Skate DC!

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Whew, that was fun! So fun, in fact, that I had reached up to the Lincoln Memorial before I realized that it was getting dark — and cold. And me in just my rollerblades, jeans, and a t-shirt. Thankfully, my exertions going back up 16th Street generated enough body heat to warm me till I got home.

The White House area is a great place to skate, since the roads in front are currently closed to cars. Lots of skaters in the area, all having a good time. (But also a few, um, fringe elements: today it was anti-nuclear demonstrators on vigil and a guy in a wheelchair screaming at the White House to “stop aiding Israeli terrorism.”) Behind it, The Ellipse is also a nice skate, and the sidewalks aren’t too bumpy around there. The Washington Monument is also encircled by a smooth pavement, but only one or two paths leading up to it are negotiable; otherwise you need to change to shoes (or sandals, in my case) and walk up to it. You can’t skate The Mall or the paths along the Reflecting Pool; they’re surfaced with bumpy stone and/or sand rather than concrete pavement. Nice for romantic promenading, though. And you can feed the ducks and pigeons.

Elsewhere in the city, the sidewalks and streets are so-so. Sometimes they’re nice and smooth expanses of concrete and asphalt, other times they’re bumpy and uneven cobble or brick. Oogh.

So, any aspiring or experienced DC skaters out there? Myself, I’m a rather conservative (read: wussy) skater, so I don’t do anything fancy, and I most certainly do not skate major thoroughfares or go skitching.

An Israeli Blog

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Hey, whoa, look: an Israeli weblog. Real interesting reading, given the current context in the Middle East. (Link via Lileks’ Daily Bleat.)

It’s such a nice day today! I think I’ll break out the rollerblades and skate to the White House.

Ninety WPM

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I’ve just returned from a temp placement agency, where they viewed my resume, interviewed me, and tested my Office software skills. I’m happy to report that I got a typing speed of 90 wpm (and here I thought I was only a 60!), got high ratings for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, and aced spelling and grammar. I present to you… Paulo, the Uber-Temp! Yay!

My referrals just turned up this search request: “Comparing Tale of Two Cities to Star Trek.” Well, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan began and ended with the beginning and ending quotes of Dickens’ novel, which Spock presented as a birthday present to the aging Admiral Kirk. I suppose you can draw some rough parallelisms between the death of Spock in Engineering and the self-sacrifice of Sydney Carton to save Charles Darnay.

I found a little more on that here.

Oatmeal Messes

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Just like Doug, I like eating oatmeal in the morning, but I can never seem to enjoy the stuff without suffering an oatmeal spill somewhere along the way. Sometimes the milk prematurely boils over in the microwave; other times I mix it a bit too vigorously before eating. It’s gotten so that I can’t begin to prepare the stuff without making sure I have a paper towel on hand first. Ah, the tribulation I must endure to enjoy a hearty bowl of hot, cleansing oats.

Herbalife Signs

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The secret behind all those WORK FROM HOME signs. I’ve had a few encounters with Herbalife myself; some involving a guy in Ateneo (in my brother’s batch) who went all over the campus with a “LOSE WEIGHT NOW / ASK ME HOW” button. More recently, I met an enthusiastically wide-eyed Herbalife distributor on Dela Rosa Street, right outside their Makati office. She was quite crestfallen when I told her that MLM scams are evil and intrusive and that she should get out of Herbalife quickly before it destroyed her life.

My mom occasionally used Herbalife at one point, but not for its health benefits. Rather, she got a pleasant jolt out of the huge quantities of caffeine in each tablet — that’s what’s in the pill to inhibit your appetite and drive down your weight.

(Link via MeFi.)

First Baptist DC

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I’ve been attending at First Baptist on 16th Street for the past two Sundays. You would not know from first glance that it’s a Baptist church: the cathedral building with its stained glass windows looks almost Catholic, and the worship could be mistaken for a Presbyterian service, right down to introitus, responsory, and recital of the Lord’s Prayer.

The pastor, Jim Somerville, has taken bits and pieces of various Protestant traditions, and integrated them into this church with a uniquely Baptist touch. I was a bit worried at first upon seeing the word “ecumenical…” (You know how it is with us Baptists: “Ecumenism” = “Evil Romanist Compromise!”) …but so far what I’ve seen is a Baptist church which breaks out of the Baptist mold with its pleasant liberal-ness, but without compromising the fundamentals of Scripture and salvation by the grace of Christ. I’m liking it very much.

What I especially appreciate is that this is not a “Say the Formula Sinner’s Prayer and You’re Saved No Matter What” kind of church. As was explained at membership class, the church focuses also on building a community of relationships to encourage people to fruitful, growing, living faith in Christ. Isn’t that great?

(And the music’s beautiful. Organs, brass ensembles, even timpanis for Easter. We even had some Bach and Handel for invitational. Now that’s church music. Eh? Eh?)

April Fool!

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Question: Is it…

– April Fool, (Singular?)

– April Fool’s, (Singular Possessive?)

– April Fools, (Plural?) or…

– April Fools’? (Plural-Possessive?)

Anyway, so far it looks like MeFi is under new management, Jish has gone MeFi Blue, Rich has gotten hitched (is that for real?), Google uses pigeons, and Duane has seen the light on the unholy evil leaven of alcohol.

Easter 2002

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“Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?” (Luke 24.5-7)

He is risen, and in the grave has He left the sins of the world! Trust in Him alone for your redemption, look to Him alone for your salvation, and know that with His Resurrection, He gives us all the hope of one day ascending with Him in triumph, bodily, and eternally, over death!

And a Happy Easter to all of you. :)