The halcyon days of yore are gone, people. *sigh*

For those who have known me the longest, I have sad news.

Mom is filling in the pool this week. The halcyon days of summer pool parties are officially over.

Goodbye, old friend. I replaced your liner, painted your coping, backwashed your filter, and spent countless hours enjoying the company of friends and family in and around you. I wish we could have had one last fling, but your time has come. Rest in peace.

So it's been a while since I posted a detailed update, so here's a quick and dirty:

April 12-15 - Moved from Lusby back to Lexington Park, from a basement apartment to sharing a house with a local friend. The cats approve of him, so I think we're good.

April 19 - The college where I work had their first Lavender Graduation. It was adorbz.

April 20 - Attended my first Spinners game, the Philadelphia ultimate disc (frisbee) team that my two oldest nephews play for. It was the season opener in Silver Spring, so I drove up to hang out with my sister and my niece. They were surprised to see me, and they won, so w00t for them.

April 21 - Mom's 76th birthday. Thankfully I remembered to send flowers.

April 26 - Went to the DC Eagle for Kyan's birthday. T'was amusing to meet his Facebook friends and watch him pound shots of Tequila. Got a hotel for the night, but alas was stood up by a local prospect, who is now relegated to the trash heap. C'est l'amour.

April 27 - While waiting for my Cube to be serviced at the dealership, got an unexpected call from my friend Huey. Seems his sister was making him drive her from NYC to DC to pick up her new car, so he decided to make a day of it. I picked him up, we got something to eat, then went to the AFW pot luck, and then met up with some of my queer co-workers at Secrets (it was Leonard's first time in DC and Clint's first time at Secrets, so we had a lot of fun). Drove back to the house to crash.

April 28 - Drove Huey back to the Metro station to get his car, and he headed home and I ran some errands.

May 1 - Dinner out with the local old queers group. Bad food, but great company.

This weekend - Looks like Gaylaxicon in Atlanta isn't going to happen (I was holding out hope), so instead I may do some gaming tonight, and then tomorrow I may go up to DC for the first Gay Day at the Zoo, but will definitely go up to Baltimore to meet up with Joe and Will for the Games Club of Maryland Game Days they're coming down for, and play a few games and have dinner and hang out for a bit.

Coming up I've got an ifCon meeting next Saturday, then going to Frederick for a birthday party Saturday and Philly for my sister's 50th on Sunday the following weekend, and then probably have people over Memorial Day weekend. I'm also trying to find time to get up to Cooper's Lake to get my tent roof out of storage since it needs to be repaired.

So, yeah. Life is life. :)

Interesting weekend:

Friday - Had some trouble getting home in the snow (should have left work earlier but didn't realize it had come down as hard as it did so quickly), but was amused watching others who clearly had no idea how to drive in bad weather (although being stuck at the bottom of the hill watching them keep sliding back down, the amusement didn't last for long). Got an unexpected phone call later Friday night from a visiting friend (WB), but the snow had stopped and the roads had been plowed so I braved going out to get together for a bit.

Saturday - Was unexpectedly and annoyingly blown off by a friend to attend an AFW dinner together, but I decided to deal with it another day and went by myself and had a splendid time. Always a fun bunch of guys, plus 3 new people showed up, so it was fun meeting and chatting with them, and the food was excellent (Busara Thai in Tysons Corner, if you're looking for a decent restaurant on the west side of the DC loop). Afterwards some folks wanted to go to the Korean spa, but others wanted to go to Secrets, so I got talked into going (especially since two of the other guys going had never been before, so I knew it would be amusing to watch them). Naked men, dicks swinging, blah blah blah, but the music was good and the crowd was nice, so I enjoyed it for a while.

Sunday - Met two co-workers for lunch to catch up on all the latest gossip on campus. Ran some errands afterwards, but made it home in time to watch Obama and Clinton's "60 Minutes" interview, then "Downton Abbey," then some old school "Doctor Who" (Hartnell in "The Aztecs" - man she was a cranky bitch!).

Monday - We'd decided to have a little birthday breakfast at work as we had a few January birthdays, so I was going to get up earlier than usual, but then I got a phone call (rather late in the morning - 7:00 a.m., when we usually get a call no later than 6:00 a.m.) saying we were opening at 9:20 due to the sleet/rain mix we got, so I slept in a bit longer before getting up, getting ready, and stopping at Panera's for bagels. Still had a nice breakfast, though - enjoying a French toast bagel right now, actually. :)

So a pretty full weekend. I find that by going out and doing something Friday night it really makes the weekend feel like a weekend, but this weekend I had more than usual on my plate. This week is supposed to be quiet, though, and no plans for next weekend so far. :)

Working on weekend plans. I'm thinking Ren Faire on Saturday, then wine festival on Sunday, then taking Monday off. :)

Cannot overstate how much fun I had on Saturday.

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So, heading back to Cove Point for more of their wine to bring to Pennsic, and everybody had such a good time they want to do it all again. I'm broke, I'm exhausted, but ye gods I had fun. :D

May I just say I'm totally geeking out about grocery shopping for the fondue party I'm having on Saturday. Such a geek. :)

I realized I haven't updated what I've been up to the last couple of weeks, but basically it was DC Pride, and then CON.TXT over the past two weekends. I'll include pictures to make it interesting. :)

The weekend of Pride I took off early on Friday so my co-worker and I could use his truck to get a few large items I still had at the old house, including a broken washer and dryer I needed to take to the dump. That went well, but then after stopping for gas I passed my co-worker on the side of the road - he'd been rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic. I felt bad, but he pointed out the other guy's insurance would take care of it, so I stuck around for a while until the cops showed up. Later that night I went to gaming and although there was a little more snark than usual, it was fun as it always is.

Saturday was the Capital Pride parade. I drove up around noon and met up with Asians & Friends Washington at a park in Alexandria for a BBQ and pot luck, which was much fun - quite a lot of people showed up, so I got to meet some new folks as well as hang out with people I've already met (and this is a really, really nice bunch of guys that I'm really starting to look forward to hanging out with every chance I get).

From there I went into town to find parking. My usual spots on the fringes of duPont Circle were, of course, completely filled, as well as the immediate area being cordoned off for the parade. I gave many thanks to Al Gore for inventing GPS, because I was finding areas of DC I'd never driven around before, so it was actually kind of neat. Had to park a bit of a hike away from the festivities, but I figured I need to start getting into shape for walking around Pennsic. :)

I stopped off in the circle to meet up with folks, but apparently they'd changed plans while I was parking, so I went with plan B and hung out on the steps of another member's townhouse, which was right on the parade route and right next to the reviewing stand. In the past when I've gotten tired of things I've tried to find new ways of experiencing them; for example, when the pride festivals got boring, I ran a booth, so it was fun again. I've watched a million parades in my day and was expecting another boring one, but I discovered that standing next to the reviewing stand was QUITE fun. Not only was Lena Lett, the drag queen hosting, incredibly funny filling the pauses in between groups, but she was announcing who each group was, which was really useful since half the time I couldn't see banners or signs or t-shirts from where I was.

Speaking of parades, I've had some queer friends in the past say that pride parades were bad for the community - too much rampant, un-middle-American sexuality, and not enough "normalcy," so it gives us a "bad image." (Insert appropriate amount of eye rolling here, but don't hurt yourselves now!) Not only do I wholeheartedly not agree with such claptrap, but I've been trying to find out if these friends have attended a parade since, oh, 1991 or so. NEWS FLASH - they're BORING. So for shits and giggles I decided to Tweet each group as it went by, and then did a little analysis. From least to most, we had:

5 humanitarian groups
5 healthcare groups
6 sports groups
8 bar/clubs (3 of these had scantily-clad people on them - the horrors!)
10 governmental groups
11 political groups
11 religious groups
15 social groups
29 community groups
35 businesses

Boy, we're a bunch of Radical Fairies out there with cockrings and nipple pasties and leather chaps, aren't we? Oh, wait - no, we're not. The parade was sponsored by, among other such controvertial businesses, a bottled iced tea company, a car rental company, a national bank and a trash removal service. OMG CALL PAT ROBERTSON.

The most lurid thing I saw besides men in Speedos was the live cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the group that got the biggest applause was the Mormons for Marriage Equality group (followed closely by the ususal favorites, PFLAG).

Anyway, I made sure to thank Lena afterwards for being so entertaining. I got a picture:



After that we all went to a great little Thai place for dinner, and again there were quite a few folks that turned up, so I got to meet even more people. On the way home I stopped off and hung out with another friend. Much fun! :)

Sunday I got my hair cut, checked out hotels for my upcoming party, had dinner with a friend from DC who was down in the area and I hadn't seen in a long time, and then went shopping at K-Mart. (I know, so exciting, why don't I update more?)

Work's been a little hectic with the end of the fiscal year coming up shortly, plus I've been putting in summer hours so I can take the occassional Friday off. One night I got stuck on the bridge on the way home in construction and I thought there were worse places to get stuck for a few minutes:



So then last weekend was CON.TXT, a bi-annual slash convention that Stuart (minotaurs) introduced me to 6 years ago. This was my third, but by the end of it was really the first one where I was noticed. :)

I got there Friday afternoon in time for a Doctor Who panel, which is always fun to discuss with slashers and geeks. I checked into my hotel, helped out with some logistical stuff, and then unloaded my games to play while the Friday night dance was going on. We had 4 tables going at the height of it, so it was a good time.

I'd been fighting a chest cold all day, so I decided to skip breakfast and the morning panels I wanted to go to and slept in instead. I eventually got up, got something to eat, and hung out at the con for a while, helping wherever needed and meeting some new folks. I hit another Doctor Who panel, went to dinner with brak666, went back to my hotel room to rest for a minute... and woke up around midnight, so I missed the video show. :( Still, I needed it, and I think it actually prevented me from getting *really* sick over the weekend.

Sunday I made it in time for breakfast and the art show auction, and managed to win a piece even though ceciliatan tried to outbid me (foolish woman!):



It's my second piece by digitalwave, and although I have no interest in the fandom (it's "Supernatural"), I like the way she does wings. ;)

After that I went to an Avatar/Korra panel, volunteered some more, checked out of my hotel, and went to the dead duck panel (their hiss & purr). I made it home, collapsed with the kitties, and tried to get better.

One thing I did do at the con was to create my own white-faced whistling duck (of which I am their king):



Alas, whatever I fought off over the weekend gave me bronchitis. Last year I let my cough go way too long and it drove me crazy, but this time I recognized it quicker, so although I was feeling good Monday, I felt crappy again Tuesday, so I called out sick and only got up to go see my doctor, who gave me a cough suppressant and an antibiotic (so far I don't need Prednisone like I did last year). I'm sure it'll be gone in a week, but I'm determined to make sure it's over and done with before Pennsic.

This weekend is gaming, an AFW dinner, and hopefully my packing dry run for Pennsic (new car, no idea what will and won't fit). The following weekend is my party, then no plans for July 4. I have my traffic court date the week after, and then it's All Pennsic, All The Time until I leave on the 27th. :)

tl;dr - PEEKCHOORS!

So what's new with you? ;)

Lovely weekend in Philly for Mom's birthday. Drove up Thursday night, and found she'd already done a lot of work around the house and in the yard. Spent Friday and Saturday doing mostly yardwork and little repairs around the house, food shopping, and food prep.

