What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0239

11901.  You are the buyer not the seller.  You’re not here to sell yourself for approval.  You’re here to choose who you want in your life.  Be willing to be disliked.  Because being liked by everyone means you’re being real with no one;

11902.  And rejection?  It doesn’t mean you’re broken.  It doesn’t mean you’re unworthy.  It doesn’t mean anything about you at all.  It’s just proof that you finally stopped auditioning for people who were never meant for you in the first place.  And that?  That’s freedom;

11903.  Medium Rare (MediumRareRestaurant.com) has a prix fixe steak dinner for $31.95.  It includes (artisan rustic) bread, a mixed green salad( with Dijon dressing), their (award-winning) culotte steak( with their secret sauce) and hand-cut French fries (i.e., pain de campagne, la salade verte, steak culotte, frites et sauce secréte);

11904.  3 questions to ask about money before moving forward in a commitment to dating: 1.  What was the conversation you had about money growing up?  What did your parents teach you about money? 2.  What’s your thoughts around ownership?  What’s your thoughts around debt? 3.  You have a $1,000,000.00 right now.  What are you doing with it?  Bonus question: What do you value most?

11905.  Love is: 1.  Liking someone’s personality; 2.  Respecting his/her values; and 3.  Commitment towards helping him/her get to his/her goals;

What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0238

11851.  Maybe wealth isn’t solely about more money, but more joy, more value, more fulfilment, more collaboration, more meaningful moments, more celebration of your life and those that support you.  The “mores” that matter;

11852.  Become more valuable.  Learn to delegate.  Hire those that truly enhance our lives.  We trade our money (energy) to access others energy (expertise) in order to free us up . . . so we can create the most value;

11853.  Not living your best life, not sharing how to do it with others, not being inspired and inspiring in the name of “playing it small and safe” is greedy.  The world loses your gifts;

11854.  Spending more than we make is a terrible choice leading to bankruptcy.  Yet by thinking life is something to reduce and money is something to “save” rather than earn and grow, we limit our potential and our production;

11855.  The hustle and grind would say save money by doing it yourself.  “If you want something done right, do it yourself” . . . and burn out.  And limit your best abilities.  And have less wealth;

11856.  Less wealth by doing what you hate.  Less wealth by limiting the depth of your relationships.  Less wealthy by draining energy by doing so much to save by having it be less convenient and losing time;

11857.  Those who buy into the budgeting mindset are willing to sacrifice life for growing a bank account;

11858.  By cutting back to build wealth, you can become the miserable millionaire.  Rich in your account, broke in life;

11859.  Wealth is how you live and enjoy your life.  And if money is the primary reason or excuse you do or don’t do something, you aren’t wealthy;

11860.  If your time isn’t your own, if you are doing things that you loathe, if you are obsessed with saving fiat money (that inflation decimates), if you wish the past were different or only focused on getting to a future date where your life will be better, you aren’t wealthy;

11861.  Money matters, but so do so many other things as well.  No money can lead to massive stress, debt, self-judgment, guilt, shame, embarrassment.  But no matter how much money you have, if you don’t have time to connect with people, cultivate relationships, be creative, have hobbies, have time for your health, fulfillment will be elusive;

11862.  What does wealth look like for you?  What matters most in your life?  What would you do if money were no longer a concern or worry, if you had an unlimited checking account?  What would you start doing?  How would your thinking change?  What would it take to create your richest life?  What can you do that matters most to you?  How could you experience a life that you love?  The key to wealth is within your answers to these questions.  Invest the time.  Only you get to decide.  If someone else chooses for you, you lose.  If you are unclear, you may be manipulated or have energy leaks.  This is the hard work worth doing.  The hard work that matters.  Not pushing through artificial deadlines or doing things you hate to make money.  But to know what you want, go for it and design a life you don’t want to retire from;

11863.  Pecans are harmful to dogs.  They contain a toxin called juglone, which can cause gastrointestinal upset, seizures and even death in dogs;

11864.  Sometimes when one door closes another one opens, but unfortunately many times we often focus on the door that has slammed in our face that we miss the window of opportunity just around the corner;

11865.  New beginnings often start with painful endings;

11866.  Be thankful for those closed doors and detours, they are guiding you to a better place;

11867.  I can say I was at Tom Wilson’s 800^th career game.  He’s the 9^th player in (Washington) Capitals history to play in 800 games;

11868.  Every experience, good or bad, carries a lesson.  What defines you isn’t what happens to you, but how you choose to grow from it;

11869.  The Power of Letting Go: The stories we tell ourselves about not being good enough are just that, stories.  Letting go isn’t about forgetting; it’s about freeing yourself from what holds you back;

11870.  Life has a funny way of forcing us to face the things we avoid.  Sometimes it feels unfair, overwhelming or even unbearable.  But when you pause, reflect and truly let go, you’ll see that every challenge carries a hidden gift, a chance to break free;

11871.  If they wanted to, they would, is a false statement.  We vastly overestimate people’s capacity for emotional regulation, conflict resolution and self-reflection.  Many want to they just don’t know how.  Stop taking other people’s limits personally;

