A Beacon of Socialism.

Happy Memorial Day! Just finished a perfect day in DC and feel like a real little patriot. Enjoyed God and country - church, brunch, bike ride and cook out on top of the city, all followed by a moonlit bike tour of the monuments. Katie's roommate acted as our tour guide and told us a number of new and interesting facts; for example, Abraham Lincoln was the twelfth president. As was Jefferson and FDR. I wouldn't say she's an expert, but she knows all of the words to "Copacabana," and that's enough credibility for me. I find it most interesting that the memorial that requires the most walking is FDR's - this is actually true.

DC has been perfect and I don't want to leave. It's very different than NYC, yet very similar. I think their relationship is a lot like an extended family, think "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." NYC is Clark's side the family - a little more brash, lots of fighting, and not so put-together, but pretty open with it all, and embraces this about itself. It's the side of the family that has a holiday dinner where you dish up your own plate from pots on the stove, dishes on the counter, etc. DC is Ellen's side - the proper, more appearance-focused side of the family. Just as much crazy going on behind the scenes, but they wouldn't dare let you know, and they wouldn't think of hosting a dinner party without having the table properly set. It's all about presentation.

I have also discovered something about myself here: I am not good at museums. They are altogether too stimulating, not to mention all of the creepy displays with the cavemen that you swear you just saw blink standing in front of a painted prehistoric landscape that reminds you of a funeral home interior. Fake skies, etc. Can you imagine being stuck in there at night? I saw "Night at the Museum." I know what happens. I did enjoy the Star Spangled Banner exhibit at the Smithsonian, mainly because of the (creepily displayed) original Old Glory (30 x 42 feet!). And even though I hate them, I hope museums continue to survive so that things like this are safely housed and looked after forever. Free entrance in DC, too. Well played.

Another highlight was meeting a young man at tonight's rooftop cookout who works with cow and Haitian feces (as in the feces of people from Haiti and cows), looking for a way to harness the methane given off from both for use as fuel. What a crappy job, har har.

Palin's in DC on a motorcycle. Can we just admit that she's hot?

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for the last leg of my trip, Chicago, complete with a soiree with my study abroad friends and THE SCRIPT CONCERT!!!

Right now I'm a little nauseous because I just checked my bank account and realized that, for the first time in about two years, no money was directly deposited on Friday morning. On the flip side, I have enjoyed telling people that I'm "currently unemployed." Another highlight of the trip, Katie's giant tin of gourmet popcorn, might help take the edge off.

One.

Happy first birthday to the sweetest boy, the love of my life - Owen.

The Internets.

Say What?

A straight New York man: "Do they have iPhones and skinny jeans in Indiana?"

An African-American gentleman selling CDs: "Hey blondie, you get one for free because you ain't scared of negroes."

Philip Seymour Hoffman: "So do you live in New York now?"

I don't wanna leeeeeeave.

NYC Observations.

Another day, another step closer to never figuring this city out. I'm eating leftover carrot cake cheesecake for breakfast, sort of a delayed dessert from last night's Texas BBQ. After the atrocious "Texas Embassy" restaurant in London, I expect any Texas-themed eatery to be equally horrendous, but last night's brisket, green bean casserole, corn bread and drink in a mason jar (!) was pretty darn good, if I might say so myself. They even have Blue Bell ice cream shipped up regularly for your $4-a-serving pleasure.

On that subject, I've been somewhat surprised at how reasonable Manhattan seems to be. Minus the ridiculous "big" costs (rent, Metrocards, parking, etc.), the day-to-day costs aren't as inflated as I expected, although my only real experience (and comparison) to "big city living" consisted of not only the most expensive city in the world, but also an exchange rate that halved the value of my dollar. If your first grocery bill doesn't give you a stomach ache, you have no room to complain.

Anyway, here's what I've learned:

• Don't karaoke - the musical theater actors surrounding you will get up on stage next.
• Everyone here works for a cool company - The Onion, Wall Street Journal, Sesame Street, Time Magazine...
• Don't try to find religious books in used book stores - people are either hoarding them or they never bought them in the first place.
• Trader Joe's is the cheaper alternative for groceries - what?!
• Walk around at night - it's cooler, less-crowded and the crazies are even crazier.

Enjoy some pics from yesterday's Central Park visit.