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

 Of course, I haven't packed yet.  We're not leaving until Thursday afternoon. And, where are we going, you ask? Israel.  and Latvia.  Of all places. We'll spend a week and a half(ish) in Jerusalem, followed by a weekend in Tel Aviv.  Planning to see all the sites - museum, the Old City, etc.  AND, I am planning on eating lots of yummy food.  Also, lots of quality time with the GrandBabeh!  Who's excited about that? Who just spend a whole bunch of money on Cute Little Outfits from H&M (since we can't shop at Target anymore.  Grrrrrr)? It might've been me.  I'm also looking forward to seeing Masada.  Do you remember the TV miniseries from the 80s?  I do! After leaving Tel Aviv, we are flying to Riga to visit the middle daughter and help her get some of her belongings home. She was there as a study abroad student for a year. It's going to be a blast. I really should start packing.  Maybe tomorrow. Today, I was supposed t...

 Reduction in Force. So far, I have not been reduced ... or resignated.  But, each day dawns with a renewed sense of dread.  The stress is palpable.  And that's just emanating from me. Just in case, I am going to enact a personal Austerity Plan.  No frivolous spending ... After I get back from vacation.  Assuming I still have a job to take a vacation from.  Nevertheless, let's consider March 13-30 my last (spending) hurrah.   There are still a few necessities (not really) that I need to buy - like more dirt (soil) for my new raised beds.  I already have the seeds.  At least I'll be able to grow some of my own food.  Like a real live Pioneer Woman. Unless the neems attack all my plants.  I do have Neem Oil, but it isn't always effective. Tomorrow, I am getting pierced. It's an act of rebellion.  Because I never got to go through that period when I was a teenager.  I was "the good kid."  I will probably post p...

 LOL.  I was goofing around on Blogger and noticed that I have to approve comments now.  So, um, sorry about that. I have done the approval thingy. And will start checking that more frequently.  In other news ...  Sunday, I am hosting Biscuit Camp for the SigNoth's older sister (who is in town because her oldest daughter just had un bebeh).  I have no other real plans, other than going to the farmers market, doing laundry, and making of the meal prep for next week.  Good times. For sure. 

 6:00AM. With the new normal, I should be on a bus to the metro station, where I board a train and then another train to arrive at my office bright and early and chipper as a newborn squirrel. Today is special, though.  It's Pottery Class Registration Day.  Which is surprisingly competitive.  The DMV has too many Type A Soccer Moms (and Dads). In order to register for class, I have to log on at 6:30AM and hope the Pottery Gods are kind to me in the registration queue.  We shall see ... so exciting. After I register, I will then board a bus and a train ... and another train to get to my office.  Depending on what time I arrive, I will either work late (ugh) or take some leave (also, ugh).  Being totally honest, I will more than likely take leave because I hate being at work late.   This would be a perfect day to telework.  If we were allowed to telework.  Too bad Danger Yam (as one of my mutuals calls He Who Must Not Be Named) thinks...

 Happy Presidents' Day! Since I last posted, so much has happened ... I think.   I was going to bake my parents heart-shaped biscuits, because -when we were wee lads- my mom used to bake my brother and I heart-shaped biscuits on Valentine's morning.  They were not as good as the biscuits I make now. However, after I grated the frozen butter in my food processor, I tipped it out into the flour and the handle on the food processor broke.  The bowl fell into the flour.  I dug out a few pieces of plastic and a spring, and I threw it all in the trash.  I called the manufacturer.  They are sending me a new bowl ... in 2-3 weeks.  UGH.  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE BISCUITS NOW?!?!? The SigNoth caught a cold, so Valentine's Day was even more of a bust.  Not that I really buy into the whole pseudo-holiday thing anyway. Saturday, I did my taxes. Refund, yay!  And, I ordered some nice stationery.  I thought it would be fun to use my fa...

