CHEERS!

We went out last night to El Campesino to celebrate the closing on our new house! Then we went to use up the rest of our Record Exchange credit by procuring the KISS pint glasses (sadly, they don't have the guys printed on the other side like the ones on the website, but hey---they were 10 bucks cheaper!) and some Tori Amos maxi singles and a DVD of the 1967 series of the Avengers. We also tried to find the Joe Lewis Community Thrift store on Babcock Blvd, but by the time we made it it was closed. Sigh.
So, then we headed over to the house, to open the door with our own keys. When we got there, our across the street neighbor Rose from Jamaica (the one with the secret restaurant) was on the porch with some other women. We went over and introduced ourselves and they were all very nice and welcoming. Rose said she hoped we would sit up on the porch sometimes at night because she would like some porch sitting company. Such a nice lady. And plus....dude, she has a jamaican restaurant in her kitchen!
We walked through all the rooms and looked around trying to locate phone jacks and electric outlets and such. Trying to visualize what would go where. Trying to open some painted shut windows (that is a real drag) Noticing that almost everything in the house is just a little bit crooked. Not a problem, so much as an occasion to imagine the drunken Italian craftsmen who put it together. By the end of our little journey around the house I had changed my mind on which bedroom I wanted and where my office would go. I love the rooms on the third floor, but it makes more sense to have the office on the second for many reasons---not the least of which is trying to figure out how to get my big ole desk up the tiny stairs. I don't know if it would even be possible. The third floor will be the guest suite instead. And we can get all disassembled furniture for it that will be easy to carry up the stairs.
I could ramble on forever about the wonders of our new place, but I kinda have to get going. Stay tuned for more and better rambling as the weeks pass!

GONE FISHIN

well, I'm not really going fishing. I'm going to read on the beach, perhaps swim into the ocean for the first time in about 20 years, hang out with some gays and some portugese folks, cook great food with my sis and sister outlaw, and, dare I say it.....RELAX. I can't wait.
we might very well have internet so I might very well update from Truro, but at the very least I'll send some cameraphone pics to flickr.
Currently on flickr are lots of pics of the new house!
Check it out, and I'll see ya sunday 24 june if not before.
xoxo

Here are the KISS pint glasses. If you go to the site you can see the back of the glasses, which I think are even cooler than the front. I want to have my own paul stanley pint glass! Also, at the secret Exchange they are only $22 for the set. Oh yes.

