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This isn't really the post I was going to put up but since I didn't post yesterday as i'd said I would -- and Patti called me on it -- I figured I better get SOMETHING up here. And I saw something tonight that Adrian said I should blog on, so here it is:

If you're a baby-boomin' kinda guy, and you walk into a Vietnamese restaurant, and you're waiting around for your spring rolls and pho to go, you REALLY don't have to make conversation with the older man behind the couter by saying, "I really like Vietnam...I was in Long Binh for a year...I was there for the war, in the Army." Yeah, I'm thinking that's not a really fond memory for people from there, and telling them that you were over there blowing shit up is probably not the way to make friends. It IS, however, probably a good way to get someone to spit in your soup.

The other thing to keep in mind is, there's no guarantee you were both on the same side.

Labels: Life

What is up with this "week between postings" business? I have no idea! Well, actually, I have SOME idea. But I'll get past it and blog a bit Tuesday.

I suppose if I'm going to write about my life I should make sure I have a life first.

(oops, did I say that out loud? I meant to just think that)

Wo shi ni de, babe.

Labels: Stuff

OK, it doesn't ONLY happen to me, but in any case I'm glad it DOES happen to me. My entry for the 20th was about a meet-up I planned in Dallas. This entry is about the other kind.

Saturday night in Dallas I was hoping to meet up with Steve, whom I know from Fridae.com but whom I've never met. Unfortunately, as I got to the dance club I learned he was sick and wouldn't be coming out...he had planned to go to a friend's party first then meet up with me, but he didn't make it to either. A shame, as we've been chatting off and on for a couple years, but I can always have fun dancing in a big city, so it's not like the night was totally ruined (and I'm sure we'll meet up at some point).

So anyway, I'm dancing and having a good time. I see a cute boy and he looks like he wants to dance with me, but then some friends join him on the dance floor and he's over with them, so OK, that's cool. I'm dancing by myself, another guy joins me and we dance until 1:30. Then he heads home but one of his friends comes over and takes his place, and we dance until 2:30. Then HE takes off for home, and I'm off the dance floor, about to go get my coat and head back to the hotel, when suddenly the original cute guy walks past me toward the bar, minus his shirt.

As he comes back I stop him and say, "no fair, you already looked cute with your shirt on and now you look even better without." he smiled and said, "hey, live with it." Then he got an odd look on his face and said...

"Is your name Will?"

Um, yeah.

"I know you," he says, "from Fridae."

OK, I'm thinking this is one of Steve's friends who has seen my photo on his profile and he recognizes me. But how does he remember my name?

"What are you doing here," he asks, "you're supposed to be in Washington DC."

OK, he REALLY knows me, but I'm looking at him, and it's not clicking. I ask him his screen name. He tells me. As he gets halfway through it I suddenly know who this is. It's Ken.

From Bangkok.

Who lives in Miami.

With whom I've been talking since October 2005 without having met before.

Our last e-mail exchange was last Sunday.

And he's standing next to me on a dance floor in Dallas.

WHAT????

Turns out he and his boyfriend came to town for his boyfriend's job interview. Boyfriend went home Saturday morning, Ken stayed until Sunday to visit friends. That's who I saw him dancing with earlier.

And out of nowhere, after a couple times where we've talked about meeting up in Bangkok or Florida, but nothing's worked, here he is, standing next to me on a dance floor in Dallas 30 seconds before I walked out the door.

I didn't walk out the door, of course, we ended up hanging out for a few hours, and yes, I still managed to get back to the hotel and get some sleep before flying home to the snow in DC.

Oh, and as for me not recognizing him...I felt bad, because he told me that he thought earlier that he recognized me but was too shy to say something. In my defense, he's cut his hair, colored and highlighted it, oh, and did I mention we were in Dallas and I wasn't exactly expecting to see him? Yeah, there's that.

When life gets weird, it gets really weird. But it makes for cool stories.

Yay for meeting Kai and Ken this weekend!!!!

Labels: Friends, Travel

So...Dallas.

Last time I was here was 3 years ago, when Adrian and I were moving to Colorado and stopped here for a couple days. I left my hat and boots at home this time as I'm only here for a couple days for some meetings on Saturday. Fortunately, that still gives me plenty of time to finally meet the charming Kai.

