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

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ... It looks like M and I might be getting back together.  Recently, we've had amazing times together.  And, he seems to be open to us going to counseling.  I am hoping both individual and couple.  BUT, I haven't had the inclination to look into it because.  well.  I am stressed out about the whole stupid Government Shutdown. I AM GETTING SHUTDOWN ZITS!  WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?! As for the other guy I was casually dating (remember: the hot bad kisser?), I let him down easy. WHICH, brings me to the title of my new book idea: How to Let Him Down Easy by Not Returning His Phone Calls. I KID!  I did return his phone calls.  well, his text messages.  And I was all "this just isn't working for me."  Because it wasn't.  I don't get it.  He was super-hot. Smart.  Good job.  Nice guy. BUT, I wasn't all that into him.  *sigh*  I should have been.  Oh, well. I hav...

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~! Happy Thursday! All is well here in VUTOPIA ... Except, a couple of days ago ... or was it yesterday?  I may have been a little tipsy.  I suppose the actual timeframe doesn't matter, because, there was a Death in the Family.   And, then, there were two Yeah, I am down to only two martini glasses.  Ok.  That is kind of a lie.  I do have 3 ... ok ... 7 ... ok 10 others, but I kind of hate them and never use them.  3 of them are the overly decorated "specialty" martini glasses that you give as gifts for birthdays and such.  The other 7 I just don't really like.  I should give them away or sell them at a yard sell or something.  So, let's rephrase.  I am down to only two usable, sturdy martini glasses that I can keep in the freezer. In other news, my two days of LEED training went well.  I learned a lot.  Now I have to study a bit and then sit for the exam.  Assuming I pass, I wil...

Good morning, Kittens. We need to gather 'round and have a bit of a chat, so pull up your chairs nice and close, put on your Thinking Caps and Listening Ears, because VUBOQ is getting ... concerned. I had a thought which has been plucking at my brain for about a week or so now. And the hum is starting to drive me a bit batty. As you may know, I am not one who falls for Conspiracy Theories; however, I am beginning to believe that something is afoot . It began with a simple April 15th tax protest. In which, people were encouraged to send Tea Bags of Protest to their congress person ... or the President. " Teabag Obama," the Conservatives screamed. And, Those in the Know, giggled. Then, another group (which I am too lazy to research, but Rachel Maddow reported on this) wanted to have 2 million people protest for (straight) marriage [or against gay marriage?]. And, they called it 2M4M. And, once again, Those in the Know, laughed heartily at them. Finally, a horrible g...

NOT QUITE BREAKING NEWS ANY MORE: It's a Girl! Tomokito and Baby are happy and healthy! Ok. It's not a stupid t-shirt. But, after watching way too many Anti-Choicers walk by, I felt I deserved a little something special. And, Good Morning, Kittens! My Abortion Afternoon was certainly an adventure! I left the house at 1:15 and walked to the Metro station. Upon arriving at said station, I realized I had forgotten my wallet and had to walk back home. Gah. I took the bus back to the station. And, look!, I sat in the Rosa Parks Memorial Seat: Btw, it wasn't in the back. La la la. Metro. Union Station. Crazy Crowds. Busy busy. Totally bad light for taking pictures. If this is a photo of a typical abortion, you can cut off my head with this knife and serve me for dinner. More White People in One Place than I've seen in a long, long time. Lots of SuperCute Priests (They are all gay, right? B/C ... YUM!). Lots of kids. More White People. My camera batteries died right when Tea...

Good Morning, Kittens. Apologies for the dearth of postings recently. Blogging is difficult when one is not able to write about the only good thing going on in his life right now. So, here's a picture of the Loudest Clock Ever: I bought it at the Philadelphia Art Museum several years ago. Yesterday, I applied for a job. I went to the Whole Foods. And I deposited my Unemployment Check. So. Exciting. Today, I am blobbing on the sofa, and I am thinking about going to the Anti-Abortion March this afternoon. Anyone want to come watch the Crazies with me? I'd wear my Bedazzled Uterus shirt (Hurray for Medical Students for Choice ! Why don't you send them a nice check ?), but it's too cold out for a t-shirt. Srsly. Perhaps I'll post photos later. *smooches*

8 Degree Wind Chill. And, that would be why, Dear Kittens, yours truly did not venture forth unto the Mall to Witness History. Instead, I watched it all in TechniColor with SCGB, and I did celebrate President Obama's Inauguration in the my own special way ... Apparently, "Yes We Can" tastes like crappy dry sugar cookies covered in barfy white chocolate. Have a Great Day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. Noticed that that SuperHandsome, Always Fashionably Dressed co-worker, who you ogled over your cubicle wall is absent today? Well, put your wedding fantasies on hold, dearie and have a Happy Day without a Gay ! I wonder what I would have done were I employed ... would I have called in gay? Hm ... It is a good day for it. Dreary and rainy and blah. I actually had made a few plans for today; however, the plans involved a lot of walking and picture taking and, well, the weather is not cooperating. Thus, I'm postponing until tomorrow (even though the weather is supposed to be crap tomorrow too, but I can plan and prepare for it. I'm working on a contingency plan now). I'm very excited about the possibilities. So, everyone hope for good weather tomorrow :-) Meanwhile, I'll still be posting a picture or two (or more) today to the Nokia Chronicles . Have you played around on the site any? What do you think? I'll be posting my review of the...

Good Evening, Kittens. Everyone home from work and have martini in hand? Good. This morning, as I was taking my shower, I was thinking about the American Car Company Bailout. And, I thought, "What good is it to just throw money at the car companies? They need to adapt and improvise. They don't need a government handout." And, then it hit me like a ton of exfoliating soap (ow! scratchy!), there should be some sort of Car Company New Deal! For example, the current lame duck Congress or President Obama (after January), should launch a program which directs the Big Three to bid on replacing the entire Post Office Fleet with hybrids. Or something like that. Encourage green jobs! Award the contract to the car company with the best EnviroPlan! And do similar things with other government fleets. Ba-Da-Bing! Ba-Da-Boom! Detroit Car Crisis Solved ... eventually. Of course, I got out of the shower, got dressed, and booted up the computer. My homepage is the WashingtonPost.com. And w...

Good Morning, Kittens! What a weekend! I'm exhausted ... and I didn't do hardly anything. The BIG EVENT was on Saturday night. One of my neighbors celebrated her 35th birthday with a super fun potluck dinner party. I brought vodka (Cranberry-Orange infused vodka). You can check out the pictures here (and no, the cops didn't come to bust up the party ... they had pulled over someone into our parking lot). Sunday. Very. Hung. Over. Also this weekend, I ... (1) Guest-posted on Biddy's World , and (B) Posted a book review on my neglected blog, EnviroWonk . Actually, I've been reading quite a bit lately, so I may start using EnviroWonk for the book reviews (since most of what I'm reading is of an environmental nature). This week is also going to be a bit busy. I'm starting a new Job Search Goal, which I've dubbed "A Resume a Day 'til Thanksgiving." Pretty self-explanatory I think. So, today, I'll be sending a resume to a contact a f...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. Has your Post-Election Euphoria worn off yet? No? Here ... Let me help: Thought #1: Gay is the New Black. California. Arizona. Florida. Mm. Hm. I'm looking at you. Thanks for affirming my second class citizenship status. Love you too. Srsly. Mean it. Thought #2: Even Lame Ducks Bite. Anyone remember the 462 GaBillion pardons President Clinton gave out as he was leaving office? (I got one. Didn't you?) What havoc do you think GW Bush is going to wreak during his final 76 days? Here's a hint of things to come: A Last Push to Deregulate . I'm sorry. Did I bring you down? What can I do to make it better? Oh. I know. Here's a Thing that Makes Me Happy : Tequila. 'Nuff said. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! And what a sunshiny happy day it is! For the first time in a long time, I am proud of this country ... and, totally surprised by the electorate. Naturally, VUBOQ voted for the guy with whom he'd most like to have a beer (and maybe a little rumpy-pumpy). And, well, the possibility of electing someone who a scarily large percentage of people seem to think is the Anti-Christ was just too tempting to refuse. Of course, the big question is: NOW What? I shall tell you what: We find VUBOQ a job! Apparently my write-in candidacy as District 6 Circuit Court Judge was an absolute failure, netting only 2 votes. *sigh* Back to the Want Ads. Goals for today: Apply to at least one (hopefully, 2) job(s). If it dries out, rake the leaves to the curb. Laundry. Make teh COFFEE. Figure out to whom I'm going to give all this pottery. And, Finish my ShallowGal (Welcome Back!) Manny Application! More later. *smooches* PS. Is it too early for Rum Cake?

... or How I Celebrated SwankyMama's Birthday * Here's a little photo essay of my afternoon ... SCGB got home from school around 1. We decided to walk to our Polling Place. The trees are about the only things that are red in my district! Hurray for Liberal Values! Kittens, there was NO line. It took me longer to decide what to buy from the PTA Bake Sale (rum cake and cranberry/orange pound cake) than it did to vote. I could only choose one. Sorry, Cynthia. We talked to our neighbor, who is a better citizen that I'll ever be. She takes the day off work to be a volunteer poll worker/election judge/person. Isn't that awesome? Then, we walked up to hip and happenin' Downtown Silver Spring for our FREE Starbucks! Yayz! Life is good. Did you??? I think Barack Obama wants us to have a martini! *smooches* *Happy Birthday, Your Swankyness!

