2008.5

So here we are with the first half of 2008 over. I went back and re-read the posts I made at the beginning of 2008, you know those posts about how things are going to change, what I would like to see happen, blah, blah, blah. Those typical posts everybody talks about at the start of a new year, but so many people never follow through and give up.

My main goal was to join the YMCA and continue a workout schedule. I still belong to the Y, but I haven't been in a few weeks. With my back being in pain all the time, I have given up the workouts. A few times when the back pain was minimal, I would ride the stationary bicycle. But for the most part, my few visits in the past 2 months have been just to use the whirlpool. The whirlpool would feel good for a short time, but later the back pain would be worse. So I even gave that up. The weight hasn't really gone up or down since I haven't been working out, so I guess that is good news. I am still stuck at that same weight plateau.

The other big thing I was planning on was me moving out of the house I was living in. As promised, in February, I moved into my own apartment. While this isn't my ideal place to live (it is very old, small and in bad shape), this is my own place. I would guess that this place is about 1/4th the size the house I was living in. I have all of my crap stuff (still too much Fiesta lol). Also living here is my pets, Doshee (the 9 year old Amazon parrot) and Sassy (the 2 year old Pit Bull). And honestly, the only thing I really hate about this apartment is the kitchen, it is so freaking tiny! As for selling off some of my Fiesta dishes, that is still on the back burner. I have quite a bit of Fiesta that I have set aside to sell. A lot of it comes from clearance sales at local stores or from another store that went out of business. I also still have quite a bit of Fiesta from my old website when I used to sell it online. I have given up on ebay with their new stupid procedures and rules that really make it hard to sell on there. I mean honestly, the seller can't give feedback about the sale? That is a crock of crap! So I guess one day, I will work on my website so I can start selling on there.

Another goal for me was to become more sociable. I have been on a few dates, but nothing worth writing about. A few of them went well (I thought at least) but I either never heard back from them or I got the "it's not you, it's me" speech. A few of them were scary (maybe I am exaggerating a bit), but I haven't been able to get them to leave me alone. I mean, how many times can I tell them "No" before they realize I am not interested? I guess I should stop trying to be nice about the situation and just tell them to leave me alone. But the important part is, I am going out with my friends and having a good time. I am meeting new people and enjoying life. I have seen quite a few guys who think they have to be in a relationship. They are so desperate (even though they don't think they are desperate) to have a boyfriend. Who cares? If I come across the right guy, then I will think about a relationship again. But until that time happens, I am enjoying life.

So the first half of 2008 has pretty much gone as planned, except for the health issues of course. So as I look forward to the second half of 2008, here are some of my goals:

1. Get Healthy! I guess I am starting off the second half correctly, first thing tomorrow morning I have my MRI scheduled. Hopefully the doctors will be able to pinpoint the cause of my back pain.
   
2. Lose A Few Pounds! After the back pain gets better, I will start going to the gym again. I would love to lose a few more pounds, but I am still very happy with the 60 plus pounds I lost at the end of 2007. I am even more happy with the fact that I have kept it off this long.
3. Declutter! With me living in such a small place, I really need to reduce the amount of items I have. So I want to begin with my extra Fiesta pieces. After that, start getting rid of all the extra stuff that I don't use. I guess I should stop being a pack rat and a collector, but that is easier said than done. Plus it isn't the end of the world.
4. Enjoy Life! This is pretty much my motto all the time. As far as my little brain knows, this is the only life we get to enjoy, so why waste it being miserable? I always feel sorry for the people I see who are always miserable. At what point are they going to enjoy what they have?
   
5. Kill that damn mouse!!!

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Wordle June 08

Ok, I totally redid the Wordle pic for June 2008. This site is pretty cool, you can paste any text in you want, and it will create a pic of your words. You can change the colors, layout, how many words, etc. to create the pic. wordle.net

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Happy Gay Pride!!!

Happy Gay Pride!

