A post in which we prepare for the trip

I felt surprisingly good this morning.  I had really expected a wicked hangover tinged with regret.  The car wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be.  It smelled bad, but not awful.  I did a surprisingly good job on it considering I was cleaning it up in the dark when I was tipsy. 

Work was pretty quiet today, all things considered.  I really wish I'd had today to work on month end, but of course I don't get the figures until tomorrow.  Still if I could pull it together last month with Alan out of the office and Carla out Thursday and Friday also, I should be able to do it this month.

After work I headed to the shop to get my re-scheduled hair cut.  I was scheduled for 7pm though, instead of my usual 6pm.  That was a good thing because I had some errands to do.  I went by the liquor store (no comment needed there, but when Rhonda heard, she just said "That's gluttony.") so I would have some for the beach.  I got some o that new-fangled whipped cream flavored vodka.  That's either going to be awesome or well and truly nasty.  I love me some Total Wine & More. 

After that it was over to the pet store - just in time.  I was almost out of cat food.  Jinx would be most displeased. 

Then I ran by CVS.  I picked up some of those pre-moistened cleaning cloths to try to get some of the effluential spray I missed from last night.  Vomick just goes everywhere.  I was cleaning a place on the carpet when I noticed that the inside of the windshield and side mirror (did I mention it was everywhere?) had turned milky with cleaner residue - 'streak free' my ass.  But there was nothing for it but to go pick up Rhonda.  I was almost out of time.

So I picked her up and took her to the shop with me.  I didn't know that Russ had scheduled appointments for pretty much everyone tonight.  Vince and Brian were there, as were Logan and Billy, and I had brought Rhonda.  We were a merry party, but we didn't get out of there (admittedly looking great) until almost 9pm. Late for dinner. 

We had intended to go to Cafe Paulista, because it is Logan's favorite, and Vince and Brian had a coupon; but they were closed because it was Monday.  Yours truly didn't weep bitter tears of remorse - I ate there once and was underwhelmed.  We went to Denny's instead.  Granted we weren't aiming high on the culinary or nutritional game board, but it was late, we were starving, and it was proximal.

Logan and me at Denny's.  REALLY excited about upcoming food, and not at all anticipating the wait before us until we would actually get it

We thought the food would be quick, but sadly we were mistaken.  Our waitress tonight was pretty underwhelming.  She eventually enlisted the help of another of the waiters there (he's excellent - he's waited on us before - Lord only knows what he's doing at Denny's of all places) and the situation improved.  We finally got our food, and devoured it.  I love a patty melt, and they'll do one for me there with a veggie patty - YUMMY.

By the time we had finished eating, it was past my bedtime.  I ran Rhonda home, and after yet another blessedly short run through CVS (this the one near my house, to pick up a prescription) went home myself, but I couldn't go to bed.  There were things to do.

I cleaned the inside of the windshield to get the cleaner residue off, and put my tennies in to wash so that I could take them to the beach.  Then I washed the lunch dishes (my impromptu rice pilaf had turned out very good), brushed my teeth, and hit the sack.  It had been a very long day.

A post in which I attend two parties, and over-indulge

I knew I had to hit the ground running today.  And I pretty much did.

I got up and threw a bagel down my throat while I planned the day.   I went to the flea market for fruit and a couple of veggies, and then back by the store on the way home.  I had originally intended to just take sandwiches next week for lunch since it was a short week.  But then I thought that I should eat something more healthy, since a) I'll be eating garbage basically the whole time I'm at the beach; b) I had a package of frozen vegetables catch my eye this week that have been in there a while - they need to be used or they'll get freezer-burn; and c) it would be nice to come back next Sunday with a couple of lunches in the freezer.  I'm pretty sure that I won't feel like cooking when I get home next Sunday.

So I came home and whipped up a brown rice pilaf with veggies cooked a la Billy (he made mushrooms for me using white wine, lemon juice, soy sauce, and chopped fresh garlic that are telish - I've been applying the method to other veggies periodically ever since).  I went together quickly and I could do other things while the veggies simmered and the rice cooker worked. 

I packed all the stuff I would need for the pool party in my backpack, and dished out some of the pickles for Lisa to take home with her.  She and Cole love them.

I packaged the pilaf up into lunches, cleaned up the kitchen, and hopped in they shower.  I already knew what I was going to wear, so that didn't take long. 

Then I packed all the pool and birthday party supplies, headed out, and picked up the cake on the way to
Dad and Eve's house.  I pulled in the driveway seconds before Lisa did.  We couldn't have planned it any better had we tried.

After unloading the car and a brief visit, it was time to head to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. I have to say Outback has never really been on my top 10 list of restaurants, but our food was quite good, and the waiter was great. We rarely had to ask for anything. Ava was in a pretty good mood, and actually ate today. I had a very competently done mahi mahi fillet with baby artichokes in a lemon sauce.

We went back to the house for present opening and cake, after which Eve graciously relieved me of further social obligation.  The cake was actually a hit.  Publix bakery does good work.  The cake was moist, had a velvety fine crumb, and the lemon filling I ordered was not only correct, it was sharply citrus-y without being overpowering. I knew I would be late to the party, but had planned on staying until 4 or so. I actually got out about 3:30.

Since I was already loaded up (having retrieved my pickles from their fridge), I just went straight on to the party. Things were pretty much just getting started, and Russ, Billy, Logan were already there, as was my friend Vince. I settled in and prepared to relax. It was a lovely day. The weather was hot enough to make swimming pleasant, but not so hot that you roasted on the deck. The water was pretty much the perfect temperature. The party was remarkably nerve-eater free. Our host, Steve, is a super guy, and I really wish I saw more of him. He invited me to go on a cruise with him this week (his lover Mitch being unable to go for some reason), but after finding out that the trip involved driving to Ft. Lauderdale first, I begged off. That's like a 12-hour drive.

The combination of congenial company, beautiful surroundings, and gorgeous weather conspired to put me at my ease. I pulled out my flask. I had intended to get to the liquor store last week but never made it. But there was some Everclear at the house (no idea where it came from), and I just filled the flask with that. That was some strong stuff. This was the first time I had really drank alcohol in any volume since last year before I started treatment. Over the course of the afternoon yours truly got 'tore down from the floor down', as my mother's third husband's biker friends used to say. I had a premonition that I would really regret this tomorrow.

Eventually I ended up face down on a big bench beside the pool, using an obliging guy's ass for a pillow (would that I could nap in such splendor every day), and basically spent the remainder of the evening there taking an occasional nibble as I was moved to do so.

But the party was winding down, and it was time to go home. By that point I felt OK. I loaded up the car and set off. I was almost home when I realized, pretty suddenly, that I was going to be sick. I was pretty sure I could make it to the house. I was wrong. By the time I realized that regurgitation was imminent and found a side street to turn in to, it was too late. The remainder of the ride home was most unpleasant. After I threw up, I felt much better, but then of course I had to clean up the car, myself, and my clothes, PLUS unload the car. Eventually, I got it all done and turned in. I have NEVER done anything like that. Even in college (more years ago than I care to admit), I only ever threw up down the OUTSIDE of a car.

A post in which it is a floop day*

Since tomorrow was going to be so busy, I had actually planned to do chores and stuff today.  I did get a few things done, but not as much as I would have liked.

I was up early, and anxious for the day to start.  I had a visit planned for today, and I was anxious for him to get here.  But I got no response to a text.  I fooled around online for a while, and made a nice breakfast, but eventually snoozed for a bit.

I did get a text back, finally.  I futzed around and ran through the shower, then very much enjoyed a visit from Tim. 

I did a couple of loads of laundry, and was thinking about going out when Dana called.  She and Miss Kat were on their way to the shop to see Russ, and were going to stop in to see me on the way back.  So then I didn't know whether or not I would have time to go out or not.  I needed to get to the store to get pickle fixin's for the pool party tomorrow, and I really need to get a load of clothes to Goodwill, but I ended up staying at the house.

I ate some lunch, and talked to Lisa.  She called to ask if I had made plans for a cake for Eve's birthday tomorrow.  I hadn't given it a thought, and I knew that Dad wouldn't have done anything, so I called and ordered a cake.

For some reason I couldn't seem to get out of the kitchen today.  Everything I prepared and ate seemed to require an inordinate amount of cleaning-up afterwards. 

Miss Kat and Dana ended up being at the shop for three hours (!!)  By the time they got to the house they were ready to kick back for a while, which we did, catching up and sporadically watching snatches of RuPaul's Drag Race, which happened to be on telly when they came in.  There was a marathon on Logo today. 

When they left, I was feeling entirely too relaxed and lazy to do much.  I grew to the sofa for a while, but eventually decided I had to do something.  After preparing and eating a huge supper, I cleaned up the kitchen, made the bed, and headed for the store.  I picked up some odds and ends, but the main reason for going was to pick up cucumbers for the Korean refrigerator pickles I was making for tomorrow.  I knew my schedule would be tight all day tomorrow, and it would be a big leg up to get the pickles done tonight.

So I came home and made pickles, then put in a load of towels.  I was glad I got that done, at least. 

A post in which plans are changed

I had a good day at work today.  It was Friday, and payday (yay!), and I was pretty much caught up on my month stuff.  I got the paperwork back from California on my two last-minute write-offs, and was able to get them submitted before I left.

I had vowed to stop online shopping, but it was a slow day, and I decided to look for things I can't find.  I do that sometimes.  Well I found one of them.  I found some men's cotton terrycloth scuffs for sale.  It doesn't sound like a huge accomplishment, but I'll tell you they are scarce as freakin' hen's teeth.  The last ones I found online sold for about $30.  I just won't pay that for slippers.  But even Perry Ellis (who made the last slippers I loved) has moved to that &^%^%$$##@!! polystyrene terrycloth, which really kind of defeats the purpose.  So when I found some reasonably priced ones I ordered two pairs.   That only set me back $17 (including shipping).  I also bought some Family Guy DVD sets on Amazon.  But they were on superdiscountmarkdown, and two sets only cost me $12 (also including shipping), so I didn't do too badly there. 

I had my evening all planned and was looking forward to it, but Russ got a migraine because of the weather change and called it off.  I went and got Rhonda anyway.  She needed to get out of the house for a while, and I wanted the company. 

We discussed going to see The Pirates! Band of Misfits tonight, but the show times were all wonky.   It was either 7ish (which means you have to rush through dinner, or eat really late); or 9ish, which puts you out of the movie 11ish.  That's just too late for yours truly to be out right now after working all day. 

We decided to eat at Don Pablo's because I wanted some more of those gorgeous Cantina Nachos.  Also, Rhonda had a coupon, which just made it that much better.  The nachos were a lot bigger than I remembered, but were just as delicious as I remembered, so I had no problems polishing them off, and then finishing Rhonda's dinner, and then eating most of a plate of sopapillas.  They make the best sopapillas I have ever eaten - they are gorgeously delicious.

So after we had eaten until I couldn't move, we debated what to do.  I wanted to do something for Rhonda, so I decided to take her to see the Baby Ho Sto (aka Club Tabby).  She was pretty much as enthralled as I figured she would be.  While I was standing there contemplating the back room where they have birthday parties (complete with dress-up clothes and a stage with a runway), one of the guys (who looked amazingly heterosexual) running the place was like "Don't you want to have your birthday party here?"  OK that was pretty funny.  We looked around for a bit and gasped over the prices, and then left.

I decided I wanted to look at shoes, because I still need new brown shoes for work.  We wandered into Dillards, but then I decided that Rack Room Shoes was really more my price point.   Although I hadn't seen much in there I was wild about the last couple of times I was in there, I found a couple of pairs I liked tonight.  Rhonda was there to offer her opinions as well, which is helpful.  I like having a second opinion.  About the second or third pair I tried on made my feet look amazingly small (through some act of wizardry I really don't want to contemplate) and they were SOLD.  We looked for Rhonda a pair, and I looked for a second pair, since they had a BOGO 50% sale on, but we didn't find anything else to suit either of us, and I had spent quite enough money already - particularly with the beach trip next week (!!!).

By the time we made it out of the mall and back to Rhonda's place, I was ready to get in my bed.  So I dropped her off, went home, and did so. 

A post in which I have a bit of downtime

I got my write-offs back today, and even got back the paperwork to do two more, which I did.  My boss obligingly signed them so I could get them on to California this evening.  I stayed a little late, but I figured (incorrectly) that it would give me a leg up on the rush hour traffic.  It musta been a bear today, because when I left the office at about 6:15 it was still bad.

I wanted to go out to eat, but I just went out on Tuesday.  Plus I heard from Russ and the gang is gathering tomorrow at the shop.  I'll get my hairs did then, and we'll end up going out to eat.  I'm going to swing by and pick up Rhonda. 

I had laundry to do anyway.  Two of my new shirts came today, and one of them is the one I bought with Rhonda in mind.  I wanted to wash it so I could wear it tomorrow.

I didn't hear back from Jason, the guy I was supposed to go to dinner with tonight.  I wasn't terrifically surprised, actually.  I don't understand why it is that plans made online aren't 'real' plans for so many guys, but that seems to be the accepted social norm.  Anyway.

I didn't have time to be disappointed because I had books at the library!  I haven't been in forever, although we have an excellent library system here, and I used to use it all the time.  But since treatment I've needed a lil 20-minutes or so disco nap on my lunch hour to perk me back up so I haven't been reading as much.  I've read through my backlog of books now though, and I'm staying up longer on my lunch hour, I went to the website and ordered some books. 

I LOVE to go to the library.  I love the smell of books.  I love the quiet.  I love that there are all those adventures just waiting to be experienced.  I love that there are other book people there.  When I read in Stephen King's IT (which scared the bejeezus out of me up until the dildonic ending) about the library always being a sanctuary for one of the characters, I could totally relate.  When I was a kid the library was the quiet place where I didn't have to worry about being bullied, and the books I read over and over were like my friends.  We moved a good bit, but the library was always someplace familiar.

So I went and checked out my books.  I think I've read two of them before, unfortunately, but I'm out of sync on my Charlaine Harris books right now.  I also got some audio books for the car, which I enjoy.  They put so much crap on NPR in the afternoon now that I like to have an alternative. 

I got home just in time.  The bottom fell out about the time I got the car unloaded.  Rain, hail, wind - in short the whole schlamdoodle.  I was glad to be in my own little housek.  I fed the cats and put in a load of laundry.  I futzed around a bit getting ready for David to come tomorrow.  There was homemade soup I thawed for dinner in the fridge, but I didn't feel like eating it.  I stuck a Tofurkey Italian 'Sausage' Pizza in the oven.  They'd been on sale at Whole Foods the other week and I was curious enough to pick one up.  I was skeptical about dairy-free 'cheese' ("IT MELTS!" the package excitedly proclaimed), but it wasn't really a distraction, although there wasn't tons of it on there.  The main draw-back for me was the spice level.  Apparently concerned that the pizza would be bland, they had amped up the spices to the point that it was almost too hot for me.  But it was tasty, and they didn't cross the line.  It stacked up pretty well to other frozen pizza I thought. 

I steadfastly refused to turn on the computer.  I ate my supper, watched a little telly, cleaned up the kitchen, and turned in.  I was a good boy.  Mostly.  I heard from Chris via text, a guy I've been talking to online and plan to meet at the beach.  It was a nice way to end the day.

A post in which there is more shopping to do

I got in contact with Eve and Lisa today, and through a long series of texts, established when and where lunch would be on Sunday.  I'm going to have to go late to the pool party, but I was there on time last year and no one else was except for the gaybors, so no worries there.  I emailed the boys and decided to make Korean pickles, so I won't have anything fussy that I have to worry about not turning out right or being hard to transport - plus I can take some for Lisa and the kids since they love those.

It was mostly uneventful at work.  Alan still hasn't gotten my write-offs back, but it hasn't gotten to the point that I feel the need to go in his office and pitch a fit yet. 

When I got off work, I wanted to go home, but I had one more little shopping trip to make.  This one wasn't for me though, and wasn't selfish.  I had to go get Eve's birthday present.  Fortunately she had told me exactly what she wanted, and exactly where to get it.

So I entered Swoozie's.  Immediately when I walked through the door I felt out of place.  The store was light, airy with splashes of color, appealingly 'jumbled', and completely populated by biological females.  It is rare that my masculinity makes me feel conspicuous and out of place, but I did in this store (although I have no doubt that I had more estrogen in my body than some of the clientele).  At first I thought I had to be in the wrong place, because the stuff looked like it was for children.  After looking at some of the items more closely, though, I realized that the merchandise was created to appeal to women with the female equivalent of Peter Pan Syndrome.  Brightly colored plastic cups, ceramic plates, and 'decorative' boards painted with Bible verses and cliche platitudes surrounded me.  It was one of the latter that I had been sent to purchase.  I made my way around the store, reading the various plaques and vaguely wishing I had taken a Dramamine before I entered.

