Las Vegas, Baby!!

I had good intentions of writing again before leaving on vacation, but things got pretty crazy at work. Instead of writing my last night before leaving, I was in the office until 8pm.

Joe's mom Evelyn & I left early Fri morning for the airport, where we met up with Kelly, George, and Zelinda for our fabulous trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Kelly's 40th birthday. Joe had an important meeting, so he left Fri evening and joined us later that night.

We stayed at the Luxor, the giant black Pyramid. Joe & I stayed there the last time we were in Vegas (for my 40th birthday) and loved it. They've interwoven the Egyptian theme everywhere you can imagine, from the hotel/casino decor to the pyramid shaped box that hold the shower cap. The slanted wall of one-way glass in our 14th floor guest room offered us fantastic views of the desert mountains and the sparkling pools.

Friday after checking in, we ate and talked about the shows we wanted to see. Then some of us went to the pool, others to the spa, and others to the casino. Joe joined us as we were eating our late dinner.

Sat we picked up our mini-van from the car rental desk inside the Luxor (how convenient is that?) and headed out to Red Rocks Canyon. It is a beautiful state park about 40 minutes outside Las Vegas, with a driving trail and many places to stop and get out. You are also permitted to climb the beautiful rusty-red colored rock formations if you want, but none in our group was that adventurous. On our way back into town we stopped for lunch. Once back at the Luxor it was time for more pool-side relaxing, mango body scrubs at the spa, and of course, slot machine action.

Sat night Evelyn, Joe & I went to see Gladys Knight at the Flamingo. What a fantastic performance! She really exceeded our expectations. For being over 60 years old and being in show business for over 40 years, she looked and sounded great! She sang all of her hits, and the audience responded appreciatively. Then the three of us decided to have a late dinner at the Venetian. We walked along the Grand Canal, ducked into a few shops, and watched the gondaliers as they guided their boats up and down the indoor canal while serenading their passengers. We ate a late, light supper at a little Italian trattoria.

Sun found some of us at the pool again, others at the spa, and others at the slot machines. Sun night Kelly, George, and Zelinda went to see the Cirque du Soleil production called 'O' at the Bellagio. All 6 of us left together, and after dropping the show folks off Evelyn, Joe & I went outside to watch the spectacular Bellagio Fountains show. (Its about 4-5 minutes long and happens every 1/2 hour, with different fountain shows.) Afterward we took a tour through the beautiful Bellagio, taking note of where the group of us would dine after the Cirque show ended. Then we took the skybridge over to Caesar's Palace and toured it. On our way back to the Bellagio it was time for the fountain show again, so we stopped to see another beautiful selection.

When we rejoined the others we found that everyone was still full from our buffet lunch several hours prior, so we scrapped the idea of a late dinner at the Bellagio. Some retreated to their rooms for rest, others went back to the slot machines, and Kelly & I went to the lounge to have a few birthday drinks and listen to the band. (Kelly's birthday was Sun Sept 11.)

The first part of Mon was much like the first part of Sun. Mon evening we all rode over to the New York, New York hotel/casino to see the Cirque du Soleil show called 'Zumanity'. Billed as "the other side of Cirque du Soleil", it has a 18 year old age limit due to some nudity and graphic sexual language. We all enjoyed the show, but I didn't find it much different than most Cirque shows. It seemed like pretty much the same kind of trapeze/acrobatic stuff, only with far less costumes. But it was still enjoyable. Mon was Zelinda's birthday.

The weather couldn't have been better: around 84 degrees during the day, with no discernible humidity, and about 76 degrees at night. The locals said it was unseasonably cool for that time of year, but we certainly weren't complaining!

Although we often split up so everyone could 'do our own thing' (ie: slot machines, spa treatments, sunning/swimming, etc) we always checked in with each other and made arrangements to share almost every meal as a group. It really worked out well, allowing everyone time together and time apart.

Tues morning the shuttle picked us up at 10:30 to get us to the airport. But before that, my longtime friend Cliff and his partner Steve (whom I'd not met before) joined Joe & me for breakfast at the Luxor at 9. Cliff and I had been friends back in the 80s when we were both still JWs. Cliff had moved away, then left the JWs so we lost touch. Then I left the JWs and the years began to fly by. About a year ago, out of the blue I got an email from Cliff, saying he'd found me on the internet. So, of course we had to see each other after all these years. I was glad Steve was able to come so I could meet him. It was the perfect way to end our trip in Vegas.

Tues night we got back home at about 10pm (local time), but since there were no meals on the flight, we were hungry. Evelyn, Joe & I went to the Silver Diner and then went directly to bed. Flying seems to make everyone tired.

Wed Joe took his mom home and I started on the laundry. EVERYTHING had to be washed, whether we had worn it or not, due to the cigarette smoke. I ran a few errands, and then when Joe returned, we began packing for our next adventure...

What a different humidity makes

About 2 weeks ago it was 77 degrees one morning, but it was so stinkin' humid it felt like I was in a rainforest. It was so gross that I kept the roof on my car closed and drove to work with the a/c on.

This week the temperatures have been in the mid- to upper-80s, but the humidity has been so low that it feels great! I haven't closed the roof on my car all week. Its amazing what a difference humidity makes.

We're heading to the beach tonight for the 3-day Labor Day weekend... roof open, music blaring, mouth smiling. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend.

Katrina - revisited

I just can't keep watching the videos of the destruction and flooding in the gulf coast area. Its addictive. I stayed up until midnight last night (a school night) flipping from CNN to MSN to Nightline, to Primetime - any station offering information about what was going on.

I feel so badly for the people, many of whom were poor to begin with, who've now lost everything. Everything. Wedding photos, children's artwork, grandma's heirloom, that special love letter. All those irreplacable things that help keep the memories of loved ones close. God bless them all. And please give to charities like the Red Cross who are working hard to help provide the basic necessities like food and drinking water to these people who have absolutely nothing.

Katrina

I'm in utter shock over the destruction and force of hurricane Katrina.

My heart goes out to all those affected in New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, and their surrounding areas.

Warantee

The other day as I was driving to work I heard a car commercial on the radio advertise "6 year or 60,000 mile powertrain warantee". At first thought, that sounds pretty impressive. But then I started thinking about what exactly is covered under that warantee.

The wording was "powertrain warantee". Therefore, if your muffler falls off, your transmission is shot, or your brakes fail - you know, the kind of things that really happen to people - the warantee does you absolutely no good.

"Powertrain warantee". Indeed, the only thing covered under that warantee is the powertrain. When was the last time you heard a co-worker say "Yeah, I was late to the office this morning cuz I had to drop my car off at the shop... powertrain problem." Never? Me either. In fact, I don't think I've ever, EVER heard anyone complain that their powertrain had gone out on them. So, essentially the "6 year or 60,000 mile powertrain warantee" is a warantee you'll never need. It just sounds good on a commercial.

We're heading to the beach after work today. Hope my powertrain is okay.

Weight loss tip # 143

Don't order 'Value Meals'

If you're like me, you may really be trying to eat right and lose some weight, but when it comes to lunchtime, you find yourself at a loss. Especially when I have limited time, I find myself only able to pick up something quick from a fast food place.

Its tempting to just order one of those 'Value Meals'. You get some kind of burger or sandwich, a large order of french fries and a large soda. Its so convenient, you only need say "I'll have a number one please." Honestly, its more food than most people need for lunch, but they usually price them so they are only a few cents more than buying smaller items a la carte. I must confess to have fallen for the 'Value Meal' on many occasions.

But I have found that I feel better about eating in a fast food place if I avoid the 'Value Meal' and just order a reasonably sized lunch. A small burger or sandwich, a small french fries, and a small soda will probably cost only a few cents less than the 'Value Meal', but I will not be tempted to eat more than I should. Another option available when ordering a la carte is to skip those delicious but fattening french fries all together. Sometimes I'll order a small cheeseburger, a 4-piece chicken nuggets and a small soda. I imagine there is more nutritional value and less fat in the 4 chicken nuggets than in the french fries, but I'm not positive of that.

Also, have you ever been in a fast food place and seen some 'limited time offer' you'd like to try, such as a peach flavored milkshake? Well, if you order a la carte and skip the french fries you can feel better about occasionally indulging in a 'limited time' peach shake.

Those french fries are good though...

What's in a name?

An acquaintance recently told me that he found out information about new people he'd met by doing a Google search on their name. My first thought, of course, was how difficult it would be to sort through all the information and know which person to attribute it to. I mean, there are hundreds and possibly thousands of people with the same name. That's why the credit bureau uses social security numbers in addition to names.

So, for kicks I decided to do a Google search on my own name. I put in my first and last name (no middle name or initial) and I was astounded to see that the search located over 7 million websites with my name on them! Then I began looking at some of the pages.

One of the men who shares my name is an 'Employee Performance Expert'. In fact, he has an entire business/company with our name in its title. He's taken our name and placed dot com after it for his impressive website.

Another who shares my name is the founder and manager of a record label. He's written songs for and performed with several indy bands. He's produced albums for other bands, and also does solo stuff. He also has a graphic design company headquartered in the same town where I live!

Another is a professional rugby player in Australia. Another is a professional portrait, wedding, and exhibit photographer. Another is an award-winning stage director. Another is a research associate professor at Northwestern University. Another is a member of Ireland's leading political party. Another is a real estate agent in Ohio. But possibly the most eerie is another guy with my name who loves to sing jazz standards as I do. Only this guy put dot org after our name for his website, and he actually has a career singing jazz. For me it is a hobby.

I didn't look through all 7 million websites, but I did look at about 100 and didn't see any that actually were about me. Even my blog didn't show up because I have intentionally left out my last name. I guess if I ever want to become famous I have a lot of work to do.

Ack!!! No air...

