Baseball, Birthdays, and Beachfront

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006: The alarm again? Yes, I set it. The sounds of New Hampshire's 95.7 FM woke me on this morn at 9:30. I prepped myself for a day in the sun at the ball park.

I met Luc at his home in South Manchester at 10:30am. We hopped in the Mini and headed to the home field of the New Hampshire Fishercats near downtown Manchester. We ditched the car at Autodesk and made the short walk to the park.

We waited at the main gate whilst the national anthem finished. At its end, we were allowed in and directed to our seats along the first base line. Luc scored the tickets through his employer. I am not quite sure how he swung it, but they were fairly nice seats.

The stadium was nearly empty. On the day of the game, the Fishercats were in second to last place in their division. That combined with the fact that this was an 11:00am weekday game, they did not draw much of a crowd.

We took in a bit of the game and at the same time checked out the assets of the players that manned first base. Fine seats indeed!

There was supposed to be a contingent from Luc's place of employment in the same section we were in. But they were nowhere to be found. During the third inning, Luc called his manager only to find that the staff present was in the suite rented by a wealthy vendor of Luc's employer. They sent down an escort and brought Luc and I back to the suite.

So much for the assets. But, this was a fine alternative. Free food and drink was available in the suite. There were 12 to 15 of Luc's friends and coworkers already there enjoying themselves. I was introduced to many of them and found out Luc does just as little work as Allan and I had already expected.

Here goes the diet. The first item we were offered was ice cream sundaes. Of course we said yes, even though we had yet to have any food remotely resembling lunch. A short time later, the lunch wagon arrived. Luc and I took in a couple of hot dogs.

The fun and frivolity continued through the ninth inning. Though it was a winner of a day, the Fishercats did not bring us a win. They lost 7-4 to the Reading, (Pennsylvania) Phillies.

We returned to the car at Autodesk. I gave a quick call to one of my best gal pals, Roxanne. She came out to give me a big hug and a hello.

After dropping Luc back at his house, I returned home around 3:00pm. I had good intentions of doing a little landscaping. Instead, my body made contact with the couch and I was out for a good two hours. So much for lawn care.

Another one of my best gal pals, Sean, arrived at about 6:30pm. Thirty minutes later we arrived at Lui-Lui in Nashua for Brian's 40th birthday. There were about twenty of Brian's closest friends and family present. It was yet another really nice evening - more great times with great friends.

Thursday, August 24th, 2006: The day began with the composition of an email sent to wish my brother a happy birthday. He travels for work and was in Yemen for the celebration of his 39th year.

Today was a day for getting things done around the house. I took care of the laundry, bills, and the lawn care that I slept through yesterday.

In the evening, I met up with Sean for a late dinner. We shared quite a few laughs over dinner at Chili's in Manchester. He cracks me up!

During dinner, I received a call from my dream lover, John. He was free for the weekend and had some frequent flyer miles to burn. I welcomed him and he booked his flight. He would be arriving Friday morning.

For those of you that do not know him, nor ever had the oppurtunity to meet this fine man, I will give you a little background information. John and I met online (surprise) several years ago. At a critical point in both our lives, we made what would become a most memorable connection. I had been unemployed for several months. Then one of the most unthinkable acts in American History occurred. Everybody needed somebody to love. There had always been a special bond between John and I. After a bit of discussion in the Fall of 2001, we decided to give living together and dating a try. John moved to New Hampshire from his home state of West Virginia and shared with me the three best months of my life. He then returned to Dartmouth to focus on school for the Spring 2002 semester.

Friday, August 25th, 2006: I arose at 8:30am to get some errands done and pack my bags for a weekend at the lake. John was arriving at 10:30am. His flight was a bit late. He arrived at just about 11:00am. I picked him up at the terminal and we flew out of the airport and made our way North.

We were headed to Story Land. Story Land is an amusement park in New Hampshire's North Country. It is not Disneyland, but for $22 it is a day of thrills that can't be beat. This was NOT a romantic getaway that John and I had planned. I already made plans with my Aunts, Mary and Allison, to meet them and my little cousins who were in the area on vacation.

We arrived at the park at about 1:15pm. John dropped me off whilst I snuck in to surprise my little cousins, Annie, Patrick, and Brendan. I spent the day with the family, did the rides, and shared quality time with them.

John spent the day in North Conway. He found himself some wireless internet and a place that his cell phone worked. He was technically working today, even though he snuck off to New Hampshire. He did his best to piece together what appeared to be eight hours worth of work in only four hours.

My Mini returned with John at the wheel at about 6:00pm just as the gates to the magical Story Land were closing. I bid a fond farewell to the family and jumped in the Cooper with my boy, John.

We were headed to the cottage of my roommate and good friend, Peter, located in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire. Peter, already in the north country, was doing some outlet shopping and spending the hard earned money from his first paycheck in a very long time. Peter has been away on an actual sabbatical, not a sabbatication.

John and I found Peter in North Conway. We met at Brooks Brothers at just the right time. We saved Peter from spending the last of his cash on a new suit.

Dinner was in order and we made our way to Merlino's Steak House. Peter and I ordered twin prime rib and John grabbed a burger and a beer.

After a nice meal, we made our way to Peter's cottage, affectionately named Wonderful-Nice, in Center Ossipee. It is such a peaceful spot - a little piece of heaven. Peter gave John the nickel tour and then we shared cocktails and conversation until bedtime.

Saturday, August 26th, 2006: More relaxation was in order. We started the morning with coffee and a light breakfast. We got a couple of necessary trips out of the way. We made our way to the grocery store, and more importantly, stopped at the New Hampshire State Liquor Store for some gin.

We donned our bathing suits, grabbed a beach chair, and planted ourselves on the shores of Leavitt Bay on Ossipee Lake. It was partly cloudy and was not the most perfect beach weather. We made best of it, and once the gin and tonic started absorbing into our bloodstreams, everything became perfect.

Several gin and tonics later, it was naptime. Peter crashed on the porch whilst John and I cuddled on the hammock. In the several years that I have been lucky enough to join Peter and our friends at this special spot, a nap on the hammock had never been quite this delightful.

Our grumbling tummies made their presence known and it was time to throw some burgers on the grill. I fired it up and prepared the meat. The boys got the rest of dinner assembled and then we broke bread together.

After dinner, we shared more quiet conversation and a game of cards. We played Rummy 500. The game was close, but Peter took the faux kitty with 520 points. John was a close second with 495 and I trailed with 475. We then moaned and groaned our way to bed around midnight.

Sunday, August 27th, 2006: It was up and out early as John had a flight to catch and I had a rehearsal to attend. We made the 90 minute drive to Manchester at 8:20am. I gave John a big squeeze goodbye. He scooted into the terminal as we drove away. Peter's presence was a welcome distraction from the tears that usually ensue.

Peter rushed me in his PT Cruiser to rehearsal with Aksara. Six of the Chorus boys and I are rehearsing four numbers with this local women's group. We are going to be special guests for their upcoming concert in early November.

Luc graciously gave me a ride back to my house in his fancy new Honda. Peter was already home gathering his things for the week ahead to be spent in Ossipee. It was my turn to do the same.

After paying an overdue cell phone bill (oops) and doing one load of laundry (I was short on clean undies), it was time to return to the north country. A quick visit to the Manchester homestead became an extended visit as I attemped to pack for eight days away. That exhausting task led to an hour long nap. Peter was already snoozing whilst he waited for me to get my act together.

This brings me to now. I am sitting on the couch at Wonderful-Nice, laptop warming my thighs and fire toasting my feet. Whilst I listen to the Heartland Men's Chorus and compose this blog entry, I contemplate so many things that I am thankful for - a loving family, great friends and a good life.

P. S. I love you, John.

Montreal and Other Things

Canada's second largest city, Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, is fun and fabulously gay friendly. My last visit was August of 2001. Far too long ago. It was time to visit again.

Friday, August 18th, 2006: Begrudgingly, I arose again to the sound of my alarm at 9:00am. Brian was expected at my place in Manchester between 1:00pm and 2:00pm. This gave me plenty of time to make myself pretty, pack my bags and grab a little lunch before we made our way to Montreal.

Brian warned me with a phone call that he was ahead of schedule. He arrived shortly thereafter. As I scrambled to prepare for an early departure, he hopped online and drew up a Triptik.

After fueling up the Mini, we left Manchester at about 12:20pm. We headed North and made our first stop, for lunch, in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Normally I would not think that a lunch stop could be worthy of becoming part of my blog entry. However, when we decided to eat at Men At Wok, it became a requirement. It was just a little hole in the wall, though the food was quite delicious. We both devoured our lunch specials and finished the meals off with our fortune cookies.

After taking my daily obligatory blog photo, we continued on our way up Interstate 89 North into Vermont. We made it across the United States/Canadian border with no problems nor delays. It was not until we were 10-15 miles outside of Montreal that we ran into a bit of rush hour traffic.

We arrived at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel just before 6:00pm. We squared away our reservations and made our way to our room on the 19th floor of the 20 floor hotel.

The room was quite spacious. There were two beds fit for two queens (queen-size beds, I mean). Each had fifty-two pillows on it and the bedding was luxurious. The room was also equipped with a mini fridge and free wireless internet.

Our friends Jeff and Jeffy had arrived in town a few hours before us. They were staying at the same hotel and were a few floors below. After getting settled in, we met up with them and went out to find some grub.

The four of us made our way on foot to McLean's Pub. Here we are, in what could be considered the heart of French Canada, having dinner at an Irish Pub. But hey, it was good eating and drinking, at there was plenty of time the rest of the weekend for French, uhm, other things.

After dinner, we hopped in Jeff's hybrid Honda and made our way to Casino de Montreal. I was not very impressed. I have been to Vegas. I have been to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. When you have experienced gambling at that magnitude, it would take a lot to outdo it. It was nice enough, but the slots were tight and lady luck was not on my side.

We returned to the hotel after a few hours of money sucking fun. Feeling a bit worn out after a day of traveling and some heavy duty gambling, Jeff and Jeffy turned in for the evening, whilst Brian and I made our way out for a night on the town.

Brian and I made our way to Montreal's Gay Village. We started at the North end of Ste Catherine Street and bar-hopped our way South. After a few seedy spots, and several drinks later, we wound up on the terrace of Complexe Sky. This place was fabulous. It was a roof deck atop a three story club. Each level of the club had bars and dance floors of different types. It was a beautiful night, and once Brian and I found our way to the terrace, we decided to chill there. There were cute boys aplenty speaking French. I am not sure what they were saying, but it didn't matter. I could listen for days. It is so romantic. We shared small talk with some locals, watched the yummy European men in the hot tub, and enjoyed everything that I had remembered Montreal to be.

Saturday, August 19th, 2006: Brian and I slept in whilst Jeff and Jeffy made their way to scope out Chinatown. After we woke up (and I completed a short run on one of the hotel's treadmills) we took a short cab ride to meet up with the Jeffs for lunch. Jeffy had found a place, La Maison Kam Fung, where he wanted to try their Dim Sum. If you have never experienced Dim Sum, and you think you would like to try some authentic Chinese cuisine, I highly suggest it.

A Dim Sum style lunch, as best as I can describe it, is brought around on carts and presented to your table. If it is something you are interested in, they give you a portion big enough for your party right off the cart, served family-style. There were dishes of all kinds, steamed, fried, etc. I passed on most of the seafood items, but there was plenty of other food to be had.

After lunch, we strolled through the outside booths and other shops in Montreal's Chinatown. Brian bought a little pot (of the cooking kind), and the Jeffs bought a few other items. We then made our way back to the hotel.

We all decided to head out on our own for a little bit. Jeff and Jeffy headed back to the village to check out its shops. Brian headed to The Underground City to find himself some new footwear. I stayed back at the hotel and got myself 30 minutes of shuteye to prepare myself for another night on the town.


I then made my way on Montreal's Metro to the Gay Village where I met up with Brian. He continued to shop while I had a little Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and people watched at the same time.

That evening, we regrouped at the hotel to make dinner plans. Tonight it was Italian at quaint little spot where I had myself a tasty personal sized pizza.

Brian and I had so much fun at Complexe Sky, we decided to give it another try. Jeff and Jeffy joined us this time. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with our plans to hit the terrace again. It started to rain and the terrace was only open to the die hard smokers. The bars atop the roof were closed.

I spent most of the night on the cabaret floor. They played the most popular dance mixes and the floor became more crowded as the night went on. We bumped and grinded with the French boys and left the Complexe at nearly 2:30am.

Sunday, August 20th: It is Sunday already? It seems like we just arrived. But it was true. It was time to pack and go. The Jeffs got an early start whilst Brian and I caught up on our beauty sleep. We made our way to the front desk just before the noon checkout cutoff. We grabbed a muffin and coffee for the road and headed South.

Jeff reported via cell phone that the US border stop along Interstate 89 had about a one hour wait. We just left Montreal when this call came in, so we decided take a little detour and come back via Interstate 91. This way was a little longer mileage-wise, but we only had about a 20-25 minute wait at the border. We made it through customs without incident, though I was sure to refer to Brian's pot as "kitchenware." We stopped for lunch in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont and was back at my humble abode in Manchester around 6:00pm.

Monday, August 21st, 2006: This was a day to recuperate, and get caught up on my window cleaning project. I met up with the ever motivational Dave who took me out for another run. This time we ran the trails around Tower Hill Pond in Auburn, New Hampshire. This is also a body of water that is maintained for the Manchester water supply, so there is no swimming. The trails were well maintained. In the Winter, they are used by the Southern NH Snow Slickers for snowmobiling. The size of the pond and the path around it were the perfect size for a combo walk/run at the level I am at right now.

My roommate, Peter, returned home this evening to prepare for his return to teaching which begins on Thursday, August 25th. I greeted him at the door with a shot of Akvavit, a Beefeater Gin and Tonic, and a bowl of hot buttered popcorn. This gave us a chance to get caught up on the happenings since we last saw one another.

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006: For most of the day, I thought it was Wednesday. I love that! I have completely lost track of the day and date. I wish life was that carefree all the time.

Dave called. Road trip! His college roommate's wife had a baby today. They were at the hospital and he asked Dave to check up on the pets. We took the drive to Braintree, Massachusetts to feed and walk Matt's golden Retriever, Astro. We also left a bowl of food out Mr. Whiskers, the kitty cat.

As a thank you for keeping Dave company on the drive through Boston at rush hour, he treated me to a Mexican feast at El Sarape. This is a favorite of the Phantom Gourmet. I have to agree with the Phantom. The enchiladas were to die for. A tasty Margarita helped to wash it down.

On the way back to Manchester, we stopped for gas in Salem, New Hampshire. We took a stroll through Christmas Tree Shops but (Rich will be happy to know) I did not buy a thing. We then continued home via the back roads and stopped at Emiliana's Gelateria & Cafe in Derry. I have never been here before, nor have I ever had Gelato. It was delectable. It's like ice cream, without the cream. It is made from milk, so supposedly it's healthier for you.

Tomorrow I am off to see the New Hampshire Fishercats game. My good friend (and director of the New Hampshire Gay Men's Chorus), Luc, has an extra ticket to the game and invited me along. In the evening, I am headed to Lui Lui in Nashua to celebrate Brian's 40th birthday.

Friday I will be headed to Story Land in Glen, New Hampshire. I will be spending the day with family there. It should prove to be an exciting time. After that, it is off to Ossipee through Labor at my roommate's lakefront spot, Wonderful-Nice.

Thanks for reading. With just over five weeks to go, there is plenty more to come. Check back soon. Love you all!

Six Flags New England

Whilst on vacation, something is wrong if I have to set my alarm for a time earlier than is required for a normal workday. But I did it. I arose at 6:00am on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006, to go to Six Flags New England.

My die hard, thrill seeking friends from the Chorus, Tim (aka "Timmay"), Santos and Nick arrived precisely at 7:30am. Nick was accompanied by a girlfriend of his named Chris. We piled into Timmay's Nissan and made our way southwest.

Six Flags New England is in Agawam, Massachusetts and is about three hours southwest of Manchester. It was mostly smooth sailing for the entire journey. We made one stop along the way at the Charlton service center on the Mass Pike.

