Saturday, April 24, 2004
MOCA vs. Bogart
Don't be misled by the title. It's not a court case name, nor is it two new college basketball teams. It refers to a Larry David-esque episode I encountered this afternoon.
I went to Georgetown to check out the David Lynch Exhibit. Since the MOCA website gives awful directions, when I arrived on 31st Street, I didn't know where to go. So I went into a stationary store nearby and asked a lady inside. The conversation went as follows:
Me: Do you know where MOCA is?
Lady: Yeah, walk past Blues Alley, make a left, and it'll be on your left on Wisconsin Avenue.
Me: OK, thanks.
I followed her instructions, walked past Blues Alley, made a left, walked past a tea shop, a sex toy store, and a small river. MOCA was still nowhere to be found. So I walked back to the stationary store.
Me: I'm sorry. I couldn't find it. It's not there.
Lady: It's there. Right on Wisconsin.
Me: No, I looked at every store. There's no MOCA.
Lady (yelling): MOCA? You didn't say MOCA, you said Bogart.
Me: I know what I said, lady. I said MOCA.
Lady: MOCA's downstairs.
I don't think my pronunciation is all that bad. MOCA and Bogart involves very different syllables. I think DC people have a problem (1) listening and comprehending what other people say and (2) giving simple and accurate directions. I have had few good experience asking for directions. Usually they send you to the wrong place or do not know about the location at all. In other words, they are not helpful.
So next time when people ask you where MOCA is, first make sure they're not looking for Bogart.
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I went to Georgetown to check out the David Lynch Exhibit. Since the MOCA website gives awful directions, when I arrived on 31st Street, I didn't know where to go. So I went into a stationary store nearby and asked a lady inside. The conversation went as follows:
Me: Do you know where MOCA is?
Lady: Yeah, walk past Blues Alley, make a left, and it'll be on your left on Wisconsin Avenue.
Me: OK, thanks.
I followed her instructions, walked past Blues Alley, made a left, walked past a tea shop, a sex toy store, and a small river. MOCA was still nowhere to be found. So I walked back to the stationary store.
Me: I'm sorry. I couldn't find it. It's not there.
Lady: It's there. Right on Wisconsin.
Me: No, I looked at every store. There's no MOCA.
Lady (yelling): MOCA? You didn't say MOCA, you said Bogart.
Me: I know what I said, lady. I said MOCA.
Lady: MOCA's downstairs.
I don't think my pronunciation is all that bad. MOCA and Bogart involves very different syllables. I think DC people have a problem (1) listening and comprehending what other people say and (2) giving simple and accurate directions. I have had few good experience asking for directions. Usually they send you to the wrong place or do not know about the location at all. In other words, they are not helpful.
So next time when people ask you where MOCA is, first make sure they're not looking for Bogart.
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