Areas of Unrest

5 November 2006 - Both Angular and Flat

First, the Poland travelogue is finally up.

This was a weird week because I spent two days in a class. It was supposed to be system of systems type stuff, but was really an odd and abstract hodgepodge of ideas with very little concrete. It was entertaining enough, but I prefer work-related classes to actually have some work-related utility.

Then I had a quick trip down to Florida for a meeting. It was a good meeting, but an exhausting trip, since I took a latish flight down on Thursday and a very early (6 a.m.) flight back Saturday morning. The meeting was actually a good one, at least. And I did do the travel intelligently by staying at the Orlando Airport Hyatt Friday night, which is actually in the airport itself. So I returned the car before checking in and could just go downstairs to get my flight.

By the way, the flight down on Friday was totally packed and they apparently even bumped some folks involuntarily. There seem to be huge numbers of Brits traveling to Orlando, which did make me wonder a bit about school schedules. Or do people think Disney is worth skipping school over?

I ran a few errands on my way home. I would have liked to take a nap, but didn't have a chance to since I had tickets to see The Washington Savoyards. The local Gilbert and Sullivan company was performing Patience, which I'd never seen before. It's not really one of the great operettas, but it does have its moments. Especially when the dragoons try to be aesthetic (hence, the title of this entry). The performances were generally good, though a few of the players didn't always project their voices consistently. Still, it wasn an enjoyable afternoon out. It also gave me a chance to take a nice walk around Georgetown on my way to and from the theatre. Washington is, generally, a good city to walk in and 35th Street is architecturally pleasing to stroll down. I could have used somewhat less wind and cold when crossing the Key Bridge to the Rosslyn Metro, but the weather isn't in my control.

Finally, I will be very happy when the election is over. I've been swamped with mail and phone calls and annoyed at television commercials. The stupidest one is George Allen's attack on Jim Webb over the language used in Webb's novels. Cuss words in military fiction is hardly a shocker.