Damn Allergies.....

So this weekend is my 10K race in Rockville; it's going to be my first race that I have been training for for about two months now. I'm super psyched about it until I woke up a couple of days ago. Fall Allergy Season is upon us and I can't breathe. Not being able to breathe can prove to be a problem when it comes to running a race; I could be wrong.

I can't believe this. My chest is heavy, my breathng is labored and Claritin makes me drowsy, these are the ingredients to a very messy race...but hey, at least if I collapse, Jonathan will be there to catch me at 8 in the morning, at least one can hope.

Well, not much for today. Too much shit is going on in my head and in my life to put it all down on paper - I have to sort it all out first before I can start....

Halloween Preview

Soooo....whoever said that one day I will become a sick, sadistic mother to my children needs to be awarded with a medal (or a cookie) because that person is DEAD ON! I mean, check out the length I would go to humiliate my pets; if they had an inner child, it is severly wounded.

I can't help it. I feel the need to dress them up according to seaons, Holidays, positioning of the stars...etc. So this Halloween, Jonathan and I decided, of course without their consents first, to get them each a costume. Stewie is to be a chicken (why he couldn't be a lion or anything within his genus and kingdom, I don't know) and Roxey is to be a bumble bee. It is damn cute, except they don't like the choices we have made for them very much. If they think wearing the costumes around house is embarrassing, just wait until Halloween when we make them walk around the block going Trick O' Treat-ing...how's that for competing with the Johnson's?!

Just so this humiliation can spread like wild fire, I decided to post some pictures of these cute darlings. And what's that? You want more? Don't you fret, I have also video taped Stewie trying depserately to get out of his costume. Oh the humanity....well, enjoy....

http://admin2.american.edu/~jsilber/stewie.mov

PS - In order to see the video, you must install quicktime. www.apple.com/quicktime

What the hell........

I don't know what is the matter with me lately, but I am suffering from writers' block...again. Sad, but true; my wittiness is just not coming full force like they used to.

As a matter of fact, all I have been doing is re-reading my past posts and I have to apologize at this point. What was I thinking? In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, did I grow a heart? I mean, look at the last two posts? Human kindness? Donating? The power of Christ compells me, evil be gone! I became Mr. Hallmark. God, definitely can't let people see my soft side...what is the matter with me? Oy....

But, these past two weeks have just been hell and crazy all molded into one. Perhaps next week I will feel less charitable and more myself....

Until then, expect more mushiness.... :)

Human Kindness

In this usually cruel, selfish world that we live in, today was the first day that I saw human kindness. Maybe it's because I've been walking around with my eyes half closed and just going through the motions not really enjoying and immersing myself in all that life has to offer. Maybe it's because I care only for myself and strangers next to me are like mosquitoes buzzing around that I quickly swap out of my mind without thinking twice. Perhaps it's because I live in a society where you are taught, at a very young age, that the world is not a nice place to live in and you can't trust anyone but yourself.

But today, for the first time, my eyes were open and I saw, for the first time, human kindness.

On the train this morning as I sway back forth on a 45-min commute into the bustling Financial District of DC where I work, an old man was clinging onto the railing for dear life simply because there was no room for the poor man to sit. Not only did this one generous man got up from his seat and offered his, but talked to this lonely old man the entire way; the old man was going to see some exhibit in one of the galleries located in Dupont Circle, one stop before my work. The poor old man was obviously not from around here and obviously was alone. He started to ask this young man all sorts of questions regarding DC and the wonders of the monuments and the museums and the galleries. The young man answered each and every one of his questions without any signs of annoyance and always with a smile as if he truly enjoyed this exchange (and I think he truly did). Everyone on the train around them was getting annoyed because they were talking, not even that loudly. The world is a cruel place for people trying to fit in.

After about 20 minutes or so, and three stops away from the old man's destination, the young man asked if he was meeting up with any of his family members or friends. The old man turned to the young man, with a smile as if to say it's okay, he said, "I'm the only one left in my circle of friends and all my family members are still back home in California. No one wanted to come, but I have never seen the Nation's Capitol in all my years, so I finally saved up enough money to come here by myself." I was shocked, and tears quickly came to my eyes. But as quickly as it came, it was gone for the reason that I don't want to be caught eavesdropping. I was sitting right behind them so every word was absorbed by the nosy little me.

What the young man did next shocked me even more than what the old man said. The young man told the old man to "Hold on one sec while I make this call." The young man, we learn at this point that his name is Robert, called his office and told the office that something had come up and he needed a day off; it was an emergency. With a "Have a Great Weekend!" he hung up the phone and turned to the old man and said, "Today I am going to be your tour guide around this wonderful city I have come to hate. But perhaps you will be kind enough to show me the wonders of this city that I have been so jaded to see." With that, the two walked off the train with the young man holding on to the old man guiding him and supporting him as they walked off the swaying train and onto the awaiting platform.

