I Miss My Stripper Girlfriend

I don't know if you remember *****a, but she was one of the girls from My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version) with whom I had grown into a deeper relationship ... well, as deep as one can get between a john and a sex worker.  She's whip-smart, curious, and is more aligned with me politically than most of the other stripper girlfriends I've had.  If you have following WAF in the past, she's the one who once asked me, at a house party she was working, to stay because, and I quote, "I haven't seen it yet!"  And when I finally did, thank Buddha, she touched it, and me.

I have been putty in her hands since.  It was difficult to go to her place for HJs because she had this penchant for moving from place to place.  But she stood out from all my other stripper girlfriends because she was unapologetic over what she did.  She didn't air out any of her, or my, business, but she didn't shy away from her profession.  That's why I respect her.  Dammit, I will say that I love her, too.

But it's been a long time since I've been intimate with her, and she has done several things that are very uncharacteristic of her.  First of all, she has gotten quite political.  She began five years ago with George Floyd, and I thought that was really cool because I agreed with her views.  *****a has gotten quite politically active with sex work as well.  Parallel to that, she finally found a boyfriend.  I'll be honest; I wasn't too keen on it because if she is dedicating her life to someone, I cannot believe she would continue to wank me or any other guy on the side.  But I'm happy for her, if this is what she wants.

And then she ... disappeared.  I followed her on Facebook, but she apparently took that down.  I've texted her, but she hasn't replied to anything I've sent since the spring.  And I have no other way to reach her; unlike the other strippers from My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition), she was not close to any of the others, so I can't reach out to a mutual and ask how she's doing.

I had the feeling *****a was, shall we say, peripatetic, but I never got the feeling that she would ghost anyone.  She was restless when it came to where she lived, obviously, and her political activism made me feel like she could be passionate to the point of being impetuous, as many political fanatics become.  But she always seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, and I never thought she would just disappear as she has.

So maybe this has something to do with family.  I fear it has something bad to do with her boyfriend.  But dammit, I miss *****a.  I miss her touch.  I miss talking to her about her sex work advocacy.  I miss admiring someone who also gives me HJs, I really do.  I hope she's OK.  And if her being OK means not seeing me again ... that'll break my heart, but that's OK, too.

Oh, It's On TV.

So there was that epic, 15-Inning, winner-take-all Game 5 American League Division Series Friday night, where Seattle finally outlasted Detroit.  I got home from the escape room (successfully, I want to add) and eating late with my sister, and I was scrolling through when I saw that the Game, which began around 7, was still going on.  I think this was around 11 p.m, and there's nothing like extra innings in playoff baseball, so I hurriedly turned on my satellite radio to hear the rest of the Game.

Hell of a Game.  Great ending.  I think I caught the last three Innings (so, since the 12th?), and both teams had ample chances to break through and score, but the Pitching and Defense came through.  And I don't mind listening to sports on the radio, don't get me wrong.  But after the Game was over and I was scrolling through social media again (aside: I have strayed from my vow to get off social media ... and frankly, I don't know if I have the willpower to stay away), I saw a tweet or a skeet that Fox signed off at around 12:48 a.m.  Fox has TV rights for the American League side of the playoffs ... and that's when I remembered that Fox/Channel 9 was showing the Game.  I could have just turned on the TV instead of my satellite radio.

How did I get used to thinking a sports Game I want to keep up with won't be on broadcast television?  Actually, now that I think about it, most Games aren't on broadcast TV.  Oh, well.

OK, *Now* I Can't Get Extra Money

I keep saying that I can't get OT from work, but it feels as though my boss really means it this time.  Following up on a meeting we all had, he emailed me Friday afternoon saying that the work is light enough whereby overtime is no longer necessary, should I should leave work for the next day.  I disagree; I think there is enough work that, if I stay only eight hours, there will be so much carryover work that the next day's work will have to be pushed back, and that will create a cascading effect that will mean tests won't get done for a day or more.  The workload ain't that light.  It might not even be light, period.

But I reckon that he saw me go over eight hours last week, capped off with me staying until 6 Thursday night.  He has said that OT is off the table off and on for a few years now, but something about this email makes me think he really, really means it this time.  Fine.  I will acquiesce.  But he did say "try to leave after eight hours," and even though I read that Friday afternoon, it still took me an extra half-hour to do all the things I felt I needed to do before I left on Friday.  I will try and start hewing to eight hours beginning on Monday, which also is the start of a new pay period.  It's a clean slate that I agree to.  Maybe.

Father's Thanking Me??

So I mowed the lawn this afternoon.  It seems as though My Father mowed the front lawn but not the back lawn.  So I mowed the back lawn and, just because, I mowed the front lawn, too.

When I got done and went back inside, My Father says, "Good job!" and pats me on the shoulder.  Even though he has thanked me before, it's rare.  So to see him be this complimentary is ... strange.  And by the way, I didn't say anything to him.  It's shocking to see him thank me.  I'm still kind of spooked.

My Biggest Accomplishment In, Oh, Years

I did my first escape room (with my sister) Sunday; we failed.  My brother set up another escape room last/Friday night ... and the four of us (we three siblings and my brother's daughter, my niece) got out!  I'm not sure exactly how we got out, and I still suspect that the, uh, overseer opened doors for us (in a literal sense) even though we hadn't yet solved the puzzles because he just wanted us to get out of there.  But we made it!  Really, I don't think I've done something so successful in a decade!

Something Fun Shouldn't Be This Fucking Inconvenient

So I am doing this escape room with my brother, sister and niece tonight.  I want to look forward to it because it's, well, a fun thing to do, and I am doing something with my siblings, and I don't remember the last time I've ever done anything fun with them, let alone my niece.

Doing it tonight, however is a pain in the ass.  I work in The Fourth Position today, all by myself.  I need to get the work done because there is nobody else doing it today, and no one doing that job at all tomorrow.  For that reason, there is a chance I will be late.  I communicated my worry with my sibs.  But instead of offering a compromise, my brother just bought the goddamn tickets for tonight on his own.  I will probably have to leave stuff for one of my co-workers to do tomorrow, and that's not a good feeling to saddle someone with work to do when you had the chance to do it yourself.  I certainly wouldn't want one of them drop crap on my lap, but turnabout is fair play, and that is what I'm going to invite if I don't do all the work by myself today.

I have a Friday off coming up.  We certainly could have done the escape room then.  I can't see why we couldn't wait and do it then.  But nope, my brother said we're playing Friday.  So I have to fucking drop every goddamn thing and race to the escape room.  And I guess I shouldn't complain too much because my brother's the one buying the tickets, huh?

Moreover, my plan was to leave work early, go home, grab my sister and then go.  Going from work to home takes me in the opposite direction of the escape room, but that seemed to be the only way for all of us to play this game.  (It also necessitated me leaving work early if need be.)  This is the part that pisses me off.  While watching my alma mater's women's soccer team, I WhatsApped my sister that if I am able to get home in time, we have to immediately leave home to get to the escape room on time.  Then, she countered that she wants to go to the mall by herself.  She needs time to do that.  And, she wants to take my car.  I would then take my parents' very old van and meet her and my brother and my niece at the mall and the escape room in the evening.  Well, shit.

Being blindsided by her decision the day before fucking sucks.  I had to spend five minutes after I got home from the soccer Match taking out all the stuff I need to drive to work (sunglasses, sun visor, tire gauge to check the minivan's tires).  Also, this is the second time this week I've had to settle on the van while she gets to drive the newer car.  I sleep for lunch, and that's very hard to do in the van because the sun streams in through the windows; it gets hot and the radiation burns my skin.  It's no problem in my car because I have window shields that are fitted for my car's windows.  I obviously don't have them for the minivan, so I will probably be tired by the time we start the escape room because I haven't had my midday nap.  But worst of all is that I have to take this minivan in afternoon rush to the Mall of America.  Truthfully, I have no reason to believe it won't make it down there and back.  But it is a very old car, and I haven't driven it that far in some time, let alone driving it during afternoon rush.  There are certain aspects of this drive that will be foreign to me, and I hate needing to "learn" like this when my sister didn't have to shop by herself, and my brother didn't have to make the escape room tonight.  In other words, I think I am going to get into a car crash, or the van's engine is going to overheat, and I will fail to make it to the escape room.  It just feels like everything is getting set up this way.

Hate this.  Hate this all.  And I'm supposed to be having fun tonight, not feeling inconvenienced!

Good news!  My Mother was told that her surgery could be moved up by nearly a whole month!  Now, am I to believe that someone just cancelled their surgery, and then the scheduler decided that My Mother, and not anyone else scheduled to have surgery, was the one to ask whether she wants her surgery done sooner?  Because, while I am glad that it now appears my parents can get out of here before the New Year, it feels as though the scheduler actually does have dates before Thanksgiving Week open; she just doesn't want to give one of those dates to My Mother unless or until she gets checked out, or is "doing the right thing," or "is on track to have a successful surgery," or something.

If that is the case, then after My Mother does her pre-op visit today/Thursday, would it then be possible she can be rescheduled even sooner -- like, oh, Monday?  Because then that would mean they would be outta here to salvage a good portion of the holiday season.  I'd have the house to myself for Christmas, my folks would be in warmer Las Vegas ... that would be a win-win!

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  Went to Boston and tore apart then-13th-ranked Boston University over the weekend by scores of 5-0 and 5-2, proving once again how little the talent in women's college hockey has trickled down.  Also, this proves that, while these Gophers are capable of asserting dominance at will (and that's enough to give this squad the top spot in this screening Week's WMNSS), true success will only be accurately assessed when they play the two titans of the sport, Wisconsin and Ohio St.  The Buckeyes visit in two Weeks.  In the meantime, these Gophs get to beat up on St. Cloud St., with whom they will play a home-and-home this weekend.

#-2: United FC (Last Week: -5).  Giving how easy the end of their MLS schedule is, they should be getting all the Points available.  In that light, smashing rebuilding Sporting Kansas City at Allianz Field Saturday 3-0 was exactly the thing they needed to do, and the result I needed to see.  Moreover, the two players who may be playing the best out of anyone on the XI were the goalscorers: Anthony Markanich got a Brace (including a Goal from, yes, a Set Piece), and Joaquin Pereyra continued to outwork his opponents and scored in the 59th Minute.

I only put the Loons second because I failed to see the entire standings.  The top of the West remains a tight and winning bunch.  Four teams have broken away; the three besides MNUFC (San Diego, Vancouver and LAFC) all won over the weekend.  Moreover, even though United FC are only two Points behind both San Diego and the Whitecaps, Vancouver gets to play one more Match because of delays due to other competitions that club had to play earlier in the Year.  Finally, LAFC is only two Points behind the Loons, and also because of other competitions, they have two Games to make up.  I think MNUFC are a very good club, but they could finish the regular season only fourth in the West.

Those make-up Games are coming between now and the 18th, when United FC finish the regular season at The Los Angeles Galaxy.

#-3: Vikings (Last Week: -6).  Think of how badly the vibes around this team would be if, after spending ten Days playing back-to-back Games in the British Isles, they came home with a pair of Losses.  They avoided that fate by clawing back to defeat Cleveland at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Sunday morning, 21-17, to get to 3-2.  The winning score came from a pass from Carson Wentz, who was injured for a short time during the Game, to Jordan Addison, who was benched to start the contest because, apparently, he missed a walkthrough during the team's stay at a palatial estate 90 miles north of London leading up to Sunday.  Add this to his DUI conviction, and it's becoming apparent that, sadly, he is a bit of a headcase who cannot be relied upon.  I can see the Vikes moving on from Addison after his rookie contract is up and finding a new #2 for Justin Jefferson.

I think Bye Weeks should be doled up with more intention.  This will screw up the schedule making, but I want to see teams choose which Bye Week to take based on the finishing order of the previous season.  So, for example, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles would choose their Bye Week first, then The Bastard Dallas Texans second, and so on.  Regardless, the Vikes were given this upcoming weekend off, and considering they have so many people on Injured Reserve, this break cannot happen soon enough.

#-4: Gopher men's hockey (NEW SEASON!).  I can't think of a time where the men's college hockey season has started this early.  Anyway, the Gophers began it by doubling up Michigan Tech at Mariucci Arena Friday, 6-3 ... then followed it up by losing to the Huskies Saturday, 5-3.  This is a season of change in the sport: Players from the Canadian junior leagues, who were heretofore forbidden to ever play in college hockey in the States, can now do so freely (and vice versa, and for all I know a student can hopscotch from one to the other).  That opens up another avenue in the arms race, but I don't know if the U. has taken advantage of that.  Regardless, splitting at home to a CCHA school ain't a great way to start.

But at least they're not shying away from competition.  Boston College, who is ranked either tenth or eleventh depending on which poll you look at, comes to town for showdowns tomorrow/Thursday and Friday.

#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -3).  What is going on with this program?  The Gopher volleyballers of old would not lose at an unranked Michigan club, let alone in four Sets.  What's more distressing is the way they lost that Game last Wednesday: They won the First Set, 25-18, but then got dismantled over the next three, scoring only twelve, 14 and twelve Points.  The hell?

