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Entry the Three Hundred and Ninety Sixth03 January 2002 Dancing Fuck the gym, fuck running, I danced I arranged to meet a friend for Dinner, Matt, who emailed me last week while in Colorado to let me know that he had found something with my name on it, literally. ;-) Turned out this was a mug from the Blue Moose Restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado, with a lovely moose on the one side and the slogan, "Get Moosed!" on the other. I, of course, heartily agree with the slogan. *lewd grin* Well, Matt mentioned that it was the regular happy hour night at Omega, so we went there after our (for me) late dinner. Hung out there for a while, got bored once Scary-okey started, so headed next door to Badlands. It being college night, Badlands had the usual group of 18 and up boys there. We danced on and off, then when the back bar closed we went out and started dancing with two boys, one for him and one for me, til the place closed. He got a number, I got a name from mine. Adam ("As in, 'Adam and Steve!'"). He was pretty cute, starting to thin toward the front, and very slim. Wonderful body, felt through the button-down he had on. I had removed my sweater and tied it around my waist by this point, but was not taking the undershirt off. It was attracting enough attention glowing under the black lights without showing off my awful chest. Adam was rather shy, and while he danced with me, I didn't push him into anything. In fact, at one point I leaned over and let him know I wasn't going to push him, to which he replied that he liked to save something for future encounters. I actually felt more than a tad guilty dancing with him. I have three men I call boyfriends, I have no room for any others, and I don't want to lead anyone on to think something might happen when it can't. I love the men I'm with, and I won't lose them over a one-night thing, nor will I lead someone to believe something else might develop when it can't. So we said our good nights when the "ugly lights" cut on at closing, and I went home with Matt (to pick up the mug from his car, and to save on the cab). No numbers exchanged, but a vague, 'see you again later here' sort of thing. I'll not regret dancing, and I'll not regret meeting him. Nor do I regret my commitments to my boyfriends. But, heavens, it was fun to dance. Archives |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Ninety Seventh06 January 2002 Party/Running in the Rain Richard (formerly "LDCS" for the uninitiated) and I went to a party thrown by Brian and his new beau last night. 'Twas most fun, and highlights included:
So, all around a fun time. Spent the rest of the evening, once we got home, babbling our drunken hearts out (okay, so I babbled and he listened - sue me). Got up this morning just in time to get washed up and get ourselves down to his regular Sunday coffee with friends, then he and his dad took off for the Redskins game (the Redskins who appear to be losing, again, to Arizona, though barely so here in the 4th quarter). After coffee broke up I wandered up to Adams Morgan, where of course the exercise places were closed til noon (grrr). Wandered home, then rode back down to drop off the bike for the standard maintenance thingey so I can ride it again. While City Bikes did that, I ran to Fleet Feet and found some gloves I liked (City Bikes had them, and some nice ones, too, but none that seemed quite right on my hands), back to City Bikes to get the bicycle, then home again. On the way up it began to snow. I hadn't done my long run for the week yet, and the thought of doing it in snow was actually quite exhilarating, so I zipped home, called Doug to let him know it was snowing up here, then dressed up all up to head out to run. Unfortunately, by the time I got out there it had converted to rain, so the entire 40 minutes was run in rain, which is decidedly less wonderful than snow. :-p Nonetheless it was a good run. It was very quiet out, not many folks on the trail, and I enjoyed the virtual solitude. I think it would have been more fun with snow falling, but it seems it was not to be, yet. I'm feeling pretty prepared now for inclement/cold weather (especially with the new gloves - they were awesome in the rain, if a tad warm once I got going), so I suppose it's okay for it to snow now. I'd prefer if it's going to do so that it shuts down the city so I get a free day off, but I suppose we can't have everything, now can we? Archives |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Ninety Eighth07 January 2002 Laundry/Taxpayers Laundry night. Whee. :) At least I have clean undies again (not that I was totally out of them, but it was getting to the dregs of the collection, ya know!). Today seemed to be spent arguing all day long. Now, mind you, I am an attorney, so this is not necessarily out of the ordinary, but the things these people ask to do just blow my mind some times. You'd think they didn't realize they work for the taxpayers, and the taxpayers don't expect to see their money spent on things like food for gov't employees! I swear these people don't think. At least they don't think like taxpayers (which, of course, they are, regardless of the fact that they're on the gov't payroll). Oy vey. So I spent most of the day looking up the legal reasons why we couldn't do these ridiculous things and then emailing/calling people to give them the not-so-good news (from their point of view). Did have one tell me she knew the answer, but needed back-up from headquarters to show to her political appointee, so didn't feel too bad there. Joy. And this is what I'll be doing a lot of if I get the other job I interviewed for - telling people what they can and can't spend their money on. LOL! I do enjoy it, but there are times when it boggles the mind that people want to spend the gov't's money on frivolous things. Archives |
