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

Need coffee ... Yes! Yawn Valdez! My HERO! With apologies to the family of Juan Valdez ...

I am concerned, because, well, it may be going right through my neighborhood and ... gosh ... we just don't want those kind around. Won't anyone think of the children? Of course, I had no idea that counties could be bi. Or gay, for that matter. Straight counties, on the other hand, I've seen a few in my day. Unfortunately, they tend to be a bit square. Could there be a more perfect name for our Bi-Transit Route than the Purple Line ?

One of the major benefits of maintaining separate residences is, when the boyfriend has to get up at 4AM to drive to Annapolis to work, I get to sleep until 6:30 in my own bed, undisturbed by an early alarm, bouncing demondog, and clomping boyfriend. Of course, the major drawback is a) no nighttime nookie and b) no morning nookie. I think an extra 2.5 hours of sleep is worth it though. Not that there has been (or will ever be) any offer to combine residences. Mostly for the reason that John needs an entire three level house to store all his clothes and crap. The man has one closet full of jeans. only. [I am *so* tempted to take a picture to prove it.] AND, in the guest room he had to buy 4 (FOUR!) wardrobes for the rest of his clothes. So, no room for me, my clothes, and/or my furniture there. OK. "Mostly for the reason" is misleading. I think the main reason is that I like having *my* own place. I like the feeling of independence, that I don't need to rely on a...

and the dirty dishes in the sink. I felt a little guilty about having such a pathetic Meat-Free Monda y picture, so here's a treat: Meat-Free Tuesday ! Fire and Ice Tomato Salad. Yum. Slice one tomato. Peel, de-seed, and slice one cucumber. Thinly slice half of one red onion. Place in dish. Dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, 3-4 tbsps red wine vinegar, one clove garlic, one jalapeno pepper (de-seeded, if you wish), 1 tsp salt, pepper to taste. Blend in food processor. Pour dressing over sliced veggies. Cover and chill. Eat. Say "YUM!" AND, it's even better the next day! Mmm. Mmm. If you're wondering about the beverage, it's my own concoction: A Strawberry limoncellotini! Put juice of one lemon and 2-3 oz of homemade strawberry limoncello over ice in a shaker. SHAKE IT! SHAKE IT! SHAKE IT like you've got Parkinson's Disease! Strain into chilled martini glass. Drink. Say "YUM!"

Spontaneous Evaporation. The Silent Killer. The Ugly Third Cousin to Spontaneous Combustion. it's hot. hot hot hot hot hot hot hot. hot. So, I bought popsicles for my staff. Mmm. frozen icy goodness. *yawn* And, um, there have not been enough comments telling me how fabulicious the back panel of my sweater is. Get to it, people!

Leave it to someone else to remind me that I forgot Meat-Free Monday: Holiday Edition . GAH! Of course, I ate meat-free (veggie burgers), but forgot to take a picture. This will have to do: As it would happen, I also ate meat - a big hunky piece of hot chocolate chicken. YUM. Yes, John's flight finally left Chicago and landed in DC around 9:30. I ordered some Chinese take-out for him (5 hours on a plane with no food = very hungry John). He got home around 10, ate, showered, and we went to "bed." And, boy, am I tired. Meanwhile, everyone scroll down and look at the back panel of my sweater. Tell me how wonderful it is. I need the positive reinforcement, otherwise I may never get up the energy to cast on the 100+ stitches for the front panel. *meat-free smooches* More later ... PS. I've added Double Take to my list of Blogoliciousness. Enjoy! PPS. The horror! Starbucks has reduced the size of its apple fritter from humongoloid to teeny. It's still the same pr...

VUBOQ is now hating all that is flat and boring and in the middle of the US (except for Iowa, Home of the Most Marvelous Mush ). Stupid thunderstorms have delayed John's flight in Chicago. He should be here NOW. Instead, he is sitting on the tarmac awaiting take-off. I told him to go tell the pilot that they have special cargo and should be given priority. I gotsta get my luvin'. Anyway, while waiting, I finally finished the back panel of my ribbed sweater. Unlike PeskyMac , who can finish a sweater in a day and a half, it only took me FOUR MONTHS. At this blistering pace, my first sweater *should* be finished by the time cold weather approaches. Check it out: Twenty-seven inches of delicious ribbed goodness. *heh* Pervy Monkeys!

