i've been linked!!!!!

when i decided to start blogging my partner cautioned me to have realistic expectations. she knows me all too well and wanted to make sure that i understood that the chances of me becoming the next "daily kos" (or dare i say perez hilton) were slim to none. she pointed out that, gasp, she and our respective parents might be the only ones reading. it was only after i assured her that my foray into blogging was purely for self-satisfaction that she agreed to design this kick-ass site. i really have been writing just for me - until now ...

I'VE BEEN LINKED!

today i received a comment on a post from someone that i don't even know (thanks matt!). that got me thinking - how did that reader find me. so i did what any 21st century researcher would do - i googled the title of the post. and there it was ...

Monday, April 28, 2008
WalkingTown Barry Farm
local blogger the flipflop fed toured the Barry Farm neighborhood this past weekend as part of WalkingTown DC. To read about it, Click Here

so now, my faithful readers, you should click here to read about all of the changes that are happening in anacostia as documented by local blogger and now, anacostia.

just for kristin

my partner remains in ghana on business and this post is especially for her. (hopefully when she sees how beautifully the flower garden is coming along she will forgive me for killing almost all of the seedlings for her vegetable garden!)

walkingtown dc - barry farm

one of my ongoing regrets is that i do not take advantage of all this city has to offer. so today i decided to take a walking tour of barry farm that was given as a part of walkingtown dc. it was fascinating!
barry farm, probably best known as one of the notorious public housing projects in ward 8 east of the anacostia river, has a remarkable history as one of the first communities in the area where freed slaves could own property. the tract of land, once the farm of the barry family and immediately to the south of historic anacostia (interestingly, back in the day, historic anacostia was known as "white" anacostia and barry farm was known as "black" anacostia), once measured in the 100's of acres and extended from the banks of the anacostia river up into the hills. times have changed and what remains is land divided by two major highways (suitland parkway and 295) that can now be measured in the 10's of acres and where most of the residents, some of the poorest in the district of columbia, are dependent on the government for their housing. i came away with a few thoughts and a few pictures -

*one division of the land came with the construction of suitland parkway. land was taken from property owners to build a road that would link andrews airforce base to the district. something tells me that they wouldn't have tired this in georgetown.

barry farm with suitland parkway smack through the middle

*events like this are critical to foster understanding between groups of people and hopefully will create a sense of urgency on the part of the tour takers to stand with our fellow city dwellers to improve opportunities and outcomes for all of us.

*of course walkingtown dc includes tours of georgetown, capitol hill, logan circle and the like, but this event gives people the perfect opportunity to step out beyond what we know (or could easily find out) and learn more of the history that links us and, unfortunately, seems to divide us.

the proof is in the picture

went on a walking tour today of barry farm (more about that later) and, in a strange ironic twist, who, and what, did i see? why marion "bitch set me up" barry in his offending e class. check it out -

just in case there was any question

before i was just a "bad lesbian," but now i'm approaching horrible. in an attempt to regain my standing in the community, i bring you a picture of the cutest (and smartest) blue point siamese ever - sagwa.

no rice for you

earlier this month i wrote about the excellent site, free rice, where you donate grains of rice to the un world food program by testing your vocabulary. i'm not sure from where the rice comes, but i sure hope it wasn't sam's club and costco because it appears that the soup nazi has taken positions at those two establishments and has switched his attention to rice.
in response to rising food prices, increased demand, and decreased supply, both sam's club and costco decided this week to limit the amount of rice that customers may purchase. i'm sorry, but give me a big, fat, f*cking break! last time i checked, rice was not the staple food in this country. sure, many people eat rice regularly, but come on - enough with the fear mongering!
i do hope that they're limiting our rice purchases so they can send it where it's really needed - to places in the world where the rice shortage will have grave consequences. (did you know that most of the rice in the world is consumed within a 60 mile radius of where it was grown?) but unfortunately, i think it's more about being able to engineer a shortage, create fear, raise the price, and bring in a little extra cash.

my day in pictures

this post was supposed to be about my superior bureaucracy navigation skills ... about how i was able to say "no thank you" to the offer from the fencing contractor to get the permit because i am a master negotiator, a super bureaucrat and district of columbia red tape would be no match for my federal bureaucrat self ... about how i stuck it to the man and saved a boat load of money. that's what this post was supposed to be about - but, NO! instead this post is about how the district of columbia department of consumer and regulatory affairs is an abyss that sucks you in and spits you out without a second thought and without the permit for which you came ... about how when you leave you realize that you parked in restricted parking and your car has been towed ... about how the man tows your car and leaves no indication as to where it might be ... about how the only city office in the area open past 4:30 is the sex offender registry where the nice guard informs you that they don't actually tow to a lot, rather they simply dump the cars about a block away and leave them with a receipt for towing and a $100 ticket ... about when, after you read the receipt, you look down and realize that you have a flat ... and about how you should have just let the fencing contractor pull the permit in the first place.

st. michael's

i have a new favorite place - st. michael's, md. it's a mellow, sailing town right on the chesapeake (although i've heard it's quite the spot in the summer). my mom was visiting this weekend and she wanted to go to the water. we generally head to rehoboth, but we got up too late and decided to stay a little closer to home. here are a few of my favorite shots -

i've been a bad lesbian!

almost two months of posting and i have yet to mention our cats once (of course we have them - two to be exact). i was recently contacted by the mother office and threats of taking away my toaster were hurled. so here it is -
our cat hubert has to be the cutest thing! i came downstairs this afternoon and he had taken up residence on my bag. take a look ...

i took about 15 shots before he realized that the shutter was blazing and at that point he stirred. take a look ...

a window into the world of city living

i LOVE living in the city - that is, the REAL city. not the one with urbane, distant neighbors, manicured lawns, garage parking, nannies pushing carriages, kids who apply to preschool and coffee shops on every corner. no, i'm talking about the city of neighbors that know all of your business, small patches of weed-infused grass, street parking, older siblings pushing carriages, kids who are the poster children for the need for universal preschool, and gas stations on the corners that aren't home to liquor stores. so then, here are two things to keep in mind if you are ever considering moving to the city -

1) living near public transportation is key, but living next to public transportation is not - simple translation - bus stops are better placed in front of your neighbor's house. i'm beginning to realize that in the city it is universally accepted that the bus stop is a public gathering place and the nearest front porch becomes the bleachers from which the spectators observe the action. bus stops are also "safe" when teenagers are playing tag with the police. you know the conversation - "no officer, i didn't just (drop that little clear bad with a white, powdery substance) (throw a rock at the passing car) (tell you to f off as you drove past). i was just waiting for the bus."

2) a basic rule of city living is "what's mine is yours and what's yours is yours, UNLESS what's yours is something that -

*is broken

*you don't want to deal with

*you don't want to pay for

*in any way crosses over your property line onto my property

*you gave birth to and you're currently annoyed with it

- then it's MINE and it will cost me at least $500 so that it will again become YOURS!

**this list is not complete and i will continue to add to it as i become aware of other city living realities.

where's barbara?

is anyone else as worried about barbara as i am? jenna greets the pope. jenna's getting married. jenna's inspiring west texas locals. jenna, jenna, jenna!

maybe we'll learn more after the wedding. she's the only bride's maid so i think she has to surface.

i sure hope so because i have already decided that if she doesn't surface soon i will leave everything i know to solve the mystery.

the afternoon of dining dangerously

my partner left early this week for a ridiculously long trip to ghana (that's a post unto itself). we decided that it would be nice to spend time together and have one last dinner, albeit an early one because of her flight time, before she flew off. that's when we entered what had to be a "hidden camera" show or maybe the pilot episode of - the producers of "dancing with the stars" bring you "dining with the infirmed."
our fellow diners included a woman with casts on both arms who could hardly lift food to mouth and her male dining companion who did nothing to help. but the best by far was the slightly past middle age gentleman and his wife who sat right beside us. this man had SEVERE regurgitation and, instead of excusing himself, complained loudly about his current state while burping and vomiting into an empty bowl and multiple cloth napkins. his wife, disinterested at best and abusive at worst, offered these two sentences of support - "i'll call your gastroenterologist when we get home" and "i'm going to eat your french fries." i guarantee that ted's montana grill will not be asking these four patrons to appear in promos!

**by the way - really crappy restaurant!

you don't have money to pay your taxes, but you can drive a mercedes e class?

upon arriving at my home away from home this afternoon, this man...

was nice enough to give me his parking space.

parking in front of frager's is a rare commodity on a saturday afternoon and most of the time the lone empty spot is too small for my car. but not today! the parking gods were smiling down upon me because marion "mr. mayor" "bitch set me up" barry was pulling out right as i approached.

yes, mr. mayor, crack is whack, but so is driving around in a luxury car, but then pleading poverty when the tax man comes calling.

dc council members are 2 for 2 this weekend!

as it were ...

