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

Good Morning, Kittens! It's the last workday of the year! YAY! And, there are only two of us in the office today. YAY! All I have to do is pound out my monthly report for December and, then, I am surfing the internetz for the rest of the day. SUH-weet. So, last night, I had a first date with this guy, R, who I met on OKCupid. He seems nice enough, but he, like the few other guys I have met on that site, has the slight whiff of desperation about him. Or something. Or a tinge of the crazy. I'm not sure what it says about me since I am also on the site. Or maybe I am sure, but I am unwilling to admit it. ANYWAY, we met at the Clarendon metro station (in Arlington ... where I did see some guy wearing brown flip-flops (um? hello? it was 30 degrees outside. Put on some fucking shoes and sucks, douchebag!)). On the way to the little coffeeshop place, I unexpectedly ran into my friend, Carolyn. So totally random! She got a new (and awesome) job in Pennsylvania and is only...

Good Morning, Kittens! As 2011 draws to a close (hurrah!), I thought it would be fun to take a quick minute to list the books that I've read this year. Most of them were very good. A couple were truly awful (I'm looking at you, "The Lost Symbol" and "The Land of Painted Caves."). Without further ado, in (close approximation of) the order in which I read them, here are the Books of 2011: 1. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin 2. I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell 3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 4. The Surrendered by Chang Rae-Lee 5. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown 6. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #1) by Rick Riordan 7. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #2) by Rick Riordan 8. The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #3) by Rick Riordan 9. The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children #6) by Jean M. Auel 10. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and...

Good morning, Kittens. It's a lonely morning here at the office. Where is everyone? I have no idea. Possibly still sleeping off their holiday hangovers ... which is where I wish I could be. Oh, well ... Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend in NC. My flight on Thursday was uneventful and on time! Yay! So, I arrived around 9:30PM. My parents picked me up. We went back to my brother's house. I ate a sandwich and went to bed. Good times. Friday, the highlight of the day was meeting several college friends at the Village Tavern. It was great fun to see them, catch up, and hang out. In the evening, the brother, his GF, and I went to a Christmas Eve Eve drinkfest at some bar. Good times. Saturday, I cooked dinner - Winter Vegetable Sheperd's Pie. I posted the recipe on Facebook a few days ago, I think. Anyway, it was quite tasty. Then, we went to an evening Xmas Eve service. Yes, I went inside a church ... and SURVIVED! Xmas morning, we all opened our presents. I ...

Good morning, sweet and peppermint-flavored candy-coated Kittens!   After work this evening, I'll be heading Home for the Holidays (I'm a home for the holidays Superhero).  Except I sort of consider Silver Spring "home" ... so I'll be going to that other "home" - North Carolina.  And, once there, I won't even be "home," I'll be at my brother's house.  In fact, I'm not even sure where "home" would be in North Carolina.  My parents' house doesn't seem like "home" either. Nevertheless, I will be going "home" to Greensboro, NC.  Good times.   Whilst there, besides the usual Xmas festivities (a.k.a. my family bickering with each other), I will be meeting up with a group of my college friends.  That should be fun.  I'm looking forward to seeing them.  And, hopefully, I will be able to have drinks or something with my Greensboro Fan Club.  And the food and the cookies and the games and the...

Good morning, kittens.   I would like to thank the Congressional Republicans for f**king me over.  They say they are all for cutting taxes and blah, blah, blah.  I guess we all know that is a big ol' pile of poop, since they have all gone on their Happy Holiday Vacations while letting the payroll tax cut lapse.   I guess when you make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that tax cut doesn't matter.  Well, it mattered to me.  Without the payroll tax cut, my paycheck is going to drop about $100(ish) a month.  Add to that that with their Congressional Inaction, my metro benefits are also being cut ... which means I will have to be paying about $25-50/month more for public transportation.  AND, (although I can't really blame Congress for this ...), my mortgage interest has increased, so my monthly payment for that is going up about $30/month.   So, in total, I'm getting a $150/month pay cut.  $1800 less this year.  Way to spur the economy.  Fingers crossed my co...