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Happy Gay Pride part 3

While I was in college, I was finally accepting that I am gay. My own acceptance was made much easier by my friend Jeff. He started taking me to some gay establishments. We made our first gay trek to Chicago together. I started visiting the nearest gay bar to where I was living, which was an hour away in Champaign/Urbana (which is where I live now). There were many weeks that Jeff and I would spend 5 nights a week up here at that gay bar. About this same time, I got my "Fag Hag". Her name was Connie. At first, I didn't tell her I was gay, it honestly never crossed my mind. Well, she started thinking we were dating, so one night while I was drunk, I broke down and told her that I was gay. She was the first person I "came out" to. Things went pretty well and Connie and I became better friends.
Coming Out Experiences: Good-1

The problem was, Connie was very good friends with my sister. They had even been roommates before my sister moved away for college. So the next day, realizing I probably should have thought it out better before telling Connie, I had to call my sister to tell her that I was gay. My sister seemed alright with the news. She said that our mom had been asking her if I was gay or not. Everything seemed like it was ok. So I felt pretty good, so far I have told 2 people, and they both seemed ok. BUT...there just has to be a but, she called the next crying, wanting to know why I was gay. Needless to say, my sister and I had a few of those conversations.
So the score took a beating, Coming Out Experiences: Good-1 Not-So-Good-1

The next person I was wanting to tell was my mom. We were pretty close, and since she had already questioned my sister about it, it just made sense. The only problem was my mom had been diagnosed with cancer sometime before this whole coming out process started for me. I promised my sister that I would have the talk with our mom when she got better. But my mom never got any better. Before she passed away, my mom had all of her sisters come and visit her. The spent the whole day together, just the 4 of them. I found out after my mom had passed, that my mom had discussed my sister and me with my aunts on that day. The topic of me probably being gay was also brought up. One of my aunts said she would never accept that because she was Catholic. Another aunt said she wouldn't be able to accept that because of her religious beliefs. And the third aunt said she would love me not matter what. Geez, I wonder who my favorite aunt is of the three? LOL But sadly, I never did discuss being gay with my mom.
Coming Out Experiences: Good-1 Not-So-Good-1 Missed Opportunities-1

My dad and I were never close. We had a little bonding period after my mom died, but we were still distant. He started seeing a woman a short time after my mom had passed. Many times during our conversations, he would ask open-ended questions to see how I would answer them. I could tell that he was basically asking without coming right out and asking. So after a brief conversation with my sister where she told me that he had been asking her about my sexuality, I decided to bite the bullet. His birthday was coming up, so I wrote him a 3 page letter detailing my life. I told him that I understood if he had a problem with it because of his conservative upbringing. I would be fine, I had quite extensive "family" of friends, but I would be hurt if he wasn't in my life any more. I chickened out and left it on his bed where he would find it later. He called me the next day to tell me that he had read my letter with his new girlfriend. They discussed it and they were both happy that I had shared this personal information with them. They both loved me and nothing had changed between us. YAY! :)
Coming Out Experiences: Good-2 Not-So-Good-1 Missed Opportunities-1

One of the many side effects of my sister not dealing with my sexuality very well, was that she took it upon herself to out me to everybody. It wasn't bad at first, after all, she was going to school 200 miles away. So it started off with me visiting her, only to be introduced as "My Gay Brother"...as if she had any other brothers. Or people that I didn't know would come up to me and say "I would have never guessed that you are gay." Gee, thanks sis! But then she had to open her mouth one time too many to our grandparents. My grandparents are very religious. I had pretty much made up my mind to never bring up the subject to them. But thanks to my big-mouthed sister, that was taken care of for me. So I had a long discussion with my grandparents. I got the "we still love you no matter what" speech. And to this day, I have felt like they do mean it. When I was dating, they would always welcome the other half into their house. My grandparents took it better than my sister!
Coming Out Experiences: Good-3 Not-So-Good-1 Missed Opportunities-1

