Christmas Lights?

So I was walking Suki the other night and I noticed that the "Church" of Scientology around the block from me had Christmas lights on it.

And I was sort of like WTF?  Fairly certain that they don't believe in Christmas, God, or Jesus.  So what was the deal with the lights.

And I don't know a single church that decorates with Christmas lights.

So I texted my sister.

And her response was priceless.

"Because it's a business, not a church."

Of course.

Portlandia (Part 2)

Have I mentioned the rain?  Oy vey.  A big November rain storm hit so it basically rained all the time.  Let's see, where was I? 

On Sunday S came by and we had breakfast at a cool diner/cantina like place in the Pearl.  It was delish, but I was not really that hungry after the foodie dinner the night before.

After breakfast, we continued our exploration of Portland.  First we headed up to the Washington Park which is on a hill overlooking the city.  We went to the Rose Test Garden which overlooks the city.  There were still a few roses hanging on, but most of them were gone.  But I guess Portland is the city of roses and there are a group of people who help tend the garden who are called Rosarians.  Kind of cool.  Love the statue.  Now, I had to ask about the test garden.  Apparently they test out new hybrids of roses to see how they do before the roses enter the commercial market.  Never thought about that.  Kind of cool.  After the rose garden we drove around Nob Hill which has some just amazing homes.  Uber expensive I'm sure, but it's the really steep hills that surprised me.  Apparently they do get ice storms in Portland and I'm not sure how you would get up those hills.

After the driving tour, we headed down to PAM, the Portland Art Museum.  We kind of did the tour in reverse so we saw the impressionists first, which I loved.  But then we went into modern art.  Which I'm not a huge fan of.  Basically, if it's "art" that I think I can do, then I just don't think it's art.  Having said that, I would never create a life size statue of an overweight man sitting on a small chair.  When we first saw it, from the back, both S and I thought it was a real person doing some weird performance art bit.  It was that life-like.  When we figured out it wasn't, we couldn't stop laughing.  I shared the pic with Museum Man and he made an interesting comment.  He said: "If Marcel Duchamp can hang a urinal on a wall an call it art, then this attempt to recreate a person as realistically as possible - to the point of making the viewer uncomfortable then the artiest has achieved his or her objective."  I guess.  But PAM's special exhibit was "Bodies Beautiful" which was basically about ancient Greek art.  So I prefer my male statues to look a little bit more like this.

Dinner was another foodie adventure.  A place call "Beast."  Chantalle mushroom soup (I don't like muchrooms), a charcuterie plate that include some weird (but good) rabbit sausage, foie gras (ugh), and some weird (and not good) terrine, then a palate cleanser, beef cheek on Gruyere cheese infused potoatoes.  Seriously delicious.  Spicy arugula salad with hot almonds and goat cheese.  Yumm.  A cheese plate that include some wildflower honey.  Which as amazing.  And then a spice cake with creme fraiche and rum raisin ice cream.  I wanted to lick the bowl.  Way to good.  I did not do the wine pairing.  I think I was still in recover from the night before.

Monday was the day we were going to go to see the Multnomah Falls.  And have I mentioned the rain?  Wow.  After a great breakfast (S definitely knows the best breakfast/brunch places), we headed out to the falls.  One of the really great things about Portland is that there is so much natural beauty so close to the city.  We were basically out of the city in 15 minutes and in the country another 15 minutes after that.  We had planned to take the historic highways that sort of goes along the Columbia Gorge but it was closed.  So we ended up taking the highway which meant we only got to see 3 of the main falls.  But there was so much rain falling that there were several smaller falls cascading off the gorge walls.  Just totally amazing.

We did hike a little bit to see some of the falls.  All of the trails we used were paved which was good because it was slippery as sh!t.  But it was really great.  And the falls were unbelievable.  With all of the rain, the amount of water was just incredible.  And hearing the water hit the rocks and the water below was like a constant roar of thunder.  Totally cool.   And even though we were getting soaked, I was having the best time.  S was a real trooper to go out with me in the rain.  I would totally love to come here in the summer when the weather is nicer to go on some real hikes.  But in this rain, not so much right now.

After that we headed back to town and I took a long, hot shower.  And then I did some work, I did grad a bit to eat at a diner, but then I was back in the hotel early.  My train to Seattle was early in the AM.


Portland has potential as a possible future residence.  We'll see.     

Portlandia (Part 1)

So Portland has sort of become a fantasy land for me.  I'm not sure why, but I have this persistent fantasy about quitting my job and moving to Portland.  I'm not sure why, but it has some sort of draw on me.  And so when I had a chance to come out to Portland for a couple of days, I jumped on it.

So Portland.  I arrived on Friday to cloudy skies, but atleast it wasn't raining.  After checking into my hotel, I walked over to the Pearl District which according to Museum Man is the new hip area and where I should live if I moved to Portland.  And I can see why.  It is more industrial than my current neighborhood, but it is definitely quirky and kind of cool.   And the good news is that it has less crazies than downtown Portland.  Downtown Portland definitely had a high number of crazies.  I guess DC does too, but I just don't see them where I live.  I stopped at a local brewery for lunch.  The Rebel Hop was my favorite.

That evening I hooked up with S, a good friend of John's.  She and her BF took me out to dinner at a cool restaurant in the Pearl (I think) and then we went to this crazy dessert place that was just amazing.

The next day, S picked me up and took me on a tour of the city.  First we had brunch at a cool place just on the edge of Chinatown.  We went to the Chinese Gardens which were small, but very cool.  Oh, and it was raining now.  Not a lot, but enough to be a bit of a haze.  But the upshot was that there was no one there.  We also went over to the Saturday market area which was cool, but with the rain wasn't that impressive.  Apparently in the summer it's huge and there is live music, etc.  But it was still kind of cool.  After that, we walked back to downtown and hit the Nordstroms where I picked up a good rain slicker with a hood.  My jacket/umbrella combo really wasn't going to cut it here.

S also recommended a couple of foodie places to eat while I was here so I headed to one of them Saturday night.  But first I had 2 glasses of wine at the happy hour at my hotel.  Then I took a cab to Le Pigeon where I was told the wait was 45 minutes.  So S had told me of a wine bar called Kir around the corner.  So I went there and had a glass of bubbly.  Then I went back to Le Pigeon and had another glass of wine while I waited.  Have you counted the number of glasses?  This is all before I've eaten.  I get seated at the chef's table which is the bar that overlooks the very small kitchen.  Which was really fascinating.  John would have loved this place.  I did the tasting menu, with wine pairing.  Of course.

Now, let me be clear.  I'm not a foodie.  John was.  And I would always go along and I would always try whatever was on the menu.  I'm a trooper.  So when the waitress asked me if there was any food I didn't want to eat, I said yes, but it's not a big deal.  But she wanted to know what it was, so I said mushrooms and foie gras.  She wanted to know if I had an ethical issue with foie gras and I said no.  So she asked that I give their dessert, a foie gras profiterole a chance.  And I said sure.  Again, I'm a trooper.  So she smiled and I got ready for my tasting menu.

And the first course was steak tartare with some seasoning.  Now, I have this small issue with raw food.  If I'm at a restaurant, I sort of want them to cook my food if I'm paying for it.  Call me crazy.  But I ate it.  And as long as I didn't think about it too much, I sort of enjoyed it.  I would never order it again, but it was sort of tasty.  And I had a nice glass of wine to wash it down.  So that was the bad course.  It would have to get better after this, right?  Nope.  The second course was uni on a bed of roe.  So not only am I not a sushi fan (see above), I'm also not a caviar fan.  But it also came with a fried oyster.  So I managed to eat it and again, if I didn't think too much about it, it was pretty good.  With the wine of course.  The third course was a fish course that was very tasty.  And interestingly enough it was paired with a red wine because it had a very earthy sauce to it.  The fourth course was the best.  Beef cheek on a bed of gruyerre cheese infused mashed potatoes.  Hello yummy!  Really, really good.  And then we get to the dessert.  It was the foie gras profiterole (which was actually really good) plus a goat cheese cheesecake that was just devine.  And I had a lovely dessert wine to go with it.


Now at this point, I'm beyond full.  I'm more than a little tipsy and just stuffed.  So instead of hitting the town, I went back to the hotel and crashed.  And wow did I have some cra-cray dreams after all of that rich food.  But definitely a good time.

Orlando (Part 2)

So I guess it's fitting that I'm writing about this on Veteran's Day.

In March, I applied for a job at AFRICOM in Stuttgart Germany.  I've been thinking about changing jobs and it sounded interesting and moving back to Europe seemed like a real interesting opportunity.  So I applied and I got an interview.  It went well and then I thought, wait, what happens if I really get the job.  Would John leave his job?  Could he find a job in Stuttgart?  They *must* do patent work in Germany.  His firm has an office in Brussels.  How would all of this work.  We had several conversations, all of them speculative since I didn't have the job yet, but we weren't sure how this would work out.  And then I started thinking of the logistics of it all.  Even if we were married, would even be allowed to come with me?  DOMA would prevent him from getting spousal status.  Could he even get into the country?  Or get a work visa?  Would Germany recognize our marriage even if the U.S. didn't?  Could he even get access to the base to pick me up from work? Or use the hospital?

So many questions.  So while DADT was repealed, gay and lesbian service members (and service civilians) don't have equal rights and access to a whole host of rights and services because of DOMA.   A friend of mine asked if I was interested in joining the board of the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) who had been one of the primary drivers for the repeal of DADT.  I had originally said no, but John had recommended I do it and after the AFRICOM flailex (though I was never offered the job), I knew I wanted to help get marriage benefits for gay and lesbian service members.  If you are willing to put your life on the line for this country, then you deserve the same rights and benefits as everyone else.

So the primary reason I went to Orlando was to attend the OutServe-SLDN International Leadership Conference and the OS-SLDN board meeting.  Over the summer, SLDN merged with OutServe, the active duty GLBT organization that has something like 6000 members.  Needless to say that with John's death, I was sort of pre-occupied with other things.  So this was my first opportunity to participate in the organization and attend the board meeting.

The conference was interesting and I learned a whole bunch of stuff.  But it was the board meeting that was interesting.  The repeal of DADT meant that SLDN's primary mission had been achieved and they were now focused on getting marriage benefits for G&L service members.  However, while DADT allowed gays and lesbians to serve, it didn't allow transgender persons to serve openly.  In addition to the merge, OS-SLDN also hired a new executive director.  A West Point graduate who had served in Iraq.  Who is a transgender woman.  She is still married to her West Point graduate wife and they have three children.

Now I'll be honest and say that at first I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole transgender issue.  On the gay and lesbian issue, I was always, if the person can shoot the enemy, can fly a plane, can drive a ship, if they can diffuse the bomb, fundamentally if they can do the job.  Then does it matter if they are gay or lesbian or black or white or green or young or old or whatever?  And I guess to be honest, if that argument is correct.  And I believe it is.  Then does it matter if the person is transgender?  The answer is no, not really.

I'll also say that I can't imagine what it's like to go through what they go through everyday.  The courage and integrity it must take to live their life they way they want to.  To say no to the easy but wrong answer, but yes to the hard but right answer.

And aren't those the exact attributes you want to a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine?

Storm Center - San Diego!!

So you know how the TV stations in DC will go into hyper drive when there is a big storm in DC?  They will have reporters all over the place, even before the storm hits?  Here's Megan Smith reporting from a sanding station in Northern Virginia where the snow us due in 6 hours?  Stuff like that?

Well it's gone crazy here in San Diego.  We've gone all Storm Center San Diego.  And why?

For pop up showers.

Pop up showers?

So a little rain?

And that means you need to have a four person team reporting on it?

For rain?

Just kills me.

Orlando (Part 1)

So last weekend, Museum Man and I went down to Orlando.  It was for a conference, which was pretty interesting, but I'll get to that next.  I want to focus on the non "work" part of the weekend.

So I had to go on this trip.  But Orlando?  John and I spent last Christmas in Orlando with my sister and her family.  I had first met his aunt in Disney.  John just loved Disney and we had been there several times.  After Christmas, my niece and nephew called John "Mr. Disney".  He was just a wiz at planning every aspect of the trip.  Which parks to go to. Which rides to go.  In what order.  When (early!) and where to make dining reservations.  He didn't need a map.  He just knew it all.  He even read the Disney food blog which I called his food porn.  How could I go to Disney without John?

But I had to go.  So I asked Museum Man to go with me.  And as luck would have it, John's sister was having her bachelorette weekend at Disney at the same time, so I would get to see her and John's aunt.  So it was sort of like having John with me.

We flew down Thursday afternoon and did the shuttle to the hotel.  I loathe the shuttle.  Disney's Magical Express is really the way to go.  But we were staying where the conference was at the Shades of Green.  My sister stayed there over Christmas and called it SOG.  It's the Armed Forces hotel at Disney and it's a really good deal.  So I couldn't explain.  After we checked in (want to guess the color of the room decor?), we caught a bus over to Downtown Disney and ate at Paradisio 37.  Dinner was good and I had a couple of margaritas to get the weekend started off right!  After dinner we wandered around Downtown Disney a bit.  Who knew MM was a Lego fan.  Too funny.  Here's a pic of me getting buzzed with Buzz Lightyear.