Good Morning, Kittens! OMG! It's the week before Xmas (and I still haven't drawn my StickSteven Year in Review letter ... ugh). Anywayz ... I had a mostly fabulous weekend. On Friday, after work, I had plans to meet up with my friend, Eric (Not From Baltimore). However, I got out of work at 4 and we weren't meeting until 6:30. So, I did the most natural thing I could think of ... I went to a bar and had several drinks (and read a book). Once we did finally meet up, we had dinner at the Heights in Columbia Heights. It was pretty good. I had the side platter - mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and brussels sprouts. Nomz. It was a good time. We parted ways - He to meet up with his bf, and I headed home. And, that's when the fun really started. As I rounded the construction at Silver Spring Metro Station, I was texting and misjudged the curb. WHOOOPS! And there I fell, arms and legs akimbo. Fortunately, my phone survived with just a few scratches on the sides. I h...

Good Afternoon, my Fine Young Kittens!   I had my post-op doctor's appointment this morning.  And, it was the fastest freakin' doctor's appointment I've ever had.  My appointment was at 9:30AM.  I got there around 9:15.  Before I had even settled in to the waiting room, they called me back.  Doctor came in.  Talked.  Left.  Done. and, I was running to catch a 9:30 bus to the metro station.   As for the actual appointment, there was much good news.  No cancer.  Very low chance of future cancer.  Healing nicely.  Huzzah!  Someone is having a martini (or two ... or, y'know, seven) tonight!  Let's hope that we are done with this mess for a long, long while.   And, my bloggy gift exchange recipient received his package yesterday.  AND, it arrived in one piece ... as opposed to several pieces, which has been known to happen when I have shipped the breakables in the past.  *whew*  I wonder when I will be getting my package?  And what (or who?!?!) will be in it?...

Good almost afternoon, kittens!   The longest week ever (a.k.a the first week back after being off) is slowly grinding towards a close.  I was supposed to have the morning off to go to the surgeon for my post-op follow-up, but the doctor changed the appointment to tomorrow morning.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in this morning.  Oh, well.   Last night, I started some Candy Cane Vodka.  so easy to do.  Crunch up about a dozen regular size candy canes and let them slowly dissolve into a fifth of vodka.  Pepperminty goodness, fer sure.  It tastes a bit like peppermint schnapps when it is finished.  I'll be hauling that shit up to Philadelphia on Saturday for Lora's fabulous (so I've heard) holiday party.   I talked to my BFF from college last night as well (while I was doing laundry).  We're going to meet up while I'm in NC for Xmas.  It looks like I'll be able to see several other college friends as well.  Yay!   And, that's about all th...

Good morning, kittens.   I am one v. tired v.uboq this morning.  I woke up at 3 this morning to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't fall back asleep.  I am blaming recently giving up the night-time Percocets for this calamity.    So ... lessee ... what has been going on in Vutopia?  Hm.  On Sunday, I ventured out of the house to attend a social event for the first time since the surgery.  The German and His Wife held a yummy holiday brunch.  It was fun.  Interacting with people after prolonged solitude was difficult.  and weird.    After brunch, I met a friend for a late lunch at Alero in Dupont Circle.  That was fun as well.  At the end of lunch, he offered to drive me back to Silver Spring.  Huzzah.  Except we spent over an hour walking around trying to find his car.  He couldn't remember where he had parked.  I was tired and my butt hurt, so I took the bus home.  He texted later to say that he eventually found his car ... we had walked by it at least twice.  Srsly.  Ug...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. Well, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I would have blogged more whilst in Recuperation Mode; however, I didn't really do much other than sit on the sofa, take Percocet and have Very Weird Dreams. All of the days of the past week have sort of blurred into one big, very long day. Fortunately, the PWS was not nearly as horrible as last time. I don't know if that's because the surgery was not as invasive/extensive as last time or if I took more Percocet. Anyway, can't complain about less PWS, that's fer sure. I did manage, in my drug-fueled haze, to get a few things done ... I sorted a huge pile of papers into Shred, Toss, File, and Taxes piles ... and then filed and tossed the File, Tax and Toss piles. Shred is still sitting there waiting for me to borrow a neighbor's shredder. AND, I created a HUGE mess trying to get several packages ready to mail: AND, I finished knitting the Panda Scarf for my BFF from college (except I still n...