I have never seen anything like this in my entire life, but something in me clicked at that exact moment. It was as if I only started to be susceptible to human kindness today. I saw for the first time something my old selfish self wouldn't let me see. Kindness is in fact all around and it really does take one to know one.

Failure....

Go to www.google.com and input FAILURE....click "I'm Feeling Lucky"

Google is now my most favorite website!

Hurricane Katrina

Dear Family & Friends,

This email was not generated by a website, but personal words written by me inspired and sadden by the images of the devastation caused by recent Hurricane Katrina. While we ate our fancy meals, and drank our expensive wines, thousands of people are suffering and going through day to day without a certain foreseeable future in front of them. Hope is a luxury they no longer can carry with them on a daily basis for everything around them speaks a certain death; but through us, through our generosity, through our prayers and compassion, hope may be instilled back in them and hope is what they desperate seek.

So please, family and friends, I implore you, if you have the means, please, please donate to the American Red Cross, or any relief organizations of your choice. Every dollar counts, and every prayer is heard, so please, look into your heart and give hope to those who may not have them anymore. Shed light into their darkness; help them see the way, give them a helping hand and provide the support to help them to stand, once again, on their own two feet. Only by helping each other can the miracle of life continue.

With all my heart and soul,

I love you all dearly,
Howard

www.redcross.org

What an amazing weekend part II - Saturday

Now that I have wet your appetite for gossip and juice from this trip, I will finally divulge the rest of the weekend, or just Saturday night, one of the best nights ever!

Saturday day Eric woke me up for a little run. Mind you, the day before I had been drinking since 3:00pm at Kolumbia where I had 2 sour apple martinis, a beer and 2 giant glasses of Merlot. Once we got to the restaurant, a bottle champagne, and a half a bottle of Horin Gekkeikan, excellent sake from Kyoto, were consumed. After dinner, we went back home and finished a bottle of red wine that Eric and Sara kindly brought (how sweet was that to lug a huge bottle of wine on vacation?!). Anyway, needless to say, I was a bit not all there for the run, but I did it anyway. We ran for 25 mins and I actually felt better afterward. Good Lord, Eric can run his ass off! Awesome.

After our little run, we went to Mayorga, a local coffee shop in our Town Square for breakfast. It was amazing though the workers were A-S-S-H-O-L-E-S!!! Yes, that's right, if you're reading this, you were an ASSHOLE to my brother-in-law and I wish you burn in the fiery pits of hell as you watch your innards get consumed by hellish creatures lusting after human flesh, you maggot!

Well, after breakfast was when the real fun began, yes, you guessed it, shopping in Georgetown! We walked all around and had great wine for lunch, went into Dean & Deluca where Sara started her Spice Collection, Eric bought a few things from J-Crew and the couple stopped by the H&M boutique where they dropped some serious dough! Amazing! I just purchased a bag from the Puma Store...nothing special, but it was damn cute though!

Okay, so yaddy, yaddy, yaddy, blah, blah, blah, let's fast forward to the debauchery of the night. You guys will just die...absolutely just die!

So after shopping, we went home and gotten dressed to go out into Adams Morgan. We met up with Tommy, one of their friends from Chattanooga, for dinner at Rumba where the food was amazing, except for this charred penis looking thing someone ordered. It was French, something bfershtherfasdnxcwsd noir, I have no idea but it did look like a sausage and of course, I was immediately intrigued as I love penisly shaped objects, that and shiny things like diamonds. When I bit into it, my world turned upside down and I had tunnel vision. It was simply the most disgusting thing (other than the nasty Odwalla Carrot Juice that I had bought) I had ever tasted. The taste was pure death and the texture was just.....I can't even begin to describe it. It was suppose to be pig's blood and something or other in there, but what it tasted like was pure evil. I think we ate one of Satan's minions.....

After dinner, we went to Madams Organ (jazz/blues), a place Eric and Sara love, and got wasted. It all started with taking shots of Tequila, and yes, we drank Petron, we're high class! From there the night became blurry but I do remember being hit on by a girl. From what I remembered, she was kinda cute, but then again at that point I could have thought a 300 pound, tutu wearing bull dog was cute...okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But being hit on by a gender that does't interest me is actually kinda fun. You can fuck with them a little...hehe. Anyway, so as the night goes on, we get more and more drunk, or at least I did. I keep remembering snippits of the night enough to piece together that we had a great time. Sara made new friends, of course she did, why wouldn't she. Let me tell you guys...Sara, my dear, dear sister-in-law, my twin separated at birth, is one of the most gregarious people you will ever have had the pleasure of knowing. She can strike a conversation with ANYONE! I mean it, as long as the person's got a pulse and a mouth, she can talk to them. Her people skill astounds me.

