A post in which it is Easter

I was up to get ready with Mom today.  We didn't have to hurry, but there was a lot to be done.  She was going to church, and since I was not going, I had been elected to take the lunch to Lisa's. 

Mom went off to hold a seat for Lisa (who was of course running late), and I got cleaned up and started packing the car.  Cole was working today, so we were holding lunch until he got home at 2:30.  That meant I was leaving from Lisa's house to head home.  Since I had to pack all my stuff, all the stuff Mom was sending home with me, and the lunch, I had put a list together to be sure I didn't forget anything. 

I got to Lisa's house without incident today, and got everything in and put away.  It wasn't long before they were home from church.  Lisa and Ava were ravenous because they hadn't had time for breakfast this morning, so I put together a tray of nibbles from stuff Mom had made while they changed. 

I had brought some movies that I thought Ava would enjoy, and one of them was a copy of Xanadu.  I

knew that Lisa had loved this movie as a child and thought Ava might too.  I hadn't realized how excited Lisa would be though.  I think part of it was that she had given up coffee for Lent, and had started back with a vengeance today - she was pretty hyped-up.  Ava, though initially enthusiastic, wasn't as excited as Lisa was when it actually got going.  The music numbers are entertaining (in a train wreck kind of way) but the movie itself is pretty awful.

After a while we put the casserole in the oven, and when Cole came in, Mama started making the moves to get lunch on the table.  Despite the list, one of the bags I had gotten out of the freezer was wrong, so we only had one bag of broccoli, but that was OK.  Lisa seemed to be pleased with the pasta salad, but Mom and I weren't much on it.  Still, Lisa packed me some to take home.  I figured I could doctor it up.

After lunch, we adjourned to the living room for a visit.  Cole had brought strawberries, cake, and whipped cream home for dessert. Eventually, Mom cut up and sugared the berries, but they needed time to sit, and I had already stayed later than I intended.  Ava had made a cake at the birthday party the day before, though, and I couldn't get away without eating a piece of it.  The cake itself really wasn't bad at all, but the icing was a deep and unnatural shade of teal blue; plus she had encrusted it with candies and colored marshmallows.  After eating a small piece, I bade my goodbyes.

There had been an accident on highway 26, of course, since it was raining by now.  I took a roundabout way out through the country to get around it, but I ran out of the rain and actually made pretty good time on the way home.

When I got in, there was plenty to do.  I unloaded the car and put a load of laundry in.  Then I started doing chores to get ready for the week.  There were the dishes I had left on Friday (no water), a three-day cat box to clean (yuck), and what with one thing and another I ended up spending the rest of the evening doing chores and trying to get ready for work in the morning.

By the time I was able to get in bed, I was ready to be there.

A post in which it is a nice Saturday with Mom

We woke up to a beautiful day.  I slept well (thanks to pills), and when I got up Mom was already up.  We were going to the flea market today, but decided to go to breakfast first.  Mama loves to go out to breakfast, but doesn't really have anyone to go with these days.  We went to Lizard's Thicket (one of her favorite places to go - they do have good food) and had a nice breakfast.  There was a bit of a problem getting coffee, but their coffee is really excellent. 

Thus fortified, we set off to the Barnyard Flea Market.  I have had good luck there in the past, but we had taken our time this morning, and it was pretty much too late for any glass.  I went as much for the walk as anything, but you never know what you'll find.  There was a woman out this morning selling beautiful little dish gardens in fancy glass containers.  We walked the whole thing without seeing much (although I did get a Christmas idea for Russ...), and were headed out to the car when I noticed a booth I hadn't paid much attention to earlier.  There was a woman out with a whole collection of her old Sunday-go-to-meeting hats!  I stopped to take a closer look and saw one that would be perfect for the Hat Party; after winning Most Flawless twice, I have decided to take a hiatus from competition.   The woman was very nice, and let me try the hat on.  She and Mom agreed that it looked good on me.  She was funny.  I figured she just wanted to sell the hat, but as I was leaving, she said "Hey!"  When I turned around, she said "You look good."   I got a big kick out of it.

We decided to go on to the #1 Flea Market while we were out that way anyway.  I thought we were not going to be able to get near the place!  After a long period of unseasonable cold, it was pretty today, and apparently everyone wanted to get out and go to the flea market.  Despite the lateness of the hour, there was a long line of cars to get in.  We made it in though, and walked around.  I have to say that despite the number of shoppers, there wasn't much on offer.  I found a nice denim jacket, but the guy wanted way too much for it.  We left without buying anything, which is really unusual for us.

By the time we got back to the house, we were both pretty wiped.  Since I'm post-chemo, Mom and I wear down at pretty much the same pace.  We had a little smackerel of something and took a nap.  We took it easy this afternoon.  We chatted and played on our computers after we woke up.  Eventually, we decided to go get some supper.  We ended up going for Japanese.  Mom likes teppanyaki, and we went to a Japanese steak house to get some.  Sometimes the chefs can be a bit much at these places - the ones around us were distractingly loud and rather abrasive, but the guy we had was just starting at the restaurant, and was nice (despite, or perhaps because of, being a white dude).  We had a good meal.  We were at a 'compiled' table of couples that just walked in, but seated next to a police officer and his wife.  They were nice.  It was very pleasant.

After dinner, we headed back to her place to make Easter dinner.  Mom was making a chicken casserole, and I had volunteered to make a pasta salad.  I had cooked the noodles earlier, so it went together pretty quickly.  I made it with a vinaigrette dressing, since Lisa has developed a pathological aversion to mayonnaise, which she has instilled in the children.  Whatever. 

It had turned off warm today, which pointed out the other thing I forgot to pack - shorts.  Eventually tonight I just made pasta salad in my boxers. 

We finished up cooking in pretty decent time, and went on to bed.  It had been a good day.

A post in which I head to Mama's*

I was up too early this morning.  Of course since I could sleep in, I was up on the dot of 6am.  I played around on the computer and on my phone for a while.  I didn't feel like getting up.  Eventually, my old friend John came over to see me for a bit.  He is a really nice guy, and we're both getting older and moving on with our lives.  After the main event, we talked about our families (his kids, my nephew) and stuff like that.  It's interesting to get to know him in a different way.

I futzed around and made some breakfast after he left.  I made a lovely scramble with swiss cheese, fresh tomatoes, and basil, which I ate with garlic toast.  I figured there was no point in dieting before I went to Mom's - she'll feed me the whole time I'm there.

After breakfast, I felt dozy, so I took a little nap.  I needed the sleep, and there was no hurry for me to get down there today.  When I woke up, I went to the bathroom, as you do, but when I flushed the toilet, there was no noise.  The water was off!!  I called the water company, who told me that there was work going on, and that the water would be off for four hours!! On Good Fiday.  There I sat, hair standing straight up, clothes stuck to me, teeth un-brushed, and dishes un-washed.  I was PISSED.  And the supervisor at the water company was too much of a wuss to even get on the phone and let me tell him off.  I sent an ugly email, and then called Mom.

She of course told me to just come on and shower there.  I brushed my teeth with bottled water, packed my clothes (thank goodness I had washed my pants last night), and cleaned the cat box into the trash.  After making liberal use of hand sanitizer and jamming a cap on my head, I headed for Columbia, feeling discombobulated and unkempt.

Mom was keeping Ava for the day, and when I got there I got the big welcome.  She's such a cute little thing.  I got cleaned up and we went out for Mexican at Casa Linda, which was just as good as I remembered.  Afterwards we went to Target to pick up a birthday present for Ava (who was going to a birthday party the next day) and a belt for me (I forgot it when I was packing).  After paying 26 freakin dollars for a belt, we headed back to Mom's place. 

They had church tonight (I had opted out), so I took them out to the church in Chapin, and dropped them off, then headed on to Lisa's house.  I took a wrong turn, and the GPS took me on a scenic tour of Chapin.  By the time I got to the house, there was little time to do much but look up the address of the place for dinner, and head out to meet them.  This time the GPS decided to take me on a scenic detour of it's own, and by the time I got to the restaurant they were already there (along with approximately half of the population of Chapin, SC).  We ate a Vella's tonight, and it was fine.  Nothing was burnt, and out waitress was nice. 

Cole is well-known in the town, and there were a bunch of kids from his school there.  He was completely oblivious to the attempts of girls to flirt/throw themselves at him.  It bothers me that his self-esteem is so bad that he doesn't think they could possibly be interested in him.  I wonder how much of his continued apparent disinterest in girls has to do with Lisa's tumultuous love-life, of which he has been a close-up witness and survivor. 

Ava's little friend Paris joined us for dinner.  She is a quiet and well-behaved child, who shone by comparison with Ava, who was pretty wild.  Paris is older too, I guess, which helps.  Neither one of them ate much, but then they're at that age.  Ava had astounded us today by eating most of her lunch with SALT talks or bribery. 

After supper we sent them on.  Lisa and the girls to their place for a sleep-over, and Cole high-tailing it to the hills to avoid the sleep-over. Can't really say that I blame him.

After dinner, Mom and I just headed back to her place.  We visited for a while, but I was wiped, and we had a big day planned for tomorrow.  I went on to bed after we checked the weather.

A post in which I get ready to go

Today was about wrapping things up.  I got my adjustments in, but didn't get them back.  Fine.  No one is going to run off a cliff if those aren't in for month end.  I left the office looking forward to getting away for a while.

I went home and washed my camo pants to take to Columbia.  They're the only ones that are comfy now, and since I tore the hip out of my khaki painter's pants I've been wearing the ^%$##@!! out of them.

I didn't feel like packing tonight, so I didn't.  I can do that tomorrow.  I virtuously ate a spinach salad (the spinach needed to be used up), but then messed that up by having garlic bread with it (I had bought it for dinner last Suday and then forgotten to cook it) and finishing up the chemo cookies.

I futzed around and stayed up too late, but didn't really do much.  It's just nice to get away for a while.

A post in which I have a pleasant date*

Just as I was despairing over the state of my personal life, I had an unexpectedly nice evening. 

I had seen a new guy, Jeffrey, once before, and he was nice but had unfortunate breath.  He had said something about going out again though, and I was amenable.  Tonight was the night that we had agreed upon, but I hadn't heard from him.

I finally initiated a series of text messages today to find out what the deal was.  Initially, he seemed very indecisive and unenthusiastic, but then the tone changed and it actually seemed like he wanted to go.  Men. 

So I invited him over and jumped in the shower.

We went to Kannika's Thai Kitchen because he hadn't been there. He hasn't been here that long, and I told

him I would show him around to some of the better restaurants.  He misses some of the places he went in the Midwest.  Jeffrey is easy to talk to, and a nice guy.  I really enjoyed spending some time with him, and we have similar interests. The food was excellent, and we had a really great meal, culminating in him introducing me to Thai pumpkin custard.  I would never have ordered that, but it was gorgeously delicious.  He even paid for dinner (!).

He came back to the house and visited for a while, but I had to make him go.  Tomorrow is my Friday, but it's still a school night.

A post in which I get the night off

When I hadn't heard from Eve by 10:30am about dinner, I knew something was off.  I was right.  It turns out Dad is sick, and they cancelled dinner tonight.  I do try to see my dad every week, and I usually enjoy it, but it did feel kind of like a snow day to have the evening unexpectedly free.

Today the Supreme Court was reviewing Prop 8.  On the one hand, it's exciting times to be in.  Facebook was full of red HRC signs, and people posting pics of them in the red shirts and stuff.  On the other hand, it's like Valentine's Day all over again, in a way.

The court is widely expected to issue a narrow ruling that applies only to California, unsurprisingly, since they are reportedly now concerned with being seen as 'activist judges' - too freakin' late after they gave the election to GW Bush in 2000, and then gave the country to the corporations in Citizens United (easily one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in my lifetime - unbelievably even WORSE than Bush v. Gore).  NOW you're going to worry about being activists?? Really?  On the other side of the argument, I have read that Justice Anthony Kennedy seems to be concerned about Bowers v. Hardwick, and the effect of such a bad decision on Justice Lewis Powell's legacy.  He reportedly may be concerned about being on the wrong side of history, given that recent polls show growing support for gay marriage.  So the motivation might be as much vanity as anything else, but whatever it takes right?  But the expectation is that the court will duck and cover, and that all this kerfufflel will result in little - which would fit right in with the way the entire government works these days.  

I've been so out of sorts lately, I posted a pity party earlier in the day.  The only person that commented on it at all was Brian, who wanted to go at me for writing anything about black people.  Apparently he feels that being black trumps any research ever done about black people and their societal trends; and that his personal belief in something about black people makes it so.  I wasn't buying it, and told him so.  We have a black president now.  I no longer accept the race card. 

But of course it did upset me.  I am always upset by discord.  When I was younger, I used to throw up after my roommate and I argued, which he thought I did just to manipulate him. 

Getting out all that relationship (or lack thereof) frustration though, did make me feel a bit better.  It was kind of like lancing a boil.  Sometimes I have to write this stuff to get it out of my head.

I talked to Lisa today, and tried to strategize the incredibly complex mechanics of getting her and the kids to Asheville to see Angela the weekend of the 6th, and to see Grandma Shumate sometime soon.  I told her I would go - I haven't seen Grandma since her birthday last October.

After work I went by Aldi to pick up a few things, but they let me down today.  They had only one thing on my list, and I wasn't going to wait in line just for that.  So I went across the street to Publix.  I wandered through the aisles, basically just luxuriating in the extra time.  I found several things I have needed to buy and kept forgetting, like a fresh battery for the dog-zapper (that bitch next door's dogs have gone into overdrive on the barking, I guess because it's spring, although goodness knows it doesn't feel like it *brrr*).  I emerged $50 later, triumphant, and headed to the house. 

I ate left-over pizza for dinner, and thought about playing with some of that pizza dough from Publix that you can buy in the deli, as opposed to buying the pre-made crusts.  I need to look into the costs of that.  I figured up that I paid about $7.50 each for the pizzas I made.  That seems not so great when you compare it to Little Caesar's $5 'hot-n-now' deal, but when you consider that I made spinach and feta pizzas with fresh spinach and all the toppings I wanted, not so bad.  The spinach and feta pizza at Paisano's down the road (which is admittedly excellent) is $15 for one.  I will be so glad when I pull out of this little financial slump, and don't have to worry so much about what everything costs again.

I messed around online until bedtime.  It was a fairly uneventful evening.

A post in which I will be a whiny sh*t

You have been warned.  I try to avoid whiny bullshit and pity parties, but I'm having one today.

It's in all over the blogosphere about the Supreme Court review of Prop 8 today.  I do think it's great that this completely unfair and discriminatory statute is up for review of course.  It should never have been on the ballot to start with, and should never have passed.  I don't think it would have, but it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Obama's election brought out much larger than usual numbers of African American voters (statistically, African American men {in general, I'm speaking in generalities here, so put down the tar and feathers} are some of the most prejudiced people, paradoxically), plus the Mormon church worked tirelessly, and dumped millions and millions of dollars into getting it passed (they have since changed their official position). 

Of course I'm very happy that some of my friends may be able to get married in my lifetime.  I know many couples who have been together for a long time who are WAY overdue for some official recognition.

But.

None of this changes the fact that I won't have to worry about any of this for the foreseeable future.  Apparently I couldn't get married with a dick the size of a telephone pole and a house made of money.

Let's re-cap:

Gavin - who dumped me by email, on his freakin' lunch hour, on a Thursday.
Jason - who just disappeared, apparently never to be heard from again.
Steve - who was never really a relationship prospect, but still made it clear that I'm not even on his first tier of tricks.
Larry - no word from him in a couple of weeks, not that I'm really over-the-moon about him, but he's nice, and is the first guy who has shown any interest in dating me in months.
Erick - disappeared, no word from him in weeks.
Travis - last night I heard from Travis, who wants to get together again.  Apparently he is in need of a stunt dick.  Travis is dumb as a box o' rocks (although sweet-natured, gorgeous, and talented), and still doesn't see me as a potential partner.

And then there is Josh.  Josh just really brought all this to the fore on the 16th. 

Josh is someone that I felt a special energy with.  I hadn't pursued him because he lived in Tennessee.  Then he moved here.  We met to his great enthusiasm and had a fantastic time.  But he told me that he 'needed some time to deal with his issues'.  I backed off to give him his time.  I sent him an email occasionally, which he ignored. 

He posted a triumphant picture on Facebook on the 16th of him with his new ecstatic love.  Well bully for fucking him.  I guess he had enough fucking time. 

I didn't email him, although I was tempted to.  It wouldn't do any good.  It would just show my bitterness.  It would give him justification for treating me like a piece of garbage.  So once again, I am choosing to be the bigger person, and taking the high road, of which I am heartily sick. 

It seems like everyone in the world is paired up.  It's like a huge gym class of life, and no one wants me on their team.  There I metaphorically stand, in awkward and un-flattering gym clothes, un-chosen.

Maybe I am fucking bitter.  Maybe I'm just too picky.  Maybe it's just not destined to happen for me.  I know it doesn't happen for everyone, and I may just be one of those people.  I've tried to be OK with that.  I'm really trying to accept and embrace it.  But it's hard.  I know that I should be grateful just to be alive.  Not so long ago there was no guarantee that I would even be here.

