So as mingaling pointed out in the comments from yesterday’s update post, I left out one important thing that happened over the weekend. I posted before about how James had proposed on the top of 30 Rock in NYC while we were there, and that I had made plans to propose to him as well at some point in the near future. I thought it would be beautiful to do it over looking the city, much in the way that he proposed to me, so I found a spot in Atlanta that would be perfect.
I told him that we were going to run to a spot to take pictures really fast, on our way to a friends house for movie night. He was totally surprised when I got down on one knee and asked him if he would marry me too. It was really sweet, and the view of the city made for the perfect backdrop in this proclamation of our love and long lasting relationship. Now, I guess the planning should officially start!!! We’re getting gay married y’all!!! Look for invites and what not in the future!!
As I mentioned in my previous two posts, we went to NYC for a little vacation, and despite a horrible 10+ hour delay in LaGuardia, we are back. Fun was had, sweat was shed, feet were hurt, subways were ridden, food was eaten, money was spent, and all of that made for some great stories and good times. I have decided to give you a list of the highlights of the trip, so here we go:
I got engaged. James proposed to me on the top of the 30 Rockefeller building, also known as the “Top of the Rock”. It was amazing being up there, and seeing all of NYC, and then being surprised by a beautiful ring (which I picked out), from a beautiful man. I don’t know when the date is going to be set, but I need to ask him in return, so I need to come up with something as romantic as his proposal (which was uber sweet).
When I say above that sweat was shed, I meant it. NYC is fucking HOT in the summer. Top all that heat off with the lack of A/C in a lot of places meant that I took no less than 3 showers a day, and changed clothes at least 2 times as well. All in all, we started to acclimate by the end, but that was pretty much pointless, as we were headed back to ATL at that point. I would like to go back to NYC in the fall next time; I have only ever been when it is scorching hot, or freezing cold… I would like to see it during a happy medium.
When we got to our hotel, I committed a bit of a gay snafu, if you will. Upon arrival, we checked in at the desk, and I needed to ask the clerk something, so I addressed her by name; or so I thought. Her name was Liza, and I thought, “it can’t be pronounced Lie-za, it just can’t be”, so I called her Lee-za. The best part, was that she corrected me by saying, “no no, honey. It’s Liza. With a Z.” Needless to say, we got a big laugh out of that one, even though I probably lost a few gay points for not knowing the correct way to pronounce Liza.
As a result this trip, I’ve pretty much given James and ultimatum; the beard has got to go back down to a van dyke. The reason being, that while we were in NYC, almost every place we went, people asked us if we were twins. Now let that sink in for just a second; not just brothers, but twins!?! I know that we are both guys with beards, but seriously, twins?? I don’t see it. Either way, I don’t want to look just like my lover, so I want him back in the goatee ASAP, so we can curb this “brother” nonsense.
We saw two shows while in NYC: Legally Blonde the Musical, and RENT. First of all, Legally Blonde was AMAZING. It met and greatly exceeded my expectations. I saw it on MTV last fall when they broadcast a performance of the show, and when I found out that Laura Bell Bundy was still in the show on Broadway, I HAD to see it. SHE. WAS. AMAZING. If you like the movie, you owe it to yourself to see the musical; it is just as fun, and the songs are delightful. I am so happy I got to see this show with the original cast. Also, we saw RENT, which I have loved for many, many years, but I had never seen on Broadway. As with all traveling shows, they just don’t compare to the Broadway version, and as such, I had to see RENT before it ends on September 7th. RENT was one of the first musicals that I got into, and it was great to see it on Broadway. It too, was excellent.
As I mentioned before, walking around really was painful on the old feet. I realized that I need to get back in shape, and I am committed to doing so; especially after suffering during the trip. I hope that I can make a permanent foray back into working out regularly; and if anything good comes out of our trip, that would definitely be a great one.
While there, I got to hang with one of my best friends, Steve Yockey, which was awesome. I also got to meet a fellow flickr friend, Michael, for the first time, who accompanied us to a sunny afternoon on the pier, followed by dinner. I wish I could have spent more time with each of them, but time didn’t permit.
Overall, the trip was awesome. John was great, and a lot of fun to hang out with. We got to see pretty much everything we wanted to, and felt like we saw it all (even though we really didn’t). It was awesome seeing such spots as the Stonewall Inn and the Brooklyn Bridge, and took a lot of pictures (expect them to trickle onto flickr in the coming days!). I had a lot of fun in NYC, but I am so glad to be home; it was a great vacation, however, I need a vacation because my vacation tired me out so much! Oh well, that’s how it happens, right?
I thought it appropriate to post my picture I took last year at Pride, of my buddy Josh showing the Christian nutjobs where to stick it, as we head out to the festival this afternoon.
Hope everyone has a great Pride. Who knew that celebrating diversity and unity could be so fun!?
So, we went up to a cabin in the middle of NOWHERE about 1 hour from Chattanooga. It was a quaint and cute little place. I surprised James by inviting his mom and dad to come and meet us there on Saturday night.
He had no idea until they knocked on the door. It was hilarious.
