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Have you ever driven your car to work, then forgotten that you drove and taken the subway home, then gone out to drive somewhere in the evening, only to remember that your car is back at work?

Don't worry, I didn't do that. But it occurred to me today how much that would suck.

It also occurred to me yesterday that going running for 5 miles during the hottest part of the day, without carrying water with you, is a dumb thing to do. Sadly, that did not occur to me until after I'd done exactly that.

Stan and I went to see Kung Fu Panda last night. Not only did I really like it, I also had Stan with me to clue explain some of the points that only Chinese-speaking people would get.

And also, we had pancakes for dinner.

Labels: Friends, Movies, Running

OK, finally, a little bit about the last stop on my trip: HONG KONG!!

Let me just say first that I really, really like Hong Kong, though as with the other cities, that may be due to the nice people I know there. Still, as I wrote the day I arrived, I felt very comfortable there, perhaps more so than in other cities, though that could be because I was staying in a familiar place.

I got to spend time with Tony and Max every day I was there and I am so happy for that. They are wonderful individuals and a wonderful couple as well. They make being gay in HK look easy, and I know that they have been very good for each other.

Max and I have been chatting on Facebook for months, starting soon after they started dating (actually, I had seen a pic of Max in one of Tony's photos and sent Tony a message asking about that really cute guy...little did I know they were starting to go out at the time). He's been a charmer online and that's because he's a charming guy in person. He went out of his way to make sure I was having a good time and he thought of sweet little details to make my trip a great one...thank you, honey!!

Both of them spent pretty much all their free time with me for 3 days, something I would not have asked anyone to do but which they offered and wanted to do. I tried to make sure they had some "alone time" in there as well. They took me to some cool restaurants they enjoy, brought me to a sex shop where the owner is hitting on Max, and took me to see some very cool sights along the harbor, as well as to a night market. I got to see parts of Hong Kong I hadn't seen before, and also bought some very fun underwear, so it was a great trip.

Monday morning I decided to be smart and go visit City University of Hong Kong because that's where Tony goes, and also, Stan had told me he did his semester abroad in college at CUHK. I took some photos and sent them to Stan, who didn't recognize them. I of course berated him for not recognizing his university. Only after returning to the US did I discover that Stan went to Chinese University of Hong Kong...the other CUHK. Um, my bad.

I was there for a holiday, "Handover Day" or something like that. It's the day Hong Kong went from British control back to Chinese control. They're not really big on celebrating that, but Beijing kinda makes them have fireworks and such.

Even though 4 countries in 3 weeks is a lot, and even though I was getting tired of hotels, I was very sorry to leave. I had a great time in Hong Kong and really owe Max and Tony a big thank you. I didn't see my other HK friends on this trip because I knew I'd only be there a short time and I wanted to stay flexible since they were making time for me. But NEXT time, the other boys need to watch out!

Labels: Friends, Travel

Work-wise, Singapore was a great opportunity for me. I met with government officials not only from there but also from other countries at their embassies. I also had a chance to visit a local university, which was very useful for a number of reasons, to be explained in a future post.

And I like Singapore. It's a city where I feel comfortable (the heat notwithstanding) and I've found people there to be pretty friendly. I also developed an affection for durian ice cream, though upon trying durian juice (and throwing half of it away) I'm pretty sure I won't be trying the fruit itself any time soon.

I did a bit of shopping in Singapore, met some very cool new people (hi Jonathan! hi Vic!), and generally had a good time, much of that due to DanielHenry, who was in town on a buying trip for work the first 4 days I was there.



We hung out together Sunday and Tuesday nights, and had lunch Wednesday before he returned to KL. It was great to finally get to talk with him face-to-face...he's a sweetheart and I'm glad I know him. And he was a big help to me, since the friend I was supposed to meet up with Sunday night told me, when I called him after arriving, "I have a wedding dinner to go to tonight."

This was the start of something that bugged me, and it almost left me with a bad taste of Singapore in my mouth, until I realized how to get over it. I've known this friend for a few years, though we only met in person when I first visited SG 2 years ago. He has said things to me that make me think I'm an important person in his life, and we made some specific plans for this visit, but when I showed up that was all changed with no warning. Part of that was due to work, which I understand but which also would have been nice to know. Since we had (I thought) such a close relationship, I had not made plans with other SG friends (or in most cases, had not even let them know I was coming) because I wanted to have the flexibility to work around my friend's schedule. What i didn't realize was, I didn't really fit into his schedule...even when he had time off, and wanted to go out, it was in a group rather than one-on-one (and I had some things to discuss with him privately, something I'd told him the day I arrived).

What bugged me wasn't so much that he didn't have time for me -- I don't expect people to rearrange their lives just because I'm flying into town -- but instead, it's that he told me one thing in advance, and then another when I arrived, and had I known how unavailable he would be, I would have made other plans. Even during the week he'd say "we'll do this, this, and this," but when the time for "this" came along, suddenly everything changed. I think the point where it really got to me was the night I wa supposed to go out with him and his friends after work and he called me and said "they're all still at work, no one can go out, so I guess we won't go." Um, I could still go out...but he didn't seem interested in spending any one-on-one time. I got the sense that he was saying what he thought I wanted to hear, and then reality was intruding at the last minute. Of course, all I wanted to hear was the truth, not false promises.

I try to be very careful what I say to people online because I know there's a good chance I'll be seeing these people in person someday (when you consider how many people around the world I've met in person because of their blogs, it's a little scary). But I'm realizing not everyone does that. For some, i think it's easy to say one thing to a person 10,000 miles away, but harder to follow up on it when they're right in front of you.

Though I was upset, I got over it, but that doesn't mean things are the same. While I still like my friend a lot, I am recognizing the limitations of that friendship, something I'll keep in mind the next time I come over.

And the next time, I'll let other people know I'm coming.

But at least I got to spend more time getting to know DanielHenry!

Labels: Blogging, Friends, Life, Travel

Even though I've been home nearly 2 weeks I still haven't wrapped up all my tales from my Asia trip. So, let me start with a little about Kuala Lumpur.

As I've noted before, I felt very, very welcome here. The guys (and gal) I have met are totally amazing, they are the friendliest people you will ever know, and they are doing a great job of being "out and proud" (or at least, living their lives with as much fun as possible). Even though I was working and my schedule was changing on a daily basis, folks were very flexible and scheduled their own lives around mine so we could spend time together. I am deeply in debt to David for showing me such a great time during the week, and I was so happy to see Eddie on the weekends -- and to have him go out with the KL boys, despite some shyness on his part -- that I can hardly express it. For these lovely gents to take so much time out of their schedules just to spend time with me was a wonderful gift.

It goes without saying that I was thrilled to see William and Cheryl and Jason and Alex during the week...adding quite a bit of time to their evening commute just to have dinner, or taking time away from work (which I know was a hardship :P) to meet for lunch, was very cool of them. Saturday night I got to see some KL nightlife, and see KL itself from the nearby hills, and more importantly, get to see Jason Jr and Paul and Alvin, and YAY for that!! That was a late night, followed by an early morning rush to the airport train, and it was lots of fun.

That night I also meet Froggy for the first time, after reading his blog and hearing about him from others for months...what a charmer he is! During the week I also met up briefly with Ash (and his brother, Aidan), whom I've known on Fridae for 3 years. Another friend, whom I didn't think I was going to get to meet, popped up at just the right time:



DanielHenry had dropped offline for a while and I thought we wouldn't be able to meet, but things change, and suddenly there he was. He'd been keeping a low profile because a big project had been taking his attention and he wanted to focus on it...out of respect for his privacy I didn't mention to anyone that he and I had met, but when he sent this photo this week I asked and he said it was OK to say something about it. Not only did I get to see him here, we also ran around Singapore together the following week while we were both there for work. So YAY for meeting DanielHenry!!

I went to a couple movies in KL, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but I found it interesting because of the differences between here and the US. The idea of reserved seating for a movie...cool! And of course, when I was a little kid and watching Get Smart reruns on TV, it never occurred to me I'd someday be watching Maxwell Smart with Chinese and Malay subtitles.

I've been asked if I'd want to live in KL, and the truth is, I don't know. My only experience there is as a visitor, and mostly as a tourist, and of course that's a lot different from living there every day. On the other hand, I know some really great people there, and that would make the experience wonderful. So that's an idea I'll keep in the back of my head for the future.

For now, though, I'll just pop in and say hello whenever I have the chance.

Labels: Friends, Movies, Travel

After a couple months of waiting, with some delays thank to the Dragon Boat race delay in May, Stan and I finally made it to New York for a weekend. He’d been here before, though not on a weekend, and hadn’t been here since January or so, so it was about time for both of us.

We took the bus up Friday night and I’m really thinking I’d be willing to pay more for the train. The train’s not perfect, of course, and does sometimes run late, but at least it’s a bit more reliable, and faster, plus you have more legroom and can get up and move around. Plus, the bathroom’s nicer.

Anyway, we had a hotel in the theater district and after getting there and freshening up and catching a bit of a Seinfeld episode (since we were in New York, that made it ironic, or something) we headed out to The Web (of course) to go dancing. Friday nights are usually very fun there and it was cool to see Stan's reaction to all the cuties, including one blond go-go dance he thought was fun to look at as well as the Latino go-go boy dancing while hanging upside down in a cage. Yeah, good times.

Saturday was a day for a little shopping, but we started with lunch at the Stardust Diner which, unbeknownst to us, had singing waiters. Also unbeknownst to us was the fact that our waitress was going to pull me up and into the act while she sang "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray in the middle of the packed, 2-story restaurant. I went with it, and really got into it (dancing, reacting to her, dropping to one knee to "propose," kissing her on cue), and the crowd seemed to like it. Hey, Stan said I looked good, and I got some comments from others while leaving, so YAY, a new Broadway star is born.

We spent the afternoon doing a bit of shopping (at Uniqlo, of course, but also some other places) and we both picked up some cute pieces. Then we headed over to Christopher Street, which Stan had not seen before, and wandered past the sex shops until we reached the river (Stan also -- voluntarily -- went into a Starbucks). Then we headed back uptown to the hotel.

The evening started off with dinner at Sardi's, a Broadway classic. During the time earlier this year when Stan was between jobs he felt bad if I picked up the tab for things so I agreed that once he was working again he could take me somewhere nice and call it even. Well, Sardi's was that place, and we're definitely even. I had some wonderful crabcakes and he had curry chicken and for dessert we split a great mix of strawberries and meringue that was HUGE and which neither one could have finished alone.

Then we walked over to see Avenue Q. This was my third time -- the first in a couple years -- and the first time Stan had seen it. The show was fun as always and Stan really got into it. One thing that made it unique was that we sat on the center aisle in the second row...you could really see the details on the puppets, though it did take me longer to start ignoring the human puppeteers on stage. The show was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we went. Afterwards we went out, but not for very long, still being tired from Friday night...we were back to the hotel about 1:30. We started out at G Lounge, where we met up with a friend Stan hadn't seen since graduating from college, then we wandered back to Therapy, which was around the corner from the hotel. Of the two I think I preferred Therapy...more room, easier to talk, and a little less attitude. Just watch out for falling glassware!

Sunday we headed to Food Bar for brunch, only to discover its closed for renovation. At my suggestion we just got something at the place next door which was not so good...what we should have done was walk over to 7th Avenue, where there are tons of good restaurants and tons of cute people. But since I only ever go to Food Bar for Sunday brunch I didn't realize that. My bad.

Then we rolled up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the superhero exhibition ("Fantasy and Fashion"). It was a really interesting look at the meaning underlying different superheroes and their costumes (and all this time you thought they just looked good without realizing they MEAN something). I never thought of the Incredible Hulk as a demonstration of male potency or Batman's utility belt as a defense again insecurity and fragility, but I can see that now.

We headed back to Chelsea to get dessert at Cafeteria, which Stan remembers as a setting for a Sex and the City episode. I had a Waffle Banana Split, which was actually a banana split arrayed on a warm waffle. I guess the title was a good description. It was yummy, but there was no way I could finish that. How do people order something like that after a meal???

And now we're on the bus headed home. I expect to get back to the condo by 11:30 tonight, which means Monday will be a tired day at work. But I am very glad I went...Stan is a wonderful travel companion, we had so much fun exploring and were making notes for future visits. And I needed a bit of New York again. I do indeed like that city.

Labels: Friends, Travel

Wednesday may seem a little late to be posting about the weekend, but seeing as I'm already a week late on writing about my trip, what's a couple days here and there?

Anyway, I went to work Thursday (bad idea) and then spent Thursday night at home, resting up a bit and unpacking my suitcase, though not even starting the mountain of laundry that needed to get done. Bear in mind that after getting home from the Disney trip I was only here 36 hours before heading off to Asia, so there was Disney laundry plus pre-Disney laundry stacked up. Since Mickey Mouse wasn't here to do it for me I needed to tackle it myself, but Thursday night I was just a wee bit tired, so that didn't happen.

Friday the 4th I met up with Stan for lunch, then we headed into the District to the National Gallery of Art. I wouldn't normally go into DC on the 4th of July -- it's kind of a madhouse -- but we figured we'd be out well before the nighttime festivities, so no big deal. As it turns out there were plenty of tourists already heading into the city, but that's OK, we moved pretty quickly past them in their confused daze.

At the National Gallery we saw an exhibition from the National Museum of Afghanistan, featuring pieces from older cities there that were a few thousand years old. After seeing the mix of styles I realized how much that country had really been controlled by others throughout its entire history, giving me a better idea why everyone I met there looked so different and spoke different languages. And yes, the symbolism of this event was not lost on me...last 4th of July, of course, I was actually in Afghanistan, though I didn't see as much gold there as I saw in this exhibit.

Afterwards we headed back out to Virginia and went to see Wall-E, which was a cute little Pixar film that was a bit different from other movies they've done (not a whole lot of speaking, for instance). It was cute and had a charming little love story to it, but it took a little while for me to get into it.

We came back to my place to make dinner and wait for the fireworks show. From my balcony you can see the fireworks not only in the District on the National Mall (the big show that gets featured on TV) but also all the smaller shows in the towns around here. Unfortunately, there were clouds and lots of humidity this night, and that combined with the smoke from the show managed to obscure all the National Mall fireworks from view, at least from here. At least we could see the smaller shows around the area. Plus, the beer and bratwursts were good.

Saturday I took a tour of the White House in the morning (one of the people in my office does some part-time work there and was taking a family on a tour, and had an extra spot for me) and then came home to watch the Wimbledon women's final. Good match. Later in the evening, after a jet-lagged induced nap, I met up with Kevin at a restaurant in a kind of sketchy part of the District (Kevin revels in sketchy parts of town!). Stan met up with us and the three of us went to a club that features carnival sideshow acts...in this case, your basic geek (swallowing balloons, hammering a nail into his head, that sort of thing) and his burlesque-dancing wife. Interesting, fun, and a little bit different.

Still not sleeping so well I managed to sleep in until about 9am Sunday then got up to watch the Wimbledon men's final. After a few hours of rain delay, not to mention the longest (and best, in my opinion) final match in Wimbledon history, it was about 4pm. Hmmmmm. Adrian and i went to see Hancock, which frankly left me a little disappointed. Guess I expected something a little funnier, and the story took an odd twist that wasn't really resolved, in my most humble opinion.

Afterwards, when we got home, we got a bad phone call: Adrian's dad had been taken to the hospital with what looked like a second stroke. We raced over there only to find some confusions, and after a less-than-stellar performance by the hospital staff (and, in my opinion, Adrian's siblings) we finally found his dad. He didn't look to bad, and a CT scan showed no problems, but they were keeping him to run some more tests. As it turns out, he did have another stroke, so the family needs to keep a close eye on him from here on out. Here's the thing: we have the ability in this country to treat people who are at risk for a stroke (and he's now had two) and allow them to enjoy a good quality of life, but it takes a little bit of effort, and I personally think the family -- including his dad -- needs to put that little bit of effort into it. Just my 2 baht worth.

Monday I was back in the office (bleh) but after work Stan and I had dinner (and ice cream!) then went downtown to see a screening of a show about the US and China for the Discovery Channel. We felt very intellectual.

And now life is back to normal. Other than waking up at least once in the middle of the night every night, I'm getting back to normal. Oh, and I started running again Tuesday, YAY!

And the laundry is getting done.

Labels: Friends, Running, Work

Today I made it to the fourth and final city on my Asia tour. I left the hotel about 4:45am to catch my 6:40am flight to Hong Kong, and all I can say is yay for the upgrade to Business because I needed breakfast and a nice place to stretch out (as with my DC-Beijing flight, no one was next to me, so karma-wise, I'm probably not getting upgraded on my flight home Wednesday and will be sitting between two crying babies for 20 hours).

Got here with no problems, other than it being the rainy season and me with no umbrella. Touched base almost immediately with Max, the as-yet-unmet boyfriend of my friend Tony. Max and I have been chatting on Facebook for the last 6 months or so and the main reason behind my HK stopover is to meet him and see Tony (I have a couple other HK folks I want to see but am focusing on being flexible enough to fit around Tony and max's schedules). We made plans to meet for dinner so I headed out to check out the city and felt oddly at home here in a way I haven't in any of the other cities on this trip...in part perhaps because it's only been 9 months since my last visit, and also perhas because unlike my other stops, in HK I'm staying in the same hotel as last time.

Met up with the boys for Italian food (clam chowder pizza with extra cheese) and then we wandered down the street for cheesecake. Max still has to work tonight and Tony will spend Monday morning at his part time job so we called it a night a little before midnight. I have to say, Max was worth the wait! He is as wonderful in person as I thought he would be, a real charmer, and it's obvious how much they love each other (I haven't seen too many other male couples holding hands around HK!). Tony seems different than he was when I saw him last year, and its a fun change...he seems more relaxed and also more playful, and that seems more like the real him. We're all getting together early in the afternoon Monday and spending the day together.

A few quick points before I go to bed:

1. I have some things to write about Singapore, but they're coming after I think about them a bit

2. As I look at these entries I realize there are quite a few typos in them. The problem is that I'm using my new Asus EeePC netbook, which is fantastic as a traveling laptop, but which as a result has a tiny keyboard that's not designed for very efficient typing. Thus, some typos, and since I'm typically writing these entries late at night, I'm not in the mood to proofread. So it's not that I'm an idiot, it's just that I'm lazy.

3. After this, I think I'm done with big trips for a while. I'm having a blast but I'm a creature of routines and every week -- actually, every day -- has been different.

Labels: Friends, Travel

No, no, not just hot guys, but the temperature...hot!

What gets me isn't the heat. I mean, I've been in hotter places. What is surprising instead is the lengths to which guys here will go to look stylish. I have seen clothes here that would be far more appropriate in a cooler climate, things you would be likely to see in DC in the fall rather than near the equator in the summer. I'm talking things like fleece vests, light sweaters and jackets, and layers..oh my, I can't even imagine wearing another layer.

But oh, they look good doing it.

I know people like to call me a rice queen but I know some people who go far beyond me in those terms. I'm not sure they could hamdle being here with so many metrosexual guys...so many people here take great care with their appearance but they can't all be gay. A few of my friends might have trouble telling the difference and would hurt their neck by turning their head so much to look at everyone around them.

But still...fleece vests?

Pretty much wrapped up my work today. Still one person I may talk to Friday but much of that day will be spent consolidating my notes from this trip, particularly from this week's very productive meetings. Today I sent a few hours at a local university, in part related to my research project and in part related to some other things (good things) that I'm not quite ready to discuss in the blog because there are still a couple that don't know about those good things, but need to. I'll just leave that little hint there and then move on.

Last night I visited with my friend Allan who is volunteering as a youth group leader for a Buddhist prayer group. It was quite interesting to see him not only as a teacher but also as a spiritual man, I side of him Ive known about but never observed. I went out to his home (and in that part of town, I saw no other white boys on the bus, train, or street...interesting) and met his parents and the kids in his group and we were there for a couple hours. Then we headed to McDonald's (open 24 hours...and they deliver) an met up with some of his really good friends, a few of whom I've met before but one who was new to me. We had a really good conversation and before I knew it, it was almost 1:30am and my happy ass neededto get back to the hotel.

I'd had dinner with Allan earlier in the week, then met up with one of his friends later, but we haven't had a whole lot of time this week. He has a major event going on at work that takes up some of his evenings and he has been kind enough to let me tag along during his "regular" life so we can send time together, and that's cool because I get to see things I have not seen before. It's kind of like running around Bangkok with Raberd a couple years ago on an MTV gig. A neat way tospend some time in a foreign land.

Labels: Friends, Travel

Just a quick hello from Singapore. (the really new entry is the one below) Got in here today and met up with a friend this evening who took me around Orchard Road, including a small bit of shopping, some durian ice cream, shrimp-on-a-stick, and an unagai burger. hee hee Welcome to Singapore.

Labels: Friends, Travel

The week in Malaysia ended well. Friday I did some phone interviews and then got to meet William for lunch, and YAY for that because he's a very special friend and it's always so good to sit and chat with him for a couple hours. Later I met up briefly with a friend from Fridae, someone I‘ve been chatting with for 3 years as he moves all over the world, and finally we were both in the same place at the same time. Later, Eddie came over for dinner and we got some good Chinese food, and I learned that in Malaysia, when the restaurant says they close at 10pm, they don't mean they close the doors to new customers but still keep serving the ones already in the restaurant...instead, they mean "get out." Still, we had some yummy food...I think I actually had General Tso's Chicken, though of course they don't call it that.

Saturday was a day for me to sleep late, then I got to try something I’d been waiting all week to try: J. Co. Donuts. For some reason I’ve been hearing a lot about these donuts and was determined to try them this week, to see if they’re worth queuing up for 45 minutes for. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait that long, but they were indeed yummy. Eddie and I each got three; mine were almonds and white chocolate, chocolate crunch, and white chocolate covered-and-filled. Oh, and when I got a coffee, I think the guy behind the counter liked me because he handed me a glazed donut Or maybe they do that for everyone. Anyway, in case you lost count, that makes 4 donuts…and that kinda filled me up.

Afterwards Eddie and I went to see Get Smart, because he surprised me by being a big Steve Carrell fan and told me that was something he really wanted to see. I wanted to see it too because of course I always watched and loved the show as a kid, and I remember it well from my childhood in the 70s. Of course, I don’t remember it with Malay and Chinese subtitles.

Saturday night was party night with the bloggers. Eddie agreed to go despite being kinda shy about meeting all these guys I’d been telling him about, though of course he blogs too so he should be included in such things. Alex and Jason came to pick us up and brought Jason Jr with them, and Froggy -- whom I hadn’t met before and who is an absolute doll -- linked up with us at the hotel. Off we went to an Indonesian restaurant which offered up some quite tasty dishes I’ll need to look for at the Indonesian place near my home in DC. Dr Paul and Alvin joined us there and Paul, who can handle anything I think, ordered a cow brain for dinner. I am pretty god about trying to new things but I drew the line at chewing on something that might think about me eating it.

Afterwards we rolled up to Lookout Point, a new destination that offers amazing views of KL (pics to follow, but as I’m writing this I still have work to do and don’t have time to deal with the camera and Picasa and Facebook and such). After a nice time at the café there we came back down the mountain to Marketplace, a new club for people like us. David joined us there, coming back to KL after working all day, the poor guy…he’d had a hard day and I really appreciated him coming back to see more one last time (and also bring some great new eyeglass frames for me to try…he’s going to make up 3 pair and send them to me YAY!!). Frankie joined us after appearing as a sexy bunny at another party, so we had most of the folks I met last year, minus Sam and Daniel who were a bit too tired to come play There was some drinking (Eddie got very tipsy) and dancing and then I called it an early evening around 1 as I knew it would be an early morning for me and unlike the rest of the boys, I really do need my beauty sleep.

This trip was great, and as always I was so happy to see all these great guys. Alex and Jason took good care of me with dinners and planning parties and such and were checking up on me all week. William got back from a weekend trip and immediately made time to get together. Cheryl arranged a really nice dinner at which I had my only non-Asian food of this trip so far (donuts apparently are originally from Indonesia, so they count as Asian food!). My dear dear friend Eddie took care of me on my first day there and again at the end, making sure I could enjoy the time after my work was done. And David, whom I’ve been getting to know better online the last few months after an all-too-brief meeting last fall, really opened up to me in a way that made me feel like a good person, and also arranged his time off this week so he could keep me from getting bored during my down time (and even came back when some meetings fell through and I suddenly found myself with nothing scheduled during the day). I am really lucky to have some very special people in my life in KL, something I wouldn’t have imagined only a year ago.

So, yeah…a great trip once again. And yes, I got a lot of work done, too. But that’s not worth blogging about.

Labels: Friends, Travel

(note: I'm adding a bunch of posts at once, which means there are a couple new ones below this one. Go read them first if you havent seen them yet. I'll wait.)

Because my meetings with the local government got cancelled I had nothing scheduled today. Fortunately, my friend David arranged his days off to have some time while I'm here so we spent today hanging out. We visited Pavillion shopping center, a nice hgh-end place that opened just days after I left last year, and I picked upa few things for folks back home. We had a great lunch at Crystal Jade in Lot 10 where, proving I am not really Malaysian, I did not take any photos of the food (but mmmmmmm, it was good!).

I'd met David last year of course, but he was working crazy hours and after my first night here we didn't see each other again. But I read his blog and since about January we've been talking a lot and getting to know each other better, and so it's nice to finally spend some time hanging out together

David is a photographer so we went down around KLCC and he did some photos of me, then because it is scary hot we headed inside to Coffee Bean and got some chilled drinks and talked for a while. We got to talking about some of my research and suddenly I found myself interviewing him regarding some aspects of my work that deal with Chinese culture in various countries (other friends be warned, I wll be posing some questions to you, too!). I think we ended up sitting there mor than 2 hours and it's quite likely that session was far more important than any of the "official" meetings I am having this week.

Later we headed out to Midvalley because it's one of those places people always blog about but I'd never been there. I had wanted to take him out for a belated birthday dinner so we headed out for Korean food and he helped me with my chopstick usage so now maybe Danny won't give me a hard time again when I get home. I gave him a small present I'd picked up, nothing fancy like the new lens his friends here gave him but something I think he will like.

I'll spend sometime Wednesday going over my notes and refining questions for a couple other intervie sessions this week, and will try to get in touch with an American here for a conference of interest to me which is at a hotel dow the street from mine...I should probably be participating in this conference but I hadn't heard of it before now, so I will just try to pick his brain about the important parts.

Labels: Friends, Travel

Got to KL today with no worries. Thai Airways has a nice lounge in Bangkok o had a little breakfast there then ate again on the plane. I ended up with only 90 minutes of sleep Saturday night because when Raberd returned me to the hotel the desk clerk said "oh, you didn't get your free Thai massage, let me send someone up." I figured a Thai massage was better than the 2 hours of sleep I would get so I let myself get twisted like a pretzel before catching a short nap.

Once in KL my friend Eddie came to meet me. Eddie lives and goes to school outside the city and is currently doing an internship with a company around there (I think it's just a way for the company to get some engineers working for them cheaply). Anyway, he's only off on weekends so he came in Sunday and will come back next Friday after work. We had a great dinner and spent a few hours getting caught up...it's not as if we don't talk when I'm back home, but stories always seem better whe told in person. Anyway, I have missed seeing Eddie so it was really god to reconnect.

Monday I had my first round of meetings with some of our government folks based here. That was very useful, as I'm comparing what our folks in-country say with what the people back in DC say to see if they match up (and so far, they do). My research is centered upon the US approach to this part of the world so it's good if everyone involved in it says the same things. Unfortunately, my eetings with the Malaysian government didn't work out, but I still have plenty of academics and NGOs to meet.

Monday night Jason and Alex picked me up for dinner and YAY for that. We spent about 4 hours together getting some really good Chinese food and drinking a few pots of tea. They are doing very well and looking cuter than ever and got me updated on folks here as well as sharing tales from some great travels over the last few months.

You know, it doesn't really feel like 9 months since I was last here. Once again these guys are making me feel incredibly welcome.

One unfortunate thing about this trip is that, since it's a business trip and my schedule is changing daily, I don't have the flexibility to see everyone I want. Ikanbills and I talked about him maybe coming to town from Penang but with my meetings and interviews changing everyday it was impossible for me to suggest a good time for that, so Iwill see him later this year. I also want to meet Nase but again, I think that is going to have to wait until my next visit because he is such a nice guy and I know I will want to spend quite a bit of time with him, and that time just doesn't exist on this trip. :(

Labels: Friends, Travel

If you asked me what I did during the day in Bangkok Friday I'd have trouble telling you. This puppy was wiped out by jet lag, so other than some underwear shopping (yay, Domon!) it's all a little hazy. But Friday night I met up with Linh (yes, my good friend from DC) who is here working in an internship with the UN. We went out to dinner at a restaurant I'd visited years ago, and we had fluffy catfish salad, which is his new favorite dish (or his favorite new dish). We decided to have an adventure so did some running around town, and we shall both return home with some tales.

He headed home around midnight as he was getting up early Saturday, but I stepped out to DJ Station for some dancing...I thought they closed at 1 so figured I'd just be there for a little bit but oh no, they stay open later on the weekends I guess and by 2:30 I finally decided it was time to walk back to the hotel.

Saturday night it was time to finally see Raberd again for the first time since September 2006 (he was out of town when I came through last year). We had a great dinner then went out to Balcony for drinks. This was followed by meeting his friends (a very cool bunch of guys)at 70s Club, which is a bar filled with locals rather than tourists and those who would chase them. I feel lots more cofortable in the local bars and I really appreciate feeling so welcomed by his friends. We then headd to Espresso (by DJ Station) for a little dancing before Raberd walked me bac to my hotel around 2am. Naturally, I had to get up at 5:30am to go to the airport. Bleh.

Raberd had been with MTV Thailand for about 2 years but has just moved on to a new job with a concert promoter. Still in the entertainment biz, still doing marketing, and still one of my favorite people in the world. The guy is classy, and sweeter than any candy you've ever had.

So yeah, good times in Bangkok, most of them taking place at night, but hey, isn't that when all the best stuff happens???

Labels: Friends, Travel

Had a great four days at Gay Days at Disney World (OK, it's not officially sponsored by The Mouse, but everyone there was very cool). We had something like 17 people down there together...hard to be sure exactly how many with all those moving parts! Much fun was had...drinks were drunk, music was danced to, boys were watched (and more, in some cases) and a good time was had by all. Pix to follow as soon as I censor them. :P

Labels: Friends, Travel

Monday night I met up with a friend from Afghanistan. She was in town for some government work and we had dinner at...an Afghan restaurant. Naturally. I've been there 4 times now and still haven't told the owner I spent time there last year, and nether one of us mentioned it that night. I think we already shocked every one by hugging (gasp!) in the middle of the restaurant.

Tuesday night Stan and i met up with Charles, a very cool guy from Tokyo who was here on business and contacted me on Fridae looking for people to hang with. We had dinner and then he had to get to a reception for work, but it was raining really heavy so we had drinks after dinner instead, then sent him on his way later. Very cool guy.


Charles, Stan, and me

Tonight Stan and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. OK, I don't actually know Indiana Jones, but I loved those movies as a kid and was really happy to se him back up on the screen. You know, he was the inspiration for me getting a PhD. Well, OK, not really, but it would make for a good story.

And Thursday I'm off to Disney World for Gay Days. Go Mickey, Go Mickey...

Labels: Friends, Life

A little over a year ago I watched my friends in AQUA compete in the Dragon Boat Festival. At the time I thought it looked like a lot of fun and thought I'd like to try that someday, and this weekend I got the chance. Yes, I was a dragon boater this weekend...but I still feel pretty Caucasian.

I wasn't sure it would happen...the race was supposed to be two weeks ago but got postponed due to flooding. It was going to be rescheduled for the weekend I'm in Bangkok (which is also Pride Weekend here in DC, which meant that we, the token gay dragon boat team, might have some people missing). But some other changes happened and it took place this weekend and YAY I got to race.

OK, the suspenseful stuff out of the way up front: we took a bronze medal in our division in Saturday's 250-meter race, and today we got a silver in our division in the 500-meter race. so YAY US!!!!!!!!!! It felt like being in the Olympics...well, maybe the Special Olympics.

Photos are still forthcoming...I am relying on other people to provide the pics.

Saturday was interesting. Our races went well and I felt I did OK for my first time, though I got some tips later from the guy sitting behind me and I think I did better today. The 250-meter race is FAST!! Our first race took us 1 minute 15 seconds, and out second race we didn't do quite as well, finishing in 1 minute 21 seconds. Not a lot of time to recover from mistakes, AND after we got a fast start we kept a very fast pace throughout.

The day's festivities were cut short by a very bad storm that came through. When it hit and the suspended racing for the day a lot of our folks left, but about 10 of us stayed in a tent we had set up...when the rain stopped we got out to pack up our campground and load it into Danny's car but as we did that the second half of the storm came and left us completely drenched. Danny dropped a couple of us at the Metro station and we were by far the wettest people on the subway (and wearing matching clothes, which made people look at us strangely for two reasons that day).

When we came back today the race organizers had to finish some of the 250-meter races, then it was time for the 500-meter. We only had a semifinal race (our placement was based on our score in the 250-meter races) and a final race for the medal, so we needed to push ourselves early. This was the event where the team took the gold medal last year and we really wanted to defend it. Our semifinal race was...interesting. We sped up a lot toward the end and lost our timing, so we were not in sync...some of us were reaching far with the paddle like we planned to do, others were taking shorter strokes because of the fast pace. We took second in that race which affected our placement in the final. After we stepped back and talked about it we had an idea of how to do it better. When we got to the final we started out well but so did the other boats. One was clearly out in front of everyone but we were almost even with the second-place boat. We stayed with them the whole race and toward the end we had a rush of power that pulled us ahead right at the finish line, so we took the silver medal. We were sorry to lose the gold but very proud of doing so well in the second half of the final and catching up with the other boat.

No storm today. Though a few drops fell as we were leaving.

Stan came today and cheered us on, though he didn't wear the booty shorts and bring the pom poms he promised, though he did take photos. Justin also came near the end of the day and we were all happy to see him there.

As I walked to the river after parking my car I chatted with a guy from another team. He asked who I was with and when i said "Out2Paddle" he said "oh wow, you guys were great last year! I saw the YouTube videos!! So, who are you guys a part of?" When i told him we're from AQUA, a gay Asian group, he looked at me and said "Oh. So, how do you know those guys?"

How do I know gay Asian men? That's a question with a lot of answers. Anyway, I just told him I had friends who were members and got hooked up through them.

Oh, and when one of the teams went up for their medal they were chanting "Beer! Beer! Beer!" So of course when we went we chanted "Queer! Queer! Queer!" Hey, ya gotta represent!!

It's kinda cool to be THE gay group in a community event like this. We're just happy for the chance to remind people we're here. Which is pretty much what AQUA is all about.

I will have photos up this week I'm sure.

On a quick side note, I know I have not been blogging much the last couple months. I've been starting up a professional blog on the side and it's really cut into my personal blogging (I've also been getting used to an active life again, which means less time at home in front of the computer). That's bad because a lot has been happening that I'd like to share. But, for a variety of reasons, I think I'm going to suspend that other blog for now, fall back and regroup and try that again later in the summer or in the fall, and that should give me more time to write here.

And on a final side note, I notice in that blog about last year's race that I mentioned how I'd like to meet some more of my online friends...well, since that day, of those I mentioned in the post, I actually have met Nyk, Alex, Dr Paul, Paul, and Joel. And some of those boys (and a few other delightful lads whom I met last year, including Eddie, David, Jason, Jason Jr, Frankie, Sam, Daniel, and Janvier!) I will be seeing again soon in Malaysia June 15-22. So watch out.

Labels: Friends

Heading to Rehoboth Beach for the weekend. A beach house full of men with 3 bathrooms...sounds like a setting for a reality show.

I can always hope.

Also, Linh left today for Burma, and Stan and I made cookies the other night. Somehow, those events are related.

Labels: Friends, Travel

A friend of mine is going to be in Burma soon and he and his student group are asking for some help with their part in the relief effort. Please take a look at his letter below and help if you possibly can.

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

Dear Concerned Friends:

I write to you now after the devastating cyclone that has killed over 62,000 people in Burma/Myanmar and the death toll continues to rise. You might have followed the news of this tragedy, which is as much a political crisis as a natural disaster. Local and international non-governmental organizations working on the ground have been able to get humanitarian aid to a growing share of the estimated 1.9 million survivors, but the process is arduous, slow and still too limited. Efforts on the ground are making a difference, however, as networks in civil society are growing.

I will be taking a trip to Burma this week with my fellow students from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). We will be volunteering our efforts to assist with the relief effort in and around Rangoon/Yangon. (Fortunately we got our visas much earlier as part of a scheduled study tour and can travel into the country.) We will be contributing to local efforts in civil society, especially to reach vulnerable populations, children, the handicapped and/or the elderly that might be ignored in the relief effort. We are informed by sources on the ground that there is a dire need for support of all kinds.

Thus, I am reaching out to you.

We, as the whole group, have created a fund through SAIS Student Government Association to purchase supplies that we will bring in. The focus will be items for children and the elderly. We will also purchase additional items in country to distribute directly to people in need as well as make contributions directly to local non-governmental organizations. The funds will go directly to people in need.

We need your help. Any contribution that you would be willing to make to this effort can make a difference. I have attached a copy of how to donate to the SAIS-SGA Relief Fund.

Thanks for reading this message and for considering donating! If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any listed contact point.

All the best to you,
Linh

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

Donating to the SAIS Fund for Burma Cyclone Relief is an opportunity for your contribution to go directly to victims of the cyclone disaster. If you would like to donate please do so in cash or make a check out to the SAIS Student Government Association with a note at the bottom indicating that it is for Burma cyclone relief and send it to:

SAIS Burma Relief Fund
1825 New Hampshire Ave. NW # 501
Washington, DC 20009
Att: Dany Khy

You may also pay online with credit card via Pay Pal. Go to PayPal.com and click on “send money” and enter the email address SAISBurmaReliefFund@gmail.com. All funds that arrive before the 23rd of May will be used to buy supplies and distributed to organizations visited on the trip. Please act as soon as possible. If the team is unable to go to Myanmar due to further deterioration of conditions, the funds will be donated to locally-based civil society organizations working in Myanmar for cyclone victims. Any funds donated after May 23rd will be distributed through our connections to locally-based organizations.

Labels: Friends

First, some good news: the dragon boat festival has been rescheduled for May 31-June 1, so I can compete with the team!!

To be honest, it's a little bit of a mixed blessing, because Stan and I were going to go to New York that weekend, but he is very understanding. At least New York will still be there about 6 weeks later. (I have a weekend at Disney and then 3 weeks in Asia after that)

Today I got to talk with Ikanbills, courtesy of Skype, and that was a very cool thing (first time we've chatted on the phone). And yesterday, I got a call from Eddie, who has been trying to get me all week...we finally connected because I drove into work and he happened to call when I was on the road. Yay!!

Something kind of strange happened last night. I went to see Iron Man. (no, that's not the strange part) Anyway, there's a scene near the beginning involving a military convoy in Afghanistan. I won't give away the plot here, but I will say that I got more than a little freaked out during that scene. Nervous, heart racing, even shaking a little. Not good. I don't know if that was a natural response based on my experiences, or if I reacted that way because the media says that's how people like me are reacting to stuff. Either way, I'd appreciate it if that didn't happen again.

Oh, and we had cupcakes last night. Not the fantasmaorgasmic ones from Cake Love, but they were small, round bits of cake with icing, and that was good enough for me.

Labels: Friends, Stuff

I know I seem to be getting back to the "one post a week" thing and that's not my intent. Life is just happening.

Emotions have been up and down the last 10 days or so. And I hate that. Let me be happy and enjoy it or depressed and get over it, but not this "both ways" crap.

I got some great news a couple weeks ago. I haven't shared it online yet because some people need to be told in person. Bear with me...

This week has been rough because a friend has been going through a very tough time. I won't get into the details of someone else's business, but I do want to be here for him. I'm also feeling bad for one of my overseas friends who's going through a rough time.

The weather hasn't helped. In some circumstances a torrential downpour can be fun, but this is not one of those times. Two days of rain earlier this week, and now it's raining heavy again. Boo!

The rain has screwed up the dragon boat race this weekend. The river is not safe so they have to reschedule. And odds are, they're going to reschedule for a weekend while I'm in Asia next month. I've been looking forward to this for a year and now I'm afraid it'll be taken away.

The rain has also kept me from getting out of the gym and back to running on the road.

Somehow, I'm sure this is Bush's fault.

There's been good stuff, though, like going out last night with my friend Kim and discovering a really good Chinese restaurant (I had shrimp cakes and broccoli and some kind of seafood noodles...my friend is from Malaysia and has a Penang sense of taste in restaurants). then we went to a place that serves chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert and I discovered I LOVE CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD PUDDING!

Tonight I had dinner with another friend and had gway tio and good conversation, so yay that.

And I'm excited by the fact that 4 weeks from RIGHT NOW I'll be in Bangkok.

Somehow, I think Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay is somewhat responsible for my roller coaster of emotions this week,

And I don't even like roller coasters!!

Labels: Friends, Life, Running, Travel, Wandering Mind

I've been told in the past by Ivan that when i go a few days without posting he gets worried, but I think I'm getting to the point where a week between posts is becoming common so no one's worried about it. Anyway, I find myself up late at night either catching up on e-mails or working on another project and this blog has gotten lost in the dust. Alas.

But even though it's Wednesday, I had such a good weekend that i want to share it.

First, on Friday, i got to celebrate Linh's birthday with him. We went downtown for a nice dinner and he even got to rise in the Bug for the first time, which I'm sure was the highlight of his weekend. He'll be leaving for the summer soon, but we're going to overlap in Bangkok for a couple days when I'm there in June (he's there all summer for an internship...lucky bitch) so that will be fun.

Saturday I drove down to Charlottesville with Stan, who's considering going to the University of Virginia for grad school. It was his first time there and I'm pretty sure he was in awe and probably came three times just looking at the place. He didn't buy a t-shirt but I think I'll get him one for Christmas (Stan went to the University of North Carolina -- BIG rival school -- and would probably be beaten with a large stick for even considering UVA). Oh, and we had Gusburgers for lunch, which is a hamburger with a fried egg on it.

That night after we got home we went our separate ways to get beautiful (well, I needed a few hours to get ready...Stan just took a nap) and then we headed out dancing, the first time I've been clubbing in DC in 2 months. Angelo and Josh joined us and a fun time was had by all. Stan convinced me to flirt and dance with this one really cute guy who was all booty-rubbin' against me and stuff, and then when we were leaving and I said goodnight he asked, "what's your friend's name?" Yeah, he was using me to get to Stan. Ah, such is life.

Sunday I wandered downtown for a photo shoot with a couple dragon boat teammates for a local gay mag. If I make it into the shot (the photographer was shooting at an angle and I, the only white guy, most likely got cut out) I'll post it up. Afterwards the four of us went out for dim sum and ran into a bunch of other friends...good food, good time, bad service, but hey. I wandered down town for coffee and writing and then that night fixed a little dinner for Adrian, Stan and I while we watched Return of the Jedi, thus completing their introduction to the original Star Wars trilogy...it amazed me that educated people like them had never seen these. What are we teaching in our schools???

I realized this week that I'm a tired bitch now.

Labels: Bars, Friends

So yesterday, I registered for my first marathon.

October 26th, the Marine Corps Marathon. So I have 6 months to get ready.

Ethan and Vu and I all went to sign up together. I was interviewed on camera and I made sure I pointed out that Ethan was the one who got me to do this, so there's a record in case anything goes wrong and we need someone to blame.

I can do this. I know I can. If there's one thing I'm able to do in this world it's set a goal and meet it.

In grad school everyone said you don't have to be smart to get a PhD, you just have to be persistent. I often told people that it was like running a marathon instead of a 100-meter race. I guess I'll find out if it was really like running a marathon.

Today at work I was talking with a younger person whom I mentor. She ran the Marathon last year but wasn't planning to this year. But after I told her about signing up and she saw how excited I was, she got excited too, went online, and signed up. So if she ruins her body getting ready for this, I guess it's MY fault.

Labels: Friends, Running

So, what's been happening during the week I've been too busy to blog? Well...

Tuesday I had dinner with a friend who lives here and is originally from Penang, who also lived in Boston and New York before coming here. I helped him shop for a new mattress, we had Afghan food, and he gave me advice for a friend of mine in Penang who wants to come study here (hi, Azhan!!). He was thrilled to be riding in my Beetle (frankly, I was thrilled it was working) because he used to have one in Boston. It was from him that I learned that I can raise the front seats. It totally changed my driving experience.

Wednesday night my friend Doug was in town. Ah, Doug, who when I met him was a college student living in a (admittedly nice) trailer in Colorado, and who now lives in Germany with his hot German boyfriend. How times have changed. We had a nice long talk on the way into DC for dinner about all the stuff going on here at home...he'd read the basics from my blog but seeing as we've known each other for about 13 years he was getting concerned about my change in tone over the last couple years and he wanted to make sure I'm cool. And for that, I am appreciative. Also in the outing was Arlington Michael (who now lives in DC but once I give you a nickname, it sticks) who, in an odd twist of fate, dated Doug after Doug moved to DC a few years ago. Michael's boyfriend Mike (whom I have not yet graced with a Michael-nickname, though Hottie Michael would be appropriate) was also there, which means that for a while before Adrian joined us, Arlington Michael was sitting with a tableful of people who had ALL SLEPT WITH HIM. That had to be totally hot. For him.

Thursday night Stan came over and I fixed dinner and we watched Super Troopers. I thought this was going to be some sort of a Reno 911 kind of thing but it was actually really good. Oh, and my pasta was all right, though the bread I'd gotten the night before from Safeway had mold on it so BOO for Safeway.

Incidentally, people have been asking me who Stan is, so here's a pic:


We met at Josh and Angelo's Halloween party and had some professional things in common. We got to talking, met up for lunch a couple times, and over the past few months have turned into really good friends. He's a lot of fun to hang out with and we share interests but also are up for new things so it's never boring. I won't talk much about what a great guy he is because he reads this and it might embarrass him, but I will say he likes to drink for free on Thursday nights and leave it at that (the DC boys know what that means).

Friday night Justin came over, I fixed up a little dinner, and we watched the Miss USA pageant, which I'd TIVO'd. Justin is a big fan of pageants going back to his younger days, and I have to admit I got really caught up in it as the evening went on. I was very impressed with the young lady who won and who will be representing the US at Miss Universe in Vietnam this summer.

Saturday was a good day. I met Stan and we ran 3 miles in the morning...it was a beautiful day so getting out was a must. Then I spent a few hours doing some errands and working on a project I'm trying to get off the ground. My favorite line of the day came from Ethan, who called around mid-afternoon:

Ethan: We're going running this evening, you want to go?

Me; I already ran once today.

Ethan: So? You can eat in the morning and evening, why can't you run twice?

Me: I have no good response to that.

So I ran again, 5 miles this time, and it was all good, even my knee.

Sunday was dragon boat practice and naturally it started raining while we were on the river. Just a light rain at first but then it REALLY came down hard.

Me: My hair's going to be a mess for Happy Hour.

Guy behind me: I'm more concerned about that lightning, and the fact we're in a metal boat in the middle of a river.

Me: I have no good response to that.

Today I was going to run on the machines in the gym because it was still raining but when I stepped outside it had stopped. So I decided to run outside and hadn't gone more than 100 meters before the rain started coming down again. i thought about going back to the gym but everyone had seen me leave and I didn't want to look like a wuss. After all, it's only water, right? So yeah, it came down hard and I was pretty soaked after 3 miles, but at least I had the running trail to myself.

And now it's late and definitely time for sleeping!!

Labels: Friends, Life, Relationships

I had a nice visit with my uncle this weekend. We went to Mount vernon on Saturday (George Washington's estate, for those who don't know) and on Sunday visited the National Building Museum and then went to the national Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. All very cool touristy stuff suitable for a history major from the University of Virginia (which he was).

Saturday night he and Adrian and I went to dinner and Sunday night Adrian made dinner. Good food was had both times, but unlike my wonderful Malaysian friends, I will neither describe it in great detail nor post photos of it.

Sunday morning out dragon boat team had our first practice!! I had fun and discovered that I don't totally suck at this. At least, no one told me I did. We have a men's team and there's also a co-ed team, both sponsored by AQUA (I think "stroking for the gay asian community" should be our slogan, or something close to that anyway).



Please note: some of these people are straight so inclusion in this photo does not imply anything about a team member's sexual orientation

Tonight was a "chill out with Chinese food and TV" night because the weekend was a little tiring, what with all the running around and the constant attention my uncle needed. And even though my social calendar is filling up for this week, I do intend to get caught up on e-mails and such, on which I'm totally behind.

Labels: Friends, Life

Place (Overall): 4,685 out of 12,249
Place (Men's Division): 3,162 out of 5,865
Place (Men 40-49): 441 out of 763

@5 Mile: 46m 04s
Pace: 9:13/mile

@10KM: 56m 28s
Pace: 9:06/mile

Finish Line: 1h 28m 59s
Overall Pace: 8:54/mile

I came in only 1 minute behind Ethan, who has been my inspiration for this. I am catching up to him! (fortunately for me he has been sick all week -- I'm sure that helped!) Sorry, no pics of Ethan for those people who wanted to see some -- the rain was bad for cameras.



My knee still hurts, though not as bad as before. Adrian suggested I should ice it when we got home, but I had trouble deciding between vanilla and chocolate icing. Anyway, it helped.

Labels: Friends, Life

Last week I was too busy having a life to blog about it.

Tuesday night I was thinking I'd go out but ended up just running errands instead. But then a friend called around 10pm and wanted to go for coffee, so off I went. Hey, it's not as if I had to get up and go to work the next day. Oh, wait a sec...

Wednesday night I dealt with DC traffic for an hour then met up with Stan to go to an art opening. It was a photo show by The Sartorialist who, in addition to being a photographer of random fashion, is also a monthly fashion columnist in GQ. He had a great show, though the photos started at $1200, so they were a little out of my league. He was in attendance, and Stan thought he was hot, so the night was a success.

We went out for Indian food after that, which was very yummy, and very filling...Stan ordered chicken and I'm pretty sure he got a whole chicken. After getting him home I headed out to meet danny around 11pm, after he got off work...and naturally, he was hungry, so off we went to IHOP. He had a big omelette, I had decaf, and we both had a bad waitress. We talked for 2 hours, much of it about AQUA...because of my background Danny occasionally bounces ideas off of me about how to manage the group...then i think he does the opposite, I'm not sure. (ok, truthfully, he has done some things I suggested and they've actually worked out well).

Thursday I was a tired bitch and was an hour late to work. But since I don't like my job, I wasn't too worried about it. I was determined, though, that Thursday night would be a quiet night here, and indeed it was. So yay that. Oh, and I had lunch downtown with Linh, and we did some good catching-up.

Friday night I went to a birthday party for a friend. It was at a straight place (where he works) that tries to gay-it-up about once a month...but this time the straight people really outnumbered us. I encouraged Linh, Danny, Justin, Hai, and Khamla to go, and they all did, which was good since together we comprised about half the gay boys there. We had a nice time, it's fun to get my various friends together in one place.

Saturday Stan and I did some shopping...hooray for H&M! But the week was starting to catch up with me. That night a group of us got together to celebrate Vu and Troy's 10th anniversary, and I had fun but knew I couldn't stay too late...fading fast...

Sunday...oh yeah, I slept in. Until 10am, which was about 9 hours of sleep, and yes, I needed every minute of it. I was determined, though, that this would be the day for my 9-mile run. In two weeks I'll be running in a 10-mile race, and I haven't run that far before, AND I'm out of town next weekend. so this week was my chance to see if I could handle something like the race distance. The weather was great so it was a really good chance to get out there. I was feeling like I had a pretty good pace until a cute young guy passed me about 2 miles into it. He had a cute ass so I stayed with him, until he stoped by the side of the trail to puke. heh heh I finished my run in either 75 or 85 minutes...I thought it was 75, but that seems fast...could I have misread the clock when I started, and maybe it was actually 85? Either way, it's good enough for the race...the main thng is, I know I can finish a distance like that, because I wasn't totally dead when I came in to the finish.

Sunday night, of course, was the new Futurama...Stan and Khamla both came over for pizza and Chinese buns (food, not Stan's) and Bender. Yay for Bender!!

So now it's Monday night, and I've packed, and am headed to San Francisco tomorrow for the rest of the week. What the hell, I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead.

Labels: Bars, Friends, Stuff

ETHAN (talking about guys): You know me, I never say never.

ME: Hell, you barely even say "no."

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

MARY (in my office): I'm talking to a friend, she's about to have a baby, I can't believe she's still at work. She's saying "get this thing out of me!"

ME: If she'd said that 9 months ago while having sex she wouldn't be having this problem today.

(ok, they were funnier if you were there)

Labels: Friends, Stuff

Went out with my former student yesterday after arriving, and that was very cool. We grabbed a couple beers and got caught up on all we've done since we last saw each other nearly 2 years ago. I came back to the hotel and did some work while he ran errands, then we got together with his girlfriend for dinner...after that the three of us met up with some of his friends and we went to shoot pool and have some excellent Portland beers. A good time was had by all, especially by me when his friends thought I was a student, too. heh heh heh

This morning I had a minor problem with my alarm clock...somehow it was turned off, I don't know if I did that or not. Anyway, I woke up 10 minutes before my first meeting. I'm proud to report I made it on time AND i looked sharp!

Labels: Bars, Friends, Work

After crossing the finish line



The Gay Runners...though I'm sure we weren't the only ones!

Labels: Friends

Distance: 8 Kilometers
Time: 44:24
Overall Place: 1835
Gender Place: 1152
Age Division Place: 122
Pace: 8min, 56sec per mile

It's been 2