Bedazzled out

I am at work... my boss is seriously looking at The Bedazzler. Yes...the little rhinestone gun of infomercial fame. I swear, I love my job, but this place can be such a Fellini-esque circus sometimes.

And now, ladies and gentleman, Adam has oficially decided to whore himself out.

Adam Sells Out

So here's the deal. To any rich, good-looking, sophisticated man who is a citizen of one of the nations that has legalized gay marriage...I am putting myself up on the internet as an American mail-order husband. Preferably to one with European Union citizenship. I'm cute, 24, and a good chef. Any takers?


(Canada/Quebec, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa)

Useless Bear Information

This whole week has been about bears! First, I got into a discussion with someone in Portland regarding "Bear" culture. And now I'm dealing with facts regarding (ironically one of my favorite animals) Polar Bears, namely in regards to global warming and their habitat in the arctic. Anyone who thinks climate change is a myth needs to pay a visit to the arctic to see it's already happening. When ice caps retreat 60 miles, that's a major deal. I won't even get on my environmental soapbox here... humanity will reap what it sows. So; things I have learned about Ursus Maritimus (the Polar Bear):

*If you spray an antiseptic spray on a polar bear, its fur will turn purple.

*In temperatures that are too warm, a polar bear's fur will turn green (from algae).



*Even though a polar bears fur looks white it is actually colourless and is made with hollow tubes. The reason the bear looks white is because the rough inner surface of the tubes make light scatter and reflect at many different angles which gives the white appearance.

*Polar bear livers contain so much Vitamin A that it can be fatal if eaten by a human.

*Polar bears are excellent swimmers. They have been known to swim more than 60 miles without a rest.

*All polar bears are left-handed. (who knew??)

Three Strange Days

I for one am glad I didn't have to work today... Happy President's Day, for those of you also fortunate enough not to have to work. Sigh...I'm still feeling a bit sluggish from last night.

I had a great weekend all together. Saturday night I went with some friends back to Churreria Madrid, it was just as yummy this time around (and the churros at the end are always the best part). Unlike my last visit, the place was packed. That night it was also 15 degrees outside. Now, I don't want to sound like a wuss, but that was REALLY cold.

And that's all I have to say about that. And maybe this is stereotyipcally gay, but I have also indulged in a little retail therapy. I should be celebrating (I got a significant payraise at my job) so I have found that, yeah, shopping really can bring happiness (albeit shortlived). Georgetown is fun when you have money to burn.

Tonight I am trying a new recipe (I'm tired of eating out all the time lately)- it's an Indian curry dish with cocount milk, sweet peppers, chicken, and other veggies. If it turns out good, I'll post the recipe. And if I really like you, I may save some for you. =)

Last Night...

I had a such a great evening, thanks to everyone that was out, and especially to Fernando and Steven for being the Voice of Reason, and helping me realize that I'm going to be ok, and life is full of losers you just have to get over.

We started the night off at Leftover's... I mean, JR's (I know, the 7th layer of Hell) but went on to the MUCH classier Halo, somehow we wound up at Green Lantern for a drink (how bizzare) then dancing at Apex, which was awesome. I had a great time and met and danced with some cute guys.

And by the way... Halo makes the best Blueberry Mojito on earth. If you get the chance, try one.

Celebrity Gossip: "Phadam" Splits!

"Phadam" (using the celebrity fad of fusing together names, ex. "Brangelina" or "bennifer") has split. There was an unfortunate run-in with the former half of Phadam last night after I left Halo with some co-workers. He/it was crossing the same street with some bitch. WHY can't he have the decency to go to the OTHER side of the street? I don't even want to look at him, I'm so disgusted.

Scream Therapy

I think the worst part of all this breakup mess is I feel like I missed out on my chance to "make a scene."

I was too nice. I want my drama-moment back. I want to scream, yell, throw chairs and vases...get it out of my system to that prick. If I see him on the street, I want to throw rocks at him.