I will say that even though my sister and I rarely talk (because of many other things), I don't think she has a problem with it anymore. I am open about being gay with everybody...I don't see a need to hide it. But at the same time, I am definitely not flamboyant. Many of times I get the "I would never have guessed" comment. And I always love when new employees at work will call something "Gay". Often, if the person doesn't know about me (after all, there are a lot of high school kids that work for me) I just give the people who do know a little wink. Or, if the person does already know, I will playfully act like I am hurt by the comment. Overall, I would say I have had a good coming out experience. I realize that not everybody has as good of an experience as me. But I would like to wish everybody, whether they are out or still closeted, gay, bi or straight, male or female, a very happy Gay Pride Day. Celebrate it knowing that things are getting better all the time!

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Christian the Lion

Great video I found over at towleroad. Very happy tear-jerker video. Makes me want to go hug my dog and blow a kiss at my bird (she isn't very huggable).

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Lost Season 4....just in time for Christmas

Even though it isn't available until December 9th, I can't wait!!! Season 4 was by far one of the better seasons.

DVD		Blu-Ray

By the way, if you have an ad blocker on, you won't see the Lost Season 4 DVD's listed.

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Mouse update

I set 4 mousetraps the other day with yummy peanut butter. What mouse could refuse peanut butter? As of today, still no dead mice! But I haven't noticed anymore items being chewed up.

Me: 0 Mice: 1

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Save A Horse, Ride A Dancing Cowboy

After seeing this at Joe.My.God, I just knew I had to post this too. DD, sit back and relax, this is just for you! :)

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Happy Gay Pride part 2.5

Since I won't post Happy Gay Pride part 3 until tomorrow night, I decided to add a video. This is a video of ROTC Chicago (Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps Chicago). I have seen them perform several times at Gay Pride and Market Days both in Boystown Chicago. They are very entertaining. This video is a bit informative with a little bit about the background of the group. It is also entertaining as you get to see them perform. I can see Kings Island Amusement Park near Cincinnati, Market Days in Boystown Chicago and I am thinking I see a little bit of Gay Pride in Boystown Chicago too. Enjoy!

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Good News & Bad News

I'm sorry to report that the third part of Happy Gay Pride won't be posted until tomorrow. Work today was very long and by the time I made it home, I passed out. But that has nothing to do with the Good News & Bad News.

First up, the good news: I got a call from the doctor's office today. After 2 1/2 weeks, my insurance company has finally given their approval for a MRI for me. This back pain is still there and the only way I have been able to survive this long is the thanks to the pain killers. Luckily, once I have the MRI done, my doctor should be able to pinpoint where the source of this pain is coming from. We know it is my sciatic nerve. He told me that it is most likely the S-1 nerve (if I remember correctly). This nerve is the last nerve and runs all the way down to the feet. But it also has to do with the bladder. Luckily, my bladder is functioning just fine so far. But after the MRI, my doctor and a back pain specialist will sit down and go over the results. If all goes well, my doctor says that the back pain specialist should be able to give me some shots right at the source of the problem and correct the situation. It is possible that I will always have this problem, but now they will know what the problem is and be able to give me shots directly into the problem and alleviate the pain for awhile.

Second, the bad news: I have known that there was a freeloader living in my apartment for awhile now. The dog is constantly jumping up and trying to attack something under the furniture. At first, I thought it was nothing more than a bug or insect. But that myth was taken care of tonight, I opened my spice drawer to find that some of the seasoning packets (and 1 microwave popcorn bag) had been chewed up and that the contents of those seasoning packets along with mouse poop was everywhere in that drawer. That dang mouse must not have liked the popcorn, they only chewed open the package, but they never bothered what was inside of the bag. So tomorrow I am off to the store to buy mouse traps. I will also need to figure out something to block off the gap underneath my front door. I am guessing that is how they come and go.

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Well........Not Exactly "Lost"!

