Answer ...

The answer is ...

KIA Sportage or something like that !! The Cherry was right !

It was an ok drive, it felt like a Civic only a lil bit taller.

Guessing Game

NB. Have a better entry in mind, but no time to post it so here ya go ...

This week I am not sure what car I am driving, I know it is white; it is either a Suzuki or a KIA. It is one of those SUV type vehicles that is white, has beige interiors and it looks like a mix between a jeep and a sportier car. The radio is good, I was able to listen to NPR all the way from Charlotte without having to adjust the station, and it will be expensive, since the unlimited mileage is around 90, ugghhh. As you all know I fly in to one airport and fly out of another, so I take whatever car they can give in Charlotte and mae sure they change the contract to unlimited miles. Yes so is the excitement of my traveling life, anyone care to guess what kinda car I am driving ? I will post the answer tomarrow.

Nigella on the NYT

Every Wednesday I read the Food Section of the Gray Lady, its one of my addictions I have to confess, This week there is an article on the fashions of the women who cook in TV shows, exploring the trend to sexier clothes, and how it all got started by my crush, Nigella Lawson – yes I adore her, I think she is fabulous, absolutely fabulous. For once she speaks English well, her vocabulary has more than 50 words, and her recipes are easy and look yummy, and they seem to be something anyone could do – the house in Belgravia helps – but it is mostly the way she speaks and the way she expresses herself that makes her irresistible to me. She is the only show I would watch religiously from the food network or any of the style channels, unfortunately it is never on when I am home. She might even turn me straight – insert laugh track. Here are a couple of quotes from the article:

“The only small parts of me are my waist and my wrists,” she said. “I’m pretty bosomy with a very small waist, and if I wear something that’s not tight on the waist, I look like Mama Cass.” What she wore in real life, an outfit she calls “home-based,” translated brilliantly to television.

“The camera on television can’t distinguish between empty fabric and full fabric, and if you wear empty fabric, it looks very bulky,” she added. “The three-quarter length sleeve is more flattering to the wrist, and I don’t want sleeves in my food. And if you wear sleeveless after a certain age, you shouldn’t be beating eggs.”

You have to lover her, after a certain age, you should not be beating eggs in sleeveless shirts …

Death and the Roller Coaster

Last Sunday I had a panic attack. It was caused by a roller coaster, I know, me in an Attraction Park? You ask, well yes I went and as we entered the park everything was fine, some common friends of the Argentine and me, invited us and we tagged along. I had thought it will be a total change of pace and will be a break in the routine. So I said yes, knowing full well that I do not enjoy masses of people. The park was not very crowded and the weather was good (good – warm yet not overtly sunny), but as soon as the crew chose the first roller coaster I froze. I mean it, I froze. I saw the loops up in the air and the seats – one of those roller coasters where ur feet dangle – and I thought O.M.G. I am going to die. Seriously, that is what I thought. I tried to get out of it, and say I will wait for you here, but they would not hear a word of it. The Argentinean, told me to do it once, and if it was horrible I could pout the rest of the day. Of course my attack has just started, we made the line, and its was long, felt like we spent 45 minutes waiting, and everyone encouraged me and all, but I was just trying to breath in and breath out and the more I thought about, the more the fear latched on to me, and towards the end I even felt short of breath. It was like I was sure we were going to die, or become paralyzed, or have a terrible accident, or the ride would stop midway and we would spend 2 hours dangling from the thing in wait for rescue … the scenarios in my head where countless and all fatidic. Finally we get there, we are about to get on the little seats and I thought this is my chance I will just keep walking and no one will notice. But I realized I had promised I would try it once, and the Argentine was very sweet and told me that nothing was going to happen. Against all my survival instincts I sat down and strapped myself, and then I closed my eyes …
The ride starts with this extremely strong push forward (to generate the g’s needed to push the cars up and then around and around) and that was not scary, then we turned and went up, up, up and then I opened my eyes and yes my feet were dangling, but nothing felt wrong, it actually felt – can you keep a secret? – Good. The ride took us over 4 or 5 loops, around, up, down and sideways and you can see the park bellow you and it is so fast you can not really stop and think much. All of sudden it comes to an end, and we were down again, and I realized I had not lost limb or life. I – can you keep another secret? – had even enjoyed it.
From there we went on to 4 more roller coasters and I enjoyed them immensely, I even laughed specially in one that was inside, so you could not really tell what was coming next. All in all I had a great day in the park – I know some of you would not think I would enjoy it, but I did – it was very clean and the only bad part was the pizza we had in the beginning, yuck. Such a total waste of carbs, anyway, we made up by working on oatmeal cookies later that nite.

