Ahhhhhhh. Alone. Just me. My first 24 hours of solid alone time in months. Nope make that in 99 days! I have zero furniture, zero food, just the two bags I've been living out of for the last three weeks, and 400 empty (and expensive) square feet of my own space. Nevermind that today I had to drink out of an old medicine bottle I found in my purse (cups weren't high on the list for the three bags) - and obviously I have since upgraded to beer bottles and half gallons of milk...no offense to you Mom, Dad, Aliza, Chris, Beth, or Matt - but it's just me and DC. Finally.
The last three weeks have been culture shock at their finest - commuting in the Nation's Capital. Everyone is always rushing. Why? Everyone is on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod. Always. Why? Everyone always seems distracted and unhappy. Why? Don't you people realize how good you've got it! You are living, breathing, and yes working in the Nation's Capital. You walk by the White House on your way to work, in the winter that has been sunny and 50 degrees! How can you not be happier, or at least glance down the street to marvel and take in your surroundings?! How have so many of you become so disconnected from life that you feel the need to tune it out with earphones and downward-looking, hurried walking? Maybe I'm crazy. Just maybe. And highly probable (who pays $1600/month for 400 sq. ft of anything) - but I'm happy. AND I'm that crazy lady who is taking pictures of the birds that are fed every morning on the sidewalk in front of Wells Fargo on K Street - and I hate birds! Yes. I'm that girl in the business attire and non-matching flat casual boots strolling around (in no rush) at lunch hanging out with the tourists in front of the White House. Yeah that's me - I've seen your stares. But guess what? I'm not too good for this city (or just act like it), I haven't taken for granted anything, and I refuse to rush anywhere just to look or feel important.
If I've learned one thing from my last year abroad - it is that work is not everything. Unless you're rushing to put out a fire, save a baby's life, or stop world hunger then put that phone away (because quite honestly most of you nearly walk in to me while text-walking), and slow down. Take in the day. Take in the city. Take in the people. Those emails will all be there when you get to work and spend 12 straight hours indoors. Trust me. Breathe. You might enjoy it!
In celebration of being in the Capital for President's Day (apparently it IS more than a mattress sale) - I bring you some of my favorite presidential quotes (and UPack is about to bring me a whole pod of belongings that are to be hauled up four floors and shoved into my 400 sq. foot room - whether they fit or not):
I am a poor hater. - James Garfield
I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that a man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process. - Benjamin Harrison
You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can. - Jimmy Carter
Testing oneself is best when done alone. - Jimmy Carter
The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. - James Garfield
If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old. - James Garfield
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama
And finally - this one sums it all up for you iPhone distracted Washingtonians:
There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. - John Adams.
Start living! My life starts right after this cube gets unloaded ;)
The last three weeks have been culture shock at their finest - commuting in the Nation's Capital. Everyone is always rushing. Why? Everyone is on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod. Always. Why? Everyone always seems distracted and unhappy. Why? Don't you people realize how good you've got it! You are living, breathing, and yes working in the Nation's Capital. You walk by the White House on your way to work, in the winter that has been sunny and 50 degrees! How can you not be happier, or at least glance down the street to marvel and take in your surroundings?! How have so many of you become so disconnected from life that you feel the need to tune it out with earphones and downward-looking, hurried walking? Maybe I'm crazy. Just maybe. And highly probable (who pays $1600/month for 400 sq. ft of anything) - but I'm happy. AND I'm that crazy lady who is taking pictures of the birds that are fed every morning on the sidewalk in front of Wells Fargo on K Street - and I hate birds! Yes. I'm that girl in the business attire and non-matching flat casual boots strolling around (in no rush) at lunch hanging out with the tourists in front of the White House. Yeah that's me - I've seen your stares. But guess what? I'm not too good for this city (or just act like it), I haven't taken for granted anything, and I refuse to rush anywhere just to look or feel important.
If I've learned one thing from my last year abroad - it is that work is not everything. Unless you're rushing to put out a fire, save a baby's life, or stop world hunger then put that phone away (because quite honestly most of you nearly walk in to me while text-walking), and slow down. Take in the day. Take in the city. Take in the people. Those emails will all be there when you get to work and spend 12 straight hours indoors. Trust me. Breathe. You might enjoy it!
In celebration of being in the Capital for President's Day (apparently it IS more than a mattress sale) - I bring you some of my favorite presidential quotes (and UPack is about to bring me a whole pod of belongings that are to be hauled up four floors and shoved into my 400 sq. foot room - whether they fit or not):
I am a poor hater. - James Garfield
I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that a man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process. - Benjamin Harrison
You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can. - Jimmy Carter
Testing oneself is best when done alone. - Jimmy Carter
The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. - James Garfield
If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old. - James Garfield
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama
And finally - this one sums it all up for you iPhone distracted Washingtonians:
There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. - John Adams.
Start living! My life starts right after this cube gets unloaded ;)
