Social butterflies

We had a very social weekend. "Social butterflies" is what my mother would call us, if she were to speak to us, which she doesn't, which is her loss, but that's a story for another time.

Fri evening Spouse & I drove back to VA, I dropped him and Jordan off at his mom's, and went to sing karaoke at Freddie's. My buddy from high school Chris was there, as were a few other friends I see there each month. I had a good time singing and talking with friends, and didn't stay out too late. Spouse's sister and niece came over and visited with Spouse & Evelyn while I was out.

Sat morning Spouse, his mother Evelyn, and I met our friend Kathryn for breakfast at the Silver Diner. Kathryn is my "twin sister from different parents". We weren't able to hook up either of the 2 times we were in VA in Dec, so we brought along a Christmas gift for her. The 4 of us had a great time catching up over breakfast. Then we all went to Target. Kathryn had 3 things on her list and we had 4 things on ours and we joked about who would get to the check out 1st.

We relaxed and chatted with Evelyn for a little while, then Spouse & I went to Silver Spring to visit our friends Bill & Tom. They moved into a new house in Sept and we were eager to see it, and to visit with them. Their house is quite charming, a 1949 brick ranch with a finished basement. We went to a Mexican restaurant nearby for lunch. The food tasted good, but unfortunately did not set well with us. After saying goodbye to Bill & Tom, Spouse & I were supposed to go to our friends Liz & Justine's house, also in Silver Spring, for a visit. But instead, we had to go back to Evelyn's so both of us could use the bathroom... several times. I think it was the salsa. Neither of us had to throw up, which was good, but it was still rather uncomfortable and unpleasant to have to use the bathroom so often and so urgently. 'Nuff said.

So we called Justine & Liz and cancelled our visit with them so we could stay home at Evelyn's and 'recover'. We just watched TV the rest of the night.

Sun morning we felt 'back to normal' so we decided to drive down to George's house to see all the work that Kerry & Hugh had done there this week. They removed wall-to-wall carpeting from 3 rooms and the connecting hallway, painted the walls and baseboards in those areas, and installed laminate flooring and quarter round moulding in those areas. Everything turned out great, and Kerry's dad George loved it.

Evelyn suggested we drive to George's in her new car, so we did. She got a gently used 2007 Toyota Camray. Her previous car had been giving her some trouble. The a/c stopped blowing cold air last summer, the gear shift was difficult to get out of park, and the most annoying was the driver door kept getting stuck. After having to climb over the center console and exit via the passenger door a few times, she did have the driver door lock and handle fixed. Although she understood it is less expensive to fix a car that's paid off, she felt like she wanted a newer car, and since she can certainly afford it, she got one. She doesn't drive on the highway, and at 78 years old, that's probably a good thing for the general public, so I drove her car to George's house. Although I told her it drove nicely when she asked, I really didn't care for it much. It felt very 'old lady'-like compared to driving Spouse's Honda CRV.

When we returned from George's we went to lunch, then to Trader Joe's. Then Spouse's sister and her family came over and we visited with them for 2 hours. We made good use of our time and got to visit with lots of friends and family during this trip back to VA.

We loaded up the CRV and left for home at 4pm. After dropping off Jordan and our Trader Joe's booty, Spouse & I went to the grocery store, one of my least favorite domestic chores. But we didn't need to do a full-scale grocery shopping (just a handful of specific items plus some sale items we use regularly), so it didn't take as long and I came home from the store in a better mood than usual. We had a light dinner and then watched a Netflix DVD "Common Threads: Stories from the AIDS Quilt" which was good.

Crush du Jour: Dean Flynn

Car show

Last Sept Spouse & I took our friends the Newlyweds with us to a car show in Rehoboth Beach, sponsored by the Straight Eights chapter of the Lambda Car Club. I was totally in heaven! Thought I'd post these photos I took, showcasing some of my favorites. Images may be clicked for larger versions. Enjoy!

Late 50s and early 60s Cadillacs are my all-time favorites. This is a 1960 Sedan de Ville.

Didn't Jock Ewing drive a Lincoln like this one in 'Dallas'?
Convertibles also have a special place in my heart. Here's an interesting Buick convertible.

When I was a kid I called this Nash a washing machine.

This is a real beauty. Love those fins!
A 60s Cadillac Sedan de Ville, in 'Desert Rose' paint color.
Loved this 60s Thunderbird.
This gorgeous Edsel belongs to my friend Marty. Quite a head-turner!

