Wednesday August 30
MEtRoday: 5034, 4017, 2045, 3098
Tonight I get my first Peapod delivery! I'm tired of running to the corner store four times a week, and paying corner store pricing. Without a car, you only buy what you can carry, which isn't much. Especially when the closest real grocery store is 10 blocks away. I've tried Roland's and Yes! but again it's still carry what you can fit in a backpack or weigh down both arms for a walk home. Plus people are usually running into these for a few items, and really don't have the capacity for true grocery shopping. I thought about my Zipcar account, but for the couple of hours (and the stress of getting it back on time) verses paying ten bucks for Peapod, Peapod wins out. Plus then I can order a whole slew of things. So I figure once a month I'll get my Peapod delivery. Tonight's total was $137, and the receipt says I saved $45 (a lot of the items I purchased were on sale so I stocked up). I'll still go to Eastern Market for produce and fruit, but for everything else, delivery seems to be the right option.
Tuesday August 29
MEtRoday: 5096, 2017, 2031, 1211
I'm not a big fan of the chain letter, and there is a version in blog-o-vision called 'being tagged.' I've been tagged. I'll do it this once, only because Johann tagged me, and he's been so happy and successful with how his blog is turning out, so I'll humor him. Here goes:
1...Things that scare me
Our
impending Big Brother government and culture
Violent situations
Dying alone
2...People who make me laugh
Kelly: "Shoes"
Franklin
Parrish
Ziska
Thalhammer
3...Things I hate the most
The
noisy apartment building I live in
Whistling
My one-hour, six-mile commute
4...Things I don't understand
Intolerance
The popularity of Microsoft products
Veganism
5...Things I'm doing right now
Making
red beans & rice
Working
out
Paying
off credit cards
6...Things I want to do before I die
Be
in love
Own
a home
Travel to Australia
7...Things I can do
Make
mojitos by the pitcher
Make people laugh
Rollerblade
8...Things I can't do
A
cartwheel
Fly a plane
Contact childhood friends
9...Things I think you should listen to
British
pop music
Your friends
Reason
10...Things you should never listen to
Ann Coulter
11...Things I'd like to learn
to
play the guitar
Japanese
How to fix a car
12...Favorite foods
Good
Tex Mex
Anything my Mother cooks
Pizza
13...Beverages I drink regularly
Milk
Coffee
Cocktails
14...Shows I watched as a kid
H.
R. Pufnstuf
Land of the Lost
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
15...People I'm tagging
No one, this ends with me
Monday August 28
MEtRoday: 5081, 2066, 5145, 2008
Since I stayed up until almost two in the morning last night, watching Will & Grace and Sex and the City reruns, I needed a snoozebar sleep-in this morning. So tonight was gym night. I did some chest and biceps, aware that tomorrow's classes are going to be heavy on legs, shoulders and triceps. There's a guy there, very attractive and nicely built, who I've seen before but not in a while. I'm definitely not in his league. We smile at each other and kind of nod a "Hello." This has been about the extent of our interaction when we see each other. About ten minutes later he comes up to me and introduces himself. Says that he's been seeing me there for three years and he wanted to say hello. He asked if I lived on the Hill; he told me where he lives; we chatted for a bit. We say goodbye, and I'm repeating his name in my head so the next time we see each other, in December or February or something, I'll be able to remember it. I do some more free weights while he heads to the abs room. He comes out and walks over to me, hands me a folded piece of paper and says "Here's my phone number. We should go out for a beer sometime." I felt like doing that Sixteen Candles' Samantha Baker at-the-church-turn-around and look behind me, seeing no one, and then turning back around and going "Me?" And there's Jake Ryan saying "Yeah, you." Talk about being blindsided. So immediately I'm thinking of ditching my post-weights cardio because I really, really, really need to get a web browser and type in g-o-o-g-l-e. I considered it but stayed the course. Truthfully, getting his number made me want to go on a 10-mile run and then go home and vaccuum. So there may be a little date action in the near future... or maybe just a beer.
MEtRoday: Friday 1096, 3196, 4019, 3039
Lots of fun 96s and _9s in that one, isn't there? Will someone please divide these by three or thirteen or thirty-one for me and see if there is any connection? Much appreciated.
Right now, it's time to go to the pool!
---
Tonight John is having a toga party. Yes, toga. Now I'm all for having a good time and if it takes a theme to do it then more power to ya, but toga? I commend John for throwing parties and being a fun guy, but I think I'm a little too old for that. No h8. So I've been sheepish with responses to his evite. Fast forward: today at the pool I was talking with Katie and she was going to a party in the H8ST8 as well, and she's talked me into it. We're partying hoping tonight. Her party is a Nebraska-peeps event so hopefully there will lots of cornfeds there. Then we're going to John's party. But instead of toga, I'm wearing a vintage 70s mint green tuxedo top/vest with white tuxedo pants. Good lord. Pix to follow; stay tuned.
