Hanging out with Rochester and Joy

Friday night, Rochester and I hung out. I mean, we're still friends, so we're going to keep hanging out . . The only thing is . . it totally felt like a date. We figured out that neither of us had plans. . although, I think it's one of those situations where neither person makes plans, because they'd kinda rather hang out with each other. In my defense, I thought I had plans with my cousin, but that didn't end up happening.

He asked what I wanted to do, and my first idea was . . "Ooh, ooh, let's go sightseeing!" The only thing I've seen since I've lived here is the WWII Memorial, so I haven't really been sightseeing for years. He didn't get overly excited about my plan, so I suggested we go to Old Town Alexandria for dinner. I love Old Town. It's sooo cute, and if I stick around for a while, I'd love to live there (even though the commute is longer).

We ended up eating at the Chart House on the waterfront. The seafood was delicious. Afterward, we got ice cream and went to a movie at an old historic theater.

These pictures don't at all do the area justice:











































We walked around Old Town and happened into a store full of eclectic items and lots of souvenirs. Toward the back of the store, there were several tribal mask-things and a sign on the wall in terrible handwriting that said, "If you shoplift, you will be cursed." I, of course, had to laugh and make fun of the store and how random and weird it was. First of all, I don't know why anyone would want to steal anything from this place and second, I think I'd be a little more nervous if the law were to get involved than to risk these folks putting a curse on me. As we walked out the door, I saw another sign mid-laugh . . . "You insult . . You cursed." I couldn't stop laughing. Apparently I'm not the only one that found that place to be an easy target for ridicule.

Weekend on the Metro
Saturday night, I was going to meet my cousins (Joy's in town) at Zaytinya where they serve the most amazing Greek & Lebanese mezzes (tapas). I decided that rather than pay for garage parking or valet service, I'd just take the metro. Bad idea. I had to wait 10 minutes for a train, which I suppose isn't bad, but I'm not used to waiting even 1 minute during the week. It wasn't crowded, so when I spotted two empty seats, I promptly plopped down in one of them, leaving a seat for another passenger next to me. Another bad idea. Would standing have killed me?
No sooner had I sat down, a crazy, dirty man stepped on and greeted me. He then proceeded to ask if I had a boyfriend, to which I emphatically answered, "YES". He told me that he dates white girls and just as I feared, came to sit next to me . . aaaahhh. He was dirty, people. Dirty. He smelled. I immediately picked up my phone and pretended to be on a call until my stop, where he kept tapping my shoulder asking my name as I waited for the doors to open. Remind me next time, no matter how inconvenient, to just drive.

You Just Don't Do That
After Zaytinya, CousinJ dropped Joy and I off in Georgetown to hang out for a couple of hours. Joy is . . a "character". I guess that's the only way to describe her. I love her with all my heart, because there is no one like her. As we walked down the street, she spoke to every homeless person we saw, either dropping a penny in their cup or saying "Sorry, I gave all my change to another 'one'". She told one homeless man in an electric wheelchair that she liked his dinosaur cup holder! After getting ice cream at Haagen-Dazs, hanging out at a piano bar, and then Barnes & Noble, we hailed a cab to go home. She was so excited about riding in a cab that she jumped into the front seat and started chatting with the Ethiopian cab driver. I could see him looking over at her and practically salivating. She told him she liked Indian food and actually asked him if he wanted to go get some! Of course, she would never have done it, but she is just random and crazy like that. The cab driver didn't think she was kidding and suggested that he drop me off since I clearly didn't want to go along. I couldn't believe this was happening. I yanked on her ponytail and directed the cab driver to the corner where we would get out and walk a block, because he didn't need to know exactly where we were going. I was so exasperated at her behavior that, instead of staying the night, I asked for a ride home. Hopefully today she will show some signs of normalcy. :)