White

Is there anything more beautiful than the city in the midst of a snow storm?

And It Begins....

"I'm a non-discimination...suer. I will sue whomever you want me to, Mr. Trump. Hee!"
-EE, JD VLS, The Apprentice 3

I swell with pride.

If Music Is The Victim Then So Am I (Of Your Bad Fun)

Since the last time I blogged, my quizzo team has been twice victorious. I would say it’s getting old, but it’s really not. We have fun winning week after week, and last night was also special since we won the music round (which means a free round of beer) that concentrated specifically on TV Theme Songs. Super Mario Brothers AND Moonlighting, included. Jigga, please…

I saw the Scissor Sisters last Thursday with Chop and we had a wonderful time. We ran into rival quizzo team while we were there and they dragged us out (arms twisted) afterwards to play Bingo. The concert was pretty fun; the group is so energetic. I danced with some random strangers and we were on our way. They played all the songs I wanted to hear, including a widely rumored cover of Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out.” (Eeeee!) Literally ran into JR at the concert (face-first), since I always see him when I am good and drunk. He thought Chop and I were dating. Yikes. More about him in a bit.

We met up with JD and the other quizzos at Pure for Bingo conducted by a drag queen who should have been wearing a less revealing shirt. The other quizzos are so nice now, but I still don't feel bad beating them.

We didn’t win at Bingo, but we were approached by another group of people who wanted to hang out with us. Weird. JD and Chop got to the bottom of it; a Mormon wanted to get to know me. Get to know each other we did. And now my old roommate Brian can never let me get away with teasing him about Mormons again. I should say that I don’t even think he’s a practicing Mormon (I have it on good authority he does things that good Mormon boys just don’t. I have seen “Latter Days.” I know what’s up.), but I will call him the Mormon anyway. He’s from Utah. That’s what happens. He’s cute, like a young looking Brandon Flowers. The very next night I ran into him again at Tragos while out with college girls. Fun coincidence. (Tragos- good fun, got to make out with a girl from college-CL!) Next night saw him again. Coincidence? Not so much. Mormon updates to follow.

I am wearing Goth until Jen and Brad get back together. If they can’t make it in this world, then who can? Oh, and my TV is still broken. Why hast Phillips forsaken me?

I have heard so many rumors about me lately, I feel like I am Lindsay Lohan. I wish my life were as exciting as what the kids at Penn Law think it is. I understand gay men need gossip like it’s air (tm Doyle), but seriously. It’s like the Voltron of gossip there, dangerous as individuals but even more dangerous as they come together to form this massive, robotic, behemoth of untruth (or slight truth). Sometimes there are things that are just too unfounded and unsanitary to believe. And it's especially disappointing on it when rumors make others mad, and they should know better than to believe them. And I thought it was bad being the ONLY one in my class. Being gay is, and should be, one of the least interesting things about you. That being said, it’s often fun to watch petulant indignation spin into deluded neuroses -- from the outside.

JR is back. We had a couple drinks before, during and after quizzo. All cards are on the table. We had to clear up a few rumors he heard, natch. (See above. Thanks!) And it turns out we still have a lot in common as far as goals and extra-curricular activities. And that anyone’s backing away would be a bad thing. About my messiness, he comments “this is a psychosis.” Being able to make the best of bad timing is such an admirable quality. Wanting to make it to work on time the morning after, though, is just annoying. He’s still the best at twin bed space management— you got to love artists and their spatial relations capabilities. Sigh.

In a touching/creepy moment , VLS student who is not out came up to me at a bar the other night to thank me for being an out SBA President. He said no one knew he was gay (wrong), but it made him happy to see someone who was gay could “be trusted with authority.” I am not sure what to make of it, but it’s nice to see someone felt good about it. I guess.

The pride of VLS stars on the Apprentice! Wear your favorite turquoise power suit to celebrate. I will be attending an Apprentice Party in her honor. It should be amazing. And 34B? My ass.

As Jake Shears would say, "It's a struggle, living like a good boy ought to..."

Lecciones Uno, Dos y Tres

I have been living without my big tv for a while now. I would love to be able to say that it’s some sort of valiant anthropological experiment about media and communication, but Best Buy and Phillips have taken turns dicking me around. Anyway, I am trying to make the best of it by only using my little tv for emergencies and doing other things to keep me occupied. That means, if you are reading this, I probably need your help. A man can only read so much, and I have a short attention span. This, however, is not a full-fledged cry for help…yet.

That being said, I am reading “The Know It All” right now by A.J. Jacobs. It’s about a guy who reads the encyclopedia. It’s interesting, sprinkled with lots of minutiae and how the reading is affecting his life. It hasn’t really grabbed hold of me quite yet. I am on Chapter G and still hopeful. I need a good book suggestion; I haven’t read anything amazing in a while, maybe not since “Middlesex.”

