2012 Nationals Soliloquy

This was a fun ride.

I knew before the season, I wanted to return as a Nationals season ticket holder after attending some games the year before when I saw the Nats transition from doormat to respectability. This year was the question if the Nats could contend not only getting over .500, but for the wild card since the playoffs expanded to 5 teams.

During spring training (where I went to Viera, FL for the first time) and throughout the regular season, this was a different squad that I saw from the seven incarnations of the Nats. This team felt ready to take it to the next level. I thought the next level would be a winning season. The Nats next level went above expectations: an NL East crown and best record in baseball.

During that journey, the team was consistently winning each month, the crowds grew bigger (on and off, of course), and old and new friends forged. DC started to become a sports town when they have their summer sport. Baseball became popular when the Nats were winning. Everyone wants their piece of the pie. I will remember July 3rd when the Nats setup the “Ignite Your Natitude” Tweetup. That was probably the most fun I had in baseball:

• Running down to see Nats players (literally) from Strasburg, Stammen, Clippard, Jackson, and Storen.
• Meeting with other Nats fans on Twitter in real life.
• Mocking Angel Pagan at section 143.
• Fireworks.
• Finally, a Nats blowout (won 9-3 over the Giants)

The 2012 season was to cherish and will never forget…

Which leads me to now.

Most in D.C. became a Nats fan because they were winning and wanted to be part of it. Some followed the sport, some wanted to join in on the fun, and some  don’t care but want to follow what’s trendy. They wanted to be part of a “magical” season that suppose to happen to the best team in baseball by record. I was just happy the Nats made the playoffs and knew the playoffs are a crapshoot and there are no guarantees.

What people have learned today is the baseball gods control destiny. The baseball gods will toy with us with relief, frustration, jubilation and mystery. The final part depends on where the wind is blowing. We originally thought it would side with the Nats with the 6-run lead, but baseball has a funny way to remember history. Do you remember July 20 when the Nats blew a 9-run lead and lost in the 10th inning against the Braves? Do you remember the September 1 against the Cardinals where the Nats blew a 4-run lead? Why do you think I tweeted “IT IS NOT OVER” over and over?

Most of the fan base (and nationally) will blame Drew Storen for not shutting the door; blame the offense for not scoring a bunch more runs after the 3rd inning; blame Davey Johnson of relying too much on certain people and things; and/or blame Mike Rizzo for shutting Strasburg early.

I look at this poetically: the Nationals were not ready to handle the baseball gods. The offense relied on the regular season success to carry-over and it bit them. The fans became overconfident (myself included). The whole pitching staff (starters and bullpen) became tired, not Rizzo withholding Strasburg and that’s when the baseball gods feast on them. St. Louis won because they know what to expect from these battles. The baseball gods respect what they have done before and got rewarded. The message the Nats and their fans got from the baseball gods is this what pain feels like; how are we going to handle it?

We never had an immediate answer and thus, the season has ended for the Nats in the most cruelest of fashions, but maybe that is a sign that the Nats need to be tougher and play differently. I know the Nats will comeback next year, but what team should we expect? This as far as we know: this will be a different team next year in every which way.

As we say goodbye this season, it is also goodbye to a few things:

• Goodbye to Bo Porter. Good luck with the Astros.
• Goodbye to the players, coaches, and front office: rest up. You deserve a vacation.
• Goodbye to all the Strasburg talk (well, here locally).
• Goodbye to my friends who I met at Nats Park and on Twitter. We’re going to meet again, but won’t be the same in a wonderful setting. Hopefully there’s a NatsFest in January.
• Goodbye to fantasy and welcome back to the real world, where I want to return to a corporate setting.
• Finally, a special goodbye to Cheryl and Dave Nichols, who will be moving to Idaho next month to startup their photography business. If it wasn’t for them, NatsJobs wouldn’t have been created.

I’m going to summarize with the popular poem “A Ballad of Baseball Burdens” by Franklin Pierce Adams (with some changes) that sums up what we’re feeling:

The burden of hard hitting. Slug away
Like Ryan Zimmerman or like Bryce Harper.
Else fandom shouteth: “Who said you could play?
Back to the jasper league, you minor slob!”
Swat, hit, connect, line out, get on the job.
Else you shall feel the brunt of fandom’s ire
Biff, bang it, clout it, hit it on the knob—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.

The burden of good pitching. Curved or straight.
Or in or out, or haply up or down,
To puzzle him that standeth by the plate,
To lessen, so to speak, his bat-renoun:
Like Stephen Strasburg or Gio Gonzalez,
So pitch that every man can but admire
And offer you the freedom of the town—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.

The burden of loud cheering. O the sounds!
The tumult and the shouting from the throats
Of forty-five thousand at Nationals Park
Sitting, ay, standing sans their hats and coats.
A mighty cheer that possibly denotes
That Nat or anyone fat is in the fire;
Or, as H. James would say, We’ve got their goats—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.

