Lost: Chicken Head

What's passed of the week has been a blur. Work has been a bear with many projects and itty-bitty amounts of time to do them. This cuts into prime blogging time too, as you know.

Not a great trend but I've taken to bringing work home with me. I used to do this at the previous job but the difference here is BILLABLE HOURS. Still, this isn't with out it's personal cost.

For one, I'm exhausted. I worked on a project till 2:30AM last night. Got lots of it done, but by 2AM, I was cutting corners and it wouldn't have been good. As I drifted off to sleep, I had the craziest dream. I followed a lizard along a path and just as I got close, CRACK, I felt my neck jolt and I was wide awake for a minute. Don't know if it was an involuntary jerk but it also felt as if I'd been yanked. BF was snoozing… so, maybe it's the dead people.

Secondly, I'm a bit harried. I was rushing out this morning to the doctor's office before heading into work. I thought I could make it into the office for a quick output of what I'd worked on. I'd only slept 4.5 hours, so I was pretty dim. Running out of the house, I got to about a block away from my train station before I thought to check if I'd had my cellphone as well as my USB key, which contained my work. A cursory look into the backpack yielded nothing so I ran back to the house only to find nothing, search my bag again and find both items. Dope.

Back to the train station. The office pitstop was out. I was beginning to run late for my appointment. So, I settled into the train ride uptown. Fussing around with the PSP, I looked right and observed, "Why's there a tag on the outside of my shirt?" Upon closer examination, in my rush, I'd put my shirt on inside, out. In the minutes that followed, I toyed with the idea of yanking my shirt over my head on the crowded train to flip my shirt around. "Do they see my shirt's wrong? Will they notice if I take it off? Dang, why didn't I wear an undershirt?" All it would have taken was for me to hook my fingers and VOOP. It would have only been a split second but I opted to be shy and demure than to putting on a show for my fellow passengers. True, I would have given them something to talk about. I waited till I got to the doctor's office's bathroom to flip my shirt right.

The rest of the day improved remarkably. The projects got done and the office now has AC!!!!! Believe me, it was near 90 degrees in the office on Tuesday, this is a blessing. Thanks to Ming and his crew of Asian workers, except the one that repeatedly whistled the same bar of Chinese music. NEXT REFRAIN OR JUST SHUT UP! You were driving me fucking nuts!!!!

flat-footed.

This is the news, I got from the PA at my doctor's office today. I have no arch support so I'm flat-footed. Great. Not necessarily heart crushing news, but who wants to hear about a bodily malfunction?

It was high time I had my left ankle looked at. I'd sprained it in the last week in June. Procrastinate much you say. I'm not suffering any pain now, however any strenuous activity, ie. running, walking into the surf, dancing, results in swelling and with it, an uncertainty about the healing process. So I had it checked out.

Long short, ankle's loosey-goosey. Sprain means ligaments are pulled, torn, damaged and will heal but become longer. Thus ensuring a future of sprains and ankle twists. Wonderful. The PA was able to tell immediately that I'd had previously sprained my right ankle. Love the thought of my ankles both buckling. Wouldn't that be an interesting recovery move I'll be making.

In the current healing process, my musculature is compensating for the weakness and they're being taxed. Being flat-footed doesn't help either as I'm told. Starting Monday, I have physical therapy to help correct this and I'm investing in some arch support.

Interesting thing I've learned today is that Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a good anti-inflammatory. I got me some already since I can't be taking aspirin, on a count of the fact that I'm sensitive. Yeah, I'm sensitive like that, but I'm talking about aspirin sensitivity. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take my word it sucks. Just imagine 12 hours of pain relief being 12 hours of agita.

Occupational Shit Storm.

Yes, I definitely stepped in it this morning. I've been plugging away at the computer, assembling a presentation for the last four hours. They'd decided to move their meeting up. Good thing I'd taken home the project last night, to get a leg up on things, otherwise, I'd have been starting from scratch. Of course, they're still adding pages so my work is ongoing. Surprisingly, I'm in good spirits and I've performed well under pressure.

Sidenote: I'd just heard some terrible news. An agency I'd worked for is shuttering the doors on their NY office. I've still got some friends there, so it really hurts to hear this. The NY office never did regain it's footing after 9/11 and it's been on a slide for some time, but I'd always hoped it'd rebound. The advertising industry, as a whole as slipped but that's a whole different discussion. I wish only the best for my friends.

Ironically, it looks like the agency I'm associated with now, will be taking over one of the closing agency's accounts.

New Kicks

This filler post has been brought to you by Nike™.

