Accidental Detour.

A few days ago, as I embarked on my journey home for Christmas, I ended up taking an accidental detour into the heart of DC.

Back story: I do not drive in DC. Actually, truth be told, I do not drive in any city. I am not comfortable being behind the wheel when I am not familiar with my surroundings and when I am forced to share the road with rude, impatient, cranky drivers.

But sure enough, I took a wrong turn (or didn’t take a right turn, rather) and found myself driving into DC as opposed to driving south towards my hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia.

And, shockingly enough, I. Did. Not. Panic. Needless to say, I was quite surprised with myself. While I had to continuously refresh my maps application on my iPhone in order to get myself back on the right track, I was also somehow able to take the moment and enjoy seeing DC from a different point of view.

After several (failed) attempts at getting myself back on track, I finally made it to Constitution Avenue. And then I was in Stop and Go traffic for 2 miles before I hit 66 West. It probably took me a good 35-45 minutes to drive those 2 miles. And yet, contrary to what I would have expected of such a moment, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The sun was hitting the monuments in the most striking way. Time stood still. Figuratively and literally. My impatience was put on hold and I found myself completely appreciating my unexpected (and quite unplanned) detour.

Progress Report: Operation FILWDC.

I was speechless.

The lights. The monuments. The moon. The reflections on the water.

Everything was so beautiful. Everything was so breathtaking.

For a half second I forgot where I was. I found myself in a state of deep appreciation and wonder.

And then, I quickly snapped back into reality. And then, I caught myself on the verge of thinking myself out of those magical feelings. And then, I let myself go again. I let myself fall even deeper into the wonderfully intoxicating feelings.

Why am I still so resistant towards falling in lust with this city? Once upon a time, I wrote about Cheating on Europe. While this post obviously discussed my feelings towards the country of Europe, it also predicted the feelings I am currently experiencing towards Boston. I find myself constantly talking about how much I love Boston, how much I miss Boston and – most importantly – how I am surprised to find that I like Washington, DC as much as I do, but that I will never love it nearly as much as I love(d) the city of Boston.

The fact of the matter is that I am starting to fall for this city (truth) and it makes me feel like I’ve left Boston behind. Granted, I have left Boston behind, at least from a literal standpoint, but a large part of me is still desperately clinging to the city that most recently captured my heart.

However, I do want to be open to a new lust – dare I say love? – affair. As I said 10 months ago, “cities are fantastic lovers.” And I’m starting to realize that DC has the potential to take me for quite a ride.

Note: Operation FILWDC stands for “Operation Fall in Love with DC,” a project (so to speak) I began shortly after I moved to our nation’s capitol. Visit Operation Fall in Love with DC to read up on the back story of the operation.

(re)focus.

I am happy to report that Operation FILWDC has gotten off to a spectacular start. I have filled the last few days with wanderlust and exploration.

I was fortunate to discover that Saturday was the start of FotoWeek DC. Needless to say, that discovery alone boosted my approval ratings of the city immediately.

On Saturday morning, I ventured out into the unknown with good intentions and an open mind. It was a gorgeous November day – the sun was shining, the air was crisp and I had a game plan. I was planning to go visit several of the featured events for FotoWeek. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when my game plan veered off track. I made it to one of the exhibits on the my list and then I got distracted. It was a good sort of distraction though – I found myself on the waterfront, I found myself back in Boston. Yeah, yeah, I know…that kind of defeats the purpose of the Operation…but don’t worry, I snapped out of it just in time to realize that I was in DC and, more importantly, that I was actually enjoying it.

Over the past two days, I have stumbled across many things I could grow to love about my new city. Contrary to my first impression of DC, I found out that there is actually some interesting architecture. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. And maybe DC isn’t as old as Boston, but there seems to be quite a bit of history here too. And culture. There is definitely a rich tapestry of culture.

Once I cleared the dust (a.k.a. the stubbornness) off my lenses (a.k.a. my eyes), I was able to see some real beauty within this incredible city that I now call home.

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.  ~Ansel Adams

Operation Fall in Love with DC.

Everything has fallen into place so perfectly for me over the last few months. I have an amazing and intellectually stimulating job where I am surrounded by interesting and fun people. I live in close proximity to my family and many of my very best friends. I have a great apartment of my very own. I’m young. I’m healthy. I’m happy. Life is good.

BUT I am not in Boston. And as much as I try to shake it, I can’t ignore the fact that I still miss the city terribly. At least once every single day (yes, every single day), I am struck with the sharp realization that I. am. not. still. there.

You would think that by now I would have adjusted, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. As much as I love everything about being where I am right now, I am not in love with where I am right now. Yes, there is a difference.

And so, on that note, I have decided to embark on Operation Fall in Love with DC, Operation FILWDC, if you will. I know that a piece of my heart will always remain in the city of Boston, just as a piece of my heart will forever reside in the city of Antwerp, but in order for me to be completely present in the here and now, I have to let go. I have to open my mind to the possibility of loving this place.

I know it won’t be easy. And I know it won’t happen over night. But I also know that definitely it won’t happen if I remain resistant towards the idea. And so, starting today, with a little bit of sunshine on my side, I will officially begin the Operation.

Stay tuned.

I love the newness. [part two]

So it’s been awhile, huh? Maybe it hasn’t actually been very long, but it definitely seems that way for me. So much has happened throughout the last couple weeks.

I’ll go ahead and give you the cliffs notes version to catch you up to speed:

– I got a job offer

– I accepted the job offer

– I moved into a new apartment

– I start my new job next week

It’s funny. If you had asked me where I would be in two weeks, two weeks ago, I never would have pictured myself where I am right now. But here I am. Starting my new life. And loving every second of it. Which brings me to the continuation of my previous post.

