Tea time

Another indication that I'm getting old? I spent yesterday afternoon with a good friend at her suburban home having tea and cookies! I will concede that she has a 1-year old to take care of and that she is 8.5 months pregnant with twins (Man, she is huge!), but wow, my weekends are not like they used to be.

Acronymous

Kids these days! I am an old geezer who can't quite get used to typing "u" for "you" or "b" for "be," even on the texts or the IMs. I appreciate when something's labeled as "NSFW," but can't get into writing "ROFL." I do, however, throw in an occasional "LOL" or "OMG," but rarely do I use "TTFN" or "TTYL."

Roommate J just wrote "BBL" which makes me think "bubble." I sort of like it as a closing sentiment. "I'm heading into a meeting. Bubble!"

Even ones shaped like wrestlers

When I returned from my most recent trip abroad, I found myself in a conversation where Puppy and DJ Mother Nature were discussing the Silly Bandz phenomenon. And I had no idea what they were talking about. I figured this was an East Coast deal, but it turns out I'd missed an entire trend while traveling.

I'm now accustomed to spotting these little, colorful rubber bracelets on hipster-types and homo-types alike, but I still don't understand what the big deal is. I've noticed packages of Silly Bandz for sale at the drug store and other shopping establishments, and I guess the appeal is that they come in different shapes. You can buy a princess-themed package with bracelets shaped like crowns and castles and high heels. Or you can opt for a more traditional package of animals.

On Sunday, one of Shotgun's boys was wearing one and I asked to see what shape it was. When placed on the table, it looked like a ... dog? Small country? Computer server? I had no idea.

It's an interesting fad and I guess I'm too old and/or too "corporate" to appreciate it. I wonder how long it will last.

We hardly knew ya

A few years ago, my friends and I met up at a bar before heading over to a boisterous Academy Awards party. It was early afternoon and we were enjoying our first cocktails when a fellow stumbled into the bar and slurred loudly that he needed a drink. Apparently, he'd been kicked out of a nearby restaurant because he had taken all the condiments and started finger-painting on the table.

He was pretty annoying in his advanced inebriation, but he provided us with some entertainment, so we took photos with him and went on our merry way. From time to time, we'd see him out and we would yell his name, but he had no memory of meeting us. It became a running joke to yell his name in a crowded room and watch him whirl around with a confused expression when he didn't see anyone he recognized.

Tragically, Roommate J informed me the other night that he was found dead in his apartment Monday, apparently stabbed to death. The police have pasted flyers with his photo all over San Francisco and are investigating this possible homicide. And even though I didn't know him, it makes me all creeped out to be in such close proximity to a murder.

What's your damage, Heather?

I just had one of those "I am SO OLD" moments. A student at my grad school alma mater was interviewing me for a project and asked me what my favorite movie was. The first movie that came to mind was Heathers, so I revealed this little bit about myself.

"How do you spell that?" she asked.

"Heathers? H-E-A-T-H-E-R-S. Have you never seen it?"

"No," she responded, ignorantly, "Who's in it?"

"Um, Winona Ryder, Shannen Doherty, Christian Slater ... Have you really never heard of it? It's from the eighties."

"The eighties? I'm a child of the eighties. The late eighties. I don't go backward in time!"

Kids these days...

Farewell SF, goodbye 33

To commemorate my birthday and this little cross-country move, I decided to designate yesterday evening as my farewell party. I told a bunch of people that I'd be at Blackbird for happy hour and hoped that people would show up.

Fortunately for me, a lot of my friends came to wish me well and I had the chance to see a lot of great people one last time before I move away. There was my usual posse, friends from undergrad, a couple of cousins, friends from childhood and high school, some business school chums, a few colleagues from my most recent employer, a group from the employer before that and even one from the company I worked for in DC! All facets of my life were represented in one little bar, and it was kind of surreal to see all the groups of people mingling.

And as reluctant as I was to do anything for my birthday, I'm glad I did. It was good to feel loved and I'm really going to miss so many people. After all, eight years is not a short amount of time living in a city...

Last checkup

I took Stefano DiMera and Victor Kiriakis to visit Dickinator's sister this morning for their last SF vet visit. It was Stefano's annual wellness visit, and Victor simply has so much wrong with him that it made sense for him to go as well.

In all, the cats are fine. We got some booster shots, cleaning wipes and news that neither is obese. And it was fun to catch up with Dickinator's sister, who gave some good advice about traveling with cats and prescribed some anti-anxiety medication that we'll be testing on them in the coming days.