Crappy Valentine's Day

Well yet another man has managed to ruin yet another Valentine's Day. Good thing I was able to get my money back on those flowers before the order went through last week.
I suppose I have another dictator to add to my list (those who know me will know my habit of referring to ex-boyfriends by various totalitarian dictators). Thus far we have Hitler (Casey), though I am not sure if other necessarily apply. I mean, PJ was no dictator, and I don't think Jim amounted to much... maybe a lesser dictator, like say, Mussolini, or Pol Pot...
So this last one, "P"... any ideas which dictator he will go down in Adam's history as? Kim Jong Il? Chairman Mao? Stalin? Let's take a poll!



Oh well, at any rate, if there a less-than-special someone in your life, send them one of these cards!

Oh, and thanks to Margo for the great Valentine's day lunch, it cheered me up! =)Tonight I plan on going to Cobalt's tuesday night retro party.

Snow Daze '06

See some of my pictures of the city in snow, by clicking here

Pity Party

Today has been an awful day. Shit going on at work (my boss flying to London unannounced and leaving me with work), techincal issues, and relationshop issues, this has not been my best day.

One of my bosses at work gave me a chocolate gift set to cheer me up. It does make me feel a little bit better.

Two Year Anniversary Extravaganza!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen... February 06 marks the 2-Year Anniversary of Adam's Deep Blog!

Where in the World?

You'll notice under the "Links" section on the right-hand side of the page, there's now a global tacker... ie, I can see where in the world visitors to my blog are coming from. Manhattan? Zimbabwe? Saudi Arabia? We'll find out... it updates daily.

Since coming back from New York, it's been a lot of work, and a lot of partying. Retro Night at Cobalt, sushi at Sake, Apex, Superbowl party... this last week has really gone by. And I've been drunk more days out of the week than not. Dear readers, there's no trend here... it's just the boring January-February time of year, the post-holidays, when there's really nothing else to do except work and party.

New York, New York...

I don't even have the strenght to go into it all right now... so just look at the pictures and let them tell the story!

Click here to see some of them.

News Action Channel 6 reporting live from Adam's Life

I'll keep this post brief:

First, Saturday was Fred's birthday! Happy Birthday, Fred... or belated birthday... At any rate Phil and I went to have dinner with him, Margo, Manish, etc. at this sushi place in Foggy Bottom called Kaz Sushi Bistro. It was exceptionally good.. I highly reccomend it.

Speaking of restaurants I should reccomend, Phil and I also last Thursday finally ate at Churreria Madrid. It desevres it's own "review" later, but if you eat at one restaurant in the District this month, visit this place! It's absolutely amazing (and reasonably priced too). It's the best (if not only) authentic Spanish (as in Spain, people, not Mexican!!) restaurant in this city.

I am off to New York this Friday. Long story short I was offered the chance to go on a business trip to Portland, Oregon for a stupid conference. I've been to plenty of silly meetings etc. all the time that no one else in my office wanted to go on, so I was in the position to say no this time around (not that I mind getting paid to NOT be in the office, I usually jump at the chance for a trip). If I go to Portland it's going to be for fun, not some boring conference. And I already planned to go to NYC anyway, which brings me to this point. I'm always looking for more apartment things (kitchen, living room etc)... any places reccomended. I know the usual stores I can find in Manhattan, but if anyone has some not-well-known little place they'd like to reccomend to me, please do!

When Bears Attack!

Life has been busy... I realize I need a re-cap of the last week, so here goes:

Wed. 11th - Phil and I saw "Wicked" at the Kennedy Center. We scored with box seats (a gift from one of Phil's friends) and the musical itself was amazing. If you have a chance to see this show, do so. I was starting to get sick (took the day off work) , but I still had a great night out.
Thurs. 12th - Went back to work despite not feeling so great. Fortunately co-workers had planned a happy hour at nearby Halo, which was fun (I used to not like Halo, but they are growing on me as one of my favorite bars).
Friday 13th- Yes, it was Friday the 13th... and long story short there were funding proposals due that hadn't been worked on...I won't bore you with my nightmarish day at work, but it was a bitch. On top of feeling ill, I actually stayed home that night! ( I know, how rare)
Saturday 14th - I slept in. Intrestingly it was Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. So Phil convinced me to check out the events going on at the Plaza Hotel (use your imagination: slings, whips, leather chaps). It was educational to say the least.

