He's baaaaaaaaaack!!!

It has been a loooong time since I've had the opportunity to write here. I'm sure you'll forgive me when you see what I've been up to.

Last time I posted, I might've fibbed. Chris and I were about to head on a trip to Ohio, where we surprised Katie (and Kat, no less!) To help with the surprise, I posted about how nothing was going on and how dull my life was.
And you all believed that?????? God, it's like you don't know me at all. :P

Anyhow, so we went to Ohio with his mother to visit his family and to see Katie and Kat. On the trip, he asked me to stop go go dancing -- and, yes, I have. Color me whipped, I guess. We also began to set up the ways we would stay in touch while I was out here -- World of Warcraft accounts (yesss, we're geeks, try not to be too ashamed of me). He also gave me a webcam. And of course, we have phones.

Anyways, we got back and immediately I began to prepare for my return to Pennsylvania for school -- which was merely days away. My Aunt Susan and Uncle Robert also came to RI for a visit in the same few days. I saw them one day, which was a day spent with Chris as well -- and thne I was off.

I got pulled over on my way to PA in New Jersey. I won't go into too much detail, but I owe $240 dollars for my speeding ticket. And -- strangely enough -- my financial situation isn't terrible so I'm not really worried about it.

The really terrible things started happening when I got to Pennsylvania. See, I had planned to live in this in-law apartment four blocks away from campus. When I got to PA they informed me that their property had been put up for sale and that I could met on a month-to-month basis. I was like "Uhhhh....no" and began my trek as a hobo, bouncing first from Jess' apartment to Nicole's apartment, to Jason's couch, to finally getting a place with Carl and Damon! I'm back in the apartment complex I lived in with Katie last school year, but with each of us paying a third of the rent it works out to be a pretty good deal.

I started classes as a hobo, so getting into the swing of things has been pretty difficult. We're still moving in. Chris came this weekend to visit, which was good because this distance thing has been incredibly difficult for us both on top of all of this. He left today.

So, now you're all caught up!!! :)

"As the world spins around her, she laughs, rolls her eyes"

So, I might be done with Club XS for a while. I haven't fully made up my mind yet. I'll explain why in a bit, but first, I figured I'd share what I'm pretty sure is the definitive conclusion to the Michael Saga (an epic tale of Graham finally liking someone who isn't a total jackass.)

So, as we knew was going to happen, Michael was at XS last night. He picked up Jason on his way, so the two of them came together. Not that kind of together, I guess, although they were barely away from each other's side and totally flirting -- but, the cool thing? Even though I saw this, I was okay!
Besides, you can't blame anyone for flirting with Michael (and it's hard to blame people for flirting with Jason too, I suppose). Michael was wearing his green t-shirt that says "single" on it (you've all seen people wearing it, I'm sure) so it's not like there was a hands-off vibe either. :P Still, there was a marked less-interested vibe I was getting from Michael (and in case you're wondering where I go that idea from, he said "It was good seeing you again" when we were saying bye -- never a good sign :P). Not that that's a bad thing, I'd rather have that than a "I'm totally into you" vibe and then never see him again, right? Of course right.

Anyways, moving on to Club XS...
So, a large part of the whole financial ruin thing going on in my life (and this is by far not the only reason for it, but it's a major contributing factor) is that they didn't let me know when I wasn't working there every weekend anymore. Thus, my budget for January was fucked up because that's a substantial amount of money I wasn't getting that I was expecting to get.
But it was kinda okay, because I still wasn't paying to get in, because technically I still worked there (I was told -- when I came back and found out I wasn't working -- they might occasionally bring us back for special occasions.)
Until last night. Last night I had to pay the five bucks to get in -- which I suppose isn't a lot but it's more than I'm used to paying.

And to make matters worse, I got a ticket. XS has a small and basically useless parking lot, and apparently that is now officially the only place to park. So, hopefully they'll get the memo: time to stop spending so much money on fancy lights and guest DJs and start actually making your club better or at least make parking better.

I'm just a little irked with that whole situation.

Oh, and there's more about last night!
Guess who finally made another appearance! James did! James and Brad arrived at XS at the same time as me, and even though I can tell you I am still not over him, I was able to hear about James' boy that he met in Atlanta without feeling jealous at all!
So I'm either starting to move on, or starting to grow up. I'm not sure.

But your ass is saying something...

I've had a confusing weekend, I mean, emotionally speaking. (Of course, I just now realized why: guess who's having his man period! :P)

So, this week things dwindled at school as everyone geared up for our poorly timed spring break which manages to exactly not coincide with the spring break of any school I know of -- or spring, for that matter.

Anyways, I am more than relieved for several reasons to escape with my friend Amanda to XS on Thursday night. Once there, we were almost immediately introduced to Brendan's compatriots for the night. The first, Jared, is a go go boy from New York state. As far as he goes...he was quite a character, but other details about him are not particularly necessary for my stories. (Brendan would probably disagree, but then again this is my blog and I'm not going to tell Brendan's stories on it. :P) Anyways, Jared was Brendan's date for the weekend.
We were also introduced to Michael -- a tiny bit shorter than me, but gorgeous enough that I am more than willing to make an exception to my taller-is-better rule. (That makes the total number of people who are exceptions to that rule up to 3.) As we talk about the boys, I suddenly recall having briefly met Michael once before.
He had already made this connection. Once again, yours truly is the slow one. :P
Anyhow, I begin flirting with Michael. Subtly at first (well, subtly for me) but more overtly as the night went on. I know, I know, I have a problem being like relaxed when it comes to boys and I come on too strong and just, in general, completely sabotage myself. Which is too bad, because when I'm not actually interested, I'm a damn master at flirting.
But the real master of flirting -- Jason -- Michael also caught his eye. And despite the fact that Jason and I are good friends, he never lets that stop him from flirting with people. (Whereas, if I'm aware that a friend of mine is into someone, I almost always back off.) (Maybe this tiny bit of selflessness is why I never get guys and Jason never has an issue with that?)

After the club, we went to the diner. Where I sat next to Michael, we talked the whole time and shared our food. (Amanda too.) And then we shared our phone numbers -- yeah, I got a boy's phone number!

So I got back to my apartment at 4 in the morning. Slept til 6. Woke up. Brought Katie to the airport. Went back to the apartment. Slept a half hour. Went to class. Didn't have the short story read that we were discussing -- but it's okay, no one did.
As I am trying to kill time between my two classes (my class that goes in between them was canceled because the prof was already on spring break, grr) and calling people. I call Jason, with the intent of seeing if he needed a ride to Town (he was having car issues). Turns out, he needs someone to help him get his car to the shop. I volunteer. So, I head over to his place and follow him in his car to the car place, then drive him back. He gave me a birch beer (OMG I love those things, ps) and soon I was on my way back to school.
Got back just in time for my acting class. Which basically consisted of, "They wouldn't let me cancel class. I marked you all as here. Have fun on break, bye!"

So I went to my apartment. And once I'm there, I get a call from Michael wondering if I want to hang out with him after he gets off work but before we go to Brendan's to meet everyone for Town. I'm totally game, of course, so I get ready quickly and flew down to the mall he works at and met him as he got off work.
Or as he was supposed to get off work.
Fifty minutes later, we left the Nordstroms where he works and went to his apartment where we chilled, ate, and then where he got ready. We headed over to Brendan's (later than we meant to because someone couldn't decide on a shirt...:P) where we met up with Brendan, Jason, Jared and a brand new Carl. Carl is Jared's ex-boyfriend and fellow go go boy who drove down from New York. I don't get it either, to be totally honest. But he was cool.

Jason wasn't feeling well and almost didn't come to Town, but Michael kept telling him he should, so Jason gave in. I think I would've felt bad if he didn't come, since he went all the way down to Brendan's house and then he would've just driven back. Like, way to get yourself all hyped up for a party and then go home and sleep. :P But Jason came with us.

And he and Michael flirted most of the night. Meanwhile, I also flirted with Michael and sometimes it seemed like he was flirting back and other times, not so much. I can't tell with boys anymore.

So, after Town, we went back to Brendan's. Jason got himself set up to sleep on the couch as usual, as Carl and Jared and Brendan disappeared upstairs for bed. Michael and I weren't sure whether or not we were gonna sleep there or at his apartment (which is not far away). Since my car was in the mall, I couldn't up and leave but -- I'll be honest -- I was feeling pretty discouraged by the whole Jason/Michael thing and I probably would have come home and let them have at it if I'd had the option. It was a good thing I didn't have the option, cause I totally would have regretted it.

So, yeah, Michael and I cuddled (and nothing else you dirty sex-addicts) off-and-on through the night, and I don't know about him but I woke up feeling very refreshed. We got him off to work and I got my car and came home where I am now. With no idea what I'm doing between now and when I have to work tomorrow at 12.

"And the last thing he saw on this Earth was the sparkling lights of Laramie, Wyoming."

This is more like it.
You may recall last weekend was kind of dull for me, not in a bad way but it was unusual.

But before I begin, a question for discussion: do all of you talk about blogging and/or your blogosphere pals in the Real World? If so, when does the topic come up? What do you say about it? How do you refer to other bloggers? "My friend"? "This guy who's life I read about online"?
I'll give you my answers after I see a few of yours. :)

No such thing happened this time! Oh no! Last night was spectacular!
To begin with, I went to see The Laramie Project at York Senior High School -- a production which the Westboro Baptist Church was protesting. Now, I figured that the Phelps clan would be entertaining but oh, I had no idea.
First of all, two of the looneys were in the road and we almost hit them. Then we saw the signs. Some of them were exactly what we expected, gays are evil blah-blah, BUT there were some unexpected signs.
First and most hysterical among these was the sign that said "You will eat your children". At this point, I lost it completely. Hysterical. It's not even directed at anyone -- it's directed at EVERYONE. Not "Gays eat their children" or "Americans eat their children". No, you. As in, you all.
The next sign that left an impression on me was another one aimed at "you all" and not any particular group of "sinners". Oh no, it was a message to everybody. "God is your enemy" it said. So, call me crazy, but if God is the enemy...why would anybody worship Him?
Earth to Phelps, maybe you should read the signs you give your disciples to hold up and make sure they actually say what you want them to.

Anyways, we got inside to see the play and I ran into some more friends there (Jason, David, and Danny). The play was AMAZING. First of all, mostly I'm sure thanks to Fred Phelps publicity efforts (so he can do something right...), the high school's auditorium had not only sold out the thousand seats but there was at least 50 people doing the whole standing-room-only thing.
Second of all, it was absolutely the best acted high school production I have ever seen. Okay, the tech needed a little bit of work (mostly the spotlight) but it was GREAT. Astounding. If I hadn't been concerned about getting a ride to work later, I would have stayed and pitched my school's theater department to them.
The play, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is about the town of Laramie following the brutal beating of Matthew Shepard. It is basically a series of interviews, over 200 of them, combined into one theatrical masterpiece created by the Tectonic Theater Company. The play shows how the attack on Matthew Shepard disrupted an entire town, and how many people's opinions and lives were changed because of it. It shows the denial the town went through, the attempts to seperate themselves from the crime, acceptance of ownership of the crime.
It talks about Fred Phelps, which is one reason his cult goes so far out of their way to protest at its productions. He is a character in it, and he gets OWNED. By angels no less.

If you can't find a production near you I highly recommend checking out the movie or the book. The story, the entire piece, is intensely moving and something no one should miss out on.

So I hitched a ride with Jason to get to work. He stopped by his house, and then we hit up a hotel for a pre-party because some of his friends from D.C. had come up for the weekend. David came as well, in his own car, although Danny disappeared at some point between the play and this. There I discovered the friends of D.C. were actually people that I knew! Alphonso and Ryan, as it turned out, who I had met down at Apex. So, we were there for like 10 minutes and then we headed off to the club.
The club was PACKED. It was great. I made a lot of money and the crowd was actually well-behaved (except for my oh-so-shitfaced friends, but I love them anyways! :P) There was this one woman who gave me this blinking light she was wearing, just because I complimented her on it at the beginning of the night and, when she was waaaaaay drunk, she remembered that I'd said something and she gave it to me. I clipped it on my undies!

Another guy, who was a big fan, approached my holding a snap c-ring. Which he then offered me. My first thought was "Dear lord, I hope this was just randomly in his pocket!" Then he told me he wanted to see if it fit me. I told him I could go try it on. "I want to try it on you," he replied -- at which point I told him it would have to wait til after work and when work ended I left as quickly as possible so as to avoid having that...uh...tested.

We adjourned back to the hotel room where we pretty much lazed about until I decided I wanted a shower. Now, of course, I didn't think to lock the door to the bathroom. So, it really shouldn't have been a surprise when David came in a talked to me while I was getting undressed. Whoops.
Then Jason came in to tell me he was leaving. He was in there telling me he was leaving for about five minutes while I showered, which was kind of odd. More to the point, he didn't seem to remember that he'd seen everything before when we'd been in Brendan's hot tub so obviously I wasn't going to by shy about him (where as with David I'd been like pulling down my shirt to cover up). Then Alphonso came in because he wanted a shower so I scooched out and dried while he jumped in. It was interesting. Note to self: ALWAYS lock the bathroom. :P

You know, something terrific though?
Today is the one year anniversary of what is to date on the most devestating things any guy has put me through. Our break up was horrendous, scary, and all kinds of bad. But the good news? I didn't even realize that it was that day until I realized it was my friend's 22nd birthday today, and then I recalled her last birthday, at which I got totally drunk for the first time ever, which was entirely because I was flipping out over my ex-boyfriend.
So, happy birthday Lily!
And, one more time, good riddance apeface! :)

"Gays of Our Lives"

My life is sometimes compared to a soap opera. I won't lie, sometimes it seems like it would make a good TV show. Most of the time though, I laugh at those jokes.
Not so much this weekend. This weekend has been very, very soap operatic.

Craig seems to be warm for my form* again, so that's good news. I know, every time I post it's hot or cold, but at least right now....all's well that's going well for the time-being. :-P

This weekend was...WOW. I went to work Friday, and brought two dear friends of mine who were fully intending on getting shitfaced. And oh boy did they ever!
When we got into the car to go home (this is after the bouncer Nelson helped me bring them to the car in the first place) the vomiting started. We'd been smart and brought bags. But that was when my number one fan, also drunk, decided that he should get in the passenger seat of the car next to me and try to convince me to go home with him. Now, he's like seventy, so I was pretty much like "Pop your Viagra, get a facelift or six, and come back fifty years ago. Then we'll talk." For a number one fan, he hadn't even tipped me that night, so I decided if he kept it up he was going to become my number one restraining order.
My friends vomited the entire hour ride back to school. They were still vomiting for a good long while after we got them into the dorm that I was dropping them off in.

Needless to say, I slept most of Saturday after a night like that.
Then I headed on over to the mall to get my car fixed (as I've been driving on a spare since I blew a tire two weeks ago). They had the tire. They had the rim. They were all ready to stick on my car. "Fifteen minutes," they said, "Stick around."
So I stuck around.
One hour I stuck around. I was not pleased.

So, just by sad coincidence, I was supposed to be at the theater exactly when that hour ended. So I called my stage manager for my one act and professed my profound apologies at the incompetence of the Tires Plus people. Not incompetence -- lack of time management skills.

The one acts went marvelously, and then went and struck the set. I left strike early, and went to go get ready for work. So I'm mildly shocked when Cody gives me a call and asks for Jason's number.
Now, how had he missed the little game or whatever it was where Jason refuses to give me his number and totally toys with me and my gullibility over this? C'mon now, let's be real. So I say no, and ask why.
Well, what was going on was Josh's own personal issues so I won't go into them but let me just say that this kind of shit belongs on television, not in real life. End of discussion. Get me a camera crew if this gonna keep up.

So I got to work and Cody called me to let me know that Josh was okay and safe. Cody had been out looking for Josh for at least forty-five minutes and he stayed with him until Josh's parents arrived. Then Cody came out to XS because of something else major going out:
Our friend from last school year, David, had disappeared in June when he started dating this MAJOR creepy asswad. They broke up (I think) last week, and David was just now coming back to us. Like when a character comes back to life in a TV show. It was very exciting, very good. He's shaved his head...but, hey, whatever works for him. He has a nice car now so that's an improvement. :-P
I also made a few new friends, although I didn't manage to get all their numbers so I'm hoping they'll be back for the big party that is next Saturday!

The three of us crashed at a friend of David's place. Cody slept on the floor, and David and I tried to share the couch but that wasn't so much happening. Noting my discomfort, the friend invited me to sleep in his bed with him. He warned me he was a cuddler.
Cuddling, however, led to shirt-removal, which led to making out....you know where I'm going with this. It meant nothing, it really was nothing. Just a hook-up. So incredibly just a hook-up, that it is the most hook-uppiest hook-up I have ever hooked. Which I think I'm oddly okay with, although I do feel kind of like a slut.

Today, Cody and I hung out. He brought me Oreos. Big mistake. I've been battling my addiction to those cookies and for three weeks I've not had any in the room. He brought two packages. He's a friggin' enabler. These are normal ones, but next thing you know...it's Double Stuf. Then it's the chocolate covered, or peanut butter, or caramel, or white fudge, or the funky red-cream holiday ones! And then before you know it, I'm back to spending all of my money on Oreos and not on important things!


*Credit for this phrase goes to my fabulous friend Mel!

"I can hardly stand the thrill..."

So after I went and got my underwear and got ready for work on Saturday, I got in my car and headed for the club.

And then, after a rather sharp (and badly handled) turn on a back road I have to drive on, the rattling started. Thudthudthudthudthudthud. The car vibrated, worse and worse as I kept driving. Moronic as I am, I kept driving.

Finally, on a straight stretch of highway that I didn't realize was actually a bridge until I had already pulled over, I stopped to see what the hell was going on.
I had blown a tire. I'm thinking "Great, this is an omen...tonight's gonna suck, I shouldn't go!"

But instead, I called Cody to see where he was. He was at Josh's house, which is not too far from the club (and I was like a ten-fifteen minute drive from the club) and, since Josh works for AAA, they heroically came to my rescue.

I got to the club an hour late. And made $20 more than I had made Friday night -- that's sixty bucks. There were some interesting anecdotes I would share, if the rest of the weekend weren't also such a saga! They include being forced off my box by a nearly comatose, utterly oblvious, drunk fat man who thought he should strip, and having a guy who refused to tip try to lick whipped cream off of me (I pretty much just shoved the whipped cream in his face instead...customer service may not be my strong suit when I'm not getting money :-P)
(The picture is of myself, the other go-go boys and a drag queen. From left to right: Eddie, the Baltimore drag queen Vanity Star, Mike, and Chris.)

Anyways, I realized later in the night that I had forgotten my overnight bag for the rest of the weekend's adventures...
At the end of the night, Cody, Josh, and I convinced Jason to come on down to Maryland with us for a shopping spree with our friend Brendan (who is quite wealthy). He agreed, and Cody told him it would be better if we left my car at the club (to avoid extra driving on the spare that got put on) and if he drove.
Jason, as it turns out, is a really awesome and super cool and very interesting guy, I'm glad we're becoming friends! He's even able to get me to have a conversation in a car, which for some reason is the only place I'm usually quiet.

So, we got to Brendan's very nice house and he showed us around and then, lo! He opens a fridge full of gourmet-to-go, which we devoured a lot of. Jason and I then provided a bit of unforgettable comic relief:
Jason: "If we eat before we go in the hot tub, won't we get cramps?"
Me: "Only if you're planning on swimming in the...hot tub."
Okay, maybe it is forgettable, but I still remembered so I wrote it down here anyways. :-P

As you might have guessed, we all got swim suits (Jason and I borrowing some of Brendan's) and jumped into the hot tub. Well, not jumped, but you know what I mean.
It wasn't long before Jason announced he was the first one -- and tossed his swim suit onto the side of the hot tub. The rest of us followed suit. We spent a good long time all just chilling in hot tub and it was awesome to be so comfortable around all the guys.
Then, Jason and I both being wiped out, we decided to go to bed. We pushed together the two twin beds in the guest room to make a bed that could fit all four of us with a fair amount of ease. Jason and I got into the bed and started to doze off....when Josh and Cody jumped on us!!! They stayed up a while talking loudly and obnoxiously and then I was asleep and Lord knows what else happened.

The next day we went shopping!! Our friends Adam and Jeff joined us as well. Brendan insisted on paying for everything...and we collectively cost him $1500 dollars!!! WOW! He's one of the most generous guys I have ever met, and he didn't seem to mind much at all.

Then we returned to Brendan's abode and we all ended up having a nap. Or, I did.
Now, I don't intend to talk about sex much on this blog but this was so bizarre for me that I just have to say. You see, all four of us (Cody, Jason, Josh, and I) are laying down on this fold-out couch bed in Brendan's basement while Adam, Brendan, and Jeff danced upstairs (I think they were doing that anyways.)
Now, I'm having kinda weird, pretty sexual dreams. Which, y'know, that happens sometimes. Except, when I woke up my hand was in Josh's pants. His hand was on mine. Josh is my best friend Cody's boyfriend. I sat bolt upright and was like "Wha?" only then noticing exactly how turned on I seemed to be. Cody, meanwhile is laughing. Jason too is awake. Everyone's turned on, but fully dressed.
Apparently, this sort of psuedo-fooling around had been going on for a while, and I'd been asleep for most of it. I woke up in the middle. I guess I was participating despite being asleep? What the hell, I miss all this good stuff. :-P

After that little...episode, we went upstairs, ate, and then had to leave so I could get to a meeting for work at abercrombie in time. I made it, and have been ridiculously busy ever since.

Tonight, I went out to the club to party on their 18+ night. It was pretty dead, but I think that's mostly because people are planning on going out to their HUUUGE pre-Thanksgiving party tomorrow night.

Now, I'm packing for the eight hour train ride I have ahead of me tomorrow to get home for the holidays. Craig and I are talking like we used to, so now I'm not so sure...could we go back to being more than just friends? I think so, he's acting like he does too. Is it a good idea to try again? Certainly we'll lay out different ground rules this time if we try...like how there will be no lunch dates!

(The pictures of me dancing are totally not the best pictures of me, but whatever, they'll do. :-P)