Kevin Costner's Russian's Rusty: Washington DC Metropolitan Area Thread II

As for places in/around DC, yeah - a whole lot of them suck ass, regardless of the crowds. I have really taken to not going out on the weekends, and getting my bar fix during the week. Makes for a much more relaxing time, and cheaper too, due to the wealth of during-the-week specials.

I have to point out, to anyone who missed it, that DCPD is adopting a "zero tolerance" policy in regards to drinking and driving. Like you can be arrested for a .01 BAC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101302049.html

It actually looks like some over-zealous officers are trying flex some muscle that they don't have.

Has anyone seen the line up for the "Millions More Movement" concert at the MCI Center? Its pretty ridiculous

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=entertainment/profile&id=1115755&typeId=17&type=musicevent

If I had any money to spare right now, I would be there in a heartbeat. PE, Slick Rick, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, Snoop all on the same bill? Insane.

After handing him a copy of Suzanne Vega's greatest hits (he was looking for "Tom's Diner"), he looked at me sheepishly and said "I'm just lookin' for some songs to jam in my car." No explanation necessary, dude.

Maybe he has a problem with Farrakhan's 10th Anniversary of Pointlessness March...

we sometimes ordered food from cafe asia when working late and i was not a fan. walking by it, it looks like the ikea of pan asian restaurants and it seems odd that it should be a happening spot for 20 somethings after work.

maybe you should campaign for a dc fap at uni's $1 sushi happy hour and give cafe asia a run for its money.

Ya'll have been giving the lawyers a hard time, but where is the hate for the FEDS? Tombot, I know you suffer the fed pain, so bring ont the HATE!

Having never worked with the Federal Government, I have no grounds from which to make a jibe thereupon.

DC trivia - After the US Government, who is the biggest landowner in DC?

is it a university?

The long-haul feds don't bug me as much as the short-term profiteers, who're much more likely to be found screaming orders at my bartender and mistaking themselves for interesting people.

Yeah, the striped shirt clowns are a whole other tangent that I choose not to deal with. Much like the popped-collar clowns. Tools. I actually tried on one of those blocky collar and cuff striped oxfords a few months ago, and I felt...dumber. Like my ability to express myself was being lost in the intersecting lines on my back.

Weekends in DC are best spent with a good sixer from someplace and watching movies/sports. Weeknights are the new weekends. Theres 2.5 as many of them!

You know my balcony's as enjoyable as any of those places, Z. Ten times as much.

I went to play pool at this awful place in downtown Silver Spring and could only stand like 20 minutes of it--how is one supposed to play pool without cigarettes?

And actually, it's looking more and more like the much-debated DC smoking ban is going to go through, so even the Metro will not save you. Sorry dude.

One thing is for certain: VA will NEVER ban smoking in bars. Phillip Morris swings a big stick in the Old Dominion.

OMG D00D HOYA LAWYA HOUSE PARTY SO WHAT DO YOU DO WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL LOL PWND

Aw. But that's a good thing surely. You on Myspace?

Earlier this week I was so hyped about an open house for a place in Logan Circle and then dude forgot to send me the details, but I got the mass thank you message saying "sorry, we already picked someone," and then I was in a super shitty mood all evening. I hate this whole process, it feels like trying to win some weird popularity contest, and it's like people, I'm OK, I promise! I'm not that annoying! I'm just shy when meeting random strangers and trying to convince them they should let me live in their house!

Shoot me a line if you're going up to Dremo's any time soon. I worked there this summer, and am in there all the time.

How's the cold turkey going? Quitting smoking for five days is pretty impressive, seriously.

Silver Spring = hardcore dangerous. Our new Ann Taylor Loft only sells Mad Max style leather vests and bandoliers.

I met a friend today at Cafe Bonaparte in G'town. Yummy crepes. Also walked past the C&O canal, around the waterfront park and up Book Hill to the G'town library, which is unfortunately, not open on Sundays.

Dropped some $$ at Urban Outfitters on a green le Tigre track jacket that I soo did not need. but, pretty pink tiger. Went into H&M but the few basic black velvet and black corduroy jackets only available in plus and minus sizes. Was hearkened by the sight of the Lacoste store but not cheered by the merch within. Tried on the navy-blue "boy blazer" at J, Crew, but so not worth the money and the duds at Zara left me cold. The military brigade seems to have ususped the peasants. Found a nice argyle sweater at Commander Salamander but already have the cardigan in a different color scheme.

Tried to go to see Tony Takatani at the E, but couldn't find parking, got confused, gave up and came home. Maybe tomorrow. Must see.

H&M at Tyson's Corner had a few awesome tops, navy blue w/knotted detail at the neckline, fantastic. Didn't have any cash though. In fact I was returning a $8 top to get cash for the drive out of the city because I was running so short. oops! Almost bought a totally preppy navy wool fitted blazer with gold buttons from teh Goodwill a few weeks ago, but at the last minute put it back because the sleeves a touch too short (as usual).

