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

Because I haven't posted enough photos of the PsychoKitty: Isabella on the Sofa (Can you spot the wine stain ?) Does that print look crooked? Close-up! Cat in a Hot Tin Tub I'm a little overhung today. Last night was fun. I think I'll wait 'til my Weekend Update on Monday to fill you in on the all the gory details, though. There's more excitement happening tonight and tomorrow. [Oooh. Suspense. Can you handle it?] AND, many, many, many thanks to all of you are sponsoring my AIDS Walk ! Because of YOU, I have surpassed my goal!!! Seriously, you made me cry last night when I looked at my donation page. I am sending you all HUGE HUGS and SMOOCHES . [If you still want to donate, you can. Click here . The Walk is on October 6th. I think I'm going to put all your names on a card or something to carry with me.]

OhEmGee, kittens. Like, I am a fountain of weepiness . How the hell did this happen? This morning, I was fine and dandy. Ever since about noon o'clock, I have wanted to crawl under my desk and sob. I have, like, little tears squeezing out of the corner of my eyes. What the fork is going on? And, then, like the fool I am, I had to go check out my AIDS Walk page ... I'm only $60 away from reaching my Team Goal, considering I'm the only one on my team. I have the most awesomest friends EVER! Seriously, if you're my friend ~and if you're reading this more than likely you are~, give yourself a BIG HUG from me. Right now. Do it. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeze really hard. Of course, reaching my goal of $500 in less than two weeks would be TOTALLY awesome, but you know what would be TOTALLY AWESOMER? Surpassing that goal! Yep, that's right. That would have to be the most TOTALLY AWESOMEST THING EVER ... ... except for, maybe, meeting and falling in love with a TOTALLY AWE...

On my walk to Whole Foods to buy lunch, Perky GreenPeace Volunteer : Hi! Want to hear the story about how I got arrested? Cranky Someone : No. Want to hear the story where I kill the Perky GreenPeace Volunteer?

And, like, O-Mah-Gawd, I came into work and have had to work! What is up with that? See, what's happening is this: Part of the enforcement and responsibility of the Act on which I work is being transferred from one part of EPA (OPPTS) to a different part of EPA (OSWER). Supposedly, this is to consolidate responsibilities. Apparently, "consolidation" means "creation of nearly twice as many technical contacts." I've been updating our referral lists all morning. *woot* Fun. Times. I've also been polishing my resume [insert little doohickies over the appropriate vowels] and cover letter ... which reminds me of what I was actually going to blog about today: I invited Y over to watch a DVD last night. "What movie," he asked. It's a French film, called "The Page Turner." "What time," he inquired. I don't know. How about 8? "Ok," he said. He arrived at 10 after ... NINE . *sheesh* I asked if he would mind look...

New boots! New boots! As I was on hold with a lovely young woman at the Zappos Service Center trying to get my tracking number, the boots arrived. Yay! I'm not sure if I like them. I think the toes are a bit squarer than I'm used to. Also the color is not quite what I was hoping for, but we shall give ourselves until the weekend to see if they are keepable. Le Pics:

Where the fork are my spiffy new boots? WHERE? They are not in my office. They are not on my feets. I do not have the UPS tracking number. And, ZAPPOS is saying that my tracking number is not yet unavailable (which says to me, "someone out there needs to WAKE UP and UPDATE the website!! GAH!!!). I want my boots! Lessee, since I can't blog about how I love my great new pair of boots, here's a quick rundown of what I did yesterday evening: 1. Drank half a bottle of wine. 2. Laundry. 3. Ate leftover veggie tacos. 4. More laundry. 5. Drank bourbon. 6. Surfed the innarwebs, updated a few personals profiles. 7. Talked to Y. 8. Went to bed. 9. Dreamed about boots.

Free overnight shipping. The night is over. Where are my boots? WHERE? Help me, David Hasselhoff! HELP! (more later, kittens)

Very rarely do I feel guilty about things; however, my desire to spend my *woot* bonus frivilously on BOOTS! and JEANS! and A SUPERFABULOUS PARTY! has made me feel a slight twinge of ... something. For the lack of a better word, let's call it "guilt." Thus, I'm reorganizing my savings plan and opening up a ROTH IRA. Fortuitously, one of my $500 6-month ING DIRECT CDs matured today. I transferred that to my ING DIRECT savings account. I sent half of the CD (minus interest) to my BOFA checking account. I will use that money to open up my ROTH IRA with PAX WORLD (the balanced fund ). I am liking PAX WORLD because of their socially responsible investment approach (and their 8% annualized return). Currently, I have $60 automatically deposited from my BOFA account into my ING savings account every 2 weeks. 4.3% interest, kittens! Much better than a regular bank account! You can open your own ING DIRECT Savings Account HERE ! In order to grow my ROTH (Did you know y...

I bought the boots . Zappos has free overnight shipping. I should get them tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures (if I remember to recharge my camera batteries, which are so old and sucky they lose their charge after, like, 3 pictures). I am still undecided about the jeans. $105 seems like a lot to pay. At least the shipping should be free (*woot*). What's the most you've ever paid for a pair of jeans. Speaking of "pair," is it countable or uncountable? Do you have 2 pair of shoes or 2 pairs of shoes? Grammarians? In other news, I am working on my cover letter for the job in Seattle. Are there any job-hunting experts out there who would like to take a look at my resume/cover letter for me? I could use some input [and my regular, DC-based Advisors aren't around]. kthx. I felt sad last night. *sigh* I could use some chocolate. Fortunately, I have a bar of Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans. Mmm. Mmm.

Yesterday, we got a performance bonus because our Project Officer gave our team a perfect rating. $500! *woot* Of course, after taxes it will be much less. Here is what I am thinking: 1. Buy these boots . 2. Buy these jeans . 3. Use the rest to help pay for my 6th Annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin ( BYOP ) Pumpkin Carving Party . [And before you ask , of course you're invited .] The problem is this: My company sometimes holds 3-day PMI (Program Management Something That Begins with "I") training programs. The next one is being held Oct. 26-28, which is not only the start of my vacation, but also the weekend I would hold the aforementioned BYOP Pumpkin Carving Party *AND* I have a hair appointment for that Saturday [cut AND color, kittens]. This PMI thingie would be very good for my resume [insert little doohickies over the appropriate vowels]. It also would cost me $500 (which would be reimbursed if I pass the PMI test). AND, it's in forkin' Tysons...

1. I bought 3 CDs this morning (but only one of the ones I mentioned in this post ). I liked these better: Music from the Chocolate Lands Brazilian Groove Cuba My current thinking is to keep "Cuba" for myself. 2. I want to make vegetarian tacos for dinner tonight. 3. I am thinking about applying for a very cool-sounding [and well-paying!] job in ... SEATTLE! Which raises a whole bunch of issues. Sure, "applying" doesn't mean "being hired." But, ACK! 4. Can anyone name the movie from which the title of the previous post came?

I made a pitcher. It's quite lovely, if I do say so myself. I forgot to take a picture of my pitcher, but it still has to survive trimming, handle attaching, firing, glazing, and firing again. I'm trying not to become too attached. Before anyone makes any sort of jokes about me making a pitcher because I need a new one, please know that I was making all those jokes in my head during class. In fact, for some reason, I kept getting the Pervy Monkey Giggles ... especially when the supercute (but very young) straight Jewish boy kept talking about tapping the bottom ... of his bowl. This pottery making thing is a lot more difficult than I remembered. It is taking a lot more concentration than I thought. I did notice that if one semi-yells "fuck!" while making a cylinder, the instructor almost immediately rushes over to help. Quite handy that. VUBOQ needs to watch his language in his class filled with babies . Or college sophomores. Same difference. After class, ...

Yesterday ... or was it the day before? It all becomes muddled in the Bourbon Fog ..., I received a coupon from Borders: 3 CDs for $11.99 each. Pretty good deal, I guess. I need to buy a belated birthday present and a belated housewarming present (for people I know, but not very well). I was thinking CDs would make a nice gift. Both acquaintances are world travellers, so I thought something from the Putamayo collection ... I've narrowed it down to 4 CDs (OK, one of them is for me. Can you guess which one?): 1. Music from the Chocolate Lands 2. Music from the Coffee Lands 3. Mexico 4. Women of Latin America And, if you were to receive one of these CDs as a present, which do you think you would like ... or more importantly, which of the four above is the least appealing. Finally, take a look at this website, Blogger Play , which shows uploaded photos to blogger pages. It's a little mesmerizing.

I did do other things besides have teh secks with the most recent ex and drink lots and lots (and lots and lots) of bourbon. I also drank lots of gin. And, let me take a brief moment to extol the virtues of Ann Arbor's own, Leopold's Gin. I bought a fifth when I was there in March, and I save it for special occasions. In fact, I have only made 3 martinis since I purchased the bottle! The first two were to celebrate Tomokito becoming my New Upstairs Neighbor. Number 3 was on Friday night. I felt I deserved a super delicious martini. And super delicious it was. Other gins pale in comparison, especially after drinking Seagrams for so long. Leopold's is YUM. I had to resist making a second martini. Mmm. Saturday, I went grocery shopping. I picked chili peppers and hung them up to dry. And, I weeded the front garden. I also ripped out a whole bunch of flowers. They were scraggly, and I was tired of looking at them. On Sunday, Tomokito, Y, and I went to the Mall for the National ...

Saturday afternoon, I was chatting with Y. I wanted to know when he would be returning my spare keys. He happened to be available that night, and I'm sure you can see where this is going. He arrived around 9:30. We started drinking my very good bourbon. We watched a DVD [ Lady in the Water ]. And, yeah, well, somehow we ended up having teh buttsecks. Gee. Wonder how that happened? This morning, I made coffee. We blobbed around the house. And, um, ended up having more of teh buttsecks in the shower. Gee. Wonder how that happened? Oddly enough, I'm not overly concerned about it [I think the pre-game peptalk IM with Sin the Pornographer helped]. Maybe I've been able to separate sex and love? Maybe I'm emotionally detached? Or maybe I'm still emotionally attached and this was some weird last chance thingy? It's so strange. I don't feel sad about the break-up. I mean, Thursday night (all night) I felt awful. Friday, I felt sad. Saturday, I started to feel better...

To Done List: 1. Grocery shopping for picnic tomorrow 2. Likker shopping for picnic tomorrow 3. Wash dishes 4. Pick chili peppers and string for drying 5. Weed front "garden" 6. Change all profiles to single *sniff* 7. Treat self to late afternoon Tom Collins 8. Blog To Do List: 1. Knit 2. Drink bouron 3. Get spare keys from Y 4. Feel sorry for self 5. Mope 6. Watch DVDs 7. Stuff face full of popcorn 8. Contemplate the Mysteries of Life Finally, a word of advice: If you accidentally put an entire tub of garlic-stuffed olives in the freezer and leave them over night. After you move them to the refrigerator and they unthaw, remove the garlic before eating! The garlic turns to mush . Totally EW.

I officially ended it last night. He IM'ed me around 8 saying he was leaving school and to call if I needed to talk. I didn't need to talk, but I called anyway. The conversation was strange and awkward, full of pauses and half-started sentences. He asked what I was thinking, so I said, "I'm thinking we should go our separate ways." There was a long pause. "I thought maybe we could work things out. Maybe I wasn't clear last night ..." "I understood what you were trying to say. I'm never going to want a non-monogamous relationship. And I can't make you, and you can't force yourself, to love me. What is there to work out?" There was another long pause. "Maybe ..." "Why don't you take some time to think about it? If you come up with a solution, I listen to it," I said. He's supposed to come over today to return my house keys. And that will be it, I guess. We have plans to meet friends on Sunday a...

Register for AIDS Walk DC. Pledge to raise $500 (in 14 days! GAH!). And try to convince 2 friends to join you! ACK! What's a little donation between friends, right? Click here to donate (please?). Oh, and I may be sending some of you super-lucky friends form emails begging for cash. Try to find it in your heart to forgive the intrusion. Skip the latte; send me $5. Or $100! Click here to join my team: One is the Loneliest Number . Being on MY team is only $25. You'll get a t-shirt! And you'll get to walk 5K with ME! (How far is 5K anyway? Like a couple yards, right? Maybe a football field?) Step 2? It involves bourbon. And lots of it.

Y looked like he was going to say something. We had been talking about my vacation plans and what we were going to do this weekend. "I haven't fully formed the thoughts yet," he said, "but we've been going out for, what, four months now?" And it's time to reassess. And we did. Or he did. I'm familiar with the process. First, they say all the good things. I've been supportive during a difficult time. He really appreciates that. I felt my entire body start to shrivel, constrict, tighten. Then, once again I got to hear all the things that are wrong with me. I don't want kids (which is an oversimplification, really). I expect sexual exclusivity. I don't plan. I'm not career-oriented. I don't have goals. Is this really the impression I give to people? I guess it is ... "You can tell me what you think is wrong with me?" "No." "Well, I guess you think I'm perfect," he said with a laugh. ...

VUBOQ's Purchases for 09/20/07: 1. Sympathy card for boss 2. 8 lb. bag of IAMS Cat Food Hairball Formula (prevents, not creates) 3. Small bag of Spicy Nacho-flavor Doritos 4. 20 oz Mountain Dew 5. Snickers (2.07 oz. Not Big Enough!) - Blame the ChocoJesus Photos.

After the aforementioned Wine Disaster of 2007 , I had no desire to cook (so YAY my pans stayed clean for an extra day!). My dinner last night: More wine. Half of a flattened Israeli Chocolate Bar ... ... which had these weird crispy things in it. At first I thought they were like Rice Krispies, but I noticed as I was eating them that they would *POP* ... like POP ROCKS. Strange sensation, eating chocolate which makes popping noises in your mouth. I briefly debated having bourbon and microwave popcorn for dinner, but that seemed like too much work. On a not-entirely-unrelated note, some interesting images come up when one googles Israel chocolate : [If you're interested, I'll be cooking the yellow tomato/mushroom pasta tonight, and taking some to Y for his dinner.]