When I first created my Web presence I decided I wasn't going to bother getting to know people well unless there was a good chance we'd meet someday. Getting to meet Kai has reminded me once again what a good idea that is. We've gotten to know each other over the last year or so through each other's blogs and e-mails and such, and last night we met up for dinner. He's a very sweet, very outgoing, very cute, very got-his-shit-together kind of guy. He's one of those folks who's very involved in community activities, even helping found some community service groups, and I'm always very impressed by that. Sure, I have no doubt he works hard at his job, but he's one of those guys who has figured out what's REALLY important in life...friends, personal growth, giving something back to society, making the world a better place, and looking good in the process. OK, maybe that last one isn't all that important. We went to a great little Japanese-Latin fusion restaurant where the food was fantastic -- I'd found it online and Kai had been wanting to go there sometime, so that was all good. I loved that he took time to go out with me even though he was on his way to his brother's birthday party...as he put it, there was going to be a lot food there because that's just what Mexican families do, so yay for him for going to dinner first.

Yeah, even if the work stuff goes badly, this is already a great trip in my book.

Oh, and it's cold here. Texas should be warmer than this.

Labels: Travel

41 today, but I don't feel like it, of course. Just a quiet day of bumming aronud town -- I've needed one of those for a while!

Thanks very much to all who sent birthday greetings!!!

Adrian's taking me out to dinner tonight. For those who've known me for a long time you know that we met on my birthday (see the January 14 2001 entry) so tonight marks our 6th anniversary of meeting. This one feels different from all the rest, for the obvious reasons, but I'm looking forward to a very nice night out at a new restaurant (well, new for us, anyway).

Labels: Age

I noticed that my profile on Fridae.com (which is based in Singapore, 13 hours ahead of us) already shows me as 41 years old. Silly Singaporeans, always making me feel older than I really am. Well, occasionally, there have been some who've made me feel younger!

But a reminder, nonetheless, that this time tomorrow I'll be a little older. Which I suppose is true every day, come to think of it.

Finally got over my cold and all that nonsense, made it to the doctor and got some drugs that are supposed to fix me but don't give me any wild feelings of euphoria, so what's the fun in THAT?

Labels: Age

...than to listen to the President's address on Iraq tonight. I should have just read the transcript later, my original plan. As it is, I'm yelling back at the TV. Damn it all anyway.

Did anyone else get the sense he was setting requirements for the Iraqi government that they will have trouble meeting, giving him the opportunity to bail out in a few months and say "hey, we gave them a chance?"

Labels: Life

Felt better today, but still not so hot (well, hot from fever, but not in the good way). So, bailed out of work again. I think the last time I was out "sick" from work was last August, the day after Adrian's big (and not so good) announcement. So I really haven't missed work for being sick before now, and as a result I don't feel too bad about it. Until, that is, I get an e-mail from work telling me that we have a meeting with the big boss Thursday afternoon on a major project I'm heading up, and I didn't do anything on it these two days. Uh oh. I know what I'm doing for the next two days.

Labels: Life

I don't miss many work days by being sick but wow, I got hammered today. What started as a sore throat that popped up out of nowhere at 10pm last night turned into 101-degree fever and aches and coughing this morning, and a 103-degree fever by this evening along with all the coughing, hacking, wheezing, and associated feeling like poo.

After calling in and leaving a voicemail for my boss at 7am I realized I was supposed to give a presentation to the BIG boss today. Oops. Rather than have someone else give it they've postponed it until later in the month. Yay, I matter!

I'm supposed to be gettig Friday off because my b-day is Saturday and they give us a day off for our birthday (nice touch). But having missed today, and with a good chance I'll miss Tuesday, I have a feeling that won't be happening.

This would all suck even worse if I actually looked forward to going to work in the mornings.

As a result of all this, the webcam has remained off today. Trust me, you don't want to see this.

Labels: Life

How is it I can go 20 years without a serious case of eye boogers, then wake up on New Year's Day with my eyes literally sealed shut?

How many hours a day must I waste in meetings that have no relevance to me because my empire-building boss says we should all "know what other folks are doing?"

Why is it I can tell the front gate to the condo that I have a delivery arriving between 8-10am, and then the guard turns the truck away when he shows up at 9am because "the loading dock isn't available until 9:30?"

Does anyone REALLY need to drink five "Grey Goose and Red Bulls" in one night?

What will I find if I go "to the left, to the left?"

How come I could walk into my local Panda Express and order my food in Spanish, but Chinese is simply met with blank stares?

I saw a guy in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day with a jet pack -- where the hell is mine?

Do goth boys prefer to do it in total darkness?

How come my Asian friends can typically wear my clothes but I can't wear theirs? (OK, actually, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one)

How many visits to Sears should it take to get a washer and dryer and have it delivered?

Why does Tarzan scream when he's swinging on a vine? Is he scared?

How big is too big? I mean, really.

Why is it called a "manicure" if most men won't get one?

How come Colorado had three easy winters while we lived there, then it gets smacked with three blizzards in three weeks while it's 70 degrees here in DC?

Shouldn't everyone have at least one blog post per year with "boogers" in the title?

Labels: Life

For years I've thought about taking my mom to New York, either around Christmas because she likes to see the city all decorated, or for the US Open around Labor Day Weekend. She was up there with her girlfriends in the spring of '05 and they had fun, but I'm pretty certain she had much more fun with me. :-)

First of all, she wanted to see shows, and see shows we did. Five of them. In three days. And in the process we covered a few decades.

The 1950s We saw the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. I classify this one as "The 1950s" because the last time my mom saw the Rockettes was in 1956, when she was 14 years old. This show definitely took her back. I'd never been in Radio City before and it was beautiful, a huge theater that probably looks like it did back in the early 20th century. The show was pretty good, including not only the Rockettes, who are fantabulous, but also camels and sheep, and let's face it, that's what really makes a show. Mom also got hit on by a guy wearing a "World War II Veteran" hat, and if nothing else that'll make for good stories.

The 1960s Two shows covered this decade. One was Hairspray, which I saw in 2002 with the original cast. The show was really good, of course, and we had great seats (come to think of it, we had great seats for everything). The theme of racial integration has a lot of meaning for my mom, who taught classes for black kids in the late 50s in a church because they weren't allowed to go to the public schools where she was in college. OK, and the songs are fun too, no need to get all heavy. Afterwards we hung by the stage door and Mom chatted with Scott Davidson, who played Edna that day, telling him "from one old lady to another, that was a great impression!" He loved her for that.

The last show we went to was Jersey Boys, which won the Tony for Best Musical. It was the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, also set in the 1960s, and once again Mom was taken back in time. She mentioned that to the lead as we hung out after the show (she picked up that habit from me, and now I think she likes it) and he gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. And he was hot. I wanted a kiss on the cheek too. Or somewhere. I wasn't sure what I would think of the show, as the music's a little old for me, but Mom really wanted to see it so I managed to get some tickets through a broker (the show is totally sold out). I ended up really liking it, the music was really good and the acting was fantastic. Fun way to end the trip.

The 1970s Since A Chorus Line is being revived on Broadway I knew I had to see it, and Mom wanted to as well so that worked out for both of us. When I was a kid I always wanted to see it on Broadway (and yet somehow, I didn't know I was gay), but it closed before I could. I saw it on tour in Denver 9 years ago but it wasn't the same. The show is still set in 1975, and it's still great...this was the best version I've ever seen. Back at the stage door I flirted with Jason Tam, the actor playing Paul, and it occurred to me I shouldn't be flirting too much in front of my mom (we've never officially had "that" talk). It also occurred to me that the actor I saw playing Paul in Denver was in Naked Boys Singing when I saw that in 2000, and I'm hoping to someday see Jason in the nude as well. Funny thing: I had a sense that after seeing Paul's monologue (if you haven't seen it, it's kind of powerful), I'd be having "that" talk with Mom, but such was not the case.

The 1980s Did you know The Wedding Singer had been turned into a Broadway musical? I just realized that in November, and since it was closing December 31 it was fun to catch it before it went away (actually, onto a national tour). Mom had heard about it from a friend and suggested it, and it actually was kind of fun. It was set in 1985, and of course there was a 1980s reference every 30 seconds or so. Some of that stuff, I have to look at it and say "what were we thinking???" Alas, we made it through the decade.

At first I was a little surprised that there was some sort of gay theme in every show we saw, but then I realized these are Broadway musicals and I shouldn't be too surprised by that.

We did other things besides seeing shows, of course. LOTS of walking, a visit to Rockefeller Center, the American Folk Art Museum (Mom likes quilts), shopping on 5th Avenue (where Mom said no to D&G but yes to Mexx, which is one of my favorite stores, and where a cute sales guy flirted a bit and convinced me to buy a jacket that, frankly, does look good), shopping on Canal Street (where Mom said no to fake D&G), a trip through Chinatown (where Mom and I both bought a couple things, and Mom bargained an old lady down on some velvet gift bags), lunch in Chelsea at a cool restaurant (where I realized that being with your mother does not increase your desirability among the gay crowd), dinner at a great French place with my parents' best friends, who happened to be in town, and a few other random experiences around Times Square and elsewhere.

Of course, Friday night, after tucking Mom into bed, I headed out to The Web and met someone nice to dance with for a while. A nice couple of hours, but it left me with only 3 hours of sleep before heading to the airport, which I guess was no big deal since it's not like I was the one flying the plane.

I knew I'd have fun, but I don't think I expected as much fun as I had. I wouldn't want every trip to NYC to be with Mom, but every few years or so probably wouldn't be too bad.

Oh, and I'm sure I'm the favorite son now. :-)

Labels: Travel