A HAPPY HALLOWEEN, INDEED.

My last scheduled Friday night at Job #2 was tonight, and was blessedly short, as we only had a handful of reservations. I was sent home after an hour, and headed directly to bed. (I needed a nap; I didn't sleep well last night, and probably would've been running low if we had a busy night at work)

But now, I'm awake, and debating what to do now. I *could* clean my room (not bloody likely); I could screw around with MT, which I've yet to even touch, or I could just sit on my ass and watch movies.

That third option is sounding more and more appealing.

And although I didn't go trick-or-treating tonight, or have a fun party, I found out what I *should* have dressed up as tonight, thanks to Quiz Diva:

You Should Dress Up As a Firefighter!

Sexy, confident, and naughty.

You're meant to prance around in this skimpy coustume...

Going on and on about "big hoses"



What Should You Be For Halloween?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

[Listening to: john mayer - Comfortable (live and long intro) - - (09:07)]

ONE QUICK ONE BEFORE I HEAD TO BED. . .

I'm too used to Lisa. Tonight, there was a customer at a table that was breast-feeding at her table. My waitress was disgusted, to say the least, but it didn't bother me a bit. *shakes fist at La Leche League*

[Listening to: Clarity - John Mayer - Heavier Things (04:32)]

NO, I'M NOT DEAD, AND MY FINGERS HAVEN'T ROTTED AWAY. . .

It's just getting to this new "50+ hours a week via two part-time jobs" schedule. Most of my free time between jobs has been spent either 1) eating, 2) sleeping, 3) running various errands, or 4) all of the above.

Oy. However, you'll be happy to note that I woke up extra early this morning. . . so pre-work blogging should take effect soon. Additionally, I'm looking for my imminent move to Movable Type to take place by the end of next month. . . but you know what a procrastinator I am, so don't be heartbroken if it doesn't happen. ;)

Sadly, the computer in the cash room at SLUH (hereby referred to as "Job #1," because it's the first job of the day; guess what Job #2 is?) does not have internet access, or I'd be blogging a bit more during the day. Besides, at this point, I really don't have the time to blog at work; I tend to work my scheduled five hours each day straight through.

Speaking of employment news: I'm still waiting to hear back from the corporate office about the marketing interview last week, but, in a predictable turn of events, if I do say so myself: Job #1 has already tentatively discussed hiring me outright. When it rains, it definitely DOES pour for me, doesn't it?

[Listening to: Everybody Walk the Dinosaur - Was Not Was - (04:22)]

HELLO, PEOPLES!

For those of you who might be interested in a little news of the outside world, the Guardian has recently done a piece on St. Louis Forest Park. Did you know that the day Forest Park was dedicated, Gen. George Custer was getting his butt kicked by all the Indians in the world at Little Big Horn? And that crews fixing up the park sometimes dug up unexploded shells from war games played out in the park? Forest Park garners 12 million visitors a year, that's a lot!

The things we never knew about our lovely little park.

WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY BUSY WEEK. . .

Sorry for the lack of insightful ranting and opinion.

It's been a crazy week, to say the least. Lemme try to break it down for you:

This weekend was fun-filled times: hanging out with friends, computer upgrade insanity, and ending with my first day at a new temp job, and dinner and drinks with Jen.

The week continued with work during the day, finally my interview with the company on Tuesday, then off to Remy's for more work.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

That was my week in a nutshell. Most days I had enough time to steal in a quick nap for an hour or so between jobs, but other than that, I've hardly had the time to check my email, let along blog.

It'll get better, I promise. Once I get a little more used to this "waking up in the morning" thing, I'll be sure to get a few more posts in before work each day.

[Listening to: James - Laid (Acoustic) - - (03:41)]

HUZZAH! ONLY ONE MORE STEP TO GO. . .

The UM System has finally added "sexual orientation" to its non-discrimination policy. Now, if only SMSU would follow suit . . .

AND TO ADD TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT. . .

I was so proud of myself, as I was planning on taping "Ed" last night. However, I apparently forgot to set my clock back an hour for DST, so I missed it completely.

If it's not one thing, it's your mother. . .

