Taxi Rides

Cab drivers are hella peculiar here in DC. Okay, granted I never once rode in a cab when I was in LA because they were really expensive and there wasn’t a need to ever ride one. But, in DC you can always find reasons to justify riding a cab namely because they aren’t very expensive. Apparently there is a “zone system” or whatever and it's like $6 something for every zone you ride in – I don’t really care about that because it’s still cheaper than LA.

Anyway, so I’ve had two memorable cabbie encounters so far. Let’s start off with the bad one, shall we?

I finished having lunch with a friend by Union Station and decided since I was totally late I needed to cab it back to work. This way I would’ve taken an hour and 45 minute lunch, rather than two hours. This cabbie picks me up and he seemed normal at first.

“Do you know about how long it’ll take us to get from here to 400 Maryland SW, the Department of Education?”
“Well, I don’t know. I don’t want to say anything. I would be held accountable for my lie if I told you it is going to take us ten minutes, but ended up being twelve”.

Okay...WTF...

So, I’m getting really impatient because this guy has no idea what he’s doing. He’s cursing all the tourists in the city because apparently they don’t know how to drive and he is the innocent one. In the meanwhile, there is an ominous voice that is saying these weird things like, “your wife was made for your pleasure” and shit like that. I listened some more and it turns out it was the Scripture. (Sorry Asian-Christian friends, I didn’t mean to say your Scripture was shit). I look around in this guy’s cab, and there were like weird Jesus pictures all along his dashboard. Nothing against Christian people – I know a lot of normal Christians – but damn, that was hella weird and freaked me out a little bit. Why couldn’t he just play smooth jazz like the North African cabbies do?

This guy talks to himself the entire way cursing everything in sight, then we finally get to my building. I tossed him the money and ran the hell out of there. I was glad I made it out alive and still Muslim.

Okay, gotta do work. I’ll give you the nice story later. Maybe weepydonut can blog about our experience going from the monuments to M Street?

*EDIT*: I actually rode a cab once in LA to take the CBEST exam. It was less than three miles and cost $22. Further proving my point that LA cabs suck.

Don’t Ever Take Candy from a Stranger?

Have you ever heard of that saying? Most of us probably heard it time and time again from our parents, teachers, and older siblings as children. We were told never to talk to strangers, let alone take anything they may potentially give us.

For some reason, I never really bought into all of that. Not that I believe that humans are inherently good or trustworthy, but I do feel that the vast majority of people aren’t going to try and hurt you if you’re just asking for help.

I have a pretty good sense of direction – or, rather, I used to before I got to DC – but those few times that I do get lost, I don’t hesitate at all to roll down my window and ask the driver next to me for help. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just go to the nearest gas station and ask the station manager where I need to go. Some people may argue that it’s not the safest thing to do, and I guess they’re right to an extent. There definitely is the chance that someone may pull out a shot gun, give me the wrong directions on purpose, and a million other things that could possibly go awry. Nevertheless, I still continue to ask real people, rather than my 411 Cingular Operator for help when need be. It’s just a lot more personal that way.

Today, for example, someone random helped me out again. I was walking past Union Station fumbling with my gym bag, purse, and pseudo-Chai when all of a sudden I trip and the pseudo-Chai lands all over my white button-down shirt. Needless to say, it could have been a horrible disaster. The guy handing out the “Reader Express” papers came by and gave me a water bottle so I could dab it and the stain would go away. It did end up going away in under five minutes. I think I would’ve done the same thing if I saw that happen to someone else too.

With all that’s happening in the world these days, it’s nice to know that there are people out there that wont take advantage of you and will help you out whenever you may need it. Now go do something nice for the next person you see: showing off your pearly whites with an irresistible smile, offering your seat to someone on the Metro, or helping that poor twenty-something girl with the stained shirt get her life together.

