We survived the storm. Really, there wasn't much to it. Boston had a little snow, followed by a little sleet, followed by rain. It hardly seemed like a nor'easter at all. I dragged Curt out to bar hop yesterday afternoon. We got wet, but a little bourbon warmed me quickly. Hit the Eagle, Fritz, Luxors, Chaps. Most places were pretty dead. Usually during a storm the neighborhood bars fill up with giddy, bored people. Everyone goes out looking for a little fun during the storm, but the storm was so anti-climactic I don't think it generated that level of goofy fun in people. Well, we at least had fun. So much fun that we didn't get to bed until 3:30am, and we made a new friend who happens to live right around the corner. Who says Bostonian's aren't friendly? Now the question is, what will we do tonight? We have no pre-arranged plans. Where will the winds take us?

One of my favorite movies of the year was X-MEN. Naturally, I swooned over Hugh Jackman as big butch Wolverine. Didn't we all? James Marsden as Cyclops barely even registered on my radar screen. But I bought the DVD as a Christmas present for my boyfiend, and last night I threw it in and started watching the special features, including interviews with James Marsden. Let me tell you, I've been hot over the wrong X-man all this time! Ironically, it's his eyes that got me. I've always been a sucker for pretty eyes, and covered up by his X-MEN costume, I never got to appreciate the full beauty of his face. So today's hunk, on this stormy New England day, is actor James Marsden. His eyes make me melt.

The wind just picked up and it's starting to snow. Let the storm begin!!

Something interesting happens when you've reached your mid-thirties and you're in a happy relationship. It gets harder and harder to leave the house after nine o'clock at night. Last night, for instance, Curt and I fully intended to relax and then go out bar-hopping or clubbing. I even took a late afternoon nap in anticipation. But then 8pm rolled around and neither of us were getting ready, then 9pm rolled past and still neither of us were getting ready. Then Curt started to yawn, and we sat cudded on the couch encouraging each other to get in the shower. Curt started eating cookies and drinking a glass of milk, The Strange World of Sid and Marty Kroft came on E!, and by 10pm it was obvious that going out was just not going to happen. At 35, my desire to go out is still strong. I love nightclubs, I love the potential for trouble, I love cruising boys and doing all kinds of things that nice boys shouldn't do. But for the past two years, more often than not, we end up not leaving the house on Friday and Saturday nights. We're more likely to go clubbing if we are already out at 6 or 7pm, and then we just get swept up in the debauchery and before we know it it's 2am and we've had great fun. I don't know if it's a product of age, the fact that we're happy and content in our relationship, or whether it's that we're working harder and so just don't have the energy left (I have work days that are much more intense than I've ever have before). I don't want to think that we're slowing down. Mentally, I'm certainly not ready for that. I'm still a party boy. Is this only going to get worse? Will we reach a point where we're only going out once a month? Then only on vacations? Eventually, will we not have any interest in going out at all? I suppose it's that we're both happy and content. Other than an occassional naughty encounter with a new piece of ass, there's not much out there to draw us. It's more appealing to save money for vacations, to wake up feeling good and make breakfast for each other, to put up the new birdfeeder and run out to buy birdfeed, to decide whether to make stew today or tomorrow, and all those other things that happenned this morning. Having said all that, Curt and I plan to wait until it starts snowing this afternoon, and then go out and bar-hop while it storms. Maybe with a little luck, we'll even be out past 9pm!

I have the day off. My unemployed-for-not-much-longer man (he just accepted a job offer and will begin in a little over a week) and I are going to venture out into the freezing cold to do some sales shopping in the Back Bay. I'm glad I'm taking some extra time off while he's not working to have some fun together. A storm is coming, a big nor'easter which they say will hit tomorrow afternoon and bring up to 12 or 14 inches of snow. I'm thrilled - I love snow storms. I plan to spend it in sweats and slippers, eating, watching DVD's, and playing on the 'net. Maybe I'll make myself a margarita right at the height of the storm just to be ironic.

