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Is it Fall yet? Where’s the fog? The clouds? The temps in the 60s? Can you tell what my problem is? Yup. It’s my utility bills. An A/C unit that doesn’t work very well and sits at floor level in my DINING ROOM, plus fans equals a utility bill of $225. Usually the bill’s about $50, or at the very least under $100. This is just insane. On top of that, my gas bill is double too. I think the rates have jacked up, but you know they do that shit and never tell you cept in some tiny ass print some place I’d never find. If I had known the bills would be double and triple the usual cost I would have made provision for that last month, but I didn’t, so now money is tighter than Batman’s shirt.

Anyway, to help combat my misery at the continued humid swelter in my house, here is a Marcus photo guaranteed to make us feel the tropical breezes. I’m not gonna go the dream route again. The last time I did, I ended up with a thought about sand in my ass, which is not the stuff of fantasies.

Yeah, he could so be the poster boy for swimming is fun. Being a sucky ass swimmer myself, I would go to the pool if I could look at that all day.

So last week I started sucking down all the B vitamins, and I worked really hard at tuning out the crap TV that Motley has playing loudly in my bedroom while I’m trying to write. I also ignored the lure of my feed reader. On Monday, I got some work done for the Bar. Tuesday, I got my horse races done early. I missed Adam and Britt’s show because I was in an IM conference with the Bar writers. I did manage to make Karl’s inaugural Talk Shoe show. I got a lot posted at the Bar last week, and the story has now made a significant move forward.

I feel really good about the writing. However, it took me all day today, between Twitter and Yahoo, to get my feedreader cleared out. But I did! And I posted lots of comments! There were a lot of tough subjects covered by the people I read, but I threw my 2 cents into the ring whether it was a popular thing to say or not.

I added people to my Twitter and Facebook this weekend too. I was really glad to see The User Pool on Twitter. Jason X is a really amusing guy and if you know anything about the corporate world, you want to read his blog. You will laugh and laugh! I also added the Redneck Romance Writer. Jen is one of my favorite writers. In fact, I’d bought one of her books long before I ever read her blog. It was a Christmas story… and I loved it. The fact that she likes what I write is hugely flattering to me.

Before I go, I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite hotties. Justin has a very nice photo blog that you should check out at Piczar Photo. I asked for DaveLouis photos and he posted them before going to bed last night. Now, I think I’ll go play a few rounds of solitaire with my Blogography cards. I’ve been wanting to try them out, but I never seem to have the time.

Have a great Monday!

I am expecting to have a nice Monday. One reason for it is something I cannot talk about on here because it’s a work related thing and you all know I don’t talk about the work things here anymore. The other reason is because I’ll get to be in the A/C most of the day. It’s been hot for me at home with no A/C and high humidity and temps in the 80’s. That may not seem very hot to you, but then add in the fact that I live above the garages and everyone in this condo building does laundry 24/7. Except me. I can’t handle going into the steam bath that is our garage.

Anyway, because it was so hot and Gooster highjacked my last hottie, I put a never ending stream of hotties in my sidebar. It’s a nice widget. I like looking at it. Gooster, if you want one, just click the linky thing on it and get a widget for your blog. While you’re at it, buy a drool bib. I did.

So, it’s Monday and that means it’s another photo session with my favorite hottie on the planet. He’s so hot, he’s cool. Here’s a test strip of Marcus for this Monday.

Now, I need a shower. I am too hot. Hope you all have a cool Monday!

I’ve been grilled like a bratwurst at a tailgate party! Neil over at Citizen of the Month has this project he set in motion some six months or so ago. It’s still going strong. It’s the Great Interview Experiment. The reason I know it is still going strong is that I was interviewed by Vodkamom. If you’re interested in what she asked me and what I had to say, click on her name and check out the interview post on her blog. She didn’t ask me run of the mill questions so it’s not quite as boring as you might think it would be. I sent off my questions to the person I am interviewing and I’m awaiting his replies. Once I have them, I will post my interview here.

Now, it’s time for my Monday Marcus photo. Today, I am speechless. I just want to look at the man and drool. These are the photos that made him a superstar in the modeling world.

If you like hot guys who are cool, you gotta swing by Uncle Monkey Boy’s brand new blog. Click on his name and leave a welcome comment for him. I’m very excited for him. I’m sure he will find this just as much fun as the rest of us do.

I had a great brunch at El Torito with Karl and Motley on Sunday. I knew Karl would be going back to Florida on Wednesday so I wanted a chance to go hang with him one more time before he left. He’s not even gone yet and I already miss him being nearby!