So she made friends with this guy, we shall call him Harry French. He was just odd to me. Not even just odd, odd I can deal with, he was straight up creepy, but Eric and Sara didn't seemed to think so...then again, I think everyone's creepy and I don't like talking to strangers so my opinion probably doesn't relaly count in this situation.





Finally around 2:00pm or whatever time it was, we headed home. On our way home, we decided that we were "starving" and just had to have McDonald's. It was 3:00 in the morning at this point and the McDonald's is closed except for the Drive-Thru, so what do we do? We pretend we're in a make-believe car and chugga-chugga-ed our way through the Drive-Thru. Afraid that won't be served because we weren't really in a car, Sara went up to the car behind us and asked if we can "hop into the car with them in case they dont' serve us" and with a swift reach for the window and a raised eyebrow they replied in unison, "HELL NO!". Come on, really, look at these pictures and you tell me if you would let us in? We look CRAZY!



So, the ordering part is over, now it's time to poot-poot our way up to the Cashier window to pay where we were greeted by this not-so-pretty cashier lady. If you had listened to the way Sara was complimenting her, you would have thought she was Ms. Universe, which was a statement that couldn't be further from the truth. I will refrain from posting her picture up out of respect for her, but if you're really intrigued, feel free to check out my Online Photo Album (The Link can be found to the right of this entry underneath my profile; search through the albums [under my other albums] and you'll come to one labeled "Bomb Diggity Labor Day Weekend"). Oh what a wonderful day that was....we walked around, shopped, bought a few things, drank and consumed nine thousand-gazillion calories.... by the way, did you know that fries take up to 90 days to digest?!?! Thanks Ms. Sara, I am now a fat heffer!

What an amazing weekend part I - Friday

I may not know, or care, about the meaning of Labor Day, but I sure can appreciate a day off thanks to all the Blue-collared workers in this country making this day possible. I really don't know if Labor Day was made into a National Holiday because of all the blue-collared workers in this country, but that's what I think of when I hear the word "labor" used not in the context of a pregnant woman; labor, blue collar; yellow, asians...fair enough.



Whatever the meaning behind Labor Day is, I know I had a blast this year! It was absolutely amazing and definitely one of the BEST Labor Days to date. Why, you ask? Well, it all started with my crazy In-Laws' visit to DC (Jonathan's eldest brother, Eric and his wife Sara). God I love them; what fun people. I will not go into the details of their trip as certain things are better left not mentioned in a public forum such as this one, but one word can describe it all, debauchery. Yes, a weekend of debauchery and I suppose that's what you get when you mix alcohol with a whole of craziness...

They arrived on Friday. Every Friday before a major holiday, we have early dismissal (3pm) from work; yes, it's wonderful. One of my really good friends that I have not seen for 5 years from HS came to visit and we went out for drinks. She was suppose to be there by 3pm, however, did not arrive unti 5:20/5:30 so between the hours of 2:45 and 5:30, I was sitting by myself at the bar throwing it back like it's nobody's business. Needless to say, I was a bit buzzed by the time Anita (my friend) arrived. We chatted and had a blast. Around 6:00pm, I looked at my watch and screamed. Eric and Sara were due to arrive at the airport at 6:30pm, and I was still 30 minutes away from the airport. I ran to the bathroom, broke the seal and raced towards the airport. It's now 6:15pm by the time I left Kolumbia (the bar).

Just my luck would have it, Eric and Sara's plane arrived 10 minutes early. So instead of being 10 minutes late, to them, because of their early arrival, I am now seemingly 20 minutes late; that's just wonderful. Good thing the metro driver went at a decent speed and I made it before they started throwing hissy fits.

That night, we went to the Sake Club in Adams Morgan for dinner and let me tell you, it was just pure heaven. The food was phenomenal! Oh, so good! Words cannot describe the epicurean repast that was our dinner. I cannot possibly say more as words can only cloud the perfection of the food. One of those places that you'll just have to try for yourself.

After dinner, we met Jonathan back at home as he had to work late that night. We had wine and Sara experienced my baking skills firsthanded with her birthday cake. Apparently Betty Crocker and I are an excellent team - I put into action what she can only write on paper - the cake was just delicious. Upon finishing up a bottle of wine and excellent conversations, we went to bed anticipating the next day, a day of shopping at Georgetown and a night of debauchery in Adams Morgan. Stay tuned....