And, of course, I didn't have time to get back into the swing of things. I leave in two days. I'll be back next July. When I come back I should return with some possible published pieces under my belt. I'll definately return with stories to tell. But most importantly, I'll come back with an edge that'll guarentee me a good job.

The CE boards seem to be same old same old, from what I've seen, with the notable loss of a few posters that had been there since before I first joined. Unfortunately it has lost its draw for me. I'll still, hopefully, get the time and energy to be social on the site again once I'm back.

The good thing about life right now, I'm finally finding balance. And that's what we all strive for in life, right?

I know I can be kind of flaky in terms of coming back and disappearing but bear with me. I can guarentee I'll definately be less of a flake once I get back.

I just finished watching a movie. It is so horrible that it is hillarious and awesome. Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula. Enjoy.



Two words. Udo Kier.

So, I'm back after a several month long hiatus.

The new place didn't quite work out due to my boss adding in a possible raise for next year. It was meant to help me, but it overqualified me. By $5. This left me in a tough situation and after crashing with friends I found an okay place to stay.

I will, however, be gone for 10 months starting later this month. There is internet where I'm going but it's expensive and ungodly slow.

On the upside, I'm now in a stable relationship with a beautiful, intelligent and, most importantly, stable woman. She's a programmer who daily amazes me with her 1337 haxxor skills. It's probably the healthiest relationship I've ever had.

My friend who I was going to get an apartment with has now moved in with her awesome boyfriend and they are in a healthy and stable relationship. Cheers, Kelleh!

I've been on a sort of political detox for a little while but I'm trying to catch up.

What's been happening during my hiatus?

As of this week, I should be back. I'm missing SG. I needz mah fix.

Random story to amuse you all.

My friend Kelli met a lot of 'interesting' people online last year. Among them was a guy who did professed his love in that "ZOMG, a girl is talking to me" kind of way, of course after knowing her a week. She was amused and sent him a photo of her, since he asked for one. I was there in the coffee shop with her when he reacted. "I think I just creamed my pants." Rarely has a phrase intended as a compliment come out so singularly unsexy and slightly disgusting. We were almost kicked out of the cafe for laughing so hard at his IM. Good times.

But yes, soon to be back and checking/commenting on people's blogs. Because few things brighten a day like someone taking the time out to go to your page, read your rant of the moment and post a reply. Oh the things we take for granted.

Life has been interesting of late.

First off, I got the place. Word came through yesterday night. My soon to be flatmate and I are ecstatic and look forward to getting our place nerded out in a hurry. I'm getting this for my wall. It should be awesome. The new place will be cristened by a super nerd party a week from tomorrow.

I've had some really good news on another front which I have to keep mum about. I've told only a few people but trust me, it's pretty awesome.

My soon to be flatmate quit her soul sucking job. I'm very happy about this. It really was a soul sucking job.

Saturday we're having a very nerdy party featuring... D&D. I can't get into a serious game, but we have tendencies to horribly derail plots, so I'm looking forward to it.

In my search for a date I've actually used a dating site. I feel dirty now. But, of course, I have joined the nerdy dating site Soul Geek. No luck yet, though a couple of people have caused me to have this reaction. I literally saw one profile which I have accurately labelled as a red flag incarnate. At least I have a bunch of truly awesome friends.

How's everyone been while I've been away?

I'm going through the expected downturn in SG activity. Not much I can or will do about that. I should be back in force once my new apartment is straightened out. Yes that mess is still going on.

However, once the new place is bought I'm definitely having a housewarming party. A couple local friends are coming, but I'm inviting some SG people too. If you're in the DC area, or will be visiting next month, and are interested then post here and I may PM you the address. Whether or not I do has to do with "do I know you" and "am I comfortable letting you know where I live." Expect a very nerdy group of people.

The office where I work is going to hell in a hand basket. Good thing I've groomed professional connections for years. I'm not getting an ulcer, but I am so stressed I'm walking up in the night wondering "did I finish their file!?" I'm definitely considering changing jobs.

If you haven't read the Memory of Fire trilogy by Eduardo Galeano, do so now! It takes little known sides to Latin America's history and tells them in short, vivid and beautiful prose. If you consider yourself a reader with good taste, pick it up a a bookstore and just give the first few pages a read. I promise you'll be hooked. I truly can't do it justice.

Michael Maggio, my friend who passed, had a memorial service in DC yesterday and it was amazing. Five hundred people came, more or less.

I loved it for stories like this.

Michael was in 8th grade when a 12th grader started beating him up for being a wop. Michael's cousin in the 6th grade saw this and jumped on the 12th grader. Together they "beat the living shit out of" the 12th grader. But they were the one's in trouble for beating him up, due to the school having some lingering prejudices against Italians. The school said they had to apologize or face a suspension. Michael's dad said "fuck that and fuck them. Take the suspension."

Another time Michael, my father and an artist friend of theirs named Naul Ojeda got together to play a trick on this one guy who was a complete a-hole. They bought a $3 bottle of wine and poured it into the bottle of an excellent vintage. Naul recorked the bottle and they all opened it for this Chiliean, who's apparently a world famous photographer. Anyway, this guy drinks the wine and declares it the "best wine" he'd ever tasted in his life. Michael was a great guy and didn't want to embarrass him, but Naul said fuck that and slamed the $3 dollar bottle on the table and said "this is what you've really been drinking you son of a bitch."

Michael was four decades my senior, but he was also a true friend. I was glad to have been able to have gone to the memorial.

Though I did absent mindedly, and quite accidentally, start humming the Godfather theme. My friend Rin who was there informed me that the Godfather theme made it to the Onion's "Top most inappropriate songs to start singing at a funeral."

Oh, and a judge likes me enough that he wants me to start working for him. Life is interesting at the moment. This is only a taste.

I realized I don't know a lot about most of the people on my friends lists. Post something, possibly something completely random, about yourself.

PS
The Band rocked.

Well today was interesting. I guess.

I had three people call the law office where I work all sobbing because a significant other has been carted away for deportation proceedings thanks to the new anti-immigrant initiative in VA. We're warning all clients to not only avoid breaking the law, such as one who decided it was smart to walk the streets with a loaded pistol, but also to avoid attention at all costs. If the cops stop you for anything in parts of VA they can now ask your immigration status.

Hearing peoples lives shatter all day may have something to do with me being high strung.

On the upside I run across stories like the guy who cut off his own penis in a fit of rage, which we used to win his case. Or stories like the woman who after two relationships where her husbands beat her, and a suicide attempt, she pulled her life together and is going back to school to set a good example for her kids.

The two things that irk me the most are when someone calls the office and yells at me because one of the lawyers hasn't returned their call yet. Or when I get a call to check someone's case with us and they neglect to tell me not only that they never contracted us, but the file is under a different name, from over a decade ago.

I think I'm getting an ulcer.

As I get older, I appreciate S*P more and more.



Oh, and Ohio is full of fail for voting for Billary en masse.

PS
Anyone have any tips for ulcers?

I'm going to be fat again after this weekend because Saturday is my birthday and three friends are backing. Teh Kellzorz is makin' me Chocolate Mousse, Kial is making a multiflavored cake with sprinkles and Rin is making me a carrot cake. Like I said, I'll be fat. But it'll be worth it.

I think I have more friends now than I've ever had at any point in my entire life. This is both due to meeting some awesome people in the last two years and because I've gotten over a lot of things that made me really anti-social in the past. Like when I was younger and had both a huge ego and a mountain of insecurities at the same time. I also seem to be mostly over what I used to do in unexpected social situations. In the old days I'd either get nervous and chatty or I'd shut down completely and end up being the 'creepy quiet guy.' I still second guess myself way to much, but finding balance is a lifelong quest, not something that is achieved overnight.

I found a place and move in with my friend Kelli next week. It'll be awesome having her as a flat-mate since we're so similar. I've known her since early high school and were close to the point where she's family, plain and simple.

Recently she's been kind of down to say the least. For a while I was really worried about her. But recently she met someone who got her out of her bad depression and is making her happier than I've seen her in months. Plus it's the healthiest looking relationship I've ever seen her in.

Also, Saturday is my first Hablemos de Salud.

March first approaches and thus does my birthday approach. I've never really gotten birthdays or their signifigance to most people, but it strikes me as an excellent excuse to round people together for a party of some sort. Keep in mind, my definition of a 'party' is usually a group of ten friends or less meeting up at Dupont Circle or something, hanging out, going to someone's house where I have a good and/or experimental meal set before us. We eat, we debate, we end up being slighlty spaztic and inebriated. I'm looking forward to it. Now the problem is both who's available and who can I invite that won't cause drama with other guests. My last several "parties" ended up being less than 6 people. I can only really blame myself for that thanks to both a bad elitist streak when I was younger and a longstanding anti-social personality.

I finally got around to seeing the final season of the Sopranos. I love that series. The series eerily captured my family pretty well. To a creepy degree almost. My father is a lot like Tony Soprano, my mother is a hippy self rightious evangelical version of Carmela, my aunt is a money grubbing user like Janice, my grandmother is Livia to a tee, and the way the family has functioned over the years is eerily familiar. My uncle was involved in the mob before the revolution and probably had connections until his death a few years ago. Which reminds me, recently was the 12th anniversary of when some Guatemalan firebombed my father's car. Though I feel I must note, I am not suggesting this is a good thing or idolizing the Sopranos, as some people seem to have taken to. The reason I love the Sopranos so much is that this is a family that has money, connections and power and they're all so empty. I feel it reflects the penultimate goals of the materialized American dream and reveals them to be hollow. Maybe that's just me.

I have less and less time to spend on SG lately. I suppose this is a good thing in the grand scheme of things.

On a negative note, my building is closing down, it's small and none of us talk to eachother so I just found out. Anyone know of apartments for rent in DC?

I thought it was safe to go back to the CE boards. I was wrong.

My sense of humor is quite morbid.