Tuesday, October 31, 2006

RC's Caravan - Part II

If you missed part one of my trip in Raleigh, please go here.

So Hemingway RC, J-Cool, and I were making our way to their boy's townhouse with plans for the group of us to go clubbing. Their boy I dubbed E. Lynn because of his slight resemblance to the famous author greeted us at the door. We came in and parked inside his nicely furnished living room and ate our dinner.

About ten minutes later, Doog made his way into the house. We exchanged greetings and he informed the group that the lights inside the caravan were still on. I went to investigate and was utterly clueless as to why the lights were staying on. While figuring that out, another car pulled up. I didn't see who it was (not that I'd recognize the person) but they made their way inside E. Lynn's house.

I eventually got the lights to stop flashing inside the caravan. No clue how. I went back in the house and was introduced to Barry. From what RC told me, it was a rare occurence that Barry was able to hang out with them because he runs his own business.

So Hemingway we're all just chatting. E. Lynn's sister (though I wasn't clear on their relationship and was making a wild guess) came inside and kept the group in stitches.

As I sat there observing along the sidelines, it was interesting seeing the group dynamics. That particularly was evident when any of Janet Jackson's songs were playing on the entertainment system. Most gay men are totally in love with Janet. Doog was no exception. When some of the group were making cracks on Janet's singing ability, he quickly defended his beloved Janet. He took offence as if they were slaying him. E. Lynn's sister cracked me up when she compared Janet to a knat that she wanted to swat everytime she hears Janet's voice. I could tell Doog wanted to smack her but wouldn't since E. Lynn's sis I bet could kick his to next week (despite both of them being "big").

But it was all done playfully. I got more of E. Lynn's sis candor when she found out that we were eating BoJangles. She warned that BoJangles would keep me in the toilet for hours afterwards.

E. Lynn himself seemed to be quite the comic, especially with the facial expressions he made as the group gossiped about folks I had no idea who they were talking about. He even went so far as to pour himself a double of what he was drinking upon hearing some incredulous news.

It was decided since the caravan could take up to seven folks, that we could all roll into that at the club. About twenty minutes later (approximately 10:30 PM), we all piled in. Doog and J-Cool were already fussing in the middle row.

RC mentioned that there was one more person that we needed to pick up to complete the Caravan. The guy lived in the same subdivision as E. Lynn. I got directions from E. Lynn to get through the maze of homes that looked the same to me.

It was time. I watched in awe as Tyrese (my competition for America's Next Top Model) sashayed (literally...*LOL*) across the street. He was fierce. He was fashionable. He exuded confident. He hopped into the back 0f the Caravan and I heard E. Lynn cracking up about not wanting to see Tyrese's butt.

As we drove, Tyrese made a request to stop at an ATM for money. I was driving along with some directional navigation from RC. Doog was being a back seat driver asking me if I was okay driving. He bugged a couple times until we reached the bank.

When we parked, RC and J-Cool kept insisting that Doog drives since the club we were heading to was over an hour's drive away. At first I was reluctant because I mean if something happened to the caravan, it would be on me. But at the same time I was not as familiar with the area as the rest of the guys and I wasn't really keen on driving that long. I also imagined Doog would get more annoying as time wore on. So I put it in God's hands and relinquished control to Doog.

We eventually reached the club, which the guys affectionately called "The Trailer Park". There was a long ass line outside and it was almost like we rolled in like movie stars to a premiere the way folks were looking. Upon learning that it was my actual b-day that morning, Tyrese questioned why the group would bring me to a "trailer park". The late night air was chilly as the seven of us made our way to the back of the line.

As it is in every line, there were folks that were cutting and trying to get in ahead of everyone else. Mostly drag queens, though. Eventually we made it inside and RC paid my way inside the club.

I pretty mark parked myself in a stool nearby various members of the group. Everyone was pretty much doing their thing in the well spaced out club. I didn't see anyone I was interested in chatting with. I do admit I was noticing how handsome Barry when he bought me a drink. We chatted for a few minutes about general stuff before he went off on the prowl. E Lynn also bought me a drink later on before getting his prowl on.

