“We don’t want you to worry about cooking while you’re shopping, so come to your McDonald’s in Wal-Mart…”
2 minute read
March 20, 2005, 9:51 PM
I have now been back at work for three days, and you know what? I am still getting back into my groove. I’m still getting used to standing up all day once again. Before this operation, I could stand up all day, no problem. Now I’ve got to work my way back up to that again.
Meanwhile, what has just amazed me is one of the automated announcements that the in-store McDonald’s runs over the loudspeaker. The announcement in question goes like this: “We don’t want you to worry about cooking while you’re shopping, so come to your McDonald’s in Wal-Mart…”
I think that what McDonald’s is trying to say that they don’t want you to worry about having to cook up a meal later on, and thus why they want you to come to the in-store McDonald’s. But that’s not how the announcement comes off. To me, it sounds like they don’t want people cooking food while they are shopping, since they talk about taking a “shopping break” at McDonald’s. It’s like if it weren’t for McDonald’s, people would be putting a hot plate in the kiddie seat and start warming up a can of soup right there in the middle of the store.
Continue reading…Categories: Advertising, Walmart
All in all, it was a good trip to Washington!
7 minute read
March 17, 2005, 5:37 PM
My first DC trip since the operation went very well, aside from the two incidents that happened that I told you about in that post I made from the Infoshop.
As I’ve said on here before, timing during the week is a balancing act, and it also takes a bit of luck. The reason that timing is important is twofold. First off, I can’t use an all-day pass before 9:30 during the week. So if I arrive way before that time, if I want to go anywhere, I have to use my SmarTrip and pay full fare. Secondly, there’s parking. I like parking in the North Garage at Vienna because it’s close to the station, and considering that I usually arrive at Vienna right around when Metro is closing for the evening, I feel more comfortable being closer in. But with it being choice parking, it fills up quickly. So if all the regular parking spaces fill up, I can’t park until 10:00 when the reserved spaces open to the public. There have been times when I can slip right into a space. There have been other times when I end up having to circle the garage for 20 minutes waiting for the reserved spaces to open up, since by the time I get there, once you’re in the lot or garage, you can’t leave without paying by SmarTrip.
On this particular day, Metro had posted a sign outside the North Garage saying that all regular spaces were full, and only reserved parking was available. To me, that’s a sign that is really saying to come back at 10:00 for parking.
Some people…
< 1 minute read
March 16, 2005, 2:17 PM
Good afternoon! I am writing this entry from the Brian MacKenzie Infoshop in Northwest DC, which I’ve visited on a number of occasions before.
And I don’t understand what is the deal with some people. On my way to the Infoshop, just outside the Shaw-Howard University Metro station, as I walk by this group of kids, they started throwing rocks at me. These kids had to be no older than ten. I figured that talking to them would be a waste, so I just kept on going.
Then out in front of the Infoshop, this lady came up to me, said she loved me, gave me a hug and a kiss, and then hit me up for money. This would be the same technique that children such as the ones described above would do to get something out of an adult. “Hey, you’re pretty, can I have a dollar?” That just irked me.
Otherwise, though, my day is going quite well here in Washington. Did some serious railfanning, and also took care of a few other things. So life is good.
Still, some people… I just don’t understand it.
Categories: DC trips, Some people
Oh, how wonderful it was!
2 minute read
March 15, 2005, 2:55 PM
How wonderful it was today. I went out. First time I’d been out since February 28, when I had the procedure. My, it was nice to return to civilization. Went to Wal-Mart, and got some odds and ends, and said hello to everyone. And get this – I ended up having Wednesday and Thursday off as regular days off. How nice! So I don’t have to go back to work until Friday.
And since the doctor said I can resume my normal activities, you know where I’m going? Washington DC! I asked about DC, and he said that DC was fine. And with those days off, I think someone is trying to tell me something. It’s just telling me, “BEN, GO TO WASHINGTON!”
