It's all about the people
There were some people I met in college and they continue to be some of the best people in all the land. It's hard to believe that I could meet such a high concentration of people in the middle of Missouri (especially hard to believe if you live on the East Coast and think that Missouri is a cornfield.) But I did meet a great group of people there and tonight I got to visit with the Adrian,Chris, Kristin, Sarah, Tom, Kella variety. And I love them.

Theories on space and smiling at strangers
After being in the Midwest for 4 days, it occurs to me that there is a lot more space here -- space between cars on the roads, space between houses, space between people shopping. I wonder if this space translates into friendliness. My theory is that because people have enough space to function, because their comfort bubble is not constantly being invaded, they are more welcoming to strangers.

Why do I antagonize my mother?
That's it. I don't know. I'm hoping you do.

misc.
*Kristin and her folks are still delightful.
*Hi Justin, back at you.
*The furniture from as far back as I remember has been replaced.
*90's music and driving in ol' KC are eerily familiar.
*KC "crowded" is DC "light".
*I really like you.

Oy Seuss heirs
What was that?
Cat in the Hat?
More like an SNL skit,
a giant 2 hour bit.
(1 hour and some change,
still long and strange.)
Mike Myers tried much
and the designers had touch.
There were some giggles
and cute childish wiggles,
but for all the colors, bright and shiny
the movie left me sadly whiney.
The plot was less than twisted.
The jokes I must have missted.
Elementary teachers on the other hand,
laughed so hard they split a gland.
They can't wait for friends to tell,
and now I know why the tie-ins sell.

The thankful post
Happy Thanksgiving friends.
I give thanks for-
DSL,
my family,
my friends who help me survive in DC,
and my friends who don't.
sweet potatoes, bike rides with my dad,
grandmas,crisp winter air, snow,
ski trips, business trips, any kind of trips.
Naugahyde, table legs that fit like a charm,
health- yours and mine,
Reuben's cooking, my ability to not burn down the house,
Christmas shopping, town decorations,
pretty girls, public transportation, a job with variety, coworkers that I like and respect,
paychecks and bonuses, creativity, movies that don't suck, etc. etc. etc.

There's a thankful post coming
but for now please endure my momentary and passing disappointment with my existence-
I have not as of yet:
run faster than 4:17.97 over 1600 meters,
become a drummer,
written anything other than this ridiculous blog,
befriended new people in D.C. (a few, but this is my list, not yours),
been to Ben's Chili Bowl,
"worked on my resume",
followed my dream--found my dream for that matter,
taken a shower today,
kicked any bad habits,
lived this day like it was my last,
crowd-surfed,
taken a ride in a hot air balloon,
learned another banjo song,
finished this list.

Prefontaine, postfontaine

Watching the animals
An octupus huddle over her unfertilized eggs,
a cheetah stumble on a rock,
a silverback turn around and glare,
a tiger leap onto and over a wall,
a serval stalk,
children sulk,
an elephant scold,
a panda munch,
and a woman pound on the glass because the ape was rude.

Sure lady, the ape was rude.

Free zoos on chilly November days are very different from the field trips I remember-- lonelier, quieter, and colder.

It almost makes me thirsty thinking about it
Two guys should not have so many stylish drinking glasses. Do I drink from the classy square glass glasses? or the kitchy green goblets? or perhaps the juice glasses with the cute little frog patch? or maybe my dear departed grandma's liquor tumblers? Are those really tumblers, anyway? No? How about the minty green bathroom cups or a good old Shakespeare's cup? A mug is more your style? Big, blue and outdoorsy or delicate and glass?

Support your friendly local farm
wafflemakers.

Maybe Julie didn't realize I was kidding. Then again, maybe I too will donate to julieloveswaffles@hotmail.com. Just because farm-animal shaped waffles sound so gooooood.

You remember lust, don't you?
It rattles around in your brain distracting you from the task at hand. It makes life a little more difficult. You can't quite concentrate on your meal because someone's hand moved 6 cm in your direction. You know- lust. It replaces conversation starters like "how's the weather?" "how are you?" and "hi" with "make-out with me" "Yes, we can cuddle" and "hmm. soft lips." LUST. It makes you just a little crazier than you already were and when you try to avoid it, it just stores itself up so it can hit you even harder the next time.

There you go. Now you remember.

of mice and men, emotionally
Sometimes I feel like Lenny.
Sometimes I feel like the little bunny.

A bar is a bar
Never having been to a "gay bar" before, I figured it would be a strange, even unsettling experience. Not so, my friend. I observed the dance floor for quite a while and saw the same old things- guys pushed up against the walls just kind of leering, guys who obviously wanted to be on the dance floor but were too scared to ask, couples that looked good together, and couples that looked silly. It was all quite familiar. As a bar it still smelled like smoke and alcohol. The only strange part was that at this bar I felt no pressure. There was no one I wanted to dance with. Half the women there were drag queens and the other four weren't my type.

I'm not comfortable in the bar scene, but I was less uncomfortable at this bar than most I've visited. I was still too intimidated to karaoke. One new thing at a time...

At this moment I need two things
1. Art (cool-funky, 70s, eames?) to hang above the Ultra-Lounge.
2. A song to sing when I karaoke.

Maybe not at this exact moment.

Thanks, Sweden
Trying to fuse function, style and wackiness is no easy task. And once again, I think I have managed to just miss. With a little help from IKEA I have raised my "Star Trek coffee table" to the level (figuratively and literally) of "Star Trek kitchen table". Slide a couple of green naugahyde chairs under the "wings" and you've got yourself a regular funky kitchen. I can't stop there, so I have also placed the famous green naugahyde "Ultra-Lounge" couch along the wall and added the bright pink afghan for additional style points. It is both hideous and beautiful. The wall cries out for some green/brown/yellow 70s wall art.

I would also like to thank my carriage housemate Reuben for putting up with my eccentric tastes.

'Tis November
the month of dotopian birth and the year anniversary of making a decent wage at the AARP. That 11th month filled with love and heartbreak often in the same instant. This November I'm returning to KC for some turkey, so if you live there and you're going to be around that weekend of the Pilgrims and Indians and sweet potatoes perhaps we could get together and hug and say, "my, it's been far too long since I saw you last. You look great. I'm glad to see you're so happy. Let's frolic."

Post-It Notes of Quotes
In my stuff I found the following quotes:

-Love. A papercut on my heart. alexander

-We are never so defenceless against suffering as when we love, never so helplessly unhappy as when we have lost our loved object or its love. freud

-Love is desire for possessions. Courtship is combat, mating is mastery. nietzche

-Love is expensive and it's free. fastball

-Love is Happy Poison. ball

-I found what I don't care about, and it's everything. dalke

Had pie been delivered to my door,
my 5 p.m. prayers would've been answered.

Julie, people. Not Kiera.

At least I can make her eyes twinkle
I may have been a touch disappointed by the photo gallery at loveactually.com but the twinkling made it ok.

I want pie. And I miss Julie.

Go on. Have a sip.
Better than a bourbon and sassier than sassafrass, she's joined the masses- It's time for a refreshing spoonful of Temporary Wisdom. I need it on your link list ASAP, so I can get my dose everyday.