the little things i love about dc #1

there are so many reasons that i love dc. there are a few reasons why i really don't like dc either, and at some point before i leave, i'll touch on those too. but i have a bit of a crush on so many of the quirky, unique things about this city. my time here is coming to an end, so from time to time between now and the soggy, tearful, heart-wrenching day that i drive out of the city, i'll explain to you just what it is about dc that has won my heart. here are just 5 out of the many...

• the old man who lives across the street from me who, on every warm night in the city, walks his little old dog (of which i am not a fan-- it's small and kind of hates other people and especially hates people on longboards). they walk very slowly down the sidewalk together while the little old man sips on what i can only assume is a glass of scotch and smokes a cigar. i can't recall ever not seeing him out on a warm evening, really.

• the small ratio of pigeons to human population of dc. most cities have an absurd number of these winged creatures. birds put me on edge, and i consider pigeons to be city rats in the sky (or circling the sidewalk cafe table and hoping for a croissant crumb to scavenge- not happening, ya filthy bird!). in venice, italy, i about died of a heart attack in the piazza san marco where the world's pigeon to human ratio must be about 100:1. but dc has a really manageable amount of pigeons, and i really appreciate it for that.

• speaking of sidewalk cafes, in dc you can get food from anywhere in the world. seriously, name a country! name a region! name a continent or city! and i bet you can find the cuisine to match. maybe it's like this in all cities. i don't know. but as someone who adores traveling- nay, craves traveling, i like being able to know that at least my taste buds can go on a trip even if i'm stuck in this concrete jungle (except it is more like a marble or granite jungle, and not so much a jungle because of the building ordinances but more like a thicket or shrubbery).

• the capitol. i love the capitol. i love that i can go wander around the capitol and soak in its beauty on a tough work day. i love everything about that building. and my very favorite? the mint green corridor outside of the senate chamber. it's just so dang pretty. natural light enters through a window, and no tours go through there. it's generally empty save for the capitol police stationed there or the occasional hurried staffer, milling member of the press, or senator. ooo-ie! if only i could pocket it up and take it with me when i go. it breaks my little dc heart thinking about the fact that i will not be invited (and would be probably tackled or something if i tried) to be back there once i am no longer an employee. oh, frown. 

the delectable minty green-ness of the corridor

• my address. my cute, little, old, classic capitol hill rowhouse. it used to be a carriage house. horses used to ride right into the first floor of my home (we're talking over a hundred years ago here people)! i love the house number. i love that it's blue. i love each roommate i've ever had there (george, noor, courtney, jenny... that means you!). i love that i have good landlords. i love that it is impossible to combat the abundance of mint that takes over my garden in the backyard. i love that i even have a backyard (err... back patio, actually). i love the neighbor man who sometimes brings our trash and recycling bins back up to our fence. i love the winery tiles as the backsplash in our kitchen by the stove. i just lurve it all, and chances are good that i'll cry like a small child when i have to leave it.

my little house during snowmaggedon 2010!

i could go on and on about what makes life here so good. i will go on and on about all of it but only in installments of 5 at a time so that i don't overwhelm you with feelings on things. does my lack of capitalization today overwhelm you? i'm really enjoying not using my 'shift' key.

love always <3