Well, tonight was the big episode of the Simpsons in which Aunt Patty
comes out of the closet. I was outraged because before the episode
aired, there was a disclaimer stating: “This episode contains
discussions of same-sex marriage. Parental discretion is advised.” This
was also on their website. Its appalling. It was just like the
disclaimers they put when a movie or show has violence, sex, or
something along those lines. And shit, they wouldn’t even say the word
gay in the disclaimer. I know this all goes back to the Janet Jackson
thing……….lord knows, we can’t be too careful in this society. We
would want the Christian right to be up in arms because of some gay
themes on a show without people being made aware of this before the
show aired. Its disturbing, what we have come to. Hell, the news has
discussions of gay marriage……….wait, I’m sorry, I believe the
proper (and straight happy term…….we musn’t mention the “g” word)
term is same sex marriage. And what about on talk show after talk show
after talk show. There are no disclaimers there. The right wing
Christians run this country and we are worse off for it.

The episode itself was absolutely classic. I have been critical of the
Simpsons in recent years of it not being as funny as it once was, but
that was not the case tonight. It was hilarious. It will go down as a
significant episode, not only for show, but also in TV. And that is just
because of the gay character on it. The jokes on the show were
priceless. I have always felt the Simpsons are at their best when
parodying social issues, and this was not any different. And it was
made even better because of the awkwardness of watching this with John.
The whole show mirrored what I’m sure both of us were thinking. Marge
finds out about Patty and offers her support, although she still has a
hard time accepting it. During the show I was considering coming out to
John right then (not like he doesn’t know……….like Patty said, you
could see it from space……..not that I’m flamboyant or anything like
that) and it would have been pretty damn appropriate to do it during my
favorite show. It would have been classic, but I just couldn’t do it.
Maybe they will have a gay episode of 24 that I can come out during.

I also watched a special on HBO today about Rosa Parks. The thing I
never knew, was that she was in the black section of the bus at the
time. A white man was standing and the driver demanded that FOUR blacks
give up their seats so that ONE white man could sit. And, none of these
blacks were in the white section of the bus. Once 3 of them moved, Rosa
Parks refused to move, even though the white guy already had his seat.
The rest, as they say, is history.

Still, the show was pretty hard to watch. I always have a tough time
watching things like this, seeing people being treated as less than
human, and this was only 50 years ago. Sure, we have come a long way,
but still have a long way to go. I just want equality for everybody,
and for everybody to work together to achieve change and make the world
a better place. I really wish there was something I can do, but I don’t
know what to do. I want to bring people together. Blacks. Whites. Old.
Young. Gay. Straight. Jew. Muslim. Christian. It doesn’t matter. We are
all human. But, here is my idea. I think I can bring people together. I
want to try to unite people, and I think I know of something that needs
to be done before things get much much worse. The world would be a
better place if we could find a way to pass a law banning Vin Diesel
from ever acting again. The man is just so bad, and his movies are the
only things that are worse then his acting. The Pacifier? I mean,
honestly! How the hell did that pile of shit even get green lighted, led
alone made.

As I write this, there is something on the TV right now that I never
thought I would ever see. I’m watching the NBA all star game, and part
of the half-time entertainment is (and I don’t know who the artists are,
sorry) country music singers, and rappers on the same stage, singing
the same song! I hate country music and have never been much of a rap
fan, but this is a great thing to see, two polar opposites coming
together. Country music has also been associated with racism and being
anti black, and the fact that these two can come together is amazing. I
know its only entertainment, but it means something.

It happens every year. I’m getting that itch again. I need baseball
back, and just in time too. Each year, right about the start of
January, I start really missing baseball……….I miss it the moment
the last out of the World Series is made, but I really start longing
for it in January. And, once football ends, there is even a bigger void
that needs to be filled, and it really make me miss baseball even more,
even though I love baseketball and follow the Bulls closely, I still
need more. And, now, the itch has really kicked into high gear.
Especially since we had nice weather last weekend (at least Saturday)
and now that spring training has started, it makes me really wish the
season would start already. I can’t wait for those lazy Sundays or
Saturdays when I wake up, eat breakfast and then put on the Cubs game.