Sunday was the party, and we had a good turnout of around 30 people including kids. I've come to the conclusion that Mom likes being the indirect center of attention - she loves being the one to throw the parties, but not the one for whom the parties are thrown. Still, we all had a good time catching up with family (despite the rain). I do wish my oldest sister wouldn't get so worked up about things, though - very distracting.

Monday she had a tooth pulled in the morning, so I went with in case she wanted me to drive her home (she did). I hung around for a bit, she foisted food on me, and I finally left in the afternoon.

So, yeah, nice enough weekend. Oh, and also stole back Mom's 80-hour TiVo since she got a new DVR from her cable company - score! :)

The rest of the week looks mildly entertaining - haircut, LGBT community pot luck on campus, gaming, and possibly more gaming. :)

So after falling asleep on the couch last night I am well rested for my weekend - gaming tonight, pot luck Saturday, and trying to get out from under in the area of "still living out of boxes" at home.

It has been a whirlwind of a few days (weeks?).

After looking at three places, I may have settled on a new place to live. I'm meeting with the owner tonight to talk details and see if it's possible. I may still poke around at one or two other possibilities, but the pickings in my price range are slim, so I don't want to let a good opportunity slip through my fingers.

After doing a lot of research and meeting with a dealership on Friday, I was hopeful I'd have a new car by the end of this week, but I don't think that's going to happen. Still, the process is moving forward apace, so with a little more work I hope to have one by the end of the year.

Yesterday and today have been spent packing up my office at work, as we're getting new carpeting installed. Also, last night was the library holiday party. My mom's "Cha-Cha Chicken" was a hit as usual, but I may have had a little too much champagne. :) Lots to do still before I leave for break, though.

If all goes as planned I'll be home Christmas weekend spending it with family. Alas, because of the moving situation, I'm going to turn around and head right back and use my week off to pack, pack, and then pack some more. With luck I'll be able to make it out for New Year's Eve, but I'm not counting on it.

So, lots of puzzle pieces falling into place, even if I have to use a hammer to make 'em fit. :)

I would like to have a wine and fondue party.

Much accomplished today - productive day at work despite losing power for a short while, finally put on the new registration stickers on my license plate, bought a game I've been looking for for weeks (Burn Rate, out of print so hard to find), avoided crashing on the couch and/or getting sucked into the computer all night, got the nifty custom glass gaming tokens I ordered, checked the car for leaks and topped off the fluids, dished some dirt with Gabbo, paid some bills, ate dinner, did several loads of laundry, graciously forgave Q his callous disregard for my feelings from the weekend, pulled together our tax information to do later this week, updated my to do list, and am now off to bed to cuddle with some kitties. Brilliant! All that after a mixed bag of a weekend (shopping, cleaning, friends over for dinner, Q's aforementioned transgression, sloth, chores, sleep).

I suppose I should stop grousing about how no one updates their LJ and update mine once in awhile, huh? :P (And no, I'm not spending all my time on Facebook like some of you other turncoats.)

The weekend was good. Friday night we had another date night and went up to Waldorf. We were going to go to Red Lobster (Lent and all), but it was packed, so we went to Mimi's instead, which was a good choice - I got the dijon brie chicken, and he got something with shrimp. (One thing the waitress couldn't explain is why a restaurant with a French New Orleans theme chose to label its special menu "Price Fixed." WTF?) Afterwards we saw "Rango," which was extremely well done and I liked it more than I thought I would, and Johnny Depp was as creative and enjoyable as I usually find him to be.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning like mad, and then some friends who needed some serious decompression from life came over. Much drinking and noshing and "RuPaul's Drag Race" watching ensued, followed by an abrupt time change. It was good to see everyone and get a chance to let off some steam.

Sunday consisted of major amounts of sloth.

This week's been quiet, as it's spring break. My boss was out yesterday, so a good day to relax and catch up. Alas, Q's brakes were making noise, so I was up way wicked early this morning to meet him at the mechanic to drop off his car on his way home from, and my way going to, work. (Turns out we need both rear brake pads and rotors, so good call on my part.)

It's a short week for me, as the college graciously gives us Friday off (whoopee), then we leave for Sacramento next Wednesday - w00t.

Oh, and why is everyone hating on cats today? Back off, or I'll shred your face. :P (For the record, we own two, but we also love dogs and are looking forward to being able to have one someday.)

So, anything snoo with you? :)

Did I mention I survived Gaymas?

This all took place 2 weekends ago (Jan. 15). Took the day off Friday and cleaned like crazy (mostly the pantry, which needed it before I could put everything away). Finished vacuuming about 30 seconds before the first guest arrived on Saturday afternoon. We played a few games and had much fun, but, alas, my lingering desire to play massive amounts of Cosmic Encounter was not quenched - just one round to teach the basics and didn't even get into alien powers. Much sadness. Later on the rest of the folks arrived, and much revelry was had (although nothing too shocking this year, which I'm sure had nothing to do with the fact that Kyan couldn't make it). There was food, drink, gift swapping, Wii playing, and two board games before everyone left. It was a little different being kind of an all-day affair for a change, but I think it worked out ok. Sev and Matt stayed over, so we had breakfast with them before Q had to run off to work, and I ran off to the couch for a good long nap. :)

Speaking of food and cravings, I didn't make it for the party, but I did finally satisfy my hunger for my mother's "Cha-Cha Chicken." It's the simplest dish in the world, but I do love it. For Christmas she also made me and my sister our favorite chocolate chip cake, which was so good I scanned and stole the recipe from her. Now I'm just waiting to get the urge to start playing City of Heroes again, although my new computer isn't quite up to snuff. (It can handle Plants Vs. Zombies ok, though!)

Other than that, life chugs along. Work is good - the other day I had the odd urge to completely clean out my e-mail inbox, and it was quite nice to see it empty. Now I just need the urge to do the same with my physical inbox...

caprine pointed me to Noir Jewelry which has a Marvel license to make rather expensive Wonder Woman jewelry. Perhaps if someone is *really really good* they might get something neat for their birthday. (But they'd have to be *really really good*.)

Speaking of, Q came home from work and hugged me the other day. It was a "d'aaaaaaaaaaaaw!" moment (mostly because he didn't then ask for dolls or a favor or something). :D

That's it. Poor Q is working a long week this week, but he'll get some OT out of it. Not too much on the schedule for 2011 except for a trip back to Sacramento, Gaylaxicon in Atlanta, Pennsic, and the Tonner convention in Chicago. No doubt other things will creep in as the year progresses, but for now, that's enough.

Oh, and happy 2011, all. I usually make one attainable resolution every year, and have made each and every one, but this year's I'm keeping a secret for now. ;)

Cleaning aaaaaaaaaaall day, and still not ready for Gaymas tomorrow. Whose bright idea was it to have people over earlier than last year?

Oh, wait. Mine. BAH.

On the plus side, the pantry's spic 'n span, and the fridge has been cleaned out. Tomorrow it's attic, vacuum, and... oh, yes - PANIC.

G'nite!

Hullo. Haven't posted much of substance lately, so I should rectify that.

Holidays were pleasant. Drove up to Mom's on the 22nd, went to the Medians Christmas party on the 23rd, was regaled with debauchery and silliness, and drove back on Christmas Eve. Q worked the weekend, so we had a quiet Christmas together, and managed to go see friends and game a little. Went back up to Mom's on the 28th, went to a New Year's Eve party in NJ, and my sisters and the kids came down New Year's Day to do the whole family Christmas thing.

We got some decent loot, including a new iron, lots of gift cards, some goodies from WDW, a couple of games, stuff for the house, and cash monies.

Work's been quiet but chugging along, getting ready for the kids' return next week. New carpeting in the Library went smoothly and looks great. Have plenty of things to do to keep me busy this week.

Gaymas is this weekend, so lots to do there to get ready, too (didn't help that I fell asleep on the couch after work last night). Looking at some afternoon gaming and then drinking and general revelry at night. Didn't do nearly enough this past weekend to get ready, but might have a snow day tomorrow, so that'll be a plus. (BTW, weather, if you're going to snow, could you just please go ahead and SNOW? This back and forth BS is annoying. KTHNXBAI.)

Otherwise all is well. How's with you?

Running myself ragged. Friday night was a party with friends, then Saturday we had to cancel plans to hang out with friends at the Ren Faire (see my last post as to why). Was I able to at least get some work done? No - we headed into DC Saturday night for dinner and clubbing with mike14780 who was in town from San Francisco for an interview. Got home waaaaay too late, so most of the day Sunday was spent sleeping, although I did manage to finish sewing the shirt for my costume. Yesterday I had to leave work a little early to go renew my driver's license, and then last night I had to run out and get a few more yards of fabric, and stayed up waaaaay too late cutting the patterns. Tonight we have to get our hair cut, take the car back in to get looked at (making weird creaking noises since we got the axels replaced last week), and I have to actually sew the cloak and pants to finish my costume. I was hoping not to take the day off of work tomorrow, but we'll see how much I get done tonight, because we're leaving to Mom's at some point, then Thursday we'll stop and see friends for a while in Massachusetts on our way to Vermont, then the convention is Friday through Sunday, then it's an overnight stay seeing friends in Albany, and finally stopping at Mom's to pick up the cats on Monday and hopefully getting home at some reasonable time.

UGH.

Torn on the costuming front - do I go for a full re-creation of a classic Hollywood costume, or do I tweak it to suit my tastes as many have done over the years? I've already been forced to make a few adjustments due to materials at hand and lack of knowledge and time, but it's still coming together pretty close to what I originally envisioned.

And of all things, it comes down to the boots. I'm such a costumer.

I have taken a 5-hour energy.

I CAN SEE THROUGH TIME.

I am less than threeing the rain, as the sound of it makes me happy and calm.

I am not less than threeing last-minute event logistical changes. Fortunately I have good street cred on campus and people jump through hoops for me the few times I beg a favor. Hooray for being diplomatic and politic at work.

Got a lot done last night - litter boxes, vacuum, laundry, talked to Mom, and watched the latest Ken Burns documentary. Still need to organize some stuff, put some other stuff away, go food shopping, return something, and do one little repair item, but it's doable, as Q is going out tonight with the boys.

And my sister might be coming down next weekend. Yayzers.

Meant to post about the weekend with Mom.

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Meanwhile this week has been... well, this week. Returned Q's rental car Monday, then stayed late at work so he could go to a party. Tuesday we had to deal with house issues, then pick his car up from the mechanic after work. Last night it was Cici's for dinner, then picked up a few necessities at Walmart. Tonight I'll probably cook, and hopefully they'll let us go early tomorrow for the weekend. Q's working, but Kyan, Sev and Matt may stop over on Sunday (Kyan says he wants to go to Pennsic this year, but Q doesn't think he's going to actually do it). I got a bead on a gaming day in Alexandria on Monday which I may head up to, but we'll see how the weekend goes. Next week I'm only in two days, then taking off Thursday and Friday to head up to Philly for a doll con Q is going to.

So, yeah. Lots going on, I guess. Oh what fun. :P

Friday was Annapolis and a tux fitting, but no suit for me (Men's Warehouse was far pricier than I thought it would be). A quick stop at the mall, then back home for tacos, margaritas, Uno, Uno Attack and Uno Tippo.

Did stuff around the house for the rest of the weekend (Q was working). Filled out the census, took care of some mail, blah blah blah. Mom called in a panic because she saw a mouse in the house, which amused me.

Tossed and turned all night last night and woke up quite ill, so called out sick. Slept in, feeling better. Quick run to Target tonight, but otherwise just catching up on online stuff.

Work tomorrow, Mom's this weekend. My gorgeous life, indeed.

Every year I only make one New Year's resolution, and it's always something obtainable and concrete. This year's was to make it back to San Diego, which will now happen next month. It'll be a whirlwind couple of days - my main task is to get to my storage unit to track down some much-needed stuff - but I will definitely plan time to see everyone I possibly can (i.e., get ready for a big group dinner invite). The rest of the trip will be meeting Q's family, his brother's wedding, and a day in Disneyland (and I'll be talking to others about that as well).

So, um, SQUEE! :)

So other than friends dying, we had a decent weekend.

Friday night I went gaming with the local group, and I got to christen my new copy of Ticket To Ride. Our organizer lost his job and is moving back to Seattle, so I volunteered to take over the Meetup site and help work on someplace to meet if no one volunteers their place.

Saturday we hit Waldorf for Q's comics, then headed around the loop for his doll club meeting. Nothing much of interest for me there, although the people are extremely nice and I do like chatting with them. (They also found out I have a couple of dolls in my past, specifically the Star Trek Ken and Barbie, as well as Cockring Magic Earring Ken and Western Stompin' Ken, all of which can be blamed on Natalie.)

Afterwards we hit Ikea for some new bedding, then met up with Sev and Matt for Thai food and to poke their fat little kitties.

Sunday was spent in happy, lazy slothdom, although I did do a few chores and booked a room at Charles Town Races & Slots for a birthday weekend we're going to on Friday.

This week will be mostly chores and such. Lots to do - work, plane tickets for Q's brother's wedding, planning out the next few months and figuring out what we can and can't afford to do, food shopping, taxes, Q's resume, etc. My Gorgeous Life, indeed.

Somehow survived Gaymas. Non-stop work, but great fun. No drama, regrettable hookups or nosebleeds this year (well, one, but it was just red icing), but the karaoke did once again make an appearance. Brunch today, and now veeeeeery tired. Still, Q's at work and not feeling all that well, so I'm off to deliver some DayQuil. HE'S SO LUCKY TO HAVE ME.

Left work early.

OMG CLEANED.

Sooooooooooo tired now. Still cleaning.

Gaymas tomorrow!

Clean clean clean.

Back at work, which isn't such a bad thing. Lots to do, but nothing exploded in my absence. Head and nose are still stuffy, but hacking cough has all but abated and I'm actually hungry, so those are good things.

Q wants to see Avatar in 3D tomorrow night, and then I'm going to try to get some housecleaning done this weekend as we've finally set the date for Gaymas and have much to do to get the house back in shape in time.

So, all in all, a nice weekend.

Friday we had a little fete at work, but no one got dressed up (except our statue downstairs, who I did up as Michael Jackson). I made a lame attempt by wearing an Incredible Hulk t-shirt and would unbutton my dress shirt if anyone made me mad. :) I had planned on playing some City of Heroes Friday night, but the week got the better of me and I ended up falling asleep on the couch right around the time Q left for work, waking up just long enough to feed the cats and climb into bed.

Saturday we were up and out around noon to attend Q's doll Halloween gathering in Alexandria. He wore his kilt, I wore my chiton. Good turnout, nice people, and the doll he repainted for someone was well received. From there we went to look at a custom dollhouse another member is looking to get rid of, but it's an actual HOUSE, i.e., a small cottage for someone 16" tall. Like HUGE. (Like NO WAY was it coming home with us. Ever.)

After that we stopped and picked up dessert and booze for the evening party, and drove into DC. We got there a little early, but we and the hosts were happy to dig into the food anyway (and there was PLENTY left over at the end of the night). Q, of course, changed into another outfit (his Middle Eastern garb, very flashy). A good time was had by all, even though at points I was totally lost since they were all speaking Tagalog. :) Alas, they all decided to go clubbing, so I was dragged to Secrets for the first time. Meh. Finally got out of there after 2:00 (old 2:00, not new 2:00), and had to pull over for a certain someone to throw up on the way home (first time I've ever seen him do that, poor boo).

Sunday was a restful day of sloth - I caught up on e-mail and such while Q started painting a new doll for a competition at the Tonner convention he's going to in New York this weekend. This week should be mostly quiet - nothing major planned except some food shopping and Q leaving on Friday.

So that's it. Back at work today, for what it's worth. Cheers! :)

Oh, and here's a pic:

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These are the most God awful bagels I've ever had. BLEARGH.

Anyway, had a little get together with queer staff and faculty last night, which was pleasant. Wine, cheese, fruit, cider, pumpkin pie, cookies, and dish dish dish! It was just a few of us boys, so it was nice to catch up now that we're all back on campus.

Tonight and tomorrow I have no idea what we're doing, and Saturday is two Halloween parties, one with the doll freaks, and the other with Q's friends in DC. Should be amusing. I'm probably wearing my SCA garb, which is cheating, but I'm too lazy to put anything together. Not in the Halloween mood as I normally am, I guess because I knew we weren't going to be at the house Halloween night, so I didn't decorate (not that it matters - last year we got 5 groups of kids, so I kind of lost my enthusiasm). We are doing a little Halloween cider and cookies party on Friday in the office, so at least that's something.

Friday night the local gamers decided to get together after all, so I picked up one of the guys and headed over. Everyone seemed raring to learn new games, so the five of us ordered pizza and played Apples to Apples, Carcassonne, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Management Material, Transamerica, and Zombie Fluxx (without the zombies). T'was quite fun and I didn't get home until 1:30 a.m.

Saturday we headed up to DC to have a late lunch with mike14780, who was in town for a conference. It was a nice relaxing few hours at Circa with wine, cheese, calamari, salad and sandwiches, and it was fabulous catching up with him again (we do miss him so). The weather was horrendous, but we managed to survive it. He left for the airport and we had to head back because Q had to work Saturday night.

Yesterday was spent being slothish, although we did make it out to do some food shopping and eat at Cici's (and since we were the last people in the place, we got the rest of the cinnamon rolls - YUM!).

Today is work. My poor boss is having pet crises, so I feel for her. I also got to go back to my old department and review some mid-semester stuff they need to do, and it reminded me how much I both enjoyed working there and how glad I am to have left! :)

Not much going on this week. Q is heading to see his family over the weekend, we're having a little queer staff/faculty gathering next week, and we're making plans for two parties on Halloween (I'm skipping giving out candy this year, as last year we got a grand total of 5 groups of kids all night long).

That's it. How's with you? :)

Today turned out to be more productive than I thought it would be. After Toy Story we stopped in Waldorf and got dinner at Denny's, and when I got home I was unusually tired for it being only 11:30, so I decided to take a little nap... and woke up at noon today. :) Typical.

I took advantage of getting up early (and for me, noon on a Sunday really is early) and dismantled the anti-theft device in Q's car. Seems we're not the only Ion owners who have had the problem of the car locking up on cold mornings, and the favored solution (since Saturn never provided one) was to snip the wire and be done with it, which I did. Hopefully now Q will be able to actually come home from work in the wee hours of the morning, rather than having to sit 10, 20, sometimes 30 minutes waiting just to get the damned car started.

After that I cut and trimmed the lawn, moved some stuff around to where it should be, cleaned up the back porch, and vacuumed the living room. We got a surprise visit from our friend CJ (our last friend from the old guard down here) who stopped in to make sure we were still alive, and it reminded us we need to have a party soon (hopefully we'll be able to plan something when my co-worker Tricia returns from the northeast, plus there's Gaymas in just a few months). I made a nice dinner, and I wrapped up with checking e-mail and the web and playing solitaire (which I'm oddly addicted to lately).

All in all we'd rather have been in Sacramento, at Gaylaxicon, or at the march in DC, but I think I did pretty good for an unexpected staycation. We're both back to work tomorrow, but I'm expecting a light week this week. I'm also hearing from a little birdie that I'm being volunteered to run a certain convention again - hmmm...

G'nite! :D

Came in this morning to a card on my desk followed by singing and a cake. They like me! They really like me! :)

Crashed after work last night - did not feel well. Slept through the worst of it, I guess, 'cause I'm at work today.

Looking forward to the weekend - I'm taking Monday off so we can spend the weekend at Mom's (Q still has to work tonight), and Q is going to a doll BBQ in NJ on Sunday, although the jury is still out as to whether or not I'm going with him.

Otherwise things are fine. How are you? :)

We need to have a spring party. BADLY.

Also, here? DO NOT WANT.

Back to work today. Alas, we were about two degrees too warm to get the ice storm I was hoping for.

Enjoyed my half day yesterday, though. I got home in time to help Q finish packing, and then he was off to the airport to head to Sacramento for a few days to visit with his family (his sister just had another baby, and his parents are in from Guam visiting). Needless to say, I wasn't invited, but given the amount of drama in his family, I don't think it's such a bad idea to avoid even more by my physical presence (my presence in his life is drama enough for them). After he left I took a nap, watched some TV, had a nice dinner, and relaxed.

I also wanted to mention that Gaymas last Friday was simply smashing. We had eight people total, with a nice roast beef dinner and lots of pomegranate martinis. With only one hookup and one nosebleed (some people should NOT do poppers, apparently), this was a less dramatastic Gaymas than usual, but Q still says webcams would have been fun. :) After taking our one planned and one unplanned overnight guest to IHOP for breakfast Saturday morning, the rest of the weekend was spent lazing about, as Q was feelin' poorly.

Q doesn't understand it, but the prospect of five days alone leaves me giddy with excitement. I'm planning to take down the rest of the Christmas decorations, get a lot of laundry done, get a haircut, and hopefully get the car in to get re-fixed (the new starter they put in is still giving us problems). BEHOLD MY WILD SINGLE LIFE!

Not too much to report. Last week work kicked my ass, and it's not getting any better. My one boss is valiantly working to keep us from drowning by trying to stay proactive and upbeat, but it has its limits. This week is looking just as bad - last week of classes this week, finals next week, and the added goodtime funness of moving into a new building next Tuesday. Oh joy, oh rapture mine.

Q and I are chugging along. He's still working oddball hours, but it's been working out OK. Last week we managed a few date nights - Wednesday was BJ's and Chick-Fil-A, Thursday I finally finished off the turkey and made burgers for dinner, Friday I worked late (again) and we ordered in pizza, Saturday we finally went to see our friends' new baby and then went to IHOP and food shopping, and yesterday we lazed about a while before I put up some Christmas decorations. BEHOLD OUR GAY AGENDA.

We're looking ahead to Christmas, but it's gonna be wonky. My last day at work will be the 23rd, after which I will hie to Pam's for the 24th (24th!) Annual Margibtinlin Executive Board Meeting and Holiday Extravaganza. Alas, I'll be heading home the next day because Q has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day, then has a whole one day off before having to work his normal weekend schedule, so we will probably not make it up to see Mom and the kids until New Year's Eve. Maybe I'll host a party, I don't know. At least I get a full week and a half off. And then, sometime in January, is Gaymas, with whoever's left in this godforsaken place.

On the plus side, the campus radio station is playing all Christmas music, so it's getting me in a better mood. Yay.

Um, that's it. SO FAR. There may be more. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

So, anywho, Gaylaxicon last weekend.

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Aw, my honey has my birthday all planned for me!

We're going headstone shopping.

Afterwards, he's trading me in for two twenties.

So meant to post about the weekend.

Thursday we had a date night, so we went food shopping and had dinner at Cici's. Hoo baby, we're a wild pair. Friday was spent mostly catching up on TiVo and chatting with friends.

Saturday it was pouring rain so I slept in, but we did get our butts in gear and headed up to Annapolis for the Maryland Ren Faire, where we met up with Tyrvan, who got us in and toured us around a bit, including showing us backstage to see revkellyshannon. Whilst out and about I was molested by amywon, and then we ran into Finn, who escorted us for the rest of the afternoon. It was the first permanent Ren Faire I'd been to - even all those years in PA I never went to theirs, and I went to a weekend one in San Diego once, which doesn't quite count - and I have to say I was impressed. It truly did look like what Pennsic would look like if it were permanent and we let in looky-loos (if Pennsic were permanent and just for us, I'd move there!). It was a beautiful setting and there were a lot of really lovely people. I went in garb, but Q wimped out and went naked, which serves him right as he was wearing wussy sneakers and I was wearing my big waterproof boots, and there was mud everywhere (we were actually quite lucky that by the time we got there the rains had finally passed, and there was a LOT of it on Saturday). We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to see the many merchants, watch a little bit of the jousting tournament, sample some of the various foodstuffs they'd come up with, and just walk around and enjoy the ambiance. Afterwards we went to Applebee's for dinner, and poor Q had had a few too many, so he all but passed out before we even got to the car.

That was actually about it. Q had to work Sunday, so I slept in and spent the day putzing around doing chores and whatnot. Conjecture was also this weekend, but I haven't heard how my artists did (I sent work from Thalia and akirashima).

The work week has already been a grind. Work's been crazy since we're down one person, and it's only now that we're into the groove of the semester that I don't quite feel like I'm drowning (of course mid-semester grades and a big due date are looming, so it's only a matter of time before I'm awash again).

This Friday there's an LGBT pot luck that they're trying to do as a regular thing, and we know a few people who are going, so we'll check that out. Next weekend is Gaylaxicon, which is just going to be awesome, of course. (Something else is happening next Wednesday, but I'm sure it's nothing important.) After that we've been invited to a bowling party in Baltimore later in October, we're not quite sure what we're doing for Halloween yet, and we're already starting to think about Thanksgiving and beyond (like a December trip to WDW with Mom, but we'll see how things go).

Hope everyone else is doing well. :)

Party over. Big success. Much fun. Tired now.

Today is both a wash due to it being my co-worker's last day (we're small enough that the farewell celebrations will eat up the entire afternoon, and planning for them will eat up most of the late morning) and a day I'd like to just quit and walk out (not entirely necessarily due to the aforementioned wash). Fortunately I'm leaving at lunch so I can go home to finish getting ready for the party. However, starting Monday it just starts to get worse since she'll be gone. Bah.

Good weekend at Mom's. Took Friday off, got a few things done, including covering the pool and finally getting her set up with high speed internet. Good Sister came down with the kids Saturday. Prince puked on the way up, and Posh caterwauled for an hour on the way back. Very odd for both of them. Also came home with a box full of Dad's tools.

Work is kicking my ass, in both bad and good ways. Students are back, which is fun in a masochistic sort of way, but we're BUSY. Plus, my co-worker's last day is Friday, so we're having both an open house for the campus to say goodbye here in the office in the afternoon, and then we're hosting a private office farewell at Pride House that night. LOTS to do to get ready, but it'll be nice to have a party again.

Went to a swing dance class last week with a co-worker. It was fun since she already knew the basics, and I got to lead for a change. Reminded me how much I miss two-stepping with Uncle Rashid (who I should really call soon).

Some other stuff is coming up, including a trip to the MD Ren Faire in a couple of weeks and Gaylaxicon in October, plus my birthday and all that. Mom wants to do Walt Disney World in December, and if we can swing it we're going to go, especially considering Lyttle John is a Cast Member.

I just ate the worst crackers evar. Bleh. I'll just have the Swiss cheese on top, thankyouverymuch.

That's it. FOR NOW. Stay tuned. :P

Doug and Bob are metropolitan policemen with a difference. Doug likes nothing more than slipping into little cocktail frocks, while Bob bouffants his hair for a night on duty...

Er, actually, I stayed late at work on Friday so I could get enough work done that I could take off Monday. Alas, we don't get Labor Day off since that's when the students return for the semester, but since we don't actually have classes a lot of the non-essential people manage to swing the day off anyway. (Me, they owe a couple days comp time, so I'm taking it.) Afterwards I came home, made dinner for me and Q, and then he went to work and I went to bed.

Yesterday we both got up late and were hoping to make it up to DC in time to see Kyan's new apartment, but didn't leave until about 6:00. Instead we headed straight to Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian barbeque restaurant, where our friend Matthew was having his going away party (he leaves for California in a couple of weeks with the Navy). After waiting an HOUR for the guest of honor and his entourage to arrive (grumble grumble), we had a very, very nice dinner, if rather expensive ($225 for the just the two of us - yowza!). If you've never done Brazilian barbeque, I highly recommend it - it's such good food, and such an amazing amount of MEAT. I was the last one eating, and I think I might have even outdone Q, which is quite a feat. I especially loved the bacon-wrapped chicken and any red meat that was well done. Yum! :D

( Pic of the gang at dinnerCollapse )

Afterwards they decided to head to Town but we declinded and instead went and surprised Kyan by showing up at The DC Eagle where he works. The expression on his face when he rounded the corner and saw me of all people was priceless, let alone his reaction when he realized his parents were looking at him in his underwear. :) We hung out there for a bit, and then headed home.

The rest of the weekend Q is working and doing more doll stuff, and I'm working on various household chores, like bills and laundry. We're likely heading up to Mom's in a couple of weeks when he has a rare Saturday off, and she's said I can invite some of the Medians over if I want to do the birthday thing early. Oh, and she also told me on Friday that my Evil Sister is now officially divorced, my troublesome nephew is going to community college for the semester, my oldest nephew headed off for his last semester of college before graduating in December, and my Good Sister is mad at me for not calling her on her birthday. D'oh! (It always falls during Pennsic and I'm always a horrible brother for not remembering.)

So, anyway, I gots bills to pay. :P See ya!

So I haven't posted about the slash con I went to, or Pride, or our anniversary...

( A tale of gayocity, six guys, and 175 women...Collapse )

So all in all a lovely weekend, even if I didn't find anyone who shared my fandom, nor did I get inspired by anyone else's. However, I must give a shout out to the VERY friendly and welcoming slashers, including the bright and sparkly justacat, the highly amusing barbana, and the proud new owner of an Adipose, brak666. Thanks for a great weekend, and many thanks to minotaurs for both the membership and letting me hang out with him all weekend. I've no doubt that I'll attend another slash con soon, hopefully the next one in San Diego at least, and hopefully some of the folks I met will come to Gaylaxicon this year in DC.



*Not that it was all that hard - ask me about my fandom!

Sewed last night. Very proud. Just repair work on a quilt, but still.

Also had an interesting weekend I forgot to mention. A reenlistment/going away party for two of our friends (replete with drama, 'natch), yardwork and prettying up, getting our hairs cut, a work friend's "got a new job" going away party, sloth, and food. No gaming, alas.

Not much planned for this week or weekend, except perhaps a shopping trip to Ikea. Our housemate leaves for California on Tuesday, so that's the end of a fun chapter of Pride House - he'll be missed in spite of his moodiness.

That's it. Move along.

We went up to Philly to belatedly celebrate Mom's 71st birthday, which was Monday last week. We drove up Friday night and made good time (we go up 301 now and almost completely avoid 95), and spent a lot of the weekend cleaning up the yard for her (cutting the lawn, etc.). Saturday night Uncle Rashid came over and we all went out to dinner at Hennessy's. Afterwards we gabbed back at the house, and Uncle figured out what was wrong with my sewing machine so I can get to making some costumes and Pennsic garb for me, Quincy and Derek. We're also hoping to throw lots of money his way so he can make us some new stuff as well. Sunday we went shopping with Mom and then headed home. Oh, and the cats came with us for the weekend, and seemed to take the travelling in stride and enjoyed poking around new surroundings.

So, yeah, fun. :) This weekend is 2 parties plus (hopefully) a visit with schnuder while he's in town.

My dramatic friends are reminding me this weekend of some important life lessons I've learned over the years:

• Everyone just wants to feel that they've been heard


• Most "bad" things in life can be traced back to a hurt (thanks, suba_al_hadid!)


• You can't worry about what others do, you can only worry about what you do


• You can only build a bridge halfway


• Rise above and do what you know is the right thing


• Self-preservation is important


• I'm not you, and you're not anyone else


• Feelings are valid - there is no "right" or "wrong" thing to feel


• Don't take things too far


• Don't punish


• Communicate, communicate, communicate!

I'm just chock full of introspection today! :D

So Gaymas was fun.

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Had a good weekend. Got all the house lights up (similar to last year), and just need to follow up with a few odds and ends (gonna decorate the big tree out front this year). We also started our shopping, which reminds me of how much money we *don't* have. We're heading up to my mom's for Christmas and the annual Margibtinlin board meeting & holiday party, but most of our local friends will be in NYC for New Year's Eve, so we're planning "Gaymas" sometime in mid-January like we did last year (*much* easier to deal with that way). Now we need to find a sitter for the kids.

Speaking of, Posh and Prince continue to be cute and fuzzy, and ever-hungry noodges as well. It's definitely different having two cats versus just one, but it's worth it when they deign us worth enough to sleep on top of. They're finishing off their medication for the kennel cough they got, but now we're fighting ear mites. Whee.

Quincy's been going out a lot in DC over the weekends, but has been nice enough to leave me home. They did go to an event at Remington's, the c/w bar, and now they all want to learn how to two-step, so I guess I'll be dustin' off my boots sometime soon to show them how. Yee haw. :)

Work is work. I love the students, but some of them are just too stupid to live. How did they get into college? It's sad at times. Otherwise, though, I do love the work, and the office, so it's all good. (I am, however, looking forward to that week and a half off soon.) Oh, and my umpteenth review was as expected - satisfactory, not outstanding, and somewhat snarky despite the distance. No worries - it's done, and doesn't affect me one whit.

I think I'll make cookies this weekend. We have our office holiday party on Monday (the students leave Friday), so it'll be fun.

The weather's been nuts. This time last week the whole place was covered in snow, and today it's going up to the 80's. Weird.

Oh, we found out a couple of weeks ago that a friend of ours is HIV+. Kind of a downer, but I know he'll come through it shining, not only because he's a lot stronger person than he thinks he is, but his best friend is a great role model in that respect.

That's it. Get back to work. :P