September 28, 2007
[happy pills] Rick and I decided that this should be on his new T-shirt:
We're gonna make one *giggle* Better living through chemistry!
P/S: Believe me when I say I am utterly *swamped* at work right now and I barely have time to pee. @ 10:50
[crisis mode] I have been working in full-on crisis mode since Sunday's device upgrade. Sure it's exciting and somewhat fun; plus my alcohol-depleted brain could use some exercise.
But lemme tell ya, it's totally not fetch for my fetch social life. I miss going out!
Well, last night doesn't count, LOL! Rick and I ripped apart Halo (2 mojitos), Jack's (2 bottles of champagne) and JR's (err, I don't remember). It was pandemonium. I barely found my way home and was so wasted I ended up eating tons of wibs (which Rick missed out on) and watching Top Chef *giggle*.
The morning after...
Me:: Holy hangover batman!
Rick:: Ugh, I know! I'm just now in a cab on my way to a fundraiser that started an hour ago. Lol
Me:: LOl. You're the Royal Fetchness... HRF
Rick:: How were the wibs??
Me:: Saltier than cum... They missed you!
Rick:: Lol! You're going to be retaining a lot of water today!
Me:: Oh gurl, my water just broke
Rick:: Fetchtuplets??
Me:: OMB, I just howled during a con call
Rick:: It must have been a labor contraction. One of the fetchtuplets wants out....she's late for happy hour at the maternity ward at Betty Ford
Me:: I'm blogging that, lol
Rick:: Blogging while in labor...hot...and beyond fetch!
Wait...is there anything beyond fetch? Is there life after fetch?
Me:: Fetchtopia
Rick:: What is the fetch version of hell? Felch?
For your sanity (and mine), please do not wikipedia the word felch. @ 10:44
September 25, 2007
[SFO-CAN] Not even 9 months after United Airlines won the license to operate the first ever nonstop daily Washington Dulles -> Beijing flight, United secured yet another highly coveted direct US-China trans-Pacific route today.
The DOT awarded San Francisco -> Guangzhou to United as well as Atlanta -> Shanghai to Delta; both effective spring of 2008 (just in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympics!).
Yay! Another United route to China. United now flies to Beijing from SF, Chicago and DC, and to Shanghai from Chicago and SF.
The other 4 routes awarded today shared the spoils - ORD-PEK on AA, EWR-PVG on CO, DTW-PVG on NW and PHL-PEK on US. Each of the USA's six traditional carriers got one route each, though the rest will have to wait till spring of 2009 before launching their service. DL and US are the only 2 out of the 6 that do not currently have nonstop service to China.
We already have a hotel room (in a kick-ass location) for the Olympics next year. I can't wait to secure a seat on the new SFO-CAN flight! Now all I need are tickets to the Opening Ceremony which are damn near impossible to get; like a 1 in 21 chance in the most recent lottery that allocated those tickets.
Sigh. @ 19:48
[i'm lovin' it] Now that I have a breather at work (I think) for the first time in Lord knows how long...
The upgrade (last of 2) on Sunday went somewhat well. This was the big one and I guess issues were to be anticipated. But I, being the perfectionist that I am, was quite annoyed that quite a few issues cropped up, though none were critical nor unsolvable. I did have to work SEVEN hours on Sunday though, argh (plus two hours later that night). Never again.
The past two days have been consumed by troubleshooting these irritating problems that keep flaring up. Like I said, not critical but very annoying... mostly coz it makes me look fallible and we all already know how I think I walk on water when it comes to work shit ;-p And here I thought I was omniscient, LOL.
Anyho, after the "successful" upgrade, my boss, another co-worker and I went to celebrate with Tony and M2 at Jack's. BTW, before I continue... I am hereby giving notice that I shall not complain about Mother Nature for at least the next two months. Bitch must be in a good mood coz this September has been glorious! The fine weekend weather - cool mornings and warm sunshiny days - has spilled over to exceedingly warm and pleasant days this week (so far). I ain't complainin' no mo'. If this is global warming, then sign me up! Al who?
Jack's was fun. With no breakkie and no lunch, I was so hungry I ate like I had just busted out of fat camp. I ate so much I couldn't get drunk at JR's after even though I was there for, like, FOUR hours! (What? I had to celebrate *some*how).
JR's on a Sunday is kwazy to begin with but these days with Bernie at the VJ helm, the place is pandemonium! It's impossible to not want to start tearing a new hole in the dance floor (and you can't dance at JR's) especially when he's pumpin' out hit after hit on the flat panels. Insanity.
Insanity also could be used to describe Saturday. After a tame Friday night (on purpose), Saturday started off with yoga followed by a (mis-)adventure to the airport (long story). After that, we headed to Nicole's place for some wine. I had not seen her (or Khalid, Kamil and Bella for that matter) in over a year and the kids are HUGE! And eff-ing adorable as ever.
