IT'S GOOD TO BE IN D.C.: May 2005

Time spent in Manhattan

Lyrics on my mind:
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days and I thought they'd never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought I'd see you again.
-Fire and Rain, James Taylor

I drove up to Manhattan today for a few appointments, the first of which was to be lunch with my friend Katie a little after noon. I had only spent ten minutes speaking with her in person in almost six months, so I was looking forward to seeing her.

I got to Manhattan and got a phone call from Katie; one of her coworkers screwed up and she needed to push back our lunch. I had a 1:00-2:30 meeting in Kedzie, so we chose to meet up after that.

So, from noon to just before 1:00, I went and visited my cousin Jennifer. She and her husband have been offering to provide me practically free room and board for helping them with their house and babysitting their daughter, Emma.

Emma is a four-year-old darling that is chock-full of sugar-fueled sillyness, she kinda reminds me of my friend Mela's little girl. She's a very sweet, special little girl; spend too much time around her and you can feel your spine start popping as she tries to wrap you around her little finger.

Ok, that's an exageration; but only a little one. Moving on...

The meeting in Kedzie wasn't in Kedzie, after all. It was in the Union; there's no real important reason why, so don't ask.

The subject: a candidate for Collegian advisor was available for questioning, er... discussion with Collegian staffers and Student Pub-ers in general. Her name was Kim, and the best way to describe her is take Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth from The Apprentice, give her a friendly personality and a healthy dose of competence, and have her apply to be the Collegian's advisor.

I won't say anything more about the meeting.

I got out, called Katie, and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for food, fun, and... well, that's about it. She had boneless wings, so she was able to eat them with a fork and remain dignified. I, on the other hand, ordered the regular wings -- they were 35 cents apiece -- and looked like a crazed beast as I tore through the tender, flamingly spicy morsels.

We also played the in-house Trivia game at the restaurant. Katie kicked my ass.

Something funny happened as we were sitting in her car before driving back onto campus. Katie asked me about something, and as I tried to think of it she said "Gee, thanks for remembering to wear clothes today."

Not thinking about what she said, I replied "You're welcome."

Turns out she had been expressing her thoughts aloud about a girl who had walked right in front of the car in a sports bra and running shorts, and I didn't even notice her.

What does that say about me?

Later on, I went to Wal-Mart. I got a case for my iPod (finally), some new headphones to replace the ones our dog chewed up, and an extra pair of pants.

Hello, Deep throat

Ladies and Gentlemen: it was W. Mark Felt.

But the million-dollar question is: why did he come out now?

Here's my theory: to save unnamed sources.

Watergate is the best example ever of why reporters should be able to use unnamed sources if the situation renders it necessary. True, it is ideal to have named sources, but I'll take a truthful unnamed source over one that gives a name but lies on any given story.

I.E. I'd prefer a truthful FBI agent over a lying sack-of-feces president.

Baseball + my family = pain for me

This morning, my dad and I took my youngest brother, Ryan, to the batting cages for a few hours to practice. When that got old, we walked onto a vacant baseball field and my dad started hitting balls to Ryan while he practiced playing shortstop.

My job was to stand a few yards behind him and catch what he missed.

It went well, and the time to go home eventually came. My dad gave Ryan a high five for a job well done. He came up to me and put his hand out for my turn. I was carrying the bat at the time, so I pretended to hit his hand with the bat. He gave out a small chuckle.

Then I gave him an actual high five... well, I attempted to do so, with the bat still in my hand.

Thus, when I tried to slap his hand, I nailed myself in the back of the head with a baseball bat. An aluminum baseball bat.

And it hurt.

Then Ryan starting throwing balls at me, knowing full well my arms were full and my head was pounding. Little monster left a mark.

I just hope he shows the same enthusiasm when he's at a real game.

Food that makes you want to start hugging people at random

I barbecued today. And I really mean, I barbecued. I did not grill, I did not simply apply heat to meat.

I barbecued pork ribs and a whole chicken on our double-decker smoker. Just let that sink in for a moment.

Now let it sink in for another.

To be truthful, it was a team effort with my mother, who deserves equal credit for the masterpieces of meat.

This morning we both did seasoning and meat preparation, I started the charcoal, assembled the smoker, got it hot and cooking, and we placed the flesh above the slow flames and let the smoke soak into them all day. On two occasions, we added more fuel to keep the flavored heat coming.

