Friday Hodgepodge

~Orange seems to be my new favorite color...by accident, really. It all started with my running shoes. They are mostly light grey with some white and orange as a "punch" color. Then I got my car. Some call it orange, I call it Copper. The official name of the color is "Sunlit Copper" with "Cabernet Leather". Most call it "orange" with "orange leather"--LOL. Then, when I moved into my condo, I had to switch cell carriers because I didn't get any service inside my unit. I went from T-Mobile to Cingular. The Cingular logo is orange. Plus, my phone's keypad lights up orange. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe orange is *my* black right now...

~My power went out yesterday. It was a huge headache because the road was blocked and they were only letting people who live in my complex through. At that point, I didn't know why there was a road block, but I quickly found out when I entered my unit. The power was out. All I could think about was the episode from Friends when Joey's refrigerator broke. He was in his recliner with ALL of the food surrounding him frantically trying to eat everything before it went bad. When Chandler walks in, Joey has a nauseous, sick look on his face. I thought that would be me--sitting in my dining room, food everywhere, gorging--LOL. Fortunately, the power came back on before I had to resort to this...

~L and I cut up with each other here at work. She's my new A & M. Sometimes we just bust out in laughter. For instance:

L: I have a bone to pick with you.
Me: Hehe. You said bone.
L: *erupts in laughter*
Me: I just reverted back to 6th grade. HAHAHAHA!

~I met up with some friends last night that I hadn't seen in forever. We drank, played some trivia, and caught up. Sometimes all you need are good friends, beer, and fun:)

Empty Office

M's been gone for about a month.
A's last day was yesterday.
Empty nest syndrome?
Yes.
My partners in crime are gone.
My girls are gone.
Work won't be the same.
Sadness.

MY top 5 lists

Piggy-backing on Nat's blog, I've come up with my own list of top 5's. I im'ed her with things I felt she had left out, and she kindly reminded me that it was HER lists, not mine. So, here are some of mine (in no particular order within each category):

Songs:
Stay With Me, Josh Gracin
Dream Big, Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand
XY--the whole cd, Coldplay
Inside Your Heaven, Carrie Underwood
Fast Cars and Freedom, Rascal Flatts

Beer:
Newcastle
Killians
Bass
Corona
Michelob Ultra

Guys:
Steve Sandvoss
Tom Welling
Brad Pitt
Colin Farrell
Josh Harnett

Girls:
(you can raise your jaw now...lol)
Jessica Alba
Jennifer Anniston
Halle Berry
Eva Longoria
Jennifer Love Hewitt

Cheap Eats:
Willey's
Moe's
RuSan's
Noodle
Little Azio

Stores:
The Apple Store
Gap
JCrew
Banana Republic
Ikea

Shows:
The Amazing Race
Desperate Housewives
Will & Grace
Friends
anything Ironman or Triathlon related

Bands:
Sister Hazel
Coldplay
Vertical Horizon
Dave Matthew's Band
Rascal Flatts

That's all for right now, folks!

Playing detective

I've been at my new place for 2 weeks this Thursday. While this is still a short amount of time, I've made 2 odd observations:

~There are 2 cars that NEVER move! It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, they are ALWAYS there. Just odd...
~I've yet to meet any of my immediate neighbors. The girl to the left of me (I'm assuming she's a girl because maintenance was fixing her ice maker and I looked in her unit as I was leaving mine. The unit was furnished with "girlie" things--I guess it *could* be a gay guy, but what are the chances?) is NEVER there! I think I might have seen signs of occupancy once, but I'm not sure. Her blinds are always closed and the lights off. I mean, you would think we would have crossed paths at least once in almost 2 weeks. Same with the unit to the right of me, but I'm not as sure about that one cause there are no visual signs that anyone lives there. The one to the left of me has chairs, plants, a table, and a door mat on her patio entrance. Odd...

Could these 2 observations be related??? Maybe the owners of the 2 cars that never move are the occupants of the units on either side of me...hrmmm...

Am I onto something? Hrmmm...

A "feel-good" song...

You know the scenario, you're just driving along when a song comes on the radio that seems to automatically conjure up nostalgic memories, good thoughts, visions of children laughing, your most treasured mental images flashing through your mind, etc. Well, right now, for me it's Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand's Dream Big. It's a "country" song, but I think it goes way beyond those boundaries. It's just a "feel-good" song...

