Motivation

In order to keep myself excited (instead of terrified) about what this homeless year will bring us, I wanted to make a list of things that I'm glad to leave behind in Bethesda.

1. Traffic... but that's a given.

2. "Important" people visiting WRNMMC (Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) and causing the world around it to temporarily stand still.

 Most recent example: yesterday (1/8/2013) I was trying to get on base and security was pretty extreme.  I have been here long enough to know that means trouble for trying to check anything off my to-do list, but I was not in the mood to give up.  Instead, I looked at all the secret service personnel  as I drove past the helipad and hoped that whoever was visiting the hospital (my best guess is Michelle Obama...) would stay put long enough for me to get in and out of the exchange and off the base.  No such luck.  After trying to leave through two gates that had been locked down, I resigned myself to sit in our car in front of USUHS (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences), my husband's medical school. I watched a series of helicopters fly across the base, and thought about how much I will NOT miss these little unexpected detours in my day! (And yes, I realize I am completely jaded as to the 'cool' factor this incident would have for someone that hasn't experienced it 10 times during a busy day... one of the hazards of living near our nation's capital.)

3. Pepco's inability to keep power on.  For those unfamiliar, Pepco is the electric company for Montgomery County, MD (and some surrounding areas, I think).  They are infamous for the power going off and being unable to turn it back on in a timely manner.

Most recent example of untimely power loss: today (1/10/2013) as I was trying to wash/dry linens before putting them in space bags.  All of these activities require power.  We were without electricity for four hours, and managed to be relatively productive during that time, but we still don't know why in the world Pepco struck again.  What the heck!?

4. Weather

I am sure there are other things I won't miss about this area.  Updates coming soon...

PS- there are also a TON of things I love about living here... but I'm trying to not think of them right now...