What happens when you’re a DC advocacy group that holds press events and the cast of “24″ happens to be finishing up a filming near your event? Regardless if you love or hate Citizens Against Government Waste, what an awesome keepsake for an advocacy organization – a video of a big Hollywood star talking about your group. The story is that a producer actually approached them to ask if Kiefer could come get a picture with the pig.

This might be normal for our LA friends, but for us black-grey-and-navy-suited DC-ers, quite a little happening!

Starting tomorrow be careful with road closings – for pedestrians, cars, and bikers. Make sure if you’re anywhere near the are that you’re carrying your work ID too – they’ll be checking. Here’s the initial information, but see the full closings here:

Beginning at 8 pm on Friday, October 19, until 9 pm on Monday, October 22, the following streets will be closed:
***18th Street, NW between F Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
***19th Street, NW between F Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
***20th Street, NW between F Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
***F Street, NW between 17th Street and 20th Street, NW
***Vehicular access to the 1700-2000 blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, the 1700 – 1800 blocks of H Street, NW, and the 800 block of 19th Street, NW is tentatively scheduled for AM Rush Hour traffic on Monday, October 22, 2007.

Only pedestrians with business in the area and proper identification will be permitted access to the following locations:
***600, 700, and 800 blocks of 18th Street, 19th Street, and 20th Street, NW
***1700, 1800, 1900, and 2000 blocks of G Street, NW
***1900 block of H Street, NW

All the participating museum’s across the country open their doors and offer free admission for the day. I know most of them are free anyway – but not all, and there are supposed to be extra family-fun activities.

So get out there! Well, first spend some time outside before heading in since it’s such a BEAUTIFUL day outside!

In such a city like DC where so many people are entrepreneurial, have grown their businesses – be it campaigns, consulting firms, law firms, retail outlets, you name it – this really struck a cord with me when I saw it this spring. I’m glad that they’re having a showing here, I’m going to go see it again. At just about an hour, it’s a quick watch but with messages that will keep you thinking for days. It just might make you a little extra-patriotic for a few hours too… or maybe that’s just me.

Hopefully I’ll see you there, E Street Cinema, $10 for the showing.

Unfortunately that’s not all that odd, but as I got closer I realized that [what appeared to be on first look] a homeless man was directing us drivers to get over to the right lane so that none of us hit, or got stuck behind, the two stopped and smooshed cars. He was doing a great job and frankly without his direction it could have been a messy situation b/c the flashers on the cars weren’t on – and you know how that is when you inadvertently get stuck behind a stopped car and can’t make it back out in to moving traffic. And then make that an entire lane of traffic, and you can image the back-ups for blocks.

So thanks to that guy. That was a cool move – I wonder if he just wanted to jump in to help out, or if one of the drivers asked him to as he was passing by. Hmm.

The word around town is that the police would not pay attention to this case because he was an adult, even though his family had reason to believe it may have been something other than a secret weekend getaway to meet friends. The authorities said they didn’t want to take action too soon for the option he may have just taken off for a few days, yet we don’t know what those few days could have meant.

Was there foul play? No one has any idea and “the investigation is ongoing.” Sad news for his family.

true to form, i was an absolute klutz the weekend of the move. wondering why no capital letters? i can’t reach them – yes, really.

i took that friday off so that movers could come by and get all my heavy furniture before the friends crew came out on saturday morning to help with everything else. now i’m a handy girl and i know how to be safe with tools. but when i got out my pocket knife to open my new drill on friday morning, somehow i slipped while opening the package and stabbed myself in the hand/thumb. ouch!

(if you’re super squeemish, stop reading here.)

i knew i had hit myself but i didn’t realize how bad it was until blood was everywhere. i knew immediately that i would need at least a few stitches, so my mom stayed to wait for the movers while i drove to arlington urgent care with five compresses and two towels. yuck!

they took such good care of me at the urgent care, i would recommend their services in a second. they are fast, professional, even nice and helpful! after those awesome numbing shots, they could poke around and saw that i had cut a tendon and some other fun stuff.

long story short i ended up having surgery at the manus center, a vienna-based hand surgery and care center – i highly recommend them – on friday afternoon. now i sport this nifty cast (read: annoying as all get out) from my fingers to almost my elbow and am going to have quite the battle wound from the surgery and tons of stitches. well, and i can barely type. or button my pants. or pick anything up. or shower without a bag over my arm.

but, if you’re ever in the market for a hand surgeon, dr. schepler in vienna rocked the day. they took me as a walk-in from the emergency room, performed the surgery in their in-office operating room, and sent me on my way in about two hours. i walked out and the whole waiting room was full – so i felt a little bad, but it’s not like my visit was planned!

overall lessons of the day? for crying out loud, cut away from yourself! second, arlington urgent care and the manus surgery center took such good care of me – i hope you don’t need either of them, but if you do, know you’ll be in good [uncut] hands!

I found this today, and I’m signing it: a petition for Virginians who think this new law is lame, that they are unfairly targeting their taxes, and that the sponsor is really just in it for personal gain.

Care to sign?

I work at19th and L, just around the corner from our friendly regional passport office, so I see the line first hand almost every day – but it’s especially painful to watch the line on Fridays, when I think some believe the line will be shorter. Or, maybe it’s easier to take off a few hours to stand in line on a Friday. That’s what I planned to do… until I did a little research on where I could get my passport taken care of.

See, if you’re like me, you have a passport but let it expire, but then still thought you were in the clear for a new one by mail. Oh no, no you aren’t – not if you got your first passport prior to age 16, which I did. So, while it was only a little expired, I had to go in person because of the age issue.

So I looked here to see where else I might be able to get this thing taken care of. This last Saturday I got to my local post office just after 9 a.m., stood in line behind one couple waiting to do their infant’s passport, gave the nice woman helping me all my materials, and was on my way and back in my car by 9:20 a.m.

Please, help yourself and others – if you can get somewhere besides the DC regional office, go. It will take less time, and save time for those whose needs require them to go to the regional office. Plus, it’s gross and sweaty and hot out there. Post Offices have A/C. I’m just saying.