There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

This weekend has been pretty great thusfar. After work Thursday I ran home to grab a few things (including a letter from Jessica!), then headed to Cullman with Jeff, who is taking care of his pets this weekend. We went to eat and then visit Noel her roommate Landon and their friend Josh; funtimes, as always. Later Jeff and I headed home and went to bed. Friday we headed to Birmingham and ate lunch at Moe's before picking up Jess and going to the Galleria, where we saw Tyler breifly and later met with Lance, Britni, and Thomas. The most exciting things were a horse riding machine and a surf board machine, riding the carousel, and just being together. Sadly, Jeff and I had to leave (an hour later than we intended) so we could let the dogs out again at his house then go back to Florence for the birthday party of one Chris Anderson. I was kinduv exhausted and not looking forward to being social, but I'm really glad we went, because I had a fantastic time, especially visiting with friend I don't see very often and meeting people I've heard lots about but never gotten to visit. People I hung out with most: Kacy, Eric, Luke, and O'Brian, and later Ricky and Josh and Justin and Other Eric. I also met a Joe and a Paige and an Eva and a Tae, and Ben was there, and an Amy and an Ashley (and of course I hung out with Jeff and Chris). Oh, and Jacob and Rita were there when I arrived, too, though they left shortly after I got there. I think, maybe, that's everyone, though I could be mistaken. I'm not sure why it's important to me to catlogue events like this. I guess it will be interesting to see if any of our paths cross again, and also writing the names down helps solidify people in my memory, so that if we do meet again, I will have a name and a face in the rolodex of my memory.

This morning we watched some Margaret Cho with breakfast; she was hilarious, as always. "Fag hags are the backbone of the gay community. Without us, you're nothing." That cracked me up. In looking up that quote, I found another interesting quote from Ms. Cho about the term fag hag: "The marriage of two derogatory terms, fag and hag, symbolis[es] the union of the world’s most popular objects of scorn, homosexuals and woman, creat[ing] a moniker that most of those who wear it find inoffensive, possibly because it smacks of solidarity." The article also links several other pieces dedicated to the relationship of straight women and gay men. I didn't know there was so much literature on the subject, although I shouldn't be surprised, having analyzed the relationship myself several times, especially after so many classes dealing with gender and sexuality. Maybe I'll share some of what I find later tonight after the boys go to bed. Also, Margaret has a very interesting web site, in case you didn't know.

I'm a little bit down this afternoon, partially due to a fucked up sleep schedule, and partially do to an absence of friends. I've noticed this is a trend with me- after being in social situations, specifically with people I love very much, it's followed by a brief depression when I find myself alone. Depression- that word has such dismal connotations... I don't mean I spend hours crying in the bathroom wondering why my life's so miserable... dictionary.com says depression is "a condition of general emotional rejection and withdrawal," which is exactly what I mean. I guess I just wanted to clarify.

I think it's a bit more pronounced this time because Jessica is in Florida and Jeff is in Cullman, and they are usually here. Hmm. O'Brian, if I show up on your doorstep tonight, will you cuddle with me?

Anyway, here's my Sacred Advertisement this week:

Tantric sex practitioners say an artful lover never makes love the same way twice.

Similarly, chanteuse Billie Holiday believed a good singer should never sing a song the same way twice. If you use all the same phrasing and melody, she said, you’re failing your art.

The only Zen master we know--whose name we can’t tell you because she changes it every week, and we haven’t heard the latest one--likes to quote the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus: "You cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you."

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has the last word: "Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible."