Dillards 31: Grifting, Lying, and Allergies

[So-Virgin-It-Hurts]

1 hour ago, HarleyQuinn said:

Chicago's El consistently smells like piss. lol

 

I can vouch for this although I have not lived in Chicago since 1991.  In the summer you can almost taste the saliva of others in your mouth.  People spit on the tracks incessantly.

1 hour ago, Million Children For Jesus said:

Chicken nuggets and French fries are a "Yummy lunch for Izzy"? Gross. All those people and nobody could make him a real lunch? 

I volunteer to make Izzy a good (and yummy) lunch for shit's sake.

[So-Virgin-It-Hurts]

48 minutes ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Has there ever been a time when everything on the DC metro was running smoothly? No delays, all elevators and escalators working, air conditioning working...

Um, I lived in NW DC 92-95 and took the metro everyday to work.  I never recall a problem, ever!  I was surprised at the comments here!  Must be time for a total maintenance replace/refurbish or something.

[HarleyQuinn]

I should note that despite how gross the El smells, it's a very effective transportation system. 

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Has there ever been a time when everything on the DC metro was running smoothly? No delays, all elevators and escalators working, air conditioning working...

Until a  year ago I was taking it to work for over 25 years. The short answer is no.  The long answer is no.

[The limit does not exist]

I love the Tube! I had an Oyster pass when I spent a summer there that was included in my internship program so I have no idea how much it cost but it was great! Figuring out the buses at night was an adventure but it was fun!

Paris was okay although a little scary late at night as there were some sketchy people on our train. I liked the history you could see in the stations.

Rome was fine - easy to navigate to get to the tourist attractions.

Athens was scary - we didn't even walk down the steps to get to the station. It was dimly lit with graffiti everywhere and we decided we would just pay a cab or walk.

Eurorail was great for getting around Europe and cheap compared to all the travel I did!

[QuiverFullofBooks]

2 hours ago, So-Virgin-It-Hurts said:

Um, I lived in NW DC 92-95 and took the metro everyday to work.  I never recall a problem, ever!  I was surprised at the comments here!  Must be time for a total maintenance replace/refurbish or something.

They haven't been putting nearly enough money into maintenance, and meanwhile ridership keeps growing. After some very dangerous incidents, they started a program called SafeTrack, where they shut down different lines for serious inspection and maintenance. But there's still usually air conditioning. Remember the good old days when you could put $20 on your MetroCard and get $2 extra credit?

[onekidanddone]

26 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

Remember the good old days when you could put $20 on your MetroCard and get $2 extra credit?

Back when they still had paper cards and it didn't cost over six bucks to get across the river.

[closetcagebaby]

16 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

Back when they still had paper cards and it didn't cost over six bucks to get across the river.

Tell me about it. They just raised fares again and I'm pushing $10 a day for my commute...

[SapphireSlytherin]

@DillyDally - the DLR is a fun ride (especially if you can get the "front" seats), but it has been out-of-service on certain parts the past few times we were there. We were lucky enough to be able to take it to Greenwich on one of our trips, trouble-free. My favorite line, though, is the Central Line - plus our pied-a-terre is near the Holland Park station.

[MiddleAgedLady]

Derick just tweeted this...I'm sorry, I thought Obi-wan Kenobi was our only hope! 

 

 

[kacarlton]

ETA: Okay, they posted a pic of Israel on the DFO page yesterday:
His plate looks like a cat/dog bowl. And do you normally strap in a child of Izzy's age? (I know they are not considered normal).

I'm stupid. Could you spell out DFO for me so I can see the picture of Izzy with his dog bowl of junk food? Thanks!

[SapphireSlytherin]

12 minutes ago, MiddleAgedLady said:

Derick just tweeted this...I'm sorry, I thought Obi-wan Kenobi was our only hope! 

 

 

Annnnd.... that was a 4:20 tweet.

[pook]

8 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Annnnd.... that was a 4:20 tweet.

Can someone give me a *super*?  I can't even eleventy!!! which is actually pretty funny if you are familiar with Spinal Tap "goes to eleven"...

 

[Lurky]

Re babies, I just hope everything goes ok for mother and baby.  I think it's only a matter of time before one of the Fundies we follow has a really bad outcome of low/no pre-natal care + Jesus is more important than medicine + dodgy "midwives" + homebirth, just going on statistics.

[HarryPotterFan]

1 hour ago, closetcagebaby said:

Tell me about it. They just raised fares again and I'm pushing $10 a day for my commute...

Ugh. Where's the improvement though? This is why I hate the metro. Well, that and the other people on it who are assholes. Commuting during rush hour is hell.

