February 2001

1 February

Today I repierced my nipples. One of my nipple rings had come out a year ago, when I was in Texas (it had never healed properly) and the other had started to reject towards the end of last year, so I took it out when I got back to the US. But now I am pierced again, courtesy of Piercing Experience. I had both nipples done at the same time, the left by Brian and the right by Somerset. And the feeling was incredible. Amazing. And now I have metal in my nipples again. Yay.

The piercing went a little later than I had intended, so I was late to call Michele, who was coming over to watch Blue Velvet. As it happens she was MIA (asleep at a friend's place) so I was unable to get hold of her anyway. So instead I had an early night to help my nipples heal.

While picking up some Tagoderm patches (to cover the healing nipples) I spied the Power Puff Girls board game. So I had to buy it. Lauren just grimaced. Heheh.

2 February

Oops, I slept badly on my side, so my right nipple looks a little ugly. A little clean up and it should be okay.

Ooh, it looks like I'm going to Vegas at the end of March. Woohoo. After work, John and I hung out at home watching TV until Norm was finished and then we wandered over to the Local. We also played the Power Puff Girls board game. After a drink there it was time to go to Lauren's birthday party at Brandon and Stacie's home. What can I say about this party except that it rocked. Shawn kept me nicely drunk, as I understand he did to a lot of people.

At some time after 5am, Lauren dropped me and Brad back at my place.

3 February

Bad hang over. Really bad hang over. Feel bad all day. Brad and I watched (or napped through) The Big Sleep and then Top Secret and then I dropped Brad back at his car.

Later, I went over to the Local where I hung out for a while until it was time for Lauren and I to go to the Vault. Part of the time spent at the pub was with John and his hot date of the evening (Charlotte); they had been to see Crouching Tiger, Sleeping Dragon, which both liked. They seemed to be having a good night, and she was a nice girl.

After the club, I drove Heather's car (Heather was totally unable to drive) back to Lauren's and then we (ie with Lauren ad Jessee, too) continued to drink and play Uno. At around 6am, Lauren decided it was time for bed, so we all crashed out.

4 February

Lauren and I got up around midday after phone calls from Lexi (who was still in town) and Craig (Lauren's brother). We went over to Tortilla's for breakfast and then I went home, recovering my car from the Local. The day went rather slowly and not a lot was accomplished.

5 February

Happy Birthday Lauren! Have a great day.

This morning I drove to Nashville. I don't think I'll be here very long this week.

Tonight I updated everything for January to bring this journal up to date. Well, mostly...I also IMed Clair while he was at work, and had a brief, um, exchange, with Michele.

6 February

A smooth, uneventful day was sp[ent in Nashville, and I ascertained that my presence was not going to be required for the rest of the week, so after work, I checked out of my hotel and drove home. Of course, I bought lunch for the customer, at their favourite food spot - Cracker Barrel.

It was a good run home. As I was passing Howell Mill Road, I called home to see if anyone was there. John was talking to Charlotte (oh how sweet), but he was thinking of going to the Local. I didn't tell him I was in transit and would be there in about 10 minutes. Heheh. He was still talking to Charlotte when I walked in the door.

So we went down to the Local and enjoyed a beverage or two. Or three. Willy was tending bar, and he did a good job of keeping us entertained. Charlie, (actor) Dan, and Steve were also about, and Stephanie was looking after the tables. Heaps big fun.

7 February

I was feeling a bit rough, and as I had been doing a considerable amount of driving on my own time just recently, I called in to say I would be at work around lunch time. The work day started slowly, too, but things were moving ahead quite nicely by the time I left at 6:15ish.

After work, John and I headed to the Local to get a table for trivia. It was good that we left when we did, because the place filled up like never before. It was packed. Dinner was taken, and the Jenny turned up. That was our team. We didn't do too well. There was a table of loud people next to us that a huge noise whenever they got a question right. And there were a lot of players at the table, so they got most right. In the end, the bar team won (we can live with that) and the obnoxious table came second. We were nowhere near the stakes. Thank you to Colleen, for exceptional service under the trying nature of the circumstances.

After the game, Jenny left and Lauren and Shane turned up. Woohoo!! We hung out at the pub for a couple of hours, generally having fun (and tequila). Around midnight, John and Lauren took off (Lauren drove John back to our apartment) and Shane and I went over to MJQ. Which was a blast! Jody played a great selection of music, to which I danced excessively. I also had a few more drinks to increase the funness of the evening. Michele and Billy were out and about and I had a quick chat with them both. I was hoping to see Myra out, but alas, she didn't make it again. Bother. Around 2:30ish I decided that I had had enough fun for one evening and went on home.

8 February

Vacation Day! Yes, I arranged in advance to have today off, and it was a splendid day. I learned earlier in the week that I had nine and a half vacation days owed to me from last year that I hadn't used. So I have to use a bunch of them fairly quickly or I will lose them. Hence, today is going to be a relaxing day off.

I was awake reasonable early, as our landlord came by to fix the smoke detectors. Then I got online. But wait, I thought to myself, let's check to see if DSL is working yet. And it was! Yay, Billy; you rock! Big bottle of alcoholic beverage coming your way. So I got online and chatted with a bunch of peoples (Lauren, Clair) and then decided I should eat.

First stop the shower, and then out into the world. It was a lovely day: mostly fine, light breeze, comfortable temperature. Very nice. I had lunch at La Fonda (I tried El Azteca first, but it was very full), and then charged across the road to the bank to deposit my latest expense claim check. I also checked my balance, and it was decidedly bad. I will have to transfer some money from my savings account to cover my latest checks. Bother.

From there I zoomed down to Smoothie King for a mango and orange smoothie and back home to play with my new high speed connection. Napster, here I come! I also upgraded my OS to the latest service pack. And then I took a nap. Much needed. Later in the afternoon I got back online and chatted with people (Clair, Lauren, Michele, Shane, Myra) again while downloading songs. I really should have done other things on my day off, but this was necessary, goddamnit!

Nipple update: The nipples appear to be doing well. They are a little itchy, but that's just the healing process at work. I am so looking forward to them being ready to play with again.

For dinner, Lauren came over and we wandered up to Spice, which has just recently opened on the corner of 5th and Juniper. It was very busy when we got there: we were told there would a wait of about an hour. The place was very swank, so we decided to wait at the bar. The martini's were good. Very good. Lauren was getting a buzz after the first. We also ordered an appetizer: potatoes with olives and garlic in herbs. Divine.

I finished my second martini and our table was ready. We wandered upstairs. The staff were very polite and efficient. My first two choices of wines were unavailable (although the wine list was very good), so I took the recommendation of our waiter. This turned out to be a very tasty coice. The food menu itself was also very good, with about half of the dishes devoted to seafood. We each started with a romaine salad, which was very tasty, and some wonderful bread arrived to keep as happy untli our main courses arrived. Tuna was the order of the day for Lauren, and I feasted on a perfectly rare New York strip, accompanied by asparagus and a caramalised onion stuff with tasty tomoato. Fantastic meal.

After dinner we wandered back to my apartment and Lauren went off home, agreeing to meet at the Local around midnight. I hung out for the next hour and a half with John and then shot over to the Local, where Clair was also going to meet us. Lauren never made it. She crashed out when she got home. But that was no matter, because Clair and I had a great time, leaving not much before 3am.

9 February

And Friday is upon us. What a week. I had put fresh sheets on my bed yesterday, so my bed was nice and crisp and I didn't want to get up. Ah well, much to do at work so up I got and off I went. Oh, I changed the dressings on my nipples first - they are looking good.

Tonight, Mojave 3 are playing at the Echo Lounge. Shane has expressed an interest in going to the show with me, so I will meet him at the pub.

Both the Stephanies were working tonight, which is always very pleasant: they are both friendly and very attractive. Heheh. I chatted with Craig for a while as I watched the Thrashers beat the Bruins. And then I selected twenty four songs on the jukebox. I WILL rule the jukebox. Steve turned up and I chatted with him a while and then we were joined by Vanessa and later John (who had a couple of closings to do, so was late). Shane didn't show up, and I felt no urge to drive to East Atlanta in the rain, so I bounced over to Lauren's around midnight.

Lauren and Heather were have a hair-dye party, in an effort to rid themselves of prominent roots. Glenn and Jessee were also in attendance, but not involved in the hair-colouring. We chatted about all sorts of stuff, and at some ungodly hour ordered pizza and cheesebread. That was possibly a mistake. I think Heather and Jesse bailed around 4ish and we all hit the sack. Well, I hit the couch...

10 February

I planned on staying in, having a quiet night. That didn't happen. In fact the night turned into madness. Very odd.

11 February

Charlotte joined John and I for Sunday night TV. Sarah and Alice were also around which made for a nice change.

12 February

Stayed home.

13 February

Went to the Local to meet up with Lauren, Clair and Rosalie. Was late home. Very late. We played Mexicans. It was fun.

Had a few problems with one of the nips. It's a little swollen, I guess from sleeping funny on it. Oh well. Stopped in at Piercing Experience to let Brian check it out, and he put larger balls on the piercing. All should be good.

14 February

I went to Trivia and played on the bar team, named St Valentine's Day Massacre. We came second. I didn't go to MJQ.

John had dinner with Charlotte. So cute...

15 February

I went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When I got home, I paged Lauren to see if she wanted to get dinner (I was home much earlier than expected), but she was nowhere to be found, so I got online and downloaded a whole heap of songs. I chatted with Clair a little as well. I was also a good little house-body, bring in the rubbish bins and doing the dishes. Later I went to the pub and was joined by Clair when he finished work.

16 February

Worked, came home, stayed in. As did John. I downloaded

17 February

I was up and at work by 10am and I didn't leave until 8pm. I was supposed to go to the Apoptygma Berzerk show at the Masquerade, but while I was munching on some dinner at Lauren's, I was paged and I spent the next two hours working remotely from home. About that time Sarah came home and we watched Sleepy Hollow. Just before the movie finished (about 1am) I got paged again and had to go into work. I got out of there around 2am and stopped in at the Vault. It was busy. I wasn't in a very happy mood, so I went home.

All in all, not a very happy day for Damon. John had a better day.

18 February

Had brunch with Sarah, Alice, Alice's mum and Kari in East Atlanta. Tasty. Later on went shopping with Clair and bought a couple of comics (Oxford Comics) and some batteries for the remote control (Home Depot), and had a bite to eat at R. Thomas. A friend of John's had stopped by with her baby, and John and Charlotte were oohing and ahing over it. Vanessa stopped round for a while, and when John left to take Charlotte home, Vanessa, Clair and I watched the Power Puff Girls, Meet the Beat-Alls. We watched Futurama and then Vanessa went home.

Sarah came home thereabouts, and John arrived midway through the The Simpsons with Chinese food. Yay for John.

19 February

Today was a sucky work day. If anything could go wrong, it did. I was at work from 8am until after 6pm, after being paged several times before hand. I even got a nice little 4:30am phone call. Ugh. I got an early night. Well, I tried. Sleep wasn't the smoothest, but I tried.

20 February

Today was another busy day at work, but less stressful. This is a good thing. I can handle that. I was there from about 8:15 until 5:45, so a good day was put in.

I called my sister to see how she was doing - she's about three weeks from having a kid. I'm going to be an uncle soon.

The soundtrack to 37°2 Le Matins (aka Betty Blue) arrived from Amazon today. Rock on. It's been so long (eight years?) since I've heard this. I'd love to get hold of the movie itself, but it's no longer available on VHS and I can't find it on DVD.

I haven't been very verbose with my journal lately. I apologise. I blame stress. I shall do something about both soon.

Around 8:30ish, I headed down to the Local, as tonight was a planned get-together with a bunch of people. I was quite pleased to see that Jesse was there, having had dinner there. We chatted for a while, catching up on bits and pieces. He met Ron Jeremy while he was at Sundance, and generally had a good time in Utah. He's also starting up a company to write some software for doctors. He has plans...

Shane arrived amid preparations for an exam tomorrow. Will and Andie turned up next, followed by John. The night got under way in earnest. Dan (the actor man) stopped over with photos from New Years Eve. He left John and I a set (which we have already misplaced...). Lauren, Jen, and Clair also made late arrivals. Sarah came too. What a night. We played Mexicans. Vanessa was here as well for that, because John had to drive her car home, because she was not in a good state for that sort of task. I think TUesday nights are going to become a regular thing again. This was fun.

21 February

Last night may have been fun, but today certainly was not. Talk about feeling rough. Ugh. John didn't get up until 10:30. Bastard.

So, like I said, work was a little rough, but things got done. They generally do. After work I came home and had a bit of a nap. I was tossing up whether or not to go to trivia, but in the end I decided I would.

I arrived a little late - the first round was complete - and found Linda struggling on her own. So I sat with her and we bodgered our way through round two, at which point John arrived. Our overall performance was lackluster, to say the least, but John and I both felt we had a reasonable excuse. Rather than go to MJQ, we went home afterwards. Sleep was very appealing.

Sarah and Alice were watching Priscilla: Queen of the Desert when we got back, so I watched that with them for a little while, and then popped in to John's room to watch The Daily Show for a whle longer. I also helped John with the crossword. And then it was bedtime. Sleep, sweet sleep.

22 February

A much better day. Up early(ish), at work early(ish), an early lunch, and much work completed. A successful day to end the week. Time for a long weekend...

23 February

Had the day off work. Fantastic. Got up late, had food at Eats (spinach fettucine in pesto sauce with mushrooms and chicken). Bought battery for my camera. Went home and sat on the deck reading my book. Came inside when the temp dropped.

Went to Local then met over to Stephanie's apartment and hung out there for a while then went to Dark Horse to see a band then back to STephanie's and then I went to the Vault.

24 February

Went to the Local. Went to Sandy's birthday party.

25 February

Was supposed to go to Fado to watch football with Myra. But I left my car at the Local last night, so I had to wait until Juhn got up.

Had Tim and Steve over around 3pm to try the new scotch and sample a few of my others. We also watched Dogma and moved on to beers for Sunday night TV. Ordered pizza. Was a great afternoon/night.

26 February

Stayed in after work. Alice cooked chicken for her and I. Read new comics.

27 February

Dinner/beers at Three Dollar Cafe with work crew. Then went to the Local with John. Then stopped in at Innovox to see gothsters.

28 February

Trivia with John, Linda, Jenny. No good. Myra turned up after. We went to MJQ, but a band was about to start, so we jumped over to Nomenclature for an hour and then back to MJQ. Ended up staying out until 4am. Not planned. Not good. Oh well...