Macy’s Bridal Registry Kiosk

Now that the Betrothed Butterbean and I are in the full grips of the Bridal-Industrial Complex, I get to spend my lunch hours registering at area retailers.

Today’s mass marketer was Macy’s at the Pentagon City Mall and I was not impressed.

Unlike Crate and Barrel, where you can register and get a bar code gun in 3 minutes flat, the Macy’s bridal rep informed us it would take 20 minutes to register and we would need to make an appointment first!

We did not need the upsell, or to pick a “wedding theme” or a china & bedding ensemble consultation. We did not need an appointment and twenty minutes to fill out our names and get a price tag wand. What we needed was service, which Macy’s was in short supply of today.

But the wedding register clerk had plenty of time for herself. After we walked off in a huff, I noticed she was chatting with floor staff and messing about, clearly not expecting those that need assistance scanning in Waterford Crystal or Egyptian cotton sheets.

And with that attitude, Macy’s lost our bridal business. Has it lost yours?

We all know that there’s a relationship between the Pentagon area and water torture, water boarding and all that other stuff that was once in the news but has since been eclipsed by talk of American Idol. Here’s a new twist on that old, tired theme.

These poor, innocent water bottles were squeezed into displays in a Pentagon City vending machine. Yes, folks. Right here in America, before our eyes and nobody does anything. And we call this the land of the free.

Flickr photo by wfyurasko

Here in Pentagon City we got our deepest snowfall total of the season, a whole 3½ inches. How much snow did you get?

This guy wants to know how long until Opening Day

Flickr photo by wfyurasko. Nationals cap by MC Hamme

Two snowfall totals:

Pentagon City — 1″
Tyson’s Corner — 2″

How much did you get?

As of 7:15 p.m. EST, just under 2 inches of snow had fallen in Pentagon City. How much snow did you neighborhood get?

Yesterday morning, I discovered that Pentagon City’s urgent care facility, one I had been to more times than I care to remember, was no more. It closed in the middle of December, presumably to make way for another high-rise apartment building like the one next to it.

The new location for Arlington Urgent Care is at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road on the other side of the county. I believe it is in the old Arlington Community Hospital building. In order to get there from Pentagon City I actually had to drive into Fairfax County for a few blocks. The upside of the move is that the new Urgent Care is open 24-7 as opposed to its predecessor. Currently, based on the sign-up sheet, it is a lot less busy than its predecessor too.

Remember folks, when you are out shopping at Pentagon City Mall this X-Mas season, please only put your baby in a proper receptacle.

You know they only have this sign because there’d been an ‘incident’ in the past…

Maybe they should install similar signs in the Los Angeles Airport
(more…)

Wow, if this isn’t a postcard shot of DC, I don’t know what is. Mr. Eye Captain has done himself proud with this surreal shot of the Capitol Building. It almost makes you forget what happens behind those closed doors. It’s as if the structure is floating in a sea of fruity sherbert, or sorbet, depending on how fancy you want to get. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! I wish I would have been there with my camera gear in tow.

Zamboni Olympia Ice Resurfacer opened up” />

Is there anything that says ice skating outside quite like a 75° Halloween? Probably, but the rink at Pentagon Row opened anyway. There were a few skaters out there while I enjoyed some potato soup and Harp al fresco earlier this evening.

Sadly, the warmth may not the biggest downside of the rink — admission is up a dollar over last year to $8 for two hours. Skate rental stays at $3. A discount card for 10 admissions is probably the way to go; its $60, a savings of $20. I’ll be getting one of those just as soon as the weather gets cold.

More outdoor rinks should be opening in the coming weeks, stay tuned for details.

My wife pointed this out in Woo Lae Oak’s washingtonpost.com profile:

To be fair, refills are never begrudged, but to get a waitress’s attention one must practically start a fire.

Aha! So, that’s why there was a fire on Thursday night.