Loved this two-tone paint job. Why don't they do that anymore?
Not sure, but I think this is a Mercury. Love those lines!
Fabulous!
Beautiful.

Look at the tail lights on this wagon!
I believe this is a Lincoln. It is lavendar!
And the rear view...
The interior of this yellow car is blood red and made me think someone had gotten mixed up when it was being restored. However, in the movie 'Pleasantville' there is a duplicate of this car with the same yellow/blood red color combination. Pretty unusual looking.

One day I hope to own a classic car.

TV shows

I've posted before about all the HGTV & TLC home renovating/decorating/selling shows I love to watch. Old news. Fortunately the writers' strike does not affect these.

But I must admit that there are a few other shows (not many) that I really try not to miss these days. One of them is "Project Runway". I have been watching PR since the very first season (read: before it became popular) and correctly predicted that Jay McCarroll, with his goofy pink hat, would win.

This season I'm voting for Christian, the young, edgy, uber-gay designer. I think his designs are the most creative. Plus I'd love it if he won because that would put another really super-gay person out in the media, pissing off the right wingers.

The show is interesting to me because the designers are always given a theme or inspiration to jump start their creativity, but then they're also given challenges like time and budget constraints under which to work. I find the fashion aspect of the show to be interesting and they always have at least 1, if not more, gay designers. PR also has a LOT less contrived drama than most un-'reality' shows.

My newest favorite show is "Make Me a Supermodel". Normally I wouldn't give a show like this a 2nd thought, because I don't find modeling to be that interesting. Fashion yes; modeling not-so-much. But during the teaser (which Bravo ran at least a thousand times an hour) I saw this ravishing beauty: Ronnie. He's got a fantastic body, symmetrical good looks, AND a sexy voice. A lethal trifecta! Oh, and did I mention that he's openly gay? So now I'm watching "Make Me a Supermodel" every week just to see Ronnie.

In last night's episode the photo shoot and catwalk appearance carried a fetish theme, so all the models were wearing fetish gear. Models were paired up and told to go for "sexual chemistry" rather than posing. The judges intentionally matched up 2 straight female models with each other and 2 straight male models with each other, to push them beyond their comfort zones. They intentionally paired gorgeous gay Ronnie with a female model for the same reason, and he did very well. See http://www.bravotv.com/Make_Me_A_Supermodel/index.php for photos and videos.

Crush du Jour: James Denton

Snow

Its snowing.

When I was walking Jordan this morning I could sense that it was going to snow. You know how you can feel and hear it when its going to snow? Well that's how it was this morning, so it was no surprise when I began seeing the flurries at about 10:00 or so. Shortly thereafter the snow began in earnest.

Because I live near the beach it is always breezy, which is nice in the summer when the breezes help mitigate the heat, but not-so-nice in the winter when the breezes make the cold temps feel even colder. But because it is breezy, the snow isn't 'falling' as much as it is 'whirling by'. As I sit at my desk and look out the windows at the snow swirling around, I imagine this is what it would look like if you were looking out from within a snow globe.
Its been snowing for 4 or 5 hours now, and everything is covered by a thin blanket of white. There is a set of tire tracks on the blanketed street from one of the neighbors who left a few minutes ago. Its really beautiful. I doubt we'll get more than about an inch accumulation, which is fine, because I'm happy just watching it snow. I don't care how much we get.

Jordan the dog and Pouncer the Wondercat both appear to be in a coma. I believe they, too, sensed the coming snow and decided to 'hibernate' today.

Crush du Jour: Levi Poulter

8 things

I saw something like this on another blog, but decided to 'spice it up' a little before adding it here.
8 things
Post 8 random things/facts/habits about yourself.
At least 1 thing must be childhood-related.
At least 1 thing must be vehicle-related.
At least 1 thing must be sex-related.
At least 1 thing must be clothing-related.
The other 4 things are wildcards - completely up to you.

Bloggers should write a post on their own blog about their 8 things, along with the rules above. Everyone who reads this should consider themselves 'tagged'. Have fun!

1. Even as a small kid I was so outgoing I would leave my mother in the grocery store and walk up to strangers and start conversations with them.


2. The 1st car I drove was a celery green 1979 Chevrolet Chevette. It was totalled in 1981 and replaced by my parents with yet another dorky Chevette. The 2nd one was bronze.


3. I can count on 1 hand the number of people with whom I've had sex.


4. I began working part-time in a men's clothing store during my senior year in high school. Later I worked full-time in clothing stores for a few years. I had an amazing wardrobe by age 23.


