My Footprint

we start to....

2005-10-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

...kiss softly and gently. It's the kind of romantic kissing you have when there is already a truly deep emotional connection or when two like souls have met each other and our softly exploring the boundaries of this wonderful meeting. To say the least, it was very erotic and extremely sexy and still highly romantic.

Four hours later I realized that I had dozed off a couple of times only to wake each time to V watching me sleep. *Sigh* 'What are this guys flaws?' I keep thinking to myself.

It is terribly late at this point and both of us have to work the next day, so we say our goodnights with each of us promising to call the other the next day.

When we got back in touch with each other on Wednesday we decide to get together the following evening after he and his friends have dinner. Come Thursday I get a voice mail informing me that he is heading to the gym and will be done by 7pm (2 hours later) and if I am interested that maybe we could have dinner that night. Of course I am excited because I thought we would be meeting much later. So I call him back (can you believe it, I called him!) and left him a voice message (because he was in the gym) informing him that I knew of a cute little Italian restaurant with a great wine list and if he was so inclined that we could head there for dinner.

He was so inclined and so we did head to Trombino's for dinner. Had a great little bottle of Italian wine, San Angelo / Pinot Grigio, (Tim you will have to give me your opinion of this one). After dinner we headed to Barnes & Noble so he could pick up a few books he had been looking for and then we headed back to his hotel.

Upon arriving at the hotel I pulled into a parking space but kept my seat belt on and the engine running. He had not invited me up. We chatted for a few, each with a few humorous stories to share and then we started kissing which led to a brief making out session. He had finally gotten me to make out with him in the parking lot, must be some sort of fetish of his. I shared that thought with him and we both had a good laugh over it. Forty five minutes later I said that we could have been upstairs and much more comfortable to which he replied that I was the one that had kept my seatbelt on. I remedied the situation and was promptly invited upstairs.

V had an early start the next morning so we had to promise each other that we were going to be adults and say goodnight after 30 minutes. One hour later, kissing and making out but this time we kept our shirts on, we finally had to call it a night.

I didn't get to see V again before he left town. He called and we spoke for a portion of his drive home and since then we have chatted on the phone several times and often at great length. I have been invited to come visit and maybe after the holiday season I will do just that. He will be making very brief visits (maybe one or two) to Albuquerque in the next month or two and we will likely get together while he is in town....

this past Tuesday...

2005-10-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

...V arrives in town, gives me a call, leaving a voice message. He wanted to know if we were still on for dinner at Flying Star, a local coffee shop and cafe. I call him back and leave a voice message saying yes we are still on, and confirm the cross streets for him. We would be meeting between 7pm and 7:30. At almost 7:25pm V calls, he can't find the cafe, and after much confusion and frustration on both of our parts we finally get him steared towards the right place (I gave the wrong cross street, I was off by a block or two).

So, After knowing that V is just a minute or two away I start shutting down my laptop (they have wireless service in that cafe and I was trying to get some last minute work down). I felt a presence and looked up, only to see this CUTE guy with these awesome glasses on, a tight short sleeved shirt (showing off his incredible biceps and a hint of a tattoo on his left arm), and wearing jeans. I immediately get flustured while trying to stand up, shake his hand, say hello, and close down my laptop. I was extremely uncomfortable. I was expecting nerdy cute, I wasn't expecting geeky hot.

What I wasn't able to tell from his pic was immediately apparent, he has these gray/blue eyes that are amazing and he constantly smiles. He is a fantastic convesationalist (thank god) and before I knew it they were shutting down the cafe. I said to V, "Ready to go?" and he replied with a sexy/evil grin, "Yeah, lets go make out in the parking lot." I laughed it off and out to the parking lot we went.

Of course this is when we started doing the parking lot shuffle, where you stand beside a persons car, dancing from foot to foot, wondering who is going to be the first person to say "Would you like to come back to my place." or worse, "Well, it was nice meeting you, let's do it again sometime." Instead V says, "Weren't we supposed to be making out?"

It was at this point that I finally realized that V was interested in me!! YEAH!!

We decide to head back to his hotel room (I know, how slutty of me) and of course V gets lost in downtown Albuquerque so he calls me on his cell phone while I am following him and I have to walk him through the steps to get back to his hotel. Upon arrival we sit down on the couch in his room and start doing more small talk until I think he finally realized just how shy I am in peson and he just leans over and starts kissing me. He is a FANTASTIC kisser. OMG!!!

It's not long from this point that we end up over on the bed, with both of our shirts off, and yes, he has a GREAT chest. WOOF!!

After V pulled off my shirt and leans me back onto the bed and then pulls his shirt off and lowers himself on top of me we start to....

And one day, at ...

2005-10-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

I usually sign on to AOL and Gay.Com when I am home. I often don't sit near the computer or if I am I usually don't pay much attention to it, instead I am either watching a TV program or reading a book. Why do I bother signing on? Habit. I prop myself into a chat room on both AOL and Gay.com and let others strike up a conversation if they are inclined to. Occasionally I will start a conversation, but for the most part it is they who must open a dialogue with me to start with.

So, last week I receive a pvt message on Gay.com. It's from somebody that lives out of town, 3.5 hours from where I live. I don't think much of it except that he is cute and I am flattered that he messaged me. We end up chatting for almost 2.5 hours and then he asks me if it would be ok if he called me. Now, some of you long term readers know that I am not much of a phone person. If I don't pick up when you call and you instead leave a voice mail, don't plan on me returning the call, leave a message and that's that. If I do pick up, plan on it being a quick conversation, meaning under 2 minutes. I just have no patience for phone calls. (I NEVER use up the minutes on my cell phone). So I give V my number and he calls. Imagine my surprise when we finally hang up and I realize that we have spoken for 2 hours and 40 minutes!!! TWO HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES!!!

GEESH!!

So, we talked, and we talked, and we talked. In the course of the conversation I found out that he was going to be in ABQ the following week (this week) and that if I was interested he would like to meet. That was meeting was this past Tuesday...

In Repose

2005-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

So the new furniture has of course turned into very expensive cat beds. Usually, in the mornings if they are not curled up around my legs I'll find one cat on each couch. This time however, Ithia and Fez (Mom & Dad) are sharing the chair.

They always ask

2005-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked because they have heard, others read about it on my 100 Things list, and some just ask for more photos. So, for those of you that were interested, and the rest of you that just happened to click on my blog today, here is a pic of my tattoo. It's the only one that I have. It's now 7 years old, I got it when I was 30. And the answer to the question I get the most is "Yes, it hurt like hell." And I do not regret getting it.

In the mood

2005-10-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

So I 'ran' into P on Sunday at Gay.com. He doesn't say anything to me, not even the usual

"---*Waves at HandsomeGypsy from across the room*".

So I send him a private message and this is how it went:
HandsomeGypsy: Hey, I guess you got busy Tuesday night
P:Yeah, sorry
HandsomeGypsy: Didn't we exchange phone numbers so that if something came up we could let the other person know?
P: Yeah
HandsomeGypsy: uh...
P: I had a family emergency
HandsomeGypsy: I got stood up
P: It was a family emergency so you shouldn't feel like you got stood up
HandsomeGypsy: I went to the restaurant, got us a booth, waited till way beyond the appointed time, and checked my voice mail, you didn't show up. That's being stood up
P: Yeah, sorry

I thought I was being nice by not pointing out the fact that he could have called me the day AFTER to explain about the emergency, or even as tacky as it would be he could have emailed me instead of waiting until 5 days later and then I approach him.

*****

According to X Gay Partyboy it's hook up season. The time when we get together with our new bf for the holiday season. Maybe he is right cuz I am definately craving some companionship but don't want to go through what I did last holiday season with M and have a breakup the day after thanksgiving.

Over at The Shower Room he is getting it on with a mind reading Musclegod. That would be nice!

So do I want to try and find a bf or do I want to keep things casual with a few different people. A couple of weeks ago I did hookup with this guy that gives great head. And then there is this other guy that does his own version of Mt. St. Helen's that is just amazing to behold. And the best thing? They both only live a few minutes from me...

Result

2005-09-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

P stood me up.

It's a date

2005-09-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

I have a date this evening with a guy I have chatted off and on with for the past 1.5 years. P is a realtor, which is the occupation of the last guy I went on a couple of dates with. That guy told me on the second date that he was looking for FB's. Nothing wrong with that, but it sure wasn't what I was looking for.

So tonight, P and I are going on our first date to a local coffeeshop/diner that is popular in this area. They have this fantastic Thai beef salad that I already know will be my dinner selection. Am I more excited about the salad or the date? Hmmmm, tough call. LOL

I guess in truth I am not worried about finding somebody to date and be in a relationship with. The holidays are about to kick off for me at work, I still have the major decision of if I am going to start back to school next Spring, and I just took on a brand new house. I'm not sure I have time to date somebody. But sometimes you have to make time. Who knows, this could be something special, and if they can weather all the schedule juggling along side of me then they just might be a keeper.

But this is only a first date, who knows, it might only last 10 minutes before either one of us gets "an emergency phone call" and has to beg off the rest of the evening.

Back to school

2005-09-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am not sure about this and am only just now toying with the idea (again). But I am thinking about going back to school.

Not full time, but evening classes at UNM. I have always wanted to go back to school. Ever since I got my massage license almost 15 years ago, the idea was to go back to school since my schedule would be flexible. But for one reason or another it just never happend. However, now that I am working full time and massage is on the back burner I find myself getting more and more stupid each day.

Maybe it's because I don't read as much as I used to. I don't have the amount of free time I used to have to read. It (reading) stimulated my mind, broadened my vocabulary, and took me outside of the day to day drudgery. I was speaking of this to a co-worker and she said much the same thing, only for her she says she feels bitchy and grouchy when she isn't "challenged". And it was actually her idea that I go to school. I informed her that it was always my desire to get a masters in Religious Studies, specializing in Ancient Religion/Societies.

I need to look into this a lot more, but I really want to do this. But questions that pop up are things like; Why? What would I do with a degree at this stage? Why not? How long? and again Why?

Things I really need to think about...

Elton's Photo

2005-09-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

By popular demand, here is a current photo of Elton, Ithia and Fez's son. Elton turns 5 months old tomorrow.

Erased

2005-09-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

So I was visiting one of my favorite blogs that was recently redesigned. Thought I would click on all of the links to see what hidden Easter Eggs there might be. That's when I discovered that I had been erased. *SIGH* My blog is no longer listed. Should this bother me? I know it will effect the number of visitors to my site as I used to see how many people clicked over from his blog. But does it matter? It's not about popularity, but of course it does feel good to see lots of hits every day/week. And even better when people take the time to comment.

Do you comment on people's blogs? You should. Even if it's something as small as occassionally saying, "Thanks for the entertaining blog." It makes the blogger feel good.

So, I used this to spur me into cleaning up my blog list, I knew I had some links that were no longer active so I cleaned them out. But I need suggestions on other good blogs to read and link. Any suggestions?

____________________________________________

On a different note, I need help from the geek world. When I click on a link that opens a secondary window, that window opens but fails. I always have to click the red x to stop, then click the go button to make it open in that new window. Now I realize that this is some type of pop-up protection of some sort, but I have disabled and in some cases uninstalled all of my pop-up blocker software and even temporarily disabled my virus software just to see what was causing the problem. Any suggestions on how to fix this? It is extremely annoying and in some cases it stops me from accessing some sites.

Thanks for the help!!

No Excuse

2005-09-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so I was using the excuse of dial up connection for not blogging. I also used packing, moving, unpacking (not done yet), out of town, and work work work. Of course I also used the excuse of "I have nothing to blog about." Which is probably the silliest reason there is. After all, I didn't start this blog because I thought I had some cosmic words of wisdom to share. I started the blog because I enjoyed reading about the daily lives of other bloggers and thought I would join in the fun.

SO, without further excuse, I am going to open the front door back into my daily life.

What's been going on? I suppose there is a lot to catch up on. But as I sit here, only half listening to the Emmy's, the only thing that comes to mind is my "mid-year review" at work.

Because I only took over my new management position 6 months ago, I was rated "too new to rate". Uh, a mid-year review is 6 months into your current review year isn't it?? I was confused about that. Also, my review was left in my "box" at work. The store manager didn't even give me the courtesy of a face to face review.

Recorded on my review (which I have still not digitally signed off on yet) are things such as "sweeping the cases on a monthly basis" as an item that needs to be addressed on a regular basis. Now I know that doesn't make much sense to you, but I know exactly what that means, especially since they are MY WORDS I SENT TO THE STORE MANAGER IN AN EMAIL. And this person has the audacity to throw my words back at me on a review as something that I need to monitor. GEESH.

There are several other things that I take offense at, but after speaking to another department manager in the store I have decided to just keep my mouth shut (not an easy thing) and just let things ride until my annual review. Now, if they even TRY to pass off that review as "too new to rate" and there by not give me my annual increase, then holy hell will break loose.

In my current position it's all about numbers. In the industry I am in it is all about numbers. And believe you me that I am keeping track of all of those numbers. I am not loyal to my current company, I took this job for one reason and that was to get qualified for the loan on my house. I have that, so I don't need this job anymore. I could go back to working as a massage therapist full time again or take my current job experience and expertise (and numbers) and find another job that will pay me what I know I am worth. I allowed myself to get low balled into my current salary because I just wanted to get my foot in the door in a field I enjoy, but at my age, with my experience, and with the results I am proving I can get I no longer need to stay with a company that isn't going to pay me for the results that I get for them.

WHEW!! Heavy stuff, but I feel better now! :-)

Cardboard... Cardboard... Cardboard...

2005-08-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

Closed on the house on Monday last week. Movers showed up 30 minutes late on that following Wednesday and it ended up taking 2 trips in their truck with me helping them pack the 2nd truck to get moved. Still had to run several car loads in my car (yes, I bought my new car Monday night as well!!) Honestly, I think I am more excited about my new car than I am about the house, but I'm sure that will change.

There are boxes everywhere, packed, unpacked, broken down, and otherwise. I have almost tripled my living space and yet I have nowhere to put the things I am unpacking. How crazy is that?

So far there was one room (mine) that had a bad circuit breaker, so no power for 3 days in that room. Phone jack doesn't work in that room either, still waiting on that repair. The front door whistles like a freight train, the dishwasher over-flowed the counter tops the first time I used it (turns out they didn't punch the 'plug' out of the garbage disposal where the dishwashers exit hose connects). Still haven't gotten a key for the cluster mailbox, they said a couple of more days but if I see the carrier to just show him my ID and he will give me my mail. Of course I never see him/her.

But the most annoying thing so far with the house is that I can't get my high speed cable/internet connection until September 4th. I am SO over dial up connections! Especially since we recently upgraded to a T1 connection at work. Makes dial up and even cable look sickeningly slow.

So, in truth, I LOVE my house. Takes time for things to settle in. Still don't feel.... secure? in my house yet. But finally last night I had carnal relations with myself so I guess I am getting used to the place.

Walking

2005-08-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

One week from today and we do the walk-thru on the house...