Last night, as I re-entered my apartment carrying my laundry basket, Psychokitty Isabella caught a case of the crazies and went dashing all over the apartment and crashed full-speed into the table beside my sofa ... which knocked a nearly full glass of red wine all over my beautiful sofa! GAH! PANIC! I grab some towels and sopped up what I could. Then, because when I dropped the $1200 on this sofa I had the foresight to pay for a "stain protection plan," I called the Stain Protection Plan people to ask what to do. The woman on the phone took my information, emailed me a claims form, and started to hang up. "But, wait," said I. "What should I do to clean up the spill?" "We're not allowed to give stain removal advice over the phone." *click* Da'what? Do'huh? I thought that's what they did. I checked their website and to clean a red wine spill it suggested using a 30:1 solution of distilled water and non-bleach detergent. However, ...

This is a picture of the dishes in my sink. UGH. I hate doing the dishes. They just keep getting dirty . Wash. Dry. Use. Wash. Dry. Use. It's a horrible never-ending cycle und I hates it. Step One: Make room for most important Dish Washing Tool. Can you spot it? Hint: IT'S THE MARTINI!!!! (mmm. marteeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeee....) Step Two: Start to wash dishes, but, then, think "Hm. I should put all this food waste into the "compost cup." Then, remember the "compost cup" is full. Prepare to take the "compost cup" out to the compost bin. Step Three: Notice that I'm not wearing pants. Stop to take photo: *sound of camera shutting down* Yep. The camera batteries, even though they were charged this morning, died. So, these are the photos YOU missed: ~Pantsless VUBOQ ~Mr. VUBOQ's Neighborhood's Compost Bin (possibly a good thing there are no photos of this) ~VUBOQ watering his plants with the water used to clean out the "compost cup...

Dinner tonight (assuming I can motivate to cook): Yellow tomato, green pepper, red onion, and mushroom pasta with basil from the front garden. Possibly some sort of spinach salad, but probably not. I'm feeling lazy. I bought the mushrooms from Whole Foods during my lunchbreak. I also restocked my garlic-stuffed olive supply. The yellow tomato and green pepper were purchased over the weekend, with the grand plan to make a fun tomato cucumber salad. Then, it turned kinda chilly and all desire to eat a cold, Summery salad flew out my open apartment windows. On the way back to work, I answered the Siren call of the likker store. Oh, how we love the likker store. So many pretty bottles. So many orange SALE signs. I ended up buying a bottle of wine (Australian Shiraz, too lazy to reach in the bag to look at the label) and a fifth of bourbon (1792 Ridgemont Reserve)! It's practically Autumn! Bourbon season! The time for Manhattans! And bourbon, neat, by the fire (if I had ...

OK, Kittens ... VUBOQ has scheduled vacation time from October 27-November 4. However, he can't leave until the 28th, unless he reschedules his Saturday hair appointment (cut and color! woot!). This morning, rather than work on a project due on Monday, I checked ticket prices to various cities I would like to visit, and, GAH! London $1000! Tokyo $1500! , it looks like VUBOQ will be staying on the American Continent. Here are the 10 cities I checked out: Detroit/ Ann Arbor (SuperFantastic Cuzin! GayProf!): $139 San Diego (Pandas!): $183 Las Vegas (Casinos! Barry Manilow!): $214 Santa Fe/Albuquerque (Adobe! Chili Peppers!): $230 Boise (Potatoes! Larry Craig!): $240 Seattle (Rain!): $244 San Francisco (Teh Gayz!): $257 Toronto (Bala Wala Shi!): $390 Vancouver (Mounties!): $421 Oaxaca (Pottery!): $481 I really don't want to pay more than $300 for a ticket, especially if I'm going to have to pay for a hotel room as well. Of course, there is always the Scary Chin...

Yet, I'm still typing up an entry. Which is either pathetic or admirable ... I can't decide, but am leaning towards pathetic. Here are a few things that have been on my mind this morning: Gay marriage ( Thanks for the beat-down Maryland Court of Appeals ) Chrysanthemums (I took a few photos this morning) Talk Like a Pirate Day ( Arrrrrrr ) Infused olive oil Job hunting Everything but the kitchen sink More later ... hopefully.

Submitted for your VUBOQ-gazing pleasure: Purple dots indicate zits which can be seen with the unaided eye. White dots are unseen, but astro-dermatological science indicates their presence. Don't even ask about the Crabby Nebula .

