For the first time in about five weeks, I went to church. No, it's not because I'm at odds with St. Georges, I just haven't been at home to attend. KS started a search of finding a church that was accepting of her, and she has found Grace Lutheran Church in Las Cruces. I was invited to go along, and since I had never been to a Lutheran service, I decided to check it out.
The nice thing about the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran church is that their services do follow a similar structure, so it is not like I was lost at where we were at during the service. I definitely noticed some subtle differences in worship style, but that could also be the way Grace Lutheran does things, and not necessarily the entire Lutheran Church. The sermon was definitely something worth listening to for a lot of people, a discussion about forgiveness. In summary, forgiving can mean trying to engage someone about the issue at hand, but forgiving does not mean forgetting. If there is someone who continually wrongs you, you can forgive them and learn not to engage with them again in a situation that will cause a wrong. It also means learning to let go of the residual anger behind the fact that you were wronged. If you can't do that, you haven't really forgiven the person.
After the service, I met with the priest and some of the other congregation members. Everyone seems very nice and made me feel welcome, sounds kind of familiar. I wonder if they're also the kind of people who will take care of one of their own when that person is down with illness or surgery ;-) Seriously, my dad reminded me earlier this week that his mother remarked that she was glad the people of St. Georges took care of me when I had my appendix out because that would not have happened at her church.
A few of us headed over to Break an Egg for Sunday brunch. The restaurant itself is different in that it is very movie themed. The inside lobby looks a bit like a theater box office area, and there are posters of various movies all over the place. There are TV screens playing a movie in the background (Thoroughly Modern Millie that morning), and some of the menu items are named after known movie jobs, such as The Director, The Producer, etc. The food itself was very good, though for some reason service was slow.
After brunch, KS and I headed over to the local mall to look at shoes to go with her dress for a wedding the following weekend. I had already seen the dress that morning, so I was serving as the "second opinion" for finding something comfortable for her to wear, and that could be used with other outfits in the future. We hit the payless and after looking at several pairs of shoes and sandals, we found some sandals that would look perfect for her dress and would totally rock with her tight jeans at the club.
We looked at a few cameras at Radio Shack and did some inquiries about finding some earrings to replace one that she had lost somewhere. I also met KS's cousin since we dropped in to chat at her workplace while it wasn't completely busy. I got to be filled in on some of the family drama that was going on, which believe me, if I didn't know any better, I could claim that KS and her family was Italian ;-)
We went home and watched a few episodes of stand up comedy while I napped for a bit. In the meantime I also got a call from my friend HT and made arrangements to do dinner at La Posta de Mesilla. Around 6 we headed over and met up at La Posta. If you're in Las Cruces, you should make a stop there. It's a famous place and you will see why once you've had the food. It was very good to see HT because I haven't seen her since I left for DC four years ago. Her family is doing well, and it was great to be able to catch up. KS enjoyed their company very much as well and they seemed to enjoy her. I would definitely like to get back over HT's way to see Silver City and how much it has changed because it is one thing to hear someone tell you what has changed, but it's another to actually see it.
After dinner KS brought me to the store and I went in and raided the green chile bin. Nine pounds of chiles later and I had restocked one of the main things I came for. Seriously, green chile is the one thing that I will not break my addiction to. Besides, how harmful can eating hot peppers be, they claim it's good for you in so many ways. We got back to the house and CO came over for a visit as well. We showed him Nurse Jackie, which KS got me hooked on over the weekend thanks to on-demand. I have so got to see if I can find the show somewhere online to watch. Besides that, Thor reminds me of someone I know, I just need to pull the clip and show it to them.
After watching some TV and getting laundry done, it was time for bed, since I had to be up early tomorrow to get myself to the airport and return home.
Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Mexico. Show all posts
August 10, 2009
Saturday Dancing
The evening hours would bring a new experience for being in Las Cruces. KS and I went to the Hotel Encanto's Azul Lounge for what they were calling "Sexy Saturday Night." The thing about it was it was going to be a dance party for GLBT folk in the area. Since it was the first one and it was being put on by some of KS's friends, we decided to check it out.
The Azul lounge itself is pretty good, there's a well-stocked bar and plenty of comfortable chairs to sit in, along with a patio area for people to go out and chill at. There's also a small dance floor area, which became a logistical problem later as more people showed up. KS said the patio reminded her of West Hollywood bars, and the bar itself was like an NYC bar. I've only been to an NYC bar so I can vouch for that, but I'll take her word for it about the patio ;-) They also have a pretty good selection of beers on tap and bottled beer as well. I would partake in bottled Shiner Bock since it has been a while since I had any that was from close to the source.
The party itself started out well, with lots of good music to dance to. I also met a number of KS's friends and some new folks as well. As it was, I was just glad to see that there were people coming out to this thing. I also got to meet a friend and co-worker of KS, CO. CO had moved to Las Cruces from San Antonio a few months ago, which is funny considering now my parents are moving to San Antonio. Perhaps I can drag him back there to be a tour guide when I visit my parents at some date in the future. Anyway, so of course with the music, there would be plenty of dancing that night. It's been years since I have gone dancing, and seriously, I need to do it more often. Perhaps it's time to explore some of the dance clubs again in DC and Baltimore and see if I can find one that's fitting.
The thing where the party didn't quite fit anymore is that when it was advertised on the radio, there was no mention this was primarily for the GLBT crowd, so of course we got a lot of straight people coming in to party as well. It does make things a bit uncomfortable because you don't know how they're going to react if they see any same-sex dancing or PDA's going on. Eventually KS, CO, myself, and a few others decided to take off to another bar just to hang out because by then it had gotten really crowded and the music being played became a bit lame. All of us may have grown up in the 80's, but it doesn't mean we wanted to start hearing the music again, or any more Michael Jackson, especially after how much he has been (over)played in the last month.
We got to the other bar but it was closed unfortunately, so we hung in the parking lot and chatted before heading home since it was after 1 AM by then.
The thing is, I could see the Sexy Saturday Nights being a success, but we need the GLBT people to actually go out there and actually make their presence known. It would be nice to have a place to go on Saturdays in Las Cruces for them because there isn't much as it is for GLBT folks in the southern New Mexico area. I know when I was dealing with coming out, I would have killed for a place I could go to meet with other folks to socialize. However, it's not going to happen until either there's more open people in the area, or until a person's sexuality becomes a non-issue. I'm betting on the former.
Still, if they're doing it the next time I'm in town, I'll drop by and see how it is.
The Azul lounge itself is pretty good, there's a well-stocked bar and plenty of comfortable chairs to sit in, along with a patio area for people to go out and chill at. There's also a small dance floor area, which became a logistical problem later as more people showed up. KS said the patio reminded her of West Hollywood bars, and the bar itself was like an NYC bar. I've only been to an NYC bar so I can vouch for that, but I'll take her word for it about the patio ;-) They also have a pretty good selection of beers on tap and bottled beer as well. I would partake in bottled Shiner Bock since it has been a while since I had any that was from close to the source.
The party itself started out well, with lots of good music to dance to. I also met a number of KS's friends and some new folks as well. As it was, I was just glad to see that there were people coming out to this thing. I also got to meet a friend and co-worker of KS, CO. CO had moved to Las Cruces from San Antonio a few months ago, which is funny considering now my parents are moving to San Antonio. Perhaps I can drag him back there to be a tour guide when I visit my parents at some date in the future. Anyway, so of course with the music, there would be plenty of dancing that night. It's been years since I have gone dancing, and seriously, I need to do it more often. Perhaps it's time to explore some of the dance clubs again in DC and Baltimore and see if I can find one that's fitting.
The thing where the party didn't quite fit anymore is that when it was advertised on the radio, there was no mention this was primarily for the GLBT crowd, so of course we got a lot of straight people coming in to party as well. It does make things a bit uncomfortable because you don't know how they're going to react if they see any same-sex dancing or PDA's going on. Eventually KS, CO, myself, and a few others decided to take off to another bar just to hang out because by then it had gotten really crowded and the music being played became a bit lame. All of us may have grown up in the 80's, but it doesn't mean we wanted to start hearing the music again, or any more Michael Jackson, especially after how much he has been (over)played in the last month.
We got to the other bar but it was closed unfortunately, so we hung in the parking lot and chatted before heading home since it was after 1 AM by then.
The thing is, I could see the Sexy Saturday Nights being a success, but we need the GLBT people to actually go out there and actually make their presence known. It would be nice to have a place to go on Saturdays in Las Cruces for them because there isn't much as it is for GLBT folks in the southern New Mexico area. I know when I was dealing with coming out, I would have killed for a place I could go to meet with other folks to socialize. However, it's not going to happen until either there's more open people in the area, or until a person's sexuality becomes a non-issue. I'm betting on the former.
Still, if they're doing it the next time I'm in town, I'll drop by and see how it is.
Going to Cruces and White Sands
Friday morning it was time to say goodbye to Phoenix and head off to El Paso, TX. As usual, through ticketing and airport security in about 20 minutes, and the flight itself was only 53 minutes. Nothing to report there other than I spent the flight reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows since I had not read it again after reading it the first time two summers ago when it came out.
I got to El Paso and waited for KS to arrive. She picked me up and we headed off to her parents house first, where I met her mom and her step-dad, along with their dog Uggie (sp?). We had dinner at Kiki's Restaurant, where I had some awesome green chili chicken enchiladas. Ah, hatch green chile, how I have missed thee for the last three years. We then headed back to KS's place in Las Cruces, NM.
I gotta say that KS's place is awesome in where it is located. There are people who may bitch and say it is out in the boonies, but it really isn't that far outside of downtown Cruces. As I did on Friday night, we sat outside and watched the moon rise over the Organ mountains with a bit of cloud cover. It was quiet and warm with a bit of breeze outside, and the view was just beautiful. I once said before I left for DC that I would love to buy a plot of land down in New Mexico and eventually build a retirement home (or vacation home). I had sort of put that idea aside because I was convinced that maybe I had romanticized things out in New Mexico a bit too much, but after what I saw, I still want to do it. If you ever visit New Mexico and see a sight like that, you'll understand.
I got to meet the "infamous" Maya, who is KS's dachshund. She was such a little sweetheart to me, and very energetic as well. She loves having her toys thrown for her to chase, and could probably do that for hours if you let her. Once she has her toy though, she will not let go very easily. There is a picture of me picking her up off the ground while playing tug of war with her to get the toy back. Just beware that she does show her love for you by trying to lick your face and ears off ;-) She was definitely loving having her uncle Mangi over this weekend.
Over a few beers that evening, KS and I watched Moonstruck, which is a favorite movie of ours. We're also such dorks we were giggling the whole way through, and tweeting favorite quotes. Of course, not entirely knowing that Twitter was blocking SMS tweets at that moment, it was rather interesting to see all of our quoting go through on Sunday morning, including some tweets that were also supposed to go to Facebook, and showed up at the complete and utter wrong time. Anyway, so we finished the movie before heading off to bed.
The next morning, KS and I got up and took Maya on a walk before also going on a 1 mile run. The knee brace I had purchased came in handy as I had no pain, however, I do not want to become dependent on it. We came back and got our things together before driving up to White Sands National Monument since I had never been there.
White Sands was a lot of fun, besides the usual hiking activities, there is also the opportunity to go and slide down the dunes. We originally tried using some cardboard as a makeshift sled, but gravity was just not overcoming friction and so we went back to the visitors center and rented one of the saucer sleds to use. There is video of me sliding down the dunes in various ways of course. I went forwards, I went backwards, I went kneeling, I went laying down. I find that it worked best to lay down on the sled as much as possible. Unfortunately for me, I screwed up my camera out there because sand got into the it and jammed the parts that let the lens move back and forth. I'm hoping that if I can take it apart I can clean the sand out and get it working again. I'd rather not have to replace my camera because it is a Sony and they're the only freaking company that uses the memory stick for a memory card. I have no other devices that use a memory stick at this point so they'll pretty much be dead unless I buy another Sony.
Anyway, so we spent the afternoon going down the dunes and occasionally taking breaks as well because it was freaking hot out there. Between the two of us, we killed a bottle of Gatorade each, and 3 liters of water. However, it was a lot of fun and I am glad we got to do it.
I got to El Paso and waited for KS to arrive. She picked me up and we headed off to her parents house first, where I met her mom and her step-dad, along with their dog Uggie (sp?). We had dinner at Kiki's Restaurant, where I had some awesome green chili chicken enchiladas. Ah, hatch green chile, how I have missed thee for the last three years. We then headed back to KS's place in Las Cruces, NM.
I gotta say that KS's place is awesome in where it is located. There are people who may bitch and say it is out in the boonies, but it really isn't that far outside of downtown Cruces. As I did on Friday night, we sat outside and watched the moon rise over the Organ mountains with a bit of cloud cover. It was quiet and warm with a bit of breeze outside, and the view was just beautiful. I once said before I left for DC that I would love to buy a plot of land down in New Mexico and eventually build a retirement home (or vacation home). I had sort of put that idea aside because I was convinced that maybe I had romanticized things out in New Mexico a bit too much, but after what I saw, I still want to do it. If you ever visit New Mexico and see a sight like that, you'll understand.
I got to meet the "infamous" Maya, who is KS's dachshund. She was such a little sweetheart to me, and very energetic as well. She loves having her toys thrown for her to chase, and could probably do that for hours if you let her. Once she has her toy though, she will not let go very easily. There is a picture of me picking her up off the ground while playing tug of war with her to get the toy back. Just beware that she does show her love for you by trying to lick your face and ears off ;-) She was definitely loving having her uncle Mangi over this weekend.
Over a few beers that evening, KS and I watched Moonstruck, which is a favorite movie of ours. We're also such dorks we were giggling the whole way through, and tweeting favorite quotes. Of course, not entirely knowing that Twitter was blocking SMS tweets at that moment, it was rather interesting to see all of our quoting go through on Sunday morning, including some tweets that were also supposed to go to Facebook, and showed up at the complete and utter wrong time. Anyway, so we finished the movie before heading off to bed.
The next morning, KS and I got up and took Maya on a walk before also going on a 1 mile run. The knee brace I had purchased came in handy as I had no pain, however, I do not want to become dependent on it. We came back and got our things together before driving up to White Sands National Monument since I had never been there.
White Sands was a lot of fun, besides the usual hiking activities, there is also the opportunity to go and slide down the dunes. We originally tried using some cardboard as a makeshift sled, but gravity was just not overcoming friction and so we went back to the visitors center and rented one of the saucer sleds to use. There is video of me sliding down the dunes in various ways of course. I went forwards, I went backwards, I went kneeling, I went laying down. I find that it worked best to lay down on the sled as much as possible. Unfortunately for me, I screwed up my camera out there because sand got into the it and jammed the parts that let the lens move back and forth. I'm hoping that if I can take it apart I can clean the sand out and get it working again. I'd rather not have to replace my camera because it is a Sony and they're the only freaking company that uses the memory stick for a memory card. I have no other devices that use a memory stick at this point so they'll pretty much be dead unless I buy another Sony.
Anyway, so we spent the afternoon going down the dunes and occasionally taking breaks as well because it was freaking hot out there. Between the two of us, we killed a bottle of Gatorade each, and 3 liters of water. However, it was a lot of fun and I am glad we got to do it.
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