Unmarried and Single Americans Week 2022

​While it’s not noticed, I love that there is an Unmarried and Single Americans Week, even though I’m not a huge fan of the word “unmarried, as the prefix “un” implies a deficit.  I didn’t do this last year, but now that things are opening up in this urban landscape in which I reside, I figured it’s worth a blog post.
 
Live music is not just an interest of mine, but a way of life.  My friend Mark came to visit me to see a band called Widespread Panic play at MGM National Harbor, just outside of DC this past Saturday.  On Sunday morning, we woke up and took a walk to the Cracked Eggery, which is known for breakfast sandwiches served on challah bread.  After he took off, I just vegged out and recuperated from the two shows I had been to (Friday and Saturday night).  I watched a few episodes of that old show, WKRP in Cincinnati.  Interestingly, out of the entire cast of characters, only two are married: one is a nebbish (Gordon) and the other is a sleaze (Tarlek).  I also watched Wildcats, a light 80s comedy with Goldie Hawn as a football coach.  No romantic subplot.
 
The workweek was busy.  We’re in Week Five of classes, so the semester is underway, so much of my time consists of emailing with students and grading work.  On that front, I offered my first-year writing students an extra credit option, taken from my How to be Single and Happy course: go somewhere by yourself (movie, restaurant, café) and write about the experience.  It’s not due until Friday, September 30, but two students already volunteered.  One went to a bar by herself, and the other wrote about her experience going solo to sign up for classes here.  While not technically under that umbrella, that was a big step for this person, so full credit!
 
I also hosted a Meetup for my Asexuals and Aromantics group Thursday night.  We went to dinner at this burger/Asian fusion restaurant called Pogiboy, near Farragut Square.  Four of us showed up, and we had good conversation around a range of topics, from music to the differences in weather throughout the US to travel.
 
Saturday was the big day.  After spending the morning grading student journals, I was off to Anacostia Park for a bike ride (pic above).  The Anacostia River is a nice view, and one of the nice perks of being a DC city employee is a free Capital Bikeshare membership.  It was fun riding along the river, and I got to pedal across the newly built Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and past Nationals Park.  From there, I headed to the CVS to get my second booster shot combined with a flu shot. 
 
In all my single splendor, I’d been out the past five Saturday nights, and I’m planning to go out the next four, so I figured this weekend would be a perfect one to stay in.  I made chicken and decided to break out the gnocchi I bought from Cornucopia, an Italian deli in Bethesda, a few months earlier.  I watched my favorite movie, Midnight Run, a buddy action comedy with no romantic subplot, and decided to check out The Man from Toronto, another buddy comedy newly released on Netflix.  Don’t bother with this one.
 
As I write this blog, I realized I have a full life BECAUSE much of it is spent solo.  I hope my fellow singles-in-arms recognize that for themselves too.