I went to DC this last weekend. Visited a friend I’ve known for longer than
I can remember and went to a Broadcast Journalism School put on by an
organization called Youth Leadership something or other. Which was great
except that I have no desire to get into broadcast journalism. And any
inklings I had in that direction were quickly snuffed out as the weekend
progressed.

I also learned how to network. No, not like how to run a bunch of computers
at the same time, which might have been somewhat useful. I learned how to
meet people, find out as much as I can about them, and manipulate them into
doing things for me. No, it’s not that callous, but not exactly my style
either.

I ALSO learned about the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and how to
be an optimist. I’m happy to say that I’m still as ineffective and
pessimistic as ever.

But, despite my cynicism, the weekend was not the waste I may be making it
out to be. I learned a great deal, whether I’ll use it or not, and got
exposed to a lot of ideas that are good for me to be aware of. I also
determined that I’ll never fit into Washington professionalism, and I have no
desire to work there.

But as my friend I was staying with told me, “You are the one person I never
have to worry about fitting into the cookie cutter role of all that. You are
your own person, unlike anyone else I know.”

Which led me to the realization that I’ll probably be cursed with kids who
want to be perfectly normal.

In other news, I spent a good deal of time on the phone talking to my mom
this evening and on the keyboard (piano) playing after not having access to
one all weekend. Which means that, despite drinking a cup of coffee after
supper, I don’t have the time or energy to expound on anything more than I’ve
already covered about the weekend.

You can stop cheering now.
But there will be other trips to Washington, so maybe I’ll tell you about all
of that.

In still other news, I found 3 four-leaf clovers on Friday. I also got to DC
from here (leaving at 5:45 pm) in 2 hours and back (leaving at 9:15 pm) in 1
and 1/2. Which, as I understand it, is very good time. Think there’s a
connection? Well, take into account that I also got lost on the way and
almost got hit (never turn left from the right hand lane) as I finally saw my
friend waiting by the side of the road ready to flag me down.

In case you’re wondering, the subject title of this e-mail has nothing to do
with its contents.