After Nicole's, we headed to one of my boss' BBQ at his house. Somewhere called Laytonsville. Have you even heard of this place? No? Well, me neither. Lemme tell ya... I felt like the first Chinese on the moon when I got there coz this place is so far I don't even think they use Eastern Time there. Totally huge house and even bigger yard. Very nice and quiet but totally not for me. I'm too much of a city girl, mmm-kay?
The BBQ was fun (perfect weather), the food was phenomenal (I ate like it was my last supper), and the (drunken) entertainment was, how shall I put it, embarrassing! I was drunk enough to karaoke, mmm-hmm. And oblivious enough to not know that they recorded the whole thing on video cam!! Watching the clips the next day at work with my co-workers made all 4 of my hairs stand up. Only two words to describe getting drunk in front of your co-workers and then karaoke-ing after that: Train Wreck. There is one clip of me singing (and dancing :-o) to Like A Virgin. Totally scandalous and the evidence needs to be incinerated immediately. Damn these digital files!
After 6 or so hours in the 'burbs, we had had enough so we made it back to Rob/Mikko's in honor of Alan for even more libations. I must've had 2 bottles of champagne (on my own!) coz the next day was p-a-i-n-f-u-l. Not fetch. I kept popping open champagne bottles and filling everyone's glasses like the Asian waitress/enabler that I am. Kwazy. I was so tore up at the end of it all I don't even remember how I got home, LOL!
I definitely remember the hangover the next day though, oy vey. Note to self: cheap champagne is EVIL! Whatever it was, I loved it that Chris was drunker *giggle*!
And no, I didn't go out last night :-p Not after the kwazy weekend that just passed (work, drink, work, drink). I was glued to the tele watching the season premiere of Heroes! It was totally fetch, btw, and Claire's new love interest is totally hot. I absolutely cannot wait for Desperate Housewives this Sunday!
Anyho, back to the weather... I had a lot of fun driving my convertible around (well, the times that I was sober anyway) this past weekend. I'm totally loving this weather. Meteorologically, autumn started at the beginning of September and, astronomically, autumn started on Sunday with the autumnal (I love saying that word) equinox. Whichever way it is, it definitely feels more like a beautiful summer!
I'm lovin' it. Bring it on! @ 18:08
September 19, 2007
[balls-cold] It's getting colder. Pout. The sun is setting earlier. By next week, the sun will set earlier than 7pm. Double pout. Winter is coming. I'm feeling the onset of a depression.
I want 80s, dammit! At least the weekend will be nice and warm. Though suckily enough, I have to work on Sunday! Grrr. I will do everything in my power not to have to work on a Sunday ever again. Ever. Thank God this is the last of two major upgrades. I can't wait for it to be done.
Cold. This past weekend was frigid. And we were at the beach. Well, technically we saw ocean and sand for one hour. Does that count as "going to the beach"? Right, I didn't think so.
But it was a fun-filled weekend nonetheless with Carlitos, Phil (who nicked his cornea with his contacts, ouch), Adam and Patrick. Drizzly Friday night was a ball at Blue Moon and Cloud 9, though I don't remember much of the latter. I do remember dancing with Tony at Cloud 9 at one point and some guy walks up to Tony and says, "your boyfriend is really cute", to which he replies "uh-huh, OK, buh-bye". LOL!! He's so protective ;-)
Saturday was Delaware Pride at Rehomo. Yup, you heard me. The entire *state*'s Pride is celebrated in one location. On *one* day. What did you expect for a state of 850,000 people, right? Hillarious.
Seriously though, I thought DE Pride was rather sad. First and foremost, there was no parade. I was like, WTF? The Parade is, like, the best part. Then, there was the location of the festival. I mean, there's the beach right there and they chose to have it in a parking lot that leads to the beach. Whatev. Finally there were the booths (or lack thereof). I could've counted them all (and the people in attendance) on my fingers and toes (i.e. 21, LOL). The live, um, "entertainment" (if you can call it that) was honky-tonk music.
Trrr-agic. Oh well, at least we were the prettiest people there :-D
And the youngest! OMB. The average age of the non-summer natives and visitors is fossil. It was like Gay-ARP Pride. Wow, I took a mean pill this morning. Or maybe I was just hanging out with Jason last night, LOL!
Anyho, we managed to hit the beach for some late afternoon sun after the festival. It was futile. When the clouds were in the way, you froze. The winds were strong so we got sand-blasted while laying down. It was like sand paper on your face. Not fetch at all. The water was balls-shrinkingly cold. Pointless.
The Pride "parties" continued at Aqua after, and then at 59 Lake. They were all fun, though it was a little nipply to be drinking frozen mango-ritas outside at Aqua. But we did it like the pros that we are anyway. It was quite shocking to be drinking outside at Aqua and the sun would be setting at around 7ish. Totally not used to that. That was the first time I realized that summer is O-ver with a capital "O". Music at 59 Lake was fierce. Super fun.
