A Visual Gallery of Sorts

“Shag, Eat, Drink, Sleep, Shag”

Charlie — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:44:20 +0000

Three, four, five.

No, wait. Six. He had six piercings on his left ear.

Three. Had three piercings on his right ear.

One. One piercing under his lip.

Two tattoos. One on his back, another on his ankle.

Aside from all of this and the Korean pretty-boy face and the Queen’s English, it was like staring into a mirror.

Luis

Charlie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:48:04 +0000

“Today? Wednesday? Friday?”

“How about Wednesday, Luis?”

Luis is our cleaning man. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday he pops into the office and proceeds like clockwork to dust, sweep and wipe his way into abandon. He’s very unassuming, barely speaks a lick of English and, standing at five feet tall, reminds me of what my grandfathers would have probably looked like had I knew them.

“Today? Friday? Monday?”

“Not today; Monday please? Thank you, Luis.”

Today he’s here, ready to wipe down my desk. I am too busy with work and politely decline, like always.

I’ve never said ‘no’ to someone more times than I have to Luis. He will never realize it, but he has greatly shaped the way I approach dating in New York City. It is through him that I’ve learned how to say ‘no’ with the complications of passive-aggressive Seattle flavor that has plagued my speech the past 25 years.

He has, in a sense, become my accidental dating and life coach.

DSuke, the “Fuck-You Boy”

Charlie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:58:50 +0000

It may look pretty outside, but that’s just an illusion. Three days into spring and it still feels like the middle of January. The heat didn’t come on last night, and so I spent the evening wrapped in down and cotton. Luckily I have had the occasional warmth in the form of a very handsome guy from Japan. I call him DSuke, but am thinking about calling him the “Fuck-You Boy,” after Soon’s very flattering exclamation upon seeing his picture. “Fuck you, Charlie! Fuck you!” Because really, he is truly very handsome enough to warrant uncensored cries of envy from friends. We have nothing in common. He hardly speaks a lick of English, and I have about forgotten most of my Japanese, but there is one language we can communicate in, very well in fact. And after we fuck we’d lay beneath the glow of my computer screen and teach each other words, because that’s the only thing left to do.

The View From My Desk

Charlie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:07:38 +0000

I looks and feels like a frozen hurricane outside.

Charlie’s Twitterlife for February 26

Charlie — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:59:59 +0000

3:36pm

Posted a tweet on Twitter.

Hiroko’s place was full of Japanese cuties today. What’s up with that.

Tuesday Drinks

Charlie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:10:50 +0000

I was chatting with my friend Eric over drinks last night, and the subject of the Recession came up. The Recession has been a popular topic as of late, and this conversation was not really different than the others: tallying the increasing number of unemployed friends; lamenting the loss the parents’ retirement savings; fearing that iron curtain that could any day now fall down on our careers.

On Sunday I watched television commercials for the first time in months and was astounded by the number of Recession-themed advertisements. Hyundai special offers proclaiming that “we’re all going to make it through this.” Kohr’s encouraging this revolutionary new concept of “smart shopping.” It was one thing to take advantage of restaurant specials around the city — $35 three-course dinners, woo hoo! — but watching the flickering images on the TV in your own home finally brought down the weight of what’s going on, to me at least. I was in my own little world of denial, and my bubble finally popped.

Because I, unlike many of my friends, am (or rather, was) not worried the least about losing my job or falling into financial turmoil. My position is very secure, my rent is super-cheap and my living expenses aren’t enormous. I am extremely lucky, but I also know that some of the choices I made/didn’t make got me where I am today. So why do I feel so guilty?

Charlie’s Twitterlife for February 24

Charlie — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:59:59 +0000

6:28am

Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter.

Wakened by the sounds of helicopters outside. Can’t sleep. Wondering what’s up.

Charlie’s Twitterlife for February 22

Charlie — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:59:59 +0000

	7:14am	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. Covered in glitter.
	6:40pm	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. Heard Cynthia screaming in the kitchen. Apparently a gigantic cockroach just crawled into my bedroom. Going to have nightmares tonight.

Charlie’s Twitterlife for February 21

Charlie — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 04:59:59 +0000

	2:32am	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. Paprika-spiced potatoes for dinner. And, that egg salad sandwich. Doesn’t go so well with spinach.
	3:34am	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. Sitting next to a Thai family on the train. Listening to them speak makes me miss the fam.
	7:48am	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. I’m getting too old to hang out this late at night.
	8:13am	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. @KillerRobot I’m so happy to hear that it wasn’t worse!
	5:00pm	Charlie posted a tweet on Twitter. Had a nice dream about being President of the United State. Power…

The Boiler Room

Charlie — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:06:33 +0000

Jonni is going to look exactly the same in twenty years. Lucky bastard’s never going to age.