Seven Washington Nights

Well, a great deal has happened since my last post. My dillema over men is over, I think it's pretty safe to say Phil has emerged as quite a catch, and we have had such a fun past few weeks together.

Thursday (17th) I had lunch with "Hitler," my ex, during my lunch hour. Hey, he offered to pay - even though I know in a town like DC there is "no such thing as a free lunch." I'm still trying to figure out what his motived were for taking me to lunch. The scary thing is his office building is literally 5 minute walk from mine. It's a small world afterall...

Last Friday (18th) after work, I hung out with Phil at JR's for awhile. I hereby take back all the negative things I've said about JR's in the past... It's not a bad bar to hang out at. After that I caught the Metro to Old Town to have dinner with Margo, Manish, Marc, and Emily at Founder's on King St. After dinner we went to Murphy's, Laughing Lizard, and some place called Tiffany Tavern for drinks. It was such a cold night, I remember. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday (19th) during the day I had chores and laundry to do (fun times) but afterwords I met Phil in the Circle and he spontaneously took me to a new restaurant on U Street, called Creme. The food and the service was absolutely amazing, and over a bottle of wine I had one of the best dates I've ever had with Phil.
For dessert, I took him to Queen's Cafe in Adams Morgan (a block away from my apartment as well, might I add) and over Turkish coffee, baklava and smoking an orange-flavored hookah, I introduced Phil to chess. It all somehow added up to an unconventional yet intensely romantic evening.

Sunday (20th) My mother and my brother came downtown to meet me, and see my apartment. Oh, and also to bring me an aquarium and a microwave I wanted. Being sunday, and a very warm day, I decided to take them to Kramer's Afterwords Cafe, being the Dupont Circle institution that it is. Of course, being part of the quintessential DC Sunday brunch experience, it was also extremely busy. It was a nice day, and after my Mom and brother went back to Virginia, I met Phil at JR's for a drink before going home to make dinner and crashing.

Because of the holiday my office was only open Monday and Tuesday. I need this off time bad, I think. Tuesday I went over to Capitol Hill to visit Phil at his job to give him some flowers (to thank him for the great week).
Wednesday was awesome, I was off work so I spent the whole day with Phil. We met around noon a did clothes shopping along 17th St. and in Georgetown, and we went on a nice walk along the Georgetown canal. It was a lot fun and we both got some cute things. We walked back to Dupont, got some things Phil needed at Whole Foods for making his Thanksgiving dishes. I took him to dinner at City Lights and as we were walking back to his place, it started snowing!! The first snow of the year!
The whole thing was so romantic. We went back to his place near U Street and shared a glass of retsina and...

Thanksgiving day I went to my parent's house for dinner, ate myself silly, and then met Phil and we went together to Margo's house for desert, wine, and games with her and Fred, Emily, and Marc. It was one of the best Thanksgivings I've had. Aftrwards Phil came back with me... today we are currently both sitting at Soho cafe, as I write this. And THAT has been my amazing week.

Crazy...

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but it appears Alanis Morisette and I have something in common. One of our favorite all-time songs is "Crazy" by Seal.
She did a remake I heard on the radio, and surprisingly didn't butcher it. Hmmmm

Love Affairs
Life IS crazy for me right now. You see dear readers, Adam has bitten off more than he can chew. I am in love with two different men.

This all started shortly before Halloween when I met two different guys all around the same time. So, as I was dating and getting to know people, I figured I would go ona few dates and get to know these two guys (who I will refer to as "S" and "P") a little better.
Things have gotten a bit more complicated than that as the weeks have gone by. I see them both, and with each I see great things I could fall in love with. I know, having two men in my life is so Anna Karenina, but I've gotten myself into this mess, and I'm not sure what to do. No easy answers.

And I'm sick of cliche shit like "follow your heart," especially when my heart is evenly divided. It's not that easy. One of two things will come of this: I will have to choose one over the other, or I will loose them both. Either way at least two people involved will have feelings hurt, if they haven't been hurt already.

I haven't been all that honest in this blog either, ommitting details of my life, since people read this blog and word gets around. But I'm coming clean because a decision-making has been thrust on me, like it or not. I told "P" the truth Friday night when I went over to his place, and I told "S" the truth last night as we took a nightime walk along the canal of Georgetown. I parted ways with him, and found myself crying, walking through Georgetown, the weight of it all hitting me, that there is no easy way out of this.

Novembre en photographies

1) Me in my window, 2) Dancers in Meridian Hill Park 3) My kitchen in progress

November, November

AH, my dear blog readers, so much has happened!! First off, I hate moving, but everything that could possibly go wrong did... For starters is you plan on doing a do-it-yourself move, do NOT use U-Haul. They are assholes who systematically fucked me over and put me in a black mood. WHY does moving have to be such drama. And HOW in 24 years on this planet did I acquire so much STUFF??
I won't even go into the details of my Kafka-esque drama Friday and Saturday, but by Saturday night I was completely moved in to the new place on 19th St, and I needed a drink. Several Long Island Iced Teas in fact with my friend Ken at Omega.
Sunday I had the pleasure of going to Meridian Hill Park (off 16th st.) for their drum and music sessions that happen every sunday, weather permitting, until around 9pm. It was absolutely amazing, dozens of drumers, flutes, guitars, dancers, African, Carribean, Brazilian beats. And all kinds of people from all walks of life. It's truly an experience everyone in DC should go to at least once! (if only to see the beautiful Meridian Hill Park)

I went on a fantastic date last night with a certain someone. We had a great dinner at Lauriol Plaza, followed by a pleasant walk on a perfect autumn night, to sharing glasses of framboise at the Brickskeller. It was a wonderful night.
What more can I say?

Adam's Reccomendations

Here are some books, music, and movies from the past few weeks I have enjoyed and want to pass along to you. I have the links to Amazon where you can buy the items, but in now way am I getting kickbacks or linked to Amazon, and I encourage you to find better prices elsewhere.
SO,
Music

Sufjan Stevens - album: "Illinois"

Decemberists - "Picaresque"

Books

The Dark Descent- short-story anthology

Black Days, Blue Nights - Ron Nyswaner

Cinema

Dummy - starring Adrian Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas.

Wings of Desire - German film with English subtitles.

I'm not dead!

Well, some people out there have given me some kind words about my blog (thanks to Brian among others)... and mentioned I haven't updated in awhile. You know me, these things come in spurts.
Actually, aside from the day-to-day garbage, not a whole lot new to report!
Halloween this year felt very anti-climactic, almost like it didn't happen at all. Anyone else feel this way, or it is just me growing older and more of a curmudgeon

"I think I'm Turning Japanese..."

Well, I have been on a shopping binge as of late. I really need new stuff, and getting rid of old stuff. This time around I am going for a sort of modern Japanese/Zen theme, especially for dining room and kitchen. All over I want a sort of Asian minimalism to prevail.



SO, to that end, can any Washingtonians reccomend a place I should turn for shopping? I have seen some interesting things I might want in Chinatown over on 7th Street, and there's Ginzo in Dupont Circle. But if you have any local or on-line ideas, let me know!

Newsflashes

Well, in the life of Adam today, I am officially signing the lease on the new apartment in Adams Morgan today. I'm moving the first week of November, and I'm registered at Macy's for housewarming gifts (just kidding on that last part!)

So much has been happening lately I don't know where to begin. I have been on several dates, which can be fun. I find myself seeing lots of good qualities as well as not-so-great qualities about the guys I meet. Of course, we're all human, but I'm not sure my knight in shining armor has come galloping up the street yet either.

Oh, and I;d also like to add I went to this really great Indian restaurant last night with Nick, called Jyoti. The food was wonderful, great portions, outdoor patio seating. I think this is my new favorite Indian restaurant in DC, minus the one on Penn. Ave that has hookahs to smoke.

PS (10/19/05) If you have time, check out the hour-long internet radio show of This American Life" In specific, in this episode the producers spend 24 hours in an all-night diner in Chicago, and interact with the staff and patrons. You really get a broad spectrum of the American experience, I found it fascinating. And specifically listen to around the tenth minute in the program dealing with this old woman who smokes and drinks coffee, it's too funny.

In Vino Veritas!

translation from Latin, "In Wine there is Truth!"

