By Popular Demand

Bad Dad. I only shot this one video - and this was his last race. He'd won the two previous but this one got him booted. He's the yellow car in the No. 1 lane, the one to the far right. Right before the cars cross the finish line, some kid walks in front of me. And watch your volume. It's loud - like a lot of kids noisy on a video shot with a phone camcorder kind of loud.

Other than that...

He Got A Trophy

OK. Everyone who participated got a trophy.

But the Sam-and-Zack Pinewood Derby car held its own at the event last night, which I gotta say was actually a lot of fun. There was this whole bracket organization to it that involved heats and rankings and runoff races. I don't pretend to understand HOW they did it - all I know is my kid's car hit that track a good 9 or 10 times and, of those, his car WON five times.

It was an elimination tournament so, as much as those wins were great, the losses also took him out of the running for the championship. But whatever, we yelled and screamed as the cars jumped out of the gate. We cheered and high-fived when his car crossed the finish line first.

I was late for the event - text-messaging Stacy as I was on the subway heading home. But I got there just in time for his races - and he'd been on the lookout for me. He spotted me the second I walked in the door... and his face lit up.

Priceless.

It's A Father-Son Thing

It's time for the Cub Scout's annual Pinewood Derby Race - only Zack and I are totally rookies at this. His scoutleader gave him the starter kit - basically a rectangular piece of pinewood with some grooves cut out for the wheel axles. From there on, we're on our own.

OK. So maybe I didn't do the best job at carving out this thing. The yellow paint and our "lightning bolts" hide some of the gashes I created with the power saw. And yeah, I know you're not supposed to use power tools - but I'm sure there were plenty of dads out there taking modern-day shortcuts to make sure these little cars go flying down the track.

Whatever. This was hardly about the car or the race. This was about dad and son spending the day together, going to the hobby shop to pick out cool stickers (that say "Turbo") and paint for the finished product. Zack chose Yellow with Red and Black for the lightning bolts, stripe down the hood and the Red "Z" painted in the back seat.

The way I see it - maybe he'll win some sort of trophy. Maybe he won't. But either way, it was really nice spending the day with my boy - enjoying his childhood innocence and imagination as we worked hand-in-hand, carving and sanding and painting. No matter how the race turns out, I was the biggest winner for getting to spend my day with him...

FIRE!

It was a small one - but we did have one, in the house on Saturday. Stacy simply plugged the vacuum into an outlet in the dining rooms when suddenly... SPARK! And within seconds, it was FLAMES shooting out of the wall. The damage was minimal - some black soot around the outlet (since replaced). And I had to cut out drywall around the outlet to make sure there wasn't deeper damage inside the wall.

An electrician determined that the outlet was bad - old, worn out and the victim of a 1960s way of connecting electrical outlets. The wiring is fine. His recommendation is that EVERY outlet and switch in the house be replaced. They also suggested that we increase the amperage and circuit breaker panel - a process they called a "heavy up."

We opened a claim with our home warranty company and are waiting on an estimate from the electrician to do the work. Then we have to see if the warranty company will approve it.

Remember the furnace? Now, the electrical system... Sheesh. I don't know how much more money I can put into this house this year - and it's only March...

Getting Home on Wednesday Night

The Wednesday night commute was horrible - and I blame myself. When I shot this picture, I actually kinda laughed at the poor schmuck who parked this car. Now, he was going to have to deal with the city and a boot removal company (one would think). Unless he was home already, his commute home was about to go through a major disruption.

Bad Karma. I jinxed myself.

I was walking to see Eric the Barber, this Latino dude who has his own shop over on 14th between N & Rhode Island. He's a cool guy and I like the way he cuts my hair. Anyway, after I left Eric's, I walked to the Dupont Metro Station. It's a little bit of a haul, probably about 6-7 big city blocks. But it was a nice night in the city, people were out and I was wearing my iPod. Just as I was coming up on the circle, I could see a lot of flashing lights - fire trucks and cops at both entrances to the Metro, on the north and south ends of the traffic circle. Crap.

Over at the south entrance, the escalators were running and the fire guys didn't seem to be moving around as if it were an emergency. Whatever happened was probably over. by now. And there were still a few people coming up and going down the escalators. So I went down the escalator, past the ticket booths and swiped my card at the gate. From there, I could see a train at the platform on the Shady Grove side and started double-timing it, trying to catch it before it pulled out of the station.