So it has come out, that the "lost" Amazon tribe that was found earlier this year, wasn't really all that lost. Yes, they really are an Amazon tribe, but they have been known about since 1910. The photographer has finally come clean about the pictures. You can read the short article here. Seems that the media outlets have known for a short time that the pictures weren't of a really "lost" tribe. They must be to embarrassed to admit they were fooled, that must be why they aren't coming clean about the story.

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Happy Gay Pride part 2

Today and tomorrow I am going to blog a bit about my own gay coming out story. Today I will begin with my self discovery that I was gay. And tomorrow will be about how I came out. Coming out is definitely a very stressful time for anybody. But if everything goes smoothly, once it happens, it is amazing the relief that comes from it.

I have always known that I was gay. Most of my early childhood memories start around the age of 5. I remember going to the bathroom in first grade and thinking there was something about that room. Most likely, the fact that I could be doing something very personal (using the bathroom) while my best friend was doing the same thing next to me. And at no point in my entire life have I ever looked at a girl/woman and thought that I just had to have sex with her...or even think of dating her. Now my mind can be a bit perverted at times, but I won't even begin to tell you what I think when I see a hot guy! ;) (For the record, yes, I have had sex with women, and no, it did not make me sick or gross me out. I do consider myself bisexual only for the fact that I don't mind having sex with women, but at the same time, I never seek women out for sex. I just enjoy sex with men, the company of men, just being around men so much more than women.)

So back to when I was 6 years old and knew that something was different. I might not have known what was up...but something was oddly exciting for me in the bathroom. When I started 5th grade, our school district brought all the 5th graders in the district to one school. The big thing in 5th grade was all the boys would go out for basketball. It was a very strange time for me. I really sucked at sports, but I got to play a lot because I was very tall (I was 6' tall in the 5th grade). I also discovered jockstraps, and that would become a new fascination of mine. The excitement that I would get about the bathrooms, was multiplied tremendously by the locker room. But this time of great excitement was also a time of great embarrassment for me. For only being 11 years old, I was quite developed. This was proven to me when most of the guys in my class were lucky if they were starting to grow pubic hair. I was well beyond that stage. Actually, there was only one other guy in my class that was more developed than me, but he was also 2 years older because he had been held back twice. So while I was excited to be in the locker room, I was also very self-conscious because I thought I was a bit of a freak. This began a period of time for me where I was very nervous about being around other guys. I finally out grew this by junior high when I realized that the rest of my class had finally gone through puberty.

When I was 11, I started messing around with TG, who was a neighbor kid. TG was 4 years older than me. Even though our parents were friends, this was a very secretive relationship. TG was the town freak. He was well known for going around at night and looking into windows. Needless to say, my parents didn't like me talking to him. Later on, I would come to realize that my parents were doing what was best for me. The next year when I was 12, I started messing around with CB, my next door neighbor. Even though CB were in the same class and the same age, we really didn't socialize at school. His parents let him have a mini-bike, so I would go over there all the time and we would ride on that. We also liked to ride our bikes down to an old stone quarry on the edge of town. After a year of messing around with CB, I stopped seeing TG. CB and I continued to mess around until our sophomore year in high school. He got a girlfriend and that was the end for us.

While I still hadn't labeled myself as being gay, I definitely knew that I liked boys. So my sex life, which began very early, came to a halt after CB. I didn't do anything else sexually until I discovered the bathrooms (what is it with bathrooms for me?) at the local college campus. Both of my parents worked at this campus, with my mom working in the library. My senior year of high school, I would walk to her office after school. I would sit outside her office at one of the tables in the study area of the library and do my homework while I waited for my mom to get off work. One day I needed to use the bathroom. Remembering that there was one by the entrance to the library, I went there to take care of business. I was in a stall when I noticed there was tons of graffiti all over the stalls. I was getting very aroused while reading this because a lot of the graffiti was gay oriented. That is when I noticed there was a very small hole in the stall wall and that the guy in the next stall over watching me through this hole. Well from that day forward, I always made sure to visit the bathroom at the library. Shortly after that, I got my first boyfriend (if I had to label what happened between us). KN was a college student and he would take me to the local "alternative" bar. Even though I was still in high school, this local "alternative" bar was a well known place for the gay crowd in town. I would later come to realize that it was also popular with the art crowd, townies, and the gothic crowd. It was pretty much always full of all kinds of people. This is when I was beginning to admit to myself that I was gay. KK had told me he was gay, and I was kinda dating him. He later took me to a gay party, which was being thrown by a boss of mine. I was working at McDonald's at the time, and it was well known there that the one manager was gay. He was a great role model for my coming out, because he showed me that gay people can lead normal lives. He was very friendly, everybody at work loved him, but he was also not a flaming queen. (You have to remember this was the 80's, the only gay people I really knew where the stereotypical flaming queens that appeared on tv or in the movies.) KK and I didn't last very long after that party. And I didn't date again until I was 22, but I discovered that being gay wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. As long as I kept that part secret from my family and friends, I was happy with being gay.

Tomorrow, I will continue with this story and write about how I came out to some friends and finally to my family.

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Happy Gay Pride

Here we are towards the end of June. This will mark the 39th anniversary of Gay Pride (if memory serves me correctly). Hard to believe it all began in 1969, when upon the news of Judy Garland's death, some drag queens stood up and fought back against the police in the Stonewall bar in NYC. They took their pride, rage, sorrow, courage and marched to show that they weren't going to take it anymore.

Today, most people celebrate pride by going to the nearest big city for the parade. Most cities will also have some local events, concerts, rallies or festivals to also celebrate. The parades I have seen all involve many politicians, dykes, drag queens, leather queens, muscle boys and twinks. The politicians are usually the ones wearing very boring clothing, while the rest are usually dressed with very little or next to nothing. There are usually condoms, lube packets, beads, bumper stickers and other pride/rainbow items thrown from the floats.

Here in the land of corn Land of Lincoln, we usually make our way to Chicago for the Pride events. The Chicago events are always on the last Sunday of June. I haven't been to a pride parade in a few years, they are usually the same each year. I think the typical parade in Chicago lasts about 12 mixed drinks 3 hours.

So this year, since I won't be in Chicago to celebrate, I am going to do a few posts this coming week about what Pride means to me. Since I am bad about blogging, some of those posts might end up being video or pictures. But all the same, they will be what all about what Pride means to me. Happy Pride!

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RainbowDishes 2.0

I have wasted spent the past few days updating the look of the RainbowDishes blog. The most noticeable change of course is the color scheme. I went from the black background to white. Yes, I just did turn 40 and I am a very old geezer now. But with me starting high-blood pressure medicine, I have noticed my eye sight is a bit fuzzier lately. The white background makes it a bit easier for me to read.

I also spent quite a bit of time (mainly trial and error) updating some features of the blog. I changed the Archive listing to include a montly calendar. The labels are now changed to the "Cloud Labels" with the most popular labels being bigger and brighter. The dates on the posts are now a calendar page picture. And lastly, I joined MyBlogLog. I was looking at adding few other things, but those are on the back burner for now. I am happy with the new look/layout. Please feel free to let me know what you think. Good or bad, I am always up for some comments.

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Sex and the City

Being a gay male (don't be shocked, my parents weren't), I have been known to watch Sex and the City. Not only have I seen every episode, I have probably seen most of them at least 10 times each (thanks to reruns). I found this hilarious spoof at This Boy Elroy. Enjoy!

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Cyndi Lauper

DAMN! I just started listening to Cyndi's new CD Bring Ya To The Brink and all I can say is DAMN! I scanned through the whole CD and so far, this CD is EXCELLENT...I mean FREAKING AWESOME! Great lyrics, awesome music and very groovy dance beats. It's very hard to listen to this without the rhythm causing your feet to start tapping. So far I have listened (over and over thanks to repeat) to Into the Nightlife (#2). This song is totally freaking awesome! It will definitely be playing on dance floors! Back with more after I finally take #2 off of repeat and listen to more of the CD. But so far that isn't going to happen! LOL

But all I can say about Cyndi, she is the total performer. I have seen her in concert twice now. The first time is when I went to see Cher in Chicago during her "Do You Believe?" tour. Cyndi was the opening act. She did 5 or 6 songs, closing with an electrifying Disco Inferno. But I bet 80% of her set was performed out in the audience. She was out there singing while dancing with the audience. She was simply amazing!

When Cher's Believe concert tour came through Champaign (where I live), I immediately bought some tickets, just so I could see Cyndi again! I could care less about Cher's part of the concert! I was heartbroken when instead of Cyndi, I found out Lou Bega (Mambo No. 5) would be the opening act!

A few years later, I heard Cher (now onto her Living Proof tour or also the Farewell tour) was going to be back in town. This time I waited until I found out Cyndi was opening before I bought tickets. At the time I was with Mikey. Mike was a HUGE music fan. And just like me, Mike was a child of the 80's. I told him about how awesome Cyndi was in concert and that she was going to be the opening act. We called up the box office and luckily got 2 floor tickets for the show.

I was a bit disappointed when we made it to the Assembly Hall for the concert. Yes, we were on the floor, but we were in the very last row of the floor seats (about 20 rows from the stage)! I know Mike was a bit disappointed because I had told him that Cyndi loves to perform in the audience. So the lights go down, the audience gets excited, energy is flowing through the air and the opening notes of the first song start up! As the lights go up, there is Cyndi on the stage as beautiful as ever! She did the first couple of songs, talked to the crowd, danced through the audience for a bit. She came up to one of my favorite songs of hers, True Colors. She, while holding a Pride Flag, told the story about how her sister is a lesbian, how the rainbow (pride) flag contains the rainbow colors, how God loves all of His children, and she dedicated the song to her sister and the gay cause. During the song she worked her way around the audience. She even came back to the floor section, jumped up onto a chair and sung most of the song from that spot. Mikey was only about 10 feet away, he ran over and during most of the song, he got to hold her hand while she sang True Colors. When she continued on her way, he came back over and he was crying. That was one of the happiest moments in his life. To this day, when I think of Mikey, I always think of that look upon his face after he got to hold Cyndi's hand while she sang. And I sit here typing this, with tears in my eyes as I visual Mikey's face again, Cyndi has my feet tapping along to her intoxicating voice and beats. Shine on Cyndi...you are a true saint, diva and rockstar!

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UGH!!!

Here is a bitchy note: Work has been super crazy lately! I am the assistant manager of 2 stores (long story short, my company runs 2 different stores in the same building, but the 2 stores share the same management team). We currently have about 15 employees between the 2 stores. Out of those 15 people, 4 of us are having back problems at the same time! My back problems have been on and off for about 6 or 7 years now. This episode of back pain has been the worst by far. It has lasted for about 5 weeks now!

One of the other people from work with a back problem is my boss. I know many years ago, he broke his back, but until recently, he has never really had problems with his back. In the past 2 weeks, he has worked maybe 30 (that is being generous) hours. So I have been having to do a lot of his work. I don't normally have a problem with that, but I am in the same boat as him right now. I have yet to miss a day of work. I just keep popping those lovely pain killers all day long. Amazingly, my boss went to a chiropractor yesterday, and he was walking just fine after the chiropractor visit. And his amazing recovery yesterday was just in time for his weekend off. OH YES, even though he has missed so much work in the past 2 weeks, he still is going to take this weekend off! Something smells like a rat! UGH!!!

Here is a happier note: When my back pain was at the worst, about 4 to 6 times a day I was popping up to 7 pills at a time (4 ibuprofen, 1 muscle relaxer, 1 steroid and 1 vicodin). But within the last few days, I have been feeling a little bit better. I noticed that I am taking the pain killers a lot less. For the most part I take some in the morning and then I only take ibuprofen during the rest of the day if needed.

And now I am calm again: Since I have been in pain and/or drugged out for the past 5 weeks, the ol' homestead (apartment) needs a little sprucing up. I am off work tomorrow, so my plans include, cleaning up the apartment, taking the dog for a nice walk, cleaning out my car, update my blog, taking some pics (for future blog postings) and just having a nice relaxing day. I might head to the gym for a bit too.

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Tina Cousins - Pray

This song is a few years old. I have read somewhere that she is a Christian singer (if she only knew how many gay men danced to this song in gay bars!) This song was remade (along with some other of her songs) into some dance songs. The lyrics to this one are amazing.

First - We have the lyrics to the song. Read them, they are amazing!
Second - The original video to the song.
Third - A video with the dance version of the song, but the video is just a picture of her album cover.

Tina Cousins - Pray
What a miracle is life, the fields are high and the fruit is ripe,
so hold out your hands, yeah, hold out your hands.
And you're the same as me, you breathe the air I breathe,
and we don't understand, yeah, we don't understand.

And if you don't ask questions, you won't know why,
so say a prayer for the dying while there's still time.

So pray for good, and pray for love.
Pray for peace, and pray it's enough.
Pray for salvation, pray that we're right,
Pray one day we open our eyes.
And pray for them and pray for us,
pray one day we can live as one.
Pray for the children whose time is to come,
and pray they forgive us for the stupid things we've done.

We all see the same sun, each day a golden praise is sung,
To the wonder of man, yeah, to the wonder of man.
And when we look why can't we see, all the riches that are free,
Oh we don't understand, yeah, we don't understand.

And if you don't ask questions, you won't know why,
so say a prayer for the dying while there's still time.

So pray for good, and pray for love.
Pray for peace, and pray it's enough.
Pray for salvation, pray that we're right,
Pray one day we open our eyes.
And pray for them and pray for us,
pray one day we can live as one.
Pray for the children whose time is to come,
and pray they forgive us for the stupid things we've done.

Tina Cousins - Pray (original video)

Tina Cousins - Pray (dance music)

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Xanadu

Ok, a little secret about me, I am in love with Olivia Newton-John. I know, it is one of those one-sided crazy lust things, but it is there none the less. I mean, it is so bad, I think Xanadu is a great movie. Well, maybe great is a stretch, but I do like to watch it. So when I heard that Xanadu was being made into a Broadway musical, my little heart did a pitter-patter for Ms. O. Luckily, Xanadu the musical is much more popular than the movie.

I have seen this clip on a couple of different blogs, so let me give credit to Towleroad and the Tin Man. After seeing this clip, how could you not love Xanadu? ENJOY!

Oh, what I would do to be Nathan Lane when that jockstrap was thrown at him. Now that is a wetdream...oops, gotta keep it clean for these family readings! LOL

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My 40th Birthday

Today I turned 40! And I celebrated by spending the day at work! :( It's not that bad, I do have the next 2 days off. Tomorrow (Sunday) will be spent with family (during the day) and friends (at night).

In the past year, I have thought a lot about what it will be like when I do turn 40. After all, it is just another day. But in the past year I have had quite a few large changes in my life. I have lost 50 pounds. And not only have I lost 50 pounds, I have kept it off for 3 months now. I have been going to the gym for a year now (minus a few months that I got lazy). I feel very healthy and very energetic most of the time (pick this back up later). I also moved into my own place after separating from the ex. While I do like living alone, I also miss spending time with him. We still talk all the time, but it isn't the same and I do miss being with him. But the separation and living on my own are 2 big changes.

But within the past month, my health situation has taken a nose dive. Thanks to me being a klutz, I took a nasty spill down some concrete stairs. That same week, I found out I had a tooth infection. And that was also the start of my sciatic nerve acting up again. The tooth infection is gone. The scars from the stairs are gone. But the sciatic nerve is still acting up. While visiting the doctor for my sciatic nerve, I found out I have high blood pressure too. All of the health and energy I rediscovered in the last year is suddenly a distant memory.