Did you know that if you are a bus driver, you can move to the front of the line at McDonald's? Nick was cut off in line at McDonald's by a bus driver. The driver flashed his badge at the cashier as Nick approached the counter to place his order. It all happened so fast, Nick didn't know what to say, so the louse got away with it. It was a standing joke the rest of the day. We tried to move to the front of the ride lines using the same tactic, but it did not yield the same results.


We arrived at the park as the gates opened at 10:30am. We made the hike from the "standard parking area" to the main entrance. We spent the first few hours tackling some of the bigger rides like Scream, Superman Ride Of Steel, and The Mind Eraser. The park was a bit crowded so there was quite a wait on some of the rides. Plus, someone had an unfortunate stomach wrenching incident on Mind Eraser, so we had to wait while they initiated the "Vomit Eraser" cleaning sequence before we could proceed.


SPF 30 time! We made our way to Hurricane Harbor. It was a perfect day for water rides. We pretty much hit them all. The lines were a bitch in there, as well. But there was plenty to keep my eyes busy whilst we waited. I think my favorite ride in the water park would have to be Typhoon. It was a water based roller coaster and was a completely different experience. You get in a three person raft and make your way through a water slide with up and down hills similar to a roller coaster. You are propelled on the uphill portions by conveyor belts. You are enveloped in water at the top of each hill by pipes on the left and right of the chute. I was unprepared for the first deluge and I think I swallowed a half gallon of water as I was laughing.

We finished the afternoon in the water park, changed, and headed back into the main park around 6:00pm. Timmay picked us up some coupon books. In there were coupons for two-for-one turkey legs. Mmm. Meat! Grunt! We made our way to Crack-Axle Canyon. As we placed our order, the young whipper snappers behind the counter made us a deal. We ended up getting two "messed up" turkey legs for $3.25. Believe me, this is a STEAL! Everything in the park is exorbitantly overpriced. We thought there had to be a catch. What exactly did "messed up" mean? Turns out they just weren't pretty. Timmay's leg was broken. My leg was deformed a bit (poor little turkey). But it's meat! Who cares if it's pretty? If it's edible, I'll eat it. So we got two turkey legs for less than the price of a bottle of Six Flags water! Bam Bam!

Now that our stomachs were full, what better to do than hop on a few more thrill rides. We attempted to get on some of the rides in the Main Street Plaza. But, as we got in each line, each ride seemed to break at that moment. Some of us did get on Catapult. This thing was nuts! It was like a double-ended (get your mind out of the gutter, kids) fly swatter with 24 seats in a square pattern at each end. They load up the ride, strap you in tighter than I would imagine being harnessed for a shuttle launch, and bring you up 105 feet. Then they kick the ride into motion and you are spinning around on this fly swatter at about 30 miles per hour. I have never felt the blood rush to my head so fast. It was the most awkwardly enjoyable ride of the day.

We wrapped up the night with a few more rides including Batman The Dark Knight and Flashback. As the park closing approached, Nick and I hurried our way back to Catapult. We managed to get on the last ride, just as the closing announcement echoed throughout the park. We were in the last row. As they were securing us for blastoff, the attendant moved all the other occupants of the last row to other seats on the ride to "balance it." We thought we were dead for sure. And off we go. This second ride seemed even more intense than the first. Nick started making me laugh, and I though for sure that I was going to have an aneurysm. But we finished the ride with only a few girlish screams.

The drive out of the parking lot was a thrill ride in itself. It was every man for himself. After some time and some eye-closing, sissy-bar grabbing moments, we managed to hit the main drag and make our way to the highway.

Santos, Chris and I passed out in the back seat while Timmay and Nick chattered away. We arrived back in Manchester around midnight.

I love my Chorus boys! It is days like these that make singing with the New Hampshire Gay Men's Chorus a formality.

Windows, Exercise, and The Amazing Race 10

Twenty windows. Twenty days. If I could take a picture of the cleanliness of glass, I think I would. However, somehow I think it would lose the desired effect. In any case, there are twenty windows in my house. I washed my kitchen window today, inside and out. This means there are only nineteen to go until you will be able to see into my house again from any angle.