The month is more than half over (and, OMFGWTFBBQPONIES!!!!11eleven, the Autumnal Equinox is this week!), so here's an update on my Goals for September : 1. Start running [on a regular basis. in the morning. this will be difficult. I also need to buy new running shoes, so this isn't going to start until the new September budget goes into effect.] Accomplished, kittens! I've been running 3 times a week this month! Yay me! In fact, I'm going running this evening after work. Yay me (again)! 2. Job Hunting [polish up the resume. devote a certain amount of time per evening to perusing job openings.]. LIKE, OMG, I have hardly done anything on this. Must. motivate. 3. Plant flowers [possibly chrysanthemums in the part of my yard I now refer to as The Chili Plant Graveyard.] Flowers! I rock! Photographic evidence to be posted at some point. 4. Writing [complete at least 2 new short stories (rough drafts).]. Hm. I've written a paragraph. Does that count? Can t...

It's been a long time since I've felt clay's oozy grittiness slide between my fingers. Yesterday in class, I concentrated on centering. It was about the process. I wanted to reaquaint myself with the clay and the wheel. To see if my hands remembered where they should go and what they should do. They didn't. I used the kick wheel. I prefer it. I feel more in control. And it's kind of nice to be "off-grid" if only for a little while. Wedge. Slam. Slap center. Wet. Kick. Spin. Press down. Press from the side. Add water. Press. Kick. Wet. Press. Kick. Open. Kick. Compress. Kick. Pull. I was the only one who didn't keep his first lopsided cylinder. Or his second, for that matter. The instructor looked at me like I was weird ... but I have enough sad, lumpy cylinders at home. Technique, kittens. It's all about technique.

Scene: In the Shower on Sunday Morning Y: I think you should know that having children is very important to me. Me: ... Then, we had sex.

Tasty new cocktail: 2 oz of chili pepper-infused vodka 1/2 oz lime juice Shake over ice. Strain into chilled martini glass. Top with seltzer. SPICY!

Happy Sunday, kittens. Work may be a bit hectic tomorrow, so not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do ... so here's what I did this weekend... Friday, I was supposed to leave immediately after work to go to a birthday happy hour. However, my fun, new glasses were hurting my ears. They (my glasses, not my ears) need to be adjusted (again. gah). So, I went home to put on my more comfortable glasses. Of course, I had to change clothes because the comfortable glasses didn't match the outfit. Why is my life so complicated? On my way to the happy hour, I left my umbrella on the metro. GAH. I arrived about 45 minutes late and slightly damp. Because of my dinner plans, I could only stay there for about 20 minutes. I didn't even get to order a drink. I met Jerry and Y at Straits of Malaya at 7:30ish. The food was great (as usual). The service sucked (as usual). [Note to the Waiters at Straits: When a customer raises his hand to get your attention, he is not waving at you t...

I had falafel. I feel a gabillion times better. Not quite better enough to take on Chapters 9-16 of the Training Manual though. My boss figured out the issue I was having with Chapter 2, which proves the old adage: Even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then. I never even thought to move my mouse randomly around the text clicking like a crazy person. Live and learn, VUBOQ. Live. And learn. Looks like we'll be going to Straits of Malaya tonight for dinner. They have good food, but, because they don't assign waiters to certain tables, the service can be a bit spotty (and that's putting it nicely). Hopefully, the staff will be "on" tonight. *smooches*

Stupid MS Word. I got all involved in trying to get it to do what I wanted (rather than it getting me to do what it wanted), and time slipped away. I missed my lunch break. VUBOQ is v. hungry now. I have another break in about 45 minutes. Hopefully, I won't waste away to nothing by then. That grumbling sound? It would be my tummy.

Last night, I knitted. I ate. I drank. I chatted. And I watched Good Night and Good Luck . My life. It is filled with the fun and excitement. This morning, I couldn't motivate myself to go running. It's so much easier when Y stays over, because I don't like to hit snooze 47 times for fear of disturbing him. When the alarm goes off, I get up, turn it off, and go running. This morning, I hit snooze 47 times. At least I have some fun things planned for this weekend ... tonight, I am going to a birthday happy hour. Then, I am meeting a friend for dinner [Y may join for that, not sure though]. Tomorrow, I have a hair appointment. Cut only. No color this time. Then, I am having a few friends over for cocktails in the early evening, followed by dinner in hip and happening downtown Silver Spring ... maybe Mandalay (yummy Burmese food). After dinner, we might head back to my place to watch DVDs ... or we could go out somewhere. No plans yet for Sunday. More later, kittens.

1. Arriving over an hour late for a dinner party in which you volunteered to bring the appetizers is not cool and does not endear me to you. 2. Low Blood Sugar VUBOQ = Cranky VUBOQ 3. New Rosh Hashanah food tradition: Apples soaked in honey ... and VODKA! For four days! Then frozen! YUM! [Credit the Supercute Y for this one. Although, VUBOQ would like to think that his summer-long vodka infusion experiments were somewhat of an inspiration.] 4. Sometimes very smart people say very stupid things. 5. If the Supercute Y thinks that Cranky Low Blood Sugar Annoyed at Smart People Saying Stupid Things VUBOQ did not have a good time at a dinner party [even if VUBOQ *did* have a good time ... once his blood sugar level returned to normal], there will be amazingly hot secks when they return home. *smooches* PS. OMG. I'm only on Chapter 12 of the Training Manual. AUGH! Need. Motivation.

