The joke is on me !

Picture taken from: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Finger Prints

I been absent for a couple days, mostly because I am sick (got this nasty cold, and I am wiped, have no energy, and little inspiration for the blog, work or anything else). This is not the only reason, yesterday I went to have my biometrics taken at an immigration center, no I am not a criminal, I just want a Green Card, and this is part of the process. I was a little nervous, not sure why, I just was. At 8:30 I left my place, even if my appointment was not until 10 am, the center was somewhere south of Alexandria, in a place I had never been to, and my driving instructions told me that it would take me 40 minutes to get there, I thought I would give myself 1.5 hours, just in case I get lost. You must all think I am exaggerating, but not, at the bottom of the notice I got from the INS, it said that if one misses one’s appointment, the process is considered abandoned, and I have not been here for 7 years (almost 8) to have anything considered abandoned.

Where was I, ohh yes, so off I went, across the river, and down 395, then up Fairfax County Parkway, after some ups and downs in Virginia’s country side, I got to the place at 9:30 or so. See good thing I gave myself time. I went in to a very anonymous looking facility and promptly got a form to fill and was told to then get a number and then wait. I sat down, filled the form and bonded with my people, of course the majority of people there were my people, so I felt right at home, it could have been El Salvador, or Mexico City, except for the Vietnamese people running the show. I filled the form and in true bureaucratic way, a secretary checked my form, and gave me a number, then told me to go sit in another part of the room and wait for my number to be called. I opened by Smithsonian Magazine and waited for a bit, then in like 15 minutes or so, my number got called. This ancient looking man, who had to be like 150, took my fingerprints, all of them, there were like 20 prints and then my mug shot. I shaved, so I looked decent. Just like that in 5 minutes it was all over, all my nerves and anxiety for nothing. At 10 am I was out of the center and in my car reviewing my shopping list. How better to celebrate than by some shopping. Off I went to Homo Depot and got new lights for the apartment and then off the Targay where I was just looking for some decorations and miscellaneous stuff, but ended up just getting the random stuff, cuz none of the decorations were nice enough.

The rest of the day I spent inside, trying to get over the cold and going through papers and crap that needs to be sorted in the apartment.

Craig’s list works !!!

I am going to let the Argentine blog about thanksgiving in detail; I am just going to say it was wonderful. A four day weekend full of fun, food and cleaning, doesn’t happen every week, and I can say that by the time Sunday night came, I was tired, but extremely satisfied with all the progress we had made, and the food we had cooked, the little shopping, but to top it all, Craig’s list made us three miracles. As you all know the previous weekend we had posted 3 items to be sold, and I had never sold anything like this, so I was afraid no one would be interested, and that the adds would be forgotten by new adds posted after we posted ours. Well it was not that way at all, here are the three miracles of Craig’s List:


1. Friday morning this dude calls and asks about the Futon, I had had calls for the entertainment center, but not for the futon. We were having breakfast, considering what to do that day, and someone calls for the futon. We arrange a time, the dude needs to get this car someone is going to lend him. Finally at the time convened he picks it up and pays almost the price we set. Someone else had emailed about the frame, and some other person had called enquiring about it.


2. Tuesday of this week, a get a call at work about the Entertainment center, a monstrosity that I inherited from the two previous inhabitants of my abode. The guy was going to pick it up Saturday at 11, which created havoc on my schedule, but I decided to sacrifice 30 mins of swimming. Friday night, we start to take it apart and it gets damaged. Anyway it was a large piece and had so many nuts and bolts and pieces that even with out best drawing efforts, putting it back together would have been a pain. Then on Saturday he called saying he was running late, and we had brunch plans and things to do the rest of the day so good riddance. I proceeded to go to Brunch at Tabard Inn and loved it.


3. Saturday night, at dinner, I get a call from someone interested in the one piece I never thought would sell, the microwave stand. It is ugly, and the Microwave in it is old and useless. I thought that one we are going to have to eat. And dismantle and take to the dumpster. Well no, not at all. A girl called and said she was interested. We called Sunday and arranged for a pick up time, at said time she came, and paid the price and took it away. I even tried to give her the oven for free but she already had one. On Sunday I got another email enquire about the stand, so if she had not liked it, we had another buyer.

See the List works ! I am now one of its most devoted believers. So remember next time you need to sell or buy anything, just go to craigslist.

Something funny

Two cute cartoons to make you laugh



The follow up ...



Both are courtesy of the Washington Post

Throw it out !!!

