Fashion Police

I'm not a fashion plate, OK? I'll freely admit that to anyone.
Clean, comfortable, and casual is how I select my wardrobe.
But just imagine if there were a law that required people to have thier outfits match and be accessorized.
I wouldn't be the first person locked up or fined.
(The heavyset woman who wears skintight spandex who eats at my restaraunt would be Public Enemy Number One), but I'd definitely be on "the list", as a friend pointed out to me just the other day.
I was wearing a plain black Gap t-shirt, loose fit black Tommy Hilfiger jeans, and black Fila boots.

He: Someone needs to teach you how to dress. You don't match.
Me: (looking at my outfit)
Waddaya mean? I do too match! I'm wearing all black!
He: No, you don't match. Yo're not supposed to wear Tommy with Fila.
Me: Why the hell not?
He: (sighs)
Because you're supposed to wear Tommy with Tommy, or Fila with Fila. You can't mix your labels like that.
Me: (in mock alarm)
Oh, the horror, the horror! What will I do? How will I cope?
He: Whatever. Do what you wanna do. I was just trying to help you out.

There will be someone coming along to revoke my Homosexual Membership Card any day now.

Tales of the Unexpected

Do you ever just do something or say something totally crazy, just to see how people will react?
It's lots of fun.
I was walking down Baltimore Street yesterday on my way to the Light Rail and this old grizzeled looking man, who was drinking Thunderbird right out of the bottle (with no brown paper bag to conceal it) comes up to me and asks me for a cigarette.
I said "Sure! I'll give you a cigarette, if you give me a sip of your T-Bird!"
He gave me this look as if he thought I was crazy, clutched his bottle to his chest like I was going to take it from him, and said
"You aint gettin' none of my hooch!"
and started walking away fast.

I didn't really want any, of course. I'm not going to drink after some person on the street I don't know. I just wanted to see what he'd say.
I laughed all the way to the Light Rail stop.

Flying Colors

OK, I know I bitch alot about work, but lately it's been going pretty well!
Gee whiz! How often do I say that?
Will wonders never cease?

Anyhoo, we had a Crew Leader meeting yesterday.
It didn't start off very well, because it basically consisted of us being chastized for not riding the servers harder.
It's a dammed if you do, dammed if you don't kind of deal. If we ride them too hard we get something said to us, if we don't ride them hard enough, we get something said to us.
After that we got kudos for all the hard work we do, so it ended on a positive note at least.
I was "volunteered" (i.e. nobody else wanted to do it) to do these things called "Pow-wows" which are pre-shift meetings to get the servers pumped up and motivated. I'm not much of a motivational speaker, but I gave it a whirl anyway. My first Pow-wow was yesterday and it went pretty well, I think.
I'm sure I'll get better with some more practice.

Kind of tired. I didn't sleep well last night. I don't have any worries or anything looming over me, so It's unusual. My buddy Denny has a sleeping disorder and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. He sometimes goes days without sleeping. That would drive me crazy.

I've got a load of laundry spinning away as I type this. There was a notice on the memo board at work that said:

During the remainder of the War with Iraq, management asks that you wear a red, white and blue or patriotic shirt in place of your regular work shirt to show support for your country and our troops abroad.

All my patriotc shirts were dirty, so I'm washing them now.

For Victory?

Spray-painted letter "V"s are cropping up all over Baltimore City. Mostly red in color, but I have seen yellow and purple and blue.
It's really strange.
The first one I saw was on Saratoga Street painted on the side of a Baltimore Sun newspaper machine.
I immediatly thought of the 80s miniseries about the lizard aliens.
Once I noticed that one, I started noticing them all over the place.
My best guess is that the "V" stands for "victory", but then again, it might be the initial of the painter's name, or anything for that matter!

"Quality Time" was good, although we didn't really do that much. We watched old movies and ate junk food (donuts and Utz Party Mix) and then we went out to Central Station.
Iker was tending bar upstairs and Chris was there too, but he wasn't working.
Iker's really nice, and sexy as hell, but he always makes my drink wrong. I asked him for a Jim Beam and Coke and got a Bicardi and Coke (with lime) instead. How can you confuse Jim Beam with Bacardi? Not only do they not sound anything alike, they're both different kinds of liquor!
Instead of complaining, I just drank it, even though I don't really like the flavor of rum that much.
Bernie was there, also. He's a nice guy, but he talks too damn much! I'm sitting there, sipping my drink and enjoying time with my man and he's just jabbering away. I should've asked him to please shut up. One of my biggest problems is that it's really difficult for me to be rude to people.

