Easter shirt

It started with a typical browsing through the clearance rack.  That's when I saw this long sleeved white shirt with pin-stripes in pastel shades of mint green, yellow, lavendar, pink, blue and peach.  I don't know why, but I kind of fell in love with it!

Since the shirt was like $7.99 on clearance, I decided there really was no reason not to buy it.  Only when the cashier rung up the shirt, it was 60% off the clearance price, so it came out to be like $3.  Score!!!

But once I had it, I realized I really couldn't wear the shirt because it just looked too much like Easter.  I could picture myself showing up at work or someplace in the shirt, only to have people ask me "Oh, is it Easter again already?"

So, since the shirt looks so much like Easter I decided it would be my Easter shirt.  I have worn it to Easter dinner with the family every year for the last 7 years.

Taken for a ride

A regional builder invited me and lots of other realtors to their annual Realtor Appreciation Event.  It was open to all realtors, but was mostly attended by realtors like me who had sold homes in one of their communities.  At 1st I wasn't going to go since it was 2 hours away, but after talking with a realtor friend of mine who had gone before, I decided to go.

Since the event was being held in the DC area, the builder hired a limo bus to drive us from the local community here in DE to the event.  It was exactly what you would expect: LED lighting in the ceiling, a stripper pole in the middle, satellite radio, 2 bars stocked with beer, wine, champagne, soda, water, and snacks.  

There were about 15 of us on the limo bus, including 3 folks from the builder's local community.

One of the sales reps from the builder's local community (we'll call him Josh) began drinking beer before the limo bus pulled away from the curb.  It didn't take long before he was drunk and slurring his words, but at least he was a happy/nice drunk.

One of the realtors named Sue is about 60 years old and as she was walking from her seat to the bar, the driver had to break rather sharply and Sue lost her balance, plopping down on my knee.  I looked at her with surprise and said "Oh!  Well, hello..." and we all laughed.  I decided to pop open the bottle of champagne and pour myself a glass.

You know what happens when someone drinks a lot?  They have to go to the bathroom.  Despite the limo bus having already stopped once for a bathroom break, poor Josh was in bad need of relief.  We tried to help him by assuring him we were only 15 minutes from our destination, but his cell phone GPS told him we were lying.  When he could hold it no longer, he took an empty water bottle to the front of the limo bus, stepped down into the stairwell, and nearly filled the water bottle with pee!

Once at our destination we exited the bus, checked in at the registration desk, and found our tables. Josh headed straight for the bar.  The dinner was really good, which kind of surprised me since it was a buffet.  Josh declined to eat dinner, as he explained that eating food after drinking would just make him sick. 

During dinner there were 2 different door prize winners announced.  As I turned to face the woman calling the numbers, I noticed an African American woman with blonde hair who looked like Nene Leakes sitting at the table behind me. 

After dinner was over they asked for everyone's attention for the big drawing:  a 2-year lease on a brand new Mercedes Benz.  Unfortunately I did not win it, but then again, I really wasn't expecting to win it either.  I went to get a 2nd cocktail and ran into Josh at the bar.

When it was time to go I rounded Josh up and explained to him very clearly that we were leaving momentarily and that he needed to go to the bathroom before we got on the bus.  He relunctantly agreed.  

The ride home was hilarious.  Everyone was either relaxed or tired, and most of us had been drinking, so everything just seemed funny.  We started posing and taking pictures of each others.  Here's my "pimp" look:

Each joke, each story, each burp made us laugh longer and harder.  Then we suddenly remembered there was a stripper pole in the limo bus and I egged several of the others into 'demonstrating' its use.  Josh continued drinking, of course, and was completely hammered to the point that he was giving lap dances to some of the other realtors, including me.  

Later he was standing up in the limo bus when he lost his balance and fell onto the floor!  It was completely out of control!!

I must admit that I had a MUCH better time that I expected, and am actually looking forward to next year's event, where I will again be in the drawing to win the 2014 Mercedes lease.

Beardy boy

Just because

When a guy looks like this, does there really need to be a reason??

Thanks to BosGuy for this photo.

Blogger Meet-up

I had a late client on Fri, so after finally getting home I called the Breens and arranged to pick them

up at their hotel.  It was like greeting an old friend I hadn't seen in years, when in reality we'd never met in person.

We went to Saketumi and Sean & I ordered Cosmos, of course, while Spouse & Jeffrey ordered less glamorous cocktails.  We talked and talked, finally forcing ourselves to stop and review the menu so we could eat!  We had an absolutely fabulous time together and I can see us spending more time together in the future.

