My office mate Kate and I have just decided that we should go on the Amazing Race. Now we just have to figure out how to apply.

Fill-In-The-Blanks

Now that my hangover has finally started to go away, let's play fill-in-the-blanks.

I remember all of JR's
I remember being at an EMPTY Green Lantern
I remember leaving the GL and it was completely packed
I remember waking up across the river (shock horror!!)

Who's Next?

News Items

This just in. House majority leader Tom Delay (R-TX) has been indicted by a Texas grand jury on a criminal count of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws in Texas. He as since stepped down as majority leader. I have one word for this development. HOT!

Washington Post Article

Dance Floor Under Construction

Since Bernie always gets mad at me for not giving him track lists for my CD's. Here is the track list for Dance Floor Under Construction 3am. Granted he doesn't have a copy yet, but don't worry girl, it's coming.

PS. Yes I realize some of the songs on there are a bit old (Hide U is circa 2001) but that's the point. There are some oldies but goodies and some new stuff as well.

Go East Young Man

My friend Suman was here in DC last week. We met up for drinks last wednesday at JR's, which was probably not the best idea since we were actually trying to hold a conversation. Between the two of us we got interrupted it seemed like every 2.5 seconds. Regardless, he told me that he might move to Tokyo for six months for work. Of course this will be a great opportunity for him, but more importantly this will be a great opportunity for me. I've always been looking for an excuse to go to Tokyo and now I have one.

A story that only Kiat and Tos will get

Here's a quick story that will be much funnier to Kiat and Tos than to anyone else.So I've finally made it to the airport on Friday morning, BARELY beating the 30 mins cut off. I'm checking in for my flight, the kiosk wasn't working so had to go to a human (this is key as I wasn't able to see or select seats). Got my boarding pass. I look and it says 17F. I think to myself "HOT, rebooked at the last minute (IAD-DEN), at no charge, and I get a window seat in E+." As I'm running down the jetway nearing the plane door I thought to myself. "Gee, this is a mighty big plane..." Now imagine the look of utter HORROR on my face as I did a quick 777 alphabet count in my head "AB aisle CDE FUCK G aisle HJ" Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I take my seat to find myself squished between mr. tuna casseroll on my left and mr. I ate three tuna casserolls on my right. The only redeeming quality was that I was in the bulkhead row.

This weekend

I just got back this morning from spending the weekend in San Francisco. Yes. I did take the red-eye. And yes, it did suck. This time wasn't as bad though as I had a bulkhead row with TONS of space.

The trip didn't get off to suck a great start. I was supposed to leave thursday night (at 955) but as I was getting ready to leave work I got a text message from United, "plane departs 1030." Hmmm, delayed a half hour, that's not so bad. then I got another one "plane departs 1100." OK that's a bit worse. I decided to call and the conversations went like this:

Me: Hi, I'm booked on delayed flight xxx from IAD-OAK, I see online that the delay is due to a late arriving aircraft. Has the plane even left the place it's coming from.
Agent: Ummm....let me check *tap tap tap* ummm....no.
Me: Since I have no desire to trek all the way out to Dulles only to have the flight cancelled on me. Can you put me on a flight tomorrow morning.
Agent: Sure. No problem

Great, so I'm scheduled for 8 the next morning. Now most smart people would take this extra time and maybe eat a nice meal and go home and go to bed. Not me. I of course called Chuck to see which bar I should meet him at. Three shirtless-men-drink-free drinks later I was WASTED. So of course I don't wake up until 7. Run out of Chuck's apartment (forgotting to reset his alarms or lock the door) and haul ass to the airport. Knowing full well I'll never get there in 20 mins I called again and got rebooked for a flight at 845 (I heart United). Now picture this: Still drunk me literally running through the airport, carry on over my head, knocking people out of the way trying to get to my flight. I made my flight *phew* and managed to get home to SF relatively on time. I'd normally bitch about how the person next to me smelled like 3 day old tuna casserole, but I probably smelled like a bottle of Zelko so who am I to say.

The rest of the trip was awesome. Nick and I both crashed on friday at like 930. We were gonna try and go out but it just didn't happen. On Saturday we drove up to Napa and went to some wineries. Ok, winery. We stopped at a mall for some sun glasses and two hours, two pairs of jeans, and two button-ups later we finally get back on the road- with only enough time for the Mondavi winery. Still it was nice.

