Entries categorized as ‘D.C.’
I need a new camera.
I go to all these fabulous places and I take pictures and they always come out crap (as you can tell from this blog). It’s partly because of the sand bits stuck inside my current camera but mostly because I’m a terrible picture-taker. I need a camera that’s inspired all on its own. And possibly a quick tutorial on guiding the device, if that’s not too much to ask.
Anyway, there’s so much to think about and nothing to say at the same time. Chinese New Year came and went quite silently for me, except for the numerous reminders on facebook and Twitter. My family didn’t even acknowledge it when we met up in Sydney. It was strange.
My parents were probably relieved to be away from the craziness of days filled with obligatory visits to relatives and friends as well as the lightening of their wallets from giving away red packets to children they hardly know.
I, on the other hand, was a little disappointed.
As I get older, I feel like I need tradition or maybe it’s just cos’ I’m far away from home and it helps me remember who I am without being swallowed up in the foreign culture that surrounds me. Yet, paradoxically, I am glad to be away from the culture I know too well. I want to explore and learn and be filled with different perspectives, coming to conclusions I wouldn’t otherwise have reached with the limited input from having only lived in one place.
I know I was probably guilty of this too before I came to live here and maybe even a couple years in, but I can’t help getting annoyed when I read blogs by Singaporeans still living at home writing about their fascination with America (i.e. New York City, pop culture and food chains). They talk about this store and that store they visited, and if only they had it in Singapore (although they’d probably still come here to shop in the same store). They talk about cute little restaurants and cafes like they’ve never been to one before, like it’s only in America. In New York City. The truth is, Singapore has tons of that stuff and more. It’s just a case of greener grass on the other side.
Now, I know that it’s a very natural thing to do–eat and shop while traveling and recommending things you liked. I guess the thing that bugs me is that most times, it’s really not your regular I-went-here-and-loved-this write-up. The admiration is specific to the country and never goes beyond the superficial.
It bugs me because I think that what makes this country and its big cities great is not all its fancy stores and cute little cafes and chain restaurants (yuck, by the way!) but that it is somewhat of a petri dish for brilliantly creative minds and also the fact that its people have a voice (many different voices in fact) and are allowed to be heard (even though I wish some of them would shut up and even though it may not be the most efficient way of running a country). Maybe it’s because I come from an apathetic political culture and strict society that stifles creativity but when I leave this place, there can be nothing I will purchase, nor photograph I will take that can show why I admire this country. (Well… except for maybe a DVD boxed set of Arrested Development. Hur hur.)
Categories: D.C.
I’m headed to New York City this weekend, just in time to escape the allegedly two-footer snowstorm that’s coming into DC. I thought I’d share how I usually make the trip.
The best way to get to New York City from D.C. is by train. The Acela Express takes you from Union Station to Penn Station in less than three hours. (The less expensive regional Amtrak train makes more stops so it takes about 45 minutes longer.) You’ve got all the legroom you want, electric outlets for that dying laptop battery and no stress from going through security-check lines at the airport. Your hair doesn’t even have time to get ruffled! This is how I traveled once I got a job after grad school.
“No more Chinatown bus,” I told myself, “I’ve got money!”
Alas, that luxurious lifestyle was short-lived and in an effort to save a ton of money for the future, I’ve had to scale far back and return to the bus. Although Amtrak currently has a $49 one way offer on their regional trains with a 2-week advanced purchase, the usual cost is between $64-$224 each way. (It makes no difference if you get a round trip ticket.) The bus costs between $1-$35 one way but takes about 4 to 5 hours to get from city to city.
Luckily for me, tons of different bus companies have sprung up in the last few years and they don’t just run between the two Chinatowns. Lots of them even include free wifi service.
The most popular bus company these days is BoltBus, which advertises $1 fares (although I’m not quite sure how to get them, the prices listed on their site usually go from $16 to $23 each way). It offers wifi and more leg room and travels between DC’s Chinatown or Union Station and Penn Station. It’s the same thing with Megabus.
There are several other bus companies that also offer wifi and leave from Union Station, Dupont Circle and Chinatown but I think most of them have a fixed price of $20-$25 each way, slightly more expensive than the above two I mentioned. No-frills Chinatown buses that go between Chinatowns are the cheapest at $35 round trip.
