I’ve been too busy to post, but I just checked in and saw that my number of hits was 420 — and though I’d like it to be higher, I thought that was an auspicious number.
I’ll be having what is probably my final skiing for the season this weekend. Hopefully that might provide fodder for posting.
It’s alliterative and both “M” words in the post title are Greek. And as they are generally credited as the inventors of buttsex (oh yeah , and democracy, too), I positively ADORE the Greeks (plus the food @ our neighborhood “Festival of Greece” — aka the festival of G-R-E-A-S-E because of all the fabulous fried food — is amazing: the lamb ‘lollipops’ that are marinated for days, but barely cooked on the grill; the sausage in pita; the deep-fried calamari; the french fries with feta; the LOUKAMADES!!! But. I. Digress)…
On August 3, 2005, I weighed 230+ lbs. (which is a lot for someone who is < 5′ 8″ tall; possibly due to my enjoyment of the Festival of Grease)
On August 3, 2008, I will be running the San Francisco Marathon (@ about 175 lbs.)
Things have changed a lot in the last few years.
Expect this to be a theme in future posts.
Also, expect links to fundraising solicitations — I’m training for the marathon with the National AIDS Marathon Training program (which, as of my 4th group training run this morning, I can only describe as “FABULOUS!”). D. & I are both running the SF Marathon & we’re both training with the Nat’l AIDS Marathon Training group (tho’ he’s with the advanced group on Sat. mornings in SF, — since he’s already completed a marathon — and I’m with the regular training program in the East Bay on Sunday mornings — @ 8am — which was a wee bit challenging with the time change this morning!). As soon as we can get a combined “team” fundraising designation, I’ll provide the link to our page within the AIDS Marathon Training site.
In the meanwhile, to be supportive, please keeping having (butt)sex, eating delicious (if fatty) foods & MOVE IT, MOVE IT!
Kisses!
I know this is “old” & many of you have probably already seen it, but I still think it’s a lot of fun…
BTW, Liam Sullivan/Kelly is/are the opener(s)/specials guest(s) @ Margaret Cho’s show @ the Warfield next Fri. & Sat. Still haven’t decided if I’m going… (are there enough slashes//in this post!?)
Do you guys have an opinion on the “Snap” previews of my links. I think they’re kinda cool & only mildly intrusive. But some other bloggers seem to HATE them. I’m not saying that I’m going to necessarily change the setting based on a few vociferous opponents, but if a lot of you hate them, I’d be inclined to turn them off.
THANKS!
These pics & vids date back to November & December 2007 & January 2008 (thus the “retro” tag), but it may give you a sense of what we’ve been up to…
These pics are from my 1st triathlon on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay on Nov. 11, 2007. Unfortunately, due to the oil spill in the bay, it became a duathlon. This was dissappointing, obviously because it was nasty for the bay & things that live there, but personally because swimming is my “strong suit” in tri. Not that I’m a amazing swimmer, but most triathletes come from a running or cycling background & many hate/dread the swim portion, whereas I love to swim. Also, unfortunately, it means that you don’t get to see any pics of me charging out of the water whilst peeling off my wetsuit (a perfect Ursula Andress/Daniel Craig moment lost!).
This link is to D.’s youtube vid of his marathon run (CIM or California Int’l Marathon — from Folsom to Sacramento) on Dec. 2, 2007 (note the wild turkey running through downtown Fair Oaks — and @ a faster pace than D.):
This vid is from a Jan. 2008 weekend in Truckee.
D. had posted it on youtube & then the Reno/Tahoe visitors center found it & wanted to post it on their site.
One day, after school, my son told me that his “girlfriend” had broken up with him… again. Not until later in the day did we find this “Dear John” letter in his backpack (please click on the thumbnail to see the letter in detail). I like the use of multiple choice to respond “yes” or “no” to whether or not he likes being broken up. Almost everyone we’ve shared this with has had the same comment: “I need to find a new x-Boyfriend…”
This past weekend, while driving to his Saturday morning gymnastics class, my 6-year-old son asks, “can we go to… go to… to…” So I’m thinking that he’s going to ask to go to a “real” place, like the park, or the space & science museum. But no, he finishes, “can we go to double-u-double-u-double-u-dot-disney-on-ice-dot-com?” (www.disneyonice.com) Not until later that night, during dinner, when I laughingly tell the story to my partner & he responds, “OH NO!” does the full horror sink in…
“I Never Thought It Would Stop” was my first submission for Smith Magazine’s Six-Word Memoirs project. I first heard of this project (& Smith Magazine) while listening to a story on Talk of the Nation on NPR.
