Sunny Southern California?

Yeah, not so much. It's been cold and overcast the whole time I've been here. And I brought one, ONE, long sleeve shirt. You've got to be kidding me. I was sweating when I left DC on Wednesday and now I'm cold. Go figure.

So I'm out in SOCAL because one of my projects is in meltdown phase. Too many chefs spoil the soup? Try too many government people who can't decide on an architecture or requirements. But details, they aren't the ones who have to build the software. Look I don't care what we build, but if a decision isn't made soon then there's no way I can meet any sort of realistic timeframe. We need to get off square 1 and go in A direction, ANY direction.

Anyways, I try to think that I'm a good traveler, though GreekBoi would disagree. But lately I've noticed that I'm getting a little bit anxious about flying. It's the take off. I just don't really like the fact that especially out of National you go up and then immediately bank hard to avoid the no fly zones over DC. I keep having this mental picture of the banking turning into a roll with a nice nose down descent into terra firma. On Wednesday I kept looking at the weather. Thunderstorms were predicted in the PM and I was like, I've got to get to Chicago so I can connect to San Diego. I did, but that wasn't the problem. Try thunderstorms in Chicago. We get on the plane and we're told that there's a big storm out west. Lots of wind shear. Not good. Actually, so not good that they are not allowing any planes to take off to the west. We sit and wait for awhile and I can see the dark grey clouds rolling in. Finally they say that they are going to let us take off to the EAST, head south, and then avoid the storm. Which all sounds good in theory. So we take off and it's like we're on an E-ticket ride at Disneyland. Usually the plane goes up rapidly for about 2-3 minutes, then goes into a more gradual climb. Nope. This was a hard climb for a good 20 minutes. And banking. Oh yea. A couple of real hard banks, and at the incline we were at? I'm looking down going, "Hello Mr. Earth." It was just not fun at all.

And then we ran into some turbulence coming into San Diego. Why is it that whenever I'm on a plane with turbulence it's really warm and naseous inducing? Why can't it be COLD? Anyways, I was glad to get off the plane to the nice cold evening in San Diego.

So yes, there's no making me happy when it comes to weather. ;-)

Seduce and Destroy

and then self destruct. But I'll get to that in a minute.

So last night Greekboi and I went to go see "Underwater". It's tag line? "Organic electronic sound and visual performance that takes you out of ordinary." Now skipping the whole "organix electronic" oxymoron, it did sound rather intriguing. So we got tickets and went.

It was in an unfinished space in the bottom of one of the new buildings on 14th St, just folding chairs, with lights and projectors. We got there a bit early so we got pretty good seats. The whole performance was interesting and good. Some of the music was a bit odd, but thats to be expected I think. In addition to the electric organ, they had a violen, sax, and some drums. One of the pieces was a take off of James Bond and they took some license with the theme music. During the music, there was a visual component showing on the screens mixing spy type icons with photos of DC. "Seduce and Destroy" was one of the lines they used. It was cool.

After the show, I proceeded to self destruct. Well, I ate a big lunch, and no dinner. Had a beer at the show, then we went to the ultra-hip lounge where I had not one, but two cosmos. So now I'm flying. And if I have any hope of going to Blow Off, I need to eat. So I go to Stoneys and get something greasy and bad for me. I take it home to eat, then catch a cab to Blow Off. I arrive around midnight, and it's not really that crowded and no one's dancing. Which annoys me. Now mind you, I'm slight inebriated at this point, and full from eating that greasy sandwich. So what should I do? A vodka and redbull. Oy vey, what a mistake. I don't last long at Blow Off and finally head home. It was not a good ending to the night at all.

Oh well. Andrew had this funny clip for Mother's Day, and when I looked at some of the other clips from these guys I found this. So smooth!

GITMO Rant

Love this. And I've never even watched this show. Hat tip to Andrew!

And now . . . . . .

. . . . . back to our regularly scheduled program.

So I've been caught in a serious work vortex and have given in to my workaholic tendencies. To the point where I'm getting annoyed that friends are calling me at night because I have work to do.

But as they say, recognizing you have a problem is the first step towards recovery. ;-)

And the only reason I not working tonight is that I went out to dinner with my customer and had a nice steak, a great milk chocolate mousse, and about 4 glass of a nice Malbec, and I'm not even a red wine drinker.

Oh let's see. The US Attorney scandal continues. The Army is saying that the "surge" will last till April 08. Several republican presidential candidates actually admitted that they don't believe in evolution. The Queen came, and went. Did I miss anything else?

Oh wait, I did go to a baptism last weekend for NoKarma's god/step children last weekend. It was just amazing and both little boys were just precious. It's been a while since I've been to a non-baby baptism (they are 6 & 9 years old). When asked if they would renounce Satan, instead of saying "I will" they responded "yes" in that oh-so-familiar little plaintative voice that I recognize from my nephew when I ask him if he was good in school. It just killed me.

Conference Chaos

So I'm in Nashville (yee-haw!) for a conference. And it's just weird. First of all, how in the hell do you throw a conference for 3400 IT professionals and NOT HAVE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS!?!?!?!?!? Look, some of us don't have crackberries but still need to do work while we are here. So I "conference" all day and then spend my evenings doing work. (Of course my other option is to go to a country bar. Pass!)

Anyways, I haven't been to a conference this big before and it's interesting. The conference is for all of the people who support the military industrial complex in the IT world, so it's a rather conservative group. So, one would think there would be rules for proper attire, right?

One rather humongous defense contractor had all of their people in jeans and denim shirts. Some of the guys had red hankerchiefs around their arms. I'm fairly certain these people are NOT aware of the hanky code. Or maybe . . .

Oh, unless you are the CEO of Sun Microsystems, lose the pony tail. Yes I understand that you've retired from the military and now you can grow you hair out, but you're 50 years old!!! Try to act/look like.

And, honey, unless you are working the conference, try a skirt that's a little bit lower. It's not some Adult Entertainment Convention.

Of course, the Borg were here, in matching black suits, white shirts, and all of the drones even used the same hair product. It was quite scarey.

Of course, I think the suits are better than some of the cheesy shirts with the company logo's on them. But that's just me.

Overheard at DCA

Now I'm used to the hassles of air travel so I put my game face on when I travel. It's the little loopy grin I put on that says, "Yes this all sucks, but we're in it together so we might as well all get along." And I had it on when I get to the check in kiosks at US Airways. While I'm waiting in line, I've heard a little bit of unpleasantness, but I've got my travel smile working. I get up to the kiosk and there's a problem so I have to wait for help. In the meantime, I stand there listening:

Woman: "What's going on here. Why are we sitting apart? We're supposed to be sitting together."

Attendant: "I'm not sure Ma'am. But something must have happened."

Woman: "I booked my seats FOUR months ago to make sure we would sit together and NOW you're telling me there's been some changed? Why do you EVEN give people the option to pick seats if it doesn't matter ANYWAYS?" She says sharply. And loudly.

Attendant: "Ma'am, I'm not sure. Sometimes the aircraft type is changed without our notice, so I'm not sure why you aren't sitting together."

Woman: "Are you meaning to tell me that my MINOR child is going to have to sit by herself 20 rows behind me? Are you saying that my 16 year old daughter is going to . . . . ."

I'm really not sure what she said after that. I'm just stuck on 16. Are you frakkin kidding me? She's 16 and she can't sit in a plane by herself with you a mere 20 rows away? How the hell deos she get to school? I'm thinking that if you're 16 and you can't sit apart from your Mom for the 2 plus hour flight to West Palm Beach then something is seriously wrong and bitching out the attendent who has NO control over the situation is just simply crazy! Get a grip you silly woman!

Death To America?

Well it's been a busy week for me including an oh-so-fun trip to central New Jersey and I'm about to head off to Nashville (yee-haw!) shortly. So I've barely been able to keep up with the political blogs I read, or even many of the personal or religious blogs (and yes I read several religioius blogs). But between what I've seen on the news, read in the MSM and in the blogs, I have to wonder whether if there is some sinister plan to destroy America. And no I'm not some conspiracy freak, but I think about of all of the stuff that has come out about the Bush administration and how it's basically undermining everything America stands for.

To quote Joe Klein: "The three big Bush stories of 2007--the decision to "surge" in Iraq, the scandalous treatment of wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys for tawdry political reasons--precisely illuminate the three qualities that make this Administration one of the worst in American history: arrogance (the surge), incompetence (Walter Reed) and cynicism (the U.S. Attorneys)."

But that's just the stuff that has risen to the surface. If you look deeper you can see the blatant cronyism and corporate welfare is undermining what America stands for as well.

It used to be: "Go to school, study, work hard, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and you can succeed in America."

