A Tall Order

One of the reasons I tend to stick to "boring" wish list items like books or date milkshake mix is because the stuff I would really like just doesn't exist yet, or at least in a form I would find acceptable enough to warrant becoming an early adopter. My Garmin 60CS bit the dust last month, and I've had it so long that it's just cheaper to buy a new one. So of course Garmin releases the upgrades to everything but my line of GPSrs. But wait.. Magellan released a new line that looks kind of interesting...

A part of me would love to get an all in one device like the new Magellan Triton. But then I realize, it's been awhile since I've really used my ipod and the built-in camera would probably be used about as often as the one on my Treo (once or twice a year tops). The only thing I'd definitely use would be the flashlight, because Paul manages to always sneak my little flashlight and headlamp out of my caching bag. Thats kind of an expensive upgrade if the only additional feature I used was the flashlight.

I am at the point where I take a GPSr, Treo 600, camera, laptop, power inverter, eneloop batters, along with various cables/chargers when I go on a caching trip. There's a reason why I rarely go on roadtrips with companions who want to call shotgun. My passenger seat quickly turns into a disaster area when I get everything hooked up. (Ok, even more of a disaster area than it is after taking a 2 year old on a week long roadtrip.)

In a perfect world, I'd be able to get down to a bluetooth capable GPSr/pda phone combo for navigation, so I could leave my laptop and battery charger in my overnight bag, my camera in my caching bag, and the inverter for emergencies. And also, Garmin would go ahead and announce their upgrade to the 60CSx line before I lose my patience and buy the current model. (Which was exactly what happened when I got my 60CS. The new model was announced about a month and a half after I got it.)

Vexing Things

That pretty much sums up perfectly why I quit going to Subway. Well, and the all the ones in Virginia put their cheese on the wrong part of my meatball sub. I am painfully predictable when it comes to eating out, and always get a meatball sub with parmesan cheese when I go to Subway. Back in Louisiana and Texas, they always placed the cheese triangles on the bottom of a hot sandwich and avoided "Unnecessary Dairy Overlap". Then they would sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the meatballs, and close the sandwich.

But for some reason (apathy?), they manage to create even more unnecessary dairy overlap in Virginia Subways. They put the meatballs first, then lay the cheese so that it overlaps on top of the meatballs, and then put the parmesan cheese on. Maybe I'm just weird (highly possible) or too picky to be happy with a sub shop sandwich (also possible), but I find myself reverting to my early college days, when the only sandwich I look forward to eating is a pbj that I made.

V For Vexation

Paul looks out the window of the Metro towards the Vienna/Fairfax GMU station platform.

When you're in the DC metro area during April, you have to go down to the tidal basin to take pictures of the cherry blossoms to show to the folks back home. I usually take the Orange line into Smithsonian Station, which is a short walk from the Washington Monument and the cherry blossoms. Seems like a lot of people like to visit their family when the cherry blossoms are supposed to be out, which means we have a fair number of visitors on the Metro right now.

I can deal with the tourists not knowing about keeping to the right if you're not walking down the Metro escalators. They likely don't realize why the commuters are shooting them irritated looks. But this is relatively minor compared to some of the things they do.

On the way back from DC, the metro was pretty packed. I had my big stroller because it's more suited to day trips, but I also carry my hip sling just in case I do have to stand. It's a little tricky to manage both solo, but it's quite doable when you have both parents there. Most of the stations I've been in have signs that tell you when the next train is due, so you have a good idea of when to fold your stroller if you don't use a sling.

There was a couple who also had a huge stroller. They took a row of seats with enough room to stow a folded stroller in front of them. They put their child on their lap, and then turned the stroller so it was blocking 90% of the aisle to keep it from rolling. There were 4 seats and a bit of standing room behind them that went unused because no one could get around the stroller. The baby wasn't in the stroller, there were no packages that would prevent it from being folded, it had brakes, and perhaps more importantly, they had a place to keep it out of the way.

Yet there it was, blocking the aisle for 15 stops. It probably would have been more, but stop #15 was the end of the line. My jaw must have hit the ground when I overheard someone ask them if they could turn the stroller so they could get to the empty seats and the father gave them a "and you're bothering me about this because....?" look before returning to the City Paper.