Metro advertising - overanalyzed

When I see the words, "...your life depends on it" next to a photo of a vigilante serial killer, I take that threat seriously. As in, if I do not get my ass to the Reston Town Center for the Light the Night Walk, I will be chopped up into tiny pieces and disposed of discreetly. This is the visceral reaction I have when I see this billboard.

To be fair, it does say "Michael C. Hall" under his photo, and not "Dexter Morgan." The actor is a Cancer survivor after undergoing treatment for Hodgkins lymphoma, making him a perfectly appropriate and passionate spokesperson for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This information brings a new level of respect to the message, "Walk because someone's life does," when coming from the actor.

The problem is, if you conduct a man-on-the-street interview and ask people to identify the person in the picture, I'm guessing the majority will recognize him as either a serial killer or a mild-mannered funeral director. If you think that the general public is able to disassociate actors from their characters, talk to Entourage's Rex Lee. If he lives to be 100 years old, he will forever be greeted with shouts of "Lloyyyyyyyd!"

The advertisement is really quite brilliant. Between Michael C. Hall's personal life and his on-screen persona, the message can be deconstructed as:

WALK as if your life depends on it. Because if you don't, Dexter will find you and kill you.
WALK because someone's life does. No really though, Michael C. Hall is a Cancer survivor and this is a very serious disease. It's the right thing to do.

I'm Drenched. Life is Good!

I took the Metro home tonight and when I got to the top of the escalator, I ran into a crowd of people standing around. Some of them were reading a newspaper or looking around nervously, but most of them were just... standing. They were waiting for the rain to stop.

It was raining pretty heavily, but it's warm outside and 8:00 at night. It's not like these were people on their way to a business meeting or anything. Cleveland Park is not known for its Tuesday nightlife, it is very probable that wherever these people were headed they would be in for the night. I'm making assumptions, but no kidding - there were like 15 people just standing there waiting for the rain to stop so they can go on with their lives. Fifteen umbrellaless soles gathered under the shelter of the Metro entrance - reading a newspaper, checking their watch, all contemplating a big decision. It's raining. What to do?

I can understand not wanting to get rained upon. When my naturally curly hair gets wet I look like Lamont from Sanford & Son. I'm sure this unusually large crowd of people had their own reasons for not wanting to go out in the rain. But to just stand there and wait until it lets up? There was no lightning, no thunder, no wind or severe weather indications. Just heavy drops of rain. I'm really really perplexed at the number of people standing there putting their lives on hold because of rain.

While the huddled masses waited around, I looked up to the sky and challenged the rain to do its worst. I splashed through puddles and let the cool rain drench my entire body and it felt good to be reminded me why I refuse to grow up. At what point in life do people give up the fascination and excitement over the little things? When you're a kid, the only reason you can't go play in the rain is because your parents won't let you. I'm not suggesting adults should go back to splashing mud puddles and having snowball fights every day. It certainly wasn't on my schedule tonight to splash through the rain and walk drenched into my cold, air-conditioned apartment but when life hands you lemons, play in the rain!

I'm baffled by the number of people held at bay by the rain. Grown-ups are boring. The world would be a better place if everyone took the time to play in the rain again. Rake the leaves up into a pile in the yard and them jump in! Take off your shoes and run through the grass until your toenails turn green! Remember what it's like to be a kid! So what if you have to wash your own clothes and wipe your own nose now? Just because you have a mortgage and a career doesn't mean you can't appreciate the little things in life.

Alive and Zipping

Things in DC have died down since the inauguration and it's back to business as usual. A bad economy and a lack of good subject matter have kept me away from the blog recently. I'm hoping for an adventure next week when I drive to see a Bloodhound Gang concert. Arranging the road trip alone was a bit of an adventure, but a promising one. The concert is close to Baltimore, far from the leash that has tied me to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority since I moved to the city. I love DC and I love how easy it is to get around without having a car, but I couldn't pass up the chance to see my favorite band again. The show is on Monday, February 16th and I've had tickets for months, but I was weighing my options for finding transportation to the concert. I decided it was time to sign up for a Zipcard.

A Zipcard is a great thing and probably new to those of you far away from a major metropolitan area. Around here it's no big deal, it's just a plastic card (like a credit card) that you use to unlock cars. I realize how ridiculous that probably sounds if you're new to this concept, but I assure you it's entirely legit. It's a car-sharing program and they have hundreds of cars located throughout the city. Once you have an account, you go online and reserve any available vehicle and if it's available, you take it for a spin. If you just need to run to the grocery store, you can rent a zipcar at an hourly rate, or you can rent it for the entire day. It's incredibly convenient, although it is a bit gimmicky. Members are referred to as "zipsters" and each vehicle has its own name and personality. I will be driving Matrix MacDaddy to the concert. I'm really looking forward to meeting this apparent Scottish Toyota. Who knew?

I signed up to be a zipster just for the concert, but I have to admit that the program makes me feel a sense of freedom I didn't have before. There are about 6 zipcars within a couple of blocks from my apartment and they have their own reserved parking spots. Now when I get home from the concert after midnight I don't have to worry about the Metro being closed or having to drop off a rental car at an airport somewhere, I can park my car a block away and get right to bed. Since I'm signed up and have my Zipcard, I can now reserve any car I want whenever it's available. That means if I'm at home watching a Taco Bell commercial and get a sudden craving, I can log onto the Zipcar website and hop in the car right outside and run through the drive-thru. Of course, that also means a bottom line of over $10 just for a bean burrito and some cheezy potatoes, but I must admit that there have been some nights when an accessible Taco Bell would be worth twice that much money.

In all likelihood, I will not have the budget nor the poor judgement to get a $10 burrito late at night, but I will celebrate the freedom of knowing I can do so. In the few months I've lived in Washington I really have been a slave to the Metro system and this gives me access to so much more of the city. It's not as cheap as the Metro, but the prices are pretty reasonable when compared to the price of owning a car and paying for fuel and insurance. I can't wait to see the BHG in concert on Monday and I am so excited to be able to drive again!

If you are reading this and you are in an area where they have Zipcars, I added a link to the Zipcar site where you can save $25 if you sign up. While I think it's a great program, the promo on this blog entry is completely selfish on my part. If you use the promotional code to sign up for an account, I'll save money on my account too.

The People You Meet... and Avoid

As I learn my way around DC, I feel the need to constantly keep my guard up. I try not to look vulnerable when I make stupid mistakes - like waiting for the Metro to arrive for fifteen minutes, only to realize that I was waiting for the wrong train. That's what happened on Tuesday night. I was waiting for the Red Line to Glenmont. I live on the NW side of DC and Glenmont is Northeast in Maryland. So, I was on the right line, but headed in the opposite direction. And it took me a really long time to figure that out. So, when the wrong train arrived, I just joined the herd of people exiting that train, and walked inconspicuously over to the other side of the Metro station. I'm so smooth. It's not easy - I go to great lengths to look like I know where I'm going.

So, I may be smooth but my timing sucks. I was too late and had to wait another 15 minutes for my train. So, I walked to the other side and sat down on one of the two benches they kindly provide for their hundreds of thousands of customers each weekday. As I was reading my copy of Express (which I receive from a kind man in a bright yellow vest every morning) I had an eerie feeling like I was being watched. I looked up and saw a white haired old man in the middle of the station looking in my direction. I didn't feel threatened or anything like that - he was old and carried a cane. I think I could take him, but I would never have to, the station was very busy by this time. But I'm new to the city so I've always got my guard up.

I kept reading, but watching the old dude out of the corner of my eye. He was inching toward me ever-so-slowly. I look up, he's not moving, but he's looking right at me; I look away. I look up again and he's not moving, but he's a little bit closer and still looking right at me. It was kind of weird; like a senior citizen in stealth mode. Now I'm starting to get distracted from my paper b/c I'm thinking, "What is this guy's deal?" Is he a pervert? I'm leaning forward - is he looking down my shirt? Is he eyeballing my duffel bag? What? He keeps looking over at me!

While I was pretending to ignore him, he came up closer and was nearly standing right over me. It was time for a confrontation. He was about to invade my personal space.

I look up at him quickly and lock eyes to challenge him. I need to let him know I mean business. He speaks first: "Pardon me, but could you possibly move over a bit so I can sit down?"

Oh.

How strange.

The man with a cane was actually just a physically handicapped person who wanted to sit down in a busy station. How was I to know??

This made me realize the extent of my hyper-awareness while I'm on my own out here. It's all about me. I was so busy trying to figure out what this guy was up to that I didn't even notice the obvious. I felt like a total jerk.

For now, I think I'm still better off in my hyper-aware state than to just assume every old man is just a nice but weary traveller in need of help. Once I feel confident that I know my way around I'll let my guard down a bit and perhaps stay out by myself later than 10pm. But while I'm still learning the bus schedule and the Metro lines, I'm afraid a few senior citizens may fall victim to my vigilance.