But now it's go to Regent University, have some political connections, and get some sweet government job where you can help sustain the corrupt system that put you there. Or maybe you'll end up in a position where you can use government funds to keep your party in power. Or maybe you can give some money to a guy in a fedora and he'll help you get some sweet government contracts. And don't get my started on the no-bid contracts. How can that be construed as anything other than corporate welfare?

Is there some masterplan to completely undermine the basic foundations of America? It's hard for me to think that there isn't at this point. But one would think if they could come up with a masterplan like that, they would have figured out a way to get out of Iraq. So maybe they're just getting lucky.

Rage. That's what I'm feeling these days. Rage that this is happening in America. Feel it with me. Doesn't it feel good?

"Well We Can Still Be Friends . . . . . . ."

It's an almost formulaic response that's uttered as part of the break up saga. Usually after the: "It's not you, it's me" portion of the discussion.

And sometimes it's true and sometimes it's not. I know I've said it a few time and not really meant it. Usually when I've dated someone once or twice and figured out that not only am I not attracted to them, but that they really aren't that interesting and I'm not sure there's anything to base the friendship on. Yes, that's kind of harsh, but I'm being honest.

I will say that I do have a rather good track record of turning dates into friends. Most of my friends I met via Match where one of us (and sometimes both) decided that there wasn't any chemistry, but we had some things in common and thus a friendship was born.

Which brings me to my last romance which happened last fall. In a strange twist of fate, I met someone who I was not only attracted too, but also found funny, interesting, smart, etc. So we dated a bit (4-5 months ish). After a New Years Eve alone, I kind of pulled the "where are we" conversation and he said that he wanted to keep things casual, that he wasn't interested in a boyfriend right now. And I said cool, casual works, and . . . . wait for it . . . . well we can still be friends.

But apparently it was not meant to be. And I'm kind of bummed about not only the break up, but the fact that we couldn't even be friends. I've sent him a couple of emails, and nothing. And I guess the saddest thing is that I kind of thought more of him, kind of expected that it wouldn't be this way. There was no ugly break up, no scene, just a fade away into deafening silence.

Friday Night Mistakes

So I've had a long, and pretty crappy week. But I got home early yesterday and instead of doing more work, I laid down for a nap. But it wasn't very good and when I woke up at 630PM I wasn't feeling in the best of moods. But I've been such a hermit lately I forced myself to go out even thought I wasn't really feeling like it. Mistake #1. Then instead of going to Woof @ TITAN where I figured I'd end up getting rejected by real bears, as well as by Bear411, I decided to go to Halo. Mistake #2. So I get cleaned up and I head to Halo. It's packed to the gills with all of the pretty people, and the wannabes. Like me. I keep getting cut off in line by twinks of various age and I'm starting to get mad. Yeah, like that's a good attitude to have at Halo. I finally get my drink and I sort of walk around and look to see if I know anyone. As I'm scanning the crowd I recognize John Aravosis who runs Americablog.com. I go over and introduce myself and tell him how much I like the blog. Actually I think I said, " I LOVE YOUR BLOG" while pointing at him repeatedly. Anyways, nice guy and we chatted for while. But then I realize that he's there with friends and now I'm afraid I'm turning into some cyberstalking fan so I excuse myself quickly and leave. And as I'm leaving Halo, I start to get depressed. So I decide to eat through my emotions and I go over to Stoneys. Mistake #3. Where I order the buffalo chicken pizza to go. Mistake #4. Which I take back to my condo where I proceed to eat the WHOLE THING. Mistake #5. While watching Queens, which is very cute, but all of these happy endings make me want to puke (or is that the pizza) and I get depressed even more. So I finally end up going to sleep only to be punished for my many mistakes with acid reflux all night. Nice.

The good new is that according to EW, depression is so 5 minutes ago and apparently rage is now in. Which is good, because I've got some healthy rage issues I'd like to work on as well.

Ego Much?

So I went to a Nats game last night. And I remember why I like baseball, other then inherent gayness of it all with the pitchers and catchers. It's just a very social sport. You don't spend 60 minutes screaming at the top of your lungs. Sure you shout every once in awhile, but you can also just sit and chat and have a conversation. You're kind of forced to just slow down and enjoy the game. Of course, the beer and the really bad for you but-oh-so delicious snacks are just icing on the cake. My CEO asked me to go with him and he's got SWEET seats. Plus we got to eat dinner at the "Diamond Club." Trust me, it should be called the "Cubic Zirconia Club." Oh, the food was okay, but it's not really a "club."

