Returning to the Scene of the Crime

It's been 20 years since I graduated from university. I don't know about other college graduates, but I left school thinking that I'd finally arrived. I knew I was inexperienced, but I also assumed that I had the knowledge and learning required to go forth and make a successful life and career.

Canoe U. Satellite Antenna

It turns out that there remained a whole world worth of learning to accomplish along the winding path that I took over the subsequent two decades. A short an far from comprehensive list of things I've learned since then include:

1. If you find yourself in a situation where you dislike someone because their job seems easier or more fulfilling or less tiresome than yours, maybe you should look into how you can get that job.

2. The value of persistence. I thought I was pretty bright. It turns out that there are quite a few witty, smart, charismatic folks out there in the wide world. What sets folks apart are the ones that make just a little more effort. You don't have to give 110%. That's horseshit, and I don't even really know how that would work. If you would have success, you'll work just a little bit harder than the person next to you. My hypothesis is that it only takes about 2%-4% more effort, but that effort needs to be over the long haul. I didn't really learn this facet of life early enough. If you're young and just getting started, just take my word for it. The value of compounding persistence is similar to the value of compounding interest. It's not really that difficult on any given day, but at the end of a decade you'll find yourself miles ahead.

3. If you find yourself in a situation where you think someone may be crazy, you'd do well to examine whether you might be the one who is crazy. This is especially true if the majority of the folks around you also think the one individual is crazy and the rest of you are sane. The parable of Saddam The Cat (which is a story for a different day) applies here.

Severn River Bridge - Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard - From Hospital Point - USNA

4. Every moment of your life is change. There is zero value in saying that you don't like change because fundamentally the smallest increment of time is empirically different from every other moment anyone has ever experienced. We're not living life. We're creating it every step of the way. Things rhyme of course, but living in the past is foolish and living in the fantasies of the future is equally ill informed. The only thing that exists is right now, and it lasts like a vapor until you invent the next small increment of the new now. This is important because NOTHING is ever as good or as bad as it seems. There is not permanence to anything, so if you find yourself having a terrible day, take a breath. Focus on the moment. Now...right now is your life really crashing down around your ears. Probably not. No matter what is happening, the air is probably sweet(ish), the ground under your feet is probably solid. Gravity still works, and there's another moment just around a quick corner that is an opportunity to invent a new reality. If you think something is bad, it's likely to be either fear (future looking) or regret (past looking). Since neither of these things actually exist, focusing on the moment will find you in a much better place than you IMAGINED you were experiencing.

5. Patience, forgiveness, and love are NEVER over rated. More on this later, but take my word for it in the interim.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow from a very good place right now.

Washington DC Fountains

Work proved challenging this week.  It's not even eleven pm on a Friday night, and I am ready for bed. This morning's walk up Capitol Hill brought both solitude and beauty, so I'll leave my readers this evening with Washington, DC fountains.

Neptune Fountain at the Library of Congress and Yards Park Fountain in Southeast DC

Once again, I found what happened today inspiring and a gift from the universe. I'm looking forward to a good night's rest and another stunning day tomorrow.

Washington DC Diversity

One of the greatest things about working in, living near, or visiting Washington, DC is the diversity of outlooks, activities, and interests that chose to call this place home.

NCA Outrigger Canoes Racing on the Anacostia

I have literally walked this route hundreds of times, but today is the first time I've seen outrigger canoes racing down the Anacostia.  Based on the art on the side of the boats, these particular crews are members of the National Capital Area Outrigger Canoe Club which falls under the National Capital Area Women's Paddling Association (NCAWPA).  Not only did I fail to realize that outrigger canoe racing was an option, but I had no idea that a Women's Paddling Association existed in the area.

Every day is a new adventure, and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow may hold.

Six Years Ago Today

Facebook reminded me that six years ago today I said, "I've finally found myself in a place with relatively easy FB access.  I've also found myself in a place where the high reached 116 F. You take the good with the bad."

Looking back, that post sums up one of the more jarring six month experiences with my life. I'm not fighting the heat as much anymore.  That's for sure.

Capitol Afternoon

Looking back, I think I might have learned a thing or two and I'm not sure Facebook access or 116 F temperatures qualify for either "good" or "bad" modifiers. 

Library of Congress

In fact, I'm finding that bucketing events or things or people or just about anything else into those categories is an exceedingly unhealthy habit.  Walking and the last six years of experience have taught me that I'm just not smart, insightful, or objective enough to determine if something....anything is good or bad.  Most things just are, and my reaction to them defines them from my perspective.

The very fact that I'm experiencing the world around me is an amazing gift of the universe regardless of how the universe feels about my preconceived notions and expectations. It's all been a glorious gift, and I'm looking forward to unwrapping tomorrow.

Rehashing Old Ground

Getting back into the routine of the walk is comforting.  Though I did not cover a great deal of distance today, I did put some asphalt under my feet in my old stomping grounds. I also reintroduced the concept of the two-a-day.

Anacostia In Waiting

The weather is taking on a distinctive mugginess of summer, but the temperatures are still cool. The feel in the air is one of anticipation. The new docks on the Anacostia are looking pretty complete, and I suspect that by the end of the season we'll find them well attended by boaters showing off their wares. The sights and sounds of a Friday afternoon in Yards Park is something to look forward to seeing soon.

Earth Conservation Corps

The dream of the good folks at the Earth Conservation Corps is slowly becoming a reality. These folks have been organizing trash clean-ups, lobbying for funding to improve the quality of the watershed, and generally trying to police the river into a cleaner and more enjoyable place. They took on this task before the stadium and the condos and the restaurants.  They spend money and time in the sun and rain to further their vision of the river. Thanks in part to their efforts, I've seen wild turkeys, beaver, and helped a man catch a twenty four pound channel catfish. These folks had the vision and the drive before the money came in, but make no mistake, the work that they started will be finished in service to the development efforts. It's a story of persistence and success building success that needs some research and a telling.

Navy Yard Pier - Minus USS Barry

Now, I'm not quite sure if the yacht tied up to the pier where the USS Barry used to berth is for the use of the Chief of Naval Operations or the Secretary of the Navy.  I'm pretty sure that it's a boat maintained for their use. Interestingly enough, I have not been able to find any real reference to the craft on the internet, so it's probably one of those federal government perks that's not widely advertised. The boat is named Chesapeake, and if anyone knows any other details about the person or the office for which it's maintained, I'd love to hear the story. A conspiracy theorist might suggest that the expulsion of the USS Barry was in part to make way for some soon to be premium Anacostia waterfront dockage. I wouldn't say that, but the optic is terrible, and a news story suggesting the theory is one of those things in this town that might grow some legs and run off.

It's good to slide back into the grove, and I'm looking forward to abiding tomorrow...whatever it may reveal.

Sport or Punishment?

I managed to recapture what amounts to a more normal routine today, and during my constitutional around Annapolis, I came across something that I've never seen before today.

Four Man Crew Setting Up for a Run West on College Creek

It's not too unusual to see crew boats in College Creek, but I've never run across one west of the county bridge on Roscoe Rowe Blvd.  These guys were setting up for what amounted to a pretty short but intense run to the mouth of the creek and back. Another boat was following in their wake.

Two Four Man Crews in Full Stroke Headed East on College Creek

Watching these guys race from the top of the bridge made me wonder, "Is this sport, or is this punishment." A friend of my on the lightweight eights in college tells me that it's both, and I have no reason to doubt his experience.

It's good to get back in the groove, and I'm looking forward to catching additional surprises and new experiences tomorrow.

Catching Up From My Midwest Ramble

Last week took me to a couple of states that I have not visited in the past, so I think it's worth doing a bit of a photo recap.  Unfortunately, the connectivity during my travels did not support daily posting, so I'm taking the easy way out and leave you with some photos that I captured along the way. I already posted the first sunset in Michigan and the Green Bay Airport, so this series of photos will catch me up with the rest of the visit.

Sunset at 30K Feet - Aircraft Horizontal Stabilizer to the Left of the Photo

Sunset at 30K Feet - Somewhere over the Great Lakes

Skyscape on Climbout from Detroit, MI

Landscape on Climbout from Detroit

Airport Food - Detroit, MI

Apron - Detroit, MI

Packer Fanatic Fence #1 - Adjacent to Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

Packer Fanatic Fence #2 - Adjacent to Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

Packer Fanatic Fence #3 - Adjacent to Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

Menominee North Pier Lighthouse - Mouth of the Menominee River entering Lake Michigan

It was a busy trip. I hope to do a little better job documenting the next jaunt up to the Wisconsin and Michigan. It's a new area for me, and I'm looking forward to more fully exploring all that the region offers.