Field Ledger Archive
12,928 entries across the years, 2003–2026.
bbc.co.uk'Here to stay' - Fans react to the rise of soccer in the USThe BBC reports on growing soccer popularity in the United States as the 2026 World Cup draws large stadium crowds and widespread interest. Fans discuss whether soccer's rising profile in American culture represents a lasting shift in the sports landscape.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
astralcodexten.comThe Metaculus Democracy Threat IndexScott Alexander reviews the Metaculus Democracy Threat Index, a crowdsourced forecasting tool that aggregates 153 questions about US democratic health to produce a transparent, less expert-dependent alternative to traditional democracy indices. He weighs its strengths (transparency, finer-grained pr✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comMap: Navigating the National MallYour guide to road closures, fences, bathrooms, water fountains, and more.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comI Went to Trump’s Great American State Fair. It Was Bleaker Than I Expected.Opening day of the Freedom 250 event in DC was sparsely attended and shockingly boring.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nautil.usHow Fruit Flies Manage Their Exceptionally Long SpermResearchers at the Flatiron Institute used high-speed microscopy and mathematical modeling to study how fruit fly sperm—nearly as long as the fly's entire body—remain orderly inside a hair-thin seminal vesicle. Rather than tangling, the sperm form wave-like collective flows, propelling themselves by✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Body Awareness and Alignment in Yoga Teaching
The Art of Saying It So They Actually Feel ItIf you've ever stood in front of a room full of yogis and said something like “engage your core,” only to be met with blank stares or wildly different interpretations (someone holds their breath, another tenses…
Read the essay →The Yamas and Niyamas in Modern Practice
There’s something odd about a Mysore room. No blaring playlists. No teacher on a headset shouting “FIND YOUR INNER FIRE!” Just a bunch of sweaty people breathing like Darth Vader and bending like origami — all in near silence. It looks calm. It’s not. Underneath…
Read the essay →Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Individual Breakthroughs Impact Collective Energy
There’s something odd about a Mysore room. No blaring playlists. No teacher on a headset shouting “FIND YOUR INNER FIRE!” Just a bunch of sweaty people breathing like Darth Vader and bending like origami — all in near silence. It looks calm. It’s not. Underneath…
Read the essay →¡CE tafo
The <60k will see their cuts in 2ish years
RAELE

Teaching in the Face of Competition and Cooperation
In the world of yoga, and particularly within the Ashtanga community, there is often an unspoken undercurrent of competition. Whether it's between teachers vying for students or different schools of yoga positioning themselves as superior, this competitive mindset can create division within a practice that…
Read the essay →To the younger me, who felt that spark of injustice but didn’t know what to do with it, my journey now is proof of what persistence can achieve. It shows that activism isn’t just a phase or a moment of outrage—it’s a lifelong commitment to staying active, to doing the work, to choosing to be part of the solution. It’s not just about being present when it’s easy or when the crowds are large. It’s about being present every day, in all the small actions that add up to meaningful change.
Read mire at mjh.yoga

Little Me Would Be So Proud: From Activist to Organizer
If little me could see who I am today, I think he’d be proud—wide-eyed and amazed at how things have turned out. He’d see someone who practices yoga, who teaches, who learns, but more importantly, someone who actively works to make things better in his…
Read the essay →
The Commercialization of Yoga: Challenges, Ethics, and Competition
As yoga continues to grow in popularity, it has transformed from a deeply personal and spiritual practice into a commercialized industry. This shift has introduced a series of ethical dilemmas for teachers, students, and studio owners alike. At the same time, the rise of competition…
Read the essay →
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Yoga Industry: Opportunities and Setbacks
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to nearly every industry, and the yoga world was no exception. Almost overnight, yoga studios were forced to close their doors, and teachers and students alike had to adapt to new ways of practicing. The pandemic accelerated changes in how yoga is taught and consumed, from the rapid rise of online classes to the reimagining of yoga spaces and teaching models. While the setbacks were significant—particularly for independent teachers and studios—the post-pandemic landscape also presents opportunities for transformation and growth.