It was too cold Sunday to even leave the house so Tony made a *huge* brunch spread and we left the beach at around 3:15pm. Adam and Patrick had left 30 minutes before us and warned us of the 404 backups onto 50. We took a quick detour onto 309 and 301 and we were actually on the Bay Bridge ahead of them. Fetch! Thanks, A&P! There really is nothing I detest more about driving than traffic. I'm Road Rage Kiat when the traffic is bad, trust.
I love my weekends, balls-cold or not :-) @ 11:40
[d-list + 80s] Going out on a weeknight is e-v-i-l. Staying out dancing till 1:30am? Pure evil.
Why do I always do this to myself. Two words: 80s night. Once the good music started, I just couldn't tear myself away from the dance floor (and bitches, this gaysian loves to dance). Luckily, I had the good sense not to over-drink on a weeknight (I only had 5, lol) so I'm not feeling much pain today. But I think I'm about to fall asleep at my desk.
Rewind. Tyler got us FAB-u-lous 7th row seats at the Kennedy Center for Ms. D-List Griffin last night (thanks, Tyler!). Well, by us I mean Jason, Chad (who sat next to me and now refers to me as the "cackling gaysian"), and the royal ME. Tony went too but since Tyler didn't get him a ticket (*giggle*), he sat in the nosebleeds with Carlos and gang. We ran into Phil/Andrew there as well. It was like all of upper-crust gay DC (haha, not) was there. Fetch.
7th row. We sat so close to Kathy we could see her Maybeline. She was fantastic last night, though the show only lasted 90 minutes and there was no encore. It was kinda like the Sopranos finale. Definitely an erection killer. But last night was her first show since the fabulous and irreverent "Suck it, Jesus!" speech at the Shmemmys (Creative Emmys) so she was in rare form. She recounted that speech in its entirety to us (like we had ALL not heard it before, der). Totally fierce.
Oh wait, have you heard my encounter with the cash register guy (CRG) at the Kennedy Center cafe as I'm buying a mini champagne bottle? OMB...
CRG:: (hands me a plastic cup)
Me:: What's this for?
CRG:: For the champagne
Me:: Oh, I won't need the cup
CRG:: (gives me that "drinking from the bottle" disapproving look) Isn't that a little ghetto?
Me:: (one hand on hip and the other holding up the bottle) Um, you're selling Freixenet. Who are *you* calling ghetto?
I can't be-*lieve* I was getting the suh-nap from a cash register person. Hrmph.
After busting your gut to Kathy, what could be more fitting than to crown a Tuesday night off with 80s night at Cobalt? It was totally natural.
But so unnatural to be at work with only 7 hours of sleep. Yawn. @ 10:34
September 18, 2007
[despondent] And in other far less euphoric and even marginally despondent news, Maryland's highest court (The Court of Appeals) overruled Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock and upheld a 1973 law banning same-sex marriage. Something about how marriage is a legal arrangement between a man and a woman made expressly for the purpose of encouraging procreation.
Stupid. And sad.
Check this out from WaPo:
"Ah, the tortured language of discrimination!"
"So, procreation is the ONLY VALID reason for marriage? Then women beyond menopause should not be allowed to marry. Nor men who are no longer able to father children. (Certainly no seniors should be allowed to marry--unless they can prove that they are capable of procreating.) Should not marriages be dissolved once the partners are past the ability to procreate? Should not the state require proof of fertility of all couples applying to be married? Should married couples who fail to procreate be ordered divorced? Would adopting someone else's children serve as a substitute for procreating your own?"
LOL! Love it.
The 4-3 decision did, however, say that their ruling "should by no means be read to imply that the General Assembly may not grant and recognize homosexual persons civil unions or the right to marry a person of the same sex."
So, there's hope... Well, far more hope than one can ever have in Virginia.
Due to yet another Republican filibuster - their 46th of the 110th Congress, the Senate was blocked from taking up the DC voting rights bill which would have granted heavily-Democratic DC and heavily-Republican Utah one member each in the House of Representatives. The bill had passed the House in April.
The cloture vote was 3 short of the required 60 to break the filibuster.
Yes, it is really sad. And stupid. But what's sadder and stupider is the fact that Senate Reid has allowed the Republicans to use the filibuster FORTY SIX times in the past 8 months!!
WHAT THE FUCK?!!
OK, maybe the DC voting rights bill wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things (though I vehemently disagree). But seriously, the next time a *really* critical bill comes up for a vote - like, say, the Webb amendment to mandate rest periods for troops that are as much or more time as they are deployed - STICK TO YOUR GUNS!!! Don't just give up and table the motion after you fail to break the Republican filibuster. Make them tie up the Senate floor for 24 or more hours with their speeches and don't budge until the amendment gets an up or down vote.
I mean, seriously. Waving the white flag on some of the more critical bills without even a fight is just cowardice, and the American people aren't getting to see how stupid the Republicans are for holding up common sense bills like the safety of our troops.
Senator Reid needs to keep the floor debate going for as long as it takes to get the American public to tune in over the fate of thousands of US soldiers.
Then we'll see the Republican Senators either run for cover and vote for the bill, or stand to lose BIG in 2008. Either way, it's a win-win.
Yay! I love channeling my hatred towards the Republicunts. See? Not so despondent anymore *giggle* @ 18:15
[euphoria] To almost everyone's and no one's surprise, the Federal Reserve sliced short-term interest rates by half a point today (from 5.25% to 4.75%) - the first cut since June '03 - to prevent the worst housing slump in 16 years, a severe mortgage and credit meltdown, and turbulent financial markets from triggering a recession.
After the bursting of the tech bubble, the 9/11 attacks and the eventual recession, the Fed cut rates 13 times from 2001 to June 2003 when it hit 1% - the lowest level in 45 years. Beginning June 2004, the Fed began raising rates to protect the economy from the threat of higher inflationary pressures, and eventually raised it 17 times in a row until it reached 5.25% in June 2006.
The 0.5% cut sent Wall Street into an euphoric mood. I was ecstatic :-D
The fallout, though, is that the dollar - with interest rates falling and no longer looking so attractive - fell to new lows against the Euro at $1.3988. The Canadian dollar also rose to a 30-year high against the US$, hitting 98.80 US cents per C$. The last time the loonie and the greenback reached parity was back in 1976. Just five years ago, the C$ traded at an all-time low of 61.92 US cents per C$. Shocking. The dollar also fell against the A$ and the NZ$.
Which sucks for me coz we're going to Oz and NZ in less than two months. Sigh. @ 17:34
September 17, 2007
[memoirs of a fed chairman] Twenty words from Alan Greenspan's "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World":
"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
DER. @ 16:21
[i ♥ the emmys] Kathy Griffin, from two weekends ago after winning a Creative Arts Emmy:
"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus... Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."
ROTFL! Um, it was obvious she was kidding. So, shut it you stupid self-righteous morons ;-)
Then, Sally Field last night after winning an Emmy for "Brothers and Sisters":
"Surely this belongs to all the mothers of the world. May they be seen, may their work be valued and raised. Especially to the mothers who stand with an open heart and wait. Wait for their children to come home from danger, from harms way, and from war. I am proud to be one of those women."
"And, lets face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamned wars in the first place."
E! Channel censored Kathy's acceptance speech. And Fox last night censored Sally's use of the word "goddamned".
I loved them both and I hope the conservatives are frothing in anger over those supposedly "blasphemous" remarks.
I ♥ Kathy Griffin. I ♥ Sally Field. And I ♥ the Emmys! @ 16:12
September 13, 2007
[party all the time] It's almost easy to understand how I fell asleep during a massage yesterday. I've just been super exhausted this past month and things (at work) don't seem like they're gonna abate until October at the earliest.
I've been working on two back-to-back upgrades at work - one in end-Aug and one at the end of this month. Those two projects plus the countless other projects at work is giving a whole new meaning to balls-to-the-wall busy.
I've also been partying in between... hard. Like that was news, right?
Southern Decadence 2007 in New Orleans.
Oh. Mi. Beyonce.
You can stop reading here (and you definitely don't want to look at the pics) if you are squeamish or don't want to hear about (or see) dick.
Coz there were tons of them. I saw enough exposed penii (in public!) at SoDec to last me... till next month :-D
All shapes and sizes. Most were pretty good-sized (and that's not because I'm Asian :-p). Some were semi-erect. Some were in people's mouths. Some were nice. Well, a small minority was nice. The average age of the crowd was pretty up there. So instead of long, beautiful and pink... I got wrinkly, old and pierced. Prince Alberts is a sub-culture I will never fully understand.
And neither will I fully comprehend the whole water sports thingie. At least I only had mental images of it before. But to see it live, in public, in front of you is just something else. Every hair (all two of them) on my body stood up and I was cringing into the pavement when I saw 4 guys pee on this one guy on his knees; including one that aimed for his coochie. Eww, eww, eww. Dude got up after he was properly, um, peed on and just went about his merry way... without showering! I guess he thought he had already gotten a shower.
To me, that's like a sub- to a sub- to a sub-culture. Gross.
And people actually took pictures during!!! In fact, camera phones whipped out like a Bryan Adams concert everytime penis was exposed. Everyone became Japanese as soon as they saw exposed cock. It's flabbergasting what people will take pictures of. I, of course, refuse to take pictures of penis on my camera phone. No, sirree. Hence why you won't see any nawty pictures (um, define "nawty") in my SoDec web album (to follow).
