DAY 4: Beyond 3rd Street, NE

do you want to send me some love via the postal office? if so, here's my address: 

Chanell Fletcher 
The Washington Center

1005 3rd Street NE, #308

Washington, D.C. 20002

we now continue with our regularly scheduled programming: 

Today after work, I was feeling a bit icky. I didn't have a bad day or anything but I was working in this certain place* and it just made my skin crawl. I went home but once I got there, I just wasn't feeling it. My roommate was sleeping because last night she had a rough night (i.e. my allegies, which kept me up til 2am in the living room, also kept her up. Living with a light sleeper is rough I tell you - lots of guilt ridden nights ahead of me). So one of my housemates went to the farmer's market while the other one was still at work. And even though money is tight, I just didn't feel like sitting at home by myself.

Enter Busboys and Poets. Sabaa has been raving about this place since forever ... and now that I'm here, I figured I should check it out. I went to the one on 5th NW and K ... and it wasn't bad. The bookstore/shop area was a bit small but had the usual suspects for a revolutionary/activist-y place - books like Things Fall Apart or Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and fair trade scarves. I sat at a communal table and ordered my drink and din din. I planned on reading and chilling out while eating my dinner (especially because I've been 'on' for most of the week with roommates and a new job) but ended up talking with a cool woman working on food justice in Kansas City. It was really great - I ended up having dinner with a complete stranger and I loved it. After all of the bureaucracy I've experienced at work, it was nice to have a good old fashion conversation about food justice, planning, and sustainability. It brought me back to my roots. Also - did you know there was a Cafe Gratitude in Kansas City? 

Sidebar: I rode the bus home today from work. It was delicious. Maybe I'm crazy but I just feel like the bus is the best way to view and understand a city. While I love rail (and there's no competition in my heart between rail and bus), when I'm new to a city, buses are what help me understand the geography and learn more about the culture. And sometimes buses bring me back to my childhood. Like tonight when I was heading home, I saw two older black men sitting at the bus stop. They saw me looking at the space between them, and one of them said to me, "G'wan gurl an sit hur. Thur's enuf room fur all us hur." His accent created all kinds of nostalgia. I mean, as much as I hate Mississippi, his accent reminded me of my summers spent there as a kid. I sat and listened to them talk and thought about my grandpa, rice fields, mosquitoes, fishing trips, frog legs, frozen kool-aid cups, and dirt roads. 

Testimony for my momma: She knew I was bummed out about my roommate situation and prayed for me to find peace and resolution tonight. At 12:17pm, guess who's sleeping on the couch and ecstatic? That's right, me! I'm so happy to sniffle, sneeze, and fall asleep without the guilt of keeping someone up. My momma prayed for me...I'm so glad she prayed (and yes, I am referencing this song - if you didn't grow up with gospel, you might not know it).

*They've officially gotten to me with all the security sheeet -- I'm way too scared to text or blog about anything specific related to this department.