If I haven't mentioned it yet, I will admit it now that I have an unhealthy fascination with Segways. I've never been on one, but if I ever get fired from my day job (seems unlikely, but heh, these are strange times), I think being a Segway tour guide wouldn't be a bad life. Just yesterday I was totally impressed with one young man who was discussing the history of the Blair House, on a Segway, with no hands, while rolling backwards. I've definitely gotten used to living in a tourist centered town, one that sometimes feels less like a city than a cultural showcase for the U.S.A. as well as a symbolic punching bag for all the talking heads out there. Only in the past couple of years has it started to bother me that when the news reporters refer to the "problems in Washington," they are not talking about the local school systems, the poverty rate, or the fact that residents of this fine district do not have a voting representative in Congress. Nope, we are symbol for the dysfunction of all of the elected representatives that come from "actual" states.
But, D.C. is a city, a small one actually, that begins to feel more like a village the longer you live here. There are inside jokes, very good local restaurants, and even a decent coffee shop or two. And with a city chock full of overeducated young people, you also have a ton of technologically savy, socially networked Feds, staffers, lawyers, and lobbyists who share in common the place they call home. Which, after a certain amount of time, seems to grant district residents the right to a little self-mocking. For example, the two maps below show a certain local perspective on D.C.
See this:
or this:
I'd venture to guess that the creators of either of map live in C-Spanistan (Capitol Hill) or Laptoptopia (Dupont Circle). As for me? Depending on the map, I either live at the intersection of Pandas and Oye Maje or on the southwestern edge of the The Liquorridor. I'm not going to say that either of these visualizations are right or wrong, but they demonstrate that D.C. has a lot of local flavor beyond "people who watch C-span."
http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/
