Home for the Holidays & 2010

So the trip back to Colorado was actually less unpleasant that expected.

Mind you, United didn't help. Despite several attempts to try to upgrade LawyerX, I failed. So I flew in first and he flew in economy plus. I did get him that. But the guy next to him spilled coffee on him. See, I can't win. And I loved the puddle jumper flight from Denver to COS, especially when we had to make three attempts to land in blinding snow when the instrument landing system was down. So the trip started well.

Now I have to say, LawyerX's insistence that we stay at the Broadmoor was actually a good idea. While it was far away from my parents and his sister, it was just awesome! Such a wonderful resort. And it had a fabulous spa which we took advantage of as well.

The parental units and LawyerX? It went better than expected I think. Between Mom's ingrained southern hospitality and Dad's health issues (improving, we think), I just don't think they had it in them to have a fight. Quiet denial (or acceptance) was more the way it went. But I think overall it went well.

Christmas Day before we went to the Broadmoor we went to visit my Aunt & Uncle who were visiting my cousin who lives in COS. So we're sitting there chatting and we're talking about the brunch at the Bmoor and Mom goes, "Well Special K, LawyerX, and Trey went to the Penrose Room last night." Which of course lead to the question from my Aunt: "Who is Special K and LawyerX." Yep, I've just been outed by my Mom. So I say, "Oh, Special K is LawyerX's sister. And LawyerX's the guy I've been seeing for around a year." Cause I'm not going to lie. So then we had some more conversation, none of it ugly mind you. We don't do that in the south. We're raised right, we talk about people behind their backs. So I'm sure the telephone/email lines were buzzing with the news. Oh well. It was going to come out eventually, I just hadn't expected it to happen so soon, or that way. I'm not close to my cousin or Aunt, so I'm not that worried about.

Afterwards, we headed to the Broadmoor for Christmas dinner with Special K and LawyerX. It was a little later than we usally do Christmas dinner, but it was fantastic. The dessert buffet was like 18 feet long. Just insane.

The flight back? Well as my Dad says, "If you have time to spare, travel by air." Our flight from COS to denver was fine. But as soon as we landed I got an email saying that our flight to IAD was cancelled. Oh joy. So United put us up in the Marriott at the airport. And when I say "at the airport" I mean 12 miles away. It was okay. We were re-booked in first class (both of us) which was nice.

As for New Years? I'm really not a NYE fan. LawyerX says NYE is for amateur drinkers. And I agree. But it's also just a haze of crowded bar and just not fun. So I sort of opted for a quiet dinner kind of early and then we had an after dinner drink at my place while we watched the ball drop on TV. Yes, I'm old. But it was nice, relaxed, and low key.

New year's day, we had our monthly brunch at the Four Seasons in Gtown. We did it last year and it was a blast. And we had several drinks so I had a nice buzz going. After that, we went to see Avatar. Absolutely amazing.

So that's Christmas and NYE. Pretty thrilling eh?

Get Me To A Day Spa, STAT!

If you aren't watching Glee, you're missing one of the best shows on TV. Just LOVE IT!



Current fav song from Glee?



And since this looks like it's going to be an all You-Tube post, I have to say that this brought me to tears.



If you know anyone in Maine, please tell them to vote No on 1!

Oh, back from France.

Work was good.

Seeing my sister and her family was good.

Don't want to get on another plane any time soon.

Growing a beard.

Mainly to hide the fact that I've gained like 15 pounds.

Must get back to the gym.

Sigh.

Around the World in Three Days

Okay, halfway around the world.

Monday: Paris, France.
Tuesday: Washington, DC.
Wednesday: San Diego, CA.

I am so jet lagged I'm not even sure what my name is.

Paris was great as always. Good to see my sister and her family. Spend time with my niece and nephew, even if they don't appreciate it.

"I don't want to visit Uncle Trey, he's EVIL!!!!"

Yeah, do you feel the love? But that's just him. And I love him regardless. I will say that I did score this time with the Pokemon DS game. So I've got that going for me.

On Saturday we went shopping at Decathalon, a sporting good chain in France, and finally saw some hotties. French guys are all stick thin little twinks. But in Decathalon I finally saw a hot muscular DILF with huge biceps. And you know how I am about big biceps. Unfortunately as I was leaving, I saw him sucking on a cancer stick. Sigh.

On Sunday we went to Givernchy, which is where the impressionist painters would go when they left Paris to go into the countryside to paint. We actually went to Monet's house and garden. It was really amazing. After seeing so many Monet paintings, we were actually walking through the gardens, and along the water lilly pond, that he painted and made famous. So very, very cool. After that, we went to an abandon chateau (which was more like a castle) on top of a hill over looking a small village in a valley. The weather was amazing and the kiddos had a good time rumpusing across the castle and the hill.

Flew back on Monday. Worked in DC on Tuesday. And then caught a flight before the crack of dawn on Wednesday to make it out to San Diego. Here till Saturday.

I made it to 830PM last night (1130PM DC time; 0530AM Paris time) and then I woke up at midnight (0300AM DC time, 0900 AM Paris time). Today's going to be a long, long, long day.

$46.83

That's how much it took to fill up my gas tank this weekend. I guess gas has come down a bit, but almost 50 bucks to fill up Sven? That's kind of crazy. The good news is that it was the first time I had to fill up the tank since May! Yep, the car diet has been working pretty well. I've driven to work maybe a handful of times this summer. Now, I wish I were saving alot of money doing this, but I'm paying for the metro myself. It's $3.70 per day. So roughly the cost of a gallon of gas. So I really need to give up my parking pass and get the company provided metro card instead. Then I think it will be worth it. So I'm going to cut the safety cord and give up my work parking place to see what the real cost is. Sure, I'm also saving some money on maintenance, wear and tear, etc, but still.

So I had to send a rather firm order to my father about anti-Obama emails. He's on this mailing list from his school that is pretty conservative and you just can't believe the lies and crap he was forwarding to me. And some of it is just so wrong it's silly. Like a quick Google search disproves half of this crap. I told him that if he wanted to send me emails that explains why he's for McCain, then bring them on. But I'll pass on the personal attacks, the lies, and the propoganda.

Lesbionic Operas and A Magical Kingdom (ish)

So a couple of weeks ago I went to see Tamerlano at the Kennedy Center. We had seats in the Presidents Box (yes, I *know* people!). Absolutely amazing seats. Plus a little lounge where we quaffed some champs and nibbled on presidential chocolates. And having your own bathroom is essential. Only the little people use the public restroom. Hello Joke!

Anyways, an old Navy friend of mine who works in the White House got the tickets. And Placido Domingo was performing. And he's just amazing. The problem is that the opera was just a little bit weird. So Placido played the old vanquished king. Check. But then the Prince who conquered him and is in love with his daughter is played by a woman. And then the Emperor who controls the Prince is in love with the daughter also, and he's like a super high tenor. So really girly sounding. So the Prince is really a Princess. The Emperor sounds like an Empress. And they are vying for the daughter. So it had a very lesbionic feel to it. But it was an amazing performance and just so much fun.

After that, I skipped down to Orlando to visit the Magic Kingdom. Eh. It was okay. The resort we were at is for conferences so it wasn't really *that* nice. More like a mediocre Holiday Inn. I did go down early to check out Epcot which was good. But I'm really not the target demographic they are going for. It seems like there are three things to do at Disney. Eat, shop, go on the rides. And most of the rides are for the little people. Which were everywhere. Hello people, shouldn't your children be in school! Now I know I've gained some weight (my diet starts after France!), but there were a LOT of people there who were just obese. Yes I know it's a problem throughout America, but it was just so obvious when I was down there. Now, after my bitching, I will say that I didn't see a single freakish tatoo or earing on the employees (aka cast members) or hear a single curse word. Which was refreshingly nice. The conference was just okay. I know a lot of people who come to Disney World every year, but I'm not feeling it right now. Maybe if I went down with someone, and sans conference it would be better.

So, off to Paris tomorrow to visit my sister and the kinder. I'm smuggling a Nintendo DS for my niece and a strange M&M dispenser for my sister. Plus I got my niece and nephew a new DS game for them to play. So I'll be the good Uncle, atleast for the first day!

Zero to Mach 5, Detours to Dulles, & Good News!

So I knew the restful, languid pace of last week wouldn't last much beyond 0730 on Monday and I was right. All of the stuff I did over Thanksgiving weekend did prepare me for the madness, but not to the level I encountered. I just got hammered this week. Meetings galore, problems, hospital crap, family coming into town etc. My Dad sent an email asking if I was taking it easy and in moment of bitter sarcasm, I responded at 11PM at night saying, "You mean am I working 14 hour days? Of course not!" Yes, I know, how passive-aggressive, but it works for me.

So my family flew into town yesterday for my sister's promotion. She's flying into Dulles from Paris @ 230PM. My folks were flying into National @ 4PM. In theory it makes more sense for me to pick up my sister and my folks to take a cab to the hotel they are staying at in Rosslyn. But Dad keeps talking about waiting at the airport until I can pick them up. AGH! Then yesterday AM I get the phone call. The rentals' flight from DFW to DCA got canceled and they are on a later flight arriving at 830PM. Which means they miss the dinner planned for my sister. So I'm like, No! Go back to the agent, tell them you want to fly into Dulles. See if that will get you an earlier flight. So that works, they arrive at 4PMish. So my sister can wait a bit and I'll pick them all up. Well, all of the delays and detours magically synchronize and my sister strolls out of international arrivals, walks over two carousels and there are my parents. And I'm approaching Dulles at this point so it all worked out. Thank God!

Speaking of thanking God. I got a clean bill of health from the Dr. today! The results of the whole body scan I did on Monday came in and the cancer has not metastasized in the lymph nodes, and there doesn't appear to be anything any where else. So I think I am out of the woods. I'll need to do some follow up blood work in January and for the next year or so, so that's all really good news. I'm really ready to move on with my life!

Having said that, I'm still battling the fatigue issues. But I have managed to haul my big ole butt to the gym a couple of times and I've lost a couple of pounds. I have MILES to go before I sleep (so to speak), but it's progress. So all good news.

My sister's promotion is this AM. Family dinner tonight. The Army-Navy game tomorrow. Then probably family brunch on Sunday and then a return trip to Dulles to get them all on their way home Sunday PM. Then back home so I can pack for my trip to San Diego next week. So I'll be ramping up to Warp 9 here shortly. Please buckle up for your own safety!

For The Bible Tells Me So

I went to go see this tonight. I'm so glad I did. It was touching and moving and just amazing. And I actually learned some things also. One of the major players in the film is Bishop Robinson and I thought back to the summer of 2004, the summer his election to the Diocese of New Hampshire had to be consented to by the Episcopal Church's General Convention. Dad and I were on a Backroads trip in Denmark and after a long bike ride, we would relax in the room watching a bit of the tube. And usually watching BBC. Being British, the General Convention was getting lots of coverage. And I remember my father using such hurtful ugly language and me getting mad. Wanting to tell him that I was just like that person he was denigrating and denouncing. But I didn't. I told him that I had friends that were gay and that I didn't appreciate his language. That he made himself sound stupid and hateful when he used such language. That he knew better and then I walked out of the room lest I say anything else. I wasn't ready to be that honest with him.

Honesty. Integrity. These words were used a lot in the movie and oddly enough I thought about the latest right wing republican gay sex scandal. But to be honest, it's not really a gay sex scandal. This sad man has wrapped himself up in a series of lies, built his life around them, believed in his own ability to separate himself from the reality that includes his same sex attraction. It doesn't mean he's gay. Like Mr. Wide Stance, I don't think he's gay. In this context, I will say that being gay is a lifestyle. Being gay is being open and honest with yourself, living with integrity. But he can't say that. And because he can't rip apart the foundations of the lies that he's based his life on, he can't be open, or honest, or live with any type of personal integrity. Instead, he has to have furtive and all to often illegal or dangerous sex to deal with his same sex attraction. It really is sad.

And I can see how it can happen. I really do feel sad for the man.

Odd Socks, Missing Jocks, and Snowy Baseball?

Mom offered to do some laundry for me, and since she offered, who was I to say no? So I gave her my dirty clothes and she cranked up the washing machine. Well this morning we got to play, "yours or Dads"? This is the game where we go through the laundry to determine what's mine and what's Dad's. Now on some things it's obvious. For example, the Hane's underswear? Dad. The 2Xist underwear? Mine. But with things like socks, it's a little bit harder.

Mom, picking up a pair of socks, said, "Oh these are your Dads. I know them by now." And she proceed to tell me about how this pair of socks got separate by fate, and how Dad wouldn't give up on the missing sock. He hung the remaining sock on his door in the hope that the prodigal sock would return. And return it did. About six months later, as Mom pulled out the flannel sheets for Dad's bed, she found, clingy tightly to the flannel sheet, the missing sock. And there was much rejoicing in the house.

Now, things don't always go so smoothly. In my family, there's the infamous story of the missing jock. I thankfully wasn't there, but a couple of years ago my sister and brother-in-law (BNL) were living with my parents while they were house hunting. Well apparently during one of the times my Mom was washing the clothes, one of my Dad's jocks went missing. And then it turned into a blame game. Who had stolen the jock. This was pre-CSI days, so there was no formal investigation, but there are some suspects. Now mind you, I have no idea why someone would want to steal the jock, but I think that's irrelevant. Now whenever something is missing around those house, we always say that's it's with the missing jock.

Anyways, my family isn't normal.

Now it's not like I read the Washington Post every day at home, mainly because I get most of my news from the internet, but atleast there is news in the Washington Post. Here in Colorado Springs, I'm subjected to the Gazette, which is pretty pathetic. Mainly a combination of the police blotter and recycled news from the major papers, the Gazette doesn't take too long to read. But with the Colorado Rockies playing in the NLCS there were several articles about them. And what kills me is that I read atleast FOUR articles that talked about the possibility of the Rockies playing in snow. The temp dropped 30 degrees last night and right now you can't see Pike's Peak because of the snow falling up at the higher altitudes. So it's quite possible that they may end up playing in the snow, but is this such a big story that it has to be be mentioned
in four different stories?

Home for the Weekend

I left beautiful sunny, warm, San Diego and flew to Colorado Springs last night. The flight was uneventful and I managed to get quite a bit of work done at the airport so that was good.

The rentals are fine. Still talking over and past each other, but I try my best to listen to all of the conversations.

Other than cleaning up Mom's PC and showing Dad how to send his digital pictures to Mom, I've got limited PC duty on this trip. So not too bad.

We're going to church tomorrow. All of us. And I'll be wearing my little Episcopal pin. We'll see if that leads to any interesting conversations.

It's just kind of slow and quiet here. Which is nice for a change. I'm sure I'll ramp back up to warp 9 once I get back to DC.