This weekend as it has been already posted here, the Argentine and I, went through my closets and de-cluttered them. There were t-shirts from when I was 10 (I still fit in them, still being almost the same height), pants I no longer fit in (thanks North Carolina) sweaters and sweatshirts I no longer wear (thanks Consulting gig with little casual wear options), and papers, many papers and letters that had not been filed or shredded or anything. At first I was a bit apprehensive, being a pack-rat the whole process of sorting and getting rid of stuff always intimidates me, and having had a big enough apartment to just cart stuff into it, well I have not really had the need to get of things, there was/is always room to put something – except for the kitchen – but seeing how we are moving in together (see here and here) I really needed to get rid of stuff and make room.

Half way through the process, in between the laughs, the faces, the sorting and the mess, I realized how empowering the de-cluttering process would be. As the trash bags with clothes for Good Will got bigger, and the shredding of papers accelerated, and the space magically reappeared before my eyes, I felt better and better. It went to my head and I wanted to get rid of everything, we saw something I had not worn recently and I would say, lets get rid of it, but the Argentine would disagree and remind me that I need some clothes, I guess the hair on my back and chest not a shirt makes, ha,ha,ha (c’on laugh). The best part was when we got rid of these piece of furniture that had left behind by the previous dwellers of my apartment, and as we sorted through the crap in the little closet, and we finally disassembled, and took it out of the apartment, my little foyer became a foyer again.

The apartment is by no means ready for the move, but there is space in the closets. Some of the pieces of furniture are going to be sold and I am ready. I almost want the move to happen tomorrow, so that it is done with. Of course if the Argentine was to move in tomorrow, it would mean a very hurried Thanksgiving dinner, and I would be happy to do so, but I rather take my time. I am enjoying the cleaning process, and the making room process and the sorting and throwing out process. All these steps help my anal retentive mind assures me that we have made the right decision. The apartment is not this luxurious pad, but it is big enough, we will make it work.

PS. I could try and write something, about a little discussion that went on the Argentine’s site, but I for once will refrain. I am just going to say that I know it is the right decision.

Carols on the 15th … ??

Yesterday as I drove back from the hinterlands, I was tired of stories on Iraq, the Presidential Campaign, inequality in America, etc. etc. So I changed the dial, and I was looking for some pop music to keep me company. Went to 107.3 but they had adds, try 99.5 they had some rap-hip-hop thingy that did not please me at all, finally I went to 97.1, the cheesiest radio station in town, but it was better than more on Hilary Clinton. All of sudden I start hearing something that could be a Christmas song, but could also just be the introduction to an old 80’s pop song. I wait and All I want for Christmas, played on. I was not dismayed, not was I revolted, I like carols and holiday music, at least as much as the next gay guy, but this early in the year? Thanksgiving is a week from yesterday, I would expect radio stations to wait at least another week, but no, no in DC, they had to go for it. My main complain with this early caroling is that by the time the Christmas comes around I am all caroled out. Back home the holiday music crazy is hardly as strong as here, first of all the Christmas Carols come in two versions, the old Spanish one, and the covers from Anglo-Saxon ones. Let’s just say that the later leave a lot to be desired off. So one week of old fashioned “Campanas de Belen” or the American standards were enough for me and the family.

Have you ever …

• Read a book with such tiny print that three or four pages equal 25 in other books?
• Read a book that has so much information per paragraph that after 2 pages you feel like you need to rest your head and process stuff ?
• Read a book on the evolution of cooking written by and Oxford Historian?

Well if you have you can probably pass me the Cliff notes for the book I am reading now. If not brace yourselves because this will be a review that is going to take me 3 months to write. Of course in the mean time I am reading some rather trashy books too.

The let down

Last night Project Runway debuted, and as much as I love the show, and I am a huge fan do not take me wrong, I can not help but report that I am a little disappointed. As usual the gaggle of gays came together to watch, and because it was such a fun group of people, even if we had watched the evening news, I would have had a good time. The show was good, it did not change from the tried and true formula, which is a good thing. They kept all the original judges and Tim, who are the core of the show. So far so good right, everything seems good, the same product placements the same exact editing and style to the show.

My big problem is with the contestants. There is no one that really impresses me or makes me want to root for them. Not one. We all know one of the contestants (someone much better than others) but he is most definitely not someone I would consider a favorite. The women on the show are all very drab and grunge for my taste, and the men are at least all out of the closet (yes even the straight one, is out of the straight closet, and made a point of saying so) and they are also a bit too emo for me. The one exception is the Costume Designer, who I am betting will go far, he might not win, because he is a little to showy and not fashion enough, but he has solid talent.

Anyhow, I am also guessing that as the weaker contestants get booted, the show will get more interesting and I will be able to pick up some favorites.

