Tag Archives: politics

A Love Affair – With A City…

1 Oct

I’m coming to terms with the fact that I have a love affair with the city I’ve called home for the past 8+ years. Oh how I love Washington, DC – with all her grandeur, historical mystery, and brusque sophistication. Growing-up I knew that I would find myself calling DC home one day. I love walking the tree-lined streets of historic Capital Hill everyday with my baby and pooch in tow. And in the winter there is nothing more charming than walking by homes with lighted Christmas trees in the front bay windows, except of course a jaunt to the National Christmas Tree in front of the White House. I love heading down to the National Mall on any given day to find a political rally on ending genocide in Sudan or on passing immigration reform. DC is a city where “change” runs in our blood, and people work hard to make the world a better place. And of course its the city where “lobbyists” got their name, with “lobbying” starting right in the lobby of the famous Willard Hotel. Maybe I don’t love lobbyists but they are a fact of life, or of politics I should say.

I love the grittiness of the city, of any city for that matter, and all the off-beat culture, music, street food – and DC food trucks of course. Some of my favorites are Red Hook Lobster Pound, Tasty Kabob, and Fojol Bros. Then there are the restaurants… complete deliciousness. I appreciate the diversity of culinary delights we have to choose from everyday. I also love the small town feel in every neighborhood across the city – Capital Hill, Takoma Park, and Glover Park to name a few. And did I mention that the plethora of street festivals all year long absolutely rocks? Um yeah. I love everything about DC street festivals. I also love the intellectual stimulation that is around every corner of town and in every coffee shop… DC is a city filled with intense people. Guess that’s why I fit in pretty damn well. I could go on and on about everything I love about Washington, DC. But I also realize that we won’t be living here forever, and there is a pretty good chance that we will move sometime in the next 2-5 years. So while I am in love with this city I also want to put on record the list of things that I will not miss about DC living. So here it goes…

  1. Taxation Without Representation
    Enough stated. Having been a District resident for over 8 years I have finally come to the conclusion (don’ know what took me so long), that if DC residents don’t have representation in Congress than we should not have to pay Federal income taxes since we do not have a voice with a vote.
  2. Sirens (and car horns) – All Day and All Night
    I am listening to sirens as I write this blog post. Their sound penetrates through our double panned insulated windows. And about 50% of the time my pooch Tico howls along with the sirens. Which is very endearing except when the baby is sleeping. Bottom line though, I am tired of the blaring noise of sirens and car horns.
  3. Garbage – and the Failure to Use Trash Cans
    This one really gets me. There are trash cans everywhere in this city. In fact there are professional street cleaners and career sidewalk cleaners. Still there is trash everywhere. On any given day I will see kids and adults walk by the front of my hose, unwrap their candy or fast food and pitch the garbage right in my front yard. Isn’t that so 20 years ago!?!? Don’t they teach kids in school not to litter!?!? And by the way, there is a trash can 15 yards from my front yard.
  4. Drugs and Drug Addicts
    No I won’t give you a dollar or my change so you can go get your next fix. For the 100th time, I work hard for my money and there is no way in hell I am going to give it to a drug addict so they can go get high. Get a frigging job! Oh and I am REALLY tired of those mini zip lock bags that litter my neighborhood and carry the residues of your last high. Really tired of them.
  5. Chicken Bone Ally – EVERYWHERE!
    Where do they all come from. And I can’t believe my pooch is still alive after all of the damn chicken bones he has managed to get a hold of. I discovered this problem when we first adopted Tico – and then I began to observe the phenomenon. People buy fried chicken and chicken wings at the nearest 7-11, Popeye’s, and Checkers. They then proceed to walk around the neighborhood eating their chicken and ditching the bones on the sidewalk as they walk. Bizarre! First of all, who eats chicken while walking around? Second, does it not dawn of these people that there are trash cans everywhere. What a concept!?!? Third, come on people you know that chicken bones can splinter in a dogs stomach (not a new discovery, and pretty common knowledge) and there are dogs everywhere in this city. I have seriously considered collecting up these chicken bones, putting them in bags with signs, and stapling them to the trees in an effort to get people to throw their bones in the garbage cans provided.
  6. Paying a Premium for Everything
    Everything in this city is so expensive. Food, gas, dentists, dinning, nails at the hardware store, dry cleaning, healthcare, the list could go on and on . End of story.
  7. Being Surrounded by Sex Offenders
    I made the terrible mistake with my very first iPhone (yep, first gen) of dowloanding the free “sex offenders” app. I started playing with it around my office and realized that I am surrounded by sex offenders. And then I continued to play with it at home, and found I was still surrounded by sex offenders. There is no escaping them. Rapists and child molesters are everywhere in this city. Gross! Right!?!?
  8. Dodging Wandering Tourists
    There should be signs upon entering the metro system providing “Metro Etiquette 101”. Stand only on the right-hand side of the escalators, the left-hand side is for walkers (and sprinters). Do not dilly dally at the ticket checks, Washingtonians have places to go and too little time to get there. And no your back pack can not have its on seat in the metro car. This does not even begin to explain the behavior of tourists on the sidewalks, at cross-walks, and everywhere else in this city.
  9. People Yelling at All Hours of the Day
    This really gets to me. Just because ya’ll are drunk at 4:00 am and again at 6:00 pm, does not mean I have to listen to your belligerent rants outside. Learn to use your inside voice outside.
  10. Random Road Closures
    We experience random road closures all of the time for many different reasons. On any given day it can take me a full hour to bike home from work (I live less than 3 miles from the office) because every road around the Hill will be closed, no matter where I turn. It’s just another suspicious package day… Oh wait and on the other side of town all the streets are closed because POTUS is making an appearance. And shit man, were you planning on going grocery shopping on Saturday morning? All roads closed due to a race. No food for you! Nough said.

