What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0131

6501.  Designate two blocks of the day to respond to e-mails.  Odds are, your inbox is getting blasted all day.  Answering e-mails in a one-off fashion is inefficient and will disrupt your focus on other tasks.  So set aside two blocks during the day to answer e-mails, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.  It can be a game-changer;

6502.  When we don’t want to face what’s holding us back, our minds can even trick us into thinking that the avoidance impulse(, which is really based in fear) is actually a spiritual message from above.  Mistakenly thinking that all of our impulses are higher intuitive guidance.  So how do we know which impulses to follow?  Often we don’t.  Some humility is called for.  It’s useful to stop expecting our higher self to be able to communicate with us with absolute clarity, like a bell, every time;

6503.  Unless you’re already an enlightened being then not all of your impulses are going to come from your higher self, intuitive guidance system.  Some of your feeling based impulses are going to be coming from your lower level blockages: your fears, limiting beliefs, old wounds, emotional baggage triggers and karmic patterns;

6504.  When we really face our blockages with honesty and humility, thank them for the service they’ve performed for us (because our blockages were initially designed to protect even if they’re no longer appropriate and they’ve definitely taught us something) then the blockage has permission to dissolve;

6505.  If we choose not to face ourselves in that moment, that’s okay.  The universe will patiently keep knocking on that door over and over again with new situations that give us the same opportunity to face our shadow(, the unacknowledged and disowned parts of ourselves,) until we’re ready to finally answer the door and really look ourselves in the eyes;

6506.  Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate;

6507.  Elizabeth likes sour beer;

6508.  The “lotus spinach chaat” at Urban Tandoor (UTandoorVA.com) (in Ballston) is (pretty) tasty;

6509.  Elizabeth likes (chicken) wings;

6510.  Apparently, I’m easy to talk to;

6511.  Nipple clamps . . . check . . . anal beads . . . (double) check;

6512.  How to cook pork chops: 1.  Place oil in a large skillet and heat until medium hot; 2.  Place chops in the skillet, placing them so they don’t touch; 3.  Cook each side for 4 minutes; and 4.  Cover the skillet, turn off the heat and let the chops sit for 8-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chops);

6513.  (Not surprisingly, )the chicken and double-smoked bacon sandwich (i.e., herbed chicken on toasted, apple brioche with double-smoked bacon & maple mustard) at Starbucks is (pretty) tasty . . . (after all, )it does have bacon on it;

6514.  Apparently, churches will hire professional singers to join their (church) choirs for major religious celebrations (i.e., Christmas & Easter) to try to get more/larger donations;

6515.  Sofa . . . check;

6516.  The greater danger is not that your hopes are too high and you fail to reach them; it’s that they’re too low and you do;

6517.  A mind that’s open to everything means being peaceful, radiating love, practicing forgiveness, being generous, respecting all life and, most important, visualizing yourself as capable of doing anything that you can conceive of in your mind and heart;

6518.  What you think about expands.  If your thoughts are filled with doubt and you have a closed mind, you will out of necessity act upon those closed-minded doubts and you’ll see evidence of your thinking virtually everywhere you are.  On the other hand, should you decide (make no mistake about this, it is a choice) to have a mind that’s open to everything, then you’ll act upon that inner energy and you’ll be the creator as well as the recipient of miracles wherever you are;

6519.  Overt instruction works to lead people, yet influence makes the strongest impact.  The best leaders lead not only by instruction, they lead by example;

6520.  Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.  If you’re a leader or a parent, know that some skills and attitudes are impossible for those under you to learn by instruction alone;

6521.  In one study, children tasked with writing an essay delivered longer, higher-quality essays when writing by hand.  In another study, children were asked to write, trace or type various letters.  They were then shown the letters while researchers performed fMRI scans.  When shown letters they had written, parts of the brain associated with reading lit up with activity.  This response was dampened when traced letters were shown.  Letters that had been typed elicited the smallest response;

