Lazy Day

I slept in this morning until close to noon. I had a delicious scrambled egg omelet situation with cheese, bell pepper, tomato, and mushrooms for breakfast. After I finally stopped being lazy, I headed over to Catholic University campus to mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Jeff Frazee met me for mass and we went out to dinner afterwards at this mediocre Thai restaurant that doesn't deserve a linked recognition. It was so much fun to catch up with Frazee. He just got engaged a few months ago and is just starting a new organization called Young Americans for Liberty, very interesting.

Lincoln, Darwin, and Clarendon

This morning I woke up and moseyed on over to Best Buy in Pentagon City to buy a new digital camera. The sales guy was super annoying trying to sell me the dang insurance that costs half as much as the camera and an SD memory card that I already have. I ended up getting the PowerShot SD790 IS and I love it!

So after my digicam excursion, I took the metro into DC to meet up with Chris at the National Museum of American History. I had seen most of the museum, but the Abraham Lincoln exhibit just opened last weekend.

I also went through the America on the Move, Lighting a Revolution, and The Price of Freedom: Americans at War. My favorite things I saw today were Lincoln's top hat that he was wearing at Ford's Theater, Edison's collection of experimental materials to be used for filaments, and George Washington's camping chest.

After the American History museum, I showed Chris the Old Post Office Building, which is still my favorite view of the city.

The National Museum of Natural History was next to explore a new exhibit, Orchids Through Darwin's Eyes.

So I know that Chris and I are complete PT nerds in that we discussed osteo- and arthro-kinematics of the animals in the Bones exhibit for about an hour.

Osteology: Hall of Bones
Who has bones? Fishes, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals do. In our Osteology Hall you can observe a variety of vertebrate skeletons grouped by their evolutionary relationships. You can compare a human and gorilla, bone for bone. Count the number of neck vertebrae in a human and a giraffe. Observe skeletal features that are unique to reptiles or to fish.

Later in the evening we went out to a bar in Clarendon called Whitlow's. The place was packed, but we were able to snag a booth right when we got there. There was a cover band playing called Road Soda. They covered everything from Jay-Z to The Killers.. pretty wide variety of music that night and it was so much fun!

International Summit on Direct Access and Advanced Scope of Practice

Today I listened in on a conference call for the International Summit on Direct Access and Advanced Scope of Practice. This conference is on October 22-24 in National Harbor, MD and is sponsore by the World Confederation of Physical Therapy, the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, and the American Physical Therapy Association.

During the call, many issues about the conference were discussed, including registration, programming, logo, and website development. I find it fascinating to learn how these conferences are put together. There is so much behind the scenes work that most attendees never have a chance to see.

In the afternoon, Chris and I visited Lisa McLaughlin, The Student Assembly Component Executive to discuss the student website and CSM PT-PAC events.

Friday evening, I decided to go shopping for a new digital camera, since mine went kaput during the inauguration. I couldn't find the one I liked tonight, maybe tomorrow. Chris and I are headed to do some touristy exploring in DC.

Johnny's Half Shell Happy Hour & DC Aggies Two-Step

Today at work was not as intense as usual. It's been nice to get some work done on my long term projects, though. We had a new student intern start, his name is Chris Beaudoin and he's from Regis University in Denver, CO and will be here for the next 3 weeks. We had an intern meeting this morning with Melissa Manzione, who is basically in charge of coordinating our schedules and activities. We discussed what I've been working on so far and what Chris and I both plan to work on over the next few weeks. Chris is more interested in the Payment side of the unit, while I'm more interested in the Advocacy side, which works out well so our projects won't really overlap.

I meandered into DC to check out the happy hour at my mom's cousin's restaurant. Her name is Ann Cashion and the restaurant is Johnny's Half Shell. Of course my mom told me about the restaurant originally, but I also read about it in my DC insider's guide in the 100 Free (or nearly free) Things to do in DC.

ECONOMICAL EATS AND CHEAP HAPPY HOURS
Eat organic at Johnny's Half Shell, where James Beard award-winning chef
Ann Cashion's mini-burgers and mini Asian tuna sandwiches are just $2.50 and her
fried oysters and gumbo are $6 each during happy hour.

