Tag: Harvard Street

This weekend was the longest time I can remember while I was in the U.S. and didn’t have an internet connection. I’m starting to twitch.

Seriously, it’s not that bad, I guess, but there’s stuff I need to get done that I don’t want to do at work. And it would have been nice to be able to look up a few things over the weekend that actually were work-related. On a positive note, however, Comcast seems to think that they might be able to finally help us out this weekend. That would be cool.

Makes it a little hard to update, though. Fortunately, it was a quiet weekend.

We did get to Sticky Fingers for brunch on Sunday. I had coffee and a vegan cold cut sub, which was actually pretty good. And we had lunch with my mom and grandmother Saturday. Other than that, we mostly cleaned. The house is looking like a real place, although there’s still stuff to do. I think I’m going to order blinds today so we can get them up in time for the housewarming party.

I did take the bus to meet my wife. As I was waiting to cross 16th Street to the bus stop, I watched the S4 bus go by, and my heart sank. I was destined to wait on the street corner on a blustery afternoon instead of sitting at Bottom Line with my wife and her coworkers.

But then, to my surprise, the S2 bus was right behind! It was maybe two blocks behind the S4, and it took me right down 16th Street. It wasn’t crowded. It didn’t stop too often. It was quite pleasant.

I know the bus gets a bad rap, but it really is a great way to get around. We took a cab home (We split it with a coworker who lives nearby), and arrived just before the bus did. The cab probably saved us a whole minute, and cost three times as much. This may change as I use it more, but right now, I’m totally sold on bus transportation.

We’re all moved in. The house is still a disaster, but we’ve made a lot of progress. Actually, I’ve made some progress, and my wife has made a lot of progress. But the progress is being made, that’s what’s important.

There are plenty of problems so far. First, the cat is still very agitated. And when she’s agitated, she’s loud. I hope another day or two and she’ll be adjusted. Much more than that and I fear the wife will ship her off to Siberia.

We still don’t have cable or internet. There’s a weak unprotected network that’s available sometimes, but not reliably. Comcast and Verizon both don’t recognize the building as separate units, so they won’t install anything.

On the bright side, I went to the new Super Giant on Park St., and had no problems. I had heard a lot of complaints about the store, but I had short lines, pleasant and efficient cashiers, and I found just about everything I needed. It’s cool to be able to walk to the grocery store.

So, I’ll be updating more as we get internet at home, and as we get a little more settled. I may be meeting the wife and her coworkers for happy hour tonight, so I might try the bus down 16th Street. I’ll report back if I do, I know you’re dying to hear.

So I have a question. Let’s just say that we need to park a moving truck in front of our new place for a few hours while we unload. So, we go to the police station to get “No Parking” signs 72 hours in advance, just like we’re supposed to. We go put up the signs in front of the house and realize that on the day we’re moving, the side of the street where we live is already no parking because of street cleaning.

So, my question is this: Is it unethical to just park the truck there, on the restricted side of the street, for as long as it takes to unload? Tuesday was chosen in good faith. That is, we chose the day and then found out that it was street-cleaning day.

I don’t suppose it matters too much whether it’s unethical or not, because we’re going to do it anyway. But we’d like to not piss off our neighbors (or the police) before we even finish moving in.

The wife and I are officially District homeowners. Now all we have to do is move in. The snow and ice, combined with missing the deadline to reserve parking in front of the house for a few hours, are making that difficult. But the wife remains optimistic that we’ll move no later than Monday.

I got to the house early yesterday for the final walkthrough, so I wandered around the area for fifteen minutes. It’s quite different than Falls Church. There are actually people around, for one. And two police cars, lights and sirens going, arrived rapidly in front of 7-11 as I waited at the light. I imagine it was a belligerent customer, or perhaps a shoplifter. I can’t imagine the store was being robbed at 2:30PM on a Thursday.

Anyway, I can’t wait to move. I can’t wait to be finished moving.

Opposition to mayor’s zoning commission nominee growing

You know, I’m really kind of excited to move to a place where things like “Who’s on the zoning board?” actually interest me. I realize that the decisions of the zoning board, especially in an area like Columbia Heights where tons of new construction is happening, really make a difference.

However, it worries me that people who run for office in the District seem to have legal problems at well above the national average. Maybe it’s just Marion Barry throwing off the curve.

Okay, snow I can deal with. That doesn’t scare me. You have to drive more slowly, and leave more distance between you and the guy in front of you. It can be nerve-wracking, but it’s not that big a deal.

But now they’re calling for half an inch of ice by tomorrow, and that’s where I have to draw the line. Ice is NOT COOL. Half an inch of ice on the ground means you should be curled up on the couch with a nice blanket and your significant other, and not out on the road. After all, it will be Valentine’s Day.

I have to talk to my team lead and see if there’s anything constructive I can do from home tomorrow.

Columbia Heights rezoning approved

“I drive down my block and others in neighborhood and I just smile because I know these houses and the families that live in them are going to be protected for a lot more years,” said Anne Theisen, an ANC commissioner who led the effort.

So, it’s a done deal. This doesn’t affect the street I’m about to live on, though. It’s up closer to the DC USA project. Frankly, it’s a pretty small area that’s been rezoned. Only from Monroe to Spring between 14th and 16th. I don’t know the area well enough yet to know what makes that little rectangle significant.

Rezoning targets rowhouses in Columbia Heights

Looks like the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for where I’m going to be living is trying to block the condo-fication of row houses, which of course is exactly what we just bought. The claim is that taking one single-family row house and turning it into multiple condos will increase traffic, limit parking, and diminish “the architectural integrity of the rowhouse blocks”.

They probably have a point, but trying to revitalize the neighborhood, and then insisting that everything stay the same, is kind of counterproductive. I’d like the neighborhood to keep some of its history, its personality, etc. If we wanted cookie-cutter suburbs, there are plenty of places in Fairfax County.

There’s going to be more traffic. It’s just a fact. As the area becomes a bigger draw, more people will come there. Parking will get worse. Traffic will get worse. Re-zoning will perhaps slow the tide, but it won’t turn it back.

And if your goal really is to keep the architechture, then make sure the outside of the houses stays more or less the same. Personally, I love the look of the old row houses. I wish our developer hadn’t made our building look like an office building. But these are separate issues.

I don’t really know what the solution here is. I agree with the intent of the ANC, but I’m not sure I agree with the execution. I guess I’m going to have to start going to these meetings when I move down there.

It’s so disappointing when you find out at 10pm that you somehow missed the announcement that it was going to snow, and didn’t notice the snow until there was almost an inch on the ground, but wake up the next morning to find that the streets are already clear.

So now you’re just stuck with the occasional icy spot, a few dumb drivers, and no excuse to stay home from work. I hear lots of people say, “Oh, it’s not the roads you have to worry about, it’s the other drivers.” I think that’s a pretty pathetic excuse. There are ALWAYS stupid drivers trying to kill you. One woman did it to me this morning. Somehow, her red light and my green turn arrow meant she could go right into the lane I was turning into.

I’m really looking forward to getting into the city, where people do the sensible thing when it snows and don’t drive for a week.