Am I a soccer gay ?

This week, I am driving a minivan, not just any minivan but a Dodge Caravan. I got into Charlotte and I say hi to my friend the driver of the Avis shuttle – we go way back, she reminds me of Miss Gay at the Hampton – anyway so she takes me to my spot and there it was a Minivan. I could not believe it; I know I am not a stellar driver but a minivan? I went into the office and they told me it was the only thing available if I was going to return the car in Greensboro. So I took it, what was I to do, take the broom and fly to Wilkesboro.
I got on board, and drove all the way, and have been driving the entire team to lunch every day this week, ohhh joy! I mean the car drives funny, it is different than driving a truck (I drove that Nitro remember), which was what I expected, almost like it has no suspension and I feel like I go in all directions as soon as the pavement is not smooth. Also I do not enjoy changing the wears with the handle next to the wheel – yes being terribly gay I am not sure what the name of that type of transmission is, I mean it is automatic but I am sure it has a special name. Finally there is no hand brake, and that I do not like, why? Do not ask, I just like knowing I have the break there.
I will return the car tomorrow, and have to fill her up, cuz I am not giving Avis any extra $ for the tank of gas, I used to take the gas option until I realized I was paying for an entire tank of gas even if I returned the car with half a tank. Of course this is the week where the ten commandments for drivers come out, and all, and I have been very careful, except when I forget to put the car on reverse and try to back out and things like that, but hey I am driving a minivan so I am sure other drivers just think, there goes another clueless soccer mom. Wrong! I am a useless gay driver, not a soccer mom.

Ten Commandments

The Vatican has seen my driving I am guessing, and they came up with driving's ten commandments. They are all kind of funny - I think - but here they are:

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

Its not like one can disagree with any of them, but still when they are written and spelled out I can not help but chuckle. I know I am not a good driver, but c'on, I do not need 10 commandments do I ?

Pride weekend

This Saturday was Pride, and let me tell you it was exhausting. I have to thank a very special someone for putting up with me and all the craziness around the event. By the time the parade started I was feeling a little off and did not really enjoyed myself till the very last 30 minutes, for some reason, even the crowds and the day made no impact on me. On previous years there is always a sense of adrenaline going on, making me think yes I am out and freaking proud but not this year. It was enjoyable, do not get me wrong and lots of fun, but maybe because I was on edge I did not get to enjoy as much. Maybe because I was not carrying a water gun and ended up filling people’s gun and not really doing anything else.

Do not get me wrong, I had a great time and I think this year we made a real good job of generating a good idea and taking that idea into something that was doable. We managed to have pretty much everything ready the day before (a first) and the marching contingent looked unified and I am sure for a lot of people seeing men in Speedos was a great reprieve from all the other groups that march in over decorated S.U.V’s that truly scream everything but fabulous. Watching the groups that came after us, while we cleared the car and rested, I can not help but think, aren’t we supposed to be fabulous, aren’t we supposed to be the trend setters and makers, and then I look around the pride parade and it seems like the more garish and sad, the better. I do think that the parade and the festival need to be rethought, not sure what the answer is, but then again I am no friend of street festivals, so that part of the weekend will never be for me, I know there are people who manage to enjoy it – like the Diplomat – but not me, never have, maybe one of these days my opinion will change, but not any time soon.

The weird thing is I am not sure I should post this, it seems rather petty. Pride is great, one of the high holidays in the calendar. I always look forward to it, it marks the middle of the year and it is such a pagan day that it is great to enjoy. I already foresee some issues for next year, given its proximity to IGLA, not sure who will be able to put anything together, but like the Architect says that is in the pile of “Not my problem”, I am thinking that that is in the pile of “Not my problem, yet”.

Hopefully everyone else had a great time, and enjoyed the weather, Sunday was rather pretty and cool.