Meanwhile I was still parking myself in the same stool. That's one thing about me. I tend to find a spot and stick to it. Eventually Tyrese came back and he was keeping me in stitches giving me blow by blow details of what fashion atrocities everyone was wearing in the club. He also mentioned how he could tell everyone was watching him. He later took off his sweater, told me to hold it, and grabbed RC on the dance floor, which was actually a few feet away.

The stool where I sat was situated next to an open trash can. Several club patrons came up and would throw their beer bottles in the can, which would clank each time the bottles met.

Eventually all the guys moved to a different section of the club while I remained in my stool. Later on RC came by and directed me towards the area where the most of the group was standing.

About thirty minutes after that, the stale smoke was starting to get to my eyes and I was ready to go. Fortunately it was almost closing time as well. Tyrese made his way back to the group shirtless. Moments later, the lights came on, signaling the end of another evening out on the town. We didn't have to go home but we had to get the hell out of dodge.

It was a bit after 3AM as we made our way back to the caravan. I myself was walking with Tyrese, who was chatting about the evening. Eventually most of us were in the caravan. The only person missing was J-Cool. Several of the guys, Doog in particular, was becoming rather impatient. Someone spotted J-Cool in the parking lot getting his mack on with some dude. This went on for about ten minutes. Doog was shouting outside the window for J-Cool to hurry it up. I was a bit tired myself so the sooner we got back the better.

J-Cool eventually made his way back to the car, with his prospective date following him. They were still chatting but eventually they exchanged numbers & we made our way out of the club. Doog was all moaning about how hungry he was. He made an attempt to stop at a Krispy Kreme's but they were closed.

Doog was pissy but seemed to accept that he wasn't going to have any food. (Sidenote: If we were in Chicago, there would be plenty of late night breakfast diners to stop at.) It was after 4AM when we arrived back at E. Lynn's place. Everyone parted and I was left with RC and J-Cool as we made our way back to the hotel.

RC had to work at 5:30AM that morning. (There's no way I'd be clubbing that late if I had to work early...*LOL*) So he came to my room to shower and get ready for his job. By the time he left it was a little after 5AM. I myself finally went to bed and woke up around noon.

I pretty much spent most of Sunday by myself hanging around Raleigh. RC, ever being the great host, called me while I was getting breakfast/lunch at a local Quizno's. He gave me the number of another one of his friends that he said was miffed because he was out of town and didn't get to meet me. I told RC I'd call him.

After lunch and while making my way to Brier Creek Commons, I contacted Eugene. The two of us got into another one of our debate/arguments about whether the guy (and I) were looking for a booty call. I fueled Eugene's suspicions when I said that if he's hot and that's what he was looking for, maybe I'd give it to him. He already thinks I'm fast (then again everyone's fast compared to him). But in reality I knew that wasn't my intention.

I wound up not calling the guy until a couple hours after doing some mostly window shopping. When I did call I got his voicemail so I left a message. He called maybe twenty minutes later, had a brief convo, and that was pretty much it.

RC and I later in the evening went out to dinner at Chili's. It was a cool dinner. We had an amazing conversation about the other guys and how even though they were all different, they managed to befriend each other.

Tyrese was of course the supermodel of the group. RC describes him as the guy who has a meticulously clean home. Tyrese pays attention to every detail of what goes where and prides himself on showing it off to his friends. As a tidbit, RC mentioned the reason why everyone waited for him to come outside and hop in the van was because if they came in the house, Tyrese would go into art director mode and give a one-hour tour of his home.

The handsome Barry I learned was a business owner who makes his own furniture. He designs different styles for various other businesses and is responsible for making his own furniture in his home. RC recalled a visit where he got to see the plush theatre style seating that he made for his movie room. Because he has his own business, it's rare that he gets to hang out with the core group.

E. Lynn I learned was a pretty analytical type person. He's good at solving other folks problems. He works as an insurance adjustor at a big insurance company where he gets to hear about all kinds of issues. When the work week is over, he's the first one that wants to get down and party, no doubt to take his mind off work.

Doog I learned is a control freak. From what RC told me, he's the go-to guy whenever the group wants to take long road trips. He prides himself on knowing in advance what's going on and is more comfortable when things are structured. Part of the reason RC and J-Cool kept insisting that Doog drive was that if he wasn't driving, he would be bitching every other minute about my driving style.

