shucks shucks shucks. Missed my alarms this morning. After the intensity of the past two days' practice, I'm particularly sad to miss sharing in the Ashtanga Yoga Center, Washington DC's community energy. Looks like it'll be Virginia Lung's style of double-header: Crossfit this AM, then a morning primary in my studio at Balance Gym (didja know that they got space heaters for the yogis?).

The police in DC who double park so they can go get hot dogs should be stripped of their badge. Disgusting.

This weekend I listened to a wonderful lecture by a teacher from Charlottesville, Kate Hallahan. I wanted to share the link with you all. You can check out the podcast here.

“This week’s feature is a lecture on the History and Philosophy of Yoga with Charlottesville Yoga Teacher,Kate Hallahan. Kate is the Founder of the Guerrilla Yoga Project which offers Donation-Only Yoga Classes to all sectors of the community and Co-Director of theCharlottesville Yoga School. Kate has studied extensively with Kofia Busia, one of the world’s foremost Iyengar teachers, as well as other senior teachers in both the Iyengar and Anusara Traditions. Kate is devoted to her daily yoga practice and has a background deeply rooted in the philosophy of yoga.”

A teacher who specializes in Guerilla yoga, the antiquity of the practice, and who has an Iyengar background? My kind of lady. I hope you enjoy.

is on his way to Ashtanga Yoga Center, Washington DC for Peg Mulqueen's Rocket Class. Shelby Thompson's coming, too! Blast off!

found the card his friends gave him when he left the DC Improv to start his own business. Choice quotes: "You will be Great Yoga Master <3 Melba Davis " "Bend over and Show me something Nasty!! Love ya Baby, Kazi Jones" "My lifelong running partner. Thanks for helping me find my version of adulthood. Love, Bryson Turner ps: tell sebastian hi" sooooo many good ones.

lil kim, shakira, and I know how to start a rainy DC->NYC day.

Free Penthouse Yoga - TODAY - 6pm - U Street- miDCityYoga.com for deets!

& Now its July. Love, friendship, family, water. Watermelon (spiked?). Outdoors-- all day. For what are you grateul today? miDCityYoga.com

@dcdharma It surely was my pleasure. I had such a good time; so much so that it almost wouldn't be fare if you didn't, too! So glad you did!

New blog post at miDCityYoga.com about how we sense the self in this big ol' world: Peace and Proprioception: http://bit.ly/bjW3Uz

Have you ever sucked in your gut to create that creepy too-big-rib-cage effect? Then odds are good you’ve used a muscle called the Transverse Abdominus. The TA is an important link in the deep kinetic chain of the body that allows for power from the low body to relate and transfer into power for the upper body (and vice versa) via increased stabilization in the pelvic girdle (and how it relates to the shoulder girdle).

As many of you know, I spend a ton of time throwing heavy stuff over my head– like, um, my body. If I want to improve, how do I go about it? Accessing the TA. It’ll seem obvious when I say this, but bear with; the more consolidated the core, the more control we have in all sorts of actions (olympic lifting, handbalancing, keg-standing).

Think about your core:

What do we have hiding underneath the skin?

First, the obvious:

• The big-sexy-six pack: aka the up-and-down rectus abdominus.
• The Side-abs: the external obliques.

These guys are all associate with torso flexion. They allow the body to “crunch.” Thats all well and good, but it doesn’t neccesarily speak to stablizing during the “crunch” or, heck, any other activity that might require you to not wobble (I think I can think of a few).

Much like my friendship networks of yore, the stable buddies can sometimes go less noticed in leiu of the louder (erm, less “stable”) friends.

Who handles the stabilization, then? The less obvious nonsuperficial muscle:

• The internal obliques: You can think of them as Patrick Swayze’s hands on Baby’s torso during the lift scenes. They function like that, cradling and lifting. The fibers of this muscle run perpendicular to their external brethren.
• The multifidus: Weaves along each disk of the back, and works to stabilize the joints at each segmental level. The stiffness and stability makes each vertebra work more effectively, and reduces the degeneration of the joint structures.
• The transverse abdominus: beneath those, we find a corset like muscle going around the bottommost portion of the spine (lumbar) and connecting all the way up to the low ribs.

When you draw the navel in towards the belly, you’re engaging your real core, your inner corset. The transverse abdominus contracts inwardly, bringing everything internal closer together. This is required for consolidated movement and efficient energy usage.

The multifidus is very small, but it has a unique design that lends stability to the spine , as well as working to keep you upright. When the multifidus is put on a stretch, as when you bend forward, it actually gets stronger. This is unlike most muscles which, when lengthened, lose their strength. The multifidus also brings space to the disks of the back, and brings the pelvis into a more powerful alignment for bigger (safer) actions.

The internal obliques are our same-side rotators. . It acts with the external oblique muscle of the opposite side to achieve this torsional movement of the trunk. For example, the right internal oblique and the left external oblique contract as the torso flexes and rotates to bring the left shoulder towards the right hip.

So how do we strengthen these good muscles and program ourselves to engage them regularly?

This method is super easy, but also not the most exciting thing in the world. Truth be told, at any given point, you can contract your transverse abdominus, internal obliques, and work your multifidus.

Egg Timer Method:

Draw in your innermost layer of abdominals without collapsing the chest. Draw up and in with the navel until the ribs splay, and then draw back in. Avoid slumping the shoulders. Imagine a zipper from the low back that goes to the navel, and zip it up, too. This will work the multifidus. Hold this contraction for 30 seconds. Repeat after a brief rest. Do this 5 times. Include one legged standing tilts (such as Warrior III in yoga). Repeat a few times a day. Next week make it 45 seconds. Third week? A minute.

String Method:

While drawing in the TA, tie a string around your midsection along the natural waist. For the rest of the day, every time you notice the belly flesh digging into the string, draw the belly back in. Do this consistently. Full disclosure: I haven’t done this yet.

The Benefits:

• a (dramatically) smaller waist line
• confidence in strength
• good balance
• safety in “big lifts” and “big jumps”
• decrease in low back pain

Announcements, announcements, announcements!

We sold our cow,
We sold our cow,
We have no room
for your bull now!

Looking for some comradeship as you put pavement under your feet? Starting at 6pm this Tuesday, April 20th, come check out Balance Gym’s run club. Get together with other runners and tackle a six mile run (or feel free to scale back)!

Not only is the distance scalable to each individual, but so are the post-race recovery options:

Member of CrossFit Balance? Hop into the 7:15p CrossFit Everyday Group Workout!

Need to counterbalance all the runnin’ and liftin’? Stick around for Yoga for Athletes– with me!

Not a member of Balance Gym? No biggie, as the run club is open (with a liability waiver– duh) to the public and the group classes afterwards are available for an affordable drop-in rate.

Where are we going this week?





Start: 1111 14th Street NW, headed South

2 Miles: To the Monument’s Base and Back
3 Miles: Reflecting Pool and Back
4 Mile Turn Around: Go around the Lincoln Memorial, Past the Monument, and Back
5 Mile Turn Around: Sneak up 12th Street from the Mall

Set up the new http://midcityyoga.com/ site. What do you think so far?

is on his way to DC's Clean And Sober Streets running club. Running taught me perseverance and how to practice achievement-- heres hoping I can share that with DC's homeless population. Or at least give a little yoga to 'em.

Oh. Well, then. Everyone on the streets of DC have lost their collective minds. Run tomorrow it is. So glad I drank that pot of coffee... yoga?...

is happy congress has decided to give DC a bit of it's democracy back. Yay Gay, Yay Mrd MJ, Yay Choice, Yay Clean Needles (well, for those that want 'em)!

1418 14th St NW
#2
Washington, DC 20005

is a brave on the warpath! Fight for old DC!

begins "Operation: Restoration" today. Two wildcards between now and Dec. 18th, and a renewed focus on nutrition and health!

couldn't get a bus ticket to NYC today, so no Kylie show for him. NYC friends, who wants the ticket? DC friends, who wants to go out?

invites you all to check out the launch of http://www.MidCityYoga.com

Ooooh! Fatty Pride! June 5th is National Donut Day (what, its not on your calender?). Do you know what that means? Free freakin’ donuts! Go here and find your closest Dunkin’ Donuts** and then go get yourself a nice glazed treat.

**For those of us in Mid City, the closest DD:
1511 17th Street NW

is out on a run... and wants an ice cream maker for summer. http://www.midcitymike.com/

is up and at 'em. http://www.midcitymike.com/

feels the best he's ever felt. Love! http://www.midcitymike.com

is amazed by the generosity of friends! http://www.midcitymike.com/

needs a digital camera. Anyone got an extra? http://midcitymike.com/

has been Ganeshed. Photos forthcoming. http://www.midcitymike.com

is out getting Ganeshed. (midcitymike.com)

asks that you check out MidCityMike.com

is prepping for the launch of MidCityMike.com and MidCityYoga.com.

is still competing with four wildcards, hasn't cheated on the Tara Challenge, but now what? Maaaaaaaybe a yoga 30-in-30 Challenge? 30 classes taken in 30 days?

used a wildcard last nigh in the form of a glass and a half of wine. I'll have a tipple of Jameson today.

did two hours of yoga, ran 10 miles, *really* enjoyed the superbowl, and used a wildcard!

is down one wildcard

has the Chancellor of Midcity and the Secretary of Murland asleep in the Mayor's House.

is proclaiming himself the Mayor of Midcity

No posts in way too long.

Its winter, and not much is going on. The cold long months have been punctuated by trips to Florida for game show auditions, drunken adventures in the snow (Snow Day!), and driving through life with the cruise control activated. Its not the most exciting exsistance, but I'm enjoying it.

Anywho, I stole this stupid gay-get-to-know-you from someone else's blog. I've got time to kill before I head into the comedy coal mine, so....


