D.C. Day 12

I don't miss the mountains very much because the buildings towering around me remind me very much of mountain ranges.  When I first got here, I felt a bit claustophobic.  In most places, you can't see more than a couple of blocks in front of you because of the thick swarms of people, vast herds of cars and looming walls of skyscrapers.  Naturally, I felt trapped and longed for a nice open field or forest glade.  But the buildings are tall and bulky like evergreens and mountains, and they soon became a comfort for me.  I feel safe and hidden in the concrete forest. 

My favorite thing about the city is seeing small, century-old buildings still standing amid the modern skyscrapers.  I took pictures of a couple of my favorite examples. 

I just love buildings like this.  Despite being overgrown by massive office buildings, they still stand strong.  I love this one even more: 

This one is my absolute favorite.  This lone little house with a fenced in yard, surrounded on all sides by office buildings, sitting in the shadow of skyscrapers, it reminds me of me.  I'm here in this odd world, this strange new place where I don't belong.  I stick out from the blonds in pencil skirts, but like this little house, I stand my ground in the midst of these city people. 

So about work today...  It was pretty uneventful.  There was an event this morning that we needed to cover but somehow no one found out about it until an hour before it was over.  So they sent me to it at the very end to catch what I could.  It was somewhat tolerable, yet terribly windy half-mile walk.  On the way there, I saw a homeless guy literally living in a cardboard box.  He sat in his box under a tree and cuddled into a ragged blanket .  I wished I had something to give him, money or food or anything.

By the time I arrived at the building, my face felt like a heavy, swollen iceberg.  I walked in about 20 minutes before the end of the event.  I got as much info as I could, but it really wasn't enough.  Before I left, I noticed the breakfast table.  After the event, I took a scone and a muffin.  Poor college interns have no shame.  On the way home, I passed the homeless guy again.  I stopped and offered him the muffin I had taken from the event.  Surprise crossed his gruff face.  He shook his head and looked down ashamedly.  He waved me away.  This was a moment of realization for me.  "Great," I thought. "I'm more desperate than a guy living in a cardboard box."  How ironic. 

That wasn't the only irony for the day.  That night, I decided to go to the Barlow center institute.  I hungout with my friend Emily and some other Barlow people between work and institute.  I probably won't go to that institute any more though cuz it gets out really late and I need my sleep.  Anyways, I somehow sat between two married couples at institute.  Darn married interns. :P