Charlie’s Blog

If you haven’t already done today’s Jumble in your local paper, get thee to a newstand and quick! The third word is hilarious! You won’t believe it! Actually, the second word is kind of funny, too. I just love the Jumble except on days when I can’t figure out the puzzle which makes me feel stupid and hopeless. Anyway, the first person to find the word and post it in a comment on this blog gets a candy bar…either in person or by mail. I promise! Try me!

I’m seriously considering doing some push-ups in my room right now. It’s been so long since I seriously exercised, and action must be taken soon! I really would do push-ups and maybe some other exercises, but I just spent forever styling my hair for tonight (it’s Winter Solstice, after all), and I can’t very well get sweaty and let my hair get from almost cute to definitely not cute.

Speaking of hair, I’m back to my straight hair dilemma. Do I or don’t I get my hair chemically relaxed? There are many things to consider. On one hand, the expensive process turns my hair into straw and must be repeated every 4 to 6 weeks. On the other hand, my mini-glide flat iron is annoying to use and doesn’t do a good job at de-curling my locks. I read online that home relaxing kits work as well and aren’t more or less dangerous than what is used in salons. My other choice is to get a better iron. While I haven’t come to a decision, I’m going home to Hercules this weekend where I will use my sister’s salon-quality iron and see how that works for me.

Congratulations to me! I got a raise at work today!

I broke down and bought wrapping paper and tape and scissors last weekend so that I could wrap a Secret Santa gift for a party. Something possessed me to purchase paper made by the Scotch tape brand which is an ugly blue, green, and yellow plaid. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s not cute! On the bright side, it can be used for gifts year-round, but I’m not sure if I really want to give anything wrapped in it!

One more thing before I go. Last weekend, I saw a movie that has received mixed reviews (including 2 thumbs up) from critics. I did not like this movie and neither did my companion. It wasn’t the worst movie ever, but if I could go back in time, I would have spent my time and money otherwise. I won’t post what movie this is because I’d rather let you form your own opinion before I hang a gray cloud over it. However, I’ll tell you if you really want to know to avoid it.

Whew! It’s Friday night at long last! Actually, I had yesterday off so I didn’t work a complete week, but it was a struggle, nonetheless.

On my day off, I woke up to a marathon of Top Model, Season 4. I got to watch a bunch of episodes that I’d missed last year while working late nights at the PW. I must say that besides seeing Tyra scream almost as loud as my crazy mother, this season was pretty lame compared to the first one. The whole experience was soured by the knowledge that Naima, who was neither pretty nor likeable, would be the eventual winner. She looks like an ethnic Madonna. While I love Madonna, her music and some of her movies, you gotta agree that she doesn’t have top model looks, and neither does Naima. Kahlin should have won, but Tyra won’t ever let a pretty blonde win (yeah, I said it!).

Tonight, I’m going to see the Nutcracker!! Woohoo! I didn’t see it last year, so I’m especially excited this year.

I befriended a kitty on my street today. It had a tag that said its name was Sterling. You guessed it, it was the color of silver! Usually, kitties run fast in the other direction when I see them on the street, but Sterling ran slowly, then stopped. He came over to me and let me pet him for a really long time. Then he sat on my backpack and started getting entangled in the straps. It was so precious! He was eventually scared away by a noisy Fedex truck, but I was tired of sitting on the ground by then so I wasn’t sad. I hope I’ll keep seeing him around! I miss my Kitty!

Birthday shout-outs to Emily, Michael, and Holly! May this year be your best year!

So this week, I had a little bike drama. On Tuesday, I was arriving at work, riding down the street and BOOM! Charlie on the ground! I only skinned my knee, but I was shaken up. The next day, on my way to work, I notice the handlebars jiggling more and more. By the time I got there, they were so loose I just pulled them off. Well, they wouldn’t reattach so after work I had to walk my bike to the bus stop six blocks away (I don’t recommend walking a bike without handlebars…talk about awkward!) and catch the 11 to my neighborhood bike shop. The kid there fixed it in about fifteen seconds, and I was back on the road! All’s well that ends well, I guess.