Somehow we wound up at Halo, and from there we treked over to the Green Lantern/Toolshed. Normally I wouldn't step foot in there, but hey, it was Leather Weekend and I secretly love to gawk at the leather daddies. We had a late dinner at Annie's (or as i call it, the Glass Coffin because of all the old queens who hang out in the window booths). Our waiter was truly interesting...
Sunday 15th - Started the day by going back to my apt. to get cleaned up, and I met Phil and his friend Cameron at Healthbar (1612 U St.). I think it's time for another...

Restaurant Review:
Healthbar

This place, sadly for me, gets two major thumbs down. What a clusterfuck!
Now, before I go any further, I will say they have awesome healthy smoothies. Worth going in for.
I will also make the disclaimer that perhaps the dinner or normal lunch times are better. But I was disapointed on almost every front, and their urban decor could not, alas, make up for the shitty service, confusing seat-yourself atmosphere (I HATE seat-yourself establishments), and poor, bland (yet surely healthy) food.
My advice: stear clear of brunch! Our waiter had tons of attitude, no service, the clientele is VERY yuppy U-Street, and the food (when it came) was not enough to make me ever want to come back.
I thought the drag brunch at Chaos has shitty food! But at least there were singing drag queens to make it worthwhile... not the case with over-hyped Healthbar!

Wicked!

I'm so excited... tomorrow night Phil and I are going to the musical "Wicked" being performed at the Kennedy Center. I'm just listending to the Broadway soundtrack now, and I can't wait to see the show tomorrow. Will tell how it goes...


In other news later this month we will both be going to New York City, it's been about a year unfortunately since the last time I was there. It's so close to DC, yet somehow I never get up there as much as I'd like to.

Domo Arigato, Sushi

Restaurant Review:

Last night Margo and I checked out the sushi restaurant Saki in Adams Morgan (2477 18th St).
We ordered a great deal of sushi, and even desert. Both the sushi rolls and the nigiri were good. And until 7:30 they have happy-hour prices which are pretty unbeatable, especially given the restarant's modern ambience and prime location.
The only downside seems to be the service. When you enter the first-floor sushi bar, the service seems to be fine on the right side... but the further down the bar you sit, the poorer the service becomes. Be forwarned.

Nevertheless, the place serves excellent sushi and has a great atmosphere, so I reccomend it! (They also have a good sized menu of non-sushi Japanese items for those squeemish of raw fish).

Watch Video:

TAKE ON ME (A-Ha)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Drama Fix, 2006!

So, I have survived the holidays(sometimes barely) and now live to gossip about it on my blog... when I should be working, because a certain project draws nearer to its completion. But like jello, there's always room for blogging.

So much has happened, in fact, I'm going to give a highly condensed version of the past two weeks.

First off, I have been on a paid vacation since December 23rd. Coming back to work today feels so weird.
I present, The Twelve Days of Drama-mas
So, 23rd - I was off work, and it was a beautiful sunny day. Took my new bike for a ride around town. If you haven't checked out Rock Creek Park's bike trails, you really ought to!

24th- Went home for Christmas Eve. Had a great dinner with the family, surprisingly drama-free. Alcohol may have had something to do with that.

25th- Christmas Day- I got a lot of great Christmas gifts this year! Among them, a stereo system (including a vinyl record player! - I love records), a smoothie maker/blender, other kitchen stuff, an electric fondue pot (thanks Phil), The French Laundry Cookbook (thanks Margo and Fred), living room stuff, money, and more!

26th - Day after Christmas - by this point, I remember why I don't live with my family. The family cheer was wearing thin, along with my patience with my mother's condescending comments and questions. I got a ride back into a city, and was glad to be home.

27th - Phil came back from visiting his family in Massachusetts. We went to JR's first and met friends of his, then we went to Cobalt for their Retro Night party. I had an awesome time. Maybe I drank too much.

28th- We had a relaxing day that involved us going to City Lights of China with Dena for dinner, watching a movie, and having a relaxing Wednesday night "in."

29th - Had dinner with Phil's friend Dave at CPK, went to JR's again, went to Cobalt again...it was their "Best Package Contest" night. No, I did not enter the contest. Had a lot to drink...again.

30th - I dont think I did much of anything all day, except go shopping around Metro Center for a bit.