In 1988, I turned 18. The first time I voted was in the North Carolina Democratic Primary, and I cast my ballot for the senator from Tennessee, Al Gore. Even at such a young age, I had impeccable taste in politicians. 20 years later and I can honestly say that I have never been as excited about an election. I can not wait to go up the street to the elementary school, buy some PTA Baked Goods, stand in line, and vote*. It's been a long time since I've voted *for* someone rather than against his opponent. After casting my ballot for the only true Maverick** on the ballot, Ralph Nader***, SCGB and I are going to swing by Starbucks for Free! Coffee! Then, I'm going to the grocery store to buy the ingredients to make tomato soup. And grilled cheese sandwiches. YUM. No one has invited me to a Results Watching Party though. Wah. I guess I'll just follow along at home (NPR Rox!) ... and, hopefully, crack open a bottle of bubbly at the end of the night! Now, GO VOTE, KITTENS! Mo...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. Very uneventful morning. It was raining, and I thought, "What a great day to not have to go to work!" I hit snooze twice. Yay. Then, I blobbed around the house. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the recycled sari yarn. I may have hit upon a plan (with thanks to BustersDad). We'll see how it goes. So far I'm mildly pleased (after ripping out about 4 other attempts last night and this morning). Photos eventually, I'm sure... Around noonish, I went to lunch with SCGB (with side trips to the bank and Whole Foods). We ate at Panera. Yummy chainy goodness, fer sure. Now, I'm home. I think I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon knitting and blobbing and knitting and watching TV. Tonight, I'm heading over to a neighbor's to watch Obama's acceptance speech. I will try not to cry ... but, srsly, just listening to excerpts of Bill's speech on NPR this morning made me a little misty and wistf...

Good morning, kittens. It's been a bit busy at work this morning. I forgot my annual performance evaluation and updated resume were due today, so I had to crank those out*. Bleah. I have a buttload of email to answer today too. *ugh* Lessee ... Meat-Free Monday was a success (yay!). Photo will be uploaded and posted tonight. Stay tuned. And, here's a little reminder that small-minded bigots are still alive and well (unfortunately). It seems like we touched a nerve: [from The Daily Star (second item)] Homosexuals at greater risk Thanks, The Daily Star, for publishing my letter of Feb. 1 opposing homosexual behavior. Some opposed publishing my letter. They don't realize most Americans, including the local population, are against homosexuality. But perhaps only my detractors' letters should be published. Glad they aren't the editors. They want me to listen. And I do. But when I speak, many head for the door, afraid they will hear a discordant tone. Those left tell me ...

Once, while teaching at the small junior college on the outskirts of Beijing, probably between the lessons on "All Governments are Stupid, Not Just Yours" and "This Class is a Free Speech Zone; Tell Me Exactly What You Think and I Promise Not to Send You to Re-Education Camp," one of my students asked me what I thought about Tibet. *alarm bells* "This is a hot button issue," I thought. "My answer has to be diplomatic and sensitive." My students were 5 years old when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened. They were convinced the protesters had guns and fired on the police. For their entire schooling, they had been indoctrinated by their teachers and by the government. I paused, slowly forming the exact words I would say. I took a deep breath and began, "Tibet should be a free and independent country." *moderately controlled uproar* "Quick throw them a bone," I thought. "But you can have Taiwan," I said. *confu...

Ugh. Ever have one of those nights in which you keep dreaming that you're not getting any sleep, so when the alarm goes off you don't feel rested at all? Mm-hm. Yep. That was me this morning. AND, I couldn't even sleep as late as usual, because I had to go get my vote on! Yep, I was up at the asscrack of dawn to wait in line to cast my vote for Phil Kauffman for Board of Education Member-at-Large. Woo hoo! Voting Rocks! Oh, yeah, and there was that Presidential race as well ... Across the Hall from DUN Neighbor was working as an Election Judge. I stopped by to say hi. She asked how long the wait was. I said about 20 minutes and that the line was to the end of the hall. The other judge looked at me and said, "Thanks. That's really helpful to know." Given that I hadn't had my coffee yet, I couldn't tell if he was genuine or being a smartass (or being a genuine smartass). So, I stared at him for a few seconds, giving him my best "Uh? What?" look...

Admittedly, I gathered these links from Scott-o-Rama , a proud Clinton supporter, so there is the possibility of bias. I, in the liberal Democratic position, am willing to listen to other viewpoints. So, if any Obama supporters would like to convince me of his LGBT-friendliness, I would be happy to reconsider my decision to vote for Ms. Clinton. You have until the 12th ... A Message to LGBT Americans: I Want to be Your President When I am President, we will work together to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need. We're going to expand our federal hate crimes legislation and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and assure that they are both fully inclusive of all people. And finally, we will put an end to the failed policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice – the traits that define our men and women in uniform – ha...

I watched Hairspray (the musical) last night. Loved it. It was too much fun. Although, I do have to say that I don't quite understand all the John Travolta love. He was *meh* at best. Everyone else was amazing though. John Travolta, you are the weakest link. Good-bye. I also started reading The Botany of Desire , and, while my initial impressions are good, one thing is driving me crazy: There are no footnotes. Maybe I'm reading the book too critically, but when I get to a sentence that states something like there were no honeybees in the United States prior to the 1800s (or whenever), I really want to know the author's source. He could have included endnotes (I admit I didn't look), but I hate endnotes. All that flipping back and forth is annoying. Is it asking too much for authors of mainstream/popular science writing to include footnotes? Gah. Now, it's time to get political (gack!). Maryland's primary is coming up next Tuesday, and I have been semi-seriousl...