Category: 4 – Entertainment

Should be obvious.

Creedence Clearwater “Revisited” at Wolf Trap Last Friday

Posted on by chappyshi

I saw Creedence Clearwater “Revisited” on Friday night at Wolf Trap.  They are a tribute band that includes two of the original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  We got there a little before 1800 which was plenty of time to get in line and get good lawn seats near the middle of the amphitheater.  I thought the gates opened at 1800 but they did not do so until 1830 so we had a bit of a wait at the gate and then a longer wait for the music which did not start until 2000.  There was no opening band.

CC Revisited sounded very good…much like the original and covered many of their most popular songs.  Unfortunately they only played for about 1.5 hours.  It seemed like an awful run around and wait for that much music.  Thankfully, Wolf Trap is a great venue where, if you are on the lawn, you can bring in food and drinks of any kind.  Plus it is like a festival atmosphere on  the lawn with people just hanging out, meeting new people, talking,  and dancing.

We also ran into some friends at the show who joined us at my sister’s house afterward for a beer and concert review.  All in all, it was a good time.

Briefly Back

Posted on by chappyshi

I have been bad about blogging which if you care about following me you already know.  I can’t say what the problem is but I am trying to get past it.  It has been a wacky seven or eight months what with starting work again as a contractor for a major corporation and then getting the opportunity to apply for the same job at the corporation as a full-time employee w/ benefits.

Forgive me if I don’t mention any company names.  A few years ago I would not have worried about doing so but,  even though I have never made good or bad comments about a company I have worked for or am working for and would never do so in my blog, I still feel it is risky to be too specific.  So much for free speech, eh?

The new job involved a major learning curve mostly for call center support but also for systems/desktop support.  I feel like  I have done quite well.  I may not be the star for the newly established support center but am certainly one of the stars.  Finally starting as a full time employee this week has been  the cap on the whole venture.

I finally have health benefits which is mucho beuno as you will see later in this entry.  Additional benefits besides health such as education and training  with the company are a big positive.  As I have mentioned to some of you who might read this, the pay is subpar, from my point of view, as much as  25% less than many of us in the group have earned, but the benefits help to make up for the direct loss in income.  I think the opportunities for the future with this company are very good.  I am already enrolled for a web server admin class in May which bodes well.

On the personal side, I have been laying kind of low.  Having been w/o health insurance since last June, I haven’t been riding my motorcyle or skiing much.  My last health insurance quote was for $450 a month due to pre-existing conditions.  Thanks “Obamacare!”

I did get up to Vermont for my good friend Linda’s 50th birthday in December.  I stopped in Avoca, PA, about halfway up, to see my friend  Terry and his boys.  I think that Linda was surprised when she saw me with the crowd at her house but who knows.  That was an 1100 mile road trip crammed into about three days but well worth it.  I did get about 2.5 hours in on the slopes at Killington on the way up which was nice.  Only time I have skiied since I tore my ACL at Seven Springs in 2008.

Turkey Day was spent with my sister Julie who lives  about a mile away from me.  Christmas was spent with my sister Kim in SE Virginia.  We went on Christmas morning to her husband’s parent’s house for breakfast and the ceremonial tearing apart of the Xmas presents for the kids and grandkids.  Madness I  say!

It took a longer than I expected drive to go camping at the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay a month or so ago.  And I didn’t have the cash I needed to get into the “unattended” gate at the park.  Of course, I saw 3 or 4 park staff members there including one who stopped by my campsite to give me the money I had overpaid for the site.  I figured it would just be a donation to the park system but…  I was at Elk Neck  State Park.

For those of you in the know, I am playing in a Cornhole league that friends of mine have sponsored  for a few years.  On Fridays, when the WX is good, we all get out and throw some bags.  Unfortunately, the WX has sucked  so my partner and I  have to  hook up w/ the teams that we missed games with and make them  up.

I mentioned that I was glad to have health benefits again through my employer, who wouldn’t’ be, eh?  Recently my blood pressure and cholesterol levels have skyrocketed despite my efforts to keep them down using natural supplements.  My blood pressure was so high the other day I almost went to the emergency room.  Being a man, that was of course out of the question.

I  did go to “Urgent Care” at my doctor’s office the next day.  My blood pressure was still high.  I got an EKG which was okay but had some possible  anomalies.  I got an immediate referral to the cardiologist at my “doctor’s office” and since I was paying out of pocket I had no insurance “people” to deal with, which was nice.  Unfortunately, the cardiologist scheduled me for a “Nuclear Stress Test” for which I had the insurance coverage but no documentation.

I have had to put the test on hold.  Hope I don’t die first….

