Burnin down the house!

The neighborhood is a'buzz with talk of the fire--at 5 alarms, it was the largest in DC in 30 years. And since it was a mere block and a half away from my apartment, I heard every screaming fire truck, ambulance, and police car on the way to the scene. Now, having seen which building burned, I have theories myself as to the cause/modus operandi of the blaze.

Granted, four buildings burned that night--victims of the first building, a large white apartment complex. This building has been trying to renovate over the last two years, a slow process to be sure. I think they were trying to capitalize on the clean up and gentrification of Mt Pleasant. However, the older tenants--mostly Mexicans (in the general sense of the term), were not vacating to allow for the renovation probably as fast as the owners would like. Every once in a while I'd see some yuppie white guy or girl walk into the building--obviously they were in the same jam that I was when trying to find their first apartment in DC. ...They took what they could get after only once visit and a few nice pictures.

I digress: Two days ago (or so) there was an article in the Express about how Jim Graham and some other city councilwoman are trying to change one of the laws in DC meant to protect tenants. It is well known that DC has very liberal tenant laws. This law in question states something to the effect that a building owner may only convert to a condo complex if the building is no longer inhabited, or if there is a buy-out of the current renting tenants. Too many owners were just neglecting the buildings, waiting for people to leave on their own right, thus allowing them to convert to condo without a buy-out.

Is it no surprise, then, that the building that burned received something like 7,000 housing violation complaints over the last couple years? Maybe...just maybe, they got tired of neglecting the building and dealing with city officials over the violations, decided to burn it, and will then turn condo since the building is unoccupied.

Let's wait and see if the all-knowing Consummate Aries is proved right.

Call me June Cleaver

...or better yet, call me Martha-Jean. After all, over the past weekend I successfully integrated tips from Martha and my mom (Jean) into a cohesive domestic experience reminiscent of June Cleaver, herself. Luckily, the Imelda was motivated to organize all of her belongings in preparation for our the hybrid fete of the Pentegenarian's birthday and our housewarming party on Sunday night. I think each of our guests were shocked to find her room in order. But to get it to that state required copious amounts of cleaning, organizing, shopping, and zshuzshing (to borrow a term from Queer Eye). Pictures, mirrors, shelves etc mounted on walls, carpets arranged, electronics properly wired and configured, 30 boxes unpacked and organized, food shopping, cooking, cleaning afterwards. No time for rest, that's for sure!!

And when it was all said and done, our hearth-warmed house was open to guests for wine, cheese, salad, lasagna, and birthday cake. Not to mention a few stiff cocktails made by yours truly. Needless to say, afterwards I went out and bought new curtains...always need to keep guests on their toes and impressed by new decorations. Martha and Jean would be proud.

From Ducks to Domiciles

Wow....its been a crazy week. Where to begin? First, I've been absent due to my move. As alluded to in previous posts, I have becomes a non-sexual domestic partner with The Imelda. We found a quaint condo in Mt Pleasant to lease. So all last week I was packing up my old apt and getting ready for the move. Luckily, I convinced Neighbor Chad to help me pack in exchange for a homemade Italian feast. Very fair I'd say. The movers came on Thursday--I give them 4 Stars for friendliness, efficiency, and moving skill. Since then I've been unpacking and buying needless shit for the new place. The Imelda takes up residence on Wednesday. And I did check...she has 2-3x the closet space that I do, so hopefully all her shoes will fit.

(Not my decorations. Naturally mine are better.)

And if you're lucky you'll be invited to the housewarming!

Now how could I forget, in the midst of all that madness, my favorite day/night of the year came to pass. Yes...Halloween. Though I had some great costume ideas set aside from previous years, we had to go with a swim suit theme for our a team fundraiser at Nellies. I couldnt be something stereotypical or cliche, so I thought of the wackiest thing I could...speedo and rubber duckies. Now some may consider it a crime to cover my very reputable ass with plastic oddities, but the bobbing of duck bills and tails from the natural wiggle of my booty when I walk was (I'm sure) enough to please those who I would have otherwise offended. I did have some problems with people grabbing certain duckies, but a little ingenuity (box packing tape from the move) solved the problem of falling ducks over the course of the night.