想飛 I WANT TO FLY

I feel so bad that I had to move back to NY. My stay in DC had been great. Though it was only a month, I had tried to go to as many places and experience as much as I could. Now I am back in NY, I just miss the street on my way to work in DC; I miss the convenience to be able to live in Dupont Circle that practically all the restaurants we dined are in Dupont Circle area; and I sure miss the quality of life there. Hopefully I can find a permanent job in DC in the future. Here is the summary of what I had done in DC:
Work: Monday to Friday approximately 11.5 work hours/day from February 8 to February 29.
KTV: 4 times in Virginia（糜爛的生活？）.
Met Ming-Chuan and Charlie.
Took a drive to Alexandria, Virginia.
Dined at my favorite restaurants Teaism(has all kinds of tea (including taprioca milk tea!) and Japanese Bendo, Afterworks Cafe at Kramer's Bookstore (Cafe inside of a bookstore) and Potbelly(a great sandwich store).
Watched movies: In Brudges, Juno and Vantage Point.
Went to the following museums and attractions:
1. Phillips Collection (free).
2. National Geographic Society. I went to see "Frogs! A Chorus of Colors" exhibition. The exhibit features 150 live frogs in a variety of environments and interactive station (free).
3. National Gallery of Art. This museum is huge and has West wing (contains art within Pre-Renaissance period) and East wing (modern and contemporary art) (free).
4. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
(1)I went to see "this program on March 2" performed by New York City Ballet at Opera House. It is the best ballet performance I've ever seen. New York City Ballet actually made fun of the traditionally ballet and its pianist even played a funny role in the performance ($25).
(2)The National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists' Competition National Young Artist Division Finals (free).
Smithsonian Institution
5. National Zoological Park--went to see giant Panda Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Tai Shan (free).
6. National Air & Space Museum (free).
7. Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden (free).
To see the pictures please go to http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/chaoning/DC02

Case 2--Mr. T
Mr. T is a senior attorney at a big investment bank. I met him through my friend Morgan, and Morgan met him through her 2 girl friends. He is 40, Jewish, bald and short with his big tummy sticking out. The first time we met, he treated Morgan and me for a nice dinner. He appeared to be a really nice and helpful person. Morgan wanted to treat him back by taking him out for a nice opera or movie, but never got a chance.
He started to call me and ask me out since the first time we met, and every time we talked, he was talking about how he wants to buy a house, get married, and that he wants to go to France for vacation with a serious girlfriend, and he would be more than happy to take me there if I want to go with him. Morgan actually had to warn him not to talk about getting married too soon so I won't get scared. He was planning to visit me in DC on the weekend and check in to the hotel that is really close to my house, so then if I want to go somewhere, it would be convenient. Eventually I rejected his idea, because I don't feel any chemistry between us, and I didn't want to give him the wrong idea.
2 days ago Morgan found out that actually Mr. T had been calling her 2 girl friends, telling them that Morgan has been calling him, and he wondered if there is something wrong between Morgan and her husband....and that Morgan has introduced a woman to him, who works in DC and is also a lawyer (that's me), and that she has been calling him all the time. Since he doesn't want to settle down now, he doesn't know what to do....
I just can't believe what a stupid A-hole he is!! I mean, if he really wants to pretend and tell people how popular he is, and how all the girls want him, he could have told this stupid lies to his colleagues or friends who don't know Morgan and me. He is stupid enough to tell all that crap to Morgan's girl friends, and of course what he said was to be relayed to Morgan and to me.
Here I was just giving out examples of Mr. D and Mr. T to show how terrible these guys are, but honestly I've constantly met terrible guys like them over the past few years. Friends have been telling me that I am too picky with men, and that no one is perfect, blah blah blah. But I guess at least now I understand that the problem isn't me being too picky, but rather I am just not very lucky that all the men I met are terrible. Friends have been getting married over the past few years (I already know that 6 girl friends of mine are getting married this year), and I do get upset about how I haven't met the right guy yet. But I have heard happy stories and sad stories of married couples, and now I just think that actually it isn't so bad for me to stay single and didn't compromise on what I want in a man, rather than rushing into marriage with the wrong person just because everyone else is getting married.

I don't know why, but I have met a lot of people who are A-holes lately. Instead of yelling at them and telling them what their crimes are, I just keep silent and delete them from my contact list and swear to god that I will never answer or return their calls again.
Listed below are the crimes committed by those people, so then next time if you happen to meet someone like that, suggest you to run away immediately.
Case 1--Mr. D
Mr. D is a contract attorney whom I met through my current colleagues. About mid 30s, huge size, Italian American.
I guess there are certain rules about dating, and the first rule I think would be not to be late on your dates. It was ok when we went out for the first time. But then on the second time he was supposed to meet with me and my colleagues so we could go to KTV together, and he was late for half an hour and blamed it all on the delay of the subway.
Second, if you ask your dates out, make sure you pay for your dates for dinner or a movie or whatever. It is up to women to pay for it if she wants to, but guys should always, always take out his credit card first. However, it is my case here. I took out my credit card after having the breakfast together, and surprisingly, Mr. D didn't object nor did he show his appreciation by saying "thank you".
I guess the rest isn't about any dating rule, rather, it is about a person's personality. I found out more about Mr. D 2 days later when I went shopping and he came to meet me at the mall in the afternoon. I didn't eat anything the whole day, and he just had brunch with his friend. So I went to the McDonald at food court to get some fries and coke, didn't want to have a big meal in case we would have dinner later together. I didn't want to show up with food only for myself, so out of politeness, I asked if he wants anything too. He answered, "Can you get me juice? I am thirsty." (didn't say "please" or "thanks"). When 2 cups of juice and my fries were ready and paid for (by me)(and again, no "thank you"), although he had both hands free, he didn't take the cups or the fries, as if he was expecting me to get them. I was carrying my handbag and a huge shopping bag (with a pair of shoes, 2 pairs of jeans and a top that I just bought in it) already, and I was expecting him to offer to help carry my bags, or at least grab the drinks and the fries, but he did nothing and just walked away. So I grabbed the drinks and straws, asked him to hold them and asked (normally the guy will take over your bag without you asking him first) "Could you please help me with the bag?" And he said "No". Period. No explanation, no nothing. Period. So finally I had to carry the two bags and my French fries.
I thought that I might have heard it wrong. While I was all pissed, he started to drink his orange juice. When we were walking toward the parking lot a few minutes later, I tried again and said, "Could you help me with my bag? It is heavy." Finally he reluctantly took over my shopping bag for a few seconds, and shoved it back to me when he tried to pay for the parking ticket, because he needed his both hands free to dip his credit card into the ticket machine. As all of you can guess, I went home at around 10 pm that day without having dinner (he is not considerate enough to notice that I might be hungry).
The next day, he instant messaged me and asked me out for a lunch together. Of course after what happened I decided that this guy is not considerate at all, and I am not sure if it is a good idea to go out with him again, so I jokingly asked "Is it on you?" And this is what he answered: "Oh my....wow....I guess I will have to cancel then....I see I am the sugar daddy....I don't know if I can afford you....I am poor, I guess I can't go out with you if I am poor...." I was like, WOW. WHAT AN ASS!!!! It is only a less than $10 dollar lunch and you think you are already a sugar daddy?!!! Eventually I found out that he had once dated a girl, and she stopped going out with him after he stopped paying, and what I said just sort of got on his nerve. But anyway I still think no matter what his past experience was, there is no need to throw me all that sugar daddy crap. He is not considerate or polite and is very self-centered. And because of that, I blocked him from my contact list.

Dupont Memorial Fountain
Dupont Circle is a historic district, now is being used as a residential area, and the neighborhood is centered around the traffic circle. Not only is it home to many restaurants and shops, but it is also a gay/lesbian friendly area. The park in the center of the circle is a gathering place for many gay/lesbian parades and political rallies each year. Around the corner is the farmer's market, where many fresh dairy products and bread are sold here every morning. Along with the Massachusetts Avenue lies the Embassy Row, where you can find numerous embassies.
The building here is very cute and unique. They are Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne styles.
The description is as follows:
Richardsonian Romanesque 1870-1900 (Old Federal Building, 1892-1899)
Inspired by buildings designed by the Boston architect, Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) in the 1870s and early 1880s, this style is characterized by heavy walls of rock-faced stone, openings set deep in the massive walls, large arches framing stacks of windows, and short heavy columns.
Queen Anne 1880-1900 (Milwaukee Club, 1884)
This style is characterized by its variety of forms, materials, colors, and surfaces, as well as asymmetry and irregularity. Buildings have multiple, steeply-pitched roofs; towers or corners turrets, usually at the most prominent corner; tall, elaborate chimneys; and bay or oriel (rounded projections) windows. Typically, several materials, such as stone, brick, wood, metal, and terra cotta, may be used together on a building exterior.
Within walking distance, there are numerous museums and attractions to go to in this area. And since they all belong to Smithsonian Institution, there is free admission. I've only been to Phillips Collection, and hopefully I will have a chance to see more!

