On My Mind

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Discuss.

Triumph Lessened due to Personal Weakness

One would think success breeds success, however Tuesday was a bust on the bus, and Wednesday did not fare much better. Tuesday I overslept, missed the early bus and the second one I thought would work, never came. I restorted to the age old tatic of calling my parents for a ride. My dad was quite willing and we had a nice talk on the way, but overall, a failure for handling my own business. In the afternoon I finally took the car for a new battery, and far from taking a long time it was remarkably quick, and I had enough money to pay for it. (That had been my main reason for putting it off.)

I do feel that it would be excellent for both character and environment to continue to use the bus system, perhaps two to three times a week, but again this morning slept too long. Ironic, since I was awake around 4. I should just get up instead of falling back asleep.

Triumph of Public Transportation

This morning, due to a dead battery in my car and because a friend is picking me up after work to head away for the weekend, I took the bus to work. I was dazzled with my success. This is a feeling I get when traveling in a foreign country. I feel so good that I am able to negotiate the system. It's silly really.
$1.25 and about an hour worth of time takes me from My house to my school. There is even time at the transfer point in Ballston to get a coffee. Victory is mine!

Confidential to a certain friend who walks to work:
If you were to walk down to Shirlington and catch the bus at 28th and Quincy (I think that is where the Texaco station is,) and take the 10B that would take you, zip you if you will, up the hill and you could get off at Walter Reed and Columbia Pike. It looks like it goes every 30 minutes starting at 5:34 in the morning. It is about a 6 minute trip, 30 I suppose when you add the walk to Shirlington.

Going Downtown: Tips -n- Goals

Went downtown yesterday to get myself a little culture. I had read about an exhibit of a crusades era castle under seige, depicted in minature. It was at National Geographic. I almost hedged at the last minute and didn't go, but I am glad I did. It was a fascinating display: a tie between the history and the actual execution in tiny figures with incredible detail fo the castle and market scenes.

Two things pushed me to go down there. First, Paul and I went to the Rousseau exhibit at the National Gallery a few weeks ago, and that was such a nice day. I felt as if I was in a dream. It sounds cliche, but it was like looking at the paintings was looking through windows at another time. I particularly liked that Rousseau was untrained. He painted in his spare time, and his unorthodox style eventually drew praise because of his flaunting of convention. He was, in short, an angrycraftsman.

That day reminded me that there are many wonderful things to see, for free, and I don't get out much really, and ought to do so.

Second: When I was younger, my parents would frequently haul us down to various galleries after church on Sunday. I particularly remember going to the Portrait Gallery. We would check out some art, have a little lunch, it sits in my memory as a nice time.

So the goal would be to go somewhere artsy or otherwise edifying on Sundays. Once a month, I think. My next attempt will be in October, and I think I would like to go see the World War II Memorial and go up the Washington Monument.

Tip: If you drive downtown on Tuesday at about 11:30 there is lots of parking on Independence because they have just reopened for parking because of the street cleaning.