A start of a new week. Is anyone following the Olympic hockey? I saw several matches this weekend. Although I was shocked and thrilled to see the USA beat Canada, it was sad that Finland could not redeem themselves from the 2006 Olympics and beat Sweden.
As I am not working now and I have finished with my theatre commitments, I have some free time. I have some consulting work that I am doing, but so far it is fairly flexible. So, what do you think would be interesting to do with my time? I keep myself busy volunteering, working out, consulting, job hunting, etc…but I have been thinking that I am probably missing amazing opportunities to travel or volunteer in unique ways, etc. What do you think? Let me know and be creative!
So on day 69 my $10 ended up in the hands of Lauren. She is 26, lives in Virginia, and has a degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech. Perhaps she would have came across my uncle Larry while at school…he was a professor at Virginia Tech in the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science – but she said that his name was not familiar to her.
Brian and Lauren at Brasserie Beck in DC
Anyway, Lauren was with her friend Brian having some oysters and Belgian beers at Brasserie Beck. I had never been there and happily give it a thumbs up. One complaint would be the noise factor. It was so loud that the video I took of Lauren and Brian didn’t come out very good so you will have to use your imagination and trust me that they were a lot of fun.
Lauren tells me that she will give my $10 to a homeless person and promises to follow up with me to let me know about her experience.
Oh, and as for the oysters, Lauren said they were amazing…her favorite ones there were called “blue diamond” she thought.
They were Foodies of a sort…they told me about some of their other favorite stomping grounds such as: Zaytinya, the Capitol Lounge, and the Red Derby. The Red Derby sounded pretty interesting. Lauren and Brian tell stories of an almost secret location on 14th Street in Northwest, DC where there is no sign, just a red painted derby hat on the door (reminds me of the Quarry House in Silver Spring, MD). They rave about the weekend brunch, the can only beer selection, and a variety of board games on hand to keep your group entertained. On top of all of this, every Wednesday is Big Lebowski night where they play the cult film and offer White Russian drink specials.
Year of Giving 
Reed,
Brian and I both enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for the $10!
You’ll be glad to know that the same gentleman I saw on my way to the bar was still sitting in the same spot upon our return to the metro station. He had been sleeping when I first saw him, so I was happy to see that he was awake when we got back. It is my experience that one should not poke a sleeping bear. Surprising a homeless man strikes me as not a good idea even if you do have $10 to give him.
I walked toward him as he watched me closely. When I reached him I told him I’d just encountered a man doing a ‘year of giving’ and he had given me $10 to do as I wished. I told him I’d like him to have it and walked away. He seemed calm and kind.
In retrospect I should have asked the guy his name but I didn’t want to linger or act like I expected anything. He was also slightly groggy from having just woken up.
I hope he does something wise with it, like buy a blanket or a pair of warm socks/slippers since he was using his shoes as a pillow. My feet are always cold. If, however, he chooses to piddle it away on whatever it is we money givers fear he will…I say it’s his prerogative! If I were homeless, I’d need a drink too.
Since we couldn’t recall… you should only eat oysters with months that contain an R in them
Hooray for the Hokie recipient 🙂
GO HOKIES!!!
This is one of my favorite ones so far. I guess because I know one of Reed’s desires is for people to “pay it forward”, and to date this is the best example I’ve seen of doing just that. Karma will look out for you Lauren!
Yay Derby!