Good trip. Some bad stuff, too.

More on that when I get back to NYC.

I'm at my friend Catherine's house watching the Oscars. Spent the day at the beach. Thisclose to ditching everything and moving out here.

I'll be posting again in a couple of weeks (unless I happen to find an internet cafe out there that I can use).

For those of you who are so inclined, you could say a prayer or two for me tomorrow. I have a dread fear of flying and could use all the happy thoughts you could send my way.

I've got to get to bed so I'll have time to pack before my flight (yes, it's dangerous to do it that way, but I live on the edge).

Quick run down of the weekend.

Seminar - eh.
DC - great.
Zenchick - abso-fucking-lutely awesome.
Stebbins - abso-fucking-lutely ditto.
Hanging with David on his home turf - priceless.

Great weekend.

Celebrity sighting - conservative blogger and pundit Andrew Sullivan all decked out in his leather at a bar in DC.

Well, I'm off to DC for my boondoggle conference. I can't wait. Except for having to wear my suit again after . . . like, a year or so. Blech.

I took this test (via Famous Author Rob Byrnes). It's supposed to help me figure out the kind of man I find attractive.

It seems I like good-looking men. A gay man who likes good looking men. Shock!

Anyway, if you happen to see any men that fit this bill, could you drug them and have them delivered to my apartment. Thanks!

Favorite Qualities
Your photo choices suggest a man over 40 is probably getting a little old for your tastes
You seemed interested in dating a man at least 25 or older
Very handsome men
So-called "Ecto-Mesomorphs," with narrow chins and nicely angular faces
Light brown hair
Wavy hair

Favorite Looks
Some may call one of your types "Pretty Boys," but all you know is that they're gorgeous. The combination of classic good looks with small noses, beautiful eyes, and full lips is hard to resist. These guys tend to be clean shaven, have clear skin, and get good hair cuts. They're taking good care of themselves so they can be "pretty" just for you! [Well, you and the 1 in 3 men (33%) that are also after them!]

Another of the "looks" that you consistently noticed has been described as "The Boy Next Door." He has an open face, with big eyes, and a big grin. He has a youthful or boyish quality that will follow him throughout his life. Typically this look is associated with light brown hair, a close shave, and blue or hazel eyes. These guys convey a warm, trusting impression, but watch out for that mischievous side! Our studies find that about 1 in 5 men (18%) are especially attracted to this youthful look.

Favorite Face Type
Faces known scientifically as "Ecto-Mesomorph" repeatedly caught your eye. Men express this type in two ways. One version has a rectangular face shape that is long and narrow. The other type's face shape is often compared to a diamond, because it is wide at the cheeks and then has a sharply angled jaw. All Ecto-Mesomorph men have striking chins that are prominent and squared-off with a crisp line at the base. This is one of the most idealized male face types and can be found on most movie and music idols. It can hold either bold masculine features or more delicate handsome features, or some sexy combination of both. These men also tend to have lean and muscular builds when they're young. About 57% of other men especially prefer men with this face type.

Celebrity sighting from Tuesday: John Carroll Lynch watching 'Pericles' at BAM.

Celebrity sightings from this upcoming weekend: Zenchick and Stebbins, both of whom I hope to party with this weekend while I'm in DC. I also plan on seeing David who may be down there as well.

Woo hoo! Blogger party!

Quote of the Day
I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC;
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I cannot sea.
I've run this poem threw it,
I'm sure your pleased too no,
Its letter perfect in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.
-Janet Minor

But other than that, Mrs. Kennedy, how was the parade?

- or, for the old timers -

But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Well, that pretty well sums up my day week month year lifetime.

I saw a production of 'Pericles' at BAM last night. Pretty good. Generally, I didn't much care for the play (not Shakespeare's best), but the production was pretty amazing. In addition to a superb cast, the show featured live music (which is always a plus) and an amazing set design with a very Asian feel. I think the lighting design relied a little too much on spotlights, and the spot operators were just a little too slow following the actors. This often led to actors with bits of their faces unlit while they were delivering lines. Not good.

All in all an enjoyable evening, though I will admit that I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't gone to it alone. Things like this (art, music, theater, etc.) are just so much more interesting when one has a chance to discuss them with others.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. Get used to it. I'll be leaving on Thursday for a trip down to DC. Then I'm off to California for a couple of weeks. I may try to blog while I'm out there, but I doubt it.