The burden of a pennant. O the hope,
The tenuous hope, the hope that’s half a fear,
The lengthy season and the boundless dope,
And the bromidic; “Wait until next year.”
O dread disgrace of trailing in the rear,
O Piece of Bunting, flying high and higher
That next October it shall flutter here:
This is the end of every fan’s desire.

ENVOY

Ah, Fans, let not the Quarry but the Chase
Be that to which most fondly we aspire!
For us not Stake, but Game; not Goal, but Race—
THIS is the end of every fan’s desire.

We had our sadness, anger, disbelief, and now it’s time for reflection. The baseball gods are telling the Nats to improve as players, as a team, as fans, and more importantly, as a whole community this offseason. It is the only way to appease the baseball gods to get something we want: a World Series championship.

The D.C. Sports Renaissance (Revisited)

One of my famous posts I did on my personal blog was my potential giddy-ness of the return of the D.C. Sports Renaissance two years ago. At that time, the Redskins had Donovan McNabb, which we all thought it was good, the Nationals were starting their youth moment with the drafting of Bryce Harper and the debut of Stephen Strasburg, the Wizards had John Wall, and the team that got a head start, the Capitals, had an identity. That post got a lot of attention, Ted Leonsis linked it to his blog. Fast forward to today, D.C. is reaching the goal of being a sports town, but the reasons two years ago have shifted.

The only thing that remains stagnant is the Wizards. Even with John Wall, the Wizards have been the Bullets/Wizards for nearly 25 years (except for a few good years from the Gilbert Arenas era). I don’t expect that to change unless David Stern can override trades like he did with New Orleans and screwing with the Lakers and helping the Clippers, but I doubt it.

The team that is on the decline is the Capitals. The Caps were the top of the D.C. sports sector for a few years. When they lost to Montreal in 7 games after leading 3-1, it started their identity crisis. In those two years, they change coaches and change philosophies. Gone were the “run and gun”, the “Greatest Show on Ice” team. In was a defensive philosophy that was surely put this team deep in the playoffs. That defensive philosophy went the same path as the “run and gun” offense: it reached to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Everyone said the team had gain an identity in this year’s playoffs and lost it when Dale Hunter wasn’t coaching this team next year. I think the Caps lost their identity when they saw how the Los Angeles Kings are performing in these playoffs and are one game away to win the Stanley Cup. These L.A. Kings were the Caps suppose to be: 200 feet of “Hells on Ice” on offense and defense. Sadly for the Caps, they wish they thought about it sooner.

We then have the potential resurrection of the Washington Redskins, which after two terrible years, can come back to the top with Robert Griffin III as their franchise QB. After having 100 starting QBs in the past 20 years, it’s great the Redskins now have their “franchise” QB if RG3 meets (or exceeds) expectations. Although some fans question Mike Shanahan’s move of trading to get Donovan McNabb two years ago and gave use dumb & dumber last year, give Shanahan credit that he pulled off the trade with the St. Louis Rams since 1) they gave up 2 first round picks and a second this year & 2) Shanny and new Rams coach, Jeff Fisher, are good friends. This has been the most anticipated Redskins season since the 2004 season when Joe Gibbs came back to the sidelines. This one I expect to be longer.

Finally, to the team everyone is buzzing about and the basis of the original post two years ago: the Nationals. My original point for the post two years ago was if D.C. wants to become a sports town, it needs the baseball team to step up. There’s always football with the Redskins in the fall. There’s basketball and hockey in the winter and spring time. Even if we didn’t have pro basketball or hockey, there’s college basketball to make that up. Before 2005, there was no activity in the summer in D.C. (D.C. United and Mystics aside). After 2005, there was baseball, but it was just there as another D.C. activity because the team stunk. That change in 2010 with the debut of Strasburg. Although he got injured that same year, you can tell the Nationals were building something. Today, they’re in the hunt for the postseason (it also helps MLB added an additional team to the postseason) and they could be in the hunt for the next 5-7 years. With the Nationals success, there is D.C. sports all-year round and before the Redskins break camp, people can enjoy the Nats and hopefully it sticks.

Between these two years, the post I wrote was hyping up potential. Those two years never came to fruition as D.C. teams did struggle. This year, you see a different vibe as you won’t see any D.C. teams win any championships immediately; we’re closer than we think. It won’t bring any casual fans in, but if you’re a D.C. sports fan, it is time to invest.

The Reason Behind NatsJobs

If you saw the announcement a few minutes ago, I’m starting a new job posting venture called NatsJobs. It is where companies and organizations post jobs during Nats baseball games. You can get the details here. You’re wondering how did I start this?

It actually started in October during hockey season where I started to dabble on posting jobs during Caps games. It had some responses, but nothing broke through. My guess is hockey fans want to see the action more than the outside stuff, which was reasonable.