J-Cool's personality can be described in one word. Chill. He's the happy-go-lucky type that's down for whatever. He's more of a night owl and usually starts his day after noon. He has the uncanny ability to attract guys to him without even trying. At the trailer park, for example, J-Cool was pretty much just sitting around like I was. But he's able to turn on the charm when needed and have several guys wanting to give him their digits.

RC is the mother hen of the group. I can see this because he was the one that was constantly checking in on me to make sure I was okay. He's usually the mediator whenever other members of the group fight, particularly J-Cool and Doog. He tends to be a bit of a martyr, choosing to help others before himself.

I made a comment that RC always keeps telling me how the guys (J-Cool and Doog) keep asking about me but I question why the guys in question can't call me themselves. He smiled and told me that he fell into the role of being the middle man for everyone.

If I had to give a quickie Myers Briggs letter assessment for each of the guys, these would be my guesses.

Tyrese - ENTJ
Barry - INFJ
E. Lynn - ESFP
Doog - INTJ
J-Cool - ESTP
RC - ESFP

Of course those are wild guesses.

Hemingway I debated on whether to get a Molten Chocolate Cake or not. RC had a feeling I was counting calories (I alluded to buying some calorie counting book before) and told me that I shouldn't since I'm on vacation and to enjoy myself and not worry about the fat. So I ordered it to go. RC paid for dinner, which was nice.

I spent the rest of the evening in my hotel room watching Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, and enjoying the cake. Just typing about it makes me want to order another one. *LOL*.

Monday morning RC came by the hotel to help me check out. He followed me to the Thrifty where I returned the car. We then had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (my 2nd time at that particular one) where we were summarizing about the weekend and my upcoming trip to Vegas.

He later dropped me off at the airport and we said our goodbyes. An hour or so later, I was boarding my plane, heading off to "sin city". So ended my weekend in Raleigh.

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Saturday, October 28, 2006

RC's Caravan - Part I

Caravan of Love - The Isley Brothers

Ooh...ooh...ooh..
Ooh...ooh...ooh..

Are you ready for the time of your life
It's time to stand up and fight
(It's alright) It's alright (It's alright, it's alright)
Hand in hand we'll take a caravan
To the motherland

One by one we're gonna stand with the pride
One that can't be denied
(Stand up, stand up, stand up, stand up)
From the highest mountain and valley low
We'll join together with hearts of gold

Now the children of the world can see
There's a better way for us to be
The place where mankind was born
Is so neglected and torn, torn apart

Every woman, every man
Join the caravan of love (Stand up, stand up, stand up)
Everybody take a stand
Join the caravan of love

I'm your brother
I'm your brother, don't you know
I'm your brother
I'm your brother, don't you know

We'll be living in a world of peace
In a day when everyone is free
We'll bring the young and the old
Won't you let your love flow from your heart

Every woman, every man
Join the caravan of love (Stand up, stand up, stand up)
Everybody take a stand

Join the caravan of love

Are you ready for the time of your life
(Are you ready, are you ready)
Are you ready for the time of your life
(Are you ready, are you ready)

Come go with me
(Are you ready, are you ready)
Come go with me
(Are you ready, are you ready)

I arrived in Raleigh after 11:10PM on the 13th. The flight arrived ten minutes early and Southwest (which seems to have more than their share of flight attendant wanna-be comedians) couldn't be prouder.

Days before I was in contact with RC giving him my hotel details. I wound up taking a chance with Hotwire since they claimed to have a 3-star hotel for $60 a night. (Sigh...my frugal days will always be with me.) Hemingway Hotwire hooked me up with a room at the Wyndham, which from what I heard is a decent hotel. RC confirmed that the one I'm staying at is indeed a nice one.

Originally RC was planning to take time off his job at Target (his hours includes weekends) to hang out with me and be my tour guide. Unfortunately he found out that the person covering for him lost their Mom so RC couldn't get the time off.

RC talked to his friends Doog (the man's man I alluded to when I visited Charlotte) and J-Cool, but he felt I should get a rental just in case both had plans. I went ahead and got the rental.

So as soon as I landed in Raleigh and collected my suitcase, I called RC to let him know I arrived. RC was his usual jovial self and let me know that "they'll" come and pick me up. I had no idea who was coming with him but I made the assumption that it was Doog and J-Cool.

