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apec

after months of planning and a rush of supporting activity up to the final days of apec, i was able to catch a photo op with the president. good thing i waxed my head that morning.

breach

our office of public affairs presented a preview of the movie "breach" tonight at the hoyt theatre. the true story centers on fbi agent and convicted spy, robert hanssen.

while i enjoyed the solid acting of chris cooper, ryan phillippe and laura linney throughout the movie, i was a bit disappointed with the very last scene. Not giving anything away, it felt like a producers heavy hand was involved in tagging it with a hollywood ending.  up until then it played out with a realism that didn't involved your typical action picture cliches. so if you're curious about how someone becomes a traitor to their country than you'll definitely enjoy the protrayal of the worst intelligence disaster in the u.s. history.

not only did hanssen give up names of contacts to the soviet union, (some resulting in death), he also cost the u.s. govt millions due to classified secrets that were revealed. truly an embarrassement for the fbi and a constant reminder of how one twisted individual can soil the history of entire agency.

training

Nothing new to add to the blog. Spending most of my time studying and eating out while in the States. Weather has been cold but I don't mind. I have been getting back into exercising now that there's a gym within easier access during training. Ran into an a classmate from last year so it's been nice to have someone around with a car and a taste for frosty beverages. Weekends have been filled with trips around DC and errands I've had to run. Still need to get my cinema fix but that will probably have to wait until later. Another busy weekend coming up and then it's off to the Midwest for some R&R.

first pack out

(originally posted on couponthemovie.com)

July is here and plans are going well for leaving on my trip abroad. The movers have come and gone, leaving behind an empty apartment with the last remains of possessions I own. All the things I had planned for are changing with last minute things I hadn't forseen. Fortunately, I've been able to account for things that would take up my time and prepare accordingly. I'm always amazed at the stuff you collect over the years that seems important at the time but when its packed and taken away from you, you wonder what was everything that use to occupy the space around you. I wonder what it will feel like to see those items again in 5, 10, 15 years. I'll probably feel like I'm opening my own personal time capsule when that happens.