One of these days (and I’m hoping soon), I will post my thoughts on the preacher who preached about Jesus being down with the people with HIV and AIDS. And his opposition. This all happened a while ago, so it sort of sucks that I’m just now getting around to even reminding myself to do this. Lame. I will totally do this, though.
It’s funny that I’d remember this today considering it’s World AIDS Day (and I just remembered that).
So, in the last month, I have been to many places that are not Carrboro. Honestly, though, they have all been Winston-Salem, or the cities that are on the way to or from Winston-Salem and Carrboro. This is all new from how I used to spend my time in Fayetteville, which was time spent not leaving.
I have some friends in Winston-Salem that I’ve been visiting on a regular basis. And then I see various friends while I am there. I also drive through Greensboro and Burlington, so occasionally I stop. Also, about mid-September I started going on dates with a girl who goes to Duke. She’s actually in the same program as Layla. So, like any good geek, I have been checking into foursquare like a fiend (though not nearly as much as some friends I have).
The last weekend of September I went to Winston-Salem to visit some friends who were having a house warming party. It was a busy weekend – I had to go to work in Garner, and then I went to Durham to go to Pride for a couple of hours. After that, I took a 30 minute nap or so at home, and then headed to Winston. All in all, a good weekend. But my friends had invited me to go to Pride in Asheville the next weekend, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about driving to Winston the next weekend (which is funny now, considering all the driving I’ve been doing each weekend). But, I decided I’d do it!
Really, this is the only really good picture from Burlington Pride (since I mostly just pics of the Mountains on the drive back and forth):
Of all the rainbows and awesomeness there, this is the only picture I actually took at Pride. I guess my priorities are right.
Blue Ridge Pride
Haha. I actually preferred the Blue Ridge Pride to NC Pride. Things felt less forced, and everyone felt a little more chill. I got a coloring book which I had had on my amazon wishlist for a while.
Lexington Avenue Brewery
We also had lunch in Asheville. They had this really interesting White Ale that they had made with chamomile and orange peels. It also had a champagne feel, but a definite beer taste. I got fish tacos, which led to some embarrassment when my friend called me out on the irony of this in front of the waitress.
Down Town Books
Gaea
I actually got more excited about all the shops down Lexington Avenue. We went to a used bookstore (which I am a sucker for) and a New Age shop which had an amazing selection of Tarot cards.
We also had dinner in Hickory just so we could say we did.
The Q Lounge
We then went to The Q Lounge in Greensboro to finish up the gay festivities for the night. It wasn’t all that great because there weren’t really any lesbians. But it was pretty bad ass because started in Winston-Salem for the day, went to Asheville, stopped in Hickory for dinner, and then made our way to Greensboro. It felt busy.
Blue Corn
That was the end of that weekend, more or less. The next week, I went on a date with Cheryl (who I started seeing pretty consistently this week). Sunday, when I got back, we went to Sushi Love (which has been our main place of dating). On another occasion we went to Blue Corn, which was pretty awesome. I had an empanada. I’d gone to Sarah’s Empanadas in the RTP area earlier, and was pretty disappointed. But the one at Blue Corn was much better. We also went to Chick-Fil-A the next day, and then Monterrey in Chapel Hill the day after that. We spent a lot of days together. Which is probably part of what led to the next weekend.
What I was really failing to mention above is that I went through moments of really enjoying going out on dates with Cheryl, and other moments of it just not working out in my mind. I really wish we had kept the physical out of it a little longer. I wanted longer to enjoy everything. But once things started getting physical, I was having trouble connecting. I knew something was off, though I felt connected on an intellectual level. I have never experienced, head on, the inability to be physically compatible with someone. It was interesting because it seemed like it should be insignificant, but it just wasn’t.
Edward McKay Raleigh
We didn’t hang out for a day or two, but then I invited her to get lunch with me in Cary at a nice little New York Deli (Cheryl is from New York). I had a Hebrew National Hotdog which was Ah-May-Zing. We then decided to go to the one Edward McKay that I had not been to yet (look at me still going to different cities!): Raleigh.
We then went home, and I took a nap. Cheryl then invited me over in the later evening, which is where everything went, even though nothing happened. We just went to bed, and I woke up feeling miserable and missing Lauren in a way that I thought I had lost. I wanted to cry, so I went home. I posted a status update that said, “Britta Martin Would really like to get out of this city today.” And my friends from Winston were like: Dixie Classic Fair!
Dixie Classic Fair
So, I drove to Winston – again. And Dixie Classic Fair-ed it up. There was awesome fair drama, and laughing and playing games. Some people rode rides. I ate a lot of food (YUM), and… yeah. It was just what I needed because I was feeling so, so down.
This is a great photo of everyone but me (though you can see my awesomely big head shadowing over them). I also won a prize at one place, and got some lemonade, which you will see in the photo bellow:
Sadly you cannot see that he is a monkey coming out of a banana peel. HE’S A MONKEY COMING OUT OF A BANANA!!
Mellow Mushroom
Finnigan's Wake
We also went to Mellow Mushroom and Finnigan’s for beer after. We got back pretty early because Stephanie had to go to work early.
And then the next day I met up with Ashlea at Starbucks. It was also National Coming Out Day: “Britta Martin Happy National Coming Out Day! It feels somewhat appropriate to be “celebrating” this in Winston-Salem with Ashlea.“
Edward McKay Winston-Salem
Which led to my next Edward McKay conquest of the week:
My Little Sister from college also wanted to meet up or lunch, so we went to Jimmy John’s (I love eating food, guys). It was good to see her. It was her (Lesley), Ashlea and me. I hadn’t seen Lesley in a number of years, and I miss her. I’m hoping to actually get to hang out with her soon. Also, before I went home, I hung out with Jean. It’s interesting to note how relationships don’t change, even though they do.
