While stocking up for our forthcoming trip to Cactus Canyon, we were at CostCo and i had mentioned to Matt that i needed a new pillow. Fortunately, there was a wide selection to test drive. i mean, seriously, how can you buy a new pillow without seeing if it'll hold up in an improptu pillow fight?

Last night was Blue Max club night and you'll see here an uncharacteristic role reversal owing to my contribution to the 50/50 raffle (1 for a buck, 6 or 5, 10 dollars crotch-to-floor). You can see some more pics on my flickr (click on one of these pics to go there) to include one of Robert taking his shirt off for which he is gonna beat my ass. Then again, he's gonna beat my ass anyway, so i guess it's just a matter of degree, ain't it?

That's Matt/kiwi59's wonderful back in the middle; he's talking to Randy/redhochipe and Robert. The men of Blue Max are on the right conspiring to force me to drink way too many Apple Pucker shots to go with the Bud and Quervo i'd already been drinking. They succeeded. Damn them. Damn them to Hell!

...an american couple...

We didn't too too terribly much yesterday. Went outside and fiddled around in the sun...a beautiful day. Lance took us to lunch and we did Best Buy. Yesterday evening we had our Bear's 4th of July Beerbust. YUM!

( bears and other combustible materials...SFW )

This summer hasn't been very good for open-top jeepin'. It's been pretty soggy and has rained every Friday for the past 2+ months. i haven't gotten caught in it yet, but it's just a matter of time. And as long as i'm not on my way to work, that's OK. i like being a soggy bear...if ya know what i mean. i think that you do.

Don't forget to post yer pics for bearpawly's "ONE NATION UNDERWEAR" meme today! WOOF!

"woofer from the Subway"

Things are just barrelling along at work. Here it is almost noon and i haven't posted anything and i can usually sneak something out especially since i had the pics ready already. But as anyone can tell you, it's the writing that takes time.

i got home from work relatively early last night...before 7pm! Matt had already gone to Lance's for their weekly videogame/zombie-hunting session. i could have done something responsible like the laundry or editing those Pride pictures. But i decided i wanted to go do something and realised that i haven't had the chance to go to the movies in weeks so i'd go see...something. i decided on "Wanted" for it's mindless violent entertainment value and that's exactly what it was. But as i decided to go, i realised one thing. i didn't have anyone to go with. For that matter, i came to the realization that i don't know anyone around here that i can just "hang out with". i've been on the road so much and have cultivated so many online friends that i haven't had the chance to cultivate many local friends. Drinking buddies, perhaps, but the few out-of-the-bar friends i have are Matt's friends. And it's not just that. i don't think i know too many people from my own generation around here.

Case in point. After a far-too-long dry spell, i have managed to score tickets to two concerts that i've been dying to see. The first was Steely Dan. As anyone who pays any attention to the music that accompanies my posts will know, they are pretty much my fave band of all time and their songs hold the greatest meaning for me. i remember getting the 45 of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" way back when and playing it so much i got sick of it. But as their other songs oozed out of the radio in the late '70s, they always caught my ear and the "Gaucho" album became an instant classic with me. And through the years - as i've been "reeling in the years", as it were - they just become more and more resonant with me. But i'd never gotten to see them. Hell, they were off the road for 15 years or so and there was always that "scheduling" thing. But i got an email from American Express that they were having a presale, so i scored really good tickets and Matthew has decided to come along now that i've reminded him who they were. But THEN i got an email from Ticketmaster telling me that the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour has been extended and STL got added on SAT 23 AUG. i didn't have time to ask since tix were going onsale at 10 am on Saturday, so i just bought a couple and they're really good seats, i think. But Matt doesn't like Springsteen. Nobody that i know likes Springsteen. The first time i saw him was as a 16-year-old was a life-changing event and the opening descending drum-and-guitar riff and the glockenspiel of "Born To Run" sends a shiver down my spine to this very day. i got to see them nearly ten years later in June of 1985 in Munich on the "Born in the USA" tour. i kinda fell out in the '90s, but i've always loved the music. Now i'm back. But i don't just want someone to go with me for the sake of going with me. i want someone to go who really wants to be there. Or i'll just go it alone. As i seem to do with alarming regularity. And that's just something i'll have to live with. i've done it before.