Sat morning I had to show homes to a client, but then Spouse & I joined a good sized group of bloggers for a late lunch at Dos Locos.  I was able to meet everyone who'd arrived before we ate lunch and get to know those sitting near me as we ate.

After lunch many of us went back to the host hotel (Inn at Canal Square) and visited with each other in the hospitality suite.  Before we knew it it was time for the main event to start, so I ran home to change clothes, pick up Spouse and return for the cocktail hour.  We had drinks and light hors d'ouevres as we talked and laughed with our fellow bloggers, followed by a tasty buffet dinner catered by Nage.  As we finished dinner there were a few door prizes awarded and our host Ron presented some gifts to Michael. 

What a joy it was to meet everyone!  I've been reading Java's blog and The Cajun's blog (off and on) for years.  I will be reading several others going forward, such as Jay in VA, Our Simple Lives, David & Barry, Michael and David.  At one point Anne Marie voiced what I believe everyone was thinking and feeling when she said "There sure is a lot of LOVE in this room."  I couldn't have agreed more.  Check out some fab photos here. 

The event seemed to end all to quickly, so I was happy to find out that the party was basically moving from the banquet room of the Inn to the hospitality suite.  Many of us continued to enjoy cocktails, talk and laugh well into the night.  It was truly a wonderful time!

Sun I was scheduled to work 10am-4pm.  Most of the bloggers had breakfast together and then eventually left, one by one, except the Breens and Anne Marie and her husband.  We tentatively planned for the 4 of them to have dinner with Spouse & me Sun evening, but it began to snow.  The forecast was worse up north where Anne Marie and her husband were going, so they opted to leave Sun evening rather than drive into it Mon morning. 

So the Breens came over to our house to meet and play with Marvin Parker for a while, and then we went to dinner at Pickled Pig Pub as it snowed like crazy.  It was too warm for the snow to stick but it provided a beautiful 'Normal Rockwell' backdrop as it fell.  The 4 of us eat, drank, talked, laughed, and enjoyed a second lovely night together.

To those who do not blog, it often sounds strange that us bloggers would reserve a weekend of our lives and pay money to travel to another state and stay in a hotel in order to meet and visit with "strangers".  But that's the point of blogging: to share our lives in words and photos online so that we connect with others and don't feel like strangers.

Excited

I'm excited about the upcoming blogger meet-up!

The official event is Sat from 5-9pm, but I know that Sean & Jeffery Breen are arriving today so Spouse & I are meeting them for dinner this evening when I finish work.  I have been reading Sean's blog for years and have always felt a connection based on this thoughts and writing, so I am particularly looking forward to meeting him.

I am also looking forward to seeing Larry again.  We met in Oct 2009 at the National Equality March in Washington DC but haven't seen each other since.

I am also looking forward to seeing Anne Marie again.  She came to visit in 2011 after attending a work retreat not too far from where Spouse & I live.

I am also excited about meeting all the other folks whose blogs I've not read before.  It is sure to be a good time!

Funny

This has been making the rounds on blogs and facebook, but I thought it was pretty funny and wanted to share it.

 

 If you call me and I don't answer, its because I'm on isle 15.

Beardy boy

Reality

As a general rule I do not watch "reality" shows.  They seem so scripted and contrived that to me they are anything BUT reality.

I do watch 2 shows where contestants are eliminated weekly, although I don't think of these  as "reality" shows:  Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race.  

 
Neither of these shows seems to fit the typical "reality" show formula where contestants are baited into fighting with each other and encouraged to be outrageous. 

There are occasional fights and outrageousness for sure, but they appear to me to be genuine and not induced on Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race.  

I have never been entertained by my limited viewing of "reality" shows as I usually am with these 2 shows.

Recently on Project Runway the judges felt the contestants did such a poor job on the menswear challenge that they refused to declare a winner for the challenge and they sent not 1 but 2 contestants home that night.

Recently on RuPaul's Drag Race the bottom 2 contestants who 'lip-synched for their lives' both did such a fierce job that RuPaul did not send 1 home, allowing both to move on to the next round of competition.

Do you watch either show?  What are your thoughts?

Just because

Weekend

Oh, and speaking of mirrors...

Have a great weekend!

Just because

Blogger meet-up

I'm getting excited because of the fast-approaching East Coast Blogger Meet-up on Sat March 23.

I think it started from a planned visit from Spo and his partner to Delaware to visit Ron, and from there it grew into a full-fledged blogger meet-up.

So often we read about the joys and struggles of people on their blogs.  We leave comments of praise or encouragement, and we become 'friends' even though we've never met in person.  In some cases we know more personal stuff about our blogger friends than we do our local, in-person friends.  

