I HEART DC…For 2 More Years

No pictures just yet…I kinda spaced out last night and forgot to upload them. But,they are coming…

I’ve noticed since I’ve been back that there are 2 diametrically opposed INPY’s competing for attention. On the one hand, there is the INPY who got out of work and walked in to the grocery store in CoHi and 20 minutes later came out with everything he needed to make Ginger and Wasabi Salmon steaks with a side salad and potatoes. This INPY is the one that loves that he can get Thai food at 2:00 AM, revels in the knowledge that he can see live music performed 7 nights a week, and sees Nats games with such regularity that he gets a discount on his MGD’s.

Then there’s the INPY who misses cruising with the windows down in the F150…the one that just loves the way it feels to not put on a suit first thing in the morning and who doesn’t mind that if he were to move to Maine he couldn’t see any live music other than John Phinney playing the same few cover songs (Gordon Lightfoot would cry, trust me) he knows at every local watering hole in town or the folk musicians that play the Massonic Temple’s Thursday Night Dinner.

Actually, those boys were good. (HELL YES I went…$6 for hot dogs, burgers, chicken, baked beans, every sort of salad you can think of…all home made? Damn right I was there…)

Having said that, it’s good to be back. I love DC…for all of the bitching that we do once we’ve lived here longer than the average hill staffer about the traffic and the dating scene, it’s really a fantastic town. It’s got issues, sure. But where can you go that doesn’t? We’ve got it pretty good here in DC. I mean, have you been to St. Louis?

Since I’ve come back, I’m packin’ some serious clarity. I’ve got a real grasp of what I want and what I don’t want and where I do and don’t want to be. I’ve spent years trying to stay as far away from certain parts of my family as possible, only to really get now that it’s kept me away from the parts of my family that make me really happy. What’s worse; I let the feeling of wanting to be away from them change how I felt about New England…

In essence I threw out the baby with the bathwater.

So now what?

Ironically enough, now I want to enjoy DC. A lot. I’ve always said that I loved it, but I know I’ve been taking it for granted. I want to soak in all that it has to offer…it’s been almost 7 years since I trekked down here from Boston, and I’ve got a list of things I’ve never done. That’s got to change…

Cuz I ain’t gonna be here all that much longer.

Kid Brother built his house, which is 3 bedrooms, two porches, and an almost finished basement, for under $80K. I’ve got it in my mind that something similar, and quite nearby, might be just what the Dr. ordered for me.

And yeah, I hear you. “It’s a trade off”…I know this. I know about the winters of New England. And you know what? I miss them. I know that I wouldn’t make as much money in a rural setting, but things aren’t as expensive. I know about the inconvenience. I know I know I know.

But I just can’t shake the idea that here I’m giving up more than I’m getting.

So I’m going to make sure that for the next 2 years I get everything I can out of it down here. That’s right, I’m on a 2 year plan. I’ve got a plan to get out, see….X amount of money to save, X amount of things to cross of my “to do list”. 2 years…

Of course, I could wind up falling for one of the Redskin’s Cheerleaders and this whole thing goes right out the window.