I have to say this has so far beat out previous birthdays to be one of my best in memory! And it's not even over yet! (Note: the birthday party on Sat. has changed - it is NOT at Halo, it is now at my friend Phillip's house. Email me for details!). Maybe I should have a birthday on Wednesday more often!
So on my day itself, I had dinner at Banana Cafe with Sean, and then we went out with Phillip & Fernando to Halo, were I also ran into someone I knew from school. There was some drama between my friends and some skank... I swear sometimes I think a camera crew really should follow us around - it would make the BEST reality show ever! Seriously though, thanks Phillip & Fernando for a great night!
Last night two old-school friends, Monte & Ozzy, took me out too. By "old school" I mean they've known me since the days when I was dating Casey and had blond hair (yikes!!) Anyway, we went to the Red Derby in Columbia Depths Heights. I wasn't expecting much, after going with ____ ages ago to "Wonder"Lands. But The Red Derby was so much fun, and the owners were so sweet! Free bottle of champagne to celebrate, and I got to actually wear the namesake red derby (pics forthcoming). Thanks Monte and Ozzy for an awesome night out!! Oooh ohhh! And for the first time ever I rode the bus in DC! Can you believe it? How many years have I lived in this area and never stepped foot on a Metrobus?!? It was almost a point of pride for me, like I've always been above it (I still am, mind you). But there's a first time for everything, see, I can live on the wild side!
And on a serious aside: My sympathies and condolences to Fred on his loss this week. (that was a harsh change of subject, but I wanted to include that)
April 16th is my actual (not necessarily observed) birthday! It seems everyone is here to celebrate - even the Pope is DC this week! (Oh, Benedict, you shouldn't have... no really, you shouldn't have!)
I won't even touch on what I think of that person visiting, trying to upstage me on MY week! And next week is Barf Earth Day. Where are my furs? Sean, gas up the SUV! Wait - the Pope and I can cruise around in the SUV together, perfect!
I'm still trying to think of what restaurant to make Sean take me to tonight to celebrate. I also have a big bottle of Framboise with my name on it chilling. I've already gotten some wonderful presents, so I told Sean all i want is him to model for me.
In lieu of the traditional b-day song, here is some OLD school Björk (from her Sugarcubes days) singing "Birthday"
Ok, it's time for another installment of my periodical posts "Trend Graveyard." Today I'm venting on kickball. Adult kickball. This bastard trend seems to have entrenched itself within the ranks of DC's bored yuppies. Riiight. What was wrong with alcoholism as the DC pastime? Ok, so there are some people who I'd rather see playing kickball than drinking, but for everyone else, all I can ask is what the fuck?? Kickball?? Kickball?? Ok, this is not elementary school. Seriously, I think that's the last time I played that shit. I see these stupid yuppies hanging out with their kickball teams all the time now, and it's sad. Oh so sad. I think you'd see me beg to go to JR's before you saw me playing kickball.
I wish I'd found this back over Festivus - I love love love this cartoon. I remember it from my childhood, and I love how you can find the most random things on YouTube! Anyway, this cartoon probably explains why I turned out so warped and with a hatred of X-mas. Be patient and wait for the snowman to "transform." My favorite part is when the snowman breaks-up the penguins in church! ha ha!
So... I'm glad it's finally starting to get warm! Poor Sean has been working hard, so I won't be able to see much of him this weekend, so I've decided to go visit my family and celebrate my birthday a little early with them prior to celebrating it with my friends next weekend (btw, my birthday is this Wednesday!). Sunday I'm finally going to this place on Cap. Hill called Sonoma I've been wanting to go to for sometime, to make-up for missing Crystal's b-day. Not much else new to report, except my friend Kim showed me this great ecard company today...I have to share:
Total 80's ballad cheeze!! Does anyone know what the hell happened to Bonnie Tyler? I miss her 10,000 cigarette voice. I told Sean if we ever get married the one stipulation is he has to sing me "Total Eclipse of the Heart" ala karaoke at our reception.
On the personal side of things, I've finally started feeling better after a restful weekend. I felt bad I missed Crystal's birthday party among other things. I really don't have much to report at all except I slept a lot and stayed inside for the most part. Sean came over and I was afraid of getting him sick, but so far so good. I had coffee with Fernando briefly and that was about it. Reminder: my birthday is not that far away! I'm already getting very excited about it! And now to close out with my other fav Bonnie Tyler song. I need a hero!!
I would say I'm glad it's Friday except I am home-ridden with a cold/flu/virus whatever it is that I've had the last few days that won't see to go away. Seriously, ____, you can put the voodoo doll away now! Until I get better, here's something for your pleasure:
Look out in the future for my upcoming video, "I'm Fucking Tom Brady (He's Fucking Tom Brady!)"
So weekly I've been going over to the apartment of someone who lives in my building for their American Idol parties/gatherings. Yes, I know, I've been sucked into American Idol (it's actually not bad this season). By the way, can I get some of the pills Paula Abdul is on? She's always so nice and never has anything mean to say...granted she can hardly put together a coherent sentence, but still. Anyway afterwards my friend was flipping channels and we came across Anderson Cooper. I mentioned how he is my "husband." I then got into an argument with said friend who happens to think Dan Abrams is hotter. It pains me so much to say this, but he may have a point: Dan Abrams is hot. Don't be angry with me Andy. You always have my heart. Dan Abrams just some ho!
What a much-needed weekend it was! I wish I had tomorrow off too! That's one thing I hate about March and April - there are hardly any 3-day weekends. I had a lovely weekend spent mostly with Sean, though I did go out with friends Thursday (see last post) and Friday night to Apex - hadn't been there in a while. Poor Sean had a long week, so we didn't do much except dinner and drinks, and we ran into some of his co-workers at Halo. Today we braved the crowds and went to see the annual cherry blossom festival. It seemed a bit colder than past years, but the blossoms were at their peak. I have some pictures here.
