What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0197

9801.  When you look back and think about what actually made you happy, it’ll be the people you spent your time with.  And those people will be responsible for how far you made it too;
9802.  You must determine where you have been in your life so that you can know where you are now;
9803.  You must determine where you have been in your life because otherwise you can’t get to where you’re going.  You can’t get from point A to point B unless you are already at point A and if you’re just “anywhere” the chances you are at point A are very small;
9804.  Say what you mean so that you can find out what you mean.  Act out what you say so you can find out what happens.  Then pay attention.  Note your errors.  Articulate them.  Strive to correct them;
9805.  I’m not close to my parents because I don’t (really) know them;
9806.  The more you try to appear “perfect” the less people will connect with you;
9807.  People don’t connect with you because you’re perfect.  They connect with you because of your flaws and your rough edges;
9808.  Apparently, my feet can double for dog pillows;
9809.  There’s a fine line between tyrant and king;
9810.  Paprika on roast chicken is great (specifically EveryPlate’s apricot Dijon chicken legs);
9811.  I really didn’t feel hungry on a juice cleanse, but I did have the urge to chew on something. . . . I also kept fantasizing about eating things (i.e., hamburger, chicken sandwich, chips, etc.);
9812.  A Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich (probably) shouldn’t be your first solid food after a juice cleanse;
9813.  Winemaking accounts for 90% of grape cultivation;
9814.  Grapes are a natural diuretic;
9815.  Boneless, skinless chicken thighs will change your life.  (They’re) like chicken breasts, but tastier and cheaper;
9816.  If you want your clamshell/bagged (salad) greens to last longer, open the clamshell/bag and put a paper towel inside.  The paper towel will absorb excess moisture and keep your (salad) greens from getting slimy;
9817.  Apparently, to reduce/stop the flatulence/gas that can come with eating beans, you have to thoroughly rinse and drain them;
9818.  If you’re a go-getter, the answer isn’t to push yourself harder it’s to be gentler on yourself;
9819.  Allow yourself to make mistakes;
9820.  Allow yourself to be human;
9821.  If you grind your teeth at night, it’s probably because of anxiety;
9822.  Taking garlic pills (i.e., allicin) on an empty stomach can make you smell like garlic;
9823.  If you sign up for their rewards program, Krispy Kreme (Doughnuts) will give you a dozen, original glazed doughnuts for your birthday;
9824.  It can be (emotionally) painful losing a dozen, fresh(, Krispy Kreme) doughnuts to a (strong) gust of wind;
9825.  Apparently, dogs don’t like fireworks;
9826.  Be humble.  Be kind.  Be thankful;
9827.  Dogs shouldn’t have undiluted apple cider vinegar because of the acidity;
9828.  A person starts to live when s/he can live outside herself/himself.  Often, the best thing we can do for someone else is to recognize when s/he is in a time of need and being present for her/him;
9829.  To foster great relationships, you have to want more for people than you want from them;
9830.  It’s not (actually that) attractive to a woman if you’re trying to impress her by being perfect;
9831.  What’s more attractive (to a woman) is a guy who knows he has flaws and is working to be a better man;
9832.  Apparently, the pits, stems and leave of cherries contain cyanide. . . . Who knew?
9833.  Of the (delivered) meal kits I’ve tried, Blue Apron seems to be the best.  Their instructions are clear.  They’re easy enough to make.  And they tend to use some exotic ingredient(s) that make(s) the meal feel extravagant;
9834.  We can all wish we were taller, richer, better looking, JFK’s son, etc., but eventually you’ve got to play the cards you’re holding and things are rarely perfect for anyone;
9835.  You’ve got to be willing to be imperfect and play the fool to grow;
9836.  When everything hits the fan, the answer is to adapt;
9837.  What money will do for you: 1.  Make your life more enjoyable; 2.  Relieve a lot of your stress; and 3.  Give you freedom;
9838.  What money won’t do for you: 1.  Get rid of all of your problems; 2.  Make you happy; and 3.  Fill the hole in your soul;
9839.  Money is great. . . . And it can be life changing . . . ,but, if you have unrealistic expectations for what it will do for you, you’re going to be disappointed;
9840.  Kohlrabi is also called German turnip;
9841.  Kohlrabi is a wild cabbage.  It’s related to broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens and gai lan/Chinese kale;
9842.  I never thought I’d have my feelings hurt by a dog;
9843.  (Apparently,) t-shirts with holes in them aren’t a good look;
9844.  On a (brand) new(, Tempur-Pedic) bed/mattress . . . check;
9845.  The most powerful law of attraction is that we attract who we are;
9846.  The things we procrastinate on are generally not difficult in themselves.  It’s our stories about them that make them difficult;
9847.  Don’t let the fear of failure/striking out keep you from playing the game.  It happens to everyone.  Just smile and move on;
9848.  Apparently, if you haven’t heard from someone for a while and you can’t get ahold of her/him, you can call the police to do a wellness/welfare/safe and well check on her/him;
9849.  Just worry about being a better person than you were yesterday . . . and it will sort itself out;
9850.  Elizabeth dated a (former) University of Virginia men’s basketball player (specifically Tunji Soroye) . . . and so did her sister (Grace) previously and unknowingly in another city/state;

What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0196

9751.  Dogs can sneeze;
9752.  Dog snot is a thing;
9753.  Wendy’s spicy nuggets are pretty spicy. . . . They have a residual kick to them;
9754.  Wendy’s “S’Awesome” sauce is tasty. . . . It reminds me of Chick-fil-A sauce;
9755.  Charlie likes cold, white rice;
9756.  Deepthroated . . . check;
9757.  Apparently, I still shut down emotionally (at least on the outside) when I’m upset;
9758.  I think Elizabeth and I just broke up;
9759.  In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few;
9760.  No one likes a know-it-all, but what happens when the know-it-all lives in your head?
9761.  When people think they know all there is to know on a subject, they prove to be more closed-minded (. . . and less enjoyable to be around);
9762.  The question becomes: How can you embrace more of a beginner’s mindset, which reflects humility with respect to life experiences and the world?
9763.  The Zen Buddhist term, Shoshin, means “beginner’s mind” and holds that, only when you are a true beginner, can you really learn anything;
9764.  The beginner’s mindset refers to maintaining the open attitude of a beginner no matter how advanced your knowledge becomes on a topic;
9765.  A wise place to start would be to embrace more openness with regard to your judgments.  And really, everything is a judgment – from your opinion about someone else’s beliefs, to the system of yoga or religion you follow, to the “facts” that you consider absolutely unwavering.  After all, at a certain time in history, it was a fact that the world was flat!
9766.  When considering anything, try taking on the viewpoint of “Yes, No, Maybe” rather than choosing just one perspective (e.g., Should a person eat meat?  Yes, no, maybe.  Is your method of disciplining your children the best choice?  Yes, no, maybe.  Should you really wait 30 minutes after a meal before swimming?  Yes, no, maybe.);
9767.  The qualification is to not be wishy-washy, but instead to consider that few things in life are black and white.  The universe is basically comprised of all shades of gray;
9768.  Southern Grove (i.e., ALDI) cocoa almonds are really tasty. . . . Who knew?
9769.  The great naturalist, Rachel Carson, said in her book, The Sense of Wonder, “A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement.  It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.  If I had influence with the good fairy, who is supposed to preside over all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life;”
9770.  Rather than trying to figure these things out, practice being at peace with the state of not knowing;
9771.  You learn to relax into the moments when faced with a challenge or a conundrum and have no idea what will happen.  Faith in the unknown brings about inner peace;
9772.  Beginner’s mind asks you to see things as they actually are as opposed to the illusions with which you may so often identify.  It is your past experiences, assumptions and judgments that send you into a cycle of storytelling and unnecessary suffering (e.g., a person being 5 minutes late to your lunch meeting may just mean that that person is running behind not that s/he devalues you and your time so much that you feel disrespected and resentful);
9773.  It is far easier to jump to conclusions than to assume everyone’s innocence – at least at first.  With time, it gets easier to treat each person you meet with openness and without expectation;
9774.  Treat every day like it’s your birthday.  You know how you wake up on your birthday and every experience is heightened and special?  What would happen if you treated every day like that?  Each meal would become really magical because it would be exactly what you chose to eat on your special day.  You would walk down the street with light in your heart and pep in your step because you know that this day is an auspicious one in your life.  You would look around and see everything as a sign or a good omen that this will be your best year yet;
9775.  Approaching the world with a sense of authentic curiosity is one of the keystones of openness and the beginner’s mind;
9776.  If the whole world was blind, how many people would you impress?
9777.  There is no shame in making mistakes while trying to figure things out.  The goal is to live a fulfilling life not a perfect one;
9778.  Will what I’m about to do bring me closer to or take me further away from my goals?
9779.  Is this behavior, activity or attitude bringing me closer to or further from the person I want to be?
9780.  Bold Rock’s (seasonal) watermelon (cider) is (really) tasty. . . . It could be dangerous.  You can’t taste the alcohol at all;
9781.  Hummingbirds can fly forward, backward and (even) upside down;
9782.  Hummingbirds have a high metabolism and must eat all day long.  They consume about half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers throughout the day;
9783.  Hummingbirds are the smallest of all bird species;
9784.  Only female hummingbirds build nests and they only lay 2 eggs;
9785.  Male hummingbirds are no involved in raising young and will often find another mate after the young are hatched;
9786.  Praying mantis can kill hummingbirds;
9787.  Lobster/lobsta on pizza?  Yes, please;
9788.  Red Lobster’s lobster and langoustine pizza is pretty good;
9789.  While you are failing to define success (and thereby rendering it impossible) you are also refusing to define failure to yourself so that if and when you fail you won’t notice and it won’t hurt;
9790.  What is terrible in actuality often pales in significance compared to what is terrible in imagination;
9791.  Often what cannot be confronted because of its horror in imagination can in fact be confronted when reduced to its still-admittedly-terrible actuality;
9792.  If you shirk the responsibility of confronting the unexpected, even when it appears in manageable doses, reality itself will become unsustainably disorganized and chaotic.  Then it will grow bigger and swallow all order, all sense and all predictability;
9793.  You can’t compare yourself to others.  You have to run your own race.  Because there’s always someone that’s going to be better than you (i.e., richer, stronger, better looking, etc.).  That’s a game you’ll never win.  And that’s why you have to keep focusing on your progress;
9794. Release yourself form the need for validation;
9795.  You don’t need the approval, “likes,” attention, admiration, texts, comments or any other reaction from any other human being in order to feel good about yourself;
9796.  Practice telling yourself that whatever someone else says (or does not say) about you is of no consequence to how you feel;
9797.  Change can be joyous if we can let go of the resistance;
9798.  Anchovies aren’t half bad;
9799.  The roasted mushrooms (with soy, sherry, olive oil, egg yolk, smoked salt, pimento & warm bread) tapas at BARCA Pier & Wine Bar (BarcaAlx.com) in (Old Town) Alexandria is (pretty) tasty;

9800.  F(riends )W(ith )B(enefits) . . . check;