cuz every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man (in a fire station)

Two weeks ago, I was walking home when I noticed my friendly, neighborhood fire station was having an open house on Saturday and all were invited. Seeing as that I happen to know a single woman with a thing for men in uniform, I knew that I just had to invite her to come with. Me? Well, the only man who does it for me now is the man I'm currently with so I'm kinda 'meh' about men in uniform. I was more excited about getting to sit in a real life fire truck!

Sure, the open house was more for the kids. In fact, I think Zip and I were the only ones there without any little ones. But it was still fun. And if I recall correctly, Zip got a cute cop's number.

An ACFD fire truck


Me in the fire truck


Gear all ready to go (strongly resisted the urge to put it on...)


The ACPD was there too. Zip made me get into the cop car. I refused to get into the back seat because of the potential bad vibes. So, I got in the front and nearly stole the handcuffs (the only thing that stopped me was not having the key).


Our friendly, neighborhood cops hanging with the locals


How many nozzles does it take to put out a fire?


Maybe next year they'll let me use the siren.

apparently Metro thinks "Customer Service" is an oxymoron

I love when you peeps comment on my blog. I really do. I can’t tell you how many times light bulbs have turned on in my head after reading what you have to say. And for all of those epiphanies and changes in perspective, I thank you! And for all of you lurkers who don’t comment, it’s quite alright. I have much love for you too!

A while back I wrote a series of posts about the Metro bus driver who hit on me (you can read them here, here, and finally, here). The whole thing made me feel incredibly uncomfortable (and icky). I suspected that my bus driver was using his route as a dating service because I always saw him flirting with girls (this one girl (aka Flirty Girl) actually stands up near the driver and talks to him the whole ride). In one of my posts about bus driver, one of you insightful readers left me the following comment: (among other bits of wisdom…) ” if it's really making you feel uncomfortable and he's still pulling crap like that on duty, I'd report him.”

I thought about that comment for a long time. I ended up rejecting the bus driver, telling him the truth about how I have a boyfriend and all. But something still didn’t sit well with me. And I realized where that feeling was coming from when I rode the bus with that driver last week. There was a new Flirty Girl. She too stood up next to him as he drove, talking to him about whatever, even twisting her hair around her fingers (how cliché). I don’t need to be convinced that this bus driver is using his route as a dating service. But I didn’t realize just how many other girls he’s trying to get with. And maybe, out of the countless other girls he’s hit on, there’s another girl who is just like me (as in, very not interested), whose normally routine bus route has now become incredibly uncomfortable.

Sure my problem is solved. But what about that other hypothetical girl? What if there is more than one other girl who feels that way? A young, impressionable girl who is too afraid to stand up for herself? Once I started thinking outside of my own little bubble, I realized that perhaps I have an obligation to do something about that bus driver. Maybe if I complained to Metro, they will do something about it—like reprimand him, or change his route, or take him off of bus routes all together.

Turns out another blogger had a similar experience to mine (on Metro) and did something about it. I asked her to please keep me updated. I wanted to see if something would actually be done about her situation. Honestly, I didn’t have much hope. But I really did want to believe that Metro would do the right thing, whatever that was.

Unfortunately, my fellow victim was given the run around by Metro. For WEEKS, she was tossed around from one Metro representative to the next. And, despite her detailed description, they couldn’t identify the culprit. A month later, all she has received is an apology.

I thought this story would convince me not to act. Clearly, Metro doesn’t know how to handle customer complaints. But if anything, her experience has convinced me to do something about my situation. So, I will complain to Metro and I will keep you posted on what happens (and Metro, if you happen to be reading, I will be giving details about who I talk to and whether or not something was done).

And I want more than an apology. “Sorry” is just not going to be good enough.

And to the blogger who shared her story with me, thank you for pushing me to act.

metro bus driver impropriety: an update

Two days ago I told you the story about the Metro bus driver who hit on me and gave me his number. The shock and awe he caused with this gesture kept me from being completely honest with the inappropriate bus driver and telling him about Jesse. In my state of surprise, I took his number and hastily walked away. I asked quite a few people for advice on what to do next. After all, I am clearly not interested but he is my bus driver so I have to see him almost every day. A number of you loyal blog peeps weighed in with your advice, as well as a few others that fall under the non-blog-reading category. Here is a brief summary:

Golden Silence opined, “I think you should've been honest with him” and she hoped that maybe the driver should just “do his daggone job!” Here, here.

Beakerz suggested, “Take the compliment and worry about the rest later” and that the return of Flirty Girl would hopefully take the attention off of me.

Sunchaser agreed with Golden Silence and added, “He might or might not believe you, but it's always better to be honest, IMHO.”

A male co-worker of mine weighed in with, “Is he cute? Let me have his number!”

