Vibrant.(Still) Unrepentant. Badass. Old. Queer

Good Morning, Kittens. I had lunch yesterday with the lovely Ms. Clio Bluestockingtales. I will not post the photo I took of Ms. Clio Bluestockingtales, because it looks like there is an umbrella sprouting out of her head. We went to Sette. I had cheese pizza. And salad. And wine! Mmm ... wine ... Afterwards, Ms. CBT went to the Freer/Sackler Galleries, and I wandered off towards the US Botanical Gardens. On the way, I found Uranus (I'll bet you didn't even know you had lost it, Trampy McTramperson!): The US Botanical Gardens is full of teh flowerz: And cacti: And all sorts of deliciousness ... NOM! And, this is what happens when skin which has not seen the sun for MONTHS sees the sun: Then, I wandered around the Reflecting Pool, watching the Sea Pigeons until I decided to come home. The rest of the pix are here . Today, I must apply to many many jobs, so that I can have a SuperFun Weekend! *smooches*

Dango Sankyodai Love Boy by Dana International Kuzu Kuzu by Tarkan and, yes, I *do* own all three songs. Hmmm ... what does that say about my musical taste?

Good Morning, Kittens! I think Wednesdays are the day for me to go to the pottery studio. For the second week in a row, I was the only person there. It was *much* easier to concentrate than when the studio is filled with annoyingly chatty College chicks. I may go this Sunday to see how the weekend studio is. Anyway, I threw the bowl and two vases pictured. I rarely throw bowls, so that was a fun challenge. And, I may turn the vases into mugs. The squaretop vase lacked "height" (meaning, even though it is tall enough, it has a squat feel to it), so I pinched in the sides. I don't know if it helped, but it looks a bit more interesting now. Recently, I finished reading Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin. It was all right. I felt a lot of the biological information was common knowledge (or, at least, common knowledge for someone who majored in biology); however, every now and then I would read a sentence or a paragraph th...

Good Morning, Kittens. Not much going on today. I need to be super-productive this morning so I can justify a trip to the pottery studio this afternoon. I did nothing of note yesterday, other than drink the last of my gin (*gasp*) and figure out how to enter phone numbers and reset the security code of our building's intercom system. What an exciting adventure that was! Sorry this post is so brief. Go read yesterday's. It was more interesting (with photos!). Probably more later. Have a great day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! It's a bright sunshiny day out there (but coooooooooooooold ). At some point, I need to venture forth unto the bank, Whole Foods, and likker store ( I iz almost out of GINZ! ), but it won't be today unless it gets a bit warmer. Yesterday was mostly a wash. I scoured several job sites with no luck. Bah. On the bright side, I did manage to set up a simple spreadsheet to keep track of participants and donations made in the 10% Refund Challenge. Are you participating? [Visit the Facebook Event page here .] Have you made your donations yet? When you do, please let me know. Really, it's just resume fodder so I can be all "organized a fund-raising event which donated X dollars to Y organizations." Well, it's resume fodder ... and a whole heap of dogooderyness. I *heart* dogooderyness! Also, pottery class was mostly successful. Even though I didn't throw any new pots, I trimmed the two vases and 3 mugs I made last week. Plus, I pulled handle...

Good Morning, Kittens! Although my weekend didn't start out so well, it ended on a SugarHigh Note! Friday, after much internal dithering, I decided to go to the pottery studio. Unfortunately, I was totally unproductive. My first pot was a disaster. And, as I was finishing my second pot, my finger caught it and it was destroyed. Alas. I shoved the blobby clay bits back in my bag with hopes that next time will be better. Once home, I made a martini, and a bite to eat, and watched DVDs all night. Aaaaah ... so much better. Saturday, I met Dana and the Skankified Ho and Carolyn for margaritas. It was so much fun. We drank. We ate. We had SuperBig Laughs. Such a good time. Later that night, CNTBD came over. He had had an unpleasant few days, so we chilled with a bottle of wine and a couple of episodes of Melrose Place . MP makes everything better. Srsly.(There was also some Quality Nekkid Time, but I don't believe I should be blogging about that!). On Sunday, my upstairs neighbor, K...

