I have found conclusive proof! Alex is gay! I just "happened" to look on his desk at work today, and sitting out on his desk was a printup of a gay personal ad he'd found online, complete with picture. Why does he lie about this and make fun of the only openly gay guy in our office? I don't know. He should be smart enough to know not to print up stuff like that on his office printer, though. Who knows who might find it? Also, all of his online friends are guys, and he practically coos when he calls them up. I guess he might be afraid to admit he's gay, but really....if he's trying to hide it, maybe he should do a better job of it.
I'm really sad. The only webring I was really proud of belonging to, the only one I felt I really fit into, has been shut down permanently. Now I have to remove the guides and everything. I think I'll leave the graphic up, though, as sort of a memorial. Plus, it's a really neat graphic (reminiscent of one of the past covers of my ‘zine) and I don't want it lost.
No reason was given for the shutdown. I guess I could have bugged the person who ran the ring, but it seemed rude. It was probably something serious, and if the ringmaster didn't feel like telling the former members why it's gone, it's probably a good indication that it's something the ringmaster isn't comfortable discussing. I kind of wish the chance had been offered to take over the reins or something. I'd have been more than happy to. Hell, I'd still be more than happy to. Could start it up again real quick---eh, wishful thinking. I would never do so without the permission of the former ringmaster.
Enough mourning. Dirk came over tonight, we walked over to the shopping center, about a mile and a half away. I hate not having a car on the weekdays. I was terrified that Krisco would drive past on her way to Billy's house and stop and attack us or laugh or something. I kept wishing I'd brought my mace, or a knife, better yet. Also, the walk served to remind me just how out of shape I've gotten in the past year. Didn't really need to know, especially after the government redid all the weight charts.
When we got to the shopping center, we saw someone I'd hoped to avoid the rest of my life: Maisha. I went to high school with this girl, and she's always been merrily evil. She manipulated people, and never bothered trying to hide the fact. In high school, I liked that. When I dumped Roachboy, though, Maisha went out of her way to hurt him, by telling him something I'd told her in confidence. That wasn't good enough for her though--she had to make it sound as bad on my part as possible. So, when I saw her, my first instinct was to punch her. I'm mellowing out too much. Instead, I circled around her critically after she called out to us, then commented drily upon the gaudiness of her jewelry. She also had an eyebrow pierced. After I'd made her thoroughly uncomfortable, we chatted about what had been going on since we last saw each other. Dirk and I told her of Roachboy's departure, and she told us about her current job search. Nothing special. I hope we don't see her again, but without my car, I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time at that shopping center.
We went to a Chinese restaurant...Dirk noticed something interesting. A lot of Chinese music has a raggae beat, or maybe it was just the CD they were playing.
After we went to Sheetz and went home (about 2 more miles, for those keeping track), I found out that Dirk was going to have to walk all the way back to Charlie's, about 9 or 10 miles away. Part of that's on a long windy road with no sidewalk and hardly any shoulder. So I got worried, even though Dirk assured me he'd be fine, and didn't mind the walk since he'd gotten to see me. So, I made him tell me exactly which way he'd be walking, then went inside and made my parents feel like shit. This can be the easiest thing in the world to do, if you know them well enough. I started off slowly, waiting for my father to ask, half asleep, where Dirk would be spending the night. I said, "Charlies."
"How's he going to get there?"
"Walk"
Sounding completely uninterested, "Oh, how far will that be?"
"(About 9 or 10 miles)" I actually gave the name of the subdivision Charlie lives in, but I'm sure he wouldn't thank me for making that public knowledge.
Then I casually mentioned that I was a little worried, then went off to to the kitchen get some soda. I came back, and they asked, "That's a long walk. Is it safe where Charlie lives?"
Truthfully, I said, "A guy died there a couple days ago."
"Was he murdered?"
This is where I bent the truth a bit. "He was shot." Actually, the guy got drunk and decided to go lie in the middle of the road. He was run over repeatedly.
Then, I offered them some of the slurpee I'd brought home, and said goodnight. I went in the kitchen to wait. They didn't fail me. I counted off thirty seconds before I was called back into their room, where they told me to go find him, pick him up, and drive him to Charlie's place. After admonishing me to do nothing more than pick him up and drop him off, I was free to go. I was almost giddy to be behind the wheel again.I almost feel bad about the laxatives now.
Dirk kept telling me how pretty I looked all evening, and he was being very protective and sweet, insisting on walking on the side closest to traffic. I had a good time, even though I didn't have my car. I'm sure there's a lesson in that, but I don't care. I want my goddamn car! Luckily, I get it tomorrow. And I'm hanging out with Katie and Chris tomorrow (assuming they remember, of course).
Roachboy thinks he's funny. I asked him for a number on behalf of Dirk, and Roachboy's withholding, just for shits and giggles. Keep amusing yourself, Roachboy. I'll send your stuff, but I never promised not to "accidentally" put magnets on your disks. Meanwhile, all I have to do is march up to that woman's house and ask her for the number personally.
As a side note, Roachboy's got a web site up on tripod.