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

and gets fewest hits in WEEKS. From now on, I am only going to blog about non-Thinky matters ... Earlier today, I dumped my lunch on the floor. It was an accident. I only dump other people's lunches on the floor on purpose. Instead of yummy avocado sushi rolls, I ate a bag of potato chips - Kettle Chips Buffalo Bleu [barbeque and blue cheese]. They were tres yummy. I almost bought the other new Kettle Chips flavor, Mediterranean Three Cheese, as well, but decided to save those for another day when I [accidentally] dump my lunch all over the floor again. Now, after consuming nearly the entire bag of chips, I feel I can not justifiably eat an entire bag of microwave popcorn for dinner, as I had planned. I feel like I must eat something *gasp* healthy, like salad. Or something. Maybe an omelet. Or maybe I'll buy egg nog. Egg nog is good. And I'll try not to dump it all over the floor. *sigh*

... to laughter. "That's why I don't want to have to deal with global warming, to tell you the truth." Court Hears Global Warming Case: Justices to Decide Challenge on Greenhouse Gas Emissions is an interesting article in this morning's WaPo . Basically, 12 states and the District of Columbia are asking the Supreme Court to ask the EPA to reevaluate its decision not to pursue stricter carbon dioxide emission limits on cars and trucks. The EPA argued that it does not have the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (um? hello? Clean Air Act?) and -even if it did (which it does) - it is not required to use it (which it should be). He [Justice Anthony M. Kennedy] noted Milkey's "perhaps reassuring statement" that the court does not have to make a judgment about global warming. "But," Kennedy asked, "don't we have to do that in order to decide the standing argument, because there's no injury if there's not ...

GayProf , aka the Most Desirable Man on the Blogosphere, was unhappy with my response to his previous comment, so, now, I am devoting an entire entry on how I make a martini. You're welcome. I only use Bombay Sapphire gin, which I store in the freezer. I keep my vermouth in the refridgerator. I tried keeping it in the freezer, too; however, I soon discovered an interesting fact: Vermouth freezes! Who knew? Prior to making a martini, I put the martini glass in the freezer as well. I measure out approximately 3.5 oz of gin in this cool cocktail measuring glass that I have and add a splash or so (0.5 oz) of vermouth. Next, I dump in some ice cubes and let it chill for a bit. While it's chillin', I take the martini glass out of the freezer. I place 2 or 3 olives in it and a one or two tablespoons of olive juice. I give the gin and vermouth a quick couple of stirs and strain into the glass. I like to add a few bits of ice too. And, there you have it. A VUBOQtini. As for drinking...

Last night, I got home, fixed myself a martini, put in a movie, and began knitting [I'm making myself a SUPERCUTE hat]. The movie was The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada [which if you haven't seen, see it! It was excellent!]. About halfway through the movie, I started to get hungry. I decided to make my Meat-Free Monday meal, which I didn't make yesterday because I had leftover pizza. Mmm. Pizza. On Monday, I had purchased a sweet potato, a bag of spinach, some goat cheese, and pine nuts. I couldn't wait! Goat cheese and sweet potato is one of my favorite combinations. I know it sounds a little gross, but, for some reason, the tangy goat cheese and sweetness of the potato really work! I planned on microwaving the sweet potato. Then, adding the sauteed spinach and pine nuts and covering it with melted goat cheese. However, when I pulled the sweet potato out, it was soft and covered in mold. How could it have gone bad in only one day??? I was so disappoin...

Every year, for my annual Xmas Letter, I draw a very simple StickSteven Year in Review. You can see the very first StickSteven letter here: 2003 , and the very second StickSteven letter here: 2004 . I'm not sure if I ever uploaded the very third StickSteven letter. **We interrupt this blog entry for a very important announcement** A caller asked me: "How do I clean up toxic pigeon feces?" I referred her to her EPA Regional Office. Silly Virginians. **We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog entry, already in progress** This year's StickSteven letter seems to be gravitating towards lots of toilet humor. And, I have discovered that I can't draw toilets worth crap. *heh* "crap" I'll either need to practice my toilet-drawing or think of some other non-toilet related items for my letter. Oh! The Dilemma!

*whew* I'm exhausted. So far this morning, I have: - rented a car [for my Xmas trip to NC] - made a hair appointment [Tuesday, 6PM] - typed up a brief issue for the weekly report - completed and distributed the weekly report for in-house approval - came to the sudden and shocking realization that if I don't transfer funds from savings into checking TODAY my mortgage check will bouncity bouncity bounce bounce - transferred funds I think I'm going to take the rest of the day off and devote it to blogging! *woot* Hm ... what do I want for lunch ...

I stopped by the Whole Foods on my way home last night to pick up ingredients for Meat-Free Monday. However, once I opened my fridge, I was reminded that I had leftover pizza from Saturday night which needed to be eaten. I will cook my planned Meat-Free Monday meal tonight. It will be Monday somewhere in the world, right? Right? Dykewife asked about liquid cheese ... which is also called "cheese dip." It's basically melted cheese with jalapenos and stuff in it. You dip tortilla chips in it. The easiest way to make liquid cheese is to cube about 8 oz of Velveeta (mmm ... Velveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeta), add a can of diced tomatoes with chilies (or salsa, I suppose), and nuke that stuff until the cheese melts. Simple. Delicious. The stuff you get at Mexican restaurants tends to be a bit higher quality than Velveeta. Anyway ... after making a martini and eating leftover pizza, I paid bills (woo hoo! which reminds me I need to transfer some funds into my checking account)...

And, I really need to update before I get sucked in to reading everyone else's blogs ... Here's a brief rundown of what I did: Wednesday : Left work at 4:30. The weather was crappy, so I bought a giganto bottle of gin, some garlic-stuffed olives, and I drank martinis and knitted all night! See: Parental knittens! I am totally loving them! AND, now the fam's Xmas presents are DONE! Must start to work on the friends' presents now. A knitter's work is never done. *heh* Thursday : I got up around 10. Assembled the Not Chelsea Clinton's Sweet Potato Casserole and the Cranberry Apple Casserole. Mike picked me up at 1. I hung out at his house, baking and drinking until everyone arrived around 5ish. We ate. It was good. See: Mike yelled at me when I took this picture, because it "messed up the casserole." Little did he know that I come from a long line of "people who sample the cooking then make it look like no one has touched it." [W...

[and, technically, I am *NOT* stealing this idea from the Most Desirable Man on the Blogosphere , because I was thinking of doing an "I'm Thankful" entry last night, before I read his this morning. So there!] Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, probably my second favorite after the GREATEST DAY OF THE YEAR, St. Patrick's Day. I like it for two main reasons: 1. It's all about cooking and eating and food and drinking and family and friends. And I love cooking and eating and food and drinking and family and friends. 2. There is none of that stupid gift-giving madness associated with it. Now, granted, I like to give gifts. And, god knows, I love to receive them. BUT, I hate the gift-giving obligation that accompanies some holidays (and, I'm looking at YOU, Christmas). Seriously, how many times has a friend given you a gift at Xmas and the first thing you thought of was "OMG. I didn't get him anything?" I'm sure that's not ...

When I was a sophomore in high school, my brother was a senior. He drove a 1979 metallic pine green AMC Spirit, which we dubbed "The Green Hornet." My brother was not the best of drivers. In fact, I frequently imagined myself being killed in horrible car wrecks with my brother at the wheel - flames, plummeting over bridges, smashed under trucks. Such was my existence with my brother at the wheel. But, it was either suffer that existence or suffer a far worse fate - riding the bus to and from school. *shudder* In the Spring of 1986, my brother was driving me and our friend, Brian, home from school. It was the day before Spring Break started and the day before we were going to Florida on a school trip (woot!). I had loads to do before leaving - pack, go to the bank to get traveler's cheques, etc. etc. etc. As my brother sped down the road towards home, the driver of the car in front of him suddenly decided to stop and turn left. *screech* went my brother's brak...

So back off, bitches. My blog has had a few hits in the past few days for people searching for Chelsea Clinton's sweet potato casserole . And, yes, I did post a recipe for a sweet potato casserole, but it's not Chelsea Clinton's. It's MINE!* And I expect FULL CREDIT!!! So, I've made a few changes to that post . I seem to be feeling a little me-me-me today ... which, come to think of it, isn't all that different from any other day. Nothing of note happened yesterday. The Storehouse where I bought my sofa is going out of business and is having a huge clearance sale. Unfortunately, most of the good stuff is already gone. And if I wanted to pay $400 for a table, I'd buy one that wasn't all beat up and scratched and shit. I'm thinking of applying for a part-time job at Borders. Not that I'm all that desperate for the money, but it would be nice to pad my savings account a bit. Well, that and EMPLOYEE DISCOUNTS! In a BOOKSTORE! GAH! I would ...

It's like a meme ... only it's not. The Washington Post has been running this weekly feature called "Date Lab," in which singles fill out a questionnaire, the WaPo editors read it, and match up couples. They then interview the couple about the date and publish it for all of us to read. Apparently, they only match up the Straights. [You can read past Date Labs here .] Anyway, I decided to type my answers to [most of] the questionnaire ... 1. In six words or less, tell us what you do for work: I answer the telephone. 2. Rarely is someone living in D.C. actually from D.C. So how long have you been here? 7 years [and I don't actually think being a D.C. native is all that "rare."] 3. Where are you from originally? North Carolina 4. Do you: Smoke? No 5. Drink? Yes 6. Work out? No 7. Attend religious services? No 8. Eat meat? No 9. Have pets? If so, what kind? Yes. A cat, named Isabella. 10. Quick-what's the first thing you do when you get up in...

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*