Like 28,000 other people, I went to D.C. for the annual Libraryfest that is ALA. Ah, ALA. Organized chaos. You'd think that a bunch of librarians could organize a conference, but they can't. As always, it was a bitch to get from program to program, so much so that like previous Annuals, I didn't even try. I went to my committee meetings, a discussion group, and a forum. This discussion group was better than the one in Seattle. At the one in Seattle I could barely stay awake so I hid behind my hair... and then I couldn't stop thinking, "My god, I smell like a bar." Probably because I did.
As we were flying into Reagan National I got a view of the Capital, White House, and Washington Monument. But all I could think of was that plane crash in the early '80s when that plane went down in the Potomac. Ugh. And then I saw the bridge it hit. Double, triple ugh.
The first evening consisted of me saying, "Damn, I wish I had my camera!" A lot. I said it when we drove by the Russian Embassy (we were staying on Embassy Row) and when I saw the Iraqi Embassy. The most memorable was probably when ME and I were taking a cab to the Washington Hilton when she casually mentioned Reagan was shot there. Me (practically squealing): "Reagan was shot there?! I wish I had my camera!" Now, I didn't squeal because I was all excited Reagan had been shot, but his assassination attempt was one of the defining events of my childhood. My brother and I were both home sick that day and we watched it unfold on TV.
ME and walked back to our hotel via DuPont Circle and three shoe stores (where I blew my shopping budget within the first hour of being there--I bought a pair of boots). Man, DuPont Circle... That is one gay neighborhood. I mean g-g-g-g-g-gay. Almost too gay for me--and that's gay.
The weekend was kind of a bust for me. I usually enjoy seeing old friends and catching up with people I hadn't seen since the last Annual/Midwinter. But this year it wasn't quite like that. I hit the vendors early, got my Darwin bobblehead and set out to look for the people I needed to see. But I couldn't find half of them. They were lost amongst the kiddie lit. There was a lot of kiddie librarian stuff this year.
The programs I went to were fine but a bit redundant. It seems to be the same things from the same people every year--lots of talking about specific resources. It's useful information--or at least it would be if my library could afford the things they were talking about. I need more. I need people talking about exciting stuff. New stuff. New trends. I'm getting bored. Next time? I'm gonna spread out a bit and try to get out of my ALA rut.
I had hoped to see some other people (library-related and non-library-related) but was summarily blown off by both of them. It was odd. I have never been so blatantly blown off as I was while in D.C., and then it happened twice in one day.
I did have some time for some sightseeing, and I did have my camera. I walked from our hotel down to the White House, down the National Mall, around to the Vietnam Memorial, around to the south lawn of the White House and then back up to our hotel. Let me tell you, it was a whole lotta walking. When I got to the end of the Reflection Pool I knew I had to make a choice: Vietnam War Memorial to my right or the Korean War Memorial to my left. I really wanted to see the Korean War Memorial. I feel that the Korean War, kind of like World War I, is a forgotten war, and I heard the Korean Memorial is haunting. But when I got to the end of the Pool, I couldn't feel my feet and the Vietnam War Memorial was closer. I regret not seeing the Korean War Memorial, though.
The Kazhaki Embassy and the statue in front of the embassy. This was a half-block from our hotel (which, by the way, looked like a bordello--it was awesome). When I saw the statue the first night we were there my first thought was, "Why is that gnome riding that alligator." Uh. A few days later I was walking behind to girls when one of them said, "I betcha they didn't like that Borat movie." Betcha not.
Protesters outside the White House. Protesters close up. The White House. Regardless of how you feel about the current resident, the building is impressive. Impressive in that you stand there, look at it, and think about everything that has happened there, the decisions made... It's pretty amazing, really.
The Washington Monument from far away. There was some sort of kickball tournament going on. Below that is the World War II War Memorial.
The statue by the Vietnam War Memorial. The Vietnam War Memorial. The Memorial close up. I thought the Memorial would be longer, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any less powerful. I had a lot of friends in high school whose dads had gone to Vietnam. The most memorable story was from a guy whose dad had slides of a Vietnamese river. The slides, in order, went, river, river, boat on river, explosion, river (no boat). Ugh. What really struck me at the Memorial were the personal items left. Flowers, small flags, someone left their ALA badge. But the most touching were three notes--each with the same MIA date and all being returned to the US in 2006. I was behind three people, one of whom seemed to be from D.C. He saw the three notes and said that they must've all been flying together and went down together. The notes were beyond moving and had comments like, "You time with us was short, but we're glad we had you." "Welcome home." So on and so forth. I could barely keep my shit together as I read them. They were so personal. The Vietnam War: What a complete waste of humanity.
A Church of Scientology van. I didn't have my camera with me when we walked by the actual Church of Scientology. Instead I took a picture of their van as they were packing up their big yellow tent that was set up just off the Reflection Pool. I didn't want to get too close because I didn't want to have to talk to them.
The south lawn of the White House. It's a crappy shot. There were lots of people on the sidewalk waiting. I think it was because there was a lot of activity outside the White House--limos and people and whatnot. I also saw a lot of people in evening gowns and tuxes leaving White House grounds.
R2-D2 Mailbox! I took this picture for my friend Ross but haven't gotten around to sending it to him. I took a different shot of it with my phone and sent it to Kevin, but I lost that picture when I changed phones yesterday (I upgraded to a smartphone--fancy).
So, that is my photo tour of D.C. We had half a day to putz around before we had to leave for the airport. We had talked of doing something touristy, but when ME and I woke up in the morning neither of us felt like going anywhere or doing anything. I had walked more than I had walked since the last ALA I attended, and I was too damn tired and sore to do anything worthwhile. So, we relaxed, checked out of the bordello hotel, got lunch on DuPont Circle, wandered through a nifty bookstore, and took a cab to Reagan National. And let me tell you something about Reagan National: It's a shithole. I thought Memphis was a craphole, but National.... AC that either wasn't working or wasn't working very well, a shitload of people, and a broken intercom system--so when the gate attendants made announcements they only people that heard it were the people out in the hallway/"terminal." After our flight being delayed an hour, we made it back to Memphis.
And you know who was on our plane? Julian Bond. The Julian Bond. I wanted to hang around baggage claim just to see him, but our ride was there and Mr. Bond seemed to be lost--the guy from the Peabody Hotel sent to pick him up couldn't find him. How do you go back to the Peabody and tell your boss that you lost Julian Bond? Obviously he was found. He was in Memphis for the anniversary of the local chapter of the NAACP.
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