Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Category: Men

  • Unsettling

    To be honest with you I’ve dumped guys for quite a few shallow reasons. Reasons that some friends have suggested were worth overlooking if the other parts of him were acceptable. I’ve disagreed on numerous occasions – which is why I’ve been single so long probably. However, if I’m going to invest in something long term I certainly don’t want a flawed version.

    For the record I’ve dumped guys for the following reasons (just a small sampling, the whole list is much too long):

    • Bad breath – Once is perhaps understandable, twice is unforgivable but everyday, all the time is a deal breaker
    • Obsessions – one particular guy was very obsessed with Christmas – tears everyday, it was just overwhelming
    • Angry Penis – you know the kind red, bulbous, throbbing. I really need this thing to look happy, not pissed off that I’m interested in it.
    • Odd penis – it bent the wrong way, looked droopy and sad – as I said earlier, this thing should look happy that I want to spend so much time with it – I’m happy, shouldn’t it be happy too?
    • Odd first name – I’m not going to tell you what it was, but I couldn’t find myself whispering it, or moaning it or even calling to the kitchen
    • Sick Dog – this one proves I’m heartless, I didn’t know the guy that well and helping to take care of his sick dog while he was traveling just didn’t fit in my plans (he also had a small penis – the sick dog was the last straw … no, it wasn’t quite THAT small)

    Now I’ve heard people talk on both sides of the coin: settle or don’t settle. My Mother had been married 8 (it’s a guesstimate some were questionably done) times by the time she died and I really have no intentions of following her path to matrimony. Why on earth would you want to go through that so many times, that most of the guys ended up being real losers was a testament to her picker. She should have stopped at number two, all her children had been born at that point. For all I know the men actually wanted to marry her, but that seems odd to me, would you want to marry someone that had been married 5 previous times? 6?

    I’ve been fortunate to have lots of guys fall in love or lust with me. A few have become obsessed with me, one is a stalker and the police have been notified. I don’t know what I do that has this effect on them, but it really does happen. If I could have found a way to turn it off I likely would have. In most of those cases I’ve not fallen in love with them, I faked it for a while but kept looking for that spark that I hoped would be there and it just never arrived.

    Others told me that the spark was a myth, that it didn’t happen that way and I should try to look at love more realistically. That I should have given some of those guys more time or another chance. Truthfully, I didn’t really want to, once I set my mind to the end it’s the end.

    So I refused to settle. I still refuse to settle. If he’s going to be mine until the end of time, I want him to be just how I want him.

    Good things come to those who wait. I found the guy I’d been waiting for. I got my spark, he got his. He says he loves Christmas, this doesn’t bother me, he likes the Wizard of Oz, which does bother me, but he hasn’t insisted that I have to watch it with him (don’t get any ideas). We’ve just started our journey, but we’re both very hopeful for the future.

  • Love Songs

    It wouldn’t be fair to say that I don’t have any love songs in my music collection, but it sure seems that way. Most of the songs in my current rotation that have to do with love are about loves lost, taken away, unobtainable or forgotten. Other songs are usually about “self” and finding your way back to yourself… not sure what that’s about.

    I do have some love songs: “Love, Love Me Do” The Beatles, “Love is a Beautiful Thing” Phil Vassar, “Let’s Make Love” Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, “Greatest Love of All” Whitney Houston… and so on.

    But the majority of the love songs are about the unobtainable or lost love: “Jessie’s Girl” Rick Springfield,  “I Miss You A Little” John Michael Montgomery, “Every Time I Hear Your Name” Keith Anderson… And the rest of my songs are about life situations and dealing with them… well except for a few Modest Mouse, Queensryche, Weird Al… I do like variety.

    Maybe it’s just I can’t find the right love song to match what I’m feeling, that’s possible. But then I hear a phrase in this song or a chorus in this one that almost meets what I need.  I guess I’ll just keep listening and hope to find the one song or several that put it all in the right spot for me.

    Maybe no one ever finds the right love song, that’s why there are so many – we all keep looking for the one that puts it all to music.

