Matt Sweet

What a weekend. Saturday, Jay and I took a trip to the mortgage broker. Good news: It looks like our plans for home ownership are going to be made reality. Also, we went to see the Detroit Symphony play Mahler's 4th Symphony, and other things. Wonderful.

Sunday was house-hunting. Lots of fun, lots of cool houses. In the evening we had Bill and Laura over for subs and Charmed.

House hunting is a trip. I suggest the everyone should go and tour open houses, even if one is not looking to buy anything. Realtors are fun to watch. A couple of the guys showing houses were super hot. And a few of the realtors were just inappropriate. For example, one of the realtors was on his cell phone the entire time we were looking through the house. Another one smelled of alcohol from twenty paces. And a third one just seemed... twitchy. Of course, most of the realtors were wonderful and welcoming. However, based on what we have seen in the open houses, Jay and I have decided which realtor we would like to be our buyer's agent.

I can't believe that it's lunchtime already. Today is flying by.

So, my new favorite TV show, Mad Mad House, was lots of fun last night. I am probably one of three people in the world watching this show, but hey, I'm going to blog about it anyway.

The Alts eliminated Kelly, who was pretty unstable. I don't think it's fair to diagnose people based by what I see on TV, but let's just say that Kelly, as she was presented by the producers of the show, looks like a canidate for a Cluster B Personality Disorder. I only bring this up because I work with people with these kinds personality disorders a lot these days, and I want all my Droogies to know what kinds of behaviors this population demonstrates. That way, you have a little idea of what my day is like.

Here is a funny cartoon. Enjoy.

So the weekend is looking like this: Tonight, Dinner with Jay. Tomorrow, mortgage broker in the morning, Detroit Symphony playing Mozart and Mahler in the evening. Sunday: Relaxation. It should be a nice, quiet, calm weekend.

I feel a little better today. Less angst, I suppose.

I really wish I had something exciting to write about. Work-home-sleep-work-home-sleep is the general cycle of my life.

We have Americorps volunteers in my office today, making safe-sex packets and the like. Can I just say: Some of the volunteers are absolute hotties.

Speaking of hotties, I took the match.com test to see what kinds of guys I find attractive. (Oh, if only there were a simpler way to find out to whom I'm attracted!) This guy was my result:

Yeah... not so much.

In the section of my results where they said, "You may also find these men attractive," they had this guy:

That's more likely.

Here is a quote from the site:

We call another type of guy that you seemed to consistently like "Pups." Their look goes with a certain loveable, puppy dog appeal. They're nice-looking guys, but they are imperfect enough to be approachable. Their big eyes and goofy smiles convey warmth and kindness. Like puppies, these guys can be a bit awkward and clumsy, so be prepared to have a drink or two spilled on you! Only about 1 in 10 men (11%) are attracted to this unique type, so they'll be flattered that you appreciate their charm.

Ahhh... I'm attracted to the desperate. Good for me. Take the test here.

Strange news: click here for the Yahoo! story, "Robotic Legs Could Produce Super Troops." I would also suggest taking a look at the picture that goes with the story. How odd.

Today is sunny and beautiful. I am going to take the cats out when I get home.

Other bloggers write about their amazing sex lives, or their crazy jobs, or about going to the gym. I blog about taking my cats outside. I lead a very un-exciting life.

Well, that's about to change. Starting next Tuesday I am taking classes in combat grappling. I know... I'm going to get my ass kicked by die-hard martial artists. I suppose that's the point, in a way. Maybe I'll get motivated to get back in the gym. Once upon a time (last summer) I was fairly fit. I weighed 205 (I've always been big), I could bench-press about 210, run a mile in under 10 minutes (I've never been fast). Now, I can eat an entire box of Timbits and still be hungry.

And, I've been feeling... I don't know... somehow tired and bored of late. Existential boredom, if you will. So, I thought maybe I'd shake up my routine. How Fight Club of me. Besides, I have some more disposable income now than I did last year at this time, so why not spend it on something that I'm interested in? I also have really good insurance now.

Oh, and in other news, I still rock as a therapist.

Today I attended a conference. I've been to two conferences this week. I love conferences.

Also, I have to say that I have about three clients who all have made pretty amazing progress in the past two days. I rock as a therapist.

I want to get a PhD in psychology. I know I'm capable of it, and I think that's the only way I'll ever get the recognition in mental health that I deserve. I'm nice and humble, I know.

Weekend summary:

Friday night: Went out to dinner with Jay. Watched the movie The Trip on DVD. It's an excellent story, and it made me want to cry.

Saturday: Clients in the morning, dinner with Bill and Laura in the evening. We ordered pizza and played cards. It was fun.

Sunday: Lunch with Jay, then shopping, then housework.

That brings me to today. Funny, because it seems like it took longer for me to type that than it actually did to do all those things and arrive at Monday. This morning I went to a mandatory training at the Detroit Health Department on transgendered clients, which was actually useful. Probably because they had someone come in from outside the health department to give the training. I didn't just say that, did I? I would never criticize the Detroit Health Department. Never. Nope. Not me.

That's all I've got for today.

The Sci-Fi network debuted a new show last night called Mad Mad House. In this show, "normal" people (read: Sheltered, conservative Christians) live in a house with five Alts (as in alt.com). There is a Naturist,a Modern Primitive, a Voodoo Priestess, a Witch, and a Vampire. What this show teaches us: It's fun to watch naive Christians get really, really uncomfortable at a Voodoo ritual.