Long Time No Blog

2005-07-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence. A lot has been going on in the past few weeks. On June 26th some "punk kids" (lol, remember the neighbors yelling at you and calling you that when you would cut through their yards?) decided they were going to take a high powered bb gun and shoot up my car. In total, 6 shots, 3 windows busted out and 3 holes in the doors and back panel. Damn powerful bb gun to have put the bb's THROUGH the metal. In total the little shit's caused $1,500 in damages. And I got 16 non moving points on my insurance!

Other than my car being used as target practice it has been rather hectic at work. Had a corporate trainer in town for 2 days, annual appraisals to do on all of my staff, hired 4 new people, one person walked off the job, and another broke down crying during their appraisal and told me they were turning in their 2 week notice then came back the next day and told me they were sorry and just having a bad day and they didn't want to quit.

On the home front they have painted the walls, are installing the electrical outlets and cabinetry. After having watched 2 seasons worth of Extreme Makeover Home Edition I know they can do these final stages quickly, so the fact that I am 1 month from my closing date is a little aggravating. Oh well. I still have to pack.

I've started the packing process. Last week I got all of my books packed up. Ya'll rememeber that I have literally 1,000's of books. So that took an entire day. The living room is a wreck right now. Will finish up the living room next so that I can then tackle the bedrooms and closets and be able to stack those boxes in the living room for easy access come moving day.

Found a renter. And it is somebody I know and trust, so that is a relief. The rent we are charging barely covers the cost of having a renter there, but with the added body count and him coming and going at different times than my schedule, it actually makes the house safer, it will never sit empty for any great length of time.

So, that's what has been going on in my life. What's going on in yours?

Ouch

2005-06-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day off in 10 days. I guess I am getting old. It used to be that I could work 11 hour days 10 days in a row and it wouldn't even phase me. Now I am walking around like an old man, complaining about my back and my feet.

Yesterday I had to re-organize a room and take 2 of the 4 drawer filing cabinets up to my employees work room. Had to re-organize that room as well to accomodate the filing cabinets. Took a couple of hours all together. I thought I was going to die by the time I was done. If this is how my body reacts to simple projects I am in for a world of hurt when I move to the new house in August. ::shudder::

I gave away one of the kittens 2 days ago. The black and grey boy. His new owner has named him "Maverick" or "Max" or "Julio". I guess she hasn't really decided on a name yet. Another kitten will be picked up next week when her new owners get back from vacation. That leaves me with one kitten that I plan to keep and another kitten who 'might' have a new home, just waiting to hear the final decision. Then maybe things will get a bit back to normal around here.

Tagged Again

2005-06-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Spike has tagged me with another meme. Thanks Spike! And I mean that sincerely. I am actually sick unto death blogging about the kittens (they are just over 6 weeks old, almost litter trained, and can climb up onto my bed now. joy joy) and about the house (electric and plumbing are in and the roof is shingled). So this is a nice change of pace.

Spike's meme this time is about books. Now any of you that know me fairly well know what an avid reader I am. Strongly into fantasy (not sci-fi) novels, epics, and the entire genre for that matter. I do branch out into religous fiction (I have the entire Left Behind series) as well as some mystery, fiction, and auto-biographies.

So, without further a-do, let the meme begin:

1. Number of books I own-Maybe a thousand? During the flood in Houston a few years back I lost literally hundreds of books, for which I go 25 cents for each paperback and one dollar for each hard back. I cried more over the loss of my books than I did over anything else. I still own many hundreds and I'll be packing them all up soon in preperation for moving into the new house so maybe I can give you an exact count at that time.

2. Last book I bought-Actually, I just went on a whirlwind shopping spree at Barnes & Noble last Friday. I bought A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton, Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey, Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip, Cravings (4 short stories by various authors), Angel & Demons by Dan Brown, To the Nines by Janet Evonovich, and The Rising by Tim Lehaye and Jerry Jenkins.

3. Last book I read-I read To the Nines the same day I bought it, hilarious mystery read, I highly recomend her for light hearted humor and sexy characters.

4. Five books that mean a lot to me-

      Any of the books from the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. She is a spellbinding story teller. If you love romance, dragons, music, and challenges fraught with danger, then you will lover her books. I read them avidly as a kid in school and still pick her books up whenever a new one arrives on the shelf.

      Laurell K. Hamillton has 2 series of books out. One about vampires and shapeshifters that is filled with fun, frivolity, and fornication! The other about a princess of Fairie in the modern day world. Hunky fairies like none you have ever read about before! Love her books because she skirts the homosexual issue without exploiting it.

      Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. My mother gave me this book when I was a freshman in highschool. I've read the entire series now. One of the few books I have ever re-read. And I have re-read the entire series several times.

      The Hound and the Falcon by Judith Tarr. A mysterious changling boy, raised by priests, who is sent from the monastery to deliver a message to the king. Who says elves can't be priests?? I was still contemplating my own path when I was reading this and realized that I could still hold to a Christian faith while exploring other religions.

      And yes, the mistress of vampire novels, Anne Rice. Love her books, even the not so great ones. Her son however still has a lot to learn about writing. Hopefully experience and life will make a better author out of him.

WHEW, these things are always tough!! And you have NO idea how hard it was for me to not start going through bookshelves, cabinets, and boxes to begin counting how many books I actually own. But I do have some will power left in me. Now who should I pass this meme on to? How about...

Tim- because I know he will probably give up at least ONE cookbook that I can go get great recipes from!

Chad- because he always has great blog entries and I know he can take this and run with it.

And Nathan- because he is celebrating his one year blog anniversary and I think this will be his first meme tag.

Furniture Shopping

2005-05-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

We just spent the last 5 hours going up and down "Furniture Row" looking for what furniture we will want in the living room. We stopped in every single furniture store that was open today with the exception of one, Unpainted Furniture, didn't want to go in there. Not wanting to draw this blog entry out to overly long, I decided to take photos of where we stopped in and just make this more of a photo blog entry. Did we find what we were looking for? Of course! Was it at the very last place we stopped in? Of course! But it wasn't on sale, so I feel good about that, since we will not actually be buying it until it's time to move in. Don't want to take the hit on my credit report until after the house closes.

Father & Son

2005-05-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Aren't they just so cute!

Happy Birthday to Me

2005-05-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Add one more year to the tally

Taken May 18th

2005-05-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

They are growing! Today they are 1 month old

Raising the Roof

2005-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well, almost anyway. The roof isn't on but there are walls! and doorways! Here are the 3 best pics from Sunday.

Caesar's Bath Meme

2005-05-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Spike has named me and two others to the Caesar's Bath Meme. As explained by Spike on his Ravings of a Madman blog, the Caesar's Bath Meme is:

The Official Rules of the Caesar's Bath Meme

Said meme takes its name from Mel Brooks' A History of the World (Part I), and, upon receiving it, one is supposed to list five things that one's circle of friends or peer group is wild about, but that one can’t really understand the fuss over. Quoth Caesar, "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling . . . but nice."

Ok, so here it goes. I don't hang with too many other gay guys or gals. My peer group is mostly coworkers, some gay and some straight. How does this effect me? I'm not sure, but here are the things my group leans towards that puzzles me enough to have to mention it in this challenge.

************************************************

1. The gym -- I understand that people are attracted to a nice body. Be it a man's body or a woman's body, Whether you are straight or gay. We appreciate the bodies form when it is "perfect". But when my friends tell me they came to work from the gym where they just spent the last 1.5 hours doing cardio and will then hit the gym for another 45 minutes after work lifting weights, come on! First, I'd rather sleep in that extra 1.5 hours in the morning! As for hitting the gym on the way home, if I had lost all that sleep in the morning there is no way I would spend yet another 45 minutes in a stinky gym. Meet me for Denny's in the morning and maybe hit the gym after work as a wind down from the day. Or meet me after work for the cocktail hour so you can wear that new skin tight polo shirt to show off your abs that you worked that morning. But if you are spending ALL your extra time at the gym, what's the point?

2. Ongoing education -- Three of my friends are 40+. They work full time and are going to school part time. Two of them have BA degrees and are working towards their Masters and one of them has 2 BAs, a Masters, and is now attending a culinary school part time. WHY? What is with these "career students" now a days? Did you not get punished enough when you were 5-18 years old? Were you told "you'd never amount to anything without a decent education" so much as a child growing up that you have a phobia now of being under-educated? I would like to point out this one important thing, these 3 educated people work for the same company as I do and make within $3,000 of me and the others. What's the point?

3. Cell Phone Upgrade -- I can't go a single week without somebody I know pointing out to me their "new cell phone." This one is the lightest model on the market, this one has the highest definition screen, this one holds 1 billion bytes of music, this one walks my dog. What is the deal with these cell phones? I have had a total of TWO cell phones! The first was a pre-paid deal that I tried out to see if I even liked having a cell phone. First, I don't! But I realize that while having my own business it enabled me to be in constant touch should a client want to book an appointment with me. So having realized that I bought a "real" cell phone. That phone is now 5 years old. The battery to replace it costs more than the cell phone originally did because it is now a "special order" because nobody carries it anymore. It doesn't have downloadable ring tones, no color monitor, I THINK it receives text messages but don't quote me on that. But you know what? It sends and recieves phone calls. What else does it need to do? IT'S JUST A PHONE!!

4. 1,000 thread count sheets -- One person I know went out and bought these decadent sheets that they spent almost an entire paycheck on. "Just like what Opera sleeps on" I heard her say. Of course, the gay guys I work with had to show up the straight girl and went out and bought the same sheet sets, but in multiple colors. One guy even brought in the pillow case to pass around because, "You just have to feel it to understand the addiction." Ok, I felt it, I tweaked it, I slid it across my cheek. Yeah, it felt wonderful. But come on, does it matter that it's like silk? Just buy silk! Let's be real though, my 400 count sheets are almost as good, they wash in the washing machine instead of having to be dry cleaned. And if I get all hot and nasty with some stud, I don't have to worry about ruining a sheet that cost me a week's pay.

5. MP3 players -- They look like little cell phones (and sometimes are, refer back to #3) and come in many different colors and styles and even textures. Everyone is sporting them and their fancy little ear buds. The water cooler chat is almost always "what are you listening too?" or "what did you download?" or my favorite that perks up my ears only to disappointment me when I realize what they are talking about is "how big is yours?" I don't listen to music a lot. While doing a massage of course I have it going in the background. When I am in the car I play techno/trance dance mixes. But that's it. I don't feel the need to have it blaring while doing housework. I don't have pulsing through my ear while I am grocery shopping. Nor will you find me nodding my head in time to the beat while eating my lunch in the break room. Music just isn't such a controling factor in my life, I can actually survive for several hours at a time without a music fix.

************************************************

WHEW, that's my five. That was harder than I thought it would be. I am fearful that for the next few days I am going to be saying to myself, "Oh damn, that would have made a better entry!" But, I will pass this challenge on to Tim, Corky, and Steve and see if they pick up on my "should have's."

Going in Style

2005-05-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Fez went to the vet today for a "prep" for his surgery tomorrow.
They gave him this beautiful new collar.

And this gorgeous bracelet.

First Family Portraits

2005-05-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

They are 8 days old in this photo, pictured are Mom, the tortishell, Dad, the red tabby, and the 4 kittens.

Mom & Dad share in the domestic duties.

Progress Report

2005-05-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Have not been out by the new house in a couple of weeks so headed out there today. They have the foundation poured now. I'm not sure if that is good progress or slow progress for 2 weeks. We have had some unusually cold and wet weather though. Anyway, I am hoping to see some framing the next time we go out.

5 Days Old

2005-04-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Fez to the vet's office. We go to Aztec Animal Clinic. Doctor Torres is a very nice lady and Fez didn't mind her groping and prodding at him at all. He passed his physical with flying colors and we will schedule him back next week for his neuter surgery.

I changed out the bedding in the kitty box this morning and couldn't resist taking a few photos of the little guys and gals. The two blondes are both girls and the red and the grey kitten are both boys. I am VERY tempted to keep one of the blonde girls. I even told myself at one point if one of the blonde ones was a girl that I could keep her. We shall see. Aren't they adorable??

Kitten pics

2005-04-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken a few hours after the kittens were born. Ithia had finally settled down and the kittens were nursing. Amazing how at 11 months old, or any age for that matter, they just instictively know what to do.

And then there were six

2005-04-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

At 5:30 this morning Fez, the red tabby male cat, started freaking out. Tearing circles around the apartment, jumping up onto my bed, racing across it and sailing over onto the cat tree. My first thought was, "he hasn't done this since he was a kitten" and just as I completed that thought I knew what was happening. I threw on the lights and darted over to the box I had set up for Ithia. Sure enough, there she was with a new born kitten that had obviously just arrived.

Now it's about 6:45am and we have 4 new kitties. The first was a dark color, much like Ithia herself, then followed a very pale red, a dark red, and lastly another pale red kitty. Ithia seems to have settled down so I went ahead and changed her to all clean towels in her box, have a warming blanket next to the box to ward off the morning chill, and she is kind of kicking back while the kittens are nursing.

I wouldn't be to surprised if I come back later and find a #5 has arrived, but I'm thinking the birthin' has come to an end. Now begins the 2 month process of "Oh aren't they cute" "They are adorable" and the "Those damn kittens are getting into everything".

I've noticed after going through the pics I have posted on my blog that I rarely post photos of Ithia. She is so dark that her photos rarely turn out well. Fez photographs much better. But since this is her moment of glory, I'll repost the best pic I have of her. Back in her "no worries" days.

Fantasy in the Flesh

2005-04-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Those of you that remember my original blog probably remember that I used to work at a Day Spa in Houston. One of the guys that worked there I had a HUGE crush on. Of course he was hopelessly straight and very comfortable around gays, which made him just that much more appealing. The sexy face, great personality, and awesome physique sure didn't hurt either.

So anyway. This morning around 5:45 I hear a message pop up on my computer. This 19yo guy is looking for some early morning fun. We do the usual thing of exchanging stats and interests and then finally I ask for his pic. Cute guy, but the pic was so blurry I couldn't tell anymore. Well, since this was my last day in El Paso I decided to just go ahead and have one last carnal pleasure to remember the trip by.

OMFG! This kid was my Day Spa Crush in the flesh, just a younger version of him. He was an amazing dupiicate, so much so I almost thought they could be brothers. To say that I lived out a few of my old fantasies with this primo boy goes without saying. I was almost late for work this morning, but it would have been worth it. Who ever said fantasies don't come true?

It's not so bad

2005-04-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Thirty six years old. Next month I turn 37. It's not so bad though. I still rarely go out with guys my own age, instead hooking up with guys older than myself, or younger. More and more often I have younger guys hitting on me. Now I know how those older guys felt when I hit on them when I was 23 and they are 35+. It's very flattering. Although, I have to admit, when guys have in their online profiles something like "looking for older men" and they start hitting on me, I do kind of take offense, but I have to remember it in the spirit that it is meant.

Last night I met this HOT 25 yo hispanic guy. Damn was he a stud. And passionate doesn't even begin to describe how he was in bed. And that Mexican accent coming out of his beautiful mouth. WOOF He pushed, pulled, and almost tore apart all of my triggers. Thank you El Paso for the WONDERFUL memories.

One more night to go...

Flying without wires

2005-04-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I will be flying with a laptop computer for the first time. I am happy to report that I am sitting at the Albuquerque Sunport Airport waiting for my flight to board (in 45 minutes, boy could I have slept in a bit later). Getting through security was actually much easier than I thought it would be. They no longer make you power up your computer for them, you just have to set it in a seperate bin from anything else. Then of course you still have to take off your shoes, belt, pants, and underwear. I thought that a bit strange, but the security officer was cute and winked at me, so I figured it was ok. Oops, hold on, that was a video I watched the other night. This morning it was simply shoes, belt and outer jacket.

Black Mesa coffee is what I am sipping on while blogging on their wireless network here at the airport. It's not the greatest, but it's better than going without, and if you know me then you know that I can't go without my morning coffee.

On a different note, I made it out to the homesight on Sunday before heading up to Santa Fe for the day. I have the photos, but forgot to move them over onto this pc, so I'll load that pic in the next few days. Not a lot of progress of course, but the ground is level and pipes sticking out of the ground.

Hmmm, a cute guy showing a LOT of box just sat down across from me. A bit older and skinny for me, but hey, at 6 in the morning you can't be too overly picky about random things like this. LOL

Anyway, I suppose I have rambled enough about next to nothing. I've killed almost 10 minutes and only have another 30 to go before boarding. Woo Hoo!!

Ground Breaking News

2005-04-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday they finally broke ground on the new home site. We went out this past Sunday to take the first photos to start charting their progress. That photo is below. That's my dirt lot. LOL Gonna have a wonderful mountain view off of the upstairs balcony.

Today we met with the builder and he said that they have a tentative completion date of July 27th. Now, we all now how much water that rusty bucket holds. BUT, that sent us into a frenzy. We were counting on 6 months from ground breaking and he is saying 4. The plus side of that is we will pay less in our month to month lease on the apartment. Which is almost as much as the mortgage payment. The downside is that we were planning on saving X amount of dollars each month and in 6 months being able to go buy new appliances to have delivered the same week we move into the house. If we move in early, we may just end up doing laundry at Spin Cycle for a month or so. Small price to pay, and as I said, since we wont be handing over all that money to the apartment complex, it will instead start going to our house.

I am heading to El Paso next week for 3 days of training. I fly down on a Tuesday, work that day, Wednesday, and Thursday, and fly back home Thursday night to be back at work on Friday. Gonna be a whirlwind trip, but I'm glad that it's getting done at all. I'll take all the training I can get my hands on. To not use any and all available resources that they make available just isn't smart.

This will be the first time I have flown since I bought the laptop. Since 9/11 I have gotten stopped by security EVERY single time I have flown. Without fail. I don't know what it is. Am I in some sort of database as a possible terrorist candidate?? Anyway, it will be interesting to see how I make it through security with a laptop. Gosh, maybe I should remove all of the porn I have downloaded onto it. hehehe

Happy Easter

2005-03-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and that everyone's spring is filled with warm sunshine, soft winds, and beautiful flowers.

I expected as much...

2005-03-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

I've gotten my promotion and of course have been working like a dog to cover my new department, learn what I need to know for that position (a 12 week learning course plus head to El Paso for training for 3-4 days) as well as cover my old department until they place a new person in position.

I just made the last payment on my car last month so it is owned free and clear.

Got financing on my house and made the huge downpayment to get that ball rolling.

Everything is going great!!

Then on my way home from work this horrific grinding noise popped up out of nowhere, coming from the front right tire well. *sigh* I should have known. Whenever you pay off a car it means you start having mechanical problems. Why didn't I remember this? This is SO the wrong time for this to happen. I was going to drive to El Paso so that I would have a vehicle to shuttle around in, instead of just staying at a hotel near where I will be training and just walking to work while I am there (of course I would fly down to El Paso.)

Thank god my roommate's schedule is somewhat similar to mine and we can just pair up and go in together and come home together. Means a bit longer hours for each of us, but it will work for awhile. As for the nights I have to close, well that is when we have to do some fancy juggling. But it is far from impossible and I realize there are others that have a worse situation than this. I think this is just God's way of reminding me that no matter how much comes in your direction, count your blessings and stay humble.

Thanks for the heads up God.

It happened

2005-03-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

I arrived at work this morning at 3:34am. I left work this evening at 6:10pm. It was a very long day. However, this was my last day on an hourly pay scale. Today I got the promotion that I interviewed for a month ago. My first official day in positon will be Sunday and my first report for work day is Monday. Although they have asked me to be there Monday at 4am, it is my last scheduled 4am shift. I now have "normal" hours of 8am or 1pm, depending on the shift.

I was on a conference call at 10am this morning with the people in our homeoffice, officially accepting the position. The rest of the day was spent being given expectations and goals and a lion's share of the problems that need "immediate attention." By the time I dwindled everything down, emailed the one person that I needed a problem solved by, and sent out the 6 necessary emails thanking people for their support in my promotion (4 of whom I have no idea who they are but realize that they are now in my immediate chain of command.) I finally left the building.

This weekend I was given off, which was a nice and unexpected break from an extremely hectic week. Monday should be interesting. For now, I have a bottle of chilled champage that has my name written on it. Time to go pop that cork.

Candidates

2005-03-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

Even though it is 6 or more months away, I am already interviewing possible candidates for renters. Decided that we would have 2 renters under 6 month leases and then go month to month after that. At this time, there are 4 people interested. Two of them I know. One that I found on the internet that sounds "too good to be true" and the forth guy I get an odd vibe from but who is very attractive. Sad to say, but #4 is probably already disqualified. Good looks can hurt you sometimes.

Work is work. I have hired a new person with the specific intention of grooming her to take over my position when my new position with the company is announced. She starts in a couple of weeks, has plenty of experience with the company as she is transfering from out of state, and I like her.

Home life is status quo. Which means boring with an occasional fling to keep me from getting old and stale. LOL

That's about it.

No drama

2005-02-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, how's everyone doing? I have finally gotten over the flu with the exception of a nagging cough. But that's pretty typical.

I did get the house. Is that a good thing or not? A 30 year mortgage is a scary thing. I go to the design center in a couple of weeks to pick out the final options I want in the house and then they break ground about 2-4 weeks after that. This puts me in the house around late summer or early fall. I've already got 3 candidates lined up for roommates, although there are only 2 rooms that are going to be rented out.

As for the job I interviewed for, I found out that I was the only candidate whose resume was forwarded to the home office. The interviewing manager said she wanted me for the position and unless there is a candidate out there being interviewed from a different region, that I had the job. It's only a matter of time before they finally give her the OK to offer me the position. With this mortgage hanging over my head I hope they announce it soon!

Well, that pretty much catches us up on my going-ons. Nothing overly exciting or dramatic, but that's just fine with me.

Pass the Tylenol

2005-02-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

So I visited Corky's Blog this past Friday. Seems that our dear (and of course very well endowed) Corin has been home with the flu. Not a pleasant way to spend time off from work. I can think of so many other things to do with "skip days". Well, Saturday I developed a nagging cough. THe kind that rattles in your chest and causes enough pain to make you squint your eyes and clutch your pearls. Saturday night I could barely sleep for the coughing.

Sunday I had to be in at work at 5am. I always take my team a dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts every Sunday, but I forgot. My head was so light I could barely keep my balance, so I knew that making my way up to the palace of confectionary delights was beyond me at the moment. When I arrived at work security roared (literally) up to me in their truck with the blinking light. "Do you have anybody in the building yet?" the hunky blonde driver asked me. "No, why?" I'm sure from the glassy look in my eyes they figured I was hyped up on goofballs or something. Turns out we had an "audible alarm" going off and APD had called our security to investigate. Since there was no sign of forced entry they waited for me to arrive at my normal time. So here I am, sick as a dog, can barely see straight, and wandering through a darkened store waiting for a burglar to jump out and kill me. As you have probably guessed, there was no burglar so of course he didn't kill me. Seems that the balloons we had put up for a Valentine Display had escaped and set off a motion detector. Great start to an already crappy morning. I came home at 8 am, just couldn't handle it any longer. The normal 8 minute trip took me almost 20 minutes cuz I was driving so slow. I figured it was ok though, it WAS a Sunday after all. I spent the rest of the day in bed. Thanks to Corin's warnings I didn't even bother turning on the tv, instead choosing a few dvd's to play on my laptop in bed and had a book nearby just in case the movies sucked (Shrek 2 IS hilarious).

Today is my day off, Monday. And here I still sit in bed, still coughing up a lung and getting dizzy everytime I get up out of bed. It's not fun, it's definately not pretty, and I am horrifically bored. How come my season 4 and 5 of Stargate haven't arrived yet?? This time could be put to such good use!!

So, is it possible to catch a cyber flu from somebody already infected? If so, Corin you owe me! Next time put up a warning that you might be contagious and to enter at your own risk. Now bring me a cup of chicken soup.

Always one in the crowd

2005-02-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Turns out I had a brand new visitor to my blog today. They felt it was necessary to place a comment on the last 4 entries about how boring my blog is. Now honestly, if it was THAT boring, then why pull up the comment box that many times? Why not just click the red x and move on to something else? A blog is nothing more than a web based diary. If you aren't voyueristic enough to enjoy reading about somebodies mundane happenings, then go elsewhere. If you are looking for porn, go to a porn site.

Btw, the person's IP address is 63.240.219.105, so feel free to send them as many viruses as you would like! LOL I have banned them from ever commenting again on my blog, as well as erasing their "b-o-r-i-n-g" comments. But I should thank this annoymous coward for giving me a 4 minute distraction that it took to erase their comments and ban them.

On the dotted line pt. 5

2005-02-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

The den from the entry doorway. Can't see it, but there are french doors that open into the den.

On the dotted line pt. 4

2005-02-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with the tour of the model home... This is the view as you enter the front door. The den is immediately on your right and the living area of the great room is straight ahead, with the fireplace on the left.

On the dotted line pt. 3

2005-02-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Before I post the latest photo of the model of the home I am getting I thought I would update you on something. I applied for an upper level management position with the company I started with last November. I believe the interview went very well and I even got a phone call a couple of hours later from the ASM (assistant store manager) saying, "I'm not sure what you said in there, but they were very impressed." So my resume is being forwarded to our Human Resource department at headquarters. With luck I will know by the end of the week or maybe the first part of next week. You can bet what will be in my nightly prayers.

So, today's photo is of the back of the house. To the left is the kitchen patio where the grill will be placed and on the right patio (which the living room looks out) will be where the hot tub is placed. On the upper left is the 2nd floor patio attached to the master suite.

On the dotted line pt. 2

2005-01-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

The front of the house. Nice curb appeal, huh?

On the dotted line

2005-01-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

I spent the past 7 hours today looking at 5 different housing developments and I've lost track of how many model homes I have toured. I ended up at the first development that I toured last October. Although the floorplan I decided on was larger than the original floorplan that I had chosen.

It took a bit over an hour to actually sit with the realtor and sign all of the necessary paperwork and hand over the records of the last three years of my financial life. In about a week I will know if the mortgage company believes I actually deserve and can make payments on this 2400+ square foot home.

Over the course of the next week or so, I thought I would subject all of you to a virtual tour of the model home that shackeled me to a 30 year life sentence.

Here is a photo of the lot my future home will sit on, as you can see I will have a mountain view from the back of my property which is where the master bedroom faces.

Free to good home

2005-01-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

I'm making this post to tamp down my guilt. I don't know why, but I feel guilty when I don't make a post after a few days. Nothing spectacular, memorable, or out of the ordinary has happened. I haven't heard from a long lost friend or lover. No family member has gotten ill or anything of that sort. The only thing that I could possibly mention is that for the past 2 nights I have been woken up by my cats having sex. Not the most pleasant of things to be woken up by, especially since I have not had them "altered". Guess I am going to be expecting a litter in a couple of months. That's what I get for putting off the vet visits. The only plus to this is that everyone at work always comments on how adorable my cats are. And everyone who has met them in person is amazed at how friendly and sociable they are. So I won't have any worries of finding homes for any kittens. But Fez, the male cat, is going to get CHOPPED next month! No more sex in his future.

Contrary to my belief

2005-01-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

I never blog about hookups. I rarely have any hookups that I could blog about. I prefer to date a guy rather than just meet for a quick roll in the sack. Unfortunately, it is getting more and more difficult to find like minded guys. And even more difficult to find a like minded guy that I am compatible with.

I also never thought I would be the type to start going after younger guys. And I don't conciously do so. I always remember being attracted to men older than myself. When I was 22 (the first time I went into a gay bar) I remember looking at all the 30 something guys and thinking how hot they were. Now it seems that these 20 somethings are attracted to me! EEEEEKKKK! I don't want to get the reputation of being a chicken hawk. I don't go to the clubs, and I definately don't cruise online specifically for guys in their early 20's.

But within the past month I have hooked up with a 20 yo, twice. On NYE I hooked up with a 19 yo, and then two nights ago i was with an 18 yo. Somebody shoot me!!

Now, in my defense the 20yo and the 18yo I thought were both older. I thought they were more like 24 (which is still young compared to my 36 years on this planet). The 19yo I knew his age. But he was just so damned hot in his pic that I couldn't say no. In person he was even more attractive. Unfortunately he had the attitude to go with his looks and the sex wasn't all that great. The other 2 guys though were cute, sexy, and both had great personalities. The 20yo even wants me to do some photo work for him. His pics are lousy and don't show him off well at all. The 18yo lives with his brother in a development that I want to live in. I picked out a house that I fell in love with. I plan to head down their to the sales office next month and fill out all the paperwork to see if I can get into that house. Wonder if my neighbor will turn into a regular f-bud. Never had one of those before.

So, contrary to my belief, I am attracted to younger guys as well. But give me a man my age or a few years older and I'll melt like butter on an Atlanta sidewalk in summer.

A New One

2005-01-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

I started a new quilt 2 days ago. One of my employees knew that I made quilts and got me a gift certificate to Jo-Ann's Fabrics for Christmas. I stopped by there the other day after work and saw some blue fabrics that I really liked, so decided I would make a blue quilt.

This quilt will be much more complicated than the last one. I again have made my own design rather than follow an existing pattern. I've chosen to pattern this one after the old navigator compass you find on old world maps, only with a lot of radiant arms on it so it almost resembles a star.

It took me a day to cut out the pattern itself and lay it out to see if I liked where it was heading. Yesterday I cut out the pieces of the compass star itself and pinned the pieces together. Today I will start stitching the halves together and with luck even be able to start assembling them into the star. I'll make 4 sections and then only have to piece the 4 sections together into a whole.

Although this seems to be moving right along, I am guessing that it will actually take me about 4 to 6 months to finish this quilt, since I do all the stitching by hand. The top of the quilt, after you decide on your pattern and get your templates cut, actually goes fairly quickly. It's when you are backing the quilt and doing your stitching that hold the back to the front (usually decorative stitching) that things slow way down. And my least favortie job in quilting, binding the quilt. This is where you take a "binding" strip of cloth to seal the perimiter of the edges of the whole quilt.