Ooh! But I just saw an advertisement on Food Network, and Good Eats is now on every weeknight at 10:30! Huzzah!

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YESTERDAY COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE. . .

The interview was cancelled for today. I've got to reschedule, because the interviewer is having car trouble, and is at home today. Sounds like a personal problem, not my problem. Just another list of the unprofessionalism I've gotten this week. Arrgh.

Although, on the bright side, I was the only one on the floor last night, as Rob was sent home. So I made some decent cash, and I should do the same after closing tonight. Two days left until a nice three day weekend! Huzzah!

MOVIN' ON UP. . . TO THE EAST SIDE. . .

Coming soon: a new home. It's going to take a bit for me to figure out how to upload, etc. Plus, I'm making the big move to Movable Type, eventually, after I tinker around with how to use it.

CHICKENS COUNTED: 1; EGGS HATCHED: 0

This morning, I recieved this email, after a thoroughly confusing evening:

"Jay,

I don't know if my partner got in contact with you or not, but the client actually went through another source to fill this position. Sorry about not calling you but I've been extremely busy. We'll keep you in the pipeline for other opportunities that come open."

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Now, once again, I'm in an all-or-nothing situation. Here's hoping my interview tomorrow goes ridiculously well.

WAIT, WAIT. THERE MUST BE SOME MISTAKE.

First, my blog is rated a paltry PG-13, and now this:





Kudos to my favorite Birthday Girl for the linkage.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS, EH?

So my schedule keeps changing. I'm still supposed to start the temp assignment tomorrow, but on Thursday, I *finally* have an interview with the corporate office. Yeesh. The only thing that would make it even more convienent is for the PD to call, and try to schedule an appointment for Friday.

GREAT WEEKEND, KIDS.

Worked Saturday night, got off around 10, and met Greg and his friend Derek at Freddie's. It's been quite a while since I've queered it up at a gay bar, so I thought it would be a nice change of pace.

Not five minutes after I meet up with them, a tall, stocky grey-haired man strikes up a conversation with Derek. In an attempt to pawn off the conversation, he introduces the man to Greg and me. The mystery man's birthday was Saturday, and he is ridiculously excited that one of us is named Jay, as he is. He inadvertantly mistook Greg for Jay, and lunged forward to kiss him. Greg then points out that *I'm* Jay.

Of course, I wasn't really paying attention to the drunk man, until he grabs my face and tries to kiss me. He then replies, "Oh, Daddy!" and tries again. Both attempts fail, and I'm scarred by the fact that a man who was easily in his late 30s/early 40s called *me* "Daddy."

Yikes.

Sunday was a long day, with a day trip to Hermann, MO with Greg, Tina, and a handful of Greg's friends (most I've met quite a few times already). It was a long day of wine, tours, food, and good times. Tina and I were so tired after we got back, that we missed Brian's birthday drunkfest at Lafayette's. (It didn't help that I'd only gotten about three hours of sleep Saturday night. Add in the long work week I've had/going to have, and you can understand why I was so tuckered out.)

So, Happy Birthday, Greg. And sorry for missing yours, Brian.

OH YEAH. . .

Since it's technically Saturday: Happy Birthday, Brian.

LOONG NIGHT, BUT FISCALLY WORTH IT, I GUESS.

Ideal Scenario: Come in at five, the other two bussers join me at 5:30 and 6:00, respectively. With six servers, I'd have a small section, but that means I'd get off relatively early.

Reality: Come in at five. We're a server short, so there are five sections, slightly larger than normal. I then find out that the busser who should've been the closer called in with a migraine. The other busser working with me wants me to close, since he's running a 5k tomorrow at 6 am.

I close. I wait on one final table that takes forever, and doesn't leave until 1:30. I come home with about $80. Here's hoping Joe's feeling better tomorrow, because I'd rather not close four nights in a row (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights).

Also, I got a "real" job. Well, kind of. It's doing some data entry and clerical work through Accountemps for a company in NoCo. Although I *really* am not looking forward to the drive, I am looking forward to a steady paycheck for the next 6 weeks. I was starting to get a bit nervous on how I was going to pay for the London Trip. I figure I'll take-home at least $1000 by the end of the assignment (which, ends very close to Thanksgiving, I'm assuming, so that also works out smashingly), and that will be enough for the hotel, food, and spending money for the trip. Huzzah!

However, I had to inform the new GM that the assignment starts next week, so I won't be able to work Wednesday lunches for a while. She was *not* happy about it (way to make a good first impression, huh?). I think it pissed her off because of the short notice, but the lunches aren't really worth it for me, anyway. On a really *great* shift, I might take home $20 in tips, but it's usually more like $10.

Let's do the math: Turn down a 40-hour week job, paying $10.something an hour, OR keep my part-time job happy by working one four hour shift once a week, and making squat. I think it's obvious which one I chose.

And on that note, I'm going to eat my giant peanut butter cookie I picked up at 7-11, and head to bed.

(Oh, and for those of you that know what I'm talking about: Because of work, the DTR was a no-go. So I'm still in the dark. It'll keep for a while, I suppose.)

I am *so* getting in that hot tub tomorrow.

UGH.

Why is it that some ideas sound like good ideas until you go through with them?

Case in point:

Eating an Ultimate Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box.

I truly feel like my heart will explode in any minute. Damn you, Jack in The Box! Why must you be sooo good, and yet sooo bad for me? *shakes fist in the air*

[Listening to: James - Laid (04:19)]

GRR. SOMETIMES I DON'T LIKE SUCH OBVIOUS REMINDERS THAT I'M SUCH AN IDIOT.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the last three discs of the SportsNight series, but I just realized that I accidentally have been watching the season out of order. I've just finished the last disc in the series, and found out that I completely missed disc 4. So I've got six episodes still to watch, although I already know what's going to happen later in the show. Arrgh.

All well, it's enjoyable anyway.

[Listening to: Unrequited Orchestra of Locomotion - OKGO - (03:54)]

MARRIAGE PROTECTION WEEK, 2003

I'm so glad there's something to celebrate during this week; three friends birthdays just wasn't enough.

Kudos to GregUnderwater for the linkage. Check out his humorous banners while you're at it.

[Listening to: The Nearness Of You - - (03:07)]

HRM. NOW I HAVE A REASON TO DRIVE TO WENTZVILLE . . .

There's a new haunted house in town, "The Mall of the Dead," and it's in danger of being shut down because of some adult scenes.

Although the owner says "This isn't about safety; this is about censorship pure and simple."

Yes, it is. But it doesn't matter; the citizens of Wentzville could possibly shut it down, with enough outcry. According to a 10-year old Supreme Court ruling, because the amusement site does not meet acceptable "community standards," it's considered obscene. Luckily, it's doubtful that people under the age of 18 are probably not directly acting in the scenes, otherwise, they'd have a child pornography case on their hands as well.

[Listening to: god put a smile upon your face - Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (04:59)]

OCTOBER'S LOOKING PRETTY GOOD, IN ALL AREAS.

I'll prove it to you. Check out my horoscope for this month.

[Listening to: She And Mr Jones (uncensored) - Lords Of Acid - Heaven Is An Orgasm (04:51)]

VIA THE ONION:

Girlfriend Dumped After Forwarding Stupid Link

GREAT FALLS, MT—Amanda Manis was dumped Monday after forwarding boyfriend Anthony Madrid a link for the humor web site LunaticLobsters.com. "I was convinced that I had found my soulmate, my kindred spirit, the woman I could grow old with," Madrid said. "Then, out of nowhere, Mandy e-mails me this stupid link. When I saw those Flash-animation cartoons, I knew it was over." Madrid has previously dumped girlfriends for owning roller blades, buying Vegemite, and watching Craig Kilborn.

More "Dating Dealbreakers," courtesy of Salon.com.

[Listening to: Bombs Over Bagdad (Rock Remix) - Outkast - (04:34)]

I'M SO JEALOUS.

Karen and Kerry went skydiving this weekend. Yet another one of those things to cross off on my before-I-die-to-do-list.

[Listening to: Quiet - John Mayer (03:21)]

THE GROCERY STRIKE CONTINUES

And, at least according to an unscientific poll on STLToday.com, we're nearly evenly split between crossing the picket lines, and shopping at 7-11.

I'm curious if the strike will prove the fears of The Big Three Chains: will Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, and the like be able to keep customers who stray? I know that the stronghold of the Union and their stores are part of the reason why there's no Wal-Mart Supercenters within the city limits (although I've also heard that Wal-Mart refused for years to build in a major metropolitan area, because it went against the "home-town" [read: "small town"] feel of the corporate mission. I think that's probably untrue). There was always a fear that the cost-cutting methods of Wal-Mart and the Warehouse stores would drive sales down in the supermarket chains, as customers would go strictly to where the prices were lower.

I guess we'll find out if their fears were unfounded, or a real entity to compete against.

SO CALIFORNIA'S GOT A NEW GOVERNOR. . .

Over at The Volokh Conspiracy there's mention of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow foreign-born citizens run for the Presidency. I think it's a great idea. Our country's history is seeped in the many cultural backgrounds we have; it seems to be a plausible next step. (Also, the first few presidents weren't natural-born citizens, if you think about it)

Besides, we already recognize the many foreigners who emigrate to the U.S. every year, and the importance their cultures add to our society; why else are we one of the few Western countries that doesn't have an official language? (English is recognized as a standard language of communication, and many states have legislation stating that the official language of their states is English. But officially, people in the US can speak whatever language they want.)

I think that between the recall, and this proposed amendment, we're getting to some core values of the type of democracy the Framers envisioned: the ability of the voting body to choose (and recall) their elected officials, and the freedom to find a balance between "American" culture, and the culture of their ancestors.

(Now, if we could only nix DOMA, we'd have the freedom to marry who we wanted to, as well)

Oh, and for those of you who enjoy the freedom of mocking newly elected officials, I give you President Bush's welcoming speech to Governor-elect Schwarzenegger.

[Listening to: O mio babbino caro (Puccini- Gianni Schicchi) - Renee Fleming (02:55)]

GREG, ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE, AGAIN?

Because I'm a big politics nerd, and I like drinking games, I most *definitely* want to play the Democratic Debate Drinking Game. Think of all the fun we had with the State of the Union Drinking Game!

Of course, just like last time, I'm busy tonight, but we can tape it, and hilarity can ensue after my crazy two weeks at work. Besides, I think I'll need to get nice and drunk after this is all over.

You think you'll be able to finish the entire game, buddy boy?

Kudos to Jen for the linkage.

[Listening to: I Believe I Can Fly - Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Take A Break (03:01)]

TWO DOWN, NINE TO GO. . .

And hardly any cash to show for it. So far, my 10-day non-stop workathon has been pretty easy. I was sent home hella early on Tuesday night, and left by 9:30 last night, but I'll make up for it, when I close tonight. I've got a few calls to make RE: the impending job hunt, and a few things to blog about today. So, on with the show, eh kids?

[Listening to: Coldplay - The Scientist - - (05:09)]

HEHE. NO COMMENT.

You Will Have Sex With 34 People!

For you sex is an adventure

One that you'll get quite good at

It's not to say that you'll have sex with anyone

But "self control" is just not in your vocal



How Many People Will You Have Sex With?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

HRM. . .

You Should Try Swimming!

Close and intimate. Cuddly. Missionary with a twist.



Here's how to do it:



The guy lies on his back and spreads his legs.

The girl gets on top of him, her legs along his, her feet on his.

The girl controls the pace of sex by dragging herself up and down against him.



The girl can vary the position by closing her legs tight, while his remain spread.

Or the guy can close his legs, while hers are spread.



What Sex Position Should You Try?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Done, and done. One question on here (8. Teach it to your friends!) reminds me of a trip to Tulsa I took with Jaimee one time. Hehehe.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SAVAGE LOVE:

Yes, we can get a little Dan-lovin' each week, but I've also found, recently, that Dan Savage writes a weekly column for gay/planetout.com. Check out the archives, even if you're not queer and/or queer-friendly. It seems to me that relationship problems tend to be universal, going across orientations.

[Listening to: to where you are - Josh Groban (03:54)]

YOU KNOW IT'S A SIGN OF A GOOD TIME. . .

When you're literally laughing the entire ten-minute ride home.

ON THE JOB FRONT:

I've applied for a job with the STL Police Department, as a "Telephone Report Specialist." It basically entails transcribing non-emergency reports from the telephone. I had to take a grammer grammar test today, and scored pretty well. (BTW, knowing how to spell "grammar" was one of the questions. I think if you get that wrong, you should be automatically considered out of the running for the job.)

I'm still waiting to hear back from the Marketing Position at the Corporate office. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow to figure out what the hell's going on.

THINGS HAVE BEEN PRETTY HUMDRUM 'ROUND HERE THE PAST FEW DAYS. . .

Lack of posting = lack of anything going on in my life + laziness to come up with anything fun to talk about.

My nights have been consumed with work; the first few discs of the Sports Night DVD set, ala Netflix; spending time with friends (one in particular; those of you in the Inner Sanctum know who I'm speaking of); and random acts of cleaning.

And it all ends: tomorrow. I'm picking up weekend shifts for Brian, as a birthday present for him (Seriously, dude. Don't expect a present. Maybe a card, but that's it). Here's how my next two weeks are shaping up:

I work Tuesday night; a double on Wednesday; Thursday night; Friday Night; Saturday Night. Sunday is a trip to Hermann, MO with Greg and his friends to celebrate his birthday on Monday, probably followed by $1 bottles at Lafayette's. Monday night is (hopefully) lunch or some other such quality time with Jen while she's in town, and then the whole cycle repeats till Friday. That's 10 out of 11 days of work. So, as you can imagine, my posts will probably be (even more) few and far between.

In lighter news, I saw Lost in Translation on Friday, which is an excellent movie. Also, thanks to Brent, I've acquired 106 condoms. I'd have to have sex once a week, for two years, to even come close to finishing all these. I think that sounds like a formidable challenge. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing towards finishing them off. ;)

Also, in a fit of self-promotion, check the post below about Raising the Bar. I've thought about joining, but my blog's a pseudo-wannabe-blawg, at best. I'm often too lazy/uninformed to give actual posts about the law, but the weekly selection is definitely intriguing.

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

I wanted to clue in the Naked Jay readers to a new feature over at my site, which I call "Raising the Bar." It's a weekly collection (posted each Monday) of pertinent, provocative, or particularly well-written posts from the legal blogosphere. The submissions are either self-nominations or suggestions by readers about other people's pieces. Feel free to stop by, peruse the offerings, and make suggestions of your own for next week.

AAAAGGGGH.

Tonight was absoutely hellish at work. Thursdays are usually one of the busiest nights for us (although these past few weeks have been DEAD), and I was the only one there for most of the night. Brian was shuttled off to do a catering job until around 8:30ish, so for the first three hours, it was me, and only me. He came back and helped out for an hour or two, which at least helped me get caught up. I made some pretty decent cash because of the wonky staffing tonight, but it's only a little helpful, seeing as I've been bringing home ridiculously low tips for the past two or three weeks.

And now, off to bed. Or attemping it, at least.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A GEEK

Begging to Differ has the Fall Movie Geek Preview, check out the immense amount of geekiness coming soon to a theater near you!

BETTER ROMANTIC THAN DRUNK!

You Are a Romantic Kiss!

You are an idealist, and unsurprisingly, you give the ideal kiss

Your kiss causes almost anyone to fall in love with you

And to be honest, you need to be falling a little to let your lips loose

No biggie… your kiss is worth the wait :-)



What Type of Kiss Are You?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Take that, Jay!

WOW, I SHO' WAS BITCHY THIS MORNING. . .

Or at least judgemental.

To apologize, I'd like to say I love you, dear readers. (NSFW, speakers required)

Kudos to Brent, my favorite So-Cal boy, for the linkage.

WHAT A WHINER.

An article in today's Salon.com asks Since you asked. . . 's Cary Tennis about being in love with a best friend: (Log in as a Premium member Day Pass, if you'd like to read it in it's entirety; my apologies to salon.com for reprinting)

Dear Cary,

How do you suggest "curing" yourself of being madly, completely and obsessively in love with one of your best friends, with whom there's absolutely no chance that it will move beyond anything but friendship?

I'm a gay man, and almost two years ago, my boyfriend of five years suddenly dumped me, proclaiming his newfound heterosexuality; he was in love with one of our mutual, female friends. They have since gone on to have a wonderful relationship and are now expecting their first child. This threw me into a tailspin. I was devastated and no longer speak to either one of them. But in the last two years, I've managed to somewhat make my peace with the situation and have started to forgive them both. But herein lies the problem.

Around the same time as the breaking-up trauma, I made a new friend through another friend I already had. Despite the fact that he was "straight" and had a girlfriend, he was very flirtatious, touchy, sensitive and very, very attentive. I began to get "signals," and I started imagining scenarios of him rescuing me from my pain and bewilderment. After several months, I could no longer take it and broke down to him in the middle of a restaurant during dinner, confessing that I was in love with him and knew that he had feelings for me as well, and I was very curious as to what was going to happen. He was shocked. He had no idea he had sent me mixed signals and was heartbroken that he had unintentionally led me on. In retrospect, I realize that this is just his personality, and he treats all of his male friends this way.


We have continued to remain friends since then, and have grown extremely close, but the problem is that my feelings still remain and are stronger than ever. I've tried dating other people, but no one (no matter how great a person they are) can measure up to him. He's everything I've ever wanted in a lifelong partner, and being around him brings me such joy and hope, but also makes me extremely depressed. At this point, he is much more of a hindrance in moving on from my failed relationship than my ex-boyfriend ever was.

I've tried distancing myself, but he and I are both totally wrapped up in the same social group. Besides that, I don't want to. I would still prefer him in my life as a friend than not at all, but his friendship keeps me from moving on. This has been torturing me for nearly two years now, and I'm starting to think I'm using it as a "crutch" or an excuse to not get close to people that could hurt me again. I'm sure this is probably a fairly textbook situation, and I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Straight Chaser

Cary's response, prefaced by a lame attempt to be Mr. Blue (Sorry, you're no Garrison Keillor), is to "break up" with the friend.

My response:

Get over yourself. You're not the first person who this has happened to, regardless of your sexual orientation (or your friend's). I think everyone's had a little crush on a friend at one time or another. And the idea that you're comparing the people you date to this friend? I know that there are different qualities of many of my closest friends that I also look for in a romantic companion. Our friends make us feel special, and it would be silly not to search for that same special feeling with a lover. But to discount all the people you date because they're not your fantasy of "the one?" Do you really think that if you could date this friend, that the experience would be anything like the one you've already envisioned? Doubtful. You'd just end up resenting him because he didn't measure up to your dream of a romantic encounter.

Granted, the fact that your former boyfriend (I'd assume he's your first homosexual relationship) decided that he was more bisexual then homosexual, and is married with child could be considered a little traumatic. But if anything, you'd think that experience would lead you to try to stray away from (yet another absurd fantasy) of "turning a straight boy gay." You already know first hand that a person's sexual identity isn't necessarily static, but fluid.

You are the stereotypical whiny fag who's always alone that noone can stand to be around, yet feel bad if they ignore you. Go die alone in the rain, already.

*WHOMP*

And now that I've jumped off my soapbox for the day, I'm off to shower, head (back) to work, and work a double shift. Adieu, dear readers!

I BLAME THE "POINTS" GAME FOR MY RESULT.

You Are a Drunken Kiss!

You are an impulsive kisser - kiss first, think later

And sometimes you end up suffering from a little kissing amnesia

It's all good though… your little condition allows you to kiss freely

Without headache or heartache the next morning



What Type of Kiss Are You?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Well, for the most part, anyway. Kissing, to me, can be something special, for those really great kisses, or just something that's done during truth-or-dare. I'm not one who thinks kissing is only reserved for the one your dating/sleeping with/whatever, but at least reserved for someone who you've got at least *some* kind of comfort level with.