Homer'sWorld

Taxes done. Nice refund coming, I'm going to put it in that mysterious entity known as a savings account.

Things I could spend money on:

- downpayment on a new car
- plumber to fix occasional leak in bathroom
- bathtub refinishing
- plane tickets to SF and DC/NYC
- gym membership
- drugs and prostitutes
- behave myself and leave it in savings

I really should do the last.

I can feel it happening- my annual Anti-Man mood. Maybe it is from looking through profiles and seeing ridiculous things like: "only into younger," "No [racial classification here]," or my current favorite- "not really into the gay scene." The latter from someone who posed in his pictures wearing a leather harness. Last time I checked, none of my straight male friends owned a harness.

And then there are the pantie-wearing guys. Good lord, there's a lot of them in Tucson. I make sure I tell Brian whenever I see their profiles, except there are so many that Craigslist has a whole 't4M' page.

I find myself looking at the furniture and accessories in the backgrounds, judging people by their lamps or crappy posters or by how messy their place is (not that I have anything against messy places, since mine often matches that criterion).

So, yeah, I think I'll hibernate for a little while.

Mama Cat behaved herself at the vet. She didn't even cry when they stuck the thermometer in. She has an eye infection and an upper respiratory infection. Steroids and antibiotics. I was very relieved to have an answer but when I got home tonight she has a runny nose and is sneezing up blood. My new comforter is washing in cold water. [pause] I just checked and it is only coming out of one nostril and she is acting much better than she was yesterday. So I guess I'll only fret some.

In other news, I never win anything. Except a fruit basket once. Until now. Joe.My.God has Swag Tuesday, in which he hands out exciting homosexual-like prizes. And I won a container of Boy Butter. So much better than a fruit basket.

It was supposed to be "Cute with Mama Cat" but she has caught something and isn't feeling too good at the moment. She may have to go see the vet tomorrow, something I don't think she will like one bit.

The Arizona primary is in 8 days or so. I'm voting for Barack Obama- I really like the guy. If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, I'll vote for her in November. But really I'd like a change in who is running the country.

Politics and religion- you are not supposed to discuss those two things in polite company. No one has ever acused be of having good manners.

Cute with Puff.


Puff.

Last night I spent two hours pulling together stuff for tax purposes. I'm waiting for one more piece of paper and then that chore will be done for the year.

I'll be credit card debt-free in the next couple of weeks. My home loan is disappearing at an almost dizzying rate. The interest on my home equity loan is dropping (thanks shitty economy!). I'm going to put my tax refund in my savings account and behave myself. 2008 will be the year my personal finances improve.

Considering how good I've been at stuffing money into my 401K, I'm ready for the next step in life- becoming a SugarDaddy.

Taking applications immediately...

Cute with Joey.


Joey.

- most photographable of the three cats who own me
- only pees on the furniture when she is emotional
- likes to sit on my lap at the computer
- Brother Puff picks on her
- chews on her nametag on the collar Sandy bought her
- doesn't like having her claws trimmed or her ears cleaned out
- tomboy

Rob and Chuck and I had to wait just a bit long for dinner to arrive. But we chatted and had a nice time.


Rob, Puff, and Mama Cat.

Mama Cat is in love with Rob and insisted on licking him furry forearms. I think Puff was jealous.


First lemon meringue of 2008.

Forrest came over and we had lemon meringue pie. It was delicious. Forrest had two pieces. He's young and skinny and can get away with stuff like that.

Unfortunately, the Mexican food we had has given Rob a little tummy ache.

These are today's dramatic happenings, brought to you by Blogspot.

Forrest came over this afternoon and we walked from my house and up the sides of Sentinel Peak (also called "A" Mountain, because of the large, ugly A stuck on its side in 1913.


Forrest and Homer.

I have been getting the house cleaned up because Rob and Chuck are coming tomorrow and I don't want them to think I live in squalor. Of course Puff had to throw up on the rug and then on the bed.


Mountain shadow, looking east.

I was supposed to take photographs of neighborhood houses and darn if I didn't take a nap instead. How did that happen?

I get motion sickness very easy. I well remember the drive through the mountains of Greece and the horrible nausea that induced.

Tonight about halfway through Cloverfield I thought I was going to barf. Now, at home, my stomach is churning. Unpleasant. Otherwise the movie was alright and had a few surprises.

I was surprised to see Eric's name in the credits. As it turns out, that was the other Eric.

Rob is coming next week and of course I have to make a dessert. Please vote in the comment section on which one I should bake!

A). Lemon meringue pie
B). Banana cream pie
C). Yellow cake with chocolate ganache frosting.

The power of celebrity and the internet. Sunday I posted a few pictures of Gerard Butler and within a few hours fans of the actor had found my website. Yesterday over 1,400 people stopped by, about 1,000 more than I usually get on a Monday. I just wish I had taken some better photos.

Speaking of celebrities, Forrest is back in town after a long winter break. I invited him over for dinner but now I've got to figure out what to make. I'm busy watching what I eat (the first day is the worst day) but I think I still will be tempted to make a lemon meringue pie. So fast, so easy, so delicious. I'll only allow myself one slice.

Because Adam asked, a couple of pictures of The Game filming:


Gerard Butler and his massive arms. Click picture to see in better detail.



A destroyed downtown Albuquerque.

And later. Many fans of Gerard Butler have been visiting my blog (hello!) and so I've posted a few more photos. My friend Barney, who was also at the conference, said to me, "I never expected a movie star to be so good looking in person." I had to agree with her (although he's even better with a beard).


Mr. Butler getting directions.



Gerard driving the truck.



Sun tran bus- this is amusing because this bus is from Tucson, orginally.

Ohmigosh, Gerard Butler has massively awesome biceps- almost as nice as Adam's. He is also very handsome, especially when you walk by him and he is doing bicep curls before filming a scene for the movie they are filming here. I learned some interesting things- the huge pieces of concrete were actually styrofoam and the little chunks were ground up bits of newspaper. I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but Mr. Butler's biceps will be prominent.

Why do the hotel maids start hammering on doors at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning? This is one of those magical qualities of the Albuquerque Doubletree Hotel.

Nearby, at the Hyatt, a gin and tonic costs $8. This is New Mexico, not NYC.

My presentation is today and the background dancers are a no-show. very disappointing.

When I get back to Tucson I'm going to start figuring out exactly what I'm doing in 2008. Losing my little belly is the first thing, full-length hotel bathroom mirrors are, unfortunately, a way to identify every extra kilogram of weight.

Convention Hell. Why did I come for the entire convention? The hotel I'm in sucks- ugly-as-fuck, poorly designed, broken elevator, hotel room is either too cold or too hot, and you can't shut the fucking curtains and the light shines in all night long.

The hotel the convention is in has very few chairs for sitting around in. The one sitting area is being used for a blood drive. So when you walk in the first thing you see is people's blood being sucked out by the Red Cross vampires.

During the morning session a fire alarm went off and we milled about, not really wanting to go outside in the 40-something weather. Outside, downtown Albuquerque is dead-dead-dead. The only excitement is that they are filming a movie at the ugly convention center, and reportedly Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite has been spotted. I only saw two young women in very short, bizarre skirts and makeup and another woman complaining about the fact that there were too many PAs, which I assume is "Production Assistant" and not "Prince Albert," 'cause you can never have too many of those around.

And everything closes at 2 PM and who wants to eat in the hotel restaurant, especially at the Albuquerque Doubletree Hotel, which is both super ugly, cold, and the selection looks awful. In contrast, the salsa at last night's reception was very good.

So yeah, I picked a wrong year to attend this conference.

Post 1477. I'm off to Albuquerque for a conference. I checked out the gay bar scene and immediately wrote down the info for the one listed as a sleazy, drag queen bar. I know quality.

Last night, while shopping for clothing, I saw the most bizarre transgender person. A big, tall older man wearing a very short, red, terrycloth dress with a big white belt. He had just made some purchases at Lane Bryant, I hope he took advantage of the sales! He certainly had balls, you would not catch me wearing that get-up in public (too club-kiddish for me).

On a more serious note, I really like Barack Obama and think he would make an excellent president. I'm not just saying that because he is my seventh cousin (I didn't vote for either Bushies, and I'm also related to them).

Homersworld endorses Barack Obama for the Iowa caucuses!

Is the election over yet?

Best Holiday Present. And the award goes to.....


Click to see every delicious morsel.

Mark and Rodger!

- Cascade Delight Best Raspberry Jam
- Tiltons Best Apricot Jam
- Spicy Dill Pickles
- Hot Salsa, Last Batch
- Warm Tomatillo Salsa

Ohmigod, the way to seduce me is through homemade canned goods.

A winter tradition, now. Go out to either the front yard or back yard and pick oranges. The backyard tree, which is actually on the neighbor's side but the branches droop onto my side, has sweeter oranges. The frontyard tree has more, many more, but they are usually smaller.


Front orange tree.

I pick a washpan full and run water over them, picking the occasional stem off. The 1950s or 1960s Sunbeam mixer with the juicer attachment is hauled out and I clean a year's worth of dust off. Assembly required. Oranges sliced in half and I discard the ones that look a little off- bruised or bug-eaten.


Washing.

The juicer makes a "rrrrrrr" sound as it rotates. When I push an orange half down onto it, it becomes "grrrr-grrrr" sound. Every so often I stop and wipe off the pulp that accumulates on the screen.


Before I start juicing.

A washpan makes a bit more than a half-gallon. I drank a glass while typing this. Better than last year's, from what I can remember.

I made French toast (with whipped cream and banana-pecan topping), hash browns, and sliced mangoes for Mummy's going-away supper. Vince came over and we ate and chatted. It was very nice.

It will be quiet without her here. I hope she doesn't freeze in Michigan.

Last cake for a while. Lightning Cake (page 930-931 in Joy of Cooking), a single layer lemon cake. No more baking for a while. After Mummy leaves on Saturday it is time to watch (very carefully) what I eat.


On my Martha Stewart cake stand (thanks Mummy!).

Electric bill arrives today- $147. Last month's was $34. This is what happens when Tucson has "winter." I checked, though, and it was about the same as last year. Of course I'm feeling poor at the moment. I hope I get a raise.

Next week I'm going to Albuquerque next week for a conference- do any of my readers live there?

The flourless chocolate cake with chocolate meringue frosting was delicious.


And very fattening.

Steve and Bob's party was nice and Mummy had a good time. Unfortunately, she is impossible to photograph- always has the deer-in-headlight thing going.

Afterwards, I went to the Venture and at midnight gave Jeremy a little kiss.


Happy 2008.

On New Year's Day I lay in bed most of the day reading a very interesting book about insects. I think Doug should name a beetle after me (but not a mite or some new variety of lice).

Joey just meowed at me (she's sitting on my lap as I type this). I believe she is mad because I'm not putting her picture on here today. Maybe tomorrow.