So familiar, and yet so new. Quo vadis, 2006?

Happy New Year, Carroteers!
How to open my first post of the new year? Ah, I know. The odds and ends.

--> I've been checking out a bunch of entertainment, DC, and gay blogs (they're pretty much 2 of those 3 things) and making a list of fun stuff that I'll soon debut on my improved sidebar. Look for it within a week or so! (I don't know why I'm doing this now, what with so many other things I oughtta be doing, but I have a strange, restless feeling that I need to shake things up a bit. If I can scratch that itch without stepping away from the laptop, all the better)

--> One of those blogs informs me that "Friendster is very important to the current existence of the gay community, at least in DC. If you are gay, you are on friendster, it doesn't matter if you're ugly, fat, or otherwise gay socially unacceptable, you have a profile and have put your favorite books/movies/foods for all the world to see." A-HA! That's why I'm dateless and with no prospects in sight! Funny that just a day or two ago something else suggested to me that I get on that friendster thing. Brian P. sent me an invitation to join a few months ago, and I left it to languish in my Inbox. Mebbe it's time to revisit the idea...

--> Playing on winamp right now: "Look on the Floor" by Bananarama. That's right, you heard me, BANANARAMA (with Sarah* and Keren - Siobhan left the group quite a few years ago). They've even got a new album called Drama. Amazon has it as an import for a whopping $37. I figured I could be more resourceful and find it for cheaper; sure enough, CDWOW! in Britain's got it for only 6.99 GBP, which was about $13, with free shipping. SWEET!
*Richko confession: I had a gayboy crush on Sarah back in the days of "I Heard a Rumour", "More than Physical", etc. And there was a girl in high school who looked just like her with whom I had a mild, from-a-distance fascination, and with her other blondie friend was it any coincidence they were (mockingly) referred to as "Bananarama"?

--> One of my former favorite spots on the radio dial morphed into something even more disturbing today. DC's Z104, which when I moved here was a hot hits format with a strong bent towards club music but eventually changed to a standard Top 40 and then a "mix of everything" pop-for-lameo-GenXers format, is now some classical station. I like classical music as much as the next person, but not in the car. It's not compatible with my driving style! I'd look for a station to replace it, but DC radio sux so bad, I doubt I'll find even one!

--> Shout-out to Tory, who's been livening up my days & nights for the last three days or so! She's goin' back to Mexico on Friday. (sniffling & tearing up...) We went shopping the other day at Pentagon City (incl. Marshalls, BB&B, LNT, Macy's, Sur la Table, some outfitters' shop, Victoria's Secret...) looking for the "purch of the day" and other time-tested hallmarks of our friendship. (Her purch of the day was a bunch of bras that didn't come from Pentagon City; mine was a pair of Claiborne pants from Macy's that was on the 50% off clearance rack but rang up at full price, but that the cashier -- er, Associate -- gave me for half-off anyway.) We also crafted any number of temporarily-useful acronyms/abbreviations (kinda in the vein of JK - just kidding, or TMI - too much information) but I can't entertain you with them cause I've already forgotten them. (Tory, how bout you leave a comment and post the ones you can remember!)

--> Ricky Martin is really fine. ('course, I like the guy with him (his half-brother, I think) even better!)

And my tickets to the Feb. 9 Ricky concert in DC came in the mail on Tuesday. Mmmmm, can't wait!