Trebs

Chatting with someone about Broadway and he reminded me of all of the various Disney musicals as well - which made me pull up "Hunchback of Notre Dame" - listening to "Out There" - makes my eyes water... Sooo many great memories. Not only of the movie - but Disneyland did a "Festival of Fools" stageshow that ended in early 1998 that I LOVED. And sooooo miss that show. December of 1997 I took a week and spent it at a friends - and just went to the Park every day to see the show over and over again...

It can be stereotypical, but I am definitely a HUGE fan of Broadway Musicals. Dan likes a few - rare few unfortunately. Right now, I'm sitting with earphones on listening to "Spring Awakening" - one of my MAJOR favorites. When I first got the CD, I listened to it over and over and over and (well - you get the hint). DROVE Dan crazy - "Oh - that one again"... Previous favorite was Wicked, which thankfully was one that he DID like (and that we got to see in LA a couple of years back). One of the other current favorites to me is the new version of Company - with Raul Esparza. The original Company was FANTASTIC - but this version was much deeper and richer - and made even more so when I was able to get the Blu-ray DVD of the production. I wish more shows would release production DVD's. Rent's translation to DVD was.... eh ... ok. But to have been able to see the original in New York was so much more, even though I was there on a night when Mark was played by an understudy (but most of the other original cast was on hand). What I wouldn't give to have access to the Lincoln Center's archives and be able to watch all of the various original productions from over the years. I once chatted with someone I met via an online game who was a Equity/guild member and producer and DID have access - I offered to be his houseboy to just be able to go with him to those archives. He did expose me to two musicals I wouldn't have checked out on my own, Working and Side Show - BOTH fantastic (the LA Theatre Works version of Working is my favorite). I could go on and on - from the productions I've been fortunate enough to see, to the various movies and CD's that are out there... Sondheim, Schwartz, Bernstein, Rodgers&Hammerstein... So many things to be passionate about... Um - that is - if anyone else is interested in chatting about it... Chime in - let''s here your two cents :-)

Song lyrics were amazing... and totally get your state. Usually I'm the one trying to keep others a bit more chipper, but lately seems like I can't even generate enough lightning to see where I even am myself - heh. Bottom line - yes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, BUT you not only have good intentions, you follow them up with good deeds which I think is what the other road is made from. You have a great heart, and sometimes are rat-f*cked over by fate - but you're making the best of it. PLUS you KNOW you have a large number of shoulders around the WORLD to cry on or bolster you up anytime you need.

One life you are a huge prick, the next life you get to enjoy one ;-) Just wait - you're still young yet...

Kind of reminds me of a joke a good friend used to tell in college: "I used to say that I was bisexual so I had twice the chance for dates on a Friday night. Now I'm gay so I only have to deal with half as many rejections on a Friday night." That was a joke. Where you oversimplify people and how they react - like assuming that relationships are easier with one gender or the other. Each person is going to be different - one reason that one man may have an easier time dating a woman rather than a man is that for that man, he can communicate and relate easier with women. Other men, may find that to be the exact opposite case. There are so many elements in dating, in relationships that to try to trivialize it down to access or sociatial pressures is totally missing the boat. A bisexual - is a person who emotionally, romantically, physically, etc can have a relationship with a person of their own or of the opposite gender. But JUST like gay men, lesbians, and straight people - it eventually is going to be the interaction of the two individuals, and that is a COMPLEX equation under ANY circumstances. Common interests, physical flirting and mystery, mutual respect, shared history - what Nicholas is going through unfortunately is not uncommon at all. He thought Drew was available (but sorry - when anyone just gets out of a relationship, it's unlikely they are mentally/emotionally ready to move on and start a new one) - but Drew is still remembering the times with the girlfriend and wants that back - not necessarily because she is a woman Drew is stuck in limbo until he can work out his own issues. Maybe at that point Nicholas, you and Drew can try again.... but give him time to get his balance back. But in the meantime, trivializing it, giving into stereotypes, and especially just downplaying women as being easier to have relationships with (lol - um, try that one with two lesbians and ask if they agree with *THAT* statement)... well - I think we can all here help to raise the level of discourse to help those in need... Nicholas - in the meantime, hate to say - just give Drew support and friendship. Something new may come out of it again, but give it time.

And even MORE Purple Ticket stories - a whole Facebook group of them

Dan and I were not the only Purple Ticket nightmare stories (though compared to these two other stories, ours was mild).

