Lots of walking today: I walked from our office to the House side of the Capitol for a press conference that actually took place yesterday -- oops -- and then walked back after sitting in the heat for nearly an hour. Luckily I had a nice shady seat and my iPhone to distract me during my wasted hour on the Hill. Also, it is mildly interesting to watch the comings and goings around the Capitol on a regular ol' Wednesday. So then I walked back to the office, stopping at the Northwest One library to pick up "How we die," which is the Meetup reading group's next book. (It'll be my first attendance with this particular group -- it seems to fill up pretty fast.)
The walks each took about 30 minutes, which is slightly faster than I expected. I didn't mind the heat/humidity too much, though I was quite happy to sit still in the air conditioning once I made it back to the office.
About 4:30 I left the office and walked to Dupont Circle to attend *another* Meetup, this time the Global Development one -- they showed a film, "When China met Africa." Walk took around 30 minutes, too. Again, the weather didn't seem too horrible, though I was sweating like a pig. The strong breeze helped alleviate the oppressive heat. The Meetup was OK -- my favorite thing is how good the food is. Of course it was Chinese food this time. The film was ... all right. No voice overs, no analysis, no talking heads about this or that, just straightforward filming without much editorializing about Chinese businessmen (including a farmer) in Zambia, and the Africans with whom they interact/hire/collaborate/etc. Of course I wish we could watch it as a staff, or that I could watch it with others who are more steeped in this world than I am, so I could hear their perspectives.
As usual I didn't wait around for the Q&A after the film; I think I have some form of ADD or ADHD because I can barely sit still for more than 90 minutes. Also, I am sure my expectations for the conversation would be much farther left than what might come up in that discussion and I just wouldn't have been able to stand it.
Oh, you know, I did stick around after the film on migration back in the winter ... and I really appreciated some comments by a few folks in the audience. One guy was a big muckety muck with the sponsoring organization. You'd think that I -- who can remember the most trivial of details -- could remember his name and his organization but no such luck.
After the Meetup film, I walked home, which is probably about 20 minutes if done at once. I decided to take myself out for dinner at La Frontera, seduced by their happy hour special of $2.75 Stella Artois beer. I sat outside -- in the sweltering heat, enjoying it, I must say -- and read the first 17 pages of "How we die."
My prediction: This explains religion.
The walks each took about 30 minutes, which is slightly faster than I expected. I didn't mind the heat/humidity too much, though I was quite happy to sit still in the air conditioning once I made it back to the office.
About 4:30 I left the office and walked to Dupont Circle to attend *another* Meetup, this time the Global Development one -- they showed a film, "When China met Africa." Walk took around 30 minutes, too. Again, the weather didn't seem too horrible, though I was sweating like a pig. The strong breeze helped alleviate the oppressive heat. The Meetup was OK -- my favorite thing is how good the food is. Of course it was Chinese food this time. The film was ... all right. No voice overs, no analysis, no talking heads about this or that, just straightforward filming without much editorializing about Chinese businessmen (including a farmer) in Zambia, and the Africans with whom they interact/hire/collaborate/etc. Of course I wish we could watch it as a staff, or that I could watch it with others who are more steeped in this world than I am, so I could hear their perspectives.
As usual I didn't wait around for the Q&A after the film; I think I have some form of ADD or ADHD because I can barely sit still for more than 90 minutes. Also, I am sure my expectations for the conversation would be much farther left than what might come up in that discussion and I just wouldn't have been able to stand it.
Oh, you know, I did stick around after the film on migration back in the winter ... and I really appreciated some comments by a few folks in the audience. One guy was a big muckety muck with the sponsoring organization. You'd think that I -- who can remember the most trivial of details -- could remember his name and his organization but no such luck.
After the Meetup film, I walked home, which is probably about 20 minutes if done at once. I decided to take myself out for dinner at La Frontera, seduced by their happy hour special of $2.75 Stella Artois beer. I sat outside -- in the sweltering heat, enjoying it, I must say -- and read the first 17 pages of "How we die."
My prediction: This explains religion.
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