Friday was a busy day. I actually overbooked my afternoon (whoops). And around 1pm, just to make my day better, it got a little strange.
I thanked Joe as he dropped off a package at my desk -- a standard brown box, about a 1 ft. cube. Then it occurred to me ... I didn't order anything. The "from" address noted "ACE Photo and Digital" as the sender. Never heard of 'em. So I stopped. Racked my brain for a minute. Did I order something and just forget? Could someone else have sent this to me for some reason? Hmm.
After asking a few people around the office if they had any idea what this mystery package was, I decided to call the number that was listed on the label with the sender's address. Call me paranoid, but in this day and age (and working in Washington, DC, just a few blocks from the White House) ... I just wasn't comfortable opening a package that I had no idea what it was or why I got it.
I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with a very helpful rep from ACE Photo and Digital and I gave her my info and some numbers from the package and we tried to figure out why I received this. From her, I discovered that the package was billed to someone named Ernie Young, with the same billing address as my office. Hmm. I check my corporate directory. No such person was listed.
The rep had told me everything she could, including that the order was placed through Amazon and that the contents were listed as a pair of Sony headphones. So I decided to take the box to my boss, who I'd been IM'ing about this for a few minutes.
He looked at it as I filled him in on what I'd discovered on the phone, and then he made a good point: the UPS label that was on it was an official UPS label. And I'd checked numbers on that label with the people on the phone ... he felt like it was safe to open. So he grabbed some scissors ... (cue the scary music) ... flipped the box over and opened the bottom. (Dramatic pause.) Heh. He handed it back to me, "It's headphones."
"Really?" I pulled the contents out and sure enough, Sony headphones -- really good ones ... the kind that are specially designed for noise reduction. Noise reduction. Then it hit me.
"Ohhhh. I know who sent me these." My hand was on my hip by now and I clenched the headphones in my hand.
"Who?"
"I think my boyfriend sent me these."
"What??"
"I'll know for sure in about four hours."
I'd remembered that earlier in the week, I'd mentioned to my boyfriend how insanely LOUD it was at work, since there was construction going on in an office about 6 feet away from my desk. So that fella ... being the sweet guy he is ... sent me headphones to help drown out the noise. It was supposed to be a pleasant surprise!
I sent him a quick email. Subject line: "One word." Body: "Anthrax."
When we caught up later in the day, I explained to him what an ordeal it had been and we both had a good laugh about it, though I think I made him feel bad. (Sorry!) The name listed with the billing address is his dad, which didn't ring a bell with me, especially not when associated with my office's address. But yeah, he was just trying to be nice. At any rate, I love the headphones and it was very sweet of him.
But wow. What a mess!
I haven't posted in a while, I know. I've just been THAT busy with work, and then Mom was here last weekend, so I'm finally catching up today.
I'll start with Mom's visit last weekend. She got into DC Thursday evening and met me at the office. After I finished up work, we rode the Metro home so she could see the route I take everyday (and so she'd know how to get to and from my office to meet up with me the next day).
For this first night, we decided to make pizzas for dinner (one with pesto sauce and the other with regular red sauce), so we headed to the grocery store and nearby Italian delicatessen to pick up the fixins. I don't think we ended up actually eating until close to 9pm, but we had a fun evening of cooking and eating and watching TV ( two hours of Grey's Anatomy!).
I ended up working from home Friday morning before we headed in for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, a classic DC spot (pictured here). Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon working on some stuff at the office and Mom headed back to my apartment to explore my neighborhood some. After work, I met up with her at a bookstore near my place and we looked around at a nice pace and picked out a few books (she got to use the gift certificate I gave her for her birthday.)
*** Speaking of which ... her birthday is officially TODAY!!! She's 36. ***
The rest of the weekend ended up being VERY nice -- we had much better weather than we'd expected. It was supposed to rain all weekend, but we had lovely weather for a Saturday of shopping in Old Town Alexandria. Oh! And we found a gem of a place on King Street, near the intersection of King and Washington. I believe it was called Bread & Chocolate. We both got quiche and a couple of wonderful desserts. Whoa. Yum.
Sunday we went to church and then had a very long lunch at Olive Garden, which was a nice treat. We didn't get back to the apartment until late in the afternoon, and by then, it was nap time. :-) We ordered dinner to be delivered (was not the greatest), and enjoyed an easy evening before bed. Mom had to leave EARLY the next morning to catch her flight, and I had a rather eventful morning ahead of me (unbeknownst to me) ... and that ushered our weekend to a close.
Thanks for visiting, Mom! Next time, we'll do some real sightseeing. :-)
Okay, so I'm not addicted to Subway. But I do eat there several times a week because there is one right across the street from the office, and I get the same thing every time -- so I don't have to think about my order at all. It's how I conveniently and quickly refuel myself in the middle of my usually busy work day.