After the Caps playoff season was over against the Tampa Bay Lightning in May, my focus shifted to baseball and the Nats. At that time, Cheryl Nichols forwards a list of our mutual friends on Twitter to me of who are looking for jobs. I help gave most of the Twitter friends’ advice on their job search. It was then I decided to post jobs during Nats games just for the heck of it. To my surprise, there was a huge response of my job tweets during the Nats game. My guess is that people want to watch something other than baseball to pay attention, which can be tiresome for some fans. Posting jobs during baseball games probably was that outlet. Many people have asked, retweeted, and favorite (I have Tweetdeck, FYI) my job tweets. Some asked for me to transition this to part of my business. It was getting a lot of attention, but how was the end result?

There were two factors why I created NatsJobs. The first reason is the business aspect started to creep up during a discussion I had during an awards dinner this past week. It was the rare time I wore a suit and tie and add in the heat during the summer; it affected my decision. The second and main reason was my job postings were getting results. A few people have contacted me and got hired as a result from the job tweets I posted during Nats games. That to me puts a smile to my face and at that moment, it was time to put it to the next level. Thus, NatsJobs was created.

The purpose for NatsJobs is for companies and organizations to tap into the Nats community, which is diverse in every way from skills, ideas, and personalities. NatsJobs is also a way to communicate who you are looking for and the one area everyone is looking at one setting. NatsJobs is not only for Nats fans; it is for job seekers and businesses that are looking for and want to be part of an open community like the Nats organization and their fans. NatsJobs is always an open door for both the job seeker and business (though not sure about the Phillies).

Now, NatsJobs is part of Tran Recruiting and although my staffing firm focuses on nonprofits, associations, and small businesses; NatsJobs is a job posting service for any business that needs to advertise their job to a diverse market at a reasonable price.

In addition, no one or few businesses will dominate all the job postings during the Nats game(s), so I’m asking for 17/18 different businesses if they have a job to advertise for each game. I know there are businesses out there who want to advertise their jobs, and NatsJobs is a great avenue to go to.

Finally, and I didn’t mention this on the initial announcement, but when we post your job, it will not only be on my company’s Twitter and Facebook page, it will be also on my personal Twitter page, Linkedin profile, and my Google+ Buzz section (Oh, my whole Google+ page if you’re interested). In addition, you can add the Tran Recruiting twitter account to your RSS feed/Google Reader and follow via text messaging when a job is tweeted, so your job posting will get more bang for your buck.

I can’t wait for July 26 when NatsJobs officially begins and it will be a new arena for not only to attract talent, but keep the Nats community growing as a baseball town and a tight community people can rely on.

DC Sports Review

Last year, I wrote a post on the DC Sports Renaissance and got a lot of views, even a mention on Ted Leonsis’s blog.  We are almost a year in from that post and well…DC is not there yet. Let’s review:

The Redskins stink and the lockout is still going on. There will be a season, but with John Beck. guess they want Andrew Luck.

The Wizards…you know, but they look good at it.

D.C. United has Charlie Davies and the team is meh, but could move to Baltimore.

College football rarely exists and 3 of the 4 DC area college basketball change coaches.

This leaves two teams I want to discuss:

The Capitals

I have mention this for a long time that this past regular season will be the longest preseason Caps fans have to endure. The only way to prove their worth is in the playoffs. They handled the New York Rangers easily in the first round and look like the Caps will meet expectations…then Lightning came and struck them. The Lightning swept the Caps and swept them like the most powerful vacuum known to man.  Ted Leonsis sums it up here:

Their role players outplayed our role players.

Their highest paid players outplayed our highest paid players.

In fact, their role players outplayed our highest paid players.

Right now, the Caps are what I like to call, “in the early Mark Cuban stages.” If you follow the Dallas Mavericks history, you know before Cuban owned the team, the team blew chunks and were the laughing stock of the league. When Cuban took over, he built a fun team that was the greatest show on Earth for a few years, then the transition to a championship team a few years later in 2006 and still are a contending team.

The Caps are at the end of being the fun team and are starting to transition to a championship team, but what direction will they go. It is eerie the Caps and Mavericks are alike:

Ted Leonsis – Mark Cuban
Bruce Boudreau – Don Nelson
Alex Ovechkin – Dirk Nowitzki
Nicklas Backstrom – Steve Nash (supposedly)

If you are a Caps fan, ask these questions:

1. Is George McPhee drafting on pure talent or developing talent? Talent vs. Hockey Sense.
2. Is Bruce Boudreau mentally capable of handling this job? If not, keep an eye out for Dale Hunter, Kirk Muller, and Bob Hartley as likely replacements.
3. Do you trade Alex Semin, Mike Green, or both? In addition, would you let Alex Ovechkin drop the Captain tag and give it to a veteran like…Jarome Iginla via trade?

