January 7, 2010 • randomness •

This week’s not-so-special: extra “Tangents” on Thursday!

I don’t go in for New Year’s Resolutions, but one thing I’d like to try this year is being a little less

fixated on how often I post here. I liked that “unplugged” thing during the holidays, and I considered not posting today. But I usually prefer to let y’all know in advance when I won’t be here – a planned vacation day as opposed to calling in sick, I guess – and I hadn’t done that. Then I realized that since I went “all TV, all the time” this Tuesday, I hadn’t posted a proper dose of Tuesday Tangents randomness – and a Thursday-morning post was born! I’d call it a “special edition, one time only” occurrence, but it probably won’t be; I reserve the right to fall back on “Tuesday Tangents on Thursday” whenever necessary. (This is what goes on in my head. Are you sorry I let you in there?)

Today is January 7 – the 26th anniversary of my first wedding. Clearly, it’s not a day I celebrate any more – since that marriage ended almost eight years ago and I’ve been married to someone else since 2006 – but it’s not like it’s going to slip my mind entirely. But having mentioned it, let’s move on… Today is also the day of the BCS National Championship, which is being played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Since my college-football-blogging son is back in DC now, I can ignore it in peace. Will you be watching the big game?

Earlier this week, I briefly mentioned that I’ll be in DC myself in June – part of a two-week East Coast trip we’re planning for just after the kids get out of school (my mother-in-law is coming too). We’ll be splitting the time just about evenly between DC and New York City. I’ve never been to DC before, and am particularly looking forward to the Mall and whichever parts of the Smithsonian we decide to visit (the Air and Space Museum is pretty much guaranteed). We need to write to our Senator about tickets for the Capitol and/or White House tours – wish us luck with that! I’d love a side trip to Politics and Prose – I’ve already looked up how to get there from our hotel ☺. And if all the logistics – including the ones with my family – can be worked out, Rebecca suggested a DC book-blogger meet-up, which I would also love.

I’ll be missing the really big book-blogger meet-up – the Book Blogger Convention planned for the week of Book Expo America (BEA) – but I’ll be in New York City just a few weeks after it…and we’ll be staying at the same hotel where I’ll be for BlogHer’10 in August. We’ll be doing the usual Manhattan touristy things there too – the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, hopefully the Museum of Natural History – and both my stepdaughter and husband want to spend lots of time at Macy’s flagship store. I doubt I’ll complain much about that myself!

»We’ll only have about five days in each city and we’ll be using public transit and cabs while we’re there, but if you have a must-see, must-do recommendation for either place, be sure to let me know!«
✷ BTW, if you’re still thinking about going to BlogHerCon and haven’t registered yet, the early-bird rates are still available till February 28. I know BEA/BlogHer is an either-or for a lot of people, and to some extent it depends on what you want to get out of a conference, but I’d love to know some of you will be there with me! (I will probably try to sell this at least a couple more times in the next few months, but I’ll back off for now…however, not before I refer you to these posts from BlogHer’09.) ✷

This coming weekend will be the first that Tall Paul and I have had to ourselves since before Thanksgiving! We have his kids every other weekend; in between, we had his mom visiting over Thanksgiving weekend, we were at her house two weekends after that, and my son was with us over Christmas weekend. We have plans…plans involving a car. I’ll probably be short-cutting Bloggiesta this weekend because of that, but I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

»Well, we’re a whole week into 2010 now – how has the new year been treating you? What tangents has your mind wandered this week?«

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8 comments

  1. I lived in DC for seven years. My two favorite spots are the National Cathedral and the Library of Congress. The LoC is right behind the Capitol and is an incredible building. There's a Guttenberg Bible on display and often rotating exhibits that are really impressive. Also, next to the Supreme Court, check out the Folger Shakespeare Theater. They've got a first folio of the plays and a lovely theater. Have fun!

  2. I'm glad you let us inside your head — I love watching how you think 🙂

    I envy your summer vacation plans. I attended Gettysburg College and we would very often "road trip" to DC. You will LOVE it there. We lived in NYC for 4.5 years (just 2 blocks from Washington Square Park – it was wonderful) and I am definitely jealous of the time you will spend at Macy's. There is truly no other store like that flagship store at Herald Square.

    As far as recommendations – You must take a carriage ride through central park and see the lights at Tavern on the Green. They are spectacular (in my humble opinion)

  3. Amy Reads – I'd love to see the National Cathedral and the Library of Congress, but I'm not sure who else in my family will be interested. I know my husband would like to check out Ford's Theater. We'll have to see what makes the final cut. Thanks for your suggestions! It's always good to get input from someone who's lived in a place you plan to visit.

    Molly – I was born in New York City, but we moved to Connecticut when I was three years old, so I don't feel like I really lived there.

    My husband and stepdaughter were in NYC on a school trip two years ago, and are excited about going back. I know he wants to do the Central Park carriage ride, so that may actually happen :-). Thanks for the ideas!

  4. Of course we'll be watching the game tonight. Won't everybody?

    Your trip sounds like so much fun! You can take a barge ride down the C & O canal in D. C. and Carl and I loved that. Vance loved the FBI building and says you need to visit it.

  5. Don't forget Arlington Cemetery in DC. You must be there for the Changing of the Guard. There are so many things to see there, if you go to Lee's House you will have the best views of the city! It's a metro stop and one of my favorite places.

  6. You should definitely see the New York Public Library and The Strand Bookstore – unless both of those fall into the category of things your fellow travelers are uninterested in! The beautiful arch and fountain in Washington Square Park are always gorgeous and fun to visit, since you'll recognize them from so many movies.

    Ohhhh actually my favorite thing about the city is renting a rowboat in Central Park. It's amazing and surprisingly affordable. Up to four people in each rowboat! Yup, that's my #1 suggestion. Cheers!

  7. I'm not watching the BCS game. I really thought college football was over. I guess I'm not much of a college football guy.

    Enjoy your weekend together!

  8. Kathy (Bermudaonion) – We're not watching the game. As I type this, we're watching an episode of Psych from the Season 1 DVDs.

    Stacybuckeye – I'm not sure how far outside DC itself we're going to get, but thanks for the tip about Lee's House!

    Novelwhore – I have definitely not forgotten about The Strand, and I wouldn't mind stopping by the library either :-).

    Mike – I pay just enough attention to know what Chris is talking about, but I'm not that into it either.