Special Visitor on Deal or No Deal

DC Day 6 (cont'd) -- Almost forgot!

Here are some pics from today. I spent about 20 minutes in the National Gallery of Art since I was early for my lunch meeting. I drove in (and back) right past the Washington Monument.



It was a good day. Although I realized this evening that I thought I sent an email to our potential landlord about my job offer, but realized that I replied to myself, and not to his email address. So I quickly resent the email once I caught that mistake; not sure how often he checks... but he should get it tomorrow, if not this evening. Silly me.

DC Day 6

Although a little dreary in the morning, the day certainly "brightened" up for me after going out to lunch with some friends. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Slept in a little this morning (meaning, I hit snooze a few times and got out of bed at 7:00am), got ready for the day, and packed up my things. Changed "host homes" this afternoon because my Reston hosts were getting ready to head out of town for a graduation.

Repetively checked my email, hoping for something regarding our condo. Got invited to lunch with come campaign buddies, and met them in DC at the Capital Grille. One works at Treasury, the other has been working for DOE (although some GOP leadership are dragging his "services" off to another job very soon). Met one of their friends who works at the White House / Presidential Personnel. Enjoyed the afternoon reminiscing about past campaign events, current events in the lives of our friends, and eating "the best calamari in DC" (according to our server; I'd have to agree. It was very good, and the only calamari I've had in DC, and therefore the bets in my book) and the lobster bisque for starters. I had The Grille's Signature Cheeseburger, which was also excellent.

Had my soft offer "firmed up" some today, which took a big weight off my shoulder. I couldn't wait to get back to our potential landlord and let him know the good news, that in addition to the wonderful credit and rental history that our application shows, he can add soon-to-be-gainfully-employed to it, as well. I'll fill you in once I get this nailed down.

[[Always trying to be prepared, I still have a second soft offer to work with (although this one won't firm up for a little bit b/c of funding issues), and am pursuing 3rd and 4th options.]]

Decided to post some blogs and explore cyberspace. Had been waxing a little nostalgic since my post about the Ranch in Paso Robles, so I put my Google skills to the test and tried to track down old friends. We'll see if any of them decide they remember me...

Also found the press release and the full-text from the dinner I attended Saturday evening.

Ta ta for now

DC Day 5

Sabbath Day. Went to Church, personal study time, enjoy the rainy day, dinner, spoke to family, and bed.

Talked about the Allegory of the Olive Tree today. I don't know why it hasn't "clicked" before, but the discussion made me think about the time spent working in my grandfather's vineyard (see image below). For several summers, I pruned the vines, collected the branches that were cut off, checked for signs of pests (rabbits, gophers, squirrels), kept watch for "bad fruit" (places where the vine yielded the original "green" grapes instead of the small, deep purple Merlot variety that had been grafted into the root stock, and helped with the harvest. I'll have to share some thoughts about the process of being a "husbandman" in the R&E Ranch vineyards.

But the ranch offered other things for me during my teenage years. Our family had recently returned to California (after a 5-year or so stint in Eagle, ID) and was located close to the Ranch. One year, I received paintball guns for my birthday, so I would play with friends in the riverbeds and cattle pastures. One time, we wanted to have some "urban assault" practice, so we used the upper lawn as our playing field. The doll house, tree house, and open ground provided a challenge for taking and holding a building. We also played a "stealth" game as the afternoon got darker, where a team would take up certain vantage points, and then a "lone wolf" operative would try to infiltrate the camp -- creeping silently without a weapon, in a sort of reconnaisance mission. Unfortunately, some shots went stray and a few ended up making their mark on the white walls of the Spanish (or mission-)- style home. I went back early the next afternoon to clean up our traces, but the foreman had already seen them as he went up to water the horses, and told grandpa. I got a phone call for that...


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Besides the work and the paintballing, the Ranch offered a place to expend pent up energy and to find some quiet time (and place) to myself. On several occasions, I lugged my saxophone up a hill on the property and serenaded the cows, birds, and other wildlife. Other times I brought a rifle and practised some marksmanship.

[[Aside: I'm not a "lifelong hunter" by any stretch of the imagination. I went deer hunting in Idaho with my father and some friends once; none of us got anything. I've taken out some varmints--jack rabbits and ground squirrels--around the Ranch to keep them away from the vines. But most of my targets have been paper, wood, aluminum, or clay. In fact, some of my favorite targets as a young boy were wooden pencils stuck in the lawn that I would "snap" from a distance with my Red Ryder bb-gun, or aluminum cans that would turn to shreds (then placed in our recycling bin). I also really enjoy shooting trap, which I haven't done in quite some time. It is typically a part of our family Thanksgiving activities when we're at the Ranch.]]

But, often, I'd just go for a hike around the property and enjoy the quiet outdoors and be alone in my thoughts. I have lots of great memories of time spent at the Ranch.



Here are a few pictures from the backyard where I'm staying. Unfortunately, my Blackberry's built-in camera can't quite do the colors justice from a distance.

The sound of the rain was relaxing as I sat by the fire and read for the better part of the day.

DC Day 4 and Dinner

UPDATED

- Ate breakfast with a zone-full of Elders and Sisters.
- Visited two more condos.
- Went to a softball game and got a little sunshine on my skin.

Went to the BYU Management Society (DC Chapter) dinner at the Georgetown Marriott.

BYU Management Society Dinner

Elder M. Russell Ballard, member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, received the Distinguished Public Service Award, and was accompanied by other General and Area Authorities: Elder Quentin L. Cook (Quorum of the 12), Elder Earl C. Tingey (Presidency of the 70), Elder Clayton M. Christensen, and Elder Matthew Eyring.

Notable US government leaders included Senator Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader, D-NV), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR). Also in attendance were members of foreign delegations (I caught name tags of "Director of Mission" for the Phillipines, among others) and the Ambassador from China.

Other names (sponsors from the program, mentioned during the announcements, or seen in the crowd) were names that I recognized from my time at RFP. I won't take the time to list them now, but they are well-established LDS business leaders and others at the "pinnacle of their professions;" many were senior fundraisers.

Elder Ballard spoke about how much press the Church has received over the last several years--much more so than in any other time in our history. While reaffirming the Church's stance of political neutrality in his remarks (this he did amidst the chuckles that came as he named off prominent LDS politicians and adminstative officials--from both parties--who were in attendance, seated right in from of him), he mentioned the interest in the Church that came about becuase of Mitt's candidacy. He cited major newspapers, other groups, and bloggers as he discussed the potential impact of Mitt's "Mormon" faith on his candidacy. I'd like to search out some of the quotes he used; one prominent news site wrote to the effect that the religious bigotry exhibited in this presidential race didn't hurt Governor Romney, it really hurt all of America; going even further to assert the evils of both religion- and race-baiting.

Elder Ballard cited the large amount of false, misleading, and otherwise ill-intentioned information about the Church that is available, especially on the Internet. Then he asked this group, leaders of business, government, and Church, chapter members and special guests: "What are you going to do about it?"

He encouraged members of the Church--explicity emphasizing even Church leaders--to join in the public discussion and defense of the faith. He spoke of his travels with Elder Cook, meeting with heads of major newspapers and other media companies, urging them to be accurate and fair in their reporting. He spoke of a 6-page letter that a missionary friend of his had written to a news provider, refuting many points of a recent broadcast with facts and strongly urging them to step up into "real" journalism by taking the time to examine the facts, and then report those.

Referencing the writings of Paul and the Articles of Faith, he spoke of "seeking after" things that are virtuous, lovely, and of good report. Elder Ballard stated that "seeking after" implies active participation, not passive acceptance. Returning to a theme (which I believe he spoke on at a BYU-Hawaii devotional or graduation), he encouraged those in the room to use the Internet--whether through your own blog or by contributing to others'--to not only correct error, but to share experiences. By this, he mentioned that there are certain times and places for testimony (Church, teaching, private conversations), and we are to share it, especially when in a setting where the other people involved are receptive to that witness. He then spoke about what we should say and write in public settings--not forcing our religion upon anyone--to help contribute to the growing wealth of good, correct, and positive information about the Church. He mentioned speaking/writing about (1) how Church service has blessed you, (2) how Family Home Evening has strengthened your family relationships, (3) the impact of family councils, prayer, and/or scripture study, (4) where you learned to respect the beliefs of others, and many other things (I wish I could remember all his examples!) of that nature.

Although the previously mentioned things might not be the typical "Fast Sunday" testimony topics, I think these are great examples of personal witnesses of what the Church has done for me and my life. Often, as a missionary, I would meet people who would say, "Oh, I knew a Mormon once. S/He was such a wonderful person; I really respect and admire him/her." I think what Elder Ballard was trying to tell us is that we need to "close the gap" for these people -- they see our examples and in many ways admire the things we do. But do we positively assert that we are that way or that we do those things because of our Savior, His Church, and his teachings?

Elder Ballard also spoke of those who faithfully fulfill Church service, while serving their constituents in the public office to which they have been elected. Of those people, he said that they deserve our deep respect.

It was a great evening.