The ongoing saga and political realities in Washington, DC.

New York City beckons.

It’s been exactly 66 days since I have plopped my belongings down in the nation’s capital, and the city is already beginning to feel a little minute for my oh-so-worldly (note: sarcasm) palette. I am an ardent supporter of walking through the mostly compact and human-scaled streets of DC, and have diligently adhered to the ritual of strolling through neighborhoods during early days off and weekends, selected by methods somewhat akin to throwing darts at an area map. Most times, I have a couple cameras lunged over the shoulders for good measure. However, eleven weekends and more than eleven metro area segments later—from the Daniel Burnham-esqe glitzy to the relatively obscure; from the pedestrian-friendly to the deadly-for-pedestrians; in the snow and in the midst of the cherry blossoms—my fountain of ideas is about to run on its last trickles.

Is it a hopeless case of the itchy feet, or is it a yearning for the contiguous, amorphous urban forms and diverse social dynamics that are so prominent in the ginormous and semi-rotting apple? Of course, it may just be a sign of that incurable ADHD that I need to have checked out. Either way, New York City beckons.

Where outside of New York City can you catch this on the daily?

Meanwhile, a lot has transpired recently; and being in the modern world’s alleged political center means an unobstructed front-row view of the good and ugly of policy-crafting. The passage of the healthcare bill means that many vulnerable populations previously precluded from healthcare will now have access to some form affordable coverage. But it also brought out the worst human behaviours in the forms of indiscriminant Republican obstruction, and Tea-Party hooliganism; the opposition party’s inability to think outside of short-term gains, and the tea-baggers’ reluctance to consider the plight of others are as mind-blogging as they are atavistic.

Fast forward to Obama’s recent lift on the moratorium on limited off-shore drilling; as pundits say, this is ultimately a move to garner the one or two critical republican votes needed to pass the eventual climate bill. Such is American-styled, incrementalist democracy: you take one step back in the hope to gain two steps forward. One sure hopes that when the political machines inches forward, it is moving towards the right direction.

I am not willing to go down the path of advocating for benign authoritarianism, but it does look attractive on occasions, doesn’t it?

Well, at least for now, sakura petals have replaced snow-residue as DC’s ground ornament as spring comes to full-bloom.

The sakura flowers come to full bloom.

P.S. Proud DC folks, my suggestion box for places to visit is now open.