I've been sick, sick, sick this year.  First a sinus infection.  Took a Zpac for that.  Then came down with some horrible GI thing right after I vacationed in West Virginia around my birthday.  That lasted 4 days.  And that's a long time when you're back and forth to the..um...facilities for 4 straight days.  Now, it's some lower respiratory thing.  Been coughing like crazy for about 10 days now.  Nothing is helping.  Cough suprressants, expectorants, hybrids of the 2...nothing.  Going to the doctor in 2 days.  Was SENT home from work today because my boss said "You can't even fuckin' breathe.  I can't have you coughing all night like this.  Go home and get some rest!".  Was at my sister's this past weekend.  She's an RN.  I was in her house for about 1 hour when she sent her other half for the stethoscope and listened to my lungs.  Says I probably have bronchitis.  Lungs are congested in the upper back area.  We'll see what the dr. says....

We got into Phoenix at about 9 that night.  Yesterday, we spent the day working our way around the city.  Phoenix is a very spread out city and seems to lack a true center where there are alot of bars, restaraunts and shops all in one place.  We went to this little town square place called the Arizona Center, which basically looked like Downtown Silver Spring, for much of the day.  We went to an Irish bar called Seamus something's in another part of town and that's where these 3 local girls told us to go.  We had already gone there for lunch and were kind of surprised that this was their advice.  Basically, we found Phoenix kind of empty and boring on first impression and from what the local girls were saying, I think we had a pretty accurate impression.  They said all people do there is just drink and that most of the good stuff is out in the suburbs.  Anyway, I found the city pretty and I love the sunshine and warmth, but not too exciting.  It's hard to believe it is a city of over 1,000,000 people when we never saw more than 10 people at once!  Seriously, we'd walk past a mall and nobody would be there.  It was weird.  But we still had a good time.

Last night, we took a dip in the pool and fired up the hot tub.  It was the life:-)
 

Went to the Crab on Friday night with Jassem and a bunch of people from work.  The Crab was hopping.  It was a good time. 

I never ended up going to Jazz's house.  We went back to my place after the Crab and he stayed there through this morning.  We watched "The Happening" and "The Eye" and ate chocolate cream pie. 

Only 12 days left now until we go to Phoenix and 11 days until we go to my parents house.  One of my aunts might be staying there while we're there.  She's my godmother, Peggy.  She used to live in Orlando, but just moved to West Virginia to be closer to the family (my mother's oldest sister, Patty, lives in WV).  It'd be cool to see her.

Thursday was a crazy day.  I went to the Social Security Administration at 21st and M Streets in the morning.  I waited there for about 1 1/2 hours to apply for a new SS card since I lost mine.  They don't give you the card right away- it comes in the mail in 7-10 days.  She gave me stamped and signed forms that I could show the DMV as proof of SS#. 

So, after the SSA, I cabbed it to Georgetown Park Mall to the DMV.  I didn't have to wait there too long- maybe an hour- to get my new license.  It was even a flattering photo.  However, I was taking the bus from Georgetown to Tenleytown and I got about 1/3 the way up when I realized that they'd left a letter out of my last name.  So, I had to go back and get that corrected.  It didn't take too long, though. Maybe 15 minutes.  I don't think the woman who processed my info was the sharpest knife in the drawer.  She got the previous 2 people's cards wrong as well.  She had a woman listed as a man and a dude's address wrong.  I should've read my card REALLY carefully before leaving the DMV!  But, oh well. It was my day off and I had nowhere urgent to be. 

I now have 16 days until Jassem and I go West.  I'm getting pretty excited, but I can't get too excited because I need to focus on other things for the next 2 weeks.  I find it hard to focus when I'm anticipating something, be it good or bad. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to go down to the Social Security office and get a replacement card.  I lost mine ages ago.  Then, I'm going to Georgetown to try to convert my Maryland license to a DC one.  I've been meaning to do this for a long time, but I want to do it now because I may be asked for ID when I go to vote.  I was issued a registration card, but I might be asked to provide an ID or utility bill.  I just switched cable into my name, but may not get a bill before Nov. 4th, so this is the best thing to do.  I've been gathering up documents to take down to the DMV this last week.  I've put it all in a folder.  My mother mailed my birth certificate.  I popped in my last 2 paychecks.  I had my landlady sign off on a proof of residency form with a copy of her ID and a utility bill.  I put my lease in there.  The social security card is all I need, according to the DMV website.  So, the only thing I'm worried about is the vision test.  When I last renewed my Maryland license, I had trouble with the last line.  I feel like my vision hasn't gotten any worse since then and may have improved since I don't strain my eyes as much as I did back then ( little telemarketing lists, driving, etc).  But I still worry.  If I can't get a DL, though, I'll get a non-driver's ID.  Then go get an eye RX and reapply for a license before my Maryland one expries in late January. 

Anyway, if I can wrap this all up early in the afternoon (and with the DMV, you never know), I'm going to try to get up to Tenleytown before 3 to donate blood for Children's hospital.  The van is coming across from work. 

Jassem moved out this past weekend.  I'm going to go to stay at his new house on Capitol Hill on Friday.  I haven't been to it yet. 

MY 100 FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME:

1.THE DRUGS DON'T WORK-The Verve
2.LAST GOODBYE-Jeff Buckley
3.FAKE PLASTIC TREES-Radiohead
4.BADFISH-Sublime
5.BIRD DREAM OF THE OLYMPUS MONS-The Pixies
6.A CHANGE IS GONNA COME-Sam Cooke
7.MOTORWAY TO ROSWELL-The Pixies
8.ADAM'S SONG-Blink 182
9.BRIAN WILSON-Barenaked Ladies
10.ANGEL OF HARLEM-U2
11.COKE-Flickerstick
12.SONNET-The Verve
13.THESE ARE DAYS-10,000 Maniacs
14.EINSTEIN OF THE BEACH (FOR AN EGGMAN)-The Counting Crows
15.UNSINGABLE NAME-Mike Doughty
16.CAROLINA IN MY MIND-James Taylor
17.UNDER PRESSURE-David Bowie and Queen
18.CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA-Oasis
19.ONE-Mettallica
20.BRICK-Ben Folds Five
21.19TH NERVOUS BREAKDOWN-THe Rolling Stones
22.STAY GOLD-Stevie Wonder
23.ALISON-Elvis Costello
24.ODE TO MY FAMILY-The Cranberries
25.ANA'S SONG (OPEN FIRE)-Silverchair
26.ODE TO BILLIE JOE-Bobbie Gentry
27.ON MY BLOCK-Scarface
28.JUPITER (OM TO THE STARS)-The Dermatologist from Dave Kendall's A Voyage into Trance
29.LIVE FOREVER- Oasis
30.WISHLIST- Pearl Jam
31.THESE ARMS OF MINE-Otis Redding
32.MR. BRIGHTSIDE-The Killers
33.TODAY-The Smashing Pumpkins
34.FLOAT ON-Modest Mouse
35.ACROSS THE UNIVERSE-The Beatles
36.HERE'S WHERE THE STORY ENDS-The Sundays
37.WINDOW DISPLAY-Enon
38.THE LAST SONG-Elton John
39.HUMAN NATURE-Michael Jackson
40.PHILADELPHIA-Neil Young
41.WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS-Green Day
42.DON'T SLEEP IN THE SUBWAY-Petula Clark
43.99 RED BALLOONS-Goldfinger
44.THE LIGHT-Common
45.WHY GEORGIA-John Mayer
46.GOOD MORNING HEARTACHE-Billie Holiday
47.(NIGHT TIME IS)THE RIGHT TIME-Ray Charles
48.SHE-Green Day
49.500 (SHAKE BABY SHAKE)-Lush
50.BEAST OF BURDEN-The Rolling Stones
51.EMPTY GARDEN-Elton John
52.SEEIN' RED-Unwritten Law
53.GOONIES R GOOD ENOUGH-Cyndi Lauper
54.YOU ARE MY FRIEND-Patti LaBelle
55.NIGHSHIFT-The Commodores
56.SHIMMER-Fuel
57.DROWNING-The Cleveland Lounge (DJ Micro mix)
58.LAID-James
59.DEAR MAMA-2Pac
60.SOBER-Tool
61.FLAKE-Jack Johnson
62.PLOWED-Sponge
63.KISS OFF-The Violent Femmes
64.CULT OF PERSONALITY-Living Colour
65.SEX AND CANDY-Marcy Playground
66.I AIN'T MAD AT YA-2Pac
67.HOLY SPIRIT-Edward Lewis from Mix Taboo: The Underground Sound of DC mixed by DJ Aou
68.NATIVE NEW YORKER-Odyssey
69.TUCKER'S TOWN-Hootie and the Blowfish
70.THE SWEETNESS-Jimmy Eat World
71.I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES-Elton John
72.WISH YOU WERE HERE-Incubus
73.FAMILY BUSINESS-Kanye West
74.PEPPER-The Butthole Surfers
75.I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES-The Beach Boys
76.BETTE DAVIS EYES-Kim Carnes
77.(YOU MAKE ME FEEL)MIGHTY REAL-Sylvester
78.NOT IF YOU WERE THE LAST JUNKIE ON EARTH-The Dandy Warhols
79.OOH CHILD-The Five Stairsteps
80.CLOSER TO FINE-The Indigo Girls
81.WEAK-SWV
82.AQUARIUS/LET THE SUN SHINE-The 5th Dimension
83.RED RED WINE-UB40
84.BABYLON-David Gray
85.SADIE-R. Kelly
86.VALERIE-Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
87.MR. TAMBOURINE MAN-Bob Dylan
88.EVE OF DESTRUCTION-Barry McGuire
89.INNER CITY BLUES (MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER)-Marvin Gaye
90.SOLD-Enon
91.THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE (STAY GOLD)-Deep Dish featuring Everything but the Girl
92.BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY-Fergie
93.CRAZY-Gnarls Barkley
94.NO ONE-Alicia Keys
95.HURDY GURDY MAN-Donovan
96.WHITE LINES (DON'T DO IT)-Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
97.THEY REMINISCE OVER YOU-Pete Rock and CL Smooth
98.WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG-The Killers
99.DARE YOU TO MOVE-Switchfoot
100. IT HURTS LIKE HELL-Aretha Franklin

It's been a little while, again, since I last posted.  I'm going to try to get on track again, but things have been busy.

Tomorrow, I host our Client Care department cookout here at the house.  We should have 15-20 people total throughout the day.  It runs from 11-6, officially, but I expect a few stragglers later into the evening, which is fine.  Some of these folks don't get off until 4:30pm.  And there will be a keg, so some people may be drunk and drunk people don't like to leave parties.  It's all good.  As long as they're out by midnight 'cause I gotta work on Sunday.

Been watching more political coverage and looking at poll numbers as we head into the final stretch of the presidential campaigns.  These polls really are fuckery.  For example, I saw 4 polls of North Carolina taken within 3 days...2 said McCain was ahead there by 20 and 17 points respectively and 2 said he was ahead by 3 and 4 points respectively.  WTF?  Alot of the polls are like this.  Yesterday, Quinnipac had Obama ahead by 5 in Ohio and another couple of polls had McCain ahead by 4 points and 1 point respectively there.   USA Today/Gallup had McCain up 10 points last week, but the poll that Wall Street Journal does with either NBC or ABC (??) had Obama up by 1 in the same time period.  These polls seem to make little sense.   Then, I looked and saw that alot of these polls take between 800 and 1000 respondents.  Especially for the National polls, how can you even pretend to guage the vote leaning of a nation of over 300 million on 1000 people's responses?  If you have a poll of 800 people, that's, what? 16 people from each state?  Goofy.  No wonder Kerry was ahead in the polls pre the 2004 election and lost.  Polls, especially National polls which don't reflect the makeup of the electoral college, mean little.  But it doesn't stop me from looking at them every day.  I'm just obsessed.

Weather is another obsession of mine and it is now Houston/Galveston needing our thoughts and prayers.  And it looks like they will REALLY be needing them.  Been watching the news today.  Ike is nowhere near them- still at least 12 hours from landfall- and parts of the Texas seacoast are already seriously flooding.  They're just starting to get Tropical Storm force winds on Galveston Island and it hasn't really started raining much there yet, but the storm surge is already up to something like 8 feet because Ike is so huge.  It doesn't have the strongest winds of all time (will hit as a strong 2/weak 3), but its sheer size is going to cause alot of problems.  The thing is like 700 feet across and headed to a very populated region.

Getting excited for Arizona.  I think we now have 41 or 42 days left until we leave.  It's hard to wait, but as impatient as I am, I'm doing ok;-)  As I believe I wrote last week, everything is now taken care of.  We reserved our plane tickets, hotel rooms, campsite, and shuttles.  The only stuff I have left to do is buy hiking boots, possibly hiking poles, and thick socks for hiking.  Jassem is lending me a hiking backpack a water bladder and some jackets for those 3 cold nights we'll spend sleeping at the Canyon.  The rest of my preparation is basically just making sure I save alot of spending money for the trip so I can enjoy myself without worrying about cash restrictions.

Kat moved out last weekend.  She went back to North Carolina.  We're gonna miss the hell out of her.  We spent the Saturday before she left together.  We went to a couple of museums and acted a fool and then went for dinner at Zorba's Greek restaraunt in Dupont Circle.  I'll post the pix shortly.

Right now, its just the 4 of us: Jassem, Peter, Frank, and I, living at the house.  We'll probably have a new roommate soon.

Between the 2 of us, Jazz and I have booked everything for Arizona.  Jassem got us the plane tickets and booked the campground.  I reserved the hotels and shuttles (Phoenix to Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon and back).  So, now, we're just waiting around to go.  And it's almost 2 months from now.  I'm really excited, but it's still like 7 weeks away.  I HATE waiting!:-(

We have Tropical Storm Hanna on the way tomorrow.  She's supposed to hit us worst during the afternoon tomorrow with up to 40mph sustained winds and tons of rain.  So, I anticipate a housebound Saturday and that's okay.  I'm trying to conserve my money for the trip.

Submitted my voter registration change today.  I know, I've only lived in DC for 3 years.   I'm the procrastinator from hell.  I've been voting over in Maryland, but cannot do that this year because it will be too hard to get from the house to my polling place to work and back before 1:30pm.  I work that day.  If I'm registered in DC, our polling place is like 3 blocks away. 

Oh, and I've lost 12lb in the last few months!  Definite progress!