Last night was poker night at Brandon’s. I had a great time and a six pack. Now I’ve gotta drag myself into work… thank God for Neutrogena!
Good news: I won $30!
Bad news: There might be some gay drama starting up. I haven’t decided if I want to get into the fray or steer clear. I’ll probably get roped in!
I grew up with Tupperware. As a kid I loved my Shape-O ball and nearly every meal we ate was served up on Tupperware plates and leftovers always got stored in Tupperware.
When I got older and came out, my mother jumped at the opportunity to “peddle plastic” to a whole new demographic. She hosted parties for my older gay friends, then their friends friends, and so on. At ever party she’d mention how she was a PFLAG mom and she loved her gay son. She’d pass my picture around and everything! Pretty soon I was getting approached at the clubs and gay bars. People would ask, “Hey, are you the Tupperware lady’s son?” I was embarrassed at first, but soon learned it was good for her business! I don’t know how many parties she did for people who ran into me at the bar, but it started to be a joke if I ever stayed in on my usual “bar night”. She’d say, “Paul, you’ve got to go out tonight so I can book some more parties!” Aaah, that was great!
Nowadays everyone seems to buy those cheap-o throw away containers, which are alright, but I love my Tupperware. Nothing beats it, ever!
Feeling nostalgic, I’ve decided to host a Tupperware Online Party!
Please go shop today! Everything gets shipped to your door!
Next on my “I want this so bad I’d whore myself out to buy it” list is a Slingbox. It promises to let me watch my TV anywhere, take it with me, all that jazz. With the hostile fair use climate the way it is, it seems like I ought to snatch one of these up pretty quick, I’m sure the entertainment industry is getting ready to sue the shit out of this company. It seems like a truly innovative product, and something every nerd should have perched on his or her television. At $245 it’s a little more than I want to spend right now, but I’ll start saving my pennies.
There’s a Mac version coming out soon.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be at the rest area with legs up in the air. Cash only, bitches!
Product Review: Scrubbing Bubbles FreshBrush from SC Johnson (A Family Company)
I had a dream.
I dreamed of a pristine convenience, so sparking white I could see my reflection in the bowl. Lately those waters were getting kind of muddled. Since I lost my last toilet brush somewhere along the way, and I’ve been watching too much television lately, I thought I’d try one of those newfangled toilet wands. The people in the commercial look so happy to be cleaning their shitters, I thought I too might enjoy newfound bliss with a toilet wand.
It sure beats the way we had to clean the toilet in my childhood; on our hands and knees with a bottle of Soft Scrub and a toothbrush. We were too poor for a fancy brush that you only cleaned one thing with. I always used my brothers Scooby-doo toothbrush. It had a longer handle than my Rainbow Bright one.
So tonight I shelled out $4.99 for the FreshBrush Starting kit and another $3.99 for refills. (I hesitated with the refills, but figured I’d be a good idea to clean the toilet more than just once.) The started kit includes the reachy wand, a hanger for the wand, and 4 pads. The refill is a resealable pouch of 12 pads. I rushed home to give it a try, to see if the promises of smiling homemakers with clean, sparkly bathrooms would come true.
I carefully read the instructions. I was amused to find an all-caps disclaimer on the label, for a use I’d never considered. At $5 a pop, it hadn’t occured to me that you could use these things to clean stuff other than your toilet bowl, but apparently someone else must have, or in the lease the geniuses at SC Johnson anticipated that someone might.
In the end, I was dissapointed. It was sort of like going to the bar, getting all drunk an horny and taking someone home, only to find out that he doesn’t look all that great with the light on. And still having a dirty toilet to boot. For all my dashed hopes and good intentions, I think I’m just going to return it and invest nine dollars in the old fashioned method.
Soft scrub and toothbrushes, here I come.
What’d I do?? Somehow, my back is hurting again. It’s the same place that usually hurts, once or twice a year. But it was so bad today I left work to come home and lay around with a heating pad. Sounds relaxing, right? Unfortunately it’s hard to relax when even taking a deep breathe hurts.
I only wish it was from rough sex.
crush |krə sh |
noun
What is it about having a crush?
I remember what I think was my first real crush… His name was B.J. (no jokes, please) and it was my freshman year of high school. I think he was a junior, but that’s not important because this crush involved partial nudity! He was in my gym class, and he used to always change right next to me. Mmmhmm… I got to see the object of my affection in his briefs every day. He was a baseball player and a speed skater, so he had a beautiful body. I hadn’t completely come out yet (and he was probably str8) so nothing ever came of it, but boy was it ever a crush. The next big high school crush I remember was on Alan Jollineau, I think he was a class behind us… he was a really cool guy, then he got all Jesusy, so it was pretty evident that he wasn’t queer. You can Google him for his phone number… somehow he ended up in Arizona.
Then I started meeting more gay people, and my first big crush was on Michael Carpenter… we were inseparable for awhile, but never dated or did anything. He was one of those bad kids my mother used to warn me about from the christian school. My memory of him is they wouldn’t let him graduate because he came out. I think he ended up faking his way back into the closet so he could get his diploma, then he left Michigan and the church behind. (That was my first experience with faith based education and discrimination, later I’d go on to help Marc Adams spread the word about his organization HeartStrong.)
Those were pretty big crushes. They all involved people I saw and talked to and hung out with every day and knew very well. I’ve found in my adult life crushes are less and less frequent, or at least easier to handle. Especially with my current crush, as I don’t see him all that often.
I makes me pause and wonder on the nature of these things, and the difference between having a crush and falling in love. My crushes tend to be big and fast, whereas falling in love for me is easy—Carson told me once he thought I could fall in love at the drop of a hat—and while it’s not quite that easy I do tend to get in deep with people quickly. Adam is the most recent example of that… in the six months I spent with him I developed a deep affection for him that rivals Carson. Carson was surely the hardest crush and deepest love I’ve ever felt for someone in my life.
That was years ago. While I’ve met people who had potential, and spend 10 months with Todd in an awful relationship, Adam is the closest thing to that sort of love I’ve found in awhile. It just didn’t work for either of us. Zac is another person I’m deeply endeared to, but it’s never gone beyond a state of a really close and comfortable friendship—and when it comes to Zac, I’m fine with that. I really like William in Portland as well, but there’s a greater distance between us and some ideological issues that make me wonder if anything would ever really work out.
I am, of course, omitting Dino in all of this. Dino is someone I’ve known for 10+ years online and met just recently in 2003. He’s the top reason why I go to Manhattan (well, with the exception that I think Manhattan is the coolest place on the planet) and am willing to sacrifice to see him. Plus I usually find some really cheap airfare. I have a really strong and constant love for Dino, and I often wonder if something more could ever develop if there was less distance between us.
Adam and I don’t work together. Zac is in Muncie, William is in Portland, and Dino is in New York. So I try to keep it local. From what I know about Brandon and from the 3 times we’ve spent together, I can tell there’s something going on between us. But just for now, I’ve got a crush on him.
Download Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got A Crush On You” here. (2.4mb AAC)
January 21, 2006: Casey Stratton plays The Intersection. As I posted early, people came from all over to see this show—one dedicated fan drove 232 miles (374km) from Canada just to see his show. For anyone who appreciates his music, a Casey concert is a blockbuster event.
Moreover, because so many of his fans use Casey’s music for the difficult times in our lives—because his songs mean so much to us—you come away from a concert feeling as if you’ve been through something, and you feel closer to anyone who was there with you.
The shows I’ve been to are usually deeply emotional, and it’s hard to walk away without any tears. This show (I almost want to say “thankfully” but not really…) was much lighter than usual due to some technical difficulties Casey had during his performance.
By “technical difficulties” I mean his computer broke! Only a true professional can keep it together and keep the audience comfortable when things start falling apart on stage… and they did. Right before “Sorry I…” the piano bench holding up Casey’s iBook collapsed and his computer tumbled to the ground. I glanced over at Terry and he looked like he’d just soiled himself. Meanwhile, Karen Simms rushed to the stage to help while Casey told us about playing a venue called The Living Room when the bench he was sitting on collapsed. (He wrote about it recently in his livejournal) So he kept his composure and kept playing.
Good thing he uses an iBook… all in all they’re pretty durable, being made from the same plastic they make bullet proof glass from. But later, during his encore, the iBook fell again and this time it was done for; amazingly it still plays but his screen is all mangled and Karen Simms says there were white iBook pieces all over the stage! Tragic! But Casey finished his show regardless of his “show curse” it was absolutely wonderful.
Afterwards the crew ended up at Mario’s with Casey until 7a.m. Casey played the album he’s working on now (busy, busy) including the beautiful song “Lilacs” which he wrote back in May. That song had me in tears! So of course I asked him to play it again. Haha.
So overall, I had a great night hanging out with my new friends Tina, Candace, Karina, and Grayson (who has cute dimples!). And of course my dear friends Mario, Bruce, Sissie Terry and his brother Tommy. And it’s always a pleasure to see the hard working Karen Simms—I wish I got to see her more often, like last summer!
It takes a superlative artist like Casey Statton to bring so many wonderful people together for such a great night of music and friendship. Thanks again, Casey.
This afternoon we went out for lunch at the Brandywine restaurant in Eastown, Grand Rapids, MI. What a wonderful group and a wonderful time!
Gearing up for Casey’s concert tonight!
Oh yeah, and I had a margarita.
Tonight I’m up in Grand Rapids, staying by my good friend Terry Johnston for the Casey Stratton concert tomorrow. Let me tell you, Casey’s fans are a dedicated bunch… I drove from Kalamazoo, MI but the people I hung out with tonight had come from Saginaw, MI and Atlanda, GA and even Chatham, Ontario, Canada! Tomorrow should be great!
Taking a Trip
Thursday 9 March 2006
DEPART South Bend, IN (SBN) 15:47
ARRIVE Chicago Ohare, IL (ORD) 15:39
DEPART Chicago Ohare, IL (ORD) 17:00
ARRIVE New York LaGuardia, NY (LGA) 20:20
Monday 13 March 2006
DEPART New York LaGuardia, NY (LGA) 11:00
ARRIVE Chicago Ohare, IL (ORD) 12:35
DEPART Chicago Ohare, IL (ORD) 13:25
ARRIVE South Bend, IN (SBN) 15:17
Some Things I Want
Well Brokepack Mountain won the Best Motion Picture Golden Globe, I’ve definitely gotta go see it… maybe Sunday.
Along with Brokeback Mountain, there’s 10 other movies I haven’t seen yet but really want to:
Walk the Line
Syriana
Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe
Rent
Tristan & Isolde
The Matador
Match Point
Munich
The Producers
I should just go spend a day or two at the movie theatre. That’d be fun.
Tonight I got invited to Poker Night at Brandon(pictured)’s house. It was my second time meeting Brandon. I didn’t win, but I had a great time and found something to do on Thursday nights, and I think I have a new crush!!!
FRONTLINE: country boys: watch the full program online | PBS
“Country Boys” is film maker David Sutherland’s in-depth look at the lives of two youth growing up in Appalachia, fighting to escape from their lives of generations-deep poverty, defying classic stereotypes of Appalachian people, and struggling through an alternative high school education. I caught this Frontline episode tonight; it’s available online through WGBH. It’s exceptionally poignant in its view and thorough in its exploration of modern rural life. A definite must-see this week.
If you are not watching Battlestar Galactica, you need to start now. This is seriously and unequivocally the best show on television.
(I need to blog more…)
Time for some resolutions.
They all sort of run together like this:
Write more, get my finances together, and move out of Michigan.
That’s what this year is for; beginning to make my life truly what I want it to be.
Yay.
Well that was a shitty year.
Glad that’s over.
