The halcyon days of yore are gone, people. *sigh*

Being packed 2 weeks early was a first for me for Pennsic, so I got into a little project this past weekend and am pleased:



KYOOT FLUFFY COW!

I enjoyed this: http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/thenandnow/2013/2/17/then-and-now-photo-collection.html

I posted updates on Facebook, but for your enjoyment I put them all together in a timeline (including pictures!):

Friday, April 12:
11:24am: Moving is the pits.
1:42pm: Funny how loading a U-Haul in the rain feels like Pennsic...
4:18pm: 10 hours to load it, 2.5 to unload it.


Saturday, April 13:
8:21am: YARD SALE TODAY! Who's coming? :-P
2:09pm: Thank you, landlords, for telling me 2 days before I move out that you "have a problem" with me steaming cleaning the carpets myself. Um, the lease just says steam clean, not pay for professionals to do it. (And don't bring up "we pay the electric and water" when say I wanted to save money, because the professionals use electric and water, too.) Also, wipe down the walls? Seriously? Um, no. And I'm sorry you told your new tenant he could move in on Monday after we talked about Monday being my last day - it's not my fault you can't keep your dates straight.
5:27pm: PURGE ALL THE THINGS
7:37pm: Running out of steam, but I think I did pretty good today. If promises are kept, I'll only have the bed and couch to deal with. :)

9:51pm: Treating myself to dinner because I need to. :-/

Sunday, April 14:
3:12pm: Good talk with the rational landlord who said to ignore the prissy one. :) Also, a woman came back from yesterday and bought three more items, and I have three offers for the couch and mattress from Craigslist (plus an offer from a thrift store to come pick them up). One more trip to the storage unit, a couple of trips to the new place, and then I start cleaning. w00t! :)
4:11pm: When did I go through a turtleneck phase?
6:27pm: How telling is it that my storage unit is sorted as follows: kitchen, paperwork, books, Pennsic, tools, stuff, stuff to get rid of (donate), and stuff I might actually need? Yeah, that's what I thought... :-/
9:13pm: My new roommate made me dinner. I think this is going to work out juuust fine... ;)

Monday, April 15:
12:12pm: Somebody please tell me that's a *light* at the end of the tunnel and not an oncoming train...
3:33pm: UGH. The last 10% really does take 90% of the time. :-/

Tuesday, April 16:
11:29am: Move is done. EXHAUSTED. Last load was waaay too late last night, then cleaned, vacuumed and steam cleaned the carpets. Car is still full of stuff. So glad to be sitting at a desk for 8 hours. Now begins The Great Unpacking...
1:16 pm: Things I learned from this move:
- I'm old
- When people offer to help, say yes
- Rent the truck longer
- Start earlier
- Pay to have someone else do it
Oh, and NEVER MOVE AGAIN EVER.

Wednesday, April 17:
11:03 am: Made it to work yesterday, then came home, promptly fell asleep, and woke up in time to go to work again today. Hopefully those 14 hours will get me right as rain. :)

I'm also going to post something longer about how I viewed the move from a more personal perspective. ;)

Wore it to the wine festival this past weekend and got lots of nice compliments on it. :)

See this cute little guy?



He just hopped onto my foot. While I was sitting on the couch in the middle of my living room. OMG WTF? (Not quite as bad as the scorpion I once found in the house, but surprising nonetheless...)

This... I don't... what the... OMG...

Elderly Woman's Hilarious Failed Attempt At Restoring A 19th Century Fresco In Borja, Spain



(Yes, this actually happened.)

I realized I haven't updated what I've been up to the last couple of weeks, but basically it was DC Pride, and then CON.TXT over the past two weekends. I'll include pictures to make it interesting. :)

The weekend of Pride I took off early on Friday so my co-worker and I could use his truck to get a few large items I still had at the old house, including a broken washer and dryer I needed to take to the dump. That went well, but then after stopping for gas I passed my co-worker on the side of the road - he'd been rear-ended in stop-and-go traffic. I felt bad, but he pointed out the other guy's insurance would take care of it, so I stuck around for a while until the cops showed up. Later that night I went to gaming and although there was a little more snark than usual, it was fun as it always is.