5. For a while I wore colored contact lenses to make my grey/blue eyes look green.


6. I am a real estate junkie, but do not want to be a real estate agent. Instead, I would like to renovate dilapidated, ugly, outdated homes into modern, functional, neighborhood-appropriate homes. For me its all about turning something undesirable into something desirable.


7. I am completed inspired by and in love with Ella Fitzgerald. I believe she is one of the few real musical geniuses of the 20th century.


8. I enjoy spending time with people who are like me, but also enjoy people who are not like me. It is my endeavor to have friends who are retired, artists, drag queens, non-caucasion, famous, intelligent, funny, and single.

Crush du Jour: Tom Selleck

Heath Leger, 28, found dead today

Heath Ledger found dead in NYC apartment
Authorities say actor’s death likely suicide or accidental overdose
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22788914/?GT1=10755

NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment in what police sources are calling an apparent suicide or accidental overdose. He was 28.

According to the New York Times, Ledger was found naked and unconscious with pills strewn all around him. Police sources told the Times that the death appeared to be a suicide or an accidental overdose.

A source told msnbc.com's Courtney Hazlett that Ledger had been turning down roles lately.

The Times initially reported that Ledger was found in an apartment owned by actress Mary-Kate Olsen, but a spokesperson for the actress, who is at the Sundance Film Festival, later told the Times the apartment was not Olsen's.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the apartment. The housekeeper, who went to let Ledger know the masseuse was there, found him naked and unconscious in bed at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET, according to The New York Times. After moving his body to the floor and receiving no response from the actor after shaking him, they called authorities.

“We are investigating the possibility of an overdose,” Browne said. “There were pills within the vicinity of the bed.”

A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers began gathering Tuesday evening outside the building on an upscale block, where several police officers guarded the door. According to The Times, city workers rolled Ledger’s body, encased in a black body bag, out of the building on a stretcher.

The medical examiner’s office planned an autopsy on Wednesday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was a respected, award-winning actor who took his craft seriously rather than cashing in on his heartthrob looks. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain,” where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Ledger most recently appeared in “I’m Not There,” in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.

The actor, who was Oscar nominated for “Brokeback Mountain,” died at age 28.

Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in “The Dark Knight,” a sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins.”

He’s had starring roles in “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot,” and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in “Monster’s Ball.” He also played a heroin addict in the 2006 Australian film “Candy.”

Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. He met Watts while working on “The Lords of Dogtown,” a fictionalized version of a cult classic skateboarding documentary, in 2004.

Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, “Seat.”

Crush du Jour: Ari Gold

"Baby its cold outside"

I know, I know - temperatures in the 20s may not seem that cold to those of you in Chicago, Boston, or Canada, but its pretty darn cold for southern DE. The projected high temperatures for the weekend were only about 27 degrees, lows in the teens, and combined with the constant breeze from the ocean, it felt even colder than that. Even our dog Jordan, who loves to go for long walks, only wanted to go around the block.

Fri night we hosted a birthday dinner for Rick, Nick and Ted. There were 14 of us. Spouse made a giant vat of baked ziti in his Nesco roaster oven, Scott & Dave brought salad, Stephan & Wayne brought a bread assortment, Ted & Don brought soda, Mike & Steve brought a veggie, Rick & Nick brought an appetizer, and Dean & Randy brought 2 home made cakes. I set the kitchen and dining room tables with the 'good' dishes and flatware. Everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner, and then we lit candles on the cakes and sang 'Happy Birthday' to the birthday boys. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

That night Bugsy & Roger arrived from VA. We had cocktails and talked until after midnight, then went to bed at 12:30. Despite my long, busy day I wasn't able to get to sleep! It reminded me of Thanksgiving night. I got up at 1:30 and watched TV for an hour, then went back to bed at 2:30 and eventually fell asleep.

We really didn't "do" much over the weekend. Fortunately Bugs & Rog are very much like us and enjoy an unscripted weekend. We had big breakfasts, 2 pots of coffee each morning, sat around and talked, laughed, read, and watched TV and DVDs.

Sat night we watched "Third Man Out", a DVD about a gay detective. We liked it a lot. Sun night we started watching "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" but decided to skip ahead to the end to confirm our prediction of who was the cloaked slasher that killed the annoying college co-eds on spring break.

Sun night we all had over-sized Italian dinners at Serendipity. We all brought home left overs which we ate for lunch today. Since it was bright and sunny today we decided to bundle up and go for a short walk around town. The sun made it appear warmer than it really was. It was bitter cold so our walk only lasted about 15 minutes. Bugs & Rog left at 2:30.