Searching for a place to live completely sucks. Maybe I should try to find guy housemates. Whenever I go to see a place and the potential housemate is a girl, I don't know, I either get the smug competitive vibe or the passive aggressive "I don't like you for no reason" vibe. The other day I called up this dude from a Craigslist ad who had a nice sounding place off Connecticut and after I politely ask if the room was still available, he's like (sarcasm) "No, I just really wanted to talk to a bunch of random strangers so I thought I'd post an ad." Hey, excuse you, asshole!

Really wanting a preppy navy school-style blazer, so bad I walked into American Eagle today bc I had a strange feeling that I had seen such a garment in one of the various American Teen mags. I only walked a few steps in, didn't see it, realized I'd have to go upstairs, looked at the doorman and walked out again.

I've also seen one from Brooks Brothers which is cheaper than the J Crew one, but not by much, and if the J Crew one had fittedness problems, was a bit boxy, I imagine the BB one would be a lot worse.

Good luck, D. I hope something comes through.

I tried on these Free People plaid pleated and cuffed trousers today, but the zipper was so short--it was very strange, like half the size of the a regular zipper. They were like fake pants or something.

Went through the G'town flea market also, slim pickens but it was a beautiful day.

I was out in Fairfax County for a couple days at a temp job and someone ripped the Maryland Democrats sticker off my car. Now I have to find the spare & see if I still have that extra Kerry for President sticker to put next to it. thanks, Virginia.

Yeah, the Brooks Brothers blazer I saw in a photo shoot was actually from the boys' department, not the pseudo "boy's blazer" FOR WOMEN offered by J. Crew. The J Crew one had kinda puffy shoulders and wasn't very tailored. i would think it would have been more slim-fitting. Blazers are so damn expensive though.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=356&Product_Id=827247&Parent_Id=346

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod64723681&catId=cat75816

Hm... You could always have the buttons changed..

Gap boys wool uniform blazer

Kaz Sushi Bistro is a shining beacon of hope in the Farragut rectum.

I am perturbed by the number of people who are all up and about and headed to work at 7am. Jesus.

We can't just go with tried-and-true DoD solutions because what does DoD know about what our agency needs LOL PWNED

I've been at the same pay grade for twelve years no I haven't heard of the "Peter Principle" how is that spelled LOL PWNED

We need to get this documented and approved by the SES we don't want to do anything without two months of meetings and writeups because it's proven fact that two months of meetings and writeups prior to starting action ensures that I can't be held responsible for my mistakes LOL PWNED

Who cares if we actually do anything all day, we work from 6:30am to 2:30pm so barely anybody notices, not like we're ever around to answer our own fucking phonecalls LOL PWNED

--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld LOL PWNED

Do they usually have no A/C in that joint or was it just the night we were there?

One of my coworkers at a recent temp gig was a guy who spent the summer working at DOJ. In order to use up all the money in their budget they hired a bunch of temps to shuffle paper and file things and sit around listening to music, at $25/hour. I so missed out.. LOL PWNX0R3D

I know one guy who is going back to GS world from LM because our project is totally frustrating to him, and he wants "challenging as in having to use my brain, not challenging as in having to work 60 hour weeks" which I totally understand. He's getting them to match his play at GS-12 step something, which is not bad, and he knows the people there and likes the position.

OTOH he is the only, only, only person I know who has decided to go back to GS from the contracting world who isn't already at basically the GS-15/SES level.

I don't think the Big Scary Man is so scary anymore. 3 weeks vacation! Not 2!

Northrop Grumman & Lockheed Martin's hiring practices are to offer people boatloads of money so that they don't go to work for anybody else. Which contributes to skyrocketing turnover and a real estate bubble!

Gee.

I love working for the government, though I work for the little g, city government. I only work part-time and they offer healthcare and holidays. I don't work Mondays, but every time there's a national holiday on a Monday, I get to work 6 hours less during that week. However, one of co-workers absconded to Lebanon for the past three months, so I have to work every other Saturday to fill in for her. LOL PWNED.

About three months later (long after I had taken my contracting job), I got a notice that one of my applications had made it out of the first tier of bureaucracy and that whatever office if was forwarded it to would be getting around to looking at it in three MORE months. Now, perhaps there are a lot of people out there who are willing to sit around for six months to find out if they got a job or not, but I'm not one of them.

The job I did take went something like this: sent resume and cover letter on Tuesday. Got a call to schedule an interview on Wednesday. Preliminary offer Thursday. One day of salary negotiations. FedEx with offical offer arrived on Saturday.

Now that I do hiring myself I've gotten to employ the seven-day resume-to-offer-letter schedule, so it wasn't just me; meanwhile, I'm still waiting to hear about that NIH job three and a half years later.

I'm always surprised by how friends of mine have managed to get along in sketchy neighborhoods like "oh, it'll be fine, don't worry about it," but I guess I don't have their good luck.

when my former roommates and i were looking for a place we looked at a beautiful house on harvard btween 16 and 15, and we talked to neighbors, many of whom had been there for 5+ years and seen the safety of the neighborhood improve greatly. we asked the current tenants if they'd had any troubles, and one replied, "oh no, not at all, no troubles, it's very safe. ...except the day we moved in someone smashed all the windows to my girlfriend's car and stole all her stuff out of it."

which we decided was not okay.

on the other hand, i've had my car broken into twice in two years at 15th & Q, there's been a pcp-enraged stabbing down the block, a mugging across the street last week, etc. nowhere is really all that safe.

um, i don't know what's required to get a p.o. box, but if you need a person on location i could probably help you.

Anyway, three things I like about the DC area right now:

1). Wonderland.
2). CDepot
3). Mulligan's grill in College Park when it's 4:00 PM on a saturday afternoon, no one is there, and my roomate is bartending.

Can someone address the opinion I've heard that The Black Cat dance nights are like the psuedo-hipster/hipster single person's paradise? I've never been. Not saying I'm a hipster.

I've had the window smashed on my car (U St) and that was annoying but there were regularly smashed car windows on that block all the time (don't leave stuff in your car parked on the street around there, duh..) What I did mind was Petworth someone totally busted up the car door lock, I got mugged, and I also heard gunshots sometimes. Not cool. My friends were always like "oh, it's not that bad around here.." Sure, it's fine, except I worry about having a gun pulled on me again every time I walk out the fucking door!

I guess the degree of annoying stuff you'll have in Logan Circle is one thing but that walk in the dark uphill past Florida Ave is not one I want to be doing all the time, is my sense of it. Right by U St metro and a bit south is OK just because there are tons of people around all the time and especially late on the weekends.

Thanks for the offer re: PO Box, I'm driving back for a couple days this weekend to see a few places and take care of some stuff, I'll just do it then.

i'm feeling a lot of enthusiasm for this bleakness.

black cat dance nights are best entered into with good friends, a great amount of alcohol and a minimum of self consciousness. i don't know that anything in DC is a hipster/single person's paradise. i don't know that anything in DC is EITHER a hipster's paradise OR a single person's paradise.

this is the first time in a long time that i'm not coexisting in both cities, which might be another reason i'm gravitating towards this thread.

Marker-Miller Orchards
3035 Cedar Creek Grade, Winchester, VA
540-662-1391 • www.markermillerorchards.com
• Activities: Pick your own apples and pumpkins on weekends. Scenic wagon rides on weekends. Picnic areas available. Also available: 10-15 varieties of apples, Barllett pears, plums, pumpkins, Indian corn, winter squash, gourds, mums, apple cider, fresh baked pies, muffins, apple cakes, apple cider donuts, breads and jams & jellies. Apple Harvest Festival: October 8th (9:00-5:00) and 9th (10:00-5:00)
Everything apples!!!!!!!!!!! 20 varieties of apples to choose from, with pick your own available. Apple cobbler and apple caramel sundaes can be enjoyed while sitting on the front porch or listening to the music each day from 2-4 P.M. For the kids we have the barrel train, antique tractors, an apple pitch and room to run. Hot dogs and country ham sandwiches available for lunch. Wagon rides around the farm scheduled for every 1/2 hour. No admission fee.
Pumpkin Festival: October 22nd (9:00-5:00)
Come find the “great pumpkin.” Choose from ones already picked or pick your own. Enjoy pumpkin pie and hot apple cider as you browse around. Also offering hot dogs, country ham sandwiches, and homemade soup.

****

The cider doughnuts at Cherry Hill Farm & Orchard in Clinton (301-292-4642) have such an avid following that you may want to order a dozen in advance or arrive early—the farm opens at 8 during the week and at 7 on weekends. Latecomers have to make do with plain doughnuts, but they’re great, too. Cherry Hill also makes soft-serve ice cream in flavors like apple pie and occasionally pumpkin.

DC hipster paradise: Spilt Milk at Red, the last of which was a couple Tuesdays ago. With Red gone, I heard it might be headed to Wonderland.

Black Cat upstairs DJ nights (Mousetrap, Depeche Mode Dance Party, etc.) are much larger and a little less friendly than the downstairs DJ nights (Right Round, BLISS, bluestate, Guilty Pleasures). BLISS is my favorite of the bunch and it happens to be this Saturday. I also guest DJ there sometimes, so take that with a grain of salt. The worst thing about Black Cat backstage DJ nights (aside from the crappy sound) is that they shut down at 2am instead of 3.

new(ish) places:

I really like W Domku, a Scandinavian/Baltic restaurant/bar in Petworth. Housemade aquavits, a very comfortable atmosphere, and a staff with a personality surplus.

A few blocks south of Domku on Georgia Avenue, Temperance Hall will be opening soon. It'll be a restaurant/bar in the ever-expanding Joe Engelert empire, but I've got high hopes anyway.

Vegetate is open or opening soon on 9th st, featuring an awful name and all vegetarian menu. It's part-owned by DJ Dredd, so the music should be good.

I'll soon be trekking up to the new Dogfish Head non-brewpub in Gaithersburg. Hope it's worth the journey, too bad they're not brewing on site.

Around U St fashion crimes outnumber violent crimes 3 to 1 these days. There's been a run of small-business stickups on 14th the past few weeks, though, one of which I think was Candida's bookstore, goddamit. If you've got to jack a business, in the future please make it Whole Foods.