Every car of that train was JAM PACKED with people but I found a spot near the door and squeezed in. I already had my iPod on so I quickly zoned out and got lost in my Treo, hammering out some emails that I didn't get to earlier in the day (I do that a lot on the train...) Several minutes passed before I realized that the doors had never closed and that we were still on the platform at Dupont. I turned off my iPod and listened as the station agent apologized for the delay, said there was a track issue and that we would be single tracking up to Woodley Park, which was the next station. That's cool. It's slow because you've got to wait for the oncoming train to get into the station before your train can go. But it was only one stop so I threw back on the iPod and waited, crammed in that train with wayyyyy too many people all crowded up in my face and back and side. But I waited.

For the next 15 minutes, that train didn't move and people started losing patience. They started getting off the train, talking about cabs on the street and how much it would cost to get to Friendship Heights, Bethesda, Rockville... Then someone came back and said there were a lot of people lining the curbs, trying to hail cabs but few were coming by. Around that time, two firemen walked by on the platform and said something about one of the other firemen just going into the tunnel now. "This train ain't going anywhere anytime soon," one of them said. UGH!

Then came the announcement for everyone to get off the train and move to the platform that serves Glenmont-bound trains, the ones that head into the opposite direction. Dupont is one of those stations where the tracks run in the center of the station, with platforms on both sides. Others have the platform in the middle and the tracks on the outside. This is important to know because when they say for everyone to move to the other platform, that involves, getting off the train, cramming on to the escalators back to where the ticket booths are, walking over the bridge to the other side of the station and back down the escalators to the other platform.

So everyone starts moving - except for a handful of people who stayed on the train. Now, we're all crammed on the other platform - easily 400-500 people. No kidding. There we are waiting when suddenly, the train that we all just got off of... LEAVES. With passengers. Practically empty. Boy, people were pissed.

Then came the next announcement... Go back to the other platform again. Shady Grove trains will be using their own track, after all... ARGH!!!!! So there we go again - up the escalator, over the bridge and back down the escalator. Three trains came and went before I was finally able to work my way back to the platform and get on a train.

My adventure started about 7:15 p.m. and I got home just after 9. Sure, that sucks. And it's comforting to know that Metro regrets any inconvenience (though they still made me pay my fare.) But my bigger concern is that this publicly-funded mass transit system that moves hundreds of thousands of people between Maryland, Virginia and DC every day is so not ready to handle any sort of emergency situation. Communications broke down. Questions couldn't get answered. Agents and other Metro officials were rude and abrupt. That is no way to handle a situation that involves moving a lot of people.

And this is Washington DC, where bad things can potentially happen on any given day. Had Wednesday night's chaos been the result of a national emergency, who knows how Metro would have responded. I know how I would have responded - I would walked and walked and walked until I could hail a cab to get me back to Maryland. There's no way I would have waited for Metro to get its act together.

And yet... I'll be back on the train tomorrow.

They're Baaaack

I'm not sure if it was the fanny packs or the bermuda shorts with flip-flops (like anyone can walk all day in those) or the blinding surprise of camera flash in the Metro stations. But the tourists are back. They're on the trains again, looking for Dupont Circle or Georgetown or The Mall. They're stopping in the crosswalks again, pointing to and taking pictures of the White House up 16th Street or the Washington Monument from 15th NW. They're riding the escalators up to Connecticut Avenue and spinning on the street corners, trying to figure out which was is which.

Welcome Back!


Tourism is one of the greatest things about Washington DC. I'm constantly encouraging family members and friends to come out here and see the nation's capital, the monuments, memorials and museums. Feel free to whip out a pocket map or ask a local (you can tell which ones are tourists and which ones are local. It's very obvious). And yeah, I'll take your picture in the Metro station.



When tourists start landing in DC again, it heals one more wound left over from 9/11. Yes, the city is a target. But it's also a magnet. And it's ours. Our country. Our capital. Our city.

Hey Dad! Tio Tony wants you on the phone.

My Tio Tony called me the other day. Actually, it was a couple of weeks ago, when it snowed. My Tio Tony is the oldest of the family - the Diaz family, my dad's side. He just turned 80 last summer and there was a big bash for him in Vegas. He's a pretty sharp guy for being 80 - so much so that I forget that he's getting up there. He and my Tia Veva have grandkids my age.

That's him in the picture above, seated in the center. His son, my cousin Andy, is standing above him. Seated, my dad, Charlie, is on the left. (I'm standing above him.) On the right is my Tio Angel. My cousin Vince (we call him Chente) is standing above him. This is from the big party last summer in Vegas.

