Boy, did we have some wild weather today! A tremendous thunderstorm came up out of nowhere around 5 PM (literally out of nowhere - it was sunny when I left for work at 1:30). This thunderstorm was amazing. Winds like mad (so I'm told - no windows at Wal-Mart), really heavy rains - enough to hear it on the salesfloor over the din of the customers, lightning like crazy, incredibly loud thunder (one round of thunder was a BOOM like an explosion rather than a rumble), and even hail, which you could hear on the roof.

And then, as one of our CSMs was handing me a flashlight for "just in case the power went off", no sooner did she say it than the lights went out. Then they came back on. Then they went out for good. Let me say that the many skylights we have came in really handy, as the only parts of our store that were actually dark were the Service Desk and the other various "caves" in the store, like Layaway, the Vision Center, the Portrait Studio, etc. Those areas were dark, but we still had emergency lighting, which helped. But the bulk of the store was still very well lit by natural light.

Since we couldn't do much at the Service Desk, since our scanners were out of service over there, they pulled me to the registers, where we hurried to get all the customers checked out despite having no belts due to no power (I told customers that I have no belt and that they should put their items at the end of the belt), and the fact that the customers had to be checked out before our backup power went out. We made it, thank goodness.

While I was checking people out, there was one child who was obviously very distraught by the whole thing, I think convinced that she was going to die (seriously, she said that). I did my best to reassure her that she would be fine, while keeping my cool under pressure. I did quite well, if I do say so myself.

Rumor among the associates was that a tornado was afoot, which was not at all pleasing to hear, considering how wild the weather was outside, and that I had a job to do, and that I didn't want to crawl under the Service Desk and hide.

Still, when someone mentioned "tornado", it reminded me of the time at CFW in 1995, before I worked there, that a tornado came through and ripped part of the roof off of the building along with most of the roof of Poly-Bond next door. I thought, oh, goodness, it will be CFW all over again. Thankfully, our roof stayed intact, though a number of people afterwards did place a tornado a few miles away, though this is unconfirmed by news reports (I'm looking and so far haven't found any news reports to confirm or deny this).

Still, a tornado in the Shenandoah Valley is DANGEROUS. Here's why. On the west we have the Alleghany Mountains. On the east we have the Blue Ridge Mountains. As such, when a tornado forms in the valley, it's trapped, being held in by the mountains. And so it can go up and down the valley, but can't leave because of the mountains. That's how CFW got the roof torn off. So if we're unfortunate enough to get one, it stays in and causes some serious carnage.

So the lights were off for a good hour and a half. After they came on, thank goodness, I finally got my lunch break. I went out to the Amoco station in Waynesboro, since our store was still closed due to the power outage, where I got a sub. I drove through the country club neighborhood to get back to work, and let's talk about carnage. Tree limbs down all over the place. One tree trunk actually snapped in half, with the majority of the tree laying in its owner's yard. There was even one downed power line. Still, the carnage was rather localized, with the majority of it occurring in the country club neighborhood, Wal-Mart, and near Ladd Convenience Store (down the road).

And when I got back to work after lunch, it was business as usual once again.

Otherwise, one of my coworkers discovered my Web site for the first time, and actually printed a page from my site to show everyone. Specifically, it was from my store, of my Photo 2 thong. And everyone realized, as my sister would happily tell you, that I am a sick, sad individual (and proud of it!). Yes, I have no shame, and have a very dashing photo of myself (if I do say so myself) on the crotch of thong underwear, which is also my best-selling item.

Of course, realize that I am also the same person who's inadvertently referred to George Foreman Grills as "George Carlin Grills", as in, "And I see you got a George Carlin Grill." That was followed by a strange look, after which I realized my mistake. I admit I did have George Carlin on the brain, but still. On one hand, we have a large black man with no hair who is a boxer. On the other hand, we have a skinny white man with a gray beard, shouting obscenities in front of audiences for money. (And may I say I do enjoy George Carlin's stand-up acts.)

Of course, now I've embraced my error, and jokingly call it a George Carlin Grill. Even though we know it's a George Foreman Grill. But anyway...

So yes, I am a sick, sad individual, but you knew that already.

One more thing... a number of people's cars were damaged by not only the hail, but also the wind. The hail was an obvious one. Golf-ball sized chunks of ice can do some serious damage to a car. One person's windshield was cracked as a result. The wind did some damage by catching the shopping carts, sending them flying into cars, and also literally spinning in the parking lot. A dangerous combination.

Me, my car came out unscathed, except for one minor problem... I left my windows open a crack to let the heat out. Remember it was sunny when I came to work. So I got to my car for my lunch break, and it had rained in. A lot. Usually a little crack doesn't let any water in, but with the wind, it really rained in, getting the entire front seat area all wet. No damage. Just wet, and it's already mostly dry. But still... even with the windows cracked, the storm was going so hard that it got my rear view mirror dirty, perched high up in the center of my car. I'm like, whoa.

Just remember that I am driving the car that a friend of mine described as "The car that will not die". It's fourteen years old now, you realize. We got it when I was nine. And it's been through three major accidents (street sign by Mom, deer by Dad, and hillside by me), one minor accident (a small fender-bender last September), a few slides off the road in bad weather (unscathed each time), and God knows what else. It's like Bill Clinton - the comeback kid. Or like that Chumbawumba song, where they say, "I get knocked down, and then get up again".

Right now, though, I just need a dry day to let this car air out. And of course, I have to clean the front of the car again, which I just did on Monday. Now it looks like it never happened.

And thank goodness for that, too. Turns out that the "hot box" treatment worked just fine, where I shut all the windows and left the car out in the sun. Totally dry the next day, and was greeted by a mass of warm, moist air when I opened the door. And then when I got it all vented, it was good as new. Then after I finished running my errands and then some driving around, I cleaned up from Thursday's storm, getting some Great Value window cleaner (aka Wal-Mart brand Windex) and wiping down the entire front end of my car. And getting the rear view mirror clear again.

Otherwise, though, I have a lot less hair now. I finally got a haircut today, which was a long time in coming. I think if I had gone any longer without getting a haircut, I could have rented myself out as a mop.

Yeah, I had to work on the Fourth of July. 2-11, too, which meant no fireworks. Oh, well. Just as well, though, I guess, because it rained anyway. I was on my lunch break at work, and I commented, "Please tell me that's someone making a lot of noise on the roof and not thunder again," since that would be our third or fourth consecutive night with thunder and lightning. And lightning was twinkling up above for quite a bit of the ride home, too.

Speaking of the ride home, though, that was an interesting experience. Let me tell you what's going on. The road that I take most of my trip to work on, US 340 (Stuarts Draft Highway/Rosser Avenue), is a four-lane divided highway from the edge of Stuarts Draft until well into Waynesboro (beyond Wal-Mart). As a result, you have two lanes going northbound, and two lanes going southbound, separated by a wide median. So I'm going southbound to go home, in the left lane on my side. I see headlights ahead of me, and I'm looking at them, and I'm thinking, those headlights are at the wrong angle from me to be going north. Turns out that the headlights were going north, specifically, headed directly at me. So I moved over to the right lane, and we passed harmlessly. Considering the speed at which this person passed me, they were going full speed down the highway, on the wrong side of the road. If I hadn't moved, we would have had a head-on collision at 55 miles per hour. Unpleasant? You bet.

