8 posts tagged “washington dc”
I am attending a Social Media Club event held by Ogilvy P.R. at one of their offices in Washington D.C. tonight - upcoming.org/event/137953/.
I just happened across it today via my Upcoming.org account - handy site.
Best of all the event is free and open to anyone interested in the topic.
I hope to network, learn and add something to the conversation.
They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed
Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I’m alone
Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home"
I am glad I learned the easy way that you cannot share your SmartTrip card, or for that matter, any farecard purchased for use on the Washington D.C. Metro system, with another person. I was with a friend the other night, headed to Dupont Circle, who didn't usually use the Metro. I figured we'd just use my card so as to save time and money. It seemed perfectly logical to me, only having been a two-month resident in the D.C. area, my first ever experience with living in a congested urban area using public transit on a regular basis. But my friend seemed to think otherwise, so just to allay our confusion, I checked with a Metro employee. The stern looking black lady looked at me as if I was on crack and immediately replied, "Everyone must have his or her own fare."
Silly me. I would honestly not have known, and someone probably would have started yelling at me when I attempted, or maybe the system wouldn't even have let my friend through anyway, saving me the embarrassment of that - not sure, but glad I don't have to find that out the hard way. I was just going to use my card to get through the turnstile and then hand it over to my friend and thought nothing of it.
I ventured out to Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe, just across the street from the Q Street North exit of the Dupont Circle Metrorail station this afternoon. I had some daylight to kill, so I figured why not explore.
I absolutely ADORED this place! If you are in Washington or visit, you should totally check this place out. What could be better than a pub, restaurant, coffee shop and bookstore (not to mention social meeting place) in one?
One of the Washington publications once commented on this place that if you had not been invited here for drinks after work, you were not yet a true Washingtonian. So I guess I'm not a real one either, because technically I invited myself; and I don't think that counts. But the sun was shining, and I get to see so little of that - much less than I would like. When I commute to work, it's dark, and when I get home, more of the same. The only daylight I get all day is this one short-lived 30 seconds or so as my train crosses over the Potomac before diving back down into the darkness of Commuter Land.
Today was a nice change. I walked out of work, eschewing a short commmute on the Metrorail, and over to a local Best Buy, to look for a Palm wireless keyboard for my new Treo 700p. After that, I was going to have pizza at a place nearby. And then I thought 'why not try something new for a change?'
I had come across a review of Kramerbooks on the 43 Places website once, and bookmarked it to check out sometime. Well, what was I waiting for? I had a perfect day at my disposal and had even gotten off of work in time to catch those elusive sun rays. Sometimes I can be a real hermit, and my hope is that keeping this blog will inspire me to explore more places and meet more people rather than sheltering myself away in the burbs of Greenbelt, Maryland, where I reside.
To get to Kramerbooks, I hopped the Yellow Line to the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop, and then the Red Line toward Shady Grove and soon I was exiting the Dupont Circle station into the still beautiful daylight as a musician played just near the top of the escalator.
It was a gray, drizzly day in D.C. that began with a mood to match.
This morning, even after sleeping for almost seven hours, I was so exhausted that I slept through my alarm, somehow waking up just in time to make a 15-minute go of pulling myself together enough to be presentable for work. I was in a panic and truly didn't expect to make it to work by 8, but I was ready and out the door in less than 20 minutes and to the metro in 10 more. It's amazing what you can accomplish when time is screaming in your ear, "You're going to be late!"
I asked a serene looking middle-aged black businessman what time it was and he asked me if I was okay. I must have looked pretty flushed and frazzled after beating feet from the metro parking area, through the turnstile and up the escalator. "Thanks," I replied, "I'll be fine." I swigged down one of those Odwalla berry smoothies as I waited.
About five minutes later, the metro Green Line train slid into view like a most welcome sight and I was on my way. I'd never boarded this late before, so I really didn't have any assuredness that I was going to get to work on time until I noted that it was only ten til the hour as I disembarked from my train at my final stop. I was never so thankful, even if I did have to abandon the thought of waiting in line for that daily morning latte fix and suffer the grumblings of my still empty stomach.
It had meant throwing a tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, cosmetics and such into my oversized Franklin Covey tote and running as if someone were hot on the heels of my black Esprit mid-calf boots, but I made it.
And I now l can eagerly go on to seek another new day in America's Capital.
