I Survived the Disney Death March

but barely.

So Lawyer X warned me that this was going to be a death march through Disney World. And I'm like, right. How hard could it be? Hard. And unbareably hot as well. See Orlando was having just the most disgusting heatwave. Hot, humid, and oppressive. So trekking across Disney did indeed become a death march. But it’s one of the things you do for love.

Day 1: Disney's Hollywood Studios. I passed on the Tower of Terror, but I did do the Aerosmith Rockn' Rollercoaster. Am I getting old, or are roller coasters just not as fun anymore. Wait. Don't answer that. If you're familiar with Disney, then you know it's all about the FastPass. We had run to the Toy Story ride and gotten fastpasses for that. Lots of fun. Kind of a shoot em up game. LawyerX beat me, but not by much. Not bad considering I'd never done the ride before. Have I mentioned how hot it was? It was miserable. But that didn't stop us. When we started to fade, we would hop into a store for the air conditioning. And to shop of course. We stayed @ Disney's Hollywood Studios till about 3PM before we headed back to the resort of a quick disco nap. Because that afternoon (like around 5PM), we headed to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. It’s a special night at the Magic Kingdom where all of the characters dress up in Halloween costumes, there’s a special parade, and there’s trick or treating. Yep, in addition to the most delicious, but seriously not good for you food, we were trick or treating. And while we didn’t have costumes on LawyerX’s sister got us devil horns that had red lights in them. Very cool and the added bonus of helping to keep track of our party amidst the hordes of Disney. More food. More rides. More candy. Just more of everything. The fireworks and laser show at the Magic Kingdom was amazing. When we finally bailed around 1130PM I was ready to admit defeat.

Day 2: Slept in. Thank God. And then we had a lazy day planned by going to Blizzard Beach. It’s one of the water parks at Disney. And the fact that it was another hot, humid, sunny day was actually a good thing. The first thing we did was the lazy river, or whatever they call it. Just riding around the park in an inner tube. It was the perfect way to start the day! We then discovered the rafting slides at the backside of the park. In the singles slide, it’s completely enclosed, dark, and you’re slip-sliding up and down and all around. Just a ton of fun. I don’t think the doubles was meant for adult kids like LawyerX and I. Yes I’ll start my diet on Tuesday, but with our combined mass there were a couple of times I thought we were going to go over the slide. It was dangerously close. And fun. After we did that four or five time (no lines!) we headed around to the front of the mountain for some more slides. This time on rubber mats facing forward. LawyerX and I raced down, but he beat me. Oh well. After a couple of runs, we grabbed a bite to eat and then it was back to the lazy river to relax. The only way it could have been more perfect was if we could float around the park enjoying an adult beverage of our choice. But not so much. No food or beverages allowed at all. Bummer. After a loop or two, we took the chair lift up to the summit to do the Summit Plummet. It’s a 12 story water slide drop. The line was kind of a haze, but great views from the top of the summit. And you know it wasn’t until we got to the top that I started to get scared. Oh well, too late to back down. It was over before you had a chance to freak out too much. I did have to extract my swimsuit from my buttocks after I finally got down. Hmm, the ride was okay. Been there, did that. Done. After the park, we headed back to our resort (Old Key West) for a shower change and then we were meeting up with some folks for dinner at a new Greek place. The chef there was a famous chef from Iron Chef. Anyways, it was good and the drinks were flowing, and then it was time to roll into bed.

Day 3: In theory we were supposed to get up early to see the Animal Kingdom, but we both slept in and then we just decided to head to Epcot. Today was the glutton day. The Disney International Food and Wine Festival. So at Epcot, there is a big lake and around the lake are little stores, restaurants, and rides from countries around the world. So each of the countries has a little amuse bouche (sometimes bigger) plus wines, beers, and other delicious beverages. But the food would have to wait. First it was a fast pass for Soarin. And then we hit the Test Track ride. Eh, it was okay. Then we *had* to do Mission Space. Now I had done this a couple of years ago when I came down for a work conference. I did the Orange, “more intense”, training and I was wrecked for the rest of the day. I didn’t get sick, but I was pretty miserable for awhile. So this time I did the green, “less intense” training and it was fine. The special effects at Disney are really top notch. After that, it was time for Soarin. Very cool ride and special effects. And finally it was time for “2009 Disney Drunk & Grub Fest”. People had actually made t-shirts that said that! Loved it. We started at San Juan and headed counter clockwise around the lake. Have I mentioned the heat. OMG disgusting. Good food, good drinks, and then just the life getting sucked out of us by the heat. I passed on the escargot at France, but we had this frozen Parisien cosmo that was to die for. We pretty much ate, drank, and shopped (for the blessed air conditioning) all after noon. Around 4 PM I had to raise the white flag. I was more than pleasantly buzzed, stuffed, and just drenched in sweat. I needed a break. So I went back to the resort for a quick disco nap, a shower, and a clean set of clothes. When I got back LawyerX, his sister, and his aunt were all winding down their trek. I did get to partake of some of the last food items (perogies from Poland, egg rolls from China, and a fiesta margarita!). Then we stayed for the amazing fireworks and laser shows. It was great and we had a great spot to watch it all. Afterwards, we all headed back to the resort to crash.

Day 4: A surprisingly early get up, which was good since it took a while to pack. LawyerX was taking some of my stuff back to DC since I was heading to Europe directly from Orlando. After a leisurely AM, we hit Downtown Disney for a list bit of shopping and lunch and then it was time to get on the Disney Magical Express back to the airport.

So all in all it was a good weekend. If the temperature had been a little bit cooler, it probably would have been great. I will say that while I’ve always suspected that there is a little 8 year old kid inside of LawyerX, now I know it’s true. And I’ve seen him come out at Disney, while on a ride, or eating a ginormous turkey leg, or getting a picture taken with Doug (from Up!). Squirrel! Just too cute.

My next death march is work related. Orlando to Frankfurt. Frankfurt to Nice. Taxi from the Nice airport to the Nice train station. Train from Nice to Toulon. And then taxi form the train station to the hotel. I’m in Toulon for 2 days for work. Then a train to Paris. Work Friday. Spend the weekend with my sister. And then fly back to DC on Monday. And then I don’t want to get on a plane for a long time. Atleast a month if I can swing it.

