You Look Nice Today

In the midst of writing some on-going blogs I've been meaning to post this. Two weekends ago I had a really great Saturday. Or, extra great since I tend to see the girl every weekend. On said Saturday I decided to take all two of the MMA classes offered. The first class (hour) is muay thai. The second class (hour) is BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu).

I've been feeling more comfortable (except for the latest two classes) with my standup game and this class proved to be no exception. I've been moving a little more effortlessly and have been getting the hang of the footwork. Additionally, on that day I had my first sparring session in the BJJ class, which is incredibly fun and exhausting.

So, after really enjoying both of these classes and seeming to do well I started to ride home. I rode up 7th Street to make a left onto L or K St. Whichever street has the historic library. I was riding past and saw people doing capoeira in front of the library. I immediately stopped since I have never actually seen people do this other than in the movies (Only the Strong).I parked my bike only to find that the Brazilian Embassy has sponsored a cultural event in front of the library where they had schools and instructors and students from all over performing this Afro-Cuban martial art. They had some of the older guys playing the music (the berimbau and the pandeiro) and the players in and around the roda. They were all ages and colors and sexes (or at least all two). They went slowly at first and as it progressed various people decided to speed up along with the music. It was amazing to see people move like that. They all had a smile on their face and seemed to genuinely be enjoying themselves. I wanted to try it and had heard rumor of there being a workshop. However, not having eaten yet that day and the time fastly approaching 4pm, I decided to leave and eat.

It made for a very enjoyable day and I am very happy to have seen that. Here are some pictures.

Working the Guest List (written some time ago...more to come)

As promised in the previous entry, the following blog is about my brief time spent at a local posh club working as a host/doorman/guest list checker-offer type of guy.

I had made a contact through a volunteer event earlier this year. He was so impressed with my work ethic he said that if I ever needed a job that he would have one for me. At the time, I didn't need a second job (as I already had one). But recently—over the past month—I decided to get another second part time job to help out with my ever-tightening wallet. I emailed said contact and he responded quite quickly, arranged a brief interview and proceeded to offer me the job right away. I was to work as the host and/or person who would be on the outside of the club, checking people off the guest list and checking ID's and turning people away if they don't fit the bill or if they're not on the guest list. I was to wear a (preferably) black suit and nice shoes.

My first night was the following Friday. I showed up in my closest imitation of a black suit, a dark gray suit and my comfortable johnston and murphy shoes (admittedly a bit beat up). I shadowed one of the regular hosts we'll call John. John is of Middle Eastern descent and was built similar to me yet with a voice that seemed closer to the villain from Only the Strong. He proceeded to act the part of the lecherous foreign guy with the two girls who were also working the front door area taking the cover charge money and handing out tickets and stamps. Also, much to my shock and amazement, it worked. They seemed to flirt back and laugh with his absurd and obvious machismo.

John and the other employees, who all shared the characteristic of having a non-u.s. nationality did their best to ignore me and pretend that I wasn't cool enough to work there, which, as it turns out, I wasn't. At various points throughout the evening they even proceeded to speak to each other in their native tongue when they were right next to me, a rude thing to do in any culture I'd imagine. One bouncer was kind enough to chat with me and make sure I was understanding the basic's of the biz.

The customers that evening seemed fairly calm and just up for having a good time. As the crowd was light that evening, and I wasn't really working as much as i was shadowing, they let me go early. I informed the nicer bouncer that I had plans for the Saturday and also the following weekend and was not going to be able to make it. He was nice enough to clear it with the main guy. I was told to try and have the black suit for the next time I work and also wear better shoes. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money i guess.

Two weeks later I confirm that I can still come in on the Friday evening to work. I purchased new shoes and had a new very well-fitting black suit. I felt like "the shit."
I chugged an energy drink on the walk to work thinking "ok, I can do this...it's all about attitude and mindset." I had to be cleared, calling the manager and asking him if it is ok for me to come in, before even entering the place. I was told that I was to shadow the regular host. This guy (whom we'll call Matt), while similar to the aforementioned John, had a more understated cool and farted much less stinky machismo, but was still nonetheless "too cool for school." The manager had the same attitude and tried to make me feel about as unimportant as an insect and did his best to not make eye contact with me.

That evening I was able to get a better understanding of the club scene in DC. Not the crazy ghetto club idea or the rave glow-stick club, but the kind of club where one would expect to see Paris Hilton or one of those realty E channel celebs. In addition to that generally shallow façade, there were the regulars or those on the guest list. There was a very random mix of whites, blacks, europeans, asians, middle easterners, etc. Materialism and excess know no country lines, and neither does the attitude of entitlement.