I had lunch with some old AAA co-workers today. Feb 19 was always our
anniversary at AAA, we all started there on this date in 2001. There
were 12 people in our class, and every year, some of us have dinner on
our anniversary. With it being on a Saturday this year, we opted for
lunch. Turns out, one co-worker, Judi, that I not only started with but
we both got promoted and sat next to each other for 3 years, well, she
got a job at Blue Cross/Blue Shield and I just found this out today.
Although she starts on March 7, she won’t be in the same department as
me…………in fact, she will be on a different floor. Still, it will
be great to have another familar face around, I miss being able to talk
with her.

Anywho, there were only 4 of us at this lunch. The rest either couldn’t
make it, didn’t want to make it, or we just didn’t contact. This one
girl, Bridgett, who is the same age as me, was there. When she saw me,
she gave me this tight hug…………it actually hurt. I have long
suspected that she had feelings for me, and this might have confirmed
it. She told me several times at AAA that if she weren’t married, she
would go for me………..of course, she didn’t know I’m gay, so it
wouldn’t matter anyway. And one time at AAA, she was grilling me on my
sex life, but I wouldn’t tell her anything. She has came up from behind
me and massaged my shoulders. I think its fairly obvious that she
likes/liked me, not that I’m being egotistical or anything.

It was great seeing them and sharing old times and catching up with
former co-workers. Even though it has only been about 6 months, I do
miss it a lot and my new job is nothing like my old job, at least in
terms of co-workers. I just don’t have the same connection with them.
Shit, I have been there for 4 months. When I was at AAA for that same
length of time, it felt right………it felt natural and like it was
where I was supposed to be. This new place is still foregin to
me………its still not “home”. So, now, I’m going to try to bring in
as many former AAA people as I can, if nothing else, it will give me
more familar faces and make me feel more comfortable. I know, thats
sort of self-centered of me, but shit, I’m only going to bring in
people that I know are good employees. I’m not going to bring in
garbage. Shit, my supervisor asked me about a bad former AAA employee
last month and I told her honestly that she was not a good worker.
Still, its going to be great to get more AAA people in there.

I didn’t get a chance to write about yesterday, so I will start with that.

First off, I will not be working Monday, which sucks. I could have
really used the money, and it would have been nice to work Presidents
day and get my mind off of the current walking joke that is in the
White House.

Funny thing happened at work yesterday. I passed this chick that was
walking out of the ladies room. She gave me a big, flirtasious type
smile and continued walking. I could see the reflection in a window
straight ahead, she turned and checked me out after passing me. Of
course, I find this very ammusing, seeing as she has no chance. But, on
the other hand, its also makes me feel good…….I still got it!

Last night was Danel’s birthday celebration at the Flat Top Grill in
Oak Park. I followed Mapquest’s directions, which meant taking 290. Why
is there a constant traffic jam on this road? Every time I’m on there,
no matter when. Granted, this was 6:30PM on a Thursday night, but it
was going INTO the city, traffic should not be that bad. The other side
of the road was fine. And, of course, coming back at 9PM was trafficy
too. Not a jam, but enough traffic to make me wish I had gone a
different way. Anywho, finding parking was a bitch too, but I
eventually found a parking garage about a block away.

I walked into the resturant and the first thing I saw was this really
cute………..no, dare I say, HOT waiter/busboy. He was adorable!
Anywho, I panned across the resturant for Danel. She had a table in
which there were already about 5 or 6 people there. She explained to me
how this place works. You walk up to the……..well, for lack of a
better term, buffett bar. You choose food. You give it to the chef
dudes and they cool it and bring it out to your table a short while
later. Although I really like Chinese food, I still don’t know what a
lot of the stuff is. I wound up mixing just about everything into a
bowl. Danel said that the stuff I had would not only not taste good
mixed together, but also get me sick. Neither happened, though. The
mixture was ok and it did not get me sick.

Danel seemed to be her old self last night. We were swearing and
ripping on each other back and forth. It was great. Its funny, too,
because most of her friends don’t like me. Some of them have legit,
valid reasons for not liking me. Others are just completly mental. I’m
still not on good terms with her sister-in-law, who wound up sitting
next to me. She is still pissed off about the whole Cubs-Sox game
controversy from last year and won’t get me tickets for this year. I
don’t want to get into the story again, but if anybody wants to know
all about it, just ask and I will tell you.

They brought out a brownie sunday for Danel. The waiter (not the hot
one) came up from behind her and she couldn’t see him. I started
clearing stuff out of the way in front of her, when, of course, I
spilled her water across the whole fucking table! Damn my clumsiness!

