A Good Way To End It

I woke up this morning sick. It never fails, I am either sick at Christmas or New Years. One or the other as long as I can remember. I recall on Christmas when I was sick with the mumps. I was about 12 and it was a horrible Christmas. All day long I have spent running back to the bathroom. I have to work as this is the busiest time of the month for us, not to mention the end of the year. So I am at work currently waiting for the clock to wind up at 5:00 so that I can go home and climb into the bed under the warm blankets. A great way to end the year.

Twenty Years? Where did it go?

Today is my daughter's 20th birthday.
Twenty years ago today, in similar weather conditions, my ex wife and I were shopping in the local K-mart when her water broke and she went into labor. (My God how middle America does that sound?) We rushed to the hospital and within 15 minutes of our arrival at the hospital the Princess was born. From day one she brought us joy and excitement, and she continues to bring us that joy, and sometimes unwanted excitement. We love you Princess and Happy Birthday.

Christmas was delightful! We had a wonderful holiday, at both set of parents. My mother invited DJ to her home Christmas Day for dinner and even my brother gave him a warm welcome. Does wonders ever cease? Christmas at DJ's was great. All of his family was there, and as always they treated me as one of the family. We invited his sister and her husband over for New Years Eve.

Most of you are aware of the major winter storm that hit our area before the holidays. Yesterday was the first day I went into work since the 21st. After 8 inches of snow the first night, and another 7 to 8 inches the following night it crippled us for a few hours. The weather report is calling for a warm trend to come through tomorrow so we are hoping it will be warm enough to melt all of this, then of course we will probably have flash floods due to the major amount of water. It's always something.

So the holidays are behind us, and soon this year will be behind us. So off to the new year and another twenty years ahead. uh....let's not think about that....

And Baby Makes Four

It looks as though come after the New Year, we will have another new addition to our growing family. DJ and I have fallen in love with a new baby kitten that was born to DJ's, uncle's cat. It is a Russian Blue, which are very short haired cats, with small ears and blue eyes. The one we have fallen for is a gray-charcoal mix. Not sure what sex it is as it is too young at this point to tell, but we are hoping for a boy. DJ already has a name for it if it is male. To keep with the "Buffy" theme it will be named "Giles". (We currently have Willow and Xander) Of course if it is a girl, it will be "Cordy" named after Cordelia, also from the Buffy / Angel TV Series. So it looks as though if we ever move it will definitely be in our own home, as rent anywhere with three cats will be exhuberant. I will post a picture of the new baby as soon as it's home.

Christmas is right around the corner, and we finally did some Christmas shopping. Last night we purchased DJ's mom's gift and tonight I am meeting up with my brother to get our parent's gift. Their TV is about to go out, so my youngest brother and I are splitting the purchase of a new HDTV for them. Tomorrow night I pick up my boys, who will be here until Christmas Eve night. Then it's off to the festivities for the Holidays, so this will probably be it until after the Christmas Season.

Best of 2004

I love lists. I love going over the past year and review what I've liked and not liked. As a kid I would spend New Years Day sitting in my room with the radio on and four empty cassette tapes and record the top 100 songs of the year. I did that every year up until I was married. I would love to know where those tapes went, They'd be worth a fortune of good "oldies!" So before 2004 is gone and I forget, here is my...

BEST (and some of the worst) OF 2004



Best Movies I've Seen This Year-
Shrek 2
Stepford Wives
Kill Bill 2
Sideways
Spiderman 2
The Butterfly Effect
A Home at the End of the World
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Worst Film-
The Grudge


Best Commercial- Brylcreem (British TV)
Best Reality Show- Amazing Race 5
Best TV Show- CSI / Trading Spaces
Best TV Show Finale- The Final Friends
Best TV Show Finale that Frustrated Me- Angel
Best TV News Over Exposure- Scott Peterson Trial / Michael Jackson
Best New TV Show- Desperate Housewives
Most Over Rated Entertainer of the Year- Britney Spears
Most Annoying TV Anchor- Dan Rather
Best Retirement Announcement- Dan Rather
Cutest TV Anchor- CNN's Bill Hemmer
Most Anticipated Movie That Didn't Own Up- Alexander
Biggest Homophobes- Eminem /George Bush/ Hollywood for cutting scenes in Brokeback Mountain, A Home at the End of the World and Alexander.
Best Reprehensible Use of a Political Tool - Dick Cheney using his daughters sexuality to garner votes.

Most Annoying People of 2004; Anna Nicole Smith, William Chung; Dan Rather & Britney Spears
Greatest Losses of 2004- Christopher Reeve, Janet Leigh, Marlon Brando, Ray Charles & 831 soldiers in Iraq making a total of 1,293
Best Baby Names - Roman / Makena
Worst Baby Names - Phinneus / Apple


Biggest Disappointment- The Presidential Election
Biggest Break Up - Barbie & Ken
Biggest Suprise of '04 - Boston Red Sox
Best Gay Quote- "I am a Gay American" former Gov. Jim McGreevey
Best Books I've Read-
A Home At The End of The World
Dry
Shameless

My Most Read Blogs-
towleroad
A Slice of Life
Oh La La Paris
Wonderboy

Cutest Bloggers-(besides myself of course!)
Shane @ Happily Stuck in Ithaca
Graham @ grahams crackers (yeah I know he is my cousin)



I will add more to the list as the year winds down, so come back often!!

Hometown Girl Making It

Yesterday I mentioned the fact that the Golden Globe Nominations were released and didn't mention a connection. A very vague one, but a connection nontheless. It seems as though director, Alexander Payne's new movie, SIDEWAYS leads the list of nominations. I have been hearing about this movie for about a year now. The reason being that a friend of mine is in the movie. When I heard back then that she got the part we all were estatic. She has had some TV spots (Ally McBeal, Law & Order; Criminal Intent) and has been working hard at making a name for herself in the movie biz. Not to mention that she is one hell of a good actress. And an even greater person. Now it seems that with the sucsess of Sideways, she may become a little more high profile. We hope so. Hats off to Alexander Payne in directing Sideways, to the stars and crew and to our very own star, Missy...WAY TO GO GIRL!!

By the way, now that she has a major motion picture under her belt, she made IMDB!! WE LOVE YOU MISSY, don't forget us little people!!

I changed the layout, brightened it up a little. Maybe it will brighten my mood as well.

So, What's Up With You?

It is almost 3:00 a.m. and I am still awake. It may be from the fact that I didn't get up today until about 12:30 in the afternoon, but I do not sleep in that often. It may be from the fact that my chest is hurting, (no not a heart attack, at least I don't think so, it's that damn acid reflux and it feels like it is coming up through my chest.) No it's neither of those things that has me wide awake when most people are fast asleep, such as DJ.

My insomnia can be blamed on my oldest son. I refer to him as J1, but his name is Joe and he called me today(well yesterday now), the conversation went something like this...

