Comet Ping Pong

I used to be a big fan of this place on upper Conn. Ave in NW DC, but my enthusiasm is starting to wane. They have been playing w/ their dough recipe since they opened and the one they seemed to have settled on has an off flavor. It tastes like they are using heavily chlorinated tap water when making the dough and the chlorine taste is tainting the outcome. I don't know. Also, the servers used to actually pay attention to their tables, now they seem to stand around in the corner and chat w/ their backs to the tables. Not good. Darn.

Traffic H - "H" as in Hell

For those of you new to the Silver Spring area - the Traffic H is where West and East Beach Drive connect in Rock Creek Park. I drive this way every day and have observed that if you are on the path of the RED arrows in this image, the object of the game is to accelerate as quickly as your can can after you turn left onto E Beach Drive. You win points if you can accelerate quickly enough to keep the cars on the paths of the BLUE arrows from advancing. Also, another object of the game appears to be to ignore any cars on Kalimia Rd - though they do have right of way once it's their turn or if they were there first, it's cool to do a rolling stop and cut them off. They aren't really part of the traffic H it seems.

Address please

When checking in at the front desk of my gym, Fitness First, the person behind the counter handed me a card and told me the office needed to verify my current address. I asked him if I could give the address to him and he could change it on the computer that just beeped at him to tell him to ask me for the address... he said no, I'd have to call the main office. Was I asking too much when I asked him, the company representative, to take my address and either make or facilitate the change?

Change first please

Why do some cashiers hand you your paper money and then your change? Leaving you in the situation where you have $.98 in change on top of slick paper money while your other hand is carrying a purchase?

Someone tell the teller

I've been a long time customer of Chevy Chase Savings Bank and was at the teller window recently when I overheard the transaction going on next to me. The customer watned his $1,000 in 10 $100 bills. The teller told him that he only had one $100 bill and the rest would have to be in $50 bills. The teller ask, "Is that ok?" The customer said he'd prefer $100 bills. The teller told him that he only had the $50s and started counting out the money.

1. Was that really the only $100 bill the bank had? Or was it the only $100 bill that particular teller had at that moment? If the later, does the bank have a policy against allowing the teller to tade is $50 bills for $100s in the vault or with another teller?

2. Why did the teller ask the customer if it was "ok" to give him $50 bills if the customer's answer really didn't matter?

The ironic thing was that the teller in question's title was "Lead Customer Service Represntative" or something like that.