(dc) no good word for it

i wonder if there's any language that has a word for this feeling i get sometimes of being nostalgic for the present moment. as i was walking home just now, i had a block and a half of this feeling.

this is a neighborhood to drink in. especially on a perfect spring evening at magic hour. you can feel like you've lived a lifetime in that 7 minute walk. it started as i left the starbucks at the top of the u st metro stop with my iced venti sugar free hazelnut soy latte balanced on my mac laptop crossing the street listening to my voicemail on my PDA cellphone. i laughed out loud at how much of a caricature i was in that moment and how different my life is going to be just six months from now. as i was laughing i passed a man yelling in chinese into his flip phone.

i was experiencing every sound and smell and scene with intensity and longing for each the moment that passed, knowing that even if i wrote this as soon as i got home, i'd already have forgotten the details. every person that i saw looked different - different color, height, shape, style - different bits of their bodies jiggling and hanging out. the diversity here is gorgeous. (how will i live without it?)

everything was at once exceedingly diverse but with particular american flair. the hispanic couple in the ridiculously huge shiny red truck trying to make the light but instead stopping smack in the middle of the crosswalk, forcing everyone to walk around it. i loved being able to laugh with them and say "nice" through their rolled down window and have a moment of connection with them that they didn't expect. they were clearly expecting rancor, but got a moment of love and humor.

the fat pidgeons picking at the street garbage
the squishy pizza place that sara loves so much
the intimidatingly hip hipsters at their cafe tables
the flamboyant homosexual and transexual displays
the gentle loving placement of a man's hand on his girlfriend's back
the brick walls and brick alleyway
the open doors of dan and anna's store
the funky bikes chained to parking meters
the star spangled skimpy bikinis in the lingerie store
the hideous pointed snakeskin shoes
the kung fu hustle poster inside the door of the video store entryway
the cool cat standing outside the door of twins jazz club hoping to entice people in

after 15 months of being here, i'm still in love with this neighborhood and this city, and i'm so happy to be here. i'll miss it a lot.