Friday I had my conference, but Friday night we went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scarey Halloween Party.  It was something John and I had done on our first trip to Disney and I thought it would be fun.  We got there and bee-lined to Space Mountain.  No line at all.  And I had the front seat.  John would have been so proud.  After Space Mountain, we did the Space Ranger ride where you shoot at targets.  I smoked MM.  Then off to Thunder Mountain.  After which, my stomach started to feel a bit weird.  But we headed over to watch the parade.  Which is just really awesome.  My favorite part is when the grave diggers drag their shovels along the concrete and sparks come up.  Pretty cool.  After the parade, we hit Pirates of Carribbean and then it was time for the fireworks.  Which even MM thought was awesome.

Not awesome?  The strollers.  Seriously, it's like the stroller Olympics.  I was trying to cut through Fantasy Land, but it was just insane.  And if there's one thing I've learned, is that parents with strollers can be ruthless.  They will cut you if you cross them.  Ah yes, the happiest place on earth.  Until someone with a stroller snaps.

Saturday was full with the conference and then the dinner.  Bur on Sunday we met up with John's sister and his aunt to do the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  Now the first time John and I did this, I called it the Disney Death March.  It was mid October, but it must have been 90+ degrees and it was just crazy hot.  And after 7 hours of walking, riding, eating, and drinking, I needed a time out.  And let me tell you the crap I caught for wimping out from John and his family.  Thankfully MM is allergic to getting up early and with my foot problem, I didn't feel like making it a death march.  We got there around noon and then proceeded to eat and drink our way around the world showcase.  Favorite foods?  The beer-cheese soup at the Canadian Pavilion is always excellent.  The ravioli in Italy.  The coq au vin in France.  Potstickers in China.  Favorite drinks?  The iced champagne at the champagne and dessert pavilion.  The Grand Marnier Slushy (with an extra shot) in France.  The Seven Tiki Mai Tai from Hawaii.  Let me tell you, it was all good.

It was really a fun afternoon and it was great to see John's sister and her aunt.

We were supposed to leave on Monday.  But then along came Sandy.  So our Monday flight was cancelled and we were put on a Tuesday flight.  So we stayed at SOG an extra night.  But then our Tuesday flight was cancelled and they said they could get us back on Thursday.  Thursday?  Umm, no.  So I worked with US Airways to get us to Charlottesville, VA.  And then we drove the rest of the way home.

So it was quite the adventure in Florida!

Vote Suki 2012!

Admit it, she's much cuter than most politicians right?  And she could probably do a better job.  Well, when she wasn't napping.  But hey, you have to have priorities.  Not the best photo of me, but oh well.

So we went down to the Mall today for a long walk.  She was ecstatic.  New smells.  New places to mark her territory.  And I must have had a dozen people who wanted to pet the puppy.  She's 10.  She's not a puppy.  But whatever.  

They were doing some work on the mall, so the walk was a bit boring, but it was fun.  And the weather was perfect.  I was almost too hot in the long sleeve shirt I was in.  

We also did a quick tour of the sculpture garden which was nice.

Suki Goes To The Beach

So Museum Man, Suki and I did a road trip last Saturday.  We headed out to the eastern shore to go to Rehoboth and Dewey Beach.  I'm fairly certain that John never got a chance to take Suki to the beach and since the weather was going to be almost decent (61 degrees), we decided to go to the beach.  

We had lunch in Rehoboth Beach and found an out door cafe where we could sit with Suki and have lunch.  Needless to say she was thrilled about sitting there while we ate, but she was good.  After that, we headed down to Tower Beach which is the northern part of the Delaware Seashore State Park.  We got there around 130PM and it was empty.  Seriously.  I think there was may be one other car in the huge parking lot.  So we get out and Suki is glad to be free from her cage.  John had a soft carrying container for her that we used.  She tolerated it during the drive, but was happy to get out.

MM and I ditched our shoes and made our way to the sandy pathway that lead across the dune and down to the beach.  Suki was confused about this ground that moves when you walk on it.  She would paw it, then step, then paw it again.  And then finally decided that she could just walk on it.  

It was a clear crisp day and the temp was perfect.  And there was no one on the beach.  It was so cool because it felt like our own private beach.  Off season you can take your dog on the beach, and let them off the leash.  So I took Suki off the leash and we made our way down to the water.  Suki was very interested in the water and made a beeline for it.  And as she chased a wave that was rushing back to the sea, she got hit with a wave coming in.  Not a big one, but it definitely got her wet.  And it was cold.  And that was pretty much all it took for Suki to determine that she didn't want to go swimming.  Which is just as well.  But the problem now of course is that I've got wet dog.  Running around on the sand.  

But she was in heaven just wandering every which way.  Constantly stopping to sniff something to see if she could eat it.  She said no to the jelly fish (good call) and the dead crab.  I let her run for quite a bit and then I would have to go chase her down whenever she got too far away.  And let's be honest, it's not like she's going to turn around and come back to me just because I called her name.  It was really a fun afternoon and I think Suki had a good time.  I tried to brush as much sand off her as I could, but I figured out that she would probably require a bath when we got home.

The trip back wasn't bad.  As long as you appreciate that wonderful wet dog smell.  :-)

Bathing Suki.  Well I had never done it before.  But how hard could it be, right?  Oy vey.  So Suki does not like to be in the tub.  She kept trying to get out and then would slip on the slipper tub.  So not a good start.  I put some shampoo into her coat and start to rub.  It's an anti-shedding shampoo. Which apparently means that all of the loose dog hair comes out in the bath.  So there was lots of dog hair in the tub.  I finally rinse her off, and I lift her out of the tub so I can dry her off in the bathroom. And no sooner were her 4 paws on the ground than she proceeds to shake herself dry.  Flinging water dropplets everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  My bathroom was just drenched.  Now I know why I take her to the grooming salon.  It's definitely worth the money.

Grief Aftershocks and Suki

I call them grief aftershocks.  The moments when I remember, oh too vividly, that John is gone.  When I realize that all of the hopes and dreams we had together will never happen.  And usually these aftershocks start with something really minor, something stupid, that just hits me from out of no where and it just sort of implodes within me.  And I start to cry.  And cry.  Grief aftershocks.

So I'm going to try to blog again.  I want to tell stories about John.  I want to capture who we has to me, and the good, and bad, times we had together.  I want to put it down into words to make sure I never forget, but also to help me move forward.  Atleast, I think this will help.

After John passed away, I asked his sister if I could keep Suki.  She had spent quite a lot of time at my house, the summer palace, we called it.  Especially when John was traveling or working long hours.  So she was used to my place and I thought keeping her would be good for me.  And she has been.  She's gone through her own process of depression.  But I think she's doing okay now.  And she's been a good thing for me.  I've probably transferred all of my love of John to Suki which I'm not sure is the best thing.  But it's been good.  I love her a lot and taking care of her is something that I know John would appreciate it.

Since I'm not working today (shocker), I decided to take Suki for a long walk down along the mall.  She loves car rides and so we drove down to the mall area.  I couldn't find parking near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial at first, so I continued on to Haynes Point where we got out for a walk.  Suki was intrigued by the water.  It was high tide and the wind had kicked up the waves.  So water was spilling over the low sea wall and she was just fascinated by that.  So we had a good walk there.  And then as we drove back, I scored a parking spot near TJ's so we got out and had a second walk.  Here we are at the steps of the TJ Memorial.      

John Deery Crocetti

April 17, 1972 - May 27, 2012

John Deery Crocetti was born in Tacoma, Washington to Mario and Sally Crocetti on April 17th 1972. As an Army brat John moved around the country quite a bit which is where he probably picked up his passion for adventure and travel. An Eagle Scout, in 1990 he graduated from Stevens Point Area High School in Stevens Point, WI. He earned both his Bachelors of Science (1994) and Masters of Science (1996) in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville TN. While in Nashville, John co-founded Wild Dog Technology, LLC, a data base consulting company and taught graduate and undergraduate Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering Management at Vanderbilt. A founding member of the Nashville Predator’s Booster Club, John was very active in the Nashville hockey community. In 2004, John left Nashville to attend law school at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord NH, one of the top intellectual property law schools in the country. John earned his Juris Doctor (JD) on May 19th, 2007. While still in law school, John interned as a summer associate at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP and accepted an offer to join Finnegan in 2007. At Finnegan, John’s unique electrical engineering background, technical knowledge, and management skills proved crucial on a number of cases regarding wireless communications, smart phones, and cell phone handsets before the International Trade Commission. Outside of work, John had a passion for travel, good food, and good wine. John traveled frequently around the world to experience the best life has to offer, from the Disney International Food and Wine Festival, to the jungles of Belize and Guatemala, to the streets and cafes of Paris. John worked hard and played hard. John’s love of the good life was legendary from five star hotels and resorts to Michelin rated restaurants. John lived life to the fullest. John was a man of unique character, intelligence, love, integrity, humor, and compassion and will truly be missed by all who knew him. John is survived by his sister, Kate Crocetti, his beloved dog Suki, and his partner, Trey Rhiddlehoover.

I love you.  And I miss you every day.

16 Candles, Bathsheba Syndrome, and the Craig's List Congressman

Jake Ryan. Sigh.

Flashback to 1984. I worked at the movie theater in Colorado Springs and I must have seen 16 Candles a thousand time. Such a great move and seriously, Jake Ryan? Super hottie. Cute, good hair, and ends up ditching the vacuous prom queen for the dorky girl. A girl can dream, right?

Anyways, the movie company re-released 16 Candles last week for just two nights for Valentine's Day. Just Sunday and Monday night. We went Sunday night and just had a blast. Most of the people in the audience (which was mainly gay men and women) would just swoon when ever Jake was on the screen. And even though I haven't seen the movie since 1984 (and why isn't this on TV like every weekend?), I knew almost all of the lines. And there are some seriously goods lines in that movie! "I think my brother paid a buck to see your panties last night." "Look dear, she got her boobies, and they are so perky!" as the theme from Jaws kicks in as the grandmother begins to grope her. Such a good time.

So I've ditched work this week to go to training. I haven't done any professional development in awhile so I figured I would take a class. The Architect recommended a class at the Brookings Institute which is conveniently located 2.5 blocks from my house. So I'm there. "Ethics in Action." It was actually pretty interesting. We started with Plato & Aristotle and then looked at some eastern philosophy (Confucius) and then back to Kant and some more western thinkers. Our instructor was great and I definitely enjoyed it.

I especially like the information on the Bathsheba Syndrome. Or as I call it, "When Good Leaders Do Really Monumentally Stupid Things" (think Bill Clinton, Mark Sanford, etc). So this is all from the Bible. David (of David and Goliath fame) was a great king. Lots of stories about him in the bible. But he leaves the war (mistake #1), to come back to his palace where he sees Bathsheba, seduces her, and gets her pregnant (mistakes #2, 3, and 4). Then he tries to cover up the pregnancy (mistake #5) and then when that doesn't work, he has Bathsheba's husband killed (mistake #6). See, even back then it wasn't the crime, but the coverup that get you in trouble. Anyways, if David was such a good person, a good king, etc., then why did he do this? Even today we have lots of experience with leaders who did great things in the past and then they got put into a position of leadership and they succumb to the Bathsheba Syndrome. They lose their focus, they've been so successful in the past that they think they will always be successful, they think that they can control every outcome. And they end up losing their moral/ethical compass and do something absurdly idiotic.

This past week we had the perfect example: now former Congressman Chris Lee. What were you thinking? Love the ubiquitous shirtless photo in the bathroom. If you had a good gay in your life, he could have told you that those are totally 2010 and now are kind of creepy. In addition, a good gay would NEVER have allowed you to use your real name. Or your real email address. As a congressman you must know that the NSA/CIA/FBI are always spying on us, you don't have to make it too easy for them.

MOPT Update

So "My Own Personal Thintervention" (MOPT) is not going well.

Oh it started well. I was eating 5 times a day. I was doing my Jackie Warner shake, plus her insane power circuit workouts, plus vitamens and I did manage to lose like 8 pounds.

And then life happened. Which is so annoying.

First I was heading to San Diego for a conference. Which I knew was going to be hard on the program, but I figured that if worked out obsessively that it would help mitigate the business dinners, conference lunches, etc. And I packed my workout clothes and it was all good. Until the plane landed in San Diego, I'm walking off the plane onto the jetbridge and I hit some uneven something that rolled my ankle. Hard. Needless to say it took all of my self control not to scream "F&%K!" But that pretty much sabotaged my work out plans.

My ankle is pretty much healed at this point and I need to get back on the program. I've invested in some whey protein powder, more vitamins, etc and I'm ready to start again. I've got no travel planned until the first weekend in March, so I've got a solid month to work the program. And I'd really like to drop 10-12 pounds before I go home in early March.

So that's the plan. Now I just need to make it happen.

Call Your Girlfriend

Call your girlfriend

It's time you had the talk

Give your reasons

Say it's not her fault

I totally love that Robyn song.

First I loved "Dancing on my Own." Then I loved "Hang With Me." And then I broke down and bought her album. And then I was hooked on Fembot. Call Your Girlfriend. And Indestructible. Totally an amazing album.

LawyerX and I saw her in concert last summer with Kelis. Kelis was okay, but Robyn rocked the house. A short little swedish pixie she was going a 100 miles per hour and just bouncing around that stage like you just can't believe. Such a good time.

Well as I was checking out Jimbo's blog, I saw he was going to see Robyn in Bmore. Really? So I quickly checked and there were tickets still available. Score!!

So there I was. On a Tuesday night. Heading to a concert. On a school night! What a rebel! But it was so much fun. I convinced a good friend of mine from work to go with my since LawyerX had to work. We got up there in time to see the opening act: Diamond Rings? OMG. Just say no. Here's this power twink in gold lame tights prancing around the stage and doing these weird "fight the power" fist pumps. Again. No. Please. No.

But Robyn was amazing. I think it was the exact same show as last summer, but now I knew more of the songs and I think my friend was more than a little bit amused by my singing/dancing to the music. But it was such a great night. We bailed right at the end of the last song and made it back to DC just after 1230. Needless to say I was tired the next day, but so much fun.

And Robyn is opening for Katy Perry this summer and LawyerX has already gotten us tickets. So I'll get to see Robyn again then. In the meantime, I'm totally jones-ing for a "Call Your Girlfriend" remix.

Local Color

That's the phrase that LawyerX and I use when we run into the occasional crazy person here in DC.

Yes, it happens enough that we have a phrase for it.

In addition to the phrase, there are rules: Do not look at them. Do not engage them. Do not let them suck you into their crazy.

And of course, there are times when you forget. Like I did yesterday.

A long day at work. I head home. Once I get into DC, the traffic gets worse. I'm heading north on 18th St getting ready to turn right onto H St. The guy in front of me does a right turn on red and I move up to take his spot and see if I can turn right also. As I do, a guy is walking into the cross walk and he puts his hands up to motion me to stop. So I stop. Well clear of him. And then I look left to see if there is any traffic or if I will need to wait for the green light before turning.

And I hear something. Some voice over the techno music I'm jamming to in my car. I look over and see the guy. And I'm not sure, but I think he's talking to me. So I look at him.

And then I hear him say clearly (which must be fairly loud since I can hear him over the radio), "That's right I'm talking to you!"

But I'm confused. I didn't hit him. I stopped. Well clear of him. So I look at him.

And apparently my looking at him is some how construed as challenging him.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be."

And I'm in my car going, dude, I just want to get home.

And the light changes, and I hear him again.

"I'll show you."

Well I start to turn left and as I turn I take one last look.

And he's in the process of pulling his pants down so he can moon me. I know. Nice.

But he hasn't figure out that I've turned, so he's aiming in the wrong direction.

And by the way, the weather here? Kind of cold.

You know what we say?

Local Color

All Hail Aphrodite!!!!

Bow down before the Goddess!!

So I got up at 0355 AM on Friday AM so I could be online for the pre-sale for Kylie's North American tour. No road trip necessary this year, she's coming to DC. Or rather, Fairfax. The pre-sale was only via her site and started at 0900 GMT. And I was hoping all of the other gays wouldn't know what GMT meant so I could get online and get tickets while they were all sleeping. But even working three windows on the Mac, my iPad, and two windows on my work laptop, it still took me almost thirty minutes to get through the web site and grab some tickets. I originally wanted seats in the middle area, but my request wouldn't go through. So I tried the side seating area and scored. And I think I scored big time. I think we have front row seats for that section.

I'm so totally excited. I can't wait. April 30th. And Lawyer X finishes all of his trial crap so this will be the perfect way to celebrate that!

All Hail Aphrodite!!

MOPT Update

So I got on the scale this AM and I had lost 2 pounds. Yea. I guess.

I was sort of hoping for more. And then I started thinking . . . . about the chips, salsa, and fajitas I had for lunch on Saturday; . . . . . . about the fish tacos I had for dinner Friday night; . . . . . . about the dim sum dinner and oh so tasty white wine/St Germain sangria that we had. Yeah. I really wasn't that good this week from a dieting perspective, so 2 pounds is not bad at all.

I'm going to try to do better this week, but LawyerX has friends coming into town this weekend, so I know there will be eating and drinking. Smart choices. I just need to remember to make smart choices.

I did make it to the gym this AM, and this PM, but the weather is just killing me. I can't take the bitter, bitter, wind. Baby it's cold out there!

Can't wait for Glee to come back!

Robyn and Diex Du Stade

So if you haven't bought Robyn's last album, you are missing out on some of the best music around. It's like candy for the ears, with kickin beats and some really catchy lyrics. I'm particularly in love with "Call Your Girlfriend". But it's all good. And I've got a great "Dancing On My Own" & Glee "Teenage Dream" mash up video on heavy rotation for my gym workouts. Such good music. I'm thinking of adding this one to my iPad, but I'm not sure if it's really appropriate for my SECG.

Speaking of not appropriate, I've been adding new work out routines to my fitness app on my iPad based on the workout in Jackie Warner's book. It's cool that you can add exercises to the app, but you have to put a photo in as well that demonstrates how the exercise is supposed to be performed. But I don't have that. So I've been putting in some aspirational photos that have nothing to do with the workout, but definitely are motivating me. Like this:

Hello gorgeous! He's in this year's Dieux Du Stade calendar. "Dieux Du Stade" is French for: hot, mostly naked, rugby players. Or something like that.

Thintervention

So I was obsessed with the Bravo show "Working Out" when it was on a couple of years ago. And this fall, they did a short series called "Thintervention" where Jackie Warner (seriously fit uber lesbian) works with a bunch of overweight people to help them lose weight. One of the people is a gay guy who is looking to lose 60 pounds. Now while I don't need to lose that much, I totally identified with him. And it was pretty impressive to see him work out every week on the show and really start to see him change his life. At the end of the series (which I think in real life was 14 weeks), he had lost 66 pounds. In 14 weeks. How impressive is that?

So I bought Jackie Warner's book: "This Is Why You Are Fat (And How To Get Thin Forever)". Nice subtle title, right? So I read it, and studied it, and I figured it was time for My Own Personal Thintervention (MOPT).

So I sort of started before New Years, I figured once I got home from the holidays, I might as well start. So I started taking vitamins, working out, trying to eat 5 meals a day. And despite the pizzafest on New Years Eve, and the fabulous and very alcohol heavy brunch New Years Day, and the nice dinner at the Kennedy Center, I still managed to lose 4 pounds my first week.

So I'm totally pysched. I'm really looking forward to the next week on the program. I do plan to cheat on Saturday (we're allowed 2 cheat meals), but if I follow the program properly, I should lose atleast another 4 pounds. Or atleast that's my goal.

My long team goal? I want to lose 30 pounds by the summer. And in addition to the losing the weight, I want to build some muscle back up. Lawyer X and I are going on another cruise with teh gays, and I want to be in the best shape possible.

Hate at Bali Hai

The Kennedy Center is doing some great shows this season (Hair, Follies, Wicked) and last night Lawyer X and I went to see South Pacific. It was great of course. And our box seat rocked. But here's the thing, when I think of South Pacific I think of swaying palm trees, great songs, and dancing sailors (and no that's not gay at all). For some reason I sort of skip over the big racial plots or the fact that the polynesian woman is basically pimping out her young (very young) daughter to the LT. I was sort of stunned when the female lead can't get over that the French man has children who are "colored" or when the LT realizes that he'll never be able to take the polynesian girl back to Philadelphia. He's a Princeton man after all.

After the show, I made a comment about this to Lawyer X and he said South Pacific had caused quite a stir when it came out in the 1950s. I guess so.

Now the music is awesome: There's Nothing Like A Dame, Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening. But it's the song the LT sings when he realizes that he can't take the girl home that really just made the back of my neck tingle:

You've got to be taught to hate and fear,

You've got to be taught from year to year,

It's got to be drummed into your dear little ear,

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made

and people whose skin is a different shade,

you've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,

Before you are six or seven or eight

To hate all of the people your relatives hate,

You've got to be carefully taught.

Wow. Not exactly a warm fuzzy song. But oh so true. True in 1950s. And just as true now.

In the cold of winter, it's hard to remember that last March we were in Kaui where they filmed the movie version of South Pacific. You could actually see the mountains that inspired Bali Hai from our resort. Ah, doesn't it just look like paradise. I wish we were there now.

But It's on Sale

Date: 26 December 2010

Location: Nieman Marcus, Cherry Creek Mall, Denver, CO

After some power shopping at Nordstroms, we decided to check out the rest of the mall and made the mistake of going into Nieman Marcus. Who shops there?

I find a nice red T-shirt. It's soft. A good T-shirt. It had a word written on it. Gucci. In black letter, in cursive.

Original price: $225.00

Marked down to $196.99.

But it was on sale for $154.99

YHGTBFKM!!