...Or "Why Mangi Needs to Pay Attention to Himself and Not be Such a Fuck Up"
Despite the fact that JH and I broke up a few months ago, we have continued to remain good friends, as evidenced by the recent travels. However, since we have been hanging out, there has been that bit of tension there since we were once a couple. I admit that despite it all, I still had feelings for JH.
Recently JH approached me about getting back together. I held off because I wasn't sure I wanted to get back with him, plus due to some of the reasons behind the breakup, I questioned his motives. I wanted to be sure it was JH who wanted me back because he wanted to be with me and not because it was him being jealous that I had been seeing other people. He wasn't happy with the fact that I kept on questioning him, but I just needed to know it.
Last weekend it all came to a head, and what it came down to was "Are you going to be with me, or not, because I am not going to wait around forever for an answer." I'm sitting there and I am trying to sort out what I am feeling because I want him back but I am not completely ready to say yes. Yet I ultimately said I wanted to be back together.
So there, we were a couple again, but something still didn't feel right. A few days later we had another conversation, and JH said "Are you absolutely sure you want to have a relationship?" and I said yes, thinking that I did. I wanted to be with JH because we had a good thing going on and I thought we could make it work again.
Then I woke up the next morning and one of my first thoughts was "Mangi, what the fuck are you doing? You're not ready for this, you're going to lose your independence." Finally it came out as to just what it was that was bothering me.
When I was single again, I relished being completely independent. As my parents can tell you, I have always had a streak of wanting to be independent and do things on my own. After JS but before JH, I had actually learned that I was fine with being on my own, I could do it without a problem. I liked it when I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and I didn't have to answer to someone over what I was doing and/or what I wanted to do. Now don't get me wrong in that I liked doing things with JH because we had very similar interests and could find stuff that was mutually satisfying, I just happened to re-discover selfishness and I liked it.
So now I am in this quandry, I like being with JH, but I also like my independence. How to resolve this? Well let's be honest, there isn't really a good way to do that right now, especially because being in a relationship means that no, you can't just do what you want, and yes, you won't just automatically get your own way.
I tell about this to one of my friends, and he proceeds to lay a verbal smack upside the head as to what I was doing, and he threw to me some advice, which will come up later.
So now its the matter of how do I explain this to JH? For the next few days I would agonize over this because I knew this was a potential minefield, plus I was kicking myself because in my mind, I screwed up big time, and JH would have every right to be angry and not want anything to do with me, and I would have deserved it. In the meantime, I was also cautious around him, not trying to overly flirt or whatever because if it came to that we needed to step back and just be friends, I didn't want to lead him on and therefore make things worse.
Finally tonight I just admitted to everything that was bothering me. Surprisingly enough JH wasn't mad at me, and was rather understanding. He had picked up something was not right from me, and he was just waiting for me to admit that I wasn't ready for a relationship. He doesn't want to be in a relationship if I am having doubts about being able to commit, and I don't blame him, I wouldn't want to be in that either. He doesn't hate me and still wants to be friends. In fact, we're attending the Ravens vs Browns game tomorrow, so I should be in bed now, but I had to get this out.
Anyway, in the meantime however I am taking the advice of my friend. I am taking a hiatus from dating right now. I still want to hang out with friends, meet new people and such, but I am not actively seeking to date or even just get some. I am going to take time for myself and do just what it is that I want, and also learn more about just what it is I want out of my life and my relationships. I know I will be better for it.
Showing posts with label JH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JH. Show all posts
September 21, 2008
September 13, 2008
Baseball and "Family"
Greetings from New Jersey!
Once again I am on the road traveling because that's all it seems I ever do. JH and I had planned a trip a few months ago to Shea stadium in NYC since that stadium is going the way of the dodo after this season. Since it's close enough and cheaper, we have opted to drive up there. It also happens that one of JH's cousins is having their 50th birthday this weekend so JH's parents are along for the ride. We dropped them off at NJ before heading up to NYC. Traffic into NYC was not bad at all, but it also helped that we stayed on main highways and didn't have to drive through the city streets to get there.
We had a good view from our seats, unfortunately those were some of the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in at a stadium. Those seats were clearly not designed to accommodate tall people because the space in front of me was the size of my shoe, and to put it into perspective, I wear a size 12. We were in the front row of that section so there was a small wall in front of us, and I would have to put my feet up over the edge if I wanted to stretch my legs out. I dealt with as much as I could stand but there were definitely a few times you could hear my knees pop when I would try to move them.
After visiting Yankee Stadium and Shea stadium, I have come to the conclusion that Mets fans are more obnoxious during the game than the Yankee fans. During the Yankees vs Orioles game, the O's basically spanked the yanks but the fans were at least respectful about it, and the fans were decent to JH and I, even if we were in O's gear. As for yesterday, it was Braves vs. Mets, and every time a Braves player came up to bat or when they made a play, they got booed by the fans. Now I've done my fair share of booing at sporting events but there's a fine line to when booing becomes obnoxious, and the Mets fans clearly do not know where that line is.
So after 5 1/2 innings of uncomfortable seats and obnoxious fans, JH and I had enough and we bolted out of there. Since we bolted early it meant that we were able to get back to NJ in time for the beginning of the surprise party and surprise the intended recipient.
The party was fun, and as usual it was meeting a whole bunch more of JH's extended family. I swear though there has to be Italian in that family because much like my own family, there are lots and lots of cousins. It really becomes a game of figuring out who knows who and in what way. The food was good and so was the drinks. Allow me to reiterate my love for margaritas.
Woke up this morning after a decent sleep, had breakfast with the folks, and now we're back on the road heading towards Baltimore. Luckily there have been no traffic issues. As it was just reported to me, it's 94F outside, so that means I am likely returning to a hot apartment. Joy...
Once again I am on the road traveling because that's all it seems I ever do. JH and I had planned a trip a few months ago to Shea stadium in NYC since that stadium is going the way of the dodo after this season. Since it's close enough and cheaper, we have opted to drive up there. It also happens that one of JH's cousins is having their 50th birthday this weekend so JH's parents are along for the ride. We dropped them off at NJ before heading up to NYC. Traffic into NYC was not bad at all, but it also helped that we stayed on main highways and didn't have to drive through the city streets to get there.
We had a good view from our seats, unfortunately those were some of the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in at a stadium. Those seats were clearly not designed to accommodate tall people because the space in front of me was the size of my shoe, and to put it into perspective, I wear a size 12. We were in the front row of that section so there was a small wall in front of us, and I would have to put my feet up over the edge if I wanted to stretch my legs out. I dealt with as much as I could stand but there were definitely a few times you could hear my knees pop when I would try to move them.
After visiting Yankee Stadium and Shea stadium, I have come to the conclusion that Mets fans are more obnoxious during the game than the Yankee fans. During the Yankees vs Orioles game, the O's basically spanked the yanks but the fans were at least respectful about it, and the fans were decent to JH and I, even if we were in O's gear. As for yesterday, it was Braves vs. Mets, and every time a Braves player came up to bat or when they made a play, they got booed by the fans. Now I've done my fair share of booing at sporting events but there's a fine line to when booing becomes obnoxious, and the Mets fans clearly do not know where that line is.
So after 5 1/2 innings of uncomfortable seats and obnoxious fans, JH and I had enough and we bolted out of there. Since we bolted early it meant that we were able to get back to NJ in time for the beginning of the surprise party and surprise the intended recipient.
The party was fun, and as usual it was meeting a whole bunch more of JH's extended family. I swear though there has to be Italian in that family because much like my own family, there are lots and lots of cousins. It really becomes a game of figuring out who knows who and in what way. The food was good and so was the drinks. Allow me to reiterate my love for margaritas.
Woke up this morning after a decent sleep, had breakfast with the folks, and now we're back on the road heading towards Baltimore. Luckily there have been no traffic issues. As it was just reported to me, it's 94F outside, so that means I am likely returning to a hot apartment. Joy...
September 08, 2008
Muppets!
JH and I went down to check out Jim Henson's Fantastic World at the Smithsonian. It was a nice exhibit, though as usual, no photography allowed, so there will be no pictures from it.
The focus on this exhibit is the original sketches and artwork that Jim Henson would create while he was coming up with his ideas. Also explained were the origins of some of the muppets he came up with. I had no idea that Cookie Monster was actually based on a monster Henson had used years ago for a commercial. There's also an explanation of how Big Bird is controlled (yes there's someone in there!), original items from The Dark Crystal, and clips from some of Henson's commercials and short films. Of course some of the muppets are also on display.
