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

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, Sweet, Sweet Kittens!  And Happy Memorial Day!  And, OMG, what a weekend I have been having.  *whew*  Boozy Good Times!  Plus, making out with hot boys!  Oh, yeah.  So, Thursday, after work, I met Bobby (of SteveandBobby) and Jerry for Happy Hour at 9.  Two-for-one drink special = 4 Gins and Tonic.  And a very intoxicated VUBOQ.  We parted early.  I needed food.  And, apparently, a bottle of wine (i didn't drink all of it), which I picked up on my walk home. Friday morning, someone was a little overhung.  BUT, I managed to survive and headed into the DeeCee to meet Eric (not from Baltimore) for lunch.  A couple of glasses of the hair of the dog and I was good as new.  Yay! After lunch, I bought new sunglasses (I left my sunglasses at K's house ... and I was tired of squinting.  Squinting causes teh eye wrinklez.  And we don't like those!) Once home, I did a little cleaning/orga...

Good Afternoon, Kittens! As you may have heard, I am currently in contractual flux with my job. As of Monday, I am on Leave Without Pay until (possibly) April 16th. WFT? My company is going to try to throw me a couple hours here and there, but still. Leave. Without Pay. GAH! Fortunately, I have my tax refund and my end of year work bonus to tide me over during these Dark Times. So, I have been spending my days (well, day and a half, so far), blobbing on the sofa, taking naps, and drinking myself into a slobbering sobbing drunken mess. More productively, I have also planted lettuce and carrots (pictured) in my little garden plot. I went to pottery class ... and I plan to go to pottery studio a couple of times this week. I will also be updating my resume and doing a little job hunting. Good times. Yesterday, my college friend, Karalee, and I went to see "The Hunger Games." Both of us have read the book. And, while we enjoyed the movie, felt that it did not quite live ...

Good morning, Kittens. As you may well remember, yesterday, GayProf posted the beginnings of our fun little bloggy conversation . And, without further ado, here's GayProf/VUBOQ Joint Blog Post, Part II: Electric Boogaloo ... VUBOQ : Of course, you know what goes great with a vegetarian diet? BOOZE! As you may know, I love the alcohol. Fermentation is my friend. Some people, when planning a party, put a lot of thought into the food they are serving or the decorations or even which of their hundreds of sets of dishware they are going to use. For me, I concentrate on the Signature Cocktail for the evening … and the rest of the party falls into place. GayProf : So, you are saying the key to being a vegetarian is drinking to forget the pain? VUBOQ : Yes. My Signature Cocktail usually involves an infused vodka of some sort mixed with punch. As a service to my (very few) non-drinking friends, I never spike the punch. At my most recent party, I made a delicious ginger-infused vodka. The ...

Good Morning, Kittens! and, weeeeeee're back. Who missed me the most? So, the four-day weekend was Chock Full o' FUN and ADVENTURE ... actually, I spend most of it like Isabella, curled up on the sofa. I watched movies. I knat. I drank. like. a. fucking. fish. Oh, hello, Glass of Wine, who is helping me type. Thursday (aka Thanksgiving), I got up EARLY (like 6AM) to run the Turkey Chase 10K with some of my neighbors. I finished in 1:03:22, which is not too bad considering the course is HILLY and it was COLD and WET out. After the run, we went to K-Factor's for a delicious brunch. Mimosas! Coffee with Candy Cane Vodka! Brunch ended, and I headed downstairs to nap and knit and nap and knit and cook. I had Thanksgiving Dinner at my neighbors' apartment. I made braised butternut squash with pesto pasta: and spicy sauteed brussels sprouts with hazelnuts: Nomz. Friday and Saturday were lots of the same - food, booze, knitting, naps, shopping, food, booze, naps, knitt...

Good Morning, Kittens! Happy Monday! At least, it's a happy Monday for me, because I am OFF! Yay! Three day weekends are the Best. Things. EVAR! (except for maybe 4 day weekends). So, my weekend thus far ... Friday after work, I had plans to meet some friends to see Sto newall Uprising . I had some time before the movie, so I went to Macy's and bought a new white belt. Then, I wandered down to Barnes and Noble. I hooked up my nook and was able to read the first couple chapters of One Day for free. It started out fun. I may read that next, once I finish The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet . A little before 7 I walked to the theater. Several of my friends canceled last minute, but -fortunately- I had anticipated that and had a backup plan, a date (would this be "D"? I'm losing track). D and I had gone out about a month or so ago, but then he disappeared. Turns out he was traveling for work. When I spoke to him online on Thursday, he was all "Do...

Good Morning, Kittens! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Mine was full of fun and excitement, fer sure. On Friday, I jetted out of work early for an important appointment ... my hair appointment! Yes, I am reblonded. Huzzah! Afterwards, I headed home for a night of alone time (just me and my martiniz). Tomokito called down around 10:30 to see if I wanted to come up for a drink. No need to ask twice. Saturday morning, Ray came by to visit Jasha (who is currently living with SCGB). After Ray had a little hug and love time with teh kitteh, we went to brunch at Austin Grill. Then, we did a little shopping. I bought booze (vodka and wine). After Ray headed back to DC, Mr. Fantastic asked that I wait for him in Downtown Silver Spring, so I plopped myself down at the McGinty's bar with a Boddington's and waited. Once there, he ordered some food and then we walked back to my place. Around 8, another friend picked us and SCGB up to go to Sarah (of Sarah and Mario)'s birthda...

Good evening, kittens. Was that a groan of disgust I heard? But, it's true! Pottery class has begun (after the first class was canceled due to snow) ... Prepare yourself for the onslaught of pottery photos. Like these: Of course, before pottery class, Mr. Fantastic and I met K-Factor, the Canadian, and another friend at the movies. We saw Avatar in 3-D. It was pretty awesome (the 3-D, not the movie). I mean, the movie was a fun, silly, formulaic action adventure ... but Oscar-nominated? for Best Picture? I don't think so. VUBOQ sez "the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is WRONG!" Now, go forth and spread the word. And, today, I went back to work. Work iz hard. Fortunately, there was a 2-hour delay. Getting up at 7AM is soooooooo much better than 5AM. Srsly. After work martiniz make it all better though! Have a great night! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! What an amazingly full weekend. On Friday, Eric from Baltimore came to town. He had the day off, so we went to Alero in Dupont Circle for margaritas and cheese dip . As we were sitting there enjoying the day, a member of the Real World DC cast walked by. I recognized him by his total greasy skankiness (srsly, dude. Ever consider showering?) and the cameraman (who was HOT!) and the handler following him. My little brush with Lame Reality Show Fame. After lunch, Eric and I wandered over to the National Portrait Gallery/ American Art Museum. Fun. As I was taking a picture outside the museum of the upside down US Flag. We heard this loud CRASH! We looked at this woman on a cellphone totally smashed into the front of a parked car. She backed up a bit ... AND DROVE OFF! So, I took a picture of her license plate (since I had my camera out). We looked at the car she hit but there was no damage (amazing!), so we didn't leave a note (Neither of us had pen/...

Good morning, Kittens! Guess who slept in this morning? It was lovely. Most of my weekend was: Eat, Drink, Pie!, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Pie!, Sleep ... so not all that exciting. I didn't go out on Friday night. Saturday I was up early to spend the day working the admissions desk at SCGB's father's antiques show. 10:30-6. $20/hour. Not too shabby. But a bit on the boring side ... the highlight of the day was probably this conversation I had with an Elderly Gentleman: [after purchasing his tickets] EG: You sound smart. V: Thank you. I like to think I am. EG: What's your major? *heh* After leaving the antiques show, I met Mark for chinese food. Mmm. Chinese food. I felt a little high maintenance, because, when I learned they didn't have exactly what I wanted on the menu, I made them make it for me. See, it's like this ... I wanted something spicy, with tofu, and vegetables. They had non-spicy tofu with vegetables. And they had spicy tofu with peanuts (no vegetables). S...

Good Morning, Kittens! I have a busy day today, so ... well ... I wrote this last night. Hurrah for scheduling posts! Lessee. Saturday, I awoke a bit overhung. Shall we all curse the day we turned 30 and suddenly one or two glasses of red wine gives us a forkin' hangover? *sigh* Speaking of wine, did I totally miss Beaujolais Nouveau Day? I think I did. I'm so sad. I normally buy a bottle or two and have some friends around for brie and foie gras ... um ... more brie. Mmm. Brie. So, I am hungover and lounging on teh sofa (luv teh sofa! be teh sofa!) when my phone rings. It's Barbara, my SuperCool friend, the foreign service officer currently stationed in Marseille. I answer and she's all "HEY," in her Texan drawl, "I'm in DC. Let's do something." A few hours later, we were watching Daniel Craig. I mean, um, Quantum of Solace . Which, if you didn't know, stars Daniel Craig. Mmmm. Daniel Craig. I've loved him since Lara Croft: Tomb Rai...

I've been looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass , even though the reviews have been fair-to-middlin'. Today, in WaPo critic Desson Thomson's chat, a commenter said: Maybe you can explain this. Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books are just better than the Golden Compass Trilogy: smarter, incomparably better written, genuinely imaginative (polar bears in armor shows a deficient imagination). So why does the Golden Compass get the big movie treatment and LeGuin gets a cheesy made for TV flick? Can someone please explain to me how polar bears in armor show a deficient imagination? Does everyone imagine polar bears wearing armor? Is that a common theme in adolescent fantasy literature? I dunno, but the book seemed imaginative to me ... Does that mean I'm unimaginative? And, now, I'm off to buy booze! This deficiently imaginative VUBOQ needs a DRINK.

Morning, Rays of Sunshine! Everyone so happy to be back at work? *woot* I know I am!! *cough* *gag* *keels over* I blogged over the weekend ... so not much to add. I may think of some stuff later. Y's deadline is today. He's meeting with his advisor this afternoon. Cross your fingers that it goes well. And cross your fingers that VUBOQ will finally get some red hot luvin' . I can only be so patient. I think I'm going to go buy some new running shoes today. As you know, one of my Goals for September is to start running again. *geh* One goal has already been met! *woot* I planted 5 chrysanthemums over the weekend, three golden/bronze and 2 maroon. Only later did I realize that there's a little Gryffindor theme going on [Or Elon . Go Phighting Phoenixes!] ... I should take a photo. Maybe once they are all in full bloom. The Chili Pepper Plant Graveyard will soon look bright and cheery. If you've read the His Dark Materials trilogy, you'll know all about daem...

Or, at least, by me ... The party is over. In attendance were Cute Gay Brother of Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor, Tomokito and her husband, Across the Way Neighbor, Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor, and Friend of Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor. I really need to come up with better nicknames for people. Tom Collins was the most popular guest! There was loads of food - spicy salsa, cucumber and feta salsa, chips, olives, hummus and pita., and cheeses! Three kinds! Blue! Havarti with Dill! Gouda with Basil! I *heart* cheese. Tomoko brought cupcakes and brownies. And, Across the Way Neighbor brought apricot scones. And Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor brought some sort of yummy pastry thingy. Mmmm. Everyone left around 8ish, I think. I cleaned up and called Y. He was too busy to come to the party. He may be coming over later, depending on how tired he is. It would be nice if he could. If not, I guess I'll see him tomorrow. I haven'...

*whooooo-wheeeeee* What a weekend, kittens. What. A weekend. Here's the rundown: Friday: After work, I met Kristen and Carolyn at Kristen's hotel for Happy Hour. Then, we walked to Banana Cafe for dinner. However, the wait was too long, so we ended up going to Belga Cafe a few blocks down. It was yummy (if a tad expensive). I had the Salade Roulade (heart of romaine with goat cheese, blue cheese and roasted tomatoes) and some sort of onion tart thing. For dessert, I had the Belgian waffles, which were disappointing - slightly underdone and the chocolate sauce was too tangy (it had raspberry something in it). After dinner, I headed home. I was in the shower when Y came over. We tried to set up my internet, but kept having issues. A long and confusing call to India resolved nothing, so we went to bed ... *heh* Saturday morning, I thought we were going to see The Arab-Israeli Cookbook; however, I had the date wrong. It was on Sunday. Oops. Y and I "lounged aro...

Alternative Title: Why a "Middle Class" Salary in the DC/Metro Area Totally Sux Ass (and not in the *fun* way) I met Mike for a lovely lunch at a Thai restaurant near the Tenleytown Metro Station. It's not the best Thai food in town (by far), but the company and the cool breezes more than made up for that. Then, I spent a few fruitless hours shopping in Friendship Heights. After my supercute new Converse shoes began to hurt (even more), I called it a day and returned home for a well-deserved MARTINI and some chips and salsa. Mmm. I've been cruising the Internest, reading movie reviews. Practically every movie I want to see now is showing at the SAME theater: E Street Cinema . If only I could afford the $9.50 per show ticket price to see them all! Tomokito and I are going to see Paprika, a Japanese anime, on Sunday. I also want to see, Waitress and Once and Paris Je T'aime and ShowBusiness and ... and ... and ... I suppose I need to update my NetFlix queue an...

*woot* I am outta here at 12:30 today! YAY for Summer Hours! Plans include meeting Mike for lunch near AU, doing a little shopping, then heading home for an easy night in. Aah. Last night was fun. Met Jerry at the National Press Club for drinks and dinner. Then, we went to see a special screening of A Mighty Heart , which was awesome. Angelina Jolie was amazing. Let it be known, that, when Hollywood decides to turn my life into a big cinematic experience (well, bigger than it already is), I want to be played by Angelina Jolie! Other than that, not much else is going on. I'm watching the hours slowly tick by until Monday. I told Y I would cook dinner, and this is what I'm planning: caprese salad (tomato, mozzarella, and basil) pasta tossed with homemade pesto garlic bread My biggest decision, now, is what wine goes well with that? I'm thinking either a light red or white (like pinot grigio?)? Any suggestions? Have a great weekend, kittens! *smooches*

*whew* I was almost late to work this morning ... Y came over last night, and, well, we got a little frisky this morning. Somehow, I managed to get here on time, difficult though it was. I watched The Good Girl last night. Jennifer Aniston was surprisingly good, as was Jake G (although that wasn't much of a surprise). I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. *woot* No big plans for tonight. I am thinking about staying in, watching movies, knitting and having a chill Friday night alone. I could be convinced to do a Happy Hour somewhere though ;-) I'm shutting down the hotline at 3 to give everyone a headstart on their long weekend. Aren't I the nicest supervisor EVER? Tomorrow, I have a hair appointment in the morning. Then, we will be gathering for Saturday Afternoon Margaritas around 3 to start celebrating Mike and Tomoko's birthdays. Y wants me to come to his place this weekend, so I might go over there on Saturday night. Sunday, I'm trying to get...