True story. There were days, not far gone by, when people sat in the dark cave of consumerist DC, going to Happy Hours and gallery openings to get cheap drinks, knowing that going to a restaurant would surely cut severely into their budget, meaning less money to spend on children/shoes/overseas travel/gas/presents for friends.
These were days when The Man ruled Washington wallets. Want to indulge in a bucket of tots at Sticky Rice? It’s gonna cost you. Like to try that new gastropub in Mount Vernon? It’ll cost you. How about a trip to the Corcoran Gallery for their new exhibit? Same. Same, same, same! The Man held DC in an iron grip: everything fun or different just cost too much. We said, I’d like to do those things, but not this month. Maybe next month…and we continued to live our lives in DC only as pale reflections of what they could (and ought to) be.
Then, Groupon came along. Ah, Groupon, the shining savior who showed us all the Truth: that real life can be enjoyed to the fullest, thanks to 50-90% off specials in which we all win! The skinny is this–a vendor will advertise a deal on Groupon, a social-buying site; Groupon sends email alerts to its members, who may buy the deal within a certain amount of time. If enough people sign up to buy the deal, the deal tips, making it available. If not enough buy it, the deal will fizzle.
But with the deals available, they’re going like hotcakes. Deals come into our inboxes, reminding us that life can be lived to its fullest with the help of discounted prices at restaurants, museums, tours/walks/pub crawls/corn mazes, etc. The Man no longer keeps us in chains in the dark, but we have broken forth into the day!
DC Style Is Real 
mmmm….groupons. today’s was another sushi deal.