But sometimes convenience is something you might want to pay for. Vamoose Bus costs $30 each way but it stops at Rosslyn, close to where I live, so I can walk right home after I get off the bus. On a crazy work day, I can rush home, pick up my stuff and run for the bus. The only catch is that on the return trip from New York, it stops in Bethesda, Maryland, before going to Rosslyn, which significantly lengthens the journey. That’s why I’m just going with BoltBus this time. Hopefully I won’t have to sit next to a crazy person. Sigh, I miss the train!
Image courtesy of stock.xchng
Categories: D.C. · Travel Tips
Tagged: acela express, amtrak, chinatown bus, getting to nyc from dc
This year I also started volunteering regularly (another part of the turning 30 and doing more meaningful things with my life). I joined Greater DC Cares, which disseminates volunteers to places that need them. I started off trying out a few different types of volunteer work including sending books to prisoners, packing food for the terminally ill, yard work and feeding the homeless.
I finally settled on volunteering with a program called Loaves and Fishes, which operates out of a church in Northwest DC. Even though it’s a little out of the way for me (I have to switch trains), I like how it’s on a weekend and not super early in the morning and I guess I like that they know me there now and I get friendly hugs when I arrive. I know exactly what to do when I get there and there’s always lots to do once service begins, from plating to serving to clean-up. The kitchen and dining room get loud and exciting and I can’t explain why I find it all fun but I do!
All the food is made from scratch at the kitchen and served until every bit is gone. At the end of it all, a few hundred hungry people are sent off with full bellies and sometimes a bag of seconds. And I don’t think they’re the only ones getting immediate gratification from the service every weekend.
Categories: 2009 In Review · D.C. · Life · Volunteering
Tagged: DC Cares, dc soup kitchens, feeding the homeless, loaves and fishes, Volunteering
I braved the biting cold late January with my good friends Kyle and Gigi to witness Obama’s inauguration.
Coming from politically apathetic Singapore and never having had the opportunity to vote because it’s always a walk-over in my constituency (kinda like if you’re the lone democrat in a red state or vice versa), I’ve never paid much attention to politics. That is, until I moved to D.C. Not being in touch with politics here is like not knowing about celebrities or music and movies when you live in L.A.
Even though I didn’t get to vote here either, for some reason, I didn’t feel like an outsider at the historic event. I was as excited as the throngs of people gathered on the National Mall to welcome America’s new president, and as nervous when he and Michelle got out of the car during the parade. I only hope I can be as engaged in my country’s politics some day.
P.S: I also got to see U2 and James Taylor perform live for free at the pre-inauguration concert!
Categories: 2009 In Review · D.C. · Life
Tagged: free U2 concert, James Taylor, obama inauguration
I don’t actually know how to summarize this year in a paragraph. So in the days leading up to the holidays, I’m going to highlight all the significant moments I’ve had the fortune of experiencing in 2009.
First up: adult ballet classes. I’ve always wanted to be a ballet dancer and was enrolled in a class with my sister when I was very young. But being painfully shy, I couldn’t bring myself to actually join the class and would rather sit with my mother, watching my sister and the other girls flit about.
I don’t know how far into the lessons we were but my mom made me promise one day that I’d join the class the following week. Then the week came and I just couldn’t. I was too scared. My mom got so mad at me that she pulled both my sis and I out of the class and I think we’ve collectively regretted her impatience since.
Anyway, I decided this year, turning 30 and all, I’d pursue the things I’ve always wanted to and so I searched for adult ballet classes in the DC area. I finally settled on St. Mark’s Dance Studio because they were the most inexpensive and the least intimidating. Also, the lady in charge, Rosie Brookes, was super nice when she answered the phone, unlike the people at the other places I rang.
So far, I LOVE ballet class! I like to pretend I’m light and graceful even though I’m sure I’m still a giant awkward mess. My sweet teacher, Jessica Sloane is super encouraging and everyone in class (from their late 20s to their 70s maybe?) is really nice too.
I had my first recital in June and my good friends Kyle and Gigi came to watch like proud parents!
-Photo courtesy of stock.xchng
Categories: 2009 In Review · D.C. · Life
Tagged: adult ballet classes dc, st. mark's dance studio
That’s snow falling outside my window on Saturday. It was our first snow fall of the season and very exciting cos’ I didn’t believe the weatherman when he said it was coming.
I sat in bed with my laptop watching Gilmore Girls and periodically stared out at the bits of white coming down from the sky. Sometimes it seemed to be scurrying down in a planned path and at other times it sort of floated casually in different directions. Sometimes it was big fat snow and sometimes it was little pieces that looked almost like rain. It continued until darkness came and didn’t get old.
Categories: D.C. · Life
Tagged: dc, snow fall, weatherman
October 15, 2009 · 1 Comment
It started raining yesterday and the falling temperatures dragged my heavy coat out of its cosy spot in the closet. The weather people say to expect this for most of the weekend. Ugh.
Last weekend was chilly too but a visit from an old friend left me feeling nice and warm. I hadn’t seen Jing in more than 10 years but the way we greeted each other in my apartment lobby, you’d think we were room mates or something.
It was 6.30 am on Saturday morning. She’d just been through a 12-hour bus ride from Providence, RI, and I was in my pyjamas, woken from a 3-hour sleep. We hugged each other loosely, then went upstairs. She took a shower, and we both went back to bed til it was a decent time to get up.
Over the next couple of days, I took her to my favourite haunts and we ate all my favourite food (which she thankfully loved too). We met a few interesting people as well, from foreign bartenders to successful businessmen wanting some free therapy (Jing’s a psychologist).
Not having actually hung out before (we were classmates in secondary school but not very close), the trip could have gone very wrong. But it didn’t. We got along like sisters (good ones). It was a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait to hang out again. Next destination, New York City!
Here’s us on our walk to Georgetown with our morning musts for the weekend–a cup of coffee for her and a bottle of gatorade for me!
Here’s us on our picnic by the Potomac River
What was for lunch
And the view…
Categories: D.C. · Life · Travel Stories
Tagged: old friends, washington dc
Wow. It’s really been a weekend full of drama, what with Kanye West’s stage crashing incident and Serena Williams’ crazy tantrum. Outside of the tv box, I encountered more.
Don’t know why but I seem to be a magnet for the insane. Nobody else I know has as many stories of crazies to tell. Sigh. Anyway, here’s something that happened Friday night on my way to New York for the Us Open men’s semi-finals:
I was seated at the back row on the BoltBus next to this really big fella. I got there first and he CHOSE to sit by me when there were tons of other seats around. I thought, “Oh crap” because he smelled bad. But whatever, it was fine until my friend Gigi called me and I picked up because I hadn’t spoken to her since she moved away two months ago and was wondering what she needed. I was planning to speak for only a short time and softly too. But while I was talking to her (hardly saying anything except for “uh huh uh huh” softly and with long pauses in between) this guy starts clearing his throat really loudly and coughing and stuff and I’m like, what the?!
So I hang up and I turn my back toward him. He gets up right after and tries to find another seat. And of course the bus is full and he comes back and asks if I will switch seats with him because his light doesn’t work. And I’m like, fine. I get his crappy seat, which is lower to the ground than mine and makes me feel kind of sick because it’s not by the window anymore and I can feel the bus move more. Ugh. Fine, whatever.
Then I fall asleep and the lady in front of me gets on the phone and that’s fine too but she gradually gets louder and louder and her conversation goes on for probably about an hour. Half an hour into it, the guy next to me starts having a freak out about it. I look at him, he looks at me, we’re both annoyed and I contemplate telling her to keep it down but what does he do? He starts coughing and clearing his throat really loudly just like he did with me and then when that doesn’t work he starts reading his book ALOUD REALLY LOUDLY so the whole bus can hear!! And so now I’m stuck in the corner of a backwards L-shape between these two crazy loud people! The woman is looking behind her bewildered but reluctant to hang up and so she wins because he starts feeling embarrassed I suppose and so stops his crazy tantrum and she continues yakking about the school she runs or something. I kind of want to lean in and ask her questions about the stuff she’s telling the other person. Hey, if u can’t beat them, join them right?! But I don’t. And I don’t tell her to keep it down either because of this and also because this past week, when I finally mustered up the courage to confront a guy I thought had his video game on too loud on the metro, I realised too late it wasn’t him. Ugh.
Categories: D.C. · Life
Tagged: crazy people