It was a great, relaxing, enjoyable, but cold weekend. Happy MLK day!

Crush du Jour: Daniel Letterle

Pissed off

Yesterday I was really pissed off. Here's why:

In March my company's sales team split into 2 teams and the existing folks were given a choice which team the wanted to go with. The team of which I'm a part was decimated. My old boss was able to hire replacements for 'the deserters' who started in June.

Since June, 1 of the new people quit, and 2 others 'swapped jobs'. Another new person was hired to replace the 1 that quit, and another was hired to fill a vacancy just before the holidays.

Then my old boss took a different position in the company and a new boss was hired. He left 6 weeks later to pursue "an opportunity of a lifetime". He was replace by my new, NEW boss on Jan 7.

On Jan 11, 4 days later, he announced that he was reorganizing the sales team, resulting in clients being transitioned to different sales people and account managers. Many of us voiced concerns that months and years of work with clients (and commission) would be lost when they were transitioned to a new rep. The new boss said that existing clients would remain in place and that the changes would only affect new clients. We were all glad to hear this.

On Wed I reiterated the idea of keeping existing clients with whom we'd worked long and hard (and whom pay our commission!) and the new boss told me he understood and did not want to break up these valuable client relationships.

But then yesterday we got this spreadsheet showing how all the existing clients were going to be re-assigned. The top revenue client in the company has been mine for over 5 years, and it was re-assigned to someone else. Same goes for the #4 and #5 revenue producing clients, who also belonged to me. Nice, huh?

So yesterday morning I sent the new boss an email outlining my surprise/shock at the apparent reversal of thought (not breaking the valuable client relationships). He called me back a few hours later and we discussed the situation.

I was told that they had to help out some of the newer sales reps by giving them some existing accounts, to give them some base revenue while they began signing new clients. And because I am so f'ing awesome at my job, my high-revenue clients were among many that were re-assigned to others. But to replace these clients, they gave me a handful of tiny, small-revenue accounts that are practically worthless.

I told the new boss that sales people (and account managers like me) work hard for incentive, and the incentive is commission from our clients' accounts. I asked him what incentive was there to work hard on a client account if that account could be re-assigned to someone else at any point 'to level out the playing field' for the new reps? Just like a politician, his 'answer' was canned rhetoric that didn't answer my question at all.

That's big business! Although the new boss was too polite to say it, what he really meant was 'yeah, you're loosing these top revenue clients, but look at all the little tiny dud clients we're giving you instead!'

I felt so de-motivated I wanted to shut down my PC right there and then, and I was tempted to call in sick today. But the new boss scheduled a team conference call today at 4pm to go over our Jan sales numbers. Yeah, that's right. Its the 18th of the month and we're just going to find out today what our sales objectives are for this month! I sure hope we get some stability in our management soon. I hate being pissed off.

So today I'm not as pissed off as I was yesterday, mostly because I'm the type of person who makes the decision to 'move on' once I realize there's nothing more I can do to change what's gotten me pissed off. But I still don't feel like working hard today, which is just as well, because we're having 12 people over tonight for a birthday dinner, and then our friends Bugs & Roger arrive tonight and will spend the 3-day weekend here with us. In other words, I've got things to do around the house today and I'll be doing them before 5:00.

Crush du Jour: James Marsden

Bowl

A few weeks ago I mentioned that, rather than Spouse & me buying individual 'surprise' gifts for each other for Christmas, we now talk about a mutually-desired item, shop for it together, and make a joint decision. This Christmas we attended an art show/sale and decided the bowl pictured above would be our Christmas present to each other. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

The bowl was hand blown by a local glass blower named Deb Appleby. We went with our friends Rick & Nick to one of her public glass blowing demonstrations and found it wonderfully interesting. Then a few weeks later we went to the art show/sale and found that Deb was one of the artists exhibiting, and picked out this bowl.

Its rather large; probably 24-26 inches in diameter, nearly filling the table upon which it sits. Its quite the conversation piece. Its actually a 'second', meaning it has a visible flaw. During the blowing process the glass got too thin in one spot, creating a small hole. The artist repaired the hole, but it is still visible.

As we were purchasing it (at a discount due to it being a 'second') the artist said to us "You realize this is a second, right?" I responded "Yes, thank you. But I think art is like people. Although not perfect, its still beautiful and we still love it." The artist smiled and I continued "Besides, nothing else in our house is perfect so this will fit in just fine."