For some reason, the 18th & U Diner is the place to be on D.C., esp. for the worst trash that DC's gay "scene" has to offer. Now, as a guy who loves older men (paging Anderson Cooper and my side-fling Dan Abrams!) you would think I would LOVE the Duplex Diner (or as I refer to it, the Daddy-complex Diner). But all the guys there seriously are so in love with themselves. Newsflash: you're only "A list" in this pathetic backwater called Washington. Try pulling it off in a real 1st class city like London and see how far you get. I only mention this because I went into that swamp last night with some friends. It's always rubbed certain friends and I the wrong way, so it was ironic I had a better time at JR's (I know, right!). Speaking of which, someone told me that JR's used to be a church - no wonder I hate the place! It's like in The Omen when they tried to take little Damien to church! That shit burns!
Seeing this magazine cover reminded me that my boyfriend is an Eagle Scout. (Isn't that so cute, right?!) He laughs when I ask him if he still has his uniform...
I hope everyone had a safe spring equinox/St. pAAtrick’s Day/ Easter. I think the “Easter Brady” visited me, LOL, I got an Easter basket filled with my beloved pecan eggs and Reese’s peanut butter bunnies. I also went over to my family’s house for dinner yesterday.
My mother has a new toy – a Spitfire convertible (if you can imagine my mom driving a Spitfire) so yesterday afternoon she took me for a ride in it – it’s actually a lot of fun to drive too. I wouldn’t mind borrowing it sometime! Anyway, we drove out into the country and we randomly stopped at a very old graveyard. Not sure why, but we did. We were looking around at these tombstones, all of them very old, from around the mid 1800’s… when I stopped dead in my tracks. There were several with our last name. Now, my last name is far from common, so when I see it anywhere it’s a bit of a shock. Who knows, maybe it’s an omen – either way it was a bit too morbid, so I got out of there. Not to be morbid, but I only mention that story because it’s been a morbid week – Sean’s grandmother passed away (he is flying up to New York for the funeral), one of his cooks in the kitchen died yesterday. I swear I almost joined those ranks yesterday – I’m ashamed to admit I slipped and fell – hard- out of the shower. I landed very hard on my arm and thought I might have to go to the E.R. Fortunately I didn’t. But falling in the bathroom, gray hair, it’s all happening way too soon! I need to stop singing along to my iPod in the shower - Britney it's all your fault!
Ok, let’s think positive now – the Cherry Blossoms are here and I’m excited to see them this weekend! Warm weather is coming soon! Oh, and check out the Washington Post's Peep Contest. Too funny!
And I'm so absent-minded: I forgot to give a birthday shout-out to my friend "B" who celebrated his birthday last week. We suprised him with dinner at Floriana, followed by Halo (they changed their menu, for the better - try the black cherry cosmo) and this wonderful champagne Phillip found from Moet made with nectar. I asked Sean to find me some and now he's added it to his restaurant's menu!
I've been on a YouTube kick lately, but there's so many fun clips out there! Bored? Watch the pickle-phobe girl. I love Maury Povich - I need to be on his show, stat!
How appropriate for St. PAAtrick's Day! A town in AArgentina (wasn't ____ just there, too? LOL) is being terrorized by a gnome-like creature. According to reports, local teenagers caught it on film, and claim it's not a hoax. It is pretty creepy, and makes one wonder what the hell it actually is. Wait for the last ten seconds of the video clip....
And remember, ____, today is the day to put down that pint of Guiness (ok, who are we kidding, more like pint of whiskey!) and get thee to your local 12-step program meeting! You can do it!
In other news in my life. I went out Friday and Saturday... Sean surprised me with an Easter basker (very cute).
Yesterday Sean took me to the outlet stores in Leesburg. The last time I was in those parts was for Festivus at "Natalie's" ages ago. I actually liked all the outlet stores. They had a lot of cooking places, I noticed. I got some new kitchen stuff along with some Spring clothes. It was a fun day of retail therapy! I want to wish Margo a welcome back from Minnesota! And also a happy anniversary for her and Fred!!
Today I want to introduce my fellow Americans to our friends across the pond's answer to Britney: meet Kerry Katona.
This woman is a total trainwreck too, and I love her. Well besides the facts she was married to one of the boys from Westlife. [ and as a side story I'm ashamed to admit I know about them. I recall a certain former co-worker/friend "C" told me he was in love with Westlife and I thought I like this guy already. Though he prefers Nicky, I think Shane is cuter. ]
Anyway, my first introduction to Ms. Katona was in England last year I saw her on some commercial and recognized her from Perez always making fun of her. I was like "who is this stupid woman and why can't she pronounce langoustines! (really posh prawns!)" [my British friends will get the reference]. I'm not really sure what she's up to these days. Sorry to my American readers who are probably confused now.
Oh Britney, I have to say I love your new video. Very "Anime." You know, I should be animated and have my own cartoon, seriously. Battling drunk alcoholic exes, environmental whackjob ex-coworkers, homophobes, seducing Tom Brady...
I'm sure they had to do animation because she was in the hospital, and the first two videos off of "Blackout" were so trash-tastic. I mean, stripping and dancing in a bathroom. That pretty much sums her up lately, actually. I miss the "pink wig" level of craziness. You always knew she about to have a meltdown when the pink wig was on. I think it's become almost an adjective amongst friends these day ie "He's having some issues... like 'pink wig' crazy." Come back to us crazy Britney! I'll buy you all the pink wigs a ghetto dollar-store can stock!
So this morning while brushing my teeth I noticed in my red beard there was… a patch of gray hairs! Maybe it was just bad lighting! I’m actually not that concerned about it. Anderson Cooper is a testament that gray is OK. I just wasn’t expecting it so soon.
And speaking of hair color, as my friends P.B. and F.R. will remember a week ago at Halo, when a man asked “Is your beard red? That’s hot!” And then he had to ask, “So, are you red… down there?” Sigh. Now all that’s missing is Brandon Davis insulting me like he did Lindsay. In my defense, there are several men who I’m sure are ginger “down there” and are quite fine (paging my third future husband, Prince Harry!).
