Warm and Fuzzy

There are some moments in life that I would totally live over and over again... last night really ended with one, and rather unexpectedly I might add.

Lets back up today a bit... I made plans with Julian yesterday to go to HRC in pittsburgh (I've never been there before) and probably a movie or something just for a break from my normal thursday evening quilting routine... So, we went thru with those. I completely meant to get up first thing and clean my apt. do laundry, and all that junk... 12:30 is definitely bright and early these days I guess... so needless to say, I didnt' get out of the house in time to stop at home first. Instead I called mom and told her I would be home but not til late. I also called Julian and we decided to meet at HRC at 7. As luck would have it, Sara (vag) called just before I was going to leave (of course early so I could stop at the Gap ;)) and I convinced her to come too :) So we met at a scary truck stop in Emlenton and we headed to pgh...

On the way I called Brendan mostly because i wanted to know why the hell i was in a traffic jam on the interstate near his house. Well, I got his dad, who told me he was staying the night at Julian's! LOL.... Brendan is not a good liar at all... i wouldn't have known any differently if A. I wasn't hanging out with Julian for the evening myself and B. I knew him and Kenny were shacked over at Motel 6! So I'm just like... maybe i'll catch up with him later... bye Mr. Kelley!
Of course next i had to call Kenny's cellphone just to make fun of them :) Seriously, i hope they had a great night ;)

Yeah, enough about my roomates sex life at motels... HRC was really nice! In addition to Julian, Fran and Kevin were waiting there when we got there... then Kathleen, Ashley, Zach, and Eric came... it was so loud that we couldn't really talk... which was alright with me, it was fun anyway, and hanging out with kind of a random group of friends was a nice change of pace... I've really not hung out wiht them without Brendan before.. Oh well, it was dinner... I had a salad and the restuarant was beautifully designed! We made a good attempt at Starbucks after, but I decided its not reallly a real Starbucks because they were out of practically everything! I swear it was probably made of cardboard or something.

I must say also that Julian was being as sweet as ever all evening. I really do enjoy hanging out with him... and the fact that we have our whole lives planned out together is just an added bonus- what with our 15 houses around the country and such... not to mention grad school in Seattle... all the good ones have to live far away

Anyway, we then went up to Showcase North and watched 2 weeks notice, whcih is like the feelgood movie of the century (except for Sandra Bullock's dress at the end. She looks like a misguided cheerleader that accidentally bought her outfit in pastels at the Gap) I enjoyed it, and her and Hugh Grant (despite the fact that he looks awfully aged these days) are some of my favorite actors... Anyway, Julian and I are definitely going to have both of them over for dinner (except im not invited when he invites Hugh... hmph) Anyway, that was fun...

As to the end of the evening, we got in the back of his minivan and shagged the night away. Ok, so no we didn't... just checking... actually, Sara ran off with my car keys and i walked him to the door of his car, and said goodnight as we hugged... which was fine with me.. then he says "i feel like i owe you a kiss or soemtihg for being such a good fake boyfriend for the evening" so i'm like... well i'll take one if you want ;) and hes like... how about a little one on the cheek... so he did. and that was that, and somehow it made me feel reallly good. :) Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but it was really more meaningful than making out or something like that would have been. It was somehow much more romantic, it felt good. When i walked back to my own car, i was on air. To make matters more fun, the same song was playing on my radio as his when i got in... and the next song was Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton- one of my favorites... *sigh* the feelgood movie of the century... the feel good evening of the century... :) :)

It was a safe drive back after that, and its nice being back at my moms... And I'm glad i spent this thursday doing something different. :)
(PS... NYNY on Monday for sure.... don't miss me too much :) )

Current Music: whatever is playing on moms bose system... one of the perks of being home ;)

Unconventionality

Well I'm still in clarion, and its early in the morning on the 26th of December... All in all its been kind of a quiet and reflective week thus far. Tuesday I went shopping with Vag for the morning to find "THE" dog collar for her dog Lady. That was fun :) I haven't really hung out wiht her outside of school so it was a treat to just go out and shop and have fun. The rest of the day was spent preparing for midnight mass... I was reallly really nervous for part of the evening until Emilee came and we went over some of her parts... She also helped me pick out my attire, and i must say, i looked hottt! I also wrapped all my christmas gifts for everyone. I still have to stop and get a few things throughout the later week, but theres plenty of time. I usually give candy canes or something dumb to most of my family besides my parents, but this year Vag and I found a sale on toilet paper. So I definitely made that my gift of choice for the year! I printed up some witty cards and bought some colorful tissue paper to wrap them up in and viola, my gifts were ready :) i also had to wrap moms coffee and dads wallet (the same thing i get him every year!) and that finished things up pretty much.

