I have recently been informed, by various individuals, that the following facts render me "Un-American":
a) I live in the nation's capitol, but watched the Independence Day fireworks on TV (though we did see a few live ones out of our kitchen window).
b) I watch the Rachel Maddow show on a semi-regular basis (though only when I get home from work before 9, which is a rarity these days).
c) I don't like hot dogs (though I have bought several from Salu, the hot dog vendor outside my office, just because he's the only one who talks to me around here).
d) I drink hot tea in the summer, even when I'm not sick (all my husband's fault).
e) I think it's about time the media started covering something other than Michael Jackson (no parenthetical here--that's just true).
But gosh darn it, I spent my Fourth of July listening to country music and baking a peach pie. Does that get me back in the club?
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
My morning walk has gotten a lot more colorful recently. It is Pride week in the District (and in the country in general), and we live in the heart of it all—Dupont Circle (also known as the “Froot Loop”). The local businesses have been preparing for weeks, hanging rainbow flags and streamers and all sorts of colorful decorations.
Our own celebration began Friday night, with a lovely evening at our neighborhood Italian restaurant, Dupont Italian Kitchen (lovingly referred to by locals as “DIKs”). We claimed the very last outdoor table so that we could relax and enjoy the lovely evening weather, delicious food, and the always entertaining sights and sounds of DC on a Friday night. Dinner got a lot more flavor, however, when the underwear models showed up. In their work clothes. Because really, the best way to sell underwear is to send a loud pack of half a dozen male models to gallivant around Dupont Circle in very small boxer-briefs.
That was just a warm-up to the next day’s festivities. Since we live basically on the parade route and had been hearing the rowdy crowd since noon, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to stay inside and work (it would have been hard to work with all that racket anyway). So we headed out to enjoy the experience. And experience we did.
Turns out, there are cowboys in DC too.
And fun hair-dos.
And leather.
And beauty pageant queens.
All things you can find in Oklahoma, right?
We saw lots of debauchery, and other things we’d never seen before. But we also saw things that moved us (well me) to tears. Like the group of parents marching with signs that said “we love our kids.” And the “marriage is a civil right” signs being carried by the children of gay parents. And the churches and synagogues who sent representatives to show their support.
All in all, an excellent way to spend a Saturday night.
Our own celebration began Friday night, with a lovely evening at our neighborhood Italian restaurant, Dupont Italian Kitchen (lovingly referred to by locals as “DIKs”). We claimed the very last outdoor table so that we could relax and enjoy the lovely evening weather, delicious food, and the always entertaining sights and sounds of DC on a Friday night. Dinner got a lot more flavor, however, when the underwear models showed up. In their work clothes. Because really, the best way to sell underwear is to send a loud pack of half a dozen male models to gallivant around Dupont Circle in very small boxer-briefs.
That was just a warm-up to the next day’s festivities. Since we live basically on the parade route and had been hearing the rowdy crowd since noon, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to stay inside and work (it would have been hard to work with all that racket anyway). So we headed out to enjoy the experience. And experience we did.
Turns out, there are cowboys in DC too.
And fun hair-dos.
And leather.
And beauty pageant queens.
All things you can find in Oklahoma, right?
We saw lots of debauchery, and other things we’d never seen before. But we also saw things that moved us (well me) to tears. Like the group of parents marching with signs that said “we love our kids.” And the “marriage is a civil right” signs being carried by the children of gay parents. And the churches and synagogues who sent representatives to show their support.
All in all, an excellent way to spend a Saturday night.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Oh what a beautiful day...
Today was one of the best days I have had in a very, very long time. In part, this must be attributed to the breathtakingly beautiful Spring weather; however, most of the credit goes to my darling husband and our dear friend Oz, who trained down from New York yesterday evening for a brief but wonderful 24-hour visit.
Last night, the three of us stayed up until 2am, just catching up and reminiscing. Today, we whiled away the day at Mount Vernon, soaking up some sun and history and togetherness. I must say, the feel of the sun on the skin has a way of brightening more than one's complexion. The red buds and cherry tree blossoms were out in full force, painting the vast estate's grounds in vibrant hues of reds and purples and pinks (which matched my nose and shoulders by the end of the day). Basking in the warmth, breathing the crisp, fresh air, and gazing out on the Potomac, I think we truly understood why George Washington almost turned down the presidency to remain at his home. I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed the day--I'll just note that, between the three of us, we must have proclaimed it beautiful about 30 different times before the sun went down.
This evening, after a quick visit to the White House and a scrumptious meal at our favorite Indian restaurant, we dropped Oz off at the train station. Although I usually despise such partings, and I did hate to see him go, I honestly couldn't muster up any sadness for the goodbye--I was too thankful for the sweet, simple, beautiful day.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
How you know it's Spring--DC Style
I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but there is a tiny elementary school down the street from our apartment. I will not be sending my children there.
I'm sure it's a fine school--the parents who drop their kids off in their BMWs certainly look like they could have had their pick of places to educate their children, and they picked this one. But in my opinion, this is a very sad, sad elementary school. Not because the children who go there are "underprivileged" in the normal sense of the word--just the opposite. But these children are definitely deprived of something.
These kids walk to school every day on the concrete streets, dodging homeless people and pigeons, or else they are dropped off with the dry cleaning on their parents' way to work. These kids will never know the fun of handclap games played with Christi S. as they are shuttled into town on the big yellow bus. These kids will never have "field day" with shaving cream fights and kickball. These kids will never spend an entire recess camped out behind the school hunting for four-leaf clovers while plotting the next I Love Dusty T. Club. Instead, these kids will learn that trees are born in little fenced plots that crop up every five-or-so cement squares, and that the (imported) dirt they are planted in exists solely to serve as a dog-toilet. They will learn to modify their playground games so that they fit orderly into a 1/8 an acre space. And while these kids will have available to them every worldly opportunity--theatre, art, ethnic food, culture at their fingertips--at recess, these children will go outside and play on astroturf. Astroturf! This ra-ra city school can't even give these poor cement-grown children decent dirt and grass to play on outside.
