When I�m out-and-out bummed, the way I handle things is to be as busy as possible. So bear with me. This could be a long one.

On Friday I wanted to keep things low-key, so I went with my friend Happy to see Brokeback Mountain (a.k.a. The Gay Cowboy Movie, or GCM for short). My review on GCM is so-so, as there was no karate or explosions. I didn�t mind getting up to pee, knowing that I likely wouldn�t miss anything too pressing.

They loved each other. It was sweet.

They couldn�t be together. It was sad.

Don�t get my tastes wrong in my not thinking this was as great a movie as others herald it to be. I just didn�t feel it through most of the movie.

So be it.

After the movie, we walked to grab a couple beers. I talked with a nice geek who talked science with me all night. We had a geek-off, and he won. Alas, I do not deal with negative sound on a daily basis. Nor did I just get mentioned in Newsweek for putting together a tech project that helps people displaced by natural disasters.

In other news, my dad is building a semiconductor in his spare time.

Speaking of my dad, someone told him the secret to life, and it seems that I�m giving it a pretty good attempt.

I spent much of Saturday working from home. There�s not much there to report.

At five I walked over for mass, and I again thoroughly enjoyed it. I need to work up the nerve and just go ask about the classes and be done with it. For some reason, whenever I�m there, I�m suddenly an extreme introvert. Anyone who knows me knows that I�m on the opposite side of the spectrum.

After being all holy, I went all holy cow and met up with girl friends at a very bad bar where I danced like crazy and stayed out way too late. A good time was had, and I stayed in bed for as long as I could the next morning.

Again with that working overtime thing. Blah.

That night I had an audition for a choir, and things went well. I hadn�t sung in front of anyone in ages, so that was a little scary. I don�t think I sounded like absolute poop, as they accepted me as a choir member. My Sunday nights are all now occupied with something I�ve been looking forward to for a long, long time, and that pleases me to no end. I�ll let you Chicago people know when show time approaches.

After singing it for a stranger, my friend Oz and I went to a cabaret show put on by a friend of ours. I didn�t know what to expect, but it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening. If nothing else, we both got to reconnect with the performer, who we hadn�t seen in ages.

I came into work on Monday with a full inbox. One friend had a snippet in her email with a Craig�s List link, asking if this was me. Sure enough... I got a Missed Connection.

The previous Thursday I was on my way to meet up with a friend for a rockabilly show when a guy with luggage started chatting me up. I talk with strangers. No big deal.

Ends up the guy was getting back from cheering on the University of Texas at the Rose Bowl. He talked football, and I talked back. He got off a few stops later, and that was that.

Apparently someone overheard our conversation, put in his two cents, and then offered to take me out for gin and tonics.

It�s kinda fun to have that published, but no, he won�t be getting a returned message. I don�t know who this guy is (besides being M and 30), and I�m not going to meet up with any ol� eavesdropper from the el.

After that odd coincidence on Monday, I was recognized on Tuesday by someone who occasionally reads my daily drivel. I went to Walgreens to buy a snack, and someone I passed was on her way to Starbucks and knew who I was. I got a friendly email soon afterwards, and we exchanged emails here and there for the rest of the day.

That night I went to a condo meeting about all of the upgrades to the building. A pump for this. A switch for this. Sealant for something else. Blah, blah, blah. However, we�re getting new carpet in the hallways. The one I voted for won, and the thin red crap will be replaced shortly.

Besides that small victory, I had several annoyances in the hour-long meeting. From a couple bringing their screeching kid to the meeting, to the old woman who commented on everything, to the one who asked which carpet would best hide dog pee... I was definitely read to get outta there by time the voting was over.

I headed back to my unit and got a phone call from my parents. A few weeks ago it was a bladder infection that turned into a blood infection and a week-long stay in the hospital. Now I think it�s another bout of dehydration that landed her back there. For some reason, standing up alone seemed like a good idea, and she fell and broke her hip.

So after the recent nasty infection and her current problems, she isn�t exactly the best candidate for surgery. However, no surgery would be continual, excruciating pain. In the words of Ben Folds, �It sucks to grow up.�

I haven�t gotten word past that she went into surgery that night.

I harbor no illusions that she�s going to be okay. I�m actually shocked each time she bounces back from something like this. Yet she keeps bouncing.

So we�ll see how that goes...

On Wednesday I broke up the workday with a bit of jacking around. After all of the OT, I needed it.

I had �lunch� with Catie. This involves going to the same eatery, coming back to the office, and making a phone call to chat while she eats at her desk in NYC and I eat at my desk in Chicago. I highly recommend it as good times.

Soon after the lunch high couldn�t carry me through anymore work, I got a phone call from a friend who just returned from India. In a surprise of all surprises, he announced that he was now a married man.

I was pretty sure that he was pulling my leg, as there was little chance that this man would ever pass his confirmed bachelorhood. Alas, my questions were answered. He�s indeed a married man now.

I now need to head to their home to teach her about how to keep that man in line. I�ve been doing it since we were 15-year-olds, so I know a thing or two about how he ticks.

Many happy years and blessings to R and T.

That news and a promise of a phone call carried me through the afternoon some more. And then I arranged to meet up with she who recognized me yesterday. (I don�t have permission, so I�m not linking her diary quite yet.) She ended up being cool in the few minutes we had together. The Starbucks in our building isn�t exactly conducive to sitting around and chatting, so our time was limited. There�s a happy hour in our future, so I�ll get to know her better then.

I then went on a covert mission to locate some crazy tech stuff on a lower floor, hoping to find something a la Minority Report that I had heard about.

Did I mention that my dad is building a semiconductor?

After working for as long as I could without being late, I met up with Oz, the cabaret singer, and her girlfriend for dinner at PF Chang�s. I gorged on tasty tofu and broccoli, and the conversation was good too. Whenever I see these two women, I�m amazed by how warm they are. Throw in Oz to that, and it�s wonderful.

When I got home I watched some Netflix and vegged to the point that I don�t remember about an hour. By time I finished glassing over, I remembered to call my friend who just got married for the full scope.

Having just watched Bride and Prejudice, I felt somewhat prepared.

I kid, I kid. Something tells me they didn�t break out into song and dance in quite the Bollywood splendor...

The phone call lasted well into the night, and I spent the early morning hours reading.

And that brings us up to today where I merely have plans to eat the next two meals with others.

Happy Tuesday, all.

You didn�t de-lurk, jerk.

A very small percentage of you signed the guestbook. Actually, it was equivalent to only those who check during the 9 a.m. hour. Do me a favor and just sign to say hi or drop me an email. I don�t bite.