Friday, 10 April 2009 11:00 pm
(no subject)
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deckardcanineWhat an unusual evening for my personal fortune.
It started with me heading for Arena Stage and proving terribly absent-minded. To my credit, I took extra care not to get on a train in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. But the green and yellow Metro lines share a track for several stages before diverging, and I didn't notice which line I was on until the divergence. I went back one station... and made the same mistake, which prompted me to say aloud, "You've gotta be kidding me." When I went back and paid closer attention to the colors, it took me several minutes to realize that I was standing at the wrong track.
When I arrived at Arena, I didn't see anyone in my family right away. Oh no, I thought, did I come to the wrong theater after all? Nope. It turned out that instead of being 25 minutes late, I was 5 minutes too early to sign up. The stage at Crystal City calls for ushers a half-hour later than the Lincoln Theater. It seemed the Powers That Be were looking out for me despite, or perhaps because of, my inattentiveness.
As I ushered, one of the patrons held out a dollar bill for me. I told him that he wasn't expected to tip ushers at Arena (our payment is free viewings), but he said I deserved it for doing him a service. I accepted in mild astonishment.
Funnily enough, I could've used that dollar a half-hour earlier when I bought a $2 cookie and had only a twenty and a one. Being the first customer at the stand, I caught the vendor initially unprepared to make change. Then he gave me 18 ones, because that drawer was overloaded. Now my wallet's too stuffed to stay closed.
The worst part of my evening: losing my Metro SmarTrip card. I didn't notice until after my folks drove me home. I'd never lost such a card before in the nearly 5 years I've used them. It just had to happen at the very start of a weekend, meaning a maximum wait time before anyone can see to canceling and replacing the card. There's a substantial amount of money on it, too; I can only hope it didn't fall into unscrupulous hands. I've sent an email, but the transit authority's Web site doesn't make it obvious what to write if you don't know the card's number. I wrote everything else I thought might be relevant. At least this isn't near the end of the month, when I'd be getting an influx of Smart Benefits.
It started with me heading for Arena Stage and proving terribly absent-minded. To my credit, I took extra care not to get on a train in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. But the green and yellow Metro lines share a track for several stages before diverging, and I didn't notice which line I was on until the divergence. I went back one station... and made the same mistake, which prompted me to say aloud, "You've gotta be kidding me." When I went back and paid closer attention to the colors, it took me several minutes to realize that I was standing at the wrong track.
When I arrived at Arena, I didn't see anyone in my family right away. Oh no, I thought, did I come to the wrong theater after all? Nope. It turned out that instead of being 25 minutes late, I was 5 minutes too early to sign up. The stage at Crystal City calls for ushers a half-hour later than the Lincoln Theater. It seemed the Powers That Be were looking out for me despite, or perhaps because of, my inattentiveness.
As I ushered, one of the patrons held out a dollar bill for me. I told him that he wasn't expected to tip ushers at Arena (our payment is free viewings), but he said I deserved it for doing him a service. I accepted in mild astonishment.
Funnily enough, I could've used that dollar a half-hour earlier when I bought a $2 cookie and had only a twenty and a one. Being the first customer at the stand, I caught the vendor initially unprepared to make change. Then he gave me 18 ones, because that drawer was overloaded. Now my wallet's too stuffed to stay closed.
The worst part of my evening: losing my Metro SmarTrip card. I didn't notice until after my folks drove me home. I'd never lost such a card before in the nearly 5 years I've used them. It just had to happen at the very start of a weekend, meaning a maximum wait time before anyone can see to canceling and replacing the card. There's a substantial amount of money on it, too; I can only hope it didn't fall into unscrupulous hands. I've sent an email, but the transit authority's Web site doesn't make it obvious what to write if you don't know the card's number. I wrote everything else I thought might be relevant. At least this isn't near the end of the month, when I'd be getting an influx of Smart Benefits.