Ivy City Archives - Memos and Mirth

Moving Back to Dallas

August 23, 2020

Dennis Jansen posing at a mural in Dallas, Texas.

Almost exactly three years after leaving Dallas to earn my Georgetown Tax LL.M. degree in Washington, D.C., I was headed back to Texas.

The pandemic triggered an exodus from the District among my social network. Despite the ubiquitous “diversity and inclusion” marketing among D.C. employers, LGBT and brown people are still the first ones to get fired when there’s economic uncertainty. Many of my friends working in politics, nonprofits, and the service industry got the chop pretty early. They abandoned their apartments and moved back to their hometowns at the beginning of the summer.

Then a larger group of people started trickling out of the District as months ticked by and leases came up for renewal. With fully-virtual office environments and most amenities shuttered, why pay a premium to live in the District?

Architecture / Coronavirus Diary

The Hold-Out

August 23, 2020

Some buildings are still boarded up from the George Floyd protests, and I am not sure whether they are still actually worried about break-ins or just went out of business entirely. In the case of Hikari Sushi, I suspect that it’s the latter.

Coronavirus Diary / dogs

Do it for Ruth

August 23, 2020

This is perhaps the most Washington D.C. PSA ever. I’ve seen several of these COVID-19 safety PSAs in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, and agree that wearing a mask for Ruth Bader Ginsburg is totally worth it.

There were also less-successful PSAs about some dude named Ryan.

Washington DC COVID warning.

Architecture / Ivy City

Something looks familiar

August 22, 2020

New construction in the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, DC.

The Ivy City neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, so it is not unusual to see brand new developments abutting shells of former buildings. But this pair of buildings on Capitol Avenue NE looks mighty familiar.

Surely it is not a coincidence that they match perfectly? Perhaps this is what progress looks like.

Gentrification in the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, DC.

There are a lot of random facades being propped up in this manner around the neighborhood. I am not sure why they are worth keeping, but at least they are providing inspiration for new buildings?

Architecture / Coronavirus Diary

Impasse Coffee

August 22, 2020

The Compass Coffee headquarters in Ivy City, Washington DC

Aside from a dramatic life-saving rescue, and bi-weekly fires, the view from my desk is mostly the mundane, slow construction going on across the street.

It took weeks for the construction workers to put up the giant sign for the Compass Coffee roastery. For an hour, it hilariously read “ASS COFFEE,” which my inner 13-year-old found hilarious.

Then, when the sign read “MPASS COFFEE,” an actual impasse happened and the construction workers started a full-on screaming fight in the middle of the street.

Coronavirus Diary / diet / Fashion

Summer of Short Shorts

August 20, 2020

At least in D.C., the fashion trend for the past few years has been very short shorts.

The problem is that with my “pandemic 15,” the short-shorts tend to make me look like a fat baby. However, now every time I try to wear what used to be normal-length shorts, I feel like I’m dressing like the lead singer of a late-90s rock band.

I may be old, but these biscuits are not definitely limp, so, fat baby look it is. 👶

Coronavirus Diary

The Logan Circle Skeleton

August 18, 2020

An ominous skeleton in the DuPont / Logan Circle neighborhood.

It looks like Halloween came early to the Logan Circle/Dupont neighborhood.

This creepy decoration is at the intersection of 17th Street and P Street NW. It’s not quite as interesting as the Barbie Pond, but just as quirky and a bit more topical.

An ominous skeleton in the DuPont / Logan Circle neighborhood.

Coronavirus Diary / fitness

Back to the gym

August 17, 2020

Dennis Jansen at the gym wearing a Beauty Bar shirt in Washington D.C.

Just prior to shutdown, I was halfway through a modified version of the “75 Hard” exercise fad.

The gist my routine was that I worked out twice a day for a minimum of 45 minutes per session. It was a big commitment, but felt great (most of the time).

I never subscribed to some of the more arbitrary rules of the 75 Hard program — like the requirement that one session has to be outside, or that you can’t make-up missed sessions when work gets crazy. Even I understood that flexibility is needed for thunderstorms and client demands. I also wasn’t going to take 5 minute cold showers every day because that’s clearly nonsense.

The point of this fitness spurt was to train myself to understand that exercise is something to be prioritized. Scheduling two exercise sessions per day instead of just one also makes it very hard to skip working out altogether. In short — I was on a roll.

dogs / Ivy City

Neighborhood meeting

August 17, 2020

Ingrid and Gunter meeting the Ivy City pitbulls.

There are plenty of ferocious pitbulls guarding various places in Ivy City. The local convenience store is surrounded by a yard with two particularly aggressive pits that recently charged after my dogs on one of our morning walks.

Gunter (the Chiweenie) held his ground, and they actually became friends of sorts.

Coronavirus Diary / Washington DC

Oops

August 16, 2020

A destroyed bus stop in Washington DC that was hit by a drunk driver.

The lack of nightclubs during the pandemic has not made the streets safer — particularly in Washington DC’s Shaw/U Street neighborhood.

We’ve seen a car jump a curb and almost hit a group of Black Israelites. They were convinced it was a miracle that they weren’t injured, and I think they may be right. That driver sped off.

Then the next weekend, this nonsense happened:

Ivy City

The Neighborhood Fires

August 13, 2020

Working from home continues to be far more interesting than expected. There haven’t been additional dramatic rescues, but there are a strange amount of fires in the neighborhood.

Since March, I’ve seen a fire about every-other week. For a while, there was even a homicidal arsonist on the loose.

The number of fires that I see from my desk is in part due to the great unobstructed view from my window — I can see anything smoking between Ivy City and Maryland. However, there are still too many fires in this part of town for my comfort.

Aside from smoke, helicopters frequently buzz past the building — but that’s likely an everyday occurrence in the District and far less scary than the choppers in St. Paul. 🔥

Ivy City

Still Got It

August 10, 2020

The sidewalk in West Virginia Avenue NE in Washington DC

It’s about 7 a.m. and I’m walking Ingrid by the side of Gallaudet University on my way back from Starbucks. I have my headphones in — focused on my audiobook and distancing myself from other pedestrians.

The street back to Ivy City is West Virginia Avenue NE, which features an odd morning mix of dog walkers, joggers, prostitutes and drug dealers. A guy about my age exits a yard, crosses West Virginia, and starts walking diagonally toward me. The guy says something to me, but I have my headphones in so I pretend not to hear him and keep hustling forward with the dog.

The guy gets into a SUV and drives off.

We are still walking along West Virginia Avenue a few minutes later when the SUV reappears and slows down. The guy rolls down his window and waives to get my attention. I stop and take out my headphones.

Guy in car: “Are you interested in me at all?”

Me: “…pardon me?”

Guy in car: “Would you be interested in a guy like me at all?”

I,

am,

mortified.

I smile, mumble something about having a boyfriend and keep it moving. That was quite possibly the most awkward pickup ever, but apparently I still got it? 🤷

art / dogs / Ivy City

The New Murals

August 4, 2020

Ingrid the labradoodle and Gunter the Chiweenie in Trinidad, Washington DC.

There’s a new Black Lives Matter mural along my dog walk route. This mural is in an alley near the corner of Mt. Olivet and Holbrook Street NE.

Chinatown / Coronavirus Diary / fitness

Rethinking the Gym

June 25, 2020

Gyms recently opened back up in the District for the first time since the lockdown began, but I am not sure when I’ll be back.

dogs / Ivy City

Mornings in Northeast

June 18, 2020

Ingrid the labradoodle with some street art in the Gallaudet / Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast D.C.

My labradoodle and I established a new routine over the past few months.

Chinatown / Coronavirus Diary

The Moon Man

June 17, 2020

One of the most interesting things about the first days of the COVID-19 lock down was the effort people put into outlandish costumes.

dogs / Ivy City

The Rooftop Dog Park

June 15, 2020

Gunter the Chiweenie at our rooftop dog park.

The rooftop dog park is one of the best things about my apartment building.

Ivy City

Desk Flowers

June 14, 2020

I briefly started ordering fresh-cut flowers a few months ago — I’m working from home so I finally have time to enjoy them, right?

Coronavirus Diary / Ivy City

The Tandem Bike Thief

June 12, 2020

A stolen tandem bike poster in Trinidad, Washington DC, near Gallaudet University.

Posters in the neighborhood are very common — movie advertisements, parking restrictions, political art, lost pets, protest statements, cries for help, etc.

However, this morning, we came across something new — a “stolen bike” poster.

Coronavirus Diary

Blueberry Muffin Cake

June 10, 2020

Like everyone else, I took up baking since this great work from home experiment. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I purchased a mini-muffin pan and regular-sized cups until I started mixing…