Below is a photo of the quilt fabrics I chose. Not pictured is one of the paisley light blues and the green cloth that I've chosen for the background behind the compass star. This quilt, when finished, will be called "Blue Compass Star."

Bedtime Prayer

2005-01-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray for a man who's not a creep
One who is handsome, smart and strong
He's not afraid to admit when he is wrong
One who thinks before he speaks
When he promises to call he doesn't wait 6 weeks
I pray that he is gainfully employed
Won't lose his cool when he's annoyed
Pulls out my chair and opens my door
Massages my back and begs to do more
Oh, send me a man that will make love to my mind
Knows what to say when I ask, "Do you think he's fine?"
One who'll make love til my bodys a itchin
He brings me a sandwich too, when he goes to the kitchen
I pray that this man will love me to no end
And would never compare me to my best friend
Thank you in advance and now I'll just wait
For I know you will send him before its too late

Domesticity

2004-12-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

I have the entire day off. Don't have to go into work. Don't have any clients scheduled today. Don't plan on stepping foot outside of the house. But I do need to dust, vaccuum, do laundry, change the litter box and take out the trash.

The daily housekeeping chores have really turned into that, a chore. I keep my house pretty darn clean. I have my clients come here so I really have to. But since working a 40 hour job as well as seeing clients I don't have the time to clean the way I am used to doing. So my roommate and I have decided that we are going to hire a housekeeper. Maybe to just come in once every other week, but that will make a huge difference. I don't mind the daily vacuuming (need to remember to pick up vaccuum bags) or doing the dishes, but when you add into that the cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen, floors, and dusting, it adds up into a lot of time. This is how I am justifying the housekeeper. LOL

Yes, I could still do it, but it would be like today where a chunk of my day off is spent doing these chores instead of just enjoying a day of leisure.

We have a cleaning company that takes care of our 2 locations. One of the guys there is a cute little thing. I asked him a couple of weeks ago if it was something he may be interested in taking on (we aren't going to mention it to his bosses or mine). He said he would be interested and that the next time he and I had the same day off he will come over and give it a trial run.

Most housekeepers prefer to clean the place when the owners aren't there. Having done the whole housekeeping gig myself when I was first starting up my massage business, I understand why that is. You always feel like you are being watched by the homeowner or that you are invading their space. But when the owner isn't there you are much more free to hum or whistle as you are mopping their dirty kitchen floors. You can exclaim outloud at the nasty mess they leave on the floor around their kitchen garbage can. Or grimace in distaste as you change the sheets on their bed and the toe nail clippings fly onto the floor.

It will be a little bit different with this new housekeeper. The cleaning service we use hires people needing a second chance. L is one of those guys. He fell in with the wrong crowd when he was young, has paid his dues, and is now starting over. He also had an ex-lover ruin him financially, BAD ex-lover!! So, like one of my new bosses is always fond of quoting, "Lead them not into temptation." So either myself of my roommate will always be here when L comes over to clean.

We haven't scheduled the first visit yet, but after taking a look at my to-do list today, I am going to nail down a day/time real soon!!

December 25th, 2004

2004-12-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Just want to wish all of you a

Very Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Cole

Randomness

2004-12-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here we go... nothing in any particular order and I am not going to edit this post and put it back into some semblance of logical order.

I gave a massage to a local MT on Monday night and tonight is my turn to get a massage in return. WooHoo!!!!!

I gave out the Christmas cards and gifts at work today. Everyone was in a very festive mood.

Somehow I lost track of, without realizing it for the longest time, one of my favorite blogs to read: Wet Dreaming, be sure to check Billy out, he is yummy, and funny. I need to find me a guy like him.

Did I mention I am getting a massage tonight?

I have been invited to a fancy Christmas Dinner hosted by a coworker. Dinner will be served at 2:30pm, after the Opera. I am going to take a bottle of white wine but want to pick your brains for a good suggestion for a nice chardonnay, maybe in the $25 range. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

I just found out that my neighbor is in a porn that I download a scene from last week. The scene is of course a naughty massage session. I knew my neighbor had been in a few flicks but was never sure of which ones. Now I simply MUST rent that DVD and see him in all his special glory. (The little skunk has never booked a massage with me, maybe he is afraid it might turn out like the scene in that movie.) hehehehe

I'm getting a massage tonight!!! ::doing the Snoopy dance::

Signed, Sealed, and Almost Delivered

2004-12-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here, enjoying a cup of French Vanilla/Swiss Chocolate Almond coffee and a plate of white chocolate chunk cookies, listening to a Wyndham Hill winter solstice CD.

This was how I got myself through the writing of 30+ Christmas cards and the wrapping of presents. I bought each of the employees on my team a gift certificate to Target and slid it into a Chrstimas card with a big old fat cat on it. I taped this to a 6oz Hershey's Symphony Chocolate bar with toffee bits and almonds. Two of my employees are in college, one just winning a scholastic scholarship for keeping a 4.0 grade average (no mean feat when working full time as well), so I bought them each a book from Barnes & Noble, a B & N discount membership card, and a gift certificate from there as well. I figure they are doing the right thing at an early age, they need to be encouraged to keep at it.

I also got the cards ready for the other members of management. I'll give everything out tomorrow since that is the last day that everyone is going to be in the building at the same time.

For my roommate I got him the Ecoshpere from Brookstone. I love that store and go in and play with all of the gadgets whenever possible. He always admires that Ecosphere so I figured it would make the perfect gift for him. Since it requires light I have had to keep it in my closet with the light on during the day. I can't wrap it until the last minute. So I figure the easiest thing will be to just put it in a gift bag (I know it's tacky) and give it to him that way. He is also getting the 5-dvd collection of the made for TV movies from Babylon 5. He is a freak for that show, as well as all of the Star Trek ones. Give me Stargate any day (I have the 3rd season on DVD now).

So here I sit, nursing my coffee and munching on a cookie, very satisfied with myself. LOL

The Giving Tree

2004-12-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone has them and at most malls you can always find one. But for those of you who don't know what I am talking about, this is the story.

At Christmas time a special tree grows in the center of the mall and sprouts ornaments with children's names and their Christmas Wish. For example the ornaments may read, "Esmerelda, 10 years old, Pants: 16, Top: 14, Jacket 14, Toy: Board Game" or "Sergio, 9 years old, Pants: 16, Top: 16, Jacket: 14, Toy: Science Books."

These tree ornaments are the names and Christmas Wishes of needy children. I have always said, "I need to do that this year" but for some reason I never get around to doing it.

Well this year is different. I took my lunch break and went over to the giving tree and chose 2 names, actually the 2 names above, and then went shopping. I found the cutest blue sweater with white and grey stripes and matched it with a white turtleneck and a pair of Arizona 5-pocket jeans for Sergio. For Esmerelda I chose this classy button off the shoulder brown sweater and a pair of girls faded Arizona jeans. Tomorrow I am going to get them both jackets and since they also gave the shoe size for Sergio I am going to get him a pair of shoes. As for the toys, I will go to the Disney store and get Esmerelda a board game from there and I thought it was absolutely adorable that Sergio asked for science books for Christmas, so I thought I would go to Barnes & Nobles and get him some astronomy books (living in New Mexico we have vast open skies and at night the stars shine brilliantly.)

I can't even begin to convey the feeling of joy it is giving me shopping for these 2 children. I don't know them at all but they are taking on their own personalities just from these 2 tiny bits of paper I took from The Giving Tree. When friends were asking me today why I was shopping in the children's department I swelled up like a proud parent and said, "I'm shopping for my kids."

If you have such a tree at your local mall (or wherever) I can't express enough how satisfying this will be to you or what a great thing it is to do such a small thing for an innocent (and annonymous) child. Go find your Giving Tree and make a Child's Christmas Wish come true.

Sergio & Esmerelda wish you a Very Merry Christmas.

Dear Santa,

2004-12-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

I remember writing letters to Santa. Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, we would put up the Christmas Tree and then the 4 of us kids would be told to sit at the kitchen table and write out letters to Santa Claus. We would agonize over our letter and suddenly come up with a new idea every time we heard a toy commercial on tv. Then of course us 3 boys would argue that WE should ask for that, not the other. When we were done with our letters we would have to address our envelopes and then Mom would put a "special stamp" on them and promise that she would mail the letter the very next day. (The special stamp was always holiday stickers that she got in the mail from unicef or some other org.)

The last year I can remember writing my letter to Santa was the same year that Santa actually visited my home. He showed up in the driveway in a 1973 maroon LTD. I guess the reindeer had the day off. Who could have known that the car of choice at the north pole was an LTD? After repeatedly getting all of our names wrong during the entire visit and giving us gifts that quickly disappeared to the bottom of the toy box, Santa left. Well, not before my Dad had to go outside and give Santa's LTD a jump start.

So, several... many... a few... So now I am writing a letter to Santa. I personally believe that Santa gets cyber mail. He just has to!

Dear Santa,

I won't lie and say that I have been a very good boy this year. But I haven't been all that bad either. And let's face it, we are both adults, being naughty can be down right fun! So with that in mind and speaking between adults here, this is my Christmas wish list:

A carpet tree 6ft tall for my cats to play on. Hoping they will decide it is more fun than tearing up the living room drapes.

A new sleigh bed for my bedroom. Since my old 4-poster bed creaks horribly loud and that's only when I am just sleeping in it.

A new car, since mine is almost paid for it means I'll get the new car itch, so you will save me 4 years of car payments if you just get me a new car right away.

A new house, preferably being built by Ty Pennington. I promise I won't take too many pics of him while he is shirtless. Just enough to fuel some naughty, but nice, fantasies and test the new sleigh bed to see if it creaks.

And finally, one last thing. Please visit all my Blogging Friends and grant them their wishes also. We have all had a tough year and survived them (even though Bush DID get re-elected).

Thank you Santa, I love you more than any other bearded man I know.

Love,
Cole

PS, can I have a new boyfriend? You can use the 'reading materials' under my matress as a point of reference as to his shape, size, and abilities.

So fellow bloggers, what Christmas Wishes do you have?

Sparks Fly

2004-12-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Gemini (May 21) 12/12/2004-

Sparks will fly with a colleague if you're at work today, because there's a tremendous amount of nervous energy flowing between you. If your time is your own today, you'll want to devote plenty of it to enjoyment and entertainment, preferably in the company of some of your favourite people. Can you find an excuse for throwing an impromptu party? Beneficial colours are gold and silver. Lucky numbers are 2 and 75.

Well, I did work today and there was no energy or sparks with any co-worker. Damn horoscopes!

The Office

2004-12-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I finally remembered to bring my camera home from work. I took a photo of this past Sunday's Christmas decorating. I had gone to Target and bought stuff to put up in my office area.

Since my team and I go to work at 4 in the morning, I wanted to give them a bit of a surprise that next morning as well as simply give us a bit of cheer every morning there after. At least for the holidays. Surprisingly, it took me almost 3 hours to put up the little bit of decorations you see. Of course wrapping the dividing wall between my desk and the desk that my staff uses took more time than I could have imagined. Putting up the garland with lights and the decorations went rather quickly. The suspended snowflakes was only a chore because the glitter on them kept flaking off and falling into my face. But when all was said and done it didn't turn out half bad.

The rest of the office staff has filtered in at various points during this week. Most to say how they have enjoyed the decorations, but I think it has a lot more to do with the well stocked candy bowl I keep on that dividing wall. I realized early on in the week to only bring enough candy in per day to fill the bowl. If I had left the backstock in one of my file drawers it would have all been gone.

So this is my little space in the corporate world. Although after this mornings meeting with upper management I am beginning to wonder for how long. They seem to be giving me the impression that it won't be for long. To quote them, "There are bigger things in store for you." Hmmmmm, wish they were talking about my personal life! (evil grin)

ok ok

2004-12-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

I consider myself duly chastised for publicly announcing that my ex has, well, you know. My apologies to him and my readers for saying that. (evil grin)

Breaking News

2004-12-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

May as well get this out and be done with it.

I sort of knew this was going to happen. And I guess I forced the issue or at least forced it to be said. But I knew that M wasn't the right person for me. I guess I just really wanted to spend the Christmas holiday with "someone special". Today I finally just asked M straight (hehehe) out if we were over, to which he replied "yes". I shouldn't have done it that way. Maybe I should have just left it hanging out there in the cosmos, never knowing for sure if the years were passing by with no further contact between the two of us because our schedules just weren't syncing up. But no. I just had to know for sure. Now I do. And now I have the bad taste in my mouth of being the one who got dumped. I set myself up and now am kicking myself in the ass.

He listed off a few things of why it wasn't or wouldn't work. Such as the distance (45 minute drive between our cities), and that he didn't want to move to Albuquerque and he wasn't sure if I wanted to move to Santa Fe. Let me just say that at this stage of the game, that shouldn't even have been a consideration. He also said we had different lifestyles. Honestly, I don't know what the hell he meant by that. I mean, he sits at home all the time unless he is at the gym (can't tell by his overly thin body) or is at his neighbors house. I don't spend time at the gym (although it is on the todo list) and I am a self admitted homebody/nester type. However, his decorating style is very contemporary (read stark) and I am very traditional (read heavy wood furniture and knick knacks everywhere). He has a single fish since he gave away the snail after one day, thinking the fish bowl was over crowded while I have a huge aquarium full of fish and also have 2 cats.

Well, as I said, I knew he wasn't the right guy for me. He was one of those guys that although he was a good kisser, he didn't know when to stop kissing. Also, he wasn't very good in bed.

I did enjoy spending time with him, and really thought we had the basis for a good friendship, but it seems that will not be happening. Especially since I told him (yes, I was upset and angry) that he has a little dick. So shoot me for lashing out. That's allowed when you are being dumped, especially when you are stupid enough to set yourself up for it. Honestly, and please don't take this wrong guys if you are doing this, but I should have known better than to date a guy who says, "I just started going to therapy to work out my childhood issues with my family."

So, I've put a lot of extra miles on my car. Lost my Wonder Woman DVD set, but gained a new set of sheets. At least I bought them in a color I like and that will work with my "lifestyle".

I forgot my camera!

2004-12-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

I figured that since I can't put up any Christmas decorations at home (since I have the new kittens who think tearing something to tatters is the utmost fun) that I could decorate my office space at work. So today I went to Target after work and bought a bunch of stuff to make my work space festive. I spent about 2.5 hours papering the dividing wall, putting up a garland and trimming it with decoratinos and lights, and hanging the obligatory snowflakes from the drop ceiling.

In the end, it turned out well. So I turned to get my camera to snap a photo for my blog... DAMN, I forgot to bring my camera. So I owe all of you a picture which I promise to post later this week. Probably on Wednesday.

I found it amazing how many people walk through my office when I am not there. Now, I am going to figure that a lot of them only came back to see what I was doing since a couple of people were back there legitimately and probably spread the word that I was decorating. Good thing I decided not to put out the candy dish yet. And even when I do I am only going to bring small quantaties of candy to fill it. I will just have to replenish it daily from the stock I will keep at home. Those people are vultures!!

