Meme, anyone?

I came across a couple guys' (PJ in England and Brechi in DC) who have a meme posted. I had never heard of it before, but apparently you go through the alphabet and say whatever comes to mind first based on the letter. Anyway, I'm bored as hell at work and thought I'd give it a try. Here goes!

A is for Abercrombie Twins, Lane & Kyle Carlson. They are both fellow Twin Citiesans (?) and Winona State alums. I didn't know them in college, but Lane played baseball and I saw him a few times. Cute.

B is for Borderline, by Madonna. Love that song. In fact, I think I'll go play it while I do this.

C is for college. I wish I were back there. I'm *so* going to be one of those people who says, "back in the day..." Oh well, at least I'm still young.

D is for Double Dare on Nickelodeon in the '80s. We loved that show. I always got mad at the idiots who kept falling down during the obstacle course at the end. Get some coordination, you imps!

E is for Elephant. My Mom gave me a stuffed elephant for my sixth birthday on March 12, 1984. He stood like a human and wore blue corduroy coveralls and cap. He was cute. I wonder whatever happened to him...?

F is for Fuck. I agree with PJ, the word has endless possibilities and is really very useful in so many situations. Good word. Strong English word.

G is for Gym. Now that spring has started to sprung, I'm feeling like getting back in to my routine. I really do miss that feeling you have after a good cardio and weight training.

H is for Harry Potter. I refuse to take part in any of it, only because it is so hyped and anything that sends 10-year-olds into fits of pre-pubescent bliss really gives me the creeps. Plus my ex-boyfriend read all those books and I made fun of him for it daily, as I was a "brainy" college student reading Dante's Paradiso at the time. Like I remember any of the cantos now...However, I did read an essay test I wrote for that class and was actually impressed, like "I wrote that...??"

I is for me. There's always an I on my team. Speaking of that...those motivational posters people hang in their offices are annoying to me for some reason. Just get to work! (As I sit and type this - but, hey - there's no work to do right now!)

J is for Jemima. As in Aunt Jemima. Click on the link I put in the sidebar for a kind of funny site that features Aunt Jemima carousing with Oprah and Martha Stewart. I love the picture where s/he gave Aunt Jemima pigtails...

K is for Kharma, who apparently hates me this week. I was frauded (is that a word?) and locked myself out in one day. Hey, Kharma - if you're reading this, what the hell did I ever do to you, lady??

L is for La Crosse, Wisconsin. That is a fun college/river town. Wild, fun people live there. And it's in the beautiful Mississippi River valley. I kind of miss living in that area...

M is for Math. I am bad. I forgot all algebra. Right after college, I interviewed for some random business job at PayChex and had to do a math test. I had completely forgotten everything about algebra. The guy actually had a good chuckle. I was not amused. Stupid algebra.

N is for Nelly Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. She had the most annoyingly high-pitched, nasaly voice. What a brat she was! I loved it when she was faking the need to be in a wicker wheelchair and Laura pushed her down the hill on it!

O is for Oprah as Sophia in The Color Purple. One of my favorite parts is when Millie, the mayor's wife, goes up to Sophia and says, "Your children are so clean...Would you like to come work for me? Be my maid...??" And Sophia says, "Hell no." Millie: "What'd you say to me...??" Sophia: "I saaaaid, hell NO!" Gets me every time...

P is for Peppermint Patty. I had a friend named Kenny in first grade. I made him call me Sir, much like Marcy has to call Peppermint Patty. By the way, what the hell is Peppermint Patty?? Is that thing a boy or a girl...??

Q is for Quiana, my friend we affectionately call Kiki. She was the one who said her arms got so big from lifting forks to her mouth when some Canadian farmer was mesmerized by her big "muscles." She is a hoot.

R is for Reid. A very good name in my opinion. It is my name, my Grandma's maiden name. This family's lineage is traced back to John Reid, who came here from Wales in 1750 - or somewhere around then...

S is for Salinger. J.D. Salinger, in fact. I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye right now. Can you believe I have never read it? And I was an English minor! I'm really liking it so far. I think Holden Caufield is very endearing and cute.

T is for Teletubbies. That baby in the sun scared the bejesus out of me, but my nieces sure liked it. And I love the whole debacle over Tinky Winkie. Of course he's gay! He's carrying a G.D. purse!

U is for Unicorn. How do people become so enthralled by them? You know, those people who have glittery, shiny stickers of unicorns? I'm guessing it's somehow linked to the Dungeons & Dragons kids who were always hanging out in the lounge at my dorm. Frankly, I was a little frightened of, and certainly disturbed by, them...

V is Vageline. Seriously, when I was in high school and worked at Budget Mart (convenience store like 7-11) making Hot Stuff Pizza, that is what the spray was called we used on the dough press. We called it the Vagelina.

