:: Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger's Club ::

:: Thursday, May 18, 2006 ::

catching up

It's certainly arguable that my writing has lost somewhat of a personal touch to it. Some might even go so far as to say it "sucks" and is/has become the literary equivalent of dry toast. Well the joke's on you, fuckers. My writing's always stank. In any case, I'll attempt to infuse a bit of colour into this washed-up canvas by filling you in on what you might have missed out in the past year.

Around the City...

While hanging out with some friends in Greenwich Village last month we stopped into a well-known neighborhood pharmacy/beauty supply store on 6th avenue. While the lone female of the group was lured away by the call of overpriced beauty products, the remaining chaps stood waiting by the exit. Smoothly catching my attention, he whispers, "you know who that is, right?". And oh-so-very unsmoothily, I looked around the room and, noticing nothing out of the ordinary, barked back "what the hell are you talking about? See who?". Turns out the "who" my friend was referring to was all 6' 2" and 200 plus pounds of James Gandolfini standing directly in front of me. Smoove, D. Smoooth...

Anyway, Tony Soprano's a lot taller and skinnier in person. But much balder.

Two other celebrity run-ins in the past few days, if you care about that sort of thing, included Julia Stiles, who we were seated next to at Croxley's Ale House and who seemed pretty down to earth, and John Cho of Harold & Kumar fame who was walking alongside me on Avenue A and seemed a lot more oriental in person.

10-speed + spandex shorts...

So back in March I suddenly decided that I was going to take up cycling. "Cycling", in case you were unaware, is merely pretext for "parading around the streets while advertising my junk through thin, shiny spandex shorts". So after a bit of research, I purchased my first bicycle in 10 years: a 2006 Lemond, Alpe d'Huez. I used to tease Travis and Bill for spending so much money on a bicycle and I never thought I'd see the day where I'd join them in donning spandex, but here I am. Admittedly, I was pretty gun-shy at first, but a couple of laps around Chelsea did wonders for my self-esteem. So far it's been fun and worth every penny.

The [anti]Marlboro Man...

Next week will mark my fifth month since giving up smoking. Ever since I had a bad cold back in December, I've lost all cravings and no longer enjoy the smooth, rich taste of Marlboro Country.

Dating...

Back in January, the bagel lady's niece notified me that she'd be visiting NY for a whole month. We got together for dinner on her first night here and did a bit of catching up. I accepted her offer to join her, her cousin and his fiancee for a late showing of Wolf Creek, but when I got up to their place in the Upper East Side, it became clear that they would not be joining us. Instead, she smoked me out and even rolled one up for intermission. To bring this all into context, at the time I was still seeing 'S', but things were very unsure between us. Anyway, the movie was pretty disturbing and we almost walked out during the middle of it (perhaps it had something to do with the bud, but neither of us could stomach it). Despite the mood-killer, suffice it to say bagel lady's niece dropped some hints throughout the flick that she wanted to be more than friends. I picked up on them, but didn't act. When the movie let out it was close to 2 am and she wanted to hang out some more. I decided to put her on a bus back to her cousin's and told her I was heading home to hit the sack. We hung out briefly once or twice more after that night; once to accompany her to get a piercing and another time for some coffee. And even though she let me in on the exciting news that she was moving here at the end of the year, I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm a total pussy; either that or I'm not attracted to her. Ultimately, however, I guess it's my conscience that always guilts me into staying faithful. Even during times when existing relationships seem uncertain.

In other words: I'm a big-time pussy.

In related news, I recently caught Pinback at Irving Plaza with this girl my friend's been trying to set me up with. She's a big music slut like me, so we have that in common. However, there wasn't really any sort of spark. Maybe it's because I'm not really good at doing the whole "we're free to see other people" thing that I initially clamored for. It seemed like a "get out of jail free" card in the beginning, but it's not all it's cracked up to be. So I'm gonna stick it out with "S" and see what happens, for better or worse.

Life decisions...

Oh, I quit my job last Friday. Fuck, it was about time. Although it was only supposed to be temporary, I ended up working on that corporate litigation project for over 7 months. I have decided to sublet my place out for the summer and move back home to California to figure some things out. Find some direction for my life and my so-called career. While I'm there, I'll be studying for the bar so it's not like I'll be enjoying my time there. Shit, I won't even have my own car; in fact, I shipped my bike out there and peddling will be my primary mode of transporation. Fuck, I'm cool.

Despite the shitty summer I'm going to have, there is some light at the end of this dreary tunnel: I've racked up enough mileage to score another free flight. My choices are Europe, Central or South America, or Japan.

I think I'm long overdue to get lost again. That always seems to be the best way to find myself.

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