Saturday was the Capital Pride parade. I drove up around noon and met up with Asians & Friends Washington at a park in Alexandria for a BBQ and pot luck, which was much fun - quite a lot of people showed up, so I got to meet some new folks as well as hang out with people I've already met (and this is a really, really nice bunch of guys that I'm really starting to look forward to hanging out with every chance I get).

From there I went into town to find parking. My usual spots on the fringes of duPont Circle were, of course, completely filled, as well as the immediate area being cordoned off for the parade. I gave many thanks to Al Gore for inventing GPS, because I was finding areas of DC I'd never driven around before, so it was actually kind of neat. Had to park a bit of a hike away from the festivities, but I figured I need to start getting into shape for walking around Pennsic. :)

I stopped off in the circle to meet up with folks, but apparently they'd changed plans while I was parking, so I went with plan B and hung out on the steps of another member's townhouse, which was right on the parade route and right next to the reviewing stand. In the past when I've gotten tired of things I've tried to find new ways of experiencing them; for example, when the pride festivals got boring, I ran a booth, so it was fun again. I've watched a million parades in my day and was expecting another boring one, but I discovered that standing next to the reviewing stand was QUITE fun. Not only was Lena Lett, the drag queen hosting, incredibly funny filling the pauses in between groups, but she was announcing who each group was, which was really useful since half the time I couldn't see banners or signs or t-shirts from where I was.

Speaking of parades, I've had some queer friends in the past say that pride parades were bad for the community - too much rampant, un-middle-American sexuality, and not enough "normalcy," so it gives us a "bad image." (Insert appropriate amount of eye rolling here, but don't hurt yourselves now!) Not only do I wholeheartedly not agree with such claptrap, but I've been trying to find out if these friends have attended a parade since, oh, 1991 or so. NEWS FLASH - they're BORING. So for shits and giggles I decided to Tweet each group as it went by, and then did a little analysis. From least to most, we had:

5 humanitarian groups
5 healthcare groups
6 sports groups
8 bar/clubs (3 of these had scantily-clad people on them - the horrors!)
10 governmental groups
11 political groups
11 religious groups
15 social groups
29 community groups
35 businesses

Boy, we're a bunch of Radical Fairies out there with cockrings and nipple pasties and leather chaps, aren't we? Oh, wait - no, we're not. The parade was sponsored by, among other such controvertial businesses, a bottled iced tea company, a car rental company, a national bank and a trash removal service. OMG CALL PAT ROBERTSON.

The most lurid thing I saw besides men in Speedos was the live cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the group that got the biggest applause was the Mormons for Marriage Equality group (followed closely by the ususal favorites, PFLAG).

Anyway, I made sure to thank Lena afterwards for being so entertaining. I got a picture:



After that we all went to a great little Thai place for dinner, and again there were quite a few folks that turned up, so I got to meet even more people. On the way home I stopped off and hung out with another friend. Much fun! :)

Sunday I got my hair cut, checked out hotels for my upcoming party, had dinner with a friend from DC who was down in the area and I hadn't seen in a long time, and then went shopping at K-Mart. (I know, so exciting, why don't I update more?)

Work's been a little hectic with the end of the fiscal year coming up shortly, plus I've been putting in summer hours so I can take the occassional Friday off. One night I got stuck on the bridge on the way home in construction and I thought there were worse places to get stuck for a few minutes:



So then last weekend was CON.TXT, a bi-annual slash convention that Stuart (minotaurs) introduced me to 6 years ago. This was my third, but by the end of it was really the first one where I was noticed. :)

I got there Friday afternoon in time for a Doctor Who panel, which is always fun to discuss with slashers and geeks. I checked into my hotel, helped out with some logistical stuff, and then unloaded my games to play while the Friday night dance was going on. We had 4 tables going at the height of it, so it was a good time.