There were many of the plaques, tucked in whimsically around the other merchandise, but I couldn't find the one I was looking for.  After making a desultory circuit of the store, I approached the counter to ask for help, but all the attendants seemed to be busy.  Eventually I located a plate with the saying I had been told about.  I finally just picked up the plate, approached the counter, and asked the saleswoman "Do you have this in a plaque?"  They did.  In three sizes.  But they had been so whimsically tucked in amongst the flotsam that I had missed them.  I picked out the middle size, had it wrapped while I picked out a card, and emerged triumphantly about twenty minutes later with a $40 board that had been painted with a quaint definition of the South.  I felt like a complete tool, but that was what she had asked for.

After that I was ready to go home.  I ate dibs and dabs for supper, resisted the urge to put a load of laundry in, and fell in to the internet vortex.  I talked to a couple of guys, but I was mainly chasing the boys to watch them run.  I had a pass made at me by a seemingly nice enough guy who unfortunately had a completely ridiculous toupee (obvious even in his SFIP {suspiciously flattering internet photo}).  I did talk to one guy who seemed to be living in my world, but turned out to be living in Spartanburg with no car.  Sigh.  But he asked me out to dinner for tomorrow night (followed up by a request for my Chinese astrological sign of all things) and I said I would go.  I had already cancelled one date this week for Thursday with a guy I had 0 interest in, but it seems I am destined to go on a date tomorrow night - or not.  Internet guys have the memory of fruit-gnats when it comes to plans made in advance.  We'll see if he calls me tomorrow.   

A post in which I have dinner with the 'rents

I'm more back on my usual schedule this week, and went to dinner with Dad and Eve.  We went to Portofino's tonight, which was my choice.  I just love that place, and was craving their salad and the gorgeous bread they make; little golden balls of yeast dough drenched in melted butter and shaved garlic.  They are the BEST.  I had some veggie lasagna, which was quite good, although I haven't had anything there I like as much as the tortellaci.  I'm not even sure that's a real dish (I haven't been able to find out anything about it, or find it anywhere else) but it doesn't really matter.

Afterwards I went back to the house for a visit.  This week went better than last week.  Dad and I are getting along a lot better than we ever have, but some days it's still dicey.  It doesn't help that he is hurting so much.  He's in enough pain that it would make anyone short-tempered.  Happily, he and Eve don't seem to be bickering as much as they did for a while.  It seems to be partly the way the communicate, but it is still uncomfortable at times to be around them when they're in that place.

They're having the porch screened in, and it is almost done.  The official reason is so that Dad can sit outside after his surgery, but I think she just wants it done.  It is a beautiful job that the guy is doing for them. 

We discussed Eve's birthday dinner this weekend, and talked to Ava and Lisa for a minute or two.  They are planning to come up.  We're doing it early because the first weekend of May I'll be at the beach, and because they'll be getting ready for Dad's surgery that weekend. 

I remembered on the way home that the bear pool party is Sunday afternoon as well.  Crap it all.  I'll have to work out a compromise and go to the party late.  It hadn't even crossed my mind while all this was being planned, although I have known about the party for weeks.

I ran through the grocery store on the way home for a few odds and ends.  I have to send Grandma a card, but didn't get one tonight. 

I got home, turned on the Big Bang Theory marathon, and turned in. 

A post in which I visit Justin's new apartment

It was a pretty auspicious day for a Monday.

I had a half a pan of brownies left from yesterday. That fit perfectly, because I wanted to take a small plate of them to the people who work in reception and scheduling at the cancer center; so I dropped those off on my way in to work. My appointment wasn't until 1pm, but Amy in reception always eats candy and stuff out of the machines for breakfast. This wasn't much better, but I figured at least it was something homemade.

I got into the office and started working on write-offs. There aren't that many to do, but I should have probably started them last week.

I left for the doctor's office and ended up being there for two hours - it always takes longer when I go in the middle of the day. But I had good news. My blood (despite the green bean orgies of the last week or so) was thin enough. The doc told me I could stop taking Coumadin! Even though I told him my arm has been hurting some. That starts the 4-week countdown until I can play again. I needs me a whoopin'. The doc wants to schedule me for the follow-up PET scan next week, and then see me with the results when I get back from the beach. He's doing this in part because I've been having some back pain around that one vertebra that had the cancer in it. I am a little worried, but wanted to quantify how concerned I should be with him. He said we would just go ahead and address it and then we would know. I told him about the problems I'm having with my feet, and he suggested that the neuropathy was common, but he believes the pain to be 'mechanical' (i.e. when I walk too much). Now that I'm off Coumadin, I'm going to start taking Aleve again for a while and see if that helps. He also suggested I get some cushion insoles for my shoes.

Still, being taken off the Coumadin is a big step, and I'm stoked about it. Unfortunately I was excited enough that I left without scheduling the PET scan. I called back to the office, but their phone system is pretty awful.

I balanced my checkbook today, and was pretty dismayed. The shopping must end. But I had pretty much gotten what I wanted anyway. I hate to be short going into the beach trip, but I can just put it on the credit card.

I was headed home for a quiet evening when I got a call from Justin. He's all moved in to his new place, and invited me over. I went home and picked up the glass I had for him and went on over. I was going to bring dessert, but I had planned to pick up some fancy-schmancy cupcakes at Iced. Unfortunately they were closed. Justin told me he had been there and was unimpressed with the place anyway. As tight as my jeans were tonight, I really didn't need cupcakes either.

The new place is very pretty. Justin has fantastic taste, if a little old-fashioned for me. I didn't care for the fact that it was a third-floor walk-up, but then you can't have everything. He's only been there for three weeks, but he has already painted the living room and hall, and has plans for the other rooms.

We had coffee on the deck, despite the fact that it was a little chilly, and he made a nice stir-fry for supper. For some reason, he seemed to feel that I was coming over to take inventory and pass judgment, which was the last thing I had thought about. I just wanted to see his new digs. It bothered me that he seemed to be anxious enough about my opinion to be uncomfortable. I gave him the glass, and we talked about picture placements and some lighting problems he's having. I'm afraid I wasn't able to offer much practical help, but I did my best.

I caught him up on Frolicon, and we talked about dating a bit. He's actively dating right now, and good for him. It was a very pleasant evening, and it was great to see him.

I got home, turned on the Golden Girls Monday night marathon, and turned in.

A post in which it is a great day in the kitchen

I was determined to be more productive today, but it didn't look like it was going to happen at first. I wanted to go to the flea market for fruit this morning, but it was overcast. By the time I had heated up the left-over pizza for breakfast I had decided not to go.

Not that there weren't other things I could do. I changed the sheets and washed them. I pan-seared off my brussels sprouts (beautifully, I might add - if they taste as good as they look, they will be great). I put my haricots verts in to cook with Ponzu and fresh garlic (I am really close to perfecting that technique). While they were cooking I put a pan of brownies in the oven. I also cleaned out the fridge (which desperately needed doing), and did some organization of the tupperware cabinet (ditto). About the time I got my veggies all portioned out for lunches and took the brownies out of the oven, I heard from Russ.

One of the reasons I wanted to get chores done early today was that I was hoping to go play with the boys in the afternoon. That worked out beautifully. Russ invited me over so I would get to see Rob and Jo Ann. Jo Ann is having a rough time after her last surgery. She's had a couple of skin grafts, which are very painful. I had intended to take the brownies over to the cancer center tomorrow, but I thought Jo Ann might need them more. I packed them up and put them in the car.

They were all very laid back today. Jo Ann wasn't feeling good. I found out that they didn't go to the event last night because she wasn't up to it. She didn't want to go to game night either. We picked at the brownies and visited for a while before they left for home.

Russ, Billy, Logan, and I went to Genghis Grill for lunch. Yummy! Billy helped me with my sauce today and it turned out even better than last time. He also gave me half of his. I was ravenous. And relaxed.

After lunch they headed on to the movies (they were going to see Cabin in the Woods - no thanks), and I went on to the grocery store to get the stuff I hadn't picked up already. I've been making a lot of brownies lately, and I was low on ingredients. I also got some stuff for a pasta salad I was thinking about for lunches next week. The hard part was done (veggies) but I needed something for them to go with.

By the time I got home, I didn't think the pasta salad was going to happen. I did talk to a really nice new guy online yesterday named Brandon. I tried to work out for us to go to dinner, but it didn't happen. I got my groceries put away, then had a light supper with some dip I had picked up (I am having a dip thing lately), and rested for a bit. Then I felt restless. I put another load of wash in. I ended up making the pasta salad. I've been thinking about a hoisin vinaigrette, and did that, adding a touch of this and a dash of that. I ended up finishing it off with a little peanut butter (very common in quasi-Thai cooking) and it was tasty. I was very pleased with the results. Pasta salad is such a great way to use up odds and ends. I ended up with chopped sugar snap peas, scallions, a few left-over Kalamata olives, and some celery in this; and cut up some tomato and salad cucumber to mix in right before I eat lunch.

I turned in on fresh clean sheets to the sounds of Iron Chef. I was asleep before I even heard what the secret ingredient was.

A post in which some things get done, and others do not*

I had thought I would go to the flea market this morning, but never made it. I did make some of that Trader Joe's veggie sausage, and it was telish. I had biscuits with snausage, egg, cheese, and sliced tomato for brekkie. Lovely!

Before/while I was eating, I fell into the internet vortex for a while. Eventually I dragged myself out enough to put some blankets in to wash, and run to the store. Khavis came to cut the grass. I heard from Dana and we set up plans for a visit to their house tonight. I ordered (yet another) bear shirt (and promised myself it is the last one for a while - or at least until after the beach - but it was really cute and I just couldn't resist). So some things did get done.

I picked up some brussels sprouts at the grocery store and put them in to steam, but never ended up pan-searing them off as I had intended. I was also going to bake a pan of brownies for tonight. That didn't happen either. There were only going to be four of us, and none of us really need them. Rhonda has been wanting some, but she's diabetic, so I feel conflicted about making sweets for her (even though she's been doing very well lately). But the time constraints made it an easy decision today. I once again put off taking my temple rubbing to be re-framed. I do that pretty much every Saturday now. As much as I'd like to have it re-done (I've always hated the cheap frame that came with it), I'm rationalizing at the moment that it's a bad time to have it done and that I need to wait until after the beach trip.

I also had a buddy come by for a little bit and we had a very nice visit. That didn't help me with time management, but it sure helped my disposition and mood.

When he left I was feeling excessively relaxed. I got cleaned up, packed up the backpack, and headed out at a fairly leisurely pace. I went by Target, where they nicely took back the wrong-sized underwear, even though I had cut the bag. I went and got another package, making triple-sure they were the right size. I also picked up a cool pair of Stewie Griffin lounge pants that were on clearance for $5. At that price, I really couldn't leave them.

I picked up Rhonda and we went to Miss Kat and Dana's for game night. We were the only ones to go. Russ, Billy, and Logan had an SCLock event to attend tonight, and Rob and Jo Ann had driven up from Savannah to go.

I hadn't seen Miss Kat and Dana since before Frolicon. By the time we got settled in and caught up, ordered a pizza for dinner, and told them all the Frolicon news, we pretty had much forgotten about playing games and it was too late to start one. Miss Kat had made a lovely fruit fluff stuff for dessert out of Cool Whip and assorted fruit, topped with toasted coconut - Yummm! Miss Kat and Dana don't keep late nights, and I usually don't either these days. Still it was great to see them, and a very pleasant evening. I ran Rhonda home, then headed to my place to turn in.

A post in which there is still more shopping

I have been drinking Gevalia coffee for a week now after finding it on sale. Johan has NOT showed up to whisk me away to exotic locales. I've been waiting. I want my cuppa freakin' Johan. So Johan if you're reading this, it's time you showed the fuck up. It's pretty good coffee though.

It was a fairly easy day at work, but I was kind of drug out from not sleeping well Wednesday night. It always hits me the day after for some reason. The twit meeting went very quickly - it was about 5 minutes long today. Alan was very busy, and he knows he doesn't have to worry about my stuff.

I had a text from the guy I had set up the date with last night, cancelling again. I'm like whatever.

After work, I kind of wanted to do something, but I kind of didn't. I felt tired, but I hated to waste a Friday night. I decided to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home. I had read online how good their veggie sausage is and have been meaning to pick some up. Since I was in the area anyway, I decided to drop in to Target. I've been enjoying being given license to shop there (by James). Happily, the dearth of underwear in my size was over. I picked up a couple of packages of that and some odds and ends. Then I went to Trader's and did the same thing. The veggie sausages were pretty expensive, but it's not like I'll be eating tons of them. They also had a really good price on frozen, strung, and snapped haricots verts, so I picked up a couple of bags of them to make for lunches next week. I figure they'll be at least as good as the tough fresh ones I bought the other week.

Then I made my way home and collapsed. I ate some dip I picked up at Trader's for supper. I thought about calling Miss Kat and Dana, but we have a game night tentatively set up with them for tomorrow, and I don't want to double-night them. That's a lotta Steve.

I went to put my new underwear in to wash, and realized after all the pains I had taken that one of the packs I picked up was the wrong size. Dammit. And I had already cut the bag. I can't believe I did that. I've only been looking at freakin' underwear for a month now!

A post in which it is a long day

I was up at 4am with insomnia and never went back to sleep. I did chat with a nice guy online though, and we set up a date for this evening.

I got the twit report finished today, so I'm ready for tomorrow's meeting. That is a lot of work, but not as much as it used to be since I've gotten the Canadian aging cleaned up, and I've been beating our attorney in California with a stick weekly to get updates.

I went straight home from work. No shopping. I was tired, plus the guy I talked to, Joseph, was supposed to come over. But I didn't hear back from him. After leaving a message and sending a text, I settled onto the sofa. There are things that need doing around the house, but I just plain didn't feel like doing them.

I thought I was being stood up, but Joseph eventually sent a text back and we set up plans. Then he sent another text to cancel them. I was pretty much like, whatever. (He says now that we'll get together tomorrow, but I'm not shaving my legs 'til I have some confirmation.) I ate some supper and relaxed in front of telly. They have a Chopped marathon on Thursday nights now, and that suits me fine.

I eventually put in a load of laundry (I washed my new bathing suit) and did the nightly chores before turning in with a new episode of Sweet Genius.

A post in which I have dinner out

Work was quiet again today. Alan did come in, but later in the day, and he was much too busy to worry with me. We have the twit meeting on Friday anyway. He'll probably move it, but he'll make time to mess with me then.

Tonight was my dinner out with Dad and Eve, only Dad was once again too poorly to go. So I loaded Eve up in the car and off we went to Monterrey by the Mall. Although our service wasn't anything to really write home about, I had a gorgeous, huge plate of chiles poblanos, which are basically chiles rellenos sans meat. They were telish. We ate and chatted, and then went home with a take-away for Dad. His hip replacement surgery is coming up, and he can't wait. I don't blame him. He's in constant pain. Eve told me all about them going to the lengthy pre-screening and education class about the procedure on Monday. I made sure his water glass stayed full and that he had what he needed after Eve brought his tray out.

He obligingly came out of his room to eat, and Eve fed me a little chocolate tart out of a batch she had made for dessert. It was tasty too, but I couldn't help but kind of wonder what she was doing making stuff like that when Dad is diabetic, and we all have a weight problem. Still, it was small, and it was good.

We were chatting and visiting when Dad started serving up the crazy. I guess that's a good sign. He isn't too pitiful to be himself, and he thnks I am recovered enough to take it. Eve and I were talking about the British royal family (in particular the Duchess of Cambridge), when Dad went off onto a rant about Barak Obama. Tonight he casually tossed out "..because he is a Muslim..." Oy. Now I know a lot of people aren't thrilled with the president. If you don't like his policies or politics, that's fine. But I really take issue with buying into every foaming-at-the-mouth half-baked piece of crazy thrown at you by the fringe. Dad has. I already knew he was a birther. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. But it was just more than I could take.

I expostulated, rather too strongly, Barak Obama is not a Muslim, and reminded him that the right-wing fringe also castigates him for his ties to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who is in Trinity United Church of Christ, implying that he is a disgruntled black man because of that relationship. President Obama attended that church for 20 years. I pointed out that it doesn't even make sense for him to be both. Dad just smiled benignly and looked at me like I was an idiot, because of course Rush Limbaugh (or whichever crackpot he's listening to this week) has the inside track to secret information that no one else knows. He then veered off on a tangent about the costs for his travel. I reminded him that GW Bush spent 96 days on vacation from his innauguration on January 20 through the end of August during the first year of his presidency. Apparently that was OK (according to Dad), because he was at his ranch, and not living it up at taxpayer expense.

The man makes me nuts. Fortunately, we were able to back off and not get angry. It was about time for me to leave anyway, so I did. I went home to stew in my own juices. Apparently I should just become a freakin' Republican, and then he would believe whatever bullshit I told him.

A post in which the shopping continues

I was up early and had some extra time this morning, so I packed up one of my vases I had bought and stopped at the store for some pretty flowers on the way to work. That is one more thank you out of the way. Only about a thousand more to go. I gave these to Betty, and she was tickled pink. It costs so little to do something nice. I'll have to be on the lookout for more vases next weekend.

Work went smoothly, although the carpet-bombing of clients continues. I've received 14 new clients and over $200k in the first half of the month. Two supervisors are cleaning off their agings apparently. I'm keeping up, but it's brisk.

I broke down and ordered some new bear shirts today. I've been wanting some, and I freakin' love Zazzle.com, but have been balking at the price. Their shirts are just ridiculously high. Since I've been getting rid of t-shirts I don't like as much though, I've got room for some more, and wanted some new ones for the beach. I also seem to have ruined one of my faves at Frolicon and I'm not sure how. It has a stain on it of unknown origin that doesn't seem to want to come out. I think I can replace that shirt though.

Eve called again this week to move dinner to Wednesday night. That's fine, I'm still a bit tuckered from last night, and it will be good to be at home tonight. That also freed me up to do a bit of shopping.

I went to the other Ross Dress for Less tonight to see if they had any of the mugs Rhonda liked, but no dice. I wish I had gotten more, but I just bought that one on a whim. I had no idea she actually needed mugs. I also looked at pillows. I really do need new guest pillows, and I've kinda got a bee in my bonnet about it at this point. I did find some that I think will be good and got them, as well as one pair of underwear that meet my criteria. Since I was in the area, I made a foray through the dollar store. I needed toothbrushes (I've been paying full price at CVS, which I don't usually do). Of course while I was in there, I found a couple of other things I couldn't live without. There are some surprising things at the dollar store these days.

On of them was a redneck guy who talked. And talked. And talked. I was on the row with him, and there was a contstant stream of very nasal banalites pouring out of him like water from an open tap. On. And on. And on. He read the (entire) ingredient labels to his companion, and debated whether or not they needed pretty much everything, etc. I finally left the aisle because I couldn't take it any more, and of course then he followed me through the store, into the checkout line, and then into the parking lot. I was relieved to finally escape.

In the same shopping center is an Ingles grocery store. I usually don't shop at Ingles. There isn't one convenient to my way home, and my ex-roommate Ty used to disparage them as a "proletariat grocery store", so I've never been enamored. I have to say, though, that I found some things in there tonight that I haven't found in other stores. They had orange-flavored Mio, and I haven't seen that before. The flavors in that brand are weird, like peach tea, watermelon-strawberry, and mango-peach. Yergh. I can't stand artificial peach flavor. How about the classics? Grape, Lemon-Lime? (They do make one called 'green thunder', but it has caffeine added and it's bitter.) Anyway, I was glad to see orange, and picked that up. I also got some new Rubbermaid containers in a hard-to-find size. I'm always looking for new containers to pack lunches.

By the time I got out of the grocery store, my dogs were barking. I wore my pretty shoes today for the first time in a long time, and although I did OK, my feet are still giving me problems. That's gonna piss me off if it doesn't clear up. I really like to get out and walk and shop. I need my feets for the beach; and just for life in general, come to that.

By the time I got home and got everything unloaded, I was ready to sit down. I had yummy Thai leftovers in the fridge for dinner, plus some crackers from the dollar store I wanted to taste. They were pretty good. I did a load of laundry, washed up the dishes, and chatted on line for a minute. There was a Big Bang Theory marathon on TV, so I had plenty of entertainment. I opened the windows. It was raining gently, which the cats found endlessly fascinating.

I turned in on one of the new pillows. They are made by Beautyrest, and pretty much perfect. Springy but not hard, yielding but not to squooshy. I'll be keeping these.

A post in which I have a date*

Work was pretty quiet today. I was caught up after Friday, and Alan is out of the office today and tomorrow.

I sent Jason a message this morning to see if I would hear back from him, and lo and behold I did! He communicated with me consistently and clearly - absolutely amazing. Plus he said he would actually keep the date we made yesterday. Will wonders never cease?

After work I ran back to Ross Dress for Less and returned the rock pillows. I was going to get Rhonda some more mugs like the one I got her last Friday, but they were all gone. Tony has apparently absconded with the first one and she hasn't gotten to drink out of it yet. I wonder if it would be worth riding over to the other Ross to see if they have any...

On the way home, I started stressing out. What would I wear? I usually dress casually, but I read that if you are too casual, it makes your date feel that you didn't care about the date, or couldn't be bothered to wear special clothes. Then I had a mini-debate over whether or not I was doing false advertising if I dressed up when I don't usually. Would that be setting up false expectations? Then I started running through possible date clothes (which are pretty slim pickings). Finally I just shut that voice down, and decided to wear something I would wear usually. I went home and ran through the shower. I just put on shorts and a t-shirt like I was going to dinner with the guys. I did add a squirt of cologne to mark the special occasion.

Jason came to the house to pick me up. We had decided via phone to get Thai food, and ended up going back to Kannika's Thai Kitchen, which I have been craving for the last couple of weeks. We had a very pleasant meal. He's a little hard to talk to, but we were both nervous. All told, things went very well, and he paid for dinner (!!) too - I shoulda bought a lottery ticket today. I can't remember the last time a date paid for supper.

I unloaded some of the smaller bags over dinner. It's always such a challenge for me to know when to lay stuff out. He had driven in from Clemson to see me, and I didn't want him to feel that he was here under false pretenses, but at the same time, I don't want to vomit all the baggage up at once. He was nice about things, and asked questions, but didn't seem ready to run screaming for the hills.

We went back to the house and talked for a while. I turned on The Golden Girls, which he also likes (Billy just doesn't understand how I can watch that any time). But then a episode came on that Jason didn't like (it wasn't one of the better ones) and the focus moved. It turned out wearing shorts was a good call. Jason liked my legs. He ended up visiting for a while. He is a fantastic kisser. I just love a smart-ass. Later on he quipped "No wonder the dogs next door bark." Which pretty much said it all. I like him.

A post in which it is the Hat Party

Yes folks, it is that time of year again. I had truthfully forgotten all about it until two weeks ago when Dan'l called to check on me and ask if I would be there. It was very kind of him to call me personally twice - the first time I forgot to call him back. I didn't make a hat this year, and I was OK with that. I'm content to rest on my laurels at this point, and it is so much work.

But first, I had stuff to do. A lot of times I do chores on Sunday, but I knew I'd be tied up all afternoon today having fun. I balanced my checkbook and paid my car taxes and left over hospital bills. That took care of my 'extra' check, but I didn't have to dip into savings to do it (as I had feared would be necessary), so I was pretty much OK with that. That leaves me some money to spend at the beach. I loaded the recycling in the car, dropped the bills at the post office, and took the recycling. I went by the grocery store for the things I didn't get yesterday when I went without a list. I had veggies made, but I wanted something for them to go with. Since I had all that left over celery from Atlanta last weekend (which needed to be used - it had frozen in the little fridge Russ and Billy loaned us) I decided to make ficken salad. I had some Quorn tenders in the freezer, and they make great ficken salad. Unfortunately I had to go to two Publix because the one downtown didn't have either of the main things I needed to finish my salad - scallions and seedless red grapes. I was thinking these aren't exactly exotic ingredients, right? When I did find the red grapes, they were ridiculously expensive, but I bought them anyway. I'll have some left over for just fruit to eat.

From there I went on to the flea market near my house to have a nose round and get some tomatoes. The weather was overcast (most inauspicious for a garden party) so there weren't many people there selling, plus I was late for treasures, but I got my maters and headed home.

I got home and sat down for just a minute. My feets were killin me. But I had cooking to do. I made the ficken salad, which turned out really good (a curried honey dijon dressing, chopped pecans, slivered almonds, and red grapes mmmmmm). I had a sandwich to try some out and have a light lunch. Then I had a debate with myself. I really wanted to whip up some brownies for the party, but I needed to rest some also. In the end though, I just couldn't let the chance pass to feed folks, especially when I was having such a good weekend in the kitchen. I put the brownies in the oven, cleaned up the kitchen, and dropped into the internet vortex for a bit while the brownies baked.

I talked to two really nice guys. One is an attorney named Jason, and I made a date with him for dinner Monday night. We'll see if he shows. For some reason guys are really casual about dates you make on the internet. It's like you're not a real person or something. The other guy was very young, but sweet as he could be and cute as a bucket o' puppies with lil hats on. I may never meet him, but he sure gave my ego a boost.

By the time the brownies baked and I got cleaned up the boys were there to pick me up for the party. The weather had turned off pretty, and the Creekside grounds were standing tall for the festivities as usual. My favorite folks were all there, and they were very glad to see me. I'm 2.5 months out of treatment now, and look like myself again. I hung out with Karen on the side porch in our usual place, and told jokes and stories and just generally did my best to charm the pants off of everyone. I got to see Eddie. There were some charming newcomers this year also.

The brownies were devoured to acclaim. I freakin love that recipe. I was careful to make sure they cooked long enough this time, and I have to say they were pretty much perfectly done; with a nice crust on top, but thoroughly ewy gewy chocolatey underneath. The food was delicious. Dan'l made beet-pickled deviled eggs that were absolutely divine - the best deviled eggs I have ever eaten! I also got some of Jim's salmon, which I was pining for, having missed going to the Christmas party.

Kimbley and Laura were there, and I got to spend a little bit of time with them. I got to see Donnie and Mark. It was a very nice afternoon. The Parade of Hats went off without a hitch. There were some impressive hats this year. One was actually covered in live plants. The guy literally had actual blooming miniature orchids on his freakin' head! I couldn't believe he didn't win Most Flawless. I really thought he had it locked up. A straight guy won funniest, and his hat was really cute. We won't go into Most Original. I'm just a tiny bit bitter about that one (being the only title I haven't won), but I must admit his hat was impressive. Sadly, I didn't take a single picture this year. I should have. Billy didn't either.

After the judging was over and the winner was announced, we headed home. It was a lovely party, but it was very long day for yours truly, and my feets were once again threatening to go on strike. I was home and in a very mellow mood by 8:30. It was nice to have a little time to relax before I had to turn in.

A day which I am fairly naughty

Not completely.

I was up fairly early and fell into the internet vortex. I talked to a nice guy who was visiting from Charleston, and ended up going to meet him, but he had time constraints and I didn't get to know him as well as I might have liked. Still, he was a very nice guy, and I left him in a really good mood.

Since it was a gorgeous day, and since I was north of town anyway, I went on up to Duncan to the flea market and nosed around for a bit. There wasn't much on offer today that I was interested in, but I picked up an old cake plate (you can pick them up for nothing at the flea market, and I think it's so much nicer to give baked goods on a vintage plate then on something cheap, or heaven forfend, a paper plate) and some honeycrisp apples. They were pretty pricey, especially for the flea market, but I've heard so much about them I decided to give them another try. I wasn't terrifically impressed with the first one I ate, but it came from the grocery store.

I was hungry. But I really didn't want flea market crap, and I don't enjoy eating in restaurants by myself. When I do that, I like to have a book and I didn't have one in the car. I decided to kill two birds and stop at the grocery store on my way home. I picked up a couple of things, including some lox and a bagel. And some sugar snap peas. I'm not supposed to be eating tons o green veggies at the mo because of the Coumadin I'm on, but I wanted something fresh and green. I ate about half the (small) bag of sugar snaps on the way home.

By the time I got home, put away the groceries, and had breakfast, I was sleepy. I took a nap for a couple of hours, and woke up feeling kinda bleary and drug-out. I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do tonight. I decided to play in the kitchen for a while.

I put in a load of laundry and snapped some string beans I bought this morning. I tried my Ponzu cooking method with them again, and they turned out really good. I wanted to save some of them for lunches next week, so I put some brussels sprouts in the microwave to steam, then finished them with a pan sear in a little butter, salt, and lemon juice. They also turned out telish. Especially with a light dusting of Parmesan cheese. Mmmmmm. Brussels sprouts are something I didn't like as a kid, but I've developed a real predilection for them over the last several years. So it was pretty much a forbidden greens orgy. I made myself a crispy grilled cheese sandwich to finish off dinner, since I had some good American cheese (no that isn't always an oxymoron) in the house. I had some chocolate Easter eggs for dessert. Yes, I'm still working on them. From two weeks ago. She must have sent home a dozen just with me. They are pretty good chocolate though. I hope they weren't made through child slave labor.

By this point, I had just decided not to go anywhere. I had thought about calling Miss Kat and Dana and riding over to see them, but decided it would be too late to go over by the time I got all cleaned up and changed clothes. I did the cat chores and changed the sheets (finally!). I got cleaned up and made some popcorn while I was waiting for the sheets to finish washing and go in the dryer. I chatted on Bear411 and looked through the convenient husband catalog they provided for Bear Hunt next month. I did talk to one guy I liked, and who seemed really in to me. I'm already meeting sweet Gobibear there, but it never hurts to have a companion in reserve. Things happen...

I turned in on clean sheets with a Chopped (the BEST TV show ever - lest you forget) marathon on TV, covered in kitties. Life is good. It used to be depressing for me to spend a Saturday night at home alone, but not really now. I just didn't feel like going anywhere. And that's OK, and I'm OK with it. I was so busy last weekend I feel like I kind of needed the down time.

A post in which I do good work

I worked hard today. I was a very good boy. I caught up from yesterday, cleaned out my email, and cleaned out my in-box, which I am really bad about doing. I caught up le blog too. When it was time to go home, I thought about calling someone, but then thought that I really felt like just going home.

But I had stuff to do, and I had a little money. Although I spent my tax return already on trips, I had an "extra" check this month, and the bills are caught up, so I felt that I could do a little shopping. The hunt for the bathing suit needed to resume (*sigh*). The beach is only three weeks away. I went to Ross Dress for Less, my fave. I love that store. Although the clearance rack was a disappointment, I did find a bathing suit that would do. I'm not wild about it - it has this HUGE logo on one pocket: a) those big logos are really out; and b) I didn't really like them when they were in. But it is a Ralph Lauren, was a decent price, and was an acceptable color. (I have to have a medium shade to keep me from looking ridiculously white, and most men's suits are either weirdly colored or dark - who the hell wants a black bathing suit?) I'm not wild about it. I don't like it as well as my old one, but it will do.

Since I was already in there, I looked around a bit, and picked up some other things I've been meaning to buy but kept putting off. I got a new picture frame for my picture of BB that has needed a new frame for a long time. I bought a new kettle. The one I bought after Michael left is all rusting out around the whistler for some inexplicable reason. I also picked up some new guest pillows, and one new one for my bed. I was really embarrassed at the state of my guest pillows when Rhonda came to stay. I always try to get them in the pillow slips before anyone sees them. I picked up a pretty mug for Rhonda for a searcy.

By the time I got checked out, my dogs were barkin'. I'm getting impatient with this foot thing. I started home, but then decided that I needed to eat anyway, and I wanted to give Rhonda her mug, so I called her. She was free. I ran over there and took her to Red Lobster for supper. I'd had a gift card in my wallet to eat there since September of 2010. It was time to use it. We had a very nice meal and I enjoyed seeing her. She seemed genuinely tickled with her mug. I love getting her little surprises.

Afterwards, we went back to her place and visited for a while. I got to play with Keeba for a bit. Rhonda has the sweetest dog.

When I got home I cleaned the glass on my new picture frame for BB's pic, and put it in there. It was perfect. I'm so glad I got it. I then decided to try out one of my new pillows. I put it on the bed and lay down. It was hard as a brick. After about ten minutes, I decided this wouldn't do at all. I got up and took it off the bed. They'll have to go back.

To be Friday the 13th, though, it has been a surprisingly good day :)

A post in which I am fairly worthless*

For some reason, I just couldn't do it today. I got up and started getting ready for work, but in the midst of my routine, I just sat down on the sofa. Then I lay down. Then I pretty much didn't get up.

After lazing around all morning, I did have a buddy over for a bit, but that didn't make me feel any better, and certainly not any more energetic. I did finish washing the new glass I've had at the house and got it out for display, but I didn't do laundry or other things I really should have done around the house if I was going to be there.

I did the minimum. I did the cat chores. I kept the kitchen clean, fed myself, and did my dental hygiene. But that was about it.

I pretty much just spent the day caught in the internet vortex, not worth the buckshot to shoot. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just tired. I have to do better than this tomorrow.

A post in which I have dinner with the 'rents

I hadn't seen Dad and Eve in a couple of weeks, so I knew I had to go tonight, although by the end of the day I was feeling conspicuously charm-free. It wasn't that hard of a day, although I've had nine new clients dumped on my desk this week, but I just feel worn out and frazzled. I don't seem to have gotten my puff back from the weekend yet.

I went to the house though, and dutifully admired the new foxglove Eve had put out, and we went on to the Olive Garden. They had their new "passion for Parmesan" menu they had been advertising, and I was keen to try it. But when we looked it over, there was only one seafood dish in the new section, and it was shrimp with tails on (I've developed Billy's total distaste for shrimp dishes served with tails on). But they did have the fabulous new fried shrimp scampi they are serving (somewhere, an Italian chef is turning in his grave), so I had that with some pasta. I really wanted salad and bread anyway. Now that the port is out, I'm eating pretty much what I please. My arm hasn't bothered me much.

After a supper in which I was more quiet than usual (they didn't seem to notice) we went back to the house for a visit. Through dinner and on the way over, I'd felt unusually impatient with going tonight, but I did relax at the house and chat for a while before I took my leave. I stayed almost as late as usual, but did leave a little early, just because I feel so worn out. I feel a bit guilty because I've been pretty tired the last couple of times that I've been over there.

It worries me how frail they have both gotten. Dad finds it hard to walk at all, and Eve isn't much better. They're just in the sixties, but they act much older - particularly Dad. I hope that his hip surgery helps as much with his mobility as they expect. It would be good to see him getting around better again.

A post in which I go shopping

Eve sent me a text early this morning to put dinner off until tomorrow, which was fine with me. I had errands I needed run after being gone for four days, and the reprieve gave me a bit of breathing space.

I had shopping to do tonight. I was completely out of cat litter, which is a Defcon-1 level alert at my house. When I stopped at the shopping center though, I felt myself wandering in to Marshall's Home Store for really no good reason. I was half-way looking for some new underwear, in my continuing quest to upgrade my underwear to date level. I found one pair that fit my criteria that I would pay for. I also looked at the shoes, because I kind of need a new brown pair for work. Although they didn't have any in my size, they had a nice pair in Logan's size, so I picked them up for him.

Then I remembered - I have to buy a bathing suit. I have resisted it mightily; because I would pretty much rather eat dirt, but my old one just looks bad. I love it, but it's time. But men's swimsuits are just. Ugly. It's been a while since I even saw a pair I wanted to take my pants off to try on. Tonight was no exception, but I made myself take five to the dressing room. The ones I kind thought I might like were too small, and the ones that fit me were hideous. So the search will continued. I really need one before I go to the beach next month with the bears. I can't go looking all raggedy.

I looked around in Marshall's for a bit. There were several things I needed that I hadn't thought about until I got in there. Then I began to realize that my feet were hurting. The neuralgia I started getting in my feet during chemo is still a problem, and it was really bothering me tonight. I'm sure it was partially because I overdid it this weekend.

So I hobbled out of the store and over to the pet store for cat litter, and then to the car. Then I had to go to CVS. By the time I got home and got the car unloaded, I was ready to NOT move for a while. Then I realized I hadn't been to the grocery store. So after eating some supper and sitting down for a while, I had to get dressed again and go back out. When I got home I just got ready for bed and turned in.

A post in which we re-hash the trip

I returned to work, pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn't as behind as I thought I would be. I had done so much other stuff waiting for the things I needed for what had to be done last week that there was very little month end left to do.

I balanced my checkbook today, and found (pleasantly, and to my surprise) that my income tax return had already been deposited to my checking account. I also found (less pleasantly, and also to my surprise) that I have spent pretty much the whole thing. But I have the deposits down for two trips and paid them off with the refund, I have a little in my savings account, and I didn't spend nearly as much as I thought I would this past weekend, so things are OK, I just don't get any more treats (the two trips were my treat this year).

Billy invited Rhonda and me over for pizza tonight to chew over the trip. It was relaxed and laid back. We sat out on the porch, talked about the trip, and got each other's impressions of things that happened.

It wasn't a perfect event - I really wanted to be there to support Rhonda when she ran into Jaimie, and was there neither time. I would have liked to have been able to play (I *needs* me a whoopin'!). But I had a good time. The food thing was a hassle, but I didn't mind as much as I thought I would. I was surprised at how nice the people were overall.

A post in which it is time to go home

I woke up this morning and roused Rhonda as I was packing up. We went downstairs and had coffee and a smoke on the porch before going back to the room to finish up and find a bellman. I just wasn't going to repeat that torturous march to the car this morning as everyone was trying to leave.

We called and were told that it would be half hour for a luggage cart, but after forty minutes, there was no sign of anyone. Billy came down to the room and chatted with us for a bit while the boys worked on loading their car. I found out that Rhonda played last night (!!), which was GREAT for her. She hasn't played in forever, and it's really good for her to overcome her incredible reticence and get back out there.

Eventually, Petal and Marty showed up, sent a text, and showed up with a bellman in tow. He was a very nice guy, and we eventually got everything downstairs and loaded up. There was some discussion about waiting around to see what everyone was going to do, but we were both ready to go home, and the thoughts of herding 3-4 cars around Atlanta and trying to coordinate everyone just made me tired. We got on the highway and pointed North.

As soon as we escaped the city limits of Atlanta, we stopped for some brekkie. I had intended to stop at Cracker Barrel, but there were 7,000,000 people with the same idea. As I headed back towards the highway, Rhonda pointed out a Waffle House, and said "Why don't we just stop there?" Well I was hungry, and we did. That was the best grub meal I have ever had at a Waffle House. The hash browns (their big claim to fame) have always fallen a little short for me, but today they were perfect and delicious. Even our waitress was nice. I stopped on the way out to tell them how exemplary the food was, and to give the waitress a good tip.

I did pull off in Commerce, GA to make a run through a pretty nice antique store there, but it was closed for Easter. I did stop again in Lavonia at the store we stopped at on the way in. All in all, I hadn't spent that much money this weekend. I rewarded myself with the Cameo juice pitcher I had admired on the way in.

Cameo 56oz. juice pitcher in green by Anchor Hocking circa 1930-1934

We finished the drive, I dropped Rhonda off, and went home sleepily to unload the car and lie down for a nap. I woke two hours later hungry and sent a text to the boys, but they were on the way home from Billy's sister's house after Easter dinner. I can't believe the schedule they keep. But it was OK. I didn't really feel much like going back out anyway. I ate a small supper, and made the leftover eggs into egg salad for lunch tomorrow. I put all the clothes in the washer. The week starts all over tomorrow.

A post in which it is another Frolicon day*

I woke this morning to a text from Scott. He was on his way in, and wanted to see me. And lucky me.

I got up and performed my ablutions with a light heart. Marty and Petal sent a text that they were on the way up as well. So I breakfasted in a room filled with happy chatter and good spirits. I finished up and Marty was just leaving as Scott came in. He was on a break and came up for a little canoodle. Lovely way to start the day. I've never been one to pluck an ingenue, but his energy is incredibly sweet. He is totally open, gets an expression of such surprise on his face, as if he can't believe what he's doing, even as he's doing it. It's pretty amazing. And delicious. Like ice cream. It's hard to describe.

By the time all this was over I had missed most of the morning classes. I wandered downstairs, having been told by Russ that Big Red was in residence and looking for me. I saw her at the coffee bar, looking gorgeous as always, and accompanied by Myz Shea and Jaimie. I went over to greet her properly and fill her in on my condition. I was talking to Myz Shea also, knowing that Jaimie would want to know what was going on, and that she could overhear, yet not directly engaging her. While I was talking to Myz Shea, Dillan came up and started to play with her behind. "Someone's playing with my ass! Who is it?" Myz Shea delightedly queried. "Now that's a Frolicon question." I replied. As Jaimie eagerly agreed, she started to go into 'buddy mode'. It felt weird, and wrong, and made me a little bit angry. I excused myself and moved on. There was a little, tiny part of myself, of which I am not proud, that took a bit of satisfaction in thinking that Jaimie's feelings may have been a little hurt. I'm not proud of it, but I felt it.

I moseyed back upstairs in hopes of getting my boots blacked. I was wearing my favorite pair of sadly abused boots and they were in need of some love. When I got up there I was distracted by the vendor area, and went in to have a look 'round. I ran into Archer, and gave him a hug. I also bought a shirt from him on superdiscountmarkdown for $4 (!!). Anything even slightly kink related is usually ridiculously expensive at any kind of event (I shudder to think the rents they have to pay to sell at these things), so it was a major bargain.

When I made it back to the boot-blacking station, it was manned - joy! Consort Michael was on duty, and immediately claimed the job of doing my boots. But there was a line. Eventually he got free, then took a potty break, then a smoke break, then realized he was out of time. With much ceremony he turned me over to Andy to have my boots blacked. Andy is a former titleholder and mentored Michael, as well as a helluva boi, so I was in good hands. Andy gently tut-tutted when he saw the state of my poor boots and got to work putting them to rights. They looked worlds better when he got done, but I'm having to face the fact that they aren't going to last forever. I'm wondering if I can get them re-soled.

By the time that was done it was almost time for a class I wanted to go to on tea service. The woman that taught the class was very nice, and her husband was gor-JUS! - whew. But although I did pick up a fact or two I didn't know, I thought the class was going to be on formal tea service, and the first thing she told us was that it was not. Sigh. But the class was very popular, which is encouraging to me.

When I got out of class I went back to the room to lie down for a bit. I'd been waiting for Scott to get off work all day, and he finally did. He came up to see me for a bit, but then he wanted to go see some of the con. I couldn't blame him.

I went down to the atrium, watched a bit of Logan's dance party, and waited for Rhonda to get out of her class. I got a text from Rob and Jo Ann that they were going to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, so in due course I collected Rhonda and we headed over there. I was delighted to see that James was accompanied by the comely and charming Molly - I had heard that she wasn't around any longer. They had also picked up a charming young woman who had come all the way from London (!!) to go to the con.

I have to confess here that I've been pretty rough on James. He's a good looking guy, but he's very aware of that, and his cockiness at times crosses the fine line into assholism. But I have an issue with straight guys, particularly those of the muy macho variety. But he has been conspicuously charming (especially for him) to me this weekend, despite (I suspect) pretty good reason not to, and we connected today while chatting in the boot black line in a surprising moment of mutual comprehension.

It was a good thing that the company was charming. We waited about 45 minutes for a table, and then two hours (!!) for food. I finally called the waitress over and asked that my entree be cancelled. I'd had salad and an appetizer, and had waited so long I was no longer hungry. Plus, tonight was THE night of the con and I wanted to see some of it, and I had been waiting for Scott to get off work all day. As it turned out, I saved myself very little time. It took me so long to get paid out that the gang had been served and had mostly finished eating by the time I finally was able to leave.

I got back to the room, changed, and went back down. By that time the party was in full swing. There were people in all kinds of costumes, some naked, some in rope harness, and several furries roaming around. It was quite a kerfuffle.

I managed to catch up with most of the gang, in the atrium again, watching bad karaoke. There was one woman who was pretty good, but most of them were pretty awful. They were trying to rally everyone for a scene with Daniel, a friend of ours. He's very cute, and is going to demo for a saline injection class, but hadn't done it. Jo Ann and Russ were going to do a saline injection on his scrotum in the dungeon. Needles aren't my thing, but since I couldn't play I wanted to at least see it.

Eventually, everyone got changes and ready for the scene - it was quite a production with the crowds and all the gear. We went into the dungeon, and they started the scene, but the attention was promptly stolen. There was one guy at the con who stood out for sheer cuteness and he was in the dungeon in a wrestling singlet. Man, did he look HOT. He had a cute friend with him who was interested in Logan, but the friend was a very ardent foot fetishist. He wanted to mess with Logan's feet, and Logan is very self-conscious about his feet. Eventually, a small scene was negotiated, and the guy took his shirt off. His body was gorgeous. I usually don't like hairless guys, but his chest and abs looked like carved ivory, and he had reddish blond hair, which really does it for me. He also had light eyelashes, which I love. But his looks were the least of it. He was so incredibly into what Logan was doing that he was just throwing energy off! Within about 5 minutes, he was flying and so was everyone watching the scene. It was incredibly sexy.

Russ and Jo Ann finished up the saline injection on Daniel, much to his delight, and he went off to show his enlarged scrotum to people.

I was pretty wiped out. It had been a long and good day. I said goodnight and headed back to the room for a snack before bed. Just as I got back to the room (after a blessedly short wait for the elevator) the fire alarm went off. I really had no idea what to do. I was flashing on the fire at the Cocoanut Grove. I was thinking there was no way to get all those people out of the hotel. A voice came on over the intercom, and asked us to stay where we were while they checked out the alarm. After periodic bursts from the alarm system for the next half hour, they eventually told us that everything was OK. I turned in gratefully.

A post in which it is the first full day of Frolicon*

Rhonda and I awoke this morning fairly late (for me anyway). Rhonda had an aggressive agenda of classes she wanted to attend, and apparently had already missed one. We got cleaned up, breakfasted, and went downstairs to start the day.

The first class I went to was one on pony play. It is something I am curious about. My very first scene I did I went into draft horse headspace. At the time, I thought it was exceedingly odd. I didn't even know there was such a thing as pony play at the time. Then I read Carrie's Story, which opened up a whole new world for me. The presenters were a pair who were vastly experienced, having won many ribbons and competitions. They did a good "101" type presentation. The trainer was an older guy who was very hot. He had on really great boots too. His ponygirl was doing a lot of the talking, and she was informative, but was really focusing more on mechanics and possibilities for scenes than on the mental side of it, which was my interest. They closed the class with her in pony gear, and some guys took the reins and put her through some steps. It was interesting, but really I wanted less to see reins than to know what they felt like, and how to access that space. But then headspace is very personal. It would be almost impossible to address that in a class, but it would have made a good topic for discussion.

The next class I went to was on switching. Switching refers to someone who can play either a dominant or submissive role depending on the situation. There is a certain stigma in the community towards switches, as there is in the gay community towards bi-sexuals. I was hoping for a discussion on that in the class, but it was geared more towards multi-level poly households where there were submissives with people in service to them, etc. Interesting, but really not relevant to me at all.

The interesting thing about the class was that it was taught by a woman with a big rep in the community, CG. Now CG and I have met before. She knows Russ and Billy very well, and we celebrated her birthday with her last year. At the time, I was very drawn to her, as I am to dominant women. Her energy was very compelling to me. But she is a lesbian, and had two bois in service to her, and generally just keeps her schedule loaded. I didn't figure she was interested in me at all, but I enjoyed talking to her on the way to dinner and back. I love to play between the lioness's paws. She didn't deign to move her paws for me, but she did twitch the tip of her tail and watch me chase it for a while for her amusement. I very much enjoyed just that interaction. CG is a very experienced player.

When I related this anecdote today in class, she said "We should really talk after class. I was maintaining a respectful distance." I had that delicious frisson down my spine that I get when a Domme checks me out. That lovely eek/yay feeling. Unfortunately I can't play this weekend because of the blood thinners. Dammit. And about that time I got a text from Russ that they were going to lunch. I was torn, but ended up ducking out of class early and hotfooting it across the street to Ruby Tuesday's, the only restaurant around the hotel. Russ, Logan and I had a spot of lunch and talked about the morning.

When we got back to the hotel, I went to my room to rest for a while, and they went to prepare for the all-male play party. This was the only all male event this weekend. I wanted to go, but I was torn. Russ called me to tell me there were about 15 guys there - the most they have had (this is a primarily hetero event). I decided I wasn't going to rest anyway, and went downstairs to check it out. Pickings were pretty slim. The two guys from last night were there (and as hot as ever), but seemed really into each other. There was one cute guy doing a scene with multiple tops (lucky him) and it was hot to watch, but frankly, I was horny.

I talked to Russ, Billy and Logan, and then noticed our friend Jeff there. Now Jeff is incindiarily hot. I've admired him for years, but he's het and has a girl that he plays with. He's a very talented rope top, and does elaborate Kinbaku scenes. I've always wanted him to tie me up, but didn't want to be the 'creepy gay guy' because I kind of letch over him. He has this great laid-back-but-in-charge Daddy energy that is just hot, even if he wasn't a really great-looking guy. I talked to him for a bit, but was kind of getting mixed signals from him. It's awkward for me this weekend too because I can't play, so I don't have much to offer in the dungeon. Eventually I just kind of moved off. I wasn't sure what he wanted, and was afraid I didn't have it to offer right now.

There was another really cute guy there in a Superman t-shirt, but he was making out with another guy. The other guy frankly wasn't nearly as good-looking as Superguy was, and I was pretty surprised to see them together. They broke clench though, and I started to notice Superguy giving me the eye. Eventually, I just thought why the hell not? and walked over and started mackin' on him. He didn't seem to mind, and one thing let to another. His name is Scott. We ended up having a nice visit. I was glad that I went down to the play party.

Afterwards, he moved on (he's volunteering at the event), and I had some dinner, changed, and went back downstairs. I met up with the guys and we hung out for a while. Jo Ann and Rob were ensconced in the karaoke atrium. It was actually fairly painful. I have a really hard time watching bad karaoke; and let's face it, most of it is pretty heinous. Jo Ann kept encouraging me to go up there, and of course I can't. My singing voice is gone, probably for good.

There was a line to get into the dungeon. I milled around for a while and talked to some people, but eventually decided to turn in. It has been a long and good day, but I was wiped.