And no, I'm not talking bulimia. I've tried that and it just doesn't work for me. Though, after the gluttony that was Thanksgiving Day, I should re-think that option.
No, what I'm talking about is my annual tradition of cleaning out my closets and getting rid of things that don't fit or that I haven't worn in a year. Plus it gives me the opportunity to clean up my closets and chest of drawers. So the good news is that this year, I'm actually getting rid of clothes that don't fit because they are too big. Yeah! While I'm still fat, I'm less fat than I have been in a long time. So that's nice. And the beauty of the purge is that I get to discover clothes I bought years ago and haven't worn because I couldn't fit into them. I was kind of depressed that I only had one pair of decent jeans. And voila! I found a great pair of black jeans and then some jeans that are sort of low rise jeans that actually work on me. So that's a pleasant surprise.
The results of the purge? Four trash bags full of clothes that I dropped off at Goodwill today. My closets look great and are stuffed with clothes any more.
Since we (Museum Man and myself) ventured into the Commonwealth to go to the Goodwill drop off, we decided to brave the crowds at Tysons. And it wasn't as awful as I thought. I did pick up a couple of things. Museum Man is a bit of label whore, and some of that rubbed off on me. But while I did buy a Diesel and Hugo Boss shirt, I got them both on sale.
Tonight if my energy levels stay up, we're going to hit Town. Should be fun.
A blessing for each A blessing for all Now let abundant blessings fall
Upon the present Upon the past A rain of blessings that will last
Never forgotten Never unknown God’s blessings find you and lead you home
Healing your mind Healing your heart Healing your soul so you won’t be apart
Bringing you peace Bringing you love Bringing you solace from heaven above
Deep in your heart God’s love will abide Deep in your heart – like a nightlight inside Deep in your heart, you’re safe in this light So close your eyes tight And rest well this night
I'm playing hooky from work (well not really, since I'm working from home) and thought I would post some pics from my trip to Puerta Vallarta. I've still got a bit of a tan left, but with the cold weather we've had lately, it seems like PV was another lifetime ago.
So I marched in my first gay march yesterday. I've been to Pride before and never really felt like marching in a Pride parade. Sure I'm out and proud, but marching really isn't my thing. But on Saturday I took part in the National Day Of Protest against Prop 8 and for gay marriage.
Saturday AM, I hit the CVS and bought a poster board and some markers so I could make my own poster. In my not so great handwriting I wrote, "Equal Rights For All. Fight Hate." And then Museum Man and I took the metro down to the Mall. We got off the metro at the Smithsonian stop and then walked the rest of the way down the mall, and I was carrying the sign so everyone could read it. As we made our way to the reflecting pool, I could see the crowd that was starting to form there. We finally made our way there and kind of blended into the crowd. It was really an interesting experience. A very great, positive vibe. A little disorganized to be honest, but there was something real, and hopeful, about it. Lots of great signs. The gays are pretty funny. But the crowd wasn't just gays and lesbians. There were tons of people (I've heard 3000) there, gay, straight, black, white, young, old, etc. It was really amazing. So techincally it wasn't really a gay march. It was a march for equality.
After some cheers and some speeches, we started to walk down the mall. While the weather had been warm and partly sunny earlier, big heavy darks clouds had rolled in. But still we marched. Down the south side of the Mall towards the Washington Monument. Carrying my sign, I jointed in the cheers. "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Prop 8 Has Got to Go." And it made me think.
Why I am marching for Prop 8? What causes me and hundreds of thousands of people like me around the country who don't live in California to come out to protest and march for the rights of gays and lesbians in California? I think we are there trying to reclaim a little bit of hope. First Vermont with civil unions. Then Massachusetts with marriage. Then California. Despite some setbacks, the forward progress for equal rights was happening. It was only going to be a matter of time before other states (thank you Connecticut!) would follow suit. So to see the people of California give in to hate, to fear, and to pass Proposition 8 was just a body blow to our collective hope for equal rights across the United States. If any state should support equal rights, it would be California, right? But no, the people of California lost sight of the inalienable rights of all citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This march, and the hundreds like it around the country were just our way of reclaiming hope that equal rights will come some day. That we can make it happen if we work together. If we show the rest of the country that we won't settle for second class rights.
Despite the pretty torrential downpour, we walked around the Washington Monument, up 17th St, and then over to LaFayette Park in front of the White House. The group was pretty big and stretched for several blocks. And we walked for quite a bit. And despite the rain, I think the positive attitude of everyone who marched was just amazing. And despite the traffic jams we caused, I only saw people waving or honking in support. Nothing bad or negative. It was really a remarkable afternoon.
Oh, best signs:
"More Gay Marriages = Less Gay Sex. Happy Now?
If I Can't Marry My Boyfriend, I'll Marry Your Daughter.
As I write this entry, I’m somewhere over the middle of the United States, en route to Chicago and then eventually back to DC, hopefully before midnight.
Yes the vacation is over and I’ve already cranked out some of my monthly reports on the plane.Yes, that is a big L on my forehead.But the vacation was a blast.So much fun, so much quality downtime.It’s a good thing.
So we had a pretty decent size bear contingent on this trip.And if you could hear the rise cheering, then you could tell they were doing shots.Oy vey, did they like their shots.And you don’t even want to know what was in the shots.One of them was Daddy’s Milk.It was beyond foul.And they would use an inflatable raft as a drink barge to take the shots out to the middle of the pool where they would all congregate around a slightly submerged little island.It was just below the water level so you could lay there on your back and most of your body would be underwater, but your face, etc would be above the water.This little submerged island became BearIsland.And the bears even went so far as to move several lounge chairs, little plastic tables, and even some umbrellas to provide shade.Look, they may be bears, but they are still gay, and you know how the gays love to decorate.
In response to BearIslands, the twinks felt like they were being left out, so they create Twinktown.Just a grouping of lounge chairs where all of the twinks would hang out.They were the ones with the Obama-Biden signs at the pool on Tuesday.So they created new signs that said Twinktown.So yes, Twinktown was across from BearIsland.Look, on an Atlantis vacations you get all types and everyone gets along.It really is one of the great, but strange things about Atlantis vacations.It seems like everyone checks their egos at the door and everyone is nice to everyone.It really is very warm and friendly.Whether you are a twink or a bear, or somewhere in between.
Despite predictions for rain on Thursday and Friday, it was sunny and gorgeous both days.We really did have spectacular weather the whole time we were there.Friday afternoon was the last T dance.It was amazing.The theme is tropical wear, so lots of people in sarongs.Yes, even me. And dancing in a sarong is a bit challenging.But do-able.Some great music again.Love T dance music.As the sun began to set, the crowd moved down to the beach with their drinks and their cameras.I took a number of great photos as well.When the sun finally set, I handed my camera and my sarong to a friend and ran into the ocean, plunging into the warm gentle water and just reveling in the amazing experience I had this past week in PV.
Several times during the day, I slipped back to my room to get my internet fix of news, updates, etc. Love me some Andrew! He was a rock and the stories he posted from readers across the U.S. caused me to well up with emotions more than a couple of times. Hoping that you're going to see something as spectacular as we saw yesterday, and actually seeing it happen just bordered on the surreal. And I've apparently invested a lot of my emotions in this election as I was tense, proud, worried, hopeful, inspired, saddened, and exhilarated as the night progressed.
I went body surfing in the crashing waves around 5PM here in PV. Great waves, and they wore me down. I was physically and emotionally exhausted by the time I parked myself in front of the large TVs in the lounge.
I plugged in my laptop as well so I wasn't completely trapped by CNN. I could get coverage from a number of sources. And I was drinking. If there was a time to drink, it was then. Vodka and cranberry. And the waitress kept bringing it. When the polls closed on the east coast, it was game on. And slowly over the night, the lobby began to get crowded. When CNN made the first projection for Obama, the crowd roared. And it would only get louder as the night progressed. I was also checking on Prop 8 in CA and Ammendment 2 in FL. I can't tell you how many times I pressed the refresh button on my browser to get the latest numbers.
The cheers for each new state called for Obama continued to grow louder as more and more people crammed into the lounge, or hung out on the patio outside. The highlights? Liddy Dole getting her behind kicked in NC. When Virginia was finally called for Obama. When Colorado was finally called for Obama. And of course when the polls closed on the west coast and CNN called the election for Obama. The raging cheers and screams of joy crashed around us, and I think around the world. What a truly spectacular night.
Needless to say by the time Obama gave his fantastic speech, I was just exhausted. I was spent and would have cried if I wasn't surrounded by a whole bunch of guys.
While America faces many problems, I really think we've got the right President to address them.
Okay, it's amazing down here. Yes, the flight was a haze and getting through immigration was seriously insane (think early voting type lines), but it so nice down here. Warm, sunny, the resort is beautiful. I'm on the 7th floor looking down on the pool, hot tubs, the palm trees and then out to the beach. It's just so spectacular.
So I'm trying this new thing. I'm trying to be more out going and try to meet new people. And it's not really working for me. Last night I got my first clinger. He was nice enough looking, a little bit older, but with some nice salt and pepper hair. Unfortunately he was drunk. Not an ugly drunk, but he just didn't realize the he was so drunk. And while I appreciate being called "hot", after the sixth slurred time, I'm beginning to think that hanging out with you is a bad idea. And I *hate* being the bad person in this situation, but seriously, you're trashed. GO AWAY! Anyways, to escape him, I ended up going to sleep early.
This AM I got up and did my workout at the gym. It was packed, of course, but I managed to do an abbreviated routine. Then it was pool time which was great. I heard a great new adjective to use to describe the muscle men: overbuilt! Isn't that great. Mind you, I still think they are uber-hot, but it is a great word. And there are several overbuilt men here. Just yummy.
Today was the dog tag tea dance. Loved it. I had brought a flight suit to wear, but it was so hot I decided to just wear my cammie shorts and no shirt. I can almost get away with it. Almost. Anyways, great music. Great time. Blazing hot in the sun and I'm just drenched in sweat from the dancing. So I decided to head down to the beach. I'm already cover in salt, I might as well dip into the ocean. So I ditch my shoes and walk out to the beach. The sun is setting and even though there are clouds blocking the view, it's still just so pretty. And I'm there sort of wading in the water. And then it happens. I start to get depressed. I really would love to have someone I care about with me at times like these. It's just so beautiful and I want to share it with someone. Well, to make sure I didn't slip into a pity party, I decided to go back to the dance and let the music take me away. As I go back to my shoes, just a foot away, six little sea turtles have crawled out of the sand. They are valiantly tryingt to get over a small sand ridge and they are just miles away from the water from their perspective. Of course I freak out a bit. I call one of the waitresses over and ask her if we should take them down to the water. She called a security guard so they could record the location and number of turtles, and then a group of us carried the turtles down to the water. They were small little things and struggling a bit to get out of our grasps, but we made it to the water and then released them! So we saved 6 baby sea turtles today! By this time, all thoughts of a pity party were gone and I went back to dance one last dance.
So I marched in my first gay march yesterday. I've been to Pride before and never really felt like marching in a Pride parade. Sure I'm out and proud, but marching really isn't my thing. But on Saturday I took part in the National Day Of Protest against Prop 8 and for gay marriage.