I actually started thinking about that last night, and had a bit of survivor guilt.  There are many more important people than me who haven't survived cancer.  People with important jobs, families, children they needed to raise.  Why was I spared when they were not?  And what am I doing with that blessing?  Precious little would be the answer.

And if it's just luck of the draw, then what's the point?  Yeah it's a big ole pity party today.  Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I think I'll go eat worms.

A post in which I make pizza*

It was pretty freakin' quiet at work today.  Alan is in Canada, and since I broke my ass trying to get everything done before he left, I have a relatively quiet week ahead.  I did find out that he'll be in on Thursday, but I have decided not to do any more write-offs this month.  They can wait.  It's not quarter-end (when it really counts) and all paperwork was supposed to be turned in by the 27th to be processed, and Thursday is the 28th.

I heard from Steve, a guy who comes to see me every so often.  It kind of came out today (he didn't just say this) that I am pretty low on his list.  I think he comes to see me when he can't get anyone else.  I got this because I made the comment today: "You know, I'm here all the time.  You're like a patient who never shows up until he has to go to the emergency room."  Queue embarrassed silence here. 

I shrugged it off and washed the comforter.  I have been meaning to try this ever since I got the new washer and drier, but have been putting it off.  I actually paid to have it laundered after I had the house re-wired.  I was a bit worried, but I needn't have been.  The new washer and drier handled it without a hiccup.

I made pizza for supper. I still had a crust left, and all the toppings from last week.  It turned out great.  I think next time I'm going to try some of the pizza dough they make at Publix.  You can buy it in the bakery, and I'm sure it's yeast dough they've already mixed and that has gone through the first rise.  I bet that would be better, and it may even be cheaper.

I watched telly and chatted online tonight after supper.  I found a great new t-shirt website www.shirtwoot.com, and spent some time there browsing.  They have some pretty great stuff, and it looks like a good place to shop for Logan and/or Billy presents.

Speaking of which.  I ran into Jo Ann online tonight.  As I suspected, she thought I was going to Frolicon this weekend, and was pretty crushed that I wasn't.  We chatted a bit about that, and segued into RBL's visit down there recently.  I asked her if Russ seemed 'off' to her, and she immediately said that he had.  We are both worried about him.  I told her if she could work it out, to try to carve out a little time to spend with just the two of them.  She is one of the few people that he trusts.  It  might help. 

There wasn't a new Drag Race tonight, so no chatting with Jake.  I just went on to bed.

A post in which I am strangely out-of-sorts

I had a pretty busy day planned for today. 

I had set up the time for supper tonight before I left the boys' place last night.

I got up and made a lovely breakfast for myself: an omelet with shaved onions and mushrooms sauteed with fresh spinach, finished with swiss cheese.  A spinach and swiss cheese omelet is one of my favorite breakfasts.

Then I changed and washed the sheets, and got cleaned up.  I went to Aldi to get the things to finish up dinner tonight.  I bought Easter candy for Rhonda and Tony while I was there.

When I got home I planned everything out to take with me, moved a load of towels to the drier, and did two pieces of mending that had been waiting for months to be done.  I reflected that if I stopped chasing boys, I could rule the world.

Then I packed up the car and went to get Rhonda - who was late to her place because she had been out car-shopping with Tony and getting abused by him for doing it.  He seems to blame her for his financial issues, and gets angry at her when she tries to advise him. 

While I was waiting for Rhonda to finish getting ready, I called and talked to Mom about next weekend.  She's so excited, and has already started fussing about me coming.  I asked her not to, but she is already laying in tons of food for a two-day visit.  It's sweet that she loves me so much, but I wish she wouldn't put herself through such a flurry of preparation. 

We got to the boys' place right on time for Russ to leave.  I started in doing prep work for supper.  Although I had been looking forward to this all week, I was strangely out of sorts.  I started off by snapping at Logan for no good reason.  I have no idea why. 

But I managed to get myself to myself, and did an impromptu class for Logan and Rhonda on how to do a dump cake.  That was an eye-opener.  Logan fools around in the kitchen and doesn't take things seriously.  He also asks astounding questions for someone as smart as I know he is.  At one point, he and Rhonda were fooling around while he held a scalding-hot pot of fruit in one hand.  He then set the hot pan directly on the bar (fortunately it had cooled enough by that point not to damage the bar).  At another point, he and Rhonda were fooling around with a sharp knife.  You just don't do that.  Another time, I asked him to help by making salads.  I had already washed the lettuce.  He asked me "How do you make salad?"  When I finally realized he was serious, I just said "You rip up the lettuce and put it in bowls."  I have to put this through the filter of my own free-floating annoyance, but wow. 

Eventually Russ got back and I finished up supper.  The recipe I have is excellent, but this was the most I have ever made at one time.  My sauce didn't turn out to suit me, and I didn't make enough grits.  I was holding my tongue, but my bad mood couldn't help but put a pall on the meal. 

The boys cleaned up the kitchen, and we settled in for games.  Apparently at this point, there has to be a focus to keep everyone in the same room.  You can't just hang out or watch TV.  So we played.  Dessert turned out to be surprisingly good, and the evening ended on an up note.  But like many things in life, you build it up in your mind, and then find that it doesn't meet your expectations.  Still, it was a nice evening, and I'm glad I got to cook for them.  I wish my own contrariness hadn't affected that. 

A post in which I get some things done

It wasn't a lovely Saturday.  It was cold and overcast.  It would have been a great day to stay in, and I did stay in for most of the morning.  I ate my left-overs from dinner last night for breakfast (hush puppies are surprisingly good for breakfast - who knew?) and laid around the house.  I had a bad case of the 'don't-give-a-damns'.  I had brought home boxes on Friday, in the hopes that having the boxes in the house would motivate me to do some much-needed clearing out, but no dice. 

Eventually, though, I shamed myself into action.

I did some laundry.  I went to the grocery store and picked up a couple of fill-in items.  I didn't really need to go, but I did need to get motivated to get cleaned up and get out of the house for a bit.  I went to Petsmart for cat litter, which was the main focus of getting out.  I was completely out, and the situation needed to be seen to.  I came home and watched The Lorax while I ate lunch. 

RBL had a game night tonight.  Jake, Rhonda, and Brian came.  I stopped on the way to get something to drink, because RBL never have anything but diet soda.  When I got there though, it turns out that there was pretty much nothing to drink, and everyone kind of sucked down the 2-liter bottle I brought in with me.  For some reason, I found this disproportionately annoying.  I have no idea why.

Brian had gotten an iPad.  Jake brought his with him, and Billy (of course) already had one.  So they were all playing some game on iPads.  I was pretty annoyed.  There wasn't really any talk going on that didn't involve the iPads, and they were playing games together that they could have been playing across town from each other.  There didn't seem to be much point in getting together for this.

I got Russ out onto the porch to try to talk to him.  As I suspected, he is unhappy.  I feel so bad for him.  As it happened, just as he started to talk about it, dinner got there, and we finished up and went inside to eat.  When we went in to fix plates, they were all sitting at the table, playing with the fucking iPads while they ate.  Yes, I found that seriously annoying and rude at the same time, but this seems to be acceptable now.  In a causal setting, people in the same fucking room now apparently text and show other people things on their phones.  I ate my pizza and grumped to myself.  I've been vocal enough about this by this point that I feel that I'm going to make myself unwelcome if I say anything more about it. 

Eventually they put the pads away and we played a game or two.  Rhonda had arrived by that time.  It was a nice enough evening.  It was good to spend some time with the guys.  I wish I could have gotten a little more one-on-one time with Russ.  I need to set up something for just the two of us to do together.  I think he needs an outlet. 

A post in which I go to see Dana

Work was frustrating.  I had planned a fairly easy day, having completed some complicated Canadian paperwork, and thinking that I had finished a complicated settlement I've been working on.  The attorney representing the debtor, though, proved to be more of a bastard than I thought and insisted on yet another ridiculous condition before they would pay the very discounted settlement.  I had to pass that to California for execution, which means it's on my follow-up list for the foreseeable future. 

I also got notice today that there are additional complications in trying to post about $200.  I've been trying to get this posted since mid-January.

- I sent up the checks for deposit.
-  After a couple of weeks they told me that my contact up there who had been cashing checks was no longer with the company. I was advised to wait and see if the checks showed up.  They didn't.
- I followed up on the checks, and was told that they were lost.  I was told to ask for new checks.
- After following up vociferously, it turned out that another department had taken the checks, ignored the posting information written on them, and taken the funds to their area.  Because this threw off their books, they were going to post the money back to our area properly.
- The funds were finally posted to the correct accounts, and I was able to adjust them off to the correct ledger accounts.

