2006-05-27 
 

and then?

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Labels: memes

* posted by me at 12:31 PM

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2006-05-24 
 

i am catbert

I had to not hire someone today. That is, I hired one person and had to tell another that the job wasn't theirs. Because that other person happens to be someone whom I already know and like made it an extra sucky thing to have to do. (Though I'm sure that it didn't suck as much for me as it did for them to hear that the job was going elsewhere.)

I also gave a few presentations today. Feedback was positive, but I still hate giving presentations.

That being said, I'd rather give presentations for the rest of the day in place of having to tell a friend that their foot didn't quite make it up to the next rung in the ladder because somebody with more and better experience showed up.

Labels: dose of mikey, sharketing

* posted by me at 11:09 PM

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2006-05-22 
 

celebrities in brief

Back from the business trip. There is a drunken tale of Wednesday night that I mentioned in the last entry. I think I'll leave that out in the ether for now. The rest of the week was fun, but uneventful with the exception of Saturday night where I caught up with M, POC and T. A much needed break from work and much fun! I have a goal to do it more often, but need some extra fundage to support this aspiration.

But you're not here for that, you're here for CELEBRITIES!
Warning: There are no A-List Celebrities on the following list.

Ellen Pompeo - In O'Hare and on plane from Chicago to NYC. Skinnier than Jack Sprat in person, but very nice to flight attendants. Hot boyfriend.

Julia Stiles - SOHO shopping. Baby got a bit of back and it looks good on her!

Two Gotti Brothers - Leaving downtown BR. So tiny in real life - like action figures. I won't even pretend I knew names or anything. Coworker confirmed siting.

Kiefer Sutherland - At JFK. Must admit that I never had much of an opinion on this one, but but WOW. Incredible presence, and he's pretty much a suave hottie in person.

Geraldo Rivera - At JFK, no comment necessary.

Thus ends your little tour, we hope you enjoyed yourself and return again soon. Tips welcome.

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, sharketing

* posted by me at 11:48 PM

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2006-05-19 
 

new york minute

Can't type long. Been on a B-Trip since Monday and finally got the computer to hook up wirelessly here in NYC. That being said, M's on the windowseat in my hotel room and I want to spend some time catching up with her.

Just wanted to let my 10s of readers know that I'm still breathing. (and a little sad/relieved that my drunken ramble from Wednesday ended up lost in the ether before ever going live.)

Labels: dose of mikey, looking eastward

* posted by me at 10:33 PM

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2006-05-10 
 

dusk walk

Left work quite late tonight, just as the brightest stars became visible over the city skyline. The walk from work to the subway takes me through ten blocks, from low to high rise district. There's one block where the buildings jump from three to thirty stories becoming a cliff of sparkling lights in front of me. I enjoy this part of the day, and not just because work is done. I like the feeling that I'm walking into the future.

Labels: dose of mikey, san francisco

* posted by me at 12:23 AM

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2006-05-09 
 

gone

The internet is an interesting place. Sites live on for years after they were last updated, fortunes are made and a person can go in and revisit the past by creating a new folder.

Labels: linkage, memory lane

* posted by me at 1:20 AM

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2006-05-04 
 

summer vacation

Left work a bit early today for a doctor's appointment. We determined that whatever ails me is not what the original doctors were all excited about. For the most part they tried not to show it, but I did feel at times like a rare bug surrounded by overly excited entomologists. Yes, I'm still a mystery to modern medicine, but a relatively healthy one...just an average bug with oddly colored wings.

On the way to the doctor, I realized that what I need right now isn't just a week away from work, but an actual summer vacation. I've managed to have quite a few in my life, but haven't managed more than two weeks off at a stretch since 1998.

The realization made me want to catalog them all. I know! That idea's got to have you more curious than a cat on Sunday! So strap yourself in and hold on for an exciting review of...

THE SUMMERS OF MIKEY
You must be THIS bored to continue on the ride.

1-4 Every day was summer vacation! It started with nipples and nappies and ended when Mom dropped me off in that strange school place for the first time.

5-15 Standard school summers off, and they always seemed to start shortly before my birthday. Bonus!

16-18 Technically working during those summers, but only part time and at Friendlys to boot. I often look back at that job and count it as one of the best I ever had. No real pressure other than the compressed gas inside the whip cream dispenser.

19 Took an internship (thanks to Dad) that involved filing medical documents and/or pretending to file medical documents while actually reading my latest book. (My first real job in corporate america and I learned quite quickly that being a temp who is too good at something causes resentment amongst the permanent folk.)

I should also mention that there were four of us in the file room doing a job that truly only required one and a half people. Yes, I got a lot of reading done...oh and some sleeping. At some point that summer I realized that taking short naps while "filing" had nothing to do with the dullness of the job and everything to do with the fact that I'd contracted mononucleouses. This meant several weeks off during which Mom actually expected me to lie on the couch and watch TV! When God invented mono, he gave a gift to teenagers everywhere.

20 Another internship during which I actually worked for most of the summer and rediscovered my love of computers. (Thanks again Dad!)

21 One week as a parking attendant in a job my grandfather got me. I was fired several hours before the job ended allowing me to mark off that particular box on the "things to do before I die" list. Dad actually told me not too worry too much about the joblessness since I was entering my senior year and would never have a true summer off again, Mom seemed complicit in this simply because she didn't mention my jobless state once. (In case you haven't put two and two together, my parents are so much cooler than yours.)

22 Graduated in May and didn't start working at my first post college job until late August. I admit to dragging my feet a bit because I feared it truly would be my last long break. Most of my memories of this summer are bathed in a golden light, like a cheesey flashback in a WB drama.

23 No actual summer months off, but I did intentionally take October and half of November off during a job transition. I used the time off to fully remove the closet door I'd been peeking out of and burned it up in a celebratory bonfire of gayness. The light of the bonfire showed me a side of Boston I hadn't realized existed.

24 Happy to be gay and working in Boston, life was a party. Who needed summer vacation?

25 Left work the week of Labor Day and used September to drive across the country. Didn't find my first SF job until October. My second Indian Summer Vacation.

26 Happy to be living and working in San Francisco, life was a party. Who needed summer vacation?

27 Asked for a raise in May. Didn't get it. Left first week of June. Took a few weeks off and then temped sporadically until the old job called back offering more money. Told 'em I had some stuff to finish up and went back last week of July. (Cleverly avoiding a month long gap in my resume. Pretty sneaky, Sis!)

28 The week before my birthday in June, having finally paid off the credit card debt incurred by moving and living in San Francisco, I decided to leave corporate office work behind. Yes, I would finally become the bohemian revolutionary I'd originally come to San Francisco to be!

Translation: I racked up some new credit card debt while working part time as an advertising manager for a (now defunct) local gay rag called Creampuff. This involved many afternoons spent in area gay bars trying to track down the owners and convince them that they ought to advertise with us. The bartenders usually did their job and claimed no knowledge of the owners whereabouts, but they often gave me a free beer for my troubles. I also had access to free movie passes, event tickets, museum exhibits etc. because various PR firms hoped we'd help promote them. (Sure, I had to write a review or two, but this blog shows what an awful time I have giving my opinion out.) Oh, and no cover or waiting in line at many of my favorite bars and clubs. Very fun, but not conducive to a growing bank account.

In November of that year, after 5 1/2 months, I ended my longest summer vacation since the age of four and returned to the world of cubes and copy machines.

Seven years later I'm really craving one, but society tends to frown on adults indulging in such a youthful activity.

Hmmmm....maybe if I call it a sabbatical?

Labels: dose of mikey, medical mystery, memory lane

* posted by me at 10:34 PM

(2) comments



2006-05-02 
 

missing baltic avenue

Trabby pointed me over to this Monopoly site where you can vote on updated properties. This probably sounds silly, given that it's a game that revels in capitalistic ideals, but I'm sad to see Monopoly revamping itself. I never had a problem with the local editions of the game that would pop up now and again because they seemed like fun additions and the original stayed true. These new landmarks are going to replace the originals. I'm hoping for a New Coke size snafu, but doubt it. Gen Y seems to enjoy buying into the buzz even more than their baby boomer parents did. /disgruntled gen Xer rant

On the bright side, I can drive youngsters crazy in about 15 years by saying things like, "Whither Baltic Avenue?" and "There ain't no place like St. James Place!"

Except they'll probably both be answers in the 3D anniversary version of Trivial Pursuit that'll launch in 2021 and becomes as outrageously popular as the original.

Okay, I do realize that there's more pressing issues facing us today, but I've got board games on the brain this evening. If you're in the mood to truly take action on something, go here and help keep the internet neutral.

Labels: dose of mikey, random review, rant

* posted by me at 2:33 AM

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2006-05-01 
 

random thoughts

The scattered journals that tell the story of my life before this blog need to be taken as a group to get a true picture of where and who I was at any given time. One for travels. One for random thoughts. One for whining. One for drug or alcohol induced musings. One for story ideas. One for sexcapades. One for bad poetry.

Since starting this blog, I haven't reached for them as much. (Though I haven't tortured you all with too much bad poetry, and I do try to avoid mentioning matters sexual out of courtesy to G who isn't as keen to have that side of our lives exposed on the internet...and okay for those friends of mine who are about to call me out on that last comment, I admit that I'd rather not discuss them in a forum frequented by my parents, okay?)

Point is that I recently went back and reread some of the musings I was having at the turn of the century and realized something. Then, I had no clue what I was doing in life, but I was mostly having fun doing it. Now I have a pretty good clue about what I'm doing, but I worry about whether it's the right thing to be doing. I'm generally happy enough and realize that working toward a goal is a good thing, but if the world blows up tomorrow I'll really be wishing that I'd taken more time to eat, drink and be merry.

Still, the voice inside my head keeps telling me, "All may yet be very well." I'm choosing to believe it for now.

Labels: dose of mikey, g, writing

* posted by me at 12:31 AM

(2) comments