All These Things That I've Done

This has been a stressful week for me. First, I fell behind at work and was struggling to get caught up. On top of that, my allergies were kicking my ass and my nerves were shot, making me more upset about everything than I would normally be. I thought that Saturday would be better, but it wasn’t at all. I realized that my biological father and his wife will be attending my sister’s wedding, and, considering I haven’t seen him since Christmas of 1998, I’m really not looking forward to that. I’m having issues with a friend, too, although I’m really just mad at myself for being stupid about stuff. But at least I had one thing to look forward to…a night hanging out with my friends Adam and Brad.

I don’t know if I would say I was really looking forward to it, but I knew it would be an interesting evening. Actually, the evening, in the tradition of the rest of the week, started off pretty bad. I bought a new beard trimmer. Of course, I tested it out and thought it worked great. Well, when I was on my way over to Adam’s place, I saw my reflection in the mirrors on the elevator doors. How could have I missed it! There was a shaved line in my beard. I tried to trim the rest of it down, but it was still obvious. So I ended up having to shave the entire thing off. Needless to say, I’m not very happy about this. I have actually startled myself a few times whenever I’ve looked in the mirror because I’m not used to it yet. Oh well. Hopefully it will grow back quickly.

The reason I said I wasn’t sure if I was looking forward to a night with Adam and Brad is because I knew Adam was planning something. You see, Adam has his own podcast show, The Krebs Cast, and he has been asking me to be on his show. I’ve been reluctant because I have mini anxiety attacks if I have to do stuff like give a speech or even leave a voice mail message. There’s just something about having my voice recorded…it’s cause I hate the sound of my voice. I guess most people do. But I get embarrassed very easily, and even by myself when I’m listening to his show and he mentions me. I know, I’m a freak. So Adam got me liquored up, sent his boyfriend off to bed and proceeded to pop my podcast cherry on his dining room table. And I must say, I was more relaxed than I thought I would be. I’m not saying I did a great job or anything, but I did okay for being as nervous as I was. Adam says that I sound fine, but, like I said, I hate my voice, so I won’t be listening to it. But feel free to go to The Krebs Cycle to check it out.

UPDATE 5/1/06: Adam just informed me that the podcast didn't come out as well as he had thought, so we are going to have to redo it. But I still recommend checking out his blog and previous podcasts.

The morning after…Adam and Brad picked me up and we had brunch at Mattito’s. It’s a Mexican restaurant in uptown Dallas, and they have a big brunch buffet. I’m usually not one to do any kind of buffet, but I rather enjoyed this one. The food was really good and it was a comfortable environment. After we filled up for the day (I’m still full, but, as usual, I still have the urge to snack…not sure how much longer I will be able to hold out), we ventured out to the museum district. I haven’t been to a museum in over three and a half years, or since I’ve been living in Dallas, so I was really excited. Our first stop was the Nasher Sculpture Center. There are a lot of amazing pieces there. Here are just a few of my favourites:











After Nasher, we went to the Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship exhibit at the Dallas Museum Of Art. It was fascinating, and I highly recommend you go if you live in the Dallas area. It runs through May 7, 2006. If you do go, get the audio guide, because there are a lot of details and history we would have missed otherwise. I couldn’t take any pictures, as it is a temporary exhibit. And even though he has said he doesn't want kids, he broke down and adopted one:



All in all, it was a nice end to a bad week. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to rest up for the upcoming week.

You Could Be Happy

I just got a copy of Snow Patrol's new album Eyes Open, and the song You Could Be Happy stood out to me. I'm not sure that I would say it is because it is the best track on the album, as I think it has more to do more with the lyrics. I could easily "dedicate" this song to my best friend. He is moving away soon and I don't get to go with him like I really want to, but I don't want to hold him back from being happy and following his dreams. I won't say much more, cause he always tells me that I say too much. So, if you like this track, give the rest of the album a listen to. And buy it on May 9, 2006.

**If you get a ? where the player is, just hit refresh. I had to use a different upload site, and it doesn't work as well as the one I usually use**

Save The Internet

I haven't posted for a few days, and I'm not really going to write anything here now. Although I heard about this and just had to write something. If congress lets this pass, internet providers will be able to allow faster/easier access to sites that can afford to pay enough, while those sites that are not able to fork over the cash are stuck w/ page that won't work as properly.

So visit MoveOn.org

Sign the petition, then send it to others so they can sign it, as well. Do your part to make sure that Congress doesn't let this pass. Help to keep the internet free!

*PEACE*

Woke up this morning...

And my allergies were kicking my butt. Well, they still are, so I had to come home from work. I normally tough it out; however, my eyes were burning so intensley that I could not keep them open. So now I'm back home and catching up on The Sopranos.

Yesterday, I hung out w/ my friends K. and D. We went to the Art Festival in Fort Worth.



There were a lot of okay artists there, but mostly just a bunch of people peddling their shit for way more than they should have been asking. I'm not sure who buys this stuff or how much these people actually sell. Even prints were priced at over $500. I understand that they are trying to make a living, but some of it seemed a little absurd. There was on artist in particular, though. He had some amazing stuff. I thought that I would remember his name, so I didn't write it down, but I've forgotten it now that I'm writing about him. It figures. They don't like you taking pictures of their work, but I managed to sneak this one of his piece Adam & Eve:



He had a lot of interesting pieces, and, if I remember his name, I will do another post about him. Later that evening, my best friend, K., and I (pictures below) saw the movie Silent Hill. It was alright, not the best movie, but decent enough. I had no idea what the main character (the mom) was thinking when she did half the things that she did, but, once I got over that, I let myself enjoy it. Also, you could tell that it was based off a video game by the way it played out:



Oh, btw, my sister is officially engaged. Her fiance woke up her up at 3 a.m. Saturday morning and popped the question. We all knew she would say yes because they were already planning the wedding, so it was all about catching her when she would least expect it. Here's a pic of the ring:

Kissing Things

Going retro a little earlier than I thought that I would, but I've been going through a lot of the older stuff in my library and came across this. I don't remember where I heard about this "group," but I'm so fortunate that I did. Stephin Merrit writes all the songs and plays all the instruments, but has other people perform the vocals. On this particular track, taken from the 2000 album 'Hyacinths And Thistles", Sarah Cracknell lends her voice. She is best known as the lead singer of the pop group St. Etienne. Take a listen. If you like it, consider purchasing The 6ths' Hyacinths And Thistles

The Gayborhoodies

I have been participating in AIDS Walks since 2002. I think it is amazing for me to be able to say that I have not lost anyone to this disease. Granted, I personally only know of two friends that have HIV or AIDS, but that’s still incredible that I don’t know more.

I wish I could do more than just the walks, but I don’t seem to be very successful at branching out. For instance, I sent out a few e-mails and letters to local AIDS charities around town volunteering my time. I heard back from only one. I won’t name the organization since I don’t have a positive story to tell. Basically, I attended orientation and realized that, due to my work schedule, I wasn’t going to be able to really help out in the areas that I would have liked. But there’s a monthly event held here in Dallas on a weekend night, and I volunteered to help decorate. When I showed up, everyone just kind of stared at me and wouldn’t talk to me. Since I guess all of them had helped set up on previous occasions, they all seemed to know what needed to be done. This being my first time, I was getting my volunteer cherry popped so to speak, I was relying on the other volunteers to let me know what I could help out w/. After about an hour of hearing “I don’t know what you can do” and several dirty looks, I decided my help wasn’t needed or wanted. Besides, I don’t see how what they were doing was benefiting anyone who has HIV/AIDS. I mean, the event draws in money, but I need something more hands on. I want to interact w/ the people and I want to see who I am helping to remind me just why I’m doing what I’m doing.

So, I do the walks because I get to inform people and I get to be out amongst so many other people working toward the same goal. And I feel like I’m actually doing something productive. So this brings me to my real topic….

This year Adam, of The Krebs Cycle, and I are joining forces to start a team for the upcoming AIDS Arms LifeWalk. The event will be on Sunday, October 1, 2006. The name of our group is The Gayborhoodies. If you live in the Dallas area, I strongly urge you to consider joining our team. Please e-mail me ( gayborhoodgringo@gmail.com ), and I can provide you with more information. However, if you don’t live in Dallas, or do but don’t want to join us, feel free to contribute. Please don’t feel obligated, this post isn’t me trying to get money from you…I’ll save that one for later – ha! My goal is to make you aware of HIV/AIDS and hopefully motivate you to volunteer in some way. Because the only way we can combat this thing is through educating ourselves, making others aware of the issue and teaching people how to prevent it. It doesn’t seem to be talked about much any more, but that doesn’t mean it has gone away.