    For me today “Look At Me” on Carrie Underwood’s new CD, Play On, is pretty close. 😉 Maybe it’ll stay as the song and maybe it’ll change, I guess that’s the nature of music and love.

  • Trip to NYC – Jan 2010

    I had decided I wanted to go up to NYC alone and see a show (I don’t travel well with other people) so that was planned for early this year and it ended up being this last weekend. I wasn’t sure what show to see and I wasn’t sure what else I wanted to do up there but was certain that I wanted to stay near Times Square.

    Jim, the boss, got me a hotel room at the Residence Inn Times Square, I had a room on the 34th (top, corner) Floor and have great views. Gary, the roommate, got me a train ticket, I rode business class Acela – but in hindsight would probably rather have taken a regular train and enjoyed my book for longer, trains can be relaxing to me.

    I had been talking to a handsome guy online, who lives up in New York City, named Tom and asked him if he wanted to go to dinner and a show. He agreed and so I had him give me suggestions for a show. We picked Ragtime, but soon learned that they were closing the show so we traded the tickets in for Next To Normal on Saturday night.

    I arrived promptly at 12:50 on Friday afternoon and was met at Penn Station by my friend Erika who escorted me to my hotel and then she and I caught up over lunch at a nice little Italian restaurant of which I can’t seem to recall the name, but it was good. Erika and I really had a nice time catching up and it was great to see her.

    Returning to my hotel I anxiously awaited the arrival of Tom and our plans were to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) on Friday night. Apparently if you stand in line Friday night you can get in for free.

    Tom arrived and was just as cute as his photos. I brought him up to the room so he could see the view and then we departed for the MOMA. Unfortunately the cold temperatures and humongous line were a daunting thought for the both of us so Tom suggested we take the subway to the Ferry and go see the Statue of Liberty, which I had mentioned to him that I had never seen.

    The NYC subway system I’ve been told is easier to understand and navigate then the DC Metro system… really. I do believe all of the people that have told me this have been native New Yorkers. I wasn’t really sure where we were headed or how we got there, but I did recognize several distinct odors on the subway platforms which made me long for the cleanliness of homes mass transit cleanliness.

    Tom is very funny and engaging, he had me laughing and smiling most of the evening with his quick wit, impersonations and charm. I like him. Woof. Grrrr. HUGZZZTTHH. (private joke). I stood out in the cold and watched as the Ferry floated by the Statue of Liberty and took photos that don’t look too bad, Tom stood inside where it was warm – see he’s smart too. Tom suggested a few restaurants for dinner and I chose the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Tom strongly recommended the Chicken-Fried-Chicken but I opted to play it safe and have a burger – after Tom allowed me to have a bite of his I regretted my decision. Ah well.

    Tom and I returned to my hotel and well the rest of the evening is censored. But you probably get the idea – it was a lot of fun. He didn’t spend the night.

    Saturday morning I awoke early and headed out in the cold, I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel as I just wanted to get out there and see all the things I wanted to see.  I arrived at Midtown Comics 2 minutes after it opened and spent over an hour just in love with the place – if you’re a comic book geek like me it’s an oasis. I had a $60 gift card that I received from Gary which was quickly spent on a Superman statuette and then I spent more on comics and graphic novels. LOVE that store, want to go back. So at this point its a little after 12:00 p.m. and I went back to the hotel room to lie on the bed and read comics – that’s the best part of a vacation doing whatever the hell you want to do.

    After a nap and an interrupting phone call from Tom I got all gussied up for a night out. Tom arrived and we walked around Times Square for a while being touristy and getting annoyed at the tourists (yes it’s possible) who don’t know how to walk on a sidewalk or just suddenly stop or turn with no indication. Funny. We arrived at our restaurant Gallagher’s Steakhouse of which I’d heard great things. I’d eaten at the one in the New York New York hotel in Vegas and ordered pork chops and been frowned at so this time I ordered Fillet Minon and really liked it. Tom first broke a tooth on the hard dinner roll that they gave us and then was disappointed in his sirloin so they replaced it with beef roast… which he says was good. We opted to have dessert somewhere else after the show.