Friday evening when I came home from work I noticed the family room seemed awfully warm. Then I noticed an oscillating fan, turned on full-blast, sitting on the ottoman. Not a good sign, I thought to myself.

After my customary "Hello... I'm home" Joe came from the kitchen and sighed heavily. "The air conditioner's broken." "Oh no!" I replied. "The outside unit runs but nothing's coming out of the vents, and its hot as hell in here" he reported. "I called 5 different places before I could get someone to come out here tomorrow. He'll be here between 1 and 4."

Well, I was impressed that Joe had the presence of mind to begin calling someone before 5:00 on a Friday afternoon, rather than waiting for me to get home at 6:15. Turns out the first 4 places he called said the earliest they could get here was Tues or Wed. We'd have died.

Fortunately, we had plans to be out of the house on Fri night, so it wasn't too bad. I went to a wedding shower for our friends Michael and Jamie downtown. It was fun, and I met some really nice people. Joe had come home with a bad headache, had tried to take a nap but it was too hot, so he decided to go to his mom's house where the air conditioning would be plentiful.

I got home from the party about 11:45 and we talked until midnight. We decided to sleep in the guest bedroom on the main floor, rather than in our bedroom upstairs, since it was just totally intolerable up there. The problem: the guest bedroom has my old full size bed in it, and we are used to sleeping in a queen. Neither Joe nor I would ever be mistaken for petite, so we knew it would be a challenge to sleep in the full size bed, with no air conditioning.

We set up both fans on chairs, pointed directly at the bed, and eventually got to sleep. But it was a restless night for both of us, as every movement we made awakened the other. Plus, being so warm, we didn't like our skin touching each other, which was nearly impossible in the small bed.

Then next morning we planned how we'd survive until the a/c guy arrived. We certainly weren't going to be cooking breakfast, that was for sure. We quickly dressed and got into the car and turned on the a/c. We just sat there for a few minutes and reveled in the luxury of coolness. Then we just drove around, trying to think of someplace to eat breakfast that has a/c and not a long wait. We ended up at the Capitol City Brewing Company.

Over breakfast/lunch we talked about how we had just recently been talking about spending a little money to have some home improvements done: a new kitchen floor, some electrical updating, etc. We sighed as we imagined the money for those things being given to the air conditioner repair guy.

After a few little stops, we headed back to the house. We decided to wait for the repair man in the basement - the only place we could stand to be by that time of the day. Fortunately he arrived shortly after 1:00. He found that the control board (kind of like the 'brains' of the heating-a/c unit) had gone bad. It would cost $515. to replace it. Unfortunately, he did not have one for our brand on his truck. He would have to order it.

He must have seen the mixed look of horror and shock on my face as I thought about being in the house without airconditioning for 3-4 days, so he asked me if I'd like him to temporarily bypass the control board with the wiring so that the a/c would run. I excited replied "Yes, please!"

So Mon or Tues he will call us to let us know that the control board has come in and will make an appointment to replace it. Until then, the outside unit still turns itself on and off as normal, just the inside fan/blower does not turn off. No biggie. I can live with that.

Weight loss tip # 127

Eat at Subway.

If you're like me, you can do a half-way decent job sticking to your diet when you're at home. You can fill your fridge with fresh fruit and cram your cupboards with crackers and cookies (the low-fat ones of course). Yes all those little tricks that work about half the time when you're at home. But eventually you have to leave the house.

I've found it most vexing to really want to stay on my diet at lunch time, but find no reasonable lunch options. Then I tried Subway.

At Subway you can get a 6 inch sub on any one of about 97 choices of breads, with at least 382 different toppings. You could eat lunch there every day for 18 years and never have the exact same sandwich twice. After all, variety IS the spice of life.

Plus, many are very sensible for the weight-conscious. First off, they don't give you a whole hell-of-a-lot of meat or cheese, so there's just so many calories and grams of fat you can get from bread and veggies. But I've found the sandwiches to be just the right amount of food so I don't leave there feeling stuffed and sleepy when I need to get back to work.

And here's the REALLY important thing for me: the veggies are fresh and are not treated with any chemicals to make them look fresh when they aren't. One of the reasons I am unable to eat those 'healthy alternative' salads at fast food restaurants is because most of them use chemicals to make the veggies look fresh, but give me stomach cramps and diarrhea. Yeah. Not fun when you've eaten that for lunch and then have to go back to work for the rest of the afternoon. But Subway's veggies are not treated with any of those chemicals, so I can have them pile on all the lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers - you name it - onto my sub and not feel bad later.

And if that weren't enough, the Subway near my office gives you a little stamp for your card, so that after purchasing 8 6-inch subs, you get one free. How do you like that? A bargain that helps you stay on your diet!

Stay tuned for more weight loss tips...

A social weekend

We didn't go to the beach this past weekend. Since we'd been the last 2 weekends in a row, we decided to stay home and connect with some of our friends.

Friday evening we went to Silver Spring to have dinner and hang out with our friends Justine and Liz. Joe & Justine used to work together many years ago, and became good friends and then roommates. Joe actually arranged for Justine and Liz to meet! They lived with us for a little over a year when we moved into our first house together. It really helped us to have that extra money, and it helped them save to buy a house of there own.

We ate dinner at the Austin Grill, which happens to be a favorite of Joe's. The food was good and our waitress was fun too. However, we ate too much and felt absolutely stuffed by the time we rolled out of there. Then we went for a little walk around the new 'Downtown' area of Silver Spring. Lots of restaurants, stores, and a movie theatre are there now, giving Silver Springers and their guests lots of choices. Then we went back to Justine & Liz's house and talked for several hours. I couldn't believe it was midnight before we left!

Saturday we slept in (my vice), did some laundry and a little house cleaning. I also got my hair cut. Then we headed down to Woodbridge to have dinner at our friend Robert & Liz's place. Robert was a roommate of mine in the mid 80s, and Liz was a friend of mine even before that. Robert & Liz first married other people, but years later both became free and finally connected. They got married (to each other) about a year ago.

We'd never been to their place before, and it was almost a bit of deja-vu when we walked into their condo. Their color scheme of dark purple and khaki is the same as our bedroom! I keep paint chips in my wallet so that I can match them to accessories when shopping, so I pulled out the chips and held them up to their walls. We all got a laugh out of that!

We had cocktails and a delicious dinner followed by desert, then watch a movie. Rob & Liz have the biggest flat panel TV I have ever seen in my life: 52 inches of TV hanging on the wall. Oh, and did I mention that its high definition? The picture quality was amazing! We watched "Phantom of the Opera". I didn't expect it to be very good, as often movies made from books and plays seem to take unnecessary 'creative license' and stray from the original plot and details. However, this was almost word for word and scene for scene the way I remember from seeing it on Broadway and from listening to the original soundtrack. We all liked it very much. Even Joe, who always claims not to like Andrew Lloyd-Webber, liked it. As I told him, with "Phantom of the Opera" you have to see it to fully understand and appreciate it. Just listening to the songs without having seen the play or movie isn't enough. At nearly midnight, we headed back home.

Sunday we slept in (again), then headed out for breakfast (brunch?) at Bob & Edith's diner. Unfortunately there was no place to park and we could see a line of people waiting to be seated so we decided to abandon that idea. We made a few stops (read: window-shopped) and then had an early lunch at CiCi's pizza. We picked up an engagement party gift for our friends Michael & Jamie's engagement party this coming Friday. I did some more laundry and then we got ready to meet our friends Gene & Tracy for dinner.

We used to spend a lot of time with Gene & Tracy. They were the ones who got us familiar with the Rehoboth Beach area. We used to go up there off-season and stay in one of Tracy's client's houses and go shopping at the outlets. Joe & I would always try to get a walk on the boardwalk each morning. Gene & Tracy live nearby us, but we haven't seen them in quite a while because Gene decided to go back to school while continuing to work full time. He takes classes over the internet, which actually involve more work than in-person classes because there is no lecturing or class discussion. To learn anything you have to do a lot more reading and writing of papers, so their social schedule has been severely curtailed for a good while. So we were happy to have the chance to hang out with them again. We had dinner at the Lone Star steakhouse, which is a place we never go without them. We got caught up on the happenings in each other's lives and had a very nice visit with them.

It was really fun to hang out with old friends this past weekend. It made me feel really blessed to have such good friends.

The quest for a signature cocktail

I've written before about our friends Michael and Jamie, who are getting married in MA in Sept. Last weekend they came with me and Joe to the beach.

Several times throughout the weekend I asked them about some of the details of their wedding and reception, and other times the details just came out in regular conversation. One of the things on their 'to do' list was to find dressy black shoes to wear with their tuxedos. We were able to cross that off the list this weekend with a trip to the Rehoboth outlet centers.

Another item on their 'to do' list was to come up with a signature cocktail. Rather than having a full bar at their reception, they've decided on wine, beer, and a signature cocktail. It'll be simpler than trying to guess how much of all the different kinds of booze they'll need, plus the idea of a signature cocktail just sounds special.

Jamie had the idea of taking an existing cocktail and changing or adding a key ingredient to make 'The Michael and Jamie cocktail'. Since Mojitos are the new Cosmos, they thought a mojito with a twist might be fun. Thus began our quest for 'The Michael and Jamie Mojito'.

So at dinner Saturday night (at Fish On), we decided that the four of us would each order a mojito with some other ingredient thrown in. We'd sample each drink several times and then vote on our favorite. Our waitress was sure the bartender wouldn't mind. And as you'd expect, this idea was right up my alley.

We ordered a mojito with Chamboard, which came out a beautiful blush color, a mojito with watermelon liqueur, which came out an odd, aquarium green color, a mojito with peach schnapps, which was almost clear, and a mojito with pineapple juice, which came out a cloudy, pale yellow.

