Why today was an awesome day to be me

There are lots of good days to be me. But today was especially cool for a number of reasons.

1. We went to a top-secret meeting at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore. You may recognize Chef Duff and Mary Alice from their food network show "Ace of Cakes". Yes I was starstruck. And yes I now have a book of Charm City Cakes matches. More on this project to later!!

2. Our PR folks took us to lunch at the Baltimore favorite Paper Moon diner. Right as you walk in the front entrance there is a statue puking into a toilet bowl. Exactly my kind of place...


3. My coworker bought us gelato - and it was customer appreciation day so they appreciated us!


4. We shared the road with:
a. Got Bail? car


b. Motorized scooter man (oblivious to traffic - literally weaving in and out of the lanes of inner Baltimore)


c. A tank. (No picture whoopsies! It was driving up GW Parkway, with a soldier standing up out of its turret. Not a sight you see every day!)

So yes I consider today a success.

Reminder of Myanmar

Nat, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

I keep this Nat in my bedroom as a reminder of my trip to Myanmar a couple years ago. (More on my bedroom, which some consider to be kind of creepy, but which I think is pretty darn cool.)

These little wooden Nats are spirits that each Burmese village worship in conjunction with Buddhism, and are supposed to look over your home or town. Mainly a superstition, these Nats were still found everywhere when we were traveling.

I did a whole series of posts about our adventures in Myanmar - check it out in the archives!

Running through my veins

Have you ever tried sriracha? Sriracha is my lifeblood, a delightful nectar sent from the gods to combat humdrum food. Originating from the Thai beachfront village of Si Racha, sriracha sauce is the perfect blend of hot, spicy and sweet, with most of the flavor coming from hot chili peppers. 



We put Sriracha on everything at my house. Soup, chili, pizza, pasta - everything.


See this delish mac n' cheese? My dad made it last night to celebrate Bonnie getting into moot court. My little sister... she's kind of a big deal.



This plate is perfect for her - warm, cheesy, gooey goodness.

But my dad and I like to kick it up a notch.

Who knew that such mouth (and eye) watering goodness could come from a plastic bottle with a rooster?

20th Anniversary Concert

Look at Stu!, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Last night the New Dominions, aka Newdos, aka Newds, held their 20th anniversary show. Crusties (alums) from decades back drove, trained, or flew to Charlottesville to convene for the weekend.

I was only a Newdo for 3 semesters - right after I tried out my 3rd year, I got accepted to go to the Singapore study abroad program, so I was out the door the following semester.

For only knowing these folks such a short time, they are a really fun group. The group called the crusties up to join in singing five songs throughout the show - and it was great being on stage with friends again!

Bánh mì

Bánh mì, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

My absolute favorite sandwich in the whole wide world has to be the bánh mì. Growing up right outside of DC, I've been lucky to be a 10 minute drive from the Eden Center, which, rumor has it, is the largest Vietnamese shopping center on the East coast.

Probably the happiest result of the French in Vietnam, the bánh mì sandwich takes french bread and adds pickled vegetables, fresh herbs and yummy meat. When we go to our favorite Bánh mì shop, we go straight for the #6, which is a really deliciously seasoned chicken.

Side note: the best accompaniment to a bánh mì sandwich is a bubble drink. Little tapioca "bubbles" are added to many different flavors of drinks and slurped up through a jumbo-girthed straw.

The Carlson clan used to be one-track when it came to bubble drinks: it was strawberry or noberry. But after experimenting (including avocado and red bean!) we've all found our favorites. For me, it is the thai iced coffee bubbles that gets me going.

So if you want to impress me, take me to get bánh mì sandwiches and bubble drinks. I'll be yours forever!

Weekend with the Newds

Recording session, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Last night it was a semi-impromptu recording session at Richard's to capture a few more songs from my college a Capella group, the Newdos.

And now I'm rushing off for a weekend of Newdos - it is our 20th Anniversary concert! I'll be out of town for tomorrow, so I may or may not post a picture that day. But I'll try my darndest!

Real Life

Real life, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Someone once described my basement as the ultimate bachelor pad. Sure - it has a good couch, TV, pool table and fridge. Sounds perfect, right?

I think this picture captures my basement in another light. In fact, the image literally puts me in a bad mood. Its ugly lighting, wallpaper and utilitarian iron just scream humdrum domestic life.

Not that I'm complaining! I'm living there for free after all...

On Working in Rosslyn

I've been working in Rosslyn for almost 2 years now, and I can say I think I have this neighborhood down to a science. These are a few things I've learned:

Parking sucks.