While I waited in the lobby for the prescription, a lady came out of another exam room, sobbing. I couldn't get a look at her animal companion, but the exam didn't appear to go well. While she was waiting to pay, a nurse came out to answer a question she'd posed. Apparently, she could finish the round of antibiotics, but it wasn't going to make a difference. SAD!

Even though I'm out an additional 200 smackers, I'm glad Stefano and Victor are healthy critters!

Jamba morning

Oy! My ears are ringing from a fun little event we had in our office building lobby this morning. As part of my work responsibilities to promote environmental sustainability, we passed out reusable mugs and cups to all our employees because we'll no longer stock paper cups in our kitchen areas.

To encourage employees to get in the habit of using these mugs and cups, we invited Jamba Juice to make "free" (paid for out of my budget) smoothies for employees who brought their cups down.

Since I was supposedly the guy in charge, I stayed downstairs for the duration of the event. I have no idea how these kids do it! The blenders were on constantly and started to drive me a little batty! I am an old man who complains about too much noise.

Just a baby panda

Internets, today was a long day. After only 4-5 hours of sleep, I dragged myself to The Nonprofit's board meeting, which found approximately 20 of us cooped up in a room from 8:30am to 6:00pm, with only a 30 minute break before re-convening for a board dinner.

While I honestly enjoy my fellow board members, I am not very good at all-day marathon meetings. And it's especially hard to keep up with such a smart and distinguished group of people. I think I'm the youngest member of our board (Although one of the newer members may be slightly younger.), but I'm definitely at the lower end of the experience spectrum.

At one point, the two men seated on either side of me were bantering back and forth about who was older when one turned to ask how old I was. When I told them, they both groaned and declared that I'm a baby!

One of our newest board members mentioned that his daughter attended my alma mater and when I let him know of my affiliation, we realized that his daughter is a mere four years younger than me. He was kind of shocked that I was serving on the board, only 11 years after my undergrad experience.

I don't usually mind being mistaken for young, especially since I feel so old, but it's tough to maintain credibility when you don't have the experience or at least the air of experience about you. I know it really shouldn't matter, but I just feel like it does. I guess I should enjoy it before I'm one of the geezers.

Karaoke auntie

A few nights ago, my dad's eldest sister passed away after battling cancer for the past few years. Even though her prognosis had been grim, she slipped away much more suddenly than anyone expected, suggesting that maybe she decided it was her time.

My dad's side of the family is full of loud, boisterous characters who compete for attention, eat with abandon and are constantly laughing. Clearly, I inherited some of these traits. My aunt, in particular, was one of the louder, more happy-go-lucky of the clan and she was always the life of the party.

One of my clearest memories of her is at my grandmother's old apartment in Hong Kong where she and my father were belting out tunes on a home karaoke machine. Neither cared that they could have used an auto-tune and both were having a great time, just enjoying each other's company and singing into the night.

Due to my work schedule, I'm sad that I'll miss the funeral in a few days, but I'm glad we were all able to gather a few months ago in Vancouver when my cousin got married. She was in bright spirits during that trip, obviously weak from chemo, but definitely stronger than I had expected. Whether it was simply a brave face or a particularly positive period doesn't matter. She still managed to shine amongst the dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins who had gathered for the weekend.

Birthday bonanza

My head hurts a little from overdrinking last night, having gone to three different birthday parties in one evening. First up was Lezzie P's birthday party which was conveniently located at a nearby bar and conveniently scheduled for early in the evening. All the usual suspects were there, and Mahogany Sparkle made his presence known by sitting on a table and upsetting everyone's drinks! Apparently, he was so mortified by this that he left the party early.

But not as early as Puppy and I left because we went to one of his co-worker's birthday party. An event where I felt super old since everyone was Lil' Bro' Panda!!!!'s age and one of them even went to elementary school with him. This party was marked by lots of food and party hats! Puppy selected a jungle themed party hat and we made our way to the third party of the night.

It was Swimsation's birthday celebration and she immediately took a shining to Puppy's tiger hat and claimed it as her own. We continued to poison our bodies, bought the birthday gal a whiskey sour and returned to Lezzie P's party, where only Roommates A&J, GarGar and Lezzies N&P remained.

I'm proud of myself for making it to all three parties, in different parts of the city. Usually, when faced with so many options, at least one goes unattended.

Sweatin' to the oldies

For the past several months, I feel like I've been slipping away from the local nightlife scene and I rarely make it out to the bars, especially on a weekday night. Sadly, this behavior isn't having a positive impact on my ever-expanding waistline, but that's neither here nor there.

Last night, I met Roommate A for a drink at Juanita MORE's Booty Call party and experienced the following:

* I felt so old in a sea of twenty-somethings who danced frenetically and annoyingly in the bar.
* I just wanted to sip my kir royale in the corner, where I wouldn't be bumped into.
* My coat and fancy orange tie (Juanita requested formal attire!) caused me to sweat non-stop.
* It just didn't feel like my scene anymore since I knew very few people out and about.
* I left at the early hour of 11pm.

I should probably just stop fighting it and accept that I am an old panda, but something inside me clings to this life I used to lead.

Olé

Last night, Dyson and his boyfriend came over for a little south-of-the-border dining experience at my little home. I prepared a "Mexican lasagna," a Latin-type bean salad and for dessert, arroz con leche. The dessert, sadly, didn't turn out how I'd hoped, so Puppy improvised some red velvet bars that weren't so Mexican, but still delish.

We shared frozen margaritas, some chips and salsa and tales of our pets. I guess we've reached the age where our conversations focus less on who did what to whom at which bar and more on how our little animal charges respond to various training techniques. Maybe that's a good thing for a Monday night.

Pride in the mirror

So, Michael Jackson died unexpectedly and that's truly sad, but couldn't this have happened after pride weekend? I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but last night, when Puppy, Roommates A&J and I were out and about in the 'stro, every single bar was playing MJ hits from the past. One song is fine. Two, even. But after 10 songs, the "tribute" turns tired and I just want to hear something more current! I wish Farrah Fawcett had released a single or two, just for some variety.

Classic TV

At Periwinkle's very delicious birthday celebration dinner last night, his new, younger suitor mentioned how his family made sure to discuss very sensitive issues that beamed into their living room, courtesy of the television. One such topic came courtesy of the show Will & Grace.

As he described what it was like to "grow up" in that environment, it struck me that Will & Grace began its run on television after I graduated from college. In other words, as he was sitting down with mom and pops to discuss "a very special episode," I was already a full-fledged adult!

Man, I'm getting old.

Adios muchacho

Blanca is one of the latest casualties of this "recession" and has lost his lucrative job. His solution? Move to Hawaii to be with his fella!

Beetle organized a small farewell dinner last night, so I met up with him, Mattress, Roommates A&J, Mahogany Sparkle and Lucy Ricardo to bid Blanca adieu. We went to a Mexican restaurant with an easy-on-the-eyes waiter where they gave us a round of tequila shots for free.

I'm not a big fan of tequila, but I managed to choke it down and I didn't end up very messy! Even after a few margaritas and a visit to the bar for Juanita MORE's Booty Call party, which I hadn't attended in months.

I guess these days it takes a special occasion to get me out on a school night. I'm not a young panda anymore.

Suicide song

While I was ordering a cup of Starbucks, the barista complained, "They have got to stop playing this music or I'm going to kill myself!" Then, he turned his attention back to me and said, "See, I already forgot your order. This song is awful!"

Once he finished taking my order and marking the cup with the proper letters, he turned to another customer who was waiting by the counter. "I'm sorry," he said, "I forgot what you're waiting on."

"Um," replied the customer, sheepishly, "I was waiting to learn who sang this song."

At this point, a tiny, lady-barista bounced out from the back and said cheerfully, "It's Amos Lee, and the song is called Colors." I giggled.

Lemon party?

Seriously, if I'm in my 50s, going to a meth/GHB/hot tub party in the suburbs on a Tuesday night, will someone please kill me?

Thirty-three

It's my birthday! And I'm at work...

Holiday party weekend

I had a surprisingly mellow weekend, considering that this seemed to be the weekend for holiday parties. After the Law-Mart party on Friday, I was fortunate enough to have four parties scheduled for Saturday night. For my own sanity, I planned on attending three of them, in a very strategic order.

It seemed that many others were in a similar conundrum, since at each stop, people clearly were making appearances and moving on to other celebrations. Ultimately, I made it to two different parties and arrived at the building for the third, which happened to be my own apartment building. Pooped from the long day and the two other parties, I decided to forgo the third party in order to watch Saturday Night Live, during which I fell asleep on the couch.

Clearly, this is one of many signs that I've entered middle age. I can't hit all the holiday festivities like I used to and I can't even stay up through SNL!