September: A Month of Firsts

As the title suggests, September marked a time of 

new beginnings, experiences, and memories for me:

I moved to the D.C. Metro Area

I started a job

I moved into a townhouse with roommates whom I didn't know previously

and I have begun to fully support myself financially (...)

I have to say, the first month went very well. 

Yes, it was difficult to move somewhere where I don't have any 

family or existing friends, nor am familiar with the area. But, it was 

my choice to do so as I wanted to explore, meet new

people and see new places at this point in my life. 

While my co-workers' average age is 33, my two female housemates has been

my source of (youth) and friendship; they could not be more

warm or welcoming as they make sure to include me in all activities, such

as: drinks at a roof top bar next to the White House, a country music concert, and brunch

on yuppidty 14th Street with their friends. In addition, I have joined 4 soccer teams

and have been meeting people of all ages and walks of life through that.

In all, it will take time for me to feel rooted in the area socially, but I believe

that I have sown some good seeds.

Work, on the other hand, has also been going well, but I still have lots

to learn. "Baptism by fire" is how my supervisor describes my experience

while my boss believes that "I'm receiving my MBA without

actually going to business school." I agree with both of these statements,

and it is true that I have a lot of responsibility and obligations in my 

position (and at the age of 22.) However, I'm eager to learn, and I see my job

as solving puzzles, thinking critically, and analyzing trends in data. 

An interesting aspect of my job, though, is the location and travel piece.

Because my supervisor and boss are both located in the West, I commute 

to an office where I work with no one; my work is completely separate from theirs.

What this means is that all of my work takes place via phone and email, meaning 

that I can choose to work from home sometimes. On a larger scale,

what this means is that I can also be geographically mobile. Come next September 

when my lease is up, I can stay where I'm at or move into D.C. and work from home;

or, I can move anywhere else I want to in the U.S. and give another city a try.

Travel-wise, I am able to fly to different cities in the U.S. for conferences and meetings,

and I accept each opportunity to travel because I have no constraints or 

hesitations at this point in my life.

While it is an adjustment and sometimes I wish that I

was near family or good friends, I am grateful for what has 

happened over the course of September and am quite interested

to see how my life develops in the coming months. 

Below are photos of my room and some outings in D.C.

and Virigina as to give you a better picture

of what my new life is like.

My townhouse in Vienna, VA:

My bedroom

We are situated in a townhouse community and
are right next to a creek and woods

Some photos from home

Aunt Dianne's muse painting situated
alongside my muse, which is books about Paris

Walks in D.C.:

I treat D.C. like I treated Paris: to better know it,

I walk around it to see what lies both in

its main squares and tucked-away streets, corners and parks.

While I still have lots to explore (which will come with time

and the re-opening of the metro next to my house), I have made some

progress in discovering our Nation's Capital.

Walking past the White House during a night on the town

The Washington Monument

The World War II Memorial 

The Lincoln Memorial 

The view of the Washington Monument and
the Reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial

During my first weekend in D.C., I was able to
host my first visit, the lovely and always
inspiring Tory! 

Major General George Henry Thomas Statue 

Admiring the brownstones on P Street 

Dupont Circle

Walking up and down Georgetown's main drag 

The brand new African American Museum of
History and Culture, which is well worth a visit 

The Smithsonain Castle 

The Hirshhorn Museum's Sculpture Garden
(note the Rodin sculpture replica in the forefront)

The Washington Monument at sunset

The newly renovated Capitol Building

Walking in Foggy Bottom

The building, especially the Eagle, reminded me of Carden Hall

The Potomac River with Roosevelt Island on the Right
and the Kennedy Center on the Left

The canal in Georgetown

Georgetown Cathedral from the Key Bridge

Days Trips in Virginia:

Equally as interesting to me as D.C. is Virginia. 

Virginia is home to lots of historical towns

(i.e. Alexandria, Williamsburg, Jamestown, 

Richmond, just to name a few), beautiful national parks,

a nice coastline, and vineyards that apparently rival Napa Valley.

I like to spend some weekends spending one day exploring

D.C. and the other in VA, and below is one of those day trips to

Leesburg, where I originally went to buy a table from Craiglist,

and ended up staying 3 hours in this charming town!

A Union Cemetery  

The Loudon County Court House

The main street 

Trinity Tavern, home to one of the cutest
brunch spots I have ever been to! 

Lastly, a business trip to Chicago (on my 5th day of work!)

We went on an architectural boat cruise after one of our
days spent in the conference room; what a treat!