    We arrived at the Booth Theatre for the show with plenty of time and I bought myself a tshirt (it says Superboy) and the CD in anticipation of good music. We checked our coats and were seated in the orchestra section. The show began on time and was great. There were moments during the first act that I couldn’t hear the daughter singing very clearly and she was a little soft, but the second act was all cleared up. The show itself was an interesting look at mental illness and the family dynamic – entertaining, funny, off-beat. I really enjoyed it. Tom said it was like watching something familiar – his story not mine. We returned to my hotel after dessert at Junior’s and it was pretty late at this point, 11:30 or something (yes, I’m old). So we lay awake in bed for an hour or so just chatting, no really.

    Sunday morning we awoke around 6:30 – yes crazy – and lay there for a while before getting up to have breakfast at the buffet on the 3rd floor. Then we went back to my room I packed up and we had a little fun before Tom walked me to the train station and I headed back home.

    I had a great trip, was glad to meet Tom and hope to go back to NYC and spend time with him again.

  • Coming Out

    For the past few days I’ve donated my status on Facebook for National Coming Out Day to say the following:

    “Jamez Ronald Prudlick is gay. There are 3 days until National Coming Out Day and I pledge to have heartfelt conversations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.”

    I think providing resources to people that are interested in coming out of the closet is very important, I didn’t have knowledge of resources when I first came out and they could have made the event much less traumatic. At 27 years old I still had plenty of old ideas about what being gay meant and I was terrified that if I came out I might be more susceptible to AIDS, become a creepy guy that always lived alone and was avoided by the general public, that my wrist would have to be a lot more limp than it currently was and I could look forward to a life where I was considered wrong. (A lot of that comes from growing up in the Midwest in small towns and some of it comes from lots of poor gay role representation on television back in the day).

    I “came out” to my two best friends in 1997. I asked them both out to dinner to “discuss something important” and let them know I was buying – probably a big clue that something was up as I was poor. The days and nights leading up to the dinner were filled with restless sleep, doubts, upset stomach… it was horrible. My mind kept asking the same questions over and over: What were they going to think of me, would this be the end of my friendships and would I be outcast and ostracized by them for being a sexual deviant. Why did they need to know anyway, why does anyone have to know? If I’m careful maybe I could just keep quiet about it and be fine. What if I just haven’t met the right girl (OK, I didn’t really think that last one, but I think the thought is funny.). I hadn’t even come out to people in my 12 step meetings, I didn’t know who I could trust or who would just hate me outright for something I had no control over.

    “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – FDR

    My friends were understanding, loving, and terribly worried about me as I had stressed the hell out of myself with needless worry. They said they knew, and had probably always known and “can we have dessert now”? The two most important people in my life had accepted me unconditionally and that meant the world to me. Wow!

    That really didn’t make it any easier for me when I decided it was time to tell my family. I had less irrational fear for this event, but still had a bit of worry that I would lose the family that meant so much to me. I did work myself into a little bit of stress, but when the time came Ma and Rhonda were both very patient and understanding. Yep, they had known all along and it didn’t matter to them one bit. My Ma said that when I find him we will both always be welcome in her home – which is just about the most wonderful thing she could have said to me at that moment. My Ma’s one hell of a cool lady.

    So during the time period that I’ve been lending my status to the National Coming Out Day campaign a close minded, Fox News watching, Wisconsinite “friend” from when I was a kid posted “it’s only 6 more days until coming out day is over and all the faggots go back in the closet.” Having had endless arguments with this person and his wife about President Obama’s birth certificate, equal rights, and other trivial matters I decided this person could be un-friended on Facebook and it would probably be for the best. That person and their attitudes towards gay people is even more reason to help support gay people during their coming out moment and to be open to talking about the issue when asked.

