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

Good Morning, Kittens! As you may recall, I am on a kind of Work Hiatus, which, I just found out has been extended to -possibly- April 16th. WTF ... but, today, is not the day to focus on the clusterfuckery that is my job. That will come later. I promise. Anyway, so during this Hiatus, I decided to take a little trip to PHILADELPHIA!!!! I love the City of Brothers Who Love. Mostly, because I have some SuperCool Friends there. BUT, also, because it has really good food and gelato and interesting buildings and history and cobblestones and lots and lots of very hot men. So, I departed my abode early Wednesday morning, boarded a MegaBus, and was off! I arrived at 30th Street Station around 1:30. I met Lora at Parc for a late (and very boozy) lunch. Then, we walked over to my hotel, the Latham , so I could check in. The ceiling in my bathroom was mirrored (well, reflective). This cracked us up. See? Lora had to go back to work (or something). I took a nap. Around 5:30, I heade...

Good Morning, Kittens! Why don't you click on over to Cooper's Corner today? The Best Kitteh EVER is being featured as one of Cooper's Compadres. Have a wonderful day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. It has been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about that ... Last week was a bit of a hot mess. I had to go to Franconia-Forking-Springfield every day because my contractual issues still had not been worked out. Of course, they still haven't been worked out, so I am on Paid Leave this week. More on that later ... The only good thing about going to Franconia-Forking-Springfield was that I got to hang out with Amy, the Blogger Formerly Known As Shallowgal. She took me out for lunch one day. We went to this cute little Thai place. I can't remember the name. Bangkok something? It was delicious. Friday, after work, I met Eric (Not From Baltimore), his boyfriend, and another friend of theirs for happy hour/dinner. We went to Sidebar/Jackie's in Silver Spring. The cocktails were delicious (highly recommended!). The service was lackluster. And, the food was also quite tasty, but -in my opinion- over-priced for what it was. So, go for the cocktails. ...

Good Afternoon, Kittens! So, yesterday, was the Best Day of the Year! I hope you spent it the way God intended: Spending some quiet time reflecting on the Awesomeness of VUBOQ and then getting stupid drunk. At least, that's pretty much what I did ... On Friday, I had the day off (yay!). I did lots of shopping and cleaning. Having a (mostly) clean house is sooooooo nice. Late that afternoon, FedEx stopped by. I had a package! Someone sent me this: It's a t-shirt! And SUPERCUTEZ! (In fact, I'm wearing it right now). There was no note, so thank you, Mystery Person, for the t-shirt! I *heart* it. Saturday morning, I slept in! Yay! Until, like, 9. Isabella wouldn't let me sleep any later. Silly kitteh. I opened up my birthday package from my parents. It was chock full of goodies! Cookies! Cheese biscuits! Gift cards to Barnes & Noble and Jaleo! Yay! Then, I went for a 7 mile run. I set a 10K PR - 55:18. Go me! (Of course, while I was struggling th...

Good Evening, Kittens. Apologies for the lack of postings, there is something about waking up earlier than normal to commute to Baltimore and getting home later than usual that is, like, totally exhausting. Yeah, so I was at this conference for 3 days. It was good. I learned a lot. And, there was a lot of free time ... Unfortunately, Eric from Baltimore was too busy (*cough* he hates me *cough*) to hang out during lunch. As were a couple of other friends. *sigh* Somehow, I managed to survive on my own ... So the highlight of Day One was this: Eggplant "Meat"loaf Sandwich from B & O American Brasserie Also, two glasses of wine. It's OK to drink during lunch ... at a conference! The highlight of Day Two was this: I'm not even that big a fan of the EAP, but when in Baltimore ... Also, beer. And a little more beer. And, then, I may have had some more beer. (What? It was beautiful day, and I found a patio. It's allowed.) The highlight of Day Three was th...

