A new old bar

After attending a farewell party where we sucked down a few delicious key lime martinis, Puppy and I went to the new Toad Hall bar, which opened up the other day. I was hopeful that it would be a fun, new place to hang out, with interesting people or a new vibe for the Castro, but alas, it's just like a Badlands annex. Same music, same bartenders, same clientele, and a janky hole in the wall that spews smoke to make it seem sexy.

Sadly, this seems like a missed opportunity. The wooden fixtures and warm lighting could have made a nice lounge. And since it holds only 121 people, I'm not sure why the owner felt the need to include a "dancefloor."

Wipe out

Swimsation, who is highly allergic to cats, planned to come over for dinner last night so I picked up some pre-moistened pet dander wipes to try out on Stefano DiMera. When I got home, Stefano was definitely excited to see me and eagerly trotted to the door to greet me.

However, he seemed thoroughly confused by my response. Instead of petting him like normal, I whipped out a pet dander wipe, held him firm, and started to wipe him down. He didn't really struggle, but he definitely didn't understand what was happening.

When the ordeal was over, he walked away, wet and unhappy. But it seemed to work! Swimsation never even sneezed during her visit.

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?

I hear the ticking of the clock

Although not as good as Carrie Underwood's rendition, I thought Alison Iraheta's version of "Alone" on American Idol last night was pretty good.
Or it may just be that I love, love, love this banana!

Password face

My boss just sent out an article that can be read only by logging into a content provider's site. For those of us non-subscribers, she supplied her own password: pokerface. Now, of course, I have Poker Face by Lady Gaga stuck in my brain!

Lunch for two

My boss was kind enough to schedule a team lunch to belatedly celebrate my birthday today, but no one else was able to make it at the last minute. So, it was just me and my boss, having a nice Thai lunch.

We ordered tons of food, including a really nice pumpkin and chicken curry for me (I left half of it there - I was so full!) and a few appetizers (for only two people!). It was sort of strange just being with my boss and she took the opportunity to discuss how other people on the team are performing, which was uncomfortable. I don't think she should reveal her thoughts on others' job prospects and performance to me, but as long as she keeps telling me I'm doing a good job, I don't mind so much.

I kept trying to switch the subject (pets! travel! music! television!) and when it worked, we actually had a nice conversation. Inevitably, however, we always came back to the workplace and now I feel like I have to tiptoe around my teammates with a head full of private knowledge.

Las ladies locas

Last night, I met up with BoomCat for a little movie treat. Because she's seen every movie out there, we ended up seeing He's Just Not That Into You, which I wasn't that excited to see, but went along with because I love Ginnifer Goodwin. And since there were so many high-profile lady actresses in it (Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck!), I thought it might prove to be better than the commercials led on.

Well, I was wrong. The characters were whiney, neurotic stereotypes and if this is how women truly relate to each other, it's no wonder straight men flee from long-term relationships and marriage. Each of the characters came across as desperate, insane, hysterical and unworthy of the love they sought. It was as if each character were purposefully sabotaging her own relationship but completely baffled by why her crazy behavior pushed people away.

Neither BoomCat nor I enjoyed the movie, made especially more painful by the trio of Spanish-speaking girls behind us who would not shut up.