Those of you who have followed my Journal since the first of the year have found that I’ve only had two out of five DC trips planned for this year go without a hitch. My first trip of the year, January 4, got a late start due to oversleeping. I was, however, through some stroke of good fortune, able to shorten that delay considerably. So that was good. Then the next trip was J20. That went off without a hitch – in fact, it went better than expected. Then February 2, I was supposed to go with Katie. Cancelled due to an emergency (that led to the procedure on February 28). February 9, I went, and it went without a hitch. February 24, I was supposed to go, but I got snowed out. Now I hope to have another trip go without a hitch, and make it three to three – three flawless and three problems. Plus going to Washington is just what I need right now, since I’ve got a major case of cabin fever. I need out!
All in all, though, I’m just glad to be getting back into the swing of things. Oh, and I bought this year’s pair of sandals today, which I will proudly wear with socks, like I did last year.
Categories: DC trips
Tomorrow… freedom!
< 1 minute read
March 14, 2005, 5:31 PM
Tomorrow begins that transition back into real life again. I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor, I have to swing by Wal-Mart to pick up and drop off some stuff, and lastly, I have to go to the bank.
What I can’t believe is that it’s officially been two weeks now that I’ve been at home. And with one short exception when Katie came to visit and I stepped outside, the whole time has been spent inside the house. Scary? Yeah. So it will definitely be nice to get out for a bit.
I also can’t believe that this time off of work is nearly over. Believe it or not, I have, overall, enjoyed my time off of work because of the operation. I got a lot accomplished in these last two weeks. I did a big Transit Center update, I put up a new photography set, and discontinued the quote, which necessitated a redesign of the main page. Plus I’ve finally gotten a chance to work on the total redesign and overhaul of the Today’s Special site that I have, and it’s getting close to being finished.
Of course, there were the unpleasant moments, like in changing the dressing on the wound, since it was still quite tender (and therefore painful) during the first week. After that, though, as things continued to heal, that dressing change got a lot easier.
Still, I’m just glad to be getting out of the house again. But at least things will be getting somewhat back to normal, which will be nice. I’m even thinking about going to Washington DC again later on this month. Hopefully that will be a go.
All in all, things are looking up!
Categories: Personal health, Schumin Web meta
I think you left your voice over in Europe…
2 minute read
March 12, 2005, 9:37 AM
Sis is back from Europe, and she had a lot of fun. But I think she forgot her voice over there. We’ll have to get Chris (her boyfriend who’s studying there this semester) to mail it back.
Seriously, though, she’s back, but she caught a cold while there. We hope she gets better soon. It must be a curse that comes with the second year, getting sick during spring break. One might recall that I was sick as a dog during my sophomore year spring break while at JMU. I was absolutely miserable.
But she did get a lot of cool pictures. Lots of pictures of things and people. It’s neat.
Otherwise, I spent some time yesterday redesigning my main page, which currently looks like this:
Categories: Family, Schumin Web meta
Goodness… it’s been ten days since I’ve had caffeine!
< 1 minute read
March 10, 2005, 8:23 PM
No one’s more surprised than me. The last time I had any caffeine was a Coke at AMC right after the procedure. And it wasn’t intentional, either. It just happened that way that I haven’t had any caffeine in ten days. All I have to say is that when I do have a soda again, probably after I go back to Wal-Mart, I’ll probably be bouncing off the walls.
Meanwhile, I’m itching to go somewhere. I haven’t been out since the surgery on the 28th. Considering that I’ve been working on various Washington DC photos lately, both in an “Urban Demolition” photo set that I’ve been working on (coming soon!), and all those Transit Center photos I put up last week, I’m really itching to go to Washington again. Depending on how well I’ve healed up, I want to go at the end of this month or the beginning of next month.
Otherwise, Sis comes back from Europe tomorrow! I’ll be so glad to see her again. Especially since when she came back from VT, I only saw her for 20 minutes at most. Plus I’ll be interested to see how she did with her new digital camera.
Categories: Family, Food and drink, Myself
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
It looks like someone shot it out of the sky…
< 1 minute read
March 6, 2005, 12:24 AM
Six days in the house thus far…
2 minute read
March 5, 2005, 6:34 PM
Yes, this is day #6… Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday. I have been at home recovering from this procedure. And according to Mom, it’s slowly but surely healing up. I have to ask, because the wound is not somewhere that I can see myself.
