Eclipse

So today was the big total eclipse.

Personally I don't 'get' the whole fascination with it, yet it dominated Facebook all day.  I mean really... what's so cool about a totalled Eclipse??

Seen on Facebook

A friend of a friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I can't adequately communicate just how much I love it.  It really expresses how I feel, although I am not clever enough to have written it.  Enjoy!!

We don't need to take America back. No one stole it. It's right here...you're sitting in it. Chillax.

Mexico isn't going to pay for the wall and we're not going to deport millions of people and break up families. If you think either one is a good idea, you're not smart and probably not a person I want to hang out with.

We don't live in a democracy. Technically we are a Federal Republic. But in reality we are ruled by an oligarchy. If you don't know what that is, look it up. Reading will do you good. You probably need to do more of it.

FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC have an agenda and are not "fair and balanced" or in any way unbiased. I'll reiterate...read more. Read newspapers (even online ones). Read lots of opinions and sources and then (stay with me here), THINK! Form your own opinion based on as many facts as your can brain can tolerate.

Speaking of facts...there actually is a difference between facts, opinions, and propaganda. You should learn the difference. (Another opportunity to show off your mad reading skills.)

Science is real. We know things because of science. Don't be afraid of it. You have an iPhone and Facebook because of science. It's your friend.

Global warming or "climate change" as the cool kids call it IS REAL. Anyone who tells you it's not real is not a smart person and probably should not be dressing themselves or caring for children.

Racism exists. And you are probably a little racist and should work on that. Seriously.

American Christians are not under attack. We are not being persecuted. We wield so much power in this country that politicians pretend to be Christian just so we will vote for them. No one is trying to take your bible away from you. The gay people are not destroying our families—we don't need any help from them, thank you. We do a fine job of that by ourselves. So stop saying we are persecuted. You sound stupid.

Poor people need help. If you're not helping them but complaining about how the government helps them with your money you are not a nice person.

Be nice to the people who teach your children. Don't send them nasty emails or yell at them. Their job is 10,000 times harder than your stupid job. You are not a professional educator so just shut your mouth and be thankful someone is willing to teach your offspring.

You don't know what Common Core is. You think you do, but you don't unless you're a teacher. So stop complaining about math problem memes on Facebook. You can't do the math anyway.

ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States. We do not need to rebuild our military. Our military is the strongest, scariest, most badass killing machine the world has ever seen. So stop being afraid and stop letting politicians and pundits scare you.

Guns do in fact kill people. That's what they are designed to do. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself in America, you are probably living in the wrong neighborhood and should move before you go out and buy a gun. There are like a billion places to live where you won't need a gun, or even need to lock your front door.

If you do own a gun, then make sure you know how to use it really, really, really well. Seriously...get some training because you still don't know how to record stuff with your DVR. Go to the gun range and shoot the thing a lot. Learn how to clean it properly and be able to disassemble it and reassemble it with your eyes closed. It's a freaking gun and it deserves that level of care, proficiency and respect. And for God's sake, keep it locked up and away from your kids.

If you are even a little bit crazy, sad, or pissed off...you shouldn't have a gun. And the Founding Fathers would totally agree with me.

Stop being suspicious of American Muslims. I guarantee the guy sitting next to you in the cubicle at work is probably more of a threat to you than any Muslim. He has to listen to your uninformed ranting day after day and has probably already imagined very colorful and creative ways to end you.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and all the rest are ENTERTAINERS! Stop getting your opinions from them. (Here's where that reading thing can really be an advantage.)

Stop sharing Facebook memes that tell me to share or else Jesus won't bless me with a laundry basket full of cash. That's not how prayer works. And I don't want money delivered (even from God) in a laundry basket. Nobody ever washes those things out and they just keep putting nasty dirty clothes in them. Yuck!

We are the United States of America and we can afford to house every homeless veteran, feed every child, and take in every refugee and still have money left over for Starbucks and a bucket of KFC.

Unless you can trace your family line back to someone who made deerskin pants look stylish and could field dress a buffalo, you are a descendent of an immigrant. Please stop saying that immigrants are ruining our country. Such comments are like a giant verbal burrito stuffed with historical ignorance, latent racism, and xenophobia all wrapped in a fascist tortilla.

