I've had it with the lies and the bullshit surrounding the Marriage Debate.
Hey...Brian Brown - you Horse's Ass. I have a very good understanding of the separation of Church and State. I understand that you have the right to define marriage within the walls of your church...since there is a separation of Church and State, however, your religion does NOT have the right to define what civil marriage is. I am not asking to get married in your church, so stop telling me I don't understand the separation of Church and State and that I am violating your rights by trying to define marriage.
By the way, you're lying about us hating on the religious folks. We didn't shut down adoption agencies because we hate. The truth is those agencies were funded by states with non-discrimination clauses that said in order to get funding they had to not discriminate. They chose to close rather than allow same sex couples to adopt...we didn't shut them down because we hate them...they were shut down because they hate us, just like this pastor. Yes...religion...all about love!
Just sayin...
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Living in Oblivion...
and I'm not talking about those 5 CD's that are all 80's music. I apparently don't pay attention as well as I could when it comes to boys. I have been with friends a few times over the last few weeks and they've all said to me, that guy was just checking you out. I didn't even realize. I didn't even see. I don't understand how that happens. Am I that oblivious that I don't even notice attractive boys checking me out anymore?
I have got to start paying more attention. I don't want to be the person that needs it shouted at him, or go back to high school where a note is passed and you're told that someone likes you. I would like to figure out that there's an attraction on my own...I just need to get better about seeing the signs I guess.
For now though boys, I will say this...subtly might be lost on me, you might just have to approach me and tell me...I just might be oblivious otherwise...or, if we're going out, tell me it's a date...or ask me for a date and not just to hang out...I might not pick up on the difference...I have got to get better at this...
I have got to start paying more attention. I don't want to be the person that needs it shouted at him, or go back to high school where a note is passed and you're told that someone likes you. I would like to figure out that there's an attraction on my own...I just need to get better about seeing the signs I guess.
For now though boys, I will say this...subtly might be lost on me, you might just have to approach me and tell me...I just might be oblivious otherwise...or, if we're going out, tell me it's a date...or ask me for a date and not just to hang out...I might not pick up on the difference...I have got to get better at this...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Favourite Teachers...
All day on TV they were talking about PSA's for teachers and education and even President Obama weighed in and talked about his favourite teacher. It had me thinking about who was my favourite teacher growing up?
There were several that sprang to mind, Mrs. Leff, who in second grade gave me the acting/theatre bug by casting me as the lead in the little 2nd grade musical production number. Mrs Snapp who was in charge of the Talented and Gifted program and who started me thinking about things in new ways. Ms Conway from middle/high school was was a student teacher and then full time, who re-ignited my desire to learn. Mr Snapp who coached the Mock Trial team and helped to give me the tools to formulate an opinion, question it and the roots behind it and then not back down until I got the answers I needed. Ms Kelley who helped me navigate college applications more than my guidance counselor and believed with as much passion as I did that I would be accepted at Marist.
I think my favourite teacher though, aside from my sister who is a teacher now, had to be Ms Dombrowski. She was my third grade teacher. It was her first year teaching when she came to our little school. She had a name that was as difficult to spell as mine. I can remember standing up in front of the room at the blackboard and spelling out paraphernalia - I don't know why we were at the blackboard or why we were learning that word...but that sticks out in my mind. She's also the teacher that recognized there was more to me than the book learning. She saw that there was something else there - a spark. She was the teacher that put me in the Talented and Gifted program - which in turn helped to open my eyes and think outside the box...that's where it all began. It's where I started to question things and form my own opinions and learn to have a backbone to support those ideas...
So...thanks to all my teachers - you all taught me valuable lessons, ones that I can apparently still remember today!
There were several that sprang to mind, Mrs. Leff, who in second grade gave me the acting/theatre bug by casting me as the lead in the little 2nd grade musical production number. Mrs Snapp who was in charge of the Talented and Gifted program and who started me thinking about things in new ways. Ms Conway from middle/high school was was a student teacher and then full time, who re-ignited my desire to learn. Mr Snapp who coached the Mock Trial team and helped to give me the tools to formulate an opinion, question it and the roots behind it and then not back down until I got the answers I needed. Ms Kelley who helped me navigate college applications more than my guidance counselor and believed with as much passion as I did that I would be accepted at Marist.
I think my favourite teacher though, aside from my sister who is a teacher now, had to be Ms Dombrowski. She was my third grade teacher. It was her first year teaching when she came to our little school. She had a name that was as difficult to spell as mine. I can remember standing up in front of the room at the blackboard and spelling out paraphernalia - I don't know why we were at the blackboard or why we were learning that word...but that sticks out in my mind. She's also the teacher that recognized there was more to me than the book learning. She saw that there was something else there - a spark. She was the teacher that put me in the Talented and Gifted program - which in turn helped to open my eyes and think outside the box...that's where it all began. It's where I started to question things and form my own opinions and learn to have a backbone to support those ideas...
So...thanks to all my teachers - you all taught me valuable lessons, ones that I can apparently still remember today!
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Power of the Universe...
People say they're throwing things out to the universe all the time and seeing what happens...even I have said it a few times. In the past, I have never really known the universe to respond.
Years ago, when I was working at the CIA - the cooking one, not the espionage one, I had a few RA's that I was close with. One of them referred to himself as my RENT-a-Husband. He graduated the same year that I left the CIA. We stayed in touch for a while, but lost touch a few years ago. I knew he and his family were in Texas - I thought the San Antonio area. I tried to find him. I was never successful. He wasn't on Facebook and all the other CIA folks that were on FB didn't know his where-abouts either. I was drawing a blank.
I landed in Houston, turned on the blackberry and threw it out there to the universe and twitter that I would love to see him while here in Texas. The next morning I got a request from someone on Linked-In, and decided, since I was on there, I would be a detective...I found someone I thought was my RAH's wife. I sent a friend request which went something like this..."I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm looking for XXXXXX who's graduated from the CIA in '98 and I think you're his wife. He was my Rent A Husband and I'm in Texas and I would love to see you guys. If this makes sense, my number is XXX XXX XXXX and if not, sorry to have bothered you." Less than an hour later, there was a message on my phone. I threw it out to the universe and won. I got to reconnect with my Rent A Husband and have dinner with him both nights I was in Houston, where they're living now. It was so good to reconnect with him.
I believe in the power of the universe...I believe that good things can happen when you throw it out there...and I thank the goddess for the power of reconnection!
Years ago, when I was working at the CIA - the cooking one, not the espionage one, I had a few RA's that I was close with. One of them referred to himself as my RENT-a-Husband. He graduated the same year that I left the CIA. We stayed in touch for a while, but lost touch a few years ago. I knew he and his family were in Texas - I thought the San Antonio area. I tried to find him. I was never successful. He wasn't on Facebook and all the other CIA folks that were on FB didn't know his where-abouts either. I was drawing a blank.
I landed in Houston, turned on the blackberry and threw it out there to the universe and twitter that I would love to see him while here in Texas. The next morning I got a request from someone on Linked-In, and decided, since I was on there, I would be a detective...I found someone I thought was my RAH's wife. I sent a friend request which went something like this..."I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm looking for XXXXXX who's graduated from the CIA in '98 and I think you're his wife. He was my Rent A Husband and I'm in Texas and I would love to see you guys. If this makes sense, my number is XXX XXX XXXX and if not, sorry to have bothered you." Less than an hour later, there was a message on my phone. I threw it out to the universe and won. I got to reconnect with my Rent A Husband and have dinner with him both nights I was in Houston, where they're living now. It was so good to reconnect with him.
I believe in the power of the universe...I believe that good things can happen when you throw it out there...and I thank the goddess for the power of reconnection!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
A working progress...
Please bare with me...um...should I get naked here or over there? There are times that I read phrases, not on twitter or text message where you are restricted to a certain number of characters, and I am just left wondering what the writer was really trying to say. It happens quite frequently these days, I am sorry to say.
These are some of my favourites...
New & Improved!! Well, is it new or is it improved? If it's improved, it's not new.
Towing the line. Really? Where are we towing it to? Did it park on the wrong side of the street again? Damn those alternate side parking rules, they get the best of us! It's Toeing the line folks, as in, you are conforming to the norm.
Taken out of contacts. Really? I'm glad that you've taken out your contacts, but perhaps you should put them back in and look at what you've just said - it's taken out of context, as in the quote attributed to you was only part of a sentence or speech and used in a way it was not originally intended to be used. Put your contacts back in and read that again if you think I've taken it out of contacts...
