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

I have some work I need to get done this morning, so here's quick rundown of my weekend with more coming laterz: Friday. Happy hour with Robert and Jerry. Fun. Dinner, too. Also fun. Saturday. Knitting all day. Finished Dad's mittens and half of one more mitten. [Photos eventually forthcoming] Saturday night. Pizza/Beer/Games Party at Mike's. Fun. Drank too much. Home at 2. Sunday. Slept until 10. Finished one more mitten. Went for a wander in DC. Ended up at Mike's watching movies and eating leftover pizza. And, no, there was no "watching movies." Must answer work email now. *smooches*

So ... in light of my job unhappiness, I started thinking about things I liked to do: 1. Knit 2. Make pottery 3. Study bugs 4. Drink I'm not so sure those can be combined into one "dream job." Something to think about over the weekend, I guess. I'm sure Silver Spring could use a Knitting/Pottery/Insect-infested Bar. Although maybe it could be something like Knit New York , except have booze instead of coffee ... and HOT GAY MEN instead of little old knitting ladies ;-) And there could be insects embedded in the bar, and printed on the napkins, and stenciled on the walls ... and the drinks could have BUG-LIKE names ... Like a Monarch Martini ... and the Grasshopper ... and ... and ... *heh* fun.

Our office Thanksgiving Potluck is today. I made an orzo salad. It's easy. And vegetarian (and probably one of the few things I'll be able to eat)! This is the recipe I used [my changes in red ]: Spinach and Orzo Salad INGREDIENTS 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked orzo pasta 1 (10 ounce) package baby spinach leaves, finely chopped 1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese 1/2 red onion, finely chopped 3/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon ground white black pepper [Oh, and I didn't really measure the basil and pepper, I just kinda shook them over the bowl] 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar DIRECTIONS Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. After about 9 minutes, add the chopped spinach. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in spinach , feta, onion, pine nuts, basil and white black pepper. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Refrigerate and serve cold.

All I have left to do on my Dad's Xmas Knittens is the right thumb (and who really needs that anyway?)! I'm practically finished! Only 8 GABILLION more knittens to make before Xmas! WOOT! I'll snap a photo when I finish the thumb. You will be amazed at my knitting prowess. Seriously. I rock. Moving on ... Apparently, my resume is not all that impressive. I never heard from the job I applied for on the 6th. *sigh* Maybe I need to consider a new field ... like heating and air conditioning repair ... or maybe I'll start playing my alto sax again and join a jazz band ... or there is always Cirque du Soleil tryouts. I feel like my life is mostly "in place" ... except for having a job that I *love* ... hell, or even having a job that I *like* le sigh. btw, this year's Beaujolais nouveau didn't taste as yeasty as it did last year. It was quite nice, actually. more later. *smooch*

Signalite asked: What is your name? Sir Gawain of Camelot. What is your quest? To seek the holy grail. What is your favorite color? Blue ... No. Yellooooooooooooooooooooow ... And that Monty Python moment was brought to you by: the letters A, F, and G and the number 42. Cooper asked: How long have you been a vegetarian? I have been a vegetarian since January 16ish, 2000. I blogged about some of my reasons on my other (infrequently updated) blog, Envirowonk. Here . That was the beginning of my second semester of graduate school. I had decided to go veg during my first semester; however, I was planning a trip to Beijing during my winter break. I wanted to treat myself to some yummy meat-based Chinese cooking while there, so I postponed my switch to vegetarianism until after I returned. I do still eat eggs and dairy products. I do not eat fish (unlike some so-called "vegetarians"), but I have the "When I am in Japan I Allow Myself to Eat Sashimi/Sushi" Rule. I...

Yesterday, Gayprof asked me to tell a dirty story. As I searched my internal archives for such a story, I suddenly remembered one which made me smile: This was a dirty story which was circulating through my elementary school when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade: Kid 1: Want to hear a dirty story? Kid 2: YEAH! Kid 1: Two white horses fell in a mud puddle. Kid 1: Want to hear an even dirtier story? Kid 2: YEAH! Kid 1: Two white horses fell in a mud puddle ... and three came out! Kid 2: I don't get it. Can you guess which kid I was in the story? Is that a dirty enough story for you, Gayprof? Or do I need to try again? Meanwhile, today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day ! Woo hoo!!! I know, the wine tends to be crap, but I like to think of the global community all partaking of the same wine on the same day. I like the idea of that connection. It makes me feel part of something bigger than myself. And all from drinking a bottle of crap wine (which to my untrained palate usually tastes a little ...

OK. I'm bored. And feeling sort of blah and gray and dreary and bleary-eyed and not-so-bushy-tailed and damp and cold. SOOOOO... how about we open the blog up for questions? Do you have any burning questions about the glory that is VUBOQ? Now is your chance to ask them. New to the blog? Old to the blog? I don't care. Ask away ... All questions will be answered. Unless they aren't.