So this is why we're glad I have a cell phone. What did I do? I quickly dialed 911 and told them about this driver, who was driving northbound towards Waynesboro. Since that's downright dangerous. And on the Fourth of July, I'd guess that this person was probably drunk, and didn't realize what they were doing.

All the more reason not to drink and drive.

Meanwhile, the weather is looking up, as the forecast is not calling for any storms today or tomorrow. Just as well, considering the doozie we had on Saturday night. Realize that it was raining so hard that when I turned out of the gas station after partially filling up my car (it was expensive gas, so I just gave me enough to tide me over until I could reach a Sheetz), I overshot my lanes and actually was driving on the shoulder for a short distance. That was frightening in retrospect, because it wasn't until I saw the markings change for the on-ramp for I-64 that I realized I was driving on the shoulder. And I was fully alert at the time, but visibility was that poor. In fact, it was raining so hard that there was a Flash Flood Warning in effect that night.

So there you go.

Yeah, I had to run a few errands over in Harrisonburg today, and so that gave me an excuse to go visit JMU. That was fun. I took Big Mavica with me, and so I took some photos of Potomac Hall, the new fire alarm system in Warren Hall, and the progress of the renovation work on Harrison Hall. So that was fun. JMU is doing some changing, all right. They're also continuing with the work on bricking over the drive right in front of Wilson Hall.

It was also really cool to be photographing Potomac Hall again! I needed some "authentic Potomac Hall" for my new College Life site, and so that felt really nice to be back there again. My exact comment to myself was, "I feel like I'm home again." I didn't go in, since it appeared that the place was empty anyway. But I did get to see Potomac's housekeepers again, whom I hadn't seen since May 2003. They were all glad to see me again, too.

What amazed me the most about my trip to JMU was the new fire alarm system in Warren Hall. Recently, Warren and Taylor Halls each got new fire alarm systems. Recall that these two buildings share a few levels, and when the fire alarm goes off in one, it trips the other. The fire alarm system in Taylor was replaced last December, with that side getting a new Simplex alarm system. They replaced the smoke detectors and the pull stations, but they did not replace the horns and strobes. Those were non-ADA compliant Edwards horn/strobes from 1993, when Taylor was built. Which I thought was strange, both right afterwards, and even more so now, which you'll see why after I tell you more. Now the new fire alarm system in Warren Hall that they installed also replaced the smoke detectors and the pull-stations, but they also ran new wires with related conduits for new Simplex notification appliances (horns and such) on the Warren Hall side ONLY. Stranger still that on three of the four floors, this was replacing already-ADA-compliant Gentex equipment installed during the 1999 renovation of the third through fifth floors of Warren Hall (Warren no longer has a first floor, since the floor numbers between Warren and Taylor Halls were synchronized with each other when Taylor was built, and Taylor has a first floor). So they mostly replaced ADA-compliant equipment, and provided about the same or less coverage as before in most areas (they did add some new coverage, though, in some rooms). But they still left the old horns in the other area, and did not upgrade there.

Bottom line? Strange. You'd have thought that Taylor would have gotten new fire alarm horns, too.


Simplex TrueAlert wall-mounted horn/strobe. This particular one is mounted on a support column.


Ceiling-mounted horn/strobe. This struck me as strange. Simplex abandoned this style for wall-mounted horn/strobes a few years ago, in favor of the style above. But they seem to have retained it for ceiling applications, as there's quite a few locations in Warren Hall where ceiling strobes are necessary. Still, that's a new twist on an old style (the old style I have in my collection!). I'm used to "FIRE" on the face of it and it mounted on a wall. This one has "FIRE" on both sides of it, and is ceiling mounted. Nonetheless, I was surprised to see it. I'd have figured that they'd have used a TrueAlert for the ceiling. This was the first time I'd seen a Simplex horn or strobe used in the ceiling in a LONG time, though.


Pull-station. All the old Edwards stations on both the Warren and Taylor sides were removed and these new Simplex ones put in.


Notification appliances in Taylor Hall, still in place after two alarm system replacements, seen here in this September 9, 2001 file photo. I was surprised they didn't change those out, because when the fire alarm finally went off in there while I was in there on my last day as a JMU student. I figured, "Finally, on my last day as a JMU student, of all days, too!" Plus I was pleased to hear them since I figured they would have been replaced with the new panel that I knew was going in.

And some non-fire alarm photos for you to see, too...


Potomac Hall! Awwwwwww... I felt so happy to be back in the courtyard again, snapping photo after photo after photo. How happy did I get? 42 photos worth, so I was not only emotionally happy, but also a little trigger-happy, too, taking more than half a CD's worth of photos.


Purple sign in front of Potomac Hall. This was put in the summer before my third year in Potomac. Before that, we had a black sign.


Harrison Hall renovation, currently in progress. This is the original part of Harrison Hall, with all the windows ripped out. I was disappointed to find the columns on the windows remaining, as I'd hoped they'd reconfigure the window frames to match the surrounding buildings. Also am disappointed to see that the sails above the windows on the top floor will not be restored, and will remain as vents. I guess we can't have everything, but at least this building is finally getting renovated, as it was VERY old inside, had a very strange layout inside, and smelled funny.


Harrison Hall Annex, which was added in 1928. The Annex is getting some serious additions to it, and I'm wondering how it's going to all look when it's done. I hope it's not nearly as bad as the 1960's renovation of the original part of the building ended up looking. I'm sure it will be beautiful when it's finished, since the 1960's and 1970's were unfortunate times for architecture, creating some of the ugliest buildings (eyesores!) you've ever seen. As I said, though, I'm sure this will be beautiful when it's finished, and will be the JMU building I'll wish had existed when I went there.


The new bridge connecting the original building and Harrison Annex. The original bridge, built with Harrison Annex in 1928, was demolished completely. That bridge was three stories tall (thus connecting all floors), but a lot narrower, and mostly intended as a corridor from one side to the other. The original bridge actually originally had cars running on a road beneath it, as the bridge was originally built over an existing roadway, and rather than re-route the road, they built the building around it. This was later shut off and made into an entrance when the road through campus was re-routed later on. There are still remnants of the original road through campus, which went from Main Street behind the quad buildings on one side, turned to pass in front of Wilson Hall, and then turned and went behind the buildings on the other side of the quad. Now, no less than three buildings are sitting on this original alignment, with Harrison Annex, Wampler Hall, and the Music Building sitting where this road was. Remaining parts of this original road have been incorporated into service drives, parking lots, converted to pedestrian walkways, or completely torn out altogether. Now, what were we talking about originally? The new bridge. This new one is a lot wider than the original, and I think will actually contain some things in it besides just getting from one side to the other. But it looks like there will be some huge windows in there, though.


The statue of James Madison. He's short, let me tell you. He looks taller on my Web site. I didn't realize what a little runt he really was until I saw him again. He really does look taller in my photos of him. But as you saw in my February 2003 cover photo, I'm a head taller than him (the statue is life-size).

