At Least Sex Has an X in It

What's more exciting than two dates a week? Why peppermint hot chocolate, of course. Over brunch on Sunday with three male friends at Bumblekiss, over scrambles, neon, freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee with milk (why not half and half?), sourdough toast, new potatoes with rosemary, roasted garlic and sea salt, pancakes, chicken apple sausage, I heard the story of how my friend, K. met his beau, L. N., being the bon vivant that he is, was very sweet about this whole thing and provided much comic relief and his general silly self. L. and K. met at a Starbuck's. L. works behind the counter, K. came in regularly to order his very adult, very manly Peppermint Hot Chocolate. Thus, soon enough it was, "Peppermint Hot Chocolate just walked in the door!" This molted into Mister Peppermint Hot Chocolate.

Why add such a fascinating tale to my blog? Because:

1) Not dating now myself, so no date reports
2) I enjoy hearing how people meet & this story made me laugh
3) I get to hang out with my gay boyfriends and feel no need to explain it to any real or semi-boyfriend
4) I finally got an answer to a question I have had for years: Is the pumpkin spice latte really just seasonal or is there syrup stored up at undisclosed locations and could I possibly search this out and find a Starbuck's with some leftover?
5) I enjoy outing myself as a person who frequents Starbuck's. People in Portland can get over it.

On an entirely different note, I met with my friend, D. at Lucky Lab for drinks last week. Tidbit: the outside tables have heat lamps. He had invited a bunch of friends out. One couple told me the story of how they met. Apparently, T. did the on-line dating thing for a little while, decided it was not for her. She was a regular at a neighborhood bar and that is where she met her now boyfriend, who she owns real estate with. Said boyfriend was quick to let me know they had friends in common and also, "We did not have intercourse that first night." Frankly, I hate the word intercourse. At least sex has an X in it. I appreciated their story too. More importantly, how was that night different from all other nights?

That was the night I heard of taxoplasma! You must read this article at once and imagine, if you will, a rat all googly-eyed, swooning toward your feline friend. Taxoplasma? Just another reason I got a dog and not a cat.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9560048