What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0208

10351.  (As hard as it is,) sometimes you just have to let children go and fend for themselves and trust that they’ll figure it out for themselves (and don’t harm themselves or someone else in the process);
10352.  When given the chance, a 13 year-old (specifically Marlin Maughan) can surprise you and be (very) responsible even after all of the evidence to the contrary that you’ve (personally) seen;
10353.  Authentic love can be unconditional and still require reciprocity, respect and mutual willingness.  Without these things, what you’re left with is activated wounds looking to get safety, security and validation from a place it doesn’t exist;
10354.  Smoked corned beef is very tender;
10355.  Joshua Radin saw Colin Hay perform at the Birchmere in 2005 with his then girlfriend. . . . It was around that time he decided to write (and perform) music for a living;
10356.  Apparently, Joshua Radin is homeless. . . . He sold his house (in Los Angeles) and put his stuff/things in a storage unit.  And he’s now living out of a suitcase( while touring);
10357.  If you learned as a child that your silence would keep you safe, it can feel revolutionary to realize that your voice, not your silence, will keep you safe as an adult;
10358.  What if the things you shame yourself for (i.e., I’m lazy, overwhelmed, disorganized, unconfident, etc.) are actually the source of your power?
10359.  (Simply Nature) quinoa chips are (just) disappointing Sun Chips;
10360.  (Simply Nature) black bean chips aren’t very good (by themselves), but they’re great with salsa;
10361.  Corned beef prepared in a slow cooker is (also) very tender;
10362.  As we heal, we may find ourselves less able to tolerate others’ rage, neglect, sharpness or coldness.  This doesn’t mean that our healing has made use “weaker.”  It means that we’re finally allowing ourselves to recognize how painful these dynamics have always been and we’re finally giving ourselves permission not to tolerate them anymore;
10363.  The Portuguese stew (with Maine mussels, middleneck clams, market fish, smoked chorizo, peewee potatoes, fennel, cilantro & sourdough) at The Salt Line (TheSaltLine.com) is tasty;
10364.  (According to Isa Seyran, Washington,) D.C. has the second best theatre scene (in the U.S.) behind New York (City);
10365.  In order to break the people-pleasing pattern, we must learn to sit with discomfort instead of reacting to it, including: 1.  The discomfort of others being unhappy with us; 2.  The discomfort of letting others find the solutions to their own problems; 3.  The discomfort of having difficult conversations and setting tough boundaries; and 4.  The discomfort of realizing others’ happiness isn’t our responsibility, but our own happiness is;
10366.  (Simply Nature) cauliflower tortilla chips aren’t bad;
10367.  Old Ebbitt Grill (Ebbitt.com) in D.C. has oyster Happy Hour (i.e., ½ dozen for $12.00) daily from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM and from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM;
10368.  Fire Works Pizza (FireWorksPizza.com) in Courthouse has Happy Hour daily from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM;
10369.  Not everything needs a response.  You have the right to say “no” to people and situations that don’t serve you.  Don’t internalize other people’s behavior;
10370.  Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and books that are now written in a very foreign tongue.  Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them.  The point is to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer;
10371.  Letting things go is a daily practice;
10372.  Just a reminder that second chances without growth are just patterns;
10373.  Perhaps you are overvaluing what you don’t have and undervaluing what you do;
10374.  Make a list of everything you complain about and you will find some desires masquerading as complaints;
10375.  State your desire instead of complaining;
10376.  Shame and guilt must be released from past actions for they hold us separate from what is possible and ours as our birthright;
10377.  Whisky should avoid sunlight (at all costs) as it can effectively cook the alcohol and destroy it;
10378.  Whisky must never lay on its side because the alcohol can eat away at the seal and let air get in to oxidize the liquid;
10379.  Thinking you need to do it all alone all (of) the time is a trauma response . . . and a protection from the sheer vulnerability of inviting others in to the tenderness of your aching heart;
10380.  Don’t believe every worried thought you have.  Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate;
