The stupidest girl in DC

I stayed home yesterday.... spent most of the day lounging on the couch, reading Jose Saramago's most controversial novel, O EVANGELHO SEGUNDO JESUS CHRISTO.

At 3:00 p.m., imagine my surprise when I turned on the boob tube to catch Dr. Phil, to find breaking news and Capitol Hill in chaos. Apparently, some brainiac of a staffer decided to bring a toy gun into work.

When do those Darwin awards come out? I have a nomination.

The gun was part of a "Sydney Bristow" costume. Ordinarily, no. big. deal..... ordinarily as in PRE-2001. Security is everywhere - not only visible throughout Washington, DC, but most U.S. cities. We've grown accustomed to a lower tolerance for what is and isn't considered a possible threat.

WHAT was this moron thinking when she decided to pack her toy gun for work? And did the Capitol Police overreact by sending in SWAT teams and evacuating the building floor by floor? Could the situation have been handled differently or is everyone satisfied with the way the authorities handled the situation? Did this make national news or did it just permeate the District airwaves?

Attention Washingtonians

Capital Action is organizing the Third Annual Alternative Gift Fair. They're looking for volunteers to plan the event over the next couple months. They also need people to help with advertising near the event and to help on the day of the event. Volunteers are needed to:

* Contact and arrange for a venue to host the event

* Contact and set up organizations to attend (they need to create items for their "shopping lists" which people can purchase and provide informational materials for display and a representative to volunteer to educate people at the event)

* Advertise through appropriate event calendars, listserves, websites, etc.

* Gather volunteers for the evening of the event to set up, work the event, collect money, write cards.

If you're interested in helping out, please contact Sat Jiwan Khalsa, Capital Action volunteer, at satjiwan@newdream.org and let him know how you'd like to help out. Include name, preferred role and level of organizing you can commit to (ie. day of only, some organizing (5-10 hours), a lot of organizing (15-20 hours), etc.)

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Roadtrip::cross-country
   
2. Honey::sweet and golden
   
3. Flanders::ceramics
   
4. Vampire::Anne Rice
   
5. Justice::scales
   
6. Marine::biology
   
7. Protractor::architect
   
8. Rubber::burning
   
9. London::dirty, cold and wet
   
10. Jerry::Seinfeld
    

Trick or treat

I can't believe Halloween is this Friday! Where did October hurry off to?

So does anyone have freaky Friday plans for Halloween? Is anyone dressing up? I've decided to cause havoc and mayhem dressed as a naughty Catholic school girl.

Are you planning to have fun or are you leaving all the tricks and treats to the kids?

Directions

My weekend was jam packed with sight seeing, poking fun at protesters and Cats.

Sprinkled throughout all of this fun, were hour-long conversations on career choice and life-long goals.

For the most part, I'm a planner. If there is something I want to accomplish or purchase, I research what I need to acquire it, learn the best and/or fastest way of obtaining it, and then come up with a plan based on my research. Of course, there's always room for modification, but I have some kind of sketchy idea of where I want to end up and how I'm going to get there.

My friend is not a planner. She has a destination in mind, but no concept of the best way to get there or what alternatives are out there. That may work for some people but it drives me crazy. Especially when she asks me for advice.

I try to help, but I think I confuse her - throwing out lots of ideas, providing options and different scenarios. And at some point, she always looks to me and asks, "Well, which is the best route to take."

And of course, I can't provide her with one answer because hell, it all depends. Does she want to take the scenic route, enjoying the sights along the way? Maybe she's in a hurry, perhaps to arrive at the destination in four days and go 5-star all the way, even if it means accumulating debt? Or maybe she's still at a point in her life where she can strap on a backpack and hitchhike from one place to another, limited to a strict budget but no time constraints?

And the destination is a little fuzzy - she tells me, hypothetically - "Well I want to end up in California." Well... is she going to Sacramento? Or maybe she's thinking Los Angeles? Or perhaps she wants perfect weather all the time and is thinking more of southern California. To me there is a big difference between planning for a trip to San Diego and a trip to San Francisco.

I'm really at a loss on how best to advise her. How can I best be a true friend and help her? I'm at a loss..........