I also went to the Verizon store in Harrisonburg to check on some things, where I found out that the guy in Staunton who sold me the phone originally was an IDIOT, giving me some highly erroneous information. There's a reason we won't go back to that Staunton Mall kiosk ever again. I also went to the Harrisonburg Wal-Mart (which I refer to as "Big Harrisonburg" to differentiate from Dayton, which is smaller), where I got a new shirt to replace a ripped one, plus loaded a shopping card to get the 3¢ off per gallon of gas at the Sam's Club gas station that they have on site. That's handy. We need one of those gas stations at our Wal-Mart in Waynesboro. Trust me, we need it, since Waynesboro doesn't have many places where gas is cheap.

Now to clarify that point, though - "where gas is cheap". I am referring to this in a relative sense. It seems you have two different kinds of gas brands. Your expensive brands, and your cheap brands. I am of the belief that gas is gas. Especially when I find out that if it doesn't sell as one brand, it can be rebranded as another or sold to another oil company to use under their brand, plus oil companies will refine crude oil at a competitor's refinery if it's cheaper than using their own facility. For more information, visit this page, which does a better job explaining it than me.

So you have your expensive brands of gasoline. These are your big name brands like Exxon, Shell, Mobil, BP, Amoco, Citgo, Sunoco, Texaco, etc. You probably recognize these brands quite readily, no? I will not buy gas branded as any of these names because they're WAY more expensive than the cheapies. Anyway, then you have your cheap brands of gasoline. You have Sheetz, Etna, Hess, Raceway, Liberty, Crown, Murphy USA, Sam's Club, etc. They're lesser-known brands, but gas is sometimes a full ten cents (10¢) per gallon cheaper (and that's before any Wal-Mart shopping card discounts!) than with the expensive brands. And you wonder why I favor the cheapies over the other names. Only time you'll see me sitting at the pump of an expensive brand is if I need something to tide me over until I can reach a cheaper brand. Then I'll usually put five bucks worth in and find the nearest cheap station. And my car runs no better when it's got Exxon or Shell in its tank than when it's got Sheetz or Hess in there. The moral of the story? Shop around for your gas. Could save you big.

The next thing is to get me a small, fuel-efficient car. But that costs more money than I can afford to spend right now.

All this talk about gasoline reminds me of an episode of Home Improvement where Tim was supposed to get the "Car Guy of the Year" award, and they said that "he's got gas in his veins". Jill's comment was then, "I can think of a few other places." Me, I do not have gas in my veins, as the stuff under the hood of my car is something that I'm smart enough to know that I don't know enough about to mess with. This is why it's important to network. Get to be good friends with someone who's proficient with cars. Or even better, someone who has gas in their veins.

Meanwhile, I'm going to Washington DC tomorrow. That ought to be fun. I'm going to be railfanning the eastern parts of Blue and Orange, and the southern part of Green. I'm also going to do a little panda chasing, and also meet up with Mom at some point during the day, as she'll be in Washington getting Bill Clinton to sign her copy of "My Life". Here's a new experience for Mom: she's going to get to use a SmarTrip card for the first time. Me, I've used a SmarTrip before. Still, Mom and I will probably meet up somewhere for lunch or something.

Yeah, I just today found out that my parents are doing some fairly significant work on the house soon. Before today, all I knew was that we were getting a new back porch at the beginning of August.

The back porch currently is an open wooden deck, original to the house when it was built in 1992. Now, the old deck is being demolished, and being replaced with a full screened-in porch. It will be bigger than the old one, roofed over, and screened in, essentially creating an extra indoor/outdoor room, complete with two ceiling fans. Again, I knew about the deck already, and have seen drawings of the new deck as it will look when it's finished.

Now I didn't know that plans were also set to replace most of the flooring downstairs as well as up the stairs and in the upstairs hall. Currently, the living room, family room, dining room, the stairs, and the upstairs hallway have beige-colored carpeting, which is original to the house (almost 12 years old). The living room will be carpeted in some shade of blue (not sure what specific shade yet, but we're getting there - actually, Mom's getting there, since she's making the final decision, but you get the point). The family room, dining room, stairs, and upstairs hallway will all be hardwood. The dining room and family room will get an area rug "later".

The remainder of the rooms, consisting of the kitchen, all two and a half bathrooms, all three bedrooms, and the downstairs hallway, are not changing. The kitchen is ceramic tile, the downstairs hallway is already hardwood (and we're matching the new floors to it), and the bathrooms and bedrooms aren't getting changed right now.

All I have to say is that it's going to be wild around here, with both projects likely going on at once. The deck replacement is going to be fairly simple, with just demolishing the old deck and building the new one, only requiring removal of the grill and such (which will be reinstalled).

Inside, we're going to have to completely move out of three rooms and then move back into them. Fun, indeed. But it's supposed to look really good when it's all finished. Still, I'll be glad when our surround sound system in the family room is disconnected, since I am the one person in the house who HATES that system with a passion. Mind you, my room is right above the family room and as such I can tell when it's being used. I can hear the sound, and feel the subwoofer. It's really annoying, especially when I'm trying to sleep, or trying to concentrate. You do not know how happy I would be if that system went away. Me, I don't need 3D sound to have a good time.

Now the person I feel sorry for is Greta. Let me remind you, this is Greta:



Reason we feel sorry for Greta is that first of all, we're putting her up in the kennel during the time that both projects are going on (about a week). This is at Cedarcrest, which is also the vet's office we take Greta to. Sure, they call it a "pet resort" complete with "tuck-in service" (and we don't doubt that they do actually provide such a service for Greta and their other guests), but still, Greta loves us and we love Greta. She really didn't weather one particular vacation well some years back, coming down with a major case of diarrhea. Then when Greta gets back, she will be greeted to a remodeled house, since a lot of floor will be all different. May I remind you that Greta, being a short little dachshund, spends more time very close to the floor than any of the rest of us. A traumatic experience for a dachshund.

But with the backyard out of commission as well as having to rearrange the downstairs on an almost-daily basis, it's probably better for Greta that way, since we won't have to put her in Mom and Dad's room for any time (she likes to sleep in there anyway), or take her elsewhere (like on a walk) for her to use the restroom. Plus that way, she won't be underfoot while things are moving around. Still, I feel sorry for Greta, who's just so cute and adorable.

Still, there you go.

I can't believe it's Friday night/Saturday morning, and I still haven't told you about my Washington DC trip from last Wednesday (July 7).

First of all, the date is significant. You may recall that some three years ago, on July 7, 2001, I did my first full Washington DC Photo Essay (that's what we called Photography back then - Photo Essays). That was the first one that was all Washington DC. We had Thanksgiving 2000 before it, but that also had a lot of Stuarts Draft in it. So what was this photo set? It was the massive photo set called "The Schumin Web Salutes America". Remember that one? If you recall, I visited a bunch of sites in Washington DC that were strongly American. After all, we were following on the coattails of the Fourth of July, and it was fitting. I visited the Library of Congress (quick pass-by from the street), the Supreme Court (went to the front doors, but didn't go in), the Capitol (partly circled the building, didn't go in), the outdoor sculpture garden at the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of American History, the Washington Monument (inside was closed, but the grounds were open), the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the White House (just passed by and snapped a few photos).