Good Morning, Kittens! Here's a quick photographic rundown of my day, yesterday. However, this may seem like old news for those of you who are all hip and with it and following my twitter/plurk/facebook updates. I guess you can just deal with it. Or revel in the glory that is me. Hurrah! I met CNTBD at Zaytinya for lunch. I had retsina ... and we ate many yummy mezze. And had dessert. Mmmm: Then, I headed over to the salon ... this is why: Before During After Welcome to my Natural Color. As Gawd as mah witness, you will Never See it Again! Hair all purty, I lurked in coffee shops and bookstores, until I could meet my friend, Carolyn, for Happy Hour(s). We went to Jack's (on 17th St). 1/2 Price Bottle of Wine Night! *w00t!* Then, we had martinis. Then, we were durnk and we came home: The End. More later. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! *urgh* Ever go to bed because you're really, really tired and, then, be completely unable to sleep? Yeah? That was me last night. Gah. I have a busy, busy day today. You see, I haven't had a haircut in months . I kept thinking "I should wait until I have an interview. Then, I'll have great hair for that." Unfortunately, no one wants to interview VUBOQ. *sniff* Perhaps it's the hair? So, I decided to make an appointment, which is this afternoon. Huz-ZAH! No color this time though. In fact, my roots are so long that most of the color will be cut out. You'll get to see me at as close to my natural color as I will ever allow. Post-cut photos will be posted this evening (possibly) when I get home. Or I may send one or two to Twitter. Just check over there --> I made a 2PM appointment and planned my day around that. CNTBD suggested lunch one day this week, and -well- today fit into my schedule. We're going to Zay...

Good Afternoon, Kittens! I'm back from the pottery studio with a few pictures Just. For. You. Now, don't you feel special? These would be the two vases I threw on Monday night. I think the taller, narrower one is approx. 8 inches tall. If it turns out the way I want, it will be my new knitting needle vase. And, I threw these today. I think they will become mugs ... even though they might be a little large. They should shrink some after firing and glazing. But, people like big mugs, right? OK. The end. You can return to your regularly scheduled evening plans now. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! It's Wintry Mixing here. Is it Wintry Mixing with you? I hope it stops by this afternoon, because I want to go to the pottery studio and I don't want to trudge through sludge. I was a Totally Good Unemployed Boy yesterday. I applied to three jobs (*w00t!*). I went to the bank. And, I went to the Whole Foods. See: I can haz olives! HUZ-zah! When I returned home, a cute little box was waiting for me at the door. And it was filled with this: OMG! Yarn! and hand creme! From Dr. Mel ! He, like, totally rocks! Pretty pretty yarn waiting to be knit! Yayz! Hm. I think I may have over-exclamationpointed the previous paragraph ... Using my new groceries, I cooked dinner (pasta + tomato sauce) and, then, watched What Happened in Vegas . Cute movie. Ashton Kutcher was shirtless a lot, which was probably the best thing about the movie. Soon after, I went to bed. Bed is good. I like bed. Have a great day! Maybe I'll put up some pottery pix thi...

Good Morning, Kittens! Pottery class last night was a lot of fun :-) Not only did I throw two good-sized vases, but one of the new students is SuperCute! Too bad he's also SuperYoung. Oh, well. Nothing wrong with a little eye candy. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures last night (of my vases or the cute guy). It was good being back in class. I'm going to try to go to the studio an additional two times each week. We'll see if that happens. However, I am only going to allow myself to go to the studio during Open Studio hours if I have made Positive Job Search Actions. Not much other news and I don't have any real plans for today ... I do need to head to the Whole Foods. I am out of olives! Which is almost as big of a catastrophe as being out of gin (which I'm not. Thank Goodness). More Later! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! Hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day full of hearts and flowers and little naked cupids (or big naked studmuffins)! On Thursday, since I neglected to tell you about that, Eric from Baltimore came down. We met Ray at Alero in Dupont Circle and had many many margaritas. Then, we went to Cobalt and had many many vodka cranberries. Then, we staggered home. Here we are in the Metro Station: Can you spot the cute French guy? Friday, I had to run errands, do some Board stuff, and was forced to treat myself to lunch at Adega: Then, I ran more errands ... including trying to find some sake for Valentine's Day. I did not have any luck. The sake was either too expensive or not good quality. *sigh* That evening, I went to a party hosted by the German's girlfriend, who is totally fierce (and has a super cool apartment in upper NW DC). Here's a photo of the neighbors who were there (I sort of remember this picture being taken): Home. Very Late. Saturday. Ver...

