Tag: DC

The McBournie Minute: Bars are still fun

People at my last job in their forties told me that I would soon get tired of the bar scene–that after a few years of being able to drink, going to a bar would seem an unlikely and unnecessary choice. After being able to drink for nearly four years, I have found that the answer is yes and no.

When you get into the mode of trying to save cash whenever you can (especially if several of your selfish friends are planning to get married in the same year, and expect you to get hotel rooms and snazzy clothes for each of them), going to the bar doesn’t make any sense. Why would you want to go to a bar and pay much more for a drink you could pour yourself? On top of that, you have to tip the bartender. Don’t skimp on this, people. If you are too broke to tip, you are too broke to be at a bar. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: Bars are still fun

The McBournie Minute: The hazards of mass transit

If you’re like most Americans, you have at job. (In some cases, two jobs. Thanks, economy!) The only thing worse than work on a Monday is the process of getting to and from work everyday. Odds are if you live some place people want to live, you’re going to be dealing with plenty of other people hurrying to work.

At my last job, I did not have this problem. I worked five minutes away from my office. It sounds insanely short, but that is what happens when you live and work on an island. You can only drive so far before you either hit a bridge or water. It also came in handy because I worked as a reporter for the local newspaper. When something happened outside of work hours, (breaking news like fires, accidents and elementary school plays) I was there to make sure we got a picture. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: The hazards of mass transit

Snakes in a bag

The Easter holiday travel time might be over finally, but now we are left to clean up the mess left by attacks on our high holy holiday. Unlike humans, animals are soulless and do not believe in God. This is proven by their attempts to thwart Easter in the name of their ungodly cause.

A man outside of Washington, a current hotbed of animal activity, was attacked by a snake that got into his luggage somehow. The man, a rowing coach, had been in South Carolina and reached into his luggage after returning home. There he was bitten by a rattlesnake. Firefighters were the first to arrive on scene.

“‘We took the bag outside and used a [carbon dioxide] fire extinguisher to freeze the snake,’ killing it, Barksdale said.”

Truly, our country’s bravest.

Blind optimism keeps you blind

Sometimes a person is on top of their game. Sometimes that person is ahead of the pack. They’re ready, willing and able to take on anything that’s coming their way. Nothing’s gonna get by their eye.

These are not those type of people.

Don’t believe me? Let’s view our first example. Recently, a 74 year old woman has filed a lawsuit with a company that has harassed her with repeated phone sex calls. Now, I really don’t care to think about the friskiness of geriatrics, mainly because I want to keep down my lunch for the past three weeks, but you might think that the company would’ve taken a hint back in 2006 when it was first told to stop sending these calls. Nope. A collection company then sent a bill to said septuagenarians. Thanks to their mistake, Palisades Acquisition IX is now on their way to being out an unspecified amount of money. Whoops!

Still in disbelief? Try this. A bank in downtown D.C. had a run in with a less than real Brinks guard who decided on getting a “payday advance.” This was not realized by bank officials or the local police until 11 hours after the fact. Thanks to the slip-up by a branch manager, Wachovia is out $100,000. Whoops! It’s OK though, because even though police don’t have a detailed description of the robber and don’t know whether he left the bank in a vehicle or on foot, “I think we’ll get him,” says Lt. William Farr.

Remember people, keep looking at both your fronts and your backs. You never know what it may cost you.