So in “upcoming events” there is some Irish guy and some guy who got crucified – but let’s talk about the important holidays – like my birthday!!
So save the date – Sat. April 19th will be the day (my actual b-day falls on a Wednesday – yuck). I haven’t sent out my annual themed Evites yet as I haven’t decided where to hold court. Banana Café was a lot of fun last year, I could do that again as a starting off point. I was also considering Halo or some other place to begin the evening with good cocktails and comfy seating. Yes, even ____, if you’re reading this, can come. Make his a virgin diet coke!
Well give me your feedback as to where (no, JR’s is not an option). I think I might also have a pre-drinks dinner. If it’s anything like years past we will all need food!
[post-edit] I've decided from this point onwards to offer nothing but encouragement instead of (albeit funny) jokes at ____'s expense. Right now he needs encouragement this St. PAAtrick's Day season to quit drinking, lord knows he is surrounded by enough enablers. I won't even call him "Drunky" anymore. We're rooting for you - you can do it!!!
And speaking of seasonal HOlidaze, Easter is around the corner and that means my favorite seasonal candy - nougat eggs!!! I've been looking all over for these things. I sent poor Sean on a mission to find them too. They only come out once a year (probably for a reason) don't laugh at me!
In an effort to be both fun and educational, I am including a link to the DC AA page, where certain persons can find AA meetings geared for gay men, conveniently located on P St. in Dupont. I’m just sayin. But ____, you say you’re not an alcoholic? Well let’s see what their quiz has to say. And since you aren’t here (or probably wouldn’t answer honestly) I will answer for you in red. What’s that saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Oh wait, bad choice of words. Anyway...
Quiz: Are you an alcoholic?
1. You decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days...
YES! I can’t help but feel responsible, too. On that first fateful night at LauriolPlaza you had been sober for months. And then I had to go an order a margarita. It was all downhill from there. It was stupid of me.
2. You wish people would mind their own business about your drinking- stop telling you what to do...
YES!! You get so annoyed, I know, when someone criticizes your drinking. Major red flag!
3. You have ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk...
Hmmm not sure. I’ll give you a free pass on this one. No.
4. You have had to have an "eye-opener" upon awakening during the past year...
No… I hope you aren’t at that point!
5. You envy people who can drink without getting into trouble...
YES!!
6. You had problems connected with drinking during the past year... Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with alcohol and keep on drinking, it will get worse -- never better. Eventually, you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of your life. The only hope is to stop drinking.
YES!!! Broken bones after a night of pAArtying – ring any bells?
7. Your drinking caused trouble at home...
YES! You’ve always had a lover – alcohol. End the affair now!
8. You have tried to get "extra" drinks at a party because you might not get enough…
YES!!
9. You tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though youkeep getting drunk when you don't mean to…
YES!
10. You have missed days of work or school because of drinking...Many of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when the truth was that we were hung-over.
YES!!
11. You have had "blackouts"... A "blackout" is when we have been drinking hours or days which we cannot remember.
YES!!! Like threatening to hit me and not remembering the evening the next morning.
12. Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink?
Yes – you knew enough to try and stop before. Why not give it another go – this time with the help of a 12-step progrAAm. No, this doesn’t mean stopping temporarily. It means stopping for good! This may sound tough, but millions of people in recovery will tell you it’s the only way! SCORE: The site says any score over 4 is a sign of alcoholism. Let’s see… your score is TEN! I’d say it’s time to go to a meeting. It can’t hurt.
Thanks to "P.B." for providing this useful PSA... (by the way, am I weird for thinking Dr. Drew is kinda sexy??)
I realized today is close to my anniversary of leaving "BarfDay," and finding my new/current job. Funny all the things that happen over the course of a year. And that I went from being around green granolas to dating a guy who drives an SUV. Life is strange!
"Don't Drink for Me AArgentina!"
And a special shout-out to a reader, who from the magic of my daily blog IP address reports, I see has been reading my blog from Buenos AAires. Don't take my gentle teasing too badly, now. I tease because deep down I actually hope for your recovery one day. Have a safe and sober time in South AAmerica!
I’ve been thinking a name change is due for some time – you may’ve noticed small changes here and there, and now Adam’s Deep Blog has been reinvented as The Poison Pen.
The name came about, actually, last Tuesday night at a certain 80’s night. I was with a group of friends, one of whom asked “Why is it so dead here lately?” and others began joking about my blog’s rather blunt assessment of certain establishments,
“Adam’s poison pen… or should we say poison keyboard!”
I'd find it amusing if my words had that much power to curse, alas. The reference further extends from one of my/our favorite films, the wonderful All About Eve. Watch this gem staring Bette Davis if you haven’t – it truly is one of the bitchiest movies ever.
What’s been new in my life? I had a much-needed 3-day weekend. Sean and I spent time together Saturday and Sunday. There’s a great place we went for dinner Saturday called Sette near Dupont. They have great Italian food- I recommend it! On Sunday I actually got Sean to try Ethiopian – and he liked it! I guess he had a bad experience years ago trying it at some place in Maryland (that says it all right there LOL) so he was scared to try it. But I’m happy to report he liked the place I took him to, Meskerem, so much he wants to go back! I could eat that injera bread all day long.
A Happy Birthday to our friend Marc!! (also a speedy recovery on his injured thumb!) We are celebrating tonight at Marrakesh Palace. I think it’s really nice what they did with that place – do any of you remember when it was “Mr.P’s?” I realize the place had historical significance to the gay community, but I remember that place was scary – as is structurally. You could feel your feet sinking into the rotting wood floors as you walked across it. CREEEK! I heard it cost the new owners a pretty penny to gut the place. Having been there for dinner once already – it’s got wonderful food and belly dancing, and if you’re lucky you can get the Middle-Eastern style couches.
Oh, and last night was a lunar eclipse. I had no idea until Sean called me to tell me to look outside!
Happy Valentine's Day!! A second wonderful Valentine's Day with Sean - it's so great to be with a man as wonderful as Sean, who treats me so amazingly! I'm so happy I've found him and have him in my life!!