Anyway, he called a couple of weeks ago because he'd heard about the weather out here. That's very typical of my Tio Tony. A lot of people will see something on the news that's happening where a loved one is but won't think to call or send an email to see if things are OK. I'm just as guilty. My Tio Tony calls...

So we talked for a while - and it was great because he was just shooting the breeze. He asked about the move and the adjustment out here. How were the kids? Stacy? How was she adjusting? The whole bit... And then he asked me about me. Of course, I told him I was fine and even joked that I work too many hours and practically have two lives - one in a downtown building during the weekdays and one in the burbs on nights and weekends.

And then there was a "mijo moment". He kind of scolded me about working so much that I don't get to enjoy my family. The kids will grow up fast, he said.

"Take time to enjoy your family, mijo."

I take that as sound advice from a guy who has held the "Head of the Family" title since my Grandma died in 1984 - almost 23 years ago. Despite all of our differences and the drama that goes on sometimes (I've been in plenty of it, so I have no business talking about anyone.), family is still family is still family.

Thanks for the call, Tio Tony. It's always great to hear from family.

Fill 'Er Up

I swear this only happens when I'm late. DING DING DING and the yellow light comes on. Ya know, I rarely put gas in my truck anymore. I only really drive between home and the Twinbrook Metro station , which is only about 7 or 8 minutes away. And at $2.49 these days, why fill up? I'm cool with only dropping $25 in every 2 weeks or so.

Welcome Back, Sammy...

Sheesh... It's been like two weeks since my last entry.

OK. What can I tell you?

1) I have a new job - kind of. I have swapped jobs with one of my reporters. She'll edit for three months; I'll write for three months. This is something I had asked for at the end of last year, hoping that it would finally help me realize the way things work at this place. It truly is like no where else I've ever worked.

2) I took a trek up to NY for NAHJ's annual scholarship banquet and two intense days of board meetings. I wore a tux to the banquet and delivered a speech about NAHJ and the importance of giving to the cause. It was a nice event at a place called Bridgewaters at South Street Seaport. The even was held in a banquet room surrounded by windows. The view of the Brooklyn Bridge at night was amazing... Nick took a trek up on my second night there so he could hang out (he heard FREE HOTEL ROOM IN NEW YORK and jumped all over it.) It was cool having him around until he got all whiny crybaby about being cold and being tired from walking. Is it my fault he didn't pack good shoes? I also got a chance to spend some time with my NAHJ board buddies - Liz, Elizabeth, Regina, Raf and the others.

3) Stacy downloaded "The Secret," some book that Oprah talked about on her show. I don't completely get it but the bigger idea behind it is positive energy. If you believe good things will happen to you, then they will. But if you're constantly negative about things happening in your life, then the negative energy will keep things the way they are... OK, I think I'm over simplifying it - but you get what I mean, right? Anyway... Stacy is living by this way of life and I think it's a good thing for all of us.

4) My dad is shopping for a new TV. That's pretty exciting because I think he's finally gonna take the plunge into something cool and cutting-edge. I think I may be close to talking him into Plasma --- but we'll see. He's still in research mode, which usually ends us lasting for weeks. (You should see when he decides that it's time for a new car.)

5) The neighborhood is putting together a neighborhood watch. I know. It's kinda suburbia hokey but, hey, we all want to live in a safe place, right? The first meeting is this week. I wonder if this means I'll have to cruise through the neighborhood at 3 a.m. with a good flashlight...

OK. Clearly, there is more happening in my life than this. Blogging is really an interesting hobby, or form of self-expression. I want to write more. I want to think deep. I want to vent my feelings and frustrations about all of the things that are spinning through my head - money, kids, job, etc. - but the last thing I think about when I'm stressed is logging into the blog and hammering out my thoughts. I'm envious of my pal Liz, who has posted some really good entries - nothing as boring and uneventful as what I've been writing about.

That's it. Here comes my commitment again. I pledge to file some blog entries regularly and to offer something more than just these. I'm back on a roll.. Watch out.

One of the cool things about living here

THIS...


EVENTUALLY LEADS TO THIS...

Happy Valentine's Day...

... a day late, no less.

The idea was a good one. Every year since Stacy and I have been going out, we went to dinner at a small little Italian joint in Fresno, called Mike's Pizzeria (the one on West and Shields.) I hear the pizza is great - but we've only ever had their calzones. Even when we moved, we still went to Fresno on the weekend before or after V-Day for dinner. Then came the big move and last year's V-Day away from home - and no Mike's dinner.

This year, with the help of my cousin Sylvia, my Tia Chunca and cousin Jade, Mike's was being delivered for V-Day dinner. A calzone for everyone, packed in dry ice and shipped overnight via UPS. It was a great idea.

Then came the storm. And apparently, UPS doesn't follow the Post Office's "neither rain nor snow nor sleet..." motto. Because dinner never arrived. And the price for the overnight service? Yeah, UPS doesn't offer refunds for weather-related delays. Instead, Stacy made dinner and I ended up "telling" her what I'd planned.

The UPS guy showed up around 11 Thursday morning and we planned to have them for dinner. They were good - filling and just as scrumptuous as always.

* Thumbs-up to Mike's Pizzeria, Syl, Tia Chunca and Jade.
* Thumbs down to Mother Nature and UPS.

This is why they close school?

The kids got out early on Tuesday. School was closed Wednesday and Thursday. And to round things out, they shut 'em down again for Friday. And Monday is a holiday...

Thanks for the Memories, Old Fresno...

(Credit to the Bee for the pic)

I just saw this article from last week's Fresno Bee. They closed the Old Fresno Hofbrau. This place, an icon in downtown Fresno for generations, was one of our after-work hangouts not too far from The Bee. It was where Me and Stacy and Steve and Michelle used to go when I was falling head over heels for Stace. Stev-o and Michelle were such great friends during those times. Michelle has stories about me at the Old Fresno that she'll will be telling my grandkids...

The best thing on the menu: Hot Open Face Turkey Sandwich; The best thing at the bar: Those ice-cold goblets filled with a cold beer.

Fresno won't be the same without it...

Yes, There is More to Life Than the Weather...

But in the past couple of weeks, it has - by far - dominated our lives. Today started with snow, which turned to sleet and freezing rain. The sidewalks downtown were slushy and slippery. The roads were dangerous - icy. When I finally got home, my truck started sliding toward the tree next to the driveway and I ended up having to shovel around the tires so I could get some traction. But, the highlight of today's weather...

The Metro was empty on the ride home. Most companies had shut down early to get ahead of the ice storm that was on the way. The parking lot at the metro station was all but emptied out. Only a few cars. Mine was covered in ice - the door was even frozen shut until I could pull it open. I had no choice - I started the truck and let it run for about 20 minutes while the defroster melted away all of the ice.

Then I noticed that my truck was in an empty parking lot covered in snow and ice. Hmmmmm... What could me and my truck do in that slick, snow-covered parking lot? (Scccrrrreeeeeecccchhhhh sounds a lot different on snow - but it was fun sliding around like that. I felt like a kid again - if even for just a minute.)

Ten Days Later...

This blog thing really has a way of dissolving unless you really stay on it. Life goes on and days pass by... Let's see, since my last post:

* Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI (That's 41) in a pouring down Sloppy Bowl in Miami. I won $20. Lost way more than that. But, * tter. They lost the week before. This week was much much better. Zack also got an A on his speech about Nat King Cole for Black History Month.

* Steve Jobs posted an open letter to the record labels, calling for an end to DRM software in music downloads. Basically, it's the technology that forces you to play music that you bought from iTunes on an iPod only. He even raised the possibility of licensing his technology for a fee - an idea that the recording industry jumped on. The jury's still out. Check it out.

* It snowed. Only a little bit. Did I mention that already? This time they closed school. They shouldn't have. It didn't snow the whole rest of the day. But it did leave a nice couple of inches, enough for a couple of hours of playing. It's actually supposed to be snowing again as I type this - but I can't tell because I'm in the basement. It's supposed to turn to ice anyway. Great!

* Stacy scored her first contract for the school. She researched the information, wrote a proposal, facilitated a meeting of both parties, negotiated the terms and closed the deal. She's really doing a great job at that school.

* Josh Kwan came to town so everyone came over here to hang out for lunch - us, lori and spencer and cecelia and oltac. and kids too. it was cool just hanging out. a bunch of san jose friends.

Overall, it was a pretty cool nine days. I'll try to stay committed to this blog. It's tough... But wait until you hear what I'm trying to pull off for Valentines Day... If it happens, it will be so cool.