The service itself went really well. Aside from some slight problems in the flow of things since both I and James (the organist) were new, it was a good time. The concert section went generally well. The Rutter piece "Christmas Lullaby" was rather rough, but we made it through and I think my choir had a good time as well. In recognition of our service, the church was giving out gifts... and lo and behold, it was a bottle of wine. So after the service em and i picked up our two bottles. ;) whoohoo. I also saw Nate there, cute as ever i must say ;) By the time i got cleaned up and such we were almost the last ones out of the church, and this lady dressed in fur and sorta toasted i think invited us home with her for sandwiches and to enjoy the chirstmas tree! LOL We politely declined, and instead opted for sheetz-- the only place in town open.

So Christmas eve was differnet than ever before. All of the past 19 christmas eves have been spent in Franklin, christmas morning at my parents (then my moms) house, then down to clarion... This year totally flipped, and from the looks of the weather when em and i came in from mass, that i would be stuck here for awhile. So em and I ended Christmas eve urban family style as we ate our convenience store food and drank our church-bought wine. As the snow came down outside and "A Christmas Story" played over and over again, i got to thinking that htis is my first christmas as a 20-something, and my 1st away from home and the familiar. I think it kind of marks the end of a transition from kid to adult somehow. It was also my first night acting in my first professional job... Where did all the time go?

Christmas morning was just as strange. When I woike up i was glad that i had the electric blanket... Then, as usual, i had the thought, Hey! Its Christmas... Then i realized where i was... But things weren't too different. We had christmas morning here. My mom came over with Craig and we exchanged gifts... my main gift was my laptop, but mom got me a sweater, a leather laptop case, trivial persuit, a scarf, some smiley dollars from EnP, and a lot of various household stuff... This year i made the coffee and have to clean up the wrapping paper, but it was still christmas morning... just with Em and at a strange place... It snowed a TON over night so i decided to stay in clarion for the day... I called dad and let him know! I got ready (i put on my other new xmas outfit) and we all headed to my grandparents across town and had a really nice afternoon. It was pretty quiet since it was just me, mom, craig, em and grandma and grandpa... No little kids, no noisy toys, no elderly great-grandmother to take care of this year... just a quiet meal with fun conversation (we always come up with great conversation at the Moore side of the family's gatherings... this year it was boob-jobs and also "I'm not queer, i was just trying to keep warm!")

All too soon, it was time for everyone to go... I shoveled out grandma and grandpa and mom took me back to the apartment. I've just been hanging around since... I accidentally melted part of the towel rack in the bathroom... oops! I decided to try out some new bubble bath and treat myself to a relaxing bath with some candles... unfortuatley, the one candle was too close to the rack and before i knew it i heard it sizzling! It was scary, and the fumes were AWFUL. I wrapped in one of my new bath towels and came downstairs... I started talking to Clay, which was the best way to spend the evening i can think of.

I've known Clay for a couple of years now, but until recently either he or I have been dating people and never really talked a whole lot in depth. We just messaged eachother occasionally and that was that... but we talked a lot today, and it was really nice... Clay is a wonderful guy, and i would love to spend some time with him... the only drawback... hes from Georgia... All the nice ones are far away...

