plastic troubles

jk

Why am I not rich?


That's all I really want to know. I mean, I'm rich with family, friends and experiences, but I want to be loaded with money. The funny thing is, I make more at my current job than I have at any other place I've worked - and I've never been more in debt.


How does one get themselves into debt? Well, I still haven't figured out how I did it - but it ass raped me without lube. I won't go into discussion on how much I owe in case my mother reads this and gives me a lecture on my spending habits, but what I can tell you is this is the first time I have put myself on a budget. I hate it. Why can't I buy the things I want? Why do I have to watch what I spend?


I know my debt is minimal compared to some, but I received my credit card bill and not only did it go above an ugly number which happened to be my credit limit, they also raised my APR from 7% to 31%. They put me into penalty pricing way before I penalized. First National Bank can suck my balls on that one!


Several people have told me and Molly the best time of their life was when they were poor/broke living off of ramen. I have a hard time believing that.


I am posting a pretty picture because this is an ugly post. Enjoy.

seven day pass

Jeff Keesee

Yesterday was the last day of our seven day visitor's pass at Lifetime Fitness. I wanted to see what all the hootin' and hollerin' was about this place. I knew from my observations that it reminded me of a Scientology Center, but without the gates around the premises. It's massive - a two story structure that is mostly windows, that at night shines like a beacon in the flat West Omaha land.

My feelings towards Lifetime are good. It's much more clean than my current gym, 24 Hour Fitness, some additional weight machines and free towels. Now, I'm sure you wonder why I care about free towels...well, friends, I sweat like my back has fat and it's excessive. Along with free towels comes a more upscale locker room. The lockers are all wood and come with their own key - no hassle of forgetting your lock at home. Inside this fancy space for men there is a sauna and steam room (with eucalyptus I might add).

While doing cardio, the buttery smells from the cafe linger. This makes me want to skip running for 30 minutes, go downstairs to the cafe and stuff my face with whatever that yummy smell is. During my short stay with Lifetime I visited the cafe once. Selection ranges from shakes to pizzas to MUSCLE MILK*. I enjoyed a strawberry pineapple protein shake, it was halfway to delicious.

It's these little things that make me want to join. But it's back to 24 Hour tonight, where there are no free towels or mouthwatering smells. But then again, I should focus more on my fitness and not the perks...right?


*Everyone knows these people. They are the extremely buff patrons of the gym and you see them a lot of time being social butterflies instead of actually working out. They tend to scream or grunt while doing sets - maybe this helps them lift all the heavy weight. I sometimes think it's because they are exerting so much they might get a hernia. Recently, Dennis and I over heard a body building midget say 'DUDE! WHERE'S YOUR MUSCLE WATER?!' from across the gym. I suppose it's people like this that makes the world go round.

wake up call

Holy shit! I knew daddy had some love in the handles, but when Dennis said the words, 'Ok, you won't like your back picture,' I didn't know how severe it was.

Let's pray this works. I've never had a great body at any time in my life, so in doing this, I hope to acheive something near that. Please be aware that the photo below might not make you want to eat for awhile. But...this is also great motivation...so here I go!

operation: get hot v2

Some time ago I put Operation: Get Hot into affect. Well, it went nowhere fast. This time is different.

Ever since being with Dennis my habits have changed. I go to the gym on a regular basis, I somewhat enjoy running and I don't eat out as often as I used to. Over the summer I saw my body transform from chubba chub to a somewhat healthy physic.

Just when I had the love handles under control, they came back with a revenge. Dennis mentioned last night we need to do something about it...not just me, him as well. We will be changing our diet to more vegetables and protein meats. I have a feeling I will break down and sneak a slice or two of Zio's.

I have decided I will track my progress. I think it will give me motivation to put my love chub on this blog for all to see. You will be the fire under my ass.

This training, or whatever you care to call it, will start after tonight. I previously made a dinner date with Katie at Don & Millie's and I am for sure each cheese frenchies and a chocolate shake - you can't stop me!

what stress?

Being away from work has its pros and cons. The pros are the obvious - play all day, gym time, sleeping in...this can go on and on. The cons are work load.

I've never been one to handle stress. Some people freak out and shut down, some people don't have the slightest bit of stress. For me, I just act like it's not there. Don't get me wrong, I know it's there, but I handle it with a different approach - procrastination. When I'm at a standstill, I might have a quick peek at Post Secret or pick a calming song from my iPod. I know the work is still there...waiting.

Today I had a quad tall americano with 1/2 inch nonfat milk and one packet raw sugar. This drink makes me happy.

pop-up

you're in my book
my pop-up book
you were read last a few chapters back
but you've come back
hidden in between my pop-ups
you made them yourself
you're always crafty like that
but you tend to color outside the lines
why did you pop-up
in my pop-up book
turn the page
fold down
hide
until you pop-up again

rubber robe

I love how Christians are always accepting and never the first to throw stones.

In an address to the Curia, the Pope said, "(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed. The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less" describing anything outside of a traditional hetero relationship as "a destruction of God's work."

The Pope sure knows his way with words.

giggles

This is one of the best commercials of all time.

no gays for one day

Why am I at work right now? I should be out volunteering or protesting against Prop 8. Well, I will be doing a silent protest while clients yell and I work.