"Hey dad, what's up with you?"
"Not alot, eating lunch, you?"
"Not too much. I need some help."
"What's wrong?"
"well nothing really, we've just overspent, you know car payments, rent, electric bills, insurance..."
"Yeah we had all come due this past week too. I can't help today, but I can tomorrow after I get paid."
"Not alot, I mean with Christmas and all. If you could just give me an early Christmas present."
"Sure, not a problem, want to meet up after work tomorrow?"
"Sounds good. Oh, by the way. Mandy has to go to the doctor that's why I need some extra cash."
"She okay?"
"Well yeah, but she may be pregnant..."

There was silence on the line while I gained my composure, and then I told him I'd see them tomorrow. I'm not too worked up over it,as I went through this with my daughter a year or so ago, and it was a false alarm. Then i was not ready for grandparenting, but now? Well yeah, I think I am ready. I think. I'm just not sure that DJ is...

It Couldn't Have Happened at a Worse Time

Tonight DJ and I were invited to our first Christmas Party of the season. We were all set to go a partying with my friend Kare Bear and her husband. But when we arrived home from work today we found our adorable little boy Xander under the weather.
This was him back in August.
Xander is our short-hair cat (still a kitten actually as he is only 7mos. old now) He was neutered 11 days ago and he had been doing fine (as fine as one can do without their testicles) Today he just was totally despondant. He hadn't eaten all day and he had vomited, several times. So we made a trip to the 24 hour Emergency Animal Hospital. We left here around 5:30 and returned home at around 9:oo. They gave him a shot for the vomiting, and then an IV as he was dehydrating and sent us home with bubble gum flavored antibiotics. The vet said it could be a number of things; a viral or bacterial infection; Something he may have eaten that he should not have; or feline AIDS or Leukemia. They did blood tests and ruled out the AIDS and Leukemia, but nothing jumped out at them. So we brought him and are to feed the the bubble gum flavored meds every 12 hours, and watch him. If he contiues to remain lethargic we should call our vet on Monday. It sounded SO much like a trip to the Human Emergency Room!! They even had little waiting rooms for us and TV's to make our waiting more tolerable. What was not tolerable was the bill. $254.00 (yeah, right here two weeks before Christmas and we are shelling out money to the vet) and we STILL don't really know what is wrong with him. Poor baby boy.... Poor Daddy's wallets.
So sorry Kare Bear. But what's a dad gonna do? Maybe we can get together before the holidays are over...

SSDD

Do you know what I mean by SSDD? Same Shit Different Day. That is more than just the truth for me. I am a person that likes my routine. I used to not be that way, but over the past two years things have changed and I stick to my routine. Sometimes I stray from it somewhat, but 95% of the time I stay on track. So much so that I can give you my routine without thinking about it. It starts with the alarm going off at 8:00 a.m. every morning...

8:00 am - Hit snooze for 15 minutes
8:15 am - Hit snooze for 15 minutes
8:30 am - Hit snooze for 15 minutes, continue this until 9:15
9:15 am - Get out of bed, stumble to the shower, fight with the hot water to regulate
9:30 am - Get dressed, grab wallet, keys, watch, cigarettes and head to the garage.
9:45 am - Arrive at work start the day...(I will not bore you with the details while at work, but it is pretty much the same every day, including trying to leave early as many days as possible)
5:00 pm - Leave work, light a cigarette and head home.
5:15 pm - Feed the cats, go to the computer where I remain until I decide to go to bed. Which is around 1:00 am - 2:30 am.

The question I have is how does DJ put up with me? The man is wonderful. He has to be. I couldn't live with me! Well I say all this to let you know that last night I broke my routine!!
I still played with the snooze button as always, and I begged to leave work early, which was granted. Instead of going home and getting on the computer, I put up the Christmas Tree and decorations. It looks fab..I will post pictures later. Then DJ and I went out for Chinese for dinner. We arrived home around 6:45 and THEN I sat down on the computer. Some things just don't change.

Some of my blog brothers and sisters out there have a 100 things list on their blog. I wanted to do something a little different, so in a few weeks you will see my list... 100 Things About the One I Love.

MAN OF THE WEEK

Have you watched LOST yet? Well let's just say you should. Not only does it have one of THE most hottest men on the show, Ian Sommerholder, it has a whole host of other hott hotties! But leading the way is this weeks MAN OF THE WEEK...Matthew Fox.

Check it out, great show, great guys.

What IS This?

Last night I thought I'd be domesticated. (this at the insistence of DJ as he almost always does the cooking) So I prepared dinner. Silver Fox was coming over as well to give him a birthday dinner and to hang out and get a haircut (Yes I am a Jack of All Trades). I worked diligently to make dinner just so. I made meatloaf, new potatoes, whole kernal corn and rolls. Everything was perfect.

Silver, being our guest dug into the meatloaf first. That's when everything fell apart. I heard...

"What is this?"

As Silver was pulling the spatula from the meatloaf, a large piece of paper came with the chunk of meat. It seems I forgot to remove the paper from the bottom of the ground beef package...

Oh well a little pulp never hurt anyone.

Birthdays, Holidays & the Blues

One of my best friends will celebrate a birthday tomorrow. Birthdays are inevitable, well unless you have died already. But my problem is this,

1) What do you get someone who has almost everything?
2) What kind of gift really tells someone just how much you care about them?
3) How can any gift truly mean what you want it to?

This friend has been there for me many times over and it's hard to find something approriate. I was shopping last night and nothing I looked at seemed like it would be or mean what I wanted it to. I suppose one day a year is not going to show or tell someone just how much you do care and love them. We should do it every day of the year. The problem with that is, that I've failed there too.

Then that brings up Christmas. Gift giving. Again I know one day a year is not going to make up for all the times in the past year that I failed, but what is the right gift? DJ is the hardest to buy for as we buy for one another all year long. So what can I get him that is special? Then there is my kids. I know that a monetary gift would be something they would want, but how much feeling is put into giving money? Again, doing all year long would be more beneficial. And again I fail so much at that.

Which bring me to even more of the state of mind that I've been in for the past two months or more. I don't want to do anything but come home, watch TV or play on the computer. I don't want to talk to anyone or go anywhere. I think it's time to get to the doctor, as this is becoming more than just a phase. I really think it may be a chemical imbalance or maybe a hormone deficency (do only women suffer from that?) All I know if this has got to stop! Maybe I can start the new year with a new outlook and the once vivid, active, life of the party guy can reappear, with a little help from some meds.

Is It Time to Have Fun Yet?

Boring Week + Boring life = No entries. Yeah, it's been boring here since Thanksgiving. Hanging out with my brother and family last Friday was great. Since then not a whole hell of a lot has been going on, work, sleep, work, sleep, sex, work, sleep. We did take Xander to the vet on Tuesday to be neutered and de-clawed. He is still sore and grouchy but on his way to his wild animal self. DJ has been on vacation, and with no extra money and me having no time off we have not really been able to do anything exciting, or even somewhat entertaining.

I did hear an entertaining story yesterday from Veruca. He and Jewels bought a new condo back a few months ago. Over the past eight days, our weather has turned into winter and cold air is coming through. He and jewels found out that their furnace was not working. So they did everything they could think of to get it to work to no avail. Finally they called the Furnace Man (that's not the real name) to come and evaluate the problem. The problem? Well to use the Furnace Man's phrase..."It would work if the power was turned on." yeah they had not turned on the main power switch. Another reason why gay men should not be homeowners.