The same folks work there everyday during lunchtime. I get a pretty unique sandwich (or "odd" .. we can call it odd) and I had just been in there yesterday. I think it finally clicked that there really is just one person that orders that ham and cheese with mayo only -- and that person would be me. The woman fixing my sandwich looked up at me and said, "Same from yesterday?" I smiled and said yes, and she tapped another employee and pointed to me. He looked at me and said, "Ham and cheese." I smiled, nodded and waved, "That would be me." Then they had a quick exchange behind the counter (in a dialect I didn't understand) and when I stepped up to pay, the cashier grinned and said, "The sandwich is free!"
BIG smile from me and many thanks. You can bet I'll stick to my routine of lunch at Subway for a long time!
Well, I got cornered. Haha ... kinda literally. I was standing on a corner, waiting to cross the street on my walk home after work yesterday. A woman with a stroller loaded full of stuff and two kids by her side (maybe ages 8 and 10 or so) turned to me with the classic, "Excuse me, miss?"
Long story, short -- I ended up forking over $10. (That's all the cash I had, and certainly not chump change to me these days.) But here's the thing. I'd rather hand out $10 at random on the off chance that it might buy a meal for a couple kids than not. I mean, seriously, in the big scheme of things ... $10 is not THAT much. At least I have a job and an apartment and food.
So yeah, I consider that $10 a gamble. People gamble thousands of dollars at casinos and races. At least this one has potential to be worthwhile.
I've been aware of this, but for some reason it really sunk in tonight -- this city really does have everything. (Well. Except for a Firehouse Subs OR a Mellow Mushroom. That's a BIG minus.) But coming from Alabama, I can really appreciate how cool it is to live in a city that provides opportunities for all different kinds of entertainment or weekend fun: football, hockey, basketball, (and more sports), museums galore, history out the wahzoo, theatre and music of all varieties.
If I ever hear someone here say, "There's nothing to do this weekend" ... pshaw.
As promised, I'm taking it easy today. Actually ate a full meal for breakfast ... er, brunch. I made muffins, scrambled eggs and green tea. (See ... told you I'd start eating better this weekend. :-)
Right now, I'm doing such lazy Saturday things as working on my music collection, doing the dishes, laundry, general lounging around ... the lounging makes it all worthwhile. I could be working my arse off on something, as long as I'm lounging on my couch for most of the day -- it still has some quality of relaxing. So it's not so bad.
But I'm not supposed to do any REAL work this weekend. I'm not, I
swear. Laundry and stuff like that doesn't count. Besides,
cleaning is therapeutic.
After an insanely over-packed and absolutely exhausting work week, I'm catching up on my feeds before an early bedtime. (Seriously. Early. I swear.) Anyway, I came across a post at the DCist (a blog for us DC folks) about the Metro system's plans to get a new PA system. This little ditty just cracked me up:
We still marvel at the number of "important announcements from Metro" that are completely lost to distortion and the system's cavernous halls. We tend to hear something about "suspicious...garblegarblegarble...injury and death...garblegarblegarble...armed and dangerous...garblegarblegarble...do not...garblegarblegarble," and it just doesn't sit right.
(Chuckle.) I concur.
Since I'm writing about all my other Washington experiences here, it's certainly necessary for me to note my thoughts about my experience today -- it's Sept. 11.
So. How was it?
In a word ... simple. There was no fanfare in my own experience; no extra security anywhere; no moment of silence or other signs of mourning. But there was ... simple remembrance.
My day started as normal. It was a little overcast, but the air was nice and cool. I listened to my Ipod as I walked (Renee Olstead -- perfect for a cool, fall-ish morning).
As I approached the Metro, I looked up and noticed two massive American flags hanging from a few of the taller buildings. At that perfect moment, a breeze swept across my path and rippled the flags. I smiled ... and kept walking -- heading to work, like we all do as a testament to our country's indomitable will.
I had a very full day at work (as they all are these days), and didn't think of the anniversary much as I plowed through task after task.
But as I headed home after a long day and came up the steps to the sidewalk from the Metro tunnel, the flags were still there to welcome me. And in another perfect moment, I heard the roar of a jet flying overhead and looked toward one of the flag-adorned buildings just in time to see the massive plane soar over its peak. I smiled and kept walking.
When I was little, every once in a while I'd open my lunchbox at school to find a little surprise from my mom -- a piece of chocolate or a simple little note. I remember, even, the notes ... were always so neatly written; she'd take the time to dot the "i" of my name with a heart, or to cut the paper of the note into the shape of a heart.
Those little things are some of my fondest childhood memories.
I saw something today that reminded me of that. Thank God for the simple joys in life. :-)
