Fourth of July Part One

The Fourth weekend started on Thursday with a HH thrown by some friends of Matt, who is in Argentina for the summer. I felt an obligation to go because they are making an effort to keep Matt's friends in touch with each other while he's gone. Plus, some of the guys (and gals) can be pretty fun and it gets me out of my circle of friends. That said, I made Katie go with me because I am a total scaredy cat about going places where I don't know if I will know anyone. The intention was to go for a drink or two and then I was off to tell XM I don't want to date him anymore. As I stated earlier, I am an awful chicken and we were having fun so we stayed and I put off the inevitable yet again. Yes, I know I am not being fair to him. He is a really good guy and deserves to be treated better.

Friday was spent watching quite possibly the worst game of baseball ever. Seriously, I went to better games back in 1979 when I had to go to my brother's Little League games. I turned to my friends at one point and asked if anyone else felt like they were in the movie Major League.  Later in the inning, after the pitcher threw for 2 home runs in just 8 pitches, someone in the outfield started doing the Cleveland chop. Guess I wasn't alone. Man, it was bad but at least the beer was cold. I took the bus home for the first time from the stadium and I must say it was much better than dealing with the crowds in the metro station even if it took just a bit more time.

Saturday I met Jim, Agie and Renee in Chinatown for dinner and a movie. Good times at dinner. Jim spilled a bit on his shirt and for some reason felt the need to lick it off instead of, oh I don't know, maybe using a napkin.  Agie and I saw it happen. I started laughing, she called him "Shirtlicker" and the conversation went rapidly down hill from there. We went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" after dinner. Agie and I have both worked (and sometimes still do) for a Miranda Priestly and loved and related to the book. The movie differed from the book of course but was still enjoyable. Lines such as "I'm looking for that piece of paper I had in my hand yesterday" really hit home. After the movie Jim and I went to Stetson's to grab a beer and chat. We ran into a kid who worked on the Alaska campaign with him. We got to talking with him and his friends and before we knew it, it was 3 am. Jesse and I were walking the same way when a homeless man (I'm guessing at this given my track record and his state of dress) said to me "oooh, I like your shape". I was laughing too much to get out any reply other than "then you should call my parents and thank them".

Songs of the Day

Whew! It's been a busy day. After happy hour tonight I am heading home unless Angie catches me in a moment of weakness and somehow talks me into going out with her. I have a busy weekend ahead and it's been a long (but good) day.

1. From California - The New Amsterdams
2. Let It Go - The Clarks
3. Boys Lie - The Clarks

Good fun songs for a good fun day.

The Ultimate Bi-Partisan Ticket

Vacation Backlog

I have been out of the office this week and the last thing I wanted to do was spend time indoors emailing to my blog so I've fallen behind yet again. I'll do some catch up tonight and tomorrow and tell you all about my Fourth of July five day weekend....well not all about. A girl needs to retain some level of mystery.

Ann or Adolf?

Click above for an intriguing little quiz which asks "Who said this? Ann Coulter or Adolf Hitler?". I only missed two, but I took an independent study class focused on the Holocaust so that may have helped me. God knows it isn't because I'm familiar with her writings.

Song of the Third Scary Rainy Day

Pink Spiders - Little Razorblade

I've been really close to just walking out of here today. This song has the right amount of fun and angst to fit my mood perfectly and keep me from doing something unprofessional.

Boy Update

Here's the lowdown on what's going on.

1. Boy Scout Man - I had lunch with him two Fridays ago and it was great fun. We laughed pretty much the entire time. I'm such a sucker for a guy who can make me laugh. He was an Eagle Scout and now works for the Boy Scouts of America (Ah ha! The nickname makes much more sense now they say) and really loves his job, if not the politics of the organization. That could have been a deal breaker. Remember, I'm the girl who stopped seeing someone because they had a pinky ring. He's tall, good looking, intelligent enough. Drawbacks you ask? He's basically at camp in like Manassas until August which means he gets one day a week off to be home and catch up on stuff. So we've talked a couple times since then, always after 11 pm. Good thing I'm a night owl. We may meet up tomorrow.

2. British West Coast Pat (BWCP henceforth) - I met BWCP at a friend's house three Fridays ago. I felt comfortable with him, almost like I'd known him for years. We immediately struck up a banter that amused our friends to no end. Sometime around glass of wine number 4 it hit me. He is a taller, British West Coast Pat (the guy I was dating when I moved here and still remain friends with) down to the sense of humor, gestures and even occupation. It's freaky. Seriously. I've known WCP for going on 8 years. He's a great guy, fun, not the best looking but one of the best people I've ever had the good fortune to spend time with. We don't talk as much as we used to, probably about once every 6 weeks or so. So it was very coincidental that he called the very night I was getting to know his doppleganger (or as WCP calls him, his evil twin). The randomness of this world will never cease to entertain me. BWCP and I ended up having a great time that evening and he asked if I wanted to meet up with him Saturday after the Race for the Cure. I said yes, he gave me his number and we parted ways. I ended up not calling him and emailed him Monday explaining why and letting him know I enjoyed meeting him. He called and suggested taking me to dinner that Friday night and I accepted. We had a marvelous (I can't believe I used that word either) time. I'll leave it at that. He's great fun. I just need to be careful that I'm making sure to get to know him and not just enjoy time with him because he reminds me of someone I am fond of. We're having dinner this evening after not seeing each other last weekend. He made an attempt to see me Sunday evening but I had already made plans. I'm actually looking forward to a third? date. Something is amiss at the Circle K.

3. XM - So I've been avoiding him. Look, it isn't something I'm proud of in any way. I just really, really, really hate telling people I am not interested in them as more than friends. Especially after being somewhat romantically involved with them for a couple months now. Ugh. So not looking forward to it. I feel awful about the situation. I have no clue about how to do this but I know it needs to be done. It will just keep getting worse if I don't kill it now, right? I need to keep reminding myself of that. Double Ugh.

4. The Homeless - they love me. It is the weirdest thing. I have a ton of stories of random homeless men commenting to me about how lovely I am or how lucky the guy I'm with is, but I'm going to focus on the ones in my hood. There are a number of homeless men that hang out on the block where I catch my bus. Over the two years I've lived in my current apartment we've come to know one another. When I was in that horrid boot last summer one of them would check in on me as I was hailing a cab or walking past to see how I was healing. He even told me he thought of me as a wife which would scare anyone else, but I found rather sweet. I love my homeless guys. They always have kind words for me, be it a simple "Good morning" or "You look very nice today". They notice when I have a new suit or outfit and tell me it looks good. What girl wouldn't want to start her days this way? They're also quite protective of me. One night I noticed someone walking behind me and got a bit nervous. Just when I passed my homeless guys I heard them stop the guy and call out to me "It's okay sweetie - we'll keep him from following you home" and they did. So Wednesday morning I thought nothing of it when the wife comment guy came up to me while I was waiting for the bus and asked if the strange, scary homeless guy was bothering me. I said no and he looked at me and asked "So, when are you and I going to go to dinner?". I couldn't think of anything to say but "I don't think my boyfriend would like that very much". Be quiet - he didn't know I was lying. He then went on and on about how he wasn't asking in that way and that he was just being a gentleman asking a friend out for a meal. Thankfully my bus pulled up then and I said good bye.

Okay, I've got to go get pretty(er) for my date with BWCP. This weekend should be fairly tame - tomorrow I'm hanging with Jim and Sunday I've got the wine festival with friends.

Quote of the Day

I had an evening of tapas and sangria with Angie a couple weeks ago. After giving her the lowdown on the boy situation (it was right around the time 24 and R professed their feelings for me out of the blue among other male happenings) she looked me straight in the eye and asked "Are you sure you want to get married?". I was able to honestly say "I don't want to just get married. More than anything else, I want to get married to the right guy." She said she asked because I seem to really enjoy being single. And believe me, I do. It's fun and sometimes exciting to meet new people and go places you may not think to go on your own. It also can be tremendously dull, time consuming and exhausting. My reasoning for being so sure that settling down and marriage are what I want? Well, that is the quote of the day. I recycled it a few minutes ago to a friend feeling a bit down? guilty? about the number of people he's dated.

