More on Xmas in Texas

Houston weather is a crapshoot.

When I arrived on Monday, I arrived in the middle of a rainstorm.  The Love Jet landed hard with the thrust reversers in full tilt boogie mode so that the landing was safe.  Tuesday was overcast, but otherwise nice.  No need for a jacket, but there WAS a need to go to Target for short sleeve shirts.

Mother nature blessed the city Wednesday and Thursday with sunshine and 70 degree weather.  I was a little irratated at that because I wanted to show my date the Menil Collection, MFA and suchlike places, on a lovely day, but he had other commitments.  Friday was also gorgeous.

Today it's in the 40s and overcast.  The prediction is for highs in the 50s and lows in the upper 30s for Christmas and then rain and icky weather for boxing day when I start the trek home.

Should make for an interesting trip back.

Life is full of adventures, I got to do some catch up with one of my cousins and the big extravaganza is tomorrow night.  Overall, I am glad the heartstrings were tugged and I am out here this year.

Yes, I AM a Native Houstonian

Greetings from League City, TX.

I am here in the aftermath of performing a mission.  You see, there was a sad little boy in Lake Jackson, TX who needed to be perked up.  As a native Houstonian, I decided to give it a try.  Sooo, Saturday morning, I made a phone call while on the Southwest Airlines web site.  Monday, I boarded a Love Jet from San Diego to Phoenix and another one from Phoenix to Houston.

The boy in question had no way to get to Houston, so it was Zipcar to the rescue.  Thanks to them, I wound up in a Volvo XC 60.

I swore it was the most Houstonian thing I have ever done.  This is because growing up in Houston, the it imported car in Houston was the Volvo.  It was a great drive to Lake Jackson to pick the boy up.  I showed him around Houston and saw his face light up in ways I never imagined.  This was especially true when I was interrupted to do some work and over the phone mentioned that I was out on a date.  I never saw someone break out in a smile that someone mentioned him positively.

Now, I am making one of my aunts happy by hanging out at her place until after Xmas, when I bus it back to SD and home for new years (and a blood draw.)

If I don't post between now and Monday, Merry Xmas.

There Is Hope After All

Roy Moore was defeated in his quest to become Alabama's next senator.

Let's call it good news that Alabama is not sending a child predator to the US Senate.  There is some decency in this world after all.

Hopefully, it is a sign that things will get a little better.

It Was 30 Years Ago Today

I'm posting this now, because I want to mark the milestone here.

30 years ago today, my parents told me to leave and never come back because they didn't want a gay kid around.

Yeah, Merry Christmas.

The only thing I could do is say, "Bye," and started an odyssey in which I wound up in Tijuana via Denver and San Francisco.  Looking back, it's been one hell of a ride.  Looking forward, the best is yet to come.

That's a better way to handle it than complain about how my parents ruined my life.

Anyhoo, it's been a long day, and I am going to get some rest.

Is Someone Clueless?

That specific someone being my former housemate in the desert.

He went off to Dallas to see his ailing mother and from there went to Guadalajara with his Dad.

Now, realize he and his Dad have a history that is not good.  Why the guy went with his dad to Guadalajara, I don't know.  I take that back.  He did it because it was on Dad's dime (like everything else.)

Soooo, he thinks that he will run around and go out and have sex and all that good stuff while there, right?

Well, that takes pocket money.  Daddy isn't giving him any.

What does he do?  Ask me for money so he can go on his wing ding.

Thank goodness one trip is coming up and a second isn't far behind along with some year end expenses.  Otherwise I would have said, "Hell, no."  In this case I just said I had a lot of cash flowing out.

He was nice to me, because he wants me to move back (and be a money tree to shake.)

You know what else isn't happening.

Strange relationship stuff

This is sort of a continuation of the last post.

You see, during the time I dated the guy who now has moved on, we met a third person.  Both of us were OK with it and collectively had a good time with him. 

He, however had issues.  First of all, he was not making much money and had a hard time conjuring up his next Dollar.  Secondly, he was living with his sister's family (and babysitting his distinguished niece) and let's just say that woman is interesting to deal with.

The sister decided it would be a great idea to sell her condo in San Diego and move with her husband to Texas.  He didn't want to go and I told him he needed to figure something out to keep that from happening.  Of course, he is now miserable in beautiful Lake Jackson, TX; after being dumped by the guy I dated.

He texts me that his masturbation fantasies involve me.

Now I want to have sex with him again.

Which begs the question, "WHY?"

I don't want to do it to get back at the guy I dated.  I think I want to do it because it would be fun to do him again.  He really was fun and a good sport in the sack.  And if we did it in the Omni Houston, that would just be a bonus.  Hey, I have had fantasies about staying there since it was first built and I was in middle school.  Time to live 'em out while my marital status is current, no?