I'd been fighting a chest cold all day, so I decided to skip breakfast and the morning panels I wanted to go to and slept in instead. I eventually got up, got something to eat, and hung out at the con for a while, helping wherever needed and meeting some new folks. I hit another Doctor Who panel, went to dinner with brak666, went back to my hotel room to rest for a minute... and woke up around midnight, so I missed the video show. :( Still, I needed it, and I think it actually prevented me from getting *really* sick over the weekend.

Sunday I made it in time for breakfast and the art show auction, and managed to win a piece even though ceciliatan tried to outbid me (foolish woman!):



It's my second piece by digitalwave, and although I have no interest in the fandom (it's "Supernatural"), I like the way she does wings. ;)

After that I went to an Avatar/Korra panel, volunteered some more, checked out of my hotel, and went to the dead duck panel (their hiss & purr). I made it home, collapsed with the kitties, and tried to get better.

One thing I did do at the con was to create my own white-faced whistling duck (of which I am their king):



Alas, whatever I fought off over the weekend gave me bronchitis. Last year I let my cough go way too long and it drove me crazy, but this time I recognized it quicker, so although I was feeling good Monday, I felt crappy again Tuesday, so I called out sick and only got up to go see my doctor, who gave me a cough suppressant and an antibiotic (so far I don't need Prednisone like I did last year). I'm sure it'll be gone in a week, but I'm determined to make sure it's over and done with before Pennsic.

This weekend is gaming, an AFW dinner, and hopefully my packing dry run for Pennsic (new car, no idea what will and won't fit). The following weekend is my party, then no plans for July 4. I have my traffic court date the week after, and then it's All Pennsic, All The Time until I leave on the 27th. :)

tl;dr - PEEKCHOORS!

So what's new with you? ;)

My take on the Texts From Hillary meme (which is HILARIOUS):

I was inspired to create my own version of this meme. I hope all my other male executive assistant friends appreciate it. :)

The situation on campus has been engaging, to say the least. In the spirit of transparency there's an ongoing community comment page hosted by the college, and it's certainly got a colorful array of opinions.

Also, they've posted pictures of the ship. It really doesn't look so much different from a dorm.

Also, very sad that no kid here probably even gets any of the "Love Boat" references we've been throwing around.

New shiny that caitlin_sd made for me! It's for my medallion next year in Clan colors. Squeeeee! She's got stuff on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadsAbove. :D



She's so talented - embroidery to DIE for, garb, and now jewelry making. STOP IT WOMAN! You're making the rest of us look bad. :P

OK, so urban_bohemian posted about the "America I AM" exhibit at the National Geographic Museum, and I realized I'd never been there, so I followed the link on their address page to get directions.

I swear on Quincy's life¹, this is exactly what Bing gave me for directions:

( Er, WTF?Collapse )

I believe I may submit this to Failblog.



¹Well, you'd need to take that a little more seriously than you would normally, I suppose...

see more Very Demotivational

I blame liamstliam.

see more Epic Win FTW

OK, for those of you who don't grok Pennsic, I finally got the arial photos in the mail, so check these out.

First, here's an overview of our block (I marked off our encampment, and our tent particularly):

( Block E-12 and beyondCollapse )

OK, so that shows about maybe a dozen blocks; here's almost the entirety of the camping area (again, with our tent marked - see if you can find us!):

( A lot more than just the lakeCollapse )

Saw this on epicwinftw.com here:



Can you identify them all?

How often do you get to see this outside your office window?



One of the things I will miss once we finally get out of here.

And this is why I love geeks:

Westboro Baptist Church meets Comic-Con counter protesters

Oh, the comedic carnage! Bender's "Kill All Humans" sign, a Starfleet officer's "God Hates Jedi" sign, "Superman Died For Our Sins," "Odin Is God," it just goes on and on. Hilarious! And HUGE props to my geeky community for being so amazingly queer friendly and supportive. :)

Towleroad's article is here:

http://www.towleroad.com/2010/07/god-loves-gay-robin-comiccon-counterprotests-fred-phelps.html

Two great pictures here:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/upload/2010/07/comic-con_reacts_to_fred_phelp/wbc_comiccon1.php

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/upload/2010/07/comic-con_reacts_to_fred_phelp/wbc_comiccon2.php

Since people I know often ask, I created a public online photo album of Pennsic, the annual Medieval/Renaissance camping event I attend every August. Here's your chance to see a little bit of what this crazy thing I do is all about. :)

http://pennsicphotoessay.shutterfly.com

I used about six years worth of photos to create a generic overview of Pennsic - our specific camp (Clan Blue Feather, 'natch), highlights of Cooper's Lake, stuff we do in camp, stuff we do around Pennsic, garb, etc. It's nothing highly detailed, but I think it's a pretty good smattering of things that go on at Pennsic. It's not perfect by any stretch, and I'm thinking this year I'm going to finally seek out a few things I'd specifically like pictures of to add in later to keep this thing updated for future use.

(If other people want to use it to explain to their friends when they get that "WTF?" look on their face when trying to explain Pennsic, feel free to show it to them, too, or even use what I created as a template to create your own, since mine is obviously rather me-centric.)

Some of you may have seen this before as it's almost 2 years old, but it recently got posted to my local SF fan group's list and I thought it was just brilliant:

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Not only did she make this outstanding Weeping Angel costume for DragonCon, but she also helpfully included step-by-step instructions, including in-progress photos (and a final picture of her scaring and attacking Jewel Staite from Firefly). If anyone's ever interested in doing such a project, definitely check out the thread here:

http://www.therpf.com/f24/doctor-who-blink-weeping-angel-costume-dialup-beware-49264/

Just, um, don't blink. :)

I want to buy a bunch of used Eurogames to leave at Pennsic.

I need to find a place to make a bunch of small buttons (i.e., pinback buttons with printed slogans on them) for an upcoming con.

Inspired by its_just_me, I need to buy this:

He annoys me, he frustrates me, he infurates me, and one day I shall have my revenge and kill him, but he sure does clean up nice...

( D'AWWWWWWWWWWW!Collapse )

Cutest. Apocalypse. EVAR.

I realized I never got around to posting some of the photos from the big snowstorms last month, so here are a few, including Quincy's first foray into shovelling snow, a few telling pictures of exactly how much we got, and this picture which I think sums up the series of storms as a whole for me:



( Snowstorm, ahoy!Collapse )

I woke up to wrapped Christmas presents on the bed yesterday (meaning he finally got around to buying my gifts), so we went shopping, went out to dinner, and opened everything up when we got home. Some of the stuff I gave Q he was expecting (they were bought before Christmas with the caveat that they would be considered Christmas gifts), but I managed to get him a couple of surprises he liked. He got me a Sleepy figurine, a big book about cats, a stir fry cookbook, 3 seasons of The Venture Bros., the 3 Farscape novels, Harry Connick, Jr.'s new CD, and a new pair of slippers.

I guess I should also mention what we got from our families. I got a lot of bakeware since I mentioned I didn't have everything I wanted, so I guess I'm going to have to start doing more baking - oh woe is me. :) We also got some cat-themed photo frames, some Christmas ornament frames (also for the cats), two cat stocking holders (of course they have their own stockings!), Harry Potter Clue, a digital camcorder, a digital photo frame, a cat calendar, The Amazing Race DVD game, Michael Buble's Christmas CD, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and a couple of shirts and sweaters.

So all in all, we had a nice holiday, plus we still have Gaymas on Saturday, so the holidays continue. Oh, and tonight I'm going to pick up a free 42" TV his co-worker is looking to get rid of since he went plasma - score for us! :)

So, all in all, a nice weekend.

