Catch-all

When I posted the entry about the song "The Ones Who Aren't Here," performed by Suede, and made an MP3 available, I also emailed her to let her know what I had done and assuring her that I'd take it back down if she didn't want her music shared in that manner.

I got her reply this morning and she wrote that she was honored to be included in my journal and happy that the song had given me some comfort. She also implied that she'd pass along my feelings to the author of the lyrics. What a classy diva!

She also let me know that her next appearance in the DC area will be at the Birchmere next year, March 5. I've marked my calendar, and I'd love to expose as many of my friends to her magic as I can, so I'll be bugging folks as the date of the concert grows near.

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When I showed up for todc's birthday party on Sunday, one of the first things he said to me was, "stop forgetting your pills!" So what did I do yesterday? Forgot to take my pills at lunch! I'm so mad at myself I could... make electronic calendar events for each time I need to take my pills, each day, every day. I've relied upon my cell phone alarms to keep me on schedule, and that's been enough, until recently. So now my computer is going to nag my ass off, making sure I take my pills.

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todc's birthday party was a smashing success, as far as I'm concerned! heterodoxy hosted and the guests included friends from previous game days and new folks that Tod had invited. It was a nice mix of gay and straight, men and women. It was heavily weighted towards the gay male segment, but that's to be expected. ;-)

We played Mille Bournes for a while, then that game sort of dissolved when the Cranium game got pulled out, unfortunately. gregmce and I were partners and we were scoring in first place, but once Jake drifted away and the birthday cake came out, the card game came to a close.

But my team, consisting of myself, Tod, Evan and Chris, also ended up winning the Cranium game, so that was good. I'm sorry that I missed the Phase 10 game in the bedroom, but you can't play everything all at once, after all.

spiritquest brought Citadel, which I remembered from my first game day, and we had a great time playing that, although the game seemed to last a little longer than before.

Doug made fantastic muffins and a delightful cake for Tod's birthday. Tod said that he had been worried that it wouldn't be good, but I've never see anything come out of his oven that I didn't enjoy.

xavier78 very kindly drove me to the Rhode Island metro station, cutting my commute back to Rob and Mike's house by about half. I stayed with them overnight, gifting them with a collection of cartoons by Gerard Donelan, "Drawing on the Gay Experience." I hung out with them on Monday until I left in the afternoon to have dinner with Abe and go C1 dancing.

Dance!

The Chesapeake Squares had an open house tonight, where we invite people to come and dance with us for an evening. We teach them everything they need to know, so they don't have to know how to square dance ahead of time.

We had about thirty people total, but I think we only had five or so complete newbies. The balance was comprised of club members and returning club members. It's always nice to see old friends. Then there was Tim, who was here from California on business. Very woofy! He says he'll be back in a couple of weeks; I hope he can squeeze in a tip or two!

(Er, for those who don't know the lingo, a "tip" is a single dance session, typically lasting 20 minutes or so. I didn't mean for it to read the way it does. ;-)

On my way to the dance, I was greeted by a nice woman on her steps -- or "stoop," as we say in Baltimore. She was reading the paper, sitting with her cat, enjoying the evening. We chatted together for a few minutes. She seems like a very nice woman, and she asked for more information about the square dancing open houses. I grabbed a brochure at the dance for her and passed her sitting with her friends at one of the tables outside Grand Central, one of the gay bars, as I walked home and handed it to her. She won't be able to make the next open house, so I'll have to let her know when classes begin.

A very nice evening!

Medicine Time

There we go: my first pill event triggered with a reminder five minutes before I'm scheduled to take my dose. I dismiss it with the instruction to remind me again in five minutes. Five minutes later, I get another reminder, and now my cell phone goes off with another alarm.

If this is what it takes, this is what I'll put up with.

Patience, grasshopper.

Okay, it's settled. I'm going to see Patience on Thursday at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. Maybe some of you would like to join me?