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I Want A One-Way Ticket To Smallville, Please

Quality Is My Specialty

It turns out I didn't get to Central Station, as I'd hoped.
I went to The Drinkery instead.
Boring, as I suspected. Bartender Stan made a pretty good drink, though.
David, the bartender at The Quest was there.
He's not normally my "type", but there's something sexy about him. I've been trying to figure out what quality it is exactly, but it contunues to elude me.
Not that i'm going to lose any sleep over it.

I stayed out 'til Last Call and after I got home I stayed up until 2:30 or so, futzing around. I just didn't want to go to sleep.
I can't help it, I'm a night owl.

Off to work in a few minutes.
*groan*
My manager asked if I could come in and work 12 'til close today, instead of coming in at 4PM.
Apparently there's a party coming in at 1:00 of 90 people. A tour group visiting historical Maryland sites or something.
Like I said in my last post: I'm the boy that can't say "no".
It has it's drawbacks.

Tomorrow is reserved for Quality Time with the husband. We've been working different hours and have had different days off for weeks lately.
It's put quite a strain on us. Well, a strain on me anyway, and "me" is a part of "us", right?
Tomorrow will be the first day we've both had of in about 2 weeks, so I'm gonna be stuck like glue to my man all day tomorrow.
I think he deserves it.
And so do I.

I wont be posting anything tomorrow.
Quality Time, remember?
See y'all Thursday!
CIAO!

In The Sun

I woke up today in a pretty good mood. I was off work today, so that's a pretty good reason why.
I stepped outside and was greeted by warm sunlight.
I felt it's gentle caress against my face. I breathed it in.
YAY!
It's springtime! ! !

It's not quite "Skin Season", however, as I discovered when I put on a pair of shorts and prepared to bare my "winter white" legs to the world.
I realized I was rushing things a little and quickly put on some jeans. It wasn't as warm as I first thought.

I need to go to a tanning salon or something. I'm not as pale as Michael Jackson, but I'm pretty darn close to it.
If I tan for 10 minutes every other day I should have some kind of coloring by May 1st--I hope.
If I try to tan any faster than that I'll burn myself.
Damn my pale delicate skin!

Possibly going out tonight.
I don't know exactly where yet, but Central Station is definitely on my list.
I know it's monday and not much will be happening, but I can't help myself.
I'm just the boy who can't say "no".

Tunes For Bears To Dance To

Language belongs to everybody.
There's almost nothing I can (or could) say that isn't echoed by someone somewhere at some time or other.
That doesn't mean what I say has no validity or meaning for me, however.

Like she said it's easy to make a knee-jerk reaction, or be upset because it seems that someone's aping something you've already done.
If you think about it, everything's already been done, so I don't worry about it."

Human language is like a cracked kettle
On which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to,
When all the time we are longing
To move the stars to pity."
--Gustave Flaubert

Fighting For Peace Is Like Fucking For Virginity

Like him, I'm not going to talk about the War with Iraq.

I have this to say, and that'll be it:
I love this country.
There's no other place I'd rather be living.
I am as patriotic as the day is long.
My blood flows red white and blue through my veins, OK?
BUT, I do believe there's always another solution besides war or violence.
War is Hell.
Ask any veteran who's been in one and he'll tell you the same.

So, on the one hand, I support this country--always have, always will--on the other hand I'm opposed to war. Kind of a difficult position to be in.

But, it's because I live in the Untited States of America that I have the right to voice my opinion.
The First Ammendment to the Constitution ("Freedom of speech") gives me that right.

And so I have.
And so there you are!

Dinky Hooker Shoots Smack!

Nobody's gonna get the title of this post, but that's OK, I can deal with that.
I was thinking what to post and it flashed through my mind.
It was an impulse, OK?

I'm so totally sick of work!
We're having another CSQ inspection soon, so that means extra cleaning duties for everyone.
Fun, fun, fun.
The entire restaraunt needs to be cleaned from top to bottom.
I say just get a high-pressure hose (like the kind firemen use) and hose the entire place down.
Yeah, like that's likely to happen!