We all tried each drink, and all had different but strong first impressions. Michael couldn't taste the watermelon at all, but it was Jamie's favorite. Joe hated the one with the peach schnapps, but I loved it. Michael liked the one with the Chamboard, but Jamie didn't care for it. I hated the one with the pineapple juice, but that was Joe's favorite.

The more I drank of the mojito with the peach schnapps, the more I thought I'd discovered 'The Mark Mojito'. The mixture of the mint, sugar, lime juice, white rum and peach schnapps was so refreshing, and went down so smoothly. I suggested that the waitress tell the bartender to begin offering people 'The Mark Mojito' if any were unsure what to drink.

I don't think we ever came to a consensus on what would finally become 'The Michael and Jamie cocktail'. Perhaps we'll have to try this type of outing again, altering a different cocktail four different ways, to finally know when we've got it. Or, maybe Michael and Jamie will just get tired (or drunk) and simply serve vodka and cranberry juice (also known as a Cape Cod) since they're getting married in MA. Wouldn't that be cheeky...

Dream Come True

Last Friday evening we had a lovely birthday dinner with Ron, James, Mike & Clark at Layalina's, a Lebanese restaurant. The food was good, the conversation and laughs were even better. It has been several weeks since we'd seen them, so we each took turns giving an 'update'. Joe & I came back to the house to pick up our luggage and our dog Jordan, and headed up to the beach.

Our friends Doug & Jim were already up there. They'd left earlier in the day, stopped for a visit and to leave their dogs at Jim's sister's house, and they spent the rest of the evening in Rehoboth.

Although it was disgustingly humid outside, Joe indulged me by agreeing to ride up to the beach with the top down, since most of the trip is highway or 55 mph zones, there's always moving air to keep you from overheating. Like her two dads, Jordan enjoys the luxury of riding in a convertible with the top down. Perched on her fluffy pillow, she didn't make a peep the entire trip. We arrived at about 11:15, called Doug & Jim to let them know we were there, and unpacked the car.

Doug, Jim, and I had cosmos and chatted until almost 2am. Saturday morning we had coffee and talked some more before going to brunch at the Blue Plate Diner and then to the beach. It was a spectacular day! The temperature was about 83 degrees and the humidity was low and comfortable. The sun was bright and shiny and the breeze was coming off the water, keeping the flies away. After watching the 'scenery' for a while, the four of us went for a walk, then had a cool and refreshing Italian ice.

We headed back to the house, showered and returned to Rehoboth. We went to see Follies 05 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. It's a skit contest/fundraiser to benefit CAMP Rehoboth and the DE Aids Council. The show was cute and not too long. There was also a short auction and an intermission so everyone could get a cocktail from the bar.

It was a gorgeous night and we walked around Rehoboth a bit before deciding to have dinner at Planet X. Joe & I had eaten dinner there once before, last summer, with a couple of friends. When we go there we were told there might be up to a 30 minute wait, but we knew it would be worth it. We went into the bar for a cocktail and it was so darn hot in there it was intolerable! Joe walked out and said to me on the street "I'm not eating here if that place is an oven." Fortunately it only took about 15 minutes to get a table, and it was outside on the porch. (Thank god - I was not looking forward to an uncomfortable scene if our table was inside where it was hot.) We all enjoyed our meals and cocktails, along with the occasional, delightful breeze.

When we returned to the house we had one last cocktail while we talked, and then hit the sack. Sunday morning we had coffee again and chatted until almost 11am. Doug & Jim were packing to leave, as they had some errands to run that day.

Joe & I had lunch, went to a few stores, then headed back to the house where Joe took a long nap and I read 'Letters from CAMP Rehoboth' on the screened porch. Divine.

We tidied up the house, I went for a quick dip in the pool, and then we packed up the car and left at 6:30, top down and music playing. We got home at 9:00, just in time to watch Six Feet Under.

But on the trip home I began thinking about how lovely the weather was, how happy I was to be riding in my convertible, and how generally fortunate I felt. Then, it just kind of hit me like a ton of bricks.

Fifteen years ago I was an unhappy, closeted gay man trapped in a fundamentalist religion, hiding the 'secret' that I was gay. I was on vacation (alone) and saw a group of gay men at a large round table in a diner. They were talking and laughing and having a good time. One leaned over and kissed his partner on the cheek and the group roared with laughter. When I saw them I thought to myself "If only I could be out of the closet, free to live and laugh with friends. If only I had a partner to love, to live with, to have intimate dinner parties with, to have big holiday parties with, to ride in a convertible with. If only I could be myself."

To be myself - that was my dream back then. Fifteen years later, while driving home from a fun weekend at the beach with my friends and partner in my convertible, it hit me that my dream had come true.

It didn't happen overnight. And my first partner was not my permanent partner. And I drove a 4-door Honda Accord before I got my BMW convertible. And most of all, I said goodbye forever to my fundamentalist family. All of that... before my dream came true. But its all been worth it. I've never been happier - not because my dream finally came true - but because I AM being myself.

Missing Joe

Joe's birthday was yesterday. As is my custom, I sent him flowers to his office. He just loves cut flowers. Only instead of having the flowers delivered on Wednesday, I had them delivered on Tuesday because he decided to take off work Wednesday, today and tomorrow.

Joe's sister Mary and her husband and kids are at the beach in the Outer Banks. His mother and brother Paul and his family are at the beach in Wildwood. Joe really wanted to go to the beach too, but I was unable to take off work this week. I'm just too busy right now.

So Joe decided to drive up to our beach house Tuesday night and then take the ferry Wednesday morning to join his mom and brother (etc) in Wildwood, their childhood vacation destination.

Tuesday night was my first night alone. For a minute or two, I was kind of looking forward to it. No competition for the TV remote. I wouldn't be subjected to the mind-numbing blabbering of those home shopping hostesses who can drone on for hours about a stupid kitchen gadget. I don't know how they do it. Instead I could watch all the decorating and remodeling and renovating and home buying/selling shows I could find! The prospect was more than a little exciting!

But the gods must have been against me for some unknown reason. There wasn't a d@mn thing to watch on TV. Normally there'd be several decorating shows I'd want to watch on the same night. But that night it seemed like everything was either pre-empted or a repeat.

Wednesday night was the same. I flipped and flipped until I finally wound up watching the parts of "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton" that I'd missed some other time I was bored and nothing good was on TV. Not being distracted by fabulous renovations or careful color considerations, I kept thinking about my Joe.

I was sure he was having a good time. He's close to his mother, and his brother and family are very nice and fun folks. I knew they'd spend the day at the beach or the pool, eat delicious and inexpensive food on the boardwalk, and watch the kids play boardwalk games until close to midnight. Eventhough I couldn't go with him, I was glad he would be with his family, having fun on his birthday.

This evening I called him on his cell when I got home from work. I was surprised to hear that he was on the ferry, returning to our beach house. He said it was fun to be there yesterday and today, but that he was ready to say goodbye to his family and head back. They were leaving tomorrow anyway, so he just left the night before them. He's staying at the beach house tonight and will drive home tomorrow, in the daylight. He doesn't like to drive in the dark if he can help it.

So, although I am missing Joe right now, I am excited that he'll be returning home tomorrow. His latest purchase from the home shopping channel arrived today, so he will have a 'gift' waiting for him when he gets home tomorrow.

When will this out-of-control merry-go-round ride end???

Okay, so I can be a little dramatic at times. But this is the first time I have gone over a week without blogging and its all because of this often hectic, usually crazy life of mine. I'm sorry to this blog's readers (both of you) who've been wondering what's up with me.

As I mentioned before, my job is always busy and frequently stressful. The small, independently owned company I used to work for was purchased several months ago by another small company that was bigger than us. You know who won that game. Since then I have been given more and more things to do in what seems like less and less time. I often work right through lunch. Sometimes I run out to grab a quick bite at the absolute best McDonald's in the world. I'm telling you these people know how to run a fast food restaurant! Other times a sympathetic colleague will offer to pick me up some lunch while they're out, as they did yesterday and today.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In an email exchange with my new boss, I lamented that I really wanted to be able to contribute to shared goals and projects within their timelines, but that my ever-increasing workload often caused me to struggle to get them submitted just under the wire. This lead to a conversation in which I shared a bulleted summary of my current responsibilities and offered suggestions for transitioning tasks that were not directly related to my job title and description. My new boss agreed with all of my recommendations and at a big manager's meeting submitted the tasks to be transitioned to the directors of the groups who would logically receive the tasks. Those directors agreed that the tasks belonged in their groups, so my plan was approved. I felt both relieved and validated at the same time.

Now comes the hard part: finding the time to be away from my office to train the people who will be receiving the work. They want me to go to Richmond for a week. Yuck. The 'main' office is in Richmond, and unfortunately most of the people who work there are from Richmond, which means they are used to a different culture than me. They send emails without using spell-check. They still wear stirrup pants and big shirts to work. On 'casual Fridays' they wear jeans with a T-shirt that reads "My friend went to Mexico and all I got was this lousy T-shirt". Need I go on? I thought not.

But, in order to accomplish the original task of transitioning the work to them, I must go and be among them. For five f*cking days. (Sigh.) This too shall pass.

Distracted pedestrians

I have been noticing a lot of distracted pedestrians lately. They're cropping up everywhere!

Today as I was driving slowly through the office park to lunch I saw a young man walk out of one of the office condos, looking at his cell phone. Without looking, he walked down the sidewalk, stepped off the curb and began crossing the street, assumably to his car. I had to hit the breaks to keep from running him over. It was only then, when my car was just several feet away from him, that he finally managed to pull himself away from that fascinating cell phone to see that there was a car in the street where it belongs, about to run over him, who was also in the street where he does not belong. Normally I would have waved him on to cross the street. But he just looked at me for a split second, stopped walking and then looked back down at his cell phone again. That cell phone must have had some sort of magical powers, with the ability to completely consume its possessor's attention.

