Couchadelphia (Part 3)
DC to Philadelphia
"Good morning. I hope you have a good day. There are grits in the fridge," I mumbled. Or at least that is what I tried to say. Only Melissa can say for sure what actually came out of my mouth. It was 7 am, and I wasn't fully awake.
At 7:15 am, armed with only vague recollections of attempting to speak with a sleep-leaden tongue, I awoke more fully and wondered why my alarm hadn't sounded. After a fatalist moment of deciding that I could no longer trust my phone alarm, I rolled over for "just five more minutes."
At 7:30 am, my alarm sounded. I officially declared myself awake. And then was pleasantly surprised to see Melissa exit the apartment. I was able to wish her a good day, properly.
After that, I checked my email on my phone, and attempted to update my people to the fact that despite yesterday's fiasco, I was safely ensconced in our nation's capital. Sadly, GDocs over a mobile browser does not allow you to email your viewers.
So, with Seth's permission, I borrowed Melissa's computer and sent the email. While I was at it, I also managed to do a little over a hour's worth of work, telecommuting. Though it actually took me 1.5 hours to do. Then I quickly dressed, mailed oDesk about a problem withdrawing funds, received a reply from Dad, remade the couch, and expanded on my dislike of TFA.
After that, Seth had to go to work and so I needed to exit the apartment.
"Which way to the red line?" I asked.
"I'm driving you," he replied.
And so it was. Seth kindly drove me almost the entire way to the Megabus stop. He dropped me off, mere blocks away.
On the way, I got to see sights of DC I'd never seen before, such as the embassies of the UK and South Africa, and the cherry blossoms next to the lake in front (or is it back) of the Jefferson memorial. It was magical.
After being dropped off, I had two hours to kill so I started by going to the USPS museum. It was warm, and I now appreciate stamps as an art form. Small, but art.
After that, I wandered around the general area of the Megabus DC parking lot. I think my impression of DC is that it is a city filled with people who have somewhere to be, and don't give much thought to those who don't have somewhere to be. This was especially evidenced by fact that the public library isn't open until 1 pm, but stays open until 9 pm.
The weather is super crappy. It is misting, but not actually raining, so an umbrella would be useless. The tiny mist drops settle on exposed skin and then the wind blows and it is too painful. Luckily, my gloves protected me from the worst of it.
After an hour of wandering around, I finally found a place to sit. It was on a wrought iron chair outside of the DC Community College, but it was a seat.
I sat for a while (20 minutes) while I started composing this post. After that, it was time to walk back to the Megabus parking lot. I was #3 in line to Philadelphia.
Within 15 minutes, a Megabus pulled in, being driven by my driver from yesterday. The people on the bus were coming from Raleigh. The bus turned completely off and the folks on board were all debussed.
"There is no way that this is my bus to Philadelphia," I thought. "It is a half an hour early, if so. And after yesterday, I've learned not to trust early Megabuses."
It turns out that this was, in fact, my bus. The new driver was loud. Repeated the destination multiple times, and had a clipboard with reservation numbers. She checked my reservation number against her sheet, before letting me on the bus. I should note that yesterday's driver debussed and was left behind in DC.
Why couldn't this level of some professionalism have been present in North Carolina yesterday?
As of now, I am sitting on the bus as it is driving out of DC. The WiFi isn't working. Apparently, it never does during rain. Compared to the bus I was on briefly yesterday, this bus has more legroom and AC outlets at each seat. Niiiice.
---
It is now 2:09 pm and the bus pulled off the highway along with a bunch of trucks. I didn't get a chance to see what the exit sign said, but I hoped that we were about to be weighed at a weigh station. Indeed, we were.
So I snapped some photos of the three minute affair for those who, like me, will never have an excuse to have our private vehicles weighed.
Today is turning out to be much better than yesterday, Megabus-wise.