But that's about where the similarity ends. In 2001, July 7 was a Saturday. In 2004, it's a Wednesday. In 2001, I walked the entire length of the National Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, which is essentially the length of the Blue Line from Capitol South to almost Arlington Cemetery. Seriously, if I'd gone further out, going beyond the Lincoln Memorial, I'd have ended up at Arlington Cemetery station, and then Arlington National Cemetery. In 2004, I was providing support for Mom while waiting for Bill Clinton to sign her copy of "My Life", as well as railfanning the Blue and Orange Lines.

So yeah, Mom arrived at Vienna at 5:00 AM. That's obscene, but she made it to the downtown Barnes and Noble in plenty of time to get a good number. She was there for a good twelve hours. I provided food and drink, and occasionally company, both in person and by telephone.

I arrived at the Vienna station at 10:00 AM (actually 9:15, but I killed some time at a nearby Michaels craft store until about 9:45), when the guaranteed permit parking spaces opened up to regular parking. That way I could park in the North Garage at Vienna, and get up at a somewhat more reasonable hour than 2 AM. I kept in touch with Mom periodically on the way up to Vienna, finding out that she was in place and ready to go, and my relaying progress reports on the trip.

So when I got to Vienna, I loaded my SmarTrip for parking, now that Metro uses SmarTrip only for parking fees after it turned up that their parking operator was robbing Metro blind. Then I bought my all-day pass, and headed to Rosslyn, where I made a pit stop. I contacted Mom first, to let her know I was there. She wanted something diet, and so I bought her a Diet Pepsi at the Rite-Aid at Rosslyn Center, and an Aquafina for me. Then it was back to the train for me, down the escalator that doesn't groan like it used to (this groaning was documented on May 29 - see my Transit Center site for more details). I Metro-ed over to Metro Center on a Rohr train, and met up with Mom outside Barnes and Noble, where she had gotten her number and had her armband, and was waiting in line. This is Mom when I met up with her:



And in her hand is the soda I got her.

Mom's waiting spot was actually right near the Old Post Office, which was neat to see. And as such, she was less than a block away from Federal Triangle station. So we talked for a while, and she told me about her experience so far and I told her about my plans. We then parted company, and I ducked into Federal Triangle station, and headed east.

I first railfanned all the way out to Addison Road. The way I do railfanning is that I tour stations going one direction, then I sit in the front car going the other direction at the railfan window. Going to Addison Road, I stopped to tour Federal Center SW, Eastern Market, Potomac Avenue, Benning Road, and Capitol Heights. At Addison Road, I stopped for a pit stop at a nearby gas station, and then hopped on a Rohr train back to Stadium-Armory. For my train operator, I actually got the same train operator that I had on Breda 2075 on January 17. This was that first rehab trip. This video is part of that past trip. Same train operator, but now she's on the Blue Line instead of Yellow. And I was already at the railfan window when she arrived at the train. Turns out she remembered me, we said hello again, and I gave her the address to my Transit Center site, which was under construction when we last spoke in January. We discussed briefly about how she's now on Blue, and then we were off. I got off at Stadium-Armory, and then transferred to the Orange Line where I headed out to New Carrollton.

At Cheverly, on the way to New Carrollton, I saw a strange sight. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture?



Answer is, it's a Blue Line train to Franconia-Springfield (FRANC-SPRINGD per the side displays), signed on the door and flip-dot signs, and announced as Blue, at Cheverly station. This is "wrong" because Cheverly is an Orange Line station, and normally only Orange Line. No Blue. I spoke with the station manager at Landover about it, and she called Central Control to find out. Turns out that this train was a put-in from New Carrollton, and was on its way to join up with the Blue Line in preparation for rush hour. Only one in the system doing this, and I got a photo of it. Actually three. One movie, a photo of the side display, and the aforementioned photo. Score one for the railfan.

After arriving at New Carrollton, I took a few minutes' break outside at the base of the large clock outside the station, and actually struck up a conversation with a girl who was also there. Started out as a conversation about her phone (we had the same kind of cell phone), and about what kind of games we had for our phones, with my showing her my Ms. Pac Man on my phone (I swear by my Ms. Pac Man!), that I downloaded a while back. We then talked about Mobile IM. I asked if she had a separate screen name for her phone, or used her regular screen name. She said she used her regular name. I told her about how I use Schumin Wireless on the phone and SchuminWeb on the computer, and had she ever heard of my Web site, The Schumin Web. Turns out, she had seen my Web site, and was at least somewhat of a fan, as she did visit fairly regularly. Wow!

After that, I went back into the New Carrollton Amtrak station (right next to the Metro station, and actually in the same building), where I bought a soda and took a break. While I was sitting in the station, the sky darkened, the wind picked up, the rain came pouring down, and the thunder and lightning came roaring in. Seems that I was in the best possible place to get caught in a thunderstorm, too, as it was a covered, completely enclosed stationary space, which is better than being in an above-ground Metro station (as all the eastern Orange Line stations are), since those aren't fully enclosed.

Anyway, though, it seemed to be a repeat of that big storm at Wal-Mart the week before, except this time I had a view of the outside. But the lightning was fierce, and the wind was pretty good, and the thunder was loud. Only thing missing was the hail that we had at Wal-Mart. The storm even knocked out the power at the Amtrak station at New Carrollton, putting the station on its emergency generators.

You want to see this fierce storm? I made some movies…





As you can see, it was more fun than a barrel of Vikings. Actually heard that phrase way back in 1991, when Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune made the comment that one person actually one time guessed, "More Fun Than A Barrel of Vikings" instead of the (correct) phrase "More Fun Than A Barrel of Monkeys".

But from there, I went to L'Enfant Plaza, where I caught a Green Line train (CAF!) and headed up to Gallery Place-Chinatown, where I intended to catch Red back to Metro Center to meet Mom, or at least be nearby. On the Shady Grove platform at Gallery Place, I heard from Mom.
Mom: "Where are you?"
Me: "Shady Grove platform at Gallery Place."
Mom: I have no idea what that is.
Me: Yeah, you do. This is the Chinatown station. We've been there before.
Mom: Well, anyway, how close to Barnes and Noble are you?

It boiled down to the fact that I was very close, and for Mom to stay where she is, and I would find her. I met Mom outside the Hard Rock Café, where we had dinner. Good dinner, indeed.

After that, Mom and I took Metro from Federal Triangle through the Eye Street tunnel to Rosslyn. There, I got off the train to take a moment (by then the storm had cleared), and Mom headed to Vienna. I did get one last shot of Mom on the train as I was leaving:



And then when next we saw each other, we were at home.

