Goin' down to South Park, gonna leave my woes behind

Richko as a South Park character? (this is how I see me, anyway)

Give it a try! South Park Studio.

Epilogue.

I'm going to be very brief, as I probably have spent way more mental energy on this than it deserves. With Gabriel's remaining time in DC drawing short, I did what I thought I could do to try to move our "friendship" outside the bar, i.e., to see if it really was friendship and not something of mere situational value.

It looks now as if it's not really friendship in which I was participating. Which makes me very sad. Because I did invest a lot of effort in trying to be a genuine friend to someone for whom I had (well, still have) a great deal of affection. And I did so, sincerely. I don't know what I should really be feeling today, or tomorrow, or if I happen to see him again sometime. But I do feel something, and I don't like it. Hoping it will go away soon.

Something about what happened doesn't make sense; well, the whole thing makes not too much sense to me. Nothing I can do about it, though. Just one of those things that doesn't turn out the way I wanted (of all the options that would have made it worthwhile, I get "none of the above"). And I imagine I've got at least one "I told you so" coming my way. Can't wait.

Now, then. Where were we before the summer of G-Man? Let's get back to that. Oh, wait, that was kind of crappy, too. That means the only way to go is "up"! So here we go...

Not Tonight, Honey, I Have a Backache!

The latest "OUTrage of the week", courtesy of the American Family Association. (Thanks, bitches!) I think it's a hoot.

The Ritchie Family: Bad Reputation

Ah, the '70s. Another gem in the long line of worst album covers ever!

Musings... on the week that was. (I'm not really 36.)

This has been quite a week. Maybe I should recap it just so I don't forget anything important.

Sunday was a day of unusual stuff. The early afternoon saw me driving up to Takoma Park, MD to chow down on some crabby fresh catch with about 25 other peeps, only three of whom I knew, but that's OK -- it was fresh crab! Thanks to Vitya for the invite. This inland PA boy learned a lot, too, about breaking apart a defenseless (well, dead) crab's body and scarfing up the edible insides. I've eaten many a crab's worth of crabmeat in my day, but I think that was my first "crack" at the actual undisturbed creature. A few puncture wounds to my palm notwithstanding, it was pretty darn cool. At least when I finally get that Re-ho condo I'll fit right in like a native.

On my way back from the crab feast, I headed to Capitol Hill to the "Results" gym. To work off the crab, for about $20 an hour, you ask? No, no, I have a nice cheap gym membership, thank you very much. This was for something (in my mind) a bit more... sentimental. You see, the one & only angelic Gabriel (you wondered how long till I mentioned him again, admit it) had 6 of his paintings in an art show that Results had put together, since back in May. So finally I went to see it. All I can say is he is really an amazing guy. Above is "Music Box, Motorcycle, Prong" (acrylic on paper, 2005).

The biggest deal for me this week, almost, was the fact that at work we packed up our offices from where our organization had been since the beginning (1992?) to move a block away (and a block closer to my home - yay!). Most of the work week was occupied with the last-minute stuff (the actual packing) that probably required at least 4 solid months of planning. Hard to believe that it all came together, but somehow it seems to have gone smoothly. I'm actually looking forward to unpacking in my new office on Monday. (By the way, Jason -- I'm very impressed with the way you managed and handled the moving processes you did, and the dignified way you responded to all sorts of idiocy thrown your way by people in positions of authority that they really don't deserve. Congrats.)

Tuesday began the pre-birthday festivities. I went with Jason to the neighborhood Hamburger Mary's (burger night, it was) with free birthday T-shirt coupon in hand. We spent (well, Jason spent - thanks!!) enough $ on the bill for me to get a free T, only they didn't have any! So now I have a not-too-official-looking raincheck. That will make my 2nd "Mary's" Tee. You can never have too many campy T-shirts, I always say. And it was a good, fun, fattening meal (some kinda BBQ cheeseburger, fries, and a nice slice of coconut cream pie for dee-zert).

Wednesday: The big birthday that I decided I'm not going to acknowledge now that it's past. The number, that is. 35 I can deal with. 36? Not so much. Bleah.
Anyway, despite that, various peeps made it a day-long hoot. First a nice (but too-small) group of friends took me to Raku in Dupont for a nice pan-Asian lunch. (Mad props to Lara whose idea it was in the first place. I'm just glad there were others who thought likewise it was a good idea.)
After a day of hard packing (oops, I hear the FCC coming!), I was ready for some real birthday action. Instead I went off to the gym (my cheapo gym) and burned off my lunch. When I got back, I showered and prettied up in order to have a birthday dinner with Art (of "Mark & Art" fame, in case you're wondering). I suggested Logan Tavern, which seemed to be a good choice (except there was a 30-minute wait, which we decided to fill by going next door to Halo for some drinks). Afterwards, we felt the call of more alcohol, so we headed over to Cobalt/30 Degrees. (G-Man only works Fri & Sat, so that wasn't the reason.) It was very un-crowded & even upstairs there was just some lame-o karaoke (redundant much?) and bad drag happening. But I must thank Art for a very enjoyable evening. (Even though we each spilled half my apple martini on my shorts, it's all good!)

Thursday was a bitch - the final packing (the hardest of the hard) punctuated by a "goodbye 1212 New York Ave." pizza lunch. After which someone informed the CFO that they'd found aluminum filings in the crust of!! Would our staff later end up in the ER with multiple stomach & intestinal lacerations? Would we be the lucky winners of a class action lawsuit against Pizza Slut with enough settlement that we'd never have to work again? (No, probably not. But it was sort of the perfect ending to the perfect-crap day!)

Friday we were closed (except for the few staff who had continuing duties on the office move, poor saps). So I slept in a bit, got some crap done, tried to go to the gym but didn't, and then finally met up with Tory (who had skipped out on all my birthday festivities up to that point) to go back (yes, you guessed it) to 30 Degrees for happy hour!

I don't want to write much about the G-Man -- esp. since he wasn't the main reason we went -- but suffice to say I'm at the make-or-break point with him. I may write separately about what's going on, or I might not. Anyway, Tory thought he was fine, I think he thought she was adorable (who wouldn't?), so I looked good all around. I think. Anyway, Tory told me the funniest freakin' story I've heard in a while, got me good & liquored up, and made me feel 35 again, or so they say. I'll leave it at that. (Oh, OK, you twisted my arm. I got a special post-birthday drink from the G-Man, on him, but no special post-birthday kiss or anything like that. I think that would have made my week a complete success. Instead, it gives me a big question mark to go with my 98% successful week. Thanks to everyone who made this still-35-year-old feel sorta special.)

If this is true...

then what the heck's my problem?

Your Seduction Style: The Charmer

You're a master at intimate conversation and verbal enticement. You seduce with words, by getting people to open up to you. By establishing this deep connection quickly, people feel under your power. And then you've got them exactly where you want them!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Parade of Cows (Bratislava style)

(Now that Blogger's got an auto-image-upload feature, I can torture you dialup types with extra-long download times. Hope the extra sparkle of this blog cancels out that disincentive to visit!)

Last year it was Prague, this summer it's Bratislava who has its own homegrown parade of cows. (Here in DC we've had "Party Animals" [donkeys and elephants] and Pandas. Hey -- why the hell not?) Following are the cows I managed to spot on my last night in Slovakia, last month.

WTF??!!? Is this a cow in drag, a lady of the evening being ridden by her freakishly deformed cow-john, or what? Some kinky Euro-thing, maybe. Someone enlighten this poor sheltered American.

I dunno if this was even part of the exhibit, or an unfortunate accident involving Bessie, fiberglas, white paint, and a cement truck.

Actual legal tender, or Monopoly money? Upon closer inspection, my guess was that it was mini color copies of money, of various national origins. Just think, in 2008, this cow will turn into all Euros.

I guess calling this one "Holy Cow" would've been too cliché...

A real disco heifer...

No, not "Ursula". Rusuľa. (???)

Celebrity

I've done a bunch of interviews "over there" through the years, but for whatever reason I'm still kind of lovin' the attention every time a new one appears.

Not sure how much longer I can keep mining the "young Rusyn from America" angle, though!

as seen in "bitch session" (#4)

"What's with all the real estate agents with glamour shots? Are we selling property or auditioning for "A Chorus Line"?"

"We move into dying or dead neighborhoods and bring them back to life. When we're almost done, the "progressive breeders" move in and undo everything we have accomplished. We can't marry, but we can drive up real estate and make the bitches pay way more than any intelligent person would. Ain't life grand?"

(WashBlade, 7/8/05)

Friends - Bringing Europe & America together

When I first started traveling to the Rusyn homeland some 9 years ago, I went as a tourist. Since then, 6 trips later, I have done most of the touristy things that there are to do in the places I frequent. It's the people -- friends -- that keep me coming back time and time again. After all, where would any of us be without friends? Here's a bunch of them I got to hang out with (unfortunately not long enough) this year.

This is me with my good friend Maria Silvestri, from Pittsburgh, whom I've known since she was about 7 years old! She's now a sophomore at Seton Hall University. She is, as we say, "good people." (Photo taken at the "vatra" -- bonfire / cookout -- with about 300 Rusyns from the homeland and America who were attending the World Congress of Rusyns in Krynica, Poland.)

Me with a good buddy, Vasyl' ("Vas'o") Pukish from Svaljava, Ukraine. He's such a sweetheart (and a real lady-killer). (Photo taken at the "vatra" in Krynica, Poland.)

A truly darling young lady, Alena ("Ali") Blychova, who just graduated from Prešov University, smart, talented, pretty, funny, religious, etc. If you've seen the British (original) "Queer as Folk" you might understand the reference that after I met Ali my reaction was, "in some parallel universe, I just met my wife!" (Photo taken at the "vatra" in Krynica, Poland.)

Me with a lovely lady, Ljubica ("Ljubka") Hupcejova, of Prešov, but originally from "up north" close to Svidnyk like my family. She's a lot of fun, a great singer, and a schoolteacher (kindergarten, I think). (Photo taken at the "vatra" in Krynica, Poland.)

Me with a very cool dude (and in high demand among some of the American Rusyn young ladies from the Slavjane Folk Ensemble who were there) from Poland, Van'o Fesz. I've known him off and on via e-mail for about 2 years, but met him in person finally this trip. He reminds me of myself when I was his age... only tall & blond ;-) (Photo taken at the "vatra" in Krynica, Poland.)

Not sure how this group photo got assembled. Anyway... from left: Tibor Miklos Popovics, a Rusyn activist from Hungary; Father Michajlo Hološnjaj, a Rusyn Greek Catholic priest from Novi Sad, Serbia (very nice guy & we discovered we had an old friend in common); moi; and my good friend from Moscow, Misha Dronov, who has become a Rusyn activist/advocate in his own right and is completing his studies at Prešov University. (Photo taken at the "Lemkowska karczma" -- Lemko tavern -- our last night in Krynica, Poland.)

Moi, visiting the home in Svidnyk, Slovakia of Osyf and Helena Olčak. Their daughter, Silvia, lives in Harrisburg, PA right now and goes to my home church. (Yes, I did carry home a bag of stuff for Silvia. A small price to pay for having such a lovely family to call friends.)

Moi, visiting the home in Svidnyk of the Ivan Čižmar family. Ivan (at right, holding his granddaughter) is from 3 villages away from my grandparents' villages and he is an accomplished musician, musicologist, and ethnographer. I hope to be helping him complete a book on the Rusyn folk wedding traditions.

All in the family(?) -- my friend Vladko Bodjanec, from Vojvodina province, Serbia. We're on a bus on our way from Krynica, Poland to Medzilaborce, Slovakia.

Me with my friend Pavel Tyrko, from Nyžnij Komarnyk, Slovakia (one village north of my grandfather's village). He finished university last year and is still looking for work :-( But he's a really good guy, and is becoming a Rusyn activist in his own right. His Rusyn poetry has won awards in local and all-Slovakia competitions. (Photo from the Museum of Lemko Culture in Zyndranova, Poland.)

And on my last night in Slovakia, I convinced my buds from Bratislava to pose for this picture. If we weren't trashed yet, we soon would be. On the left is my host and in a way, the friend I feel closest to in age and otherwise (!), Maroš Krajnjak. He's originally from the Svidnyk region and is, I must say, the 1st Rusyn metrosexual I've met over there. He's finishing an MBA and also works for T-Mobile in Bratislava (sounds like a yuppie, too, doesn't he?). At right is Bohuslav ("Bohuš") Harviljak, originally from just over the hill from my grandmother's village. His home village, Čertižne, I visited last summer with him and I stayed overnight in his parents' home, my first time ever sleeping in a village (and so far only time!). Bohuš is a lawyer working for the Slovak government on EU-related legislation with respect to livestock. Hmmm... Anyway, he's coming to visit the US in September or October, so some of you might meet him in person.

Free Katie!

(Holmes, that is.)

Not much today. But I thought this was worth putting out there:
http://freekatie.net/


Run, girl. As fast as your pretty little legs will go.