Back to some more normal topics. We had sensational food while we were there. We arrived before everyone else on Friday so we ate at Emeril's NOLA. Food was good - nothing to write home about - and hideously overpriced. I think he kicked the price up one too many notches on this restaurant. We also had beignets at Cafe du Monde (der), oysters at Acme's (double der), hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's and found a courtyard gem of a Sunday brunch place called Cafe Amelie. The dinner to end all dinners was Stella! Absolutely amazing. That was where we celebrated Mikko's birthday with Rob, Rachel and Ellen.
The weather was oppressively humid even if it wasn't that hot (high 80s). We managed but it was sweat-astic.
OK, OK... I know you want to see the pics :-p
DISCLAIMER:: Raunchy pictures, NC-17, must be over 18!!! Bitches, you've been warned :-p
Southern Decadence 2007 - Bourbon and St Ann
I don't even know where to begin with the parties... and the drinking! OMB, we were inebriated for three days straight. It was insanity.
After dinner, we hooked up with Rob/Mikko, Rachel and Ellen and piled into Bourbon Pub for our first official night at Decadence. The Pub was letting in pass-holders only and believe it or not, both Rachel and Ellen had bought passes! Straight girls buying passes to a gay circuit event, fetch! The party was called EUPHORIA and it was all that and then some. Two floors of hot, drunk, semi-naked, heaving boys shimmying and gyrating to some of the best pop remixes today (including my favorite, Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music"), plus strippers... everywhere. Can you say "Heaven"?
Friday night was also the night I met my Stripper Named Desire. Well, actually his name was Telmo (from Portugal via LA). He was a wet dream on the bar top. In a jock strap. Mesmerizing.
We were pretty exhausted from the long week and the flight so we checked out at around 2 and went to Clover Grill with Rob/Mikko for some delicious hangover food. I barely remember this coz I was completely passed out drunk, but apparently I ate a giant omelette and then was "carried" back to the hotel and passed out cold. Yup, sounds about right. The girls partied so hard they woke up at 4pm on Saturday, LOL!
Saturday continued where Friday night left off. We had our first drinks at 2pm and didn't stop after that. The skies opened up for the one and only time that late afternoon. Let's just say that wet drunk boys packed into an incredibly humid Bourbon Pub makes for a fun sweat- and rain-drenched activity. The Bourbon Street Extravaganza was rained out but it finally got started two hours late, at which point we had to get dressed and go to our fabulous dinner at Stella! The concert was fun, though very amateurish. We ran into Greg and Andy at the concert. More fun.
Concert led to dinner which led back to Bourbon Pub for DECA-DANCE XX. The girls were kinda tapped out but not before we stood out at the BPub balcony overlooking Oz and watched the parade of queers on the street. Oh and let's not forget the, um, "double-header" going on behind us.
The girls retired early, but Tony and I danced our butts off to the most amazing 2 hours of music ever. We left at 4am. Oh what a night! Lots of crazies on the dancefloor as you can imagine. I won't even go into details.
Sunday was *pain*-ful. But we hauled our butts to brunch before staking out prime spots for the parade. And this is where it got ugly. Face down ass up ugly, that is. I consumed enough bloody marys to pee red. 6 hours of non-stop drinking with the sun beating down on you was a sure-fire recipe for shenanananigans. At one point, I had my shirt off with Greg, Gary and Rob and was bouncing from bar to bar like a yellow nympho. It was tragic, LOL!
That was also the day I found God aka Telmo. Well, it was Sunday after all... My stripper (yes, I'm possessive) grabbed my bloody mary and I was like, "give me my drink back!". He took a big sip out of it and proceeded to spit it down his amazingly chiseled body like a slow-drip waterfall of "blood" down to his underwear. He then grabs my head and puts my lips on his navel and makes me lap all the liquor up like a puppy. I wish I was chewing on his bone instead, LOL! OMB, I was in pure heaven. I thought it was one big happy wet dream...
...until he decided to order shots from the bar, sit on his heels (on the bar top), grabbed my head and placed my lips above his buttcheeks and then poured the shots down the beautifully sculpted canal of muscles that lined his spine till I had drunk every single last drop of alcohol.
Hands down, best body shots I've ever had. Ever.
I could barely walk at this point so we (Tony and I :-p) decided to go back to the room for a little rest.
Two hours later, Rob calls the room and goes "WTF are you guys?? You were sposed to be in the lobby 30 mins ago!". We had completely passed out and slept through our dinner appointment, LOL! We got ready and dressed in 2 seconds and joined the group for dinner out at some skanky restaurant on Jackson Sq. I was unbelievably dazed and hungover. And it was only 9pm!
I recharged very quickly and we invaded Bourbon Pub for one last hurrah - MELTDOWN. The music sucked so we were only there till 2ish. We went off by ourselves to Clover Grill for one last hangover supper. We were on a four-top and guess who joined us? Telmo. We had supper with our stripper, LOL!
For an entire week after that, I was pretty much in detox/rehab. Didn't go out again until the following Sunday.
But I will never forget one of the most decadent weekends I've ever had! Totally fierce. Will I do it again? Probably not. Am I glad I went and saw tons of penii, and then drank bloody mary/shots off my stripper's body and had supper with him? Abso-fucking-lutely. @ 18:48
[birthday splurge] I was so relaxed during the massage yesterday that I fell asleep and started snoring midway through it, LOL! My masseuse giggled at me waking myself up with my own snoring. Quite embarrassing.
She placed these hot stones all over my body - one behind the heart, one behind the belly, two behind the thighs, two behind the calves and one in each hand - and then proceeded to massage me with the hot stones. They totally melted all my worries away which pushed me over the relaxation edge into sleep mode. Quite fun.
The MO Spa was quite nice, though nothing compared to the outdoor hot-tub-cum-sky-deck overlooking the Han River at the W Walkerhill in Seoul. It was nice to have the whole place to ourselves - sauna, steam room, plunge pool, showers, relaxation lounge, etc. We took *full* advantage of the situation, if you get my drift ;-) I was *super* relaxed, mmm-hmm.
The treatment rooms were labeled with the chinese characters for 1 to 8. I thought that was a nice touch. When I got to mine, I was like, "oh, we're in room 6" and my masseuse was like, "how did you know that?". I'm like, "oh I can read Chinese" and she was like, "get out! Chinese is sooooo difficult".
Um, DER! I'll take Stating The Obvious for $500 please, Alex. Silly girl.
The only thing bizarre about the whole experience was that they charged me 18% gratuity on the spa treatments at check-out. I mean, I would've tipped up to that amount anyway but the fact that they just put it on my bill without letting me know in advance or giving me the option to reduce (or, God forbid, add) to the total is just weird for a super-high-end hotel like the Mandarin Oriental. It's just kinda tacky when your guests are spending $150 an *hour* for spa treatments.
Central was a great lil' fusion French-American bistro. The food was very good - modern twists on home-style dishes. I had fried oysters which were TDF (to die for, der) and my beef cheeks pasta thingie was sublime. Tony's dishes were so-so but me thinks he just ordered poorly (smoked salmon and hanger steak? com'on...) And we had a banana split for dessert! I felt five *giggle*
Oh and note to self: Drinking wine after a supremely relaxing massage magnifies the effects of the alcohol. We were both passing out after one glass of champagne!
After dinner, Chris and I sat outside on the front deck under the beautiful DC fall-like night sky and commiserated over a bottle and a half of wine. Ahh, good times :-)
The birthday celebration rolls into Rehoboth this weekend! Not too sure about the weather there (50s and 70s?) but it will most likely (and hopefully) be a nice fall weekend at the beach.
Yay, beach. @ 17:52
September 12, 2007
[relax & eat] Tony doesn't know it yet but we're headed to The Spa @ Mandarin Oriental at 4pm today for a 2-hour "Chakra Balancing With Hot Stones" Journey. Here's the description from their website:
"Chakras are the seven subtle energy centers in the body which affect our equilibrium and inner harmony and through which one's life force energy flows. Recognized in both Ayurvedic and Chinese philosophies, blocked and congested Chakras can affect the body and mind both emotionally and physically. The Chakra Balancing begins with a welcoming foot ritual, a full body exfoliation and facial cleansing to prepare for the deeper work. The body is then massaged with a highly concentrated blend of aromatherapy oils using volcanic hot stones. Stones are carefully placed on body Chakras at vital energy points and on both hands and feet for balance and grounding. Gentle stretching helps release deep-seated tension around neck and shoulders. Critical tension points are massaged around the eyes and ears before an acupressure head massage is given to calm and soothe the mind and spirit. The end result is a rejuvenated sense of equilibrium."
All's I know is I better be as relaxed as a vegetable after the session coz it's costing me my first born to go for this treatment!
After the spa, we are headed to Michel Richard's (of Citronelle fame) new bistro-style restaurant in the Penn Quarter called "Central". Never been, it's supposed to be casual, don't know if it's good.
I just need to relax... and get fed :-D @ 15:45
[multifarious] The news media must be creaming their pants today what with the overload of events. Just a few notable ones...
In advance of the anticipated Fed rate cut, the Euro hit a record high against the dollar @ $1.3878 (vs $1.3852 in July). Oil prices also hit a record high of $78.23 a barrel - 2 cents higher than the previous closing record set on July 31st.
Having lost all credibility and public support for months now and then getting crushed in parliamentary elections 2 months ago, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally announced his resignation today after serving one year in office.
Similarly, Putin dissolved the Russian government today.
