The East Coast Outcast

Once upon a time

2006-08-11T14:02:00.000-04:00

Remember way back in the day? Hey, hey...

So this entry is written because of Brett. That's the sole reason, and I'm sure he's the only one who will read it since I think it's been about two months since I updated.

There are a couple of reasons I haven't updated. For one, I've stopped working the night shift. Once that was cut out, I had a lot less free time. Work has sorta consumed my life, but only off and on.

There are some weeks where I'll be working 18 hour days and then weekends. But then there will be weeks where I'm working 9-5.

I have a great coworker, Sunny, and we've really clicked. I go out in Boston once a week, and usually go out when I'm home in DC. Um, other than that I work?

That brings me to the other reason I haven't updated. My life hasn't changed; it doesn't change. Its the same thing every week. Flying to Boston, working, flying home, flying to Boston, working, flying home.

There just isn't much to write when that's all you're doing I guess.

That's all. Maybe something new will inspire me to write in the next couple of days.

Soaked

2006-06-01T19:17:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest bonuses of working the night shift (WHICH THIS IS MY LAST NIGHT OF) is that I get to park literally 10 feet from the door. During the day, you have to park in the garage which someone decided would be a good idea to put 5 minutes from the building.

Anyway, that didn't help me today. It was raining SO HARD (like, literally, it hurt) and I was soaked by the time I got into the building.

Dear Rain,
Fuck off.
Love, Josh

AIDS Walk Boston

2006-05-31T23:31:00.000-04:00

For those of you I haven't emailed...

I'm going to be participating in the AIDS Walk Boston this coming Sunday representing the Accenture team. Our organizer has set a very high goal of $5,000, and we are more than half way there (and already higher than the total for last year).

HIV/AIDS has hit me very close...and I organized and did fundraising for an HIV/AIDS Awareness Week in college, and this is a welcome opportunity for me to keep contributing to the cause.

I'm including a link for you to go to if you choose to donate money. All you have to do is click on my name and follow the instructions. Any amount is welcome and appreciated.

http://www.aac.org/site/TR?team_id=6840&pg=team&fr_id=1010

Thanks,
Josh

Cheaters

2006-05-31T21:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had a post about a man being caught by his wife cheating. Today one of my friends IMed me with another cheating story.

My friend was on a website called Manhunt. For those of you that aren't familiar with Manhunt, it has catchy slogans like "Get on. Get off." and "Hook up now." I think you get the idea of the main purpose for this site.

So the way this site works, you have public pictures and private pictures. You can browse the people online and send the messages and/or unlock your private pictures for them.

My friend saw that someone had unlocked his pictures for him, so he went to view the profile. After viewing the pictures, he recognized the person and called him on it.

See, my friend had met this person at Absolutli Goosed in the fall. My friend and I had gone to meet one of my friends and his boyfriend. The guy who unlocked his pictures just happened to be this guy's boyfriend (still dating, still living together.)

After being called out, the guy immediately blocked my friend. My friend made another profile and sent him a message--and was blocked again.

Anyway, I'm really tempted to put this guy's name up and encourage everyone to send him nasty emails...but I dunno (OK, I'm going to). I will give you the contents of his profile, though, so if you happen to see him on Manhunt in Missouri...tell him hi :)

Name: Works4It
Subject: Looking for discreet fun
Looking for a little fun pretty open minded not into anything to kinky or gross. If your going to send a message please bother to have a pic to share or don't bother me.

Lookin' good when nobody's lookin'

2006-05-31T19:09:00.000-04:00

So I'm weaing this really bright polo, and look pretty cute today.

I get to the office, and Sunny's not there. It made me sad...not sure why I was dressing up for a girl, but I know she would've appreciated it!

There were a couple of stragglers from the day shift left that I don't know so well, and one did compliment me though..

Lookin' good :)

A funny thing happened in the airport...

2006-05-31T00:23:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm at the airport in Dulles trying to find a spot to eat my Wendy's 10 piece chicken nugget meal (only $3.89!). I found an empty area and went over there to dig in...

Near the end of my meal, I heard some guy using a loud voice and couldn't help but listen. I'm going to *try* and replay the conversation for you. I'll add *pauses* so you know when the person on the other line (I unfortunately couldn't hear) talks.

Why did it take you so long to answer the phone. I really need to talk to you. Do you know what you did.
*pause*
Ok, I'll tell you what you did. You left a message on my house phone. Why did you do that?
*pause*
Did you hear me? You left a message on my house phone. Do you know what happened? My wife heard it.
*pause*
Yea, she left me a message saying she wants a divorce.
*pause*
What did you say in the message?
*pause*
What do you mean you don't remember? I need to know.
*pause*
Well, try to remember. I have to talk to her and I need to know what you said. Did you say "I love you" at the end?
*pause*
Ok, so you said it's been a while since you've seen me? What else?
*pause*
That's all you remember?
*pause*
Because my brother died. I'm flying back home now. I picked a bad time to go out of town.
*pause*
I wanted to warn you too. She has your name and number from the caller ID. Be careful if she calls you.

This is where I left...I couldn't really find a reason to hang around any longer since my Wendy's was long gone.

Should I feel bad for enjoying that conversation so much?

Pics of my apartment

2006-05-31T00:17:00.000-04:00

Sorry about no update this weekend...I was busy doing nothing. Anyway, I decided I would add some pictures of my apartment because lots of people in Missouri wanted to know what it looks like, and this is easier than emailing 800 people (yes, I have that many friends).

Oh, and keep in mind I still need to paint, get curtains, and do a lot more to my room...

My exciting life

2006-05-25T00:11:00.000-04:00

So, I think there are people that actually read this. I don't want to disappoint you by not updating. So this is what I did today...

Woke up. Read paper. Watched tv /played online (I multitask). Went to work. Worked.

Hm...yea...

Enjoy!

And she was wearing goggles...

2006-05-23T20:57:00.000-04:00

So my friend Justin works at a hotel, and was recently robbed. I had him transcribe the story for me. The screennames have been changed to protect the innocent.

MyFriendThatGotRobbed: A woman came in with a gun, and told me "this is a robbery, get down on the fucking floor." After I got down, she told me to give her all the money in the cash drawer, and not to press any buttons or call anyone. After I handed her the money, she told me to get in the back room and wait there 5 minutes. If I sent anyone after her, she'd kill me. She looked at my name tag and said, "You're Justin, if anyone comes after me, I'll kill you. Now get in that room." I waited in there for a minute, came back out, and called the police.
Me: wow
Me: and she was wearing goggles?
MyFriendThatGotRobbed: yeah
MyFriendThatGotRobbed: black motorcycle goggles
Me: hot

Amazing, huh?

I don't get it...

2006-05-23T04:29:00.000-04:00

Why do people love me so much?

Am I too cynical?

2006-05-18T23:16:00.000-04:00

I've been debating writing this blog for a few days. I'm not really sure where to begin, or if I can get the wording right, or if it'll even make sense. I think it's worth taking a chance on, though, for my benefit--and maybe for your's.

A few days ago a friend and I were having a discussion over a relationship which I had long ago decided was doomed. He called me too cynical, and my response was "If they're still together in a year, then you can say that." But that got me thinking... what if they are still together in a year?

Could I be wrong? Could a relationship work? Am I, in fact, too cynical?

I posed the question to a few of my friends today. The responses ranged from a flat out "Yes" to a straight-to-the-point "No." I was also called jaded, realistic, and told that I have a "good mixture of cynicism and good thinking."

What does all this mean? That I'm right, wrong, neither? This my just be the cynicism in me coming out, but all of the people that said I was too cynical are in a relationship. That personally skews their vote in my opinion.

Logically speaking, it's obvious that I'm not too cynical. I decided to spend a minute thinking about all of my friends' relationships that have ended from the time I started college until today. Then I tallied all of the ones that have lasted longer than a year (once again, only spending a minute). Finally, I wrote down the number that have lasted longer than a year and are still "in progress." The numbers, you'll find, side with me.

Longer than a year: 5
In progress after a year: 3
Ended: 23

Remember, that's all I could think of in a minute. There are no doubt more than that. (These are also gay relationships, but since most of my friends are gay, I think it works).

So out of 28 relationships, 3 are still going strong after a year. That's a little over 10%--not a promising number at all. Especially since the actual number of ended relationships is no doubt much, much higher.

So...realistic or cynical? You decide.

Annoyed at the Airport

2006-05-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately this isn't some really fun horror story like losing my bags or missing my flight...just little annoying things that kept piling up....

1:00: Taxi arrives for my 2:25 flight.
1:15: Arrive at airport
1:3o: Arrive in terminal
1:34: Discover flight is delayed 20 minutes
1:35: Discover there's nothing in my terminal. Buy a book.
2:15: Board plane
2:45: Takeoff time passes...
3:45: Take off thanks to "baggage handling difficulties"
5:00: Arrive at Logan Airport
5:30: Still no luggage
5:45: Finally get my bag
6:00-7:15: Stuck in rush hour traffic made worse by rain
7:15: Arrive at work.

So normally I get picked up at 2:00 for my 3:15 flight, and have my bag and car by 5:30, and arrive at work before 6:45, even after stopping for food.

So my flight is scheduled to leave an hour earlier than I usually do, and I end up to work late. Explain that!

Good fortune cookie

2006-05-13T04:49:00.000-04:00

"You are one of those people who 'goes places in life.'"

Other than "goes places in life" being in quotes, I like it.

Almost 5 a.m....

2006-05-13T04:45:00.000-04:00

So I went to bed at 3:45-ish, which is an early night. I read a little, then tried to sleep. I felt tired for a while, but that went away. I had this really weird feeling, which I'm not going to try to explain on here...but it was sad.

Anyway, now it's 5a.m., and I just finished a turkey sandwhich and some pretzels. This can't be healthy, and I want my life to go back to normal :(

Some things you learn the hard way

2006-05-12T02:34:00.000-04:00

For those of you wondering...

When you have a 7a.m. flight, and no chance to sleep before it, it's not a good idea to drink 5 cranberry vodkas...

Sobering up without sleep = not fun.

Bad fortune cookie

2006-05-11T02:59:00.000-04:00

"It's your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude."

Uh.

First floor reject

2006-05-08T21:41:00.000-04:00

So I'm back at the Sheraton this week from my two week absense (Holiday Inn and Marriott). Since they finally weren't booked, I decided to head back in and working on attaining my platinum membership (only 12 nights left!). Plus, the triple points until the end of May isn't a bad deal either...

I was greeted with a room on the first floor though. For those of you unfamiliar with membership programs at hotels, generally certain floors are reserved for "club members." Being a gold member, I always was on the 5th or 6th floor. My room had a free bottle of water, q-tips, mouthwash, even a bathrobe. I lived like a king!

Now I'm on the first floor, and if I want to drink the bottle of water they give me, it's $3.25. Plus, the carpet in the hall looks dirty.

It just makes me sad...

Card in the mail

2006-05-08T02:10:00.000-04:00

I received a card in the mail from a friend back in MO last week. It was really nice, so I think I'm going to post it here.

"I saw this card and thought of you. It was really great seeing you a couple weeks ago. I had such a great time at SoCo, it was like old times. I hope that I'm able to see you again soon. You really are a good friend of mine, and for that I want to thank you. I have a lot of friends, but you are one of those people I can always go to. That really means a lot to me. I hope this card picked up your day some. I miss you, and I will talk to you soon."

I wonder if I'll be able to find friends as good as that out here...

Why I Hate My Life Pt. 2

2006-05-04T04:35:00.000-04:00

It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm not even close to being tired.

You're such a Midwesterner

2006-05-04T02:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was eating my lunch/dinner (it was at 7:00p.m. but still the first meal of my day) in the room where I work. My manager was there, as was someone else on the project from South Africa.

I had decided to get Burger King, being the fast food junkie that I am. The hotel I usually stay in is nowhere near any fast food, so now that I'm in a different one close to both McDonalds and Burger King (and a great Chinese/Thai place I found today) I decided to make use of it.

As I'm eating my Burger King (the Texas Double Whopper for those of you wondering (it has jalepenos!!!!) the South African comments on how much he loves chili cheese fries. (I know, weird, huh?)

It brings back memories of Sonic, and I mention how I miss Sonic and their chili cheese fries and cherry limeades. To which my manager responds - you're such a midwesterner.

Am I supposed to take offense to this? I don't know what she was implying! Are my eating habits less sophisticated because I'm from the midwest? Should I be downing Starbucks made with skim milk (it takes all the fun AND FLAVOR out of it) and eating yogurt for dinner? Should I be defaulted because I'm not borderline anorexic like most people out here on the east coast?

