Peachtree City, Georgia

Okay, time REALLY flies. Below is an entry I wrote on Saturday, September 23, whilst traveling home from Atlanta. It is now Friday afternoon, September 29, and I am making the time to post it before I run off to Vermont for my final weekend. Details on the past week and my closing thoughts on the entire sabbatication will be posted by the end of next week...

Wednesday, September 20th, 2006: Mom and I arose at our own pace, whilst Andrea and the boys went about their normal school day routine. After getting the boys off to school, Andrea went out to play tennis with some of her lady friends.

Since Andrea was at tennis until noon or so, Mom took in some sun with her book in the back yard. This time, with no thanks to Dave, I somehow managed to motivate myself to take a 30 minute run. After carefully analyzing the map of the golf cart paths, I made my way out into the neighborhood.

Andrea returned home just before I did and we both cleaned up for lunch. We decided to hop on the cart and make our way to Target. The girls got in their daily dose of shopping and then we hit Subway for lunch.


After taking in a few six-inchers, we zipped over to the elementary school to pick up the boys once again. As an after school treat for the kids (and the adults), we went to another shopping plaza and each got an ice cream at The Marble Slab Creamery.


We returned home after ice cream and all chilled out for a while. The boys played with some of their friends from the neighborhood whilst I played on the internet.

Around 7:00pm, we took the minivan over to a pizza joint called The Mellow Mushroom. We ordered a few pies with various toppings and then the REAL excitement began. It was trivia night! Each table in the restaurant formed a team (Christopher decided we should be the Spicy Oreos) and there was a trivia host that read off questions. As the night progressed, questions were asked and each table submitted their answers. The team with the most points at the end of the night won a fabulous prize. We did fairly well, and when it came time for the final round, we were in sixth place. The final question was just like final Jeopardy. As we had wagered all our points but did not know the answer to the question (the subject was rap music), we decided to leave in order to get the boys to bed. As it was nearly 9:30pm, they were already out well past their normal bed time.

Thursday, September 21st, 2006: Andrea started this weekday as normal with the boys. When she returned, we made our way into Atlanta around 9:00am.


The first stop was CNN Center. We took a 50 minute tour of the studios of CNN and CNN Headline News. Though it was a high level view of how things operate at the station, it was still a neat tour to take in. The building is quite large, but the studios were quite small, relative to the size of the rest of the place.


The tour completed and we walked over to Centennial Olympic Park. Mom added to her photo collection whilst we took in the sights and relaxed by the fountain.

Andrea had been told about a restaurant that served excellent burgers. From Olympic Park, we used my handy VZ Navigator to make our way to The Varsity. It turns out The Varsity is a drive-in restaurant. They had indoor seating, as well, so we decided to park and go in.

It was super crazy inside! Their menu and service style was like a glorified McDonald's. The food was as good as fast food can be. It was better than McDonald's but was definitely not as tasty as In-N-Out Burger. We chowed down and then headed back to Peachtree City in time to get the boys after school.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was quiet time at home. The boys played with some friends and Andrea cooked us a nice meal. After dinner, we watched the movie RV until it was time for the boys to go to bed.

Friday, September 22nd, 2006: Dave would be so proud! I went out for another run without him there to push me. Andrea did the gym after dropping the boys off at school. While she got herself cleaned up from that, Mom and I took a cruise around the neighborhoods on the golf cart. Mom had a destination in mind, though. We were going to check out the home of a person that she used to babysit for as a child. He comes from a wealthy family in Lynn and Mom somehow made the connection through Andrea that he was nearby. To protect the innocent, we will not talk anymore of this.

We picked the boys up after school and made our way to the park. Christopher and I walked over to the volleyball court and started his version of the game with a football. Within three minutes, all of the boys at the park joined in. Christopher organized the teams so it was the big guys (him and I) against Alexander and his little friends. I did break a good sweat, even though my nephew did most of the legwork. After about 30 minutes, he decided to end the game because most of the littler kids started working on a sand castle in the middle of their side of the court.

We zipped home, got all cleaned up, and headed out for the evening. The first stop was to drop Christopher at The Skate Palace. A friend of his was having a birthday party there, so he left us for the evening.

Mom, Andrea, Alexander and I, went from The Skate Palace to Ted's Montana Grill. I had never seen nor heard of the place until the day before. Since I always like to try something new, we ate here at my request.

I did enjoy my food, though the prime rib was over-seasoned for my taste. Our waiter was friendly and cute, but I was not overly impressed with the personality of the host staff. There was one man in particular who was a bit stuffy. When we didn't make our way to the table quick enough for him when we were called, he knocked on the glass and waved us in. Then when I asked for some crayons, I got a lecture on how they do not let the kids have them anymore because of the writing on the table cloths. He gave me one crayon after dictating the requirements of its release to me. Though I would have liked to tell him where he could write with that crayon, I politely smiled, said thank you, and returned to my seat.

After dinner we returned home. Alexander went right to bed as he was quite beat. Mom stayed home to babysit and get her NASCAR fix on TV. Andrea and I returned to the skating rink to pick up Christopher from the party.

Christopher was also right off to bed when we returned. The adults watched TV for a bit, and then crashed for the night. I have been fighting my allergies or a cold for the entire trip. This night was by far the worst. Since there was no Nyquil in the house, I took two Motrin and drank a tall gin and tonic just before bed.

Saturday, September 23rd, 2006: We all set our alarms today. Alexander had a soccer game at 8:30am so we all went to cheer him on. He did such a great job and even scored a couple goals. Mom said there was noticed improvement since she saw him play last year.

After the game, Mom treated us to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. It certainly wasn't Pappy's (I am hoping to get my fix of that with Jeff tomorrow) but it still did just fine.

It was back to the house after breakfast. We all exchanged digital pictures of our week together (I love modern technology) and then Mom and I packed our bags and loaded the car.

Andrea brought us to the front door of the south terminal of the Atlanta International Airport. We said our goodbyes with lots of hugs and kisses.

As we sat and waited for our outbound flight to arrive, I contemplated the fact that it is time to leave already. Even worse, one week from Monday I will be back for the office. Even though it does seem like I had a lot of time off, it went by far too quickly.

Erik's Visit, Six Flags, and Kayaking

Thursday, September 14th, 2006: Today was Erik's last full day in town. We both slept in and spent some quality time together whilst we cleared the sleep from our eyes.

Erik had decided that he would like to see the Mother Church. We checked the train schedule and drove to the Anderson RTC in Woburn, Massachusetts. We hopped on the commuter rail which took us to North Station in Boston.

We navigated our way through the city on the MBTA and got off at the stop for Symphony Hall. The Christian Science buildings are pretty much across the street so it was an easy walk from this stop. As we made our way, lunch was on our minds, so we found a nearby Thai restaurant and decided to give it a try.

After lunch we made our way over to the Mother Church and, luckily, got in on the last tour of the day. As we took our time in the morning, and tours only operate from 12pm-4pm, we just made it! It was a great experience for both of us. The church is so beautiful. It has some of the most colorful stained glass windows I have ever seen. There is also an organ with over 13,000 pipes in 233 ranks. I am very interested in returning to attend either a mass or a recital, just so I can hear the power of the organ.

The Shops at Prudential Center were a short walk from the church. Once our tour was complete, we headed there on foot. We did a little bit of shopping and a lot a bit of boy watching. Ooh my! What a fun place to see and be seen.

We took the subway back to North Station and boarded the next train back to Woburn. Since Thursday nights are my usual time to spend some quality time with my best gal pal, Sean, we decided that all three of us should wrap up Erik's last evening in Manch Vegas together.

Sean had a babysitting gig this evening. We waited at home for his ring, ring, ring, on the telephone to tell us he was free. Once the call came in, we made our way downtown.

On the night of the Taste of Manchester, we had a piece of chocolate cake that was to die for. It was a sample from the dessert selections at Piccola Italia. Since one can never have too much chocolate, we chose this restaurant for dinner so we could get another taste of the cake. What a delightful experience it was. The food was as just as good as the cake. Our waiter was fun and friendly. Sean, Erik and I laughed so much! It made me realize, once again, how lucky I am to have such great friends.

Friday, September 15th, 2006: It was already time to head back to Logan Airport. Erik and I left Manchester at 9am. We made it into the city in record time. Commuter traffic was light and there was little activity at the airport. We pulled right up in front of the doors at the terminal. I gave the baby a big hug and a kiss goodbye. As I drove off, I thought about all the special time Erik and I have shared this week and also in the past. I am going to miss my lil' Fen Fen!

I took a detour on my way home from the airport and drove north up the Massachusetts coast to Lynn. Most of my immediate family lives in Lynn, so I decided to stop into the hospital where my Mom works and have lunch with her.

Since I was quite early, I spent some time with her in her office. My grandfather, who also lives in Lynn, coincidentally had some tests scheduled today. He arrived shortly after I did, and was quite surprised to see me sitting at Mom's desk! Mom took advantage of my presence and I became Papa's escort to get some blood work done and have some x-rays taken. Once complete, we stopped to visit my Aunt (and his daughter) Mary. She also works at this hospital in the Nuclear Medicine department. In fact, I am quite sure most of my immediate family has worked here (with the expection of my grandfather, my Dad, and my Aunt Allison). I even spent a few years during college working on the switchboard.

It was time for lunch. We made our way to the cafeteria. I partook of some grub from the grill and then dined with my Mom, Aunt Mary, and the rest of the girls in their lunch group.

When I returned to Manchester, I managed to get in touch with Dave and we headed out for a run. We ran another new trail along the edge of Lake Massabesic. As we finished the run, we passed by a hunter. This was the very first moment that I ever correlated running through the woods and accidentally being shot. I will most definitely be sure to leave my antler hat at home and wear bright orange from now on.

Time for Glendi! What is Glendi, you ask? Good question. I am not exactly sure what the word means, but for me it means more good times and good food. Dave and I cleaned ourselves up and headed over to the Greek Church on Hanover Street for this local cultural phenomenon. We checked out the scenery and then made our way to the food tent. There were several good dinners to choose from. We both decided on the lamb shank. It melted in our mouths. It was served with rice, a spinach square (with some greek name), and greek salad. For dessert, we had some fried dough balls (also with a difficult to remember greek name). They looked like Munchkins but were more doughy, and covered in honey. Yum!

Saturday, September 16th, 2006: Peter is getting settled into an office space that he has lined up in Concord, New Hampshire. As it also has extensive storage space, he has decided to close his storage bin at Morgan Self Storage in Manchester and move all his treasures to the office. He started this day early, moving smaller items to Concord. After I arose and made myself pretty, Peter returned home for lunch. We then both headed, along with Jeff (one of my bestest friends, not to be confused with the Jeff I am dating), to move some of the bigger furniture items from Manchester to Concord. We dropped Jeff home after our first run together. Peter and I then made one more run between the bin and the office.

After returning home and getting cleaned up, Peter and I made our way to the Aloha Restaurant. The proprietor, Mr. Wong, delivered their complimentary chicken wings and I even got a complimentary Coke. Normally, only the kids get the Coke. I asked him why I got one, and he told me it was because I was handsome. I think Mr. Wong likes me. But actually, I have been there so many times that he recognizes me when I come in. He's a very sharp little business man.

Peter and I shared some chicken szechuan and each had a cocktail. After dinner, we took a stroll through Building 19. From there we decided to take the short walk up to Glendi for dessert and a little more culture. We entered the raffles, watched some circle dancing, and ate some Baklava. We then made our way back to the car and headed home for the night.


Sunday, September 17th, 2006: Dave and my chorus buddy, Timmay, arrived at my house at 7:30am. It was time for another day at Six Flags. But today it was a special day. It was the annual Out In The Park gathering. A day when the gays get together and decide to infiltrate a public place and be seen. We donned our red shirts and made our way southwest to be part of the fun.

Along the way, we stopped in Nashua to pick up another chorus friend, Sean. Continuing onward, we made the obligatory stop at the Charlton service center on the Mass Pike. We quickly ate and made our way to Six Flags in time for its 10:30am opening.

What a difference one month makes. The park was much less crowded than the day we visited in August. It was a perfect day for an amusement park visit, too - sunny and around 80 degrees. We managed to get on all the big rides that we wanted to. But Dave and Sean weren't very good ride buddies! They were not fond of many of the rides, so Tim and I ended up doing most of the bigger rides by ourselves.


There were fewer of the gays there than I expected to see. I would estimate that 30 percent of the crowd was gay, and only half of those decided to wear their red. But it was still fun, and the gayness made the park a bit more cruisy compared to the last visit.


All of us tuckered out a lot quicker than the last visit, so we did not end up closing the park on this trip. We left at about 7:15pm and we were home in Manchester by 10:00pm.

Monday, September 18th, 2006: This morning, Jeff invited me on a second date. He offered to take me kayaking. Though a bit nervous because I have never done it before, I agreed. We left Manchester around 9:30am and arrived in Campton, New Hampshire just after 10:30am.

Jeff arranged kayak rentals for us at Ski Fanatics. We grabbed some snacks and some water at the convenience store next door, and then boarded "Henry Ford." Henry was a really old, beat up, Ford van that they pick up and drop off their customers at the Pemigewasset River.

On our way to the drop off point, we were introduced to Roland, who was also a passenger on the van. He was spending his third day kayaking the Pemi, and was well known by the van driver.

Roland was an interesting older gent. He sized me up in the van. By that, I mean, he turned around, looked at me from head to toe, and guessed my weight. Because of the way he did this, Jeff thought he might have been family. But later on, we learned stories of recent girlfriends. Roland may have been on the van, but most likely not on the bus.

We started our journey down the Pemi. I think I could really get into kayaking. Once I got underway, I was not nervous at all. The water was a bit low, but was moving fairly well. There were only a two or three tricky spots where Jeff and I had to step out of our kayaks to get out of shallow water. Overall, I feel I did fairly well for my first time ever.

Roland was either one third of a mile ahead of us or behind us the whole way. He did stop with us once, though, for a break. This is when we learned of his girlfriends from the Manchester area and his bum toe that the Concord Orthopedics group wanted to amputate. He has since switched to a doctor at the VA hospital in our fair city and they are letting him keep his toe for now. All the details we did not need to know, we heard on this day.

It took us just about three hours to navigate the six mile section of the Pemi. We were only at the pickup point a short time before Henry Ford returned to take us back to the shop.

As Jeff and I were both a bit sunburned and exhausted, it was a quiet ride back to Manchester. All in all it was a great day and I am looking forward to seeing Jeff again this coming weekend.

Later that evening I finished up some laundry and packed my bags for my next trip. I set the alarm for 5:03am and crashed at about 11:30pm.

Tuesday, September 19th, 2006: I made my way to Lynn at 6:00am. I was meeting up with my Mom who was traveling to Atlanta with me. We were headed to see my sister-in-law and my two nephews.

The commute to Lynn during non-peak hours usually takes about 50 minutes. Today it took about 70. I was stuck in the stop and go traffic headed to Boston. If I had to do this everyday, I think I might slash my wrists. It made me think about how much I love my three mile commute through downtown Manchester (when I am working, that is).

By the time I arrived at Mom's house, we were running late. We jumped in Dad's car and we made our way down route 1 south to the airport. There was more stop and go traffic and I began to get a bit nervous about making it to the plane on time. But we arrived just after 8:00am and our flight was leaving at 9:00am.

Logan Airport was really quiet again. Mom and I walked up to check our baggage in and there was no line at all. There were maybe six people in front of us at the security checkpoint and there were no holdups there, either. There was, however, a new device before the metal detector that we had to go through. Each person passing through security stepped into a phone booth looking contraption. It puffed air in every direction and, I assume, it analyzed an air sample for bomb residue. It was the quickest blow job I have experienced in quite some time.

Our Delta flight left on time and we were in Atlanta just a few minutes after our scheduled arrival. The delay was due to a plane that was still occupying the gate that we were supposed to pull into. Andrea was waiting for us at baggage claim. Our bags had already appeared on the carousel by the time we got to it and we were able to make a quick getaway.

We arrived at my sister-in-law's home in Peachtree City, just outside of Atlanta around 1:00pm. We shared lunch together and layed low until the boys got out of school around 2:30pm.

When it was time to pick up the boys, we hopped in the family golf cart and headed down the community golf cart pathways. We pulled up to the elementary school and I could not believe my eyes. There were at least 50 golf carts, all in a single line in the rotary around the school. It was overly organized. Ten carts pulled up at a time. As the carts pulled up, they called out students' names. Those students boarded and the carts drove off and the next ten pulled up.

We returned home and the boys completed their homework. They played video games for a bit and then we did all sorts of outdoor activities. No need for me to run today! The boys really wore me out. We skateboarded, razor scootered, biked, played soccer and played football.

I was beat! Alexander started to get a little cranky (just tired, I think) so that was my excuse to get the boys inside. Dinner was nearly ready so we cleaned up and sat down to a really nice meal prepared by Andrea.

After dinner, the boys watched a bit of TV and then made their way to bed. I am sitting on the couch with my Mom as I put the finishing touches on this blog entry. We are discussing what the upcoming week will bring. I am not really sure what there is to see and do in Atlanta, but I am sure there will be some great stories to share and memories made during this visit.

Wonderful-Nice, Burlington, and Erik's Arrival

Oh my goodness, time flies! I cannot believe how long it has been since my last entry. To you, my devoted fans, I sincerely apologize. The entries between now and October 2nd will be more frequent. That is a promise!

Saturday, September 2nd, 2006: The scheduled guests arrived. Elissa, Chloe and Lilliana appeared first, followed by the Jeffs. Right behind them was Mireil, and finally Matthew. As each of the guests appeared, they added to and enjoyed the good conversation, as well as the ambiance that makes Wonderful-Nice just that.

We enjoyed an elaborate spread for dinner, including various meats on the grill, potato salad and fresh, locally grown, corn on the cob. Following dinner, a small group headed a few miles south to pick up some ice cream for dessert. They returned with oodles of frozen fun for everyone.


All too soon, the Jeffs bid us a fond farewell. Right behind them was Elissa, Chloe and Lilliana. Lil had been lulled asleep (and me, too... almost) by the gentle storytelling of Elissa. They then packed their things, carried the little doll to the car, and drove off into the night. The rest of us slowly wrapped up the evening and took our full stomachs to bed.

Sunday, September 3rd, 2006: Matthew, the good Catholic of the group, was up bright and early with Peter and they went to the 9:00am mass at St. Joseph's Church. Whilst they were there, Mom, Dad, Mireil and I arose one by one. Mom made a nice breakfast and it was just about ready when the boys returned home from church.

By midday, Mom, Dad, and Mireil had departed. Peter, Matthew and I remained behind. The weather was not the most delightful. It was raw and raining intermittently. After a lazy afternoon at the cottage, we decided to clean things, close the place up, and return to Manchester.

Monday, September 4th through Thursday, September 7th, 2006: It was a quiet week at home. I will recap these days with a few bullet points:


* On Tuesday, The New Hampshire Gay Men's Chorus started rehearsing for its ninth season. We added one brand new member and had a few former members rejoin us. We are now 30 strong. After rehearsal, we headed to the Puritan Backroom Restaurant for our first ritual after-rehearsal dinner.

* I am continuing to run. On Thursday afternoon, Dave the motivator took me out for a workout. We hit another new spot. We ran paths that are part of the trails maintained by the Friends of Massabesic Bicycling Association (FOMBA). What a great hidden spot this is! We ran two trails named Lady Slipper and Deer Run. The hilly and curvy paths made for an excellent, sweaty workout.

* Shmuffalumps time! On Thursday evening I met up with Sean. We shared dinner at Applebee's in Bedford. It was so quiet there. We were one of three parties in the dining room. Little Britain, a fabulous show on BBC America, closed our evening at my home with plenty of laughter, as usual.

Friday, September 8th, 2006: After a discussion with Peter the day before, it was decided that another visit to Ossipee was required. Friday was a full moon and the weather forecast showed that it was to be a clear evening.

Peter returned home from school around 5:00pm. He invited Mireil along with us to Ossipee and she arrived at my house at just about the same time. Whilst Peter took a quick cat nap and I gathered my things for a weekend away, Mireil made us each a nice grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.

We arrived at Wonderful-Nice around 9:15pm. We shared a cocktail and then went for a peddle boat ride. The lake was like glass. It was a perfect mirror for the reflection of the moon. As our small wake broke the stillness of the water, and after scaring a few ducks from their nightly slumber, we made our way around the small island in the middle of Leavitt Bay.

Saturday, September 9th, 2006: This was yet another relaxing morning. Mireil read, Peter did school work, and I went for a run around the neighborhood. Upon returning from my run, I decided it was nice enough, and I was hot enough, to take a swim in the lake. The whole week that I vacationed here, the weather was not conducive to swimming. I wanted to say I swam there at least once this summer, so this became the moment.

Later in the afternoon, Mireil and I gathered our belongings and started on our next journey. We were headed to visit my good friend, Dawn, at the University of Vermont in Burlington. On the way out, Peter followed us up to the Yankee Smokehouse in West Ossipee. We shared one final meal together and then we made our way to Vermont. Peter stayed behind and spent some quality quiet time at his little piece of heaven.

We arrived at Dawn's dorm around 6:30pm. We got a quick tour and then decided to head to the hotel where Mireil and I would be crashing for the evening. I had tasked Dawn with finding the cheapest place she could for us. She did just that and we were headed to the GGT Tibet Inn. On our way, however, we passed by the North Lake Motel. Their sign said they had rooms for $40/night. It looked acceptable, so we pulled in. I went into the office and asked if they had any rooms available. There was one left, so I booked it.

I filled out the appropriate paperwork, paid the $40 for the room, and was given the key by the desk clerk that was short a few yellow teeth. We drove around back and attempted to find the room, but did not have any luck. As we were looking, Ms. Yellow-teeth came walking across the parking lot. She steered us in the correct direction. We headed through a door that took us down a flight of stairs into the basement of the motel. The stairs led to a hallway with six rooms. We found our room at the end of the hall and cautiously entered. We immediatley noticed that the room did not have a private bath. This was not explained to me at check-in. I incorrectly assumed that each room would automatically have a private bath. In this case, there was one bathroom in the hallway which appeared to be the facilities for all the rooms in this basement area... In a word, NASTY.

We held a group discussion and decided it was in our best interest to cancel this room and go onto our original destination. Thanks to Mireil and some clever footwork at the front desk, we were able cancel our reservation. I was promised a credit on my credit card for the $40. We will see how that goes as it has yet to appear.

The next stop was the GGT Tibet Inn. A second rate motel could not have been more lovely. Mireil and I asked to view the room before booking. This is something I will be sure to do from now on! The proprietor's son took us on a tour and it was a dream come true. We booked it and it ended up being $75 after taxes. It was well worth the extra $35 dollars.

We cleaned ourselves up and headed out to dinner with Dawn and her friend Sharon. We made our way to the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington. This is a street in the downtown area closed to traffic. It is paved with bricks and has several blocks of places to shop and dine.

After checking the area out, we made our way to Sweetwaters. Whilst we chatted and caught up on things, we placed our order and waited for our dinners to arrive. The salads, consisting of fresh, local mixed greens arrived first. As I woofed it down, and was three bites from finishing, Dawn pointed to my plate. She says, "I hate to tell you this, but there's an inchworm in your salad." Sharon immediately took control and stepped up to get our server. The waitress returned and immediately took the plate away. Moments later the manager arrived and apologized profusely. I was offered another salad but respectfully declined and was given a credit on it. The rest of the meal occurred without incident.

We spent the rest of the evening at a bar called The Other Place. It was a super fun little hole in the wall. We ordered a few beers and stood amongst the crowd for a bit. Eventually, some space freed up at the bar and we made our way to it.

Whilst standing at the bar, I felt a full-on ass grab on my left cheek! I was bumped at the same time, but the ass-grab felt quite intentional. At the places I usually frequent, after such an occurrence, I would turn around expecting to find some dirty, toothless old troll making eyes at me. But, at this straight bar, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I slowly turned to my right to see a giddy college girl, happily drunk, pointing and smiling at me. She was making her way to the door. As we made eye contact, she playfully said "I'm usually not the type of girl to do that kind of thing!" She then scampered off.

Sunday, September 10th, 2006: Mireil and I checked out of our hotel and met up with the girls for breakfast at Denny's. We ate our Slams and woke ourselves up over a few cups of coffee. As I had rehearsal with Aksara and Dawn had a soccer game to play in, we could not hang around. We made plans to return before the snow flies, gave hugs and kisses, and then made our way back to Manchester.

Shortly after 2:00pm (yes, I was a bit late for rehearsal), I met up with Aksara and the Chorus boys. We did a bit of recording and playback. This is something Aksara does regularly, but (to my knowledge) not something the Chorus has ever done. It was a neat tool. We would record each song through and then go back to hear how things sounded. It was good because you picked up things that you normally would not hear whilst you are singing.

After rehearsal, at about 5:00pm, I met up with a nice man that I recently met online. His name is Jeff and he also lives on the east side of Manchester. We had been chatting a bit and decided it was time to meet. We went for a walk on the trails around Lake Massabesic. After getting to know one another a little better, we made our way back to his car and decided to continue the evening by taking in a bite to eat together. We decided our next stop was Panera Bread.

We finished our meals and were both were interested in spending a little more time together, so I invited Jeff back to my place for a movie. We shared some cuddle time on my couch and watched Office Space on DVD.

Jeff seems like a really genuine guy and we have some things in common, along with a similar sense of humor. I hope to have the chance spend some more time with him in the near future.

Monday, September 11th, 2006: The neighbor's landscaper woke me with a chainsaw promptly at 8:00am. Since I had made my way to bed around midnight, I decided not to fight it and got up at this time. I started the morning by watching CNN's replay of their footage from this tragic day five years ago. After breakfast and some quiet reflection, I cleaned house, mowed the lawn and prepared for a very special visitor.

Peter and I left for Boston at 6:00pm. We were headed to Logan Airport. One of my best friends that I met through work was coming to spend some time with me here in New Hampshire for his vacation. His flight landed around 7:20pm and Peter and I were waiting for him at the terminal. As Erik exited the terminal's secure area, we greeted him with smiles and big hugs.

Our first stop was for some New England seafood on Boston's waterfront. Peter took us to a place called the No Name restaurant. Erik says he had prauns. I say he had shrimp. Either way, we all ate way too much.

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006: Erik and I decided to hike at Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham, New Hampshire. We climbed in the Mini and made our way to the park. We left the car at the start of the Mountain Trail and then hiked in the three miles to a fire tower atop Pawtuckaway's South Mountain. We climbed three stories to a viewing platform on the tower and took in a most incredible view in every direction.

After sucking up the view for a period of time, we hiked out the three miles that we walked in. It seemed quite longer than three miles going in, even though we were on the very same trail. I was ready to be back at the car after a mile or so. But we managed to make our way out safely and contemplated lunch.

I decided to take Erik to Exeter, New Hampshire. We had homemade soup and bread at a place called the Loaf & Ladle. We walked through downtown a bit and then returned to Manchester for a hour long nap.

Just before 7:00pm, Erik and I headed to the Unitarian Universalist Church for my second Chorus rehearsal of the season. Erik read in the back of the hall for a bit and also went for a walk. After rehearsal, Erik joined me and some of the gang for dinner at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant. The boys really enjoyed Erik's company, and tried to convince him to stay and sing.

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006: Erik and I slept in and took our time getting ready for the day. In the early afternoon we went out for lunch at Panera Bread and then did some shopping at Newbury Comics and Best Buy. Erik picked up Justin Timberlake's new CD and I bought the latest from the Barenaked Ladies.

The Jeff's picked up Erik and me just before 5:00pm. We were headed to A Taste of Downtown Manchester. Local businesses team with restaurants to provide samples of their food in different establishments in the downtown area. It is a great way to learn about shops you may never have known existed, while discovering a new favorite restaurant at the same time. We parked at Manchester City Hall and met up with Chloe, Sean, Brian and Peter. We walked the streets of downtown Manchester for about three hours and made frequent stops to fill our stomachs.

We closed the evening together with drinks at JW Hill's. While we were there, I saw a lovely young lady across a crowded bar. It turned out to be my good friend, and cubemate at work, Kim. I ran over to give her a big hug. As it turns out, she was there with a few of my coworkers, one of which was my boss. We chatted a bit and I departed as my boss reminded me there were 19 days left for me and plenty of projects awaiting my return. I quickly said goodbye and ran for the door!

Thank you for reading. Again, I promise there were be an update appearing sooner than later.

Wonderful-Nice

"I never know how many times to pull it." This was the wrong thing to say to a man that tackles a double entendre every chance he gets...

Monday, August 28th, 2006 thru Thursday, August 31st, 2006: It has been a very quiet time in Ossipee. Peter started school on Monday morning and has been commuting from here to Stratham. He left for work around 6:00am each day whilst I slept in until 9:30am or so.

Monday and Tuesday were a bit chilly, damp, and cloudy. A majority of my time was spent reading and slowly navigating online via dialup. Dialup internet service is so painful. I cannot imagine that at one time this was acceptable. If I ever had to permanently go back to it, I think I would cry out loud.

Wednesday and Thursday were the better of the days this week. It was partly sunny and in the low to mid seventies. I was able to work on making myself more off-white than white. I also read some more of the Da Vinci Code and struggled online.

Each evening, Peter and I threw some form of meat on the grill, cooked it up for dinner while also partaking of some local corn and vegetables. We toured the local ice cream scene for dessert, trying a different shop each night.

On Thursday evening, Peter and I decided it was time for a night on the town. We hopped in the Mini and made our way to Portland, Maine. It sounds far away, but it was actually super easy to get to and only 50 miles to the East of the cottage. It took about an hour to get there and we arrived shortly after 9:00pm.

We found a really nice place to eat called the Dogfish Cafe. It was a pub-type atmosphere. When we arrived, there was a nice little Jewish girl performing. She was playing the keyboard and doing vocals. After we placed our dinner order, the young lady finished her set and was followed by a bleached blonde Bostonian that sang and played the guitar. Both were very entertaining. Peter preferred the piano. I preferred the blonde.

Another table was finishing up across from us. As they were leaving, one of the men at the table bumped a decorative tree branch that was standing up in the corner of the room. As the branch shifted, the limbs at the top got into the ceiling fan. Peter's keen ear thought blondie added a little percussion to his act. But our little hotty of a waiter picked up on this immediately and came to the rescue. He stood on a chair and started tugging on the metal string in hopes of bringing the percussion portion of the performance to an end. After a bit of a struggle, the fan blades stopped spinning and the young man stepped down and over to our table. Quickly, and obviously without thinking, he said, "I never know how many times to pull it." Oh, so many things I could have responded with. Shockingly, I remained silent. We both gave him a polite smile and then he scampered away.

It was time to do the local gay bar scene. I forgot what a fun city Portland is. I had not been to Portland in years. We started at a bar called Spring Street. This is operated by the same owners of Maine Street in Ogunquit which I spoke of in a previous blog entry. Unlike Ogunquit, the crowd here was quite friendly and attitude free. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Thursday is Karaoke night at Spring Street. A majority of the performers were better than average. I was nervous to make my debut here, but ended up singing a rousing rendition Dion's of The Wanderer.

Portland bars close at 1:00am. At about 12:30am, Peter and I made our way to the other two gay bars in town, Blackstones and Styxx. Blackstones was more of a hole in the wall, neighborhood type bar. Could have been fun if we showed up there earlier. Peter had a quick drink and we hurried off to make our way to Styxx before the final bell.

Styxx was neat, too. It was relatively small, but they had a nice bar, pool table and small dance floor area with a DJ. There was a hint of mildew in the air. It turns out that they were still cleaning up from a foam party they had the weekend before. Moments after we arrived, the "ugly lights" came on. There was no time for a drink, only time to check out the crowd and the atmosphere. It was worthy of a return visit on another night.

We headed back to the car and zipped our way onto 25 West, toward New Hampshire. We stopped at a nearby Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee for Peter. In theory, the coffee was to keep Peter awake for the ride and in turn he could keep me awake at the wheel. Within 10-15 minutes of departing Dunkies, Peter was asleep in the passenger seat. At least he had a fresh cup of coffee to keep his hands warm.

Friday, September 1st, 2006: Knock, knock, knock! Peter started my day with a rappa-tap-tap on the bedroom door. He had received a call from his friends Ray and Dottie. They wanted to treat us to a pontoon boat ride on the lake. Thirty minutes later they were on the shores of Wonderful-Nice. We embarked on a cruise out of Leavitt Bay. We made our way to Broad Bay and then through the channel to the main Ossipee Lake. After a short cruise on the main lake, we returned through the channel. After a tour of Broad Bay and Berry Bay, we made our way back to Wonderful-Nice on Leavitt Bay.

Ray and Dottie departed and we started the cleaning process. Peter insisted the place be immaculate for the arrival of Marty and Carol. He invited my parents up to the cottage for the weekend and they graciously accepted. We scoured the place and rewarded ourselves with a long nap afterward.

After the nap, a run, and a shower, Peter and I headed out for groceries and booze. After bringing the goods home, we decided to head to Jake's Seafood Company restaurant for dinner rather than fire up the grill. When we found out that my parents were a lot closer to arriving than we had originally anticipated, we opted for takeout and returned home with our meals.


Marty and Carol arrived just before 8:00pm. We all helped unload the car and then proceeded to make ourselves comfortable around a fire that Peter built. We shared cocktails and pleasant conversation until 12:30am.

Saturday, September 2nd, 2006: The time was 5:39am. The noise was the intrusion alarm on the next door neighbor's home. So much for sleeping in... As Peter's hearing aids were out, I felt it only fair to awaken him as the rest of us had been. We threw on some clothes, grabbed flashlights, and circled the property. Everything seemed secure. Ten to fifteen minutes later, the alarm shut itself off, and we crawled back into bed.

The time was 7:59am. The noise was the mouths of my mother and Peter. They are early risers. The paper thin cottage walls meant that my father and I were early risers on this day, too. Mom made a pancake and sausage breakfast. Peter provided the coffee and the fire. My father and I went to Abbott & Staples for some real Vermont maple syrup.


We are all now sitting around another fire sharing more conversation over coffee. Elissa just called on the phone. She, Chloe and Lilliana are shopping in North Conway and will be joining us for dinner. Later in the evening, Jeff and Jeffy will be making an appearance. A friend of Peter's from Ohio, named Matthew, will be arriving at some point. Around 9:00pm, my good friend and wedding date, Mireil, will be arriving. All this great company should make a fine finish to a wonderful week at Wonderful-Nice.