what was i thinking? and other random thoughts

Among the various, "Hey, can you...?" duties I've been tasked with this week since I'm out of school this week, going into the District is usually one of my favorites. This task seemed simple enough:

"Hey, can you go to Sticky Fingers in Columbia Heights to get some vegan cupcakes and cookies for Mr. X?

I know what you're thinking, readers in the Southeast. Yes, it does seem rather funny that a vegan bakery in D.C. has the same name as a barbecue chain scattered across the south.

Ordinarily, I'd Metro in, make a morning or day of it with my camera. Well, cupcakes don't travel so well in messenger bags, and summer temperatures (though lovely this week) don't really treat frosting all that well. I made the unthinkable decision to drive into the city to get said confections.

I thought to myself, "Well, it's after rush hour. Traffic shouldn't be too bad." Au contraire! It's summer. Traffic's always bad, especially when taking a tourist-laden route through the National Mall.

Forty-five minutes later (instead of 20), I arrive in Columbia Heights only to find that the streets are all under construction and turning off 14th Street is next to impossible. Bakery is quiet, but bustling. Luckily, I arrived just in time to snag the last two cupcakes that fit the bill.

Leaving, I find my escape route blocked by one way streets and Caterpillar backhoes. An ordinary Virginia driver might've panicked and run over a pedestrian or three while trying to punch in coordinates to a GPS.

Fortunately, my internal GPS kicked in, and I was able to escape the city in far less time than it took me to get in. I guess exploring the city on foot pays off every so often. If only the named streets made as much sense as the grid layout!

Two other random discoveries. The gas station at the corner of Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Avenue must be the most expensive gas on the east coast. $4.25 for a gallon of regular when the station next to my apartment is less than $3? You must be joking! Second, I think I'm allergic to soy milk.

running on fumes

No, not me. It is St. Patrick's Day, but no, it's far too early to be on fumes. Perhaps tonight, I'll pour a pint, but that's about all. This story is about this weekend.

I got pretty spoiled with the Danger Ranger. When my fuel gauge hit E, I had about three gallons left. That translated into 60-70 miles of highway driving before I'd be pushing her up a hill. Well, in Florida, that never amounted to me running out of gas. Closest I ever came was a half-gallon left in the tank, but I did that on purpose trying to drain my fuel tank so I could change my fuel filter. Little did I know that the fuel line won't drain on the ground when you disconnect it. Who knew?

Another complication of the Danger Ranger was that my low fuel light never worked. I've grown accustomed to never seeing one, and now that my car has one, I get a little freaked out. I'm not quite sure what it means and how much is left in the tank. Used to be, I could trust my own instinct, but I just don't know this new(ish) car all that well.

Throw a new monkey wrench into the system. A rental car. Forty miles of highway with nary a filling station in sight. I was sweating. Turned the air and radio off. Slowed down to 10 below the speed limit. Drafting behind a trailer. Called AAA in anticipation of being stranded in No Man's Land with a flight to catch. AAA was no help, said if I happened to be stranded that calls were taking about an hour to fill. Called her, freaking out. All she could do was try to calm me down.

I finally did find a gas station, two miles from the rental company. I might've had a quart left in the tank. Made it there, got my receipt, and dropped the Jeep Compass off without a hitch. This traveling nonsense is far too stressful sometimes.

presenting his excellency

Pope is a helluva guy. So much so that I dismissed my feelings of hatred towards a Capitol Hill staffer favorite called the Hawk & Dove. The link leads you to the story of my last visit to the old watering hole. Separate the plausible from the implausible based on what you know of my nonviolent nature.

Anyhow, Pope is a fraternity buddy of mine. He is the epitome of an outlier. He is universally beloved by those who know him and a terribly hard fella to keep track of. He's teaching English in China. He's also an incredibly dapper dresser. Granted, he'd been at an interview, but a three-piece suit?

Well played.

Anyhow, Thursday night found me in and out of my element in staccato style. Perfectly comfortable on my way, knowing where I'm going, until a missed microscopic sign dumped me back onto 395 during rush hour. Lovely. Driving around southeast in a new car after dark, not a great idea. Drive with purpose and floor it at the first sign of trouble?

You got it.

Bad feelings about Hawk & Dove subsided upon arrival. Bubs, Pope and I had a great time catching up. The ladies enjoyed themselves. Best news of the evening, interview went well, and D.C. may be his home base for years to come. Good food, good company.

Enough to make a bar seem like home for a few hours. I love when friends visit!

instinct vs. technology

My instincts and internal compass have been good enough to get me from point A to point B for most of my driving life. With a little help from Google maps or Mapquest, I can get most anywhere in North America with no trouble. If I've driven there once, chances are, I'll remember how to get there again.

Now entering the game is a little gizmo called a GPS. Naviagation systems are all the rage these days. They take the forethought and naviagational skills out of driving. With a GPS, I can turn off my brain, not pay attention to my instincts and get from point A to point B easier. Right?

Wrong.

On our way to Blue Knob this weekend from Granny's this weekend, I fought my instincts as the GPS gave me directions as we went. My instincts kept reading the road signs and road numbers; the GPS struggled to keep up with the car at times. As a result, "Recalculating route," came across her digital lips thrice. In unfamiliar terrain, I made the mental map of the directions. The satellites would need to recalculate each time.

I'm still not sure if I'm for or against the GPS. Perhaps the next generation GPS should have an option to see the directions beforehand, a la Google Maps, to put them in your brain before getting behind the wheel. That way, there'd be a better chance to remember them along the way when you fly past an intersection at 45 mph, and the internal maps of GPS think you're off-roading in an Acura.

Which reminds me, I think it's still in my glove box...

idiot magnet

not sure if this only happens to me, but you ever feel like everyone else on the road is distracted and out to get you with their negligence? i liken it to an idiot magnet. i'd love to know where the switch is for mine; it was clearly on high power this afternoon on my drive home.

in my pocket at chipotle with the lack of customer service. "hi. i'm in line. i don't care about your phone-in orders or internet orders. i walked in the door instead of sitting on my fat ass to order a 1,000 calorie bomb of deliciousness." perhaps it's in my cell phone...

from when i dropped casey off after work, what takes 3 minutes some days took about 20 today. people who need a turn signal not using it. people who don't need one leaving it on for miles and miles. cabbies that ignore every conceivable traffic law. extra traffic that i ain't used to, even for a friday.

one thing's for certain. there's no way in hell i'm getting back in my car tonight. anyone got the schematic for my car? please label the idiot magnet for me with instructions on how to turn it off. okthanks.

pretty fly

"fly. that's the only way that i can describe those shoes, benjames." thanks, margarita. that's the only way i can describe my exhausting weekend of catching up with climbers old and new. wish the weekend and the climbing wasn't so abbreviated.

pretty fly morning of climbing. warmed up on a nemesis. prettiest 20 foot boulder line in the field. The Heretic. three years in the making, it finally went down. followed soon thereafter by Honzo Blade. and thus began my assault on tiny, tiny holds. i closed out the morning, sending the hardest problem i've ever climbed. The Unforgiven. credit card-thickness crimp near the top. V7. maybe i'll turn into a V8 climber after all. ten months progression between grades. as long as i stay healthy, that is.

following a lunchtime snack, i worked hard the rest of the day. no sends, but good progress made on some wicked cool lines. if the weather's nice next year, i might even get a few more of them. i guess when you shoot for the stars, invariably, you'll miss more often than not. i think in the competitive atmosphere, a little sandbagging is needed to actually get those 10 climbs in before the end of the day. there's no way i can crank at my limit for an entire day. that's alright though. pictures to follow when i get them.

fly friends around, new ones by association. dinner at black cat, good beer afterwards. yelled at by the campground folks for being up too late and having too much fun. next morning brought too much dew and slow moving friends. great southern breakfast, pack up and hit the blacktop.

long drive there and back. more fun on the twisties in the daylight, golden rays of sunlight trickling through the almost-changing fall leaves. hairpin turns aren't quite as hair-raising without fog and deer around each one. handled more adeptly by my new whip, but still far short of the two-seat roadster i secretly wish i could whip around those curves in. better yet, the bike i know i'll never hop on.

the great gas experiment

"i can't remember the last time i rode in your truck," she says tonight. i've tried my damnedest to save gas this month. it's been much easier with the addition of a bike to my arsenal of driving avoidance tools. i can manage my barely a half-mile ride to visit my better half. i've been taking it with me on the metro on my ventures into the city. quite often, i've been riding my bike back from the city, but not into it. sure, it's probably because i have to make it to an appointment, but no need to make it back quickly. six miles and change back most days, including today's trek from the white house.

when i got back from florida, i put a half-tank of gas in my truck. since that fateful july 1st, i've driven 144.2 miles. had i not gone climbing in maryland or driven out to reston to move a tv and a grill to arlington, that number would be much lower. the curse of a pickup truck! let's see how long i can stretch it out. perhaps make this half-tank my last half fill-up before i get keys to a new ride?

yes, this was intentional. thirty bucks in gas is far less than what i seemingly must spend during the school year. sixty bucks in metro fares is far more than i spend in a month. i guess reducing my footprint is still pretty expensive. i haven't gotten to the point of walking to the grocery store yet, but if i ever buy one of those little carts, i might just do it. i just buy too many groceries to consider it. which reminds me, i'm still hungry.

chasing cars

let's waste time, chasing cars. 700 miles or so down south on interstate 95. hookah and mediterranean food. beer. mike, mike, mike, and margarita. smiles.

tomorrow, beach, then alachua. today, driving, my mp3 player spit out all kinds of awesome. right as i left virginia, it played our song. slight play on the heartstrings. choked up at piano man for some odd reason. maybe the wedding memories of friends' past that have been hitched, and those yet to come. perhaps my own yet to be, who knows?!

time for bed, time for waking up in the a.m., taking pictures of the beach, read a little of my books, and hitting the road back to the place i called home for the last 10 years. my comfort level is increasing in arlington, but i know alachua county like the back of my hand. i don't need directions to get where i need to go for the rest of the trip. i hope...

a comedy of errors, friday edition

i'm taking monday off. sort of. i have a literal mountain of paperwork to take care of before wednesday next week. i'm not kidding when i say that it's a foot high. report cards and the like will plague me all day. as such, i had to plan for a substitute for monday as well. that done, i left work far too late. i soon found out why this was a bad idea for the friday afternoon commute.

1) i missed the doo on dc101. often silly and random, the drive home dj plucks a song from the radio's library that used to be big and doesn't get airplay anymore, or occasionally drops some rockin' new jams on us. i've missed it most of this week somehow, just a symptom of this time of year.

2) not far from school, sitting at a traffic light, a bubbly woman in a toyota corolla got on the gas a little too eagerly when it turned green and rear-ended me. she got the worst of it, grill and hood dinged with some white paint. last time that happened, a 16 year-old in daddy's cadillac got the scare of his life. same disposition. also a maroon car. honestly, as much traffic as there is around here, i'm surprised it hasn't happened until now.

3) bumper to bumper on 395. radio said the accident was cleared up an hour ago. delays persisted. for ten miles. i jumped off first chance i got and explored.

4) a bit of luck on my side, i finagled my way to a road i recognized. i wound up sitting at a light about a mile from my house. while police cruiser after cruiser came tearing through the intersection, lights on, sirens wailing.

you know, if i had any sense about me, i'd lock the deadbolt, chain the door, and stay in for the weekend. but i don't. i'm just gonna laugh about this, shrug it off, and hope my driving luck doesn't result in a one hour commute home ever again!

flashback friday

on the commute today, i was transported back to middle school and high school by the dj. times at the bus stop watching mtv in the morning, before it gave way to sportscenter.

color me badd, "i wanna sex u up". i think a little bel biv devoe was mixed in the background, not sure.

snow, "informer" a licky boom boom down...[anyone ever figured out what he was actually saying, or was it the 90s equivalent of scat and bebop?]

culture club, "karma chameleon". this was wholly unexpected and likely the only time that boy george has ever been on this station. masterfully mixed in; oddly enough, it fit.

the 5:00 traffic jam on this station is amazing on fridays. i may just stay a few minutes longer than i want to in order to catch more of it on the afternoon commute.

i've been everywhere, man...

i've been everywhere, man; crossed the deserts bare, man; i've breathed the mountain air, man; travel - i've had my share, man; i've been everywhere.

florida, georgia, tennessee, kentucky, indiana, ohio, michigan, illinois, missouri, kansas, colorado, wyoming, utah, nevada, california, arizona, new mexico, texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, south carolina, north carolina, virginia, west virginia, maryland, pennsylvania, new jersey, new york, delaware, connecticut, rhode island. later today, massachusetts. unless i miss my count, that's 33 states in all. and ontario in my only foreign excursion. all from the captain's seat of my truck.

yesterday was the most expensive drives, toll-wise, that i've had. per mile cost, only the pennsylvania and kansas turnpikes even come close. a lincoln here, a hamilton there. 400 miles and change came out to about $30 in tolls. it's all those damn bridges and tunnels along the way.

i loaded up the mp3 player with one song from every artist i wanted to listen to and the battery held out for the trip. too bad i forgot my charger. even driving across the bronx, i know why new yorkers spurn cars. even on a sunday morning, it was stop and go. the coastline scenery once i got into connecticut and rhode island was pretty awesome. unlike anything i've seen since being on the pacific coast highway near san diego or on seven mile drive in monterrey. once it stopped raining, it was pretty nice to open the back window and let the cool air trickle into the cab. i'm beginning to long more and more for responsive handling and peppy acceleration, but i think my truck's brain knows when highway on-ramp acceleration is needed. even in her old age, she does alright. i just wish she performed as well on long inclines.

off to boston for st. patty's. may the road rise up to meet you. may the wind always be at your back. may the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

ESP

i never knew i had esp. i've got espn, the deuce, espn classic and espnU, but no esp.

mid-'80s toyota camry, more rust than paint. probably over 200K miles. distracted moron behind the wheel. see it?

driver pulls too far into the intersection. light turns red. instead of going, driver backs up to the turn lane. me, i'm fine. no worries, he's got plenty of room.

looking through his rear window, i see the glint of a cell phone glued to his ear in the rearview mirror. reverse lights still on. raise your hand if you've ever had someone do this in front of you. that many?

can you tell where this is going? my hand shifts to the horn, knowing full well what's going to happen when the light turns green.

green. zoom. honk. skid. shift. zoom in correct direction.

moron.

florida sightings

this town is full of floridians. after plates from the dmv (that's the district, maryland, and virginia), i think i see florida plates most of all. odd, yes, but others have mentioned as much to me too. if i'm wearing orange and blue, i often get stopped and asked about the 'ville. i was wearing a gainesville shirt at the gym on friday. a mom commented on it, and one of her kids had on a uf shirt. gators aside, i do see an awful lot of garnet & gold (emphasis on awful!) that's not associated with d.c.'s beloved redskins. when rawls, bubba, liz & i went to the capitol last weekend, one of the tour guides was wearing a florida state beanie. we got to talking, found out that he went to northeast h.s. and knew casey way back when. small world!

sad to say, my florida plate is gone. i didn't mind losing the rear plate nearly as much as the front one. i'd had the florida flag on the front of my truck pretty much since i got it in '99. i still have trouble recognizing my truck because that plate isn't there.

today, on my way to work, i passed a red civic with a florida tag and a uf alumni frame. out of curiosity, i looked to see if i knew the driver. i didn't. as soon as i passed her, she immediately changed lanes. while leapfrogging me, she turned and gave me a thumbs-up with a smile, as if to say, "go gators!" she must've been a recent grad because the only evidence of my 'villainy is the satchel's bumper sticker on my rear window.

gator nation is everywhere...

shifted

running late this morning, i sat at an intersection less than a mile from my school. as late as i was, there was a police officer directing traffic at this four-way stop instead of the normal crossing guard with nothing to do. that's twice this week that i've been running that late.

in any event, there were a lot of cars today. one car away from making it through the intersection, two motorcycle cops cruise up, sirens blaring and stop in the intersection. i correctly assumed that they were the lead bikes for a motorcade. and what a motorcade it was! 10 plus bikes, several cruisers, an unmarked crown victoria, and an suv. going through my head: what self important politician is dropping his kid off at school and wasting tax dollars?

long story short, i came to find out that it was actually a granted wish through the make-a-wish foundation. that was the wish of a sick girl who's a student at the school a mile or so from my own, to be delivered to school one day in a motorcade. boy, did i feel like an ass for my impatience in that traffic!

(sidenote: here i sit finally watching today's jeopardy on DVR. one of the contestants works for make-a-wish. in d.c. she interviews the children to find out what their wish would be. i bet she knows the girl who got her wish today. random!)

autumnal bliss

gray dreary skies. bright cheerful leaves. sure takes the edge off of a drive to work! guess which one i paid more attention to...

i need to get some pictures to share with y'all. this cold keeps up, the leaves are going to be on the ground before too long.