At work yesterday, one of the drug addict male prostitutes that go to The Quest came in my restaraunt and guess whose section he sat in?
I don't remember the guy's mame, but he looked terrible: pasty white skin color, sunken in eyes. I remember thinking what a shame it was that he was on drugs. If he cleaned up, he'd be very attractive.
He was there with one of his "clients". He picked at his dinner, not eating more than a couple of mouthfuls. He had long sleeves to hide the track marks on his arms.
I hope he gets help soon.

Madam 8-Ball's Horoscope

"Will you soon be shocked and awed?"

AQUARIUS: Outlook not so good.
PISCES: As I see it, yes.
ARIES: It is certain.
TAURUS: Outlook good.
GEMINI: Very doubtful.
CANCER: Yes.
LEO: It is decidedly so.
VIRGO: Ask again later.
LIBRA: Better not tell you now.
SCORPIO: Very doubtful.
SAGITTARIUS: As I see it, yes.
CAPRICORN: Yes.

Can't You Smell That Smell?

They're doing landcaping around my apartment building and the thick pungent geenhouse-like smell of soil and manure is in the air.
Not the most pleasant aroma.
I shouldn't complain, though. At least they're doing something to beautify Baltimore.
And the smell will go away eventually

*sigh*
Back to work again today.
Sometime soon I hope to get two days off in a row. One day off doesn't just isn't satisfying.

The Alties

This definitely ain't the Oscars.

Best Actor Forced to Do Crap in a Hollywood Movie:
Christopher Walken in The Country Bears.

Worst Gratuitous Nudity:
Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. He's got a nice ass, but it gets more screen time than his face.

Best Facial Hair:
Salma Hayek in Frida.

Best Teenage Moment That Got It Right:
Tobey Maguire, alone in his bedroom, discovering his ability to shoot sticky white stuff out of a body part in Spider-Man.

Best Movie That's Actually an After-School Special:
Swimfan. It teaches high school boys that porking the new hottie in town is so not worth the effort.

Best Line:
Busta Rhymes, "Let the dangertainment begin," Halloween: Resurrection.

Outstanding Achievement in Revisionist History by a Feature Film:
8 Mile. Everybody wrongs Eminem, Eminem wrongs nobody, sticks up for the gay brotherman and the working-class sista, and then shows Detroit black folks how to rap.

Best Hypertrophied Raving Zombie Dog in a Feature Film:
(tie) The undead Dobermans in Resident Evil and Madonna in Swept Away.

Something Corporate

I've got another "mystery bruise". I noticed it this morning in the shower. It's on my right ankle and it's about the size of a quarter, and I have absoloutly no idea how it got there. My first guess was I was secretly abducted by aliens who did horrible experiments on me, but what probably actually happened was I banged my leg against something at work and I was too busy to notice.

I popped by Serendipity for a coffee and a chicken salad sandwich.
I just love that place!
I'm off today and I'm not doing anything.
No dishes, laundry, housecleaning--nothing.
You can't make me, you can't make me.
I'm probably going out later, though.
The siren song of refreshing alcoholic beverages will be calling my name later this evening and I'll be compelled to go. It's unavoidable.

It turns out I was right about Cookie's husband, Larry. I was talking to her and out of the blue she said "Larry used to fool around with guys when he was younger, but since he became a Christian he does'nt do that anymore."
and I'm thinking "Uh-huh. Sure. I believe that story!"
My "gaydar" is very seldom wrong.
After this many years, it's very finely honed.

I was at the corner store picking up some dishwashing liquid and looking through the myriad of choices when I noticed they had 2 varieties of Dawn: Ultra Dawn, and Non-Ultra Dawn
Non-Ultra?
Just plain "Dawn" wasn't good enough?
The people that make Dawn must have a very low opinion of the intelligence level of comsumers if they think people need the label to say "Non-Ultra" to tell the difference between products.

Then, walking around downtown today I noticed the Baltimore Arena no longer exists.
Oh, the arena itself is still there, but it's called the First Mariner Bank Arena now.
Must major cororations plaster thier names over everything?
I'm disgusted.
Next, they'll change Ravens Stadium to Pepsi Stadium or Oriole Park to Nabisco Park, or something equally nauseating.
Where will it end?
I am not optimistic.

Who's That Guy?

He's Gabriel Mann. You can see him in the films High Art (featuring one of my fave Brat Packers Ally Sheedy), and The Bourne Identity, and Josie and the Pussycats among others.
I saw High Art for the first time yesterday and as soon as he appeared on the screen my first thought was "Who's that guy?"
I watched the entire credits at the end to find out.
I haven't seen anything else he's done, but I will eventually.
He's pretty sexy, and he can act too, which is definitely a plus.

High Art is a good movie by the way. I predicted the ending 30 minutes into it, though, but that's not unusual.
Give it a look if you haven't seen it already.

And So It Goes

It's been kind of boring lately.
Normally, this would be driving me crazy and I would be wracking my brain in search of interesting things to do, or some trouble to get into, but not this time.
Every once in awhile it's nice not to have a problem or Something Going On in my life.

I haven't been out to The Quest (or anywhere) in awhile. It's been nice coming straight home after work, showering, and the lounging in my pajamas and listening to music.

Very slow last night at the restaraunt. I got to work with my new "hag", Cookie. There's something not quite right about Cookie's husband, Larry. Every time he comes in there he makes an excuse to talk with me and I catch him looking at me constantly, his eyes following me wherever I go--longer than a "straight man" normally would. I caught him checking out my butt yesterday as I walked by! It's kind of creepy, actually.
I think he's got a secret.

Thought For The Day:

Contrary to popular belief, horses used for racing do not urninate with any more frequency or volume than any other kinds of horses.

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya!

(or afternoon, evening, whatever)

It's St. Patrick's Day!
Unfortunatly I'm working, so I won't be drinking any green beer today.
I will be partaking of corned beef and cabbage, however--it's the special today at my restaraunt.

The "chewing out" I was expecting turned out to be not as bad as I imagined it would be. I made damn sure yesterday's close was perfect.
I had to kick ass to do it, and my overworked crew was muttering curses at me under thier breath, but results are what matter most.

Everybody's wearing green today, right?
What's that you say? You're not Irish?
Nonsense! Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

The One And Only

Yes, that's me, your humble narrator and anti-hero.
This photo was taken Friday morning at Serendipty, (one of my favorite coffee shops), with owner Jeff's digital camera.
It's not a bad photo, really, so I thought I'd post it.

There's not much going on at the moment.
Off to work soon and I'm dreading it, because I know I'm gonna get chewed out about the horrible close we had at the restaraunt last night.
It wasn't my fault, really.
The closing manager was turning the lights out and made us leave, so we didn't get to finish everything that should have been done.
Plus. getting my crew motivated and working hard is like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.
The General Manager doesn't like excuses, though, so I'm gonna get an earful no matter what I say or do.
At least I'm prepared for it. It doesn't make it any better, but at least it's not going to be a surprise.
I'm not a big fan of surprises.

I'm not going to dwell on it too much though. I'm just gonna deal with what I can and get through the day.

I Came To Get Paid

You know, if people that went to restaraunts tipped accurately, I would never have money problems at all.
This party of 8 came in last night and when the woman saw the check and realized we'd automatically put a 15% gratuity on it she flipped out, totally went berserk.
"I wanna speak to a manager NOW!"
Now, why would anyone object to gratutity automatically added? Probably because 15% was more than they were planning on leaving, that's why!
My manager told her that was our policy for parties of 8 or more and that he wasn't going to remove it. He asked the lady if her party had gotten good service, and she stated that her waiter (me) was great, the food was delicious, etc.
So I'm not understanding the big problem here.
I guess people don't realize that tips are how we make our money. It's our bread and butter--literally.
Ah, enough of my griping!

It's a beautiful day today. Unfortunatly, I won't be able to enjoy any of it, 'cause I have to leave for work soon.

I'm trying my best to be optimistic.

Papa's Got A Brand New Hag

I have a fag hag now.
How weird is that?
Cookie, a new waitress at my restaraunt, just discovered that I was gay. (I guess another co-worker told her. I didn't ask how she found out.)
I don't know what took her so long to figure it out. It's not exactly a secret or anything.
Anyway, she came dashing through the dining room, squealing, and said, "I just love gay men!!! They are so fun!"
And then she said we need to hang out and go clubbing and stuff.
I've never had a fag hag before. What do we do--talk about boys and exhange makeup tips?
Definitly new territory.
She's sweet, though.

Best Laid Plans

I had all these ambitions for today and accomplished only a very few things.

I slept in 'til around 11 today. I guess I needed it, but I was planning on getting up early to Get Things Done. It was a beautiful day out. It's feeling like Spring more and more every day. I almost wore shorts today, but then I thought better of it. I thought I might be rushing things a bit. (Turns out I was right, it got a little nippy later this afternoon.)

I was planning on making Tuna Surprise for dinner tonight, but not only did the market around the corner not have two ingredients that I needed, they didn't have filters that fit my coffee pot. I'll have grap a cup of Joe from the coffee shop down the street and head to Eddie's (in Mount Vernon) after I get up tomorrow and I'll make my Tuna surprise some other time.

I did manage to do the dishes and tidy up the apartment today. I was going to do a load or two of laundry, but I didn't have enough quarters and by that time I was too lazy to go out and get some.
Pathetic, huh?

My buddy Fireguy is down in the dumps about things that are happening in his life, so I took some time to send him an email. I hope it cheers him up a bit.
I miss him. It's been awhile since we've seen each other. He needs to plan a trip to B'more and visit sometime soon. Or, maybe I shout grab the bull by the horns and visit him. I have some vacation coming up, and I've never been to Georgia, so it's definitly food for thought.

In case you ever want to make Tuna Surprise, here's the recipe:

Tuna Surprise

1 bag of egg noodles
1 can Campbell's Cream of Celery condensed soup (do not add water or milk)
1 can LeSeur early baby peas (drain waiter)
1 can white albacore tuna fish (use top of can to squeeze out spring water)
5 oz. shredded parmesan cheese

Boil noodles 'til their fully cooked. Drain water, but keep pasta in cooking pot. Add soup, peas, and tuna and mix them all together. Put in a casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Serves 3 - 4.

What's the "surprise"?
The surprise is it actually tastes pretty good!

If You Tame Me, Then We Shall Need Each Other

"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."
"I am a fox," the fox said.
"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."
"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."
"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.
But, after some thought, he added:
"What does that mean - 'tame'?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"'To establish ties'?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you.
And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world.
To you, I shall be unique in all the world ..."

From The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, one of my favorite books.
I was thinking of this when I woke up this morning.
It's a very good book, and I encourage all of you to read it. It's considered a "children's book", but don't let that stop you. It's a classic (like The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis) that can be enjoyed by almost everyone.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Okay, first read this and this regarding the smoking ban in New York City restauarants, bars and clubs.

All done?
OK, here's my take on the whole subject, and after this you can trust me to shut up about it.
(At least until the next time.)

Okay, banning smoking from restaraunts I can deal with. People are trying to eat and smoke does travel around, and a non-smoker shouldn't have to eat with smoke going up thier nose.
Sounds pretty reasonable so far, right?

Banning smoking from bars or clubs I am totally against, for the following reasons:

1.) People like to smoke while they drink. In fact, a cigarette tastes best when you have a drink to go with it.
A cigarette with my morning coffee starts my day. A cocktail just wouldn't be the same without a cigarette betweeen my fingers.

2.) You expect a bar or club to be smokey. That doesn't make it right, it's just the way it is.

3.) If there's no smoking in a bar or club, a smoker has only two choices: step outside for a smoke, or don't smoke at all.
Stepping outside is fine in Spring or Summer but who wants to puff outside when it's ten below and snowing?
Plus, most of the people I see at the bars smoke. I 've been paying attention and out of the 20 or so people that were in The Quest the other day I only saw one person who wasn't smoking.
Can you imagine 20 people outside smoking while the one lonely non-smoker sits at the bar all by himself?

4.) I wouldn't know what to do with myself in a bar (or club) without a cigarette. I always have a cigarette in one hand, and a drink in the other. That way I always have something to do: light a cigarette, sip on drink, puff on cigarette, sip on drink, put out cigarette, finish drink, light a new cigarette, go to bar and order another drink. I would go nuts if I didn't have that cigarette. I really would.

5.) Where does it end?
First, they ban smoking in goverment and state controlled buildings. Then they make most indoor enviornments smoke-free: malls, grocery stores, movie theaters. Now, in NYC they ban smoking in restaraunts, bars and clubs.
What's next?
They ban smoking at bustops. Then they ban smoking on public streets and schoolyards. Then, before you know it, smoking is illegal and you're puffing hand-rolled cigarettes (with tobacco you bought on the street from a guy named Chico) huddled down in the basement with a flashlight on.

Espress Yourself

Yesterday was a pretty good day.
I got my hair done. Josie cut my hair again this time. I like her. She's not chatty like some of the other stylists.
I just sat there with my black smock on, listening to Jewel and Third Eye Blind play on the radio while she sheared me like a sheep. That gal doesn't waste any time! Five seconds after I sat down she took out her razor and hair was flying everywhere. The last time I had her I was quite alarmed at how fuggin' fast she was cutting, but she did a really good job, so this time I didn't stress any. I just sat back and let her do her thing.

On the way home I stopped by the coffee shop for an espresso drink to go.
I got on the computer and caught up on everyon'e blogs and deleted the ton of junk mail from my inbox. The weird thing is I have all these filters on my email that are supposed to prevent me from getting so much junk email, but somehow more and more are slipping through. I shudder to think how much mail I'd get if the filters weren't there.

Went out to The Hippo last night and it was a ghost town in there. They were playing all this 80s music: New Kids on the Block, Samantha Fox, Rick Astley and that was kind of cool because I hadn't heard them in awhile, but then they put on The Ketchup Song and it was time to go.
Ugh!
That song is so annoying. Can you say "One Hit Wonder"?
Went to Central Station next. More 80s music playing. Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode this time, so I went upstairs.
The bartender for the upstairs lounge, Chris, is so sexy. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and I was really noticing his forearms. You'll think I'm weird, but I really like forearms and calves. I look at everything else too, don't get me wrong. I don't have a weird fetish or anything. It's just that's what I look at first.
Okay, so maybe I am weird.

So anyway, I'm sitting there trying not to stare at Chris too much and this blond pixie-looking girl comes over and says "Hi! I'm Megan, the cigarette girl!" and she was giving away cigarettes. I know it's just the tobacco company's way to reel you in.
I got two packs of Camel's anyway, though.

Back to work again today. It's Tuesday, so it shouldn't be that bad I hope.

A Cute Title Goes Here

What a rough weekend! Very busy and I worked like a dog. I was supposed to get out of work around 2 PM yesterday. At least that was the plan.
HA! What kind of fantasy-land was I visiting?
Three people called out and we were short-handed, so they asked me to work a double. You don't know how much I wanted to say:
"Hell no! I closed last night--all by myself--didn't get out of here 'til midnight, and I opened this morning, was here and on the floor at 8 AM! You must be crazy!"
Of course, I didn't say that. What a wonderful world this would be if we could say exactly what we meant!
At The Quest last night right in the middle of my second Long Island Iced Tea, I had reached a kind of Zen-like trancendence. I had dicovered mu, the no-thing, the sound of one hand clapping. I was there, concious, but there was not a thought in my head. I sat there, open mouthed (I probably looked catatonic) and just was. It took so much effort just to get off that barstool and make my way home. I was that tired.

Anyway, it's a new day, I have a cup of joe in front of me, and I have a hair appontment later! Other than that I have no plans.
That's just how I want it.

Everything Counts In Large Amounts

Busy at work yesterday. Four buses full of tourists all came in pretty much all at once, plus our reglar guests. It was a madhouse.
I ended up getting the tour group, which was good because the gratuity is already included. It sounds terrible but when you've already gotten the tip before the people even sit down, you tend not to work as hard. They still got good service though. It's almost impossible for me to give bad service.
I'm contitioned, like a lab rat or one of Pavlov's dogs.

Stopped at The Drinkery after work for a change of pace. Kind of boring in there except this guy who kept buying everyone these "Black Death" shooters. I know it had Blue Curaco and Chambord in it, but what other ingredients were added I have no idea. It was tasty, but I'm not a shooter's type of person, really. Give me my bourbon and coke and I'm good to go.

