First impressions of D.C.

Arriving about an hour and a half before our colleauges -- which actually turned out to be about two hours after their flight was delayed -- Lauren, Mary and I got off the plane with some physiological needs to attend to. No consensus was met on what to eat, but we found a common table. It wasn't until several minutes had passed that I realized how close Reagan airport is to the action in D.C., and turning the page of a newspaper I caught my first glimpse of the Washington Monument.

I must admit that the first few minutes were rather intimidating. People were looking at us like we didn't belong, and I felt like they were right. Businessmen rushing to catch their commuter flights and finalizing deals over the phone was the norm. A few college kids in jeans drew a few not uninterested stares.

The subway system is efficient and pretty simple to understand. It reminded me a lot of the subway in London. A guy on our metro was drinking a Bud Light in the open, which opened a humurous dialogue between me and Chris as to the legality and/or indifference to that in this area.

One of the girls travelling with us wasn't familiar with the unwritten rule that you stand to the right when going up from the subway, or on any escalator really. Added to that was the fact she had a massive suitcase at her side. In any case, people rushing to the next place didn't care, and I felt bad when one man embarassed her and loudly demanded she step to the side immediately. I think the guy embarassed himself though.

There are a lot of really nice cars here, and I have the impression there's a good bit of money here. I saw an ATM slip left on the machine as I was withdrawing some cash and just happened to notice that the man before me still had over $30,000 in that particular checking account. The Lufthansa flight crews appear to overnight in this hotel on a regular basis, and I spoke some German with one guy yesterday afternoon for kicks. This city is so diverse, he didn't seem to be the least bit surprised.

Jim Mustian