For those about to debate ...

( Indulging my shoe-whore side... )



On a more serious note, I know that some of you are in Southern California - or you have family that lives there - and I want to say that I hope that you are all safe, and that you will make it through this mess. {Kind of unrelated, and totally on the gallows humor side - one of the fires is called the "Buckweed Fires". I see that, and read it as the "Buckwheat Fires". Otay!}

I don't think I'd mentioned this, but during my conversation with my mom, she made this comment: "I want you to know that I didn't bring you up this way."

Well, I figured as much. Considering the conversations I've had with fellow gay Mormons (the very few that I know ... if anyone knows a gay Mormon, send them my way, please!), we were all brought up to be good people - fine, upstanding, *heterosexual* Mormon adults. Instead, we grew up to be good people - fine, upstanding, *gay* adults. I think my mom just threw that comment in there, as though I'd blame her for my sexuality or something. Please ... if I went with what I'd grown up with, I'd probably be a homophobic, conservative Stepford Wife.


Also, I think that my mom needs to learn a thing or two about the whole coming out process. Calling my brother to give him the news is not the way to go. I should've been the one to call him and say, "hey, Dan, I've got something to tell you..." Ah well. He knows, and he was about as cool as a "good Mormon boy" could be - while he doesn't agree with my being queer, he still loves and supports me. And, you know, that's all I really want. I don't care if someone hates my sexual orientation - I just want to know that I still have your love, and that you care about me.


Finally, thank you all so much for the kind words, support and advice. It means so much to me, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that I have a support system when I need it. I hope that in turn, I can - and will be able to - do the same when you need it.

I love you all - thank you for being here! :-D

As much as I'd love to take credit for writing this, I have to give credit here MSN Autos - Crackin' Up: The Celebrity Driving Test

( Celebrity Driving Test - by Lawrence Ulrich )

Oh my G*d. I think I have reached the peak of my geekiness. There's a website called Consumerist, some of the posts are quite educational and offer some really useful info and some of the posters can be quite snarky and incisive.

Anyways, I'd been happily reading along, either agreeing or cringing over some of the posts and comments, then I saw this about renter's insurance. After reading it, and the comments - I ended up signing up for the site, so I could comment on the post and others' comments.

Yeah. Like I said - I've reached the ultimate in geekiness. Nevermind that their sister sites Idolator and Jezebel have had posts that I've wanted to respond to ... oh no, it's the consumer website and an insurance entry that did it.


I'm going to retreat to the corner now.



p.s.: In the States, it's Columbus Day. Here in San Francisco, it's "Columbus was a mass murderer who raped and pillaged and how can anyone celebrate that?" day. Or, in the words of the local NPR station's morning DJ: "The schools are closed for Columbus Day, or Indigenous Peoples Day, or whatever they're calling it now..."

And Happy Thanksgiving my Canadian lovelies! :-)

I have a feeling that if we all wrote out the lies adults told us, we'd be here for a long-ass time! :-)

So, I'm going to share a few of the lies that I was told:

"You can't eat bay leaves because they'll tear up your stomach"
-- Unknown source. I was about 8 when this was told to me.


"Flirting will get you pregnant."
-- Friend's mom, when I was 10 years old. (Of course, there was no discussion of what would have to follow in order to get pregnant.)


"A lasagne noodle cut his stomach"
-- My mom, trying to explain why my dad was in the hospital. (Years later, I figured out that he was there because of an ulcer.)


"We're taking Curious George to the hospital"
-- My parents, when I was about 4-5 years old. (There was a recall on Curious George stuffed animals, due to lead in the paint in the "Curious George" written on his shirt.)


I'm sure that there were many others - these are the ones that I can think of now.

Dear Barneys of New York -

Okay, so you're the new kid in San Francisco. You're a hotshot in other cities - New York, L.A., Houston, etc. So you're used to prowling the halls and looking down on the lesser department stores.

I paid you a visit the other day, attracted by the pretty façade and the "oooh! shiny!" factor. Wow, you're pretty - but such a cold bitch. Mind you, I don't expect to have people falling over themselves, waiting to kiss my ass, but I'd at least be grateful for a "how can I help you?" or "how are you?". Would a "hello" be too much to ask?

I mean, I know that I came in wearing attire from the House of Old Navy and Vans. I do what I can to try and carry myself reasonably well - some days I do better than others. So, tell me. What did I do wrong? I made sure to wear clean clothes, use deodorant, comb my hair and even put on some perfume.

Oh ... wait. I get it. Not only am I fat, and therefore unworthy of any of your attire, but you have some "Old Money/New Money/No Money" gaydar. So maybe I'm unable to drop five figures without a second thought - but you know, my money spends just the same as anyone else's. And that money will be spent elsewhere.

But you'd never know that would you? You're too busy being that haughty spoiled daddy's girl, looking down at everyone from that ivory tower, so pretty on the outside, and so ugly on the inside.

Signed,

Me.

My eating habits are for the birds, and I will be the first to admit it.

I've decided that while I may not be ready to work on a "real diet", I can at least try to cut back on some things that aren't helping.

What does this mean? My biggest downfall is caffeine. Followed by sodium-laden foods (mainly those ready-to-eat foods). And don't get me started on sugar...

So, I've decided to try keeping track of my caffeine and sodium intakes for about a week, to see how (and where) I can improve - also, where is all of that damn sodium coming from anyways?

Since I'm a total caffeine addict, I've decided to try cutting my caffeine down by about 25%, to wean myself off without having the insane withdrawl. And the sodium? I've decided to go with the "normal range" of 1100-3300 mg. Eventually, I will drop down to the lower limit of 400-1000 mg.

If nothing else, it could probably help my blood pressure stay in a normal range. I'll see what happens, and where it goes.

I'm still feeling like hell - but I wanted to post something that's not as "woe is me" angsty as my previous entry. :-)

There is a book called Father Knows Less - or "Can I Cook My Sister?" by Wendell Jamieson, which is quite funny and fascinating.

Wendell's 7-year old son, Dean, inspired the book with his constant questions - "Is hummus like dinosaur poop?"; "Why do chefs wear those big white hats?"; "Are killer whales mean?". In addition to Dean's questions, there are questions from other kids - "Will cats ever get extinct?"; "Is a rainbow hot or cold?"; "How come if you forget what you were going to say, you don't forget that you were going to say something?", and "How many hours of TV will turn your brain to mush?"

The best part? The questions are answered by experts in the fields pertaining to the questions - museum curators; scientists; anthropologists; a dominatrix and even Yoko Ono (the last two will be explained shortly)!


Some of the (edited) highlights - from the 24 September 2007 issue of People magazine:

Why does a dollar sign have an 'S' in it?
"Most likely from Spanish notation - it's shorthand, basically, for pesos."
- Richard Doty, National Museum of American History.


Why do you never see baby pigeons?
"Because they can't fly, and you'll never see them unless you go where they are nesting ... under bridges, eaves of houses and buildings."
- James F. Avery, National Pigeon Association


How many hairs do I have on my head?
"The average adult has about 100,000. Redheads have fewer because their individual strands are thicker."
- Sy Sperling, Founder, Hair Club For Men


If you don't hit anything with it, how does a whip make that noise?
"That satisfying and dismaying crack is actually a miniature version of a sonic boom as the very tip of the whip moves faster than the speed of sound."
- Jennifer Hunter, Dominatrix


Why did The Beatles break up?
"Because they all grew up, wanted to do things their own way, and they did."
- Yoko Ono

I'm having a physically horrible day. It feels like I was kicked in the uterus, my brain seems a bit foggy and my allergies have been acting up something awful.


But, I'll save that bitching for another time and place. I'm mainly writing this as a bit of a time-waster.

I want to know something - why didn't anyone tell me that Cobra Starship is wicked awesome? Because they are - and not just because I've got a serious girl crush on Victoria (Vicky T.) Asher.

I think my curiousity was truly piqued when I read a quote somewhere about Gabe Saporta (lead singer) that said, "...even when he's singing about locking you up in his basement, he seems quite endearing." All kinds of fucked-up, there - but still quite funny.


In conclusion: Damned if I know today!

I just got home from seeing Guster (yay!) - and I just want to say this. The show was awesome (as they always are) and I had a great time!

On the other hand ...

Dear Stupid Drunken Whoo!Girls:

You know who you are - you were standing behind me, shouting along with the songs so loudly that I heard you more than I heard the band. Shut the fuck up. I paid my money to hear Guster, not hear you. Besides, I'd demand to be *paid* to hear your obnoxious caterwauling, girls.

And while I'm at it - I didn't realise that one could clog while wearing thong sandals. But, there it is. Along with the ersatz Can-Can/Rockettes moves - again, it blows my mind!

So, yeah ... next time you get 'faced and shout along to the songs at a volume above and beyond the band - I'm gonna have to hurt a bitch.

No love,

Carly


Also ...

Dear Warfield Theater -

$5.50 for an f'ing bottle of water? What the hell? Is that some kind of teetotaler's surcharge? Almost like a way of trying to make up for the fact that some of us aren't imbibing? I don't get it, dudes. I don't get it.

If I could sneak in my own damn bottle of water, I would. But, I'd rather not risk being given the 3d degree over schlepping in a bottle of water that costs 25% of what you're charging.

Thanks for the highway robbery.

- Carly

---

Onto something totally unrelated: Riddle me this - I drank 2 Red Bulls and one of those Starbucks-type Double Shot drinks this evening. Why am I *not* buzzed and spazzing around? I'm frackin' drowsy here, even though I had enough caffeine to keep a horse awake.

And for the Red Bull - it was my first time *ever* drinking it. It's not too bad - as long as one doesn't mind the taste of near-flat Mountain Dew.

Now, I think I will get my ass into bed, before I fall asleep at my computer.

Have a good day, my lovelies! :-)