W is for Wonder Woman. Oh, how I tried to spin & spin in an effort to transform into her "helper" during the early 1980s. I also put a jump roap around my brother (the Nazi) to make him tell the truth. Then I'd leap off the coffee table with my special jumping powers and bend a stick with my super strength.

X is for Xanadu by Olivia Newton John. Wow, rollerskating was popular in the '70s.

Y is for Y-Generation. I've read a lot about the X-Generation and all sources say members are born at different times. I, being born in 1978, am either at the tail-end of the X-Generation, or the front end of the Y-Generation. Several articles have said that Gen X'ers were born from 1964-1980, but others end it at 1975. What the hell generation am I?!?!

Z is for Zeus. Classical Mythology was one of my favorite classes. Plus, a lot of those muscley gods were seducing young guys. Zeus is a chicken hawk!!

There -- and there you have some random rants from me. In the words of that lady from the gum commercial, "Excellent!" She is cool.

Robbed

I was thrilled to get a call from Marshall Fields credit fraud yesterday asking me if I had recently purchased $800 in gift cards. The lady told me I should probably call my other credit cards to see if there was any suspicious activity. Yes, someone had stolen my debit card (checking account) number too and spent $580 at Eastbay (sporting goods/clothing catalog company) and $250 to Sprint. Then they tried to spend another $1300 at Eastbay. Wonderful. So now I need a new debit card and the bank's records say that I'm overdrawn on my checking account until it's all cleared up - which could take a month. Yay! I know who did it, I think, but can't really say anything about that. People are evil. And stupid. I now trust nobody.

Should I really talk about this??

It seems that a few were curious about my being a magnet for the questioning/closet-case hetero males...I never really thought about it until yesterday, but it has happened a number of times...

I kind of knew this cute guy in college - he was the fraternity brother of another closet-case I was "seeing." Of course, his frat buddies thought Frat Joe and I were just pals, which we pretty much were b/c we were both so new to the scene that we were scared to have any direct contacat. A few years later, after I had moved back to my college town, Winona, the Frat Buddy was still living there. Some friends and I saw him out one night and he was uber-drunk and we briefly talked. He then proceeded to follow me around - he even rode in the cab to Wisconsin with us (Winona is across the river from WI, so we'd go there after MN bar close b/c WI is open later) and decided he wanted to come to my place for a little after-bar. Then he just wanders away toward my room. I thought he must have been in the bathroom, but more than a few minutes passed w/out him stumbling back in to the living room, where I was with 3 friends. So, I went to investigate and he was laying on my bed. I asked if he was okay. He said he wanted to stay over. I kind of sat on the bed and asked if he was going to be sick or what was going on...?? Mind you, this is a very butch, buff, cute guy who had been in the Army or Marines before college, so I had no idea what his intentions were. He said he wanted to sleep in the same bed as I. So, even though he was really drunk, we made out for a few minutes -- hey, he was cute! Then he got up and turned on the light with a "what the hell is going on??" attitude. He was like, "what am I doing?? I'm not gay...What am I doing?? I just want to hit something!" So I said, "Well don't hit me!!" I then pointed at the ironing board set up against the other wall and said, "hit that!" So he just decked it like "take that you damn gay ironing board!" and left the room. He went up to my friend Brandon and put his face right up to his and just blinked, turned around and left. He was down in the hallway pacing and I asked him if he was okay...He said he had to go, went out the door, came back to hug me - then ran down the sidewalk. That was definitely the most odd occurence of the straight boys having a gay moment.

Also in Winona (I worked there from 24-26), two different guys, at two different after-bars, started to make out with me when their girlfriends went to bed! That was kind of crazy - even for me.

Hmmm...when else?? Oh yes, I went out in Mpls with my brother once and his friend kept telling me "you two are good looking guys....and don't you think Matt is hot??" I was a little taken aback, b/c this was the big good looking jock guy in high school. Later that night he insisted that I go to the after-bar with him and all he could talk about was that we were good looking. He kept asking me if I thought there was an empty bedroom anywhere and that he hadn't slept w/ anyone in SO long...I slept on the couch. It would just be too weird to make out with him at my brother's house. He's still good looking, though.

So, yeah -- what is up with the questioning closet-cases feeling like their secret is safe with me -- and that we are going to make out....??? Strange phenomenon, I guess. Must be the booze. It's actually kind of embarassing...

Taxi Cab Confessions

Since our Easter dinner was happening on Sunday instead of Saturday like I originally thought, I decided to stay in Mpls on Friday and head home on Saturday evening. So, friend Scott and I rented the second Bridget Jones movie and had a couple drinks. Then my old friend from Dodge Center, Jill, called me to say she was in Mpls w/ another friend of hers and did I want to meet them at the Gay '90s. So after the movie, I took a cab there and hung out with them. We watched a little of the drag show and then went to the retro bar (there are about 6 different bar areas inside the '90s) where we danced to all their fun '70s and '80s music - it was a good time. So we parted ways at closing and I was on a mission to find a cab - it's nearly impossible to find a cab at bar close downtown...Anyway, this cute guy was hailing all the same cabs I was trying for. Finally I asked him where he was going and he said Uptown. My apartment is on the way there, so I suggested sharing a cab (I'm a good sharer). It took about 20 minutes, at least, but in the meantime we did some talking. He was wearing some sort of Band-Aid thing on his nose b/c he had been in a fight and he also had drops of blood on his all white tennis shoes - but he didn't look like a loser, just a cute guy who had happened to get in a little scuffle. He said he was sticking up for his gay cousin (or someone) and so that got my attention, of course. I stopped traffic with my Kennedy attitude and finally got one of the empty cabs. On the way to my apartment he mentioned that he might be gay, but I kinda thought he was just kidding, but then he got out with me instead of continuing on to Uptown, so I thought 'whatever...' Once inside, we had a cocktail and did some more talking. He was asking if I thought he was good looking and how long have I been out and what did my friends think when I first told them, but then also, "Ohhh...but I'm not gay...." A little bit later, and I'm not even sure how it happened, we were making out and he declared that he is gay and has never told anyone. We messed around a little bit, but then I got up to use the bathroom and he was passed out when I got back! When I woke up the next morning he was asleep on the floor with my coat as a blanket - he taken his socks off and thrown them across the room too, which I thought was kind of funny. Then my bathroom rug was all wet, so I hope he didn't think it was the toilet at some point that night. He woke up shortly thereafter and didn't seem to remember a thing -- called a couple of his friends he was supposed to meet and thanked me for letting him crash and left. I'm not even sure what his name was - I'll just call him Random Closeted Joe. Very cute though. I think he's about 23 or so. Just another crazy occurrence for me - that's about the 4th time that's happened to me. I guess I'm a magnet for the closet cases....No complaints here!

"Thank you, Easter Bunny! Bawk, bawk!"

Remember that Cadbury's commercial? I was just thinking of a time when I actually looked forward to Easter. Now I'm going home this weekend just b/c Easter is still kind of a family holiday, but it doesn't mean anything to me anymore. We always had Easter baskets full of candy hidden on Easter morning. I can't remember exactly what was in them besides jelly beans and Robin Eggs and probably a chocolate bunny, but I know my friends always got all the really good stuff like Peeps and other popular Easter candy. We'd also get little toys. It was fun. I loved dying eggs -- we used coffee cups and empty egg cartons. I think one year, in fact I know, my brother and I got new bikes! That was a good Easter. Anyway, hope you have a chocolate, candy-filled weekend! I'm thinking about getting back early enough on Sunday to go to Showtunes. I bet they'll play a scene from Easter Parade with Judy Garland...

Some more random facts

Shamelessly stolen from K-State Katie, Stacy & Lynne:


I am: a big procrastinator lately
I know: the years things happened, like in Dateline when they play the "What Year did all of the following happen?" thing...it's a little scary
I have: a collection of old high school & college yearbooks (I'm a geek, I know) - I find them very interesting
I wish: I could travel more
I hate: slow drivers in the fast lane
I miss: being in college & 21
I fear: having regrets in life and aging
I hear: that they're doing a Wonder Woman movie -- exciting!
I search: for memorabilia from my hometown, Dodge Center, MN, on eBay
I wonder: If I'll ever quit living paycheck to paycheck
I regret: not studying abroad in 1998 -- had to cancel living & studying in a castle in England for 6 months (financial aid stuff wasn't going through)
I love: that I finally moved to Minneapolis and don't ever have to live in Rochester, MN again...
I ache: over rejection
I care: a lot about clothes
I always: eat all my fries first, then the sandwich
I am not: doing well on getting back to my gym routine
I dance: only after a few cocktails. My girlfriends love to swing dance w/ me at weddings & such, but I don't think I really do it right.
I sing: in my car, but never karaoke.
I do not always: floss, I hate it.
I should not: get so mouthy with authority figures when I drink
I write: kind of like a girl, just b/c it's legible...all my brothers and I have very legible handwriting
I win: at arguments
I lose: sunglasses like mad
I listen: to Drive 105.1 while I work
I go: out a lot -- part of the single gay man life, I guess...
I am happy about: my decision to accept current job even though a different company offered one that would be a level up. Working from home is excellent.

Never mix, never worry -- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Today has been pretty slow at work, but there's really nothing going on with me worth posting about.

