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

Good morning, Kittens. This is it. One year ago today was my last day of work. Had I realized at the time that I would still be unemployed one year later, I certainly would have approached things differently. For example, I would have taken up Montgomery County on their Unemployment Compensation Option to spend 6 months developing my own business in lieu of (the obviously pointless) applying for jobs. Perhaps, Pottery Bar/Infusions would be a Silver Spring reality right about now ... Anyway, I have applied to over 100 jobs this year and have had only six(!) interviews. From this, I can only draw one conclusion: I am unqualified for the jobs I want to do. (Either that or the Powers That Be in HR think I am unqualified ... and in the end, that's about the same thing). It sucks being unemployable. Srsly. I'm sure you are wondering how I will be spending my First Unemploymentiversary (and, since you didn't ask the Traditional Gift is GIN; the Modern Gift is CASH). First, ...

Good morning, Kittens! For the nearly four years I have lived in my apartment, my kitchen sink has given me fits. It clogs regularly. I usually end up having to buy some fancy "older pipes" safe clog remover. I pour it down the drain. Things gurgle and fume and the clog goes away ... temporarily. Yesterday, I noticed the drain was getting slow again. Unfortunately, I didn't have any expensive clog remover. BUT, then I remembered that the last time my parents visited, they bought a toothed flexible plastic thingy to for my bathroom sink's temperamental and unaccesible drain. "Why don't I try that first,"I thought. So, I stuck it down the kitchen sink and I heard this weird thunky sound. "Something's in there," I thought. It looked black. Maybe I had dropped a utensil at some point and didn't realize it. I skillfully maneuvered the toothed flexible plastic thingy and managed to bring to the surface ... a disgusting toothbrush, ...

Good Morning, Kittens. Off in the distance, I can feel the swirls of stress and uncertainty approaching. I am holding myself together with force of will and some tea tree oil-containing dental floss. And, for now, the steel clamps are only hovering around my chest. Uncertainty. It is so ... uncertain. Monday, I journeyed into DC to meet briefly with our building's property manager. We've been trying to open an ING Account for our reserves for nearly 2 years. If all goes well, we may get it all together soon. Then, I returned home, after a quick pitstop at Adega for a salad and a glass of wine. Later, leftover pizza in hand, I watched the final two episodes of Mad Men, Season 2. It's a bit sad that I won't be able to watch the series premiere on August 16th. Oh, well. Tuesday, I finished proofreading the neighbor's thesis. It was a lot of work. And I'm sure he'll have comments about it once he starts reading what I wrote. Maybe I'll get a bott...

Thanks to Biddy ... Oh, yeah. Mad Men, baby. Mad Men yourself here. *smooches*

Let's see if I can pound this out before midnight ... Friday, I did nothing except drink and watch Mad Men. Saturday, I filed papers and shredded papers. And, then, I went over to Mike's to watch him make this: And, then, we transported it to Town for a private party. We ate. We drank. We danced. We left around midnight. I came home. And watched more Mad Men. Sunday, I blobbed. A lot. And I also watched some Mad Men. Oh, and I did some proofreading for a neighbor. It is difficult. I was supposed to finish yesterday. That didn't happen. I still have about 15 long and tedious pages to go. *urgh* Tomokito came down for Martini Time. She left. I ordered pizza. SCGB came down for pizza and beer. He left. I watched more Mad Men. And, that's about it. Good night, kittens. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! I have a bit of a Rant Post gurgling within mah belleh, but it still needs to percolate for a bit. Until then, you must make do with the tale of my Thursday. The plan was to meet Ray for lunch and then spend a lovely afternoon at the Zoo. In Vutopia, the weather would have been sunny and warm with a lovely breeze ... not Land of the Torrential (and Ill-Timed) Downpour. So, I met Ray for lunch at Open City Diner in Woodley Park. It was quite nice (except for a minor service snafu). As we were finishing up, it started to sprinkle. Ray stopped to buy an umbrella at CVS, and, by the time we got to the zoo (he had an appointment near the zoo entrance), the rain was falling steadily ... but not steadily enough to deter my desire to See the Flamingos! Oh, how I love the flamingos. Back when I lived in the neighborhood, I used to get drunk on margaritas and wander to the zoo to watch the flamingos be all goofy and flamingo-y. It's been awhile since I've bee...