The elementary school does at least make an effort to educate these kids a little bit about the seasons, however. Although the astroturf stays a vibrant green throughout the year, at springtime the teachers "plant" "flowers" in the "flowerbeds" that surround the fenced-in playground. So the kids at least get some plastic flowers to go with their plastic grass in the Spring. Ankur took a picture of one of these flowers on his way home from school the other day, so that I could share it with you.
Happy DC Springtime!
I'm sure it's a fine school--the parents who drop their kids off in their BMWs certainly look like they could have had their pick of places to educate their children, and they picked this one. But in my opinion, this is a very sad, sad elementary school. Not because the children who go there are "underprivileged" in the normal sense of the word--just the opposite. But these children are definitely deprived of something.
These kids walk to school every day on the concrete streets, dodging homeless people and pigeons, or else they are dropped off with the dry cleaning on their parents' way to work. These kids will never know the fun of handclap games played with Christi S. as they are shuttled into town on the big yellow bus. These kids will never have "field day" with shaving cream fights and kickball. These kids will never spend an entire recess camped out behind the school hunting for four-leaf clovers while plotting the next I Love Dusty T. Club. Instead, these kids will learn that trees are born in little fenced plots that crop up every five-or-so cement squares, and that the (imported) dirt they are planted in exists solely to serve as a dog-toilet. They will learn to modify their playground games so that they fit orderly into a 1/8 an acre space. And while these kids will have available to them every worldly opportunity--theatre, art, ethnic food, culture at their fingertips--at recess, these children will go outside and play on astroturf. Astroturf! This ra-ra city school can't even give these poor cement-grown children decent dirt and grass to play on outside.
The elementary school does at least make an effort to educate these kids a little bit about the seasons, however. Although the astroturf stays a vibrant green throughout the year, at springtime the teachers "plant" "flowers" in the "flowerbeds" that surround the fenced-in playground. So the kids at least get some plastic flowers to go with their plastic grass in the Spring. Ankur took a picture of one of these flowers on his way home from school the other day, so that I could share it with you.
Happy DC Springtime!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The best part of DC
It was 69 degrees and sunny--the first really nice day of the year--and even an impending biology exam and a half-finished preliminary injunction motion couldn't keep us indoors. So we abandoned our books and walked the two and a half miles down to the Tidal Basin, where we basked in the joy of the sun and the cherry blossoms with the throngs of tourists and natives out marveling at the beauty of it all. The best international gift ever. (Beats the heck out of a bunch of DVDs.)
Happy Spring!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Ketchup
First, an apology. It seems that whenever I have nothing to write about other than cupcake stores and how much I despise my office neighbor, I have plenty of time to do said writing. But whenever I have many interesting things to write about, I also have many interesting things that must be done. I apologize profusely for my neglect, and in an effort to get back in your good graces, I have arisen early on a Saturday morning to do all things life-related before I head to work.
Second, an update. Work has gotten approximately 1,287,526 times better recently. Work has also gotten approximately 1,287,526 times busier recently. I am entirely convinced that the driving force behind both of these changes is one teeny tiny life change--I moved offices.
After one particularly memorable outburst involving an F*$%ing printer and a techie who purportedly does bad things to his mother and a flying chair, I decided to make my difficulties known to the powers that be. My practice group leader took pity on me (apparently Loud Liverish Lobbyist has a reputation) and gave me his permission to occupy one of the empty "good" offices, which had theretofore been reserved for a summer associate. Let me fill you in on one of the dirty little secrets of Biglaw--the powers that be keep the "good" offices empty all year so that they will be available for the summer associates. This way, in the ten-week brainwashing session that is the summer, the recruits will garner the impression that all the other lawyers in the firm are totally normal, friendly people with whom you can see yourself working forever. Only after they suck you in are they willing to expose you to the innards of firm life, such as Loud Liverish Lobbyist.
Ahem...Moving on. So now I am actually on the same floor as the other lawyers who do appellate work. Not only are appellate lawyers apparently far nicer, nerdier, and more sedate than lobbyists, but they are also the ones who dole out the cool (in my opinion) work in the office. And now they all have to walk right past my desk to get to the bathroom. It seems that a lot of good thinking gets done in the bathroom, because these lawyers are constantly dropping by my office on their way back and giving me something to do. And now, like magic, I am in the thick of a ton of interesting matters.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about said interesting matters, and that is what is taking up all (and I do mean all) of my time right now. But I can tell you about my first Supreme Court experience, which occurred just a couple days after the Big Move. You might recall that I spent the bulk of my first few months at work poring over ancient English cases in order to show the real powers that be that due process does not include the right to a judge that is (or, more accurately, appears) unbiased--or, at least, that it didn't at common law. Well, that case was argued a couple of weeks ago, and the other associate who worked on the case and I got to go watch! It was one of the premier matchups of the season, with our Andy Frey (now 65 Supreme Court oral arguments under his belt) and their Ted Olson (former Solicitor General) duking it out over judicial bias before a bunch of judges. And it did not disappoint. Most of the Justices had clearly staked out a position early, and they were not shy about making their feelings known. The lawyers sparred admirably. I don't think any of the Justices' questions were a surprise, but the level of their vehemence (on both sides) certainly was. We'll see how it turns out.