So, let's see what happens.

REVENGE!!!!!!

OK, I'm back in San Diego because I needed to pick up my prescription and a check arrived.

Someone was working on leading me on, and it was really great.  Then he finds True Love and quits responding to my voice mails.

And I put up with three nights in a hotel room in which it was all about the other guy.

I melted down.

Of course, he now is busy, and I just got a text rather than a phone call saying hope you are well.

One thing is that he got off on doing it in a hotel room.  That's fine because I Priceline my way into nice ones.

This round, got to extract revenge not just on him but also on someone else who asked me to house sit, meaning I could not lick my wounds in Puerto Vallarta.  I reconfigure everything for him and he THEN tells me that he changed his mind and had someone else do it AFTER I bought tickets.

Did I mention he wants me to move back in with him?

So, I needed a place to stay in SD and Priceline came through with this kick ass junior suite off of Hotel Circle.  Let's just say if it had a kitchen, it would make the perfect apartment for me as it now looks like it will just be me for the foreseeable future.

Now, If I can find someone to spend some time with me IN the suite, it would be more interesting, but I think I don't mind being a widowed 52 year old right now.

Wow, time flies

I knew this round of Tijuana would last until this weekend.

I didn't realize it would go so fast.

The only unaccomplished mission is repairing a broken screen for my phone.  Other than that, life is good.

The only thing is, how have I managed to generate so much laundry so quickly.  I did it on Tuesday and it is already piling up.

I'll solve that problem later.

Why tears were rolling down my eyes today

The former roommate in the desert decided he needed a therapy session today.

Guess who he woke up?

The discussion was the issue of seeing his ailing mother.  I told him he needs to do it while she is alive.

And that got me to thinking about my amate and how I would much rather remember the night he cried in my arms realizing how much I loved him than the funeral in which he was displayed in a casket.

That upset me.

I wish I could erase the memory of him, in a casket, wearing a cheap suit.

I'd rather remember the time I let him sleep over because his luck ran out and he needed a dry place to stay.

Or the time I made sure he was safe and sound the day he got very drunk after losing his immigration case.

Or the time he realized that I was fond of him when I told him I was going to get an International Driving Permit should I have to go to Guatemala to be with him.

Or the times he just listened to me when Rick had his first stroke.

Or the times he let me cuddle him because I needed a teddy bear to help me deal with Rick's stroke (he hated that sort of thing.)

Or the lullabys  he sang to me - especially, "Tu eres algo para siempre."

Yeah, I'd much rather remember that.

Due to Circumstances Beyond My Control

It's time to play catch up.

Some people are quite unclear on the concept.

After the third round of, "You need to find another living arrangement," and being told, "I don't trust you to house sit," Guess what I heard?

"When are you coming back?"

Who's nuts?

Anyway, it looks like at some point, I will trek to the desert and just lay all the cards on the table and tell him that coming back Ain't.  Gonna.  Happen.  After that, I will let G-d do the rest like they tell you to do in Al Anon.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I celebrated the birthday of the librarian in my life and got new insights on him.  The one that really made my jaw drop is that he learned that I shop at La Europea. for my liquor needs.  For me, it is three blocks away and for a high end store, they offer some great deals.  He was also surprised that I know about Macroplaza in Tijuana. 

I've lived here on and off for about two years, I should know these things.  It's amazing that people are amazed that I do things like ride city buses and grocery shop here.  Don't people understand that I live here?

Anyhoo, it's back to the grind as I have a teleconference in 50 minutes.

The Start of the half birthday celebration

Ok, here goes.

This is the first of the posts in honor of the fact I will be 52 ½ on November 30.

Why the deal this time around.

The last time, I had a blow out celebration of a birthday was my 49^th, thanks to the Amate. I really don’t want to know how he managed to pay for it so that I did not have to dig a cent out of my pocket to celebrate.

I got screamed at and was busy avoiding being hit by Rick as he was dying for my 50^th. I still get upset over that one, because that is the one in which you have the big blow out. I never got one.

51 and 52 were spent in the desert with a housemate who did not make an effort – even though I made an effort to celebrate his on my dime.

53 will be taken by a duty dance. I don’t mind that at all, but it still means no celebration for me.

Sooo, after two trips being kiboshed thanks to people acting like jerks, I thought real hard and decided to make it a point to celebrat 52 ½ all this month and have it bleed over a little because the LA Auto Show is coming up and I want to go.

This post was written offline because of internet issues. Future posts will be daily except for Shabbat and US and Mexican holidays.

Hang on, it should be fun.

Independence Day

Today, Mexico celebrated its birthday.