I've got a thing for sneakers (trainers for those not in the States.)
Some women (and men) like shoes, I like sneakers. My brand loyalty is to Nike.
I've experimented, I've dabbled with New Balance™, every gay man seems to have a pair... but I always come back to Nike.

Let it be said that this is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a foot fetish or can be classified as a fetish (I think. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) No, I like to buy for myself sneakers. I like to have many variations. There isn't anything remotely sexual about it to me. Although a well-sneakered foot will impress upon me a person's taste in that footwear aspect.

Some new kicks I picked up today.

Nike Air Max Solas













I'm excited. I'll break em in at the gym.
Unlike what I used to do, which was to buy über-expensive trainers just to wear. What a waste!
Eventually I retire them from the gym to street wear and dancing!

Obvious.

Scientists: Humans cause global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Global warming is caused primarily by humans and "nearly all climate scientists today" agree with that viewpoint, the new head of the National Academy of Sciences -- a climate scientist himself -- said Wednesday.

Resident Scientist - Dagon's recent observation.

Let me share with you a quote,

"…I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague… "

Agent Smith, The Matrix

Abandon the planet, the idiots have dominion.

I am so in the mood for a…

James Doohan, R.I.P.

You've boldy gone.

Music Bonanza

I haven't been clubbing in two weekends.

Torturous.

Well… not really. I welcome the rest and so does my ankle which, for those that care, seems fine. I ran on it for the first time this Monday. Nothing strenuous, 6 MPH for 30 minutes. No pain but it swelled some afterwards. MacBoyX advises I should have it looked at. Doctor's appointment… soon. No, I'm not stalling. Soon. Promise.

But I digress.

Back to the subject at hand.

I've been compensating for not clubbing by purchasing lots of music. Not all of it club music (maybe most of it), some downbeat, chill and lounge-y. Life doesn't always happen at 130 BPM. Its all good in my opinion.

Here's what I've picked up in the last month or so.

Satoshi Tomiie - ES



Green Velvet - Walk in Love (iTunes)



Chris Fortier - Balance 007



Sasha - Fundacion NYC (iTunes)



Nick Warren - Global Underground 028 Shanghai*




* It should be noted that this 2 CD set is available on the iTunes Music Store and if you purchase this album from there, included in the download is a version of each CD as a single, joined track. A nice step forward for Apple or Global Underground to recognize that not everyone likes to hear pauses in their continuously mixed CDs.
I just wish Apple would fix this on the iPod already.

Bent - Later



SupperClub 9



James Zabiela - Renaissance Utilities



Adam Beyer - Fabric 22



Dave Clarke - World Service Vol. 2



Mike Cruz - Arrival



Cielo - Cloud 9



Deep Dish - George Is On



Superchumbo - Wowie Zowie



Dean Coleman - House of Yoshi



FYI: Its new release Tuesday. Constantine is out.
You'll get a better deal at Circuit City than Best Buy, but you can price match at BB if you have the CC circular. Its a hassle but you save a few here and there.

Back from the Break.

"Virginia is for Lovers®." Throw into the mix a few whiny, pre-teen kids, some parents who (slightly) despise their children and unpredictable, uncertain weather, Virginia becomes more of a trying experience. Like the away episode of The Brady Bunch, where Bobby finds the bad luck tiki idol, except ours was embodied in a 6 year old, the whole vacation bordered on The Surreal Life without Flava Flav and Corey Feldman.

This vacation wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, meant to be an amorous one. The BF had thought it fun to hitch along with his brother's family, whom I'll refer to as the A's, to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. Colonial Williamsburg was on the short list but we never made it. JA was also joining us and she would be sharing a room with the BF and I. In the process, the brother's neighbor, the S's (husband, wife and two kids) had invited themselves along. Taken in small doses, they're tolerable, however, extended exposure is not recommended. The A's were reticent when the S's "requested" to come along. Reality: The S's had already booked before asking and the A's were less than joyful with their accompaniment.

With all this to look forward to, we still went.

Wednesday

We set out on Wednesday morning by car. The drive was uneventful.

Along the way I discovered that AutoLove had been subjected to more external abuse from other parked cars. I seethed as I mentally figured out the what, where, when, why and how the streaked scratches occured. Someone apparently opened the backdoor of their truck with spare wheel attached, rubbing it good along the passenger side front lamp and hood area, most likely the night before by my parent's home. I'll be returning to the scene of the crime with a bag of hate.

Things learned:
Maryland is FILLED with state troopers. Be wary.
When the BF's brother, J, says he knows where he's going, good chance he's wrong.

