Missin' the Mall

no, not the glendale galleria or the beverly center, the Mall in washington, DC where the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are placed in perfect alignment. i've been on WEST WING overload eversince Bravo has been airing the old episodes. even though i've seen the episode like 2-3 times over, i always notice something when i watch it again...like i how much i miss being there.

so here lies the very source of emptiness i feel inside every so often. i do miss living there in our nation's capital. i miss getting up at 6:45 am because i need to be at the crystal city metro stop at 8:10 to catch the blue line headed towards addison road. i miss running my prepaid metro card through the "doorway" with the rotating wheel so i can get to the escalator leading to the track. i miss sitting on the stone bench in the tunnel waiting for the train to come and then getting up because i notice the round warning lights flashing by the track indicating my ride's close proximity. i miss standing in the train, with one hand tightly gripping the pole and the other clutching a book open, never wavering to the constant braking. i miss the 30 seconds or so where the track is above the ground giving me just enough time to look up and see the pentagon on the left. i miss watching men and women in uniform loading and unloading at the pentagon metro stop. i miss getting off the train and walking towards the office in the clockwork manner that i became accustomed to as if my feet led the way. i miss taking the elevator to the 11th floor and saying GOOD MORNING to everyone who i so loved working with. i miss having lunch down the street at HIGH NOON, and getting to walk past the white house like the most powerful man in the world didn't live there. i miss coming home after a long day to my roommates who are truly 5 of the most unique people i know. i miss standing in the balcony where you can see the monument and the capitol building in the distance. i miss going to mass at st. matthew where JFK's memorial service was held or the Basilica, the largest church in the north america. i just miss it all.

so yes i decided to come back home to sunny cali, hoping my fortune would somehow continue after the momentum i experienced in DC. but i was wrong and the momentum stayed on the east coast as i had feared and here i am, a little confused and at times, completely aimless. i don't regret coming home because i know there was a reason i did, but a part of me will always wonder what would've happened if i had just stayed there for another year. rest assured it won't have been my last time there. i'll go back.