June 2009 in Review

Last month was full of friends and explorations for me and when I sat down to really think about it, I realized that I had gone out almost every single night in June. Which is just crazy. In fact, there were only four evenings during June that I spent at home. That’s a meager 13% percent of my evenings.

Which makes me thankful. Really, really thankful. I’m thankful that I live in a vibrant, young city where there is an endless supply of activites with which to entertain myself. I’m thankful that I have a massive group of friends who are also looking to make the most of their time outside of work. And I’m thankful for all the truly inspiring people I’ve met through the DC Tech Scene (I can’t believe I just wrote that publically, but, yes, that’s what it’s called and it’s pretty happening, if I might add) who have become my friends.

Below, I’ve gone back and tried to reconstruct how I spent the month of June. From moviewatching and birthdays to sightseeing and sporting events, I’ve gotta say, I managed to do it all. Here’s hoping that my months continue to be as (mis)adventure filled as this past one has been…

(Please note: I have tried to be sensitive to other people’s privacy. If your name is mentioned below and you would prefer it not to be, simply let me know and I will remove it immediately.)

Monday, June 1 - Attended a lecture by Keith Ferrazzi on the subject of his recently published book: Who’s Got Your Back. Read my reflections here. Afterwards, had dinner at Bistro Bis with great company: @_VNL, @bucchere, @dcconcierge, and @jjgardner3.

Tuesday, June 2 - Asked my readers: Where do twentysomethings live in DC? Read what they answered and share your thoughts. Hung out at Rumors with @abudman and Mark K. One day I will eat and/or go out to Rumors.

Wednesday, June 3 - I believe I spent the evening at home. The first of four such nights in June.

June 4

Thursday, June 4 - Celebrated @mindyzeidman‘s birthday at Asian Spice with Laura, Jackie, @anj39, and @abudman.

Friday, June 5 - Enjoyed a traditional Shabbat Dinner with @mindyzeidman, Daniel, Laura, Zac, Jackie, Scott, Mark, Ben W, @anj39, @dkatzman54, and @abudman.

Saturday, June 6 - Went out to The Park (with five cab-fulls of friends!) for a continuation of @mindyzeidman‘s birthday celebration.

Sunday, June 7 - Brunch at Cafe Saint-Ex with @dcconcierge, followed by shopping in the U Street area and a tour of @dcconcierge‘s apartment . We were briefly joined at brunch by @technosailor.

Monday, June 8 - I believe I spent the evening at home. The second of four such nights in June.

Tuesday, June 9 - Watched the Red Sox / Yankees game at Porter’s with @akmcquade, @sheffi, @lostonroute66, @abudman, Ben W. and @mindyzeidman.

Wednesday, June 10 - Watched the Red Sox / Yankees game at Rhino Bar with @justinherman, @chrisderose, and @asomyak.

Thursday, June 11 - Attended the pre-conference happy hour for Blog Potomac at Carpool.

Friday, June 12 - Attended BlogPotomac. Read what I liveblogged from the conference. Afterwards, I flew to Boston for my sister’s Bat Mitzvah.

See pictures from both the Blog Potomac happy hour and the conference itself.

Saturday, June 13 - Celebrated my sister’s Bat Mitzvah with my family.

Sunday, June 14 - Flew back to DC from Boston and had a late dinner at Clyde’s with @justinherman.

Monday, June 15 - Attended happy hour at Big Hunt to send off Aaron. Read my review of Big Hunt.

Tuesday, June 16 - Attended Sixth & I Trivia at Capitol Skyline Hotel. Spike Mendelsohn was a guest announcer!

Wednesday, June 17 - Attended the NextGenWeb website relaunch at Darlington House. See pictures from the NextGenWeb relaunch.

June 17

Thursday, June 18 - I believe I spent the evening at home. The third of four such nights in June.

Friday, June 19 - Enjoyed a “girls’ dinner” with @mindyzeidman and @abudman at Sakana. Read my review of Sakana.

Saturday, June 20 - Went out to Public Bar.

Sunday, June 21- Visited the FDR Memorial with Lauren.

Monday, June 22 - Attended happy hour at RFD to send Daniel off on a “find yourself” vacation to Israel. Read my review of RFD. Afterwards, relocated to Sushi Aoi for dinner with Daniel, Sam, Bryan, Eric,@mindyzeidman, @anj39, @dkatzman54, @agrossbe, and @skeevis.

Tuesday, June 23 - Attended the Red Sox / Nationals Game with @mindyzeidman.

Wednesday, June 24 - Attended the Red Sox / Nationals Game with @justinherman.

Thursday, June 25 - Attended the Red Sox / Nationals Game with @dkatzman54.

Friday, June 26 - Enjoyed a somewhat non-traditional Shabbat Dinner (take out style!) with @mindyzeidman, Laura, Jackie, Scott, Ben W, @anj39, @dkatzman54, and @abudman.

Saturday, June 27 - Tried my hand at whitewater tubing down the Potomac River in West Virginia with 21 of my closest friends. Long story short, went over the rapids without a tube or a life vest. Collected several bruises as souvenirs.

Sunday, June 28 - Visited the Newseum with @anj39 and later watched Away We Go with @mindyzeidman.

Monday, June 29 - Watched The Hangover with @mindyzeidman, @the_n0mster, and Ben A.

Tuesday, June 30 - I believe I spent the evening at home. The fourth of four such nights in June.

Seven Must-Have iPhone Apps

This post is a third in a series which outlines the iPhone applications that I find most useful. Check out “My Favorite iPhone Apps” (October 14, 2008) and “5 iPhone Apps That Rocked My World” (February 3, 2009) to see my previous recommendations.

CardStar	My wallet is filled with membership cards, which is super annoying. It means that I either have to make sure to bring it out or risk not having a specific card (and getting the membership benefits). With Cardstar, you simply enter in the number on your membership card and it creats a scanable barcode, effectively allowing you to leave the clunky cards at home and ensuring that you’ll always have the informatin (and the discounts) with you.
foursquare	My friends frequently ask me why I would share my whereabouts with the world (through Twitter, mostly). Now I have an answer: To unlock badges, become mayor and beat my friends at “nights out”.In Foursquare, I get “points” for checking in at different restaurants, bars, attractions, etc. Each Foursquare user starts out with just a “newbie” badge but things like 4 nights out in a row, checking in at three places in one night, checking in past 2am on a school night, will “unlock” other badges. I can “compete” with my friends (which can be added by scaning an address book, looking up someone by phone number, or finding Twitter friends who are using the service) to see who has the most check-ins or just as a way to see where they are.If you are a big going-out person and are maybe a tad competitive, you will be HOOKED on this app! (Add me on Foursquare!)
Photogene	Photogene brings photo-editing capabilities to the iPhone. I snap and upload pictures (to Twitter, to Facebook, to Flickr, etc.) on the go all the time so I think this app is completely worth its $2.99 pricetag. I use it mostly for cropping my pictures, but it has many more capabilities like adding special effects, straightening tilted pictures and correctiong the color.
PPB (Photo Phonebook)	This app is simple yet genius. Download up the app, create a user account and when someone calls you who you are Facebook friends with, their Facebook profile picture will come up. Did I mention it’s simple yet genius?
SnapTell	See a book (or CD or movie, for that matter) that you are interesting in buying but not ready to buy it at the moment and/or don’t want to overpay? Simply “snap” a picture of the cover and SnapTell will not only show you prices at other stores, but it will also save your query, effectively creating a wishlist on your iPhone that you can come back to later. For indecisive folks like me, this is great (or dangerous since it means I can put off making the decision)!
TweetDeck	I was a big, big fan of Twitterfon — until TweetDeck came out with an iPhone app earlier this month. Anyone using Twitter who has a smartphone needs an app to Tweet on the go. Tweetdeck originated as a robust desktop application in which users can create “groups” of Twitter contacts, searches by keywords and otherwise segment Tweets. Using the iPhone app, users get all that functionality on their mobile phones and it syncs to a user’s desktop instance of the application.
Yelp	Yelp is a phonebook, a map, and a guide book all in one. If I’m out somewhere and need to find the closest sushi restaurant, let’s say, Yelp will locate me and with a simple search provide me with nearby sushi restaurants, complete with reviews, addresses pinpointed on a map and phone numbers to call ahead. And after I’ve eaten, I can pull the app back out and write a review right then and there. In my opinion, its the reviews and other helpful information (like business hours) that helps Yelp trump other location-based restaurant/services apps like AroundMe and Urbanspoon.
DC Bonus: inauguration	This app was created to help visitors navigate around DC for Barak Obama’s Presidential Inauguration. Five months later, it’s still installed on my phone. I use it primarily to find out which Metro station is closest and the upcoming train schedule (Do I have 2 or 20 minutes to catch the Red Line train to Glenmont?). I know other Metro apps do exist, but whether it’s laziness or an unwillingness to pay for an app when I already have one for free that will do the trick, I’m sticking with this one for now.

Where Do Twenty Something Professionals Live in DC?

Last week,  it was a question about social media and dating (namely, “When is it appropriate to Facebook someone you are dating?“) that led someone to this blog. This week, the question is about being a twentysomething in DC.

Since the collective of the group is always much wiser than my thoughts alone, I pose this person’s question to you in the form of the poll below. Feel free to elaborate on your answer (perhaps explaining why you’ve chosen the answers you have) and to suggest areas I did not include.