bullet points 28 January, 2009

– I’m still not energy-cycle-acclimated, but those deeply-buried pomonacollege workaholic parts of my brain are starting to awaken. I’ve been working three days, and today there was definitely a part of me that wanted to stay late at the office. Note: there was some ****show business with the train this morning, so I came in half an hour late, so I was already planning to stay half an hour late, and this after I had lunch while at a work-related excursion to capitol hill. Nevertheless, I didn’t feel quite productive enough, and I have resolved to go in fifteen minutes earlier tomorrow and each successive day until I’m arriving there at eight.

– I’m at an office that values fast learners, because I’m already being entrusted with some measure of responsibility and autonomy(!)

– I was waiting on the platform to catch the train home last night, reading the paper. The little board was showing a train arriving, the light appeared in the tunnel, the train entered the station… and passed right through without stopping. It wasn’t a No Passenger train, because it had passengers on it.

– I’ve now experienced an array of East Coast Winter Weather: yesterday morning there was snow, then last night there was freezing rain, then this morning there was ice everywhere, and finally this afternoon we had “winter mix”. The only really enjoyable part was watching everyone penguin-walk to work (though that enjoyment was tempered by having to watch the sidewalk half the time while penguin-walking myself.

– My black patent leather shoes have no traction whatsoever. I had them on on the snowy day, and learned my lesson enough to not wear them today for the icy day. But, seriously, I’ve considered taking a file and crosshatching their soles or maybe buying crampons or something.

– All DC-area Safeways have alliterative nicknames. Despite what you may read elsewhere on the internet, non-alliterative nicknames are not legit and should be regarded with skepticism. Even among alliterative nicknames, there are definite variations, which seems acceptable. However, I have unfortunately noted that the consensus is that my Safeway (17th and Corcoran) is the most famous of them all: the Soviet Safeway, with long lines, sad-looking produce, disinterested service, and shortage on bread. There is, I suppose, always Whole Foods, but now that I’m making a salary I’m going to actually try to live on a budget.

in the depths of winter… 26 January, 2009

I discovered that the sweet potatoes I’d been holding onto to turn into sweet potato fries were in a ripped-open plastic bag and as such had grown shockingly moldy. I guess I just figured that with that dry winter air, we’d be on the arid-stale side of the weather/spoilage spectrum, rather than the humid-fecund side. I guess that’s what happens when your city is built on a swamp?

Also, uh, I’d like to apologize to Albert Camus. I know you passed away during that socially interesting wave of car accident deaths in the 60s, but I’d like you to know that despite utterly disrespecting your famous written line by associating it with an image of spoiled sweet potatoes, I enjoy your writing.

Also, had my first day of work today and am exhausted. Will have to just be a tease re: what my job is, the inaugural, etc. Sorry for that as well? Working a full shift after being shiftless (ha) for I-don’t-know-how-long is tiring…

logistics 21 January, 2009

They did a pretty poor job this week. But the experience(s) have been great. More in a bit, when I’m not just home from a black tie event(!)

perfect first week 14 January, 2009

Domicile, work, Inauguration-related stuff… it’s all just kind of spun itself together in the past few days! The world is a mysterious and wonderful place; sometimes having a really good feeling about a place/people/a situation works out uncannily neat.

I ate at nearby restaurant/institution Ben’s Chili Bowl within a day of when the President-Elect ate there. I’m really really excited that it’s within walking distance and open late — it’ll be perfect for summer. And it’s also perfect, food-wise, for the damp chill that’s in the air. The only problem is staying motivated enough to go while thinking about the rain and unpleasantness outside, and then being full of sausage and chili and possibly fries and certainly happiness but then having to step back out into the cold to get home afterwards.

Right now, I’m just sitting and listening to the sound of the wind.

next 72 hrs 5 January, 2009

I’ll be packing again — tho fortunately I won’t be living out of a suitcase this time. I even got some bedding today (and, no joke, it’s nice). These last three weeks here have been really nice, but I’ve definitely put things on hold that I need to get back under control. Being in DC in the fall infused me with ambition, while here I’ve been just kind of… content. Hopefully heading back there will kick me into gear once again, and if the place itself doesn’t do it, hopefully paying the bills this month will.

I also have a job interview wednesday (!!!) I’m pretty sure I’m still bad at job interviews, but I’ve gotten a really good vibe from the place I’m interviewing, so we’ll see what comes of it.

denver over the holidays 1 January, 2009

“at least it’s a dry cold”. And, indeed, sometimes it’s not actually that cold at all — today, for example, it was sunny and in the mid-50s all day, which would have been quite pleasant had I not been, shall-we-say, sensitive to light and headachy. They say it’ll snow a little bit this weekend, and there should hopefully be enough moon to get the moonlight on a fresh layer of snow look that is the highlight of the season.

Driving again reminds me of the opportunity cost of forgoing the hassle of insurance, maintenance, etc. Merging onto the highway is a beautiful act, with the press of smooth acceleration and the sudden sharpness required of nerves as all decisions are necessarily sped up. The way the wheel feels lively, guessing other drivers’ intentions based on their lane position and relative rate of speed, having to turn the radio up an extra notch to compete with the wind the car is cutting through… A person in a car is armored, anonymous, personality quantifiable by physics and turn-signal usage. America, in its reliance on personal cars, is a giant social experiment — evaluating how people react to the responsibility of being in charge of a half-ton of alloys and electronics, testing which social nicities of waiting in line survive being masked by tinted windows and which are ignored. Driving is a secured bubble of private space to an extent unattainable most other places (because of thin walls or middle management). It quiets my mind as effectively as a good shower.

So when it comes to the auto bailout, I’m nervously “pro”. Not because I think American automakers can be saved, but because somewhere in this country are people who will have the next great ideas in design and technology. Given that these companies are basically insolvent whether the government intervenes or not, I think we should at least do our best to make their future bankruptcies *constructive*. Find a way of putting our extensive capital in the hands that can best put it to use. Cars are an integral part of the infrastructure and, frankly, values America holds dear (self-determination, young romance, the triumph of technological progress), and it seems wrong and somehow dangerous to give up on American automaking.

My problem, though, is that I don’t buy in personally to what I believe is true for the country as a whole. Especially at this time in my life, the premium paid for getting a New Car seems crazy, and I’m rather sure that when I get my next car some years down the line, it’ll be used. I also still feel strongly that my first car, a Subaru, was a fine vehicle, and I trust Japanese automakers in general. So I’ll probably be looking for a used Japanese four-door compact next time around, and will in my own way be Part of the Problem for the American automakers. Still, a GM/Chrysler bankruptcy unabetted by government seems rife with unforseen (negative) consequences. And when I’m still looking for a job, having that many more unemployed workers to compete against is no fun.