1. have you ever had sex with the opposite sex? Yes
2. who is the first person you came out to? Robyn or Caroline. It was the same day.
3. are you out to your parents? Yep.
4. do you want kids? Not yet, if ever.
5. do you have more gay friends or straight friends? Straight, by far.
6. were you out in school? Out-ish.
7. is your best friend the same sex as you? I've got a couple, but, yeah, the one I see most often is.
8. if your best friend is the same sex, have you ever kissed them? Tried once, I was drunk and he's straight. It was one of those so-drunk-I-couldn't-stand type deals. It made a great, if mortifying, story the next day.
9. have you ever done crystal meth? yep
10. have you ever been in a sling? Unfortch, nope.
11. have you ever done a 3-way? Yes. I like they say "done" a three way. Something about that phrasing seems awkward and unexperienced.
12. have you ever dressed in drag? I've had a dress on but no make up. The side burns would ruin the mystique.
13. would you ever date a drag queen? Hahaha, only if we could do clown porn. I seriously can't see that happening. I like dudes.
14. are you a top/bottom or truly versatile? I don't know anymore. Lets say depends on the chemistry, but typically a bototm. Its a true as we're gonna get.
15. have you seen an uncircumcised thingy? Of course.
16. have you had sex with someone of a different race? Yes
17. have you ever barebacked? Yes
18. how many cher cds do you own? Who owns CDs? (I've got the greatest hits hiding in itunes somewhere)
19. name your first true love? Aww, Phoenix Robles.
20. do you still talk to them? When he's in town.
21. does size matter? I think bein' a big boy makes it easier to be better. But if you're a pro, and at least big enough to hit my prostate, my money's on no, that shit don't matter.
22. biggest turn on? Smart, sly eyes
23. biggest turn off? Fat.
24. ever been harassed because you are gay? Nothing so terrible that its ruined me as a person 🙂
25. worst gay stereotype that applies to you? Stupid question. I live up to a bunch of stereotypes. I <3 Madonna.
26. ever been to a pride rally? Yep.
27. would you marry if you could? Ugh. He'd have to be a real pick.
28. would you rather be rich and smart or young and beautiful? I'm already smart, young, and beautiful. I'm starting to think that this quiz was written by some queen troglodyte who got sick of eatting billy goats from under his bridge. Whateves, I'd still take cash if we're just givin' it out.
29. do you sculpt your eyebrows? Puja likes it when I do.
30. do you trim your body hair? Sometimes I shave in a landing strip from between my pecs down to my cock. Sometimes I'm a twink, sometimes I'm an otter! You never know what you're gonna get when I strip.
31. ever had sex with more than one person in a day? Yep.
32. ever been to an orgy? We didn't calll it that. Something about "orgy" screams "TACKY" and "STD." But, uh, yeah.
33. have you dated your best friends ex? Nope, but I have dated a best friend!
34. would you vote for hilary clinton if she ran for president? Vauge.
35. do you want monogamy in your relationship? It depends on the relationship. Some ships just aren't built like that. I want whats healthiest for me at the time.
36. do you believe in true love? Awww, sometimes. Sometimes, very much so.
37. do you have any tattoos? Yep
38. do you have any piercings? Yep.
39. would you date a smoker? Its not a deal breaker.
40. do you know anyone who has died from h.i.v.? Yep, though its not as though they've been in my inner circle or anything.
41. do you know what stonewall was? I feel like this troll penned quiz is veering into the lovely land of condecension.
42. wonder woman, xena, or the halliwell sisters? Am I a traitor to my dear, dear DC? Gimmie the Halliwels.
43. strangest place you have had sex? Ball pit at McDonalds?
44. strangest place you’ve woken up? Oh my god, really? A basement in Glover Park? My own fire escape? The roof of that art gallery?
45. are your best years behind or in front of you? It doesn't work like that.
46. favorite porn movie? An American in Prauge
47. are you in love now? Aww, if I am, its certainly not still healthy 🙂
48. ever been in love with a straight guy/girl? Nope, not a one.
49. did you ever have sex with them? I've got issues with turning the straights. It works to create a gay-tinged "black male rapist myth."
50. have you ever been to a nude beach? Can't wait.
51. have you ever been to a bath house? I can't quite bring myself to do it.
52. ever had sex in public? Superfun.

Run for your life.

Lately, running has kinda been my life. No two ways about it, I've been passionatly running long distances for months. Running from my own crazy, running from my monotony, running from my problems. At whatever endset line I drew that day, I always found peace, resolve, and clarity. With the Marine Corps Marathon, I get to actually have people out there cheering me-- cheering among a sea of other faces. This time the finish line is something tangible, not just the completion of my daily goal.


Not run 'till I stop crying.
Not run from DC to Virginia to Maryland and back.
Not run for the thrill.

This time I'm running just for me. Woo-fuckin-hoo!

OOh Ra!

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Not too much decadence this weekend, kiddies. Flip Orley, the comic hypnotist, has been at the Improv all week. He's a hoot, he really is, even if he stays on stage longer than Cats ran. Its been okay, though, I worked most of the heavy drinking out of my system on Tuesday. When I said that we hit DG for Happy Hour, I meant that we simply started our drinking at 6-- we eventuially bopped off to the Hunt, where I continued to drink like a Kennedy. And we smoked, of course. Alex even made it over, and it was with her that I stumbled back to my place. We watched quality television and were just kinda drunk at each other. We had a ball.

Can you figure out why this chair is hardcore chained to a street sign outside of my apartment? Lauren, Geoff, and I couldn't-- granted we were (you guessed it!) drunk.


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Speaking of street signs, on Wednesday one fell on me. No Standing or Parking. Whats sad is that I wasn't doing either, I was walking. 9 Foot Tall Fucker. That pretty much truncated any exercise from Thursday on (though it's back to the gym tomorrow). It also kept me outta the bars and clubs, and let me spend Thursday in, which I fully dug. Alex kept me company in my ouchies state.

I got to see Wendy at work tonight. Stevey Snakebite fucked up his knee playing softball today (we'll worry after the rest of the tests), so Wendy covered the shift for him. I was too drunk to be a good listener when I saw her on Tuesday, so I got to hear the stories from her and Zarah's trip to New Orlean's a second time tonight. Fab. She brought me back a choco-cocko-pop with nuts in the nuts. Frickin' sweet.

Zahra dubbed me Gay-Lo for my Paparazzi Protectors and eurotrashy shirting.


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I don't know if removing the shirt made me more of less Gay-Lo, but who cares. More than a new shirt, I need a new hat, and I think I want one of either Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button. Alonso is way hotter and a better racer so far, but Geoff's into Giancarlo Fisichella, and I fear that its too gay (literally) or something for us to have almost matching hats. I may just wait for Scott Speed to make his debut for Red Bull Racing next season. His car is dope, he's adorable and American-- plus his name has to be fake, right? Formula 1 kinda rules... Fast Cars, Hot Guys, and Apparel. You know you want in.


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I find it a touch giggle-worthy that my favorite parties in town are Blowoff and Taint. Alex and I rocked out with our (proverbial) cocks out, danced and dallied with the best of 'em.


One of said best just so happened to be Markie, who convinced me to go to Blowoff instead of Nation (sorry Delroy!). His influenced was appreciated, I had a bitchin time. Between cocktails, Pina Coladas, and good ol' fashioned hang outs, its been a bitchin weekend.

Not a lot to report, kiddies. No news is good news, or so Mom used to tell me when the mailbox was empty. Its an empty mailbox month so far. Just playing with the Logan Circle family, relaxing in Dupont Circle on the nice weather days (even climbing trees), and making new friends (Geoff).

Geoff and I jogged down to the Capitol earlier this week, and thats such a quintesential DC type thingie that its worth mentioning. I hadn't done it in a while. Word up hey.

Well damn. You silly sons of bitches. How did ya'll miss Taint? Its not that far a drive-- and I worked my shit. You guys shoulda, too! Phoenix, Alex, and Mike Cooper did. Flordia, New Jeresy, Boston, Virginia? You all missed out. Just sayin'.

I'm spellbound by both Grey's Anatomy and Desparate Housewives. The former for its very real portrayal of how relationships go down (as I remember), and the latter for the sheer candytainment. Well written, engrossing. I'm on edge for each new episode. Markie was right, we are at the new coming of television.

This was a banner week for bruises in the land of Mike. I mentioned the twin extra long, and I guess I should have referenced its girth, too. Sore Mikey. Then, on Tuesday, I was jumping a fence to get to Columbia Plaza (go have a look, and see that big highway thingie? thats got a fence)... well, it had just started raining, and my foot slipped. As I was launching myself. I fell and flew about four-ish feet and also busted my ass on the pavement. I also hit a spokey-spoke.

Black and blue, strawberried, poked more than once and bleeding, I was a tore up fatty. I was crampy, bloody, as well as mostly jovial in re: to the whole matter. Lets be honest, kiddies, its a good story. When I was finally able to climb stairs like a normal human being, I awoke with a gunky eye. Apparently, three months of one contact set will do that to you.

I'm all healed now, my vision is fine (though the glasses are natch), and I can behave like a normal member of society. I, like any well trained mutt, have righted most wrongs and maybe even fixed the root source of all these problems.

Lack o' Lube? Uncheck. Fence Jumping? Uncheck. Permacontactcs? Uncheck. Pavlov, of course, had a bell. I have pain and suffering.

On the bright side, I'm really cute in my glasses.

So, its not the weed. Its the email.

Mickey Mouse is only gonna be in town for 5 more days. Thats a little disappointing, its been nice having 75 of his likenesses runnin' around. They've all kinda denned up over at the Reagan building, which hosts the outdoor dance party I like so much. It must be the cats pajamas for my sass to the south, Bikutoria, to constantly have a little bit of rat-itude.


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Instead of cute and kitch, I'm gonna have the straight up oddballs that this swamp city brings out come Spring. Like this chucklehead, who was headed north on Connecticut the other day. Mmmm, argyle socks.

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Or like this wacko who's coming into town on the 14th of May.

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Yes, you are, princess. Yes you are.

Speaking of all things Jersey, I've got Pam (she of Hawaii and dance partner fame) coming into town on the 20th of May. Work it out, birthday present.

4/20 has come and gone, ya'll. I hope everyone celebrated well. The 420 High Council convened, but no new decrees were set or smote.

Biotech Companies are thinking about pharming underground in caves. I find it one part facinating and one part shit-tasticly creepy.

Before Trev[PaEx] moved to Shippensburg from Harrisburg, we spent probably four hours on the phone together a day. Minimum 2. This went on for just about a year. Who knew that it was art?

Pam from Hawaii and DC is coming to visit on May 20th. That means she'll be here for the entirety of my birthday celebration. Booyakasha, ya'll!

Krista's coming down on the 14th (of May) for HFStival. The Line Up?
Billy Idol, Sum 41, Social Distortion, Garbage, Foo Fighters, Good Charlotte, Coldplay, The Bravery, Citizen Cope, Jimmies Chicken Shack, New York Dolls, Unwritten Law, They Might Be Giants, Louis XIV, Echo and the Bunnymen, Interpol, The Stereophonics, Pepper, and DJ Rap. You can pick your pussies up off the floor now, I realize this is gonna be sweet. I'm gonna try to convince Dave[Crazy] to carpool with Krista and me. I think it'd be fun.

Technology came to my door this week in the form of an itty-bitty bluetooth dongle. Its adorable, the little dongle, and I can't help but gush and make googly eyes at it-- it's smaller than Fetus Spears. The hope was to get my phone a chat-chat-chattin' with my lappy top, eventually setting up a photoblog not totally dissimilar from Mr. Mark's. With hope comes uncertainty by default. I suppose it's enough that I finally have a phone again, but really, the fact that I can't figure out how to get my phone talking to my laptop kinda pisses me off.

At least I have a phone again. It'd been since the end of February for crying out loud! Having a cell phone again means that its possible for boys to call and ask me out on dates, and clearly I like that. Cause they are calling. And last weekend I had a date. The talapia was good, and so was I. Behavior wise, that is(and only mostly good, anyway).

Dating, huh? Its about time.

For all creeps, romantics, shyguys and shiesters, Craigslist and the City Paper offers an outlet for every missed chance with the random hotfolk and facinating. The "I Saw You's" are printed in the Washington City Paper every week, and Lauren and I used to read them religiously. Lately, as the printed word is slowly dying to me, I've been reading the craigslist version more religiously.

For the first time, I'm a Missed Connection!"

Word!

I'm gonna respond and see what happens, 'check yes or no' so to speak.

February 22nd came and went without any real problems, and all is right with the world. Kinda like if the only potsmokin quaker, Smokey, I knew came into work with a bag full of granola and a copy of Gandhi in each hand. Oh. Wait. She did.

Tonight at Taint (superfun) I went to the bathroom. Not an unusual occurrencefor me at a bar-- clearly. In the bathroom a boy was fixing his hair in the mirror (and in the sink, he may as well have been bathing. That boy, before allowing me to use the mirror, told me that only people who show their belly button get to use the mirror.

I showed my belly button.

He said "That is a great belly button," and then rasberried said postumbilical orriface. He told me I'd done good work with it, and then let me fix my hair, heading out before me.

Word!

Markie and I have the same family guy character.

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Which Family Guy character are you?

I had a really busy day today, I bounced from work to home, to 12th and Penn (to pick up a package), to 13th and U (to get ready for hawaii), back to home, to the gym, to home, to Jenny Lee's (15th and U) to Chi-Cha (Carter's going away party), and couldn't quite make it to Staccato's for indie rock and roll karaokee for the children (tsunami relief) to catch up with the improvers.

Phew.

Anyway, on my way home, after spending time with Alex, his new boyfriend, and Jenny Lee I decided to come home, rub one out, and leave a message on Craigslist under men seeking men. Its a laundry list of the thing I want in a man. We'll see if anything comes of it, won't we?

Bring it on, 2005... the motto? "I've got feet, sweep me off them."

The Year of Love, indeed.

Republicans! Be on notice!

I'm a pedestrian, I walk places. You... you in your boots and cowboy hats, black ties and long scarves, you evil motherfuckers... this is my town, and you are a guest! Again, I repeat, you are a guest!

You fucks. I realize that where you come from its okay to wear your self-importance on your sleeve, you have more cows than people. But! But! If one more of your goddamned limos, stretch hummers, or fancy-shmancy cabs are in my way when I try to walk across the crosswalk, I will beat the living pulp out of your car. And run. Quickly.

"Crosswalk," bitches.

I know the alleys, you don't. You will not catch me, and your car will be in a state befitting your soul. Dented and mangled. You can show your disrespect and deign for the common man, thats fine, but I need not civility in my disobedience.

Be on notice!

And, think of it as payback for the 17 mil we're shilling out for you to hit our pedestrians while wearing your cowboy hats and tropywives.

92% of your neighbors want you gone.

How 'bout that.

I couldn't walk down 14th Street this weekend without walking into a large, scary looking leather daddy, a slave sans ballgag, or a horrified tourist. Good Times. Yeah, the Mid Atlantic Leather Conference was in town, and I actually went on the "Meet the Meat" bar crawl this past friday. I knew that I could have gotten myself into real trouble, seein’ as how I dressed up like a gay 70’s teensploitation movie character. I was all sorts of varsity football jersey, shaggy hair, and rope handcuffs. Lets not forget the belt buckle in the back that Caitlin decided was just straight up “pornographic.”

Bitch was right, and I was hot.

Miss Meg came with me dressed in a sequened scoopy bra and leather pants. She looked hot as fucking hell, and honestly, the girl's body is ridiculous. I couldn't have asked for a better drinking buddy, seein' as how the minute we go to the Washington Plaza the straight bartenders were buying us rounds. We made one hell of a pair, tricked out football player and awry cheerleader.

We stayed at the Plaza long enough to get macked on by older gentle men, but no one of note decided I was the hotness, so we moved on. My fragile little ego needed to be stroked (yes, ego, not that) so we hit the Green Lantern and Titan, too. Lantern was excellent, and I made out with a boy for fun. Figures, he was the only one there who was clearly not there for the leather scene. He had gotten lost on his way from JRs, I imagine. Poor cute, tallboy.

I’m lame enough that the fact that his name was also the title of a Newbery award winning book made me want to make out with him even more. I suppose if I was going for the self-referential grade school sex look, a Newbury winner would be perfect.

Alas, bad kissers sometimes have great names, so it was back home and back to Yums for detox and rehashing. Meg made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself of a cocktail or two, and managed to sleep for a short bit on the bathroom floor. Yikes. I passed out somewhere between the Tivo and the radiator, with a jug of water next to me. I found it in the morning, but couldn’t find my voice. I reckon that’s why the slaves didn’t have ball gags, one night out, and even this loudmouth couldn’t talk the next morning.

One of the hot things about last night is that there were quite a few pictures taken of Meg and I, so somewhere someone is ogling us in posterity. Hot.

It's a quiet 11:30, I shouldn't be home. I should be at work, at Cosi, still waiting tables, and still bitching about shit that doesn't really matter to the real world. Except, unfortunatly, I'm not. I don't work there anymore.

I'm not so upset about it that I want to be forlorne. I'm not driven mad with a burning desire to return. I simply want a job that pays well again, one where I enjoy the perks and most of the co-workers. Today found me at Dupont Italian Kitchen (DIK), Trio, and FoodBar applying. I don't know what will become of those efforts, but they all seem to be options that are valid.

I even called the DC Improv to see if they were hiring waiters. They weren't. I want to go turn in an application anyway, because I figure what can it hurt? It seems like such a nifty job. Tara just got herself working for a comedy club in New York-- she's a promoter, one of those girls that offer you deals on tickets and food for one great price. If you've ever spent any time in NYC you know exactly what I'm referencing.

I'm still lying to the folks about working so that they don't worry needlessly. They know I'm "job hunting", but they don't know that I actually am unemployeed. I fibbed and said I took the day off yesterday so that Chris (my brother), Cathy (his wife), Christopher and Christina (their kids) could come tour DC. We went to the Natural History Mueseum, Air and Space Museum, the White House, the Botanical Gardens, the Capital, and the Zoo. They were thrilled to see it all-- as was I.

I enjoy that Cathy smokes pot-- I really do. We got to smoke together before heading off to the Zoo, and it made the experience even more fun. I'm tickled. I'm actually gonna go back down to my folks' tomorrow for Lunch, seein' as how Cathy promised me a real italian meal. I'm stoked.

In regards to food, Jenny Lee cooked me a yummy, yummy dinner this evening. It was just Veggie Burger sandwhiches, but with our trip to Whole Foods, we had lovely fixens, and I was thrilled. We even ran into Alex (funny, since they live together :P), and we all chatted. I like him so much. I wish that I had a way to actually ask him out on a date sometime. I'm not sure how to seguey it, since he and I are allotted little alone time. I don't even know that he's in to me. I like to think he is, but really, who knows? Either way, he's a wonderful, wonderful guy. His roomate is no less stellar.

She's kind of a godess, ya know? She's so ridiculously genuine that you almost want to tell her every minute of every moment how precious she is. She rocks my world. She cooks me dinner. She teaches me about belgian beer. What more can you ask for in a friend? Speakin' of Belgian Beer, I'm just now getting in from Saint-Ex, a bar on 14th Street. They had a reall chill, relaxed crowd, kind of mixed between the straights and the homos, and the DJ was spinning some decent midtempo grooves. A lovely time.

At anyrate, tomorrow morning I've got my interview at Perry's and then a drive to my folks ahead of me. Not neccesarily busy, but time cramped. I'm goin' to bed.

Sun-drained and deeply tanned is how I'm spending this third of july. Krista and Crystal came down the day before yesterday to visit, and we went over to Playbill for drinks and for karokee. When we arrived, there was this amazing singer doing her rendition of "The Greatest Love" by Whitney. She rocked the fucking house. The next few singers were no less stunning.

Who knew that they were from two musicals over at the Kennedy Center? "Beehive" and "Sheer Madness" have been playing for a little while each over there, and I guess the principals made their way to my little dive bar for fun and laughs.

Poor Crystal, the one member of the family who can really sing didn't even get a chance to show her chops, since the Karokee machine broke half way into the evening. The other half of the evening was filled with acapella-ness.

We left, somewhat appropriatly, on "Empty Chairs" from Les Mis.

We had finished off my big ass bottle of Vodka before going across the street, so when we got back and danced in my apartment for an hour, it allowed us some sobering-up time. It also allowed for some hardcore emotional bonding... over the words and music of Dar Williams. We hugged, cried, and remembered why we were so glad to have each other.

LOVE them.

After the hour or two back at the apartment, we hopped our way over to Apex and did some dancing. A cute boy in a hat danced with Crystal, and Krista and I just rocked our shit. It was one of those nights where I wasn't feeling dance shy at all, so I grabbed the girls by the hand and led them to the up-stage area, and the crowd cleared for us. Its a satisfying feeling to watch people watch you, and know that they are making desirous looks. It feels good, its fucking empowering, and it makes me want to shake my dance shyness altogether. If Krista and Crystal are the antidotes for it, maybe they should just be around more often... just a thought. 😉

Anyway, we came down to the country the next morning, ending up at my folks bright and early; we left at 8:45, and made it here by like 11ish, including the stop at McDonald's.

We drank lovely frozen drinks and swam in the pool all day long. I'm a red-tastic light-burned thats going to fade into a gorgeous tanned, which is more than I can say for Ms. Crystal, who missed spots all over herself with the suntan lotion, and thusly looks like a bizarre picasso. No big thing. Its just funny shit.

We had been up for so long, drunken no less, that as soon as 10:30 rolled around, we were crawling into the tent to pass out.

Oh, ya, with so many heads in the house, we just pitched a tent in the back yard and pretending to be pioneers. It somewhat matches another portion of the day's activities... we decided to put go trapsing through the swamps around here like we did when we were little.

Muddy and yucky. Totally my childhood.

Right, so yeah, at 10:30 we were crawling into the tent, and being the person I am, I went ahead and checked my phone for messages. I had a text message from Bville Boy. Bville is an old coworker of mine, and someone I once considered a really good friend. When I cleaned up my addictions, I ended up losing my friendship with him.

He and his then-boyfriend were Lauren's roommates in the Holmead House, and they really sorta scewed over the member's of that home. Lauren, of course, is living with me now, but the reason she moved into the apartment with Jess in the first place had a lot to do with having to move out of the Holmead House-- when half of your roomates, Bville and BVEx, aren't paying, you sorta have to get the hell out.

So, Bville Boy revealed to me that he was at court for his eviction proceedings, and during the trial or whatever, he had a heart attack. A real, honest to god heart attack. He's fine, from what I can tell, but having his heart stops eems to be what he needed to kick start his quitting. BVEx has decided not to kick the habit, nor has his BVille's best friend... and to my shock, the ex and the best friend (who is a lesbian) are living with someone new... Justin...

I've mentioned Justin here previously. I hold massive distrust for anything/anyone associated with that boy, and damn it, I'm honestly thrown through a loop. How do you trust someone who is tied to the person you most intimatly tie in your head to your abuse?

Bville Boy was crying on the phone with me, and he told me he missed me. I'm the only person he knows who's actually cleaned themselves up, and he wasn't sure if he should contact me or not. Kate told him to. She said I'd be a good person to talk to about this... Kate. More old ties.

He informed me he's living with his parents, and I told him to stay there. I told him that's the best place to be (his parents are apparently helping him a ton, being supportive, etc). I promised we could get coffee, and that we could talk about anything he wanted to. He was grateful. He asked me how I did it, how I quit-- he said it was so hard. How did I quit? Because I had to! Because my life was called into question, and I chose togo on living... and to him I swore, swore on my life, that it was worth it.

I want to call Kate and fact check. We'd spoken fairly recently, had a real chat, and I think she's on the path to "un-broken." Even when we were both broken toys, we still had an underlying bond. I feel like I can talk to her about whats going on without there being any pretense of sketch.

Justin also makes me so paranoid, so fucking sketchy, that when Bville told me that his ex and his old favorite lesbianwere living with Justin, I immediatly thought that this was a trick, or that Justin was trying to somehow "get" me.

A well placed call to Tara calmed my fears and squelched the paranoia, thank goodness. She provided me a superb Crazy Check, bringing me back to reality. She pointed out what I needed to have repeated, and reiterated the arms-length embrace philosophy that I was already thinking about.

I want to know so much more about whats going on in this situation. I'm curious how Bville, BVEx and Justin could have crossed paths to the point that they'd be living together. I want to know how much Kate is involved with Justin. Argh. Nothing I can do from here. I know I need to not think about it... just calm the fuck down and just tan more. A good tan solves so much. And besides, if I'm gonna see Bville I wanna have a tan, just 'cause I'm vain.

Speaking of vain, I did have steak and crabs today for dinner... I'm going to get soooo fat visiting my parents. Just thinking about these associations from my past make me feel obese. Isn't that awful? I wish Krista and Crystal didn't have to work on the Fourth and could just be here tomorrow, too. They left tonight to go back up to their respective states, and somehow I don't mind bein' a True Fatty when they're here...

Nothing went according to plan yesterday. Instead of Sacha and I getting together for happy hour, we decided to go be healthy seperatly-- she playing tennis, me going to the gym. Ultimatly, the plan was to meet up afterwards. After getting out of the gym, I decided to swing by Cosi to go see everyone. In the midst of a stolen diet snapple and a cigarette, Jenny and her roomate arrive with bags in tow from Urban in Georgetown.

The roomate she went shopping with was, as fate would have it, the roomate I have a crush on.

Suuuuch a crush. Especially after what happened next.

Sacha still hadn't called me back from her tennis match, so I decided to walk Jenny and Alex home. As we approach Dupont Circle, Jenny notices a drumcircle, so we decide to go take a closer look.

The people in the circle are reciting poetry, singing, and banging drums... facinated, we discover that this here circle is the DC Guerrilla Poetry Insurgency-- poetry to protect the peace. Jenny, Alex, and I stop to have a listen, and at some point this disgusting personification of all that is backwater decides to get on the open mike. "Stop crying and grow some balls" may have been the statement that unlocked Alex's inner guerrilla, because after the oaf got off the mic, Alex went up and started flowing.

A stunningly fierce black girl took the second mic and started singing behind Alex's words.

And then a helicopter flew over, and between the sounds of the blades chopping, alex's perfectly synchopated verbage, the harmoninzing, and the drums keeping beat through it all, I swooned.

I walked them the rest of the way home, smoked, and stayed for dinner. Jenny cooked us pasta, Alex was excited to ride my bike, and I just enjoyed the company.

Eventually Jenny went to bed. Alex was sprawled out on his couch, and I was sprawled out on mine. Eventually we were holding hands. What followed leaves me to play the 'context' game in my head for a while...

This morning I told him I still thought he was great. He returned to sentiment.

But there was no kiss. How does this work?

So, so busy.

Lets see, what happened in the past month?

I got the apartment I wanted so badly. I live at 14th and P... I'm officially Mid-City Mike. So much has happened in the past month, its fairly daunting to decide what it is I should share.


We'll list them.

School gets hectic, so does work, so does moving. My gym-goin' slacks off.

School ends. It will be my last semester at George Mason, as I plan to transfer to the University of the District of Columbia. UDC.

The conversion van I used to move my stuff from Colonial Beach to here had a bad transmission requiring (and resulting in) some slow moving.

Pauline returns to California.

Robyn got married.

Tara moves to New York.

Dan and I put things to an end. We are too different.

I got a bike, which leads to funny drunken bike rides.

Got a boot on the ol' blazer, to the tune of $700.

Mark got a purple-flavor.

My bag (containing my wallet, keys, work clothes, Lauren's ipod, and probably someone's soul) got stolen.

Jarret and I scaled my fire escape, and in the midst of a fairly hot moment later on in that evening, the police decided to scale my fire escape, too. There's something creepy about the police looking into your room.

The neighbors, one a city planner, both under twenty nine, bought me a bottle of wine in apology for callin' the police on me.

Sacha's friend recognizes me at work. Calls her on the phone. We talk, and return to one another's life.

Phoenix and I actively speak more, returning in a friendly capacity to one another's life. He has a fantastic boy in, of all places, harrisburg.

Krista came down, went home when I didn't answer my phone (the night my bag was stolen), realized her err and came back down.

Paid to have new keys cut by a locksmith for my car. $200.

Krista and I have a fan-fucking-tastic couple of days runnin' the city for all its worth. We never make it to Haine's Point.

Jackie, Sacha and I reunite for two-day party. As it should be.

My wallet arrive in my parent's mail. The $120 that was in it is not there any longer, but my ID is. I no longer have to relive my pre-21 adventures. Also attached are my keys, negating the $200 spent on keys.

Lauren and Jess come to an end. Lauren comes to stay with me.

My CD player is stolen out of my car.

The people who sent me my wallet (the Washington Metro Area Lost and Found) do not have lauren's ipod, my bag, or anything that would have been with my wallet.

My savings have been thorougly drained.

Sacha finds in the newspaper an ad to drive some man's car to Tampa on the 25th of June. Will pay return air fare home. Blocks begin to be put into place for a spur of the moment to trip to Tampa.

My apartment is still fabulous.

I developed a fake crush on Jenny Lee's roomate, Alex (he's cute!).

Jenny Lee, Alex, and I go dancing. I develop a not-so-fake crush on Alex. He can discuss Oprah's effects on middle america. Applicable pop culture? Swoon.

Saw "De-Lovely" with Sacha. I'm imagining a vauge obsession with Cole Porter rising from this viewing for both Sacha and I.

I'm going back to the gym today.

Not a bad trip to New York, I gotta say.

Dan and I finished up our classes last Monday and hopped onto the bus and made our way up north to DC to meet up with Lauren and Jess. The original plan was to just crash there for the night and get up way early to catch the $30 round-trip chinatown bus, but as it turned out, there was a bus that left at like 3:30 in the morning. What'd we do? We caught that one.

Why not, you know? As the bus approached the other chinatown, the sounds of mandolins and gongs could be heard playing through the busses sound system. We were the only white folk on the bus, so lest I make some sort of offhandedly offensive comment, let me just say my asian brethen on the bus didn't seem like the blithely happy beats, nor did it seem to make them any happier than they made me.

We got off the bus and meandered through china town, making our way down to Chelsea. Do you have any fuckin' clue how hard it is to find a coffeehouse in china town? Once we all had caffeine coursing through our veins, we treked through the lands of lore: The Village.

At 9:30 in the morning we were in a 24/hour pleasure store purchasing a Fuckuko that the old lady on oxygen recommended. Well, clearly Dan and I didn't purchase it, Lauren and Jess did. They also had Pussy Whip in the flavors of Blackberry Brandy and Strawberry Wine. Both were in fact flammable. Seein' as how I don't have a pussy, I didn't bother purchasing any. I don't think I want to put anything that has the potential to catch on fire near my junx, thanks.

After we rode the subway for a bit, we ran into Jess's only family member in the city: her cousin. She's like 45 or so, and really cool. How random is it that we just ran into her on the metro? I was pretty impressed. Also on that ride there was this black couple, who were singing really, really well. Lauren swapped them a dollar for a photo, and they invited us to a free show at the Cafe Vivaldi.

So, after the stint on the sub, we arrived in Times Square, where Jackie's folks were staying. They were staying in the Iroquois, in a 3 room suite that was habitated by James Dean from 1950-1953. How deliriously swank. And cool. James Dean was probably fucking his tricks in the room I slept in... that’s so fuckin' bitchin'. Mmmm...

We actually ended up going to the show at the Cafe and hearing Chocolate Thai and Jubilee sing. They cafe had plenty of seating, as it was an 'unannounced' show, but there were still a number of heads present. Throughout the show, CT and Jubilee kept referring to us as their "DC Friends." It was really sweet. After the show, we walked around the borough we were in smoking a joint and gabbing. As it turns out, they are going to be on Sesame Street! I need to make sure I'm paying attention so that I can tape it. I would love to see someone I smoked with chillin' with Grover.

I kinda absent mindedly just left out Dan's friend at NYU, Adrian. I'm annoyed with her, and was annoyed with him about her. Long stories short: She was supposed to be out of her class and call at 2:00. We put ourselves in Union Square to meet her. She never called. Dan called, and she didn't answer. Dan apparently didn't make super solid plans, but never made that clear. Then Jackie wanted us to pick her up a handle of Jim Bean. No big deal-- we asked Adrian when the store stopped sellin' liquor, and she told us midnight. The show finished at 10:30, and we asked where we should go to get some, and then she said that they were already closed. I don't know if she's just super-self-absorbed or what, but I'd rather not believe she purposefully lied to my friends and I. She also didn't really say a helluva lot to my friends which pissed me off. I realized Dan hadn't seen her in ages, but I'd never treat his friends the way she treated mine, or at least not without apologizing to Dan for it later. No such apology came. It wasn't even the apology from him that I wanted, it was an awareness that maybe he is some how accountable for his friends actions.

Accountability is a big issue for Dan. Whenever something happens, its the worlds fault, or someone elses. He also is aimless and has no direct ambition. He's totally inactive in any decision making process regarding his own life. It grates on me so badly because I know what it feels like to be there, in that space. I was in that space not so very long ago, and being around it now feels almost like a step backwards. I've talked about it with him, and I'm optimistic, but darn it, shape up.

I talked to Mara about it, and she gave good advice-- stick it out. Be a responsible, mature person, and watch it wear off. I guess she's right. My annoyance with it and my readiness to drop him immediately for it is nothing more than my own self defense mechanism showing up... but it is a valid issue, and one worth paying attention to.

Anyway, back to New York, since I've gotten that tangent out of my system. Adrian neglected to tell us that getting into NYUs buildings required a Driver's License and a Driver's License only; Lauren only had her passport, and thusly couldn't be admitted into the dorms. Jess and Lauren were rightly pissed at this point. Afterall, Jackie, one of the sweetest (don't tell her I said that) girls in the world had let us stay at her folks suite in NYC, and all she requested was some liquor. She requested it of Jess, and because of Dan's friend's flightiness, we couldn't get it.

Jackie was on her way down from midtown on the subway when we discovered our inability to enter the dorms, so we waited outside for her. I told Dan to stay behind and play with his friend. When Jackie found us in Union Square, we bought beer and hopped back on the metro.

At the hotel, Lauren and Jess quickly fell asleep. Jackie and I drank a beer or two and then diddybopped into Time Square. We walked around in the neoday that only Vegas and Time Square can seem to replicate. We wandered, talked, bonded, and fell into the almost sensuous serenity of being nearly native. The city envelopes, controls, and somehow still stays in the background... We felt like we belonged. We shared months worth of emotion and unlocked the emotional toolchest and got to work on one another, listening, wandering, talking, and bonding some more. I love Jackie. We finished off a few more back at the hotel, never getting drunk, and just talked until the sun was nearly ready to come up. The next morning we got a hold in Jackie's Chin, bought a bowl, had cream of asparagus soup, tried on sunglasses, and caught a china town bus home.

When we got back in the car, I was expecting Dan to mention his friend's behavior. It never came. I grew annoyed with my own thoughts, and wanted to sort them out, so I had planned on going home. Dan could see that something was pissing me off, so he asked what it was. I expressed to him my concern with his lack of awareness and lack of accountability. The discussion was short-lived, however, because bad news came. The bust for Pot that had occurred had managed to get Dan kicked off campus, though he had no official wrong-doing. His lack of grounding annoyed me even more after I worked really hard to get his police report released. I pretended to be Joel Kelly, of Billingsly and Snead, while talking on the phone with one Margaret Jones, from the Police records office. I convinced her that I was a paralegal, and was helping Mr. Snead work on a case where time was of the essence. It took convincing, but she agreed to release the records so that Dan could have them for his appeal... which had to be turned in literally two days after he got the notice of eviction.

Anyway, all I had to do was fax Ms. Jones the info she requested, which Dan had. Dan should have been just about ready to go to his next class when I called him to get him to fax the information over... but guess what? Instead of following through with any of the shit he needed to get done, he went to the mall, while his friend Meg and I helped prepare his stuff. We were both annoyed. My annoyance lasted a solid couple of days, and I told him to just go back to Delaware if he's not bettering himself here. He's just so friggin young in so many ways. Kelly calls 'em Boy years. She says he's not even a child in boy years, that hes still a baby, and in many ways I think she's right. Ahh, dual influence... Mara has validity and so does Kelly. I think they're both right in the words they've spoken. I need to watch out that I'm not dippin' out on this kid because of my defenses, and also not taking more than I should, as per Kelly.

Speaking of Kelly, she invited me to a fund-raiser/house party on Saturday night that was bein' held by a bunch of greenpeace-ers. It was up in NW, so I drove up from Colonial Beach and picked up Dan along the way. We grabbed Jess from her Cosi and checked into what will (hopefully soon) be my Cosi so that I could say Hola to e'rybahdy. We got to the house party without too much effort, and wouldn't you know it, the party was fuckin' hoppin'. Two kegs were going, the dancefloor was bein' held up beat-to-beat by one of the dudes from Thievery Corporation, and the ghanga was waftin' all through the top floor. We had a smoke session and Jess, who no longer smokes, caught herself a lovely-lovely contact high. So lovely, in fact, that as we were walkin' out the window to the rooftop area, Jess almost took a second face-plant of the month... this time over the roof. Luckily balance was caught, but whoooo booy, was it funny/scary/ridiculous.

For the Greenpeace party, I decided to make a pair of jeans. Well, not make, so much as modify, but anyway, I had these jeans from Gap that I slit up the side nearly to my midthigh on each side and on the inner side, up to my knee. For Madonnarama last year they were safety-pinned together and made into a neuvo-prince kinda look. Loved 'em. For this event, I attacked an old garter set, and made different sized strips tapering from shorter strips to longer, and stitched them into the slits. Then I took my mom's curtain decorating rope and fashioned a belt that does this in the front: //\ And comes around into the back and cups my ass really tightly. The jeans turned out to be a smashing hit, they got talked about in a positive light on a couple of occasions. This, of course, stroked my vanity like no other, and made me grin from ear to ear.

I mentioned earlier that I pretended to be Joel Kelly, of Billingsly and Snead. Well, I got to tell Caroline that I was pretending to be her father’s paralegal (Snead, get it) the other day. She and I took Anabell for a walk that was only supposed to be around the block, but ended up taking about two hours. I guess we had a lot to talk about. Caroline’s lookin’ well, and feelin’ better, too, from what I understand. They just readjusted her thyroid medication, so we’ll see what that brings. I told her that I was trying the Atkins Diet (which I am, btw) for a while, and she was totally supportive. Until she showed me this three layer dessert she made. It was so rich that even the enviable appetite of the Snead Family couldn’t finish the dish in one sitting. She told me to chew it up and spit it out, it was that good. I did. It was.

Also from the vaults of Caroline… she had found this stray a few months ago that she named Jake. He was a good puppy, but Papa Snead wouldn’t let ‘er keep it. Anabell was enough fur in his house as-was, so she hunted around to find a new owner. One of her bookclub buddies stepped up to the plate, and the puppy shipped off to Caroline County. Well, the dog got loose from the new owner. Its fine, no worries, but one of the neighbors called the police on the cute little beagle for dog vagrancy. She had to go to court for it and everything.

So, there this girl is, in court, when they announce the Honorable Charles Snead presiding. Andrea, the new dog’s owner, thinks to herself for a minute: Caroline’s last name is Snead. Caroline’s Dad is a judge. She sees the judge, and he’s a large man. Caroline’s Father is a large man.

Can you believe it? The man who turned away the vagrant dog to begin with is now presiding over the case. Poor Andrea is so honest that she didn’t mention it at the time to him, but Papa Snead got rid of the charges anyway. So, when Caroline told her daddy what happened, he about lost it with laughter. “Why didn’t she say somethin’?” he bellowed with laughter. “I liiive for letting people go for no good reason. All she had to do was say ‘Your honor, Caroline Snead gave me this dog, and I’ve just recently been learnin’ how to take the proper care this vagrant dog needs.’ And I would have said, ‘Of course! This dog has a history of vagrancy, one that I am very familiar with! There are extenuating circumstances! Dismissed!” I don’t know if Papa Snead would use that many exclamations, but I imagine that he would, so we’re gonna let ‘em stay.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day... I'll discover whether or not I get my job at Cosi back fo' rizzle, I get a massage by Kelly, and then I get to take her out to lunch. Following that, fingers crossed, I get to go to work.

By the way, Alanis cut her hair. Love it.
(photo lost to time)

Mark has plans for an event for the two of us called Tequila Grande. Its a night of tequila-soaked escapades involving 7-layer dip, tequila-lime chicken, and margaritas. It seems to me there will be more time for that, since more time will be spent in DC as of today.

"Why, oh why," you may ask, "is Mike returning to the city?"

Because thats where I have become gainfully employeed (it seems).

On Monday night, after studying hard for and then ace-ing two midterms, it seemed I had a night of revel-ry ahead when I was informed of a certain friend's 21st birthday event. She turned twenty-one at midnight, and we were going to make our way to the Friday's in Fair Oaks for birthday love.

When we arrived, I informed the server that I worked at friday's, so that he would perhaps discount some of the appetizers. Total standard procedure. Well, when birthday shots were being ordered, he carded me. I didn't think much of it, figured I wasn't getting the drink, and that was that. He called me out for bein' a minor, and no spectacle was made.

When the shots arrived, there was an extra. I proceeded to take the shot with the group, and all was happy in friend-ville.

I got up in the mornin', rolled to work, and when I arrived, I was taken to the side and sat down. Last night at 1:30, whomever it was that called me out on bein' under 21 called around to all the Friday's in the Northern Virginia area describing me. I'm pretty easy to describe, it can be done in like three adjectives and maybe a noun.

They claimed me, and then were informed that I had drank as a minor and that they had informed corporate. Insta-termination, non-rehirable for 6 months.

I didn't let it dampen my spritis too thoroughly, knowing I had yet another midterm to ace on wednesday. I spent most of Tuesday with Michelle just bein' a fatty and relaxing.

Wednesday I aced the next exam (for Comm 380) and goofed off further.

I went with Ashley today to DC to speak with the GM of Cosi to ask for an application and an interview. All things went well, now I just have to get a schedule and I should be golden. There don't seem to be too many terrible hitches in the plan, so I'm optimistic.

I don't know yet exactly how the commute is going to work, but Mom supported me goin' somewhere else to make more money. Cosi has negative connotations in her mind, slightly, due to the atmosphere that used to be employeed there, but good heavens, that is no longer the case.

That crowd has came and gone, and the new crowd is wonderful. Dedicated, sober, fun folk who are students and working actively towards success. A far different crowd than the aforementioned "atmosphere."

I look forward to working with Lauren again. I look forward to making good money at a place that has the capactiy to treat me well. It changes my routine a bit, but I also put down day-shift hours to work as a barista, which I think would be neat, as well as allow me to continue rising early for a reason.

I think I'd miss the AM now.

I'm really enjoying my life the way it is now, busy yet also laid back. I'm doing the best I've done in school in a loooong time, and I see people who love me unconditionally every day.

As quick as Fridays came into my life, it goes out. I can't help but look towards kismet as perhaps the reason I got called in to work at Cosi on Friday. It set up a decent doorway for re-entry.

I didn't mention it on Monday, since I was preoccupied with preoccupations (*grin*), but other stress-me-out-ers arrived on Saturday when a dorm I was playin' Uno in was busted for marijuana. I was with Dan visiting Chrissy on Saturday night after I finished studying and napping, and the dorm room got clambaked. There we a few of us in there, but Dan and I didn't have anything on us. He got a violation for being involved with a room that contained paraphnalia, but he wasn't in the actual room it was found in. We were hanging out in the suite's living room.

Oh those crazy-ruckousy Uno players.

Anyway, he had his meeting with the housing folk, since he does live on campus, too. He should be fine, so we'll see. Still, I'm worried for him. Not too worried, though. He's never had an offense before.

Work being interrupted looks like it will only inconvience two days worth of actual work time, and even still, I make about three times a night at cosi to what I was makin' on average at Friday's. There's good reasonin' out there for me to not be fretting.

Speaking of fretting, I think its almost time for Dan to meet one or two of the cousins. I like the boy muchly, and he's endeared himself fantastically with my local support network, and I suppose now its time to expose him to another huge aspect of me: my family.

I'm sorry I missed getting down to Florida with Krista to visit Mara and Dana. I've not heard from Krista since she got back, so I'm curious to hear the stories of yonder. It now seems that I'm doin' a good job at missin' out on my trips because of work. This weekend will be spent at Cosi or at home saving money, as was last weekend. This weekend's lock-down will keep me from seeing Jackie in New York, but I've gotta do what I gotta do.

Recent concertation internally comes from my thoughts on Dan's naiivity. He prioritizes partying more than I do now a days, and that worries me. He's no where near how party-oriented I was a couple of years ago (heck a couple of months ago), but I think about. I decided to actually talk to him about it, and he was really receptive, and knew exactly what I was talking about. We talked about a lot of things relating to it, and I'm not really concerned about it anymore. He recognizes that he's doing it, and just that very recognition means that it won't go too far, or last for too much longer.

I feel like I know, cause I've been there.

His friend Emily, the girl that set us up, and I spoke about a couple of those concerns, and i was glad to know I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Calling someone out less than two months into dating them isn't kosher, but I was glad to have someone to discuss it openly with. She could say exactly what I was thinking. It made talking about it with Dan a lot easier. I'm tickled. It seemed like a good time to discuss such things, what with the bust and what not.

That, and him seeing my own need to find a job based off of consequated actions. He saw how hard I worked and how dedicated (an non-flakey) I was, and saw how one stupid action could effect something that was goin' really well. Its weird for people to view me in a really responsible light again. I'm still king sketch of team sketch, but I'm also up every morning going to work, and studying like anyone else at exam time.

I feel like I did when I was seventeen... and thats really got me smiling. I've said for along time that I've never been happier or known myself better than I did when I was seventeen.

A classmate who's intelligence and input to the class I've really, really appreciated and enjoyed all semester asked me how old I was today. I told him 20, and his response was one of a a slight shock-- "Wow. You're reeeeeeally smart."

It made my day.

Things feel tangible again. Word.

Today was a lot of fun. I got to go to work today, which I honestly was really excited about. I started training at Friday's in Fredericksburg, and Pam, the shift leader, is doing the training. I LOVE Pam! Becky used to call her Momma Friday's, and its soooo true. She's really the only person workin' in the front of the house from when I was originally employed there.

However, as of today, thats no longer completely true. They fired the GM that was there when I went in last week for sexual harrassment, and brought in a new one today. His name is Jay, and he was the FOH manager when I started at Friday's. Weird, huh? So, thats two more GMs in my tenure there, for a total of five. Crazy.

I also got my hair cut today, and I'm tickled with the results, as I got a Central Park discount which brought my grand total to only a 7.95. Its the best haircut I've had in ages, too.

On the way home it was sleeting and gross, but I made it all the way into Colonial Beach before trouble arose. Only in Colonial Beach do people stop in the middle of the street and gab from truck to truck. I'm not sure what sort of inbred mentality they have that in the middle of a fucking ice storm its a good idea to stop and chat, but it landed me in a ditch. In what was surely an act of charity, they proceeded to roll up there windows and drive away as I got out of my Blazer. Bastards.

Before I could hate humanity entirely after this, the guy who's yard I landed in came out and helped me dig my truck out of the ditch, and his neighbor brought over a bright flashlight so that we could find something to attach the tow cable to-- the guy had a 4x4 and pulled me outta the ditch. No damage to me or to my vehicle.

They've not announced yet whether or not I'll have class tomorrow, but I reckon not. Eitehr way, I'm getting up at 8am to find out; I wanna be in Fairfax fairly early tomorrow if I have to go at all.

Krista and I gabbed a bit today, and we've decided she's coming down Valentine's Day weekend, and we're going to have a "Down With Love" party, complete with 60's theme. She convinced me into the theme, but it lets me go get the pair of cute-cute Chanel glasses I wanted.

Yay!

Some interesting news today:

Adderol/Ritalin, Study Drugs? Clearly.

Cheney's Allowed to Make Judges Partial.

So we send him to try to con the pope.

And finally, some good news: Virginia Introduces Bill to Open Liquor Stores on Sunday! Yay!

I Said Gah-Dayum, Gah-Dayum.

Fuckin adventures out the wazoo in the past two days. For Christmas, my brother Trey gave me Capitals tickets. I couldn't have been more thrilled, the only time I make it to a Caps game is when he throws tickets my way.

And, of course he has seasons tickets, and the seats were amazing. That said, I got to the stadium, and suddenly I'm a star. I'm sitting in Trey's section getting looks, and he hasn't quite arrived yet. I'm there maybe 10 minutes and he shows, headed to his buddy's section.

He calls me over, and we shoot the shit for a bit. I have to fess up to circling the wrong date on the calander, so I was like a half an hour late, and dateless, but I think it was better that way. Why you ask? Cause Trey and I got to do some major drinking and some major bonding.

Everywhere I went, I got treated like VIP, and whenever Trey would say "that's my little brother" people would come up to shake my hand, or tell me how wonderful my big bro is.

Weeeeeird. So, Caps won, and Trey kept grabbing me Tanqs and Tonics-- I love that my brother knows exactly what I like to drink.

But, either way, we had a really nice time just bullshitting at Nick and Stefs, and then made our way down to Rosa Mexicano. Of course they had to be booked, so we diddybopped right on down to Zola's.

Its Resturant Week in the city, so it was all sorts of packed, but we got this swank-ass booth in the back. I had this awesome pepperoni fondue, a veal dish, and a chocolate fondue dessert... oh my god was it fuckin' lucious. It was all very hoity-toity, and I of course ate the atmosphere up with a spoon.

Hell, I woulda sopped it up with a biscuit.

