Some of the business at work slowed so that I ended up in a better mood than I have been. Thursday I went out with some co-workers to drink at the Cuff. Laurie, Trent, Steve and I all sat at a round table, talking above Fleetwood Mac playing over the sound system. Our conversations often crossed each other without much interference. I went home after two drinks, but that evening made me crave for some more nightlife Friday.

City People�s Merchantile (CPM) is closing an hour early so I�ve been getting off work with enough of the evening that I feel reasonable going out afterward. Friday I stopped by my friend Carolyn�s and asked her out. Her first words to me were about her friend Ryan, who�d just died in Portland. She agreed to accompany me for dessert since she�d already eaten. So I grabbed some take-out and went home to change.

At home I was logged online when Baxter instant messaged me. He�s a friend I made in the early nineties and hung out with on an almost daily basis but have since lost contact with over the past six years. We chatted a while online. As I was getting offline to dress for dessert Carolyn phoned and I am reminded that I can be flaky as well as following my own time schedule without notifying other people. So I was well on my way to Carolyn�s and when I arrived it turned out that she was doing a quick ritual in memory of her friend Ryan, saying that the last time she remembered dancing with him was when Erasure was playing.

We decided to visit Caf� Septieme on Broadway and had just a lovely time and conversation. After walking Carolyn home I ventured over to the Vogue and hung out drinking a beer. I was intrigued to note that the crowd resembled the same crowd who attends the fetish night on Sunday, save Purple Mark and my friend Craig who I tend to hang with. It was also relatively crowded so I left after an hour of dancing.

Baxter mentioned that he might be visiting the Eagle that evening so I dropped in to find him there as expected. But before we connected, I shed rain on a shirtless young man while waiting to purchase a beer. He didn�t seem to mind although he was much shorter than me and must have caught plenty of the rain shedding from my raincoat. Later while smoking in the open air backyard with Baxter, the same young man came out and proceeded to flirt with us by flexing his torso which was amazingly developed. I have to admit I was quite turned on.

Soon after that I trundled myself home as I needed to get some rest for work the next day, but sat up chatting on the internet, finally meeting a young man who recognized my name from a zine I did several years back. He lived in No. Carolina and seemed intelligent and talented. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat.

I was so exhausted Saturday that after meeting Laurie and Trent again at Thumpers for a martini I blew home, called Baxter to confess I was too exhausted to go out another night and promptly climbed into bed.

Today was somewhat pedestrian as far as Sundays go. Brunch was attended by Carolyn, Purple, John P, Judith and myself with Alex arriving as we were wrapping things up. Alex put us in stitches with his quips and anecdotes about work at his salon. I was struck by how truly funny he is and how he has a unique way of telling a story. I wish I could replicate that style.