The experience itself deserves some more discussion, though, just because it was an exercise in extremes. Another little legal insight for the lay readers out there--the Supreme Court courtroom is quite grand but really, really small. Because of this limited space, the Court's odd mix of egalitarian and elitist ideals are made readily apparent in things as simple as the manner in which people get in to see a Supreme Court argument. The process starts with the three lines: (1) the "three minute" line, (2) the Bar line, and (3) the Public line.
As soon as the Court announces the dates of its arguments, people start scrambling for "tickets" for the three minute line. Actually, there are no physical tickets, your name just goes on a list, kind of like an elite nightclub for law nerds. People with these tickets get to waltz right up the steps to the court, wait in line literally for three minutes, and get ushered in to a good seat. Magic. You get these tickets by either (a) being a litigant or one of his ten or so closest friends, (b) being a former Supreme Court clerk, or (c) being friends with a current Supreme Court clerk. As our litigant tickets were claimed by the client and the more senior lawyers on the team, as we were not former Supreme Court clerks, and as our Supreme Court clerk friends were barred from talking to us during the pendancy of the appeal (particularly important in a case involving judicial bias), we were unable to procure one of these golden tickets.
Which brings me to the bar line. The bar line is for people like our bosses, who are members of the Supreme Court bar. They have their own separate line, which is capped at a certain number of reserved seats. These members of the bar run some risk in particularly popular cases, but if they get there about an hour in advance, they're likely to get a seat. We are too young to be members of the bar, however, so that one was out, too.
Finally, there's the Public line. This line is for the crazy people who, for whatever reason, are so interested in the case before the Court that they are willing to wake up at the crack of dawn (or, for an argument that has generated a lot of press like our case, well before dawn) to stand in line for hours in freezing cold temperatures to fight for one of the 150 seats reserved for the public. These seats are on hard wooden chairs squeezed in between (and behind) big marble pillars, so you may or may not actually see the Justices. But you will be inside the Court, and you will hear them, and for those of us who do care enough to risk frostbite in order to hear Nino's take on the brief we helped write, that's enough.
So Other Associate and I got up at 4:30 in the morning, pulled on our long underwear underneath our best suits, and headed to the marble steps of One First Street to stand in the Public line. Let me tell you, long underwear and a business suit do not do much in zero-degree temperatures well before the sun comes up. But we bonded with each other, and with the Public Citizen lawyers and the West Virginia tourists and the Mississippi high school students and all the other crazies who were also standing in line. We also invented the Public Line Dance, which involves moving your feet from side to side in a little jig to keep them from freezing solid, and we bonded and danced for three hours until being ushered in to the hallowed halls of the Court.
So I've already discussed the argument, which was excellent, and which gave us a chance to thaw out a little bit and transition into our elitist experience. After the argument, and after Andy was finished talking to the media on the steps of the Court, the full legal team and the client all went out to a fancy lunch. It was my first client meet and greet, and it was an incredibly (and awkwardly) cool experience. It was also a bizarre experience. Our private room in the fancy steakhouse was filled with twelve big, old, white men, who were all talking animatedly about the state of the law, and two small, young, blond women at the far end of the table, who were trying not to spill food on their laps. The whole thing, from 4:30am to 2pm, was quite an eye-opener.
And with that missive, I must now go to work. One last thing--Ankur and I did take a break from work last Saturday to attend a simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera production of Madame Butterfly. Fantastic. You should definitely look into these simulcasts--they are so well done, and so much cheaper and easier than actually going to the Met!
Hope you are well!
Second, an update. Work has gotten approximately 1,287,526 times better recently. Work has also gotten approximately 1,287,526 times busier recently. I am entirely convinced that the driving force behind both of these changes is one teeny tiny life change--I moved offices.
After one particularly memorable outburst involving an F*$%ing printer and a techie who purportedly does bad things to his mother and a flying chair, I decided to make my difficulties known to the powers that be. My practice group leader took pity on me (apparently Loud Liverish Lobbyist has a reputation) and gave me his permission to occupy one of the empty "good" offices, which had theretofore been reserved for a summer associate. Let me fill you in on one of the dirty little secrets of Biglaw--the powers that be keep the "good" offices empty all year so that they will be available for the summer associates. This way, in the ten-week brainwashing session that is the summer, the recruits will garner the impression that all the other lawyers in the firm are totally normal, friendly people with whom you can see yourself working forever. Only after they suck you in are they willing to expose you to the innards of firm life, such as Loud Liverish Lobbyist.
Ahem...Moving on. So now I am actually on the same floor as the other lawyers who do appellate work. Not only are appellate lawyers apparently far nicer, nerdier, and more sedate than lobbyists, but they are also the ones who dole out the cool (in my opinion) work in the office. And now they all have to walk right past my desk to get to the bathroom.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about said interesting matters, and that is what is taking up all (and I do mean all) of my time right now. But I can tell you about my first Supreme Court experience, which occurred just a couple days after the Big Move. You might recall that I spent the bulk of my first few months at work poring over ancient English cases in order to show the real powers that be that due process does not include the right to a judge that is (or, more accurately, appears) unbiased--or, at least, that it didn't at common law. Well, that case was argued a couple of weeks ago, and the other associate who worked on the case and I got to go watch! It was one of the premier matchups of the season, with our Andy Frey (now 65 Supreme Court oral arguments under his belt) and their Ted Olson (former Solicitor General) duking it out over judicial bias before a bunch of judges. And it did not disappoint. Most of the Justices had clearly staked out a position early, and they were not shy about making their feelings known. The lawyers sparred admirably. I don't think any of the Justices' questions were a surprise, but the level of their vehemence (on both sides) certainly was. We'll see how it turns out.
The experience itself deserves some more discussion, though, just because it was an exercise in extremes. Another little legal insight for the lay readers out there--the Supreme Court courtroom is quite grand but really, really small. Because of this limited space, the Court's odd mix of egalitarian and elitist ideals are made readily apparent in things as simple as the manner in which people get in to see a Supreme Court argument. The process starts with the three lines: (1) the "three minute" line, (2) the Bar line, and (3) the Public line.
As soon as the Court announces the dates of its arguments, people start scrambling for "tickets" for the three minute line. Actually, there are no physical tickets, your name just goes on a list, kind of like an elite nightclub for law nerds. People with these tickets get to waltz right up the steps to the court, wait in line literally for three minutes, and get ushered in to a good seat. Magic. You get these tickets by either (a) being a litigant or one of his ten or so closest friends, (b) being a former Supreme Court clerk, or (c) being friends with a current Supreme Court clerk. As our litigant tickets were claimed by the client and the more senior lawyers on the team, as we were not former Supreme Court clerks, and as our Supreme Court clerk friends were barred from talking to us during the pendancy of the appeal (particularly important in a case involving judicial bias), we were unable to procure one of these golden tickets.
Which brings me to the bar line. The bar line is for people like our bosses, who are members of the Supreme Court bar. They have their own separate line, which is capped at a certain number of reserved seats. These members of the bar run some risk in particularly popular cases, but if they get there about an hour in advance, they're likely to get a seat. We are too young to be members of the bar, however, so that one was out, too.
Finally, there's the Public line. This line is for the crazy people who, for whatever reason, are so interested in the case before the Court that they are willing to wake up at the crack of dawn (or, for an argument that has generated a lot of press like our case, well before dawn) to stand in line for hours in freezing cold temperatures to fight for one of the 150 seats reserved for the public. These seats are on hard wooden chairs squeezed in between (and behind) big marble pillars, so you may or may not actually see the Justices. But you will be inside the Court, and you will hear them, and for those of us who do care enough to risk frostbite in order to hear Nino's take on the brief we helped write, that's enough.
So Other Associate and I got up at 4:30 in the morning, pulled on our long underwear underneath our best suits, and headed to the marble steps of One First Street to stand in the Public line. Let me tell you, long underwear and a business suit do not do much in zero-degree temperatures well before the sun comes up. But we bonded with each other, and with the Public Citizen lawyers and the West Virginia tourists and the Mississippi high school students and all the other crazies who were also standing in line. We also invented the Public Line Dance, which involves moving your feet from side to side in a little jig to keep them from freezing solid, and we bonded and danced for three hours until being ushered in to the hallowed halls of the Court.
So I've already discussed the argument, which was excellent, and which gave us a chance to thaw out a little bit and transition into our elitist experience. After the argument, and after Andy was finished talking to the media on the steps of the Court, the full legal team and the client all went out to a fancy lunch. It was my first client meet and greet, and it was an incredibly (and awkwardly) cool experience. It was also a bizarre experience. Our private room in the fancy steakhouse was filled with twelve big, old, white men, who were all talking animatedly about the state of the law, and two small, young, blond women at the far end of the table, who were trying not to spill food on their laps. The whole thing, from 4:30am to 2pm, was quite an eye-opener.
And with that missive, I must now go to work. One last thing--Ankur and I did take a break from work last Saturday to attend a simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera production of Madame Butterfly. Fantastic. You should definitely look into these simulcasts--they are so well done, and so much cheaper and easier than actually going to the Met!
Hope you are well!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
... And a minus about DC
A few days ago, unexplainedly, a bright pink list of every person in our office and their home zip codes landed on my office desk. I looked at it, briefly thought "why on earth are they giving me a list of zip codes?," and went about my business.
Apparently I was not the only one without a clue, because today we received the following memo:
As you can see, I was not really able to go about my business after that one. Holy crap!
Apparently I was not the only one without a clue, because today we received the following memo:
There was a recent distribution of the Zip Code Report to all personnel. Those of you who have been with the Firm for years may recall the purpose of this report and that it is distributed quarterly as part of our Business Resumption Plan. For those who are unfamiliar with it , we offer the following explanation.
The report is provided to all personnel to facilitate the use of a "buddy system" for getting home in case of an emergency in which authorities ask us to evacuate the city. In such a scenario, it may prove useful for personnel living within the same zip code to have a plan for traveling together to get home.
Hopefully, we won't ever have to be in such a situation, but we still need to be prepared. So we urge you to develop your evacuation plan prior to such an emergency. The Zip Code Report is a tool to help you.
As you can see, I was not really able to go about my business after that one. Holy crap!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Another plus about DC
There is an entire store dedicated to CUPCAKES.
And a husband who finds said store, procures said cupcakes, and brings them to my office for my birthday.
Mmmm...
And a husband who finds said store, procures said cupcakes, and brings them to my office for my birthday.
Mmmm...
A note to my future self
No matter how big and important a partner I am, and no matter how valuable my time is, there is never a need to throw things. Yelling at my secretary will not encourage her to work longer hours or be more careful getting my work done. Screaming in the general direction of the population at large will not resolve my computer issues. No matter how creative I am with the use of the F word, it will not get others, and particularly not Congress, to do my will. And making the office a generally miserable place for my associates will do little to boost my PPP.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
I Heart Visitors
One of the best things about living in DC: people want to come visit us!
During the entire time we resided at our palace in the frozen tundra, we received a grand sum total of three out-of-town visitors: Parents R., Cousin Kay, and Former Roommate Jennifer. Those visits were fantastic, but we were really starting to question our desirability, or at least marketability.
All that has changed, however, with our recent relocation to a new (and slightly less snowy) address. I guess it's true what they say in the hotel industry--"Location, Location, Location."
Before we even had started unpacking our boxes from the move, we had our first out-of-town visitor--Lawyer Lincoln. (We therefore dubbed our spare bedroom/office the "Lincoln Bedroom.") Soon thereafter, we got to entertain Mayor Mike and Former Roommate Jennifer, visiting from the land of Oz, and Sooner Karen, taking a break from Where the Wind Goes Sweeping Down the Plain. In early December, our Acquaintances from Australia put DC on their world tour, and we got to show them the sights and sounds of our nation's capitol. Sister Ami delighted us with a visit over Christmas and New Years. Last week, Other Former Roommate Jennifer and Boyfriend dropped in from the Tarheel state. This weekend we are expecting--completely independently--Ankur's Former Roommate Justin and my Former Roommate Cassy, both of KC(ish) fame. And next week, Best Friend Rachel (coincidentally, also a Former Roommate) will be gracing us with her presence. And that's all in only three months! (I guess I can't really complain about DC being lonely anymore, can I?)
To those of you who have visited, thanks a ton--we've loved having you. To those who have already booked your rooms for the coming weeks, we hope you have a pleasant stay. And to those of you who are thinking about visiting, there's a surprisingly comfy air matress with your name on it! But you better hurry... this hotel may be relocating to a new location sometime in the near future!
In an effort to encourage repeat customers, we would like to solicit some feedback from former visitors and suggestions from others. Where should we take our guests in this massive city? Our typical tour involves a night walk around the monuments, a scrumptious dinner at Regent Thai, and a trip to the National Archives and Natural History Museum, time permitting. But we would like to branch out. To previous guests: What worked? What didn't? To any of you current or former DC-ites: do you have any suggestions for cool and/or off-the-beaten-path venues in the area? Good dining? Fun daytrips?
(Yes, this is my devious plan to get you to post comments. Suggest away!)
During the entire time we resided at our palace in the frozen tundra, we received a grand sum total of three out-of-town visitors: Parents R., Cousin Kay, and Former Roommate Jennifer. Those visits were fantastic, but we were really starting to question our desirability, or at least marketability.
All that has changed, however, with our recent relocation to a new (and slightly less snowy) address. I guess it's true what they say in the hotel industry--"Location, Location, Location."
Before we even had started unpacking our boxes from the move, we had our first out-of-town visitor--Lawyer Lincoln. (We therefore dubbed our spare bedroom/office the "Lincoln Bedroom.") Soon thereafter, we got to entertain Mayor Mike and Former Roommate Jennifer, visiting from the land of Oz, and Sooner Karen, taking a break from Where the Wind Goes Sweeping Down the Plain. In early December, our Acquaintances from Australia put DC on their world tour, and we got to show them the sights and sounds of our nation's capitol. Sister Ami delighted us with a visit over Christmas and New Years. Last week, Other Former Roommate Jennifer and Boyfriend dropped in from the Tarheel state. This weekend we are expecting--completely independently--Ankur's Former Roommate Justin and my Former Roommate Cassy, both of KC(ish) fame. And next week, Best Friend Rachel (coincidentally, also a Former Roommate) will be gracing us with her presence. And that's all in only three months! (I guess I can't really complain about DC being lonely anymore, can I?)
To those of you who have visited, thanks a ton--we've loved having you. To those who have already booked your rooms for the coming weeks, we hope you have a pleasant stay. And to those of you who are thinking about visiting, there's a surprisingly comfy air matress with your name on it! But you better hurry... this hotel may be relocating to a new location sometime in the near future!
In an effort to encourage repeat customers, we would like to solicit some feedback from former visitors and suggestions from others. Where should we take our guests in this massive city? Our typical tour involves a night walk around the monuments, a scrumptious dinner at Regent Thai, and a trip to the National Archives and Natural History Museum, time permitting. But we would like to branch out. To previous guests: What worked? What didn't? To any of you current or former DC-ites: do you have any suggestions for cool and/or off-the-beaten-path venues in the area? Good dining? Fun daytrips?
(Yes, this is my devious plan to get you to post comments. Suggest away!)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Playing Tourists
Happy New Year! Thanks to the office entirely emptying out for the holiday, I got a rare treat--I did not have to do a single six-minute increment of work on Sunday! It was fantastic. In order to properly take advantage of the occasion, the husband and I decided to venture out and experience DC as it is meant to be experienced--as tourists.
We started our adventures by walking down to the scene of all the action lately--the Hay Adams hotel. We were two of the many, many curious Americans hoping to catch a glimpse the Obama family as they (along with so many other Americans) await the vacancy of their future home. We felt completely ridiculous standing there and gawking, waiting for the chance to wave at our future first family, but there was something really neat about the palpable excitement in the air, and we couldn't bring ourselves to walk away.
And our time spent standing out in the cold looking and feeling like idiots was rewarded--we got our second DC celebrity sighting! The Obama women exited the hotel, through the Secret Service tent, in a big black SUV with tinted windows, and surrounded by police cars and other vehicles. As they were driving away, Mrs. Obama looked out the window and waved at us! Some might see it as inappropriate or undistinguished, but I thought the fact that Michelle Obama waved at us through the dark windows had some nice symbolic value--she did not see the American public waiting outside her temporary home as a source of inconvenience or annoyance to be avoided, but instead as people whom she could help cheer and serve. Change is coming! =)
After the wave, we continued our walk down to the White House, where we saw the giant stage and massive rows of bleachers being constructed for the inauguration. We stopped to buy a couple of Obama T-shirts from a street vendor (hey, we were tourists!) and have a delicious lunch at Cosi. Then we headed further down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, where we saw reconstructed dinosaur skeletons, fossils, the Hope Diamond, a really cool video about the ocean and its creatures, and a lot of other really cool, really old stuff. After all that walking our feet couldn't take it anymore, so we metro'ed most of the way back to our apartment.
It was really nice to be able to take advantage of some of the amazing and unique (and free!) resources of the city in which we live. I still miss "home," but DC is a great place to visit!
We started our adventures by walking down to the scene of all the action lately--the Hay Adams hotel. We were two of the many, many curious Americans hoping to catch a glimpse the Obama family as they (along with so many other Americans) await the vacancy of their future home. We felt completely ridiculous standing there and gawking, waiting for the chance to wave at our future first family, but there was something really neat about the palpable excitement in the air, and we couldn't bring ourselves to walk away.
And our time spent standing out in the cold looking and feeling like idiots was rewarded--we got our second DC celebrity sighting! The Obama women exited the hotel, through the Secret Service tent, in a big black SUV with tinted windows, and surrounded by police cars and other vehicles. As they were driving away, Mrs. Obama looked out the window and waved at us! Some might see it as inappropriate or undistinguished, but I thought the fact that Michelle Obama waved at us through the dark windows had some nice symbolic value--she did not see the American public waiting outside her temporary home as a source of inconvenience or annoyance to be avoided, but instead as people whom she could help cheer and serve. Change is coming! =)
After the wave, we continued our walk down to the White House, where we saw the giant stage and massive rows of bleachers being constructed for the inauguration. We stopped to buy a couple of Obama T-shirts from a street vendor (hey, we were tourists!) and have a delicious lunch at Cosi. Then we headed further down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, where we saw reconstructed dinosaur skeletons, fossils, the Hope Diamond, a really cool video about the ocean and its creatures, and a lot of other really cool, really old stuff. After all that walking our feet couldn't take it anymore, so we metro'ed most of the way back to our apartment.
It was really nice to be able to take advantage of some of the amazing and unique (and free!) resources of the city in which we live. I still miss "home," but DC is a great place to visit!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Happy Holidays!
Greetings! I hope that you all had a wonderful, warm, and merry Christmas and a happy Hanukkah. We have been having a lovely time here, although we have definitely missed our friends and family back home.
DC has been an absolute ghost town these past few days. The office was open but deserted, parking was plentiful, traffic was tolerable, lines were short, lunches were long, the blackberry was not buzzing... in other words, it has been entirely pleasant! When everyone clears out to go home for the holidays, it becomes even more apparent that no one is actually *from* DC, and that home is somewhere else entirely.
In a strange fit of ambition and nostalgia, I cooked my first ever holiday feast--turkey, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, grandmother's secret macaroni and cheese recipe, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, and pumpkin pie (with healthy doses of cool whip of course). In a small Christmas miracle, everything actually turned out properly. Rachel and Oz and Jeanne, you can stop snickering now.
Other than eating far more than I thought was humanly possible, we have been enjoying spending time with Ankur's sister, who is up visiting for 10 days. Ankur has been showing her around DC, and on Saturday we all took a day trip back in time to Williamsburg, VA.
May your days be merry and bright!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Making an effort
Recently, I had a g-chat conversation about the election with a good friend of mine. The conversation caused me much consternation, but not for the reasons you might think. After discussing the historic nature of the election, the potential SCOTUS nominees, and the fantastic acceptance speech, the following exchange took place:
me: I wish you were in DC
it's pretty cool here right now
the energy is amazing
Him: WHOA
I'M PRINTING THIS OUT
AND DISTRIBUTING IT TO ALL
I believe that was a (partially) positive assessment of DC from Melanie
Well, that got me thinking.
Have I really said nothing positive about DC? Ever?
And what does that say more about--my own attitude, or the city?
Sure, this is not my favorite place in the world--it's no Gimmelwald. Sure, I still do not really understand these "city folk"--I am still very much a country mouse at heart. Sure, I miss my family, my friends, and my quiet, convenient, friendly, comfortable, familiar, chicken-fried kind of home.
But nobody put a gun to my head and forced me to move to DC. (Indeed, we're ponying up a pretty penny to live here.) We came here for a reason, and there is a reason we didn't pack up and go home after the first week. So I think it's about time that I put in writing--for public distribution--some of the good things about living here. In no particular order, here are 10 positive things about DC:
1) It's an exciting place to be right now. This is where everything is happening--the turnover in government, the Supreme Court, the home of the new 700 billion dollar hedge fund, the G-20 meetings, the protests, the parades--and the energy is high.
2) There are tons of people our age, everywhere. For the most part, they are excited about life, and they are doing something with it.
3) People come to visit. We already have a full slate of houseguests planned, despite the fact that they have to sleep on the couch or an air mattress.
4) No matter what kind of food you're in the mood for, you can find it within walking distance. Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Peruvian, Malaysian, Italian, Mexican, Steakhouses... anything.
5) There are actually some decent country radio stations here.
6) There is real diversity--ethnic diversity, religious diversity, political diversity, financial diversity, sexual diversity, etc. Along with that diversity comes acceptance--we don't have to worry about being an interracial couple, we don't worry about having a funny name, we don't have to defend our religious or political choices, and we get to learn a lot about other people.
7) I never have to drive. My feet or the metro can take me anywhere I want to go.
8) I don't have to plan meals in advance--I can just walk across the street to the grocery store and get what I need that evening.
9) You never have to worry about places being closed at 9pm.
10) I may not have my own little piece of land or my own garden, but I do have a pretty neat backyard: My trees are the Japanese cherry trees, my pond is the reflecting pool and the tidal basin, and my statuary are the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
There. I feel better already.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Parking
As some of you know, as we were finishing up our time in South Bend, we sold one of our cars. We were very lucky--we sold it for a good price, just before the credit market and the stock market collapsed. And we were able to use that money for a trip to Europe, which was amazing.
