IT'S MONDAY, I MUST BE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Ah, yes, Washington D.C. My old stomping grounds. The Most Powerful City in the World. Their Nation's Capital.

I can't quite say D.C. was just as I had remebered it, because it was a totally different experience for me this time. When I was last here, I spent most of my time at the campuses on the fringes of the city, attended late afternoon-to-evening classes, travelled underground, ate nothing but fastfood, and shopped only at dirt cheap stores.

This time, I stayed at a fancy hotel, attended working-hour meetings, travelled through downtown at street level, ate at nice restaurants, and shopped only at dirt cheap stores.

The one thing that did change noticeably was my school. Since I graduated, they've put up this huge, gleaming, state-of-the-art sports and fitness center right next to the main school building. I feel so cheated. When I was last in Washington, I had to make do with my apartment building's bare bones gym and always had to give way to these Pentagon super-soldier types whenever they wanted to use the equipment. I would've loved to have worked-out at school instead with fellow weak, doughy law students. I would've looked ripped by comparison. Life's not fair.

Sitting in the same train car with...um...sorta greatness - On the train ride from New York to Washington (BTW, this was my first train ride ever between NY-DC; it used to be nothing but Greyhound bus rides for me, where I got to meet a lot of "fun" characters), we discover that Mig Ayesa - he of 2nd runner-up Rockstar:Inxs fame - is just a couple of booths away from us. We think about having our picture taken with him, but then decide there's just no cool, manly way for three guys to ask Mig Ayesa to have their picture taken with him.


Artsy shot of my hotel. Now THIS is what I expected a diplomats' hotel would look like. Old world classy. Not a mirrored ceiling in sight.


What I look like when I wake up in the morning


Iwo Jima memorial. This area had always been one of my favorites. Nice views, wide spaces, close to the river jogging paths, and has the only sushi buffet in Washington that I know of.


The Philippine what now?!


Tip for future Washington tourists: the best panoramic view of the city can be found at the Netherlands Carillon. The Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial and the Capitol are all perfectly lined up, and you can see parts of the river and the Jefferson Memorial. Plus, it's a stone's throw away from the Iwo Jima memorial, there's a nice flower garden at the base, you can go up the Carillon and listen to the classics, and, as you can see, it's a great place to nap.

Value-for-money shot: Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, The Capitol, Washington Bridge and a little of the Potomac, all in one photo. Hazy, but cheap.

Union Station. For my money, the most beautiful train station in the country. So pretty almost all movies and t.v. shows that have a Washington setting shoot here (see scene in Hannibal where they try to tail Lecter and Carisse ends up being kidnapped. I actually saw the shooting of that scence)


The alma mater. Many ask what a Hoya is. I understand it's from a Latin chant Hoya Saxa that means "What Rocks". You gotta love a school that's proud of its rocks.