JC and I had a conversation about his sickness:
-“I am going to the doctor. I am very sick, but don’t worry, my mom has already diagnosed it as AIDS.”
-“Ah, I see our moms attended the same medical school.”
-“Probably. And you’re a bad tier 1 friend for not bringing me soup and clear liquids.”
-“I have to go.”

Just recently, I have ‘kind of’ started the Spanish lessons I wanted to take this year (one of the many resolutions). These lessons, however, are unofficial and have consisted mostly of labeling body parts en espanol. The good is news is that not only is el culo pleasing to the teacher, but I also have excellent diction for a gringo. I hope to start the real lessons soon. Puedo entender espanol si se habla muy despacio. I am slow like that.

I actually had a dream about quizzo last night, which I believe makes me the most pathetic person alive. Than again, I had a dream right after that in which my father wouldn’t allow me to take a shower. How obvious. That said, let’s hope the quizzo streak continues.

Well Then, Which Do You Use to Serve Curly Fries?

Overheard today at Arby's, King of Prussia campus:

"Yeah, I'll sign that shit. But look at this, I am ambidexti-us. When I do sports I use my right. When I sign shit, I rock the left."

The Chocolate/Chewing Gum Dichotomy

“Oh no. Oh no. You’ve got it all wrong. You think you’re chocolate, but you’re chewing gum.” An oddly appropriate and concise lyric I heard this week.

Napoleon Dynamite- quite funny.
Anchorman- not so much (except for Steve Carrell and the punting of the dog).

The weekend was quite nice, a wild night of debauchery on Friday, followed by chill, low key evening with friends on Saturday. The first night was dirty moves; the second night was dirty talk.

While thrift store shopping, I saw two hipster-types (male-female couple) walk into the store. They were both wearing austere eyewear and looked disturbingly alike. JD said she could never date anyone with similar glasses as she because it just looks too creepy. I agreed and said I should never do it because then it just looks like I literally wanted to fuck myself. The one store had an array of cornea-burning yellow sweatshirts, which should never ever be worn outside of a construction site. On our way back to the car, we saw a man actually wearing one. We gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided he was probably wearing it so that he wouldn’t be hit by a car…or a plane.

Other odds and ends from recent days:

-Although I had no official Christmas break, my vacation from some other things is officially over.

-Someone told me I was the most mature 22 year-old he ever met. Then I told him I was 27. He said, “Oh.”

-Actually having neighbors I can walk and see at any time has been very, very interesting.

-Resolutions continuing to go well. Will sign up for Broad Street Run this week. Steely resolve continues to steadily build.

-11 days until Booby McStupid hits the airwaves. Inquire within about The Apprentice 3 Party circuit.

-Try the Pineapple Knockouts at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. Don’t try the frozen raspberry margaritas at the Chili’s on 13th and Filbert.

-The strippers at “Wild Things” can make change for a 5-dollar bill.

-Picking me up and dragging me from the dance floor? Not a good way to score points.

-Brandon Flowers, sigh.

I Was Born by the River....

Epilogue: for my birthday, my good friends actually ended up throwing me a surprise party. It was really wonderful to have people from all different parts of my life hanging out together. Normally, I avoid the friend-mixing conundrum, but after the party, for the past month, I have been experimenting with it. The returns have been good so far, if not a bit eye opening. People get along and don’t need my babysitting, even though in my mind I am the glue holding their very existences together. If you give people more credit, they will pay dividends, I suppose. New Years was a perfect example of that. Almost a perfect way to usher in the New Year, save for one blight via AT&T (not the actual phone company, think bigger). In fact, I can remember laughing so hard in a while. Those of you who know me have heard me complain about 2004. This year is going to be different.

For some people, there are moments of clarity that occur that are so sudden and unadulterated that they can immediately see the forest for the trees. I am not one of those people. There are rarely triggers that elicit reactions that are so pure and visceral that I suddenly know all the right answers. (Usually, I am pretty unclear on the question at hand.) It takes time, often too much time, to understand my emotional wherewithal. However, in one moment on New Years Eve something came together for me. Maybe it was months and months of good friends alternatively telling me how stupid I am and how worthwhile I am within the same breath. Maybe it was the cumulative effect of the outpouring of love and support I received on my birthday. Maybe it was the emotional rush of metaphorically beginning anew at the stroke of a clock. Maybe in one phone call, I realized that if I opened my eyes, that all the love I needed wasn’t on the other line. It was all around me. Or maybe it was just too much champagne….

Whatever it was, it was clear that I am better than how I have been treating myself and I need to hold others to that same standard. This is not to say I am totally abandoning my feelings or pretending to be at peace with something I am not. But, moments of clarity come rarely to me, so I must take advantage of this one.

2005 is going to be different for many reasons. This message has been brought to you by Lifetime Television for Women, movie of the week.

Oh, and our Quizzo team is still undefeated since early September!