After Rosslyn, I took the Eye Street tunnel again to Metro Center to Gallery Place to Pentagon City. I admit it wasn't the most direct route (which would have been Rosslyn to Pentagon City via Arlington Cemetery), but I was trying to get a ride on all five lines and ride all four different major car types, and had at that point ridden Rohrs, Bredas, and CAFs (and saw a six-car train containing two of each car at Rosslyn!), and had ridden the Blue, Orange, Red, and Green Lines. All I was missing was Yellow Line, riding the Breda rehabs. I went back to Gallery Place, where I caught a rehab down to Pentagon City. Turned out to be a consist with two of the cars being regular Bredas. But anyway...

At Pentagon City, I got a water massage (ahhhh!), and then did a little walking around. It was fun. Afterwards, went to my special place at Rosslyn, and I contacted my friend Jackson from JMU, who's spending the summer in DC with Patrick (also from JMU!). Turns out that they had been at the book signing, too, which meant that we couldn't meet up that evening, since they were that tired. A pity, but there's always a next time. If I had known they were going to be at the signing, I would have gotten in a visit with both of them as well as Mom.

On the lower level of Rosslyn, a fluorescent bulb exploded behind the platform. That was weird, to say the least. Look...



Then I just railfanned back to Vienna, and then drove on home. Next trip will likely be July 21 or so.

And then on August 11-12... vacation at Virginia Beach! Yaaaaaaaaay…

Remember this?



For those of you who don't know, this is the Skyline Parkway Motel, which, along with the Howard Johnson's Restaurant, and the Skyline Parkway Motor Court, I photographed on September 10, 2003 for the Afton Mountain: Victim of Progress photo set.

Things have changed since then.

According to The News Leader and The News-Virginian, our local newspapers, the main building of the Skyline Parkway Motel was destroyed by fire this past Friday morning, July 9, 2004, in the early morning hours (the fire was discovered at 3:46 AM). According to the two articles, the fire consumed the entire roof, and left heavy damage to the center of the building, the lobby area. Take a look at this photo from The News-Virginian of the building after the fire. You've seen what it looked like in my photo, and this is what it looks like now:



Pretty bad, indeed. As you can see, the entire roof was burned off, and completely obliterated the front portico - the one that had the name of the motel on it. The lobby area was also pretty much ravaged by the fire. According to the News-Virginian, most of the rooms were saved from the fire, though still received smoke and water damage. According to NBC 29 (WVIR) out of Charlottesville, investigators can already determine the room of origin, and then after they clean out the debris, they can analyze the floors and such to figure out exactly where the fire started, in order to figure out what caused it.

The fire is considered "suspicious" at this point. Consider that this is the third fire in the abandoned motels on Afton Mountain since the motels closed, and the first and second, which occurred in a second-story room in the Skyline Parkway Motel and in one of the cabins at the Skyline Parkway Motor Court, were both ruled to be arson. The Skyline Parkway Motor Court fire (mentioned in the photo showing that big roof collapse in my photo set), actually led to a conviction, with two former Dooms firefighters setting it, according to the News-Virginian.

I will be going up there probably in the next few days or so to get my own photos - from a distance. And I'll keep you posted as to what they figure out as far as the investigation goes. Still, that's kind of creepy how nearly ten months to the day (only one day shy of ten months) that I took my photo set, that the building is basically destroyed. According to NBC 29, the building is thought to be a total loss.

I wonder what should be done with the building once the dust has settled and the investigations are complete, and the insurance companies have made their decisions. I believe that the building was probably mostly restorable before this fire, though the accommodation looked horribly outdated. Now, I'd tend to believe that the building is finished, considering that it was in an abandoned state before, and now that it's been thoroughly burned, plus a rainstorm has now rained on the now-open-to-the-sky second floor, which is like adding insult to injury, with more water damage.

I'd hate to see the building demolished, but I think its time is up for it to go. Especially when, considering that this building is owned by Skyline-Swannanoa, the company that also owns The Inn at Afton, which is still operating just behind it. I'd think it would not be good for business to have a large burned-out building sitting right in front of your operating property. Especially when you control both properties.

Still, it's a shame to see it go, but I guess its time was up. Like I said, I'll keep you posted on any developments.

Yes, six months after leaving JMU, I am finally looking for a job in the Washington DC area.

So many people have asked me, "Why Washington?"

My answer is always something like this. It's far enough away for me to live my own life (I have NO relatives in Washington), it's a faster life than around here (where you can count the dotted lines on the highway for entertainment), I love the Washington DC area (I do!), and it's close enough where it's not a huge hardship to still visit the family.

So now I'm working on updating the resume some (or perhaps throwing it out and starting fresh), and going hunting. This is where the Internet comes in handy. All the hot spots to get information right at my fingertips. Countless DC area newspapers' classified ads available, Monster.com, Yahoo HotJobs, etc.

Now mind you, though, my connection is like the equivalent of a 1981 Yugo. I have a dial-up connection. 56K. Slooooooooooooow. It would be nice if I had a faster connection. But still, it is handy nonetheless.

Meanwhile, I was watching the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie this evening. Interesting movie. I'm still amused watching the movie about all the scenes from different places. They really did a great job on that movie, let me tell you. I was particularly interested in the Washington DC scenes, since of course, I'm rather familiar with Washington DC. The big DC scenes are at the end of the movie, where they say goodbye to FBI agent Karen Sympathy. They do so along a tree-lined walkway, showing a dead-on shot of the Lincoln Memorial in the background, and the Jefferson Memorial to the side.

That is definitely not Washington DC. I should know. There is no tree-lined walkway that would afford that kind of a view of the Lincoln Memorial. The view of the Jefferson Memorial seems to be correct, though. If you wanted that kind of a view of the Lincoln Memorial, you would be quite wet. This is the approximate area where the movie producers wanted you to think they were, in real life, taken during The Schumin Web Salutes America...



As you can see, wide open spaces and a big reflecting pool. Oh, and by the way, the World War II Memorial is now located in that grassy area up front (this photo was taken in 2001).

And if you're thinking, wait, what if it's the back side of the Lincoln Memorial we're looking at, then no as well. Look...



Not the back. No opening on the back side, and there was an opening in the movie. Besides, from the back side of the Lincoln Memorial, you're not very far at all from the Potomac River, and thus the distance required to get the shot would have been in the middle of a bridge, or in the middle of the water again.

Gotta love the way movie makers make these scenes appear to be real, eh? Cute section of Washington that they made up, though.

First of all, before I start showing you photos, guess who I saw on Tuesday afternoon at Wal-Mart. I saw Mrs. Kucs (pronounced "kooch"), my sixth grade math teacher at Stuarts Draft Middle School. That was a lot of fun. She's retired now, so I don't see her around SDMS when I go visit. Still, Mrs. Kucs was a great teacher. The one phrase that has stayed with me that I learned from Mrs. Kucs was "That will be fifty whacks with a wet noodle!" All in all, great math teacher, and it was great to see Mrs. Kucs again.

Anyway, after seeing Mrs. Kucs as I was leaving work, I headed out to Afton Mountain and then beyond. Going to Afton, I went by way of downtown Waynesboro, because I had a few other photo spots I wanted to hit on the way. For one, the "scar" on the mountain in Waynesboro:



The July 14 quote from my main page sums up quite well my feelings about Waynesboro's progress on eliminating this bare spot on the mountain, this "scar", if you will. More like what Waynesboro should build in the park they intend to construct up there.

