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

*cough* *cough* *hack* *sneeze*, Kittens! And, greetings from my Sickbed!  I have been homebound since Wednesday after work.  Slight fever.  Bad cough.  Gross, snotty nose.  It has been really good times. Also, I am bored. I have read the entire Percy Jackson series.  I watched all three Lord of the Rings movies (extended editions!).  I am still flipping through the cocktail book pictured above, which Tomokito gave me for Xmas.  And, I'm also still looking through the vegetarian cookbook Michelle M sent me.  Yay!  I purchased "Cloud Atlas" for my nook.  I read "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoe" by the same author and really enjoyed it.  I haven't started reading "Cloud Atlas" yet, because I need to finish "Diet for a Hot Planet" first.  But, mostly, I blob on the sofa (or my bed), drinking Magic Elixir, blowing my nose, coughing like there's no tomorrow, and sometimes falling asleep. I was too sick to go to "...

Good Evening, Kittens! This past week has been chock full of fun and excitement!  Especially if you define "fun and excitement" as "feeling like Death Warmed Over!"  YAY! I contend that V from Philly gave me some sort of Deadly Philadelphia Germ.  He refutes that claim, because he has not been sick. Whatever.  Carrier. ANYWAY, I spent most of the week feeling like El Crapola.  The cold has been mostly in my chest.  Lots of coughing and hacking.  Not much sinus pain (huzzah for small favors).  And, thus, I did not do much. I did go to pottery class, where I threw two (future) mugs and a bowl. I also made two very yummy soups: black lentil/tomato/vegetable and thai red curry butternut squash (pictured above). This weekend, I have been feeling a bit better.  Still, I cancelled my planned daytrip to Philly to hang out with the fabulous Lora and Bossy.  I will see them -fer sure- when I run the Philadelphia Half Marathon in Nove...

Good Morning, Kittens! As further proof that (if there is a God) S/He hates me, on Tuesday my back was almost entirely pain-free.  Not 100% better, mind you, but close ... maybe like 95%.  I was ecstatic.  I made all sorts of plans for the weekend ... like going for a short run.  And, well, that was it.  I was going to get back into running. And, then, Wednesday happened.  I awoke at my regular time (5:15AM) and tried to get out of bed.  "Tried" being the operative word.  WTF?  My back was in excruciating pain ... AGAIN!  SRSLY.  I am totally over this whole Bad Back Thing.  At least this time, I knew to get up and move around.  But, still, I have been in mucho pain the past couple of days.  I have left work early every day just because I can't stand it and I want to come home and be horizontal.  Hello, Heating Pad, my old friend.  I've come to lie on you again ... But enough about the sharp stabby...

Good Morning, Kittens! After several weeks of being anti-social and sofa-ridden, I finally am easing my way back into life.  Yay me! On Friday, my co-worker and I had planned to go to a DC Fringe Festival play, Young Republicans, which starred a friend of my co-worker.  Well, co-worker's boyfriend decided that he wanted to go too.  Gah.  Thus, rather than be a third wheel, I took a date, L (this would be our second date).  We all went to Fado in Gallery Place for beers and snacks and dinner and then headed to the play, which was entertaining, probably could stand some tightening up ... but it's Fringe.  That's what one should expect, I suppose. After the play,we all went our separate ways. On Saturday, I had a mini-English lesson with Tomoko's niece, who is visiting for a couple of weeks.  It went fine.  We talked about fashion and astrology.  And how to use numerology to determine if you and your "crush" are compatible.  Good ...

Good evening, Kittens. I know, I know. I haven't blogged all week.  BUT, in my defense, I think you would've gotten tired of posts that were all "my back hurts" and "work sucks" and "did I mention that my back hurts?" So, consider yourself lucky ... Of course, my back *still* hurts.  I am taking the Miracle Pills and using the heating pad and trying to do some stretches.  Let's hope it gets better soon.  I am really tired of walking around in constant pain. In other, non-back-related news, this weekend, I made pickles for the first time.  It was so easy!  and they are so delicious!  I used this recipe and some white cucumbers from our CSA farm share. I also made this super-yummy lemony green bean salad (using green beans from our CSA farm share): And, today, I drove to the pottery studio and made this: It's handbuilt.  I trimmed a vase on the wheel and quickly realized that bending over the wheel was painful.  I doub...