On Saturday night we took a whirlwind tour of SF gay bars. Some highlights:

1. Rapunzel and his polyester suit at Mix asking if we had some ganja (duh, I only do uppers).
   
2. Way too many ugly lesbians at The Cafe
3. Long Islands at Daddy's (it was only downhill from there)
4. Reggae at The Endup (now if we had been smart, we would have noticed the sign that said, "Raggae until 5am" and turned around and left.
5. Two redbulls and two hours with Manny Lehman at Mezzanine (remarkably, sans said uppers).

All in all I had an awesome weekend hanging out with Nick!

I take it back

Everything mean I've ever said about JetBlue, I take it back. Yesterday a JetBlue A320 took off from Long Beach (LGB) on it's way to New York (JFK) but apparently the nose gear got stuck down. The plane had to make an emergency landing at LAX. Your probably thinking, "big deal, nose gear down. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?" Well yes, but not when the gear is stuck turned 90 degrees sideways. The pilot did an amazing job lanind as gently as possible, and the nose gear, though on fire, didn't collapse. The passangers didn't even have to evacuate.

Here's the story from the Washington Post. They have a video of the landing as well, which you should really watch. And then you'll see what I'm talking about.

News of the Day

THIS JUST IN!! Ananova is reporting that Ice T is going to help produce a rap album from................



drum roll please..................




David Hasselhoff. OMG I'm so gonna be the first to buy it!!!

I really hope you all know I'm joking. Although, Bernie, you like rap don't you?

My office mate Kate got a new computer at her desk. She is very excited because now she can copy CD’s to it. Just out of curiosity, I decided to check and see how much music I had stored on my office computer. Considering that the computer only holds 30GB of stuff. I could see how this could pose a problem to someone in IT. Hopefully they won’t read this.

Memo to GW girls

Dear GW Girls,

When venturing outside of campus (ie. Adams Morgan) normal rules of fashion apply. This means that you are not allowed to wear Mary Kate sunglasses, spend an hour doing hair and makeup, attach Prada bag, all to put on a pair of white terry cloth sweatpants and flip flops. Now I realize that it was sunday morning afternoon and you were probably hungover like the rest of us. But if you and your four friends are going to subject us normal DC residents to this travesty of fashion, you will be called Dumpy Desi. To your face.

Thanks,
-Management

P.S. If you are going to wear white sweatpants as if they are normal pants, than normal Labor Day rules apply.

Update: Brokeback Mountain

On Thursday I wrote about the accolades that Brokeback Mountain has been getting recently. There finally a trailer for the movie, which you can view here.

Bored at work

It's time for your weekly (sometimes daily) dose of eye candy. Enjoy.

Are you serious?

The photo to the left shows President Bush writing a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The note: "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" Are you serious? If ever there was a picture to reinforce the image of Bush as a total dunce, this would be it. From Reuters via White House Briefing.

Fill-In-The-Blanks

I would like to revist my favorite Friday morning past time, Fill-In-The-Blanks:

I remember going to JR's at 630ish
I remember leaving JR's and going to the GL
I remember dropping my bag off at work
I remember Chuck disappearing with an unnamed gentleman

Who's next?

News Items

Yesterday seems to be rather historic in the history of gay rights. The Massachusetts State Legislature voted down a proposed constitutional ammendment that would have banned gay marriages there. This is the same ammendment that passed last year. This means the ammendment is pretty much dead. There is still a chance that an innitiative could make it on the ballot but a poll cited by the Washington Post says that 56% of people in that state support keeping gay marriage as is.

The other big news item, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an ammendment that would expand federal hate crimes laws to included sexual orientation. This is something that gay rights organizations have been pursuing for years, and which as repeatedly been passed by the Senate but failed in the House. The ammendment passed on a 223-199 vote and was attached to the Children's Safety Act. Joe Solomonese, President of the Human Rigthts Campaign called the vote "incredibly historic."

Brokeback Mountain

My friends and I like to joke that the upcoming movie, Brokeback Mountain, the 20 year story or two gay cowboys who fall in love, should be called Bareback Mountain. But from the reviews I've read so far, this movie is anything but a joke. It won the top prize at the Venice film festival, and already critics are whispering the sweet nothings of Oscar nominations. Here's what one critic, from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (a decidedly red state) wrote about the film's showing in Toronto:

You come north looking for a masterpiece -- or, at the very least, a movie to shake you out of your doldrums and punch you straight in the gut. At this year's Toronto Film Festival, you didn't have to wait long to find one.

Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, an adaptation of a short story by Annie Proulx set to hit theaters in December, is the director's best work since The Ice Storm-- quite possibly his best work period. It tells the story of two young ranch hands (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) who fall in love while working together in Wyoming in the early 1960s. For the next two decades, they carry on a fervent but utterly impossible long-distance romance, trying to keep their passions hidden from their wives. The movie is cut from the same cloth as Brief Encounter or An Affair To Remember, an inconsolably sad drama about two lovers driven apart by circumstance. But Lee has never displayed such raw emotion and power; this movie is a fierce howl of anguish from a director who all too often drowns in his own propriety.