That's all for now. I feel better.

Flip my wig?

OK, so you know how everything online is linked nowadays, right?  For instance, if you open Google's Chrome browser and search for mens' black shoes, then use Google Chrome to log into facebook, you'll see ads in the sidebar for mens' black shoes.  I've experienced this a number of times for different items for which I've recently searched on Google.  It can be a little annoying if you went ahead and made the purchase but continue to see the ads for them everytime you log into facebook.

So, the other day I log into facebook and over in the ad space I see this:

...a website for mens' wigs.

Now, I can assure you that I have never, EVER done a Google search for mens' wigs, so I don't know HOW this got 'connected' to me.  But I must admit that once I clicked on the ad I was astonished at the prices!  $10 USD for a 'realistic' wig??

My mind then began to imagine all the possibilities of changing up my look to suit my mood, or even the place I'm going.  I could have bangs partially covering my eyes, I could have shoulder-length waves to toss with dramatic inflection, or maybe even a sassy shag.  So many choices!!

As tempted as I was by the reasonable prices and multitude of choices, I resisted the urge.  

For now.

An old friend

Yesterday I went to happy hour at Saketumi with my old friend Dave Holler.

Dave's family lived near my family when we were young boys, but moved away before we became teenagers.  Coincidentally his family moved close to where my grandparents lived in the mountains of Western MD.  My parents would sometimes leave me at my grandparents' house for a week or 2 in the summer so I could experience a different way of life.  My grandparents lived on several acres in the country, with a huge garden covering much of the land, and a creek that ran behind their property, and lots of woods to roam and explore.  I would stay in the tiny bunk room where my father had grown up and help my grandparents with their huge garden, and go swimming and play in the woods.  It was a welcome diversion from my suburban childhood.

A couple times my parents coordinated with Dave's parents for him to join me at my grandparents' house for a few days.  Since we were teenagers by this time and the bunk room was so tiny, we slept in my grandparents' camper in the back yard.  It was fun to have a friend there during some of my stay.

But eventually I stopped spending summer weeks at my grandparents' and lost touch with Dave.  We ran into each other a couple times at the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) conventions years later, but due to redistricting those encounters ended as well.

Fast forward 25 years or so to 2010.  Spouse & I were having dinner with our friend Bryan and his friend Dan when somehow the conversation caused me to mention that I had been raised as a JW.  Dan said that he had a friend who had also been raised in the JW religion but was no longer part of it.  Quite literally as a joke I asked the name of Dan's friend, kind of like the way when you're on a cruise ship and meet someone from Canada you can't help but ask if they know your friend who lives in Canada.  But quite to my surprise, Dan said his friend's name was Dave Holler.  My jaw dropped and I said "Oh my god - I know him!".  Dan called Dave right there in the restaurant and I got to talk to him.  We exchanged emails and became friends on facebook.

So a few days ago I got a message from Dave saying he was going to be in my area for a few days and wanted to get together.  I meant to take a photo of us but forgot to do so.  We had cocktails and sushi rolls and talked for over 2 hours.  It was really fun to reconnect with my old friend, catch up on his siblings, and hear about his parents.  They are still JWs (like mine) but have found a way to maintain a relationship with him, which is nice for him.  Dave is doing great and has 'adjusted' well to life outside the JWs.  We plan to get together again the next time he's in town.

Patrick's visit

My old friend Patrick came to visit!  He arrived yesterday afternoon and will stay until mid-day tomorrow.  He visited back in early May and we had a great time!  However, the ocean water was too cold to go swimming so I suggested he come back in Sept when its more comfortable, and he did.

Yesterday we sat on the porch with Spouse and the dogs and talked until it was time for dinner.  The 3 of us met up with Steven & Thad at Purple Parrot.  Patrick had the prime rib special and I had 1/2 price buffalo wings and 1/2 price nachos which I shared with the table.  This is not on my Fit for Life plan, but I enjoyed it anyway.  It was a beautiful evening so there were lots of folks out and about, and we saw several friends.  It was a fun evening.

Today Spouse went to work and Patrick and I sat on the screened porch with Marvin & Walter for hours, drinking coffee and talking about politics, equality, the glory days when we were in the Concert Choir and Dominants vocal jazz and show choir group, family dynamics, work, and all sorts of other stuff.  We never run out of interesting things to discuss.  Finally we got our beach stuff together and had lunch at Panera before going to the beach.  

Beach selfie

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the sun and went swimming in the ocean.  It was great!

Once back home and showered, I picked up some subs, drinks, chips, and cookies for our dinner on board the water taxi.  The 3 of us met up with Steven & Thad and Joe P and took the same sunset cruise that I went on last week with my colleagues.  

Photo credit: Joe P

It was fun and we all enjoyed it very much!

Unfortunately tomorrow he'll head back home around noon.  But I know he'll be back again before too long.  That's how old friends are.

Facebook

Censorship

So I log into Blogger yesterday or today (I forget which) and happen to see this notice at the top of the dashboard about a change to blog content beginning in late March.  I clicked on the link and read the notice.  Blogs that contain nudity that isn't considered 'artistic' or 'educational' will have to either remove that content or Blogger will make the blog private.  

I guess it remains to be seen how 'artistic' is defined.  I mean, I find almost all nudity to be artistic.

The interesting thing is that some blog writers received the notice via email, indicating their blog would likely be affected.  I did not get the email, so I'm assuming mine is not affected, but I'm really not sure.  My blog does not contain nude genitalia so I do not have content advisory that other blogs do.  Maybe that has something to do with it.  But my blog definitely does have nudity, so I'm not sure if nudity without showing genitalia is 'artistic' or not.

But I must say that I find all of this disappointing and bothersome.  YouTube and Facebook have always censored content and prohibited nudity.  I believe a big part of Blogger's popularity has been the fact that it did NOT censor content.  Blogger writers have been able to say and post whatever they want, be it 'artistic', 'educational', titillating, or smutty.  Its the very reason why we're HERE and not on Facebook and YouTube.

If blogs are forced to go 'private', how does a blog writer invite readers to the newly private blog?  How does a reader ask to be invited to a private blog?

I guess the other option is for blog writers to change platforms.  But whose to say that WordPress and other blog platforms won't follow suit?

I'm really not sure what to think about this whole situation, but I definitely feel disappointed that Blogger has decided to censor blog content.

As seen on facebook

One of my friends posted on facebook a link to a Tumbler photo site that is fun and sexy called New York Subway Guys.  

It is exactly what the title suggest: photos of hot/sexy/attractive guys seen on the NYC subway system. This makes total sense since NYC's subway system has a very ridership and NYC has a wide diversity of ethnicities in its ridership.

Check it out and I bet you'll bookmark it or become a follower.

Facebook

Small world

Last night I went to sing karaoke at the Blue Moon, as I often due on Thurs nights.

The mistress of karaoke, Mona Lotts, introduced me to a guy named Scott who was visiting from Phoenix.  Just to kind of 'make conversation' with this visitor who didn't know anyone, I casually said that I went to high school with a guy who now lives in Phoenix and works as a bartender at a gay bar.  I knew this from his facebook posts.

Scott asked the name of the bar and I said it had the work "pump" in it.  Scott immediately said "Oh, the Pumphouse", to which I said "Yes, that's it."

Scott explained that the Pumphouse had closed down a little while back but said he knew many of the guys who worked there.  He asked my old high school friend's name so I told him.  Lo and behold, he said he was very good friends with my old high school friend!  Today I sent my friend a message through facebook and told him about meeting Scott the night before.  

Small world...

Later that same night, a very nice 'mature' gentleman and his boyfriend/spouse/husband complimented me on my singing, so we got into a brief conversation.  I asked them where they were from and the 'mature' gentleman said they lived in DC, but that he was originally from Cumberland.  I asked if he meant Cumberland, MD and he said yes.  