After lunch, on my way back to work I saw this young blonde-haired woman jogging, complete in her matching spandex shorts and sports bra. She also had on headphones, which I assume were connected to a small CD player or iPod. She was almost at the corner as I approached the intersection. Without breaking her stride, she reached the corner and instead of turning left to stay on the sidewalk, she continued straight, right off the curb and into the street. That must be some fantastic music she was listening to! It must have been so good that she couldn't be bothered with checking for traffic before plunging into the street. Only after she was already into the street did she look to her right to see me slowing down in order to not run over her. Once again I was not going fast, so I was able to avoid hitting her. However she didn't wait for me to wave her on. She just charged right out into the road, crossing my lane of traffic, then waited on the median strip until it was safe to cross the other lanes.

Doesn't it seem dangerous to you for a young woman to be jogging:
a) on a busy, 4-lane road at lunchtime,
b) wearing headphones
c) alone?
Wouldn't common sense suggest that one jog on less-traveled residential streets? If a motorist were to try to warn her by blowing their horn, could she even hear it over the pumping and pounding of her music? Have there not been enough women joggers abducted, raped, and killed while jogging alone? What is the price they're willing to pay for fitness?

This brings me to another question that has plagued me for years. Why is it that joggers and bicyclists have to run and ride on busy, major, 4-lane roads where there is the highest chance that they will not be seen and therefore be injured? Why don't they run and ride on 2-lane roads? in neighborhoods? on pedestrian trails? in parks? Why is it that they feel the need to compete with SUVs and minivans on major thoroughfares? You know who's going to win in that situation...

And don't let me even get started on parents with children in restaurants who get so distracted with their conversation that they become completely oblivious to their child's rowdy and inappropriate behavior. God, I sound old.

What did we do?

Thought I'd give you a review of our vacation at the beach.

It was raining lightly and was very humid when we left Tuesday night around 9:30 so we had the top up on the car. However, when we stopped near the Bay Bridge to get a bottle of water (I was dying of thirst) it had stopped raining and the humidity level was not bad, so we put the top down and drove the rest of the way. We arrived a a little after midnight.

Wednesday it rained almost all day, but we had errands to run so we weren't bothered by missing a day at the beach. We went to the grocery store, the most fabulous Dollar store, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Lowes, and the video store. We had dinner at Fish On, a top-notch restaurant in Lewes. It has a tall, open ceiling with exposed ducts, all painted black. Its sleek and has a New York City Bistro feel. Joe had seared scallops with bits of prosciutto and asparagus. I had pasta with cream and wild mushrooms. De-lish! We watched "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" which was cute. Its about an ever-attentive wife who gets dumped by her successful attorney husband, for another woman. The wife gains support and wisdom from her grandmother and rebuilds her life. We also watched "Be Cool", the sequel to "Get Shorty" which I never saw. Be Cool was okay. Travolta and Thurman do have chemistry, but the plot was weak. Two record industry people (Travolta and Thurman) try to launch a professional career for a young, talented singer, while simultaneously outsmarting the 'music industry mafia'. Yeah, you read that right.

Thursday the weather was beautiful so we went to the beach in the Cape Henlopen state park. The breeze was coming from the west (off the land) and brought a bazillion flies with it. Joe got bit many times on his feet, ankles, and shins. For some reason they didn't bite me. Perhaps I didn't have the same beguiling aroma that Joe did. We did use different sunscreen. In the late afternoon Joe took a nap and I went rollerblading in the park. Fun! We had dinner at Celsius in downtown Rehoboth. The walls were textured stucco with floor-to-ceiling murals of Tuscany painted on them. Joe & I both had Key Lime Pie Martinis that came with a fake ice cube with a battery-powered light in it. The martinis glowed! Joe wasn't crazy about the taste so I drank mine and the other half of his. We both had puntanesca. Joe wasn't crazy about it but I liked it enough to take home the left-overs, which I ate for lunch later in the week. After dinner we went for a walk on the boardwalk, then watched "White Noise" which was pretty good. A man finds that he can receive messages from his recently deceased wife in the 'white noise' of a steadily running video camera.

Friday was overcast so we did a little antique-looking. I was surprised how much stuff just sits in those shops. I recognized merchandise I'd seen at least 3 years ago. Joe took a nap and I did a lot of reading, mostly Letters From Camp Rehoboth and the Washington Blade. We watched "My Mother Likes Women", a film that showed in last November's RB Indy Film Festival but I didn't get to see it. A divorced woman introduces her much-younger girlfriend to her adult daughters who are not aware that their mother is a lesbian. We both enjoyed it a lot. Then Kerry, Hugh, Ana, Emely, Javier, and Aaron arrived shortly after midnight.

Saturday was overcast so we all hung out together at the house, talking, laughing, and catching up on things. Around 3pm the sun had come out so we all went to the beach for a few hours. It was beautiful. We ordered cheese steaks from Casapullas and Hugh & I brought them back to the house for dinner. We watched "The Jacket". That movie needed a shot of adrenaline because it took too long to get going. But we enjoyed the concept of the movie. A Gulf war veteran with amnesia is subjected to experimental drug treatment that causes him to slide 15 years into the future. Each time he does, he collects information he wouldn't otherwise know and brings it back to the present.

Sunday the gang headed back to the beach in the park, but were turned away along with many others because the park was at maximum capacity! That's never happened to us before, even on holiday weekends. So we headed over to the community pool in our neighborhood and enjoyed a gorgeous day there. We ordered Grotto pizzas to be delivered for dinner, then the group watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" which I had no desire to watch, so I read for a little while and then fell asleep.

Monday we spent the day at the pool again, thinking the park would probably be packed again. The pool was very nice, and we talked with a few neighbors who are from the Northern Neck of VA where Kerry & Hugh's log house is located. Small world! A friend/co-worker of Kerry's came over with several family members and we had a 4th of July cookout followed by sparklers. After the guests left, the gang watched "The Return of the Pink Panther" which I did not want to watch, so I read and fell asleep again.

Tuesday we had a lazy morning, sitting around talking and playing a movie game until noon. We ate left-overs for lunch and then headed over to the pool again. The plan was to clean up the house, pack and leave at 5pm. But Ana's truck had some mechanical problems which Hugh was able to fix, but delayed our departure until 7:30. We drove home with the top down most of the way, until it looked like it was going to rain.

Despite having just returned from the beach Tuesday night, we are heading back up there in a few minutes. The weather is looking good, and it's summer, so we're heading back to the beach. Our plan is to come home early in the afternoon on Sunday though, so we can get some things done around the house.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July.

I'm back...

I'm back from vacation. Might I say that it was well-deserved, too. Work has been (and still is) so hectic and stressful that I truly needed this vacation. I had seven (count 'em) seven days away from work, at the beach.

The weather was mostly good. There was rain one day, and one and a half days where it was cloudy, but we didn't care. It was just great to get away and be near the ocean.

But then came the dreaded part of every vacation: the end. Wednesday I was really, REALLY dreading going in to work. I knew what was waiting for me: the end of the billing period, which when translated into layman's terms means that I not only get to do the two full-time jobs that I already have, but I get to do another part-time job on top of that - supposedly all within the same 8 hour days. But this time I decided that I was going to try to keep my calm, cool, collected, and stress-free mindset despite the chaos and unreasonable demands placed upon me by people who don't know the half of what I do.

But it takes its toll. Yesterday and today I've come home tired; really tired. Yesterday I developed an annoying and painful headache, which is unusual for me. But fortunately I slept well last night.

Maybe in a day or so I'll write more about the vacation, but for now, I'm going to join my husband on the couch for a little mindless TV and then hit the sack.

More later.

Offline

Tonight Joe & I are leaving for a week's vacation at the beach where I do not expect to have access to a computer, so I will be 'offline' for the next week. Although I will miss blogging and reading the blogs of my blogger buddies, we will definitely enjoy a week to rest up and enjoy the beach. We'll be back on Tuesday 7/5. Hang in there!

Some random thoughts to share

1. I picked up this cool photo display board for a buck at a yard sale. The background is covered in this funky martini fabric so I decided to go through my photos and pick out ones of people with cocktails to put on the photo display board. Cool idea, right? That's what I thought. Oh my god... I took a serious trip down memory lane. There were photos of our cat Pouncer when he was a tiny kitten, there were photos of mine & Joe's first Christmas tree, there were photos of every Thanksgiving (hosted at our house) for the last 9 years, there were photos of us fixing up our first house 8 1/2 years ago, and there were photos of various vacations. THEN I got to the box with the really old photos, like my high school graduation (23 years ago), photos of school trips, photos of "Dominants" performances... it was too much! I had forgotten how fun it can be to look back at old photos.

2. Can I say just how SICK I am of hearing about that damn Natalie Holloway from Alabama, who disappeared while on a school trip to Aruba? You'd think they were looking for Osama Bin Laden with all the searchers and press coverage. And why her? I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of kids who go missing every day. Why so much attention on this one girl? Why have thousands of people searching for this one girl, when they should be assigned to some of the other 'missing kids' cases out there. I just don't get it.

3. When did it happen? When did parents stop being in control and the children take over? Why do kids have so many choices now? While standing in line at a self-serve ice cream machine, I was tormented by the following conversation:
Mom: Dylan, do you want it in a cup or on a cone?
Dylan ignores her and continues to dance and sing.
Mom: Dylan, do you want your ice cream in a cup or on a cone?
Dylan continues ignoring her, so she repeats this 2 or 3 more times. Finally Dylan says a cup.
Mom: Do you want cookie crumbles on top?
Dylan is now on verse two of his song.
Mom: Dylan, do you want cookie crumbles on top?
Dylan still isn't paying attention, so she asks him several more times. All the while, the line is not moving because this mother is attempting to cater to a kid who just doesn't care. I was tempted to tell the woman that perhaps she should come back to the ice cream machine after she'd collected Dylan's full order, but decided against it since Dylan was getting to the end of his song.