Thursday August 24
MEtRoday: Wednesday 1096, 3029, 3060, 3149; Thursday 3113, 2017, 2033, 5129
Milapolis asked me if I'd like to design a 60-second Flash presentation for her AIGA event and I said "Hell, yeah!" I didn't have my iPod on at the time, so it wasn't like when I frightened Jeff a few days ago. Comps are due in two weeks.
Tuesday August 22
MEtRoday: 5119, 3117, 3041, 3081
There's a woman in my Tuesday morning gym class who reminds me of girls I went to school with in the 70s. Not any one classmate in particular, but she just has that look about her, that 70s cuteness-without-makeup that is uncommon in girls faces today. I guess all the young girls today are wanting to look, dress and act like Britney or XTina or Jessica Simpson by the age of 8, so they miss out on this purely innocent look because they're trying to be somebody else before they've had the time to be themselves. But the woman in class brings to mind Tina Tadlock, Linda Campinelli and Laura who sat in front of me in English, and subsequently always got in trouble because she was always turning around to talk to me. I wonder if any of these girls, now grown women, remember me.
Monday August 21
MEtRoday: 1183, 4082, 4011, 2067
This is one thing that I love: Upon unlocking my bike on CapHill, I see Jeff walking by to the CVS. I scream "Hey Jeff!" and apparently it was a scream because I had my iPod on. He was heading to Henry's to enjoy the weather, have a cocktail and some dinner. So why not join him?
Today is the day of Miss Bernice's cookout. And when Bernice cooks out, she goes all out. She had two grilles going and an entire table of food (chicken, turkey burgers, ribs, hot dogs, sausages, salads). It seemed like one of those family holiday dinners, where you want to sample a little bit of everything that is offered but there's way too much. It was all very good.
I was in charge of making the mojitos since I was bringing the mint and the recipes. I started making them as one-offs, in each cup. Since it's such a laborious process for each drink, I started making them by the pitcher. This was best, as I lost track of the count after about the fifth pitcher.
There were maybe a dozen people or so at the party (I came with Buck and Ateya). We started playing some games that I hadn't played in years: Assassin, Black Magic, Bullshit. That was a lot of fun. I'm still making pitchers of mojitos during all of this. Majic102 was playing great jams throughout the entire party but it got to the point where Ateya couldn't sit still any longer. That's when the dancing started and just about everyone got in on that action.
Friday August 18 :: arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg
MEtRoday: 1184, 3263, 3264, 3071
This blog will evolve. Right now it exists as a cataloging of existence: I went here; I did this; So-and-so was there; Here are some pix. In the future, as I get more comfortable doing this and defining what "this" is, I see it becoming more conceptual and more of what I'm thinking as opposed to what I'm doing. But in the meantime:
Tonight I got together with Melba to grab those sweet potato fries that I missed out on last week, and explore H St. Our plans were to go to Argonaut, have dinner, scoot down the street to Black and Red, and visit the freak show museum or whatever it's called. We ended up staying the entire night at Arrrrrrgonaut but it was still a fun evening. Melba's neighbor, Jim, was there and now will forever be known as NeyJay. He and I kicked ass on the pool table, like five games or something. I hadn't played in a long time and it was nice to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park. You want some of this?? Some other friends of Melba's showed up, so it turned into a larger crowd than we anticipated. Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Arrrrrrrrrrrgonaut, and they're celebrating by opening their new upstairs, but it was open tonight for preview. Cozy rooms. It's nice to see them prosper.
Oh, and Melba has bought a fab new car! I begin and end these pix with her new Arbor Green Metallic Saab 9-3 SportCombi. What should Melba name her new car? Leave suggestions in the comments, peeps, and Melba will name her car the most popular name submitted!*
*Melba has no legal obligation to name her car anything whatsoever. Thank you for playing. Drive thru, please.
Thursday August 17
MEtRoday: 1032, 2030, 3039, 1185, 1110
I was almost hit by three cars on my way to work this morning.
Wednesday August 16
Weren't you just hoping for a nice graph with today's first two trains, 4030 & 3015? It really could have been something numerolotastic.
Another intern leaves. Silas is moving to Cali to further his education. How long was Silas with us? For a while I remember, it was during the winter. This summer he moved to Catalone Design, who are good friends. So tonight we met up at Local 16 since they had a nice-sized rooftop. In attendance: the ©Castralones (including Brayden), Silas (of course), Mila, Mike, Tamera, Kristin, Kathy & Joshua, and others.
Pool Day!* The plan I put into motion the previous day was all coming about (even though I was getting a late start.) Eric and Scott were already at the pool and Eddy was on his way. I stopped and got some beers and poolside munchies and then got there as quickly as I could. Katie calls, she hears the fun going on, and next thing you know BAM! out she walks in a bikini ready to get into the water. I guess not much sleep the night before had taken its toll on me, and I had to take a nap, so I missed out on sweet potato french fries at Argonaut. Zut! Maybe I can talk Melba into going there once she gets back from crew racing in Seattle. Afterwards, Katie offers to give me a ride home so we throw the bike in her trunk and order chinese takeout! I guess swimming actually does make one hungry. We go back to her place, chow down, and guess what we watched? Only the funniest thing this summer! Y-y-you know it.
*Thank you to Jeff + Chris for being so generous as to allow their crazy friends to come to their home and use their pool unsupervised. Swim at your own risk.
Saturday August 12
Several early morning phone calls, beckoning me to Cardio Kickboxing. Unfortunately, there was a sub so Eric and I decided to do some StairMaster for 45 minutes instead. Since the weather is so beautiful, we went for coffee and breakfast at XandO (now Cosi) on Pennsylvania. It was nice to sit outside, be carefree and chat. Next door, Pulp was having a sidewalk sale and lots of people were out and about. We enjoyed our people watching while we had more coffee. I ran into Buck who was also at the X+O. Who was he meeting there? Hmmmm. You'll have to ask him yourself.
This gorgeous weather is not working with me, when I'm home I get a massive headache and need to nap (although I didn't sleep)/lounge and watch TV cooking shows. Mid-afternoon feels better, and I can talk to Franklin for a bit. I decide to get out and go to the store. On the way home, a black truck pulls past me and then over to the sidewalk. It's Blowoff-friend Christopher, whom I haven't seen in about a year. (We went to the 2003 DD and 2004 Madonna shows together.) He is headed up to his niece's housewarming party in Columbia Heights. A five-minute change-and-fluff and I'm in the car. We stop by Dawn's house to pick her up and I was thrilled to see her too. We hang for a bit, have a drink, then pick up their friend Patrick and then we're off to the party. Christopher's niece, Merit, has just purchased a studio bedroom with a huge rooftop deck. The deck was about the same size as the inside of her condo. I didn't dare ask her how much she paid for it. We stayed at the party for a bit and then went back to Dawn's house to hang out and talk. She had all these cds that an ex-roommate had left, so we had fun going through those: Journey, old Madonna, Cure. It was an 80s time capsule. Dawn's sister Susanne was also there and she taught me how to chair-dance.
MEtRoday: 4031, 2041, 4060, 4005
Let's graph this one:
Today
I went to my first full yoga class. It was Restorative Yoga, which means
it's going to be focused on particular joints. Our instructor, Faith, asked
the class where they would like to focus, and people mentioned 'lower back'
and 'shoulders'. Sounded good to me. After some warm-up stretching, we were
told to lie flat on our backs, legs gently spread, arms out to our sides,
and just relax, clear our heads and monitor our breathing. Faith brought
some mint oil, and if we wanted a dab rubbed on our forehead and temples,
to put one hand on our stomach. Everyone did. She came by and gently applied
the oil by rubbing my forehead up and down, and then massaging my temples.
It reminded me of a story Ken told, in Houston, being very hungover, and
going to Brad's salon and having Heather massage his head while washing his
hair before she cut it. Back to the present: we went through a series
of backwards back-stretching positions, holding them
for
roughly
3–4 minutes each, which I thought was a pretty long time. Rookie. Some of the postions were mildly uncomfortable at the beginning but once
I relaxed
they grew in comfort so I learned to appreciate the length in holding the
pose. The shoulder exercises were good, but I think my body got the most
out of
the
back poses.
It was
a great
class,
and
the
subtle
fragrance of mint in the air was very soothing. I intended to do some cardio
afterwards, but was so chilled out that I didn't want to go get pumped up.
Thursday August 10
MEtRoday: 3016, 3077, 3060, 4091
Happy Birthday Franklin!
I met Single at La Lomita tonight, bookended by cocktails at Mr. Henry's. Single and I caught up: Germany, new book prospects, starlet sightings & stolen 'stangs. I forgot to ask him if he had PSB tkts. Afterwards, the Henry's crowd was asking how my Date was, and I had to keep reiterating that it was not a date, but that I was getting together with a friend of mine. I think they got the message. It seems that both Goldy and Eddy are moving to CapHill next month. Eddy near Florida Ave and Gallaudet; Goldy near the pHierce School and Checkers. Everybody wins!
Wednesday August 09 :: printing
MEtRoday: none
I had a press inspection today so I rented a Zipcar. When I first started renting these for work, I tried to rent them for three or four hours, just long enough for the press check. P.I.s usually run long and I would always stress about having the car back in time, or not being able to extend my reservation. Now I just rent them for 24 hours. We bill the client anyway. Here are some pics of me and my yellow Mini with white roof, mirrors and wheels, and some roadside attractions I saw along the way. Minis have huge sunroofs, by the way.
I am constantly amazed at the beauty and talent that my friends hold inside of them. Remember, people, less is more. Here are spreads from a recipe book Ziska und friends put together for a couple that are getting married soon. Could you want anything more beautiful and personal? Now if I can only find heiße Gemüsebrühe or Knoblauchzehen at Eastern Market...
Tuesday August 08
MEtRoday: 4035, 2037, 2032, 1210 Is anyone understanding what these might mean, or any reference to the last car or what the first three might mean together as a sequence? Does this need to stop?
I am fortunate to work in an environment where I have my own office. Nuff said.
Tonight after cardio, Miss Bernice and Buck and myself went over to Buck's place. He has just returned from a summer linguistics translation tour (is that an appropriate definition, Buck?) and he had this smooth Cuervo 211 die-rek from Mexico. We were only there for one drink, but we ended up talking and sharing and sooner rather than later, that bottle was empty. Bernice bolted home while Buck and I went to Tapatini's for a cocktail. We decided to have some food, sharing a delicious meal of Crab Croquette (jumbo lump crab cake on a field green salad with cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes topped with a lemon caper tartar sauce and warmed wrapping tortilla) and Free Style Seafood Ravioli (jumbo crab meat, shrimp and salmon in a lobster vegetable cream sauce over pasta sheets with fresh basil)*, a couple of margaritas later and then it was time to go home. Buck is very cute and I wish I know ASL so that I could communicate with him more efficiently and definitively. And boy does he have a lot of Madonna CDs!
*It's meals like this that make me laugh at all the Dupont Queers who feel they have to go to trendy restaurants in their 'hood to be FABULOUS. Oh, and guess what? There were no twinks there. Advantage: Hill.
Monday August 07
MEtRoday: 2046, 2058, 3064, 1110 Would anyone besides me have been thrilled if that last train was 3076?
I have an extra Pet Shop Boys ticket. The show is October 15, Constitution Hall. The cost is $90, no markup. Blog readers get a three-day advance knowledge before I send out the mass email to everyone local. We're going with Franklin, who's coming down from Lewes, and Mila. It should be a lot of fun; it's the Sodom & Gomorrah Show. First response gets the ticket. Come on now!
I've been pretty good to my body this past weekend, but I'm a little in (good) pain. Elizabeth's cardio kickboxing class at 8:15 on Saturday morning, which I haven't been to in two months (remember: Deutschland), really was a good way to, as Elizabeth says, "Earn your breakfast." Later that afternoon, Miss Bernice and I took an Intro to Yoga class, which was taught by this hippie woman (I guess all yoga classes touch on this) who was actually very nice and informative, although a little worried about today's upside-down sleep-deprived world. I agree. Regardless, the class was good and Bernice and I have decided to go to the Friday evening class. So Saturday is why my legs hurt. Sunday, instead of going to Leticia's spinning class (because of the already strained legs) I hit the weight room and did some cardio. This is why my chest hurts. This morning, I got to the gym at 5:30, did an extensive back/abs/bicep workout, and this is why the rest of my body hurts. I feel good. Tomorrow is early-and-perky Harold's 6:30am Tighten & Tone class, and as always followed up by Miss Bernice's Cardio Dance Happy Hour in the evening. I'm also trying to get my diet back on track: Saturday I made sauce for dinners this week and lunches are turkey sandwiches with an apple. Tonight is a black beans & rice mixup. I know it's a little carb-heavy, but it's better than eating out. My only exception this week will be La Lomita on Thursday with Single. I think he's hooked (on the food).
Saturday August 05 :: everything you wrong is know
MEtRoday: 5071, 2043, 3052, 1134 (from Friday)
Have you ever had one of those moments when you think you're experiencing something familiar, something you've believed to be true for most of your life, and then all of a sudden you realize, wait a minute, this is not right? How could I and everybody else be so wrong about this, or maybe it's just me and that is even worse? I recently had one of those moments. It happened while watching Season 1 Episode 1 of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Let me back up a minute. This show first aired in 1970, and this was the time when TV shows had catchy opening songs which sometimes explained the premise of the show. Think: Welcome Back, Kotter or The Brady Bunch. So here are the lyrics that play in my head, and the ones that countless people know or can paraphase:
Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it's you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it
Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You're gonna make it after all
You're gonna make it after all
If you aren't familiar with the show, or are post-StarWars, the end of the MTM theme song has her spinning around and then triumphantly throwing her hat in the air, all the while we're hearing the line "You're going to make it, after all!" Pretty confident, huh? You see, this was one of the first times a woman had carried her own show, and the character Mary Richards, played by MTM, was striking out on her own, being an Independent Woman Of The 70s, and didn't need the help from a man to define her. Pretty groundbreaking for its time.
So I'm ready to be basked in the warm glow of shag carpets, Mustangs, pantsuits, wavy hair and many, many, many shades of brown and gold. When all of a sudden, this song opens the episode:
How will you make it on your own?
This world is awfully big, girl this time you're all alone
But it's time you started living
It's time you let someone else do some giving
Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have a town, why don't you take it
You might just make it after all
You might just make it after all
WTF? You MIGHT JUST make it? How could History, countless drunk queers in bars and my memory have faulted on this? These lyrics express doubt! How could the character Mary Richards become the darling of Minneapolis (where the show was set) and earn 29 Emmy Awards on this shaky premise? How could she carry herself with confidence and influence an entire generation of women to ditch their boyfriends (as she did in the pilot episode), move into the city, and start living a fabtastic lifestyle with these "Yeah, maybe if you're lucky you might make it but probably not" lyrics? Had the more confident lyrics I had remembered inspired me in some way to go for it, live my life as I wanted, and yes, everything would be okay, because I would make it after all, whatever "it" was? Do you understand my dilemma?
Not to worry though. A quick Google search later, and I found out that for the first season only, the doubtful lyrics were in fact the theme. Once the show took root and started climbing in the ratings, the producers really made Mary's mission more confident and defining. So that's why in our collective minds, we remember the happy "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" and "You're GOING TO make it after all!" lyrics, full of confidence and hope of a bright future. Everybody together now: Phew!
Footnote: This is similar to the Happy Days theme song, which when the show started was Bill Haley and the Comet's "Rock Around the Clock". It was later changed to the "Sunday, Monday, Happy Days..." tune that we're familiar with.
Thursday August 03
MEtRoday: 1297, 3060, 3077, 3277
Tonight, routine, but that's why I like it. Familiarity, laughter. Miss B, Joyluck. Katie called into work 'gay' so she could go out with the boys. Fab. If you see Eddy anytime soon, just yell "ACORN!" and watch him giggle until he can't breathe.
Wednesday August 02
MEtRoday: 2044, 3019, 3166, 5111
Today Mike and I went to Five Guys for lunch. We're going to send pix to Fabio since he always liked to go before he moved to Savannah. Fabio, are you reading this? Although tasty and delicious, it's definitely one of those places you go when you fall off your diet routine for the day.
All the news sources seem to be freaking out about HEAT WAVE 2006. You would think there wasn't a war or two going on that people would really want to hear about. I'm already aware that it's hot out. I'm aware of that as I'm sweating on the un-air-conditioned Metro cars. But it keeps people who make those news story stock photography + color gradient graphics in business. You've seen what they produce, floating behind the newscaster robot, the kind of crap anybody with Photoshop and a mouse can slap together. Everybody ready? Here's a quick tutorial. Step 1: start with a picture of a $20 bill, an airplane or some government-related iconography (preferably with terrible, soft silhouette). Step 2: add common picture of common people, to bring in the readers-can-relate-to-that factor. Step 3: add headline with warm and fuzzy drop shadow. Step 4: add gradient. Voila! Cash that paycheck. Now get to work on that MGM (Mel Gibson Montage). Here's an example I put together, pulled from images in my iPhoto library:
Metro image 1 + Metro image 2 = Me image 3.
MEtRoday: 1104, 4009, 5128, 5129, 1099
Here are the developed pix from Friday's rafting trip. The Potomac was pretty shallow, so we had the opportunities to jump in every once in a while. It was about four feet deep. So the pictures may look more like we were in the water more often than in the boats, which isn't the case. It's just hard to paddle and take snaps at the same time. This river wasn't as wild as the one we did years ago on our first outing; this was a class I, whereas the previous was a class III-IV. It was still fun.
