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

OK. Here's the thing. I'm toying with this story idea in my head and I need to know if the words "poetry" and "poultry" sound similar enough to be confused.

One of my favorite Japanese pop songs is sung by Saito Kazuyoshi. I heard him sing it live in concert once. It nearly made me cry. His voice reminds me of Rufus Wainwright, only not nearly as whiney. You can listen to a sample of Enshou ni Nokoru Kisetsu on his website. Click here . Then, click on the 7th song down. [If that doesn't work, try clicking here . Then, click on his 5th album. Then, click on the 7th song.] Inshou ni nokoru kisetsu ha, Naze ga itsumo fuyu. Which is badly translated (by me) to mean "Even though the seasons change, why is it always Winter?" Which is kinda how I am feeling today. After finishing up my taxes last night, watching a movie, and knitting for awhile, I started reading some of my blog archives just to see what I was doing one year ago. Apparently, I was having a lot of sex with John. And reading about the fun times we had (and also some of my frustrations) made me a little sad. So, I went to bed. Where I dreamed of Kimura Takuya . *yum*

Yesterday and this morning, I painstakingly typed up this knitting pattern. You kittens owe me! EASY MITTENS (from Knit Simple) KNITTED MEASUREMENTS Length from wrist to fingertips 7 (10, 11)”/ 18 (25.5, 28)cm Wrist circumference 5.25 (6.5, 7.5)”/ 13.5 (16.5, 19)cm MATERIALS TLC Essentials by Coats & Clark, 5oz/140g skeins, each approx 326yd/ 298m (acrylic) [I used wool I bought in Glasgow – Jamieson’s Soft Shetland]. You need two skeins. Five size 6 (4mm) dp needles, or size to obtain gauge. Safety pin or small stitch holder GAUGE 20 sts and 28 rows to 4”/10cm over St st using size 6 (4mm) needles. LEFT MITTEN Cast on 8 (10, 12) sts on first dpn, 8 (10, 12) sts on 2nd dpn, 8 (10, 12) sts on 3rd dpn and 8 (10, 12) sts on 4th dpn – 32 (40, 48) sts. Pm to mark beg of rnd and join. Work in k1, p1 rib for 2 (3, 3)”/ 5 (75. 7.5)cm. Change to St st and work even for 3 rows. BASE OF THUMB SHAPING Rnd 1 k12 (16, 20), M1, k2, M1, k rem sts to end – 34 (42, 50) sts. Rnds 2 and 3 knit. Rn...

An important tax advisory, for you, my nearest and dearest kittens: Did you know that if you make less that $52K Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), you can e-file for FREE? YES! FREE, KITTENS! No, not free kittens : Follow the links on the IRS webpage . Do it. It's FREE. Be careful though, because the companies will try to get you to pay for something , like filing state taxes or loan shark-esque "rapid refund" programs. Don't do those. Do the FREE stuff. FREE. I am getting back a rather healthy refund. YAY. It will pay for my laptop, allow me to put a chunk into savings, and maybe even pay to get some art I bought framed. *woot* I have also answered all but one of my email responses and paid my co-op fee. I have been Mr. Productive! Love me! Worship me! Give me free booze. Oh. Get this. I was reviewing my budget for the month of February (which is one of the handy things about keeping a budget: I get to see where I am spending my money), and I only went to Halo once this m...

Yesterday was Meat-Free Monday . I made spinach and mushroom quesadillas. YUM. and, that was about all I accomplished last night. I did start knitting a new hat, but I think it is too small. I am too lazy to start over. Hopefully, the person who I am making it for has a small head. Today, I have a buttload of email to answer. I must pay bills. I must read a story for class. And, I must work a checkbook balancing miracle. Fun times. Oh. And I need to file my friggin' taxes. I *really* need to get my refund. *smooches*

As promised, here are my completed knittens: Behold my knitterly goodness! You may all worship me silently from afar. *smooches*

Before I get into my weekend adventures and insecurities, a few tidbits: It snowed. See photo. I finished my knittens. Photo forthcoming (hopefully). I have apparently been banned for life from Scott-o-Rama . *sniff* So, the weekend ... pab picked me up from Union Station a little after 10AM. He was late. This did not make me happy. He bought me coffee, so I became happier. We got to the hotel (Hilton Garden) in Williamsburg around 1PM. We checked in. We got settled. We had sex. It was ... ok. I mean, I suppose that I was expecting something a little more toe-curlingly amazing, considering that he only ever has oral sex. You would think that someone who "specialized," so to speak, would be, well, friggin' fantastic. Perhaps, my expectations were set too high. I mean, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't ... well, I guess it wasn't Mike, who as we know gives the best blowjobs ever. And, I was expecting something at or above the Level of Mike. *sigh* We cleaned up and...

Vote early. Vote often.

It's been a superbusy morning, kittens. As evidenced by the following: Knitten yesterday: Knitten today: Tonight, I will -possibly- complete the thumb and start on the next one. Fun times. Who says it's not Party Central when VUBOQ is around? WHO?

So, I was at the Upstairs Neighbor's apartment last night (Hi, Upstairs Neighbor *waves*). She invited me to join her and some friends for knitting and conversation. It was fun. I worked on my knitten. I'm almost finished with the thumb gusset. *heh* "gusset" is a weird word. I left around 10. pab said he would call last night, but didn't. I called once I got back to my apartment. He didn't answer. I left a message saying I'd be heading to bed around 10:30. Maybe he wasn't free until after that point. It's not like him to 1) not do what he says and b) not call at all. Weird. I hope everything is ok. I might give him a bell during my lunch break today. And -amazingly- I have no plans for tonight (yet). I might email Jerry to see if he is free for happy hour. Or, I might go home straight after work and watch Season 1 of Extras . It is cold outside. And windy. So not conducive to me wanting to venture forth into the big city. I wi...

Look! It's a knitten, kittens! Well, at least it's a knitten cuff, kittens! Yeah ... I've been busy at work today. Yessirree ... I've finished the cuff of knitten #1, using the wool I bought in Scotland. *woot* And, notice the weird way the fluorescent lights have reflected off my ghostly pale skin to make it seem like my hand has disappeared. Gotta love pale white boys, yes you do.

The Most Marvelicious Mush warholized me. Isn't she sweet? Yay for fun Flickr toys. And here's a shocker (and, no, not this kind ): The class liked my story! Yay! They liked me. They really, really liked me. Lots of nice things were said. And they also honed in on the areas in the story where I had concerns. Which could possibly mean I have good instincts as to when my writing truly does sucketh (kind of like now). The teacher/instructor/workshop leader made some good points, so I look forward to reading his written comments next week. YAY. I managed to catch the 10:04 bus to Silver Spring (*woot*), but forgot to request a transfer. The weather was mild, so I didn't mind walking home, slip-sliding on a few icy patches. I spoke briefly to Robert, who is heading to SF for the weekend (for his BIRTHDAY!), and, then, I called pab. I got home around 11, and the hopes that the long walk home would have helped to settle my brain were dashed. I still didn't fall asleep until a...

pab picked me up at Union Station around 6:15 last night. We had dinner at a little Mexican place, which -as a friend said to me- looked liked a Mexican flea market inside. The food was quite yummy. I had cheese enchiladas. Mmmm. I do so love enchiladas. After dinner, I was stuffed like a pig at Christmas, so we drove over to the Jefferson Memorial for a bit of a walk, and then pab drove me home. On the way home, it started to rain. We made out for a bit in the car, and I went inside. A few minutes later he called ... to ask if I wanted to go to Williamsburg this weekend with him. I said yes, with the qualifier that we must get back in time to see the Oscars. Good lord, I am so gay. He's running a half-marathon there on Sunday afternoon. We will leave on Saturday morning so that we can do some sight-seeing and stuff. Then, I guess soon after the half-marathon we will head back. It should be fun. I haven't been to Williamsburg since I was in college. I can already taste the home...

pab called earlier today. We're going out for dinner tonight. He'll meet me at Union Station around 6/6:15 and we'll go to some mediocre restaurant in or around Capitol Hill. I should be excited about this. And I am. I'm also apprehensive and uptight. The relationship has barely begun, and I am already thinking about the end. gah.

Ooooh! Guess what? Guess what? I saw grass on the walk to work this morning! GRASS! Like greenness. Too long had I walked in a valley of white. Very excited. I don't know how people up t'North can handle it ... not seeing green for MONTHS. And, on another bright and cheery note, today is going to be the warmest day in TWENTY-FIVE DAYS! *woot* Let's have a cheer for "above freezing!" YAY! OK. Have I blogged about the weather enough to make those people who hate people who blog about the weather irate? Let's hope so ... Meanwhile, I haven't done any writing or reading for my short story class. Hopefully, I will be able to motivate myself today to critique the two stories, finish polishing my story, and -perhaps- start thinking about another one. Maybe the tale of a (sort of) young gay man trapped in a job he hates who constantly dates the wrong people. And, all he really wants to do is remodel his kitchen. And maybe paint his spare room (once he ...

But, first ... OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! I have finished the Never-ending Left Sleeve of the Never-ending Sweater of Doom! Worship me, kittens! Now, all I have left to do is connect the shoulders, knit the neck, and sew the whole thing together! I should be done by AUGUST! *woot!* Ha. I kid. My goal is to be done by my birthday (March 17th, for those of you who want to send presents). Oh, and if anyone has any good links for seaming, please send them to me. I have no idea how to do the shoulders... or actually how to attach the sleeves to the torso. The rest will be mattress stitching, I guess, which is relatively easy. And, now, the confusion ... I didn't go out with pab tonight. He called around 6:30. I was too comfortable here to bother getting ready and leaving the warmth of my sofa. We may meet up tomorrow depending on his schedule. About an hour or so after we spoke, he called back. To tell me that he's thinking of moving to South Florida to be closer to his pare...

Yesterday afternoon, I met Tomoko, Robert and Darryl for margaritas! *woot* It was quite fun. While walking to the restaurant (Alero in Dupont Circle), I thought I saw a snowflake. "Impossible," I thought to myself. "It must be falling off a tree or something." Ha. I was soon proved to be mistaken. The snow fell quite furiously for awhile, accumulating about an inch or so while we ate and drank. and drank. and drank. After the snow stopped and the final pitcher was empty, we slid our way up to Fab Lounge. It was empty, but the beer was reasonably priced. Hmm ... Come to think of it, I believe I owe some people for the beverages. My walk home from the metro station was a little trickier than usual because of the recent dusting of snow. I'm glad I wore my snow boots! pab called as I slipped homewards. We will probably be meeting up later today. Meanwhile, I will be knitting, watching Pride and Prejudice , and lounging on the sofa. Happy President's Day! *smooc...

The date yesterday with pab was quite fun. He picked me up around noon and we drove to National Airport to return his rental. He has this weird philosophy about not putting mileage on his car, so, whenever he takes a roadtrip, he rents. To each their own, ne? After dropping off the car, we ended up at this little restaurant in Del Ray (augh. VA, again) for lunch. I had a sandwich with roasted eggplant tomato basil mozzarella. Quite yummy. Then, we drove back into Civilization to visit the National Portrait Gallery. It was all right. After awhile I began to feel "portrait overload." Seriously, how many paintings of people can you look at, thinking "Hm. Should I know who this person is?" before you go absolutely bonkers? The answer is apparently ten. I did enjoy the American Art sections of the museum. Were those Noguchi settees and tables in the Modern Art section? I believe they were. Placed there for the huddled masses to enjoy. Hot! The Joseph Cornell exhibit was ...

On days like this, I have to wonder if time is actually moving backwards. I am so bored. And, when bored, I blog entire entries revolving around absolute nothing. I was going to make a short video with my camera involving a pink Post-It note origami crane and a hi-liter, but the actors were not feeling all that improvisational, and I don't have the energy to script it. I'm sorry. And, I forgot to video a little ice skating number for you on my way to work this morning. Perhaps because it was SO cold, I didn't want to stop walking. Maybe this weekend, if it remains frigidly cold. That'll give you something to look forward to, right? RIGHT? I think I'm going to shut down the Hotline early (like 4:30), so I can go meet Kristen at Pentagon Row. We're going to eat at the Lebanese Taverna there. Mmmm. And then K will drive to the Kennedy Center. *woot* The rest of my long weekend will be spent: on a date with pab tomorrow, at Sunday Afternoon Margaritas wit...

I had loads of fun last night. I had to do laundry, but didn't have enough quarters. I had to scrounge around through buckets of change until I found enough to do one load of laundry. Ah. Clean undies for yet another week. Life. It is good. I also made soup. I would love to tell you it was delicious, but I burned my tongue with the first bite and lost all sense of taste. It smelled good though. The recipe is thus: Saute in olive oil 1/2 onion (diced) and clove of garlic (mashed). Add one apple (peeled, cubed) and 3 potatoes (peeled, cubed). Add one chipotle pepper and a couple of spoonfuls of adobo sauce. Cook for a bit. Meanwhile, slice in half an acorn squash and remove seeds. Place squash in 1/4 cup of water and microwave for 8-10 minutes. To the pot add one can of diced tomatoes and several cans of water. Bring to a boil. Scoop out squash bits and add to soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. When all the veggies are soft, blend the HELL out of those suckers. Gawd, I love my handb...