Top ten reasons why Houston is better than DC:

1. Abundance of cheap Mexican food
2. BBQ. Like, reeeeal BBQ.
3. Apparently you can surf in Galveston...sometimes. That's what I've heard, anyways.
4. Average temperature for the month of December is 53.5ºF, which is still considered "flip-flop weather". Washington, on the other hand, is 35.4ºF. (I'm from SoCal, OK? I can't stand cold weather)
5. Number of self-important assholes is significantly lower
6. If you are stuck in a fire, these dudes rescue you
7. It's a few hours closer to California (but Continental please bring back year-round service to Palm Springs!)
8. My SUV fits in very well. Actually, compared to everyone else's vehicle, mine is small.
9. There are lots of parks and trees, and stuff.
10. Cost of living is ridiculously cheap compared to DC. A one bedroom apartment with all the amenities, located in a neighborhood where 14 year olds aren't killing each other, costs less than what I pay now. Whoa.

I compiled this list last Sunday, on my return flight from IAH to DCA. Laura and I flew to Houston to visit Ann, who recently moved there to start a new job. I know what you're thinking..."What the...who visits Houston for fun?" Well, I'm always looking to get away from DC as often as possible, and I had a great time last year when I traveled there for work and stayed over for a weekend with a former LSE classmate. So what the hell, why not visit again?

We don't have these signs at Angel stadium

On Sunday we met up with Cindy for some BBQ at Hickory Hollow. We were roommates back at GW, and she now works in The Woodlands (yeah, capital T or whatever, just like The George Washington University).

Yes, it was delicious

Me, Laura, Ann, Cindy

Overall, it was an incredibly relaxing weekend of baseball, reconnecting with old friends, and clogging my arteries with excellent food. I admit that I am still rather conflicted about the possibility of moving there, though. While I was waiting for my return flight to DC, my mom called me to see what I had been up to lately.

"Nothing much, just waiting for my flight back to DC."

"Oh, that's right, you're in Houston. So are you going to move there?"

"I dunno, I don't think so...I like it here a lot more than DC, but it's not California, ya know."

Then again, nothing ever will be.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments? (7) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Oh, California in the summer...friends, family, cheap Mexican food, shrimp tacos from Rockin' Baja, margaritas, guacamole and Coronas on the patio, sun...

A few photos from my short trip to California last week:

Oceanside. Used to spend the entire summer here when I was a kid.

Hello, old friend. It's been awhile

Enjoying a double double on the beach...can it be any more perfect? (El Capitan, this one's for you)

Friar Tuck, "Beat LA!" (and beat LA they did)

The beach in the outfield, for the ankle biters

“Diego Dog” (bratwurst in a Kaiser roll-like bun topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and mustard)

You take your car to work. I'll take my board

Tandem surfers and a crowded lineup

A lot like last year, more regrets that I moved back to DC. I think there will be a change of location in '08.

“I hope you want the same thing I want, freedom to live and ride nature’s waves without the oppressive hang-up of the mad, insane complex that runs the world and this sick, sick war. These are incredible times. Thank God for a few free waves.” - Miki Dora, 1960s. Apropos.

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The smell of surf wax and neoprene. A double-double from In-N-Out. The taste of salt-water. Homemade tortillas at the Old Town Cafe. The sound of crashing waves. Joe's Crab Shack at Oceanside harbor. Tanned, happy people. Wiping out.

Oh, God, I never realized how much I missed all of it until this weekend.

I left DC Friday evening on a direct flight to San Diego, and arrived in "America's Finest City" at 8pm. My family picked me up and we headed straight to Old Town San Diego for Mexican food. We have been frequenting the Old Town Cafe since I was a kid, and the place hasn't changed much since then. They might have added another dining room or two, but the "tortilla ladies" are still there, making fresh tortillas while tourists watch through the windows. After dinner we drove down to our place in Oceanside. It's a small place, but all you have to do is walk out the gate and you are on the beach. It doesn't get any better than that. We've been coming to Oceanside since I was born. I know the place pretty well, and have seen it change a lot over the past 24 years. The last time I was in Oceanside was two years ago, before I left for London. I was a bit disappointed to see that the city is now becoming indistinguishable from its northern Orange County neighbours. The new townhouses are beautiful, but where did Robertito’s Taco Shop go?!

