DC things

1. Yesterday was cold and windy, and rainy for part of the day. Walking to work sucked. Also, I made the mistake of wearing a lightweight skirt. I've lost my feel for appropriate work clothes for commuting, apparently. But today is sunny and it's already warmish and it's going to get positively warm this afternoon. I walked to work in the sunshine and admired all the blooming flowers in people's gardens. Lots of daffodils and crocuses and pops of color. My hotel is about ten minutes from my office and it is rather lovely to walk through some of the lovely rowhouses that make up DC's downtown residential areas.
2. Working in an office when you aren't normally in the office can become very distracting. People come by, or suddenly it seems ridiculous to call someone who's right down the hall so you walk down the hall to talk to them, and bump into three other people along the way, and then you remember why you should have called them to begin with. The office I'm sitting in doesn't have a phone, so I have to use Skype or my BlackBerry to call people if I need to talk to them, and it feels much more ridiculous than picking up a regular phone and dialing an internal extension would. I think that's why I'm so averse to doing it.
3. Speaking of my office not having a phone, it also doesn't have anything else except a desk. I'm using my own laptop (meaning I don't have printer access), I had to steal an ethernet cord from the cube of someone who recently left the company, and I'm still using my BlackBerry. Basically it's like I'm telecommuting from my own office. It feels very strange. But it's still very nice to be here and see everyone, and so far it's been very productive.
4. I do not miss being reliant on public transportation at all. It is great to have and it mostly works pretty well, though of course the system still has issues that need to be worked out. But I love that we now live in a place where having a car is affordable and convenient, and we can go wherever we want, whenever we want. I don't miss having to build in an extra 20 minutes to get wherever I was going, and being trapped in the city and unable to ever go to some of the gorgeous outdoorsy areas that surround DC.
5. The neighborhood that I'm staying in is very safe and nice, but I keep getting cat-called and talked at by random guys on the street. And no, before you say it, I don't think it's a compliment. I don't think it has anything to do with looks or attractiveness. The way it's done has to do with power. They are saying things to strange women on the street in ways that are designed to make them feel exposed and uncomfortable. They are not friendly little compliments. They are rude. And I don't like it.
   
6. DC is a great town. I'm glad I lived here. But I'm even more glad that I don't live here anymore.