If Today Is Your Birthday

You have a distinctly dual nature that, at your best, makes you versatile, and at your worst, downright confused (and confusing!). While a great lover of peace and harmony, you are also determined and fiery. While idealistic, you mostly have your feet on the ground. In relationships, the need for partnering and cooperating is strong, but freedom also matters to you. You are a natural counsellor, offering excellent advice. There is usually quite a bit of drama and colorful emotion in your relationships, whether it's because you bring this to the table or attract these kinds of people. Famous people born today: Frank Sinatra, Edward Koch, Connie Francis, Jennifer Connelly, Bridget Hall, Bob Barker, Dionne Warwick.

Your Birthday Year Forecast:

The opportunity to grow through your love and social connections this year is especially strong. You are seeking intensity in love, and are especially aware of the importance of healthy relating and intimacy. You could renew and deepen love commitments or social connections. Strong and stimulating--even motivating--attractions to others are likely. Secret loves or attractions may develop and existing relationships tend to rise to a higher level of insight and understanding. Romantic relationships and attractions have a fated quality to them this year. This could be a year when you fall in love, and this could be with a person, an activity, or a cause! Meeting someone who transforms your life, and more specifically your values and attitude towards love, is possible. Strong existing relationships are likely to grow and transform in rewarding ways, as you are more open than usual to intensity and passion. Your finances could also improve dramatically this year, generally due to your increased ability to strategize and cut out frivolous expenses.

An instinctive need for change is with you, and you could find that you're eliminating a lot of waste, both literally and figuratively speaking. Your intellectual curiosity knows few bounds and it tends to lead you in the right direction. Learning and communications can take you into new territory and afford you the opportunity to make the right connections. This is a year of renovations, eliminating bad habits, and ridding yourself of outworn attitudes that have previously held you back from moving forward. Your attitude now is one that more readily embraces changes.

There may be a project, idea, or person that demands much of your attention or occupies many of your thoughts. It's a strong year for any project or studies that require concentrated effort. You are especially resourceful.

It's possible that you may be argumentative and particularly impatient with vagueness. You are quick to take the initiative and to put your thoughts into action. Adventuresome travel may be part of the picture. You may be more actively involved with young people.

Your ambition is strongly stimulated--you are determined to meet or exceed your goals. You can bring great discipline and meaning to your life this year. You won't take "no" for an answer this year. You might totally revise an important project or area of your life, or you could be bent on getting rid of something in your life in order to move forward. The tendency to be too forceful or wilful this year should probably be avoided. You should also watch for overdoing to the point of exhaustion, or trying too hard to win others over to your point of view. This can be a compulsive time when power struggles are more likely. On the other hand, it can be a time when you enjoy a strong sense of purposefulness, focus, and determination.

This is a strong period for eliminating bad habits and for adopting a "new and improved" attitude towards life. You are very sharp and easily motivated this year, but you need to avoid a tendency towards obsessive or compulsive behavior. Love relationships are stimulating and growth-oriented.


2010 is a Number Nine year for you. Ruled by Mars. This is a year of completion and transition. It is a time when we need to let go of things that no longer serve their purpose, and hold on to things that have a future. It is a time of cleaning out dead wood, not necessarily for new beginnings. It can be a time when a burden has been taken off your shoulders, and it can be a year of giving of yourself. Advice - let go of things that are holding you back, give of yourself and express your sympathetic, compassionate side.

2011 will be a Number One year for you. Ruled by the Sun. This is a year of action. The seeds you plant now, you will reap later. Others might find you less sociable, as you are busier than ever and you focus on your activities and your needs. Still, you are outgoing and your initiative is stronger than ever. Advice - Stand alone, take action, start fresh, express independence.

Location: Denial, Nice

So I’ve finally broken the code. The way to travel in Europe, especially France, is to be basically be in denial the whole time. Just think of everything in dollars and just forget about the exchange rate. So a Coke is 4 euro. A coke at a bar in DC is going to be 4 dollars. So it’s the same. Remember, denial, denial, denial.