Seriously, we have had calls from the religious right for an anti-gay marriage ammendment. We have had The Passion of Christ. We have had Bible study in the White House. I am going to conceptualize this show as the alternative backlash. So let me be the first to use the Z-word: Mad Mad House may be about Zeitgeist.

Today is Friday, which usually means I meet Jason for dinner in Royal Oak. Maybe we will rent a movie or something. Tomorrow probably will be dinner with Bill and Laura.

My last client cancelled tonight, so I can go home early. Yay!

My office mates all delivered their guilt-motivated fat delivery systems today. I feel bloated, but somehow saying, "No, little girl, go hock your fattening wares elsewhere!" just seems mean. Besides, I'm generally pro-cookie.

Just when you thought reality TV had gotten as odd as possible: this happens. First, who told the Amish that we've been making fun of them? I thought that was our secret, cleverly disguised with electricity. "I think you best find merriment exposing the lives of a different sect, English, lest me and mine beat our plowshares into swords."

Richard Florida, author of the book The Rise of the Creative Class, was interviewed on my favorite NPR station this morning. It was cool because he kept mentioning gays as the way the Detroit is going to renew itself. Florida believes that cities are renewed by the people that live in them (duh), and that the best strategy for inspiring renewal is to try and get the people most likely to cause renewal to live in a city. Florida singles out immigrants, gays, and other marginalized groups as the most likely groups to cause renewal. And Mr. Florida is speaking in Detroit tonight. Basically, he's saying what people have known all along: Gay people live better than straight people.

Florida also singles out Ann Arbor as being one of the possible ways for Detroit to renew itself. He sees Ann Arbor as the Silicon Valley of Detroit. Great. As if people in Ann Arbor weren't already full of themselves.

Today is Wednesday. (Yay!) Wednesday is my Day of Sloth. It's the day that I go get a bucket of fried chicken, some potato salad, and a bottle of wine. Then I watch Smallville and Angel. I know... not exciting in the least. Which is exactly the point.

Michigan State lost in basketball last night, by four points, to Wisconsin. I would post a link to the coverage of the game, but I think it's just better if we all forget about that. Instead, check out this basketball-related news instead.

It's a gorgeous spring day today in Detroit. Just warm enough to remind you that it's not winter, and still a chill in the air that declares it's not summer. That's probably the gayest sentence I've ever written, bar none.

So. In the news, the President of Haiti is saying that he was forced out of power by the Americans. Regardless of truth, this is not going to help our reputation in the international community. (Personally, I don't know whether or not to believe this. Afterall, the U.S. re-instated Aristide, after a coup d'etat, in 1994. Why remove him from power now? But I don't want to underestimate the villainy of the Bush administration, so anything's possible.) In any case, Haiti is something of a mystery to most people in America, I think. It has a fascinating history, which I am not going to go into now. Read about the current events from a better source than The New York Times: The Haitian Times and Haiti Progres(in French).

In other news, Egypt is still torturing men for homosexual conduct. Read about it here. So, President Bush, if you're so concerned about human rights abuses, when are we going to invade Egypt to stop this terror? What's that you say? Oh, right, fags deserve it. Silly me.

And finally, I'll end on a less serious note. I took the "Book Quiz." This is what I got (stop laughing at me!):

You're The Dictionary!
by Merriam-Webster
You're one of those know-it-all types, with an amazing amount of knowledge at your command. People really enjoy spending time with you in very short spurts, but hanging out with you for a long time tends to bore them. When folks really need an authority to refer to, however, you're the one they seek. You're an exceptional speller and very well organized.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Today is rainy, but warm, and I am feasting on dark chocolate Hershey's kisses, which is good. I only have two kisses left, which is bad.

The weekend was good, and relaxing. It seemed like there was time to do everything I wanted to do, which rocked. Friday night was dinner with Carrie and Jay at the Starving Artist Cafe in Ferndale. They have the most amazing food there. Walnut and red pepper pate, grilled chicken with jasemine rice, and a flour-less chocolate cake for dessert. Mmmmm....I'm getting fatter just writing about it.

Saturday, I saw some clients in the morning, then had dinner with Bill and Laura and Jay at Joe's Crab Shack. I have a feeling I'm the only one who enjoyed the dinner. I thought the food was good, but I do have to admit that the restaurant was a little overdone. Too much going on at once--I felt like it was the kind of place that can give people seizures.

Sunday was spent relaxing, catching on some old paperwork, and a walk with Jason. We had dinner at our neighborhood Chinese restaurant, which is always nice and familiar. Also, I devoted a goodly part of the day to reading my current book, The Amber Spyglass, which is the first part of the His Dark Materials trilogy. I have to say, I am enthralled by it. The book is intended for young adults, but I think that it's written with the adult reader in mind.

So, it's Monday, and I'm back at work, and I feel rested and ready to take on the the week. How often does that happen?? Oh, and I'm out of Hershey's kisses now, so I'm going to go raid my co-worker's desk. Later.

I was reading His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. This trilogy was reviewed positively in The New Yorker, The New York Times. and on NPR all in the same week. It was a sign, I tell you.

I was also reading Siegfried, by Harry Mulisch. Again, this was an NPR recommends.

And, to keep my clinical skills fresh, I was working my way through Lesbian and Gay Families Speak Out.

Music:

I was listening to:

Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. I still like this CD.

Joshua Bell, playing Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. It’s sublime, and he’s hot.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out. Take five is the coolest piece ever written, period.

Links I visited often:

Amazon

Ask Oxford

Le Monde

NPR

The New York Times

WDET

Yahoo! News