End of the week

Morning: Dull ride. Almost fell asleep several times. This morning I was in a white Saab sedan. The woman driving must be a fan of purple because she was wearing a purple sweater-shirt, purple slacks and a purple jacket was hanging behind her. There was a white scarf with polka dots on it ... actually went really well with the suit. She wore diamond studded hoop earrings. She also had a Nicorette patch on her right arm.
She was drinking coffee which she kept in a cupholder hanging from the dashboard and eating something from the pocket in the door on her left.
The other passenger was a Hispanic man in a brown pinstripe suit and a blue shirt with a blue tie. He read the Washington Post the entire ride.
The driver had the radio set to some Jazz station that was driving me crazy. It sounded like elevator music ... really bad elevator music. But, her coffee did smell good. This morning I decided to skip my coffee and went with a water bottle, but after smelling her coffee, I went to the bakery on the first floor of the building where I work to get some coffee.
This woman freaked me out when we got to the Pentagon, though, because she drove past the normal drop spot and further into Pentagon parking. She dropped us off at the more Northern side (as opposed to the Eastern side where we're usually dropped). So I had to walk a bit to get to the Metro. Thank God I wore flip-flops today. My feet wouldn't go back into heels after this week.
Evening: My friend got to experience slugging with me this evening. Because of how late our schedule took us into the evening, tonight was the latest I have shown up at the Pentagon. The parking lot was the emptiest I've seen it, though there were still a good number of cars. There was no one in line at the slugging stations, so I was slightly nervous. After we had been standing there for a few minutes, a woman and gentleman were walking across the parking and yelled at us asking if we were slugging. We said yes and she instructed us to "Go to the wall" and pointed to the "wall." It was really the framework supporting the interstate. There were two people standing there holding signs for the destination they needed. I couldn't believe it. This turned into actual hitchhiking. I got excited though, because it's just another experience to add to my list.
My friend and I walked over with this woman and she instructed us that, after 6 p.m. the line moves over here. She then asked, "Do you have a sign?" as she pulled out a laminated — LAMINATED — sign that had the destination printed on both sides. She handed it to me and said, "Here, sweetie, hold this and wait for someone to come and get you." A car had come up during this exchange and, since we were newbies and had no idea what we were doing, she ushered us to the car telling us she could wait. I thanked her and handed her sign back and we clamored into the red Toyota truck.
A man in an Army uniform was driving. I had an interesting time climbing into the truck, but I made it. I was in the passenger seat and my friend sat in the back (as per my request, see reason in Lessons of the Week). I thanked him for the ride and threw out there — despite the fact it somewhat violated etiquette in that I was initiating conversation — that this was the first time I had slugged this late and had no idea what I was doing. The guy laughed and reiterated what the woman told us before; after 6 p.m., you stand by the wall.
Conversation was great. We started talking when we left the Pentagon, and it silenced a bit when we got on the highway. Thank God, my friend noticed the driver was surfing through a bunch of sports stations on his SIRIUS radio and said, "I see you're a football fan ... does that mean you're into the Redskins?" That spurred conversation for the rest of the ride. We talked about sports, our jobs, his job, his family. He grew up mostly in Northern Virginia, spent some time in the Philadelphia area and then went into the Army. Since joining, he's been to Oklahoma, Alabama, Germany, Maryland and now the Pentagon. But don't think he's boring yet — he's spent a lot of time overseas. He was in the Balkans in the late '90s and did some time in Iraq.
Near the end of the ride, he got a phone call from his wife and he suggested doing ice cream later with the kids. He said Maggie Moo's (one ice cream shop here in town) and I chided him when he got off saying Bruster's is the place to go. He admitted he likes soft ice cream at which time my friend and I go crazy and say, "If you're ever in St. Louis, go to Ted Drewe's. BEST FROZEN CUSTARD EVER!" He sounded excited at the idea and said he would talk to a friend who lives in the area to hear about it.
By then, we were getting out of the car. It was a great ride and I'm glad my friend was there to see how the sytem really works. Slugging has become the popular topic of conversation among my group, so it's been great having someone put in their two cents.