Roamer's Zone

I first and foremost apologize that it has been so long since I was last able to write a blog entry of much substance. As many of my friends and peers know I began a new job October 6, 2008 at the United States Department of Energy.

Needless to say my office, which deals with public and intergovernmental affairs, has been very busy preparing for the new administration. I have been fortunate enough to work on briefs for President Elect Obama’s transition team as well as presentations for the new Secretary of Energy, Dr. Chu. It is a very exciting time to be working in Washington D.C.

How does this all relate to me not blogging? I simply find that after working 8 hours in front of a computer my will to blog after work is lackluster. Another possible reason that I have not been writing as much is that my days tend to be rather long. I wake up at 5:00am and begin getting ready for work, leave for the train at 6:30am, catch the train at 7:00am, arrive at work at 7:50am, work 8 hours, leave work at 4:30pm, catch the train at 4:35pm and arrive back at my house at 5:30-6:00pm.

So as you can imagine the commute really takes a toll on me and when I get home my thoughts are the gym and dinner. And for those who will inevitably ask the answer is no, I will not be attending the inauguration festivities. I will actually be in Greensburg from the 16th - 20th. Maybe you will see me there.

Ps. I hope to write a more detailed review of the past three months sooner rather than later.

I work across from the Smithsonian Castle and the National Mall. The city has begun preparation for the inauguation.

Note the baracades that have been placed in between the crosswalks as the city prepares for the January 20, 2009 inauguration proccedings. Eventually these will be used to block the streets.

Larger View

Normally when my car needs to be washed I do it myself. To put things into perspective I have had a driver's license since 2007 and every car that I have ever driven was washed at home by me or a member of my family. When I drove my salt encrusted car back from Greensburg, PA last week I came to the conclusion that I needed to enlist the services of an automatic car wash. There was no way I wanted to stand out in the cold on a weekend and wash my car by hand. Can you blame me?

I was home visiting my parents this past weekend and my father offered me some advice before I actually went to the car wash.

"Well you are probably going to freak out at first because all the windows cover over, but that is just part of the process."

That being said I was mentally prepared and ready.

So, on Saturday I used a drive through car wash for the first time in my life. It was a mere $10 charge for "the works" and I thought it was a worthwhile expenditure. I chose the no touch car wash because I did not want the paint to get scratched. The coolest part of the whole thing was towards the end when the wax shine was administered. Three liquids were shot from the left and right side of the car wash tunnel and on to my car. It created a rainbow effect that I was able to capture in a few pictures.

Many people may remember a few months ago when I purchased the coolest shoes ever known to (wo) man. I called them my blog shoes for all intensive purposes because they reflected the color scheme of my blog. Now I have come across a new pair that is even better. I bought them this past weekend and since the weather has been bad I have yet to wear them in public. See below.