Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

Anti-terrorism drills on the subway this morning, so if you notice about 100 cops in yr metro station, that's what.

so what's the job climate like for liberal arts degree graduates who haven't had a steady job in the two years since they've graduated like?

also, any thoughts on Old Town Alexandria would be appreciated.

Do you know any Congresspeople?

The so-called charm of Old Town has never done much for me. It's a bit of a walk from the Metro and finding parking if you drive is not always easy. I could be wrong, but I think like Georgetown that the rents went up and thus lots of the quaint little stores come and go fast. Tourists and Virginians who don't like going into DC like it alot. I do like Eamonn's/Dublin Fish & Chip place (though I'm guessing some will say it is overpriced). I have not been to many of the more expensive restaurants there that get nice writeups by Sietsema or the bars that Fritz H*hn writes up on the W. Post Going Out Gurus blog.

got to move back to the US soon, and the most reasonable option is to move in with my with mother in Old Town Alexandria and find a job fast. Was just wondering what the area was like and if I should immediately look for jobs elsewhere to get the hell out.

I don't think it'd be too bad in that case. very walkable, but then I typically don't mind long walks and walk everywhere in DC when possible, no matter the weather. I really love Misha's coffee shop, it's a great place to hang out, super laid back, delicious coffee. there's a neat used bookstore a few blocks north of the metro. some nice restaurants. a cool thrift store. some boring chain stores. trader joe's. it's just not the kind of place I'd go to hang out on a friday night because it's all yuppie and stuff.

i love walking, and i'm guessing transport around isn't too bad? like, would jobs (however menial) not hire me because i'd be staying there with no car?

i don't think that situation is any of their business, just matters whether or not you can get to work on time. (obvs this might make jobs out in certain burbs difficult, but that would be true no matter where you lived, i mean a menial job in some strip mall complex in fairfax = impossible to reach on public transport.) there is a metro at king street, the yellow and blue lines are both passing through which is convenient.

most of old town (idk where your mom is at) is going to be about a 15-20 min walk at least, because the part right near metro is mostly hotels/restaurants, you have to go a ways up king st to reach the residential areas. there is a dash bus (virginia public transport) running up and down king st, it is free on weekends, i don't know about weekdays or how bad the traffic is on weekdays, but it takes you from metro all the way up king to the waterfront, and back. there are a lot of other bus lines that run from king st station and elsewhere in old town, i'm just not familiar with them.

http://wmata.com/ <-- trip planner @ metro website is pretty handy to figure out how you'd get around & how long it takes. but afaik it doesn't include all the bus lines that run in virginia --> http://www.dashbus.com/ is Alexandria buses only.

i'm fond of old town myself, i worked there a number of years ago. it's just the thing you will not find is dance clubs and places to see bands, and cab ride to/from dc late night is $$$$, though metro does close 3am friday-saturday. and maybe you'd have a long commute depending on where you end up working, but i guess sometimes one just has to put up with stuff, it's dc.

Thanks. I originally come from a town with no real public transport, so every job interview asked about having a car or not.

Good to get an idea of the area and the city. I've only been to DC once, and that was mostly just for a day and a night, and even then the majority of that time was spent seeing a gig at the 930 and hanging out in areas nearabouts there.

Are there good dance clubs in DC?

tentatively, yes? i mean there are places i like to dance (and places i think would be good but haven't tried b/c i dance less and less), but i don't know your tastes.

about the job market, i know several people who lost their jobs in the last year or so; most have found something else but it took them months. i get the sense things are better here than elsewhere but still much slower than a few years ago obv.

I have that same sense about jobs in the DC area. When I was noting the long walk to the King Street station I of course was saying that as someone who lives in an Arlington neighborhood that's not even w/in walking distance to metro unfortunately. Old Town used to have a good used record store but that's long gone. I used to live in Alexandria's DelRay neighborhood, just north of Old Town, and I like that area.

Re dance clubs, "I Died"'s U st. Music Hall is opening in March I think.

more info on DC music on the ilx side here Capital Swamp: The DC Resource Thread

sometimes one just has to put up with stuff, it's dc.

The new city slogan to be seen on billboards,posters, grafitti, and bathroom walls everywhere.

Missed Dec 19 snowpocalypse, finally get to catch up...

a friend spent 90 mins in line at the grocery store last night

never change, dc! <3

Riding this one out on the eastern shore. Blizzard warning from 4 this afternoon until 7 tomorrow :D

Nothing is sticking to the pavement in the parking lot near me in Arlington yet (2 pm). Nice that the Feds sent us government workers home early (or at least they did at my agency).

Juuuuust starting to stick around Dupont. Word from an 11th floor apt in White Flint is that the Nuclear R3gulation Ag3ncy has disappeared already.

Yep it's starting to stick now (4:20 pm)

http://snowpocalypsedc.com/

people are going a little crazy. i actually did run out of soy milk but do i feel like standing in an hour line? not really. times like this i am glad i live in the middle of the city, have a nice pair of snow boots and no car to worry about.

Which bars/food places do you think will stay open around Dupont?

wow, couldn't say. something has to stay open.

I think a lot of places will be open tonight, tomorrow is when it'll be tough. Hotel bars & restaurants almost always stay open since they have guests there anyway, but their hours may be more limited than usual.

Heh I was hoping for an insider response to that from I DIED.

No metro buses on Saturday and no above-ground Metro trains.

Dupont circle is puuuurty!

Snow-covered trees under streetlamps looking nice out here in Arlington

dupont looked pretty gorgeous earlier, i was outside for a while around 9:30. going back out for a long walk tomorrow, i think, it was nice last SNOWPOCALYPSE with the streets mostly deserted.

Snow just keeps coming

And the wind is blowing it everywhere

The Washington Post website covers the important stuff:

Snowball fight roundup
As the snow falls piles up, so do the number of planned snowball fights around the area Saturday. Here’s a brief round up: Know of others? email tel✧✧✧@w✧✧✧.c✧✧.
-- Down on the Mall you can find Snowpocalypse II: Snowball Fight and Snow Kickball at 3 p.m.
-- Battle Snowpocalypse will be at the Ellipse from noon to 3 p.m.
-- Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill, 2 p.m.
-- East of the Anacostia River will be Snowpocalypse Celebration at Ft. Dupont Park in Southeast from noon - 2pm.
-- In Northwest you have a plethora of options: The Official Dupont Circle Snowball Fight at 2 p.m.
-- Nearby you could hurl frozen projectiles at the Columbia Heights Snowball Fight at Malcolm X Park from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
-- Campus Mall, University of Maryland, 1 pm.
-- In Baltimore: Snowsaycanyousee Part 2: Fells Point! at 2:30pm. Broadway Square in Fells Point (Broadway between Thames & Lancaster Streets). :

-- Clarence Williams

Walked downtown, watched the rugby at Fado's with some rugby fans, understood nothing, walked back, pushed someone's car, lobbed a few at the Dupont fite at 3pm

there's some good snowboarding going on down the hill on 13th by cardozo high.

Part of a tree just came down on my building's parking lot. My car is okay; I hope the car in space #1 is okay.

SO BORED

also, wondering if a bunch of people are using fireplaces or if there was actually a building on fire somewhere, because i just walked a ways around dupont neighborhood & now my hair smells like smoke.

I'm tired from shoveling. Watching the Caps now (tied 4 to 4 w/ the Penguins in the 3rd) and my Terps on another channel.

I trekked to the Giant to restock on cough syrup and chicken soup. Some people were buying those fake fireplace logs, so yes, they're probably using their fireplaces.

Federal Government is closed Monday. Yeehah, no work.

Ugh fed contractors never, ever close--can't bill if you're closed! At least I get to work from home.

I get to trudge in... foreigners battling on with no-one to talk to... but it's a nice day...

Streets and sidewalks still a mess out here and the weather report does not look good for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday

Sleet, snow....We'll see soon enough and through the night into tomorrow

Tryst stuffed to the gills with people with laptops who were supposed to be working from home but were going crazy there.

Fed closed again tomorrow. this is way too much free time for me.

is that confirmed Moreno? The website still refers only to today. But hell, I can't see how it can possibly be open.

Ugh fed contractors never, ever close--can't bill if you're closed! At least I get to work from home.

this is pretty annoying (the not-closing). can't keep honestly working forever without client response. but i shouldn't have to waste my vacation hours.

yeah they made an announcement at 7:00. i feel real bad for the contractors we work w/ who have to stay home when feds close. they're blowing through some vacation days right now.

my bff amy is p3tworth children's librarian and even though all neighborhood branches were closed monday, all personnel had to either schlep to MLK or take 8hr leave. aint that a fucked up agressive cost-cutting measure??