Virgin Blogger

This is my first blog. I have to admit, the idea for doing this was not original on my part. It all started with my friend, Diana, who moved to Switzerland and started one of these. Then Adriana, a friend in NYC, started one. I finally decided for once in my life I'd get in on the cutting edge of things and do something everyone else seems to be doing, despite hearing my mother's voice in my head saying, "But dear, we aren't everyone else, are we?"

I recently--well, okay, three years ago and counting--moved back to Washington, D.C., from San Francisco and while I don't hate it entirely, I can't say I'm madly, deeply in love with being back in the District. There are as many things to hate about this town as there are to love. I don't know if any other city in the U.S. better personifies the love/hate relationship quite like this one.

I love that world politics happen here, but I hate the partisan politics.
I love living in the District, but hate taxation without representation.
I love the lushness of summer, but hate the bleakness of winter.
I love the rich history that permeates everything, but hate how stilted and traditional the culture can be.
I love all the free museums, but hate that I have to go through security checkpoints to enjoy good art.
I love the beauty of the landscape, but hate that the ocean is hours away.
I love that I can be in another state in last than 30 minutes, but hate that it takes twice as long to travel half as far as it took in Northern California.
I love that the restaurant scene is improving, but hate that I can't get decent, fresh produce year-round.

See what I mean?

Love/Hate.

And in truth, some of those hates are probably really only dislikes--like the situation with the ocean, or the fresh produce thing. I'm not sure I really HATE those things, but they're definitely things I took for granted when I lived in California.

Anyway--I probably won't post to this blog very often. I know I wouldn't want to continually read the kind of stuff I just wrote for my first entry. But I will try to post when life takes me on adventures--big and small. Or when friends visit.

As for the name of the blog, given that D.C. ranks third in the nation for worst traffic, one is prone to have time for lots of long, sometimes meaningful, often inane thoughts. Here's hoping my thoughts are more of the former and less of the latter!