Good Morning, Kittens! Yep. The Terrible Twos are over at last. Three years ago today, VUBOQ arose from the diary-x ashes . And all the world became a slightly bitterer place. Huzzah! Here are a few high(and low)lights from the year that was ... VUBOQ creates Baseball Day . VUBOQ has the Best Birthday Party EVER ! VUBOQ meets some SuperFantastic BloggerChicks ! VUBOQ discovers the Most Disgusting Flavor of Potato Chips in the Whole Wide World . VUBOQ learns to change a flat tire ... the hard way on a trip to NYC . VUBOQ hangs out with SuperCute Bloggers in NYC and DC . VUBOQ learns that sometimes bad things happen to good bitter people. VUBOQ has a painfully obvious crush on someone . VUBOQ carves teh pumpkins . VUBOQ realizes he is White Trash . VUBOQ conversates against each other . VUBOQ pisses people off (and becomes a Gay Uncle!). What a wild and crazy ride! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. VUBOQ is shedding readers like his cat is shedding hair. FIVE FUCKING BRUSHFULS and, OMG, she needs to be BRUSHED again. GodDamn UnNaturally Warm February. The Fucking Crocuses (Croci?) will be coming up soon. GAH. But, anyway, sorry about the slackass posts recently. VUBOQ's life is pretty much shit (except for the one diamond amongst the excrement, who we are referring to as CNTBD, apparently). My unemployment benefits have ended ... with no notification that the Emergency Unemployment Compensation will be kicking in (although I might be hearing something about that soon). I still have No Jobz. Fortunately, I have teh Finances to live. And I will not bitch about my Monetary Situation until two things happen: (1) I can't afford catfood and (2) I can't afford gin. Once that happens, it's the Motherforking Apocalpyse, Kittens. And you'd better be showing up at my door with bucketfuls of teh Cash. I won't bitch, but it's still Brin...

Good Morning, Kittens! I'm afraid there's not much to report. Last night was the first meeting with the new Board. For those of you who don't know, I live in a housing co-op. I was nominated to act as President. Woo hoo. Teh Power. I haz it. I will also serve as the liaison between the Board and the management company. Oh, what fun. I also finished reading Second Nature by Michael Pollan. Good book. I liked his idea that a lot of what we consider to be "wilderness" are not truly wild places and need to be "gardened" (meaning "carefully managed"). For example, the huge wildfires that happened in Yellowstone years ago were a result of letting the park alone. However, had the park been treated like a garden, perhaps the wildfires would not have been so destructive. The last few chapters felt a little weak. Overall, it was an entertaining and informative read. Next up: The Children of Men by PD James. Today, I will be doing a bit of grocery shopp...

with the arrival of this: Melrose Place, Season 2. The perfect Valentine's Weekend viewing material. Also, my Federal Refund has been deposited into my account. As soon as it clears, for the 10% Refund Challenge , I will be making $50 donations to the following four organizations: Food & Friends Medical Students for Choice Theater for a New Audience , and Washington Animal Rescue League It works out to be slightly more than 10% of my refund, but I felt like I should give to all 4 worthy organizations equally. Remember: You, too, can participate in the 10% Refund Challenge by pledging to donate 10% of your tax refund to charity. By doing so, not only do you do some good during difficult economic times, but you will be entered into a drawing to win Fabulous Prizes (like pottery! or infused vodka!). Plus, if you donate to one (or some! or all!) of the four charities listed above, you will be entered into the drawing twice! If you don't get a refund (*awwww*), you can sti...