On a side note, several of the residents at my apartment complex have decorated for Christmas. This is amazing to me since in previous years I have noticed that it was very rare to find any decorations. Figures that they would start up the year that I decide to not put up anything at home. On a further side note, only one person did a great job. They would have done a fantastic job if they had used solid white lights on their decorations instead of colored lights. I am betting they have kids.

Only in New Mexico

2004-12-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, not only in New Mexico, but since this is where it happened...

I came home from work today to find the lawn service crew hard at work. The leaves from all the trees took a nose dive after this weeks freezing temperatures. The crews had a lot of leaves to clean up. But what I found amusing/amazing is when I swung around to my building, the crew was mowing the lawn. Why is that so amusing/amazing to me? Because there was snow on the ground! Isn't that just the strangest thing? I was always taught that you make a final cut and then winterize your lawn. Then you are not allowed to touch the lawn until the spring thaw. But here, they cut the grass no matter rain, sleet, hail, and apparently snow.

Ok, there wasn't MUCH snow on the ground. Actually it was only caught in certain areas of the grass where shade stays on the grass most of the day. But I still found it amusing enough to make a blog entry out of it. :-)

On a different note. I took this new job for a few different reasons. The first was to help build up the kind of credit/history that banks like to see when you are applying for a home loan. The other is that I like to have a small regular income to report for taxes. I took the job I currently have because the hours, although EARLY, work very well with not interfering in my availability for clients. I honestly thought that I would lose a few clients because I no longer am available to work mornings. I also thought that since I couldn't respond to their requests as quickly as I normally do, that I would lose a few. But other than the normal slow down which is typical for this time of year, I have stayed rather busy. This is SO not a complaint. I am thrilled that my current clientelle likes my massage services enough to book in advance and to find a compatible schedule with each other. It's also nice because I can refer new clients over to other MTs in the area. And what's real nice about that is since I am getting to know a few of the other local guys, we are now doing trades and I SO enjoy a good massage now and then.

Over the ground...

2004-11-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

I slept in until 7:30 this morning. When I went to the living room and opened the blinds I was treated to the sight of falling snow. And not just falling snow but also snow sticking to the ground and trees and bushes!! That doesn't happen often in Albuquerque. It snows here occassionally, but if it ever sticks it is very very short lived.

I have to say that this SO helped me with the mood I have been in for the past couple of days. Between getting used to working for somebody else, the extremely long hours I have put in, and juggling a new relationship, it has been a bit of an overload to my weak little brain.

But seeing that beautiful snow falling ever so slowly to the ground was comforting, heart warming, and beautiful. I pulled out my favorite Christmas CD by Herb Avery, A New Age Noel and set it to continous play on the cd player, then grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos outside to share with all of you.

It's the holiday season, best wishes to all of you and yours!!

Thanksgiving Week

2004-11-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

I know I have not blogged in a long time. But since starting this new job and the hours that I work, I just haven't had much energy or the desire to sit at the pc and even make a blog entry. What free time I have had has been spent either sleeping or going up to Santa Fe to visit M.

So, I have finally spent a night with M. I went up to Santa Fe the day before Thanksgiving. M had decided to fix dinner at his place. I decided to bring a bottle of white wine and I also took up a white poinsettia plant to add a holiday flavor to his home. We went to a little dive of a movie rental place and picked up Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Badder Santa (that sucked), and some other movie. The next day, Thanksgiving, we stayed in bed *cough cough* late and when the next door neighbor knocked on the door asking if she could use M's oven to bake some pies in we decided it was time to get out of bed and join the rest of the living. We made it to the square and to Starbucks in time to get me a wake up dose of caffeine then walked around the square until it was time to head back to his place and get ready for Thanksgiving dinner at the neighbor's house.

M's next door neighbor is the director of sales at a local contemporary art gallery. She is all kinds of cool and so is her daughter, who showed up how to fold origami cranes and hearts after dinner. We stayed at the neighbor's house until it was time for me to head back to Albuquerque and get ready for work.

I got to work at 11:30pm that evening and left at 1:30pm the following day. To say that I was tired would be an extreme overstatement. But it's done and won't happen like that again until this time next year.

I just finished and got home from work a little while ago, today was the first day all week that I haven't worked a minimum of 9 hours. Can't wait to find out on Wednesday how many hours I just wracked up this week. Should be some killer overtime. Just in time to pay for all the things I will be charging on my CCs for Christmas gifts.

Speaking of Christmas gifts... I just purchased my first one for M today. I set of Egyptian cotton sheets. I thought that and some nice candles from Cost Plus would be a cool intimate gift that wasn't too overly intimate for the length of time we have been seeing each other. Still need to get a gift for my roommate, but I already know what he wants so that will be easy. Then I just have one other gift to buy and that is for a friend. Not sure what to get him, but I'll keep an eye out for just the right thing.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. I have the next two days off which means I get to sleep in until like 7:30 or 8am. The self indulgance is just boundless! hehehe

No rest for the wicked

2004-11-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Last nights STWYTGTKY with M went nicely. We ate at this fantastic Japanese noodle restaurant called Kasasoba. Shrimp Tempura appetizers, I had the Ebi-Ten soup with Udon noodles, and a glass of white wine (sorry, saki isn't my thing) to help round out the meal. Two hours later we pried ourselves from our seats and finally headed to the movie theater. Whoever thinks Japanese food isn't filling has never seen the portions served at Kasasoba.

At the theater we decided on The Incredibles. Two hours and 9 minutes later we finally left the theater and I was SO glad. Although parts of the movie are cute, it was boring and long winded. I drove us back to M's place and after 25 minutes of making out in the parking lot we finally decided to call it a night and I headed back to Albuquerque.

By the time I got back home it was 1:30am and my alarm was set to go off at 3am so I figured I may as well stay up. If I had layed down I would have never gotten back up on time. I decided I may as well tackle the obstacles we ran into when trying to install the cable broadband earlier in the day.

The Comcast technician was a cute and friendly little guy. Unfortunately, fate was working against both him and my broadband installation. I called them at 1:45am and about 35 minutes later (with the help desk telling me repeatedly that there was a problem on my end of the connection, not their's, and that a technician would have to be dispatched at my expense to correct the problem) the connection was magically created and I was surfing the web at lightening speed.

So a very tired, but happy boy finally headed into work at 3:30am. If only I had of known that today would have been an excellent day to stay home. Two other members of my team had not gotten any sleep and one member had passed out drunk and over slept their alarm and showed up 2 hours late. But it gets worse. I had to head over to one of our other locations and write up an employee who was performing at far below company standards. I was hoping the employee would actually quit and during the disciplinary action he even threatened to walk out the door then and there, but the lady who is training me to replace her actually talked the guy into NOT quitting. Damn her! Forty five minutes after that meeting I finally left with the intentions of going home. By this time it was a little after 1pm. I got to my car only to find that I had a scratch stretching from the middle of the back passenger door all the way back through the rear corner panel, deep enough to see metal shining through the now missing paint. Somebody had keyed my car. Three guesses who did it and the first two don't count. I need a calgon bath and some sleep!!

4 write ups

2004-11-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Today at work I had to write up disciplinary forms for 4 of my staff. Two were falsifying their time records, which is actually grounds for immediate termination, 1 employee I found sleeping in one corner of our work place, and one employee because he simply and plainly doesn't do his job (he knows it and he doesn't give a damn and quite frankly I am hoping that he just quits and walks away.) Was a busy day dealing with all the bullcrap that they spout at you for the reasons they did this or are doing that. Only one of them did I feel sorry for and I know why she did what she did and who put her up to it.

On a brighter note, it's ok Brent there is no guy on guy kissing in this post, hehehe, I have another "STWYTGTKY" with M tomorrow night. I am going to head up to Santa Fe where he lives and we are planning on dinner and a movie. We will go to a Japanese noodle restaurant and not sure what movie we will see. Should be lots of fun. Although I have been to Santa Fe a few times, I really haven't done much more than just visit the town square.

Also tomorrow Comcast cable company will be here to hook up my cable broadband connection. I bought a wireless gateway/router/modem thingie and a wireless pci card for my computer. My laptop already has a wifi card installed. So hopefully by this time tomorrow I will finally be back off of dial-up and back onto a broadband connection. It takes just too damn long downloading porn on dial-up! LOL (just kidding) ::cough cough::

The day after

2004-11-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

So M arrived yesterday, right on time at 3pm. He came inside while I put on my shoes and after a couple of minutes of chit chat we headed out the door. He was driving his Mini-Cooper. I had never ridden in one so I was kind of excited about getting to. They are as cute on the inside as they are on the outside.

M and I headed to an Italian restaurant not far from where I live. The waiter was a kid who didn't know the first thing about being a good server, so nuff said about that. We chatted for probably 10 minutes before we actually placed our order. Topics ranged from the usual where did you used to live and why did you move to/from here/there, do you like your job/house/car, you know... the usual small talk stuff you have to go through on your first "spending time with you to get to know you."

We finally placed our order and contiued chatting. Conversation went pretty smoothly throughout the evening. M didn't eat much of his meal which made me feel like a real pig since I was wolfing mine down like a starving third world inhabitant. He has an extremely high metabolism (lucky bastard) and usually eats every 2 hours or so, but the meal he had before coming to pick me up was still sticking with him. Oh well, I still ate most of my dinner.

We headed back to my place at 4:30 and parked in the parking lot. Again the normal, thanks for coming over/having dinner/let's do this again kind of conversation. Honestly, although I thought things went well for a first "STWYTGTKY" I wasn't sure how he had thought it had really gone. But when I was about to open the car door he leaned over and gave me some good kissin!! That boy really knows how to kiss. We did that for a few minutes then stopped to catch our breaths. Then did it one more time to make sure the second time was gonna be as good as the first. It was!! ;-)

Although I haven't heard back from him yet (he doesn't get off work until a little bit later today) I think I will probably hear from him tonight. Looks like I will have to go pick him up for our next "STWYTGTKY". I'm looking forward to it.

Another word for date

2004-11-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Roughly 3 weeks ago a new client booked with me. It was an early afternoon appointment. Sometimes I like these appointments because I then have the evening to myself to watch any tv shows I want to see, or to delve back into a book I am reading. Other times I just am not in the mood in the middle of the afternoon to give a massage. Usually this is because so much light streams in through the patio doors and even with the vertical blinds ::gag:: closed, too much light still filters in. It just isn't the atmosphere that I usually like.

So anyway, new clients are a mixed bag. At least with returning clients you 1. have already met them. 2. you have an idea of what they expect from the session. 3. you have already built up a sort of connection so there is no first time meeting akwardness. But with a new client there is always a bit of anticipation 1. is he gonna be a hottie? 2. will he be generous with the gratuity? 3. am I about to get another regular client?

Once, years ago, when I still lived in Orlando, FL and was very new to being a MT, I met a new client. At the time I was only doing outcall services. So I met him at his house (that he was sharing with his very recently ex-boyfriend). He escorted me up to the attic that had been converted into a second bedroom/loft kind of space. We did the massage and then afterwards, out of the blue, we kissed. Don't know why, we even asked each other about it later and neither of us could say exactly what was going through our mind at the time, but we kissed. There was just an instant connection. We went to dinner afterwards and that started our dating. He was definitely a Clark Kent/Superman type in that when he had his glasses and loose clothes on he looked like a computer geek, but when he took off the glasses he was a GQ cover model. And the body hidden under those clothes? Tight lean muscle, not at all what you would have expected.

I ended up breaking up with the guy because all he really enjoyed doing was kissing. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy kissing and think that I am rather good at it, or at least that is what I am told. But this guy would kiss for an hour and a half, non stop, every time we got together. It got to the point it was just annoying. Sweet guy, but I just couldn't take it anymore.

That was the only time I dated a client. I have been asked out by other clients, but I realize and I think eventually they do to, that the connection they are feeling is just the therapist/client bond, not a true attraction bond. So I very politely turn them down and hope that they don't feel shy about coming back to see me professionally. But M, my client from 3 weeks ago, is about to change that game plan.

I saw M online a few days ago and chatted him up. He was going furniture shopping after his massage and I asked him if he had found what he was looking for. Over an hour later we ended our conversation and both said that we wanted to chat again soon. Yesterday we picked up the thread of the conversation again and eventually M got around to the point we were both hedging at.

He said, "I want to ask you out on a date, but I hate that word. It's just so 1950's." Cute, but personally I don't mind the word date, and frankly I think that dating is very much a lost art, or at least it seems to be in the gay community. Gay men have gone the way of lesbians, one date and you are married.

I have a friend that is always telling me about the men he has dated. The truth is that he goes out with these guys one time and that qualifies them as "this guy I dated". Dated implies a series of dates, not just one date. A relationship requires more than 3 weeks of dating. It requires an actual commitment between the two people to form a relationship after they have been dating for a period of time. Nobody does this anymore. Now I am not saying that a "hook-up" can't turn into something wonderful and lasting. But doesn't anyone believe in going out to dinners and movies and walks in the parks or going to an art exhibit. Yes, it is a bit cliche, but damn it the stuff works! You discover things about this person you are going out with. Their likes and dislikes, quirky things they say, the way they order off of a menu and eat their meal. You learn things about the person that you wouldn't in just a hook-up situation.

What you often hear is "I'm not looking for a relationship, just no-strings sex." That is an immediate turn off to me. You might as well just be an animal, although even animals have mating rituals.

So I asked M what other word he would use to replace the word "date" and he responded with, "something that means spending time with you to get to know you." Well that isn't exactly the Webster's definition of dating, but that is sure what is implied when you are asked out on a date.

So, although I don't know yet what to call it, M and I have a "something that means spending time with you to get to know you" this afternoon at 3 pm. We both felt a connection when he was here for his massage appointment, we expanded on that after many hours of online chat, swapping likes and interests. So now we are going to a little Italian restaurant around the corner this afternoon for something a little bit more official. Not sure where this might go, and honestly I am not even bothered to try and figure that out, I'm just looking forward to this 3 o'clock whatever you want to call it.

A day off

2004-11-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

I've worked some mega hours these past few days. Between the new job and still seeing clients, it's really taking a toll.

In the past 4 days I put in 40+ hours just at the 4am job. But then they told me not to come in to work today. Now that kind of sucks. I bust my hump for them and then instead of rewarding me with over time pay they cut me off. That's not very nice. Where is the incentive to give your 100%+? Is it better to just put in your 8 hours and leave a job unfinished and pick up where you left off the day before, no matter what kind of mess you are leaving? That seems to be what they are doing by having me take this day off.

Don't get me wrong. I have great work ethics and I wouldn't do that, but what does it say to my team? Oh well, not much I am going to be able to do about it. But in the future, I will HAVE to cut back a little bit, otherwise my team will constantly be working one day a week without me there, and I just don't want that to be the case.

I forgot to mail my car payment a couple of days ago. Yesterday there was no mail service so I have to run out to the post office this morning and get that sent out. Only 3 payments to go now! I better go get dressed and get that mailed. I'll take this opportunity to wash the car while I am out. It's only 39 degrees right now, so I think I will take it through the automatic car wash. Ciao

First Day is Done

2004-11-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day on the new job. There is a ton of paperwork. Their computers are stoneage and take forever to process anything. It slows the job down a bit, but once I get used to it things will be ok.

