Story of my day:
Noon: I wake up groggily and slowly to the sound of the alarm clock. I check e-mail and dawdle. I start several tasks at once and get about five seconds into each, in a wonderful display of unproductivity. By the time I prepare lunch plus food to take with me, pack my backpack, and dig change out of the nooks and crannies of the apartment, I have to race out the door to catch the bus.
1:30: I get off one bus and try to transfer to the second. I realize that my mom and I have miscommunicated the address of the dentist's office. I speak to several bus drivers and try to figure out how to get where I'm going; no one knows.
1:50: I grudgingly pay for a cab to the dentist's office. I realize it was a 5 minute walk if I'd known how to get there.
2:00: The dentist tells me that even though she is my provider as of Sept. 1st, if the health plan hasn't sent them a roster with my name on it, she can't give me a cleaning and checkup. I look panicked and whine about going back to school and wisdom teeth and getting kicked off my parents' insurance. She takes a quick "complimentary" look in my mouth, tells me to get my wisdom teeth out ASAP, and writes me a referral slip to an oral surgeon.
2:45: I walk back to the Metro station/bus terminal and decide to take the bus back to the apartment for a couple hours, instead of the original plan to go straight downtown and hang out before the NFL kickoff free concert. After waiting for the bus for about 10 minutes, I realize that on my way out the door, I forgot to bring the apartment key. I decide to go straight downtown.
3:30: After walking in a circle around the Department of Agriculture because I couldn't be bothered to spend 10 seconds orienting myself, I set off to the Museum of Air and Space to kill some time. I do the obligatory point-at-the-LM-and-say-"My grandpa made that" thing and then find some exhibits I haven't seen before.
5:30: They kick me out of the Air and Space Museum into the drizzle. I call my dad, who still wants to give the free concert a try. I try to find somewhere dry to sit and eat the food I brought along-- my idea is a McDonalds or something. I walk for blocks and see nothing but various government buildings. Finally I spot a cafe in the distance, but it turns out to only be open from 10 to 3. I sit on a flowerpot under the awning, rest my tired legs, and eat.
6:00: I arrive back at the Smithsonian Metro station where I'm meeting my dad, and discover there's actually a dry place to sit right there. I watch some peace demonstrators dressed up in pink, but when they leave I'm reduced to watching the Jews for Jesus guy. After a half-hour of watching hundreds of pamphlets go in the garbage, I decide that there should be mandatory paper-recycling bins on street corners. (Or at least around Jews for Jesus freaks.) I can hear some random patriotic chanting over the speakers on the Mall. Then a snatch of "Born in the USA." I smack myself in the forehead.
6:30: My dad arrives. We go through security. We find a not-too-muddy place to lay down our towel, close enough to see the top arch of the stage but with no chance to see anyone on it. We are given the first of our many complimentary cans of Pepsi Vanilla. Considering how much I dislike all forms of cola, it's surprisingly edible. (Drinkable? Potable?)
7:00: Good Charlotte plays. One song.
7:05: Commercials begin on the big screen in front of us. Yay NFL. Yay Pepsi Vanilla. Yay, the same commercials over and over and over again.
7:30: Mary J. Blige performs. Two songs.
7:35: Commercials. Lots. The same ones. We sit down on the towel and gripe. I ask myself why I am here, and then remind myself that I feel a lot less pathetic about having accomplished nothing all day if I have the excuse of having been out of the house.
8:00: Britney Spears comes out and does two songs. But there are fireworks, which we can actually see. This is fairly cool.
8:05: Wild guess what happens for the next approximately 25 minutes. The NFL clearly cares a whole lot about our experience here. But no one will notice on TV.
8:30: Aerosmith time! And we are lucky enough to get three whole songs! Walk This Way, Dream On, and Back in the Saddle. Only slightly marred by the 40-ish guy standing next to me who sings loudly and off-key, flails his arms in wild air drumming, and claps his hands (off the beat, too). During "Dream On." Please, stop.
9:00: Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem. We sit down and watch a quarter of the football game broadcast live on the screens, hoping to wait past the rush at the Metro station.
11:00: Home sweet home.