Good morning, kittens! Just checking in. I'm in Charm City for a conference. I leave super early and get home all tired. Other than that, all is well. I'll have a more detailed post up in the next few days. And, just in case you've forgotten, today is Pi Day! (mmmm. Pi) And, only three more days until the Best Day of the Year. Have you done your shopping? Are your packages in the mail? Have a great day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. Last night, my mother called me. She had bad news. I guessed it immediately. Gertrude, Isabella's bitchy younger sister, was put down. She had been withering away slowly since January. Losing weight. Not eating. Being all listless. Which, if you'd ever met Gertrude, you knew "listless" was not in her vocabulary. I was going to link to the post of the story of how FrankenKitty Gertrude came into our lives, but I realized that it must have been prior to my switch to blogger ... Possibly the Summer of 2005 ... A friend of mine sent out an email saying that she had a friend who worked in the animal labs at George Washington University. And they had a cat there, who was originally purchased for some testing, but then funds ran out. They kept her around for awhile, making her a lab "pet" ... but, eventually, they had to get rid of her. If they couldn't find a good home, she was going to be put down. I emailed my friend that I wo...

Good Evening, Kittens! The other day, I received the following anonymous comment on a post: You may think this is a complement but you're too thin and bald is not a good look on you. Now, I can't really do much about the balding part. It's genetic. Stupid receding hairline. At least the Colornatrix can disguise it until I have one very thin, very long, blond hair wrapped around my scalp. As for the "too thin" part, I am 6 feet tall and I weigh somewhere between 135-140 pounds. My Primary Care Physician is not concerned about my weight. My assumption is that those of you who are making comments about me being too thin are not my Primary Care Physician (of course, if you are, I think you should tell me in person and not by making anonymous comments on my blog. That's why I (well, my insurance company) pay you the big bucks). In fact, I seriously doubt that you, Anonymous Commenters, even hold a medical degree. I eat healthy food (most of the time). I take...

Good morning, kittens! I am sitting here staring out the window wondering if those are actually snow flurries I'm seeing or if it's time to schedule an eye appointment. I love my occasional Monday off :-) My weekend was full of not doing much. On Friday, after work, I stopped by the Whole Foods and picked up a frozen pizza and some pistachio gelatto (and a box of wine and some bourbon from the likker store). I ate pizza, drank wine, and watched "Horrible Bosses," which had a few laugh out loud moments ... so I give it 3 stars! Saturday, I went for a 5 mile run. I set a couple PRs: Fastest 5K (25:38) and Fastest Mile (7:54). I also have run 100 miles since getting my new Nike+ GPS watch for Xmas. When I got back, I borrowed K-Factor's blender and made a green smoothie: I used some of my credit card points to buy a new blender (it is small, only holds 14 oz) and zhuzher. As soon as I get them, I am totally going to zhuzh some soup! Then, I finished my taxes! ...

Good Evening, Kittens. As you may remember, last year, I participated in the Puntabugang Swimsuit Calendar ( Hello, I'm Mr. December ). This year, the theme of the Calendar is Holidays . And, I am March, which has the Best Day of the Year and the Best Holiday of the Year in it. And, they just so happen to be the same day! Wow. How did that happen? Fortunately for all of us, I am showing A LOT less skin this year, but -thanks to the incomparable photoshop skillz of Michelle M- my photo is still SUPERCUTEZ. Oh, yeah. I'm at the end of the rainbow, bitches. We weren't able to find photos of shirtless Leprechauns to dance around me, but I think it's a fun photo even without them. I've already committed to next year's calendar! Can't wait to find out what the theme is ... I hope it isn't something like "S&M Fantasies" ... or maybe that could be fun. Have a great night! *smooches*

Good Evening, Kittens. As you may recall, I am a government contractor. And, today was one of those days which exemplifies why working as a contractor sux sweaty ballz. First, I had to sit through a two hour long meeting o' drivel. DRIVEL! Then, when I got back to my desk, my company called. Guess what? The organization for which I work has not completed our contract renewal information. And, that is bad because my contract expires in a week and a half. My company (the sub-contractor) is working on it. The prime contractor is working on it. The agency in charge of the contracting vehicle is working on it. Who isn't working on it? My clients. Some of whom I would call totally incompetent except it would be an insult to totally incompetent people. GAH! So, in two weeks, I'm going to have to report to company headquarters (which is VERY FAR AWAY) for a few days. If nothing is resolved, I will (more than likely) be furloughed until the contract is renewed ... and who ...

