A continuation from the previous post…
Other than being the murder capital of the country, I guess the District of Columbia is also known for its federal government buildings and assortment of historical monuments. Beyond Sui’s optometry conference, we didn’t have much of an itinerary.
Which meant we spent most of our time hanging out around the National Mall.
As with any metropolitan area, living outside of the main tourist area saves a bundle on hotel fare; we stayed at inoffensive Crystal City, a mere twenty Metro minutes away from central D.C. but otherwise an artificial piece of overgrown shopping morass. Sui did her research here, and made sure we slept far away from the murder.
Sui and I took a brief trip to Washington, D.C. for a few short days of conference (on Sui’s part) and sightseeing. Being complete noobs to the town, we stuck to the tourist attractions; that is, we wandered up and down the National Mall and peeked into various government buildings.
We did find one or two decent restaurants courtesy of Yelp and Chowhounds, and the pocket camera was there to take appetizing snapshots amidst the more typical monuments and architecture. The capitol building was especially boastful of its storied past, though probably still infantile in the grand timeline of human cultural history.
I’ll make an effort to write a full post later, but for now, enjoy these pictures.
Back when I was in school, Cal’s College of Letters and Science just started a so-called interdisciplinary studies major – a way to become well-versed in multiple areas of study, to prepare for a world where a single skillset was insufficient, a dabbler of many and a master of none.
Always seemed like a lame way to eek out a degree from Berkeley.
At least they got the idea right, in that there is usually a need for someone who can work in multiple areas, though it may not be immediately obvious. Your typical website or webapp requires a few dedicated individuals to build:
Breaking my month-and-a-half post hiatus to give my praises to Zappos – y’know, that online shoe store – for their awesome customer service.
By my reckoning I’m only about two years late to their site, yet I was still struck by their service-first business model that strives to do the right thing for the customer yet somehow lets them remain profitable. Sure, my “shoes are too small, need to exchange for something slightly bigger” story isn’t much compared to the heartwarming tales floating around, but it was enough to prompt some research into what lets them get away with pampering the customer.
Lesson learned: dedicated people + efficient processes are a viable alternative to the bureaucratic, overhead-laden, penny-pinching customer “care” that most companies employ. Just wonder how much it takes for a company to maintain this ideal, especially in light of these economic conditions.