After stopping downtown to take some photos of the bare spot on the mountain, I went up Afton Mountain via US 250 (vs. taking the Interstate) and made my way up to the ruins of the Skyline Parkway Motel, to get better and more detailed photos of the place. Nothing against the News-Virginian and the News Leader, but when you reduce a photo and then print it in the newspaper, you do lose a lot of detail. But that's not the fault of the photographer or his/her equipment, but a byproduct of the process it takes to make a newspaper.

So here's the photos. First of all, the front of the place…


As you can see, the center area of the building suffered the most extensive damage, and the roof and center portico have collapsed completely. When I reviewed my photos afterwards, I found the "O" in "MOTEL" laying on top of the wreckage, bent somewhat out of shape. Compare this view at left to a similar view of the motel ten months before when I did my Afton Mountain photo set.


This new fire also did not really affect the previous fire seen in the third-from-right window on the main building. This new one was further on down the building, and it appears from the photo that the room in between the two conflagrations is still in decent shape, judging by how the curtains look. But who knows…


The new façade of the Skyline Parkway Motel is definitely not a pretty one, with the center of the building in ruins, and no more roof. I took these photos from just past Howard Johnson's, just before the yellow caution tape strongly recommended that I not go further.

And around to the back…


Around the back (viewed from The Inn at Afton parking lot), we can see that the rooms on the second floor amazingly still do have a covering on them for the most part. This cover did not hold completely, having burned through in places, but it's better than nothing. On top, we see what a door to the attic (now gone) led to, and it appears it was an access to some sort of tank in the attic. Also, it appears that the chimney was used not as a smoke-dispensing chimney, but actually to vent the attic, as I'm sure it could get quite hot in there. An outline of where the roof used to be can still be seen on the chimney.


It's really quite a contrast - the burned-out remains of Skyline Parkway Motel, next to the still-gleaming-but-closed-for-six-years HoJo's. I actually hope the Howard Johnson's one day opens again as a Howard Johnson's, but who knows what time will bring.


This was rather mysterious. In my September 2003 photo set, the sign was blank. Now, it says "Nick and Adam" on it. I first noticed this a few days before the fire, when I was going up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to get some quiet time for myself after work. Then a few days later, the building burns down, with the cause considered "suspicious", meaning that it appears at first glance that the place was torched. Could this be the calling card of possible arsonists, who, days before torching the place, put their name on the sign, to show everyone their work? Who are Nick and Adam? Makes you wonder. And some people are dumb enough to put their names on their work, too. "America's Dumbest Criminals" will prove to you that people are dumb enough to do that.

And as I like to say, "Never underestimate the power and speed of stupid."

After visiting the mountain, I headed on over to Charlottesville, where I went to pick up an order from Casual Male. Also spent some time around Charlottesville, which was fun.


Oh, and more proof that the HoJo's needs to open back up? While I was returning to my car, I found a gentleman, probably a traveler, coming up to the HoJo's and trying the front door. After I informed him that HoJo's had been closed since 1998, he told me he was really just looking for a men's room, and where could he find one. I sent him up to The Inn at Afton. Still, I'm told that a lot of people still think that the HoJo's is open, especially with it saying "WELC OME" on the sign.

That's what my sister told me once. She said that bad fashion makes baby Jesus cry. She doesn't like the way I dress, it seems. In case you're wondering, lately, I've gravitated to contrasting solids. If I wear dark pants I wear a light shirt. If I wear light pants, I wear a dark shirt. Then of course there's always all-black, which I also enjoy. And I try to make my colors work, too. I don't wear something that obviously clashes. I try to look good when I go to work.

Maybe it's the shoes. I have been known to regularly wear sandals with socks.

But anyway...

I also recently participated in the Wal-Mart cross-town merchandise shuttle. On Thursday, my day off, I went to Staunton Wal-Mart for some odds and ends (did I mention you should never go shopping when you're really hungry?). Of those odds and ends, I bought two great big throw pillows. They were black with fake fur on one side, and plain on the other. So I got them home. I put them on my couch. One word: YUCK. They were too black for my decor. So back to the store they went. Where did I return them? Not to Staunton. Oh, nay. I had to work the next day. So I returned them to Waynesboro, thus completing the shuttle.

I did, however, replace the merchandise that didn't work for me. My sister recommended red pillows of the same style. A dark red. We didn't have dark red. We had bright, shocking red. The furry red pillow reminds me of the fuzzy cuffs at Pamela's Secrets. I couldn't have that. I ended up getting two blue denim pillows of the same size, but these had no fur side. It's plain on both sides. They look good, and they match my comforter, which is also denim.

I think I'm starting to figure out my own style... black brushed metal, soft furnishings in shades of blue, and some brown wood. And blue-gray walls. I like my style. Very blue. Blue is good.

Oh, and my new pillows earned my sister's approval. They look very nice, she says.

This is the same person, though, who says that I should be on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, which is a show where a team of gay men descend on a man's life, and redecorate his apartment, fix his wardrobe, teach him some domestic skills, as well as anything else needed to make him presentable. I've seen the show before. Interesting. I think that I would be Queer Eye's biggest challenge yet.

And otherwise, I'm off on Saturday! Yay! And Dad and I are going to work on fixing up the resume for a little while. He's the local expert on these things, and I need a "real" job that puts my college degree to work. After all, right now it's merely an incredibly expensive piece of wall decor, since I'm not working in a job right now that really works it. Heck, if I just wanted some wall candy, for the money it cost to go to college, I could have just bought some expensive artwork and stayed home.

Anyway, it's quarter to three... it's late.

I do enjoy watching Mrs. Doubtfire. I'm watching a tape of it right now. It's amusing, to say the least. It's got a great story, and some great lines. It's got its fair share of big names, like Robin Williams, Sally Field, and Harvey Fierstein, but it's also not what I would describe as a "celebrity clearinghouse".

A "celebrity clearinghouse", as I call it, is one of those productions where there is a larger-than-normal amount of big-name celebrities in the movie, usually making little cameo appearances. The Rocky and Bullwinkle movie was like that. Not a bad movie, mind you, but a high amount of celebrities.

Anyway, though, I enjoy Mrs. Doubtfire. One of my favorite lines was where after the bus driver saw Mrs. Doubtfire's hairy knee (because she's actually a he). He said, "I like that Mediterranean look in women. Natural. Just the way God made you." If only he knew...

Otherwise, today has been one of those days where I've been giving Schumin Web some much-needed attention. Still working on the uploads for the new College Life site, though I'm almost done with that one. Also cleaned the remains of Almond Street's storefront out of my Online Store, and so now that's 100% Schumin Web inside of there. I still have to clean out all the images left over from Almond Street's storefront (I have all the images saved somewhere, so it's not like I'm losing anything). I also designed a new line of products for my Online Store around that expression of mine which I learned recently was original: Never underestimate the power and speed of stupid. That will turn up on the Web site before too long.