Brokeback Mountain screened here Friday, and it instantly became the most-buzzed-about title of the festival. The feeling seems to be that Lee and the shockingly good Heath Ledger are locks for Oscar nominations. (Over the weekend, it also won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.) But as Lee's fortunes soared, another brand-name director found his crashing and burning...

PS. If you haven't seen Ice Storm (referenced above) I HIGHLY recommend it. It's one of those movies that, when it ends, you just kinda sit there with your jaw open.

Update: Tag. You're it

I finally got back to DC this morning. I HATE RED-EYES!! Every time I take one, I swear to myself, never again. But the problem is they are just so damn convenient. To make it worse, I had the jolly green giant sitting in the middle seat next to me. He wasn't fat, but had really broad shoulders. To make things better though. I was in an exit row on an A319 so the seat in front of me was missing. Still didn't sleep though.

Anyway, as promised, here are my answers to the quiz thingie:

7 Things I plan to do before I die:

1. Learn to spin vinyl
2. Visit all 7 continents. 3 down, 4 to go
3. Live in London (again)
4. Pay off my student loans (maybe)
   
5. Marry the man of my dreams (super sappy, I know)
6. Learn to be much more patient with my mother
   
7. See Fred Phelps get accused of having gay sex, with real pictures to prove it
   

7 Things I can do:

1. Fall in love easily, maybe too easily?
   
2. Give someone a second (or third) chance
3. Recall way too many three letter airport codes
   
4. Get wiggedy wasted (as Chuck likes to say)
   
5. Eat a double quarter pounder meal (large) in under two minutes
6. Appreciate good music
7. Read a copy of The Economist cover to cover without getting maddeningly bored
   

7 Things I can't do:

1. Speak naturally with a British accent (but oh how I wish I could. British accents make me wet)
2. Say no to a slice of cheesecake
3. Abide people with no ambition
4. Fault Jessica Simpson for marrying Nick Lachey
5. Resist the urge to buy cheap plane tickets to far flung destinations
6. Contemplate having sex with a woman
7. Gain weight, no matter how hard I try (see number 5 above)
   

7 Things that attract me to men (or women if that's your thing):

1. Eyes
2. Sense of humor (preferably witty and sarcastic)
   
3. Ability to hold an intelligent conversation for longer than 5 minutes at all
4. Self confidence, but not arrogance.
   
5. Short and well built
6. The ability to get on a dance floor and dance like no one is watching
7. Tall and well built

7 Things I say most often:

1. eeewwww
2. HOT (Paris Hilton I hate you!)
   
3. That doesn't sound pleasant
4. Grumble
5. Fuckballs
6. I'm SO over it (or, like the girl from Rich Kids Cattle Drive: OV-ER-IT. Over it!)
7. It happens, what are ya gonna do?
   

7 Celebrity crushes:

1. Paul Walker
2. Chris Evans
3. Tom Stephan
4. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
5. Nick Lachey
6. Anderson Cooper
7. Christian Bale
   

7 People I want to do this:

1. Nick
   
2. Chuck (most likely)
   
3. Bernie
4. Kate
5. Jason (least likely)
   
6. Kiat
7. Rachel (if I can figure out what her link is)

PS. This took way longer than I thought it would.

JetBlue?

In response to Kiat and Tos's comments about my last minute trip.

Girl, you know I wouldn't be caught dead on JetBlue. Do I look like I'm trailer trash? Of course I flew United, the flight was practically empty. Had a whole row to myself. And besides, unlike you, I haven't made my status for next year yet (well ok, I'm past Premier. But is that really status?).

Tag. You're it.

Sean tagged me for one of those quiz thingies. Kinda like chain email, but different. Normally I would ignore it, but the questions seemed a bit more thoughtful than "what color are your shoes?" And since he tagged so nicely...I'll do it. But not until tuesday when I get back into DC. Rght now my mom is screaming at me to change the lightbulb in the attic. Wow am I glad I don't live at home anymore. I don't know how some people do it (John, Rachel, I'm pointing at you!).

MIA

Sorry I've been Missing In Action this past week. I was super busy at work trying to get a report out at the last minute. Then my mom called me on Thursday night after I had gotten home from the bar (somehow I managed to sound remarkably sober). Anyway, my mom was frantic. She is packing up the house, getting ready to sell it, and she desperately needed help packing.