BTW - just got back from dinner. We weren't sure where we wanted to go - and once more, Open Table FTW! Knew we wanted to eat around 8PM and thought we'd finally go up to Dupont Circle - and ended up at the Russia House - which was FANTASTIC!!! Food was sooooo good - and Dan saw they had a "vodka sampler" - so he got that. He doesn't drink very much - so it was a rare indulgence. Now - SLEEP :-)

Lol - well, plans and all that - don't ALWAYS work out - but sometimes it's for the best. To better explain - one of the other things I wanted to make sure to do while here is get same-day cancellations envelopes as gifts for each of the people in Dr Spear's office as well as my best nurses. 12 years ago at Clinton's 2nd Inauguration which I came to with my mom, the main post office sold a set of three envelopes - one of Clinton and Gore with a DC cancellation, one of Clinton alone with Little Rock cancellation and one of Gore with Nashville cancellation - all dated Jan 20. I bought these and had a local framing shop matte them as one piece and it is my main souvenir item of the 97 Inauguration. So this time - I wanted to just get the single envelope as gifts. So - saw something finally online that looked like the Postal Museum (which is next to Union Station and 3 blocks from my hotel) would open at 8AM and have stuff. So while Dan got ready to go over to the Purple Standing section, I first went to the Post office and Postal Museum (they're in the same building). The Post Office said the Postal Museum wasn't open yet - but they (the post office) did have a cheesy sealed item for $14.95 - but not what I was looking for (but I still got one for myself). But they said they should have items about 10 AM when the Postal Museum opened. Ok - so after the Inauguration ceremony, I figure I'd head back. 8:15 or so I'm back the hotel - Dan's ready and we leave for the entrance to the Purple section. And..... CHAOS!!! The tickets said gates would open at 8AM (though some signage said 9AM) - and all around were just crowds, none of whom knew exactly what was going on. Where there should have been the entrance to the Purple section (according to the map), instead were crowds who all had Yellow tickets and were saying they were in line for the Yellow entrance. We kept moving back (further east from the Capitol) but still not sure where we were, when the gates would open, where EXACTLY the gate was. We'd see a large crowd movement, start towards it, and then everything stood still again. About 9:10AM, we did finally see people on the OTHER side of the barriers and moving towards the mags (large metal detectors, like at airports). Then we saw where those people were entering - DOH - BACK where we originally thought but which had been blocked by the yellow ticket people. We try to start moving that way - but was slow going and since everyone ELSE also saw the crowds moving, was getting VERY dense. It got actually scary and very claustrophic and panic-inducing - and after really not seeing much movement, Dan and I just decided to get out of there. (Later we heard that the mags for the purple section actually broke and they were hand-wanding people - which would be one more reason the lines were moving so slow). It still took about 5 minutes of going against the flow - telling people that we were LEAVING, "please can we get through" - before getting out of the crowd (still in a "crowd" - but one where we could move more freely). And a few minutes later, we were back at our hotel (about 10AM), figuring we would watch it at a watch party we knew was going on in our hotel. The main ceremony wouldn't start until noon - so after relaxing for a little bit, I figured - hey, it's after 10AM, I'll go back to the post office and try again. So - Post Office - nothing happening in there. No problem - down the hallway and I was in the Postal Museum. And after not seeing any lines, asked a security guard "Where are they selling the same-day cancellation Inauguration items?" Another museum employee was just coming up to brief the guard so both of us listened - supposedly the Postal Store WOULD have some items, but they were en-route and wouldn't be there for 20 minutes. Ok - that wasn't bad... I looked around a few of the exhibits for 20 minutes then went into the Postal Store. ACK - one clerk, who was cancelling items that the three people in line had brought in on their own. After 5 minutes she finally came back to the window and I asked if they were going to be offering anything OTHER than the cheesy $14.95 item - "Nope". DOH... On my way out - one more try, I went up to the counter at the Post Office and asked once more - is there anything they had Inauguration related other than the $14.95 item. The clerk said no - BUT - he then pulls out a very nice envelope with Obama's picture and a BIG Jan 20 cancellation - JUST what I was looking for. He says "This is my personal one - but they are selling them at a US Mail truck kiosk at the corner of "F" and New Jersey"... OMFG Um - that's one block north of my hotel - the one thing I've been looking for all this time was SO close to my hotel. So I left - headed to F and New Jersey and sure enough, they had the envelopes. I got a batch of them and made it back to the hotel JUST in time to join up with Dan at the watch party. YAY. The ceremony - was FANTASTIC. I teared up quite a few times... And the watch party was warm, had food - lol. Dan and I agree that it's pretty much a good thing that we couldn't get into the Purple section. OH - and one thing we almost regretted was not leaving before 8:15AM to try to get into the Purple section. Until we ran into another group at the watch party - that left at 6AM this morning, and ALSO didn't get into the Purple section. Long day is done (though it's not even 6PM here) - Dan and I are in the hotel room, still coasting off a major endorphin high from today. We're both feeling great, and just happy for this new era that has dawned. We're still here in DC until late afternoon on Thursday - not sure exactly what we're doing tomorrow, but likely to hit up a few more of the Smithsonians. At some point, we're gonna try to get out to the new Air and Space annex Museum that is out near Dulles airport (which is where we are flying out of - so we might go early, check in all the luggage, take a cab to the museum then back and fly home.

