The following are observations compiled over the last few days in the city I am seriously crushing on. It’s gettin’ hot in here. My observations are itemized for maximum efficiency and ease of cognition. Who needs complex, delicately woven narrative? Also, sleep.
- From Monday morning to Friday evening, downtown Washington, D.C. is populated by men and women in inky black coats.
- The “Walk” “Don’t Walk” traffic lights in Washington D.C. give you a digital countdown to the signal change — and they give you a luxurious amount of time to cross the street. Most of the timers here start around 45 seconds, so you feel like, “Why, I certainly don’t need to run to cross the street! I have 39 seconds!”
- Clean trains.
- So many joggers. If the Library of Congress could put on a pair of Under Armor leggings, that thing would be up at 5am for three laps around the Potomac.
- I have now walked past the CNN building and the NPR building in the evening. The CNN building is exactly what you’d expect: a vaguely foreboding office building. But the NPR building is lit up like a blinkin’ Vegas casino. It’s all neon and cotton candy floodlights. I am confused.
- You can get drugs on H St. and 7th St. I know because I was walking there and a dude asked me if I wanted to buy drugs. You can probably get all kinds, but I don’t know for sure.
- Many, many churches, most of them beautiful and on historical registries. Number of churches inside D.C. proper: just shy of 600.