On Friday afternoon I went downtown to get my haircut and since I was just a couple of blocks from the Mall I decided to pop into some of the Galleries to see what they were exhibiting. It wasn't until I hit Constitution Avenue and saw the swarms of fanny-packed families that I exclaimed, "Egad! How could I have forgotten Tourist Season! Take evasive action QUICK!!" And I sprinted into the Hirshorn Gallery - which houses the modern art and is therefore most likely to be empty(ish).
I, for one, am glad that most of the peeps don't understand modern art because the Hirshorn is my favorite gallery and I'm always happy to have it uncluttered with people saying, "my three year old could paint that." I won't go into how irritating that is, because people that get it get it, whereas people that don't get it will not be convinced by any arguments I could make. But basically, the Hirshorn is good for great art that doesn't take itself too seriously. I can pretty much guarantee you that you won't see a painting like this anywhere else on the Mall and I love that!
However, one cannot spend too long being a pseudo-intellectual art snob; its way too tiring. And so I braved the crowds and headed out to the Sculpture Garden which was about to have their Friday after-work jazz concert. I was lucky to find a bench with a view of the fountain and the sangria line. After all of that snooty art, I was happy to sit back and listen to the Brazilian jazz band while critiquing the outfits (good and bad) of the passersby. This has got to be one of my favorite things to do in life.
But all good things must be replaced with other good things sooner or later. And so Camie came to pick me up and we went to get sushi in Dupont. To my great happiness, Camie discovered that she loves sushi. This will make picking a place to eat much easier in the future since I am ALWAYS up for sushi.
Unfortunately, we finished off the night by going to the Singles Conference dance ... which was a massive mistake, and should be expunged from my memory immediately lest I dread being old and single enough to actually do something about it. I cannot even comment on the horror of the event. But you know what they say, Trauma + Time = Humor. So maybe in a decade or so I'll tell you about it.
Saturday was just as action packed, if not quite as high-brow. I spent the afternoon at a Golf Clinic. I haven't picked up a club for about 10 years, but I slipped right back into my old habits and before I knew it had fallen into my old pattern of slicing, chipping, swearing, putting, swearing, putting again, and cheating. It's nice to know that all of the skills I had honed all those years ago were able to resurface at a moment's notice.
After the golf, I went to the Nationals baseball game with some friends. As usual, most of the game was spent walking around the concourse looking for the perfect hot dog stand. Don't even doubt that I found it. The rest of the game was spent trying to get The Wave started. I love stadium sports!
I have to admit that all of that big-city living left me feeling pretty proud of myself. Generally, all I can manage to do on the weekend is go to the grocery store and the gym. And even that is negotiable. It was pretty great to be out in the city all weekend taking advantage of all of the wonderful things it has to offer. I never forget how much I love it here, but its weekends like this that remind me why I love it and why I have no excuse to ever use the words "I'm bored."
1 comment:
I'm so glad I like Sushi too. It's so delicious and I should really be eating it non-stop to make up for all of the years I've missed.
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