Capitol City, Baby!

I just got back from a weekend in Washington D.C. It was my first visit there in almost 11 years. I visited an old friend from college who I hadn't even seen nor talked to for about that length of time. It's incredible how fast time goes and how easy it is to lose touch with people. Seeing her was like picking up where we left off. I think the last time I saw her I was still a teenager so I keep wondering where all that time went. Sometimes you don't even think about how quickly time disappears and before you know it, a decade has flown by. But seeing her felt like we were 18 year old college kids again. It's great when you can do that with someone. So, I'm glad I went, although I wished I would've stayed a couple of more days. I had fun but it wasn't any sort of crazy, party weekend. I've realized when I go on vacation, I never drink too much. I drink more in Chicago than anywhere else. This is where my alcoholic friends reside.

Friday I flew out on ATA. They charged for snacks and blankets! I was incredulous. Since when do airlines charge for that? They gave us a complimentary drink but no pretzels or nothing! Bastards. I arrived in D.C Friday evening and my friend and I caught up and walked her dog around the neighborhood. She just bought a really nice condo in an area that's slowly becoming gentrified. An area that used to be referred to as the ghetto. Nice. We went to a bar and didn't do too much else. Saturday I woke up fairly early--9am--which is damn early for a Saturday. We had great Indian food and then walked around the city. We walked by the White House which had sprinklers spraying all the tourists. Figures. It proves George Bush's hates the American people. I saw the Capitol from afar, the Washington Monument, etc. We went to Georgetown and did some shopping, then came home to meet my friend from Maryland who came down for the night to visit (another friend who up until February, I hadn't seen in several years). We had dinner at a tapas restaurant, which was really good. I don't think I'd ever had tapas before even though I see these restaurants all over Chicago. Sunday we didn't do too much, just kind of lounged around at home, walked the dog some more, and then I was off to Chicago.

I like D.C a lot, but never would want to live there. D.C has nothing on Chicago. I think D.C is a much cleaner city, but D.C lacks tall buildings and the kind of energy Chicago exudes. Next time I visit, I definitely want to explore Maryland, Virginia, go to the 9:30 Club to see a show, and maybe see some museums and such. What I really like about D.C is the Metro. It's so much more efficient, cleaner (doesn't reek of urine), and faster than the L here in Chicago. I was stunned. It's more spacious inside and doesn't jerk you around. Plus the layout gives it a futuristic feel.

So now I'm back home and feeling really tired and disorientated. I really need to travel more but it's a catch-22. I need money to travel which means I need a job, but if I had a job, I probably wouldn't be able to take off a lot of time to travel. I guess I have to find a way to do both. I've realized I haven't been anywhere. I have a friend who lived in Beijing for godsakes. I have yet to be overseas. There are so many cities I'd like to explore. Visiting people is important to me and is something I'm going to be better at somehow. So now I'm back and need to get my life together. I think it's like you have one aspect of your life figured out, but not all of it. I have friends who have stable jobs, yet their love life is in disarray or lacking, or vice versa. I think it's rare to have it all at once. For me, I don't have either right now, so maybe if I got the career figured out, the rest would fall into place. Maybe. I do like the idea of not being tied down to anything and being able to pick up and move around. There are other cities I'd like to live. I guess all we can do is keep pressing forward and see what happens. I do like the unpredictability and uncertainty of life, that anything can happen. I don't want it all planned out for me. I just hope I'm on the right path and things will work themselves out soon. I just want to quit making the same mistakes. I want to figure out a way to break temporary jobs and romances. Maybe by the end of the summer, I will have more figured out. Hopefully. Until then, viva traveling and good friends!