To all of my Canadian friends, regular and extra-crispy...er...natural-born and adopted, a very happy Canada Day!

my buddy, Lance - who is a Brit by birth, i might add! - sent me a couple of those "some_ecards". One said "For Canada Day, i'd love to go out for some traditional Canadian cuisine if there was such a thing." and the other saying "Please accept my mildest excitement for Canada Day." i say, let's just go mount some Mounties, eh?

*international hugz!*

OK, so i haven't posted the rest of the Pride pics, nor the party on Saturday night, NOR Jeff & Jerry's weddiing on Sunday night. Yesterday was a long day here at work as will today be and no doubt tomorrow and the next day. kiwi59 and directorbear have already put some up anyway as have dozens of other guys so by the time i get mine done, you'll probably be all prided out.

my wonderful hubby, Matt/kiwi59 has gotten suckered in made the artistic endeavor to do the 365 Challenge on flickr and thus will post them on his blog. So if you don't have him on your f'list, you should drop by now and sign up. Start with his first post here. You'll be glad you did. Trust me, a little bit o' Kiwi makes the day just grand!

PS: No comments here. Go over there and show him some love.

Once again, i got to dance with my hubby in the middle of the street at the St Louis Pride Parade yesterday. It makes me happy. The crowd was really amazing as we drove down the street. Being in the parade was my last official act as the out-going Mr Heartland Bear and Matt/directorbear's first official act. He and his hubby, Hayden, came up to stay with us for a quick 24-hour visit. Oh, there's still more to do. But this was a fun day and everyone had a great time. i have a lot more pictures of the party at JJ's on Saturday night and the parade on Sunday, but work beckons and i must comply. For now, here are a few of us from the parade.

( i love a parade )

...BONE SPUR! Yes...bone spur. Please check your ticket stubs and you can pick up your winnings at the window. i went and saw "Junior" yesterday and he took a few x-rays of my foot and determined that i had a little chunk of bone stickin' out. He couldn't explain the suddenness or anything, so he referred me to a podiatrist who, since it was late on a Friday afternoon, was closed already. i'll have to call on Monday. And though i still have the pain, it's not quite as debilitating as it was and i can walk semi-normally.

( Design Out Of Reach...a clean start...SFW )

As i mentioned in a post i made last year, i'm a big fan of the "Men in Cities" series by Robert Longo. After leaving a meeting, i was wandering down a hall i hadn't been in before and across from the elevator, i found this one, signed by the artist. i think i have always liked their stark simplicity. i mean, c'mon, he projects a picture and then traces it and then has his assistants fill in the blanks before putting the finishing touches on himself. Still, they're pretty cool and it's pretty cool that the client has one. Across from a bank of elevators.

( JJ's VIP Party...Matt has his hands down the porn star's butt...slightly NSFW )

At least yesterday was a productive day and the stress and pressure were relieved a bit. i resolved some issues that had been lingering for the past couple of weeks and the solutions were of the "DOH!!" variety. No matter. By the afternoon, i got to escape for an hour an have lunch with my buddy Dave/He-who-shall-not-be-seen and ordered way too much. No matter, i have lunch waiting for me in the breakroom icebox (which i just remembered...thank you, LJ!). i had to facilitate a multi-project update meeting and as we're setting up, the projector just won't work right. It only works on extended screen and then looked all pink. "Oh, we used that one the other day and it did that to us, too." Well, gee, thanks, dipshit! Don't you think you could have told someone or put a note on it saying it was hosed?? Twenty minutes later, we had a new projector and were going. i managed to move everybody right along and even though we started late, i still got everyone to the cross-project mixer we had set up at Mosaic for 6pm! They had a private room set up for us and a good bar and really good appetizers. i swear, the BACC ("Big Ass Consulting Company" - my employer for you recent visitors to wooferWorld) could live on cocktails and appetizers. They had taken these potstickers and put them in shot glasses with satay sauce in the bottom. Simple, but delicious and classy! i didn't work the final bill, but i'm sure they were amply rewarded for their efforts. Afterwards, i took a cab down to JJ's to get picked up by Matt when he finished his zombie killing spree with Lance. Jeff, Dean and Dan & Luke were there getting the clubhouse decorated for the big weekend!

( after 6...uninvited and invited...a special invitation for YOU!!...SFW )

Merde!! What do these people want? From when i hit the office yesterday morning until 3:30 in the afternoon, i was constantly in meetings or webexes or some such nonsense. i finally got to escape and get some lunch - more an excuse to get out of the office than being hungry - and then they were back on me for more. i finally told the west coast guys that they were on their own, i had to catch my ride. Robert was picking me up for a good session of "percussive maintenance" over at The Club. i even got to paddle around in the pool for an hour. That was nice and relaxing and kept me off of my feet. So did the other parts of the session, but that's another story.

men_in_full had suggested that i collect some of my pictures in a group since i have so many that evoke feelings of loneliness and isolation. Someone else had commented that i was the "master of the lonely picture". Am i really that bad? Granted, when i'm not with Matthew i do feel very lonely and i miss him dearly. It's been nice working here in the city and coming home every night - even if i come home late, i'm still coming home. But a lot of times, i am on my own. To that end, i'm going to start rooting through my flickr account and compile some kind of collection. Things like this.

PS: i have an appointment to see my regular doctor on Friday about my foot. It'll be a week by then. The spot is still hurting, but me favoring it has started effecting other things.

Been working my ass off as you can tell since my first-thing-in-the-morning post is going in at 6 in the evening. This is the first break i've had since before 8am. my foot is still killing me. Yes, i should go see an ortho. No, i haven't called for a referral. Yes, i will do it tomorrow. No, i won't forget. k? k-thx. Matt drove me into work but since the Metrolink is only a building away, i took that out to the stop near JJ's and got there after 8pm. We stopped in for a drink and then friends joined us and by 9:30 i'd downed 6 Absolut-tonics. Maybe 7. Then a large Dopsi (Brandy & Pepsi) when i got home. It didn't help my foot any. Maybe some "percussive maintenance" will take my mind off of things...

( Monday night at the bar...i usually don't go out on a school night - SFW )

It was the Return of the Bluehairs to Powell Hall yesterday afternoon. As i mentioned in a post one month ago, Mike & Glen (gearjock & buzzedoff) joined us for the St Louis Symphony Orchestra's Casual Classics presentation of "An Afternoon In Vienna". It was all waltzes and polkas and lieder from "The Merry Widow" and "Der Fliedermaus" and it all wrapped up with a wonderful presentation of "The Blue Danube" ("An der schönen, blauen Donau") which has been a favorite of mine since i first heard it at the Royal Theatre in Pacific, MO, when i was 8-years-old seeing "2001: A Space Odessey" on it's original release. An older crowd, but that made it easier to rush the stage and get in the moshPolka Pit! LOL-just kidding. i hadn't been to a symphony concert in a decade and have forgotten how much fun it was. The conductor was really into it and seemed to literally dance through the music and they played some of Strauss' biggest hits, so everyone was satisfied. i think the next time, i'd like to sit in the balcony or at least the loge so we're looking down on the stage. i'd like to be able to see every section. We need to do this more often.
PS: my foot is still killing me.

( more from the symphony - SFW )

F*'n Figures
Originally uploaded by wooferSTL.

5 o'clock on Friday afternoon and California decides they can't get their shit together.

Sent from the road via wooferPhone

EDIT: Fortunately, not long after i posted this, they shut the fuck up and let me fix their problem. THEN it was time for happy hour with Matt. Of course, every hour with Matt is a happy hour, but you know what i mean...

Another late work night, though not as late as others have been. i thought to put the field cover on the wooferJeep. Matt pointed out that it had rained every Friday for the past couple of months and even though there was only a 30 to 40% chance, i thought i might as well. Good thing, too. It had drizzled a bit overnight and then started to rain as it was time to leave for work. i had to go put the bikini back on the top and the doors on so i could get to the office with a minimum of moistness.

( the rest of my Thursday night...one NSFW if you look in the dark )

WOOF, guys! Work continues to be a total clusterfuck, but in between waiting for my processes to cycle through, i'll try and get through this. If it gets a bit disjointed, it's probably because it was written in fits and starts over the course of three hours and two conference calls.

Thanks for all the input yesterday. It was fun getting some insight into what you thought of some of the stuff i put up. i'll bet y'all voted for lavender just because i said it made me look constipated, didn't you? LOL!! No matter. It's the vox populi, so "my lavender" it is. So, let's see what we have for you to choose from today ( courtesy of Matt and the Lumiere Casino )

i didn't leave the office until after 7pm (i start at 8am every day) and was on my way home and trying to take a pic-o-the-day. After posting the really cool looking experimental ones from over the weekend, i couldn't come up with anything really interesting to shoot. Sometimes it just isn't there, is it? Help me pick one of these three.

( help me pick the pic-o'-the-day )