I recently learned, however, that VDOT is not to blame. As it turns out, they are legally required to broadcast the Ozone Alert messages. (They do, however, choose to broadcast Amber Alerts, which I fully appreciate.)  I was also pleased to know that VDOT is aware of the traffic issues caused by messages displayed on the traffic signs (“everyone … slows down substantially to read it”).

I’m assuming it’s a state law, but I haven’t yet been able to track it down. (Ir)regardless, I owe VDOT an apology. My frustrations were misplaced, and I will no longer curse VDOT for their sign usage as I’m stuck in traffic on Ozone Alert days.

Not only were they closing two of the major highways, but also the bridges leading into the city.  Throw a couple million more people than usual in to the mix with below freezing temps, and the couch at home quickly gained appeal.  Fortunately, I was able to work from home today (no, not all government workers had the day off).

I did not vote for President Obama, nor do I agree with many of his policies, but I appreciated today nonetheless.  I love the history, formality, and ceremony.  I’m amazed at the smooth transfer of power each time.  President Obama is now my President, and I will faithfully pray for him and his administration.

On a lighter note, as we watched a replay of parts of the inauguration, Micah did his best to spruce up the ceremony while waiting for the next burst of music to begin.  When Elizabeth Alexander read in the Inaugural Poem, “Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons,” Micah was banging away with a pair of wooden spoons on his toy drums.  We were amused.

 ”Government.  If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.” –www.despair.com

I need one of these.

For starters, I installed hardware on all our kitchen and bathroom cabinets. When we moved in, the cabinets had no hardware and the finish was starting to wear off where we constantly grabbed the doors and drawers. Not wanting to install new cabinets simply because the finish had worn off, we decided to finally put on some knobs. Not being a big fan of home improvement work, I’m pleased to report things went fairly well: only 1 mid-project trip to Home Depot, 1 broken refrigerator magnet (don’t ask), and 1 mechanical pencil accidentally vacuumed up.

I also noticed we had a sizable deposit in our bank account today, thanks to the generosity of the government’s Stimulus Package.  (As an aside, if Rachel and Micah hadn’t been out of town when the bill was signed by the President, we had an opportunity to be there at the White House.)  While I’m happy just about any time the government decides to give us some money back, doing so during an election year has me questioning the motives. Perhaps we’ll do our part to stimulate the economy by paying some extra on our mortgage, or tucking it away in savings.  The best part is we received our second snail mail letter from the IRS today letting us know the money was coming. Helpful, and well worth spending money on postage.

Finally, being from Grand Rapids, MI, I’ve been casually interested in Cornerstone University‘s recent hiring of Joseph Stowell as their new president. I saw a headline today that made my heart stop for a moment: Cornerstone University President Joseph Stowell takes life, Christian school in a new direction. No, he didn’t commit suicide. False alarm.

Now we’re off to have dinner with some good friends who are in town from CA!

* A guy in the cube next to me parked his car over a mile away yesterday because there’s a hill on the street leading to our building. Apparently it froze during a storm several years ago and caused a traffic backup. Hearing the weather forecast, he wasn’t going to risk it this time around.

* The schools closed all day yesterday in anticipation of the storms, before it even started snowing or raining. The rain didn’t start until early evening.

* The traffic reports on the radio today are spending more time telling you how to drive than they are giving updates on the accidents. (E.g., “Speed is your enemy.” “Because the roads are covered in ice, you need to allow more time to brake.”)

Well, the status of the Federal Government is apparently the thing to watch around here. They let out early yesterday, and have a 2 hour delay today, except for “essential” employees, I believe. It’s still unclear as to how that impacts my work schedule, so I braved the elements and drove in to work this morning. Knowing the commute would be a bit longer than usual, I figured I’d stop off at Starbuck’s and get something dark, bold, and black to drink to make the trip more enjoyable. I pulled into the parking lot, and the store was completely dark. They were closed. They can close because of weather?! Surely, if anyone is considered “essential,” it should be Starbuck’s employees.

I hadn’t realized before this incident that the Virginia DMV also issued ids to several of the 9/11 hijackers.

Our DMV’s compiling quite the track record …