Spouse & I like the contrast of the modern art glass on the vintage 1940s table. Our living room is decorated in what you'd call 'eclectic' design. Our sofa and love seat are traditional, we have a Queen Ann-style chair, 2 modern/contemporary chairs, and a 1930s art deco chair. Our coffee table and one side table are traditional, and 2 other side tables are vintage 1930s and 1940s. And to top it off, the architecture of the house is reproduction 1890s Victorian. Quite eclectic indeed!

Crush du Jour: Chad Allen

Short subjects

Okay, this is really getting weird. Last night after returning from my work out, showering, and eating dinner, Spouse & I sat down to watch "The Queen" and I began to feel my lip swelling up again. Sure enough, before the DVD was over I had another fat lip. Fortunately this time it wasn't huge, so I didn't look like Angelina Jolie or Amanda Lapore. I looked a little more like Goldie Hawn in "The First Wives Club". I had not taken any acetaminophen for a week, so now I know that wasn't the cause of the allergic reaction. But that makes it even more weird, because everything I had to eat Mon night just before my lip swelled up, was identical to what I ate on Sun night, when I had no reaction at all. We had Sunday's left overs for dinner on Mon! I also did a mental check to see if I'd changed any soap/shampoo/moisturizer products, but found no changes. I'm stumped as to what is causing these allergic reactions.

Monica came through! True to her promise, she sent me more Liqui-Sew and 2 travel 'pens' of Sew on the Go. If I carried a purse I'd stick one of those travel 'pens' in there for quick mends. Maybe I'll give one to a friend who carries a purse.

As I was putting away groceries the other day I suggested to Spouse that we think of some way to use the giant bag of mini-marshmallows (purchased just before Thanksgiving) that was taking up so much room in the cupboard. Spouse suggested making Rice Crispies treats. I reminded him that we didn't have any Rice Crispies cereal, to which he suggested substituting Golden Grahams and Blueberry Muffin cereal for the Rice Crispies. I told Spouse I thought the treats would be too sweet, since Rice Crispies are not pre-sweetened but both cereals we had are pre-sweetened. He decided to try it anyway. The Golden Grahams/Blueberry Muffin treats came out so incredibly sweet, just as I predicted, they almost made my teeth hurt. But we ate them anyway.

American Idol starts tonight. Although I'm a fan of the show, I'm not sure I'll watch all of it tonight, as they always start the series off by showing the auditions, which I'm not that interested in watching. I know for a fact that the American Idol contestants have to go through 5-6 levels of auditioning before getting to sing for Randy, Paula, and Simon. All of the "rejects" should be weeded out by then, but the fact that they show unqualified singers during these audition shows tells me they push them through to Randy, Paula, and Simon in order to have semi-amusing content for these audition shows. I'll probably start watching in earnest once they start with the Hollywood auditions.


Crush du Jour: Steve Callahan

Productive and fun

This weekend was fun and productive, even though we really didn't have much in the way of 'plans'.

As usual, the weekend started Fri evening with dinner with the 'usual suspects'. But rather than the Miltonian, 11 of us gathered at the new Shanghai Buffet. Its one of those Chinese food and more buffets, but they also have a grill. Dave & Scott's friends Rodney & Paul came and I enjoyed meeting and talking to them. They used to live in Gaithersburg MD and I lived there too. Now they live here at the beach.

Thanks to our new bedroom curtains, we were able to sleep in Sat morning until 10:00. I was slightly annoyed that we slept in that late, but finally justified it by thinking 'We must have needed the sleep or our bodies would have woken us up earlier'.

"Justification - party of 2."

I convinced Spouse to 'stop the madness' and offered to help him fold/hang/put away the 5 baskets of his laundry I'd washed for him earlier in the week. After that we had left over chicken corn chowder for lunch, then went for a walk on the boardwalk. After the 1st trip down the boardwalk (1 mile) we ran into Stephan & Wayne who had just started walking their dogs, so we turned around and walked with them up and down the boardwalk (2 miles), then finished our original walk (1 mile) in order to get back to our car. So we had a 4 mile walk on the boardwalk! It was chilly, but it was sunny and clear as we looked at the water and chatted with our friends.

On the way home we stopped at the greatest dollar store in the world for some people and dog snacks. Spouse took a nap and I read emails and blogs. That evening we went to Rick & Nick's to watch a movie from Netflix "Shock to the System".

Sun morning was all about the house cleaning. We really hadn't done any the last 3 weekends and our neglect was showing in the form of pet hair and dust bunnies everywhere. Spouse agreed to clean all 4 bathrooms while I vacuumed the entire house; all 3 levels. In my opinion I got the better end of the deal because I absolutely detest cleaning bathrooms. (When I was single I hired a cleaning lady to clean my 1 bedroom condo once a month, just so I wouldn't have to clean the bathroom.) I tried to be really thorough, ie: dusting baseboards and window sills, because we're having company this coming weekend. Within 2 1/2 hours we'd cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and we felt a big sense of accomplishment.

After showering we took a load of broken down cardboard boxes to the recycling center, then stopped at the bank. I can not tell you how happy I am that my bank has placed an ATM at their mortgage office in Rehoboth. Apparently some silly banking law currently prohibits my bank from opening full service banking branches in DE. So each month Spouse & I have had to drive the 60 mile round trip to Ocean City MD to make deposits. Over the summer the mortgage arm of my bank opened a mortgage office in Rehoboth, and just recently they added an ATM! So now Spouse & I can save ourselves the 90 minute round trip drive to OC, along with a few bucks in gas. This may sound little, but I'm telling you, its big!

Next we stopped for a late lunch at Five Guys. Its been open since the summer but we'd not gone yet. I like their burgers because they really taste grilled, not fried. Spouse felt guilty the entire time we were eating because it felt too much like 'fast food', which we both swore off since moving here. I told him it wasn't fast food and that he should simply enjoy this rare indulgence.

I watched a "Flip That House" marathon Sun afternoon/evening while Spouse was on the computer and taking a nap. I love that show! Then I took some summer clothes out of my closet and packed them into one of those long, shallow plastic storage containers that slides under a bed. This greatly improved the workability of my closet. I tossed the dining room table cloth and kitchen towels into the washer before sitting down to read/forward some emails. After dinner Spouse & I watched a movie from Netflix called "Slutty Summer".

So despite having no real 'plans' for the weekend, I feel good that we were productive and had fun.

Crush du Jour: Pete Kuzak

My girl Niecy

I loves me some Niecy Nash! Known for her signature flower behind the ear, I first began to appreciate Niecy's clever comments on the show "Clean House". When Niecy and her team enter the home owners cluttered, filthy home she uses terms like "foolishness" and "mayhem" to describe the conditions in which these people live. I love it! She tells them straight up that its foolishness to live like that. And who uses the word mayhem anymore? I love it!

I also like the way she calls the female home owner "Girl" and refers to her small daughter as "Little Mama". I don't know how she does it, be she manages to use slang without sounding ghetto. No, no, no, no - Nicey Nash is NOT ghetto!

One of the organizational specialists brought in to organize the stuff they aren't selling at the yard sale or donating to charity is named Linda Coopersmith. When Niecy talks about the great job Linda has done, she refers to it as "the Linda Coopersmith of it all". I just find Niecy to be so entertaining in this show!

But her 'entertaining' doesn't stop there. Niecy is also one of the stars of the TV show "Reno 911", a hilarious spoof on the show "Cops". Set in the fictitious and dysfunctional Reno Sheriff's department, Niecy plays Deputy Raineesha Williams who is so appearance-obsessed that when her squad car goes up in flames she replies "Damn! My make-up was in there."

The TV show spawned the film entitled "Reno 911: Miami", where the the gang has to take over for the entire Miami police dept who are quarantined due to a possible chemical incident. In one scene Raineesha and Trudy are patrolling the beach in swimsuits. Niecy's butt and legs were given prosthetic enhancements to make her appear more 'booty-licious' (below).


I think she's a beautiful, funny, clever actress and hope to see her popping up in more projects. Can we get a little love for Niecy Nash?

Crush du Jour: Marco Dapper

Politicians' subconscious appeal to the religious?

I don't claim to be 'fashion maven' or even a 'clothes horse' like many of my gay brethren. I did, however, work in several men's clothing stores for over 5 years. I do know a little something about how to dress, what colors go well with others, and appropriate business attire.

Back in the 80s when I was helping suit up business men and the occasional construction worker acting as best man in his brother's wedding, I usually paired a solid navy, charcoal or black suit with with a tie in the burgundy/red family. It just worked. If the suit had a pin stripe or faint plaid, I'd select a tie in a color that matched the stripe or plaid. Men and women alike approved my suit/shirt/time combinations and I was a very successful salesperson.

So I find it peculiar that over the last 7 years or so I've seen our very own president advocate a new fashion trend: the 'Virgin Mary blue' tie. Oh yes, match his tie to the paint chip at Sherwin Williams and you'll find the shade is called 'Virgin Mary blue'.

I don't think I ever suggested or sold a 'Virgin Mary blue' tie in all my years in men's fashion. Yet Dubya, despite all his important duties, has been able to pioneer this 'fresh, new look'. Well, maybe not so much 'new'. The Virgin Mary's been around a while.

Not to appear 'out of touch with the public', Dubya's right hand man Cheney followed suit, so to speak, by representin' in a 'Virgin Mary blue' tie. Then I noticed other politicians copycatting Dubya's fashion forwardness, even Huckabee, who incidentally believes that people with AIDS should be quarantined. I'm not sure the Virgin Mary would agree with him, even if he is wearing her shade.
Initially I thought it was a 'Republican thing'. In my mind I accused them of wearing those 'Virgin Mary blue' ties to appeal to the ultra-religious on a subconscious level. But then I discovered Republican/Independent (depending on which day it is) McCain telling others in this photo "You should believe whatever I say because I'm wearing a 'Virgin Mary blue' tie." (Well, that's probably not exactly what he was saying in this photo, but it fit into my story nicely.)

But the 'Republican thing' theory was quickly shot down when I also found Democrats Obama and Edwards in 'Virgin Mary blue' ties.
But although the 'Republican thing' theory is toast, its sub-theory that ALL politicians, regardless of party affiliation, are attempting to appeal to the ultra-religious on a subconscious level by wearing 'Virgin Mary blue' ties remains alive. Case in point:

Crush du Jour: Ben Cohen (Not a politician, not wearing a 'Virgin Mary blue' tie. I rest my case.)

"Is this shirt cotton?"

On Christmas eve I put on a long sleeve, button-up the front shirt with a navy blue background and a burgundy and gold pattern that sort of resembled poinsettias. They aren't poinsettias for sure, but when you're in the Christmas spirit and see this shirt it gives the hint of poinsettias. In truth I only wear this shirt during the holidays.

Spouse's mother said she liked the shirt, touched the sleeve, and asked "Is this shirt cotton?" I told her it was, and silently wondered why she'd asked.

In the past, Spouse's mother's comments about fabric and clothing have only been ones related to her delight over the amount of glitter, sequins, and beading her new sweater had (the girl loves to sparkle), or maybe a desire for new purple or red "slacks" (as she calls pants) to wear to her Red Hat Society events. So I was a little surprised at her question about my shirt fabric.

When we returned to her house the following weekend, Spouse & I changed clothes for 2 holiday parties. This time my shirt had a black background with multi-color pin stripes. Again Spouse's mother said she liked my shirt, touched the sleeve, and asked "Is this shirt cotton?" I told her it was, and noted that this was the 2nd time within a week she'd inquired.

I tried to think like she thinks so I could back track and hopefully figure out why her sudden interest in the fabric content of my clothes. Although I did not confirm this with her, this is what I came up with.

She met up with a few of her girlfriends for lunch, all of whom are in their 70s or 80s. Upon arrival at the restaurant, Spouse's mother takes off her coat and discovers a lot of static electricity is causing her "slacks" to stick to her legs, rather than hang naturally. She complains about the static electricity and laments that there is nothing she can do about it. God forbid she and her septuagenarian and octogenarian friends are spied by some handsome, available man while she has static electricity in her "slacks"!

Her crotchety old friend Gloria, ever the fashion vixen, responds with "Aw Christ, Evelyn! Maybe if you didn't wear 100% polyester slacks you wouldn't have that problem!"

Spouse's mother replies "Your slacks don't have static. What are they made of?"

"Cotton!" Gloria shouts.

So this is how I explain Spouse's mother's sudden interest in fabric content.

Crush du Jour: Brett Chukerman

Monica

So I called Monica at Liqui-Sew back today. She seemed genuinely happy to hear from me, and complimented me on my blog.

Then we started talking about Liqui-Sew. I told her about the 3 projects I'd used it for (making curtains from raw fabric, hemming existing curtains, and attaching beaded trim to a lamp shade), and again she sounded genuinely excited that the product was useful to me in multiple ways. She also said she loved the fact that I was a man, since the majority of their customers are "little old ladies".

Then she explained a little about the science behind the product. Liqui-Sew is absorbed into the fibers of the fabric and becomes permanently bonded. You can put the fabric in your washer and dryer and the bonding will not come out. Pretty cool!

Then she offered to send me some more Liqui-Sew and some other new products for free! Being the seasoned bargain hunter that I am, I of course accepted and gave her my address. When the box arrives next week I'm hoping to find Liqui-Cook, Liqui-Clean, and Liqui-Laundry. (Thanks, Shirley!)

Monica was super-nice so I invited her to return to my blog. She said she would. You can expect an update on this for sure. Maybe I'll shorten the sleeves of a shirt or hem a pair of jeans!

Crush du Jour: Rupert Everett

Liqui-Sew

I was amused by the following email I received today:
"Dear Mark,
I am the manufacturer of Liqui-Sew and just came across your blog while I was surfing the internet. You are terrific!! Thank you very much for mentioning our product. I would love to send you some more Liqui-Sew free of charge, along with a few more items that we make. Please give me a call any time at the office, XXX-XXX-XXXX (9A-5P CST), and I can get your info to send the package out.
Best wishes for a great new year!
Kind regards,
Monica"
Spouse & I saw Liqui-Sew on the Home Shopping Network and thought it would be quite handy. I can think of at least 3 projects that were completely quickly without the need for a sewing machine or a needle and thread, and must have blogged about them. So now Monica wants to send me some more for free, along with some other new products. And to top it off, Monica thinks I'm terrific! Is this my day or what?
I gave Monica a call but found that she'd already left the office for the day, so I said I'd give her a call back tomorrow. Oh yeah. I'm definitely not above calling Monica back and getting some free stuff. That Liqui-Sew worked great! However, the battery-operated scissors that came with fizzled out after 5 minutes, but who cares - they were "free".

Now my mind is racing with questions about what other free products Monica might send me!

Crush du Jour: Mario Lopez

Interview

Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but Spouse is on his way to a job interview right now.

When Spouse accepted his job a year and a half ago he knew it wasn't a job he would stay with for many years. Most of the time he's not challenged enough to stay engaged, and even worse than that, nearly everyone around him (supervisor, peers, staff) is very negative. It is not a comfortable work environment, so he's been looking for another position for quite a while.

A few weeks ago he found a position that is 2 grades higher than his current grade and requires many of the skills and credentials he possesses, so he applied for it. His application met the necessary standards so he was notified last week that he was being placed on the "cert" list. Then last Fri he received a call from the hiring manager/director/whomever, asking him to schedule an interview.

The new job is a director-level position so it has a higher level of responsibility, and is in a totally different division (away from those negative people) so he is very excited about it. Being 2 grades higher than his current position also means more money, which would be really nice.

The only 'con' to the situation thus far is the distance. The position is in a town almost 50 miles away, so his commute would be nearly 100 miles a day. However, traffic here is very different than the DC area, where we used to live. The nearly 50 mile trip will take less than an hour because it is all highway driving, no traffic lights, and no traffic congestion. But its still almost 100 miles a day of wear-and-tear on his car.

But I think the biggest deciding factor, if he is eventually offered the job, will be the people and work environment. Spouse says if he is offered the position at some point he will definitely ask to visit the workplace and meet all of the managers that would report to him so he can get a good feeling the environment. This will be really helpful to him since he has a knack for reading people quickly and accurately.

I'm sending positive vibes to my man.

Crush du Jour: Bobby Cannavale

Fat lip

Okay, this is kinda weird. Yesterday I woke up with a huge, fat upper lip. I don't mean a somewhat swollen lip. I'm talkin' a great big fat Angelina Jolie lip! I also had a fairly large red bump on my shoulder that looked like a single hive. I figure I must have had an allergic reaction to something. I tried to think of what I'd eaten or put on my face recently but came up with nothing unusual.

As I was showering I could feel my upper lip getting even bigger. By the time I got out of the shower and looked at my face in the mirror, I looked like Amanda Lapore, only without the red lipstick!

Then I remembered taking 3 acetaminophen tablets (generic Tylenol) just before going to bed the night before. I've taken them on occasion for years and haven't had any reaction, but its the only thing I can come up with that seems logical. So I guess I'll be switching to Ibuprofen when I've got a headache or my muscles are sore.

The fat lip lasted all day long. I went to my work out last night and the 1st thing my trainer Rick said was "What happened to your lip? Did Spouse punch you in the mouth?" It finally began to reduce in size during my work out, and I thought for sure my lip would be back to normal this morning, but it wasn't. Its now been 38 hours since I woke up with the fat lip and its not quite back to its normal size.

Crush du Jour: Oliver Hudson