Currently in Frankfurt. I got bumped up to Business Class on the Lufthansa flight. See, it pays to be a United Mileage Plus whore. Just need to stay awake till I get to Toulon. Then I can crash.

Fantasy Gay Weekend in Las Vegas

So I recently complained to LawyerX that we don't do anything gay. And yes this was less than 10 days after coming back from a gay cruise in the Meditterean. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy. Umm, guilty.

So Lawyer X really scored some big points when he got us tickets to see Kylie in Vegas. Now mind you, our fall travel schedule is crazy, but when Kylie comes to the United States, you fix your schedule around her tour dates. So we did. And last weekend we headed to Las Vegas for our fantasy gay weekend!

The trip out to Vegas went fine and we got the Encore late in the afternoon. We had just enough time to take a quick shower and sample the buffet (check that off the tourista list) and then headed to the Bellagio to see O. It was actually my first Cirque du Soleil show and it was really amazing. Just too cool. After the show, we checked out the water fountain show at the Bellagio and then sort of wandered down the strip.


We did take a dangerous detour into the Forum Shops at Caesar's where we stumbled upon a John Varvatos store. Danger Will Robinson, Danger! We both found coats that we absolutely loved. Unfortunately, they really didn't fit us that well. Nothing that a couple of stomach viruses couldn't have solved, but still. In the end, no matter how much I loved it, I just couldn't rationalize spending that much for a jacket.

We tried to sleep late the next day, but we were still on east coast time. So we got up and promptly went to the pool. The pool area was just amazing. Several pools and actually some good music. While Lawyer X was working on "The Lost Symbol", I was laughing my way through "Official Book Club Selection." Hey, I did say it was a gay weekend. After a rough afternoon of laying out, we went back up to the room to nap before the main event. We had dinner at Society at the Encore and then headed to the Pearl to see Kylie.

The concert? Just amazing. Fabulous. Fantastic. Keep adding adjectives until you run out. It was that good. Probably one of the best concerts I've ever seen. She looked awesome. She sounded amazing. And I knew almost all of the songs. We had great seats so we had a good view for the improvised shower scene:


Love the song. Love the hot dancers. Love it.

Oh, best t-shirt of the night: "Do these jeans make my cock look fat?" I love my people. They are just too funny.

After the concert, we headed back to the hotel to drop off our concert souvenirs and then we headed to the gay club in Vegas: Krave. It was hosting the Kylie concert after party (of course) and was filled to the brim with the gays. So we had a good time getting our groove on and dancing up a storm.

Waking up way to early the next morning, we hit the spa for the sandalwood scrub and hot stone massage. It was OMG expensive, but totally amazing. Just so wonderful and relaxing. Which was good because the flight home was not fabulous. After a quick bite to eat, we headed to the airport. Our flight to St Louis actually arrived 30 minutes early, but our flight to DC was late. And then once we go on board, some moron in first class shoved something so hard into the overhead compartment that it broke the light bulb behind the compartment. It took them almost an hour to fix it (it involved removing the overhead panel) so we were really late getting back to DC. We didn't land until 0130AM.

Vegas? It was good. But kind of overwhelming. And kind of expensive. Totally worth it to see Kylie! Otherwise, I'm not so sure. We'll see.

But that was our fantasy gay weekend in Las Vegas!

And yes, I still need to work on the cruise pics.

Rome (BC=Before Cruise)

So both Lawyer X and I have been to Rome a number of times. So we weren't in a hurry to do the forced march through Rome to see the Coliseum, the forum, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc. We kind of wanted to take it easy.

The flight over was okay. LX was constantly whining about flying in economy. He's 6'5" and he always flies business class for work. But the business class seats were outrageously expensive. And as a premier executive, I could get us economy plus. And when he finally sat down in the seat he did grudgingly admit that it wasn't as awful as he thought it was going to be. Anyways, we arrived in Rome on time but then had to wait forever for my luggage (marked priority). As we would say over and over during the trip: TIB. That's Italy Baby. LX had arranged for driver for us into the city to our hotel which was really nice. Our friends whose flight was delayed ended up taking the express train and were not happy about it. LX had gotten us a room at the Sofitel in Rome and it was very, very, very nice.

After a quick disco nap, we headed out for a quick lunch down near the Spanish Steps and then LX had gotten us tickets to the Museo Borghese in the Borghese Gardens. It was blistering hot as we hiked through the gardens so spending some time in a pseudo airconditioned museum. Lots of statues and great frescos. It was very cool. Afterwards, we wandered back to the Spanish Steps and hit the Via Condatti, the premier shopping street in Rome. Home to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, etc. All high end stores. Very high end if you consider how sucky the dollar is these days as compared to the Euro.

That night we had a nice quiet dinner not far from the hotel. We mad a quick dash to see the Trevi Fountain and to get some gelatto and then we headed back to the hotel to crash. We were heading to Civitavecchia in the morning to catch the ship.

I'm Back

So I'm back from vacation to Europe with Lawyer X. We had a great time. It was interesting spending so much time with him and I think we learned a little bit more about each other. I think I only snapped at him twice. ;-)

So here's the deal. There is just no way I can write a trip report. Work is going to suck my will to live. So I'm going to try to post one photo a night and try to write a little bit something.

Oh, here's the deets for the vacation. Cruise with the Gays (see below), and then we went down to the Amalfi Coast for a few days to relax. One final day in Rome. And then back to DC. Had a great time. Ate way to much (Atkins started yesterday!) and spent too much (I do NOT want to see my Visa bill), but it was an amazing trip.

Victoria BC

So after scoring a prime parking spot the section of the marina right in front of the Empress, we got settled in and then LawyerX and I headed up to the Visitor Center which was just at the top of the causeway. We wanted to find out some information on getting to the Buchart Gardens. Which we did. And then I said to the cute-ish guy behind the help desk at the visitor center, "So where's the nearest gay bar?" And he's say, "Oh, it's not far. I can't remember it's name, it just changed it's name, but I can show you where it is on the map. It's not far at all." Yes, *it*. As in singular. Sigh. I thought Victoria was a little bit larger than that, but apparently not. As he's pulling out the map to show us where it is, he goes, "Now, I remember, it's called Paparazzi." And both LawyerX and I say, "Of course it is."

