DC Disjointed Ramblings

I was finally hit by the jet lag at 2am this morning so am a bit zonked, so this will be presented in non-sequential list format as I think of things.

1. The flights BNE-AKL-LAX then LGB-IAD were all fine. Air NZ has an alarmingly generous legroom in Economy- the most I've ever seen- and on demand video. One of the options was the Simpsons episode where Krusty fakes his own death to escape the IRS. In a fiery plane crash. So Air NZ edited out every single reference to the plane crash- I would've thought they'd just pick one of the other episodes. There was an empty seat beside me and a Mormon missionary flying back to Phoenix for a funeral from Tonga. Twelve hours in a confined space with a Mormon missionary doesn't exactly thrill me to the core, but she was very sweet and the perfect travelling companion and didn't do the hard sell until we landed, and even then it seemed like she was doing it out of obligation.

2. LA is totally, insanely mad.

3. Related to #2 is that because our only frame of reference for LA is film and tv you kinda are surprised to see it actually exists. Waiting for the shuttle at LAX I saw one of those meaty traffic cops on a huge bike and stacks of limos. I was agape. I was aghast. Met Risa and Tim, and had a fabulous (And surprisingly jet-lag free, ho ho ho) time seeing Santa Monica with its impressively wide streets and psychic kitties and then dinner before taking a drive to Sunset Blvd via the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

4. Tried to fly Jet Blue Long Beach-Washington but, hardy har har, my flight had been booked for Saturday. How terribly droll. So I Had to buy a new ticket, but happily was for the same flight anyway. Jet Blue is pretty neat, but the thought of my fifth flight in three days made me very depressed so I wasn't in a good mood for most of Sunday.

5. However my new boss surprised me at the airport and picked me up! This improved my mood considerably (That and the Project Runway marathon I watched on the flight) as I liked Washington immediately.

6. Mood soured again when I checked into the Braxton Hotel/Crackhouse. I'm actually quite nervous my laptop won't still be there when I return shortly.

7. Just looked at an apartment hoping to leave the Casa de Crack (there is a hole in the bathroom floor, and an alarming red stain on the bedsheets) but it was only slightly more cheering and a rip-off (nice location though).

8. My first day at the embassy today: I have a terrifying amount of security paperwork to fill in. And my computer wasn't connected so there was barely anything for me to do. I really like the environment though, and am looking forward to really working. I did get a voicemail message from someone with Commodore in their title, which thrilled me beyond measure.

9. Although today I have jetlag exhaustion, yesterday I had jet lag oafishness. For example: I lost count of the number of times I bumped into something and I also spent most of the day with my fly undone.

10. Today I discovered 'The Lockers'. The first is Australian foods like Tim-Tams and vegemite and the second is all this Australian Booze. By joining the Embassy social club, I get in on this. Whee!

11. It is not an original observation, but American TV is mad. It is ALL crap and all presented in this sort of urgent bubbliness, whether they're selling prostrate medications or home renovations or informing us about a brutal slaying on the streets of Georgetown this morning.

12. I went grocery shopping at 10pm last night. Sunday. It was packed. And this was the organic supermarket Whole Foods, which is absolutely brill (despite embassy staff calling it 'Whole Paycheck' they all swear by it as it is practically impossible to buy anything non-processed in Safeway). They do absolutely killer pre-made meals and sandwiches too. And the Donna Hay magazine is by the register.

13. In the throes of jet lag at 4am this morning I was channel-flicking and saw The Wiggles.