The newness.

It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster for the very first time – you never really know when the next sharp, exhilarating turn will appear or when there will be a sudden drop causing your adrenaline to skyrocket.

As I settle myself into my new life, I feel like I am riding a new roller coaster each and every day. Everywhere I turn, I see something different, something unexpected. And I love it – I love it with every ounce of who I am. My only wish (as of right now anyways) is for the newness to stick around for a while. I am all for establishing a routine, but I’m not quite ready to figure it all out just yet.

I love the newness.

One of my favorite parts about going someplace new is the opportunity for fresh exploration. I love everything about it…

I love passing different faces on the street. I love discovering interesting restaurants and hidden hideaways. I love learning about the subtle nuances that make each and every place unique in a way that cannot be duplicated. I even love getting slightly lost or turned around because a little misdirection forces me to quickly get to know my new surroundings.

It’s all part of the adventure.

It’s all part of the adventure that I got unexpectedly caught up in during my last trip up to Washington, D.C.

It is no secret that I am having a hard time adjusting to my Boston –> D.C. transition. I still don’t go more than a couple days without mentioning my love for Boston or how much I miss New England. Actually, that may be too generous…I don’t think I have even gone ONE day without mentioning something concerning my beloved Boston.

That being said, I think I experienced a turning point during my last trip up to the city that could soon be my new home. I didn’t necessarily fall head over heels in love with the District, but I think I may have developed a little crush. Granted, I don’t think my crush was on the city itself, but rather with the newness of the experience. Regardless, I feel like it’s a good step in the right direction.

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. — Walt Disney

I don’t like the Metro.

Yesterday morning I had to travel back into DC for another job interview. Over the last six days, much to my surprise, I had navigated successfully through the city via my car and via the Metro. My iPhone has been more of a best friend to me throughout the last week of my life than ever before. The Maps application is amazing. Without it I would have gotten lost more times than I could even keep track of. I’ve been so proud of myself. I’ve remained calm and collected during times where I would typically be a stressed out nutcase.

Yesterday was no different. I knew how to get from Point A (my friend’s house in Arlington, VA) to Point B (the Metro station in Pentagon City) to Point C/D/E (the Farragut West Metro stop/Starbucks/the location of my interview). I didn’t even need my Maps application!

I arrived at the Pentagon City Metro station with no issues whatsoever. It was then when I realized I had to figure out what kind of Metro ticket would be most appropriate (when I came into the city last Thursday for a couple interviews my friend had given me her SmartCard so I didn’t have to worry about it). The Metro system is a bit screwy, I remember her telling me, in that the fares aren’t constant. They change depending on the distance traveled and whether or not you cross into the District, Virginia or Maryland. I had no idea how much it would cost for me to get into DC and back so I figured I’d get a one-day pass and play it safe.

The transaction went well, but when I went to use my pass it didn’t work. I tried several times before finally going over to ask a Metro worker about my issue. When I told him my pass wasn’t working, he gave me a cold look and informed me that the one-day passes don’t start working until 9:30am. Great, I thought to myself, I definitely should have realized that. Oh well, there was nothing I could do about it at that point. Instead, I tried to explain to him that I only needed to go into the city and right back out. I only needed to ride the Metro twice. Couldn’t he just let me through? No. Apparently he could not. Apparently there was nothing he could do. It was at this point when I became positively furious with the Metro (not to mention the cold, unhelpful Metro employee). I knew for a fact that if this had happened in Boston, they would have let me through. No questions asked.

I walked away fuming, mumbling not exactly under my breath about how this wouldn’t have happened on the T and how ridiculous it was for him to have responded to me the way he did. I begrudgingly walked back to the pay station where I noticed they had a one-way round trip pass. I laughed to myself. I guess I probably should have gone that route in the first place. After spending about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to select and purchase this pass, I eventually gave up and simply got a ticket with $15 on it. Great, I thought. I just spent $22.50 to ride the Metro twice.

I tried to pocket my anger as I boarded the blue train and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was relatively empty as I sat down.

“I was going to sit there.”

[insert loud, incredibly mean and annoyed tone of voice]

I looked up to see a pregnant woman standing before me. I immediately got up and offered her my seat, apologizing and telling her that I hadn’t seen her at first. She responded by first refusing my offer, then she rolled her eyes and sat down without a smile, much less a thank you.

I’m not sure exactly why this second Metro encounter bothered me so much. I know pregnant women have a difficult time riding public transportation and I imagine that they deal with a lot of rude and inconsiderate people. But – I was not one of those people! I always give up my seat – to pregnant women, to women with small children, to elderly people, to people with disabilities, even to people who simply look perfectly able to stand, but appear to be uncomfortable doing so. I was shocked by this woman’s reaction to my politeness and willingness to offer up my seat. Whenever a situation like this happened in Boston, people were always so happy and grateful.

Looking back on yesterday morning, now that I’ve had about 24 hours to calm myself down, I realize that neither incident was really that big of a deal. I also realize how much I miss Boston…I miss the city, I miss the people, I even miss the T. And finally, I realize that I have been kind of hard on the city of DC. Due to my love towards Boston, I haven’t exactly given the city a fair chance.

This isn’t to say that I will all of a sudden fall in love with the city of DC. I truly hope that will eventually come to be, but I know it will undoubtedly take time. This is simply to say that I’m going to try harder to give DC the benefit of the doubt. It isn’t DC’s fault that it isn’t as fabulous as Boston (sorry, I just couldn’t resist). So in fairness to myself and to DC, I will now adopt a more open and forgiving mindset. Yes, Metro that goes for you too – but please try to be nicer and more forgiving yourself.