I also reminisced a little while I was working on arranging "The Lights of the Night", my set of nighttime photo sets. The reason this is reminiscing is because these photo sets weren't initially made to be part of "The Lights of the Night". In fact, most of them were made for the purpose of, well, I have an evening to myself, so I might as well grab Big Mavica and the tripod and go somewhere. Still, I have some interesting photos to show you, and they'll be ready before too long.

I am also kind of stumped on designs for the Web site for 2004-2005. This redesign, by the way, is now officially overdue, as I intended to have it up by the middle of July. Most likely, you won't see a redesign go up until some time in September. I've had one person volunteer a full design for Schumin Web, which would make the site way more high-tech than I would feel comfortable making it (i.e. way over my head). In a redesign, I'm looking to keep the site at the same level of low-tech as it is right now, and refresh the look. I'm also planning on some changes in the organization. Web Cam and College Life will be dropped (the latter going to a near-completed subsidiary site), and I'm separating the Journal from Life and Times, making a new section called "Journal".

What I'm getting at is that if you're interested in helping me come up with a design idea, get out your pencils or your computer mice, and make a doodle or two. With the 2002 redesign, I gave myself a wide page width, which I've put to good use since then. So I need to retain that width. All around that width is open to change (that width is about about 750 pixels). Whatever you want to do.

Send me your design drawings, since I seem to be fresh out of good ideas. You be the architect - design a beautiful building. Send it to me (preferably via Instant Messenger). Then from what I get, I'll take the elements that I like and incorporate them into a final design, and engineer it into a Web site.

One way or another, though, we'll get this Web site redesigned. I'm still amazed. I've never had this much trouble coming up with a site design.

As of tomorrow, the somewhat modest open-air deck on the back of the house will be gone, to be replaced by a larger screened-in porch. That ought to be nice when it's finished. I got a bunch of "before" pictures of the deck, all cleared off and ready to be removed. I also got some photos of all our deck stuff scattered all over the backyard, waiting for the construction to be finished.

Meanwhile, some good news! Greta is not going to have to go to the kennel during the time we're having all this work done. Turns out that the two projects (the deck and the flooring) will not be done concurrently, which means that while the deck is going on, Greta can stay inside (and go outside with Mom around), and while the flooring is going on, Greta can stay outside.

Plus Greta won't have to deal with the emotional shock of coming back to a house that doesn't look quite the same, and doesn't smell quite the same. Now she can also get used to the new screened-in porch and new flooring right along with the rest of us. Especially since, for a dog, it's like, "What happened to my house? $#@$ humans." Of course, Greta's areas, as in where her bed is, and where her food and water dishes are, will be unchanged. The kitchen's not getting any remodeling. Thank goodness.

So there you go. I'll keep you posted on progress as we go.

There is no further proof that I spend way more than my fair share of time at Wal-Mart than the fact that I can recite so many of the commercials that they run on the loudspeaker. For instance, Dr. Scholls:

Guy: Hey, Ellen, are you gellin?
Girl: I'm gellin like a felon! Are you gellin?
Guy: I'm gellin. Want some melon?

I also learned that my coworkers also have heard it too many times, too. I casually asked a couple of coworkers if they were "gellin", and I consistently was told, "I'm gellin like a felon!" And then we all got a good laugh out of it.

Still, we who work at Wal-Mart have heard everything that loudspeaker has done, and heard it numerous times. I still remember when three of us at the Service Desk all sang "Lean On Me" when it came over the PA system. The Service Desk Choir, we were.

Then there's also the ads for West Nile Virus (informing everyone to get bug spray with deet), and the credit builder tip of the week. I could recite those to you, too.

Mom found the most awesome picture ever today while I was at work. Look:



As you probably gathered, that's me in that picture, at the tender age of six, in July 1987, according to the date on the photo. We're at the Casino at Asbury Park, New Jersey, where we used to go with my grandfather (Dad's side), who we called "Pop". This would have had to be the last time we visited the Casino, since after this visit, Pop died within the year, and then the Casino closed not long after that. The hand-carved horses were all sold off, and the carousel itself was taken to the Family Kingdom Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where it still operates today, albeit with new fiberglass horses.

I tell you, those days were good days, going up to Asbury Park with the parents and the sister (who, on this particular visit, was only two). Going to Pop and Grandma Schumin's house, and then going over to the Asbury Park boardwalk and riding the rides, both outdoors and at the Casino, as well as doing the beach thing a bit.

Most of my memories of Asbury Park are going with Pop to the Casino, where I rode the merry go round, waving to everyone each time I rode past. I think on this visit, I also rode Mad-O-Rama. I'd been building up the nerve to ride that one for a few visits to the Casino (it looked a little scary to my little self), and I finally rode it. Scared the living daylights out of me. Seriously, I was in tears at the end of it. But you know what? I don't regret doing it. It was a good experience in the long run, especially since the ride is gutted now.

Still, I thought I'd post that, since the Casino in Asbury Park has great sentimental value to me, and I hope that it's properly restored in the end, with a grand new carousel (or a return of the original one, though I don't see that as being likely), and restoring the fun house and Mad-O-Rama.

I had forgotten what it was like being in a place where construction was occurring on the outside of the building. I think that the last time I lived around construction was from 2000-2002, when, while I was living in Potomac Hall, JMU built Phase II of the College Center (aka "The Festival"). Then there was the time in 1993 at Stuarts Draft Middle School when they built on eight new classrooms while school was in session (but doing all the tie-in work after school was out for the summer).

But now it's at home, and there is a group working on our new screened-in porch, which has replaced the old deck. It has also incorporated the structure of the old deck, as the workers didn't demolish the framework, but built new framework around it. Right now there's no roof on there yet, nor any evidence that one will be there yet except for tall support columns holding nothing at this point.

It's been a few days since I've taken photos due to my work schedule. I took photos on Monday and Tuesday, then haven't taken any since then. Next I photograph will probably be on Saturday or Sunday. I'm going to show you the progress photos in a Life and Times photo set. That will be neat.

Otherwise, my Washington DC trip on Wednesday went really well! I have now officially railfanned the entire system at the railfan window, and also visited all 83 operating Metro stations. There are three stations currently under construction that will open at the end of this year, which I will be visiting soon after they open. Still, that's quite an accomplishment, no? Riding into Branch Avenue station at the extreme southern end of the Green Line and saying, "I did it!"

And let me tell you... those new Green Line stations that opened in 2001 are just gorgeous! They all have at least some sort of artwork in them, providing lots of color, plus are somewhat unique in their design, as a lot of the above-ground stations use the box-style station roof, vs. a gull-wing or peaked-roof canopy. Actually, the Green Line has no gull-wing canopies on it, except for half of the lower platform at Fort Totten.

Then otherwise, as cars go, I got a good mix, though a few surprises. First of all, Rohrs and Bredas on Red, Blue, and Orange consistently. Not a surprise. Yellow was all-Breda from what I could tell. I saw no Yellow rehabs. CAFs, with some exceptions, lived on the Green Line. I saw only one train of Breda rehabs, running the Blue Line. What I thought was strange, though, was seeing a Rohr train running Green Line, which is rare. Most often you'll find CAFs on Green, and the occasional Breda. Rarely Rohrs. Also strange was that I saw NO mixed consists of trains, meaning a train that consisted of more than one car type (Rohr, Breda, CAF, Breda rehab). I also got a photo of a CAF on Orange service, which was a first. Last time I'd tried that, the train went out of service at Vienna, so I got, instead of "VIENNA" or "NEW CARROLLTN" on the side, I got "NO PASSENGERS". This time I successfully got "NEW CARROLLTN" on the side of the train.

And I went Panda-spotting, taking pictures of a lot of those panda statues. That ought to be neat when I compile it all.

Otherwise, at work yesterday, life was interesting. We got a bunch of new signage for the Service Desk, and since I'm good with these things, I was the one who hung all the new signage up. So I took down ALL the service Desk's signage, and then followed the guidelines to get all the NEW signage up where it should be.

It looked weird in there with all the signage down, too, let me tell you. One of our CSMs made the comment that it looked like we were moving out, since the walls were bare, and things were scattered everywhere except where they should be. My comment? I jokingly said, "Yes, we're moving into Layaway's cave." But by the end of the night, our new signage was up, and looking fine. Freshens things up in there, all right.

I wonder what I'd look like with blond hair. No, seriously. I had a friend at work ask me about it and volunteer to do the work for me. I said we'd have to see, and it sounds like it would be fun! Add a little color to my head, and mix it up a little!

And the kit is fairly inexpensive at (you guessed it) Wally World.

Well, my Sunday at work was a sweet-and-sour day. And it didn't even have anything to do with work.

My day was quite a good day up to my lunch break. On my lunch, I bought one of my usual lunch picks, as well as something new I saw in the produce cooler. It was a vanilla chai tea with serious amounts of soy protein.

So I rang it all up on the self-checkout, and went off to the breakroom, where I decided to first enjoy the tea. I drank that down, and boy, was I sick. That was it. It did NOT agree with me, and I was miserable the rest of my lunch break. I don't think my system settled for some hours after work ended. But goodness, I felt hideous. Not enough to go home early, but still, you could tell I was a touch out of it.

Needless to say, I'm never having that again. I don't know what it is about soy. I used to drink soy milk all the time, and it would always agree. Then I had one soy milk that did not agree earlier in the year. I had at the time attributed it to drinking it too fast. This time I didn't drink it fast, so who knows why it didn't agree with me. And why soy has turned on me lately, I don't know, especially since I used to drink soy milk a lot. Who knows…

The same brand has a fruit drink, though, with no soy in it, being 100% fruit. Do I tempt my food disagreeing with me again and have it? Fruit and I have always gotten along. Still, if I try it, it will be after work, so that if it makes me sick, at least I can be miserable at home.

On a more pleasant note, Chasity and Debbie in Layaway are going to be giving me some blonde highlights, if we can figure out a day to do it. I think that will be kind of cool looking, don't you? I wouldn't keep it forever, but at least for a little while it should be fun.

And in a little more than two weeks... VACATION! I can't wait to take my two days at the beach. I just need to grab me some sunscreen and some extra large towels, and it's fun in the sun for me. I so need this vacation, and I'm looking forward to it. It will make for a nice change of scenery.

I was off yesterday and today, and it was quite an interesting time. The highlight of the days off was going to Roanoke on Tuesday afternoon and evening. I did some very minor photography, mostly night photography at Mill Mountain Park, home of the Roanoke Star. I don't know what it is, but there's just a certain draw to that location for photographing it at night. The only problem is that with the warmer months, darkness comes later, and thus I get far less time topside before they kick us out of the park at 11 PM (that's when the gates close) than I would during the winter when it gets dark at like five.

Still, I managed to get a few gems. My only major problem up at the star this time was children. Elementary-aged children running around doing child-type stuff, getting in my way, tromping around on the wooden overlook platforms, messing up more than one shot. One child actually bumped my tripod, creating a double image with some strange trails on it.

On this trip, I also realized why winter is the better time for visiting the Roanoke Star. Besides there being more dark up there at night, the leaves are gone from the trees, permitting us to see more of the area. Foliage is a big blocker, let me tell you.

And then after I was finished at the star, I went over to Hooters, where I had a meal, and also got into a conversation with Cierra, one of the Hooters girls, about the Metro in DC, MARTA in Atlanta, and other transit-type topics. Also found out that Roanoke indeed does have transit service - a bus service called Valley Metro. I will have to chase this and photograph service one of these days. It may be more difficult than I would like it to be, considering that I had never even seen buses in Roanoke before this trip. Still, we'll figure it all out in the end. May pair it up with the BT in Blacksburg.

Also, something interesting, unrelated to above. At Exit 150 on I-81, it's all built-up with services for travelers. Seriously, it's all motels and restaurants and gas stations for some distance away. One particular spot has what originally was a Howard Johnson's Restaurant and Motor Lodge. More information on this location at autoage.org. Still, though, this is what it looks like as of yesterday...


This is the restaurant, now a Mexican restaurant called Rancho Viejo, a "Mexican Grill and Cantina". Despite being added to and altered since losing the Howard Johnson's name, it still shows its HoJo-ness in the roof, now painted red, but still with the base of the cupola on top.


The Motor Lodge is now branded as an Econo Lodge, and as a result, the Gate Lodge's originally-orange roof was painted white. You can still tell it was designed as a Howard Johnson's, though, based on the architecture. And that recognizability goes for both the restaurant and the motor lodge, though the restaurant has been significantly altered.

Why do I bring this up? Well, last time I was through here in October, the motel across the street from the former HoJo's-turned-Econo-Lodge was a Best Western. Imagine my surprise when, this time around, I saw the place branded like so...



Across the street from the original Howard Johnson's Restaurant and Motor Lodge, the motel is now operating under the Howard Johnson name. How ironic. The place that looks like a Howard Johnson's isn't a Howard Johnson's anymore. Meanwhile, the location that bears the Howard Johnson name is across the street, and looks like a generic motel, probably on its umpteenth different brand. Also, note that Cendant, which owns the Howard Johnson name when used for lodging, does not include the 's on the name. Thus on their properties anymore, it's "Howard Johnson" and not "Howard Johnson's".

Still, the irony is not lost on me that the motel across the street from the former HoJo's became a Howard Johnson Inn. Weird.

Anyway, though, ta-ta for now...

Seriously, I love that new-carpet smell. With the whole back-to-school thing in full swing, we've got all your need-to-gets for people going off to college. And among other things, we have area rugs, all rolled up and sitting in the action alley. And they smell like new carpet!

You know what? I could probably stand there and smell that new-carpet smell all day and not be unhappy. It really is a wonderful smell.

They should make a cologne scented like that. Call it "DuPont Stainmaster #5". I would date someone wearing that intoxicating aroma. World's worst pick-up line for that: "Hey, baby, want to get together and smell the carpet?"

And looking at me after smelling carpets, since I so love the smell, people might just have to ask, "Have you been smelling carpets, or are you just glad to see me?"

Still, I do love that smell.