Almost nine hours later, we pulled them off, put potatoes and corn on the cob on the table, and the whole family dug in. I had the only beer left in the house.

The meat was perfect, and we had to handle it gently for it would fall straight off the bone from vibrations that weren't strong enough to bother nitroglyceren.

Now, as I digest this feast, I feel happy enough to hug just about anyone, and smear them with sauce in the process.

Big tough Indy500 driver is scared of a little girl

I don't believe this, or the fact that I'm actually honoring it with a post.

Now, if they added weight to the car for all the lighter male drivers, then there'd be a reasonable argument here. But as far as I can tell, there isn't.

Hey, I'm no expert on motorsports, nor do I feel an desire to be one. I just know a coward who's afraid of losing to a girl when I see one. If the weight issue is still too much for Mr. Gordon to handle, he can always get the flu or food poisoning and he'll close that weight gap real quick.

Finally, if he refuses to race, then all he really is doing is forfeit with different words.

Another exciting chapter

Needing A Title Here

This installment tells us more about our main character...

and introduces two new ones.

Mercury tomorrow

Tomorrow, I will be working at the Mercury again. If anyone wants to know what will be happening during the meeting, here's a link to the agenda.

What the? I'm bleeding out in the open...

There is this woman who will not get out of my head. Well, she herself is not in my head. She isn't doing anything on purpose to get my attention or anything. It's the thought of her that has dug its way deep into my mind, as well as my heart. Yeah, I love her. Well, that, or I have a rather annoying crush on her. Whatever the case, I'm mad as hell with myself for letting it happen.

Without giving too much away, I know already that an actual relationship will not ever come into existence with this woman. Because of this knowledge, I have been trying to get myself to stop caring so much about her, as utterly horrible as it sounds.

It's been a losing battle. I was hoping I could switch off that part of myself, that I could just walk away and be done with it. Only she just digs deeper every time I talk to or see her.

Damn it all.

So this leaves me with two options:
A.) Continue with the plan of simply resisting and trying to forget her.
B.) Fess up and tell her how I feel, get rejected, and scare and possibly hurt her in the process.

Ah, hell.

Music Review

I just bought "Man Like Me" by a new country artist named Bobby Pinson, and I absolutely love it. You might have seen the video his single "Don't ask me how I know" on CMT.

Pinson has a very tired, ragged voice that couples with his excellent songwriting very well. He expresses his life and humanity very clearly, and he passes on all sorts of lessons he's learned the hard way.

Out of ten asterisks:

*********

(There should be nine)

Welcome, and don't feed the tourists.

I haven't posted in a while, because there hasn't been as much to post about. Sorry, didn't mean to neglect the voyeauristic freaks of the world.

My brother Drew graduated from High School on Sunday. I was very, very proud of him and still am. It should be entertaining when he realizes he's done with High School.

Monday was another County Commission meeting, and was a good day. After work was over, I went over to K-State and picked up a few copies of "Update," the magazine the J-school produces for the alumni. I was featured in a story about the past, present, and future students of the school.

I was the present, in case you're still guessing, and have been joking that this makes me the very model of the modern major in journal-ism. I was very happy with the job they did in writing about me, and was surprised to find that they published the address of this blog.

So, to any K-State alumni who are coming here to read about me:

Welcome, and don't feed the tourists.

I then went to see Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. I tried to get a few friends to go with me, but they were busy. So I went alone.

All I will say about the film is that it gave me the impression that Lucas et al. just said:

"Hey, I'm tired of writing and working on this crap. Let's just get this over with so we can go home."

Hell, he could have done the entire last movie with stick-puppets and construction paper and it still would've made him millions upon millions of dollars.

After the film, I rushed home to my cousin's 8th grade graduation, aka promotion, watched, went to the reception at her house, had a beer, and came home.

Thank you, that is all.

Commencement: about to commence

Just a quick little post as the clock moves closer and closer to 3, when my baby Brother Drew will graduate from Council Grove High. He's co-valedictorian, so he will be speaking. He never asked me to look at his speech though, because he's probably certain I'd have a fit at the mindless drivel the administration will be making him say to the class.

Needing A Title Here

New Post here.

Babysitting

Look at my picture there on right. What do you see?

Terror? Evil? Danger? Someon that should be locked away forever and kept out of public eye?

Well, to Little Miss Kaylee Blosser, it's all of the above.

Kaylee's brother had his tonsils out today, so his mom dropped her and her sister off with me today so she could rush up to Manhattan and be with her little boy.