Having set out at 9:30 from SI, we arrived at our hotel by 4:30PM.
Not a bad drive. The S's were already there. We'd hoped to hit Busch Gardens that night. It started to rain and thunder as we unloaded the cars and there was plenty of lightening, so the park was out. We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel bar, a highly overrated experience, especially as this began the cycle listening to the whining of the S kids. We ate overly priced hotel food and drank many beers, played pool, darts and whatever else that would keep us busy.

I checked out the "new" work out facility which included some elliptical machines, treadmills, steps and dumbbells, of which the heaviest was 35 lbs., with no benches to be found. Great. It was obvious I'd benefit more from rest than trying to do any kind of work out.

Wednesday was a wash. Literally.

Thursday

We headed out to Busch Gardens as early as we could. The weather was overcast and iffy. We were hoping to get in as much as we could before any inclement weather came in.

If you've never been to Busch Gardens, here's a brief description: a pale version of Epcot Disney, recreating Europe as one long American propaganda-filled, beer commercial. Dig? It's got four roller coasters, if you're into that sort a thing, which I'm not. We hit the Roman Rapids (yes, I know, C-H-E-E-S-Y) to cool off. Most of us were soaked, but figured that that would dry off. Big mistake, big. The humidity made it impossible. We were moist for the entire time we were there.

Some of the group ran off to the roller coasters and the rest of us hung out. It was now I was subjected to the incessant whining of the youngest S child. Completely unbearable. Of course, he whined to his mother as his father would crack him upside the head. Kids these days, they are so manipulative. He'd only do it when it was in the presence of someone beside his family, knowing full well that his mother would want to shut him up and not embarrass herself by smacking him upside head. I'm not for physically disciplining a child, but he certainly pushed my limits. I did however shut him up by whining louder, mocking him.

We stayed till 4 when we all decided to return to the hotel and change for Water Country. We were all hot and needed to cool off. The weather was still cloudy and overcast, threatening to rain, but held and fortunately continued to hold at the water park. Arriving late was a great idea as most people had started to leave. We were able to run through a few rides with little to no wait.

The evening was relatively quiet with more of the same from the night before, beer, darts, pool and food in the hotel. Yawn. I ended up staying up late, watching the Discovery Channel which I don't do often but thoroughly enjoy, for the simple reason that, I'm fascinated by history, shipwrecks, and human feats of engineering. These were all found in "Raising the Kursk."

Yes, it's been * start semi-sarcasm* a fantastic vacation. *end semi-sarcasm*

Friday

Weather was spotty and uncertain (again). Thursday in reverse, Water Country and then Busch Gardens. At WC, I took my place my the *start cheesy* Hubba Hubba Highway *end cheesy*, a lazy river deal and stayed there. The kids ran like maniacs to the rides but since it was earlier in the day, I wasn't going to wait 15-20 mins for 30 secs of ride. It's all cock tease and no orgasm. JA nearly fainted from heat stroke and I was more than happy to take her back to the hotel, as was the BF. We'd learned to just avoided being around the kids. They just weren't fun.

We hit Busch Gardens later. The roller coaster group ran off to hit the remaining coasters, the loop-de-loop ones. Magnificent engineering, guaranteed cookie toss if I went. We took in a few shows, one in faux Ireland, a la Riverdance. To be honest, it ran a bit long in the tooth. We waited till 10 for the final park show Imaginque. It was very Cirque du Soleil and lots of fun.

It was back to the hotel for a little beer and bed. Although the History Channel had something on Jack the Ripper, no TV.

Saturday

Avoided the kids and slept late. It was the best morning, weather-wise. Figures. Packed up and headed out. It was a long drive with plenty of traffic and bad weather. Nothing to report except I wanted really let out with AutoLove but BF was watching my speedometer and told me to slow down at 90 mph. Party pooper.

End madness, I mean vacation.

Break.

Heading off to VA for Busch Gardens, water parks and woohoo fun at Colonial Williamsburg.
Blogging will depend on my mood, but I'm sure I'll want to post some snazzy pics of me in my new QuickSilver™ Jams.

TTFN.

Loss, Longing, Lost.

Not a day goes by when I don't think of him in some small measure. Last night, however, he re-emerged in dream. The subconscious cameo was a new occurrence. He didn't look like himself, not like the last time I'd seen him. I'd aged him to an approximation of what I believed him to look like now. Though different, he looked good and his aura was unmistakeable.

He stood there, not talking to me but watching me. From another room, disembodied, familiar voices held him in conversation. They prattled on, oblivious to our sexual tension, like when the whole affair happened. Their intonations rose and dipped melodically, happily. They were none the wiser.