As far as what Jesse thinks…well he’s not happy but he didn’t suggest that I never take the bus again, which would be difficult. He did offer to take the bus with me (which would take him no where near Loudon County where he works but the thought was sweet).

To be honest with you, I know that being truthful about my situation (having a very loving, almost perfect boyfriend that I’ve been happy with for almost 3 years) was the right way to go. But I feared exactly what Beakerz thought might happen if I went the truthful route since I wasn’t up-front to begin with: “You didn't say, "sorry, i have a boyfriend" so now it's kinda like a blow-off line if you say it, even if true.” So when it comes down to it, I feared the bus driver might think that I’m a liar. And I would hate for anyone to think that of me, especially someone who has the power to control my commute to work if angry (heaven forbid he might use the rejection against me).

I caught a lucky break yesterday as I waited for the bus. There was an unusual amount of traffic and the bus was late (the lateness is not unusual). I saw the ART bus approach (the Arlington public transit for those of you who aren’t Arlingtonians) with the Metro bus following a short distance behind. I could either get on the ART bus and avoid the Metro bus driver or I could take the Metro bus and have a little chat with him to set things straight. I chickened out and opted to take the ART bus.

Today, however, was a different story. After stressing out over what should be a relatively simple thing to do, I decided not to give Metro bus driver that much power over me and the relative stability of my life. As I was getting ready for work, I was determined to reject the bus driver TODAY. I wore the Tiffany ring and Tiffany necklace Jesse gave me to inspire me to overcome my anxiety about it all and went out to the bus stop.

The bus was late yet again today (this is exactly what I get for jinxing myself by saying that it had been relatively reliable lately). Eventually, I saw a Metro bus in the distance and I immediately became nervous. However, I instantly recognized the silliness of it all. I’m the one rejecting him. Why should I be nervous? I got on the bus and said my usual good morning to the bus driver as I swiped my SmarTrip card. I took a seat and opened up my book and waited until we got to the Metro station.

At the Metro station (which is the end of the line), I waited for most people to get off of the bus. As I waited, a female rider approached him. She was tall and skinny and looked nothing like me (like Flirty Girl). The bus driver told her, “Hey, girl, what’s up?” The girl said, “So you haven’t called me.” The bus driver said very nonchalantly, “Yeah, I’ve been busy.” Clearly not taking the hint, the girl said, “Ok, well, I’ll be waiting to hear from you then.” I rolled my eyes.

I realized two things right then. One, the bus driver is using his bus route as a dating service. And two, clearly this was an act of God. Because when I heard Call Me Girl’s little convo with the bus driver, the anxiety went away. At this point, rejecting him was no big deal to me.

After giving the bus driver what I assume she thinks is a sexy smile, Call Me Girl left. Then it was my turn. I walked up to the bus driver and said, “Hey, do you have a second?” He got up out of his seat and stood a little too close to me and said “Sure, what’s up?” Resisting the desire to take two steps away from him, I said, “So the other day you really took me by surprise. After all, we’ve never even talked before and then all of a sudden you’re giving me your number. It was very surprising.” He responded with a smug laugh, “Heh, heh.”

I continued slowly so as not to appear nervous, “Well, I should’ve told you this the other day but I was too surprised to tell you at the time that I have a boyfriend. We’ve been together for a long time and we even live together. I’m sorry but I’m not available.” The bus driver looked surprised but he calmly said, “Oh, ok, that’s cool.” And because I would hate for him to drive the bus past me one day, thereby making me late to work, I added, “But we’re cool though, right?” The bus driver chuckled and said, “Yeah, yeah, we’re cool. You have a nice day then and I’ll see you again soon.” I answered, “Yeah, dude, you too.”

Whew. Crisis over.

Hands down, that was the best rejection ever.

the ‘burbs don’t bite, I promise

When I lived on the Hill, the last thing I wanted to do was leave the District. In fact, the only trip I would willingly make outside of the District was to Pentagon City (and not just when I worked at the Gap there). I justified it by telling myself that it was ok because Pentagon City has the only metro-accessible DSW in the metropolitan area. Occasionally, when my friend Dave would host his OC viewing parties, I would trek out to VA Square and then hurry home. The less time I spent in the suburbs, the better. It was like the ‘burbs had cooties and I certainly didn’t want cooties from the ‘burbs.

In fact, when my friend Roo Roos lived here, we both were quite the DC snobs. “There’s nothing like living in the city” we’d say time and time again to our poor friend Dave. Dave would make every effort to convince us that life outside the city wasn’t so bad, but Roo Roos and I wouldn’t hear any of it. We were convinced that being in DC was too awesome and that the suburbs were just not good enough for us.