Friday we had a little fete at work, but no one got dressed up (except our statue downstairs, who I did up as Michael Jackson). I made a lame attempt by wearing an Incredible Hulk t-shirt and would unbutton my dress shirt if anyone made me mad. :) I had planned on playing some City of Heroes Friday night, but the week got the better of me and I ended up falling asleep on the couch right around the time Q left for work, waking up just long enough to feed the cats and climb into bed.

Saturday we were up and out around noon to attend Q's doll Halloween gathering in Alexandria. He wore his kilt, I wore my chiton. Good turnout, nice people, and the doll he repainted for someone was well received. From there we went to look at a custom dollhouse another member is looking to get rid of, but it's an actual HOUSE, i.e., a small cottage for someone 16" tall. Like HUGE. (Like NO WAY was it coming home with us. Ever.)

After that we stopped and picked up dessert and booze for the evening party, and drove into DC. We got there a little early, but we and the hosts were happy to dig into the food anyway (and there was PLENTY left over at the end of the night). Q, of course, changed into another outfit (his Middle Eastern garb, very flashy). A good time was had by all, even though at points I was totally lost since they were all speaking Tagalog. :) Alas, they all decided to go clubbing, so I was dragged to Secrets for the first time. Meh. Finally got out of there after 2:00 (old 2:00, not new 2:00), and had to pull over for a certain someone to throw up on the way home (first time I've ever seen him do that, poor boo).

Sunday was a restful day of sloth - I caught up on e-mail and such while Q started painting a new doll for a competition at the Tonner convention he's going to in New York this weekend. This week should be mostly quiet - nothing major planned except some food shopping and Q leaving on Friday.

So that's it. Back at work today, for what it's worth. Cheers! :)

Oh, and here's a pic:

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Today I saved a turtle:



I are great. :P

Unrelated thoughts du jour:

• My boss gave me a Star Trek Pez dispenser set today. OMG.
  
  
• I got a pedometer from the campus wellness fair and am thinking of joining the 50 Million Pound Challenge.
  
  
• Quincy's going to a doll fanatics meeting on Saturday so I'm staying home, doing some grocery shopping, and possibly playing some CoH (I'm long overdue)
  
  
• Pennsic laundry continues apace. I didn't know I'd bought so much red garb.
  
  
• Pictures from Pennsic are posted here. (Some are not work safe.)

Tonight, it began...

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Work yesterday was busy, but I got a lot done. Also submitted my resume for another position on campus, kind of on the spur of the moment, so we'll see how that goes (I want to learn more about it before getting too excited, but I know the people involved and I like them a lot). Got home, crashed, woke up, and went to bed. Q, meanwhile, spent the day driving to Chicago, and made it safely (and has reportedly already scored free swag, so I'm happy - the more free stuff he gets, the less expensive stuff he buys).

Today I slept in, but went out in the afternoon to the post office, the sewing machine store (getting my machine a tune-up, drooled over the sergers, and met the gay guy who runs the place), the local computer shop (in-your-face Christian business, but Q's power supply got fried in the last power outages and they're the only ones around, although I forgot to bring it with me so I'll have to stop back tomorrow to make sure I'm getting the right one), Jo-Anne's (contemplated some linen to make myself a chiton), K-Mart (bought myself a new sewing box), Wal*Mart, McDonald's, and home.

Something's screwy with our phone service - DSL works fine, and one phone works fine, but plug the TiVo in and the line goes dead. Doesn't even matter if it's plugged into the TiVo or not. I'm sure it has to do with the power outages we had during the storms last weekend, but it's really annoying.

I also need to prep the outfits I want to make if I'm going to get anything done by Pennsic. I'm looking at a couple of pairs of Persian pants, butterfly pants, hippari, a kilt, tunics, Middle Eastern robes (not sure exactly what style yet), and whatever else strikes my fancy. I almost bought some linen today, but am hoping to hit a sale (once you're spoiled by JoMar's it's hard to shop anywhere else).