I've toyed with the idea of having a guest blogger, but when you get right down to it, why bother? The guest blogger would likely be a fellow blogger having to write two entries per day instead of one. Who needs that sort of pressure?

So instead, I'll let my little blog remain dormant for a couple of weeks.

Despite the fact that it is a week away, I can already smell the sea and hear the pounding of the waves. Even though it is freezing outside, I can feel the desert heat. I can't wait to be out of this city.

So the 'rents are on their way back home. Good visit. Way too much food, including Steak Frites (my birthday place).

'Wicked', as I mentioned, was amazing. I really enjoyed 'The Producers' as well, even though it is in the most uncomfortably crowded theater. My legs still hurt.

Two days later and I'm still listening to the cast album from 'Wicked'. I know most of the songs now. What a fun show.

Anyway, fun weekend.

And I defy anyone with a soul (and who's ever been in unrequited love) to listen to "I'm Not That Girl" from 'Wicked' without getting a little choked up.

In fact, had I not been with my folks, I would have been a big ol' weepy mess at the end of this song.

Don't dream too far
Don't lose sight of who you are
Don't remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I'm not that girl

Ev'ry so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in

Don't wish, don't start
Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn't born for the rose and pearl
There's a girl I know
He loves her so
I'm not that girl

Stephen Schwartz is fucking great.

'Wicked' was amazing.

Between the mess at my apartment, a flare up of my gout, my money woes, and being thisclose to quitting rugby for the spring season, I'm in a monumentally lousy mood.

At least I'm going to go see 'Wicked' tonight.

Thought of the Day
Isn't saying that you've decided to stay pure until you're married basically the same thing as saying you're ugly and awkward and no one wants to fuck you?
- Crash

Happy Day of Purity, y'all.

I am one of those people who tends to shut down when faced with monumental tasks. Naturally, this means that instead of cleaning and unpacking last night, I went over to Mike'nDavid's. Did nothing but waste time. As a result, I've got so much stuff to do tonight and tomorrow that I can barely even function today.

But on the up side of it all, I got to see Mike. Since it's highly unlikely that I'll see him again until mid-March, it was probably a good thing.

My goal for tonight is to unpack nine boxes of books and files. Then make room for the furniture and other boxes that are arriving tomorrow afternoon. This way, I can concentrate on cleaning the apartment tomorrow. Once I get a vacuum cleaner.

I can't wait for Monday to get here.

Not that next week will be any better, since I'm only in the office for three days and have to get three weeks worth of work done.

Breathe in . . . breathe out.

Between the various rugby club obligations, my furniture and stuff coming from my mom's house, my dad and stepmom coming into town, two upcoming conferences for work, and my vacation, I'm being run ragged.

Life would be so much more convenient if I didn't have to sleep (not that I've been able to, but I'm sure you know what I mean).

Stayed up reading Friday night until about 5 a.m. Slept till 3. Hung out with Stuff; saw 'Lost in Translation' and went to a French restaurant with all-you-can-eat mussels and fries. I can't remember the name offhand, but it was at 75th and 3rd. I'll try to remember it later.

The Political Compass

Economic Left/Right: -1.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.36

Hmm . . . turns out I'm more of an economic moderate than I would have thought. Social sounds about right (or rather, left).

Does it strike anyone else as odd that Blogger's spell check doesn't recognize the word 'blogger'?

Time to play catch up again.

Wednesday night I watched 'Salaam Bombay'. By the end of it I was trying to decide whether to slit my wrists or just curl up in a ball on the floor and weep. Luckily, I watched the Special Features on the DVD, which were mostly very uplifting documentaries, and that made everything better.

Yesterday, after having gone to all the trouble (i.e. sending two e-mails) to get a cocktail party together, I was two and a half hours late to it because I got stuck at work. Damn! Damn! Damn! But I had a lovely time with some bloggers, some ruggers, and some guys who were neither but who were lovely nonetheless.

I got a surprise visit from a couple of teammates last night. We just sat around and watched 'Family Guy' which was nothing special in and of itself, but it was kind of nice having company.

Today . . . work. Tonight . . . board meeting. Tomorrow . . . clean and organize my apartment. Maybe get together with SB. Sunday . . . writing with David, then tea with Janet Reno and Barney Frank. Very psyched about that. I can't think of two better things to do on a Sunday.

Brother, Can You Spare 6000 Dimes?

Through a rather colossal fuck up on my part, I seem to be out of money. This, in and of itself, would not be such a huge problem were it not for the movers who are coming to my house next Thursday with my furniture and other stuff from my mom's place.

Curiously, they expect to be paid for all their hard work. In cash.

In the words of Homer Simpson, "D'oh!"

I wish I had time to get on eBay and sell my porn art films. Not that I really expect that I could make $600 off of them, but at least it would be a start.

I suppose I'll deal with this in a straightforward, logical way. I'll throw alcohol at the problem until it goes away.

Well, fiddle-dee-dee. Tomorrow is another day.

I heard from SB. He may be joining me/us for drinks Thursday night. SB meeting my blogger friends. This has Armageddon written all over it.

He also said that we might be able to get together this weekend. For a real, live date.

Hear that exhalation? That's me not holding my breath.

Brilliant!! But only if you read the Metropolitan Diary in the Monday NY Times.

Gleefully borrowed from Gawker.

Wow, it's Wednesday and my week hasn't turned to shit yet. What's up with that?

I've been on a movie kick recently. I watched 'The Guru' on Monday, 'Neverland' and 'Best in Show' last night, and I plan to watch 'Salaam Bombay' this evening. 'The Guru' was great. Light and frothy fun. And if you enjoy watching Hindi musicals (which I do), there are lots of cute musical numbers in that style.

'Neverland' was a very interesting, if poorly planned and executed, version of 'Peter Pan'. Not really worth the rental, but what can you do? My main problem about this was that instead of dealing with the transition between childhood and adolescence like the original play and novel did, this version deals with the transition between delayed adolescence (immature 20 year olds) and adulthood. Frankly, these were fairly odious characters. Kind of like the cast of 'A Clockwork Orange' presenting 'Peter Pan'.

Ah, well. Live and learn.

'Best in Show' was great. Now I just have to rent 'This is Spinal Tap' and 'A Mighty Wind' and I'll be caught up.

Let's see. What else?

I'm going to an awards ceremony for Janet Reno this weekend. High tea with Janet. How cool is that? I can't wait.

I'm going out for drinks tomorrow night with some bloggers and other friends. I'm sure that will be fun.

My trip to California is on. I'll be driving cross-country with Dad then hanging with G'ma and the rest of the family for a week.

Well, that's pretty much it. I know, it's not a very exciting life that I lead. Could be worse . . . could be raining.

I'm toying with the idea of taking two weeks off and driving out to California with my dad. This will either be a great bonding experience for the two of us, or it will end with one of us burying the other's battered (as in beaten, not breaded) corpse in the Arizona desert.

Either way, it'll be great to get out of the city.

So, the weekend.

Friday I saw 'Latter Days'. Now I liked this movie. I seemed to be the only one in the theater who did, however. Everyone else was laughing at the serious bits, being loud and snarky, and generally pissing me off.

This is why I own a VCR.

So I enjoyed it and I want this man to be my next husband. Would one of you run out and set that up for me? Thanks.

After the movie I came home and watched 'My Favorite Year,' which despite its many flaws, I still really like.

Saturday, slept really, really late. Read a somewhat new Paul Russell book, 'War Against the Animals,' which was a really good, if somewhat frustrating, read. Frustrating in the way that it ends, and since I don't want to give that away, I won't tell you any more about it.

Got together with Stuff and saw his new apartment. Very cool.

Sunday, David and I worked on our writing. I actually got about three more pages written on this play I've been working on forever. This Sunday writing thing is really helping a lot. And I enjoy David's company, so that makes it even better.

That evening I went to Bob and Larry's Superbowl party. Lots of fun, but did I really need to see Janet's boob? No, I did not. On the upside, I really enjoyed seeing P. Diddy (or whatever he calls himself these days) and Nelly (heh heh . . . nellie) lipsyncing something while sampled music was playing behind them. Sampled music from Diana Ross' 'I'm Coming Out'.

Nellie. I'm Coming Out. J Lo only dates gay men; J Lo dated P Puff Diddy Daddy.

Put those three together and see if you come up with the same thing I did.

In the words of a great philosopher: I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

And I'll leave you with this thought, the Patriots have a hot quaterback.

Taken from Jeff's site.



create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide