Surviving Public Transportation (In Heels!)

So today's the day of my monthly Folger seminar in D.C. I was up at 5 A.M. determined to make it to D.C. without missing a single connection.

I only had to ask for directions 5 times. Bleh, but I hate walking around cities before the sun is even up! The SEPTA trolley was bizarre – it's a trolley, all right, and it kinda looks like a bus (single compartment, driver up front, bus doors, even the little pull cord to let the bus know you want a stop) only... it's underground! What's with that?? And let me tell you, the labels on the station were awful. Signs, people. Please!

The 30th Street Amtrak Station was all pretty with high ceilings and column out front – the kind of place that would look right at home in downtown D.C. – with the natural side effect that it was so echoy you couldn't hear a word of the announcements. Brilliant planning. I miss Paddington station! Especially since "watch the gap" just isn't nearly as catchy as "mind the gap." Sorry. :-)

With all of that, I expected the train to also falter in comparison with my (perhaps now rosy) memory of British trains. THERE I was wrong. Nice clean interior. Not much leg room, and certainly no tables for people to work on – have to go for the snack car for that – BUT it did have power strips for my poor laptop so I was guaranteed power my entire trip. On the whole, I think that stacks up favorably.

We had a beautiful sunrise on the train. Red in the morning, sailors take warning.... If I'd been driving, I would have pulled over to get pix. Alas, one can't just ask the train's conductor to stop for a moment, to satisfy a photographic urge. And my poor camera just can't focus at 90 mph (or however fast we were going to keep up with the traffic on I-95).

To make sure that I haven't come down too harshly on Philly, let me assure you I got completely lost in D.C., too. I came out of Union Station, foolishly went to the sign that said "First Street" and ended up on the WRONG "First Street." Me and numbered streets apparently just don't get along. After walking 15 minutes (in heels!) I figured it out and went back to the station to pick up the right First Street. And finally limped into the Folger 15 minutes later.

Lessons learned:

It doesn't matter how formal an occasion you're going to that evening. Just wear your hiking boots and tell anyone who looks at you funny to deal with it! :-)

TGIF!

I swear, there's nothing longer than a 4-day work week. 6-day weeks fly by, but the ones that are FOUR days long just take forever!

So to celebrate TGIF, here are some other things I was thankful for today:

1) The sweater and scarf Patty gave me. Brrr, it was cold today!

2) My mom convincing me to bring the waterproof jacket to Philly, since it's been raining for two days.

3) Waterproof boots that let me truck right on through the puddles everyone else has to walk around.

4) Fingerless gloves that let you work your iPod, but still convert into mittens when you get too cold.

5) Sidewalks that are wide enough you can walk on the far side and not get splashed by the cars driving by.

6) Tea in the fellows' common room at the APS.

7) Driving rain which drives 99% of the smokers off the sidewalks - I swear, Philly has more smokers than all of the countries of Europe combined!

8) Not having to ride my bike in the rain, because I'm close enough to walk.

Research accomplished today:

1) Read two almanacs

2) Read through the W&M Quarterly.

3) The internet was down today at APS. Lacking internet (and thus the ability to order new books) I decided to read through the card catalogue. Don't worry - it was just the section with the 1500-1700 books!

Another Suitcase, Another Hall

My blog lives!

One might infer from the silence in this blog that the past couple of weeks have not been incredibly productive with respect to the dissertation. One might be more-or-less correct. But that's all over with now, as I have started up a new research fellowship in Philadelphia!

Today was move-in day. The only people who own cars and live in down town Philly are clearly 1) Rich 2) Insane or 3) Both. So my parents dropped me off at the Cassatt House, which is a townhouse for the fellows of the Library Company of Philadelphia (which happens to be next door.)

I, however, am a fellow of the American Philosophical Society, which is a mile away. Um. Yeah. But the rent's cheap and public transportation seems to be everywhere! Besides, a mile's practically nothing when you've spent hours slaving away conditioning your beloved old hiking boots so that there's the distinct possibility they'll actually last the whole month you're in Philly.

Research accomplished today:

I found the local Wawa, that count?