What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0044

2151.  Karl Alzner (of the Washington Capitals) has a sweet tooth;

2152.  The (Washington) Capitals’ families and friends sit in section 103;

2153.  If you (ever) need a hockey net strung, you can ask Rachel Fehr (i.e., Eric Fehr’s wife);

2154.  Courtney Parrie (i.e., Mike Green’s girlfriend) is rather attractive;

2155.  Brooks Laich (of the Washington Capitals) seems like a good guy;

2156.  Joel Ward (of the Washington Capitals) has (really) skinny legs;

2157.  It seems (to me) that all relationships end with someone getting hurt.  When one person doesn’t feel the same way as the other, (the relationship ends and) someone gets hurt.  When a marriage ends (in divorce), the divorced spouse gets hurt.  When one spouse passes away before the other, the surviving spouse gets hurt.  Should both spouses pass away together, it’s usually tragically and the surviving family members are hurt;

2158.  It goes without saying that banks (right now) aren’t loaning out money, when in a month, you can find more change on the ground than what you can earn in interest on your checking and/or savings account(s);

2159.  The peanut butter topping at Dairy Queen (DairyQueen.com) is a disappointment;

2160.  You’re not supposed to keep your RV’s generator on at night to run the heater.  Apparently, you can get carbon monoxide poisoning;

2161.  I’d imagine a post-apocalyptic world would look a lot like an RV lot at a NASCAR race;

2162.  You need your (grandstand) ticket and your (pre-race) pit pass to get into the race pits;

2163.  You can bring in your own alcohol to NASCAR races.  Each person (i.e., child and adult) is allowed (to bring in) one, soft-sided cooler, no larger than 14” by 14” by 14.”  Hard-sided coolers and coolers with telescoping handles or wheels aren’t allowed;

2164.  NASCAR races are really loud. . . . You might want to get some earplugs;

2165.  I think people (partly) like to go to NASCAR races because it gives them an excuse to tailgate and get sloshed for a couple of days;

2166.  I want to share my life with someone, but I don’t need to;

2167.  Using duck confit (wings) is a nice little twist on wings;

2168.  When you enrich people’s lives with your friendship they tend to do the same for you;

2169.  Most people lead lives of quiet desperation, thinking: “One day I’ll be the person I’ve always wanted to be, on day.”  But this day never comes because they never decide to actually start being this person.  They simply hope it will happen, in vain.  You need to make a conscious choice to start becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be, the person inside.  Who is this person?  What would s/he say or do in any given situation?  The only way to become her/him is to start living like her/him;

2170.  Telling a woman (you just met) that you want her to have your kids is just an indirect way of saying, “I want to fuck you;”

2171.  Akil Mitchell (of the University of Virginia’s men’s basketball team) is very poised, mature and affable . . . way more than I was at his age (i.e., twenty years old);

2172.  A cheap(er) way to go out, is to order a non-alcoholic drink (i.e., iced tea, soda, etc.) in a regular-sized/tall glass and ask the bartender to put a shot of rail/well liquor in it.  At most places, a shot of rail/well liquor is around $5.00, so it can end up being cheaper than drinking beer;

2173.  Single ply toilet paper sucks, especially after you’ve gotten used to multi-ply toilet paper;

2174.  The enchilada roja (i.e., chicken, cascabel chili and Mexican chocolate) at Bandolero in D.C. is kind of pricey (i.e., $10.00 for one enchilada), but it’s really tasty;

2175.  Chocolate in enchiladas! . . . Who knew?

2176.  The hushpuppies at Tackle Box in D.C. are awful;

2177.  You would think that a racetrack would let you use credit cards to pay for drinks and other concessions, so you’d have more money to bet on the (horse) races . . . not at Pimlico (Race Course) in Baltimore, Maryland;

2178.  You can bring in your own food and (non-alcoholic) drinks to the Preakness (Stakes).  You’re allowed to bring in a clear see-through plastic container no larger than 18” by 18.”  Glass of any kind and thermoses aren’t allowed;

2179.  If you want to film a movie set in the ‘50s, go to Pimlico (Race Course).  It’s like you’ve been transported back in time;

2180.  A ‘70s looking pimp would fit right in at the Preakness Stakes. . . . It’s a great event for people watching;

2181.  It’s kind of weird that Pimlico (Race Course) is located in the heart of a residential neighborhood.  It’s surrounded by houses and apartment buildings;

2182.  What’s in a “Black-Eyed Susan” (i.e., the official drink of the Preakness Stakes)?  The answer is: 1 ¼ ounces of Finlandia vodka, ¼ ounce of St. Germain liqueur, 2 ounces of lemon juice, 3 ounces of lemongrass and blackberry simple syrup and 6 drops of Angostura bitters . . . garnished with a sage leaf;

2183.  The duck confit burritos (with spicy ginger lime relish and avocado) at Willow (WillowBaltimore.com) in Baltimore, Maryland, are pretty tasty;

2184.  A great place to watch the game at Oriole Park (at Camden Yards) in Baltimore, Maryland, is the roof deck overlooking centerfield.  Just buy a cheap ticket, walk over and enjoy the game with a drink from the bar;

2185.  Whatever you believe will eventually become your reality;

2186.  Success breeds success and failure breeds learning;

2187.  The 138^th running of the Preakness Stakes had the 4^th largest on-track attendance ever at 117,203 people;

2188.  A black-eyed Susan is the name of a flower.  It has nothing to do with domestic violence;

2189.  Wolfgang Puck knows how to cook lamb chops.  His Chinois lamb chop lollipops (with cilantro mint vinaigrette) are so tender.  They might be the best lamb chops I’ve ever had.  I could eat a (whole) tray of them as an entrée;

2190.  Filet mignon can be two inches thick and the size of a doughnut;

2191.  Wolfgang Puck weddings are (really) nice;

2192.  What’s a sign of a nice hotel?  The answer is: When there’s a complementary toothbrush and toothpaste already in the room;

2193.  It was recently discovered that Saturn’s rings aren’t circular, but a spiral.  They’ll eventually disappear as they’re slowly pulled down into the planet;

2194.  When Persians go out, they (really) dress up;

2195.  Thanks to cutting-edge science, we now know that happiness is the precursor to success, not merely the result.  And that happiness and optimism actually fuel performance and achievement;

2196.  Waiting to be happy limits our brain’s potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive, which drives performance upward;

2197.  The Mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven;

2198.  Our interpretation of reality changes our experience of that reality;

2199.  In 2004, a Harvard Crimson poll found that as many as 4 in 5 Harvard students suffer from depression at least once during the school year, and nearly half of all students suffer from depression so debilitating they can’t function;

2200.  A Conference Board survey released in January of 2010 found that only 45 percent of workers surveyed were happy at their jobs, the lowest in 22 years of polling;