Good Morning, Kittens! VUBOQ's little Field of Basil is doing quite well ... even though it hasn't rained since late June. Cinnamon basil, Thai basil, Purple basil, Bush basil, and Sweet basil They are all looking tasty tasty: And there's also Thai Dragon Chili Peppers: And an Eggplant (which has yet to produce any eggs): And Cosmos for days and days and days ... In other news, pottery class was fun. I made two cylinders which will become mugs. Next week might be difficult because my regular ride is out of town. I'll need to figure something out. As a last resort, the instructor offered to pick me up at the metro station (She's so nice!). I'm off to DC today. Meeting Ray for lunch and, then, if the weather is not too hot/humid, I think I'll go to the zoo for a bit. Say hi to the flamingos. Wander about. Have a great day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! So, last night, after dinner, I was having a glass bottle of wine and I made a shocking discovery. The wine I was drinking was better as a spritzer than straight. Whoa. I immediately contacted K-Factor to see if she wanted one. She called back, "I'm baking. Wanna come up?" Is a dog scared of its own farts? Of course, I wanted to come up because it would inevitably mean "take home bag of goodies." Yayz. Behold, the glory that is a Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake sparkling in the morning sun. Teh YUMZ. Then, I ran into* SCGB who generously let me borrow Disc 2 of Mad Men Season 2. I watched the first episode last night. Oooooh. So good. Pottery class this evening. Yay. Have a fantabulous day. *smooches* *If one defines "ran into" as "pounded on his door asking 'are you done with Disc 2 yet' repeatedly"

Good Morning, Kittens. Sometimes, it pays to have good relations with your neighbors, because you never know when they might show up at your door with something like this: Why, yes, that is a handle of vodka and an award certificate which states: Project HostGay Award This certificate is awarded to Stevie Martini the 2009 winner of the "take this crap and make an awesome farewell party" challenge. Although the guest of honor's prize did not reflect an understanding of the event*, the award committee recognizes the immense effort involved (signed) K-Factor This is, of course, in reference to Crazy Neighbor's Going Away Party, which you can read about here . To thank me for hosting her going away party, Crazy Neighbor gave me this: Why, yes, that is a wooden Christmas tree ornament which she probably found while cleaning out her apartment to move. I was so touched. So, anyway, last night, I started watching Season 2 of Mad Men on DVD. OMG. So good! In Episode 1...

Good Morning, Kittens! What an amazingly full weekend. On Friday, Eric from Baltimore came to town. He had the day off, so we went to Alero in Dupont Circle for margaritas and cheese dip . As we were sitting there enjoying the day, a member of the Real World DC cast walked by. I recognized him by his total greasy skankiness (srsly, dude. Ever consider showering?) and the cameraman (who was HOT!) and the handler following him. My little brush with Lame Reality Show Fame. After lunch, Eric and I wandered over to the National Portrait Gallery/ American Art Museum. Fun. As I was taking a picture outside the museum of the upside down US Flag. We heard this loud CRASH! We looked at this woman on a cellphone totally smashed into the front of a parked car. She backed up a bit ... AND DROVE OFF! So, I took a picture of her license plate (since I had my camera out). We looked at the car she hit but there was no damage (amazing!), so we didn't leave a note (Neither of us had pen/...

Good Morning, Kittens. All sorts of exciting things happened yesterday. I went to the likker store. Hello, Gigantic Bottle of Gin! I ran into some former coworkers. I lied and said everything was fabulous. I shaved my armpits. And, I had this conversation with a friend: Friend: It's the kind of work I'd do for free, except for the fact that I have to eat and such. VUBOQ : That's great! It's always fun to get paid for something you love doing. (pause) (pause) VUBOQ: Yet another reason I should consider prostitution. *rimshot* Thank you very much. I'll be here all night. Try the veal. Lots of things going on this weekend ... Today, Eric from Baltimore is coming down around lunchtime. We're going to margarita and, then, hit the museums. Later, we'll meet up with friends for happy hour at Nellie's. Saturday, I have a date that I'm not overly excited about. We'll see what happens. Sunday, I'm seeing HP6 with Carolyn and Kristin. ...

