Tuesday, May 7

 
Realized it has been a long time since I've written anything, think that is just because things have been kinda "blah" lately. More when something interesting happens, or when I actually think something about something at least somewhat interesting.
posted by dotsboytoy 5:51 PM

Tuesday, April 30

 
Why is it that someone using the word "gay" to mean "stupid" really gets to me? I'm not terribly politically correct at all really, so it isn't just some conditioned politically correct bullshit, and I'm not gay, so it isn't like it is something personally offensive, and in fact, I don't really have any close gay friends any more (excluding just about every woman I know - who all seem to be bisexual). So what is it about someone using the word "gay" that way that gets to me? It just sounds so juvenile I think. Perhaps I just have memories of elementary school where people were picked on for being "gay" or "queer", even though no one knew what those words meant in the context of homosexuality, or even what homosexuality was. At any rate, I found it really hard to pay attention to the person's point because of her use of the word as a slur, and this is someone who I consider to be a good writer, and pretty thoughful and intelligent too.
posted by dotsboytoy 11:16 AM

Sunday, April 28

 
What a strange day. Totally out of the blue, I get a call from Nadine this morning around 11, asking if Wendi and I would like to join her and her boyfriend for brunch in a couple hours. First off, I haven't talked to Nadine all that much in the last couple months, and second, we haven't gotten together and done anything in close to a year, and third, she has a boyfriend? I figure it will be fun though, and Wendi is game, so we iron out the details and then say goodbye to go get ready. I'm really not sure why Nadine and I don't do more stuff together, other than perhaps we've just taken different paths in life since high school, since we do live in the same city, well, on opposite ends of suburban hell from one another really.

But anyway, Wendi and I drive across town to the restuarant for brunch, and we meet Nadine and her boyfriend Bryan ("Bryan with a 'y'," as she introduced him), who seems like a good enough guy, pretty easy going and easy to talk to anyway. Nadine greeted me with a big hug, which means she must be back in one of her phases where she wants physical closeness to me again. I'm really not sure why, but ever since we stopped dating in high school, Nadine has really see-sawed back and forth between how much physical affection she thinks is proper between us as friends. In many ways, I pretty happy we are back on hugging terms though, since her hugs are really comforting sometimes.

So it turns out that Nadine and Bryan have actually been dating for close to six months now, although apparently just in the last couple months have things really gotten "serious" to where they are pretty much living together but in two different places. When his lease is up at the end of the summer, they're thinking that it might be time to move in together. Nadine seems really happy with him, and that is good, as she has dated some real dorks since college it seems. Bryan is a high school science teacher, he teaches geology and other earth science classes, and what I think is really interesting is that in the summer he leads groups of teens on the Appalachian Trail for a program that focuses on ecology and environmentalism while hiking the trail.

So brunch goes well, and we just end up talking and talking for quite awhile after we've eaten, I'm actually surprised because it seems that neither Wendi nor Bryan are really left out of the conversation, with all four of us participating pretty well. After awhile, Nadine suggests we go back to her place since it is close, since we're all having fun and don't really want to split up yet. So we go back to her place, and wow, I'm actually pretty impressed by her house. She bought her townhouse last year, but I had never gotten over to see it before. It was both bigger and nicer than I was expecting, and Nadine has obviously spent a lot of time and money getting it decorated just how she wanted. So we sat around talking for several more hours, played some video games, and then decided we were hungry again, so ordered pizza. After pizza consumption and increasingly competitive (and at this point alcohol-impaired for everyone except for me) video game playing, we finally decided it was time to call it a night.

We all swore it won't be another year before we get together again. Hopefully, this will be true. What a pleasant and entirely unexpected way to spend a Sunday.
posted by dotsboytoy 9:27 PM

Friday, April 26

 
It was a pleasant surprise to talk to Cait last night on the telephone, since usually we just chat online and I think have only talked on the phone on average 2-3 times a year for the last 10 years. We started out talking on irc, but switched to the telephone as the conversation got a bit more weighty. It was mostly just both of us complaining back and forth about our jobs, I'm just bored at mine, and Cait has gotten in trouble recently at hers for screwing up some stuff.

One of the things Cait is going to have to do at work to try to not get in more trouble is cut back on her non-work-related Internet use, and that was especially bumming her out. She's going to have to not update her blog from work, nor chat on irc, nor use IM, which realistically will bum me out too, since talking to her is one of my diversions from boredom at work too.

I should really go to D.C. and go see her sometime, although since I was just on vacation a few weeks ago, will likely have to plan it for Memorial Day weekend at the earliest. Wendi and Cait have only met once or twice and both for short periods, although they seem to get along ok, and I'd sure Wendi would enjoy doing a bit of the tourist thing in D.C.

