Friday refreshment

This evening Spouse & I went to dinner with our buddies Steven & Thad at a waterfront restaurant and ate outdoors since the temperature cooled off.  The scenery was beautiful, but to be honest on a Fri evening after a long week, I was more interested in this scenery:

I need your help!

We recently purchased one of those talking scales.  When I stepped on it the scale said "One person at a time, please".

Gulp.

But I'm at a loss right now and could really use some help from my friends here in the blogosphere.

I'm looking for rapid weight loss suggestions which do NOT include exercise or dramatically changing my diet. 

That's right... I want to lose 10 lbs (plus or minus) in a very short amount of time (like yesterday), and do not want to exercise or dramatically change my diet. 

I've read that exercise alone doesn't make you lose weight, so that's all I need to know about exercise.  Plus I know from past experience it can make you sweat.  I'm not really 'into' sweating. 

Now, I am willing to change my diet a little bit, but not dramatically.  So no Atkins, Weight Watchers, or NutriSystems.  That's just too much!

I'm considering a few options, but since I have no experience with them, I'm not sure which is best:

• wiring my jaw shut.  This is probably the least invasive, but knowing me, I'd probably find a delicious, highly caloric milkshake to which I'd become addicted and end up losing no weight at all.  Plus, cosmos can also be sucked threw a straw.  Not daintily, but it can be done.
• medically induced coma.  This one is tricky in that, by virtue of being in a coma, it precludes me from working for the length of the coma.  Since I'm a realtor, there's no paid medical leave or vacation.  When I don't work, I don't get paid.  And for it to do me any good, I'm thinking the coma would need to be at least a solid 2 weeks.  Maybe 3.
• stomach stapling surgery.  This one is pretty invasive too, being that it requires surgery and recovery.  Plus I know there is the potential to stretch your stomach back out after the surgery, so this is probably my least favorite option at this time.  Oh, and I hate hospitals too.
• Weight loss pills (both FDA and non-FDA approved).  I'm not sure of the efficasy of weight loss pills or appetite suppressants since I really don't over-eat out of hunger.  I over-eat out of loving the taste of delicious food, so suppressing my hunger may not work.
• cleanses.  I had a colleague years ago who would do various cleanses to detoxify his body and lose weight.  But he was like 26 years old, and when you're that young, almost anything you do to lose weight works.  I'm not sure I can drink gallons liquids unless they taste like a cosmo, OR unless there's an iron-clad guarantee.

So, if any of you dear readers has any insight on these options, or any other options I have considered, please DO speak up.  I'm all ears!

Weight loss

While its certainly no secret that I do enjoy my cocktails, unfortunately I have not had any since Jan 4. 

You see, I started my Fit for Life eating plan on Jan 4, and while the plan doesn't specifically prohibit alcohol, I know that it contains a lot of calories.  So I have voluntarily given up cocktails since the beginning of the year.

How's the slimming regimen going, you ask?  Well, I've lost 18 lbs so far.  I lost 5 lbs the 1st week and 5 lbs the 2nd week, so that was great!  The other 8 lbs have come off very slowly, but I knew that was to be expected.  Doctors actually say that 2 lbs per week weight loss is safe and sustainable.

Spouse and Steven & Thad are also on various weight loss plans.  We have all experienced weeks when we've only lost 1 or 2 lbs.  This can be very frustrating, especially if you've been "good" and not cheated on your plan.  But I try to remain positive.  I tell myself that if I consistently lose 2 lbs per week, in a year's time I will have lost 104 lbs!!  That knowledge really does help me.

I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to avoid alcohol.  Maybe I will allow myself just 1 Cosmo per week (on karaoke night) and see if that actually affects my weight loss at all.

Dieting

So after a brief hiatus (okay, 6 months) from my diet, I started back on it.  God, it is so boring.

One of the things about dieting that I resent is that I have to constantly think about food!  Friends want to go out to dinner and ask where we want to go.  I then immediately try and think of places that - not taste terrific, but - have low calorie options.  And I believe everyone who's ever read this blog knows how daddy likes him a Cosmo now and then.  Well, alcohol is a definite no-no when you're dieting.

The diet that makes the most sense for me is Weight Watchers.  It forces you to convert food into points and then not exceed the points that match your weight.  It works.  A few years ago I lost 40 lbs on Weight Watchers.  But I guess I'm lazy and I just get so damn tired of constantly watching what I eat and having to think about food.

One of the 'tricks' I've used with success is drinking water.  Its no secret - every diet tells you to drink lots of water.  But sometimes I get so hungry that I feel sick to my stomach.  I don't want to eat something if its not 'meal time', so I will drink water.  That will often quiet down my stomach and carry me over until its time to eat a meal.  And I TOTALLY make use of those chemical-laden, artificially flavored water enhancers because they give water flavor.  I don't care if they contain red dye #5, if they make water taste like a virgin cocktail, I'm in!!

Birthday celebration weekend

I have known my good friend Kathryn since 1988.  I call her my "sistah from another mistah" because we are so much alike, despite the fact that she is a straight African American woman and I am a gay white man.  Her birthday is 11/27.

I have known my friend Wendy since 1999.  She has a great sense of humor and we always have a blast.  Her birthday is 12/5. 

At 1 point Kathryn and Wendy and I all worked together in the same dept of the same company.  My birthday is 12/7.

Since all 3 of us have birthdays within a 2 week span of time, and since these will be 'milestone' birthdays, we decided to celebrate our birthdays together this past weekend. 

Kathryn arrived from VA at about 3:30.  We hung out and talked until 5pm then went to dinner.  None of us had eaten lunch so we were all game for an early dinner.  We went to Pig + Fish and all 3 of us loved our meals.  However, before dinner we ordered cocktails.  I'm a Cosmo guy for sure, but was thinking that I would have something different that night.  Hmmm... maybe a dirty martini.  Very dirty.  Filthy, if you will.  When the waiter asked Kathryn what she'd like to drink, she ordered a dirty martini.  "Really dirty" she clarified.  "Filthy!!" I added, and we all laughed.  Then I explained to Kathryn that although I usually order a cosmo, I wanted something different tonight and had decided on a filthy dirty martini.

It was a mild evening so after dinner we walked down to the boardwalk and looked at the ocean.  Then on our drive back home Wendy called and said she was almost there.  (She had come from NJ.)  We greeted each other with big, hearty hugs and then went inside to catch up.  Spouse joined in our conversation for a few hours but eventually took Marvin and went to bed around 11:30.  The 3 of us continued talking and laughing, completely unaware of the time.  We decided to have a birthday toast, then take photos of ourselves together.

After taking the 1st photo of me and Wendy, Kathryn let us see the photo.  The way the overhead light shined on my face and hair made it look like I had a giant forehead.  When I saw the photo I said "Oh no - why do I have the forehead of Glenn Close??"  We all burst into laughter.  On our 2nd attempt at the photo Kathryn asked me to tilt my head to block the reflection of the light fixture in the mirror behind us.  I didn't know that was her reason so I asked "Why do you keep asking me to tilt my head like I'm posing in an Olan Mills Portrait Studios photo?"  Again we burst into laughter.  Then Wendy got down onto 1 knee and propped her chin on her fist, a very familiar Olan Mills pose of children.  More laughter.  
Then I pulled a flower from a vase and pretended to lovingly give it to Wendy.  Even more laughter!  I could hardly breath!!  We didn't go to bed until 2am.

Sun morning the 4 of us had coffee and talked, then walked a few blocks to a diner for a late breakfast, then a walking tour through downtown.  Eventually it was time for them to pack up and head back home.  There were lots of hugs and promises to stay in touch more frequently. 

I believe we will.

Blood orange cosmo recipe

In Monday's post I told you I'd post the recipe for the blood orange cosmos that Sean made:

Blood Orange Cosmo

1 1/2 oz orange flavored vodka
1/2 oz triple sec
1/4 oz lime juice
1/4 oz orange juice
1 splash cranberry juice

(We didn't have regular orange juice so we substituted orange/mango/pineapple juice)

Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange or lime.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Breen with envy

Don't be jealous, but the Breens of Idle Eyes and a Dormy fame are en-route to our house!

During Sean & Jeffrey's visit to our fair hamlet for the Blogger Meet-Up in Feb, we had the opportunity to have dinner with them - not once, but - twice and got along like old friends.  They expressed an interest in coming back so we invited them for the long, Memorial Day holiday weekend.

It appears the weather won't be conducive to lying on the beach, but I'm sure we'll find plenty to drink, do.  We don't really have a 'plan' for the weekend, but we've got several options to go over with the Breens and I'm confident the weekend will pass much too quickly.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody!!

Memorial Day

Its been a great Memorial Day weekend: the official start of the summer season here at the beach. As I mentioned on Fri, this is the 1st Memorial Day weekend in years that we have not had company, but it has been a great long weekend none-the-less.

Sat morning after having our coffee and walking the dog, Spouse & I pulled all of the porch furniture (4 rockers, 2 love seats, 2 side tables, and a bistro table and chairs) into the yard and scrubbed them all down. Then we used the leaf blower to blow all the dust, dirt, leaves, cobwebs, and other assorted bug stuff off the porch. We discovered an easy way to clean dusty cushions: with a scrub brush.
Ours came from the Dollar store. It worked great and brought those cushions back to life. The weather was absolutely spectacular (warm but not hot, clear skies, no humidity, nice breeze) so it was a good day for doing this. When the furniture was dry, we put it all back on the porch and sat and rested for a few minutes.

Then it was on to the back/screened porch. We removed the furniture, used the leaf blower to blow the debris out, scrubbed the cushions, and wiped down the posts. Its a much smaller porch with less furniture so it went much quicker. It felt really good to get our porches and porch furniture cleaned up and ready for the summer season.

Then we put together our new convertible bench/picnic table. We saw it on one of those home shopping channels and couldn't resist it. Its a bench that converts into a picnic table in seconds! Here's an unflattering photo of me sitting on the bench:
Then, in mere seconds, with a simple lift, I convert it...

...into a picnic table for 4 adults or 6 children.

Pretty nifty, eh?

Later that evening we took the convertible car to an indoor/outdoor dinner party at our new friends' Kathy & Jill's. It was a gorgeous evening so we enjoyed assorted olives, cheese and crackers, and cocktails (Cosmos for me) outside on their deck and screened porch. Kathy & Jill are terrific hostesses and served a fabulous dinner of flank steak, salmon, grilled veggies, bow tie pasta with gorgonzola, and green salad with goat cheese. Everything was so tasty! We met lots of great/fun people too.

Sun morning after breakfast and walking the dog, I made 2 pans of Paula Deen's corn casserole to take to George & Steve's cook-out.

The weather was warm again but more humid, but we still drove to the cook-out with the top down. We had a lot of fun visiting with everyone, and the corn casserole was a real crowd pleaser as usual. Despite the fact that the invitation read "come at 2:00 and we'll eat at 3:00", they didn't get the burgers, hot dogs and chicken off the grill until 4:30, which meant we had to forfeit the cocktail party we were supposed to attend later that evening. But we had a lot of fun.

Today the weather was quite changeable. We had sunshine, humidity, sprinkles, clouds, rain, thunder and lightening, all within the last 8 hours. Spouse & I decided to do some much needed housecleaning before showering and heading out the door. We made a stop at Home Depot to look at some tile samples, then tried out a new place for lunch we heard about yesterday at the cook-out. Over lunch we discussed some of the details of our upcoming trip to NYC. It seems as if just overnight our roses started blooming, so before it started raining today I took these photos. (Click to enlarge.)

Here are some other cute things (the names of which I can't remember) we have blooming right now.

I hope all of these will survive when they are transplanted, in preparation for the addition. Spouse & I aren't 'good gays' in the sense that we don't love gardening and don't know much about caring for plants. But fortunately we have the internet and friends who know.

I find it curious that my 3-day Memorial Day weekend had nothing to do with remembering fallen soldiers.

I really do appreciate the sacrifice made by those brave men and women, but for some reason it seems to have nothing to do with my thoughts and behaviors during Memorial Day weekend.

Here's hoping that all of you had terrific Memorial Day long weekends!

Crush du Jour: Michael Churchill

Karaoke

Spouse & I had no plans yesterday, so we puttered about for a while, tidying up and putting away the dishes from the previous night's birthday dinner and such. Spouse decided to take a lap, a luxury he enjoys deeply, and I decided to take Big Ella out for some exercise.

It was a rather non-descript day and I was not looking forward to a non-descript night, so after dinner I suggested to Spouse that we go to the Purple Parrot for karaoke. Instead, he preferred to stay home and watch TV, so I went without him. I knew our friend Tony would be there (he's there every Sat) so I wouldn't be alone.

After meeting up with Tony and his friend Donny, I ordered a Cosmo, looked through the karaoke book, and delivered my 1st song choice to the DJ. Shortly thereafter I sang "Mambo Italiano" (the Bette Midler version with the great beat) to the delight of the happy audience. A few people congratulated me for a good performance on my way back to my bar stool, which is always nice. "Mambo Italiano" is a great song but it is difficult to sing because the lyrics go so quickly. But I've sung it before, and knew I could do it well. I mean, without meaning to sound conceited, I know I can sing well. I've sung in public many times, most recently in karaoke but also in concerts when I was younger.

So, after finishing my song and my Cosmo, I went to the bar to order another. While waiting for the bartender, a young blond woman reached out and touched my arm and excitedly said "Oh my god, you're the guy who just did that AH-MAAY-ZING job with that mambo song! You were fantastic! You should be on American Idol!" I sensed she may be just a wee bit tipsy.

"Oh, well, thank you very much, but I'm too old for American Idol. They have a 29 year old age limit, ya know" I responded with a bit of a chuckle. Then I noticed she was there with 2 men and another woman. Two couples, I surmised. The shorter of the 2 guys asked if I would take a picture with his girlfriend (the brunette), whose 30th birthday they were celebrating. I thought he was asking me to take the picture of them so I reached for the camera. "No, I'm taking the picture. I want you in the picture with her" he corrected me. I couldn't imagine why in gay hell he would want a picture of ME with his girlfriend on her birthday, but they seemed quite nice so I figured 'what the hell'. I put my arm around his girlfriend and he snapped the picture, then thanked me.

I guess the flash alerted the taller guy, who turned around as I was removing my arm from the birthday girl's back, and asked the shorter guy "Did you get a picture of Colleen and the karaoke guy?" Meanwhile, I asked Colleen (the brunette birthday girl) how the 4 of them knew each other. She told me that they all work for the coast guard. She and the shorter guy, Sean, have been together for 3 years, and the very good-looking taller guy, Jeff, and the blond woman, Shelly are married.

Jeff then began furiously complimenting me on my performance, which, combined with his slightly slurred speech, indicated to me he was more than a wee bit tipsy. His compliments just kept coming and I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed by all the accolades. If he weren't so damn attractive I probably would have excused myself from the group right then.

But I didn't, and when Jeff noticed my empty martini glass he asked me what I was drinking. I told him it was a Cosmo, and he raised his hand and barked "Bartender! A Cosmo for my buddy Mark!" Now it was definitely too late to leave my new friends.

I learned from Colleen (who doesn't drink) that she grew up in central DE, but had moved to Baltimore for work, which is where she met the other 3. But once again, Jeff did not like the focus of the conversation being something other than me, so he interrupted by asking me if I'd ever sung professionally. I explained that I'd never been paid to sing, but that I'd performed in public many times.

The bartender delivered my drink to Jeff, since he had ordered it, and when Jeff gave me the drink I thanked him sincerely. Then Jeff put his hand on my shoulder and said "You know, I like you. On top of being a great singer I can tell you're a good person." I tried to think of a way to respond that would shift the attention away from me, but all I could think of was to say "Well the 4 of you seem like good, friendly people too."

With his hand still on my shoulder, he then pulled me closer to him, slid his arm around my neck, looked me straight in the eyes, and said "You know, I'm about as straight as they come. And I'm pretty sure you're gay, but I don't care..."

I burst into laughter and replied "You're right; I'm about as gay as they come!" and then laughed some more. This time it was Colleen who interrupted the conversation. "Jeff! You shouldn't say that! How do you know he's gay? Besides, you shouldn't say that even if you do know it." Then she turned to me and said "Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. You know, he's pretty drunk. Please don't be offended."

It struck me as quite perceptive of him (especially being drunk) to pick up that I was gay. I mean, I wasn't wearing gay-looking clothes or anything, and the gold band on my wedding ring finger sometimes throws people off. And I do have some gay-looking clothes, but I wasn't wearing them last night. I had on faded jeans, a long-sleeve white t-shirt with a short-sleeve blue graphic t-shirt on over top. That's pretty much what every guy (1/2 my age) wears these days! But I just laughed and assured Colleen that I was not offended at all.

As if he had only paused a second, Jeff was back at it again. With his arm still around my neck he said "I don't care if you're gay. I can tell you're a good person. I'm straight, you're gay, who the hell cares? We both put on our pants one leg at a time, right?" I replied "You're right. Really, we're a lot more alike than we are different. Honestly, I don't know why that bothers some people so much." Jeff pulled me even closer to him and confirmed "Well it doesn't bother me at all. You're 'good people'. I love ya, man." And with that, he pulled me so close to him that there was no place for my head to go but onto this chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head and held me in this position for what felt like an eternity, but was likely only a few seconds in reality.

If I could have possibly had any doubt about Jeff's drunkenness, it would have been completely removed by his uttering of that phrase "I love ya, man" followed by pulling into his bosom. I mean, isn't that the classic frat boy behavior? And again, if he weren't so damn sexy I could have been really annoyed by this, but since I found him to be so attractive it didn't really bother me. (How shallow does that make me?)

Colleen scolded him again and suggested it was inappropriate for him to hold onto me like that. Jeff slurred something like "He's mine..." but I'm still not quite sure what he was talking about. When he finally let me up, Colleen rolled her eyes and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' to me. I just laughed and tried again to steer the conversation away from me and back onto them.

"Have you guys signed up to sing?" I asked. Colleen said that they had thought about it but hadn't decided on a song. I suggested they needed something that lent itself to a group, and then recommended 'Love Shack' by the B-52s. Colleen liked that suggestion a lot and quickly produced the little sign up paper with their names already written on it.

But Jeff was not finished proving to me and everyone else how much he valued our new friendship. As Colleen got the others to agree on 'Love Shack', Jeff said that it was a GREAT song for their group to sing. "Damn, you've got a great voice, you're a great guy, and you pick great songs!" Then he reached out, cupped my face in both of his hands, leaned over, and kissed me on the forehead!

I didn't know whether to be exhilarated or terrified! For a split second I thought about asking him why he didn't just kiss my lips, but I was afraid he would, which could have gotten messy. So instead I looked at Colleen and said "Just my luck. I'm in a bar full of gay guys but its a straight one who kisses me!" and we both laughed.

While all of this was going on, Jeff's wife Shelly had apparently gotten into a bit of a spat with some female patron who's wine spilled on her clothes when Shelly accidentally bumped her arm. Since Shelly was still upset from the altercation the group decided it was time to pay their tab and leave. Half of me was glad since this meant Jeff's attention was finally off of me, while the other half of me was a little sad that the evening's 'entertainment' was ending.

Each of the 4 put on their coats and hugged me goodbye. I gave Colleen a little peck on the cheek as I wished her a happy birthday again. Jeff's hug was big, solid, and manly. I'd be lying if I claimed it wasn't a wee bit titillating. And with that, they were off. I sang again, finished my drink, and was home by 11:30.

Since Spouse was only watching a home shopping channel, I made him mute the TV so I could tell him all about the unexpected adoration from my new friends, including Jeff's drunken gestures, which made Spouse get a little concerned. "I hope he wasn't trying to fool around with you. He didn't ask you to meet him in the bathroom, did he? " he asked. "Oh no, of course not" I replied. Then I reminded him that even if Jeff had tried, I would not have responded because I value our loving and monogamous relationship. I assured him that if I had not felt safe at any time, I would have left immediately.

Then, in an uncharacteristically sweet gesture, Spouse said "Well, I can hardly blame someone, gay or straight, for being attracted to you; you're so cute." My heart swelled, and I knew there just wasn't an adequate response to that. I just smiled, and we sat in silence for a few seconds. He unmuted the TV and we listened to watch Shannon drone on about the "Today's Special Value".


Crush du Jour: Danny Vox

Wonderful weekend until...

Ron & James and Mike & Clark arrived Fri afternoon and I knocked off work early. We sat in the living room and talked for a while, then we migrated to the kitchen so Spouse & I could finish the dinner preparations and still be in the conversations.