Isn’t exercise supposed to give energy?

I have always heard the exercise, supposedly gives you energy. I am sorry to burst all y’all’s bubbles, because it does not. I know I am in no shape or form, but this past week and half I have been trying to get back into the swing of things. Slowly bur surely I assumed I would benefit from daily exercise to jump start my metabolism, and my energy levels.

In order to achieve this, I:

• Swam Saturday (and struggled, but I finished the practice)
• Skipped Sunday (have learned that I need one day off)
• Did spinning Monday
• Swam Tuesday (yesterday)

Last night, I saw a show on the Dover Intelligent Design Case on PBS (where else?) and then read for 30 minutes, and feel asleep promptly at 10:45 or so. Slept like a rock, and when the radio started playing at 6:30 am, I could not leave the bed. It was not the cold (it is not that cold yet) I was simply exhausted.

Oh well, what is a modern day homosexual to do, I will go to the gym today, so that I have time to do some laundry and more Christmas cards this evening before Project Runway.

Just had to get socks

This is my second week back in DC, and I been struggling to get back into my routine, of cardio, and dinner, and some more cardio and work, etc, etc. If I only had a better metabolism, sigh, no I am not having a fat day, what I have been having is a couple of incompetent days. Let me explain, last Friday I packed both my bags, with work stuff and gym stuff, so that I would leave work and drive straight to the gym, work out and then go meet the Argentine. As planned I leave the office, call my Mom on the way to the gym and then after fighting traffic (the DC government is redoing the sidewalks in Rock Creek Parkway, they have been working on it for months now, causing traffic backups everyday, this is neither here nor there, I know) I get to Dupont, park the car and go into results to realize I had forgotten my sneakers. Yep, so I thought I will see if they sell them, and they do, but they were $89, and do I really want to fork out that much money, when they sneakers where home. No I did not think so. I went to the Argentine’s and read.

Yesterday – Monday – I left work and get to the gym, there was no swim practice, so I did spinning, and as I am changing I realize I have forgotten socks. Well I have many gym socks, but a bunch of them are old, and need replacing, so I sighed, walked to the reception and checked their socks, they had a 3 pairs for $11, and seeing how it was 5:55 and class was going to start at 6:15, I made my purchase and got over myself. Today I made sure I had packed everything. I even checked twice.

That time of the year again

Like the anal retentive fag I am, I send Christmas cards, these year after a failed attempt at ordering in NY – they were too expensive – I visited “The Written Word” and bought 50 cards to start with (the list is made of 60 give or take between now and December when they are mailed). They are lovely cards (3 different motifs) all very minimal and in blue and silver hues. I liked them and best of all they were not as expensive as the beautiful Kate Spade ones I adored, but which came up to 3.50 a piece. Anyhow I went back home and put them aside, while I prepare the addresses of the people I need and I can actually get in the spirit of things and start writing Merry Christmases and Happy New Years and appreciations to all my friends and acquaintances. It takes time, but from experience I can tell that once you get going, it gets easier, and it is really helpful to start with the people you have the least to say, that way you get done with 20 or 25 in no time, and the fountain pen is writing just they way you like it. After this first batch, then the difficult ones start, cuz I like to write something, something that shows I really care and I am not just patting myself in the back for sending cards. So I never send cards with Best Wishes, Pablo, nah.

Well I am getting sidetracked here, yesterday I had to go buy a sympathy card on behalf of the swim team and I needed to buy a new fountain pen. I lost my old one. I like Lamy’s because they are sturdy, I like their medium nibs. Best of all they are cheap. So I found them and I bought myself a new one, and wanted to write a bit that night to get the pen going. I ended up at a store on L St, between 18th and Connecticut. I recommend it to everyone, they have a great service (the space is cramped) they had all kinds of pens and a huge Christmas Card selection. They had tons, and they had some beautiful ones. They also have some humorous, funny, modern ones. Aghh don’t you hate it when you have invested in something and 2 weeks later some better ones come your way. So frustrated, I know how ridiculous this is, I stress over the tiniest details, its one of my neurosis. But not to worry, since I need 10 more cards, I get to buy some of the new ones, and then I have to decide who gets what.

Ok, I think I have given away to much of my personality in this post, oh well.

Hello Commute my old friend !

Being back in DC, for me at least means one thing, commuting to Virginia every day. When I first moved to DC, Virginia was my home base, I lived and worked there for the first 3 years and as I became gayer and gayer (now gayer than gay) I moved into the city and never looked back. Now I would not move to Virginia, mostly because of its politics and because there is no swim practice there (ha,ha,ha, bad joke). Any how, so my problem is that most of the places that I work in are in Virginia that is where my company has contacts and where engagements are. This time I am repeating, working for a non-governmental yet non-private entity that has 2 locations, one Downtown (where I am typing this) and one in Ashburn, where the IT department is located. Unfortunately for me my job is in Ashburn. I tell people that I am semi local, since I drive 35 miles each way to get to work.

The drive is not bad; it is across some beautiful parkways, the GW and Georgetown Pike, which are meandering roads that cross the very northern tip of Virginia, alongside the Potomac. The scenery is beautiful, the problem is the roads, if there is one accident or problem, it will take me 2 hours to get back home. It is the nature of the business, or as a former boss of mine says “It is what it is”. Obviously, I try to make people aware I live in DC, and since most of them know me, they believe me and let me come in early and leave early. The key to coming into the city is getting here before 6, because at 6 for some reason only known to the traffic Gods, the entry points to Rock Creek get drowned in traffic and it just takes another 30 minutes to reach Mount Pleasant. The good thing is I managed to get a new working arrangement where I work in Ashburn 3 days and I am in town 2. It is not bad; it means I only drive 210 miles every week. The bad news for you is that with all that time in the car, I will be getting plenty of inspiration from NPR again.

The Uncommon Reader a Book Review

Another book review, this time, a little novella called “The Uncommon Reader”, by the same author of “The Madness of King George III” and “History Boys”. It is a terrific read, go check it out at the Argentine’s

Theater Whore (or every gay man's fantasy)

My last week in NY was very hurried, I had lots to finish and I was excited I was coming back to a semi local project. M and L, wanted to party like it was 1989, but I remember 1989 and I was not in for a week of late evenings and tens of G&T’s. I thought and thought, and the solution came to me via the NYT Theater page, why not just get tickets for shows, and then have an excuse to not have to go out. Monday I got my credit card out and bought three tickets, one for a Broadway tradition, one for a new show very off-Broadway and the last one for the next big hit. So happily I did what any other theater loving fag would in NY, watch a show every night.


The first show is Forbidden Broadway, this year’s show is called Rude Awakening, and it contains spoofs on Spring Awakening, Company, Grey Gardens, Les Mis, The Little Mermaid, Lion King, etc, etc. Almost every show was made fun of. I specially enjoyed the ones on Spring Awakening, that were dead on and made me think about how Broadway manages to be very shocking at first, but after they have done something, it becomes almost main stream. The show chide all the other shows, for being too commercial, for not being original enough, but it does it with love and admiration and with a big dose of reason. The women seated behind me, clearly a pack of Midwesterners on the prowl, thought they had come to see a completely different show, and when they saw the small theater and the lack of great decorations were a bit disappointed, but as soon as the songs started targeting the better loved musicals knowing by everyone they were fine. The leader had to apologize for choosing this show and not The Phantom.


The second show was a small production, with three actors in a theater that holds maybe 60 audience members. It is called Speech and Debate, and it is the story of three teenagers that come together for a Speech and Debate Club, because they are all outcasts, the club allows them to tap into the schools resources for purposes all their own. There is the attention starved girl, the new gay guy and the nerd. I can not give the plot away, cuz I have a feeling we will be seeing this show in DC soon, it managed to meld blogging, chatting and a traditional school format very well. The show was produced by Roundabout Theater Company as part of the Underground Program. This program tries to produce new author’s work, in a professional environment. One of the strengths of the show was the setting; it looked and felt like a classroom, and the direction. For this piece the Roundabout got same person that directed Avenue Q. This is why I like their productions; they try something new but make sure it is never amateurish. I am sure Studio Theater will have to bring this to DC, besides the production was cheap.

The last show I saw, as Young Frankestein, the new Mel Brooks musical. It is a big show, I mean big, with big stars, great sets, special effects. It has it all except great songs; well I guess Deep Love is a memorable song, but not really a musical hallmark song. The same criticism can be made of The Producers, it has no timeless songs, that can be taken out of context. Still the show is worth it, the cast is great and the story is very funny. I do recommend buying the tickets at the box office, because no one else (except scalpers) will have them in the near future. Andrea Martin, playing Frau Blucher, steals the entire show, even from the ever watching eye of Megan Mullaly, and a nymphomaniac Bride of Frankestein, er Frankesteen.

Brief Intermission

Last week, i was prevented from posting because my customer blocked all blogs. It was a busy week and need to blog about that, but I am back !!! I am in DC ( DC'ish, Ashburn really) but I get to be in town again.

More Updates later, just wanted to say Hello