Read the essay →
Getting Great: Adaptive Resistance and Isokinetic Training: Optimizing Muscle Growth and Fat Loss
Ever wonder how that gym buddy of yours keeps sculpting their physique while juggling a dozen other life commitments? For this Ashtanga yoga practitioner, the secret sauce often lies in mixing the right ingredients of training modalities and intensities. I‘ve been particularly partial to adaptive…
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Integrating Systems Thinking into Ashtanga Yoga Community Support
How tailored support networks and practical interventions can not only enhance individual practice but also strengthen our collective journey towards well-being. From fostering collaboration over competition to extending our reach beyond the studio, we explore innovative strategies that enrich our community interactions and extend the benefits of yoga to broader societal contexts.
Read the essay →Can't be an outlier if you are the same as the herd.
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Ashtanga: What Matters? On Sports, Dispassion, and Practice
[su_quote]"This practice, its different. It doesn't ask you to *give up* anything. A house holder practice, and all that." I laughed, and responded "except dinner." -- a dialouge with a good friend, on ashtanga yoga. also: bullshit 🙂 [/su_quote] Every Sunday afternoon in Mysore, Sharath holds…
Read the essay →Matne A°
*
395 SOUTH
Virginta
- Crowd surf
- Fuck Jake Shears
- Go to more festivals
- Punch Flea
Fuck ‘em. Fifteen shaken, beaten, dirty lookin’ minutes later, and I had clean carpets.
My apartment’s now a cohesive whole, if you couldn’t tell from the shag-shakin’ anecdote. I highly recommend looking in my windows should you find yourself on the yonder side of P or 14th. You can see a giant glowing “M” coming from my bedroom. I hung, oh I dunno, about eighteen feet of super bright rope light behind a 6 foot asian rice curtain that’s stuck to the wall about 14 feet up… so, now everyone’s left with my monogram starin’ up Northwest. It feels good, and is also incredibly, absolutely self important. Word.
I’m no longer inhabiting the Apartment Rowanda—its blossomed. Its all fourteenth amendment up in here, reconstructions going down right here on fourteenth street.Yah, Le Chateau de Ghetto is now a little more chateau, and a whole lot less ghetto. I’ve got curtains, the floors are mopped and the art is not only on the walls, but in frames. Carpets are clean, surfaces are dirtless, furniture is matching, and I’m even cooking in (though, that has more to do with the weight of my wallet than with the allure of local eateries).
I wish my apartment were more of a physical avatar for my inner feelings, ‘cause then my head’d be feelin a little less messy. Unlike my carpets, I still feel weighed down by something. Even going to the gym and going tanning feels like a chore. Maybe its me that needs to be taken into the backyard for a good pounding, ‘cause my sex drive is nill. I’m left to wonder, of course, whether its me that’s down about my sex drive or my drive that’s responding to me. Chicken or the egg, kiddies?
Ugh, listen to me. ”Who is it that I want? And why don’t they want me?” Lord. Sorry to go all Joey Potter on you, but it’s a problem. And that’s prescientology crooked smile Holmes, not the arm candy to crazy couch surfing superstar creature that the Star keeps telling me about. (No, I haven’t seen Batman Begins yet)
I could wax celebrepoetic all day on the vast neurosis of my inner angsterreha, but I’ll let it end here—for the time being. Only boys with boyfriends, both connected to the Improv, seem to want to flirt openly. I can’t (with a clear head) go a nookie-nooking behind some dudes back knowingly. Its just yuck-o. I should totally just go get cats and take up knitting. Uuuugh, I actually already know how to knit. I’m halfway there. Sidebar—Trev, who I learned how to knit with, got a hold of me this week. We chatted. I don’t trust myself not to cry at the end of our instant messages, and I secretly loathe myself for that. I haven’t yet cried, and odds are good I never will, but oooooh if my shrink were here….
Enough, enough, I said I’d stop.
Shits good. The world’s calm. This is no hurricane’s eye, there is no monsoon approaching. Its just stability. Stability is new and really, really scary. Terrifying. Setbacks give you a reason to sprint, and forward momentum is exhilarating, but stability feels way too much like attrition. You wanna know something else about stability? Its boring as fuck. Yah, uh huh, you heard me-- it’s totally not at all interesting. I’m really surprised you’re still here.
