Hi Again, (To whoever's out there, or the three or four people I nkow who'll see this) I guess this can be my big intro.

I've always thought setting up your own blog was a sort of excercise in narcissism. As I said before, I created this blog by accident, or as a way to reply to a friend's blog. And so I posted a message. And then wanted to go home and write more. So maybe this is better than writing stories that might not go anywhere other than a dusty floppy that sits and waits for me to add to it, edit and then store it away again, waiting for me to care for it, nurture it into something that might one day, in a rusty pipe dream make me some money and give me some sort of satisfaction that I said something. To somebody, somewhere, who paid $5 so they could read what I might say. This is a more instant gratification. I know that people who know me, and are bored enough, will sit through at least some of this bantor. Or they might skim through it. Whatever. Anyway. Moving on.

As I'm sure lots of people say on these things, my life has changed in a dramatic sort of way these past 7 months. Two people I love more than anything in the world are now in other parts of the country. My safety net's gone. My excuse for staying home and watching Joss Whedon reruns are gone. (In a round about way, they were an excuse - a safety net I never let them convince me I was using). Really they were a big part of my moving. A real big part. Nothing they did, just the whole lot of nothing I was doing. I'm in Arlington now. I love DC. Love it. If I could have its love child and elope I would, but then it wouldn't be here anymore. Should I drink beer when I write?

I hated the hotel to which I tranferred for sometime after I got here. I wanted to go home, though I was quickly falling in love with this city. I thought the htoel was ghetto. I thought the people were all out to get each other in a cheap, tasteless way to further themselves. Both those statements are partly true. Hence the name of this blog. But it's become more of a pet name now, even though the word "hell" doesn;t normally appear in a term of endearment. I'm going through my MCRB tomorrow, and then, if al goes well, I'm posting for a management position at this property. Partly out of a sense of loyalty to my boss and my department, and partly because the hotel has grown on me. My department is gelling. We're getting things done. And there are some wonderful people at that hotel.

Which brings me to Yarn. Another big part of my coming up here. Blindly supportive, loving, sarcastic, dry, blunt, unbiased, intuitive, she's one of the best people, (I know it;s vague, but the word "best" works here), I've come to know. She sort of helps me understand myself without even trying, and has shown me, in her own trademark subtle ways how to understand and appreciate some people who already were in my life, whom I overlooked.

Then there's Mike. I've been seeing Mike now for three and a half months, and people you know that's a sort of record for me these past few years. I think I may make Mike his own blog. Don't wanna dwell here, it'll start sounding a little too cutsey. You get the idea. I like Mike. A bunch. e sent me flowers at work. They're still here, in my room, drying up and sad looking - I keep saying I'm oging to turn them into potpourri. Does anybody ever really do that? It's either that, or I hang them upside down somewhere in my room, but I don't think I have enough Smiths CD's to justify that. (Side note - whenever anybody at work asked me who the flowers were from, Yarnell would always, somehow be in earshot, and her voice, from somewhere, would never fail to shout "his Mom!" Thanks for the support, Yarn. It seems the people at work who would pelt me with their cultures and the evils of my "lifestyle" (more on that some other time), are those who can't figure it out anyway. Whenever they're close, you're always there to close the curtains for me. )

Amy and Casey - the wonder twins. I shouldn't group them together like that. I've never met two people who had so much in common and were so vastly different from each other at the same time. I'm getting to know each of them on their own terms, and neither will ever stop surprising me with their honesty and caring natures. If I had to go on about each of them, this would be much longer than it already will be. I think I'll have to come back to them, individually.

If I keep listing everybody who's around me as of late, I cuold be doing this all night. SO I'll stop with the ones who are up here, and start again with the fact that DC is being invaded by my old hotel. (Really not complaining).

Casey, Yarnell, Laura , Dave, Anne, to name just five (of I think at last count was something like 14), and hopefully, soon, Stanly. Stan and I were each others' bosses at some point along the way. We had a rough start. I won't go into that. But our last few months working otgether, I came to understand him. We would work whole shifts together and not talk to each other. Not because we didn't want to, but because we were wicked busy and didn't have to. We had systems. One of us always knew what the other was going to do, and how they were going to do it, as well as how long it would take, and what was next on the list. He's one of those people I didn't have the fortune of knowing until the weeks leading up to my leaving. He's an amazing guy, and if he comes up here, we're throwing a big one. Massive. (But it can't be at my house). I hope I get to work with him again, but if he gets a job at the DC Ren, they're that much better for it.

I think that's going to be a wrap for tonight. My future rants won't be so long, probably so bubbly. But I'm in a good mood. I think, nowadays, I have good reason to be.

Signing out to have a beer and watch a Joss Whedon rerun,

Will





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