In almost exactly twelve hours, John will land at DC National Airport. It will take him about 45 minutes to get back here, I think. And, joyous reunion butt sex will be had by all. Or at least me and him. Yay. To while away the hours today, I'm meeting a friend for brunch in DC. Then, I have to go take care of my kitty. I'll spend the rest of the afternoon tidying up the house. And I might take a nap. I didn't sleep well last night. The upstairs was too hot and I couldn't figure out how to turn on the a/c. So, I ended up sleeping on the sofa in the living room. Not comfortable. Yes, a nap will definitely be on the agenda. Naps so rock. *smooches*

After I left work on Friday (a few minutese early), I bought Kelly's bridal shower presents at Homo Rule. Then, I met Diablo at Halo to celebrate his last day of work. We walked in, and who did we see? Diablo's very tall friend, J.! I ordered our drinks - margarita for D and I tried the cucumber ginger martini (without the sugar). The bartender took the cukes, some ginger, and some mint, muddled it, mixed it with vodka and strained. It tasted like a mint martini with a hint of cuke and no ginger flavor whatsoever. Quite vomitous. So, for my free drink, I asked Diablo to tell them to leave out the sugar and the mint! That was better. But, it still didn't have much gingeryness. I probably won't order that again. Then, we went to dinner at Cafe Saint Ex on 14th St. Billy joined us there. I had the BLT without the B. It was yummy - fried green tomatoes and some sort of interesting mayo. Plus, sweet potato fries on the side. MMM mmm good. I staggered home and...

All by myseeeee-eeeellllfff... I let the rest of the staff leave early for the holiday. I'm alone. Until 5. *sigh* Someone needs to entertain me.

I received the following email: I noticed that the following chemicals appear on the Inventory with "XU" flag. But I would like to get confirmation from you on their "XU" status before say they are exempt from IUR. Thank you in advance for confirming them. [chemical names redacted] I responded: In order to confirm that certain chemicals are exempt from IUR reporting, you will need to consult the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR 710). If you do not have a copy of the Code of Federal Regulations, you may access it online at http://www.epa.gov/docs/epacfr40/chapt-I.info/ . I get this back: your answer is useless. How can you get confirmation from 40 CFR710 for individual substances? I am tempted to respond: Your response is stupid. You read the regulations and determine if your chemicals fall within the exemption categories listed within the regulatory text. How hard is that? I'll work on something less offensive later. Now? I'm off to lunch.

My back hurts this morning. And not for the normal I was supporting a 220 lb man for hours last night good reason. I must have slept weirdly or something. Or my wonderful family bad back genes are finally starting to kick in (Dad has bad back, brother has bad back, Uncle (Dad's brother) had back surgery, Cousin (on Dad's side) bent over to move a planter one morning and passed out from the pain of throwing out her back). I really should start doing that yoga DVD Robert let me borrow. Will it do any good though? Not much on the agenda today. I have to answer a few work email. I'll probably let my staff leave around 3/3:30, since it's a holiday weekend and will more than likely be deathly slow. I'm meeting Robert, and maybe others, at Halo for Happy Hour after work. On the way, I need to stop by Homo Rule to buy the bridal shower presents. I'm also going to a house-warming next week, so I may get them the same things. I mean, really, who doesn't lik...

Sitting here at work, it slowly began to dawn on me that I really don't want to drive out to Target this evening. So, I ran over to Marshall's during my break to see if they had any fun shoes. They had these, which I believe will match my funky new $3 pants. A new shirt is not entirely necessary. I can throw on a black t-shirt and all will be well. So, my happy hour look is complete without the trip to Targe. YAY. Now, I can walk to my place, feed the kitty, metro over to John's, eat dinner, and knit ALL NIGHT! YAY. Life. Good.

I took this little quiz on Diablo's blog and How evil are you ? I am VUBOQ. Hear me roar.

