It is now cold in the mid-Atlantic region. Having just moved from the South-Atlantic region, there are some things I have come to realize.
1) "Windchill" is just as real a phenomenon as "heat index". For example, in GA, when the temperature is 100 but the heat index is 115 because of the humidity, it's 115. In DC, when the temperature is 18, but the windchill is 5, it's 5.
2) Jeans are NOT warm.
3) A pretty city is still pretty in the winter. Maybe it's because cities aren't reliant upon trees and flower-y things to make them pretty.
4) When it freezing rains, I should really plan on it taking 15 minutes to scrape my windshield. And I should add in another 5 minutes since my defroster doesn't work.
5) I should really get my heater fixed.
Monday, December 22, 2008
A small-town Southern girl's reflections on life in the "Big City"
I have been in DC for 6 months. I LOVE it. I love the city, I love where I live, I love that it's a 4.5-5 hour drive to my folks' house in NC, I love that there's always something to do (too many things to do, kinda...sometimes I feel paralyzed). I love it. Love it, love it, love it. I always thought I was made for rural areas. That I'd never be happy if I wasn't 5 minutes away from nothing-ness. I think that wasn't entirely accurate. I can see myself retiring back home, but for now, I think I'm hooked on "urban life", such that it is. I put that in quotes because I don't know that one can consider Upper NW DC urban.
So, anywhooddle. Here's somethings I've learned:
1) I have always lived rural areas where it took 30 minutes to an hour to get to anything. ie grocery store, wal-mart, mall. I am now in a metropolitan area, and still, it takes 30 minutes to an hour to get to anything.
2) People are the same everywhere you go. People aren't nicer in the south. It's just that there's a lower actual number of idiots, selfish pricks, morons and @$$-holes in the South because cities are smaller. Percentage-wise, I'm pretty convinced it's the same.
3) The horn is a dialect in DC.
4) On the 6th day, immediately after the creation of humans, God created a mass transit system for convenient transport of these humans that He named "Metro". And it was very, very good.
5) Making friends is just as hard in a larger city as it is in a smaller city. And it's kind of more intimidating, also.
6) It's nice to not be the loudest, most obnoxious person around.
7) "A few blocks" doesn't mean anything really in terms of how long it takes you to get somewhere or how far away it actually is. It's a very ambiguous, relative term.
8) Cities are more expensive than rural areas. It's significantly more expensive to live in DC than it was in Statesboro. Or Semora. But there's a trade off. Because it's worth it. I'd rather pay a little more to live here (hahaha - my 1 BR/1BA 800 square foot apartment is 1700$/ month...I pay a parking fee of $135/ month to park at home AND $114/ month to park at work.) and have things to do, a variety of cultural experiences, all of the varied ethnic cuisine I could want...there's a reason people pay $300/ square foot to live here.
So, anywhooddle. Here's somethings I've learned:
1) I have always lived rural areas where it took 30 minutes to an hour to get to anything. ie grocery store, wal-mart, mall. I am now in a metropolitan area, and still, it takes 30 minutes to an hour to get to anything.
2) People are the same everywhere you go. People aren't nicer in the south. It's just that there's a lower actual number of idiots, selfish pricks, morons and @$$-holes in the South because cities are smaller. Percentage-wise, I'm pretty convinced it's the same.
3) The horn is a dialect in DC.
4) On the 6th day, immediately after the creation of humans, God created a mass transit system for convenient transport of these humans that He named "Metro". And it was very, very good.
5) Making friends is just as hard in a larger city as it is in a smaller city. And it's kind of more intimidating, also.
6) It's nice to not be the loudest, most obnoxious person around.
7) "A few blocks" doesn't mean anything really in terms of how long it takes you to get somewhere or how far away it actually is. It's a very ambiguous, relative term.
8) Cities are more expensive than rural areas. It's significantly more expensive to live in DC than it was in Statesboro. Or Semora. But there's a trade off. Because it's worth it. I'd rather pay a little more to live here (hahaha - my 1 BR/1BA 800 square foot apartment is 1700$/ month...I pay a parking fee of $135/ month to park at home AND $114/ month to park at work.) and have things to do, a variety of cultural experiences, all of the varied ethnic cuisine I could want...there's a reason people pay $300/ square foot to live here.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
wistful
A dream, a passing thought...a glance into the past.
Crisp leaves, cool air, the paved walkway. An intensity and freedom I'd never known. A feeling I can't forget. A memory I've revisited time and time again.
Crisp leaves, cool air, the paved walkway. An intensity and freedom I'd never known. A feeling I can't forget. A memory I've revisited time and time again.
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