Punkin Beer?

When I went to bed last night I opened my window to let the cool air in for the first time since May. This morning I woke with my teeth chattering but smiling because fall is finally here. I love cool mornings, sunny days and wearing layers. Unfortunately, I foresee a shopping trip in my future because I have very few collared nicer long sleeve casual shirts that go with jeans to wear to work. My previous job was business dress so I have 30 or so dress shirts but there is no way in hell that I'm going to dress up unless I have to. So, look out mall, Aaron's heading there soon, again.

As a tribute to fall, my local brewery is launching a seasonal series of beer. Click here for the story. Oh, for those of you wondering why I call them local, the complex is less than two miles from my house, so when the wind blows from the north I can smell the yeasty goodness! :-)

Growing up.

This week has been pretty status quo, no major arguments or drama at work or natural disasters to worry about. Therefore, I've been able to focus on my personal life a little bit. The reason I'm posting this is because I'd like to see if others actually have this same problem. Have you ever met someone you've been interested in and start bringing him around your friends, and then have him and one of your friends hit it off and they don't tell you? It's happened to me at least 5 times in my adult life. Most recently, this last week. I'm not entirely sure of all the details because I'm not 'in the know' just yet, but I can definitely sense that something is up with J. Someday it will come out in the wash, but I'm giving up any efforts.

On tap for the weekend:
Dogsitting for Dad on Friday, then a possible mini roadtrip up to Champaign to help my brother powerwash and stain his deck before winter. I haven't been up to stay at his house since we moved him in there last July. I'm looking forward to it. My childhood twin bed is heading up to his spare bedroom, so there will be room for the queen mattress thats been propped up against the wall at Mom's for a while now. I usually stay there one night a weekend so it will be nice to have a big boy bed there :-)

Into the Wayback Machine..

My hot friend Matty tagged me yesterday to add this meme to my blog. Here goes..

1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

My 23rd post was And the nerves Settle in.. which was just a few days ago. Here's what I said in my last sentence..(and it is so true -- I'm exactly one month from turning 30)

It sucks getting old.

Now for the tags:
Marty--He's got a 'past' with a good friend of mine here, just proves how small the world really is.
Lyndsay--She's my best friend and new and sassy and I love her.
Jason's Room--Just discovered his blog yesterday and kinda like it.
Charlie--He's cute, and apparently successful in Austin, a city that I really like.
Jamie--Just found him too, and I needed people to add here. He's cute too, though.

So there's that, my first and maybe the last meme... :-)

See you in 6 months!

Whew! Finally done with one aspect of my medical issues. Yes, the drilling and shots are overwith. It's now been 5 hours and I'm starting to feel my upper lip again. Don't you just hate that tingly feeling when the drugs are wearing off? Anyway, I made it, it wasn't as bad as the last one, and I don't hafta see Uncle Jimmy for another six months.

And the nerves settle in..

Have I mentioned how much I really hate going to the dentist? This afternoon I have the third and (hopefully) the last visit to drill and fill 2 cavities. The drugs did their job last time and it didn't hurt, but I still hate laying there with my mouth open for over an hour with the potential for pain. *sigh* It sucks getting old.

Wet Weekend

I wish I had exciting news to report, but honestly, most of my weekend was spent catching up on sleep. Lately I've been staying up late and getting up early way too much and it pretty much knocked me out for almost 24 of the 48 hours of the weekend! Yesterday was a good day for it to, as the rain never really slowed down during the daylight hours.

Friday night I went to Goosed, which is right around the corner from my old house. I used to walk up there for drinks and quesadillas on weeknights when they were dead so I had time to get to know the people there. It is owned by two very nice lesbians, Deb and Melissa. They are breaking up after who knows how many years. I'm sure its going to be a challenge running a business together during a breakup! I couldn't imagine. After that I went to The Grey Fox for the drag show then a brief appearance at the Complex, which never changes. I only seem to have the desire to go there about once every 6 months anymore.

