Jim Henson

As you may know, in Washington D.C., there are tons of museums. And they are free, basically. Very good, isn't it? But the bad thing is it is hard to decide which musuem to go, especially when your itinerary is tight. That's my case. I have only two days in Washington D.C.

We came to the Mall anyway. And we came across Kermit the Frog. Oh well, a special exhibition of Jim Henson, the creator of Kermit the Frog, at the Smithsonian International Gallery.

I knew Kermit the Frog, but I didn't know about the creator at all. But because she grew up in the States and Maryland where Jim Henson is from, SH was excited to see the exhibition. OK, why not?

... And the exhibition turned to be awesome to me. In the exhibition, you see many puppets which Jim Henson created. At the same time, a variety of his quotes are displayed so you understand what Jim Henson thought of his creative world and, more importantly to me, the media. Because he started his career as a TV commercial creator, he knew the impact which TV has on people. When he started kids' programs such as the Sesame Street, he got rid of commercials. In the video clip from the Emmy Awards back in sometime in the 1980s, which is displayed in the exhibition, he says something really interesting to me. Damn, I don't remember what he was saying. I'd better ask the Smithsonian for the transcript.

Private Tour

SH's friend, R, gave us a private tour in the Capitol. Because he used to work for the Senate and is still working in the Capitol, he is very knowledgeable about the Capitol. He knows the history, system, structure, trivia and everything. So, he was a great guide. I appreciate his time.

James Bond

If you pay $18 to enter a museum, you expect something good. Am I right? I believe I'm right. So, we paied $18 for International Spy Museum.

There was a long line of people to get in. After waiting in a line, we were took to the what floor? The third or fourth floor by the elevator. In the room where you get off the elevator, you are assigned to memorize your fake identity. I picked up an Italian girl as my fake identity and I memorized it. I expected interactive attractions coming up. But I was wrong. The museum is basically all about history. There are some "games" but tons of readings behind displays. By the end of the tour, I was totally exhausted mentally because of readings and physically because the museum is big.

It's worth visiting if you are interested in the history of espionage, but it's not if you expect interactive attractions.

1984

See this scary poster. Yes, it's "1984." A small company arranged the novel to a play. Because it was not officially open, we could tell the price of tickets. It's a neat system, and I like it. The official price is going to be $10. I said $5, because as you know I'm a student. Kind of power abuse? Anyhow, SH treated me. Thank you, SH.

Because even the official ticket price is cheap ($10), I thought I can't expect much. But I was wrong. This play was awesome. I don't remember the name of the playwright, but he/she did a great job. The story is basically the same as the novel, but the play contains more modern essences. And it describes implicitly what is happening in this country. The audience clearly understand what the play indicates. It was great.

One thing I couldn't accept is the temperature of the theater. It was freezing. Actually, we rushed outside for warmth during the interval. I don't understand why some people set air conditioning at such a low temperature. They must come from other planets.

Amtrak Magic

Yea! I came to Washington D.C.!

Before getting excited, I need to write about a miracle Amtrak did.

I was supposed to leave Fayetteville at 1:04 p.m. DM and CM took me the station. Because I was told by the customer service that I need to check in 45 minutes before my departure, we tried to arrive there earlier. We ended up arriving there one hour early. I finished check-in without any trouble or security check. Checking in didn't take time at all, actually. It's not airport check-in, anyway.

Because it was around noon, we had lunch in a fast food restaurant adjacent to the station and came back to the platform around one o'clock. Then, we heard an announcement saying that the train is late for 25 minutes. Well, it's not Japanese railway system. You can't expect much. So, the train came exactly 25 minutes later. In that sense, Amtrak is punctual (?). After saying good-bye to DM and CM (it was sad), I popped on the train.

Because I knew SH was waiting for me in Washington D.C., I needed to let her know that I would be late because of the train delay. Otherwise, she would waste her time at Union Station. I took a nap for a while and came around in Virginia. And I found that I lost signals. Of course, the train was running through ... what can I say ... jungle? My signals came back when the train reached a town. So, I called her and told her to see me around 8:30 p.m. instead of the scheduled arrival time (7:57 p.m.).

After hanging up her phone, the conductor came to tell me that Washing was next. My watch showed 7:00. I thought it's weird and tried to think it would take another hour to get to next stop. But, I was wrong. In 10 minutes, I found the train crossing Potomac River. Why did I know it's Potomac River? Because I was seeing Washington Monument in front of me!

Anyhow, in no time, I arrived at Union Station. The clock showed 7:20! I couldn't, still can't, believe what happened. The Amtrak train which was 25 minutes late caught up and arrived earlier than the scheduled arrival time. Amtrak's ability of catching up is much greater than the Tokaido Line, man!

Face on Fire

A saleslady of Mary Kay drove here all the way from Fayetteville. She appears to contact CM eagerly, and because CM needed to buy a moisturizer anyway, the saleslady ended up performing “facial” to both of us—CM and me. Well, I don’t like wearing makeup on, but CM wanted to have fun together. OK.

So, the saleslady chose appropriate colors (foundation, eye shadows and lipstick) for us. The color she chose for my foundation is ... dark brown. “Man, it’s too dark. I can’t believe the American sense of color,” I thought, but I kept my mouth shut because I’m a polite Japanese.

As the saleslady instructed, I applied that dark brown foundation. Then, I saw a ganguro—charcoal painted face—girl in the mirror. Heck!

Following the ganguro foundation, I put on eye shadows and cheek color again as the saleslady told me. Then, I saw a Hollywood created “Asian girl” in the mirror, who is never beautiful by an Asian standard (or at least my standard) of beauty. The flat eye shape is emphasized with strong colors, and you look really mean. Yeah, I’m mean, grrrrrrr.

After the makeup lecture, the saleslady was eager to sell products to me though I explained I’m a poor student. Give up, lady! CM had already bought the basic set by that time. That’s it for today, man.

Right after she left the house, I washed off the makeup. And ... my face hurt, feeling like getting on fire. Because I usually don’t apply chemicals on the face, my skin is kind of sensitive to chemicals. Anyhow, I would not wear makeup again for a while (maybe 10 years?), hee hee hee.

Static

We went to a mass-selling bookstore this evening. Hanging around in the bookstore is one of our pastime.

I came across Amy Goodman’s book which had stayed at the corner of my mind. Since I knew we would spend a couple of hours there, I picked up the book and started reading. “Man, it’s good to read and may be good for my papers in the future,” I thought. I wanted to highlight some sentences. So, guess what. I bought the book.

Now, I got something which requires me to say ohhhs and ahhhs while reading.