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Entry the Three Hundred and Ninety Ninth13 January 2002 Cooking Okay, I admit it, I want to drop lawyering and cook for a living. Spent a good part of Saturday preparing an anniversary dinner for Doug and I. We reached two years together this past week (the 4th/9th, depending on if you count first contact or first live contact), and decided we wanted something low-key to celebrate, so we made a nice dinner. I made chili and corn muffins, as well as some chai that we didn't end up touching until this morning because we decided to have wine with dessert. :-) Doug made a nice blackberry cobbler which was a wonderful dessert, as well as a good breakfast. All vegan food, no animal products (even used sucanat in place of sugar), all very yummy. And tonight, because Lawrence is working on a work deadline, I'm making us dinner for once (usually he cooks or we go out). Another batch of chili, with minor variations (I follow the recipe the first time, then tweak it from then on out - added carrots for texture and a touch of sweetness this time), and a sun-dried tomato quick bread (beer bread). This is, as Doug put it, my currency with folks. I love to cook for people, to create things that folks love to eat. Everyone has to eat, so it's a very useful skill, and most people are very grateful/amazed/awed that someone will take the time to put together a good meal these days. This is one of my few creative outlets where I think I'm truly good at what I'm doing - hence the great satisfaction I take from the process and the result. A well put together meal can be a work of art, and the blending of spices and ingredients an almost magical process to some. I'm going to have a potluck affair some time this next month, and if that goes well, it may become a normal feature on a monthly basis or so. A chance to connect with friends, to do so at home (so we can take all the time we want over stuff!), and to have a good time together over good food. Too bad I have these student loans or it really would be tempting to shuck it all and go to cooking school instead. ;-) Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundredth14 January 2002 Post-Holiday 02/1/14 5:48 p.m. I think we are finally in the "post-holiday" season. Thank heavens. Yes, I have meetings this week, and yes it's still busy, but this is a different kind of busy. I want to attend the business meeting of the local bar association, but I am under no social pressure to attend (unlike, say, a friend's holiday party). Different busy. Otherwise things seem to be going well here. Work is still hectic as I attempt to dig out from under the grand jury backlog, though it feels much less stressful now that I know I'll be in the office more. And speaking of being in the office, the semi-big boss granted my leave requests, so the potluck is on. Woo-hoo! I'm psyched now, gives me two days at home to prepare (and a couple weeks before that as well). Very much looking forward to that. So, work life is a tad better. Social life is a tad calmer. Eating is better, too - discovered a good corn muffin recipe this weekend and had one of those for "second breakfast" this morning. Has the advantages of a. Being vegan; b. Being smaller (and therefore not as calorie filled); and c. Having a higher protein count, making it ultimately more filling. Much nicer to know what was going into ye olde body and not be ingesting unknown quantities of dairy products. ... ANC meeting went well tonight. Learned more about the sewer system issues the city's having now, and WASA's apparently flawed plan to fix it. Also went though the bills and set up a much needed budget last night. Ugh. It's going to be tight, but it's doable. Also did my taxes (yeah, I'm a geek) while I was at it. Once I get my student loan deduction paperwork I'll be able to send it all in no problems, and will get a good sized federal return, which will be dumped into savings to handle fixed costs later in the year - the web site fees, bar dues, the ISP, etc. Am glad to have more of a plan, but it was still an "ouch" moment. Looks like I'll be cooking a lot more food at home the next few months. It'd be easier with the other job with the other Big Government Agency, but I'm not going to count on that income unless and until I get the job, so until then, it's scrimp and save. Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundred and First22 January 2002 Crisis du Jour 02/1/22 8:40 a.m. Praying I don't have the usual first-thing-in-the-morning crisis per what seems to be the norm these days at the office. Last week was almost a joke - made up a lovely to do list with tons of stuff on it, got into the office, got hit with lots of a.m. crises and got none of it done. Eeck! In this case my instinct to organize worked against me, simply letting me know how far behind I was getting. Blech. Perhaps I'll have some time to say to hell with it today and get some things off my list. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Guy beside me on the bus had awful breath. Yuck. Thank heavens he just left. Lovely three day weekend, capped by museum hopping, shopping and a three-way with Doug and Richard. ;-) The rough part was that my stomach was partially upset almost the entire time. Don't know quite what it was, but something didn't like me at all. It seems to be gone now, or at least mostly so. I hope. :-p ... 02/1/22 5:53 p.m. The usual crises arose, nothing made it off the to-do list. :-p Oh well. I think perhaps I should get some sort of sideboard and/or work cart for the kitchen. It'd give me some more counter space, as well as some storage, and maybe even free up a bookshelf. It would be nice to be able to have the mixer & food processor up on something so I didn't have to haul them out, but could just plug 'em in. Hmm... Then the question becomes get something new (Ikea?), or go hunting out something old. Nesting, nesting, one, two, three... ... Home to African bean soup, olive bread, Doug, a game of gin rummy, playing with the cats, chocolate (soy) milk, journal reading and then bed. Night, y'all! Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundred and Second23 January 2002 Foodstuffs 02/1/23 8:35 a.m. I think everyone waited until today to return to work; streets seem much more crowded than yesterday. Got in a run this morning. Took my time, went a little farther than I'd intended when I started, but it was comfortable at the slower pace, so I went for it. Had to haul in two of my (thankfully thinner) cookbooks today to remember what I need to make dinner tonight. Chili and corn muffins, and I'm going to attempt some lemon poppyseed muffins as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the poppyseed muffins. Since finding the egg replacer my quest is now to find a really good muffin recipe. ;-) I'd like to be able to make them to take to work for snacks/breakfast for the week as they'd be cheaper than store-bought, plus I'd know what was in them (hence avoiding any stomach cramp inducing dairy). So, shopping shortly after work, then home to cook with Richard. I have a large project to complete today, so the day should either fly or crawl. Let's hope it flies. :-p ... Day pretty much flew, though there were slow moments. Not too terribly bad, over all. The "crisis du jour" mode seems to be continuing at work. Blech. I may just get something off my to-do list at some point, but I'm not going to hold my breath. More chili tonight, as well as corn muffins and a batch of lemon poppyseed muffins for work/snacks. Spent almost the entire night cooking with Richard, but having the snacks and what not will be worth it. Now that I know what's involved, finding some time on the weekend to make muffins for the week doesn't seem too bad an idea. Anything to get something to snack on where I can know there's nothing in it to mess up my stomach. Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundred and Third26 January 2002 Meltdown Hello, my name is Moose and I think I'm an alcoholic. Scratch that, I am an alcoholic. My co-workers had a celebration yesterday during the late afternoon, a long postponed hurrah for making a clean audit this past year. We started drinking sometime around 2 p.m., and I know we drank for quite a while, and I mostly remember what I had to drink, but there are missing elements of the afternoon/evening. I can't remember leaving the bar. I don't remember getting into my office. I do remember getting sick in my office, I remember the lights cutting off because I wasn't moving and couldn't muster the energy to get up off the floor and into the path of the motion detector. I remember waking up at about 5 after 11 p.m. on the floor of my office. Door was closed, no one else was there. Had I actually had something serious happen to me, no one would have discovered me until Monday morning, and perhaps not even then. My office door was likely locked, and my office mate is out for the next two weeks. I missed a dinner with Richard, scaring the living daylights out of him and Doug. No one knew where I was, no one knew if I was okay or not. And this is something that can never, ever happen again. But the only way I can accomplish that is not to drink. Period. I've tried cutting back on my drinking before, but merely cutting back doesn't work for me. I have a little, the inhibitions go out the window, and I go nuts. Of course, that's the nature of the drug, to lower inhibitions. Hell, this is why I never took drugs, because I knew I'd not be able to stop, that I'd go too far and OD. And knowing that about myself, I'm going to have to treat alcohol in the same way; I can't do this to myself or my loved ones again. This behavior, drinking, is incompatible with the person I see myself as being. I'm active, I fulfill my commitments, I'm a good worker, I like to think I'm a good partner. And the drinking interferes with all of those, so it's got to go. I'm going to have to remember to use the phrase, "No, but thank you" a lot, I think. Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundred and Fourth27 January 2002 Aftermath Gosh it's fun to clean up from your (hopefully) last drunk, two days after the fact. Not. Went into the office to do just that, clean up. Did get all of the stain up (thank you Nature's Miracle pet mess cleaner!!!), not sure on the smell. You have to saturate the area, and the bottle says it may take two weeks before you know whether it's gone. *groan* From where a couple of things were in my office, it looks like I got in, shut down my computer, got my stuff together, and must have gotten sick on the way out. I don't remember it, of course, but that's my assumption from where I found things. The good news is, a couple of hours in the office, aside from getting the carpet clean, also proved useful to get my desk cleaned up, files put away, things organized, prioritized, etc. So at least when I go in tomorrow morning the desk itself will be ready to go, with everything neatly put away. I've been reading some about alcoholism, and one thing that disturbs me a tad is that all of the definitions seem to focus on a physical addiction, a physical craving for the stuff. I don't have that. :-/ I have never felt that I had to have a drink, I've never had the DTs, etc., so the label of "alcoholic" doesn't really seem to fit me, at least not as it's written up in most of the literature on the disease. That being said, I do think I have a problem with moderating my drinking, and I'm not softening my stance on not wanting to drink (i.e., tonight at dinner it was sparkling water, where normally I'd have had a beer with the Asian tapas). Bah, whatever the term, I don't want to do it any more. It's wretched stuff, it makes me do stupid things and I've given up other things because I wanted my health to improve, so screw it, this gets added to the list. I mean, if I can give up meat and caffeine, both of which I consumed much more frequently and for far longer periods of time than I ever did with alcohol, then I can give up alcohol. ... And speaking of trembling (bah-dum-dum), went to see "Trembling Before G-d" tonight with Lawrence and an intern in his office. It's a film about being Jewish, specifically about being and orthodox Jew, and being gay. The film seemed to get a good balance between traditional interpretations of Jewish law and those gay men and women who were attempting to live good orthodox lives, and reconcile those lives with their sexuality. It showed both sides, didn't show the traditional side as mere screaming idiots (as many films about Christianity and homosexuality tend to do with the anti-gay side of the equation), and also showed the deep faith these people had and their efforts to work both of these things into their lives. It also confirmed to me that religion can really screw up some things. It has the power to do a lot of good works, but when it comes to sex and sexuality, religion just needs to get out of lives because at that point it seems to do a whole hell of a lot more harm than good. Too bad we can't go back and declare discussions of sexuality a wholly secular matter, outside the reach of any religion. Ah well. But 'twas quite a good movie, I enjoyed watching it, and enjoyed the discussions we had about it over the later dinner we shared at Raku. Archives |
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Entry the Four Hundred and Fifth30 January 2002 10 Miler? 02/1/30 8:49 a.m. Gotta start getting up at six again instead of six thirty if I want to run and make it to work on time. Whee! The gym at work is offering to sponsor folks for the Cherry Blossom ten miler in April, so I'm going to check with them and see if there are still spots available. It would be a good goal, it's possible to train for in the time remaining, and it'd be a good step toward an eventual marathon. Plus I can try to use it to get some additional help from the gym staff. ;-) C'mon, if they're going to sponsor me they'll want me to look good, no? Another gorgeous day today, though we expect a spot of rain. Sixties, maybe seventies for high temperatures. And this woman beside me is attempting to find a radio station on her very noisy headphones, which every so often spill out yet another weather report. Running this morning was wonderful, in shorts and a long sleeve T shirt, no underlayer. Very pleasant. I just keep wondering if and when the other shoe will drop and we'll get some kind of blizzard to make up for all the warm weather. Actually, a nice frost to kill off the insects that are already hatching would be a good thing. ... Well, I'm in a lottery for the 10 miler. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and will continue to train to build up to it. Spreadsheet from hell day at work. I was a very popular person 'cause I was the one who designed the one we're all working on, and it was a nice mindless day because of it. Some last minute research at the end of the day (as in, 5 minutes before I was supposed to leave!), which was fun, but not much past that at work. Met Richard at his place, ate at City Lights, then meandered our way up to my place. 'Twas a nice night, got to bed early. And even managed to get to sleep on time, too. *grin* Archives |