Have you seen the new Goldfish cheese crackers that come in colors? I saw them yesterday at work. They look like cat food! One of the wairesses was stuffing her face with them and I said "What the Hell is that, Meow Mix?"

Off to work in a few minutes.
I work a day shift tomorrow and I'm off Monday. I'm not going to know what to do with myself!
Ah, well, I'm sure I'll think of something.

Maybe I'll See You There, If I Can Do MY Hair

I had a great day last couple of days. Wednesday I just spent roaming around Baltimore. I loved it.
Lexington Market was great. It was crazy.
This oriental (is that not PC? Maybe I should use "asian" instead?) lady at this stall kept asking me if I wanted to buy fish.
"You buy fish?" she would ask. "We have fresh fish!".
I walked past her around four times and she asked me every single time. I just wanted to say "Lady, don't you recognize me? You just asked me that and I said 'no', remember?" but, of course I didn't, it would have been rude. So I just made sure I walked a different way. I wonder how many others do that?
"Uh-oh! There's that fish-woman again! Avoid her at all costs!"

Popped over to the City Cafe for an espresso drink and a corn muffin. Pretty tasty but the muffin was so sweet it reminded me more of pound cake that what you would think of as a "corn muffin".

Worked yesterday. I was in a surprisingly good mood and that made all the difference. The hours zipped by and I was making money hand over fist!
Woo-hoo!

Stopped by Leon's and found out that bartender Bert and his lover of four years broke up recently. Bert found out he was cheating with a 21 year old, so he broke up with him, moved out and now he's flying solo. His heart is broken and he feels like he will never love again. I have a feeling he'll snap out of that soon and be "ready for further punishment" before you know it.

Stopped by The Quest the other day.
A sign on the urinal said: Broken--do not "use"!
And I was just wondering about the quotation marks. Were they really neccessary? What other way is there to "use" a urinal?

OMG!
At work yesterday I waited on this guy I used to know about 10 years ago. I totally didn't recognize him. Years ago, when I knew him, he was thin. Not as thin as I am, but you wouldn't have called him "fat". He has gained so much weight he was almost unrecognizable to me and it seems like he's aged 20 years instead of 10.
It's tragic that people just let themselves go.

Fabu!

What a fabu day! I just checked the mailbox and I got my Federal income tax refund in the mail.
*whew!*
What a load off my mind! Now I can stop checking the mailbox a half-dozen times daily to see if it's there.

It's a beautiful day out. The sun is shining, there's a cool (not cold) gentle breeze blowing, the sun has melted most of the snow and ice ----and I'm off today!
It's much too nice a day to be spent indoors on the computer, so I'm going to walk around Baltimore, window shop, and figure out what I want to spend my money on. Maybe I'll stop by the City Cafe for some espresso and a cinnamon roll while I'm at it.

So, enough of this! The day awaits!
Carpe Diem!

Phat Tuesday

Lent starts tomorrow. It's kind of a Catholic thing, so I'm not "giving up" anything.
Several Bars are having "Mardi Gras" parties tonight, but I won't be going, 'cause I have to work.
I'm going in a little early and see if I can come on the floor and maybe make a couple extra dollars.
I'm not greedy or anything, but every dollar counts.
And when you think about it, what else would I be doing? Sitting on my butt, that's what.

I'm so glad I'm not going to be in N'awlins tonight.
Yeah, yeah, it's Mardi Gras. Drunk people everywhere wearing masks and beads and having sex right on the street, if the stories I've been hearing are true. One big party, right?
It's just not something you do when you're in a relationship, though.
Let me not into temptation--I can find the way myself.
As a single man I'd jump at the chance to go, though. As a married man it would be Nothing but Trouble.

I've been hearing that song Shiny Disco Balls by Who Da Funk playing in my head for close to two days.
Shiny disco balls
At first, it was kind of fun, but now I'm sick of it.
Shiny disco balls
I tried playing other music and that worked while the music was playing, but as soon as I turn it off
Shiny disco balls
it comes right back.

Tuesday Too!

1.) Do you know about GeoURL? Check it out to find your neighbor's blog, or the web page of a restaurant near you. Find your house with a satellite photo map, and put your self in the database if you're so inclined.