Meanwhile, it’s Spring Break at Virginia Tech, and my sister is in Europe! Her boyfriend Chris is doing a study abroad program this semester, and so Sis is going to visit him. Of course, the trip nearly didn’t happen, as there was a small snafu with the passport, as we didn’t realize that since she was under a certain age that it expired sooner than the rest of ours did. But with some scrambling, a phone call to the office of our Congressman, Bob Goodlatte, and an unexpected trip to Washington DC (vs. just Dulles Airport, where the flight was), my father managed to get the whole situation straightened out, and she’s over in Europe now. So I hope she has fun.
Meanwhile, the TV is showing nothing but wall-to-wall Martha Stewart. My exact thought is, who cares? She just happens to be a celebrity that went to jail, instead of someone less-known.
Categories: CFW, Dreams, Family, Personal health, Walmart
What’s wrong with this picture?
2 minute read
March 3, 2005, 11:26 AM
Categories: Amusing, Internet, Stuarts Draft
It’s nice to hear from people…
2 minute read
March 3, 2005, 10:11 AM
Since I had the procedure on Monday, it’s nice to get support from the people who care about you. I’ve gotten many kind words of support over the computer from many people, and also two cards from people from church! This one was particularly cute:
Glad that’s over with!
6 minute read
February 28, 2005, 7:10 PM
Today I had a small surgical procedure done at Augusta Medical Center. Let me tell you… they’ve got quite an operation going in there for outpatient surgery. But it was quick and relatively painless. So that was good. And I arrived at AMC at 6:30 and was out before noon. So that was really good. And now I’m at home once again.
It’s interesting… it’s like a television studio to an extent. They have all kinds of furniture that they change out in your little cubbyhole throughout the time you’re there. We got to AMC and they called me and took me into the outpatient center, and we went to one of many of those cubbyholes. It was fitted with two chairs. There, they wheeled a little computer over and verified all of my information.
Then I went to a second little cubbyhole. This had a stretcher in it, and a chair. They gave me the hospital gown, and it was time to change into it. They closed the curtain and I changed. I did pretty well for the most part, but had quite a time with the sleeves, mainly because I had no idea what I was doing with them. As it turns out, the sleeves snapped up the sides. I don’t know what I was thinking when I was trying to put that thing on. Of course, I also had to figure out which end was up in the first place on that thing. But I managed to get it on, tie the string in the back, and then screw up the sleeves. If you can imagine this, I had my arms sticking out the sides of the sleeves. I thought maybe this thing was supposed to look like a Roman tunic. I had no idea. Then, figuring that didn’t look right, I unsnapped the upper snap and put my arm through the two snaps (vs. the top of the sleeve and the first snap). I was satisfied that it was right. Or so I thought.
Categories: Fire alarms, Personal health
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
“I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a credit card today.”
2 minute read
February 25, 2005, 10:34 PM
My friend Katie was working a table in the front of the store today getting people to sign up for a Wal-Mart Credit Card, instead of working in her usual spot back in the Garden Center. So Katie was right near me, in my usual spot somewhere along the front end. So as I was passing by, I borrowed a line from J. Wellington Wimpy, better known simply as “Wimpy” from the Popeye cartoons, saying, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a credit card today.” Of course, Wimpy used to say, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
But it was still amusing. Some people got my Wimpy reference and were amused by it, and for others it went right over their heads.
Otherwise, though, my day was good. I read in the newspaper in the breakroom that NASA has figured out a way to prevent the Columbia disaster from reoccurring. If the shuttle is damaged so as to make reentry dangerous, the crew will wait in the International Space Station until another shuttle with a four-man crew can arrive. For this first launch, Discovery will be the shuttle going on the mission, and should something go wrong, they’ll send Atlantis after it. Then should something go wrong, they’d undock Discovery from the station and dock Atlantis. They would then ditch Discovery by remote control and send it to a watery grave in the Pacific Ocean. Then Atlantis would return with eleven people on board – a world record.
I think it’s odd to hear them talking about ditching a Space Shuttle. The thought of this huge, expensive vehicle having to be “ditched” is just someting that struck me as strange. But it is a possibility, and it must be considered. I’m sure if they could do a rescue mission and then ditch Columbia, those seven astronauts would still be with us today.
Categories: Space, Television, Walmart