Mom was talking about visiting this weekend, but I haven't heard from her. We're going up next weekend for Wizard Con in Philly, so maybe she'll come down some time in July before we head to Pennsic.

Other than that, no plans for the weekend. I'd sew if I hadn't just dropped off my machine, so I'm thinking City of Heroes. :)

Oh, and here's a picture of the outfit I made for Q:

( It's a chiton, it's an exomis, it's GREEK!Collapse )

Not that we did much. (Actually, what did we do? It's hazy.)

Thursday night we ate in. He had stuffed peppers and I had something else, I can't remember what. Friday I know we went shopping - Jo-Ann's (where I got a bunch of wacky fabric for garb), Petco, Wal*Mart, Michael's, and then Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. [Edited to add: Also took the cats to the vet for shots and a not-so-fun procedure for Posh. Not only did they act like feral animals but they looked at us sternly for an entire day.] Saturday we didn't do squat. We had multi-meat patties for dinner, but they didn't sit well with Q. We watched stuff on TiVo. We are both in love with Joel McHale.

Today the power went out twice, and Q thought he lost his phone so we were searching and cleaning for a few hours, but it was in the car. He went to work, and I made chicken stir fry for dinner. I also had nice chats with Uncle Rashid, who I'm still hoping to convince to come to Pennsic this year, Alexandros, who helped me with Q's chiton, and Gabbo and Biran, who just amuse me to no end.

Meanwhile, all weekend I've been working on his costume for this doll convention he's going to next weekend. Here's the sketch he made:

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The theme is Greece as they're launching a new Wonder Woman doll. You can probably bet on seeing him wear this at the Blue Feather Ball, too.

Q leaves on Wednesday, and Mom said she may pop down for a day or two this weekend, but otherwise I'm hoping to start working with the fabric I bought to get some garb done. It's nice to have a working sewing machine and some practical knowledge of what the heck to do with it all.

That's it. Last week at work was mostly heaven - both of my bosses were out, so it was just me and the new Assistant Director. Monday it was me alone, which was even nicer. Tomorrow one boss gets back, and the other gets back on Wednesday, so I guess it's back to the grind. Ugh.

I think this picture is just adorable - Michelle is so lovely, and Her Majesty reminds me of my grandmother, particularly since her favorite color was pink. All this folderol about them embracing for a moment is silly - Elizabeth is a charming woman who probably got a warm feeling from Michelle and so decided to give her a little squeeze, and Michelle reciprocated. I think it's delightful.

One question, though - why does Her Majesty always carry a purse? Seems like someone else would carry it for her (Philip, perhaps?). For all her royalty, she's still a kindly old lady who you just want to help across the street. :)

It's about time I made an icon of the Whatnot Q made of me for Christmas. Maybe this should be my new default icon? I really should make another video, too...

By the looks of things outside we've gotten at least 4" so far, and it's still coming down. The lights have flickered a few times (not unheard of down here), and DirecTV is out (remind me NEVER EVER EVER to get satellite TV again, EVER).

I opened the door to take a picture and this is what hit me in the face:

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Ganked from brak666:

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Colin Salmon

He played Dr. Moon in two episodes of Doctor Who ("Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead"), and I was really taken with him. I also remember his intensity in Alien vs. Predator and the James Bond movies he was in (Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies). He's got an impressive acting resume, and I think he would have made a wonderful Doctor (and I know he was named as a possible candidate at one point).

Lots of good suggestions (I particularly enjoyed the thought of James Marsters in the role, or Ewan McGregor, or Simon Pegg). I hope Matt Smith is up to the challenge!

Happy Halloween, y'all.

Nothing in my costuming wardrobe sang to me today, so I didn't wear any to work. I was terribly busy, but made sure to leave on time so I could get home to put up stuff for tonight:

( Spookiness under cutCollapse )

All that work, and for what? 20 kids! That's it! I was done by 8:15. WTF? I figured because it was a Friday night we'd see more kids since they wouldn't have school tomorrow, but I guess that meant they could have more parties so there were less trick-or-treaters. It doesn't help that we're at the end of a dead end, so if no one else up towards the main road is giving out candy (and none were), no one bothers to check if anyone else was (and no one was - as far as I can tell, I was the only house giving out candy - even the ones that got all decorated were dark!). Last year we had a bunch and I almost ran out, but this year I've got many bags to take into work. Blah.