Somewhere the shofar has been blown. And a time to celebrate beginnings continues. I took a few moments at the beginning of today to watch the dark slowly shift to light, filtering into my room and across Y's face. As his features became more recognizable, it dawned on me ... (ha! pun!) ... I'm in love. (*ack*) And my heart felt all warm and gooey in my chest. His eyelids fluttered with the beginnings of wakefulness, so I moved my mouth to his ear to whisper the words that were on my mind ... "Did you bring my spare keys with you?" He nodded. "Good." So, it is with VUBOQ ... sometimes, the feelings stay in place. To make themselves at home before they feel ready to be shared.

My brain is bankrupt! I'm on Chapter 11 of the stupid training manual. One of the weird things that happened in the conversion process from WordPerfect to MS Word (and, believe you me, we wouldn't have converted, except our clients switched programs) is that the letters i, f, and y, when they appear in that order, have been replaced by "@." Thus, "notify" is now "not@." That took me awhile to figure out. GAH! Meanwhile, I have this vague memory of hearing an NPR story this morning on the new hugely destructive bomb the Russians tested recently. I can't find a copy of the story, but I remember the reporter saying something along the lines of "it's [4?] times as powerful as a nuclear bomb, without the environmental destruction [damage?]." All I remember thinking was "um. yeah. besides the BLAST area being totally destroyed." I guess that doesn't count as environmental damage.

Yeah, so I did laundry last night. I switched laundry nights with my wonderful Diagonally Upstairs Neighbors, because, tonight, my regular laundry night, I am going with Y to his friends' home for a Rosh Hashanna (Hashanah? Hashannah?) dinner party. FUN. Par-Tay with da Jewz! We're supposed to bring a meaningful poem/passage/quote to discuss. I'll have to find something. Maybe a nice biblical passage from the New Testament. I can convert them all to the ways of Christianity! Wouldn't that be a HOOT? Ha. Seriously, I have no idea what I'm going to do. Emily Dickinson? Hope is the thing with feathers ? Too cliche? Shel Silverstein? I'll find something eventually ... As my food contribution, I am making Aztec Couscous Salad from Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian . Actually, I'm making something similar to Aztec Couscous Salad , because I can't follow a recipe. It's basically couscous, corn , black beans , red onion , cumin , cilantro , olive oil, g...

Here's is a list of some words that don't appear in the King James Version of teh Bible (courtesy of the BibleGateway search function ): stapler scissors coffee buttsecks cheezburger [Jesus can't haz cheezburger!] inspire porn dandelion fantabulous sturgeon madonna spiral wedging (per request by Ms. Clio Bluestocking ) and, a word that only appears once: James 2:2-4 (King James Version) For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing , and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become* judges of evil thoughts? Teh Bible h8s teh gayz [and apparently teh metrosecksuals]. *are become?

--Genesis 2:7 (NIV) [as if you didn't know] I left work a little early so I wouldn't be late for my pottery class at the University of Maryland. I arrived just on time. I would have been early, except I spent a good 15 minutes wandering through the basement bowels of the STAMP Student Union searching for the classroom. There are 7 of us in the class. Excluding myself and the instructor, I believe the average age would be ... erm ... 12. Ha! I kid. It is actually about 18. It's me and a bunch of BABIES! Oh, my GAWD, I felt so old listening to them babble. I figure, though, once we start on the wheel, I will enter my zone and the babbling will be like the waters of a cold mountain stream. Anyway, yesterday, all we did was wedging (y'know, smooshing the clay to get all the air bubbles out). The instructor taught the "ram's head" method ... which is not the one I know. I was reminded that, since I learned pottery in Japan (and in Japanese), I do not have the ...

The oozing, festering, salsa-making injury ? Or the pile of chapters I have to edit for our training manual? You make the call!

My fun-filled and exciting weekend began on Friday night, which I spent at home, alone, drinking and proof-reading Y's paper. Fun times. *woot* [I also had nice chat with a few friends, so that -and the booze- made it bearable.] Saturday, I had a nice lie-in, made coffee, ate brownies, and the headed over to Y's. We drove to Costco to buy supplies for his party. And, as God as My Witness, I will never go to Costco again! GAH! So. Many. People. Who were completely clueless and unaware and should not have been allowed behind those GIGANTIC shopping carts. ACK. I was totally stressed out by the time we left. We drove to Shoppers to get a few things he didn't need in bulk . And, it was at Shoppers where we learned something important about our relationship: VUBOQ gets all stressed out in crowds of STUPID PEOPLE (and, thus, needs someone to help him remain calm and to remind him he is getting uber cranky ). Y, on the other hand, gets all stressed out by computers, like Shoppers...