I told him that my grandparents lived in Cumberland their entire lives (they lived to be 77 and 81) and that I spent many a summer there.  My parents would spend a weekend with my grandparents and leave me there for a week or 2, then come spend another weekend with my grandparents and take me home.  It was great because I was raised in the suburbs but my grandparents lived in the country.  They had a huge vegetable garden and a creek in their back yard that my cousins and I would swim in.  I told him my grandfather sold insurance until he retired, and then worked part-time at an orchard.

The 'mature' man asked my last name and when I told him, he said "Oh, that sounds very familiar.  I'm sure our families know each other somewhere along the line."  What a funny coincidence to run into someone who knew Cumberland so well, visiting Rehoboth Beach!  

Small world...

Earthquake

I've always enjoyed those 1970s disaster films like Towering Inferno Poseidon Adventure and Earthquake. Until today I had never experienced any of these disasters, fortunately. But today I felt a brief but unmistakable earthquake.

Reports indicate that the center of the earthquake was in Mineral, VA which is northwest of Richmond and about 200 miles from here. The quake was felt as far away as NYC, Boston, and Ohio.

I was sitting at my desk at work while my colleagues were having lunch in the conference room when I began to feel the 2-story office building sway. At 1st I thought a large truck had driven past and caused the motion, but it continued for several seconds. Then I thought it was me; that I was having an episode of over-stimulated vagus nerve, which results in dizziness and nausea, so I sat back in my chair and took a slow deep breathe. As I looked up at the ceiling I saw the hanging light fixtures swaying back and forth, and at that point I realized it wasn't me. We were having an earthquake. Next I heard my colleagues reacting.

"Do you feel that? Its an earthquake!"

"But we don't get earthquakes here."

"Well, we're getting one now, and I'm getting outta here!" she said as she rushed out the door.

"I wonder if we should get underneath the (conference) table?"

Before anyone had a chance to answer that last question, the swaying stopped. It took a few more seconds for the light fixtures to stop swaying.

I immediately went to Google and typed in "earthquake Aug 23" but found no relevent entries. So I went to my next trusted source, Facebook. Sure enough I began seeing update after update from local friends, friends in DC, Richmond, and Baltimore regarding the earthquake. Its amazing how technology can unite and inform us within seconds!

Fortunately there appears to be no serious damage from the earthquake. Spouse's mother just called to say that some photos in frames on top of her entertainment center fell over, but that's it.

It was a creepy feeling, for sure, and 1 I hope not to feel again.

A model agent

The real estate team of which I'm a member has an agreement to man the model homes/sales center at a new construction community. A 'project' agent from our team works there 5 days a week, the sales center is closed 1 day, and the remaining day is manned by another agent from the team on a rotating basis. Today was my day to be the 'model agent'.

After reacquainting myself with the models, available lots, and options price list, I sat in the near silence for a few minutes. The only sounds I heard were the occasional bangs of hammers from down the street.

I logged into the computer, caught up on my work email and personal email, and even logged into facebook for a little while as I waited for interested home buyers to come in.

Anticipating the potential for long periods of being alone, I brought with me the mp3 player I was given containing my songs for the upcoming series of shows I've been asked to perform in. So I positioned myself to have a view of the door, popped the earbuds in my ears, and began singing along with the music in full voice. I got through all 9 songs twice!

It turned out to be a boring day: I didn't have any visitors, but at least I got to practice my songs.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, but too small to be their own past.

Last week DE's Senate passed HB 30, the civil unions bill, sending it onto the House for consideration. Yesterday the House voted and passed the bill too! That means DE will become the 7th state to perform civil unions!! The bill now goes before our democratic governor who has already promised to sign the bill, so we should have civil unions beginning in Jan 2012. Although I would prefer civil marriage, Spouse & I will definitely get civilly unionized (or whatever its called) sometime in early 2012. I'd prefer to do it on the anniversary of when we met so that our civil union anniversary would be the same date as our actual anniversary. However, once we are civilly unionized Spouse will be able to add me to his Cadillac-grade health benefits program, saving us hundreds of dollars per month, so we likely won't wait until our actual anniversary on May 26. We've already heard from several of our coupled friends that they intend on becoming civilly unionized too, so there should be a great deal of celebrating in early 2012. More details on our plans to follow.