Well, at least the cats had their Halloween fun:

( Click for kitty goodnessCollapse )

Finally, the "take a pic of your desktop" meme, from jayjaybear:

( Desktop hotness!Collapse )

Post yours!

I've always wanted an icon of Igor from Dork Tower uttering one of his catchphrases, which is exactly how I feel when I see something I so must desperately have. Hee!

So, anywho, Gaylaxicon last weekend.

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The previous Fark thread inspired me, so here are my two entries (I didn't actually post them at Fark, but you all can enjoy my humor anyway):

( FarscapeCollapse )

( Storm HawksCollapse )

(I realize not all of you have any idea what I'm talking about, so just smile and nod and say I'm pretty.)

I am amused by fiscal conservatives, as evidenced by this cartoon:

( Not for the Republican of heartCollapse )

Stolen from so many on my friends list:

Take a picture of yourself right now. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair... just take a picture. Post that picture with NO editing.

( Behold the CHIN BUTT!Collapse )

Just in case anyone was wondering where I stood on the issues. :)

Doug and Bob are metropolitan policemen with a difference. Doug likes nothing more than slipping into little cocktail frocks, while Bob bouffants his hair for a night on duty...

Er, actually, I stayed late at work on Friday so I could get enough work done that I could take off Monday. Alas, we don't get Labor Day off since that's when the students return for the semester, but since we don't actually have classes a lot of the non-essential people manage to swing the day off anyway. (Me, they owe a couple days comp time, so I'm taking it.) Afterwards I came home, made dinner for me and Q, and then he went to work and I went to bed.

Yesterday we both got up late and were hoping to make it up to DC in time to see Kyan's new apartment, but didn't leave until about 6:00. Instead we headed straight to Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian barbeque restaurant, where our friend Matthew was having his going away party (he leaves for California in a couple of weeks with the Navy). After waiting an HOUR for the guest of honor and his entourage to arrive (grumble grumble), we had a very, very nice dinner, if rather expensive ($225 for the just the two of us - yowza!). If you've never done Brazilian barbeque, I highly recommend it - it's such good food, and such an amazing amount of MEAT. I was the last one eating, and I think I might have even outdone Q, which is quite a feat. I especially loved the bacon-wrapped chicken and any red meat that was well done. Yum! :D

( Pic of the gang at dinnerCollapse )

Afterwards they decided to head to Town but we declinded and instead went and surprised Kyan by showing up at The DC Eagle where he works. The expression on his face when he rounded the corner and saw me of all people was priceless, let alone his reaction when he realized his parents were looking at him in his underwear. :) We hung out there for a bit, and then headed home.

The rest of the weekend Q is working and doing more doll stuff, and I'm working on various household chores, like bills and laundry. We're likely heading up to Mom's in a couple of weeks when he has a rare Saturday off, and she's said I can invite some of the Medians over if I want to do the birthday thing early. Oh, and she also told me on Friday that my Evil Sister is now officially divorced, my troublesome nephew is going to community college for the semester, my oldest nephew headed off for his last semester of college before graduating in December, and my Good Sister is mad at me for not calling her on her birthday. D'oh! (It always falls during Pennsic and I'm always a horrible brother for not remembering.)

So, anyway, I gots bills to pay. :P See ya!

Finally got the two prints I ordered from Robert Quill at Pennsic. The first is a commission he did for my friend Lucien:

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The other is another random print of his that I liked (he doesn't do many men, so this one caught my eye):

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Finally, if you've never seen it, I got a scanned copy of the original drawing of my device when I registered it at Herald's Point at Pennsic in 2002. It amuses me. :D

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