Smells good?

This has been a good weekend. I had dinner with a big group on Friday, including visiting old friends. We went for a drink after in a very un-crowded Adams Morgan bar. Apparently, 9:30 is very, very early for Adams Morgan. By the time we left, around 11pm, the stripedy shirts and low-rise jeans were in abundance.

Saturday, I went to a BBQ (cookout for Southerners) hosted by one of my kickball teammates. Despite my best attempts to hold the entire team (with the exception of my previous acquaintances) in contempt, I found myself getting along well with two or three of them and observing some of the others to be amusing. At least they're friendly.

Prior to the BBQ, I ran around doing errands--shopping, picking up a package at FedEx. I had no idea what the package was, but it turned out to be some blogger swag. Recently, I received a solicitation to review a product (not a book). I agreed because I happen to like this particular product. Amusingly, it's a men's product--a kind of deodorant/ antiperspirant. I have a history of preferring men's cologne's to women's. I've been told that while I might enjoy the smell of a man's scent, a man might prefer to smell something more feminine on me. Recently, I started wearing a vanilla eau de toilette (less intense than perfume) and a guy actually commented on it. I used to like citrus scents, lime in particular. I also wear one other scent, which is a man's cologne called "Zizanie." My grandfather used to have a bottle in his bathroom and I loved the way it smelled. Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with the new product. Give it to a guy? Wear it and risk smelling "masculine"? (I won't give away the deodorant stick, but the "body sprays" might go.) How do you write a review about a scent? I'll have to do some thinking on that.

Between the store and home, pre-BBQ, I impulsively called a friend to see if she wanted to join me for a free sushi tasting at the Rock & Roll Hotel. She said yes and I was very pleased that I wouldn't have to go alone to get my free sushi. We had a good time, enjoying the atmosphere, people watching, and eating tasty free sushi. (The place has been there almost a year and this was my first visit. Lame.) When we left, we waited for the free H St shuttle with a couple of guys, one of whom was very cute and very flirtatious. Beyond hanging with a new-ish friend, my banter with the shuttle guy was the highlight of my night. I also wore some of the afore-mentioned body spray product. Only the shuttle guy flirted with me--so was the scent a success or not?

Today, Sunday, I decided to do some weeding in the tiny back yard (aka, the jungle). Unfortunately, I couldn't find the pruning shears, so I couldn't hack our small trees and flowering plants down to size. What I could do was rip a ton of ivy off of our back wall. Argh! When I first moved in, we planted some ivy in large pots. The ivy has gotten out of control and was colonizing our wall. That's not good. I still have a bit of work to do to get it under control, but it wasn't a total disaster. I have to give it another day next weekend and buy some new shears so I can cut it way, way back.

After doing about an hour of hard work in the yard, I'd had enough and I went back inside so I could spend the rest of the day doing nothing. I was pissed, though, that none of the condo mates helped out. They never do. We don't have a gardener, so taking care of the yard is something we're supposed to share. (It's a small building and we're self-managed.) As far as I know, of this current group of tenants, I'm the only one who has ever yanked a weed. I'm seriously thinking about charging them a fee. We'd pay a gardener, right? (We would, we just haven't been able to find one for such a small job.) If I'm the only one doing the work, why shouldn't I be paid? About $20 a go (an hour?) sounds right to me. If anyone else ever decides to weed, s/he could get paid too. Why not? It might help me hate my neighbors less, too, which would be a good thing.

Oddly, I haven't had the urge to go to the movies today. I think I overindulged in The Sopranos and I'm all watched out. How strange! Talk to you on Monday.

Grateful for: free time.