And speaking of legal recognition of same sex relationships, did you hear about Louis Marinelli's change of heart on marriage equality? He had been touring the country and speaking against it, but recently severed his ties with the anti-gay National Organization on Marriage (NOM) and publicly stated that he supports full civil marriage equality! Check it out here.

Remember the Crush du Jour segment I used to include at the end of each blog post for well over a year? Well, one of my Crushes must have Googled his name and found himself on my blog. He left a comment and since his name was hyperlinked in the comment, I clicked on it which took me to the friend request part of his facebook page. This seemed like an invitation to me, so I clicked the button to send him a friend request. He responded and now we are facebook friends! Actually, this is not the 1st time a Crush has commented or emailed me. Fortunately all 3 times the guys have been cool about it and somewhat flattered that I found them crush-worthy.

My friend Kathryn sent me this incredible video about Yosemite Creek. Its a little long (over 7 minutes) but its very interesting and beautiful. Enjoy!

Recognition

Although I've tried to remain somewhat anonymous on this blog (no last name, no specific city, etc.) at Spouse's request, I've always secretly wished someone would recognize me as this blog's author.

Occasionally I read accounts of other bloggers who are recognized at bars or restaurants and I think how fun it would be if that happened to me. Well, something similar happened to me, finally, after more than 6 years of blogging.

In January I went with my friend Hadley to an after-Christmas party where I met Andy. In our conversation I told him I was in the process of changing careers and was excited about becoming a realtor. After the party I friended him on Facebook, and then I saw him again a few weeks later and we exchanged greetings.

Then recently I got a message from Andy via Facebook. He said he'd been reading my blog for almost a year, without knowing who I was. Then as he was catching up on my blog after the party he realized that we'd met each other at the party in Jan.

So although I wasn't recognized in public like by fellow bloggers, I was recognized after the fact, which kinda makes me feel special.

Time

Last fall when I learned I would be laid off from my job I thought that the 'silver lining' to the unemployment cloud would be that I'd have more time keep up with the blogs I read and to write more thoughtful and entertaining posts.
I don't understand it, but it seems I have less time for blogging and blog reading than I did when I worked full-time. It makes no sense to me.

Maybe its the lack of a routine.

Maybe its that I'm still doing a lot of other stuff, just not work-related stuff.

Maybe I'm just spending too much time on facebook.

I hope I can get back into a groove again soon. I don't want to be 'phoning in' my posts or missing days/weeks of my friends' blogs. Transition times can have unexpected consequences.

My 1st time being paid for it

I really do appreciate the diversity that exists among my friends. I don't want all of my friends to think, act, or look like me. I enjoy the other viewpoints and experiences from those who are different from me.

Several years ago, while reflecting on the previous night's big holiday open house we'd thrown, I said to Spouse that I wanted a drag queen friend to round out my circle of friends. That seemed to be the only category I could think of that was missing at our party the night before.

Fast forward several years to the summer of 2010. One Thurs night I agreed to accompany some friends to the Blue Moon bar/night club for cocktails and karaoke, hosted by the local celebrity Mona Lotts. It was a lot of fun and Mona was especially kind to me after she heard me sing. I continued going there for karaoke most Thursdays and became 'friends' with Mona on facebook. But it wasn't until early Nov when the tourists were all gone that we really became friends. There were about 6 of us at karaoke 1 night and Mona joked that it would be her and me singing to the tables and chairs. We talked about our lives, jobs, partners, etc. and I truly found her to be an interesting person. Before I realized it, I had a drag queen friend!

Then 2 weeks ago I sent Mona a message suggesting that she and I sing a duet of "Baby Its Cold Outside" at karaoke, now that it was appropriate to sing Christmas music. To my surprise she wrote back and said that she and Tim (1 of the club owners) had just been talking about that exact same thing! So that week Mona and I did our duet which turned out nicely. At the end of karaoke Mona and Tim asked me if I was willing to perform the duet with Mona in the club's big Christmas Show the following week.

