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

  Hello, Kittens.  What up? Things in VUTOPIA are about the same as always ... work is fun, but superbizzybizzy.  Pottery class has ended until next year.  Sad Facez.  I am still taptaptappin' away.  I missed the most recent class because I had a cold.  Yuck! So, you may not have noticed, but there was a holiday recently.  We call it Thanksgiving.  And, as is our tradition, my building held our 3rd Annual 10(ish)K and Brunch.  This year, because our normal hosts moved, I hosted the brunch.  It was fun.  My apartment looked like this: I made tofu scramble, pumpkin coffee cake, and baked egg casserole with spinach, mushrooms, and salsa: I also had cheese and crackers and a varied assortment of homemade pickles and sauces. Other people brought delicious foods as well! Bread! Fruit salad! Vegan sausages!  And lots and lots and lots of champagne. It was all quite tasty and fun!  But, I was quite happy when ...

OMG, Kittens!  Remember me?  How are you?  Is anyone still out there? My Exciting New Job started on the January 28th and settling into that has been busy busy busy.  I don't even know where to begin to start catching up on my life. So here are just some of the random things that have happened in the past two weeks that I can remember ... At some point, I had a fun little Adult Sleepover (without actually sleeping over) with K (remember him?).  He is still as enthusiastic as ever.  *rowr* The Little Red Car's battery has died.  And, I need to give it a jump.  But, that seems scary. So, I have been procrastinating. M (not the one in Vegas) decided he didn't want to hang out with me anymore.  But, now he has changed his mind. And, we are getting together on Sunday for a little Super Bowl Part for two.  So, that should be fun. This SuperHot guy I hooked up with about two years ago contacted me out of the blue.  But, I have ...

Good Afternoon, Kittens!  I hope you had a delightful Thanksgiving and are using the rest of the weekend to relax and exercise off all those excess calories you consumed ... as for me, my Thanksgiving holiday has been possibly one of the Best EVER! On Wednesday afternoon, I got some VERY  GOOD news (which I will be sharing later once everything is signed and official). THEN, M in Las Vegas texted asking if I would be home on Thursday, because he wanted to pick up the car. Um.  WHAT?  "Are you in town," I asked.  He said he would be but was driving from DC to his family's in NC.  CRAZY PANTS! Later that evening, another M (this one local) called saying he and a friend were in the neighborhood and could they stop by.  "Sure," I said. When they got here, the friend stayed in the car.  Weird.  But, whatever.  So M and I chatted for a minute.  And then ended up having superhot buttsecks while his friend sat in the car waiting ......

Good Evening, Kittens! It's been a heckuvaweek (so far). Monday, I went to the Trader Joe's.  And, then, I ironed 10 shirts.  Later, K-Factor came down and we watched "True Grit" (the remake, not the original).  It was pretty damn awesome.  I also made a potato leek soup (plus carrots).  It was delicious. Later that evening, K-Factor and I went to pottery class.  I made three bowls, worked on my mini-soup tureen project, and glazed two mugs and a bowl.  Good times. Tuesday, after work, I went for a 3.5 mile run.  And, then, I attended my monthly co-op board meeting.  Joy. Wednesday, I did laundry and talked to my BFF from college.  AND, today, THURSDAY, I had the job interview.  I think it went well.  I hope it went well.  I need the significant increase in salary that it would bring.  And, this evening, another Board member and I had an orientation/interview with a prospective buyer of one of the vacant u...

Sligo Creek before the Deluge Good Afternoon, Kittens! Well, Sandy has come and gone.  She tried to do her worst, but we persevered.  The power flickered once, but that was it.  Hurrah! So, how did I spend my day "working from home?" I'm so glad you asked ... I baked a pumpkin in my toaster oven. I sat on the sofa a lot ... except when a certain Ball o' Kitteh stole my spot. I ventured out into the wind and the rain to take a photo of the roaring torrent, Sligo Creek. I made Blue Hubbard Squash Risotto, using this recipe (minus the radicchio). Isabella and I celebrated when the radiators came on. Then, I headed up to K-Factor and the Canadian's apartment for an evening change of scenery. And, that was my day.  Good times for sure. Today, I am trying to be productive, but it's not happening.  Boo. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! Grab a cup of coffee and let's chat about our weekends ... Friday, I had a chill evening at home, watching Charlie's Angels , Season 1, on DVD.  Oh, yeah.  Good times.  A HUGE storm came through, so that was fun.  Luckily, my building didn't lose power. On Saturday, I did lots of blobbing around the house.  And I cooked up some of my CSA veggies.  I did a stirfry with sweet onion, green squash, and tatsoi (which is some weird Asian leafy green).  AND, I threw in a jalapeno that I grew in my "garden." That afternoon, Tomokito had a small gathering at her apartment.  K-Factor and the Canadian were there.  And Eric from Baltimore came down.  And, I invited V (not the V in Philly, the V that lives up the road a ways).  Lots of boozy good times.  Then, V, Eric from Baltimore and I went to dinner.  Yummy Yummy Thai Foods.  Mmmm.  Tasty. After dinner, Eric from Baltimore headed back to ...

Good Morning, Kittens. Not much of note has happened since my last post. Tuesday night was my building's Annual Shareholders' Meeting. And, guess who got elected to the Board of Directors? Oh, yeah. That would be me. Of course, considering that most of the previous board members were ineligible (have already served the maximum 2 consecutive years) and the high percentage of CRAZY that lives in my building, it was pretty much assured going in that I would be on the board this year. I did promise to rule with a gentle hand, sort of a benevolent dictator. And, then, I found out on Thursday that our building in on a list of buildings that *may* be fully or partially condemned for a major construction project. This project probably won't be happening for another few years (maybe more), but still ... GAH. Our building is in the "partial" category, which I think means that we will have to move out during the construction process and after the project is finished,...

Good Morning, Kittens! Happy Martin Luther King Day! I hope you are going to do something special in his memory. I am going out for boozy margarita lunch with my neighbors. What? What's that you say? Not very MLK Day appropriate? I disagree. MLK was all about fostering community and good neighborly relations, right? Right? As for the past few days ... On Friday, I was supposed to meet Eric Not From Baltimore for happy hour. However, he called and said that he had to work late (we've rescheduled for this evening, actually). I was bummed. Luckily, my co-worker said she was willing to have a couple of happy hours with me. We ended up at Austin Grill in Downtown Silver Spring. We ended up very happy. Then, I staggered home and watched a movie - " Attack the Block ." It was really good. B grade alien invasion movie, but made one provocatively question their ideas about race, poverty, and community. On Saturday, I went for a 6.2 mile run. Later that evening, I...

Good morning, kittens. As my aunt says, men are like trolley cars. There's always another one coming around the corner. Friday, after work, I had plans to meet the new guy at L'enfant Plaza metro station. I got there way early, so I went to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden to read. Eventually, he texted and we met up. We walked to his place near the Waterfront. He lives in one of the really cool condos which I have always admired (even before they became really cool condos) originally designed by I.M. Pei . When I mentioned this to him, he asked, "Who is I. M. Pei?" ... *sigh* Anyway, we got to his place and rather than eating had lots of Quality Nekkid Time. I headed home around 8:30. And I ate a frozen pizza. Saturday, I went for a run. And cleaned the bathroom. And went to the Whole Foods. In the afternoon, K-Factor and I played a couple of rounds of Death Croquet, followed by a couple of rounds of cupcakes. Nom. Then, I was planning ...

Good Evening, Kittens! It's cocktail hour, so make yourself a little libation, sit back, and read all about my exciting weekend ... Friday, after work, I met Alison at Jaleo. We had tapas. And many, many glasses of sangria. Well, I had many, many glasses. Alison, who is a lightweight, made me finish the last half of her only glass of sangria. After Jaleo, she left to meet another friend and I went home. AND, guess what? I had not one, but TWO, packages waiting for me. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and Charlie's Angels: Season 1 . OMG. So much excitement to watch. I had also received The Wiz through Netflix, and that's what I ended up watching Friday night. Ease on down. Ease on down. Ease on down the ro-ad. Alison got back around 10PM, but we decided it was too late to start HP7A, which is nearly 2.5 hours long. (Two and a half hours of PURE AWESOME, btw.) Saturday, Alison left to meet some friends for lunch. I putzed around the house. I shopp...

Good Morning, Kittens! What a weekend. Like, *whew* ... I am exhausted. AND, there is still EVEN MOAR fun on tap for today. So, Thursday, after nearly being mugged on the train home from work, one of the Alphabet Boys ("I") texted. He wanted to come over. I said no. Thursday night was ME Night. I made a delicious dinner of tofu, bok choy, and mushroom stirfry (using my own homemade habenero hot sauce). And, I had a bottle of prosecco. And, I watched the 3.5 hour Bollywood Extravaganza, Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham . It was amazing. Then, I went to bed and finished reading the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay . Friday, I had a hair appointment. Yay. After that, I met Mike Who Makes Cakes for Lunch. When I got home, I had a package: Glitter Bandages! from an anonymous stalker! YAY! They are so fun. Thanks, Mystery Anonymous Stalker Person! I wore one out to da clubz. Which is what I did Friday evening, Eric from Baltimore and I met Tomokito at th...

Good Morning, Kittens. OK. I do share with you one photo. My new earring. I bought it in Denver. It is turquoise. And triangular. And it replaces my "rainbow" earring that I wear during pride month. *sigh* June is over. I can't be proud anymore. ANYWAY, yesterday was pretty cool. My office conducted a four-hour training at one of our sites. I gave an (approximately) 30-minute presentation on that site's energy use and how to save energy. If I do say so myself, I was brilliant. The participants seemed engaged and (as proven by a little quiz/game we did at the end of the four hours) the information seemed to have stayed with them. Let me just say that, although I did not enjoy being a high school teacher (so many many years ago), the skills I acquired during that time are pretty damn useful. After the training, my officemates and I went out to lunch. When we got back to the office, we learned that the General had approved Early Release. At 2PM. We got ba...

Good Morning, Kittens. And, how was your weekend? Mine? Well, mine was a streak of dullness punctuated by a few bright, shining moments of cupcakery goodness ... I did post once or twice this weekend, so scroll down to have a look-see. There are some new birthday party photos uploaded to Flickr. Some of them are quite funny ... at least to me. So, Saturday, I did some minor cleaning and straightening of the apartment. Then, I went for a run. In the early evening, I ventured into DC for a Coffee Date with this guy I met online. He was nice enough, but I didn't feel like there was any romantic chemistry. After coffee, I stopped by Hello Cupcake to see if they had started making the Sex and the City -themed cupcakes yet. They hadn't. They go on sale today. I should buy some at some point for Tomokito's birthday (May 28th). I went ahead and bought 4 cupcakes anyway. 2 Raspberry Beret (chocolate cupcake with raspberry frosting) and 2 Cookies 'n' Cream (see ph...

Good Evening, Kittens. It's been a busy couple of days. Last night, Ray came over to visit with his kitty, Jasha. We ate leftover butternut squash lasagna. He left. I stayed up too late. And, this morning came too early. Work has been busy. Two unexpected projects have been dropped in my lap. Plus, I am supposed to give a brief presentation at the full staff meeting tomorrow. Gah. Then, today, the department (division?) I work in had "Staff Development" ... which consisted of lunch and a teamwork building activity. Unfortunately, even though I told the Executive Assistant that I am vegetarian. There were no vegetarian food options. I ate chips. And the meeting was just over 3 hours long. I wasn't able to eat anything until around 3:45PM. Fortunately, one of my co-workers had some leftover vegetarian chili to share. Hurrah. There's co-op drama as well ... mostly concerning the co-op fee increase. Ugh. The emails are flying. I will be *so* glad to b...

Good Morning, Kittens. I am "working" from home today. Oh, yeah. Federal government closed, but I can't take the day off. Must continue to slave for the Man. *sigh* So, you may have heard this already, but we got a s**tload of snow on Friday. No official Sligo Co-op totals, but probably somewhere between 16"-20". I am kind of annoyed because our new snow removal contractors only showed up at the beginning of the storm and haven't been seen since. Gah. ANYWAY ... Great fun was had by the residents of Sligo Co-op. On Friday night, I had cocktails with Tomokito in her apartment. SCGB joined us later as we sipped negronis and watched the cars slide into each other on the snowy hill in front of our building. Saturday afternoon, we gathered at K-Factor's apartment for food, games, and drinks. Lots of drinks. In fact, so many drinks, that we created the First Ever Sligo Snow Triathalon (loosely based on my pottery teacher's Greenbelt Triathalon...

Good Morning, Kittens. Yesterday was certainly a full day (pun totally intended, yo). It started bright and early, as the neighbors and the lovely and talented, Ms. Clio Bluestocking , gathered at 7:25AM to drive to Bethesda for the 27th Annual Turkey Chase. Originally, we had planned to run the 10K, but -under my inspired leadership-, the entire group chickened (turkeyed?) out and ran the 2 Mile Fun Run. The line to pickup packets was Crazy Long and made no sense. For the 2 mile run, there were two lines. One with bib numbers from 8000-10630 and the other for bib numbers 10631-10800. Do you see where there could be a potential problem with that system? I, of course, had a bib number in the 10100 range. wo0-to-the-hoobity-hoo. Here's a photo of the our group: And here's the crowd, surging forth into the Wilds of Bethesda: Once home, everyone showered and headed up to K-Factor's apartment for a delicious brunch. I invented a new cocktail, a riff on the Poinsettia (whi...

Good Morning, Kittens. And, another ( thankfully short) work week begins. I think I can handle three days. We'll see ... My weekend was rather uneventful. Friday night, I stayed in, watching movies and stuff. I crashed soon after 10PM (I think). Saturday, I was up early and blobbed around the house. A lot. I did a few chores. Some knitting. But not much else. Around 4PM, Tomokito came down for Martini Time. Then, around 7:30, I left for a party for two of my neighbors in Capitol Hill. The party was fun. Nice people. Good times. Sunday. Very hungover. Which is weird because I didn't drink all that much. Ugh. I don't think I ate enough though. sigh. AND, there was some stupid 10k going down the street at around 9AM with a Very Bad Cover Band Singing Bad Covers. Awful. Loud. And awful. Once that stopped, I took a long nap on the sofa. Yay. Around 3PM, K-Factor and I went to the pottery studio. I glazed my final 5 pieces and I picked up for finished ones...

Good Morning, Kittens. Not much going on right now. So, enjoy the progress on the Never-Ending Baby Blanket of Doom (pictured). I've been working on it almost every night for nearly a week and am about 1/3 done. Yesterday, I did laundry. The washing machine threw itself out of balance and so I had to take a whole bunch of stuff out. If those sodden clothes *ever* dry in this weather, it will be a miracle. Later in the evening, I went upstairs to hangout with Tomokito and her family. Her parents are visiting from Japan and her father returns today. That was fun. I have forgotten *so* much Japanese. Of course, it's been well over ten years since I have spoken it/heard it on a regular basis. No real plans today. It's cold and dreary and gray and rainy. I may venture forth to the pottery studio this afternoon. We shall see. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. So my exciting adventure started Monday afternoon, with Isabella running to the window and staring into the garden. Then, I heard it: the pathetic cry of a tired little animal. I looked out the window, following Isabella's gaze, and spotted a cute little black kitty being all loud and mewing. Quickly assessing the situation, I grabbed two plastic containers, filled one with water and the other with a little bit of dry cat food. The Kitty attacked the food. Poor hungry kitty. But, she was very friendly and not scared of me. So, I knew she wasn't feral. I figured she must have escaped from a nearby home. I went to pottery class. When I returned, the little kitty ran out of the bushes to meet me. I gave her some more food and checked Craigslist to see if anyone was reporting a little lost kitty. No such luck. Heather called to ask me if I had seen this stray cat. I said yes and asked her if the kitty were still around the next morning (and I could ...

Good Morning, Kittens. I iz sick. I coughez. I hackez. I snifflez. And, my kidneyz hurtz. On the plus side, I don't feel feverish anymore. Hurrah! I have until lunchtime to be miraculously cured, because I want to go to the pottery studio today. Yesterday, my parents closed on the house they bought my brother. Yes, they love him more. Actually, they bought a house into which they will probably move once they become too advanced in years to care for their current home and/or they require live in help/healthcare. The brother gets to stay in the house until that happens. I think he also has to pay part of the mortgage, but I'm not 100% clear on the financials. Dad wrote me a letter explaining all this (not that he needed to do that. They had explained it over the phone). My parents like to really drive the points home. The point in this case: We do love your brother more, but buying him a house doesn't prove it. Now, go get a job, you loser younger child. In oth...