Adventures in Gastronomy

Unbeknownst to me, I’d apparently signed up on facebook.com when the site first started (how soon we forget). I’ve obviously never gone back since I had no clue I’d even signed up in the first place – but I received an invitation from a fellow yesterday requesting that I add him as a friend. His name didn’t look familiar at all, though.

I logged in to the site and saw his complete profile (and 12 photos)…and I still don’t know him. Even worse, the website indicated that 4 other people (male and female) want to add me as friends.

I don’t know them, either.

How does that site work? I thought it was like an on-line high school/college yearbook where you can track down people you went to school with? I never went to any of the colleges these people listed except for one guy from Harvard (who, as I said, I didn’t even know).

Porn sites are much better…at least you know what you’re getting.

…and speaking of porn*, that’s my theme for today’s photos! Lots and lots of flesh. ENJOY!
1972 – Yeah, yeah, yeah – this one’s a repeat. But believe it or not, I have none of those photos of me naked that most people have (those moments were, unfortunately, caught on Super 8 home-movies instead).

1985 – We wear short shorts (I’m in white…because I’m so pure)

1986 – OK, so no real flesh here…but doesn’t it look like that guy is grabbing my ass?

1987 – Can you tell that I was typically too chicken to take off my shirt for most of this trip?

1995 – In looking through my photos, I’ve discovered that Matt took photos of me lounging in my underwear…a lot. This is just one of way too many examples.

1998 – In front of bar an Asian stripper bar in San Francisco.

2001 – OK, this isn’t really porn..but it’s kinda’ like bondage, no?

2001 – My, what big ear phones you have.

2002 – Pornographic birthday cake

(Photo removed at paranoid person’s request (it showed three friends leaning in and smiling over a birthcday cake with penis shaped icing).

*By having the word “porn” in my blog today, this is probably going to get the most hits my blog has ever received. Those folks are going to be sorely disappointed.

March 27th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

I do love spring. Heck, I love nearly everything about it: I love how things bloom and how trees and grass and shrubs all get so plush and green. I love going for walks in the city when it’s not too hot (you sweat) or too cold (you go numb).

But there is one little thing that I dislike this time of year…and that’s the climate control balance.  You see, I’m a sweater. I also walk fast – and that doesn’t help the problem. But this time of year in particular, I get a bit moist as I walk about. It could be 40 degrees outside (as it was this morning) and my walk to the subway will result in my undershirt sticking to my back.

That in itself isn’t all that bad. My problem is that the subway cars still find it necessary to blast the heat as if it was ten degrees below zero. My only explanation for this is that the subway car drivers are not running to catch trains. They’re sedentary for the most part and not working up a sweat. Consequently, they’re comfy with the warmer temperatures. The riders, on the other hand, are dripping. Or trying to remove coats and sweaters in a crowded train while the train rocks back and forth.

There is a silver lining this time of year, though. The subway stations underground still remain cool so if you have to wait a few minutes for a train, you can cool off a bit. In the fall, when the stations have warmed up all summer and are hotter than the outside air – this becomes a problem and I sweat ridiculously while waiting for my trains. I often think I must look like a terrorist since I sweat crazily, then get self-concious about it. I must appear to be plotting something sinister when all I’m really plotting is a way to generate cooler temperatures…or a fan…or a subterranean swimming pool.

I wasn’t able to scan any photos this weekend since I was at Randy’s….so I’m at a loss about what to post today. And am having trouble coming up with a theme. The best I could come up with are costumes and uniforms I’ve donned in the past.

1978 – I’m the short one in the, gasp, Toughskins.

1987 – Before heading to a Halloween Party. I’m a pimp…my friends are my ho’s. We’re not even old enough to have a driver’s license…yet our parents didn’t have a problem with us dressing up as pimps and hookers? Go figure.

1987 – A close-up of my pimp ensemble: gold chains, greasy hair, polyester leisure suit…and sad fake moustache

1988 – Ah, Orange Julius. Good times.

1994 – Record Town/Saturday Matinee. We had to wear tuxedo shirts and bow ties every day. And, yes, there was a 1957 Chevy Bellaire in the store. The store has since closed and this spot is now a Barney’s.

