Just make them an offer that they CAN refuse…
2 minute read
August 17, 2006, 8:11 PM
First of all, hello from Pentagon City.
I went over to Brookstone while here, and they have this new device that you sit on that’s supposed to work your body as if you’re riding a horse. Okay, fine. So I got on, I sat down, and I gave it a whirl. I made some interesting faces while riding that thing, trying to maintain my balance on there.
So then this group of teenaged girls comes in. They see me on the thing, unbeknownst to me. I got off. They want to see me ride it again. I said, “No thank you, I’ve already ridden it. Why don’t you give it a try?” They declined. They want to see ME do it again. I declined again. Then they start offering me money. One girl offers a quarter. Another a penny. Then someone ponies up a dollar. I still refuse.
I got this feeling that they were making fun of me. And I was through riding that contraption and that was all there was to it. So when they asked how much it would take to get me to ride it again, I went for the big guns. “Fifty bucks,” I said. They were quite shocked at the price I named, and left, which is what I wanted them to do. Because when you’re being made fun of, it’s best to one-up them. And one-upping a group of unsupervised teenaged girls that all share one brain amongst the lot of them is not hard to do.
Seeing these groups of teenagers at Pentagon City makes me think that putting these various groups from out of town in chain gangs is not a particularly bad idea. Since the adult leaders of these groups use Pentagon City as a way to cut these children loose while they go take a smoke or something. So they subject the rest of us, the well-behaved members of society, to these obnoxious children.
Categories: Arlington, DC trips, Retail, Some people
Meanwhile, in DC…
3 minute read
December 30, 2005, 12:26 AM
I took an “extra” DC trip this past Wednesday with Mom, Sis, and her boyfriend Chris Lysy. They had previously ordered tickets to see Wicked at the Kennedy Center for December 28, and when I found out that I would be off that day, I asked if I could come along, and Mom agreed. It turned out that my presence was quite helpful, as I knew exactly where I was going, both on the road and on the train, and also knew my way around Washington better than the rest of them. Plus I’m never one to pass up a trip to Washington, after all. Especially one where I didn’t have to pay for gas.
We were also celebrating Sis’s 21st birthday, which was on the 26th.
The trip was, to an extent, run like a regular DC trip of mine. Get to Vienna, park, ride to Rosslyn, go into Washington, run around for a bit, then go to Pentagon City. Our destinations while “running around” were things that Sis and I both picked.
Continue reading…Categories: Arlington, DC trips, Family, Washington DC, WMATA
Fodder for America’s Funniest Home Videos?
3 minute read
December 22, 2005, 8:24 PM
I went up to the Washington DC area once again on Wednesday, and all in all, I had a good day.
The daytime took me all around the Metro doing railfan stuff. I rode the entire length of the system in Virginia, going from Vienna to Rosslyn to Franconia-Springfield, to King Street, to Huntington, and then into Washington via the Fenwick Bridge. While I was at it, by the way, I also rode the entire length of the Yellow Line all at once, riding from Huntington to Mt. Vernon Square. I also checked out the new entrance at King Street, which opens out onto Commonwealth Avenue. It’s nice and new and such, and still harmonizes with the original part of the station, which opened in 1983.
I spent the late afternoon, which is bad for urban photography due to dark shadows cast by buildings (but great if you can avoid it – same goes for early morning), at Dupont Circle and also Union Station. Dupont Circle was basically a photography thing – in, photograph, back out. Then at Union Station, I got a phone call from Mom: “Where did you go today?” This is where we realized that I forgot to tell Mom where I was going. Told Dad, but not Mom. Oops. So I filled her in.
Categories: Arlington, DC trips, Washington DC, WMATA
Talk about threatening-looking weather…
2 minute read
August 30, 2005, 5:15 PM
I lost my Breda sticker… very sad.
3 minute read
August 6, 2005, 7:29 PM
How sad, indeed. I lost my “My other car is a Breda” bumper sticker magnet. I think I know how I lost it, though. I believe I lost it when I took my car through the car wash on Friday with the magnet still in place. I noticed it after work on Saturday, after Mom and I went to Home Depot (she met me after work), when I finally got a good look at the back of my car when she drove me back to it, and noticed it was missing – showing an outline of dirt around where the sticker used to be. Mom said that next time I go through a car wash, I need to remove the magnets first. Good idea.
And it’s not like the sticker is irreplaceable. I still have the pattern for it, so I’ll just have a new one made up. This would also be an opportune time for me to get the “Stand to the right” bumper sticker that I designed, to add to the right side of the car, similar to the Breda sticker. The Breda sticker being on the left was a coincidence. The “stand to the right” sticker being on the right is deliberate. After all, that would be a little hypocritical otherwise, no? The “stand to the right” sticker magnet standing on the left side of my car? No. Still, check it out:
Categories: Arlington, Toyota Previa, WMATA
A proposed new high-rise in Rosslyn, making a dramatic new skyline, and eliminating a frightfully ugly building… and right next to my Rosslyn hangout!
4 minute read
April 14, 2005, 12:40 AM
In the April 13, 2005 issue of the Washington Post, I found this article about a new high-rise proposed for Rosslyn. This high-rise is significant because it would rise to 484 feet, which is an unknown height for Rosslyn. Currently, the tallest towers in Rosslyn top out at around 300 feet. So this one would certainly be a head above the rest. The proposed location, based on artists’ conceptions, places the building right next to Rosslyn Center.
Here’s an artists’ conception as seen in Thursday’s Washington Post:
Categories: Arlington
Urban Demolition… I found out what’s going in the old building’s place.
2 minute read
March 8, 2005, 3:53 AM
Remember this building, which I first showed you in this photo from Rosslyn Center on January 20, which was in the process of being demolished?
Categories: Arlington
What is “Rosslyn Center II”?
2 minute read
February 27, 2005, 1:29 AM
This is a quandary, indeed. And one I’ve been wondering about for quite some time, since it’s a puzzlement. I’ve found a few locations online, including the usually-reliable Emporis that refer to a building called “Rosslyn Center II” that was completed in 2002. It lists the address as 1800 North Moore Street.
I’m wondering just what the deal is with this building. Since a few sources that I’ve found insist it exists, and according to Emporis, Rosslyn Center II is a 27-story building. So it should be quite obvious on the skyline, particularly from my usual vantage point when I go up there, which is Rosslyn Center, at 1700 North Moore Street. And it should be the tallest thing around, too. Definitely taller than Rosslyn Center, and would also be taller than the 24-story 1801 North Lynn Street building, which is the tallest thing around that I can find.
In fact, considering the similarities in height and age for 1801 North Lynn Street, and the alleged Rosslyn Center II building at 1800 North Moore Street, I wonder if Emporis or someone got some things mixed up, and that 1801 North Lynn Street is what they meant. Since that building was completed in 2002. I remember when that building went up, and have a photo of it as a steel frame somewhere…
Either way, it’s one of those things that makes me wonder. Since I know my way around Rosslyn to an extent, having explored it by foot a bit.
Categories: Arlington