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes,
cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile be sure to smile wide,
and don't let them know that they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride,
and don't show the hurt inside,
because the pain will soon be gone.
Chorus:
And when you dream, dream big, as big as the ocean blue.
Cause when you dream it might come true.
When you dream, dream big.
And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty
all around and in yourself, and it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength
to help you carry on when the troubles come your way.
Chorus
When you cry be sure to dry your eyes,
cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile be sure to smile wide, and
don't let them know that they have won.
And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty all
around and in yourself, and it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength to
help to carry on when the troubles come your way.
Chorus 2x

The raw lyrics illustrate the positive feelings I'm talking about, but the video hits it the nail dead on the head. It's one of those songs/videos that you're watching/listening to and you suddenly realize that you're smiling. Even if you're not a country fan, check it out.

Oh, what a gay night!

Since I've moved back to Midtown, I've made a pact with myself to try new things and broaden my horizons. I think I was getting too complacent with how my life was before I moved up to Gainesville. For me, it was nice to get away from the city and just reflect on me and certain aspects of my life. (I know, I know--blah blah blah, but it's true) Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY VERY glad to be back in Midtown, but I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason and that getting away has done me some good.

Well, last night was the first venture in the horizons of 1Gar being broadened. A friend invited me to go with him to a dinner function here in Atlanta. It's called "The Gay Supper Club"...or something like that. I had heard about this before from another friend, but I'd just never made the effort and gone to an event. This club meets once a month and you get a pre-selected variety of hors de vours, appetizers, salad, entree, and dessert for a set price (excluding alcohol or drinks). They know that gay men love to drink, so this is where they make the moolah--LOL. They pick a different place every month at a "in" Midtown restaurant or a near by neighborhood--nothing OTP *gasp*. It's a really good deal, a great way to meet other people, fun, social, etc. Well, my friend and I ventured off to Dish last night. He had gone to one event before, but I was a "virgin" and everyone makes sure to call you out as a first timer. Even though it's like a gay bar with a meal inserted in the agenda, it's an alternative way to meet new people. You basically meet about an hour before the set dinner time to mingle and meet new people. The tables are arranged so that you sit with a group of people, so you can sit with whoever you came with and/or with totally new people. It was a good time and the meal was awesome! We sat out on the patio and the weather couldn't have been better. My friend and I separated ourselves from the people we knew and sat with total strangers. I met some cool guys, had a blast, got an awesome meal for an even more awesome price, caught up with some acquaintances, and just "let loose" for a night without the bar scene.

I shall go again:)

A day in the life of a housewife

I'm taking today and tomorrow off just to sorta tidy up all the loose ends of moving and to just "chill" in my new place. It was nice. I slept til 9:30--when I normally would have been up at 4:15 to go to the gym. I then leisurely got ready to go to the gym. I did my normal training and started making some observations. The gym was not dead like I thought it would be. It was rather busy. Housemoms, the self-employed, people playing "hookie", the college kids, the high school kids, the elderly/retired, etc. While I am a regular early in the morning, it was nice to see some new faces. It was more humbling, really. To see all these different types of people working out--I love it! Early in the morning, it is all the same--people working out before work.

I then ventured to Ikea. I had gone once before during lunch on a Friday--big mistake! Let me just preface all of this by saying that department stores overwhelm me. I'm not a big shopper normally, so a place like Ikea is a bit like a kid at Walt Disney--overwhelming and exciting all at once. So, I decided to just start at the beginning and walk through the whole store--what else did I have to do on my day off? :) Like any other project or job--take it little by little and it doesn't overwhelm you as much. I mosied along the maze of rooms like a mouse looking for cheese. I saw many things I wanted, but alas, my eyes were bigger than my wallet. After finishing the "showroom", I made a pitstop at the cafe and enjoyed a delectable meal--fuel for the lower part of the store! Off to the lower level of goodness:) All in all, I got out of there with a desk, entertainment stand, 2 floating nightstands, doormat, trashbag caddy thingy, and some other knick-knacks. Trust me, I coulda really gone to town, but I refrained. While I was there, I also people-watched--much like the gym.

***note to self--either become a housemom or self-employed***

Upon arriving back at the condo, I assembled the desk, entertainment stand, and nightstands with relative ease:) It feels good to have every single box gone! Ahhhh...

MIA

Ok, so I know I've been MIA lately, but I have a good reason for that. I've been really really busy. Ok, ok...I know what you're saying..."1GAR, we're all busy." ...and I hear that, but I honestly have been busy. I took 2 days off at the end of last week, so that made the 3 days of work extremely busy. PLUS...I became a homeowner! I took those days off for closing and general moving. So, since Thursday's closing, I've been busy packing, moving, and unpacking. I never realized how stressful, detailed, frustrating, or rewarding becoming a homeowner was. The Uhaul reservation was all messed up, closing lasted almost 2 hours cause they were running late, I had to "schedule" the move around the freakin' rain, gas pumps not working, essentially moving everything myself (my bro-in-law helped with the big items, that's it), having a 2-5 cable appt on Saturday and finally showing up at 5:30, spending WAY too much money...need I go on? Needless to say, it was not the smoothest move, but I'm finally done! So, I'm back to normal now...somewhat.