Here are some interesting statistics:

• By the end of 2005, 40.3 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, including 17.5 million women and 2.3 million children under the age of 15.
• 4.9 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2005, including 700,000 children.
• In 2005 alone, a total of 3.1 million people died of HIV/AIDS-related causes.
• World-wide, only 1 in 10 persons infected with HIV has been tested and know his/her HIV status.

So let that sink in. Then go out, get tested and FIND OUT the results. Too many people go get tested, but never actually go back for the results. If you don’t want to go alone, take a friend and get tested together. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do the next time I go to Houston. My friend and I are going to the free clinic there. Which reminds me, most major cities have free testing. If you aren’t aware of any where you live, do a Google search for your area. They are free and anonymous. And thanks to Hypoxic for this (I can't believe I would forget this bit of advice): ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTION!! There is absolutely NO excuse for not using it.

WARNING: Some good advice that I’ve learned is to NEVER go through your insurance to get tested. At any time, they can go through their files, see that you have gotten tested and can use that to drop you…even if your results come back negative. As far as they are concerned, you are a potential risk.

To sponsor us:

The Gayborhoodies’ Donation Page

For more information:

AIDS Arms

The Well Project

data.org

Keep It To Yourself

My sister just let me in on something, so, naturally, I'm going to blab about it here. She is getting married! It isn't official yet, but that is only because her boyfriend wants to be all proper about it and ask our biological father and step-father for their permission in person. Since he is in Baltimore and our dads are in Houston, TX, he has to arrange a trip down there. So, for now, I'm the only one on my sister's side to know about the pending nuptials. She obviously told the wrong person since I'm a Sag and can't keep a secret! Eh, none of my readers are family, and, if they know my mother, then they know to keep their mouths shut!

It'll be an October ceremony in Las Vegas! You know I'm looking forward to that...

Just thought I would post some good news here...it is back to work for me.

Make Them Hear You

April 18th, 2006 National Blog Voter Registration Drive

If you are not already registered to vote, you need to do so. You may think that your one vote won't make a difference, but it can...and it does! Be heard. You have nobody to blame except yourself if you don't get out and vote.

Visit Hypoxic. This blogger is spearheading the campaign.

Then hop over to vote-smart.org and register to vote! It's easy.

I'm not one to generally bring up politics, but I've only recently realized just how important it is. I've spent the majority of my life kind of living in my own little bubble. I didn't want to watch or read about anything political. I enjoyed my "happy" little world and didn't want something like reality ruining that. I grew up in a family where politics were never discussed. In fact, I was actually encouraged NOT to vote. My mother would always say, "that's how they get you!" She was referring to jury duty, of course. So I always had a negative impression of both. It wasn't until much later that I realized how foolish her logic was. I'm opening my eyes up to what's going on around me. There is too much shit going on to not want to make a difference. Oh, btw, my mother is now a registered voter!

Now that you have the resources at your fingertips, do your part. You have no excuses. And remember, you can't complain unless you vote!

Peace

Bless Their Hearts

I am a native Texan. I've managed to avoid sayings like 'Y'All' and 'Fixin' to'. However, there is one southern saying that I haven't been able to shake, and that is 'Bless his/her/their heart(s)'. I find myself saying it far more often than I probably should be, but most of the time it really does apply. Case in point...every year on Easter, they have Easter In The Park in Lee Park here in Dallas. At this event, they have a Pooch Parade, where people dress their dogs up in ridiculous (yet adorable) costumes and then show them off in a parade. It's just like gay pride, except w/ dogs...although a lot of the owners got into the act as well.

This was the first year that I have actually been able to go, and I was in the company of the always enjoyable Adam ( The Krebs Cycle ) & Brad!


Now for the pooches...you'll be able to tell why I was saying 'bless their heart' all morning, even if most of them really seemed to be enjoying themselves:

Put Your Records On

I love a wide variety of music. Mostly anything other than, say, gangsta rap. While I may not have the best taste, I've decided to start posting some of my current favourites here. I may toss a retro tune in every once in a while. Just check the side panel.

My first track is a new song by Gnarls Barkley called 'Crazy'. It just spent two weeks atop the singles chart over in the UK.

Take A Picture

Well, I broke down and purchased a new digital camera. I had received one as a gift about two years ago, but it has turned out to be a POS. I want one for when I get to NYC, so I included that in my moving fund. This one is pretty nice, at least I think so. It is bigger, but cost about the same as all the cute, trendy ones. The upside is that this is supposed to take better pics. The downside is that it is too bulky to take out to a club or something. It’s all good, though. I think I might go out and take some pictures this weekend.

Oh, and I was bad and skipped studying tonight. Oops.

The New Work Out Plan

As I previously mentioned, I work in a call center, so I deal with a wide variety of people and a wide variety of intelligence. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how uneducated some people are. As Wanda Wisdom, of Lucky Bitch Radio, would say, “I’m not judgin’, I’m just sayin’.” Case in point…we received an e-mail from a customer and the first line went something like this, “I was long time since I been on….” Sadly, that isn’t the worst one I’ve received. I’m not saying I’m terribly smart or anything. Far from it, in fact. I was in Honors English through my Senior year and during my one year of college, but, looking at myself now, I can’t believe it.

Which leads me into what I had planned to talk about in this post. Lately, I have been feeling rather sluggish…at least mentally. I haven’t really been exercising my brain at all, so it has kind of turned to mush. And so I’ve decided that I need to do something about it. I went to Houston this weekend, so I had about 6-8 hours of sitting in my car alone to think about stuff. I decided I wouldn’t “dive in” because I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. When I get into something new, I tend to overdue it and then tire of it quickly. So, knowing that about myself, I am going to pace myself. I’ve decided that two days out of the week I will sit down and study for two hours or so. I was taking a Spanish class, but I dropped it because it was interfering with my weekends…so I’m going to pick that back up on my own. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the two days I’ve chosen to give my brain a work out, so last night was the first night. I picked up where I had left off in the class, which was learning numbers (1-100). Most people are familiar with at least 1-9, myself included, so I just had to learn the rest. And I’m happy to say that I have memorized them all. The only number that stops me is 14. I know it, but it just doesn’t come to me as quickly as the others. Of course, repetition is the key, so I’ve been going over all the numbers every chance I get. I know it may not seem like a big deal to you, but it’s exciting to me to have something actually stick. My brain hasn’t been retaining things very well lately, so it was just nice to see it functioning again. And I’m proud of myself. Now I’m feeling motivated and excited about what else I can learn. I think it will be fun.

Today was a long day, so I’m going to cut this short. I think I’ll take a nice, warm shower and then curl up in bed and watch some television. I’m going to try to wake my lazy ass up at 7 a.m. to go for a walk, maybe toss a little jogging in. So good night, sleep well and all that good stuff.

………………………............
Head up young person.

The Man Comes Around

This is my third attempt at starting this blog up. I really do not feel that I was motivated enough before, but my friend Adam (of The Krebs Cycle fame) has really inspired me. I've been reading his blog and listening to his podcasts for the past few weeks and now I am eager to get into at least blogging. Maybe eventually the podcasting, but I hate my voice too much to consider that right now.

I don't really know where to start, so I guess I will tell you a little about myself. I'm a 26 yr. old gay man currently residing in the gayborhood of Dallas, TX. I work the call center for one of the leading GPOs in the healthcare industry, so it takes a lot of effort on my part to maintain a positive attitude considering I listen to a lot of people bitch. It isn't my dream job or what I see myself doing for the rest of my life, but it pays very well and has domestic partner benefits…now all I need is a domestic partner to share it w/. Which leads me into my marital status…I'm single. I'm coming out of two break-ups in the last eight months. The first was back in August. It was a three year relationship (and my very first one actually) and I couldn't wait to get out of it. It wasn’t a healthy relationship at all. One month later, I met the love of my life. He's an incredible man that I fall more and more in love w/ every day. Sadly, we broke up back in January. I still consider him my best friend and I'm so fortunate to have him in my life still. That being said, I had retreated into my own little world after the break up, not wanting to talk to or see anyone. Then about four weeks ago, I decided that I wanted no more to do w/ being a Debbie Downer. I made it my mission to turn my attitude around, to get out and experience new things and meet new people. To just be as happy as I possibly can. I think I have pretty much succeeded in doing so. I feel incredible. And so I believe I'm up to the challenge of maintaining a blog now. I feel refreshed and invigorated.

Oh, and I’m saving (which is something I’m notoriously horrible at doing) so I can move to NYC. It’s been my dream for so many years now, so hopefully I will not let silly little gadgets or other unnecessary purchases get in the way. The plan right now is to have enough money saved to move there this time next year. Only time will tell.

So…here's to the first of hopefully many more posts to come!