Anyways, we're watching the game and I know NONE of the players. Hey, I don't like it that much. Anyways, out comes some guy and you know how they play a little snippet of a song picked by that player. Well the song was: "This Is Why I'm Hot!" Hello! Ego much? And um, sweetie, I hate to break this to you, but you just aren't all that. Well, to be nice, compared to some of the other guys on the team, maybe Ryan Zimmerman is sort of hot. But I think he may be gay fat.

Rejected by Bear411!

No seriously!

I had a couple of friends in town and some guy told them to check out his profile on Bear411 so we looked him up on my computer. Well the profile didn't say much, and we thought maybe you need to be a registered user to get additional info, so I went a head and registered. Filled in the little questionnaire (and no I'm not sharing what I put in my profile), posted a pic, and then waited to get the confirmation email saying that my profile was approved.

Well I got an email, and it said, "no thanks" and recommended that I join Male411 (aka Gay411).

Now I'm not sure what to think. Was I rejected because my picture wasn't bear enough? I posted one without facial hair, was that the requirement I failed? Or am I looking too slim (as if!) in my pic and so don't meet the weight requirement?

I'm confused.

And should I be offended or happy

Bathroom Etiquette

Men don't talk in the bathroom. That's just a general rule. Oh sure, if it's only a guy and a co-worker or a buddy, they may chat briefly. But if it's a bathroom with other people there, everyone is quiet. They do their business (so to speak) and then they leave.

So you're standing at a row of urinals doing your thing. Someone walks up to use the urinal next to you. And while you are standing there, they emit the loudest, longest, fart. What if it's someone you know?

Do you say anything, or just keep your mouth shut?

Does what happens in the bathroom, stay in the bathroom?

What would Miss (or Mr.) Manners say?

Fat

I know I am but what are you!

But seriously.

So I've been watching Work Out on Bravo. LOVE IT!

During my weekend spent in bed trying to suffer through migraines, I watched a couple of episodes. In one, Jesse is talking about how he's probably in the worse shape of any of the trainers on the show. "I'm not fat. Well, I may be gay fat," he said. And that just killed me. It's true. You can be in "normal" shape and be considered "gay fat". It really is quite strange/sad. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is just rampant in the gay community.

The other episode I watched Jackie is talking about a lesbian couple who want to lose weight. And I think it's Jesse again who says, "They aren't fat, well they are nesting fat. Happy fat." That I've found someone who loves me and it's alright if I have dessert more than once a week kind of fat.

I wish I was either.

After losing almost 14 pounds, I fell off the diet wagon and then rolled downhill. Today was the first day in probably 3 weeks that I've been to the gym. I did 50 minutes of cardio. Which didn't completely suck. I want to do some cardio for a week before I get on the scale. I'm afraid to get on the scales. Very afraid.

The Schism Comes Home

So I've not blogged about this. But I've thought about it a lot. My parent's church in Colorado Springs has left the Episcopal Church and petitioned to join the Nigerian Anglican church.

This saddens, stuns, angers me. And to have it all done amidst allegations of theft, embezzlement, etc only clouds the issues and makes it harder to distill the real forces at work here.

My mother lives by the church. Born and raised an Episcopalian, she's been involved with the church all her life. Even now she's a member of the alter guild and works in the thrift store. The separation, and the ugly situation there, are just killing her.

I've sat by, waiting, making no comment. I keep telling myself that it doesn't really effect me. That I should let them make their own decisions on which group they should go with. It obvious to me that chosing the vehemently anti-gay Nigerian church is the wrong answer, but they do have a lot of loyalty to their rector. But if there was a misappropriation of funding, is that loyalty deserved? If the rector is going to take them down a path of hate and "partial orthodox", then they need to question whether that loyalty is deserved.

I wonder if I write to them, tell them how I feel, whether it will make a difference? I'm almost convinced that nothing will persuade my father short of a clear declaration of wrong doing by the rector. Which will never happen. My mother might be swayed by logic and reason, but I'm not sure. And to mention that my passion behind my concerns has to do with the being gay will surely kill any chance I have of convincing them to think about the issues before they make a decision.

So do I write to them, and tell them how I feel, knowing it might not make a difference. Or do I maintain my silence and let them do as they please?

I'm going home in May to visit them. I won't go a Nigerian Anglican church. I won't. And I'm sure that will be an issue. But I guess I can deal with that then.

Thank.You.Joe!

Paris Pics!

Been a crazy week, but I finally got a change to download my pics and play with them a bit. Enjoy!

The Ole Rock Climbing Injury

That's my new story.

See back in the day I was backpacking through Patagonia with some friends. We had just hiked over into southern Chile looking to climp up into Torres Del Paine National Park. We had crossed several mountain passes, waded through cold rushing streams, and were climbing up the face of a steep rock wall to get to the top of the mountain when one of my ropes slipped, I fell, only about 20 feet or so, but landed on my foot badly and tore my achilles tendon. I was lucky, but to this day it still bothers me. Some days more than other, but hey, that's the kind of guy I am.

The truth?

OH MY GAWD my foot hurts. It's fricking killing me.

I think it's THE GOUT! Part DEUX!

So I had the problem with my foot (mainly in the toe area) before I left to go to Paris. I take drugs, and like in a day or so, I'm fine. I stop taking the drugs. I walk all over Paris. No problems. Yesterday I start to notice that it's hurting again. Today, oh yes, it's hurting alright. It's f&cking killing me. And I've been hobbling around like a stupid gimp and I hate it.

Sure I get a little bit of sympathy, but then when I tell people it's the gout, they look at me kid of funny and just sort of shake their head and walk away.

So, the next person to ask me, it's just the ole rock climbing injury acting up again.

Versailles, Paris, and Home Again

Friday I got up early and went to Versaille. The BNL helped me navigate the RER (local trains) and I got to Versaille a little after 1030. My foot was feeling better and I walked under the grey and drizzling skies to the front of the palace. Holy Cow! I just hadn't realized how huge it was. And it was amazing how crowded it was that early on a cold, rainy Friday morning. The line for people with tickets was easily 200 people long and I stood there for a good half hour before I got int. I was worred that it was going to be like the Louvre where a gazillion people are there and every one is jostling each other and I was right. Luckily the ticket also included the audio-tour guide so I could use that to drown out the noise from the masses. And I just tried to ignore the constant bumping from the masses. Lots of kids, and some of them were definitely not interested in listening or learning, it was more like a sprint to get through the museum so they could stand outside, under some of the archways and smoke their stinky french cigarettes. But I took my time and enjoyed it. Afterwards, I walked down into the gardens. The fountains were not on, and it is still early spring there, but the gardens were pretty and huge. I walked all the way down to the Grand Trinon and the Petit Trinon. These were the "summer palaces" when they (Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette I think) wanted to get away from Versailles. Pretty cool. As I walked back up to the main palace, they turned on some of the fountains and I got some cool pics. I'll try to download them later this week. I got back on the RER and made it home just about the time the kiddos got home. So more quality time with them.

My time in France is weird. It's good because I'm not rushing myself. I'm very relaxed. There's no pressure to see everything in 2 or 3 days. No insane schedules. I get to spend some great quality time with my niece and nephew. Kind of like when I went to LA to visit them, I really don't go out much. I do dinner with my sister and her family. I play games with the kids, we watch movies. All kind of relaxed. I did end up going out once to a french gay bar. With a very interesting downstairs cruising area. But I don't know, between the basically unattractive French guys, the smokey bars, the jet lag, the crappy weather, I just don't see the point in going out much. I'm getting old, aren't I?

The other thing that is weird about my time in France is that I sleep like a rock. Every time I went to sleep I had such great restfully sleep I never wanted to get up in the AM. I'm not sure if it's the mattress, or if I'm not thinking about work at ALL, or what. But it was amazing.

My last day in Paris, we took the kiddos for haircuts (which are EXHORBITANTLY expensive) and then to the Paris Air and Space Museum. It was cool and you got to go inside a Concorde. For some reason I thought they were bigger, and the seats looked really small. I think it's good the flight was so quick, becuase I think being on those seats would have sucked. It rained again most of Saturday and for my last night we went out to dinner at the local equivalent to the Olive Garden. Hey, it was cheap (for Paris), the food was decent, and they put up with the noise of the kiddos. So that was good.

My flights back were the usual. My foot is hurting again. This time not the toes, but the heel. I'm taking the gout medication again and I hope that's what it is. If not, it's back to the Dr. Oh joy.

Do You Speak English?

My flight was actually quite pleasant. I got to Dulles early enough to avoid the evening jam. I lucked out and got an exit row seat with plenty of leg room. And I popped a Nyquil, ate dinner, and then crashed. I woke up when we were almost to Ireland. The rest of the flight was a breeze.

Paris! I'm psyched about my time here. The drugs have worked on the gout, but I'm still battling a cold. And I've moved into the aches and pains phase. So much fun. My brother-in-law (BNL) picked me up at CDG and we fought the traffic back to my sister's place. I crashed for a bit and then got up to wander around. I headed first to the Trocadero. It's got a great view of the Eiffel Tower and there was a photo I wanted to take that I couldn't get last time. There are two statues, one male, one female, facing the Eiffel Tower. Needless to say I was looking for a shot of the back of the male statue, a very nice strong back, with the Eiffel Tower in the foreground. When I get home I'll share it. Then I crossed over the Seine and walked under the tower itself. And that's where I saw the gypsies.

"Do you speak English?" they would call out to tourists. I managed to see this set up before I got to close and then purposefully, but hopefully a bit randomly, walked away from them. Ignoring their queries when any came close. Not to self, must walk with Ipod. It gives more credibility to not answering them. I walked through Las Invalides nieghborhood, then along the Seine, and crossed over at the Grand Palais. The weather was nice and I had shoved my coat into my cuir sac. I got some good pics and then started to wander up the Champs. It was about then that the rain started. Sprinkles at first, but big cold rain drops. I put the jacket back on and then trudged on. I did do some window shopping, but I don't need anything and it really is just so expensive here. I ended up back at my sisters just as my niece and nephew came home from school. So I ended up playing Uncle Trey for the rest of the night and renewed my engineering quals by helping my nephew assemble the exo-force bionacle figure. Yikes, as if i didn't have a headache before.

I almost slept through the night and woke up to a really bad headache. After getting the kiddos off to school, I buckled down and did some work. After the BNL got back from some golf, we headed down to the Grand Palais to see the Paris Art show. It was interesting. Mainly modern art, some sculptures. And I know that most of them were French, but did we really need to see so much female genitalia presented so prominently? Or in such an ugly manner? Just kind of weird.

After that, my head felt like it was going to explode, so I came back, crashed for a bit, and then played CandyLand, Chutes and Ladders, and "Let's Go to Mcdonalds" with my niece. And the only reason I survived that was due to the nice glass or two of wine I had!

This Old Body . . . .

is hurting. Badly!

I woke up this AM to excruiating pain in my left foot and the tell-tale sign of a scratchy throat that means a nice cold is on it's way. Not sure what the deal is with my foot. I suspect it's gout. And yes, it's an old person's disease, but it's also apparently genetic, and can be triggered by diet. Especially a high protein diet. Which is what I've been on, up until Thursday that is. So I'm not sure what triggered it. I'm going to try to hobble along until I get an appointment with my Dr tomorrow. So much for running up and down the Champs in Paris. I'll just be happy if I'm not limping. And ironically enough, this will be the first time I've been to visit my sister and gotten sick before I get there. Usually my little lovely virus factory niece infects me and I'm sick when I get home. Of course, this could all be allergies, but I'm thinking not.

So I went to Truro for church this AM. I wanted to experience their service, I wanted to sit in their pews, I wanted to listen to how they worship to see if I could figure out why they feel the need to leave the Episcopal Church. Before I left, I had read their website, and while they claim to welcome gays and lesbians, they also refer to several of the ex-gay ministries. So I'm not sure how welcome they really are. Unfortunately with my gimp foot I got there late and quietly sat in the back. While the format and many of the components of the service were the same, it just felt odd. I'm not an evangelical, and there were several evangelical and/or charismatic moments in the service. I'm also pretty conservative when it comes of my church music. And there were several songs/hymns that seemed more at home in a big tent revival than in an Episcopal (or Anglican) church. Unfortunately as I sat there, I realized that I was listening to the lessons, the songs, the sermon through a very jaded perspective. Almost everything I heard I was probably taking the wrong way to fit into the mindset that I had already created. So I got up and left. I wasn't being honest in my attempt to listen to them, to figure out how they feel. So I left. And to be honest, my foot was trobbing so hard that I could barely focus anyways. I'm not sure I'll go back. I'd like to figure out a way to have a meaningful conversation with someone from Truro, but I'm not sure how to do it.