Mile 13

Today marks the six month anniversary of my move to D.C., and I thought for those of you that care (and mostly for the clarification of my own thoughts) I thought I’ve give a little progress report, midterm synopsis, whatever you want to call it about my experiences so far.

If you’re tuned in to hear my astute analysis of the day’s current events (ha!) I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m sure I’ll get back to that at some point. Also, if you aren’t particularly interested in the goings-on of my life, you might wanna go ahead and skip this one.

It might be worth mentioning that I rarely talk about my personal life for a few reasons. First of all, despite living in the political hub of the known universe, my own personal experiences here are quite insignificant and inconsequential — thus far. I doubt that my hob-knobbing with other 20-something aspiring journalists, non-profit employees and other hopeful world-changers is all that interesting to any of you. Hell, most of the time it’s boring to me.

I had other reasons that I don’t talk about my personal life, but the first one suffices. So, moving on.

First of all, it’s hard to believe that I’ve already been here for six months. It’s a little overwhelming to think that a year ago I was five months away from graduating college with little or no idea of what I wanted to do with my life. The same can be said of my life up until as little as eight or nine months ago. How quickly things change, I suppose.

It’s somehow appropriate that, after the 107 degree heat index over the summer, I’m writing this while periodically looking out the window at the ensuing blizzard.*

I have a very on-again, off-again relationship with this city. I’m starting to find that I thoroughly enjoy the city itself, but am becoming increasingly displeased with the people in it.

I appreciate the fact this place is more or less the epicenter of political dealings of this country and to a certain extent the world, and I appreciate and admire the incredible history here. I enjoy walking to and from work, and being able to ride the Metro pretty much anywhere I'd ever need to go. I like the fact that winter feels like winter, though I'm sure I'll tire of that by February.

All that said, I could do without the people that live here. Or at least most of them. To begin with, I find that most people take themselves far too seriously. So many of the people I meet are so into their careers that if you can't help them advance said career, they have no interest whatsoever in anything you have to say. Everything is seen as a networking opportunity. It's nauseating. Now don't get me wrong...I'm all about networking, but give it a rest every now and then.

I don't always want to talk about tax policy, whether or not Iran already has nuclear weapons, or the whole Judy Miller/Karl Rove/Scooter Libby/Joe Wilson thing. Sometimes it's nice to just talk about football, the worthlessness of Paris Hilton or what was on Leno last night. Get over yourself. You're not that cool.

I've also become quite jaded with politics and the journalism industry. Every prejudice I had before I came here has essentially been confirmed. On the politics side, I've seen the 'dirty underbelly,' as it were, of American political dealings. It truly is a filthy, filthy system. It's as discouraging as it is disgusting. Granted, there are decent people in politics, but few start out that way and even fewer finish that way. More on this another time.

As far as American journalism goes, it's quite a sad state of affairs. There's all the talk about a liberal bias, and to a certain extent I know this to be true. I just think some people slightly exaggerate it. I do believe there's a bias in the media, but it's not to the left or right. I think the bias in the media, at least in the so-called mainstream media, is toward 'stupid.' Now, this might be more of a reflection of the audience, as so much emphasis is placed on the entertainment aspect of the news that content and edification has been relegated to the backseat. Naturally, there are sources within the media where such content and edification can be obtained, but they're not disseminated to the masses the way the ‘mainstream media’ is. But that’s also another blog post for another time.

Several people have asked me whether or not I plan to stay in D.C. after my contract is up in June. Truth be told, I’m really not sure. I’m thinking I could stay, but only if I’m offered a substantial raise. The cost of living here is astronomical, and to be honest this whole $1,200 a month rent is getting old. I could have a decent apartment in Buckhead for that much. Then again, Buckhead isn’t a mile from the White House. But I digress.

I do enjoy my job, since that seems to be the question most frequently asked of me when people are, well, asking me questions. I’m just not so sure I’m cut out for the whole ‘editorial’ route. I’m not much for toeing someone else’s line or watering down my feelings so as not to offend people. I know it’s a good skill to have and all that, and that’s fine. I’m just not sure I can do it for the rest of my life.

In the interest of full disclosure, or at least partial disclosure, it might be worth mentioning that I do have some prospective employment opportunities in the area, but it’s still up in the air. I haven’t been actively searching, so it’s certainly an ego boost that I’ve been ‘scouted,’ as it were. Of course, I could be reading too much into it and they might just want someone to empty out the trashcans, so I’m not getting my hopes up too high.

But even if the gig turns out to be what I think it might, they’re going to have to really make it worth my while to stick around. I wouldn’t say there’s a particular force pulling me back to Georgia, because there isn’t. Don’t get me wrong...I still love that place and it will always be ‘home.’ But I’m not so much drawn to the state as I am to a hand-full of people in it, and I’m just not sure if I can deal with 600 miles of distance between us anymore than I’ve already committed to. It just feels unnatural. I’m as career-oriented as the next guy, but even all the career achievements I could dream of would be hollow without sharing them with these aforementioned (albeit unnamed**) people. And that’s just a bunch of crap to sort through.

But hey...I’ve got another six months. And if I learn as much about myself in the next six months as I did in the last, I think I’ll be alright.

I apologize for boring you all with such mundane details of my life. I probably won’t do it again for another six months.

But enough about me...how are you?

*I'm from Georgia. 4 inches of snow in early December constitutes a blizzard.
**If you think you know, you don't. Well, you do, but you don't.