[Update 02/15/08 - Post-Valentines: What an awesome day yesterday was. Sean cooked for me last night - it's nice to have your own private chef ;) He made a lobster-stuffed sole with polenta and red wine-sauteed shallots for the main course - it was fantastic. And I love the cupcakes he had sent to my office - very cute. ]
A rather timely article I saw on my friend Mike Rogers' gay news blog PageOneQ. It's all about mancrushes...and Tom of course [02/13/08 - Updated with better link]
"It's a phenomenon called the Tom Brady Man Crush, and it has taken hold of straight male football fans - yes, even some Giants fans - all over New York City.
As defined by Urbandictionary.com, a man crush is when a "straight man has an extreme admiration for another man, as though he wants to be him." But Mike Philbrick, editor at ESPN.com's Page 2, offers a quick litmus test for diagnosing the Brady bromance: Would you turn down buying your girlfriend a drink if Tom Brady asked you to buy him a drink instead? "
I am so glad to be back home. I was in Detroit much of this week for the Creating Change conference. The conference was a lot of fun – it was great to network with all the faces in the GLBT movement, attend some great workshops, and even have some fun in Motor City (who knew!). As a side note, as our hotel was on the border – I had a lovely view of Canada – am I the only one who saw the irony in having a gay rights conference across from a country where we already have them?? Anyway, I also got to spend time with my aunt, uncle, and grandmother. It seems I also brought the cold back with me (it was 7°F when I left).
The flight though was terrible! I swear I had some of the scariest turbulence I’ve ever experienced. I started to worry when I noticed even the flight attendants looked panicked. Things were flying, people were puking. I have no illusions about any “afterlife” but come on universe! After all the shit I’ve been through I’m not going down in a plane crash! And if I do have to die in a plane crash, certainly not on NorthWest economy! At least make it British Airways first-class!
So I’ve never been happier to land, and there was Sean waiting for me, and I’ve never been happier to see him!! I have to mention: for dinner we braved the wind and went to the quirky Mark’s Duck House. If you haven’t been there, it’s worth the experience. Their menu is about 20 pages of items in Chinese, some other languages, and sometimes English. It’s the real-deal Chinese cuisine, and it’s a sort of locals’ favorite in Falls Church, Va. Our duck was very good.
I’m still working on Valentine’s Day ideas (I know, it’s 3 days away!) and Sean seems to have something up his sleeve but I don’t know what. We shall see!
Tom Brady, I don't care what they say, you'll always be the winner in MY book!
Sigh... anyway I have some pictures from this weekend. Margo, Fernando, his man Brandon, and Rebbecca went to the annual orchid show at the National Botanic Gardens. And no, we did not find the elusive chocolate orchid. The orchid show was great otherwise, and I had a fun day. Sean and I went to a really, really bad Mongolian BBQ restaurant - does anyone know of a good one in the area? They're almost as elusive as those damn orchids.
Much like the radio show LoveLine's game "Germany or Florida," I'm going to start a picture game called "Homeless...or Britney?!
"Gimme more...of your spare change!"
Ugh, I'm sure by now we all know that last light she was taken away to where she belongs - a psychiatric ward. I really am at a loss, and yet I can't help but watch. It makes a work day go by so much easier. And in honor of the upcoming Superbowl (and to undo the hideous image above), here is obligatory hawtness that is Tom Brady.
Oh Tom...I don't know about that Stetson shit, but you could sell a freezer to an Eskimo. You're such a tease!
Some days don’t you want to just stay in bed? I always have a hard time getting up on Mondays, and especially winter mornings, where it’s much better to just hide under the covers. This weekend was rather low-key – Sean and I met some friends out Saturday (it seems every place other than Town is dead these days on Fri & Sat), David is still here from London with Phillip. Sean and I spent yesterday visiting the “Little Korea” that is Annandale, VA. It really is worth a visit if you haven’t been before. Basically the stretch along Columbia Pike and Little River Tpk has a ton of Korean shops and restaurants – it’s odd that you can’t find a decent Korean place in the city, but they are to be found in abundance in Annandale. We had dinner at what I swear is the best Korean food outside of Korea – a place called Sorak Garden we’d read about. It was amazing, and I can’t wait to go back with a large party! Next week I will going to a conference in Detroit, MI. Because Detroit in February will be so pleasant I’m sure. Actually I think it will be fun, and my aunt lives there so I can visit her at the same time. Oh, and the week after that I have jury duty! Somehow all these years in the District and Virginia I’ve managed to not be called, but it seems my time has come – wish me luck in that I can leave early and not be selected! Also, Valentine’s Day is coming – a very important day – but I haven’t decided what to do yet! I need fresh ideas – anyone?!
It feels weird to be back at work today, it seemed like such a long weekend. I was thrilled to have Sean almost all weekend, too (being a chef, it’s rare our schedules match up). We didn’t make any big plans, we stayed around here pretty much. Friday night we celebrated Fred’s birthday at McCormack & Schmidt’s. Somehow in all these years I hadn’t been there – it was really nice! I love the private booths – I wish more restaurants did that actually. It was great to see Fred, Margo, and Crystal. Oh, and I have to upload soon this kimono Marc bought me in Vietnam. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, but it's something else! Saturday we checked out the leather exhibition, we went out to a few of the events, and Phillip was back from his travels and his friend David from London is here with his for a week or so. It was so cold this weekend, too! It was definitely a more indoors weekend, making hot tea and stuff during the day. Sunday night I went back to Russia House for dinner, and we joined Charlie for awhile at Cobalt. I’m not big on karaoke but it can be entertaining to watch. Then certain friends thought it would be good idea to go the closing leather dance at 9:30 club, so we went – and for the first time I’m hoping I actually do not show up in the MetroWeekly photos. It was a very interesting night. And yesterday I did very little except laundry and ordered a pizza!