I could feel his eyes on me, calling with an unspoken yearning. Nervously, I busied myself, all the while waiting and hoping he'd be done talking soon, giving me his undivided attention. The hurt melted away at our proximity, the promise of what may still become. I think of the time that had passed, a swell of joy of all that I wanted to share with him.

When he addresses me, he speaks of a life I don't know, where the years seem so distant as the lives we've led. Images of places he's been and what he's done, spring forth from his mouth. They flood my mind with happiness, sorrow and…

… I awaken. I'm alone and I'm hard, an arousal bourne from remembrance. I don't have the desire to ease my burden, it's futile. I lay there for a moment before I get up, resuming my emotionally blunted existence, going through the motions.

Gotcha NBF, well sort of.

I'd spotted the NBF, the Ninja Bird Feeder. This cock knocker has been surreptitiously feeding the rats with wings on my block and today, I caught a glimpse of him, or was it her? It's still unclear.

I'd returned home from the city. The sky was ready to open up and dump rain. I turned the corner of my block. Before me, the driver of what I believe to be a black Nissan Maxima, reached across the passenger and through the window, dumped a full canister of bird feed onto the ground. "Fuck." I barked, as the car peeled away. I was completely dumbfounded for a second as the rain was starting to come down heavily.

This explained why I'd never been able to catch this person and the pattern of dispersal. I'd always assumed he/she walked up and spread the seeds.

I didn't get a clear view of the person, but a glimpse of short blondish hair. Could have been a man, or a man-ish woman, but I'll wager it's a woman.

This person knows full well what they're doing is wrong. The dumping and speeding off, what gives?

Anyway, I won't go attacking all the black Nissan Maximas I see. I'll confirm first and when I do, I'll prepare a nice sticker, in the vein of the Parking Violations sticker, for my dear NBF.

FFF

Fantastic Four Fun!



The BF and I went to see the movie last night.

I'd had many, many reservations about it since I'd caught reviews Thursday on it from the Daily News and Rotten Tomatoes. They did not rate it highly, a downer for sure as I'd already pre-purchased tickets Monday.

In light of current events, "Fantastic Four" was exactly what I needed. It is a light hearted, re-imagined origin story of the Fantastic Four with plenty of comedic bits that kept it moving and from becoming too serious.

Everytime Chris Evans was on screen, I was locked on to him. Sooo fucking hot. The movie producers were kind enough to provide many opportunities to see Mr. Evans half-naked or in his form fitting uniform. Yummy. Such a beautiful specimen of man and his cocky rendition of Johnny Storm was perfect.

Go ahead, disagree with me, I know very well the movie is less than fantastic. Through all the total disregard for Marvel canon, the 2-dimensional acting and effects, I left the theater with a smile. $24.50 lighter, it was money well spent.

Fear

I'd be lying if I said the London bombings didn't have me concerned.

The gravity of what had happened hadn't sunk in during my morning commute yesterday. Reading the news websites throughout the day, it had taken hold. On the commute home, I was struck by the thought, "It could happen here." I had a moment of irrational fear and angst, scanning around the train wondering, "Who could it be? Are they here" I admonished myself and called myself a pussy, calming shortly aftewards. Glad to see elementary school tactics still work on me. Or should I be worried?

Am I fearful dying? Only a fool would say no. When I'm ready and not a moment before. But it wasn't necessarily of death I was afraid of. It was more of not making a difference. Sure, injure me and hurt me, but so long as there is a shred of life in me, I'll keep fighting. I just don't want to be snuffed out. I want to see death coming and I want to face it. Not die, not knowing. That was what I feared.

As for the uneasiness of riding the train this morning, at least I'm not alone.

Why I'm a Mac Guy.

Yesterday, I'd thought about writing Mike (crush) to say "What's Up?"
But as it turns out, he wrote me instead. Ooooh, spooky. Not a social call, sort of, but to ask if I'd be interested in making some money, helping his supervisor with her PC and the opportunity to see him. Of course I'd like to see him and possibly tap that ass (did I say that?), so I took on the challenge. I prefaced the whole ordeal with "I'm not a PC guy and this is only a favor." and "I'll do what I can." I refused to take any money since doing so would obligate me to return visits and continued support.

His co-worker dropped off the computer in the late afternoon, an innocuous Dell Inspiron laptop. Once I got it home, I realized the extent of what I'd gotten myself into.

Off the grid, the computer seemed to be fine. It ran a little slow, but nothing unbearable. Attach it to the internet and it became a horrific, pop-up advertising cancer-laden victim, crippled by adware and spyware. It seems that she'd been running her Windows XP Home with no virus protection, no firewall, and no adware protection. Plus, it hadn't been updated, ever.

