The Great Outdoors

Seventy three degrees, mostly sunny, and a slight breeze. Could you ask for a better day in mid-February than that? Not me. Funny thing is I've talked to a total of 4 (unrelated) people today since waking up, three of them live in the DC area. All of them, including me, decided to go hiking yesterday. What is this, Oregon? Granted, my roomie is a West Coast lesbian, so its assumed he's hiking the trails with a bag of granola any chance he can get. But everyone else? Maybe it was just a local case of the Hippie-Flu that made hikers out of all of us. Good thing...cause if eveyone went hiking yesterday, I'd have nothing selacious to blog about.

Outdoor sex.

Yup. I'm not sure if we decided to take a hike to 1. enjoy the outdoors, 2. do something different, or 3. have sex outdoors. Probably a 33.3% split. And wouldnt ya know, as soon as we start hiking around the national park near The Musician's house, I see him eyeing various logs and fallen trees for acceptable locations. Now I wont belabor the point, but it was interesting, although prematurely interrupted by rain. Nonetheless, it was very reminiscent of my 'straight days', when I would have sex with the man-woman Nicole outside all the time...beach, forest, lakes, lifeguard stands, tree stands, etc. I think its been 10 years since good outdoor sex. Sad. But hopefully "times, they are a' changin."

Commitment

Over the last few years--a veritable drought when it comes to successful dating--I've wondered whether I am relationship capable. As mentioned before, I've never held a relationship with a guy for more than a year. Sad. And at 30, I felt like my biological clock is ticking *pounds foot on the floor a la Marissa Tome.* I mean, if you cant have at least ONE successful long term relationship in your 20's, when you're energetic and good looking, can it be done with such ease later? Well to make a long story short...you all know about The Musician--to whom I affectionately call "lesbian" due to his emotional, relationship-oriented nature. I definietly had a period of "Let's wait and see; We need to take it slower; Let's not rush into this." While I knew that was the healthy thing to do, I still had GCC in the back of my head screaming that I'm 'cold'. Well I think I've emerged through all of that now, and am better for it--or should I say we are.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is the old adage. Between my week-long trip to New Orleans--facing temptation from all the guys there, and this unforunate law-related incident that we've had to deal with (not to mention him living in South Bumblefuck), I've realized that this really is (as Martha would say) "a good thing."

So here comes the committment part...yesterday before sending him off for the weekend, we booked a cruise for the weekend after my 30th birthday--I was planning to be in FL for a swim meet, and I also wanted to treat myself to something nice. And what is better for relaxation, pampering, and fun than a cruise? So this is what we're doing (link). So yea...now I'm locked into the guy til after April. But that's just fine by me.

All cultural and shit...

Last night The Musician decided to take me out for a night of cultural exploration. As a classical musician, with a MS in conducting (??) and soon to be starting his PhD in the same field, I was out of my league with regard to subject expertise. A rarity for this Aries. Alas, the agenda for the night was dinner at Sequoia followed by a night with the National Symphony Orchestra, featuring violin virtuoso Sarah Chang--at the Kennedy Center. My reviews follow:

Sequoia:
I've always heard good things about this place from The Mexican and the GCC's object of lust. I, however, was not impressed. I started with a glass of Malbec--not bad. We then shared the appetizer of lobster chipotle spring rolls. As a food snob, these were poorly executed. The taste of lobster was undetectable, just the texture. Instead, the palate was over inundated with the fatty textures from the outer fried covering of the spring roll, and the chipotle remoulade-like sauce inside. I gave it a D.

My entree was the seafood stew--being a cold rainy night, I thought this was perfect, but not too heavy less I become drowsy at the NSO. The presentation was huge...a large dish probably 16" in diameter. In it was 1/2 lobster, several scallops, shrimp, swordfish (though the waiter said salmon), and mussels. Lobster was alright, the scallops were a tad overcooked, the sword was good, mussels were old and tasteless, and the shrimp--wow. They came in two sizes, normal ones with the tails on, which were good, and the mini kind you see in very cheap appetizer plates, way overcooked. The saffron broth was enjoyable, along with the crostini with lobster mousse. I give it a B or B-.

Desert was a creme brulee--very nicely done. I do enjoy a nice relatively think brulee crust, so I was happy. I give it an A-.


The National Symphony Orchestra:
The performance was divided into three pieces, the beginning was The Overture to the Magic Flute (Mozart), followed by Corigliano's Symphony #2, and then Brahms' Concerto in D Major for Violin.

I do enjoy Mozart, and the performance of the Magic Flute was quite excellent--though I had to adjust to Leonard Slatkins somewhat odd conducting style, which I will not treat here. Corigliano was boring. He's a contemporary composer, and was, in fact, in attendance. The beginning reminded me of the them to Psycho, the remainder wasn't any better. Brahms was alright--not my favorite piece by him. But Chang did blow us away with her cadenzas in the piece.

Its the thought that counts

I've mentioned before that I'm a food snob. I wouldn't call myself a "foodie", since I don't go around to all the latest and greatest restaurants trying to experience the newest culinary concoctions. But I am sometimes overly critical of food preparations and ingredients. Unfortunately, this means I often assert my prowess in friends' kitchens--I cant help it, its an Aries trait. Now I'm not the world's best cook, by any means. I'm probably just slightly better than the average 29yr old male. So naturally, living with the Imelda and having the opportunity to entertain for our friends makes me happy, along with cooking for the Musician. However, this also means he feels the necessity to return the favor, as happened the other night.

I commuted my ass down to Dumfries, where he lives. The plan was dinner and a movie--but he was going to cook. I was very optimistic. He sent me a text mid-day asking if I like blue cheese. Usually, any recipe that uses a good Roquefort or Gorgonzola gets a gold star in my book. Nope...that just went on the salad. Nice touch though. But the main course: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. Sounds good right? Except the turkey was some kind of pressed turkey-like meat substance in a loaf form, with gelatinous gravy. Mmmmm. The mashed potatoes were boxed. Mmmmm. And the broccoli was frozen in cheese sauce. Actually pretty mmmm (again, cheese). But I will admit, I love the idea of a man cooking for me, especially after a tiring day at work. "A for Effort" or should it be "Affort"?

The End of an Era

...well almost. But its rapidly approaching.

I know you're all craving juicy sexual gossip and personal stories, so here goes...I last successfully bottomed around 2002 (though I tried once in 2004, didn't work). Most loyal readers, friends, and everyday passers by have a hard time believing I'm not a total bottom, let alone a top. But I've always said that its just cause I haven't had the "opportunity"...really, I've just resisted since I've either dated someone too horse-hung or a total bottom. But now I've been dating The Musician for about a month--and as a vers/top he expects some ass. Being a manageable size, I'm willing to try this. And I did mention something to him about "when ya come back from Chicago"...which is in two days. I know what he's gonna try to do as soon as he sees me. But, being the controlling Aries, I did lay conditions: not late at night, not drunk, etc. That gives me a few more days reprieve...so I figure something like Jan 1 or 3.

Stay tuned for updates (and funny walks).

The Musician

Sorry I've been away for so long--I know you're all starving for juicy gossip. Between work and men, I've been quite the busy bee lately. Let's break this down a bit...

Work: This week I've done 4 states in 4 days. Monday: Delaware; Tuesday: Ohio; Wednesday: Maryland; Thursday: Florida. Much of this is related to our much anticipated, largest annual conference in New Orleans starting January 20. And for those of you in the government and contracting sectors, you'll be quite amazed that I've somehow gotten work for free out of a contracting company, albeit the one I work for. What a coup!

Men: I've been dating a guy for the last two weeks. Longest streak in years! I really enjoy his company--and even the Mexican has given his initial blessing, though the Imelda is quite jealous that he's taking away her husband, I suspect. I am resisting getting sucked into the lesbian relationship, so I'm going to start setting some ground rules soon--otherwise I'll never get to the gym, swimming, or see my friends. Cant have that. Plus he likes to be controlled, so I'm sure he'll go with these restrictions.

Oh right...he is called "The Musician" because he plays in a band. No, not some 930 Club'esque gay punk band. Nope, the Air Force ceremonial band. He plays the euphonium. Sexy? Well, at least when he's wearing the uniform it is!!