Getting Closer

We had initially decided to buy furniture when we got to New York, but since we'll have a truck and my parents were nice enough to let me take my bed with me (though as Colin pointed out, it's likely a very nice way of saying "once you're gone, you can't move back in!"), we decided we could probably pick up a couple of pieces of furniture ahead of time and take them with us to New York. Well, since I live just minutes from the "Furniture Capital of the World", I decided to go looking, and as is often the case, I bought some stuff in the process.

Yesterday, I picked up a very nice 6' bookcase (trust me, we need the space. . . I may get another one). Today, I ventured to High Point to look for something to put our clothes in. You'd be amazed what you can find in a "Clearance" warehouse. Here's what I found.

This dresser and it's brother (the chest shown below), were on opposite sides of the warehouse, but my mother's discerning eye easily picked up the fact that they were part of the same set. I initially thought that the dresser was missing a handle, but for some reason, it was just screwed in on the other side (inside the drawer). Very weird.

This is what I really went looking for (actually I was looking for two of them), but I figured it would be better to get a proper dresser/chest set than to get two mismatching chests. And I can see your eyes glazing over, so I'll stop now.

All in all, it was a good shopping day. I also got very close to buying this couch . . .

. . .but decided that a couch was something I'd rather pick out with my boy. I never thought I'd have so much fun shopping for furniture. Now we just need an apartment to put it all in.

A Serious Moment

The folks at the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) have asked that supporters of gay marriage send e-mails to their senators, opposing the constitutional amendment against gay marriage which is scheduled to be voted on this term. Please do this! They have provided a form letter that you can (and should) personalize. You don't have to look up the names of your senators. You don't have to print anything out. You just have to give five minutes of your time. And really, if it's a cause you believe in, you ought to be willing to give it a lot more time than that.

A New Diet

I know it's corny, but I'm posting it out of respect for my hospitalized father who told me about this today and thought it was just so clever. Apparently, the Democrats are now endorsing a new No-CARB diet; No Cheney, No Ashcroft, No Rumsfeld, and No Bush. Remember, No-CARB for 2004!

Farewell to a Loyal Friend

Today, I handed over the keys to my car and watched her go off with another family to start a new life. She served me well over these past two years. I'm gonna miss her. Take care of your new owners, girl.


"My Girl" 1998 - present

Hey Mr. Radio Man

I was listening to a morning radio talk show, and the radio personalities were having a 'contest' of sorts that I found very interesting. For a chance to win some kind of tickets (I wasn't paying that much attention), listeners were asked to call in and tell a 60-second story that began with "I was at Bath and Body Works . . . " and ended with "I spelled 'monkey' for the governor." Aside from the time limit, the only other stipulation was that the story had to make sense. And nobody could do it!! So, I tried it in the car, and came up with a pretty good story (I tried not to add on to it or change it while I was typing).

I was at Bath and Body Works the other day buying a gift for my girlfriend (it’s not autobiographical), who happens to work at the state capitol building in Raleigh. I bought some really nice bubble bath (because she likes that sort of thing) and drove to Raleigh to surprise her. So, when I got there, I went to her office, but her secretary said that she was busy. Me being the guy that I am, I wasn’t just going to wait outside, so I barged into the office. And you won’t believe what I saw. She was there having sex with the governor. So I yelled, “Get off of her you stupid monkey!”.

“Excuse me!?” replied the governor.

“Oh would you like me to spell it for you?”

So, I spelled “monkey” for the governor.

 

Yeah, it's corny, but considering that I did it on the fly, I think it's pretty good. Okay, so I did mine, now you do yours. Think for about ten seconds, then just start telling your story. Try to do it in 60 seconds, and when you're finished, type it out and post it for all to see.

 

Exercise Begets More Exercise

I kinda liked those last couple of puzzles, so here's another one. I promise this is the last brain puzzle entry.

The Jabberwocky Bank Raid

Five bank robbers attempted to escape from police in a vehicle. The police gave chase, and in the end, the robbers crashed their own car, trying to avoid a makeshift road-block. One of them was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries, and the others found themselves in the Jabberwocky Police Station facing a barrage of questions.

There had been shots fired from two revolvers at the police car which had first given chase, but the weapons had been thrown out of the window by the escapers, and none of them would admit to having fired on the police. Luckily for the law, Toves and Slithy were not the best of friends, and they were both only too happy to accuse each other of having been one of the gunmen. In addition, both of them stated that Gyre never carried a gun, and while Slithy also defended himself against the charge, Toves spoke in Gimble's defense.

Neither Gyre nor Gimble was prepared to make a statement, and the police felt completely at a loss. The Chief Inspector in charge of the case went along to the hospital, but was only allowed a few minutes with the fifth member of the gang. He, like Gyre and Gimble, had nothing of a constructive nature to say. He simply laughed.

