Entry the Three Hundred and Twelfth

05 June 2001

Exhaustion

The trip to San Francisco was much, much better than the first trip. For one, I wasn't working. For another, I got to spend the whole long weekend with Chay. :-) Cool beans.

It did help me decide once and for all that I didn't want to live there, though. It was June and in the low 60s. I should not have to wear sweatshirts in June! Other than the slight chill in the air (thank heavens I always pack long pants), it was fabulous. Ran around, ate tons too much food, bought too many things, etc., etc., etc. Most enjoyable time. Chay has spelled it out better than I can (with pictures, no less!), so save a few extra details, I'll leave the gory stuff to him. ;-)

The trip to Napa valley and the wineries was a definite highlight. I can see why people go ga-ga over Napa wines now. Getting to sit in the winery, sip good wine and make up our minds about which to buy was so much fun! The Mumm "champagne" was great (and I'm not a champagne-style wine fan for the most part), one of the definite high points during the day.

The street fair was great, too. Was good to meet Chay's good friend Juliet, no matter that she was busy as all heck selling jewelry. Was good to see her so successful - she had good stuff! Oh, and the garlic fries! If you must eat greasy French fries, having them smothered in roasted garlic is the way to do it. ;-)

The plane rides back, though, were hell. Weather delays in St. Louis meant that I didn't get back home until almost 5 a.m. today. Needless to say, I did not go to work today. I slept in not nearly late enough, then putzed on the computer, chatted some, went for a hair cut. I should've gone to bed about half an hour ago, but I'll be there soon. I wanted to post something here before memories start fading too much.

As I told Chay just now via chat, I like him a lot, and give time I think I might actually love him as well. Not sure where it'll go, but I'm very glad I went out to see him.

...

In the meantime, I am looking forward to some serious snuggle time with Doug tomorrow. I've missed him terribly and we need to be able to spend some quality time with him.

Archives

Walked back from Dupont

Entry the Three Hundred and Thirteenth

12 June 2001

Recovering?

I think I'm still recovering from the molluscum, at least mentally. Physically the damned virus is long gone, destroyed by the dermatologist over a few weeks back in March and April, but the mental scars still linger. Feeling like a leper for 3-4 months was extremely difficult to process, and that has left me without the desire to write much in the journal.

Archives

Biked to and from work (45 min each)

Entry the Three Hundred and Fourteenth

13 June 2001

Hot, hot, hot

01/6/11 7:18 p.m.

My favorite weather is back - Summer! It's not officially summer but the weather is certainly here. Heat advisories, humidity, the works. Marvelous. So of course this was the first day I decided to ride my bike to work.

It actually worked out really well. Left with oodles of time, got there in a little less than 45 minutes, locked up, washed up, and into work early. Getting in early was good as, because I had to change and what not, I still got home at the regular time.

Am still getting used to the unaccustomed muscle soreness, though, and the sore ass from sitting on the bike for 45 minutes to two hours at a time. Rode to Hain's Point and back on Sunday and Monday, a good hour and a half at my current pace, especially given the lovely wind that's blown into town with this rash of hot weather.

...

As I said yesterday, of late I have not felt up to writing much. It's almost as if I were incapable of writing. I'd sit at the computer but nothing would come out. I still functioned, I could still email and chat and what not, heck I even posted a few things to my LiveJournal, but nothing for the main site.

I can't quite explain why it was that I couldn't write, I just know that I couldn't.

...

Despite getting to work early and therefore leaving early, traffic was such that I would have gotten home no earlier (a major cross street was closed off by the fire department right there in the middle of rush hour - grrrrr!). I hopped off the bus early, went shopping for bike stuff (yay, bike shorts!), walked up to the natural food mart, got a smoothie (dinner, in its entirety, since it was so hot out this evening), then wandered home to strip off all my clothes and get into less clothing.

I like this weather when it's warm and you're outside and moving, but once you stop and your clothes have a chance to stick to you it's no fun at all. ;-) I'm not going to complain, though, as I much prefer this to cold. I'll take overly hot any day of the week.

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No Run, No Ride, No Gym

Entry the Three Hundred and Fifteenth

17 June 2001

Lobster Red

My shoulders are sooooooooo red right now. Decided to take my friend CE up on his offer of a ride out on the Potomac today, wore two shirts, a polo with a tank underneath. Of course took the polo off for most of the trip out and got my shoulders nice and red out in the sun on the river. ;-) Thank heavens for aloe lotion with added stuff to make you feel better. I'll bet the bourbons and coke I was drinking out on the river didn't help any, either. ;-)

But was quite a nice day. Woke up with Doug, made him rice pudding with fresh strawberries (yum!). This was after making fresh oregano/garlic bread and barbecue baked lentils on Saturday for the two of us for dinner. Rainy as all hell on Saturday, so just made what I had at home! Was very, very good, and all vegan stuff. Dinner tonight with Lawrence (post-sun burn) at a nice place on the Hill (Capitol Hill for you non-Washingtonians). Most pleasant.

Realized today that though I am riding the bike, I'm not running enough as I am out of practice with that. Did a half hour run this morning and it was torture - way too stressful compared to what it should have been. Gonna have to do bike and gym, then intersperse running in there as well. Ugh. We will lose the little bit of gut that's left, by heavens! Even if that does mean I look like a skeleton with no muscles. ;-)

So altogether a good day, despite the lovely sunburn. Will have to do that again with CE, maybe even with sunscreen the next time. ;-)

Archives

Ran 30 min in RCP

Entry the Three Hundred and Sixteenth

18 June 2001

Lobster Red, Proven

Just so y'all don't think I took today off for nothing, I decided to snap a couple of pics of my little burnt self:

Fun, eh? I rather thought so, too. NOT!

I am being a good boy and hydrating like crazy, and smearing aloe vera gel all over it, and popping aspirin, so it should be fine to go into work tomorrow without too much trouble. Joy. In the meantime, I drink water, I nap, I attempt not to get annoyed because the gay.com chat room has been down all morning... ;-) (later note: it appears to be back up this afternoon; whee.)

Archives

Easy 30 min run in RCP

Entry the Three Hundred and Seventeenth

19 June 2001

Control/Lobbyist?

01/6/19 8:03 a.m.

Is it a mere personality trait that I seem to get so undone when not in control of my life or is it a mental illness? I'm sure it's the former, but there are days when it seems like the later. Case in point: losing all my financial records from the old, dead hard disk. I'm trying to recover the old data, which has meant a stubborn resistance to putting in the newest data. That stops this week as I can't not manage my money, but why was it such a paralyzing experience to find myself without this backup? Ugh.

And I let that one lapse spill over into others as well (i.e., the sunburn, the stall in running, etc.). I know those things I have to do in order to keep myself on an even keel, but why allow a challenge in one area to throw off the whole? Something to work on, I suppose.

No bike ride in this morning - the shoulders are still a tad tender to be carrying the bike bag. Did run yesterday, and I'll run tomorrow as well, so I'll be getting sufficient exercise this week. I need to decide upon a good schedule of running and biking (and fit the gym in there) that's realistic, and allows me to improve my fitness levels. Perhaps I'll ask RNJTM for some advice on the matter.

...

01/6/19 5:21 p.m.

Good lunch with a friend of mine today. He's a lobbyist, and I'd been trying to lunch with him for a while now so I could pick his brain on what he does for a living. Having done said picking, I am heartened and encouraged that it would be a field I would both enjoy and be qualified for. Now I just have to figure out where to look. Any suggestions?

I am going to call a friend of his at one of DC's Big Law Firms and get the "lobbying from within a law firm" perspective, but from his description (he works for a corporation) the corporate route seems a tad less onerous. Specifically, the lack of a billable hour requirement in the non-law firm environment. That has been one of the few good things about where I work now - no tracking my every waking moment in order to keep my job.

Archives

Light weights at home

Entry the Three Hundred and Eighteenth

20 June 2001

Fundraiser/Line Dancing

I had so much fun tonight! Who'd have thought that a Republican fundraiser and line dancing lessons could be such fun? :-) But first the stuff I wrote earlier on the Palm:

01/6/19 7:35 p.m.

Never weigh yourself right after dinner - it's too depressing. Time to start the food diary again! I feel like a beached whale. Ugh.

Time to cut out some of the sugar I've been munching on at work, that's probably the main intake culprit. An occasional foray into candy is okay, but not constant snacking. Blah. I know better, and I'll change the habit, until the next time forget and need something to smack myself over, that is. ;-)

So, I'm considering lobbying. That'd be a trip, getting paid to stay current on things and teach people. Okay, okay, that's the simplified version, but hey, can't be any worse than doing spreadsheets. :-P

...

01/6/20 8:12 a.m.

Wow! A seat on the Orange Line this morning! Someone must be smiling at me. Shocking to see that there are even more of them open still. This really is a red letter day for Metro. And my last riding Metro to work from Doug's place in Arlington since he moves into DC proper this Saturday.

I'll be glad to have him closer in. I'll be able to bike down, or Metro down (direct shot down the Green line - hooray! No transfers!), and getting to work will be easier as well for both of us. Altogether a good thing.

Even if I have to listen to him complain about city services and higher taxes now. *grin*

...

So anyway, back to this evening. :-)

Went to a fundraiser for a City Councilman here in DC. He happens to be a Republican, and friends of mine were acting as hosts for a reception for his 2002 race, so I said what the hell, why not? It was held by the Log Cabin Republicans (and I'm sure I'll be getting tons of fundraising letters from them now *roll eyes*), and they were so earnest! The phone back from the one gentleman when I RSVP'd was so cute - kept talking about how much money the Councilman would need because "we don't know how much they're going to throw up against him next year." All I could think of was how I am a registered "they" (Democrat) in the District. ;-)

So I ran home from work, showered and changed clothes. Had such a time - what does the well-heeled gay Republican wear to one of these things?!?! Decided on a nice collared shirt and khakis that worked very well (and hid the fading, but still red sunburn). Wandered down to Dupont (of course it was in Dupont) to Gazuza, this new bar they've opened where the Circle used to be. Great interior, good drinks. Found my friends quickly, then had fun meeting folks. Met other fellow Democrats who were there because of who the reception was for. You see, I don't like the Democratic majority on the council getting too complacent in their majority. I'd prefer to see some Greens on the Council as well as Republicans, to be honest, to see pressure from that direction as well, but I'll be happy to support keeping some perspective on the Council. No, this does not mean I'm joining the Log Cabins Republicans, either, but it does mean I'll vote for him over whomever the Democrats throw up there.

After the reception, I wandered out onto the street, definitely not feeling like it was time to head home yet, so I called my friend Brian to see what he was up to, and he was just wandering into Remingtons down on the Hill, so I said I'd be right down. Turns out Wednesdays at Remingtons are line dancing lessons nights, so I forked over my $5 and learned three dances: the Canadian Stomp, the leather-slappin' something-or-another and the Barn Dance. I had actually done the Barn Dance before, once when a friend dragged me onto the floor. It's not a line dance, it's a circle dance, wherein the leaders are in the middle, the followers around the edge, and after each set you switch partners. Knowing this would happen this time, it was a tad easier to deal with; my friend had not warned me I was switching partners the last time, so imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I was dancing with someone else! The dance instructor this evening was very good, he did a lot of personalized instruction where necessary, and very patient with us.

So I made my first foray into line dancing, and I did pretty well, screwing up steps on occasion, but not so bad that I hit anyone on the floor. ;-) Enjoyed myself thoroughly, and the $5 spent on learning more dances (I already know how to Two-step and Shadow) was much, much better than sitting at home and chatting online.

Archives

Ran 30 min in Arlington

Entry the Three Hundred and Nineteenth

21 June 2001

Veggie Restaurant

01/6/21 8:29 a.m.

I just realized I forgot to mention that I saw Mary Matlin last night as well. I suppose it was an important sign to most attendants that at least someone from outside the Log Cabin national organization was paying attention to the race.

And I suppose I should have been more impressed, but I had more fun getting a rise out of my friend by telling him that I was more a fan of her husband's politics. ;-)

All in all I'm still glowing after a most pleasant evening. The dancing was fun, the wandering through the fundraiser was fun. Took a phone call from Mom at the beginning of the reception:
me: "Mom, you'll never guess where I am! At a Republican fundraiser."
mom: "You're certainly right, I would never have guessed that!"
(Mom's becoming more and more of a lefty in her old age - a thing I am most glad to see!) It is a good thing to keep your parents guessing from time to time. *grin*

...

01/6/21 5:38 p.m.

Related my comment about Mom getting more liberal to RE and he replied, "See, not everyone stops thinking as they get older!"

*grin*

...

Lovely dinner this evening with RE. We went down to Amman's Vegetarian Indian Restaurant. Not bad, though there were a tad too many dishes with yogurt in them for my tastes. I ended up getting a regular dish rather than a sampler because of that. It was good food, though, and I enjoyed getting to see RE again. He's coming by to pick me up for Doug's upcoming move into the District on Saturday as well.

Was pretty busy at work, finishing up a presentation and trying to learn some of the new areas they've assigned to me. I'll get up to speed at some point, I suppose. In the meantime, I'm also trying to clean the crap off my desk!! There's so much it's to the point where I just can't work at the desk - there's no more space in which to work! So the other push is to file/toss stuff and get it put away and off my desk. It's good prep for an upcoming office move next month, too. I'll be moving two offices down, which means packing up all my junk and getting myself settled in a new office. Whee.

Archives

Light weights at home

Entry the Three Hundred and Twentieth

24 June 2001

Tummy Troubles

Okay, so, like, the veggie place was a total wash because I got food poisoning from them and spent the last 72 hours getting it out of my system. :-p I think it's finally pretty much gone; I'm no longer running to the bathroom every 40 minutes now. What a mess. And all in the middle of moving Doug out of his old place.

So Friday I had a date of sorts with a new guy, a law student in town for the summer (how do I keep getting lawyers after my supposed ban on dating them? maybe it's time to reconsider that ban...). Were supposed to have coffee, but the poor guy's car died. I went over and waited for AAA with him, then we drove it a bit, parked it, went for a drink at Omega. I had a good time, but I'm not sure he did, which I'm not sure was the car, me, the stormy weather, all of the above... Ah well, I sent him a nice thank you, stating (honestly) that I had a good time. We'll see.

I was kinda off then from the food poisoning, too.

Saturday got up early, wanted to run, but no go with the stomach. RE came over to pick me up. His stomach was fine, of course, but not so with me. Had to stop a couple of times when we were moving Doug to take care of the beastie. But we got Doug all moved in. He kept apologizing for being so distracted, and I tried to assure him it was okay, that I understood how it was to move (it's a definite stressor), and that I was fine with it.

This morning was pretty rough, too. Actually, this morning may have been the worst of it 'cause it was the most frequent. I had one last attack at Doug's and then Metro'd home, hoping to get back before the attacks hit again. I did, and even got to stop for a smoothie for lunch. Yum. :)

So came home and decided to clean the place like mad, throwing out tons of old magazines, paper, old computer parts, boxes, etc. Took some picture of myself 'cause I was feeling cute (despite the stomach ickies). And generally rested. Would have liked to have run, but didn't trust the stomach not to decide to go nuts on me in the middle of the park. Ugh.

Chatted some tonight on gay.com, now it's about time for bed. I'm feeling a tad tired (the lack of light is helping - I lit candles tonight rather than deal with real lights), and I want to try to bike in tomorrow. We shall see. :-)

Archives

No nothin'

Entry the Three Hundred and Twenty First

25 June 2001

Tricking/Health

Okay, we decided tonight that if we're going to go trick during the week, the trick must either: a) come over here; or b) live within an easy walk or short bus ride. Had a trick out in the 'burbs tonight and while it was fun, the commute out there and back was absolute hell. Metro for what seemed forever and a day, especially on the way back (didn't help that the Green line was delayed for some odd reason). Ugh.

I need sleep more than I need sex. Period.

Don't know if this means I'm getting old (not!) or just more concerned about my health than about other things, but I'd rather be getting sleep, getting exercise, and feeling better all around. It's not like I don't know that I can get sex if I want it (not arrogance there, it's the truth), so I suppose there is no need to go running around and screwing with my sleep patterns just to play around. I want to get into a regular exercise pattern, including both biking and running (and weights), and staying up like this doesn't help me. *shrug*

So, keep 'em closer to home I guess, if I must trick. We shall see.

Archives

Rode to work & back, 45 min each; 20 min weights

Entry the Three Hundred and Twenty Second

27 June 2001

Mundanities

Rode over to Doug's yesterday after work, had some good Chinese food (tofu - yum) at the local Chinese place. Went home, chilled, cuddled, etc. I like having him closer, and his new place is fabulous. All this light in the evening - I'm envious. I get morning sun, but no afternoon/evening sun to speak of. We got him a plant on the way back in, one of those unkillable pothos things. We'll see how he does with that, then graduate him up to more complicated ones. :)

Rode from his place to the gym (10 minutes door to door). Wasn't bad, with the exception of the construction on 7th St. :-p That part sucked. But what can you do? So I got in much, much earlier than the usual and used the time to work out more than Monday. Was a good workout, and I'm nowhere near as sore as I was Monday night, the first time using the weights seriously in how long now? I need to speak with someone about tailoring a plan for myself, though. I'm getting a tad bored with the same old stuff - I want to shake it up a bit.

Got to work and somehow I seemed to be the person with the answers this morning; everyone and his brother had a question for me, it seemed. I think I managed to break even by the end of the day (including doing a video conference down to our training center - they should have had me down there as an instructor, but no one asked, so I got to video conference at the last minute), but I certainly didn't get any of the normal work done. What a mess.

Rode home in the lovely Red Ozone Day weather. Why they can't predict these a day ahead so I wouldn't have ridden in it? Oh well, I survived, and am doing fine it seems, so no harm done. It was a nice ride, and I seem to be getting faster. Will be nice when some of those minor hills no longer seem quite so daunting, nor require such a downshifting as they do now. I'll get my cyclist's legs back, too. Used to deliver newspapers in high school and had quite the legs. I still have the calves, and I hesitate to see how those get. :-) They're already huge!

Home this evening, had a light dinner (managed to stop myself at one sandwich for once), some snacks. Chatted some until I decided I'd had my fill. Tried to call Doug a couple of times, but no answer. I guess he's studying. I miss our nightly phone calls, I think those need to come back again. I look forward to the end of schooling for him (i.e., the end of the bar exam), when he can reclaim a normal, non-school life again. I've never actually know him outside of school, but I look forward to seeing him that way. Non-stressed from assignments, not worried about having to steal time from homework. It'll be a good thing.

Archives

Rode to work & back, 10 min in, 45 min out; 30 min weights

Entry the Three Hundred and Twenty Third

28 June 2001

Dancing

No exercise today, past dancing. Decided I needed to dance, post-happy hour, so I did so this evening at Badlands. Was tons of fun, despite the cape cods I'd had at Omega (*grin*), and had lots of water. Hopefully no hangover tomorrow morning. Also brought home this really cute boi: 20, blond, shorter than I am (which is a feat - I'm only 5'6"!). Heavens but he was cute. I don't think I've picked anyone up on the dance floor since RE last fall with Doug.

The day was ordinary, which is to say busy. I still seem to be the man with the answers at work, so everyone is asking them of me. I finally put my phone on make busy and got some memos cranked out this afternoon, thereby clearing several items from my to-do list. Thank heavens - that list was starting to look ridiculously long.

Supposed to go to another happy hour tomorrow evening (*groan*) for Madam's birthday. I look forward to seeing folks, but not sure if I'll drink after getting next to no sleep this evening. I'm gonna drag tomorrow, and not in a good way. But hey, I got my dancing in, so I'm happy. :-)

Archives

Danced for however long

Entry the Three Hundred and Twenty Fourth

29 June 2001

An Open Letter to my Liver

Dear Liver,

I am truly sorry for the treatment you have received over the past two days. You know that I normally don't do that to you, but this week was just a mess. Thursday we were supposed to meet that friend and let him crash on the couch, so when we met him and he decided to head home early, the thought of staying and dancing was just too much to resist. You will notice that I only gave you water once we got to Badlands, so I was thinking of you. And after all, we did get to meet that cute boy while out dancing, so it was worth it.

The caffeine today was a fluke - you know I can't take that stuff normally, but I had to stay awake during work and at the happy hour tonight after work.

Tonight was a birthday celebration, and we wouldn't have wanted to look unfriendly, now would we? At least I stuck to the same vodka I had been feeding you the night before and avoided that nasty tequila stuff. I do know how much you and the head both dislike tequila, so despite the fact that it was more expensive, I gave you the good vodka (Stoli, honey, Stoli!). And that was a challenge! It almost maxed out the bartender's English skills to get him to track down cranberry juice for the cape cod! And you did get fruit juice as well, so it wasn't a total loss. You didn't get quite as much water in bottles as you did Thursday, but I did make sure to get you plenty when we went to dinner.

But this is all to say that I am very sorry that you've had to process all this alcohol two days in a row. It's not a normal situation, and it shan't be repeated any time soon. Well, perhaps next week when we go dancing on the 3rd and then to 4th of July parties the next day, but it won't be a regular thing, honest!

Sincerely,

Moose *&^)

Archives

No ride, no run, no gym