Updated with the ANSWERS ... Yeah. So, GayProf did this little contesty meme thing about song lyrics. Since I participated in his, I feel obligated to do my own. Here are his rules: Here are the [adapted] rules for the meme: 1) Put your mp3 player or music player on your computer on random. 2)Post the first four lines from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song (Skip repeat artists). 3) Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from. Leave your guesses in the comments. Some of mine are going to be very hard. Try not to cheat by googling the lyrics. You have all weekend. Good luck. *smooch* [oh, and some songs I couldn't find the lyrics, so I skipped them. whatever.] 1. Nothing's gonna stop me Only you can stop me Yonaka no san-ji a.m. Makura moto no PHS Naru no matte 'ru Baka-mitai ja nai -- Movin' on without You , Utada Hikaru 2. A la luna de Valencia, me robaste el corazon. Lo tiraste contra la Albuferay en ...

Or even better Martinis Hours? After sending an email and making countless [unanswered] phone calls, I *finally* got in contact with someone at the Pottery Class Place. They had no record of my registration, but they've put me in the last available spot for Introduction to Wheel Throwing ... which I'm sure is much better than Introduction to Cow Pie Tossing . Since I forwarded them my confirmation email, I won't be double charged. Anyway, I hope that my friend also got into a class. This was a *very* frustrating experience. I hope the course is fun. And it is full of cute menz. I should have asked. Nothing else has happened all day, except for me getting crankier and crankier. I am very looking forward to Go Home Time ... and the Making of the Martini ... and the straining of the Chili-Pepper Infused Vodka ... and the Goofing Off in Front of the TV ... and, hopefully, the Hot Buttsecks with the Y .

It's time for another VUBOQ Math Lesson ! 46,000 ( manufacturing jobs lost ) + 11,000 ( motor vehicle and parts jobs lost ) + 22,000 ( construction jobs lost ) = 79,000 jobs lost Now for some Washington Post Mathematics: 46,000 + 11,000 + 22,000 = Employers Cut 4,000 Jobs in August Can anyone explain this?

*ugh* What a morning, kittens. What. a. forkin' morning. It all started out well. The alarm went off at six. I was up and out the door at 6:10. And had a nice 2 mile-ish run. The last few minutes of the run all I could think of was the yummy pot of coffee that was waiting for me at home. Wisely, I had prepared the coffeemaker last night, with the timer set at 6:30. So, when I got home, I did have steaming hot coffee waiting for me. All over the kitchen floor . I had prepared the coffeemaker, except for one key part: the carafe . GAH. So I treated myself to an egg and cheese biscuit, hashbrowns, and large coffee at Chik-fil-a this morning. Weekend plans thus far: Nothing tonight (except cleaning and mopping the kitchen). Tomorrow, Y is having a party. I will help him prepare for that. No plans on Sunday either. I am becoming (becoming?) very dull.

1. My Visa bill with my first Verizon Internet charge on it arrived the other day. I thought it seemed a little high ... but, you know, there are always these weird "mystery" fees which make the cost higher than one would expect, like "tax" and "service charge." Anyway, I checked my Verizon account last night, and, guess what? They are charging me double. DOU.BLE. Instead of $16/month, I am being billed $33. GAH! So, after much searching online, I found the toll-free number to call. And navigated the menu by repeating "BILLING" ad nauseum. Two hours later, I finally get to the part where I can speak to an *actual* person, and I get this recorded announcement: "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Office hours are from 8:30AM to 6PM." *CLICK* Bitch hung up on me. Could they not have included that little fact at the BEGINNING of my call? Would that have been too much trouble? Would it? Of course I forgot to bring all the information with m...

TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS CHAPTER 9--FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT SUBCHAPTER II--DEFINITIONS Sec. 321a. "Butter'' defined For the purposes of the Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906 (Thirty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 768) "butter'' shall be understood to mean the food product usually known as butter, and which is made exclusively from milk or cream, or both, with or without common salt, and with or without additional coloring matter, and containing not less than 80 per centum by weight of milk fat, all tolerances having been allowed for. (Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 268, 42 Stat. 1500.) I just thought you'd like to know ...

As I was walking to work this morning, fighting off the panic attack of "OMG! My contract ends in March! And I Really Shouldn't Have Listened to that NPR Story about Foreclosed Homes! And GAH! I Could Be Out of Work in 6 Months! But, I Still Want to Buy that Super Cute Pair of Shoes I Saw in DSW!," I began thinking of jobs I would like to do ... or at least skill sets I possess that I could apply to a new job. This is what I came up with during the 15 minute walk: -teaching ... not necessarily in a classroom setting (and, god forbid, never again in a public school) -explaining complex ideas in an understandable way -coming up with creative learning tools -writing [I think I'm purty good at it] -thorough understanding of international and domestic environmental issues -know the Toxic Substances Control Act like the back of my hand (which is *so* very very sad) Now, the questions are how to best package this and what kind of jobs I should look for. Any ideas? Anyone? An...