    If you’re in a closet somewhere afraid to come out, try to remember what FDR says above. It’s not always a pleasant experience and there are examples of people that don’t understand why I have to come out and of people that have broke off all contact just because of it, that is their right. Hopefully you’ll have understanding loved ones that can support you and show you that it’s going to be ok – that no matter what they’ll always be there for you. I hope and pray that your coming out can be as wonderful a release for you as it was for me.

    There is a lot of love out in the world, a lot of understanding too, don’t let the flares of ugliness deter you from trying to enjoy life to it’s fullest extent – there is hope out there, hope that all people can be equal in our great country and that someday men and women of all ages, that happen to be gay, wont have to live in a fear filled closet.

  • I’m a homophobe?

    I might be a homophobe, is that even possible? Well I guess it is. I was in Ft Lauderdale a week or so ago, hanging out with my friend Michael K and when I commented about something that he said he looked at me and said: “Oh, that’s right you’re a homophobe.” and I thought to myself, well yeah, I guess I am.

    It’s not that I hate gay people or what gay people do, I’m a gay person and happen to like some of the things that gay people do and especially some of their body parts (I’ll try to keep this clean). I’m believe that gay guys should be able to get married, lesbians too. I believe that if I were to serve in my countries military I should be able to do so openly gay.

    Let’s take a look at what homophobia is according to Wiki:

    Homophobia (from Greek homós: one and the same; phóbos: fear, phobia) is defined as an “irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals”,[1] or individuals perceived to be homosexual; it is also defined as “unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality”,[2] “fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men”,[2] as well as “behavior based on such a feeling”.[3]. It is defined by behavior (such as discrimination) as well as motivation (such as fear, antipathy or contempt).[2] Homophobic is the adjective form of this term used to describe the qualities of these characteristics, while homophobe is the noun form given as a title to individuals labeled with homophobic characteristics.

    So lets take a look at my record:

    I auditioned and was accepted into the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC in 2007. I love singing and love looking at handsome guys, and I AM GAY… what’s not to love about the gay men’s chorus. Well it turns out they sing songs about being gay, gay life, gay love… even Christmas songs that are gay. I’m not much of a fan of Christmas (is there such a thing as a Christmasphobe?) but the one part of it I do like is the music, and I don’t really want to gay up the lyrics with Judy Garland, Mary and rainbows… I just want to sing Christmas music.

    As my readers know, I’m an alcoholic and regularly (I use the term regularly loosely) attend 12 step meetings. I am a big book thumping, quote spewing, 12 step principle practicing alcoholic – I quit going to group therapy in treatment and don’t really want to return to it. However, I can’t seem to tolerate Gay AA (or Gay CMA that somehow ends up leading meetings) and the different message I hear there. More than a few times I’ve heard the comparison in meetings that “I drank like an alcoholic because I’m gay.” and I’m fairly certain that people drink like alcoholics because they happen to be alcoholics. We also tend to reference gay icons, movies, role models and such… not really what I thought it was about. If I snuck into a women’s AA meeting would they reference their vagina’s a lot in relationship to their disease? God I hope not.

    A few years ago my friend Robert (and Mark) gave me a handful of DVD’s for my birthday, all but one of them was a gay themed movie. I cringe at even the thought of watching these movies. It may have something to do with the casting, the people that are on the cover have characteristics I associate with gay people, a look, a mannerism that really turns me off. Yes, I know how I sound and how ridiculous it is, but there it is. I sold them at a thrift sale last spring, I didn’t watch a single one. On the other hand I did really enjoy a gay themed movie from the Gay Film Festival a few years back, it was called: Cachorro (Bear Cub), a foreign film. I really liked it.

    Gay Games? not really interested. Gay TV Channel? nope, sorry was bored by all the drag. Drag Queens? um, no… thanks, no… Flaming, flamboyant, extroverted… not really interested there either.

    Perhaps its from growing up in the Midwest, in a small town where the types of characteristics I associate with gay people were frowned upon, teased, mocked – if so, why wouldn’t 12 years of living in DC surrounded by homosexuals of every type break this mentality. There are also characteristics that I associate with gay people that could be the direct result of living in Washington DC – I think we whine a lot, I think we are overly sensitive and over concerned with labels, colors and titles. Perhaps I’m just a homophobe.