為了這個位於DC的document review的工作，我在上星期二晚上搭了夜車來DC，在隔天凌晨四點半check in旅館。早上interview完，在傍晚時確定這個工作即將於兩天後開工後，我火速在craigslist上找到了個交通方便又可以每個星期付房租的地方後，我就在DC住下來了。
我住的地方叫Dupont Circle，剛好是DC的中心，街角有很多書店、餐廳、酒吧林立，但是一轉個彎，就是僻靜的巷子，我所居住的地方就是在這樣一個鬧中取靜的地方。
嚴格說起來，我住的地方是木制老式house裡頂樓的studio，我的studio裡面除了有張巨大的床以外，還有一個廁所，又有一個小廚房。我都快要忘記一個人住不用跟別人share廁所廚房是多麼一件方便的事了，所以雖然房租貴的要死，我還是開開心心地把它租下來了。雖然說我住的是studio，但是其實我還是與房東與其他六個房客住在同一個house裡。房東是個五十幾歲的猶太醫生，因為房子太大，所以索性把空出來的房間租出去，經營起旅館事業。因為我總是早出晚歸，其他的house guests雖然都知道有我這號人物存在，也聽到我每天爬樓梯上樓時發出的嘎嘎聲響，但就是從來不見我人影，我在這裡就像個幽靈般的存在。房東偶爾還會辦個dinner gathering與house guests們餐敘，然而因為我總是晚上9點以後才下班，無法參加房東精心策劃的dinner gathering，因為不好意思，我有次逼不得已跟房東約好在早上7點15分跟他們吃早餐，吃到8點我再出門上班。
剛開始我對DC還很不熟悉，不知道我住的地方究竟離上班的地方有多遠，只知道搭地鐵只要一站而已；直到有天同事提醒我，其實我可以試著走路上班看看，結果我一試之下才發現，原來我走路上班根本只要十三分鐘就到了。我從來沒有住在離上班或學校這麼近的地方，從來都是住在市中心以外、房租便宜、需要通車一小時左右的地方，這下子得知我住得這麼近，讓我開心死了。連情人節當天與同事們去酒吧喝醉酒，都還可以搖搖晃晃地走回家，忽然覺得住在這裡，自己很幸福。
在我住過的城市波士頓、紐約、DC中，我最喜歡的應該就是這裡了吧。我想來visit跟真正住在這裡在這裡生活的感受有很大不同。之前來過DC兩次，不過都是短暫的一兩天。真正住在這裡後，我才發現DC其實很小，坐metro（即subway）不管到哪裡，都要不到20分鐘，再久一些就要到隔壁的Virginia（維吉尼亞）或者Maryland（馬里蘭）州去了。只是很多在DC工作的人，因為距離近，都住在隔鄰的這兩州，然後再每天坐metro或開車來DC 上班。
DC雖然是美東四大都市之一，又是政府部門重鎮，但這裡絕對沒有如紐約一般的高樓大廈，也沒有與人們摩肩擦踵的擁擠或者大都市裡特有的孤寂感。如果說波士頓是個單純的學生城，那麼DC就是個介於紐約與波士頓中間的城市。跟紐約比起來，DC乾淨許多，就拿地鐵來比較好了，紐約的地鐵裡永遠有股抹不去的尿騷味，在鐵道間竄過來竄過去的老鼠多到我已經視而不見；地鐵進站時發出的刺耳的聲音大到我想地鐵搭多了不消幾年應該會嚴重重聽。DC的地鐵裡乾乾淨淨，一抬頭可以看到螢幕顯示下一班地鐵還有多久進站，並且地鐵進站時可以說是超靜音；坐椅是軟墊坐椅。又DC的人們不像紐約這麼sophisticated，這麼會耍心機，有一種down to earth的氣質。上次去酒吧時本來還很擔心自己是不是穿得不夠露不夠辣，結果瞄了一下在場其他女士們的穿著--我發覺我真是多慮了，連穿細肩帶的女生都沒有幾個，讓我鬆了一口氣。男人們都看起來乖乖笨笨的，不像紐約的男人一臉情場老手的樣子。昨天跟朋友為了找一間餐廳迷了路，朋友一開口問路人甲，這位路人甲旁邊雖然跟著一大群朋友，又帶著小孩，仍然二話不說把身上的GPS拿出來，先跟我們道歉可能會花很多時間喔，才幫我們用衛星定位，讓我感到很不可思議。我果然是適合住在這裡呀！