Love-Hate Relationship

As I mentioned recently, I've been evaluating my life in DC and considering a move. In doing so, I've been thinking a lot about what I love and hate about DC. Here are just a few things I thought of in the past few days:

Love

• Motorcades. Even after all these years, they're still exciting to me. I love the slow build up as the police clear the street and the long stream of police cars, ambulances, and SUV's with secret service guys hanging out of the windows with guns. And they seem to bring absolute strangers on the street together as we all stand around speculating on who could be in the armored car.


• The great architecture and lovely little gardens you see in the spring and summer.


• Diversity of people


• Constant abundance of new restaurants to check out


• The fact that DC has increasingly become a hot spot for shooting movies. Last week I stood outside in Adams Morgan with a huge crowd of on-lookers watching a scene from a movie being shot (picture) starring Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd. Not a sight you see everyday around here. However, like many others, I could care less about The Real World being filmed here. I can't believe people still watch that stupid show.


• The numbers of dates with different guys you can go on. Of course, if you're looking for more, this can be kind of negative. It takes me about 3 or 4 dates before I get really bored with the guy anyway and who can knock a free meal.

Hate

• Cab drivers. I've posted about my dislike of cab drivers before. But it's unfortunately hard to live without them, especially when you don't have a car. Some of the things about cabbies that really infuriate me are: telling you they don't have change (how ridiculous!), stopping to ask where you're going before letting you in (they're not even supposed to do that), smoking (also a no-no), and talking on a cell phone without an earpiece (yep, also illegal). Just today I had a cab driver who was filing his fingernails at each light and a few times did not stop doing this when the light turned green!


• People who wear work badges to happy hour


• The overabundance of people who have this sense of self-importance because of their job title, place of work, Alma Mater, salary, organizational affiliation, etc.


• The lack of authentic Asian food in the city


• The fact that some places tend to draw such stereotypical characters like Teaism, especially the Dupont location. I go there often because I love the food and it can be a tranquil place to eat during slow periods. But that wasn't the case the other day even at 3pm. The place is so small that you just can't help hearing other people's conversations. On one side of me were two "connected" moms, one with her child in a stroller, cackling away about a luncheon given by a woman who runs a foundation. As it turns out, Julia Roberts showed up at the luncheon because of some kind of charity work. The two of these women went on and on about how they were so in awe of her, what she looked like ("I bet she doesn't have any wrinkles") and what kind of mom she seemed to be. On the other side of me was the "intellectual dude" with his laptop and stack of Henry James novels as he proceeded to craft the perfect piece of literature.

Sphere: Related Content

Yet Another Shock

This week has been an emotional roller coaster for me. If Metro's crash on Monday wasn't enough, I, along with the rest of the world, am still in shock over the death of Michael Jackson.

My friend Janell called in tears saying she lost her first love. Those were my sentiments exactly. During the Thriller era, I was an adolescent in love with Michael. Or so I thought. I guess the more appropriate term would be a crush. I had countless posters, buttons, t-shirts, and magazines with his face on them. The picture above was one of my favorites. I will even admit to a now very embarrassing fact that I often slept with the Thriller album. I just knew we were destined to be together. My mother must have thought I was insane. But as with every crush, the fantasy dissipates as you mature and reality sets in, which in this case was facilitated by the weirdness that surrounded his life. And I think the sadness for many girls who were in love with him set in long before his death. We lost the guy we fell in love with long ago as his appearance and life became incomprehensible. But what is indisputable is his amazing talent and unbelievable impact on music and the world in general. Michael Jackson single-handedly changed the course of music history forever. Hell, he integrated MTV. And the Jackson family is undeniably, with all of its flaws, a great example of the American Dream. As I stated in my last post, now is the time to celebrate life and in this case, the life of a great talent. So, while I sort of just want to crawl in bed and cry, I think any of us who loved Michael should use the Washington Post's Guru's guide to find a party and dance the pain away! Rest in peace Michael.

Sphere: Related Content

So Many Emotions

This week's Metro collision has first of all made me unbelievably sad. I feel so bad for the friends, family, and co-workers of the victims. I can't even imagine the horror that the victims experienced and still being faced by those injured. Just being on one of those trains would be traumatic. I don't even want to get on Metro right now because it's all so frightening. For those of us who rely on it everyday to get around, it's hard to believe something like this could happen. Yes I know, accidents do happen. But I'm also angry at what very well may have been preventable. In the almost eight years that I've lived here, there have been way too many "accidents" involving employees and riders being struck. And I still remember the collision in 2004 on the red line. The wreckage was left there for days forcing riders to be reminded of it. Luckily that one did not involve fatalities. I am just angry at the entire Metro system for what seems to be carelessness, poor administration, poor maintenance, and lack of and/or mishandling of funds. Why is it that Metro never has money? Don't the millions of residents and visitors pay enough to ride it? And why is it that Metro did not act on the recommendations of the NTSB to get rid of those old trains? I'm quite sure there are others asking the same questions and I only hope the investigation will lead to a safer system. No matter what, this accident serves as a reminder of how uncertain life is and how important it is to celebrate and cherish life to the fullest.

Sphere: Related Content

Cutest Guy in the World

I took a much needed trip to visit my family for the past few days. It wasn't easy though. I value my independence and have become a creature of habit so it's hard to get me out of my comfort zone. And let's face it, visiting family is not a trip to the Bahamas. But as usual, it was fun. I ate a lot, took naps, and did something I never do: spend time with kids. Out of the three, two are teenagers so they almost don't count. They spend most of their time with their friends and act like they don't want to see any adults because you're "all in their business." Whatever. My nephew on the other hand is four years old. Those are his dirty little sneakers in the picture. I know I'm a biased aunt, but I do believe he's the cutest little guy in the world! And he's really smart. Of course for a kid that age, smart generally translates into "he's a little know it all." He told me several times to get off the computer so that he could watch cartoon movies on Netflix. But aren't four year olds supposed to be a little annoying anyway? And where do they get all that energy? It was exhausting just watching him. I forgot about all of that though when I watched him finally fall asleep at night with his favorite teddy bear. I'm hoping he'll grow up to be one of the good guys.

Sphere: Related Content

Flying High

The trapeze has come to my neighborhood. Just a few blocks away from me in the old Convention Center parking lot, Trapeze School has set up shop. It reminded me of that Sex and the City episode when Carrie tried it and was having a hard time letting go and grabbing the hands of the instructor. I think it became a metaphor for her ability to let go of something in life or being able to trust or something...I forget. All I know is that I'm amazed by anybody who dares to do things like that. I'm a little odd when it comes to fear. I'll walk around by myself after midnight in DC but I won't even get on a roller coaster. So, I'm hoping some fabulous city girl will give it a try and report back. It must be very popular because according to the web site, classes are filling up fast.

Sphere: Related Content