It's been an awesome weekend. I needed a good weekend after the madness of the week, especially Friday. I don't want to jinx anything, but there is one particular apartment I really like, so Friday was a comedy of errors as I found myself making many trips to get the things I needed...long story short, I got the last apartment. I will bring further details on this later. At any rate yesterday was the much-anticipated Virginia Wine Tour 2005 =)







From top to bottom: Marc, Crystal, and Manish tasting the wines of Oasis Vineyards, Margo and Fred at the vineyard, the whole group, red grapes still on the vine, and our tour guide at Rappahannock Cellars

Despite the dreary day, I think the trip was a success for everyone. We hit up Stillhouse Vineyards (which I wouldnt reccomend seeing twice), the very nice Oasis Vineyards, the group favorite Rappahannock Cellars (where Marc scored us a private tour of the cellars), followed by a nice lunch at a little restaurant in the town of Front Royal, and finally North Mountain Winery. Afterwards we also made an apple stop at Stirbling Orchard.
It's been a long time since I spent the better part of a day buzzed. =)

Schlock-toberfest

Well, my favorite month is here again, and it's already been a whirlwind, four days into it. Dena says it's my favorite month because I'm "Lucifer incarnate," keeping with the theme of the Halloween season. Old bitch. Anyway, I'll just give you all some updates on my life.
Speaking of Dena, I had the pleasure of having lunch with her in the Circle. Well, by pleasure I mean an hour of her nibbling at my food and gossiping and telling me I'm Lucifer incarnate. Some other fun things that happened were having dinner Friday with Fred and Margo at Pizza Paradiso on P St. I had a wonderful pizza, and it's great to see Margo coming out and about.


Music

Sunday night I went with them and a new guy named Mark, first to an Ethiopian restaurant on U St called Dukem. Ethiopian food is always a unique experience, though not for the timid of tastes, perhaps. I liked it anyway.

After dinner we went to see The Decemberists, who played at the 9:30 Club. The opening band, Sons and Daughters, were so-so, but I have to say that The Decemberists fucking ROCKED live! I like their albums, but of all the bands I've seen play, they have been among the top rock bands that put on a really good show.


The Rental Life
Well, it's time for Adam the nomad to pick up and find a new apartment.

So this week I have nearly exhausted myself, emotionally at least, trying to find a place. You know, in the past 4 years prices have skyrocketed, building waiting lists seem to be longer and longer.
But one thing hasn't changed: the bitchy attitude of building managers! Ok, is it just this city, or is this a pervasive problem? Tell me!

It seems like EVERY building manager in the District is a through-with-life nasty old woman who thinks she is a Divine Representative of God Himself for giving you any information. God forbid actually show you the property!!

Adam and Steve

Today reading the Express on the Metro, I came across a funny article in the Styles section...
A reader wrote in asking if there was something for men akin to a woman's Wonderbra, that could, er, enhance his male assets.
So the writer reccomends the "Adam Brief"
Well, I finally have my name attached to something of interest!

Let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel...

Here are some news stories that caught my eye this week...

Gay Giant Squids
Yes, apparently the sex life of Giant Squids is very interesting..


And speaking of gay non-human animals, I recently recall reading about the gay male penguin couple at a zoo in New York City (where else, of course!) that adopted an egg from a female's nest and hatched and raised the chick as if it were their own. They even share duties such as egg-warming and gathering food. And the redecorating, and occasional nights out in Manhattan's clubs scene too, I'm sure =)
In sad gay animal news it seems the gay polar bear couple at the Portland, Oregon zoo (again, big surprise) are heading towards divorce!

Falling for Fall / Dinner with Dena

Welcome to Autumn, as it began on Thursday. This, for me, has always been the season of new beginnings. Kind of ironic, I realize. Everything is dying and getting colder, so it follows my life would be going great! Sigh...
So this week has been a truly weird week. For starters, I saw "Uranium Man" (see earlier entries) getting arrested for standing in the middle of the 14th St Bridge...only to see him again Thursday night, free, while meeting a friend for dinner in Adams Morgan (crazy people sure do get around!)
Monday my job was working in a partnership with a clean-up/revitalization of a public park in Northeast DC ("In the ghetto...in the ghetto..."). It was a choice between sitting in an office all day or getting out for fresh air to help plant trees... so I chose to help plant trees. It was a lot of work, actually.. these were not baby trees like I expected. Digging god knows how many holes. But the whole thing was incredibly butch and I was trying to figure out the guys there that played for my team.
I had dinner with Tom at Spaghetti Garden on 18th Thursday night, which was great to see him again. But by far the weirdest thing that happened this week was...