They defeated Northwestern Sunday in Evanston, but it's Northwestern, and worse, they lost a Set to the perennially undermanned Wildcats program, and they struggled to close them out, too.  They won Set 2, 25-22, then lost Set 3, 25-17, then had to go a bit over extra time to finally close them out in the fourth, 26-24.  This is a team that is struggling to put away opponents they should be sweeping with ease.  And there is a sign that the fanbase is starting to notice as well.  I am seeing what time my alma mater plays the U. next month.  I thought volleyball tickets always sell out, but someone from my alumni group actually looked at the online ticket map and saw that there were dozens of seats available for that Match.  I would go, and not only would I root for my alma mater ... I think my alma mater will win.  That's how far the U. has fallen.

Host UCLA tonight/Wednesday night and Ohio St. Sunday.

#-6: Gopher football (Last Week: -4).  Yeah, for all my talk about how P. J. Fleck has introduced a level of success that has made the fanbase grow expectations for the program and how that's good, he is still miles away from getting the Gophers back to their ancient perch of being a national contender like they were six decades ago, and getting 14-timed at the #1 team in the nation, Ohio St. (by which I mean the final score was 42-3), is both disappointing and very, very expected.  But at least they have Homecoming coming this Saturday, and it's against a squad they should beat, Purdue.  Also, at least they aren't the ... 

#-7: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -7).  ... who continue to flounder, currently sporting a conference record of one Win, one Draw and four Losses after getting their brains beat in in the Border Battle at home versus then 24th-ranked Wisconsin, 3-0.  I see that the Badgers were ranked, but couldn't the Golden Gophers mount any fight?  Oh, well, that should mean my alma mater should win handily when they play the U. on Thursday.  Fourth-ranked UCLA then visits Sunday afternoon; while that Match ends the Goofers' three-Match homestand, it looks as though they could lose every single one, and there's the potential that each Game could be a bloody, embarrassing one.

Got Busted Not Flushing The Toilet

OK, now I really need this place all to myself.  My sister busted me for not flushing the toilet after peeing.

I was fake taking a shower, and even though I was on the toilet, I didn't pee much.  And I swear, when I looked into the bowl, it was wholly white.  There was no yellow; it didn't look like I did anything in there.  So, as is my wont when it's late at night and I don't want to wake the 'Rents downstairs, I let it mellow until I pee again after I wake up.  Yes, I am aware my sister is here.  I thought I could slip it by her.  Besides, I didn't hear any commotion from her room.  I thought she was asleep.

But goddammit, she wasn't!  As if she heard me "take a shower" but not flush the toilet, after I got done in the bathroom, she immediately goes in.  (Also, not for nothing, My Father came upstairs to tool around in the kitchen for some reason.  A lot of commotion at night, inexplicably.)  And afterward, she texted me to "remind me" to flush.  She said she saw pee in there, though I still believe she was suspicious I "showered" but didn't "use the toilet."  Hrmph.

This is the sign that this house is too crowded, but then again, if she left, I would have to help My Mother with rehab, and I ain't doin' that.  One other thing: If I am right in thinking she is minding what I do and don't do while I'm by myself, no way can I get away with masturbating.  Dammit, no peace!

Tea Does Not Go With Steak, That's Fucking Ridiculous

I have resolved to drink more tea, and possibly more tea than coffee.  My parents and sister drink it religiously, and knowing the health benefits, I should probably get into it a lot more.  But that doesn't mean I want to drink it with everything, like I was forced to last/Sunday night.

My Fucking Mother detected this bug that I picked up watching my alma mater at a bar and told my sister to give me tea.  And she did it again last/Sunday night, but this was when we were having a steak dinner.  I don't care, tea doesn't go with steak.  I drank it because I need to fucking keep the peace around the house, but it's bullshit to even think that tea goes with steak.  I had a Coke waiting for me inside the fridge, and I was going to drink that with my steak because that's a perfect marriage of food and drink.  But tea and steak ... pffft.  The taste of each ruins the other.  There's a time and place for tea and a time and place for steak.  That time and place are not together.  But that's what I friggin' had last night.

I shouldn't be so mad at this.  But I am.  So, to passive-aggressively rebel, I ate nuts about an hour ago and washed it down with that Coke I wanted to drink for dinner.  So there.