I've never been so frustrated parking in my life as I've been working in Rosslyn. Even if you shovel out big bucks for monthly parking in a garage, you are still not guaranteed a spot. Here you can see cars triple-parked in my work garage. Not. Fun.

The only farming you'll be doing is in cubes.

Unless you're a big shot, chances are you're working in a cube farm. You can try to personalize it (I have pictures and a long-dead bonsai in mine.) but cubes are pretty monotonous.

You have to get out of the neighborhood for good lunch.

Rosslyn may be a hub for contractors and agencies across the river, but this place is the pits for lunch, and becomes a ghost town after 5pm. If you know the area, a mile in any direction will take you to a lunchspot far better than anything you'd get around the office.

Your meeting rooms will look like this:

Wow. I am still distracted by the view from our boardroom. We directly overlook the Potomac, Roosevelt Island, Kennedy Center, Washington Monument, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial and more. What's more is that the flight path to Reagan National Airport brings descending planes to eye-level. That coupled with helicopters ferrying VIPs around the District make for a very busy airspace.


View out our window.

I think the view merits a second shot. Man that view doesn't get old.

Things I've learned about portraits

Portrait 2/3, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

So I've had my camera for two weeks, and I've learned a couple of things about taking portraits:

1. Natural light is SO important for good portraits. It illuminates great skin tones, and can help create a great ambiance.

2. Open up that aperture! I've become addicted to opening up my lens as wide as it'll go. For instance this shot is f/1.4 - basically gaping open.

3. Composition is key. Putting the subject in front of a clutter-free background will make the picture much less confused.

Here's where I think my style might be non-conventional. I always seem to like to get close enough to the subject that some edges might be cropped out. For instance, the top and bottom of Grae's head are cut out of this picture. I personally love the way that looks - but could see how some people would prefer otherwise.

What are your tips for taking the perfect portrait?

Public Website Awareness Week

Consumerism, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Well happy Monday to everyone out in the blogiverse! This is going to be a good week for a whole slew of reasons, but chief among them is that this is the world premier of Public Website Awareness Week, code name PWAW.

I've designed PWAW to get people at work excited over and more knowledgeable about our public website.

Every day I submit a new question to encourage my colleagues to scour the website. I win because I will (hopefully) be getting suggestions, updated content, bug reporting and more ideas.

They win because.... well, they win because I'm basically showering them with gift cards. I bought out the CVS gift card display, and every day I'm giving away a prize to someone who answers my questions correctly.

I felt so rich and powerful holding those gift cards waiting to check out. Even though I could just use the money I spent on these in any NUMBER of ways, holding the gift cards just felt... special. Anyways enough of my rambling. If you work with me, quit reading this blog and email me some PWAW answers. Happy winnings everyone!

Day 10: Birthday girl!

Birthday girl!, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Cousin Jean's birthday is coming up this week, so we rassled up the family for an early birthday dinner.

ps. I'm not sure if "rassle" is a word, but I like it and it stays.

PSF Schumacher (I'll go into that story later) requested spaghetti for din din, and the 'rentals went all out and made salad and garlic bread and chocolate cake. The last two of these may or may not have been included to lure Bonnie from the District for the evening.

It was nice to get the group together for dinner, although Nana and Pere are as confused as ever. It is sad to see them deteriorating, although Nana especially is still very chipper.

Happy early 25th cuz!

Day 10. First day of spring!

Waiting in traffic, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Alright folks - I get a gold star today because I took and blogged this picture on the SAME DAY. Usually my "picture of the day" is from the day before, because I don't want to have to count on having an awesome picture and having time to write about it each night.

We've been on a warm weather streak in Arlington; daylight savings time ended last weekend, days are getting longer and brighter, and today it was official: springtime has started!

A group of us went to Great Falls Park to soak in the outside - it was nice for once not to breathe conditioned air under fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, everyone and their mother had the same idea as us, and we ended up waiting in a line an hour long to get in the park entrance.

I had brought the camera to take some awesome pictures, and here I was, behind the wheel, snapping shots through my window.

Even though I got some really cool shots of the waterfalls and wildlife, this picture of Alex's hand still strikes me the most. Doesn't his hand look kind of evil?

On an off-note, my pass to Great Falls is good through Monday, so let me know if you want to go!

Day 9. Who said you couldn't have a glass dress?

Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

OK so I admit it, I dropped the ball big time yesterday. I only took a handful of shots, and none of them were particularly striking. So, I dug back into my arsenal and found this picture I took in December at the Renwick Gallery right near the White House.