Not much to relate from last night. I went home and fed my cat. Then, I drove over to John's. I watched lots and lots of CSI and knitted. I'm still about 12 rows shy of finishing the back of my sweater. GAH! It's taking me for-ever. Tonight, I'm driving to Target, not to buy a wedding present, but to buy some fun new clothes for happy hour tomorrow night. If you remember, while my parents were visiting, I found a fun pair of pants for less than $3 at Kohl's. Now, I need to find some shoes and a shirt to wear with them. I think Target's Mossimo line should have something. As for the wedding (bridal shower, whatever, I'm not buying 2 presents) present, I decided to buy her (and her husband-to-be) ... Colorful Spatulas!!! and Potholders!!! How can they not LOVE these?!?!?! I think I can buy them at Homo Rule on 14th St.

I'm going to a Bridal Shower on Sunday. I called up the Sister of the Bride the other day to find out where the happy couple had registered. "Target; Bed, Bath, and Beyond; and Crate and Barrel," she said. In the course of the conversation, she also said something along the lines of "They already have everything they need, but the Bride has decided she wants all new things ." *cough* *sputter* *gag* The more I think about it, the more upset I get. When did weddings become a festival of greed, rather than a celebration of love? And why do I feel obligated to get them something anyway? I would think that, historically, the whole wedding gift-giving thing arose because the sweet young couples didn't own anything. Now, people with well-stocked houses are getting married, but they still want gifts . Lots of gifts. Spatulas! Toaster ovens! 800 count Egyptian cotton queen size sheets! Maybe I'm bitter (maybe?) because I know I'll never get married and be ...

Yesterday, I received an evite to a Memorial Day Mamba ! I'm not quite sure what that means, but it will involve lots of drinking and debauchery. The Mamba is being planned by my former co-worker, A, and her idiot boyfriend, Corona , and it is a train-wreck in the making. A's brother and Corona are housemates. Actually, A and Corona used to be housemates, but A was dating someone else at the time. They broke up, A moved out, and A and Corona started dating. Because Corona and Brother are housemates, A has to keep the relationship a secret. The Brother automatically hates every guy A dates. [He's a little fucked in the head, Brother is]. So, if he ever found out that A and Corona were fucking, he'd go ballistic. The party description says that while the cat's away, the mice will play ... meaning, Brother is out of town for the night. Of course, my overactive imagination has created a scenario in which Brother changes his plans and returns while the party is...

Because my planned happy hour with Jerry has been postponed until next week, I'll be spending another lovely evening alone at John's. I'm trying to decide the best way to organize what I have to do after work: feed the cat, check Christal's mail, and go to John's. Option 1: Walk home, feed the cat, walk to the metro, get off at Takoma Park, walk to Christal's, walk back to the metro, and finally walk to John's. Option 2: Walk to the metro, walk to John's, eat dinner, wait until rush hour subsides drive to my house, feed the cat, drive to Christal's, and drive back to John's. Option 3: Walk home, feed the cat, walk to the metro, get off at Fort Totten, walk to John's, eat dinner, wait until rush hour ends, drive to Christal's, and then drive back to John's. None of these options sound overly appealing. I will probably end up choosing Option 3 and not even going to Christal's until tomorrow. The thing is that I hate having to go ou...

CSI-Miami's season finale was last night, and -for some god forsaken reason- I actually stayed up to watch it. Although it was satisfying to see the evil DA get her just desserts, I was left thinking "WTF?" Brazil? You're going to Brazil? WTF. Of course, on the bright side, maybe Adam Rodriguez will sport a thong on the beach.

A few random thoughts: 1. * meat-free smooches * to Mush and Persian Guy for sharing their meat-free Monday meals with us yesterday. 2. I'm eating your favorite potato chips , Billy . 3. Although some people may disagree , living in the DC Metro area without owning a car *is* currently a viable option. You don't need to wait 10 years. Exhibit A: Me. I've lived in the DC/Metro Area since 1999 and have not owned a car during that time. So there. *neener neener neener* Meanwhile, back on the ranch ... John is still gone. I'm still here. The dog is still crazy. The cat still gives forth the Vomit of Joy. Oh. And I need to find a good dentist in or near Silver Spring. Does anyone know one?