Lessons from DC

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to DC looking for a place to live starting in June. It was hectic, and I spent most of the time running around like a madman, looking at apartments that I either couldn't afford, or my mother refused to let me rent. On a side note, I think I found a pretty nice place. We'll see if it pans out. More info on that as it becomes available.

At any rate, on my two day rampage, I learned quite a bit. I learned that I really do love that town. I really get into the whole 'rat race' thing. People riding the Metro to work at their big, important jobs, diplomats double-parked in a handicapped spaces at some important meeting about changing the world, 20 year old interns trying to get to a restaurant and back on their 30 minute lunch break, the monuments, the old buildings, the street vendors, the protests, the history. It's just my thing.

The more I think about it, the more upset I get that I'm probably a short month away from having it suck the life right out of me and absolutely hating it. But we'll see.

I also learned that there's a reason for everything.

For example, if you find a hotel that's in DC for $75 a night, there's a reason it's $75 a night. These reasons could include, but are not limited to:
-Your hotel being located in the DC equivalent of Spanish Harlem
-Your hotel being adjacent to a train yard that operates 24 hours
-Your hotel attendant being behind an inch of bulletproof glass after dark
-A 'Continental breakfast' that consists of stale cereal, make-your-own toast, and warm orange juice
-A non-functioning remote control in your room
-A smell that says 'Maybe the extra $50 for the Holiday Inn would've been worth it...'

Likewise, if you find an apartment for less than $1000 a month, there's a reason it's $1000 a month. These reasons include, but are not limited to:
-The apartment being located in the DC Equivalent to Harlem. Not Spanish Harlem. Just Harlem. And without the entertainment of the Globe-trotters.
-The apartment being renovated...from 1940's appliances to 1960's appliances...
-Bring-your-own A/C
-Being able to walk from one end of the apartment to the other in 4 steps or less
-Laundry? What laundry?
-The same kitchen set-up found in most RV's from the 80's
-Mandatory gang membership

However, I also managed to learn that the Hertz NeverLost system is very well one of the best inventions man has yet been able to muster. If it weren't for that thing I'd still be somewhere in a DC ghetto trying to find my way back to the airport.

I'm sure there's more...but it'll have to wait. I'm entirely too exhausted for this.