This is after the weekend from hell in which I had to deal with a loudmouthed person who admitted to a tendency to violence.  It was also obvious we have zilch in common after he fumed about being taken to a despedida where the performers were doing their thing in Spanish in San Diego.  Personally, I think he needs to go back to the Louisiana swamps, put on his klan hood and leave everyone else alone.  But I can't say that.  Long story.

Did I mentioned I then got atomic gripe?  No fun since I cannot shake a cold.

OK, back to the birthday celebration.  The actual party is the night before when all Mexico goes out for a few and scream, "VIVA MEXICO!"  For the past three years, I have been out celebrating amongst them.  I also did it once before.

What I also have noticed as that I celebrate Mexican Independence Day with more gusto than its US counterpart.  There are probably two reasons for that.  First my mother was born on the Fourth of July and we are estranged.  Second Rick died on July 5 and July 3 was a very gut wrenching day for me as well as some of his relatives who saw him one last time before he died.

So I guess I have a new tradition - and that is a good thing.

As I wait for a check

I realize I made the right move.

OK, the hand got forced, but I no longer am commuting to the desert and probably am the better person for it.  Although I have been waiting for a check, I at least am not hounded for money even though I tell someone that cash flow is a little tight and it has to wait.  It becomes just my problem.

I am, however a little hacked that someone dragged their feet in getting me a check and the represent now that I should be getting one via overnight mail by the end of the week.  A blow out is in order.

Did I mention my angel is watching after me.  Just as I thought I would be short until Friday, I got some money that will get me through.  Good move.

So, September will be busy and we shall see how things progress.

Fetish of the Day

Due to circumstances within and beyond everyone's control, I am in a sexual relationship with a guy that lives with his mom.

I'm cool with that, however that means a trip to a hotel if we want to do anything X rated.

You guessed it.  He is turned on by performing the act in a hotel room.

Needless to say, this kinkster is thankful for the invention of Priceline - especially since I have to do something in San Diego the Friday before pick a side and stick to it weekend because some I-5 work requires that the San Ysidro border crossing be closed.

Should make for a fun weekend.

Boy did I screw that one up.

If you are looking for future dispatches from the Desert in this blog, I have bad news for you.

That might not happen.

As you may know, I agreed to split my time between the desert and San Diego for another year in April.  Within about four days, the housemate made it clear that I made a mistake because he decided to have one of his bipolar episodes and take it out on me.

May rolls around.  He finds love in a fifth wheel trailer in the middle of nowhere in San Bernadino County.  Asking me to take him there and back was reasonable.  Saying that when we went out I was only expected to be a minder for him while he gets stark raving drunk to the point of blacking out wasn't.  Insisting I pay for the bottle of Jack Daniels Mr. Fifth Wheel wanted was definitely unreasonable.

Did I mention for the second year in a row, he didn't bother to take me out on my birthday, even though I took him out to celebrate his?  I say that because even when the Amate was flat broke, he managed to take me out for drinks to celebrate my birthday (No, I don't know how he did it.)

I head back to San Diego to get stuff done.  I am greeted with a text asking if  I give him money so he could financially bail out Mr. Fifth Wheel.  I said no.  I got a text saying, "Stay in San Diego."

Of course the next day, I was screaming at the top of my lungs, "HELLO, TIJUANA!  THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!"  As I started pounding pavement, I get an apology and a request to come back and meet his mom (a really nice, smart woman by the way.)

Mommy and I see eye to eye on certain things about him.  He is upset that we do.

He also got sexually frustrated and spent two weeks using me as an emotional punching bag.  Ultimately that led to a trip to CCBC where I decided to fight back by engaging in as much sexual activity as I could.

He wasn't happy that I was getting laid and he wasn't.  OK who could not resist being asked to participate in a window show that you are ogling?

So I head back for SD Pride and a doctor appointment, and return to the desert for two weeks.

It was going well for a week and a half - then he was told by someone he met on line that they were not coming over to his place to have a sex fest.

He turned on me.

He insisted on my paying for a night out.

He then on that night out thwarted an assignation I was undertaking.

He then was hacked that I was leaving Sunday morning.

I leave Sunday morning and he texts, "Don't come back."

Don't worry, that won't happen.

At least I didn't say anything.

So, it's on to the next round.

Happy Birthday, Rick

Today would be Rick's 77th birthday if he were still alive.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, today is the day of the Pride Parade.  For every year except for the 2015 we hit every one.

I was thinking about it all day, and about we managed to have a good time even at the 2014 one in which our day was shorter because Rick wasn't feeling 100% well.  It was really sad to think about especially since in 2015 I displayed gallows humor as he was getting a bath and I noted he was getting a spa treatment for his birthday.  At that point he was progressively shutting down and the apartment felt more like the departure lounge than anything else.

I will probably think more about it over the next two weeks.

There are other stories, but I will save them for future posts.

Gov. Vega, You Are Forgiven

One of the current things going on in Baja California is a replating of all cars.

This means that it's out with the old and in with the new as far as license plates are concerned and I truly missed the old ones that paid homage to the wine industry in the state.  Honestly, I go, "Meh," when I see the new graphic plates.

I recently found out why this is happening.  There is now a new regulation in Mexico stating that the plates graphics cannot intrude on the plate number.  Makes sense, and the new design does just that.  So I won't complain too loudly about the new design.

That said, this regime has left it's mark and we will see what the next one does in two years.

Oh, No. It's the Bank Statement

I just spent a week and a half in Tijuana.

I also needed the ABA Number for my bank for another form.

This meant going online to get the number.  I saw my balance and noted it was higher than I originally thought - even with a charge that was unexpected.  I then looked at the statement's detail.  It turns out that I spent less money in Tijuana than I thought.  This even includes one night out on a date.

Something tells me, I should spend more time there - especially since there are two Sorianas with decent delis and one of them is a Hiper Soriana.

The other nice thing about my bank is that I get free ATM withdrawals in Mexico.

Guess that means I should spend more time there.

More on Microaggressions

Some work from the University of California on the subject of microaggressions crossed my browser this morning.  It made for an interesting read, in that I now know that a microaggression is, "the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership."

How big a committee wrote that one?  And who do they define as a, "marginalized group?"

Sounds too straight white male think to me. Here are some examples that amplify it and my thoughts:

Themes	Microaggression Examples	Message	My Comment
Alien in One’s Own Land: When Asian Americans, Latino Americans and others who look different or are named differently from the dominant culture are assumed to be foreign-born	“Where are you from or where were you born?”	You are not a true American.	If someone asks me this question, I only have one response. “Texas.” Deep down inside I want to be a REAL Texan, and ask, “And what country are YOU from?” but I can control myself and my point was made in one word.
	“You speak English very well.”		DUH. It’s my first language.
	Continuing to mispronounce the names of students after students have corrected the person time and time again. Not willing to listen closely and learn the pronunciation of a non-English based name.	Your ethnic/racial identity makes you exotic.	Sorry, UC, although I like being referred to as, “exotic,” you got this one wrong, wrong, wrong. I’ve endured this one, and the person doing it comes across to me as an ignoramus at best.
Myth of Meritocracy Statements which assert that race or gender does not play a role in life successes, for example in issues like faculty demographics.	“America is the land of opportunity.” “Everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough	People of color are given extra unfair benefits because of their race. The playing field is even so if women cannot make it, the problem is with them. People of color are lazy and/or incompetent and need to work harder.	Look, we all know it’s not what you know. It’s who you know. Let’s just drop the pretense.
Sexist/Heterosexist Language Terms that exclude or degrade women and LGBT persons	Being forced to choose Male or Female when completing basic forms	LGBT categories are not recognized	Another binary that makes no sense. Please don’t complain when I ask that in the selections you include are, “Don’t know / not sure,” “Other (Please specify,)” and “Decline to state.”
	Two options for relationship status: married or single.	LGBT partnerships are invisible.	As a widower, I go, “Huh,” when faced with this binary.
Traditional Gender Role Prejudicing and Stereotyping Occurs when expectations of traditional roles or stereotypes are conveyed.	Labeling an assertive female committee chair/dean as a “b____,” while describing a male counterpart as a “forceful leader.”	Women are out of line when they are aggressive.	OK, being aggressive and being assertive are two different things. And when it comes to jerks, let’s use gender neutral terms such as the one with eight letters beginning with a and ending with e.

With that said, the complete paper can be found here.  And I just used HTML coding skills to get around a Blogger limitation.  Hooray!

On a lighter note, hope your Easter went well.  

Mixed Pre Easter Bag

Well, it's Holy Saturday.

I'm going to call it good news that I have discovered a new sexual hard limit of mine.  No way in hell am I going to remotely participate in activity involving learning more about Victoria's Secret.  It never was my thing in the first place, but now that I have had an encounter with a guy who dug it, I don't want to do it again.  What made this round too strange was he got off on listening to a recording that used phrases like, "you are a filthy faggot, whose only purpose is to have your man pussy penetrated."

In one word, "EEEEEEW!"

It gets worse.  This session was a three way involving someone who I was dating.  This jerk decided, with a little help, to make sure I was drummed out of the picture.  Let's just say, the whole situation got messy and in the end, I was crying, I hit the ceiling of the Grantville Trolley Station (and if you have been in it, you would know that is no mean feat."  And the whole thing really upset me.

Soooo, the time came to make an attempt to cheer myself up.  First round was when I dug up the Hawaiian shirts in my locker that Rick and I purchased to go to a funeral.  This particular one was for a friend of Rick's late mother who knew his family well.  The guest of honor specifically requested that the mourning party wear Hawaiian shirts to the event.  I really enjoyed meeting the family of the guest of honor as well as truly appreciating why we switch place cards at gatherings.  A friend of Rick's mom basically spoke with me and put him on a pedestal for all the things he did for his mom when he visited San Diego.  I relayed that to Rick.

The next day an archaeological dig into my locker revealed shirts Rick bought but never wore. It was also the day of a despedida for a bar, and Rick's grand nephew asked if I could be a gratuitous piece of arm candy and go with him.  I wore one of the shirts, attended the despedida and hand a great time.  I was out until 4 AM.  I also SWEAR the young man is out to fix me up with someone and is evaluating candidates from his date pool.  This means if you see me out on a date in Tijuana with an awfully young man, you know what happened.

As you know, I made a decision last July to split my time and figure out where to go from that point this July.  I have decided to keep splitting my time for another year, and decide what to do  next April.  We shall see how that plays out.

More to come.

What I Pass On

I finally got through the latest installment of Alumni Doing Better than You, also known as my undergraduate school's alumni magazine.

I noted that two professors I really liked taking a class from had passed away.  One was an art history professor who was a great abstract painter as well.  The other was a computer science professor who was proud of his long time association with Texas A&M University.

I used him extensively when I taught job seekers how people can check backgrounds informally.   One of the characters in my bag of tricks was Super Aggie - this professor's love for A&M amped up big time.  I had this person driving a car that was color to sample Texas A&M Maroon (there is such a color) with white pinstripes.  The plate number was, "GIG EM."  Did I mention that on casual Fridays, this person wore a T Shirt that said, "Keep College Station Normal?"

That said, I used this character with access to the Alumni Directory to look up to see if someone actually did graduate from A&M.  The reason why the person checked the directory was becase Super Aggie did not run into the person searched for at the friendly, neighborhood Aggie Muster.

And that is probably just one of many ways that professor's legacy lives on.

Stop It!

I have heard the President referred to as

• Donald Duck,
• Cheeto, and
• Tweety

I ask everyone to please stop this.  Donald Duck, Cheetos and the Tweety Bird don't deserve the disparagement.

'Nuff said.

How do I know I am getting older?

Simple.

Someone I chatted with only recalls the Hurst/Olds from the 1980s.

I know that because I asked, "If you had a choice, Hurst/Olds or Gran Sport Skylark?"

I got a blank stare.

Full disclosure.  Thanks to my grandfather being a Buick dealer, we were brought up believing that you really would rather have a Buick so I am biased there.

Perhaps I should have said, "Hurst/Olds or Grand National Regal?"

And as far as I am concerned, the latter because it had climate control / set the temperature and forget it air conditioner.

Prep work

Well, the time is approaching to head back to America's Finest City / 664Landia, and I still need to do stuff to get ready.  Most of it is trivial, but still a pain.

I really can use a housemate break.

And here is the other problem.  Opportunities to do X rated stuff here are few and far between.

I need to work on that if I am going to stay sane on this end.

Anyway, back to getting stuff done.

Happy February and let's play catch up.

Better yet, I am now missing Rick.

Here's why.

According to the rumor mill, the newly crowned Miss Universe has a (drum roll, please) GIRLFRIEND!

Rick would have so much fun pretending to clutch pearls over that one.

An awards show

The Oscar nominees are out.

So are the Razzie nominees.

Guess I should do a 2016 awards show too.

Stay tuned.

Coming Soon to a 664 Area Code near you.

And no it's not Montserrat, it's Tijuana.

Housemate's dad is headed back in February, and the timing is probably perfect because housemate has one tragic flaw that drives me nuts.

It seems that he has one and only one reaction to when he doesn't get his way / things don't go according to his plan.  He throws a temper tantrum hoping that if it last's long enough, people will do things his way just to shut him up.

I am reminded about the song by Adrian Belew called, "Oh, Daddy," where one of the lines is, "Don't hold your breath, because you may turn blue." and that is the theme of my responses when doing something so that he HAS his way is not feasable.

Oh, and this is why he isn't getting his way this round.  Daddy is coming to town and he doesn't want anything to do with him, even though he does work for him as an independent contractor.