    So am I a homophobe? Probably, but I don’t think I care as long as I can someday find a husband and settle down. I’ll do my best in the meantime to keep my feelings inside and try to change my level of tolerance and acceptance… but I don’t really want to.

  • Ft Lauderedale Trip

    My last trip to the Royal Palms was over two years ago and every day I was there it rained, this time all I had was sunshine warmth and handsome bears… what more could a guy ask for?

    Friday was rather uneventful for me, swam in the pool layed out by the pool and read from my Kindle. I was tired and in bed before 11:00 and I slept in until 8:30 crazy… that is what I love about vacations, doing what I want and usually that equates to nothing. Jim’s mother passed away in the afternoon so I sent out a few notification emails and made a few calls. I received a few calls to for Jim and Ana from friends that were worried about them, it’s nice to know that I’m an emergency contact.

    Saturday I had a Costa Rican for lunch 😉 and that evening I went out to dinner, a meeting and a movie with Michael K to celebrate his AA anniversary. Dinner was at J Alexanders, a nice steak house down there (I think it’s a chain).

    We went to the beginners meeting and it was an interesting format. There were very entertaining moments, one guy who said he was 9 years sober and still restless, irritable and discontented ever day said basically that if you didn’t slip you’re not a real alcoholic, it was precious… poor guy really needs to get a program and some help.

    We went to see Julie and Julia or whatever and it was very cute.

    Sunday was a nice relaxing day, I went for a walk, spent some cash on clothes and headed back to the resort for a quick nap and some afternoon delight.

    I got enough sun and relaxation and made some nice new friends. Then I boarded the plane… lol

    There was a young thin blonde girl right in front of me and she kept getting up and fidgeting (this was even before we left the gate) and I heard the stewardess tell her that if she felt that strongly about it we would go back to the gate… I had a window seat and she had a clastrophic thing going on and she eventually got moved to my row on the aisle. She apparently is very phobic about flying and had forgotten her Xanax that day so was particularly frightened. The cute guy (married, straight, beared bear) next to me and I did our best to distract her and made conversations with her the entire way. She did finally allow me to open my shade when we were landing. She was on the first leg of her journey and I hope she fared better on the second flight.

  • Just one more look… but it's never enough

    It’s when I’m not looking for him that he appears. It never seems to fail. I was walking home from the meeting and I heard his voice, I couldn’t help but look for him – it’s been years since I’ve heard his voice and it’s still like a symphony exploding in me.

    Then I spotted him, his closely shaved head and short go-t lost to the majesty of his sparkling blue eyes.

    His eyes were the first thing I ever noticed about him, the first thing that made my heart skip beats – there were more reasons later, but his eyes always targeted my heart.

    He’s sitting there, casually having dinner with friends or colleagues talking about god knows what, I didn’t bother to try to eavesdrop I just wanted to hear the notes cascading out of his mouth one more time. It wouldn’t matter what he said, just to hear him speak was a joy.

    It’s a sappy, horrid way to write how he makes me feel. There may be no way to properly clarify it.

    He saw me also, his eyes sparkling one more time at me, his smile grew. That’s almost enough to satisfy my thirst for him, almost. Some times I wonder if that craving will ever go away, will it ever cease to have this effect on me?

  • The Florida Roundup – Contempt after investigation?

    I usually do this kind of thing in time line synopsis like paragraphs, and I see no point in changing now so here we go. (This would have been a very long post, I’ve changed it)

    This past summer Chris G. said something about the Florida Roundup that made me realize I had been poking fun at it and dismissing it as less than a worthwhile event without ever having gone myself: Contempt prior to investigation. So I set out to correct that error and was self assured that I would soon be able to boast at what a horrendous waste of time and money the Florida Roundup was.

    There were rules of course, there always are when I go about this kind of thing. I agreed to attend at least one of every scheduled event – friends suggested that I go to at least one workshop, the Sunday brunch and the Play. OK, to be honest I had no intention of going to the play, the same friends that had suggested I go to the play told me you had to see the movie The Devil Wears Prada on the big screen to see the details of the fashion, and, as I’ve said before, I’m not that kind of gay. I even spent an extra day or two, arriving Wednesday and leaving Monday… well that was the plan anyway. I also agreed that I would not start to complain about things, because when I start it’s hard to stop and I wanted to be fair.

    So what did I like about the Roundup? Seeing friends, getting to know new friends, 2 of the main speakers, the one day that I managed to spend lying on the beach with my Kindle reading, meals with folks I didn’t know really well and meals with folks that I had just met, eye candy everywhere.

    What I didn’t like: the hotel, the hotel’s housekeeping, the hotel’s idea of hot water and water pressure in showers, the cost of a cab to/from the airport ($80), the drag shows, the Sunrise meeting (which I was told to attend at least once – it rained, was dark, and cold), the drag shows, the drag shows before almost every meeting… well, you know.

    I was pleased to meet some very special people with long term sobriety that I hope to get to know better over the years if I’m fortunate enough to stay sober and alive – Michael and Terry among others.

    At the big meetings there were some things that really got to me, little shout outs back to readers of conference approved literature (How It Works, the Preamble, the promises). A member of AA standing at a podium reading the literature that contains specific directions on how we get better and instead of honest reflection and mediation there is laughter at the cat calls and what not that they’ve added to our ritual. At one point, some young man yelled out to a woman reading: “show us your tits” which was promptly booed, but that’s where we are headed I think.

    So, would I attend the Roundup again? I don’t know, I’m sure I could be persuaded, but not today.

  • I Agree Marriage Shouldn’t Be Recognized

    Not same-sex marriage, different sex marriage, polygamist marriage, nor any other type of union.

    For too long we’ve politely glanced away when we’ve seen the golden band on their finger, I say no more. Equality for all, if we can’t have it, lets make damn sure they can’t either. Divorce is at 50% now, think of what will happen when we ignore the rules and don’t play fair.

    Any man is eligible for sex; and most men – gay or straight – can’t turn down a good blow job. Let’s take advantage of the straight man’s sexual needs and get some of our needs met as well. Bathroom senators, heroin addicted ministers, professional athletes, here we come… no pun intended.

    This isn’t just about man on man sex, think of the women that could come to fully realize how much fun sex can be once they’ve been exposed to talented lesbians. Never mind the fact that (stereotypical) lesbians will be better at helping these ladies around the house than there emasculated husbands ever were.

    Let’s redefine marriage, lets make it that much harder for you biased, bigoted, bastards to stay together at all.

    —

    Ok, that’s not what we really want. Sure there were times, when I was younger, that all I thought about was having good sex and more good sex after that. And I’m sure there are some younger folks out there, whether gay or straight, who think that way today… hell, maybe some older folks too.

    We want what everyone in America was promised: equality, freedom, choice. We want to be able to celebrate our love of another human being with the rest of the world, and to share that love with those around us. We want the same basic rights of love that our straight counterparts get without having to fight for it at all.

    Are these things the downfall of humanity? Will they lead to the destruction of all things? I don’t think so, I’ve never known love as strong as I’ve seen it in homosexual couples to end up as something bad.

    They say marriage would be redefined. Look at our history and see how much marriage has been changed already – it was not that long ago that people of different races were not allowed to marry. We don’t want to change existing marriage, we just want to share in it, we want to share in the joys, the heartaches, the rights, the wrongs of every other American citizen has if they are straight.

    Is it a civil right? The Declaration of Independence states:

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

    And what is love of my (potential) partner but “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”?

    We don’t want more than you want, we want the exact same thing you have, which is our unalienable right in this land of freedom and equality.

  • My San Diego Adventure

    I had a great time.

    Oh, you need more… hmmm.

    The flight was uneventful, I did get to upgrade to first class for a small fee, and afterward I couldn’t tell you that there is a difference on US Airways between First and Coach, perhaps they ignore completely the folks in Coach and only slightly ignore those of us in first class… I’m not sure.

    This was my first trip to San Diego, and flying into the city was a breathtaking experience. As we approached and the outskirts of the city became visible to me, there were about 7 folks parachuting into the mountain area there – as they were there our plane was restricted from being low enough for an approach to land to actually be ok, so we had to fly out over the ocean and come back around – which pleased me as I got to see the city from above twice and just loved it.

    My hotel, The Park Manor Suites, was just a short cab ride from the airport and very inexpensive. I arrived at my hotel around 12:30 p.m., checked in and headed out almost immediately to see what I could find. (I forgot I actually went to the penthouse of the hotel where they have a restaurant, and had a burger quickly.)

    I walked to Balboa Park and just wandered around exploring the area, so much to see there (museums, architecture, views of downtown, muscular men in shorts jogging… ). I discovered that walking to the zoo on Thursday was going to be the cheapest way to go, and I discovered that they have a holiday light event (Balboa Park Holiday Nights) which would mean I had no intention of sifting through crowds of foolish merriment.

    My intention was to go to a meeting on Wednesday night, but I fell asleep in my room around 6 p.m. and woke around 5 a.m. the next morning. Oh well, we all know what the road to hell is paved with.

    Thursday after drinking coffee in my room I went upstairs to the penthouse for a continental breakfast and then headed out to the zoo. The San Diego Zoo was just amazing, and I was there almost as soon as it opened to the public that day. There were not too many screaming children, nor too many people at all, I may have had the best day to go. I immediately found the Pandas and then found my way to the overhead tram…. I quickly discovered that I have a small fear of heights, but I said a quick prayer (“God, please remove the fear.”) and its not like they could have gotten me off the damn thing once it started… To foolishly confront my fear, I went on the tram again later… had to say the same prayer again too. I had a great time at the zoo, it was a spectacular day.

    On my way back from the zoo, I headed to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. I had heard someone (either in the park, the hotel or the zoo) mention something about a Star Trek Exhibit, so I wanted to be sure to check it out. It was very cool, I did simulators of a Starfleet shuttle, got beamed up and just had a very geeky time.

    That evening I had dinner at the hotel. I didn’t really care for it, but I know people that like sauces and weird food probably would enjoy the restaurant there (that would more than likely be the rest of the planet). I just wanted a good steak, and I didn’t find one… (not the whole trip, but I didn’t do a search on the net for one, next visit I’ll do better research).

    Friday I took a trolley tour (no not a real trolley, one of those buses that looks like a trolley) of the city and did a lot of shopping. I loved Sea Port Village, got a close look at some hotels I’ve only ever seen in reports (the Marriott, the Sheraton… ) and just had a pleasant walk. The “boardwalk” stroll was nice on Friday, the weather was very cooperative to my enjoying the sun and calling friends in the midwest where it snowed.

    Friday night at the hotel they have a very popular happy hour on the penthouse. I attended, but soon felt uncomfortable and left. I don’t like bars. So, no I couldn’t tell you how any of the San Diego bars were, as I didn’t go… I had considered going to the Eagle, but soon remembered that I left my boots in DC and didn’t want to go without my boots (I’m weird, yes… we know).

    Saturday (my birthday) I had a few things in mind: facial, shopping, nap… yes, I’m easy to please. I also managed to go to the Balboa Theater to see the San Diego Men’s Chorus do their holiday show. They had a special guest from American Idol, but I didn’t know her, Paris Bennet. 

    Sunday I took a Hornblower Cruise of the San Diego bay. It was great, I spent two hours on a boat touring and loved it. 
    Monday I had breakfast at the Hash House A Go Go, again (I had eaten there almost every day for breakfast – huge portions) and then went off to the air port to go home.  Monday was an uneventful day, but I still relaxed and enjoyed it…
    until, while on the plane, I spilled scalding hot coffee on myself, oh well…