We had everything ready so that when 'the usual suspects' arrived at 7:00 we simply set up the food (buffet style) on the peninsula. There were 13 of 'the usual suspects, plus our 4 visiting friends, plus Spouse & me, totally 19 for dinner. It went off without a hitch, thanks to our keeping the menu simple, but tasty. Since we were celebrating 3 birthday and all 3 are different ages, I decided to re-use the '3' and '0' candles we'd used for The Newlywed's 30th birthday and suggested to everyone what a coincidence it was that all 3 birthday boys were all turning 30. Everyone laughed, and we sang 'Happy birthday'. Everyone said the food and cake were great, and our visiting friends mixed seamlessly with 'the usual suspects'. I believe everyone enjoyed themselves.

'The usual suspects' left at around 9:30. Spouse & I stayed up talking with our visiting friends until almost 1am.

Sat morning we had a simple breakfast of bagels, little fruit-filled pastries, juice and coffee, then sat around discussing everything and anything. It was so nice to get updates on many of the folks we knew from the church where we had been members from 1997-2004. Ron & James and Mike & Clark went to this church too.

We had chicken salad sandwiches and chips for lunch, then went to the beach. There was a fantastic cool breeze coming off the water that made our time at the beach practically euphoric. It was 12 degrees cooler at the beach than at home! We had a great time checking out the 'scenery', walking, and talking with the roar of the waves in the background.
Once we'd returned home everyone showered and dressed for dinner. We still had time for cocktail hour before our 7:00 reservation. I made Blue PomeCosmos for everyone.

Then we walked the 2 blocks into town for dinner at Beseme. Spouse & I had never eaten there before, but Ron had gotten a recommendation for it from one of 'the usual suspects' so we decided to give it a try. The name Beseme ("kiss me" in Spanish) made us think it might be a tapas place, but the food had a distinct French influence. There were many crepe specialties which you don't often find in other restaurants. I had Ropa Viejo, a spicy Cuban pulled pork dish with rice and plantains. It was delicious! Spouse had plantain encrusted Mahi with saffron rice and chunky mango salsa. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, and Spouse said he would definitely return.

On the short walk home we decided to take advantage of the warm but breezy summer night by going for a walk on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Since none of us ordered dessert at the restaurant we felt no shame in stopping for funnel cake and Kohr Brothers frozen custard along the boardwalk. It was really delightful to be at the boardwalk, seeing all the happy people enjoying themselves. There's an amazing amount of positive energy there. It was nearly midnight when we returned home but we sat up until 1am again talking and laughing.

Sun morning Spouse made a delicious sausage/egg/cheese breakfast casserole and oatmeal blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We lingered over our juice and coffee until almost noon when our friends decided to pack up their stuff and head home. When they left Spouse & I tidied up the kitchen a bit and then met Rick & Nick at the beach. Again we enjoyed a fabulously warm but breezy afternoon at the ocean. I didn't want to come home.

I made nachos for dinner and then Spouse was on the computer while I watched Design Star. I liked all 3 contestants' rooms but did feel like Trish's was a little too predictable and bordered on boring. I wasn't sure she'd be eliminated though because she seems to have the strongest hosting ability. But in the end the judges chose design over hosting ability and Trish went home.

It was truly a wonderful weekend, until we got ready to go to bed. As I was brushing my teeth I heard this 'clink' sound, looked down at the vanity, and saw that a huge filling and fallen out of my tooth! Its my #1 tooth on this chart:

I noticed some sensitivity over the last week or so, then last evening I thought it felt like my teeth didn't quite come together when I chewed like they used to. I had no idea that gigantic, old filling was about to fall out. So this morning I checked my insurance and then found a local dentist who was taking new patients and made an appointment for this afternoon. The dentist was on vacation last week and is busy this week so the lady who scheduled the appointment said the dentist would probably just see me today to determine what needed to be done exactly, and that I would likely need to come back for the actual re-filling.

The fact that this happened last night just before bed caused me to have a difficult time falling asleep. Once I finally got to sleep I had a crazy dream about moving our previous house to a different location. The truck pulling the huge flatbed trailer with our former house on it was being driven by these 2 young (21-23 year old) girls and I kept telling them to slow down and be more careful. Of course they didn't, and the trailer containing our house came loose from the truck and sailing down the street. Needless to say that although I was asleep, I was certainly not resting. This morning I felt like hell, so knowing I'd have to take off for a dental appointment anyway, I called him sick today. This is only the 2nd time in 6 years I've called in sick so I don't feel guilty at all.

Crush du Jour: Robert Buckley