March 12, 2006

This was a very DC day. After auditioning this morning to be an SAT/LSAT teacher for Kaplan (pays well, though infrequently, and perhaps I can teach classes in San Fran if I get the unpaid EFF internship), Jeanette and I went to lunch at Chinatown Express on 6th and H NW. That's the place where a guy is always putting on a show in the window making lai mein noodles by stretching and folding dough over and over again. I'd been craving some Chinese food, and that place is very good, and cheap.

After that, we decided to head out to Adams-Morgan to study at Tryst and then get Ethiopian for dinner since I'd never had Ethiopian before (post on Ethiopian food to come). Tryst is not usually the quietest place , with a hip soundtrack (Sufjan Stevens, the new Belle And Sebastian, The Arcade Fire, etc.), baristi steaming milk, waiters running about, and chatter. But on this occasion we experienced a very peculiar and enjoyable interruption: Idiotarod 2006.

Basically, we were sitting there reading cases for our moot court competition, and every minute or so, a group of five or six drunken idiots would run by, cheering and yelling, dressed in absurd outfits and costumes, while pushing a decorated shopping cart. Very conducive to concentration. With a bit of googling we found this posting on Craigslist [edited for brevity]:

Get SMASHED at the 2006 Idiotarod, D.C.

What the Hell is the Idiotarod Anyway? It's a day of racing, making an ass of yourself, meeting new people, stopping and having chats with some local bartenders, potentially dressing up, and generally having one of the best days of your life.... The race starts with registration and Check-in at the Front Page in Dupont Circle, three checkpoint bars in between and a large party at Tom Tom in Adam's Morgan. Plan to make a fool of yourself, or come and mock your friends. And all in the name of giving back to the community...

A team is comprised of 5 Pullers/Runners, 1 Musher, and one cart. The same 6 team members must start and complete the race, and be present at each checkpoint. You should come up with a catchy team name...there might even be a prize... We will award First, Second, Third, Best Costumes, Best Fundraising and Best Sabotage prizes... For the 2006 D.C. Idiotarod, we have decided to donate funds earned to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (http://www.afacinfo.org/). They don't know they are getting this money yet, so you can't blame them for anything stupid we might do...

I love this idea, and I'm not surprised to hear that it originated in San Francisco, the land of flash mobs, giant pillow fights, the EFF, and more. I so wish that I'd have known about the Idiotarod 2006 in advance. It definitely would have been up my alley. Oh well. In any case, I got some good photos of the event in progress, and some good distraction.

The rest of the day was spent quietly at Tryst, my favorite DC hangout. I used their free wifi, edited my spring appellate brief, read some moot court, and played some Text Twist (so addictive). It was beautiful out, and so they had the whole side facing the sidewalk opened up. A breeze was blowing in, and the natural light from the front as well as from the skylight really made it a nice place to study. This was my first time there during the day. I got some iced coffee, we split a fruit tart, and then I had some more serious coffee drink later in the day. A very pleasurable time. I highly recommend you check Tryst out if you have not yet done so.

Posted at March 12, 2006 1:55 AM