There seem to be a lot of people from my office living in Silver Spring. Sometimes we get together for dinner or a happy hour. Last night we went to McGinty's Pub in downtown Silver Spring for Trivia Night. There were 16 teams (frankly I think there should be a limit of 10!). We had six rounds: a general trivia; match the political man with the woman he had an affair with/sexually harassed; a music round; a numbers round (all of the answers were numbers), a round with "cold" clues; and a ID the photos round.
In the end, we were second place winning a gift certificate of $25!! We also won two Bass Ale beer glasses because of 1) a drawing of a person running away from Mt. Vesuvius (one of the answers was Pompeii) and 2) creating the winning limerick (the question was what is the number of lines in a limerick). All in all, we feel fairly superior!! Though there were a couple of standouts on our team, without whom we would have placed somewhere in the teens!!
Good times had by all!
Jane
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
President's Day Weekend
Hi all,
It's been a while, so just a short update. This weekend the Strachan women (Mom, Sarah, Molly and I) got together for a few days. Molly's in from Tanzania for a conference and Sarah and Mom came down to stay. Needless to say 4 people in a 1 br+ loft was a little tight, but we made it work. We did some walking, a visit to the botanical gardends, some good food, and a little shopping at some of the more arty stores by my place.
Sarah took Lily running on Sunday as I was biking that day. Poor Lily. She's not used to running so far or so fast (I'm slow and lazy compared to my sister). For the rest of the day she could barely walk. Poor thing. She seems to be doing ok now after another little walk and a visit to the dog park this a.m. But still, it was pathetic. She wouldn't leave the front door to go out side Sunday night!
Other than that, things are truckin along here. I'm still working on Darfur for OFDA and hoping to switch to another team--but that probably won't happen for another month. So, in the meantime I'm keeping myself busy with the Pandemic Influenza working group--kind of freaky!!
Well--that's it for now!!
Jane
It's been a while, so just a short update. This weekend the Strachan women (Mom, Sarah, Molly and I) got together for a few days. Molly's in from Tanzania for a conference and Sarah and Mom came down to stay. Needless to say 4 people in a 1 br+ loft was a little tight, but we made it work. We did some walking, a visit to the botanical gardends, some good food, and a little shopping at some of the more arty stores by my place.
Sarah took Lily running on Sunday as I was biking that day. Poor Lily. She's not used to running so far or so fast (I'm slow and lazy compared to my sister). For the rest of the day she could barely walk. Poor thing. She seems to be doing ok now after another little walk and a visit to the dog park this a.m. But still, it was pathetic. She wouldn't leave the front door to go out side Sunday night!
Other than that, things are truckin along here. I'm still working on Darfur for OFDA and hoping to switch to another team--but that probably won't happen for another month. So, in the meantime I'm keeping myself busy with the Pandemic Influenza working group--kind of freaky!!
Well--that's it for now!!
Jane
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Sudan team is cursed and why I love AAA!
So on Sunday my car broke down--randomly--on Interstate 95 between DC and Baltimore. I called my mom's house and my step-dad promptly agreed to come rescue me and Lily from the side of the highway! Then I called AAA. Despite the frustrating wait time while she called around to see if people were open, they were super helpful and it only took about 20 minutes from when we hung up for the tow truck driver to arrive. I had it towed to the place where I bought it, north of Balitmore, near my mom's and will now hand over about $700 for repairs. So brutal. I mean, seriously, some small child probably made that part for $3 in Taiwan. Urgh.
But after towing and transfering the birthday quiche and cheesecake from my car to my step-dads, all was well. A mere two hours that I'll never get back, but at least I'm healthy right?!?!
Then I got to work and found out that my colleague had been evauted from Chad and my other colleague had her purse stolen with everythign in it--planner, check book, house keys, wallet, etc. Blugh. That would suck. And lastly--someone else on my team has pink eye. Seriously?? I've got to transfer off of this bad boy!!
Hope you're all well,
Jane
But after towing and transfering the birthday quiche and cheesecake from my car to my step-dads, all was well. A mere two hours that I'll never get back, but at least I'm healthy right?!?!
Then I got to work and found out that my colleague had been evauted from Chad and my other colleague had her purse stolen with everythign in it--planner, check book, house keys, wallet, etc. Blugh. That would suck. And lastly--someone else on my team has pink eye. Seriously?? I've got to transfer off of this bad boy!!
Hope you're all well,
Jane
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Am I getting fired??
