Costumed Tourists on Parade

I really don't get it. This is the day before Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts ---- and there are already about 100 tourists in full costumes roaming up and down the street below my balcony. What are they doing? What joy is coming to them? Tomorrow there will be thousands of them --- that will be kind of fun to watch and we're letting our condo serve as a stop off spot for our pals who like to roam around with these crazies. And of course, we do have a large population of witches who take the day quite seriously. I doubt there will be much sleep going on this weekend --- as the Salem celebration of Halloween will be going on all weekend. I just don't get it, but then I have never gotten into this holiday. Hmmmm...

Lint O' the Belly

I've always found my belly button uncomfortable. Not sure why. I do not like having it touched nor do I like touching it. I do not even like writing it. Even though I guess it doesn't hurt ---- I always expect it to hurt when touched. But belly buttons must be cleaned! And I am compelled to write a question here as I have been getting an unusual amount of belly button lint as of late. Why? Why and where does all this belly button lint come from? Someone must know. Actually, maybe everyone knows but me because I just hate dealing with belly buttons.

...I've issues.

Oral Hygiene or Something Like It...

OK. Had a cavity filled tonight. A dental cavity. Anyway, I think my dentist hit on me. As he was finishing up he reached inside my thighs and rubbed my right thigh and asked how I was feeling. I responded "fine" and then he said "All done!" and shook my hand tightly and told me it had been good to see me.

I walked to the subway feeling kind of creeped out. Karl thought it was great and wanted to know if the dentist was cute. I've never thought of him in that way. ...and don't think I really want to. Karl feels I should be flattered.

...I guess I am? Actually, I guess I should be flattered that anyone would want to do me. Well, that is my exciting post for the day.

Still no buyers for our condo.

Johnny One Note...

It is really that time of year that Salem, City of Witches --- City of Halloween, kicks into high gear. Essex street, the pedestrian only section --- which runs directly infront of our condo, is filled with loud men, women and children from 9am till about midnight. Vendors selling all sorts of foods, witch stuff (both serious and silly) and street muscians. One of the music makers has set up house directly beneath our condo and his song stylings drift 6 stories up to our lovely condo (for sale if anyone wants it!) He only knows three songs. We've been tortured by "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" "Michelle" and "It's So Easy" for the past 4 days/nights. Now, I do not want to kill him, but I may be forced to drastic measures soon if he doesn't learn a new song or two by tomorrow. I shall pelt him with rocks and garbage till he moves down the street with his limited repertoire.

Friday Night!

Well, it is Friday night and I have a big night planned. Just me and a DVD or two and my blanket. Exciting I know, but it actually sounds kind of nice considering my week which has been a bit difficult at work.

Oh! I got new snow boots and shoes from my favorite shoe designer, John Fluevog! I will be able to leave tiny prints of angels in the snow as I walk --- and look stylish all at the same time!

I don't get the new Basement Jaxx CD --- the critics are loving it, but it just seems kinda noisy to me. The Creatures CD is cool, but not as cool as the new Blondie.

Well, those are my exciting comments for today! We have our first house showing this weekend! Please keep your fingers crossed. We hope to sell quickly.

Atkins Failure In Waiting

I think it could safely be said that I've fallen off of the Atkins Diet Wagon. Not a good thing. I finished induction and started working on counting my carbs and just sort of lost interest. Too much trouble and that soda just looked so good. Ugh. I will figure something out ---- I must stop the expansion of me!!

The Blogger Who Fell Off the Planet for a Short While...

Sorry it has been so long since my last posting! Much has been going on. Let's see ----good news regarding male breast cancer concern ---- met with specialist and she believes that the probs I've been experiencing are directly related to one of the meds I've been taking. Am now off that med and we are waiting for a couple of weeks to see if things improve before any further testing.

My brother was here this weekend and we hung out all over Boston. Had a lot of fun. It was really cool to see him after such a long time. It will be even cooler when he moves here in January.

Karl and I have decided we have had enough of the burbs and are returning to the city of Boston. We're putting the condo on the market and hope to be back in the city for the new year. Of course, this probably means we will never own a home again ---- but we are just city boys at heart and must get back to our concrete roots. My only concern is that we are moving away from some very dear friends here in the North Shore of New England --- but we are pleged not to lose touch.

Work continues to be a challenge. I plod on. ...and on.

I really like the new Blondie CD. Didn't like it on the first play, but am really into it now. Picked up the new Creatures and Basement Jaxx CD's tonight. Have not played them yet. Between Babs and Blondie it will be hard to get a good listen!

Lush, Plush and Gush...

The new Babs Streisand CD came out today and I was faced with quite a dilemma. Two versions were released. There is the standard issue CD in normal jewel box and a limited edition digi-pack (cardboard "jewel" box) with a DVD. Obviously, I had to get the deluxe/limited edition version, but now I would have an irregularly-sized cardboard box that will probably fall apart in a year or two.

Now, for those of you who do not know --- I rather like Babs. So, I have every single CD she has ever released. That means I have well over 53 Babs CD's. I stopped counting after 53. Anywho, I was concerned how this digi-pack would look --- so I also purchased the standard version for the living room. I shall keep the digi-pack DVD with my DVD collection. Problem solved!

Obsessed much?

The CD is very lush, filled with dramatic gushing orchestrations and plush arrangements. So, in a word --- pure Barbra! I love it! The packaging contains photos taken in 1991 and 1996 --- so she looks like pure butta! I guess at 62 she does not want to put out current photos. Oh well.

This was the lift I needed for my week which ain't going so well.

My hands are looking old and dry to me. This makes me sad.

Dinner Dates and Musical Umbrellas...

Having dinner with friends tonight. Should be a very nice evening. I don't think I will be able to adhere to Atkins tonight. To be honest, I didn't adhere to Atkins today. Yes, I had soda. ...and a cookie. ...and some popcorn when I saw "Intolerable Cruelty" --- which I didn't really care for. However, I must state once more for the record, "Kill Bill" kicked major cinematic ass.

Oh, it will cost $2K to fix our car. Sucks. And I suspect it will take more than a day or two to fix. This means I will be car-less for a while when we put it in the shop. Karl is happy to have me car-less.

Oh, I finally found the soundtrack to "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" or "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" for those of you who can speak French. I love the movie and have been looking for the soundtrack ever since I first saw it back in the early 90's. I must say I was crushed to discover that Catherine Denueve did not do her own singing.

We are also having dinner with one of my fave co-workers tomorrow night in Boston. I want her to meet Karl. It should be a fun evening as well.

We are, at the moment, debating whether or not we might put our condo on the market and move back to Boston. I have to say we are leaning toward getting back to the city. We may have had our fill of the burbs. The two very big downsides to this potential change will be leaving all of our friends here in Salem as I am worried we might lose them and losing our own washer/dryer which I love. It will be a tough decision. Plus, we will never own anything in Boston. At least not in this lifetime. Still we could make a tidy profit if we sold. We could actually invest and create a bit of a nest egg. A nest egg without an owned home. Hmmmm...

My Lucky Streak Continues...

Well, I had a fender-bender on my way to the office this week. To make matters worse, it was my fault. Luckily I was going slow and no one was hurt, but I managed to do quite a job on the hood of our car. We are getting estimates tomorrrow.

The pain in my jaw is being caused by stress. Apparently I am applying a great deal of pressure on my jaw. I was told to relax and see if the pain goes away by next week.

I've started back on the commuter rail. My first morning, a fat old man with really bad body odor sat by me. He then had the nerve to say to me, "You're wearing too much cologne" So, I responded in a loud and aggressive voice, "Call me when you've had a bath and purchase some deodorant --- You stink!" He moved. That was my one victory of the week.

Tonight they delayed the train for the people leaving the circus which is going on near the commuter rail station. So, we sat there waiting as the train filled with obnoxious children holding balloons. The train was 20 minutes late.

My bloodwork came back "good" which worries me because my doctor was thinking we might see hormonal probs or something related to one of my meds. I see the cancer surgeon on the 16th.

However, I saw "Kill Bill" tonight and LOVED it! It was just a lot of fun, but most gruesome. Lots of gore, but it became almost like a cartoon so it was somehow not offensive. I am dying to see volume 2!

Well, that is my update for now. All in all the week could have been a lot worse. So I am most thankful. ...sort of.

Nipple of Hope

So, I saw my primary care doctor this afternoon. She seems fairly confident that I do not have this Paget's disease/cancer thing. She suspects this may be a side effect of one of my meds which causes harmonal problems for women. She is thinking it could easily cause similar for men. However, she is not comfortable on ruling anything out and wants me to move forward with my appointment with the surgeon next week just to be sure. I guess this surgeon is an expert of sorts in dealing with male breast cancer. They will have to do a mamogram. When I asked why this was not just being done now my doctor told me that the surgeon will want to see and examine me first. Ugh. I had much blood work done because that will help to determine if this ninny prob is related to one of my meds. I sure hope that it is. Will not get results from blood tests till Friday or Monday.

Other fun things ---- my jaw is killing me! I am seeing the dentist tomorrow afternoon in hopes of relieving the pain.

I think my boss is getting most tired of my being out of the office so much --- especially after just returning from a really long leave of absence. Oh well. Not much I can do about it.

Paget's disease of the nipple and Other Fun Things

Ok, so I've had some soreness in my nipples. ...and it wasn't from any sort of rough "playing" ---- they just plain hurt. So, today I went to the doctor and they freaked me out because she was concerned that I may have a form of male breast cancer called Paget's disease of the nipple --- and she found a small lump/bump under my right pleasure ninny. She immediately made arrangements for me to meet with a specialist who had an opening for the 16th of this month. I am calling my primary care physician tomorrow --- just because I didn't see her today.

I don't know. I am not going to worry about it till I know. However, this has not been my year. If it does turn out to be this ninny cancer ---- chances are it has been caught early. That is good. Ugh.

Also, we made Atkin's Chocolate Chip Muffins tonight. They tasted like cardboard which had been lying at the bottom of an old closet. Yummy.

Oh, and I didn't have a very good day at work. I've decided I am not taking public transit tomorrow. I shall drive!

Jack Black Attack

So, I know this might be a bit sick and wrong, but I think Jack Black is sexy. There. I wrote it. Glad I got it off my chest!

Dirty Cartoons

I finally got to watch my DVD of the classic anima feature, "Perfect Blue" last night. It was fantastic, but I have to say that the nudity threw me off. I think the fact that it is animated made it seem more pornographic than if had been actually filmed actresses. I was even a bit embarassed. How dorky is that? Anyway, once I got past all of the illustrated ninnies and wha-hoos ---- the film was verying interesting. The ending left me feeling a bit confused. I will have to watch it again. ...and again. I can only hope that the gay anime I picked up last week will be as graphic! ha!

Our email is back up! I felt so disconnected. You forget how important the internet is until you don't have it!

We have friends coming over tonight and Karl has made them cookies. This will be a bit of torture for me, but don't cry for me ---- I have my Atkins candy bars which are really pretty good minus the odd after taste. I might have one cookie. Am no longer in the induction phase, but now I have to count those carbs!

At Last!!!!!

At long last I have been released to return to work full time with no limits or restrictions effective for Monday, October 6th! I am so excited. No more wondering about with nothing to do in the afternoons! I shall be working! I am most pleased. I think my boss and co-workers will be pleased as well.

Oh! If anyone has tried sending me an email ---- we seem to be having trouble with Outlook. We've been trying to figure out the problem, but for the moment emails aren't getting through to us and I do not believe I can send either. Bummer.

Why O Why Do We Pay Taxes?!?!?

Well, jury duty was a non-event, but a long one. I even took a nap as we waited. I brought a book, but it sucked. So I was left to my own devices. I did not have to resort to any twitching or incoherent whispering ---- just had to wait and waste away my time which grows shorter with each birthday! Ugh!

Oh, and I've new problem! Now, I am used to the fact that Karl and I are on all sorts of gay mailing lists and I even enjoy some of that snail mail. Essentially, we get ads for gay travel agents, gay credit cards, gay movies, gay cartoons, gay porno, gay erotica, gay toys, gay, gay, gay. It is OK, but now we are receiving a whole new class of mail that really perplexes me.

We're getting adverts for Playboy, Maxim and we even received the Playboy gift catalog. Why are we receiving this hetro-macho-mail?!?!?! I can assure you that we are good practicing queers. This should not happen to us. I mean Playgirl -- sure, but not Playboy and Hustler! It offends me.

I mean, I am all fine with men being sexually objectified ---- but am not comfortable when it happens to women. This is my porno double standard. Women have been treated as sex objects for far too long --- I feel it is time for men to be treated the same. ...and I wanna watch!

But I do not want on this mailing list hetro loop! Oy!

Oh, I've recently gotten into a local band which I feel will be going places. They totally rule. I've not seen them live because I am old and don't do that whole club thing. Anyway, check them out. They are The Dresden Dolls Check �em out! I highly recommend their new CD!

I am all excited because the newly-released DVD's for French & Saunders and the ABFAB Specials DVD came in today! Much fun watching --- not to mention all of the anime I purchased yesterday! I picked up "Descendants from Darkness" which is a very well animated series with a gay slant. Am really getting into anime. Love it!