Which doesn’t completely work in Nice. My last full day in Nice I decided to hit the plage (the beach). The beach runs down the full length of the bay in Nice. It’s not a very deep beach, maybe only 20-30 yards, but it’s all rocks. A mixture of little pebbles and decent size rocks that makes it tricky (not to mention painful) to walk on. I decided to opt for one of the private beach areas. I got a “discount” from my hotel for the Sporting Club de Plage so it was only 17 euros. Plus 5 euro for a towel. But I got a lounge chair, an umbrella, and waiter service. I got settled in, lubed up with my various SPF leveled lotions, and then proceed to just read, tan, and slowly fall asleep. I had the Out magazine with Kylie on the cover and I pretty much read every page of it. In the article about Kylie, the author says something like Kylie is like Glenda the Good Witch of the South. I love that. After an hour or so, I decided for an adult bevage. A mojito. 9 euros. Then I pulled on the little rubber beach shoes I had bought and went into the ocean. The waves weren’t bad, but there is no way to gracefully enter or exit the water while walking on all of the rocks. Just not possible. After I dried out from my swim, I had lunch at the Sporting Club restaurant. Pizza and a couple of glasses of wine. 22 euros. Then it was back to the lounge chair where I finished off the book I had brought with me. It was really good. Then it was time for another adult beverage (9 euros). More tanning, more rolling over, more sweating, more listening to my iPod. Oh, and more people watching.

We are talking about some seriously good people watching. The really pale people, the really red people, and then the really tan people. And the really tan, leathery people. I’m glad I only “lay out” 4-6 days a year. And I always use sun screen. Lots of thong bikinis and banana hammocks. Ugh. But I did see some board shorts and some hotties in square cuts. Overall I have to give the people watching a solid B. Anyways, after a good 6 plus hours on the plage, I headed back to the hotel to cool down, clean up, and then head to dinner. So how much did my day at the beach cost? 62 euro. Which is about $85. See, it’s all about denial.

The tour book recommended the La Petit Maison as a good cheap place to eat where Elton John sometimes comes to eat. So the hotel made reservations for me for 730 PM. At 730PM I’m there, and I’m like the third customer. But where do I get seated? At a table that is basically in the street. Cars would go by and the napkins would ruffle. When there was a back up, I could have passed the grey poupon to the guy in the car next to me without even having to stretch a bit. The zuchinni blossom fritters were outstanding. And the calamari was really good. Dessert was pretty awesome also. So a good meal food wise, just not experience wise. Oh well.

The next day I had a massage at the spa at the hotel. I have mentioned that it’s hot, right? Well, it’s not really a good idea to get a massage when it’s miserably hot. She did a good job, but she used a lot of oil and with it being so hot, it didn’t really seep into my skin. I had to use a towel to “dry” myself. Ugh, pretty disgusting. After that, I went up to my room, finished packing, and then hit the train station to catch my train to Toulon. It’s time to go to work!

Matisse, Chagall, and the Eagle

So there is a bus stop relatively close to the hotel, so I caught the number 22 bus up to Cimiez which is where the museums are. Cimiez is the high rent district. It's up on a hill over looking Nice and the neighborhood was nice, really nice. It kind of reminded me of how the Phillips Collection is located in Dupont and that there aren't a lot of tourist trappy places nearby. And like the Phillips, the Musee Matisse was in a old home (villa) that had been modified to be a museum.

The musuem was quite good. The major exhibit was on Lydia (some weird slavic name) who was Matisse's muse. She was his assistant, executive secretary, studio manager, etc. And there were all of these paintings, drawings, and pictures of her. Now, there was a Mrs. Matisse (Amelie I believe) but no drawings of her. So I assume that Lydia was also his mistress considering how many nudes he drew. And I wonder what Mrs. Matisse thought of that? I know, I know. It's a French thing. But still. Overall the collection was good, but a lot of nude women. Not really my thing.

After an interminable wait for the bus in the blistering sun (obligatory heat reference #1), I took the bus down to the Chagall museum. It's actually the Musee National Biblique Marc Chagall. So how do you get a national museum named after yourself? You give all of your art to the state. And voila! So I got my ticket and made a beeline to the cafe to get lunch before I did the collection. This not drinking sodas is not fun. I had peach tea which I'm sure have a 1000 grams of sugar. Oh well. So did you notice the extra word in the name of the museum? Biblique? Well originally the collection was made up of biblical paintings. Which is something that I didn't realize Chagall was known for. A Russian Jew, he considered France his home country and after touring the exhibit it's amazing at the number of religious paintings or even religious symbols in his works. Unlike Matisse, Chagall's use of color is extreme, dark blues, deep reds, fiery oranges. It was really quite amazing. And in addition the religious symbols in the paintings, there were also many references or depictions of the plight of the Jews in Russia, France, and Palestine (as it was then known). The whole collection was fascinating.

After that, I headed back to the hotel to hit the roof top pool. The thermometer at the pool said it was 32 degrees. Translation: fricking hot (obligatory heat reference #2). So I just relaxed and let the sweat drip off me. Ugh.

For dinner, the concierge recommended a couple of places in the pedestrian section of downtown. The first was right on the main strip and looked very seafoody. The second was down a small alley to this charming little courtyard with flowering vines covering lattices that provided some shade with candles everywhere. Totally charming. I'm in. And what a good call. For my starter, I had the tartine of something. It was a small slice of bread with chevre cheese spread thick, really thick, on top of it. Toasted. With little slices of figs on top. On top of a bed of arrugla (my new favorite green). With prosciutto on one side, and this delicious piece of bacon on the other. I was in heaven. My main was penne pesto with a creamy parmigiano reggiano sauce with shaved smoked corfu ham. A-Maz-Ing. So, so, so good. With a couple of glasses of the local wine, I was feeling good.

So good that I decided to try to hit the Eagle. So I went back to the hotel, changed, and then took a cab to the Eagle. Where it was foam night. Yes, foam night. Hello, Miami is calling from 1998 and they want their foam night back. A foam party? Really? And how wrong to have a foam party at the Eagle. The Eagle? Needless to say I was dressed incorrectly. And that was fine with me. I had a beer. Then bought a T-shirt and was back at my hotel by midnight. So that was my adventure at the Nice Eagle. Kind of lame, but then again . . . .

I'm not complaining!

I'm not.

But it's hot. Africa hot.

I'm eating dinner and the sweat is dripping down my back like it's Niagara Falls. Totally gross.

So maybe I'm complaining a little.

Yes I'm hot, but here I am eating dinner at a cute little outdoor cafe on the Promenade des Anglais on the Cote D'Azur. So I guess I really shouldn't complain.

But I'm so good at it!

The flights to Nice were fine. United upgraded me on the flight to Frankfurt, but two gentleman decided to talk the whole flight and even with ear plugs I could hear every single word. Ugh. Frankfurt Airport is a mess. I definitely prefer Munich. I landed at the Nice/Cote D'Azur airport, took the bus and then a taxi to my hotel.

The Hotel Splendid is not Splendid. It is close to the beach and it has a roof top pool. But the rooms are small and dated and the AC does not work well. Have I mentioned that it's hot? After a tortuous disco nap, I went to check out the roof top pool. It's small, but nice and I hunker down on one of the chaise to get my vitamin D and to read. Since I have my iPad, I only brought one book. Big mistake. Oh well. I laid out for a bit and then got cleaned up. The conceirge recommended a little cafe down the promenade so I walked down to check it out. Even at 730PM, the beach is still hopping and the promenade is packed. The sun is still unmercifully beating down on my so I work up a good sweat walking to the cafe.

My plans to hit the "trendy gay club where the fashion conscious under 35 crowd dance to pumping house music" kind of fell apart. I'm tired. And old. And it doesn't start until 11PM. And I set my alarm so I could get up and go, but I was just exhausted.

This AM I got up and went on a walkabout. And as typical of my walkabouts it turned into a death march. Down the promenade. Then up the hill to the park where there used to be a fort. Then back down the hills, with a couple of wrong turn down dead ends, and into the marina/harbor area. Then back around the point, down the promenade, and back to the hotel. What was supposed to be a hour or so walk turned into a three hour death march. And have I mentioned the unmerciful sun and the heat?

So I've discovered two types of Brits. The drunk and pale Brits, or the drunk and freakishly red Brits. Seriously, these people do not tan. And I guess they haven't caught on to the use of sun screen. Nor are they ever sober.

This afternoon it's museum time. Hopefully it will be cool in the museums. I'm just so tired of sweating.

More later.

Jesus said . . . .

My church rocks!

Aloha

More later. ;-)

Who Dat?

So for the long weekend in January (MLK Day), LawyerX and I went down to New Orleans. When he lived in Nashville, he used to go down to NOLA all the time and he loves it. I had been there once for work, a real touch and go type trip, so I really didn’t get to explore the city that much. So I was game for another visit. And anything that took us out of the cold weather of DC was definitely a plus.

So we took the afternoon flight down to NOLA on Friday and after catching a cab down to the French Quarter, we settled into our hotel. LX had used some points to get us an upgrade and we had a nice little suite. After we unpacked and refreshed, we hit Bourbon Street. Now if you haven’t been to NOLO, Bourbon St is the main drag. It’s jammed back with bars, strips joints, bars, restaurants, and a few bars. And since there is an open container law in NOLA, you can buy say a hurricane in one bar, walk down the street drinking it, and then wander into another bar. It’s just a little bit crazy. We headed to Pat OBrians and had a hurricane to start our trip off right. It was sprinkling and a little bit chilly, but we were cozy at the bar and having a good time chatting. And it was early, so I suggested another drink before dinner. Which in hindsight was not a good idea and sadly a typical problem I seem to have. The first drink is so delicious! Let’s have another. And then half way through the second drink, I’m hammered. Hey, I’m a lightweight. So feeling more than a little bit buzzed we hit a restaurant and sampled some fine creole and Cajun food. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to change before we hit the gay clubs. But LX lay down on the bed, I snuggled up to him, and the next thing you know it’s midnight. And that’s all she wrote. So much for a wild Friday night in NOLA!

Who Dat?

Saturday, we got up and hit the gym and then had a fabulous brunch at Brennan’s. Brennan’s is a famous restaurant in NOLO and my parents went there when they lived in NOLA when my Dad was going to Tulane. It really was quite amazing and we spend most of the afternoon wandering the art galleries on Royal St, Jackson Square, and the old market trying to walk it off. We did stop at Café de Monde which is a requisite tourist stop for coffee (or hot chocolate) and begniets. They were good, but we had better ones later that weekend. We did wander back to Bourbon St and wandered up to where the gay bars were. The Saints were playing that day and the gay bar was packed with guys watching the game. We stopped there for a beer to two to watch the game. And the clientele. We both loved the little twink with the Saints jersey and the pink feather boa who would do a little prance when the Saints scored. It was quite amusing.

At some point we left the bar and headed back to the hotel. LX had lined up a culinary adventure for the evening and we wanted to go back to rest a bit before dinner. Needless to say, even though we were two blocks off Bourbon, I can tell you the exact time the Saints won the game. Dinner was amazing. There was a section on the menu called, “Feed Me”. You pick the number of courses (I think we did 4), the chef comes out and asks what you like or don’t like (spinach, mushrooms, anchovies), and then he goes back and whips up a little culinary feast for you. It was really, really, really good. After dinner we changed into the proper gay attire and went back to “our” end of Bourbon St. The Bourbon St Pub was packed downstairs and hopping upstairs. They even had a drag show (which was just okay). Standing on their balcony, we looked down Bourbon Street and it was just a mob scene with everyone celebrating the Saints win. After a bit, we wandered over to Oz, the dance club. And while it was packed, I was not impressed with the DJ. When you play some good dance music, you just don’t play one or two lines of the hook and then minutes of just percussion. They started to play some really good songs, but I could never get into it because they wouldn’t play the rest of the song. So bad DJ, bad!

Who Dat?

The next day, we had sort of a leisurely get up. I say sort of, because we had to change hotels (long story, but Sunday and Monday night were free), and we had a spa appointment. And I have to say that the scrub and massage I got at the Hotel Monteleone was amazing. It was just fantastic. I’ve got some freaskishly dry skin (TMI) so getting sanded down and then plied with some lemon grass oil was just fantastic! After our spa treatment, we headed to Central Market to get a muffalata sandwich. Another one of the requisite tourist things. And as we were walking, I’m like, are you sure it’s open on Sunday? I had tried to go there during my last trip to NOLA and it was closed. And sure enough, it was closed. But we ended up eating at this dive (and when I mean dive, I mean DIVE!) that was just amazing. It was some classic southern/Cajun food and it was just amazing. After lunch, we caught one of the cable cars out to the Garden District. This is where Tulane is located and the neighborhood is fascinating and very, very pretty. LX and I just wandered around the park and then just walked for a bit and talked about all sorts of things. It was really fun. After wandering for a couple of hours, we headed back to the hotel for a little disco nap and then we headed up beyond Bourbon St to a place famous for its burgers. We had to wait a bit since it was packed, but the burgers were phenomenal. And instead of fries they did baked potatoes. Just yummy. After eating we decided to see if the gay bars were hopping on a Sunday night. As we approached Oz, I heard a familiar song and I basically pulled him into the club and onto the dance floor. It must have been a new DJ because the music was FLAWLESS. David Guetta, Black Eye Peas, Madonna. There was this amazing Lady Gaga/Annie Lennox remix that rocked the house. We burned up the dance floor for a good hour before finally retreating to our hotel. It’s not that we’re old, it’s not. We just had a full day planned for Monday.

Who Dat?

So we got up, hit the gym, and then got our rental car. Our destination was Oak Alley and the plantation homes that are about 90 minutes outside of the city. It was a gloriously sunny day and a good day to head out of town. Our first stop was Oak Alley Plantation. We got there just in time for the tour from a woman in period costume, but definitely no southern accent. Kind of weird. So the viriginia oaks were planted over a hundred years ago in parallel lines creating this “oak alley” that really was quite beautiful. The house itself, and it’s history was interesting as well. I loved how the guide would talk about skilled slaves. I’m sure they were skilled. But they were still slaves. But let’s just skip over that. Apparently the wife of the owner stayed at the house during the Civil War even after it was shot at by a passing Union ship. So just kind of interesting. After a mint julep, we headed out to lunch and then another plantation house. This one was also a B&B. Kind of interesting, but there is NOTHING to do in the surrounding area, so after one night for the experience, I’m not sure why you’d want to stick around. We got back to NOLA in time to change for our last fantastic dinner, at Commander’s Palace. Commanders Palace is a tradition in NOLA and is consistently ranked as the best restaurant in the city. We had a fantastic meal taking advantage of the tasting menu with the cocktail pairing. It was just fantastic. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack up and crash. Our flight left at 6AM so it was definitely an early get up.

Who Dat?

So seriously, everywhere we went, people would say, “Who Dat?” “Who Dat?” “Who Dat?” And if you aren’t from NOLA, you’re saying: “I don’t know, who is it?” And can’t you people speak English. Well it’s from a famous saying “Who dat dink dey gonna beat dem Saints.” And apparently it’s just “Who Dat?” for short. Fine, I’ll play your game. “Who Dat?”

Go Saints!!

And As The Snow Ends

As I was walking Shiva after the snow stopped, I noticed the sun setting. The sky was clear and the color of the sky was just amazing. It was an odd yet beautiful color of turqoise. Just really pretty.



Afterwards, I headed back to O St to try to clear some of the snow off my car. Needless to say the streets are pretty ugly.


Oh, this is my car. If you can see it under all the snow.