Now, in addition to being thankful that we were able to sell the car for a good price when we did, we are also very thankful that we do not have a second car in DC. Not only is a second car completely unnecessary in the city (particularly when one member of the family absolutely refuses to drive in this mess)--it is also exceedingly inconvenient.
I must go on record saying: Parking in this city is ridiculous. First, there isn't any. Second, if you are lucky enough to find a spot on the street within a mile of your apartment into which you can squeeze your car, you must have DC tags in order to park there for more than two hours. So if you don't yet have DC tags, like us, you must move your car to another block every two hours, all day, between the hours of 7:30am and 8:30pm. Third, in order to obtain DC tags, you must a) have your car inspected, b) obtain DC insurance, c) pay a hefty fee, and d) get a DC driver's license--which involves taking both a written and a driving skills exam (and, in my case, learning how to parallel park). All of which is a major hassle in the city, particularly when you have to move your car every two hours in the process.
Our solution: rent an off-street parking space.
Easier said than done, apparently. The 10 or so spots behind our building are already rented, and the parking garages in the area are either absurdly expensive or out of spaces. So we went on craigslist, a very convenient internet market for city dwellers. There we found parking spaces for sale--for a mere $40,000. Yes, that's right, people here actually take out a mortgage to purchase a parking space. We're not taking about a garage, or a covered parking space--we're talking about $40K for a little five-foot by 7 foot sliver of asphalt in an alleyway.
Fortunately, with the help of http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/prk/, we found someone living in a rowhouse about half a mile from our apartment who was renting the space behind his home. For a mere $200. Per month. And that was cheap for the area. So yes, for the near future, we are paying $200/month to park half a mile from home. To a nice midwestern girl like me, this is just unfathomable. But, such is the city.
For all of you at home, take a moment to enjoy your free, bountiful parking and think of us! =)
DC
Well, we're here.
It has been a busy and draining week. We completed our absentee ballots in Indiana, said goodbye to most of the wonderful people we were privileged to meet in South Bend, shed quite a few tears (well, I did), started and finished packing our first marital home into boxes, and then were on our way. We just missed meeting Baby Schacht, but we are hoping that they come visit us soon!
The movers initially gave us a five day window in which they would get our stuff to DC, which made planning somewhat difficult. But we were lucky--when they finished loading, they told us that our furniture was last on the truck and therefore first off. So rather than linger in South Bend as we had planned, we left right away on Wednesday. That evening, we stopped at a random hotel in some random town in Ohio at 8:45 so that we could watch the presidential debate. We figured that if we were going to get up at 3am in Venice to watch the debate, we had no excuse not to watch it when we were in the States. It actually was a lovely evening, reminiscent of my college experience--sitting in a hotel room watching politics and eating pizza from the box.
Thursday we drove to Charlottesville to see Rachel and Blake. It was a surprisingly beautiful drive--the leaves were changing, and the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia were quite striking. I had no idea that West Virginia was such a pretty place! We stayed in the O'Brien's lovely "hotel" and ate at our two favorite places in C'ville--the Indian restaurant and Sticks. It was wonderful to see them (happy first anniversary, by the way!). That is one of the things that I am most excited about with our move--we're only two and a half hours away from my childhood best friend. And, of course, Sticks.
Friday we got the keys to our new apartment. As it was empty and we had nothing to do after we blew up the air mattress, we walked around our new neighborhood, trying to get our bearings. Our neighborhood is quite convenient--we are a block away from a (vastly overpriced) Safeway, a Subway (the restaurant, not the metro), a hardware store, an Italian restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a homemade ice cream shop, a gay bar, another gay bar, and more. We are also about seven blocks (or a 10 minute walk) from the metro. That is the plus of city living.
We spent Saturday waiting for our furniture and discovering the negatives of city living. I woke up Saturday morning and looked out the window, only to see a guy going through the dumpster below. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen. It really got to me.
Not to dwell on that, Saturday our things arrived. It was an adventure getting them here. The moving truck would not fit anywhere near our apartment, so the movers first had to transfer everything from their moving truck to a U-haul truck and then bring it in. The U-haul, however, almost didn't make it. It fit into the alley behind our apartment building with about 2 inches to spare. Then they discovered that they had to turn the truck around inside the alley, because the other end of the alley was not passable and they needed to be facing the other direction. After about an hour of inching forward and back, blocking all traffic, and getting stuck between two inclines so that the wheels were spinning on the pavement and the transmission was going out, they finally got the truck turned around with only minor damage--I think by sheer force of will. They then proceeded to carry our furniture (which had already been carried down two flights of stairs in South Bend) inside--one even moving the couch single-handedly.
When the movers left, we immediately got busy unpacking. It is amazing how much stuff we accumulated over the year in South Bend. Nothing fits in our new apartment--we actually have our canned food in a kitchen drawer, and all of our condiments are in the fridge, whether they need to be refrigerated or not. Currently the office is entirely piled with stuff we don't have a home for. I can't complain--we are very fortunate to have a place to live, and stuff to put in it. But we really need to downsize some more.
We met our next-door neighbor, who also was moving in when we were moving in--although his move was just from across dupont circle. A fellow lawyer, as I think most people in this building are. He seems nice enough.
On Sunday, my friend Lincoln came down from Baltimore to visit, which was incredibly nice of him. We took a long walk up to Woodley Park for some excellent diner food and got to catch up. I'm very mad at him for leaving DC and moving to Baltimore just as we got here =) but it will be good to be relatively close by.