Wow, I've been a terrible blogger!
So much is going on, and I am sort of in a whirlwind. It's hard to sit still and collect my thoughts. It's almost all good though, so don't worry!
Firstly, the birthday barbecue was a great success. Apparently, it was a lot of fun. I say apparently because my steady and all night long diet of sidecars and very little else resulted in my not remembering much of the evening. Everyone reports that I had a really good time, while smiling that half smile that says "dude you were so wasted!"---but then quickly follows with the assurance that I didn't do anything embarassing. I find that hard to believe, but I will believe it. All I remember is that there was talk of starting a Blue Oyster Cult cover band, and I made it very clear indeed that I WANT IN!
So, while I was in my cups, apparently some vandals who either were anarchists or wanted people to think they were anarchists smashed some windows at the storm and spraypainted some graffiti about the G8 and "smash $$". I have to say, as much as it sucked ballz when our windows were smashed in the past, at least it was clear that the smashers were trying to gain something...ie, the $8 in quarters in the cash register. This was just totally pointless vandalism, and it sucked a lot. Yes there is insurance, but there's a deductable plus the headache of having to clean up broken glass. And the headache of having to tell the story over and over again, not to mention the headache of listening to people's theories and mistellings. The next night the same vandals (or people who wanted us to think they were the same vandals) smashed windows at the co-op and spraypainted stuff about capitalism. Jesus. A couple days later, windows were smashed in high end chain shops on Walnut Street. I don't know what is going on in Pittsburgh, but it kinda sucks. Random property destruction without any clear message just seems like an annoyance that isn't going to get anybody anywhere. Basically what it's done is make people question and distrust anyone who identifies an an "anarchist". It has also resulted in lots of extra business for us, because people want to support the business. Which is really super nice and makes me heart feel good....but also--wow. We're pretty much stretched to the breaking point as far as staffing, and vacation season is kicking in. Time to hire some new folks!
So, yeah, I've been working really grueling and really long days for the past week. We've got a catering job tomorrow (which is thankfully a drop off!) so there's been extra responsibilities from that too. I am one tired monkey! But my week at the beach is in site...in fact, my week at the beach is only a week away! So I just gotta power through. Man up, as Zack would say.
Alright, I've covered the birthday, and the vandalism, and the serious workdays...what else? Oh, Jennie and I had a a pretty poorly attended yard sale. I made a total of $16, which turned into $8 after lunch. Apparently the fact that we were competing with the giant Highland Park sale actually hurt us. We got a little drive by business, and I sold a pair of lace up the leg ballet shoes to a really sweet lady who just moved here from Ashville! She and her man were biking around Polish Hill falling in love with the neighborhood. That was nice. I got to check in with lilD--he was at the Highland Park sale with dad for most of the day, but I did get to say whassup to him. He is looking really cute these days. He's finally big enough not to slip through the leg holes of his carrier! Yippee!
After the yard sale rebby and I stopped in to see if we could finally meet Sophia. And we did! Well, we saw her...she slept completely through our visit. She looks like a giant baby compared to D, but she is a perfectly normal baby size. She was extremely placid. Her house is really amazing...still a work in progress, but it is just beautiful. It made me a little wistful for a minute that rebby and I didn't go for the "fixer uppper"...
Oh my goodness....my computer just STOPPED in the middle of that post. thankfully blogger auto saves (thank you blogger!) but I have no idea why my computer just STOPPED. this scares me a lot. Maybe my computer is afraid of Skinny Puppy? I've been playing the Skinny Puppy CD The Process for the last couple of days, ever since rebby and I took the CDs and DVDs left over from the yard sale to trade at the McKnight Road Exchange, aka our secret wonderland. We got $57 in trade, of which we spent less than $30. I got my all time favorite Skinny Puppy Cd, rebby got the new Tori and also High Voltage by AC/DC on VINYL suckas for $4.00 We were happy. And plus we have almost $30 of credit left, which we just might use on a set of four KISS pint glasses. We bailed on them at the last minute, but of course we can't stop thinking of them. So it might happen. I'll try to find pictures.
Ok, back to the story. We hung out with Sophia's mom for a while and then rebby had to go to work, so I came home, napped, hit the Market District and then headed to Jilly's for a barbecue. I steadfastly avoided alkehawl (except for one #9!) but had a great time anyways, eating lots of good things that I actually remember eating, and practicing singing along to the Xanadu soundtrack (foreshadowing of gaycation!) and hanging out with co-workers, many of whom I never see anymore. It was a nice time and very low key for me. I walked home around 11:30 so I would be fresh for the workday.
Monday was my sissy's birthday, and I totally didn't even talk to her! I did talk to her on Sunday though, so I am not the world's worst sister. She got to go to Kowloon for her birthday dinner, and I am jealous. But I will get to go to Dali for my new house dinner, so it's all good! So yeah---the house. We are thisclose to getting it--closing date should be June 29th. However, we have to have it evaluated for termite damage by a STURCTURAL ENGINEER. This seemed intimidating in the utmost, but rebby managed to schedule a STRUCTURAL ENGINEER visit for next week. She is amazing, that rebby. She also is the proud and happy owner of a BRAND NEW JOB! She is going to be working for a company that does A/V installations for hospitals and schools and offices. She will have more or less regular hours. She will not be working until 11:30pm nor will she be working all weekend long. She will not have to deal with unreasonable students. She will not be under the control of misguided staff. She is a very happy camper indeed! Oh, and--more money. Less benefits, I guess, but in the long run the mental clarity will totally make up for it. I had predicted she was going to get the call on her birthday, but I was about 4 days off. This is clearly the year of big life changes for Geminis!
I think I am just about caught up, except that another LUPEC baby was born this week---Stella Dot Squirrel! I am so happy for the Squirrels---she looks like a gorgeous little thing too. My baby roster is growing by leaps and bounds.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!


My favorite pirate turns the big 3-0 today.
We'll have celebratory grilling this evening.