Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Home from the Holidays

After ten days in the not-so-frozen north, I'm back in the District and I have to say its good to be home.

Don't get me wrong, it was good seeing friends and family for the last 10 days--especially friends who were in town from even farther away than I was. But at the same time, it's nice to be back in a town where I don't need to drive, where I can walk around the corner at 830 at night and get a 12 pack and a 2 liter of coke, and also where I can turn the other direction and get a fantastic pecan pie for less than $10.

On the down side, I'm fairly sure that the downstairs neighbors cooked something for dinner tonight that involved a wet dog. At least that's the only explaination for the wet-dog-&-cooking-food smell eminating up through our laundry room on the first floor and bathroom on the second floor.

I did have a chance to do and learn a few interesting things while I was at home.
First, I read Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter with Kansas". It's a good read, and an excellent political analysis of one means of winning elections and an electorate in the U.S. In fact, it's the first cogent strategic and tactical analysis of Conservative strategy I've read. Imagine, it's taken only 20 years to come up with it. And Democrats wonder why they lose elections.

Second, I learned that my friends are smarter than everyone else. I'm serious. I have proof. On two seperate nights, in two unrelated locations, in two different formats, my friends won rounds of bar-trivia (questionable scoring at Keegan's notwithstanding). If that isn't proof that they're smarter than everyone else, I'm not sure what is.

Third, jamon serrano is nearly as delicious in Minneapolis as it is in Spain.

Fourth, cell phones, voice mail and email may make communicating more convenient, more efficient, and less time-consuming, but that doesn't mean they necessarily make it easier or more successful.

There were probably a couple more, but I've lost them in the distractions of the TV. QUIET flickering box, you derail my train of thought!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. Those of you I didn't get a chance to see or talk to this weekend, please know you are in my thoughts often, and I wish you every happiness and success!

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