Microdosing time: Dog walks & spontaneous pings

Good morning, DMV. It’s Thursday, Nov. 5.

A friend suggested she’d try microdosing time with friends to make it through the colder months and keep the winter doldrums at bay. What does this mean practically? It means seeing friends with zero obligations — no need to cook, tidy up the house or anything. Just shared time.

So I went to her house for a coworking date. I sat on her couch. She took calls, while I locked onto emails. We barely talked, but it was like we were parallel playing, and it was nice to just have someone next to me chipping away at her thing while I chipped at mine. I decided I’d definitely cowork at her house again, in part for her company, but also for the companionship of George the cat, who nestled onto the cushion behind me and offered an occasional pat on my back.

A few days later, I went for a brief grocery run with another neighbor. I recently learned another yoga teacher in my studio has long read my newsletter — so I joined her yoga class, simply to hear her words and feel her vibe.

Many of you wrote to tell me how you microdose time with friends.

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Phoebe Smith, 53, who lives on Capitol Hill

“I meet friends to walk our dogs together. Or just to do few laps around Lincoln Park for a quick catch up without dogs (depending on the friend). Short visits are always marvelous — easy to fit in (especially with a dog walk, since you have to do that anyway). And everyone leaves wanting more (rather than feeling exhausted at the end of an hours-long dinner party, etc.).”

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Dina Yagodich, 58, who long lived near Frederick, Maryland, but now lives near Pittsburgh

“My microdosing with friends is writing old-fashioned letters back and forth.  Highly recommended  :)”

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Astrid Caldas, 67 for a few more months 😀, lives in Bethesda

“I keep an open mind for drop-ins, and my friends know it. Friends can ping me with short notice (sometimes ‘I am at your corner!’), and if I can, we share time together. For me, friendships are spontaneous, and I particularly love when a friend I haven’t seen in a long time (or even spoken with) stops by, because they know they are welcome!”

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Capital Weather says: The 70s stick around, but showers may finally join the party. Read the full forecast here.

The Hopkins Bloomberg Center is holding an event that sounds interesting: “Your Brain on Music: Sound, Science & Soul” on Nov. 16 and 17. The event, a collaboration between the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute (AGHI) at Johns Hopkins University and PostClassical Ensemble, will explore how our brains respond to and interact with music and images, with works by Bach, Beethoven and more.

Chris Wathen, a resident of the Navy Yard neighborhood of D.C., sent in this photo he took on Oct. 12.

“A friend and I were hiking around the lake at Seneca Creek State Park in Maryland when we saw these turtles on a log. I’ve never seen so many turtles at once before,” he wrote in his submission.

I also asked him what he’s reading and watching lately.

“I’m on a Malcolm Gladwell sociological kick, including ‘Outliers’ and ‘Revenge of the Tipping Point,’” he said.

“Regarding movies, I’m not a big horror fan — except every October when I watch as much as possible. Most recently I watched ‘Jennifer’s Body,’ a misunderstood campy classic. ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The Shining’ are October staples.”

Share your recent photos of life in the DMV here.

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