I've heard of it, but I haven't done it yet, simply because it seems so complicated. Here's a sample of the instructions:

Coordinates are in the form of a latitude and longitude, separated by a comma, for example: 47.98481,-71.42124. Western hemisphere longitudes and Southern hemisphere latitudes are negative. (Remember that minutes and seconds are in 60ths, so if something is X degrees, Y minutes, and Z seconds, the decimal equivalent is X + Y/60 + Z/3600.)

It just seemed a little daunting to me. I never was really that good with math.

2.) How many times have you redesigned, or chosen a new template for your blog/journal, and are you content with your current look?

It's hard to say how much I've redesigned. I tend to make gradual changes, a little at a time, rather than one big makeover. I guess if I had to give a number, I'd say three.
I'm happy with it for the most part. It serves a purpose. I don't need anything fancy.

3.) From The New York Times February 11, 2003: "...The federal appeals court in St. Louis ruled yesterday that officials in Arkansas can force a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute. Without the drugs, the prisoner, Charles Laverne Singleton, could not be put to death under a United States Supreme Court decision that prohibits the execution of the insane." The prisoner referred to was convicted of murder, and sentenced to death in 1979. You've probably already heard about this, but what do you think/feel about it?

He can't be killed unless he's given an antipsychotic drug? You've got two choices, really: give him the drugs, or not. I honestly don't think it matters much which way you go.
I'm kind of on the fence regarding capital punishment. If if was someone I loved that was killed I'd be all about "an eye for and eye" and let's string the bastard up. On the other hand you have to think: what if they finger the wrong guy? You just executed someone who was innocent.
It's a tough decision no matter how you look at it.

Never Around When You Need One

Stuff that's going on or went down recently:

• You always hear the term "war on drugs", but a milksop kind of "war" it must be if you can walk down the street with a joint hanging out of the corner of your mouth and nothing happens.
  Oops. I'm going too fast again. Let me explain.
  I'm walking down to (world famous) Lexington Market the other day. I'm headed to the Valu-Plus store to get a two dollar umbrella and a cheap pair of gloves, because I had left my last pair of gloves and my umbrella on the bus. (That makes three pairs of gloves, two umbrellas, and a scarf I've lost so far this year.)
  So anyway, I'm walking along and there's this guy (jiving along like Richard Pryor in Stir Crazy) right through the outside market area (where the vendors sell the cheap sunglasses and incense) with a joint hanging out his mouth! And don't even try to suggest it was a hand-rolled cigarette - I know what marijuana smells like.
  The thing is he waked right by the Baltimore City Police kiosk that's in the center of the marketplace and the policeman looked right at him and did absoloutly nothing about it!
  Uncanny.
• Speaking of Lexington Market, it's the best place to buy bootleg CDs and DVDs. I was walking along and this guy is a dirty trench coat and a huge knapsack was saying to everybody that passed "Daredevil! DVD! Ten dollars!"
  As much as I love a bargain, I'm not about to buy something from somebody I don't even know. My mama didn't raise no dummy!
  Daredevil's still in theaters. I wonder how he got it on DVD?
• I was thinking I was tired of going out, but I think it's more I'm tired of going to The Quest.
  I need to go somewhere else for a little while.
• Off today and I have no plans at all and that's just fine with me.
  I'm going to go where the wind takes me. Just travel along from whim to whim, put myself in the hands of Fate, and see what happens.

No Bitches

I wasn't the bitch I said I was gonna be the other day, but that was only because I had a good crew that day and the restaraunt wasn't busy at all, so my people had no excuses not to take care of thier guests.
Everyone kept saying to me "What's wrong? You look tired!" and my response was "I am tired!"
The thing of it is, is when I feel like that time just stretches and elongates and it seems like the night will never be over. I kept looking at my watch and it didn't seem like time was moving at all. "Will it never end?" I kept thinking.
Fortunately, it did.

I didn't even go out after work. I just went home and crashed and I totally overslept the next day (yesterday) to the point where I almost had to rush to get ready for work.
That's OK though, because I got plenty of sleep. I guess I needed it.

It's March already, which means spring is just around the corner.
Thank goodness! I don't know how much more of this winter I can take.
I used to love wintertime and playing in the snow when I was a kid, now I can barely tolerate it.
It's amazing what a couple of years can do.