Good Evening, Kittens! I hope your weekend has been chock full of fun and excitement. This is my first two-day weekend in, like, MONTHS. It's crazy! How do you people do it? How do you get everything done, whilst still maximizing your sofa blobbing time? ANYWAY, so Friday, after work, I met my friend, Eric (not from Baltimore) for happy hour. We ended up having several boozy beverages at Capital City Brewery. Huzzah. Then, I went home. I texted a "friend" ... and he just so happened to be "chillaxin'" ... So, I invited him over to watch movies. We watched most of "The Sound of Music" ... Then, the "watching movies" part took over. Good times ;-) Saturday, I went for an 8 mile run. I think I may have died. Later, I resurrected. And ventured into DC to meet my friend, R, for dinner at Thai Tanic. OMG. Their food is sooooo good. Then, I came home and watched "One Day." I read the book and (mostly) enjoyed it. The m...

Good Evening, Kittens! Last night (well, early this morning), I had a dream, a very disturbing (or as they sometimes write around my office " distrubing ") dream. It woke me up around 3:40 and I couldn't really fall back asleep ... After a long animated set-up, I end up in a house. And begin systematically killing the people inside (and there were A LOT of people inside). I have a gun that can change modes from machine gun to rifle to flame-thrower. I don't recognize the people. And I don't feel any remorse. All I know is that I will not be leaving the house alive. At one point, I let a group of African-American school children leave the house (through the attic, which -after they escape- I set fire to with my flame-thrower). And, then, I try to exit the house. Outside is chaos. I see cars and buses and crowds of people. It's at this point, I see the only two people I recognize in the entire dream. As I try to leave the house, Adam comes towards me w...

Hello, Kittens! Here's a quick rundown of my weekend ... Friday, I left work an hour early to go get re-blonded. YAY! I look great. The Colornatrix recently returned from a 3-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam (Hate her!), so she talked about that, and I told her about my 3-day trip to Vegas. Afterwards, I met Mike (Who Makes Cakes) and Tiger (Who Doesn't Make Cakes) for dinner. We went to Austin Grill and had many margaritas. Then, I went home. On Saturday, I blobbed around. Then, I had boozy lunch at Adega, bought some prosecco and did a little grocery shopping at the Whole Foods. I made a ginger syrup for these drinks , which I took to SCGB's apartment for a little dinner party. On the way to the party, I ran into some friends on the bus. That was totally random. It made the bus ride go more quickly which was a bonus. Dinner was great. SCGB's BF was there, as were the German and the German's (Hot) Wife and their 9-month-old. We ate. We drank. We pl...

Hello, Kittens! I hope you all had a blissfully romantic Valentine's Day, full of hearts and flowers and chocolates and glitter and sparkles and rainbows and unicorns and topped off with a night of hot VD buttsecks. Perhaps, I should rephrase that last bit .... At least you should consider yourself lucky because, unlike my superfab co-worker, your bf of 3 years didn't give you a Starbucks giftcard (and you don't really drink coffee/go to Starbucks). Menz. Sometimes they are stoopid. As for me, I had a lovely Valentine's Day, celebrating the person I love the most (here's a hint. It's me). When I got home from work, I went for a run. 3.35 miles in 29:01. Go me! Then, I had a martini (mmmm) and samples the Cheddar/Chocolate cheese . It was not awful. In fact, I imagine that it would be even tastier melted ... like in a grilled cheese or as a fondue. As I drank martini and sampled cheese, I also made a Valentine's Day card for M. It was cute. And had he...