Living in DC for about a year (Clarenden/NOVA and now College Park), I unfortunately see what you're saying regarding DC not being good for singles (at least singles without much power to weild) or hispter-boho-audiophile types. After college, I actually started out in New York (Brooklyn, east Williamsburg off the Flushing Ave J train stop) but couldn't find any good work, so five months removed from graduation I headed to DC. I am now ready and willing to move back to New York. Suffice it to say, despite all sayings regarding the grass always being greener on the other side, DC just doesn't seem too welcoming.

Maybe it IS impossible to compare New York to DC, but I just get the feeling that although both are smug and competitive, in NY I often feel that I'm struggling with other people, whereas in DC I feel like I'm struggling against everyone.

if i could go to a pumpkin patch in the near future, i really would.

xp haha

I've been trying to occupy myself with drinking heavily! I recommend that, to everyone. I do not care for the Black Cat v. much. Downstairs is much better than upstairs in virtually every situation except maybe NYE. Though I've noticed less the hipster quotient and more the huge goth quotient upstairs.

My coworkers sometimes joke about my issues with crossing South over the damn Potomac. My boss went so far as to deliberately set up meeting in RESTON and forced me to attend. Reston needs to justify its existence, as far as I'm concerned.

futurebride and i are considering haphazardly moving to NYC. i don't think this thread is gonna talk us out of it.

Hey mookieproof is did your futurebride go to DUCK, too? Are you going to spawn a new generation of DUCKIES?

Note that I checked out the UNC roster the other day and, uh, WTF--is NO ONE LEFT from last year??? Arrrrgh, another season of frustration. . . and K going global, good god.

ballston has always been ballston, though, as far as i know.

I will totally go cider-apple picking!

oh, nevermind, it'd probably be pretty much the same only flatter

I think it would be better to live in the city proper. It is just kind of like...ok the best I can do to describe NOVA is like living in suburban Long Island or Jersey, except without ANY of the local flavor or tiny establishments because EVERYONE is a transient out of town 9-5 5 days a week. Whatever local color scene might've been here before the invasion of the Stepford Corporates, it's totally been demolished and replaced with a total void which is really disturbing in a lot of ways.

But hey whatever dood we booked yr suggestion wedding spot! Thx for tha tip!

For serious!

i think you've booked JimmyMod, but in case not, this is the dude that's doing our photos for crazy cash: http://www.carlbower.com/

I have to look into them this week. Can't you just do all that online these days anyway? That's what I'm hoping at least.

I have a sad idea that will never come to fruition of going to a Chinese take out, getting 80 or 100 of their little rice boxes, and printing up "fortunes" that invite people to our wedding! But you cannot really put such a thing in the mail.

Take-out invitations is an awesome idea - I've seen a similar thing (with metallic colored mini-take out boxes) in wedding stores. But that's super, super clever.

I just get the feeling that although both are smug and competitive, in NY I often feel that I'm struggling with other people, whereas in DC I feel like I'm struggling against everyone.

Yeah. I feel that way. I have a few very good friends in the area, but the few good friends are also friends with friends of friends, and the friends of friends tend to be fairly smug and competitive, which rubs off on the good friends, and suddenly I am lying to everyone about how I have all these ambitious plans when, in fact, I just want to be able to pay the bills and not stress. I think what bugs me the most is this vibe one can get from people, that if you're not so into the rat race and working 60 hours a week to chase the next big career goal, or maybe if whatever you've been chasing after doesn't fit their nice practical paradigm, there is something slightly pitiable about that. If only you could be as good as they are. And applying to law school.

Oh, and now I want a cider donut!

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Hey, Patrick Fitzgerald is in my building and there are cameras outside. They got a great shot of my lunchbox.

And OK, there are plenty of "better than you" types here, whether they're corp. ladder-climbers or scenester scum, but are they really that hard to keep out of your life? I mean, there are just as many if not more (more, in my experience) nice, funny, cool people who aren't gonna pull that bullshit on you hanging around.

What's wrong with you?

Thousands of Fairfaxians, Arlingtonese and Montgomery Countish go to work every weekday from 0730 to 1630 to ENSURE YOUR SECURITY.

You non-profit NGO hangers-on should all be ashamed that you aren't helping this great nation defend itself against the evildoers. Look at my striped shirt, fucking look at it, etcetera.

By the way, just to clear the air, the MITRE corporation is a fucking pox on humankind and 90% of their employees can go fuck themselves right in the eye with an awl pike. "FFRDC non-profit" my mom's balls.

This is like the truest shit ever written, btw.

Also, MITRE has been instrumental in fucking up this project at nearly every turn since I arrived. So it's just a little personal.

Well, if you mean established social set as like, one other person, then yeah that's sorta the case but if you mean like several friends, or even two? Then no, I don't believe that's true.

I mean, Tom and I kind of have an established social set, albeit a not-huge one. And like, no one ever wants to do anything. Because like half the time it kind of sucks going to places here and it'd be better to just hang out at home, or in Baltimore. So like I guess basically what carly said, yeah there are probably cool people here, I mean there definitely is but you're going to have problems by and large finding them because of the complete non-existance of the local scene and local custom and social infastructure.

I mean, you could probably go to J Paul's any night of the week and meet 80 trillion people but most of 'em suck.

I actually have more friends from college and high school living and working in DC than anywhere else. What I find, however, is that the ones living in the outlying suburbs are more willing to hang out with me, but lack any sort of circle within in the city.

On the contrary, I have other friends from college that live in Columbia Heights and China Town, know a lot cool people in the city, but are ridiculously hard to meet up with and sometimes weirdly reluctant introduce me into their world. Normally, I would assume that these people don't actually like me, but I think it's more just a general disconnect between suburban DC-ers' and those in the city.

So, despite all pessimism about DC, I think living in the actual city is the only logical way people of our type (non-twatish) can find a good circle to run with. It makes me want to leave College Park with the quickness.

Pharmacy Bar
Wonderland
Asylum
The Reef
Marx Café
The Black Cat
Café Saint-Ex (on weekdays)
Bar Pilar
Georgetown Billiards
Bedrock Billiards
The Saloon (U St)
Polly's
W Domku
Townhouse Tavern
The Raven
Galaxy Hut
The Brickskeller
Aroma
The bar at Firefly
The Big Hunt

maybe petesmith can explain to you why college park is a wonderful place. i'd do it for him, but i don't really agree.

my out of town friends who visited me still talk about the falafel place of dc.

Here, though, since they drive the market, they drive out most of the unorthodox niche joints--bookstores, strange bars, weird art things, whatever--that make a city interesting, and people who like to see something surprising every once in a while are kind of fucked.

It's funny, though, how interesting/okay people tend to cling together once they find each other, and have to look to each other for entertainment. It's like being in an expat community, but without the expensive long distance and dodgy water supply.

Also it's just kind of ugly inside now!

I actually think I might kind of prefer Pharmacy now. Although I'm still pretty sure that my favorite spot on that strip isn't any of those places but Blue Fin instead.

And to get with Brian's positive vibe: Amsterdam Falafel is excellent, and the all-you-can-stack toppings bar is the starving drunk's friend.

Re: social scene, I feel like it seemed easier just out of college, because everybody I knew was in the same boat, kinda poor and living in grungy apartments and run down group houses where they'd throw parties a lot and we'd go for $2 drinks at the Common Share. And now it's a few years out and people are movin' on up and working more hours and buying places and going to fancy lounges to hang out, except I went back to school and am poorer than I was before.

Re: security, I was so tempted to apply when I saw this job posting, Web Designer and Developer (Baghdad, Iraq)

"Yeah Mom, I landed this awesome gig building websites, uh, it's great experience, but.. it's kind of out of town.."

I haven't been there since maybe August? Whenever geeta was in town...but that was a weeknight and the crowd isn't quite the same as it used to be, a lot more...uh...Adams Morgany. I mean I dunno, in my very lengthy experience with dive bars and the like, the really grungy ass ones have 10x better crowds than tricked out "THIS IS A DIVE BAR!" designed ones. I mean the Asylum ripped out its innards and had it redone by the dude who did Reef (xpost what Stephen just said). I think they just attract different clientele. This might be due to the yuppification of Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights just as much as it is due to the change of atmosphere. I hold out hopes for Galaxy Hut and really didn't awful mind going there even though I'm not a beer person because it's so munky looking inside!

Granted, buffalo wings are fucking awesome.

Also I just saw a taxi with spinner rims. Point, DC.

another favorite dc thing: Ask Tom chats
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400577.html

http://www.washingtonian.com/chats/dining.html

xp

Weeknights nxt week are good for me.

i wouldn't introduce dc cabs into testimony, logos or no, the cab system in the city is really really awful.

I would love to hang out, am out of town again and don't have a place to live yet, but looks like I should have a job so will be settled.. uh.. soonish. You know, by the time the weather gets too bad to go out much.

xpost the weather is never too bad to go out. I have climbed 5 ft snowdrifts to get inside of bars. Though if it's raining, that's right the fuck out.

Last DC cab ride I took, the driver was too baked to go over 25, and kept telling meandering stories about his former career as a soccer star in Europe, how he represented Ghana at the 1972 international Boy Scout jamboree, etc. Awesome.

Tom Sietsema: The one that leaps to mind at the moment: a still-breathing (but stunned from boiling water) fish.

that sounds like a fun cab ride! the cab rides i've had from the bus station to my house at 2 am have been more stressful.

Pharmacy is alright by me! If it sucks that night we can always hit Asylum and make fun of the D&D decor or go over to the Reef and hope the downstairs is open.

EMSE 315: Legal Issues for Information Security Managers

My last DC cab ride, I had to be at a job interview at 1, and I caught a cab at 12:35 (it was only a five minute ride, Connecticut to Wisconsin Ave) and on the way he picked up some other guy and started heading over to Adams Morgan and I had to talk him out of this so I wouldn't be late.. Then he spent the rest of the ride talking about how people make craploads of money pet sitting and dog walking and such, and how many hours a day he had to drive a cab just to get by..

Yeah, I remember that night; about two years ago? I have to admit, I barely remember the Fake Accents because I was talking to sketch outside for the whole set.

And now that I think of it, you and Zach were at sketch and nicole's b-day party last year, though I can't remember being introduced...Small world strikes!

xpost

I totally know what you mean--I used to be able to get both legs back there, but now I can only get my left leg up. If I drink enough on Thursday I'm sure I'd be willing to demonstrate.

Note to self: wear pants on Thursday. Not ready for ILX to see my panties.

Here's the web site (almost NSFW 'cause it has the director in scary yoga shorts!):
http://www.unitywoods.com/

pls, zr, maybe it's time to start advertising for red hook again. please use the search function or incur the wrath of hstence. possibly with google maps crossed with mta bus routes. also, when is google going to include public transport, trains and buses, on its googlemaps? this is a million dollar idea right here.

Of course our Department of Homeland Security would never allow anything like that

Access to an even more valuable civic resource.

When I worked at Olsson's I met a lot of smart, interesting DC people, but I don't know where they all are now.

Re NYC people, for the most part they are pretty annoying really. Besides the Ilxors. NYC is a great place, in spite of the people who live there.

Positive thing about ARLINGTON: Guajillo's!

Positive thing about Rockville: Excellent Chinese!

Also, the Metro trains have pretty awesome sound effects, are generally clean and they live in stations that remind of late 70's science fiction aesthetics, which I love.

the social "scene" in dc does suck but working in the restaurant industry has saved me from worrying about my lack of law-school credentials. i do have to serve miller lite to hordes of social climbers on a regular basis, but i am easily consoled by the fact that there are at least 7 or 8 bars where i can depend on a few-to-many free drinks. i wont name them but 5 are on brian's list. also, i have a decent amount of friends (mostly servers, bartenders, or former servers, or former bartender, most of whom LIKE MUSIC [surprise!]), and having weekdays as days off means that all the people i dont like are in offices while i have the city to myself. yesterday: amsterdam fallafel--->wonderland--->w domku(thanks brian!)--->the reef--->mantis for dan soda's new night.

this one's likely gone. but get yourself a buddy and look for two bedrooms, it shouldn't be impossible to find something in that range.

i have a buddy. we are trying for 1300. i really dont know what i am doing cause i might not want to be stuck in a lease for another year. i have made a number of calls and emails, we will see. there is a 2br in the bernstein building that tom linked to for 1295. i am going to visit within 24 hours of now.

btw downstairs of reef ("Lush") is open most nights but usually not until 8 or 9.

dc fashion sucks because most of those people DIDN'T EVEN GO TO PREP SCHOOL! I must wear my http://www.lindafarrowvintage.com/ sunglasses with any polo shirt lest anyone mistake me for a former resident of fairfax or rockville.

(xp)

Hi Aaron!

so thursday oct 27. time? place?

Ally that is hilarious. I am planning to frequently wear these boots of mine, uh, they are Kenneth Cole so acceptably generic urban footwear, but they really want to be combat boots and are great with black lacy tights. OHNOES, fashion goth, oops I did it again.

But fuck that--P-bar Thursday it is.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/graphics/cvr_art/2005/1021_iconcover.gif
vs
http://www.vh1.com/shared/media/images/sn_legacy/addict/AMG_images/artists/P06528.JPG

xpost to OH YEAH ally

Bus question: does anyone actual read and plan around the bus timetables, or do you just show up at the stop whenever and hang out until the bus does or does not show up?

did you see the in the post yesterday that the taxi authority is "experimenting" with metered cabs?

weird

I dunno, I've only taken a DC cab like twice.

http://www.washington.org/UploadedImages/ImageGallery/zonemap.jpg

option 2: the authors were hobbits

option 3: DC was too cheap to buy bigger paper that would allow for the commonplace north orientation

you decide

http://www.eskimo.com/~tiktok/pics/MAP1.JPG

"The rents aren't high enough to cover their mortgage so people are selling" she said.

i haven't really posted too much on this board, although i frequently read it, but this one really hit the spot. I have been stuck in the d.c.-nyc cycle for about 7 years now. I went to school in nyc and stuck it out after a teaching fellowship.

this summer i thought i was ready to return, and i spent 10 weeks (summer break for those in the education field) working in d.c. trying to fit back in. i love d.c. i grew up there. i try to tell people in nyc how dope the chocolate city really is. i really wanted it too work. but, i can't step up and move back. i spent much of the summer in d.c. thinking about how many great free shows i was missing. i would mock d.c. fashion and dcisms (go-go, redskins, dischord) with my ex-pat buddy who was also in the district for the summer.

yet, once again i miss it. i miss pgc. i read pelecanos and i conjure up the quirks that make it such a great place. at the same time, i realize how different the city is now.

this really isn't going anywhere specific, you can't compare or argue the merits of ny vs. d.c. i'd just be repeating the many sentiments already expressed.

a few asides...

try the Big Hunt for relaxed pints with friends.

the cab map was designed so that folks tooling around capitol hill could taxi about without switching zones.

take the vamoose bus between nyc and dc (avoid the greyhound station at all costs!).

the rents are still better than nyc.

I can't remember that ever happening since the days of Gary Clark/Art Monk/Ricky Sanders. Awesome.

Anyhow we tried out the John Harvard brewpub downtown on Friday, it was way too brightly lit but the clientele wasn't annoying which was a nice bonus. Our waitress gave another thumbs up for the Black Cat downstairs, we haven't been back to U street in too long, perhaps.

Have fun at Pharmacy.

I forgot that I can't make it on Thursday because I have an extramarital date that has been in the works for months! My date is also married, but both of our spouses gave the OK. We are going to the Brickskeller for drinks and then to a sexy scientist seminar!

I have not been on a date in years WHAT SHOULD I WEAR???

I am deeply disappointed (really!) that I am missing the chance to actually meet other DC ilxors, so hopefully there will be another FAP in the near future. Like, at the ZEBRA LOUNGE.

Oh and Brian next time you are drinking at 2 Amy's give me a head's up and I will run around the corner and meet you!

Have fun at the Brickskeller...

boo!

Exurbanites Occupy an Unsettled Place in Va. Politics

Jamie and Stephan Lechner liked their house in Germantown well enough, but in recent years, they said, the neighborhood began to change in ways that made them feel less comfortable. There were some discipline problems in the school where Jamie taught. There was a shooting in a low-income area not too far from where they lived and other, smaller signs that made them think things were headed downward.

And so, with their twin boys near school age, the Lechners did what they figured anyone of means would: They packed up and moved to a place billed as a retreat from all that: Dominion Valley, a new, gated, golf course community of $700,000 homes on the rural edges of Northern Virginia, a place where the singular issue of traffic dominates and where the last memorable conflict was whether jeans would be allowed in the country club.

"We had conflict," said Jamie Lechner, referring to her old Germantown neighborhood. "And we wanted to move away from that. . . . That's why we're here -- to be sheltered."

May they keep moving.

Anyhow, forget what I said about not making it to FAP; if ya'll plan to park at Pharmacy then I can meet up with you after the lecture, duh--probably nine, nine-thirty-ish. I will do my best not to totally dork out on you all.

i thought totally dorking out was implicit in fapping. have i been doing it wrong?

SCENE: A GOVT WORKPLACE FULL OF DUAL-SCREEN WORKSTATIONS WHERE EACH SCREEN IS A 24" WIDE FLATPANEL AND ALL WORKERS HAVE TWO KEYBOARDS AND TWO MICE. TOMBOT IS SEATED AT THE CENTRAL WORKSTATION. ANDYBOT IS SEATED DIRECTLY TO HIS LEFT. STEVEBOT IS STANDING OVER TOM.

TOMBOT: Classified, Expletives, Classified Classified

STEVEBOT: Classified HEY IS THAT THE WORLD MAP FROM SUPER METROID ON YOUR DESKTOP WALLPAPER

TOMBOT: YEAH DUDE

STEVEBOT: I KNEW THAT WAS ONE OF THE METROID MAPS

ANDYBOT: MY COUSIN DOWNLOADED THE SPEED RUN OF THAT WHERE SOME DUDE PLAYED THROUGH THE WHOLE GAME IN AN HOUR AND A HALF

The End.

Why do you have to be at work at 8:57pm?

QUINCIE (to similarly screwed coworker): I've finished balancing my checkbook and preparing my grocery list. Now what? Oh, I think I will compile a helpful PIFIT glossary.

"Asset"=some sort of document
"Artifact"=some other sort of document
"Configuration Items"=what the fuck, I don't even know
"Incident Investigation"=someone fucked up! Lets pick the most despised person on the project and blame HIM.
"Supplier Agreement Management"=send us our shit, assholes!

(collective sigh of relief from the DC group)

tombot, that was my impression of me dorking out at the fap, at 8:57. i did in fact do this at work the other morning at 8:57, which led to a flood of vague memories about relative primes and congruences.

I'm hoping there will be ink-stained pressmen named Irv, and scruffy newsies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/entertainmentguide/togo/

PM

I'll be at the FAP, but don't let that stop you.

Wait, what's that in military time plz?

Mary I'm not sure what the cross streets are but it's smack in the middle of the 18th St drag in dreaded Adam's Morgan (that's like what Columbia & 18th?). On the same side of the street as Heaven & Hell, a few doors down from it IIRC. You will recognize me as Girl #3 from The Magician.

In military time, that is 1930.

I look like one of the guys they bring in to fill out police lineups.

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/38/62/812683/17266996249641l.jpg

Also: I have just received a flu shot, so if I look a little peaked just get another drink in me and I will be fine.

I apologize, Mary, for doing that just there.

Zack drops beer (!)
TOMBOT will dance to Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak'
Pete referred to Kevin Shields as Mark Shields OH NO!
Quincie's...okay for a USC/UNC person, if a wee bit short
Dar1a is one of us
Mookieproof is not developmentally disabled (much)
Steve X has our dream job
Carly should have been there
The Chisox are the best team in baseball no matter their Pythagorean record
Ned needs sideburns
Yanc3y gets puked on a lot

new thread's a-comin.

For those involved in "predict quincie's cab fare home," the total was. . . $11.50! I argued a bit with the guy but he's like, "that's always the fare! Look at the map!" FUCK NO I AM NOT GOING TO LOOK AT THAT RIDICULOUS MAP whatever just take me home.

Did you chill it or drink it room temp?

So many ASIAN SNAX questions. . .

jesus christ. i think ill eat mandalay tomorrow.

POCKY G v MEN'S POCKY fite!

youre tossing your SEEDS around!

xpost YOU GOT UP AT 1PM??????????? DUDE I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW.

squash fritters
fried tofu salad
tofu in coconut cream sauce w/vegetables, spiced...oh, shit, let's go whole hog here and get it spicy. i'm not gonna cry this time.
sticky rice

q: lightly chilled, like a nice white wine. it did taste a lot like ectoplasm. the liquid went first, leaving me with a cup full of aloe chunks to eat, but they were the best part actually!

and what exactly is so "manly" about men's pocky?

im hungry. tired and hungry are locked in a big battle right now.

I only just realized that I ate all the Pocky G in one sitting last night. And whatever snax were within range of my meathooks. Thanks, quince.

Good meeting you all, although I don't think we convinced p&z's "friend" to join us. She needs some bitter melon.

SL05. Let Phet Thoke (Green Tealeaf Salad)
Fermented tealeaf, tomato, and cabbage tossed with Burmese dressing, garnished with fried garlic and crispy yellow peas

Also:

P09. WetThar PoneYayGyi Hin
Pork and fermented horse gram powder simmered in onion base curry

WTF horse gram powder WTF aaaaaaagh I must know!

When the hell are we doing this? Am I going to miss yogay AGAIN?

Thank you and good night.

When are we going apple picking?

This stuff is great. Yay for Mandalay and Silver Spring talk, it makes me feel less pathetically suburban.

http://buy.overstock.com/images/products/muze/music/148457.jpg

suis VACHEMENT fatiguée

I remember insisting that my parents let me have a pizza party back in middle school when the Redskins played the Broncos in the Super Bowl. I think a few of the original Hogs were still in the lineup then..

I remember CRYING after the Redskins/Buffalo super bowl!

Anyway, you guys should hang out at this Giants bar:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/30/AR2005103001300.html

manchester city shirt? LOL PWNED

Question of the week:
What’s your all-time favorite TD/endzone celebration?

i am REALLY tired of players taking time out to masturbate every time they make a catch/get a first down/make a tackle for no gain, though. act like you've been there before.

I don't like that either, the showboating any time they do anything. I mean it's one thing if you sack the quarterback to like do some kind of muscleman pose, or if you throw the end zone pass, etc, but to act like you've just won the Super Bowl because you, like, stopped Bettis at only 2 yard gain? WTF is that?

http://www.cavalia.net/siteEn.html

I know, I know--when it comes to horses, I'm as twee as a twelve-year-old girl.

I have a friend coming in from out of town and to mitigate the tweeness I thought we'd do ethiopian for lunch tomorrow. Nothing twee about raw beef. Where should we go?

Totally unrelated.. but Ally, I think I got my first "WTF are you wearing" look today. I have on one of those scarf tie blouses in black with a vaguely Asian print (vintage early 80's) & just plain old light beige chinos & heels. No one told me they did casual Fridays. I told my new housemate (CAPITOL HILL hooray) I needed some trousers for work in a tall size & she says, well, you could try checking out thee ANN TAYLOR LOFT.

NOOOO

You can't go wrong with Etete or Sodere, on 9th between T & U. It'll be a beautiful day, though, so you might want to try the big place on the corner of 9th & U--I haven't tried it, but it has a rooftop deck for basking.

Also, Ethio-jazz creator Mulatu Astatke is gonna be playing two sets at the Unification Church next Friday night with the Either/Orchestra. It looks totally hott!

Re: horse gram powder--is a Silver Spring dinner gathering a possibility for next week?

Job is grate. I feel incredibly spoiled compared to grad school - what, since when do people want to know how I am doing, if I need anything, everyone is friendly and most seem to like what they are doing? What in the world? And my computer works and they're giving me cool software and they're paying me enough to actually live on? I can't handle it! Please, send me back to grad world where I'm broke and miserable and nobody gives a shit! :)

Hell yes to Silver Spring and Mandalay next week. Wednesday? Thursday I'm rolling out for Vet Day, but I don't know if others may be.

only if you're staying in NYC...

QUIT SMOKING SO MUCH YOUSE GUYS

and maybe if you're lucky your new neighbors will have a little fountain that runs all the time and sounds like a guy standing outside your window pissing into a puddle LIKE I DO

Tom and Ally I know of a lovely one bedroom/one bath/tiny kitchen/minimal storage on the market for ONLY $480,000!

xp you can get that in DC too!

I have to work on the Friday, but I'll be in town.

Re. Silver Spring foody goodness: Wednesday or Thursday both work for me.

Should I ask him for some Free Money?