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Week 3 of Reed’s Year of Volunteering: Snow shoveling

Posted in Volunteering, tagged , , , , , , on February 7, 2011| 5 Comments »

-Blog post by Reed Sandridge, a Kindness Investor from Washington, DC.

Reed shoveling a sidewalk on R Street in Washington, DC

People often tell me that they want to volunteer their time but don’t know where to start. Sheila, a working mom from Boston recently expressed her frustration with trying to volunteer.  “The local community center where I was hoping to volunteer only accepts applicants that are able to make a commitment of at least once a month for a year,” she wrote.  “I can’t guarantee that.”  She went on to say that other organizations were looking for individuals with specific skills or training which she didn’t have.

Sheila’s challenges are not unique.  I hear this same comment from individuals from all parts of the world on a regular basis.  The fact is that there are lots of ways that you can contribute to your community without volunteering with formal organizations.  Here are seven simple ways that you can make a difference in your community that cost little or nothing and don’t require you to jump through any administrative hoops!

  1. Pick up trash around your neighborhood or at a local park
  2. Rake the leaves/shovel snow/mow the lawn for an elderly neighbor
  3. Drive an elderly neighbor to the store or to their doctor’s appointment
  4. Take leftover food to poor/homeless members of your community
  5. Donate clothes in good condition that you no longer use to a local shelter or community outreach center
  6. Ask people to bring an item for donation to your next party or get-together
  7. Micro-volunteer online at an organization like sparked.com.

So two weeks ago I did exactly this.  We got a dose of really wet snow, maybe four or five inches.  A day after the snowfall I noticed a couple of sidewalks that still were not cleared.  The fluffy white blanket had now compressed down into a three-inch thick sheet of ice that was not only hard as hell to remove, but dangerous for those who relied on the sidewalks to get around town.  One spot was owned by an older couple.  Another was an abandoned home and I don’t know the situation of the third home, but their sidewalk hadn’t been touched.  So, I grabbed the shovel and set out to clear those areas.

Snow shoveling isn’t my thing.  Sure I can do it, but my back usually gets all out of whack for days after a long day of shoveling.  I know, “You gotta use your knees,” you’re thinking to yourself.  You are right…and I probably don’t use them enough.

As I was shoveling the long sidewalk in front of the abandoned home I spotted an elderly woman carefully navigating the icy terrain.  I should have offered her a hand but she gave me a terrible scowl as if to say, “You are late in getting this sidewalk shoveled young man!”  Geez.

That's Reed in the distance making his final pass on a sidewalk on 21st Street in DC.

I finished clearing the final patch of ice at the third house and headed home to put away my weary shovel and rest my now screaming lower back.  The next day I walked by one of the areas and saw people moving about on the now snow-free sidewalks that I had cared for.  I felt magnificent.  Ok, that’s not exactly true.  My back felt like an 18-wheeler had pulled into my bedroom in the middle of the night and parked on top of me.  But seriously, I was elated by the simple neighborly act that I had done.  It didn’t cost anything, well not then at least.  I just have to save up to have a microdiscectomy procedure to fix my herniated lumbar disc!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY IN DC THIS WEEKEND!

Hey, are you in the DC area and want to give a few hours of your time this weekend for a good cause?  Why not join me in volunteering at the fourth annual Our City Film Festival.  All proceeds go to Yachad DC, a local non-profit working to bring communities together through service.  They mobilize skilled and unskilled volunteers to work side-by-side with those being served to repair homes and communities for low-income residents.  What a fun way to help out.  If you are interested in volunteering, email me or Kendra at kendra@yachad-dc.org.

 

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Day 26 – AJ

Posted in Something for others, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 24, 2011| 2 Comments »

-Blog post by Mike B., a Kindness Investor from Cromwell, CT

Two days in a row, to waking up with more snow on the ground!  I know, I live in New England so I should expect it.  I do expect it, but to expect it and to like it are two very different things.  I am not complaining though.  After going to school in upstate New York (Oswego) and seeing snow fall for eighteen straight days one year, I am definitely not complaining.  Besides, pitchers and catchers show up for spring training in a little over a month.  I didn’t ask today’s recipient, AJ if he was a baseball fan, but you’ll see, at least his heart was in the right place.