I TP’d My Dryer

Posted on by chappyshi

I have been a bit dysfunctional lately as regards washing my clothes and…my accessories.  Not long after I got a new phone, I washed the phone along with my wallet.  I constantly throw pants in the washer with tissues in the pockets.  The other day I thought I was quite safe after having checked all the pockets in my pants prior to putting them in the washer.

However, I did not count on stupidity.  While putting clothes in the dryer from the washer, a roll of toilet paper fell off the dryer.  I thought that I put the roll back up on the dryer or on the shelf over the dryer.  Not!!! When I opened the dryer to take out my clothes, I found a mass of what I initially thought were tissues in the dryer.  “WTF” I said.  Then I realized I must have thrown the roll of toilet paper in the dryer rather than on top of the dryer.

Toilet Paper Fiasco
I TP'd My Dryer

Washington, D.C., Cherry Blossom Festival Venture

Posted on by chappyshi

What madness!  I took the Metro into town on Thursday, April 1, to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.  Last year I rode the scooter down to check them out but the area was so packed with people I just cruised through for a quick look and headed home.  This year, I wanted to walk around and get some pictures so the Metro was the way to go.  I got on at the Vienna, VA,  station and off at the Smithsonian station.  From there it was a reasonably short walk to the Tidal Basin where all the action is.  I ended up walking all the way around the Basin at a leisurely pace snapping pictures of the trees and the Jefferson and Washington Memorials.

There were people all over the place.  The advent of digital photography has not boded well for tourist destinations since now everyone thinks they are a photographer.  Walkways were blocked by phototogs trying to get snaps of their friends, family, and the monuments.  I believe that I can assuredly say that if all those people had to pay for film and developing, most of them wouldn’t be taking pictures.  I certainly take many more pictures  using my digital camera than I would using my analog cameras.  At least I have a history going back 26 years of taking analog photos and have four analog cameras to my two digital cameras.

That being said, I think I got a few decent photos.  I went into town late with the intention of staying through sundown.  I did do that but ended up shooting sunset photos on the mall of the Capitol and the Washington Monument rather than of the cherry blossoms.  This was mainly due to the fact that I had to pee and was thirsty as hell.  I walked down the south side of the mall near the Capitol looking for an Irish bar that I had been to years before but haven’t been able to find for the past few years.  I am not even sure it is there any more.

What is really odd is that it is so hard to find someplace to just stop and get a brew or quick bite to eat around the mall.  There are huge government office buildings everywhere and people have to drink and eat.  D.C. is very much a commuter city so perhaps the government workers are just in and out for work and there isn’t a good restaurant business environment.  I ended up going to Capitol City Brewing Company on Massachusetts Avenue just of Capitol Hill.  It is adjacent to Union Station which is a good venue for getting chow and such, not sure about brews, and also catching the Metro.

After making my bladder gladder, I managed to find a seat at the bar in the very packed restaurant.  I was so thirsty from walking around for four hours in the sun that I pounded down a pint of Kolsch and a pint of water in no time.  Since the sun was setting, I had to get back out on the mall, about 5 blocks away, snap some pictures and get back to the Smithsonian Metro station.  Even though it was about 8:15 PM, I just barely managed to get a seat and was hemmed in by people as the car reached standing room only a few stops later.  That lasted until about four stops before the end of the line where I  disembarked and headed home.

When I got home, I realized that I hadn’t eaten the sandwich I brought with me so I showered the city off of me, scarfed a quick brew, ate my sandwich, and chased it all down with more water.  Meanwhile, I was downloading 203 pictures from my camera to my computer.

Here are a few of those pictures.  More will  be posted in my photo album in the not too distant future.  Once that is done, I’ll make a note and put a link to them here in my blog.

Watching Olympics

Posted on by chappyshi

I am watching the Women’s Half-pipe…not sure the specific event,  if this isn’t it.  I think I read that they made the top of the half-pipe 22ft which, according to this article on ESPN online, Riders still rock halfpipe despite Pearce injury, is 25% higher than at the last Olympics.

As I watch this, women are crashing all over the place…they can’t get enough air.  To “air” is human?  Just saw some shots from the Turino Olympics in 2006.  The pipe was not that fat or tall but they were getting some serious air there compared to Vancouver.

Some woman just wiped out horribly and is walking away from it smiling.  I can’t watch this anymore.  And they just keep wiping out.  The top of the pipe is too high.  The limits are being pushed by the IOC and people are getting hurt and killed  Damn, just watched some woman tear it up …USA..Kelly Clark…awesome she was.

Butt they just keep wiping out…

Pictures from the WWW…Williamsburg Wreath Walk

Posted on by chappyshi

The week before Christmas I drove myself and my parents down to see my sister in Suffolk, VA.  My sister and her husband were unfortunately not going to be able to join us for Christmas at my other sister’s house in Centreville.  Since my folks were in town from overseas, it was deemed opportune to get them down to Suffolk that week.