I was half right. According to RC, Doog needed his beauty sleep and was more of a morning person. RC later tried to fit my oversize luggage in his trunk but it wouldn't fit so J-Cool and him wound up putting it in the back seat.

Once that was settled, we started to drive off. I eyed a hottie still waiting for his ride by curbside. We were both on the same flight and exchanged looks. I joked that I wished we could take him with us. J-Cool joked back that we could toss my luggage out to make room for him.

After a brief pit stop to the gas station, we arrived at the Wyndham where I would staying until Monday. The guys stuck around for a bit and we all basically continued chatting about our lives. RC and J-Cool both happen to work in competing retail corporations -- Target and Wal-Mart respectively. Their hours vary from week to week as it tends to in retail.

Before leaving for the night, they drove me to a nearby Wendy's so I could get a meal. I had one of their Frescheta sandwiches with fries. Actually this was my first meal outside of soup since coming off my 10 day Master Cleanse. And it was sinfully good!!! My sins worsen as time goes on.

The next morning after working off my sins, I attempted to call both J-Cool and Doog. J-Cool didn't answer and when I got Doog, he already had an itinerary of things to do that didn't include being a tour guide. Thank goodness for Plan B!

I had the foresight when choosing my hotel to pick one with shuttle service to the airport. I arrived at the airport and waited for a Thrifty shuttle to take me to their offices. I sat for about ten minutes watching every other rental car shuttle show up. In a surprising twist, the dude riding the Enterprise shuttle was soliciting me. I told him I'm a one shuttle at a time kind of guy. Just kidding.

Seriously he was trying to steal me from Thrifty with such phrases as Thrifty has a slow ass shuttle & Enterprise would try to match or beat the rate Thrifty offered. He succeeded. Nobody else waiting took the bait.

I realized that Enterprise (or specifically this rider) has done this before as he announced repeatedly to the dispatcher that I was a non-reservation customer. So we do a little small talk, I find out he's from Raleigh originally, even though he sounds Nigerian. He promises if they can't beat my rate, that he'll drive me to Thrifty's headquarters himself.

I was greeted by somebody outside of Enterprise when we arrived. Apparently I walked in on a slow day. About five people were behind the counter vying to serve me. I went for the sexier guy and rehashed my situation to him. The lowest he could offer me was $49.99 a day. Unfortunately that was about $26 dollars higher than what Thrifty was offering, so I declined.

As promised I was driven to Thrifty's rental offices. So I give the dude there my information and he said that he couldn't find me on the system. I was thrown for a bit, thinking maybe I accidentally picked another car rental place. But that moment was brief. I quickly dialed Eugene, who luckily happened to be home. I had him log into my hotmail account to retrieve my code. I also asked him to confirm the address. It turned out that I somehow chose a Thrifty outside the airport outskirts for my rental needs.

Fortunately this Thrifty was able to serve my needs with an extra $5 tacked on for their airport fee. No matter though since my total rental came out to $61. There was one caveat. I wanted a compact and as you guessed, there were no compacts available. He offered me a caravan. I accepted even though I couldn't believe I was stuck with a caravan.

First thing on the agenda was food. I drove back to the Wyndham to get a makeshift map from the front desk. One of the ladies working the counter told me of a nearby Cracker Barrel. I, um, barreled it over there. The late breakfast was uneventful.

I entertained myself driving up and down the different interstates and made a trek to Duke University's expansive campus. It was lots of nice scenery and apparently some game was going on that day. It was a cool diversion.

While there RC called in to see how I was doing. He was relieved that I wasn't just staying in my hotel room looking at the ceiling. RC informed me that the gang was going to get together later that evening to go clubbing and that Doog and J-Cool was asking about me. I told him clubbing sounded like a plan as we hung up.

After Duke, I went to some outlet mall that actually was in a state of decline. I scanned a few stores but hardly found anything of much interest. When I stepped into a GNC, the poor girl was so desperate for conversation that I took pity on her. The outlet reminded me of the one in Huntley, IL that's a bit rundown as well. But again, it was a good time killer.

I felt a little tired and headed back to my hotel. RC and I chatted again. He mentioned that he was getting off from his shift. I told him I was a bit tired and we agreed to hang out a bit after we both took naps.

