 For as long as I can remember I've had the fear of being trapped in an elevator in the back of my mind but never thought it would actually happen. Too bad that it just did.
It had already been a day chock full of one odd random human interaction after another as I went to a series of doctors' appointments that I set up months ago. In the elevator on the way to my last doc visit of the day -- the dentist's office -- a guy who works at the hotel (which is in the same building as my dentist) came in and said, "Hey, how's it goin'?"
"Fine," I responded.
"Well, that's good. Glad to hear. Don't you remember me," he asked with a huge off-white grin.
"No. Am I supposed to know you?"
"Didn't I pick you up from Woodberry recently? You know, through the shuttle service and what-not," he asked.
"Nope," I said. The doors opened, it was time to step off. Thank God.
An hour later I stood in the exact same place waiting to leave, hoping I wouldn't run into the weird hotel guy again. Ding. The elevator doors opened. No one in sight, so it would probably be just me until I got to my car. Awesome.
Passed floor 3, passed floor 2, ... screech. The elevator stopped and the lights went out.
"Oh nooooo," I screamed.
I had been standing by the right door so I began reaching for the emergency button, while blindly pulling and pushing knobs. A few minutes later, I feel the elevator quickly move down before the doors jolted open.
I ran into the lobby as my eyes popped out of their sockets, my hands shook by my side, my heart pounded in my ears, and told the person working behind the desk what happened. It wasn't until after I got home that I finally calmed down.
I keep telling myself that there's nothing to be afraid of when I go back to work tomorrow. I work on the 12th floor and don't have the time to huff and puff up that many flights of stairs. I just tried to find some info on how many people are scared to get in elevators and, surprisingly, no studies or reports have been done on the topic. But elevator phobia is definitely real! Type it into Google and see how many articles have been written about the subject.
Still doesn't help the amazing experience I just had.
 Nothing beats a cocktail party in a beautiful space. Last Thursday Crimson & Clover had a jewelry party featuring Stella & Dot and local designers Whoop and Lizzie Lu. Crimson and Clover's new space off Deepdene Rd. is bright and lively, flowers were also half off. There was plenty of beer of wine, including sangria. But the best part was the AMAZING hummus. I had no idea where it came from and after asking I found out that it was Trader Joe's White Bean Basil & Garlic Hummus. I hadn't eaten dinner so the second that I discovered it, I couldn't stop shoveling it in. If I could have scooped it out with a large spoon without looking like a complete hog, I would have. Too bad I didn't take a photo of it either. God, I love food way too much. Below are some photos I did take. Feel free to click on them if you want to view them in a larger size.
The next time I have a party, you better BELIEVE that I will have that White Bean Hummus from Trader Joe's.
Yes, I am still thinking about it!
 Most if not all Marylanders know that the Discovery Channel's headquarters is based in Silver Spring, which is just a little more than 30 miles away from downtown Baltimore. But what we might not know is that they added a huge shark to the sides of their building to kick off their annual Shark Week, which begins on August 1. My brother snapped a bunch of photos, two are featured here.
 Now as cool as this humongous shark is, I can't help but feel sorry for the people with office windows that are completely blocked off from the outside world. I wonder if it's like being at work with the curtains or blinds closed or if it's like being in a windowless cubicle with a glass wall. Maybe during a sunny day it lights up the room? Or maybe sunlight can actually get through.
Regardless, the idea is pretty cool. From a marketing standpoint it's a great example of how to get people's attention in a cutesy "hey, wait a minute" kind of way, which isn't bad for 23 years into the annual television programming.
Maybe it's the stately music or the fact that I can imagine where this streetcar must have run about 70 years ago. This home movie of a family taking a trolley ride through Roland Park is amazing. Now if only all trips around the city were this relaxing. It's incredible, watch!
 Last Sunday the world watched as Spain finally scored a goal against Netherlands, winning this year's FIFA World Cup. Before the 2010 World Cup even finished, the idea of having the global event take place in Baltimore began to buzz.
More than 31,000 people have signed the official petition to bring the World Cup to Baltimore in 2018 or 2022. Anyone can easily support the bid, see below.
But do we really want the World Cup to come to Baltimore? With all good ideas come potentially negative consequences. So rather than spending too much time taking a position stating why Baltimore either should or shouldn't host the World Cup, here are just some thoughts about why it's both a good and bad idea. Why it's a good idea: - It could give the city good PR. As much as I loved "The Wire" it didn't give the city a positive view from people who've never been here. A recent study on this year's World Cup shows that more than 90% of all tourists who traveled to South Africa would recommend the location to friends and family for future vacations. Not to mention the billions of people who watched the games internationally.
- Tourism = dollars. Baltimore is a poor city. No further explanation needed.
- It would be a dream come true for soccer lovers. But, of course!
- It will amplify the already seemingly diverse culture permeating throughout the city.
Why it's a bad idea: - Baltimore has a lot of poor people. A LOT. I saw in the news time and again that of the $2 billion that South Africa spent on the infrastructure to get ready for the World Cup, a lot of the money was spent "pushing aside the poor."
- Do we have the space? Supporters of bringing the World Cup to Baltimore are trying to sell M&T Bank Stadium for the games. But this seems like a lie since all of the soccer games I've ever been to in Baltimore have all been at First Mariner Bank Arena, which is entirely way too small for an event like the World Cup.
- I have no idea how many hotel rooms were booked and how many hotel rooms are needed to host such a large-scale event. Do we even have the capacity to host the event? I can't seem to find answers about this anywhere.
- This also leads to a major traffic question. Rush hours in Baltimore are particularly awful during baseball and football seasons if the teams are doing well. In an event like the World Cup, how long do you think it might take to get from one place to another?
What do you think?
Love being a child of the '80s. "Crystals," the new Thrushes video directed by the Metro Gallery's Guy Werner, was recently posted on YouTube. Baltimore artists Kevin Blackistone, Rob Hatch and Bennii Denrich also assisted with the production. Good work done by all!
The idea? To create a show for college students. Not long after College Magazine submitted their video to Oprah's contest, they received a response explaining that they included protected materials making them ineligible. But it's a misunderstanding because College Magazine owns the rights to all the images in the video. According to Amanda, they've emailed, called and have even spoken with Oprah's OWN personnel. This left them with two options: do nothing or post their video to YouTube to see if they could get Oprah's attention. If you think the video I've embedded above is as good as I do, show your support. Share the video with friends and/or leave a comment on the video posted to YouTube. On a final note, I can't help but wonder if the College Magazine team should send this story to Kathy Griffin? We all know she's been trying to get Oprah's attention for years...
Shortly after July 4th I had to take a trip down to Louisville, Kentucky for work. It was productive, fast, and interesting. The best part was going to this sushi place called Asahi. As you can see, we ordered some great looking rolls. They had plenty of vegetarian options, including Tofu Teriyaki -- both as a roll and as a standalone dish -- but I opted to pass since I had to catch a flight back to Baltimore hours later. My coworker thought that we might have an Asahi in Baltimore. I just did a quick search and found an address for one in Fells Point. Is it a chain? I think I'm going to do some investigating on it soon. On the days that I drove to work in Baltimore this week, I noticed a repeat offense: PEOPLE SWITCHING ON THEIR WINDSHIELD WIPER FLUID WHILE DRIVING 50+ MILES PER HOUR ON I-83. Yes, I am shouting this because it's wrong for so many reasons: - It's rude! It's hard enough to concentrate on driving early in the morning, when a back-up can appear at any given time. Especially during situations that can be hard to anticipate, sometimes cropping up on the twist and turns on I-83. Let's concentrate on the road and not the mysterious fluid that's suddenly appearing on YOUR windshield because of the car in front of you.
- It's dangerous! It's hard to concentrate on what's going on when your car's being dumped on. People love to switch lanes when in a hurry, so the last thing you need is gross, mystery goo on your windshield when another person needs to cut in front of you for whatever reason. Also, did you know that GM recalled 1.5 million cars for faulty windshield wiper systems last month? According to news reports, the system could short circuit and cause a fire!
- It's dumb! If your windshield is that dirty, push the button to clean off your windshield before you even pull out of your parking space or driveway. That way you avoid having a cloudy, messy windshield, which impairs your own ability to drive, and reduces the chance of pissing people off on the road.
I really hope I don't see this again next week!
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