It’s about time this weekend has finally arrived! Nicole and I head out tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend in Boston, our first time there since the summer of 2006.

Saturday will be spent with my parents who are driving up from Connecticut to see an afternoon Red Sox game against the visiting Seattle Mariners, followed by watching the fireworks over the Charles River Esplanade. This is exciting in and of itself for several reasons: as I had already mentioned, it’ll be myfirst game at Fenway Park since the summer of ‘06 (and Nicole’s second game there ever); I get to see my parents (which doesn’t happen all too often); and my parents will get to see Nicole and I for the first time since our engagement just over a month ago (and see her ring for the first time in person).

Nicole and I will be there until Monday afternoon (due to s flight planning SNAFU on my part, but it all works out in the end), so Sunday we plan to get our tourist on around The Hub, perhaps the North End, Quincy Market, and the waterfront. (As a side note, I’m excited to see how the former Central Artery area of downtown has progressed since I have last been there. I understand that much of the work on the Rose Kennedy Greenway has begun and that the grand, tree-lined boulevard is complete as well.) We also hope to meet up with my cousins that live up in the area, either Friday or Saturday nights, or at any point on Sunday, for some food and drink I’m sure.

So, I’ll be returning on Tuesday to work, hopefully to resume posting my Ten on Tuesday, which I have taken a seriously long hiatus from. Enjoy your weekend, whatever you may be doing, and happy 4th of July!

It’s high time I finally post this list… these are all locations around the DC area that I’d like to photograph this summer. And I mean do it right; film camera and a few hours to walk around and shoot a roll or two of film. Some may require more than one trip since I’d like to get some pictures dawn, dusk, mid-morning or late afternoon for their differing lighting conditions. It’s a tall order for someone who has so little free time as is and happens to now be planning a wedding, combined with an abnormal amount of out-of-town travel this summer, so we’ll see how this goes.

And so, in no particular order, the locations are as follows:

• National Museum of the American Indian: the most recent addition to the National Mall, the NMAI stands out like a sore thumb, at least for the time being. Architecturally, it’s a bold form of billowing, monochromatic curves intended to evoke a wind-swept rock formation of, say, the American Southwest.

• Third Church of Christ, Scientist: just from reading my blog, you should be somewhat familiar with this church by now. It’s a Brutalist-style concrete hexagon that is now almost sure to come down at the hands of a wrecking ball. Though some more minor roadblocks still stand, the greater weight of historic preservation has been lifted. At this point, it’s only a matter of time, so this one is on the top of my list.
• National World War II Memorial: a rather heated debate surrounded the design and eventual approvals of this monument, but the fact remains, there are some spectacular pictures to be had from this particular swatch of stone and water on the National Mall.
• Lincoln Memorial: a classic, of course, but my drive for this particular location stems from a desire to have sunset pictures of Lincoln himself, bathed in the oranges and reds of sunset over the Mall.
• National Gallery of Art, East Wing: again, the I.M. Pei-designed museum and research center is an American icon, but it’s acute angles and sharp points outside, combined with the light flowing through the interior atrium makes for lots of potential.
• Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: from the campus of my old stomping ground, this magnificent Roman Catholic basilica stands adjacent to the Catholic University of America in a part of Washingt, DC that houses numerous religious institutions. The church itself, though, Neo-Byzantine in it’s architecture, has got some great exterior angles and some amazing spaces inside.
• Theodore Roosevelt Island: situated in the Potomac River in between Rosslyn, VA and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, this is a national park that’s got a memorial plaza dedicated to Teddy, and walking trails throughout the island, which is preserved in it’s natural condition.
• Gravelly Point: I’ve been here before for pictures, but I’d like to get back. The park, located a few hundred feet from the end of one of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s main runways, it offers some of the best views of incoming and outgoing commercial jets in the United States. My first time there, planes happened to be landing, but I’d like to go back for planes taking off.
• United States National Arboretum: again, I’ve been here before, but never up to the old Capitol columns. That’s the primary purpose for my next visit…
• Meridian Hill Park: well to be honest, I don’t quite know much about this park, but I know I want to go there with a roll of film. I’ve heard people speak of the steps, the fountain, the people, etc. So, I figured, why not?

As you can see, I’ve got my work cut out for me in what is already a busy summer, so please keep your fingers crossed!

Anyone who follows my Flickr stream knows that come summertime, it’s overtaken by pictures from baseball games. With a club here in DC now, and the occasional excursion to some other ballparks on the east coast, I’ve been able to see nearly 60 games over the last two full seasons. Once again, I’m looking to reach the mid-20s this year, so expect a lot more pictures coming from me as the season progresses.

Shortly after the 2007 season, I had compiled a Flickr set of my favorite photos from all the games I saw that year and, though it took me a while, I finally made a set of my favorite photos from the 2008 season. Both of these sets are rather special, as the first marks the last season of baseball to be played at RFK Stadium, and the latter marks the first season of the new Nationals Park.

Follow the links here for the sets in a slideshow version: 2007 | 2008

Good morning all… It’s been three weeks since I last posted, so accept my apologies. I’ve been a bit crazy with work, planning for a wedding now, baseball, friends, etc. etc. You know the deal.

But anyway, I’m sure by now you all know about the recent Metro train accident yesterday, which occurred on the Red Line in between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations. There’s plenty to read about it all over the internet as the story has been picked up by national outlets across the country, and even across the pond.

Details are still conflicting from one report to the next, but the basic facts remain clear: a train in motion hit a stationary train on the Red Line; numerous fatalaties (anywhere from seven to nine); over 70 people injured, most minor, but several critical; major train service disruption across the entire Metrorail system; the NTSB is investigating, along with the FBI; black box data is likely not going to be as good as it could have been, as a first generation rail car was leading the train in motion (newer, third generation cars have more comprehensive black box recorders, greater safety measures, and are much more “crashworthy”).

Since I’m a major advocate of mass transit and the Metrorail system in particular, I’m going to spare criticism for the sake of the victims of the terrible tragedy (besides, Metro’s operating budget is not necessarily exemplary of a first class, one-of-the-largest-in-the-world mass transit system, but that’s a discussion for another time). At this point, I just want to extend my thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of the wounded.

1. Well, I guess I’ll cut to the chase with this one… If you haven’t heard, I took the plunge and asked Nicole to marry me! I proposed at sunset on a pier over the Currituck Sound on the grounds of the Currituck Beach Light in Corolla, NC (on the Outer Banks). Thankfully, she said yes! After nearly 8 months of searching for a setting and diamond, I finally found this one, designed by Gebrueder Schaffrath of Germany. Thanks, Adam (from I. Gorman Jewelers) for all of your help!

2. And speaking of the Outer Banks, what a vacation! We had an absolutely awesome, awesome time in a great big house with a whole bunch of our friends drinking, playing cards, beaching, swimming, and generally hanging out. It was definitely tough to come back to work yesterday, I can tell you that much.

3. And more: On the drive back to DC from Corolla, Nicole and I had a bit of car trouble. Nothing serious in the end (a heat shield from under the car, which I was eventually able to break off, had started to fall of and was dragging on the ground), as we found an Advance Auto Parts store nearby in Jockey’s Ridge State Park while on the Outer Banks, but that never happened. However, I did take a slew of digitals with the point-and-shoot. You can find that set here, or a slideshow here. Be warned though, as of today, captions are only partly complete.

5. Nicole and I spent the weekend parading her ring around town… despite a long, 8 hour, drive home from OBX, we mustered up the energy to see some friends at a birthday party nearby. Though we were planning to go home shortly thereafter, we hit up our two regular spots in Adams Morgan for a little while and got to show off the ring a bit more.

6. All of this showing off, well, it’s partly due to the fact that I had ordered the ring about 3 sizes too large (boo!). So tomorrow, we’ll be returning to the jeweler to have them size the ring and send it back to Germany to be resized.

7. I’m quite proud of myself, concerning this whole engagement ring process. I kept it a complete secret from all friends and family, save a select few that knew only out of necessity. Needless to say, everyone was completely shocked, surprised, and excited. I gave myself a pat on the back for that one…

8. Since it had been a few weeks since we last say Ryan, Blythe, and the boys, we spent a few hours Sunday afternoon just hanging out with them. They wanted to hear the whole story about the engagement and about how I found the ring. I guess I should get used to telling that story…

9. My pool league team, the Ballbreakers, kicks back into gear tonight for the first time in two weeks since we last swept the finals of the previous season in a 3-0 drubbing. Though we are dropping our top-ranked player and adding one who has barely played pool at all, I think we are still the team to beat. We shall see…

10. And finally, Nicole and I have two baseball games this week. Suffice it to say, I don’t think I’ll reach 30 games this year like I had hoped… money is just too tight and we are trying to kind of tighten the purse sttrings as much as we can. Nonetheless, I’m hurtin’ for a ballgame!

1. Much like the man in this photo, over the last 6 months I’ve been arriving to the office very, very early. Today I woke nearly half an hour before my alarm, hopped right out of bed and got to the office at about 735. I’m a fan…

2. Roughly 98 hours until I hop in a car and head down to North Carolina with Nicole and a group of friends. The weather, at least in the 10 day forecast, is not lookiing fantastic for the week, but we all know how much that can change in the course of a week. Being a barrier island though, I think the weather is quite fickle anyway. We shall see…

3. I’m concerned that my days are numbered for getting down to 16th and I Streets to shoot some photos of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, which will surely be coming down at some point. I have read that there are still some hurdles to clear, so I hope that means I’ve got at least a few weeks left.

4. A tough weekend to be a fan of Boston sports teams. Ironically, this is a complete 180° of where we were last Tuesday. Nonetheless, the Celtics lost game 7 to the Magic, the Bruins lost game 7 to the Whalers Hurricanes, and the Red Sox are absolutely putrid on the road so far this year.

5. Tonight the Ballbreakers, the team on which I play billiards in the local APA league, plays in the season finals. We had finished the regular season in first place and thusly had a bye straight through the playoffs to tonight’s finals. As the “high point champion,” we’ll also win money, trophies, plaques, and I think someone will get an MVP patch as well! If we win tonight, we play in the regional tournament in Virginia with a chance to move on to Vegas. Crazy…

6. As you may or may not know, I got a BlackBerry Curve a while back. After having some time to get acclamated, I’m quite pleased with it. Within the past week however, I discovered that the popular iPhone music applications Pandora and Shazam (WOW!) are available for the crackberry. You can only imagine my excitement…

7. Speaking of music, long ago at The Reef, I had heard a some that caught my ear. According to the bartender, it was called Heartbeats”, by Jose Gonzalez. I downloaded a number of his songs and I am loving “Remain” right now (samples from the album on Amazon). The guitar work is fantastic, reminiscent of Federico Aubele. Good stuff.

8. Artomatic starts next week. We won’t be here when it starts, but it lasts a month, so I’m confident that I can get out to the arts extravaganza for the first time this year.

9. I’m nearing the time where I can begin to take the Architectural Registration Examination(s)! I recently finished the professional development portions of the Intern Development Program and though I still have my community and professional volunteer service to report, I should be eligible to begin taking the exams in Maryland sometime this year. There’s a huge lag in paperwork processiong, so I’m hoping to hear from the state board by the middle of July. Keep your fingers crossed!

10. I know, I know… more about the Outer Banks. It’ll be my first golf match of the year, at Kilmarlic Golf Club. Wish me luck!

Well, first things first, thank goodness it’s Friday! It’s been a long tough week here in the office. I’ve got a presentation this morning which through yesterday at 730pm when I left work, I had put in 53 hours working on this week. The most satisfying moment was Thursday morning when my boss arrived at the office and saw the fruits of my labor (which had kept me in the office until 1115pm on Wednesday night) and said that everything was looking great. So now, the boards are up and I’m ready to go…

And because I’ve been so busy this week, my picture-taking and web-surfing have been spare. However, I did happen to see these three very, very fast cars parked on M Street in Georgetown late on Wednesday night on my way home. I’m used to seeing the occassional fast car in the neighborhood, but three in the same night? On the same block? Within a span of 5 cars? Definitely a rare occurrence…

In other news, I thought I would share a few tidbits that have caught my attention lately. This is quite possibly one of the greatest commercials ever made. It’s got great music and the three lines of narration to open the spot are spectacularly classic. It’s reminiscent of the aura of someone perpetually intriguing like James Bond or Thomas Crown (I know, random, but it’s what I think when I see the commercial). Good word, Dos Equis.

There’s been a lot of talk this year in baseball about mysterious appearances for some players on the disabled list, most of which have large contracts and no options left. I’ve never been able to figure out why this matters for a team, when they take a player and put him on the DL for what may be considered by insiders and competitors as a sham diagnosis, so I decided to do some research. I happened upon the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players association and the league (or, owners). I find it fascinating, but beware, it’s one hell of a long document.

And finally, it’s Friday! And that means I’m outta here early because I busted my ass this week! See you all next week…

1. Last night, Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals extended his hitting streak to 29 games. Despite the fact that the Nationals are still the worst team in baseball, it’s nice to see something positive going on grabbing national attention in the press.

2. Nicole and I have been wanting to get into 30 Rock for quite some time. Conveniently, one of Nicole’s coworkers has the first few seasons on DVD and is letting us borrow them to get caught up. So over the weekend, we finished the first season. My initial thoughts: I love the show, the dynamic between Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey is fantastic, and I still love Tina Fey. A lot. She’s on my “list.”

3. Bill Simmons had Red Sox 2004 postseason hero Dave Roberts as a guest on his podcast, The BS Report, about two weeks ago. Of course, the most prevalent topic of conversation was what I like to call “The Steal Heard Around the World” (Roberts stealing second base in the bottom of the ninth, game 4, 2004 ALCS vs. the New York Yankees). It’s an awesome podcast that, if you’re a Red Sox fan, I highly suggest listening to.

4. A good Sunday for Boston sports teams… the Bruins shut out the Whalers Hurricanes; the Celtics won on a Big Baby Davis buzzer beater; the Red Sox held on against Tampa Bay to take two out of three of the weekend series.

5. I’ve started doing some calisthenics every morning and night… crunches, inclined push-ups (because I can’t quite handle doing them the real way), and standing wall presses to re-build my shoulder strength.

6. I worked 12 hours yesterday, and will probably continue to do so through Thursday. Awesome!

7. I thought April showers were supposed to yield May flowers. However, my curiosity has led me to discover that on average, Washington, DC receives more precipitation in the month of May than in April. In fact, May is the most precipitous month in this region. Who knew?

8. Nicole and I went to The Reef for a bit on Friday night for the first time in about a month (we’ve been trying to save money lately). The bartenders there know that I like bitter, hoppy IPAs or similar, so when we got there, our bartender had suggested I try the Flying Dog Double Dog Pale Ale. Wow. Excellent beer, but as he warned, watch out for the second one because it’ll bite you!

9. One of my good friends and fraternity brothers from Catholic University has been in the Peace Corps serving in The Gambia for the last two years. Recently, he was granted an additional year of service, as well as a sort of “promotion” to a position he is rather excited about. He is currently trying to raise funds to fight malaria in some remote areas of The Gambia, so if you can, support him here.

10. Have I mentioned yet that I can’t wait for the Outer Banks? 11 days and counting…

Hey all… great weather today in the District, and to boot, it’s Friday! I’ve had a great, productive week here in the office and I’m looking forward to checking out for the weekend in about three hours, but before I do, here’s a few random things I’ve come across this week, some funny and some not:

–>We’ve had some rainy weather for pretty much the whole week, and last night, we got some thunder and lightning. A great picture here by Flickr user Cazimiro;

–>The Daily Show had a great response to Marion Barry’s speech in response to the DC Council voting to acknowledge gay marriages legally given in the few other states that do allow them;

–>The Nationals, playing the Dodgers - undefeated at home this year - in LA, won last night. I went to bed shortly after they took the lead 9-6 in the top of eighth inning, fully expecting them to have lost the game by the time I woke up in the morning. Imagine my surprise… the Nats both win a game and hand the Dodgers their first home loss of the season!

–>Speaking of the Dodgers and losses, we all know by now that outfielder Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Sad, really. At this point, we should all be able to say that most major league players were using performance enhancing drugs at some point, even those players on our favorite teams. But still, when it hits home like this, it sucks real bad. Download and listen to some of the ESPN podcasts as Mike and Mike, Wilbon and Kornheiser, and Pasquerelli and Karabell discuss it at length. The Sports Guy has also written about it here.

Have a weekend, everyone, and long live baseball!

1. I’m really, reaaalllllly sucking at taking pictures lately, so you get a picture of me from a ballgame last Thursday (nothing wrong with a little narcissism!). I left my camera at a friends house about a week and a half ago and as of yet, have been unable to retrieve it. I’ve been borrowing Nicole’s camera sporadically…

2. The DC Council passed legislation today which recognizes legal gay marriage from other jurisdictions! A step in the right direction!

3. I’ll be going to buy some film next week I think. I’ve got tons of black and white, but I’ll need some color film for the Outer Banks. I particularly liked the Kodak Ektar 100 I used for the cherry blossoms, so I’ll probably stick with that.

4. Ah yes, I have come to realize that it may be time for a change here at elswifterino.com… I’m scuttling “The Monday Morning Post.” Monday’s, especially Monday mornings, are just way too hectic. I never truly have the time to post, and as The Monday Morning Post evlolved alongside Ten on Tuesday’s, I kind of realized they might be a bit redundant. I mean, really, my life is not that interesting!

5. My APA pool league team, Ballbreakers, has officially won the spring session. It’s a little odd for us since we had been getting spanked for so long, but we’ve finally gotten used to the teams, players, and location, and our team has really gelled nicely these past 4 months. Let’s go Ballbreakers!

6. I just thought of an awesome self-portrait photo. Literally, right now. I may shoot it later today or tomorrow morning, so more about that later.

7. It’s Cinco de Mayo… that doesn’t really excite me all too much, except for the fact that it means I’m only 18 days away from the Outer Banks!

8. It’s going to be a busy week and a half at work, through next Friday. Not looking forward to that…

9. I’m hoping to get to the Corcoran this weekend to check out the Maya Lin Systematic Landscapes exhibit… looks to be pretty damn cool.

10. A while back, my cousin had menioned that he was moving into an apartment and would like a framed photo of mine to help adorn the walls. Well, he just recently moved and is perusing my catalog of photos to pick one out. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about putting together a portfolio and hitting up a few neighborhood curators to see if I can get some wallspace in local bars, etc. We’ll see…