Dinner with Dena

After work I was at SOhO waiting for Ken to meet me for coffee, when Dena herself comes waltzing across the street. The whole thing was so weird! First she accused me and Raven of stealing things from her apartment...then Her, Ken and I were at DC Cafe having dinner together. Must've been the full moon!

Plant Aid

Does anyone know anything about Crotons?


I have one in my office window, a beautiful plant... unfortunately I came in the morning to find it suddenly dropping half it's leafs. It's dying! Help!

Serendipitous Treasures

Well today has been a very productive day. While walking down F Street looking for the one of DC's nicest liquor stores, I stumbled across the DC Library's 3rd Annual Fall Book Sale.
I went in expecting very little, but came out with a box full of treasures (those close to me will know my fondness for collecting old books). Among some of my finds today were:

"The French Chef Cookbook" -Julia Child (which has a killer Coq au Vin recipe)


"The Hobbit" - J.R.R. Tolkein

"A Year in Provence" - Peter Mayle

As well as many old vinyl records, which I also like to collect. I was very happy with this discovery, and you should know that it will be going on tomorrow as well (Saturday 17th) 10AM until 3PM, at the MLK Public Library, 901 G Street NW. (On the corner of G&9th Streets). Proceeds go to fund the District of Columbia Public Libraries.

Then I made it to the Central Liquors, which is run by very friendly and knowledgable Armenians. At one's insistence I decided to pick up a bottle of Armenian pomegranate wine. I also picked up a bottle of Calvados, one of my favorite drinks, since it seems to be near-impossible to find sometimes at other liquor stores.

Had a good meal at City Lights of China. Good food, but has anyone else noticed the once impeccable service has really gone down. I'm seriously thinking of not eating there again, which is a shame.

Life is Sideways

Autumn is almost here! One of my favorite times of the year, and definately the best season in Washington. Nice non-humid weather, fewer tourists.
One of the best things to do isn't in DC, however, but a few hours away in the mountains. I am looking forward to more roadtrips to the Shenandoah Valley. Apples and pumpkins, the leafs changing colors. Oh, and more wineries than I can count.




Images from last year's Shenandoah trek... apple picking, feeding goats, hiking in the woods...

I am looking to plan some winery explorations, if anyone is interested. The only question now is who will be doing the driving...because i know it won't be me! Don't want to drive off the edge of a mountain, now do I?

And speaking of wineries, I highly reccomend the movie "Sideways," which is all about misadventures through California's Wine Country. Maybe one day I can open up my own vineyard, Chateaux Adam.

Ex and the City

Ok, on to a more serious topic. You might need a glass of wine for this. It's about my ex... ok three exes back, but by far the most powerful and memorable one. Lately we've been talking everyday, probably on account that we're both at work not too far from eachother, and it's a small city sometimes.
I don't think I've ever felt this ambivilently about someone ever. I've learned it's possible to both love and want to murder someone all at the same moment.

I guess what's been hurting the most lately is seeing him and how he treats the new men in his life. It's not jealousy...it's too late for even that. But it still upsets the hell out of me when I see what a great boyfriend he can be to a man...and then wonder why he never made the effort for me.
Why was I not worth it? Why couldn't he be that man for me, when I deserved it?

Of course, it's taken me awhile to learn that there really is nothing wrong with me. Plenty of other guys see my worth. But why was I worth treating like shit, when other guys get the affection and attention that I equally deserved, especially when I gave nothing but real and honest love?
There was nothing wrong with me then, nor is there now. He's an asshole, pure and simple. And a tiger can't change his stripes.

Adam's Apple Nightmare

Well, I for one was greatful for a three-day weekend. A much-needed rest period. Friday night after work I went shopping for fall fashions (!) at Filene's Basement (always good deals on otherwise expensive shit), followed by dinner at Dupont Italian Kitchen. Afterwards Ken's friends Cary and her super-hot boxing boyfriend Steven came downtown and we went to Cobalt.
Man, was I so tired, I barely even remember being at Cobalt. But I think I had fun...
Everything was going smoothly until my laptop died. Remember when I accidently dropped it on the street? Well, it decided to simply die on me. It died, and would not turn back on no matter how many times I tried.
SO, today I decided I had to do something about it. After spending thirty minutes navigating through the user un-friendly Apple support via phone, I finally got hold of the local Apple store. They told me I had to go to the Apple site and schedule an "appointment" with an "Apple Genius" (yes, that's their official name) and have them look at it.
So on my lunch hour I trek over there and wait for almost two hours to be seen, very much like an emergency room waiting room. And I swear to fucking god, as soon as the guy presses the power button, it turns on. No problems.
I'm on it right now. Go figure.

