I'm leaving DC tomorrow evening and it felt fitting to post this on my political and not personal newsletter.
After 3 years in Washington DC, I’m moving back to the other Washington and moving in with my boyfriend in Seattle, near (but not too near) my parents’ house. I’ve genuinely enjoyed my time in DC, I’ve made many great friends, I even met my boyfriend in DC during his short stint here, and while some part of me is a bit bummed I won’t be in DC during the 2024 election, I think it’s time for me to leave the district onto a different and exciting path, and besides, it’s not like I’ll stop reading politics news anyways.
Here are some things I’m thinking about:
One unique thing about Washington DC is that it’s a very transitory city in a way that Dallas or Atlanta or Seattle or even New York City are not. People mill in and out every election season and some people even sign leases in the district but eventually, as the night changes, as they move in with their boyfriends and girlfriends, as they get engaged and married, and especially when they have kids, they end up leaving, eventually for good. I’m personally moving out of DC because my family is in Seattle and my parents and Jude (the golden retriever) are getting older, my boyfriend is decidedly not an east coast person, and my job is fully remote so it makes sense for my time in DC to end. I made amazing friends here, and since I’ll be back every quarter for the foreseeable future due to my job, I’m not nearly as emo as I otherwise would be about leaving.
I’d just like to remind everybody that in The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, which based on the real life romance between Kate Middleton and Prince William, the Kate stand-in is a) American and b) has an affair with the Prince Harry stand-in (who her sister also fucks).
Today is the eve of the Iowa Caucus and my current bet is that Donald Trump wins the Republican side by 35 while Nikki Haley comes in second. I don’t think either the Democratic or Republican primary is remotely competitive but unfortunately for us all, the general election is very competitive according to every single poll, and like everybody else, I’m watching closely to see how things play out. I think that Joe Biden wins again but like in 2020, I think it’ll be very close in terms of the electoral college.
I get insanely competitive about March Madness and I intend to win my bracket despite not watching college basketball at all this season (or any other season) by sheer pull of my psychic abilities (and I’m only half kidding). In my defense, my psychic abilities have taken me pretty far thus far, I won my work bracket in 2022 and got 3rd place in my work bracket in 2023 so I think I’ll be okay.
I love seeing pictures and videos of myself as a kid but a part of me just gets deeply sad when I see them since for one thing, I was extremely thin as a 7-year-old but I was already skipping lunch on a daily basis for one reason or another. I started skipping lunch in the 1st grade because my parents usually didn’t have time to pack my lunch and even when they did, I refused to eat it because I got bullied for eating Indian food. And, school lunch often didn’t even have vegetarian options and the ones that were available, I refused to eat because I hated peanut butter and jelly touching each other, and then it all got far worse when my brain started totally malfunctioning a few years later. I’m okay now but it wasn’t okay then.
I’m just a Cathy Earnshaw in a world of Jane Eyres :(
My money’s on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting engaged this summer since like when people are in their mid-30s, they simply don’t wait for years and years to get engaged and get married because the clock is ticking! But in any case, it’s Taylor Swift’s world and we’re all living in it (not least since there are no reigning female monarchs in Europe today!). Like, people were ridiculing Taylor Swift about her long-term ex-boyfriend not wanting to marry her and then getting mad she’s dating another guy in the public eye when she’s *gasp* 34 and not 24 so is it really a surprise that women who are grown adults with 401ks still relate to her?
I turn 30 in October. Unlike a lot of women, I’m happy about this. I thought I’d be dead by now and I’m grateful to have the privilege of aging beyond who I thought I’d be, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing myself go gray. That said, I’ll never not be obsessed with death and my own mortality. (See journal excerpts below)
Best of luck with the move back to (the better) Washington! It's really nice that you're moving to be close to Jude and your folks as they get older.. I should know this from Tumblr, but how old is Jude now? I'm guessing around 12, but I honestly forget!
I wish you a safe and happy travel and a remarkable 2024.
Also, re: the Royal We, I always knew a lot of the hate at Meghan Markle is because they wanted someone similar to Kate to marry Harry. Joke's on them!
May you have the cuddliest pet cat!