Hella Stella

I'm still recovering from the weekend. The Venus Envy gang held our annual Certain Sort Pride party, and lord it was fun. I learned a few things:

- Although four beers normally doesn't get me drunk, four beers on an empty stomach gets me quite drunk indeed.

- Pride is a good excuse to wear dresses that are otherwise too small.

- Apparently I have a temper when people talk to me as though I have no brain.

- Eating pho at 3am is an excellent idea.

- I ended up with a lot of boob shots on my camera. Maybe this new boobage isn't so bad after all!

In other news, Frida has decided that pooping outdoors is overrated and that pooping in the dining room is way more awesome. It's... not fun.

Not related to poop: One of my songs is going to appear in a Canadian-made short film! I signed contracts and everything! Very exciting.

This weekend was a busy one, culminating with a baby shower for a friend of mine. Since I have an allergic reaction to traditional baby showers, when my friend asked me to host, I decided to go for something a little less conventional (thanks for the idea, Offbeat Mama). A few snacks, some great art supplies, and plain onesies to decorate. I think it was a success.... She left with a gigantic personalized wardrobe for her kid, and I didn't need to play baby name games. Victory!

The downside to hosting the shower was that I had to fast-track the unpacking process. That was also the upside, I guess. Although I'm exhausted, my dining / living room looks totally awesome. Just don't peek in the bedroom, because that's where I stashed the boxes! Shhhhh....

My BH is back from the woods, where he was staying for three whole weeks. It felt like FOREVER. I'm glad he's home and baking up a storm. Come visit us if you want peach pie, and no, that's not a euphemism. His return was a sharp reminder that we need a bigger bed, however.... A double mattress does not fit two adults and two bulldogs.

This week we're re-planting the EcoLawn, which died an awful death during the heat wave. We bought a bunch of mushroom compost, and those seeds are going to be cradled in its earthy embrace. Here's hoping we have a lawn before the snow falls. If not, I'm going to pave the backyard. Just kidding. But really, I hope those seeds grow.

I've started using my closet studio, and although it still needs a floor and some shelves, it's pretty much the greatest thing. When I want to play guitar, I close the door, and voila! No howling dogs, no distractions. It's beautiful.

You know what's coming up? PRIDE! There's going to be some wild queer partying and some fun parade action. My BH and I bought rainbow bandannas to dress up the bulldogs. It's going to be a gay old time. Are you guys going to any Pride events?

Over and out!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. I sure did!

The past two days reminded me why I need to get better sleep during the week. The weekend arrives, and I feel so drained that I pretty much want to nap the hours away. I fell asleep three times yesterday in completely random places! Not cool at all.

I still got some fun things done, exhaustion aside. There were two birthday parties, both of which allowed me to catch up with some friends and consume tasty snacks. One party featured the ever-popular unexpected queer dancing (I've had Prince in my head ever since), while the other featured unexpected adorable baby cheeks.*

I also cleaned parts of the house, which is no small feat when you're *this close* to passing out on the couch. I've officially put away my summer clothes and I've taken out the Rubbermaid of hats and scarves. My BH and I did a grocery shopping at the Superstore, which is madness at any time, but especially on a weekend. Oh well. We're fully stocked up on black beans and white vinegar, at least. What more does a person need? (plenty more, but I like those two things)

Lately I've been fiddling with our finances, since this is the last year (I HOPE) that we'll be splitting one salary into a billion different directions. Basically I'm going to spend the next eight or nine months just trying to make things work: paying bills, paying debts, putting aside for a trip to Japan. Then I'll reevaluate and retool again. This is about the only time I actually enjoy doing math.

I've also tried to encourage myself to stay organized by overhauling my system of keeping lists and notebooks. I may have mentioned that I am joined at the hip to my notebook. It's a hard cover, lined, ring-bound book and I keep track of my life in it. Recently, I decided that I could change my unmovable system, which I've been using in some form since high school. I needed the rings and hard cover when I was in university or shuffling between part-time jobs - this made sure the book didn't bend when I threw it in my bag, as well as letting me open the book all the way around for ultimate list access.

Now that I have a grown up, full-time job (and have for several years), I think I can be a bit more flexible. Gone are the days or morning class, afternoon shift, evening shift, homework until 3am. Now I'm using a black, lined Moleskine for my lists, and a bright green Moleskine for my finances. It even sounds grown up. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised at how well it works. I was just so attached to my ringed babies, I suppose...

So... Are you all asleep? *tap tap*

What can I say? I find notebooks almost as exciting as organizational shelving. Y'all are just lucky that I don't have any more room for shelving in my apartment, or you'd probably all be comatose by now.

*I was hoping to put up a picture of said queer dancing, but most of the pictures feature my boobs or somebody's fine booty. My camera has a mind of its own! Totally not my doing! Promise!

Monday sure came quickly. Holy smokes.

Certain Sort was some pretty excellent fun. I kept my goal of not getting overly wasted, and my weekend was better for it... No hangover the next morning, but enough goofy pictures on my camera to make me shake my head (Heather, I'm looking at you). Really, it was the best of both worlds. And a very happy Pride.

Saturday I slept. Really, I didn't know it was possible to nap that much in one day. What else are you going to do when it's cold and rainy out? I went to the Manx Saturday night after the weather cleared, and swiftly burned myself on a veggie taco. They could probably call it the DANGEROUS VEGGIE TACO just so clumsy eaters like me know to take precautions. My brain was sort of puttering along at that point, so I guess I was asking for it. Hot food + tired brain = burny hurty.*

Sunday was an odd mix of happenings - funeral unveilings, pride goodness, pictures in the park, and dinner with my folks. My favourite part of Sunday was watching my BH and Milan chasing each other around to see if the GPS on their phones would catch up to them. Boys and their toys. Hilarious.

This week promises to be great - it finishes with a pretty cool event... Milan's photo exhibition at Raw Sugar! You guys know Milan. You know his excellent photos. Come on out to this event and we'll all ooh and aah at his photographic prowress. Word on the street is that he's gotten Ottawa's prolific Astronaut Love Triangle to play some songs. At least, I think they're prolific. I should really know this. I am a huge fan, after all.

Some songwriter will also play a few tunes on the banjo. Or so I hear.

But dudes. ASTRONAUT LOVE TRIANGLE. Need I say more?

*Hey, when did they fix up the women's bathroom in there? I was so used to holding the door closed while I peed, I was a little surprised when I saw the functional lock. I guess it's been a while since I've checked out the washrooms, so it's probably been fixed for ages. Either way, it's a welcome upgrade! Thanks, Manx.

Mmmm, the week is almost done. That means I am one step closer to being able to sleep in. I can't wait. My sleep this week has been spotty at best.

Tonight is Certain Sort, Pride edition. I'll be working the door on and off, so if you're going, I'll probably see you. I believe it's very nearly sold out though; there should be a handful of tickets at the door, for those lucky few.

My goal tonight is not to over-drink. Seems pretty straightforward. Tipsy is fine, but at the last Certain Sort I mostly remember taking fuzzy pictures of myself in the bathroom. Oh, and winning that DVD of lesbian boxing porn, which actually never worked in my player. Sadness. (It will still remain my very favourite raffle prize EVER)

This next week will be dedicated to getting myself on a sturdier financial footing in preparation for the school year. I will involve a lot of numbers, but I can handle numbers in a financial planning setting. It's pretty much the only time I won't run away screaming, trying to distance myself from The Math.

I wish I had something more elaborate to report, but that's all I've got. Awesome gay partying and catching up on sleep.

Funny, but I'm not sure those things go together. Like, in the least. You concur?

Wow, that was some fun burlesque.

So you guys gave me all these wicked names, but when I stepped on stage in my teensy weensy dress and pink wig, "Hella Stella" popped out of my mouth and I just went with it. Sigh.

Co-hosting a queer burlesque show is really freaking different than just watching it. OBVIOUS MUCH. But really. What a different way to see the show.

Some funny stuff:

- I was in the changing room with the performers trying to pick a wig. Everyone was naked and putting tassels and electrical tape on their bits. Suddenly my outfit felt very modest.

- Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to find a girl I went to high school with getting ready for the show. I literally have not seen this girl since grad, and there she was wearing nothing but gold foil, chatting about who is getting married and having kids. It was pretty cool.

- I'm not sure I've ever been hit on by so many people in one night, but then again, I was wearing this thing:

Oy. The vacation is over.

It's funny, but I only spent one week at home and going back to the office already seems strange. I think I'm destined for non-office work within the next five years. Let's call it a gut feeling.

I left you a little teaser about the good queer fun at Certain Sort Friday night, but instead of writing about it on Saturday, I hopped in a car and drove to Montreal. And then drove back. Okay, I wasn't the one driving, but all that exhausting Montreal goodness sapped me for posts.

Last year's Certain Sort is a blur, one which I will blame entirely on lychee martinis. This year I was working the door, so you'd think that I would be more careful with my booze intake. Not so! While I wasn't slurring my words, I was nowhere near sober. I was on the other side of the city from sober, really.

Luckily, the Venus Envy gals thought ahead and paired me with Heather for the evening. I love being paired with Heather. We somehow manage to have fun while simultaneously keeping each other in check. Which I think we did. Keeping each other in check, that is. The photographs indicate that we had a great deal of fun. I remember taking... Some of them. There was a lot of fab music and hot ladies and cleavage (we had agreed ahead of time that cleavage would be the uniform of those working the door; I did my best with what I had).

Most exciting though? I won the raffle! I've never won a raffle in my life, and my very first raffle prize was a dvd of lesbian boxing porn. Man, was I ever proud. When I got home, I woke up my BH to show him my loot. I think his response was a muffled groan instead of the expected, "Wow, what a delightful dvd of lesbian boxing porn you've got there!"

Hey, it was 3 AM. I can't blame him for wanting to sleep.

So that was the big ending to my week long vacation at home - I couldn't have asked for anything better. My BH and I have rented another season of Bones because we are hopelessly addicted. Television plus local asparagus will make this week go by quite nicely indeed.

I realize I've missed a million days of posting my vacation fun, but as it turns out, this week was a bit of a vacation from blogging too. It's been a really great rest, and now I'm grappling with the thought of it being over. Sigh.

Some things I did:

1. YOGA! I pulled my stomach muscles so badly that it hurts to laugh, but I didn 't hate it. One step at a time.

2. SWIMMING! My BH and I had a hot date at the local pool, and I happily swam ten laps. I think I'll go back. Public pools aren't as scary as I remember them being when I was a kid.

3. REHEARSAL! I've had practice with Brian almost every day this week, and may I say, we actually sound like we know what we're doing. Harmonies in sync and everything.

4. BONES! No, really, Bones the television show. We rented the third season on a whim and are now completely hooked. I liked the show fairly passively before, but I'm ready to catch up on a few years of back episodes now. It's too fun.

This evening is all about queer dancing at Certain Sort. I'll be working the door during the drunk shift (after midnight). Come on over and say hi!