Home again, home again

It just took me longer to get from Dulles Airport to my apartment in downtown Washington than it did to fly home from New Orleans.

Thanksgiving travel is awful, especially in this commuter city of DC. I thought I had dodged the bullet when I left for New Orleans Wednesday. I got out of work early, hopped on the bus, avoided the crowd, got on an earlier flight, and even used my first class upgrade coupon. A few cocktails and a cheese and fruit plate later I was home in New Orleans, eating at R&Os and hanging out with my girlfriend.

This was one of only a handful of Thanksgivings that I haven't spent in Albertville, Alabama, where my mother's family is originally from. The logistics just didn't work out for me to go this year. I spent Thanksgiving day with my dad and with Breland's family (see the picture with Sophie). Friday, we watched LSU's panic-attack inducing victory over Arkansas. Saturday I made it up to Baton Rouge to see my mom and some friends there.

The thing is, I'll be back in Louisiana in just a few short weeks, for a friend's wedding. And then for a week between Christmas and New Year's.

More later. I'm anxiously watching the Trinity Episcopal Saints, my high school team, who advanced to the Class A state championship game last week, five years after our team won state my senior year.

A few weeks ago, I had some friends over for a Red Beans and Rice. This is a picture I took to prove that I actually made this heavenly dish. I slaved over a hot stove all day. My mom helped with the technical support. Some people think its funny (read: stupid) that I took a picture. I leave you with it. Trust me, it was amazing.

Heading Home

I will be in Louisiana tomorrow evening until Sunday night, if any of you are in the NOLA/BR area. Give me a ring on my cell phone.

Vindication

Last night was one of the best nights I've had since moving to the District.

It's so great to be here, in the middle of everything, during such a monumental turnover in government power. One thing I won't miss, though, is the constant commercials for the Virginia and Maryland Senate races. One of the reasons its so interesting to live here is because we are basically in three major media markets (DC, VA, MD) and so when I had campaigners asking me to vote for Jim Webb I also had television commercials trumpeting Michael Steele.

I got off of work and hurried home to watch the first results coming in. At 8:30 we left for the Death Cab for Cutie concert at Constitution Hall, which was just a few blocks from our apartment. This place isn't a bar, it's a real concert hall. My friend Karla, who is an intern here at the SPLC, met us. Death Cab is this quasi-emo new-age American rock band. Lots of piano and electronica but they have a tendency to build up to a screaming-guitar, banging-drum climax. It's great stuff. One of the best concerts I've ever seen.

When I tell you I was maybe 10 rows from the stage, and we only paid $40 for the tickets. It was an experience. I really think that Chris, Karla and I saw something very special last night. Those guys are extremely talented. They played some new stuff as well that I had never heard, which was interesting.

Dennis Mitchell (in California) kept me up to date on the election results, and the band's guitarist actually announced with Ben Cardin won the Maryland Senate seat.

We went home and got some dinner, I watched the election returns until about 2 a.m.. It's exciting that the Democrats took back the House, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the Senate. I really believe that 2-party rule is so much better in Washington. When Bush 43 ran in 2000, he talked about his legacy of bipartisanship as governor of Texas. Hopefully we can see some more of that here in Washington now that there is a Democrat-controlled House and maybe the Senate.

Congress hasn't really done much, particularly for students (who primarily read this blog), in a very long time. Raising the minimum wage, increasing federal oversight of higher education and restoring some of the grant and loan programs that have been cut are all on the table now. The younger generations are the soldiers in Iraq, and the ones (like myself) with friends there (or waiting to go). This election was a sign from the American people that we need an exit strategy, not a quick pull-out, but a way out.

Finally Finished

I finally finished my Law School applications this week, just in time to get all my applications transmitted before November 1.

Here's my final list:
Georgetown
UNC-Chapel Hill
Wake Forest
University of Miami
University of Colorado
LSU
Tulane

I might tack on George Washington later on in the cycle. For all of you interested, you can check my progress on my law school numbers site here.

Chris and I invested in the NBA LeaguePass tonight. For $179 we now get every NBA game that plays on our television. Did I mention we have surround sound? It might be the best $90 I've ever spent. I might just watch basketball all winter.

Things are getting hectic around the office, but I'm looking forward to being at home for Thanksgiving.