Metro stop: Pentagon

The Pentagon is the worst tourist attraction ever! Seriously. My Japanese friend Daisuke with whom I shared the dorm in the hostel was very keen on seeing the Pentagon. So was I. Thus, after visiting the Capitol and The White House we took the metro to the Pentagon. We didn’t quite know what to expect and stumbled out of the metro with our cameras (his small, mine not so small). But there was nothing really, except lots of fences, the facade of a building (could this be the Pentagon?) and a bus station right ahead. We had a look at the bus station but all the buses seemed to go to other parts of the city. Then we discovered a sign “authorized tourist groups” at the entrance to some security checkpoint building. I didn’t feel very authorized in that moment.

Daisuke at Supreme Court

Unlike Daisuke. And just as he was about to enter the gate a policeman materialized behind us. We hadn’t seen anyone approaching us. It was like is was beamed there in an instant – right out of a movie! Wearing sunglasses, leaning on a pole and arms folded he asked in an authoritarian voice “What are you doing?”. After a few questions about where we are from and what we are doing here, we got to hear that this was the Pentagon and we were not allowed to take any pictures here. And of course we could not enter. Visitors need to register months in advance. We were allowed to visit the Pentagon Memorial though which was erected outside to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack here. So, we decided to check that out. But that wasn’t worth the visit either. It is a sad little park-like thing outside the Pentagon parking lot in the middle of nowhere.
So, whatever you decide to see in Washington DC, skip the Pentagon. You are not missing anything…

I live a diversified life but if there is one constant in it, it’s the little disasters that happen with an astonishing frequency. They are a integral part of my life and ensure that it is never getting too boring. Just a few months ago I got into trouble with the police when shooting some test footage for one of my small film projects on campus. For some reason, I still don’t quite comprehend, some person who witnessed our activities thought that the very authentic-appearing (but harmless) BB gun, we were messing around with, was … well … REAL! So he called the cops. For the rest of the story, check out my video on Vimeo.
No, today’s little disaster wasn’t related to guns but a seemingly harmless USB-stick, I got from the cool GridIron people at the IBC in Amsterdam last weekend. Ha! Don’t be fooled by its small size and unobtrusive appearance. If it has a bail to attach it to your chain of keys, it is a potentially dangerous device! Why? I was planning to go to my cousin’s wedding. It is a 9 hour train ride from Heidelberg and because I am not the most organized person, I intended to take the last possible train connection to make it to the wedding ceremony. As usual, I started packing my things no more than 1 hour before the train would leave at 4:30 am. Because there is no public transport at this early hour, I called a cab (not cop) to drive me to the station. When I heard the cab arrive at 4:05, naturally, I was still very busy with packing. No time to iron the shirt I will wear at the wedding; no time to print out a map of the location of the church; no time to dry my fav t-shirt which just came out of the laundry (I put it on instead. 36° body temperature do the job.) I was afraid, the cab might be leaving if I take much longer. So I ran outside to ask the driver to wait a few more minutes until I am done. On my way back in, I realized which stupid mistake I did this time: my keys were gone and I was locked out. 25 minutes before the last train leaves, to still make it to the wedding of my cousin. My keys weren’t in my pocket because earlier today I attached them to my fancy new GridIron USB-stick, I am proud to possess. And that USB-stick was plugged in to my computer because I wanted to do some last minute file transfer. And there it was again, the feeling of being a complete idiot. (I usually always check if I have the keys on me. The only times I don’t are when it’s actually important…) I had no choice but the ring the bell of my neighbor. What are the chances that they bother to get up and check who is disturbing their sleep at 4 am in the morning? Neighbor #1 did not react within 30 seconds, so I rang neighbor #2 and then #3, #4, #5 … all of them.  Time was a limiting factor for me. They’ll probably hate me now. But I will be forever grateful to the shirtless student from the top floor who bothered to get up and look out of the window to check who’s waking him at this hour. I explained to him and he opened the front door. I was lucky enough to have left the door to my apartment wide open when I rushed outside. This time I was saved. But I haven’t always been that lucky. So far I have missed four flights in my life (and counting…) Each of them for another uniquely stupid reason, I was fully responsable for. Thus, this was only my first small disaster to report here. Rest assured, it won’t be the last…
Meanwhile, you may want to consider detaching your USB-stick from your keychain if you are equally absent minded and chaotic like me.