Now if you know me, cleaning is definitely not one of my favorite activities. But me being drunk, and assuming that there was no way in hell I'd be able to get a cheap ticket one day in advance, agreed to fly out and help my mom if she'd pay for the ticket and it was less than $300. So on friday morning, only slightly hungover, I went online. Much to my chagrin (sort of, I really do want to help, just hate packing) sure enough I found a ticket for $270, not only that but the flight left in less than 12 hours. So here I am, out in beautiful sunny California, helping my mom pack. Am taking the red-eye back monday night and will be in town tuesday morning. For those of you that don't know: Red-Eye=Grumpy/Hateful Chris on Tuesday.

New Intern

Our new male intern started at the office today. You know the first question out of my mouth when I found out we hired one was "is he cute?" So today I saw him for the first time and my office mate Kate asked me:

Kate: So, do you think he's cute?
Me: meh. He's kinda cute. In a "I'm a 19 year old boy" kinda way. But not in a "let me lick your rippling muscles" kinda way.

Let me lick your rippling muscles? Who says that?

B-Day

On monday, Kiat (pictured) threw a party for my B-Day, his boyfriend Tony's B-Day, and their 100th month anniversary. The party was H-O-T!! The food was excellent, the drinks were deliciously strong, and the cake was to-die-for. It was a fun bunch of people, and all in all, I had a fabulous time. Thanks Kiat!!

PS. And for details check out Kiat's blog. He describes it much better than I could :-)

Quote of the Day

"I'm all for better living through chemistry."
-Margaret the receptionist, on her being able to get a Percacet refill from her doctor

Happy birthday to my twin sister Lisa. Who, like me, is turning 24 today.

Grumble

Found this from the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Winter forecast: Get shovels ready

LEWISTON, Maine -- Get your sweaters, mittens and hats ready. The 2006 Farmers' Almanac warns that the coming winter will bring unusually sharp fluctuations in temperature, and says readers "may be reminded of riding a roller, or in this case, 'polar' coaster." The coldest weather will be in the Northeast, which also will get plenty of snow, the almanac said. It predicts cold weather for the South and Mid-Atlantic regions and snowy but mild weather in the Great Lakes and Midwest. Parts of the Rockies and the Great Plains may have drier-than-normal weather, but wetter-than-normal weather is predicted for the Pacific Northwest and lower Texas.

I'm not looking forward to the winter at all.

Why I Love California Pt. 2

The California Senate today became the first legislature in the country to approve a gay marriage bill. The legislation, which now moves to the State Assembly, would grant full marriage. Not domestic partnerships, not civil unions, but full on marriage. Hopefully the assembly will pass the bill, but also hopefully, it won't cause a backlash that would have voters approving a constitutional amendment set to go on the ballot next June.

Are They Crazy?

WTF? Apparently people have been shooting at helicopters that have been trying to evacuate people from the Superdome. Are they fucking crazy? These people are trying to help you and you shoot at them. I understand you are tired/angry/frustrated/hungry, and that you want out. People, they are (hopefully) going to get you all out. But not if you shoot at them.

And somewhat related. I'm a little appaled at what seems to be a serious lack of planning for the recovery effort. They thought a Catagory 5 hurricane was going to strike. The most devastating there is, with the mayor of New Orleans predicting widespread flooding. Shouldn't there have been more people/supplies/military help in place?

The Nerve

So I'm outside smoking a cigarette when Chuck's cousin starts walking towards me. She was looking real pretty in her jean shorts and oversized hanes t-shirt with "GUCCI" silkscreened on top, one that she bought from the souvenir man on the corner. Anyway, as she gets closer I notice that on each wrist is a hospital bracelet, and she's mumbling to herself. Great, I'm about to be accosted by some women who escaped either from a mental institution or her trailer.

"Excuse me sir" she says. "But can I have a cigarette?"
"Sorry," I say, "But I left them upstairs in my office." Which was true. I learned a long time ago only to bring one cig with me outside.
She lets out a deep, forlorn breath, "Oh." But then suddenly an idea pops into her big ass head. "Well can I have a drag?

HUH?!? Bitch no! If you think for one second I'm going to put my mouth around that cigarette after your herpes infested lips have touched it you are insane. Oh wait. You are insane. I had half a mind to drop it on the ground, stomp it out, and go inside. But she was bigger than me, and would probably hurt me.

So instead I said, "Here take the rest" and turned and walked away muttering "you stupid cunt."

The nerve of some people. Maybe if she had taken her meds back in '79 like her doctor had suggested she wouldn't be crazy and homeless. And instead could afford her own pack of cigarettes.