So I went for happy hour, which is 4:30-7:30. Check out the entire Happy Hour Menu. My bill was under $20I had a Stella Artois, Barbequed Shrimp and Asiago Cheese Grits, and Half Dozen Charbroiled Oysters. All so delicious and reminded me of home. The greatest part about the restaurant is that there are old black and white pics of my family on the walls. Most of the pictures are from Galveston, TX and are of my great grandparents (Mom and Pop Pequigney) and my grandma (Mom Shepherd) and her brother (Uncle Bub) and sister (Aunt Margie). Ann's mom is Aunt Margie, who was my grandma's sister. I'll need Mark Daly genealogy master clarification on whether that makes us "second cousins" or "first cousins once-removed." The waiter was so very nice and personable, Kurt was his name. He showed me around the restaurant so I could see all of the pictures. Unfortunately Ann wasn't there last night, so I guess that means I have to go back again.. darn. I'm actually supposed to be going to a fundraiser there next Tuesday, small world.

After dinner, I met up with my new DC Aggie friends for drinks and two stepping at the American Legion Post #8. There's this great band that plays there called the Wil Gravatt Band. They played some Texas Country covers and I had a great time dancing with new friends. Some of the same people from the Howdy Hour were there: Kelsey, Alyssa, Carlos, Paul, and Parker. The bartender was slightly off. I asked for a Crown and 7 and he told me "no that's a terrible comination." He thought I wanted Crown mixed with Seagram's 7. Then after that confusion was cleared up, he wanted to give me ginger ale instead of sprite. The whole ordeal took entirely too much brain power for a patron/bartender interaction. I met this super sweet guy who ended up giving me a ride home, which was great since it was almost 12:00am whenever we left.

Bienvenido a Miami

Today was the first day back after a long weekend with not much sleep and I felt like I was in slow motion. We had a unit meeting this morning where we discussed mostly CSM issues. After the meeting I started sifting through my email inbox. This afternoon, I started working in National Student Conclave’s PT-PAC Late Night Event for the upcoming conference in October 2009 in Miami, FL. The conference hotel is the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami. So I basically spent the entire afternoon researching downtown Miami bars and restaurants. Not too bad for an afternoon of work. I’m going to bed early.. completely exhausted from the weekend!

Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America

I woke up at 5:00am this morning wide awake despite the fact that I may have slept only a few hours. There was a different feeling in the air this morning. Yes it was freezing, but everyone on the street was full of life - wishing eachother Good Morning and Enjoy your day and many were making friends with random strangers from all over the United States. Today it felt like everyone was in the same boat, ecstatic about what Barack Obama would soon have to say to the nation.

I made my way into the Ballston Metro by 5:30am and already the place was bustling and trains were passing by already packed. As I hopped on the metro to meet Scott and Jennifer in Crystal City, I found it impossible to keep a smile off my face. The energy around me was so overwhelmingly comforting.

I arrived at Crystal City Metro and bought the inaugural edition of the Washington Post and a Dunkin Donuts coffee while I people watched the hundreds of people bustling into the station. By now it was 6:30am. We had to wait for a few trains before one came that we could fit everyone: Scott, Jennifer, Sarah, Summer, Heidi, and me. Sarah, Summer, and Heidi flew in from San Diego to visit Jennifer and Scott - two PT friends of mine. Scott served on the APTA Student Assembly Nominating Committee the year before me and Jennifer is his fiancee - both PTs. When the doors opened at our destination stop, L'Enfant Plaza, we could barely squeeze onto the platform. For those of you from New Orleans, it was a crowd like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras or New Year's Eve. The crowd is actually moving you - you don't have much control of where you're going. It must have taken at least an hour before we emerged from the Metro Station. All the while people were smashed in like sardines, without a care in the world, just excited to be a part of history. The crowd randomly chanted throughout the trip "O-ba-ma" and "Yes We Can".

As we emerged from the L'Enfant Metro Station, the cold slapped us in the face and began to freeze our toes. Volunteers lined the streets to direct traffic and welcome everyone to DC. Firetrucks, charter buses, and vendors lined the streets along the way to the mall. I was sure we were too late to make it, but at 8:25am we staked our spot on the mall right under the 3rd jumbotron from the Capitol. Sunday's concert was replaying on the jumbotrons and everyone in the crowd was singing along and dancing to Garth Brooks playing Shout/American Pie/We Shall be Free, Usher/Stevie Wonder/Shakira playing Higher Ground, U2 playing Pride in the Name of Love/City of Brilliant Lights, and Pete Seeger/Springsteen playing This Land is Your Land.

The procession of dignitaries started with Congress, then former Presidents, then current President/VP, President/VP families, then VP and finally the man of the hour Barack Obama. The crowd's roar was progressively heightened with each announcement, however it was silent other than a few tacky boos with the announcement of the Bush families. I was shocked and hurt by the vast number of people so disappointed with the Bushes. A crowd of 1.9 million is something to hear, but a silent crowd of 1.9 million is eerie. The crowd was electric when Obama stepped out onto the Capitol steps. The ceremony began with Dianne Feinstein. My favorite quote from her: "Future generations will mark this morning as the turning-point for real and necessary change in our nation. They will look back and remember that this is the moment when the dream that once echoed across history from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial finally reached the walls of the White House." Rick Warren delivered the invocation to a crowd with heads bowed, silently listening with the occasionl Mmmhmm and you're right and amens scatterd about the crowd. The invocation ended with the Our Father, amazing to hear so many reciting at the same time. Aretha Frankling sang My Country Tis of Thee beautifully. I watched as people in the crowd were drawn to tears. First Biden takes the oath, then Barack Hussein Obama stumbes through the oath with his hand placed on the same bible that Abraham Lincoln used during his inauguration. His wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia beaming next to him. The crowd erupted in cheers, with cameras and flashes, hugs and kisses, tears and laughter. Then President Obama gave his inaugural address. As expected, it was a message of hope and change. He was eloquently spoken, ever so classily pointing out the fact that we have many challenges that we face at this point in time. "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: they will be met."

After the speech we started on the heel-toe express back home. It took awhile to figure out our exit. As one guy said in the crowd, "Now I know what a red blood cell feels like," as we all tried to squeeze past eachother on the randomly blocked and barricaded streets. We walked from jumbotron 3 on the mall past the Washington Monument, past the WWII memorial, past the reflection pool, past the Lincoln memorial, over the Arlington Memorial Bridge, and to Crystal City. Yeah that's about 5 miles, but so much better than trying to cram back into the metro. It took, us about 2 hours to walk that far. I enjoyed the company today and am thankful that I had a group to share this piece of history. We at at McCormick and Schmick's and toasted to our 44th president. At 4:00pm I headed back to the Crystal City Metro and hopped back on the train home. The trains were still pretty packed along the way. On the train home I overheard a mom telling her son, "someday you will tell your kids that you walked from DC to Virginia after you witnessed history." At 5:00pm, I walked back in the door of my DC home, exhausted, but with no regrets. I'm so glad that I spent those 12 hours experiencing a piece of history, it was completely worth it and I'm looking forward to President Obama putting his plans in to action over the next 4 years.

Daly

Sunday Funday

In Houston, we have a tradition called Sunday Funday where we hang out all day Sunday and drink beers and watch football. Josh Pitts brought the tradition to NYC and that's exactly what we did today at his favorite NYU campus bar, Off the Wagon. They have an ingenious drink special on Saturday and Sunday afternoons called Beat the Clock. It starts at noon and ends when the bar closes. Pitchers at noon are $4.50 and the price goes up 50 cents each hour. This is the first bar that I've ever been to that has multiple beer pong tables set up and beer bongs at the bar, crazy!

Josh Pitts and his roommate Steven attempting to beat me at beer pong.

I went by Uncle Bub and Steven's again to visit before leaving and to take some pictures since we forgot to take them at dinner the night before. And let's be honest, who doesn't love hanging out at their swanky 5th avenue apartment in Greenwich Village?!

I completely lost track of time and missed my bus back to DC this evening. No worries though, since I don't have to work Monday for MLK day or Tuesday for Inauguration. I just got a new bus home on Monday morning.