Twitter

I very recently became addicted to Twitter. I created a personal Twitter to try it out, and now I use my tweets to update my status on Facebook. I love being able to tweet from my iPod touch. I feel somehow more connected to my social network when I use Twitter; it keeps me motivated to check Facebook more than I used to when I just used Facebook alone (don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you).

The problem, though, is that I have Facebook friends from all walks of life, some of whom I work with and some of whom don’t even know (for sure) I’m gay (like my cousins or some very Christian friends from high school). As a result, I find myself censoring my tweets. I don’t generally have a dirty mind, but there are some things that I don’t necessarily want everyone to know.

My best friend at work (who I may have referred to before as my “lunch friend”) and I went Starbucks after lunch today to get an afternoon caffeine fix (to get us through the day). Actually, we always (without exception) go to Starbucks after lunch. While we were waiting for our drinks, I saw a really cute guy ordering a drink. I kept eyeing him (I love eye candy), but I really wanted a way to document my thoughts (as mildly inappropriate as they are).

Because of my need to micro-blog in a slightly more anonymous way, I created a Twitter account specifically for this blog! This way, I have an outlet for what I’m thinking about throughout the day, and I can share those thoughts with the handful of people who read this (thank you)!

I added the Twitter widget to the right column of the blog. Also, if you have a Twitter account, you can follow me here. Enjoy!

Pink And Gold

Tomorrow is the eight year anniversary of the day I first came out. Usually on the day, my energy is just a little higher, I smile to myself a little more, and I try to celebrate in some small way. My uncle’s annual gathering to remember his late wife (my aunt) coincides with my anniversary this year, so I won’t be able to do anything particularly fun or gay tomorrow. Thus, I decided to have my small celebration today.

Continuing a tradition I started last year, I bought the very pink (very gay) venti passion tea lemonade (unsweetened of course) from Starbucks during my lunch hour. I only told two work friends about my anniversary: the (girl) friend I go to lunch with every day and my work crush. It was important for me to tell my two closest friends at work about it. They both were happy for me.

My lunch friend convinced me to spoil myself a little bit because it’s my anniversary, so I finally gave in and bought myself a Starbucks Gold card. For those outside the US, the Starbucks Gold card gives 10% off of all drinks and (regularly priced) merchandise. I’d been wanting one ever since they were first introduced late last year, but I felt I could never justify the $25 annual fee. I’m going to keep a log of how much I save by using this card, and we’ll see if it’s actually worth it. But in the meantime, I love getting new cards. I feel special.

Semblance Of Christmas

I feel like it’s been a long time since I updated. I hate having long breaks in between posts.

My brother is back from medical school for the holidays, so he’s been taking up my time when I’m not at work. Not only that, but our family’s annual Christmas gathering is tonight, so my whole family has been frantically trying to clean up all the clutter in the house. My brother is the only really organized person in our family, so clutter tends to build up to unorganizable proportions while he’s away.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love Christmas. Since I’m still at work, it really doesn’t feel like Christmas just yet. Thus, during lunch today, I made a point to buy myself a peppermint mocha (in a red holiday cup of course) from Starbucks. There has to be some semblance of Christmas today, otherwise I’ll be sad.

Luckily, I get the next two days off, so I have a nice four day weekend starting tomorrow. It’s going to be so relaxing. Meanwhile, a full day of work today with the Christmas party tonight means I’m going to be really tired by the end of the day. I’ll probably need the four day weekend to recuperate.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pike Place

My business trip to Seattle was really tiring, but it was also a lot of fun. The meeting went pretty well (I didn’t have to talk that much). My friend/boss wanted to meet with another person (without me) afterwards, so we ended up delaying our flight back home by a few hours.

Instead of being rushed from place to place on a very tight schedule, we got to spend some time to enjoy the city. I’m much more of a tourist than my friend/boss, so I dragged him to visit Pike Place. I had been there before, but only when it was closing for the night and there were very few people. This time, Pike Place was bustling with people (on a Wednesday afternoon!); it was great.

While we were at Pike Place, I, of course, had to stop by the very first Starbucks. I bought myself a Pike Place mug (only found there!) and a venti passion tea lemonade (no syrup). It was a warm, sunny day, so a cool drink (from the first Starbucks) was very refreshing.

The rest of the public market was really nice too. Beautiful flowers, handcrafted trinkets, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots of seafood. We even got to see the famous fish throwing at the Pike Place Fish Market.

I had a blast being a big tourist. My friend/boss continued to do work on his Blackberry the whole day, but at least he seemed to enjoy walking around Pike Place. We had time to walk around all of Pike Place and not feel rushed to get back to the airport. We even had time to look at all the gift shops in the airport too! I wish I had more business trips like this one.

Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino

I think I found a new favorite drink at Starbucks. A few days ago, I got to sample their petite vanilla scone, and it was really good. Today at work, I had a craving for that same vanilla flavor, but the little scones are a little overpriced (like most things at Starbucks). Instead I tried the caffe vanilla frappuccino. Yes, it’s more expensive than the petite scones, but at least it’s bigger and has coffee in it.

The caffe vanilla frappuccino was transcendent. I always thought I was more of a chocolate person, but there’s something special about that subtle yet delicious vanilla flavor. I don’t usually get whipped cream on drinks anymore (I’ve got to keep my girlish figure), but I forgot to tell the barista to skip it this time. Mixing the whipped cream into the frappuccino just added to the already smooth awesome creaminess. I was raving about the drink for hours afterwards (and still am apparently).

I’ve only had one caffe vanilla frappuccino, but I can already tell it’s addicting. After all, it only took one petite vanilla scone for me to crave it later. Starbucks must put something in their products to keep us wanting more. But I think I’m okay with that.

The Starbucks-Gym Combination

My last three days off from work were busy with friends. It was a great change of pace from my normal boring weekends. I really must hang out with my friends more often. Unfortunately, I didn’t have plans with anyone today.

I made a point not to visit Target today. Instead, I went to Starbucks for a couple hours and read one of the texts for the actuarial exams. My usual Starbucks was being renovated, so I had to find another Starbucks in the nearby area. It wasn’t hard.

Afterwards, I went to the gym for the first time since sometime in February (at least I think it was February; I haven’t mentioned going to gym on this blog since early January). I forgot how relaxing the gym is. I did a medium workout to gauge how my body and muscles have changed over the last few months. I was afraid that a lot of my weight loss was from muscle loss, but I still seem to be able to do everything that I could do from when I went to the gym regularly.

I’ve lost about twenty pounds since I started working at Target. I’m five or six pounds less than my “ideal weight,” which I thought was impossible to reach six months ago! Many of my friends have commented on how skinny I am. One of them is jealous that I weigh less than him. Whenever I go out to eat with him, he tries to buy me dessert!

The actual number of pounds I weigh is mostly just a number, not an indication of my health. I already know I’m healthy (knock on wood). Even still, I don’t want to gain weight from gaining muscle. Now that I’m skinny, I don’t want my weight to go back up, even if it’s in a good way (I know, I’m crazy).

Anyway, going to the gym was fun, except that my iPod nano was out of battery from lack of use. I used to listen to my nano every day, but I rarely use it now because I don’t listen to it at work. The battery can’t even hold a charge as long anymore. My (2nd generation blue) nano was a birthday present from six of my graduate school friends in 2006, so it has a lot of sentimental value.

The Starbucks-gym combination was what I did for the three months before working at Target, and it’s how I passed the first actuarial exam. Maybe it’s time to go back to what works.

Pink Passion

Seven years ago today was the day I first came out. I like to refer to March 14 as my anniversary. I’ve never really done anything too special on my anniversary, but I always keep the importance of the day in mind.

When I got to work today, I had an unusually high level of energy. One of my work friends is a lesbian, and luckily she was working today. Not too many people at work know (officially) that I’m gay, so it was nice to have someone to share my excitement.

During my break, I went down to the Starbucks inside Target and bought a passion tea lemonade. I just wanted a cold drink because I was hot (temperature-wise) from working, but I soon realized a pink drink was a perfect (small) way to celebrate my anniversary!

A Quiet Ending

My last day of my graduation trip was nice. I had a delicious sushi lunch with my friends who I had stayed with all week. Before my friends drove me to the airport, we sat in a Starbucks and drank warm beverages while watching little kids lick the windows. So cute and so disgusting. It was great to have a quiet day with my friends to end my trip.

I’m back home now. Time to return to business as usual. Only six days left until my exam.

Christmastime And Peppermint Mochas

The Starbucks I go to every day put up their holiday decorations today. They started using their red holiday cups and added the special holiday drinks to their menu. Christmas is coming!

The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. To celebrate the season, I bought my favorite Starbucks drink, a peppermint mocha, instead of my usual coffee. I got it made with nonfat milk and no whipped cream because of all the extra calories, but it was still fantastic.

Most people hate Christmas shopping, but I love it. There’s something magical about going to an overcrowded mall that has Christmas trees and lights everywhere. I can’t explain why it’s so magical, but shopping during Christmastime (can you believe that’s a real word?) always makes me happy. The music, the scents, the trees, the lights – I just love everything about Christmas!

Last year, I missed Christmas at home for the first time, and I didn’t get to do much Christmas shopping. As you might imagine, I felt a considerable loss. That means that this Christmas is going to have to count double, which makes it even more special!

Skinny Genes

As I said I would, I went to the gym today (fifth time this week!). I did a little less than usual, but still enough to feel like I worked off some of last night’s dinner. After my workout, I relaxed for a little while in the steam room. When I went in, there was a swimmer who I had seen before. He is so unbelievably skinny and trim all over. A true swimmer’s body if I ever saw one. And we all know how much I like swimmer’s bodies.

I just had to say something. Not because I thought he was hot (which he is) but because I would absolutely love it if I had a body like his. It’s not too weird for two naked guys in the steam room to have a chat, right? I got up the nerve and politely asked him if he has always been that trim.

He answered yes, even though he has three brothers who are all around 300 pounds. Apparently, obesity runs in his family, but he and his sister somehow got the “skinny gene” and are able to stay skinny no matter what. He said he does occasionally get belly fat, but the rest of him will stay skinny. Because of his family obesity, he does still worry a little bit about being fat, so he doesn’t eat fast food, stays really active, and tries to swim three or four times a week. I told him that I had gained weight then lost most of it but can’t seem to lose the last ten pounds that I want to lose. He said if he could market how he stays skinny he would make millions, but unfortunately he can’t sell his skinny genes.

In the end, I learned that some people are just genetically programmed to have swimmer’s bodies and that I’ll never have one. It’s sad, but it’s okay. If I can just trim down and lose as much gut as possible, I’ll be happy. I already look pretty fabulous in my “skinny jeans.” Haha, fun pun.

After I left the gym, I went to Starbucks to study for a little while. The Starbucks I went to is down the street from the gym (really, there’s a Starbucks down the street from everywhere). A few minutes after I ordered my obligatory coffee and set up all my study materials, the same swimmer guy walked in. He ordered a caramel frappuccino, said hi to me on his way out, and sat at a table outside to eat a fairly large sandwich (on white bread!) and drink his frappuccino. I thought it was hilarious that this incredibly fit guy was eating a big sandwich and drinking a super sweet, high calorie drink from Starbucks after coming straight from the gym. I’m so jealous.