Fully armed with information for our stay in Victoria, we proceeded to explore the very cute downtown area which included a quick stop to Roger's for a carmel milkshake for me and a rootbeer float for LawyerX. Sorry, it had to be done. Afterwards, wegot our shopping on. We went to "The Bay" which is their version of Macy's I guess. All of the stores had Olympic gear in addition to the normal touristy stuff for sale. The 2010 Olympics are taking place in Vancover, so the Olympic marketing machine was in full gear. I did find the cutest little shirt for my niece that has all of the Olympic mascots on it. And since I got her something, I had to get the nephew one as well. And then I felt left out in the shopping so I bought one as well.

After shopping, we returned to the boat for evening cocktails and then dinner. Post dinner, we were ready for adventure into the exciting gay nightlife of Victoria. So we headed to Paparazzi! Well, the best thing I can say is the the bartender was kind of hot. Located in the basement, it had a fairly decent size dance floor considering, a smallish bar, a little sitting lounge area, and then some pool tables. As is typical for small town gay bars, they try to be all things to all people and don't do any of them really well. But we grabbed some drinks a

nd proceeded to watch the other dozen people in the bar. Sometimes it's all about the people watching. But it had been a long day and I bonked hard and we ended up leaving fairly early.

The next day, LawyerX and I got up early to walk the long walk to the showers. We changed clothes, went to get our tickets for the Butchart Gardens and then quickly walked to the buss that left at 0900. We got their at 0859. Atleast that's what time our ticket said. So we were cutting it close. I tried to pay attention to the bus ride, but really didn't. Once we left the city, it looked like the country side was pretty nice. It took a little over 30 minutes to get to the gardens. Now LaywerX kept saying that he was going to "drag me" to the gardens and despite the fact that I really did want to go, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Think of a Disney World for gardeners and flower enthusiasts.

It really as spectacular. Originally a quarry, the owner's wife worked to transform the quarry and then the surrounding area into a collection of different gardens with different themes, plants, flowers, etc. It was really incredible. And we were there at the perfect time of year. We were probably just past the full bloom of most of the flowers. And I took lots and lots and lots of pics. As you can tell. It really was quite amazing. And I'll say one of the best things about getting to the gardens so early was that it wasn't *that* crowded and we did get to wander quite a bit looking at all of the fantastic flowers, plants, and trees. And LawyerX and I got to spend some quality alone time and just talked as we wandered. So that was really nice.

After we wandered our way through the gardens we headed

back to Victoria where we had lunch at a small little bistro we had spotted the previous night. Bon Rouge was just a block off the main drag in downtown Victoria, but it had this open terrace area where LawyerX and Ijust sat and ate some

really good food and drank some really good beverages. And since it was Friday, it was $5 martini's. And who were we to say no to that. So we probably had one of the most leisurely and decadent lunches I canremember. And it was fantastic. Afterwards, we headed back to the boat so we could change in time for tea at the Empress.

The Empress is one of those famous old hotels that has been renovated several times and it's famous for it's high tea. So before we had set sail, we had made reservations for tea. So we all got dressed up in our "smart casual" wear and headed across the street from the causeway to the Empress Hotel. There was a very nice selection of tea, but almost all of us decided to go with the house special blend, "The Empress Blend", and I took mine with some milk and a couple of sugars. It was really delicious. In addition to the tea of course, you get the all of the little finger foods. AndOMG they were delicious. So tasty and if you liked one, you can ask some more of them. So we asked for seconds on the cucumber sandwiches (so light!) and the chicken curry sandwhiches (spicy, but not too spicy). It was very much a fantastic afternoon and we sit and chatted for while as we sipped our tea and noshed on the nibblies. Unfortunately between the very nice lunch and the fabulous tea, I was heading towards a very hard food coma. So we headed back to the boat where I proceeded to take a much needed nap. When I woke up, the sun was beginning to set in Victoria Harbor and the light was just amazing. I quickly snapped some photos and then went back to the ship to indulge in some more cocktails. And if you haven't gotten the clue that this trip involves a lot of eating and drinking then you aren't paying attention.

MuseumMan, Lawyer X, a

nd I headed back to Bon Rouge for some more drinks and a light dinner before hitting Paparazzi's. Our experience at Bon Rouge the second time was not a good. Despite there being a cute bar area, the whole interior of the bistro was reserved for a private party, so were back on the terrace. Which is fine, except the private party had a singer in the restaurant. A very loud singer. It was not too bad on the terrace when the doors were closed, but when one of the doors opened you couldn't hear the person next to you. They must have been deaf inside. Anyways, we had some more good food and $5 martinis before heading to Paparazzi's.

Now LawyerX and I had take some 5 Hour Energy shots, so we were flying. We get to the bar and it's a little bit more crowded. It is Friday night after all. But it's also "Friday Night Sass!" Yes, we're there on lesbian night. Well, ish. It was definitely mixed, but still mainly female. But that's okay. We're having a good time. We order our drinks and are a little surprised by the less that fabulous quantity of alcohol. While the drinks are cheap, we were expecting our martini glasses to be filled to the brim. Not so much. Because here in Victoria, you can only serve 2 ounces of liquor per drink. And no, you can't do doubles. So we started calling that the "Victoria pour." After a bit, the music started to improve and we actually got up to dance once or twice. The music was all over the place but they did play a couple of my favorite songs of the summer. But . . . I'm used to the extended dance versions of these songs. Long enough to really get into them and to work up a sweat. No so much here. Both of the songs were strangely short and didn't include some of the fun chorus or anthem parts of the songs. So we started calling them the "Victoria Mix." When you recognize the song, but the song is sort of short and a little bit tragic. We ended up bailing a little after 1AM and headed back to the boat.

The next AM, I got up early to take some early morning photos of Victoria Harbor. It was very quiet in the AM which was kind of nice and I did get some good shots. But it was an early departure from Victoria because we needed to get to Roche Harbor by early afternoon so we could get a good moorage there. So we said farewell to Victoria, BC and headed back to the United States.

