Singapore/KL Bangkok Stuttgart Washington DC Toronto Colorado Springs San Francisco

5 tons = 10,000 pounds = 4535.9237 kilograms = 160,000 ounces = 70,000,000.00000001 grains

That is a LOT of rocks.

It took us about 5 hours to spread them around the three areas we were dropping them. Along the side of the house we have an enclosed dog run and after 20 years the tree roots have started poking through the patio bricks. We decided (Adrian's idea, and a good one) to get up all the bricks and just replace them with loose rock. Since we were doing that we decided to cover a second area where the grass had died anyway, and since we were doing THAT we decided to fix up the 450 square foot rock-covered area that sits next to our driveway, which had some bare patches and was looking pretty ratty.

My body hurts. But the front and side yards look great, so it was worth it.

It may be a blessing that my dance coach called and said she had a performance tonight and could we maybe reschedule tonight's class for sometime over the weekend? Oh sweet Jesus yes. My body is slowly coming back to normal but a couple times I just had to lay down on the sidewalk (actually, on the rock pile once or twice).

Of course, all of this gave Adrian and I a great excuse to take a shower together.

A good hairstylist knows how to give an orgasmic shampoo. Adrian has been tipped by people before just for the way he washes their hair. It felt REALLY good tonight and I wondered if he shampooed all of his clients this way -- "this way" meaning "naked in a shower." I hope not. Not so much because he'd be naked in a shower with someone, but because if this IS the way he gives shampoos at work, he really should be coming home with a lot more money.

Finally, I would gladly pay a dollar to hear, just once, a chair umpire at a tennis match tell a crowd to "shut the hell up!" rather than just saying, "quiet, please, thank you."

I've spent the last few days learning about the life and times of this man. I had bookmarked his journal a while back but hadn't read him regularly. After hitting him again a few days ago I saw he was talking about his boyfriend, so I went back into his archives to see how they met (which I always find to be a good story), which led me back to when they dated the first time, which, to make a long story short, means I've read all his enrtries since February 2002. There's something a little odd about that, but then again, I now feel like I know him well even though we've never met. And yes, I've been in touch with him this week and no, he hasn't felt compelled to get a restraining order. Lucky me.

If you just start reading him you'll find him entertaining but if you read all his archives you'll really appreciate the changes in tone over time. Just think of it as reading a book. A very entertaining book. Fortunately his life has been a very tiny bit less fabulous than mine (because mine includes Adrian...and if that isn't sappy enough to make you ill, you have a strong stomach indeed) so at least I'm not reading this and getting jealous.

In other news, I've realized that my YMCA appears to have no members between the ages of 18 and 40. At least, no cute male ones. Kinda makes it not worth taking a shower.

I am so ready to move back to DC. It's just time. More importantly, I'm just ready for all the transition to be over and done with.

We continued with the housework today. The carpet cleaners came today after we had cleared all the stuff off the furniture they weren't going to move anyway. Sigh. After lunch we tackled the yard again, prepping the areas where the five tons (which we scaled back from the original seven tons) of rock will go tomorrow.

Good thing I went out and bought us a wheelbarrow today. Doing that one rock at a time would take a while.

So we're laying in bed watching South Park, an old episode I somehow never saw. New episode arriving momentarily. As a resident of Colorado I am required to watch South Park, especially episodes that address local politics. That's how voters here apparently learn about issues. Like in tonight's repeat, where Native Americans in a casino are rubbing blankets with Chinese men to give SARS to the people of South Park so the Native Americans can run a superhighway from Denver to their casino. South Park: equal opportunity haters.

Living in Colorado I've found over the last 3 years that if I tell people I got my PhD at George Mason University the typical response is "where?" Of course, no one's saying that this week, and I can wear my Mason hat and it's quite a conversation starter. If they win this weekend it should continue, if they lose it's back to business as usual.

This has been the slowest spring break since my last year of grad school when I spent that week putting together my dissertation proposal. We've cleared the dog run along the side of the house, cleared out the garage, had an estimate done on fence repair, and on Thursday we'll have carpet cleaners here, to be followed by me laying down some weed-resistant cover over the areas where we're putting the 7 tons of rocks scheduled to arrive Friday morning. 7 tons. Good times.