Well that's it for today, I know I forgot last weeks Man of the Week, but I promise to have one tomorrow, until then stay bored...

Family & Traditions

Yesterday was good. Family, food and tradition. DJ and I got up and got ready and then went our seperate ways to our prospective families. He first to his paternal grandparents. Me to my parents. What started as my two brothers and I have now blossomed into a family of 16. Yesterday a new future was present. My son brought the young girl that he has been seeing, and announced that they plan to marry. Nothing official, but it sounds like the next generation is on it's way. My oldest son, J1 is 23 and "Mandy" is 18 and will graduate in June. Young, yes, so anything can happen, but it is really weird to see my son in love. He is in the process of buying his first home, so I do think he is serious.

I brought a couple of movies to watch instead of the usual football that my brothers insist on watching. Sadly, The Stepford Wives was lost on my family. They didn't get any of the jokes, and thought the movie was nonsense. So much for trying to educate them socially. But no Cheaper By the Dozen went over much better. After leaving my parents we stopped by DJ's maternal granparents for dessert. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to go into his family members homes and be treated like one of the family. Not only myself, but also they treat my kids the same way. Maybe someday DJ can feel that comfortable with my family.

Tonight, we are going to my younger brothers to watch Harry Potter on his 52 inch Stereo TV, so maybe we can start a new tradition that includes DJ.

Giving Thanks

Some days it seems all we ("we" being me) do is sit around and feel sorry for ourselves and think about how bad we have things. Today is the day that we seem to do the opposite. It's 5 am here and I am unable to sleep, so I caught up reading all the blogs I have listed on my favorites. It had been quite a few days since I read them. After reading my blogs (I call all of you my blogs as I try to read you daily and they become personal to me) I am even more thankful for what I do have, and the blessings that I have been given. Particularly in light of the recent events of one blogger I started reading about four months ago, HOLDING THE MAN.

"Sebastian", who writes Holding the Man blog lives in Darwin in the far north of Australia and has had trouble on and off with some anti-gays who've been harrasing him. He was purposely run down by a car and is in very serious condition in the hospital, originally in a coma that he fortunately seems to becoming out of after two days. There's a lot of lower body damage in terms of broken bones. He also has had some severe kidney damage as well. The police are on the case and making progress, having located the stolen car used in this heinous crime. Please keep Sebastian in your prayers and thoughts. You can send e-mails via his blog.

Then I understand that 20/20 had a special show last night with the convicted killers of Matthew Shepard, trying to convince the American public that it was not a gay hate crime! Okay whatever, they had their day in court and their story was disproven then. What is the purpose of airing this now? A) With the Bush Administration being so anti-gay they assume this would benefit them in some way? B) Very possibly this could also benefit them in their current prison position? Who knows why? But I do know that they have clearly broken the law again,as part of their sentence was that they were not to be allowed to "cash in" on their crime. I am sure that they or their attorneys we well paid for this disgusting interview. And when did the American public start accepting interviewing convicted killers as newsworthy? Before we know it these guys along with Scott Peterson will be having talk shows!! THEY ARE KILLERS for goodness sake! Why are they treated like celebrities and paraded across our TV screens in interviews giving their stories???!

In light of all of this I am so thankful that I am currently safe and live in a neighborhood (where as far as I know) my sexuality is not a threat to anyone to the point that they need to retaliate. I am also thankful for some of the advances that our community continues to make that support our equality, as small as it may seem at times. I am also thankful that both DJ and I have families that love us and support us and our realtionship, even if it sometimes is also in very small steps.

Choices

Some of you that have been readers of my blog from the old site know about my daughter Princess and her escapades and adventures with her fiance "The Asshole". She left him back in May when she found out he was seeing someone else. So with my help she moved back home with her mother. Things went well for awhile but regardless of what he had done to her she still loved him. So a few weeks ago she moved back in with him, against our advice (everyone's advice) Since then I haven't heard from her. So today she finally called me. She thought I was mad at her for going back with him. As I explained to her, she has to make her own choices and decisions. No, I was not happy about this choice, but it's her life and she has to live it for herself, and you can't help who you fall in love with, that is really something that you don't choose, it just happens.

Apparently this guy makes her happy, and she loves him, so she forgave him and took him back. That's her choice. I may not like it, but I will support her in her choice and I will accept him as her partner. It may be a little uncomfotable at first, as he did treat my daughter pretty shitty, but for her I will accept her choice. She has accepted my choices in life and loves me just the same. And Lord knows some of my choices have not been the best. I just wish other family members would realize that life is too important for being judgmental and hard hearted. Especially when it comes to what others choose to do. We need to accept that life isn't always what we had hoped it would be, for ourselves, or for our children; and realize that what is important is that we have them. And we have them with all their mistakes, blemishes and bad habits along with all the great and wonderful things they are and do. I want my daughter in my life and in order for that to happen I need to let her know I love her unconditionally. So Princess, live and learn and remember that Daddy will always be there to help pick up the pieces if things do not go they way you had hoped, and if they do go well, I will be there to share that joy as well.

Answered Prayers

I used to be a big news watcher. Every night from 4:00 p.m. for the local news until 7:00 when Wheel of Fortune came on. I always watched CBS. The other broadcasts just didn't seem to be as "trustworthy". Well that all stopped about 10 years ago. Watching CBS that is. I still watch the news occasionally. But today gave me reason to go back to watching the news. When I heard that Dan Rather was retiring, I was estatic. This man is one of the most biased news anchors to hit the airways. They are supposed to be bipartisan, well not Dan. Especially since George has been in the White House. Maybe it was due to the fact that he is also a native Texan. So come March, I may start watching CBS news again. Who knows. All I know is this was a long time coming. Goodbye Dan.

Came across SORRY EVERYBODY today. Funny site, but what do Kerry voters have to be sorry about? Now would these Bush supporters PLEASE TAKE OFF YOUR BUMPER STICKERS!!!

MAN OF THE WEEK

Thank goodness for Princess Diana. Not until she married into the royal family and gave birth to her sons did the royal family have anything in the way of attractiveness in their gene pool! Her beauty has finally added that much needed genetic code. Her sons have both grown into fine looking men. After seeing 20/20 I also seen that not only did Diana add good looks to the family, but also added compassion, and a desire to reach out to all people. His true name is...HRH Prince Henry Charles Albert David Windsor of Wales, but everyone knows him as "Harry". He may not become King like his adorable bigger brother, but he certainly has what it takes to make my Man of the Week. His work with AIDS striken Africa, his work as a rugby coach for the less fortunate in Wales just to name a few. He also is a little more outspoken and "rowdy". And again, he looks really cute. Prince Harry, the Man of the Week.

Brothers Night Out

Well tonight was the night. The night that I had actually been dreading. RWR (Right Wing Redneck) Brother and GD, my other brother had dinner together tonight. It's sort of like therapy I suppose for RWR. He feels that if he gets to know me a little better he can begin to heal whatever it is in his head that keeps him so angry about the fact that there are gay people in the world, one of which happens to be his brother. Me.

What I thought would be conversation about me (You know I always think it's about me) and who I am; was nothing like I thought. We discussed being teenagers and the antics that we did. Well actually what they did. I was not a wild child, I was the "golden child" I was always the good kid. After listening to them tell some of the things that they did, my antics are very pale. Actually they are so pale they can not be seen at all. Dinner conversation about the wild things they did. I was shocked by some of the things that I heard there tonight. I knew my brothers were a little wild, but it's a wonder they survived into adulthood.

What I really don't understand is how any of this will change the way my brother sees me, or how he perceives the gay community for that matter. I really think he just wants to be able to bond with me some how and for some reason, and maybe this is his way. But regardless of how it works, I just hope it works. I love my brother, I just do not like the person he has grown into, but then I guess he says the same thing about me. Maybe this will begin to remove that wedge that has built up between us. I know that we are not getting any younger, and I know my parents hate that there is all this anomosity between us, so let's hope this will bring us back together. Not that my brother and I were ever really close, we came from the same parents but from two totally different worlds. But at least we may be able to stay in the same room with each other for more than 20 minutes. Hell we had dinner together tonight and sat at the same table right next to each other for over an hour and 20 minutes. I'd say it's a good start. What do you think?

Kissing Heath Was Like...

Do you sometimes get visuals when you are in conversation, or hear something? You know those mind pictures that pop into your head. Some are good, some are REAL good and others are..."Oh please...thanks for that visual!" Well I just got a visual.

Jake Gyllenhaal reported to Elle Magazine that kissing Heath hurt...

“Heath almost broke my nose in [a kissing] scene. He grabs me and he slams me up against the wall and kisses me. And then I grab him and I slam him up against the wall and I kiss him. And we were doing take after take after take. I got the [bleep] beat out of me. We had other scenes where we fought each other and I wasn’t hurting as badly as I did after that one.”

Can you say that one more time Jake... "he grabs me and he slams me up against the wall and kisses me, and then I grab him and I slam him up against the wall and I kiss him..."

That is a REAL GOOD visual. Say it again Jake, I just LOVE that visual!!

NO, I Don't Think So!

What is it lately with people wanting to change our Constitution?? There is are REASONS why certain things were put there and why others were not. I can not think of any better reason than THIS, to not change the Constitution regarding immigrant born candidates running for President. It's bad enough that we have to deal with Bush for four more years. I certainly do not want to worry about an Austrian born immigrant running for President. Wasn't that where Hitler was from? What's next? Lowering the age limit for candidates? If some of the right wingers had their way I am sure they would try and change it to read that only MARRIED MALE CHRISTIAN AMERICANS could run for President. Thomas Jefferson is turning over in his grave about all of this. There are plenty of qualified AMERICANS that were born in this country that can and should run for President. Arnold can hardly be understood when he is talking... he needs to stay in California and away from the White House. Maria talk some sense into your husband.

Getting Over It?

Behind every good man is his best friend. Right now NYQUIL is mine. It hit Wednesday night, by Thursday morning I was coughing, sneezing and aching. Didn't I just get over a cold like a week ago? This one is worse. Second time around I suppose. Today the fever hit me and the aches increased in severity. Kill me now. On top of feeling like shit I received a phone call yesterday from my brother. We will refer to him as Right Wing Red-Neck or RWR.

Now I haven't heard from him since Mother's Day, which is in May by the way. I try to avoid him as he is constantly trying to induce his way of life as the ONLY way onto me and anyone else around him. I am not against religion. Far from it. I was a minister for the first part of my life. I pastored churches for 16 years. I understand religion. I know what it means to have a relationship with God. But I do have a problem with those that insist that "their" way is the only right way. As far as I'm concerned the only right way is God's way, not other's opinoins or beliefs of what God's way is.

Anyway...after over an hour on the phone he began to apologize for the way he had been for the past few months. (Months? He has been this way his entire life!!) He said that he has come to terms with me being gay and it didn't bother him anymore. He didn't understand it, but he accepted me. Okay, and? I mean I've heard this all from him before so I am a little aprehensive. He said he felt that we all needed to get together and talk about it. Talk about what? And who is we? I don't have a problem. My parents nor my other brother seem to have a problem, so who needs to talk here. He is the one with the problem. While we are talking let's talk about his relationship with his partner...I mean really what is there to talk about. Then I got to the heart of the problem when I asked...

"So RWR, Are you embarrassed or ashamed of the fact that your brother is gay?"
"Well, yeah I suppose I am."
"Why? I'm not. What is there for YOU to be ashamed about?"

He couldn't answer that, but then when he stated that when he sees DJ and I together he becomes enraged. Angry. Seething. Okay, I don't think you've accepted it there little brother, and it sounds like your issues are deeper than what I can help you with. And you know what they say about homophobia...I told him that by the way.

So he says that he wants to get over those feelings. He wants to understand and have a relationship with his brother. I say, okay. Not a problem. I'd love that actually. So we decided to have "Brother's Night" one night each month where he, my younger brother GD and I get together and have dinner and talk. They are baby steps, it's a beginning.

I do think me getting over my cold will happen much sooner than my brother getting over his homophobia. God, I hope so!!

MAN OF THE WEEK

There could be many reason to choose Brad Pitt as this weeks MAN OF THE WEEK. It could be the blue eyes. Maybe the strong chiseled jaw. The rugged handsomeness, or just the overall YUM of the entire man. But that's not the reason I am naming Brad as this weeks Man.

Brad has other interests other than movies and Jennifer Aniston. He is involved with many organizations and causes. One of which caught my eye. Brad met with Nelson Mandela this week in a campaign agaisnt AIDS and HIV. Now that is a mark of not only a hot man but a good man. Hat's off to Brad Pitt.

A Day Off And A Dollar Short

So much for being proud of myself for not spending so much at Target on Tuesday! Wednesday evening we met Silver Fox for Dinner at "Carol's on Main". Carol's used to be the place to go, but ever since Carol sold it the food, and the service has went down. Silver and I order the Salmon Special. The salmon was cold, the bread was hard and the service was mediocre. Dj ordered a Turkey Burger and got a regular burger. The check came and I was suprised at the cost, even though it wasn't that high, it certainly wasn't worth it. Sometimes it's just not worth going out to dinner. During dinner Silver told us that "A Home At The End of The World" was out on DVD, so off to Target we went. No movie could be found. So it was home to watch the 2nd disc of the 8th Season of Friends.

Thursday I finally had a day off!! For Veterans Day. Go figure. I worked my birthday, July 4th and Labor Day but get off Veterans Day. I can thank DJ's mother for the day off (Mama D). She has taken over running the business and sees the neccesity for a day off everyone now and then. So for the day DJ nad I were treated for lunch at Red Lobster. Now there the food was much better and the service was excellent. Plus not having to pay for it is always a bonus. After our trip to the Lobster we stopped at Wal0Mart. (I know, I'm lowering myself, but hey we found some deals!) We got cat litter and cat food for a dollar cheaper than Target, and of course we had to make a stop in electronics. We purchased Dead Calm, one of my favorites and Tremors, one of DJ's favs. We still have not found At Home yet, but still looking. So at the checkout our total was a little over $84.00, so that made up for the good night at Target on Tuesday.

Picking up the boys tonight after work, and probably going to go see a movie with them this weekend, and then Sunday they have a big Bowling Tournement which I will be able to attend. Then Mama D has invited us over for Sunday dinner. She even asked DJ yesterday about ideas for me for a Christmas Gift! I think I've finally made it into the family!

So the weekend looks planned and full. I will post the Man of the Week either later today or tomorrow.

Target Tuesday

Target Tuesday was fairly simple this time. We purchased, Shrek 2, The Stepford Wives a few odds and ends for home, and that was it! We got out of there under $100!! I am proud of ourselves. Tomorrow dinner is being planned with Silver. We haven't seen him since his excursion to Vegas, so we are looking forward to "stories"

MAN OF THE WEEK

Yeah I've been a little preoccupied that last several days. Sorry for the lack of postings, but DJ has went on the day shift, so I'm not alone at night anymore!! In the words of my SIMS 2... WOO HOO! I completely lost track of the days and realized I forgot my Man of the Week posting for last week.

There was a lot of hoopla last week regarding the release of the first pictures and posters for the newest Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith. What took me by suprise is how Hayden Christensen has grown up!! He plays Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader. From the pictures this looks like it's going to be a good picture, but when is Star Wars not a good picture? What I also found out is that there are rumors abounding about Hayden's current beau...is it Beyonce Knowles or Trevor Blumas? If you have time, catch up on the timeline of the two HERE. Regardless of who he maybe jumping into bed with these days he has grown up into a real HOTTIE

MAN OF THE WEEK
Hayden Christensen

In other news...
The weekend went without a hitch, same ole shit just another day. Although on Sunday DJ and I were both off and had decided to go see Grudge with Sarah Michelle Geller. (Did you know she played a teenage Jackie Kennedy Onassis in a made for TV movie in 1991?) What we did instead was stay at home, do laundry and clean house. It actually was nice, quiet and relaxing even though I was cleaning and doing household chores. DJ even got to play SIMS 2 for most of the day! Yes, I do give it up occasionally. My boys were not here this weekend so we just chilled and enjoyed one anothers company. Now that he is on an earlier shift we will spend more time together. I am happy that he moved his hours earlier, maybe this will help the funk I've had for over a month. It seems to be working already, we went to Target tonight!! The first time in weeks and we got four new DVD's; Birdcage, Shrek 2, The League of Extraodinary Gentlemen and Matrix. Tomorrow Season 8 of Friends comes out so it will be off to Target again tomorrow! See the funk is fading already!

The Good 'Ole Days

What did they do back then? You know before there were the technological convenience that we take for granted today. I now fully understand why families consisted of 8 or more children! The reason I bring this up is that up until about 20 minutes ago we had no electricity. Thanks to our former landlord (who had an outstanding bill on the electric) our electric was shut off sometime today. Once DJ got home and contacted the electric company and took care of the problem they put us on a waiting list to restore the power to our building. So when we got home we did nothing. We sat under candlelight. DJ is a very avid reader so he read. I read, but have to be in the mood to read, and in order to read I need light. My eyesight is not what it used to be. This made me think. What did they do before the electric light bulbs? It wasn't really that long ago if you think about it. In 1882 the first electric and gas power plant went into operation providing electric to only a one square mile area. That was only 122 years ago. How did they get by? No wonder it was early to bed early to rise...You couldn't see anything any other time.

Then I realized not only did we not have lights, we had no fridge or cooking stove. Not to mention that we had no heat either!! Thank goodness we had a car. So we went out for dinner, hoping when we returned we would have power. On the way there I began to think about the automobile. It was less than a 100 years ago before automobiles were a common mode of transportation. The first automobile was not even thought of until 1887. Then until Henry Ford set up the first assembly lines, were the common man able to afford them. Think about not having a car. And only being able to depend on your horse to get you from one place to the other!!

So, when we returned from dinner, still no power. Re-light the candles. I took a bath, and a little nap. Finally DJ and I decided to play some poker. Using pennies as our chips. (Why didn't we think of strip poker??) My whole nightly routine was diverted because of no electrical power. When things finally came back on I came to the computer (of course!) and then I realized that I remember the day when computers were as large as buildings, and a home computer was a thing of the future. The first Home computer was released by Apple in 1976. Only 28 years ago. Amazing really. Can you imagine our daily lives without the computer? What would we do? How would we communicate? How would we entertain ourselves!?? Not to mention not having any TV, Silver Fox would have to be put into rehab due to Reality TV withdrawals!! What would I do without my SIMS!! Oh this is just too depressing to think about any longer...

We are really spoiled aren't we? So the next time someone says how they miss the good 'ole days...Turn off your electric for about 5 hours. Good 'ole days my ass!!

What Really Matters

Okay enough of the political rhetoric, at least for today's post anyway. Not much can be done about it now but there is the next election. I'm not talking about the next Presidential election, I am talking about EVERY election. Each one is important, and in order to be heard we need to vote like we voted Tuesday every time we are given the opportunity. Oh, sorry I said enough didn't I? Okay...

Today my thoughts are with family. My cousin T~, a young 48 year old female had a major heart-attack on Monday. She had no signs or warning. She is still alive but had to undergo
by-pass heart surgery. The reason? Vioxx. She has suffered for years from arthritis, and Vioxx was prescribed to her. Now she has had a heart attack, and by-pass surgery at 48 years old. This gives a whole new meaning that the cure is sometimes worse than the disease.

My thoughts on my family also include my own mother. Mom has been "under the weather" for several weeks now and unable to work. Even though she retired officially several years ago she still maintians employment with one of the area hospitals, as a couirer. However after a viral infection some weeks ago she has been experiencing severe dizziness and nausea. Finally after weeks of tests, and feeling miserable she has found the culprit. The viral infection she had, set off a severe case of vertigo. Now I know my mom is dizzy sometimes, but now we know the real reason!! I just thought it came from living with my father for almost 50 years! But thank goodness it is treatable (the vertigo, not my father) and she soon will be back behind the wheel transporting livers, hearts and blood work.

Family are important to us. Even when we don't seem to agree there is that bond that keeps us together. My cousin T~ and I were close as children, but as adults we went out own ways, but I ache for her and her family for what they are having to go through. Of course mom is the reason we have the family we have anyway, without her there would be no "us". Family, those are the real important issues. Those are the things that really matter.

Concede

Concede. A Sad word. A Sad Day. A Sad state of affairs.

Regardless of the outcome of last nights election, one thing should be ringing into George W.'s ears. That our country is divided. Divided straight down the middle and it is time to bring the country back together.

John Kerry made a mark, and his efforts will not go un-noticed. I believe that the Democrats also understand the message that this election has given. It is time for a change. I pray that change begins to happen, and that George Bush will honestly try to bring about that change. Not that I think that will happen, I just pray it does.