While we were there, my sister, my mom and dad, and I went to Williamsburg to check out the holiday festivities.  It was a cold, breezy day but we managed to stay comfortable by hitting the shops, having a nice lunch, and walking the main promenade.  Walking the promenade included viewing the Christmas decorations, many of which were elaborate Christmas wreaths,  displayed on the homes and shops.

And since I was taking pictures like crazy, and my mom and sister prompted me to take more, we have located here the WWW, otherwise known as the “Williamsburg Wreath Walk.”  Below are a couple of my favorites.

Northern Virginia Craft Beer News

Posted on by chappyshi

I am pleased to note that we have two new eating/drinking establishments in my area:  Vintage 51 South Riding and Dogfish Head Ale House.

Vintage 51, hereafter known as V51SR, is an extension of Vintage 50, hereafter known as V50, in Leesburg.  V51SR’s website is supposed to be www.vintage51sr.com but is still not up and running, which is stupid in my estimation.  The restaurant  has been open for at least three weeks now but in truth it is still not up and running.  The menu is still not complete, prices are up in the air (a bit too high), but the beer selection is awesome.

V50 Leesburg brews some awesome beers in my estimation and I can get growlers there which is a major bonus.  However the drive to V50, 30 to 40 minutes, diminishes the value of the brew.   V51SR, less than 15 minutes away, has a nice selection of craft beers on tap from Ales, Pale Ales, IPA’s, Kolsches, Hefe-Weisens, Stouts, Lagers, etc, well as quite a selection of bottled beers.  Don’t expect to get a Coors, Bud, or Miller Lite there though.

They are supposed to be pouring growlers.  My initial impression is that they won’t be able to do so profitably, since they would be pouring growlers of beers purchased from distributors rather than those produced in house.  That impression has nearly been confirmed by at least one of their bartenders.  The initial pricing projections are way beyond what even the most devoted micro brew aficionado would spring for.

V51SR is in a weird spot.  First of all  let me say that the Virginia booze laws are wacked.  V50 in Leesburg brews their own beer on site.  They can’t sell their  own beer at another one of their own restaurants without selling it to a distributor and then buying their beer back from the distributor.  So V51SR would have to sell beer produced by the the same company that runs V50 and V51SR at a higher price than V50 sells it for.  WTF?

If you are half-way serious about craft beers, you will be familiar with Dogfish Head.  Their 60 Minute IPA is fairly widely distributed.  The 60 Minute IPA is a a great beer…it is the anchor of their product line for those of us who like ales.  Unfortunately, for one,  they don’t sell growlers.  I think if  they brewed the beer  on site they could sell growlers.  Secondly, the beer selection is good but also a bit exotic, particularly on the flavoring side.

Most people will like their Lawnmower Light and then have to do some tasting of the other beers to find what they might like.  The Aprihop is a good beer but I am not likely to have more than one at a time.  I recently had the “Festina Peche,” which I now remember, after finding reference to it on the web, was sour tasting, not as in bad but as in citrusy sour.  Like the Aprihop, I am not likely to have more than one at a time which could be a good thing.

Please don’t ask me about the food at either Dogfish Head or V51SR.  I eat at home.  I visit these places only to check out the beers and the talent.  I do know that both of the “Vintage” restaurants get many of their fresh ingredients from the Fields of Athenry Farm in Purcellville, VA, where, as I understand, everything is grown/raised, organically.  Fields of Athenry, is on Snickersville Pike, which is a great motorcycle ride from Rt. 50 west of Aldie to Bluemont on Rt. 7 west of Leesburg.

Enjoy your beers but not before you ride!

Trip to Vermont, Early August

Posted on by chappyshi

In early August I went up to Vermont to attend the Vergennes Union High School 30-year class reunion.  I actually left there after my 10th grade year but have had the privilege of attending the 20 and 30-year reunions as a guest.  Other than the reunion, the trip was for kayaking, birding, picture taking, hiking, camping and visiting with friends.  It was well worth it!

You can read more about the trip by clicking here or browsing under my “Currant News” section.  You can view photos by clicking here or following the “My Photo Album” link on my home page.

The links in the PDF format “trip read” don’t open in new windows as I had hoped they would.  If you follow a link in the PDF document, it will take you forever to reload the PDF file.  Ergo…

All the imbedded  links are replicated below.  Please use them rather than the links in the PDF document if you wish to find out more.  I will have to come up with another presentation format but bear with me in the meantime.

I Watched “Dances with Wolves”

Posted on by chappyshi

I thought “Dances with Wolves” was an excellent movie.  Who can find fault in the scenery, the cultural assimilation, the poignant love story, and the painful killing fields?  I feel bad for the Indians and their homeland and lifestyle.  It is a travesty what the white man did.  Unfortunately we keep doing it, at least to the homeland…