Decision

I'm real close to putting a contract on a house, here in the Logan Circle area of Washington. Details soon.

Stasis

Well, dear reader, given the low likelihood of a quick return to home, I think I might need to put this site on hold for a while. It doesn't mean that I will not return, it simply means I have to orient toward being in DC for the time being and figuring out a plan for return.

Pride Parade

Today I signed a lease on a place in Logan Circle near 12th & M St NW. Fit almost all my parameters: one bedroom, English basement, gas appliances, close in, relatively inexpensive. It's great.

This evening, I did my first Obama event. I walked with a group of about 60 supporters in the Capital Pride parade. The support from the crowd was impressive: all along the way, people were clapping and cheering, yelling our chants, asking for posters, all kinds of support. It was really touching and exhilarating at the same time. What's more impressive is that it really started raining around the middle of the route, but people stayed and cheered. It was really fun.

After the parade, a group of us met at a restaurant / bar and hung out for a while. Good group of people, really dedicated. Interesting mix: all kinds of genders and races and ages. I stayed a while and then walked back to where I left my bicycle. Right then, V called. We ended up talking a while...

Apartment hunting

I've been back two weeks today. Time has flown by. Between the 50-hour work week and catching up with friends, I'm looking at apartments. There are a few websites I'm using to help:

craigslist - free classified ads, simple search feature
apartmentratings.com - great site where tenants rate apartments and their managers
apartmentshowcase.com - the online version of a monthly magazine of apartment ads put out by the Washington Post
apartments.com - a commercial search website, affiliated with the Washington Post. Yucky search feature.

There are some real estate and rental management websites that I've been using as well. I've probably seen 12 or 15 places. I want a place close in, but I've already eliminated Capitol Hill and Waterfront. Focusing now on Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, and Woodley Park.

Between it all and visiting my brother in the country north of Baltimore, I have not had one day to myself. It's all good, though. V and I talk pretty regularly. I've gotten some nice reimbursement checks related to my shoulder surgery. The weather is getting a little sticky, but hey, it's summer in Washington.

The good thing about work is working with two interns in our office. It makes my day. Today we went to a seminar on the Hill about food security. It opened their eyes. Jim McGovern led the seminar, which was attended by Jo Ann Emerson, Earl Pomeroy and Jerry Moran.

Hierarchy of Needs: Housing

Since I got here, I've been spending a fair amount of time looking for a place to live. I'm currently staying with friends but that can last only so long. So, I've been looking up places on craigslist and have seen four places already. Focusing on Capitol Hill, Shaw, Logan Circle, Woodley Park, and may consider other places too.

Here's how wild the universe is: when I first moved to Washington in 1983, I rented a place at 747 Tenth St SE in DC: affordable little one bedroom basement apartment on Capitol Hill near the Marine Corps barracks. Well that place is available again, today. Life is just so weird. Maybe I should rent it again.