I like the ambiguity of the title. In fact, when Smith asked me to put a ‘tag’ on the title, I chose “ambiguous.” What is “it” & when did “it” stop? Is “it” a bad thing, so it’s good that “it” stopped? Or is “it” a good thing & the author (ok, moi in this case) is sad or angry or confused, etc., about the stoppage. Or is there no value placed on “it” — neither good nor bad, so the stopping is just another of life’s random, nearly unnoticed happenings (& the perhaps that’s why the author never thought of it). But now that it has stopped, DOES it have an impact?
I also intentionally chose “stop” rather than “end,” because I wanted to add to the ambiguity. “End” sounds so final, so terminal — can it start again? HAS it started again? And again, is that possibility good, bad or indifferent?
OK, enough dissecting (& touting my own cleverness — don’t want to break my arm whilst patting myself on the back… again). “But what does it mean?” you ask.
Initially it was about a recent change happening in my life (that I don’t care to go into just now) that is having a mostly negative impact on my mood. But the more I thought about it, I realized that, for better or worse, this is how I’ve often felt (or not felt, as the case may be) about incidents, or entire periods, in my life. And I assume others may be able to relate. Partly it has to do with just being “in the moment” during any time in your life & not dwelling too much on what the future holds. I think this is particularly true of our youth (or @ least mine). Is it a lack of forethought? Lack of ambition? Lack of imagination? What do you think?
For example, when I was in college, hanging out with friends, basically doing nothing, shooting the shit, occasionally getting drunk and/or stoned, I just felt like this was what life would always be like (and to take it even further, I thought that these were the friends with whom I’d always be doing this — “this” being nothing in particular). Obviously there were times that I would think know that this would not be the case — clearly we were going to grow older, perhaps graduate, move to new cities, get jobs, find partners, have children, etc. But many times, in the moment, I just felt that things would never change — “it” would never stop. And despite the fact that it did stop, I guess I didn’t learn from that, because this feeling repeated itself over & over, in new locations, with new routines and activities, with new groups of friends, etc., etc…
Another example, of an incident, rather than a whole period in life: Our hero (me, again) is out with friends, at a big gay dance club, and we’re all on acid/X/shrooms/you-name-it (& of course this whole scenario: friends, dancing, drugs is how it is ALWAYS going to be!). The music is REALLY great. Some of it is very familiar (“OH. MY. GOD. ILUVTHISSONG!”) & some of it’s new & you get that special & unique experience of hearing a song for the first time (& it helps that the drugs are really good; WOW! somebody really came through this time!). And it feels like the music is NEVER going to stop. In fact, it feels like this SONG is NEVER going to stop. And for awhile that’s a good thing. And then we get to a weird part in our drug trip @ the same time that the song gets repetitive and we WANT it to stop. Then, of course, the drug and/or the song gets better again & we’re right back to it’s never going to stop & that’s a GOOD thing.
See what I mean? And I’m sure many of us have cases where we thought something (good or bad) was never going to stop: a job, a relationship, the pain of a breakup, an infatuation, an elation, a depression, a drug trip, the grief from the loss of a loved one, etc., etc… I’m sure I’ll think of other examples to share in the future. Do you have any to share?
Speaking of sharing, if you’ve considered blogging but feel like it’s going to take to much effort… If you feel like you have a story (or stories) to tell, but don’t feel like you have it in you to tell a new story EVERY damn day, then maybe smithmag is the way for you to start. After all, their tagline is “Everyone has a story…”
BTW, my 2nd submission to Six-Word Memoirs is: “Why Should Today Be Any Different?” Now lest you think that this is the pessimistic “nothing-ever-changes” flipside to my first submission (in which the author is possibly pissed off by things changing) let me explain: I’ve used this phrase for years, usually saying it in a cheerfully sarcastic way, when a friend is singing the same old tale of woe (“I hate my job,” “I’m never going to meet the right guy,” Whaa, Whaa, Whaa). So you see, it’s really quite bitchy. Strange, coming from moi.
I was hoping my 1st post would be witty, illuminating, probing, scintillating, blah, blah, blah… But the reality is that it’s late & I’m just doing this as a test. Let’s start in earnest tomorrow, shall we? Adieu.
