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Well, I was expecting a quiet night at home with Slim Chance of Chiaroscuro, but I ended up having a much better time than either of those options would've afforded me. :)
Apparently Christine (Lange) felt bad about missing Nathan's party last night, so she invited Nathan (and by proxy, me) to join her and some of her friends in DC, meeting at Union Station. Nathan was in Manassas at the time and I was at home, so we drove our respective vehicles to the Springfield Metro, met, and took the train in. At Union Station we met Christine, her "cute married friend, Emily," and their friends Aaron and Faye. From there, we walked several blocks to the Flying Scotsman, a Scottish-themed restaurant/bar that Aaron knew about. After checking out the noisy sports bar section upstairs, we retreated to the quieter downstairs bar and grabbed a booth and chatted over several drinks. (I had the Bellhaven Scottish Ale, damn tasty, and the Flying Scotsman Amber, decent. Inbetween, I tried a sample of Sunrise, a beer that the waitress described succinctly with "most people don't like it," and found it weak but inoffensive.)
After they closed down that section of the bar, we (minus Emily, who'd left earlier) proceeded to the Capitol City Brewing Company on Capitol Hill, arriving shortly before midnight and placing last-minute (and half-price special!) appetizer orders. (Their nacho plate is enormous, and their duck soft tacos are very tasty.) Nathan and I got pints of their amber and hefeweizens, each tried both, and he got the better-tasting one (hefe) due to residual birthday goodness. :P
When we left there, Aaron and Faye went home (very nearby) and Nathan and I walked Christine home (a few blocks away.) She invited us in, and we proceeded to talk of many things,of shoes and ships and sealing wax; of cabbages and kings including scuba diving, PE classes, overcoming fears, massage, and tattoos (including Christine's awesome Celtic/spider tattoo.) Also, Christine and I flirted, a lot. Hee. =)
Eventually it came time to high-tail it back to Metro, around 0230; we were just in time to catch a 0240 train, then waited a while at Metro Center for a Blue line train. On the train back, as we neared the end of the line, we attracted the attention of a white-haired gent sporting an American flag-themed Playboy pin who, after railing in a disjointed sort of way about the last train of the night being a terrible one to take--fortunately, we were on the 2nd-to-last--he regaled us with somewhat disjointed tales of his many jaunts around the country to Playboy events. He also explained that he'd just come from a bar, which might've been obvious. ;)
On the way out of the Metro, I ran afoul of the new "2-3am = peak rates" policy, so my farecard was $1.10 short and I had to borrow change from Nathan and then from a stranger to make up the difference. :P The drive home was uneventful, but seeing as I arrived home around 04, I ruled out the morning ride with a member or two of the local riding club--leaving Manassas at 0830--in favor of LJ, email, and sleep. :)
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paidmembers: If you're a paid user on Chef subcluster 8 and have been negatively affected by recent server upheavals, you're eligible for paid time reimbursement. (Link)
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kitiara: 20 things you have to believe to vote Republican this year. (Her favorite: "Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist; but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony."
Also via Kit, bypjammer, in loose response to the above, Top 12 Things You Need to Believe to Vote Democrat This Year. Kit's favorite there was: "HMOs and Insurance Companies are irredeemably evil organizations that should be seized by the Federal Government and nationalized, so all Americans can get the same efficiency and great service in Health Care that we currently enjoy from the DMV and IRS."
Apparently Christine (Lange) felt bad about missing Nathan's party last night, so she invited Nathan (and by proxy, me) to join her and some of her friends in DC, meeting at Union Station. Nathan was in Manassas at the time and I was at home, so we drove our respective vehicles to the Springfield Metro, met, and took the train in. At Union Station we met Christine, her "cute married friend, Emily," and their friends Aaron and Faye. From there, we walked several blocks to the Flying Scotsman, a Scottish-themed restaurant/bar that Aaron knew about. After checking out the noisy sports bar section upstairs, we retreated to the quieter downstairs bar and grabbed a booth and chatted over several drinks. (I had the Bellhaven Scottish Ale, damn tasty, and the Flying Scotsman Amber, decent. Inbetween, I tried a sample of Sunrise, a beer that the waitress described succinctly with "most people don't like it," and found it weak but inoffensive.)
After they closed down that section of the bar, we (minus Emily, who'd left earlier) proceeded to the Capitol City Brewing Company on Capitol Hill, arriving shortly before midnight and placing last-minute (and half-price special!) appetizer orders. (Their nacho plate is enormous, and their duck soft tacos are very tasty.) Nathan and I got pints of their amber and hefeweizens, each tried both, and he got the better-tasting one (hefe) due to residual birthday goodness. :P
When we left there, Aaron and Faye went home (very nearby) and Nathan and I walked Christine home (a few blocks away.) She invited us in, and we proceeded to talk of many things,
Eventually it came time to high-tail it back to Metro, around 0230; we were just in time to catch a 0240 train, then waited a while at Metro Center for a Blue line train. On the train back, as we neared the end of the line, we attracted the attention of a white-haired gent sporting an American flag-themed Playboy pin who, after railing in a disjointed sort of way about the last train of the night being a terrible one to take--fortunately, we were on the 2nd-to-last--he regaled us with somewhat disjointed tales of his many jaunts around the country to Playboy events. He also explained that he'd just come from a bar, which might've been obvious. ;)
On the way out of the Metro, I ran afoul of the new "2-3am = peak rates" policy, so my farecard was $1.10 short and I had to borrow change from Nathan and then from a stranger to make up the difference. :P The drive home was uneventful, but seeing as I arrived home around 04, I ruled out the morning ride with a member or two of the local riding club--leaving Manassas at 0830--in favor of LJ, email, and sleep. :)
From
paidmembers: If you're a paid user on Chef subcluster 8 and have been negatively affected by recent server upheavals, you're eligible for paid time reimbursement. (Link)Via
kitiara: 20 things you have to believe to vote Republican this year. (Her favorite: "Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist; but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony."Also via Kit, by
pjammer, in loose response to the above, Top 12 Things You Need to Believe to Vote Democrat This Year. Kit's favorite there was: "HMOs and Insurance Companies are irredeemably evil organizations that should be seized by the Federal Government and nationalized, so all Americans can get the same efficiency and great service in Health Care that we currently enjoy from the DMV and IRS."