Good Evening, My Sweet, Sweet, Furry Kittens of Joy! My weekend was chock full o' fun and excitement, if you define "fun and excitement" as "being on the sofa, watching DVDs, and knitting." On Friday, I went to an orthopedic surgeon.  He (well, his nurse) took x-rays of my back.  And, it looks fine (so he says).  There are a couple of picky little things going on with my lower vertebrae, but they are probably not the cause of my SuperIntenseBackPainOwOwOw.  So, he prescribed physical therapy (meh) and a Bottle of Miracle Pills (aka NSAIDs).  Seriously, I took the first one and, in, like, 15 minutes most of the debilitating back pain was Gone!  I still have a nagging little twinge and am not nearly as mobile as I would like, but, OMG, so. much. better (ish). BUT, although mostly mobile, I felt I should spend most of the weekend resting.  Which I did.  It was lovely. Mike (Who Makes Cakes) came over Friday evening for a little while. On Sat...

Good Morning, Kittens! How about that 4th of July, huh?  What a crazy riot of fun!  I stayed on the sofa ALL DAY and watched the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (extended editions).  I made serious progress on my knitting project (pictured).  At the rate I'm going, I *may* finish the scarf before it gets to be winter ... we'll see. I am currently reading Game of Thrones, Book 3.  It's a surprisingly good series; however, I've getting very frustrated with one character's storyline right now.  So, I may have to put the book down for a bit to give myself a break.  Anyone else into this series?  For dinner last night, I made this: Spicy Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Sauteed Green and Yellow Squash with Basil and Pinenuts, and Rice with Red Quinoa Very American, what with the squash and the tomatoes and the quinoa, right? As for my back, it still hurts.  I am able to get up and move around, which is good.  I think I may have overdone ...

Good morning, Kittens! As you may recall from my last post, I did something to my back.  Well, it still hurts ... I did manage to go to work yesterday for a half-day.  It was awful.  Fortunately, my client and program managers are allowing me to work from home for the rest of this week.  Yay!  "Work"  from home. Anyway, I didn't post much last week, because there wasn't much to post.  I mostly stayed in bed staring at the ceiling fan.  I am very lucky to have good neighbors who checked in on me frequently to make sure I was eating and staying hydrated.  On Thursday, the SuperSweet K picked up spinach enchiladas from El Golfo for me for dinner.  (Of course, the next day, he came down with the flu.  Apparently, my bad luck is contagious.) Friday is when the real fun started.  That night we had a HUGE storm.  Thunder.  Lightning.  Very very frightening.  And, the power went out with a BZZZT. And the p...

Good morning, Kittens, and greetings from where all the action happens - VUBOQ's bed! A funny thing happened yesterday. Instead of spending my extra day off shopping for new furniture and running other errands, I spent it in total agony. My back had been bothering me slightly for about 2 weeks. But, over the weekend it felt better. On Monday, I woke up pain-free, made coffee and sat on the sofa to work on my computer for a bit. An hour and a half later, when I stood up, there was major back pain. I decided to go back to bed to see if it would feel better. It didn't. In fact, it got worse. And I started to panic. My phone was in the living room and my front door was locked. No one could get in if I called for help. Not that i could call for help. Because the pain was so bad that I couldn't stand up, I forced myself to crawl to the living room to get my phone and unlock the door. Then, I fell asleep. I called a neighbor. And I emailed my doctor, who faxed a pr...

Good Morning, Kittens! You would think being at home on Leave Without Pay (which, in case you didn't know, means I don't get paid) would mean I would be more devoted to updating my blog. Apparently, that thought is incorrect. Oh, well. As it turns out, I did not have a cold, but some sort of allergy. I am blaming the dogwood blossoms. I normally don't have allergies, but everyone has said that this year has been an awful year with very high pollen counts. Ughz. On Wednesday, I went to the pottery studio. I attached some handles. And picked up some finished pieces ... After pottery, I came home and did laundry. w00t. The end of the week/weekend were much more interesting ... On Thursday evening, I went to K's place. He has a cute little condo off of Rhode Island Ave. He made us dinner - lentils and some sort of spring vegetable mix served on polenta. Delicious. We had wine. And, then, we had hot hot buttsecks. And, I will say this: He was very enthusiastic....

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" Evening, Kittens! So, it seems I caught a bit of the Airplane Ick. I felt fine when I returned from Vegas on Monday night. And, I awoke on Tuesday refreshed and ready to take on the day. However, by lunchtime, my throat started to feel a little rough. After lunch, I went to the drugstore and purchased some Airborne chewable tablets. Unfortunately, by Go Home Time, things were worse. I stopped by the Whole Foods to purchase ginger and lemon to make my ginger/lemon/cayenne elixir. It helped; however, when I got up on Wednesday morning, I knew I couldn't make it to work. I had to take a sick day, which sucks because I don't have much paid time off (PTO) left. My PTO reboots on March 1st. I think I may have to take some unpaid leave for the upcoming President's Day holiday. We shall see ... *ugh* Anyway, I lounged around all day Wednesday, napping, reading, watching DVDs. I did manage to do a load or two of laundry. And make a delicious black bean so...

Good morning, Kittens! Well, this weekend was certainly an interesting one. After receiving the shock of the Great Sunflower Massacre of 2011, I spent most of the weekend either on the sofa or in the bed. Two of my favorite places to be, actually. On Saturday, I watched Harry Potter 1-4 on DVD. I finished the body of my seamless sweater, but lack the proper needles to begin the sleeves. I think, because of the number of stitches required, knitting on circular needles will be difficult. So, I need to purchase some #11 dpns. Yay. Instead of working on the sleeves, I decided to turn the heel on my first tweedy brown sock. I used the Zimmerman German Heel. It was actually easy (once I figured out that "knit up" = "pick up and knit"). This is where I am so far: Saturday evening, I showered (!) and ventured upstairs for a little going away party for my neighbors who are moving to Washington state in the Fall. So sad. I really liketh them. They are so pure and go...

"Good" Morning, Kittens! I am still in Recuperationville from my outpatient surgical experience on Friday. And, like, ow. At least the Percocet Happy Pills seem to be working ... Although I really don't want to go into the whys and wheres and howtos and whatfors and whatevers about the procedure, the surgeon spent a good 30-45 minutes (I'm guessing) scraping, cutting, slicing, dicing, pulverizing, and then cauterizing my nether region. Yep. I had ass-tic surgery. Joy. I should have asked for a butt-lift while he was down there (hindsight. It is 20/20, yo!). Anyway, the recovery process is tedious. And painful. And messy. And long, like 3 weeks long. Ugh. Today is my last day of not working though. I am going to try to straggle into the office tomorrow. So, what does a VUBOQ do when he is at home, on drugs, and not whimpering from painful pooping sessions? He shops. My brother notified my of an extra 25% off sale at Ralph Lauren Dot Com. With his employee ...

Good Evening, Kittens. Some of you requested to see a photo of my Bedazzled Uterus Shirt. Here it is. Plz to ignore my bad hair and cheesy grin. This photo was taken at a friend's birthday party awhile back (and I may (or may not) have been a little intoximacated). As for my weekend, it started out fun and then *crashed* with the Thud of a Foot in Mud. Friday, Tomokito, SCGB, and the Guy Who Says Like A Lot, went to the Lady Gaga vs. Madonna vs. Kylie Dance Party at the 9:30 Club. This is what I wore: Kind of cute, no? We started by pre-gaming at SCGB's Brother's Condo. Wine. Yum. When we got to the 9:30 Club, it was already packed. And the line to the coat check snaked around the upper floor. WTF? So, we threw our coats in a corner and checked out the action. Oh, wait. What action? Dullest Dance Party Ever. With stupidly bad onstage dancers. And the crowd was 75% single straight girls in their early 20s who would only dance to Lady Gaga. Blah. No cute boys. ...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. On my way home from Philly on Monday, I felt the tell-tell tickle of a cold coming on. Tuesday, when I woke up, it was worse, but not so bad I couldn't go to work. so I did. Then, I came home. Late. Because the Red Line was a ginormous clusterfuck. I had to rush to get to my co-op's Annual Shareholder's Meeting. Fortunately, I was not elected to the Board. yay! Of course, this means that I will most assuredly have to be on the Board next year. I went to bed early. When I got up, I thought I heard snow/sleet. I looked out the window, and I was correct. A couple of inches of slush and stuff covered the ground. Also, I felt like poop. After having some ginger lemon tea, I decided I couldn't make it to work. So I called out and went back to bed. I woke up at 11:30. Since then I've been feeding my fever to starve my cold. Or whatever. I've been eating a lot. I tried to do laundry, but it seems *BOTH* washers in our laundry room ...

Good morning, kittens! My weekend was chock full of fun and excitement. Friday night, I went to bed early. And Saturday, I didn't even leave the house. On Sunday, I left the house once (to go the grocery store). Mm. Hm. I am living the Crazy (sub)Urban Life! I did accomplish a few things during my convalescence though ... On Saturday, I made Garlicky Red Chili Sauce: Here's the recipe I used (adapted from the New York Times): 2 habenero chili peppers 1 red bell pepper, roasted and roughly chopped 4 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1. Wearing rubber/latex gloves, roughly chop the chilies. Combine all ingredients in a small pot over medium-high heat. Once mixture is simmering, reduce heat to low, cover and continue to simmer until peppers are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Do not inhale vapors; they will sting. 2. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree. Pour into a medium jar and allow to cool uncovered. Cover tigh...

Good Morning, Kittens. And, so, the sickness is washing over me again. WTF? Why am I so germ-susceptible recently? Grrr. It maketh me sad, because I will probably be having to cancel my little movie/dinner night with D. *le sigh* My wonderful neighbor, K-Factor, had to go out of town for work. Before leaving, she asked me if I could plant sit for her. Of course, I said yes. She said she'd leave them by my door. Tuesday morning, when I opened the door, there were two vases of beautiful flowers. "Plant sit?" I texted, "More like Flower enjoy!" Work yesterday was not fun. I felt gross and sick all day (until I left at 3PM to come home and nap). The highlight of the day (besides having my new ID made) had to be this . Rat in the trash! Rat in the trash! It couldn't get out and kept jumping up. Ewwwwz. ANYWAY, once home (after a stop to pick up cold-fighting fruits and veggies at Whole Foods), I saw the calla lilies and was reminded of this: Ah ......

Good Morning, Kittens. I am home sick. Bleah. So far I have undertaken the following Get Better Home Remedies: 1. Mega-dosing with Vitamin C. 2. Homemade vegetable soup (nom!). 3. Swallowed a clove of raw garlic with lots of water (last night and this morning). 4. Ginger lemon tea with chili powder and honey (last night and this morning). 5. Early Go to Bed Time and Naps. Lots of Naps. What are your best cold-fighting home remedies? Have a great day! *germy smooches*

Good Afternoon, Kittens. Sorry for the delayed posting. Work was insane busy this morning. Too. Many. Meetings. And, I have somehow caught some sort of germykillercoldvirusfromhell (which is why you are looking at a photo of soup). Mmm. Soup. Anywayz .... my weekend was long and full of boozy good times. In fact, I can barely remember what I did at the beginning of the weekend. Except, of course, that my Thursday night date with D went very very well and we had lots of fun. (In fact, I was supposed to go to his house after work today, but *ugh* the sickness I haz it.) So, Friday, I did manage to make to to the pottery studio. I glazed my five mugs. I doubt they will be fired anytime soon though. Oh, well. Later that evening, Tomokito came down and we made cocktails using the habenero-infused tequila. Spicy! Saturday, I canceled my "date" with C. No desire to battle the crazy public transportation situation. I knat a bit. I went for a run. I spent most of my i...