This Christmas season sucks so far in my book. I haven’t heard two of my favorite carols: "Christmas Shoes" by Alabama (I think) and "My Only Wish (This Year)" by Britney. And it’s not for a lack of trying. I fucking play the holiday station all day long at work, praying for them to play my songs. On the bright side, I have heard Xtina’s version of "This Christmas" and Jessica’s rendition of "I Saw Mommy…" which are also in my top ten. Today, Brenda Lee’s "Rockin’ Around the Xmas Tree" was playing during lunch so I started doing Kevin’s dance from "Home Alone."

Today, I solved my very first 4-star Sudoku puzzle. I was very proud of myself. Tomorrow it’s going to be a 5-star which means maximum difficulty! I’ll let you know how it goes!

This just in! I found a website that plays "Christmas Shoes!" Here it is: http://www.freedwings.com/christmasshoes.php You don’t even have to download anything. Just go to the site and turn your speakers UP! I remember when I first played this for my mom, she said that she could imagine me going to Louis Vuitton and telling someone that I needed to buy  size 11.5 loafers for my sick mother.

One last thing…my readers have asked me to write about iPod disappointment. I’m really pissed at my pink mini these days. For one thing, I’ve had it less than a year, and the battery is all but dead. It dies after a half-hour of use. Also, now that I’m using my old computer which runs an older version of Windows that iTunes doesn’t support, I can’t sync it up and put new music on. There might be another way, but I’m not tech savvy enough to figure it out. I just have to listen to music from a CD or from ghetto/religious websites (see above). Luckily, my phone has a radio so I listen to that during my bike commute. Sometimes NPR really sucks, though. There was a half-hour interview with Johnny Cash’s daughter last week. C’mon now! And they wonder why people don’t want to pledge!

That’s all for now. I’m going to a yoga class later tonight, but that doesn’t make me cool.

Last week was a very busy one for me. The chorus had its holiday concert on Saturday and Sunday, so we had a ton of rehearsals in preparation for it. Happily, it went really well. My parents came and we all had fun. On Sunday night, there was a chorus party at this semi-divey gay bar, and I brought my mom and dad because there would be karaoke. They had so much fun, and it seemed like every guy in the chorus went over and told them how I was the greatest thing since sliced bread, so that was fun for me. Anyone who knows my dad knows that you can’t keep him off of a karaoke stage. He sang a song that everyone loved, "Travellin’ Man" by Rick Nelson, and even did a crazy dance during the break. Someone sang that 90’s alternative classic, "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," and he was singing that constantly the next day. He’s planning on learning that for a karaoke holiday party this weekend. As for me, I sang "Dress You Up" by Madonna, probably an octave too high, but it was fun. My karaoke goals include "Just Like Jesse James" by Cher and "I Write The Songs" by Barry Manilow.

I’ve been watching "The Family Guy" DVD’s, and they are so funny! There’s one where they actually spoof a song from "Annie." Instead of "I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here" (the song where Annie first gets to the Warbucks mansion) they sang "This House is Really, Freaking Sweet." FYI, that episode is called "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" and is Season 2, Episode 1.

Last night, I got to put to use all of the skills I’ve learned from Tyra on Top Model and display this season’s ski wear at the gay ski club meeting. I wore a really nice and expensive coat and paraded down a mini-runway onto a mini-stage while the salesgirl explained all of the features of my outfit. My second walk in my apres-ski jacket was especially fun. I did the little trick where you take off the jacket and toss it over your shoulder. Unfortunately, the jacket had a velvety lining that prevented it from just sliding off, but once I yanked at it, it worked. After this experience, I can confidently say that modeling isn’t really hard work like all of those bitches say. They need to come to St. Tropez Bistro at 12:30 PM to find out what hard work is all about!

One more thing, if you haven’t heard the new Destiny’s Child ballad, "Stand Up For Love," I don’t know what you’re waiting for. Get your listen on! You can watch the video on AOL music for free. It’s all about the children.