Devon Hunter

OHHHH, SHIT! I woke up today feeling so freaking energized and amazing that I can hardly stand myself… Okay, yes I can stand myself (but only just barely). I put some adjustments into place in the last few months and weeks, and I am so glad I did. I feel utterly fabulous right now. Haters be damned (see previous blog entry). I simplified my diet, adjusted my workout strategy, started napping (HUGELY important, I am finding), and decided to grow my hair out to the length I had in college. I’m sorry, but I can’t help being this fucking fabulous…

All this in time for the Chinese New Year, and this is MY year. The Chinese zodiac is a cycle of 12, just as the European, but rather than a 12-month cycle, it’s a 12-year cycle. So 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, etc. are dragon years. Within that 12-year animal cycle there is also a 5-year elemental cycle (earth, water, fire, metal, wood), so each animal/element combination comes around only once every 60 years… My birth year was a Fire Dragon year, and how appropriate is that for a flaming flamer of fiery burning energy such as moi?

What I love about being a Dragon is that we’re the only people symbolized by a mythological animal on the Chinese zodiac: There simply isn’t an animal in the physical world that can truly encapsulate the marvelous creatures Dragons are. MWAHAHAHA! But I’m biased, so you should probably dismiss that part. Anyway, I’m feeling energized and ferocious. I attribute it to the simple, but consistent diet I’m eating (and the napping). Really, if you don’t nap… honestly… you need to. Find a way. I promise you, it helps whatever ails you. That and water. And being a Dragon.

Okay, I would write more, but I have to go be awesome somewhere. Muah. xoxoxo

RAWR!

Sometimes I just need to laugh… and laugh, and laugh, and laugh…

I was shrieking and crying and clapping and stomping my feet. This is the best video of all time.

Ever.

In the history of the universe.

Period.

Enjoy!

I haven’t been blogging much for a few months. I know that. And there’s  no reason, except that I just haven’t wanted to. Something happened a couple months ago, and I felt that I was tired of sharing. I think it was around the time of the Grabby’s. But, be that as it may, this weekend in Chicago has been very up and down, but it has ended on a very, very positive note. That is what I want to share.

To say that flakes and no-shows are discouraging/infuriating is an understatement; however, I did get to spend time with my friend J.P. Barnaby, I experienced the ENO platter at the Intercontinental Hotel, and I met Meghann. Last night was one of those nights where I felt like nothing I did was to any avail – it just wasn’t going to work out with this appointment, no matter how much I tried to be accommodating. That on top of my entire itinerary falling apart made for some frustration and self-doubt that I had to work against internalizing. I succeeded for the most part, and it’s because of the reminders that flashed up from time to time that everything is temporary. August, 2011 will shortly be in the books, and September will be so much better.

At any rate, when I finally gave up on this client it was nearly midnight. I was STARVING. We were supposed to meet at 11, he moved it to 9, then back to 11, then was an hour late, then at 11:45 said he wasn’t coming at all. I’d gotten ready at 8 pm, so four hours later I was bored, hungry, and irritated… and just about everything was closed. I was wandering around, trying to find some place that still served food, and then I saw it: TGI Friday. Oh, fuck my life… Really?? This is all there is?

Well, I’m glad I went in. TGI Friday likes to sell itself as being always in the festive Friday spirit. And, for me last night, it turned out to be exactly the encounter I needed. Meghann came over, and despite the late hour, was very kind and energetic. When she asked what I wanted to drink, I said, “Girl, it’s been a tough day.”

“Oh! Well… here is the drink list.” LOL Awesome. I selected a red wine, and the Michael Jackson song “I Wanna Be Where You Are” came on. Meghann saw how much I perked up to that. She went over to the juke box and said she had a surprise for me. I managed to find something healthy on the menu, and as I was jammin’ to Lady Gaga, Nirvana, and some other hits she peaked around the corner and said, “These next two are for you.”

OMG!!!

She set me up with “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” and “Smooth Criminal.” No. She. Didn’t. YES SHE DID! LOL That was it. I was done. She came over and we had a nice time singing and laughing to the jamz. I showed her my mad skills, all while eating the broccoli that my superhero powers had transformed into chocolate (transubstantiation is just another of my mutant abilities), and we had a GOOD TIME. Just like Friday is supposed to be. And she did this specifically because she knew I needed it. That is so amazing to me.

So, if you are ever in Chicago, you simply must go to the TGI Friday in Magnificent Mile. Ask for Meghann. She is a beautiful person, and she will put some Friday in your life. Her willingness to play with me completely eradicated all that frustration and self-doubt. September will be better. Today is better. Last night was better. Thank you, Meghann!

Today is my birthday!!! I love my birthday… just love it! I’m sorry I’ve not been blogging, but it’s an organic process, and sometimes there is a great deal to say and other times not. I know how I will be picking up with Part 6 of 13, and I will do that soon. Right now I’m nursing a neck injury, and may need to spend the next few days resting. At any rate, it took 35 years, but I finally turned 24 years old today. In honor of plays on the word twenty-four (and as an excuse to throw Janet Jackson on my blog), here’s the video “Twenty ForePlay:”

I have come to the realization that the best friends you will ever have are the ones who get away with posting pics of you from middle and high school on Facebook. This is what happens when 9th grade and 1990 collide. I think I’m going to go die now. LOL

So, this is what 20 years does to a person, eh? This portrait was taken on the Wednesday before school started on Monday. I remember they had to make the ID’s by hand, and they needed a few days to get your yearbook and ID photo done at the same time. What a monkey. Wow.

This other one is from my 13th birthday party – I had the same birthday as Leslie, so we shared parties several years (so that people wouldn’t have to pick which one to go to). This particular year we had it at Dad’s house. The next year it was her turn to pick the place, and we all went to Putt-Putt. I hate Putt-Putt. I needed something like 38 strokes on the hole with the windmill spinning around. I think I actually walked over and clobbered the damn windmill with my Putt-Putt whacker. Yeah, that’s pretty ignorant (especially since I got a hole in one on the previous shot by accident). LOL