Mr. Scott goes to Washington - Act Two, Scene Three: The Burberry Crashers
Hello again, loyal readers. Another weekend has passed - once again in a flurry of activity. It seems that there's never a dull moment around here! Well, that's not true, but I use those dull moments to recuperate and post on this little blog, so it all evens out.
Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I woke up at about 8.00 Saturday morning and could not go back to sleep. I was not impressed. Around 11.30 Claire and I went to the Museum of Natural History, which is home to various fossils, dinosaur skeletons, stuffed mammals, and the Hope Diamond. It was pretty impressive, although the dinosaurs weren't quite as enormous as I remembered. Perhaps it's because things that once seemed really big now seem, well, less so. Regardless of size, they had a pretty good collection, including complete Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and Diplodocus (as you know, the longest of the dinosaurs) skeletons.
There was also a really interesting, albeit small, exhibit on Sikhism, and an exibit showing the fascinating history of the Hope Diamond (it's an impressive jewel with an impressive story). However, the object I found most noteworthy was a stuffed rhino that had been "collected" by Teddy Roosevelt on Safari in Africa. For those who don't know, that means he blasted it like a Spaniard on San Juan Hill. While I was trying to be funny, that may have come across as rather callous. I'll let you be the judge. But be aware that I'm judging you based on how you judge me. Seems only fair.
On the way home, we stopped off at the Pentagon City mall where Claire got a smoothie and I got a haircut (the woman said she was going for "respectable" - suffice it to say that it's taking some getting used to). We wandered around there for a bit then grabbed groceries and headed home. That night everybody was off to bars/dance clubs in the area of Adams Morgan (I think). So, being under 21, Claire and I went to see the Wedding Crashers at a theatre we discovered two subway stops south of our apartment building. It was absolutely hilarious, as I had been told by all of you who saw it months ago.
On Sunday morning we went down to an art festival that was happening in historic Old-Town Alexandria, which was really amazing. The whole of King Street was filled with tents and vendors, selling everything from pottery and photographs to oil paintings and sculptures. We also found this amazing old poster store that had a cataologue of hundreds of propaganda posters from both World Wars (among other posters) for sale. Unfortunately, they weren't war posters of the $10 variety (like the ones hanging in my room) but rather of the "I'll make you a print and frame it for $350 US" variety. It was a bloody shame, too, since they had the coolest "Let's go Canada" one with a Canadian soldier in front of a Union Jack. Of course, I was in heaven.
After heading home from the arts festival and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we took off to Adams Morgan (a pretty funky, bohemian-y neighbourhood) where they were having a big street festival as well. We stopped by a pretty cool used book store, and sort of slowly meandered through the masses of people and vendors. After clearing the festival, we walked down 18th St. to New Hampshire Ave., then followed that down (past the Argentinian Embassy!) to Dupont Circle where they have a big park complete with outdoor cement chess boards. We didn't stop to play, but I've vowed to return one day as playing outdoor cement chess has always been one of my goals in life, and strikes me as a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
From Dupont Circle we walked along Connecticut Ave. to the Farragut North metro station, with one stop along the way: while walking, we happened upon a Burberry store located in a beautiful old building. Claire (being a Burberry buff) just had to stop and look. Of course, since I'm in the market for a new coat, I readily agreed. We both took a bit of time to try on overcoats more expensive than our computers (P.S. Mom, I've started a birthday/Christmas list), and acted the part of young well-to-do professionals quite successfully. I will say, however, that Claire seems to need more confidence when it comes to staying in character while "store crashing." Perhaps we'll see some improvement with a bit more practice.
Sunday night was spent doing my homework for the Washington Center, including a fluffy learning objectives statement and an official journal entry regarding my first week - not something worth detailing extensively.