The feeling here in Washington, DC is .... electric just doesn't give it justice. Dan and I are on SUCH a euphoric high right now - especially with some wonderful recent developments. But to catch up first - a few people mentioned how much healthier I look in recent pictures (Rigel/MarkA) and I want to thank them. And a big part is that I do FEEL great these past two days. One week ago - um, not so much. See, I got out of the hospital last on Jan 2 and for a week, did fairly well. I mean, the first two days were a little tiring, but then from Tues through Sat (the 10th), I had great energy, was doing housework and getting all of the preparation done for the Inauguration trip. Then Sunday, I was a little tired, but also had some mouthsores (unusual little sore at tip of tongue, and two other sores near where I have rough tooth areas). I had my regularly scheduled doctor visit for the week on Wed as I was flying the next morning. On monday, didn't things were that big - and "I'm seeing the doctor in 2 days". But Tuesday morning, was feeling a lot more tired and the mouth sores were getting worse. So called first thing and the receptionist said "sure - come in at 2PM". As soon as Doctor Spears saw my mouth, "Oh - looks like you have low platelets" and got my blood tested. Sure thing - platelets should be in a range of 140-440. Mine were 14 - and red blood numbers weren't good either. He gets on the phone and tells the hospital "I have a stat admit for platelet transfusion." Well..... um - this was about 3. I finally got admitted at 5PM - and finally go the platelets at 11PM (lol - wonder how long non-stat would have been). He also ordered after the platelets to give me two units of red blood cells. Immediately I started feeling better (getting Dan to start calling me his "little vampire - a little blood and he perks right up"). Wed morning, Dr Spears looks at my new blood tests - says that I look really good and the numbers are now healthy, BUT - just cause I'm flying the next morning, he ordered one more unit of platelets ("stat" again of course - but this time I got the platelets around 10:30 AM). So we got on the plane in the morning, and about 4:30PM eastern, landed in Baltimore. After a VERY long bus ride to the metro stop, we then took the metro to Union Station and walked over to our hotel (just a few blocks north of the Capitol building). Friday - FRIGID with BLASTS of cold wind. But we went out in the morning to see the Smithsonian Castle and have breakfast there, then over to the Air and Space Museum. We had arranged through our Congresswoman a tour of the Capitol at 12:30. So after a quick lunch, we checked in and (as usual this weekend), TOTALLY lucked out. The tour of 16 of us - turned into just 6 as a group of 10 got their days mixed up and thought their tour was on Saturday. Made it a much more intimate group and we were all able to talk to Hillary, an intern in Congresswoman Matsui's office who was fantastic in showing us first around the brand new Capitol visitors center, then through the rotunda, up to the House Gallery (unfortunately they were not in session), and then through a few other rooms (Statuary Hall and the old Supreme Court Chambers). Got back to the hotel after that and IMMEDIATELY got into a tub of nice hot water and just soaked for half an hour. The wind - when it blows, its like it gets the cold deep into my hip and leg bones. Pretty much just relaxed for the rest of the evening, though helped out my work with a few small organizing items (crossmatching lists, etc). Saturday, we met up with Sonoluminus and her husband, the "Other Joe". I have known Marie for 6 years and 3 months (or so) - since we met in The Sims Online and we've stayed friends since, mainly through AIM but this was the FIRST time we finally met. The four of us chatted for a bit before heading to the American History Museum for a while. Spent - oh, 4 hours there and still only saw about 1/3 of the place - fantastic gallerys and exhibits. Headed back to the hotel to rest up for a bit before dinner - we ended up going to Ruth Chris Steak House in Arlington. Didn't take too long to get to Crystal City (the area the restaurant is in and the name of the Metro stop for the area) - lol - but then we wandered through the complex trying to find the EXACT place of the steakhouse. We got there just 10 minutes late - so no big. I'd never been to a Ruth Chris before (though have been to Morton's which is similar) - we all had GREAT meals and just a lot of fun finally really getting to know each other. Dan and "Other Joe" both totally snapped together as two peas in a pod - they love to discuss politics as well as a wide variety of other item. Dan and I have also gotten Joe and Marie to start playing LOTRO recently, so we talked about the game quite a bit as well. We slept in a bit Sunday morning and headed over to Union Station for the GetTogether, getting there about 10 minutes to noon. Immediately saw David (Lit'lBuddha) and quickly got to greet Sharon, Anna, Rigel, Marie and "Other Joe". The restaurant has an inside section as well as a few tables in the more main station portion. They gave us one of those station tables and at first, it was ideal as we could keep an eye out for Robbie who was running a little late (actually, he was there, he just didn't find a map or anyone he could ask where the Thunder Grill was at). Started with two plates of sampler appetizers for the table. Robbie was there soon enough and we ordered - VERY good food but... um.... service was a little... lacking. And then, after some initial great conversation (some that Dan monopolized at the beginning but then soon spread the wealth) - well, about midway through the meal, we get LOUD drumming and other.... wonderful music. It did die down a few times, but the music in the main station did distract from being able to speak across the table. After the meal was over, with Marie and Joe having to go (to drive back to North Carolina), and Robbie, Sharon and Anna also heading off - Dan, David, Rigel and myself ended up looking around Union Station shops a bit more, first the bookstore and then, as Rigel puts it, the amethyst started pulling me invisibilly toward their store. I fell in LOVE with the two pieces I posted pics on - and like I said, I have been looking for a nice amethyst dangler for my necklace for a while. Sunday night, my work had a party at the Air and Space Museum - "Fly me to the Moon" California Gala from 8PM to Midnight. Dan and I went over and had a great time - especially seeing many friends that I hadn't seen in a few years. And amazingly for a political event, the food was GOOD and plenty. We didn't want to overtire me, so we took off about 10:30 and took a cap back to the hotel (only a $10 fare, inc the tip - not bad at all). Today (Monday), we slept in. Our day's plan was to take the Metro to the Arlington station, go see the cemetery, then head over to the bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, catching as well the Vietnam and WW2 Memorials. At that point, thought we'd take a cab back to the hotel. So - beginning of the plan worked out good - we had bagels in the hotel room, relaxed and then took the metro to Arlington. After a quick stop at the visitor's center, we went up to JFK's eternal flame and looked around for a while. Walked from there out of the cemetary just taking in all of the views - as we got closer to the Potomac, you can see the Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson Memorials all across the way (and took a few pics of all three in one pic). We also saw a TON of ice floes in the river which is not something we see in Sacramento. Got to the Lincoln Memorial but the crown was a bit much, so just wandered down the mall, looking at the WW2 memorial, Washington Memorial and at the point we were originally going to take off - both of us felt good just a little hungry. So we kept on walking, looking at the buildings and people - grabbing hot dogs at a streetside vendor and just totally enjoying the day. The nice thing - where as Friday was bad with the winds, Saturday, Sunday and today were very mild as far as winds and the temps have been going up a little each day as well. Well - to cut to the chase - we ended up walking all the length of the Mall, all the way back to our hotel. And TOTALLY felt good - a little footsore but nothing that was chemo and/or lymphoma related. The hotel restaurant was a 30 minute wait for seating, so we headed up and ordered room service and just kicked back. THEN I get a phone call. It's my boss - they have two standing tickets for the Inauguration that were not being claimed -- my boss asked "Did Dan and you want them".... um... ummmmm.... HELL YES!!! Especially when we saw the seats - here is the seating chart and we are in the Purple Standing area. The other fantastic thing - the entry to Purple Standing is 2 blocks from the hotel. If we had gotten Blue Seating - comparable as to view - it would probably take us an extra 40 minutes just to get around to the entry area. Yesterday - I would have said no. But considering what I could do today (without pushing it) - I think I can easily handle standing for 4 hours (from about 9AM until 1PM). So - Dan and I are totally stoked, all ready and prepared and going to be RIGHT there to see the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama II. This is something that Dan and I have worked for - have hoped for - and now are going to see this ceremony that starts the next best stage of what we hope will be a long start of prosperity and peace. But for now - lol - after writing all of this - BEDTIME. As soon as I can tomorrow, if I can put anything in words (or pictures), I'll update.

Lunch was fantastic - no problem meeting up with everyone and I think everyone had a great time (I know I did). I put up some pictures. For some reason, I had a problem uploading the pictures as a gallery here - but I put them on my website. They are at: www.rjws.com/Jan09 Most pictures are self-descriptive except: GoatShot.JPG - Looks like CJ has set up shop locally Goat - Detail.JPG - and his menu is based on SNL scripts... Jewelry1.JPG and Jewelry2.JPG - ok, these aren't officially part of the lunch. I'm not too much of a jewelry person. 14 years ago, my mom gave me a necklace she had gotten - she didn't want and I LOVED it and wear it all the time since. It's gold and platinum. Before that, I never wore any jewelry and the only other jewelry I've worn since is my ring (in my avatar) as well as a triangular amethyst earring that Dan and I both wear in our right ear (and got the night we moved in together). In the last few years, I've been looking around for an amethyst dangler that I could wear on my necklace - have seen a few that were ok, but nothing special. Today, after the lunch, Rigel, Rknapp, Dan and I kept looking around Union Station (where we had lunch at the Thunder Grill) - and found a little jewelry shop with WONDERFUL pieces. I fell in love with one of them, and the owner of the store saw me drooling over it at the window and called me in to look closer. As I'm looking, and at other (she had a TON of nice pieces - probably 100 in amethyst, and similar ones in aquamarine and other gemstones). I looked at the one piece I loved (Jewelry2.JPG) - and while looking, she told me two things. One that for the inauguration, she was doing a buy one, get one free OR if that was the only one I wanted, it was $155 but she would sell it to me for $140. I then caught another piece in the corner of my eye and pulled it out and - OMG - loved it even more (Jewelry1.JPG). It was $200 - and I took my necklace off in the store and put each on to see how they would look WITH the necklace and just was soooo WANTING both. I grabbed Dan (who was outside still talking to Rigel and Rknapp) - and... umm... my sweetie saw how MUCH was wanting them and said it was ok to get both (for the $200 cost - WOOT - so saved us $155!!!). Am in LOVE with them (not to mention Dan who let me get them). Everyone else who was there - chime in with your thoughts. I'll post more later - but right now - naptime so I have energy for a party Dan and I are going to tonight at the Air and Space Museum.

Just got back to the hotel - FANTASTIC time at lunch. Pictures and more will be posted soon.

The GetTogether for tomorrow is all set - all the attendees should have received a reminder from me today. Looking forward to seeing everyone - and we'll try to post some pictures as soon as we can. Trebs PS - If anyone finds themselves able to join us in Washington, DC tomorrow (Sunday) at noon but did not RSVP - send me a PM by 11AM Eastern time - after that, I'll be offline and can't forward the location. But ANYONE is welcome to join us.

OH GAWD... I mean - GREAT!!! Though Dan has now been officially notified that he can NOT get drunk with you EVERY single night we are out there (MAX 6 of the 7 nights)...

Not my fault you were President of that club...

Sorry - I should have been clearer - yes, as it gets closer, we'll set an exact site to meet up, specifically whatever place we're having lunch at. At this time, I was just throwing out for planning purposes when and that it likely either be near the Mall or Dupont Circle. One thing tho that I've done in the past - ONLY those that have confirmed that they are attending will be given the actual meeting location. While ANYONE here is welcome to join us, I will not be posting the actual location just to ensure we know who will be there (ok - it might be slightly paranoid, but basically, no stalkers).

Sorry for letting this hang for a little bit, but it looks clear that Sunday is the better day. So: Sunday, January 18th - Noon (til probably 1:30PM if you are driving in/out) Somewhere in Washington, DC (suggestions???) - thinking either near the mall or near Dupont Circle. Basically just some nice simple (and not too loud) place to grab a table for 10 for lunch. Known attendees: Trebs (Robert) DKstories (Dan) Sat8997 (Sharon plus Anna) Rigel SonoLuminus plus guest rknapp (Robbie) **Adding: LittleBuddhaWT (David) Looks like Rakuten06 (John) won't be able to make it and UEnigma (Eric) is a question mark for right now. If there is anyone else who would be able to make it - let me know either by posting here or send me a PM.

Dan and I had a FANTASTIC time at Disneyland - was a great "get-away" vacation for us. I go back into the hospital tomorrow morning for the B2 round (so just two more rounds after this - and this round will be 4-5 days in the hospital so out by Friday at the latest). Otherwise - things are all going well here. I should be online during this week - but just to get it out of the way - wishing a very Happy New year to all...

In a little under 2 hours, Dan and I will get on the road and drive to Anaheim. This trip is his Christmas gift to me - and it is a PERFECT one. I've been feeling SO housebound. We're driving down today, and coming back on Friday - so just 4 days trip but the main thing is being together and out of the house! Health numbers all looked good when I visited the doctor yesterday (standard weekly appointment) and we're all set for my next chemo in-patient round which will start next Monday. Lastly, to all - especially all of my friends who have been sending us support in so many ways - I wish you all the best of this holiday season and a fantastic new years!

Thank you to all - esp my non-GA friends who made accounts here to follow da blog :-) The past few days since I got on Wednesday night have basically had me in bed or on the couch the whole time. I've got some condition where standing (or worse sitting) causes a tension headache that just keeps growing - almost to a blinding stage. The WEIRD aspect is as SOON as I lay day, it starts going way, and other than "recovering" from having had the pain, it can be all gone in a minute. As long as I stay laying down, I'm ok. I thought it was tied to getting two drugs intrathecally (sp? - well, means injected into the base of the spinal column). That happened on Tues afternoon so I called the doctor on Friday to check if three days of having this was excessive - um, no... he had been more wondering when I might start having NORMAL chemo reactions... So far, I've just been sooo fortunate to have very minimal side-effects. But he said this one (and had some condition name that made me think of spiders - "arachni-blah-blah condition") was a normal thing, and could go on for a week, so no worries at this point. I have a follow up with him tomorrow (Monday) and other than being vertical, life's not been too bad. And for anyone who went to the DC Get-Together thread, I updated it today with a poll...

I modified this thread to add a poll to see if we got together on Sunday, if it would be better for more people... And John/Robbie/Eric/Matt - I'm not ignoring your responses - I got something in mind to chat with you about, I've just been out of it for the past few days....

First things first - Dan and I are going to the Inauguration and if anyone wants to meet up for lunch on Saturday, Jan 17th in DC, I started a thread. Overall, my health has been going pretty well. I'm in the hospital right now - got here last Thursday for my "A2" round and I should get out tomorrow night. My next "stay" won't be until Dec 29th (so I will be here for New Years for the "B2" round). But the nice thing is I should be fully functional during Christmas time - and Dan and I are looking at going to Disneyland for the holiday. This last month has been a bit tough - the "A" round of drugs has been good - not a lot of side-effects and the minors ones I have I know how to deal with now. But the "B" round, ugh - afterwards everyday was a bit different with most of it filled with huge fatigue and just getting up to eat and immediately going back to bed. And part of it, made me feel so useless and bleh - Dan helped A TON with my mood and I know, it's part of going through chemo and on the good side, also shows that the drugs ARE actually doing what they need to (my blood numbers keep coming back really well). So - ya, have to get through it, and totally horrible but CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS ALL TO END! Heh ;-)

Not an "official" GA Get-Together (still trying to work on something for later in 2009) BUT: Dan and I at this point ARE planning on being in Washington, DC for the Inauguration (which is Tuesday, Jan 20). We arrive on Thursday the 15th and take off on Thursday the 22nd. Considering the crowds expected at the actual Inauguration, figure a time to try to meet up with any other GA members who wanted to - might be best for lunch on Saturday beforehand. Thinking lunch starting 12:30PM somewhere, and if people want to hang around doing something afterwards, could basically just hang around til 4PM or so. Not sure where - though leaning towards somewhere near the National Mall just cause of the ease of travel via the Metro. If anyone is interested in attending, post here or send me a PM. AND if anyone has any suggestions for a nice relaxed place to have lunch - post away with that as well. Robert *** UPDATE I want to check before moving forward with this, if Sunday may be a better day for people. If you can take the poll, or if the poll doesn't seem enough and you want to give more feedback, post below or PM me.

Tell her that you will talk to her more, once she finds you a nice boyfriend... that way, you'll have something to talk to her about (ie, life with the boyfriend)...

If you don't carry pens in your pockets, why were they bulging so much in San Francisco?!?