My neighborhood has a lot of bicyclists, especially in the summer. I'd rather walk than ride a bike when the weather is too cold. I ended up taking the bus home tonight. When I got to Mt Pleasant I did a little grocery shopping. I found a great place to buy the good Bowl 'O Noodles, with the dehydrated vegetables packet and seasoning packet. I use to buy the noodles at 7-Eleven (below). At the Super Save Market three doors down they're half the price.
I met my friend Chris at McDonald's and got a couple hamburgers. After I ate them I was still hungry so I went to the counter to order another. I looked down at the register and saw a roach on the counter. I pointed. The girl at the register was startled. Then she grabbed the counter clothe, swatted the roach to the floor and stomped it. She looked back at me. It was a strange moment. It was repulsive, but it takes more than that for me to loose my appetite.
I inquired about a couple photography jobs today. I am currently at the "Cup O' Noodles" level of poverty. How do you have fun when you're broke you ask? I went down to the fine arts studios and the photography lab at the Corcoran and convinced a couple of friends to walk down to the Declaration of Independence Island and then over to the Washington Monument. The Monument has been boarded up since the end of last summer. I remember when I lived in SW D.C. and walked right underneath the monument every night. I think it's still open during the day.
__A Local Monument__
On my walk home I passed through DuPont Circle. The fountain in the center of the circle is probably one of the most photographed neighborhood monuments. I wasn't taking this photo thinking it was anything original. It's part of my tourist act. It's a performance art.
Tonight's show at the Black Cat was great. The Les Savvy Favs were the main attraction. They played a long and exciting set. The strange antics of the band brought to mind memories of Coney Island. There were also a couple comedians at the show. One was from Saturday Night Live, funny.
Sometimes I just relax. But before long I feel guilty like I should be taking pictures.
I thought class started at 1:30 it started at 5:30, wrong day. That was okay; I had time to post some things on Craig's List to sell. I also sent a courtesy photo of a congressman to a small weekly paper in California. They said they would send me a couple copies of the paper. Although I would like something bigger, they would be beneficial to my portfolio, so I agreed.
In our Decisive Moments Class we went down to the skate rink in Freedom Plaza. There were no skaters so we all took turns running around on the ice. Of course I was the only one injured. While attempting to take a photograph while I slide in front of the entire class, I fell ... with my camera and monopod. My camera still works but I chipped a dial on it. Both of my knees are bruised. Ouch.
I was at some friends' house helping them drink a couple bottles of wine. Later, while I was walking home dreaming about the giant slice of pizza I was going to buy in Adams-Morgan. About four blocks from the fire I smelt burning plastic. The smell got stronger and I ran down the street after the firetrucks.
No one was seriously injured. I overheard one of the firemen saying that someone had a couple broken ribs, that's it. They had the flames out in a matter of minutes. But there was one guy there who was pretty traumatized. Everything he had was burnt up in the fire.
[Yuck! I wish the greasy pizza I ate at Pizza Mart had burnt up in the fire.]
The snowy weather left a lot of workers at home. The weather caused the cancelation of schools in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. The snow only enhanced a visit to Layfeyette Square made by a bus of Chinese tourists looking at the White House.
I was upset that both the classes I had today were cancelled.
This is Adam, a security guard at the Corcoran College. I talk with him and say hello when I go into the school. Adam came here from Egypt as a political refugee. I joked (hardly) that recently the U.S. itself has it's share of political prisoners. Adam is a good guy nonetheless, and having lived here a number of years he will soon be a U.S. Citizen.
Increase Activity for Warmth
The flock of pigeons in Mt. Pleasant is much more active in the cold weather. I might be more active in the winter sometimes. It's nicer to walk in cold weather because there's less people on the sidewalk.
[Went to the Black Cat music venue tonight to see The Frequency and M.M.R. Decent bands if you're looking to rock with awkward sophistication.]
When I got back from the holidays I noticed that they had put a fence up around the White House. I thought it might have something to do with the Iowa Polls. No reason. Then I thought it might have something to do with the State of the Union Address. Today, an honestly nice Secret Service guy said it was just road work. Well of course there's going to be a facade to the whole operation. Road-worker "guests" from Bush's Immigrant Worker Plan.
I had my second class of the semester today, Video Art for the Visual Artist. Another winner.