'Well, both Slithy and Toves told the truth for once, even if their other remarks were lies,' Wabe chuckled. That was the last thing he said before he died. Assuming that Wabe's comment was true, who were the gunmen?

For That Curious Mass in Your Skull

Both of these puzzles were taken from a book that I recently discovered sitting atop one of the shelves in my room. Give these two a try and post your answers. I'll leave a comment with the correct answers in a couple of days.

1. Who's for Spades?
Owen Parker, Frank Doyle, Bill Aherne, and Paul Hodges were accustomed to meet on a Thursday evening for a hand of whist [similar to Spades].
Knowing that I myself have quite an interest in the game, one of them was describing the play at their last meeting, but for some time I was baffled because of my ignorance of the occupations of the various men involved.
Apparently, the teacher was on Paul's left, while Bill was partnering the solicitor [partners in Whist sit across from eachother]. Moreover, Owen is neither the teacher nor the civil servant, while Frank's partner was the teacher.
If the man who was telling me about the evening is an engineer, what is his name?

2. Nation of Shopkeepers
Messrs. Baker, Tailor, and Butcher follow the trades of baker, tailor, and butcher, but in no case does their name appear to suit their occupation.
Each of the three has a son, the boys also being employed as a butcher, a tailor, and a baker. However, although the baker's son, Tom, follows his father's trade, Dick and Harry are apprenticed to the butcher and tailor respectively.
The three boys are married to Laura, Mary, and Pauling, who are employed as cashiers in the baker's, the tailor's, and the butcher's (though in no case respectively), with the result that their husbands are able to see a lot more of them even during working hours.
Given that Laura and Mr. Tailor both faint at the sight of blood, what are the girls' surnames, and what do their respective husbands do for a living?

Good ole Tom

I used to read "This Modern World" all the time, but stopped for some reason (which I can no longer remember). However, I recently re-discovered this wonderfully leftist cartoon, and thought I'd share two of the more recent ones with you.

Proofreading

Jeebus. I just went back and read my last couple of posts. I've really got to start proofreading these things.

Oh, How Republican of You

Take a gander (yeah, I said it) at this article from the Winston-Salem Journal. There are two things in the article that jumped out at me and just begged to be blogged, so here goes.

First;
Many Republicans have traditionally said they would rather leave more decisions to the states, not the federal government.
But not when it comes to gay marriage.
That change is clear in the 5th Congressional Districe, where all the Republican candidates support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
That comes even though most of them . . . consider themselves pro-states' rights.
'It's an interesting paradox,' said Dennis Grady, a political-science professor at Appalachian State University. 'The abhorrence of gay marriage trumps the philosophical adherence to a states' rights point-of-view.'

While this contradiction has been pointed out before, it's just so interesting to me that, as Professor Grady said, this great overwhelming "abhorrence" of gay marriage is enough to make the Republicans jump ship on a doctrine that is supposedly a cornerstone of their party platform. While the Republicans try to protect themselves by saying that they fear "a small group of radical judges in one state can impose gay marriage on the rest of the country without a constitutional amendment" (read the article to find out exactly how that's done), they don't seem to see that that makes them even bigger hypocrites. Personal politics aside, if you take away another state's right to grant gay marriage by way of a Constitutional Amendment in order to protect the rights of your state (which may or may not be "threatened", since no one is trying to pass a constitutional amendment saying that states must legalize and recognize gay marriages), that makes you a hypocrite.

Second;
The other thing in this article that just epitomized stupidity was a statement by candidate Ed Broyhill (though it's not surprising that an ignorant comment would come from somebody who uses Jesse Helms as a spokesman in his TV ads).

Broyhill said that his support for the proposed amendment was prompted by President Bush.
'In my case, I'm toeing the line with President Bush,' he said. 'Regardless of whether it conflicts with philosophy and states' rights.'

What the fuck?!? You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid man. Auuuuggghhhh! The stupidity displayed daily by these people just gets to me. They're getting my blood pressure all up and stuff. I could do several entries on why Broyhill's statement just epitomizes, for me, the reason that no rational person could ever call himself a stauch Republican and keep a straight face. Why would you want to be in a party with people like that? *sigh*

In any event, this article just helped to reinforce everything I already believed about that party. That, however, saddens me. I always hope that one day I will be proven horribly horribly wrong.

By my way of thinking . . .

According to this test which I found on Colin's blog, I am Logical-Mathematical thinker.
Logical-Mathematical thinkers:
* Like to understand patterns and relationships between objects or actions
* Try to understand the world in terms of causes and effects
* Are good at thinking critically, and solving problems creatively

Other Logical-Mathematical Thinkers include:
Isaac Newton, Archimedes, Albert Einstein

Careers which suit Logical-Mathematical thinkers include:
Physicist, Chemist, Biologist, Lawyer, Computer programmer, Engineer, Inventor

This is pretty dead on since I've considered (at some point in my life) every career listed under this type of thinker. I also kinda identify with the interpersonal thinker (or maybe that's just what I'm attracted to).