Well, she dropped the kid in my arms, and ran. Literally. She was out of the door before I could say goodbye, but not before little Kaylee was squealing for her mom and trying to hit me.

I used to be great with kids, what happened?

Her big sister was a sweet kid though, and held her for me because Kaylee liked her. I took a page from a friend of mine who is a mother and showed her badgerbadgerbadger and Lions in Kenya to distract her. Hey, at least she didn't cry anymore.

An hour or so later, their grandma came and took them off my hands and out of my hair.

Now where did I put the Ibuprofen?

Going digital, any day now

I've been going over my digital photography wants again and again over the course of weeks gone by, and I'm a bit frustrated with myself because I can't seem to make a decision.

Here's what I have planned right now:

Canon 20D kit from B&H

However, things get tricky after that. I want to do sports and portraits, so I need a good piece of long, fast glass (telephoto with really wide aperture) to do that. I can possibly afford one of the following, but only one:

Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer USM

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

The 20D has a built-in popup flash, which is nice because it means I'm never without a flash. However, it's rather weak, so I'll have to invest in a dedicated flash to use when I need serious flash work. Here's what I think I'll get:

Canon 550EX Speedlite

Also, to do sports, I'll want to do a lot of vertical shots, and I hate twisting my arm above the body all the time, so this might be necessary:

Canon BG-E2 Vertical Grip/Battery Holder

Until then, I'm stuck with my 23-year-old AE-1 Program.

****Edit****

I'll also have to pick up a lensbaby for art, wild portraits and such.

Another summer at the Mercury

I must admit, it's funny that I'm working for the Manhattan Mercury again. I spent the last summer interning for them as a writer for their "K-State Edition," a special copy of the paper that is produced every year and mailed to all incoming freshmen.

It was that internship, I understand, that got me the internship in Washington. And it was clips from my internship in Washington that got me my job with the Mercury, not as an intern, mind you, but as a part-time Staff Writer.

"Oh let the circle, be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by."

There is another interesting connection. At Scripps, cans of soda were sudsidized for employees at 25 cents apiece. The Mercury has a similar program: Bottles of coke are 75 cents and bottles of Pepsi run 65 cents.

But the differences are massive. First off, there's the smell. There was no smell to the Scripps Media Center, at least none that I noticed. The Mercury has a very distinct smell to it; one that I cannot place but reminds me of the varnish and paint section of my Uncle's old lumberyard here in Council Grove.

There's also the big freaking press in the building that they spin up daily to print the Mercury, something missing in the all-digital Scripps bureau. There's something wonderful about having your words printed in the same building as where they were typed. The Washington Post's reporters don't have that, Scripps's Washington Reporters don't have that, and if I recall correctly, the New York Times' reporters don't either.

And there's one final difference: haunting. That is to say, the newsroom of the Manhattan Mercury is haunted. They haven't named whoever it is in there, but there's definitely something along the lines of "not alive" in there.

How do I know? Sit in there, working at night, and sooner or later you'll hear someone suddenly start mashing on a keyboard. And then they'll stop, just as quickly. There's no one else in the building, let alone the room. Trust me, I've run through the entire place on several occasions trying to catch whomever it was, only to confirm that I was alone.

Not to mention the common disappearance of important papers and the like, or the switching of lights when, once again, you're completely alone. Not that I'm complaining. It's always good when a workplace has character.

NATH's grand debut!

Hello dear readers. I would like to announce the grand premiere of the project I've been planning for the past year.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the first installment:

Needing A Title Here

Yeah, wasn't that grand?

Going back...

There's no County Commission meeting tomorrow because the Commissioners are going to a conference or something, so I kinda get the day off. Unless I get a lead on my follow-up project, then it's off to work for me.

I called Jody, my former editor/supervisor at Scripps today to see what was happening with this evacuation today, and turns out one of the interns was at the Capitol when it happened. I must admit I feel envious that nothing like that happened while I was in D.C. Yeah, petty and immature, but at least I have the guts to admit the truth.

She also told me that one of my pictures was published, and that a clip was on the way. So I feel very happy about that. I told her about my upcoming return trip to D.C.... oh wait, I forgot to write about that. Here goes: I'm going back to D.C., if only for a little while.

