Ramble On

I am a long-time resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  2013 has afforded the opportunity for me to drive from the far western hills to the waves lapping at the shores in the east.  Most recently, I was in the east to a place I had never visited: Chincoteague. Prior to this, the closest I got to Chincoteague was a trip to Wallop's Island Marine Science Consortium in High School and we did a bunch of research on tidal basin water.  Turns out I was about 5 miles from Chincoteague and I was none the wiser.  Anyway, it was a pretty fun trip.  Here's what I remember the most: My friend Becca and I were finished with the experiments for the day and we were walking to the dining hall or evening meeting or something.  (The details are a little foggy after so many years.) We were walking past the boys lodge and we heard someone singing in the shower.  It was my good friend Brian who was singing a song dedicated to another friend on the trip, Charlie...

I have lived in the DC Metro area on and off since I was 5 years old.  I have been away from it for a collective total of 11 years, if you count college when I was still coming home most summers.  I make it a point to try new things and also to never forsake my first loves, if you will. I recently came to a point where I almost left DC for a job.  It ended up not working out but in my head and partly in my heart I had one foot out the door.  Since that time, it struck me that there is a lot in DC that I don't take enough advantage of.  When I was studying there, my Parisian host mom always told me "Profites-en bien!" meaning "take good advantage of being here!"  She's right.  Some of the best recent advice I have been given is to "bloom where you are planted".  Therefore, since my lease on DC has been renewed in a metaphorical sense, how can I bloom in this ground which I call home? Something has surfaced as I've thought about this, also ta...