So many questions for the Caps this offseason and the team you saw in the past 4 years is gone. Luckily for them for next season, they might be the only game in town. This was the Caps best opportunity to grab the Stanley Cup and get DC’s attention. However, 2008-2011 is the same as the ’80s and early ’90s Caps…can’t handle playoff pressure.

The Nationals

Of all the DC teams, the Nationals are the only DC team that is progressing and the future is bright. They have a young nucleus that starts with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and follow up with Wilson Ramos, Danny Espinosa, Ian Desmond, and an improved minor league infrastructure, which was shot during the Jim Bowden/MLB era. Also, let’s not forget the Nats have some addition money from the Lerners that they could get a first baseman next year [Pujols!].

Most will mock Jayson Werth’s contract and the numbers are not showing it this year for him, but his intrinsic value (swagger, leadership) have made the Nats a respectable team. Just imagine if they had Ryan Zimmerman back.  The team is struggling, but with a wounded lineup that is 5 games below .500, that’s not bad. Everyone knows this is a transition year for the Nats, but there is optimism. Now, the manager’s standing? That’s a different question.

Will D.C. ever be a sports town like New York Boston, or hate to say this, Philly? Not really. D.C. will always be changing, for better or worse. However, D.C. can capture the same spirit when the Redskins won the Super Bowl in the 80s.  The question is who is going to lead D.C.?  The Caps had a significant advantage the past few years as the only good D.C. sports team in town. The problem with the Caps today is they join the rest of the D.C. pack by being “choking dogs” like they were in the 90s and seem to have no resolve. The Redskins are always in flux and the Wizards need a miracle. The Caps might be the flavor now, but the Nats are coming. In D.C., it is always about winning…and joining the bandwagon.

Two-Day Double Dip

The past two days, I went to D.C. for four events: Cherry Blossoms, Natsfest, Nationals Opening Day, and a Caps game. The only reason I wanted to go is to experience my first D.C. Sports Doubleheader. This one is special because it was opening day in baseball and the Caps push to the playoffs.

Here are the pics I took the past two days

Cherry Blossoms

I have done this the past three out of four years. It never gets old. There’s nothing to add except I would like festival organizers is more choices for JapaDogs. That day, it felt like Vancouver.

Natsfest

I walked from the Tidal Basin to Nationals Park to go to Natsfest. It started to rain when I arrived and I was amazed there was a solid crowd who came. I would imagine a smaller crowd with the weather and it was a school day, but this shows there’s a growing fan base in Washington. With the rain coming down, practice was cut short and there were no autograph sessions, but people saw memorabilia of Washington’s baseball history and Q & A sessions. The star of Natsfest Washington Senator great, Frank Howard, who told his nine consecutive strikeout story at least two times and it never got old. The event went well under the circumstances.

Nationals Opening Day

This was my first opening day. I would imagine a sunny and a crisp 60 degree day. Instead, it was drizzly, but freezing. All the weather reports said there was a good chance of rain and in the mid 40s. It almost felt like it was 25 degrees. This was easily the coldest event I went to and I was outside for a good 6 hours, although I did get a free bratwurst and water as a result from broken registers . I don’t mind the cold, but it’s spring and it’s suppose to be warm, but on the plus side, I met most of the Nats tweeps in real life and made this a better event, even in the cold. I have been to 4 different home openers and by far, baseball is the most genuine I attended, although the 2006-2007 George Mason men’s basketball home opener was very special. As for the game, the Braves beat the Nats, 2-0. A disappointing result, but a wonderful event everyone should attend and if you’re lucky, next year’s opening day might be a buck.

Just to go back on Natsfest; the Nats lost and I mostly think the weather play a role, but another part could be about Natsfest. There are several fans who were upset Natsfest was a day before Opening Day and not in January, where most baseball teams have their annual fanfest. Mark Lerner, principal owner of the Nats, said this was the only time to bring all the players to come to Natsfest. I heard all sides and both make compelling arguments. I understand Mark’s standpoint of holding the event the day before the game, but this event needs to happen a week before the first game and the Nats can’t do it because of spring training. January is a great time to do it, but I understand this is the players’ offseason and they have their own schedule, plus going into D.C. in the winter has started to become brutal with snowstorms. There are two options the Nats can take:

Option 1: Still hold Natsfest the day before Opening Day and have a deal with the DC public schools to bring kids to the park after school and bring them to the field and have the players stay in the field, meet and greet, sign autographs, and take pictures.

Option 2: Have Natsfest in January, but social media has to play a role since nearly everyone in D.C. has a social media profile (remember, DC is the most socially networked city in the U.S.). Word can get out quick and the players will respond. Right now, the Nats do not have a strong enough fan base to have their voices heard, but when 2012 comes around with Strasburg and Bryce Harper on the team, things might change. In addition, we know Strasburg and Harper have Twitter accounts, so we can bother them why they can’t attend.

