Brutalism

Thursday, I did my first-ever speaking engagement at the Vale School House in Oakton, Virginia, and I loved every.single.second. and did not want it to end. During the evening, I shared this reading of one of my favorite posts: (NOTE: I did omit mention of the "euphemisms for masturbation" category

(This will so not be the post you expected based on that title -- apologies.)It's like that old joke about what you get when you play a country song backwards...you get your wife back, you get your job back, you get your dog back...Just 24 hours ago, I submitted this week's Oakton Patch column -- a

On Saturday, while watching The Hunger Games in the theater, I was so startled by the appearance of the muttations that I tensed enough to strain a muscle in my calf. I wish I was kidding. Which was awesome timing as I was running the Cherry Blossom 10-miler on Sunday. I've avoided this race for a

Recently, I used the most horrible verbal transition of my life. During a business call, I discovered that the owner of one of our customer companies had died. I was very empathetic with the Office Manager who was conveying the news to me and told her how sorry we were to hear that and that I could

In an uncharacteristically sappy (read: beer-fueled) moment tonight, I turned to Canetto and said, "You know, I appreciate what a great Dad you are. The fact that you are so involved with our daughter will mean more than anything both to her and to the person she becomes..." To which he replied: "Th

Conversation with the Dilettantes during our Falconry class today (post to come on Dilettante Club site):Me: "You know. I just could not like that instructor, because he reminded me of a guy named Smelly Dave that I used to date."Amy (incredulously): "You dated someone called Smelly Dave?"Me (apolog

For the record, I was never a nose-picker or scab eater, although I was (am?) pretty prolific in my pants-wetting. Which is interesting, really, as I was a painfully shy kid. (And when I say, "painfully", I mean ridiculously, paralyzingly so.) As such, I was terrified to ask teachers, instructors an

A friend of mine works for a government contractor and therefore, has a number of government customers -- one of whom has not paid its bill in several months. The hilarious part? (Really, what's not hilarious about someone not paying their bills?) The customer is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing