(Edited about 6:30 pm Friday night to add more details about Saturday night’s party and another Mpact event. Additions are in bold italic)
I’m going to run an experiment for the next 7 days (Friday-Thursday): I’m going to count how many bums approach me for money as I go about my business downtown. I’m not going to alter my behavior at all – meaning, if I see one coming, I’ll cross the street to get away from him as I normally would, rather than stay on the same side to run up the count. Any guesses as to how many I’ll encounter? Maybe I should give away a prize for the closest guess.
All right. Plans for the weekend.
Friday night: I’ll be getting together with my church’s young-adults group for Bible study and fellowship. It will be good to get together in a nurturing environment with others to share in God’s grace and the glory of Jesus Christ.
…
Just kidding! Bar-hopping, probably. Not sure where I’ll end up.
Saturday day: Gonna head back up to Otherlands and get some more work done on my friend’s website. Was debating whether or not to ride the bike to Midtown, but since the predicted high is 101 I have a feeling I’ll take the car.
Saturday night: There’s a birthday party on my rooftop for Henry, the owner of my building. They’re asking for a $20 donation to help out a friend of his who was injured in an accident, but it’s actually not a bad deal – it’s catered by McEwen’s and there’s a bar. There’s also going to be a band, I think. I’ve talked to other people in the building and some guests and it sounds like this is going to be a really good one.
Edit: I just ran into Henry the building owner in the elevator and he gave me more details about the party. McEwen’s and Stella, two of the best restaurants downtown, will be providing food. Sounds like one will bring a paella and the other, an antipasto. There will also be a 7-piece band. They were taking flowers up to the roof to decorate. This is going to be quite the party – well worth the $20 donation. It starts at 7 pm. Fellow building residents, get your ass up there! Downtown friends who don’t live in the building, call my cell or e-mail me if you want to come.
Sunday: Champagne. Orange juice. Mimosas. This week I’ll probably do Sleep Out’s rather than the Monkey, just to mix things up.
And a couple of Mpact events coming up the following week:
Wednesday 7/27: Mpact will be at Court Square for their weekly concert series. The artist this week is Candice Ivory, so it should be a really good one. In case of rain everything will be moved to the Cadre Building at Second and Monroe – the music, the food vendors, the beer, the FM100 both, the pigeons, the wino who sleeps on the park bench, everything.
Friday 7/29: Mpact will have a farewell party for the interns they hosted this summer at Earnestine & Hazel’s. This will coincide with the monthly South Main Trolley Art Tour, and the party will start at 7 pm. Feel free to come out even if you weren’t involved with the intern program. Mpact parties at E&H are always a lot of fun – everyone loosens up and gets away from stiff “young professional” behavior. And of course they have beer and soul burgers. If you’re a downtowner, walk down the street to Etched Art at 505 S. Main during Trolley Tour and buy a “38103” shirt.
Edit: Monday, August 1 there will be a “Big Idea” meeting at Bosco’s in Overton Square from 5:30 until 7:00 pm. Mpact has decided to take on one big idea and make a big difference in the community over the next 6-12 months. The Big Idea, the issue they’re taking on, is financial literacy – educating the community about predatory lending, credit card debt, credit scores, etc. Anyone who wants to help plan programming around this idea is invited to attend. They’re asking those who plan on coming to RSVP to rsvp@mpactmemphis.org. I probably will NOT be there, because I have that day off and I’ll probably find more interesting things to do on my vacation day than attend a meeting. (Then again, they do have beer at Bosco’s…hmmm…) But I fully support the Big Idea and think it’s much needed in this city.
And that’ll do it for now. I’ll know I’m in trouble when the “plans for the weekend” and “what the bums are drinking this week” journal entries look alike, but fortunately I’m not there yet.