So far so good. My team only has one bad seed and that person is one mistep away from being terminated. Otherwise the rest of the team are pretty much aces with only a joker or two thrown in. I have a good feeling about the job, even after coming home yesterday with my head about to explode from all of the info they tried to cram into it. We shall see how it goes.

Got It!!

2004-11-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone with the hiring manager, they offered me the job and for more than what I was expecting it to be. YIPPEE!!!

Home ownership has just gotten that much closer for me! :-D

Busy Morning

2004-11-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Most importantly, I voted this morning. New Mexico is one of the swing states and I sure as hell hope we swing Democratic this year. I hate to think what another 4 years of Bush in office is going to do to world wide views of the USA.

Last night I had a phone interview and then this morning I went on a 2:1 interview. Met with the 2 highest people in the company. I think the interview went very well. They are interviewing another candidate for the same position but I think I got it. I bet I hear from them later today. (knock on wood)

I decided that I need a "normal" job. I by no means intend to give up my massage practice. However, I am not going to try and get new clients. I will just try to maintain my current client base. This new job has the kind of hours that it will hardly effect my massage availability at all. That is very important to me. I enjoy my work. I get to focus myself as well as help my client focus. It's very calming. This job that I interviewed for is very detail oriented and has new and frequent deadlines almost daily. I will need the calming and centering aspect of giving a massage even more if I get this new job.

The Mighty Hunter

2004-11-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

This was actually taken on July 2nd, '04. But it was a cute pic and Fez was a little upset that Ithia had her pic posted a month ago and he didn't get his posted, so I told him I would make it up to him.

Fez likes to play fetch. I've heard of cats that do this, but out of the many cats I have had over the years, Fez is the first to do it. Usually it happens around 10pm, he will bring one of the little foam balls over to where I am sitting and drop it at my feet, then he will lay down and wait for me to pick up the ball. When I do, he will pretend that he didn't notice but as soon as I toss the ball he is off like a shot. This will go on for usually 15 minutes or so, until at the end I will toss the ball and he will simply ignore it and start grooming himself.

I've almost beat this cold that I caught last week. I'm feeling a lot better except for the sinus headache. A storm blew into New Mexico last night, dumping snow in a lot of the state, none here in Albuquerque though. It is however 33 degrees right now. Time to bust out my 2 sweaters and my jacket, the total extent of my "winter wardrobe."

Sniff

2004-10-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

I got a cold. First one in ages. Sucks to be sick.

Hope I shake this soon.

No Carb Diet

2004-10-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

My no carb diet for 2005:

NO C-heney
NO A-shcroft
NO R-umsfeld
NO B-ush

Back in my own bed

2004-10-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

I was only gone for 10 days, but I have to admit that sleeping in my own bed with the cats curled up at my feet is sure nice. I need to get a new mattress though. I feel like I have the "heirloom mattress" you see in the commercials. That is going to have to be my next purchase.

I went shopping this weekend for a few things for the new laptop. I wanted to get a mouse, camera, retractable phone cord, cooling pad, surge protector, and a carry case. I got the mouse and camera at Staples, they were Compaq brand. I also got the carry case there, a great one made by the Swiss Army Knife people.

The wireless mouse and the camera were both pieces of crap and I packed them up and returned them on Sunday. Afterwards I went to CompUSA and then over to Computer City. I got a great mini Kensington wireless mouse, and a retractable phone cord. (I also picked up season 2 of Stargate.) I didn't buy the cooling pad, camera, or surge protector. I am going to wait on those until I make a bit more splurge money.

The one thing I am looking for that I am having trouble finding is a black & white mobile printer. I have seen used bubble jet printers online, but I would like to find it new. The only thing I can find new is a color one for $250. That is way too much since all I need it for is to print maps with when I am on roadtrips. So I'll have to keep looking for that.

Loving the new laptop, I often play with it instead of using the desktop. But it helps me get used to the slightly different keyboard configuration. This has a P4 processor in it which puts my desktop to shame. And the desktop is only a year old. The poor old dinosaur.

I have returned

2004-10-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

I am back home in Albuquerque. I left Austin last night at 9:15pm and arrived in ABQ at 9:45am (local time). 13.5 hours on the trip back. I took a different route coming back. Took longer this time but the drive on northbound I-25 at sunrise was spectacular. Also the HOT Border Patrol Officer that chatted with me at the checkpoint made the extra 2 hours worth it!!

I came back to ABQ a few days early because the laptop I ordered from Dell was being delivered several days earlier than what was originally planned. Not a bad thing, but that was unexpected. So I headed out, got into town early, unpacked, cleaned up the house a bit (the kittens must have had a party while I was gone), and got laundry started. All of this got started and finished and then at 2pm UPS showed up with my new laptop (that I am currently typing on).

This is my first time owning a laptop. Gotta tell ya, I LOVE IT!!!

Austin Arrival

2004-10-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Not really in a blogging mood today, but I did want to update with something.

I arrived in Austin yesterday, trip took about 11.5 hours. not bad. Probably would have made better time if the first 4 hours had not of been in the rain and fog (and dark).

There was a huge goof up when I arrived in Austin. Not only had I forgotten to write down my friend's phone number, but I had written down the wrong address to his house. So I sat in a Kinko's trying to pull that information up from my email on AOL. However, AOL only saves mail for 7 days, then it will save it to your personal filing cabinet which is stored on your hard drive. Needless to say, sitting at Kinko's paying .20 cents a minute turned out to be virtually useless. And .20 cents a minute adds up quickly!!

I did email 3 different people and an hour later one of them called me and I was finally able to make it to the house I am staying at.

I just got back from my first client of my Austin trip. He cheated me out of $10 (the outcall fee). Oh well, it happens sometimes. I am going to make myself believe it was an honest mistake. I have another appointment tonight and three tomorrow with several already booked throughout the rest of my visit here. So far, it is looking like the Austin trip is going to be very good for me. (knock on wood)

Check ya later peeps

The ascension

2004-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

It wasn't the mass ascenion that Balloon Fiesta had this past Saturday morning, but considering how Sunday's, Monday's, and Tuesday's events were all cancelled due to weather, today's ascension was almost as congested. In this photo there are about 200 of the balloons. There were many more than what was captured in this shot.

Additional photos are here, here, and here. You can better see the cow, blue devil, and the bumble bee (last years winner for best balloon shape and crowd favorite).

I am thrilled the weather has finally cleared up a bit. It is brisk and chilly and the sun is out, definately fall weather.

Bad Weather

2004-10-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

The winds have been blowing here pretty strong for an hour or so. Strong enough that I had to take the plaques off of the wall on the patio because the wind kept banging them around. Tried to snap some shots of the fantastic and beatiful lightening we are getting, but of course it is a bit hard to capture. The hail started and I started getting ricocheted ice hitting me so decided I had better come back inside. At this moment the wind is blowing, lightening is flashing, thunder is rolling, rain and hail both are falling. Quite the little storm we are having.

I have to admit, I love storms. I realize they cause damage and frighten people and even my kitties don't care for the storms. But I love thunder storms!!

I switched on the news and got to see a quick look at them as they were yelling over the sound of the hail hitting the roof of the tv station. Then the local NBC affiliate went off the air for a few minutes. Gotta love our weather here! We don't get much of a change in the weather, but when it happens it often goes to extremes.

Because we get so little rain, the city streets and sewers aren't built to handle what little we do get. We often see flash flood warnings whenever rain is in the area. The hail is always huge chunks of ice, big enough to use as ice cubes in your drink.

Hope there is no hail damage on the cars, but I wouldn't be surprised to find a dent or two.

One Week

2004-10-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

That's how long before I make my trip to Austin. I'll be there for 2 weeks. I'll have to make a few adjustments to my massage website, but that's about all I need to do before heading south.

I had a virtually impossible time last night getting to sleep. I think I finally fell asleep a bit after 4am. The kittens of course woke me up bright and early at 7:30, then 8, then 8:30. At that point I just got up with plans on sneaking in a cat nap of my own this afternoon.

All in all it was a pretty boring weekend. I didn't take any photos of Saturday's mass balloon ascension because the weather was kind of nasty. The sky was a dark murky color and the balloons were pretty far distant and in a haze. Sunday I didn't see any (from my patio) and the balloon glow Sunday night was cancelled due to weather. So far there has only been one "hard landing". Basically that is a balloon crash. Nobody was injured thank goodness. There was an air-show in Santa Fe on Saturday though where a stunt pilot crashed and lost his life, condolences go out to his family.

Well, that's it. Like I said, a pretty boring weekend for me. But this coming weekend will be much busier with packing and getting my room set for me to be gone.

Full of hot air

2004-10-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

October 1st has arrived and so have all the hot air balloon crews and tourists. Balloon Fiesta is Albuquerque's 10 day long version of the Kentucky Derby or the Indianapolis 500.

Events will kick off tonight with the "Hare and the Hound" which is where one balloon takes off and lands somewhere and the other balloons have to land as close as possible to the first balloon. The winner is the person who lands the closest. Sound like fun? hehehe

I have gone up in a hot air balloon once when I lived in Florida. They are a lot of fun. You get to be a part of the crew by helping to unfold the balloon as well as to roll it up at the end of the flight. One word of warning though, if you are tall, wear a ball cap!! When they pull down on that cord to the burner to heat up the air in the balloon, it gets VERY hot. You feel like your hair is going to catch fire at any moment.

The first morning lift offs will start tomorrow. This means hundreds of balloons will be dotting the skies every morning for the next 9 days. It also means that you will hear that loud blast of fire as the balloons are drifting over your neighborhoods. During those treks across the neighborhoods the dogs will also be going absolutely crazy. They bark non-stop all morning long until the last balloon is out of sight.

I'll post a few pics over the next week to show you the view. It is pretty amazing. This will be my second Balloon Fiesta, even though I have never actually gone down to Balloon Park. I need to do that... Maybe next year.

Ithia

2004-09-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

She is the only female in the house. I don't think she minds at all, I mean, there is one straight male (Fez) and 2 gay males in the house so the demographics are pretty even.

Corin posted on his blog today about "Tom" coming into their lives this past month. He mentioned that Tom was a bit of a sloth. Now, I realize that this is a cat thing, they run with the energy of freight train and then suddenly crash and nap for hours on end only to wake a few hours later and start the cycle all over again. Fez is 7 months old now and Ithia is 6 months. So they still have a lot of kitten energy in them, even though they have the bodies of almost full grown cats. A dangerous combination. The breakage count is now up to 3 vases (1 vase they broke twice, I guess they really hate that vase), 1 marble dish, 1 indian pot, and 1 tea cup.

I am not angry at them when they break these things. Don't get me wrong though, I wish they wouldn't break anything, but they are kittens/cats, they don't understand that they are ruining something. Just like kids at that age wouldn't understand. Besides, I don't bring anything into my home that I don't want touched or realize that I might eventually lose. I like to keep my home looking nice, but I am not the type of person that will set up a "formal living room" full of delicate items that must never be touched or sat upon. If I buy a 100 year old leather couch you can just bet that people will be allowed to sit on it. Why else have it?

So after the cats are done terrorizing the imagined varmints they are chasing they suddenly and without warning drop down to the ground and fall fast asleep. This was Ithia 2 nights ago after breaking a vase...

Coffee, Tea, and Me

2004-09-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

I used to drink coffee all the time; morning, noon, and night. It's only been in the last 6 months or so that I have been drinking hot tea instead of coffee. I would drink the occasional cup of hot tea here and there, more often when I was feeling a little under the weather with a scratchy throat, then it would be a lemon tea with some honey in it. But now I religously make a pot of tea every morning.

Over the past several months I have tweaked how I make my tea. I really enjoy the French Vanilla flavor that Bigelow puts out. Yes, its not the best quality of tea, it's just a grocery store brand, but even so, it's my favorite flavor of the line. I also pick up the vanilla creamer to add to my tea, yup, I like milk and sugar in my tea. You don't use near as much as you would in coffee, if you do you might as well just forget the tea bag.

When I was a kid my mother would take me to a health food store where she would by her tea in loose leaf form. She would then fill this special tea spoon with leaves (basically an infuser with a handle), snap the little lid on it and swirl this spoon filled with tea around in her cup of hot water. Oops, actually, she didn't swirl, she just let it rest in the cup. I would love to brew my tea from fresh tea leaves, but that is rather expensive. Maybe some day.

So, how do you brew the perfect pot of tea? Well, here are the instructions borrowed from Inspire Company who use the loose leaf technique:

Fill the kettle with cold water and put to boil immediately. Once the water reaches a rollingboil, pour a little into the empty teapot to warm it. Empty the pot. Then put in about one teaspoon per teacup of fresh, loose tea. Pour the waer onto the tea. Never judge if a tea has steeped enough by its color. It's best to use a clock and steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the tea into cups holding a strainer over the cup to catch the leaves. Add sugar, and lemon or cream as desired.

Since I use tea bags I do pretty much the same thing, only I brew the water through my coffee pot instead of bringing it to a boil on the stove. The tea bags are placed in the tea pot after warming it and then I pour the water into the tea pot. It works very well and I have found that my tea pot, when filled, takes about 4 minutes to steep to perfection.

This morning, it steeped for about 20 minutes. YUCK! Nothing worse than over brewed and bitter tea. Had to start the process all over again. I got caught up reading blogs since I have been pretty much out of it for the past few days. Not really sick, just slightly under the weather. But when I was reading a blog and I reached for my cup of tea and it wasn't there... well, I knew I had just wasted those tea bags and had to start it all over again. It's only Monday though, I still have time to shake the cobwebs out of my head.

Friday's headache

2004-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a headache this morning, God I hate that. I have 2 clients coming, one after the other, in just a couple of hours. Like everyone else I suppose, I hate working with a headache. The only blessing is that my last client yesterday never showed up, so everything is already set up and ready to go, just a little less to do today to get things started.

20 Days

2004-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

That's how long I have left before I leave for my 2 week stay in Austin. It's not a vacation, I am actually going there to work. All those years working in Houston and I never bothered to go up to Austin to work, not sure why. So here I am in Albuquerque and going to make a 14 hour drive to Austin, where as when I lived in Houston it was only a 3 hour drive. I guess I am one of those people who never takes the easy road.

I'll be staying with Bryan while I am there. The sad thing is that Bryan just got this fantastic job offer in California and he is going to take it on a trial basis (6 months) and will most likely be gone by the time I arrive. His current roommate and a new roommate that is moving in sometime in the next week or two will be my hosts while there.

I am really looking forward to this trip. Although October is Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque, it doesn't mean a darn thing to me business wise. Not that many gay hot air balloonists. But Austin should be beautiful and lush at this time of year. It will be a nice change from the open horizon here in New Mexico. Although the weather here has definately turned into Fall. Temps at night in the mid 50's and high's in the 70's. It's beautiful here this time of year as well.