Then, another time I overheard a parent "negotiating" with a 3 year old.
Mom: Now, if I give you a cookie, are you going to get in your booster seat? Do you want the chocolate chip cookie or the peanut butter cookie? No, I'm sorry, I don't have any candy bars, just cookies. Now, if I give you a cookie, will you get in your booster seat?
You can't negotiate with a 3 year old. They don't understand that. You are the parent so it is your job to make decisions for your child. It's no wonder lots of kids don't know what to do when they graduate from high school. They can't make a decision because they're already exhausted from all the decisions they've had to make while trying to grow up!

Then there was Shannon and her mom in the booth across from us. About 700 times the mom said "Shannon, turn around and eat your chicken." I noticed she always called the little girl Shannon, and never Sweetie, Pumpkin, or any other affectionate term. It's like she was babysitting someone else's child, only this was her child. (She referred to herself as "Mommy" to Shannon once.) It was weird how disconnected this mother was from her daughter.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love kids... especially with hot fudge! ;-)

4. Happy birthday to my blogger buddy Billy! Keep saying "I love you"!!!

5. June is Gay Pride month. Happy gay pride everybody.

Perfection...

...is how I would describe Saturday's weather. Pure perfection.

Joe & I were at the beach this past weekend and had the pleasure of enjoying the mild temperature, gentle breeze, sunny skies, and zero humidity. It was one of those days that was so gorgeous you actually stopped to notice how beautiful it was and you savored it, knowing that in a few weeks things will be much different.

We saw several dolphins not far from shore in the Cape Henlopen State Park beach, as Joe sat in his beach chair listening to CDs with his headphones, while I read page after page of the 'Letters from Camp Rehoboth' magazine. Occasionally I'd look up to see the dolphins, or the other 'scenary' walking by.

Although the water a bit on the 'chilly' side, I decided to get in anyway. It was fun and exhilerating! Oh, okay - I had to pee, too.

I thought to myself 'Its gorgeous enough for two days today', which was a good thing, since Sunday it was mostly overcast and about 5 degrees cooler. But it was a great weekend to be at the beach.

To be filed under "Not Surprised"...

Well, last week the verdict was read in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. Not guilty on all 10 charges. I was not surprised. This doesn't mean I think he's innocent. It means I wasn't surprised that he was acquitted.

The reports claim that the young accuser and his mother were not convincing, sometimes contradicted themselves, and generally appeared unreliable and unbelievable as witnesses. In this great country of ours (insert big sarcastic grin here) a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Apparently the witnesses against Michael Jackson left some doubt in the jury's mind. And that is how our judicial system works. It may not be great, it certainly isn't fool-proof, but its better than a lot of other places we don't want to live.

I feel like a rock star!

One of my blogger buddies, Billy, having nothing better to do with his time, has been reading past episodes of my blog. He apparently enjoyed one of my early posts where I introduce Joe and talk about our life together, and wrote about it in his blog. I couldn't believe I was written about in someone else's blog! I feel like a rock star!!!

Thanks for noticing (and reading) my blog Billy, and thanks for letting me know - I appreciate it. And if any of you want to check out Billy's blog, go to http://www.cuteyoboy.blogspot.com/ I like Billy's blog because he often asks thought-provoking questions and solicits input from his band of faithful and adoring readers.

Speaking of input, I would like to encourage anyone who reads my blog to feel free and leave me a comment. Then maybe I'll feel even more like a rock star!

Crash!

I've mentioned our friends Michael & Jamie several times in this blog. Jamie asked us last weekend if we wanted to go see 'Star Wars' with him. I paused, saying nothing for a few seconds, and Joe said "Sure". I didn't really want to say that I had no interest in it.

I noticed Jamie did not say "see it with US", but rather "with me". Jamie then explained that Michael wasn't interested in seeing it, and that he didn't want to go to the movies alone. Joe agreed to go with him, and they made a date for Friday night.

Then Thursday Michael IMs me at work and asks me if I want to go to the movies with him on Friday night. "I need to see Crash" he explained. "You NEED to see Crash?" I repeated for clarification. Michael said he's in charge of teaching this diversity class at his office, and the 'Train the Trainer' person recommended that he see Crash before teaching the class.

'Oh' I thought. "What's it about?" I asked. Its amazing how sometimes I can be so clued-in while others times being so clueless. "It's about racism" he said.

'Oh now THAT sounds like a fun Friday night movie' I thought to myself. Then he pasted a synopsis of the movie into the IM and I became intrigued.

Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"Okay - sounds interesting" I wrote back. "Let's do it."

Fortunately a nearby theatre had both Star Wars and Crash beginning within 5 minutes of each other, so it worked out perfectly. And being the thrifty little buggers they are, M&J had coupons worth $3. off each movie ticket! Gotta love these boys!

I have just three words to say about Crash: Fabulous - loved it.

This is a movie I think everyone should see, whether you're about to teach a diversity class or not. Its just plain good for you. Really makes you think. Four thumbs up (both of mine and both of Michael's).

Jamie and Joe enjoyed Star Wars too, so it was a great night. All four of us got to see something we liked without having to suffer through something else we didn't like.

Jamie & Michael invited back to their place and we enjoyed a late night nosh on their top floor balcony. It was special.

"Do you know the Mullet Man..."

When I first saw it, I thought I was hallucinating. It couldn't be! I blinked my eyes repeatedly, thinking that suddenly my vision would correct itself and a logical explanation would become apparent for what I had thought I'd seen. But then the harsh reality seemed to slap me in the face. Yes, it was true... that man DOES have a mullet.

I thought to myself 'Hasn't anyone told him that the mullet went out of style with Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992?' It just didn't make sense. Here we are in a professional, white collar, high-tech area, and this guy's sporting a mullet.

And this was no accidental mullet. No, no - he wasn't just a few weeks overdue for a haircut. This is an intentional mullet! The sides of his hair were neatly trimmed. You could easily see his entire ear. The front of his hair was neatly brushed toward the back of his head. But then, there it was - on the back of his head, this long, curly mullet. I tried not to stair but I couldn't help it. Kind of like trying to drive past an auto accident along the side of the road without looking. Its practically impossible.

My mind kept searching and searching, trying to come up with some kind of a logical explanation for why this man had a mullet. 'Oh, I bet he's not from around here' I thought. 'He's probably from some rural area in one of those south/central states, just here on business'. After all, he was wearing black Jazz shoes and pleated slacks. Yes, yes that had to be it. Nobody from around here has a mullet and dresses like that. Finally, I was relieved to have figured out the mystery and could get on with eating my lunch.

A few weeks passed and as I was minding my own business eating a 6" turkey on wheat at Subway, who walks in? The Mullet Man! Once again I can't stop looking at him as he stands in that seemingly endless line, waiting to order his sub in the slowest Subway in the free world. But once again I calm myself by reminding myself that 'he's not from around here'. Then I imagine what it must be like for New Yorkers who constantly see rural, out-of-style tourists on a daily basis. I bet somebody's blogging about it as I take a bite of my turkey sub.

But then the unthinkable happens. As he walks away from the counter with his lunch and moves towards the tables I see his work ID clipped to his pleated slacks. He works for a tech firm just up the street! 'Oh my god' I think. 'He IS from around here!'

At this point I can hardly finish my sandwich, I'm so distraught. How could this be? Why haven't any of his co-workers confronted him about his hair? I strain for answers. Maybe no one in his office likes him, so they don't care that he's walking around in his Jazz shoes and pleated slacks with that terrible mullet. On the other hand, maybe he's such a sweet and likeable guy that no one has the heart to tell him he needs to 'fashion forward' about 15 years.

Then the most terrifying of all thoughts hits me like a ton of bricks: Maybe it will be ME that finally tells him the truth. Maybe its my destiny to correct fashion faux pas I encounter. Maybe it is my civic duty to right the fashion wrongs in my community. Maybe he'll thank me for my honesty. Maybe he'll become stylish, we'll become friends, and will look back on this day and chuckle.

Nah... I think I'd rather just blog about him.

A Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend!

Saturday morning we went to a huge neighborhood yard sale that was 6 blocks long. They have it every year and we have gone to it several times. We weren't really looking for anything in particular, but we're always open to finding an unexpected bargain. In past years I've found bargains like a 6' ficus tree for $7., and place settings for 8 (dishes) for $20. This year Joe found a floor cleaner he had been looking at in stores for $169. but this one was marked $35. and he asked its owner if she'd accept $20. and she said yes. The weather was gorgeous so that added to the enjoyment of the sale.

Then we stopped at the monthly flea market and looked around. There was a LOT of cute stuff there, but we didn't buy anything.

Then we went to a local diner that has a large, covered patio area. Since the weather was so nice, we really enjoyed having brunch outside.

Then we came home and cleaned our house. Since we'd been out of town the last 3 weekends in a row, and since we have a dog and a cat, our house was in serious need of cleaning. But we felt really good after getting our place back in shape.

We both had a shower and then went for a ride in the convertible. It was a perfect day for it! Then we headed over to Joe's mom's house to see if she wanted to have dinner with us at Red Hot & Blue. She was home and up for dinner there, so we went. We ate too much, but it was delicious. Then we stopped by Joe's sister's house and sat with them on their back deck, talking about this and that. Finally at 8:45 we took Joe's mom home and headed home. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday morning we 'took it easy' by sleeping in and then watching TV until 11. Then we ran some errands, had lunch, and drove around looking for open houses. We only went in two. We're not thinking of moving, but after watching 'Property Ladder' the night before, we both starting thinking about 'flipping' a property. 'Flipping' a term that refers to buying a property in need of updating or renovating, doing the work to make it pretty and desirable, and selling the property for a profit within a short period of time. We've got a lot on our plates at the moment, but it was fun to check out the two places anyway.

When we came home Joe started taking an online Continuing Education course for credits to renew his therapy license, while I started letting my creative juices flow. I got out 3 large canvases and several buckets of left-over wall paint and began creating 'art' again. I am very happy with the results! Unlike the first 3 canvases I did for my office which were very geometric, these 3 are more abstract with more movement. I let them dry as I showered and Joe & I went to dinner. When we got home I hung them in the recently painted office/library, above the bookshelves. They look fabulous!

Yesterday it was so gorgeous, but today it was downright hot! Especially the upstairs of our house - it just got unbearable and we knew we wouldn't be able to sleep, so at 8:30 I turned on the air conditioning. I just saw that the high temperature today was 86 degrees. Every year when we get a day in the mid to upper 80s we say to each other "It's so hot upstairs, do you think we should turn on the a/c?" and the other responds "I'm not sure - what do you think?" Trying not to rush into "air conditioner season" we have tried to decide just when we should stick it out and wait for the hot day to pass and when to break down and turn on the a/c. But I just saw that it is going to be in the upper 80s (and humid) all week so I think turning on the a/c was a wise choice.

Reel Affirmations Pride Films

As you know from reading my blog, I am a fan of independent films. A GAY independent film nearly makes me squeal with delight! So, it was with much excitement that I planned to attend the Reel Affirmations Pride films this past Thursday and Friday nights.

I asked Michael and Jamie if they were interested and they said yes, so all four of us got passes for all 4 films.

Here is the synopsis of the films I saw, followed by my critique:

Cote d'Azur For summer vacation, Marc take his wife Beatrix and their two children to the seaside house of his youth. The Mediterranean wind blows, the sea churns, and the heat of summer stokes their desires. Their daughter Laura has a rendezvous with her biker boyfriend, and their son Charly roams with his best friend Martin, who is in love with him. When Beatrix's lover Mathieu shows up, and Marc's old flame appears, complications escalate and the vacation collapses into hilarious chaos. In French w/English subtitles.
I liked this film for several reasons. They spoke French, which I find to be a beautiful language to hear. The main character, Marc, was quite handsome. The scenery was gorgeous. The plot was smart and funny. Michael and Jamie liked this too.

Naked Fame At the age of 40, wildly successful gay adult film star Colton Ford decides to leave porn behind and to pursue his dream: music. Naked Fame is a fascinating look at the porn world and music industry from the initial conception of Ford's first single to its recording and release. The movie explores the intimate inner-workings of the music industry, capturing the intense emotional drama and struggles involved in the pursuit of stardom against the stigma of a porn star past.
Although not meant to be a comedy, we all found ourselves laughing only 3 minutes into this film. The interviews with Colton Ford's parents were hilarious, although I don't believe they were intended to be. Why is it that people in the porn business are always surrounded by drama? None of us thought very highly of this film, but Jamie and I both found it fascinating to see how differently these people think.

Summer Storm Winner of the Best Feature Audience Award, Munich 2004 and the Best Feature Audience Choice, Melbourne 2005. Best friends Tobi and Achim have helped their team win several rowing cups and are now looking forward to the important regatta in the countryside. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi becomes confused and increasingly left out. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake. In German w/English subtitles.
This was by far the group's favorite of the 4 films. It was cute, sometimes serious, but always intriguing. We were impressed by the acting abilities of several of these young people. And, of course the arms, shoulders, and chests of these rowers didn't hurt either!

Producing Adults Finland's official entry for the 2005 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category.Venla works as a psychologist at a fertility clinic, deciding who should receive artificial insemination. Meanwhile, she dreams of motherhood, a desire not shared by her boyfriend who secretly undergoes a vasectomy. With her baby-making options reduced, Venla can't help but think of her workplace and the opportunities it provides. As Venla and her female colleague Satu plot their baby-making scheme, they find their feelings for each other become deeper than mere friendship. Will Venla finally become a mother? And with whom would she co-parent? In Finnish w/English subtitles.
Michael and Jamie didn't care for this film, but Joe and I both liked it. We all agreed, however, that it seemed too long. This film had a 'dark' appearance, not because of the subject matter, but because of the lighting, and I think this had a lot to do with Michael and Jamie's discontent with it. Also, this film followed 'Summer Storm' which was their favorite, so that didn't help. What I liked about this film was that it wasn't predictable, and things didn't "all work out" in this film, much like in real life. Gosh - Finnish is even worse than German to listen to!

So I thoroughly enjoyed my Pride film experience, thanks to One In Ten (www.oneinten.org) and its corporate and private sponsors. Think I'll have to send them a little donation one of these days to show my appreciation for their work in finding and screening the films and putting on the film festival.

Memorial Day & Billy

Friday Joe & I both got off work early, due to the upcoming holiday weekend. I got my hair cut at my new salon. (See my entry on Jan 26th entitled "Hair Salon".) When I came in I was surprised to see the wife of the former owner of my old salon. “Danny” had told me they had sold the salon to him and moved back to Puerto Rico. When I told the wife this story, she rolled her eyes and said, “I don’t understand why he makes up lies like that. I guess he doesn’t want our clients to find us.” Apparently “Danny” had also told another client that the owner had cancer! In reality, with their advancing age the owner and his wife simply didn’t want the responsibility of owning the salon anymore, so they sold it and both got jobs elsewhere as stylists. My new stylist is Michelle, and she gave me a great haircut! I think I may trust her to do my highlights one day.

Friday evening we met our friends Michael and Jamie at their new condo, which they’ve been busily painting and fixing up. It looks great! Then we went to CiCi’s pizza for dinner, and caught up with them on what’s going on in each other’s lives.

Then we came home, packed a bag and headed off to the beach at 9:15. We intentionally left late so as to miss the traffic congestion and miles of back-up getting to the Bay Bridge. It worked – we sailed right threw the toll plaza with no delay, and the traffic was great. We arrived in record time. Since we had no furniture or guests traveling with us, and since our Suburban uses so much gas, we went up in my convertible.

Saturday’s weather was quite “iffy”. It was warm enough for shorts and the top down, but the skies kept changing every 10 minutes it seemed. Bright and sunny, followed by dark and gray. Once or twice it sprinkled about 18 drops, but it never actually rained. We didn’t mind. We were happy to be away from the stress of our jobs and everyday lives.

After a late breakfast, we ran a few errands (Lowes, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, etc) and stopped by our old place to say hi to the new owners. Then we had lunch back at our house, Joe took a nap and I read. Then we headed out for a drive. The weather was more sunny than cloudy at that point, so we just enjoyed a drive through the Prime Hook wildlife refuge and seeing the diverse homes at Broadkill Beach. It’s so funny to me to see mobile homes with additions sitting on bay front lots next to multi-million dollar houses! It’s an interesting area, but not a place I’d want to own, since waterfront is the bay, not the ocean.

Then we came home and had a cook-in. That’s kinda like a cook-out (same food) but grilled indoors on our George Foreman mega grill. There is definitely something about grilled hamburgers and hotdogs that says “Summer”.

Sunday’s weather was a real treat! Bright and sunny, with not a cloud in sight. After a late breakfast we got our beach stuff together and drove into the Cape Henlopen State Park to the beach. It was simply delightful! After donning appropriate SPFs, we enjoyed looking out at the ocean, seeing dolphins, and people-watching. Joe listened to some music on the pocket CD player and I continued reading the ‘Letters from Camp Rehoboth’ magazine. After about 90 minutes I knew I needed some shade, so I put up the beach umbrella and continued reading. What a gorgeous day – a real departure from most Memorial Day weekends.

Most Memorial Day weekends in the DC area are like the one on which Joe and I met: unseasonably cool and rainy. In fact, on our first date (on Memorial Day) it was so cool that Joe had on a flannel shirt/jacket over his polo shirt. It was so rainy that we had both gotten soggy walking from our cars to the coffee shop in Dupont Circle. (You know Dupont Circle parking…)

We decided to come home Sunday night, rather than staying through Monday, partly because we didn’t want to get caught in the Monday beach exodus, but mostly because I wanted to meet a good friend of mine, visiting from California, for lunch.

Billy and I have an extensive history. In my former life as a straight (poser) Jehovah’s Witness, Billy and I had been very close friends. Although 8 years younger than me, we had lots in common, and he would always make me laugh with his celebrity and non-celebrity imitations as well as his unique outlook on many things. Billy’s sister Kim became my temporary girlfriend, and the three of us did everything together. We have so many great memories of hilarious times!

But when I parted ways with the JW religion, it is the custom of all JWs to shun the person who has left or has been kicked out, so Billy and my friendship was severed. I moved to a different town, and he got married a few years later. He and his wife even lived in the same town as me and one time I saw them in a restaurant. I wanted so badly to walk over to them and say “Billy – I’m still the same person!” but I didn’t. Years later they moved to Arizona due to his work.

Then, 3 years ago there was a familiar voice on my answering machine. “Hi, this is Billy. I’m calling for Mark. Please call me at…” I was shocked and elated at the same time, and called immediately.

Billy was back in town, visiting is parents, and had decided to try and make contact with me. He and his wife had stopped being JWs while in Arizona. She had had emotional problems for years and things had steadily gotten worse for them. When he came out to her she pretended to be okay at first, but one day she left Billy a note and drove all the way from Arizona back to Virginia where her mother and sister live. Billy was worried and relieved at the same time. They agreed to split up, and he began to move on with his life. This would be his first visit back to Virginia, to see his family.

After talking on the phone we knew we had to see each other. He came to our house and we talked and laughed and reminisced for several hours. I took him to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant and then he headed back to his folks’ house.

This visit was going to have to be shorter. Billy was trying to see several friends, as well as spend a good portion of time with his folks, who graciously paid for his plane ticket this time. We decided to meet at the Carlyle (his choice) for lunch today. It was really good to see him! Unlike last time where we caught up on many years of activities, this time we talked more about our lives now. I wanted to know how he lived and what he did with his time. I wanted to know if he was seeing anyone and if he was happy. We had a great visit and I felt like I was able to share with him a sage thought that likely applies to many of us:

What has happened to us in the past is now a part of our history, and it will never go away. We can read self-help books, go to therapy, enlighten ourselves, but it doesn’t change what’s already happened. It is a part of who we are now, like it or not. Now that doesn’t mean we’re sentenced to a life of darkness, doom, or unhappiness. Hopefully the books, therapy and enlightenment will help us to deal with this part of our past, but it will not take it away. No amount of therapy or enlightenment will take away the past. So we need to stop expecting that ‘some day everything will be fine’ or that some day we’ll finally forget about the unpleasantness of our past. Instead, we should learn to accept what is and move on to what we want our life to be.

I sure wish someone had told ME that years ago.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Carrie Underwood for winning American Idol on Wednesday! Regular readers of this blog (both of you) will recall that I selected Carrie from the top 12 finalists to win the competition. I wish her much success and happiness.

Congratulations to Joe and me for our 9th anniversary on Thursday. The florist screwed up and delivered the flowers to Joe on Wednesday, so we decided that since we were in the anniversary mood from the flowers, we’d go to dinner on Wednesday instead. We went to the Carlyle and had a very nice dinner.
Thursday night (our actual anniversary) we had dinner with Evelyn, and Kerry & Hugh and George came along too. We always have fun with them. More later…

Sunday night

We just got back a little while ago from a lovely weekend at the beach with our friend Wendy.

Wendy and Joe used to work together at the same County mental health center. They became very good friends, and when Joe left the County 10 months ago, he and Wendy promised their friendship would outlive their work relationship. They meet for lunch every other week or so, and stay in touch through email too.

Two or three years ago when Wendy expressed an interested in going to grad school, Joe really encouraged her to do so. They both knew it would be hard, working full time and going to school, but Wendy decided it was what she wanted. So she enrolled in George Mason's Conflict Resolution masters program. Fast-forward to now, and Wendy has graduated. So we decided to go to the beach to celebrate her achievement.

Despite the fact that Wendy was 35 years old and had never been on an airplane, she has begun to make up for lost time. Her first 'adventure' was to go to the United Arab Emirates. She enjoyed this exotic travel so much she decided to go to Spain and Alaska. Her conflict resolution classes afforded her opportunities to visit other countries where conflict could be studied, such as Northern Ireland, Egypt, Cypress, and most recently Bosnia.

We left Fri night, shortly before 8pm and got up there just before 10:30. The traffic was good, even for this being the last weekend before the "season" starts. We had great weather on Sat, and enjoyed a nice walk on the beach, shopping in Rehoboth, and napping and reading. Rehoboth was having their sidewalk sale and Wendy found some bargains. Sunday the weather was a mixture of clouds and sun, but still very pleasant. We went for a walk on the boardwalk, and finished up the sidewalk sales in Rehoboth. Wendy took advantage of the 'down time' to go threw her photos and organize many of them into photo albumns.

During lunch on Sunday Joe asked Wendy about her pretty earrings. She said she'd gotten them on her trip to Bosnia, and that she always bought a pair of earrings on all of her trips. This gave me a thought: since Wendy loves to write about her travels, loves to take photos, and always buys earrings, I suggested she write a travelogue called "The Earring Diaries". The book would feature her photos and stories of the places she visits, along with a photo of the earrings she buys there. I think it would be a big hit!

We left at 5 and got home at 7:30. It was a fun weekend, and hopefully a good way to celebrate Wendy's graduation.

Tomorrow I have to go to Richmond for work. I have a meeting with some folks to hopefully talk them into doing some things the right way, which of course it my way. Since I drove 4 hours on Thursday, 2 1/2 hours on Fri night, and 2 1/2 hours tonight, I am sort of dreading the 2 hours down to Richmond and 2 hours back home tomorrow. But it can't be avoided. I hope the meeting goes well. While I'm there I'm supposed to meet some of the others I have worked with via email and phone but not met in person yet. That could be fun, only it probably won't be. These people live in Richmond. Need I say more?

I have nothing against Richmond in principle. It's just that they all live and work there, and I live and work here. Even though Richmond is only 2 hours from northern VA, it might as well be a different planet. They think differently, they talk differently, they have different expectations. They are used to dealing with other people from Richmond. I am used to dealing with people all over the US. Its just very.... different. But hopefully tomorrow I can 'build some bridges' that might help connect their planet with mine.

Traffic Court

Oh the fun of traffic court... in Essex County VA, near Tappahannock. (Insert sarcastic smile here.)

Okay, I know, nobody likes going to traffic court. But its not like I had a choice. The officer who pulled me over going 78 in a 55 mph zone explained to me not once but twice that this was not a ticket you could simply pay. "You must appear in court."

It was a Saturday morning, around 9am and I was on my way to the Northern Neck of VA, to help Hugh build that screened porch. It was bright and sunny, the roads were completely dry, and it was 9 o'clock on a frickin' Saturday morning in Essex County VA so there were no other cars on the road. Except officer Allen's. (Note to self: when tempted to speed again, only do so on the highway where there are other cars around in order to provide the officer with a selection.)

Traffic court starts at 10am, so I left at 8am and got there just 2 minutes before 10. As I filed into the little court room I thought "Don't tell me ALL THESE PEOPLE have court dates today... we'll never get through them all". I mean, there were at least 60 people sitting there nervously waiting their turn to ask the judge for leniency. They wound up needing to postpone the criminal court which usually starts at 11am until the afternoon. Unfortunately, I seemed to be like number 52 or of 60, so I was there for quite a while.

One thing traffic court will do for you is make you feel a lot LESS like a loser. At least it did for me. On my way down there I was thinking "Man, what a loser I am. Reckless driving. Damn." But that was before I heard why all the rest of those people were in traffic court. Probably the most common violation seemed to be speeding and driving on a suspended license.

The most extreme case was a 25 year old guy, dressed in a suit and tie, who was in court this day for driving away from the court house a month ago after his license had been suspended. He was trying to tell the judge that since he was acquitted of whatever the other charge was that day, he didn't think his license was suspended. The judge realized he was playing a game and ordered the transcript from his previous case to be read. The guy continued to play his game and the judge got fed up with him. Well, I suppose the 9 speeding tickets and 2 license suspensions in the last 2 years added to it. Long story short: he was found guilty of driving on a suspended license, for which he was fined $1500. AND he was found guilty of perjury, for which he was sentenced to 6 months in jail. The sheriff escorted him from the court room.

I didn't feel like such a loser at that point.

The cast of characters in that court room could be material for several days' worth of blogging, but I will simply summarize them all by sharing this take-away point with you: If you are ever stopped by a policeman, do not say anything other than to answer his questions because what you say CAN be used against you. Just keep your mouth shut and sign the ticket. It says right on the ticket that signing is not an admission of guilt, but rather, a promise to appear in court. Many in the court room that day had apparently never been given this gem of wisdom, which made it harder on them to appear worthy of leniency.

Oh, and did I mention my shock at how some of these people were dressed? Once girl had on very tight, faded hip-hugger jeans, flip flops, and a cropped top. She looked more like a hooker than a court room defendant. Some of the men had on jeans, tennis shoes, construction boots, wrinkled shirts, logo T-shirts, and sweat pants. At least the dress code monitors made them take their baseball hats off in the court room.

I was able to get my reckless driving reduced to speeding, which made it totally worth the 4 hour round trip and the 3 hours of sitting in the court room waiting for my case to be heard.

Idol recap

Last night there were just 3 contestants left: Carrie, Vonzell, and Bo. Since they had a full hour to fill, each contestant got to sing 3 songs. There was Clive Davis' choice, the contestant's choice, and the judge's choice.

First were Clive's choices. For Vonzell he chose the Dionne Warwick hit "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again". Now that is a challenging song. It has a full octave jump, 3 times, back-to-back in the chorus. But Vonzell did it! However, Clive cautioned her about smiling too much during a song that is supposed to be somewhat reserved.

For Carrie Clive chose the Roy Orbison/KD Lang hit "Crying" - another really challenging song. This song has a very wide range, but Carrie did a beautiful job with it.

Clive chose Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" for Bo. I thought "WHAT???" That song is no where NEAR the difficulty of the songs he chose for the females. Any half-talent could sing that song. That just didn't seem fair.

Next was the contestant's choice, and Vonzell sang the Aretha hit "Chain of Fools". Carrie surprised me with an Air Supply hit "Out of Nothing at All". Bo sang his choice a cappella, but I had never heard the song before and can't tell you the name of it. I didn't like it.

Finally came the judge's choice. Randy chose Donna Summer's "On The Radio" for Vonzell. I'm guessing he picked that song because of it's boring, repetitiveness. He must have thought 'if she can make THIS song interesting, she's a star'.

Paula chose the Rolling Stones' hit "Satisfaction" for Bo. Once again I thought 'why in the world would you pick that song for a singing competition?' There's barely a melody line, and there aren't more than 4 or 5 different pitches to sing. Once again, it seemed to me that Bo was given an incredibly easy song to perform.

Simon chose the Shania Twain hit "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" for Carrie. As you'd expect, she did a good job and had fun with it.

At the end of the night Joe & I both said we hoped Bo would go home, and the finale would be between Vonzell and Carrie. If that were the case, I wouldn't mind who won. I think they are both great singers and performers. But we both knew that Bo was too popular, and that Vonzell would be the one to go home on Wednesday.

We were right. Poor Vonzell had to go home, so next week's finale will be between Carrie and Bo. I still think Carrie will win. She's definitely the better singer - hands down.

What am I going to watch on Tuesday nights when American Idol is over???

What a week!

I wish that meant 'Wow, that week was so good I wished it wouldn't end'. Unfortunately the opposite was true.

Last week was so hectic at work I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown. So much stress and pressure. I fought really hard not to stay at work for 9 and 10 hours a day as I have done in the past. Its just not good for you to do that.

Friday evening I was SO HAPPY to be going home from work! I knew I had done all I could do, and that would just have to be enough. Friday evening we met up with our friends Mike & Clark and Ron & James and we all piled into our Suburban (nick-named Subur-barn) and headed up to the beach!

We had a fantastic weekend! The weather was beautiful so we had a lovely time doing some outlet shopping, people-watching, and walking around in downtown Rehoboth. Saturday night we had a fabulous dinner at Fish On, a real quality restaurant in Lewes.

We did a lot of talking, a lot of joking, and a LOT of laughing! It was exactly what I needed after such a long, hard, stressful week at work. How fortunate we are to have such great friends with whom to relax and unwind!

Tonight is American Idol. There are only 3 contestants left now... speaking of pressure!

I'm tired

Wow, what a weekend. Unfortunately I don't mean 'Wow, how great'. I mean, it was okay. I'm just tired.

Saturday I went into work, which is something I am staunchly against. To me, if an employer knows you'll come in on weekends to keep from getting too far behind, they'll feel confident that you will get the job done even when the job is too much. But, this time I decided to do it because we are in a state of transition at work, and everybody knows I'm up to my eyeballs in work. So, I told my boss that I would come in on Sat and get a big chunk of work done, but that I wanted to take another day off in its place. He agreed. So I worked from 9-5 without a lunch break. It did feel good to get so much done. I never have 8 hours of uninterrupted work time.

When I got home, I was hungry and in the mood for pizza so Joe & I went to CiCi's pizza and pasta buffet. Pretty good food, cheap price. Afterwards we went for a little drive, since it was still light outside and the neighborhoods are beautiful this time of year. Azaleas, cherry trees, dogwoods - you name, its here. There's nothing like Spring in DC. Then we went home and I watched decorating shows and Joe watched some lame movie on HBO.

Sunday I was determined to finish the painting in our office/library. Embarrassingly enough, I started painting this room in October. Yes, you read correctly. October. I had to do a lot of wall and ceiling repair, as the previous owners of this house appeared to have played darts on the walls in this room. Either that or they tried to wallpaper using postcards and pushpins. Either way, there were a lot of holes to fill before I could even start painting.

I had painted the ceiling and all 4 walls, and had started priming the trim. All the baseboards, door jams, door molding, window sashes, and window moldings had been painted with oil-based paint. Since I don't use oil-based paint, I had to prime all that trim before I could paint it with latex, or it wouldn't stick. So, as of October, I'd gotten the baseboards primed. Then, it seemed we got a bit of Indian Summer, so instead of continuing with the painting, Joe & I ran around with the top down on our car on the nice weekends. Then came Thanksgiving, then came the purchase of the new place at the beach, then Christmas, then moving from the old beach place to the new beach place, then came cleaning the old beach place and having some repairs done, then came showing/selling the old beach place. All the sudden, it was May.

So yesterday I was determined not to let the pretty weather or anything else distract me. I primed the doors and windows, took a quick break for lunch, then painted all of the trim. It took me 6 hours. I would have finished the room except I absolutely had to stop painting to get showered and shaved for Mother's Day.

Joe & I took his mother and my aunt to McCormick & Schmick's for Mother's Day dinner. It is a fine restaurant, and they loved it. I had a fabulous seafood fettucini alfredo. Joe had blue fish, and Evelyn and Mary both had the broiled seafood platter. Then we all got dessert! Needless to say, I was absolutely stuffed, and in no condition to finish the last little bit of painting at 9pm last night. I was so tired I went to bed at 10.

So this evening, after working a full day, I painted the attic door and the door jam and molding. It took 2 coats since the color is rather dark. Tomorrow, when there's enough light for me to be confident I don't need to touch up anymore on the door, we'll be ready to fold up the drop clothes, pull up the tape from the wood floor, vacuum, and put the furniture back where it belongs. I can't wait to see the finished room.

"Hi, my name is Mark, and I'm a cable-TV-decorating-show-aholic."

Dinner Parties

This past weekend was our 'entertaining at home' weekend. (If you're new to this blog, check my post on Jan 31.)

Friday night Joe & I had dinner at Rocco's, an authentic family-style Italian restaurant in McLean. He had gnocchi with meatballs and I had the ravioli special. As usual, it was too much to finish, so we brought home left-overs.

After dinner we went to the grocery store. I really don't like grocery shopping, but I also don't think it fair to send Joe alone, especially since the purpose of going that night was to get food for our dinner parties - a task of my inventing.

As a treat to Joe for his recent promotion, on Sat morning we splashed into the city in the rain and bought him a used Tony Little Gazelle exercise machine from someone on Craigs List. It was what he wanted. Then we came home, had our Italian left-overs for lunch, and started cleaning the house.

Man, do I miss our cleaning lady. (Actually I prefer the term housekeeper over cleaning lady.) We used to have a housekeeper come every other week. Some may think of this as a luxury. I used to. But then I decided it was simply a decision based on how I want to spend my time. Do I want to spend every weekend doing some kind of housecleaning, and never having the entire house clean all at the same time? The answer was no. I preferred to part with some of my money and have the entire house spic-n-span on the same day so I could spend my weekends doing other things. So, for about 6 years now we have had the same housekeeper. But 6 months ago we got fed up with our housekeeper (long story) and informed her that her services were no longer required. We figured we'd go back to cleaning ourselves for a few weeks, and see how it went. Unfortunately, we have not yet returned to having a housekeeper. We kind of enjoyed having that extra money, and we just kind of accepted not having a clean house every two weeks. Anyway, back to my story...

After cleaning the house and starting the cooking, we both showered and got ready for our company. My cousin Nez (short for Inez) and her husband Steve came shortly before 6. We ate in the kitchen. We had chicken breasts stuffed with feta, ricotta and spinach, lightly breaded and fried. Dee-lish! We also had salad and almond rice. They brought a chocolate cake for dessert. We had a great time talking, laughing, and catching up. It had been over a year since we'd seen each other. She only lives 45 minutes away, but our lives are very different. They left shortly before midnight. Good times.

Sunday we went to George's house for his big yard sale. The weather was a thousand times better than the day before. On the way home we stopped by our friends Michael and Jamie's new condo. They were painting, but seemed to enjoy the interruption in order to show us around. It's on the top floor and has a huge, fabulous balcony. The decor was a bit dated, (the kitchen screams 'Golden Girls') but I know these guys, and this place will be FAB-U-LOUS when they're done. They're getting married in MA in Sept.

Then we came home and started getting ready for dinner party number two. Our friends Gene and Tracy were supposed to come, but on Sat we found out that Gene's dad had recently had bypass surgery, so he and Tracy were in PA with his family. So we invited Kerry, Hugh, Kelly, and George to dinner in place of them. Since there were 6 of us, we ate in the dining room. We had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, peas, and biscuits. (Sound familiar? See our menu in my post dated Feb 13.) It was delicious - Joe is such a good cook - and everyone enjoyed it. For desert we had a fruit torte and coffee. They left at 8.

I may have trouble keeping my New Year's resolution to have a dinner party every month, because in May we are going to be out of town every weekend except the first weekend, which is Mother's Day. But I don't feel too badly about it since my original resolution was for one dinner party every month, and so far we have had 2 dinner parties each month. They really are fun, and we have gotten used to entertaining casually. And since we will likely be spending many weekends at the beach this Spring/Summer, its nice to have these dinner parties to stay in touch with our friends.

Bon appetit!

No more Idol predictions

What can I say? Apparently 'America' and I do not have the same taste in singers/performers. My predictions for last week's Idol elimination were totally off. I predicted Scott would go home, but he wasn't even in the bottom three. I predicted Constantine and Carrie would be the final two, but instead, Constantine went home.

So, no more predictions - only commentaries.

I thought Scott did an amazing job last night. He has not been one of my favorites, but I must give him credit for his performances last night. I wonder if Simons' (and my) predictions that he would get sent home last week scared him into pulling out all the stops this week. I was impressed.

Another singer that continues to surprise me is Bo. Honestly, I do not see what everyone else thinks is so great about him. Maybe they like that husky, smokey voice of his, but I don't. I am also annoyed by his frequent, jerking head motions when he sings. Why is that necessary? All the other performers manage to keep their heads from inappropriate movement. Its as if he has turettes or something. I want to put one of those foam collars that people wear after a car accident around his neck.

I thought Spencer's boy Anthony did a good job on his second song last night, but his first one was uninspiring. 'Poison Ivy' was not a good song choice. But he's awfully darn cute and sexy and I wonder how many 13 year old girls and 20 year old gay boys are voting for him for just that reason. :-)

Vonzell continues to do a good job every week. Consistency should be her middle name. Vonzell Consistency Solomon. She's very attractive, has a beautiful voice, and has very natural stage presence. She'll be a star one day.

That leaves Carrie, whom I predicted weeks ago would be the winner. Well, true to my decision tonight to stop predicting, I am not going to say anything else about her chances. Instead, I will say that I think she has the best vocals of them all. And since this IS a singing contest, she should do well.

Tonight is elimination night...