A huge magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck southern Sumatra about 3 hours ago close to where the monster 9.3 quake unleashed a killer tsunami that killed about 275,000 people around the Indian Ocean three years ago. Even though Malaysia is only 450mi away from this quake's epicenter (the 2004 one was much closer), thankfully Malaysia is sheltered from the quake and the tsunami by Sumatra and there is also a one-hour-warning detection system in both the Indian (Andaman Sea) and the Pacific Oceans (South China Sea). Evacuation notices are broadcast via TV, radio, satellite and text messaging within 15 minutes of detection.
And the biggest news of all today (IMO, of course) is: It's Tony's birthday!!! Yay.
Happy (44th :-p) Birthday to my baby... @ 13:30
September 11, 2007
[six years] We will never forget the 2,974 victims killed by the September 11 attacks: 2,750 at the World Trade Center in NYC, 40 in Pennsylvania and 184 at the Pentagon. @ 18:05
[valet and maid] Rick thinks this is blog-worthy (I should start charging him rent for space on here...)
Me:: Brunch at 11
Rick:: Can I bring the 6 tricks that spent the night with me?
Me:: Only 6? You're slacking
Rick:: No, just need a bigger place...with more floor space for them to sleep.
Me:: Aren't they used to sleeping on top of each other anyway like they do in Mexico?
Rick:: Imagine the craigslist posting: "wanted: rental that can sleep up to 30 latino bottoms and 1 top. No valet or cleaning services needed. will bring my own"
*giggle*
We should be nicer to the Latinos coz, well, I love my (super expensive) cleaning ladies!
And that was just the start to a non-stop, 9-hour drink-a-thon Sunday which ended with me passed out in bed by 8pm. Literally. @ 18:02
[healthy] I seriously do not have time to do anything these days besides concentrate on this crazy upgrade project at work.
But I definitely made time to go see my doctor for my routine health exam.
Blood pressure = 100/72
Cholesterol = 165 mg/dL
And all the other blood work came back negative (der).
In other words... my health is peachy :-)
My next one is "the big one" i.e. full physical. That happens in Feb. I am so not looking forward to the prostate exam. I told my doctor that and he said...
"Would it help if I did it with both hands on your shoulders?"
I love my super-hot gay doctor :-D @ 14:55
September 6, 2007
[slut + lush = ?] OMB, check out what L'David did (first entry below) before it gets taken off Wikipedia *giggle*:
(a) bitch has *way* too much time on her hands; and (b) OMB, TWFAS! (that was funny as shit!) @ 19:28
[r.i.p.] This is so sad - Famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti died today at the age of 71 in Modena, Italy where he was born (and the birthplace of Ferrari!) after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
I was shocked to hear of his death. It seems like yesterday (actually 18 months ago) when I saw him in Italy. I will never, ever forget listening to him perform the aria, Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot", live on stage at the Torino 2006 Olympics Opening Ceremony. If you want to see it, google "pavarotti turin 2006". Granted, I was a little far away from him (he sang at the far end whereas I was near the center stage), but he commanded the entire stadium with a presence that was larger than life (in more ways than one *grin*). And then the next night, I saw Andrea Bocelli on stage. Fetch.
Pavarotti's voice - like Bocelli's - was so instantly recognizable that everybody knew it in an instant. He's unforgettable.
R.I.P. Sig. Pavarotti.
P/S: I have been crushed by my workload these past few days, ugh. @ 19:00
September 4, 2007
[district of colombia] OMB, this is funny.
From WaPo's Marc Fisher's blog who asked his readers to come up with a better tourism slogan for DC:
D.C.: A School-Free Drug Zone!
D.C.: Walk Left, Stand Right
No, It's Not a SHOPPING Mall
D.C.: Taxation Without Representation
Less Crime Than New Orleans, And Five Feet Higher, Too!
D.C. - We're Taxtastic!
We'll tow your heart away!
D.C.: Where the Judges Sue YOU!
D.C.: Has Anyone Seen My Pants?
D.C.: So Good, The Rats Won't Leave!
Our Village Idiot is Dumber Than Yours!
D.C.: District OF Colombia
Northern Charm, Southern Efficiency
D.C.: Where Your Tax Dollars Go To Die
*giggle* People are funny.
Any of those are better than "The American Experience". @ 19:23
[306 to 208] This past Sunday, the neighborhood where I live in - Dupont Circle - was transferred from the Third Police District (PSA 306) to the Second District (new PSA 208).
Yay!
Why yay? Coz 2D handles only 4.5% of emergency calls and accounts for 3.2% of the violent crime in the city. 3D accounts for over 21% of these calls and almost a quarter of all violent crime, and those numbers are increasing i.e. being in 2D means less busy police and better response times.
They're saying that the move is to balance the workload between these two districts but me thinks the main reason for the move is coz the Dupont/Kalorama areas are more demographically like the Second District (i.e. whiter, richer, lower crime) - which includes Georgetown, Foggy Bottom (my workplace!) and Upper NW - than the more rough-and-tumble neighborhoods in the Third District (Adams Morgan, Columbia Frights, Mount (un)Pleasant, Shaw, etc.).