It's a good exhibit, but not huge, so make it part of a day out at the National Mall rather than the only thing you plan to go see. It's only here until October 5, so you'd better see it now. Of course, I expect Kermit will be returned to the American History Museum when it opens back up (November 21!).
The focus on this exhibit is the original sketches and artwork that Jim Henson would create while he was coming up with his ideas. Also explained were the origins of some of the muppets he came up with. I had no idea that Cookie Monster was actually based on a monster Henson had used years ago for a commercial. There's also an explanation of how Big Bird is controlled (yes there's someone in there!), original items from The Dark Crystal, and clips from some of Henson's commercials and short films. Of course some of the muppets are also on display.
It's a good exhibit, but not huge, so make it part of a day out at the National Mall rather than the only thing you plan to go see. It's only here until October 5, so you'd better see it now. Of course, I expect Kermit will be returned to the American History Museum when it opens back up (November 21!).
September 03, 2008
Luau, Kings Dominion, State Fair
Saturday night I went to a party to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of some friends I knew from church. They decided to throw a luau themed party and it was pretty awesome. I decided to make two batches of gougeres for the party, one batch of Blue Cheese, and the other using Cheddar Cheese. They ended up being a hit, and my priest wants the recipe for it, and a few other folks as well.
The party itself was a night of chatting with various people about anything, including roller coasters and football, two of my favorite subjects. There were also conversations that if you came in at the wrong time, the conversation sounded totally wrong, including a discussion of someone's thighs.
Either way, it was a good night overall.
Sunday I went to Kings Dominion with JH, where I rode the other side of Rebel yell for coaster credit 96. We also rode Dominator and Scooby Doo for coasters. Other rides included the log flume, whitewater canyon, screaming eagle, and the space flyer. For the last weekend in the park there were a lot of people there. Unfortunately you could also tell that they had already lost staff to folks going back to school as some rides were only operating at half their capacity, or in the case of the space flyer, there was only one person to check all the riders and operate the ride. It was ridiculous that it took 40 minutes to get through three groups of riders. I would think that if it's down to just one person operating it, either they need to put on extra help, or just consider not running the ride at all. That's way too many things that one person has to do.
After the Space Flyer we called it a day and headed back to DC. That evening I headed up to Baltimore to meet a friend, LS, who just moved to Baltimore from Phoenix. I got to see his new apartment, which is pretty sweet, and very conveniently located to shopping and the bars. We watched The Birdcage and chatted for a bit before I headed home.
Monday I hit Arundel Mills mall to look around and ended up scoring a deal on some Ravens hats, then it was over to JH's to plan to go to the MD State Fair. He wasn't feeling well at first so I waited around for a bit until he felt better. We went over to Timonium and first tried to find parking around the fair, which was a no-go. So we drove over to a nearby light rail station and hopped that to come down to to the fair.
The fair itself was interesting, but very very crowded. It didn't quite help that it was very hot that day. We spent more time inside than outside for obvious reasons. Eventually after seeing all the vendors, the arts and crafts, and buying some candy from the bulk candy place, we took off for the Glen Burnie area to have dinner. We went to Costas Inn and had whole crabs. I have to admit these were some of the best crabs I ever had. They were full of flavor and there was lots of meat to eat. It was enjoyable.
Afterward we played a round of mini golf. I didn't do too bad, finishing 3 strokes behind JH. Of course, now I learn he purposely screwed up on a few holes so as not to completely kick my ass at the game...bastard :-P Either way, it was fun. There have to be more places around here to play mini golf.
So that sums up my labor day weekend. How was yours?
The party itself was a night of chatting with various people about anything, including roller coasters and football, two of my favorite subjects. There were also conversations that if you came in at the wrong time, the conversation sounded totally wrong, including a discussion of someone's thighs.
Either way, it was a good night overall.
Sunday I went to Kings Dominion with JH, where I rode the other side of Rebel yell for coaster credit 96. We also rode Dominator and Scooby Doo for coasters. Other rides included the log flume, whitewater canyon, screaming eagle, and the space flyer. For the last weekend in the park there were a lot of people there. Unfortunately you could also tell that they had already lost staff to folks going back to school as some rides were only operating at half their capacity, or in the case of the space flyer, there was only one person to check all the riders and operate the ride. It was ridiculous that it took 40 minutes to get through three groups of riders. I would think that if it's down to just one person operating it, either they need to put on extra help, or just consider not running the ride at all. That's way too many things that one person has to do.
After the Space Flyer we called it a day and headed back to DC. That evening I headed up to Baltimore to meet a friend, LS, who just moved to Baltimore from Phoenix. I got to see his new apartment, which is pretty sweet, and very conveniently located to shopping and the bars. We watched The Birdcage and chatted for a bit before I headed home.
Monday I hit Arundel Mills mall to look around and ended up scoring a deal on some Ravens hats, then it was over to JH's to plan to go to the MD State Fair. He wasn't feeling well at first so I waited around for a bit until he felt better. We went over to Timonium and first tried to find parking around the fair, which was a no-go. So we drove over to a nearby light rail station and hopped that to come down to to the fair.
The fair itself was interesting, but very very crowded. It didn't quite help that it was very hot that day. We spent more time inside than outside for obvious reasons. Eventually after seeing all the vendors, the arts and crafts, and buying some candy from the bulk candy place, we took off for the Glen Burnie area to have dinner. We went to Costas Inn and had whole crabs. I have to admit these were some of the best crabs I ever had. They were full of flavor and there was lots of meat to eat. It was enjoyable.
Afterward we played a round of mini golf. I didn't do too bad, finishing 3 strokes behind JH. Of course, now I learn he purposely screwed up on a few holes so as not to completely kick my ass at the game...bastard :-P Either way, it was fun. There have to be more places around here to play mini golf.
So that sums up my labor day weekend. How was yours?
September 02, 2008
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
After a few hours of being at Cedar Point last Tuesday, JH and I were basically done with the park, and so we decided at a spur of the moment to head back to Cleveland and visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
When you pull up to the building, it looks kind of small from the outside, but there is a lot more in there than meets the eye. Perhaps it helps that part of the museum is actually underground. After paying admission we went downstairs to explore the exhibits. There was an exhibit on music and baseball, including songs that players have used as walk-up songs, a brief history of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and pictures and 45's of songs that were recorded about baseball. Moving in further were various exhibits of those who have been inducted into the hall of fame, including costumes, instruments, props, awards, LP's, and 45's of those who were inducted. Depending on where you were, they had some different ways of organizing them. Some of the earliest stuff was by decades or genres, other times it had more to do with the city that a lot of the groups were coming from at the time. No matter what, there was always something you could find worth looking at, whether it was drum sets from The Who to one of Tina Turner's dresses.
As you move up the floors you get into other exhibits as well, the only exception is the 3rd floor, which is the cafeteria, and the 5th floor, which is a Sirius (XM) Satellite Radio studio. There was an exhibit on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" as well, which finally helped make sense of some of the history behind the video.
In one of the multimedia rooms there was a video of clips from the induction ceremonies over the years, including musicians razzing one another and bits of acceptance speeches. At the theater behind it, you can see an hour long movie which showcases everyone who has been inducted into the hall of fame. There were many names I recognized, and a number I did not.
After viewing all of that, we got some pictures before heading over to Steak and Shake for dinner. I have never been to one, and it really wasn't a bad place to go. It's the only place I've seen where they will make a milkshake with two different flavors side by side vertically. I went with chocolate and orange cream, a great combination. I had the spaghetti with chili, which was good, but way too much for me, there was no way I could finish it.
So that concludes my adventures in Ohio. Cedar Point? worth it, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Worth it if you're already in the area. Browns Stadium? Boooooooooo.
When you pull up to the building, it looks kind of small from the outside, but there is a lot more in there than meets the eye. Perhaps it helps that part of the museum is actually underground. After paying admission we went downstairs to explore the exhibits. There was an exhibit on music and baseball, including songs that players have used as walk-up songs, a brief history of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and pictures and 45's of songs that were recorded about baseball. Moving in further were various exhibits of those who have been inducted into the hall of fame, including costumes, instruments, props, awards, LP's, and 45's of those who were inducted. Depending on where you were, they had some different ways of organizing them. Some of the earliest stuff was by decades or genres, other times it had more to do with the city that a lot of the groups were coming from at the time. No matter what, there was always something you could find worth looking at, whether it was drum sets from The Who to one of Tina Turner's dresses.
As you move up the floors you get into other exhibits as well, the only exception is the 3rd floor, which is the cafeteria, and the 5th floor, which is a Sirius (XM) Satellite Radio studio. There was an exhibit on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" as well, which finally helped make sense of some of the history behind the video.
In one of the multimedia rooms there was a video of clips from the induction ceremonies over the years, including musicians razzing one another and bits of acceptance speeches. At the theater behind it, you can see an hour long movie which showcases everyone who has been inducted into the hall of fame. There were many names I recognized, and a number I did not.
After viewing all of that, we got some pictures before heading over to Steak and Shake for dinner. I have never been to one, and it really wasn't a bad place to go. It's the only place I've seen where they will make a milkshake with two different flavors side by side vertically. I went with chocolate and orange cream, a great combination. I had the spaghetti with chili, which was good, but way too much for me, there was no way I could finish it.
So that concludes my adventures in Ohio. Cedar Point? worth it, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Worth it if you're already in the area. Browns Stadium? Boooooooooo.
August 30, 2008
Cedar Point
As a sort of reward for completing the show, I took off with JH to Cedar Point this past weekend. We flew into Cleveland, rented a car, and drove up to Sandusky, where JH would show me the outside of Cedar Point since the park was already closed by then.
To put a lot of how I would be feeling on the first day of being at the park into perspective, let's keep in mind that I was still as sick as a dog from the vocal strain, chest congestion, and nasal drip. However, I had also vowed that unless I needed to be in the hospital, I was not backing out of my trip. What I did get to deal with on some rides was that the G-forces put pressure on my chest, which already can be bothersome for me (little to no "padding" around the lungs) and it just felt worse since my lungs were irritated.
My first ride was on the Wicked Twister, which is very similar to Voodoo in Dorney Park. It's a big U-shaped track and you go back and forth between the two ends three times. That one is always fun. Next we went onto Millenium Force, which is one of my top rollercoasters to ride now. It goes fast and has plenty of turns, but it's not overdone with the thrill elements. Definitely ride it while at Cedar Point.
Next was the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. It was a good ride, we just got to deal with the woman who was apparently afraid of coasters, so she whined through the whole ride about how she was scared and that she was going to kill so and so for suggesting the ride. After we got off, I had to cough up some lung butter and spit, and she started claiming to her group that I was puking. If I was puking, my head would have been over that garbage can longer than 5 seconds lady.
We moved on to Maverick, which had the longest of the lines we would deal with, at 1.5 hours. The ride was worth it though as not only did you get lifted up the lift hill pretty fast to start the ride, but in the middle of it you hit a magnetic launcher that got you going fast again. As we pulled up to the station, the cars stopped. Apparently one of the cars ahead in the station had stopped at the bottom of the lift hill and wouldn't go up so we were waiting outside. I didn't mind because for whatever reason I just wanted to be in the sun and warm. I was also tired as well, which was strange because I had slept for a good 8 hours the night before.
After that JH's companion TX was going to arrive at the park. By this point I had been feeling like I had been walking for miles and miles and my feet were ready to quit. So I sat down at the bleachers over near the Top Thrill Dragster and actually napped for a few minutes while JH went to get TX. I felt better after that.
We hit Raptor, Gemini, Magnum XL-200, Blue Streak, Iron Dragon, Mantis, and Corkscrew before calling it a day. One could tell I had plenty of sun that day as my cheeks were red.
The next day it was just JH and I at the park. Originally in the morning we were going to get up at 8:30 and go. I get a text from him in the morning (he was in another hotel room) and he pushes it back to 9:30. At 10 AM I'm calling him up and he is just waking up. Needless to say I snapped at him becuase I don't like being told to wait until a certain time by someone else, have it pushed back, and then they fail to be ready at the appointed time that they set. We got to the park and we rode Disaster Transport, Wildcat, and Mean Streak before finally saying we had enough. Mean Streak was the worst one for me to ride because that one will shake the hell out of you. Don't ride it unless you like trying to put your internal organs back in place.
So now I can say I finally visited the famous Cedar Point and rode most of their rollercoasters. The next time I go back I still have to ride Top Thrill Dragster (among a few others) but I wasn't too mad to have missed that one because I already conqured it's big brother, Kingda Ka ;-)
BTW, I am now up to 95 coasters.
To put a lot of how I would be feeling on the first day of being at the park into perspective, let's keep in mind that I was still as sick as a dog from the vocal strain, chest congestion, and nasal drip. However, I had also vowed that unless I needed to be in the hospital, I was not backing out of my trip. What I did get to deal with on some rides was that the G-forces put pressure on my chest, which already can be bothersome for me (little to no "padding" around the lungs) and it just felt worse since my lungs were irritated.
My first ride was on the Wicked Twister, which is very similar to Voodoo in Dorney Park. It's a big U-shaped track and you go back and forth between the two ends three times. That one is always fun. Next we went onto Millenium Force, which is one of my top rollercoasters to ride now. It goes fast and has plenty of turns, but it's not overdone with the thrill elements. Definitely ride it while at Cedar Point.
Next was the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. It was a good ride, we just got to deal with the woman who was apparently afraid of coasters, so she whined through the whole ride about how she was scared and that she was going to kill so and so for suggesting the ride. After we got off, I had to cough up some lung butter and spit, and she started claiming to her group that I was puking. If I was puking, my head would have been over that garbage can longer than 5 seconds lady.
We moved on to Maverick, which had the longest of the lines we would deal with, at 1.5 hours. The ride was worth it though as not only did you get lifted up the lift hill pretty fast to start the ride, but in the middle of it you hit a magnetic launcher that got you going fast again. As we pulled up to the station, the cars stopped. Apparently one of the cars ahead in the station had stopped at the bottom of the lift hill and wouldn't go up so we were waiting outside. I didn't mind because for whatever reason I just wanted to be in the sun and warm. I was also tired as well, which was strange because I had slept for a good 8 hours the night before.
After that JH's companion TX was going to arrive at the park. By this point I had been feeling like I had been walking for miles and miles and my feet were ready to quit. So I sat down at the bleachers over near the Top Thrill Dragster and actually napped for a few minutes while JH went to get TX. I felt better after that.
We hit Raptor, Gemini, Magnum XL-200, Blue Streak, Iron Dragon, Mantis, and Corkscrew before calling it a day. One could tell I had plenty of sun that day as my cheeks were red.
The next day it was just JH and I at the park. Originally in the morning we were going to get up at 8:30 and go. I get a text from him in the morning (he was in another hotel room) and he pushes it back to 9:30. At 10 AM I'm calling him up and he is just waking up. Needless to say I snapped at him becuase I don't like being told to wait until a certain time by someone else, have it pushed back, and then they fail to be ready at the appointed time that they set. We got to the park and we rode Disaster Transport, Wildcat, and Mean Streak before finally saying we had enough. Mean Streak was the worst one for me to ride because that one will shake the hell out of you. Don't ride it unless you like trying to put your internal organs back in place.
So now I can say I finally visited the famous Cedar Point and rode most of their rollercoasters. The next time I go back I still have to ride Top Thrill Dragster (among a few others) but I wasn't too mad to have missed that one because I already conqured it's big brother, Kingda Ka ;-)
BTW, I am now up to 95 coasters.
August 11, 2008
Acceptance
They say that the five stages of a breakup are shock, denial, anger, bargaining, and acceptance. With the events of the last few weeks, leading up to yesterday, it's like JH and I ended up stepping through those stages together.
The first time we broke up was the shock, when we got back together, it was the denial, the second breakup was the anger (including some anger I had after it), and coming into last night, it was the bargaining. JH and I went to a Bowie Baysox game that I had gotten tickets for. Towards the end of the game, some dialogue started, and after the game was over we talked in the parking lot for a long time. We still love one another, we enjoy the companionship and friendship we have, and we connect on a deep level. However, there is a personality conflict that right now cannot be resolved. We discussed different companionship situations, but ultimately we agreed that the adult decision would be to be just friends and nothing more. Otherwise the potential to make one another completely mental is very high. We went to JR's later that night, hung out, and it was fine, no pressure there.
As painful as it is, I love JH enough to let him go and find what it is he wants. I still get to see him, and I'm welcome at his parent's house, which is good because I do like being able to hang out with sports fans :-)
So now we are here at acceptance, I can accept that it's time to move on and step back out there. Things ended well, there is no bitterness, no drama, and I am all the better for it. I wish JH well and hope he finds happiness. As for me, let's sit back and see where things go in my life.