"At least when we settle down we will be happy in the knowledge that there isn't better out there because we have dated and/or slept with everyone else".

Take comfort where you can people.

AOL Hell

Everyone has one of these stories or knows someone who does. A long, long time ago when I was younger and less wise I had an account with AOL. When I wizened up and realized I could get better service cheaper elsewhere I went to cancel my account. There was no way to do it online and the number they listed (which took forever to find and I am quite internet savvy) was always busy. On the rare occasion it wasn't I was on hold forever and one thing or another would cause me to hang up. I eventually just called my bank and told them I lost the card that AOL was charging every month.

Click above to hear a man who had way more patience than I did. Absolutely ridiculous that they continue to make it this difficult to cancel an account. And people think Microsoft is the devil.

"Life is a Banquet

And those poor sons-of-bitches are starving!"

Last night the girls and I went to the Kennedy Center to see Mame.  We met at the rooftop bar first to have some cocktails and nibblies and had a great time chatting - which set the tone of hilarity for the evening. Let's just say there was more than one Mame at the table.

Christine Baranski was the titular Auntie Mame and Harriet Haris was her good friend Vera. Harriet is Felicia Tillman on Desperate Housewives. You might also recognize her as Frasier's agent. Anyways, the show was fantastic. There were points the six of us were laughing so hard we were crying. Who knew the Man in the Moon is a Lady? Thank goodness we were in the back row and pretty much everyone in front of us was a blue hair with bad hearing.

After the show Agie drove home, we put Angie on the Metro shuttle and Sarah, Heather, Katie and I got in the cab line. Sarah ended up hopping into a cab pretty fast, sharing it with some strangers who were also going to Arlington. I hope she didn't get stolen. Heather, Katie and I eventually got into a cab (we live in a very convenient line through the city) and somehow Katie talked me into going to McDonald's with her so she could get a sundae. Man, the McD's in my hood is a creepy place at 11 pm.

I Know, I'm a Tease

Things I promise to catch you up on in the next couple days:

1. Romance (term used loosely) including dates with boyscout man, British West Coast Pat and guy I wanted to ditch within five minutes; my avoidance of XM because I hate telling people I'm just not that into them; how much the homeless love me.

2. Nighttime activities including movies, concerts that were supposed to be and never were as well as concerts that are coming soon, dancing and drinks with friends.

3. Sports. Man the sporting world has been good to me lately. Still can't believe the Nats game Saturday. Just wait until you hear the story of Yankee boy. A classic!

I know there are other things I am forgetting. Drat. I hate it when I don't keep up with the blog, so many things get lost.

Worst Date Ever?

D.C. can be a difficult city to date in. According to Jim (not the awful show, my friend) my dating life has been far above the average. Unfortunately he's talking about quantity, not quality. I could make some broad generalizations about D.C. men (i.e. they're short, arrogant when they have no reason to be) but I won't because I know better. There are some really good people in this city and I have been very fortunate with the friends I've made here. That said, D.C. is not the easiest city to be single in - most people are married to their jobs either by choice or necessity. It's a city where something is always going on, which can work in your favor sometimes, but most times it just means everyone is too busy to invest a significant amount of time to a relationship. I'm not judging here - I've been guilty of that far too many times to count. Anyways, this is not what I was meaning to post about.

I had three really fun dates last week (more later), so when a co-worker mentioned at the screening the other night that she would be going on a bad date Wednesday Jim and I asked her a couple questions....How do you know it's going to be bad? If you know it's going to be bad, why are you going? etc. Her replies were "they are always bad" and "he knows someone we work with so I feel I need to go". We laughed and said that maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Oh, I have never been more wrong....

"It was probably to worst date of my life. I really feel like I need to tell about it in person, but just as a little tid bit, the following occurred:

1. He told me he spent a year in prison.
2. He wants to "introduce" me to some Arab men.
3. When I caught him looking down my shirt, he yelled, "I hate your cleavage!"
4. He rubbed his head on my arm and said, "I love your arm."
5. He professed his love abruptly and frequently.

I am not making this up."

As soon as I got my laughing under control, I had her come to my office to get the detail in person. Hard to believe but it was much better with the live re-enactment. I now consider myself a lucky girl for never, ever having a date anywhere near as bad.

The Brit

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I'm a casual fan of Britney. Watching her interview with Matt Lauer this morning I started to feel sad for her. I can't imagine what it must be like to be always surrounded by people yelling your name and taking your picture, waiting for you to look bad or do something stupid. Yes, she surrendered a certain part of her anonymity when she decided to pursue a career in music, but there has to be a line. Anyways, I was feeling some sympathy for her, no one should have to deal with constant harassment, but then I saw the outfit and the gum chewing. Now, I'm not saying she deserves to be hounded by the paparazzi because she's a tacky, tacky girl (seriously, who goes on Dateline to garner sympathy showing so much leg and wearing a shirt so low that their clashing bright pink bra shows?) but if you want to be left alone, maybe, just maybe, you should stop handing the tabloids so much ammunition. Clean yourself up, get your husband to stop wearing manpris and wifebeaters, or at least buy him a belt and put your kid in a stroller/carseat and some sort of pants. I've seen enough of your family's underwear thank you very much. Just a start, but baby steps Brit, baby steps.

With Roommates Like These, Who Needs Friends?

I can't stop laughing. Last summer a Quiznos opened across the street from our building and every day there would be some poor schmo dressed in a soda cup suit. I kept hoping he would trip just to see if he could get up without assistance. I know, I am a bad, bad person, but the site above proves that it would be entertaining if not hilarious.

Does This Make Me A Bad Person?

This story made me laugh. I'd like to think that if I were suddenly homeless and without possessions I would use the funds the government gave me for something more substantial than "Girls Gone Wild". The champagne I can see (although who knew that Hooters carried $200 bottles of champagne?)but these people are from New Orleans - haven't they had plenty of opportunity to see girls flashing boobs?


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of "Girls Gone Wild" videos were among items bought with debit cards handed out by FEMA to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found.

The cards -- given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.

The GAO uncovered records showing that $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer; $600 was spent in a strip club and $400 was spent on "adult erotica products," all of which auditors concluded were "not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs."

Today Totally Rocks

For these reasons (in no particular order):

1. I discovered that I can listen to my favorite radio station from home online. I now get to spend M-F mornings with my good friends Kevin & Bean. Ahhhh....that alone could have made today totally rock, but wait, there's more.
2. I just got passes to an advance screening of Nacho Libre for this evening. I want to see this movie since it has the potential to be very funny, but am hesitant to pay money for it since it has the potential to be very bad. This is perfect.
3. It is absolutely gorgeous outside.
4. There are still tons of World Cup soccer games to watch. I've got the fever.
5. The clip of Stone Phillips (yum) on The Colbert Report (click above) has been cracking me up all day. "Suddenly, and without warning, it turned into a real life game of Hungry Hungry Hippos".

Boys Are Dumb Throw Rocks At Them Part 2

More accurately part something higher, but I lost count somewhere around part 156,257,865. I am meeting a friend in a bit for a drink because evidently all ex-boyfriends are complete asshats at times. Guys, is it that hard to be just a bit sensitive even if you aren't the one who broke up? Help me out boys. Restore some of my lost faith in men. Thanks much.

Most Random of the Day

I was standing outside SoHo today waiting for my friend Ron to finish his cigarette (I know. I wish he'd stop too) when I felt something hit the side of my foot. I looked down and saw an apple core. This thing was brown people. It hadn't just been finished and discarded. Oh, and there was no one within 20 feet of us.  The sky is raining down used fruit - watch out.

Hillies Are Lame For The Most Part

But I don't spend my entire life hating them. Just saying. Which, in essence, is why the date last week with D will be the last with him. I'm a naturally happy person. I enjoy life and take pretty full advantage of what it has to offer. If there is something in my life that I don't like, I try my best to rid myself of it or figure out how to deal with it until I can. He was too cynical for my taste. Really good looking, funny, smart but man does he hate him some people and things about life. He wasn't a morose, unhappy person. It is hard to explain. It isn't two hours of my life I can never get back, but it is definitely two hours of my life I won't be giving again. Make sense?

Oh - hillies are hill staffers. Much like the ones being mocked in the link above mocking the Washington Post article on "wing men". Enjoy.

First Trimester Rule

I think the FTR should apply to multiple situations, not just pregnancy. Take dating, for instance. I am going on a first date tonight. I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous. What if I'm not as fetching as I am in my emails? Worse yet, what if he isn't? Or what if all this time I've been thinking he gets my sense of humor, he has been taking me seriously and we're both in for a rude awakening tonight? Moving on before I freak myself out and getting back to my original point. A couple people have been asking me questions about this evening's date (which was set up last minute given the postponement of my evening's original plans) and I've been very hesitant to talk about it. I don't want to jinx it. I don't want to get too excited about the boy and have him turn into a dud like all the others...no offense if any of you others should happen to be reading this. You're all great people, just not for me, yadda, yadda, yadda. I may have to institute FTR here. Unless of course the date goes incredibly well tonight in which case I probably won't be able to wait to write about it. We shall see.

In other news, we are narrowing down the suspects in our office that could be Wonkette's blind item. Stay tuned.

In The Immortal Words of Shaggy....It Wasn't Me

From Wonkette (the Page Six of DC):

BLIND ITEM: Now That’s Dedication to One’s Work
From the inbox:

So, what lobbyist for a distillers association last night celebrated her birthday on Capitol Hill by throwing up on someone’s tuxedo jacket (not to mention all over the floor)?

OK, that’s the item. I don’t know her name, but she works for the distillers association. BTW, it was my jacket. We are always happy to help further random personal grudges. If they’re funny.

(BTW — we don’t actually care who it was. And we do so love the alcohol lobby.)

Evidence in my favor:
1. My birthday is in August.
2. I am not technically a lobbyist.
3. I was home last night.
4. I wouldn't be caught dead on the Hill. Especially on my birthday.

We have spent the good part of the last hour trying to figure out who this could be.

Memorial Day Weekend

Going into this weekend I had a modest amount of plans in place. They all happened with a couple extra jaunts thrown in for good measure. Here we go....

Thursday a couple of us from work "had" to go to a couple bars to do some bartender research. That was fun. XM met us out since we hadn't seen each other in a couple weeks and turns out the boy misses me when I'm not around. That's sweet. It's unfortunate I don't necessarily feel the same way. I got home around 9 and went straight to bed.

Friday was a long day at work until we got to leave at 4 and my boss actually let us which is nice. I went home, took a nap and woke up just in time for XM to come over with yummy Indian food. We watched some Scrubs since I needed some mindless entertainment to make me laugh the stress away from the week (the 2 bottles of wine probably helped with that as well).

Saturday was the Nats game with Jim. I was looking forward to seeing the Nats beat the Dodgers (you know, that LA team that actually plays in LA) but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. After a couple hours in the sun, sucking down water and a soda, we took our sweaty selves to the Metro and then our respective homes to clean up for our evening activities. Every Memorial Day (I use the term 'every' loosely given that this was only the second time we've done this) we make an annual pilgrimage to Red Robin for the best. steak. fries. ever. We had a great time catching up on his dating and work life. We headed to his apartment to watch Broken Flowers, but really he just wanted me to sew a couple buttons onto a pair of shorts he wants to wear on an upcoming date. Being the good friend I am, I did. We got through about 20 minutes of the movie before we decided to not finish it. I was tired and could barely see the screen, he had fallen asleep twice. He drove me home around 10 where I received the aforementioned call from R professing his feelings for me. Some choice lines from the conversation include "Here I am in beautiful f'ing Tuscany, surrounded by beautiful Italian women and all I can think of is you" (what woman wouldn't fall for that line?) and "Of all the women I've had in my life, I can't think of any that challenge me like you do. You have some kind of hold on me.". Just for the record - we've never dated. Ever. I meet him and his cronies out from time to time for drinks and that is it. Nothing untoward has happened with this man who is now all over me. As Elaine said in the Seinfeld ep I saw last night "I cannot be that desirable." I'm focusing on the humor of the situation. Oh, and he's called every night since then to say good night and invite me to spend the next two weeks in Tuscany. Sweet, sweet man.

Sunday I ended up going to another Nats game with XM and his friend who I really think he should date (if that isn't the kiss of death to someone you are dating, what is really?). They bantered quite cutely and really seemed to get along. Anyways, the game was way better than Saturday's - the Nats destroyed the Dodgers. Yay. Sunday evening I headed over to a bbq at Heather & Gary's. Katie and I were fed and entertained by the newlyweds (not to mention the Magic Bullet pisco sours) and then the four of us headed to the Black Cat for the Prince v. Outkast dance party. It probably would have been way more fun if the four of us weren't so tired and hot. We stayed for a couple hours and then headed our separate ways home.

Monday was oppressively hot and since I'd spent the last two days languishing in the sun, I decided to give my not-quite-tan skin a break and did stuff around the house. I got out a bit, ran some errands, and then took a nap (scandalous!) and cleaned my apartment. It was a really calm, quiet day. Perfect ending to the weekend.

Turns Out It Doesn't Snow In May

I am so beyond bummed. I've been looking forward to seeing Snow Patrol for a good couple of weeks now. I was fortunate enough to have seen them last year before anyone really knew who they were (thanks to the boy I was dating) and got hooked. I managed to get tickets to their sold out show at the 9:30 Club tomorrow night which made me beyond happy. Until this morning when I went to the 9:30 website and found out the show has been postponed. Erg. Normally I would ask something along the lines of "why does God hate me" right about now, but if this is the major problem I am having I consider myself lucky. With my luck, the show will be postponed to the week I'm in Brazil and I won't be able to complain about missing it. Ha.

"You Just Bought Yourself Another Saturday"

If only that were true. Paul Gleason passed away Saturday. He was the principal who raided Barry Manilow's wardrobe in The Breakfast Club. Sure, he was in other movies but he will always be Dick, excuse me, Rich to me.

"Don't mess with the bull young man, you'll get the horns."

What The Hell Is Going On?

Twice this week men I have known for two + years have professed strong "I've never felt this way about anyone. You are always on my mind. I can't stop thinking about what we could have had if only we'd give it a shot." feelings.

These are both great guys that I have also had feelings for, but never really let myself explore them or even acknowledge them because they acted as though they were not anywhere near serious about me, nor would they ever be.

At this point nothing more can shock me in this regard. It has all been quite flattering, but really...24 was doing it for purely selfish reasons (full story later) and what R's motives could be remain to be seen since he wants to start really dating once he gets back from Tuscany which is where he just called me from - the balcony off his suite in a Tuscan villa.

Seriously, if someone calls out of the blue and tells me he can't quit me I may go insane.

A Rant From A Friend

This email made my night last night. Too funny....

"Parrotards just peg my chucklehead-meter, but you knew that already. It's not Mr. Buffett's music that infuriates me so much as what it represents -- not to mention, I find the man's hypocrisy just appalling. Mr. Buffett is a shrewd businessman who labors hard and makes bakery trucks full of dough by selling a carefree lifestyle of sloth and addiction to unsophisticated working-class rubes who have no idea that they're being hustled. 'Here,' says Jimmy, 'use the money from Dakota and Kayleigh's college fund to buy into my lifestyle; don't mind me getting rich -- you'll scrape by installing cable boxes.'

"And don't even get me started on chucklehead Clyde’s patrons who bleat out "I've Got Friends in Low Places” at the end of the night as if they were world-weary rural sorts drinking away their woes in some isolated watering hole. Yes: your pals on the Hill and at Covington & Burling are indeed in low places. Have another Ketel One appletini."

Song of the Day So Far

Decent Days and Nights - The Futureheads

For some reason I find myself thinking of soccer hooligans when I hear this song.

Blast From The Past

I was going back through my im history with my dear lovely friend Randy and came across this gem of a conversation we had in Feb '05. Enjoy while not passing judgment :)

[15:44] planb1973: so Secret Agent Man wants to meet tonight for drinks.....
[15:46] Randy: SAM?
[15:46] Randy: now which is he again?
[15:46] planb1973: 6'5" - first guy out of the 3 I slept with
[15:46] planb1973: so he kinda has dibs right?
[15:46] planb1973: lol
[15:47] Randy: lol
[15:47] Randy: sounds like he already got your dibs

Wait...this one may actually be better....