I parted ways with my brother and then made my way to Cosi. I hung out for a bit, smoked some with the Nuvia, and met the members of Stomp!

They were eating in Lauren's section, and then we went out together. We headed down to Ben N' Mo's where we partook in an apple hookah and watched the MC Battles. There was this one little white girl who was off the chain... and she was punkin' the big dudes left and right.

You know I gotta cheer for my underdogs.

Out with me was Lauren, Jess, Jarrett, and the guys from Stomp... and after we parted ways with the Stomp-Heads, we went back to the house on Holmeade and smoked. Lauren and I proceeded to make our infamous Grands Biscuit (which we make EVERY time we're stoned in that damn house) and egg sandwhich. Yessah, it was good.

Jarret drove me back to his place and I had a nice sleep. I also have come to the realization that Jarret and I just aren't sexually compatible. He's a great, amazing guy, but he just doesn't do it for me.

I can sleep next to him without getting hard. Its done.

I'm concerned that we may lose our friendship, and I'd hate to see that happen. I love spending time with him, and hanging out with him. As a matter of fact, Jarret's done a great job of always being there when I needed him, and he makes me feel good. All that said, he still doesn't do it for me sexually. I won't call him a bad kisser, thats not nice, but he sincerly doesn't work me out. I wish he did. It would make it easier.

Either way, its the next day, and I'm giving Nuvia a hand in upper Northwest. Picture it: Martin Luther King Day. Empty, but car lined street. Me driving. Car *reversing* out of a parallel parking spot. Crunch.

I manage to tag the back of his car and seriously fuck up the front of mine. The muthafucker was drunk and stoned, and didn't speak english-- but get this, Nuvia knew him. He fucking sells heroin apparently, and she knew a boy that owed him 15Gs. She told me not to give him my real info, and since she was translating, I was sure not to.

Attafuckingirl.

We walk a few blocks up and catch a bus down to the Fort Totem metro stop, from which we caught the red line down to Dupont South. Nuvia made it home safe and sound, and Jarrett came and kept me company all day.

Thats partly one of the things I'm worried about with the Jarret, for the record. He's a good buddy, and I don't wanna hurt him. I know that he once had trouble dating another boy because that boy just wasn't me, and as ego-inflating as that is... I wouldn't wish that shit on anyone. I know what it feels like. Men suck.

Um, yeah, bitter faggot shit aside, I called dad, and he comes up to tow my lovely car away. He gets it all set up good and tight, and I tap the gas just a tiny bit to align it all properly, and we're all good to go... when my car goes over the edge of the dolly, falling and wedging itself now *on* the dolly. Yah, thats a fucked up chasis. Somehow, Dad and I managed to fix it with the help of two extra jacks and some 2x4s.

Let me just also repeat that I have somehow fucked a heroin dealer and we are in the sketchiest neighborhood around. I'm scared shitless by my city for the first time ever, and I'm just glad that we're ready to go.

Oh, thats when the tire on the dolly pops. My father's a bright guy, he knows when I'm around to expect the unexpected, and he just so happened to have a spare dolly tire.

Which pops, too. So, my dad's now towing my car through Georgia Avenue on a rim, just praying that a gas station appears. The dolly's shaking like crazy, and I'm nearly in tears for my poor car. We've travelled maybe 2 blocks with a tire, and now maybe 7 more on the rim.

When things are starting to get a little bleak, and the dolly's begun ratttling crazy-style, we look and see a "Now Entering Maryland" sign. And, then, like the fuckin' burning bush, a BP appears, and lawd-love-ya, it had a service station. AND it had a 13 inch tire to fit the dolly.

Yeah, we made it home alive... but now that I've decided (oh, you may not know this) to stay home and not move to DC until prolly August, I don't know how the fuck I'm gonna get to and from class... argh. Its a 2 hour commute each way, and I can't exactly take the bus.

Ahh, well, we'll see. I refuse to let this strip away my clarity and good mood. I forged the beginings of a real friendship with my older brother, decided exactly how I do and don't wish to live out the next 7 or so months, and have found a way to actually discuss things with my father when we have differing view points without either one of us feeling attacked-- I don't know what silly braid the universe is trying to weave with these incidences and calamities, but I refuse to let it be anything other than a bright knit.

Huzzah.

Le sigh.

Well, I'm putting in a retroactive withdrawl for this past semester's fuckups. I certainly have enough proof to show I had outstanding circumstances all semester, so I will prolly get it. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, my new subcollege, decided to return to me my schedule that the system ate, and told me to just go to the classes and explained what happens.

The retroactive withdrawl should be a good thing. I went on a blind date last night with a boy named Chris. Chris goes to Hamden Sydney, an all boy's school, and came with fairly high recomendations from one of my high school team mates.

So, I meet him at Friday's, and of course I'm 20 minutes late. And, of course, he's drunk. Not so much there, buddy. The muthafucker deserved a merit badge for his fucking crackscout troop. So, I gave him the cold shoulder and made friends with the table next to us. When he got up to use the restroom, the guy at said table leans over and goes:

"Whadya think?"
"I think he's a douche."
"No kidding. If he hadn't gotten up, I would have said something."

Now the time come for us to do something else, and he wants to take my car. My response is fairly simple: I don't have room. He got the hint. He leaves, and I end up chatting with the guy at the table, Sean. Sean goes by the name Newman, and dates the manager Sabrina. Pam, who has been at friday's even before I came and went, comes over and gabs, keeping us company. Well, then walks in a guy named Dominick. Dom is hot. Hot, Hot. Nice... and funny.

Fuck.

He has a boyfriend.

I couldn't maintain eyecontact with this boy. I didn't want to talk for to long, I almost felt nervous! I really try to be good around people who are taken, but I have a hard time with my Ps and Qs when I'm sober, and a helluva lot harder time when I'm drunk. So what else, knowing I have to be good, would they do except invite me to Merriman's? You know Merriman's-- Fredericksburg's very own gay bar.

Not that I'm sayin' I would have bagged him or anything, lemmie just say, but it was neat to get those butterflies. Either way, Merriman's was incredibly dead, so I bounce on home.

It gets to be about 3am-ish and I'm on the computer, and my friend Dave is a bit upset. His new boyfriend and He broke up earlier in the day, and I felt bad for him. I knew he needed an ear, so I turned around and drove the 45 minutes back into fredericksburg to meet him at Denny's around 4.

Dave and I have a fairly neat history. I met him at in a hot tub, both of us fucked up, naked. We chatted, realized we went to the same school, and clearly, since we were both naked at the same party, had mutual friends. Dave's body really kinda "does" it for me... he's a beautiful person, and I mean that through and through.

Initially, he knew Jimmy, who took Dave in when Dave was younger. We call Jimmy Ma Harper, and he kinda keeps watch over all of us, for what I generally feel is a benevolent reason. Dave has differing views on Jimmy a bit, but he still calls Jimmy "Dad" and Jimmy still calls Dave "Son"-- Lets just say sociopaths exist everywhere. And the drugs can bring out sociopaths, which is scary. Dave is mistrustful of Jimmy, and tina users.

That said, I recently kicked my own tina habit. The fact that I know Jimmy and the fact that I used made Dave really nervous about me, and those nerves turned into an accusation right before New Year's. We had managed to spend a lot of really good time getting to know each other on an intimate basis at thi point, but on the last day we were together, he got a lil weird. I kinda just decided to chalk it up to the "whatever" category, since I know full well that I have a boy who's personality and looks I really like, and he also happens to really like me. His name is Jarret, and he couldn't be more wonderful. Not a lick better!

Oh, but the flaw.

Its a wonder to me how much I dig a guy who legitmatly understands me. I reckon there are very few sensitive guys out there, and Jarret is definatly one of them. He likes me to explain my emotions and my darkness, and he listens intently. But, I also realize that he doesn't grasp a lot of it the minute I throw it out; not because he's slow, just because we've had different life experiences. I'm just weird.

Jarret and I have a lot of roads left to walk down, and who knows, he may be a boy I see in a monogamous, serious capacity. I think about him in that role a lot, and I know he does for me as well... heck, we've been on-off since august.

But, we were discussing Dave. Weird as I may be, I was happy for Dave when he said he was in a relationship with a new boy, even though it hadn't been that long since we last went out. I can understand it though, since Jarret and I could up an item, and I'd have been the one that seemed to suddenly be "committed."

I had assumed the boy would have to be better than me, or more ready to commit, or something, so I figured he clearly was a good guy. I was excited and happy for Dave. Pissy, true, but also very happy.

They lasted 16 days, and the dude was an Alcholic. The capital "A" is for asshole. I discovered all of this at Denny's chatting, and I think it went until around 6am. I come back from the bathroom, and Dave's sorta making a face, so I ask what he's thinkin'. He was tryin' to figure out weither to ask me home or not, and how to do so without there being some sort of subtext. He was trying to be nice, and you know what? Krista and I are gonna have to stop calling him by the nickname "Crazy."

Krista:"Talk to Crazy lately?"
Me:"Nah, Crazy's been writing too much poetry about the drugs I did to talk on the phone."

We're not nice. But, I guess the good behavior from earlier that day kicked in again, cause we cuddled and stuff, and didn't hook up or anything. We just snuggled, and it was very nice. He's a good snuggler.

So, ya, we managed to watch moviesall today and it was the perfect way to spend the day-- I feigned that i ran errands to those that would have cared, but really, it was a movie day. Dave and I stayed on the couch, under the covers, and practically in our pajamas for "Roger & Me", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and "The Lost Boys." I barely watch one movie every three months, so I'm setting a high benchmark early on in 2003.

Lots of other personal though, but I'm tired. I'll remember to talk about the fact that I've decided not to move back to DC for a good long while. But, sleep now.

You're Thailand!

Calmer and more staunchly independent than almost all those around you, you have a long history of rising above adversity.  Recent adversity has led to questions
about your sexual promiscuity and the threat of disease, but you still manage to attract a
number of tourists and admirers.  And despite any setbacks, you can really cook a good
meal whenever it's called for.  Good enough to make people cry.

Take the Country
Quiz at the Blue Pyramid</font>



Hahahaha! Yay!

Prince Ali, yes it is he...

The city called to me on Wednesday, and I coudln't not heed the call. I had to go. And so it was.

I just got back from a really good time in the city; terribly wholesome, horribly healthy. I'm so glad for it. Major recharge time. I went up on Wednesday night, and stayed with Jackie. We drank with her friend Bagels, who I also worked with at Peace Actionjob. Jackie knew him from Grenell College, which is in Iowa, but his family was from the District, too.

I crashed at Jackie's, she kicked my ass at pool a good couple of times, and we slept. We woke up the next day, she took me with her into Cosi to hang out, and so we did. After work that day we went over to our friend Sasha's friend Shana, and we drank at the Statemen. Wooo Statesmen... sooo gorgeous. Its gotta be one of the nicest buildings I know anyone in...

The next morning, in the yucky snow, I drove out to Chantilly from GW, where Sasha goes to school. I didn't sleep much the night before (okay at all), but when the dawn came, I was in the car driving out to the middle of nowhere. I left right around 6am, and I didn't arrive until 7:40. It should have taken less than a half an hour.

No grumbles, as the day was spent with Jackie in the city after watching "Finding Nemo" with Shana. YAY Finding Nemo. YAY for getting real shit done in the city. After Friday was all but over, I went over to visit Michelle. Wonderful time. Michelle lives in "The Hen House," seein' as how JC and Suzanne have moved in with her now. Michelle is Mama Hen, and since Jace and Suze are both old roomies, the whole thing feels like my family.

Anyway, Saturday-- I proceeded to go out with Michelle and her friends. I was so incredibly high the whole time.... Sheesh. Clearly, Saturday became Sunday, and I had a relaxing day filled with Family Breakfasts and group deserts. My car tire had flat, and the lugnuts were so tight that when I stood on the piece that you turn to loosen the lugnut, the car tipped off the jack.

All sorts of bam-crash-bullshit. So, dad came to my rescue this morning, thank goodness. Everything was put where it should be.

Go watch the Surreal Life, btw.


I still have a bunch to do tomorrow that involved just phone calls, but errands are about done. Sometime this week my mom and I are gonna go take care of the the apartment in DC, and I'm gonna call the UN and decline. I can't commit to the time they want from me, and I can't work for free, as it looks now.

I'n gonna talk to the guy in charge about it first, to say everything I have, and see what happens. We'll see.

Also, Potential Boyfriend Critera #4305, in steps:
Step One- Listen to "In Public" by Kelis.
Step Two- Find Me.

Just a little inspiration suggestion to any boy smart enough to get it.

Eef, being broke stinks.

Hopefully thats gonna turn around, as I'm headed into DC for a nice little stay. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon finds me picking up a shift at Cosi. I need the funds, and a nights worth of work will do me well. Heck, I'm even bringing with me my Funeral Chic-wear (cosi's dress code is all black). Also, on Friday morning, I have a 7am meeting with Shivon. We're meeting at Bob Evan's for breakfast, and I have to laugh a little, cause I haven't eaten at Bob Evans in a loooooooooong time. I don't even know what a fatty like me will order.

Gawd. The possibilities.

I'm gonna go up tonight, so I can play with Jackie, and Lauren, and stuff. I also need to make sure I have an alarm clock, cause you know my ass won't wake up at 6:00am to go a meeting unalerted. I also need to make sure I clean out my car at some point, as the random objects from the move that have lingered there are not neccesarily the most useful. Tech Vac? Video Game? Jump Rope?

Well, maybe the jump rope can stay.

So Krista and I left The Dirty House II, also known as my former townhouse in fairfax. I arrived home to absolutely no clean dishes... yikes. My roomates are so creepy and scary at times I want to just leave all of my things there and never have to go back to the house. My one roomate, Chris, was tryin' to sleep with all the potential applicants from roomates.com... this lead to us not being able to fill the initial vacancy in the house.

I caught him in a lie after I had spent like 2 months out of the house, and all of his other lies unraveled. Including how 'hard' he was looking for the new roomate. I personally threw him out.

We proceeded to fill the next vacancy with someone who has so few social skills, and who is so creepy, that it makes *me* uncomfortable to talk to him for more than .2 seconds. I don't even like "Hi"'s.

My neighbor once told me that I could talk the legs off an iron stove, so don't doubt my ability to gab. Yah. He's that fucking weird.

So, two months have passed since Initial Creepy Scary (Chris) was thrown out. He proceeded to sneak into the house while everyone was asleep and then leave before everone was awake so that he could sleep on our couch.

Cause, yeah, his girlfriend was our landlords daughter. I'm sure she was thrilled to learn what her then boyfriend was doing... I can't feel bad about any of it. If you're a Creepy Scary, I'm callin' ya out.

Which is what I had to do the other day to Secondary Creepy Scary (Mark). I told him that I did not like speaking with him, and that in the future we should make a point to do it as little as possible. It was as he was trying to ask me to find him pot. Idiot.

So, yeah ICS's girlfriend's parents wouldn't pay to fix a damn thing after all of this went down, and JC and I got stuck trying to fix all this shit.

SCS proceeded to not clean a damn dish he dirtied after our conversation. I should know better diplomacy, I realize, but if your a CS, you're a CS. Its the only defense I have, but those fuckers need to live elsewhere. And since they won't, I will.

Oh, and about the guy I threw out? He didn't give his key back, and for a week before Xmas

Only 4 more days 'till I'm done for good with the Dirty House II.

Then, it should only be a month before I'm into my new condo or townhouse... one potential I've actually dubbed 'the Sushi Spot'... better title than Dirty House, right?

This is a link to exterior...

And here is the interior or the building it shares.

We'll see.

I'll be leaving Jersey for Virginia tonight. My cousin Krista and I are headed down to either my folks' or to my townhouse for the night, and then tomorrow we'll be doing another drive around the state to get me situated back at my folks' before the new year hits.

Moving is such an enormous hassle at times, but its going to be so much fun with Krista in tow. We're gonna probably play like its New Years Eve from now until we pick up Ms. Mara at the Airport.

Mara, my supertwin, is in fact coming to VA for the New Years. How muthafawkin cool is that? She read the live journal before we could talk it out and had already made her plans. I'm gonna give that a big ol' "yay-yay."

So Mara is to arrive, and the whole crew is coming south... now its just a matter of confirming with Kelly that our plans are still on. I've got a little anxiety that something might happeen and Bossa might not be available or that its gonna be too many people or something... but those are just the little anxiousnesses of a host. I'm positively stoked.

In other flame-related news, I small child said to his father "look daddy, he's a fairy!" as he pointed at me yesterday night. I was wearing fairy wings that Ristika (krista) bought for me at Hershey Park in PA, and she was wearing a blinking red nose... no, we're not attention whores or anything.

We made the trip to PA to stay the night with Aunt Terri and Charese, since it was Charese's birthday yesterday. Her boyfriend Tim took her out to dinner and then to Hershey Park's Candy Lane, and we all met them there.

It was the closest I've been to Harrisburg since Trev and I broke up, and I did really well. I didn't kirk out or anything.

So, there is still packing to do to get Ristika ready for a week or so in DC, and I get to help. This should consist of three outfits for each day she's there just to accomidate her indecisiveness. Like I'm any better 😛

The family, meaning mom and dad, woke me up around 9 in the morning... those poor souls. I was so cranky this morning, and retardedly moody. Its so funny, 'cause by and large my moodiness is unnoticable. To those that have seen the force-of-nature that it can be though, they'd laugh at the very insinuation that I'm anything less than volitle.

They also, I hope, would agree that they are the closest people to me, and the fact that they see Hurricane Mike at all is a testament. But whatever. I'm a pineapple.

My friend lauren came up with the notion that we should make Fruit ID Cards for all of the queers at Cosi South, just in case anyone questioned that we were fruits. I would be a pineapple; sweet to the taste, bright, vibrantly yellow... kinda cute, but definatly spiny to the touch sometimes. Also terribly acidic, but you never quite notice how acidc cause of the sweet.

Sweet Sweet Sweet.

But, yeah, it was definatly a spiney day... My poor folks, they had to deal with my unidentifiable ire when speaking with me. I apologized profusely, telling them that I know that I'm not the most pleasent person in the world right now, and they understood. Its just really hard to explain why I was crying at christmas.

Frankly, for someone who has been dubbed beligerently chipper, I've done a fabulous job of being a little raincloud on christmas. I didn't ruin christmas for anyone though, I self-medicated myself via sleep all the way up from my folks' to Jersey. Can't be a crab all day =P

I knew I had to let something inside myself play with these emotions, cause I wasn't winning. I just kept thinking that I never got around to giving either Trev or Emily their presents from last christmas, and now neither of them would ever get a gift from me again. Gawd, how fucking melodramatic.

*crab pinch pinch*

Trev's not dead of course, but to a boy who's clearly being a nutball, thats hard to explain. Blasted ex-boyfriends... I was thinking about him that I fell sound asleep in the back of the car for the 4 1/2 hour drive, and when mom woke me up ('cause we were getting close) I was positively chipper. Grinning from ear to ear as a matter of fact =)

Yay! Declawed!

I'm sure as hell glad I was grinning when I got here, too, cause I love my family. I hadn't been in rare form with them in a while... I missed the family reunion, then I dropped off the face of the earth for those couple of months... and I still wasn't 100% at thanksgiving. I feel a lot closer to it, moreso than I have since Em kicked, and that makes me feel great. My cousins and I have these fucking barrel laugh sessions that I have with few others. Those consistant, big, huge moments of connection that make it hard to breath from laughing.

That bein' said, I'm all the more excited cause the whole Bailey Crew is a'comin' to DC for new years. My girl Kelly has these friends who are renting out the top of a club in Adams Morgan, Bossa, and we're going. Krista, Charese, Tabby, Aric, Aric's Girlie Girl Tara, and maybe if I can find a way, Mara.

But, thats a pipedream. I haven't even talked to her about it... but gahdamn gahdamn, wouldn't that be some fun shit?