Oh well, though, we had a fun night chatting back and forth between me cleaning up the apartment and loads of laundry.... I hope I get to talk to him a lot more :) I also touched base with Bob, Brendan, Em, and lots of other friends on AIM... it seems that Christmas was a good event all the way around for my friends... im glad to hear, and glad that no one was in a car accident or anythign with the horrible weather (horrible, yet it is SOOO beautiful out i wanna take pictures)

Oh well, this was kind of ramblings... This has been such a strange christmas, but i still know my family and my friends love me....
I think tomorrow im going to pittsburgh but maybe not to pegs... Kelly and Julian want to go to Hard Rock and see a movie, so that would be cool too... also its Brendan and Kennys special night at the Motel Six... LOL

Later all and Merry
Current music Richar Marks and Donna Lewis
Tori Amos

What personal ads really mean

I spent this afternoon looking at personal ads. BIG mistake. As I read I seemed to notice some trends that I thought would be fun to explore in writing a little bit. I have to mention that I for some reason have an ad, and it says pretty much the same thing as all the rest, but its sitll fun to make fun of. Not that I have anything against internet personals, but they are all SO cliche. For example:

1. No one... NO ONE is looking for a relationship. Ever. God forbid someone post a personal ad and want one of those. No, thats definitely not something that anyone should be looking for. So instead, we say, I'm looking for new friends and then we can see what happens from there. Translation: I'm looking for a boyfriend but if we meet and you're not cute enough i can opt out at any time. Alternate translation: I can't commit to one, so i want lots of friends... to get naked and mess around with.

2. "Well shit. It's been months since I even *touched* this AD. So here I am, sittin online, late at night... sooo.. of course I'm very very.. bored" Translation: "I sit and check my personals mail every five minutes and still no one as messaged me. I must sound too desperate"

3. "Here we go... so basically I'm a really chill guy that likes to go out and kick it or just stay home and relax." ... Can we narrow this down?

4. Guys are never EVER looking to hook up. Even if they want to hook up, they're not trying to hook up. Instead it comes out something like: "I don't do hook-ups, if I meet someone and we happen to have sex its fine, but I definitely don't hook up." Translation: "I hook up. If we meet, we'll hook up. But, we'll call it hanging out."

5."mostly attracted to guys a little older than myself (20-45 is a good age range)." Range? For earlier civilizations that was a good lifespan!

6. A picture is never a good pic... its always either outdated, taken when the boy was tired, is blurry, upsidedown, etc... So, we say "This pic isn't the best, but its all i have" What that really means is "I spent six hour trying to take/find a picture to put in here and although this one is an exact representation of me at this precise moment, i still feel inadequate"

7."I dont' know why I am putting this up, I guess i am just hopeing that Mr. Right comes along." So you... do... know... why you put this up?

8.The perfect date always involves coffee at some point. Always. (ok, so granted the most fabulous date i ever went on involved coffee... and a hottub.... but whatever)

9. Of course, we all go to the gym. Every day. for hours... no doubt about that.

10."I'm not looking for anyone who acts, behaves, looks, or even remotely sounds feminine. This includes lisps, overly-gelled preppy haircuts, tight neon-green shirts, bright shiney anything, words and phreases like "girl," "oh no he didn't," & "like, oh my gaw" and anything else that might not be included in this list. I'm just not into the fem/gay stereotypes." a. The little tiny homo that constitutes my inner dialog just used at least two of those phrases. b. Translation: I'm fem and need to counteract myself.

Ok, so I didn't mean to trash anyones personal ads... I'm just bored and needed something to occupy my time. Now of course, my own add falls into most of these categories, and perhaps mr. right will happen to click on me someday and we'll meet, fall in love, etc etc... but- im not holding my breath, because I'm "not looking for a relationship."
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Quote: just because i had to

robbieboyeee: I crack my shit up
JESFISH: well that leaves us with two cracked up shits
robbieboyeee: That it does. I'll go get the Charmin!

