Category: Uncategorized

I’ve been kicking around the question of what I want to do with my soon-to-be limited quantity of spare time. I definitely want some social involvement in there. And I want some more open-ended interaction with people who aren’t gay/bi men. Not that there aren’t alot of cool gay/bi men out there, but a broader perspective on the world is cool. I also want to spend time with gay/bi men, because I have no intention of staying single indefinitely or being unselective. Unfortunately, time is limited, so I can’t do _everything_.

I refuse to start watching television again. Which basically means my only connection to most people I run into will be the news, because I won’t be able to talk about anyone’s favorite sitcoms/dramas/music videos. I’m okay with that. I won’t turn into a bar fly. Alcohol is expensive, and I’m not a big fan of the taste.

I am considering going lacto-ova out in the world (though still vegan-leaning) and vegan at home. It would probably be better for me healthwise. It’d definitely be better for me socially. It’s not such a huge leap from where I currently am. I don’t think I’ll feel much guilt for it. Veganism isn’t very challenging in SF. In downtown chicago, well, that’s another story.

So here are some of the ideas I’ve come up with:

• WoW or FFXI I will not do both. I like the character development aspects of FFXI mucho better than WoW. WoW is both less interesting in terms of character development, and far less tedious. But socially speaking, WoW wins hands down over FFXI. So Mesharr may never again see the light of day, poor dear.
• Working out For my health, for my appearance, and for my psychological well being, I need to do this. But it’s so hard to make the time. At least twice a week is my goal
• Gaming in the burbs with and friends It’s fun, they’re good guys. This is a social dead end, but I’m okay with that. The bigger problem is that it’s a huge time sink (1 hr+ to the burbs, 1hr+ back, much driving while there), and it complicates my work/workout/commute/sleep/eat routine. This consumes all of any tuesday evening I’ll be doing it.
• Volunteering I think I can make time for one or maybe two causes.
  • Howard brown health center (gay/lesbian health center) The guy who took care of me for the appointment already encouraged me to come back and volunteer with them. Maybe too much gay? Possible conflict of interest with gao healthcare work?
  • Some existing political thing, Would Hatch Act concerns figure in here a little? I won’t do data entry or doorknocking, that’s an irritating waste of my time. My first choice would be something involving environmental education and outreach. Green Tech U might work, but the location is _not_ convenient, and it’s a rather passive, you-come-to-us/strictly class provision org. As well as being a city govt thing. In all other ways, it is cool. Then there are the money orgs, which don’t seem to do much other than lobby. Not a huge fan of that.
  • Starting an org This has a certain appeal. I know it’s *very* occupying. But I could honestly say I’m working on something I believe is really important rather than volunteering for the ACLU, HRC, or the Sierra club where I think “good things, but not really top priority.” My ideas include an urban eco-tourism group or something that represents and politicizes the concerns of run-away/suicidal homo youth and/or victims of repressive regimes abroad. This is probably something that should wait until I’m more established.
• Social Clubs
  • Vegetarian activists (shudder) I am not the evangelical type. But likely to attract people with similar ideals (if generally very different approaches to those ideals)
  • Generic local social organizations like MEETinCHICAGO. No quality control on these people, but that’s part of the excitement.
  • Starting an environmentalist reading group. I really enjoyed the conversations in my classics of environmental lit class, but a 300+ page book/week, with supplemental readings was just too much. One book a month, with two months for books like “Nature’s Metropolis” would be good, I think. I could also put it out on meetinchicago, earthsave chicago, etc.
• Dancing/Gymnastics Probably taking classes I know there’s a place that offers dance classes in Andersonville, not too far away. Gymnastics, sadly, is less convenient. Also, I want to do the two stepping/line dancing stuff at Charlie’s (local gay bar) on monday or wednesday nights. No more than once a week, because of time concerns.
• Conferences I wasn’t especially wowed by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force conference, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again, but I’ve been seriously considering going to conferences around sustainable development issues. Which ones? Don’t know. Probably pricy, but not hugely time consuming (a weekend here, a weekend there…)
• Unstructured time I need unstructured time during my week to stay sane. Large amounts. Some for flexibility, and some to just slack.

So, yeah. Hmmm. Those are the things I’m considering doing with my time. Oh, and I mustn’t forget dating, my many lj subscriptions or travel. Fun stuff.

So, I had a strange dream. It started off being about a small island (though it exhibited tardis like properties), in the SF bay, (SF was vastly more imposing in this dream than in reality) which was partly US owned, and partly Canadian. And I kept going through the entry procedures to get into Canada for this place. Then I took a trip to the pastoral part of the canadian section of the island on a cobblestone road (this is where the tardis-ness of the island comes in). Then it transitioned to a whose got the drugs game with an aphrodisiac produced by genetically engineered vegetables. (Broccoli to start off with, later a carrot, which I saw a rabbit under a bed devour at a way more rapid rate than rabbits actually eat such things.)

I should try writing some of this stuff down at some point.

An interesting undercover story on mailorder brides. Sorry, I don’t remember the lj source, but it was someone around here….

As I understand it, I’m going to be getting some sort of weeklong training in our nation’s capital for my second week on the job (first week in August). I may extend the trip to the weekend before and/or after. *eyes massively elevated credit card debt, dwindling savings, and DC’s climate in August* Then again…

I am moping. I have some concerns, like my time is about to become severely constrained, though it’s not like I’ve been making excellent use of it up until now. I really ought to start cooking at home, which will further constrain my time. And I know so few people who are truly local, and those that I do know have such busy lives. Taken altogether I’m feeling a lack of attention. And I’m really not sure what to do about it. I’m feeling like I’m in an “all actions are bad” space, and inaction is a bad move too. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

On the bright side, I did get to meet and his boyfriend this morning. They are cool people. Those who have an opportunity to meet/hang out with them should take it.

Well, my flight was originally supposed to take off 30 minutes ago. When I left they were saying it would actually take off an hour from now. I changed my flight to tomorrow morning. Another night in the big city. Woo.

I’m uninspired re: what to do with my evening. Maybe I’ll cook something and hit the gym. I dunno.

So after expressing surprise that anglophone Canadians pronounce the letter ‘Z’ as “Zed” (if I were to quote my phrase phoenitically, “Oh, you guys pronounce ‘zee’ as ‘zed'”), showed me this awesome little beer ad. I hope my south-of-the-border compatriots get as much of a kick from it as I do.