This is about as much as I couild clear off. It will be well into next week before I can get that car out of my parking spot.

Visions of the Snow-maggeden

Got to love it!

Snow swirling around a light post late at night.

Branches covered in snow at night.

Logan Circle at night.

Another pic of Logan Circle at night.

LawyerX and Shiva in their natural habitat.

Tweet of the Day

H/t to JMG:
And this is why I have a love/hate relationship with JMG:

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-will-hold-you-ten-times.html

Warning: keep a hanky near by.

My Weekend Guest

So Lawyer X went out to Denver to join his sister at a hockey game. Yes, I know, but he likes it. So I ended up with dog sitting duties this weekend. Which I don't mind, don't get me wrong. I love Shiva. As long as I've moved anything that I don't want destroyed out of her reach. And so far I've been successful on that front.

How is she adjusting to living at Chez Trey's? What do you think?

Yeah, feel free to just snuggle up in my bed thank you very much.

Jumping the Broom

“Jumping the Broom” is an expression that dates back to when black slaves couldn’t marry. Instead, they would have a small ceremony with family and friends and then the couple would jump over a broom to symbolize their marriage.

Now why do I know this? Because a couple of months ago we had “Bad Gay Movie” night and we watched “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom.” Based on a TV series on Logo, the movie was about a wedding by two of the characters (it’s an all black, all gay movie). The movie was bad. On a “Bad Gay Movie” scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being semi-decent and 10 being the gay equivalent of Ishtar, I’d give it a solid 4. Anyways, the movie went back to Nextflix and I filed this piece of information in my brain under “Useless Trivia.”

Until Tuesday.

Since the Supreme Court is lame, they’ve decided that the Prop 8 trial in California can’t be televised. It’s a non-jury trial. Considering the impact this case will have on MILLIONS of Americans, I really think this case needs to be televised. Even if it’s a delayed broadcast via YouTube. But they are scared/lame/useless and don’t agree.

So I’m stuck reading the live blogging that the Courage Campaign is doing. It’s riveting even if I don’t understand it all. But I’m trying.

On Tuesday as I was reading the blog and the issue of marriage and slavery came up. Proffessor Nancy Cott, who has studied the institution of marriage, testified:

“The ability to marry, to say I do, is a civil right. It demonstrates liberty. This can be seen in American history when slaves could not legally marry. As unfreed persons, they could not consent. They lacked that very basic liberty of person to say I do which meant they were taking on the state’s obligates and vice versa. A slave could not take on that set of obligations because they were not free.

When slaves were emancipated, they flocked to get married. Marriage was not trivial to them by any means. They saw the ability to replace the informal unions with legalized vows that the state would protect. One quotation, the title of an article, “The marriage covenant is the foundation of all our rights,” said a former slave who became a northern soldier. The point here is that this slave built his life on that civil right.

Informal relationships of black slaves were totally treated with abandon by white society. They were broken up all the time. The rush to marry by so many slaves after emancipation was a common sense approach to obtaining civil rights. White employers would often demand that black families and children work in certain ways. The former slaves assumed that once married, they’d have a claim of certain basic rights.

People remain unaware that in marrying, one is exercising the right of personal freedom. They don’t tend to equate the civil rights aspects to it. It’s only those who cannot marry at all who are aware of the extent to which marriage is an expression of basic civil rights.”

Slaves had to “jump the broom” since they couldn’t get married. And then once they were freed, they rushed to get married. They welcomed marriage not only as a symbol of their love, but as a way to claim their basic civil rights.

There’s a lot riding on the Prop 8 trial. It could be a miraculous win with an impact as far reaching as potentially overturning DOMA, or it could set back gay rights for 15 years. It’s a very risky case. But if the trial were televised, if the trial were on YouTube, then people could see and hear the testimony of both sides.

People would hear the truth: Marriage is an expression of basic civil rights.

Look, I'm Not Judging . . . .

I swear.

But do you really think it's a good idea to vogue to Lady Gaga on the elliptical at the gym?

First of all, I thought you were going to hit me a couple of times when you flung your arms out.

Second, I mean . . . . and again I'm not judging . . . . . . and yes it's a gay/gay friendly gym . . . . and good for you for living out loud . . . . but maybe you can figure out a better way to work your upper arms.

And I want to make clear that I love The Lady. It's all about Bad Romance. The dance remix of course!

So yes I'm back at the gym. After eating our way around the Mediterranean, then Las Vegas, then Disney, then France, and then the holidays, it was time to start to battle the bulge again. As I said to LawyerX, "Love Made Me Fat."

So it's back to the gym and back on Atkins.

LawyerX is trying to be supportive but he's not a fan of the effort. And to be honest with you, as cold as it has been in DC this winter, it's hard enough getting up and going to work, much less going to the gym.

Anyways, I've lost almost 4 pounds. I hope to lose a couple of more before we go to New Orleans for MLK weekend. Yes, there will be a diet hiatus while we are in New Orleans. Can you imagine going there and not eating or drinking? The horror!

But afterwards, it's back to the diet.

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?

43 (Or Officially Middle Aged)

Well, in theory I was going to have a combined bday/holiday party in early December. But then I caught a cold. And I decided that I didn't want infect my guests, so I cancelled it. Instead of having a ton of people over sampling my newest alcoholic delight (Elderflower Cosmos), I was sucking down herbal echinacea throat soothing tea. Lovely.

Now, my party wasn't actually on my birthday. My company's holiday party was on my real bday, so I wanted to have a party that was fun, with my friends at it, but instead, I ended up celebrating with my "friends" at work.

And did I mention this was the first time I was bringing LawyerX to a work function. So it's like a 2fer of fun!

Now mind you, everyone loved him. Of course. And we did have a fun time. And even though we had an open bar (but no top shelf liquor), we didn't get too trashed. Which isn't to say that I didn't have an adult beverage or two before my speech.

Oh yes, my speech.

There were several people there who knew it was my birthday, so I decided to take control of the situation. After dinner, I grabbed the mike from the DJ and said: "First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party. It's not every day that you turn 39, well I guess technically it's the 4th time, but I still want to say thanks for coming out to help me celebrate. I especially want to thank D (my CEO) for hosting the party, the open bar. D, you didn't need to wear a tux, but it was a nice touch. And I want to say thanks also for the great gifts (the door prizes that were being raffled off). Not sure how I'll get a 52" TV in a cab back to DC, but I'll try. And while I really do appreciate the gifts, would it have killed you to get them gift wrapped? I'm actually not on vacation next week, or on travel, so I'll be in the office next week if you want to stop by and say Happy Birthday to me personally." It was really funny and everyone was laughing. I got several high fives as I walked back to the table.

Back to the liquor. Let me tell you two words you never want to hear together. Smirnoff cosmo. Ugh. It was really awful.

And I did actually win one of the door prizes. Not the 52" television of course. By the time my name was drawn, the options were a Snuggy (no, I'm not joking), a chess set, or a $50 gift certifcate to PF Changs. So I went for the PF Changs gift certificate.

After the door prizes, there was dancing and LawyerX and I had a good time. Despite the DJ's attempt to hit all of the one hit wonders of the 1960s and 1970s, we did request some songs from this century. To include Beyonce's "Single Ladies" which was an homage to the recent engagement of our HR director. But I'm not sure anyone got it.

Anyways, it wasn't a bad way to celebrate #43.

Two Very Different Flights

So LawyerX and I just returned from France. He got to meet my sister and her family. And he had never been to Paris, so it was really a great trip. But before I go into details on the trip, I've got to describe the very different flights we had coming & going.

I used miles to upgrade LawyerX and myself to business class. He does seem to whinge a bit about flying overseas in economy seat, something about being 6'5". What-evs. Just to keep him quiet I figured I would do it. Plus, what a great way to start the trip.

We got onto the flight and we found our very large, comfortable seats and presto there is a flight attendant with a glass of champs. We both took one and it was a great way to start our vacation. I ended up shifting to vodka & cranberry (to help me sleep!), but Lawyer X, who can't/doesn't sleep on the plane stuck with the champs. Well the little menu that describes the dinner for the flight also mentioned that there were two different kinds of champs. So he decided that he wanted to sample the other type of champs. Well, they only had the one type, so the flight attendant actually went up to First Class to get one of their bottles so he could sample another type of champs. And that was really cool. Needless to say, he had a really good flight.

On the way back to the US, we upgraded again and got settled into business class. I was excited because there were several movies I wanted to watch. I decided to avoid any alcohol (cause it's not like we didn't have enough wine in France!) and as we watched the movie a flight attendant would come fill up our water glasses. I started to get a headache and thought I would ask for a Diet Coke. Sometimes caffeine will help stop a headache. So when the flight attendant came around, I pulled one of my headsets off and said, "Can I get a Diet Coke?" She said something to me that I didn't hear, so I took my headset completely off and said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." And she replied, "Can I get a Diet Coke, *please*." Lawyer X, hearing this exchange looked at me incredulously. I said, "Can I get a Diet Coke, *please*." She said of course and when she brought it to me, I said thank you. Now I say thank you all the time. I really do. And I should probably say please more than I do. But I really don't think it's appropriate for me to get chastised for not saying please by a flight attendant when I'm just asking her to do her job. The whole thing was a bit surreal and just very unprofessional. It kind of ruined the rest if the flight for me and put a damper on the end of a really great trip.

Oh, and LawyerX isn't a big fan of my airline, so this didn't sit well with him at all.

It really is amazing how different our flights were based on the actions of the flight attendants.

World AIDS Day

I woke up at 4AM today. Still recovering from the jet lag from the Paris trip (more on that later I promise). I got up, turned the Mac on and started to get my blog fix. My first stop was Joe.My. God and I had forgotten it was World AIDS Day. But Joe didn't forget.

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2009/12/membership.html

And I cried. And it would be the first of many times I choked up today as I read story after story about AIDS.

I fled the gay blogs and went to one of my favorite Episcopalian blogs who was remembering the death of Harvey Milk 31 years ago and I watched this:

And there is hope. Hope for the fight against AIDS. Hope for the fight against discrimination, intolerance, and violence. Hope for a better tomorrow.

And today there was a small sliver of that hope shining here in DC when the City Council voted to approve same sex marriage.

And there was a sliver of that hope shining in Clevelan, OH where their City Council voted to approve a transgendered rights bill.

And there was a sliver of that hope in Massachusetts where the Episcopal Bishop authorized the clergy in his diocese to solemnize marriages for same sex couples.

Know Hope!

Certifiably Insane

Tuesday Night: A Street Car Named Desire at the Kennedy Center.

Wednesday: Fly to San Diego. Work all day.

Thursday: Work all day. Red Eye to DC.

Friday: Arrive DC. Unpack. Do Laundry. Pack. Go back to airport. Fly to France.

Yes, LawyerX and I are going to France for the Thanksgiving week. He's never been to Paris and he'll get to meet my sister. Plus we're going to spend a couple of days down in the Loire Valley. And we've got some fantastic dinners planned in France to include dinner in the Eiffel Tower.

I can't wait. Just dreading the insane jet lag whiplash I'm going to have.

I Hate People

I do.

Seriously.

Just in general terms, I hate people.

To be more specific, I guess hate people who are useless, annoying, obstacles to progress, irrational, and ignorant (wither intentionally or not).

Today, my hate goes to Mr. No.

"Well I don't want to tell anyone how to suck eggs." My what a lovely phrase.

Let me translate that for you:

"Well, I don't want to tell you how to suck eggs." See that sounds so much better, right?

But let's try one more translation:

"Sure, I'm the technical expert on this process but I'm not really going to give you any real information that would actually be helpful because then I might actually have to do my job."

Well, that's a loose translation, but I think you can figure it out.

Do you see why I hate people?

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.