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

Hello, Dear Kittens! As you may have heard, the Federal Government has been shutdown since October 1st.  What you may not know is that this affects VUBOQ most negatively.  I have been out of work since that time.  My company was able to carry me on overhead last week; however, starting on Monday, I will either have to use up my leave time (which is not very much) or go unpaid. I would like to take a few moments to clear up a few common misconceptions.  Congress is working very hard (LOL!) to make sure that furloughed Federal employees will receive backpay.  However,  furloughed government contractors are not the same as furloughed Federal employees.  We will not receive backpay.  Additionally, Maryland and Virginia have made it Very Easy for furloughed Federal employees to apply for unemployment benefits.  Furloughed government contractors have to wade through the usual bureaucratic unemployment redtape. I will be calling my company's...

Good Evening, Kittens!  And Happy (motherfucking) New Year!  2013!  Can I get a "w00t w00t?" ANYWAYz, my weekend was pretty awesome (and five days long!).  Friday was my flex-day.  I spent most of the day running errands and stuff.  Very exciting.  In the evening, my co-worker and I had tickets to see "White Christmas" at the Kennedy Center.  However, she texted to say that she had the flu!  GAH!  So, I had to find a replacement date!  Everyone I asked already had plans.  I eventually texted R, the young and well-hung ex-Marine, and -as it turns out- he was free for the evening. So he was my very sexy date to see "White Christmas" ... which was absolutely amazing!  YAY!  I'm still sort of singing "Sisters.  Sisters" in my head. Saturday, I ran errands for most of the morning and afternoon.  I also pickled a shit-ton (metric) of CSA radishes: And, then, in the afternoon, I headed to Union Statio...

Good Evening, Kittens. I have returned from a fun-filled and slightly exhausting weekend in the City of Brothers Who Love. After work on Friday, I headed to Union Station.  My train wasn't scheduled to depart until nearly 9PM, so I had arranged to meet a friend for drinks/food beforehand. Said friend never showed up.  Grrrrr.  And, then, made some lousy excuse.  This is a friend that I used to hang out with last year, but he met a boyfriend and ignored me.  Now, they have broken up, and he contacted me again.  I thought I would give him another shot.  Oh, well.  I am done with that guy. The train trip to Philadelphia was uneventful.  I was mostly drunk.  V from Philly picked me up at the train station and we drove back to his place.  Had a few drinks.  And went to bed (it was nearly midnight). The next morning, there may (or may not) have been some Morning Fun.  Then, we met Lora for brunch at the Green Eggs Ca...

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...

Good Morning, Kittens! As you may recall, I am on a kind of Work Hiatus, which, I just found out has been extended to -possibly- April 16th. WTF ... but, today, is not the day to focus on the clusterfuckery that is my job. That will come later. I promise. Anyway, so during this Hiatus, I decided to take a little trip to PHILADELPHIA!!!! I love the City of Brothers Who Love. Mostly, because I have some SuperCool Friends there. BUT, also, because it has really good food and gelato and interesting buildings and history and cobblestones and lots and lots of very hot men. So, I departed my abode early Wednesday morning, boarded a MegaBus, and was off! I arrived at 30th Street Station around 1:30. I met Lora at Parc for a late (and very boozy) lunch. Then, we walked over to my hotel, the Latham , so I could check in. The ceiling in my bathroom was mirrored (well, reflective). This cracked us up. See? Lora had to go back to work (or something). I took a nap. Around 5:30, I heade...

Good Morning, Kittens! OMG! It's the week before Xmas (and I still haven't drawn my StickSteven Year in Review letter ... ugh). Anywayz ... I had a mostly fabulous weekend. On Friday, after work, I had plans to meet up with my friend, Eric (Not From Baltimore). However, I got out of work at 4 and we weren't meeting until 6:30. So, I did the most natural thing I could think of ... I went to a bar and had several drinks (and read a book). Once we did finally meet up, we had dinner at the Heights in Columbia Heights. It was pretty good. I had the side platter - mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and brussels sprouts. Nomz. It was a good time. We parted ways - He to meet up with his bf, and I headed home. And, that's when the fun really started. As I rounded the construction at Silver Spring Metro Station, I was texting and misjudged the curb. WHOOOPS! And there I fell, arms and legs akimbo. Fortunately, my phone survived with just a few scratches on the sides. I h...

Good Evening, Kittens! What a superfuntastic weekend I had. On Thursday, after work, I met C for a fun-filled dinner at Jaleo. He had never been there before. The food was fabulous. And we had lots of sangria. Yum. Then, I had to go home to pack. On Friday morning, I boarded the train to the City of Brothers Who Love! Yay! Once there, I got on the trolley (they go underground!) and met the most fabulous Lora at the Continental for lunch (and martinis!). Lora had to go back to work (boo), I went to the hotel. Then, I walked around for a bit. And maybe had some gelatto ... and then I might have had a cocktail . I staggered back to the hotel and waited for David to arrive. he finally did! Yay! We rushed back downtown to catch Lora's Improv show. It was fun. and funny! After the show, David and I went to some restaurant/bar and had food and cocktails. The next day, we had a delicious brunch (with a slightly out of it waiter) and went shopping! yay...

Hello, Kittens. Sorry I have been in absentia for, like, what? two days? Workz is hard and bizzy. I have no timez to blog there. It sucks. I suppose I need to reorganize my daily routine so that I can do the blogging at teh home. We shall see ... Anyway, Philadelphia was phun. And, really, all you need to know about the trip (other than it was BOOZY GOOD TIMEZ) is this: LIFE-SIZE JELLYBEAN CHILDREN* 'nuff said. My date on Tuesday (with D, aka Last Man Standing) was canceled. He was (and still is) sick. We are going to go out at the end of the week. Plus, we will be hanging with the ShallowPosse on Sunday evening's Opera on the Outfield. YAYz! I hope the ShallowPosse approves of the date (because I am really liking him ... even though we hardly go out b/c of our schedules and we haven't even had teh buttsecks yet**. Still, when we go out, I am happy. And, being happy is a good thing, no?). ANYWAY, busy day tomorrow, too. And I must go check the laundry. And f...

Hello. Here are my two favorite pictures from my trip: New York City: Philadelphia: Which ones are your favorite? See them all here .