O' Tannenbaum

2004-09-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

I know most people will think I am crazy for thinking of Christmas when it isn't even Fall yet, let alone Winter. But I just realized that since I now have the kittens, I wont be able to put up my christmas tree this year. This will be my first Christmas without a tree in, well, I can't remember how long.

Granted, a few years back a roommate broke two limbs on my tree. It's a rather expensive tree, so rather than just chuck it I figured that would be the side that went into the corner. At the time though, the tree was in the music room in front of a huge picture window, so every side could be seen. I wasn't happy about the tree getting broken, and I was especially unhappy when the roommate didn't bother to tell me, but instead just tried to hide the damage.

I have pretty much convinced myself that I am going to buy a new tree. I want to get rid of the old one for a few reasons. First, my christmas ornaments are extremely heavy and the 'drapey' look of my existing tree just doesn't work well when you put those ornaments on it, it goes from 'drapey' to just plain saggy. Second, the tree is broken. Third, I want a new tree. The third probably being the most important reason. LOL

The good thing is that since I can't put up a tree, or even set out decorations this year, I don't have to worry about the expense of buying a new tree just yet. That's a good thing considering how business is right now.

Since moving to New Mexico I have noticed an extreme lack of enthusiasm towards Christmas decorations. Every apartment complex I have ever lived in has had balcony decorating contests (Of which I have either placed or won thank you very much hehehehe). The complex where I live now has a Halloween balcony decorating contest, which is kind of cool, until you see the lame decorations that people put up. The complex doesn't even put up a wreath on the office's front door. The idea of being able to decorate my new home (knock on wood) for Christmas next year is, well, thrilling. And the color scheme for the house was picked out in mind of how the greenery would look against the color of the house. Anal and obsessive, I know, but the neighbors will be oohing and aahing over it. :-D

I don't own much in the way of Halloween decorations, I have a many years retired pirate's costume and a jack-o-lantern that lights up and laughs when a loud noise or motion sets it off. That's all. I don't really want to invest in anything more. At least not right now.

So getting back to the Chrstimas tree, I have in the past and am toying with the idea for this year, of putting the tree up on the patio and doing the whole christmas lights around the patio and all that jazz. I won't use the good ornaments, instead I'll buy the cheap-o ornaments from Big Lots and use those and just throw them away after the holidays. That should be cool. With all the plants coming inside for the winter the patio will be very barren, so it will be nice to have something up out there. I do live on the ground floor with a 3.5 ft solid wall around the patio, so you wont be able to see a lot of the tree, but it will still look good, especially at night.

Interesting fact: Iowa (as well as 3 other states) use the melody from O' Tannenbaum for their official state song.

LAX

2004-09-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

This past Monday NBC aired their first showing of the airport drama entitled LAX. Heather Locklear, Blair Underwood, and Frank Hughes are the biggest names in this series. As you would expect Heather is again playing a blonde bitch always trying to pull the "I'm a beautiful and smart woman" card and Blair's charater is his typical overly macho black man persona. I was bored within the first 5 minutes, and in that 5 minutes we even got to see a guy (the director of LAX) commit suicide by standing under a landing 747. Got to see the front wheels hit him and knock him end over end. Nah, there isn't too much violence on TV, not at all.

On a side note, I wonder how many airports have immediately stepped up patrol around runways because of copycat suicides.

I struggled through the episode, knowing that you learn about the characters in the first season and if they make it to the second season the writing tends to get better. So I got introduced to the cute immigration officer with a heart of gold, who got his heart crushed. The lesbian-ish customs inspector who has an unhealthy relationship with her drug sniffing dog. An alcoholic police officer that was busted down to airport duty, evidently that is worse than being a traffic cop, who is a great cop who is tired of playing the political games to try and get ahead and instead just kicks back with a glass of JD. And we also met the mayor of LA who is a typically spineless politician.

Obviously the number of stories that could and do take place in an airport, especially one the size of LAX, will give plenty of fuel for future episodes. But I saw that next Monday's episode is about a guy who arrived in LA as a stowaway in a casket. Too stereo typical, they need to give us some real meat and potatoes stuff, more CSI like, not this 90's fluff for TV kind of stuff.

I used to work for Virgin Airlines a LONG time ago. Trust me, airlines have plenty of stories to tell, beyond the typical mile high stories. Take those stories and multiply them by the number of airlines in the airport and factor in shop and restaurant employees and multiply that by the every day drama of the 1000's of people that are traveling. There are stories that would send the most hard core jet setter screaming for a horse drawn carriage.

Praying Mantis

2004-09-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Once again Mother Nature and New Mexico have shown me up close and personally how much insects are a part of the area I live in. I was watering some new potted roses I bought the other day. When I moved the pots I found this praying mantis on the wall behind them. They are incredibly beautiful and unusual insects and definately a nice change from the Black Widows that I usually find on my patio.

Growing up in the Midwest I did see my share of Praying Mantis, but more often I would come across Walking Sticks. Some of those had pinchers on their tail ends, but they were easy to capture and you definately didn't want them in your garden because they ate the plants that you found them on. The Praying Mantis however is carnivorous and eats up most of the insects that it comes across. Although I didn't handle this beautiful creature, they don't bite, but they have these wicked little thorny projections on their forelegs that they use to keep their pray in their grasp that make handling them a prickly job.

I probably found this little lady (the females have large abdomens as opposed to the slim abdomen of the male) because this is their mating season, September-October, with eggs hatching around December-March. The hatched young, as well as the adults, love vinegar flies, white flies, and especially aphids but will go after almost any insect as well as small frogs, so for a rose grower like me, they are much beloved creatures, which reminds me I better check my new roses for aphids.

Useless information:
Did you know that in flight they resemble, and are hard to distinguish from, hummingbirds? That is how fast they beat their tiny little wings.
The Praying Mantis is the only insect that can turn its head and can do so a full 360 degrees.
Just like the Black Widows that I find on my patio, the Praying Mantis also devours her mate.
The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
The Praying Mantis has no known negative effect on the ecosystem.

Shopping

2004-09-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am really tired of renting. Renting a room, renting an apartment, renting a house. Talk about money thrown down the drain.

I went to look at some models and floorplans at a new residential development here in town. It's on the southwest side. Currently I live on the NE side which is the 'better' side of town, if Albuquerque really has one. But, the turnover in this area is definitely underway. The residents are getting up there in years and not taking care of their yards. They are passing away and a newer/younger generation is moving in and not fixing their places back up. Crime is definitely getting worse than it was in past years. So the southwest side is looking better and better.

Currently the southwest side of town is under major redevelopment. There is a large commercially zoned strip of land that runs between Highway 40 and Central (Old Route 66). There is talk of major chains opening restaurants and stores in this area as well as solid talk (rumours?) about a mall. There is a new elementary school in the area as well as, of course, lots of new residential, both single family and apartment complexes. So, with a mind to the future value of a home in that area (going the highway it only took 17 minutes to get there from where I currently live) I decided that the southwest side wasn't really that far out of the normal path of things. The reason this is a concern? Because I work from home, inviting my clients to come to me here.

So I went to this new development out there. I watch the Home Builders show, a local program here shown 2 times on Sunday mornings, that showcases new developments and private builders. Although the developer that I went to were not featured on this show, they did run a commercial that really struck a cord in me. So I pulled up there website and headed out there this morning to check the distance of how far out it really was and to see how long it took me to get there.

When I arrived I was a bit surprised at how small this subdivision is. It consists of only six streets, 4 streets forming an elongated rectangle with 2 more streets bisecting the rectangle, with two points of access into the subdivision/development. No gated access, which I didn't want, so that's good.

The office, surprisingly, was open at 10am when most others don't open until noon on Sunday's. So I took advantage of arriving there early on a Sunday morning (10:30) and was the first one in the door. A saleslady gave me a couple of sheets of paper pointed out which models were available for viewing and circled those on the price sheet she handed me, opened the door and sent me on my way to go take a looksee on my own.

The first house was their cheapest model and definitely one that I could be qualified for (I haven't gone to the bank to see what I would qualify for yet). This house was definitely 'workable' which for me means plenty of bedrooms/bathrooms and a room for massage work.

The second house, about $15k more, I immediately fell in love with. Plenty of room without the feeling of still being in an apartment, like I felt in the first house. It also has a den, which means that I wouldn't have to put my computer in the massage room or in my bedroom the way it currently is set up. An actual home office, YIPPEE. Beautiful formal living room and a family room/kitchen/dining area. Also a garage!!

The third and fourth houses were definitely outside of my price range and neither of them were laid out in a way that would work well for me.

So I went back to the office, showed them which one I "liked" and which one I "loved" and we started talking about the major options that would raise the mortgage (I also added in, just for the sake of numbers, an extra $5k in options that were miscellaneous). I definitely would want the bay window for the kitchen, extended cabinets, 9ft ceilings, carpet/flooring upgrade, and the lot fee and elevation choices were made.

I will have to go back and put down a lot deposit and at that time they would send me over to the design center for 2 visits. The first to be introduced on all available options and the second visit to confirm the options I have chosen. The saleslady told me that is about a month long process. Then the actual number crunching would begin. From the time I got a mortgage it would take anywhere from 4-6 months for the house to be built and ready to move into, which would be perfect timing because that is when my current lease would be finished.

Currently my home is cram packed with furniture, literally wall to wall. So I thought I would need to buy very little to actually furnish out my new home (if I get it, knock on wood). But when I got home I realized that although the bedroom furniture would be just fine, I definitely want new stuff for the living room and family room. Probably a good thing that I have more than half a year to start window shopping and pricing out selections. I'll start a "help furnish my home" donation fund soon. LOL

This would be my first home purchase, so I am sure you can imagine how excited I am about the whole thing. The infection should start to wear thin in a few days as more reality seeps into my brain. But for now it's fun to imagine all of the possibilities.

The Apprentice, again

2004-09-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

The second season of The Apprentice started tonight. It has been on for only 20 minutes and I already love Maria, the brunette in the green suit. She hasn't spoken a word yet but she is a knockout and has a presence about her that demands attention.

Ok, gotta go watch the rest of the show!!

Let there be Windows

2004-09-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

So I spent most of the day on Monday burning everything I thought I needed onto Cd. Thirteen Cd's later I had everything. Well, in hindsight I now realize I didn't have everything, but at the time I thought 13 Cd's at 700MB each HAD to be everything. When you have an 80G hard drive 13Cd's isn't much though.

After putting away my horde of freshly burned Cd's I reinstalled windows. After the 4th attempt at doing this it finally worked. So I began the tedious task of entering in my user information, restoring programs, and a massive download frenzy of all things lost. I think this time I am going to stick with the XP environment instead of converting it to the Windows Classic look. It's 2004, time to let go of the past.

I lost several things. I am sure I lost more than I yet realize, but until I actually need it I won't realize it.

I lost a $600 Photoshop program. I had JUST deleted off an archive folder a few days ago, thinking I didn't need anything that was in there. Of course the installation program for Photoshop was in there. I didn't actually pay $600 for it, I got it from a friend of course. But I've lost it all the same.

MANY names & passwords are now history. And registration codes galore. Seems that a bunch of my little programs that I took for granted all had little registration codes that I didn't even think about. Until I downloaded them again and they all now say "Trial Version" and most have annoying nag screens on them telling me how many days of the trial are remaining. PowerTools 12.x for AOL is the most annoyingly offensive nagger. Any hackers out there made a keygen for 12.x yet? hehehe

ICUII (I see you too) is one of the programs I lost my registration code to. ICUII is a cam program, very gay friendly, although I am sure that was not the creators original target audience. I don't use my cam very much anymore because I am on dial up. Also the fact that I really should upgrade the memory on my pc because using an internet cam tends to eat up system resources and when they are already at a minimum it means the program has a tendancy to crash. And for a cam program to crash on you, well, let's just say that it always always always seems to happen at the ~~moneyshot~~ most crucial time.

I've had ICUII for a number of years. Back when they only had 3 rooms to choose from and the total number of users worldwide was less than 1,000. Now they have 6 gay mens rooms that hold up to 300 people each, plus the "str8" rooms. I can't even imagine how many people I referred to this program over the years, but I am sure that I helped make this company grow. I've also bought their program 4 times. They have very very bad customer service when it comes to helping you retrieve lost registration codes. And their new automated system wont even give you your code anymore, it now tells you, "It's time you paid for this program again anyway, you've been using it so much." (I paraphrased a little bit.)

I still have my old pc. It sits under my desk with my new(er) one. I replaced the old pc because it has a tendancy to just reboot itself whenever it feels like it. I actually know what causes it (and how to fix it), it's just that it made such a great excuse to buy a new, faster, and prettier pc. Since I do have my old pc I decided that I could fire it up and grab my registration code off of ICUII and plug it into my restored version on the current pc. Well, guess what? The registration code doesn't stay visible and I don't know enough about the program to know where they hide the registry file for it. BUT, in a stroke of genious, I remembered that at one time I emailed myself the code because of the last time I went through this crap. So I pulled up an old version of AOL (6.0) and dug into the filing cabinet and BINGO. My ICUII program is up and running again. So take that ICUII.

Most of the sounds are disabled on my pc (at my doing). For the most part, I don't like my pc pretending at having a life of its own. Sitting in the corner and beeping and crooning to itself, it is both distracting and annoying. AOL has made this worse by allowing not only the user to change any and every event sound you can imagine, but to also have those changes affect others that might have you buddy listed. One AOL buddy of mine has a cat screach as his sign on and sign off and IM sound. Talk about freaking annoying. So I disabled that feature quickly and have the standard door opening and door slamming sounds. I still cringe on occassion when the door slam occurs, somehow expecting the slamming door to hit me in the face. I do however miss a few of my lost wav files. I've tried searching for some of them on the web but talk about a needle in a haystack of needles!! And most files are now MP3's instead of wav files. Windows needs to realize this and make the appropriate necessary changes to adapt to MP3 files in its next incarnation.

2004-09-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

A little bit of knowledge is dangerous

Back in Houston I worked for a computer repair company. It was after my car accident, when I thought my career as a massage therapist was over. I was an office manager for them. Being around those computer techs all the time really brought out the techie in me. Unfortunately, I never had the training to support that budding techie and most computer techs are dragon-like in protecting their horde of information. They do everything as quickly as possible, not only to look impressive to the person whose PC they are fixing, but also so that you don't see what they are doing. And yeah some of what they do to fix the problems we cause to our own PC's is simple in the extreme. God, and Gate's, forbid we learn to fix our own computers.

So, the virus protection software that I use was about to expire, the subscription that is. I use Norton's Internet Security. Probably the best anti-virus and firewall protection that a home user can have on their PC. I was told by both the computer tech who installed this same software on the PC's at the spa I worked for as well as a local computer tech/geek here in town, that when the subscription expired to just delete the software off the computer and reinstall it. That would give me a whole new years worth of protection.

LOL, things are never as simple as they seem.

So, with my limited knowledge of how a PC thinks, I started deleting all things Symantic. After I figured I had everything deleted I rebooted, popped in the Norton CD and started a new installation. Then I get this nag screen that I can't get around. So I go to the NIS website and go through the troubleshooting guide and find I have to find all the hidden registry keys and delete those as well. So I do and I did. Reboot. Reinstall. No go. Same problem as before. Ok, screw it. I am very careful about what links I click on as well as the sites I go to and what I download. I also have Lavasoft's ad-aware pro version and ad-watch on my PC to guard me against key stroke recorders and other spy-wares that might try and change my registry values. So I feel pretty secure. With that in mind I forget about installing NIS and just log on (I am on dial-up) and go about my business.

This morning however I discover a side effect of my meddling. Internet Explorer no longer opens and the IE in my AOL program doesn't act like it is supposed to. So I go to the Microsoft website, say my prayers and ask forgiveness from the great PC God Gates, and figure it is time to tackle downloading the 77.4 megabite file of the new Windows update. Which is mostly filled with enhanced email protection and ad-aware (Yup, Lavasoft) protections built in.

I think somebody over at Windows needs to be reminded that we all don't have T3 internet connections, some of us still count our bit transfer rates in bauds. My best connection speed is 50,666. At this rate I will have the file downloaded in, oh, about 5 more hours! Of course I am hoping that whatever is in this new service pack will help with my IE problem. If all else fails I will rollback my PC to a previously safe time and go from there.

All this hassle to save myself a new $40 subscription rate. Damn it sucks to be poor!

2004-09-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

Remembering Joshua

Today would have been my nephew Joshua's 21st birthday. About 6 months ago he passed away from CML (chronic myelogenic leukemia).

Growing up in the Midwest, Labor Day weekend was always a celebrated tradition in my family. We would buy tons of food that could be left out on a buffett style table and stay up as long as we could or camp out and fall asleep in front of the tv watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon. I don't know how or why this started and it was specific to my family (I guess). But we did it every year, that's just the way it was.

My sister decided to take one Labor Day weekend rather seriously and we spent that weekend at the hospital with her in labor and trying to deliver my parents first grandchild, my first nephew (or niece since we didn't know the sex of the baby at the time). Joshua was finally born that weekend, a happy bouncing baby boy weighing in at 7 lbs and 3 oz.

I suppose if you go back and read some of my older blog entries it will cover the territory of some of what I am about to say, but I left Iowa when Joshua was only 3 years old and only went back there once since then. I missed a lot of Joshua's growing up although we stayed in contact through phone calls, letters, and eventually emails. When Joshua was diagnosed with CML a couple years ago he was extremely brave about it. I have some emails and letters that I might share if I ever get the courage to do so. But it was really amazing and even inspiring as to how this young man of 19 was facing a disease that could quickly take his health and eventually his life from him. He didn't let it get to him though. And from what my brother said, just before Joshua went into the hospital the last time, Joshua was laughing and telling everybody that it was ok. "Just look out for my Mom," was the last thing he asked of my brother.

My wonderful and courageous nephew died before he even turned 21. But I'll never forget him.

2004-09-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

I feel so used

We all know that the best way to get people to read your blog is for you to leave comments on other peoples blogs. Well, that and you have to have a blog that is interesting enough to read.

I have had somebody go through my linked bloggers and leave a one, two, or three word comment on EVERY SINGLE BLOG that I am linked to. Can you believe that? Talk about campaigning to increase your blog traffic! And the worst part is that this person hasn't even had the courtesy to atleast say hello to me. Yes, they did leave a comment once on my blog and I of course was obliged to follow their comment back to their blog. But come on! To comment on every single blog you have read? Nobody does that. And lets face it, not every blog entry is worth commenting on. Some of us comment just because the blog entry is almost like a face to face conversation and we feel we have to reply back to our friend, otherwise it would be like turning our head away after they just spoke to us.

But still, for somebody just to use your bloglist like a "things to do" list is just a bit much. In fact, it is down right tacky.

2004-09-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

CGI-bin

I have spent the past 10 hours (no exaggeration) trying to write a new html form and get it to work with 4 different modules. None of which I can get to work. I just don't know enough about perl, c+, c++, or any of those other languages to figure out which one I should be using. So I plug a different module from each into my cgi-bin, write different forms to work with each of the different modules, and can't get a single thing to work. I am very frustrated.

Why am I even doing this? My current form works just fine. But I wanted to add a "pick a date" calendar to eliminate the errors that people sometimes make when telling me what date they want their appointment for. I also thought it would be cool. Well, turns out that cool is a pain in the freaking ass. LOL

Know what I finally got done? Not a damned blessed thing! The form sits exactly the way it did this morning before I ever started. Oh well, guess there are just some things that I really need to leave to the professionals.

2004-08-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Morning

I got to sleep in this morning! No early clients today, the kittens were curled up asleep next to me instead of running their laps, and the a/c was cranking out the cold air to a snuggly cool 68 degrees. Perfect.

I layed there for a few minutes just basking in the peace and serenity of the moment before finally dislodging myself from the cocoon of warm blankets and furry bodies. Then began my morning routine; fire up the pc, go open the patio door, feed the fish, open the living room blinds, turn off the a/c, feed the kittens their morning moist cat food, and start a pot of tea. By the time all of that is done the PC is sitting at the password log-on screen so I type in my password, hit enter, and proceed to make the bed. With that done I hit the button on my keyboard that starts up the AOL program and while that is loading I jump into the shower. When I am brushing my teeth I hit enter on the keyboard for AOL to start the sign-on process and then finish brushing my teeth. When AOL finally gets loaded I start deleting the spam mail, which is pretty easy since most of them repeat the same subject line over and over and over. I can't use a spam filter because too many client responses get caught in the filter, it's actually easier just to find the spam stuff and click on the "report spam" button.

That's pretty much the morning routine. Of course I then settle in front of the PC with a cup of tea and a bowl of fresh fruit and begin reading blogs. Which sometimes inspires what I will write on this blog for the day and sometimes not.

I do want to mention that last night on Fox I watched The Complex: Malibu. There are 3 yummy guys on there and the one that tops my list is Lew who is a gay man on there with his partner of 9 years Brad. Number 2 on the list is Carl, definately a straight guy but I bet if his wife Kim weren't around we would find Carl spying on Lew & Brad. Luckily, these 2 couples ended up as "roommates". The 3rd person on the list is their teammate David. He is a straight boy with a bit of flavor. He is a cutie with a sort of too long body but that works for him. All three of these boys, Lew, Carl, and Dave, have nice pecs and arms. MMMMMMMM

Brad & LewThere are 8 couples divided into 2 teams and have 4 condos to renovate. The 4 condos each house 2 sets of couples. At the end of each project a most valuable room and least valuable room (adding to the value of the condo) are picked. The couples also vote which couple (from their own team) they want to evict. I am happy to report that our gay couple, Lew & Brad, (who by the way on the fox website are introduced as "This studly gay couple") won the 'most valuable room' and they did it with the least amount of the $10,000 budget. Any money left over from the room renovation gets moved over to their next rooms budget.

I wonder if Lew would be willing to come over to my place and do a little work on for me...

2004-08-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Troublesome Kittys

I spoke to the roommate about the trouble with the kittens and getting them fixed. We both agreed that we would no longer deal with the abq shelter again. Instead just deal with a veterinarian. Looks like both kittens will go in for shots and check ups in the next few weeks and Fez will be the first one scheduled for a neuter, since he is the oldest at 6 months. Then Ithia will get spayed a month or two later.

Last night, to show us their appreciation of being spared mutilation at the shelter, the kittens knocked over a large art glass vase that was on the counter, sending the vase and flower arrangement over onto a table with crystal candlesticks and an onyx vase on it. Luckily the candlestick didn't break, chip or anything, however the candlestick did make a tiny mark in the onyx vase. :-( The art glass vase didn't shatter, but it has a huge circular crack in it now, I honestly don't know how it is staying in one piece. It has one good side and that side is now facing out into the living room but I am sure it is only a matter of time before it just falls into pieces.

This morning at around 5:30 the kittens were doing their normal Indy 500 impressions where they race around the house chasing each other. They circle through the living room, across my bed, down to the floor and back into the living room. Only on one of their 200mph passes they hit the nightstand and a marble dish of polished rocks and 2 tiny indian pottery pieces went sailing as well as the lamp crashed to the floor.

Remind me again why I didn't leave them at the shelter?? Oh yeah, Yvonne the Dragon Queen.

Ithia and Fez are definately in their terrible twos or troublesome threes stage. They are into everything that they possibly can be. It takes me a much longer time now when I am getting things set up for a massage client. I have to go back through the house after putting the kittens away and get things straightened and tidied up.

I know all to quickly they are going to be finished with their playful phase and just simply lounge around the place for the rest of their 15-20 years. And when that happens I will mourn the passing of their youth. But at this moment in time, I suppose like parents of real boys and girls, I can't wait for that lounge phase to begin!

2004-08-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

ABQ Animal Services

Some of you knew that I was due to take my kittens (Fez and Ithia) in today to get their spay/neuter surgeries.

Well, I want to voice my outrage here.

I adopted my kittens from the Albuquerque Animal Services Department on June 3rd. I have always been a supporter of local animal shelters and I have to say that when I lived in Houston they had/have a fantastic set-up. I don't like the fact that eventually unadoptable pets have to be put down, but I understand the overcrowding issues and also that some animals just are not able to be socialized. (Sounds like maybe the prisons should take a look at this policy, but that is an arguement for another time.)

To say that the adoptions at the ABQ shelter went badly would be an understatement. They are extremely disorganized and their people working for them, both volunteers and paid workers, are uninformed and rude.

Today, Yvonne, was the person I dealt with. I was told I could drop off my kittens at 9:30 which would keep me out of the 10:30 kennel opening rush. I showed up at 9:30 and only one lady was waiting ahead of me. At 9:45 a lady came to the front door, unlocked it, and gave the door a push. That was our 'greeting' I guess.

The lady that was waiting with me went in and I followed. She told me to go ahead of her since I was just dropping off my cats and she was going to be awhile. There are 4 'teller' type windows at the shelter with blinds drawn down. One of the blinds went up and there sat the "greeter". She said, "Number 60!". The lady and I looked around to try and figure out what the greeter was talking about. Evidently, the two of us were supposed to pull numbers from the little dispenser before we could get served.

I went over and pulled #60 and walked up to "Yvonne/greeter" and she said "Owner surrenders are at the back of the building."

HUH???

I told her I am not "surrendering" my cats, but that I have an appointment to drop them off for their spay/neuter.

"They don't take them until 10:30. Number 61!"

And that quickly I was dismissed.

I turned around to the lady behind me and said I would be just another minute and turned back to "Yvonne" and said why don't we get the paperwork started and then at 10:30 we would be all set to go.

Ten minutes later she came back with the paperwork!

Now, I had a vet friend of mine give my kittens their booster shots. A no charge kind of thing since we are friends. But it turns out that since I had no proof to show "Yvonne" that my kittens had their boosters that they would refuse to take them.

SO, I asked if we could reschedule the appointments and that I would have the vet fill out whatever paperwork was necessary.

"When?"

Short and to the point, I wonder if she is able to construct complete sentences?

Lets plan 2-4 weeks from now.

"October 18th" she said (that's all she said)

I'll be gone on a trip at that time, I told her.

"You need to call the supervisor, I can't help you."

She writes down a name and number and I guess she just thought I was going to leave it at that.

No way.

Why do I need to call a supervisor?

You need to have your appointments extended, I can't do that.

At this point I smarted off and told her that she hadn't been able to help me period, gathered my cat carrier up, and wished the lady behind me better luck than I had.

Now, you hear horror stories about some shelters. They are usually understaffed and running on minimal budgets. But this place is always crawling with people in the "offices" so if they are under budgeted it is because they spend too much money on staff and not enough time with customer service and politeness which might garner them more and better volunteers. You also hear stories about how a pet was 'butchered' by the vets at these places. I myself had a greyhound that a shelter had spayed before turning it over to the greyhound rescue society. We thought about pursuing charges against them but realized that this would set up animosity between the greyhound rescue and this shelter. So we didn't and Angel, my greyhound now deceased, just had a wicked ugly scar to show for her abuse.

Needless to say, even though I had paid for the spay/neuter in the price of the adoption, it is itemized at $50, I will NOT be taking my 2 beautiful and well behaved kittens back to that cess pool.

I truly rescued them from this shelter and will gladly now pay a vet to do their surgeries.

In all, I highly do NOT recommend anyone to ever have any services done at the Albuquerque Animal Services Division. If you want to adopt, that's great, but be prepared for what I have mentioned above (and to be honest I was as brief as possible) and I would recommend never taking your adopted pet back there for the spay/neuter. Just plan to see your vet.

2004-08-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Motorcycle Memories

Brent was in a motorcycle accident yesterday. Although he didn't post all of the details, he did say that he hit the back of a Ford LTD. He suffered a broken wrist and a dislocated wrist as well as bumps and bruises. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Babe!

I used to have a Ford LTD and without going into details of that monster let's just say that I spent a LOT of money on that horrible vehicle. I finally gave it away to a co-worker so her husband would have something to drive. But what did dislodge in my brain and rise to the surface was memories of the summer of 1986. Eighteen years ago, Good Lord!!

It was the summer after I graduated. May 21st, 1986 (I was born May 21st, 1968, cool huh?) I recieved a phone call about an hour before I was to leave the house to head to the school for my graduation ceremony. The lady on the phone informed me that I got the part I auditioned for in a Neil Simon musical, "They're Playing Our Song." I was to be in Albia, Iowa the next day to start rehearsal and we would be traveling to 13 different cities throughout the course of the summer. Summer Stock theatre, I suppose all young Thespians have this on their resumes.

When I got to my first rehearsal I met Jerry. He was this 5'4" blonde haired and blue eyed devil in a cute boy suit. He was mischievous, funny, and of course had that short guy chip on his shoulder. He also drove a motorcycle. It wasn't long before Jerry and I became best friends for the summer. We ended up renting an apartment together in Oskaloosa, IA, his hometown. The rest of the summer I spent riding on the back of his motorcycle as we traveled from city to city all over the state. Needless to say, I was hopelessly in love with this guy. And he was hopelessly straight and would stick his dick in anything with a short skirt on.

Of course summer finally had to end and we went our seperate ways. Jerry joined the Navy Reserves and I went to work for The Prarie Home restaurant in Pekin. Which is a whole different story best kept for another time. Let me just say, thank god for high school wrestler boys!

2004-08-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Nothing Much

Tuesday happened. Nothing like Monday except the kittens decided it would be fun to scoop all the sugar from the sugar bowl and spread it all over the kitchen floor. Gotta tell you, that was so much fun to clean up. NOT!! Other than that I spent the day making egg salad and tuna salad (fat free). Worked on a client Tuesday night. Missed BB5, curious to see which of the twins is going to get voted off.

Wednesday I was busy with clients all day. So other than peeking into the different tribes on tribe.net and catching up on some of the blogs I read not much else got done.

Today the roommate had the day off so we were going to go hit a couple of grocery stores that have some good sales going on. I prefer to go during the week and during the day because they are so much less crowded. However, my roommate's boss decided to call him in to work. Oh well, guess grocery shopping will have to wait.

And that, my friends, has been my exciting past few days!