DC to Victoria

So last year Museum Man invited me on his family's annual sailing trip up to the San Juan Islands in Washington state. We had a blast and it was so relaxing. And so this year he invited me again, and LawyerX as well. It would be the three of us, his Mom and stepdad, and then a couple they know from Wenatchee, Washington. And while LawyerX and I are going to Europe later this month, I really wanted to go. So we did.

Let me tell, first class is the only way to travel these days. Since we procrastinated in buying our tickets, I ended up using miles to get two first class tickets to Seattle. LawyerX is like 6'5", so he needs the legroom. And with a direct flight from Dulles to Seattle, we didn't have that OMG early get up that morning. Now I was a little concerned

about this trip because LawyerX hasn't seen me in my airplane mode. I see air travel as a series of obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible and I never really relax until I'm actually in my seat on the airplane. But I think I managed to be fun and not to

o stressed. Mind you, we walked up to the gate and got immediately on the flight. So we were doing the just-in-time thing. Now they had switched out aircraft on us, so we weren't sitting together which kind of bummed me out. But, instead of seats, we got these kick ass little pods that actually let you lie flat. So nice. And some good quality entertainment with movies, games, and music. And the screwdrivers we had weren't bad either. We got to Seattle a couple of hours before MuseumMan, so we had lunch and then got manicures. Yes, we're that gay.

Once MuseumMan showed up, we got our bags and his Mom picked us up and we headed north to Anacortes which is the hopping off point for the San Juan Islands. Most of the north west ferries leave out of there and just on the opposite side of the ridge from the ferry

landing was the little marina where we picked up our boat. The Sienne. A 50 Bennato. For those who know those things. It was very nice and fairly spacious. And I say fairly because while we did get one of the

larger cabins, LawyerX is kind of big, and I'm not exactly petite myself. Needless to say there was a lot of banging of heads. But I digress. We loaded up the boat and started doing inventory while we awaited the rest of our party. They finally showed up and everything was squared away for a departure the next AM. That evening we had a fine dining experience at the Brass Lantern. Think small town dive bar/restaurant. I will have to say the fried olives were delicious!

The next day we got up, showered at the facilities at the marina (reminded me of being in a barracks!), had breakfast and then prepared to get underway. Since we had such experience sailors on board, they let us go without a ship check so we got underway a little

bit earlier than planned. Which was good because our plan was to bee line to Victoria so we can get a good moorage (parking spot) in front of the Empress Hotel. The weather was a bit cold and overcast. After a week of over 100 degrees heat which is really freakish for them, the pendulum swung the other way and we had highs in the lid 60s. So kind of chilly on the water. But of course, I loved it!

Anacortes is actually a little bit north of Victoria, so we had to swing a little bit south and sail just under Lopez island and then started to hug the coast of San Juan Island so we could cut straight across Haro Straight to Victoria. We did raise the sail once, but the wind wasn't really that strong and we had a mission, so we used the motor most of the day. As we approached San Juan Island, we got the binoculars our because that's where we would see whales if we were lucky. And boy were we lucky. We actually saw quite a few whales including one killer whale that breached, jumping out of the water, to slam itself back into the water. Quite spectacular. And I wish I had caught it on film, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera. But I did get a few semi-decent shots. Plus we did see some other wildlife. But eventually we had to leave San Juan Island and head to Victoria.

Sailing into Victoria is always so great. Such a pretty little town on the water. There were a couple of cruise ships who were there as well, but the sun had come out and the weather was great so it was a great trip into Victoria. After clearing Canadian customs (something we couldn't do last year, long story, don't ask), we got the princess parking in front of the Empress Hotel. Yeah!

Sarah Palin Kills Flies!

So that blog title should generate some weird google search results. But let me explain.

So on Wednesday I had all new windows put into my condo. My old windows are crappy, either wouldn't open, or wouldn't stay open. So my association did some research and worked a deal where owners could buy new windows, get a decent discount, and get the tax deduction. Bingo, I'm in. So Wednesday was the day the two guys came to replace the windows. I think they were Russian. Cute I guess, but a little bit smelly. And they were late of course. But they did get the job done. The problem was that Wednesday was one of the hottest, most humid, days we've had so far. So having no windows to keep the heat out was not a good thing. I sat there and tried to do work while they were working and kept looking at the temperature gage go up, and up, and up. I think it got to about 84 degrees in my condo. And I'm a cold person. I like it cold. Without air conditioning it got super hot in the condo, but that's not the worst part. I also got a nice little swarm of flies in my condo now. Lovely. The good news is that I'm getting good at using the Time magazine with Sarah Palin on the cover to kill the flies. I think there's only one of those little buggers left. I know Sarah will get him!

Speaking of Sarah, I went to do a Youtube search for a song I heard on BPM and found this. Just too funny. And not entirely safe for work.

Ken & Ken and GC09

So around a month ago or so, Lawyer X and I were at Nordstroms and we both liked the same shirt. I tried it on and I like it. He tried it on and he liked it. And we had a short discussion about which of us should buy it. And I was like, look, we both like it, so we should both buy it. It's not like we're going to wear it at the same time. And then a couple of weeks ago we were in Georgetown running an errand and we decided to hit the Lacoste store since they were having a sale. And we both found these distressed Lacoste shirts. Mine olive green, his a royal blue. And we had the discussion again. And I was like, they are different colors and we just won't wear them at the same time. And then last week, we got up in the AM to go to the gym and I realized that we were wearing the EXACT SAME Navy t-shirt. Oh well. We tried to avoid the whole Ken & Ken thing, but sometimes it happens. Yesterday, LawyerX picked me up so we could head to Bmore for a wedding. Just as I was about to hop in his car, I was like, "Umm, what color is your sportscoats." "Sort of yellow/gold with a black/brown pattern in it." Crap. We had to stop right there and check out the jackets. While they were similar, they weren't that exactly the same. But it was kind of funny!


