Was consumed with reading software design documents………. when all of a sudden it sounded like some construction on was going on above our office.  My other office mates and I were like… What is that?  Then the floor started shaking.  [...]]]>

It seemed like an ordinary day in DC…. tried a new place for lunch  

Was consumed with reading software design documents………. when all of a sudden it sounded like some construction on was going on above our office.  My other office mates and I were like… What is that?  Then the floor started shaking.  I thought maybe a truck had hit the building.  Then people started flying by our office to the stairs…………. Then the fire alarm started going off… Panic!!!

Grabbed my purse….. had to go back for my phone   Flew down the steps… luckily I was only on the 3rd floor.  Got outside…. started looking around….  Thought maybe the construction crew across the street had maybe hit something….. Then txt messages from friends were rapid fire… “Earthquake!!”.  Then network went dead.

People were all over Metro Center….. Sirens…. traffic started getting crazy.  We were outside for about 40 minutes….

I walked down to the Metro… to make sure it was running……. Answer.. Yes…. its running…….. Slowly.

Went back to my office……… Fire alarm was still going off…. So I decided I’m out of here!  (Nice to be salaried again… I can leave and still get paid. )

Metro Center was packed……. Oh boy here we go I thought.  An Orange train came thru about 6 minutes later, but it was too packed for me to get on………… Blue came thru about 5 minutes later….. made sure I got on, even though it was packed.  Slow going… 15 MPH…. but I switched at Potomac Ave to Orange, got to Cheverly, which was packed because of a track problem that had initiated shuttle service from Stadium Armory (before I came thru). Came  down the escalator to find a The Bus arriving…. Score!! It was packed…. but it got me home.  Total trip…… 90 minutes…. not too bad (usually takes about 40).

The damage………….. beloved Pearl Jam poster … knocked over and glass broken….

Alex Semin bobblehead decapitated   Nicklas Backstrom Bobblehead…. broken stick…..

I can get the poster reframed, and I think I can glue Sasha’s head back on……….

Madison the cat was freaked out….. proabaly because I kept yelling at her to get back downstairs while I cleaned up the glass.  When I did finally get the glass cleaned up… I picked up Madison and gave her a big hug… then went to put her down, but she was holding on for dear life

I finally stopped in a few weeks ago after a Nats [...]]]>

Bullfeathers has always been my go-to for Capitol Hill drinking on a patio when the weather gets nice.  But the food always left a lot to be desired.  Then last winter new ownership took over……. and they remodeled the entire inside and re-did the menu.

I finally stopped in a few weeks ago after a Nats game for a quick dinner.  I got the BLT – Bacon, lettuce tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted salted olive oil ciabatta, served with fries.  It was really good. Thick bacon, ciabatta is always good, with fancy presentation… the fries got their own container! (When you don’t like your food to touch…this is always a bonus ).

I stopped in again about a week ago for lunch and got the BLT again (though I was torn between the Tuna Melt and Grilled Cheese).  It was good, one minor complaint … the tomato was sliced a little too thick… but I wrote it off as being due to the early time of day, and getting the first slices of the tomato for that day.

Can’t wait to go back… its in the perfect location if you are walking between the Capitol South Metro and Nats Park.

If you think being selected for a random WMATA bag search is #WINNING

So I’m in la-la land walking to Metro… frantically refreshing my Twitter feed to see what suspension the NHL would hand down to Matt Cooke….. when I notice an official looking vehicle in front of Federal Center SW.  I [...]]]>

If you think being selected for a random WMATA bag search is #WINNING

So I’m in la-la land walking to Metro… frantically refreshing my Twitter feed to see what suspension the NHL would hand down to Matt Cooke….. when I notice an official looking vehicle in front of Federal Center SW.  I didn’t think much of it as I ran down the escalator…. until I saw what I assumed to be 2 Transit Police.  Then 2 more… I’m thinking wow… guess the violence from L’Enfant is spreading… until I rounded the corner and saw the table.  Yep! Random Bag checks!

I’m thinking… Don’t make eye contact… Don’t make eye contact.

I made eye contact :X

And Mr Grinning Police Man directs me over to the table. Well of course I switched into “I need to get my phone out so I can take a picture mode”… and barely paid attention to what the policeman was telling me.  I think he said nothing would be taken out of the bag.  (well… what’s the point?? its a pretty big bag!)

The “searcher” ran some liquid soaked bandage type thing over my Kate Spade! bag (and made it smell nasty ).

Anyway… back to me and my phone…. got it out… went into camera mode, policeman realized what I was doing and tried to block my shot… but I prevailed!   Then he said you’re not allowed to do that.  I answered “Why Not?”  He said “Security Reasons”.  Uh ok.  I gave him a weird look… and I thought they were gonna take my phone and delete the pic… but no.
Gave me back my bag and sent me on my way.

Seemed pretty pointless.  As most have said before … you see whats going on before you get “picked” and can leave….I mean who knows what would have happened if I turned around and walked/ran the other way.  Maybe next time… when I’m not trying to catch a bus

Click the image to read the response….. (My original post from August)

It’s my opinion that the freak-out that occured after the announcement was overkill, but whatever.  Imagine my surprise then when it was announced that the Entire Orange line would [...]]]>

Remember last spring?  When WMATA floated some suggestions to help bridge their budget problems, and one of the suggestions was to close the Cheverly Metro on weekends?

It’s my opinion that the freak-out that occured after the announcement was overkill, but whatever.  Imagine my surprise then when it was announced that the Entire Orange line would be Shutdown Friday Nov 5 10pm – Monday Nov 8 8am…. and…. *crickets*

Nothing.

How could Cheverly function without a Metro for an entire weekend???

Now I admit I was annoyed because if I wanted to go to the Caps game on Friday, I would have had to have driven to a green line station in the AM.  I didn’t want to, so I just sucked it up… and didn’t even complain (too much) when I ended up missing the awesomeness that led to Locker doing this….
Come Sunday I was ready for more in person CAPS Hockey…. So I put on my “I’m an Adult” hat (along with Sasha Minor Jersey), plugged the address for the West Hyattsville Metro into my GPS and drove there.  Actually it was good that the closure forced me to explore more of the area around my new-ish to me neighborhood.

Caps won!  Sasha scored! Found a new bar to Pre-Game in Chinatown!  Had Sushi!

AND THE WORLD DIDN”T END

Last week was a banner one for WMATA….

Trash fire that closed down Gallery Place and Metro Center for a period of time.

A fire truck collided with a metrobus.… around the same time.

And the crowning jewel…. that came out DURING a WMATA Board meeting….. the maker of the SmarTrip cards will no longer sell [...]]]>

Last week was a banner one for WMATA….

Trash fire that closed down Gallery Place and Metro Center for a period of time.

A fire truck collided with a metrobus.… around the same time.

And the crowning jewel…. that came out DURING a WMATA Board meeting….. the maker of the SmarTrip cards will no longer sell them to WMATA, they only have enough left to get thru 2012, and oh yeah…. WMATA is over paying for them anyway!

How does this happen?  Is ANYONE at WMATA in charge or accountable for anything that goes on there?? Do they have calendars? Access to the internet in order to do research? It’s like everything WMATA touches turns to crap!

If SmarTrip cards will only last until 2012, WMATA needs to abandon all SmarTrip changes that they had planned.  Remember the “buckets” that were supposed to debut earlier this year? No need to waste time trying to code those changes.  WMATA needs to hire a real project manager, and some people that can think outside the box.  Maybe its time to re-do the entire fare and fare gate structure (ie get rid of the exit fare). Treat this like a REAL project.  PLAN.  Don’t just get an idea and run with it …. without doing some research.

WMATA has 2 years (well maybe 1.5 years)… Will they be able to find a solution AND get it implemented?   Probably not.  According to an article from this morning’s Baltimore Sun……. it took the MTA about 10 years to get their version of SmarTrip implemented.  The CharmCard debuts this week.

My opinion ….. Let me pay for WMATA with my Starbucks Card. 

I’ve been following DC Fire and EMS for a few months and they provide a wealth of info and sometimes humor all [...]]]>

It’s no secret I am a huge fan of Twitter.  I use it to pass time while I wait for metro, to keep up with current events, and sometimes just plain silliness.

I’ve been following DC Fire and EMS for a few months and they provide a wealth of info and sometimes humor all in 140 chars or less!

If you use metro to get around DC and are just relying on WMATA’s updates you are lucky if you are getting the real story from WMATA (or even a timely alert).  Nothing drove that point home more than last week’s #rainpocalypse

I left my house around 7am, but knew a bad storm was on the way…. but not really had bad it was about to get.

I arrived in SW just as it was starting to rain, grabbed my Starbucks and hoped I didn’t get struck by lightening as I walked to my office.  Once I got settled I pulled out the phone and saw via Twitter that apparently all hell had broken loose in MoCo and it was headed my way!

Massive problems started appearing on the red line….

@metroopensdoors was quiet………Their first update about the situation didn’t appear until after 9am!!

DCFireEMS updated all day long about downed trees, the fire in DuPont and other problems around the area in a effort to inform  the people.  (and have some fun too!  Really you can’t downplay the awesomeness of having a good sense of humor )

Back to WMATA…. sometimes they send their vague alerts and you are left to wonder what the heck is going on ….

Like this gem….  Sorry but how exactly is the Red line affected by a train malfunction at Deanwood???

If you follow DCFIREEMS too, if they get called (ie when its serious) you will get a better picture of what’s happening, be more informed, and actually able to determine if you need to find a Plan B in order to get around town.

Today the Examiner further drove the point home with their article about board members not attending meetings…

They need to go….. implode the current board!  Get board members that actually ride [...]]]>

is useless.  NTSB pretty much confirmed it last week as they presented their findings for last summers Red Line crash.

Today the Examiner further drove the point home with their article about board members not attending meetings…

They need to go….. implode the current board!  Get board members that actually ride the system…. daily.  We know what is wrong, and maybe able to think outside the box about some possible fixes .  I still can’t believe the extension to Dulles was approved while the current system devolves into meltdown mode when there is some issue that starts the awesome-ness of a single-tracking backlog on the Red Line…..

If you live in DC or VA…. click here to get address for who to voice your concerns too…

Here is the address for Marylanders…… (Thanks to Unsuck DC Metro)

Washington Suburban Transit Commission
4351 Garden City Drive
Suite 305
Hyattsville, MD 20785
Tel: (301) 577-2063
Fax: (301) 577-2193
E-mail: twebster@mtamaryland.com

ALSO… I urge you to contact Senator Barbara Mikulski….. she ripped WMATA late last year over safety issues…and is a member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee that funds WMATA.

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski

503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-4654

Online Contact Form

Oh…. and enjoy those fare hikes

Today WMATA introduced what can only be seen as the first step to be able to finally add value to your SmarTrip card online. 

Be warned… it is tedious.  They want a lot of information and once registered you can only see your balance or report the card lost or stolen.

Did you previously register your card [...]]]>

Today WMATA introduced what can only be seen as the first step to be able to finally add value to your SmarTrip card online. 

Be warned… it is tedious.  They want a lot of information and once registered you can only see your balance or report the card lost or stolen.

Did you previously register your card to protect the value?  Make sure you remember the Phone Number and Zip Code you registered with…..

Next up… Fines for Seat hoggers?