Well--those of you who know me (and who is reading this that doesn't know me) know that at times I can be less than diplomatic. Today is a classic example. I said what many in the room where thinking but didn't (because they have sense!). Anyway, my comment was said in a reasonable tone, but the State dept official to whom I was speaking clearly had a sore spot. This has to do with some Sudan discussions we're having right now and I'm certainly not going to talk about it in a public forum, but lets just said it wasn't pretty (though some where proud of me). I don't really think I would get fired, but I probably could have been a little more sensitive.
Anyway, just another day at the office....well, not really. But still...I don't have much else to report. It's cold here, though not as cold. I've started training again and tonight my bike kicked my butt. That was rough. I highly recommend exercising while watching "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. It's a good motivator.
Talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Jane
Anyway, just another day at the office....well, not really. But still...I don't have much else to report. It's cold here, though not as cold. I've started training again and tonight my bike kicked my butt. That was rough. I highly recommend exercising while watching "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. It's a good motivator.
Talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Jane
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Triathlon Training begins!
Well, while May 18 seems far away, it is a short time for me to drop the weight I gained in Khartoum and get back in to gear. So I created a training plan (courtesy of internet guidance) and am off and running, literally, and biking of course. Swimming is definitely the easy one for me....though I do need a new team. I'm going to check out the YMCA Masters team today...see if they're up to my lofty standards! :-) I'm sure you're all fascinated by this....so I'll keep you posted!
Other than that, not too much news from here. It's a long weekend so I'm hoping that I get some of the things on my to do list done...but have you noticed that the list just keeps growing?? Such a pain. And I'll add things on that I want to do, just so I have some things to cross off!!
So--more from downtown Silver Spring soon!!
Miss you,
Jane
Other than that, not too much news from here. It's a long weekend so I'm hoping that I get some of the things on my to do list done...but have you noticed that the list just keeps growing?? Such a pain. And I'll add things on that I want to do, just so I have some things to cross off!!
So--more from downtown Silver Spring soon!!
Miss you,
Jane
Monday, January 14, 2008
Rain and boredom prevail in early 2008
Hi all,
Nothing new and/or exciting in this installment. I holed up for most of the weekend. I did take Lily to the local park for a few hours where I ran into an "old" dog park friend of mine who I haven't seen for months, and someone from my swim team. So that was interesting. I also found out that a friend of mine has thyroid cancer. So 2008 continues to stink! Hopefully it will end on a high note. I said that maybe it started so tragically that it woudl end with something like an engagement (not that there are any prospects). My sister has already found a wedding dress maker and a rehearsal dinner location so we clearly know that she's on board!!
Anyway--just back and work and the daily grind.
Hope all is well with all of you....but drop me a line!!
Jane
Nothing new and/or exciting in this installment. I holed up for most of the weekend. I did take Lily to the local park for a few hours where I ran into an "old" dog park friend of mine who I haven't seen for months, and someone from my swim team. So that was interesting. I also found out that a friend of mine has thyroid cancer. So 2008 continues to stink! Hopefully it will end on a high note. I said that maybe it started so tragically that it woudl end with something like an engagement (not that there are any prospects). My sister has already found a wedding dress maker and a rehearsal dinner location so we clearly know that she's on board!!
Anyway--just back and work and the daily grind.
Hope all is well with all of you....but drop me a line!!
Jane
Friday, January 11, 2008
Back to "usual"
Hi all,
It's been a while since I've written. The past week has been rough. On Tuesday I went to Buffalo for the wake and funeral of John. If you want to see a local story on it, google ABC + buffalo + "O.P. Church Packed for Diplomat's Funeral" and you can watch a clip.
So now I'm home and trying to get back in to the routine. This weekend I'll be doing the usual cleaning, trying to get organized, getting my act in gear to exercise etc. My place is still a mess from my trip and then post-Christmas unpacking. So hopefully I'll get my act in gear. I also want to go see a movie (Juno, Charlie Wilson's war). Any takers??
Hope you're all doing well and more soon,
Jane
It's been a while since I've written. The past week has been rough. On Tuesday I went to Buffalo for the wake and funeral of John. If you want to see a local story on it, google ABC + buffalo + "O.P. Church Packed for Diplomat's Funeral" and you can watch a clip.
So now I'm home and trying to get back in to the routine. This weekend I'll be doing the usual cleaning, trying to get organized, getting my act in gear to exercise etc. My place is still a mess from my trip and then post-Christmas unpacking. So hopefully I'll get my act in gear. I also want to go see a movie (Juno, Charlie Wilson's war). Any takers??
Hope you're all doing well and more soon,
Jane
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