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.)