The May 2010

1. The Efficient Summary

2. The Stats

Best Day (Mood): Thursday, May 20th - Evening spent on the porch of Tom Tom bar on 18th Street with friends.

Worst Day (Mood): Tuesday, May 11th - Sick. Stayed home, causing the failure of the "Go Out Every Day in May" plan. Though most of the month was a success.

Meals (dinner) eaten in May involving Spaghetti: 11 (!)
Meals (dinner) eaten in May involving Peanut Butter: 5

Jogged: 27.0 Miles
Speed: 3.95 mph
Improvement over April: 9.7%

Loads of Laundry: 3

Haircuts: 1
Total Haircuts in 2010: 2

Bars Visited: 7

Restaurants: 6

Best Restaurant Experience in May:
Selam, Eritrean Restaurant on U St.

Best Overall Experience in May:
Kayaking on the Potomac

Movies Watched at Home: 2
- Sherlock Holmes
- Where the Wild Things Are
Sherlock Holmes was not terrible, but my high hopes for Wild Things were crushed fairly thoroughly.

3. The Notable Events

Sunday, May 2: Kayaking on the Potomac. First time I ever kayaked. I'd recommend this activity to anyone. It's surprisingly fun and easy to paddle yourself around in the water in a small vessel.

I'm on [in] a [small] boat [!]:



Thursday, May 6: Opera - The Marriage of Figaro. I hadn't seen an opera since I was a little kid, and I don't remember it much. This was a unique and extremely memorable experience. There was a moment during the show in which I was fully aware of the fact that I was watching something that I'll never forget. You know the feeling? The image stuck in my head, and I could feel it sticking. Whether or not I'll remember or care about remembering this image in the future, that feeling of sticking is pretty enjoyable.

Plus we had some excellent seats at the Kennedy Center:



Wednesday, May 26: Play - (A modern version of) Shakespeare's Hamlet. This was, by far, the best play I've ever seen. Though I haven't seen a lot of plays. I actually teared up a little during the Hamlet/Ophelia/Get-Thee-to-a-Nunnery scene. The lighting was perfect, the music was live, performed by one guy with a guitar and a keyboard, and the acting seemed excellent.

We saw it at the Folger Theater, which - by the way- is an amazing place. As Globe-ish as a theater could be. And the stage setup, in contrast, was ultra modern:

4. The Wine Rankings

Worst to Best:

11. Villa Cerrina Pinot Grigio
10. King Shag Sauvignon Blanc
9. Vinas Chilenas Chardonnay
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8. Trellis Chardonnay 2008
7. Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon
6. Santa Rita Chardonnay 120
5. Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
4. Friday's Creek Gewurztraminer
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3. Lindemans 2008 Shiraz
2. Camelot 2007 Pinot Noir
1. Panilonco 2009 Carmenere


Avoid numbers 11 to 9. 8 to 4 is the drinkable category. But the top three - Lindemans, Camelot and Panilonco were all great. They all move on to the next round. There's going to be quite a taste testing party at the end of the year...


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And that's just about it.

I'll leave you with a picture of a protest (of sorts) that we caught outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner, at the Washington Hilton on May 1st. This is the silliness that is DC: