Aloha!

Tomorrow morning, we will all head to the Sacramento Intergalactic Airport and take a flight to Honolulu. Sweetie, the in-laws and I will fly from Sacramento, and we will meet Sweetie's sister and her new partner ( yes, it IS what you think!) over there. Althought Sweetie and I were just in Hawaii about six weeks ago, I feel ready to go again.

Work has been particularly busy this past week. My boss left the Department one week ago, and just as he left, a huge assignment came along. I have been working hard, as has the entire unit, to get the project done before I leave. I think we are going to make it. So when I leave, I can go with a clear conscience and not think about work while I am gone.

I will try to duck out a bit early today and get the yard work done this evening before dinner. Sweetie wants us to meet up for dinner with some friends. I'll have to work fast to get everything done before we have to meet them.

I won't get a chance to post an entry while I'm gone. I'll have plenty to say when I get back. Until then, stay safe, happy, and healthy.

Aloha to you all!

Let there be light

The house was a bit torn up yesterday as the electricians arrived to install the new lighting that Sweetie and I wanted. There are quite a number of new halogen recessed lights in the ceilings, and two pendant lights over the bar that separates the kitchen from the family room. Most of these new circuits are on dimmers. I must say, it makes a huge difference! We have lived in this house for over eight years and I had no idea what a difference just a few changes like this could make. The electrician is a lighting designer, so he had some really good ideas. He and Sweetie did a sweep of the whole house. He has many other ideas and we like them all. Too bad we don't have an extra vault of cash laying around somewhere. The electrician will be back on June 10th to install a ceiling fan in my computer room, possibly a fan in the guest bedroom, and move one of the recessed lights in the familyroom. He was not satisfied with the placement, so he will adjust that and repair the ceiling at no charge. We are about $4,000 poorer, but we think it is worth the cost.

The carpet cleaners will be here this morning. We have what seems like an acre of white carpeting in the house and they are in great need of cleaning. One project we hope to get to in the not distant future, will be replacing some of the carpeting. I would like to get rid of most of it and replace it with either tile or wood flooring, or a combination of both. We have quite a bit of wood flooring already and I really like it. This house is about 2650 sq, feet, so even with the wood flooring already in, there is a ton of carpet that needs to be addressed.

We will also be starting to paint the inside. We will opt for some color this time. When we had the house built, we had a slightly off-white wall color and pure white trim color scheme against the white carpet and meduim-dark wood floors. Very nice at the time, but we are ready for a change.

I was so tired yesterday after the busy weekend we had. I crashed pretty early last night and slept like a rock! I got up just a little early at 4:15am this morning, and I feel great. Busy rest of the week ahead. In-laws arrive tomorrow night, then to Hawaii on Saturday! Yea!!

Have a great day.

I Survived

What a day Saturday turned out to be. I have been mentioning the concert for a few days now, and it was last night. But more than that, Sweetie had volunteered us to host the end-of-season party here at the house following the concert. That really was what shaped my day yesterday.

I slept in yesterday morning all the way to 5:45am. For me, that's kinda late, since I get up at about 4:30 every morning. I read e-mail, then went to the gym at 7:00am for two hours. Sweetie and I went for coffee and a bite to eat when I got home. We were there for about 45 minutes.

When we got home, I knew I had to get to the store to make something for the party, so off to the store. I went I bought a bunch of packages of chicken thighs that I was going to barbeque and then re-heat when I got home from the concert. I also bought the fixings for my famous cole slaw. When I got home from the store, I made the slaw and put the chicken into the marinade.

My next task was to get the yard in order. I worked outside for about four hours getting everything clipped, trimmed, mowed, swept, washed, etc. Then I had to get all of the tables and chairs set up. That done, I grilled the chicken, and had a few minutes to get cleaned up and dressed for the concert.

I left the house at about 5:45 to get to the church downtown where the concert was to be held. The concert started at 8:00pm and ended at 10:20pm. So after my very busy day I sang a two-hour concert. But was that the end of my day? Nooooooo!!

I left the concert and raced back to the house to get everything opened up for the arrival of our guests. We had about 50 people here after the concert. It was a potluck, so everyone brought food and drinks.

The house and yard looked really beautiful, and it was a lovely evening here. There was a slight breeze and it was not nearly as warm as it could have been. People mingled, ate, drank, and generally had a great time. Since the concert lasted so late, folks stayed until around 2:00am. Then the clean-up began.

I cleaned up outside, Sweetie cleaned up inside. We both had everything done before we went to bed. We got to bed around 3:30am. It is now 9:30am and I am actually doing pretty well, considering the day I had. I feel a bit wrung-out, but I guess that is to be expected.

It was such a successful concert. We were nearly sold-out. And even with all the effort yesterday, the party turned out well, too. I am tired today and will probably take it easy.

Tomorrow, the electricians arrive to do the electrical install I have mentioned. Tuesday, the carpets are being cleaned. Wednesday, the housekeeper comes to clean. Wednesday night, the in-laws arrive, then on Saaturday, we are all off to Hawaii. A busy week awaits.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. I hear Sweetie taking a shower, so that means I had better get my ass in gear as well.

Have a great day!

Thursday

One more day to the weekend. Can we make it through?

It has been a pretty busy week. And for some reason, I have been feeling a bit tired all week. This is unusual for me as I have always been exceedingly active and a real early-to-bed, early-to-rise person. I was feeling sluggish on Tuesday after a late rehearsal on Monday. I would normally have gone to the gym on Tuesday night, but I skipped it and instead, went to the store and got some things to make dnner for Sweetie. He was quite surprised as he know how regimented I tend to be, and it being Tuesday, he thought he and I would have a quick salad and I would be off to the gym. What he got was grilled teriyaki chicken, pesto linguini, cole slaw, and a bottle of merlot. We had a great dinner on the patio.

Last night, tired again. Busy day at work. (Enought sentence fragments for you?) We had leftovers for dinner and then settled in for a quiet evening. I fell asleep on the sofa at around 8:30pm and went to bed around 9:00. I slept straight through until 4:25am, my regular time to get up. I feel great today.

It will be another late night tonight. I have the final dress rehearsal for Saturday's concert. Again no gym tonight for me. I don't expect that we'll get home until around 11:00pm. Then up at 4:25am on Friday morning. I'm getting too old for this!!

Life will take a decidedly quieter turn after this weekend, except for the Hawaii trip. It is just a little over a week away. The in-laws arrive on Wednesday, then on the 26th, aloha!!

Have a great day!!

Sweetie

Wanna know a little about the fella that makes me who I am? He's a pretty special and a pretty(!) man that has been a part of my life for almost 19 years. How did we meet? What brought us together? Why have we stayed together?

Well, we actually met way back in about 1979 or so, when I came to Sacramento as a Junior at California State University, Sacramento. Unknown to me, Sweetie was already here, and had been for a few years. I transferred in and decided that I would sing in the choirs on campus. That was the first time I ever laid eyes on Sweetie. I learned several things about him while singing in the choir. First, he was married, to a woman, no less! Next, he was a bit of an ass. He was really involved with an "in" crowd, and I was definately not one of them. We sang a number of concerts in those two years until I graduated and I moved on. Turns out, he did not graduate until after I did, and he started before me! And, he is a year older than me. But all that aside, I never expected to really know him or ever see him again.

I started working in the banking industry and was transferred up and down the central valley for for about five years until I landed once again in Sacramento in 1986. I was contacted by a number of performing groups here in the city when I arrived and one of them was the group I now sing with. Yes, I have been with this group for 21 years! Well, Sweetie was a singer in this group. I immediately recognized him, but he had no recollection of me.

Seems I was a bit of an attraction to him. He persued me, but I was very inexperienced and very naive. I didn't realize that he was interested in me and he had no idea that we had actually met before years earlier.

I became involved with a man, my first, at age 28, and Sweetie was just dumbfounded that I did not swoon for him. About a year went by and I was at a bar downtown one night, on 4th of July weekend. I was there and so was he. I was pretty blasted, as I had been to my hometown earlier that day to celebrate my mother's birthday, and had stopped at the bar to unwind and get over the whole family experience.

I was there, shirt unbuttoned to my waist, he was there, hardly drunk at all, and we connected. We left the bar together, but at the corner, he was parked one direction, I was parked the other. We hugged, and I turned to walk away. About a block toward my car, I heard my name. I turned around and saw him running back toward me. I turned and ran back, too. We met back at the corner and it was one of those turely horrible movie moments where we embraced and kissed under the street light,at the corner of 20th and K Streets.

He invited me home. I said no! In fact, we dated a couple of times before I "put out". But on that weekend, I knew that this was something special. Can you imagine that it was years later that he realized that we had sung in the same choir in college? He had no memory of me!!

We have had a few rocky times along the way. Perhaps I will tell you about them sometime. But to people like Ryan and Mike, and to Bigg, I would like to say that even after the most rocky of events, we have hung together. And you know what? I am as much in love with him today as I have ever been. OK. Our love is different than it was many years ago, but Sweetie and I are soul mates.

There are things that have happened that have constantly reminded me that this man loves me and has made me as much of his life as I have made him a part of mine.

We are quickly approaching our 19th anniversary. How wonderful it is to be in love and to be loved! Please to all of you, this is not a fairy tale. Well perhaps it is! But this is an example of what it means for two beings, not as in the "traditional" man/woman pairings, to find one another and forge a singular life together.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. I don't want to! But I think we are a good example of what it means to be married people although the "laws" don't allow us to be so officially. I love him with my entire being and I expect to be with him until one of us has passed beyond.

That is the story of how we met. There are many other stories that I am sure I will share. But, please know that gay men can be together just like other folks and be rewarded for it!

Best wishes to all!

Early morning

If there was eve a morning that I would have loved to throw the alarm clock out the window, it was this morning. We had our first of the two final rehearsals before our concert this weekend. These final rehearsals usually start earlier than normal and last a bit later. Plus, it was held at the church downtown where we will perform. It was pretty close to 11:00pm by the time I got to bed. Now, that doesn't sound too late, especially to you night owls, but for those of us that get up before the sun (4:30am), it makes for a short night.

I had a big workgroup meeting yesterday afternoon on my project. It went well. As a result, I have a couple of hours of work today to advance it, then the rest of the day should be rather routine. If that routine included a nice cold Margarita at one of the bars on the river, I sure wouldn't complain. It was about 90F yesterday, and should be about the same today.

Tonight would normally be my gym night, but I may play hookie. My final dress rehearsal is on Thurday, my other regular mid-week gym night, and with myshortened sleep llast night, I may go to the gymon Wednesday night instead.

One good thing (?) about living a very normal and somewhat predictable life is that I don't have any drama to write about. Unlike some of the blogs I read where the writers are dealing with life stresses that just boggle my mind, I just sort of roll along, not unlike the steady flow of the Sacramento river. I feel so bad for many of these bloggers. I have begun to leave a few comments where I had never done so before. My words can really do nothing, but I do hope that some support can be found in the positive thoughts I have for these fine people. I also read many blogs of people that experience life at a much faster pace than I and as a result, have tons of interesting and funny stories to write about. I'll work on that part. But I have always been a cautious and somewhat sedate fellow, so I doubt that I'll ever have the calibre of stories that many of you have. I'll keep working at it. Perhaps I'll find my voice.

Well friends, time to get ready for work. Keep good thoughts, have fun, and may your troubles be shown the nearest exit.

Have a great day!

Story About Mom

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I suppose I should take a few moments to relate a story about my Mom. First of all, I thought about her today because of a conversation I had with someone at work. I have related this story many times because it is both funny and really represents what my Mom was all about.

I'll start by saying that my Mom passed away about a year and a half ago and I miss her terribly. She would be turning 86 on her upcoming birthday. As I think I have mentioned, I was a late life kid, along with my two other brothers. My Mom was approaching her 37th birthday when I was born in 1958 and there was another three years behind me. Then, kids were born when parents were in their 20's, so my Mom always had a complex when people commented about her three grandchildren. "They're mine!!" she would exclaim with great indignation.

Well, one day when I was at work in the early 90's, probably about '93 or so, I got a frantic call from my sister (thirteen years older than me) that she and my Mom had been in a car accident. I probably turned three shades of white because of fear that something really tragic had happened. My Mom would have been in her early 70's at that time. I noticed a slight tinge of humor and laughter in my sister's voice that confused me.

My sister started by telling me that my mother had committed the act for which many older driver's bear great consternation. She had driven her car through the plate glass window of a local department store. My sister related that they were both OK, but that Mom was really worried that my Dad would kill her due to both the accident and the damage to the car.

I managed to get my sister to tell me what happened. My Mom was on a mission to buy a new sweater for my Dad for Father's Day. This local department store had a sweater that my mom really liked. (This should not be a big deal, but my Mom was a rather determined woman.) She asked my sister to accompany her to the store to buy this sweater. This store, still in the town where I grew up, as far as I know, was in a shopping center where you could park your car perpendicularly to the sidewalk outside the store. She did this. But, instead of placing the car in "park", it was left in "drive and she for some reason hit the accelerator pedal. The car jumped the curb and went right through a large plate glass window.

Now, in cases such as this, there could be injuries and excuses as to what happened. Nobody was injured, and my Mom completely owned up to the fact that she had blown it! A few minutes after the the "grand entrance" , and the shock subsided, my Mom got out of the car, got my sister out, and requested that someone call a tow truck.

She also noticed that the rack upon which the very sweaters she went to purchase was just a few feet from where the car came to a halt. While all of the administrative actions were happening, Mom went to the rack, selected the sweater she wanted to buy for Dad, and took it to the counter to be paid for. She used her in-store credit card AND had the store giftwrap the package. About the time that this transaction was completed, the tow truck was pulling her car, a gold Ford Taurus as I recall, out of the store.

She babbled all the way home about how my Dad would kill her and how completely embarrassed she was about the whole incident. But, this is so typical of how she was.

My Mom and Dad had little money, but she was a women of great dignity and drive. She often told me that she was a mother bear who would rip apart anyone who would attack one of her cubs. But she was also calm as could be and always was known to be a focused fighter.

The fact that she would have had this type accident and still command enough dignity to finish what she set out to accomplish, made her ever so much more special to me.

I remember going home for Father's Day that year. It was a few months after this whole thing happened. When my Dad opened the package, my Mom proudly announced that he was the only man on the block to own a $4,000 sweater! My Dad looked at her, knew exactly what she was referring to, as did all of us kids, and gave her the biggest hug! It brings me smiles and tears to remember it even after all these years.

Mom suffered from dementia the few years she had after my Dad passed away. She became such a shadow of the firebrand she once was. But I can always remember stories like this to help me remember her the way I prefer to.

I would like to say "Happy Mother's Day" to the memory of my Mom. She was a great woman. I am so lucky to have had this remarkable woman raise me into the man I have become. Thanks, Mom!!

I swear to you all that this story is completely true. It was covered in the local paper, and as a fourth generation native of the town, and with a family name well known, she was mortified about how this played out. I'll laugh to my dying day about this wonderful story, about a wonderful woman, who raised me to be the man I have become.

Please make sure that you all honor your mothers this Mother's Day. Too soon it happens that they are gone. Take it from me. Time does not heal all wounds.

Whew! Busy week!

I'm glad Fridy has finally arrived. It was a really busy week. The last of the legislative budget hearings were held yesterday and I have lived in a world of emergency meetings, rapid-fire e-mails, explanations, excuses, and general bull sh*t. This is par for the course this time of year, but with California's sketchy financial picture, things have been pretty interesting.

The Governator's revised budget comes out on Monday, so we should know what the next fiscal yer will look like soon- provided it gets through the legislature. The department I work for provides funding for services to the developmentally disabled. The work we do is important and I hope if there are budget hits to be endured, we come out this is good shape. We have been lucky in recent years, but it is always a bit scary knowing that the welfare of thousands of people largely unable to fend for themselves could be at stake. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I had a great workout at the gym last night. Since I hadn't been since last Saturday, there was no way I could even think of skipping. I had Sweetie's event to attend on Tuesday night, so I missed that gym trip. I have also tried to go on Sundays over the winter and spring months, but last Sunday I was very sore from all the work I did on Saturday. After last night's workout, I feel great today. Hey, that's a good thing to be able to say at 5:00am!