---
Megabus arrived in Philadelphia, exactly on time. The bus dropped me off across the street from the Amtrak station and I was able to sneak inside to find a bathroom. I couldn't seem to locate one easily, so I went to Amtrak customer service.
"Excuse me. I just have a quick question," I offered to the lone woman sitting behind the customer service desk. Her expression was stony.
"Do you happen to know the location of the bathroom?"
At that, her expression changed to one of genuine warmth and she pointed me in the correct direction. Apparently this was one of the easier questions she has fielded today.
From there, I discovered that SEPTA and AMTRAK occupied entirely separate buildings and I had to go back out into the horrible drizzle in order to get to the SEPTA trolleys. Once there, I walked up to the token machines and discovered that they only take exact change. However, there were women in booths.
"Hi! Can I buy tokens with my card, here?" I asked another stony faced woman.
"No. Amtrak station," was all I received in reply.
Now, I'd been all over that Amtrak station in search of the bathroom, so I was fairly sure that there was no magical debit card token machine there. Nor was there a desk. Perhaps if I have time tomorrow, I'll be able to find this mythical card-to-token means of exchange, as I rarely carry cash, and especially not exact change for $3.10.
{I have noticed that in major cities, it is a much more cash-based economy. Where I'm from, a small town, almost everyone accepts plastic for everything.}
I did have a $5 bill, and one time in my wallet. With the change machine (which turns a $5 into 5 $1 coins), I was able to purchase a pair of tokens and so was eventually able to catch the SEPTA trolley that I needed. I showed up at Olivia's building and she came down to meet me. Her door man was marvelously kind and buzzed me in, even without Olivia being present.
After that, she and I took one look at the weather and decided to stay in. We snacked, caught up, and generally avoided the outside. I cooked Jenni Pot Pie (plus added chives) which was a hit for her entire house. I debated going out for the Couchadelphia welcome event, but decided to stay in on account of the weather.
Tomorrow, I hope to meet the Couchadelphians for a free tour of the Fed. I'll get to see shredded money!!!
And now, to prepare for bed and then go to sleep on Olivia's super comfy couch!
"Good morning. I hope you have a good day. There are grits in the fridge," I mumbled. Or at least that is what I tried to say. Only Melissa can say for sure what actually came out of my mouth. It was 7 am, and I wasn't fully awake.
At 7:15 am, armed with only vague recollections of attempting to speak with a sleep-leaden tongue, I awoke more fully and wondered why my alarm hadn't sounded. After a fatalist moment of deciding that I could no longer trust my phone alarm, I rolled over for "just five more minutes."
At 7:30 am, my alarm sounded. I officially declared myself awake. And then was pleasantly surprised to see Melissa exit the apartment. I was able to wish her a good day, properly.
After that, I checked my email on my phone, and attempted to update my people to the fact that despite yesterday's fiasco, I was safely ensconced in our nation's capital. Sadly, GDocs over a mobile browser does not allow you to email your viewers.
So, with Seth's permission, I borrowed Melissa's computer and sent the email. While I was at it, I also managed to do a little over a hour's worth of work, telecommuting. Though it actually took me 1.5 hours to do. Then I quickly dressed, mailed oDesk about a problem withdrawing funds, received a reply from Dad, remade the couch, and expanded on my dislike of TFA.
After that, Seth had to go to work and so I needed to exit the apartment.
"Which way to the red line?" I asked.
"I'm driving you," he replied.
And so it was. Seth kindly drove me almost the entire way to the Megabus stop. He dropped me off, mere blocks away.
On the way, I got to see sights of DC I'd never seen before, such as the embassies of the UK and South Africa, and the cherry blossoms next to the lake in front (or is it back) of the Jefferson memorial. It was magical.
After being dropped off, I had two hours to kill so I started by going to the USPS museum. It was warm, and I now appreciate stamps as an art form. Small, but art.
After that, I wandered around the general area of the Megabus DC parking lot. I think my impression of DC is that it is a city filled with people who have somewhere to be, and don't give much thought to those who don't have somewhere to be. This was especially evidenced by fact that the public library isn't open until 1 pm, but stays open until 9 pm.
The weather is super crappy. It is misting, but not actually raining, so an umbrella would be useless. The tiny mist drops settle on exposed skin and then the wind blows and it is too painful. Luckily, my gloves protected me from the worst of it.
After an hour of wandering around, I finally found a place to sit. It was on a wrought iron chair outside of the DC Community College, but it was a seat.
I sat for a while (20 minutes) while I started composing this post. After that, it was time to walk back to the Megabus parking lot. I was #3 in line to Philadelphia.
Within 15 minutes, a Megabus pulled in, being driven by my driver from yesterday. The people on the bus were coming from Raleigh. The bus turned completely off and the folks on board were all debussed.
"There is no way that this is my bus to Philadelphia," I thought. "It is a half an hour early, if so. And after yesterday, I've learned not to trust early Megabuses."
It turns out that this was, in fact, my bus. The new driver was loud. Repeated the destination multiple times, and had a clipboard with reservation numbers. She checked my reservation number against her sheet, before letting me on the bus. I should note that yesterday's driver debussed and was left behind in DC.
Why couldn't this level of some professionalism have been present in North Carolina yesterday?
As of now, I am sitting on the bus as it is driving out of DC. The WiFi isn't working. Apparently, it never does during rain. Compared to the bus I was on briefly yesterday, this bus has more legroom and AC outlets at each seat. Niiiice.
---
It is now 2:09 pm and the bus pulled off the highway along with a bunch of trucks. I didn't get a chance to see what the exit sign said, but I hoped that we were about to be weighed at a weigh station. Indeed, we were.
So I snapped some photos of the three minute affair for those who, like me, will never have an excuse to have our private vehicles weighed.
Today is turning out to be much better than yesterday, Megabus-wise.
---
Megabus arrived in Philadelphia, exactly on time. The bus dropped me off across the street from the Amtrak station and I was able to sneak inside to find a bathroom. I couldn't seem to locate one easily, so I went to Amtrak customer service.
"Excuse me. I just have a quick question," I offered to the lone woman sitting behind the customer service desk. Her expression was stony.
"Do you happen to know the location of the bathroom?"
At that, her expression changed to one of genuine warmth and she pointed me in the correct direction. Apparently this was one of the easier questions she has fielded today.
From there, I discovered that SEPTA and AMTRAK occupied entirely separate buildings and I had to go back out into the horrible drizzle in order to get to the SEPTA trolleys. Once there, I walked up to the token machines and discovered that they only take exact change. However, there were women in booths.
"Hi! Can I buy tokens with my card, here?" I asked another stony faced woman.
"No. Amtrak station," was all I received in reply.
Now, I'd been all over that Amtrak station in search of the bathroom, so I was fairly sure that there was no magical debit card token machine there. Nor was there a desk. Perhaps if I have time tomorrow, I'll be able to find this mythical card-to-token means of exchange, as I rarely carry cash, and especially not exact change for $3.10.
{I have noticed that in major cities, it is a much more cash-based economy. Where I'm from, a small town, almost everyone accepts plastic for everything.}
I did have a $5 bill, and one time in my wallet. With the change machine (which turns a $5 into 5 $1 coins), I was able to purchase a pair of tokens and so was eventually able to catch the SEPTA trolley that I needed. I showed up at Olivia's building and she came down to meet me. Her door man was marvelously kind and buzzed me in, even without Olivia being present.
After that, she and I took one look at the weather and decided to stay in. We snacked, caught up, and generally avoided the outside. I cooked Jenni Pot Pie (plus added chives) which was a hit for her entire house. I debated going out for the Couchadelphia welcome event, but decided to stay in on account of the weather.
Tomorrow, I hope to meet the Couchadelphians for a free tour of the Fed. I'll get to see shredded money!!!
And now, to prepare for bed and then go to sleep on Olivia's super comfy couch!