On the plus side, Adrian and I get to spend time together during the day. And at night, cuddled up watching TV. Which is better than laying on a beach or going to Europe.

However, I definitely need a vacation later this year.

Last week Adrian was at work and saw a lady he recognized from a year ago, at a ceremony honoring, well, me. But that's not important. What's important is that he went up to her and asked, "aren't you Cindy?," Cindy being someone I worked with last year. But no, it wasn't Cindy, it was, in fact, the dean of faculty, also known as "my ultimate boss." So they apparently had a nice long talk with me and she called me a real asset (I hope that second syllable was there) to the school (though not so much of an asset that they tried to keep me rather than leting me leave for another job, even though I wouldn't have stayed anyway). A presentation I made to the senior faculty last semester has apparently set the tone for a major review of the curriculum, something I hear bits and pieces about every now and then but from which I've divorced myself (according to my immediate boss, he has heard that my presentation (which was five months ago, mind you) is a central topic at every one of the dean's meetings on this issue. So she tells others, she tells Adrian, she never tells me. Maybe I'll get a nice note on my way out the door.

I've been chatting with a guy from Virginia that I met on Fridae.com. He was an undergrad at the school where I got my PhD, and he still lives in the area, and is hoping to get to know us when we move back. Anyway, he took a look at my website and it turns out he knows Dancin' Mike from high school. the world just got a little smaller.

And this morning I called Raberd for the first time in a few months. It was SO good to hear his voice. He, of course, lives in Bangkok, and thank goodness we have Skype because that turned a $40, 37-minute call into a $4 call...MUCH better. Raberd, for those who don't know, is a friend I met on Fridae.com (that site has proven useful) over 2 years ago, and we finally met him in person when we were in Thailand last year. He is such a joy to be around, such a nice guy (once the men of Thailand get smart and ask him out a little more, he's going to make some guy VERY happy) and I think the world of him. Anyway, he has been unhappy in a job he took last year as the marketing director for a Lasik clinic...lots of travel to health fairs around the country, and not exactly the kind of marketing work he wanted to do. He has been looking for a new job, but that is hard when you already have a full-time one. Still, I knew he would find something new, because he is the sort of person who puts effort into fixing things rather than just putting up with bad situations. Today I learned he found his new job and has his orientation on Wednesday: he is working for MTV Thailand. Excuse me, but I think that is VERY cool. He is just the kind of guy they are looking for AND this will probably be a better work environment for a young, cute, educated gay guy than working at the Lasik clinic was. I hope he could tell from my voice how proud I am of him.

I love my international friends.

Too weird. I was uploading and formatting the January 2001 archive (and yes, I know the line breaks aren't working 100% of the time on the Diary-X archives, I don't know why yet, so don't give me shit about it) and came across something that seemed rather timely. Check the January 21st entry.

I wonder if I'll get all of those Diary-X entries up and running before we move. Even with the year I lost I still have 4 years' worth. Each month takes a loooonnnnggggg time.

As I was working on it this evening Adrian came up to tell me that as he was making dinner he discovered that the stuffing mix did not have the herb packet that was supposed to come with it. He went ahead and added his own spices, only to discover that the seasoning was at the bottom of the box and was mixed in with the bread crumbs. So the "Savory Herb" stuffing was really, really savory. And herby.

In other news, I learned today that I'm going to Moscow 20-26 May. So yay for me.

Adrian has been feeling sick ever since I got back. I hope there's no connection between his ilness and my return. That would not be a good sign if he's become allergic to me.

We're on spring break so I'm working at home this week, doing school stuff but also working around the house. Adrian hung a new screen door up front Saturday while I was gone, and also did some work on the garage ceiling. He's so butch.

As it turned out I ended up not going out my last night in San Diego. Adrian and I were talking on the phone about house stuff and by the time we ended it was already the time that I’d wanted to leave. I figured by the time I showered, ironed my clothes (which, thanks to being poorly packed, looked as wrinkled as a 95-year-old’s face), packed for my Sunday morning return trip, and actually managed to find a cab and get to the club, I’d only have a short time there. So, I just got ready for Sunday’s travels and crashed. Next time I’ll plan that a little better.