Nothing to see here. *smooches*

For your viewing pleasure, I present: Rollerblading! Take that, Slumdog Millionaire! (If the embedded thingie doesn't work, here's the link !) *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! How was the weekend? Did you have Big Big Fun Fun? I'm sure you did, because Kittens always do! Puntabulous (via Chris via Java via the World ). Brown and Pink is So Hot (Right, Goblinbox ?)! I guess you are wondering about my weekend, eh? Well ... my Friday dinner date went v. well, and -now that it's over- I can share the menu. We started with a ThrowBack to the 90s Salad: Mixed greens, blue cheese, pears, and pecans with a simple vinaigrette. Then, we had butternut squash ravioli (which I did *not* make from scratch) with a pecan cream sauce (which I did (and I actually followed a recipe (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian ))). The sauce was Delicious. Like OMG Yum. Mmmm... For dessert, we had a Kumquat-Infused Vodka Cordial. It was a very filling meal. Saturday, I had a lovely lunch with Ms. Eight Lives Left . We went to El Golfo. I had spinach enchiladas and many many margaritas (ok. two margaritas. whatevs). After lunch, I...

Good Morning, Kittens. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men ... they get gang aft a'gleyed all over the place. Carolyn and I decided that it was too cold to go out for happy hour drinks. Instead, I invited her over for wine and leftover soup. Unfortunately, she got off work late and, then, had a crappy commute. Plus, she was a little tired from a work trip in AZ. So, my happy reunion with Carolyn was cancelled. Wah. We did have a good nearly hour-long phone conversation though. Of course, because my friends have this amazing ability to sense when I have already made plans, I received two invites to do other things, which I turned down: a free ticket to the symphony and a dinner/drinks gathering at Nellie's. *sigh* I ended up staying in, eating leftover soup (yum!), drinking wine, and watching Season 1 of Rick & Steve (the Happiest Gay Couple in the World). It was cute. And sometimes funny. Lessee ... tonight, I'm cooking dinner for [Clever Nickname TBD] at ...

Just in case I lose my handwritten list, here are the contents of the three bags of clothes I'll be donating: Bag 1 2 sweaters (1 pullover, 1 cardigan) 2 pullover windbreakers (lined) 1 very unfashionable (and old) sport coat 1 light weight 3/4-length winter coat Bag 2 9 long-sleeve dress shirts 1 short sleeve shirt 5 pairs of pants (4 casual, 1 dress) Bag 3 11 long-sleeve dress shirts *smooches* PS. Tonight's Happy Hour downtown has become Leftover Soup and Wine Night at Casa de VUBOQ because of the cold weather. I'm ok with this turn of events.

Good Morning, Kittens! Yesterday, I decided to thin out my closets. I filled three garbage bags with clothes to donate and I threw out 2 garbage bags of clothes too awful to give away. Now, I have lots of space in my closets. Plus, everything is on matching wooden hangers. I do have an interesting dilemma ... what does one do with all those plastic and wire hangers? Throw them out? Make art? Then, in the evening, a group of neighbors went to the Quarry House to celebrate Kristi's promotion. Fun times. I had a grilled cheese sandwich. Yum. Once home, I made use of my beer buzz and bought Melrose Place, Season 2 on DVD and a book (the title of which I can't remember ... something about fish) from Amazon.com. Is there a better way to spend Valentine's Weekend (assuming the package arrives in time)? Today, there is a Green Jobs Expo downtown. I may head down that way this afternoon. However, from reading the description of the event, it seems that a Jobs Expo is different from ...

Good Morning, Kittens! Yesterday was a fairly productive day. I sludged through centimeters of snow to the post office to mail several packages to friends. I still have two pieces of pottery to mail, but I don't have boxes for them. I straightened the living room. I applied for two jobs. I flipped through a couple of cookbooks to find something to make for [Clever Nickname As Yet to Be Determined] on Friday. And I knitted a bit on the Never-Ending Cardigan of Doom (Take 2). Then, I cracked open a bottle of wine and made a super yummy soup. See: Hello, Chef's Little Helper! Today is Laundry Day. Fun. And, this evening, a bunch of the neighbors are heading out to a local bar to celebrate another neighbor's promotion. Should be a good time. Have a great day! *smooches*