We Have An Xmas Tree!

We now have a Christmas tree for our home. It was long struggle, but it was worth the effort, for we are men and no tree is safe! Whole forests tremble at the sound of our names! :-)

Behold our saga...

	Field o' trees, 2006-12-10 The vast plain of Mt Airy, MD, is surveyed by the clan of hunters. This is their hunting ground. Be afraid.
	Michael & Kent, 2006-12-10 Walking through the fields of trees, the hunters seek a straggler which could be easily separated from the protection of the herd.
	The Victim, 2006-12-10 The unwary victim is selected.
	Tree, 2006-12-10 The selected canaan fir put up a struggle but its fate is long pre-determined: the tree is felled by the mighty hunters.
	Cart, 2006-12-10 The corpse of the fallen tree was loaded onto the ceremonial golf cart and paraded through the admiring throngs. Roses were thrown in their path and songs were composed in their honour for their bravery and service to the nation.
	Tree, 2006-12-10 The trophy of their battle to the death is mounted and displayed with pride in the great dining hall, admired by all.

We Have An Xmas Tree!

We now have a Christmas tree for our home. It was long struggle, but it was worth the effort, for we are men and no tree is safe! Whole forests tremble at the sound of our names! :-)

Behold our saga...

	Field o' trees, 2006-12-10 The vast plain of Mt Airy, MD, is surveyed by the clan of hunters. This is their hunting ground. Be afraid.
	Michael & Kent, 2006-12-10 Walking through the fields of trees, the hunters seek a straggler which could be easily separated from the protection of the herd.
	The Victim, 2006-12-10 The unwary victim is selected.
	Tree, 2006-12-10 The selected canaan fir put up a struggle but its fate is long pre-determined: the tree is felled by the mighty hunters.
	Cart, 2006-12-10 The corpse of the fallen tree was loaded onto the ceremonial golf cart and paraded through the admiring throngs. Roses were thrown in their path and songs were composed in their honour for their bravery and service to the nation.
	Tree, 2006-12-10 The trophy of their battle to the death is mounted and displayed with pride in the great dining hall, admired by all.

Weekend Report

Ah, it's been a hell of a weekend.

cuyahogarvr arrived Thursday evening and we went directly down to DC Lambda Squares' club night near Dupont Circle for dancing. I missed the 2009 convention meeting but there were no big issues on the agenda. We left for home a little early but it was fun dancing nonetheless.

kent4str and I went to work per usual Friday morning; cuyahogarvr went down to the mall in DC, visiting the Holocaust Museum. We all reunited at the house around 4:30 PM, napped briefly, then prepped for kent4str's office holiday party.

The evening's bash was at the Sofitel Hotel at McPherson Square. We lucked out on the quest for parking... we found a spot a square away from the hotel. Yay! (Wow, how said is my life that I get excited over a convenient parking spot?)

This year, the office pulled out all of the stops on their party preparations: they had a live band --largely playing Motown hits, a pasta bar, a seafood bar, a salad bar and beef station. The bar slung drinks at a furious pace. The only disappointment was the dessert bar, but even the brownies being second-rate didn't stop me from woofing down a couple. Hey, it was free food!

Kent, Michael & Brian Kilpatrick Stockton holiday party, Washington DC, 2006-12-09.

Saturday morning, we arose relatively early --8 AM or so-- then headed into downtown Silver Spring to the Tastee Diner for breakfast with zzbear Jeff and Jeff's friend, Chris. Towards noon, kent4str headed off for his role playing game in Virginia while the rest of us headed into Wheaton, MD, for ice skating at my favourite arena.

This was my first time on the skates I bought on eBay a month ago. On the whole, they were pretty good: they need their blades sharpened and I'll wear an extra pair of socks next time to help the fit, but I'm quite pleased with the skates.

Despite having not been on ice for a while, our cohort did very well. Jeff has decades of experience with skating; while cuyahogarvr hasn't been on skates in decades, he did extremely well. zzbear and Chris did very well despite being relatively inexperienced. Falls were few, injuries were non-existent (at least among our group) and there were no deaths to speak of. I think we can declare victory.

Brian, Michael, David, Jeff & Chris Skating, Wheaton MD, 2006-12-09.

In the evening, cuyahogarvr and I collected ljtourist from relatives in Alexandria, then joined up with Jeff and kent4str for dinner at a mexican restaurant in Del Ray. We had been to this particular restaurant before but it had been years ago... the food was good and service was fast so we'll have to add this to our short list of preferred establishments.

After dinner, we headed into Crystal City to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. If you have the opportunity, do try the new dark chocolate mint ice cream... Mmmmmm.

kent4str and cuyahogarvr headed home in the minivan while I drove ljtourist back to Alexandria and said our good nights. I'm looking forward to ljtourist's next visit to DC, our our next to Seattle.

Frank Cold Stone Creamery, Arlington VA, 2006-12-09.

Weekend Report

Ah, it's been a hell of a weekend.

cuyahogarvr arrived Thursday evening and we went directly down to DC Lambda Squares' club night near Dupont Circle for dancing. I missed the 2009 convention meeting but there were no big issues on the agenda. We left for home a little early but it was fun dancing nonetheless.

kent4str and I went to work per usual Friday morning; cuyahogarvr went down to the mall in DC, visiting the Holocaust Museum. We all reunited at the house around 4:30 PM, napped briefly, then prepped for kent4str's office holiday party.

The evening's bash was at the Sofitel Hotel at McPherson Square. We lucked out on the quest for parking... we found a spot a square away from the hotel. Yay! (Wow, how said is my life that I get excited over a convenient parking spot?)

This year, the office pulled out all of the stops on their party preparations: they had a live band --largely playing Motown hits, a pasta bar, a seafood bar, a salad bar and beef station. The bar slung drinks at a furious pace. The only disappointment was the dessert bar, but even the brownies being second-rate didn't stop me from woofing down a couple. Hey, it was free food!

Kent, Michael & Brian Kilpatrick Stockton holiday party, Washington DC, 2006-12-09.

Saturday morning, we arose relatively early --8 AM or so-- then headed into downtown Silver Spring to the Tastee Diner for breakfast with zzbear Jeff and Jeff's friend, Chris. Towards noon, kent4str headed off for his role playing game in Virginia while the rest of us headed into Wheaton, MD, for ice skating at my favourite arena.

This was my first time on the skates I bought on eBay a month ago. On the whole, they were pretty good: they need their blades sharpened and I'll wear an extra pair of socks next time to help the fit, but I'm quite pleased with the skates.

Despite having not been on ice for a while, our cohort did very well. Jeff has decades of experience with skating; while cuyahogarvr hasn't been on skates in decades, he did extremely well. zzbear and Chris did very well despite being relatively inexperienced. Falls were few, injuries were non-existent (at least among our group) and there were no deaths to speak of. I think we can declare victory.

Brian, Michael, David, Jeff & Chris Skating, Wheaton MD, 2006-12-09.

In the evening, cuyahogarvr and I collected ljtourist from relatives in Alexandria, then joined up with Jeff and kent4str for dinner at a mexican restaurant in Del Ray. We had been to this particular restaurant before but it had been years ago... the food was good and service was fast so we'll have to add this to our short list of preferred establishments.

After dinner, we headed into Crystal City to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. If you have the opportunity, do try the new dark chocolate mint ice cream... Mmmmmm.

kent4str and cuyahogarvr headed home in the minivan while I drove ljtourist back to Alexandria and said our good nights. I'm looking forward to ljtourist's next visit to DC, our our next to Seattle.

Frank Cold Stone Creamery, Arlington VA, 2006-12-09.