I am trying to get a little more exercise into my life. The excuse for not doing so has always been a lack of free time. Clearly that is no longer viable. So I met up with my friend, Dave, and we headed to the trails around Lake Massabesic. We only ran for about a mile, though we also walked the trails for about an hour. I have not exercised in months, so I am easing into it. Last time I overdid it, my entire body seized up into one giant knot. Hopefully I will not be a pretzel tomorrow. Many thanks to Dave for the motivational pushing.

Ttow! Tonight was dinner with my Aunts, Mary and Allison, and my Uncle Kenny at Olive Garden in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. At the start of the season of The Amazing Race 9, we placed a little wager. We each picked a team who we felt would win the one million dollar purse on the final episode. We did really well. Mary, Allison and I each picked one of the final three (sorry Kenny). I had the frat boys (insert your own witticism or double entendre here) and Allison picked Ray and Yolanda. But Mary was the big winner with BJ and Tyler. The winner got to pick a spot for dinner and the losers had to treat them to a meal there. Tonight we paid our debt to Mary and made plans for the pool for AR 10. If you would like to ante up, let me know and you are in!

Until next time, much love! XO

Ogunquit and Pappy's

After much procrastinating, I re-packed my bags and off to Ogunquit, Maine I went. The thought of another hour or so in the car was just not making me happy. But once I got rolling I was okay.

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006 - continued: I rolled into town just before 10:00pm. Brian's place was really easy to find. It was just under a mile from town center and only four or five houses away from Footbridge Beach.

We shared pleasantries over a stiff cocktail at the cottage then decided to make our way downtown, on foot. Brian mixed us a drink for the road in a couple of soda cans. We are SO rebellious, aren't we?

Our first stop was The Front Porch. This could have been the only place we went the whole time I was there and I would have been happy. It is such a neat place. Friends sharing good times while singing along to show tunes around a piano. Could it get any gayer? Probably not.

We made our way from The Front Porch to Club InsideOUT. For a Wednesday night, it was fairly busy. We had a few more drinks and danced the remainder of the night away. We closed the place and stumbled home by 2:00am.

Thursday, August 10th, 2006: Shampoo, hair gel, and toothpaste! Oh my! We arose at about 10:00am to the news of the airport delays and the terror threat on UK flights. The American media is SO dramatic. I hate it. It is why I refuse to watch the news. Next subject.

We had a light lunch around noon. I covered myself in SPF 30 and then headed to the beach. I am not one for too much sun. Little Irish white boy does not tan. I burn. So, I cover myself. We met up with Maureen and her son Brock. Maureen is a good friend of Brian's and also happens to be my financial advisor.

It was a perfect beach day, mostly sunny and about 80°F. An occasional cloud blocked the sun, but other than that is was fabulous. The four of us walked the beach a bit playing catch with a tennis ball. They even convinced me to go into the water. I do the ocean about as much as I do the sun. It was not that bad. My feet were only numb for a few minutes. I do not know the actual water temperature, but I would put it somewhere in the low to mid sixties.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to the cottage for a quick nap. Maureen, Brian and I headed out for a seafood dinner and then some bingo.

Bingo was at the Moody, Maine senior center. That was an interesting experience. It was a small crowd, about 30 people. But everyone was really fun. The small crowd made the prizes small. Brian and Maureen were both lucky. Maureen split winnings on a game and won eight whole dollars. Brian, who is always lucky, was the big winner of the night. He won the final coverall of the night and took home $122.

We returned home after bingo. Brian called it a night but I headed into town just to see what was going on. It was fairly quiet. I checked out a club called Maine Street. It was dead, only about a dozen or so people at the bar. I made my way over to Club InsideOUT. It was also fairly quiet. I checked out the few boys that were there and took in some thumping bass, but left alone just before close at 1:00am.

Friday, August 11th, 2006: Whistler's Mother between my breasts? This morning I noticed a red blotch in the middle of my chest. I guess I need to be more careful when applying sun block.

I made my way into town with Brian around 11:00am. I walked the shops while he got a massage. I had a little lunch at Le Pizzeria and picked up a copy of the Da Vinci Code. I parked myself on a bench and read while people watching at the same time.

As Brian's massage ended, I made my way to Bread and Roses Bakery. I picked up a sampling of all kinds of delectable desserts. Maureen and Brian were planning a feast and I was tasked with coordinating dessert.

We headed home after a little more shopping. I took a nice long nap before dinner. We headed to Maureen's house for an impressive dinner for eleven (I think)... lobster, corn, pasta, oysters, salads, bread, and more... Mmm mmm mmm!

After dessert, Brian, his brother, Mike, and sister-in-law, Yonja, and I headed back to The Front Porch. We caught the Friday night show by Khris Francis. Though just a bit on the rude side (the kind of rudenss you might be embarassed to share with your mother), the show was quite funny. He made fun of the straight people in the crowd and pulled a few of them up on stage. We also sang along to some TV themes with him and he made up some lyrics of his own to a few. The show closed with his version of It's A Small World After All titled It's Ogunquit After All.

We made the downtown club rounds one more time for my last night. After The Front Porch, we headed over to Maine Street and then we met up with Maureen and her family at Maxwell's Pub. I was able to do one Karaoke number whilst I was there. From there, the entire clan headed over to close the night back at InsideOUT. I was shocked Maureen was up for it. Again, it is not the kind of place I would take my Mom. Nor is it the kind of place I would think my Mom would have any interest in going. We returned home and we were in bed by 1:30am.

Saturday, August 12th, 2006: The keys to the cottage had to be back to the realtor by 10:00am in York, Maine. Mike, Yonja and I were up early and helping Brian clean up. I left at about 9:15am and dropped the key off for Brian on my way.

The rest of Saturday was uneventful. I was home by 10:45am and did stuff around the house most of the day.

In the evening, I grabbed some dinner with my friend, Dave. We watched some TV while playing some rummy, and had a few drinks. I headed home at about 12:15am.

Sunday, August 13th, 2006: Here we are, up to today. It has been a typical Sunday. I arose at about 10am. Went for breakfast at Pappy's with Jeff and then did some shopping at Best Buy.

Not much is planned for this week. I am going to get some things done around the house and also spend some time on Chorus stuff, including editing the web site and mastering a few of my amateur recordings. I will be headed to Six Flags on Wednesday and Montreal on Friday. Thanks for reading and be sure to watch for the next update!

Three Drinks, a Wedding, and Columbus

So it's finally here. I can remember months ago how I was counting down the days with my co-workers. It seemed so far away...

For every four years of service, my employer gives a six week break which they refer to as a sabbatical. It really doesn't fit into the true definition of a sabbatical, though. It is pretty much just extended time away from work to clear your head, not necessarily used for educational purposes. My friends have referred to it as my sabbatication. I guess that fits best.

But now here I am already six days into my sabbatication. Tied to it are my two weeks of regular vacation, so I am off from August 4th through October 1st. I had promised a blog from the get-go, but one thing led to another and that got pushed aside. So now I am taking the time to set it up. Here is a synopsis of what has occurred since my last day of work:

Thursday, August 3rd, 2006: I handed off all my work related tasks to my teammates, set up my Outlook OOO message, updated my voice mail, and left the office at 5:15pm.

At about 10:00pm, I headed to a local gay bar called the 313 for a few drinks with my friend Dave. We waited in line for about 15 minutes. That in itself just amazes me. A line for a gay bar in Manchester, New Hampshire. I am convinced it is a setup. I was just about to say that I would not wait in line to get into any gay bar in this city -- but I cannot. Dave and I waited our time in line, checking out the cute under 21 crowd. I was feeling quite old. Once inside, we listened to some bad Karaoke, had a few drinks, and got our groove on. We left just after midnight since Dave had to work in the morning. Thanks to three quite strong Cape Codders, I climbed into my bed when I got home and slept like a rock.

Friday, August 4th, 2006: This was a slow moving day, thanks to the alcohol consumption the night before. I met up with a good friend and co-worker, Kim, to get some groceries for a party I was having on this night. We headed to Hannaford and the New Hampshire State Liquor Store to load up on the essentials -- burgers & dogs, and an assortment of booze.

I returned home to mow the lawn and make the exterior of the house somewhat presentable for my arriving guests. Mowing was rough, again, caused by the three drinks I had the night before. I guess I am getting old. Three drinks should not impair me the next day. Anyway, I finished the lawn and managed to get a nice burn on my shoulders. Everyone needs a sunburn for sabbaticaion.