11872.  According to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, one should take: 1.  Omega-3; 2.  Vitamin D; 3.  Sulforaphane; 4.  Magnesium; and 5.  A multivitamin;

11873.  According to Dr. Mark Hyman, a good level of vitamin D > 50 ng/ml;

11874.  If you don’t have enough vitamin D acutely, you get rickets and your bones bend;

11875.  You get vitamin D from the sun, wild fish and certain things like wild mushrooms.  You don’t need much (vitamin D) like 30 units;

11876.  If you don’t have optimal levels of vitamin D, say 50 ng/ml, you’re going to get osteoporosis, you’re going to be more prone to infections and you’re going to die from COVID-19;

11877.  To get 200 micrograms of selenium, you need to eat four Brazil nuts;

11878.  To get 30 milligrams of zinc, you need to eat 45 pumpkin seeds;

11879.  According to Dr. Mark Hyman, at minimum, one should take: 1.  A multivitamin; 2.  Vitamin D; 3.  Fish oil; 4.  (For most people,) magnesium; and 5.  (Probably) a probiotic;

11880.  In wanting to create something healthy, you have to make sure that you and whoever you’re going to build with want the same things.  That you’re willing to create your own definition of what love and marriage and partnership looks like.  And that, whatever that definition is, that you will commit to protecting your definition because it may not be the world’s definition.  It may not be your parents’ definition or the church’s definition or whatever, but you’ve got to be willing to protect your definition so that you can have a bond that lasts throughout time;

11881.  Three mandatory questions you should ask your partner before marriage to make sure that his/her answers are in alignment with yours.  And, if they’re not, then you should probably reconsider being in the relationship.  1.  Making sure that you have a shared expression of faith not even just a shared faith, but what does this expression look like for you?  How does it show up in your world?  Because everybody who believes in God isn’t trying to live a life of light, love, goodness, conviction and humility so making sure you have a shared expression.  It’s not just the same beliefs, it’s the same shared expression of the belief.  2.  What is the most traumatic experience you’ve had in your life and how does the residue of that experience show up in your presence?  3.  What brings you joy?  This world is tough.  And I want to know the secret to putting a smile on your face when the world’s trying to wipe it off;

11882.  Demerara sugar is a raw sugar extracted form sugarcane.  It is minimally processed so it has a golden-brown color and large grains that give a crunchy texture;

11883.  Demerara sugar originated from the British colony of Demerara now called Guyana;

11884.  Demerara sugar has flavors of molasses and toffee with hints of subtle caramel;

11885.  The term, “grog,” comes from the nickname, “Old Grog,” given to the 18^th-century English admiral Edward Vernon.  Vernon ordered that rum be diluted with water for the health of his sailors and the sailors nicknamed the mixture “grog.” . . . It’s also why you’re “groggy” when you’re hungover;

11886.  The British Navy’s “open vat” rum blending system involved pouring rum into large, interconnected vats allowing it to mature and blend for up to two years.  The vats were never completely emptied, but rather topped off with new rum, creating a solera-like system where decades-old rum was part of the blend.  This process continued for over 150 years until the rum ration was abolished in 1970;

11887.  Black Tot Rum (BlackTot.com) has the last of the British Navy’s blended rum in its spirits;

11888.  Apparently, without chill filtration, fatty acid esters will make liquor hazy if the alcohol content goes below 46.5 A(lcohol )B(y )V(olume). . . . You can get rid of the haze by (simply) shaking the bottle;

11889.  I can say I’ve drank British Navy rum;

11890.  The hamburgers at McDonald’s have gotten smaller;

11891.  (Italian) tomato pie is pizza without the cheese;

11892.  Red wine doesn’t go with (mini) cupcakes;

11893.  I can (now) say (that) someone has written me a poem;

11894.  “The Play That Goes Wrong” is pretty funny;

11895.  I can say I witnessed Alexander Ovechkin’s first hat trick (and the 32^nd of his career) against the (Edmonton) Oilers( live on Sunday, February 23, 2025);

11896.  Rachael Yamagata is from Arlington, Virginia;

11897.  Apparently, Rachael Yamagata is a tequila fan;

11898.  Taylor Swift might have stolen the (song) lyric, “And I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to,” in (2012’s) “All Too Well” from Matt Nathanson.  He wrote, “And I’ll forget about you long enough to forget why I need to” (in 2003) for (his song) “I Saw;”

11899.  People will always: 1.  Misinterpret you; 2.  Project their fears onto you; and 3.  Form opinions based on incomplete information.  And that’s not your problem.  In the end?  It doesn’t matter: 1.  Someone idolizes you?  Cool.  Doesn’t change who you are; and 2.  Someone despises you?  Also cool.  Still doesn’t change who you are.  Because at the end of the day, you’re just you.  And that’s all you ever need to be;

11900.  I never thought I’d see (much less like) a musical/play about corn, but “Shucked” is pretty funny;