6522.  When a group of preschool students was divided into two groups, one training in handwriting and the other on a keyboard for sixteen sessions, the handwriting group outperformed their peers not only in writing, but also in reading assessments.  The typing group did not excel beyond their peers in any field tested;

6523.  In a 2014 study, researchers confirmed that students learn better when they take notes on paper.  They reason that the slower speed of handwriting forces students to consolidate and reword lectures, helping them to process and retain new information.  When students who used laptops were asked to consolidate information in their notetaking, they still used more words and did not reap the benefits of the handwriting group;

6524.  A positive emotion (i.e. compassion) wears off relatively quickly, researchers find that when they give someone a negative feeling (i.e. anger) to concentrate in, the physiological effects last over 5 hours;

6525.  We tend to think group performance depends on measurable abilities like intelligence, skill and experience and not on a subtle pattern of small behaviors of making the group feel safer;

6526.  Little moments of social interaction that can help make a team: 1.  Close proximity, often in circles; 2.  Profuse amounts of eye contact; 3.  Humor and laughter; 4.  Physical touch (i.e., handshakes, fist bumps & hugs); 5.  Intensive, active listening; 6.  Lots of short, energetic exchanges (i.e., no long speeches); and 7.  High levels of mixing, where everyone talks to everyone;

6527.  Rosé(, hard) cider can be (very) dry;

6528.  When you introduce a new idea/product to the world: SW² + WC = MO (i.e., Some Will love it, Some Won’t + Who Cares = Move On);

6529.  When acid is added to milk, the drop in pH causes the milk’s casein proteins to bond together in tight clusters.  Why?  In the presence of acid, the proteins lose their negative charge, which normally keeps them apart.  Once those charges are gone, the proteins clump, forming curds;

6530.  When the cell walls of certain fruits and vegetables like avocados, apples, artichokes and potatoes are cut or crushed, enzymes in their flesh are exposed to air.  Those enzymes react with compounds called polyphenols, producing black- or brown-colored pigments.  Acids (and citric and ascorbic acids in particular) slow the rate of this oxidation, which is why we often use lemon or lime juice to inhibit browning in recipes like classic guacamole and roasted artichokes;

6531.  Acidic ingredients, such as citrus juice, buttermilk, yogurt and even chocolate, molasses, brown sugar and non-Dutched cocoa, react with alkaline baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas.  Baking powder, on the other hand, is a complete leavening system.  It’s a combination of baking soda and crystallized acid.  When baking powder is added to liquid ingredients, it dissolves almost immediately and carbon dioxide begins to form;

6532.  In the popular South American dish called ceviche, seafood is “cooked” via a soak in an acidic marinade.  The acid causes proteins to denature and coagulate eventually giving it the opaque appearance and firm texture of “cooked” fish or shellfish;

6533.  (I can say) I’ve eaten beef from halfway around the world (i.e., Australian, grass-fed beef from Whole Foods Market);

6534.  Whippets . . . nothing, nada, zilch;

6535.  Sex on a balcony/sex outside . . . check;

6536.  Elizabeth’s skin tastes salty;

6537.  (I can say) I’ve eaten brownies for breakfast;

6538.  Three things you can’t recover in life; the words after they’re said, the moment after it’s missed and the time after it’s gone;

6539.  Kevin (Dwyer) and I have the same birthday;

6540.  Everything I need comes to me in the perfect time and space sequence;

6541.  I forgive everyone in my past for all perceived wrongs;

6542.  I bless and prosper everyone in my world and everyone in my world blesses and prospers me;

6543.  (I can say) I’ve licked champagne off a porn star’s leg (specifically Adria Rae);

6544.  (I can also say) I’ve had a porn star lick my face;

6545.  Worrying is praying for what you don’t want;

6546.  Getting a blowjob on your birthday . . . check . . . blowing your load in her mouth . . . (double) check;

6547.  (According to Elizabeth,) I taste “healthy” . . . and (slightly) salty;

6548.  Joanna Krupa (i.e., model) and I have the same birthday too;

6549.  You can’t use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have;

6550.  Just because you can’t keep up doesn’t mean you can’t show up;