Lights, Camera?

Here in Crystal City, things are on the move. Old buildings are coming down and new ones are going up as we shed our dowdy D.C. image in favor of a hip new HQ2 vibe. Yes, it's still dear old CC, where men in dark suits dash quickly into idling SUVs. But there's a new energy here, a flash of the creative class that is to come.

I promised myself I would chronicle these changes in my own particular and unscientific way. And one of the shifts I've noticed in my own building is that stairwells now have automatic lights that go off when no one's around.

Since I exercise by walking up and down the stairs, this has come under some personal scrutiny. I begin my walk in the semi-darkness, and only as I emerge onto each landing do the lights come on. Though this makes me feel just a tad important — these lights are coming on just for me! — it also makes me feel just a tad freaked out.

I remember the phrase, "Lights, camera, action!" and wonder ... if new lights are here, can new cameras be far behind?