10381.  Caesars Sportsbook (WilliamHill.com/us/welcome) (by William Hill Sportsbook) in Capital One Arena (in D.C.) is pretty nice;
10382.  Don’t use mobile ordering at Caesars Sportsbook.  They automatically add a 20% gratuity, which is fine, but they also add an additional gratuity of 18%, which you can’t decline;
10383.  Deprivation of body pleasure throughout life, but particularly during the formative periods of infancy, childhood and adolescence, is very closely related to the amount of warfare and interpersonal violence;
10384.  Cultures that don’t interfere in the physical bonding between mother and child or prohibit the expression of adolescent sexuality show far lower levels of violence both between individuals and between societies;
10385.  The Muria of central India set up adolescent dormitories (called ghotuls), where adolescents are free to sleep together away from concerned parents.  In the ghotul, the young people are encouraged to experiment with different partners as it’s considered unwise to become too attached to a single partner at this phase of life;
10386.  Envy occurs when we want something that another person has;
10387.  Jealousy is when we fear losing a relationship or a valued part of a relationship that we already have;
10388.  Resentment: It’s an emotion that we often experience when we fail to set boundaries, ask for what we need or when expectations let us down because they were based on things we can’t control, like what people think, what they feel or how they’re going to react;
10389.  Schadenfreude: Pleasure or joy derived from someone else’s suffering or misfortune;
10390.  We feel admiration when someone’s abilities, accomplishments or character inspires us or when we see something that inspires us like art or even nature;
10391.  Reverence: Sometimes called adoration, worship or veneration is a deeper form of admiration or respect and is often combined with a sense of meaningful connection with something greater than ourselves;
10392.  Irreverent: Not showing the expected respect for official, important or holy things;
10393.  If everything in your life is about your accomplishments, you eventually become a “human doing” instead of a “human being.”  Your entire sense of worth comes from what you’ve achieved (instead of who you are) and that’s a fickle place to be;
10394.  Bittersweet: A mixed feeling of happiness and sadness;
10395.  Nostalgia: A yearning for the way things used to be in our often idealized and self-protective version of the past;
10396.  Irony: A form of communication in which the literal meaning of the word is different, and often opposite, from the intended message;
10397.  Self-righteousness is the conviction that one’s beliefs and behaviors are the most correct;
10398.  Self-righteousness is closed-minded, inflexible, intolerant of ambiguity and less likely to consider other’s opinions;
10399.  The self-righteous scream judgments against others to hide the noise of skeletons dancing in their own closets;
10400.  Compassion is a daily practice and empathy is a skill set that is one of the most powerful tools of compassion;

What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0207

10301.  The rooms at the JW Marriott Chicago are (really) nice;
10302.  It’s a 45-minute wait for deep dish pizza at Giordano’s (Giordanos.com). . . . It’s just so thick, it takes that long to cook;
10303.  Giordano’s deep dish pizza has more cheese and no tomato chunks (in their sauce) when compared to Pizzeria Uno’s/Uno Pizzeria & Grill’s deep dish pizza;
10304.  The crust on Giordano’s deep dish pizza is dry. . . . It isn’t greasy/oily;
10305.  Adolph Hitler didn’t invent the swastika;
10306.  The swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol adopted by Buddhists;
10307.  There’s a New Ireland in Papua New Guinea;
10308.  Both animal and human mummies were used at various times as fertilizer or fuel;
10309.  Mummy wrappings were used as raw material in papermaking;
10310.  Ground up human mummy was sold as medicine for its supposed ability to stop bleeding and was even used as a food seasoning;
10311.  In 1994, Frontera Grill (RickBayless.com/Restaurants/Frontera-Grill/) (in Chicago, Illinois,) was ranked the world’s third-best casual dining restaurant by the International Herald Tribune;
10312.  In 2007, Frontera Grill won the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Restaurant” award as the best restaurant in the U.S.;
10313.  The (wood-grilled Florida pink) shrimp (i.e., camarones al coco) at Frontera Grill really taste like coconut . . . and so does the (white) rice;
10314.  The (grilled-roasted Gunthorp) pork loin (with Oaxacan yellow mole) at Frontera Grill is really tender;
10315.  Pecan polvorones remind me of pecan sandies;
10316.  The best (classic) flan I’ve ever had might have been at Frontera Grill. . . . It’s slightly sweet and the texture is very smooth with no lumps whatsoever;
10317.  The “Cloud Gate” (i.e., “the Bean”) (in Chicago) is cooler than I thought it’d be;
10318.  Testosterone levels correlate to the likelihood of a young man (or woman) getting into trouble;
10319.  In the U.S., adolescent males are 5 times more likely to kill themselves than females are;
10320.  Among Americans between 15 and 25, suicide is the third leading cause of death and teenage boys kill themselves at a rate double that of any other demographic group;
10321.  A government study found that homosexual youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers;
10322.  A 2005 survey of 12,000 adolescents found that those who had pledged to remain abstinent until marriage were more likely to have oral and anal sex than other teens, less likely to use condoms and just as likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases as their unapologetically non-abstinent peers;
10323.  The study’s authors found that 88% of those who pledged abstinence admitted to failing to keep their pledge;
10324.  If we had a parent, who was attuned, helped us navigate our emotions and (more often than not) met our needs, we will have safe, embodied patterns in relationships.  This means we will be able to express our needs and meet the needs of our partner.  We are able to trust and feel safe within the body;
10325.  If we had parent figures, who were not attuned to our needs, didn’t help guide us through our emotions and who were inconsistent, we develop relationship patterns to keep ourselves safe and protected.  We struggle to connect or trust and often leave our body(i.e., dissociate) to cope;
10326.  Our relationships (specifically our romantic relationships) are the greatest indicators of our emotional health;
10327.  Honey roasted pistachios are better/tastier than honey roasted peanuts;
10328.  Sometimes the reason that you’re suffering is because you won’t let go of the thing that’s biting you;
10329.  D(onald)J(oseph) Qualls (the actor) came out as gay at a Jim Jefferies show;
10330.  Jim Jefferies (the comedian) doesn’t drink anymore. . . . He just smokes (cannabis/marijuana) or takes edibles;
10331.  Jim Jefferies’s favorite TV show is The Bachelor/The Bachelorette;
10332.  “Eddie Murphy Delirious” was filmed at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C.;
10333.  The hot chicken and French toast sandwich (i.e., Nashville-style chicken sandwich, pickles & maple syrup) for brunch at Lyon Hall (LyonHallArlington.com) in Arlington is (pretty) tasty;
10334.  The band, Vertical Horizon, was formed by a couple of undergrad(uate)s (i.e., Matt Scannell & Keith Kane) at Georgetown University (in 1991);
10335.  (I can say) I was at the Seattle Kraken’s first game (ever played) in D.C.;
10336.  (I can say) I was at Mark Giordano’s 1,000^th career(, regular season) game;
10337.  Ironically, people-pleasing in order to feel a sense of belonging typically leads to the opposite outcome: feeling unseen and unknown;
10338.  A sense of belonging only arises when we feel seen and accepted for who we really are;
10339.  Fogo de Chao (FogoDeChao.com) has a pretty good Happy Hour.  It runs from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM Monday through Friday (in the bar and patio) with $4.00 Happy Hour bites and $8.00 select cocktails;
10340.  Ronny Chieng (the comedian) has a( undergraduate) law degree from the University of Melbourne;
10341.  Apparently, Jim Jefferies was punched by an audience member when he was onstage in Manchester, England( in 2007);
10342.  Self-compassion isn’t just about being kind to your current self, it’s also about being kind to your previous self that didn’t know what you know now;
10343.  Emotional availability isn’t just about being able to give love, time and care.  It’s also about being able to receive love, time and care from others;
10344.  If you keep finding yourself in relationships with people who are emotionally unavailable, you might consider how emotionally available you really are;
10345.  Being happy doesn’t mean you have it all, it just means you’re grateful for all you have;
10346.  Life can change in an instant;
10347.  Apparently, you can die (rather) quickly after liver failure;
10348.  Chris Williams (the former University of Virginia men’s basketball player, who was nicknamed “Big Smooth”,) died of blood clots in his heart on March 15^th, 2017;
10349.  Root beer floats are good so I thought a ginger beer float could be good . . . not so much;
10350.  I can see (now) how it’s hard for parents to let go and trust their children to be responsible when a lot of what they’ve done in the past shows the opposite;