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

Good morning, kittens!   Today, after work, I am boarding a bus for my fifth (!) and final trip to the Big Apple this year.  I'll be crashing at Jake's Penthouse in the Sky, and we'll be attending a New Year's Eve Party with David.  Other than that, I don't have plans.  I would like to meet up with some other friends, but I think it will depend on the weather and if the Mountains of Snow have been successfully cleared.  I also hope to make a pilgrimage to the Mothership (aka UniQlo).  I am really not looking forward to the bus rides there and back.  Fingers crossed that there is no traffic.   This will be the first time in a very long time that I haven't spent the New Year in DC.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I was out of town for New Year's Eve ... Hm.  I will have to research to find out.    Anyway, have a great and safe New Year.  I'll (possibly) be doing an End of Year post when I return, plus a breakdown of my New Year's R...

Good Evening, Kittens! And, here is my eagerly awaited Holiday Update with Photos. Yay! So, my trip began, as some trips do, at Dulles International Airport, where after passing through security (and having to remove my sweatshirt ... y'know, because their high-tech metal detectors can't "see" through thick jersey?), I boarded the cute little train to Terminal A. As I exited the train, I thought, "Oh, shit. I had a rollybag carry-on." Yes, your hero, left one of his bags at the security checkpoint. Oops. Of course, I have an excuse (or two). 1. I was pissed at having to remove my sweatshirt, so the gathering of all my scattered clothes combined with having to get dressed distracted me, and (b) I very rarely have a carry-on rollybag. Normally, I have one carry-on because I've checked a bag (one of the perks of business travel = they pay for that checked bag! Yay! More shoes for my tripz!). ANYWAY, so I had to schlep back to security to get my b...

Good morning, Kittens.   I forgot to upload my pictures last night, so I'm not going to do my full-blown (*heh* "blown) holiday post until I get home tonight.  Until then, here's a little something to tide you over ...   A big whoops at Airport Security. There was snow.  6-8 inches of it. Lots of food. Good presents.  Not nearly enough booze. And, A delayed flight home.   Once home, SCGB picked me up at the airport.  yay!  So, I took him out to lunch.  We ate at Adega ... and drank a bottle of wine.  Back home, I took a long winter's nap.  And, then, SCGB and I met Mike (Who Makes Cakes) at McGinty's for Pub Trivia.  We got SPANKED.  BUT, our team did when a prize for best team name: FAUXpocalypse.   Not much going on today.  I need to do my year-end employee self-review (why, yes, I *did* do a FANTASTIC job).  Then, grocery shopping, ironing, and blogging.  Woo hoo!   Have a groovy day! *smooches*

Good morning, kittens!   And, it's finally arrived.  The last day of work before the Xmas Holiday.  I'll be flying to Greensboro tonight (around 10PM).  Woo hoo.  I'll be leaving for the airport after work.  It will get me there early, but it's better than going home first and leaving from there.   Meanwhile, look what I got from my co-worker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enviroboi/5284973279/  ... Best Xmas Present EVER?  Hmmm.  Perhaps.   Last night was super exciting.  I did laundry and drank vodka.  And then one of the washing machines stopped working.  So I had to move all my sopping wet clothes into the other washing machine.  fun times.  Then, I packed my little suitcase.  And SCGB came down for some boozy eggnog.    Then, I went to bed.   I doubt I will be updating much this weekend (if at all).  So for those of you who are celebrating, have a Merry Christmas.  For the rest of you, have a fabulous weekend.   *smooches* and *huggles*  

Good morning, kittens.   This is the cute little face that greeted me this morning: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enviroboi/5283003830/ .  Awwwww.  Poor sad hungry kitty.   Last night was Super FUN!  I met SCGB and SuperCute Anthony (who we met last Saturday at CJ's Awesome Holiday Shindig) at Nellie's for Drag Bingo.  The only problem is that (1) I drank too much and (2) I didn't eat enough.  So, put that together and you have (1) me inappropriately drunk texting people and (2) very bad hangover this morning.  Anyway, Anthony is SuperCute.  Did I mention that?  I may have a little crush.  *sigh*   Also, Drag Bingo is LOUD.  So we were yelling at each other all night.  I am hoarse this morning.    But other than the hangover and the hoarseness and the residual drunk text embarassment, I am doing Great!  It's my next-to-last day of work before I fly to NC for the holiday weekend.   Tonight will be SuperBusy, because I have to do a TON of laundry and I have to p...

Good Morning, Kittens!   Last night was SuperFun.  SCGB and I met our friends, Gayle and the Nuge at McGinty's. I had a small wedding gift to give them .  While waiting for them to arrive, Pub Trivia started.  SCGB and I thought "what the hell," and started playing.  Team Martini *ROCKED* the Pub Trivia.  Gayle and the Nuge arrived about halfway through and helped us to come in 4th place. YAY Team Martini!  The sad thing is that only 1 point separated us from 3rd Place (which would have been $15 off our tab).  Boo.   And, Gayle gave me this totes awesome hand-bedazzled martini shaker.  So cute and fun!  I didn't have time to snap a photo, but will try to do so in the next day or so.    In other exciting news, StickSteven 2010 Year in Review is ready to be sent out.  Yay!  If you don't receive your copy either by email or through a facebook message, please let me know!  Also, the pdf file is pretty big, so if you can't open it, let me know and I'll s...

Good Afternoon, Kittens. I'm taking a break from my annual StickSteven Year in Review holiday letter and thought I'd finally update my blog. I am sure you are getting tired of looking at a shadowy me. So ... Last Sunday morning, I left for the airport for my work trip to Orlando. I got to the airport in plenty of time. Unfortunately, our plane did not. In fact, our plane was trapped in Boston by fog/weather. And DCA was also in danger of closing to all flights because of limited sight distance. Aren't all these planes guided by Advanced Robotics anyway? My flight, which was supposed to take off around 1PM had not even arrived by 3PM. Gah. How did JetBlue remedy the situation? They put the entire flight on SuperShuttle vans and drove us to Dulles. Where we had to go through security all over again. Ugh. Once on the flight, I needed a gin & tonic. Apparently, so did the little grandmother sitting beside me. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a mini b...

Good Evening, Kittens! I have many fun stories to tell about my trip to Orlando, but it is TOO COLD to type them all up. You'll have to wait until I get back home (on Friday) ... back to the land where when it is cold they turn on the heat (rather than leave the a/c on). To keep you entertained until then, here's a picture of me nekkid ... Have a great rest of the week. *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens. As the 2010 comes crashing to a dramatic and fanciful close, everyone makes the lists. You may remember I bought a Nook around the beginning of this year. Francis the Nook has made reading much more convenient and the 45 min (on a good day) commute to work much more enjoyable. So, here's a list of the books I've read (in no particular order ... although I used the covers of my favorite fiction and non-fiction books of the year as illustrations): Michael Tolliver Lives -- Armistead Maupin Pride and Prejudice -- Jane Austen Cleopatra: A Life --Stacy Schiff Never Let Me Go -- Kazuo Ishiguro You Are Not a Stranger Here -- Adam Haslett The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- Stieg Larsson The Girl who Played with Fire -- Stieg Larsson The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest -- Stieg Larsson The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Colllins Catching Fire -- Suzanne Collins Mockingjay -- Suzanne Collins Sons an d Lovers -- D.H. Lawrence The Scarlet Letter -- Natha...

Good morning, Kittens. As you may well remember, yesterday, GayProf posted the beginnings of our fun little bloggy conversation . And, without further ado, here's GayProf/VUBOQ Joint Blog Post, Part II: Electric Boogaloo ... VUBOQ : Of course, you know what goes great with a vegetarian diet? BOOZE! As you may know, I love the alcohol. Fermentation is my friend. Some people, when planning a party, put a lot of thought into the food they are serving or the decorations or even which of their hundreds of sets of dishware they are going to use. For me, I concentrate on the Signature Cocktail for the evening … and the rest of the party falls into place. GayProf : So, you are saying the key to being a vegetarian is drinking to forget the pain? VUBOQ : Yes. My Signature Cocktail usually involves an infused vodka of some sort mixed with punch. As a service to my (very few) non-drinking friends, I never spike the punch. At my most recent party, I made a delicious ginger-infused vodka. The ...

Good morning, Kittens!   Check out my co-post with GayProf over on his blog today .  And come back here tomorrow for Part II.   Have a great day! *smooches*

Good morning, Kittens!   Let me just tell you, after such a crazy boozy weekend, it is sooooo good to be back at work.  *cough*  *dies*   Yesterday was a totally awesome day.  I had intended to catch an early showing of Harry Potter 7(a); however, my booze-adled body did not want to move off of the sofa.  Instead, I met Ray for a late lunch at Matchbox.  Mmmm.  Delicious.  Then, we did a little shopping.  I returned a cardigan and got a new belt.  I have been without a decent brown belt for about a month. I considered buying some new pants but decided to wait 'til after Xmas.  Ray and I also looked for a menorah for my office's multi-cultural holiday display.  I couldn't find one ... although the singing/dancing plush rabbi (for only $7) was tempting.   Then, I headed home.  I checked a few places in Silver Spring for the menorah, but I was not successful in my quest.  Once home, I did a little housework and, then, around 7 Mike (Who Makes Cakes) came over.  He wante...

Good afternoon, kittens. Last night was my company's Winter Gala! Since I would know all of about 3 people (out of about 400), I invited the Fabulous ShallowGal to be my "date." Let's just say that, in a conservative company made up mostly of retired military, we caused a bit of confusion. She has kids? And a husband? And it's not you? Correct! Can you spot the bad hairpiece? Anyway, here are a few photos from the evening ... (one of us has a new camera that he still hasn't quite figured out) ... Hmm... Maybe a little better? Almost there ... Fourth time's the charm, no? Anyway, the booze was good (and free!). The food was typical hotel ballroom fare. And, my hot date was the best! So all in all a pretty good evening. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'm off tomorrow too. Yayz! *smooches*

Good Morning, Kittens.   This week seemed like it was never going to end.  Five-day work weeks coming off a four-day weekend are the WORST.  But, we made it!  Yay us!   I've got quite a bit to accomplish today at work.  Including finishing up an end-of-year report.    After work, a co-worker and I are meeting up with our former "mentor" for happy hour.  She is no longer our mentor since she was laid off a few months ago. We're going somewhere in Alexandria.  Chadwicks?  Something like that.  In honor of journeying across the Potomac into Preppylandia, I wore this .  It's my own private Label Queen joke - I'm wearing four things Ben Sherman. (Five if you count that my manbag is also Ben Sherman): sweatshirt, shirt, belt, shoes.  I am actually kind of pleased how well the tie matches ... I stumbled across it in Marshalls the other day.   Tomorrow is my company's Holiday Party!  Since I will know about 5 people there (out of about 500 or so), I'...

Good Morning, Kittens!   Yesterday was SuperFantastico!  I left work a little early to meet the Famous Blogger, Kelly Stern !  After reading each other's blogs since BOSSY's First Road Trip, we finally met at Smith & Wollensky's on 19th St.  They actually have a pretty decent happy hour - reduced price bar menu and $4 draft beerz.  I haven't been to the S&W in years ... maybe it was 2002? or 2003? The event was a free Johnny Walker Tasting.  Which was uberboozy ... and a very difficult day at work the next day ... I rolled in around noon and slept at my desk until 2.  The last 3 hours at work were fine though ;-)   This visit to the S&W was not nearly as intoxicating, but much more fun! And I'm looking forward to even more boozy Good Times w/ Kelly (and Bossy? and Jeff?)!   After Kelly and I parted, I headed home, poured myself a glass of wine, and blobbed until bedtime.  Oh, yeah.  I know how to live.   Not much other excitement going on here. ...

Good Morning, Kittens. Yesterday was quite CRAY-ZEEEE! I had to take part in a meeting in which I was to give my quarterly presentation to the 1-star and 2-star generals. About an hour before the meeting, I decided to make some minor changes to my slides. I went to the shared file and -somehow- my slides had been replaced with the slides from a previous meeting. Um. GAH! PANIC! I fixed the slides. Spoke to a few people, but was not 100% confidant my fixed slides would show up at the meeting. Fortunately, they did. And, my presentation was, to quote the Administrative Assistant, "spectacular." I know. I am amazing. Or, at least, I know how to give Good Presentation. For the rest of the day, I worked on a few other ongoing projects. Deadlines! Approaching! ACK! Once home, I took pictures of my pottery. Here are some: Mug: It is very similar-looking to this mug . I may give them both to the Colornatrix for her Xmas Present. Oval Bowl: I may keep this. Or I may not....