So he and I and Motley were sitting at our table Twittering and fussing with our new phones… while this guy sat a few booths away with an overstuffed organizer, papers sliding out of it… We were so techie and cool. I don’t understand how business people can walk around with those little overstuffed folders of leather in this day and age. Hello! Smart phones, people! Buy one. Learn to use it. Lose the bits of paper!

Paper is only good for fanning yourself when you’ve been looking at Marcus Schenkenberg photos. HEH. Have a great Monday!

Yes, my Monday morning date with Marcus is late. I am still recovering from a weekend of debauchery fun at Dave Diego on Saturday and with Hilly, Karl, the gays, and Othurme on Sunday. The past few years have been so rough on me emotionally that I have forgotten what it is like to truly have friends and have fun. I am more grateful than I can convey for the friends I have made here in the PRB.

Since it is Monday, and since I took today off, I think I should post a couple of luscious Marcus pics just because one can never post a surfeit of a man who looks like this one does. Besides, I can never make up my mind. I think every photo of him makes my heart go THUD.

Before I post Marcus, I do want to pimp out a couple of things. First, everyone should keep checking Flickr for all the Dave Diego photos. I believe Jester is uploading some today. Me, Karl, and SJ posted some, but we weren’t the only ones there, so I’m sure more photos are forthcoming. Second, I’m going to be participating in the Great Interview Experiment over at Citizen of the Month. If you haven’t done this yet, you should. Neil has lots of reasons why listed on his blog, but really, it’s just a fun thing to do to get to know other bloggers. Much better than a meme IMHO.

Now, here is my favorite celeb to round out my Monday.

Watermelon, anyone? I’m not a fan of melon, but I could stand between those thighs and eat me some…

I love a man in a towel. Can I be the guitar? He can strum me all night long…

Another set of daydreams inspired by Marcus. I love Mondays. Now, maybe I’ll go play some Solitare with the Blogography cards. They have a really nice texture to them. I’m in love with them too. Talking to Justin on Twitter about a party bus where we play Rock Band and poker with Dave’s cards has me itching to look at the cards again.

Happy party bus Monday to everyone!

It felt like a long weekend. Probably because I spent so much of it writing. Next weekend will be a true long weekend since I spent some of my much horded vacation hours and took Friday and Monday off. I wasn’t sure if I would need recovery time since it’s Dave Diego next weekend. When it comes to bloggers, I’ve only met Hilly and Karl thus far, so Motley and I are truly excited about this event. Not that Hilly and Karl aren’t the pinnacle of bloggers, but you know what I mean.

I went to Blog Talk Radio yesterday to set a reminder for Turnbaby’s anniversary show, even though I knew I wasn’t going to get to listen to the whole thing. I had a Bar writer’s meeting online that I knew would pull me away at some point. However, when I went to set the reminder, I noticed a show that was on called The Mortal Vampire. Me being me, I had to check it out.

The Mortal Vampire seemed really cool and his chatroom was hopping. His guest was Bret Jordan who is an author and artist. They were talking about writing and someone in the chat asked how I’d found the show. So I told them about The Bar and that I write vampires. Bret instantly offered to put a link to The Bar on his links page. Very, very cool. I really enjoyed the show and will be listening again in the future. Many thanks to The Mortal Vampire and Bret Jordan for the plug.

Well, it is Monday, and I do have a Marcus for you. First, I have to say that I am just totally in lust with Christian de la Fuente from In Plain Sight. This guy really pushes my buttons which doesn’t happen very often with celebs. I think I totally called it last Monday when I said he was headed for Marcus status. Not that he would ever take Marcus’ place. No man could do that. I’m more than in lust with Marcus. If I ever met him in person, I would be a babbling fool because he reduces me to complete mush. Really, both these guys more than float my boat!

Last week there was a call for a shirtless Marcus so I’ve got one of those for you today. He’s young here, not that he’s old now, but 39 is old for a model. I guess it’s part of his supermodel status that he still looks good and is still working. Not a lot of guys look as good as he does at 39. He’s certainly inspiration for me when I’m writing hot scenes. My muse doesn’t really help me with those. He just tosses a few Marcus photos at me and heads off to get drunk. He knows the Marcus pictures will invoke the hottest of sex scenes.

I want to call out my thanks to Jen from Redneck Romance Writer and Susan from West of Mars for giving my Zanctuary writing contest entry a lookover yesterday. I appreciated the time you ladies took to read the piece and give me your opinions. The rest of you will get to read Silver Lining after the contest is over. The inspiration came from my past (the dude from yesterday), from Marcus and Christian, from a Lady Antebellum song, and from stuff that happens to people online. It’s an emotional piece from the get go, and yes, there is a sex scene! YAY!

Hope you all have a great Monday with whoever floats your boat!

Shades of Billy Idol screaming is what you’re thinking right now, right? Wrong! It’s just the return of my Marcus Monday. I flipped out just a tiny bit last night because Motley was watching TV in my room and she had on In Plain Sight. I was talking to someone in YIM who had expressed the desire to read the Bar and create a character so she can write with us. I glanced over and there’s this way good looking dude being worked over by a physical therapist. For about a minute, I thought it was Marcus. Then I realized something was off and I Googled the show and discovered that it was Christian de la Fuente.

Ahhh. I watch Larry King. I’d seen this guy before and thought he was way hot then. Now, my attraction was ratcheting itself way up the scale toward the Marcus level. Yum. As usual, my first thought was, I need to get dibs on this guy for the Bar before someone else does. And I remembered thinking I needed to save him for the Bar when I’d seen him on Larry King, but I hadn’t acted on it at all. Just so this doesn’t end up like me and Mozy, I’ll have to slap his photo on the Bar as a “to be named later” character.

At any rate, hot as Christian is, Marcus is still hotter. They have this snapshot thing at the sim where they ask long time players to answer a series of questions to give other players a “snapshot” of who they are… one of the questions is who would you want in the next bed if you had to be bedridden in the hospital for 6 months. My first thought was Marcus, of course, but then I wondered if that was a good idea. I mean, bed ridden? I would either be sick or in pain. Certainly not at my best. Would I want a hot guy seeing me like that?

After my second thought passed, the third one came to the fore. I realized that all the hot guys I’ve been with in the past weren’t attracted to me because of my looks. Six months with Marcus and the guy would have to know something of who I am. Either he would find that attractive or he wouldn’t. If he didn’t, oh well. And maybe I wouldn’t find him attractive anymore if I spent that much time with him. I mean, I’m not all about the abs and the pecs usually.

When people wish that they could spend more time with someone, do they really want that? Wouldn’t that spoil half the relationships out there? Because odds are, lots of relationships have a balance and part of that balance is how much time you spend with the other person. Lots of people are making it as a couple because they don’t live in each other’s back pockets.

Personally, that would bug the shit out of me. I need my personal time and space. Chances are, six months in the same room with Marcus, and I would walk out of there wondering what I ever saw in him in the first place. Of course, six months in the same room with anyone would probably do that to me. Still, I can dream of how awesome it would be spend six days in bed with that body. HEH. Oh, yeah. That thought is almost enough to get me typing stewardesses…

Have a great Monday!

How can I top the Marcus mosaic I did last week? I should never have done that. I just spoiled all the future Mondays. I do have a nice Marcus pic though. I thought perhaps something rather formal was needed since we do have the last of our awards to hand out today. So here’s Marcus in a collar, cuffs, and a tie. Hee hee.

It’s just perfectly appropriate that the end of Blog Reader Appreciation Week should fall at the end of the Marcus Award contest. I’m just a giving fool! And for those of you who didn’t win something, there is still an open contest at this blog. No one ever won the Find the Air France Commercial guy. The commercial is called “Pool” and no one has been able to discover the name of the man in the commercial. If someone is brave enough to try, here’s the link the post about this contest. I found the name of the director, which escapes me now, but it’s buried in one of my posts. I did blog about this commercial at least 3 or 4 times.

To recap my BRAW stuff, Hilly talked to me on Woopra (and remains the only person ever to talk to me on this!) and won a pack of Dave’s playing cards when my order arrives. Marty’s name was drawn from the Dooney purse in the comment entries contest and he wins a hat from our Cafepress store. The end of the Marcus Award contest also fell on Friday. I tallied up the numbers and… MaryO from My Two Cents wins a fanged t-shirt! YAY!!!

I have no clue how she managed to outlast Fab on this one because she’s been pregnant and caring for a newborn plus 2 kids, a DH, pets, and a job through it all. I have no idea how she found the time to come by here, read, and post 115 comments! Now, that is loyalty for ya! Mary… I LOVES YA! Send me a PM at the Bar and tell me what size t-shirt you want.

Keep your eyes peeled for more tiara pics this week. Also, I’m still thinking about ideas for how I should be awarding the Marcus and the Alaric in the future, so feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas on that in comments. Believe me, I will appreciate every one! Have a yummy Monday!