The first time we broke up was the shock, when we got back together, it was the denial, the second breakup was the anger (including some anger I had after it), and coming into last night, it was the bargaining. JH and I went to a Bowie Baysox game that I had gotten tickets for. Towards the end of the game, some dialogue started, and after the game was over we talked in the parking lot for a long time. We still love one another, we enjoy the companionship and friendship we have, and we connect on a deep level. However, there is a personality conflict that right now cannot be resolved. We discussed different companionship situations, but ultimately we agreed that the adult decision would be to be just friends and nothing more. Otherwise the potential to make one another completely mental is very high. We went to JR's later that night, hung out, and it was fine, no pressure there.
As painful as it is, I love JH enough to let him go and find what it is he wants. I still get to see him, and I'm welcome at his parent's house, which is good because I do like being able to hang out with sports fans :-)
So now we are here at acceptance, I can accept that it's time to move on and step back out there. Things ended well, there is no bitterness, no drama, and I am all the better for it. I wish JH well and hope he finds happiness. As for me, let's sit back and see where things go in my life.
August 05, 2008
On Hold
Joe and I have decided to just be friends. There are some issues that we simply cannot work on together and it would be better if we each went to do our own thing rather than end up making one another miserable.
KS, you're not allowed to shank him.
KS, you're not allowed to shank him.
July 31, 2008
Spank the Yanks
Sunday JH and I traveled to Harrisburg and stayed overnight, so it would save us some time for our trip this past Monday.
We met up with his friend DP and first went to Dorney Park. I picked up my 81st coaster credit by riding Voodoo since it was running this time. It was a fun ride and since the lines were so short, we ended up riding it 3 times. If you can, go for the front.
We rode Laser, Thunderhawk, Hydra, and Talon as well, had some lunch, and then it was off to NYC to Yankee Stadium.
We got to NYC, found parking, and I got in touch with my friend KS, who would be joining us to watch the O's play against the Yankees. While she was on her way, we wandered around the outside of the stadium in our Orioles shirts. Earlier in the week JH had suggested we not wear our shirts, but then he talked with folks and heard that unless we got obnoxious, the fans wouldn't mess with us.
We grabbed dinner at a local restaurant, the food was meh, the service sucked, but whatever, it wasn't the reason why we were in NYC.
We went back to the stadium and got in, where we had to show security our cell phones for some reason. Does anyone have any clue why they would check our cell phones? Still, I couldn't believe we were actually at Yankee Stadium before it vanishes. It was showing its age, but it was still exciting to be there. We also had good seats to watch the game. I couldn't believe what they wanted for a beer there, 8.50 for a can of beer. We didn't buy any while there, we stuck with Coke instead.
So the game would go extremely well for the O's that night, they spanked the Yanks 13-4. It was an exciting game to watch and for the most part the fans left us alone. There was the moron who gave us a thumbs down to our shirts, but that douchebag wasn't even wearing any Yankees gear. One guy did joke that I wasn't going to see George Sherrill (I was wearing his shirt) play that night, and I told him "I'm not complaining." because if Sherrill comes in to pitch, it means that the O's are leading by 3 runs or less.
After the game was over, there were the folks who kept bleating out "Well we have 27 championships!" I think it must be something you have to yell on command in order to be a Yankee's fan.
It was then time for the long drive home to Harrisburg to drop off DP, and then further to Baltimore. We didn't get back until 4:30 in the morning, and thankfully I had slept on and off in the car.
The trip, totally worth it. I'm glad we got to see the stadium before they turn it into a parking garage next year. Now there's plans to hit Shea Stadium before that vanishes as well.
We met up with his friend DP and first went to Dorney Park. I picked up my 81st coaster credit by riding Voodoo since it was running this time. It was a fun ride and since the lines were so short, we ended up riding it 3 times. If you can, go for the front.
We rode Laser, Thunderhawk, Hydra, and Talon as well, had some lunch, and then it was off to NYC to Yankee Stadium.
We got to NYC, found parking, and I got in touch with my friend KS, who would be joining us to watch the O's play against the Yankees. While she was on her way, we wandered around the outside of the stadium in our Orioles shirts. Earlier in the week JH had suggested we not wear our shirts, but then he talked with folks and heard that unless we got obnoxious, the fans wouldn't mess with us.
We grabbed dinner at a local restaurant, the food was meh, the service sucked, but whatever, it wasn't the reason why we were in NYC.
We went back to the stadium and got in, where we had to show security our cell phones for some reason. Does anyone have any clue why they would check our cell phones? Still, I couldn't believe we were actually at Yankee Stadium before it vanishes. It was showing its age, but it was still exciting to be there. We also had good seats to watch the game. I couldn't believe what they wanted for a beer there, 8.50 for a can of beer. We didn't buy any while there, we stuck with Coke instead.
So the game would go extremely well for the O's that night, they spanked the Yanks 13-4. It was an exciting game to watch and for the most part the fans left us alone. There was the moron who gave us a thumbs down to our shirts, but that douchebag wasn't even wearing any Yankees gear. One guy did joke that I wasn't going to see George Sherrill (I was wearing his shirt) play that night, and I told him "I'm not complaining." because if Sherrill comes in to pitch, it means that the O's are leading by 3 runs or less.
After the game was over, there were the folks who kept bleating out "Well we have 27 championships!" I think it must be something you have to yell on command in order to be a Yankee's fan.
It was then time for the long drive home to Harrisburg to drop off DP, and then further to Baltimore. We didn't get back until 4:30 in the morning, and thankfully I had slept on and off in the car.
The trip, totally worth it. I'm glad we got to see the stadium before they turn it into a parking garage next year. Now there's plans to hit Shea Stadium before that vanishes as well.
Faux Nightclub
Last Friday I went to Pasadena to hang out with JH. I got there a bit late and since JH had to work in the morning, we decided to skip our original plan of going to the Baltimore Eagle. His parents were out at one of the local places, except they were getting ready to leave because they were booted off of the patio. So we made a plan to all meet at Bamboo Bernies, which was down the road.
JH and I get there, and the immediate thing that happens is that I am refused entry. Why? Because I'm wearing my Baltimore Ravens (Ed Reed) jersey and they have a dress code that says "No sports jerseys" among other things. JH is refused because they say his shorts are "too loose." So fine, we go home and we change and go back, where once again we are refused entry. This time it's because JH is wearing camouflage shorts. When we asked why, all the bouncer would say to us is "We're a nightclub." So that made the both of us say "fuck this place" and head out of there.
In my years of going to clubs and bars in DC, MD, TX, and NM, I have never had to directly deal with a club that has had draconian rules like that on what you can and can't wear. The closest I have seen anything like it would be at a nightclub in the Adams Morgan area. However, this "club" is in a small town in Maryland that is not known for having a problem with violence. To go further with it, JH's bro thinks the bouncer had something against the two of us because he saw some dyke in there with a Yankees jersey on, and apparently there were underage girls in there as well, even though there was supposed to be an ID check at the door to keep under 21 folks out. JH thinks that the bouncer kept us out because we were homos, and I hate to say it, but he might be right on that one.
Perhaps a call to the ABC folks in Maryland is in order against this place if they're allowing underage folks in there. In the meantime, we won't be going back to Bamboo Bernies, especially if they're going to selectively enforce their rules.
So JH got the idea to hit a local liquor store and buy the cheapest beer possible, just because we were considered to be too trashy to walk into a bar in the middle of redneck central. I will have to say that if you want cheap beer in MD, go with National Bohemian (Natty Boh) in bottles. This is crucial because while the Boh is a cheap beer, it isn't nasty tasting if you get it from a bottle instead of a can.
So that's how we got to spend our Friday night.
JH and I get there, and the immediate thing that happens is that I am refused entry. Why? Because I'm wearing my Baltimore Ravens (Ed Reed) jersey and they have a dress code that says "No sports jerseys" among other things. JH is refused because they say his shorts are "too loose." So fine, we go home and we change and go back, where once again we are refused entry. This time it's because JH is wearing camouflage shorts. When we asked why, all the bouncer would say to us is "We're a nightclub." So that made the both of us say "fuck this place" and head out of there.
In my years of going to clubs and bars in DC, MD, TX, and NM, I have never had to directly deal with a club that has had draconian rules like that on what you can and can't wear. The closest I have seen anything like it would be at a nightclub in the Adams Morgan area. However, this "club" is in a small town in Maryland that is not known for having a problem with violence. To go further with it, JH's bro thinks the bouncer had something against the two of us because he saw some dyke in there with a Yankees jersey on, and apparently there were underage girls in there as well, even though there was supposed to be an ID check at the door to keep under 21 folks out. JH thinks that the bouncer kept us out because we were homos, and I hate to say it, but he might be right on that one.
