Author: Prince Of Petworth

A Cautionary Tale From The Forum Section “Chinatown Hell Bus: Eastern Travel”

By Prince Of Petworth

From Park Road Guy:

Traveling with this corrupt company of thugs was a complete nightmare last weekend. By 9:00 pm Sunday, the New York Police Department arrived on the scene to attempt to negotiate a solution between Eastern Travel’s frantic, angry and confused driver and a group of even more frantic, angry and confused passengers who had been left stranded on the streets of New York with no ride as multiple Eastern Travel busses dropped off passengers and refused to pick them up. Fraud of the worst variety. Here’s footage:

I was one of the passengers and, once again, I had been severely burned by Eastern Travel and its corrupt and unprofessional ways. I don’t know of a single company that gets away with as much abuse of its customers as Eastern Travel. I implore anyone looking to travel on a budget to NYC to do their best to avoid using Eastern Travel. They have absolutely NO respect for their customers. It’s hard to even address their ethical standards, since they don’t have any. Where to even start?

To begin, my girlfriend and I decided to risk another round trip from DC to NYC with Eastern Travel even though we had been left stranded for hours waiting for our return bus at Penn Station a year ago. We needed to make it to NYC on a Friday morning by noon and Eastern Travel is the only option. This first episode included a bizarre shouting match between a passenger who had threatened to ‘get her knife out’ and one of Eastern Travel’s linguistically challenged ‘agents’ who was screaming at everything in sight. I could not believe the lack of professionalism in a travel company. It was hard to believe a business like this could survive, but then, let’s face it, Eastern Travel is an unbelievably cheap option. We decided to chance it once more to save a few bucks and get to NYC on time (I’ve since decided the marginal difference is worth it for a company that actually has a semblance of customer service. Story continues after the jump. (more…)

Special Guest Post and Query From Author Eric Nuzum

By Prince Of Petworth

You can read Eric’s near-daily musings on his Web site. His latest book about vampires, chickens, germs, and death–entitled The Dead Travel Fast–has recently come out in paperback. You can get more info on picking it up here.

If Everything Fell Apart…What Would You Do With Your Life?

by Eric Nuzum

 

So let’s say that the current economic crisis gets bad…really bad. So bad in fact that your job is gone, you can’t live in your house/apartment/commune/whatever, and you have to declare bankruptcy. Let’s imagine it gets so bad that you pretty much lose everything and have to start over again with nothing…what would you do with your life?

 

I posed this question to my friends Matt and Katy at dinner Monday night.

 

Just like so many other people out together for dinner…or around coffee tables in homes because they don’t want to go out and spend any money…we were talking about the economy. We were talking about how scary it is. And we were all saying that the worst part is not knowing how bad it will eventually get before it gets better again.

 

(I’m sure you’re making a note to yourself right now to never go out for dinner with me, lest you come home totally bummed out.)

 

Anyhow…

 

While listening to my friends talk, I wondered out loud if the “worst case scenario” is really all that bad. “To be frank, the ‘worst case’ doesn’t scare me at all,” I said. “It’s all the cases between best and worst that keep me awake at night.”

 

As is the norm when I philosophize, my friends looked at me with a degree of puzzlement. “I mean, the ‘worst case scenario’ is scary, but it could also be looked at as total freedom. No expectations. No responsibility. Just a clean slate.”

 

“So if you had that–even if you got it via a terrible, frightening situation,” I continued. “What would you do with your life?”

 

Katy and Matt fumbled around a bit. Both work in media, and both their initial answers were a desire to “tell stories” without worrying about ratings, sales, or income. These answers felt too easy to me (basically because mine wasn’t terribly different).

 

After a bit more probing (there is another reason to avoid dinner with me–any dinner that involves “probing” of any sort isn’t going to be very pleasant)–anyway, after some probing, the real answers started to emerge.

 

“I think I’d become a park ranger,” Matt announced.  Story continues after the jump. (more…)

Politics Sherman Avenue Style

By Prince Of Petworth

It manages to be peaceful and militant at the same time. Was this a common slogan during the Vietnam War era?

Wicked Cool Curved Building

By Prince Of Petworth

I totally dig how this building curves to fit the space. Anyone recognize where it is from? (Hint: This view is facing the back of the building, although it is not taken from an alley.)

Reader Submitted Good Deal or Not?

By Prince Of Petworth

This house on 1841 Park Road, NW was a house of the day back in December. A true classic from Mount Pleasant. So obviously this isn’t really a good deal or not post, it’s more like a check out some cool house porn post.

The flier says:

“An exquisite & significant historic property (1906). Beautifully preserved by only 2 owners for nearly 100 years, pristinely restored/renovated/expanded by the current owners between 2001 & 2003. Gorgeous gardens, fabulous 2-story carriage house/stables w/ 2-car parking, 2 lower level units, stunning original details.”

More photos and info here.

You have to check out the photos. And the price for this 7 bedroom, 5.5 bathroom mansion – $3,250,000. Ah, to dream…

Random PoP Political Observation

By Prince Of Petworth

Is it just me or did it seem like John McCain was channeling Jack Nicholson’s Col. Jessup in the film A Few Good Men? Tell me you can’t see McCain reciting these words:

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”

Mural of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

I love the contrast of the modern day fellow reading the newspaper versus the proper old school folks to the right.

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