Cheap Cheap Fun Fun Quiz

Taken from the last refuge of the persecuted crack smoker. I suppose these are the rules: 1. If you read this, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet or long and detailed, all is good.2. Comment here with your answers and repost the questionnaire on your own journal if you wish.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? Yes
02) What was your dream growing up? Play shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles (better than Ripken. Ahh, dreams).
03) What talent do you wish you had? Picking lottery numbers. Or maybe having any sort of rhythm/musical talent. Or possibly being able to tell the difference between green and red.
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? Usually a Bud Light, but if you are paying, the house draft (assuming it is not too heavy)
05) Favorite vegetable? Have to go with Broccoli, particularly if it is surrounded by beef and delivered from a Chinese Restaurant.
06) What was the last book you read? Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
07) What zodiac sign are you? This one yo:



08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. None
09) Worst Habit? Probably biting my nails. Though if you ask the girlfriend, leaving the toilet seat up.
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? Assuming I am driving a car, sure.
11) What is your favorite sport? Hockey
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? More pessimistic, though I like to think I have been trending towards optimistic in the last year.
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? Sing show tunes.
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? Umm, not sure. Pretty charmed life. I think I will say "fistula" I recommend not googling that.
15) Tell me one weird fact about you. Occasionally when I went out drinking back in the day, I would decide I had to purchase Simpsons stickers from a sticker vending machine. My favorite one is Ralph with the heading "I'm Special"
16) Do you have any pets? A cat that lives with my folks.
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? I would be stoked that I owned a house. HOUSE PARTY!!!
18) What was your first impression of me? Law student seeking outlet
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Cute I guess. Once helped a friend procure clown porn for another friends birthday present. It was scary.
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? Less doughy
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? Conscience. Unless Bud Light is involved.
22) What color eyes do you have? Brown
23) Ever been arrested? Yup
24) Bottle or can soda? Glass bottle if they still made them that way. But plastic at work, aluminum at home. I swing with my soda containers.
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Be amused that it would not pay off 10% of my student loan debt. Then blow it on pop rocks and pixies.
26) What's your favorite place to hang out at? The Front Page (though not during the douche fest happy hours).
27) Do you believe in ghosts? Sure
28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Snuggle.
29) Do you swear a lot? Never at work. Often elsewhere. Though certain company I know keep keeps the cursing down. I have gone from sailor to kid from Stand by Me.
30) Biggest pet peeve? People who take an elevator to go one floor.
31) In one word, how would you describe yourself? Nice.
32) Do you believe/appreciate romance? Yes. I try to be.
33) Favourite and least favourite food? Most anything on a Jose Andres restaurant menu (even little fishes!). Unless it includes tomatoes
34) Do you believe in God? Not yet, working on it.
35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? Hells Yes.
36) Favourite band(s) of ALL time: Our lady peace, Lucky Boys confusion, Brand New.

30 before 30

I just turned 29 a couple days ago. I was sitting at work dicking around, and by that I mean staring at my work, but not actually doing work, when I realized that I never set out a list of accomplishments to achieve before I turned 30. So I am gonna do that right here and now. Some may seem more like goals for the next 360-odd days, but it is my list and I can make it anyway I want.

1. Make list of things to do before turning 30.

2. Make list of things to do before turning 40.

3. Make list of things . . . Ok, ok, no more of these.

3. Buckle down and become manager of the softball team. Someone has to do it. Plus, mini-power trip! (And guaranteed aggravation).

4. Go to several museums, see more of the parks, and visit the lesser known monuments of semi-relevant folks who are largely forgotten now. And take pictures.

5. Tell my girlfriend that she is the most beautiful thing in the world. Because she is, and I do not do it nearly often enough.

6. Prove to above gf that my IQ just may be 135 by doing smart things like reading, becoming informed about events and politics in countries that do not start with U (sorry uraguay, have to focus my attention elsewhere), get a better handle on geography, and watching more olbermann and madow.

7. Drink less.

8. A lot less.

9. Become a more productive and efficient worker. Just cause there is a deadline doesn't mean I have until then to get my shit finished.

10. See a play.

11. Become more ambitious.

12. See three plays.

13. Invest myself in learning about my gf's culture, ie, learning the language.

14. Learn a foreign language (it is tough to get 30 things).

15. Help people if they look like they need it.

16. Talk to my parents and sisters more often.

17. Play less farmville/cafe world/mafia wars.

18. Read at least one journal article that I have no hope of comprehending each week (like something from the journal of applied physics)

19. Learn how to dance. Wait, I should just learn how to get rhythm first.

20. Write more.

21. Set up a pandora station and listen to new music. I am so out of touch. Now I know how parents feel. I also feel old.

22. Save some money.

23. Take a random half day to surprise the gf with flowers dinner and the best damned backrub ever.

24. Learn how to think two moves ahead in checkers.

25. Buy a new hockey stick.

26. Sheesh, 30 is a lot. Ummmm, get a passport.

27. Go to a nationals game.

28. Go to a capitals game.

29. Buy rogaine.

30. Don't worry about making my life too complicated. This is the only one I get.

All right, one down. Only 29 left!
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The lonely last seat

I am standing on a fairly crowded metro train, observing the last available seat, but really using my peripheral vision to check out the man sitting on that joining seat. He seems pretty normal, on the hefty side, but his ass is not spilling over onto the other cushion, much. Hardly noticeable. I am sure he is friendly, though he appears to be indian (dot type). Certainly not a terrorist looking person.

I wonder if he realizes that he is the only sitter on this train with out a warm body next to him (though one old lady looks like she could die any second, but the body will remain lukewarm; for a while anyway). He has a sad little expression on his face. It almost makes me want to sit next to him. Not chat him up of course, but just so we can uncomfortably rub legs, letting him know that he is not a freak. That society has not completely rejected him and left him out to dry.

Or he could have a family, kids, and be the happiest man on earth, only now he is a little pissed because some lady just sat next to him and now he is jammed up against the side like every other window seater. He is no longer special or noticeable. And he is pissed that his leg room has been lessened.


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Drying Out, Shaping Up

Ahhh, what a week. Thanks to the snow, I have worked 4 hours since Friday. Last Friday. All work done on that Friday. Hence, this was a week of vacation, essentially. And now, it is heading into a three day weekend. So, come Tuesday morn, I will have not worked in 11 days. I know sweet right? And though it may sound like I am all important and shit, I do not think next Tuesday is gonna be a barn burner of a day (fingers crossed though!).

Anyway, the lady and I went out shopping today (despite my numerous protestations of cluster-fuckery on the metro rails, which, not so bad at 2 pm, shitshow at 6-7) to the Pentagon City Mall. Close to where I live in the Virgina-land, but the lady and I have hunkered down at her pad in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC to ride out the storm, which meant a fairly long subway ride, or at least, a transfer. So we shop and whateve's, look at nice shit we cannot buy, she buys me some stuff for my upcoming Birthday, and we grab some lunch at Harry's Tap Room, and let me say, that shit was good. Had me some sort of Creole sandwich (in support of New Orleans of course, if you did not notice my pseudo fan-yet exuberant twitters on the Super Bowl). And, its all organic, which is important to the woman.

So we be eating and talking and I am making some funny faces and she is trying to steal my food (cause my Creole samwich was much better than her boring burger (she should have gone with the Bison Burger)), and the subject of Lent comes up. The woman, being Greek Orthodox, has lent starting next Monday. Not sure when all you Catholics lent start, could be the same day, but on this subject, I know not dates, nor times, nor understanding of why.

She becomes disappointed that she has to stop eating meat for two months. She then turns to me, and starts talking about how I should give up beer with her. Me, being not religious, laugh, and say hell no. She starts talking all about how it is important test of will power, if you can do this you can do anything. All to no avail. You cannot tempt me with that kind of self-empowerment shit. I am the man. I know it. I don't need to give up beer to verify that (though it is when drinking beer, such as now, that I feel most like the king of the world).

She keeps on with her gibber jabber, and finally, to get her to stop, I suggest that if she gives up chocolate, in addition to meat, I will give up beer. Which she shockingly agreed to. And beer somehow became booze. And two months became three months. And it became Chocolate v. Booze. And if I make it three months, she is going to get me a kindle, and if she makes it three months, I have to get her one of the tiny laptops that weigh 4 ounces (or something). Regardless, first one to cave treats the other to dinner at Komi.

So this somehow got real fucking serious. But wish me luck.

Note: I think the going over/under on how long I stay dry is two weeks. If I were me, and I am, I would bet the under.

Note #2: The contest does not start today. It begins Tuesday. For several reasons that are really two. One: I saved a couple bucks by getting chocolates delivered on Monday, so I turned it into a weekend of Valentine's Day. Flowers today, special dinner tomorrow, secret surprise on Sunday (cause she reads this), and chocolates on Monday. Two: My Birthday is on Monday. And I have no work. Seems like a fittin' day to get plastered-ish one last time. For three months.

Note #3: As to the shaping up, the women insists when I give up booze, I will lose some weight. I think that is true. Before snowmageddon hit, I was doing well with the whole gym thing. Well quasi-well. But anyway, hitting the gym more after the booze goes bye bye.