Morning: The line at the commuter lot was crazy long. I'm glad I still left early despite not having to be at work until 8:30 a.m. As soon as I got to the lot, I realized I had forgotten my lunch -- on the day I actually pack it. I called my mom (who was supposed to be on her way to work) to see if she could just drop it off at the commuter lot on her way there. She was already on the road. Erg ...
One nice car after another came by and picked up all the people in line in front of me ... and I got stuck in the black Toyota sedan that smelled of stale smoke. Yummy. I offered the front seat to the gentleman who had been standing in front of me, but he declined saying he prefers the backseat anyway. I found out why -- enough space to comfortably fall asleep.
I got in the car and thanked the driver for the ride, but got no response. When I looked over at him, I realized it was because he was plugged in. He had earbuds in his ears which were hooked up to the SIRIUS handheld radio he had mounted on his dashboard. The car was silent while "Stern Spotlight" was pouring into his brain. This is the first time I have been in a car when slugging and the radio was not on. But that wasn't what bothered me. Driving with head/earphones on is illegal (for obvious reasons). Made me uncomfortable, but what could I do about it? I decided I'd check out and plugged into my iPod.
The car was kinda dirty, but not disgusting. It was that "lived in" kind of dirty where you know he drives it around a lot and either is too lazy or doesn't have the time to clean it (though my money is on the former). He was wearing a short-sleeve, black button-up shirt and dark olive slacks. His red hair was messed up like he had just gotten up from a nap and he wore oval rimless glasses. He had a ring on his right hand that looked way too small for his finger. The skin was bulging on its edges. He drove with his hand at the 5 and 7 o'clock positions -- his arms were practically stretched all the way out with how far back he was sitting. He kept glancing over at me which made me nervous. I never made eye contact, but I was curious as to what he kept looking at. I assumed it was my iPod, maybe to catch what I was listening to in order to figure me out through my choice of music ... who knows.
There were a lot of cops on the road today. I counted eight with their lights flashing, but there were a good number more sitting around and waiting for their catch.
Driving into the city still gets to me. I love coming up over the hill towards the Pentagon and suddenly you can see all of D.C. in front of you. It's awesome in the early morning when I get there because the sky is still pink from the sun rising and you get to see a plane leave or land from Reagan National and watch it fly over all the memorials. There's a new site on the drive and, even though I've seen it before, it still seems new. It's the Air Force Memorial.
I laugh every time I see it because my dad once showed me an e-mail that was sent among Marines describing the purpose of the memorial. It's dedicated to the Air Force and is a tribute to flight and engineering (obviously). But the joke among Marines is: If it's supposed to be a dedication to the Air Force, there is an element missing.
I thought it was funny.
Evening: The line was long again at the Pentagon, but not as bad as it was the other day. Had to wait about 15 minutes for a ride. Meanwhile, I kept myself entertained with the man behind me and the man two in front. The man behind me was Asian in looks, but spoke like he's lived here all his life. He was on the phone with his wife/girlfriend and kept telling her how to discipline their child -- put her in time out, spank her, take TV away from her. Meanwhile, the man two places ahead of me kept wandering and pacing in his little spot on the sidewalk. He was fidgeting and walking kind of strange, like he desperately needed to go to the bathroom, but didn't want to leave the line (which is stupid because even if he were to get into a car, he'd still have to wait until we got to the commuter lot where he would then have to get in his car and drive home).
Myself and the woman in front of me were picked up by a red Toyota Prius. I've seen them everywhere -- I think they're one of the most popular hybrids -- and it was a matter of time until I got to ride in one. This is my second time EVER being in a hybrid and this was different than the first.
My only hybrid experience was in a Honda Civic owned by a friend that lives down the street from me. The Civic was set up like any other car, complete with ignition and a dashboard similar to any other car.
The Prius, on the other hand, was a completely different set-up. There was no ignition ... but there was a power button! And the typical display for speed, RPM, gas gauge and everything (which usually sits right behind the steering wheel) was instead set back and under the windsheild. So weird ... it almost didn't feel right. The dials/buttons for A/C, radio and all that fun jazz were gone, too. There was a large screen set in the middle of the dashboard with four buttons on its sides (two on either side) which would control which screen you view (Climate, Entertainment, etc.) and everything is touch-screen from there. I would assume that's dangerous as it's more distracting than just reaching over and turning a knob to crank up the A/C. I wanted to talk to the driver about the car but I held back. I was good. I was also curious as to why he picked us up. He's a hybrid ... he didn't have to. He could have driven by himself. The kindness of some people ...
Now I just need to get picked up by a motorcycle. Though I don't think that's even legal.
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