2005 – Me…as super hero (I think my friend was a bit generous with the abs…and a bit cruel with the crotch).

March 26th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

I think I need to retract my American Airlines rant from Monday. After my tirade on here, I wrote them an email stating the same thing (that the price jumped within minutes, I bought my ticket, then Randy got the identical ticket for $150 less…yet they wouldn’t change the price of mine).

A few days later I got an email back from them saying they are giving me a voucher for the difference in price that I paid. WOO HOO! So basically, I got the fare that I’d originally planned. And I’ll use the $150 voucher toward my trip to San Francisco a month later. So, I suppose my profanity-laden blog heading was a bit unfair. I regret it now.

And speaking of regrets, that’s my theme for today’s blog (hence the blog title and Frank Sinatra reference). So, here are some photos of some looks I regret over the years. Please keep the laughing to a minimum.

1983 – In my defense, this was actually my costume for the school play, “Alice in Oz.” It’s still tragic all the same.

1984 – How could my parents not have known I was gay? I’m rather relieved this instamatic photo came out so blurry.

1985 – Barnstable High School. Does my belt buckle really have a big “K” (for Karl) on it? Oy vey.

1986 – If you’re in Florida and want to stay cool, why pull your socks up so high?

1987 – Sporting a nice tan after 3 weeks in Florida – but why am I eating dog biscuits?

1988 – Come on…didn’t we all sport the Ferris Bueller look back then?

1989 – Don’t ask, don’t tell. What’s worse: the crystal around my neck or the wallpaper?

1990 – Oh dear. Pegged jeans? Please make it stop.

March 23rd, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 9 Comments

This morning’s Metro newspaper had a small article about where Boston stands in various surveys. Apparently, Boston is the least religous city in the country (which surprises me considering the Catholic church’s monopolization of local politics and political figures) and it’s also the most political city in the country.

Which explains a lot.

I’ve always gotten worked up over local politics – even for issues that don’t affect me personally. It seems that people here, right or wrong, are always going off on national politicians (particularly republicans since this is Massachusetts, after all) and local politicians and policies. I alway thought that this passion of ours would be the same throughout the country. But perhaps not. I suppose it could have to do with this being where so much of the country’s history began. I mean, we were the ones to strike back in the early years (Boston Tea Party, Battle at Lexington and Concord, etc…). I guess those values never left the culture in the region.

Other areas where Boston ranked high on the list were kinkiest women (#8) and kinkiest men (#9). This also surprises me considering that are only two straight strip clubs in Boston and only one gay strip club (in Cambridge)…and nudity isn’t even allowed at either place (state law requires at least an inch of fabric to cover the ass-crack…and you’re not allowed to show your, um, unspeakables [men] or unspeakable [women]). We have no sex clubs in the state, no bath houses, no straight fetish clubs (and Boston’s Ramrod is a barely a gay fetish club), and our selection of porn/sex shops is pitiful (the chain-store, “Amazing,” is a joke). If we’re #8 and #9 under these pitiful circumstances, the rest of this country must be REALLY uptight.

On the other hand, we do seem to be making waves politically, at least. I mean, we currently have the only man-of-color as our governor (only the second in U.S. history), we have a female Attorney General and now a female president of the Senate. We’ve got gay marriage, and our governor has made the new HPV-vaccine free to all 13-18 year old girls.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I should celebrate living in a place like this.

And speaking of celebrations, that’s the theme of my blog today…kinda’ like American Idol! They did “British Invasion” last night. I’m going with the theme “Celebrations” today in my photo archives. Here are some celebratory photos of my past:

1988 – Junior Prom (Oh my, what a big dress you have!)

1989 – Senior Prom (Oh my, how gay was her date?).

1989 – High school graduation (Oh my, what a lovely bush you have!)

1990 – Oh my, drunk under-age college kids. Who heard of such a thing?

1993 – College graduation (Oh my, Jeff cut off the tip of his finger slicing a bagel before the ceremony and ended up in the emergency room. True story! See the bandage on his finger?)

1996 – Housewarming party (Oh my, what an assortment of plaid we offer!)

March 22nd, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 7 Comments

Here’s a posting all of my Cape Cod readers may recall. My last summer on Cape Cod was 1991…and less than two weeks before I was to permanently move to Boston, the region was struck by Hurricane Bob. The track of the storm brought it just west of the Cape Cod Canal. As with all hurricanes, the strongest winds are to the east of the eye so the Cape received the brunt of the storm (as it was the only land east of the eye as you can see by the green portion of the track in this map):

However, the further away you got from the eye (Chatham, for example) the less damage there was. The worst of the storm struck the Buzzards Bay area (Wareham, Bourne and even Falmouth) were some coastal homes were literally moved off their foundations. Osterville was somewhere in between. The storm was a level 3 just before hitting the Cape, but when we got hit on Monday, August 19, 1991 it was a level 2 – with sustained winds of 90+ miles per hour and gusts up to 120 miles per hour.

My family watched in the morning as the clouds grew ominous. We could hear the winds get worse – yet for some reason we had very little rain. Mostly, we had ocean spray (you could smell the salt in the air when the storm was over). The winds were so strong that entires trees were up-rooted and we lost portions of our roof. Fortunately, no trees landed on our house. I can’t say the same for three of our neighbors. Our house was white and the side facing south-east (the direction the wind came from) ended up with a pale green shade as a result of the grass and leaves that were blowing in that direction.

We were without electricity for 6 days which I didn’t really mind except that I was dying to see footage of the storm on the news. Well, and having no hot water after the second day was rather annoying, too. That Friday I had to go to Wentworth for something (make a payment? orientation? I can’t recall) and I was relieved that they let me use their hot showers. The drive up to Boston was very interesting, too, because the damage became non-existent within miles of the canal. It was like nothing had happened up there. Yet 75 miles south was a whole different story.

I also recall within a week or so of the storm that the trees all shed their leaves (what few leaves were left, that is). But then the trees tried growing their leaves back again off-season, only to lose them again weeks later at the normal time in October.

Anyway, why am I bringing all this up? Well, because I scanned those photos yesterday! Enjoy!

Here is the back corner of our yard.

And the other side of the back yard. Notice the leaning telephone pole? It snapped at the base and was propped up by the tree. It remains that way to this day (well, at least until my parents sold the house 10 years later).

And our front yard…notice the three completely uprooted trees across the street? Those were HUGE trees – as tall as the tree that remains standing.

This is at the end of our street at West Bay. Even in these protected waters boats were thrown into the street and onto people’s yards.

And here I am….in my neighbors yard (the top of the tree is on their house).

And here’s my street from a different angle. My house is the white thing in the center left behind the trees.

This is the same street facing the other direction. It was completely blocked for a week by many trees.

This is Main Street in Osterville. See the snapped-in-half utility pole hanging sideways by wires?

Another shot of Main Street in Osterville – the main road into (and out of) the village.

My other neighbors…they lost two huge trees.

Another neighbor – this tree even took the sidewalk! This one landed on their house, unfortunately.

And here’s a bit of whimsy taken a few nights later in my neighbors yard. In case it’s not legibile, the signs says: “Pictures $1.00. With the female crew, $2.00. Kisses, $3.00. Advice from Lucy, 5 cents.”

March 21st, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

Perhaps it’s because of my cranky mood after purchasing my plane ticket, but I’m feeling a sense of accomplishment today after doing the silliest little things yesterday.

First, I’m quite content with the progress I’m making on my photo scanning project. I think I may be approaching the half-way mark based on the stacks of “scanned” and “to be scanned” photos on my living room floor. I also may have finished my taxes last night – though it displeases me to realize that it now looks as if I’ll be OWING both for federal and state. I also balanced my checkbook – after searching relentless for a missing $91 that ended up being the result of inverting two digits in my ending balance for the month. D’oh.

So I guess life is good. And speaking of good, I shall bore you with some more photos of the good ole’ days.

1988 – Me and my first car…a Pontiac Sunbird. Look how proud (and fashionable) I am! Please note that I am wearing TWO Swatches – one on each arm.

1988 – With my brother as he prepared to go to a prom. I sure had hair, didn’t I?

1988 – Honestly, this night was one of the happiest of my life. I had such a crush on Gillian (one of those Europeans who comes to Cape Cod each summer on a work visa). She returned to Glasgow a few weeks after this photo was taken. Yes, you can now start humming the song “We Wear Short-Shorts.”

1993 – I’ve always been rather fond of this post-shower photo for some reason (despite the horrible glasses)

1993 – Graduating from college

1994 – Gillian returns! She visited again six years later. My family loved her – as you can tell since they forced her onto a slide with us (she’s in the middle…below me in the brown shirt).

1971 – Oh, and what the hell, here’s a baby picture to increase the “awwwwwwww” factor.

March 20th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

That would be American Airlines I’m refering to.

Last week Randy and I figured out the days of our vacation. We sent in requests to our bosses for the time off and my boss (who is great) responded immediately and with encouraging words about world travel. Randy’s boss went on vacation and never responded.

So we both put tickets on hold via American Airlines. I was very excited that, with taxes, the ticket was only $657 (last year it was around $1,100 for the same destinations). Anyway, when you put tickets on hold they only do it for a few days so over the past week (as the existing “on hold” tickets expired) we’d place new ones on hold until we finally got approval from his boss.

Last night at 11PM was when our most recent “on hold” tickets were set to expire. At 10:50PM we logged on to find that the ticket price had jumped from $657 to $803….for the same freaking flight and seat! Realizing that we only had 9 minutes at this point to buy our tickets, Randy canceled his ticket on hold and we both started seaching to see if any other flights were cheaper (perhaps an inconvenient connecting flight through New York City, etc…).

As we quickly approached 11PM, Randy did a search again for his previous ticket and the price jumped yet again from $803 to $977. Within minutes! WTF?

Fearing that mine would jump, too, I went in and bought the ticket online for $803. That was $146 more than I’d have paid had we bought the day before, but still $174 less than what the new price was coming up as. I must admit I was freaking out as this was all happening within such a short period of time.

Anyway, Randy called American Airlines and said he wanted the same ticket he’d had on hold but “accidentally” canceled. The guy originally offered him the $803 fare…then finally gave him the $657 fare since he’s a Premium Platinum Frequent Flyer (and I agree that people who fly hundreds of thousands of miles per year do deserve some perks for giving the airline so much business). Randy then said that he and I were traveling together and that I’d bought my ticket while he was on the phone with them…but at the higher price. He asked if they’d be able to match Randy’s price (it’s the same freaking ticket, for crissakes) and they said no. So we bought tickets minutes apart and we’re sitting next to each together in identical seats…but my seat is $149 more. My seat sure as hell better have $149 more worth amenities than his seat does. I already claim the blanket and extra pillow!

Long story short, my cheap ass is annoyed as hell. Actually, I’m much better now than I was last night (it took forever to relax and fall asleep). Poor Randy witnessed the brunt of it and still took it well (bless his heart). He’s a keeper.

OK – happy thoughts. Here are more scanned photos of my youth.

1984 – Ah yes. With thoughts of Mary Lou Retton and fantasies about Mitch Gaylord, I proudly wear my Olympics t-shirt.

1985 – The lovely Osterville Baptist Church (my grandfather helped build it and it used to have a “Coleman Room”…I’m not sure if it’s still called that since our family hasn’t been part of the church in a generation or two).

1985 – I took the day off from work to watch Live Aid on MTV all day. Apparently, I needed some distractions.

1992 – As a long-haired slacker I knew that I would someday be dwarfed by corporate America.

1993 – Exiting the bathroom, appaerntly surrounded by papparazzi. They just never leave me alone.

March 19th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

Normally, I like big winter storms. Nothing thrills me more between December and February than a nice big blizzard. However, this winter we’ve received only slightly more than six inches of snow. If we get no more, we break a record for the least amount of snow EVER (since record-keeping began back in the 1800’s).

Now we’ve got a snow storm that could ruin everything. And, to be honest, I’m rather sick of the threat of snow. I’m sure as hell not sick of receiving snow since we’ve barely had any (and I was out of the country for most of it). But after 70 degrees just two days ago, I’ve got spring on my mind.

Anyway, at least it will be pretty. And speaking of pretty, here are more photos of my youth (as part of my scanning project):

1972 – Here I am with my brother and our fashionable “above ground” swimming pool (I’m on the right).

1977 – And nothing says class more than dressing your kids in identical outfits and bringing them to Sears. Damn, such luxurious blonde locks we had (I’m on the right).

1985 – The 70’s and 80’s were all about brown weren’t there? Always remember: your clothes and pets should match the carpet.

1996 – I’ve morphed from a cute and innocent blonde into the devil.

March 16th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 6 Comments

I got together with my friend, Jen, after work last night. We chatted (and laughed) for a few hours at my place then headed over to Hanover Street for dinner. Once again, we ate at Mother Anna’s. I got their amazing baked ziti since I knew I’d have left overs for today’s lunch (I even remembered to bring it with me!).

Since the weather was so nice (in the 60’s even after dark) we got some cupcakes at this new(ish) pastry shop called Lulu’s. It occupies a tiny story front toward the begininng of Hanover Street and is retro-decorated with an old stove and miscellaneous old kitchen appliances and utensils. And the cupcakes aren’t half bad! Mine looked so perfect you’d think it was fake. But it was a moist chocolate cupcake with shiny chocolate frosting (with the name “Lulu’s” written in icing across the top). Inside was a yummy, gooey blob of peanut butter cream.

When Jen left, I returned to my photo project (removing photos from albums, sorting chronologically by date, and scanning them). I’m pleased to notice that I seem to have photos from nearly every year of my life (save for a few in the 70’s and early 80’s when I didn’t own a camera…I suspect my parents have photos in their albums, though). It’s amazing to see how much you change….particularly how you change from a younger adult (early 20’s) to middle-aged adult (mid-30’s). I mean, going from a child to an adult you expect major changes as you grow up. But once your’e in your 20’s you’re done growing. Differences from that point on are mostly a result of changes in fashion (oh those glasses – what was I thinking) to good old-fashioned aging (wrinkles, greying and thinning hair, expanding belly).

Here are a few that I’ve scanned so far. Over the next few weeks, while I work on this project, I’ll probably post a photo or two here and there from various decades. When I’m done, I think I’ll blog one day with a photo from each year of my life. That could be interesting.

Anyway, here a few from the past decade or so:

1996 – Here’s me and Matt* in our first apartment together. Ah, such luxuriously long hair I was growing.

1999 – Here’s me and Matt in New York City. What was I thinking with those glasses?

2004 – Showing some skin

*Wow. I think this is the first time I’ve posted photos of Matt since the beak up (nearly two and a half years ago!). Should this be cathartic or something?

March 15th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

Randy…the poor guy.

He’s taken me to Japan. He’s taken me to Mexico. Literally (he used his own frequent flyer miles to get me to those places). He’s also cooked me countless meals, allowed me to stay at his place probably half the nights this past winter, invited me to parties being held by his friends, bought me little surprise gifts here and there, complimented me, helped me with computer problems, listened to my problems (and my rumored incessent whining), driven me places, loaned me his car, and just all around treated me well.

What have I done in return? Well, I suppose I’ve done some listening when he’s had issues with work and such. But last night he stayed at my place for the first time in at least two months (and possibly only the second time since December).

And what did I do?

I got all wrapped up in a photo project I’m working on (emptying out photo albums, sorting the photos in chronological order and then planning to scan them all). I did cook him dinner (a lame meal compared to the things he’s prepared). But other than that the evening consisted of me sifting over photos and us watching bits and pieces of American Idol.

He did agree that he and I are both very like-minded in that once we get something on our minds, we can get it off our minds (remember my comments about San Francisco last week?). So, that made me feel a bit better.

Still, things seem pretty uneven in this here relationship – and I’m ashamed to say I’m to blame. Hopefully I’ve done more for him than cook a meal and listen. Hopefully I’ve been supportive, fun, generous and honest.

Hopefully he is as happy as I’ve been.

…and hopefully he doesn’t read this!

March 14th, 2007
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments