I am so great, I am so great!

I am not the most horoscopal person in the world (yes, I just coined a word), but I do enjoy reading them. I read Rob Brezny's "Free Will Astrology" every week without fail. You can find him in your local "cool" paper. You know, the Village Voice, etc. I don't run my life by it at all, but I do find it fun. I read mine, those of my close loved ones and I chuckle to myself.

I loved this weeks horoscope for my lovable libra ass. read it below:

It will be a good week to Google yourself, ask people pointblank to tell you how much they need you, and brag about yourself with extravagant gusto. In fact, Libra, you now have cosmic license to celebrate your glories in a hundred ways. Why not buy yourself special gifts, gaze into the mirror longer than usual, and yes, even make love with yourself? (If your religious beliefs regard the latter as a sin, simply touch yourself in unsinful ways.)

WOW! That is great! I mean, this horoscope for a man who will turn another year better on Sunday!?! Brag about yourself being the advice to a man whose ex-wife told him that his ego had reached an all time level with his posting of the picture that should have been at the top of the sistine chapel?!? (BTW she was teasing me, sort of)I am going to start right now.

Google searches-

Well In Dowd

Tom Dowd

Tommy Dowd

Thomas S. Dowd

Now for some things that are great about me.

I can be funny
I can be super depressing so everyone around me thinks their lives are better
Empathy is one of my talents
I can be one cold hearted business man
I can give advice like a motherfuck
I can NOT take advice like a motherfuck
I can piss off even the nicest people
I can calm down the most pissed off people and have them want to buy me dinner
I can claim my faults as good things
Boss? I'm a damn good one.
I was told today that I am always right
When I think I am right? I am often supercalafragalistically wrong!
I am wonderfully free sprited in my organizational skills (or, I am a damn fine slob!)
Apologizing is getting easier as I get older. (Practice makes perfect, and on this one? I am perfect)
I am a gloriously tiring, wonderful pain in the ass!
I look great in blue (it sets off my icey blue eyes)
My poor speeling is only ootdone bye my laziness wth the blooger speel-check.
Suits look great on me
The top shelf is never out of reach with a tall cool drink of water like me around
I will rock you like a hurricane
The game is self destruction. The master? Me!
I am finding that my life is getting better by the year, by the day, and by the moment.

Now that we have that out of the way, I am going to encourage all of you to write some of those deliciously wonderful thoughts you have about me.

Why do you like me?
Why do you read this blog?
The most wonderful quality about his Royal Dowdiness is....?

I know that you could post here in the comments. Feel free to do so. Those of you who feel compeled to extol my virtues on your own blogs have carte blanche to go ahead. If you are too busy to post a blog, saying all of those wonderful things about me, it's okay, don't worry, just give me a little link and go about your daily choresGo ahead...I am wonderful. My horoscope says so.

See ya'll later

(seriously though folks, I would love to hear one nice thing you have to say about me. I say that with the upmost humility.)

Shut up and get in the trunk Ken

I have had a great weekend in NYC. Saw my folks, my ex, my oldest friend in the world and stayed with my wedding date at her De-Luxe apartment in the sky.

We all went out Friday night. Whooped it up a bit at some of my favorite East Village haunts.

Saturday night we drove out to my wedding date's cousin's place.It was her cousin's wife's 30th b-day. I met the family for the first time. Mom, Dad, cousins. It was a lot of fun. Julie (whose B-day it was) is an amazing lady. Mother to two cute little girls and cancer survivor. There were "LiveStrong" braclets on each table. I thought that was a nice touch. Made you think how precious it is. I think anyone who really worries about getting older is a bit ridiculous. Here was a woman who faced the prospect of not getting to 30! It was cool to hear everyone saying how she had such a great attitude. That SHE lifted them up! Awsome party, good dancing! Fun!



Jim and Julie strike a pose


We stayed at Jim and Julies place that night. In the basment. Jim has the COOLEST X-box setup in the world. He had a full scale model of a car, that he bulit, with a steering wheel and pedals! Plus a huge projection T.V. He was my hero fo a moment there!

In the morning I met J&J's daughters. Samantha (2) and Jaime (5 I think). Jamie took a shining to me. She invited me to play Barbie with her and Sam in the playroom. An offer that I graciously accepted. I realized, however (and quickly) that I have no idea how to play Barbie. Aloow me to explain the rules of engagment when being invited to be Ken while staying at the Barbie Dream Home.

-Barbie's do not attack, fight, or blow anything up. How is this fun? I do not know.
-My wedding date informed me tis morning that Barbies shop, talk, and drive around when you are five. Later on they date. (I tried the driving. Not good. See Below)
-Ken does not talk in a high pitched sqeaky voice (I was reprimanded for this infraction right away)
-Barbie doesn't really care what Ken wants to a)Do b)wear
-Barbie decides if Ken gets to ride the Horse (I was told right away that the horse was tired and was napping. In other words NO EQUSTRIAN EVENTS FOR KEN!)
-I asked if Barbie would like to go for a ride in the Barbie VW Beetle. This was thought about and my request was approved. Ken would have to sit in the trung though. As there was no room in the car for him with all of the Barbies.
-At this point Ken decided to take a nap and I decided to get some more coffee.I had enough Barbierific fun for one day.
-Jamie's grandfather made fun of me for not knowing how to play Barbie.He had two daughters of hi own. I told him I was going to brush up and next time it was me and him in a Ken battle to the death. BOO-YA Grandpa!
-I am going to bring a G.I. Joe next time. Joe blows things up. I make great 'Splosion noises!



My short lived attempt at playing Ken

On Sunday, we drove my wedding date's brother back home to Maryland and her parents home. Who, I failed to mention, I had met for the first time the night before. We brought food and all sat down in the family room to eat. I got one or two bites in at which time her mom said "So tell us about yourself Tom". After nearly choking at such an open ended question, I rattled on for one half hour. I was told I did well. Whew.

It took us 6 hours to complete the 3 hour drive back from B-more. We stopped in at my folks place and my wedding date got some of the same treatment. So the two of us were exhausted when we got back to her place. I fell right asleep.

I am leaving for NC tomorrow. Sucks. I miss it, but I want to stay.

See Y'all later

BTW-My wedding date's name is Heather.Here she is.

Coffee and cigarettes

I love drinking my coffee in the morning while reading my new book. (whatever that may be)

Philly was great, I ate too many cheesesteaks, danced a whole lot at the wedding and had fun with my date. She is a good dance partner (cept that she loves to step on my feet....kidding). I hadn't seen Mike in years, his dad and bro I hadn't seen in about ten. You will never laugh harder in your life if you ever get the opportunity to dance to Journey at a wedding.

Good times. Pics to follow soon.

Canceled plans and Philly freedom

I am waiting for my first bbq meal of the year to finish. I bought some hamburger meat and am going to engorge myself tonight. What better to do as the hamburgers cook on my George Forman lean-mean-outdoor-grillin' machine then blog?

For thouse of you who even knew, I have canceled my travel plans for NYC next weekend. I was planning on partying, seeing family and friends, but have decided not to. I don't know when i'll get back there. I've only been back home once since I moved to Raleigh. That time just turned out to be a miserable mess.

I don't miss NYC that much anymore. Sure I miss some places, certain people, but not enough to get my ass to the city. I had a woman ask me today why I like NC, or why I would reather be here than in NY. I find that I have just been calmer here. That I love my job and the friends that I am making very much. My first months here were spent having my emotions in an uproar on a consistant basis...check out my blogs from March, April and May for some insight.I am still considering going home in November at some point. We'll see.

I am going to my buddy Mike's wedding this weekend in Philadelphia. It should be a nice time. A little Nothern exposure may do me some good though.It will be good to see some old friends.

Any thoughts on love and marriage can be posted in the comments please.

In my nature

The parable of the scorpion and the Frog is an all time favorite. I was a big fan and then I heard that Pat Riley had used it as part of his pregame speech with the Knicks during game 7 of the 1994 Eastern conference championship game and I was sold. (I'm a guy, I like sports, beer and chicks) Along with the parable of the old bull and the young bull, I have related it many times. So, for your reading pleasure.

A scorpion was standing on the bank of a lake, wanting to get to the other side. Walking back and forth, trying to figure out how he would do it, he happened upon a frog chilling out in the water. So the scorpion says "Hey, I need to get to the other side of this lake. Would you give me a lift across on your back?" The Frog, with a surprised look and a bit of fear in his voice says "I can't do that, you'll sting me." The scorpion looks at the frog and says "I won't sting you. If I were to do that, we both would die. All I want is to get to the other side of the lake. I give you my word"

At all of this, the frog pondered. Thinking that it would be nice to help the scorpion. The scorpion's logic seemed to make sense. "Okay, hop on. I will take you across the lake" the Frog said, deciding to trust the scorpion.

So the scorpion hopped on the Frogs back, thanking him for the lift. Things were going well, they were halfway there. At that moment "Thwaaaack!" (Thwaaaack being the sound of a poisonous tail meeting amphibious flesh) the Frog felt the sting. "Why?!? Why did you do that?!?" the Frog wailed. "You gave me your word". The scorpion, looking at the frog, speaking with the same cold logical tone that he used when convincing the frog to help him, said "I am sorry my dear frog.I could not help but sting you. It is in my nature"

I've been the scorpion, I have been the frog. How bout you? Can one change? Can you remake yourself into something more? Like a butterfly form a cocoon? Or are we doomed to repeat our mistakes? Stinging or believing that we will not be stung?

Opinions on the new banner?

Hey, what do ya think? Mike V. (who I now believe is more talented than I ever gave him credit for) helped me to execute my idea (as in did all the work) and my asshole....oops, I mean, my brother Dave, helped me post it here (but not before he hijacked my blog for his fantasy).

What do ya'll think? It makes me laugh.

The new, the old and the linkly

Due to my lack of initiative for blogging lately I have failed to add a few things here. I have added a few new links and wanted to give a few highlights.

New Links

The Real Me's Secret Musings-Real, or Goddy as I like to call her (goddess, which she suggested is way to lofty a title for me to not abbreviate) . She is a very gifted writer and posts many of her own pieces on her site.

Shaterisk's Not Just Another Femme Noire- Shasterisk is another aspiring and talented writer. Good stuff. Check it.

A bunch of congrats are due to Nicole . She is the glue that keeps her company together. She's that person that does everything. The under appreciated that makes everything happen. (actually that sounds a lot like our marriage! haha) She's really proud of this current project. That link is a NY Times article.Going to change the face of a neighborhood. She asked me to post this for her, go to her blog and tell her to post.

More to come! Later ya'll

My Brother Dave

is smart and very handsome and has a much larger penis then me.

Lucky Seven

7 Things I Plan To Do Before I Die:

1. See some more European countries
2. Mentor someone
3. Own a home
4. Learn how to drive stick
5. Drive a NASCAR (hate the sport, like to drive fast)
6. Have kids
7. Have a lasting, caring, supportive relationship

P.S. and join the mile high club.


7 Things I Cannot Do:

1. Drive Stick
2. Cook a complex meal
3. Think in a linear fashion with regularity
4. Speak another language fluently
5. Hide my feelings very well
6. Leave my essentials (keys, wallet) in the same place everyday
7. Suffer fools easily


7 Things That Attract me to the opposite sex:

1. Height, and a bit of it
2. Slender, but not real slim
3. Good smile, teeth
4. Easy going
5. They are good conversationalists
6. The way a person moves. Elegance of movement. (does that make sense?)
7. Eyes. whew. Feeling, beautiful eyes.

(I was tempted to write "Tits, tits, tits!" Thought it would be funny)

7 Things I Say Most Often:

1. "Like"
2. "You know"
3. "Thank you for calling. This is Tom, how may I help you?"(Answering phone)
4. "I love you"
5. "Tom Dowd...." (answering the phone again)
6. "Yeungling"
7. "Fuck" (or some form of it)


7 Celebrity Crushes: This is the toughest question for me. I don't know the names of any celebs (or very few) and I don't watch T.V. I am going to add so ridiculous choices, and then only cause I know their names and this is part of this post. I have a crush on my wedding date, but she's not famous yet.

1. Jennifer Connely
2. Natalie Portman
3. The chick from Titanic who played the girl in Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.
4. The woman who played the love interest in Six feet under (I only saw the first season)
5. Shit, three more? Ummmmm.....oh I know, Rod Stewart's girlfriend. Hot!
6. Young Iman. (Can I have a crush on what someone used to look like?)
7. If I can have a crush on a memory, then lets add Slave Girl Pricess Leia (played by a coked up Carrie Fisher). All guys born in the late 60's or early 70's can relate to that one.

7 People I Want To Do This List:

1.Heather
2.Lindsay
3. Dave
4. Mike V
5. Aryn (do you still read this?)
6. The former blogger known as Laura Lee
7.Everyone else, I love bullshit blogs like this one.

Blogasm

I had this post that I ripped off of Whiz' site half complete. I decided that I should just go ahead and post already. I really have been slacking. I have been busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full o' rocking chairs. Work has been crazy. I have people coming and going. I went down to Kitty Hawk over the three day weekend. Had a really great time.

(She Caught The Katy-Figured I would just play some music and tell you what I listened to during this blog)

I'm really feeling great these days. I felt a little funky when I posted last. I was tired and cranky. I had a great weekend in Kitty Hawk. My wedding date had come to visit. She had just left and I was feeling a little down. (pics will follow soon)

Things have been going really great for me. I'm feeling like life is a pretty damn good thing. I sometimes think that I have had a pretty rough go of it (Imagine-John Lennon). Life hasn't always been easy.I've made more mistakes that I have digits to count on. I've been really confused. Hurt people. Not listened. Raised my voice. I seem intent on beating on myself. Right now I am in one of those moments where you feel as if you climbed out into a glen from the dense forest. The sun is shining down and the path seems, though scary, perfectly clear! (Angel of Harlem-U fucking 2)I feel like I could run full tilt into the next path of my life. Scale a river,swim a a mountain, make flowers bloom in dark places. Run thorough the streets of the city under street lamps, next to the river, music blaring from my headphones, stopping jumping, grabbing onto the rail keeping me from the water, and forever, and screaming out into the night that I'm gonna rule the world and have everything I want!

(Santeria-Sumblime) My best friend in Raleigh is leaving. He's gotten a great opportunity, but I will miss him very much.He got me out of my hotel room, then out of my apartment, helped me open up in a time when I resisted getting attached to Raleigh in any way. He's gonna do great. Good Luck Jaz (prematurely, but you're gonna go real soon) (Gin n juice-The Gourds)

Well nothing more to say at this moment. Talk to ya'll soon.

I am alive

Figured that I should type and let ya'll know I am not dead. Things have been going well (cept for this strange funk I am in this morning...can't explain it). I just got back from a tfree day trip to Kitty Hawk, where I had a marvelous time. Didn't smike a cigarette the entire time I was down there, and didn't miss it. Had some great oysters, seafood,etc.

So if anyone can explain to me why I am feeling funky please let me know.