From the puck to the world.

on my way home from the office this afternoon i got on metro, and this family in front of me just stopped right there. in front of the meter. i guess they couldnt find their tickets. and then when they did. it took them forever to put it in the machine and walk through. the regulars like myself stood behind waiting as patiently as we could for them to finish so we could go through and make our way home. most of us try to be patient as we can. for the most part its not to horrible. we understand.

after they moved on they dwalded all the way down the escalators. filling up the entire row so you couldnt get through. i smiled and said excuse me several times before they moved.

and then it hit me.
i had become on of them.

the dctonians. the get out of my way, im heading home and you need to move kind of people. i am a regular now. i know how to zip through lines and avoid making eye contact with the creepy guy in the corner that smells a lot like booze kind of people.

i dont even flinch when someone calls someone else bitch. or asshole. ive probably been called one myself without realizing someone has done so.

i know how to get around the city, hopping from one train to the next without looking on at a map. and i can even help those around me. i wear sneakers all the way into town, and out of i carry my lunch in a plastic bag with my name written on it.

and i go through a book a week.

at least.

now granted i am not as rude as most of the people. i will say excuse me. i will go out of my way to avoid running people over. i smile. i give up my seat so that the older lady that just got on can sit down.

still i blend now. more so than i did. i dont have that im scared of where i am going look in my eye anymore. im almost comfortable working in dc. even if it is in the not so great part of town.

and it only took five months to do so!