I dove in and ran some adware/spyware removal software. It found and excised some of the offending code and I moved on.

I restarted the machine.

Everything seemed fine. Then, a pop-up. Then two and then another. I ran the anti-adware again and again it found the same offending code and removed it.

Restarted. Slowly but surely, everything returned.

This machine was terminal. Normally under these circumstances, I would have reformatted and reinstalled. Unfortunately, she couldn't, and won't be able to supply the original install discs and I was not about to go ahead and purchase a new license for Win XP Home. I'd already shelled out $30 for an ineffective adware removal program. Microsoft AntiSpyware isn't worth the disk space it occupies as I watched it allow known Adware/Spyware applications to reinstall themselves on to the hard drive.

FRUSTRATION!!!!

MacBoyX was online and had to suffer my rantings, "PCs SUCK!!!!" and "WTF?!?!"

Sigh. I called her this morning and suggested she bring it to Best Buy. I think the Geek Squad will do a better job and should at least have a licensed Dell Win XP Home disc to help her.

This is why I'm a Mac Guy.

Oh, and you bet I'm going to get a piece of ass after this.

Dropping the kids in the pool.

Not figuratively (ew) but literally. That's how I spent July 4th, throwing/dropping/flipping/heaving kids in the BFs brother's pool out in Staten Island. The nephew and his equally small/young neighbor squealed in delight as I heaved them from the water to about 2-3 feet above the water and then splashing down. Snot running down their faces, coughing up water and asking "More." I happily obliged until the two decided to get on each other shoulders and mine in a horrible attempt which left me with a pulled neck and them not splattered on the deck or pool edge. So ended the evilbuddha pool throw.

Still, Monday was a beautiful day for pool, barbeque and sunning. I've filled in my tan nicely. I can definitely wait to have my next hotdog. I've eaten my fair share and it's time to refocus on the gym.

We couldn't have asked for a more idyllic weekend.

Danny kills it, again.

Friday @ Spirit with Danny Tenaglia, REMARKABLE.
Celebrate M's 40th Birthday (which was yesterday) with her.
She's a bundle of energy and a whole lot of fun. Glad we could dance together.

Here's a little snippet (and a new favorite song):
Happiness (Michael Mayer Mix) - Superpitcher

The song really kicks at about 2:31.

Danny was in good form, serving some tribal beats to tech house and a smatttering of classics, all of which I couldn't resist making my way to the dance floor.

We stayed till 11:00AM but I understand he played classics till 12. "House education" as Danny puts it, educating the masses about the roots of dance with such tracks as Giorgio Moroder's "E=MC2", truly memorable one I caught once when Danny was warming up for a night at Vinyl. Sad I missed it. Ah well... I should stay for my education.

Anime Overload

I'd worked ridiculously late on Wednesday night. Think 3AM. So yesterday night, I was in the mood for a nice stiff drink or heading home, relaxing and catching up on my anime. The two couldn't be more different, eh?

Well, the drink never happened. Anime won out.

I was more than content to head home and chill. Literally, since the AC in the office is still horrible and my home office space is more comfortable with a little 5000BTU unit, but I digress.

The first in the anime line up was Gantz DVD 6 - Sudden Death


Synopsis:
The carnage erupts as the surviving players in the Gantz's twisted game find themselves facing two kinds of aliens! As players are mercilessly slaughtered, the unarmed and unsuited Kurono's only hope lies somehow managing to survive until the clock runs out.

Three über violent episodes, so good. I would explain the premise behind "Gantz" but that will have to be a post unto itself. Check out the website here.


Next up:
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex DVD 6




Synopses
EPISODE 21: ERASER
Following-up on Togusa's investigation, Section 9 is lead to a government official in hiding who may hold a clue to unraveling the entire Laughing Man case ... if they can get to him before the enemy does.

EPISODE 22: SCANDAL
Motoko gets more than she bargained for when she visits the doctor to be fitted with a new prosthetic body. Meanwhile, Aramaki receives the disturbing news that his brother has been kidnapped.

EPISODE 23: EQUINOX
The Laughing Man returns and, in a crime mirroring his previous one six years earlier, kidnaps the President of Serano Genomics. Arriving too late to stop the abduction, Section 9 must use all its resources to track-down the missing businessman.



If you don't know it, you don't know what you're missing.

And last but not least,
Gunslinger Girl



A variation on the girls with guns theme. Beautifully animated and shows great promise.

Am I caught up yet? Not even close and there's so many other tempting anime DVDs out there.