 Why is it I can't remember my Hebrew lessons from one day to the next, yet I put on some J-Pop from my favorite group (Spitz) from when I lived in Japan (1995-1998) and I can remember Every. Single. Word?  Of almost every song. GAH! I have a theory that my brain can only hold 2 languages at a time.  And, even though I haven't spoken Japanese is nearly 30 years, my brain is all like "Hello, Language That Is Not English.  You must be Japanese." Which would explain why every time I try to say something in Spanish to my (very lovely) house cleaners, if I don't know a word, I replace it with the Japanese equivalent.  Cue v. confused looks. ANYWAY, I intended to post more frequently that I have been.  You know what they say about good intentions, though. Adjusting to 5 days/week in the office has been trying.  Maybe it will get better.  I am not hopeful. I spent most of this weekend doing all the things I would normally be able to do during the week (w...

 Well, it's happened. Friday morning, we had an all-hands meeting and were told we would need to report to the office 5 days/week starting at the end of the month. Friday afternoon, we received an email that was all "Haha.  J/K!  You have to report to the office 5 days/week starting on Monday. LOL"* This Monday.  Also known as tomorrow. Putting aside the complete lack of respect for employees and the disorganization of the announcement, giving parents approximately 48 hours to figure out updated child care arrangements was rude.  Leadership can not spout off about how they admire the work being done, but then turn around and do the opposite of admiration. Luckily (not really), I know how Total A**holes operate.  I told my coworkers after the Inauguration that we should expect to come back this Monday.  How did I know this?  Our entire agency's telework agreements expire on an annual basis on January 31st.  And, we had received announcements t...

As some of you may know, I am a federal employee.  And these past 10 days have been an adventure in chaos. I have been working a hybrid telework schedule for the past 2(ish) years.  Officially, we are in the office 3 days/week with scheduled telework the other two days. I have a supervisor who is very supportive of telework and will approve situational telework on our in-office days if we have a legitimate excuse.  For example, I am sick and don't want to infect my colleagues.  Or, my water heater exploded and I need to wait for a plumber.  Or, I am in virtual meetings and trainings All Friggin' Day and I would rather do that from the comfort of my own home than from a tiny little, poorly-designed cubical. Our cubicals are so terrible.  There is barely enough room to move.  I have to roll my chair almost to the back of the cubical in order to be far enough from my screen that I don't get eyestrain.  It makes typing difficult.  And, don't thin...

 As some of you may know, I am the emotional support human (ESH) for a pair of elderly gay bears, Buzzy and Buddy.  They came to live with me 15 or so years ago, when they were unceremoniously evicted from their home. I believe the words my mother used were, "They are your bears, either take them or into the trash they go." (Not a direct quote and, technically, only Buzzy is mine.  Buddy belonged to my brother.) Needless to say, they live a very posh life with me meeting all of their needs, especially providing them with books to read.  Did you know elderly gay bears love to read?  They love it so much they started an Instagram account (@gaybearbookclub - feel free to give them a follow). Many, many famous authors follow them. And, by "many, many", I mean "3".   They prefer to read books about bears (or that have bears in them) ... gay or not.  They don't discriminate.  I have been pushing them to branch out and diversify their reading. ...

 ... is empathy. I don't remember where I saw that, so, unfortunately, I can't credit the author.   Empathy.  It seems a lot of people have lost that particular skill. And I wonder what we need to do to help people regain it. I suppose it is best to speak up and share experiences, which is why I am sad that one of my agency's programs that I was both a participant and a two-time facilitator has been suspended.  It provided people of all types the opportunity to learn from each other in a shared "safe space." I knew my co-facilitator and I had been successful in creating said safe space when, at the start of one of our sessions, a participant asked, "Why can't we say All Lives Matter?" A question that could have provoked anger and hurtful words instead sparked a thoughtful and respectful discussion in which, I think, we all learned a little. Empathy. We need more of this virus in our lives. And, now, I am going to drink the rest of this here martini ....

 Over the holiday weekend, the SigNoth and I decided to escape the DC Inauguration Craziness.  We found a cheap (but nice enough) beachfront hotel in Rehoboth Beach.  We left Friday after work and returned on Tuesday afternoon. Although the weather was cold, we did have a couple of nice, sunny days and took some long walks on the beach.  We ate at some good restaurants.  It was (maybe not so) surprisingly crowded.  We usually needed reservations for evening meals (and for Sunday Brunch at the Victoria). We read books and played games, creating a tabletop curling drinking game in the process.  We did not do any sort of Polar Bear swim.  Because *brrrr* we are not insane.   There are photos on my IG (@sed317). I made some rough sketches of my pottery project this session.  And, I did some thinking about how to step away from billionaire-owned social media sites. Other than re-starting this blog, I began thinking about the Book of Face...

 Hello, Kittens.   I'm back.  We'll see for how long ... LOL. The other day I read a skeet from Tom and Lorenzo that said, "My one bit of hashtag-resist advice is to start a blog.  I'm 100 percent serious. A blog, a newsletter, a tumblr - whatever.  The blogging craze erupted largely in response to the Bush era & it's time for the people to reclaim their own platforms.  Whatever you use social media for, put it on your blog." So that's what I'm doing, reclaiming my blogging.  I feel like "Vicious Unrepentant Bitter Old Queen" doesn't define who I am any more.  That was back in my free-wheeling sex-fueled 30s and 40s.  Now that I'm mid-50 (ack! when did that happen?), I'm reclaiming the blog and modifying the moniker. I think I am much more a Vibrant (Still) Unrepentant Badass Old Queer (even though the word "queer" brings up all sorts of unpleasant bullying memories). Meanwhile, I am going to gradually transition aw...

Good Evening, Kittens. So, what's new and exciting in your lives?  I'm doing laundry.  Yay!  And, drinking a martini. I suppose I should try to catch you up on all that's going on in my life, except not much is going on in my life.  Just the usual: Work. Sleep. Eat. SteamyHotButtsecks. Pottery. Tap. Tappitytappitytaptap. And running. I have signed up for the Asheville Half Marathon in June.  I know.  WTF, right?  Normally, I wait for a Fall Half.  But, I figured I need to visit the Parental Units and Asheville is close to their town. The course is hilly as all get out.  I'll survive somehow. Cuddly Little Boo Bear McLovin' has signed up for the Wildwoods 8K in NJ in May.  I'll be sidekickin' it there.  He doesn't want me to run (fine by me!). Of course, it's the weekend after my work trip to (wait for it) MIAMI!  Oh, yeah.  The reward for being sent to Detroit in February is a May trip to the Land of the Dolphins...

Hello, Kittens! I hope you all remembered that Monday was the Best Day of the Year!  And, I had a super-fantastic 4-day weekend to celebrate it! On Friday, I picked up the rental car and, after running a few errands (in which a "few errands" means "eating lunch and buying booze"), I drove to pick up Mike (Who Makes Cakes).  Then, we drove to pick up my cuddly little boo bear, M. And, then, we all drove to Virginia Beach. It. Took. For. EVER! Once we arrived, we checked in to our fabulous resort hotel and, then, went out to dinner. I may have had a few cocktails. Then, Mike (Who Makes Cakes) and I chilled in the hotel bar, whilst M (who may have had a few too many cocktails) went to bed.  Boo Bear just can't hang with the big boys ;-)  LOLz. Saturday was ABSO-fucking-LUTELY gorgeous.  After breakfast, we walked to the Virginia Beach Convention Center so I could pick up my (and Tomokito's) Shamrock Half Marathon runner's packets. Mike (Wh...