Another thing about Danel’s friends I forgot to mention, was that they
argue and make a big deal out of stupid, tiny shit. Like last night, as
everybody was paying after the bill came, a couple of them were arguing
about who gets to hold the money for the bill. Fucking ridiculous I
tells ya!

After a while, we went to Oberwies. Damn, for a 15 degree night, there
were an awful lot of people eating ice cream. The place was packed,
mostly kids. I was still full, so I decided not to get anything. I left
shortly thereafter.

I got to Clem’s about 9:50 in the PM. Everybody put Scooty was already
there. After a while, 2 chicks with an undetermined third person walked
in. This third person looked about 12 years old and it was impossible
to tell the gender. Either way, I was convinced that he/she was a long
way from being legal. Honestly, they looked 11 or 12. How is it that
they keep letting kids into this damn bar? Is it that much of  a
dive that they don’t care, because the cops would never bust them out
of of pity alone? Shit, you could close the place down for underage
drinking, but it would only save the owner money.

Tonight, I watched that Metallica documetary, “Some Kind of Monster”.
It was pretty interesting to see the inter-workings of a band, although
if I were Metallica, I would be embarrassed of my behavior. It was
amusing, though. Shit, Lars is fucking crazy. He reminds me of Quinten
Tarrantino, both the way he talks and his mannerisms. Kirk……..well,
its obvious he is gay. As for James, the words “self-center” and
jackass pop into my mind………..you know, sorta like Rusty. Still,
it was weird to see their softer side, like them talking about their
feelings or interacting with their kids. Its a side you would never
think you would see of them, but it sure was interesting.

Looks like my big 3 day weekend is not going to happen. I’m going to be
offered triple pay to work Monday, and I’ll be damned, I’m going to
take it. I need the money. Shit, if they will pay us triple pay to work
on President’s day, I wonder what they will pay us to work on
Christmas?

I’m going to miss all of our normal President’s Day tradtions. Every
year, President’s Day night, we read “‘Twas the Night Before Nixon’s
Resignation……” Of course, there is also the traditonal meal of Big
Macs, fried chicken and ice cream, followed by adultry with our
neigbors wife. We call it, the “Clinton Special.” And what family
doesn’t have a person choke themselves unconscious on a pretzel? Each
year, we all give each other gifts that Clinton stole from the White
House. And I sell my mom’s secret recipes to our enimies and pretend
not to remember anything about it. One of my favorite things, though,
is the President’s Day Tree. Its a tree filled with all the stupid
things Bush has said over the past 5 years. And what President’s day
would be complete, without us liberating our fellow towns people by
blowing up their houses and saying we did it because this is what they
wanted. Oh, what memories!

Well, the NHL season has officially been canceled. Although I don’t
like hockey and can give a rats ass, I do feel bad for the big hockey
fans (yeah, I know………who knew hockey had big fans) such as Mark
and Keith. I know how bitterly disappointed they must be. And then
there is Canada. What are Candians going to do without hockey? They
will have to sit there and get drunk……….oh, wait, they were going
to do that anyway.

On a legitamate sad note, this girl at work, her 3 year old daughter is
sick. She might need a kidney transplant. See, she had cancer before,
and she is having problems again. Her mother knew that at some point
she would have a kidney transplant, but did not think it would happen
for another 10 years. This is so sad. Anything that affects kids, just
tears my heart out. I tried my best to cheer up my co-worker by saying
goofy things (relax, it wasn’t about the kid) just to try to get a
smile out of her, but I know she was just putting on a happy face. I
can see how sad and down she looks, and I can’t blame her one bit. I
don’t know how people can handle something like that. Shit, it was hard
enough when my mom died, but having a life threatening situation like
this with your kid has got to be the worst thing anybody can go
through. I just hope for the best for her.

Ohhh, the irony in this. First, (well, I don’t know about first, but
for the purpose of this post) it was Newt Gingrich’s daughter. Then,
Dick Channey’s. And now, the most conservative of them all: Alan
Keyes’s daughter. Sweet justice. Sweet, gay justice. Not only is it
ironic, but it makes him look like a complete ass. All his anti-gay,
pro family talk, and his own daughter is gay, and he won’s support her.
Thats not very “pro family” is it now, kicking your daughter out of
your house when you find out she is gay and liberal. Good to see you
support your family, Alan. I’m certainly glad that your political and
religious don’t get in the way of having a loving and meaningful
relationship with your daughter. After all, those things are far more
important than supporting and being there for your child.

I like this 4 day work week. I have next Monday off too. I can get use to this.

Man, Jose Canseco is nuts. There is just no denying it now, even
though, I always knew he was “in the shallow part of the pool”. I don’t
know what to make of his book. Certainly, there is a good chance that
some of what he says is true, some is bullshit. For example, I know
there is no way he “only kissed Madonna”………after all, nobody
“only kisses Madonna.” I think he might have been honest when he said
that McGwire, Palmerio, Rodriguez, and other did steroids. I just have
a hard time believing that he injected it into McGwire’s ass while in a
bathroom stahl at the ballpark. Honest. This is what he wrote. I’m not
making this up. Can you just picture this? I’m trying not too, both of
them do NOTHING for me. And, I have never been one to defend Bush, but
when he says that Bush probably knew about the ‘roids, I find this hard
to believe. I mean, if they kept it so hidden back then, how could it
back to the owner of the team? I think he put that in there just to
sell books. He also makes a claim that Nomar did steroids too. I don’t
know what to make of this. Nomar is not that big, although he was
shirtless on the cover of SI a few years ago and was sort of built. He
has had a lot of nagging injuries, types that are associated with
steroids. On the other hand, his power numbers have been pretty
consistant thoughout his career, they haven’t jumped a lot, like Bonds
or Sosa.

Oh, I get to sleep in for the next 4 day! WOOOOHOOOO!!! Tomorrow is my
first half-day friday (every 5th Friday is a half day, but fully paid)
and I took Monday off. Of course, we will all be partying at Scooty’s
all weekend, so I don’t expect to get much sleep Saturday or Sunday,
but it will be nice to not have to roll out of bed early.

I remember now what I was going to write about. So, now is Lent. It
reminds me of the one year when I decided to give up Catholicism for
Lent. Turns out, I gave it up permanently. See, I think its crazy that
people give up something for Lent. As if giving up something for 40
days is somehow equivalent to what Jesus did (assuming his story checks
out, I’m still waiting for my fact finders to get back to me). I think,
if one was serious about it, they would give whatever it is up
permanently, my thinking is that you should use that time to make you a
better person, and Lent would be a good excuse to find your flaws and
fix them. See, that is where once again, the hypocrisy of the
Catholic religion comes in. Give up a sin during Lent, but its ok to do
it again after Lent. Eating meat on Fridays during Lent is a sin, but
ok the rest of the year. It doesn’t make sense, especially since eating
meat on any Friday used to be a sin. Then again, trying to figure out
the Catholic religion is kinda like trying to solve a rubix cube or like
trying to understand women: its scientifically impossible.

There was something I had wanted to write about today, but for the life
of me, I can’t remember what it was. Instead, I will just write about
the Cubs, who traded Kyle Farnsworth today. For what its worth, when he
was on, he was pretty damn good. But, he was very inconsistent and was
a loose cannon. I’m convinced that he had a major drug problem. For
starters, sometimes, it looked like he was strung out on the mound. His
eyes would be all goofy, going in all sorts of different directions.
And, he had some big time anger problems. Also, there were rumors that
he had not only and alcohol problem, but also an extacsy problem as
well. And, he might have done steroids as well. I think his trade is a
good thing, the Cubs have improved themselves by taking the trash out.
They got rid of Farnsworth, Sosa, Alou, and Merker, all had major
attitude problems. This alone could only help them. On the other hand,
most of them were some pretty productive players and they need to
replace them. As for Farnsworth, he is the Tigers problem now.

There is a new gay beer (honestly) that is coming out, and Letterman
did a Top 10 list on it last night, which was funny as hell.

Top Ten Slogans For The New Gay Beer

I’M BACK BABY!!! Long story short, it was really nothing, but might replace the hard drive anyway.

This has the potential to be a really long post, so I will condense certain stories.

We played cards Friday night. It was just me, Mark, Rusty, Dave, and
arriving later, Lance. He was a suprise and showed up after we were a
little more than an hour into the first game. He started off bad, but
managed to actually come back and win. He also made it to the finals in
the last game, against Dave. He was getting his ass kicked and was
actually trying to go home, and was very close to leaving. All of a
sudden, he pulled a flush out of his ass, and next thing you know,
things turned around, and he eventually won.

The next day, I was to meet Isaiah (sorry if I spelled it wrong) at a
Starbucks on the northside. I arrived shortly after 2 in the PM. I
looked around trying to find a young looking guy sitting by himself.
Funny part is, he was sitting right by the door and I managed to walk
right past him. I looked around and saw him and introduced myself. I
ordered some all chocolate drink, which I had seen on Liam’s Xanga and
looked sooooo good. Turns out, not only was it pricey, but it didn’t
taste nearly as good as I thought it would. Isaiah seemed very
nice.  He has this innocence to him, its wonderful. We sat near a
window and looked out it at passerby’s while talking. I think I creeped
him out a little bit because I was really making fun of people, just
trying to keep from the inevitable akward silences. Don’t you just hate
those akward silences when you first meet somebody? Anywho, he is a
little cutie. I enjoyed talking to him, but it was tough to gage
whether he felt the same way. We talked for about 2 hours when he
decided he had enough of me and had to leave.

Saturday night was the piano bar. Man, I swear, I love that place. It
reminds me of a more expensive, dirtier version of Dae shows, which I
miss going to. We had such a great time, although for a portion of the
night, Dave was pouting because they wouldn’t play his song. Of course,
he had paid them $2 to play it, but still he could have had a great
time otherwise. I was in the habit of paying them money to play really
bad songs, like “We are the World” and “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie. Call
me an ass, but I like to come up with really bad, and cheesy songs for
them to play, and then watch the reaction of people, such as Mark, who
comically gets bent out of shape about it.

Yesterday was the Super Bowl, which unless you are completely out
of  it, you already knew. And, it happened again, a repeat
performance. And it must be stopped. Can they do it again next year?
Who can and will stop them? They should be well washed up by next year,
so you would think they wouldn’t be able to do it again. I speak only
of Terry Bradshaw and Paul McCartney. Somebody, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
stop Terry Bradshaw from singing on the air AGAIN! Please, I beg you.
Do something. Cut his mic. Give him larengytis. Cut out his tongue.
Kill him if you have to, but just stop it from happening again. And I’m
still trying to figure out when exactly Ringo became the least
embarrsssing living Beetle. I have always thought Bradshaw was a
jackass and an idiot. Now, his actions at 2 of the last 4 Super Bowls
have confirmed to me that he is some kind of Super-Mega Jackass. And to
think, people got upset when Janet Jackson showed a nipple? I think the
FCC should fine FOX everytime they allow Bradshaw to sing on camera.
And then, there is the whole matter of the post game interviews he did
after the Super Bowl and after the NFC Championship game, him saying to
the players “I want you to carry this trophy around the stadium and
share it with your fans”………..the man has gone off the deep end,
which I guess, wasn ‘t hard for him to do, seeing as he was never quite
on the deep end to begin with. Next year, the two Super Bowl teams
(most likely the 49ers and the Dolphins!) need to come up with a game
plan to stop him. As for McCartney, he should be ashamed of himself.
This is almost as bad as if he were to be singing on air with Tom
Arnold.

Before the game, Bush Sr and Clinton were seen together. Now, I know,
they are working together for the whole tsunami aid thing, but man,
they sure are spending a lot of time together. One might think they
were dating. Its almost like that Simpson’s Halloween episode in which
Clinton and Dole were holding hands. Of course, we know Clinton is
using Bush to get some White House intern and Bush Sr is just
pretending that Clinton is the son that he wishes Bush Jr could have
been.

The whole day was a lot of fun. Good food at Scooty’s house, and good
food at Mark’s. And, of course, the game was pretty good too, although
I was rooting for the Eagles. For the……….well, however many years
it has been now that I have particpated in Super Bowl squares, I didn’t
win. Instead, at Mark’s house, kids won 3 of the 4 damn quarters! And I
mean kids. Steve’s 3 year old son Colin won one quarter. Wesley’s
wife’s 2 year old daughter won 2 quarters. Keep in mind, this was $20 a
quarter!

Watching a decent amount of FOX the last 2 days, I have seen some more
previews for that show House, which I have yet to see an episode of
yet. Anywho, every preview, he is “fighting to save a patient’s life.”
Why is it always so extreme? Why does he have to always save a life?
Why can’t they just have him trying to save a patient’s toe or help
them kick a sugar addiction instead? Oh, wait, I know, its because its
FOX, everything is always to the extreme on FOX, for example, 24 is
tv’s “biggest thrill ride”, and the Daytona 500 is “sports biggest
thrill ride” and Paris Hilton is “a frat boy’s biggest thrill ride” and
American Idol is “karaoke’s biggest thrill ride”. Here is a big thrill
ride: how about airing something that is not so stupid that it kills
brain cells?