Fortunately this weekend will allow about a dozen of us to actually meet in person, after years of sharing online.

Spouse & I met several great folks in 2009 at a blogger meet-up in NYC and had a great time.

So if you can get away on the 23rd, come to the blogger meet-up in historic Lewes, DE!

For more details about this event, contact Ron OR read this post.

Beardy boy

Thanks to BosGuy for this 'Wicked Gawjus' beardy boy.

Sick

I mentioned in my vacation posts that on Thurs we stopped at the WalMart to pick up some sinus decongestant.  I was starting to feel sinus pressure and congestion.  I took the medication for the next several days but I think it only slightly delayed the inevitable.  I was about to get sick.

The flight home was only tolerable because I felt like dozing and relaxing the entire day.  But I felt horrible and wound up going through an entire pocket-size package of tissues on the planes.

I went to work on Mon and plowed through the many emails and pretty much got back up to speed at work, despite feeling like crap.  But Mon night I developed chills and body aches.  I had on flannel pajama pants, thermal shirt, and socks but just couldn't get warm.  I wrapped up in a fleece throw and watched TV with tissues in hand.  

I could tell I would not be able to make it into work the next day so I texted my team members to let them know I was staying home sick.

I went to bed at 10pm Mon night and didn't get up until 10:30am the next day.  I had a small bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee, then collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.  I felt so tired, as if I hadn't just slept for 13 hours.  I continued taking my sinus meds and blowing my nose, but didn't leave the sofa the rest of the day.  

Wed was a repeat of Tues.

Thurs is typically my day off, but having been home sick Tues & Wed I decided to go into work.  It was tough but I made it through the day.  Fri, Sat, and Sun I continued having sinus congestion, but the chills and body aches were gone, so I decided to go to the doctor on Mon.

After talking about my symptoms and having a physical exam, my doctor told me I had the flu on Tues & Wed, and simultaneously had an upper respiratory infection.  He prescribed an antibiotic for 5 days.

Although I'm not back to normal yet, I'm feeling a lot better now and my symptoms are beginning to subside.  Its been over 2 weeks and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Change

This is so true!!!

Just because

Thanks to BosGuy for this handsome man.

Vacation redux - part 7

Sun morning we were due to get up at 5am, but I woke up every 45 minutes or so, for fear of oversleeping and missing our plane.  We got our stuff together and checked out of the hotel at 5:50am, and the cab we'd requested for 6am was already there waiting for us.  When we got inside the airport there was hardly anyone there so it was easy to get through security.  We'd already checked in and printed our boarding passes the day before so we were all set.  My sinus congestion had gotten steadily worse since it began on Thurs so by Sun I felt pretty crappy.  I almost looked forward to having nothing to do but sit on the plane for the entire day.

Our flights were uneventful with the exception of a big security backlog in Phoenix, which caused several people in line near us to miss their connecting flights.  Fortunately we got through and made it to our gate just as they were beginning to board 1st class.

When we got to Philly we called the hotel where we'd stayed the night before leaving for PV and they sent the shuttle to pick us up and bring us back to the hotel where our car had been parked.  Although the hotel wasn't that great or luxurious, their Sleep/Park/Fly package was a real winner.  None of our flight included any food whatsoever, not even a bag of peanuts, so all we'd had to eat all day long were some snacks Spouse had purchased in the airport.  When we got back to the car it was 7pm and we were starving.  We stopped for a forbidden fast food meal and then headed home.  

It was so nice to see Marvin!!  We'd really missed him.  It was also really nice to sleep in our own bed again.  It was a fantastic trip - we really REALLY enjoyed it - but its always nice to be home again.

Vacation redux - part 6

Sat morning the 4 of us packed up our bags, tidied up the house, and said goodbye to our jungle home with the stunning views.  We drove into PV and went for a walk on the Malecon, and then had lunch before saying goodbye to the Newlyweds.  They dropped us off at Blue Chairs where we checked into our room and then they dropped the rental car off and rode the shuttle to the airport.  Spouse & I weren't leaving until the next day so we had the rest of the day to enjoy.

We went down to the beach where we saw Joe & Daryl and their friends from Canada, Henry & Lawrence.  They invited us to sit with them so we did.  Spouse & I chatted with them and went for a walk on the beach and just enjoyed the lovely, pleasant weather.  When we tried to go back to our room we found the key didn't work.  The front desk searched through their boxes of 'extra keys' until they found 1 with our room # on it, but that 1 didn't work either.  Next they tried calling the housekeeping staff to see if their master key would work but apparently weren't able to reach anyone, since housekeeping was done for the day.  Finally they had hotel security come and jimmy the door open with a screwdriver.  Fortunately the alternate key on the dresser inside our room worked the lock.  But then we discovered there was no hot water in the bathroom, and that the water pressure was so low that the shower simply trickled water.  We called down to the front desk to report it but were told the government was working on the water and that there was nothing they could do.  We also found that the ceiling fan and the TV remote didn't work either.  We both agreed that it was a good thing we were only staying there 1 night or we'd be extremely disappointed!