And that brings up what I am pondering.  After I said, "Bye," after my Dad said, "Leave and don't ever come back" I froze my posterior off in Denver, moved to San Francisco, went through three relationships and embarked on an interesting career path.  I think I learned a lesson there, but after seeing and knowing the facts and circumstances of why housemate and his dad have such a poor relationship, I wonder if I learned MY lesson the easy way by seeing what might have happened had I not left?

Either way, I do realize that I did the right thing.  In the end that may be all that matters.

Another View of the Subject

I remember a discussion somewhere in alternative sexuality land where someone asked how to tell someone they were interested in that, "I don't want to be A slave.  I want to be YOUR slave."

I was reminded of this through an encounter in online dating land today with someone who would love to have me send him a slave application.  I don't know what will come of it, but I think I will send him one because he made a valid point this morning.

I told him about the fact that I spent five years taking care of Rick in his demented state.  He responded by stating that I deserved someone to serve me in light of what I did for Rick.  I never looked at it that way, but I also see his point for a few reasons.

Besides taking care of Rick, I think I may have lead a rougher life than most.  And if not taking care of Rick, I have spent a lot of time struggling to take care of myself.  Maybe those circumstances make me intrigued about the idea that someone would serve me.

Anyway, it's something to think about.

KTY LIED

Right now I am listening to Steely Dan belt out Dr. Wu from the album Katy Lied.

I am playing it for another reason, but I am also thinking about a particular car I saw when I first moved to San Francisco.  It was a blue Audi 80 or 90, I don't remember which.  The plate was, "KTY LIED."  After about two years the car disappeared and there was no replacement car with the plate, and no replacement car with the plate.

I always wondered whatever happened to the owner of the car.  And wouldn't it be funny if I saw the plate in the Coachella Valley.

I'll keep an eye out.

Cash flow

Somehow, it is finally starting to improve after the beginning of the year.  I wish it would improve faster.

I just need a little more work and I will be happy.  It is a slow process, but I will get through this one.

Anyhoo, I am now pretty sure that I will either split my time or base myself in SD.  Details later.

Anyway, tomorrow it's off to Indio to run one errand and then SD on Thursday to run a few more.

But here is what I really want to talk about - picking your battles.

You see Canadians, French and others are now whining that they were barred from entering the US because they told the immigration people they were going to the Women's March to protest.

Did these people really think a US immigration officer would let someone in the country to protest against the US government?  Sorry.  No nation in their right mind would allow something like that.  It would be like me telling an INM officer in Mexico that I was going in to protest their government.  I would not be let in and rightfully so.

Pick another battle.

See ya tomorrow.

What I am Not Getting Right Now

It is a dark and stormy night.  A guy who is two miles away and housemate wants to have sex with him to the point where he is paying for an Uber to get him to the house because the prey does not have a car.

I don't get it and here are some of the reasons I don't.

• It was a lazy afternoon in Desperate Hot Springs.  I didn't want to deal with the trophy housemate dragged in via Uber from Hemet (I think.)  I chatted someone up.  He shared with me his fantasy.  I was game to play along.  I took a city bus to Palm Springs to go play with him and I had a great time.  Later that evening, I had a second encounter with someone and headed back to downtown Palm Springs on The Buzz Bus.  Yes I was buzzed.  Ultimately I headed back in an Uber only to learn that the trophy was into PnP.  I think I talked about that one before.
• It was a drizzly night, and someone who wanted to sleep with me was in LA at the same time I was.  He asked if I could come over while I was on the 304 Rapid on the way to WeHo.  I said, "Yes," opened up the LA Metro App and altered my trajectory to within a block of his place that was Culver City adjacent.  Two taps of my TAP card later, I was at his place.
• I met up with a friend who occasionally lets me spend the night in his casita in San Diego.  He lives in a neighborhood with restricted parking and offered me a parking pass.  I giggled because I didn't drive there.  I took the Trolley to SDSU and walked the rest of the way.

You get my point.  Also there is an official reason why I keep the driving to a minimum (it keeps the blood pressure down because I have to walk to and from transit stops.)  I don't expect to have to pay to get someone to a first date.

I guess others do, and I have to be serene about it.

More to come.

A post script.  The guy did not show up.  More on that topic later.

Discovery Channel

Not the network, the song.

The refrain is, "You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do it on Discovery Channel."

The first time I heard the song I was with Rick in The Midnight Sun in San Francisco.  It was accompanied by a video of animals doing same.  Prude that he was, Rick dropped his jaw at hearing the song and seeing the video in a bar.

The second time I noted the song was on a bus headed towards beautiful, Hermosillo, Sonora. I gotta first explain that it was obvious that in the driver's heart, disco never died.  He found a station that played this song, and he cranked the volume up and grooved to it on the way to the Hermosillo bus station.  I had a giggle over what Rick would think about that.

And I just heard it and had another laugh at both.

