Flibbertigibbet

It's a Good Thing.

It's a good thing I'm in a good mood today because I just realized that I hate my outfit today and my hair looks like crap.

Feelin' Alright
By Len

It’s early in the morning and I’m feeling kind of dumb,
I’m tryin real hard but I’m having no fun,
I’m looking all around and everything looks the same,
It’s like being the smartest kid in class and having no brain.
Sharon’s right beside me,
[Sharon] yeah I feel it too. And if you weren’t my little brother i’d take it out on you,
And D-rock and Moves just lost their fat-man flow,
It’s just a matter of time before my brains all blow.
My brain's all broken, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I feel like I’m chokin’, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I’m goin’ down fast, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I’m not gonna last, but I’m feelin’ alright,
Feelin’ alright.

Bad days are givin’ me the creeps,
And when I have them all I wanna do is freak,
And sometimes I don’t feel really strong
Enough to deal with bad days cause they last too long.

We’ve been thinking hard and figuring out what to make
Of all this stupid shit that makes you not think straight,
So should we just quit?
[Sharon] No, its not cool to run,
Well you know, i think she’s right,
Let’s show em how it’s done.

‘Cause it’s not just a matter of straight up holding your ground,
It’s all about your crew and the vibe you put down,
So if we’re all here, what’s this about a bad day?
We’re not going to take it sitting down, no way!

My brain's all broken, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I feel like I’m chokin’, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I’m goin’ down fast, but I’m feelin’ alright,
I’m not gonna last, but I’m feelin’ alright,
Feelin’ alright.

Bad days are givin’ me the creeps,
And when I have them all I wanna do is freak,
And sometimes I don’t feel really strong
Enough to deal with bad days cause they last too long.

This House is Clean

Ok. My bad mood has passed thanks to some sound advice from my dear friend, Buddhista.

No details are likely to be forthcoming since I'm bored with that already, but I just wanted to give you an update and let you know that I'm allowed to use grown-up scissors again and put away the plastic plates.

I See a Bad Mood A'Risin'

Oooooo... I can sense a really foul mood coming on. Just as there is a thunderstorm a'brewing outside. This does not bode well for some.

Remember how I said I don't necessarily want to date Objectivists for various reasons? I'm swinging back to the thought that only Objectivists will do.

Those two thoughts above are not unrelated.

Anyway, perhaps more on these things at another time. I'm going to go stew a bit.

All Hail the Man Purse!

I am happy to say that I have finally found a man purse that makes me happy.

Life in Manhattan demands 1) lots of walking and 2) general preparation for lots of conditions.

- It may rain at any moment, so you need an umbrella
- Being prompt is, apparently, not a cultural standard here any more than it was in Georgia, so you need a book to read.
- Crazy people are everywhere, so you need a camera.
- It might be very sunny, so you need sunblock.
- You might sweat a little bit, so some extra deodorate wouldn't hurt.
- I carry a flashlight, because that's how I am.
- I also carry pens and a notepad, because, again, that's how I am.
- I carry a subway map.
- I don't like carrying my wallet and keys in my pants because it makes my pants look funny.
- You might get thirsty, so you need a water bottle.
- You might get hungry, so you need snacks. I carry almonds, cashews, or goldfish.
- You need your iPod, because this is New York and everyone has one.

The point is that there are LOTS of helpful things one might carry around with them and the man purse is supremely helpful.

I, personally, have adopted the messenger bag style because I think it isn't very purse-like and I can carry it across my chest without much trouble.

I love the man purse. I actually own two of them, and my sister said she's found a third for me. This will help me match them to my outfits.

Obviously, that's optional.

This Blog Sucks

Someone told me today that I need to put more links on my blog.

And just now I realized that my blog(s) suck.

I don't write much new stuff these days. This blog is pretty much just a journal and a forum for me to fly into verbal histrionics in a place where people who know me can be embarrassed to know me.

Like when I misspell stuff.

Hrm.

I need to fish or get off the toilet. Or something. (I am a horrified as you are by the mixture of those two cliches. Don't worry.)

So, I'll be giving that some thought.

To Buy or Not to Buy

I collected comic books in middle school. I stopped buying them because they were expensive and the publishers were doing lots of things that pissed me off, e.g. multiple covers, special covers, artists (JIM LEE) who start things but don't stick with it, and boring stories.

Even so, I enjoy comic books. Especially pretty ones.

Well, I went and bought the two compilations of Astonishing X-Men the other day because Joss Whedon writes them and Joss is an excellent story teller. About the art, I'll be brief: it sucks. But the story is interesting.

Anyway, so, now I kind of want to start buying Ultimate X-Men. I need to check out the art, but I've heard that the story is interesting.

Sidebar on Michael Hartney: He's fun, fun, funny. I found his blog a few months ago and I lurk it. He's also smokin' hot. What's up with me and red heads lately? Anyway...

Before I go out and start buying up comic books, I'm really wondering if I'm the kind of guy who buys comic books. I'm not so sure.

1) I'm impatient. I HATE waiting for the next installation of a story.
2) I hate ugly comic books. I have to force myself to tolerate a good story (Astonishing X-Men) with ugly art and I am not very inclined to do so. It will probably be several months before I remember Astonishing X-Men.
3) I have a short memory. Out of sight, out of mind. If I have to wait for the next installation, I will probably forget about it entirely.
4) I'm cheap. Comic books are expensive. I don't know if you knew, but it's true. For 22-ish pages you can expect to spend $2.50, provided there's not some special, foily, hologram, pop-up cover or anything like that.
5) I do not have space for comic books in my apartment. The ones I have are taking up too much space as it is.

So, I'll contemplate this further, but we know what that means: I'll forget I was thinking about it and then I'll suddenly remember while at work and run over to Midtown Comics on my lunch break, spend money I oughtn't, and be tickled for about five seconds until I forget it again.

Slacker

On Monday, the trainer had me work out my legs, back, and biceps.

On Wednesday, the trainer had me work out my chest, shoulders, and triceps.

Tuesday, pretty much sucked. The soreness made it uncomfortable to stand and tiring to walk and, of course, I was bumbling around with my family all day.

Today, I observed the pleasant tightness and pain spreading through my upperbody as each hour passed.

Right now, I'm supposed to be headed over to ab class, but I really just don't feel like it. So, I'm being a slacker and sitting on my sofa right now.

A Pub Song

I don't know any songs that people are supposed to sing in the pub, but I've recently discovered one I think I'd like to learn. It's sung by Cowboy Mouth and the title is "Irish Boy."

Here is my transciption of the lyrics:

Irish Boy by Cowboy Mouth

Well, I had a drink with a friend of mine a week ago today
Who was celebratin' a month and a half too late Saint Patty's Day
Well, I bought him a round and he bought me a round and a bouncer bought us another
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?

Well, we looked at each other and hand to laugh as we lay there in our stink
Well I woulda cried if I woulda thought that every time I thought I'd drink
And if this poor, old, grey-haired ma hadda seen us there she woulda shuddered
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?

Well, my Irish friend, he liked to surf but me I couldn't swim
And he said that he could teach me how and I said I trusted him.
He swore he'd never let me drown he loved me like a brother.
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?

Well, sure enough I drowned and I wound up at the pearly gate
Where Saint Peter said, "You're drunk as hell! Son, you shoulda ate!"
So, he sent me back down to get a bite but instead a bought another
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?
What's an average boy from a good family doin' in the gutter?

And Can I Tell You About Something Funny that Happened?

I always tell people that if they don't feel like being bothered by someone, they should just say, "I don't speak English."

Don't bother affecting an accent or anything. Just say, "I don't speak English," and leave it at that.

Well, I was on the subway yesterday and this guy came on and started doing acrobatics in the train and dancing and stuff. The woman next to me turned and smiled at me and said, "It's cool."

I smiled and leaned over to her, "I kind of hope the train stops suddenly just to see what happens."

And she says to me, without an accent, "I don't speak English."

"What?"

"I don't speak English."

Incredulous now, "Oh, you don't?"

"No."

"Well, what do you speak?"

"Espanish" Yeah, now suddenly there's an accent.

"Vale. Espero que el tren se pare."

"ha ha! Nooooo!!!" she says laughing but also shocked.

"hee hee hee... Yeah. Solo un poco."

"He's cool," she says.

"Yep."

Now, she obviously really did speak Spanish. The English she used wasn't complicated and many people can say those phrases at a minimum. But she had no accent and she responded well to what I said.

Shocking.

The Gun Show

Well, I've been working out with the trainer consistently twice a week for several weeks now.

It's going pretty well, I think. I could stand to get into the gym and lift weights and do cardio a bit more frequently than I'm doing these days. And, of course, I could do better with my diet, but I am seeing some fair results, I think. And this week, my trainer started me on strength training. These are small sets of heavy weights that are supposed to help me with building muscles.

If the soreness I'm experiencing right now is any indication, I'm gonna be hot stuff for Summer!

I took pictures after week 1, but I haven't taken any photos since. I should do that this weekend sometime.

Anyway, just wanted to keep you posted on this.

(I can see my six pack now! It lacks good definition, but it's there!)

Traffic

I don't keep track of the traffic to this blog. For all I know I have a billion visitors a day and could make my living from putting the Googley ads on my site. Or there might be just three or four of you out there. Who knows?

Well, I have received a little more traffic recently, if only by two people. All because I transcribed the words to a song.

What confuses me about this is that the song isn't hard to understand at all. Listen to it a few times and you'll know the words.

Don't get me wrong: I'm happy for the traffic and to have been of assistance to folks out there. I'm just curious about the difficulty with those lyrics.

Things My Family Saw in New York

- The Subway
- Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site
- The FDNY museum
- The NYPD museum
- The South Street Seaport
- The city from the observation deck of the Empire State Building
- The city from the observation deck of Rockefeller Center
- Soho
- Greenwich Village
- Chinatown
- Little Italy
- Nolito
- Murray Hill
- The Financial District
- Wall Street and Trinity Church
- Hell's Kitchen
- Midtown
- Chelsea
- Times Square
- The city from the deck of the Circle Line sight-seeing tour boat
- The Statue of Liberty
- Ellis Island
- Central Park
- 3 boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn, & Manhattan
- Three bridges up close: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg
- The Staten Island Ferry (We used the restrooms in the terminal, but didn't ride the boat.)

And a host of homeless people, crazies, hippies, hipsters, suits, and regular, old, New Yorkers.

All in three days of being tourists.

I may post some photos another time.

My sister doesn't like New York. My dad thinks it's neat but wouldn't want to stay here long. My mom loves New York.

My little studio apartment really isn't a great space for four pretty tall adults. And certain members of my family are very fussy and tend to get all primadonna when the group doesn't do exactly what she wants to do.

I think they all had a good time, though. I'm probably happier they're gone than they are.

My Family is Driving Me Crazy

My family is terribly indecisive.

Flibby: Ok! What do you guys want to do next?
Family: I dunno. I don't care. Where ever everyone else wants to go.
Flibby: Ok! Well, we could go to Chinatown or walk around Times Square. We could go eat early and then get something more later on. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see or do while you're here?
Family: I dunno. I don't care. Where ever everyone else wants to go.

Bear in mind that I made an itinerary for my family which outlined major activities and left time for odds-n-ends should something shiny catch their eye and delay us at any point. Shiny things are very common even in the dullest of places for my family.

I've also compiled a list of restaurants and optional activities (including estimated duration, transportation, and location) so that they don't have to try to think of anything on their own. They can just choose.

But my family is indecisive.

I can usually deal with indecisive, because I am a person who is not afraid to make decisions. "Oh, you're unhappy with this? What would you rather do? Oh, you don't know? Well, let me know when you think of something."

Here's the bad part, though: They're also fussy.

And by "they" I really just mean my sister.

Pardon the profanity, but she is someone who can find the shit in ice cream. She's also boorish, cross, and boring. I don't like her. The only reason she was invited into my house is because my mom invited her along on this trip and I tolerate my mother's decisions like that.

So, she complains about everything. "I don't like these pickles." "The subway smells." "That man is crazy."

First of all, if you don't like the damn pickles, don't eat them. Second, it's the subway, what did you expect? Third, he's not wearing any pants and he's talking to God. Thank you for keeping us up on current events in Obviopolis.

Anyway... I'm going nuts. Just one more day, though, and they head back. I probably won't see my sister here again for a long time, if ever. Same with my dad.

Ok. I have to go to bed now before I freak out on them.

I'm Spiderman!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 70% Hulk 65% Iron Man 65% Green Lantern 65% Robin 57% The Flash 55% Superman 55% Wonder Woman 50% Supergirl 50% Catwoman 40% Batman 30%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

It's a Small West Village

I ate dinner at a great restaurant in the West Village tonight. It's a place call the Blue Ribbon Bakery. It rizz-ox the sizz-ox, yo

I went with a reader who is super-fun.

You will never believe, though. I ran into ANOTHER reader there!

We didn't get to chat because she was with a friend and I was with a friend and I'm always awkward in those weird situations.

Hi, Amy! HUG! (I wasn't sure if hug was right just then, yadda yadda. Call me!)

And anyway, I had a delicious meal with excellent company.

YAY!

Apropros and Still So Wrong

I use Google's personalized homepage and one of the features is a How To section. The topics that turn up there are shockingly wide in range.

How to Delete your Usage History Tracks in Windows
How to Add Color to a Fluorescent Light
How to Make Essential Oils
How to Build a Lamp
How to Make Hanging Earrings
How to Oil Paint
How to Learn Speed Reading
How to Ollie
How to Adopt a Baby from China
How to Create a Packing Tape Sculpture
How to Get over Regrets

I thought, in light of yesterday's musings, it was a little bit appropriate that "How to Know the Difference Between Love, Infatuation and Lust" turned up on my list today.

I didn't expect anything great, but the suggestions they give are so trite that I was gobstoppped.

While there's no clear, fool-proof way to decipher your feelings for someone, there are certain ways to make the distinction between love, lust and infatuation clearer for yourself.

Steps
1. Write down everything that you associate with the person you're feeling strongly about. Example words on your brainstorm list could include love, butterflies, sex, holding hands, annoying snoring, gorgeous, etc.

2. Circle each attribute with a different color such as red for lust, yellow for infatuation, and green for love.

3. See which of the three feelings dominates the page. If one doesn't stand out (like if the distribution seems pretty equal), move on to the following steps for more insight.

4. Read literature and scriptures on the topic. Questions about love are timeless questions that have consumed mankind throughout the ages and are a major theme in many scriptures, tales from mythology, and literature. Read the story of David and Bathsheba from Jewish scriptures, 1st Corinthians from Christian scriptures, the story of Ali and Fatima, Narcissus and Echo, or Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

5. Ask your friends or, if you find it easier, ask a complete and utter stranger, so that you get an honest opinion and an outsider's point of view. Tell that person how you feel, and ask them if it sounds primarily like love, infatuation, or lust.

6. Watch a movie that relates to your situation like "Cruel Intentions" (which is about lust, and wanting what you can't have), "Down to You" (which is about love and leaving it all down to the other person), "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (which is about none of them really but it's about making a mistake and putting it right), "The Phantom of the Opera" (which is about both lust and infatuation) and, finally, "Titanic" (which is about holding on to someone forever until you die - that is love - bittersweet love).

I can kind of understand some young person doing these things, but what boggles me is that some adult sat down and wrote this down for these How To pages. I don't think they were joking either.

Le Sigh: Ruminations on This and That

I have pretty much decided that whatever knocked me on my butt on Sunday and Monday was not food poisoning. It just didn't feel like that and I have a little cold again. It's minor, though, and should be wrapped up in a few days.

Good thing, too. My family is coming into town this weekend.

I don't think my father has ever been to NYC and I'm sure my sister hasn't. It's been years, decades even, since my mother has been through these parts. They're getting excited about the trip and I sort of am as well.

I wish they were staying in a hotel instead of crashing in my studio apartment with me. Fortunately, my sleeper sofa was delivered on Saturday so everyone has a bed to sleep in.

I'm supposed to be cleaning and getting everything ready for them, but I feel kind of lazy about it right now. My apartment isn't cluttered enough to be annoying, so cleaning is not a very pressing need for me.

I will likely undertake to do it all on Saturday before they officially roll into town.

You know that cute guy I told you about? Well, I haven't seen him since the day of our lunch date because he went out of town for family stuff. He'll be back on Wednesday, which is the day my family leaves.

He and I have talked, chatted, text messaged pretty much every day since he left. Stupid things, too.

"How's work?" "I miss you." "Wake up, sleepyhead!" "How's your sister's graduation?" "Hope you're having a good day!"

"Whacha doing?" was the message I received about 30 minutes ago. "Watchin' teevee. You?" I said back.

(I even text message in complete words and sentences with punctuation.)

I've had to clear the messages out of my phone twice already because the memory limit was exceeded.

Fortunately, we're on the same cell network so our messages don't cost anything.

But I am really amazed at how much nothing two people can exchange and really want more of it.

He went book shopping the other day and bought a copy of Atlas Shrugged. He's not ready for it. I'm pleased he recognized how important it is to me and I certainly want him to read it. But I think it is something a person needs to be mentally prepared for.

To really enjoy Atlas Shrugged, you have to be mentally acute. You have to practice clarity and honesty. For lack of a better way to put it, you have to be innocent.

Red is innocent in lots of ways. I think his most charming characteristic is his playful, silly enthusiasm. Sometimes it borders on being "too gay" at a blush, but then he balances it out with an earnestness that endears.

But he's not ready for Atlas Shrugged. He's used to giving in to what other people want and letting other people make decisions. I worry that he's not independent enough to appreciate the book.

These are observations I've made after seeing him three short times and having a few phone calls. Naturally, I'm still extending to him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm wary of dating Objectivists to be honest.

I agree with Objectivism, but my sense of many people who are young in Objectivism is that they're still working on integrating many of the concepts into their lives. Their subconscious doesn't yet have it. As a result, their sense of life is not yet there. I'm still learning a lot about Objectivism and I used to be (perhaps still am to an extent) that sort of person.

There are other things, too. So, it seems to me that I would like to either date a person who has the right sense of life through their own efforts without having studied Objectivism or someone to whom Objectivism is old news and they've settled into practicing virtue without so much bluster.

I'm not willing to mentor someone through Objectivism. I'm not even really willing to actively convert someone to it. Gentle nudges, perhaps, but little more.

Two dates. A few phone calls. A million text messages. It's WAY too early to think too far ahead.

So, I'm really excited about my family leaving and going on another date with Red. We're going to dinner on Wednesday and then we're going to go see X-men 3 on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. And at some point we're going to go on a picnic up in the Cloisters if the weather is nice.

It's hard not to get carried away thinking about it. And then it's hard not to get into a sour mood thinking about how badly all this could go.

Well, I really should do something to clean up around here.

Update: Oh! And before anyone decides to tell me to "relax" and stop thinking about it so much and to just see how things go. I know. I've heard it before. But thinking about stuff is what I do.

Rockstar

This is why whatever they're paying me is too little:

Flibby: Yeah. I'm just pleased at how smoothly things have gone.
Account Director: uh oh don't jinx us
Flibby: I don't believe in jinx. I believe in kicking ass.

And why can't people use capital letters and punctuation in IM?

It's ALIVE!

I woke up around 3:30 today feeling GREAT. I wasn't sweating or freezing any more and my headache was fading fast.

I just cooked myself some stirfry and I was able to eat it all without any fear of losing it.

I think the storm has passed.

Woohoo!

Dying

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache. I felt like a hangover, but since I haven't been drinking, that seemed rather unlikely. I figured maybe I had stayed in bed too long or that it was a caffeine headache.

I went to brunch in Chinatown and walked around a bit and as the afternoon wore on, I started feeling worse and worse. I came home to nap.

Right now, I am trying to stay sitting upright without an overwhelming need to vomit with mixed results.

I'm thinking I need to call the trainer and tell him I can't make it in the morning. Work is looking iffy right now, especially since I just broke out in a sweat after feeling like I was freezing my butt off all afternoon.

*blech*

We'll see if this is still going on in the morning.

Update: Last night, I started feeling quite a bit better. My appetite returned and the sweating became less severe, but this morning I work up and it's more of the same from yesterday. Chills, then sweating. Headache and "tumultuous" stomach.

*sigh*

I'm going back to bed.

Comments are Back on!

Let the commenting resume!

(Until the stupid comment spammers start up again.)

The Fruit Far from the Tree

As I sit here listening to Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee, Waylon Jennings and the rest, I'm remembering my mother's reaction when I told her that I was listening to a lot of classic country music like this. She was first aghast because she hates it but then surprised because it's the music her father used to love.

He died about five or six years ago and she has conflicted feelings about her relationship with him. His name was Elmer.

Elmer was a crotchety old man. Very few people got along with him and he didn't seem to like anyone. I got along with him fine, mostly I think because I really didn't pay much attention to him or his snarking whereas so many other people would tip-toe around and kow-tow to him. I grew up in Georgia and he lived in Ohio, so I really didn't get to spend much time with him. But when we would visit, people remarked at how well we got along. He would even ask to take me places and leave my cousins behind.

I don't have any particular feelings about the man because I really didn't know him.

I do sometimes muse over our similarities, which are sometimes eerie to our relations. Like with this music, which is by no means my absolute favorite music, but he and I never listened to music together. He could be resolute, bossy, cross, stand-offish, indifferent to others and more than a little rigid. Every now and then I will make some comment and my mom will say, "Alright, Elmer," apparently pointing out that I've behaved like a crotchety old man.

When I do think about our similarities, I sometimes wonder if he really was a man I would admire. If he was so much like me, was he a man of virtue? It's too bad he didn't live long enough for me to find out.

I'm not religious at all, but thinking about him does remind me of the line in that Tracey Lawrence song, "Daddy's in the ground beneath the maple tree. As the Angles sing an old Hank Williams song."

A Truism for Managers

It never stops.

After my vast business experience at two (2) companies, I have realized that it is always busy. Chaos is always either on the cusp of breaking loose and you are scrambling to prevent the worst or it has broken loose and you are scrambling to clean it up. Either way, it never stops.

If you are a manager of people in your place of employment, there are always demands on your time. Your employees want or need your guidance and leadership. Your team needs you to set the direction and standard of operation. Customers want to talk to the man in charge. There are meetings. Oh, how there are meetings!

It is just a fact of existence that your time, your skills, your brain is in high demand.

Which brings us to this conclusion: If you really want to get around to doing something, you're just going to have to do it and tell everything else to go to hell for a second and bring you back a cup of coffee.

There will ALWAYS be something pounding on your door, but the reality is that only a very, very, VERY few issues demanding your attention are actually as critical as their owners would have you believe.

So, you must learn to prioritize and never, ever allow something of lower priority take your attention from things of higher priority.

(My boss needs to pay attention to this part.) If you tell someone, particularly your employees, that you would like to meet and you accept a meeting appointment for that meeting, you have to know that someone will ask to pre-empt that meeting and you will have to choose which is more important. If you consistently choose that other thing over your employees, you will fail as a leader. Your strategy will not be executed as you envisioned it. Your employees will remain clueless to the larger picture, unable to make effective decisions and avert bringing more chaos into your world.

No amount of apologies, jokes about how busy you are, or rescheduling of said meeting will move it up in priority on your list, alleviate the other demands on your time, or make up for the example you're setting.

The fact is that it just never stops and you have to deal with that.

Do You Know What Time It Is?

Because apparently I don't.

Somehow I managed to set my alarm clock ahead an hour, so I am ready to go to work a whole hour ahead of when I need to be.

What makes this incredibly stupid is that before I get moving in the morning, I watch CNN and I did notice that the time was an hour earlier than I thought. But my response was that I must be mistaken -- not in reading my alarm clock but in reading CNN.

I know. Special needs.

Anyway, it's happy Friday and I have a bunch of new projects at work, and because I'm up so early, I will get to work a bit earlier, so this should be a good day.

A Boring Post about Me Taking Pictures

I will spare you having to download these pictures (there are only 5) unless you really want to.

They're just some pictures I took while playing with the settings on my camera.

While looking at these, could you hear the voice of Grover saying, "Near! Far! Near! Far!"

Maybe that's just me.

I Ate a Bug

One of my coworker's wife went to Thailand and brought back some grasshoppers for us. I tried one. The flavor was unpleasantly woody to me and the texture was rather like that of plastic or sticks.

Anyway, I tried it and don't recommend it. Unfortunately, she didn't bring back any ant larva for us because I really think those would have been better.

I took a couple of pictures. These are a little blurry because I have not yet mastered the macro settings on my camera. But practice makes perfect!

Stop Saying 'Oops' When You're Doing It on Purpose

Britney Spears is pregnant again with the seed of K Fed.

I think we can all agree at this point that it is not an accident. She really does mean to allow that man to wipe himself all over her.

Excuse me. I just threw up in my mouth.

This is a puzzle to me. I really thought that since he was acting the fool a while back that they were going to split up and she would go back to doing 1,000 crunches a day. And also, that she would stop being seen in public covered in cheeto crumbs, zit cream, drinking a red bull and wearing a muu-muu, but I'm willing to accept a slow transition back to the Britney we all fell in love with.

They're Back (Or, More Accurately, They Haven't Left)

*sigh*

They're still here with the jackhammer.

But look at how clear this photo is. Now consider the fact that this is low light, no flash, and hand held. I did brace the camera against my window frame, though.

Of the cameras I've owned, this is definitely the best. I've already figured out how to control exposure, shutter speed, and even color balance.

Pretty nifty.

This does not make me less anxious to have the jackhammer guys go away.

Things that Go DATADATADATADATADATADATADATA in the Night

I'm showing you this picture for two reasons.

1) I got a new, cool digital camera that lets me do some cool things with focus, depth of field and even shutter speed. I am excited about learning about it. Maybe I'll start posting pictures of NYC for you.

2) What this picture shows is the view immediately outside of my apartment window. That is a man with a shovel and another man with a jackhammer. Two men like these two worked until well after midnight last night. With the jackhammer and the big, loud truck.

I Envy the Wind

I just found out that the New York City Marathon is on November 5th. The problem is that my 10 year high school reunion (Welcome back, pointers!) is on November 4th.

There is no way I can be at a reunion Saturday night in Georgia and at the starting line, rested and reasy on Sunday morning.

:o(

Maybe next year, then.

Jinxing It

Holy cow, y'all! I had such a nice date last night with a really sweet and really hot guy!

I know it's really too early to say anything about the direction of all of this, but it was such a nice time that I had to come tell you about it.

We just went out for drinks and it was a school night, so it was a short date, but the conversation was relaxed, fun, and dynamic. I definitely wished that we had had more time.

We're going for lunch today. Woohoo!

He's 6'1" with red hair and pretty blue eyes. He's a classical musician who is on tour with a Broadway production. As odd as it may seem, I'm kind of glad he's on tour because it means he travels a bit, which means we can't go out every single night, which is always the temptation when you meet someone new and fun. It's better when there's a lot of anticipation and excitement about your next meeting. You get to think about what was said last time and get hyped up about what might happen the next time.

Anyway, I'm very excited. I have to go to work now.

Update: Lunch with "Red" as we shall call him here was nice. I'm still a little awkward about being seen in public on a gay date and there we were out in broad daylight. Of course, no one could probably tell we were on a date, but the paranoid mind knows no reason on that.

All that aside, it was really great to see him and chat some more. Again, our time was cut short by the fact that I had to get back to work.

What Am I Doing?

No idea. Absolutely not idea.

I've been meeting some new people recently, so I'm trying to be sociable and friendly. But it's not really anything going into detail about.

Oh! You'll never believe...

I was down in Soho this weekend with a couple of my new girlfriends eating a light supper when a man approached me. It turns out it was a distant acquaintence of mine from Athens! Yeah! Athens, Georgia!

He was in one of my classes for a half a second in school and he used to manage one of my favorite restaurants. It was really crazy to see him.

We exchanged numbers, so maybe we'll hang out some time. (It's not like that -- he's totally not my type at all.) It was good to see a familiar face, too.

Anyway, it's just work and carrying on in the big city for me.

The Gayest Movie He Could Make

I went to see Another Gay Movie last night at the Tribeca Film Festival.

This pretty much explains the whole thing:

High school is over and now it's time for anal! That's the gist, and the whole kit-and-caboodle behind this jaw-dropping, screamingly juvenile and gay send-up to summer teen flicks.

There were funny parts in the film, but mostly it was just really vulgar.

But what can you expect from a movie that is intended to be a gay version of Not Another Teen Movie? The director was there and he said that he wanted to make the gayest movie he could possibly make.

The BEST part of the evening, though, was the two hour wait in line with reader Amy Stern and friend. Both ladies were hilarious and fun. I had a great time!

Thanks, Amy!

It's Official: I Exude Homosexuality

This woman at the sammich shop told me today that I look like someone she saw on Queer as Folk.

She tried to tell me who, but I never watch that show, so I didn't really understand what she was trying to explain.

Then again she was black and foreign, so maybe we all look the same to her. Gay + White + American = homogenaity

But this is further evidence that if you meet me and you don't know I'm gay, you might be a little bit retarded.

FLAME ON!

Does This Song Make me Look Gay?

Some gay person asked me what kind of music I listen to and I said that it varies but some of my favorites are Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, Marcy Playground, and Cowboy Mouth.

He listens to Greenday, Jason Mraz, and John Mayer and he said that my taste in music makes him gayer than him.

I just told him someone needed to class up the place, but then it got me to thinking: is my taste in music that gay?

First of all, yes it is. I mean, one of my favorite bands, not listed above, is ABBA.

But I guess the inclusion of two female singers is what he's basing that statement on, though. Sheryl Crow is KIND OF gay, I guess. Lucinda Williams isn't though. She's alt country. C'mon. And Marcy Playground is straight up crazy stoner rock. Cowboy Mouth is rock/country, too.

I just don't think that list is all that gay.

Of course, I think John Mayer just sucks. I don't know who that Mraz fella is, but Greenday doesn't completely suck all the time. They're not a favorite of mine at all, but I don't hate them as much as, say, Creed or Evanescence.

I think it must be the inclusion Sheryl Crow that makes it gay.

Not that it matters. I could totally take him.