Good Morning, Kittens! Yesterday was actually quite productive. I did two loads of laundry. And, applied to two jobs. And, discovered that some job application websites are evil. The two jobs I applied for yesterday both used a web-based HR System, which *required* resumes/cover letters in MS Word. I use Open Office, because I am cheap and can't afford MS Word (and also I like how easy it is to export a document to pdf from Open Office). After saving my beautiful Open Office resume as a Word document, I noticed that, when I attempted to open it in MS Word, the formatting was all forked up. Joy. I didn't bother to fix it and submitted it as is. I almost included a note in my cover letter saying that my formatting would be screwy and, srsly, who the fuck wants resumes in MS Word and not PDF? Crazy. Totally. Pottery class was a lesson in disaster management. The two vases and bowl that I had to trim were very, very dry. I had to be very careful while trimming them. And,...

Good Morning, Kittens. How the heck did it get to be Wednesday already? Time flies when you blob on the sofa and do nothing for days. Srsly. For most of the day yesterday, I scoured the intarwebz for job openings. I found a few which look interesting. Today, I'll be updating and modifying my resume and cover letter templates to make them more job specific. That way the Job Openings will each feel special in their own little way. Isn't that cute? Then, I walked up to the Whole Foods for hummus, cheese, and tortilla chips. Somehow that ended up costing over $25 and completely filling my shopping bag. Weird. I also made some more tea-infused vodka. This time I used Sainsbury's Kenya Loose Leaf tea. I think I used too much because that shit is strong (and delicious!). The blueberry gin I took up to BOSSY's was so good I am considering making a little more for Home Use. And, CNTBD liked it, so I should make him some too. Later in the evening, I attended our co-op...

Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older When did they? When did she get to be a beauty? When did he grow to be so tall? Wasn't it yesterday When they were small? Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset Swiftly flow the days Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers Blossoming even as we gaze Congratulations, (Former) DUN and DUN's Boyfriend (Now, Husband)! The Wedding, on Friday, July 10, was beautiful and perfect. The Reception at American Flatbreads in Ashburn, VA, was totally awesome fun. See my photos (from the reception only) here . And, I happened to look pretty cute that day, too. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. At some point over the weekend, BOSSY and I had a brief conversation about blogging (Imagine). I don't have the readership of most of the power blogs out there. But, as BOSSY said, "Your readers are loyal." And, it's true. I have this fun little community out there, who are very important to me. Back in the day, when I was getting about 10 hits a day, I was no-holds-barred honest. Now that I get a few more hits than that, I have noticed that I have started to be more secretive. And what's the point of keeping a personal journal if you don't record everything? Which brings us up to the whole point of this post (almost) ... a few months ago, Y and I resumed a sexual relationship. I haven't really blogged about it (although I think I've hinted?) ... mostly because I feel like I'm disappointing readers. I'm certainly OK with the sex. Otherwise, I wouldn't be having it with him. It's not like I plan to re-enter...

Good Morning, Kittens. Someone went to Gay Camp BOSSY, and all I got was this lousy hangover. On Saturday morning, BOSSY and Her Friend Martha picked my up at the Philadelphia train station and we went for a driving tour of some cute neighborhoods, Society Hill, south Philly, some other places … Then, we parked and had lunch at Cuba Libre … “Does this place have hamburgers or hot dogs,” asked the elderly gentleman who sat at the table next to us. I don't think they did, but they had some lovely sangria. We drank lots. Fizzy Wine-y goodness. Then, after stopping by the frame of Ben Franklin's house, we walked to Reading Terminal Market. (Yes. It is as fabulous as Pesky Mac always said). Lots of yummy cheese. And many many cute Geek Chic boys behind the various counters. And, I have it on good authority that Dustin Hoffman was eating lunch there. Shopping done, we headed to BOSSY's SuperCute and Cozy home. And, we drank blueberry gin and sparkling lemonade. And, B...