31st- New Year's Eve. Phil took me to a wonderful dinner at Ardeo on Connecticute Ave (Cleveland Park neighborhood). The food was absolutely amazing, it's a very nice restaurant. We shared a bottle of wine, and desert drinks, and went back to Phil's to open that bottle of Veuve champagne I won at the Festivus party. Always good stuff. From there we went to Cookie Buffet/Chris Dyer's (depending on if he's in drag or not) party at Hotel Helix. I was surpised just how many people were there. Among them, some of my co-workers, and two friends of Phil's.
After the midnight toast, we split and went up to a place in Columbia Heights neighborhood (yes, I know, there are fun places in Columbia Heights??) called Wonderland. It was interesting... I mean, I liked it for what it was, which was hard to put a finger on. Of course, I was by this point roaringly drunk. There was some drama with a drunk bitch and a taxi cab (which, I refuse to apologize for... I do occasionally have my princess moments) and drunken food, getting sick, and poor Phil having to take care of me through the NASTY hangover the next morning.

Jan 1st 2006- Maybe I'm superstitious, but I rang in the New Year well, so the whole year will hopefully be great. Well, I felt awful most of the next day, but I got my self together enough to cleap up and meet Margo and Fred for dinner in Chinatown. Afterwards we went in that place... I don't even know if it has a name. It's the shady-yet-charming Chinese herb and tea shop. If you haven't been in there, go... it truly feels like some back-alley shop in Beijing or Hong Kong. Here's to a fabulous New Year!

Yule All Have Lots of Drama

First off, have a happy Winter Solstice, which occurs today marking the official first day of Winter.

I won a bike. Yes, I know, how random! I won a bike from City Bikes in Adams Morgan (on Columbia & Champlain St. NW)
I like to think of it as the Universe giving me a little unexpected holiday present.

And to top it all off... today while looking out my office window, I noticed in the office building adjacent to mine...a guy was changing out of his suit.

Totally. I mean, underwear and all. Yeah. If you're strip-in-my-office-with-windows-wide-open guy reading this, take note. People were watching you.

See This Movie

Last night I caught "Brokeback Mountain" at the theater on Dupont Circle.


I really don't know what else to say. This is a powerful movie. Watch it.

Festivus Miracle on 19th Street

First off, if you aren't familiar with the holiday of Fesitvus, read up on it. I think it should be the new non-demoniational celebration. And who doesn't LOVE the concept of the "airing of the grievances?"

So, Monday (12th) my boyfriend Phil was guest bartending at JR's and so I showed up, along with all of his friends. I had a great time... I was there from 7pm to 1am... and forgot about the little part of getting up for work the next morning. To my credit, Tuesday morning, despite a NASTY hangover, I got up and came to work... only to go right back home because I felt like hell. All day I was recovering, it felt like. Never drink that much again (sure...I've said that before).

Wednesday (14th) was a huge day. It was the evening of my office party, Phil's office party for the DNC, and Dave's party.
My office party was at Lauriol Plaza, but I couldn't hang around too long (long enough for three maragaritas). Caught the subway to Chinatown to meet Phil at Drinx for his party. More on that later...
Then we hopped a cab to his friend Dave's place on upper 14th St. It was a really great party, Phil's good friend Cameron was there, and I continued to not watch how much I drank (just like Monday night) and poor Phil had to take care of me when we got back home! Sorry babe!


The next morning Phil left early to catch his flight for Vegas, and I crawled home to shower and go to work hungover yet again. I was so unproductive. And yet somehow, after work, I caught my second-wind and went Christmas shopping over at Pentagon City. On my way home I got absolutely drenched by the cold rain, and deicded to call it a day and go to bed.

Friday every one split the office early, and I went to finish up my Christmas shopping at Pentagon City yet again (I had to return something anyway). My patience with people is about expired, from the rude bitchy salepeople, to people that don't move out of your way, I'm dreaming of a nice Christmas plague.

Saturday night was the Festivus party at Emily's. Phil came with me, and we caught a ride with Margo and Fred out to Leesburg, Virginia. Yes, Leesburg... it's near the West Virginia border. It's out-there. I don't think the word "suburban" even describes it. Anyway the party was fun, had a yankee-swap gift exchange...which I was never too find of, but in the end I won my precious economy-size bottle of Champagne. We came back to the city, and had a late-night dinner at the Diner in Adams Morgan, walked over to my place, and crashed.