Of course I said yes. All week long I practiced the song at home, we sang it together at karaoke on Thurs night, and then practiced it with a little choreography on Fri afternoon to get ready for the show Fri night. As I was about to leave the rehearsal Fri afternoon, Tim asked if I would do him a favor. I said sure and asked what it was. He wanted me to don a Santa Claus costume and join Mona and the other performers on stage for the show's finale. I laughed and said okay.

When I arrived at the dressing room Mona and the other drag performers had finished their make-up but were still wiggling into their girdles, styling their wigs, rethinking their jewelry, and putting on their glamorous gowns. Although I'd watched RuPaul's Drag Race on TV, I'd never witnessed this firsthand. Mona introduced me to everyone and asked Miranda to show me the Santa costume. When everyone was dressed we went over the performance schedule and my queues.

I watched the 1st several numbers from out in the audience, then slipped out the back and met Mona in the dressing room. We got our mics and then positioned ourselves to go onstage. I was wearing black dress pants and a red sweater. Mona was wearing a green antique satin 2-piece skirt/blouse set. We were introduced, our music started, we took our places on stage and sang our duet. The audience was very appreciative and generous with their applause.

Back in the dressing room Mona changed her hair and outfit for her next number while I struggled to get all 12 pieces of the Santa costume on over my clothes. There was plenty of room in the costume, it just wasn't easy to bend over once I'd put on the big padded belly to get the rest of the pieces on, but I did. I stood next to the stage entrance so I could hear what was going on inside. Then, dressed in full-on Santa 'drag', I joined Mona on stage and waved to the audience as 'snow' fell from the artificial snow machine, catching the lights and looking amazingly real. It was pretty spectacular!

Back in the dressing room I got out of my Santa drag and talked to the girls as they removed their false eyelashes and fingernails, girdles and make-up. I was truly amazed at the transformations as each 'lady' became a man again. Each breathed a sincere sigh of relief when they 'untucked'. Tim came in bearing envelopes for everyone, containing their payment for performing in the big Christmas show, including me. Although I'd sung in public many times before, it was my 1st time being paid for it (and dressing up as Santa too, I guess). I also received an invitation to Tim's holiday party which I am very excited to attend. I'm hoping to get Spouse to come with me.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the duet or of me in the Santa drag, so you'll just have to imagine it from my wordy description above.

It was REALLY a fun experience to be involved in the big Christmas show, both singing with Mona and dressing as Santa Claus. Its also been a lot of fun to get to know Mona and Tim better and to think of them as friends. I wonder what else is in store for me?

Birthday

Yes, its true. Its my birthday today.

Since I'm not working and have very few demands on my time right now, I decided to do just what I wanted on my birthday. After showering and walking Jordan the dog, I put on some Christmas music, poured myself a mug of coffee (with eggnog instead of cream) and organized my Christmas cards and supplies on the kitchen table. I was going to spend the majority of the day writing and addressing Christmas cards! Its my thing.

But first I needed to get the laptop so I'd have the addresses. I brought it into the kitchen and decided to check my email before starting the cards, and there they were: tons of facebook notifications that people had posted on my wall! I began reading through all of them and responding, but they just kept coming. I mean, not that it was a 'problem', in fact it was quite touching that so many friends saw my birthday pop up on their facebook and decided to post on my wall. It really made me feel great!

Eventually I decided to stop responding to the messages for a while and get started on the Christmas cards. I sang along with many of the songs and made my way down the list of card recipients. It got about 1/2 of them done (about 70) and it was great!

I took a break to meet my friends Deb & Greer for lunch, then stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things.

It was very cold out and Spouse had not mentioned going out for dinner for my birthday. (He'd suggested having a brunch this coming Sun for my birthday.) So we had dinner at home, which was fine since it was one of my favorites: spicy Thai chicken lettuce wraps.

We watched "Glee" then watched the last episodes of "True Blood" on DVD.

It was a simple day, but a great one.

Coincidences?

Close to a year ago I was chatting on Facebook with an old high school friend Keri who was also a member of the jazz/show choir called 'Dominants' with me. Keri said she had run into our old director Debbie at the gym and got her email address. I got Debbie's email address but didn't write to her for nearly a year. I wanted to reconnect with her as an adult and tell her what a strong, positive influence she had on me. I wanted to tell her that I actually used everything I learned in her classes. I wanted her to know how highly all the former 'Dominants' speak of her on the Facebook page. I wanted her to know she made an important impact on my life, but wasn't sure where to start.