[15:59] Randy: and he gets the most face time with you
[15:59] planb1973: You are so good to me
[15:59] planb1973: True
[15:59] Randy: er, whatever body part he's speaking to

And the capper.....if only I listened to myself....

[10:31] planb1973: So SAM was really fun and great and feisty last night
[10:32] planb1973: and I found out he had a gun in an ankle holster on our first date
[10:32] planb1973: so hot....
[10:32] Randy: omg
[10:32] Randy: yeah that's hot as hell
[10:32] planb1973: Vince Vaughn packing heat. mmmmm.....
[10:32] planb1973: and he has a scar.....

Oh iTunes, How Do You Do It?

Relevant lyrics I heard on my way in today after a very surprisingly emotional eventful last night:

1. Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts - Arctic Monkeys
"They got engaged, there's no intention of a wedding"
"I said I wasn't sad to see her go, I was only pretending you know"

2. Inside Out - Eve 6
"Want to put my tender heart in a blender, watch it spin around to a beautiful oblivion. Rendezvous, then I'm through with you."
"SoCal is where my mind states, but it's not my state of mind"

3. A Good Idea - Sugar
"The air was thick with the smell of temptation"
"Some things are best left alone"

4. Just a Ride - Jem
"Life, it's ever so strange, it's so full of change, think that you've worked it out. Then BANG! Right out of the blue, something happens to you to throw you off course."
"Truth, we don't wanna hear. It's too much to take. Don't like to feel out of control."

5. Our Finest Year - Better Than Ezra
"I am hopeful, full of doubt, And I am trying to work this whole thing out."

6. Center of Attention - Guster
"One of us won’t last the night. Between you and me it’s no surprise. And there’s two of us, both can’t be right. Neither will move till it’s over."

7. Pretty Girl (the way) - Sugarcult
"Pretty girl is suffering, while he confesses everything. Pretty soon she'll figure out you can never get him out of your head."
"It's the way that he makes you feel. It's the way that he kisses you. It's the way that he makes you fall in love."

I can't tell the story of last night right now. Still too fresh and confusing. I will catch up with everything else today though and maybe by the time that is all done I'll be able to write about last night. Sheesh. I'm making it sound so dramatic. I'm sure it will turn into not a big deal. I just got some news last night from an old I guess you call him a friend that I hadn't seen or spoken with for about two years. Completely knocked me on my ass. Not the reaction either of us expected. Ugh.

Quote of the Chili Cookoff

"You are what you eat" to the white guy eating crackers.

Quotes of The Evening

1. Sit down - you have bobby pins in your hair.

2. Why is that guy freaking out? (see sidebar)

3. Why is it okay to sneak onto the roof of RFK stadium but not to throw things?

Things Seen on Way to Metro

1. Used condom

2. Old man staring at me like I was a piece of meat. And by old I mean 90.

3. Very large woman in very tight clothes including painted-on jeans with a seam to seam rip across the back of her left thigh.

4. A red mini with stuff on top that looked like frozen margarita, sides emblazened with pictures of cointreau and cuervo bottles. Very small on the bottom of the doors: "don't drink and drive".

Reason 6 I Miss Living in CA

I would be all over this "estate" sale! I wonder if they'll have a cornballer for sale.....

Good news for you fellow Arrested Development fans - Season 3 will be out on DVD August 29th.

Why Don't People Just Believe What I Say?

Why must they question me? Sigh. I came across a photo of my favorite freeway sign from home and sent it to a couple coworkers. Two out of three didn't believe it was real. So I had to dig up an article (click above for link) to prove these signs exist. I am saddened to hear they will not be replaced as they age or get stolen.

Song for a Beautiful Friday Morning

My goodness it is absolutely stunning outside today! I am in a fantastic mood so don't read anything into my song choice for this glorious morning (yes, I'll stop now - I'm annoying even myself).

You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol. Another gem off their newest album. The song you wish all your exes wrote about you.

"You Could Be Happy"

You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go
And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played on lips 'till it's madness in my head
Is it too late to remind you how we were
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur
Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door

You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far
Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true
Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do
More than anything I want to see you go
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world

Song for a Rainy Afternoon

Love Vibration - Josh Rouse

Happy little tune that makes the rainy day even more enjoyable. Yes, I love the rain. Perfect for a run later!

Song of the Day

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol. Favorite song on their new album 'Eyes Open'. Get it - they're great.

And on a side note, can James Blunt (I would settle for just You're Beautiful, but really the world would be a better place without his whine altogether) please go away? And maybe, just maybe if God really loves me, take Bad Day by Daniel Powter with him? I mean, I liked the song 6 or so months ago when I first heard it way back in a time before every show/ commercial/ radio station/ movie preview on Earth was playing it. Ugh. I'm better. Thanks for listening.

They're Alive!!!

I have them back. I think. I opened my office door today to find a Gumby and Pokey on my desk with this note:

"I know that you and have been overwrought by our disappearance and the evil communiques you have been receiving. Although it has been interesting and very educational to visit the many tourist attractions in and around the DC area, the inhumane and cruel treatment we have received at the hands of our tormentors has destroyed any joy we might have had. To alleviate your distress until we can escape from the horrid "gumbynator", we have sent out distant cousins "Pokeycuz" and "Gumbycuz" to be with you and to allay your fears of never seeing us, your beloved Pokey and Gumby, again. Please be consoled by the presence of Pokeycuz and Gumbycuz and hopefully we will soon be with you once again. P&G (AKA Pokey and Gumby)"

Hmmm...I also received this IM which came right after I got in this morning:

plasticpetliberationleague: We have had more sightings of your pets. They appear unharmed. Happy even. Why, we believe they are frolicking.

(Click on title above for pics. The last one may be my favorite of all...)

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

You know, it is just plain sad when the first thing the President of your company says upon seeing you get in the elevator with him at 6:00 pm is "You can't possibly be leaving this early".

Song of the Moment

'The Mixed Tape' - Jack's Mannequin

No reason other than I really like this song and just heard it. Plus I believe the mix tape is a lost art form.

Mascots

So Agie was complaining that the Nats mascot was the same as the Caps mascot just shorter. Her point: "couldn't we come up with anything different?" my rebuttal:"well the eagle is our national bird" her response was to flip a double bird and say "well this is a bird too". And my reply?

"imagine how cool it would be to have a giant middle finger as our mascot. "

How appropo.

Googlism

It may seem like I have accomplished nothing work-related today but that is not true. I was doing some internet stuff for work when I came across "googlism". Very fun website that tells you what Google.com thinks of you - just type your name in and you get a list of "name" is....

When I typed my name (not PlanB because who wants to hear about alternative birth control right now?) here are some of the results (with my comments in parenthesis) since I refuse to post all 172:

1. * is sick of spineless men (so true)
6. * is a woman on a mission
11. * is living a carefree life
13. * is really nice to me
14. * is graceful (see? I told you)
21. * is a knockout woman
32. * is feeling well again and eager to compete in the swiss open
41. * is phoning Richard (not really all that often anymore)
48. * is the only survivor after her village is destroyed and her family murdered (not true)
54. * is in brownies (?)
58. * is taken over the owners knees for a good hand spanking (shouldn't I remember that?)
70. * is shown as a strong woman vampire who can control herself until the anger in her can no longer be withheld
88. * is done with her explosive detection class and ready for work
99. * is drugged, the other a third personality stuck in *'s head is able to roam free (that would explain a lot)
135. * is a happy girl who doesn't demand a lot of attention from you
172. * is sexy (don't you know it)

Most Awesome Thing I've Heard Today

Agie and I have a fun little game we like to play to make our days here in the office more enjoyable. It has no official name but if it did it would be something along the lines of "Try to Get the Most Annoying Song Possible Stuck in Your Friend's Head". Most often it devolves into one of us pulling out "Loving You" which is the worst song ever because just when you think you've managed to get it out of your head you find yourself walking down the hallways singing "doo doo doo doo doo doooooooooo....ahhhhhhhhh" in ear piercing tones. I usually start the war and am sometimes hated for it even though most times my motive is not to annoy others, but to share the pain of the random songs I hear in my head. Take this morning for example - Agie and I were in the kitchen preparing our customary cups of coffee and tea respectively when I turned to her and said "give me some sugar, I am your neighbor". For a good hour after that I was singing "Hey Ya" unwillingly.