We had a great time, went to see Rock City, where I took tons of pictures (stay tuned), and celebrated James’ first steps into a new decade of life.
Overall, it was a great weekend, and I hope that he had a great birthday. Love you James!! Happy Birthday!!
Also turning the big 3-0 this weekend was my best buddy Margaret… I hope you had a great one too girl!! Love ya!!
In fact, I hope everyone had a great weekend, whether you turned 30 or not!
The season finale of Brothers and Sisters was magnificent. The wedding between Kevin and Scotty was gorgeous and touching. It was moving to see two men get married on TV, and it be treated as a joyous event. I couldn’t help but find it a bit fitting, though, that it aired on Mother’s day, and that Scotty’s parents refused to come to the wedding because of their beliefs.
My parents have never said it to my face, but I know they don’t “approve” of my life. It doesn’t really make sense, however, because my life is nothing they have the option to approve of or not; I am who I am, take it or leave it. I made the choice to be myself, and if you don’t like it, that is not my problem. I almost cried when they showed Scotty’s parents reacting the way they did; not because I felt bad for Scotty, even though I do. Mostly, I felt bad for his parents, and in the same way, I felt bad for mine. They are missing out on my life because of choices that they are making.
I called my mother today, and was only able to leave her a message. Same for my sister. Neither returned my call. My grandma talked to me for over and hour, and was elated that I called. I guess that you have to make choices in your life; we all do. They did, and so do I. And I have. Regardless of how they can burn sometimes when you think about them, getting to those decisions was hard enough, that you have to really stick by them. After all… you weren’t the only one that made a choice; you are just the one that made the choice to make yourself happy.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom… I hope it was great. It’s sad we can’t be more of a family, but I understand. I can’t change it, and I am okay with that. I have learned to live with it, and as such, I’ll move on like I always do. I hope you know that I love you, and that you know that I can’t change, and that I can only live my life for me at this point; so that’s what I am doing.
I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I felt compelled to post at least two shots, because I could not be more pleased with the way my film came out. I got some amazing shots of Sara, and I am so very happy to have been able to get them.
The show was amazing, and now I always have these photos to look back at, and remember the power of the night. I would love to be a concert photographer for a living… I could totally get into it. The excitement of getting those shots makes the back breaking standing in place for 4 hours TOTALLY worth it. Anyone hiring?
I have found it; today, I had the best green tea frozen yogurt I have ever tasted. After lunch at Doc Chey’s, my buddy Deb and I wandered over the Yoforia to sample the “Italian frozen yogurt”, and after a small sample of the green tea flavor, we eagerly decided that is what we should get. They offer lots of different types of toppings, but to be totally honest, this frozen yogurt is so amazing, that it didn’t need anything… but a spoon and a mouth to put it in.
After I finished what I am now dubbing the “best green tea ice cream I have ever had”, I really wanted more. I love this place, Yoforia, and I will definitely be requesting future trips for more of this delectable treat. Perhaps the best thing about the sinful treat, is that it is totally fat free (!!!!!), and, totally organic. Can we say LOVE??? Yeah, love is officially spelled Y-O-F-O-R-I-A today folks… I seriously am considering going back again later tonight!!! I also totally love the decor in this place, it is very futuristic, with lots of orange. I loved the orange counters and the glass tiles in the bathroom. I want them for my house.
Now I have to see how I can convince Deb to go there after lunch (or before!??!?!) again tomorrow!!! YUM!
On a totally unrelated note; I finally uploaded a bunch of my Sara Bareilles pictures. I must say, that I got some AMAZING shots, so please, do me a favor, and go and check them out. Let me know what you think; I had a great time photographing the show, and I am definitely loving my new camera! More to come!!
I had to take a detour on the way to work today, because of the unpredictable Atlanta traffic practically shutting down 85N. I was sitting still on the exit from 20E, and I thought, “self, let’s just go down to University, and then pop back up Boulevard”. Well, low and behold, during my little detour, I managed to get a moment of sheer joy; I saw an old friend that I haven’t seen in what seems like an eternity!
Mr. Fangs is BACK!!! Check it:
Now, I am pretty sure that these are new, because I have been down through this area before, and I haven’t seen them before. James also mentioned the two black ones as new, because he drives that way to work every day, and he remembers them showing up recently.
I had pretty much given up on ever seeing a new Mr. Fangs, and in a sheer moment of randomness, I found TEN (if you click on the above photo, you can go to my flickr and see the others)! Normally, I would hate graffiti, but this little guy is just so cute and really brings a smile to my face. Seriously, seeing Mr. Fangs made my day!!!
Also, just a note about the concert last night. Basically, it was amazing. Everything I expected. Sara was effortlessly amazing, and totally flawless in both her singing, and in her stage presence. My buddy Deb went with me, and admitted that she had a new appreciation for Sara after seeing her live, simply because of how amazing she is live. I think that is why I gush about her so much, because that is how I found out about her, and after seeing her several times, she never disappoints me in the least. I got to take my XSi with me to the show, and I took hundreds of pictures, all of which I have yet to sort through and get to editing for flickr. Stay tuned for that in the near future. To satiate your potential appetite for those photos, how about a little video of Sara singing Genie in a Bottle:
While it was extremely tiring to stand in place for over 4 hours, the show was magnificent. The opening acts, David Ford, and Rachel Yamagata were both amazing as well. Overall, it was a great concert experience, and is definitely one of the best shows I have ever seen. It was also really cool to finally meet fellow bloggers, Mark and Chad; even if it was only for like 5 minutes. Hopefully, I will get to hang out with them again in the future. Overall, it was a great and wonderful night.