Perhaps a call to the ABC folks in Maryland is in order against this place if they're allowing underage folks in there. In the meantime, we won't be going back to Bamboo Bernies, especially if they're going to selectively enforce their rules.
So JH got the idea to hit a local liquor store and buy the cheapest beer possible, just because we were considered to be too trashy to walk into a bar in the middle of redneck central. I will have to say that if you want cheap beer in MD, go with National Bohemian (Natty Boh) in bottles. This is crucial because while the Boh is a cheap beer, it isn't nasty tasting if you get it from a bottle instead of a can.
So that's how we got to spend our Friday night.
What a busy few days
The last seven days have just kept me busy, but there has been much fun to be had.
In summary, I got denied entry to a bar for a bullshit rule, went to a luau in Baltimore and caught up with folks I haven't seen in a year, traveled to Allentown, PA, and picked up my 81st coaster credit; watched the Orioles spank the Yanks live at Yankee Stadium with JH and KS; lots of rehearsal time and now it's time to memorize; finally getting ready to do some major revisions at work.
Details to follow in the next few days...including photographic evidence of these activities.
In summary, I got denied entry to a bar for a bullshit rule, went to a luau in Baltimore and caught up with folks I haven't seen in a year, traveled to Allentown, PA, and picked up my 81st coaster credit; watched the Orioles spank the Yanks live at Yankee Stadium with JH and KS; lots of rehearsal time and now it's time to memorize; finally getting ready to do some major revisions at work.
Details to follow in the next few days...including photographic evidence of these activities.
July 24, 2008
Getting Back On Track
JH came over for dinner last night. I cooked up some spaghetti carbonara, steamed veggies, and chocolate zucchini cake for dessert. He was rather impressed that I basically made the dinner in only an hour. I admit it didn't hurt that the night before I measured and combined all of the dry ingredients for the cake together and pre-cooked the bacon for the pasta. It meant less time and mess when I was under a time crunch.
Dinner was good, and so were the after-dinner activities, especially when he saw what I was wearing underneath my clothing ;-)
Afterwards I ran to the store for ice cream, while the weather outside proceeded to just open up and pour down. I'm glad I had my umbrella and only had a short walk to the apartment, but within the 7 minutes I was in the store, the parking lot was basically a river. I also stayed in said parking lot to walk since there were no tall trees nearby for lightning to strike. This rain was also horizontal rain, so I was getting wet even with the umbrella over my head. Got in and the first thing JH said to me was "Wow, the things you do for love" since apparently the back of my shirt was soaked.
We had dessert and watched a few episodes of the Simpsons before going to bed...except that it didn't last too long. The bracket that holds the main support of my bed up decided it wanted to detach from the headboard, so suddenly we were sleeping on a slant. I can fix it, I just need to get a new bracket (the old one bent) and also get a 2x4 to put in front of where the bracket would normally sit. It should provide some extra support, and since the center support is adjustable, I can slide it in to accommodate the new bracket position.
Thank god I still have a fold-out couch until I make the repair. JH threw out the idea of eventually getting a new bed, especially if this one can't be fixed. However, I can fix it now and keep an eye on sales later. Plus then I don't have to Craigslist a broken bed, just one with a mod for better support ;-)
Anyway, so JH and I have hammered out the things that were bothering us, and now we're moving forward together again. Really the problem was a lack of communication in some areas, which doesn't that seem to strike most couples anyway? We opened up the lines to talk to one another, and I hope we'll continue to keep them open.
BTW, in a spur of the moment (and the realization that summer is nearly over, eek!) we have made plans for a trip to Cedar Point in late August. Anyone interested in coming? Flights are cheap now...
What else can I say, other than I love JH and I'm glad we're back together and on track as well. His father may not look at me the same way again, but I'll let JH tell that story since it's worthy of a quote of the week. ;-)
Day 2: 9,8,6,5,17
Dinner was good, and so were the after-dinner activities, especially when he saw what I was wearing underneath my clothing ;-)
Afterwards I ran to the store for ice cream, while the weather outside proceeded to just open up and pour down. I'm glad I had my umbrella and only had a short walk to the apartment, but within the 7 minutes I was in the store, the parking lot was basically a river. I also stayed in said parking lot to walk since there were no tall trees nearby for lightning to strike. This rain was also horizontal rain, so I was getting wet even with the umbrella over my head. Got in and the first thing JH said to me was "Wow, the things you do for love" since apparently the back of my shirt was soaked.
We had dessert and watched a few episodes of the Simpsons before going to bed...except that it didn't last too long. The bracket that holds the main support of my bed up decided it wanted to detach from the headboard, so suddenly we were sleeping on a slant. I can fix it, I just need to get a new bracket (the old one bent) and also get a 2x4 to put in front of where the bracket would normally sit. It should provide some extra support, and since the center support is adjustable, I can slide it in to accommodate the new bracket position.
Thank god I still have a fold-out couch until I make the repair. JH threw out the idea of eventually getting a new bed, especially if this one can't be fixed. However, I can fix it now and keep an eye on sales later. Plus then I don't have to Craigslist a broken bed, just one with a mod for better support ;-)
Anyway, so JH and I have hammered out the things that were bothering us, and now we're moving forward together again. Really the problem was a lack of communication in some areas, which doesn't that seem to strike most couples anyway? We opened up the lines to talk to one another, and I hope we'll continue to keep them open.
BTW, in a spur of the moment (and the realization that summer is nearly over, eek!) we have made plans for a trip to Cedar Point in late August. Anyone interested in coming? Flights are cheap now...
What else can I say, other than I love JH and I'm glad we're back together and on track as well. His father may not look at me the same way again, but I'll let JH tell that story since it's worthy of a quote of the week. ;-)
Day 2: 9,8,6,5,17
July 22, 2008
Calling Tim Gunn
The theme this week seems to be "Make it work."
I say that based on the open dialogue that has been going on between JH and I over the last few days.
Sunday night it started with a rather open conversation where we ended up going over some things that had been making the other crazy, and it was very honest, some people would probably wonder why we're still speaking to one another. Eventually JH decided he was heading out to DC, at this point we were considering getting back together, but we were going to take it one day at a time. A while later I get a text from him, he's tired and needs a place to crash, so can he crash at my place. I've got an extra bed anyway so sure he can crash with me.
He arrives, immediately drops trou and we end up in the bedroom. It catches me off guard, but hey, who am I to complain when I'm getting some from JH? As it would later turn out, because I had basically stood up to him during our earlier dialogue, it brought back some of the spark.
The next morning the conversation continues, and we decide that we want to try to work things out between us. To me, what we have discussed so far and continue to discuss are the typical problems that can occur in any relationship, it's just that this time around the both of us are willing to have that brutal honesty to say what's going on. Neither one of us are perfect, and no relationship is sunshine and happiness all the time. We are both going to have our bad moments, both individually and together. It is a matter of how do we both deal with the bad times as well as the good. I know where my issues lie, and so does JH, but we both want to make the effort to work them out.
It's like I have always said, we'll see what happens, but if we can move and grow with this experience, we'll ultimately have a better relationship out of it. I want to make it work, and he wants to make it work.
I say that based on the open dialogue that has been going on between JH and I over the last few days.
Sunday night it started with a rather open conversation where we ended up going over some things that had been making the other crazy, and it was very honest, some people would probably wonder why we're still speaking to one another. Eventually JH decided he was heading out to DC, at this point we were considering getting back together, but we were going to take it one day at a time. A while later I get a text from him, he's tired and needs a place to crash, so can he crash at my place. I've got an extra bed anyway so sure he can crash with me.
He arrives, immediately drops trou and we end up in the bedroom. It catches me off guard, but hey, who am I to complain when I'm getting some from JH? As it would later turn out, because I had basically stood up to him during our earlier dialogue, it brought back some of the spark.
The next morning the conversation continues, and we decide that we want to try to work things out between us. To me, what we have discussed so far and continue to discuss are the typical problems that can occur in any relationship, it's just that this time around the both of us are willing to have that brutal honesty to say what's going on. Neither one of us are perfect, and no relationship is sunshine and happiness all the time. We are both going to have our bad moments, both individually and together. It is a matter of how do we both deal with the bad times as well as the good. I know where my issues lie, and so does JH, but we both want to make the effort to work them out.
It's like I have always said, we'll see what happens, but if we can move and grow with this experience, we'll ultimately have a better relationship out of it. I want to make it work, and he wants to make it work.
July 18, 2008
*sigh*
JH and I are no more as a couple.
There is no hate, no finger pointing, neither one of us faults the other, or anything of the sort. What it has come down to is that we're better being friends than being a couple. We still care for one another and want to continue to be friends. I still have someone I can attend sporting events and amusement parks with.
It hurts, but it has been a great 8 months and there is nothing I regret.
There is no hate, no finger pointing, neither one of us faults the other, or anything of the sort. What it has come down to is that we're better being friends than being a couple. We still care for one another and want to continue to be friends. I still have someone I can attend sporting events and amusement parks with.
It hurts, but it has been a great 8 months and there is nothing I regret.
July 16, 2008
Yes I'm Still Alive
Wow, just over two weeks without posting, that is totally not like me right now. Especially when it is an unintentional vacation.
So what have I been up to since posting about going to Hershey Park?
So what have I been up to since posting about going to Hershey Park?
- I went to Kings Dominion with JH, CD, and V on the 4th of July. The park was fun, we got to ride their new coaster, Dominator (JH had ridden it when it was over at Geauga Lake). We cooled off in the water park, yes it was crowded, but worth the trip.
- Saw the fireworks on the National Mall on the 4th, I have video saved to my phone that I need to review, and possibly post to YouTube.
- Went to Philadelphia with JH, DP, and BD and wandered around there for a bit. The next day we went to Six Flags Great Adventure where I finally rode Kingda Ka. Now I can say that I have ridden the worlds tallest and fastest roller coaster (456 feet at 128 mph). They have got to make that ride longer though, 28 seconds is not enough!
- Started rehearsals for Children of Eden, I'll be playing Cain in Act I and Japheth in Act II. I'll provide more details later.
- Attended the wedding of my friends CJ and George two Saturdays ago. The wedding was great and the reception was well done. I got to chat with a few folks that I haven't seen in a while, and I hope to see again soon.
- Attended a party after the wedding of my friend Chandra, where I saw a few of my Baltimore friends, the night wasn't complete without making someone from my past paranoid, which I admit I had fun with. Karma is a bitch my friend, and you brought it on yourself.
- Saw Mr GreenGenes this past Friday at Power Plant Live in Baltimore. The show was awesome of course.
- Went to the Eastern Shore with JH and had fresh steamed crab last Saturday. One of the many advantages of living near a bay.
- I haven't even mentioned work yet, but it's going fine, I have a project that's going to be released for production next month. Next up is a revision to the survey from hell, which will take up my time from now until April 2009.
- After all of my recent coaster trips, I have now ridden 80 rollercoasters in the world. That still puts me 70 behind JH, which I will probably never catch up to since he has a bunch of credits on coasters that don't exist now :-P
June 30, 2008
Hershey Park
Originally JH and I had planned to go to Kings Dominion for our Monday off, but on a whim changed our plans and went up to Hershey Park instead.
It turned out to be a gorgeous day at the park, especially since there were moments where it was overcast, so it stayed cool, though it did become a disadvantage at one point.
We started off by riding Great Bear, which is one of my top rides for the day. We moved onward to Storm Runner, which was designed by the same folks who designed Kingda Ka, and it uses a similar launch system and cars. If Kingda Ka is anything like what I experienced today with Storm Runner, I'm in trouble next week at Great Adventure. The shoulder restraints sat up too high for me so I ended up banging them into the restraints, and it made me sore.
It was starting to get warm by the time we finished those two rides, so it was over to the Roller Soaker, which as it's name implies is a coaster where you will get wet. JH and I don't know if people are just inexperienced or the park is trying to save on energy costs, but their way of loading and unloading cars was very inefficient today. Imagine three cars being loaded up, then sent to the bottom of the first hill, where each one goes one at a time, and the next one doesn't go until the first one finishes...and each ride is about 1.5-2mins long. During that time the next batch of cars have been loaded, and they're waiting for the first batch to finish before they get sent to the bottom of the hill. JH said that they didn't used to do it this way, they pretty much kept the cars continuously moving as much as possible. Who knows...
After that it was a trip to the Wildcat, which was a fun wooden coaster. A ride on their Wild Mouse ride was in order before heading to the Lightning Racer, which had to be one of my favorite coasters. It's a dueling coaster, so two cars are loaded and sent out at the same time to race one another. We ended up losing when we rode Thunder, but won when we rode Lightning. It's hard to say which side I like better, Thunder has a thrilling first drop, but on Lightning you get much more air time in your seat. I guess it will depend on what kind of mood I'm in ;-)
After those rides we were going past Fahrenheit (their newest coaster) and it had been closed earlier, but the repair folks were out working on it, so JH and I stopped to watch. We couldn't have timed it better because they were finishing up their work (fixing one of the tires that moves the coaster along after the brakes are applied at the end) and after an initial test, they moved their ladder out of the way, and brought a third car onto the track. We were immediately nearby the entrance, and about 20 mins later when they cycled through the cars, they reopened Fahrenheit, so we were able to get a very front seat rather quickly :-D The ride itself was fun, though JH hated the completely vertical first hill that we had to climb.
We hit Sidewinder, which is yet another boomerang style coaster of the same design as Two-Face in Six Flags America and Flashback in Six Flags New England, but this one uses standard sit down cars rather than inverted cars. I needed the credit for my coaster count profile, so I rode it yet again.
Next was Trailblazer, which to me is the type of coaster you bring your younger kids on to introduce them to a rollercoaster. We were thinking about hitting Comet and calling it a day, but then we saw that the Sooper Dooper Looper was finally opened up (it was closed earlier in the day) so we hopped on that once since there wasn't much of a line.
Overall it was a great day at Hershey Park, and since we now possess 2-day tickets, at some point JH and I will have to make another trip up there :-D
It turned out to be a gorgeous day at the park, especially since there were moments where it was overcast, so it stayed cool, though it did become a disadvantage at one point.
We started off by riding Great Bear, which is one of my top rides for the day. We moved onward to Storm Runner, which was designed by the same folks who designed Kingda Ka, and it uses a similar launch system and cars. If Kingda Ka is anything like what I experienced today with Storm Runner, I'm in trouble next week at Great Adventure. The shoulder restraints sat up too high for me so I ended up banging them into the restraints, and it made me sore.
It was starting to get warm by the time we finished those two rides, so it was over to the Roller Soaker, which as it's name implies is a coaster where you will get wet. JH and I don't know if people are just inexperienced or the park is trying to save on energy costs, but their way of loading and unloading cars was very inefficient today. Imagine three cars being loaded up, then sent to the bottom of the first hill, where each one goes one at a time, and the next one doesn't go until the first one finishes...and each ride is about 1.5-2mins long. During that time the next batch of cars have been loaded, and they're waiting for the first batch to finish before they get sent to the bottom of the hill. JH said that they didn't used to do it this way, they pretty much kept the cars continuously moving as much as possible. Who knows...
After that it was a trip to the Wildcat, which was a fun wooden coaster. A ride on their Wild Mouse ride was in order before heading to the Lightning Racer, which had to be one of my favorite coasters. It's a dueling coaster, so two cars are loaded and sent out at the same time to race one another. We ended up losing when we rode Thunder, but won when we rode Lightning. It's hard to say which side I like better, Thunder has a thrilling first drop, but on Lightning you get much more air time in your seat. I guess it will depend on what kind of mood I'm in ;-)
After those rides we were going past Fahrenheit (their newest coaster) and it had been closed earlier, but the repair folks were out working on it, so JH and I stopped to watch. We couldn't have timed it better because they were finishing up their work (fixing one of the tires that moves the coaster along after the brakes are applied at the end) and after an initial test, they moved their ladder out of the way, and brought a third car onto the track. We were immediately nearby the entrance, and about 20 mins later when they cycled through the cars, they reopened Fahrenheit, so we were able to get a very front seat rather quickly :-D The ride itself was fun, though JH hated the completely vertical first hill that we had to climb.
We hit Sidewinder, which is yet another boomerang style coaster of the same design as Two-Face in Six Flags America and Flashback in Six Flags New England, but this one uses standard sit down cars rather than inverted cars. I needed the credit for my coaster count profile, so I rode it yet again.
Next was Trailblazer, which to me is the type of coaster you bring your younger kids on to introduce them to a rollercoaster. We were thinking about hitting Comet and calling it a day, but then we saw that the Sooper Dooper Looper was finally opened up (it was closed earlier in the day) so we hopped on that once since there wasn't much of a line.
