SOTU

One of my favorite moments of 2009 was last January when I stepped out of a House of Representatives building and faced the desolate night Hillside lit up by the Capitol just moments before the State of the Union (well, it was called an "economic speech" last year).

I had just been drinking at a reception with the hiking lobby, so maybe the contrast made me extra reverent.

All sidewalks were empty, the air seemed austere and still, and I spotted guards patrolling. Everywhere. As an observer I was alone, walking the night, while the nearby Dome glowed with the gathering of all of our branches of government.

I am mainly posting this entry because of the cool photo DCist posted for tonight. Above. It captures the awe and quiet, brooding sky that often surrounds the Capitol building.

The State of the Union is an energizing tradition and I enjoyed tonight. 2010.

This is a better photo of what it looked like, actually. Also a DCist.com photo.

Hello Sunshine

Photo: blue skies and sunny weather. Top of Vail.

It's cold out East. The redeeming quality is the beauty of the floating ice down the Potomac, giant snowflake-shaped like. Otherwise, it's GRAY, drizzly, hold my arms together weather.

Before the East, I lived in Colorado, another oft-cold place. A delightfully-cold place, actually. I appreciated the difference when I visited last week: it's the SUN. And the BLUE, blue skies.

The sun reigns above Colorado like a friendly tour guide, brightening and informing all activities, even in the snow. See photos above and below. See the SUN chasing us down while we ski. I didn't realize how much I missed Colorado's giant share of the sun.


Even the cloudy skies in Colorado are pretty. See below.

A good trip to Colorado. Just when I thought it wouldn't feel like home, it did. Shoot.


Photo: frozen Potomac & Kennedy Center. View from the Key Bridge area, near my house. I did not take this photo. The ice formations were even prettier than this, at the beginning of the year.

The Big Burn

Just finished The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America. Excellent book about a 1910 forest fire in Montana and Idaho that was the SIZE OF CONNECTICUT. Written by Timothy Egan, Pulitzer winning writer and frequent columnist for NYT.

The book retells the captivating drama and hardship of the great fire of 1910, and the bravery of the of the newly formed U.S. Forest Service and its rangers who fought it. In an ironic turn of events, because this fire was so devastating and gained national attention, it played a key role in our country's decision to keep a National Forest System. What was loss turned into great gain for conservation, in general. At the time, Congress had been plotting to destroy the U.S. Forest Service.

Highly recommended, especially if interested in Theodore Roosevelt's role in creating ground-breaking conservation policy, Gifford Pinchot's background as the first Chief of the Forest Service, and the politics of general land use dilemmas at the turn of the 20th century (i.e. timber harvesting/mining/railroads v. conservation).

Decade of the Scooter

I was remarkably unreflective on New Years Eve, so I'm journaling now about The Oughts.

I graduated college in 2000, Miami of Ohio, so wrapping up a decade out-of-college has made me extra contemplative.

A decade of many mountains, many houses, many jobs. I had 13 jobs in 5 states, and that was just 2001. In total, I think it's around 18 jobs, 6 states and the District.

Summer 2004 I bought a blue scooter and cruised around Denver with all my might for the next 4 years: 100 miles to the gallon! I rode it to substitute teaching in Englewood, to Pathways Church at Wash Park, to grad school in downtown Denver, to softball games in Washington, D.C. I rode it down the spine and to the heart, and if you lived in Platte Park, you know what I mean. When I tore my knee, I hobbled over to the blue machine and strapped my crutches to the back with a climbing rope, arriving conveniently doorstep at wherever I needed to be.

My first week of law school, someone stole the hibiscus-patterned scooter. forever. The earth split beneath me. I had lost my most reliable friend.

I bought another plain-blue scooter and the trend of joyful, goggle-laden street-zipping continued. Those who knew me well in Denver knew that I was a "scooter" person. The thing is, I wasn't. At first. In 2003, I *really* wanted a scooter, but I thought, "I'm not the type of person who can ride a scooter. I'm a girl. I am not cool."

Then, I bought one. I became what I wanted to be: a scooter person. A risk. A transformation. No one stopped me. And I kept cruising forward: small & light, single, fast-enough, unique.

I call this the "Decade of the Scooter" because that scooter brought me so much joy and because it represents a lot of life transitions I made this past 10 years. Several of the best changes in my life seemed out-of-my personality range, at first thought. A Midwesterner turned Coloradan. A teacher turned lawyer. A Denver student turned D.C. lobbyist. That same feeling I had when I finally had the guts to go buy myself a scooter and "be who I wanted to be" is what I went through with the other major life decisions, as well.

Right before the Colorado Bar exam, the scooter died. Engine broke. My fault. I turned 30 that summer and I decided my post-20s years should be post-scooter. I walk to work in Virginia now, and there's no heart and spine close by to see friends, so I don't need a scooter, really. I actually hope that this next decade I won't have to "re-create" myself as much as I did during The Oughts. But I will always have the Decade of the Scooter in my heart :).

Other Decade Awards
- Musician: Sufjan Stevens. Best concert at the Kennedy Center
- Sport Played: Tennis. Good times at the Wooden Open
- Mountain: Winter Park. Bump skiing pre-knee injury, best thrill
- Neighborhood: Platte Park, CO. Of course
- Internship: International Justice Mission. Changed my life.
- Job: Highlands Ranch Rec Center. Not really. I liked the Senate.
- Trip: Sundance Film Festival, UT. Macauley fell on the ice.
- Worst Injury: ACL tear x 3. O, the knee! Was "Decade of the Knee Injury," too
- Best Gift: Mom driving with me across the country countless times. Especially 2x post-knee surgery & I couldn't drive.
- Best Piece of Advice: Dad telling me to think about going to law school.
- Coffee Shop: St. Mark's, Denver. I was always studying & someone was always drawing.
- Coffee Drinking: Hoang home. Best place for anything, really.
- Class: Tie: Irish Lit. at Trinity College, Dublin/Int'l War Crimes at DU Law

Kids of Christmas

These lil' faces show full-blown Christmas joy. A fun week with niece Mary Clare and nephews Owen and Paul.

Photo: Mary Clare at Union Station mini-train show.

Photo: Paul and new fire truck. Pure happiness.

Photo: Owen and green puppy. This photo captures Owen's favorite pastimes, other than playing with cars.

Photo: Chris and Owen in O's new tent.

Photo: Pop-pop, Owen, and Paul having fun.

Photo: Owen, Mary Clare and Paul. Paul wins for best expression.


Photo: Owen, Mary Clare and Paul

Photo: Mom and Dad put up new mirrors in their room. Mary Clare and Owen standing in front of old mirror Dad's holding up.