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So I went to the “dc bloggers summit” put on by the Washington Post. I wish someone took off their shoe and slammed it on the table because I’m afraid to admit it wasn’t very exciting. However, to inflate my ego a little, I actually sat down at a table with a guy who actually reads Prince of Petworth. But wait more exciting news to come. Mr. Marc Fischer of RawFischer from the Post actually reads the Petworth blogs as well! Jesus, that almost makes up for the fact that there wasn’t any liquor at the bar. I had to settle for sparkling water which was actually quite refreshing.

Like many Petworth residents, I extend the neighborhood all the way down 14th Street to Logan Circle. I often like to walk home so I feel a sense of ownership of the neighborhoods from Logan to Petworth. Now I am very sad to report the closing of 100% Mexico located on 14th Street near HR 57. Side note: HR 57 is fantastic so if you haven’t checked it out in a while you should. Sorry about that, back to Mexico. I often pass 100% Mexico on my walk home from work and have always wondered – how the hell does this store stay in business? I regret ever thinking that and now feel somewhat responsible. This store featured sombreros, lots of mirrors for some reason, and mostly what my people call tshotkes. Note: that is not how you spell tshotkes. But it basically means knick knacks. I’m going to miss 100% Mexico because it was always fun to look in the window and dream of one day buying that beautiful sombrero. Now fortunately further up 14th Street there are some new very fancy clothing stores. Of course I get all my clothes from my Dad so most clothing stores seem fancy to me. At any rate I am hesitant to admit that they have some very good looking manequines. So I got that going for me. So for now I’ll wish a fond farewell to Mexico and wish its owners the best of luck.

According to the Washington Post a green line train derailed at Mt. Vernon Square today. Maybe they weren’t used to the new yellow line trains going through. How the hell does a metro derail anyway? Well, here’s to a really long commute tomorrow. Bring a book!

According to the Post, Stanislav Shpigelman ( a beautiful name by the by) has been “sentenced to 3 1/2 years and one month in prison.” What the hell is that? Why not say 3 1/4 years and four months in prison? Or 3 years and 7 months. I guess they are having fun with fractions. What about 3 7/12 years in prison? Are they jackasses or is it me? What a second…don’t answer that.

A very reliable source from the Metropolitan Police Department has enlightened me to the new initiatives from Police Chief Lanier. The below is from a memo being distributed to police officers. Let me know if you feel safer. I believe these are positive initiatives although I don’t know how revolutionary they are. First reader to spot “an official on foot” patrol gets a free beer from me. Happy hunting.

Primary goals:
1) Increase engagement of officers with the community
2) Increase visibility within community

Initiatives:
1) “Adopt a block/park” – full court press effort for officers to become familiar with every resident on a block or area, to include distribution of officer contact information, working with them on issues with their block (to include issues like trash and abandoned car removal, street light repairs, etc.), and encouraging community invovlement in PSA meetings
2) Increase in focus mission units to prosecute warrants, and increase jump outs and other drug enforcement-related activities like buy-busts, etcl.
3) Officials on foot (Sgts and above)
4) Youth iniatives and a youth court
5) Increased use of reserve officres

And in this case what I want is my car back. At first I was quite pleased with the service of Autobody shop on Upshur between 12th and 13th but then I tried to get my car back. They called me at 8 am letting me know it was ready to be picked up at 10. Great wonderful news. I said I’d be in at noon on my lunch break. Sure no problem they said. Ha! So a good buddy drove me from downtown DC to pick up the car at noon. And guess what? They forgot to “wash” it so it wasn’t ready. Could I come back in a half an hour they ask? Sure. We go get some lunch and watch an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. So obviously after watching the genius of Larry David I was back in a good mood. And at 12:40 they give me my car back. Only, the locks don’t work. Ha! Are you kidding me? So then they tell me just wait 10 minutes and we’ll fix it right away. Sure 10 minutes, that’s not so bad. So 10 minutes becomes 20 minutes which quickly becomes 30 minutes. At this point I start cursing. So they say, nicely and apologetically at least, can I come back and get it at 4:30? Wonderful. Sure I’ve only wasted 2 hours so far. At last I return at 4:30 and they promptly set the alarm off whilst looking for my keys – which only took about five minutes to find. Although with an annoying horn blaring five minutes actually feels like fifty. At least they were quite nice about the whole thing.

Two lessons from this ordeal: Number One – Be careful which day you pick to quit sniffing glue; and Number Two – Don’t make a left hand turn from the right lane…