Last night, I made a simple pasta sauce. I drank wine. I watched movies. I knitted about 1/3 of the second knitten. Tonight, I must do laundry. Tomorrow, the 2006 beaujolais nouveau is released. I was planning on having a little party, but I am uninspired. I think I will buy a bottle for myself, some brie, and a baguette and have my own private party. I think getting that email from John has made me feel a little down ... or at least reflective about the "might have beens" and the "could have beens" and the "you're going to be alone for the rest of your life so you might as well get used to its." Luckily, like most things, this too shall pass ... more later. *smooches*

Apparently, the EPA doesn't have proofreaders. And, this entry will bore the pants off anyone not in my field ... In today's Federal Register , the EPA published a new final rule in regards to Section 12(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Under Section 12(b), exporters of chemical substances are required (in some instances) to notify EPA that they are exporting those chemicals. The EPA then sends letters to the countries which are receiving those chemicals. Currently, there are no de minimis amounts for those exports, meaning no matter if you are exporting 1 gram or 1000 pounds of a chemical, you have to file an export notification. Which, if you think about it, is pretty stupid. So, the EPA published a new rule which sets de minimis amounts for certain chemicals. In the Federal Register , the EPA states in the preamble to the rule that "EPA is finalizing the requirement that export notification will not be required for chemical substances or mixtures if the chemica...

I started typing an entry, but was suddenly struck with the thought that I had already discussed in this forum my extreme dislike of the term homophobia . So, I deleted the entry and started this one, which I'm sure will be much less clever and interesting than the one which was deleted. I'm sorry. I did absolutely nothing of interest last night, other than finish my knitten (yay!) and start its mate. Thus, I'm stealing a meme from the Persian Guy : A is for age: 36 B is for beer of choice: Guinness? Maybe ... I also like dark microbrews. C is for career: GAH! D is for favorite Drink: Sapphire Martini, Straight Up and Dirty E is for essential item you use everyday: toothbrush F is for favorite song at the moment: Unfortunately, I don't have one ... before my CD player died (or was KILLED by JAKE), I was listening to a CD of medieval music I bought in England. G is for favorite games: Scrabble H is for hometown: er ... I was born in Morganton, NC I is for ins...

As I mentioned in my NYC recap post below, I received an email from John. I considered not posting it here. I considered not responding to it. I considered lots of things, but, in the end, I decided to respond to it and to post both email messages. His email was really sweet, and he obviously put some time and thought into writing it. It made me sad when I read it. I guess I still miss him. His email: Steven, Don't know how you will receive this or if you will even read it...but here goes: I got you message a few weeks ago and it was great to hear your voice. Oscar is doing fine. He is with my parents now as I finalize my plans to go to Iraq for 4 mos. If the mission isn't cancelled again, I will be in Baghdad doing counter insurgency operations with the military fast strike teams. But anyway, I felt the need to at least respond back to you in this forum because even though I don't feel that where I'm going is all that dangerous for the most part there is certainly some...

New York City was a total blast! YAY! Beatuiful weather! Good food! Lots of fun! The only drawback? I am so friggin' tired today. But, let's start from the beginning ... Friday, I arrived at Union Station in DC about 30 minutes prior to my trains departure ... except my train was delayed by about 30 minutes. GAH! I didn't arrive in NYC until nearly 3PM. I was supposed to meet Nida at 3:30 at this knitting/coffee shop in the East Village. So, I didn't stop by the hotel to drop off my bags, but instead went straight to Knit New York . I was a little early. I bought a Time Out New York to read while I waited. Nida and I had a nice chat and looked at yarn. I headed to the Park Central hotel around 5:30, I guess. Unloaded my bag. Watched Top Chef reruns. At 6:30, I met Jake in the lobby and we went to dinner. We ended up at Jane . It was yummy. For those of you familiar with the DC food scene, I would liken it to Logan Tavern, only more upscale and with ...

Think I'll go eat worms ... I. have. been. rejected. I sent an email to 6 friends this morning asking if they'd like to do happy hour tonight. EVERYONE said no. NO! How could they? How could they abandon me in my happy hour of need? How? This is why people ... ok, me ... end up drinking alone. So, I guess I'll go home, make a cocktail [*heh* "cock" *heh* "tail"], and pack and knit and maybe watch some TV ... if the miraculously working TV is still miraculously working [Praise, Saint Charo, the Patron Saint of Guest Spots, hallowed be her name].