"to indicate that a word or statement is perhaps

not formally exact though practically right"

if "non sequitur" describes my general thought patterns, then "as it were" perfectly articulates my recall style.



"as it were ..." will serve as my weekly roundup of events that made me go "hmmmm." there's a lot to say in the first installment because i neglected to post for an entire six days.



so then, i bring you "as it were ..."

shame on you jim graham!

left dinner at busboys and poets and observed that the dc traffic and parking laws clearly only apply to us common folks. (for full effect, the following sentence is best read with a cosmo in one hand while the other does the cher hair flip.) the fabulous champagne colored, droptop vw bug with dc council tags bearing the mark of ward 1 council member jim graham was parked with blatant disregard for the fact that the spot was a no parking zone - no driver, no passenger, no hazards. if we can't park there than neither can you mr. graham!

when a questionable idea goes REALLY bad

someone in the fairfax, va county public schools had the stellar idea to quantify student morality. if that weren't enough, this visionary decided that the most valid way to collect these data would be to have teachers individually rate each student.

provocative topic? check!

sound methodology? check check!

BUT WAIT! what about the analysis? yep, got that covered. these forward thinkers chose to disaggregate the data by gender (really?), race (oh no!), ethnicity (please stop!), and disability category (okay enough!).

gender bias, classim, racism come quickly to mind, but you all know that kids with disabilities are my passion - so on that topic i'll contribute my analysis. it's simple really -

a kid with a disability who exhibits questionable behavior? screw morality. it might have something to do with the disability, dumbass ...

can't wait to get to the gaylord conference center at the national harbor!

you'll remember from an earlier post that the new national harbor opened to the wrong kind of fanfare - the lively sound of trumpets was replaced by retching doctors with gastrointestinal maladies. and now? well now, the field mice have heard that this is the place to be and have booked some rooms! something tells me that these two events didn't factor in when the management decided to have a "hard opening."

april showers

we headed to montauk for a few days last weekend. you know you love a place when you pay no mind that the weather is less than ideal. while i would have preferred warm, sunny days and 65 degree seas (this isn't the caribbean), there's still something wonderfully comforting about family, herb's fried chicken, and gin beach even when it's 45 with wind-driven rain.

a strong automatic preference for ...

the more i play, the more i love ...

i'd like to think it's because i'm an only child and not ridiculously narcissistic.

a mild automatic preference for ...

and

no preference

i exhibited no preference between "gay" and "straight." should i be concerned?

test your implicit preferences

here's a good way to occupy your time - test your implicit preferences. project implicit , a harvard research project, does just that. the featured test is about the presidential candidates. i started the task undecided, but i came out slightly favoring ...

amish on the jitney?

while traveling on the jitney this morning from montauk into the city i learned the following important information -

1) DO NOT throw tacks, tin cans, banana peels, or half rolling pins into the commode.
2) Amish men wishing to relieve themselves must sit.

does this mean that all other men, and women of any ilk, may stand?

what are the chances of this ...

congratulations on your grand opening national harbor! a new, fancy-schmancy place opens. doctors are the first to visit and they get the norovirus!

things i'm no good at ...

... bargaining. and i'm just not "no good" at it, i actually suck at it. yep, i'm a sucker and they see me coming. example - we were traveling in mexico a few years back and i probably paid more than the standard gringo markup for a piece of cloth because i offered them a price first. my partner tried to school me on the techniques (she could talk a polar bear off the last piece of ice in the arctic), but no amount of instruction helped and i was soon banned from buying anything by myself. that was until today! today i successfully negotiated a killer price for the new fence for our backyard. it was so good that my partner didn't even try to step in! so giving all that extra money to the mexican artisan was well worth the training (although, i probably could have put a fence all the way around the yard if i hadn't paid $400 for the washcloth weaved in ... china!)

free rice

contrary to what you read in this post and the previous post, i have no intention of my blog devolving into a list of other websites that may be of interest. but, you've got to check out this site - free rice. a guy started this program as a way for his son to learn SAT words. now it's a great way for us couch surfers to build our vocabulary and donate to a good cause at the same time and there's no money required. how's it work? check it out, but be warned - it's highly addictive!