The Luka in DC Blog #11

WELCOME

to the Luka in DC blog! It's been a year and a half since my last post, so I have a lot to reflect on. Since my Summer 2023 European adventure, I started my first full-time job, I moved from Bethesda into DC proper, Mum and Dad moved to Barbados, Trump got elected, I’ve met tons of new people, and I’ve grown as a person and young adult. Shout-out to my dear friend Johannes for challenging me to bring the blog back. I’ll plan to cover DC life and the things I love about it, but I will save my work and other travel excursions for another blog. Let’s jump right into it!

Welcome to Washington, D.C.

Good old Bethesda

In my first year after graduation, I lived at home in Bethesda with my parents and brothers. It was an awesome arrangement. I got to spend time with my family before we all moved to different places, and it was a great financial decision. I carpooled into work with Dad, ate home-cooked family dinners, watched movies and played board games with the fam in the evenings, and I was only a thirty-minute drive from DC or Arlington to see friends. I loved living so close to the Potomac and the C&O canal, which I would run or ride my bike on. 

Home sweet home

Capturing a crazy game of Seven Wonders

Spring at Mohican

Being real at Thanksgiving

The C&O Canal towpath

One thing I love about this area is the fluctuation in seasons. We truly experience all four seasons,  unlike the relentless and oppressive heat back in Singapore, and we don't have as long or as brutal of a winter as Michigan. It's beautiful to watch the colors change and the seasons go by. Summer may be a bit sticky, but I don't mind too much.

With winter comes icicle wands

Polar bear

Glen Echo Park in the Summer

I loved that I could walk to the pool

Dutch oven chili in the backyard fire pit

Despite my great time in Bethesda, I found myself driving into the city almost every day of the week, whether for work, seeing friends, playing soccer, going to museums, or going to other events or activities. It became clear that I was ready to move into my own apartment in DC. Then, Mum and Dad got some big news: Dad was offered a job in Barbados, so they were packing up and moving! That made the decision to move out even easier.

Farewell Mum and Dad!

Mum taking us on the Hollin Hills mid-century modern house tour

Dad's holiday party

Moving to DC

I found my roommate Will on Facebook and we found a beautiful rowhouse apartment in Logan Circle for a reasonable price that was being renovated before we arrived. We moved in around Thanksgiving 2024, and I couldn't be happier. It has a massive south-facing living room with high ceilings, a fireplace, and gorgeous mid-century modern furniture (mostly thanks to Will, but also some from home). It's great for hosting with its big space and proximity to 14th Street, but I especially love putting on the record player, lighting a fire, and breaking out a board game on a cold winter night.

My new home sweet home

Welcome to our living room

I am absolutely loving living in the city. My apartment is located in a fantastic spot. I get around most places, including my commute to work, either by walking or riding a bike with Capital Bikeshare. I’m within a 5-minute walk from multiple grocery stores, restaurants, bars, the gym, a park, and more. I’m situated between three metro stops on different lines, all around a 15-minute walk away, but to be honest, I rarely even need the metro. The 14th Street/Logan Circle neighborhood is fantastic and has most of what I need or want. I can easily walk to DuPont Circle or bike to the National Mall. Life is good as an urban dweller.

Capital Bikeshare is my new #1 form of transport
(and only $25/year through my company!)

Exploring the neighborhood with Mum (pre-election)

At the classic Le Diplomate

I spend my weekends hanging out with friends, checking out new bars and restaurants, going to DC’s many free museums, playing soccer/exercising, exploring the city, attending DC sports games, going to parks, cooking, watching Severance, meeting new people, and chilling at home. There is so much to do here, I love it. Here are some photo highlights from the arts, activities, live sports, nature, history, and restaurants/bars.

The Arts

Can you name all the flags at the Kennedy Center?

The National Symphony Orchestra + Cody Fry at the KC

Obama at the Portrait Gallery. Gorgeous painting

The Shipwreck at the National Gallery of Art. You can feel their terror

Dancing along to Cat Empire at the 9:30 Club

My second time seeing him. He's so funny

Lying down to admire the Renwick

Luka blending in at the Hirshhorn

Activities

Post-half-marathon banana. I'm proud of running a sub-8 minute mile, but it came at a large cost (shin splints)

Rec soccer league with the lads

Winning the 826DC charity ping pong tournament

Live Sports

Chelsea beating Fulham at FedEx Field. KTBFFH

Take me out to the ball game @Nats Park

Washington Spirit win on penalties at Audi Field!

Caps W at Capital One Arena as Ovechkin inches closer to the all-time goalscoring record

Nature

Shun the legend at the Botanic Gardens

Kayaking in the Potomac by Key Bridge

Pre-bloom lotus flower at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

(pre-shin splints) Weekly run with Noah at Rock Creek Park 

King of the National Zoo

History

That's the original Constitution of the United States. Pretty crazy.