Good Evening, Kittens! Early Morning on the Porch Stella. More than Great. Pretty Cut Flowers on the porch: Sometimes 2 heads (and one dog butt) are better than one: The Irish Pub with BOSSY, David, and Anne-Marie Hair o' the Dog Antique Car Show on the streets of Media, PA Point to ME! A last glass of Lemon and Rosemary Water before leaving The train back to DC arrives at 30th Street Station Exciting Details and More Photos tomorrow! Good Night! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! It has arrived! The day of all days! The moment of all moments! But, first, I had a date last night in which the guy *actually* showed up! Almost on time! This was a second date (although the first date was about 3 months ago. What can I say? I have a busy schedule). We went to Adega. And -for the first time EVER- I was disappointed in the food. I KNOW!! I ordered the portabello mushroom sandwich and I think the bread was old or something, because the insides were tasty but the bread was DRY and BAD. After dinner, we came back to my place. He wanted to see some of my pottery. We talked. And then we made out for awhile. If one defines "a while" to mean "over two hours." It was fun. He wants to see me again. And I probably will. But I don't see it being anything long term. I suppose I'll do what I always do: Use him for sex and then toss him aside. ANYWAY, today starts possibly the Most FUNtastic Weekend Ever (to date)!...

Good Morning, Kittens! Pottery class last night was fun. AND, Carolyn and I were on time for the first time this session. An eight week session is too short. Next week, the class is already half over. Wah. I didn't take any pictures because I am working on a Very Special Project and I want it to be a surprise. I also trimmed one bowl-thing. Next week, another bowl-thing should be ready to trim as well as two vases. When we entered the classroom, this note was on one of the wheels: I kept it, because (a) it was funny and passive-aggressive and (b) the woman who usually uses that particular wheel got all offended. "I *always* clean my wheel," she huffed, not even noticing that yesterday was July 8th and she hadn't used the wheel yet. Hilarious. Have a great day! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens! Quoth the Colornatrix, "I love cutting your hair, because you let me do whatever I want." Well, it's only hair. If I don't like it, it can be fixed ... but I always like it! So the hair appointment was fun! She's comping all my visits until I get a job. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? I gave her the fifth of Tea-Infused Vodka. I guess we'll find out if she liked it at my next visit. And, perhaps, by then I will be gainfully employed. Wouldn't that be chock full of teh awesome? CNTBD came over for drinks and a light dinner. We had martinis made with the gin which Anne-Marie from Philly brought for me. We both gave it two thumbs up. Way up! (Not as good as Leopold's though, but very very close). Dinner was Super Simple: Pita Wraps ... pita with hummus, lettuce, tomato, feta and black olives. And leftover quinoa salad. We also had some blueberry gin with lemonade. That s**t is delicious. CNTBD has a big day to...

Good Morning, Kittens! I'm off to get my hair did this morning. OMG. I love me some Quality Time with the Colornatrix. I have a bottle of tea-infused vodka for her. Hope she likes it. So, yesterday, there was Capital D Drama, which if you follow my facebooktwitterplurkstatusupdates you might have heard about... I had a date. With a guy. At 5:30. At Adega (mmm. Eggplant Fries). I'm at Adega at 5:30, perusing the wine selection when I get a text message: "I'm running late." To which I reply, "How late?" 10 minutes and a Happy Hour Glass of Cabernet later, I get the following reply: "I'll be leaving work in 5 minutes and it'll take me 4o more minutes to get there." To which I reply, "I don't feel like sitting here for another 45 minutes, so don't bother." I have given him a Third Chance though. We've rescheduled for Thursday. Same time. Same place. He says he'll be early. I'm not holding my breath....

Good Afternoon, Kittens. Not much reaction (yet) to my previous post ... oh, well. VUBOQ is getting boring. And he's OK with that. Anyway, I was playing around with the "Best Shot" feature on my digicam, taking a photo of the same items using each Best Shot setting. Here's the result: The Settings from top to bottom, left to right: Portrait, Scenery, Portrait with Scenery, Children Candelight Portrait, Party, Pet, Flower Natural Green, Sundown, Night Scene, Night Scene Portrait Fireworks, Food, Text, Collection Monochrome, Retro, Twilight Is fascinating, no? and can you guess where I will be going this weekend?

Good Morning, Kittens. Hope you are all well-rested from your Extra-Long Weekend and tackling this bright sunny Monday with vigor! My weekend was quite good. On Saturday afternoon, I did some gardening, planting 4 different kinds of basil: 2 Thai basil plants, 1 cinnamon basil, 1 purple basil, and a whole bunch of sweet basil seedlings. Then, I made a red quinoa salad (red quinoa + corn + black beans + red onion) with a lime vinaigrette to take to Mike's Fourth of July BBQ, which was a lot of fun. From his house, we walked to Scott Circle to watch the fireworks. Here's a video (no sound) of the Grand Finale: The rest of the photos are here . Y drove me home. We had sex. Lots of it. Then, on Sunday morning, he popped the question (so to speak). He asked me if he could move in for a few months. He will be finishing he dissertation this summer and looking for a new job (somewhere). He would like to rent out his entire condo rather than risk leaving it partially vacan...

Oh CRASH! my BASH! it's BANG! the ZANG! Fourth WHOOSH! of BAROOOM! July! WHEW! --Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Good Morning, Kittens. Happy Holiday Weekend. I hope you all have Firework Spectacular Plans! I have a pretty full weekend ahead, for sure. Last night, I met a friend for dinner at Austin Grill (Margaritas!) and a movie. Because the Metro Red Line has become impossible to predict, I was a little early. I must've missed a storm by a few minutes. The ground was all wet and the light was amazing. Pictured is a shot I took on the corner of 8th and F, NW, looking west. I wish I had brought my "real" camera. Some other cameraphone shots are on my flickr page . After dinner, we had originally planned to see The Country Teacher , a Czech film about a teacher who moves to the countryside. A woman who falls for him, but he falls for her 17-year-old son. Unfortunately, the website lied about the final showing (it was at 7:10 not 9:40. Boo on the website). So, we decided to see Food, INC , a documentary film along the lines of Fast Food Nation . It really didn't pres...

Good Morning, Kittens. Pottery class last night was fun (and productive). I threw two vases. One of which I will keep for my knitting needles ... if they turn out nice. I forgot to take pictures of them though. Bah. When I got home from pottery, I had a positive email waiting for me. One of my government applications has cleared the HR Bureaucracy and has been sent to the Selecting Official, who will decide who to interview (or not to interview or not to even have any interviews). Since being laid off, I think this is the first -of many- government applications to clear the HR Hurdle. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in that government office to contact to put in a good word to the Selecting Official for me. Oh, well. My stellar resume will have to speak for itself. Although my day today will be filled the the drudgery of house-keeping and job-hunting. Tonight, I'm meeting a friend for margaritas and, then, we are going bowling. Fun times. Have a great day! *sm...

Good Afternoon, Kittens! As I said earlier, I met my friend, Patty, yesterday afternoon. First, we went to Lavantes, a Middle Eastern restaurant south of Dupont Circle for cocktails and appetizers. After lots of catching up, we walked to Straits of Malaya for dinner on their rooftop deck. The food was totally yummy. As we were paying our check, it started to rain. Great timing ... except I only had a small umbrella and we got soaked on the way back to her hotel. Once back at the hotel, we decided to have a few more cocktails at the hotel bar. The bartender, Joe, was CUTE! (and gay ... I think). And, then, I came home ... on the bus, because the red line metro has been stopping at Ft. Totten after 10PM. And, it was well after 10PM when we finished. The bus took forever. Today, after a ridiculously long metro ride (25 minutes from Silver Spring to Takoma Park ... which is only one station and should only take a few minutes), I met Patty at the Natural History Museum. She did a lit...