Work has sucked my will to live lately which is one of the reasons that I haven't blogged much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't kept up with the blogosphere. Especially as it relates to the Episcopal Church's General Convention. Held ever three years, the GC is where the Episcopal Church defines itself in rules, policies, budgets, and all of the other minutia of a large organization. But it was the policies that held my interest. The policies on same sex blessings as well as the policy of electing to ordained ministry GLBT clergy to the level of Bishop (or any level really). After the horrible decision that was made in 2006 on a moratorium on electing GLBT clergy to be Bishops, and the unceasing attacks on the Episcopal Church by those who would like to see the church turn it's back on its GLBT, the Episcopal Church, in a very American democratic way, finally removed any type of discrimination from the discernment process so that anyone who is called to the clergy may do so. In addition, the groundwork was laid for the creation of same sex blessing in those dioceses where state law allows same sex blessing. So very good news indeed and I'm very proud to be an Episcopalian these days. I'm sure the schismatics will use these decisions to foment misunderstanding and discontent, but atleast we're being honest and trying to live the Gospels as best we can.

One of the more interesting things I discovered while hop scotching across the Episcopal blogosphere was that Mathew Sheppard was an Episcopalian. Bishop Caldwell gave a very moving speech at a luncheon at General Convention. It's a little over 6 minutes long, but please watch:

Pet Peeves, Boston, and Obama

So in general I don't mind going off to conferences. It's kind of a necessary evil in the DoD & IT world. But for the love of God, if you're going to put 100+ IT professionals in a room, can you please allow laptops and/or some sort of wireless access? Coming back to the hotel room (which is fab BTW) and downloading 200+ emails and trying to deal with all of the sh!t that happened in the office while I'm gone is just depressing. And using my crackberry during the meeting won't solve the problem, but it will help me triage the situation and figure how long I'll be working at night.

Boston. I'm so close to Ptown, and yet so far. Lawyer X has some stupid "ethics" training on Saturday, so my dream of skipping off to Ptown for a little fun weekend was dashed. In theory I could go to Ptown without him. In theory. But this is one of those things about being in a relationship. You just don't do that. Sadly, this will the first time in 8 years that I haven't been to Ptown in the summer. But I really can't complain. We've got the sailing trip in August. The cruise to Egypt, Greece, and then the Amalfi Coast. Kylie in Vegas. And then the food and wine festival in Disney World. On second thought, I can't afford to go to Ptown anyways with all of the trips we've got planned!

So I'm staying at one of the new trendy Aloft hotels in the Starwood chain. And I must say it is fabulous. It's like a Virgin America Hotel. Very hip, trendy. Cool little bar. Some soft techo playing in the elevator. The room is great. Huge shower stall. Ginornmous flat screen mounted to the wall opposite the king size bed. Just very, very, nice. And it's like a mile from the conference I'm at this week.

"I don't agree with the characterization of gay relationships in the DOMA brief submitted by the DOJ and I regret that my administration used such language." That's all Obama had to say. He gave a 20 minute speech to member of the GLBT community on the anniversary of Stonewall and if he had said those 26 words, I would have probably still been a bit upset, but would still support him. But he didn't say that. And he hasn't said that. And Robert Gibbs continues to say that Obama stands by the brief. And then you've got Gates talking about a more "humane" implementation of DADT and Mullen says he's advised the president "to move in a measured way" on overturning DADT. So there's a lot of talk. Bad talk. And no action. So while I really want to support Obama, he needs to support me as well. It's called loyalty up and down the chain of command. And yes I know he's got his hands full with the multiple disasters left over from the previous regime. But it really doesn't take much to issue a stop loss order or for him to not file a brief supporting DOMA, while Congress gets their act together to repeal DADT and DOMA.

I still think that Obama's trying to do the right thing on Iraq, torture, the economy, etc. And I wish him the best of luck. Our country definitely needs help turning around and getting on the right track. But I'm not going to give a single penny to any Democratic candidate or organization until I've got equal rights as a citizen of this country.

An Open Letter

This is going to every democratic organization email address I can find:

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you to let you know that President Obama’s and Congress’ recent failure of leadership on LGBT issues compels me to withdraw my support for the Democratic Party at every level.

I was an early and vocal Obama supporter. During the campaign I not only phone banked for President Obama, but I gave money to him and other Democratic candidates and organizations around the country. While I wasn’t particularly thrilled with his stance on gay marriage, repealing DOMA, DADT, passing ENDA, Hate Crimes, etc would be good enough for me.

However, apparently the “fierce urgency of now” doesn’t apply to LGBT Americans. President Obama’s claim to be a fierce advocate in the White House ring hollow since he won’t actually use the inherent authority of Commander in Chief to issue a stop loss order on LGBT Americans who are currently serving in our military and only want the opportunity to serve honestly. As a veteran and US Naval Academy graduate, I find this lack of integrity extremely disappointing.

But it wasn’t his failure of lead on the DADT issue that caused me to write this letter. It was the DOMA brief. While many have argued that the Justice Department had to respond (and there’s a lot of people who disagree with that), it was the language in the brief that made me lose hope in the President and the Democratic Party. Comparing gay marriage to incest and pedophilia, the brief sounded like it came from the typical Republican hate filled playbook. And then President Obama, and several prominent Democrats, stood by the brief. They supported the most hateful, biased, ugly legal arguments against gay marriage and I felt like I had been sucker punched. While I don’t expect a lot of support for LGBT issues from the Democratic Party, atleast it isn’t actively working to take my rights away, to make me a second class citizen like the Republicans usually do. Or so I thought. The Obama DOMA brief proved me wrong.

While I appreciate President Obama’s recognition of the 40thanniversary of Stonewall, I think the more relevant event that night was the gay bashing by Ft Worth Police that left a young gay American in the hospital with a significant brain injury fighting for his life. The separate body of laws for LGBT Americans (DADT, DOMA, etc) continues to create an environment where LGBT Americans are less than equal, less deserving of support, less deserving of respect and so discrimination, harassment, and violence against LGBT Americans is okay, acceptable, commonplace. President Obama and the Democratic Party's failure to address these issues only perpetuates that environment. And that has to stop.

Until President Obama and the Democratic Party provide significant leadership in repealing DADT & DOMA, in passing ENDA and Hate Crimes legislation, I will not provide any support for the President or the Democratic Party at any level. Please immediately remove me from all mail lists, phone rosters, and email lists.

Respectfully,
Me


*Feel free to copy and send your own version. Here are the email addresses I've found so far:
White House: info@barackobama.com
Democratic National Committee: Democraticparty@democrats.org
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: info@dccc.org
Democratic Senate Campaign Committee: info@dscc.org
Democratic Governors Association: info@dga.net
Democratic Party of Virginia: info@vademocrats.org
Speaker Pelosi: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov
HRC: hrc@hrc.org

SHUT UP and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

So I was driving to the base yesterday with the top down jamming to BPM and the new Katy Perry song, "Waking Up in Vegas" came on. The dance remix of course. And part of the refrain is "Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!" So of course I had that stuck in my head all morning and when I wasn't paying attention, I would say to myself, "Shut up, Shut up, Shut up and put your money where your mouth is." Of course the last part would fade to a mumble, so the only part that was really understanbable was "Shut up!". Thankfully no one was paying attention to me so it wasn't that big of a deal, but kind of funny/irritating.

But speaking of "Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!", I think President Obama needs to LEAD! Not wait for Congress to pass some LGBT legislation. If you are really a fierce advocate for gays and lesbians, then prove it. I don't want to hear any more about the need for a legislative solution to provide an enduring solution to the DADT, or DOMA, etc. You've got the power to issue a stop loss order. Just Do It!! Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

Speaking of Money. I'm done. No more money for anyone related to anything in politics. I plan to write a letter to the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, etc saying that they will get nothing from me until they do something about DADT, DOMA, Hate Crimes, and ENDA. I can find lots of worthwhile charities to give my money to, and get the tax write off to boot!

So sing it with Katy: "Hey Dems! Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!"

Pride, Faith, and Hope

So Pride was this weekend. And I really did have a good time. Lawyer X, Museum Man, and I went to Town to see Rupaul Friday night. It was okay. Let’s just say that considering her famous tagline is “Supermodel, you’d better WORK!”, she really wasn’t working it. And yes some of it was the awful sound system, but even when they fixed that, I just don’t think she was that into it. It was still fun, but I seriously think I dropped three pounds that night just standing in the overwhelming crowd it was just that hot and sweaty. Ms. Thing didn’t come on till 1230, did a 30 minute set, and then Lawyer X and I danced a bit before bailing. But we got to hear my new favortite song:

On Saturday, I hosted my Pre-Pride Parade Party at my place. It was lots of fun and I had quite the crowd. Museum Man invited some of the gay and lesbian midshipman from the Naval Academy. Was I ever that young? I went with a champagne themed party with a bunch of different fruit juice mixers. I actually managed to get the food right as I had virtually nothing left over. But I continually underestimate that the gays are drinkers. About an hour before we were going to leave for the parade, I had to make an emergency liquor run to buy some more champagne! Around 6PM we headed out to watch the parade. Now it really doesn’t compare to NYC, SF’s, or Sydney’s parades, but it’s still fun. And despite the tres $hitty week (more on that later), it was good to go out and celebrate being gay. And I know there may be many who ask why we need to celebrate being gay? And it’s hard to explain. But if you’ve been listening to the news, if you’ve heard about the children bring bullied in school, the gay men and women being beaten and killed for who they are, then you’ve got lots of reasons for Pride. We’re standing up for them and for all of the gays and lesbians in small towns across the country who don’t get to be who they really are. They can't only not celebrate, but in fact have to hide who they are. We aren’t hiding any more. Go read Joe’s “Watching the Defectives.” It really is just the best explanation Pride that I’ve ever read.

On Sunday, I went to the Pride festival early to work the St. Thomas’ booth. You want to know the hardest job in the world? Working at a church booth at a gay pride event. With all of the crap that the GLBT community has gotten from organized religion, it’s almost like working in a danger zone. I worked the early shift as the crowds were just starting to build and I stood in front of the booth saying “Happy Pride” as the people walked by with a little dish of chapstick (cause everyone needs chapstick) and some lollipops! And while most people just gave me an odd look, a gay man trying to shill for Jesus? There were quite a few who stopped by to chat with us and pick up a piece of literature. I’d start to go into my schpeal about how St. Thomas is a historical Episcopal Church in Dupont etc. The responses were mixed. Sometimes I got the “Oh, one of the good churches” a young woman said to me. Yes, one of the good churches. One that is welcoming and inclusive and wants everyone to be loved by God. When I got a person like that, it felt good. When I got the “I don’t do God” I kind of felt sad. But I would say thanks for stopping by and enjoy Pride. Now, while most people stopped by for the chapstick or lollipops, I did have one admirer who was interested in St. Thomas, wanted to know what service I went to, and whether I had a boyfriend. I said that I did, but that we had lots of gays so he should still check us out. Kind of funny.

Hope. So it’s been a really crappy couple of weeks. I was an early Obama supporter. I remember refreshing my browser to get the updates on the Iowa caucas results and cheering as his numbers climbed higher. And I gave money to the Obama campaign. A decent chunk of change over the course of the campaign. While I wasn’t particularly thrilled with his stance on gay marriage, repealing DOMA, DADT, passing ENDA, Hate Crimes, etc would be good enough for me. And I supported his stance on the war on Iraq, torture, the econonmy, the environment, etc. I had hope that this man would be able to be the President that really led the country, unified it, helped restore it. And I think he’s done some good things. But then there was the DADT fiasco. I’ve met Lt Dan Choi (he actually hit on Lawyer X, while I was standing there!). And I kept thinking, oh Obama will do something. He’ll send a bill to Congress to repeal DADT. Or, if not that, just issue a stop loss order for now while Congress gets its act together. But nothing. And so my hope started to fade. And then the DOMA brief. Yikes, I can’t even begin to tell you what that did to me. Comparing gay marriage to incent and pedophilia? Did you just pull out an old brief from the Bush days and say this is good enough? And even after it came out, I still kept hoping that the Obama administration would say that it was a mistake, or something. But no, they stood by it. They supported the most hateful, biased, ugly legal arguments against gay marriage and I felt like I had been sucker punched. I’ve always considered myself fiscally conservative and socially liberal. And I’ve voted democratic since the republican’s weren’t really fiscally conservative anymore. But more to the point, while I don’t expect a lot of support of LGBT issues from the democrats, atleast they aren’t actively working to take my rights away, to make me a second class citizen. Or so I thought. The Obama DOMA brief just proved me wrong. And now my hope fades a little bit more.