Oh yeah, something else I learned last night (but much later) - girls in boxer shorts and nothing else - mmmm-mmmm! Or more specifically, Wendi in boxer shorts and nothing else...
posted by dotsboytoy 9:23 AM

Monday, April 22

 
I'm so ready to quit my job. The problem is that I've become accustomed to a certain lifestyle which I can only afford with my paycheck. I could survive for a couple months at least without another job, since I do have a considerable wad of cash saved up, but with such a shitty job market for technical jobs right now, there is the possibility that I could not find another job in time. The fact that I'm pretty much providing for a roof over Wendi's head as well as mine makes it tougher too. I'm not sure when I started feeling like I needed to be the provider, but it seems I've fallen into that role, and I'm not sure how I feel about it, or what to do about it.

After a week off from work, and then another week back and the weekend, it had become apparent that if I stay in this job much longer, I will just explode. A two day weekend is barely enough for me to relax and psyche myself up for Monday morning again. Ok, I should just stop right now, as I'm starting to whine and bitch too much about my life, instead of just taking control of my fate, and I hate that. I am in control of my own destiny, I just need to take some time and get some résumés out, find and respond to interesting job ads, and get things moving.
posted by dotsboytoy 12:01 PM

Wednesday, April 17

 
Finally heard back from Nina, she is back in the country again. She didn't immediately say much about her trip, other than complaining again about the unreliable Internet access, so I asked a few questions and am hoping that is enough to get her going on about it. She's hoping perhaps we can get together sometime in the next few weeks, either she might be in the area for a bit, or Wendi and I might drive there to see her. Needless to say, no complaints from me about that.
posted by dotsboytoy 5:26 PM

Monday, April 15

 
The other night on the subway on the way out to meet everyone at the bar, Wendi and I were musing about why it is that Nathan cannot seem to find himself a girlfriend lately. He is extemely private about his dating, and it seems that it is because he is a bit frustrated and disappointed by it. Neither Wendi nor I can really understand it, as Nathan had a steady girlfriend, Bridget, for quite a number of years before things fell apart, and Bridget was a total hottie, even if she did have some, er, problems, and before her, Nathan tells stories of dating quite a few interesting women in college. Lately it seems he just can't get a break though, like he is going out on first dates with completely the wrong people. Wendi and I just really can't understand it though, he's young, attractive, successful, and for all his talk of shyness and not being good at meeting people, Nathan is still a hundred times more outgoing and willing to chat up random strangers, and oh so much smoother at it than I am.

But anyway, the point of all this, I think is that Wendi and I wish Nathan the best of luck in finding someone he can connect with. It is obvious that he isn't happy in his present state, and even if he doesn't find someone for a serious long-term relationship, it'd be nice to see him meet someone he can go out with in a casual dating scenario anyway. It just seems like almost everyone else we know is coupling up, and Nathan is still the "single guy" and is starting to resent it. I mean, I don't even try to talk to him about anything to do with dating or relationships any more, since even if he starts the conversation, the limits to what is acceptable conversation in that vein, and what steps over some line into prying into things too personal is impossible to figure out, he is just so touchy about it.
posted by dotsboytoy 8:27 AM

Saturday, April 13

 
Soon was perhaps a bit optimistic. One of the things about being gone for several days is that I always have a ton of things to catch up on when I come back. However, I've learned from experience that what that really means is that I need to come back from travelling and still leave myself a couple days to catch up before having to go back to my daily routine. In this case, I have the weekend.

It was good for Wendi and I to get away for awhile, considering everything that has happened for both of us over the course of the last couple months, we really needed the time away. Things were nice and relaxing for pretty much the entire week, although I have to admit I cheated and did login real quick a couple times to check my email when it was convenient.

So I come back only to find out that a bunch of my friends are getting together tonight to go drink beer. Good beer. Really good beer. There is this bar in town that caters to beer snobs and has lots of really good and rare beers from around the world, and Nathan and Aidan are both really into good beer sometimes, along with Wendi who has acquired a taste for some better beers nowadays, and a bunch of other friends who come along too. So we go there with a varying regularity and run up a several hundred dollar bar tab, leave a nice big tip for the (almost universally) cute waitress, and it makes for an enjoyable night out. I don't drink alcohol, so for me the real pleasure is in the fact that I enjoy the company of friends and acquaintances, that the food is exceptional for bar food, that there are usually plenty of cute girls to stare at (both among the waitstaff and other patrons), and that my part of the tab is always cheap with only some food and a soft drink. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to this evening.
posted by dotsboytoy 6:51 PM

Friday, April 12

 
I'm back. More soon.
posted by dotsboytoy 11:16 AM

Friday, April 5

 

On hiatus next week

The blog will be on hiatus next week, which sounds a lot more professional than just saying that I'll be out of town next week and not near a computer much during that time. It is a little unclear when I will be back, possibly as early as Thursday the 11th, although perhaps not until Sunday.
posted by dotsboytoy 4:26 PM