Just one other final comment, don't ever assume anything based on conversations held while intoxicated. Ugly lights and quiet spaces can totally change your opinion of someone! *raised eyebrow*

Expensive lesson..

As you all know, I've been in a cast for the better part of a month now. I'm responsible for mowing my Mom's lawn as well as my own. My brother has come home a couple weekends to help her around the house since I can't, and her neighbor has been helping out too. Last weekend while my brother was mowing our lawnmower made some nasty noises and died. Mom and I split the cost of the mower I wanted a little over 2 years ago. Needless to say, it was expensive but I am happy with it. Turns out I've been checking the oil wrong and it threw a rod. It's going to cost me $350+ to fix. Sucks. So, everyone go home and read the manual on your lawnmower. Apparently on mine you are not supposed to screw the oil dipstick back in when dipping it back in to check the level. I was checking it regularly but because I was screwing it all the way in, it was showing full when it really wasn't. Fucking sucks!

Thursday already?

Wow, this week is really moving quickly! My body has been cranky with me all week, punishing me for not giving it a regular weekend of rest. Oh well, I had tons of fun. I was originally going to post what I did each day, but the flickr set of Lake Geneva pretty much takes care of that. Here are a few that I really like:

Rebecca and Laura at Old Chicago in Rockford on Friday night...


Eric making a funny face later that night..


I think I'm going to get this picture printed and sent to Eric's Mom and Dad to put on their fridge, I really like it..


In other news, my viewer scope is going up. It's been nice to see emails from a couple friends and even my cousin who I don't normally stay in close contact with. A few have asked what a 'blog' is. Since I didn't technically know the anwer myself, I went to Dictionary.com and found this.

I cannot believe that there is another cat5 hurricane threatening the Gulf again! It just blows my mind! Part of me wishes it would hit NOLA again because there aren't many people or salvagable buildings, but I realize that if I were living there I wouldn't want that. So, here we go again. Hopefully it hits the cooler waters and gets downgraded before hitting land. My thoughts are with the Gulf coast folks right now. Hang in there and be safe!

FlickR!

Hi y'all. Busy week as usual here but I have managed to get a flickR account created and placed on here. My pictures from last weekend are up now, and more are to come :)

In other news, saw my podiatrist yesterday and I'm in a smaller cast for the next 2 weeks, then hopefully I'll be done with all this! Thank God.

Gotta go, but be sure to mark your calendars for BandTogether's Fall Concert on Saturday, October 15th, 8pm at Webster University's E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall in University City! For more information, click here.

Stay Tuned..

I know, I know, you've been checking daily for an update. I've been away for the weekend. Check back later today for a link to the photo album and what I did :)

Go-Go Kid

It's been a few days since I've posted. I have lots to report so stay tuned..

- Murphy always seems to strike whenever I do something frivolous. Saturday I buy the new camera (love it, but haven't set up the card reader yet to get anything off). Sunday morning I go out to get the paper off Mom's driveway and my left rear tire is flat. I have 39,xxx miles and the 4 inch metal gash wasn't repairable. So, 4 new tires for me, and now I've spent a grand with two swipes. Sure is easy. I let my fingers do the walking and found a deal I was satisfied with, but the tires weren't available at the place I had the flat looked at, so we had to move my car, and get me home to borrow T's Rodeo. Then back to Mom's where we spread grass seed and straw over the area in the backyard. Very busy day. T worked double-time overnight Sunday and Fletch didn't know what was going on. He kept me up most of the night running around or crying. *sigh*

-Yesterday morning I went to our warehouse to deliver and configure a new wireless IP phone from our vendor. In theory, I should have been able to turn the phone on, enter our WEP information and be good to go. Not!!! Three hours later and after I broke one of the other IP phones there looking at the settings I gave up and came to the office. I think the vendor is still there as we speak trying to get it all up. I then had 2hrs of meetings with conference calling vendors, no time for food. Then it was off to the dentist to get my cavities filled. Turns out he only did one, and I have to go back under the drill in two weeks. Lovely. Picked up my car, took Mom back to her house, came back to my house, then out to eat with T after all that. It was a late night!

-Today should hopefully be a lighter day. I go to the podiatrist this afternoon to check the progress of my foot. It does feel much better, but I don't know if I'm going to be freed of the big black boot. Keep your fingers crossed!

I finally got the "I wanna" outta my system!

But first, a review of last night.. It really does pay to be flexible. My plans for the evening changed 3 times over the course of the day.. Initially I was going to head out of town, but that all changed (see previous post) then was going to join T and BF2 for dinner but they decided pretty last minute that they wanted alone time so as I was contemplating what to do next a friend who I rarely do things with outside of weekly band rehearsals invites me to dinner and drag. Perfect. We had a great time, the drag was fabulous, and it was nice to see a good crowd out on a Friday night (a rarity for STL).

Slept in, and then headed to Mom's where we pretty much did chores and ran some errands. Not all that exciting, except for a Best Buy trip. I've mentioned in previous posts that I've been looking for a laptop. Well, after looking around and pricing different models, I decided that my work laptop is just fine for the home purpose I'm seeking. I don't need the 2lb $2k laptop just to read email and browse the web in front of my TV. This one will do just fine. That rationalization aside, I went back to the digital cameras and took the plunge. I've never owned one of my own, and was tired of having to borrow for trips. Read here. I haven't really done much yet, but am looking forward to having it around. It is light and small and will be able to go with me and in turn, maybe make this blog a little more interesting :) I will say this though, I spent almost as much as the camera by getting a bigger SD card, carrying case, card reader for my pc, and 4yr performance agreement. That was surprising, but I figured that I may as well go all the way.

Look for more exciting photos coming soon. Tomorrow: First day of gay bowling league, I'll be going to sign up but I won't be bowling in the cast :( I love bowling.

Sorry for the rambling post, and sleep tight y'all.

TGIF

Man, am I glad it is Friday! For a 4 day week, it sure has been very long and draining both physically and mentally. I had planned to go to Lake Geneva, WI this weekend to see a good friend but he has plans tomorrow and I wasn't all that enthused about a 5hr drive after work today. So, I'm going next weekend. Maybe by then I'll be out of the cast and won't have to hobble.. *crosses fingers*

I was a music major/business minor at SIUE. I play the French Horn and for years after I graduated I continued to play in their orchestra because they needed more horn players. Well, after 10 years of playing for them, I took two years off and was asked back this year. Last night was the first rehearsal I attended and I was immediately glad that I am making time for it again. I also play in BandTogether which is a local GLBT community band. I love the organization and have been around to watch its membership triple in the last 5 years. While I love all these people, sitting down with a bunch of music majors and playing for 2 hours is a completely different experience, and I am glad that I have the opportunity to do both.

Work is quieter today, and I have finally had time to clear some of the clutter off my desk. Hopefully I can post more this weekend. Be safe everyone, wherever you are :)

Disappointed.

Yesterday I added a friend to my list and gave him a shout out. He's new to the blogging thing and is being very frank about his sexual addictions. Also, he's chosen to reveal where he works and what he does in the parking lot there. If you read Dooce, you will find that her co-workers read her blog and she lost her job because of this. As we have several mutual friends (his boyfriend included), I've chosen to remove any links to him in the hopes of avoiding drama. And yes, you really are a ho.

Pretty

When I started here I had a new Dell laptop and 15" flat panel. I knew there were new 17's around but I had to wait until someone needed the 15". Today was that day and I'm lovin' it.

Pretty.

Recovery

Yesterday after work I went to the optometrist. I have a stye on my left eye. Prescription is: heat, and lots of it, to get it to drain. If not, it has to be cut out. Thrilling. This, combined with my foot, the skin and teeth (3 cavities) problems I'm addressing next week, depressed me. The big 30 is next month and seems like I'm falling apart! I felt like getting out of the house so I met a group of friends for drinks. 8 or so beers and no dinner later I'm at home talking nonsense to my roommate. I feel much better today, but kinda sad that I let myself feel so bad for myself that it was upsetting me so. Sigh, I guess everyone has those days, right?

