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.