Overall it was a great day at Hershey Park, and since we now possess 2-day tickets, at some point JH and I will have to make another trip up there :-D
June 24, 2008
Baltimore Pride
This past weekend JH and I were up in Baltimore to celebrate Baltimore Pride. Thankfully it was as spectators and not as planners and/or volunteer staff.
Friday night was spent in Baltimore after we both got done with our respective jobs and headed to the hotel we would be staying at. We headed out to dinner at My Thai, which I will recommend going for their sushi and sashimi. JH tried their "Maryland Maki" which had crabmeat in it, but clearly it was imitation crabmeat so avoid that. You're better off sticking with their other rolls such as tuna, salmon, and shrimp. I highly recommend getting the red snapper, especially if you're not hugely into sushi. I found that eating the snapper was like eating a tender piece of beef, and JH agreed with me.
The best value is the Sushi and Sashimi combo (sushi, sashimi, and spicy tuna rolls) because you do get a variety of both for a good price, it is chefs choice, but it's definitely a good way to try out a variety of items. I never would have found out about the red snapper otherwise.
Saturday I was on my own for the morning while Joe was at work. I had breakfast at the City Cafe before I walked down to the inner harbor. I stopped into the local sports store and picked up an Orioles visor to wear. I'll be honest, I like baseball caps, but on hot days they don't vent fast enough to keep me cool, so I end up taking them off while I'm outside. A visor is a better compromise for me. I wandered around the inner harbor and got a few pictures. I also ended up stopping by the van that was selling Perfect Cupcakes and picked up a yellow cake cupcake with dark chocolate frosting. It was very good, the perfect balance of frosting and cupcake, and the cake itself was dense and moist, the way I like it. JH, for future reference the van was sitting at the inner harbor over by Pier 5, so you could stop by after making a round ;-)
I headed back up to the hotel and laid down for a nap before JH got back in. We had a late lunch and headed down to watch the Baltimore Pride parade, in all of it's 4 block glory. I didn't mind it though, we were having a good time. I was in my Nasty Pig vest and shorts, and he was in his harness, which definitely made us stand out from the usual crowd.
Right after the parade was the block party, which was my first one in Baltimore, and it was a total blast. I am so doing this again. Basically we walked around chatting with various people throughout the evening. JH and I did shots from an ice luge, and then one of the girls from the booth so liked his nipples that she ran up and did a chest bump, complete with a jump into his arms. I have photographic evidence that will soon be developed and posted ;-)
The fun thing about being at Baltimore was that people were actually coming up to talk to us while in our fetish gear. That wouldn't have happened in DC (MAL excluded). JH said that "We felt like celebrities" which is pretty much the truth. A number of people wanted pictures with us and we were getting compliments all around. Is it any wonder why I like Baltimore better than DC at times? I'll have to see if a picture of us ends up in any of the newspapers this week.
Eventually we ran into one of my friends and proceeded to get cheap strong drinks at a local bar, which was good because the drinks that the vendors were selling at pride were weak. Then it was back to the party site and socializing with more folks. If we had not been worn out we probably would have hit up Baltimore Eagle as well.
Sunday I went to the festival while JH was at work. The festival was alright, pretty standard for Baltimore. JH said to me that a lot of lesbians go to the festival, and he's right about that, there were a lot of lesbians there, along with their vendors. I stayed for about 2 hrs before taking off for Greenbelt.
Later on that night I met JH for dinner, which he surprised me with going out for steamed crabs. Hint to mom, come visit at some point and we'll take you out for fresh steamed crabs.
So that wrapped up yet another great weekend with JH. I am so visiting Baltimore Pride again next year.
Friday night was spent in Baltimore after we both got done with our respective jobs and headed to the hotel we would be staying at. We headed out to dinner at My Thai, which I will recommend going for their sushi and sashimi. JH tried their "Maryland Maki" which had crabmeat in it, but clearly it was imitation crabmeat so avoid that. You're better off sticking with their other rolls such as tuna, salmon, and shrimp. I highly recommend getting the red snapper, especially if you're not hugely into sushi. I found that eating the snapper was like eating a tender piece of beef, and JH agreed with me.
The best value is the Sushi and Sashimi combo (sushi, sashimi, and spicy tuna rolls) because you do get a variety of both for a good price, it is chefs choice, but it's definitely a good way to try out a variety of items. I never would have found out about the red snapper otherwise.
Saturday I was on my own for the morning while Joe was at work. I had breakfast at the City Cafe before I walked down to the inner harbor. I stopped into the local sports store and picked up an Orioles visor to wear. I'll be honest, I like baseball caps, but on hot days they don't vent fast enough to keep me cool, so I end up taking them off while I'm outside. A visor is a better compromise for me. I wandered around the inner harbor and got a few pictures. I also ended up stopping by the van that was selling Perfect Cupcakes and picked up a yellow cake cupcake with dark chocolate frosting. It was very good, the perfect balance of frosting and cupcake, and the cake itself was dense and moist, the way I like it. JH, for future reference the van was sitting at the inner harbor over by Pier 5, so you could stop by after making a round ;-)
I headed back up to the hotel and laid down for a nap before JH got back in. We had a late lunch and headed down to watch the Baltimore Pride parade, in all of it's 4 block glory. I didn't mind it though, we were having a good time. I was in my Nasty Pig vest and shorts, and he was in his harness, which definitely made us stand out from the usual crowd.
Right after the parade was the block party, which was my first one in Baltimore, and it was a total blast. I am so doing this again. Basically we walked around chatting with various people throughout the evening. JH and I did shots from an ice luge, and then one of the girls from the booth so liked his nipples that she ran up and did a chest bump, complete with a jump into his arms. I have photographic evidence that will soon be developed and posted ;-)
The fun thing about being at Baltimore was that people were actually coming up to talk to us while in our fetish gear. That wouldn't have happened in DC (MAL excluded). JH said that "We felt like celebrities" which is pretty much the truth. A number of people wanted pictures with us and we were getting compliments all around. Is it any wonder why I like Baltimore better than DC at times? I'll have to see if a picture of us ends up in any of the newspapers this week.
Eventually we ran into one of my friends and proceeded to get cheap strong drinks at a local bar, which was good because the drinks that the vendors were selling at pride were weak. Then it was back to the party site and socializing with more folks. If we had not been worn out we probably would have hit up Baltimore Eagle as well.
Sunday I went to the festival while JH was at work. The festival was alright, pretty standard for Baltimore. JH said to me that a lot of lesbians go to the festival, and he's right about that, there were a lot of lesbians there, along with their vendors. I stayed for about 2 hrs before taking off for Greenbelt.
Later on that night I met JH for dinner, which he surprised me with going out for steamed crabs. Hint to mom, come visit at some point and we'll take you out for fresh steamed crabs.
So that wrapped up yet another great weekend with JH. I am so visiting Baltimore Pride again next year.
June 16, 2008
Pride Festival 2008
Simply put, working the festival was fun, it had its ups and its downs, but it ended up kicking my ass in the end.
After the parade, I spent part of the night on the festival site with JH going over setup and making sure there were no crises to deal with. Since there wasn't any major issue, JH eventually took me and another person back to the hotel where I crashed until about 5:30 AM.
Got up at that time, showered, and we were back to the festival site around 7ish, where we were then immediately working on getting things set up and delivered to places. JH was over helping with vendor check-in, I delivered radios to some folks, and we went all over the place, making sure setup was going fine, and also making sure no one was crossing over the required fire lanes.
As it got closer to the time to open, I headed over with another person to collect a few more Segways for the security people from Segs in the City, we brought those back and then I would spend the next hour driving a flat bed golf cart to get stuff delivered to places, such as drinks and ice to the beer gardens (they couldn't open unless all the non-alcoholic drinks were in place), coolers and barrels to the volunteers up front, and just getting stuff moved around.
The festival opened and so I basically spent most of the day doing roaming security and also moving supplies to places. There really isn't much to note security wise, the worst we had to deal with was one of the bible thumpers standing on a wall somewhere screaming at the crowd, but we kept an eye on him and he eventually left.
So I was basically out for the day, walking around, keeping in touch with other folks via radio, getting supplies to places. Eventually in the afternoon I grabbed some lunch and then sat in some air conditioning to try and cool off. JH told me to take breaks as much as possible, but we were kept busy enough that it wasn't happening.
Eventually it got to the end of the festival and so we started breaking things down, getting the Segways back to Segs in the City, loading up stuff, and that's the point where I just hit my limit. I had been out in the sun for about 14 hours, moving for most of that time, and I overheated. I wasn't expecting to overheat because I had been slugging down the water all afternoon, and I was pissing clear, so I should have been well hydrated. I was waiting to take the carts back, but then the headache and the nausea started, so I texted JH (since he was supposed to go with me to take the carts back) and said "Plz hurry, getting sick." He wetted down a shirt and put it over my head while going to get his car. He took me back to the hotel and dropped me off so he could head back to the site. I laid down for about an hour, got up, puked my guts out, then laid down and passed out for the rest of the night.
Like I said, the end kicked my ass, but it made for a rather intriguing perspective to see just what it takes to actually put on Pride and what is going on behind the scenes, especially when you have less than 10% of your promised volunteers actually show up. No joke, we had a list of about 400 volunteers that were supposed to show up...I hear that maybe 15 of them actually did. Seriously folks, it makes things so much harder when you put your name down to help and then pull a no-show. It's amazing how much is pulled off with so little, but the quality of Pride could be even better if people would actually commit to helping out. Perhaps I could have actually been able to stay out of the sun and not end up sick later if our volunteers were actually there :-)
Still, I'm glad I got the opportunity to do this. How many people can actually say they helped plan for and worked at one of the largest GLBT Pride festivals in the US?
Will I do it again next year? We'll see...
After the parade, I spent part of the night on the festival site with JH going over setup and making sure there were no crises to deal with. Since there wasn't any major issue, JH eventually took me and another person back to the hotel where I crashed until about 5:30 AM.
Got up at that time, showered, and we were back to the festival site around 7ish, where we were then immediately working on getting things set up and delivered to places. JH was over helping with vendor check-in, I delivered radios to some folks, and we went all over the place, making sure setup was going fine, and also making sure no one was crossing over the required fire lanes.
As it got closer to the time to open, I headed over with another person to collect a few more Segways for the security people from Segs in the City, we brought those back and then I would spend the next hour driving a flat bed golf cart to get stuff delivered to places, such as drinks and ice to the beer gardens (they couldn't open unless all the non-alcoholic drinks were in place), coolers and barrels to the volunteers up front, and just getting stuff moved around.
The festival opened and so I basically spent most of the day doing roaming security and also moving supplies to places. There really isn't much to note security wise, the worst we had to deal with was one of the bible thumpers standing on a wall somewhere screaming at the crowd, but we kept an eye on him and he eventually left.
So I was basically out for the day, walking around, keeping in touch with other folks via radio, getting supplies to places. Eventually in the afternoon I grabbed some lunch and then sat in some air conditioning to try and cool off. JH told me to take breaks as much as possible, but we were kept busy enough that it wasn't happening.
Eventually it got to the end of the festival and so we started breaking things down, getting the Segways back to Segs in the City, loading up stuff, and that's the point where I just hit my limit. I had been out in the sun for about 14 hours, moving for most of that time, and I overheated. I wasn't expecting to overheat because I had been slugging down the water all afternoon, and I was pissing clear, so I should have been well hydrated. I was waiting to take the carts back, but then the headache and the nausea started, so I texted JH (since he was supposed to go with me to take the carts back) and said "Plz hurry, getting sick." He wetted down a shirt and put it over my head while going to get his car. He took me back to the hotel and dropped me off so he could head back to the site. I laid down for about an hour, got up, puked my guts out, then laid down and passed out for the rest of the night.
Like I said, the end kicked my ass, but it made for a rather intriguing perspective to see just what it takes to actually put on Pride and what is going on behind the scenes, especially when you have less than 10% of your promised volunteers actually show up. No joke, we had a list of about 400 volunteers that were supposed to show up...I hear that maybe 15 of them actually did. Seriously folks, it makes things so much harder when you put your name down to help and then pull a no-show. It's amazing how much is pulled off with so little, but the quality of Pride could be even better if people would actually commit to helping out. Perhaps I could have actually been able to stay out of the sun and not end up sick later if our volunteers were actually there :-)
Still, I'm glad I got the opportunity to do this. How many people can actually say they helped plan for and worked at one of the largest GLBT Pride festivals in the US?
Will I do it again next year? We'll see...
June 13, 2008
Almost Done
This week has been so freaking busy, thank God I get Monday off.
Work has been me diagnosing and fixing some program issues. As usual the users find creative ways to break my stuff and then I have to fix it. However, I'll admit one was something that I should have thought about but didn't. It does make for interesting E-mails when I report back to my sponsors that the error is both a training issue and a program issue. Such is the life of a programmer.
I have also been attending the Pride events, which have led to some late evenings. Most event have been a hit, the few misses are really more about the fact that I don't care for the type of event rather than what Pride puts on. I'll have a more detailed report next week and it could also serve as a guide as to what to visit, and what to run away from.
This week though can certainly be draining, and I can tell it's having an effect on me. Well okay, it probably doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping as much as I should, but that's more my own fault. Either way, I'll correct that.
Friday night...well, that is going to get interesting. JH (and a few other folks) read my last blog on my thoughts about Christian Soriano and what I would do at the club. At first he was giving me some hell for my logic behind wearing fetish wear, but then he seemed to have changed his mind. As I found out, the reason for that is because he wants to see how people react. Some of his friends want to witness this as well, I think they just want to see if I have the balls to follow through with it. The most hilarious comment this week was after JH telling a friend of his about what I was going to wear (Nasty Pig gear) she said "If I was a guy, I'd totally have a hard-on right now." Glad to know I still got it ;-)
I look forward to Saturday and the parade. I just wish I had my sign from last year, but maybe I'll get a shot at making one again. If you're in the DC/MD/NoVA area and will be attending the pride parade, I'll be walking with St. Georges Episcopal Church. Then I'll be busy with JH and a few others setting up the festival site while y'all are sleeping. Sunday is the festival, and that should be interesting in itself. I can't wait.
Monday is recovery day for me, though if I have enough energy I'll run away to Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor as well.
Work has been me diagnosing and fixing some program issues. As usual the users find creative ways to break my stuff and then I have to fix it. However, I'll admit one was something that I should have thought about but didn't. It does make for interesting E-mails when I report back to my sponsors that the error is both a training issue and a program issue. Such is the life of a programmer.
I have also been attending the Pride events, which have led to some late evenings. Most event have been a hit, the few misses are really more about the fact that I don't care for the type of event rather than what Pride puts on. I'll have a more detailed report next week and it could also serve as a guide as to what to visit, and what to run away from.
This week though can certainly be draining, and I can tell it's having an effect on me. Well okay, it probably doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping as much as I should, but that's more my own fault. Either way, I'll correct that.
Friday night...well, that is going to get interesting. JH (and a few other folks) read my last blog on my thoughts about Christian Soriano and what I would do at the club. At first he was giving me some hell for my logic behind wearing fetish wear, but then he seemed to have changed his mind. As I found out, the reason for that is because he wants to see how people react. Some of his friends want to witness this as well, I think they just want to see if I have the balls to follow through with it. The most hilarious comment this week was after JH telling a friend of his about what I was going to wear (Nasty Pig gear) she said "If I was a guy, I'd totally have a hard-on right now." Glad to know I still got it ;-)
I look forward to Saturday and the parade. I just wish I had my sign from last year, but maybe I'll get a shot at making one again. If you're in the DC/MD/NoVA area and will be attending the pride parade, I'll be walking with St. Georges Episcopal Church. Then I'll be busy with JH and a few others setting up the festival site while y'all are sleeping. Sunday is the festival, and that should be interesting in itself. I can't wait.
Monday is recovery day for me, though if I have enough energy I'll run away to Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor as well.
June 08, 2008
A Few Milestones
This past Thursday, June 5, marks 7 months since JH and I started dating. It has been fun, and it only gets better every time. I was informed the other day just how much he and his family adore me :-)
Friday, June 6, marks 3 years since I started my job for the feds. It's hard to believe it's already been three years, and that I have made so much progress there since then. From what I hear they have nothing but praise for the work I do, which is a great thing considering the importance of the work that we do over in my division.
So technically this is my 4th summer here, and it looks like it's shaping up to be the best summer ever!
Friday, June 6, marks 3 years since I started my job for the feds. It's hard to believe it's already been three years, and that I have made so much progress there since then. From what I hear they have nothing but praise for the work I do, which is a great thing considering the importance of the work that we do over in my division.
So technically this is my 4th summer here, and it looks like it's shaping up to be the best summer ever!
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