Lindsay Lohan is not going to pleat guilty folks, she is more than likely going to plead not guilty...and I doubt she'll be wearing pleats while she does it, they tend to make people appear larger than they are.
For all intensive purposes...really? Are we sending the purposes to the ER? Are they having heart issues and need to be in intensive care? Most of us say for all intents and purposes...but maybe this is an emergency and does require some intensive action, I just don't know - maybe I've taken it out of contacts?
Okay...those are some of a few that really annoy me when I see or hear them...have I missed some?
And by the way, you live a sorted life (mostly in the UK) if you are thought of as put together and on top of things, organized, and know where you're going and how to get there. You live a sordid life if you are less than perfect and might have done some XXX rated things in your past that you might not want people to find out about. The Monica Lewinsky scandal could be described as a sordid affair not a sorted one. It's cole slaw, not cold slaw, although, it should be cold to keep it from spoiling and it's Prima Donna, as in a difficult person to work with, not PRE-Madonna, and now I feel old as I was definitely born PRE-Madonna, but then again, I can be a Prima Donna too, just ask my friends or my boss...
Okay, rant accomplished and I feel better having said all of this and gotten it off my chest and notice I didn't use the phrase gotten off on my chest because that has a whole other meaning and it belongs in the sordid category boys and girls. And on that note, the phrase is bear with me, asking for patience for the situation, not bare with me as in asking someone to get naked...again, if that's what you want to ask, just realize you are sordid, not sorted...but since you're getting bare, you could do laundry and remember to sort the colours!
These are some of my favourites...
New & Improved!! Well, is it new or is it improved? If it's improved, it's not new.
Towing the line. Really? Where are we towing it to? Did it park on the wrong side of the street again? Damn those alternate side parking rules, they get the best of us! It's Toeing the line folks, as in, you are conforming to the norm.
Taken out of contacts. Really? I'm glad that you've taken out your contacts, but perhaps you should put them back in and look at what you've just said - it's taken out of context, as in the quote attributed to you was only part of a sentence or speech and used in a way it was not originally intended to be used. Put your contacts back in and read that again if you think I've taken it out of contacts...
Lindsay Lohan is not going to pleat guilty folks, she is more than likely going to plead not guilty...and I doubt she'll be wearing pleats while she does it, they tend to make people appear larger than they are.
For all intensive purposes...really? Are we sending the purposes to the ER? Are they having heart issues and need to be in intensive care? Most of us say for all intents and purposes...but maybe this is an emergency and does require some intensive action, I just don't know - maybe I've taken it out of contacts?
Okay...those are some of a few that really annoy me when I see or hear them...have I missed some?
And by the way, you live a sorted life (mostly in the UK) if you are thought of as put together and on top of things, organized, and know where you're going and how to get there. You live a sordid life if you are less than perfect and might have done some XXX rated things in your past that you might not want people to find out about. The Monica Lewinsky scandal could be described as a sordid affair not a sorted one. It's cole slaw, not cold slaw, although, it should be cold to keep it from spoiling and it's Prima Donna, as in a difficult person to work with, not PRE-Madonna, and now I feel old as I was definitely born PRE-Madonna, but then again, I can be a Prima Donna too, just ask my friends or my boss...
Okay, rant accomplished and I feel better having said all of this and gotten it off my chest and notice I didn't use the phrase gotten off on my chest because that has a whole other meaning and it belongs in the sordid category boys and girls. And on that note, the phrase is bear with me, asking for patience for the situation, not bare with me as in asking someone to get naked...again, if that's what you want to ask, just realize you are sordid, not sorted...but since you're getting bare, you could do laundry and remember to sort the colours!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
it's a new dawn...
a new day...a new life and I'm feeling good...
It's more than a J-Hud single and a Weight Watchers commercial. I'm using it as my new mantra for 2011. This year is the year of me. I've found my voice again and my backbone and I'm not afraid of using them. I'm shedding weight and feeling like myself.
I'm finally at a good place at the gym...I have less than 4% bodyfat left to shed, and less than 9 pounds...I'm excited about that prospect - and finally getting to eat some other foods again. It hasn't really been as bad as I thought it might be, and I am down to an almost 8 minute mile...who would have thought.
