Bruces

A discussion a bit ago led to reminisce about Bruce Variety. Now, the place still exists, but it was such a staple of my childhood. Located in the same center as a hardware store and a gift store it was good for combination trips (especially once I needed good stickers and paint pens from the gift store).
Bruce Variety was a novelty to me as a child before giant discount chains got into the everything under one roof idea, this was a general store in the heart of Bethesda, a place that had nothing else like it that I knew.
They have buttons and fabric and ribbon and thread, and since my mother made blankets and Halloween costumes for many years, this was great for that. They have school supplies and party supplies and hair doodads and an impressive array of backpacks. They also have toys and kitchen gadgets and paper. It is small enough that my mother didn't worry too much if we wandered over another aisle or so.
When I was beading more, they were a great stop for jump rings, or wire or basic beads. And when I wanted to hunt down a spool knitter I called them.
The lovely woman who answered the phone had never heard of such a thing. I was pretty much ready to end the call, but she put me on hold and came back to tell me that they did have one, and she gave me the price and the location where it was displayed so I could find it when I came in. You can bet they were my first stop on my way home from work that day.
I discovered that interestingly it was profiled a few years ago (on different years) in both the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Also, the reviews on Yelp are very true.

Things Change

I can hardly decide if this is sign of my age, the times or just so surreal as to seem fictional. (I'll let y'all decide.) Once upon a time, as a relatively fresh out of college person, I took a job as a trainer for a small company in downtown DC. The company provided non-government IDs, passport photos (since they were down near the passport office), and printing services (especially menu printing). They had taken a sub-contract from a company that was providing ID card programs (which was new technology at the time) to a local school system. The guy the contract company sent had apparently budgeted two days to to the setup and installation at all 22 high schools and quickly realized the error of his ways.
I took on this position, and inspired, the company sold the program (along with my training services) to a few more folks locally and along the East Coast. They didn't really have office space for a trainer they were sending other places, so I became a telecommuter* before I even knew the word for it.
Fast forward years (and jobs) later. A few friends and I gather for dinner. A newish bar is hosting a happy hour/fundraiser and we decide to check this out afterwords since it's not much of a walk. As we get closer I mention, that hey, this little office I used to work at was right down here. (I would come in to use the automated postage machine and to submit invoices and such.) And so, guess where this bar turned out to be. It's the exact address of my old office. I knew the company had been sold right around the time I left, the passport office had moved to Dupont, but yes, my old office is now Tattoo Bar (Warning: link plays loud music and is not stealthy at all).

*One teen I worked with asked if telecommuting meant I commuted telepathically, which I still find hilarious.

Yarn Finds a Home

(Not mine. That's would be a different story.) No, this is a story of a knitter getting custom yarn to commemorate an event. (I take no responsibility for this leading you down a whole new path in ways to commemorate stuff. I will, however, accept thanks.)

H/T to the Yarnista.

Problems with Deadlines

One of the reasons the concept of Netflix so intrigued me was, that, while I love movies, I had calculated that by the time I returned a movie, and paid the late fees, I could have bought it. (Yes, I could work on that, but it was simpler to just stop renting movies.)
Well, while I knew I was not alone, I have to say that I feel quite certain that I have not (yet) had anything overdue for 31 years. However, one women has, but she has now returned the book and for a while, the library in Arlington County will be displaying it. But, kudos to Ms. McKee for returning it, and paying the fine. I hope she enjoyed the book.

Need a Friend?

Apparently, the Pope is now on Facebook.* Well, I guess since Jesus is on MySpace , it makes sense.

*Technically it is a Facebook application, so you cannot poke or hug the Pope via Facebook.