So imagine my pleasure when Agie just walked into my office and said "I don't know why and I don't know how but...." and then proceeded to sing "Suck on my chocolate salty balls" from South Park. HA!

Song of the Beautiful Thursday

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner - Fall Out Boy

One would think it got SotBT because of my undying love for that line from Dirty Dancing but not so people....well, partially, but it is also quite the catchy ditty.

I've Been Drinking the Wrong Kind of Tea!

Getting high from morning glory seeds?

Eventful Evening

Just left an event (and am supposed to be on my way to another but am heading home instead...shhh) where Senator Clinton spoke briefly. Despite wearing an illfitted suit (seriously the people responsible for selling it to her and the tailor should all be fired), she looked fantastic as usual. She, like John Kerry and various others on the Hill, looks so much better in person. She is a lovely, gracious woman and a fantastic public speaker.

Her Secret Service were mostly young, attractive men - way to go Hil... You can always pick them out of the crowd (granted there were only about 25 people there but still) - they never show reaction to what the speaker is saying. How dull that job must be. Although I am sure not having to laugh or smile at really lame jokes must be nice.

Good Thing I Look Good in Red and Blue

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 80% Spider-Man 75% Iron Man 75% Superman 70% Wonder Woman 70% The Flash 70% Robin 65% Catwoman 55% Batman 45% Hulk 45% Green Lantern 45%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

So It Goes

Which, actually may have to be the song of the day (by Wes Cunningham). Moving on.

I signed in to IM this morning and saw that there was another communiqué regarding Gumby and Pokey.

plasticpetliberationleague: We have had more sightings. We share now those images. Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37853743@N00/sets/72057594124144695/show/

Again, click on title above for the slide show. Evidently they are against infant circumcision. Who knew they were so politically active?

Remember Gumby and Pokey?

The saga continues. Oddly enough, this message was sent Friday while I was on vacation. I didn't sign in to IM until 20 minutes ago and this popped up:

Dearest Plastic Pet Owner We are a group dedicated to stomping out the ceaseless abuse and endless kidnappings of our special plastic pets. We must continue to protect our identities so we shall remain anonymous. We had targeted your particular plastic pets for rescue and were very close to freeing them when they suddenly managed a miraculous escape from their captors. We have, unfortunately, lost track of them. But we have spread the word to our vast network of Plastic Pet Rescue Rangers and your pets have been spotted around the city. While we have not managed to recapture your pets we have managed to capture a few cell phone photos that we will share with you. We will be in touch. (Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37853743@N00/show/).

Click on title for slide show of my guys touring the city. At least they look like they're having fun now....and have managed to clean up a bit since last we saw them in their cage.

Songs of the Longest Tuesday Known to Mankind

Shake it Off - Mariah Carey. Yes, Mariah Carey. Deal.

Charm Attack - Leona Naess. A fun sing-along warning of those men (we've all known at least one of them) who are 'smoother than the LA weather'. Watch out girls, they'll charm you.

Vacation Rocks

If I could somehow find a man that wanted a stay at home mom without having kids that would be awesome.
Not that I would want to do to nothing all day but a couple days a week to do with what you wish....not such a bad thing.

Conversations With My Boss Today

#1-2:30 pm

PlanB: You are aware I am out tomorrow and Monday, right?

Boss: Yeah. Why didn't you take those days while I was in Scotland?

P: Because I was supposed to be going to CA.

B: You aren't now? So you'll be here.

P: No. I am still taking the time off.

B: Are you sure you want to use the days? How about just one?

P: I have over 20 days. I am pretty sure I can spare them. I am going to take them.

B: *Blank stare*

#2-5:45 pm

B: (walking into my office) You sure you want to take both days? I was just gone for a week. Wasn't that enough vacation?

P: No because I was actually working while you were gone.

B: How about just Monday?

P: How about both? That sounds much better. Go away and let me work.

These types of conversations are not unusual people.

Sweet Sweet Vacation

I am heading home from a long day at the office to start enjoying my long weekend. You see, I was supposed to be flying home tomorrow for Coachella but because I am a complete idiot at times I forgot to book my flight and with last minute flight prices being what they are I am not going and I have no one to blame but myself. Sigh.

Up until yesterday afternoon I was just going to work instead of taking the scheduled days off. Then my boss was a tremendous ass. So I decided to do something I have never done - take days off with nothing scheduled. Crazy, I know.

Song of the Day

Take This Job and Shove It. Artist doesn't matter. Brazil better be worth this.

Song of the Night (Morning?)

All at Once - The Fray

"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. Maybe you want it, maybe you need it, maybe it's all you're running from. Perfection will not come".

-Plan B has been very introspective as of late and evidently has had one too many serious talks with friends recently :) She apologizes for late night/early morning seriousness and promises to return to scheduled levity just as soon as she can fall asleep and get some rest.

Part Deux

April 5 a big group of us went to a Caps game. Good times. A few in the group had never been to a hockey game before (I know...I know...)so we spent a good part of the game explaining things like icing and sending people to the good beer stand. Agie and I left after the second period and I still have no idea who won. Oops.

The next night, Thursday, I met up with Matt and others including XMs ex for a happy hour at Busboys and Poets. I wanted to stop in (I walk right by it on my way home) and have one drink. Four hours later I found myself at a club in Adams Morgan listening to a Bulgarian band surrounded by Eastern European mafia. Very strange evening indeed. I was luckily sober and sane enough to extract myself from the night before it got out of hand. Others were not so lucky and there were some emails sent from dark rooms the next day. LOL

Friday Agie and I met Melissa at the State Theater way out in Virginia for a concert featuring The Getaway Car and Emmet Swimming. I have been a huge fan of GC since my friend Jim had them at his Live on Penn concert series and I fall a bit more in love with Todd the lead singer every time I see them. Sigh. He's so dreamy and just my type. A moment please..... Okay. So then Emmet Swimming came on. I knew nothing about them, but Melissa raved and they deserve it. They were fantastic. Kind of a cross between Dave Matthews and Bare Naked Ladies but so much better than that sounds :) Good clean fun had by all - except us snarky girls in the corner making fun of the three (four?) girls in tiaras and bad outfits.

Saturday and Sunday I have no idea what I did. Bad notetaking on the part of Plan B. Drat.

Dear God I'm Behind

Today and tomorrow are catch up (so much more for me and my fading memory {damn you old age} than you gentle readers)! Here goes...

Weekend of March 31st.
That Friday was the first game for our season seats. It was a preseason game against Baltimore. Agie and I went out to dinner first and had some leftovers so we had the waitress wrap them up (she was nice enough to include plastic ware) and we went looking for a homeless person to feed for the evening. No luck as evidenced by the quotes from that night. We ended up leaving it on a low wall where drug dealers and homeless people usually hang out and metroed to the game. We had a great time sitting with Ryan and his wife Stephanie. I really like the way we divied up the tickets this year - all of us will be sitting with each other at some point - makes it much more social. Somewhere around the 7th inning they find the Fan of the Game and it almost always is some kid. We complained a bit about it (not because we were anything near fan of the game, just for the sheer lack of creativity) and Ryan told us this little gem of a story about last year.

He and Stephanie were at the game one night and the Fan of the Game came up as a man sitting in Nats gear, not really cheering all that much. Stephanie starts taunting the screen loudly saying things like "HE'S THE FAN OF THE GAME?!?!" and "He's not even waving or clapping. HE'S NOT EVEN STANDING!!!!". Just then the camera pans back and shows the wheelchair said Fan of the Game is sitting in.

Saturday was spent doing things around the house as is my routine these days. That night XM and I met up for dinner and NCAA playoff watching. Turns out third is the charm - we went to my fav sports bar - it was packed. Went across to Cap City - it was packed. Went to my NEW fav sports bar (the new Bobby Van's) and it was perfect except for the obnoxious Florida fans. Very fun. Good times. During the evening I somehow figured out that if you hit the bar just right in a certain spot the Heineken tap light would go off and on. It is now dubbed the Fonzie bar. I refrained from "hey" ing.

Sunday was brunch at Katie's which was super great. She always has a fantastic array of food and beverages and the people are always fun. I guess that could be chalked up to the fact that we're all friends with each other....anyways after brunch Heather and I stopped to check out a one bedroom on Logan Circle that was for sale. $450,000 for a smaller apartment than mine. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Song of the Interminably Long Afternoon

Sing Me Sweet - Matt Nathanson

Lovely melody and lyrics. You can't help but smile when you hear this song.

Song of the Afternoon

Good Intentions - Toad the Wet Sprocket

The road to Hell is paved with them, no?

Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?

I came across this nifty survey a couple days ago and have just now spent the time to look through it. I was definitely raised in California. It's a pretty interesting study in how certain areas of the country pronounce things and different names we all have for the same things (i.e. soda v. pop v. coke v.....). All fun and games until you hit number 59. Do any of you know of this "game"? And my mom thought us playing capture the flag in the cul-de-sac after the street lights came on was dangerous.

Olhe de Brasil!

Looks like I need to start learning some Portuguese. I have received official word that I am going to Brazil in August for work. I am so completely excited!!!!

Roasted

What in the world happened to Kenny Rogers' face?!? Dear God it is frightening.

Weekend Roundup

Yikes! I am really behind which is a shame since I have been having a lot of fun since getting over the wp as Matt called it. Here's this weekend now that it is over and as soon as I put my boss on his plane to Scotland later this week I plan to catch up (I've been keeping notes so I don't forget anything. Sad, I know).

This weekend started Thursday night. My boss decided someone - me - needed to go to a kick-off party at XM radio's studio for a new sports show hosted by James Carville and Luke Russert (Tim's son). So I dragged Heather with me. For 2 ladies who really didn't want to be social we ended up having a blast. For the first time I actually walked up to people and introduced myself, and even networked a bit. I usually hang back and let myself be introduced but not this time and it payed off in a funny, unexpected way. Not only did we chat with Carville but also with Tim Russert who had the photographer take a shot of he, Heather and I which ended up on Wonkette of all places. I got an email from an old friend informing me that it was up, told Heather and we haven't stopped laughing since. After the festivities we met up with some folks and headed to one of our fav restaurants (El Tam) for some food and unneeded margaritas. Oy. Ended up staying at XM's place and somehow managed to get to work on time feeling too well for what the evening before was. Heather was the same way.

Friday was a short day at work thankfully. Came home, took a nap and had dinner with a friend before heading home early. It was also my cousin's 20th birthday which he spent in Iraq....

XM and I had made plans early in the week to do dinner and a movie Saturday night. We changed plans and ended up going to the DC United game. So much fun! I had forgotten how much I love watching soccer games. One of the things I can thank my ex Jake for - the love, not the forgetting. (For his birthday one year I surprised him with 3rd row center field tickets to the men's game where USA beat Brazil for the first time. Pretty awesome.). We ran into a coworker and her husband who gave us a ride part way home. We had a late dinner at a great Ethiopian place I hadn't been to and parted ways at the corner of my street since we were both kinda worn out.

Today I went to Easter service at a new church and then met Jim for brunch. It was a beautiful day so I didn't mind walking to Woodley (probably around a mile and a half) until I took a wrong turn and ended up hearing things in Spanish about gringa and boobs. Ew. Moving on, brunch was fantastic. Great new place called Open City. Came home, took a nap, threw some laundry in and caught up on some dvds I've had forever.

All in all a very relaxing, fun virtually peep free weekend (thanks for the photo Katie).

Slide Away

Does the world really need another Goo Goo Dolls album? Please don't get me wrong, I don't completely hate the Goo. Slide is a near-perfect example of what a pop song should be. It is catchy, damn near infectious actually, upbeat, guy proclaims undying love for girl (and unless you are dead inside we all love those lyrics and hope to someday meet someone that feels that way about us), complete froth and nowhere close to being offensive in any way. It's just that pretty much all of their other songs are the poor man's Slide and the few that aren't are really bad. It is good to know the album cover is a photo of a girl with eyes as dead and lifeless as their talent.

It Wouldn't Be Easter Without Peeps

Ugh. Why won't those disgusting candies go away already? Click above for a combination of my three least favorite Easter treats. All it needs is a black jellybean garnish and it will be complete. Blech.

Christmas in April

I just found a completely kick ass (what am I a 14 year old skater?)site full of free concert recordings (of bands that allow recording and free sharing of course) including, but not limited to, Jack Johnson, Matt Nathanson, Glen Phillips, Carbon Leaf (a local band here that I adore), Death Cab for Cutie, Guster, Matt Costa, Ben Kweller, I could go on and on. OOOOOh...It also has Emmet Swimming, another local band that has been around forever that I was just introduced to this past weekend at a Getaway Car (also on the site) concert - more on that later. I'm stoked.

Song of the Moment

Big Time Lullabye - The Getaway Car.

Caged Like... Well, Animals

thegumbynator: The pretty pets remain safe. But for how long? Are you ready to play the game?

The maniac(s) have struck again. I want it noted that they were never this dirty and disheveled while in my care. Nor were they ever caged!

Ransom

I feel like I'm in a bad Mel Gibson movie. My Gumby and Pokey figures that Jim got me for my birthday last year have been missing for a couple weeks. I received the following im message this afternoon:

thegumbynator: It is time again to initiate contact. The pretty pets have not been harmed. Your cooperation will determine if that remains true. Please see (Link:http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h307/thegumbynator/516b144b.jpg)

I've got my people working on finding the perps. I will keep you updated on their situation....

All I Wanted Was a Pepsi

Song of the night. Oldie but goodie from 1983. Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies. I'm not crazy. Institutionalized. You're the one that's crazy. Institutionalized. This one's for Tam and Michelle.

Paul Part 2

He is amazing. He gives so much back to not just his community but towards the betterment of the world. He and his wife (Joanne Woodward) fund camps for sick poor children in more than 15 countries. He also ate his dog food for $10. He is one of the biggest most recognizable celebrities ever and so humble and gracious. Lindsay Lohan et al should take lessons.

Newman's Own

Juat got home and Paul Newman is on the Tonight Show. He looks like he just rolled off the schooner.  He has on a sweatshirt and his sunglasses are around his neck on those foam glass holders. They don't make em like they used to.

Quote of the Game

Tom: "In the periodic chart of musical instruments they are on the same side."

The Office PSAs

These are fantastic. Link above to the spoofs of those "The More You Know" PSAs that run on NBC.

I Apologize

The actual quote of the month spoken to Agie:

"I was with you on the penis until I saw crossed legs".

Second Favorite Quote of the Day

"Drug dealers need to eat too."

Quote of the Day

"Why are there no homeless people?" in response to not finding anyone to give our dinner leftovers to.

Kite Fights and Bruin Ball

Saturday I met XM at his place and we walked down to the mall for the annual kite festival. We stopped for a quick lunch at an Indian restaraunt we both have been wanting to try and then headed to the festival. It was really neat. All around the Monument were 100s of kites of all shapes and sizes. I had warned him that I turn about 5 years old around stuff like this (also see: fireworks, etc.) and I didn't disappoint.

We walked around looking at the different kites, sat for a bit and then headed over to the WWII memorial because he hadn't been there yet (how's that for taking your city for granted?) and then headed back through the kites. We were about to leave when I heard an announcer saying something about kite fights. We had to stay! It turned out to be pretty exciting to watch. Very fun.

Later that night Jim and I watched the UCLA/Memphis game which is quite possibly the worst display of bball I have ever seen. After the embarrassment that was the game we headed to a party out in the burbs. Very odd group of people. We left pretty quickly after arriving.

25 Years

Today is the 25th anniversary of the shooting of Reagan. I was but a young lass of 7 when it happened but I can remember it like it was yesterday.

I was in second grade and had just got my first pair of glasses. Our teacher had us all write letters to Ronnie and to prove that I don't hate all Republican presidents I will share that my teacher suggested that 13 reallys was plenty when saying I really (xs 13) hoped he got better soon. Who would have thought 25 years later I would be living down the street from the Hinkley Hilton?

Album of the Day

James Hunter - People Gonna Talk

Perfect album for a beautiful Spring day. You can't be in a bad mood listening to this. Unless you don't like Van Morrisson, Sam Cooke, etc. then I suppose this would put you in a bad mood. But seeing as how I'm a sucker for horns and a good rhythm section this album rocks.

Pink Elephants and Dumbo

We've been discussing pink elephants this afternoon and a few people who are usually very informed had no recollection of the pink elephants on parade scene in Dumbo (for a refresher or an introduction, click above). Now, I may be more familiar with it than most because whenever my cousins from up North would come down to visit they would want to watch Dumbo over and over and over and over and well, you get the point. Looking back, I can't really fault them - they weren't allowed to watch television or movies - but would a little diversity have hurt them? I can't tell you how many episodes of A-Team my brother and I had to sacrifice for those younger cousins.

Friday

Melissa and I hung out Friday night which was a fun time. We both realized halfway in that it was the first time we had done something together without anyone else along. Luckily we like each other. DC 9 was having a listening party for the new cd of a band she really likes (Mates of State) so we had a few drinks, listened to some good music and chatted. She has always been a really fun girl to hang with but Friday night I found out we actually have a lot in common and we touched on some pretty serious stuff too. It was a very enjoyable night and hopefully we will do it again soon.

Song for the Afternoon

One Thing - Finger Eleven.

Ron asked this afternoon if I had this song along with some others. I didn't know what song he was talking about (I immediately thought of the INXS song) until I heard it and realized I love this song. I can't figure out where I've heard it - must be a movie trailor or some slo-mo, cheesy, heart-tugging montage at the end of some TV show. Give a sister a hand and tell me if you know where I've heard it. Thanks!

Things That Are Keeping Me Up Tonight

Literally, these are the thoughts that I am thinking as I try to fall asleep. In no particular order. God help me.

1. What games am I going to get when we divvy up our Nats seats next week?

2. Why does my cat nap all evening and then decide to run around like a bat outta Hell right when I am going to bed?

3. I am honestly 95% happy with my life right now. Not too shabby. Especially considering the 5% is being worked on.

4. My chances of going to Brazil are looking better and better. Still not getting my hopes up too high.

5. Thinking about this weekend and how I am going to fit in naps (still not 100% better). I'm going out tomorrow night, lunch date with XM Sat, party Sat night with XM's ex and others, movie and drinks Sun. I'm tired just thinking about it. One would think I would be able to sleep but no.

6. I am really far too impressed with my 'plumbing' work earlier this evening. Granted, I've always been pretty mechanically inclined...much to the dismay of my mother coming upon my brother and me taking something apart (always his idea mom). It didn't hurt having a very strong, independent grandmother who helped raise me and a grandfather who encouraged us to learn how things work (see above reference to taking things apart). Also growing up fairly poor really teaches you to fix things and do things on your own rather than call someone to do it for you.

7. I miss my grandparents every day. No exaggeration. Something makes me think of one or both of them every day. And every day I appreciate having had them in my life more and more. They were truly amazing, wonderful people and I can only hope that I am 1/2 what they were.

8. I wonder if I will ever get to hold a panda.

9. Whatever happened to Paul Reiser?

10. If train A is travel...just kidding.

11. I want to learn to play accoustic guitar this year. I am fairly confident I can teach myself. I'll keep you posted.

12. I think I could be okay never seeing Paris or London if I got to see Moscow and parts of Africa.

13. I really like the people I work with for the most part and for that I am thankful.

14. How did 'Paint the Silence' get stuck in my head?

15. I would love to be asleep right now. Tomorrow is going to drag.

Plan B the Plumber

My showerhead has been giving out less than stellar water pressure the entire 2 years I have lived here (I have always blamed the low-flow feature on it) but recently it has been near non-existant to the point where it takes me a good 5 minutes to get the shampoo out of my hair. Ridiculous!

I mentioned to Ron at lunch that I need to buy a new one and he suggested I just take it apart and remove the gravel buildup that was most likely the culprit of my lessening water flow. When I mentioned it was low-flow he also told me I should just remove that device while I had it apart. I *heart* him!

I got a pipe wrench and headed home to tackle my shower head. Turns out all I needed was some needle nose pliers. The head came off relatively easily and I was able to remove the gravel buildup with no difficulty. Still bad pressure so I took it upon myself to dismantle it and see what would happen. I ended up not breaking it and with enough power to rinse my hair in seconds. All of this without an astronomical bill or plumber's crack! I'm stoked.

Last Night

Jim and I haven't seen each other for weeks (I was gone on trips and then he was) so it was great to catch up with him last night. We ordered Chinese and watched The OC from last week that he had missed. I really miss him when he's not around and evidently he misses me so it was wonderful spending time with him. We will probably be hanging out this weekend as well - some sort of party that will likely turn out to be another odd evening given the track record of the person throwing it...I'm a bit leery but have signed up regardless.

Some interesting news I found out yesterday - I may get to do some international travel for work this summer. I'm trying not to get too excited about it until it's finalized...and I don't want to jinx it by talking about it too much...but if it does work out it would be an amazing opportunity to see a place I've been wanting to go for a long time. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Colbert Report

There is something about Steven Colbert that is attractive. I can't put my finger on it but am going to chalk it up to his sarcasm and intelligent wit. It isn't all the time but take his show last night. He was interviewing Connie Chung (click above for link to video) and she asked what he looks like without his glasses. So he whipped them off and ... Oh crap. I just realized he reminds me of my friend Mark...it was the glasses thing. In French class in high school (was it senior year Mark?) M. Mason had us do commercials en francaise of course. We decided to do our version of the International House coffee commercials. Mark and I were a couple in front of a fireplace (no fire but I'm pretty sure we put something in it - help me out Mark). In one take he whipped his glasses off while he said his line and it was quite possibly the funniest thing I had seen up to that point.

Laughing now at the memory...Colbert not so sexy now that I think of Mark when I look at him though. No offense to Mark. I'm told he is attractive, I just haven't ever thought of him in that way.

Meow

I have fallen in love all over again and I blame XM. I had completely gotten over my unrequited (only because we haven't met) love for Josh Charles. But now, after spending hours with him and Sports Night over the past few days, I am once again a smitten kitten. I think I may have to start going to more O's games now that I know he is from Baltimore.... He is the near perfect man. If only he was taller than 5'11".

Brunch and Bach

Breaking News - I totally overdid it this weekend. I called in sick to Angie last weekend for the New Order v. Duran Duran dance off at the Black Cat so when I should have done the same today I couldn't.

A friend of hers from undergrad is in a touring musical group and they were here in DC today performing Bach and Vivaldi. We got there right on time after meeting for brunch. Turns out we should have got there early. Who knew a free concert at the National Academy of Sciences on a Sunday afternoon would fill up? We hung out in the foyer with the 50 other people who underestimated the city's love of classical movements and concertos. They were piping the music so we could at least listen to her friend sing his solo.
We met up with him later and she was able to say hi and catch up.

It was a great afternoon with one of my favorite friends and I am paying for it now. So sleepy and run down....and the damn Sopranos made me cry.

Another Saturday Night

After my doctor visit yesterday which went well, spot on my lung is getting smaller yay, I went home, took a nap and thought about whether or not I wanted to go to the Matt Pond PA concert. I decided I did because I really like the guy so next step was finding someone to go with since I had cancelled the scheduled date earlier in the week due to the whole walking pneumonia thing.

Katie ended up being the lucky girl. She's a good friend. We met up at Dukem's, the city's best Ethiopian restaurant, and had dinner with her roommate and two of his friends from TN. Really fun time. Her roommate is a really funny guy who pretty much says what is on his mind. Good times.

We walked over to the 930 Club and just as we got to the coat check (one of God's many gifts to us) Melissa and Chris walked up and said hello. It was great to see them and we spent a minute catching up. The first band tried really hard to be something different than every other non-offensive band out there. Luckily they didn't play too much longer. Melissa came over to chat in between bands which was great. I really like her and am so glad she and I have been able to cultivate a friendship outside of who we are dating. After some time she wisely decided to rejoin the group she was with, which included the person I met her through and some of his friends I used to know (more on that later).

Katie and I are pretty tall girls and we were both wearing heels so the concert was great. We had a completely unobstructed view of the stage and had a bit of convo about how we just can't feel any compassion for short people at concerts. I usually try to not stand in front of uber short people but other than that my thought is deal.

When he announced last song we headed to coat check to beat the rush and I inadvertently picked what turned out to be a bad route. Walked right smack dab through the ex's group of friends. I discovered this because I looked up, saw a friend of his that I had done numerous things with during the 11 months, said "hey" very nicely because that is what you do in that circumstance and got a really rude, bitchy head nod "hey" in return. Okay then. Good to know that's how it is being played.

Melissa came and caught us at the coat check, said goodbye, hugged and made sure we are going to do something in the future. Katie and I walked down to Local 16 (the site of her first date with Peter and mine with XM) for a beverage since the night was still young. We had fun chatting and then both headed home.

Ryan caught me as I was almost home and somehow managed to get me to turn around and meet him out for a bit. I made it for one drink before pulling the plug but it was nice to see him.

Soul Beat & English Asylum

Wait, that isn't right. Went to the 930 Club last night for a double bill of Soul Asylum and English Beat. So much fun! I actually had energy for the first time in a week so I was able to enjoy myself. XM and I met for dinner before heading to the show. I have a good time with him. Conversation never feels forced. I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up friends.

We got there after Soul Asylum had started. I was relieved to see we were nowhere near the oldest people there which was a welcome change. Treat of all treats - Tommy Stinson was playing bass. For those of you not in the know, he was one of the founding members of The Replacements....at age 12.

English Beat rocked of course. They are always so much fun and sound great even in their 50's and without Rankin' Roger. They didn't have a set list at all which made the concert more fun somehow. Good times.

I walked XM home this morning on my way to the dr (which is where I am now, waiting to get my follow up chest x-ray) and am looking forward to going home and taking a nap. Not entirely certain if I am going to go to the concert tonight. I don't know if I should push my luck going out twice before I am completely better. I will make the decision post nap and x-ray.

I Don't Need You To Talk

Vin Diesel makes sounding dumb hot. He blushes whenever he gets asked about dating and makes sure to talk about his mom in almost every interview. I wonder if he is actually somewhere near intelligent. After all, he is working on a movie about Hanibal to be filmed in 3 languages. I wonder if that would make him hotter. Mmmmm...hotter Vin Diesel.

Moms and Dr.s Are Always Right

I totally should not have gone into work today. I am feeling worse than I did this morning, but still better than yesterday so I guess I am still ahead of the game. I will be staying home tomorrow.

Good news is I will get to watch seasons one and two of Sports Night thanks to some thoughtful courriering by XM. He had planned to bring it by my place but I threw a wrench into his plans by going to the office. So he had a messenger bring it to my office as a surprise with a nice little note inside. When I thanked him, all he said was 'You’re welcome.  You’ll find I’m very strong on thoughtful acts that require no cost or effort on my part.'

XM story 2 of the day (I promise this will not be a daily fixture): out of the blue, today Matt invited me to a party Saturday night that is being thrown by XM's ex's friends of all people. What are the chances? DC is turning into a very small city.

I've Got Cabin Fever

I am going into work tomorrow against the advice of both my doctor and my mother the nurse because I am going crazy. So not good at this stay home sick thing. Mad About You, Knight Rider and Sin City aside, the lack of anything even resembling good television is definitely compounding this insanity. And before you hassle the hoff, I loved that show as a kid. Plus it was either that or the Golden Girls and I am neither a gay man nor 80.

XM (new name for the ex guy - his name starts with M; if you don't like it come up with something better) checked on me a couple times today and offered up some quality viewing along the lines of Sports Night and News Radio. I'm still feeling like crap, haven't showered for two days and am vain so I didn't take him up on the offer but he definitely won points for the offered effort and taste in tv shows :)

I've talked more about the sitch with Jim, who has been checking in on me from CA, and I'm getting more concerned with the position this has the possibility of putting him in. He keeps saying he knows nothing and that will be the story I stick to as well. Plus it isn't like he had anything to do with the set up. XM had my email from awhile ago. Still afraid of possible repercussions especially if this turns out to be just a fun spring fling. I'm taking my meds and going to bed.

At Least It Isn't TB

I have had a head cold for about a week and a half now. After the wedding weekend it had moved from my head to my chest and I developed a pretty nasty sounding cough. I was going to see the doctor last week but my coworker was out and we were hideously busy. I took it easy this weekend but still woke up this morning with a fever over 101. So I emailed in sick and got an appointment for the afternoon.

Turns out I have walking pneumonia. I feel as though I have been beaten, my body is on fire and I get tired walking from room to room. My temp is still pretty high and I've been sleeping all day even with the shot he gave me and both meds. Figures this would happen when the weather is so incredibly nice outside.

Almost Too Cute

He had an appointment yesterday morning so we walked out of his place together, kissed goodbye and exchanged some fun banter before walking in opposite directions. I'd gone about 100 feet when my phone rang. It was him (EBoFoaF - I need to come up with a better moniker if this sticks) so I answered with "you can't possibly miss me already". He laughed and explained that protocol is to call the next day but since he wasn't sure what the next day was in this case he was calling then. We chatted for a bit and said goodbye after letting each other know again what a good time we had with each other.

Normally something like that would make me roll my eyes but in this case, it was really cute and sweet and unexpected and it made me smile to have someone go out of their way to tell me they enjoyed my company. It has been a long time.

Outside Drinks

So it turned into a date. I had a really great time and am a bit unsure how I want to procede from here. We had arranged to go to a concert this weekend before the night turned datey so I do know we're going on a date this weekend. My concerns are these:

1. He ended a 2 1/2 year relationship right about the time I ended my shorter one.

2. The girl he dated is a really good friend of Jim's. I talked to Jim about it who intentionally didn't ask questions when he found out I stayed the night (nothing more than some kissing people - get your minds out of the gutter). He said no when I said I would walk away in a second if he wanted, but he doesnt want to know what is going on which is understandable.

My main concern is my friend so I will play it by ear. I don't know that this is going to go anywhere so I shouldn't worry about it too much I guess.

Is This Okay?

I just got an email from the ex of a good friend of a good friend asking me if I want to drink outside somewhere. My first response was "yes. heavily. now." but that's just because of the day I'm having. I don't think it would be odd to grab a drink and hang out on a patio with him - I hear it's absolutely beautiful outside and I will hopefully get out of here before I have to be back tomorrow morning. But then I started thinking about it wondering if it was okay. It's not like it's a date, right? I can't imagine he knows I am single since I haven't seen him since,I don't know, October? Granted I wasn't very happy at that point and it became kind of a joke that night but I can't imagine he is asking as anything other than friends. I don't even know what I would do if he was. Hopefully I won't have to think about it. It's okay that I go, right?

Fridays Are Supposed To Be Fun

Big stuff in little DC. We got a heads up yesterday afternoon about something airing tonight and our office has been in full speed since. To say it's been stressful around here would be an understatement. At least we're all laughing and having fun, well as much as possible given that we all have to work tomorrow for an as yet to be determined amount of time. Did I mention we're having our first nice weekend in forever? Yeah. Woo. Hoo. I did get a newfangled Blackberry - very, very sad that THIS is the highlight of my day. Sigh.

Song of the Day

Landed - Ben Folds

I've always been a sucker for musicians, especially folically and/or optically impaired ones for some unexplainable reason (See: Midnight Oil, Weezer). That said, Ben Folds has been a mainstay in my playlist rotation for quite some time (seeing as how he's both). No one else rocks the suburbs quite like him. Landed is one of his newest songs - the poignant lyrics kick ass plus the piano, as always, is beyond high quality. Enjoy.