It's been an exciting week. It's also been a hard week, though. This city is kind of overwhelming for someone who hasn't done city living before. Despite the five million residents of the DC metro area, it still feels pretty isolated and lonely when there are no familiar faces and nobody looks you in the eye--much less smiles. It's also a very difficult job market right now, particularly with the finance industry in chaos. (If you know of anyone in finance--or anything else interesting--hiring in DC, please let us know!) There has been quite a bit of soul searching done this week (really this entire year) in that regard. So at the moment, we often find ourselves feeling rather lonely and directionless in DC.
But, we are in our nation's capitol, two weeks away from a transformative election, and we have a roof over our heads and at least one job awaiting us. And, of course, we have each other. So we are incredibly lucky. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of that sometimes!
I hope you are all well. Come visit us in DC!
It has been a busy and draining week. We completed our absentee ballots in Indiana, said goodbye to most of the wonderful people we were privileged to meet in South Bend, shed quite a few tears (well, I did), started and finished packing our first marital home into boxes, and then were on our way. We just missed meeting Baby Schacht, but we are hoping that they come visit us soon!
The movers initially gave us a five day window in which they would get our stuff to DC, which made planning somewhat difficult. But we were lucky--when they finished loading, they told us that our furniture was last on the truck and therefore first off. So rather than linger in South Bend as we had planned, we left right away on Wednesday. That evening, we stopped at a random hotel in some random town in Ohio at 8:45 so that we could watch the presidential debate. We figured that if we were going to get up at 3am in Venice to watch the debate, we had no excuse not to watch it when we were in the States. It actually was a lovely evening, reminiscent of my college experience--sitting in a hotel room watching politics and eating pizza from the box.
Thursday we drove to Charlottesville to see Rachel and Blake. It was a surprisingly beautiful drive--the leaves were changing, and the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia were quite striking. I had no idea that West Virginia was such a pretty place! We stayed in the O'Brien's lovely "hotel" and ate at our two favorite places in C'ville--the Indian restaurant and Sticks. It was wonderful to see them (happy first anniversary, by the way!). That is one of the things that I am most excited about with our move--we're only two and a half hours away from my childhood best friend. And, of course, Sticks.
Friday we got the keys to our new apartment. As it was empty and we had nothing to do after we blew up the air mattress, we walked around our new neighborhood, trying to get our bearings. Our neighborhood is quite convenient--we are a block away from a (vastly overpriced) Safeway, a Subway (the restaurant, not the metro), a hardware store, an Italian restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a homemade ice cream shop, a gay bar, another gay bar, and more. We are also about seven blocks (or a 10 minute walk) from the metro. That is the plus of city living.
We spent Saturday waiting for our furniture and discovering the negatives of city living. I woke up Saturday morning and looked out the window, only to see a guy going through the dumpster below. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen. It really got to me.
Not to dwell on that, Saturday our things arrived. It was an adventure getting them here. The moving truck would not fit anywhere near our apartment, so the movers first had to transfer everything from their moving truck to a U-haul truck and then bring it in. The U-haul, however, almost didn't make it. It fit into the alley behind our apartment building with about 2 inches to spare. Then they discovered that they had to turn the truck around inside the alley, because the other end of the alley was not passable and they needed to be facing the other direction. After about an hour of inching forward and back, blocking all traffic, and getting stuck between two inclines so that the wheels were spinning on the pavement and the transmission was going out, they finally got the truck turned around with only minor damage--I think by sheer force of will. They then proceeded to carry our furniture (which had already been carried down two flights of stairs in South Bend) inside--one even moving the couch single-handedly.
When the movers left, we immediately got busy unpacking. It is amazing how much stuff we accumulated over the year in South Bend. Nothing fits in our new apartment--we actually have our canned food in a kitchen drawer, and all of our condiments are in the fridge, whether they need to be refrigerated or not. Currently the office is entirely piled with stuff we don't have a home for. I can't complain--we are very fortunate to have a place to live, and stuff to put in it. But we really need to downsize some more.
We met our next-door neighbor, who also was moving in when we were moving in--although his move was just from across dupont circle. A fellow lawyer, as I think most people in this building are. He seems nice enough.
On Sunday, my friend Lincoln came down from Baltimore to visit, which was incredibly nice of him. We took a long walk up to Woodley Park for some excellent diner food and got to catch up. I'm very mad at him for leaving DC and moving to Baltimore just as we got here =) but it will be good to be relatively close by.
It's been an exciting week. It's also been a hard week, though. This city is kind of overwhelming for someone who hasn't done city living before. Despite the five million residents of the DC metro area, it still feels pretty isolated and lonely when there are no familiar faces and nobody looks you in the eye--much less smiles. It's also a very difficult job market right now, particularly with the finance industry in chaos. (If you know of anyone in finance--or anything else interesting--hiring in DC, please let us know!) There has been quite a bit of soul searching done this week (really this entire year) in that regard. So at the moment, we often find ourselves feeling rather lonely and directionless in DC.
But, we are in our nation's capitol, two weeks away from a transformative election, and we have a roof over our heads and at least one job awaiting us. And, of course, we have each other. So we are incredibly lucky. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of that sometimes!
I hope you are all well. Come visit us in DC!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Found one
We found a place to live while we're in DC. It's not the cute row-house we had in mind, but it's the next best thing--and in a neighborhood of cute rowhouses. Above is the outside entrance -- an old building completely refurbished on a "tree" lined street. I use "tree" in quotes because I am still of the opinion that trees should not be segregated by blocks of concrete. But it is lovely nevertheless. See below. 
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Not an auspicious start
Anyone have a cute place to rent in DC? We're having trouble finding one ourselves... Might have to commute from Oklahoma or St. Louis.
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