straight, non-metro men might want to tune out for this one

Today was a beautiful day in the nation's capital, which is a nice extra but not required; even on the crappy/icy/cold/wet/windy/all of the above days, I prefer the walk/metro trip to work to driving. Still, I appreciated the gorgeous weather, since I had to go to Banana Republic to pay my credit card. You see, I misplaced one credit card, got a new one with a new number; this has made it impossible to pay my bill online. Which is annoying. But I love that I can theoretically pay my BR bill during my lunch break, by walking over to BR. I say theoretically, because apparently BR doesn't let you pay your card in the store. Which is kind of silly, just from a marketing perspective: wouldn't you take an easy opportunity to draw people in to a store? I mean, even NY&Co. lets you pay your card in the store, which is moot because I no longer have one of their cards nor recommend that anyone get one or shop there. Their stuff is exceptionally cheaply made, but not in an obvious way. It's made to fit well, but I've not bought a single thing there that hasn't torn at the seams or lost a button or two upon being worn a few times.

Anyway, luckily it was a beautiful day for a walk over to BR. And I love that I can walk to BR, from work. I love being walking distance to all sorts of things.

So how do you explain this: I work in Chinatown, and I have to drive to Landmark or farther for wonton wrappers. How does that work? Chain stores and restaurants with Chinese characters on their awnings do not a Chinatown make. I will admit, it's become more authentic in recent years. The Gate is a nice touch. An Asian market of some sort would be great, though.

Okay, now that you've stuck through this, read the article referenced in the previous post.