commuting to Judiciary Square

This morning was a particularly random commute, and it made me want to put down the joy that is living in Virginina and working in Washington.

This is a map of where Rosslyn, the Metro stop closest to my apartment is. Because of copywriting reasons, the map is in unflattering tones of gray. But you can see the Metro stop. My apartment building complex is right where the "Get the full-color, etc." writing is. It's not very far away. I take the elevator down to the basement and leave out the loading dock door. I cut through the ABC news van parking lot and onto Fairfax/N. Lynn Ave. The ABC news building is right next to our complex. I walk past the CVS, and a couple restaurants. Then I get to the intersection of N. Lynn and Wilson. I have to get to the diagonal corner, so I have to cross the street twice. The walk light comes equipped with an annoying chirping noise for the seeing-impaired to get across the street. In the morning, there are usually cars blocking the intersection, heading toward the Key Bridge (at the top of the map), which leads across the river and into Georgetown, and the city. I cut across the parking lot of the Orleans restaurant on the corner. There are usually buses and taxis coming and going on N. Moore St, where the station is, but they usually yield for pedestrians.

Then it's into the station. In the mornings, there is a stand set up for Express newspapers, a little abbreviated paper for the commuter to read what's going on in the world. Sometimes I pick one up, sometimes I don't. Sometimes there's a homeless person trying to make some change by playing an instrument. Once there was an older Chinese man playing a stringed instrument; I'm not sure what it was, but it was beautiful. This morning I was surprised by a mass of children. Ok, they could have been in high school. It looked like they were on a field trip or something. They were in the way. Past the turnstiles is a set of impossibly long escalators, two for up, two for down. Sometimes I walk down the escalator, sometimes I don't. It depends on my mood. People who stand are on the right side so that people walking can pass on the left. Five minutes later, I reach the platform for the orange/blue trains going toward the city. (New Carrollton and Largo Town Center are the last stops, respectively.) There are signs on the platforms that show how many minutes away the next three trains are, a very helpful idea.

This morning, I had a few minutes to wait on the platform for the next train. I was standing there, listening to The Fray (my new favorite band). A man walked up to the platform. He was late-30s, early 40s. Had shoulder-length dark reddish brown hair. He kind of reminded me of the prince from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, well, if he were older. He was listening to music on headphones, too. And he was dancing. Well, sort of swaying, really, to the music. Hands and everything. And he was singing. Oh, the singing. Another commuter caught my eye and we sort of smiled at each other. That guy was great.

The train came. Sardines doesn't even begin to describe it. On this particular run, the train was going fast, then would jerk quickly to a stop. I almost fell over about five times. Sometimes the trains have to stop on the tracks because they move so close together, and there's another one ahead. Sometimes it's really a stop-go-stop-go process, and it takes about 10 minutes to get the the next stop, Foggy Bottom-GWU (the first station in the District of Columbia, the Voice on the speaker says). It wasn't too bad this morning, except for the almost-falling-over part. Swaying Guy was in my car. He was still swaying. After Foggy Bottom are two more stops, Farragut West (near the White House), and McPherson Square (where I get off to go to church). Then comes Metro Center. I get off here to transfer to the red line. I go up the elevator and go to the platform for trains headed toward Glenmont. These trains are usually less crowded than the orange/blue line trains; I usually get a little two-seater to myself. Today, there were more people, probably because it was later. I only go two stops though; Gallery Place/Chinatown, where you can connect to yellow/green lines, and then comes Judiciary Square.

I get off the train and join the mob scene trying to get up the first escalator. Then through the turnstiles. It only costs $1.35 to get from Rosslyn to Judiciary Square. If I've picked up an Express, I toss it into a special container for discarded newspapers. Then it's up another escalator. This exit takes me to literally in front of the OAG office. If I'm working in the office, I just turn left and walk about 30 feet to the front doors. But I'm usually at the courthouse. So I walk straight. There are several vendors along 4th St NW, on Judiciary Square. Some of the courthouses are under construction; actually, almost all of the courthouses on 4th St NW are. There is a homeless man who has a little shoe-shining operation at the corner of 4th St NW and Indiana Ave. He's got a variety of supplies; I get the impression he's been there a long time because he gets a lot of business, and probably repeat customers. I cross Indiana Ave and walk past the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department. In the morning, there are a lot of uniforms out and about. This always makes me smile. There are a lot of attractive male cops in DC. This morning, there was an older Asian couple collecting acorns in plastic bags. I'm not quite sure what that was about.

I rarely enter the courthouse through the main public entrance on Indiana Ave.

This is because the line, on both sides, through the metal detector is usually down to the street. So I cut through the John Marshall Park and go in the back way, on C St NW. On my way, I walk past the Canadian Embassy, one of the only, if not the only, foreign embassy not on Embassy Row (Massachusetts Ave). There's usually a very short line at the back, so I get right in. I usually take the escalators up to the first level, then, if I have to change shoes, make a quick stop to the ladies' room to do so before going into a courtroom. This morning I took the elevator up to the 4th floor, where the Intake Center is because I had to transcribe a tape for Kristi's trial next week. Unfortunately, the tape recorder is not working. So I came across the street to work on some stuff for Cecelia. But she's not here today, and I can't find the file I was working on. So now I'm hanging out until 1, when I have to go to Robert Spagnoletti's (the current AG) final swearing-in ceremony. Kimberly's getting sworn in. It should be interesting. I wonder if I'll be able to duck out after that. I want to go grocery shopping before my chicas come tonight.

I hope you enjoyed joining me on my morning commute with Swaying Guy and Acorn-Collecting Couple. Life is never dull here.