So RC later drove to my hotel and we hightailed it to Wal-Mart (in my caravan) for a new shirt for him and extra toiletries for me. On route to the store, RC was commenting on my walk. Apparently I'm in the running for America's Next Top Model (Hmmm...HoustonNy maybe I should give u a headshot...*LOL*). I sorta laughed it off but then thought about Sally's comments about everybody knowing about my sexuality. It's in the way I walk. It's in the way I talk. It's in the way I breathe. He told me that I reminded him of Tyrese, who I would meet later this evening (and no, not that Tyrese). Tyrese it seems has the most fierce walk among his group and loves to make his presence known.

So we're in Wal-Mart and RC's on the phone with both Doog and J-Cool at different points of the evening. The plan was for us to congregate at another dude's house. J-Cool wanted a ride over there so RC told him to meet us back at the hotel.

At some point, I got hungry so I drove the Caravan to a local BoJangles for fried chicken. We all picked up orders and RC treated, which was nice. We eventually drove deep into some subdivision and pulled up to the house of the guy we were supposed to meet at. E. Lynn (and no not that E-Lynn...heh) answered his door and let us in.

But man this post is getting a lot longer than I thought. More on the rest of RC's caravan and the rest of my Raleigh adventure soon.

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Friday, October 20, 2006

Match That Blogger II

I'm back from my trips to Raleigh and Las Vegas. I was supposed to be heading to Boston next but Eugene threw a work bombshell that forced me to reschedule the trip. So I may drive to Detroit for a quick weekend trip tomorrow. But I haven't decided.

Hemingway I have a lot to tell about my trips but I'll save it for another post.

I admit that I've been negligent on keeping up with my fellow bloggers. So I thought I'd do another edition of the Match That Blogger game, since that seemed to generate a lot of interest last time. I promise too that I'll be visiting everyone more often soon.

The contestants on today's edition of Match That Blogger are: Clay Cane, Karsh, Virginia Slim, Super Star "N", German Chocolate Girl, HoustonNy, Valentino, Trent, LadyNay, BrainsNBooty, and Rodney MD.

The rules are the same as last time. Your job is to guess who wrote what. Only difference, since I turned 34 on the 15th, the quotes I pulled were from the 34th entry. Ok...here we go again.

1) "It was Soul Food Thursday at Howard University last week, and many students were looking forward to their favorite meal: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and cornbread. At lunchtime, however, students discovered that much of the campus had been locked down and that the school's cafeteria was off limits.

Apparently, many of them did not know that President Bush and first lady Laura Bush had arrived for a "youth summit" at the Blackburn Center, where the dining hall is located. Stomachs began to growl, tempers flared, and, eventually, a student protest ensued.

In case you missed the broadcast Friday on Fox 5 (WTTG-TV), reporter Robbie Chavez was at Howard trying to interview protesting students when a campus security guard showed up and tried to stop him.

Chavez: The university went to great lengths . . .

Guard: I'm asking you to leave the campus now.

Chavez: . . . to hide angry protesting students . . .

Guard: I'm warning you, you don't do that.

Chavez: . . . a big effort to keep a lid on the growing frustration.

During the protest, dozens of students locked arms around a flagpole in the Quadrangle, a designated forbidden zone at the center of the campus, and refused to move despite warnings from campus security that Secret Service rooftop snipers might open fire on them. You'd have thought Howard had taken a page right out of the Bush administration playbook on quashing First Amendment freedoms."

2) "Sunday was interesting. I decided I was gonna try to get up with my girlfriend who normally does my hair so she can hook me up for my Chicago trip. I still can't believe it's in 2 days....anyways....so I get up and make it a point to be at her house at 10am so if anything I would be waking her up, not just missing her going out the door like the last time. So I knock on the door. Chitown's mother opens the door I speak to her for a minute and she goes to get my homegirl. She is looking like she just got out the bed for real and she says she'll hook me up and that she needed my help. (ut oh) Was my thought. She tells me that she split up with her man and that she couldn't stay in the house anymore. Then she asked me if I could take her to her ex's parents house (don't ask). I say okay. We pack her stuff in my car and I take her to her ex's peeps house. They tell her that her ex is staying with one of his boys and she can't stay there. So we go up to her brothers house (they all live about 5 mins from one another). She stays in her brothers house for a good minute and comes back out telling me she is homeless."