On the plus side, I got to spend some time with our friend Giacomo yesterday afternoon, who had flown down for the day to give a paper (he's the Berkeley prof whose class I lectured in last December).

My boss came to the conference for just a couple days and while he was there told me about a meeting in May in Moscow that he can’t go to, and maybe I need to go give a presentation in his place. That would be pretty cool, especially since I studied Russian in college but have never had the chance to visit. The downside is that the dates of the trip are the same dates that I’d planned to have the movers come and pack us up, but since that and the sale of the house aren’t settled yet, I’ve got some flexibility. “Harasho,” as the Russians would say. (OK, I phoneticized that, but you get the idea)

Oh, and contrary to yesterday’s narrative, I realized I did get a second look (and a third, and a fourth, and maybe a fifth) from one additional guy at the club Friday. I had picked an open spot to dance and Mister Man apparently thought I was there to dance with him. Um, no. And I gave him no indication of interest and every indication of a lack thereof. Dude, just because I turned my back to you doesn’t mean you need to be grinding up on me. ESPECIALLY when I pull away from you and keep my back to you, you should NOT try again. It means I don't want to give you the idea that I have the slightest bit of interest in you. I’m not playing hard to get, I really AM hard to get. So back off.

Since I wrapped up my last presentation yesterday morning (and it went fabulously, thank you) I decided to head out Friday night for a little fun in San Diego. Thanks to Dancin' Michael for the hint about going to Rich's as it was indeed a good time, with much dancing and sweating and all that good stuff. Going out by myself is something I got used to when I was single so it doesn't bother me, I can go dance by myself and it's all good, and if someone wants to join me out there, that's cool too.

Of course, when you dance by yourself you often WILL have someone come up to you, and that happened three times last night. Funny thing was, every guy was Filipino. I mean, there were like 34,982 non-Filipino guys there (I may exaggerate a tad) and 4 Filipino, so the odds would suggest otherwise, but hey, there ya go. It was like I was wearing a sign that said "I have an Asian boyfriend so I like Asian guys," which of course I wasn't, because I'd left it at home. Weird, though, not one white guy gave me a second look, at least not that I noticed. I wouldn't have given it any thought but when Dancin' Michael was living out here he commented on the lack of diversity as compared to DC (and he was right) so thinking about that had me taking notice of things I wouldn't normally notice.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy having guys flirt with me, so that was nice, but I don't NEED that when I'm out, so the lack of consistent attention wasn't bothersome either. And of course cute Asian boys are always welcome (as are cute Italian boys, cute Mexican boys, cute albino boys...you get my drift). I guess being at an academic conference has me thinking about trends and sample sizes and such. Going out to a club, of course, had me thinking about cute boys. Mix all that together and you've got...well, you've got last night.

On the boyfriend issue, I've wondered in the past at what point I'm supposed to tell a guy "I've got a boyfriend." Of course, I'm wearing a wedding band on my right hand, but many guys wear rings there so not everyone knows what it means. Tell the guys too soon, and you're suggesting that the guy who simply started dancing with you has designs on your body, and that's a little arrogant. Say something too late, and you may have been leading him on while he could have looked for greener pastures elsewhere, and that seems rude. Mama raised me to be polite, especially where sex is involved, so I've tried to figure out the right time.

Last night I figured out the right time: when he touches my dick. At that point we've both acknowledged what he wants, so it's time to tell him. The cool guys are the ones who keep dancing with you anyway, knowing they ain't gettin' none. And good for them.

I will also add that finding a cab at 2am in San Diego borders on the impossible.

The conference is going well. I gave a presentation Wednesday that went great. My important one is Friday morning and I feel like I'm ready to go. I've run into some old friends and colleagues here but haven't really had fun with San Diego. I expect to go out dancing Friday and Saturday so all is not lost -- I'm getting tired of sitting here working in my hotel room!

And not just any pair of pants, but my favorite jeans, my 501s I found in a Haight-Ashbury thrift store when we went to San Francisco over Thanksgiving a couple years ago. I mean, it's not like I'm whoring around town, dropping my pants on some random guy's floor and then getting chased out the window when his angry boyfriend comes home. No, not any more. Ditto for not leaving them in bathhouses, park bushes, airport restrooms, or Liza Minelli's front lawn (never did any of those things in fact...except maybe the last one, can't be sure, the light was bad). I thought they were in with the dirty clothes, but we did laundry today, and no, no luck. This pisses me off a tad, I wanted to take them to San Diego tomorrow (they've needed to get away for a bit).

If anyone has them, please let me know.

I did end up getting a snow day, even though the snow was pretty pathetic. It was actually worse up at school, but the ice was bad everywhere so I felt no compulsion to go in, even though they had classes today (I wasn't teaching so I told the boss "uh uh."). Considering I was still up until after 3 this morning, that's a good thing. I ended up sleeping until 11 this morning once I finally got to sleep. Not sure what was going on, the wind was loud so that was part of it, and it was blowing part of the fence against a wall until I went out into the snow at 1:30am and propped something against it (just call me Grizzly Adams. Or MacGyver.). My mind was just racing and I couldn't turn it off. Of course, there's one thing that usually helps, and all I'm saying is, thank goodness Adrian was up at 3am, too.

Any word on those pants yet?

Do you get thunder with your snow? Apparently, here in Colorado, we do.

We got some snow today but nowhere near the 20 inches that was originally predicted, or even the 8-12 inches in the latest prediction. However, it is supposed to snow through the night, so there is still a chance for the heavens to open up and dump a few inches and give me a day off from work Monday. You hear me, heavens? Open up!!!

I finished my two papers this weekend and sent them off to my fellow panel members at the conference later this week. This is probably the first time I have been done with conference papers more than 24 hours before flying out.

Lastly, my sneezing is continuing, with disastrous results. Adrian snuck upstairs tonight while I was working and stood right behind me, ready to tickle me or otherwise startle me. His mistake, because I turned my head to avoid sneezing all over my keyboard and instead sneezed all over him. That should teach him.

Well, I haven't been sick in about 2 months, so I guess it was time.

I was getting sick after every trip I took at the start of the year (I always had to tell my students "I missed you, but no hugging" cuz I didn't want to make them ill). But since I haven't been travelling for 6 weeks I guess my body decided to get sick anyway. I'm sure it had nothing to do with Adrian's stuffy head and such.

In case you don't think teaching would be fun, go teach a couple hours of lecture while you have a sore throat. Seriously, NOTHING is more fun than that! (well, hitting your hand with a hammer might be a LITTLE more fun, but not much).

This week I've been cramming to get a couple papers done that I'm presenting at an international conference next week. After months of doing research and writing bits and pieces along the way I finally need to wrap them up. I guess it's true that I work well under pressure because I wrote the bulk of two 20-page papers in 2 days. Like they say, if you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute. I need to get them out this weekend to the rest of the people on my panel because some are coming from overseas and may in fact be on their way to the States now. Today is "tidying up day" on the second one, the first one has already been sent out.

I am slowly winding down my trips for work. This one is to San Diego and while I had hoped we could add some vacation onto it, I need to get back and do some work around the house to get it ready to sell. In April Adrian and I are both going to DC for work and he's sticking around a few extra days to do some work on our new home. I just found out that the first week in May my boss wants me to go down to Florida for some meetings for a couple days. He also tried to get me to go to DC for some training June 6-8, but since we're planning to move to DC on or about the 10th, I told him "uh uh."

How much you want to bet I get sick on one of these trips, too?

Oh, and there's talk we may get 20 inches of snow today and tonight. I think I'll leave the webcam pointed outside, that might be interesting to see.

His column:

Kids take back seat to gay agenda
By Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe Columnist | March 15, 2006

In psychology, ''projection" occurs when someone attributes to others his own unpleasant beliefs or motivations. It is projection, for instance, when a liar assumes that everyone he deals with is dishonest, or when a man tempted by adultery accuses his spouse of planning to deceive him. Projection occurs in the public arena as well, as when supporters of racial preferences label ''racist" those who believe the law should be strictly colorblind.

A fresh example of projection arrived the other day by way of a news release from the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organizations.

On March 10, Catholic Charities of Boston had announced that it was being forced to shut down its highly regarded adoption services, since it could not in good conscience comply with the government's demand that it place children for adoption with homosexual couples. Caught between the rock of Catholic teaching, which regards such adoptions as ''gravely immoral," and Massachusetts regulations, which bar adoption agencies from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, the Boston Archdiocese had hoped to obtain a waiver on religious-freedom grounds. But when legislative leaders refused to consider the request, the archdiocese was left with no option but to end a ministry it had been performing for a century.

Whereupon the Human Rights Campaign issued its news release. It was headlined ''Boston Catholic Charities Puts Ugly Political Agenda Before Child Welfare," and a more perfect illustration of psychological projection would be hard to imagine.

For the political agenda driving this affair is the one favored by the Human Rights Campaign and its many allies in the media and state government: the normalization of homosexual adoption. So important is that agenda to its supporters that they will allow nothing to stand in its way -- not even the well-being of children in dire need of safe and loving families. Catholic Charities excels at arranging adoptions for children in foster care, particularly those who are older or handicapped, or who bear the scars of abuse or addiction. Yet the Human Rights Campaign and its friends would rather see this invaluable work come to an end than allow Catholic Charities to decline gay adoptions.

Note well: Catholic Charities made no effort to block same-sex couples from adopting. It asked no one to endorse its belief that homosexual adoption is wrong. It wanted only to go on finding loving parents for troubled children, without having to place any of those children in homes it deemed unsuitable. Gay or lesbian couples seeking to adopt would have remained free to do so through any other agency. In at least one Massachusetts diocese, in fact, the standing Catholic Charities policy had been to refer same-sex couples to other adoption agencies.

The church's request for a conscience clause should have been unobjectionable, at least to anyone whose priority is rescuing kids from foster care. Those who spurned that request out of hand must believe that adoption is designed primarily for the benefit of adults, not children. The end of Catholic Charities' involvement in adoption may suit the Human Rights Campaign. But it can only hurt the interests of the damaged and vulnerable children for whom Catholic Charities has long been a source of hope.

Is this a sign of things to come? In the name of nondiscrimination, will more states force religious organizations to swallow their principles or go out of business? Same-sex adoption is becoming increasingly common, but it is still highly controversial. Millions of Americans would readily agree that gay and lesbian couples can make loving parents, yet insist nevertheless that kids are better off with loving parents of both sexes. That is neither a radical view nor an intolerant one, but if the kneecapping of Catholic Charities is any indication, it may soon be forbidden.

''As much as one may wish to live and let live," Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in 2004, during the same-sex marriage debate in Massachusetts, ''the experience in other countries reveals that once these arrangements become law, there will be no live-and-let-live policy for those who differ. Gay-marriage proponents use the language of openness, tolerance, and diversity, yet one foreseeable effect of their success will be to usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination . . . Every person and every religion that disagrees will be labeled as bigoted and openly discriminated against. The ax will fall most heavily on religious persons and groups that don't go along. Religious institutions will be hit with lawsuits if they refuse to compromise their principles."

The ax fell on Catholic Charities just two years after those words were written. Where will it have fallen two years hence?

The e-mail in response:

It occurs to me your column could just as easily have been titled "Kids Take Backseat to Catholic Agenda."

The line that made me chuckle was this one: "... the archdiocese was left with no option but to end a ministry it had been performing for a century." Nonsense. The diocese had two options: they could comply with the state's regulations, or they could shut down. That's TWO options, not just one. They chose what they considered the lesser of two evils -- they chose to shut down one avenue for kids' adoptions rather than accept that they can't discriminate.

Taking a group that is overtly discriminated against in so many ways and casting them as the heavy demonstrates some fanciful writing skills on your part. Tell me, do you also blame rape victims for sending a rapist to prison? I wonder what kinds of columns you would have written in the 60s, perhaps something about "all those damned darkies getting my favorite lunch counter shut down."

Perhaps I'm a bit jaded about organized religion, seeing as we have it shoved down our throats where I work, but I've never understood why discrimination and bigotry are okay when cloaked in religious garb. Can I discriminate against blacks if my religion says that's important? For that matter, can I discriminate against heathen Catholics (a bizarre lifestyle choice if there ever was one) when hiring? After all, I'm not trying to stop them from having jobs, they're more than welcome to go somewhere else and get one. Churches get to exercise power over their own flock, but at least people are pushing back against their ability to exercise power over the rest of society. Perhaps the pendulum is finally swinging away from the top of its arc.

I always find Glendon to be a good read, but she spends too much time spinning "what ifs" and "maybes" as if they're facts. Her "intolerance of intolerance is a bad thing" spiel makes me wonder what would happen to an employer who refused to hire Mary Ann because she's a woman. Somehow I think she'd swing an ax or two herself.

The ax didn't fall on Catholic Charities simply because they disagreed, as you imply in your final paragraph. No one said they had to change their opinions. The ax fell because of their actions against others. You can hold whatever opinion you want, but when you act against others, they're likely to act in response.

Asshole.

I had dance class last night, which was a nice break from working, or thinking about work, or dreaming about work (I'm up against a deadline so work is big on my mind right now). I'm surprised by how much I look forward to class, I didn't realize it was going to be this much fun. Of course, part of me is just looking forward to having a big floor to practice on, as practicing at home gets a little old since we don't really have the space (taking baby steps on a carpet is different from shakin' your thang on a dance floor). My teacher's pretty cool and she's very encouraging, which I can use right about now.

I tend to get a little frustrated with myself sometimes...actually, a LOT frustrated. And I should know better. My problem is that I'm kind of a perfectionist about some things and I want to do them right, not look like a retarded goat. One thing we've noticed is that I tend to be counting my way through the routines rather than just letting go and dancing. On the other hand, I do smile during my lessons, which she says is pretty rare.

Part of me wishes I was doing better. Another part of me steps in and say, "you just started 2 months ago, you're not going to look like your friends who are professional dancers just yet." And a third part chimes in and says, "maybe you should have started this, oh, about 25 years ago." Then again, I'm not sure hip hop existed then, so really, it's not my fault. I usually tell that third part to shut the hell up, 'cuz it doesn't help to say "you should have" done something in the past.

The reality is, I'm doing great for someone who just started. Must...keep...telling...myself...that.

What I really want to do is unleash my "right brain," the artistic side of me that I know (hope?) is buried inside. I've got the whole "analytical left brain" thing down pat, to the point that I'm sick of it. I want to know that there's a freer, more artsy part of me that's scrabbling on the walls trying to get out. I'm a little scared to think that maybe that artsy part doesn't exist.

Whoa, that got a little deeper than intended. Methinks I should just go dance wit' my homies. Word.

I love it when my students call me "sir." It gives me a feeling of power, like I can do whatever I want with them, like I own their future...

Ooooh, it's probably not healthy that I went there, is it?

Anyway, one of my students asked me what I did this weekend and after I thought about it I said, "basically, nothing." That's not true of course, but the reality is that this weekend I "came down" from the uber stress of the last two weeks. After mailing off the settlement forms for the condo a huge weight was lifted off the shoulders, after all the hassles of changing interest rates, a scare about the remodeling that the owners had done in the kitchen, and the general incompetence of my lender (I'll say this once again: do NOT use Lending Tree!). My body was wiped out after not sleeping well, and I felt myself basically shutting down.

Of course, it didn't help that, due to a blip in our schedule at school, I had to teach Saturday morning. Or that I had to spend a few hours both Saturday and Sunday working on the papers I'm presenting at a conference in San Diego next week. But we still had fun:

Friday night we went to a dance show featuring my dance coach. That was cool. It wasn't so cool when she didn't show for my lesson on Saturday, but hey, stuff happens.

And Saturday night we went to our favorite restaurant, which was planning to close in a couple weeks while they look for a new location, and which probably wouldn't be reopening until after we moved. But as it turns out they're staying in their old place until the new place is open, so no, Saturday was not our last visit there.

And Sunday we went downtown for breakfast and I had a mimosa and it wasn't good as the ones I make but hey, anytime I'm drinking before noon it's a good day, right? Right???

And of course Sunday night we were at Lisa and Sue's and we finally finished the first season of Lost (which meant we had to watch 6 episodes, including the 2-hour season finale, and it was all good). We only have a couple episodes from Season 2 on our DVR but we're geting the rest from iTunes. Because iTunes is cool.

And I got to spend lots of time with Adrian, which is always good.

But my student didn't need to know about any of that.

The paperwork is done. We are now the proud owners of a home in Washington DC.

The paperwork for the house is being sent to us overnight by UPS, so Friday we should be signing the papers!

(I hope -- today was the day from hell, and things only came together at the last minute)

I just got an e-mail from our lender that includes a copy of the paperwork she sent to the title company in DC. Now they can do their magic tomorrow and FedEx the papers to us, and we can sign them Friday and send them back with a check. So maybe this is all going to work out at the last minute after all.

The amount we're going to owe is within the amount we budgeted for...we already transferred money around to be ready for this, and we have more than enough set aside to cut a check on Friday. And then we will be homeowners!!!

Oh, and our first mortgage payment isn't due until May 1st, so we should only have one month of double mortgage payments, the new place plus the current one. Presuming, of course, that we sell this place in May.

Oh lordy, I'm talking about mortgages. Does that make me old? Oh, crap, better fix that. Um, Lindsay Lohan! American Idol! MySpace! Stupid professors! (oh, wait a sec...)

Today's Monday. We close on the new condo on Friday. I'm not convinced my lender is going to have everything done in time. They have to FedEx forms back and forth from the lender (in California) to the title company in DC to us in Colorado and then back to DC.

Important safety tip: do NOT use Lending Tree when you get a home loan. Their commercials sound good, but they need to spend less on marketing and more on salaries -- they definitely need more people working for them.

There was a period of about 8 days where it seems the paperwork I sent them wasn't exactly what they needed, but they didn't bother to tell me that so I could correct the problem. Did the process stall for those 8 days? I think so. I told the banker a week ago that if they can't do this in time, if we need to fly out to DC because the paperwork won't move around in time, then they need to let me know THEN. I have this horrible feeling they're going to pop up Wednesday and say, "can you drop everything and fly to DC?"

Nothing I can do about it now, and I need to quit worrying about things I can't control. I think it just bugs me that this is what these people do for a living, this is what I'm paying them to do, and they're doing a crappy job. Why can't people just do a good job? I mean, if I do a lousy job, someone holds ME accountable. And I just can't imagine not taking enough pride in my work to do it right.

Stupid bitch, making me all nervous and stuff.

Sitting at a sushi bar tonight I took off my jacket only to realize my shirt was on inside out. Of course, I didn't realize it for a few minutes, and I wonder who else saw it before I did.

I tried using AXE deodorant today and despite what I saw on the commercial, I did NOT turn into a hot Asian.

Do they take returns on deodorant?

So, I had dance tonight. Much fun was had! As I was driving to the studio I was at a light and my instructor crossed the street in front of me, walking away from the studio...strange. So I rolled down the window and yelled, "Casey! Casey!!! CASEY!!!!!" Yeah, it wasn't Casey, it was some total stranger that I scared.

Yesterday I'm talking to my insurance company, setting up the insurance for our new home. The lady asked if Adrian and I are "living as a family" or just roommates, and I said "family." She asked if I want Adrian on the insurance policy with me and I said yes. So she says, "well, we need to get her to sign a power of attorney." Um, excuse me? "Yes, she'll need to sign a power of attorney letting you handle her insurance." She? Yeah, I decided to just let that one go.

I hope people had a nice Mardi Gras, those who enjoy that sort of thing. I made a king cake for Sunday night's weekly dinner, since one of our friends is from Baton Rouge I figured he'd appreciate it. And he did, of course. It turned out really well...the second time. The first one, not so much.

Lastly, I realize I should have timed the assignments in my two classes a little better. I've been grading continuously for about 2 weeks now and I'm not quite done, I had papers turned in today. That's getting old in a hurry.