The art club from my old High School is taking a trip to Washington on the 3rd of June, and they're paying half my airfare and lodging to come along with them and be their guide. They go back on Sunday afternoon, but couldn't get me on the return flight so I have my own ticket to come back Monday morning. Scott, in an act of great kindness, has agreed to put me up for the night. I have, in turn, agreed to pay for the beer. (I believe the "D" in "D.C' should stand for "drinking.")

Finally, she told me she was going to try to start reading my blog tomorrow, so:

Hello Jody. Welcome to my pesky little blog, and don't worry, I never said anything bad about you here. Also, please tell Ieesha I loved her column on the evacuation. It was wonderful, and that comes from a recovering columnist.

How Lightsabers work...

This is what happens when the folks at howstuffworks.com have way too much time on their hands. I do, however, love the practical application pages.

Wish you were here

I worked a fair amount at the station today, a few tirejobs and a few oil changes that weren't pleasant. Especially when a used oil filter slipped from my hand and poured hotter-than-normal oil all over my right arm and hand. (It's always hot when we change oil, it has to be so it comes out easy, but this truck's engine was much warmer than usual).

So I now have even less feeling on that arm.

I worked off and on most of the day, and went home around six. I ran some errands around seven, played catch with one of my brothers for a while and went out to the lake around 8:30. I pulled into the beach at Richey Cove, and walked down to the sand of this small beach. It's no more than 100' wide, but it faces west over the water and you can always watch the sunsets from there. I took off my shoes and socks and left them at a picnic table and walked up to the water's edge and put my feet into the cold reservoir water while my eyes took in the western sky.

I sat down a few feet from the water, dug my feet into the sand and felt the wind blow in from behind me and run through my hair. Shades of orange, pink, and red were scattered in grand wisps all over the wide Kansas sky, all seeming to eminate from one point near the horizon. It was if the gates of heaven had opened and the Saints had come out to play for awhile as the night chased them away.

I stayed as the colors faded and the night took hold over the earth. I watched family of Canadian Geese waddle out of a patch of bushes thirty feet away down to the water and swim off into the sunset. Soon enough, the lightshow was gone, and stars pierced their way through the dark blue sky, and I layed down to see them all. This song came to mind:

"Wish you were here" by Incubus

I dig my toes into the sand
The ocean looks like
A thousand diamonds strewn
Across a blue blanket
I lean against the wind
Pretend I am weightless
And in this moment
I am happy happy

I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here

I lay my head onto the sand
The sky resembles
A backlit canopy
With holes punched in it
I'm counting UFOs
I signal them with my lighter
And in this moment
I am happy happy

I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here

The world's a rollercoaster
And I am not strapped in
Maybe I should hold with care
My hands are busy in the air
Saying

I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here
I wish you were here

I got up and brushed off the sand and went back to the picnic table. I cleaned off my feet before putting my socks and shoes back on, and took one last look from the tiny Kansas beach, and left.

Wanted: Editor

Dear Friends,
I have completed the first draft of the first installment of NATH and would like to bring in an extra mind on board to serve as an editor for the project. There is no pay, just an "edited by" credit, and you get to read the posts several days before anyone else.

Requirement: Knowledge of proper English (preferably anal retentive), willingness to respect my vision and must keep all knowledge of storyline confidential.

Send all inquiries to me @ logan.adams@gmail.com.

No Longer a Teenager: Two decades crawling, walking, and driving across the earth

Yeah, that's right, I turned 20 today. Aren't I special?

I got up this morning at 5:54 A.M. (some numbers just stick in your memory) and groomed myself. Dressed in my black suit with a green shirt and black/silver/blue tie, I was out of CG by 7:05 and arrived at the Mercury at 8:00. I did some research online, went over to the County Building, and covered the meeting.

Not much happened. I wrote a short story (6 inches) about what little that was said that was important, and left. I also got a nice lead on a feature/news story to work on the rest of the week. I went to K-State and dropped off some paperwork, the last I would have to do for my internship. It is finally complete. No more. Ever.

I tried to get a few friends on the phone to meet and do something, but no luck. Twas finals week for my college friends, and my non-college friends were straight-out unavailable. Poo.

I went home, went to work for a little while so my dad could go play golf. I opened my presents, had a nice dinner and pie, and I even did dishes. I made them let me. And then I posted.

I'm twenty now. XX. 20. I'm excited about next year though.

21. I just love thinking about that. 21.

All this, just because I gave an honest opinion of some animals!

I've read this on a few friends' blogs, so I gave it a shot.

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance.

In love, you feel the most alive when everything is uncertain, one moment heaven... the next moment hell.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Maybe I should go to margaritaville...