This is a life size glass cast by Karen LaMonte of a dress - so beautiful and soft looking. Of course it would hurt like hell trying to squeeze your way in, but I think it looks much better reclining on a pedestal here.

Even though I love this picture, I'm going to redouble my efforts to take a cool picture every day. I'm even bringing my camera to work in case anything exciting happens.

Does anyone have any ideas of subjects I should be photographing?

Un"wine"ding last night

mixing american idol with wine, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Well yesterday was been a day to remember - Two instances of not holding my temper very well. (And one on the road - that was scary.)

After a St. Paddie's day-themed spinning class at the Y, it was nice to unwind with a glass of trader joe's "Happiness" wine in front of American Idol. American suburbia is the life.

Day 7. I'm your creepy-stalker neighbor!

Toby, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Yesterday it felt like spring finally arrived in Arlington. I went for a walk around the neighborhood, avoiding the bad neighbors and looking at all the damage still left from the snowpocalypse.

Passing my friend Stephanie's house, we saw that Toby, their golden retriever, was hanging out in the yard. Steph is in Spain, and who knows where the family was, so of course I decided to hold an impromptu photo shoot with Toby.

I'm sure the neighbors though I was some creep-tastic stalker going around photographing random animals off the street. I guess I'll have to get over the reluctance to take the camera out of the case and snap pictures regardless of what people might think.

Day 6. Rainy night

Rainy night, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Last night I went out with Sarah again, and when she popped into a store I snapped this shot of her dashboard. I love the way the store's neon lights are reflecting on the dash and the steering wheel, with the glow of the dash lights out of focus.

Day 5. Kiss Me I'm Irish

Irish Soda Bread, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

With St. Paddie's Day right around the corner, it is time for the once-a-year Carlson tradition: boiled corned beef and cabbage with soda bread.

Now if something about boiled beef and cabbage doesn't make your mouth water, don't worry. This is also the one time a year we break out the horseradish.

The best part of the meal is undoubtedly the bread, and my mom goes into hyper-baking mode for the week. So far she's churned out about a dozen loaves, and she'll probably spend time making even more later this week.

Making Dinner

Making Dinner, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Day 4.

I was channeling The Pioneer Woman (awesome blog) last night and decided to do step-by-step photography of a new recipe we tried out: chicken with tomato and wine sauce.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) you'll have to wait (until hell freezes over?) to see the whole process. I don't have the drive to rewrite the recipe and sync it with the pictures. So just take it from me: it was easy and very tasty.

After dinner we headed to the Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse to see Carlos Alazraqui and Cedric Yarbrough, stars of Reno 911! Two very funny guys - if you ever get a chance, Carlos especially is a hilarious comedian.

Baby Sophie ready for bed

Baby Sophie ready for bed, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

Day 3.

We braved the weather last night to have dinner in Old Town. There were sandbags on all the street corners and notices in the restaurants telling owners how to prepare for flooding. I've never seen Old Town flooded, but maybe this is the weekend for it!

Anyways, we had a rather late dinner, and Chantal and Seth brought their baby Sophie. She really didn't want to fall asleep, and so Chantal got her out of her carrier at the end of the evening - boy was that baby TIRED.

I have about 20 shots of her holding her eyes wide open, staring off into nothingness. It is like she is getting ready for 8am lectures at university.

Early Morning at the National Academies

Rotunda at the National Academies, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

This morning I arrived, bleary-eyed, at work before seven. Usually this would make me cranky, but we had a really cool event going on downtown.

The event was the launch of the Business & Industry STEM Education Coalition (a mouthful, I know). I was there to take pictures of the event, capturing everything from the kids at breakfast to the high-level speakers we had.

All in all I got 500 shots - probably a record for me. I would say about 70% of them are good, which is also an improvement for me. Now just have to work on getting quality up to 100% of the time!

If you want to see the webpage I made for the Coalition, with links to more of the pictures, go here:

http://www.aia-aerospace.org/issues_policies/workforce/bisec/

New Challenge!

Sarah going down stairs, originally uploaded by Plaszloc.

OK this is going to sound crazy, but I'm going to challenge myself to take a cool picture (hopefully awesome) every day and post it to flickr.

I just got a brand new DSLR camera, and a project like this is going to force me to get to know it better. I'm happy for any feedback from you all!


This is a shot I took with my friend Sarah last night at the Jefferson Memorial. I set a long exposure and had her pretend to go down some stairs.