A California seed in East Coast soil

At the urging of a certain relative, I've finally decided to create a blog. I'm calling it "Transplanted" because in 2007 I relocated to Washington D.C. from Santa Cruz, and my life still feels mainly characterized by that adjustment. Before, I would send out mass e-mails to all my relatives to keep them updated on my transition, but I'm going to try this new blog format to see if it inspires me to write more often. Also, people will just be able to check it out when they want to instead of me adding clutter to their in-boxes, and they'll be able to respond publicly as well which should make it more fun.

Now seems like an ideal time to start reporting about life in Washington. Whether one is an Obama fan or not, this year is going to be interesting for anyone interested in politics. But I'm definitely not going to make this some kind of political blog. I don't pretend to think my political rants are worthy of mass attention. This is just a public record of events in my life with reflections by yours truly...

That said, I'm looking forward to the circus that is coming to town for Inauguration. While I'm planning on avoiding the crowds, because I work two blocks from the White House I'm sure to witness the hordes whether I want to or not. Also, I happen to live in the Adam's Morgan area which has by far the densest concentration of bars in this entire city (I'd guess there are at least 50 on my block). The city has made a new rule during the week of Inauguration that lets the bars stay open TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY! And they serve alcohol till 5 AM!!!!! I can't believe they actually did this, but I guess the city is trying to make money. Anyway, my neighborhood is going to be a madhouse, if Election Night was any indication, and I'll be lucky if I get much sleep. Unfortunately I'll still have to go to work that week and won't be able to indulge too much in the late night celebrations.

While my holiday trip to California was a blast, I'm relieved to be back here in the city cause I have a lot to do this year and I'm ready to get to it. My New Year's resolutions are pretty ordinary, I need to eat better and get more exercise (my diet has gone to hell this year, especially since Marianna left, been eating meat too much and not enough vegetables). I'm also finishing grad school hopefully at the end of this semester, granted I complete my thesis which is going to be pretty tough I think. I'm also finally ready to make the transition from intern (I've had four internships since I've been to DC, and about four or five other miscellaneous jobs) to "professional", but as we all know, the job climate could be better these days so hopefully I'll be able to accomplish this before the year is over. I've also got a bunch of random music projects going on, including recordings and DJ gigs, so I'll keep that simmering on the side and I'll provide updates and links to my music when I can.

Okay, that's all for now, I gotta get back to work. Thanks for reading my lame blog.