After hearing pretty much all week the lovely idiocies from Mike Hucka-billy, I am glad that Fred shared these amusing "Top 50 Atheist T-shirt and Bumper Sticker Aphorisms." Now, I have tried to steer my blog away from politics and religion and keep this light-hearted, though my personal views and such things aren't hard to decipher. Watching the Republicrats (for I consider them one party - equally full of shit) pander to voters has left me with with the conclusion that at least 49% of the United States are fucking morons. I'd like to have faith in the other percentage, but when "faith" polls come out, it becomes apparent that a secular, scientific worldview is a long time a-comin.'
It's Tuesday and I'm already looking forward to this weekend (3-days!) It will also be, interestingly enough, "Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend." I remember years ago in my youth I was always afraid of it, as I lived by the hotel that always hosts the leather-daddy-filled event and I was forced to walk by and feel, well, like a piece of chicken at KFC. Granted I'm still a chicken, just maybe not a spring chicken ;) In related news, after my snafu at the Leather Rack, I now have a $50 gift certificate to use there, which I have told Sean he can buy whatever he wants for us ;) But what to buy? Hmmm suggestions? And don't say "butt plug." In other news my friends are bugging me encouraging me to come visit them in Canada, so I may go at some point soon, though I think I may wait until it gets warmer. Let's see... the Patriot's won again this weekend, remaining undefeated. I know this, of course, because I watched to see Tom Brady. Sigh. He's like catnip. He makes me happy. "Chef Tom"/Sean and I had a rather quiet week - not much new! Oh, I must add a Happy Birthday to Fred!
OUT: American Fug-parrel! - Ugh, how did this "clothing" store even get off the ground? I have never understood their shit, though I know people who love them. At least H&M has the Euro-chic thing going for it, but American Apparel makes me think more K-Mart than Paris. Sorry guys. Fug! IN: Any store other than that.
IN:Town OUT: 17th St. Is it just me or is the 17th St. vibe d-e-a-d?
IN: Tom Brady. As the French say, "le sigh!" OUT: Anderson Cooper - ok, maybe not totally out, but I think I'd rather hit Tom Brady first. Don't worry, Andy, you're number 2 on my list.
IN: Facial hair - Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenho, Tom Brady... they can't all be wrong!(and no I'm not copying Sean by growing a beard. It just sort of happened over the course of Festivus that I decided to stop shaving... and there you have it.) OUT: Faux-hawks. Why do I still see people with the faux-hawk/mohawk or whatever bastardized version? It's time to put that in the trend graveyard. R.I.P.
IN: Polar Bears OUT: Penguins
IN: Britney-gate 2008! And throw in Amy Winehouse for extra entertainment OUT: Paris and Lindsay... they are getting so boring these days.
OUT: Bush. Finally. IN: A Democrat. Actually I'm starting not to care. Canada sounds nicer all the time.
[Botanical Gardens with Margo & Fred! Happy New Yearsivus!]
Hope everyone had a great New Years! I know I did and I was able to see most of my friends and ring in a second new year with Sean!Last Saturday Sean and I went to the Russia House for dinner, on Connecticut Ave. I really like the place, if you're looking for something out of the ordinary. Afterwards we went to the Leather Rack and there was drama. Ok, so I go in there looking for a certain item that was not available in my size because I'm kind of a skinny dude compared to most that shop there. So long story short I was treated rudely and (thanks to Sean) I contacted the owner himself and have been given a very nice apology and the situation has been remedied. Plus, I suspect the employee might have his ass fired, hopefully ("It's Adam, bitch!"). So while I was prepared to blog about not shopping there, all is well and the owner seems like a very nice man, I might add. Sean & I also wound up at the Green Latrine Lantern, which I don't think I've rarely been back to since that infamous "Green (With Envy) St. Patricks Day" [those who were there will remember]. Sunday we spent shopping, somehow we found ourselves in Clarendon in Arlington - there are surprisingly a lot of shops there including a very nice Apple Store (I am a huge Mac user). By the way, I love the Cheesecake Factory, but has anyone else thought it's funny that their menu is like 10,000 pages long? And since I didn't have to work the next day I went to Halo and Cobalt with some friends and was introduced to a drink called the Banana Boat. New Years Eve I went with Margo and Fred's sister Mariah to surprise my boyfriend at his restaurant, demanding to see the chef! :) He treated us to a wonderful lunch and champagne and after he got off work we went over to Margo's for wine and snacks. I am really hoping the pictures from that night from Sean's phone come out because Mariah came with us to Town in a TMZ-fabulous pink wig. We danced and rang in the new year, and I am sure 2008 will be as fabulous as 07 if not more so!
It's that time to recap on this year past. I really do think '07 has been a great year - I stated off returing from Canada in time to celebrate by ringing in the new year with Sean (I'm a bit superstitious about beginning the year with a kiss), and we later on had a great Valentine's Day. In short time I found a better job, more money, and I was happier all around. In April I had a great birthday and Sean made a wonderful Easter dinner for everyone. There were trips to Chicago, to Utah, to the beach, to England, to Mexico. There were gala dinners and countless happy hours. I stayed closer to old good friends and made new ones along the way. Sean and I celebrated out 1-year anniversary, and we were fortunate to spend the Holidays together.
I am so ready to have next week off! I’m looking forward to both Margo’s Festivus Eve party and seeing my family Xmas day, and getting to see Sean through all of it. Well – I’m not bringing him home this year, but that’s a "me issue" as I’m not psychologically prepared yet to subject him to my family introduce him to the folks.
Wednesday night I hosted a small gathering (pictures forthcoming) and gift exchange with Phillip, Fernando, Charlie and Sean. I’m sad to report Charlie is leaving my job for a better opportunity. So while I am sad to see him go, it really is for a better job, so I am happy too. We exchanged gifts, and drank my out of house and home. Out of the night came two new drinks we have given birth to.
The White Louis ™ (a variation on The Louis invented by Phillip) ½ part amaretto ½ part white cranberry juice Shake with ice and serve in martini glass.
The Bizzy Fuck ™ (There’s an interesting story behind the name I won’t share here, but it was created in honor of Charlie’s resignation letter earlier that day) 3 shots Stoli Blueberi vodka 1 shot Grand Marnier 3 shots white cranberry juice 1 shot lime juice Shake with ice and serve in martini glass. Makes about 3 martinis, so adjust accordingly if need more or less. Strong enough to drown all holiday malcontent. I hope Drunky's enablers friends don't try and steal the recipes, they are copywritten!
Hope all has been well with everyone! I'm looking forward to over a week off for the holidays. A bit stressed about all the things to do and what not, but the drama is part of the "fun" of the season I suppose. I've been in kind of a strange mood lately; I haven't gone out as much as I usually do. The work holiday party was actually a lot of fun, aboard the Spirit of Washington. Afterwards we had drinks at the Beacon hotel. And after that I met friends at Halo. It was quote an evening. And I ended up at Town but I really didn't stay long as I was getting over a flu-like thing I had earlier in the week, and I was sure that a day-long binge was not doing me any favors. Poor Sean has been working a lot and long hours lately, so we haven't been able to see much of eachother. Saturday night we saw eachother for a bit, we had dinner and coffee. I was wet and cold by the time I got home, so I declined another round of Town and actually managed to wrap all of my presents. Last night myself and others met ou friend Marc for a sort of goingaway dinner before he leaves for Vietnam for almost a month, at an Ethiopian restaurant on U St. I hadn't had that in ages, I forgot how yummy the injera sponge bread can be...
Whatever that elusive holiday "spirit" is I think I came close to it this weekend. I braved not one but two malls in the suburban gift-buying race known as December. Thus far I've done pretty well and resisted temptation to buy for myself. By the way, if you are ever in Old Town Alexandria, Margo introduced me last week to a wonderful little Lebanese place on Cameron St. called the Pita House. Unassuming from first looks, but it’s very good. And did I mention that I love Border's and Macy's? Life-savers! My work is having a holiday party on a river lunch cruise. Because being trapped on a boat with coworkers...nevermind I won't even go there. I'm also planning on a do-it-myself "Festivus Fondue" party in the near future with the VIPs probably knowing who they are already. I make a mean-ass fondue and I actually have two fondue sets, one that Drunky gave me a few years back I still have. The only positive thing I have from that mess, actually LOL. I don’t really have much else, besides Sean and I shopping and doing the weekend going-out thing. But for your random entertainment...
Friday night was a Britney-themed party at Be Bar, so of course you know I was there. Somehow it wasn't trashy enough. I mean, the kitsch factor should have been turned up a notch. At any rate I shared many Cherry Bombs with certain friends before they dragged me (kicking and screaming, of course) to Town. I hadn't been there for the Friday night party before, but I had a good time. Saturday I honestly didn't accomplish much besides attempt some shopping. My problem every holiday season is all the cool shit comes out in December, so I wind up wanting to buy everything - for myself! I still haven't accomplished any shopping for others. Saturday night Sean surprised me by bringing food and cooking dinner for me! He prepared leg of lamb and other sundry things. I couldn't stop eating it was so great. Sean doesn't cook often (being a chef and all, I imagine he gets tied of being around food) but when he does, he's amazing. We went out that night, but first to Phillip's house for brownies and a new drink named after our favorite chihuahua, Louis. The Louis: equal parts cranberry juice and Disoronno amaretto, shaken. We went to Town yet again. Other clubs must be feeling the sting, because Town has been consistently packed. I had a great time, but I didn't last all night. I'm glad Sean was with me, to take me home. The next day I feel bad because I sort of let the day pass by - it's not my fault the sun sets at 5 now! By the time we got ready, we wound up going for Chinese for "blinner." It was a wet cold day anyway, what's the point of getting out of bed?! Tonight I am going to attempt to make a Thai green curry. If it comes out edible I will share the recipe. If not, I have Dominos on speed dial. Currently in my iPod: Filo & Peri - "Anthem" Robyn - "With Every Heartbeat" Remix Britney Spears - "Piece of Me" Ida Corr - "Let Me Think About It (Fedde Le Grand Remix)"
UPDATE: after some quality time with the scanner, the completepictures from Mexico, including diving pictures. Though they came out not as great as I wanted - not sure if it was my fault of the CVS photo people. Either way, there are up.
(there's just something about an iguana with a flower that will never cease being funny.)
Back from Thanksgiving weekend and I wish I was still in bed. Cold weather makes me want to do two things: sleep in all day, and cook high-calorie foods. At any rate, it was a great Thanksgiving day- I went to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner though I spent most of the day there too. After eating myself sick there I drove to Margo and Fred’s and met up with Sean for wine and game and desert - a Thanksgiving tradition. And Sean is lucky enough to have been through not one but two of these. (Poor Drunky - he must be trying to numb the painful memories of Thanksgivings past with booze, no doubt surrounded by his enablers friends.)
Sean and I had a great weekend, albeit boring in the sense of not "doing" much. We did go out Saturday night, and I also had drinks with Phillip and Fernando returning from their Thanksgiving. I saw a movie yesterday with Sean after having dinner in GAY-thersburg, MD (if you want to annoy people from Gaithersburg, emphasize the GAY in the name). We saw The Mist, well mainly because The Golden Compass wasn’t playing, but I was impressed. I also want to see I Am Legend, as it’s actually one of my favorite horror short stories (read it - these things are always better than the movies). I also have to start holiday shopping! I have no idea what to get, and I’m terrible for waiting until the last minute. Help!
I'm back to reality from a very pleasant weekend. Sean and I joined some friends at TOWN which debuted this weekend, filling a void in the city when the only options for dancing were less-than-stellar other places.
I guess I should backtrack and mention that Friday night, while waiting for a friend at Halo, I was at the bar enjoying my martini when a nasty man tried to dry-hump my leg. It was one of those situations where you are too mortified to know what to do (like, say, grab his nutsack and throw him across the room). My friends couldn't show up fast enough. Ick!