But really people, let all the gays marry.

listen

I love love love Lady Gaga. Her album is all pop and it's not the shit pop that you hear on the radio. Please do yourself a favor and download it and shake your ass.

birthday girl

To Gina, on her day...

Though paths may be hidden, some are meant to be missed. For those certain paths are filled with what-ifs and other empty ideas. On this path focus on all the good, the future, and to making choices for yourself - choices that will help you grow. I love you.

Bina

fuck you

fuck you cancer. you seem to take away all things good. you're never a good thing and you ruin everything.

beer & bagel run

On Sunday at 8am, we stood on top of one of Mt Cresent's giant hills, only waiting to run down it. Dawn, Dennis, Rich, Ali, and I all ran the Beer and Bagel Off-Road Run. This was through forests and up giant hills/mountains (I'm not sure what to call them). The weather was a balmy 25 degrees, it even started to flurry at the top.

The race wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. My lungs didn't burn like I had though they would. What helped me out was on such steep inclines, people would end up walking and you would be stuck behind them. It's those little breaks that saved me. The cold was horrible though. My feet were so numb I couldn't feel them until the third mile. And, it was so cold my iPod stopped working! Such is life.

I placed 236 out of 400. I wasn't running as hard as I could have, but I was just doing it for fun. My time was around 35 minutes for a run that was about four miles.

I can't wait to do it again! Let's hope it's much warmer next year! Next...The Turkey Wobble - or whatever it's called on Thanksgiving day. BE THERE!!!

life is good

Recently, two of favorite people lost their father. He was battling cancer for four years and was a trooper through it all. He was always in high spirits no matter what came his way. How many people do you know could remain so positive with so much being thrown at you? I know a lot of us would bitch all the time. Not Jeff. He can teach us all a very valuable lesson - don't take life for granted, because life is good.

prop h8

Homegirl, Melissa Etheridge, is on the right track of thinking with the passing of Prop 8. She wrote a piece in The Daily Beast, below. Maybe since Iowa/Nebraska doesn't have anything in place, should I not pay taxes either? What would happen if all the gays who aren't able to legally get married didn't pay taxes? I would like to see them give us our rights then.

You Can Forget My Taxes

Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either.

exhale

We can all let out a sigh of relief, Obama won the election. We are in desperate need of change and he will bring it. I can honestly say, I've never been more proud to be an American with a president I love. Cheers to Obama.

She writes so loud

We once were...

a community of bloggers. A group that lived and breathed blogging. An event would happen and we'd exclaim, "I have to blog about that!" A group where individuals blogged daily. Sometimes more than once a day. And the comments flowed like honey. Lots of comments. And responses to the comments.

We were led and inspired by The Red Portfolio: the oldest and wisest of the bloggers. One who blogged about heartache and fashion and other bloggers. Simple blogs. Lovely blogs.

Then there was the maniac herself. Who told us grand stories through photos. Never a blog of despair, Danelle P took us on trips, brought us through her engagement and wedding and kept us upbeat, while our other blogs were peppered with demons.

Our most common denominator, Operation Peter Pan, was who our hearts laid with. Never lacking a song (especially Tori) or a poem or a vlog. We were with Peter when he found love and lost love. When he took the greatest leap and felt the greatest heartache. He was ours and brought us together.

We followed Cubical Relief, Just Keep Swimming, What the Funk and How Typical. They followed us. We lived for the notifications of new blogs. Reading a new blog was Christmas. And writing a new blog was therapy.

We once were a community of bloggers. Now our community has dwindled and faded away. The maniac is still great about updates, but for the rest of us, well we've found new therapies. Or maybe we don't need our therapy anymore. Maybe the things we used to blog about don't exist in our lives anymore. Heartache was replaced by love. Despair by content. Limitless time by full schedules.

We once were a community of bloggers. We still are in archives and our hearts.

-----------------------------------------------------------

This touched me. Seriously. I loved those days. We were all finishing up our degrees and moving on to our first real job. Nancy loved it when the bloggers would unite and she would exclaim so. She mentioned how I was the glue that held everyone together. To me, everyone held each other together through all of our adventures, heartaches, or stories we have shared on this virtual world.

It's our photo book of our lives in the past years. We can click a page and it will take us back to that moment. With our stories, we have weaved ourselves together, glue made of smiles and tears, losses and gains. These stories are forever in my heart.

i voted!

I got to the poll right at 7 a.m. when it opened. I met my mom and we stood in line for no more than 15 minutes...not to shabby!

It felt good to vote. Let's pray for change.

Now, where's my free Starbucks, doughnut, ice cream, and vibrator?

not the lip gloss and panties!

This is a serious issue with a silly message, well I think so anyways. I don't see why someone would invest so much time to try and stop something like marriage from happening. People must have too much time on their hands.

everyone knows...

everyone knows the trouble i've seen
everyone knows even jesus
everyone knows the troubles i've seen
glory
hallelujah


after two stolen elections
after the skies went quiet
on 9/11
everyone knows even jesus
cause everyone knows
the troubles i've seen
everyone knows even jesus

obama
everyone knows
the trouble i've seen
hillary
everyone knows
everyone knows

you got here before i did
oh yes lord, don't you forget
to tell all my friends
that i'm coming too
oh yes, lord
stay, don't forget
everyone knows
down here
the trouble i've seen
well, everyone knows
even jesus
everyone knows the trouble i've seen
glory
hallelujah