I found my way to Zaytinya simply due to the fact that one of the sous-chef’s happens to be Chef Mike Isabella from “Top Chef”.  I have to admit, I have a minor obsession with sampling the food from the great pool of chef’s often showcased on Bravo TV and this was just the most recent opportunity I’ve had to do so in Washington DC.

I’m not a well-learned connoisseur of Greek or Lebanese food, but I’m not a stranger to these Mediterranean flavors either.  I found that Zaytinya to be a very pleasant eatery and was pleased that I dragged a few colleagues with me to enjoy the restaurant.  While one of my colleagues was interested in enjoying a bit of a Happy Hour, it turns out there are few specials and, oddly, one could only take advantage of these specials at the bar area.  The dining room was exempt from any Happy Hour specials, which I found to be a little strange and somewhat off-putting.

Still, we forged ahead and ordered a smattering of dishes that, I am very happy to report, delighted us all.  Dinner for all of us included:

• Beautiful steamed bread and htipiti, tzatziki, and hommus spreads
• Santorini Fava & Squash Soup
• Falafel, Kibbeh, Garides Me Anitho, Loukaniko Me Aginares and Crispy Brussel Afelia

The stand-out dish for me was the Crispy Brussel Afelia.  While I’m always a sucker for Brussel Sprouts, the preparation of these tiny cabbages was just quite simply, wonderful. Prepared with coriander seed, barberries, and garlic yogurt the sprouts were very crispy and seemed to be broiled.  Soft and tender inside, the crispiness provided a wonderful complimentary texture.

While the waitstaff was wonderful — frequently checking in on our table, very knowledgeable about the menu and happy to offer suggestions, I found that the overall decor of the restaurant to be lacking.  While I was looking for a cozy, intimate environment, I felt very much like I was back in a high-school cafeteria.  The open kitchen is a nice touch, but there really isn’t that much to see and I don’t think it adds much to an already sterile environment.

Well well.  I’m back.  After quite some time, I’ve come back to this blog.  Yes, I can hear the collective sigh of relief from here.  Don’t get too excited, my dear readers as I make no promises for how long I’ll be back.  But, we’ll just all take it as it comes, OK?

It has occurred to me that my disappearance has been due, in large part, to the fact that I seem to have lost inspiration. Of any kind.

I’m currently fascinated by people we all hear about – those who have pushed themselves above and beyond to achieve things that most of us just don’t even think about.  Whether it be the athlete that becomes a super-star against all odds, the musician that tries and tries to get that big break, or the hoarders that clean out their house.  Their stories are just all around us.  And in the midst of all these stories of personal motivation and divine inspiration, I find that I’m decidedly lacking inspiration.

Quite honestly, it’s not like I’m not doing things.  I work hard at a new job to learn things I haven’t been exposed to before and I’m studying hard to complete a Master’s degree. I take care of other people’s pets as a side job.  I keep a clean house and make sure that the bills are paid.  I go out occasionally to meet friend for a meal or even a drink or two.  The real problem is, that I just don’t seem to care about much these days.

But, darn it, I want to be inspired.  I want to want something, anything, enough to work really hard at getting it.  To have a goal that requires a single-minded effort over a period of time to actually reach an achievement.

There are a million things I see each day that stirs a little bit of desire – watching a cooking show, I think “how cool would it be to learn how to cook gourmet meals” or seeing a fit guy run by makes me think “I think I’d like to begin weight training and really bulk up” or hearing a colleague speak a foreign language makes me think about pushing myself to become fluent in French.  But, I never seem to get past the fleeting idea.

So, here we go.  Let’s see if we can find some inspiration.

LinkedIn isn’t a web service that I generally use — I remember signing up for it a few years ago and, since then, just give a cursory glance to the newsletters that appear in my in box. So-and-so has changed jobs and so-and-so is now linked to someone else.  Never really gave it much more thought that making sure these notes didn’t get tossed as spam.  However, about six months ago, I went to login and found a bright red message appear after hitting “enter” once I provided my credentials.  The messages indicated that “This Account has been Suspended”.

Naturally, I assumed that my password was incorrect since it had been so long since I had logged in before, however, even after resetting the password, the messages remained the same.  “This Account has been suspended”

So, now it was on to customer support.  After three attempts to email customer service (since my first two attempts at contact went unreplied to), I finally received a message as to what was going on.  I was told:

The U.S. Government has in place export control and economic sanctions laws and regulations, which prohibit U.S. companies, like LinkedIn, from engaging in certain transactions with persons from several designated countries, including Sudan.

It is LinkedIn’s corporate policy to comply with laws and regulations of the United States and other countries where we do business. Failure to comply with U.S. export control and economic sanctions laws and regulations can result in criminal and civil fines and penalties, for both the Company and any individuals involved.

Now, this is nothing really new to me. While in Khartoum, I had found a number of US-based websites had similar restrictions when the country of Sudan is involved: one can’t download Google programs like Google Earth (but you can use it if it hadn’t been previously installed), certain video content sites can’t be accessed (like Hulu), and so on.

But, consider this. I live in Southern Sudan which does not have an in-country internet infrastructure (unlike the North of the Sudan like Khartoum). What this means, is that almost all internet is provided by outside companys that give you a satellite dish and then provide connectivity from another country’s allotment of IP addresses. So, while I am at work, it appears to the world that I am connecting from Kenya and when at my “house” it appears I am connecting from Uganda. So, why does LinkedIn think I am in the Sudan?

The only think I could think of is that I may have indicated in my job profile that I worked for a company that is based in Sudan (which is true – our DC-based company opened a “branch” in Sudan so that we could operated legally here).  In an effort to explain this to the customer service people at LinkedIn, I sent a lengthy explanation of how development companies work in places like Sudan, that I am an American citizen and that I am often not in Sudan (which, is a bit of a stretch, but not really since I head out for an R&R every 4 months or so).  I even sent a copy of my passport and birth certificate (yes, I keep copies on hand.  As we all should).

Their reply?  Classic:

Thank you for your reply. Once you have left Sudan, you will be able to use your account. Please message us at privacy@linkedin.com when you have changed location.

If you have further questions, please feel free to reply to this message.

Honestly, I just don’t get it.  So, all I have to do is tell them “I’m not in Sudan” and I can get my access back?  Does this make sense to anyone?  It really makes me wonder how 1) they determine that I am IN Sudan and then 2) when I am NOT IN Sudan.

Quite honestly, I don’t think this LinkedIn thing is really worth the aggravation.  If anyone reading this article can give me some reasons why I shouldn’t just leave this service, it would be greatly appreciated.  Otherwise, I’m in the mood where I am willing to say, thanks, but no thanks.  Your rules make no sense and I don’t want to trust my career path to a organization that can’t even figure out where I am.

While I know a little bit about The Green Lantern, I can’t say that I’ve been a devout fan over the years.  But, I am a fan of the comics-to-movie mania that has been sweeping Hollywood over the past several years (Batman, Spiderman, Superman and even the lessor known comics like The Watchmen, Sin City, etc.).

Further, I am a big fan of Nathon Fillion.  Probably best known to me for his portrayal of Joss Whedon’s Captain Malcolm Reynolds on “Firefly”, I find that he is seriously a great actor to watch.  He has a flair for being a brooding character that has wonderful comedic timing in sarcastic quips.  He’s been on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its last season as well as, more recently, on Desperate Housewives.

So, imagine my excitement when I came across, what seemed to be, a movie trailer for The Green Lantern with Nathan Fillion as its star, Hal Jordan:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Sadly, this is not an official “Green Lantern” trailer.  As Josh Wigler reports on MTV.com:

Given the absence of much official info regarding the much-anticipated DC heroes’ live-action debut, Jaron Pitts, a young video editor from Dallas, fabricated a trailer for his own vision of “Green Lantern” by splicing together clips from a multitude of other film projects. The trailer features fan-favorite actor Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan, utilizing clips from Fillion’s work on “Firefly” and “Serenity” in the trailer. The actor himself loved the fan trailer so much that he even endorsed it on Twitter.

“I LOVE THIS!” Fillion proclaimed. “This guy rocks!”

via Fan-Made ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer Receives Nathan Fillion’s Endorsement.

Still, this is a masterful creation and I’ve enjoyed watching, and re-watching this clip many many times over.  I hope that you will as well.

While I am sad that Nathon Fillion will not be Hal Jordan in the upcoming 2011 movie, the casting of Ryan Reynolds is very encouraging — I’d probably watch anything with Ryan in it!