My birthday is Monday, and instead of the giddy, happy go lucky, "Look at me! Look at me!" attitude that I used to have, I'm in a strange mood. Sort of bittersweet, rather strange. I don't want to think about gifts, or a party. I'm hesitant about even marking it, it's like I'm in denial.

There's this song Jimmy Buffet released really hits a chord, pardon the pun...

Trip around the Sun
by Jimmy Buffett featuring Martina McBride

Hear 'em singing Happy Birthday
Better think about the wish I made
This year gone by ain't been a piece of cake
Every day's a revolution
Pull it together and it comes undone
Just one more candle and a trip around the sun

I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control
If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go

No, you never see it coming
Always wind up wondering where it went
Only time will tell if it was time well spent
It's another revelation
Celebrating what I should have done
With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun

I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control
If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go

Yes, I'll make a resolution
Then I'll never make another one
Just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun
Just enjoy this ride ...
Until it's done

I don't really want to talk about it, but I kinda do, I guess

Today was difficult. I went to the dinner for Kansas State Student Publications in Manhattan, and it was painful. I just brought back all the hard memories from last semester, and before the night was over, I could feel that knife in my heart again that I hadn't felt since I left the Collegian.

Looks like I might be finding a different place to work this fall.

Mobius strip

A few years or so ago I was walking around the mall in Manhattan and frantically looking for my friend Michelle. She was driving in from western Kansas to have some fun and pay me a visit. We had met the summer before in Dodge City and became friends, and I was looking forward to seeing her again.

We were supposed to meet at the American Eagle store there, but she wasn't there. I started walking around the mall searching for her, and became worried that something had happened to her. I didn't have her cellphone number, let alone a cellphone. I tried her home number on a payphone, but no luck.

I was hurt she didn't show, but there was nothing I could do. I went to Waldenbooks hoping to find a tome into which to dive and forget my worries. I found that in a book of work by Maurits C. Escher, and went home with feelings of rejection coupled with fear for her safety.

Some time later I was able to get ahold of her, she was back home in Hoxie. Somewhere on the interstate she had gotten very sick and had to turn back, and I was actually relieved to hear it.

We talked on and off, then after a while we stopped talking. No fight, no trouble, we just stopped.

Then, back around Christmas 2004, I spotted her online, ans we started talking. She had just been hit with a horrible tragedy, the loss of someone her whole life revolved around, and I tried my best to make her feel better about it. So did Scott, when they met online. Kudos to him for that.

I called her from time to time from D.C., and I could feel the pain in her voice wane with time as she healed, but it never disappeared.

A few days ago I found that Escher book again, and almost donated it the local high school library with a stack of other books I wanted to share with the students at my alma mater, but I held on.

Instead I've been thumbing through it these past few days.

Then this morning, as I listened to Commissioner Bob Newsome complain about landscaping and birds crapping by the County Office building, I heard a nice roar as my phone vibrated itself and the table it was sitting on along with it, and the name "Michelle" popped onto the front screen. I didn't answer, I was working. But as soon as that meeting was over, I called her back.

Turns out she was in Manhattan, and wanted to hang out for a while after I hadn't seen her in almost 3 years.

And we did. And it was fun.

And I was sad to watch her drive off after we went for a small walk in City Park.

Sometimes it's just strange how life just... connects.

Capitalist Pig

So I added advertisements to the page. Big Deal. Get over it.

And click on them, please.

And my pants are just fine...

There's a nice-sized hill north of my house here in Council Grove called Nanny-Goat hill that I chose to walk this evening. Uphill.

On this hill there's a road, and about 3/4 of the way up the hairs on my necks sent me a signal:

"Dude, something is not right!"

I stopped, pulled the headphones out of my ears, and turned around. Not 50 feet away was a large dog, staring at me, possibly thinking "Mmmm... dinner." It was backlit, and was entirely black from my perspective. It was the size of a full-grown Rottweiler, but its ears were too big and its tail was long and bushy.

The road was cut into the hill, and I had a limestone wall one side of me and dark forest on the other. The nearest house was a almost a football field away, the nearest intersection even further. It was just me, and the dog.

He kept staring. I stared back. He started barking, and stopped to see if I'd do anything. He did it again. I still didn't move.

I raised my left foot and stomped. He started running full-tilt, away from me.

"That's what I thought," I yelled before turning and going home, checking over my shoulder every ten steps.