Caps

After 6 hours in the unexpected freezing weather, I travel to Chinatown to California Tortilla to get a burrito and getting a “10″ hot sauce to warm myself up. After that, I went to see my friends and it was off to the game. Caps won 4-3 over the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, but it shouldn’t be like that since Columbus didn’t have Rick Nash in the lineup and fielded an AHL team. The Caps might be in the playoffs, but without possibly Mike Green and Dennis Wideman, can the Caps advance? The longest preseason is almost to a close, but the real season begins and let’s sees if the Caps have learned from past seasons.

For these past two days, it was a time to relax and enjoy something special that may never happen again, unless you have the Beltway Series and the Stanley Cup Finals, which would be the penultimate. Overall, these past two days is a great time to be a Washingtonian…unless you’re a twitching little freak who is ticked by this and this.

Poll: Should I bring back the Elvis Silver Wig for this upcoming Washington Nationals Season?

#ConnectHR in DC

Tomorrow,

After one and half years of following them on Twitter and been stuck in DC (area) all those times, some of the HR Twitter Stars are coming to DC for a networking event of epic proportions (sort of).  SmartBrief, SHRM, and Recruitingblogs.com are sponsoring the networking event and I can’t wait to finally see most of the Tweeters for the first time face to face to see who’s actually taller than Mike Lupica, albeit for only an hour (people coming on Wednesday will realize why I have to leave early).

I hope you come by from car, plane, ferry, horse (but not a Segway)  to #ConnectHR in DC and rest assured, without a shadow of a doubt that Washington, DC, the area with 5 area codes is the Best HR City (thank goodness its not trademark yet for the other city , although San Francisco is dominating the charts for HR cities)

Event link: http://hrconnectdc.eventbrite.com/

If I Was Running A Company…Abe Pollin

I never met or saw Abe Pollin.  The closest thing I came to Abe Pollin is Abe Pollin Way.  However, there was a reason DC name a street after him.

Before owning the Washington Bullets/Wizards and Capitals, Abe was in the construction business.  Abe made tons of money and decided that he (and a bunch of investors) want to buy the Baltimore Bullets in 1964.  He wanted to move the team to the DC area, so in the 1970s, Abe put up $200+ million of his own money and build the Capital Centre.  At that time, it was state of art arena with a big screen TV and box suites.  It was home of the Bullets only championship in 1978 and the first and only championship Abe won.  When the arena was outdated in the mid 90s, Abe wanted an arena in downtown DC to build traffic and swarms of people.  He wanted funding from the DC government, but since DC had no funding at all to pay for Abe’s arena, Abe had a choice of moving his team somewhere or spend another $200 Million plus on a new arena in downtown DC.  He chose the latter and it is paying dividends.

The MCI (now Verizon) Center revitalized downtown DC since people can go to the “Phone Booth” to be entertained and go to numerous bars and restaurants surrounding Penn Quarter and Chinatown.  It open new business and job opportunities and an additional 3 hours to stay in DC.

Why I am mentioning Abe Pollin in the workplace blog post is because he was a rare businessman whose decisions not only effect  his organization, but the whole city.  

One of Abe’s strengths was his charisma and straight forward attitude.  When seeing and hearing Abe, you want to help him out and volunteer for the guy.  Abe wanted to see the big picture and his vision trickle down to his employees.  A great example was in 1982 when the Washington Capitals were struggling and thoughts of relocation were in play.  Abe created the “Save the Caps“ Campaign to keep hockey in Washington.  Ken Delinger and Dave Kindred scoffed at the campaign and when Abe read that, he pulled out a full-page ad in the Washington Post calling the writers untruthful and that the campaign was real.  A year later in 1983, the Caps made to the playoffs for the first time.  Another example was the “firing” of Michael Jordan in 2003, where Jordan was supposed to bring the Wizards to the playoffs either as player or President and didn’t get the job done.  People want Jordan to stay, but Abe realize this was not going to work and fired him instead.  It caused an uproar in DC, even calling Abe “racist.” In hindsight, it was the best direction for both parties.

Another of Abe’s strengths is that he gave back.  As a philanthropist, Abe gave money to Jewish Centers, cancer research, and various charities in DC.  As a businessman, Abe made two sacrifices to help rebuild DC.  The first attempt was to show DC was a sports town beyond the Redskins.  The second attempt was a calling to rejuvenate DC.   He succeeded in both.  Also, he was very loyal to his friends and employees.  If you screw up, Abe will guide you and be your mentor.  Abe made you feel you can’t do no wrong, unless you screw up big time.

Which leads me to his main weakness: his loyalty.  As the saying goes, “Your weakness is your reflection of your strength.”  Abe was loyal to a fault. Look at Wes Unseld: He was great friends with Abe since he was on the 1978 Championship team.  He became coach in 1987 and the team never had a winning record under Unseld.  However, Wes stayed on the job for 8 years because of Abe and admit to Abe that he was not a head coach.  Abe wanted to depend on his inner circle and didn’t want to go outside of it (re: Jordan).

Another fault of Abe is he did show favoritism towards his brands.  Basketball was his first love.  The Bullets won the championship and Abe wanted a second NBA Championship.  That never happened because of Bird and Magic and their luck in the NBA Draft Lottery, plus giving $105 million to Juwan Howard.  At the same time, the Capitals were flying high, appearing in the playoffs every year, but when free agency rolled around, Abe didn’t put out the money to future hall of famers Scott Stevens and Mike Gartner, and both had great careers after leaving the Caps.

Of all those faults, the overall point is that Abe made his decision for himself.  Abe didn’t have to stay in DC because the government rejected public funding for the arena nor he had to bring Michael Jordan.  However, he wanted to because he love DC so much that he would donate his body to DC if he wanted to.  Ted Leonsis will be a great owner for both DC franchises and from the looks of it, he will do an awesome job, but he realize he is miles behind Abe Pollin.  

Abe thought he owe his employees and the city of DC something to be proud of.  The Verizon Center was his version of saying, “Thank You” for 12 years and counting.  You can have your cake, Abe!

A Blog Post

Two things I like to mention that I can’t fit on Twitter:

1. The Brazen Careerist has a new design and new attitude.  It will still be a place for Gen Y workers, but instead of a blog network, it is a social network.  Think of it as Linkedin or KODA.  Let’s see how this goes because there in new territory and will they get any new Gen Yers to go to their site.  I know there are people who are for and against Brazen Careerist and I understand, but this one has a little more interest because they featured two of my posts and I’m grateful and met other Gen Y bloggers in DC.  For me, they help me build an audience and the first site to give me a spotlight.  I cannot wait for it.

2. I went to the DC Bloggers meeting last week just to get a feel of what it is and have to say it is a very diverse group from food, writing, DC, politics, etc.  There is a sense of community with this group and can’t wait to help out my fellow bloggers.  In fact, I’m going to make a difference for DC Bloggers, but you have to wait until next month to figure that out.  Here are the other DC Bloggers:

Kier Duros:  http://Durosia.com

A. Glenn:  http://jenesaisrein.blogspot.com

S. Polastre:  http://www.freeagentwriter.com

Phil:  http://www.feedbacksecrets.com

Mike:  http://NotionsCapital.com

Amy in DC:  http://www.freeindc.blogspot.com

Dave W.:  http://www.autumnrain2110.com

Joe Logon:  www.joelogon.com/blog

Frank:  http://swordandthescript.blogspot.com/

Jadxia:  http://jadxia.livejournal.com

Can you feel the love?

Will Henry

This is a story for Easter.

Will Henry had everything going his way.  He survived the first set of layoffs in the last quarter of 2008, has a girlfriend, and a nice bachelor pad.  Will was a bit cocky, flirt, but realistic guy.  Will was a well-dressed man, wearing suits and ties, sweaters, and the occasional sweater vest when he went out.  He worked in sales for an insurance company and was good at it.  He was not the best, but meets expectations.  Will also thought he was immune to trouble, no matter the situation.  However, on February 14, 2009, Will was a victim of his own Valentine’s Day Massacre.

On that Valentine’s Day at work, he was summoned into the office by his supervisor.  The supervisor was a straight shooter and mention that sales were way down because of the recession in the economy.  Then, he went on to say,

“Will, thank you for being part of our team and helping us get some loyal customers.  However, we have to cut costs and by your performance, it was not bad, but you were among one of the worst performers in our organization and you have been laid off.  You will get severance for 3 months and your last day of the job is effective immediately.  I’m sorry”

Will just stood there in stunned silence like he was getting hit by a train.  He did not show any outside emotion about the layoff.  He didn’t say much and only two words came out of his mouth, “Thank You!” He left to his office and pack things up and said goodbye to his co-workers.  When he went to his car, he sat there for 5 minutes and finally broke down.  It continued on for 15 minutes and then he drove out.

When Will finally got home, he swallowed up his pride and quickly dresses to take his girlfriend for a Valentine’s Day dinner.  Will double check on his email and saw that her girlfriend had an emergency and cancelled the dinner that night.  One week later, at a chain restaurant, Will saw her girlfriend talking to another guy and feeling intimate.  Will saw and stood there for a minute and his heart just dropped.  Will head back home in distraught and had nowhere to go.  Will heads home, undressed and put away his clothes in his closet.  He saw a picture of him as a kid in church.  He looked at it and after he went through, he knew he had to change someone: himself.  The following was the beginning of Lent and decided for the next several weeks, he’s sacrificing his good life.

Before Lent Season began, Will canceled his plans going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and focus on his grueling destination.  Will setup the rules for his Lent mission:

·         Will will only have $100 cash for the next 7 weeks.  Cannot ask for more money.

·         He can only carry clothes

·         He can’t go to a homeless shelter since he already has a home or go to a kitchen that serves homeless people

·         No electronic devices or ask people for electronic devices (cell phones, iPhones, iPods, MP3s, cameras, and others)

·         Catholic Lent rules apply (no meat on Fridays during Lent Season)

·         Fasting means no food for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, not the 2 small meals, 1 large meal deal.

·         No loophole Sunday stuff

·         Must go to a different Catholic Church each Sunday and for Holy Thursday and Good Friday

·         Cannot ask for directions, going to someone’s house to sleep or shower or stay in any car.

·         Cannot take taxi, hitchhike, subway or bus.  Must do this on foot.

·         The mission begins in Fairfax and ends in Washington, DC

·         Finally, the only goal on this mission is if Will achieve what he wanted to do.

Before leaving, Will told his parents that he is going on a Lent mission and will come back on Easter, he then locked all of his belongings on a safe and gave it to his best friend, Shawn, whom he had known since high school and told him to keep out of harm.  Will paid his rent and bills early so he wouldn’t be penalized.  Then, Will strategize where to go in the next 7 weeks to prevent duplication. Finally on Fat Tuesday, Will had a big meal to prepare for Lent.  On midnight, the mission began.

Week 1

It was uneventful since Will had to stay around the Fairfax area since he had to go to two masses in the same week.  He went first to St. Leo for Ash Wednesday to take his ashes and began his mission.  After mass ended, Will took all of his belongings (shirts, shoes, underwear, socks) and hit the sidewalks.  He walked down a busy intersection in Fairfax and saw people were mad that traffic hadn’t move and from a pedestrian perspective, Will saw no reason for this anger since he saw there was a huge accident upfront, but people were more worried about their own interests.  Will laughed it off and moved on.  Since he was around in Fairfax for the next few days, Will remembered there was a Popeye’s around the corner and wanted to go there for their Louisiana Shrimp Basket, which was $4.99.  He got 3 orders since he’ll be traveling and will take nibbles since he has only $100.  On Sunday, he went to Mission of Our Lady for the First Sunday of Lent and then the real adventure begins.

Week 2

Since Will cannot stay at a motel or at a house, he had to rely on shear will. In the beginning of March, it began to snow heavily in the D.C. area and Will uses his camping skills as an Eagle Scout to survive this treacherous weather.  He had no food and must spread out his money for 6 weeks, so he had to find it in this awful weather.  In the area, there were no stores in sight, and all Will had left was a biscuit.  Will’s next big project on this mission is to have a food supply that will last him a long time.  Sadly, there was no Wal-Mart in sight since everything was discounted, but Will thought of another place where he can get the essential foods…H Mart.  Since fruits and vegetables were very cheap at H Mart, Will took advantage and took as many as he can.  He bought nearly $30 of fruits, vegetables, and water.  Will put it in his bag and knew that he had to take it easy on the eating.  Week 2 ended at the Church of Dunn Loring.

Week 3

It was cold still, but it was sunny and it rejuvenated Will for a bit.  For this week travel, he went to Tyson’s Corner and saw a bunch of business people driving and they feel very ordinary like it was another typical work day.  Of course, the only personality they showed was anger from more traffic.  Tyson’s Corner was also the first big hurdle for Will as Tyson’s Corner has tons of restaurants, stores, and temptation.  Will knows he cannot spend a lot of money, but he use Tyson’s Corner as an opportunity.  Since he couldn’t shower at anyone’s house, Will use the mall bathrooms as his shower.  He takes water from the sink and goes to a bathroom stall and washes himself with the water he took, changes clothes and heads out.  Will still had to fight the urge of what he has, but cannot use it for this mission.  Will was still comfortable since he had plenty of food under his circumstances and $60 left.  The week ended at the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, where the kids are very joyful, plenty of double parking, and a language Will never understood.

Week 4

After leaving Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, Will headed to Arlington, but met a bunch of Asians in Ballston.  The Asians were mocking Will of his homeless and heavy beard look.  The Asians were part of a gang at the Eden Center and now try to establish their territory in Ballston.  The gang walked away until someone saw that Will had some money in the pocket.  The gang pulled out their knives and surrounded Will.  Will wanted to fight it, but he was outnumbered by members and weapons.  Will gave up and gave the money to the gang.  After that, one of them took his clothing and gave a sucker punch to Will’s face, knocking him unconscious.  The gang left with the clothes and the money and adding insult to injury, the gang threw the vegetables at his face, which gave many cuts and bruises on Will’s face.  The following day, Will got up wounded and wobbly after that attack.  There were no police or anyone else helping him and had a hard time walking straight.  Will had no money, no additional clothes, and starving.  The fruits and vegetables were spoiled after it rolled into a puddle and they were inedible.  Will was struggling to go somewhere, but founded someone who looked desperate.