A senior from Newington High School, A.J. works part-time in Goodwill Industries Store and Distribution Center in Newington, Connecticut.  He’s been there since the beginning of the summer and he likes his job.  He’s 18, a generally quiet guy and likes to be honest with everyone.  He’s learning how to be a diesel mechanic at Newington High and will hopefully work in a garage somewhere. He says he loves cars and likes being around them.  When he’s working, he works in both the Goodwill Store and the Distribution Center.  He doesn’t really prefer one to the other, but he was in the Distribution Center today.  There’s what looks like a garage door and a little car port for the people driving up and donating their goods.  People drive up, unload their donations and then AJ and others in the center, divide them up into good stuff and trash.  I asked him about that, thinking maybe a manager or higher level employee would decide what was trash or not, but no, he made that decision.

There were a lot of very large blue bins which were all stacked up waiting for donations to be put in them and three other bins that were marked trash.   Those had mainly pieces of cardboard, some clothes hangers and miscellaneous trash in them.  When I asked him how he got into the business, he mentioned his buddy was already working there and thought it was a decent job.   He sees all kinds of donations and what he called the “crazy stuff”.  What makes it crazy I was wondering and he said he saw a lot of antiques, people cleaning out their houses and donating it instead of just throwing it away.  I did see a very large rimmed bright purple hat with some flowering around it which made me think of something out of a 1970’s movie involving pimps and did I mention it was the color of bright purple?  That was my definition of crazy stuff.  AJ said one item that came in recently was an old-fashioned electric razor, which could have been the one of the first ones ever!  I was there really by chance as I was on my way to somewhere else, saw the Goodwill sign which made me think I needed to go through a lot of stuff of my own and decided to just stop in and see the place.  I’m glad I did or I wouldn’t have met AJ.

He preferred not to have his picture taken, but when asked what he was going to do with the $10, he mentioned his girlfriend’s birthday was coming up quickly and he wanted to get her a necklace she had seen at Claire’s.  The necklace apparently had little elephants on it and she was a fan of elephants.  I just saw a movie trailer for Water for Elephants recently (a really good book) and wonder if he’ll take her to see it?  I took a couple of pictures of the place and was on my way.

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Day 2 – Trey B.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2011| 3 Comments »

This week's Kindness Investor, Melinda, discovered the Year of Giving from an article in the Dayton Daily News.

It is funny how each day you try to find the perfect person to give $10 to.  Today I was driving and saw Trey B. jumping through drifts of snow and I knew right then, that’s the man I’m going to give $10 to today.  I turned around went to the next intersection and parked and waited on him to catch up.

At first Trey wasn’t too sure about me and kept his distance but quickly warmed up to me realizing I was no threat.  When giving him the $10 he was overwhelmed and said God will bless you and everyone else who participates in this project.

What an awesome feeling knowing I made his day just as much as he made mine.  Trey had recently moved to Ohio from Alabama to be closer to his family.   He said he was probably going to use the money toward something for his new house.

I didn’t keep Trey too long as it was so cold outside and it was clear he was on a mission to get home where it was warm.

-By Melinda T. from Xenia, OH


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Day 61 – Issa M.

Posted in Food & Beverage, Transportation, tagged , , , , , on February 15, 2010| 8 Comments »

February 13, 2010. 

Today was the wedding of my brother and his fiancée (well, now his wife!) Mandy.  After spending a couple hours chiseling ice off of drain spouts around my building and shoveling snow off of our flat roof (by the way, flat roofs in regions where snow is prone, not a good idea), I headed over to meet my dad and brother for a shave at the Grooming Lounge on L Street in DC.

If you have never gotten a professional shave, I recommend it…at least for you men out there.  Matt gave me my shave.  He did an excellent job and I recommend him if you want to check this place out.  Your face just feels amazing afterwards.  I do kind of wish they would use the straight edge razor…the one that you use the strop with.  But they use safety razors…the same kind I shave with at home and claim that you can get as good of a shave with the modern safety razors as you can with a straight edge razor.  Any opinion on this?

I then hurried around, picked up my dry cleaning at Georgetown Cleaners (they are pretty good) on Florida Ave., reviewed my notes for the ceremony and headed down to the Hotel Monaco for the wedding.

I think I have mentioned in other posts that my brother and Mandy asked me to perform the wedding ceremony.  This is not something that I have a lot of experience doing.  In fact, I didn’t have any experience.

I think it went well though.  I did forget to tell the guests to sit after the bride and groom came in though.  So, everyone stood for the ceremony!  Oops…good thing it was only about 12 minutes long.

Mandy and Ryan (photo: Maureen Buckley)

The reception was wonderful.  The hotel setting was beautiful, the food was fantastic, and all the other details were perfect.  I got to see a lot of family and friends that I have not seen in some time… only wish I could have spent more time with them all.

I sensed the reception was coming to an end…could it have been the Neil Diamond tune that clued me in?  Who knows?  I found a hotel staff member cleaning up and thought I should offer him my $10.

Issa is a 50 year-old-man originally from the West African country of Sierra Leone.  He is a Banquet Captain at the Monaco and has worked there for about 7 years…pretty much since they opened in 2002. 

He is tall and slender and was very appreciative of the gift.  He said that he would use it to put gas in his car and buy some juice.  Issa was busy and I let him finish his work so that he could get home.

Several of us headed to the hotel bar, Poste, for the penultimate drink.

Congratulations Mandy and Ryan!  Your wedding was beautiful and I am very happy for you both.  I love you very much.

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Day 58 -Jeremy G

Posted in Food & Beverage, Transportation, tagged , , , , on February 10, 2010| 2 Comments »

Snowpocalypse 2010 (photo: R. Sandridge)

I woke up this morning to more snow!  After going down and shoveling the stairs and sidewalk in front of my condo, I headed out to give away my $10.  I found Melise, Kevin and Danilo…all said they could not accept my $10 for one reason or another.  All were nice and interesting to speak with…however, I was on a mission.  After more than an hour searching, I found Jeremy.

Jeremy was standing in a covered entry way for an office complex where he sought refuge from the cocktail of cold, wind, and snow that was swirling around Farragut Square in DC.  He is 48.  His stained clothes and weathered look led me to believe that he was homeless.  When I asked him if he was, he struggled with the answer.  Jeremy said he tried to stay with friends mostly or in a shelter near 2nd and E Street. 

Conversation was awkward with Jeremy.  He was extremely polite but seemed to be in a slightly altered state.  I don’t know if it was the cumulative effect of being out in the cold or a result of substance abuse or something else.  He took out a folded piece of newspaper that he had in his stained jacket and wrote down my name and other information I told him.  Every time I would jot something down in my small notebook, he would write something on his paper.  

Jeremy hopes to make a few dollars shoveling snow (photo: R. Sandridge)

I asked him what he was doing there.  He said he thought that some of the maintenance crew of the nearby office buildings would pay him to shovel some snow for a few dollars.  I asked what he would do with the $10 and he said that he would get some food, hot tea, and maybe use the leftover for bus fare.

We didn’t talk more.  I felt he was uncomfortable and I was freezing by this time.  I asked if I could take his picture…he obliged and I took the photo you see here. 

Would you believe on the way home I passed Melise again…the first woman who refused my $10 today.  She was nice and recognized me immediately.  Small world.

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Day 57 – Roger

Posted in Rent, tagged , , , , , , , on February 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

I didn’t think that the driving situation could get worse than yesterday…but I stand corrected.  Today there were way more amateur drivers venturing out into the snowy mess.  I helped dig out and push five cars.  Most of the people were not used to driving in the snow.  Sadly one of them was a taxi driver who was completely clueless about driving in the snow (in his defense, he was from East Africa).

I was surprised at how few people offered to help.  One time a maintenance man at a nearby building offered to help.  His name was Chavez…I tried to give him $10 after we got the person unstuck, but he politely refused and said the next time I saw him he would accept.  I will be looking for you Chavez!

I later found Roger, a Street Sense salesman, at the Farragut North Metro entrance.  Roger is 58 and lives in DC.  He has been living with his brother-in-law for about four months after he had some serious problems with his wife and daughter that lead to his wife changing the locks.  “That’s a bad sign” he tells me.  Yea…I would have to agree with you Roger.  Now his brother-in-law is also asking him to leave.  He is not sure where he will go after Feb 11th.

He says he will keep my $10 and add it to his savings to hopefully pay for housing/shelter.  

Roger seems very nice.  I shot a little bit of video of him that you can see here.

Want to help Roger out?  Here are a couple of things he needs:

  • A place to keep some of his things.  Preferably a place where he could have key to lock the items up.  Even a closet like space would help.
  • Free counseling. Roger has went through a very difficult time with his family.  He realizes that he needs counseling on how to deal with the situation.  I would like to try to find a therapist who would work with Roger on a pro bono basis.
  • Lastly, his computer broke and he really misses having his computer.  He actually still carries his computer case.  If anyone or any company has a working laptop that they would like to put to good use, Roger would be very appreciative. 

If you can help with any of these things, let me know and I can contact Roger.

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Day 56 – Lionel L.

Posted in Phone, Refusals, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

I got out to go to the gym today.  Hadn’t been there since the snow storm.  On the way back I stepped on what I thought was ice and my sneaker sunk like 6 inches and became completely water logged…thankfully it happened on the way home, so I was already done with my workout.

I went out later in the day to find my recipient.  Too many people ventured out in the snow today.  It’s like amateur driver day – people who have no business driving in this weather are out and about.  I saw a little compact car with bicycle size tires trying to navigate the streets.

I got stopped by the Save the Children canvassers…I stopped and listened to him.  Told him I was doing my own venture and he kept trying to get me to give them money until I finally just said I could help them in other ways, but not with money…but he wasn’t interested.

First I approached Ernesto and then a few blocks away Gene … both said they didn’t want to accept the $10.  They didn’t feel worthy of it.  So, I was off to find someone else.  Hopefully both Ernesto and Gene check out the site and comment on their decision.  By the way guys, you are still invited to come to the year-end party..so keep following the blog.

I found Lionel sitting on a bench with a crazy hat on.  I found out that the 43-year-old was originally from Sinaloa, Mexico.  Coincidentally, I lived in the state of Sinaloa in 1990-1991 as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student.  He was from the capital city, Culiacan, about 2 hours away from where I lived.  He first came to the US in the 80s.  Right now he is unemployed.  He was a bike messenger here in DC for the last 13-14 years and hopes to find work again once the snow clears out of DC.  If anyone knows of someone needing to contract a bike messenger in DC, let me know!

Some interesting things about Lionel.  His nephew is Jamar Nesbit, who is a member of the 2010 Superbowl winning Saints!  Nesbit (#67) did not play apparently, but should receive a ring.  That is pretty cool.  Athletics runs in the family.  Lionel used to be a boxer in both the US and Mexico and his daughter has played college sports.

Lionel says he will spend the $10 to put minutes on his cell phone (which is in a Pittsburgh Steelers case!).

I spent another 30-40 minutes talking to Lionel.  He is a very nice guy and I did something that I have not done before.  I gave him my cell phone number.  I usually just give an email address…but he did not use email.  Hopefully I can meet up with him again sometime soon.

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Day 55 – Esteban H.

Posted in Food & Beverage, Refusals, tagged , , , , , , , on February 8, 2010| 5 Comments »

Yesterday my brother invited me to see another Capitals game.  Man, it was a good one!  The Caps were down 4-1, then came back to tie it and eventually win it in overtime.  Although Ovechkin looked a little sluggish sometimes, he was on fire shooting 3 of the 5 goals.

After the game, Ryan and I thought we would hang out a while before we tried our luck getting on the Metro.  They were only running one train every 30 minutes and the majority of those who came to watch the hockey match came by Metro…so you can imagine what a mess it would be right after the game.

We headed into a Starbucks to take refuge from the cold and chat for a while.  I ran into Thomas, a friend who used to live in the same condo as me before he and his wife moved to New York.  Well, they moved back and he spotted me in the coffee shop and said hello.  It’s a small world.

I approached a woman, Lori, reading the paper at the counter and asked her to accept my $10.  She refused, urging me to find someone else more deserving.  I get this answer a lot.  I try to explain to people that they can do whatever they wish with the money.  If you think that you are not deserving of it, why not take a minute out of your day to give it to somebody who you think is deserving of it.  I sometimes think people are too lazy to do that…or they just don’t want to be bothered.

I ended up finding Esteban.  The 67-year-old Mexican-American was standing, with the help of a cane, next to the Verizon Center.  The first thing you notice about Esteban is the fact that he is not wearing any socks or shoes!?!?  He has a pair of sandals on.  He says that he doesn’t wear socks of shoes because he was poisoned with mercury by some people walking by while he slept and now it is too painful to put anything on his feet.