Maybe I'm getting too worked up about this. I just see a lot more of the snob-effect out here. People turn their noses up at anything chain. Even food that's not organic is subpar. I don't get it! I like fatty stuff. I like processed food! If I can't taste the chemicals, then I ain't gonna complain.

I think its OK to be healthy, but I also think its OK to splurge every once in a while. If you're young, then its OK to splurge a little more...at least in my opinion. I can't think of much things that are less healthy, but more satisfying, than two tacos from Jack In The Box (they're fried for all you non-JITBers) a crispy chicken sandwich with bacon, and bacon chedder potato wedges covered in sour cream after a night of drinking (high calorie) cocktails.

That's all. Loosen up...what fun is life if you spend all of it obsessing on how to live longer?

My friend Brett

2006-05-03T19:57:00.000-04:00

Those of you that actually pay attention to this page have probably noticed a link to a website entitled Brettsing.

This website is a creation of my friend, Brett. The design on it changes pretty frequently, but it's always pretty and well designed (and follows standards). He's also created the SoCo Club site and is working on a site for Columbia Pride, both of which I'm really excited to see.

Anyway, here's the back story on me and Brett. We met a long time ago. And when I say a long time ago, I mean it. We've pretty much known each other since we were three, since we went to church together and were in Sunday school together. I even used to go jump on his trampoline after church!

I miss Brett a lot, and since unlike most of my friends--he actually works a decent amount, so even when I go home its hard to see him.

Just a random post...

Why I Hate My Life Pt. 1

2006-05-03T04:44:00.000-04:00

It's 5 a.m. and I'm not tired enough to fall asleep.

When The Wood Swells

2006-05-02T04:01:00.000-04:00

This is for Megan...er, Maggie. It's my attempt at the opening for my first romance novel.

----------------------------------------

Jack’s axe dropped to the ground. He quickly brushed a drop of sweat off his brow before it had a chance to move any farther down. After five years as a lumberjack, Jack was all too familiar with the burn those salty beads caused once they reached the eye.

It was an extremely hot and humid day, as is typical for July in Missouri. And like most unbearably warm days, Jack had already stripped his shirt off. His bulky, muscular body was drenched from head to toe. Not one part of his naked upper body wasn’t glistening in the sun.

To be continued...

Floating by...

2006-05-02T01:29:00.000-04:00

So I haven't updated in a while... the fact is...there really isn't much going on in my life.

I've never felt so idle and useless.

Anyway!

I'm driving a Jeep Wranger this week. Some special off road edition. And apparently off road means NO FEATURES. There's no remote lock, no power windows. Ugh, at least it has AC.

I'm also staying in the Marriott. For those of you who don't know, the Sheraton has been my second home for the last few months. Unfortunately, they were booked. I had to stay in a Holiday Inn last weekend, but that's an experience I prefer not to share.

So yea, someone comes in here at 3a. And more people come in at 5a. It will be interesting to actually see people!

The trip home

2006-04-27T02:43:00.000-04:00

I'm sure its been pretty obvious to anyone that reads this that I try to avoid any actual emotion of my own. Sure I'll be angry someone stole my cubicle, or confused at the man/woman housekeeping thing at the Sheraton...but those are safe emotions. They're funny emotions.

I'm a happy person. Everyone who knows me would agree. I mean, my nickname over the summer was Smiley Josh. It doesn't get much happier than that. Today tested my happiness though...

It seems like everyone had a bad day. It didn't matter who I talked to or which side of the country they lived on. I know I had about six people tell me it was a horrible day. I guess it was a curse I just couldn't avoid.

Actually, my day was fine until about 5:30-ish. Of course, I slept until 3:30. Then I showered, and went to the mall. I ended up not buying anything there, but bought a couple of DVDs at Best Buy and some magazines at Borders. Then back to the hotel room, where I was greeted with the news that I had to do testing. So I drove to the office early so I could test.

On top of that, my friends were basically cancelling their trip to DC. Which happened Friday. They were leaving tomorrow. It was short notice that really hurt. I had been looking forward to this forever. They all promised they'd visit over the summer, and I believe them. It's still a while to wait.

Anyway, I've been questioning why it bothers me so much. I think the reason is I haven't made friends like that here. I have a few good friends...literally-a few. Its hard when the place where you work is different from the place where you live. I was basically shoved into an area where I knew NO ONE, and then travelling to another area where I knew NO ONE...all the while working night shifts.

I can't complain. I need to do something about it. I'm just not sure how to go about finding friends. I always had school before, or a job where I could meet people. Or at least friends, so I could meet there friends. Any advice?

Words of Wisdom

2006-04-23T20:44:00.000-04:00

It's one thing to be a couple.
It's another thing to be the couple everyone hates.

When people say through their fake smiles that you're cute, or even more obviously--jokingly say that you're "disgusting" or "gross" or "to get your hands off each other," think about it for a few seconds beforer you laugh it off.

Observation

2006-04-20T03:17:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how tired you can get when its 3 a.m. and you've been working for 9 hours...

Yea.

Office Warfare Pt. 2

2006-04-18T23:39:00.000-04:00

So ignore the last post. I was just moved...I'm sharing a cubicle with my manager now.

Office Warfare

2006-04-18T19:25:00.000-04:00

So I got to the office today at my usual time (7p.m. for those who don't know about my crazy night hours). As I'm walking to the room I usually do my work in...which is a dark, dim conference room stuck in the back of the building without anyway windows...I pass by my cubicle.

Hm, funny...that's not my name on the cubicle. Hey, and those aren't my papers on the desk...

SOMEONE STOLE MY FREAKIN' CUBICLE!

Not sure what to do now, but I'll figure something out...

Burning the fat

2006-04-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

I finally decided to give in and start exercising. I know I'm not going to be youthful and have a super high metabolism forever. I figured I should start before I get fat (which I think is happening a lot sooner than I expected thanks to my crazy work life).

To use our client's gym, we have to fill out a membership packet. I printed the packet, but after walking to the printer...discovered it hadn't printed. So I went back and printed it again. Still no packet.

I wouldn't complain if this was a close walk. But I basically have to walk to the other side of the building (width-wise, if I had to walk to the other side length-wise I would probably be dead by now).

So I messed with the printer, and figured out what was wrong. I went and printed it again and walked to the printer and there was NOTHING.

So I went back to the room and gave up. But then I realized there were more printers, so I walked back to get the printer number. ANYWAY. You get where this is going...after three more trips I finally had the membership packet in my hand.

I'm hoping the gyms give me as much of a workout as printing this damn packet.

Whose idea was Easter anyway?

2006-04-16T20:50:00.000-04:00

My phone charger stopped working--apparently it doesn't realize that it was Easter. And of course, stores don't like to be open on Easter, especially stores that might carry a charger. Unfortunately I needed my phone for work tonight. So three hours and Best Buy, Target, Kmart, and three Cingular stores later, I finally have a new charger.

Why do holidays exist anyway?

Gospel SuperFest Easter Jam

2006-04-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

I don't know if anyone caught the Gospel SuperFest Easter Jam (Live from New York City-A Resurrection Sunday Celebration) on ABC today, but wow--it definately lived up to its name.

It also proved my theory that gospel is gayer than man-on-man ass sex.

What's it like to be normal?

2006-04-15T12:59:00.000-04:00

For those of you that don't know, I'm working crazy hours. When I say crazy hours I don't mean long days where I come in at 7a.m. and leave at 7p.m. No, by crazy hours I mean I come in at 7p.m. and leave at 5a.m.

I'm pretty sure my body hates me right now. Not only for this shift, but for the 3a.m.-11a.m. shift I worked for a few weeks before this new shift. Before that it was 5p-1a, and before that it was 8p-4a.

3a-11a was definately the worst. Waking up at 2a.m. is NOT NORMAL. Going to bed at 8p.m. is IMPOSSIBLE. I learned to just sleep whenever I was tired. There'd be a 3 hour nap, and then 3 hours before work. This messed up my body a lot. I was never really hungry either...I only ate because I had to. INSANE.

Anyway, now I'm working nights. Staying up late is pretty normal for me--I mean, I did just graduate college last semester. The only problem is travel.

As you know, hotels usually want you to check out by 12p.m. That doesn't leave much time for sleep, but I guess I could handle. This week, though, every single flight was sold out except for a 9a.m. flight. Let's look at this:

Leave work at 5a.m.
Arrive in hotel at 5:30a.m.
Check out of hotel at 7a.m. (I know this seems early for a 9a.m. flight, but I'm half an hour from the airport when there's no traffic, and I had no idea what traffic would be like going into Boston on a weekday morning).
Airport at 7:30a.m.
Fly departs at 9:05a.m.
Arrives at 10:45a.m.
Get home around 11a.m.
Die (not really, suprisingly)

Needless to say with packing and all, I ended up with an hour of sleep. I couldn't fall asleep when I got home...it was noon, and sunny, and my apartment is covered with windows.

Here's my solution...
I shoved my mattress into my closet and slept in there.

Not exactly normal. Not even close to normal. I mean, who does that? How many people can you picture clearing the floor of their walk in closet and then proceeding to DRAG in the mattress, which is no easy task. Closet doors aren't very wide.

It was dark though, and sooo perfect. The best afternoon sleep I've had for a while. I think I went to bed at 1p and woke up at 6p.

My mattress is still in my closet. I slept on it last night. I have a really good feeling it's not going to leave my closet until I end up with visitors, because I'm not sure I want to explain that.

Just because I'm a freak doesn't mean the whole world needs to know...right?

Can we say restraining order?

2006-04-14T22:13:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of privacy and yadda yadda yadda, but this is too good to pass up.

One of my old friends in Rolla has a stalker-ish type person we like to call his Middle Eastern Lover. This is the latest email completely uncut and unedited:

"hi justin ,how are you doing? Nice to find u here. well , you know something the other night I was walkin gback home with my frnd hardly caring to listen to what he was talking to me coz my brains occupied thinking of how you looked in the class that morning while i was passing over your class in the humaniities building....and suddenly I saw something i couldn't just believe and had hold my breath...you what i saw i joggin pass by me near the civil engineering building.....i can't tell you how I felt then.....it was like my thoughts personified and passed by me. justin please meet me up sometime i wanna talk to you. Can't we be atleast friends. ......i sound crazy but i am in need of a frnd here in rolla....it feels like i am lost..........I am sure you know wHO this is ....happy easter and have a good day."

I'm in love with a librarian

2006-04-14T00:04:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not really in love with a librarian.

I have a friend--we'll call her Maggie. I just got off the phone with said friend, and as with every conversation I have with her, the librarian comes up.

The librarian has been Maggie's obsession for at least the last month. I'm not quite sure how she always has so much to say since I think they've talked about five times.

I know about each time too. Not just like, you know, an overview of the conversation. Nope. I know the exact dialog, because she makes a point to remember it.

Usually it goes like this:

Maggie: Hi.
Hunky Librarian: Hi.
Maggie: Do you work today?
Hunky Librarian: Yeah.
Maggie: Me too.
Hunky Librarian: Cool.
Maggie: What about Saturday?
Hunky Librarian: Yeah. What about you?
Maggie: I'm off.
Hunky Librarian: Congratulations. [Yes, he really just says "congratulations."]
Maggie: Yeah.
Hunky Librarian: Ok, I'll talk to you later.
Maggie: Ok, see ya.
Hunky Librarian: See ya.

And she remembers it. Every single word. Sometimes she'll be telling me the story, and it'll be like "And then he said 'Ok.'" But then she'll correct herself. "No, he didn't say 'OK.' He said 'sure.'" Does it make a difference if he said "Ok" or "sure?" I mean, I guess it could, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

Anyway, Maggie finally asked him if he wanted to get coffee sometime, and he said they could talk about it next week.

Congratulations.

I'm sure I'll have an update next week, and maybe even a transcript (correctly noting all OKs sures, and yeahs)

Gay life in in the nation's capital

2006-04-13T23:11:00.000-04:00

So I found this little niblet in an editorial on the recent gay bar closings in DC in the Washington Blade. It pretty much describes what I've noticed in DC.

"It may be an overstatement to claim there actually is a Washington gay "community." I’ve been here three decades and it’s apparent, gay and straight, we come to this capital to work, not to live.

In these surreal 10 square miles, 20-, 30- and 40-somethings — and even those of us entering our golden years —-tend to define ourselves less by actual accomplishment and more by acquisition of titles (think assistant secretary, deputy assistant secretary, special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary.)

There are more titles per square inch in the District of Columbia than in any old aristocratic capital of Europe. And career-ism isn’t just the province of the young in Washington. In public, we reveal less a sense of community than we display inflated and insecure egos."

Why are people weird?