Will saw a homeless man going through a dumpster and founded a half pizza uneaten and saw the guy took a bite.  Will was disgusted at first.  However, he read a story about a homeless guy going through trash and found is treasure since the young adults live in the city throw away the good stuff.  Will tried to find an area where a lot of young adults live.  Luckily, the Ballston to Court House section is full of young adults and hence the “treasure” is big.  Since Will did not move around after being injured, so he loads up on stock from pizza, steak, salmon for Fridays and others.  It was not pretty, but this was the only thing Will can eat now with no money.  After being stagnant for a few days, Will heads off to find another Catholic Church, St. Ann.

Week 5

Will was still hurt from the attack last week, but relief came when the D.C. area was pouring in rain since it was the start of spring.  It gave Will second wind and the rain acted as a cure for his injuries.  Slowly every day, Will was gaining power from the rain and by the end of the week, although not 100%, Will can finally think straight and his mission to D.C. is back on track.  The week ended at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Parish.

Week 6

A lot of cars were coming northbound to Arlington and it was bigger than usual.  Will never had a slightest clue why there is a lot of traffic.  He looked around Arlington and then went to Rosslyn.  There, he saw the big screen from WJLA7 that the cherry blossoms were coming out and visitors are coming to enjoy the festivities.  Will had this adrenaline rush and never thought about food or any previous troubles he had, Will knew he was close.  At the end of the week, Will had made it not only to D.C., but he was in the middle of cherry blossom festival.  Will absorb the nature and beauty of the cherry blossoms and took it in stride.  Although Will arrived to D.C. one week early, the mission was not done since there is one week to go in Lent.  Will knows he had one week to survive, but the nature of D.C. made it easier for Will to relax the next week.  The week ended on Palm Sunday at Saint Stephen Martyr.  The palms were eco-friendly from Guatemala, which Will kept and cherish.

Holy Week

Will knew that D.C. is a great walking city and had plenty of time to enjoy the museums and monuments of D.C. like he never did.  Will still had no money and had little food available.  For the next 4 days, Will walked around the city and went to local colleges to see if naïve students throw away good food.  On Holy Thursday, he went to St. Peter’s Catholic Church and then took a nap outside the church.  On Good Friday, Will took a walk to D.C. one last time to relive what he achieved the past 7 weeks.  Of course there were obstacles and Will made it too rough of a standard that he set, but after being punished by losing his job and losing his girlfriend, those events were nothing that he endured those 7 weeks.

It was Friday evening, and Will needed to go to a different church.  He found it in Cathedral of St. Matthew in downtown D.C.  Will arrived there at 6PM, stayed through mass, and stayed through prayer until 11:45 PM on a Friday evening.  Fifteen minutes later, the clock struck midnight and Lent season was over and Will’s mission finally completed…unless he can find someone to take him home in Fairfax without money.  Will realizes he has no money and does not feel like any assistance right now.  Then, Will felt something strange on his right foot.  He sat down, took off his right shoe and rubs it since it was aching.  He looked at his shoe and saw three $1 bills.  Since it was midnight in D.C., the maximum cost is $2.35.  Will had no idea he had $3 on his shoe and thought what he deserved to get that $3?  Will thought about it, but he could not come with an explanation.  So, with his heavily beard, aching body, and soul refresh, Will took the Metro to Vienna/Fairfax and headed home.

Easter Weekend

When Will got home at 1 AM, he immediately slept for 10 hours.  When he woke up, he took his shower, shaved his beard, and ate a hearty breakfast for the first time in 7 weeks.  Will then had to pick up his belongings from Shawn and gave him a huge tip for keeping everything.  Will then reflected again on what he did, then he packed up and headed to Arlington (by car) to meet up with his family for Easter.  During the weekend, the Henry family enjoyed a nice buffet brunch and their own Easter Egg Hunt.  Will was enjoying not only real food finally, but enjoyed being with the kids.  After Easter ended, Will headed back home in Fairfax and saw he forgot to put away the eco-friendly palm into a vase and then he hatch an idea…

Afterwords

Will moved out of his apartment and bought an abandoned house in Fairfax City.  Although the house was torn up, it had plenty of grass in Fairfax City land to start his one of two new ventures…gardening.  Will started growing fruits and vegetables in his backyard to sell at the Farmers Market, which was a couple of blocks from his house.  Will’s other venture: teaching.  Will has a paid job as a school teacher at Providence Elementary School and a volunteer as a CCD teacher at St. Leo.  I guess walking for 7 weeks clears up the mind quite a bit.