Local flavor

I pass this coffee shop every day on my way to the Metro, and it's always got some quirky message for me, usually ending in an exclamation mark. One of my favorites: "We have cupcakes!" Lately they seem to be less about advertising specific Pound offerings, though, and more philosophical. One day it was "A powerful city deserves powerful coffee!", and yesterday, "Waking up and facing Monday beats the alternative" -- would that be considered existentialist?

Sadly, I've never actually gone in to Pound. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, and even if I were, Metro doesn't allow drinks. And the place closes in mid-afternoon, so I can't stop in on my way home. I suspect Pound caters mainly to ATF agents, construction workers, and XM employees. No wonder they're quirky.

The time, they are a-gentrifying

The very week KFC closed, what should appear in our neighborhood but a cherry picker full of dudes with flower baskets, decorating the light poles. I also noticed that the abandoned houses on our street now have plywood covering their window-holes; not only that, but the plywood is painted the same color as the house it decorates.

This is going to be a classy neighborhood, I tell you. Makes me wish K and I owned our place.

Bus odyssey part 1

I took the bus to Ithaca. Many people pointed out to me that this was a bad idea, but Ithaca isn't an easy place to get to, especially sans car. Several friends in DC suggested that I take the train, which I thought was cute--apparently people in DC assume that you can take the train anywhere. Agent V recently told me he's contemplating taking the train to the Florida Keys, since it's "only" $120 and 24 hours each way.

But there's no passenger train service to Ithaca, and flying to its tiny airport would have cost upwards of $650, since it was Cornell's commencement weekend. I usually rent a car, but last time I rented a car for a holiday weekend there was a very long line involved, and paying $4/gallon for gas was unappealing. Plus, the Greyhound station is within walking distance of my house, and my neighborhood has so few amenities that I was tempted to take advantage of this one.

My bus was an hour late leaving DC, but I didn't mind too much since I expected a long layover in New York City anyway. On arriving at Port Authority bus terminal I spotted this sign. Two thoughts:

1. "Motor stairs"? Is this an expression only New Yorkers know, like standing "on line"? Or is Port Authority trying to accommodate its many patrons who speak English as a second language, and might not know a word like "escalator"?
2. I heard a standup comedian recently say that he likes escalators because an escalator can never really be out of order; it just becomes stairs. Apparently not this escalator.

Boulder

On my long Western journey I went to Boulder for an afternoon. Pueblo and Boulder should really be more than a two-and-a-half hour drive apart; they're about the same size and located in the same state, but going from the depressed desert industrial town to the mountainous hippie enclave gave me culture shock.

For example, you wouldn't find a "women's bookstore" in Pueblo, much less an oxygen bar. The reason I took a picture of this sign, though, is that it introduced me to the word "smartinis." Whatever a smartini is, I want one.

Signs

CityPaper
Originally uploaded by ChezShawna

You know you live in Washington when... this is the cover story on your weekly paper.

If you're curious what the reasons are, the full article can be found here. I haven't actually read it yet, but something tells me it's intended for mature audiences.

Randomness and the nature of The Ninth Floor

This morning I went with N.Lu to see Al Gore speak outside the Museum of the American Indian, part of the Live Earth concert series today. Turned out we didn't actually see the man -- ok, I didn't, but N.Lu claims to have seen his back as he took the stage. Then we heard Garth Brooks an Trisha Yearwood sing "We Shall be Free." Then we met TOWWAS at the Folklife Festival.

I'd been the week before, but it was fun to go again. We saw some great performances from southern China, and N.Lu interrogated a Belfast scientist about his renewable energy plan involving sewage, willow trees, and sustainable heating. There was some time devoted to shopping, but I managed not to spend a thing all day except for metro fare.

To me, though, none of this seems to make for a very interesting blog entry. I've come to realize that, whether true or not, I tend to believe that pictures of surprising and random stuff are the gold standard of blog-able subjects. So here goes:

This was stuck into the ground next to a tree I saw on the way to N.Lu's place. I don't know why, or whether, the tree needed saving. The sign was still there when I came back this afternoon.

And the "most random item in a Smitsonian gift shop" award goes to:

It was published in 2002 -- when, perhaps, it seemed marginally more tasteful. In addition to quotes, it contains such jokes as, "Q: What do Michael Dukakis and Saddam Hussein have in common? A: Neither can believe they lost to Bush."

Posted

A few weeks ago, on my way to work, I noticed this sign. I've walked past here every day for 10 months now, but hadn't seen the sign before because it's about a foot off the ground. Conveniently, it's at eye level for dogs. It says "Please do not walk on flowers."

Free Lunch and Other Anomalies

Notable events from today:

-The whole office went out to lunch at Vidalia to celebrate certain recent accomplishments. It was fancy, as you can see from my rather blurry vegetarian entree. Also it took about 2 1/2 hours.

-I got a parking ticket. I'd been so absorbed in looking at the sign that said people with my permit number were allowed to park there that I failed to notice the sign underneath it prohibiting parking during rush hour. There was a stupid $100 mistake. I'm hoping, though, that being that I'm about to ditch my out-of-state license plates (and the car, for that matter), I can stick it to the man by just not paying it. It's worked for me before (knock on wood): I still owe the city of New York $65.

-Which serves as yet another reminder of the advantages of not driving. I listed the Beetle for sale this evening. The idea leading a simpler, car-free existence held a lot of appeal for me, even before the ticket--I just wish I didn't have to give up Grommit to achieve it.

-It's the last day of July! And what a month it's been.