Boys, gather around the fire and let me tell you something you should always remember. It's good to select boyfriends in your life with a wide range of skills, and then to make sure that you never have messy break-ups where they hate you and never want anything to do with you ever again. Case-in-point, my ex of 12 years, Chris, who gave me a USB port for Christmas and came over tonight to hook it into my Mac. Besides still being good friend, he is also my tech advisor for all my computer and internet needs. Frankly, I'd be lost without him. Thanks to him, now I can post pictures I take with my new digital camera. Whoo hoo! I love technology! And so, here's a picture taken tonight, of myself and the boyfriend, Curt. And thanks, Chris, for the gift and the help!!

Up until now, I've considered myself more or less just an observer in this whole Blog, weblog, webdiary phenomenon. I stumbled upon it (and became interested in starting my own) quite by accident. I just happened on a whim to look up the website of someone who had been an e-mail acquaintance of mine several years ago. I found that Jonno's website was as fabulous as ever, but that now he was using something called Blogger to update it on an almost daily basis. Just as influential for me as Jonno's own site, were the many links he had to other Blogger user websites. Some people were writing drivel, some people were publishing all their personal information for all to read, some people used it to discuss concepts and idea's, and others seemed to just use their website as a soap box to bitch about all manner of things. Now, I'd been wrestling for quite some time (years, actually) with what the exact purpose of my own web site was. Since the only people who knew about it were my family and close friends, it didn't amount to much except occasionally posting vacation photo's and recipes. I wanted to do something more with it, but didn't quite know what. The idea of a weblog (once I discovered them) very much appealed to me, so I thought I'd try it. My first web log posts were directly to my general web site, accessible to everyone including family. Curt quickly became uncomfortable with the degree of honesty I was using in reporting our sometimes hedonistic lives (hey, that's the most fun stuff to write about!). Since his parents and ultra conservative sisters were likely to be reading, he asked if I could tone it down. I didn't want to do that (I, like Madonna, have artistic integrity and want to take my audience on a journey . . . haha), but instead I offered to post up an alternate entrance which would take those in-the-know first to my Blog page (this one), but still keep the old entrance that the family's knew about which by-passed any potentially incriminating Blogs. After trying it out for a few months (to see also if I would consistently post), the day has come when it's time to offer my little blog to the world. Thanks to Chris and his BoyLog webring, I'm no longer the lurking observer. No, I'm a Blogger now. Ready to share it with whoever is interested. I just hope that over time, it turns out to be as interesting as some of my favorites. Wish me luck, and stop by often! Please, just ignore all the horrible spelling and grammar errors I'm bound to make. I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree.

I discovered a heart throb from the past today. A man who was at his peak as I was just entering the world. Clint Walker was primo daddy material. Grade-A prime beef. We were channel surfing and landed on a 1966 film called NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY. Clint Walker was chopping wood without his shirt off (see color pic below) and I ask Curt "Who is that?!?" Had to do some digging, but turns out that this hunk was 38 when he made the movie and had quite a bit of film and TV work under his belt (and quite a bit more under there too, from the looks of things). I don't usually find stars of the past very sexy, but 6'6" Mr. Walker is definitely an exception. So boys and girls, raise your glass and let out a big loud "Grrrrr" for Mr. Clint Walker. Heart throb material then, heart throb material still 30+ years later.

Boys, boys! Do yourselves a favor and buy your hubby a DVD player. He'll stay quiet for hours at a time, leaving you to surf the web in peace.

Just in case you're wondering what's hot right now for dance music, here's my personal current top 5. These songs make my eyes roll to the back of my head, even without recreational drugs!

Zombie Nation by Kernkraft Toca's Miracle by Fragma Sandstorm by Darude Check It Out by Karmadelic feat. Sandy B. Lovin You by Kristine W. And I might as well mention that each year at this time I start thinking about what the best dance song of the year was (in 1999 it was Find Another Woman by Reina). This year, my pick is I'm Outta Love by Anastacia. This song is amazing and if you only buy ONE dance track next time you're shopping, make it this one.

Okay, okay! I admit it. Those lips, those eyes, that smoldering sexuality, the sexy smirk, and most of all that voice. Oh, the voice! Every weekend, I turn on the Today Show and I'm turned on by hottie weekend co-host David Bloom.

Be still my heart! You just know that underneath that reserved professionalism is a wild sex maniac. A sex maniac I tell you! Grrrrrr . . . I don't know how Soledad contains herself.

