Random Thoughts About D.C. Not Having to Do with Politics (That would have to be a completely separate post)

• I get motion sick on the Metro sometimes. I don’t know if some of the drivers just really like playing with the brakes, but I get pretty woozy after 20 minutes.

• It would take you twice as long to get anywhere if you strictly follow the pedestrian traffic signals. For those of you who are wary of my moral character for admitting that I jay walk every day, all the time (cough cough Charlie cough cough), let me ‘splain.

If the streets in Salt Lake are laid out like a grid, the streets in D.C. are laid out like a toddler took a crayon and drew a picture of “spaghetti” all over your neat graph paper. The streets in Salt Lake are often four/five lanes and cars are coming from both directions. Here most of the streets I cross are about ten feet wide and only one way. So, rest assured that I never jaywalk across a busy intersection, and rarely across a street that has cars coming from both directions. I have only gotten honked at a few times, and I like to think that was because of my girlish charm, not my reckless, lawless jaywalking.

• The homeless people fascinate and distress me. It’s the ones who don’t beg for money that really seize my heart with a rigid fist until I can turn the corner and distract myself with everyday events. What can I do? We are not encouraged to give to them. And like I said, it’s the ones who don’t even ask for money that I am compelled to help. There is one man in particular, probably about 45 years old that sits on the same street corner 6 out of 7 days. It’s interesting. You’d think he’d sit on a bench, or in a park, but he sits at the same intersection. He sits crosslegged with his white hair sticking straight up and his back to traffic. He never looks unhappy. I rarely see emotion on his face. It’s pretty clear that he has some kind of mental disability. But I wonder what his life is like. What he does all day on his corner. What he sees, where he goes when it gets colder.

• I always seem to get caught walking behind someone who is smoking. It also always seems to happen when the wind blows the smoke right in my face. It’s disgusting. Especially cigars.

• I have to be careful about my typing technique or else I will injure myself. Seriously. I actually type that much. And if I get lazy, my wrists and tendons will start to tingle.

• We played two ridiculous but ridiculously hilarious games at FHE tonight. One called duck fighting and one called ninja war or something like that. I haven’t laughed so hard playing an EFY game in a long time.

• Days go quickly here! No time for frivolities. If you hesitate for a moment, this town will leave you in the dust.