Back...Sort Of

Wow...Three months since an update. I guess I have been more concerned with living life than posting about it. Not even sure where to begin. I guess I will stick to a quick bullet point style here.

• Took a "spring break" trip to visit some grad schools, spent a couple of days in the Windy City, and got a chance to see Justin of "Guy From Chicago" noteriety.
• Have been trying to socialize a little more. Went to a couple of art exhibits, dinner with friends, get togethers at DC's and other randomness.
• Picked a grad school, staying in my current area, and looking for jobs and internships around here once again.
• Had a birthday last week.
  

Bad Blogger am I

I am a HORRIBLE blogger. I promised an update long ago, and nothing. The last couple of weeks have been filled with making arrangements to visit three out of state graduate schools. There have been a couple of fun social gatherings to write about but that will have to wait for another time.

Update Coming Soon

Yes, I know I still have a blog here.

Update coming this week.

2009 is Upon Us

Well, a new year is upon us. 2008 started pretty well for me, but by the end I was not much further ahead than I had been in 2007. I probably say this every year, but it was a mixed bag.

Here's hoping for good things in 2009!

Next Up...New Years

Had a nice Christmas. Pretty low key, but that is how we like it around here. Got a few nice gifts...a couple sportcoats, pants, a book, a calendar...mostly "functional" items.

We went to a couple after Christmas sales Friday. The mall was insane, but I did grab a $4 pair of slippers, and later picked up holiday cards for next season for about $4 a box...not bad.

It was an interesting week with a puppy running around...my sister's combined birthday and Christmas gift was a dog. She's had him since Mid-Nov, and he is cute as hell...sure keeps us on our toes though, especially with the cats. They are happy he has gone back to his home so they can have the run of the house again.

Two more days in 2008...where did the year go?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone out there!

Quick Update

A few quick points for any readers I might still have who wonder what I've been up to.

-It's the holidays, and I still haven't done any shopping!
-I hate Comcast this week, our internet connection is possessed!
-I don't have a job yet, boo!
-I do have an internship of sorts helping some high school friends with their nonprofit foundation.
-Working on grad school applications.

Nothing decidedly "gay" going on in my life at the moment...no coming outs or anything, so this blog has suffered a bit. Both my blogs have really, I'm in a bit of a writing funk.

Olbermann Sounds Off on Prop 8

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann comments on the passage of California's Proposition 8:

Vote Tomorrow!!!

No matter which side you are on, be a good citizen. Exercise your RIGHT to VOTE!!

Thanks to YouTube user tyleroakley for this PSA

Happy Halloween--Updates

I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately...just not much to say. But, the last couple of weeks have been pretty active in terms of my social life. I know..."B has a social life?"

More Coming Out:
Went to a going away happy hour for someone I worked with in student leadership for several years on the state level who resigned from his staff position. It turned into a long night that included my coming out to him, another staff member and a couple of alumni. The other staff person was actually on student gov't with me at my school and said she figured it all along. I'm finding it tends to slip when I have been drinking and start to vent about the various frustrations in my life.

Evening Out:
Went to the birthday dinner for the student worker in my former office Saturday night. Afterwords, I went and had coffee with one of the guys I have been chatting with online---I joined a couple of websites in an attempt to meet some guys in my area. He was a nice guy and I think there might be a possible friendship there.

Lunch:
Had lunch yesterday with another guy I have been communicating with over the same website. He too, was a nice, genuine guy and we had decent conversation. He did say he was open to hanging out again and I hope we can. I think the ball is in my court. Seemed like he was into being friends, and mentioned wanting to meet some of my friends, which I guess is a positive sign.

The "Date" Debate:
There has been some back and forth among other friends and I about whether meeting these guys constituted "first dates," particularly the meal with guy number two. I prefer to think of them as casual meetings of potential friends, since nothing more than a friendship is asked or expected. None of the parties involved are looking on this website expecting to find a romantic connection.

Readers: What do you think? Am I dating?

A Sad Reality Hits Home

This afternoon, a blogger friend of mine with whom I have become very close IMed me to tell me he had a story about an "incident" last night involving his two best friends. He said he'd fill me in later, when he was home and not messaging from his cell phone. Being that we talk daily, and often about these guys, who we refer to as The Twins, I thought I knew what to expect---The Twins sound like wonderful kids who've gotten themselves in some pretty interesting situations.

I was not prepared for what I heard. I was told that last night they arrived home from an evening out with Twin B's parents to discover their home and new vehicles had been vandalized...windows broken, tires slashed, and slurs scrawled in several places.

And that was not the worst of it. The neighborhood punks responsible for the vandalism were still around and attacked the two. They will recover, but both sustained injuries ranging from bruised ribs to a broken leg.

As my friend shared this with me, my heart sank. Until tonight, gay bashing was something I'd only seen on the news or in television shows. I've always known it was real, but it hadn't happened to anyone I knew--or if it had, I didn't know about it.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. It sickens me that these two people would be attacked on their own property, in a neighborhood where Twin B grew up, simply because they are a gay couple. It sounds like an episode of QAF, but it's not, it's reality.

And that's pretty damn fucked up.

Worst Kept Secret In Hollywood?

Clay Aiken is gay.

Really? I'm stunned! Is there anyone left who didn't think he was? I mean, more power to him for choosing to come out, but this seems to be an example of a rather anti- climactic non story.

FYI, I Am Alive...

In case some of you are wondering, I am still here...I've simply been busy or preoccupied with other things lately.

Promise I'll be back shortly!

NBC: We Can't Cover Everything

Interesting article on NBC's lack of coverage of openly gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham's victory in last week's Olympic Games.

NBC on Mitcham’s stunning Olympic upset: We can’t cover everything

Making Political History

History has been made...Barack Obama is the first ever African American candidate for President of the United States.

I haven't watched as much of the convention as one might expect. While I am interested in politics, I don't watch CNN for hours on end...except maybe on election night.

I did catch Hillary Clinton's address last night, and she seemed to do a good job of endorsing him and motivating her supporters to do the same, the message being that if they supported her because of what she stands for, then they should be on board with Obama. While McCain wants to court her supporters, the fact of the matter is very few will go for him...I know I would not vote for a polar opposite candidate out of primary bitterness.

I thought it was a good symbolic gesture that she was the one who called for an end to the roll call and his nomination by acclimation...another sign that they are trying to unify the party.

Admittedly, I don't know a ton about Joe Biden, but from what I can see he does bring a lot of experience to the ticket. And whether one agrees with him or not, after seeing his speech tonight, it's hard to argue his ability to deliver an energizing address and fire people up.

Will be interesting to see how Obama defines himself tomorrow evening.

Long Overdue

I had dinner with Country Girl and Fly Boy on Saturday night. It was, as the title suggests, long overdue. I had not seen either of them since my "coming out dinner" in November, and by coincidence, we chose the same restaurant.

We had a nice visit and they are both doing well. Fly Boy will be moving out of the area soon, and it will be interesting to see how Country Girl takes it. She got very emotional when it was time to part ways after dinner, even though she knows she'll see him again before he leaves, and I should as well, as I told him I would make good on my November promise to go to the bar with him.

Also had the chance to meet her latest gay friend, a kid from her work I've been hearing about all summer. He seems like a decent guy. We were all joking about how she seems to attract us, and we really don't know why.

It was a nice evening and great to catch up.

Now I need to make a point to see MBA Man, as I have not seen him since mid-February.

August Already?

I can't believe we are into August already. This summer has flown by so fast even though I feel like I have gotten nothing done.

Some random items...

Went up to my alma mater for a day last week. It was like being "home" and was a nice visit even though I started to feel sick about halfway through the day. Some 24 hour bug. Icky.

I'm still looking for a job, which pretty much sucks. Anyone out there who's looking knows the market is soft and I'm really unsure at this point what is going to happen. It's frustrating and somewhat depressing.

My friends are fine. Country Girl has been really into the whole "ally" thing in recent months, which is cool...but sometimes that's all she seems to want to discuss. She was rather up in arms recently over Fly Boy, who decided he was moving to three different places in three weeks. He finally settled on Hawaii to be with an ex...not sure about that one, but to each his own choices.

Daisy Duke and Apple Guy will both be living in our metro area this fall....she's doing something with marketing research and he nonprofit work. I have not seen either in several months and hope to now that we're near each other again.

MBA Man has adjusted to life "in the sticks" as he calls it....except for the lack of eligible bachelors.

I guess that's all for now...

SPAM

I have been hit by comment spam. Therefore all comments to this blog will now be moderated.

It's Time...

Another election gem from JibJab.

100th FMO Post

Yes, it pales in comparison to the nearly 700 on the other blog I keep, but is a milestone nonetheless.

100 posts here on FMO.