Basically, I had an “epiphany” yesterday. I put it in quotations, because I have thought about it many times, but it never seemed like such a good idea until yesterday. Basically, I think that I should just focus on getting my RN, and then worrying about the BSN after I am already working in nursing. This way, I can transition quicker, which I REALLY need to do. I am almost terrified of change, but it is so necessary, because I just feel completely lost right now.
This semester is winding down, and I have finals this week and next. I will be so happy to be finished with anatomy, because it is one of the most useless classes ever. The whole point is to weed out those that don’t want it bad enough, and I am just ready to be done with it. I hope that I do well on my lab final, because I completely bombed the midterm, thanks to the distraction of my floors being ripped up that same day.
I was going to write a post about the Kate Nash concert, as well as one about the Feist concert, but it just seems like I don’t have the desire to do very much these days. I had a blast at both shows, and both Kate Nash and Feist were amazing. Also, Hayden opened for Feist, and I was glad to be able to see him after all of these years. All three artists are impressive, and put on great shows.
That’s about it really… just trying to maintain, I guess. Getting out of the bed is harder each day, and if I can come up with a remedy for it; I will market it. Trust me.
I am sitting at my desk, contemplating what I want for lunch (well, what kind of bagel I am going to get…), and I am swimming with a few thoughts. So, I thought, why not do another list for Monday? Seems like Monday’s are all about collecting your thoughts, determining how the week is going to go, and getting ready for things; so what better way to “celebrate it” than to list out what’s going on in your noggin? Exactly.
You know, when it rains, it pours, and when it doesn’t, it is a fucking drought. I have downloaded some pretty great music lately, and I am enjoying getting to know all of the new stuff that I have found/been recommended. It may be time to start up my “best CDs of 2008 page”, because as it stands right now, I actually have a few CDs that are sitting pretty high on the list. Let’s hope this trend continues!
A couple that are really good friends of mine are going through relationship troubles, and I am really starting to personalize a lot of what they are going through. James and I have had hard times, and there have even been times where I felt we were close to the edge, but for whatever reason (probably my patience and forgiving nature??), we have been able to stabilize, and move forward. I hope that we can grow in our relationship, and make changes that will keep each of us happy. I really hope my dear friends can do the same. (if they are reading this… I am here for you if you need anything; just ask.)
Every once and a while, the “change” bug bites me. Today, it is in the form of wanting to make my archives and categories into a drop down list. Now, I have no idea how to do this, of course, so that just means that I am going to end up frustrated. My reliance on the K2 wordpress theme rears its ugly head… again.
Sometimes, I LOVE spam emails. Seriously, how could you not when they are like this one:
Subject: Is this a boy or a girl? I could not tell. Can you?
From: mortimer ottilia
“Look at this picture (link removed, because I am not going to shill his crap on my blog) and tell me is this a man or a woman. I could not not tell. SHE looks pretty and has nice tits, but at the same time, HE has a humongous cock. So, who is IT?”
LOL. I mean, seriously mort, you can’t figure it out? I guess I am glad that s/he felt the need to reach out to me for advice on this subject. Like I said, sometimes, you just have to smile at how ridiculous spam can truly be.
So I found out, last minute, that they were going to have to cancel the tattoo thing this weekend (Lori and I were going to get tattoos on Sunday), and as such, I am pretty bummed out about it. I am pretty sure that I am going to get a swallow (a la this style here), and it is going to be on my left shin, below my knee. I tried to pick a pretty painless place to get it… LOL. Either way, they are supposed to reschedule the tattooing extravaganza thing at Ink and Dagger for some weekend in April, and I am ready to go. Lori, I’ll let you know when it is… tattoos here we come!
Vampire Weekend are the shit. Again, I can’t say this enough. THE SHIT I TELL YOU.
What else? Hmmm, don’t know right now. Maybe something else will strike my soon. What’s going on with y’all today? Similar? Different? Neither?
I made a declaration on LJ, and as such, I feel it important enough to make again here… Sloths are some of the cutest things I have ever laid eyes on. I want one. Like seriously. He and Syndey could play together!!
I almost forgot: I HATE that new Madonna song. It sucks. I have never been a huge fan (I like some songs, this n that, here and there…), and I thought Hung Up was pretty brilliant. This “new” song is just the same crap that Timberland has been doing for JT and Nelly Furtado for the past couple of years. Boo hiss on that. Now that I have said my peace… bring on the hate, queers!!!
I have found it; today, I had the best green tea frozen yogurt I have ever tasted. After lunch at Doc Chey’s, my buddy Deb and I wandered over the 