Lesson from Katrina

There was some footage out of central Florida where a deadly tornado ripped through as people slept. It was sad - all of those people with their homes and all of their belongings strewn about. And elderly gentleman interviewed by the TV crew said that there had been a lot of response and many offers of help to start with the cleanup. People, total strangers, drove to the affected areas and pulled into neighborhoods and just got out of their cars and started helping.

Americans were quick to jump in and help when they could - a lesson this country has learned from Katrina.

HEAT

It's back... and it cost me $1000 less than the first repair guy wanted to charge.

Nice...

The Death of a Furnace

We have no heat. Literally. In the house. None. Cold. Brrr.

Outside, winter has arrived (naturally...) The lows are in the teens - and the winds kicked in tonight. Wind chills will drop it into the single digits.

Here's the short story: Furnace makes clicking noise. Home warranty company sends Repair Guy #1 to the house. Furance is rusted and starting to crack. It's OK to run for now but it needs replacing. Warranty company says they'll replace the unit, but we have to pay for several non-covered charges, including mandatory upgrades to the flue that aren't really part of standard installation, even though they're mandatory. That's like making you pay extra for the seatbelts.

But that's not the point. The non-covered charges total $1200. OUCH. But when you're the dad and the mom, you gotta do what you gotta do. The warranty company assures me that Repair Guy #1 can't charge more than that. Then we call him and now he suddenly needs $1750. What to do? What to do? Should I complain?

You're damn right I'm gonna complain. There's me and warranty company on the phone. They call the Repair Guy #1 and he tells the warranty people that they didn't write down everything he would have to do for this job. By the way Warranty Guy told me this, I know he was rolling his eyes at Repair Guy #1.

Enter Repair Guy #2 - aka The Second Opinion. Repair Guy #2 comes to the house yesterday. Yup. Furnace is bad. Furnace gotta go. And then comes the bombshell: Furnace must be shut off. That crack is dangerous, Repair Guy #2 says it's dangerous and, by law, he must shut it down. Carbon monoxide could seep out. Repair Guy #2 says Repair Guy #1 should have shut it off.

That brings us back to cold... Brrr shivering cold. So now there's big down comforters and layers of blankets and portable space heaters. The night isn't unbearable under the covers but that tile floor in the bathroom in the morning is - WOW! COLD!

Warranty Company Guy says they'll approve the replacement. Repair Guy #2 will do the job and says it won't nearly cost that much out of my pocket - probably closer to $1000. Not great - but not $1800 or even $1200.

I'm shooting for Wednesday but Thursday could be more likely. Friday at the latest. Very latest. They say there's a pretty good snow storm headed this way Thursday night.

So this is the life of an east coast homeowner in the winter? I don't ever remember dealing with anything like this in Morgan Hill...

Girls Weekend

This weekend, we're on our own. Stacy took off to Florida to hang out with a good friend of ours. We had some flight credit that she had to use before it expired - but it wasn't enough to travel cross-country. But it was enough for a quick roundtrip down to Florida to see Michelle.

No, Disney World isn't in the plans for her - but she is going to relax. Even if it kills her. She says there's a trip to a day spa somewhere in the plans.

Back home, the kids are worried that we're going to starve to death - because I don't really cook. But I do know how to order pizza and pop Eggos into the toaster. And as long as we have cereal and milk in the house, we'll be fine. As for keeping them occupied, it's still way too cold out there for us to be heading outside. Maybe we should take this opportunity to catch up on laundry and cleaning around the house.

Or not...

Blustery

There's a word. Blustery. Is that supposed to mean that it's not quite cold enough for your skin to blister. A few weeks ago, everyone was talking about how warm it was - 73 degrees in early January.

Well, winter has arrived. And it brought the wind with it. Now, I get it. All these years. The cold weather back east that they'd talk about on the news back home - right before they started talking about a chilly 52 degrees and a mild 68 in the day around the bay. Yeah, I remember it... And this is just DC cold - not like Boston or Minnesota or Green Bay cold. AND there's no snow. All the stuff that stuck the other day is pretty much gone.

It actually did snow today and pretty got pretty heavy for there for a while, a steady stream blowing in the wind. It was pretty to look at but none of it stuck. Now it's clear. And still cold. Really cold.

Blustery cold.

So what exactly is blustery? Wind chill makes things blustery, it appears. So the 19 degrees in Rockville this morning will actually feel like 2. No I didn't miss a number. That's "2," as in degrees. TWO. Tomorrow's high? 31.

(Did you hear that? Was that one of my bones crackling?)