It was so nice Sunday morning to sleep in and enjoy eachother. When we finally did feel like getting up, we met Dena for brunch at that bagel shop on P st. She convinced me to go to Eastern Market over on Capitol Hill with her for some shopping. I spent the whole day avoiding cleaning or doing laundry (which is getting rediculous... I should hire a maid!)

More exciting things coming this week...I'll keep you posted!

"A Long December"

It finally feels like the Holiday season! Here's the re-cap of Adam's week. On Wednesday (December 7th) I planned to have dinner with Margo, Fred, Crystal, Marc, Phil, and myself at Churreria Madrid, on Champlain St. I heard it's a wonderful Spanish restaurant. But go figure, they are closed Wednesday and Monday nights! Note to anyone going there! Fortunatley The Grill from Ipanema, a Brazilian restaurant, was open (and one block away from my place, might I add).
The Brazilian food was fantastic! A bit pricey, butI highly reccomend a visit there!
Thursday night into Friday morning it snowed quite a bit. Of course, living a 10-minute walk to my office building, I had no exuse not to show up (except in a real blizzard maybe). Even though 90% of my office lives in the city as well, only THREE people including myself showed up. It was a total slacker day, and I left around 2. Came home, took a nap, and hopped the Metro to go shopping at the Pentagon City stores. As usual, I found more things for myself than for others. I'm one of those people that is lucky if I'm not out X-mas eve shopping for gifts still. I hate shopping for gifts! Anyway, had Thai for dinner, and went back to Margo & Fred's to watch a movie and have drinks. Phil was working late and exhausted, so we met up Saturday afternoon.
I made him a martini and we relaxed, and he wisked me away to the sculpture garden by the Smithsonian for a super-romatic evening of ice-skating. It's been ages since I went ice-skating. It was SO much fun.

Then he took me to dinner where it all began - Lauriol Plaza. We both had wonderful food, and got more than a little drunk off the potent margaritas.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

While there have been hella-cold temperatures and flurries in the recent past, today is DC's first real day of snow!
I was walking back to work after making the mistake of going to the post office on Florida Avenue (oh how I hate mailing packages in December) and it started to snow.
I always found it ironic that the mass of tourists come in the humid sticky summer... Washington is truly at its most beautiful in the snow.


So let's see how my week has gone, in a condensed version. Had dinner with Phil at the Duplex Diner on 18th & U st.before he left for his business trip.
Friday (the 2nd) was truly a busy day; I had SO much going on at work I thought my head would explode. For one, there was this event I had to go to at the Wilson Building on Penn. Ave. for the Mayor (good ol' Anthony Williams, sans bow-tie) to sign into law creating the District of Columbia Department of the Environment. An interesting little ceremony, even if it did take way longer than necessary. And I ALWAYS get a kick out of seeing the fabulous Carol Schwartz.

Had Japanese lunch with a co-worker, which was my only little moment of Zen in the day. Went back, cranked out a press release for some project in Beijing, went home. And of course went out with Ken with the sole purpose of getting drunk.
Saturday I had dinner and celebrated my younger brother's birthday, came back to the city and Phil had come back from his trip early, so we...went out drinking.
Spent the better part of sunday morning snuggling and staying warm, grocery shopping (thanks for letting me barrow your cart Phil... carrying those bags up the hill is a pain in the ass!). By the way, anyone out there know where the cheapest place to buy one of those little grocery carts is in this city?

Lawrence and Stuart go Antique-ing

Read my blog this way:
The Ghetto Version of Adam's Deep Blog



So much drama to speak of... hung out at Apex on Friday night with Ken and this guy Dan and wound up having dinner before hand with my ex "Hitler"/Casey, Drama Dan, and Ken at Kramer's. Now THAT was a trippy dinner. Pretty much closed Apex down, got home at 5am, and the next morning went on a wodnerful roadtrip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia with Phil. He snagged a friends car for the weekend, and it felt so wonderful to get out of the city and see the cute (and surprisingly gay-friendly) mountain town of Harper's Ferry. Highly reccomend it! (see pics above). Came back to DC, had dinner in Virginia first (hence the Awesome Blossom, which was actually quite awesome), went shopping. Yes, Phil and I were buying house stuff together... well for ourselves, not like THAT, hello it's only been a few weeks. I finally saw Saw, as in the movie. Sunday had brunch and coffee with Ken (at Kramer's yet again) And now work. Blah.

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.

Just Another Manic Monday...

Well, well...
I guess first I owe a little more info on this new job I am three weeks into. It's at an environmental organization here in DC. It's a non-profit group (like 7 million others in this city!) but they pay is good, and they hired me. So who's complaining? It's a very laid-back office environment, everyone has been fantastically nice, and about 50% of the office seems to be gay. Well, the office building IS in Dupont Circle. And that's nice and convienient, especially on lunch hour while the nice weather still persists.
And I have my own office...with a window. SWEET!
This week I am house and dog-sitting for my friend in Alexandria while she's away in California for surgery (best of luck!!) So it's going to be a very interesting week.
This weekend I was beat from work, so I slept in. Ken pretty much tricked me into going to Chiaroscuro. THAT was an interesting night, for many reasons which I will keep to myself.
So that's been my life, having fun on the weekends, and work work work Monday through Friday. Though there is something to be said for the 9-5 life, it gives things a sense of regularity. But now, when Friday rolls around, I finally understand why people get so damn excited over it!
Oh, and I am trying to quit smoking. Margo's doing it, so can I. I think...

Only in Richmond...

Disclaimer: There are some great folks in Richmond. The following pertains to other 90%.

I always thought Richmond had questionable taste. And like a million shopping malls.

This article only confirms the fact I'm glad to not live there.
Apparently, at the Richmond International Raceway (yes, Richmond has a racetrack for Nascar, ugh) there was a stampede over laptops being sold for $50.
A human stampede over laptops at a racetrack in Richmond. I'll just let you mull over that one for awhile.
If Baltimore is Washington's ugly sister, Richmond would be her retarded, inbred, alcoholic third cousin.

"Somebody please nuke me, please!"

August and Everything After...

Life
I've been so busy as of late. Got a different job! (yes, yes, thank-you!)
So this whole 9-5 office schedule, as opposed to my past job, is really tripping me out.
I've been hanging out when I can, though lately it's been way too hot to really want to do anything.
Monday I somehow ended up having dinner and drinks at Fox & Hound. With Jim, and old boyfriend of his who also somehow happens to be a friend of mine, and this guy's partner. I think "awkwardness" is the perfect word to describe that dinner. And then it started a torrential downpour. I got soaking wet. Omens, anyone?
Thursday after work I hung out With Casey and some guy who he cheated on me with back in the day at his house on Capital Hill (the shady part too, not the nice part). Now, you may be asking me, why the hell would you hang out with them? I dunno. Maybe I wanted to see Casey's new Mercedes. Yes, I'm always nosy, even with exes. Of course by the end of the night I was seriously regretting ever coming. But I never learn...
Friday after work I met Margo Fred, and Ken and we went to dinner at Foodbar DC on 17th. I really liked the food, had a couple of shots, hung out at Soho. And I ran into this guy Richard who I hadn't seen about two years.
Saturday I went with Ken to Chiaro. Got drunk (again) danced a little, saw a few people, definately saw some hot guys (they were never there before). Came home around five. I'm going to dinner at City Lights soon, so gotta run. The best Chinese food in DC, incidentally.

"Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza"
I saw a really funny webiste today, the Misheard Lyrics Hall of Fame. My personaly favorite would be Elton John's misheard lyrics. Funny stuff.

Monkey Business

I know I've been quiet for a while... more info and stuff coming later today after I get cleaned up (just woke up actually). But for your entertainment is this...



Apparently in South Korea last week to celebrate an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooporation meeting. What that has to do with an orangutan on water-skis I will never know. But it was an awfully funny picture I saw yesterday reading the Post on the Metro on the way to work.

I'm Easy Like Sunday Morning...

Sunday is the day of rest as they say, so today I've just been relaxing at home. I had all sorts of grandiose plans involving sunday brunch in Gaytown, getting up and kicking ass... but after I got home last night/morning, I slept until 1pm. Oh well.
This is going to be an intersting week for me, wish me luck. And you actually CAN wish me luck (for shits & giggles) at this site. It's a virtual candle-lighting, like the ones you see in churches and temples. Light one for me...

Trend Graveyard

And while I'm on the topic of rituals, it's time to hold a farewell ceremony (we hope) for yet another overkilled trend from 2004 that somehow survived into 2005...
Behold, the Livestrong Bracelets (and their miriad copycats):


Ugh! I can say I don't have any friends who wear these stupid fucking plastic bracelets. I used to have a few, but let's say it's now one of my red-flag criteria for instant dismissal. These stupid bracelets say "I follow whatever stupid fucking trend comes...AND I'm helping a charitable cause."
FUCK YOU! If you wear these, I hope you get 2nd-hand cancer from all the cigaretts I'm smoking. I'm going to make my own Livestrong bracelet. It will be black leather from an endangered species and all proceeds will go to developing a virus that will wipe out all stupid people. And it will be manufactured by Phillip Morris.

Ah what a pleasant sunday morning... birds are chirping....

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Another Day in the Blogosphere

Updates:

I forgot to include in my last post the crowing glory of last Sautrday night: when Ken tossed Bob into Dupont Circle fountain!

Sadly I was too inebriated to have taken a picture. And thus far, Bob has not developed any strange rashes from the fountain water.

Taking back SOhO:

Some good news for those of you who frequent a certain cafe on P & 22nd St, Monday's so-called "Comedy Night" is coming to a close!!!! Next Monday will ofiicially be the end of un-comedy night. I think I speak for all the cafe regulars when I say good riddance! Apparently all the comics are bitter because no one laughs at them... sure... it's OUR fault that you guys fucking suck.
And this is my blog so I can say what I want, this isn't slander it's my opinions but Paul Schorsch is the most unfunny man ever born. He's the Anti-Comedy. He can suck the funny out of a room. He apparently hosts sometimes at the DC Improv. Maybe he's funny when alcohol's involved. Ladies and gentlemen, don't laugh at this man.

Wedding & a Birthday

Well, it's been an eventful weekend. First, Friday was Raven and Kevin's wedding! Raven looked absoultely beautiful and I wish them the best. I don't have any pictures from the ceremony now, but I will post when I do.
Satruday was Ken's birthday (well, techincally it's today, Monday) so we (Bob and myself) celebreated by first going for lunch at drinks in Adams Morgan, and then paddleboating on the Tidal Basin by the Jefferson Memorial because that's something Ken's always wanted to do since moving to DC.
Then we met Margo and Fred at Lauriol Plaza on 18th for dinner and more drinks. It was a fun dinner for sure... (see photos)




After that we went on to the gay strip club, Wet where I had the fun of running into a guy I knew...working as a dancer. LOL, I was sure to give him a tip, the look on his face when he recognized me was worth the price of admission alone...
Ken got bored with the cock pretty quickly so we headed next door for a complete change of pace at the industrial club, Chiaroscuro. I got drunk as hell, really drunk. I'm sure I made a royal fool of myself... pictures NOT forthcoming.
And the rest, as they say, is history...

The Scandalous Fruit

Since the culinary arts are of my my little hobbies, I deicided to include this interesting article I came across today concerning the history of tomatoes. Yes, tomatoes, it's far more interesting than you might think.
Find out why Renaissance Europe referred to them as "love apples" by reading this.

What's In a Name?

My ultra swedish is Joakim Björkman.
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My very British name is Damian Pelham.
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My japanese name is 山田 Yamada (mountain field) 大輝 Taiki (large radiance).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
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My Russian name is Vladislav Dmitriev.
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*Actually, when I was studying Russian, my teahcer dubbed me "Alyosha" which is diminutive of Alexei.

My yuppie parents say that my name is Graham Sebastian.
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Recipe of the Month

Calamares Españoles del Escándalo de Adán
or, Adam's Scandalous Spanish Calamari

A wonderful tapas dish from Spain, with my own adjustments that make it uniquely my own, uniquely scandalous! ...
Ingredients (feeds 4-ish)

*1 1/4 lb small squid, cleaned.
*6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
*1 fresh red chili, or dried chili flakes
*1 tsp regular paprika
*1 tsp Hungarian or Spanish smoked paprika (hot varieties...if you like heat you can use 2 tsp Hungarian paprika instead of mixing with the generic type paprika)
*1-2 cups all purpose flour
*3 garlic cloves (crushed or minced)
*1 tbsp Spanish sherry vinegar (or subst. with red wine vinegar)
*1 lemon (1 tsp grated lemon rind from this lemon as well as it's juice)
*2-3 tsp finely chopped, washed, fresh parsley
*kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

-Clean the squid if not already done. Keep the tentacles (be sure to exclude the beak) and cut the body portion into small rings (discard everything else).
Place squid in bowl and pour over 2 tsp of olive oil, the chili, the crushed/minced garlic, the paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover in bowl and let marinate in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
-Toss the squid in the flour and bread lightly. Heat vegetable or olive oil in a wok or deep frying panover high heat until very hot. Slowly add small batches of squid (be VERY careful- squid like to pop and splatter!!!). Fry each batch for 30 second-1 minute. Don't overcook!
-After frying add the still-warm calamari into a large bowl. Toss in the sherry vinegar (add more or less to taste), the lemon rind, the lemon's juice, additional paprika if desired, and the parsley.
-Toss evenly and serve with extra lemon wedges and parsley.

Discussions

Word to live by (or rather, words I OUGHT to live by) :

Know the true value of time;
snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.
No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination;
never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

-Lord Chesterfield

Updates on my life

Well, it's been a long ass time since I've updated my blog. Oh so many things have happened since my last post. Didn't end up going to Rehoboth Beach like I had planned, instead I spent the 4th of July on the balcony of Ken's new fabulous 13th floor apartment with him, Margo, Fred, Raven, Kevin, and myself. We had a great dinner party: Ken made manicotti and a great homemade dipping oil, and I made Spanish calamari (recipe forthcoming, I promise). All of the food turned out delicious, and we watched the DC fireworks from the comfort of his balcony, above and away from all the crowds.
Other stuff has happened too, but too much to review here. It's hard to believe summer is almost over!

Now, since someone was wondering what was going on with my blog, I have decided to finally shift my blog in a new direction. Starting today, I am going to have a little potpouri of everything, food, politics, life, thoughts, and reader comments encouraged.

Politics

For example, one reader's blog has been discussing the gay rights issues. In response to one of his essays, here are some of my thoughts on some aspects of gay life. To paraphrase him, he was discussing the recent gay pride parade in DC, and how the men dancing in thongs, etc., was not doing anything positive for the gay community. I beg to differ.. see below

I'll also leave my 1 1/2 cents about the topic above. While I agree with a lot of your argument, I feel I have to disagree when you say,
"it sends the wrong message to our hetero counterparts that we’re sex crazed, promiscuous perverts who’ll do anything for a cheap thrill."
My point of view is, so what? I think that is exactly where the gay movement has gone wrong, trying to curry favor with heteros by portraying ourselves as neat clean-cut upstanding citizens.
Why are we to be held to some lofty standard, when straight people are free to indulge in the same behaviors without their whole community being judged? A large portion of Middle America is never going to accept us (as the last elections show). Fuck 'em, I say. If they don't like us doing drugs or having lots of sex, fuck 'em. They aren't going to help us out either way. We don't owe Middle America anything at all, and since our rights don't seem to matter to them, their opinions of my leisure time don't matter to me.
There is a larger issue here, and it goes above even GLBT rights... the broader issue of freedom for everyone.
I think, rather than trying to imitate the Ozzy and Harriet lifestyle of suburban heteros, we need to take a different approach to gain straight allies.
When we approach this is a freedom issue (the freedom to do what you want with other consenting adults, regardless of gender) I think we will catch the attention of more heterosexuals. Because, we must remind them, if they take away our rights, you'll be next!

-So there...what do YOU think?

Books

Next to politics, my other passion. Thanks to Jonathan and his closeout from his offce at the now defunct (?) Lambda Literary Foundation (one the only gay literature organizations in the country) I have a ton of free books by gay authors. Right now I am reading "So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy."
It is an anthology of writers, some gay, some straight, from Africa, the Carribean, India, and Native Americans. Fascinating works that definately deserve the attention of anyone interested in speculative fiction. Highly reccomended!
As a result of reading it, I was to explore the works of writer Vandana Singh more.
More book reviews as my summer reading continues!