I stopped by the pharmacy after work. It was entertaining. There was a bit of line – unsurprising since it was 5:30 and they close at 6:00 – but it moved at a decent rate (nothing like the slow hell that is CVS), so I had no complaints. A couple of my fellow line denizens were heavy on the crazy, though.

A few minutes earlier it had rained hard, a deluge from the sky, and clearly a couple people in the line had been caught in it because they were soaked through. I felt bad for them. One woman who was drenched was wearing a white shirt, which was… unfortunate.

A lady in front of me asked an employee if there was a bathroom, but there wasn’t. They directed her to a church or the Library of Congress, both a block or two away. She spent most of the rest of the time in line mumbling about how badly she had to pee.

A cranky pharmacy employee approached the line to inform us that we needed to “MOVE BACK! YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO STAND THAT CLOSE TO THE COUNTER FOR PRIVACY! THAT’S WHY THIS SIGN IS HERE!” She was referring to the sign that clearly stated that people were supposed to wait there so folks at the counter could have privacy. (I was several people back in the line at that point, so wasn’t anywhere near the sign threshold. Also, I always stand at the sign because I’m an obsessive rule follower. I kind of annoy myself that way.) Though she was right, the crankiness was obnoxious. The line moved half a foot back, though the first couple of people were still past The Sign, but the employee wandered away, putting no more effort into enforcing compliance.

While I was standing there, I wasn’t sure if a woman in front of the woman who had to pee was actually in line. She kind of wandered around. As the line moved forward, the wishy-washy line dweller moved more clearly into the line. The woman who had to pee complained loudly to her companion about the other lady cutting in. Everyone, including her companion and the wishy-washy line dweller, ignored her rants.

The lady in the drenched white shirt completed her transaction and turned to leave. The person behind her (who, yes, had been in front the sign, but not egregiously so) moved forward to be next, and the drenched white shirt lady (who had also been standing in front of the sign, even more so, when waiting) flipped out. “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE BEHIND THE SIGN! I WANT MY PRIVACY! SHE SAID YOU HAVE TO BE BEHIND THE SIGN!”

The wishy-washy line dweller completed her transaction and turned to go, and woman who had to pee moved forward to take her place. They met in the middle with the zig-zag dance where you’re not sure whether to go right or left and neither is the other person.  After only a couple zigs, they continued on their paths, and the woman who had to pee turned and yelled, “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO SAY ‘EXCUSE ME’! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU! BITCH!”

My turn was next, so I merely paid, smiled at the pleasantly efficient pharmacy employee who gave me my drugs, said “Thanks,” and left. I felt no need to yell at anyone.

I came into work an hour earlier than usual today. I do this on days when I come in alone instead of with my carpool-mate because that way I can get a good parking spot. The sun popped over the horizon just as I was crossing the Anacostia River. I’ve lived here for almost 5 years, and it still freaks me out to see the sun so low in the sky. (In other words, mountains are still my mindset.) Everything was very orange, and the sun reflected on the river. A  boathouse and docks were to my left, and I saw a crew team rowing past the boats. It was so picturesque. I damped down the usual uneasiness at seeing the low sun and enjoyed the rest of the drive with my music loud, enjoying the blossoming trees and the quickly greening branches.

As I pulled into the work compound, the guards had hard hats on. What the…? I was perplexed for a couple seconds, and then the memory of yesterday’s bombs in Boston flooded back. I’d completely forgotten overnight. The peace of the morning was immediately replaced by the unease that comes with these sorts of incidents – great awfulness where, like almost everyone else, there is nothing I can do but watch the news in dismay and sadness.

My carpool-mate introduced me to this tree. We pass it on the way to work. It’s a weeping cherry tree. It is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen – from the beautifully twisted trunk and branches to the beautiful pink blossoms. I want this tree!

I just sold my soul for a box of Girl Scout cookies. Well, actually five boxes. Mormons (of which I am one) usually take the Sabbath day holy thing seriously. We don’t eschew driving or turning on/off lights like Orthodox Jews might, but we do try to avoid many non-Sabbathy activities and instead use the day for family and church. How exactly this is defined will vary from person to person, but unless there’s an urgent reason (and cookies don’t count), shopping is out.

A couple friends are out of town for a long weekend and asked me to take care of their cats. I thus found myself driving home this afternoon after dropping by their house to give the kitties food and water. I took a roundabout route because I thought, “Hmm, I drive this road all the time up to this point, but where does it go if I keep going?” Sometimes you just need to check out some roads to fill in the gray areas in your mental map. As I crossed an intersection I saw a girl sitting at a table on the sidewalk. I thought of lemonade, but that didn’t seem to be what she was selling. I didn’t give her much attention, though, since she was sitting and thus unlikely to dart into the road and thus not something I needed to pay attention to. As I drove past, she raised a box and shouted, “Girl Scout cookies!”

I registered what she said half a second later and slammed on the brakes. No parking and not a good spot to stop. I thought briefly about the Sabbath, but figured I could justify that this was a good cause (okay, not the cookies, but supporting Girl Scouts) and looped around the block and stopped illegally on the corner (not a high traffic area; it was okay). I got out of my car and said, “I was just thinking, I need to find me a Girl Scout!” Seriously, earlier this weekend, I was indeed thinking that. Her mom was a couple doors down and said, “Well I’m glad you found us then!” I gave them a twenty and they gave me five boxes. Mmmm… thin mints and samoas….

So that is the tale of how I sold my soul for Girl Scout cookies. It was a good trade, don’t you think?

The weekend was fabulous. This was my first Farpoint, and I’m totally planning on going again next year. I liked the size of the con – small so there were no lines and it was easy to move about and interact with everything.

C and I arrived around 5:30 on Friday and settled in for the weekend. The opening ceremonies were entertaining with music (Boogie Nights, Insane Ian, and someone else) and a radio show. The radio show was pretty amusing – a twist on Alien/Aliens where the aliens had alcohol for blood. The large cast even included all the actor guests. There were a couple more smaller radio programs, but I lost interest in those and headed back to the hotel room to crash for the night. Well, in theory to crash for the night. The half the rooms have windows over the atrium rather than outside. We had an inside room. Karaoke went on in the atrium until 2:00 AM. It was loud. Sleep was not to be had. It was torture. There was loud partying Saturday night too, but after little sleep, I was pretty exhausted and managed to sleep through it anyway.

During waking hours, though, I was amused and delighted. I started with a video about the galaxy, but then moved on to a Boogie Knights concert. The science programming is my favorite, so I spent much of the rest of the two days learning computer forensics, computer traces we leave behind, astronomical observatory collaboration, NASA near Earth programs, and Mars exploration. Very fulfilling. I didn’t actually care about the actor guests, but I sat in some of their discussions. Giancarlo Esposito seems lovely, and Lee Arenberg seems cranky. John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy, however, are hilarious.

There were, of course, fabulous costumes on display. The Klingon Stormtroopers were my favorite, but there were some fantastic steampunk costumes, too. The Klingons learning the Thriller dance were highly amusing. The Masquerade showcased some great costumes. The kids dressed with the Minecraft/Gangnam Style mashup were hilarious. The Ironman costume was impressive. The Geico Gorn amused me. The Phantom of the Mariachi group won the well-deserved top prize; they were great.

Definitely going back next year.

(All photos here.)

Just got back from Farpoint. Loved it. It’s a small con, and I really liked that it was small. I’m totally returning next year. Full report later, but…:

• Spent most of the time in the science panels learning about astronomy and internet security. I love the science panels best.
• Dr. Phlox (or rather the actor who played him whose name I can’t remember right now) married a couple.
• I love that even if I don’t care at all about the actor guests, it’s still much fun to listen to them on stage. Doctor Phlox and his wife, the General from Chuck, are completely hilarious.
• The Stormtrooper Klingons (exchange program) amused me to no end.
• Water with lemon and strawberry (not juice, just a few slices) is really yummy.