Look, I am living. On what? Neither childhood nor futuregrows any smaller .... Superabundant beingwells up in my heart.from The Ninth Duino Elegy by Rainer Maria Rilke

We two boys together clinging, One the other never leaving, Up and down the roads going, North and South excursions making, Power enjoying, elbows stretching, fingers clutching, Arm'd and fearless, eating, drinking, sleeping, loving, No law less than ourselves owning, sailing, soldiering, thieving, threatening, Misers, menials, priests alarming, air breathing, water drinking, on the turf or the sea beach dancing, Cities wrenching, ease scorning, statues mocking, feebleness chasing, Fulfilling our foray. --Walt Whitman

Just after I finished my Friday entry, the phone rang - Todd calling saying he was going to leave Jersey early. A nice surprise - he got back late Friday night.Saturday we all lazed around - Todd playing Shining Force and mudding, Jake playing Final Fantasy VII for the third time, and me idly doing computer stuff, reading David Sedaris and rearranging the upstairs bedroom. We went out for an early dinner at Outback - it's ridiculous how popular that place is. Even getting there at 4 we had to wait over half an hour. But Jake likes it, and he hasn't had too many treats lately. After dinner we went to see "The Royal Tenenbaums" which I really enjoyed. It reminded me of the classic "You Can't Take It With You" - bunch of eccentric people muddling through life. Good performances too - though I thought Ben Stiller's character wasn't one of his strongest. Much better than "Rushmore" I thought.We went out to the Ramrod later on. We saw Marc and Marty, Rob, and a dude from the Brotherhood whose name escapes me. A pretty nice evening.Today is bright sunny and cold. Talked to my mom who says they are being hit hard with snow in the Ohio snowbelt - over 2 ft on the ground now. Glad that is not where we are.

I just have to note this:Every time I see Hugh Jackman's name somewhere I crack up, remembering the scene at the beginning of Beautiful Thing:"What's his name?""Janus, sir. Hugh Janus."

I was out of town for a solid week - amazing how much we did in that time.Started off with a trip down to DC to see Harry and Ben and meet up with the wecrushyou crew. Harry and Ben are great guys, and I really appreciate their acceptance of Todd and me. We hung out with them, ate out and went to Buzz, a club where I am sure I was the oldest person present, and had a great time. We got to see Will, Juhi and Molly again and I got to meet a few others that I had only heard of before. We also did some successful Christmas shopping for Todd's family. DC is a great place - I can see us living there at some time in the future.Then on Sunday we raced back to Jersey in time to get a shower and head into the city to meet some IRC friends we hadn't met in person before. We were supposed to meet at 8 at 49th and Broadway - turns out it was also the time and place for the Olympic torch to cross Manhattan so traffic and parking were a nightmare. We did eventually meet our friends - ate and walked around with them. Then headed back to Jersey in a pouring rainstorm.Monday was just running around in the morning doing some last minute errands. I was pleased to find the world's ugliest dog toy for Todd's sister's dog. Todd's dad showed up to take us down to the shore for Christmas Eve with Todd's grandmother. His dad is a sweet guy - he still isn't quite sure how to react to Todd and me, but he tries hard. In general, Todd's dad's family still is more unsure about me, but with time things seem to get easier. We had Todd's grandmother's famous roast goose, tried to keep the dog out of the hors d'oeuvres and opened presents, with the "A Christmas Story" marathon in the background.Back to Todd's mom's house after that - last minute wrapping of gifts etc. In the morning we got up and lazed around the house with Todd's mom, aunt and her fiance, sister and dog. It was nice to have a chance to nap and relax after so many days of activity. Gifts were a hit too. Todd and I cooked dinner for everyone, which also seemed to be a big success.Funny thing happened at the gas station in Jersey. There is no self-service at Jersey gas stations, so I was getting gas from the attendant. He must have looked at the back of the car, because he noted I was from Massachusetts. He must have also noted the rainbow sticker on my car, because his next question was if I was on my way to New Hope PA (which is the nearest town of gay interest). Not sure if he was cruising me or not, but it made me laugh.Wednesday we were on our own - took a drive over to IKEA for some shopping and checked out the after Christmas sales at the mall. After dinner we did indeed drive over to New Hope for a drink at the Raven :)Thursday I headed back to Salem. Thankfully the house survived with no frozen pipes and the iguana, though sluggish from the chill, also survived. Glad to be back though it was a good trip. Now I have a lonely couple of days til Todd gets back ...

Last night was Ron's party in Jamaica Plain, and my chance to meet Seumas for the first time. We were a little late as Todd had a work party to go to first, but we got on the road and headed for town in time to reach Ron's before everyone went out. Seumas is definitely a great guy - he seems to make friends fast :)Everyone eventually headed into town for Bears' Night at the 119 - it was really crowded, and we had a reasonably good time - though the crowd did not seem quite as hot looking as some nights we've been there. We ran into some guys we haven't seen in a while, and got fondled and complemented a fair amount. All in all the 119 is definitely a better bar experience than the Ramrod these days, unless you want access to pool tables.We hit Buzzy's for some sandwiches just before last call and headed home. Hopefully Seumas will have some time to do something else with us before he heads for Toronto - but I bet he has a pretty full schedule.

See which Ab Fab character you are! click herequiz made by xqueeniexNote that if you copy and paste the HTML the quiz gives you, the image link is probably broken...

Last night I had to watch AbFab by myself as poor Todd is completely taken up with building a chair for his Form and Design class and other school madness. All in all I haven't enjoyed this new series of AbFab as much as some of the earlier ones. But the one last night was pretty good. Saffie's play was pretty entertaining - and I thought Pats and Eddie's reaction to it in the end was both very funny and a little bit touching. Marshall appearing as a rabbi, and his goofy New Age wife, were also nice touches. Also having Saffie getting hit on by the actress who plays her, and the reaction of her friend Sarah to it. Then having it followed by a reprise of the Max and Bettina episode, which is one of my favorites - a nice evening of entertainment.

I have had more problems with my car than you can imagine over the past couple of years. Well, it isn't the problems themselves, really, because Todd's car, which has about the same amount of mileage on it, has had nearly all the same things happen to it. But everything that happens to my car leads to worse consequences. Like when my timing belt went on the highway and messed up everything, whereas his failed nicely in downtown Peabody, and didn't take anything else out with it. And the crazy repair shop I took mine to managed to figure out a way to hang on to the car for 3 months.Anyway! I finally got the most recent set of pricey things fixed, got the car past inspection, and got driving again. It feels amazing to be able to go places again. Not that I have anywhere much to go at the present, but it feels great.

If I was a work of art, I would be Edvard Münch's The Scream.I express the subconscious troubles and anxieties of the world. I hold my head and let loose the primal terror of my innermost fears, surrounded by a lurid landscape which reflects my feeble grasp on reality.Which work of art would you be? The Art Test