We have a very busy week next week. Rehearsals on Monday and Thursday, and a concert on Saturday the 19th. Sweetie wants to host the after concert party here at the house afterward. That means we could have between 40 and 60 people here that evening. Clean-up after such parties is usually a huge task. On Monday the 21st, the electricians come to put in the new lighting we contracted for. We would like to get the carpets cleaned, too, because Sweetie's parents arrive on Wednesday the 23rd in advance of our trip to Hawaii on the 26th. I will need that Hawaiian vacation to recover from the the coming events!

Work will probably be quiet today now that the worst of budget season is past. Maybe I can look forward to a quiet dinner on the patio tonight wih Sweetie before I start my weekend chores.

Have a great Friday!

Bursting with pride

I went to a function last night that was put on by Sweetie. It is connected to what he does for a living. I'm not ready to reveal too much about what Sweetie does for a living, but let's just say that last night's function was a sort of culmination of effort of the past four or five months.

Even after all of these years, it is a wonderful thing to go to these events, watch Sweetie in action, and just be so proud of him. He is a very smart and talented man and I love to watch him. He has frustrations in his work life that we all have, but he has the ability to showcase his efforts. This type of thing helps many those frustrations melt away. I guess true love reveals itself to us in small ways. The fullness I felt in my heart last night was one of those little revelations for me.

The heat continues here in the west. I see on the news that there is a major fire burning near/in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Due to how dry it is out here in the summer, large portions of the State burn in wildfires. Often, large numbers of homes are burnt. I am fortunate to never have suffered such a loss, although the cabin up in the Sierras that my father bought in 1950 and left to us when he died has been threatened several times over the years, but only because fire were burning within ten to fifteen air miles away. We never had to evacuate, unlike scores of unlucky families every year. I have managed to escape any losses due to the fires or earthquakes!

Sweetie and I will probably have a nice dinner, perhaps on the patio if not too hot, tonight. It will be good to have a quiet evening, free of some of life's stresses, and just enjoy each other's company.

Have a great day!

Early summer?

Strange how the weather here in northern California can change so quickly. It was cool, rainy, and in the 60's just last week. Over the weekend, the wind was quite strong, gusting to about 35 mph both Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, the winds died down, and the temperature soared to the mid 90's. More of the same today. Out of the frying pan...

Work was hectic yesterday. A major project I have been working on got the once over from a work group and was met with a lot of positive feedback. It was good to have some validation to many months of work.

Sweetie and I just contracted with an electrical contractor to do some lighting installations here in the house. That will eat up the better part of $4K. Yikes! That and the Hawaii trip on the 26th. Poor house- here I come.

Have a great day everyone!

Hard work is good for the soul

I am a bit like a wind-up toy. Once I start working around the house, I tend to keep on working until I finish or until I drop from exhaustion. Yesterday was one of those days.

I started out with a two-hour trip to the gym. I go every Saturday morning at 7:00am, right when they open. I am a morning person, doing my best work, thinking, and working-out early in the day. After the gym, I came home and went for coffee with Sweetie. We came home and I started working in the yard.

I have a good sized yard- by California standards at least. The lot is about 14,000 square feet and the house takes up about 3200 square feet, including the garage. That still leaves me with lots of yard to tend. We do have a pool in the back yard, but it requires some tending as well. I started off by brushing the pool walls and cleaning the skimmer. Then weeding, clipping, trimming, and mowing. After mowing the back lawn, I noticed how bad the deck and spa were looking. The spa sits on a redwood deck that Sweetie and built the first weekend we moved into the house in 1998. The spa came with me from my old house. The spa and deck need to be stained every year or so, and this was the year. I power washed the deck, knowing that it would dry while I mowed the front lawn. After getting the yard all cleaned up, I started staining the spa and deck. This is a job I really don't like to do. It just kills my back, and it has to be brushed, so hand and knees get roughed up in the process.