Curt and I had great fun last night leaving a 100% tip for our bartender/waiter after having burrito's and beers at Fajita's and Rita's, then leaving an extra $20 for bartender Roger at the Eagle after we popped in for a nighcap there. Just doing our part to spread a little Christmas spirit! Of course, I realize now that I'm completely out of money until I get paid again next week.

Thanks, Sheri, for remembering that your old friend Cory is a Ho Ho Ho . . .

Okay, Christmas preparations have begun. I think, after much contemplation, I've finally got my Christmas day menu figured out. For the first time ever, I'm actually testing out one of the dishes I plan to serve by making a small version of it tonight to see how it comes out. It's a relatively easy dish, or so it would seem - a scalloped potato concoction that was served at Wendy and Rob's wedding that everyone raved over. To Wendy and I, it seemed that they had basically made macaroni and cheese but substituted potato's for the macaroni. So I'm giving it a try by taking my mac & cheese recipe and just using spuds. It's in the oven. I'll know if it works or not (and whether I should serve it on Christmas) in about an hour.

Still no Blog*Spot to post to, so I'll just keep posting to Blogger and then publish to my Blog*Spot page when the ISP has their act together. I suppose I can't complain very much, after all, this costs me absolutely nothing. I piggy-back on free services from AOL and Blogger, and that's served me pretty well for the past few months. Still, I think it's about time to bite the bullet and get my own domain name and host. All the cool kids are doing it, so should I. Maybe this little ISP problem will be the incentive I need.

Another heart-warming story of a good doing being returned (this time by the universe) from Wendy O.(Mrs) . . . (Oh, and by the way, "Spare Change" is a newspaper put out by a group of homeless here in Boston) it's true. I gave one of my last dollars to a homeless man selling Spare Change on my way to the T. I knew that I'd have to dig through my change once I got to South Station, but I figured what the hey. I always buy Spare Change. So I got to South Station and guess what? Due to construction, it was free to ride to train for that day. Cool, huh?? I thought it was a great karmic moment....

I need to preface this statement by saying to everyone who sends me e-cards that I really, truly, do appreciate the thought. Okay, now for a moment of complete honesty, I hate e-cards. I get the e-mail that someone has sent me a card or a message with a link to follow, and I think "Oh, that's nice," (because I really do like that someone thought of me). However, 9 out of 10 times I just delete the e-mail and never retrieve the actual "card". I know some of these damn things will tell the sender when you've accessed the link, so I ignore them not without some small tinge of guilt, but really - I hate the fact that I need to take extra steps to access them (even just waiting for the things to load and launch bugs me). I hate the ads that usually accompany them. I hate the one's that make sounds especially (I thank God sometimes that my office PC does not have a sound card). I've never opened one and thought, wow - that was a great card! I've recieved six of e-cards in the last two days. One from just an e-mail address I can't even associate with anyone I know. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer getting traditional cards in the mail, hand-written with a message by the person who sent them. The e-card fad is something that I hope dies out eventually. I'd much rather just get a nice e-mail message. Something I can open and read quickly and without complication. Somthing I could even print out and keep if I wanted. I can't believe I've actually found something about in internet revolution that I don't like!

Chris, my ex and still good friend, just sent me this via e-mail and in the spirit of the season I wanted to share it . . . Last night i was shopping at my local pet shop ("The Pet Shop Girls", cute huh?) and this guy was at the register and short $1, so i said "Here, let me cover that" and the cashier/owner and the man both were like "you dont have to do that" i said "hey, it's christmas" and they both said "that's so nice." So I got some stuff for the doggie and the demon...err cat's stockings, and went to pay, and we started talking about Lucas' arthritis and i was telling her about now he LIKES taking asprin cause he associates it with treats after (even tho we stopped giveing him treats after, who said dogs are smart?) Anyway, she said "get some dogfood with glucosamine" and I said, yeah, i been meaning to. I go to leave and on the way out she says "Wait, come here... try some of this" and she gives me some liquid glucosamine stuff selling for $10 that you put in the food....she says "No charge, merry christmas." So the moral of the story is that little $1 cam back to me TENFOLD!

Blog*Spot is having some problems so that's why I haven't had a new post in a while. I can POST to Blogger but the site just isn't accessable for reading.

Despite my on-going cold (which finally, today, seems to be whimpering out), I managed to have a wonderful time this past weekend with some good friends. I had perhaps too much fun on Sunday with alcohol consumption beginning with bloody mary's at noon and going - non-stop - though approximately 10pm at night with bourbon at T-dance. My darlings Eve and Wendy gave Curt hickeys at a bar and Curt gave a boy a BJ on the dancefloor. So all in all, it was really a pretty standard Sunday. Still, I should probably have been a little more laid back because my cold had one last stand come Monday morning when my throat felt like it was on fire. Forcing liquids (the non-alcoholic type) all day seemed to have helped. I even had the energy to make chili last night.

Ack! I'm sick with a really bad head cold. I was up until 4am in misery despite the fact that I took 2 Advil and 2 Tylenol PM's. Neither worked very well for my aches and pains. Finally fell asleep and had to be woken up at 7:30 by Curt. Of course, at that point the Tylenol PM's had kicked in and I could barely move. It was snowy and wet today, so sniffling and coughing I went out at lunch in search of soup. A co-worker recommended a place with good wonton soup (I work right on the edge of Chinatown). It was delicious, but the place was (and this is being nice) a dive. In Chinatown, good food and good decor don't necessarily come in the same package. Luckily, there's nothing to do tonight except some Christmas decorating. I can get into some warm snuggly clothes and just relax with my equally warm and snuggly boyfriend.

Yes, Jonno. I love your city for many reasons, and you've described one of the top ones. It is also one of the reasons I so love Boston (despite its sometimes puritanical bent). No place is perfect, but Boston and New Orleans are two of the few places I could ever seriously consider calling home.

Well, it's finally over. George Dubya will be our president for the next four years, and I'm just going to sit back and shake my head in disbelief alot. It's all going to be so embarrasing.

I'm no prude. I don't have a problem with adult entertainment of any sort, as long as it hurts no one involved (ie., consenting adults only), so I've always been a wee-bit sad about the demise of Boston's only adult entertainment zoned neighborhood, affectionately called the "Combat Zone" (called that because of the large numbers of off-duty military men who used to frequent it). In its heyday of the seventies, it was filled with strip bars, seedy adult theaters and overrun (I hear - wasn't in Boston at the time) by prostitutes and pimps. The city has tried - very successfully - to clean up the area, and today it's a few short blocks adjacent to Chinatown that even a grandma could walk through without batting an eye. I've always thought that the city was misguided in trying to push out all these establishments completely. Don't get me wrong - I don't think that a wild no-holds-barred area of badly run, dangerous establishments and prostitution-run-amok is an okay thing. However, I do think that every city should offer a little adult entertainment run (one would hope) by fairly responsible people. Every world-class city I've ever been to has had places like this. Theaters, bars, video stores. In may European cities, they are disbursed throughout the city rather than being regulated to one specific area, making it very difficult for any one section to become a enclave of crime or questionable goings-on (I've always thought that Boston's big blunder was to make one specific area the zone, then they screwed up even more by turning a blind-eye to what was going on there. Hello, no wonder it went out of control). So when Centerfolds, the straight strip bar franchise, recently set its sites on opening a new location within the old Combat Zone, the neighborhood and the city were horrified. They believe that Centerfolds will bring crime, drugs and prostitution back to the Combat Zone. I was very interested to learn, however, that an examination of city licensing records shows that The Glass Slipper, the Zone's only remaining strip bar, isn't cited for violations any more frequently than any of the cities other nightclubs. The Slipper has been brought before the Boston Licensing Board just once this year. Last year, it had three violations. In comparison, Jillian's, a game club on Lansdowne Street, was brought in six times. Nightclubs Avalon and Axis have been before the board five times in two years for everything from overcrowding and serving minors to drug offenses, assaults, fights or robberies. The tourist and hospitality industries say that certain "adults-only clubs" and entertainment opportunities (like those operating in Montreal, Dallas, Miami) can be an asset when marketing Boston to convention planners. I say, what's the big deal? The city should just stop being all moral and prudish, and started thinking about ways to offer adult entertainment responsibly (rather than how they did it last time). It's been part of every human "civilization" for thousands of years, so there must obviously be some sort of basic (dare I say) need and purpose for it. Loosen up!

Ah, sushi! Once again neither of us felt like cooking, so we ventured out in the cold to enjoy one of our favorite dining choices I can't remember exactly the first time I ate sushi. It was definitely after moving to Boston, and I was no doubt suspicious about what I was getting into. Face it, to our American sensibilities raw fish is definitely not very appetizing sounding, and it took this little country bumpkin a few years in the big city to summon up the courage for something so exotic. I think I was probably with co-workers doing after-work food and drinks. We ended up at a sushi bar and I (thinking I was quite adventurous) asked to try a bit of someone's maki roll. A little soy sauce, a little wasabi (careful with the wasabi!), now I'm a bonafide sushi lover, and every once in a while I get an overwhelming hankerin for a hunk of raw fish. The tastes, the texture, the nuances - there's something quite remarkable (and a bit addictive) about sushi and all the rituals that surround it. Curt and I had been dating for almost two years before I took him to his first sushi bar. Like everyone else, he was at first a little hesitant. We started easy - California roll, tuna and cucumber - soon I'd turned him onto maki of all sorts, nigiri sushi, and then all kinds of special "designer rolls". Now he loves it as much as I do, and the first bites always induce a chorus of approving "mmmmm's" from both of us. There's nothing like a nice beer and a sampling of various sushi treats to make us happy.. Luckily, we have an excellent sushi restaurant not two blocks from home (they even have another location quite near where I work), so we can convenient get it whenever the craving hits us. We always like to do it the traditional way - to actually sit at the sushi bar (never at a table), and order off the menu two or three items at a time. To sit, watch, and converse a little with the sushi chef (I've heard it's always a good idea to befriend the sushi chef), and have him personally hand you your order - that'sthe best way to do it. Nothing too crazy though - I'm still trying to work up to octopus, for instance. But oh, to be nestled up to a sushi bar with the man I adore, chopsticks in hand, beers at our sides, ordering delicious morsels that both melt and set fire in our mouths at the same time. There is probably no dining experience I cherish more.

Not a bad place for Madonna to be married, is it? Thanks for the link, Sheri!

Why are my November archives not showing up? I don't quite have a grip on this blogger thing quite yet, I guess. Well, if you're interested, they are right here.

I am a bad little diva worshipper. Kristine W., the only dance diva (not counting Madonna) who I truly adore, was in town for two shows this weekend and I missed them both. I can only blame myself. I fully intended to go to her Sunday night show - I even took Monday off in order to do it - and I partied too hard on Friday and Saturday and could hardly keep my eyes open on Sunday evening (much less consider going out to a club). I could kick myself today because who knows WHEN she'll be back. And if you question my devotion to Kristine, just take a look at this.

It is Thursday. The day to start drinking to prepare for the weekend. - Wendy O. (Mrs)

Hurray! I'm back! My office moved and we are now a few blocks from our previous location. Now we occupy four stories on the edge of Boston's Chinatown (the building actually has a fifth story that we are going to be renting out to another non-profit). I was the move coordinator for my department, and so the last two weeks were quite busy for me. Had to label everything, make decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of, make sure everyone was packing up and crating their belongings correctly. We had last Friday off so the movers could do their thing, and then had to all come in on Sunday to unpack so we could be functioning first thing on Monday morning. Unfortunately, there was a snafu with our occupancy permit so we had to actually be closed on Monday and didn't get to open until Tuesday. I've been unpacking all week, and trying to get our new offices settled. We haven't had access to e-mail or the internet since last Thursday, and somehow I just never had a chance to check it at home in all that time either. That's quite a feat for me - not checking e-mail or surfing the 'net for an entire weekend! So now I've got a lot of catching-up to do. Gotta get updated with all those other web-logs I've gotten addicted to reading. Okay, so my other news is (drum roll please) . . . My boyfriend has been laid off (again). His company is in deep trouble, and they laid off about 250 employees. Being one of the last to get hired, he naturally was one of the first to get let go. Don't boo-hoo for him too much though, because he's actually pretty happy about the whole thing. He didn't like his company much anyway and was probably going to be looking for another job soon. This way he gets a severance package and can enjoy the holidays. He is quite a happy camper.