So just last Fri I was chatting with 2 other former members of 'Dominants' when 1 of them asked if I knew where Debbie was living, since she had retired. I shared with these 2 friends Debbie's email address, which made me stop for a few minutes and wonder why I hadn't emailed her yet. So I did.

The next day Debbie wrote back and said that she was "thrilled" to hear from me. After all the students she'd had in the 27 years since I graduated, I wasn't completely sure she'd remember me, but she did. She reminded me of "one of the highlights" of her career, which was the visit from Kirby Shaw, the distinguished vocal jazz composer/arranger/singer. She also said she certainly hoped I was using my "wonderful musical talents" in some way. (I always feel bad when someone from my musical past wants to know what I'm doing musically these days and I have to tell them 'nothing'.)

The next day on the beach I was introduced by a mutual friend to Bruce. It turns out that Bruce lives in the same town in VA where my high school is located. In fact, not only did both of us go to that same high school, we were there at the same time! He was a freshman the year I was a senior. As a joke I said "You might remember me, I was in 'Dominants'..." since 'Dominants' was the elite vocal jazz and show choir in the state. Being in 'Dominants' made you almost as cool as being on the varsity football team. Well, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised we he replied that he, too, was in 'Dominants' after I had graduated. Of course he asked if I knew anything about Debbie's whereabouts, so I told him about my recent email and her response.

While I'm at the beach talking to Bruce, a guy named Wes emailed me. (I read it later that evening.) He said he met Debbie at the gym and when she learned that he was looking for a singer for his gospel quartet, she highly recommended me. Of course she didn't know at the time that I lived in DE, so when I wrote back to Wes I explained that important detail.

So let's recap. Although I'd had Debbie's email address for about a year, I finally write to her on Fri. The next day she writes back. The next day I meet Bruce, another former student of hers, and later I get an offer to audition for a paid singing group due to a recommendation from Debbie.

Is it all just coincidence? I'm not sure. But if it isn't, what does it all mean?

Is the Universe trying to get me to find a creative musical outlet?

I really don't want to sing gospel music, even if I did live in VA. I really, really want to sing a capella vocal jazz but have no prospects for doing so at this time. But maybe if I 'put myself out there' the Universe will help me connect with people who have the same interest.

Which brings me to another coincidence, or not.

Sun on the beach Bryan & Jason and Vince invited me & Spouse to come out with them this Thurs night for karaoke, since it will be Vince's last opportunity before leaving the area. We agreed, so I will be singing karaoke this Thurs, which kind of goes along with the idea of 'putting myself out there' where I might find others who may want to sing jazz with me.

Coincidences? Hopefully time will tell.

Crush du Jour: Braden Baade

Another reason to love Facebook

I've mentioned before how much fun its been for me to reconnect with old high school friends and friends from past jobs on Facebook. Seeing old photos from 'back in the day' has really given me some good laughs! There was 1 photo of me and others at a friend's house and I have absolutely no recollection of ever being there, and this was NOT due to alcohol consumption either! Its been a lot of fun to see what paths everyone has followed.

Recently I was contacted by a woman who graduated 2 years ahead of me named Lisa. She and I were both in Concert Choir, which is the only (hazy) memory I have of her. But she remembered me with much more detail, and sent me the following message on Facebook:

"Hi Mark, I'm sure you won't remember me, but I was in Choir with you at Gar-Field. You know how some people just make an impression on you? Well, I remember how talented you were and recall listening to you play the piano. I think you and I were just starting to become friends when I graduated in 1980. Every time I come across a picture of you in a yearbook or something I think "What a nice guy, I wonder what became of him?". So, when I came across a picture of you on Lisa XXXX's Facebook page, I thought I'd just send you a note and say "Hi". Still playing music I hope? Lisa"

I was absolutely floored that I had made such an impression on her. As you can imagine, this completely made my day! So I wrote back to her:

"Lisa, I'm not surprised - I'm SHOCKED - that you remember me! I was a mere sophomore when you were a senior! That goodness for Facebook and how easy it makes finding old HS friends. Thanks SO much for the kind words about my talent. After you graduated I was in Dominants and Concert Choir my Junior and Senior years, and after HS tried my hand at a number of choral, barbershop, and jazz ensembles. I'm not currently singing in any groups but I have fun at karaoke once in a while. Thanks for taking the time to send the message above. It made my day! Mark"

So I feel sorry for those who despise Facebook or think its a security risk, because they are missing out on some good stuff! (BTW, Facebook lets you set security levels for who sees your info, and you can enter or withhold as much info as you like.)

So with this in mind, I'd like to challenge those of you with Facebook accounts to find a high school friend and send them a nice message. Tell them that they are one of the people you remember from high school. Tell them you remember that they won the spelling bee, science fair, or talent show. Tell them you always thought they were cool. Reach out to someone you remember from school and make their day! Then blog about it.

Crush du Jour: Marcel Da Mirz

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

My cousin Hilleary will be visiting me this afternoon. He lives in CA but spends 2 weeks on the East coast every Aug to spend time with this parents and siblings. He's been at the beach for a few days, and will stop by our house this afternoon to chat and then go to dinner with us, similar to last summer. I'm looking forward to visiting with him and 2 of his sons.

My neighbor Claudia's fig tree is producing like crazy, and Claudia generously brought over a bunch of sweet, delicious figs for us! They are wonderful to eat plain, but can also be fabulous stuffed with goat cheese or wrapped with bacon. Until living here I had never eaten a fig, unless you count those Fig Newton snacks.

My friend Bill sent me this.

I think its funny because it suggests an older woman would try to 'trade in' her clunker/husband, but it also demonstrates how so many lazy Americans don't read or learn the facts. Confusing a car trade-in program with health care reform is completely believable, considering what we hear coming out of some of the Town Hall meetings. To rebut them, I offer to you this:Isn't that poignant?

I am in love with Ohs cereal. There's something about the balance of graham, honey, and oats that I find delicious. And as an added bonus, it is the least expensive cereal on the entire isle at just $1.99.

Despite my early reluctance, I have really been enjoying Facebook. But my enjoyment has not been without some trials. Early on I located a friend from high school named Tim, with whom I was very close. We spent time at each other's houses, and he wrote a very nice tribute in my senior yearbook. Soon after reconnecting on Facebook and exchanging some 'nice to see you again' kind of messages on each other's walls, I noticed he dropped out of my friend list. I sent him a friend request again, but it was ignored. After finding and friending several more friends from high school who were also friends of Tim's, I tried yet again to friend him, but he as ignored the request. I'm sure now that he does not want to be friends with me, and I suspect it is because he now knows that I'm gay. Whatever! Its his loss. I finally had to de-friend a former high school friend named Christa. Somehow, she turned into an ultra-conservative racist, and I got tired of seeing all her anti-everything posts. It was like watching Fox News. So I de-friended her. I am still enjoying Facebook though, despite these minor trials.

Our accountant was too busy to complete our Federal and State tax returns by April 15, so he filed extensions for us. This week we got our completed returns from him (to sign and mail) and were delighted to see that we are still going to get sizable refunds, despite having sold our house in VA last year. YAY!!

I saw this lovely video over at Kelly's blog and had to share it. Who knew the Golden Girls were so ahead of their time?!?!

A friend posted this link on Facebook and I just had to share it. Doesn't this aptly named 'Double Bypass Burger' look delicious?

Its a hamburger topped with 5 slices of bacon, 4 slices of cheese, 2 fried eggs, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion stacked between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. Seriously. I'm drooling. Who's with me?

The forecast indicates we're going to get a bit of a reprieve from this oppressive heat this weekend. We're going to drive Big Ella to a Corvette show at a Chevrolet dealership on Sat. We've been to this show before and have seen others drive their non-Corvettes for car enthusiasts to see and enjoy. In the afternoon we're going to the beach. Sun we're going to a birthday party.

Have a great weekend!

Crush du Jour: Adam Tucker