Feeling better

Well, my Christmas shopping is complete except for Emilee, and thats only because she works at the GAP and I couldn't find anything she probably doesn't already have. She got me a whole bunch of stuff (yes, all from the GAP) and already gave me the first half which are... yup, you guessed it. 9 pairs of underwear. All Gap. From my cousin. How great is that? :)

I shopped at Ross Park again with my grandparents and cousin Zack on Saturday. Before buying for friends though, I spent a good half hour agonizing over my new coat. They didn't have the black wool "campus jacket" I had been looking for, and I was about to forget it when another one caught my eye. Of course as I tried it on one of the employees came to help me. As a sidenote, I swear that Ross Park has more homos per square inch than anywhere I have ever shopped. Anyway, needless to say, my clerk was very helpful, and I bought a "field jacket" and can still afford the "campus jacket" I had wanted if i order it online. I know you all wanted to know all about that. The rest of my shopping experience was kind of a blur, and blends well with oh, the previous two days I spent doing the same thing. I woul dhave to say that the highlight was the other Gap boy I met. I didn't really mean to buy stuff for Bob, Vag, and Brendan while I was there, but I started talking to him and before I knew it we spent half an hour picking out gifts and talking. It was definitely a good time :) Too bad I didn't get his number... I don't even know his name :( But, then again, I'm sure I'll be shopping for after christmas bargains soon ;)

Right, so anyway, that pretty much ended my shopping experience. I at least looked trendy coming out of the mall with a box from Bombay and my other miscellaneous shopping bags. Grandpa had me drive the truck home and that was definitely a treat - much more fun than driving my little car. I felt so domineering

I got home and made some plans with Em for her to come over and us to hang out- trying not to have another depressing Clarion evening alone. Eventually we flip-flopped plans a bit and I went back to Franklin for the night. We ended up hitting up Kings, Wal-Mart, and Kings again along with Andrea. Minus our old friend Frank, it was like replaying a night from high school :) We all made the comment more than once... "why am i not 16 again?" I would do things very differently if I were... no responsibility, no debt, just time to hang out and have fun. Oh well... retirement is coming up here in 40 or so years, so i can look forward to it again there :) Andrea and I found the most terrifying gift ever in Wal-Mart. It was the therapy bear... You hit its ear and it asks deep probing questions. You answer, and it responds, I understand. Good. Buh-bye! It was TERRIFYING... you have to see it! But just think, kids can save a fortune now on real therapy and just talk to a bear, which just might give the same answers!

I got back to moms house after the second round of Kings and played with the cat. I miss the cat. I did talk online a bit before bed, including Steven who sent me some stunning pictures from the show on Tuesday :) I think i'll use the one on my christmas cards... Love ya Steve

Sunday was totally lazy... I had dinner w/ Dad, accompanied by my Christmas check for my laptop... thank God i can pay my credit card now! His g/f (loving refered to henceforth as spawn of satan) cooked LOADS of food and we had a good time. (She was actually pretty good there) I would have given anything to just lay around for the rest of the night, but Choir practice was calling... damn my quasi-real job! I worked with one of my basses for the hour before practice and once done with that, i realized my phone was in my coat back in my office (ok, so its totally a storage room... whatever... i don't see you having an office!) So i went to get it... 12 MISSED CALLS! all from Em, who was in clarion trying to find the church... I got a hold of her and she was in the McDonalds right nextdoor in the parking lot... There is an emergency exit near where I was, so I went ahead and opened it, and lo and behold. Em was RIGHT THERe :)

Practice went well... I have 7 singers for Christmas Eve which isn't bad, and they really pulled together. We rehearsed for nearly 2 hours though... by the end everyone- including me- pretty much lost all concentration... I'm crossing my fingers that Tuesday night will be excellent. My grandmother came to practice again and said we sounded beautiful... she would say that no matter what, but it felt good to hear that. I can't wait to get this whole saviours birth thing out of the way and get to regular church services again. The choir will be much better and way more prepared for singing one song a week rather than a whole program. Its so fun being agnostic/Methodist and working in a catholic church! (not to mention a homo and an occasional alcoholic... but whatever)

Em and I went to EnP after practice for a delightful meal, I have so much fun with her :) I dropped her off at her car and headed back to the apartment. I was ready for bed, but Eric called to say he was coming over, so i waited up and he showed up at about 12. It was very nice to see him again (Eric= friend I met at state chorus senior year who went to clarion for awhile and then became a fabulous flight attendant out of Cleveland) and we hung out for a few hours just catching up. We have definitely had some amazing times over the years...

All in all, it was a great weekend from the hot Gap guy who helped me find all my presents (Socks could be fun!) to Em (girl who humps a lot) to Therapy bear to snowing...

Current Music: Michelle Branch