Fast forward to two years ago when I met Jesse. Jesse, who at the time lived in Clifton (which is in Fairfax County if you’ve never heard of it), started his own campaign to prove to me that life outside of the city wasn’t so bad. He’d take me to restaurants I’ve never been (and had never heard of). He’d drive me through the woods (I love how this area has got a whole lot of forests…it reminds me of Redding). He’d take me to the various strip malls and shopping malls that Fairfax has to offer (the boy knows that I love to shop). Still, it wasn’t enough to make me love the suburbs, let alone willingly leave the city for suburban living.

And then Jesse bought the condo in Arlington. It was so nice to have him just a few metro stops away as opposed to a 45 minute metro ride plus a 30 minute car ride. By that time, I had already been spending most of my free time with Jesse in the ‘burbs, so it wasn’t that hard for me to decide to leave the city. I had the opportunity to live with Jesse! Surely I could withstand suburban living to be with the man that I love. Right?

I have to admit, it was hard at first. And to be honest, there was some crying involved. I missed the city. I missed the cute little rowhouse I lived in. I missed walking over to Schnieder’s to get my spirits for the weekend. I missed the convenience of being within a 5 minute walk to Eastern Market. I missed calling the Bistro Italiano when I didn’t feel like making another sandwich for dinner.

While I was doing all of this “missing,” I began to look past the Arlington stereotype. It’s not as sterile as all the brand new condo buildings (that keep popping up like weeds) suggest. (Dare I say it?) Arlington actually has some diversity. It has its charm. I love how there are a million and one places to get some good Peruvian chicken (pollo a la brasa). I love that Salvadoreans have businesses everywhere (restaurants, grocery stores, etc.). I love that the Asian shopping center off of Wilson has those big gaudy arches over the entrance. I love that I finally found authentic Mexican food (in Arlington of all places) at Guajillo. I had the chicken enchiladas with mole there and I thought I was going to cry—they were that good and authentic. I also hate that older buildings are getting bought out and demolished to make way for more cookie cutter condos. With every new condo building, I feel that a bit of Arlington charm is sacrificed.

If you don’t like the suburbs, I totally understand. But have you really spent time in the suburbs? It’s ok. Just venture outside of the DC Bubble. I promise it won’t hurt. If you keep an open mind, you might be surprised to find that you actually kinda like it (even just a little bit). I’ll probably always miss living in the city, but living in the ‘burbs really isn’t that bad.

Really, it’s not.

I swear.

This one’s for you, D. Leaving me the silliest, little comment on my birthday dinner Evite inspired me to write this post.

you think i'm too old for the pony rides?

Jesse and I checked out the Arlington County Fair yesterday. I told Jesse that we should go for the following two reasons: (1) it's literally down the street from where we live and (2) we should support the county we live in. My REAL two reasons for going were: (1) there was a petting zoo and (2) there would be funnel cake.

So, we got there and checked out the indoor stuff first. I encouraged Jesse to mark his home on an Arlington County map.

We kept walking around and came upon the VA dems (YAY) and then the VA GOP (boo). All the people both behind the GOP booth and visiting it were OLD. Big surprise.

I then get the notion to support NoVA by purchasing honey from the NoVA beekeepers association (or something like that...I forgot the name). I'm proud that my honey came from Falls Church. How many other people can say that they know where their honey came from?

We went outside, grabbed some grub, and walked around. Lo and behold, it was an actual fair with your typical fair-y rides and games.

My favorite part was the petting zoo. Seeing as that I was the only one at the petting zoo without a kid, I decided to not stand in line to get in and embarass myself. The usual suspects were there: chickens, bunnies, goats, sheep.


And then there was a turtle. I know that I haven't been to a petting zoo in a while, but I don't remember turtles being regulars at these things. But there he was, in a pen all by himself. And I can assure you that no one pet him while we were there.



It was exactly the kind of stuff I expected from a county fair--all kinds of different people coming together to eat some cardiac-arrest-inducing food, pet some farm animals, ride the tilt-a-whirl and ferris wheel, win some cheap prizes for their dates, and spend some money.

Oh! Some of us just came for the funnel cake!

OC GIRL BREAKING NEWS--I was at Ballston Metro with the Crazy Guy

I'm sure all of you Orange Line riders are very upset about the delay this afternoon. You heard it here first, peeps...what really went down at Ballston Metro today during rush hour.

Ann, my work buddy, and I were on our way home shortly after 5 pm. We got off the Orange Line train at Ballston Metro and suddenly, we hear commotion on the train at the opposite platform (in the direction of New Carrollton). Clear as day (even with typical rush hour noise and commotion), we can hear this Crazy Guy just yelling while in the train. He then continues his crazy yelling on the platform. Ann and I paused as people who would just stop and stare while something insane was happening before our eyes. The train just stayed there while this Crazy Guy was spewing his crazy talk. He seemed very angry...at what or who, we don't know. Ann says, "Should we tell people not to go down to the platform? What if he's got a gun or something?" After thinking for a few seconds (cuz really that's all the time we have to come up with these kinds of decisions), I tell her, "I'm gonna go tell the station manager; I'll be right back."

I went to where I thought the station manager would be and I find people telling (what appears to be) a metro maintenance worker about the Crazy Guy. The worker doesn't really seem to know what to do. I repeat to her, "Look, there's a Crazy Guy on the platform...you might want to tell the Metro police." There was, after all, a lone cop on the other side of the turnstyles (he appeared to be dealing with juvenile delinquents at the time). The worker tells the station manager, who then waits for the cop to be finished with the juveniles before he tells him about Crazy Guy...because clearly it's more important to stop kids who skip out on their metro fares than to prevent a major catastrophe.

Before the cop finally heads down to the platform, we hear multiple people saying, "the guy's got a gun!" I tell Ann, "Looks like it's time to go." Ann says, "We've gotta stop people from going down to the platform." I'm thinking that's the station manager's job, but what do I know? I don't work for Metro. Ann and I decide to look for more cops instead (because clearly the cop more interested in ticketing juveniles couldn't handle Crazy Guy on his own). We run up the escalators and find that there are no cops around. Are you freakin' kidding me? Where are the cops when you need them?

Within seconds, one cop arrives. One single girl cop. Ann and I had the same reaction--"oh great...one cop and it's a girl." But then, the cavalry arrives. Six...Seven...no, EIGHT cop cars arrive. Cops come out in full riot gear and shot guns and run down the escalators. Ann says, "Still no one is telling people not to go down there." So, what do we do? Ann and I position ourselves on either side of the Metro 'down' escalator and tell people, "Look, don't go down there. There's someone on the Metro platform with a gun...allegedly."

People start asking us (as if we're the authority) what's going on. We tell everyone the same thing...we're not sure....we saw this guy acting crazy on the platform...people who were getting off his train were saying that he had a gun...we're trying to err on the side of caution here. Suddenly, the cops come up the escalator...with Crazy Guy (who's still angry and screaming and yelling). They take him to my bus stop and force him down to the ground. The cops then search every inch of his body (and frankly, if I was a cop I would be pissed about having to search his dirty, filthy body). Following this search, they then search the huge duffle bag he was carrying (I think he was homeless). Crazy Guy reveals there is a hatchet in his duffle (while all of this is happening, people are still coming up to Ann and me like we're the authority on what happened).

The police removed several items from his duffle and placed them in a plastic bag. They then hauled him into the car.

Ann asks me, "do you think we're gonna be in the news?" Nah, no one's gonna talk about how Ann and I did our best to prevent major chaos. I do have many concerns about how Metro handles these kinds of escalated situations. First of all, the whole Crazy Guy incident caused a major delay on the Orange Line. Where were the Metro employees who should've been warning commuters about the delay? Whatever happened to PlanBdextrous (the one time a Metro slogan comes in handy we can't even use it)? Or how about keeping commuters from the platform for safety's sake? What if the guy had a gun and was shooting up the place? If it was up to Metro, we probably wouldn't have known.

In the end, everyone was safe. I'd like to think that Ann and I played a role in that.



There's Crazy Guy, on the ground in that bus stop.

raise your hands if you want to take the rest of the week off

Who else had a 4 day weekend? Who else doesn't want to be at work today? I feel like I just got back from vacay and I need another day to come to terms with the fact that I must return to work. Although this is the last place I want to be, I am at work today.

I was also at work yesterday. My building hosted a little (keyword: free) 4th of July gathering and opened up the rooftop to check out the fireworks. The food was not too great but the view was worth it. The fireworks were nice and patriotic as they usually are. The occasional flash of lightning added to the drama. It was Jesse's first time in DC for the fireworks since he was a kid and I think he had a good time.

My biggest concern of the evening was the after-fireworks-rush on the metro. I was expecting to wait a lifetime on the platform for a train that we could manage to board. Strangely, Jesse and I were able to get on the first train we saw at Foggy Bottom. It wasn't a comfortable ride. We were packed in like sardines. Luckily we parked at Courthouse metro, so we had a short trip.

At Rosslyn, a few people stepped out of the train and even more wanted to board. A woman got on the so-tight-we-were-all-sexually-violating-each-other train and actually had the nerve to ask, "Are there any seats?" She was genuinely searching for a place to sit and tried to manuever past my boyfriend with his football player build in her attempt to sit. I wanted to tell her, "Look lady, you're lucky that you even have a place to stand on this train." Ugh. Tourists. I swear...

Anyway, the nightmare only lasted until the next stop. I really do love DC's fireworks but I may have to reconsider catching 'em next year. My disdain for tourists is getting to be too much.