What I have been doing of late, in brief...

I have been sick. Very very sick. I have a cold, which doesn't sound that bad, but when I get a cold I REALLY get a cold. It started with a fever, nausea, fatigue, etc. Then it proceeded to a TERRIBLY runny nose, and I blew it so much it got blistery and red and tender. And now I am in the cough stage, where I lay in bed at night praying that whatever shit is floating around in my throat and chest will just calm down for ten minutes so I can go to sleep. I went to Angela's last night and was pretty worthless because of the cold. Although I felt pretty good, the constant, painful coughing was enough to make me miserable (and probably miserable company).

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But enough about that. I got to hang out with my friend Carrie on Monday night, which was SO much fun. Carrie is an old friend (sorry Jules) from high school (pre-Arts High) who I have been in vague contact with since we parted ways in '96. I love her to death, and I am so proud of her because she is doing so well for herself. Not that I should be surprised, because Carrie is a genius. Certifiable genius. Everything she touches turns to gold. She is the most intelligent person I know, she is an amazing flautist, vocalist, she's funny, and she's ambitious--all things that I admire greatly. I haven't seen her for about three or four years, and I couldn't BELIEVE it when I saw her. She looks so good. I still remember her with a frizzy perm, wearing tight jeans, a belt, and a T-shirt tucked in. Now she has this sleek, "young-professional" haircut and a killer wardrobe. You go, Carrie. I look forward to hanging out with her more now that I'm up in Mpls (although she lives in Woodbury, which might as well be considered Wisconsin).

Speaking of makeovers, I also couldn't believe how hot her boyfriend looked! When I met him four years ago, he had long, unkempt hair, terrible skin, googly glasses, and tight jeans, a belt, and a T-shirt tucked in. When he came down the steps of Carrie's house on Monday night, I had to do a triple take. What happened to the shrew-faced man of yesteryear? He was wearing a dress shirt and tie, khakis, and his hair is short, spiky, messy, and bleach-blonde. He has little narrow glasses and his skin magically cleared up. In other words, HOT. I was ready to kick Carrie out the door and claim him for myself. (Maybe that wouldn't be so hard--Carrie mentioned that he usually never dresses up that much. When she asked him about the getup, he said, "I don't know... I guess I wanted to look good." Hmmmm....)

But enough talk of fashion and my lifelong fantasy about ravaging a straightboy.

Carrie is a successful marketing executive at Trane. (Did I mention she's only 23?) And now she is talking about launching a magazine with a friend of hers. If anybody else said that, I would politely nod and think nothing of it. But with Carrie it's different. If she wants to start a magazine, she'll start a magazine. And it will be huge. And she'll make a zillion dollars. She's that kind of person. I can't wait to see what happens. (And then beg for an editorial job.)

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In Man news.... If you can't tell from this entry, I'm getting a little Man-lonely. I still talk to my boy in NYC every night, but it's just not the same as having him here. We're also getting into weird, awkward conversations on the phone, and I really do think that we will have problems in the future if we keep walking down this path. He doesn't understand my interest in the world, and I don't understand how he doesn't care. For example, he would never watch the news, listen to NPR, read a newspaper or newsmagazine, or even go to an information website. No interest whatsoever. What's worse, he makes fun of me as being "an old man" when I tell him about something I learned or something that interests me. Can I spend the rest of my life with somebody whose interest in life doesn't extend beyond J.Lo's love life and Shakira's music?

Per our agreement, I am still able to date people in Mpls if I want. I'm getting frustrated enough with our relationship that I may do just that.