Good Morning, Kittens. Happy Valentine's Eve! My weekend was a whole lot of nothing special. I mostly blobbed around the house, resting and relaxing and trying to shake the remnants of the Airplane Ick. I barely even left the house. Today, however, is a Very Special Day. VUBOQ turns six. Wow. Of course, I was blogging several years before VUBOQ came into being ... but, still. Six. I have seen bloggers come and go, but I guess I'll keep on chronicling my not very exciting life and see where it takes us. To mark this momentous occasion, here's a photo of Isabella sleeping on the rug: Now, I am off to meet a friend for lunch. Then, some shopping and pottery class tonight. Yay for Mondays off! Have a great day! *smooches*

"Good" Evening, Kittens! So, it seems I caught a bit of the Airplane Ick. I felt fine when I returned from Vegas on Monday night. And, I awoke on Tuesday refreshed and ready to take on the day. However, by lunchtime, my throat started to feel a little rough. After lunch, I went to the drugstore and purchased some Airborne chewable tablets. Unfortunately, by Go Home Time, things were worse. I stopped by the Whole Foods to purchase ginger and lemon to make my ginger/lemon/cayenne elixir. It helped; however, when I got up on Wednesday morning, I knew I couldn't make it to work. I had to take a sick day, which sucks because I don't have much paid time off (PTO) left. My PTO reboots on March 1st. I think I may have to take some unpaid leave for the upcoming President's Day holiday. We shall see ... *ugh* Anyway, I lounged around all day Wednesday, napping, reading, watching DVDs. I did manage to do a load or two of laundry. And make a delicious black bean so...

Good Evening, Kittens. Well, I am back from my weekend in Las Vegas and I am tired (but happy). So, I left for the airport immediately after work on Friday, and my flight (amazingly) left on time. I changed planes in Houston, but didn't have enough time to pick up any food. Bah. AND, I was very fortunate to sit beside a trio of screechy Texan chicks who were OMG SO EXCITED TO BE GOING TO LAS VEGAS AND EVERYTHING OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS WAS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER SO HOW ABOUT ANOTHER VODKA SODA!!!!! Needless to say, my plan to sleep on the second leg of my journey was not realized. The plane arrived in Vegas around 10:30PM and I made it to the Rental Car Center at 11PM. By 11:15, I was on the road to M's house. Of course, I got a little lost. Oops. I got to his house around 11:35, I think. I was starving, so we headed to Denny's for a bite to eat. We got back to his place around 2AM (which would be 5AM EST, which meant I had been up for 24 hours straight. *ugh*). We c...

Good Evening, Kittens. It's been quite a week thus far in Vutopia. Work has been a little busier than usual and when I get home I haven't really felt like doing much of anything. Tuesday, after work, I went for a 3(ish) mile run. When I got back from the run, I had a text message from a friend. Apparently, she and her boo, who live in DC, were in Downtown Silver Spring and they saw me run by. They suggested dinner. I figured I didn't have any other plan, except to blob on the sofa, so I agreed. We met at Adega around 7:45. I had a glass of wine, some eggplant fries, and a mixed green salad. I got home around 9. It was a fun, spontaneous way to fill the evening. Today, I'm not doing much of anything ... unless you count doing laundry as doing something. Tomorrow, I will be packing for Vegas. And on Friday, I will be flying to Vegas (after work). I am getting a little bit excited. I can tell because I haven't been sleeping very well. I hope it will be a goo...

Good Evening, Kittens. Technically, we aren't three, but (No Longer a Baby) Baby Hana is three. How did that happen? GAH. Guncle VUBOQ is getting oooooold. Anyway, so, Friday after work, a co-worker and I went out for drinks . And, then, rumor has it that I may have been a little tipsy and walking by a cupcake shop ... Once home, I settled on the sofa and watched "Happy Go Lucky" on DVD. It was pretty awesome. Saturday morning, I went for a 6.5 mile run (in under an hour ... just barely). Then, I took a nap. Mmm. Nap. After my nap, I met SCGB at CitySports in Silver Spring. There was a Living Social Deal $50 for $25. I needed another "compression" shirt from Under Armour . So. Very. Tight ... but, also very very warm. Then, SCGB and I went to Adega (imagine!) for lunch. Somehow, we managed to drink a bottle of wine. Not sure how that happened. After lunch, we headed to Hana's 3rd Birthday Party. Food! Cake! Lots and lots of Boozy Beverages...