Last May, I posted my long-stored-away Day Planner notations written down some 16 years earlier. We continue that FLASHBACK SPECIAL series with the final cache of ancient appointments, reminders and journal entries from the way-back year of 1998. As before, the comments in italics are present day explanations/elaborations.
January
2 - Hock TV and VCR. Packing up for "window of opportunity" to go back to RI. More on this wild plan in my explanation of actions for the 6th of January below.
4 - Out to Southern. Saw Justin; met his friends Michael and J.P. Slept w/ Justin @ Michael and J.P.'s house. As you may recall from the 1997 notes, Justin was by this time my ex-boyfriend. I remember when we got to his friend's house, we started snorting coke off Michael's key he'd dip into his little brown coke bottle and were all four of us making out and groping on Michael and J.T.'s king-sized bed. I was willing to have it evolve into a foursome but Justin broke off, went to the guest room and I felt pressured to follow.
5 - More sleepin' (ya I wrote like that like I'm so used to just "sleepin'" around, LOL) w/ Justin, supposedly back together by 10pm. On the rocks, though. So the morning after the previous night's activities, Justin and I drove our cars from Michael and J.P.'s in Thornton Park to Justin's apartment in Lake Mary. There we slept together some more and hung out 'till later in the evening. By around 10pm though, we'd had time to have quite a long conversation of where "we" were going from here and when I admitted facts that I'd been quiet about until then, like I had a job paying only $8/hr. and I was broke and several months behind in rent plus I was very late with probation fees due and was looking at a possible warrant for VOP (Violation of Probation, in case you didn't know). Oh yeah, and I admitted the truth about my DUI and the aftermath I was dealing with. Upon revealing this less-than-glamorous info about myself I could see his stance visibly change towards me. I knew it was over.
6 - Abort RI return plans. Ok. So the 2nd to the 4th was a weekend and I decided to make my move out of Florida. I was something like three months behind in rent and had a horribly depressing Holidays. When I went to Southern (on the 4th) my car was filled to the brim with various possessions of mine. Basically, everything I could fit in the little Metro. I was planning on skipping out on my roommates in Altamonte and moving back to RI. No plan as to where I'd stay in RI or what I'd do from there but I was ready to leave Dodge. Then I hooked up with Justin and the situation above noted ensued. Even though I knew I wouldn't be continuing with a relationship with Justin by the evening of the 5th, I decided that I'd give Florida another go and unpacked my shit from my car and rearranged my bedroom in the Altamonte condo - all this unbeknownst to my roommates.
9 - I [officially] breakup with Justin via email. Out to Southern with Chris Porter...see Justin, breakup in person. Snub him. I guess I told him. This was the first entry, I believe where I mention Chris Porter. He'd become more important in a few more weeks from this time.
11 - DM 2-7 190° Working only about 5 hours a day, I'd kept up a pretty full schedule at work in the previous week when I'd decided to stay in Florida but by this week I was already taking days off since this entry is only one of two for the week. Also, the 190° is my weight and the ° indicates No Exercise (ie stepping) My weight rose in one week from 182 to 190 and this day's notation of my weight is the last one for the month.
15 - Out to Wylde's. Wylde's was a Levi-Leather bar on OBT, long since closed down. Being a Florida bar it was decidedly more Levi (ie redneck) than Leather (ie Bear). The real Bear bar was down up OBT aways near Parliament, Full Moon Saloon. I was not what you'd consider Levi or Leather, but it was a relaxed atmosphere bar without all the club noise, smoke and attitudes. And I didn't think I'd run into Justin here.
20 - DM only 1 hr. They didn't have 1hr. shifts of course. I remember getting in and sitting at my station and my supervisor Yolanda started giving me grief about my lack of hours. I left within a few minutes of our "discussion." I wasn't planning on ever coming back.
21 - Saw Titanic @ AMC Downtown Disney Abandoned your job and got nothing to do? Go to the movies!
22 - Saw In and Out Park II Cinema Winter Park. Out to Wylde's. Oh, and I fail to mention another even for the day...pack shit up in car again...ugh!
23 - Left Northlake for RI 10am. Stayed overnight in Weldon, NC. On the road again. 12 hours from Northlake Blvd. in Altamonte to border of North Carolina and Virginia.
24 - Arrived Wayne's house 6:00 pm. Visited John. So I left NC early in am, got to Cranston, RI then had to look up Wayne in the phone book to find out where he lived. Went there unannounced, knocked on his door and was welcomed in. Gotta love my good ol' friends. They sure got used to the unexpected around me without batting an eye. Wayne had a previous engagement to meet with friends at a Monster Truck rally (he likes that shit, go figure?) so even though I was welcome, I felt uncomfortable in his house without him so I went to visit John C. in Providence. He also wasn't put off too much by my unexpected and unannounced visit at his doorstep a year after I'd last seen him. His house was still a mess though. Gotta say, with my entire worldly possessions all crammed in the back of my little Geo Metro, I looked around a little sadly at all the stuff I'd left him when I moved a year before to Florida. I think he may have been worried I'd ask for some of it back now that it appeared I was back.
25 - Saw Titanic again with Wayne in No. Attleboro. This theater was a lot older and smaller than Downtown Disney but the movie was just as good, of course. Wayne and I both balled our eyes out.
26 - Dinner with John... Karaoke @ Mirabar with Wayne later. Met guy named John. I don't remember where John and I had dinner. Mirabar was traditionally one of my old haunt gay bars originally located on Allens Avenue near the Providence waterfront docks. It had recently moved to the location we went this night somewhere downtown. It's long closed now of course. I don't remember this guy John.
27 - Bowling with John and Brooks team. 4 strikes in a row. My first turkey so I was thrilled, especially as I hadn't bowled in years. The Brooks team were John's co-workers. He was an IT guy at Brooks Pharmacy headquarters in Cranston. He was looking into a possible help desk job for me there. I didn't follow up much on this potential since I wasn't then at all interested in inbound call center work.
28 - Talked with Jodie @ DM - Warwick. Jodie was my team supervisor last time I worked for DM here in Rhode Island now she was the Branch Manager.
29 - Went in to DM but thwarted by bitchy attitude of Kathy Daglish, chose not to start. Now I always thought that it was Jodie who chose not to hire me since she contacted Orlando and found out I averaged about 14 hours a week there and she had a mandatory 30-hr. week rule. See why old notes from the time are good? Memory can be inconsistent. The conversation with Jodie may have been after I'd decided to not continue there? Or maybe I made the note about Kathy D. (a by the book bitch of a supervisor) placing blame there and empowering to me the decision of working there or not? I just don't remember, really.
30 - Out to Mirabar. Met Michael. Short! Hearing impaired but cute tight body. Michael was this cute hottie who approached me. We danced and made out a bit. I remember he had hearing aids but we didn't talk much. He left me his number before the night was over. BTW, while I was with this guy, Wayne was in another area of the multi-level bar with his friends, so I snuck a couple of Sam Adams. I say "snuck" because Wayne was still under the impression I was abstinent and I feel he wouldn't have taken me in if I admitted I'd gone back to drinking.
31 - Siam Square at Thayer Street with Wayne. Our old fav Thai restaurant on the East Side of Providence.
January
2 - Hock TV and VCR. Packing up for "window of opportunity" to go back to RI. More on this wild plan in my explanation of actions for the 6th of January below.
4 - Out to Southern. Saw Justin; met his friends Michael and J.P. Slept w/ Justin @ Michael and J.P.'s house. As you may recall from the 1997 notes, Justin was by this time my ex-boyfriend. I remember when we got to his friend's house, we started snorting coke off Michael's key he'd dip into his little brown coke bottle and were all four of us making out and groping on Michael and J.T.'s king-sized bed. I was willing to have it evolve into a foursome but Justin broke off, went to the guest room and I felt pressured to follow.
5 - More sleepin' (ya I wrote like that like I'm so used to just "sleepin'" around, LOL) w/ Justin, supposedly back together by 10pm. On the rocks, though. So the morning after the previous night's activities, Justin and I drove our cars from Michael and J.P.'s in Thornton Park to Justin's apartment in Lake Mary. There we slept together some more and hung out 'till later in the evening. By around 10pm though, we'd had time to have quite a long conversation of where "we" were going from here and when I admitted facts that I'd been quiet about until then, like I had a job paying only $8/hr. and I was broke and several months behind in rent plus I was very late with probation fees due and was looking at a possible warrant for VOP (Violation of Probation, in case you didn't know). Oh yeah, and I admitted the truth about my DUI and the aftermath I was dealing with. Upon revealing this less-than-glamorous info about myself I could see his stance visibly change towards me. I knew it was over.
6 - Abort RI return plans. Ok. So the 2nd to the 4th was a weekend and I decided to make my move out of Florida. I was something like three months behind in rent and had a horribly depressing Holidays. When I went to Southern (on the 4th) my car was filled to the brim with various possessions of mine. Basically, everything I could fit in the little Metro. I was planning on skipping out on my roommates in Altamonte and moving back to RI. No plan as to where I'd stay in RI or what I'd do from there but I was ready to leave Dodge. Then I hooked up with Justin and the situation above noted ensued. Even though I knew I wouldn't be continuing with a relationship with Justin by the evening of the 5th, I decided that I'd give Florida another go and unpacked my shit from my car and rearranged my bedroom in the Altamonte condo - all this unbeknownst to my roommates.
9 - I [officially] breakup with Justin via email. Out to Southern with Chris Porter...see Justin, breakup in person. Snub him. I guess I told him. This was the first entry, I believe where I mention Chris Porter. He'd become more important in a few more weeks from this time.
11 - DM 2-7 190° Working only about 5 hours a day, I'd kept up a pretty full schedule at work in the previous week when I'd decided to stay in Florida but by this week I was already taking days off since this entry is only one of two for the week. Also, the 190° is my weight and the ° indicates No Exercise (ie stepping) My weight rose in one week from 182 to 190 and this day's notation of my weight is the last one for the month.
15 - Out to Wylde's. Wylde's was a Levi-Leather bar on OBT, long since closed down. Being a Florida bar it was decidedly more Levi (ie redneck) than Leather (ie Bear). The real Bear bar was down up OBT aways near Parliament, Full Moon Saloon. I was not what you'd consider Levi or Leather, but it was a relaxed atmosphere bar without all the club noise, smoke and attitudes. And I didn't think I'd run into Justin here.
20 - DM only 1 hr. They didn't have 1hr. shifts of course. I remember getting in and sitting at my station and my supervisor Yolanda started giving me grief about my lack of hours. I left within a few minutes of our "discussion." I wasn't planning on ever coming back.
21 - Saw Titanic @ AMC Downtown Disney Abandoned your job and got nothing to do? Go to the movies!
22 - Saw In and Out Park II Cinema Winter Park. Out to Wylde's. Oh, and I fail to mention another even for the day...pack shit up in car again...ugh!
23 - Left Northlake for RI 10am. Stayed overnight in Weldon, NC. On the road again. 12 hours from Northlake Blvd. in Altamonte to border of North Carolina and Virginia.
24 - Arrived Wayne's house 6:00 pm. Visited John. So I left NC early in am, got to Cranston, RI then had to look up Wayne in the phone book to find out where he lived. Went there unannounced, knocked on his door and was welcomed in. Gotta love my good ol' friends. They sure got used to the unexpected around me without batting an eye. Wayne had a previous engagement to meet with friends at a Monster Truck rally (he likes that shit, go figure?) so even though I was welcome, I felt uncomfortable in his house without him so I went to visit John C. in Providence. He also wasn't put off too much by my unexpected and unannounced visit at his doorstep a year after I'd last seen him. His house was still a mess though. Gotta say, with my entire worldly possessions all crammed in the back of my little Geo Metro, I looked around a little sadly at all the stuff I'd left him when I moved a year before to Florida. I think he may have been worried I'd ask for some of it back now that it appeared I was back.
25 - Saw Titanic again with Wayne in No. Attleboro. This theater was a lot older and smaller than Downtown Disney but the movie was just as good, of course. Wayne and I both balled our eyes out.
26 - Dinner with John... Karaoke @ Mirabar with Wayne later. Met guy named John. I don't remember where John and I had dinner. Mirabar was traditionally one of my old haunt gay bars originally located on Allens Avenue near the Providence waterfront docks. It had recently moved to the location we went this night somewhere downtown. It's long closed now of course. I don't remember this guy John.
27 - Bowling with John and Brooks team. 4 strikes in a row. My first turkey so I was thrilled, especially as I hadn't bowled in years. The Brooks team were John's co-workers. He was an IT guy at Brooks Pharmacy headquarters in Cranston. He was looking into a possible help desk job for me there. I didn't follow up much on this potential since I wasn't then at all interested in inbound call center work.
28 - Talked with Jodie @ DM - Warwick. Jodie was my team supervisor last time I worked for DM here in Rhode Island now she was the Branch Manager.
29 - Went in to DM but thwarted by bitchy attitude of Kathy Daglish, chose not to start. Now I always thought that it was Jodie who chose not to hire me since she contacted Orlando and found out I averaged about 14 hours a week there and she had a mandatory 30-hr. week rule. See why old notes from the time are good? Memory can be inconsistent. The conversation with Jodie may have been after I'd decided to not continue there? Or maybe I made the note about Kathy D. (a by the book bitch of a supervisor) placing blame there and empowering to me the decision of working there or not? I just don't remember, really.
30 - Out to Mirabar. Met Michael. Short! Hearing impaired but cute tight body. Michael was this cute hottie who approached me. We danced and made out a bit. I remember he had hearing aids but we didn't talk much. He left me his number before the night was over. BTW, while I was with this guy, Wayne was in another area of the multi-level bar with his friends, so I snuck a couple of Sam Adams. I say "snuck" because Wayne was still under the impression I was abstinent and I feel he wouldn't have taken me in if I admitted I'd gone back to drinking.
31 - Siam Square at Thayer Street with Wayne. Our old fav Thai restaurant on the East Side of Providence.