My Morning Commute

This is a placeholder before I write a serious entry.

6:37 AM- The woman next door decides that right now would be a great time to wake up her 2 year old, and play the “Baby Einstein” video to practice shapes and colors. Wouldn’t be a big deal if our walls weren’t paper thin, and the baby screamed at the top of his lungs every time the video mentions the color “yellow”. For all intents and purposes, I’m done sleeping.

7:21 AM-Finally drag my butt out of bed. The shower is in use, so I lumber into the kitchen.

7:23 AM- I don’t know how many times I open our fridge, hoping that the breakfast fairy had come and filled with delicious food. Half a loaf of bread, some condiments, milk, a few pieces of sushi, my roommate’s beer, and my contribution to the apartment beverage collection, a 12 pack of Mountain Lightning, the Safeway knockoff of Mountain Dew. I write “Buy real food” on my “things to do list, make some oatmeal, and plop down to watch the morning news.

7:24- Don’t care about Metro DC news. Switching to Sportscenter.

7:25-Hey, the Indians won!

7:34-Shower opens up. Shower, change, and get ready for work. I discover that my electric razor is out of battery power, and I’m not sure if I packed the charging chord. Hope the boss likes goatees.

8:01- say goodbye to still unconscious roommate, head out the door.

8:03-Our apartment lobby is always interesting in the mornings. The performers for the Kennedy Center often stay here. They come from all over the world, so often; our lobby looks like the entire UN delegation, which is cool. They’re all huddled up by the door, waiting for a cab to take them to the Kennedy Center. I wonder if I should tell them its 2 blocks away. Naaah, they’re rock stars.

8:06- Car with Diplomat plates runs a red light, almost runs me over. This is the 3rd time this has happened this week. If I get hit by one of these guys, I hope it’s a smaller, less powerful country, so we can have an international incident. I can see the Post headline now: US TO NEPAL: INTERN MURDER WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED.

8:08-Arive at Foggy Bottom Metro stop. My Smartcard needs more money, so I need to start praying that there isn’t a gaggle of tourists surrounding the one working machine.

8:09 SUCSESS! Smartcard machine is empty. Time to catch my train, since I think I can hear it now.

8:10- Stampeded by hordes of other interns, rushing to get on *this train* like it was the last one out of hell. Geez, did they forget these things come every 2 min?

8:12-Train shows up, doors open, and its absolutely packed. Somedays, I get lucky enough to grab a seat, so I can play Bejeweled on my cell phone the whole trip. Today, I cram myself into a mass of people. I think my face is smashed against somebody’s shoulder.

8:15-Did somebody just grab my ass?

8:20-Time to transfer at Metro Center. My train has emptied out a little bit, but there is always a horde of people at Metro Center trying to get on. I try to sneak out of the train, but am run over my a mom wielding a hummer-esque stroller, on her way to the Smithsonian. This has got to stop. Crazy Metro patrons are a bigger problem in DC than gun crime in SE.

8:24-I start thinking. One of the things I really liked about my commute into downtown Columbus was the fact that I got to see the city as I rolled in to work. I passed by the Short North and its art galleries and restaurants I couldn’t afford, and then those gave way to our banks and skyscrapers. Getting off and walking a few blocks downtown gave me a quiet affirmation each morning that I was on the right track. I’m missing all of that, because I’m underground.

8:25- Ooh, somebody left their newspaper! Introspection ends.

8:33-Get off at Union Station, head up the massive escalator to freedom. Wait, no...not freedom. Just daylight.

8:40-Show intern badge to stern- looking security guards, who are all standing at very rapt attention. One of these days, I want to tell MEN PARADE REST and see if they move. Not today. Don’t want to press my luck today

8:44: Back to my cave, for another fun filled day of interning. Whew.

Serious article coming in 2 days.