3) "DAY 3 of cleanse and today I was not even hungry! It helped that now until Day 7 I can eat ONE 400-600 calorie meal. So this cleanse is a breeze now that I can eat something. I had their shake today and it's pretty tasty and filling."

4) "My boy T. has a good friend of his here from Brazil for the summer. I met them yesterday along with two friends Glen and Leon who are visiting me from London for dinner. They had just come from watching Brazil beat Japan and they were elated (and a little tipsy).

So I asked them: is European Football homo-erotic? The players get away with a lot of "touching" and "male bonding" on the field. No one really says too much about it but it's definitely there. However, no one even flashes a look regarding it. I mean in American Football and even basketball (as we found out during the NBA Playoffs) there is a LOT of touching, but nothing like soccer."

5) "My girl Nikki has suggested that we designate the month of December as masturbation month and commit to doing so at least once a week for four weeks. So please, take your pleasure into your own hands, folks! I just felt that spreading the word about this important message was the least that I could do ;-)"

6) "What do I think about the Kobe Bryant incident…not much, to be honest with you. I hear it on the news and I'm thinking one of two things: 1) He was sloppy. 2) She's gonna get paid. And his $4,000,000 apology ring to his wife? Please…ain't no pussy in the world…oops, I digress.

7) "Casa de Bacardi"

8) "I was excited to meet X’s friends, mainly because he is always the type of person knows everyone and can pretty much get along with anyone. I, on the other hand, tend not to be unless it’s business. But X always talks about his friends, particularly his best friend so I couldn’t wait. I offered to drive up to his house early to help him out, although I don’t know how much help I provided in the kitchen other than mixing the cake batter and running to Food Lion to pick up some Texas toast and yeast rolls. All-in-all, the meal was delicious. The lasagna was great, the homemade blue cheese salad dressing was on point, and the cake was okay. I think the two glasses of red wine I had didn’t necessarily agree with the cake on my palate, but it still was tasty. There were two highlights of the evening though.

One was befriending one of X’s friends friend’s child. Though I’ve never considered myself good with children, this little boy seemed to really take a liking to me. Maybe it was just because no one was really paying him any mind, but we watched Sponge Bob (for maybe all of five minutes), played with X’s dogs, and I even lifted him up, over and over again. Definitely made me think about parenthood in just a small way though. I still wonder what type of parent I would be.

Second was… well, a guy that X kind of liked/likes was present at the party. Long story short, the guy and I ended up talking on the internet, but once we figured out who each other was and how we were connected with X, it just got awkward for him and we (he) decided that it’d be best if we didn’t really talk. Cool. He told X, and though I don’t think X was cool with it, he really said we were both adults and could do whatever we wanted. Yeah right."

9) "Please go to the link below to check out my interview for Men's Fitness with one of Hollywood's leading stuntmen, Jalil Jay Lynch. Lynch has worked on films such as The Underclassman, New Jack City and he's currently assisting in action sequences with Jaime Foxx in the upcoming film Miami Vice."

10) "While I am totally into the fact that Alex has everything that I want in a man physically, mentally, and financially, the most important and deciding factor is missing from the equation, his emotional state. This isn’t a situation where you take the good with the bad or compromise your own mental and emotional equilibrium to be content sexually or materially. That’s tired. And that’s what he’s use to dealing with. Besides I am not a material person anyway…

While it is fine and dandy that he’s attractive, he lives in a million dollar house, he drives an 80 thousand dollar car, because we all on some level want the success and the status to be like Mr. Jacobs-that means nothing if you have the potential to be verbally or emotionally battering. Or you’re prone to get tired and move on cause you wouldn’t be able to handle “two egos, two prides, two struggles, two different experiences…” "

11) "white people are so corny.... tissue, laundry detergent, light bulbs, milk (my grocery list).... damn, I need to mail off my car payment by 8 before the last call for mail...naw, it can wait until tomorrow.... why does this ho keep calling my personal line....and I didn't even give her my work number..."

I better go to bed in case I decide to go home for the weekend. Enjoy!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Finding My Way Back To Food

I only have time for a quick message before getting ready to head back to work and eventually leave for my nine day excursion to three different cities.

As the title of this entry implies, I am getting myself back into the groove of eating solid foods. I made this big pot of veggie and bean soup Monday evening. I ate some of it on Tuesday evening, which was my first reintroduction to solid food. My stomach was growling for about twenty minutes after eating it. I was afraid I might vomit or have a sudden case of the runs. But I made it through the evening and pretty much everything stayed inside.

So this week I've pretty much been eating soup for lunch and dinner (and I still have plenty leftover that I'll unfortunately have to throw out). In addition to the soup, I also ate a couple breakfast bars (some of those are the bomb) and so far my stomach's been okay. I'm regular again as well (TMI, I know). I'm definitely ready for my trips.

Surprisingly I only gained back a pound so far. Then again other than the soup and breakfast bars, I haven't eaten much else. I have a feeling I'll gain most of it back during my vacation, even though I'm going to make an effort to work out while on vacation.

So Hemingway (haven't said that in a while, I think...*LOL*) I just wanted to post an update before I get going.

My biggest fear is leaving my work processes in the hands of other team members. I hope I don't come back to a bigger mess. But I have to let that go. I'll still carry my pager in case there's some emergency that they can't handle. However when I get back in the office, I'm going to put an emergency doc together so hopefully I won't be disturbed.

I wanna enjoy my birthday week. Yup I'll be the big 3-4 on Sunday. I'm old...:-)

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Sunday, October 08, 2006

So So Proud

I'm So Proud - By The Impressions

Prettier than all the world
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
You're only one fellow's girl
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
I'm so proud of being loved by you
And it would hurt, hurt to know
If you ever were untrue
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
I'm so proud of being loved by you
I'm so proud of being loved by you
And it would hurt, hurt to know
If you ever were untrue
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too
Sweeter than the taste of a cherry so sweet
And I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
I'm so proud of you
Compliments to you from all the people we meet
Yes, and I'm so proud (I'm so proud)
Believe me, I love you too

You know, except for the fact that I was a guy last time I checked and the lyrics are borderline cheesy, it pretty much sums up my own feelings tonight. I did it. Tonight ends Day 10 of my fast. Tomorrow begins the journey back to solid foods. (I'm so proud.)

I feel great. I've measured my blood pressure from time to time and on average, it's been on the lower side...my lowest reading was a 113/70. According to my inaccurate ass scale, I was 180 lbs before the MC. As of two minutes ago, I'm 166. That's a total of 14 pounds. I do realize that I'm going to gain half of it or more back. And that's fine. (I'm so proud.)

I just feel good that I set out to do the Master Cleanse for ten days and managed to make my goal. (I'm so proud.)

As an reward, I earlier bought my first Crock Pot and a new set of cookware from Faberware. I'm hoping the Crock Pot in particular helps me to cook better meals and have them nice and ready when I get home from work. The new cookware I was long overdue for after my cheap first set of cookware from Mirro (I got this when I first moved out on my own way back in 1995) started wearing out (years ago...*LOL*) It's so pretty. (I'm so proud.)

I'm so proud of me tonight. Oh well. Till next time.

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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Giving On The Low

Eugene joked with me the other day about winning his state lottery. I knew right off it was a joke, though and called him on it. He laughed and then shared a story about an elderly lady who recently passed away that was found to be a billionaire. She lived a frugal life in a working class neighborhood and managed to keep her billionaire status a secret from everyone (I wasn't clear if that included immediate family).

Up until her time of death, she donated millions of dollars to her various pet causes anonymously. In her will, she stated that most of her remaining money go to other causes.

Eugene then said that if he was in her shoes he would do exactly what she did. He wouldn't let anyone know and give anonymously. He would even anonymously help friends and family that are in need. He would continue to live an unassuming life.

It got me thinking. I know that if I had to choose fame or fortune, I'd definitely choose fortune. There is a lot of hassles associated with being a known rich person. It's like Biggie Smalls used to rap (at least I think it's Biggie...*LOL*), 'Mo' Money, More Problems'.

Maybe it is better to just keep things as regular as possible. My own self I know if I were to become financially independent, I would definitely keep it a secret from work and make up some other excuse as to why I'm leaving.