You can see the other types of thinkers here. Or better yet, just go ahead and take the quiz yourself!

These Last Few Days

This isn't a fotolog, but I do like pictures, so here are a few photo highlights from this past weekend.

Friday morning, I decided for the first time to try making an omelette the Colin way. By that, I mean that I put the fillings into the pan first and then poured the egg over top. Of course, this method requires you to flip the entire omelette in the air, which I pulled off flawlessly after melting about half a pound of butter in the bottom of the pan. One side got a little brown, but it was still delicious!

Saturday morning, my parents and I went to a major yardsale held by Replacements, Ltd. with the purpose of picking up "a few dishes" for my apartment in New York. What you see in the picture is what I actually ended up with. It's really nice stuff, but I realized after we left that a good deal of it is probably not microwave-safe. Ah well, I can always use paper plates to heat things up. We spent part of that afternoon and part of Sunday afternoon looking for other kitchen items (I picked up an entire set of pots, pans, and various cooking utensils from my aunt for free). Now the only thing I need is a toaster.

My dad (not pictured here) decided to get fancy with dinner on Monday night, and ended up preparing the above dish. It's chicken salad mixed with fruit inside of a pineapple shell. It sounds strange, but tastes wonderful. I highly recommend it.

Another Meme

Well, I had planned to do this elaborate pictorial of what I'd been up to for the past couple of weeks (much like Colin did), but I'm having a little trouble transferring pictures at the moment, so I'll do the meme on Marc's site first, and *hopefully* do the other entry tomorrow. Phew, that was a long sentence.

10 Bands/Singers You've Seen:
Ha, 10?!? I'm just not that cultured (or insert any other adjective you choose). I've seen Tina Turner in concert (she's an excellent performer). I've also seen John Mayer, though I can't remember the names of the other performers who sang at that same concert. To my credit, I have seen a number of plays (Shakespearean and otherwise).

9 Things You're Looking Forward To
1. Living with Colin (again)
2. Getting started in the "real world"
3. Finally having a steady income
4. Finally having a career
5. Decorating a new apartment (yeah, I know. I just can't get rid of the gay)
6. Being called a "New Yorker"
7. Mumbling about tourists in Times Square
8. Eating real pizza
9. Being a big boy

8 Things You Wear Daily
1. My ring (given to me by my Dad shortly before I came out. He gave me a bracelet shortly after I came out, but I seem to have temporarily misplaced that)
2. My chain (given to me by Colin for my 21st birthday)
3. A shirt
4. Pants or shorts (sometimes the same pair two days in a row. I'm living on the edge)
5. Shoes or sandals
6. My watch (given to me by my parents)
7. Neutrogena face lotion (to keep me acne free and looking like a 10-year-old)
8. Underwear (I tried free-balling once, but I kept getting. . er. . well, I won't go there)

7 Things that Annoy You
1. People who talk incessantly without actually saying anything
2. People who are loud (Not just with talking, but with everything)
3. That clear plastic packaging that they seal electronics in that you can't open without 3 pairs of scissors and a stick of dynamite.
4. People who don't bother trying to see both sides of an issue (I think it's just in my nature)
5. People who never have an opinion on anything other than the latest Pop CD
6. Gay republicans
7. Right-wing black republicans (the centrists don't bother me so much)

6 Things You Touch Everyday
1. Colin, when he's around
2. My computer
3. My car
4. My toothbrush
5. My Neutrogena face scrub (no, this is not an ad for Neutrogena)
6. Food

5 Things You Do Everyday
Ha ha, that's too easy.
1. Consider doing the pushups and situps that I'm supposed to do everyday
2. Wake-up
3. Sit in front of the computer for at least 30 minutes (if not longer)
4. Forget to return someone's call
5. Read something

4 of Your Favorite Musicians or Bands
Well, right now . . .
1. Maroon 5
2. Justin Timberlake (Really, he has some very catchy songs. Even though he did this one while he was still with N'Sync, you can't listen to "Gone" and tell me that's not a cool song)
3. Usher (I'm sure this will go away when his song falls off the charts)
4. The Turtles (old old band. They sang "So Happy Together" which has been my favorite song for quite some time)

3 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
1. Shawshank Redemption (which I have watched over and over)
2. Bringing Down the House (which I have watched over and over)
3. Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (which I have watched over and over)

2 of Your Favorite Songs at This Moment
1. "So Happy Together" by the Turtles
2. "This Love" by Maroon Five

Person You Could Spend the Rest of Your Life With
Why, him of course!

He's back. . .

Well, I'm finally back from traveling, so expect some new entries soon (very soon).