ARCHIVE . July 2006.

In April I packed up the cats, rented the house, and hit the road. I'd just received an offer I couldn't refuse from The Urban Institute, one of Washington's biggest think tanks, and here I am.

By day, mild-mannered creator of fabulous social policy websites for Urban, by night, brave City Dana taking on DC and the east coast! Yeeha!

People I've seen and/or met and actually talked to.

Let's get right to the name-dropping, shall we? That's what Washington is all about, right? Sad to say Bush won't return my phone calls. But there have SO many others...

Elmo, Jason Alexander, Stevie Wonder, at PBS Capitol Fourth on the Capitol lawn
Kay Bailey Hutchison at the National book fest
Doris Kearns Goodwin at the National book fest
Amanda Tapping, Corin Nemec and Carmen Argenziano (Stargate) at the Stargate Convention
Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) there too
A secret service guy who wouldn't tell me his name
Very friendly German guys at an embassy party
principal violist for the Washington symphony... who hooked me up with a music agent

Things I'd never done before!

going to a major league baseball game (Nationals vs. Orioles) -- and witnessing an entire stadium singing "Sweet Caroline" for no apparent reason

4th of July fireworks over the Washington Monument, while sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

watching old movies outdoors on the national mall

swimming in the Chesapeake Bay

parties at the Australian embassy

joining a political-satire theater group

going to a Stargate convention!

stuffing a two bedroom, four-closet house into a 700 sf 1-bedroom apartment!