You know you live in DC if...

I wish I could find the email someone sent me a few years ago. It was a very clever "You know you live in DC when..." type of email.

I do remember a couple of them:

• You know you live in DC when you ask someone where they work and they say that if they told you they would have to kill you ...and they really mean it.
• You know you live in DC when you start reading license plates that say "5Y3EGHL" and try to make it mean something (putting words on license plates is cheap around here and so TONS of people personalize their plates).

Ok, I can't remember many right now, but if I ever find that email again I will post it here.

Today I went over to mall in search of a dresser. Can the woman just shop in peace? All of the sales people swarm to you and make sure that you know their name ...so I can use their name later at the register even though I prefer to find my own furniture? Whatever. There were about three dressers I liked, but because of how they display things I had to keep walking back to each little fake bedroom in the store to remind myself which one had which details, etc. Finally I found one and then I couldn't find a salesperson. I guess they had given up on me. I wandered by a woman wearing a saree (sari, shari) with a tag hanging around her neck and she did indeed work there.

As she was ringing up my purchase (do they "ring" up purchases nowadays? - maybe it's actually "point and clicking" my purchase) we talked about the holiday and then she told me that they were celebrating international something or other and that is why they were all wearing their native outfits. Without a thought I just said, "Oh, I just thought you wore that everyday." Come to think of it, there were an awful lot of Sikhs waring turbans, Saudi men in white dresses, and Indian woman in their sarees floating around in the JCPenny and Macy furniture departments. I hadn't really noticed because everywhere I go people wear outfits from different cultures than mine and I just expect it. So, it was surprising, and almost funny, that she would inform me that she was "dressing up" in attire that I would expect that she would be wearing anyway.

And, so we have our new addition to the list, except I can't think about how to phrase it. Perhaps someone a little more verbally inclined can think something up.

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Update: Ann provided me two links that have some of the lists that circle around. Thanks Ann!

http://www.robinsweb.com/maryland/you_know_youre_from_dc.html

http://www.stevix.com/youknow.htm

Random Thoughts - from other people

Isn't it interesting how different people make a comment here and there and you end up having a certain emotion, insight action or feeling based on what they've said? This pretty much happens everyday, but I don't stop and think about it too much.

Like just today, someone I know said that they didn't know what they would do if they hadn't discovered "Google Reader" to organize their search of the internet. So I of course looked it up and am going to start using it.

Or, I was talking to my sister-in-law Jessica about ADD and eating and I thought maybe I'm not aware of how much I eat. For some reason the thought stayed in my mind and I came home and ordered some CDs that are supposed to hypnotize me into food consumption control. Ha. Well, I figured it was worth a try! I lived by a place in Fairfax (Harrison and Ann may remember) that had a sign offering hypnosis for smoking or food addiction and I was always tempted to go see if it was effective. Those places should have concealed entrances ...just as should weight loss centers, spas, laser treatment places and tanning salons. It seems they are all wide open with huge windows for everyone to see people going in and out.

A guy stopped in my office the other day and started to talk about "The Last Lecture" a professor gave after he found out he had a terminal illness. I came home and watched it and found that it , along with other feelings and experiences I've had over the last month, helped me get back into writing notes and taking more time for people.

My boyfriend planted the thought that I should go to graduate school when I was content to move along in jobs that were ok, but not in my real areas of interest. I applied, was accepted, and finished before I realized what I had gotten myself into. I even earned a 4.0 to my own surprised because I had been more concerned with finishing the projects properly than what grade I would receive.

Some of the kids I teach on Sunday pipe up with comments on how I should discipline them, what they think of the lesson, and with interesting ideas that I often incorporate in my next lesson with them.

It's amazing how our daily interactions, whether virtual or physical, have an impact on us in some way. Sometimes the littlest comment or observation can make pivotal changes in our lives. Hopefully the comments that come from my mouth help and don't hurt. Yes, I know that sometimes they hurt and later I always regret what I've said.

Perhaps this quote should always be above the desk, the tv, the fridge, and the door:

"Sticks an stones can break your bones, but words will break your heart." I might add that it should have another half that includes "but words will heal your heart" or "but words will inspire your heart" or "but words will change your heart."