~My co-worker has a boyfriend. I guess this means she isn't in a lesbian relationship with her "friend," the super-butch tennis instructor. ~I am having a Baja Fresh veggie burrito, enchilado style for lunch. I figure my insides are already feeling kinda mushy. I might as well help them along. Or was that TMI? ~I forgot to get quarters at the bank. ~I probably won't have anything for dinner tonight other than vodka and cheese. Is that so wrong? ~OK. I might have some olives. ~And two-bite cupcakes. ~And more vodka.

Can someone explain how one can get up about 45 minutes early and, yet, almost be late for work? Hm? I was up at 6AM this morning to go running. I took a picture on my cell phone, but decided against posting it. VUBOQ at 6AM is not pretty . And VUBOQ does not want to break the innarnexts. That would be bad. Luckily, one of my neighbors was also going running at that time, so, if no one believes that I was actually up that early, I can get a signed sworn affidavit from her. So there. HA! I ran/walked for about 30 minutes or so, came home, checked email, took a shower, had coffee and a scone, then ... um ... crawled back into bed for a cuddle with Y. Ah. *cuddles* It's amazing what getting a good night's sleep will do, because, when I got up again (at 7:30) to get dressed for work, someone was feeling a leeeeeeeeeeeeeetle frisky . Which probably explains why I was running late for work. But I think a good morning fork [and it was good ;-)] is well worth the bus fare and ...

I'm working on yet another Goal for September : Start running! See: New shoes! *woot* Who wants to get up at 6 tomorrow morning for a quick jog? Anyone? Anyone?

Morning, Rays of Sunshine! Everyone so happy to be back at work? *woot* I know I am!! *cough* *gag* *keels over* I blogged over the weekend ... so not much to add. I may think of some stuff later. Y's deadline is today. He's meeting with his advisor this afternoon. Cross your fingers that it goes well. And cross your fingers that VUBOQ will finally get some red hot luvin' . I can only be so patient. I think I'm going to go buy some new running shoes today. As you know, one of my Goals for September is to start running again. *geh* One goal has already been met! *woot* I planted 5 chrysanthemums over the weekend, three golden/bronze and 2 maroon. Only later did I realize that there's a little Gryffindor theme going on [Or Elon . Go Phighting Phoenixes!] ... I should take a photo. Maybe once they are all in full bloom. The Chili Pepper Plant Graveyard will soon look bright and cheery. If you've read the His Dark Materials trilogy, you'll know all about daem...

Or, at least, by me ... The party is over. In attendance were Cute Gay Brother of Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor, Tomokito and her husband, Across the Way Neighbor, Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor, and Friend of Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor. I really need to come up with better nicknames for people. Tom Collins was the most popular guest! There was loads of food - spicy salsa, cucumber and feta salsa, chips, olives, hummus and pita., and cheeses! Three kinds! Blue! Havarti with Dill! Gouda with Basil! I *heart* cheese. Tomoko brought cupcakes and brownies. And, Across the Way Neighbor brought apricot scones. And Across from Diagonally Upstairs Neighbor Neighbor brought some sort of yummy pastry thingy. Mmmm. Everyone left around 8ish, I think. I cleaned up and called Y. He was too busy to come to the party. He may be coming over later, depending on how tired he is. It would be nice if he could. If not, I guess I'll see him tomorrow. I haven'...

GAH! Not. Ready! Pan-EEK! Must shower. Must clean. Must prepare food-like substances. Shouldn't be blogging. Or chatting. Maybe I'll have a pre-Cocktail Party Cocktail ...

Afternoon margaritas were fun. I am moving slowly. *oog*

This morning, after a leisurely cup (or 4) of coffee, I walked up to Whole Foods to buy some supplies for my party on Monday. I also bought another chrysanthemum (a dark red one). I figure I can buy one mum every time I go to Whole Foods, and, eventually, I will have carted enough down here to make the garden look pretty and Autumnal. I estimate maybe 2 or 3 more mums. Maybe more. Today's weather has been stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately, I've been inside cleaning for most of the day. The living room and dining nook are now practically spotless. The kitchen is (relatively) organized. I still need to clean the bathroom, but I may wait to do that tomorrow or Monday. I did take a few moments to enjoy the sun and plant the mum this afternoon. Around 4:30 or so, Tomoko joined me for cocktails [peach vodka with a splash of tangerine Italian soda]. Yum! So, all in all, it's been a good, productive day. Tonight I'm going to watch a few DVDs and knit. *woot* Hopefu...