birmingham, MI. He also admitted to being an alcoholic and drug addict.

The good thing however is that appears that Dmitri has overcome his problems and put together a solid season both on and off the field for the Nationals in 2007. He has quickly become a fan favorite and is a great story.

Lastings Milledge, whome Bowden picked up in a trade for Ryan Church and Brain Schnedier, has also experienced some off the field issues:

"Prior to the 2003 amateur draft, he was expected to be among the top three selections, but as draft day approached, press reports from 2002 resurfaced regarding Milledge's expulsion from Northside Christian High School after his junior year for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl.He subsequently transferred to Lakewood Ranch High School where he finished his education and amateur baseball career.

As a result of the incident, Milledge was passed over in the 2003 amateur draft until the Mets selected him as the twelfth overall pick in the first round. The Mets began contract negotiations with Milledge, but the talks were interrupted in early August 2003, when the Mets learned of allegations of additional sexual misconduct against Milledge during his time at Northside. The Mets completed a private investigation of the matter and, satisified with the results, signed Milledge to a contract with a $1.9 million bonus."

Some other issues of clubhouse chemistry certainly had a big role in the Mets letting him go for peanuts considering Milledge is a highly thought of prospect, but again off the field issues and immaturity seems to dog him.

The most recent acquistion for the Nats is Elijah Dukes from Tampa Bay. Dukes as well has had a number of off the field issues:

"Since 1998, he has been arrested 6 times on charges including possession of marijuana, assault, and resisting an officer. On May 23, 2007 it was reported that his wife filed a restraining order after he threatened to kill her. On June 12, 2007, a 17 year-old foster child, who was living in the care of a relative of Dukes, accused him of impregnating her. Police say the sex was apparently consensual, and no crime was committed, but they are investigating. When the girl confronted Dukes, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade at her"

Again, this is another promising player who has had a number of off the field issues. It would seem that Nationals management is hoping that these guys turn out like Dmitri Young and can overcome some of their problems and produce on the field as well as becoming good citizens.

There is no doubt that if these guys go the Dmitri Young route that these are major bargains for the young Nationals team who will become cornerstones of a franchise that already has some good young talent. However if they do not show the ability to mature and get over their off the field issues, this could turn into a major disaster for the Nats as having all these guys in the same clubhouse could make us the Bengals of the MLB.

I suppose only time will tell.

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My Friend Edna

My Brother-in-law's sister Edna was a great person who always had a smile. She was a kind and gentle person. I only saw her a few times after my younger sister were married. She loved to dance. Every time she would come up to California she would always want to go dancing. Now in Tijuana, its easy to be an under age teenager and find a place to go dancing. But when she would come up to California and want to go dancing its not that easy. In the beginning it was hard to find a place to take an under 18 person to go dancing, but we found em, and we went, even though there was not a hard drink to be had at any of these places.
later, after she had turned 21, it was easier to go places and take her to show her a good time. But she would always want to go dancing. Now everyone knows I'm pretty much the type of person that goes to a bar and listens tot he jukebox. Not exactly the type of place you can find dance floors in. But Edna was such a sweet person you couldn't help but want to take her dancing. Edna was sweet, and she was shy. She had a way of smiling at you that was kind of, I don't know, demure like.
Something about her smile though said that she wasn't as shy as everyone thought she was. she loved to have fun, and she did love to laugh, and when she did, she laughed out loud.
Edna suffered an aneurysm last Monday. She was taken off of life support some time on Tuesday. Edna will be sorely missed, and I think I am still in some sort of shock over it. Edna was a 22 year old Beautiful young woman. I hope there's a dance floor in heaven, and I hope the Angels can handle it.

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The Immortal Soul

For those of you who don't know, I keep a personal blog where I write essays of a more personal nature that is only accessible to myself. Here is a recent entry that I'd like to share with you, I think it's good:


I Believe I have the soul of an explorer.That, or i am missing being outside to such and extent I need to do something extreme outdoors to make up for the cubicle nightmare I've been living in these past ten or so years. I have been coming to this realization more and more since I have found a few magazines that I read to pass the time at my eight hour a job day in a building with no windows. The last time I did anything outdoors was my vacation to Hawaii. that was in May. it is now September, and I've worked without a full weekend since then. travel is pretty much out because of that. Its hard to convince friends that the weekend is no longer Friday night through Sunday night, that the weekend lasts lasts only Friday through Saturday, and even then, Saturdays are only every other week. Yes, my job schedule sucks.Lately however, I've been reading some magazines that have me itching to get, pardon the expression, Outside. Between The surfer's Journal and Outside magazine, I am exponentially aware that the weather is always beautiful if you're not at work, and the sun warms you tot he bone, unlike the fluorescent light on rails over my head. I am instantly reminded of Joe vs. the Volcano.I have a 9' Robert August Longboard that I bought with deployment money from when I was in the army and I went to Iraq collecting dust in my board bag on my balcony. I have a pair of DC shoes Snowboard boots, Burton Snowboarding pants and jacket ready to get into some powder when the winter rolls around. There's a brand new pair of fins, snorkel and mask that I bought in Hawaii for snorkeling around the reefs, only used twice. I've got some very nicely broken in hiking boots in both Desert and Jungle colors. My running shoes, also nicely broken in are rearing to hit some of these sweet running trails around the DC/Metro area. Yet, every time I look at my gear I am not reminded or taken away to a Shangri-La of adventures in the great American Outdoors. I am only reminded of my work schedule, and my cubicle that's barely larger than the economy coach seats on the plane I wont be taking to get Outside.

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Ethical Dilemna

So Maniac and I recently went out to purchase our first piece of real furniture. By real I mean not from IKEA, not made of particle board, and not a hand me down. (Note: antiques do not count as hand-me-downs, and are therefore "real") We needed a dining room table and chairs and wanted something that would last us a few years and would be of good quality, but contemporary and functional. We decided to go with a set from a place I'll call East Oak. We opted to buy 6 chairs even though it would be a tight fit around our small table, but it was necessary that we be able to entertain without having 2 tables. Because who wants to be designated to the "kids table"? The short, often inferior, substitute for a real table. As you hunch over your plate, eyeing your glass lest it splash over the side when one of the substantial chairs at the "adult table" is pushed back, and forlorningly listening to the raucous laughter and poignant conversation j-u-s-t out of reach of actually joining in...{shudder}



Any how, being the frugal Red that I am, I didn't want to pay shipping charges so we agreed to make several trips to the store for the various pieces (6 chairs, one table top, one table base). The first day we were able to only fit 3 chairs into my shiny new Civic.



Day 2, Maniac took his Celica and was able to fit 6 chairs into it.

wait..6 chairs you say?

Yes. The schmo at the loading dock on Day 1, never marked on our pick up list that we had left with 3 chairs. So Maniac took all 6 chairs, the little thief that he is. "I didn't realize". huh.

But wait, its not over.



Day 3. Maniac runs on his lunch break to pick up the table base (they agree to ship the table top for free, since it won't fit in our cars), and the new schmo at the loading dock says (according to Maniac) "Do you want an extra chair?" "Why yes I do", Maniac answers.

So now we have 4 extra chairs (which we really have no room for)



Q: Do we take the chairs back and explain their mistake? Or sell them ourselves and make a profit of about $500+

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