2006-04-13T20:01:00.000-04:00

So, I'm at work, right? Minding my own business...doing some updating on a database to keep myself busy. Then I'm greeted with this:

Shayne LDforever (7:52:39 PM): hey

I don't recognize the name and say hi back. Maybe it was some extremely hot guy that found me on MySpace and was going to sweep me off my feet. (Yeah, right, but it's a nice thought.)

This is what follows.

Shayne LDforever (7:52:48 PM): ur cute
joshw0615 (7:52:51 PM): hmmm
joshw0615 (7:52:53 PM): thanks...
Shayne LDforever (7:53:00 PM): i have a crush on you are you single

WTF? No, you don't have a crush on me. I need some clarification.

Shayne LDforever (7:53:00 PM): i have a crush on you are you single
joshw0615 (7:53:10 PM): you have a crush on me?
Shayne LDforever (7:53:13 PM): yes
joshw0615 (7:53:14 PM): you don't know me
Shayne LDforever (7:53:24 PM): no i mean a physiclyy attractiveness
Shayne LDforever (7:53:26 PM): crush
Shayne LDforever (7:53:38 PM): basiclly i think ur cute

Ok, I guess. Still creepy. Now I need to find out where he found me.

joshw0615 (7:54:34 PM): cool..
joshw0615 (7:54:37 PM): where did you find me?
Shayne LDforever (7:54:46 PM): oh *insert random gay profile website I haven't looked at in two years*
joshw0615 (7:55:20 PM): oh, ok
joshw0615 (7:55:22 PM): where are you
Shayne LDforever (7:55:37 PM): st charles

Ok, so, obviously that's in MO. Obviously I'm not in MO anymore. I inform him.

joshw0615 (7:55:41 PM): oh
joshw0615 (7:55:52 PM): i moved from missouri... i haven't really updated my *insert random gay profile website I haven't looked at in two years* in a while
Shayne LDforever (7:56:03 PM): so where u live now
joshw0615 (7:56:12 PM): virginia
Shayne LDforever (7:56:38 PM): bye

GOD! People are so rude.

Why can't I find normal people online. Nevermind, stupid question.

Confused?

2006-04-13T14:34:00.000-04:00

After saying hi to the housecleaning lady and realizing her voice was about 5 octaves below mine, l've decided she's a man.

General Observations Part I

2006-04-13T02:45:00.000-04:00

Some things I've happened to notice from my time in DC and Boston...

1. Traffic sucks.
Considering St. Louis ranks 4th in highways per capita, and Kansas City ranks first, there have never been a shortage of highways around me. However, highways seem to be an afterthought out here.

Any given highway (if you manage to find one that takes you to where you're going..parkways and routes are apparently the new in-thing) is usually congested beyond belief. Toll roads are a little less congested, but then you have to wait 20 minutes to get through the tolls.

Because of this I now don't leave my apartment before 7p.m., unless there happens to be an emergency or a really, really good sale.

2. Going out sucks
Drinks > $5
Cab > $10 (And don't even think about driving... Street Parking = 0, Parking Garage = $15, and Virginia = DUI)
Cover > $5
People = Shirtless, muscular, and douchebag-y

3. *#&$(*#ing High Rent
I could take a weeklong trip to the Bahamas for what I'm paying each month. Or buy a couple of laptops. It's about what I was paying in Rolla, plus $1,000 and minus a bedroom. God..

To be continued.

Spring is in the air

2006-04-12T23:55:00.000-04:00

Right now three of my really good friends are in new relationships. They're in that really cute infatuation stage. They get excited when the other person calls...and make plans to hang out in advance. And actually keep the plans. And look forward to the plans...a lot.

Anyway, I want to puke.

I'm going to blame the bag of popcorn and the Hershey's Kissables (try them, they're great) and not the overly-cute-borderline-obsessive actions of my friends in heat.

Tryin' the blog thing again

2006-04-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

Some of you may remember the old days when I had a website.

There was even a time when I updated it daily.

That was a loooong time ago. The site is gone (stupid UMR) and I'm pretty sure nothing links to it anymore (Brett removed my link from his site after several warnings about not updating).

My life is a little more exciting now, and I'm sorta in a blogging-kinda-mood.

I'm hoping for something I update multiple times a day...at least with stupid random crap. Once a day is going to be the goal I set for now though. I know I'm ADD and constantly am checking friend's websites for updates, so maybe other people are the same way.

Anyway, here goes...