I hit-up Surfride boardshop the next morning to buy some surf wax. I also decided to purchase a neoprene top because I heard from reliable sources that the water temp was dropping. When I got in the chilly water I was amazed at how warm I was. I should have purchased one of these years ago! I spent the day surfing, bodyboarding, and frolicking in the waves (yes, I was so happy to be in the ocean again that I will admit to actually frolicking). By the end of the day my arms were KILLING me from all the paddling. (I need to work on my upper body strength or something...maybe lift weights? I don't have a pool here in D.C. so any suggestions on how to get the arms back to strength would be appreciated.) Later that night we met up with some family friends for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Joe’s Crab Shack is incredibly tacky and cheesy, but I love that place.

We were up early the next morning for the drive home to Palm Desert. My grandma hasn't been doing well health-wise these past few years, so I went for a visit. I was in PD for maybe an hour and a half. Went home for a few minutes. No dog. New fountain thing in the front yard. New artwork. One of my walls was painted a maroon color. I picked out two books and a pair of soccer shorts and left. Back to the beach. Sorry I didn't tell any of you guys I was back in town. I was in a bad mood that morning anyways, so it was probably for the better. On the way back to Oceanside we stopped at In-N-Out. I devoured my burger and fries in less than 5 minutes. More surfing in the afternoon and a BBQ with some family friends that evening.

Monday was my last day in California, so I went to the beach for a few hours and then we went down to San Diego. That evening, before my 10pm flight, we went to a Padres game at Petco Park. I hadn't been to the Padres new stadium yet and wanted to cross it off my list of ballparks to visit. The stadium is beautiful. If you visit, be sure to have a “Diego Dog” (bratwurst in a Kaiser roll-like bun topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and a sauce with a hint of mustard). Also, check out the little kids playing wiffleball on the mini-diamond behind left-field. With the addition of Petco park, the revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter, and the new condos and apartment buildings, it appears that downtown San Diego is actually turning into an area worth living in.

My flight left at 10:20pm. Redeye. Didn't sleep at all on the plane - I never really can. Landed in Dulles at 6am. Welcome back to a rainy and cold Washington. It took me over two hours to get home using the bus and metro. I took a quick shower, ironed my shirt, and was out the door and off to work. It was pouring rain, and there were pools of water half a foot deep collecting on the sides of the streets (typical DC incompetence). My pants and socks were soaked with putrid gutterwater. "Oh Lindsay," I thought to myself "you made a terrible mistake coming back here." Why, why, why did I move back to this goddamn hellhole swamp city?! It’s no secret that I despise this city, but I'll be here for a few more years at least. Maybe I'll go back to California after that, or overseas, or maybe even Houston. Who knows, it’s not really worth pondering right now.

This trip to California was exactly what I needed, but now I’m hurting for some more time in the water. I want to continue surfing, and I want to get better. I was really sucking it up this past weekend and it’s clear that I need a lot of practice. Therein lies the problem, however. The nearest beach is a 3+ hour drive and oh yeah, I don’t have a car. So, I’m going to start looking into purchasing a vehicle so I can take some weekend trips to Ocean City or Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks or wherever the hell the east coast surf is. I’ll probably buy some sort of gas-guzzling SUV, because didn’t ya hear, Chevron found all this oil out in the Gulf! Pretty sweet, eh?

Second, I’m looking into taking a surf trip to Costa Rica next summer. I know, I know…Lindsay might actually visit a country that wasn’t part of the Eastern Bloc. I’m about as surprised as you are.

So in a few months I guess we’ll find out if I’m a) going to buy a car; and b) going to Costa Rica.

New Baku post will be up in a few days.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments? (4) | TrackBacks (1) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I finally uploaded my Houston photos. As I said in my previous post, I had a really great time there. I flew in late Tuesday night and had work-related stuff on Wednesday and Thursday, so I didn't see much except for the hotel conference room during those two days. I have a friend from LSE (Alicia) who lives in Houston, so I decided to take Friday off in order to stay there until Sunday and check out some of the city sights. I had never been to Houston before, and was bored out of my freakin' mind in DC, so figured a change of scenery would be good.

On Friday, I hopped the bus to downtown Houston (yes, Houston does have public transportation) and then switched to the light rail and headed down to the natural science museum. I figured the science museum in Houston would have a sweet energy exhibit, and, of course, I was correct. The sponsor's wall read like a "who's who" of the oil & gas industry, and the introductory video was a hilarious cartoon composed of various music videos about each fossil fuel. My favorite exhibit was the "Global Oil Fields Information Center", a HUGE screen on which you could zoom in on oil & gas fields all over the world. It was like a giant version of Google Earth...on crack.