[onekidanddone]

37 minutes ago, MiddleAgedLady said:

Derick just tweeted this...I'm sorry, I thought Obi-wan Kenobi was our only hope! 

So this means Trump can be impeached and go away?

[MadeItOut]

5 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

@SapphireSlytherin,  one of my neighbors had a Mercedes that she dearly loved.  She'd had it for years and wanted it to be her forever car. Then some woman backed out of a driveway in front of her.  The damage to her car was minimal but there was damage and the part to fix the car was not available in the US and had to be ordered from Germany.  It wasn't long after that that she bought a Toyota.  She knew she'd have the same trouble getting parts if she had another problem.

@Kangaroo,  my MINI is British Racing Green with an Irish flag in the roof.  The flag is put on the wrong way, that is the stripes go from the windshield to the boot instead of across the car from window to window.  I like it though and if I replace my flag, I'll get this one done the wrong way too.  I once saw a picture of my car before it was my car with her former owners at MINIs on the Dragon in 2003 or '04.  I've never done the Dragon myself, but my car has!

Btw, my dream stove is a British Racing Green Lacanche Cluny.

I think I might have met your car. Did it also do the Run To The Sun in 03? Mine was the navy blue mini city that was being worked on inside the tent all weekend and only got some of the way home due to a donor head from one of the paint contest cars.

[Iamtheway]

My interest in cars is minimal. I just want them to work and be safe. We bought a new one (for us) a couple of weeks ago. It's a Saab and my favourite features are:

1. The AC. Ahhhhhh. The fact that it was broken in our old car was just becoming a problem again since it's finally summer. 

2. The radio works even though all doors are closed. In our old car the radio only worked if the left back door was open. The mechanic didn't believe me when I told him. He said it was impossible for that to happen.

3. The doors stay open when you open them. They did not on our old car, resulting in many sore ancles. This is a typical example of something you just take for granted in cars I think. I now appriciate it every time I drive. 

I miss the convinience of the subway in Stockholm. I don't miss actually taking the subway to work every day.  

 

[EmainMacha]

@SapphireSlytherin re the Central Line did you know that if you look carefully when the train is going between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road you can see the platforms for the old British museum stop that closed in the 30s? I am a sad Tube nerd. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

9 minutes ago, EmainMacha said:

@SapphireSlytherin re the Central Line did you know that if you look carefully when the train is going between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road you can see the platforms for the old British museum stop that closed in the 30s? I am a sad Tube nerd. 

I did not! I will definitely look for that in September - eastbound, which side of the train would that be on? And also TCR is the stop for the best Primark in London. lol

[Gillyweed]

6 hours ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Has there ever been a time when everything on the DC metro was running smoothly? No delays, all elevators and escalators working, air conditioning working...

Growing up close to NYC, I do not understand why the DC metro CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT. WHY DOES IT STOP RUNNING? I once had to pay $30 to get an uber back to my apartment in Maryland because the concert I was at ended right after midnight. It sucks. 

[Bad Wolf]

We just got back from DC and enjoyed the metro. It would be nice if it went out to Dulles. Wolf boy and his wife got off at a sketchy station once. The cops werde behind a barrier and didn't help when they were about go be accosted by a gang. Fortunately a train came in and they were able to escape. We used to stay in Pacifica and used BART  to get into SF. Used the subway in Boston, Guadalajara, Paris and London. Love subways.

[EmainMacha]

4 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

I did not! I will definitely look for that in September - eastbound, which side of the train would that be on? 

Either direction it's on the left hand side. Slightly easier to see going westbound but visible both ways. 

Ah Primark. I wonder what the Duggars would make of Primark? Surely it would be their dream shop? 

[PennySycamore]

@MadeItOut, my MINI might have been at Run to the Sun in '03, but I didn't own her until July of '05.  My MINI used to be part of the Atlanta MINI club.  Not only have I seen a picture of her on their website years ago, but there was also something from Hank Aaron MINI in the glove box.  I also know she was shipped to our Carmax from the Atlanta Carmax.

@Iamtheway, don't hate me for this, but I found your account of your old car funny, especially the radio  not working unless the left rear door was open.  That's the kind of detail that adds richness to stories.  It makes me think of that story by James Thurber "The Car We Had to Push".

[EmmieJ]

5 hours ago, So-Virgin-It-Hurts said:

Um, I lived in NW DC 92-95 and took the metro everyday to work.  I never recall a problem, ever!  I was surprised at the comments here!  Must be time for a total maintenance replace/refurbish or something.

I lived in Virginia in 1986 and took the Metro into DC for work every day.  My experience was overall good.  It was clean, no smell of urine or spit, and I was never harassed or bothered.  Sorry to hear it's gone downhill.