We did go out for a while last night to celebrate Bill finishing his radiation treatments. He has Hodgkins Lymphoma, so it's very curable. I think he had five weeks of radiation. Doesn't even seem like anything's wrong. Anyway, that was last night.

I just thought of a movie I don't think I've ever mentioned. You must rent "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis and George Segal. Taylor and Dennis won 1966 Oscars for their roles in this film.

Anyway, George (Burton) and Martha (Taylor) are married and he's a professor at a university in a small New England town. Martha's father is the president of that university. Nick (Segal) and Honey (Dennis) are the new young couple in town and he's also a professor. The whole movie takes place at George & Martha's after a party for new faculty, which happened at Martha's father's. It's basically George & Martha drunkenly insulting each other and playing mind games with Nick and Honey, who are also getting increasingly drunk. There's a couple slow, rather boring parts, but there are great one-liners. One of the reasons I love Elizabeth Taylor so much...she is awesome in this movie. Most of my friends have thought it was kind of weird, but if you like dark humor and dramatic women, then you'll enjoy it...It's a classic anyway.

One of my favorite lines is when George offers Honey a drink and she says, "Ohhh...maybe just a little brandy. Never mix, never worry." Then George says, "Mmmmm....Martha, more rubbing alcohol??" To which she replies, "Surrre! You know me, never mix, never worry!!" Funny stuff...

This is gonna be a doozy

Judging by the fact that I've already had as much work assigned to me by the end of Monday as I had all of last week, I think this is going to be one crazy week at work. I'll be lucky to even get to read my regular blogs, let alone comment or create my own....but, we'll see. I *do* get a lunch break, but then I'd be missing out on my 90210 reruns...these are the dilemnas (how do you spell that?) that try men's souls. Or at least gay men. Okay, maybe just mine.

The weekend was a little crazy. Went out with the regulars on Friday and wound up at friend Emily's after-party, then we went to Mandy B's....where, her laptop wouldn't play music so we dug her 3-disc-changer out of the closet. Well, I got it out of there and managed to topple everything off her little end table - including a vase full of dried roses and petals. Lots of crunching ensued. So, Mandy turned on the music and all hell broke loose with her sick, sleeping, kind of spoiled roommate. A screaming match broke out like none I had heard in quite some time - at 5 in the morning. Tears were shed (not by me this time). The sick roommate's boyfriend wound up coming over, called Mandy a bitch as she walked by - then my ghetto "oh no he di'in't!!" flew out, so he and I were going at it...Nothing physical came of it, but I probably dropped the ol' F-bomb a lot more than I usually would. I got home at 8 in the morning.

Saturday was much the same - without the fighting and trash talk.

Bear with me and let's hope I find some more time to comment on life's little conundrums.

PS // Erik should be back from Chicago and back in class by now, but the little rascal hasn't dialed my number yet...

PSS // OH - and I finally got a new cell phone last night. You may remember that I shut a cab door on my old one, thus causing the LCD display to go black. I could dial out and blindly spell out names that were already in my phonebook, but couldn't actually see anything on the display -- for more than a month -- it was a nightmare. All is well now.

It's AB-ulous!

I saw the commercial for Queer Abs today during 90210 and I seriously thought it was a joke. Are queers suddenly the abs experts?? I can just see some girl buying this for her boyfriend/husband and him hiding it for fear of his buddies seeing that he does the Queer Abs routine....DUH...what a joke. Then at the end of the commercial, one of the more butch guys says the video is "Fabulous!" and the queenie guy who looks like Carson from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" says, "No, it's AB-ulous!" Puke.

Speaking of "Queer Eye," I saw Thom when I was in Dallas for work. I decided to check out their gay bars (alone) and he walked in (with two unknowns) right as I was walking by the door. We both gave each other the look-over and he smiled. He's really not my type, but I was looking at him like, "hey, I know that guy..." Then I realized it was Thom from "Queer Eye" and abrubtly turned in the other direction b/c I didn't know what to say. Dumb. There goes my Pier 1 discount...Later that night, at the country bar across the street, I saw him two-stepping with a really cute guy. You don't see that every day...or anywhere but Dallas.


If I played my cards right, he'd be decorating my apartment...

March 17 - a few things I remember

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We all know March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. I know I drank green beer in 2000 when I was a senior in college, otherwise I've never really paid much attention to it. I think there's even some Irish in my blood, but still - haven't really gone out of my way to recognize March 17.

I got my driver's license on March 17, 1994. That's exciting. And my instructor looked like a leprechaun with his green inspector jacket.

One year ago tonight, I was still living in Winona and this hot guy I had met out in La Crosse, Wisconsin (close to Winona), a couple times called and asked if I'd meet him at the same bar. When I got there, I realized that it wasn't a date at all; he had invited a bunch of people to go out for St. Patrick's Day. OH well. I still wound up in a hottub with him and his also very hot (and gay) cousin at their hotel (they were from Eau Claire, Wis., which is prolly 45 minutes from La Crosse). I felt so out of place with those two. They *obviously* went to the gym a lot and although I'm not chubby, definitely not in the same caliber and could visibly stand to do some toning. Anyway, I fooled around with him in their room that night. I forgot his name now even though we continued to talk for a few months until he moved to Florida. I'm kind of motivated to start my gym routine again now. I'm sure that feeling will pass.

Those are my St. Patrick's Day memories. I don't know what I'm doing tonight. Probably not making out with a hot guy in his hotel room, though...

Here we go again

Well, since Ryan left the nice birthday message on Saturday, I haven't heard from him. I've taken my hint. But I still feel like I want to call him just to make sure he's not thinking the same about me, like - "if he liked me, he'd call..." Would that be dumb to do?? I would like to date him, but I'm thinking he doesn't feel the same, despite his claims whenever we hung out. I didn't take him for a "player," but then, if he weren't a player it would be against the law for me to be interested...I am usually only interested in the guys who provide a bit of a challenge -- but then I hate the challenge while it's happening. Grrr...I'm dumb.

So, remember that night I went out and three guys were showing interest in me, but I was well-behaved b/c I had just met Ryan?? The one guy I was actually talking to that night, Eric (a friend of a friend), was out with the same friend the other night and we saw each other again. He is CUTE. So, the one-toothed wonder (gay Jerry Springer guest) was also out and trying to talk to me every three seconds, so Eric decides to pretend that we're boyfriends and is all over me. That led into us making out for real right there at the table - our friends left the table. How embarassing. So, anyway we made out a lot and he came home w/ me. He is really cute & funny, but only 21 and brand new to being out. That can sometimes lead to drama -- a cute 21 year old guy shouldn't probably dive right into dating someone. He claims interest in wanting to hang out more...but, at this point, I'll just think of him as a cute, funny guy to hang out with since he's only 21 and a "newbie." Eric's on spring break from the U of MN, so he's in Chicago for the weekend -- maybe you'll see him, Robert! He asked if he could call me when he got back -- certainly!

Anyway -- ADVICE REQUEST: call Ryan & ask him or just figure he'd call me if he wanted to....??? Oh, where's Ann Landers when you need her...??

I posted too soon

Okay - just disregard the next post -- I obviously figured out how to get my picture on here. Like I say in the next post's comment section, I saw that Robert used www.Photobucket.com and I went there too. Thanks Robert!! It's easy & free to use.

The picture I used is the most decent & recent, although it's almost a year old...from June 2004. I made it black & white because I got a nice sunburn that day while boating on the Mississippi in Winona. The person next to me is friend Melissa, who just got married this past Saturday.

I want a photo in my profile thing

Does anyone know of a way I can get a web page that only has a picture of me and nothing else on the page? Are there any sites that do that?? That's the only way to have a picture of yourself in the profile -- the one that shows up on the blog and when you leave a comment...For instance, it seems like there has to be a web address (http://www.something.com/kiddo) that is just a picture of yourself...Help!

Brandon is annoying

My interest in Beverly Hills 90210 has resurfaced after many years. I remember the pilot episode airing in the fall of 1990, when I was in 7th grade and the zany 90210 gang was in 10th grade. Brandon and Brenda had just moved there from, where else, but Minneapolis. Kelly didn't want this geek to sit next to her in chemistry(?) class, so hurried Brenda over to sit down and they became instant friends and that's how Brenda & Brandon "got in" to the A-group.

Watching it, I'm thinking "Dylan so does not look like he's a high school student...he has a receding hairline!" I think he was in his 30s already. It's only a T.V. show, but it is so cheesy. And Brandon?? How did he get so wise beyond his years?? He annoys me. I just want to pull him out of that yellow '65 Mustang and pour vodka down his throat and blow my cigarette in his face and repeatedly drop the F-bomb. He needs some serious chemical inducement. Emily Valentine should have tried to be a worse influence on him...

Did you know that Matthew Perry guest starred as a rich athletic senior who wanted to kill his dad?? Far cry from Chandler Bing.

And what was up with that Scott kid shooting himself? I forgot all about that until the episode aired on Monday.

Donna -- don't even get me started...She is quite obviously the producer's daughter because her acting is about as bad as a local commercial.

BUT -- I *am* the one who watches it on the Soap Network every day, so what does that say about me?? Oh well.


The gang's all here

I survived 27 and all I got was this lousy T-shirt

Made it thru the weekend okay. My brother Judge wound up wanting to take me out for a couple on Friday. I went out to my car and my doors were frozen shut - would not budge. God bless Minnesota. That's never happened to me before. So, Judge picked me up and we went to Chili's in Golden Valley, where two girls he knows were meeting us. They were both 21. I guess Judge is robbing the cradle now....he's 28. Anyway, they were fun girls -- one of them is a student at Saint Thomas and the other is a stylist in St. Paul -- we had a few drinks and Judge brought me home. Scott and I walked down to The 19 Bar, where Bill met us with his new guy, Jeremy, who tried to set me up with some guy Bill and his friends call Batman. Apparently I threw a drink in his face or something, b/c I don't remember him. As planned, went to Rochester on Saturday and the wedding was pretty quiet. My old friend Shelly, from high school, was there too. We worked with the bride, Melissa, at a convenience store in Dodge Center called Budget Mart and the three of us hung out all the time from 1995-1996. As Shelly was leaving, the song "You and me goin' fishin' in the dark...." came on and we were all saying goodbye. I said, "Funny - if this were 10 years ago, we'd all be drunk and dancing..." I guess we're getting old. Also doesn't help that Melissa is pregnant and Shelly just gave birth to twins a few months ago...

After the wedding, friends Mike, Jess & Paul went with me to the bar called Bon's Buffet. Yeah - one side of the building is a Chinese buffet and the other, totally seperate, side is a bar that a lot of young Rochesterites frequent. There was an awesome '80s cover band playing called Vegas -- the lead singer was HOT, HOT, HOT. I had my picture taken with him at the end, of course, which I'll have to develep and post later. Mmmm...I wish I could remember their website - I'll have to ask Mike. But that guy was a hottie and so fun -- very good band. I think they're from Minneapolis....?

Last night was Showtunes at The Bolt. It was me, Bill, Jocelyn, Amanda, Mandy and Mandy. They played tons of songs that nobody knew, so it was kind of disappointing. We went to The '90s for a few minutes and it was teenie night there, so that was hell, and then we just finished the night at The 19. Nothing exciting enough to report about. The whole weekend was really like that. I've never really had a crazy-fun birthday....Maybe next year.

Happy 27th Birthday to Me (Tomorrow)

It all started 27 years ago on March 12, 1978. That's right - I was born. There's now officially light at the end of this tunnel called my twenties. Only 3 years to the big 3-0. Wowza. Never thought of myself as being in my late twenties, but here they are. Oh well. Still young. And fabulous. Haha

What will the birthday weekend consist of? Well, I think I'll probably clean and do some laundry this evening, then I'm not sure. Isn't that fabulous?? Mandy decided to stay in Minneapolis instead of going to Rochester, so I'm supposed to call her. I'm also supposed to call friend/neighbor Scott. And Bill works until about 10:00'ish. So, I guess they'll probably make me choose the destination and I'm really not sure where to go. Guess I'll go to City Pages for some ideas.

Tomorrow, my actual birthday, I'm heading to Rochester at about 2:00 and will drop in at my sister's house for a while before heading over to friends Jess & Paul's apartment, where friend Mike will also be. We're going to friend Melissa's wedding reception -- it's at the Knights of Columbus...Midwesterners have their receptions at odd places. Well, it's kind of a spur-of-the-moment wedding, so I'm sure her choices were limited. We may then go elsewhere, but not sure yet. I'm not too thrilled about having to spend my Bday in Rochester, but oh well -- I can't skip the wedding of a very close friend.

I'll head back to Minneapolis on Sunday. Some friends are meeting at my place at about 4:00'ish and we're heading to The Bolt for beer bust & Showtunes night. I'm not even sure who's going -- but Mandy, Amanda and Jocelyn will be having their first gay bar experience (outside drag shows at The '90s). Should be interesting...

I took Monday off -- Yay!!

"It's my birthday -- It's my birthday -- get stupid!"

It's a small gay world...

Last night Bill and I were at The Bolt and I wanted to head to the '90s for the drag show (it is my birthday week, after all). Well, this kinda cute guy standing at the bar kept looking at Bill and smiling. Bill asks if we can just stay at The Bolt for a while since this guy is checking him out - even though he knows I'm not having fun (and it's my birthday week). So, I reluctantly agreed. Except Bill isn't doing anything to acknowledge this guy, so I finally did the "oh, for god's sake..." got up from the table, marched over to the guy and said, "You better go say hi to him. He wants you to. And he sure as hell isn't going to come talk to you." I turned around and ordered a drink. Eventually the guy joins us - I can't remember his name, so let's just call him Random Joe. It turns out that Random Joe recently moved here from Chicago, so we do a little Chicago small-talk since I lived there for about 5 minutes several years ago. We start talking about Chicago neighborhoods around Boys' Town -- like Lakeview, Andersonville, Wicker Park, etc., etc. Then I said, "Ohhh - I dated a guy who lived in Edgewater." Then I said to Bill, "That was that Chicago Chad I've talked about..." Random Joe says, "I dated a Chad in Edgewater too." And, being fecicous since Chicago is HUGE, I said, "Ohhhh....the Edgewater Chad originally from Dallas....???" Hahaha. Random Joe said "YES!!" Yeah, we dated the same guy in Chicago and randomly meet in Minneapolis??? WEIRD.


Good ol, Chicago...

What the hell is going on?

I had pretty much written Ryan off until this morning, when I heard his voicemail from last night - the call he was supposed to make on Tuesday. We last spoke on Monday night and he said he worked until 6:00 on Tuesday, so would give me a call. Apparently he broke his finger b/c he certainly wasn't dialing any numbers...well, not mine, anyway. So, of course Tuesday night I was ready to check in to the crisis unit when he hadn't called by 11:00 -- and decided I wouldn't make the classic mistake of calling him to see why he didn't call -- well, at least not for a couple days. Wednesday night I was still down in the dumps about it, but started to resolve myself to the fact that he's just not that in to me...I called Ryan yesterday afternoon and left him a "ummm....just wondering what's up...??" voicemail. Last night Bill took me out for my birthday dinner (we went to Green Mill in Uptown) and I had reached the anger point. I was offended that he would just stop calling like that. I didn't think like he seemed like THAT guy. But whatever. However, he DID call last night and left a voicemail (Bill and I met a couple other friends at the Bolt) saying that the salon has been crazy-busy this week (tanning for spring break, etc.), and that otherwise he's been trying to sleep...??? I'm not sure what that means, but I still kind of think if he really wanted to see me he would make time. I mean, that's what you do when you first start seeing someone - you make time to see them because it's new & exciting. This is bullshit. And the saga continues...

In Memory

My dad died eight years ago today - March 9, 1997 - three days before my 19th birthday. We didn't exactly get along very well - but I'd still like to acknowledge the anniversary of his death. He died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which he developed after being exposed to Agent Orange during his service in the Vietnam War. He was diagnosed in 1984 and given 6 months to live -- he lived for 13 years and died when he was 50 years old. I think Mayo Clinic still studies his case...

The names of those who died because of their exposure to Agent Orange are not being added to the Vietnam War Memorial, which is dumb, I think. (The U.S. sprayed this chemical on Vietnamese crops.) Last year they did add some sort of marker acknowledging those who died since the war (b/c of their service in the war), but it's about the size of a normal tombstone in a cemetery...wouldn't want to make it too obvious that some died by the use of America's own war tactics...


Steven G. :: 1946-1997 :: Vietnam War 1970-1972 :: Agent Orange

Hmmm...Boring

Yeah - nothing has influenced me to post lately. Nothing really exciting over the weekend. Just did as planned and it was fine, just nothing remotely exciting to post.

Ryan made it back from Japan okay - on Sunday - and went home to bed. We talked for a while last night when he got done closing the salon and we are supposed to talk tonight. Am I starting to date him or his phone?? I haven't seen him in over a week...

Plus I'm sick.

Blah.

Uff Da -- it's finally Friday

I called Bill after work last night to see if he wanted to rent a movie -- then he called back and said, "Let's go out instead..." I'm a lush. Oh well - it's winter and there's nothing else to do...We went to The Bolt and didn't really see anyone. Then we went to The 19 Bar and ran in to some people we know - just a regular Thursday night. There was a guy there from Norway who I talked to quite a bit - he was kinda cute. He thought it was hilarious that Norwegian Minnesotans use the term "Uff Da" as a comment for emphasis. Apparently it's kind of a swear word in Norway...? My 100% Norwegian grandma says Uff Da a lot. For instance, if she goes to pick something up and it's heavy, she'll say, "Uff da..." My Dad said it too and it even rubbed off on my Mom, who's not one bit Scandanavian. Anyway -- there was also a guy there last night who was like a Jerry Springer guest - he was missing a tooth and probably about 30. Yeah....cute. He thought it was funny that he looks like gay trailer trash. Uff da.

I'm going out with old, old friend Mandy tonight - not sure where, but she mentioned somewhere in St. Paul -- I haven't been out in St. Paul for years, so that might be kind of fun. We've been friends since she moved to Dodge Center the summer before 6th grade - 1989. She and her sister are the ones who had the party where I got drunk for the first time - at 13 - the fall of 1991. I had a glass of Purple Passion and a beer. My friend Crystal and I were mesmerized by a "Where's Waldo" book they had for some reason. Duh.... Anyway - tomorrow night, I'm going out with my college friend, Jocelyn, for her 27th birthday... Should be a decent weekend.

Anyone feel like Sushi?

I'm tempted to buy a ticket to Japan -- Tokyo, to be exact. Ryan is flying there as I type and he'll be gone for 4 days...I didn't even get to talk to him; he left a VM as I slept this morning. We didn't talk last night either - I'm telling myself/pretending that he was at the gym for 6 hours and got home late...it's going to be a long 4 days.


"I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese - I really think so."

Session of Depression

Well, Ryan was due to fly back in to Mpls from Buffalo last night at about 8:30'ish...I left him a VM at about 7:45 telling him that I was home & done w/ work if he wanted to give me a call. Apparently he didn't want to b/c I never heard from him. We'll see if he calls tonight. I'm *not* calling him again - one of the big mistakes made, I think, is to call all the time...I hate this feeling.

Fitting my onset of depression, I watched a movie called The Mudge Boy last night. It was really good, but sad/depressing. It's about an awkward, sensitive rural teen who loses his mother and begins a friendship with his neighbor, a sexually aggressive farm hand of around the same age. It's so sad to see the lead, Duncan, get made fun of by his peers without him really realizing it. I was disappointed in the ending too, but enjoyed it overall. I think it was a Showtime Original -- an independent picture.

Well - I better go get some Prozac or Xanax now...


Duncan (holding chicken) and Perry

Blogger is mad at me

I've been trying to leave comments and Blogger is not working for me this evening...Stupid thing. Stupid, stupid thing.

I must drive around the city more often -- apparently you can see people in animal costumes doing the Charleston & such outside of stores using them for advertising/attention...I've never seen anything like this, although in high school I had to be Twinkie the Kid at the convenience store I worked at. I certainly didn't dance around, but it was still awful. That costume was heavy and my back hurt. I think I got an extra $20 for it.

Cute, Cute, Cute

Nothing exciting on Friday or Saturday -- just hung out w/ my Mom at her house in Lake City. Talked to Ryan a couple times and we made plans to have another date on Sunday evening. We met at Southdale Mall and ate at Ruby Tuesday. He informed that he spent three hours doing cardio that afternoon -- and weight training -- at the gym in his building. I said, "I ate fries on both Friday and Saturday..." Then, proceeded to assure him (and myself) that I like going to the gym in spring & summer. God, I hope he doesn't really notice and/or mind that I could stand do a few thousand sit-ups...Anyway, I ordered a wrap with only 400-some calories - I forgot to ask for a salad and got fries, which I kindly ignored. He had salad bar. I paid and we had pretty good conversation...except, he informed that he's moving to San Diego -- well, he wants to and is thinking about it. My heart sunk, but I don't think he really will - but why would he say that? Is that a hint?? Anyway, then we went to Marshall Fields b/c he needed some Clinique face soap from the men's line - I didn't know Clinique had a men's line...as if my family doesn't spend enough money at the Clinique counter between my mother and sisters...I think the Clinique ladies in Rochester know my Mom by name. Anyway, I noticed the gay boys in the mall checking Ryan out every 3 seconds, which is always fun. I just felt fat and pale. So, that errand being done, we proceed to the theatre, where he wanted to see The Aviator, except we missed it by 20 minutes, so we decided on The Wedding Date with Debra Messing and that cute Dermot Mulrooney -- it was "cute" -- seemed like a Julia Roberts-type lead movie...but we both enjoyed. It takes place in London and I kind of leaned over and said, "awwww....I wanna go back to London...." and he smiled at me and said, "okay," like he'll buy a plane ticket next week. That was kind of cute. And when did I start saying things, besides guys, are cute?? Anyway, we kind of leaned enough to just have our elbows touch on the arm rest, but that's all. We were sitting pretty close together when the lights came on and the redneck girl in front of us kind of did a double-take when she got up!! I suppose it's not every day that you see two guys at a date movie and sitting really close. I should have kissed him, then she'd really have something to call her friend about. So, we walked back to our cars and he said he didn't think he'd have to fly at all on Monday (already flew 75.5 of his 80 monthly hours for February), so he'd call. We hugged. I was hoping he'd want to "watch a movie" at his place, but no such luck....I'm wondering if he's not really interested -- my friends say it sounds like he is just taking things slow. He did call yesterday to say that he did, indeed, get called to fly - to Flint, Michigan - and I think he stayed there last night - then something about Buffalo, NY today and god knows where else....He better call tonight. I hate staring at the phone willing it to ring...why do I do this to myself??? Ughh...well, 90210 is on the Soap network now, so it's time for my lunch break (at 4 pm)!!


Apparently, the movie was originally called Something Borrowed....?