It was a warm but windy day. Not a bad day to do all this. Good to get it done before the really hot weather sets in. It looks great and was worth the effort.

After all this work, about four and a half hours outside, I went to the store to get something to make for dinner. Sweetie has a really bad cold and is feeling lousy. So I made a dinner that I thought he would enjoy. We had tequila lime grilled chicken, salad, and a new dish- asparagas bread pudding. Sounds kinda strange, but it was really good. Sorta like stuffing. I made it with sourdough bread, peppers, onions, asparagas, and topped it with shredded swiss cheese. It baked for about 45 minutes and was just very tasty.

Even though he enjoyed dinner, Sweetie just didn't feel well. He also had a bad night. He tossed and turned and coughed all night. He is still sleeping, but I bet he will be exhausted today. Poor guy!

I don't know what I'll do today. Maybe a trip to the gym, although I am a bit sore from all the work yesterday. I'll have to see how I feel later.

I think I'll go sit in the spa for a few minutes and then check in on Sweetie. I hope you all have a great Sunday.

Friday

It has been a bit damp round here the last couple of days. It doesn't rain here like it does in the rest of the country, so damp for us is a couple of 100ths of an inch of rain. At least it will help keep the lawn green without the sprinker system.

Work can go from nothing to wildly busy overnight. That's what happened yesterday. It has been pretty slow all week, then BAM! I got hot with a series of meetings yesterday and now it seems as my project is back on and things are moving again. Of course, this could all change in a day and with budget hearings next week at the legislature, things could change again soon.

I had a great workout at the gym last night. Not too crowded, but there were at least a few pieces of eye candy to feast upon. ;-) I will go again early Saturday morning. It is a family-oriented gym, so I doubt that anything scandalous happens there. I have heard about a couple of gyms elsewhere in the city where some pretty interesting things go on regularly. Oh, to be 30 again!!

There was a large peace officer memorial service at the capitol yesterday. A couple of streets downtown were closed, and those streets were completly filled with patrol cars. It was probably the safest place on the planet yesterday! There were about 900 separate police agencies represented at the service. It was kind of fun to walk down 10th Street and see police cars from all over the state. Some towns that I have not heard of had police cars on 10th St. When I walked by, all of the police officers were having a lunch on the west lawn of the capitol. Arnold was there, but must have made a quick exit to fly down to Simi Valley to the Republican Candidate debate.

These types of events are very common at the capitol. This time of year is particularly busy, but events happen there all year round. Last week was the CalTrans memorial service, an immigrants rights ralley, and several other minor events. Since I work about three blocks away, I walk by the capitol every day. It is fun to see all the variety of activity.

It should be a fairly quiet weekend. I do have a date- with my lawn mower! But other than a few hours of yard work and a few hours at the gym, I should have plenty of time to play around in the kitchen ad do other sundry chores around the house.

Have a great weekend!

Wet Wednesday

Good Morning, All.

Looks to be a bit of a wet Wednesday here in northern California. This is somewhat unusual as by this time, it is usually quite dry and the temperatures can really start to get warm. We had a late and very wet spring last year, rains well into May, so more of the same this year, I guess. Other than that, it has been very dry here this winter. We have had about 65% of normal rainfall. Wew only have about 18" of rain per year here, so that tells you how dry it has been. Our water comes from the winter snow pack in the Sierra Nevada and yesterday's snow survey found levels at about 35% of normal. Yikes. Is this the start of a drought here on the west coast?

Work has been very slow. That's the way it is in State government. Things can move at lightening speed for weeks and then nothing. We must be in a nothing stage at the moment.

There was a horrible accident on one of the Bay Area freeways over the weekend causing a freeway section to fall on top of another section. These were connectors to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. I can only imagine how bad the traffic must be. There are quite a few people who commute to that area from Sacramento. I'm sure glad I am not one of them. A few years ago, I did commute to that area for work for a number of months. On a good day, I could make the drive in about two hours. On a bad day, three hours or more- one way! Can you imagine what it must be like now?

Let's hope the rest of the week flys by and the weekend gets here quickly. I know I can't wait. How about you?

Have a great day!