I always thought I'd tell my immediate family but maybe I shouldn't. Actually it would be cool to send anonymous checks to them. When they ask me, I would say that I got an anonymous check too so to keep the suspicion off me. Hmm...this being rich on the low lifestyle has its possibilities. I just have to, you know, actually be rich....*LOL*.

In other news, Chad called today. Three times. He left two messages. I haven't called back. I don't plan on calling back. I hope I don't get stalked.

Changing subjects again....I made it through six days on the Master Cleanse. Four more days to go. I miss food. I lost 7 pounds so far, most of which I will gain back once I start eating solid food again. I'm doing the diet primarily to detox my body, which I feel like I'm doing good at.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Cabbage-Patching E

By the time this entry gets posted, I'll be in the middle of Day 3 on my Master Cleanse diet. I have to say with the exception of some occasional headaches that comes and goes and last night feeling a bit weak and my stomach borderline wanting to ache, so far the cleanse has been going.

I'm even getting used to the Salt Water Flush. This morning I pretty much drank the concoction without so much as feeling the urge to retch. It was almost second nature.

It's a little scary because I keep hearing how bad Day 3 is and actually it's not over yet so potentially I could be dying tonight. If I live, I'll keep you posted. :-)

But seriously so far it's going pretty good.

I'm not even too much tempted by food. Eugene put that temptation to the test Day 1. We were talking about the MC, which he's totally not feeling. So Hemingway I may have been getting a bit fresh with him and he asked if I was being smart with him. I told him maybe I was and maybe I wasn't. He took that as a yes and told me that there'll be repurcussions. I laughed and went whatever. We chatted a bit before he put me on hold.

Five minutes later I told him that I wasn't really trying to be smart. He then said the wheels were already in motion for the repurcussion. I wasn't sure what that meant but I was like whatever.

So he then asks me about Paypal and if he could send money to someone via Paypal if they had an email account set up. I told him that he could and then he said he wanted to test it by sending me a dollar. I was like, ok.

Before he could do that, there was a ring of my doorbell. Mind you it was after 8PM and I wasn't expecting anyone. I was all set to not answer it but Eugene's saying I need to get it and to bring my wallet. I'm wondering what's Eugene up to and when I open the door, I'm greeted by a person delivering Dominoes pizza.

Eugene's all teasing me as I'm telling the confused delivery man that I didn't order the pizza. Eugene insisted that it was paid for (he wasn't sure his credit card went through so that's why he wanted to send me money via Paypal) so not wanting to confuse the man further, I took the pizza. I ain't gonna lie, it smelled good. Then again since I hadn't had food at all today, anything would've smelled good. I even opened to box to satisfy my curiousity over what he ordered. It was a pepperoni with onions.

So Eugene's trying to get me to take a bite but the one saving grace is that I hate Dominoes pizza. I mean, I'll eat it if I have to but it's not my favorite pizza. So I just stuck it in my fridge and made some more limade (it did trigger my hunger pangs).

Earlier on Day 1, I was at my weekly meeting and the group is offering bagels and donuts. Luckily they were in another room so I wasn't tempted. Then later that day, Witty is suggesting that half our team go out to lunch next week to celebrate a project going in. I have to bite my tongue since I'm trying to keep my MC on the low. (Hmm, maybe I should write a book. *LOL*)

My only temptation Day 2 was my trip to Whole Foods to get more maple syrup (that's the only calories I'm getting on this cleanse so I've been lopping it up..*LOL*). I also decide to get some Daily-Dolphilus stuff. It supposedly replaces the good enzymes that are washed away during the flush. It took me a minute to find it and only with the insistence of a lovely young lady who was lightly flirting with me was I able to find it. She knew from the maple syrup and the general location where I was that I was doing the "detox". She then shared her woes about trying it but quitting after Day 1. But she's hopeful that she'll get back on it.

I do have to say I'm proud of myself for making it as far as I have. I truthfully wasn't sure if I'd make it past Day 1. A special thanks goes out to No_the_game (my honorary "fag hag" along with Sally...*LOL*) for her support as I'm going through it. I'm halfway through Day 3 now so hopefuly I'll keep pressing on. I'll keep you guys posted.

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