here are the top ten reasons i've been too busy to really update my freaking journal in the past two weeks.

10. because i've been finishing the first season of angel on DVD. it took me memorial day through independence day to get through the first four seasons of buffy. that's four seasons. not bad at all. for some reason, i started angel back in late july, then got sidetracked. now that the second season is available at fine stores everywhere, i figured i'd better kick it up a notch.

9. because this picture of ryan makes me laugh until i pass out.

8. because i was celebrating chip and riechen winning the amazing race. yeah, right on. it's about time that someone i like and was rooting for from the beginning wins one of these damn reality shows.

7. because of the crazy-ass storms knocking out power and shit. i can't take the blame for all of this. some of it belongs to god and/or mother nature, because all the downed trees made electricity kinda inconsistent here in central anne arundel county.

6. because i recently discovered the sheer joy of queer eye for the straight guy. how did i just stumble onto this show? it's terrific. when it ends, i'm left with a big smile on my face and the urge to redecorate my room in sassy but complimentary color schemes. also, i wanna do kyan and ted. and sometimes jai. thom and carson can watch and make catty remarks about my technique.

5. because i finally fucking joined a gym. oh yes. i've been wanting to do this for so long. i saw a flyer in the newspaper lunchroom about a six-months-for-$99(-*not-including-the-$20-registration-fee) deal, so i decided to investigate. i went in, signed up and had my evaluation session with my personal trainer, the lovely susan, earlier today. i am so sore right now i can't even raise the roof. still, it's the good kind of hurt. i see susan again on thursday. i hope i have full range of motion by then.

4. because i've been really wondering about cute boy in editorial. i need better gaydar. or just gaydar in general. because i get all kinds of vibes from this kid. short of walking up to his desk, grabbing him by the collar of his well-fitted blue dress shirt and planting one on him, i may never know where his loyalty lies. and since that scenario is only ever going to happen in my head, i think i'll be wondering for a long while.

3. because moving has been on my mind. everyday at work, i grab a newspaper from the press stack to peruse as i eat my lunch. i used to go straight to the crossword puzzle. lately, i've been hitting the classifieds first. i'm torn. i can't decide if i should focus on the roommate-wanted ads or try to round up friends to go in on a townhouse or apartment with me. i'm leaning towards the latter, but my pals are all settled, on the verge of settling or not in a situation where they can move out right now. ideally, i want my own apartment. i've never been off on my own, and for some reason, that's an incredibly appealing scenario. unfortunately, it's not a incredibly realistic one considering my income. shazbot. i'll figure something out. i kinda have to.

2. because my new friends wouldn't let me. yay for new friends, especially gay ones. i've met a few online in the past couple weeks. there's brian, the art student from upper marlboro, maryland, and darin, the concert enthusiast from minneapolis, minnesota. (god, i feel like julie chen.) and darin actually has the distinct honor of being the first friend i made through friendster. (go, darin! go, darin! it's your birthday!) and then there's dan, who i actually met in the sense of being in his physical presence, which was nice, because too often i feel like these gay guys are along the lines of mythological creatures. (have i used that line before? i forget.) anyways, the whole meeting-dan thing probably warrants its own separate journal entry, so i kind of feel bad that i'm shoehorning it into this one. but dan is truly the anti-bum-out, and hanging out with him was worth the acrobatics my stomach did during the 45 minutes in which he convinced me to hang out. so there.

1. because ... just because. i'm sure there's a good ultimate reason with which to explain my absentee journaling. true to form, i just can't think of it right now.