After the museum, I decided to head back downtown and check out this weird underground tunnel system that Katerina told me about. You ever wonder why you don't see many people walking around outside in Houston? It's because they are all underground. A majority of the downtown office buildings are connected by underground tunnels, and in this underground tunnel system there are various shops, restaurants, banks, barbers...just about, well, anything you would find above ground. There are maps posted on the walls showing you the various "routes" you can take. The tunnel system is color-coded...it's like a metro, but without the train. Totally bizarre. Aimlessly wandering around this tunnel system made me pretty hungry, so I stopped at Whataburger, a fast-food place that you can only find in the Southern and Southwestern U.S. It was decent - better than McDonald's, but nowhere near the quality of In-N-Out. After lunch I wandered around the tunnel system a bit longer, and must have looked completely lost, as a guy came up to me and said so. He advised me to stay on the tunnel loop, which connects all the tunnels. I finally decided I had enough of this bizarre underground world and finally surfaced in the Hyatt Regency.

Future Enron building! (Or, was supposed to be anyways)

Alicia and I were planning on seeing an Astros game that night, so I headed over to Enron Field...er...Minute Maid Park a few hours early to check out the stadium. I somehow ended up with a free ticket because this random guy was handing out his extra season tix, so I went in early to watch the Royals take batting practice until it was time to meet up with Alicia and her friends. This is definitely the only stadium I've been to where you can watch the price of crude oil rise while you enjoy a beer, hotdog, and some baseball:

Hard to see, but those are the prices for natural gas, crude...and some other energy commodities

There is a hill and pole in the outfield...I have no idea why

Conoco home run pump

Retractable roof...so we can see the fireworks

Unfortunately, the Astros lost. Yes, I was actually rooting for the Astros. I think I cheered harder for them than I have the Nats at RFK. Minute Maid Park is genuinely just a fun place to see a ballgame (RFK Stadium, on the other hand, is bordering on comatose). I will even admit to singing along to "Deep in the Heart of Texas" during the seventh inning stretch. What can I say, this state is slowly winning me over.

After the game, we stuck around for the fireworks show (courtesy of Marathon Oil and the stadium's retractable roof), and then hit some of the bars downtown. I think we went to 6 or 7 different bars...taking a shot at each...I can't really remember...although at one point in the night we were all dancing to techno music on a stage...yeah, don't ask. We hopped a cab back to Alicia's place and eventually ended up at a Mexican restaurant at 2AM. Baseball, drinking, and authentic Mexican food - how can you do better than that?

Nicole dancing on the bar

The next day, we were up bright and early to tour the Ocean Star, an offshore drilling rig museum in Galveston:

Ocean Star jack-up rig...that isn't jacked-up

Galveston is...beautiful

This museum was awesome. If you ever find yourself in Galveston, you HAVE to visit. Where else can you dress up in a Halliburton uniform?

Either this Halliburton employee was really small...or I was enjoying the BBQ and Mexican food in Houston a bit too much

We were pretty tired after our excursion to Galveston. It was incredibly humid down there...I've never been in weather that humid before, and it's amazing how exhausting it can be. I'll take the dry heat of the desert over humidity anytime. Later that night we drove out to Rice University to catch a free concert the Houston symphony was putting on. I almost dozed off in the middle of it because I was just damn tired, but it was a really good concert nonetheless.

My flight wasn't leaving until the afternoon on Sunday, so we were able to take a quick trip out to the Johnson Space Center. Got to see Mission Control and the mockup facility where the astronauts train...and of course, huge rockets. I visited the Kennedy Space Center when I attended Space Camp as a kid, so it was really interesting to see the Johnson Space Center, where the astronauts actually train.

Mission Control

Mockups of Russki space vehicles

After the space center visit, it was unfortunately time to go back to D.C. I left Houston literally hours before the city was inundated with rain and subsequent flooding...only to return to Washington, D.C., where it rained for the past week and flooded a bunch of government buildings (oh, how sad!).

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Houston. I'm not quite sure why it gets such a bad rap, as I certainly had a hell of a good time while I was there. Houston has amazing restaurants, fun bars, great shopping, and a lot of other stuff going for it. I could even - dare I say - see myself moving there in the future.

Rest of the photos are here.

Off to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a wedding...back to DC on Sunday. Frantic packing on Monday, and leaving for the Former Soviet Union on Tuesday.

Posted by Lindsay at 06:17 PM | Permalink | Comments? (5) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I spent all day at church:

I guess we all have our own concept of "church", eh? Watching the Angels play the O's on a beautiful spring day sure beats sitting inside a stuffy church and listening to some minister drone on endlessly, wouldn't you agree? Welcome to religion, Lindsay style.

Dressed in my Sunday finest.

Vlad

Tim!

O's mascot gives an Angels fan a hug

Laura keeps score.

The Angels managed to win this game, 9-3, with some help from Vlad, who hit two homers, and Chone Figgins, who brought in three with his home run. Lackey also pitched an excellent eight innings.

Mathis signs caps and balls for little kids

Showing Cal some love

I don't like to discriminate - I'm pretty much an equal opportunity hater when it comes to east coast teams.

Laura and I have decided that we are going to go on some weekend roadtrips and visit as many ballparks as possible this summer. Here's our preliminary list of cities we are planning to see a game in:

Washington, DC - Nationals (a given, considering we live here and will be buying the 19 game mini plan)
New York - Yankees and Mets
Pittsburgh - Pirates
Philadelphia - Phillies
Boston - Red Sox
Chicago - Cubs and White Sox

And possibly Atlanta and Houston.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Saw the Angels play the O's at Camden Yards today. The weathermen kept predicting rain for this weekend, but as you can see it turned out to be a perfect day for a ballgame. The last time I saw a game at Camden Yards was in 2002, right before the Angels went on to win the World Series. I swear, I was one of five Angels fans in attendance at that game. This time around there were definitely a lot more people sporting Halo caps.

Unfortunately, the Angels lost 3-2...the Rally Monkey magic was most definitely not working today.

Posted by Lindsay at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Wow, that was a horrible series for the Angels. Was this really the same team that beat the Yanks in the ALDS?

The only time I saw Vladimir Guerrero hit was in that damn overplayed Pepsi commercial with Alex Rodriguez.

Kelvim Escobar might want to spend some time with Little Leaguers...maybe they'll demonstrate how to properly tag a runner out.

As for the umpires, yeah, they made some horrible calls in this series, but that still doesn't excuse the complete lack of offense on the part of the Angels. That said, I still hate Doug Eddings.

Also, I partially blame this on Arte Moreno for changing the name to "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", therefore totally screwing with karma. Everyone knows that God hates the hell hole city of Los Angeles, and thus everything associated with it. God therefore hates the Angels. Change the name back, Arte.

One thing I'm looking forward to, though, is a World Series free of any annoying east coast teams (read: Boston and New York). Congrats to the Sox on their victory, and best of luck in the World Series.

So...hockey is back this year, how 'bout them Ducks?

Posted by Lindsay at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments? (6) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

On Friday I went to my first postseason baseball game at Angel Stadium. As you can imagine, the opportunity doesn't come very often for this Angels fan.

First, I've never seen so many people at a game before. The last time I personally saw the stadium so full was back in 2000, when I went to an Angels-Yankees game and 2001 for an Angels-Dodgers game. Second, I've never seen so many ANGELS fans there. Usually, when you go to a game at Angels stadium, you get a lot of transplants who come to the game and root for their home team. At this game, though, there was tons of RED and hardly any Sox fans. They gave out thundersticks and everyone was banging them together, yelling, on their feet, and LOUD. Needless to say, a lot sure has changed over the past few years.

Our seats were in right field, which was great because that happened to be where umpire Doug Eddings would be positioned. Eddings, if you don't know, was the villian in the controversial ALCS game 2. As you can imagine, he received a verrrry warm welcome from everyone when the umpires were introduced. Throughout the game, whenever the ball would go anywhere near Eddings and he would make a call, the crowd would boo him and chant "You suck! You suck!" One girl in our section had a sign that said "DOUG U R FIRED" but stadium security took it away from her. The crowd booed the security guard and one guy started shouting "Communist!" at him, which was hilarious. In between innings, two Anaheim police officers stood by Eddings, but I honestly wouldn't have expected any trouble, as Angels fans are pretty laid back. You don't see our fans leaping onto the field and attacking base coaches, do you?

I loved being back at Angel stadium, eating the overpriced hot dogs and nachos, and drinking a large Mountain Dew from a plastic cup I would add to my collection. It's something you don't get in the UK because a) no baseball, b) Brits don't know what nachos are, and c) no Mountain Dew. I loved seeing the silly Rally Monkey videos they show, even though the A/V guys were breaking the Rally Monkey rules and brought him out when there was not, in fact, a rally. I love having a guy named Vladimir on my team so I can yell "Vlady, Vlady!", which I never thought I would be yelling at a baseball game. Hockey, yes, but baseball? I've never met a Vladimir that wasn't from Eastern Europe, and there's not many Eastern Europeans playing pro ball (uh, are there any?)

Anyways, the Angels lost that game 5-2, and they lost tonight's game 8-2. Santana's pitching was all over the place, and the Angels offense is COMPLETELY MISSING IN ACTION. Combine that with a few blown calls by this inept umpire crew, and you've got the Angels facing elimination in Sunday's game.

As for me, tomorrow I am heading off to see the Toyota Indy 400 at the California Speedway, so maybe I'll have some pictures of that. My next post will be about the awesome British Sea Power/Killers concert I went to last week!

Posted by Lindsay at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments? (7) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Sheffield and Crosby collide while chasing a ball hit by Adam Kennedy.

Angels celebrate their ALDS win over the evil Yankees.

From the WashPost:

In that case, Santana, a 12-game winner who had not appeared in any of the first four games of the series, was a pretty decent spare part to have just lying around the garage.

At that point, they can sleep as long as they want, but it will be the sleep of the haunted.

Tonight, the ANAHEIM Angels face off against the White Sox in Chicago. I still call them the Anaheim Angels because their official name, "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" is ridiculously stupid and an insult to the residents of Anaheim that have supported this team throughout its 40 year history in that city. ANAHEIM IS NOT IN LOS ANGELES and is, in fact, in ORANGE COUNTY. When I'm an oil baron, I'm going to buy the team from Arte Moreno just so I can change the name back to Anaheim Angels.

Posted by Lindsay at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments? (2) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I've received quite a few taunting IMs from all of you damn Red Sox fans, so all I have to say to my Boston/GW comrades is...

BRING IT ON!

Confused? Then read this.

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The Anaheim Angels are the American League West champs for the first time in 18 years.

Good job boys!

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We've got Bartolo Colon and Vladimir Guerrero on the team now. Spring training starts soon...this should be a good season.

I still miss Scott Spiezio, though.

Oh, and the Yankees got A-Rod!!!! I can't stand the Yankees! Stupid George Steinbrenner and all his cash. There he goes again trying to buy another championship ring...ARRRRRRRRGH!

Posted by Lindsay at 12:50 AM | Permalink | Comments? (1) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

"Russians, we know of long waits. My friend, you stand in line for meat when Brezhnev is premiere, now that is long wait. Ninety-five years, that is nothing! NOTHING! My mother and grandmother wait 95 years just for potatoes at marketplace. And when they reach end of line, they are told, 'No more potatoes! Come back tomorrow!' COME BACK TOMORROW! And Cubs fans talk about long waits? I spit on Cubs!"

It was announced last week that for the first time ever, Russian TV will carry the World Series in October...read this hilarious article on World Series broadcasting...Russian style.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I was so bored yesterday that I went to Best Buy and picked up a copy of MVP Baseball 2003 for Playstation2.  I only wish I had done this sooner.  This game is soooo sweet...I could play it forever.  I'm halfway through the "season" (playing as the Angels, of course) and we're definitely going to win the World Series again...now if only they could do that in reality!

Posted by Lindsay at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Yanks shortstop Derek Jeter is out for at least six weeks after dislocating his shoulder during a game.  Boohoo, sucks for you Yankees fans.

I'm glad I wasn't around George Steinbrenner when he found out Jeter wouldn't be putting on the pinstripes for another six weeks...actually, I'm glad that I'm never around Steinbrenner - that guy is nuts.

Posted by Lindsay at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

A game between the Angels and Rangers marked the official start of the 2003 Major League Baseball season.  Unfortunately, the Angels lost 6 - 3.

Posted by Lindsay at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Spring training has begun, and baseball season is less than a month away!  YESSSS!!!  GO ANGELS!!!!!!

Posted by Lindsay at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Well, they did it. They went all the way. This is unbelievable. I still remember watching the first Angels game of the sea