So, since I've been busy moving, some of my friends called me up Friday night to go out. I decided to take a break from unpacking and meet them out for a couple of drinks. I was told that J would be there, so I thought that this would be a good chance for everyone to see that we are SOOO ok with being around each other. I had a blast that night. We all just caught up and talked and drank and played pool and drank and drank--LOL. After we had "played" all the pool that we could handle, we all had the dancing bug. So, we went out dancing. I hadn't been out dancing in FOREVER! Good times.

It's very odd how one certain "event" can put everything into perspective. Let me explain. While we were out dancing, J did something that made me realize how over it I am with all of it...he had a cigarette... I know that this isn't a *huge* deal, but it is to me. First off, WHY??? Secondly, gross! Thirdly, he knows how against it I am. Forth, OVER IT! I've often wondered how I would react if the idea of us getting back together was ever presented. I now know how I would react...

Monday Morning Funnies

Funny #1
My mom has the gayest little dog. She's had him for about 4 years or so. If you have ever seen Jessica Simpson's dog (the Malti-Poo), that is what she has. It's an acutal breed--a mix between a Maltese and a Toy Poodle. It's really a crime that these dogs even come as a male because they are just the most prissy, gayest dogs ever. Well, my mom also has a fat cat. He's a Tabby that probably weighs a good 20-25 pounds. He is HUGE!

So, I was at her house over the weekend and witnessed something hilarious. The dog was humping the cat! This is funny for so many reasons:

~The cat is way bigger.
~The fact that I openly call him the "gayest dog ever" and he was humping a MALE cat!!!
~The cat was too fat and lazy to even care.
~They were going at it like champs--hehe.

Funny #2
I was getting ready at the gym this morning when I noticed something odd on the counter. A stick of deodorant. This isn't odd, you say, but oh on the contrary, my friend. It was a stick of Secret deodorant. The next thing I notice is who comes to get it. Up comes a big, black guy who grabs the Secret and puts it in his bag. I guess it *really is* strong enough for a man! HA!

Conspiracy Theory?

I have to preface this post with the fact that I tend to have a bit of a heavy foot. This being said, I have a radar detector just to cover my bases--LOL.

On my drive to the gym this morning, I looked down at my speedometer and started thinking (I wasn't speeding, btw--hehe). My particular speedometer goes up to 160 mph. Why would car manufacturers even put such a high speed capability on a car when 96% percent of all US speed limit signs are 70 or under? I put 96%, because there are some places that don't have a speed limit, I think...right? Like Montana or something? Anyway, I digress... Are car manufacturers and policemen teaming together to bully more money out of heavy-footed citizens like myself? Did a police officer schedule a meeting with the CEO of a car manufacturer and ask them to raise the speed capability of cars so that they could stop more speeder, and thus get more money from speeding tickets? I don't think this is too far fetched...but I'll let you ponder this...

A bunch of fatties

A co-worker brought in some watermelon first thing this morning for breakfast. I was the only one who ate any. Here it is 10:30am and most of it is still there. If it were donuts, they would have been gone in 1.5 seconds. Just too funny...

Isn't it Ironic?

Why is it that you always want what you can't have? On my commute home this afternoon, my cell phone was not working. I don't know if it was T.S. Cindy, T-Mobile service, or what, but I was not able to get a signal for over 30 minutes. I drive this route everyday and never have a problem with service. Normally, I drive home listening to my iPod or the radio. I like to take that time to unwind from the day and not chat it up on the phone. Mind you, I'm not opposed to it, but I'm just not one of those who has to have the cell phone attached to my ear when I enter my car. Well, I kept trying and trying, but to no avail. I was wondering if I had forgotten to pay my bill and T-Mobile might have stopped service, but no--I had paid it already. Finally, my phone became operable! Success! So, from that point on, I chatted it up on the phone with friends--LOL.

This little mishap got me thinking about other areas where this applies. Por ejemplo...

~When you just HAVE to get online when your cable modem is temporarily not working.
~You just have to have Chik-fil-A on a Sunday.
~You just have to wear a shirt that is dirty.
~You just have to buy the overpriced jeans just because they don't have your size.

...and the list could go on forever. Sorta like Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic"...