Good evening, Kittens! How the heck did it become March already?  On the plus side of the time flying is that it is almost the Best Day of the Year!  YAY! What happened last month?  Hmmmm ... M and I had a bit of a spat, but we made up. I went to Detroit for work.  Detroit.  In February.  I kinda hate my boss (except, I really like my boss(es) and they felt bad about sending me to Detroit, so I also get to go to Miami in May.  Oh, yeah~!).  BUT, I did get to hang out with the SuperFantastic Cuzin and (the blogger formerly known as) GayProf. As is my usual MO, I also made pottery.  Here are some photos: A flower pot, because I accidentally put my finger through the bottom while painting on the slip design ... oops An OK ish mug A teacuppy thing (obviously I need to work on my handle pulling) A Japanese-style teacup (because it was too dry to attach a handle.  bah.) A bowl with some glaze crawl (maybe it gives it p...

Hi, Kittens! It is that time of year again - Tax Time!  I did my taxes this weekend.  And, since I recently donated to the Washington Animal Rescue League in honor of Miss Psychokitty Isabella's 14th birthday, I will more than likely be donating 10% of my refund to Food and Friends and/or the Whitman-Walker Clinic . Those of you who are loyal reader-kittens of this blog, may remember that I have challenged you to donate at least 10% of your tax refunds in previous tax years, and, then, rewarded one lucky Challenge winner with a piece of my pottery.  This year, since no one really reads blogs anymore, I will send a piece of made-to-order pottery* to any kitten who donates 10% of his/her refund and emails me proof that the donation has been made.  Please, when you send your email proof, include any pottery/design/color preference.  If you need my email address, leave a comment to let me know. Of course, since the pottery is made-to-order, you may not get...

Happy Saturday, Kittens. On Thursday, I received the final three pieces of pottery that I made in 2013.  Here they are: A handbuilt vase-thing ... A (slightly heavy because it was too dry to trim properly) vase ... Aaaaand, a handbuilt plate-bowl-thing ... Stay tuned for exciting 2014 pottery coming soon to a blog near you! *smooches*

Happy Snowy Tuesday, Kittens! Over the weekend, M and I went to Norfolk.  I am not really sure why, other than neither of us had been there before. It is not very likely that either of us will ever go there again. There doesn't really seem like there is much to do in Norfolk.  We did some sightseeing.  We ate at some pretty good restaurants.  For the size of the city, they had a surprising amount of vegan/vegetarian friendly places.  We had dinner on Saturday night at an Italian place that had a separate vegan menu.  And, dinner on Sunday night, was the buffet at an Indian restaurant.  If I could remember the names of the places, I'd tell you ... y'know, just in case you ever find yourself hungry in Norfolk. We didn't arrive until early Saturday evening, so we really only had time to check into the hotel (the Norfolk Plaza), which was nice enough, although it had seen better days. On Sunday morning, we went for a 2.5 mile run.  It was ...

Hi, Kittens! It's the New Year!  2014!  How the fuck did that happen?  And where did all these eye wrinklez and gray hairz come from? ANYWAYz, it is the time when one makes resolutions for the New Year (2014!*).  And, here are my New Year's (2014!) Resolutions (in no particular order): 1.  Last year, I read 10 new books (I re-read a lot of other books, but only 10 new ones).  In this New Year (2014!), I resolve to read *at least* TWELVE NEW BOOKS!  I have already started with "Ender's Game," which a couple of my co-workers will not. shut. up. about.  So far, it is not too bad.  Yay!  2.  Last year, I ran 97 times for a total of 431 miles.  This year (2014!), I will run 500 miles and I will run 500 more.  Just to be the man to run 1000 miles to your door.  A-hahahaha.  I kid.  I resolve to run 100 TIMES!  And, if those 100 times total to 500 miles?  BONUS!!! 3.  Last year, I blogged 3...

For my kittens who aren't my friends on the Facebooks ... Rainy Sunday = Great day to blob on the sofa and read. These are the books I read this year: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What you Can Do About it by Anna Lappe Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith The Trajectory of Dreams by Nicole McAfee Wolverton Wool: Omnibus Edition by Hugh Howey World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks This doesn't include books that I re-read, such as the Hunger Games Trilogy, the Thursday Next series (books 1-6), among others. I have been compiling a list of books to read in 2014.  This is what I have so far: Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind by Gavin Edwards The Ma...