Today I had to wake up quite early, as we had NAFTA program events starting at 9.00 up near George Washington University , and we weren't sure *exactly* where we were going. However, we managed to make it there quite early. At the Washington Center we watched a movie on Mexico as an emerging economic power, and then we had a bit of time off. Our friends Jake from Cleveland and Jorge from Peru joined Claire, Kristina and I for a bit of lunch, before we all headed over to the U.S. Department of Commerce. While we had a few problems getting through security and into the building, everything resolved itself eventually. The speaker at the Commerce Department was an officer in their NAFTA section, who had worked on a couple of other free trade agreements - including the recently signed CAFTA - so he had some pretty interesting stuff to say. A lively question and answer session followed, but I resisted the urge to ask a pointed question about softwood lumber.
After that we returned home for a bit before going back up to the Washington Center's building near GWU for our first NAFTA class. It's getting late and I need to go to bed, but the class looks pretty good, and the teacher is absolutely amazing! On my walk back to the metro I called home just to check in and had a nice little chat with my brother who had, apparently, been at the cottage all week doing his artist's deep "man vs. nature" thing. I can't wait to read his great American novel.
Thankfully class ended early (it's scheduled from 6 to 9, but we ended a little before 8) so when I came home I was able to catch this week's episode of Prison Break, which is the only new show I'm watching with any interest so far (check it out, you know you want to).
Over the weekend I received a couple of emails from my supervisor at the embassy, regarding upcoming projects. It looks like this week is shaping up to be just as interesting as the last. As always, I'll keep you informed.
Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I woke up at about 8.00 Saturday morning and could not go back to sleep. I was not impressed. Around 11.30 Claire and I went to the Museum of Natural History, which is home to various fossils, dinosaur skeletons, stuffed mammals, and the Hope Diamond. It was pretty impressive, although the dinosaurs weren't quite as enormous as I remembered. Perhaps it's because things that once seemed really big now seem, well, less so. Regardless of size, they had a pretty good collection, including complete Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and Diplodocus (as you know, the longest of the dinosaurs) skeletons.
There was also a really interesting, albeit small, exhibit on Sikhism, and an exibit showing the fascinating history of the Hope Diamond (it's an impressive jewel with an impressive story). However, the object I found most noteworthy was a stuffed rhino that had been "collected" by Teddy Roosevelt on Safari in Africa. For those who don't know, that means he blasted it like a Spaniard on San Juan Hill. While I was trying to be funny, that may have come across as rather callous. I'll let you be the judge. But be aware that I'm judging you based on how you judge me. Seems only fair.
On the way home, we stopped off at the Pentagon City mall where Claire got a smoothie and I got a haircut (the woman said she was going for "respectable" - suffice it to say that it's taking some getting used to). We wandered around there for a bit then grabbed groceries and headed home. That night everybody was off to bars/dance clubs in the area of Adams Morgan (I think). So, being under 21, Claire and I went to see the Wedding Crashers at a theatre we discovered two subway stops south of our apartment building. It was absolutely hilarious, as I had been told by all of you who saw it months ago.
On Sunday morning we went down to an art festival that was happening in historic Old-Town Alexandria, which was really amazing. The whole of King Street was filled with tents and vendors, selling everything from pottery and photographs to oil paintings and sculptures. We also found this amazing old poster store that had a cataologue of hundreds of propaganda posters from both World Wars (among other posters) for sale. Unfortunately, they weren't war posters of the $10 variety (like the ones hanging in my room) but rather of the "I'll make you a print and frame it for $350 US" variety. It was a bloody shame, too, since they had the coolest "Let's go Canada" one with a Canadian soldier in front of a Union Jack. Of course, I was in heaven.
After heading home from the arts festival and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we took off to Adams Morgan (a pretty funky, bohemian-y neighbourhood) where they were having a big street festival as well. We stopped by a pretty cool used book store, and sort of slowly meandered through the masses of people and vendors. After clearing the festival, we walked down 18th St. to New Hampshire Ave., then followed that down (past the Argentinian Embassy!) to Dupont Circle where they have a big park complete with outdoor cement chess boards. We didn't stop to play, but I've vowed to return one day as playing outdoor cement chess has always been one of my goals in life, and strikes me as a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
From Dupont Circle we walked along Connecticut Ave. to the Farragut North metro station, with one stop along the way: while walking, we happened upon a Burberry store located in a beautiful old building. Claire (being a Burberry buff) just had to stop and look. Of course, since I'm in the market for a new coat, I readily agreed. We both took a bit of time to try on overcoats more expensive than our computers (P.S. Mom, I've started a birthday/Christmas list), and acted the part of young well-to-do professionals quite successfully. I will say, however, that Claire seems to need more confidence when it comes to staying in character while "store crashing." Perhaps we'll see some improvement with a bit more practice.
Sunday night was spent doing my homework for the Washington Center, including a fluffy learning objectives statement and an official journal entry regarding my first week - not something worth detailing extensively.
Today I had to wake up quite early, as we had NAFTA program events starting at 9.00 up near George Washington University , and we weren't sure *exactly* where we were going. However, we managed to make it there quite early. At the Washington Center we watched a movie on Mexico as an emerging economic power, and then we had a bit of time off. Our friends Jake from Cleveland and Jorge from Peru joined Claire, Kristina and I for a bit of lunch, before we all headed over to the U.S. Department of Commerce. While we had a few problems getting through security and into the building, everything resolved itself eventually. The speaker at the Commerce Department was an officer in their NAFTA section, who had worked on a couple of other free trade agreements - including the recently signed CAFTA - so he had some pretty interesting stuff to say. A lively question and answer session followed, but I resisted the urge to ask a pointed question about softwood lumber.
After that we returned home for a bit before going back up to the Washington Center's building near GWU for our first NAFTA class. It's getting late and I need to go to bed, but the class looks pretty good, and the teacher is absolutely amazing! On my walk back to the metro I called home just to check in and had a nice little chat with my brother who had, apparently, been at the cottage all week doing his artist's deep "man vs. nature" thing. I can't wait to read his great American novel.
Thankfully class ended early (it's scheduled from 6 to 9, but we ended a little before 8) so when I came home I was able to catch this week's episode of Prison Break, which is the only new show I'm watching with any interest so far (check it out, you know you want to).
Over the weekend I received a couple of emails from my supervisor at the embassy, regarding upcoming projects. It looks like this week is shaping up to be just as interesting as the last. As always, I'll keep you informed.
posted by Scoops at 11:45 p.m.
8 Comments:
The dinosaurs weren't quite as enormous as you remembered...? Aha! I knew you were older than you claim. - And it seems Stockwell Day is vindicated ;)
Scott:
Your father is always complaining that he never gets any ideas from you for Christmas . . . Love Mom
lol, yup. But only about 6000 years older than I claim.
Come on, man, for all you know I'm a buddhist, and I'm remembering them from my past incarnation as a small, terrified rodent 250 million years ago! Zen.
(I'll stop here, as I'm sure everybody's cracking up at the thought of me as a buddhist)
Scoops, Did you ever visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller? If so, that might explain why you remember the dinosaurs being bigger. They WERE bigger in Canada!
I have to confess, I'd never heard of Burberry, but after hearing you enthuse about their stuff, I looked it up online. Quite an interesting history, but beware....wearing one of their plaid coats could get you banned from bars in Scotland! See for yourself:
http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-8-12/31104.html
And furthermore "I" is still not an objective pronoun, even in a compound object!
And speaking of writing, shouldn't your brother be writing the great CANADIAN novel?
Looking forward to the next instalment of the Adventures of Scoops and Claire.
Scoops,
I could see you as a Buddhist....when ordering a hot dog, haven't you ever paused thoughtfully, then said, "make me one with everything"? ;-)
Really, Scott, to call Claire a mere "Burberry Buff" only enhances your image as the King of Understatement. I had actually hoped that you would stage a burberry intervention rather than enable her burberry abuse problem! Never mind though, at least you are teaching her the fine art of "let's just pretend we COULD buy it if we chose" - thats an important skill!
Really, Scott, to call Claire a mere "Burberry Buff" only enhances your image as the King of Understatement. I had actually hoped that you would stage a burberry intervention rather than enable her burberry abuse problem! Never mind though, at least you are teaching her the fine art of "let's just pretend we COULD buy it if we chose" - thats an important skill!
...apparently so true I needed to say it twice! SBT!
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