listen up!

would you like a side of stool with that?

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BIG TIME UPDATE: My friend just called me from the doctor, and it turns out, very surprisingly, that he actually has Hep B, NOT HEP A, which means that IT DID NOT COME FROM JOE’S. I REPEAT, HE DID NOT GET IT FROM JOE’S, and Joe’s is clear and great! Unfortunately, for my friend, his partner is apparently an active carrier for Hep B, and passed it on to him, since he was not vaccinated. Damn. But, that’s good for Joe’s! Perhaps I will go eat there today! Hooray! Which means, that everything that is written below (which I am going to heavily edit) is just for your informative purposes… This just shows the importance of getting vaccinated. Get vaccinated!

Alright, this may be gross for some of you, but it is important nonetheless. A good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless), called me two days ago because he noticed that he was jaundiced. In case you don’t know what that means, it meant that his skin and eyes had a distinct yellow tint to them. Basically, this isn’t normal, so he called me to get a public health professional’s perspective as to just what might be going on. Instantly, I thought that he must have hepatitis, because that is one of the major symptoms of the disease. But, I thought to myself that he probably didn’t, because it is difficult to catch, and one of his risk factors (having sex with men) isn’t really an issue, as he is in a committed relationship and they are monogamous apparently, this doesn’t matter if your partner is an active carrier of Hep B, and you are not vaccinated. Good to know.

But after hearing all of his symptoms, and doing a little research on my own, I pretty much came to the conclusion that it most likely was hepatitis, which sucks, but if it is A, it isn’t that bad. Seriously. He went to the doctor, and they are waiting on the test to see exactly what it actually is. (I may update when I find out from him — let me be clear here; it MAY be hepatitis A, the doctor and symptoms point to a pretty reasonable certainty that it is, but I am not confirming or denying that he is indeed positive for hepatitis A, and I am not conclusively saying that he definitely got it from this place; that is impossible to definitively say). But that is not why I am writing this. I am writing this, because we traced back his disease time-line (epidemiology is fun!), and I, and his doctor, are fairly certain (again, that is NOT 100%. Epidemiology is a science, and sometimes science is wrong. I am passing on the facts that I have: possible infection, and a possible source, nothing more) that he was infected through a food exposure at a specific restaurant in Atlanta. That would mean that this place has a potential contamination issue with hepatitis A, and well, should potentially be avoided until further investigation by the health department (which he called and is issuing an investigation). For the record, it is Joes on Juniper where my friend believes he was infected (but again not with 100% certainty, but with strong belief).

Now, I am not writing this to be mean, or to slander Joes in any way. Honestly, I love the place. I have eaten there many times, and will probably go back at some point in the future; that is, pending they solve this potential issue. I myself have been vaccinated for hepatitis A and B, but don’t really want to find myself being exposed to the virus through food, especially considering that the only way it is transmitted is through stool of an infected person.

I hope that the health department rushes in and does the right thing, but if they don’t, at least my readers know they may not want to eat there for a couple of weeks until the figure this whole thing out. I don’t know if this will bring a shitstorm down on me or not (it shouldn’t, because I am not confirming anything, I am giving you the facts that have been given to me), but I felt it was my duty as a solemn believer in public health and prevention to say something. Don’t eat the poop, and you won’t get sick. You would want to know if you were eating the poop right? Well, now you know you could be. I am fairly certain that this problem will be rectified (oh god) soon, and there is no need to panic, but better safe than sorry… At least hepatitis A isn’t that serious; but regardless, it isn’t something that I would want.

UPDATE: I felt the need to add some statements to what I wrote based on Garrett’s comment, because I don’t want it to be misconstrued as an official “this place has hepatitis” report; of which this IS NOT. I am merely passing on information that a friend of mine, whom I have no reason not to believe, has potentially been infected with hepatitis A, and based on all evidence and symptoms present, potentially infected at Joes. That does not mean that he was, but that is something that I am not qualified to definitively state or not.

We now know that it was indeed NOT Hep A, and did NOT come from Joe’s. Thank goodness for my friend that he now knows what he has, and thank goodness it wasn’t Joe’s, and we all know. Again, this was NEVER meant to be a definitive “alert”, it was merely me passing on potential information that I felt other people may want to be aware of. Now that it is a moot point, I will let you commence eating at the great establishment that is Joe’s on Juniper!! Seriously, it is a great place, and I for one, am glad that things are a-okay there! Hooray! Now, enough about this A and B shit… just get vaccinated, bitches.

show the love

three year anniversary

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Today is mine and James’ three year anniversary. I can’t believe I have been with the most wonderful, beautiful, caring, and loving man for three whole years!!! I know that this is just the beginning, though… I love my man, and will be treating him to a delicious dinner tonight to show my appreciation for him. Here’s to many more years together… YAY!

the catch-all-egory

interesting visitors and potential technical difficulties (hopefully the good kind!)

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So last night, I was waiting for James to get home from work, and I hear a knock at the door. I am one of those people that gets a little weirded out by people just showing up at your house, but I looked out the window to be sure it wasn’t a rapist before opening the door. To my surprise, it is a skinny guy wearing a t-shirt with the letters DNC in bold letters; he was collecting money. I got his info so that I could send the money in (I do want to donate, just not while you stand on my porch and wait for a check), and sent him on his way… he seemed like a nice kid, he just talked A LOT (and if you know me, you know that is saying a lot coming from me). Either way… About an hour later, I hear another knock on the door; this time, I figure it is James home with the groceries or something, needing my help. It isn’t. It is the boy again. This time, I notice that it is pouring down rain, and he is completely soaked. He asks if he can hang out on our porch until his ride arrives, which was scheduled to arrive around 8:30; about 1 and a half hours from the moment he knocked on my door the second time. Being a nice person, I told him yes, and offered him a towel, but didn’t let him in. Honestly, we live in the hood, and I just don’t invite strange people in my house, before you start saying I’m mean, I thought I would clarify. Anyway… so, I called James, and told him to hurry home, which he did, and we discussed allowed the guy to come in. But before James could arrive, the guy was telling me about himself, and talking about our neighborhood, and confessed that the reason he came back to our house, was because of the rainbow sticker on my car. He said it was nice to have a “friend” nearby, being that he was transsexual and all. What?! Okay, I have no problem with trans people at all, I just honestly was surprised that he felt compelled to tell a complete stranger his sexual identity. Either way, he came in and talked to James for about an hour and a half about politics and just about everything else, while I slinked away to the TV room and continued playing X-men Legends II. I was just not in the place for accepting visitors; especially not someone I didn’t know at all, and who wanted to talk about politics all evening. Either way, next time I hear a knock at the door, I will go into it knowing that there may be someone rather interesting on the other side.

As for the potential technical difficulties portion of the post, I know that many saw my rant about my crappy hosting service yesterday, and after much canoodling, they have agreed to move me to a new server; which I hope will solve the problem, after all, the website worked fine last night at 2am (probably a time when the other sites on the server aren’t hogging my bandwidth!). Either way, I don’t know when they are moving it, but if something goes weird all of a sudden, or things disappear, you will know why. See you on the other side!!

mixed media

$800!???!!! why do you do this to me???

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This is perhaps the cruelest twist of fate; new tivo that I MUST have, but at $800, which I WILL NOT spend. Why, tivo, why do you do this to me? You told me you would email me when the new tivo came out, but why? So you could laugh in my face when you knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it? Why did you do this to me? All of this at a time when I have literally had almost all I can take of the shitty mcshitty comcast DVR!! WHY?!?!?! I shall sit on my knees in the rain with my hands stretched to the sky, in hopes that there will be an answer.

Does anyone want to give me $800? I would put it to very good use, I promise. All I can hope for, is that the price of this sucker drops like a rock. I NEED THIS.

venting

worst webhost EVER!

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That’s right kids… I am here to bitch. I AM LIVID. After MONTHS of back and forth and back and forth with those fuckwits at bluehost, I have had enough. I am sure that many of you have noticed (some have even told me) that my website goes incredibly slow, especially when you are trying to post a comment. Well, according to the service status in my very own cpanel, the server load is running in the red, but according to bluehost “support”, the problem is on my end. That’s right, the problem is with my IP; or as the case may be, anyone’s IP that tries to access my site. That just doesn’t make sense to me. I even followed their instructions and did a tracecert thingie, only to have them tell me that they couldn’t get the results, and that it wasn’t their problem or some shit. I even called today, and you guessed it, they still insist that their servers are kicking ass and taking names, yet in my very own cpanel, it shows that it is, at best strained. Fuck that. Anyone want to help me find a new server/hosting company, because I am completely fed the fuck up. I hate being told that something isn’t their problem, and that they cannot, and are not, willing to do anything about it, because it is on my end. Especially when I am NO WHERE NEAR my allowance of both disk space usage OR bandwidth usage. Anyone else believe this is BS, or do you see where bluehost is coming from? Because if it is on my end (I would be greatly surprised), then I would like to know why.

Thanks in advance. Also, here is a picture of the service status screen. See the pretty red dot? Yeah, it is ALWAYS like that… interestingly enough, when it isn’t red, the site goes pretty fast… coincidence? I think not.

that is so gay

national coming out day (one month from today) and 9/11

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So today is September 11th. Definitely filled with thoughts and memories. Sad for those that lost people on this very day just 5 years ago. Also wondering to myself why we don’t have this day off of work; after all, it is the least we can do to honor the memory of those lost, it was, after all, the biggest tragedy in American history (arguably), right? I’m just saying.

Also, today is one month from (thanks John!) national coming out day. I’m gay. So, I’m out now. But you already knew that. It is good to be out in life, though, and not have to carry around those feelings of being alone, scared, and be filled with self-hatred for who you are. I honestly think about that on this day, because I know that there are several other people struggling with coming to terms with their own sexuality, and are going through what can only be described as the hardest thing I ever went through. I only wish that just the act of coming out that first time was enough; as many other gay people know, we have to come out every time we are anywhere, just to be who we are, and we are always subject to judgement and discrimination based on that. But let’s not think about that today… Out and proud baby! (yeah, so I thought it was today when I wrote this. Oh well, I am human.)

I had a lot of fun this weekend, and it seems that I have been filling up my weekends with dinners and drinking with friends. I love that, and I hope to keep the trend going. I also said goodbye to a good friend this weekend; he is moving back to live with his parents and sort some things out in his life. I wish him all the best, and know that he has done the hardest part already; he is taking care of himself, and not ignoring his problems. I am so proud of him. (I know he is reading this… so, know that I am proud of YOU.) Love ya buddy. Hope you can come back soon.

As for everything else, it is just a Monday, folks! Can’t wait till it’s over!

the catch-all-egory

yo back, stop hurting!

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Ouch. Ouch. Ouch!

Happy Birthday Lori. You Rock! I took her to Apres Diem for lunch, and we shall have Korean BBQ, drinking, and bowling tonight. Probably no bowling for me though, as Mr. Back has decided to be Mr. Pain in the Back.

Also, I saw this on BBC News. As if I needed a reason to never go to Uganda, I now have one. Talk about a violation of civil rights, publishing names of homosexuals? LOW. Dangerous. Scary. I love how they are “thinking about” posting names of lesbians. Jeez. I could never live somewhere where it is illegal to be gay. I just hope that our situation in the states doesn’t slip-slide down that slippery hill; lord knows, it could.

Hope you guy’s friday is better than this pain coursing through my back.

mixed media

we have a lot to cover…

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First of all, this pretty much sums up what goes through my head every day:

Perfect.

Now, for this Paris Hilton mess. She’s a mess. Arrested for drunk driving, and all her publicist could say was, “she only had one drink, and hadn’t eaten all day”? Well, she probably doesn’t eat for weeks at a time, that is no excuse. At least she didn’t hurt anyone. My only thought is why she was driving anyway… if I had that much money, I would take limos everywhere. Or at least have a drive, jeez. Get some class Paris; or as you shall now be known (in my head) Drunky Hilton.

Finally, there is a huge sigh of THANK GOD IT FINALLY FUCKING HAPPENED after watching Project Runway last night. First of all, before I get to the sigh of relief, why in the fuck did those judges rip Kayne a new one last night? His dress was actually quite stunning, and it was a hell of a lot better than anything Laura, Vincent, or Michael had up on that stage. I personally thought it was going to come down to either Kayne or Uli winning it, but Jeffery’s outfit was worthy; I just didn’t think it was the best one. It CERTAINLY was not at all couture. I do think his model gives him points; that bitch can work a garment. I was sad to see Michael’s suck so bad, because I honestly think he has a shot at winning the whole thing. Laura, she has gotta go. EVERY dress she makes is the SAME, just with different fabric, and a different frilly nonsense around the plunging collar. Seriously, she has no boobs, and must make everything so that the models also look like they have no boobs. Get past the chest already Laura, we’ve seen it! And that brings me to my happiest thing so far this season about PR:
DING DONG THE VINCENT IS DEAD! That motherfucker is the worst “designer” ever. I can’t even believe he got on the show, let alone lasted this long. I was SURE he would be kicked off several times, and yet, he was still here; until last night. Last night, the gods of fashion answered my prayers and he was sent home to realize cashing in his 401k for something he can’t do worth shit was a bad idea. I do have to say, though, that his staying on the show this long solidifies my belief that they do not even consider what you designed in previous challenges; it isn’t about talent, so much as it is about being able to come up with something great for that challenge. I don’t know how that makes me feel, because it kind of makes it less of a continuous competition, and more of a one mistake and you are out, thing. But whatever. THE FUCKER IS GONE! Thank GOD. Vincent, honey, I hope that you are reading this, and I certainly hope it “got you off”. (What the fuck was that “I don’t care, because it gets me off” shit all about anyway?)

If anything else pops in my brain today, I will be sure to update here. Hope your Thursdays ROCK; I for one, am counting the minutes until I get to go enjoy swirl(s) from Casa Grande with the boys.

[fyi: the top picture is from toothpaste for dinner, and the one of vincent was doctored from a photo I took from fourfour, the GOD of project runway and ANTM blogging.]

all about me

visible tattoos, society, and most importantly, how it affects me

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Last night, I was watching one of the most addictive (in more ways than one) shows that are constantly recorded by my DVR: Miami Ink. As I sat watching the people get tattoo after tattoo (including the crazy lady that made the grill cheese and saw the Virgin Mary in it, and sold it for almost $30k, getting the actual image of the grill cheese on her mammoth breast), and as always, getting more excited about getting more work done on my own tattoo, I had the faintest little panicky feeling in my gut about finishing my half-sleeve: this isn’t going to be something that will be covered. It is going to be very visible (as it will go down to my elbow), and while I am fine with that (hell, I want it to the wrist, bitch), what will society think? Will people judge me? Will the people that I work with care that I have these tattoos? Will I be forced to wear long sleeved shirts?

I really hope that I don’t, and it isn’t going to stop me even if I do, but it was enough of a thought, no matter how faint, to inspire me to ask what people think. Do you think that society still judges people that have visible tattoos? If so, are their exceptions? Like, do smaller individual visible tattoos carry less criticism? Which ones are the worst? What are your thoughts when you see someone all tattooed up?

I really want to know, because I LOVE tattoos, and whenever I see them, I literally want to run to the tattoo parlor. I just wonder what other people think, because I will be getting one that is very visible, and it will be interesting to see how the people I work with will react.

And on a completely unrelated note, this is kick ass: Banksy (famous graffiti artist) doctored up a Paris Hilton album, and here is a flickr photo set of the actual album. Rock!

is it just me?

how (and why) does their love change?

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I saw this postcard on postsecret today, and honestly, it really stuck me hard. This card really made me wonder how people can change their love for their children, based on finding out their child’s sexual orientation. I seriously don’t understand how that can change someone so much that you stop loving them, or even start loving them less because of who they are.

I guess I just wonder this, because I sometimes wonder if my parents love me less because of who I am. They have never said anything to me about it, but then again, we never actually talk about (or even address) the fact that I am gay. All that was ever said, was said the day I came out. Since then, it has not been even a subject up for discussion, unless there have been instances where I forced the issue (i.e., my sister’s wedding, where James wasn’t going to be allowed to sit with the family, and I threw a fit.). I sometimes wonder if they have distanced themselves from me for the reason that this father/mother sent in this secret. Perhaps, they share those feelings; but I just wonder, as I said before, how can you change your love for someone based on who THEY are? All I can do to make myself feel better when I read, hear, or see things like this, is guarantee that I would never judge and criticize my child or anyone else’s child in this way. If I love someone, especially my (possible, someday) child(ren), I will do so unconditionally, and will always feel that way. I believe that once you give love, you should never take it back.

I just can’t comprehend how someone can stop loving, or change their love for their own child because that child shares who they really are with their parents. What do you all think? Where do you think this mentality comes from? How do you think people have this ability to turn their backs on those they love because of something they don’t agree with (which doesn’t make it any less true or any more “wrong”)? How do you think you can change these thoughts, or can we?

What is so wrong with people today that we turn our backs on our own children because of who they love? This really sheds light on the way that people can turn their backs on those in need… if you can do it to your own child, you can certainly do it to a stranger who has less than you, and needs a helping hand. And this is what people hide under the guise of what is right and moral? I think not.