Good Morning, Kittens! As you may remember, I was surgered on Friday. Everything seems to have happened as planned. I spent most of Friday and Saturday and Sunday popping pills and sleeping. On the plus side, this surgery does not seem as bad. So, fingers crossed that the recovery will happen more quickly than last time. During the times I was awake over the weekend, I managed to spend lots of money! Yay! I registered for the Spring semester of pottery class. And, then, I bought a bus and train ticket to Philadelphia to go to a Holiday Party (I'm hoping I feel better by then, but if not, I should be able to exchange them for later dates). And, then, Mush sent me a Barnes & Noble gift card so I went shopping for Nook Books. Yay! And, that's about it. Other than sleeping. Eating. Drinking. and Slightly Painful Pooping. Great weekend. Have a wonderful Monday. I'm off all week! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. And, just like that, it's December. As some of you may know, there is a group of Bloggy Friends that put together a calendar each year. This year, it was a swimsuit calendar, and I am December! Swimsuit by Hugo Boss. Body by Genetics (and Carl). Awesome Photoshopping by Michelle M For next year's calendar, I get to wear a lot more clothes. Yay! Have a great day! Send me good vibes as I get surgered (around 10AM). *smooches*

Good afternoon, kittens!   Sorry all has been quiet on the Vuboqern Front recently.  Not much exciting has happened since the Weekend and the Day of the Giving of Thanks.  I've mostly spent my days working and my evenings drinking and running errands (not always in that order).   Tomorrow morning, I am having *another* surgery.  UGHZ.  According to the surgeon, one in ten people need a follow-up procedure.  Hurrah.  I am lucky.  I have to be at the hospital at 8AM.  The surgery is scheduled for 10.  Hopefully, I will be back home and in some sort of Percocet Haze by around 1.    I have taken all of next week off to recover.  The surgeon also said that the follow-up surgeries usually aren't as bad, so I may not need the whole time.  We'll see.   I am hoping that I will be able to do a lot of the following:   -Blobbing on the sofa -Watching lots and lots of DVDs (I now own all 8 Harry Potter DVDs) -Knitting (I have 4 projects that I need to get to work on: finis...

Good morning, kittens!   What a wacky, booze-filled weekend I just had ... So, on Wednesday, we got out of work early (3PM!). Yay!  I went home.  Blobbed and did laundry.  Who knows how to have a rockin' good time?  Oh, yeah.  That would be me.   On Thursday (aka Thanksgiving), I gathered with a group of friends and neighbors and we ran a 10K through downtown Silver Spring and Sligo Creek Park.  It was a lot of fun. The weather was awesome.  We finished in just under an hour, and, then, after cleaning up, we had brunch at K-Factor and the Canadian's place.  There was much mimosas.   At 1PM, I had to leave the brunch and quickly cook brussels sprouts for dinner at Brian's house in DC.  They said to meet at 3.  I figured we would have drinks and appetizers followed by dinner around 5 or so.  I arrived at 3:30, and everyone was sitting at the table ready to eat.  srsly?  I was still full (and a little drunk) from brunch.   After dinner, we watched a movie, Crazy Stu...

Good Morning, Kittens!   Since I last updated, not a whole lot has happened ... Pottery class on Monday night was uneventful.  I glazed two bowls.  I still have three more which haven't been bisque fired. Hopefully, they will be before the final glaze firing (which is now next Tuesday).  Last night, I called my BFF from College to wish her a (slightly) belated happy birthday.  And, I blobbed around the house.   My building has also been without hot water since Sunday afternoon.  That was *finally* fixed yesterday.  Huzzah.  Hot showers are a beautiful thing.   Today, I am hoping we will be granted an Early Release.  And, then, I will do laundry.  And, as we all do on Thanksgiving Eve, I will snuggle warm in my bed while visions of sugar plums dance through my head ... or something like that.   As for the long (four day!) holiday weekend, I don't have a lot planned.  For Thanksgiving, my neighbors and I have organized a 10K run, followed by brunch.  We have t-shirts . ...

Good Morning, Kittens!   Terribly sorry for the lack of posting ... I'd say I've been busy, but -actually- I'm just lazy.   So ... let's see ... where did we leave off ... last Monday's penultimate pottery class was good.  I trimmed 5 bowls.    Tuesday, I did laundry (a day early, because ...)   Wednesday, I had an after work happy hour with my company people.  I left work early (around noon) to have a visit with the surgeon.  And, guess what?  I get to have surgery AGAIN!  YAY!   Or, well, not yay.  Because PWS*?  Not Fun.  I've scheduled it for Friday, December 2nd.  Woo hoo.  Which means, I will be missing out on lots of fun Holiday parties.  Boo.  But, hopefully, I will be recovered enough to not be Super Mr. Crankypants while I'm at my brother's house over the holiday.   SO, after receiving that wonderful news, I went to happy hour.  Since it was a work-thing, I try to limit my alcohol consumption.  No one likes to get ubersloshed in fr...

Good Afternoon, Kittens! Happy Monday! I am so glad that I am not working today! Yay me! My (extra-long, four-day) weekend has been SuperAwesome. Thursday, after work, I had my hairz did. Then, I met Mike (Who Makes Cakes) for dinner at El Guapo. Spinach! Enchiladas! YAY! Then, I went home. On Friday, I mostly blobbed about all day. K-Factor and I had boozy lunch at Adega. I took a nap. That evening, I had a date with V. You may remember V as the guy from a few weeks ago who I went out with, had four cocktails on an empty stomach and ended up having a little too much fun in his car in my building's parking lot. WELL, this time, I thought to eat. And still had a cocktail or two. But, had enough sense to bring it inside. We had some good times *wink wink nudge nudge* On Saturday morning, I did a little (very little) cleaning and tidying. Around 3PM, my former neighbor (who used to be referred to as DUN, but isn't diagonally upstairs anymore) and her brother, SCGB, c...

(I also have a tapeworm, named Carl ... but's that a story for another post) Good morning, Kittens. As you may know, I am not really dating anyone seriously right now (b/c, y'know, a certain someone is in Las Vegas and the other guys I have been seeing have not been panning out). BUT, I do maintain a couple of profiles on a couple of "dating" sites. I realize that the majority of men do not use these sites to date. I do. I have met several fun friends and gone on some cool dates with guys off these sites. Recently on one of them, I have received a flurry of emails (OK, 3 emails, spread over about a week) from a man in Baltimore. Now, (1) Baltimore is too far for me, and (2), while this guy said in his profile he is 40, he must've had a hard, hard life (and not moisturized regularly). Anyway, he seemed nice enough, but I am not at all attracted to him or interested in meeting him. I could only see the emails continuing, so, after the third email, I sent him the...

Good morning, Kittens. Guess what day it is? WEDNESDAY!!!! duh. But, it is also some sort of charity day in the DC/Metro region called "Give to the Max Day." Now, I know a Max, and I wouldn't suggest giving him any moneyz (I won't say why, but it rhymes with "Bot Brustworthy." It could also rhyme with "Bill Bonly Bend Bit Bon Brostitutes." No judgment, just sayin'). However, if you have a few pennies to throw at some local charities, you might want to consider it. There is a cute story about how I came about learning that today is "Give to (not just any but) the Max Day" ... A friend of mine (who happens to be a well-hung 26-year-old ex-Marine) mentioned that he is wanting to volunteer to help the homeless. And, I just so happen to have two very wonderful and generous-with-their-time neighbors (K-Factor and the Canadian) who volunteer with a local organization, Miriam's Kitchen . So, I shot them an email to get the contact i...

Good morning, Kittens.   Last night was pottery class.  Some days you throw the clay.  And other days the clay throws you ... I was out of clay.  Even though there are only 3 classes left (and just 2 before the final bisque kiln firing), I bought a new bag.  $25.  I like new bags of clay better than recycled clay.  New bags of clay are clean, heavy cubes.  Recycled clay tends to be soggy and lumpy and sometimes has non-clay things in it (bits of sponge and shredded rubber tools).   I won't use all of my new clay in the next two weeks, but there is always next session. Right?   And, so I took the new bag of clay and wedged three pieces.  The first one was 3 pounds.  The second and third were between 2.25 and 2.50 pounds.  I turned three pounds of clay into a fairly decent bowl.  And I turned 2.25 pounds and 2.50 pounds of clay into wetter, blobbier blobs of clay.  The clay threw me.  And, after the second failed pot, I knew that I wasn't going to accomplish anything else ...