Lemmie see if I can figure out something good to tell you. What is interesting right now? Lauren’s gone to San Fran for the week (its pride!), Geoff’s in Boston (for training), and I’m workin’ every show this week at the club. Erin had her Birthday last night at the Ugly Mugg, and I now dig the fuck outta Eastern Market. I had a phenomenal time. JD wasn’t there, but that’s okay, cause I think he and Nelina deserved some good nookieing in their new place (which is in Erin’s building, overlooking Meridian Hill Park). Kelly is back from South Korea, and I’m stoked to see her. The neighbors got a new kitten that’s taken to shitting in their laundry basket. I almost got the kitty, but I decided against it since they liked him, too. If he’s shitting in laundry baskets, maybe I made the right call (but I do want one!).
What else? I worked on my resume and sent it out to a variety of Craig’s list ads in the marketing, PR, and promotions section, and what do you know? Someone’s interested in me. The gigs for coordinating and creating events for a GLBT crowd at straight bars. Bring it the fuck on. I’ve spent so much freakin time getting bombed at the Hunt, the Fox, and the Front Page instead of JRs and the Fireplace, and now I get to refer to all that time as research and interning. Bitchin.
Back to my internship.
I'm not so upset about it that I want to be forlorne. I'm not driven mad with a burning desire to return. I simply want a job that pays well again, one where I enjoy the perks and most of the co-workers. Today found me at Dupont Italian Kitchen (DIK), Trio, and FoodBar applying. I don't know what will become of those efforts, but they all seem to be options that are valid.
I even called the DC Improv to see if they were hiring waiters. They weren't. I want to go turn in an application anyway, because I figure what can it hurt? It seems like such a nifty job. Tara just got herself working for a comedy club in New York-- she's a promoter, one of those girls that offer you deals on tickets and food for one great price. If you've ever spent any time in NYC you know exactly what I'm referencing.
I'm still lying to the folks about working so that they don't worry needlessly. They know I'm "job hunting", but they don't know that I actually am unemployeed. I fibbed and said I took the day off yesterday so that Chris (my brother), Cathy (his wife), Christopher and Christina (their kids) could come tour DC. We went to the Natural History Mueseum, Air and Space Museum, the White House, the Botanical Gardens, the Capital, and the Zoo. They were thrilled to see it all-- as was I.
I enjoy that Cathy smokes pot-- I really do. We got to smoke together before heading off to the Zoo, and it made the experience even more fun. I'm tickled. I'm actually gonna go back down to my folks' tomorrow for Lunch, seein' as how Cathy promised me a real italian meal. I'm stoked.
In regards to food, Jenny Lee cooked me a yummy, yummy dinner this evening. It was just Veggie Burger sandwhiches, but with our trip to Whole Foods, we had lovely fixens, and I was thrilled. We even ran into Alex (funny, since they live together :P), and we all chatted. I like him so much. I wish that I had a way to actually ask him out on a date sometime. I'm not sure how to seguey it, since he and I are allotted little alone time. I don't even know that he's in to me. I like to think he is, but really, who knows? Either way, he's a wonderful, wonderful guy. His roomate is no less stellar.
She's kind of a godess, ya know? She's so ridiculously genuine that you almost want to tell her every minute of every moment how precious she is. She rocks my world. She cooks me dinner. She teaches me about belgian beer. What more can you ask for in a friend? Speakin' of Belgian Beer, I'm just now getting in from Saint-Ex, a bar on 14th Street. They had a reall chill, relaxed crowd, kind of mixed between the straights and the homos, and the DJ was spinning some decent midtempo grooves. A lovely time.
At anyrate, tomorrow morning I've got my interview at Perry's and then a drive to my folks ahead of me. Not neccesarily busy, but time cramped. I'm goin' to bed.
Who knew that they were from two musicals over at the Kennedy Center? "Beehive" and "Sheer Madness" have been playing for a little while each over there, and I guess the principals made their way to my little dive bar for fun and laughs.
Poor Crystal, the one member of the family who can really sing didn't even get a chance to show her chops, since the Karokee machine broke half way into the evening. The other half of the evening was filled with acapella-ness.
We left, somewhat appropriatly, on "Empty Chairs" from Les Mis.
We had finished off my big ass bottle of Vodka before going across the street, so when we got back and danced in my apartment for an hour, it allowed us some sobering-up time. It also allowed for some hardcore emotional bonding... over the words and music of Dar Williams. We hugged, cried, and remembered why we were so glad to have each other.
LOVE them.
After the hour or two back at the apartment, we hopped our way over to Apex and did some dancing. A cute boy in a hat danced with Crystal, and Krista and I just rocked our shit. It was one of those nights where I wasn't feeling dance shy at all, so I grabbed the girls by the hand and led them to the up-stage area, and the crowd cleared for us. Its a satisfying feeling to watch people watch you, and know that they are making desirous looks. It feels good, its fucking empowering, and it makes me want to shake my dance shyness altogether. If Krista and Crystal are the antidotes for it, maybe they should just be around more often... just a thought. 😉
Anyway, we came down to the country the next morning, ending up at my folks bright and early; we left at 8:45, and made it here by like 11ish, including the stop at McDonald's.
We drank lovely frozen drinks and swam in the pool all day long. I'm a red-tastic light-burned thats going to fade into a gorgeous tanned, which is more than I can say for Ms. Crystal, who missed spots all over herself with the suntan lotion, and thusly looks like a bizarre picasso. No big thing. Its just funny shit.
We had been up for so long, drunken no less, that as soon as 10:30 rolled around, we were crawling into the tent to pass out.
Oh, ya, with so many heads in the house, we just pitched a tent in the back yard and pretending to be pioneers. It somewhat matches another portion of the day's activities... we decided to put go trapsing through the swamps around here like we did when we were little.
Muddy and yucky. Totally my childhood.
Right, so yeah, at 10:30 we were crawling into the tent, and being the person I am, I went ahead and checked my phone for messages. I had a text message from Bville Boy. Bville is an old coworker of mine, and someone I once considered a really good friend. When I cleaned up my addictions, I ended up losing my friendship with him.
He and his then-boyfriend were Lauren's roommates in the Holmead House, and they really sorta scewed over the member's of that home. Lauren, of course, is living with me now, but the reason she moved into the apartment with Jess in the first place had a lot to do with having to move out of the Holmead House-- when half of your roomates, Bville and BVEx, aren't paying, you sorta have to get the hell out.
So, Bville Boy revealed to me that he was at court for his eviction proceedings, and during the trial or whatever, he had a heart attack. A real, honest to god heart attack. He's fine, from what I can tell, but having his heart stops eems to be what he needed to kick start his quitting. BVEx has decided not to kick the habit, nor has his BVille's best friend... and to my shock, the ex and the best friend (who is a lesbian) are living with someone new... Justin...
I've mentioned Justin here previously. I hold massive distrust for anything/anyone associated with that boy, and damn it, I'm honestly thrown through a loop. How do you trust someone who is tied to the person you most intimatly tie in your head to your abuse?
Bville Boy was crying on the phone with me, and he told me he missed me. I'm the only person he knows who's actually cleaned themselves up, and he wasn't sure if he should contact me or not. Kate told him to. She said I'd be a good person to talk to about this... Kate. More old ties.
He informed me he's living with his parents, and I told him to stay there. I told him that's the best place to be (his parents are apparently helping him a ton, being supportive, etc). I promised we could get coffee, and that we could talk about anything he wanted to. He was grateful. He asked me how I did it, how I quit-- he said it was so hard. How did I quit? Because I had to! Because my life was called into question, and I chose togo on living... and to him I swore, swore on my life, that it was worth it.
I want to call Kate and fact check. We'd spoken fairly recently, had a real chat, and I think she's on the path to "un-broken." Even when we were both broken toys, we still had an underlying bond. I feel like I can talk to her about whats going on without there being any pretense of sketch.
Justin also makes me so paranoid, so fucking sketchy, that when Bville told me that his ex and his old favorite lesbianwere living with Justin, I immediatly thought that this was a trick, or that Justin was trying to somehow "get" me.
A well placed call to Tara calmed my fears and squelched the paranoia, thank goodness. She provided me a superb Crazy Check, bringing me back to reality. She pointed out what I needed to have repeated, and reiterated the arms-length embrace philosophy that I was already thinking about.
I want to know so much more about whats going on in this situation. I'm curious how Bville, BVEx and Justin could have crossed paths to the point that they'd be living together. I want to know how much Kate is involved with Justin. Argh. Nothing I can do from here. I know I need to not think about it... just calm the fuck down and just tan more. A good tan solves so much. And besides, if I'm gonna see Bville I wanna have a tan, just 'cause I'm vain.
Speaking of vain, I did have steak and crabs today for dinner... I'm going to get soooo fat visiting my parents. Just thinking about these associations from my past make me feel obese. Isn't that awful? I wish Krista and Crystal didn't have to work on the Fourth and could just be here tomorrow, too. They left tonight to go back up to their respective states, and somehow I don't mind bein' a True Fatty when they're here...
"Why, oh why," you may ask, "is Mike returning to the city?"
Because thats where I have become gainfully employeed (it seems).
On Monday night, after studying hard for and then ace-ing two midterms, it seemed I had a night of revel-ry ahead when I was informed of a certain friend's 21st birthday event. She turned twenty-one at midnight, and we were going to make our way to the Friday's in Fair Oaks for birthday love.
When we arrived, I informed the server that I worked at friday's, so that he would perhaps discount some of the appetizers. Total standard procedure. Well, when birthday shots were being ordered, he carded me. I didn't think much of it, figured I wasn't getting the drink, and that was that. He called me out for bein' a minor, and no spectacle was made.
When the shots arrived, there was an extra. I proceeded to take the shot with the group, and all was happy in friend-ville.
I got up in the mornin', rolled to work, and when I arrived, I was taken to the side and sat down. Last night at 1:30, whomever it was that called me out on bein' under 21 called around to all the Friday's in the Northern Virginia area describing me. I'm pretty easy to describe, it can be done in like three adjectives and maybe a noun.
They claimed me, and then were informed that I had drank as a minor and that they had informed corporate. Insta-termination, non-rehirable for 6 months.
I didn't let it dampen my spritis too thoroughly, knowing I had yet another midterm to ace on wednesday. I spent most of Tuesday with Michelle just bein' a fatty and relaxing.
Wednesday I aced the next exam (for Comm 380) and goofed off further.
I went with Ashley today to DC to speak with the GM of Cosi to ask for an application and an interview. All things went well, now I just have to get a schedule and I should be golden. There don't seem to be too many terrible hitches in the plan, so I'm optimistic.
I don't know yet exactly how the commute is going to work, but Mom supported me goin' somewhere else to make more money. Cosi has negative connotations in her mind, slightly, due to the atmosphere that used to be employeed there, but good heavens, that is no longer the case.
That crowd has came and gone, and the new crowd is wonderful. Dedicated, sober, fun folk who are students and working actively towards success. A far different crowd than the aforementioned "atmosphere."
I look forward to working with Lauren again. I look forward to making good money at a place that has the capactiy to treat me well. It changes my routine a bit, but I also put down day-shift hours to work as a barista, which I think would be neat, as well as allow me to continue rising early for a reason.
I think I'd miss the AM now.
I'm really enjoying my life the way it is now, busy yet also laid back. I'm doing the best I've done in school in a loooong time, and I see people who love me unconditionally every day.
As quick as Fridays came into my life, it goes out. I can't help but look towards kismet as perhaps the reason I got called in to work at Cosi on Friday. It set up a decent doorway for re-entry.
I didn't mention it on Monday, since I was preoccupied with preoccupations (*grin*), but other stress-me-out-ers arrived on Saturday when a dorm I was playin' Uno in was busted for marijuana. I was with Dan visiting Chrissy on Saturday night after I finished studying and napping, and the dorm room got clambaked. There we a few of us in there, but Dan and I didn't have anything on us. He got a violation for being involved with a room that contained paraphnalia, but he wasn't in the actual room it was found in. We were hanging out in the suite's living room.
Oh those crazy-ruckousy Uno players.
Anyway, he had his meeting with the housing folk, since he does live on campus, too. He should be fine, so we'll see. Still, I'm worried for him. Not too worried, though. He's never had an offense before.
Work being interrupted looks like it will only inconvience two days worth of actual work time, and even still, I make about three times a night at cosi to what I was makin' on average at Friday's. There's good reasonin' out there for me to not be fretting.
Speaking of fretting, I think its almost time for Dan to meet one or two of the cousins. I like the boy muchly, and he's endeared himself fantastically with my local support network, and I suppose now its time to expose him to another huge aspect of me: my family.
I'm sorry I missed getting down to Florida with Krista to visit Mara and Dana. I've not heard from Krista since she got back, so I'm curious to hear the stories of yonder. It now seems that I'm doin' a good job at missin' out on my trips because of work. This weekend will be spent at Cosi or at home saving money, as was last weekend. This weekend's lock-down will keep me from seeing Jackie in New York, but I've gotta do what I gotta do.
Recent concertation internally comes from my thoughts on Dan's naiivity. He prioritizes partying more than I do now a days, and that worries me. He's no where near how party-oriented I was a couple of years ago (heck a couple of months ago), but I think about. I decided to actually talk to him about it, and he was really receptive, and knew exactly what I was talking about. We talked about a lot of things relating to it, and I'm not really concerned about it anymore. He recognizes that he's doing it, and just that very recognition means that it won't go too far, or last for too much longer.
I feel like I know, cause I've been there.
His friend Emily, the girl that set us up, and I spoke about a couple of those concerns, and i was glad to know I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Calling someone out less than two months into dating them isn't kosher, but I was glad to have someone to discuss it openly with. She could say exactly what I was thinking. It made talking about it with Dan a lot easier. I'm tickled. It seemed like a good time to discuss such things, what with the bust and what not.
That, and him seeing my own need to find a job based off of consequated actions. He saw how hard I worked and how dedicated (an non-flakey) I was, and saw how one stupid action could effect something that was goin' really well. Its weird for people to view me in a really responsible light again. I'm still king sketch of team sketch, but I'm also up every morning going to work, and studying like anyone else at exam time.
I feel like I did when I was seventeen... and thats really got me smiling. I've said for along time that I've never been happier or known myself better than I did when I was seventeen.
A classmate who's intelligence and input to the class I've really, really appreciated and enjoyed all semester asked me how old I was today. I told him 20, and his response was one of a a slight shock-- "Wow. You're reeeeeeally smart."
It made my day.
Things feel tangible again. Word.
I'm a mushy boy insofar as that I cried when my ladies left. Not bawling or anything, but definatly streams down the cheeks. How big of a geek am I? I couldn't help it, I had such an amazing time this week.
Krista and I came down to the Dirty House, then proceeded down to my folks for a financial pick-me-up as well as to retrieve my car. Of course my car didn't bother to start when we got there (dead battery), so we just hopped in the Krista Mobile and returned back up the Fairfax. I reckon its a good thing we took her car anyway, 'cause its so much easier to parallel park than my Big. Red. Boat.
On our first night out in the city, Krista and I went to Cosi (you'll see that as a developing pattern) for dinner and to celebrate the arrival of my bag of Holiday Greens. We ran into my friend Nuvia, and she was on the prowl for Santa's Good Stuff, too, so we drove around until she saw a dealer on the corner that she knew. Krista and she bonded over the pains of ugly puerto ricans, and we all rolled a festive blunt and walked through Dupont smoking. I couldn't have felt more Gang-Star.
On Christmas Eve Eve I called my friend Markie and we went to his place to hang out. He lives up by the convention center, on 10th and M, and so we ended up taking our Chariot (the G2 Bus) into Dupont after we pregamed with an entire bottle of our friend Jim Bean. Lawdy. Needless to say, the bus ride was particularly drunktastic, as was running into Mark's ex Brandon, who I had met previously. I had actually met Brandon on my own and realized his relationship to Markie via the powers of the Triumvarate. Poor ol' Brandon didn't realize that we have some sort of freak ability to triangulate people on the greater eastern seaboard... he couldn't have known that his exboyfriend's best friend is a SuperTwin.
Anyway, we decide that we're going to go to Cobalt after we find out that Apex is closed for the night (who closes on Tuesday? Ew), and we proceed to get in the middle of the herd. A drunk Maneuver was going to have to be performed to get Ristika, myself, and Markie into the venue... but at the last minute the maneuver had to be aborted as one of us got caught. Defeated, we headed for Cosi....
As luck would have it, Mark noticed a door slightly ajar. Printed on a small sheet of paper taped to the door is "Employee Entrance Only", and we realize its to Cobalt. Without much hesitation or delibaration, we're sneaking in the door and shimmying up the fire escape. As we arrive at the final door into our RetroNight, Mark tells us the game plan: sprint to the center of the club as fast as you can. Stay in the crowd. We may as well have synchronized our watches.
Oh yes, we danced to Step By Step and "The Last Song." No need to even question whether we got in or not! Speaking of synchronizing, I got to synchronize my hips with a cute boy's on the dancefloor... I'll never know his name, but doesn't that just make it better? I was on my way to the bar with Krista and Markie, and the boy pulls me over to him, allowing my cabal to venture further forward. About 20 feet ahead now, Markie looks back and stops Krista... "We've lost one."
It didn't last long. The sheer combined force of the three of us that night was probably too much for most mortal men to stand, 'cause Markie and I shortly discarded him back into the pile of boys.
On our way out, however, Krista broke the heel on her leather boots, and proceeded to throw 'em into the Trash and walk 10 blocks back to Mark's in her bare feet. Atta-Girl! I was soooo proud of my gurl! Anyone FRC enuff to throw their Leather Boots out and highstep their ass golden style through dupont gets props. We earned our Denny's Breakfast at 5am.
The next day Krista and I are preparing to get my Supertwin, Mara, from the airport when we notice that the car is overheating. We had to make the executive decesion to have her come in via the train to Union Station, as we returned home to take my cousin Tabby (tabitha called Tuhbabitha much to her chagrin) vehicle into the city.
Tuhbabitha and Charese came down for new years, and I could talk about it at length, but there is no need to. Tabby was ragging and bleeding through and bein' ultra-snotty. Charese is just so young. Bleh. I can't fuss too much, cause Tabby let us take her car into the city to wait for Mara, who, the poor thing, had a delayed flight as well as less than perfect flight companions.
I want so badly to go into stories or yarns and talk about Mara, but I don't really know how-- she's my supertwin, so knowing my reaction means you prolly know her reaction. Something you Replace that begins with an "H"? What would you put down? In the last game of scattergories we played, we both had "Helium Tank." Thats the best way I can put it. I love her with all my heart.
So, that said, we shopped around at Union Station for a while for her, but then grew tired of the wait and bopped over to Le Cosi to grab a sandwhich. I grabbed one for Miss Mara, too... I had to. I'm a fatty... I know the only thing that fixes these sorts of delays is food, so I had to get her one, I just had to. But I was left with a condumdrum: what the hell type of sandwhich does mara prefer? The only thing worse thing worse than me not bringing a sandwhich would be me bringing a yucky sandwhich. I had to get it right.
Turkey. Its gotta be turkey. You can't go wrong with turkey and cheddar. Who doesn't like turkey and cheddar? To not like it would simply be UnAmerican.
I think she liked it =)
Anyway, New Years was spent in Silver Spring at one of my friend Jackie's friends house... I didn't really know 'em at all, but by the end of the night, we were the definition of "the life of the party." They practically took notes and fought over who got to tell the story of our family. Huge house, Jewish Dentist Dad. Nuff Said.
So, Crababitha bitched at the party. She bitched in teh city. If bitches were hammers, she'd have had a folk hit. She and Charese disappeared from whence they came the day after they came down.. really, it was less than a 24 hour visit.
Clearly I'm upset. Clearly.
So broken up that we actually made it out *again*, and we went to two different college night events, one at Platinum, the other at Apex (Gaypex). At Platinum I saw a cute boy talking to Mara, and apparently the conversation started as such:
Dude: Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
Mara: No, I don't really dance like this! I'm just having fun!
Dude: Thats not what I wanted to ask you.
It turns out he was asking about me =) The only fags in the place found the other one. They wouldn't come up and dance, though, they said it was better to admire from afar. "admire"
Whatever.
I love dancing with my cousins. It makes me so happy. They're goofball chowderheads and I love it. Love Love Love it. I am so blessed that I get to share blood with my best friends... you can't choose family, but I wouldn't choose anyone else.
Anyway, the next few days were spent bonding... we made it to the hirshorn (the hub of all things is awesome), to the cosi, and around scott circle and dupot circle countless times. We ate at the GhettoStarChineseWok... In fact, we ate just about everywhere. Cause we ate a lot. A lot a lot. Mara made alfredo. Brownies. Krista made Jello. We made 10 mile long trips for ice cream. In fact, though we failed at our attempts to get ice cream a couple of times, we really did make like 3 efforts for 3 different varieties. Gosh we ate.
But, eventually it had to be done....and my girls left today.
I don't even wanna talk about it, 'cause then I'll start missin' them again. I also don't want to talk anymore about the food we ate, 'cause then I'll be haungry again.
Mm...haungry...
Oh! About the move: I left sooo much shit behind at the Dirty House... my poor fuckin slumlords. If they didn't suck so badly, I sure would be upset about leaving them with all that junk 😉
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