So, the next week I had a relatively hectic and emotional week. I was unhappy, I guess is the way to put it. I was depressed is probably the best way to put it. I had every intention of not going to Winston-Salem that weekend (Maura’s birthday celebration was that weekend, which is why I was invited again). But, you know, getting over a past relationship is a cycle. And I was in a hurt phase. I had found out the weekend before that Lauren’s grandfather was going in for surgery, and I had not found that out through her. It had hurt because I had been there with her when her grandmother passed away. Her father helped me move from Fayetteville to Carrboro (and did it without complaint, did not let me pay for gas, and then paid for my dinner). It’s not that I feel the closest that I can to her family, but I respect them and I do care about them. So, it felt like a punch in the gut to know that I’m not allowed to feel for them.
Tokyo Steakhouse
So, very last minute (like, I woke up Friday morning and made the decision) I decided to head to Winston again. I did everything needed for work (which was a lot more than planned because they had me going to different branches than I had been at the week before), went home, walked my dog, and headed to Winston. And we had Japanese, which was not nearly as exciting as it should have been (and our waiter was weird and not very good, but our chef was badass).
Edward McKay Greensboro
The next day I tried to get in contact with Ashlea before I headed home (early in the morning), but was unsuccessful. So, I started heading home. I was still feeling a little off, but I called Aly in Burlington (it’s on the way home!), and we decided to spend the evening together. Which is where I had my next Edward McKay conquest for the week! After our trip there, we had dinner at a nice little Mexican restaurant in Burlington. La Fiesta! Mmm.
As soon as I got home that evening, my neighbors were out on their porch. Madeleine yelled for me to come over, which I did. And it was one of the best nights ever. I had quite a bit of beer, and shared beer, and talked, and vented, and was told I was beautiful and amazing. Which is even better when you’re drunk, I think. I danced, and people got naked around me, which was odd, but also nice (boobs). And then I got one of my neighbors to make out with me, without really having to do anything, which was pretty badass. And then I went to bed.
And I ended my week with a two hour drive around Orange and Chatham counties, and a trip to the dog park.
I worked in Pittsboro this past week, which means I tried all kinds of new places to eat (can you tell that I love food?). I tried Angelina’s Kitchen and got the Falafel pita (with hummus and the cucumber sauce that I don’t know how to spell). It was badass. The use all organic and locally grown things. Tuesday I went to the General Store Cafe and had black beans and rice (brown rice, which was good). I had that for leftovers on Wednesday. I also went to Chatham Marketplace Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. I was so super impressed with the almond croissants that I got them three days in a row. Also, they have Larry’s Beans, which I love. Thursday I got Andy’s, and got a cheeseburger and fries. I did love the fries, but the burger had too much pepper. Beyond that, for the price I paid, I got a good bit to eat. And then on Friday I got Diana’s Tex Mex. I didn’t feel that impressed, but maybe I need to try it again? I did think it was too high priced for what I got.
Dan Thai
Thursday evening I drove to Burlington to meet up with a friend who lives in Greensboro. Burlington is about half way between us exactly. We went to Dan Thai. We got Pad Thai and Pad See Eew, which we shared (with tofu, because she has given up meat for a class on substance abuse – awesome). We talked for quite a few hours, and I’m glad we’re hanging out. She’s so mother fucking awesome. I like being able to connect with her one things, especially on counseling and how we view friendship and such. Also, we talked about intuition and such.
And then last minute, on Friday, I decided to drive to Burlington to spend the evening with Aly. We had Moe’s. I had the Ruprict. I haven’t had that in probably a couple of years, so it was super enjoyable. I could tell Aly was a little on edge all night. She wouldn’t really admit to it, so I wasn’t going to bring it up. In the end, though, she did bring it up. Turns out, I’m badass. It also turns out that I may have more of an effect on people than I mean to. I would never say I give mixed signals, because I quickly want to fix the mix up… but I do think I offer a pretty hardcore friendship, that I even confuse. It’s okay to be attracted to someone and not be with them. I confuse myself because I can cross the boundary of making out without confusing the friendship in my own mind… but not everyone can do that. I guess it’s also confusing when I provide something that you want/need, and I provide that without thinking.
Also, Lorien and I talk a lot. I’ll have to delve into that later. Because that’s a whole other thing.
Looks like I’m an aunt! First time for me, so super exciting! And super exciting for my sister, Jasminn, because this is her first time being a mom!
This might sound dumb, but I’m not 100% on his name yet. Jasminn had a name picked out, but from what Mom was telling me, she didn’t think it fit once she had him. I think she also had to have a C-section.
That’s my other sister, Addison, with him.
I recently got a Droid. Since that time, my facebook has been a pretty active/happening place. I constantly update my status (sometimes too much… especially when drunk), and I’m all kinds of active on getglue.com and foursquare.com. Which are then updated on my facebook. I upload more pictures because I can quickly do so via phone.
And I sort of realized – I am using my phone to, essentially, blog. I realize that facebook is not blogging, but I am doing everything (albeit in a very short-hand way) I would normally do on a blog. I am posting about how my day has gone/is going. I am photoblogging in much the same way. I am tagging what I am doing/where I am going, which is something I would also blog about.
And so now I wonder – maybe I should blog about it. I have a livejournal that I have had since I was in 10th grade. I am now 25. And I don’t feel as connected to it (though I realize it is still mine, and I still love it). Maybe going somewhere else (somewhere that feels a lot more professional) will tempt me.
I am going to play around with uploading photos and copying my foursqure photos and such here. I think it’ll be interesting. Telling a story using more pictures. Telling a story.
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