I love late night ads. I just saw one for a coin that has been minted to celebrate 100 years of, well, something having to do with cars. American cars, perhaps? I don't really care.

What caught my eye was not the 100% silver plating. Nor was it the garish paint job. What made me laugh was the fact that the headlights of the car on the front of the coin light up. For real. Push the button on the back of the coin, and the LEDs on the front of the coin shine brightly. Tackiest. Coin. Ever. Supposedly it's legal tender in some small country - I can't remember/don't care which.

I'm now waiting for the matching plate.

I went to Washington yesterday and had fun wandering through the Mall. The annual cultural festival put on by the Smithsonian was on, and the people watching was great. I also spent a little bit of time at the National Gallery, and then went bead shopping. Result of said bead shopping? Realizing that I need to order some more bags for sorting beads. That could be dangerous. The best place to get the bags sells beads, you see....

In the National Gallery of Art, in one of the gift shops, there is a bag that I may have to go back to get. It's a grey canvas cargo bag embroidered with Pablo Picasso's simple, immortal Dove. It was expensive ($65!) but I fell in love. *sigh* Maybe next month, after I pay off my next Mastercard bill (I think I can continue not carrying a balance on it...). I looked for and failed to find a picture of this thing, so you will have to take my word for it that this is a seriously kick-ass bag.

I also paid my first ever visit to Lush - now open in Tyson's Corner. Oops. Well, the good news is that I have found a new shampoo and conditioner combo that my hair likes and that isn't tested on animals. And I love the scent - not a hint of fruity or flowery sweetness. It even passed the curl test - my curls are still holding up after a long hot day at work. That's unheard of - my hair gets more tired than I do at work.

Beads, bags, hair stuff.

I may be a bit girly after all.

Ouch.

Just don't expect me to wear pink or heels. I have standards.

Hi. My name is Wendy. I am a beadaholic.

I made the mistake of going to Beadazzled today. I had planned on just going to The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, but I made the trip up to Tysons Corner, too. By the way, I can't remember who recently posted about The Torpedo Factory - thank you, whoever you are. Very cool place.

( many bead pictures here )

Enough picspam for now. I still have a bunch of Tuscon pictures I haven't commented on, but you can find them in my scrapbook.

Note to self,

Don't mix Nyquil and sleeping pill again. I really got knocked for a loop last night and had one hell of a time waking up this morning.

Yeah, I was really late getting out of the house this morning, so we only had time for one museum. The orchid exhibit was at the Natural History Museum so that was where we went. The flowers really were amazing and worth fighting the crowds to see. They had it set up to look like a jungle and the orchids were everywhere, from the floor to the ceiling, and in every shape and color imaginable.

As Mom and I were exiting, we had to walk past a wall of frosted glass panels, which caught the eye of another tourist. A small kid right next to me squeaked in delight, pointed at one of the panels, and shouted "Look! It's a tyrannosaurus shadow!" He was so cute. I really tried not to laugh, but there really was no stopping it.

We did a little bit more exploring, including the beloved mineral exhibit (the range of gemstones is incredible).

We apparently missed a rather interesting incident on Metro. We walked past a group of police officers and EMTs dealing with a man who had a cut on his forehead. He was saying something along the lines of "the guy was yelling at me to stop stepping on his foot." Eep. I think I'm glad I wasn't there to witness.

Of course, we stopped by Beadazzled, this time the Dupont Circle location. I spent too much money and got a bunch of beads and a couple of compliments on my new amethyst necklace with the cloisonné pendant.

And now I go look at my friends list, then collapse in bed. I am more tired than I can describe and my sinuses feel like they are going to explode. Tomorrow should be a fun day at work. Blech.

Here's an odd one.

Where should I go at the Smithsonian?

Difficulty: there is a new orchid exhibit at the Natural History Museum that Mom really wants to see.

I just watched the news footage of that protest. They got quite a crowd (they are saying tens of thousands) and were the top national story. I wish I could have been there, if only at the edge of the crowd for a moment.

I am not good with crowds. They leave me feeling panicky.

But I would like to feel like I am a part of something again. Like I have a voice that is heard.

I have to find a way to do that.

Well, my plans for Washington kind of fell apart this morning. It seems that there was a large peace protest in Washington, and everyone heard that the way to get there was by Metro. Well, it is, but that was also the way I had planned on getting to the mall myself. The parking areas were full to capacity, so no train for me. Ah, well. I think I am off next Saturday, too. I'll try again then.

Instead, I spent money at Tysons Corner. I now have more beads (like I needed them) and some really pretty ribbon that I will have to find a use for.

It's probably just as well that I never made it to the District today. The cold that has been nagging me for the past several days has taken almost all of my energy. I ate lunch (if you are ever near a Soup Man location, try it - very yummy), went into a handful of stores, then barely made it to the car upright. Bleah. I had better feel more alive tomorrow or I'm in for a really long shift.

After I got home and ate dinner, I switched on the television and was rather startled to see that Dateline was running a story about a rape case here in Charlottesville. It is very odd to see people and places you know in the national spotlight. Chief Longo's interview and part in the whole saga were impressive, and the woman at the heart of the story was amazing. You may have heard about the case - the rape occurred about twenty years ago at UVA, and the rapist sent his victim an apology letter in 2005. She pressed rape charges, and he ended up pleading guilty to a lesser offense. Very strange story in the way it unfolded.

In other news, it seems that David Eddings is better at writing than demonstrating common sense. I am really glad that no one was hurt, but I bet he is going to really regret the loss of the office and car. I never pegged him as a Darwin wannabe.

I'm going to Washington in the morning. If I had any sense, I'd have been in bed hours ago, instead of trying to find something to occupy my attention online.

It's a rare Saturday off and I have things to see. There is a new orchid exhibit at The Natural History Museum. There is my old favorite, the gem exhibit. Rembrandt calls me from the National Gallery of Art. Beadazzled Dupont Circle reminds me that it has been a while. Other museums clamor for attention, saying they deserve a visit, and my full attention. They all remind me that there is parking available for Metro on the weekends, with few commuters taking up spots at the Vienna station.

I want to get up early enough to get a McMuffin. I know it's silly and bad for me, but I love those things.

So, why am I still sipping white wine and staring at my computer screen?

Yep, I'm a dork.

Goodnight.

First, some recent customers:

One woman was looking for a book that was required for class. She wasn't quite sure of the title, but knew enough that I was pretty sure I recognized the one she was looking for. We walked to the section, and I handed a copy to her and she agreed that it was the right book. Then she flipped through it for a moment with an expression of distaste. "Wow, it's so long. I'm never going to read all of this. Is there a shorter one?" I was very tempted to tell her to ask her professor. Keep in mind, this was for a graduate level class.

Another woman called me today to order some out-of-print books she had found on our website. I told her that, unfortunately, we were unable to order used books to the store. I suggested that she order them from the website, but she told me that she never puts her information on the internet. So I said she might have better luck going to a used bookstore. She told me that there were no used bookstores in her town (about half an hour away from Charlottesville). She was also not interested in trying Charlottesville used bookstores. So I told her that I really didn't have any other options for her. "Well, ya'lls website is pretty much useless then, isn't it?" I suppose I could have given her the number for the website, but she probably wouldn't have like that, since they would put her info in the online database.

And then there were the young men looking at the summer reading table we have set up for the local highschool students. One of the guys proclaimed "I wish I was still in high school so I could read these." I couldn't resist pointing out that there was no earthly reason why he couldn't read the books just because they weren't assigned. He told me that he wouldn't have "the proper motivation", whatever that means. I very nearly handed the guy an application (he was already holding one from another store).

There was another girl who came in to pick up an application. She seemed pleasant enough, and was very polite to all the amployees she came in contact with. I later saw her with a handful of books she had been looking at, and she was putting them on the shelf. She was even clearly looking to make sure she put them in the right place! If you've never worked in a bookstore, let me assure you this is not that common an event. If she had filled out the application in the store instead of taking it home, she would probably have gotten her interview on the spot.

Yesterday, I had the day off, and, on a whim, decided to go to Washington to go to the National Gallery of Art. Mom liked the idea, and so she took the day off to come along. We had a delightful time looking at a huge drawing exibit and shopping at the gift shops (the kids shop is, by far, the best of them). I know, very nerdy of me. But we had been talking about the museum at work and I had a yearning to see some beautiful things. I was disappointed that the flirtatious guard I saw the last time I was there was nowhere to be found this time. He had been a lot of fun to talk to. I'll post the story another time.

On the way up there, we were reminded of a Memorial Day weekend tradition in Washington. Rolling Thunder. We saw a huge number of motorcycles on the road. If you get a chance, check out CSPAN's coverage on Monday. It was cool to witness part of the gathering.

We were a bit nervous about reports of gunshots at the Rayburn Building but it turned out to be a false alarm. WTOP did a very good job of spending a great deal of time covering the news that something had happened, that they didn't know what it was, and that there was nothing new to say about it. It turned out that there were a lot of nerves badly frayed (one woman was hospitalized after fainting) over some construction noise.

Well, I had promised myself that I would be in bed by 2:00, and it is already past that. Goodnight.

Only two more days of freedom left after tonight, but they should be fun.

Tomorrow - BEAD SHOW. It's a local one that I haven't been to before. I have heard that it doesn't have as many loose beads as the Intergalactic shows but I am looking forward to it. I don't get to go to bead shows right here in town so it will be nice not to worry about a long drive. Hmm, I should find out when the next Intergalactic show is in Richmond.

Saturday, Mom is dragging me up to the Smithsonian Craft Show. That is one that I am really looking forward to. I always love to see what other people are making and I love to buy handmade things. And I get a chance to show off some of my jewelry. As if my vanity needed that.
I'll have to make a stop at Beadazzled too, of course.

Sunday, back to collecting adventures for Bookseller With Mace. I will get to see saberwolf that evening. That will hopefully help get me through the dreaded First Day Back.