A great quote at the Jefferson Memorial. Perhaps the document shown in the previous photo isn't so great after all.

Library of Congress. You can go there to study and tourists will take photos of you

MLK Jr. Memorial during the Cherry Blossoms

The Aussie Embassy

Celebrating the 4th of July

Independence Day fireworks

Restaurants and Bars

Zaytinya by José Andrés. His restaurants dominate my Beli rankings

The Bazaar, also by José Andrés

Board games + beer. Recipe for fun

Fire shots at Capo Deli

Competing to retain the table at Players Club on 14th

Another awesome part of living in DC is that my brother Joe lives 15 minutes away with his girlfriend Sophie in Adams Morgan. I hang out at his place often, and he started giving me guitar lessons on the electric guitar he got me for my birthday.

Joe performing with his former band Dyeboy at DC9

Dyeboy playing at Pie Shop on H Street

Checking out my new guitar on my birthday

The political and economic state of the world right now (link)

Living in DC, I would be remiss not to mention the whirlwind of political tumult in the US that has transpired in the past year. Though I’m sure you already know, as a quick summary (and to archive this moment in time), after a relatively calm four years under Joe Biden, Trump ran for re-election on a platform of increased hatred/xenophobia/protectionism, Biden’s senility cost him the candidacy, Trump was inches away from being assassinated, Harris ran to be the first woman and woman of color in the White House, Trump destroyed and took back the presidency, and wars in Gaza and Ukraine raged on.

With many others, I was quite shocked by the election result. I even bet on Kamala to win on one of the many political and event betting sites that have popped up recently. I remember going to a friend’s watch party for the election, and he sent around a survey asking people to predict who would win the election, which way each swing state would vote, and by how much Kamala would win the popular vote. That’s how confident we were that Kamala would at least win the popular vote. 

Extra security leading up to Trump's 2025 Inauguration

In the two months since Trump took office, it has been a daily barrage of news about terrible shit he's doing. To name a few: he formed the agency DOGE (stupid acronym meme name) headed by Elon Musk and run by some college kids who are mass firing government employees and cutting important government spending; he's terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (disappointingly, UMich complied) and turning it into a witch hunt to root them out; he's reversing any semblance of climate progress, he fired people investigating him; he pardoned January 6 defendants; he's trying to end birthright citizenship; he's heavily cracking down on immigration; he's aiming to deport millions; he declared that there are only two genders; he placed sky high tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico; he told Palestinians to leave Gaza; he wants to annex Greenland (wtf); and the list goes on. It's distressing and exhausting.

As Steve Bannon said in 2018, their strategy is to "flood the zone." Essentially, bombard us with executive orders and initiatives so that the media and an organized opposition can't keep up. And honestly, it’s working. It’s impossible to follow the assault of information and relentless "breaking news" notifications I get, and I’m privileged enough to be in a position where I can just read and hear about them rather than shouldering the burden. Being in DC, there's an almost tangible pessimism about the state of affairs right now. You can tell it's on the forefront of people's minds as conversation inevitably steers in that direction, especially as people I know are getting fired.

I'm concerned about the direction this country is headed right now. And I'm concerned by the lack of a strong resistance from the other side of the aisle. 

🤮

Conclusion

On that sour note, back to the positives. DC is a fantastic city, and I’m so glad I landed back here for my first truly adult years. I like the type of people it attracts: smart, informed, international, diverse, motivated, active, curious people. I like the amenities the city offers: free museums, lots of parks, walkable neighborhoods, excellent public transit, great bike lanes, general cleanliness, large-scale events (concerts, sports, etc), good food, and cultural significance. 

And it's so pretty. The buildings aren’t tall, which allows for lots of sunlight and for the monuments to peek out in the sky, which never gets old. The old townhouses, like the one I live in, give the neighborhoods a warm, authentic feel. And of course, the cherry blossoms are gorgeous (even if they turn the city into a zoo during peak bloom). Then there’s ease of travel: major airports, proximity to New York and other major east coast cities, nearby nature, and direct flights to Europe/Barbados.

It's a wonderful city, and I can see myself spending a good chunk of my life here. But the world is big and there's lots to explore, so don't count on me staying in any one place for tooo long. But don't worry, the Luka in Singapore blog will keep you updated wherever I go.

Thanks for tuning in. It's cherry blossom weekend in DC, so I'll leave you with two photos, spatially very close but temporally very far apart. I hope you are doing well, and I'll see you next time!

Luka at the cherry blossoms, March 2025

The bros arrive in DC, March 2006