Oink, Oink

At work, there is an intern from Ireland who is here for the summer. He is the most adorable thing and obviously has a very cute accent. Anyway, it's always nice to hear him talk about his experiences here in the states because he offers a fresh, new perspective on important issues. One of of the issues discussed today was sandwiches:

"Why do you Americans have gigantic sandwiches? When I ordered a ham sandwich, I was expecting two pieces of bread and two pieces of ham. Instead, there were monsterous amounts of cheese, mayo, and ham...it was practically saying 'oink, oink' to me as I was eating it".

I Think I'm in Love

Last night after a meeting, I started walking towards the U St. Metro Station. It probably wasn’t the brightest idea because it was around 9:30pm and I was by myself. Anyway, absorbing the sights and sounds around me, I saw it…

CakeLove and Love Café.

Across the street from one another with cupcakes and cakes in all their glory. I couldn’t believe it. Now, I’ve heard about this bakery from numerous sources saying it’s the best dessert place DC has to offer. I forced myself not to go for this long, fearing I would become addicted to their cupcakes – I wanted to attempt to avoid what similarly happened to me in LA with Diddy Riese and their cookies.

I stood there contemplating whether or not to go in. My gym bag in my right hand reminded me how I sacrificed my lunch hour huffing and puffling on a treadmill. I dragged myself home.

Around 4am last night I came up with the brilliant idea I could stop by CakeLove before I go to work – even though it is completely out of the way for me. I did it anyway. I went there at 8am and grabbed a vanilla with strawberry frosting cupcake. It was $3.30 and oh-so-decadent.

What's A Desi Girl To Do?

Being new in a city brings about a lot of challenges for a normal individual. Now, if you're a desi girl there comes a whole slew of logistical issues you need to figure out. Namely:

1. Where do I get my eyebrows threaded?
2. Where do I buy fabulous pairs of shalwar kameez and saris?
3. Where can I have my fix of mango shakes and various metai?
4. Where can I get a mani/pedi so my brown feet don't look so busted from the tanning, high heels, and walking I have to do around this city?

Luckily, I was able to solve #1 quite quickly through the powers of google. Initially, I kept on getting hits for super expensive places in Georgetown. I don't know any sane brown woman that would spend $25 on a 10 minute process, especially me because I am used to paying $8 for amazing brows in Los Angeles. I finally stumbled upon a place called Threads that does them for $12. I wasn't too happy about the price, but the girls are nice there and I really don't have any other choice.

#2 and #3 are still under investigation. Please comment if you know of any places.

Now, I know a lot of girls may feel that manicures and pedicures aren't necessary. I agree to an extent. I really don't feel like there's any point in getting a regular manicure because at least on me, the damn polish chips after 2 days and they're ruined after 6 days or so (of course, I don't touch them up at all). Pedicures on the other hand -- especially if you're one to wear the open toed styles -- are very recommended. Today at work I was looking down at my feet and wanted to cry. I had to make the tough decision between going to the gym and getting a pedicure. I felt the latter was much more of a priority.

I went ahead and googled various places in DC to get a hour of pleasure for my feet. Why on earth would you have an outdated directory listing for like half the mani/pedi places in DC? These websites suck. Anyway, I finally found a place that seemed somewhat decent and near work. I went ahead and called them, and the guy asked me if I needed any threading done. I asked him how much it was for eyebrows: $28. Um...no thanks. I should've taken that as a sign to ask for the pedicure price, but of course I didn't. I went on their website and found their prices; $43 for a pedicure (conveniently leaving $7 for tip). I pretty much fell out of my seat. FORTY THREE DOLLARS?! WTF DO THEY DO TO YOUR NAILS? GIVE YOU NEW ONES?

I seriously could not justify that to myself. I called around to a couple of more places (out of service numbers, mostly) and finally found an Asian place that was willing to do them for $28. I'm really not happy, but I don't think I have any other choice at this point. I swear, it's difficult enough being female, and even harder being desi.

*EDIT: The pedicure was actually $38, not $28 (freakin' accents). I was pretty upset about it, but I ended up getting free lunch courtesy of a nice guy at the Au Bou Pain register, so I guess that makes up for overpriced nails.

Twenty-Two Ain't So Bad

Happy Birthday to Me.