Sittin' on a Pretty Penny?

A random solo duck had built a nest in a corner along one side of the IRS building (see co-worker's photo)—on the last block on my walk to work. So I was told by IRS workers exiting the building one day, she was just sitting on her eggs waiting for them to hatch. (I actually never saw an egg poking out, fyi...) I rather enjoyed seeing her there daily, never in a different spot each morning.
Well, a few days ago, as I neared her spot, I peered around the corner, and she was gone! Nothing left but the nest! Suspiciously there were no broken egg shells... I’m thinking she was just camping out in front of the IRS building until she received her $600 stimulus check then took off to Pentagon City Mall.

If the Shoe Fits

I have a theory that people with the least manicured (well, I guess least pedicured) feet belong to people who keep them so unattractive as a sort of advertisement of their eco-friendliness. It’s sort of an in your face way for that person to show that he or she is “green” and therefore "cool".
Trimmed, pink-painted toes, exfoliated and tea-tree moisturized footsies in strappy heels=I felt bad about tossing a plastic soda bottle into the trash, but man that taco bell burrito was tasty...
Unclipped gnarly toe nails (with the second toe that always seems to be a foot longer than the big toe?!) and hairy feet that seem to have permanently fused with the barley-colored vegan flat sandals=I bike 40 miles each way to work in my hemp fabric clothing, eat fair-trade couscous for lunch, and I think anyone who doesn’t is a jerk...
I’d prefer these granolas just put their beliefs on a t-shirt.

Father Knows Best

Okay, so now I’m really torn. Around the corner from my usual kind woman soda vendor is a sweet man vendor. I’ve been heading down his block before work to hit up my bank, and so I’ve been buying sodas from him lately. At first I felt kind of guilty—I told myself, “I should go out of my way to go down the block and buy my sodas from the woman that always remembers me and my cola caffeine preference and greets me with a warm smile!” But, my new soda vendor remembered me after only a day or so. He even stopped me from grabbing regular pepsi’s instead of my usual diets—just like sweet lady vendor. He even upped the ante this week—he put a few mints in my plastic bag and sent me on my way saying “See you, sister.” Then today, he asked how I was doing, and I said I was frazzled because I was running late. Without a word, he put two lollipops in my plastic bag with my sodas and said “See you tomorrow.” I feel like I’m in a custody battle between my mom and dad here. Who do I choose?!

Agua, Por Favor!

With a heat index in the triple digits today, I struggled during my ten minute walk from work to the gym, carrying my gym bag and huge purse full of daily essentials. Already sweating five minutes in, I started to climb the last block (which, okay, has maybe a 2% incline) and became overwhelmed with thirst. I wasn't sure I could make it the last leg without a stop at Micky D's for a grande fountain diet coke. As I waited to cross the street, I glanced down and saw a teeny bird swoop down. I immediately felt at one with nature when the bird resorted to lapping up some dirty stagnant street water than had collected in a crack in the pavement. As gross as it seems, I sympathized with that bird and felt a bit jealous as he refreshed himself. Man it was that toasty...

(This blog entry is dedicated to my loyal reader Doodle, who believes I can regain creativity after my June hell month at work...)