Book Review

Book Review

An idea occurred to me this weekend, we who read books need to start an itinerant library, there is no point in everyone buying books, but we can lend them to each other and that way we can all read different books and we can all save a little money. Sometimes I feel like I can not go into Kramer’s without purchasing one of such objects. The Argentinean even proposed to create a blog that basically encompasses book reviews, and the idea intrigues me. I can post about Paris and Amsterdam, but those entries would take way too much work and not sure I have the energy right now, later of course (yes skinny one, I know I am always promising posts), so I am tackling the book we discussed last Sunday, Mrs. Dalloway.

I approached this book with a little caution, I had never read any of her books, and was not sure what to expect. Like most people I had seen The Hours, so was curious to see if I could infer things from the movie that would help me read the book. I was disappointed when this was not the case. I skipped the introduction, one of the problems with reading one book every month, is you have to read it – yes I am the guilty one that tries to read them even if he dislikes them. Ok, so I started the book and I was familiar with the first line, so I followed the story, but then it changed, the narrator kept changing on me, and it took me like the first 30 pages to get used to it. But then I was fine, and by the time Peter comes to visit the morning of the party, I was able to identify the changes in narrator immediately and determine where the story was going next. My recommendation would be to skip the intro and just go for it, jump in and fight with her long sentences and her descriptions of things until you get the hang of the story and just keep at it.

The story is simple yet complicated, it is something we can all relate to because we all do some level of introspection, and we do not have the amount of time people had in the 20’s to just walk to the florist, but we still have 30 minutes here and there where we think of things, we need to do, of things we have not done, and of things that happened in the past and that still affect us to this date. The great thing about these exercises for me at least is that it gives you perspective, is shows how things that seemed so important were not and how little things ended up being what one keeps. Ok enough about me, the book surprised me because it was extremely pro British Empire, and how it went through all these characters cutting across the upper classes paying very little attention to the lower classes. I had thought she would be more of a socialist and a feminist than that. I can see how the book was and is revolutionary and how it is written with such craft that she keeps you reading even after she has cycled through similar descriptions over and over again, always through different perspectives. At the center of the book is a love triangle, that haunts its main characters through their lives, and this is a recurring theme in life and literature, but she manages to make it nuanced and interesting. Finally here are the things I would focus if I was to read the book again:
* The details about the park
* The lunch scene with Lady Bruton
* Elizabeth’s shopping scene
* Septimus appointment with Dr. Bradshaw

I know this post is a bit too long, but I would recommend anyone to read this book. The language will be a challenge (it was for me, but I am not a native speaker) but the story is beautifully told, its worth reading it for the sentences and the paragraphs alone. Also I like Clarissa, I like her a lot, so I guess I am biased because from the get go, when he is mending her dress for her party she had me.

PS. There is a new link on the right, y’all know who he is.

Trying not to abuse the Tylenol.

Morning, yes it has been a month, but half of that I was in Paris, France, Europe and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe, so I have a good excuse. Many adventures need to be told, many great pictures need to be shared. A great time was had by everyone, although I wish I had come home Saturday and not Sunday, because Monday at 9 am I took a flight to Greensboro to get back in to the flow of things at work, so lets just say that yesterday jetlag plus getting caught up in everything that happened and everything that needs to happen has taken its toll. My sleep pattern is a mess, I wake up at 3 am, and have trouble staying in bed till 6 or 6:30, one of my aids in this fight for sleep has been Tylenol pm, I took one Sunday, still nothing, I tossed and turned, mostly anxiety about getting back on a plane after spending 24 hours traveling the day before. Then Monday, I took 2 pills and slept from 9:30 to 6:30 and was pretty refreshed, but last night I decided that I had to do it on my own and of course I woke up at 3:30, I managed to sleep a little bit more, the hotel does not serve breakfast until 7 so its not like I was going to leave the hotel at 6 and go sit in my cube at 6:15, so I stayed put till 6 and then started the day.
The good news this week is that I ma driving a Mustang, it was partly my fault that I got such a butch car because I messed up my rental reservations, thinking I was flying into Charlotte and not Greensboro, so I asked for whatever they had and they had a Mustang. I took it; there was no other way for me to get into town otherwise. It is black and automatic and I feel like such a bad boy driving it, it is not even funny. It drives well, much better than the HHR I had before I left on vacation.
The bad news is that I forgot to bring my camera with me, so I have 300 pictures that need to be downloaded and edited and they are waiting for me in DC, instead of being here where I could work on them in the evenings. Oh well, I will have to post real posts to keep you entertained until I can post my pictures.

The convertible and the gay

Yes I am back … sorta. This week I traveled Sunday, because I needed to be here Monday morning and the best way to guarantee that is by getting here Sunday. I left DC at 7:30 pm, my flight was departing at 9:45 from Dulles. I drove like crazy to Dulles afraid of the security lines and all that, but I get there and there is no one in the airport I was even worried that there was an emergency and the airport was closed, but no. I passed security with my two laptops in tow. I get to one of the new wings at Dulles and wait and wait, and wait, and wait a little more. The flight finally leaves at 11:15 pm. We land in Greensboro ( I even changed airports this time, its all about exploring) at 12:15 or so, and I walk to the Avis counter, and as I ask for my car, and they give me a spot and the keys, and as I walk to the parking lot I realize that I did not know what Chrysler Sebring was, so I kept walking and to my surprise there it was a blue car, that was a Sebring, but even more surprisingly it was a convertible. I mean, I am gay, but a blue convertible is totally wasted on me. I open the trunk and see this weird contraption, so I put my bags in the back seat and start driving to Wilkesboro. The first thing I noticed is how freaking heavy the doors are, and how freaking hard it is to open and close the trunk. Ughh so much work.

The day after, I realize that the weird thing in the trunk is the space where the top goes. Still the doors are too heavy, when I complained the Argentinean was quick to point out that they make the body of convertibles heavier to make up for the lack of roof, and here I thought it was just a poor American design.

Its been 3 days with the car and I have not taken the top down, LOL, I guess only I get the joke, but I was planning on driving to Greensboro today with the top down weather permitting. I have not realized how to do it tho, but I am an engineer so I am sure I can figure it out. There is only one problem, today the Tyson’s Chicken plant decided to put all the chicken leftovers in the fields around town, and it stinks of dead chicken everywhere, and let me tell you its like walking in the fifth circle of hell. The smell of whatever the chickens leave behind is just nauseous. So no driving with the top down for me!

Finally I want to send all my best wishes to all the Mothers out there, in Mexico Mother’s Day is today, so to my Grandmother, to Mrs, Perfecta and to my Le Soccer Mum in Paris, who I will see very soon, all my love.

Wet and wild

Last weekend was wet and wild, and it was not just the weather, it rained, and rained and rained and rained in DC, causing all kinds of trouble. Pumps not working, basements flooded, streets closed, etc. It even affected my ride to the airport Monday morning when the cabbie had the nerve to give me a lecture on how much time to give myself to get the airport. I just sat there quietly, and then when he had dropped me at the airport, he started to get away with my bag in his trunk, so at 5 am I started cursing like a sailor, and almost took his cab fair money from him. So angry I was that I walked into the airport, registered for the flight and stomped to the gate without even saying hello to anyone.

Well back the weekend, so I went to my first real straight meet, it sound weird I know, but in 4 years of swimming I have always gone to the gay meets and UMBC, but never the big competitive straight meets. So I went to Colonies Zone, and it was fun, it was different, for once there was no food, so I have to thank the Argentine for packing me some gels, cliff bars and a sandwich. At gay meets there is food, we try to be friendly I guess, or we try to make everyone fat to make ourselves feel less bad about our bodies. Who knows, so at this meet there was nothing but bending machines, and I am usually terrible at carrying cash, so I had to stick to my two bottles of water. That is my big complain, that and the fact that we were the only team who cheered, but I am getting used to that with time.

As usual I swam free and fly, and I did ok. I mean I could go on, and on about how bad I am, and how slow, and how I do not seem to make any progress. But I have to be honest:
a) I am not a born athlete
b) I am 5’3”
c) I have maybe swam 5 times in the last 4 weeks
So all this means that I was not in perfect shape and I did my events ok, I guess. I had a very good 200 free for me, at least 2:35, and a bad 200 fly. The irony is that the only medal I got was for the 200 fly, a bronze. I did a lot of relays, and had a lot of fun. It was a sobering meet I think, because it showed me what real swimmers are. One guy did the 200 free in 1:40, I mean that is my base time for the 100 in long distance events. It was just amazing to see people like this swim. On of the more humbling moments for me, was at a relay, we had two teams in the same heat and we were swimming in lanes next to each other. I was doing the last 100 free, and I had plenty of time, turned to my right and my ageless neighbor was going to swim the same, for the other relay, he is 10 times faster than me. I realized that because of the rest of the people I would hit the water at least 10 seconds before he did, and I thought this is my chance to not be wiped out. Well I am 5’3” and not a sprinter and he is 6’1” and a sprinter, so I jump in and swim, and try to go as fast as I can, and there I am moving my legs as fast as I can, and trying to elongate my stroke, and as I do my third flip turn I just see him coming and I just knew he is going to overtake me, but I thought I had a chance, so closed my eyes and swam, as fast as I could. I came close the wall, as I touched the pad, I noticed him waiting for me in the lane next to me. Dang! At least I have the 1650 I guess, that is until the Canuck becomes too fast, which he already has.