I am blessed for having both experiences.

Switcheroo

I'm self employed, so today is a holiday at my job in honor of the Presidential Inauguration.

I didn't watch it, but noted that the now Former President is on his way to Palm Springs as we speak to go on a brief vacation with friends in Rancho Mirage.  This meant seeing fighter jets on patrol this morning as I went to check my blood pressure.

It also makes me wonder if I will see the Obamas when I trek to Wal Mart.

And the reason for the title.  to make up for lack of a post yesterday, I am posting on a holiday.

On to the next round.

Summertime and the Living Will Be Easy (I Hope)

It now looks as if I will NOT be spending the summer in the Coachella Valley.

Which means I have a summer bucket list that may be ambitious.

It includes:

• Another round of LA Pride
• Another round of Tijuana Pride
• Going to the Del Mar Fair.
• San Diego Pride
• Tie up loose end trip to Guatemala
• Open Pandora's Box in Florida
• Making a decision on where to plant roots

We'll see what gets accomplished.

Did I mention Karma is speaking to me?  An apartment I am interested in in Tijuana advertised it is available on a week to week basis.

In other news, housemate in Coachella Valley figured out who I am interested in having a sexual relationship with.  I think he has a clear idea of what turns me on, and might qualify as a wing man.

So, life is getting better now.  I am happy.  More happiness to come.

Houston Has the Oilers, The Greatest Football Team

We take the ball from goal to goal like no one's ever seen.
In the air and on the ground, we're always in control
'cause when you say the Oilers,
You're talking Super Bowl.

Yes, I know that it apes the Miami Dolphins fight song.

Although I fled Houston, I knew why many Houstonians said, "Go, Oilers;" when Bottom Line Bud Adams announced that he was fleeing to Nashville.  The result is the Tennessee Titans.  The other result is that I had no problem joining the contingent of San Diegans who belted out, "Go, Chargers;" when Mr. Spanos said he was going to move the team to LA and become the LA Chargers.  But that's another story.

One cousin moved to Dallas.

Another cousin married a Cheesehead and got wrapped up in that vortex along with their kids.

I am a recovering Broncomaniac who has officially lapsed.

I had fun today telling the first one that there is always next year, and hoping the other one sees a good result in Seattle next week.

I'll let you know if I get to see the Super Tazon in Mexico.

At the Half Way Point.

Soooo, we are now a little over the half way point.

It has come down to making one of three decisions.

I take up permanent residence in the Coachella Valley

I continue to split my time between the Coachella Valley and San Diego / Tijuana.

I take up permanent residence in San Diego / Tijuana.

Right now the first option is a no go.  I'm having a really hard time making friends out here and that is really not good for me.  The housemate is a good guy as is the dog, but a social life is lacking.

The second option is one of the two reasonable case scenarios left.  I would be willing to pursue it because of the roommate and the dog, but I need some quality time. Also, let's face it.  My sex life is better there than in the Coachella Valley.

The third option wins out on cost and the fact that I am having better sex in that bi national glob I really enjoy being in.

Details and logistics to be worked out over the next six months.

Why I am drinking sparkling wine.

I don't know if this counts as a milestone in a year celebrating milestones, but had Rick lived, this weekend would have been our 25th anniversary.  I was in one of those moods to break out the Spumante and have a glass (or three) to celebrate the milestone.

One person I knew would have probably said, "25 years.  OK one gay year = seven straight years.  OH.  MY.  GOD."

But that was not meant to be, so I am now memorializing both that and the fact this weekend marks 12 years since his mother passed away.  That was a weekend to remember in that Rick's Precious Sister decided to issue the diktat that I was persona non grata at his mom's funeral.  Although no one was surprised, it was still upsetting and set the stage for a truly ugly situation where I had to carry out orders that Precious Sister was not happy with.

But that is another story.  Right now I am reminiscing about this relationship and one other.

The housemate and I went out on Thursday - the anniversary of the Amante's death.  The Uber driver was from - Guatemala.

Talk about Karma.

Catch up part 2

I was only one behind, but here is the post that will have me all caught up.

Seems as if everyone in the house wants to be a completely lazy you know what today.

No one is in the mood to work.  Honestly, I just wanted to stay in bed all day and were it not for the fact that the dog needed to be let outside, I probably would have.  Just a strange day all around.

But now it is time to play catch up and finish stuff that was slowed down during the new year, so here we go at it.

OK, let's start to play catch up.

I realize I am a little behind, so I will start by writing catch up posts.

This is going to be a hard weekend for me.  Two years ago today, I saw my amante dressed up in a cheap suit rosary in hand in an open casket.  It was distressing to see a man I knew for four years and loved for one of them in that state.

Let's face it.  34 is way too young to die.  The sad thing is that looking back, I should have seen it coming in December 2013 when we spent our last night together.  One of the things he said was, "I don't believe in angels anymore."

I responded by saying that I did believe in them, but what I did not believe is that they come down in the form of someone all dressed in white with a halo and wings.  I believed that angels took all forms and could enter the United States from Guatemala illegally.

He cried in my arms and said, "Now I know how much you love me."

I felt he really was my angel sent down to look after me during a rough time.  I was saddened when my angel was taken away and that he was sent off in the way he was.  I cried a lot and drank a lot that night.  It broke my heart that he was dead and I no longer had my angel with me.

I spent a long time thinking about it, and I still miss him terribly.  I also know why it will be my turn to be the angel - I'll be paying something forward.

Oops, missed a day

I'll make it up by double posting.

Right now I am wondering when I will get my Wal Mart gift card.  You see, when I am in the Coachella Valley, I am a Wal Mart frequent flyer.  They have a survey every time I get a receipt and I respond in the hope that I will be successful in the drawing for a gift card.  Yes, I know my purchases are tracked, but I want the gift card.

That said, here is the reason why I am a frequent flyer there.  I'm lazy.  I like one stop shopping for motor oil, and a few bottles of wine like I did on one of my recent trips there.

I also do a lot of shopping at the Wal Mart in Tijuana and in San Diego.  I found that the one in National City is a great place near the doctor's office to grab lunch. The doctor was impressed that they sold decent sandwiches there.

So, I now have to figure out what the next post will be.

While I Wait for an Email

Let's take a moment to celebrate Mercury is going direct right when we approach the first full work week of 2017.

After a slow Holiday Season, things are starting to pick up.  I will be plugging away at writing, editing following up and conference calls before being confronted with another short week.

This year's plan is to work harder at getting more work.  The funny part of my horoscope for 2017 is the prediction that in the next to eight months someone who I would want to be serious about relationship - wise will be in the picture.  It also mentions making a decision on May 25 and expecting results December 3 more or less.

I wonder who the former prediction will play out.  I suspect that Mr. Right will live in San Diego or Tijuana instead of the Coachella Valley as I seem to be doing better making friends there.  Then again, we all know that things play out in their own strange way so who knows what will happen?

Anyway, the email has arrived, and I can pick up where I left off workwise.

Hope your week goes well.

Happy Saturday

Soooo, what do I post about.

Glad I got through another holiday season.

Work going better.

And I realize, I forgot to send out a bill.  Better do that now.

18 Months Later

Wow.

It has been 18 months since Rick passed away.

I really didn't want to work today.  I would have much rather spent time reflecting on the aftermath.

I think I have progressed over the time.  I still think of Rick and miss his perspective on life.  That said, I still haven't planted roots somewhere in SoCal or Baja.  That might be something to work on this year. I think the ultimate determination will be if I can make friends in the Coachella Valley.  I am finding it really hard to do so, and have promised to do a better job of trying.  With that said, I am not burning my San Diego bridges any time soon.

Also, I still reflect on how little I miss San Francisco.  It was a home for a long time and overall a good run.  That said, I am into my new life so much I do not pine for The City.  I also don't scream that I was displaced through gentrification like everyone expects me to.  I now believe it was making the decision to leave San Francisco when Rick died that makes me think this way.  I also think it was a good one in that I am now in a relatively good place.  I could be doing far worse.

That said, I still miss him.  I know he is noticing what is going on in my life and sometimes wonder if he is comparing notes with the amate.

With that said, it's on to the next milestone this year.

Doing The Lido Shuffle Because ...

I saw a really bad piece of performance art.

A colleague of mine performed a song she wrote about doing pirate radio when she was a he.

Good news - she looked fabulous.

Bad news - the performance left a lot to be desired.

I think a little practice will make things better as the stage presence itself was commanding.  But afterwards I enjoyed grooving to Boz Skaggs singing the Lido Shuffle.

Time to Celebrate!!!!

First off, happy 2017.

So far, the year has been good.  I took some time off for R&R and actually went out with my housemate on New Year's Eve.

So, why the title.

Well, in light of a Trumpocolypse, 2017 probably doesn't look good for many.  I am one of those as a Gay Latino widower.

However when politics is put aside, the 30th anniversary of a major milestone in my life is this year.  What is really interesting is while I was in bed with someone a few weeks ago I realized that this year ALSO is the 25th anniversary of another milestone.

So for me, this is a double jubilee year.  I am celebrating accordingly.  I will also document and share this year through almost daily blog posts.  No postings during Shabbat, Yom Tov Days, Yom Kippur or US Holidays.

Here is to a year that is more fun that the past few of them!