The ironic thing in all of this is that while I’ve always supported the idea of gay marriage, I never thought it would apply to me. But with Lawyer X, that’s changed. I can definitely see us getting married some day. Or so I thought. Just when I started to buy into the dream, the President I help elect just made that dream a bit harder to realize.

Hope fades.

A Thruple

So, I'm a little ashamed to say that I'm involved in a Thruple.

No, I'm not cheating on Lawyer X.

But I have met someone new. His name is Fritz.

Isn't he wonderful?

Yes I still have Sven. Hence my current tripartite relationship status. And while I did love Sven for a very long time, it's just gotten old between us. The love was gone. And so I kind of wandered a bit and then I found Fritz. He reminds me of the Baron, my first love. But with a cool, funky transformers thing going on.

Sadly, I think it's time for Sven and I to part ways. I want to say that I will always love him, but let's be honest. When I'm with Fritz and the top is

down, and BPM is playing loudly on the stereo as I cruise down 66, I won't be thinking about Sven..

Sven goes away

this weekend. To greener pastures where I hope someone will buy him, take care of him, and love him.

Paris (Part 1)

Note to self. Saving $300 on a plane ticket to fly a connecting flight to Paris on US Airways does not equal a direct flight on United where I get Economy Plus seats. Yes I get points for the US Airway flight, but I’ll never get the leg room, or the chance for a semi-decent night sleep on the flight, if I fly US Airways. I’m not a snob, I’m just saying.

Having said that, despite the dash through the airport in Philly (which I don’t remember being so big), I had a decent flight to Paris. The Nyquil helped. When I awoke, something was wrong. It was sunny. I was on the right plane, and we were descending into Charles de Gaulle, but it was sunny. In Paris. So odd.

Got my luggage and my BNL was there to pick me up. And again with the sun. I actually needed sun glasses. Usually when I come to France. It’s cold. And raining. All the time. We fought our way through the traffic into the 16^th where I crashed for a quick disco nap and then I got up and after a quick baguette sandwich, I started on my trek through Paris. The goal? Keep moving. Stay in the sunlight. Try to force myself to adjust the new time zone as soon as possible. So my first stop is always Trocadero, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, it’s like my first “Bonjour” to Paris. I made my way down to the Seine and then walked along the water till I got to the Grand Palais where I cut across to the Champs Elysees. Up the Champs to the Arc and then along the Foch back to my sisters place. I did step into Zara's to do a little bit of window shopiing. Mind you, everything is insanely expensive, but still. Now here's the thing. French men are twigs. I think they like their cigarettes so much that they want to look like one. And I am not a stick. At all. But I see a shirt I like and I thought I would try it on. You know what words I hate? "Slim Fit." You know what's really disgusting? "Super Slim Fit." That's right, when slim fit isn't tiny enough for you, now there's "super slim fit." I tried on the shirt and it was not pretty. Really bad sausage casing. Okay, I get it. I can't shop in these stores. But I feel sorry for the odd french guy who doesn't have a 28in waist. Where does he shop? The other fashion comment I'll make is that it's hot and sunny outside and people are in long sleeves, sweaters, and jackets. How can you possibly not be just sweating to death. Oh, and only the French would have "summer scarves"? Seriously, WTF? Anyways, my trek like a 4 plus hours long and it was great. But it was sunny, and hot, have I mentioned that? So I was just ugly sweaty by the time I got back. The kiddos were back from school then so I got to spend some quality time with them.

Note to self: Need to practice my Wii skills.

Since the kiddos we out of school (for Ascension?) we had to have a mission for Thursday. When they aren’t in school, you really need to make an effort to get them out of the flat and away from the Mac, Wii, and TV. So that’s what we did. We headed out to Auvers. Auvers is where Vincent Van Gogh lived right before he died. So we all piled into the minivan and made our way out of the city on another GLORIOUS sunny day in France. It was about an hour or so out of town, give or take some mis-direction by bitchy Betty (the GPS wench). Auvers is cute. A very small, quaint little French village. After parking the car, we made our way o the châteaux which had been converted into a museum about Paris around the time of the impressionists. It was oddly fascinating. While I had been expecting to see rooms filled with period pieces, instead we learned of the building of modern Paris. How the trains opened up the French countryside and how that impacted the impressionists. It was very interesting. And I do love the audio guides. After the audio tour, we walked around the gardens where some people were setting up for some performance art thing. One woman has these huge white cloth wings that she was waving back and forth. In the middle of the garden, two women were wrapping themselves up in a huge piece of purple cloth. After the tour of the chateaux we had crepes at a little creperia in the middle of town. I’m good with sweet crepes, but I’m still getting used to the savory crepes. After lunch, we headed up to the cemetery where Vincent and his brother Theo are buried. Kind of cool and it was a good outing and we had spectacular weather. We managed to make our way back into Paris without incident and had a nice quiet dinner at home. The BNL makes a mean Kir Royal. Love them.

Friday AM we were off to the Grand Palais to see an exhibit by Andy Warhol. The Grand Palais used to be this huge palace that is now one of the main exhibition spaces in Paris. It’s huge. We got the relatively early, but there was already a line. At 1000. Which was kind of shocking since the Parisiens don’t really do early. My nephew has a standing aversion to anything that has the word museum in it, but he was a trooper and made it through the exhibit. So I know a little about Andy Warhol, but it was definitely interesting to learn more. First of all, the Andy Warhol Museum is in Pittsburgh? Most of the pieces were from there, though there were many that were donated from Paris, New York, Cologne, and Tokyo. The exhibit was huge and took you through all of his major phases. It really is interesting and very different. And the Society for Cutting Up Men? SCUM? I knew he had been shot, but not the rest of it. I guess in his heyday, he was charging $25K per portrait. Nice work if you can get it. And he would paint businessmen and royalty to earn a living and then return to New York where he did more of his experimental work. So very interesting. After the exhibit, we headed to the lower part of the 16^th questing for a solar car. Long story short, my nephew’s teacher gave him a little solar car for him to put together and it got gone. Lost or stolen we’re not sure. So we hunted for this store that I will say reminds me of the Discovery channel store to look for a replacement. We get there and they don’t have it. And while I love the French, their customer service skills suck. “It’s out.” No, “we’re sorry”. No: “Do you want me to check another store”. Just: It’s out. Thanks. And my sister speaks pretty good French, so this isn’t a language issue. Now my nephew was not happy, so we pestered the sales lady to call another store to see if they had one. They did. So we were off to another part of Paris. We did finally obtain the solar car. Afterwards, we grabbed some baguette sandwiches and picnicked in a nearby park. It was another sunny beautiful day in Paris so we just hung out in the park for a bit. And while it wasn’t crowded at first, it definitely got more crowded as we hung out. I guess when the weather is nice, everyone leaves their small little apartments and just hang out in the parks. So it was a good day.

Marriage Equality

So the Prop 8 ruling wasn't that surprising, but it still hurt. 

I guess the only silver lining is that there are still 18 thousand married gay and lesbian couples in California.  Still legally married.  And at some point, people are going to understand that having married gays and lesbians is not going to destroy the families of California, but help strengthen them.  And that marriage is a fundamental civil right t

hat belongs to all people, not just heterosexuals, and not just to the special, and lucky, 18 thousand gay and lesbian couple who managed to make their way over the rainbow during that brief moment in time in California.  

I went down to Dupont Circle last night to support the Day of Decision rally in Washington DC.  It was great to see all of the people who came out, in the rain, to stand for marriage equality.  Young, old, black, white, gay, and straight.  It really was great.

But a rally isn't enough.  We all need to do something.  We all need to join the movement to repeal Proposition 8.

Rock the Vote!

I'm off to Paris. 

Don't hate.

But your mission . . . . . . .

should you choose to accept it . . . . . 

is to . . . . . .

Gay Blinders

So one of the fun little interesting things about the whole gay community is that some people, not all, but some people, get issued a set of invisible gay blinders that allows them to see the rest of the world, but not certain people. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen someone I know or have met (either via a date, a hook up, or at a random encounter at a bar) whose eyes just seem to glide right by me without recognizing me. Now I'm not pretending that we're friends. But I think acknowledging the other person's existence with a simple, civil, polite, little head nod, isn't asking too much. It's just a simple acknowledgment of the other person.

Ironically enogh, it now seems I need my own blinders. Someone who I thought was a friend sort of faded away. Not exactly sure why, but it happened. But the problem is that he lives really close to me. So I'm bound to run into him around the ghood. And sure enough I saw him a couple of months ago at Commissary and he wouldn't look me in the eye. My first thought was that he was on a date and didn't want to appear rude. And I didn't want to interrupt, but it's clear now that he's studiously avoiding me and refusing to recognize me. And this was someone who I once thought of as a friend. I've now had two close encounters with this person and since he's acting like I'm not there, now apparently I'm supposed to act like he's not there. It's all very strange. And sad. At one point I thought it would be good to try to re-connect with him, but now I don't think it's a good idea. And he still lives close to me. So I guess I need to keep my invisible gay blinders handy for when I'm walking around the ghood.

Star Trek, Morning Walks, and Car Shopping

So SuperLawyer, his BF, Lawyer X, and I went to see Star trek on Saturday night. Loved it! Lawyer X had some problems with the story line since it kind of broke with Star Trek canon. But hey, if you're going to re-boot the franchise, then you need to make room for some new story lines. And creating an alternate world by changing the space time continuum seems like a no-brainer to me. So Kirk was hot, but I have to tell you I think young Spock was kind of hot as well.

Morning walks. So I'm spending a lot of time over at Lawyer X's house since he has Shiva to take care of. And yes even pets have nicknames on this blog. And Shiva is a pretty good one since we also call her the "Princess of Destruction." Anyways, in the AM, sometimes after the gym, but sometimes not, I make the walk back to my place. And I won't call it the "walk of shame" since it's not a hook up. We're dating, well more than dating. And sure sometimes I'm walking down P St in the clothes I wore the previous night and a bad case of bed head, but still. And trust me, I've seen the folks making the walk of shame down P St. So I'll just call my commute from Laywer X's house to my place just a little morning walk. ;-)

So why does buying a car suck so much? I went out to a VW place in Fairfax and the slimey sales guy pulled out the whole bag of tricks, "What would it take to put you in a car today." An act of God. I'm just trying to get information. "What would you say if I would give you 3K for our trade in." I'd say I'd still like to know how much the car I'd like to buy is going to cost me. "What if I gave you $4K?" "What if I gave you $5K?" I'd say that even if you offered what I originally paid for the car I'd still like to know how much the car I want is going to cost and you still haven't answered my question. Agh! I finally got the answer, but it was like pulling teeth. And then we got into a beyond insane conversation about mortgages. Don't ask. I still want the car. Just not sure I'm going back there again.

Kylie 2009!

Lawyer X scored tickets!!

And you know what they say, "What Happens in Vegas . . . . . "

Maine Rocks, Crazy Marion Barry, and Kylie's Coming to America!!

The governor of Maine signed into law today the bill that would allow same sex couples in Maine to get married. I watched/listened to some of the debate from the Maine legislature via the intertubes and couple of times I just got so choked up listening to men and women, gay and straight, young and old, arguing for equal rights for all of Maine's citizens. And just a big thank you to the governor for changing his position and signing the bill. So Maine makes 5! Do you know what that means? That 10% of the states in the US allow same sex marriage. I know we'll lose some battles along the way, but I really think we are winning this war and history will look back and say, "Really, you were freaked out by this? How sad."

Of course, some people just won't be happy. Including our own crazy Marion Barry who after years of being an advocate of gays rights, has decided to side with the wing nuts. Another poster child for the right wing. Multiple divorces? Check? Problems with the law? Check (tax evasion), Check (drugs the first time), Check (drugs the second time), Check (hit and run accident), and Check (bribery). So to Marion Berry, I'd like to dedicate this song (so totally NSWF, but oh so fabulous!)



And the most important news of the day (okay, maybe below the announcement from Maine), comes word that Kylie Minogue is coming to the United States. OMG! Must go see her. Must. Ms. Showgirl is only playing in like 6 cities, and not DC, so you know what that means don't you? Road trip! Need to see if we can get tickets when she plays in Las Vegas! I *must* get tickets. Must! So excited.

Ms. Kylie was the soundtrack of my coming out while I was Down Under. Here's the song that started my love of all things Kylie: