The George Washington Masonic Memorial is an impressive landmark that’s hard to miss — it towers over the city of Alexandria, Virginia, on a hill at the edge of Old Town. The main entrance leads into a hall heavy with the sense of its own monumentalness, full of columns and too much black marble. If […]

The saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” seems particularly apt right now.  This week was incredibly busy and now, looking back, I find that I have no good stories to tell.  It was plenty interesting to me while I was going through it, but to an outside ear, the narrative is […]

Tonight I had five people from church over for a little dinner party.  Every few months the ward coordinates these small-group dinners:  They pass the sign-up sheet around, and I indicate whether I want to host, how many people I can accommodate, and what my views are on children.  The person in charge then sends me the contact information for […]

This morning I got to the gym and my trainer greeted me with a declaration along the lines of “There comes a time in a young man’s life when he is confronted with an epic challenge.  The manner in which you approach this challenge will determine the quality of your character for the rest of your […]

One of the fun things about being the out-of-town bachelor friend of an unmarried high school teacher (i.e., Amanda) is that I am the object of intense interest among her students.  My “celebrity” amongst the high school drama crowd has been amusing Amanda and me for years now, and this morning Amanda posted another funny post.  I’ve reproduced it here […]

Today I moved into a new office at the law firm — from a tenth floor office on the atrium to a sixth floor office with a window overlooking 12th Street.  As I was settling into my new digs, I heard some creaking noises.  Then I felt a bump.  That’s strange, I thought, another office move upstairs must […]

Normally in you’d think that hearing the words, “You’ve lost weight again” would be a good thing.  Not when they’re delivered by your long-suffering trainer in a voice full of disappointment and disapproval.  Most definitely not when that voice is loud enough to make all the people in the gym who just wish someone would say that […]

I spent the last nine months splitting my time between the general counsel’s office of a Washington newspaper and my regular law firm.  Each week I’d spend three days working at the newspaper and the other four days working at the firm.  There was a lot that was great about this arrangement:  I got a glimpse of […]

According to the Weather Channel, here’s what’s going on outside right now in Washington, DC: Temperature:  95 F  (35 C)Feels like:  112 F  (44 C)Humidity:  58% And at my parents’ place in Las Vegas?  Temperature:  98 F  (37 C)Feels like:  93 F  (34 C)Humidity:  9% Just take a minute and think about that.

Last week I got an email from Air France offering tickets to Paris or Nice for about $200 each way.  (!!!)  Because the deal is based on traveling during a specific time period — and because I’m a responsible adult who just got back from a long vacation — I can’t take the offer.  But that won’t stop me […]