So, Town: After having dinner at Lauriol Plaza with Sean, we went to a friend's place and then hit Town. It was packed - as one can imagine. I have to say - I was duly impressed. The decor, the attention to detail, the skilled DJs. Think Halo meets now-defunct Velvet. It was spacious (including a soundproofed lounge area), clean, the drinks were reasonable, and there was lots of dancing space. *Also, there is a sizeable parking lot for those of us that drive, across the street. Gay DC has been waiting for this for some time now - I can't wait to go back again this weekend!
(And to be filed under "guilty pleasures" : they played a 30-min remix of Britney's "Gimme More." And you know every queen in that place was squeeling with joy. Know thy customers!)
Sean and I left around 4 and went home. We didn't get started until way late yesterday afternoon, and we went to Annie's for late afternoon "blinner" and I joined my friend Charlie to Karaoke at Cobalt though I only stayed for two drinks. I didn't do much else except hit up Whole Foods for Thanksgiving stuff.
So what do I have to be thankful for this year? *A new/better job *Sean *Good friends *Family
Thinking of what to buy Adam for ChristmasFestivus? Well since no one bought me that grease-stained dress from Britney that was on Ebay awhile back, I guess I will have to settle for the Chicken Machine.
Seriously, do any of you guys remember these? If you were a child in the 80's, being dragged through the store with the parents meant a reward at the end: a plastic egg with a cheap toy inside, from the magic clucking Chicken Machine: (click to enlarge)
I swear, I want one! They occasionally pop up on Ebay. UPDATE: Or you could get me a real Polar Bear skin rug for my non-existant fireplace. That would work too. Or just a fireplace.
Maybe to some people that doesn't sound like a lot, but I think it's a major accomplishment. And what a crazy/wonderful/happy year it's been. Time really does fly when you're having fun with a great guy like Sean. I'm very lucky - and here's to more years to come!
Sigh, so I arrived back from the U.K. Sunday night (and Sean was kind enough to pick me up) and I'm still recovering from a wild time in the world's most awesome city, hands-down, London.
Everytime I'm there I feel so..invigorated, I guess. I don't know what it is but London is something else. I daydream about the idea of living there. Of course there's a) immigration - why did we have to have that stupid little revolution? and b) expense. London is fabulous, but one thing it isn't is cheap. ($4 USD for a Diet Coke, you get the idea...) So basically I'd need a job willing to sponsor my visa and offer double my current salary. BUT one can try...
I actually didn't take that many pictures - too scandalous to take. But the few g-rated photos I do have I will post soon. I think Phillip had an awesome birthday week. I've been feeling a tad under the weather since I got back, though I'm sure that had nothing to do with all the world travelling I've done lately.
It's a bit depressing being home again, especially with the lack-luster "entertainment" DC has to offer. Our sad excuses for clubs have nothing on the dance-till-noon-the-next-day amazing venues such as G-A-Y and the fabulous Club Fire. In retrospect all the days kinda blurred into one long (mis)adventure. But alas, I will be back soon, no doubt. Hopefully for longer too. Cheers!
I wanted to tell my faithful readers Happy Halloween in advance, as I will actually be missing Halloween here. Now you know it takes a lot to make me pass up my favorite holiday - but I will be on a flight to my favorite city, London. I will be there for 4 days for Phillip's birthday celebrations (Happy Birthday, Phillip!) I am very excited, and will have yet more travel pictures when I return! Cheers!
I got back yesterday, and what a shock it was to step out of the airport into wet and cold (I, of course, was unprepared still in sandals and shorts). I don't even know where to begin, but it was a wonderful, magical trip with Sean. The snorkeling with the tropical fish, spending days sipping pineapple dacquiris on the gay beach, nightclubs, exploring the old town, shopping for goodies (of course), amazing Latin cuisine (including Sean's birthday dinner at this place).
As of right now I only have a fraction of the vacation pics, the ones from my digital camera. However once I have my underwater film developed and my other camera's pics scanned, I will add them in as well.
Finally I am finished with my Gala and Convention duties - it really feels like the rest of the year is all downhill from here! Plus, I feel like I can die as a happy gay man: I have met Cyndi Lauper. Pictures from the Gala dinner - click here. Only a few more days and I will be on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta with Sean. I will most certainly NOT be reading emails or updating blog during this time. In fact, I hope to temporarily forget D.C. exists (however for emergencies my cell phone does work internationally if you need to reach me).
Adios for now - and I will return laden with gifts, stories, photos, and my sanity restored!
I had an incredibly fun weekend, centered around the HRC Gala on Saturday night. I have some photos from the night here, please don't forward to Perez Hilton! I don't think I've been out like that in ages - the VIP after-party at Halo, Apex, after Apex closed the after-hours dance at Club Five. I still feel exhausted from it, but it was a great night.
I’m so glad Friday is here, though it’s my last free weekend for awhile; next weekend is the HRC dinner, then the PFLAG Gala, then I’m out of the country with Sean. Rocktober is going to be very busy!
Oh, and I’m not sure what to be this year for Halloween, assuming I’ll be in D.C. for it. I was thinking Britney. Cheap weave, big sunglasses, trashy dress, show my puntang to the world getting out of a car, a bag of Cheetos. How hard can it be?
I also decided today to give some space to hottie Tom Brady - who does, as Margo and others have pointed out, bear an eerie resemblance to my Sean.
Hello on this beautiful Friday morning! It’s been awhile since my last post (and some mean people at YouTube decided to take down all the Britney videos because of some silly thing called "copywrite" - whatever). What have I been up to in the last few weeks? In no particular order; visiting my family, Adams Morgan Day, lots of work, having dinner this week with Sean at my favorite Greek restaurant, Cava. You know how much fun I poke at Maryland, but seriously, this one is worth the drive. Go figure it's so hard to find good Greek in the city. Oh, and in my spare time I can’t help it: watching all this Britney drama unfold has been heavenly. You have to understand this is vindication for me. For years all my gay friends have been singing Brit’s praises about how awesome she is. And now she’s finally showing her true colors and I can say "I TOLD YOU SO!" White-Trash Princess seriously looks like she belongs on the steps of her trailer, collecting food stamps, with curlers in her hair. Dang y’all! You know, the other day another person told me "Wow, Adam, you’ve lost weight." What is this? If I lost any more weight I would disappear entirely. It’s not easy being a 29-30 waist, dang y’all! Photo of the Week
Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. I spent part of mine with my family. Not as stressful as it can be sometimes, it was actually kind of relaxing. I came back to the city Sunday night and ended up going out with Sean. We were going to go to Nellie’s and then Taint (I know, I know) but my knee was acting up on me so Sean and I made it as far as Cobalt, which was fine because some friends of mine were there… Unfortunately two past boys were also there. Ugh – I really don’t know how to explain this. I was going to the bathroom, I left Sean on the dance floor and Stephen (remember him?) grabbed me to say hello. I was shocked at how good he looked – he’s been working out, he had blonde highlights...I was drunk at this point, the drinks had snuck up me… next thing I know Stephen’s tongue was going down my throat (and I wasn’t exactly fighting him off, either). It get’s worse. In the corner of my eye I see Sean watching the whole thing go down. I ran into the bathroom and hid there, I was too ashamed to come out, but eventually I did and we left the club immediately. Oh dear… Sean is a very forgiving boyfriend. He must’ve realized I was intoxicated, and that whole thing with Stephen was a REALLY stupid mistake. I’m going to have to start watching myself! (or at least have a chaperone). SO, the happy ending is that the next day, Monday, Sean forgave me, and we had a wonderful day off together, having brunch at Lauriol Plaza, sitting in the park, afternoon cocktails with Phillip and Fernando. Oh, and we have set our October vacation plans – We are going to the beaches of Mexico! Ruins, Tequila, Beaches, Tacos, Margaritas… I’m sure there will be plenty to blog about and embarrassing photos when that comes around. I’m already looking forward to getting out of DC for awhile! Oh, and on a final note, my brother introduced me to a f’ing hilarious show called “Flight of the Conchords” It’s a musical comedy show – I definitely recommend it. Ciao for now!
I’ve been very lazy these last few weeks; it’s been the same old same old. Just working, trying to enjoy the summer as much as possible. Occasionally making day trips with Sean, going out with friends. It’s Labor Day weekend (biding my time at work until 5 and then getting the weekend started of right at Halo) and this coming week will bring Sean and my 10th month anniversary. How fast 10 months go by, but what a great 10 months it has been! We still haven’t decided on where we will go to celebrate our year anniversary except it will thankfully be out of the country, now that Sean got his passport taken care of. I have to leave the U.S. once a year at least, I think, for the sake of my sanity.
One thing of note, last night Sean and I went to Al Crostino on U Street for a lovely dinner last night. I know U St is a bit of a culinary wasteland (craptastic Crème is next door to Al Crostino, actually) but if you are around the "New U" (still as trash-laden as the old U) this place is worth a visit! I recommend the duck in a honey-balsamic sauce.
Well that’s all I have today - enjoy the weekend and see you all in September. Oh, and you can buy Britney Spear’s fried-chicken stained dress on Ebay. If you’re looking for an early holiday/Festivus gift for me, look no further.
I'm just killing time this lovely Saturday morning doing the weekly laundry (fun times). I'm not sure how I woke up so early this morning - for a Saturday anyway. But I've been in one of my "Mommy Dearest" cleaning modes... And just because I can, here is a picture of my #2 "celebrity man I would sleep with," Mr. Paul Rudd. I realize I give way to much time to my #1, Anderson Cooper, so I'm putting Andy on the back-burner today in favor of this stud...
I haven’t posted in two weeks, I realized. Maybe it’s the summer heat or something – I feel like I’ve been in a real daze lately. I haven’t hung out much with my friends, besides the occasional bar or dinner. Summer’s almost gone and it’s gone by real soon. Sigh, maybe it’s the whole working thing that makes it feel like summer never happened. Remember getting summer vacations in school? Maybe I should’ve become a teacher just for free summers (in spite of crappy pay). I would’ve taken vacation, but as this is still a somewhat new job, I’m waiting until autumn - Sean and I figured out a window in which we could both take a vacation together, which would be nice! We’ve been continuing to look at options and stuff, no decisions yet.
At Be: Bar 08/02.07
Two weekends ago I had my aunt, my cousin, and her new husband visit DC from Chicago - they were great to see, but they picked the weekend where it was 100°. High heat, tourists, it was not the best weekend in that regard. Though Sean and I did go to Old Town Alexandria on Sunday afternoon for some alone "us time" which we both really needed. Lately Sean’s been noticing my being stressed, and last weekend took me to the Shenandoah Valley to visit some little towns, wineries, and restaurants. I owe him a lot lately. Oh I forgot to mention when the fabulous Margo had us over for dinner he made a desert which he named "The Margo." I forget how he made it, but I’ll post the recipe soon. And yes, there’s a desert he named "The Adam" as well.
I figured I should write something today- even though nothing too exciting has occurred. Working (it’s been six month at the new job so I guess I can’t really call it new anymore). I’ve been going out a lot, and eating out a lot but nothing really new to report except I’ve checked out the new place on U St called Nellie’s a few times, and I like it despite the JR's-ish crowd (though I think a lot of that has to do with their rooftop). A funny story I think I should share: Last week I was at home waiting for Sean and he was late coming into the city from VA, so I got bitchy, and left without him to meet friends for dinner and drinks. To make a long story short I was yelling at him giving him the "I don’t want to hear your excuses!" thing - and then he shows up in the Circle with a bouquet of flowers. He was running late trying to find a florist still open to surprise me with flowers - while was mad at him. Yeah, I win boyfriend of the year for that one. Fortunately he forgives me and still loves me! Now that it’s the hottest and nastiest part of summer, I’ve been going through a bit of "summer reading." I’m currently reading Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers. It’s an interesting sociological look into a woman who lives and works with transgender youth in Los Angeles. It’s very eye-opening.
Ruins, Tequila, Beaches, Tacos, Margaritas… I’m sure there will be plenty to blog about and embarrassing photos when that comes around. I’m already looking forward to getting out of DC for awhile!