Case in point - there have been no murders year-to-date in 2D and 3 all of last year (which is three too many). 3D, on the other hand, has recorded 12 murders YTD and 26 in 2006. 2D is kinda pissed though coz the number of violent crimes in the old PSA 306 is about the same as ALL of 2D (233 vs 237), which has very suburban-like crime statistics.
Another reason why the new PSA 208 will get lots of attention coz we'd be the attention-seeking black sheep of 2D as opposed to being the neglected good kid on the block in 3D.
I like attention :-D @ 15:28
[fortress sydney] You wouldn't know it's springtime in Australia with this shocking picture from Fortress Sydney in the days leading up to the APEC summit - where leaders of 21 countries representing 41% of humanity will meet to discuss climate change - that starts on Saturday:
An iron curtain - three miles of 9ft-high steel and concrete barriers - lines the streets in Sydney's Central Business District (CBD) in preparation for Bush's arrival. The iconic Sydney Opera House, which will host the summit, will be closed to the public for the first time since its opening in 1973.
My question to Sydney is this: Why are you guys - 52% of whom think that W. stands for Worst US President ever - spending $250mn and blockading your city center to protect a global terrorist? @ 07:54
September 3, 2007
[fema] This was *the* funniest T-shirt we saw in N'Awlins all weekend...
"Run, Mother Fucker, Run!" - LOL! @ 21:03
[17 hours] I've had about 17 hours sleep over the past three nights. I'm totally knackered and down to my last cylinder. I expect to crash very shortly.
You will have to hear about the crazy Southern Decadence shenanigans this past weekend some other time...
Here are some text messages to tide you over in the meantime. I received them over the course of the weekend and they're pretty descriptive of the weekend.
Tons of wet boys packed in here!
I'm wet and wearing a white tank
Bourbon Pub!!!
Cape cod and margaritas lol
Just got up lol. You?
Cum to Bourbon Pub now!!!
did u get benwa balls necklace?
how's the Big Easy, Kiatrina?
It's the Big Cheap'n'Easy with me here... And I've been drunk since Friday
I made a quick warning call to Ray Nagin & Kathy Blanco to be prepared for a malaysian typhoon
It's magaysian tsunami to you, bitch
You're hurricane CUNT-rina. Now that you've visited, NOLA's fucked again.
Where are you guys? We're starving!
Are you guys walking?!
You're missing penis!!!
Dont hate us cuz we r beautiful (from Rachel, LOL)
we're at the bourbon pub. where are you? (super funny coz it came from Ellen)
Hey sista, u still out? And functioning? (received at 3:14am)
At clover grill with your hot stripper
I could really use a scotch and a blow job right now
Such a short trip! Hope you had fun, big easy.
Hurricane Kiatrina has left the Big (Sl)Easy!
And there was also a trans-Atlantic dimension to the nawty texts (from Chris in Rome with lots of love...)
Chris:: The pope says hi. Wants to know if you are available later for some rough sex?
Kiat:: Only if I top lol
Chris:: He said he'll meet you later under the old oak tree. He'll bring the condoms.
Kiat:: I thought the Pope liked it raw?
Chris:: Only on sundays and only from his dildo, named god.
Kiat:: Funny, I always thought his cross-shaped dildo was named Jesus
Chris:: Oh god. Oh god. Oh god!!!!!!!!! Oh jesus!!!!
Kiat:: Makes me want to be an altar boy in St Peter's
Yes, we're both going to hell :-D
And, finally... the closing text from Rachel to sum up the weekend:
Baby mule! Ive missed u rong time already! Soooo much fun! Ruv u guys! Thx 4 coming - and giving us all some vitamin G! see u in NY
ROTFLMAO. You just had to be there.
Off to bed, zzzzz... @ 20:10
September 1, 2007
[labor gay] It occurred to me that I forgot to mention that I was going out of town this weekend. That's what happens when work is crazy, the evenings are filled with parties and the last weekend of summer was one big drunken and hungover mess.
So... where in the world is Kiat this weekend? Here's your clue:
OK, more clues... I'm in the South. The weather is nasty and humid, but could be much worse. And this is one of the most Decadent cities in America ;-)
It's definitely Labor Gay down here! @ 11:18
28 :: happy pills
28 :: crisis mode
25 :: SFO-CAN
25 :: i'm lovin' it
19 :: balls-cold
19 :: d-list + 80s
18 :: despondent
18 :: euphoria
17 :: memoirs of a fed chairman
17 :: i ♥ the emmys
13 :: party all the time
13 :: birthday splurge
12 :: relax & eat
12 :: multifarious
11 :: six years
11 :: valet and maid
11 :: healthy
06 :: slut + lush = ?
06 :: r.i.p.
04 :: district of colombia
04 :: 306 to 208
04 :: fortress sydney
03 :: fema
03 :: 17 hours
01 :: labor gay