What was so scary is the fact that over 60% of the voters voted for moral issues! Yes, morals are a good thing to have, but not the republicans version of them! PLEASE! So the American people are telling me that moral issues are more important than, feeding your children, having employment, living in fear of terrorism. Morals are needed, yes I agree, but we have a country where the unemployment rate is at an all time high, and over 50% of working mothers do not even have health care for their children. Morals...That was not the reason I voted. I voted becasue America needs to wake up and realize that we have REAL issues facing us, and stop worrying about who is sleeping with who.

On that sad note, 11 States voted to ban gay marriages and civil unions. Strike up another one for the Moral Right...Yet, in Cincinnati there was a measure of victory when voters repealed Article 12. This will now allow gay/lesbians to have the same rights as other citizens in the city of Cincinnati, and if they do not they will have recourse. Thank goodness for small favors.

All I can say about the election is I that I keep hearing a song going on in my head today...

"Oh Canada..."

Comparisons

I have mentioned the fact that the comparison to this years presidential election and the election of 1828 are eerie. First of all in the election immediately proceeding in 1824, JQ Adams, the son of President John Adams was placed in office by the House of representatives as no real majority was found when the votes were counted. Even though Jackson (the Democrat) won the popular vote, Adams was placed in Office by the House. Sound vaguely familiar? Jump four years. Jackson vs. Adams. Jackson won by a major victory and placed in office by the people. But not before a very nasty-mudslinging, character bashing campaign. Again, sound familiar?
I am hoping the results turn out as similar, but regardless of the outcome...To add to the eerie-ness of this election and it's comparison to the latter, look at these pictures of Kerry-Jackson and Bush-Adams.

The Home Stretch

Well, it's upon us. Three more days. Right now things are looking poorly for Sen. Kerry, at least in Ohio. It seems the big brouhaha Bush had here Friday night did a little damage as the polls in Cincinnati have Bush ahead by 10 %. Ohio has become the battleground state, and all campaign tricks are out in full force. Yesterday my mail had five, count them five ads (the same ad mind you) for GWB. I am going to save them to use in the fireplace. I am realizing that my hopes of a new tomorrow come January, may not happen, but it's not over till...You know. So at this point all I can say is GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!! To be honest, I just want this election to be chosen BY THE PEOPLE regardless of the outcome. We need to pray that this right is worth something, and the only way for that to happen is to exercise it.
VOTE VOTE VOTE!!

MAN OF THE WEEK

MAN OF THE WEEK

This weeks Man of the week is 31 year old General Manager of the World Series Champions, Theo Epstein. I am not a great fan of baseball, but the amazing rise of this young man caught my attention. Not to mention he is a cutie as well! Not only has Boston broken the curse, Mr. Epstein has made baseball history as well. As General Managers go, I'd say he has made his mark. Maybe the Cincinnati Reds front office can learn something...

Theo N. Epstein (born December 29, 1973) was appointed General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2002. At 28, he became the youngest GM in the history of the Major Leagues.
Epstein is a graduate of Yale University, majoring in American Studies, and has a law degree from the University of San Diego. After his studies, he took a job in the PR department of the San Diego Padres, and rose in that organization to be Director of Baseball Operations.
When John Henry bought the Red Sox in 2002, he appointed Epstein's former boss at the Padres, Larry Lucchino, as President and CEO. At the end of the 2002 season, Lucchino appointed Epstein to replace temporary GM Mike Port.

Epstein's grandfather Philip Epstein and great-uncle Julius Epstein won Academy Awards for the screenplay of Casablanca.

Now onto other things...
Today was one of those days when it seems that nothing you do or say is right. After giving my opinion to my employer in regards to a situation she asked me about, she shared what I told her to her attorney, who later called and accused me of giving legal advice. Oh please! I worked for an attorney for over four years, I know better. I was asked a question, I gave my OPINION. That's not the same. My thought on the matter was why did her attorney get so bent out of shape over it? Could I have been correct and he was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar? Hmmmm

I got home tonight after picking up DJ from work, and my phone rang. When I went to answer it, it went dead. Apparently our battery was DEAD, I could not return the call (It was my friend Silver Fox) as my battery needed charging. Sometimes don't you just hate technology? He is going to Vegas tomorrow and I was hoping to wish him well, so Silver if you are reading this, have fun and good luck. I hope you can keep your little sister out of trouble while she is out there!

My "funk" (what I refer to my current mood) is still "funking". I don't get it. I should be delirously happy. I have a great husband, great kids, wonderful friends and a job that pays the bills, why am I so UGH lately. Maybe it's time for some Prozac. Tomorrow night DJ's mom is having a Halloween Party. Maybe that will pick me up. I am either going as Elton John or Elvis. Or maybe I can take the suggestion of one of DJ's co-workers. DJ is going as a pumpkin, so they said I could rub orange gunk all over my face around my mouth area and go as a "PUMPKIN EATER" I thought that was good!! DJ's family probably would not appreciate my humor.

Kareoke & Rednecks

I had a post all written out yesterday and something went haywire with my internet service and I lost it. It wasn't all that good anyway, I was depressed and feeling sorry for myself, so maybe it was a good thing it was deleted.

After work, I picked up DJ and he and I went out with some friends that he works with. Now I'm not one for the Hetero bars, especially in Kentucky...but we had a hell of a good time. I met Bette and her little sister Gin, and beautiful girl that I'll call Etheridge, and both Bette and Gin's boyfriends, Jock 1 and Jock 2. Now this bar was in a basement, that in itself was scary, and the only thing that looked good (Male Gender wise) was the cute dog that we saw outside when we came in. The only thing that had all of their teeth (besides the party I was with) was the bouncer they called Big John, yet he only stood about 5'8". (I wonder what the BIG was in reference to?) To top it off, it was KAREOKE NIGHT!! Let's just say I was amazed at the sounds that came out of these rednecks. They actually were good! Not just good they had to be professional Kareokeer's (Is that even a word?) The highlight of the evening was when Jock 1 & Jock 2 were out on the dance floor together, and gave each other a big ole kiss!! Talk about sending the crowd into silence! I thought it was pretyy hot myself. Anyway I had a much needed reprieve from my usual Wednesday night SIMS, and it was good to get out amongst the living again. (well at least a close facsimile thereof.)

What's A Weekend?

Lets see, the weekend. What's a weekend? I don't have those anymore. Working Monday thru Saturday I have a Sunday off, that's not a weekend. Anyway... Friday the boys (my sons J2 and AT) went out with Silver Fox and his son to a great little neighborhood pizza place. Italianette, has now become my pizza of choice. The price was right (2 adults three kids ate for $33.00, that included drinks) and the food was exceptional. They even deliver to my house, so now I know where to get pizza instead of the overpriced Cincinnati Pizza chain we usually order from.

Saturday, I worked. Not too much on the to do list so after we got home the boys and I played SIMS 2 and had burgers for dinner. Sunday DJ got up and made us biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and I took them home about 2:00. Veruca called when I got back home so he and I went to Starbucks for coffee and talked politics, relationships and people watched. Always a fun time watching people. That was it for my weekend...I mean weekday, let's just call it my off day. But then again isn't all my days, Off days? Okay then that's what I did the past three days.

MAN OF THE WEEK

This weeks MAN OF THE WEEK is Sen. John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidental Candidate.

Sen. Edwards was chosen this week for a number of reason, first his quick rise in the political ladder and his determination to make his own way. Unlike so many of the candidates in the past few years, Edwards was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but worked his way through college and law school. He also, in my opinion was the boost that Sen. Kerry needed in his race to the White House. Not to mention that he is one of the best looking candidates we've had running for National Office since, JFK. His charisma, charecter, hardwork, and desire to help middle-class working Americans is one of the reasons for my choice as well
Born in 1953, Senator Edwards grew up in Robbins, a small town in the Piedmont. His father, Wallace, worked in textile mills for 36 years. His mother, Bobbie, had a number of jobs including working at the post office.
A product of North Carolina public schools, Senator Edwards was the first person in his family to go to college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University and graduated with an honors degree in textiles in 1974. He earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He met his wife, Elizabeth, when both were law school students at Chapel Hill. They married in 1977, and have had four children. Their first child, Wade, died in 1996. Their eldest daughter, Catharine, is a 2004 graduate of Princeton University. The Edwards household also includes a six-year-old daughter, Emma Claire, and a four-year-old son, Jack.

Altering Appearances

As a teenager growing up in the 70's (yes I'm THAT old) was painful. Add the frustration of being attracted to my male classmates and not knowing what to do about it, made matters even worse. Not to mention that I heard nicknames such as; pimple face, zit zombie, and my all time favorite pizza face, made it almost unbearable. I suffered from sebaceous acne which at times was quite painful and most disfiguring. My mother tried everything she could to alleviate me from the trauma by taking me to doctors to help my condition. In those days the actually inserted a tiny needle into the cyst, draining it of it's contents and then sat me under a sun lamp. Needless to say, today I have severe scaring and a couple of spots that have been removed as they were cancerous. (Thanks Dr.)

I learnt to live with the cysts and in time they stopped popping up on my face, back, arms and even my legs. Today as you can imagine I have severe acne scars from those little monsters (not to mention from those needles the quack doctor used). I have contemplated several times to undergo cosmetic surgery to diminish the appearance of the scars but have backed out from doing so. Recently Veruca told me about a procedure that a friend of his underwent for a birthmark on his face, called Dermabrasion. I am really thinking about looking into this and seeing if I can find a qualified doctor to do this procedure. But then I think, Am I just being vain? Why worry about this now at almost 45? I've had these scars for over half my life. DJ doesn't seem to mind and has never mentioned them, so what's the big deal? And if I do this why not go ahead and get a nose job too? Maybe some cheekbone implants, a couple botox injections, and while I'm at it I may as well have the hair that insists on growing out of my ears permanently removed. No, I'm not against cosmetic surgery. I think everyone needs to do what they need to do to feel good about who they are, and sad but true our appearance has a lot to do with that. But how much is too much? Maybe I should just do the face thing, and stop. Or maybe just forget about it, I mean it's all going to turn to dust someday anyway, right?

Catching Up at Work

It has been raining here for over 24 hours, almost non-stop. We have had 4 inches of rain since about 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning. Needless to say business is S L O W ! I think I've seen three customers so far today. This has allowed me time time catch up on my blog reading. I have over 35 blogs in my favorite list and I try to read them as often as possible, but lately I've been slipping. So today (instead of calling delinquent customers begging for their payments) I've been reading.

I love this new site set up by Alex and Steph of Ohlala Paris. Not that I'm a fashion guru, I'm more of a fashion victim but their new site, ManChic is not only eye-pleasing, well put together but it's also very informative. The hot models are not bad either!

I also came across this site, The Electoral College Predictor, It seems as though Senator Kerry is moving ahead of GWB according to this site. I know that things are heating up here in Ohio, and in Cincinnati. Peter Jennings will be reporting from right here in the Queen City tonight on our own Channel 9. I spoke with a lady from the election board yesterday and she stated that there are 75,000 new registered voters in Hamilton County alone and they are predicting the largest voter turn out in the state's history. I am sure that this is the same throughout the country. In 14 days I believe we are going to see an election like we have never seen before. Let's just hope that the result sends GWB back to Texas.

After reading my cousin's blog, I am reminded of my days of parenthood and how much I miss them. They grow up too fast Graham, so enjoy it, even with the earaches and tears.
I also forgot how much I love reading Ajax. His site always brings a smile to my face and tempts me to go and do the things I want to do, like buy Latter Days as well. I hope I don't cry Ajax!!

I also have a new Blog Sister...I've added her to my links. Check out her site, I know you'll fall in love with her as did I.

Again thanks to ALL you bloggers out there, and sorry to my employer today for being totally irresponsible....

The Love of a Man and other Tidbits

I LOVE YOU MAN...

After reading this article, I am reminded of a bible story of two such men and how the love of a man surpassed even the love of a woman:
2 Samuel 1:26
[After Jonathan's death, David said,] "I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women."

I ran into this little article today as well. Why didn't someone tell ME about this, it could have saved me a lot of problems!!

I picked up this months issue of DETAILS magazine yesterday, and there was an article written by one of my favorite authors, Augusten Burroughs, dealing with an issue that is not new to gay men I'm sure. Public Masturbation. It seems that Author Burroughs asked some of his close friends if they participated in this extracurricular activity and their answer was an astounding YES. So how about you? Ever indulged? Not sure what I'm talking about, go get this months DETAILS...which also includes another article written by Carrie (Princess Leia) Fisher, regarding the calamities caused by prolonged erections. I think I'm going to get a subscription to this mag!!

On a more serious note, my mother is not doing well. I have always been proud of the fact that my parents who are both over 65, are very healhty for their ages. I attribute that to their genes (my maternal grandfather was extremely healthy until he was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 80, and my paternal grandmother was a very vital lady, who just passed last year.) and to their active lives. My mother started feeling ill a few weeks ago and it seemed to take it out of her. Now four weeks later she still has not returned to work, has lost several pounds and is having dizzy spells and major bodily weakness. She has been to the doctor four times and now will be undergoing an echo-cardigram. I don't care what anyone says but moms are not supposed to get sick!! Especially mine. Hopefully this is nothing major, maybe just a re-evaluation of her blood pressure medication and she will be back on her feet in no time.

Am I Morphing?

I think I'm finally getting old. We've (being DJ & I) had plans, even though not actually communicated to one another, to go out this weekend. At least one night. We went to the Haunted House extravaganza Friday night and had a lot of fun. We had asked his sister, JJ and her girlfriend Red to join us last night for a night on the town. We had also said we would call Silver Fox and the five of us would paint the town. Hit the bars, get intoxicated, and then hail a cab back home. Well none of that happened. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat, hacking cough and runny nose. So I could be the designated driver (I said to myself). Then I called DJ and he suggested we could save some $$ and still have a good time if we have everyone over for dinner and drinks. Have like a mini-slumber party. He called JJ & Red and they said they would probably go to "Fear Fest" (Yes, another haunted excusrsion). So we extended the invitation to Silver for dinner and drinks, still with the slight chance that we would jump into our cars and head downtown for a late night drink. Instead we gorged ourselves on DJ's great cooking. He fixed Rigatoni, with this awesome Italian sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert. We chatted awhile and then watched a couple episodes of "Sliders" (Season 1 & 2 DVD) and then watched "Raising Helen". Now I say all this not to complain about the evening, as I did enjoy the night. Good food, good friends, and even a good glass of wine. But rewind back three years and we would have been in the bars all night (without dinner) until they closed. That just didn't sound appealing to me last night. It just doesn't sound appealing to me at any time. Is something wrong? Has the Christian Right infiltrated my home and planted some kind of device to deter me from going to the clubs? (God if they have I hope they don't have one that does the same thing to your sexual appetite) Maybe I'm just getting old. That's it, I'm just finally getting old. Mom said this would happen. Things I used to enjoy I no longer do. Is there a button to turn this off, just for a little while? Or is it inevitable that I am finally becoming my parents.

Family Fright Night

Last night I had fun. I didn't think I would, well not as much as I actually had. DJ and his family are obsessed with Haunted Houses during the Halloween season. Every weekend from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, they spend traveling the countryside looking for the best place to go to get the shit scared out of them. It's a family event, his sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and anyone else that wants to venture into the world of darkness are encouraged to go. I'm not one on haunted houses, but we went to Middletown, Ohio last night. Middletown is about 40 minutes north of Cincinnati, straight up Interstate 75. Not a bad drive. That is unless you have ten people in a mini-van. That in itself was scary enough.

The attraction for this place was for the mere price of $25.00 a person, you could view two haunted houses and a haunted trail. We chose the $25.00 ticket and headed towards the "Trail of Nightmares" the first leg of our trip to terror. I actually was scared a few times, and it was well worth the price, as it took us about 21 minutes to get through the trail. That was even with my partner, DJ's Sister, JJ dragging me through the section where we ran into Michael Myers. She is petrified of him. Even though she watched all the Halloween movies. The next little jaunt was in "Dr. Psycho's House of Terror", in which I ran into walls, as it was pitch black through most of the house. Again, at the end of the event, Michael Myers was waiting on JJ and chased her across the lot into the doors of the next feature called "Terror Mansion". This one was better than Dr. Psycho's place and I actually jumped (yes, and screamed like a school girl) a few times. The fun part about this outing is watching the younger kids get scared. DJ's youngest sister, 'Lil Bit, had her eyes closed through most if it, and left brusies I am sure on her partners arms from holding on so tight. One of the best parts was watching DJ's oldest sister Ms. CSI, standing at the end of the haunted house jumping up and down laughing at JJ as Michael Myers chased her across the parking lot. I think Ms. CSI's husband, CSI (He is a crime scene investigator, so I am sure nothing there scared him, he has seen it all) put him up to it. I really had a good time, and was home in bed by 12:30.
The after-efects this morning were not as pleasant. I now have a runny nose, dry hacking cough with a sore throat. Running around in a trail, in the cold, wet rain was not such a good idea after all I suppose.

Veruca Domesticated?

One of my best friends in the whole wide world, Veruca; recently purchased a new home with his partner, "Jewels". A very nice condo in an up and coming neighborhood here in the city. Now to appreciate this entry you have to know Veruca. His name should say enough (You know Veruca from Willie Wonka...("I want it and I want it NOW!"). Over the last few weeks he has morphed from jet-setter, club hopping, fun time charlie into Mr. Domesticity. Not that this is bad, not at all. But to see Veruca dining at home, and eating the meal that HE prepared is almost mind boggling. I'm glad to see that turning 30 this past year has not altered him. This adds to his enigmatic personality all that much more. Never underestimate a Taurus I say, you never know what they are going to do next! Keep it up Veruca, I like the domesticed you!! And we are still waiting on the invitation to your new place to try out that hot tub!! Love Ya Veruca!

As you can possibly tell, my mood from the last few days is begining to lighten and the depression or whatever the hell it was that had me under it's spell is begining to wear off. Some of that could be due to the fact of the two pleasnat surprises we received. We found a check in our mailbox yesterday for a rent deposit that was returned to us from our former landlords. Now we really thought we'd never ever see that money again, as they are notorius for not refunding security deposits. Now six months later, they have proven their critics wrong by sending us ours. Extra money we were not expecting, always good. Then DJ was awarded Employee of the Month from his employer, which included a $100 gift certificate to Cincinnati's largest grocery chain, Krogers. Another good thing! Money and food, two things that gay men live for...now all we need is the sex. So with that said I need to get to bed before he falls alseep....

Hump Day Blues

You ever have one of those days? You know the kind. The ones where you really do not want to do anything but lay in bed all day and sleep so you don't have to think about your life and what's going on in it? The kind where at a drop of a hat you could start shedding tears at any second? Well, I've had that day now three days running and to be honest I'm tired of it. I'm not feeling sorry for myself or anything like that, because actually my life is going pretty great right now. I don't know what it is and why I'm in a constant state of Hump Day Blues. DJ said it was my hormones. My monthly cycle. (regardless of what people say I DO think men have them) It could be that, or maybe it's just all the sickness and drama around me the last few days. On Saturday I found out that my son, J2 was jumped at a festival on school grounds by this thug and had to get staples in his head from a fall he took when the guy punched him. I wanted to be there for him, but couldn't. Not that me being there would have made any differance I suppose, but at times like that a kid needs his dad around. Then there is DJ's grandfather. I have recently became close to DJ's family and they have accepted me as part of their family. His grandfather is currently having major medical issues after an amputation of his leg due to diabetes and is in intensive care with pneumonia. I tend to get personally involved with issues like that, and it bothers me to see the family in such trauma. So all of this added with my 6 day work week schedule is starting to drain me emotionally. So I need to get off my ass and do something with myself. Maybe a good night out with good friends and lots of alcohol could help me end the duldrums. We'll see what happens.

Lest We Forget

Matthew Shepard
Today marks the sixth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's brutal murder. Let's not forget the price some have paid, visit the Matthew Shepard Foundation

Anger Management

After six months blogging on mblog, today I went online to post an entry and found out to my surprise that mblog is no longer offering a blogging service!! So six months of my journal is gone. Just like that no warning, no notification, just gone. Oh I can retreive my data for a minumal fee...WHATEVER! So I am moving to eblogger and try it out. I'm sorry to all of my readers and I hope you find me here... I am also trying out the bloggerbot, picture service, it post pics to my blog and saves them on the bloggerbot. I will post some pictures once I figure out how it works.

From my prior blog, I had an ongoing series on my Friday Posts called "Hottie of the Week" which previewed a current hottie (in my opinion of course) I will continue to post my Hottie each week, but will rename the weekly entries to,

Man of the Week

and will include more than just the hotties; but certain male individuals that have made their way into my reality for whatever reason. Of course some will be HOT, but some may not be as hot in "that" way but in other ways. Please bare with me, this is all new to me.