-So my first goal of my 40th year is to get healthy again!

-My second goal is to start working out again and rediscover the new energy!

-Number 3 on my list of goals, HAVE FUN!!! I am tired of feeling down about different things (being single, being poor (gotta love those medical bills), my job!)

-4 - Get a new job! A few of us at work believe that our days are numbered there. We aren't sure but we think either our boss is going to leave and we will end up with a new boss that none of us care for, or we think our parent company is getting ready to dump our division. Either way, both scenarios are not good. And I would give both of them about a 70% chance of happening. Worst case scenario, both of them come true, and there is a good possibility for that! So, I am going to rethink my career options and embark on a new journey!

-Lastly, I need to rethink about going back to college. I have said it for many years, but I have never seriously looked into it. But I think I need to go back to college and get a degree.

Needless to say, I am a very positive (optimistic) kinda guy, and I am looking forward to turning 40. Nothing (mainly my health) isn't changeable! And I do hold the keys to my own future. I am going to keep the 50 pounds off, and I would like to lose another 20 to 30 pounds, but I am not going to beat myself up to do it. And here is to another 40 years (and more!)

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" - Auntie Mame

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My Pain

For the past 4 weeks or so, I have had considerable pain in my left leg. This is from my sciatic nerve being pinched (that is what I have always been told at least.) I have been to the doctors office 3 times now about this. Today I had an appointment with my new doctor (who is pretty new at doctoring himself.)

This pain starts in my left butt cheek and shoots straight down to my left foot. The pain will target certain areas based upon how I am sitting (or standing or laying down.) There have been many nights that I was unable to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time without waking up in extreme pain. Vicodin only goes so far. Right now I am taking 4 different medications (1 steroid and 3 pain killers). I also had x-rays taken today. They are going to schedule a MRI for me. This should tell them more about what the problem really is. After that, I will be off to see a back specialist who should be able to at least help me manage this pain better. One scenario I was given today was that he will be able to give me an injection at the exact spot of the nerve inflammation that will help alleviate this problem. All of that sounds great, and I really hope they can do all of that. But with this pain right now, it seems like it is so far away!

And sadly, I think what brought this on, was me falling down those steps at the beginning of May. I have had this problem with my sciatic nerve off and on for over 7 years, but it has never been this bad. Every other time this has happened, the pain only lasted for a few days. This time it has been going on for a month now!!!

I am off to take my meds....and probably back to sleepy time for me!

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One Word

I saw this on Seangstm's blog and thought about answering it, but since MsVal has called me out on this...here it goes.

You can only answer with one word…

1) Where is your cell phone? Nightstand
2) Your significant other? Who???
3) Your hair? SHORT!
4) Your skin? Pale
5) Your father? Deceased
6) Your favorite thing? Dishes
7) Your dream last night? ???
8) Your favorite drink? Tea
9) Your dream/goal? Immortality
10) The room you’re in? Living
11) Your ex? Which?
12) Your fear? Loneliness
13) Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive
14) Where were you last night? Work
15) What you’re not? Tactful
16) Muffins? YES!
17) One of your wish list items? Marigold
18) Where you grew up? Illinois
19) The last thing you did? Doctor
20) What are you wearing? Shorts
21) Your TV? Quiet
22) Your pet(s)? Hyper
23) Your computer? Laptop
24) Your life? Adventurous
25) Your mood? Medicated
26) Missing someone? Yep
27) Your car? SUV
28) Something you’re not wearing? Socks
29) Favorite store? Target
30) Your summer? Long
31) Like someone? Yep
32) Your favorite colour? Blue
33) When is the last time you laughed? Lunch
34) Last time you cried? Recently
35) Favorite TV judge? None
36) Favorite pig out food? Popcorn
37) Something you do too often? Swear
38) Something you don't do often enough? Dust
39) Who will/would re-post this? Douglass
40) Whose answers are you anxious to see? Douglass

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