After a few minutes, I find myself a little confused in the conversation.  I switched to Spanish hoping that that would help clear up what he was trying to tell me.  Unfortunately, I realize early into my 25 minute chat with Esteban that he most likely suffers from schizophrenia and/or other mental illness.  Ok, the lack of shoes and socks should have been a red flag.

I am not sure what to believe about what he tells me.  Some details seem normal and very believable.  Like the fact that he came to the US in 1984, has been homeless for most of the time, has relatives in Texas, and is originally from Tamaulipas, Mexico.  But then there were the bizarre stories.  Like the lynching of a bully in a DC shelter or the friendship with a DC police lieutenant or stranger yet, the intimate knowledge he has of a scandal involving the FBI, CIA, and a former DC mayor that caused him to flee the city and end up at the Pentagon. 

It was sad.  Esteban needs help far beyond what I am able to provide.  It takes a while to wrap up the conversation as he retells some of the stories.  He said he would use the money to get some food this week.  I told him to protect his feet.  He explained again about the mercury and how anything he put on his feet hurt.  I suspect his feet are frost bit.  I urged him to go to a shelter, but he refused.

I wished him luck, shook his hand and nodded to my brother to get on our way.  He smiled and hobbled a bit further under the overhang, close to where his bags sat wet from the gray slushy mess that covered the sidewalk.

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Day 53 – Beth H.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , on February 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am snowed in. 

We got about two feet of snow in DC so far and it is still coming down lightly.  Trees are down, cars are completely covered, and people are heading to Dupont Circle for a massive snow ball fight…the news reported that some 3,000+ on Facebook have said the are going to join the fight.  I think I will stay here for now.

Last night my brother invited me to go to the Capitals game where they beat the Thrashers.  On my way home, some friends sent me a message to meet up for a drink at the Russia House.  I made my way through the snowy streets and arrived at the Russia House.  It was pretty busy.  My friends showed up and we had a few Lithuanian beers.

Beth was sitting next to us.  The 30-year-old lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in DC.  Although she studied Art and History in college, now she works in energy policy.  In addition to her job, she is enrolled in Johns Hopkins’ International Energy and Environment Program.  Coincidentally we discover that we have both lived in Brazil.  I lived in Sao Paulo for three years, she lived in Rio.

Beth said she was pretty sure that she knew what she wanted to do with the $10, but asked to follow up with me later on it.  I just got an email from her now saying that she donated the money to the World Resources Institute’s International Financial Flows and the Environment program.  That was the fastest follow up I have had so far!

By the way, Andrea S. from Day 48 followed up with me and let me know that she gave her money to the Woodside United Methodist Church Food Pantry.  She wrote me a nice note and I have asked her to post as a comment on her day’s blog post.

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Day 52 – Dom P.

Posted in Alcohol, tagged , , , , , on February 5, 2010| 4 Comments »

I got up around 6:00 am and walked to the grocery store this morning.  We are supposed to get a foot or two of snow today/tomorrow, however, you would have never known it this morning.  It was gorgeous this morning.  The temperature felt warmer than the reported 35 degrees.  I truly felt “the quiet before the storm.”

I met my friend Kimon yesterday evening at the 18th Amendment, a bar near the Eastern Market Metro.  He was meeting some others and invited me to join.  The 18th Amendment gets a thumbs up, although I had my doubts when I first arrived.  They had a beer from Great Lakes Brewing Co., a 20 year veteran of the brewing business from Cleveland, OH, who is starting to enter in the DC market.  I actually was introduced to them (literally I met Bernie the DC sales rep) earlier this week, so ironic that I found it on the menu some place.  Give them a try, I especially like their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, although the 18th Amendment only had the Eliot Ness Amber…also good.

18th Amendment near Eastern Market

While I was at the bar, I found myself talking to Dom, a clinical psychologist and professor at Georgia State University.  He is in DC on business, reviewing some grant proposals.  Dom is a lot of fun to talk to.  I am not surprised that he is a professor.  He seems to be able to talk intelligently on a variety of different topics.  Even when he has a strong opinion, he tends to encourage discussion rather than squash your ideas with his own.

I find out that aside from being a professor, he is also an official spokesperson for Woodford Reserve Distillery, a bourbon producer.  No wonder he is in a bar!  How do you get to be an official spokesperson you ask?  Well, I am not sure I recall 100% of his explanation, but I believe the gist was that he was hanging around the distillery so much that they just gave him the honor.  Pretty cool.  His favorite bourbon though is Ridgement Reserve 1792.  I haven’t tried either of them.  My brother had some Blanton’s bourbon…that was probably the best bourbon I have had.

Although all of this is interesting and very topical given our presence at a bar, especially one named for the constitutional change that enabled national prohibition of alcohol, I wanted to talk to Dom about the $10.  I asked him what he was going to do with it and he said that he would probably spend it on alcohol this weekend.   His reasoning in his answer was based on the fact that he had received an additional $10 that he didn’t have before and the most honest answer for where that $10 would end up is probably in the cash register of a DC bar.  He likened it to the possible scenario of finding $10 on the street.  That is how he viewed my $10.  He added, “You can’t really make a judgment on how charitable a person might be by what they do with the $10…for that, you should check my charitable contributions.”

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Day 50 – John

Posted in Alcohol, Food & Beverage, Something for others, tagged , , , , , , , on February 3, 2010| 2 Comments »

Yesterday evening I went to the Brickskeller which is just a short walk away from my home.  The snow was falling and the scene was almost postcard worthy.  I took a picture with my blackberry phone, but it didn’t do it justice and its not even worth posting here.

The downstairs bar at The Brickskeller

The Brickskeller is somewhat of an institution in DC.  For more than 50 years it has been providing one of the most comprehensive selections of beers ever assembled under one roof.  If you are a beer connoisseur, it is a must visit.

They have this awkward bar seating in the cellar.  The bar stools are connected and set quite close together and there is no standing allowed in the bar area, so you usually end up sitting next to someone there and due to the close proximity that I mentioned, you are pretty much guaranteed to meet those sitting next to you.

I hadn’t a bit more sat down when the man sitting to my right asked, “Is it still coming down out there?”  I acknowledged that it was still snowing and settled my bag at my feet and took my coat off.  After browsing through their catalogue of beers, I settled on a Murphy’s Irish Stout. 

Since John had already made a little small talk with me, I decided to talk to him and see if he would accept my $10.  At first, the former military serviceman told me that “it sounds too good to be true.”  I assured him that there was no gimmick.  He smiled and replied back, “Just when you thought that you had seen everything, something like this comes along.”  He took the $10 and sat it on the bar in front of him and placed my business card on top of it. 

I explained that I wanted to ask him a few questions for the blog and he shrugged as if to say, ok.  I found out that he was originally from New Jersey, but now lives in Kansas City, MO.  He is in town presumably for some government or military related meetings.  I find out two interesting things through the course of the conversation.  First, he is a fellow Pittsburgh Steeler fan!  We chatted a little bit about our disappointing season and the future opportunities of the former coach, Bill Cowher.  John ventures a guess that Cowher is waiting to see if a job opens up at Carolina – close to where he lives.  I bet he is right.

The second interesting tidbit about John is that he said he once ejected from an F18 aircraft.  I didn’t get a lot of details or circumstances related to the incident except that he was off the west coast of the US and the plane was going to crash so he ejected and landed in the Pacific and withstood a few frigid hours until he was picked up.  I can only imagine what it feels like to have crashed a $42 million plane.  I used to work at a bar in Central Pennsylvania called Pagliaro’s Trattoria.  If you broke some of the bar glasses, they would reduce your paycheck by the amount of the glasses.  I asked him if they took the $42 million out of his paycheck, and he just sorta laughed and said that those are considered part of doing business.  Heck, one plane isn’t too bad, didn’t John McCain crash four or five planes?

My glass is now half full and our conversation comes and goes like a dog falling in and out of a slumber on a lazy summer afternoon.  I ask him what he is going to do with the $10 and he says, “Probably buy you a beer!”  Well that would certainly be ok, but I told him he could do anything he wanted with it.  He did end up buying me a beer, a nice beer from the Pennsylvania brewery called Stoudts.  The left over money he said would go toward some coffee.

John takes off and I finish my beer that he bought me.  I ended up talking to a nice guy named Doug from South Carolina who works for NOAA.  I got a quick education in some meteorological and geological related issues.  He was in town for some meetings that were part of a fellowship he was doing.  Today he was to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum…if you haven’t visited this museum, I recommend it.  It is terribly depressing but well done in my opinion. 

Tomorrow I will make my third trip to the DC Unemployment Offices again to try to straighten out my unemployment benefits.  Let’s hope this time I can finally get everything resolved.

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