That's NOT the Moon....

Recently, according to astrologists, Earth and Mars are closer than they ever get for thousands of years. Because of this, for a short time, Mars has been appearing as large as a full moon in the sky.

Maybe you've noticed. I noticed, but didn't realize what I was looking at, at first.I thought to myself, "Wow, the moon looks awfully orange tonight."

This is pretty much what I saw:


Then I noticed the real moon was also out. What the fuck? Well folks, that's Mars we've been seeing. And it will be many thousands of years before it's that close again, so enjoy it while it lasts.

What's a Four-Letter Word For...

Well today I finished my first crossword puzzle ever (without any help, that is). This is a major accomplishment for me. Everyday on the Metro while riding to work I check out the free Post Express and try to their crossword puzzles, which allegedly are more difficult than the ones in the regular Washington Post. What's a six-letter word, with the clue "imprudent?" Really, I need to know.

Thanks
Anyway, I'd also like to give thanks to the stranger yesterday who helped me. I was crossing Connecticut Avenue when my bag fell open, spilling my laptop and papers all over the sidewalk. In true Washingtonian form, most people just walked on by. But one man stopped and helped me pick my things up. On the off chance you're reading this, Mr. Good Samaritan, you rock! And you put a inch of my faith in humanity back.

The Freaks on the Street Go 'Round and 'Round

First off, thanks to Laura for her imput last week concerning the human stampede in Richmond. I sort of wish I could've been there... if only to stand on the sidelines laughing at all the people getting crushed. Ha ha.

My week of house sitting is over, but work has been really tedious as of late, working on a project that seems to keep growing day by day. My boss is on vacation, thus leaving me to do all sorts of silly stuff all by myself.

And now, I want to devote this post to all the homeless crazy people that make Dupont Circle so interesting. Over the years the same faces keep popping up every summer...which makes me wonder where these people go in the winter. Anyway, I know it's wrong to make fun of homeless, many of whom have genuine mental disorders. Thank-you Republican Party for not helping people have access to free health and mental care who really need it. Maybe I should direct all the homeless scizos to go camp on the White House lawn. That might change things. Or not. Anyway, here are some of the classic people that my friends and I have nicknamed and grown to love over the years..

"Lifeguard" - an older woman who wonders P Street, and known for the lifeguard whistle she wears around her neck. She's been known to stand by Dupont Circle fountain (after pissing her pants) and blowing her whistle, yelling "everybody out of the pool!" Apparently, according to when we spoke to her, she was once a lifeguard. Who knows if that's true, but that's her story.
Uranium Man - Bears an eerie resemblance to Fagan from "Oliver" and is known for his long dirty black trench coat. See photo:

He LOVES to discuss (even if you're not listening) his CIA conspiracy plots. Apparently, there's a tunnel to Liechtenstien under SOhO cafe, he knows the phone number to Air Force One, and the CIA can read his thoughts. And he claims that eating uranium is good for you. Might explain a few things about him.
Mama - A Dupont Circle classic. A Black lesbian who looks like a man from a distance, also goes by Dervin or Crystal. Gets paid by sweeping the front of P Street shops, but also known for her random screaming, and hitting on poor Raven. Loves to pick fights with the patrons of The Fireplace bar.
Gypsy - She looks like, well, a gypsy. An older homeless woman who gets REALLY pissed when people call her Gypsy. Which is what makes it so much fun to confuse her by yelling "Gypsy!" and then pretending you didn't say anything. She apprently is looking for her son, or so she says.
There are so many others...but that will have to wait for another episode.
Speaking of episodes, tonight I'm looking forward to Fox's new show "Prison Break." Not because I'm a huge fan of TV, but because it's about unrealistically hot men going to prison. Hmmmm..well, I'll be a fan if they throw in some steamy rape scenes, or maybe some rough-trade sex with a sadistic warden.
I'm so transparent sometimes.