The house was as clean as it was going to get both inside and out. I cleaned myself up and the guests arrived shortly thereafter. My friends/co-workers Kim, Anita and Salman were there, along with my chorus chum, Santos, and my friend Dave who I went out with the night before. I had expected a few more people. But this ended up being the perfect size. More alcohol was consumed and everyone seemed to have a rockin' time. What a great group of friends I have!

Saturday, August 5th, 2006: My good friend and personal hair stylist, Jeff, visited on this morning to give me a trim. I needed to make myself pretty for an afternoon wedding.

I drove to Somerville, Massachusetts to pick up one of my best friends and lifelong wedding date, Mireil. We were heading to my cousin Tom's wedding at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. This was one of the top two weddings I have attended. And let me tell you, Mireil and I have been to A LOT of weddings. Everything was amazing -- beautiful flowers, the most delicious food, open bar, huge band -- just to mention a few of the highlights. They even managed to have a slide show/video just before the bride and groom entered the reception. I know with modern technology it's easy these days, but they even had a video montage which included clips from the ceremony itself. The wedding broke up around midnight and I made it home at about 1:15am.

Sunday, August 6th, 2006: After just about three hours of sleep I was headed to Columbus, Ohio via Southwest Airlines. Jeff picked me up at 5:45am. My flights were on time (had a connecting flight in Philadelphia) and I even arrived a few minutes early. I was taking a one-way trip to meet up with my friend and roommate, Peter. He's moving back to my place in Manchester and I offered to join him on the return drive.

I was picked up at the airport in Columbus by Peter's classmate, Sandy. She's cute. She picked me up in her little Geo Prism (adorned with an Ohio State emblem as a joke by Peter) and took me to Peter's church. He asked her to pick me up since he wanted to attend church for his last Sunday in Columbus. It was a somewhat somber time as I met Peter's friends from church at the social hour after the service. They all just learned that the church will most likely have to close their Lutheran Parish due to budget problems. Very sad, but still nice to meet all these people that Peter cares about. After social hour we headed to lunch with the minister and his wife. I had a yummy tuna salad and some iced green tea.

After returning home for a nap, Peter and I headed to Pyramid for the Sunday afternoon strip show. I know - LOL! From church to a strip show at a gay bar. Anyway, I managed to touch and see my two favorite male gods, Evan and John. Unfortunately we did not get to take in the whole show, but I did get my fill. Well, it was enough to hold me over through dinner.


We left Pyramid and headed to Barcelona (I think they stole Autodesk's old font for their logo) for dinner with several of Peter's friends from Columbus. It was a thank you and see you soon celebration. We ate on the patio and we all were a bit hot. It seems not to drop below 80°F in the summer. But we had fabulous meals and drinks, all while having a few good laughs over Peter at the same time.

After parting from dinner, we headed to Havana. We took in yet another strip show that included my dream dates Evan and John. We wrapped up the evening there and returned home at about 2:00am.

Monday, August 7th, 2006: Peter ran some last minute errands and packed the PT Cruiser for the journey east. After getting himself organized, we left around 5:00pm (this is noon "Peter time"). We drove east with a stop for coffee at the Angel Falls Coffee Company in Akron, Ohio. What a neat little gay hot spot. We had their "Don't Ask Don't Tell" brew, took in the sights for a bit, and headed east again.

We stopped for a late bite to eat at Perkins in Du Bois, Pennsylvania. Let me just say, the town name is quite fitting. No need to say any more.

After taking turns for a few more hours of driving, we decided to call it quits. We grabbed a room at the Comfort Inn, somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania, around 1:30am.

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006: At about 8:30am, we continued our way east. We stopped for lunch at Alexis Diner somewhere in New York. From there we continued onward to Connecticut. We were stopping to see Peter's mother in Bolton. We arrived there just before 4:00pm, shared dinner with her, and started the final leg of the trip around 7:30pm. We made it back to my place in Manchester at just about 10:00pm.

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006: Nothing eventful so far. Just doing some laundry and preparing for the next few days which will be spent with my friend Brian in Ogunquit, Maine. I have been invited to arrive anytime I want. I am headed there shortly. The next entry will have the scoop on Ogunquit.

Until then, XO