Me and my Nitro

Yes it has been a while, but life has gotten busy, just busy. Also the traveling gets old and there is just not a lot to tell. Lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s, sushi for dinner, I am still the only man in the Chisel class. Same old, same old. This week something is different though, I have been driving a NITRO, yes it is the boxy car, and it is weird to drive, I feel like I am omnipotent, driving so high above the ground being able to bully all the little cars around me. Also I am afraid I will miss something and suddenly go boink!, and hit a tree or a car or a passerby or something that I was not able to observe. One of the funny things about renting a car every week is that in a way it is like a game, and you get what you get. Usually I get economy cars, mostly because I am cheap and I do not need that much space. It is me, my rolling bag, my knitting bag and office backpack. Now that I put it in paper, it does seem like a lot of luggage for a 4 day trip, and the sad part is the only thing I do not need is the knitting bag, because the rest I need.

The car is great, the NITRO I mean. I is big and I can accommodate a lot in it, mostly people going to lunch, but I do feel like an OC wife running errands all alone in a big SUV when I am driving alone back to the hotel or to the Y. The one humiliating part of it all is that when I got it, I get in and the seat was pushed way back, like they were expecting a guy 6’2” tall to just come in and drive into the sunset (sunrise, I guess since it was 7 am). Well I sit down and realize I am way to short to get to the gas pedal, and I start searching for the lever to move the seat forward, and I can not find it. All I see is a button that moved the seat up and down but nothing to move it in the other directions. I step down of the car and look, I see nothing, I go and take a look at the copilot’s seat and see nothing. Nothing. I think, and think, and think a little more. The car has no manual, the glove box is empty. I am going crazy now, I have spent 10 minutes looking for a way to move the sit so I can drive out of the parking lot. I am pissed now, and at the same time I can not contain the laughter. So finally I decide to ask. I get on the truck and drive to the entry, looking like a 10 year old driving their parent’s car, and when the guard checks my driver’s license and the contract I cleared my thought and asked if he knew how to move the seat. So he makes this face, like he did not know, and I thought, shit, shit I am going to have to drive like this all the way to Wilkesboro, but not, he told me to step down and shows me how the button that moves the seat up and down, also goes sideways. I do my little gay laugh, and thank the parking attendant, hop in my truck, put my shades on and drive to Wilkesboro without having to strain my back.

Cautionary tale

Road warriors out there, be careful, take heed and listen to this story, because last Monday I saw the future and let me tell you it is not pretty, or enticing or anything. I t was scary and realizing how easily it could happen to anyone I have decided to tell you about it so y’all take your provisions and stay alert.
Here is the story, I am walking into the hotel and had to ask for some water. Stopped at the Front Desk, at the hotel they know my name; they call be Pablo, not Bobby. But there was a lady waiting, she was tall and thin, blonde (artificially blonde) and she had the accoutrements of a seasoned traveling consultant. The nice bag, the expensive rolling Tummi bag, she had her rental car keys and her wallet. She was just checking in. The guy in the Desk was real friendly and told her that he had gotten her the same room as always and that it was all set. She smiled, and looked content, introduced herself to me, I forget her name, but I did notice the tan and the wrinkles. This was no spring chicken, and she looked a little overdone, if you ask me, but she had a pleasant smile and nice bright blue eyes. We talked for a bit, and then it was my turn to get my water, I ask for it, and I then notice he had some grocery bags with her. The rooms have a fridge and a microwave, so I decided to peak. She had some frozen dinners (yuck), cereal and cookies, some toiletries and finally there was one bag that just stood out from the rest, as she grab them and started walking toward the elevator, one bag has a 12 pack of Coors Light.
This was a Monday which means that she had picked up 12 beers for maybe 3 nights. Imagine that. I can not, but I am not a beer drinker, not at all. Of course as soon as she left and I got my water I had images of a hotel room littered with beer cans, and thought what will the cleaning lady think? I guess she doesn’t care. Nor should I, but please, please, please if anyone ever seems me get a 12 pack of beer to get through the week, just stop me right there in my tracks.
May this serve as a notice to all.

Where no gay cowboy has gone before

Last night, I was going to swim at the Y, but I was tired, and thought, what the hell, I can not swim every day. So I worked a little bit later – 6:30 – and then decided to try out the sushi joint in town. I left the office and drove the Red Carpet Inn, an internationally well known chain of establishments that in the case of the Wilkesboro it comes with a Japanese Steakhouse in the premises. I got there at 6:40, the place was empty. I am not sure what the local was empty and like a set out of Golden Girls, ugly dolls in the corners, ugly drawings hung from the walls, and rattan furniture stained a dark brown color made up the décor. The bar was a tiki bar, with Japanese accessories, and the barwoman and sushi person was oriental for sure, but where I can not tell you. Her accent, being a mix of southern drawl and Margaret Cho’s mother gave no clue. She was fast, and she looked like she had managed the place for years and the two clueless white waitresses where no use. They could not even be bothered with either my order or me paying for the food. But eventually, 20 minutes later, I got my sushi and went to my hotel room and had it in peace and quiet. It was good, not out of the world good, but good and I am still here to blog about it so I guess it was clean enough.
So that was my tale of branching out for food in this town, everything else involved fries or ranch dressing and sometimes I am just not in the mood for another salad with dressing on the side, the looks I get are priceless. No cute stories about Walmart or anything this week though. I have been working away and getting so used to the surroundings that I do not see them as exotic or anything like that. Maybe I am becoming Bobby.

Things I have learned so far

• Breakfast means sugar in the heartland, sugar and flour, with protein only in the form of bacon
• Things are not that bad in DC, here everything closes early except fast food.
• Always stock up in power bars, always, because when you do not feel like picking up a salad at Wendy’s a protein bar does the trick.
• HBO is your friend.
• Humidifiers should be mandatory in small town hotels.
• If you are traveling with lube, make sure you put it in a zip lock bag, otherwise it might spill.
• When traveling with two laptops. Put on in the bag you are checking and pray, otherwise you will be juggling laptops, shoes, bags, needles, yarn, book, the New Yorker and boarding pass during security.
• Choose one color of dress shoes, so that you can carry sneakers and flip-flops. This week it is black.
• Whales attack their would be saviors.

Like a Virgin,

Last Monday I crossed a pair of doors I had never crossed. Call me a princess or spoiled or what not, but I had never needed to go there, there was never one around and I was always able to live without one in my life. I knew they existed and have even studied it for school and work, but just had never had a reason to go and see it. Of course the new assignment changed everything, and finally last Monday I went into a Wal-Mart store for the first time.
*gasp*
I had left work, and I needed tooth paste and moisturizer and some other random things, like a bottle for water and a notebook. I had seen it on my way to lunch and after paying a visit to a grocery store I and getting nothing, because I realized that having groceries at the hotel would be a waste of time and money, I went into Wal-Mart. I was surprised, I was expecting a massive store – this one was not – with many products and lots of people. This one was not particularly crowded and the shelves were not stock. It looked like a run down Target, with bad service and nothing to sell. It also looked very dumpy compared to the Targays I have been in, in DC, really dumpy, like it sells merchandise that is 5 years too old. The shock of the evening came when as I was walking past the electronics and bam, there just next to the sporting stuff, rifles and weapons in general. I probably jumped three feet, clutching my basket thinking, those had to be toys. Then thinking again, and realizing they were guns, real guns. And of course there was people at the counter and bless their hearts they prolly got a good deal in the amo they were buying but still. So I saw that and I went straight to the registry and checked out.

Notes from the first day

Sunday, 10:00 pm, Atlanta International Airport, yes dear readers this is as close to the real thing as it is going to get for the first week, since I am not sure the extent of my internet access at work. Today is my first day as a “road warrior”, One of those nerds with a laptop in a gate waiting for a plane. I am tired because of the meet and even if I am satisfied with my results – more on this later – I still wanted a better meet, in any case I got what I got and I managed to swim a ton, but I am paying for it now, when I have another two hours of waiting before getting to Charlotte and then a 1 hr drive to my final destination. I might just stay the night in Charlotte and then drive off in the morning, but we shall see how I feel when I get there.
The airport is packed; I was expecting an empty place, but no. Families, members of the military, people traveling alone and people in packs milling around the terminal. All the stores are open, and there are many, many fast food restaurants to choose from and TV’s everywhere all over the place. Its like CNN has me on its grasp and will not let me leave. The stories are inane, more on the Ana Nicole burial, something about someone giving toddlers pot to smoke and some missing person somewhere. Ohh and just right now Ann Coulter called John Edwards a faggot or something like that. Sheeesh, well I am out, I tried to connect to the wireless network here but it costs $4.95 to get on, and I do not think that this post is worth that much, so will try and post when I get to Charlotte or Wilkesboro.

Ok, so this post was written before I arrived here, I drove 1.5 hours and got in really late as you all know from the previous post, but I did it. The office is interesting, the team is fun and the environment is very positive – not something this jaded queen is used to. So far so good, I am sure I will be a bit bored after 3 days, but for instance yesterday I read 100 pages of the book we are reading just on the plain, and now I have 150 more to go. I also did a bit of knitting, but the flights were crowded and it was hard to do.

The first day is hard, it has been hard, I am sleepy and tired and getting used to the new environment and at a loss for words or things to do. I will stay at the office until 6, and then what ? I need to sleep, so I am going to go grocery shopping and then go check the Y, and then I am not sure. That is it for now, will post some more later this week.

Ohhh, and Happy belated b’day skinny !!!

Competition

It is very rare that I enjoy an athletic competition. I have never been an athlete, or even coordinated enough to be considered athletic, but last weekend I went on my first meet of the year. It was in Baltimore, not Baltimore, Catonsville, in Maryland and I had a great time. It was a short and sweet meet, lasted 5 hours each day and even though the ride was long, we all managed to have a great time. In my case, I swam 11 events, and that is a ton, really, not to boast or anything but I swam:
200 free
200 fly
50 free
100 free
50 fly  on a relay
800 free
500 free
100 fly
50 free  on a relay
50 fly  for a relay
1650  free

It was a lot of swimming, and it was not fast, but Sunday as I went up the stairs of Lauriol plaza for lunch, my legs felt wobbly, like I was barely able to walk. But for once the satisfaction was there, I definitely need to improve my times, and better yet I need to find one event I will try to do really well, because some of them were back to back, and so I did well in the 200 fly but terrible in the 50 free, terrible. Also in a short meet like this, I had some good times in the relays that I am not sure of, because no one pays attention to those and they are 50’s anyway. But most importantly for the first time in my swimming career – I guess I can call it that – I went to a meet and it made me look forward to the next one. In the years before I would go to a meet and be so happy when it was over, it was stressful and difficult for me, but this time it wasn’t. I know everyone and was able to focus on some different events – 200 fly here I come – and really relished in the competition part even if I did not win anything. So there ya go, something might be changing in me, or I am just getting better at swimming. Yay for me! Now I do need to work on my times though, because even if I padded some of my seed times a little, I need to start putting down more realistic times in the future

Finally here

I am here, after a 1.5 hour drive from Charlotte, btw, why is Charlotte called Charlotte, any one knows ? Anyway its almost 3 and I need to be at work at 8:30, so need to get to bed, I have some important news do:

I …
found …

Fear

This Sunday, yours truly will travel to North Carolina to start a new chapter in the laboral life – is that the right term in English, I am not sure. Yesterday as I was wrapping things up and seeing how there is a lot that I need to get done today, I suffered and anxiety attack as I was driving back to the gym. Many things went through my head, all of them at the same time, here is a glimpse:

• I am not bright enough and I will stink at the new project
• I will eat like a hog and become the Michelin man
• I will not be able to deal with the travel back and forth
• I will hate the people there and shut down slowly but surely
• I will miss all this things happening in DC and will be slowly forgotten

I know I am an idiot for thinking all these, but when you are home, tired after a long week and the only thing on TV is an old rerun of Ugly Betty, you mind can spin out of control. I did what any self respecting fag would do, had some chocolate, took 2 Tylenol PM’s, read for 30 minutes and was asleep at 10 pm.

Today the sun is out there, and I am feeling better, getting things done – as much as I can. Even planning on getting myself a new personal laptop for personal uses in my travels.