I'm not just shedding weight on my body though, I have decided there are too many things in my life that were weighing me down. Things I had collected that were being held onto for one reason or another, but none of the reasons really good. It's not always an easy process letting go of your things...tangible or intangible, but if one is to move one's life forward, it is a necessary step. The past can weigh you down, whether you want it to or not...I'm making the decision about what is worth holding onto and what can be let go, rather than vice versa. Sometimes, you hold onto the memories and not the object, and other times you hold onto both.
Much like my diet these last few months, I keep continually asking myself - is XXX helping me to accomplish my goals? How is XXX helping me to accomplish my goals? What do I get from XXX that makes me want to hold on? If I don't have good answers to those questions, clearly I don't need to have XXX around. It's a long road, and I'm nowhere near done, and it will be a road I continue to travel for the rest of my life - but with practice, it will become easier.
I feel myself lighter and freer than I have felt in a long time, which is how I know the process is working. Painful, difficult, a challenge at times - but well worth it in the long run. Like I said, it's the tangible and the intangible.
I'm letting go of emotions, and emotional baggage. I'm sick of keeping things bottled up and unspoken for fear of how people will react. I'm sick of being the nice guy all the time and letting my wants and needs be trampled. I'm over being in the back seat of my own life. I'm not ever going to have the perfect body, or be the perfect son or brother. I'm not going to be the best at everything or at many things, but I can surely try my best, and that's all I can hope for from myself. I won't always have all the answers (I know, shocking - unless we're potentially talking about trivia questions about pop culture) and it's okay that I don't. I know where to look to find the answers and who I can trust and turn to when I need additional help.
I'm at peace with the lighter me...literally and figuratively and I look forward what 2011 will bring me.
It's more than a J-Hud single and a Weight Watchers commercial. I'm using it as my new mantra for 2011. This year is the year of me. I've found my voice again and my backbone and I'm not afraid of using them. I'm shedding weight and feeling like myself.
I'm finally at a good place at the gym...I have less than 4% bodyfat left to shed, and less than 9 pounds...I'm excited about that prospect - and finally getting to eat some other foods again. It hasn't really been as bad as I thought it might be, and I am down to an almost 8 minute mile...who would have thought.
I'm not just shedding weight on my body though, I have decided there are too many things in my life that were weighing me down. Things I had collected that were being held onto for one reason or another, but none of the reasons really good. It's not always an easy process letting go of your things...tangible or intangible, but if one is to move one's life forward, it is a necessary step. The past can weigh you down, whether you want it to or not...I'm making the decision about what is worth holding onto and what can be let go, rather than vice versa. Sometimes, you hold onto the memories and not the object, and other times you hold onto both.
Much like my diet these last few months, I keep continually asking myself - is XXX helping me to accomplish my goals? How is XXX helping me to accomplish my goals? What do I get from XXX that makes me want to hold on? If I don't have good answers to those questions, clearly I don't need to have XXX around. It's a long road, and I'm nowhere near done, and it will be a road I continue to travel for the rest of my life - but with practice, it will become easier.
I feel myself lighter and freer than I have felt in a long time, which is how I know the process is working. Painful, difficult, a challenge at times - but well worth it in the long run. Like I said, it's the tangible and the intangible.
I'm letting go of emotions, and emotional baggage. I'm sick of keeping things bottled up and unspoken for fear of how people will react. I'm sick of being the nice guy all the time and letting my wants and needs be trampled. I'm over being in the back seat of my own life. I'm not ever going to have the perfect body, or be the perfect son or brother. I'm not going to be the best at everything or at many things, but I can surely try my best, and that's all I can hope for from myself. I won't always have all the answers (I know, shocking - unless we're potentially talking about trivia questions about pop culture) and it's okay that I don't. I know where to look to find the answers and who I can trust and turn to when I need additional help.
I'm at peace with the lighter me...literally and figuratively and I look forward what 2011 will bring me.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Holiday Letters...
I used to do a holiday letter every year to go out with my Christmas cards...I decided not to do one this year and just do a year end wrap up and post it to my blog...a little of my adventures across the globe and recollections of good times is a nice way to wrap up the year!
Its been a year, and what a year it has been! 'Tis the season...and...and I've gone Silver and Gold (with the airlines and hotel)! I have been all over the map and have been able to catch up with a bunch of friends! I have traveled and racked up frequent flyer miles and hotel points and left places I didn't want to leave.
Was in the city of Brotherly Love for a day's check in. Spent some time in Nawlins and had to walk up and down Bourbon Street to get to the theatre from the hotel and back again. Was tough, but I persevered. Got to see my friend Troy and experience Nawlins pre-BP disaster. Flew from there to Kansas City, Mo. for a few days, and well...it was. After that I went winging off to London to check in on things across the pond. That first Wednesday I was there a volcano in Iceland shut down airspace in Britain and all over Europe (although, please don't check this fact with accounting at my company, as I had to explain my extra week) and I was "stranded" for an extra week. It was rough - stuck in a city I love where the boys thought I was exotic thanks to my "accent." I met a few new friends whilst I was there. "No one is so rich as to throw away a friend." (Quick - name the movie and get extra credit!) I almost didn't get on the plane to come back...made me want to be in London even more!
I felt very cultured after my stay in London. Was able to visit the Tate Modern and stroll the city in some of that extra time, and of course I did some shopping. I got to see Rufus Wainwright's opera, Prima Donna, and managed to check out We Will Rock You for my sister. Thanks to the Ash Cloud, I was able to catch the opening of Holding the Man in the West End. It opened the second Friday I was there, which bummed me out initially as I thought I would miss the limited run, or would have had to made a special trip just to see it. It was truly as brilliant as the book - which I highly suggest if you haven't read.
Went to Vermont in July with the boys and spent a few days just relaxing with friends with no agenda or game plan...it's always nice to be up there, well, other than the pesky no cellular signal thing.
I was able to stay at home for a bit after that, and wish I was back in London, who wouldn't? Hit the road again this fall for LA for a week and got to catch up with JD and Eric and have a little time to myself while out there for work. Also spent 7 weeks in Durham, NC where the 2nd National Tour of Billy launched. Got to catch up with Chris and Kyle while I was down there...so many travels and so many friends! Its been a fantastic year and I look forward to 2011 even more. So many travels, and so much catching up...it's nice to have a few days now to relax and just let the year end with lots of great memories with friends and looking forward to more in the new year.
Its been a year, and what a year it has been! 'Tis the season...and...and I've gone Silver and Gold (with the airlines and hotel)! I have been all over the map and have been able to catch up with a bunch of friends! I have traveled and racked up frequent flyer miles and hotel points and left places I didn't want to leave.
Was in the city of Brotherly Love for a day's check in. Spent some time in Nawlins and had to walk up and down Bourbon Street to get to the theatre from the hotel and back again. Was tough, but I persevered. Got to see my friend Troy and experience Nawlins pre-BP disaster. Flew from there to Kansas City, Mo. for a few days, and well...it was. After that I went winging off to London to check in on things across the pond. That first Wednesday I was there a volcano in Iceland shut down airspace in Britain and all over Europe (although, please don't check this fact with accounting at my company, as I had to explain my extra week) and I was "stranded" for an extra week. It was rough - stuck in a city I love where the boys thought I was exotic thanks to my "accent." I met a few new friends whilst I was there. "No one is so rich as to throw away a friend." (Quick - name the movie and get extra credit!) I almost didn't get on the plane to come back...made me want to be in London even more!
I felt very cultured after my stay in London. Was able to visit the Tate Modern and stroll the city in some of that extra time, and of course I did some shopping. I got to see Rufus Wainwright's opera, Prima Donna, and managed to check out We Will Rock You for my sister. Thanks to the Ash Cloud, I was able to catch the opening of Holding the Man in the West End. It opened the second Friday I was there, which bummed me out initially as I thought I would miss the limited run, or would have had to made a special trip just to see it. It was truly as brilliant as the book - which I highly suggest if you haven't read.
Went to Vermont in July with the boys and spent a few days just relaxing with friends with no agenda or game plan...it's always nice to be up there, well, other than the pesky no cellular signal thing.
I was able to stay at home for a bit after that, and wish I was back in London, who wouldn't? Hit the road again this fall for LA for a week and got to catch up with JD and Eric and have a little time to myself while out there for work. Also spent 7 weeks in Durham, NC where the 2nd National Tour of Billy launched. Got to catch up with Chris and Kyle while I was down there...so many travels and so many friends! Its been a fantastic year and I look forward to 2011 even more. So many travels, and so much catching up...it's nice to have a few days now to relax and just let the year end with lots of great memories with friends and looking forward to more in the new year.
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