Turns out my roommate decided to start blogging too, so this will be fun ;) You may get to read both sides of our lives at home! Look out! UPDATE: I had his link here, but it has been removed. Those of you that know him and want to read his blog, contact him.

Back to work, more later!

Weekend Summary..

Friday night we had a good time at CASA, then headed to American Electronics to look at new toys. The greeter in front saw me waddling in and offered up a wheelchair. I happily accepted, it was nice getting my roommate to push me around, until of course he popped a wheelie and I was forced to ride around the store on 2 wheels. Very embarrassing and funny at the same time :) Leaving American, we headed to The St. Louis Mills to see The Brothers Grimm. I highly suggest you brush up on your fairy tales before going to see this movie or you're not going to enjoy it very much.

Saturday I headed to Mom's where I spent the balance of the long weekend relaxing. My brother was in town and we ran some errands, did some shopping. Nothing huge to report.

I have decided that I want to buy a laptop for use at home. I bought a kickass TV in April with HD and Moxi etc.. and rarely use it because I'm up in my room at my computer when I am home. In my previous job I was given an IBM X40 to use. It weighed less than 2lbs when off its slice and I took it everywhere. I now have a Dell Latitude D610 which works great but is larger than what I want for home/personal use. We looked at iBook since I've never had an Apple product and think I should have some experience with them given my field. Anyone out there have any suggestions? Should I make the switch?

OK, back to work, but before I go, give a shout out to Blogger's newest victim, my best friend Lyndsay.

Movie anyone?

Last night we went to CASA for drinks, then a lil shopping. T's boyfriend wanted to see The Brothers Grimm. We got tickets and then got some dinner. Maybe it was the fact that the theater was warm and stuffy, or that it started after 11p but I had a really hard time following the movie. Supposedly it had a bit of all of Grimm's fairy tales in it. I strongly suggest brushing up on your fairy tales before you go. 'nuf said.

This morning I ignored GW's advice and topped off my tank before heading to Mom's. Figured that half a tank at $3.09 was better than a whole tank at $5 or so. Sigh. $25 used to fill my tank.

Just watched The Butterfly Effect and am gonna make some food for the weekend. Have fun, y'all!

What a week!

I'm really glad that Friday afternoon is finally here. I haven't been sleeping well this week for numerous reasons. It's been busy here at work, the foot crap is annoying, and there's Lori. Lori is my Mom's recently adopted 7 year old Australian Shepard (see below)



Those of you that know me know that we had an Aussie named Winston that passed away on May 15th of this year after a 7 month battle with Lymphosarcoma. We tried extensive chemo to no avail. Mom wasn't sure she was ready for a new dog just yet, but when Lori showed up on PetFinder because her owner had recently passed away from cancer, she felt the connection and we drove down to the Ozarks to adopt her. Soooooo, she had a small bump next to one of her nipples and has been getting bigger. Today she had surgery to have it removed. There is a 50/50 chance that it is cancer. I really hope it isn't. It was hard enough the first time!! We'll have the pathology results in a week or so. Keep your fingers crossed.

In other news, I think the trip to Champaign is off as Mom needs my brother down here to mow and do the chores I normally do for her since I can't. Tonight is dinner and a movie with my roommate then off tomorrow to Mom's for a family-ish weekend :)

Some people have asked what a walking cast looks like, so here it is:

Success

Lookie to the right! Matty helped me with a few things and now my sitemeter is where I want it. Thanks again! You made my day.

In other news, the Astrodome is already full, WTF?

Got a haircut tonight, nice and short.

Bedtime.

Progress

Photobucket account created, link works, sweet. Sitemeter, not so easy as they described. I'll have to dive in. Meanwhile, although I'm enjoying myself, I am beginning to wonder if anyone is reading this? Comment or email me please. I somehow need the validation :P

Photobucket

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

Site Meter!

Wow, they make these things simple. I think it may be up soon.