I decided to go for a massage again while Spouse connected to the hotel's wifi and played around on his tablet.  I had a different masseuse this time but it was still very relaxing and enjoyable.  I returned to the room for a 'shower' (if you could call it that), and then Spouse & I walked over to Garbo's to meet Joe & Daryl and Henry & Lawrence for cocktails at 8pm.  

Then the 6 of walked down the block to have dinner at Coco's Kitchen.  We had a wonderful dinner in their dining garden and I couldn't believe how quickly the time passed.  

The conversation was fun, the food was wonderful, and our waiter was extremely cute and attentive.  It was a fabulous evening.  But at 11:30 we declined to join the others for another drink at Garbo, since we had to get up at 5am the next morning.  So we walked back to our room and went to bed with the sliding door open, feeling the light breeze and hearing the waves crash on the beach. 

Vacation redux - part 6

Fri morning after breakfast we headed into PV to spend the day.  We started out by getting massages.  Since all 4 of us got massages at the same time we got a discounted group rate.  My massage was really great!  Then we headed over to Blue Chairs to spend the afternoon at the beach.  The Newlyweds both decided to try parasailing.  (I'd done it before years ago so I passed this time.)

One of The Newlyweds suited up

One of The Newlyweds in flight

While relaxing on the beach I heard a familiar voice and then was amazed to see Joe & Daryl, the owners of Dos Locos restaurant in Rehoboth Beach where Spouse & I have eaten many times, walk right by us!  Once they'd gotten settled I walked over and said hello and chatted with them and their 2 friends from Canada.  We had a great day at the beach.

Nachos appetizer

After returning home for showers and a change of clothes, we headed back into PV for dinner and a 'night on the town'.  We started with dinner at Cafe Tizoc, an Italian restaurant with a large dining patio.  A young man played the melodies of several dozen well-known jazz classics on his trombone while a karaoke track played all the supporting parts.  He was fantastic!  At 1 point he played a slow, romantic song and the Newlyweds got up and slow-danced.  When the song and their dancing ended, everyone dining on the patio clapped.  I made sure I tipped the trombone player before we left for such a fabulous job.

After dinner we walked up the block to The Palm Cabaret & Bar to see Leslie Jordan!  Since we arrived early we started with cocktails, then enjoyed the HILARIOUS Leslie Jordan talk about being on Will & Grace, the Sordid Lives tv show, Sordid Lives the film, RuPaul's Drag Race and other topics.  We nearly burst our seams from laughter!  That little man is just TOOO funny!

Afterward we continued our 'night out on the town' by going on a bar crawl.  We visited several of Puerto Vallarta's popular gay bars such as Los Amigos, CC Slaughters, Enter, La Noche, and Wet Dreams.  This was unusual for us since we are not 25 years old anymore and since Spouse really isn't a fan of hanging out at bars, we had a great time!  We didn't get home until almost 3am.

Vacation redux - part 5

Thurs we explored a little town called Sayulita, about an hour's drive north of Puerto Vallarta.  Joe & Julia, friends of the Newlyweds whom Spouse & I had met when we were visiting the Newlyweds in Portland, were staying in a house in Sayulita and had invited us to visit.  Rather than being a city like PV, we found Sayulita to be a tiny beach town complete with a town square.  The 4 of us met the Joe & Julia at Choco Banana (guess what they sell...) and then we walked down the street to a great little bakery and had brunch.  

After brunch we walked back to their house and sat outside and talked for a while.  Then we walked back to the town square and browsed some of the shops and looked at the beach.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a girl wearing a "Rehoboth Beach" t-shirt!  Of course we couldn't leave without enjoying a Choco Banana so we each got one to enjoy before heading back south.  On the way back to PV we stopped at a WalMart for more sunscreen and some sinus decongestant for me, and then stopped at a store called Mega, mostly because we were curious what kind of things would be sold in a store called Mega.  As it turned out it was kind of like a KMart, but with an armed guard holding a rifle at the top of the escalator.  Very welcoming!

After returning home, relaxing, and freshening up, we headed into PV for dinner at Nacho Daddy.  As usual we ate outside, and had a great dinner.  Afterward we walked along the Malecon and listened to the waves crash onto the beach before heading back to our jungle house for the night.