So there you have it – my DC shit list. I am still madly in love with this city for oh so many more reasons than this.

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63 Islands of Efficiency

5 Jun

Welcome in flowers in Little India

From the moment I got off the plane I could see the signs of efficiency at every turn. At immigration, there were automated lines where Singaporean residents just swiped a card and a machine scanned their finger print. For foreigners there was a long bank of border control agents that issued visitor visas. Not a single line at any of them, I just walked-up handed over my passport and off I went. Sure beats the 2 hour immigration lines at US Airports. And then there was the big bold red letters on my tourist carrd – Warning Death for Drug Trafficers Under Singapore Law. A stinging reminder that this is a land that embraces judicial corporal punishment. There is no trial by jury and you are proven guilty before proven innocent. Singapore is thought to have the highest execution rate in the world. And you are reminded of these strict laws at every turn. $1,000 fine for riding your bike through a walking tunnel. $500 fine for littering on the street. Death for firearm offenses, murder, etc. The list goes on.

Despite this stark reality. Singapore is the world’s fourth largest financial center. It gives the vibe of intellect, progress, and accomplishment in every nuance. There are skyscrapes as far as the eye can see, and tropical rainforest trees and gardens are interlaced throughout a sea of glass and steel.

Singapore Skyscrapers

Along with the immense sense of economic development, vanity and wealth really is everywhere. Shopping malls are all around and filled with only the highest end European and American shops. Gucci. Yves Saint Laurent. Prada. Jimmy Choo. Such a sharp contrast from the rest of Southeast Asia that we’ll be exploring over the next two weeks.

It’s not just all about money and lack of individual freedom. There are also a million wonderful things about this island country made-up of 63 islands, totaling just 224 square miles. Singapore has mastered efficiency. You order a taxi on your mobile device and its at your door in under 5 minutes, no questions asked and no delays. Street access for cars during peak times is controlled by automated tolls controlled by microchips in every car. There are no homeless or shanty towns, the government subsidizes adequate housing for all Singaporeans regardless of income. There is no garbage. There are no rats. There are no cockroaches. None has or carries firearms – except the police of course. And a sense of personal safety is shared by all. These are all things I really appreciate about Singapore.

Its also a land of beautiful cutural fusion. Malays. Chinese. Indians. Europeans. Indonesians. Americans. Hindu. Christian. Muslim. Buddhist. They all call this home and many of them are ‘Singaporeans’. From my short time here is appears all ethnicities and religions coexist in harmony with one another. There does appear to be some class divisions based on ethnicity to a certain degree, but not absolute divisions.

Flower necklaces in Little India

One of the areas of this island nation that I really loved was Little India. It was very authentic in terms of all food & decor Indian and Hindu. Except it was probably a million times cleaner than any Indian city and there was no sign of poverty anywhere. Vibrant flower neclaces hung at little carts along the narrow streets. The pungent aromas of Indian spices hung in the dense hot & humid air. Glimpses of glittery gold and beaded sarees adorned women at every turn. We walked on through the many bazaars. Then we came across a neat little area where a few women sat on plastic stools at tables with other women carefully painting detailed designs
on the skin of other Indian women. These women are henna artists. Their hands moved swiftly with a little henna pen that released a small amount of ink onto the skin, forming the designs of intricate flowers, mandalas, birds, and more. This is Little India in Singapore and I loved it.

Henna artist in Little India

Moving on. Other cultures collide in this serendipitous landscape. I just happened to be in Singapore during the Dumpling festival. This is one of the local traditions that originates from the Chinese influence here. Its a typical street festival. With dancers, street performers, traditional music, and all the like. And of course lots of rice dumplings were sold all over the streets. The dumplings consist of rice sweetened with cane sugar or honey and stuffed with a myriad of meats, vegetables, nuts, and spices. They are bundled in banana leaves, tied with string, steamed, and hung out on long poles for sale in the streets. I tried a vegetable rice dumpling and it was delicious. Its basically an Asian version of a tamale. Then there are hawker stands everywhere that sell a variety of other asian dishes and fresh juices. I washed down the dumpling with some fresh pineapple-celery juice. Perfectly refreshing!

Rice Dumplings

Now on to the rest of Asia!

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