Two debates are currently vying for prominence in my head this morning: 1. Will the Democratic takeover of both Houses of Congress result in progress or 2 years of gridlock? and 2. Should I take the new black Kenneth Cole shoes which hurt my feet to New York City [Did you know I was going to NYC this weekend?] or should I only take the cute brown boots? Dilemma! Meanwhile, I've bought my train tickets. I know, I should take the bus. It's A LOT cheaper, but it's the bus . It's cramped. It's crowded. It's a bus . Smelly. Dirty. Ick. Whereas, the train is more expensive, but it's the train - romantic, comfortable, smooth ... *sigh* I should be an ad for AmTrak. I have also located the hotel on a map! Yay! And, found a funky little knitting/ coffee shop in the East Village (I think) where I can hang out makin' mittens, knittin' knittens, until I can check into the hotel around 4ish. Thanks to Bala Wala Shi for the knitting shop info!!! ...

and read my blog dammit! I just uploaded 6 new photos from my holiday in London. [Did you know I went to London for vacation?] Here's one: Kurt and I at the shore. Which shore? I can't remember ... I'll need to check my journal tonight to figure it out.

North Carolina District 11 is my parents' district: Shuler, Heath (D) 53.85% Taylor, Charles (R)(i) 46.15% Pardon me while I do a little butt-shaking dance of joy: (_\_)(_/_)(_\_) (_/_)(_\_)(_/_) (_\_)(_/_)(_\_) (_/_)(_\_)(_/_) *whew* I'm tired now. Not that Representative-Elect Shuler is Mr. Liberal or anything, but Charles Taylor is GONE! GONE! GONE! YAY. [You may remember that he was the man who blocked funding for the 9/11 Memorial in Pennsylvania.] I can't count the ways I despise him. ANYWAY, in other news, Have I mentioned I'm going to New York City this weekend? I can't wait. I'm wearing my new shoes in order to break them in a bit. They hurt. Ow. They may not be going to NYC. I want to go to yarn shops. And fun bars. And maybe a dance club. And I want people to shower me with gifts and money. "Make it so, Number One." Seriously, if anyone has recommendations of things to do, places to go, let me know :-) [and quickly!] Tonight is laundry night...

1. Yay Democrats! Gimme a D! ... etc., etc., etc. 2. OK, crazy Democratic conspiracy theorist bloggers, hit me with your best "the Democratic takeover of [possibly] both houses of Congress was all part of Karl Rove's evil plan to hold on to the White House in 2008" entry. 3. Finally, and most importantly, LOOK: My first attempt at using double-pointed needles! Many thanks to Chelsea , Dharma , and Goblinbox for their advice on getting started. I'm attempting to make mittens for my dad for Christmas using Scottish wool I bought in Glasgow. So, my thoughts last night were as follows: "GAH! DPNs! GAH!" "Easy Striped Mittens, my ASS!" [Not that I'm doing stripes, but still ... ] "What up with the big loopy mess that would be my row of cast on stitches?" "I'm not sure these are going to be big enough, even though my gauge seemed correct." "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" "Ow." "Maybe wool mittens aren...

Jake 's Reign of Terror over the electronic devices in my apartment continues unabated. Some of you may remember that two weekends ago, Jake visited and destroyed my (practically) brand new CD player. His aura of destruction and devastation continues to run unchecked in my apartment. Last night, my television died. It does this weird thing now: Whenever I turn the TV on, the screen comes on. However, after a few minutes, the TV clicks off. And clicks repeatedly, like it is trying to turn on by itself, but it keeps turning itself off before it can. The clicking doesn't stop until I unplug and replug the TV. I don't remember how old my TV is. It's quite possible that it is over 10 years old. So, I guess its time had come. *sigh* So sad. I will have to get a new TV, as soon as I pull all that money out of my ass. Maybe I can convince my parents [and my loyal readers! *heh*] to contribute to a Christmas TV Fund (but early! I need my TV!). I don't need anything huge or ...

I showed up at the polls this morning around 7:45. The line wasn't too long. I saw my company's former receptionist voting. I guess I waited about 15 minutes (or 3 Madonna songs). The electronic voting machine was easy enough to use. I only wish that the ones we used printed out a paper receipt of some sort. Oh, I also ran into one of my neighbors who was working the polls. She tried to convince me to vote for the Green Party candidate for senate. As if! Seriously, if the race weren't so close I probably would throw that vote away on the Green candidate. But only about 3 percentage points separated Cardin and Steele (with a 4 point margin of error). On my walk to the polling site, I started to think about my foreign language ability. I used to be semi-fluent in Japanese and I could speak a smattering of Mandarin (enough to order in a restaurant and get on and off the bus in the right spots). I haven't used either language in AGES and the fact that I'm rapidly forget...

So, last night, after the caramel apple martini (which, even though it had butterscotch schnapps -gag- in it, I actually liked) and a regular apple martini, Mike and I left Halo and parted ways. I walked down P Street and, as I headed around the Circle to the south Dupont Metro entrance, I saw a car stopped at the Massachusetts Avenue intersection that was a similar color and make as John's. I looked at the driver. He was a similar color and make as John. I looked closer. OK. I was a little tipsy, and I was staring. HARD. And, then, it happened: The driver met my eye, smiled and nodded. GAH. BUSTED. I nodded back and hurried to the metro station.