They told me today that because they had initially deposited the checks to the wrong bank account, they have now bounced.  I am again told that I will have to get new checks.  It seems to me at this point group of people can possibly be that incompetent.  No one is that stupid.  Which leads me to the conclusion that these snafus can only be the result of actual malice and forethought.

My victory is that I shall refuse to kill them.  No matter how they provoke me.  No matter how much they deserve it.  No matter how much they owe an apology to the poor trees working to make oxygen to support their completely unjustified existence. 

I got in contact with Dana and asked if I could visit tonight. Miss Kat is in Texas.  I picked up dinner at Silver Bay on my way over (from a young counter attendant who was really trying too hard - drop earrings and drag-queen false eyelashes are just a tad much to sling flounder, don't you think?), and settled in a their place for a visit.

Dana and I caught up and just hung out.  It was relaxation that I badly needed after a very long week.  The catfish was excellent, as usual, and the company was great too.  I didn't even mind the dog slobbering on me.  It was really good to know that I have a couple of days off.  I need them.

A post in whch it is the bear dinner

After fretting over the Barry situation last night, I talked to my friend Nancy about it at work today.  She really helped me to put it in perspective.  I still don't feel great about it, but I don't feel personally responsible any longer.  Apparently there are some serious issues going on, and training thing is just the tip of the iceberg.  Still, I hate to see him doing badly.

Tonight was the bear dinner.  I had debated whether or not to go.  I really didn't need to spend the money, but since I hadn't gone to the last one I went.  It was at Tokyo Bay in Anderson.  The boys had really talked it up, but I wasn't as impressed with it is as they were.  The big attraction is a roll called 'Lady Gaga' that has Pop Rocks in it.  Aside from the roll being a little sweet, I wouldn't have known they were in there had I not been told.  I had an Ahi Hawiian that was overly seared, and the dressing it was served with was too sweet.  Plus, my meal was about $10 more than it would have been at Irashiai.  So while I applaud Anderson getting sushi, I have to say that I wouldn't go back to Anderson for it.

Daniel came with his wife Melissa again tonight.  She is such a nice woman, but that is such an odd situation.  I always try to be extra nice to her because some of the guys are weird about her coming.  I told jokes and generally was charming.  At one point I made her do a spit-take.

A younger guy named Eric sat near me.  He is really cute, but he's also still in larval form.  Jake sat next to me.  He also is cute n' larval.  The big surprise tonight came from him.  He invited a co-worker and his girlfriend to the dinner (no idea why, they were a straight couple).  When they first arrived, we didn't know they were part of the party, and there was a great deal of speculation about the guy, who was gorgeous.  She was beautiful too.  When they saw Jake and came over to sit down, I felt vaguely like an ass for objectifying him, but he actually got better looking close up; and he had hands like bigfoot.  They were both so pretty that I didn't think they could possibly be real.  For some reason, I find young gorgeous people annoying these days (I am fully aware this is probably because I am feeling old and conspicuously un-gorgeous lately), plus I felt like the creepy gay guy because I couldn't look at this guy without lusting over him; so I just mainly let Jake talk to them. 

That left me talking to Daniel and Melissa (Eric wasn't having much to say).  Now I like Daniel and Melissa just fine, but their situation makes me vaguely uncomfortable.  He's bi-sexual, and she's supportive, which is great.  I mean I'm glad it's working for them and all, but he is a bit of a blow-hard, and I get the feeling that she has picked me out to be his guy.  I'm not good with that at all.  I sympathize with his plight.  Many gay guys feel that bi-sexuals are just gay guys who can't accept their own homosexuality - primarily because a lot of gay guys go through a phase where they identify as bi-sexual before they accept that they are in fact gay.  But there are true bi-sexuals.  I used to be very bi-phobic (having dated a couple of bi-sexuals when I was younger), but I'm not really any longer.  I am just not looking to get involved with a guy who's married, first of all.  With or without his wife's sanction, that's just a recipe for things to get really complicated.  Plus, at the end of the day, he's not available.  He's married and they have children.  If I did break that up I would feel terrible about it.  Plus, I'm just not that interested in Daniel.  So while I don't mind having dinner with them, I really don't want to lead them on either.  That can be a rather tiring tight-rope to walk after putting in a full day of work and driving to Anderson.

I did get to speak to the other bears, of course, and it was good to see everyone.  I didn't get to interact much with RBL, but then I didn't expect to do so.  I did interact enough though, to see that Russ was distinctly not himself.  Russ has been lacking in Russervescence lately.  I hugged him tonight, and asked him if he was OK, and he said he was, but he clearly was not.  It just wasn't the venue to go into it.  But I'm worried about him.

So the combination of my discomfort level with Daniel, combined with the vague annoyance of being surrounded by un-obtainable young beautiful people and my worry about Russ led it to be a vaguely unsettling evening.  I ended up feeling dissatisfied for really no good reason.  I was glad to get home and go to bed.

A post in which I have cooking to do

I started off the day a little indulgently.  I had oranges in the house, so I zested one into my french press to make a special treat.  They used to call it 'Cafe Vienna' in General Foods International Coffees, but since I can't find anything about Viennese coffee having orange in (even General Foods apparently doesn't do it any more) I suspect it was advertising hokum.  Still, orange zest in coffee is surprisingly good.

I was ready in time to spend a little time taming my Andy Rooney eyebrashes, which had gotten a bit out of control, I noticed yesterday.

Work upset me today.  Most of the day was fine, but coming out of the All Hands nap meeting I had an issue.

We have a guy working in the office that I worked with years and years ago.  He underwent great personal tragedy - the death of a child - and my heart truly went out to him.  Shortly after that, he changed jobs, and I lost track of him, as you do.  A couple of years ago, he started working where I do now.  I was glad to see him, and amazed at how he seemed to have maintained who he was and came back from what I know was a life-altering experience.

All was well until he unexpectedly had a melt down on me a couple of months ago.  He became very aggressive, to the point that we got into it.  I talked to his supervisor afterwards and things seemed to calm down.  He was pretty much himself again, but I was leery. 

Last month he made a mistake in using a service that my company uses from time to time.  I process the bill for that service, and asked him about it, knowing that my boss would have questions when he saw the bill.  My boss asked me to go back to the service provider to see if they would issue a credit for the mistaken transactions.  They agreed, providing that this guy take a training seminar.  Now he knew what the mistake was, and knew not to do it again, but they wouldn't issue the credit unless he took the class.

I went to him and explained this, and he immediately got smart with me.  I wasn't thrilled, but that wasn't a huge issue.  He then came to my desk to make fun of his contact at the service provider (again, didn't appreciate it, but not a huge deal).  He also informed me that his supervisor had told him to put off taking the training class until the end of the quarter (at the end of May).  I explained to him that my boss would be looking for this credit on the next bill, and that it wouldn't be issued until he took the class, but he again re-iterated that he had been told to put it off.  Now what he should have done was discuss this with his supervisor.  Procuring this credit had been a direct request from my boss, who is a VP, and over all of us; also, had he just gone ahead and done it, it would have taken about 20-30 minutes and that would have been the end of it.

Because he didn't offer this though, I went to his boss (a man I have known for years) an explained the situation. I asked that he be allowed to go ahead and do the training, to which his boss immediately agreed.  The issue was that he had walked up behind us while I was talking to his boss, who then walked off.  This guy immediately was in my face, demanding to know what was said, and asking repeatedly "He DID tell you that HE TOLD me to wait to do it, right??"  I was a bit flummoxed, because that hadn't been the focus of the conversation, and I hadn't even asked his boss who had said what.  But he hounded me all the way back to my desk about it, getting really aggressive and inappropriate.  I finally just told him that I wasn't interested in the situation, just the results.  I needed him to do the training, period.  If the obstacle to him doing it had been his boss's instructions, then that impediment had been removed. 

He stood over me when I got back to my desk, going on and on.  He trashed his boss as a liar, and said that he could never pin him down on anything, and then proceeded to raise his voice and go into an entirely inappropriate rant.  I finally just looked up at him and said "You need to leave my desk.  Now.  Walk away."  After pausing for a minute, he did.  I called his boss and talked to him about what had happened.  He told me that I was not the first person who had an issue like this with the guy, and assured me that it was being handled, but that he was not at liberty to tell me more.  That was fine with me.

A woman who sits near me, though, knew something was wrong.  When I gave her a brief synopsis of what had happened, she reported that she has had her own run-in with him (of which I was aware), and that unsubstantiated hot n' juicy gossip was that he was on probation (at work) because of other issues.  She could care less - she can't stand him.  But I felt bad. 

It bothered me badly enough that I took it home with me, and I don't usually take work home with me (although I have done so twice this week).  I hate what this man had to go through.  I feel so bad for him.  There is probably no one there who would like for him to do well as much as I do, but at the same time, I'm not going to be attacked in the workplace.  He was completely out of line today.  The whole situation just makes me sad.  I felt terrible about the whole thing.

When I got home, I had plenty to keep me busy though, and I usually feel better when I get in the kitchen.

I only had fixin's for four hoagies this week, but I had five lunches to prepare.  As anticipated, Eve had sent me home with left-overs Tuesday night, but they needed to be made into something.  I stopped on the way home and got some pasta.  When I got to the house I whipped up a bechamel.  I can do that free-hand, this one turned out beautiful - the perfect thickness, lush and velvety smooth.  When I eased the crab and shrimp into it, it was almost as if it had been waiting to go in there.  It integrated beautifully and made a gorgeous sauce.  I put four lunches in the fridge for next week (or sometime) and one in for Friday. 

I had left-over pizza from Monday for supper, and then cleaned up the kitchen.  I had an hour or so to relax, and just futzed around on the computer until time for bed.  It was good to close an upsetting day with a feeling of accomplishment. 

A post in which things go a bit better

I was up at 3am with insomnia, and nothing I tried helped me get back to sleep until about fifteen minutes before the alarm went off.  Sigh.  There was nothing to do but get up and start the day.

I was pretty discouraged going into the office, but once I got there, I got settled in and started getting things done.  By the end of the day I had the slides done for the meeting, had finished all my write-offs and had them signed, done all my contacts, gotten a settlement sorted, answered all of Alan's questions from the Twit Meeting, and gotten both new Canadian accounts all checked in.  It was a busy day, but I had gotten a lot done.

Eve had called me today about coming to their house for supper.  She was cooking, which was just fine with me.  I have enough fixin's for four hoagies, but I have five lunches to do.  Whenever I eat there, she sends the left-overs home with me because they don't eat them - the food just gets thrown away.

Tonight's supper was even more extravagant than usual.  A 9x13" crab and shrimp 'Newberg' casserole!  It was huge.  There had to be $60 worth of crab alone.  She wasn't happy with the way it turned out - it wasn't creamy enough for her.  It was a little loose, but she hasn't put any filler in it (pasta or potatoes) to soak up any of the juice.  It was wet enough that the bread crumbs she put on top wouldn't brown, but it tasted fine, and was accompanied by baked potatoes (butter, fresh chives and shredded cheddar to top), macaroni salad, carrots a l'orange, brussels sprouts, and crescent rolls.  It was quite a meal.  And there were eclairs for dessert.

After we ate until we hurt, we adjourned to the den.  She caught me up on her trip to Florida, and I told her about the weekend (the expurgated version, of course).

I went home with at least a pound of crab and shimp casserole, which I will make into a pasta dish for next week's lunches and freeze, along with Easter baskets for Ava and Cole.  I was thinking that Cole was 18 now, and really, an Easter basket?  But Mom still buys me one, and I decline to state my age, but I am older than 18.

That brought back a nice memory for me.  Mom always buys me Reese's Eggs for Easter, and she used to put them in my room when I was visiting before I woke up, just as if the Easter Bunny was still coming.  One year I heard her come in and literally hop to the bed.  She knew I could hear her, and we both just started laughing at the silliness of it.  It was so sweet, and it made me think about how much my mom loves me, and how much I love her.  So I called Mama when I got home and told her I loved her.

I chatted with her for a bit. She is *actively* involved in social media now that she has wifi, and told me all about her online adventures.  I ended the day with a smile.  I'm looking forward to going down for Easter.

A post in which it is a rough Monday

Work was discouraging today.  I had the Twit Meeting, for which I was prepared, but I was informed during the meeting that I am expected to pull yet more free work out of attorneys that are already working in large part for free.  I had another dildonic special project plop in my in-box, two new Canadian accounts turned in (one of which is a freakin' bankruptcy - which up there is a nightmare), and had to beat and bang the slides for the Quarterly nap All Hands Meeting out of the managers.  By the end of the day, I was ready to go the fuck home.  So I did.

I had plenty to do at the house tonight. 

I made pizza for supper.  I had gotten a good deal on the crusts at Aldi last weekend, and since I had already shaved the onions and mushrooms, it went together pretty easily.  It also turned out much better than I thought it would.  I usually put too much stuff on, but since I had the sauce packets, that kept me from using too much sauce. 

After supper, I decided to go ahead and do my feet.  I have a real campaign going to get them looking as good as possible before the beach - five weeks and counting.  So I got them all done and got all the stuff put away in time for the Drag Race.

I was all tucked up in bed in time for the race to start, and texted back and forth with Jake during the show.  Sadly, one of the ones I like went home tonight (Ivy Winters), but it was a good show. 

A post in which it is St. Patrick's Day*

I was up suprisingly early today, and ravenous.  I think that the munchies I didn't have last night actually kicked in this morning.  I was so hungry I couldn't even decide what I wanted to eat.  I vacillated for a while.  I wanted to go out to eat, but my hair was a fright, I couldn't get it to do anything, and couldn't eat in a restaurant with a hat on.  Eventually I wet it and kind of combed it. It still looked awful, but you could tell I had tried.  That sorted I headed for the car, still with really no idea where I was going.  I decided on Denny's finally.  They had advertised those 'Hobbit breakfasts' and I had been meaning to get over there.  Since I was right near Rhonda, I called her, but couldn't talk her into eating breakfast with me.  We did decide to put our trip to Happy Cow off, though, because she was going to have a car today from Sabrina.

When I got to Denny's, Hobbit breakfasts were no longer on offer, but I hardly cared.  I was ready to eat my own foot at that point.  I ordered an enormous breakfast, and impatiently caught up with messages on my phone while I waited. When it came out, I devoured every crumb, and finally had some relief. 

On the way home, I decided to run by the flea market.  It was still early enough, and I needed tomatoes for sandwiches next week.  I knew if I got home I would never make it out in time to get to the flea market.  I found some that were acceptable, and headed to the house.

Although I had things to do, I wanted a nap.  I had been out late last night, up early this morning, and felt drug out. 

I was awakened by Lisa returning a call to me, and talked to her for a minute.  I checked in with the guys.  They were going to a movie and invited me, but I would have had to leave the house in twenty minutes.  There was just no way.  So I sent them on, and asked them to let me know when they got out.  I settled in to do chores.

I got the lunches and laundry sorted, got myself ready (mostly - my hair still refused anything resembling a look), and then checked in with the guys.  They wanted dinner later but were shopping this afternoon. 

I fell into the internet vortex, and ended up having a buddy come by I had been talking to for a while.  It was a pleasant afternoon.  He was nice, but had bad breath.

I met the guys at Irashiai for dinner tonight - yummy, but not cheap.  But I figured since I hadn't done anything Friday night I could do it.  I caught up with them and Jake.  We had a lovely dinner.  It was a nice evening.  I got home just in time to catch most of Worst Cooks in America.  I love that show, but one of the ones I was rooting for got sent home tonight. 

It all starts over in the morning...

A post in which it is a glorious Saturday

It was beautiful this morning.  I woke up intending to set out early, but didn't quite make it.  I had errands to run though.

Eventually, I headed out into the beautiful mild weather to run errands. 

First to Big Lots.  I had planned a trip to Happy Cow Creamery with Rhonda tomorrow.  The last time we went I realized I had left my cooler freezer thing-y somewhere.  I had been meaning to pick one up, but kept forgetting.  They hadn't had any at the grocery store last night, but I found quite a selection today.  None of them were as big as I wanted, but I just got two.

Thus prepared, I went on to Dollar Tree for gift bags.  I frequently give bottles as presents (don't judge me) but I always seem to be out of bottle-shaped gift bags, and of course bottles are impossible to wrap.  I found a nice selection of gift bags and picked up several so I would have some.  The prettiest was a purple laser-printed one that I'll have to save for a special gift - it's pretty.  I just can't see paying premium prices for gift bags, which are essentially disposable, when I can get them a the dollar store.  I mean, they're just bags, right?

Then it was on to Aldi.  I continue to be impressed with the quality of groceries available at cheap prices there.  Many of them are name brands, and frequently they are a third less (if not more) than at the grocery store.  I didn't buy nearly as much crap today either.  I had a list, and pretty much stuck to it.  But they had prepared pizza crusts on sale ($3.50 for two, plus sauce packets) so I got those.  I've been craving pizza lately, and this way I can make my own for dinner at the house this week.  Yummers. 

I went home for lunch (by this time I was hungry) and then back out to the grocery store for the 'fill-in' items they didn't have at Aldi.  I was inspired by some fresh hoagie buns Friday, so I had decided to take ficken and swiss cheese subs for lunch next week.  I returned home triumphant and threw together a marinated vegetable salad (easy and quick) for a take-along. 

I rested a bit and then got ready for the party.  I was a trifle peckish, and found some left-over chemo cookies in the freezer, so I had some of them. I was chatting with Reggie while I was taking a break.  I had been invited to the party after meeting Smitty and Reggie at a bear dinner.  At the time they were dating, but they aren't any more.  Reggie and I have sniffed around each other before, and he was sniffing again today.  I am conflicted about it.  He's cute as he can be, and seems nice; but there's the old drama with Michael over him, plus he's really young.  Plus he seems to have a lot of drama in his wake.  He and Smitty apparently parted on good enough terms that he was still invited to the party tonight, but he had decided not to come. 

I changed and got ready to go, but I had kind of lost my enthusiasm for the party.  Smitty is really young, and I figured most of the people at the party would be.  I wondered if I would have anything in common with them.  Plus I don't think I had eaten enough today, and I just didn't feel sterling.  Larry was supposed to go with me as my date tonight, but he had cancelled (after I got permission to bring a plus one, I might add), but since he hadn't really wanted to go in the first place I figured that was just as well. But with RBL so distracted and incredibly busy these days, I have decided it would be good for me to get out and meet some new people.  Plus I had already bought a present.  I resolutely headed that way.

It was easier to find the place than I thought, and I was one of the first guests to arrive (I didn't know if this was a 'fashionably late' kinda thing, but I figured even if it was I'd be a drink up on them when the fashionable people started to arrive).  I got a drink and settled in, and it wasn't long before folks started arriving. 

There were a number of younger people there, but there were older people too, and there were people that I knew.  Jim was there.  He has changed a lot, and I really enjoyed talking with him tonight.  The crowd warmed up and the conversation started flowing freely.  Although they did segue into zombies for a while (not my forte) I found my groove and started telling jokes (hey, I had a whole group of people who hadn't heard my material), and soon was having a great time.  One of Smitty's friends (delightful woman) had made chocolate truffles in lieu of a birthday cake, and they were divoon.  Soon I had an audience. I love open-minded straight people, but it is like shooting fish in a barrel, wit-wise; it kind of feels like cheating, but I loooove the attention.  The only real fly in the ointment was a guy that came in with Jim.  He was kind of a dick.  Cute enough, but not nearly as cute as he thought he was - you know they type.  And a narcissist.  After dating Gavin, I have no patience for that.  But I just kind of let him do his thing and mostly avoided his transparent attention-begging (I know, living in a glass house here). 

The surprising hit of the evening was Smitty's brother Caleb, and his friend Lukas.  They were both straight, but really nice, and cute as puppies both of  'em.  After a good portion of the group peeled off to go to The Castle, I ended up hanging out with them.  To make a long story short, yer daddy was trashed.  The three of us ended up lying out in the yard on an obliging bank for a while, in the grass, just kind of contemplating the underside of a tree as Caleb quietly threw up some.  I haven't drank that much in a long time.

Eventually, I made my way home, and gratefully to bed.  But it was a swell party.   

A post in which I elect to stay in

Usually on Friday nights I try to find something to do, but I had a full weekend ahead.  Also, I had gotten such a head-start on things the other Friday by going to the grocery store with Rhonda on Friday night that I decided to do it tonight.

The first stop was at the liquor store to buy a bottle of bourbon for a birthday present.  I had no idea what Smitty drank, but his (I found out later ex) boyfriend helped me out there.  Having picked out a nice bottle, I stowed it in the car, and decided to look at shoes.  I hate my Friday shoes.  We are allowed to wear jeans on Fridays, but not tennis shoes to work.  We have to wear leather shoes.  I bought some boat shoes I've been wearing, but they are uncomfortable and I just plain have decided I don't like them.  So I've been thinking I should look around for some kind-of cool leather shoes that are also uber-comfortable.  Not that I can afford these, mind you, but if I fell in love, I would buy them anyway.  I didn't fall in love tonight. 

I went through Ross' Dress for Less and the Marshall's Home Store also.  I've been thinking I would like some new rugs.  I need to paint the back room first, but a great rug could actually inspire a color scheme.  The green room walls have some bad places due to an old water leak.  It's not terrifically noticeable, but it's just time to do some repair work in there and re-paint.  I've been putting it off because I love the way that room turned out so much.  But if I get inspired, that would make it easier to re-do.  No rug love either though.

I headed back towards the house and decided to stop at the grocery store.  I had a big bag of change that Rhonda got out of the dash when she took the car to have it cleaned.  I had intended just to run the bag through the Coinstar machine.  I needed toilet paper, and I figured if I did that it would be like 'found money' and I could get the fancy kind with a clear conscience.  As it ended up, I had been carrying $30 worth of change around in the dash!  So I went on a little shopping spree and spent it all on groceries.  I spent a little more than $30, but I was so rich what did I care?  I didn't buy anything frivolous.  They had 8 O'Clock coffee on sale two-for-one, so I re-stocked on coffee.  They even had a new limited-edition 'seasonal' flavor on sale - chocolate mint.  Yummm.  I guess it was for Girl Scout cookie season, but I was very excited.  I have two bags.  I don't know if I'll be able to wait until the old coffee is gone (I keep a couple of bags in the freezer) to try it or not.

Afterwards I went virtuously home and ate Caesar salad I had
bought on sale last week for supper.  I was a good boy. 

A post in which I go out with the boys

I made good progress at work today.  I actually finished up that huge Canadian account - well the break-down on the big one anyway.  Now there is just the rest of the six related accounts to process, and the rest of the write-off.  But I was glad to get that big'un done.

I decided to go to the Thursday dinner night tonight with the guys.  It was at a place called The Trappe Door in downtown.  Having looked at the menu and hearing a rave review from one of the women at work, I was pretty stoked about going. 

I was there a bit early and found free princess parking (a rarity downtown) and went in to wait.  Lee and Joel were already there, so I talked to them while we waited.  There was drama a-brewin'.  Bill was out of town, so I figured John wouldn't come, but in he walked. That wouldn't have been a problem, but Jake was coming too - yikes.  These were the three involved in the big internet drama last week.  Fortunately, John is less overtly dramatic than Bill - John is sneaky, but wouldn't cause a scene.  Unfortunately, as it turned out during the seating shuffle, Jake and Bill ended up sitting right next to each other.  I offered to change places with John, but he turned me down.  Oh well.

I did try to talk to John, but I had Todd on my other side and I hadn't seen him in a while.  I had a great time at the dinner, and if it was awkward between John and Jake, they were quiet about it.  The company was great.  I can't say the same for the food.  Having heard the rave from the woman at work, I had high expectations.  I will say that the other people's food looked better than mine.  It's hard to eat vegetarian Irish food.  Logan had the fish and chips which looked fabulous, and Brian had a crab and blue cheese 'fondue' that while being light on the blue cheese (and about as Irish as a stir-fry) was delicious.  The fries were excellent, but the 'flavored mayonaise' which was served with the, and which had been praised, was a distinct let-down for yours truly.  They were either bland or odd. 

I had an bowl of pasta that was under-dressed (and under mushroomed for that matter).  I also had a beer chosen (with help from the hunk-a-licious heavily bearded waiter) from the bewildering multi-paged book of choices (the beer and wine list was much more extensive than the menu).  The beer was good.  It wasn't great, but it was good.  Logan had a cherry beer that was amazing - so again, I just ordered the wrong thing.  For this meal, I paid $30.  I could easily have prepared the same meal for four for that price, the pasta would have had more sauce, and it would have been better.  I could easily have had as good a meal at Applebee's.  Seriously. 

But of course the reason that you go isn't for the food, it's for the company, and I really enjoyed seeing all the guys.  I really had a good time.  I just think about these things more now with money being as tight as it is.  It really pisses me off to buy a meal and pay the premium when I could have made something better and cheaper.  It didn't help that I knew there was a gorgeously delicious mushroom hoagie available cheaper, right next door at Barley's. 

A post in which it is dinner out with James and Trey

Work went well today.  I finished up that huge account faster than I thought I would, and was able to move on to the 9 (!!) related accounts for that customer. 

Again I had intended to work late, but by the end of the day my brain kind of petered out.  After looking at individual lines of data all day, it kind of fries your mind.

James had gotten in touch last night and we had made plans for dinner.  I wanted to meet his new husband.  First, though, I had to get to the restaurant.  There had been an accident on 85, so Pelham Road was carmageddon.  I stopped at the Korean market and got some lo mein noodles, and got gas to kill some time.  It was a good thing I had plenty of time to get to the restaurant. James and Trey were coming from Spartanburg.

Eventually we all got there and went in to eat.  Dinner tonight was at India Palace, and the food was good (I love Indian), but I didn't think it was quite as good as usual tonight.  Naresh (the owner) wasn't there, and I wonder if that had something to do with it. 

Trey is adorable, and James seems really happy with him.  I'm glad for him.  We chatted, caught up, and just generally had a pleasant meal.  Because of the lateness of getting there, though, we soon realized we were holding them up from closing.  Although they are technically open until 10pm, we were the only table left by about 9:40pm.  We paid out (James sweetly buying dinner, which was a relief since I'm so broke at the mo) and chatted in the parking lot for a bit, but it was cold and windy.  After a bit, we broke up and headed our separate ways. 

It was a very nice evening.

When I got home, I had the bill for taxes on the car waiting for me.  I had completely forgotten it.  Yikes.  But it will be OK.  I have about a month to pay it.

A post in which it is cheesapalooza!

I had to get something done today. So I did.  I did my call-backs, spit on my hands, took a running start, and dived in on a huge Canadian account that I'm processing this month.  My boss wants it off the books.  The write-off procedure up there is complicated, and this account had about 500 outstanding lines of data, all of which had to be gone through one at a time.  This is the biggest pain-in-the-ass of all the Canadian ones I have done - and that's saying something.

I made decent progress, but there is so much more to go.

By the end of the day my eyes were crossing and I just couldn't look at it any more.  I had planned on working late and just going straight to the restaurant to meet Dad for supper, but when he called me shortly after 5:30 to tell me he was on the way, I was relieved. 

I met Dad at Monterrey by the Mall.  I like their food, and I was ready for some CHEESE!  I took my last antibiotic last night, after being on them off and on for the last two months, and for the last three weeks straight.  Because of the dairy issues with antibiotics, and because I have been sick for so long, I elected not to eat much dairy while I was on the meds.  I figured it wouldn't hurt me to eat a little less cheese, right?  But I eat more of it than I realize.  Plus making it 'forbidden' made it that much more alluring.  I love it anyway, but tonight I was really starving for it.

We started off with a cheese dip, and then I had a big mushroom quesadilla (which was delicious), and I topped it off by having some flan that I totally did not need.  I ate too much and didn't feel great, but I wanted every bite of it. 

I went back to the house to visit with Dad for a little bit.  He seems relaxed, and he has enjoyed his time batchin' it.  Mom comes back tomorrow.  She had called him to remind him about dinner with me tonight, and had sent me a text to be sure we were out to dinner together.  She also called him at the house tonight to remind him again about her arrival time tomorrow.

I left early to let Dad enjoy his last night of freedom, but admonished him that he better clean up the kitchen before she got back tomorrow.  It's a wreck!  I threw away the used paper plates and stuff, and moved dishes toward the sink, but I wasn't about to take it all on by myself.  He's afraid to have the cleaning woman in when he's there by himself for fear of rumors of impropriety.  Really. 

Oh well, Eve won't be happy unless she has something to complain about when she gets home anyway, and since taking care of him seems to be her raison d'etre, she'll feel needed. 

A post in which I am lazy

I didn't get much done at work today.  I did my call-backs, eventually.  I did what had to be done, but I didn't start on my (latest) big project today.

After work I wanted lo mein for dinner.  I was put in thoughts of it because that was the challenge in Worst Cooks in America last week.  They made the point that you could prepare lo mein in the time it took to order it and have it delivered.  Well I guess you can if you have all the ingredients in the house.  I didn't.  So I was contemplating going to the Chinese grocery, but decided just to go to the regular grocery store.  They were selling something they called lo mein noodles, but they didn't look like them to me.  I thought lo mein noodles were soba, made with buckwheat flour, and these said wheat flour on the label.

I was contemplating what to have for supper (I wasn't about to go to two grocery stores tonight) when the helpful little voice in the back of my head reminded me that I could just get cash at check-out (I didn't have any cash, which had motivated me to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients in the first place) and then go buy the lo mein, which is what I did.  So I ended up having take-out anyway. 

The second mistake I made was to get the big lo mein.  I usually just get the little one, but decided if I got the big one, I could put half of it in the fridge for another supper.  That would have worked, only it was so good that when I finished scarfing down the first half, I went to the fridge and got the second half out (yes I had actually put it in a container and put it away, optimistically) and scarfed it down as well.  Then I was sick from eating too much.

While I was eating, I was chatting with Larry and Anthony on my phone.  I asked Larry to Smitty's birthday party Saturday night.  He didn't seem like he really wanted to go, but ended up saying yes.  Larry is pretty shy and doesn't like meeting groups of people, apparently.  The only reason he's going is because I was.  That doesn't bode well for our dating, which involves many social situations.

Anthony wanted to come over, but I pointed out that it takes him a bare minimum of 2.5 hours to get ready, and it was 7pm already. By the time he got there I would have to go to bed.  That boy is cute as a bucket o' puppies, but he apparently has a toilette that would rival that of a courtier to Louis XIV. 

I turned in with RuPaul's Drag Race on, texting with Jake.  Tonight's challenge was to 'roast' RuPaul.  Although there were some notable dead places in the program, in general they did much better than I thought they would from seeing rehearsals.  I was SO hoping that the annoying-as-fuck Alyssa Edwards would go home tonight, but because there was room from the double-elimination earlier in the season, Ru decided to keep both of the ones on the bottom tonight.  Dammit!!

A post in which things are laid back*

I was up early, and changed the clocks.  I messed around with messages for a while, but ended up going back to sleep.  Because of the time change it was almost noon when I woke up!

I was glad that I had the stuff at the house to finish the chili.  So I did that, and made some breakfast.  I had blueberries I picked up yesterday, so I had blueberries with cream and sugar after breakfast - yummy!  I finished up the chili and made tea while I was exchanging texts with Anthony.  I was able to finish the tea and make rice while I waited for him.

I had a very enjoyable visit from Anthony - he is one beautiful man.  He went on to the gym and I did chores.  I divided the chili out into lunches and got them in the fridge, then cleaned up the kitchen, changed the sheets, and did another load of laundry. 

I called Rhonda because she said she was house-sitting this weekend, but she told me she ended up not doing it because Carol came to stay.  She was in a mood though, and wouldn't go out to do anything.  I let her be.

After I got chores to a stopping place, I was amazed to find that I was sleepy.  Well, there really wasn't anything left that HAD to be done (although as always there is plenty that should be done), I settled in for some couch time. 

When I woke up, I made some tater tots for supper and surfed online while I watched Worst Cooks in America.  I love that show.  It was a great weekend.

A post in which I have a date*

I had planned to go to Hendersonville today with Larry.  I was really looking forward to it, and it turned out to be a beautiful mild sunny day.

He was coming about Noon, so I had time to get up and do stuff.  I made breakfast and changed the sheets.  I had put my beans in to soak for white bean ficken chili and got the crock pot loaded and my beans cooking.  I had time to clean up and watch the end of The Muppets.  I had started watching it yesterday.  It did hearken back to the old days, but it wasn't quite as good to me as the old ones.  Still, there were plenty of celebrity cameos, musical numbers, and breaking the third wall.  I enjoyed it.  My favorite part was the chickens doing Cee Lo Green's "Bock You".  Now that's comedy.

 Larry ran a little late, which was fine because I was too.  I had decided to run on to the flea market to pick up some produce.  I wanted to have everything in the house to finish the chili in the morning.  He arrived at just about the perfect time, and we set off for Hendersonville.  It was a gorgeous day, and that is always a beautiful drive up, even at this time of year, when all the trees are dead sticks.  In the Fall, it's breathtaking.

We got there, and I was excited, cataloguing old haunts and seeing what was no longer there (sadly, the phenomenal Sinbad restaurant was no more).  It was about lunch time, so we started out at Mike's on Main.  I love that place.  It's an old soda fountain that has been re-done for tourists, but they really do have stuff you can't get at the new places:  phosphate sodas, egg creams, malted shakes, you name it.  The sandwiches are pretty expensive ($5 for a freakin sandwich?), but it was a good sandwich, and they had peppermint ice cream with the red and green streaks in it!  That is my absolute favorite ice cream, and it is damn near impossible to find.  So I finished off the meal with a small cone of peppermint ice cream and a chocolate egg cream - YUM.  So the trip, for me, was already a success. 

We strolled around ducking in and out of various shops.  I had a tutorial on gemstone soap from a woman, and we went in Mass General to get some lip balm for Larry.  We went in a modern/mountain furniture store and started picking out furniture for our virtual house.  It was beautiful weather, the people were nice, and it was just a lovely day.  When we went to one of my favorite big antique stores, I noted a vase standing on a pedestal in the middle of a booth.  It caught my attention because I thought it was such a stupid place to display it.  It will be about ten minutes before someone knocks that off, I thought absently before noticing the pattern.  Then I thought that can't be what I think it is.  We went on through the store and on down the street.  I hadn't really planned on buying anything today because the prices in Hendersonville are usually pretty high - that was fine with my budget the way it is.  I did find a flat soup for my Bubble Glass for cheap, and so had picked that up. 

When we got to the car, I checked my book - I had brought it just in case, I mean you never know - and that vase WAS what I thought it might be.  A very unusual find in a beautiful pattern, and at a SUPER price.  I was SO excited.  But it was quarter to 5pm (they roll up the sidewalks in Hendersonville at 5), and we were at least two blocks away.  My feet were protesting.  They had been doing well today, but they were about done.  Nonetheless, I immediately started hobbling as quickly as I could up the street, back into the store, and down to the basement, where I grabbed that vase!! 

Peacock and Wild Rose or 'Nora Bird' 10" vase in green by Paden City Glass, circa 1929-1935

This pattern is one of the most beautiful depression glass patterns, and in the eighteen or so years I have been collecting, I've seen about three pieces.  Two of them I bought, and the third was so expensive, I really couldn't think about it.  This is not a cheap pattern. 

My treasure thus obtained, I was coasting on afterglow.  We stopped and got a coffee to just take a break for a bit before heading back to Greenville.  On the way back, I had to have The Talk with Larry, which I had been dreading, but he took it very well, which just made the day that much better.  On the way back to town we decided to head on for supper.  I took him to Tuk Tuk Thai, and we had a capital meal.  I just love that place.

After supper we headed back to my house just to spend some one-on-one time canoodling.  It was a very nice day and I had a really great time.  I like Larry, but eventually I sent him home.  I was whooped!

A post in which it is time for the weekend

The solution to the financial issue came to me this morning.  I'll just move my car payment.  It's due on Monday, but if I move it to Friday that solves the problem.  I've been paying on it for three years - they can wait a day or two.

Work went smoothly.  I was able to start working on the last gargantuan Canadian write-off I have to do from the old days.  It will be an under-taking, and I'll be doing it through a different office than I did the others, but it can be done. 

I had plans tonight to go see Miss Kat and Dana, and confirmed with them.  Dana called to say she would be making spaghetti, and was making a special pot of veggie sauce so that I could eat with them tonight.  It was so sweet.  I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd been eating spaghetti all week.  It was fine.  I love pasta, and it's really no hardship for me to eat pasta twice in one day - Italians do it all the time, I'm sure.  The dinner was good, although we relaxed before we ate and I ended up eating WAY too much.  So much for losing weight.  After dinner Miss Kat whipped up a version of a dump cake that turned out lovely, with a crunchy/chewy sugary crust on top that I just couldn't get enough of. 

It was a good visit, as always.  We hung out and talked, and watched a little telly.  It was a nice wind-down to a difficult week.

A post in which I mis-calculate just bit

Work, thank goodness, is smoothing out.  I got my month end done today and was just gearing up to start work on my self review when I got a reminder about the audit.  The quarter is over and I had forgotten all about it.  I tucked in and started that.  I'd rather work on that than on my review anyway.  Our review process has been somewhat simplified, but it's still a pain in the &^%$$#!!  Not nearly as big a one for us as for our supervisors.  This time of year, I'm happy not to have staff.  I'd rather do the work myself then have to do reviews on them.

I went through my checking account today to see where I was.  Things are tight right now, but they're about to ease up.  I just have to get through the next month or so.  Satisfied that things were in order, I invited Rhonda to dinner.  I still had a complimentary appetizer burning a hole in my wallet. 

Although 385 South had once again turned into a parking lot, we were able to just go through town to get to Carrabbah's.  Our waiter, Timothy, was very nice, and didn't bat an eye at the coupon.  We opted for the crab cakes as an appetizer, which were telish.  It's really hard to screw up crab unless you burn or over-season it, and this wasn't.  Since I've eaten so much pasta this week, I opted for a salmon-topped salad, which was delicious.  I could really care less what I eat there as long as I get the bread, which is wonderful.  Rhonda's must have been scrumptious - I don't think I've ever seen her eat that much at one sitting before. 

Rhonda looked lovely tonight. She was wearing red, which always looks so good with her coloring.  We had a very nice meal, and I caught her up. 

We left fully sated, and decided to run through Kmart (the one on Wade Hampton is closing, and girlfriend is all about a bargain) to see what was on offer.  Rhonda got some styling stuff, and I picked up some underwear, a couple of movies (one of which was Iron Giant - a classic, in wide screen, AND marked down to $5), and some batteries.  The prices weren't super-low, but we were there as much to futz around as anything. 

We got in line with the slowest gay checker I have ever seen.  Usually the gay guys are more efficient, but not this guy.  We weren't in a terrific hurry, but we changed lines. 

Afterwards I dropped her at her place and headed home to turn in.  It had been a good day.  I always enjoy seeing Rhonda. 

It wasn't until I was almost home that I remembered that I had a check that hadn't cleared yet, and that I would over-draw my checking account before my next paycheck.  Ooops. 

A post in which the day doesn't go as badly as I feared

Since there was a conference call between the president of the company, Alan's boss, and the headhunter account yesterday at 5:30pm PST, I figured the fall-out from the call would come today.  Nonetheless, I went to work.  I wasn't tickled about it, but I went.

Jeffrey (my Manila guy), has done surprisingly well this month, despite Alan stacking up reports like freakin' cord-wood.  We finished up the US long and short form today, the weekly reports from month end, and the additional reports ordered as of March 4.  The process wasn't velvet smooth, but it went much better than I thought it would.  Jeffrey has truly had a trial by fire - this is the worst month end I have been through in years.  I sent him an atta-boy email at the end of the day.  I was so grateful he didn't quit!!

I got a started on the quarterly nap/meeting prep today, so I could go ahead and get the whining out of the way and start getting stuff in from people.  What I did not do was work on my self-review.  I freakin' hate doing that.  I pulled out all my goals and numbers, but I haven't been able to actually go in and make myself start it.

On a more personal note, I did something I've been mulling over for a while today.  I went in and decreased my 401k contribution.  I've been debating this for some time.  I'm broke right now from vacation plans and the last of the heater debt, and it will certainly be handy to have a bit more money, but that isn't the real reason.  Objectively, it makes sense.  I have some money put aside, and I didn't stop contributing at all, but I am most likely saving for a retirement I won't live to see. 

The men in my family generally aren't long-lived anyway.  I have arteriosclorosis and heart disease on both sides, along with arthritis (both rheumatoid and osteo).  The men in my family generally pop off from a stroke or heart attack in their mid-to-late sixties.  Plus my life expectancy has been shortened by chemo.  I have been surprised at the complications from treatment that I'm still living with, and which I will apparently live with for the rest of my life.  In some ways I have prematurely become an old man.  So it has really hit home to me lately that things aren't going to be the same.  The retirement age for my generation has moved to 71.  So it makes sense to have some money put aside - that's just prudent.  But I'm not going to live in penury now to put aside for an old age that I'll most likely not live to see. 

My mom's parents saved their whole lives for their retirement.  My mom's dad worked like a dog his whole life; overtime, travelling, really worked hard.  They were going to travel in their retirement.  Then he retired and lost his eyesight.  They lived well, and they both lived a long time, but they were stuck in that house for the last 10-15 years of their lives.  Granny used to say "Go and do while you're young and can do it, because there's no guarantee you'll be able to do it later."  I'm heeding her advice.

I made a date to see Larry this weekend.  I sent him a text because I had been thinking about him, and it turns out his phone had died and he had lost all his contacts.  He was glad to hear from me, and actually gave up on working overtime on Friday to see me on Saturday.  We're planning to drive up to Hendersonville, get some lunch, do some shopping, and come back for a quiet evening.  I'm really looking forward to it.

By the end of the day, it seemed that the axe I had been dreading wasn't going to fall.  I didn't hear anything.  I breathed a sigh of relief, and left.  When I got home Lisa called to check on me.  She had read about the horrible day Tuesday and was a bit worried.  Bless her heart, with her schedule I can't believe she has a spare thought for anyone!  We talked for a while, and she aired some of her latest frustrations with her worthless ex-husband.  I wish she could be done with him, but they still have to sell  the house.

I steamed the green beans Eve had been so worried about for supper.  I dipped them in Caesar dressing, along with the rest of the grape tomatoes I had in the fridge.  I had some nuts.  I made some popcorn.  So I had done pretty well, until I remembered there were cookies in the cabinet from the Aldi run.  So yeah, I pretty much ruined my good dinner with cookies.  There's a reason I usually don't keep that stuff in the house.

There was nothing on TV, and I was wiped (as much from worry as from anything I had actually done), so I went on to bed.  There was an interview with Kim Novak on TCM.  She still looked great, but man she was a terrible interview.  She was made to have someone else write words for her, apparently.