The Audition

Almost a year ago, I had the time of my life doing Cincinnati Music Theatre's production of CHESS. It was the first show I had done in over 15 years. Shortly after, I did Mariemont Player's production of Honk! as a lead role of "the Cat." But, work heated up and in the winter, I lost my dad and Marita (Mom in my German Host family.) The spring was complicated. But now that Jason and I are moved and things have stabilized with our household, I decided to audition for Follies, a production to be done by Cincinnati Music Theatre. Today was my second "Call back" audition and I had high hopes. I'm my worst critic: I know that I blew the "soft step dancing," as, well, crappy; I don't know how to do this! My acting was in line and I thought my singing was pretty good. By design, the cast is top heavy with older actors (preferably to act 55 years and up.) There are very few roles for the younger actors (preferably to act 25 to 35 years.) I'm aware that, after a brief conference, the director, producers, musical director, etc chose people to continue to read for the "younger parts." They did not invite me to do any additional reading. Oh, well. I tried and I learned. I'll improve.

An Endoscope and a Memorable Morning

Scot, always the good friend, arrived at my house at 6:30 am. He waited at the doorstep for several minutes, having a smoke. He rang the bell as I finished pulling up my pants. I am so not looking forward to today, I thought. See, Scot was to take me to the hospital for a 7:30 am appointment to get a Colonoscopy (or as I had labeled in my calendars at home and work: "visit from Enrique Colón.") I had had some funkiness which I will not mention and I was well overdue, having rescheduled 3 times. The preparations for this procedure reminded me why I had put this off. I fasted all day, only drinking liquids. Then at 5:00, I started 16 small 8 oz doses of Miralax, which made for an interesting evening. But, I was clean, bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for the morning appointment. After checking in, we walked up to endoscopy and a happy go lucky man greeted me. Soon, I was pulling on a one piece gown and laying on a gurney with an IV. I waited and was asked questions; then I waited some more before waiting. Finally, a large framed man with a goatee and bright smile told me it was my lucky day. His name was Duane and I liked him. He was the RN and told me he would be there for the entire procedure. He continued to talk and encouraged me to get on my side. He told me it was not so bad. I laughed. This guy was funny. "Seriously," he said, "I've done it before, even without the sedation you're getting." "And you would do that… why?" I asked blurted out, in the noisy room. Suddenly, the third guy in the room, the endoscope technician started busting out laughing. We kind of looked back at him. He looked confused. Then clarified: "Oh, I thought you said, 'And that's because you were so wide.'" We all three laughed. That made my morning. The thought of Duane being wide. Good times. Soon, it was time for the doctor to doodle with my mangina. Duane smiled politely and told me it was time. I nodded. I kind of was tired. But my eyes were open. The screen in front of me showed pretty pictures of orange material, but it was like I was watching TV. Next thing I knew I was totally awake and in the large reception area, on the gurney. Scot was there. No sign of Duane. A half hour had passed. It was 10:30 and I was damn hungry. Scot and I ate some greasy breakfast food at Big Boy, which was not at all a good idea. After napping most of the afternoon, I felt better, knowing the procedure was over.

New York 2007 Pride March: Thoughts and Photos

I've not been to many pride marches (long story,) so Jason and I were in for a treat to have been able to see part of the parade while visiting the Big Apple over the weekend. My first impression was how many uniformed police officers there were on the streets. Then, as the parade time approached, people arrived in the thousands until the streets were packed with cheering people with flags. There was a sense of excitement, adrenaline that transcended racial, gender or age barriers. From a personal perspective, I found it very powerful to be standing on Christopher Street, just blocks away from Stonewall Inn, THE place where the gay movement began, one June day, 37 years ago. (Isn't this WHY we have pride festivals in June? As a tribute to the riots?) True, gays are caddy and can be very mean to one another. However, a thought occurred to me while standing in such a diverse crowd: this is a setting where few people are judged. Sure, people laughed at some of the silly costumes, but it was light fun. So, what's so wrong with just having celebrating, having fun, enjoying the scene, enjoying eye candy? (My personal view is that people over analyze such events. Take what you want; ignore what you are not crazy about. Pride not at all your cup of tea? Stay home!) Jason and I took over 200 pictures during the two hours we could attend of the event. (We had to leave by 4:30 in order to make our flight back to Ohio.) Understand that we had only gotten through 1/3 of the parade. (My one gripe about the event had to do with the pacing of the parade. There was a lot of empty time/space between groups.) Want to see 24 more pictures that I took? Click here.

Greetings from New York!

Yay! We made it successfully to New York. Chase (New York friend,) Paul, Jason and I all had a fun, tiring day. We walked the city and took a bus tour!

My Rating

Mingle2 - Online Dating Hmm.. Apparently, a sampling showed "gay" being used 1 time and "bitch" being used once. Pretty offensive, I know.

A Pleasant Experience: T-Mobile Customer Service

As you might remember, last October, I got a Motorola RAZR cell phone after my nice Sony Ericcson "Little Brother" cell phone got run over (by yours truly.) I opted to just get a replacement from the US T-Mobile. I've had pretty good luck with T-Mobile. I've had their service since my return to the 'States in 2001. Reliable service. Good billing. Reasonable rates. Yesterday morning, I grabbed said RAZR cell phone and noticed that it was lit up for no reason. I opened the case and the display was totally white. And it would not turn off. Then after pulling the battery, it would not turn on. So, I was kind of in a bad mood at work and contemplated my options. Not too many interesting phones on the T-Mobile website. I looked on Amazon.com for interesting Sony Ericsson phones. Way too expensive. I decided to call the T-Mobile support. I explained the situation. The best the Southern Call Center Woeman could do was mail me a new phone in "3 business days." I calmly told her that that was unfortunate, as I was going to New York on Friday. I told Paul about the situation and he told me I'd get a beater: a used and abused piece of crap--some time next week. (He is kind of a bitch when you really think about it.) Checking my mailbox, there was a box from Georgia! I opened it, and it was a brand new RAZR phone! I was stunned. It was actually a step up from the current version and new! Yes, I had to use my own battery, but I was very happy! This customer service exceeded my expectations!

Weekly Roundup

PROJECT MANAGEMENT – My company sponsored a project management fair this week. I've decided that I'm going to prepare for my Project Management Institute (PMI) certification. I'll study, take some classes and hopefully sit for the exam this Fall. MORE GAY PRIDE – I'm excited that this upcoming week will be a short one. Jason, Paul and I are heading to the Big Apple for NYC's pride festivities. The only problem is that some events on Saturday were cancelled. And we will only be able to attend an hour or so of the actual parade. SPRING AWAKENING – Jason and I were able to secure two nose bleed tickets to Spring Awakening, this year's Tony award winning musical. NIP TUCK – I'm just infatuated by this show. Paul has said that it is one of the last series on TV that shocks. And it does! I can't stop watching it! I'm on the beginning of season 3. SQUEEZE IT – Get it out and squeeze it. Your Accordion, that is. Along with being Gay Pride Month, this is also Accordion Appreciation Month.

Yay!

In support of the diversity of the gay community, I'm taking the diversity challenge from fellow blogger, Kelly at Rambling Along Life…With a Stern Point of View. I'm posting his picture with a little of my own, ~*extra gay*~, almost patriotic flair:

Ode to the Ice Cream Man

So that you will hear me I cry out to you in the night. I cherish your melodic tones They sooth me to sleep as I lie awake at the 11:00th hour of the night. You... who play your music to my heart all hours of day and night... You... with the magical truck of things... Love me, companion. Don't forsake me. Stay. Stay, companion, on this wave of anguish; I pray stay. And bring me your delicious cream. But my words are stained with your love. You occupy everything, you occupy everything. Please. Oh please. Bring back your 'cream.

Montréal Photoshoot!

I took the time to go through the 500+ pictures I took of our recent "mystery weekend" trip to Montréal a couple of weekends ago. My first challenge was using my new Digital SLR. I found that the automatic mode on the camera was not all that great, so I played a lot with exposure, shutter speed, white balance, etc. My challenge for publishing the pictures was to not bore you! My initial goal was to have exactly 48 pictures (2 pages of 24 photos each.) I figure if I can't pictorially describe the city in 48 pictures, then I should hang the camera up on the hook. Enjoy! (Click on the "Start Slideshow" button for a slide show!)

Weekly Roundup

BUSY WEEK – Having come off a week of travel, work pressures, then our visitors suring Jason's first week at his new job, we have been extremely busy. GAY PRIDE – Another gay pride celebration has come and gone in Cincinnati. We enjoyed the parade. Jason took pictures and videos this year and posted on his blog. ICE CREAM MAN FROM HELL – We have a very very aggressive ice cream man that visits the children of the neighborhood from 2:00 pm to as late as 11:15 pm (earlier in the week.) Paul says he is going to sic the cops on them.

Photo Montage: Allison and Rob's Visit

Yay! Allison and Rob visited this week. They arrived on Wednesday night and we talked until after 2:00 am, which made for a very early morning on Thursday. Thursday evening, we had a relaxing pizza before heading to Universal Grill for karaoke! On Friday, I made home made Italian-American meatballs with marinara sauce. Charlie and Chuck came over and we shared some drinks and looked at a disturbing video on sex-reassignment. We laughed, we cried, we cringed. Regretfully, Allison and Rob packed up and drove their rental car to the Quad Cities. We enjoyed them and hope they will visit again!

Gay Pride: Who are you proud of?

It's gay pride month and Jason and I will have the opportunity to attend festivities in three cities: Cincinnati (our home base), plus Boston and New York. The festivities during this month get me thinking and I begin to choke up a bit. For me, it's not all about the flamboyant parades and rallies, (although some are rather tragic.) It's about taking the time to reflect upon what it means to be gay. I think about where we are and what got us here. I think about the people... So, who am I proud of? (My short list) - OUR GAY FOREFATHERS –The liberties and acceptance that we have today have come from activism and challenging the status quo. From the holdout at the Stonewall Riots (the link provided for the puppies who may not know what this is) to the more subtle act of being openly gay… - JUDY SHEPARD and others who dedicate their lives toward a more civil society. The Matthew Shepard Act is currently in the Senate! - VOLUNTEERS for HIV/AIDS ORGANIZATIONS - While AIDS does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, our collective gay family tree was severely trimmed in the 1980s and 1990s. I'm proud of those who those individuals who care about our community and want to live longer, prosperous lives. - CORPORATE AMERICA and other small companies who taken a chance to do the right thing and include non-discrimination clauses in their company statements. Despite the fact that they could potentially lose right wing customers, many more continue to offer domestic partner benefits. - OUR COMMUNITY – We have an interesting selection of nerds, jocks, queens, kings, flamers, butchpeople, lipstick wearers, flannel wearers (and many other labels that I won't mention, such as "power bottom.") We come from every ethnic group, age, religion and career. With our diversity, we don't always get along. Even so, we always seem to get things done and keep together. - ME – Around 10 years ago, at the age of 26, I came to the difficult realization that I was gay. I accepted who I am, which was huge! I eventually came out of the closet at work and live out in the open in all facets of my life. Currently, I have an amazing partner. And I strive to be the best person I can be. Gay or otherwise. (If I were to say that I "strive to maintain my dignity and self respect at all times," you all would raise the "bullshit" card. Being the best you can be as a person is all you can ask, right!?) Who are YOU proud of?

Have Yourself a Merry Little Mac Christmas

The previous Mac Christmas was on May 1, 2005. Today, Jason and I celebrated it again. In the traditional faith, the holiday involves a fancy meal at a restaurant, followed by the procession to a particular shrine referred to as the "Apple Store." The religious pilgrimage is centuries old. You may ask, when exactly does the holiday occur? Like most religions, the timing is not necessarily based on the Julian calendar nor is it based on star or planetary movements. Instead, it comes within a couple of days of the release of a new Apple operating system. Mac Christmas was supposed to be this month. But, alas, due to the development of the iPhone, the gods in Cupertino moved the holiday indefinitely into the late Fall of 2007. Bummer. So, we opted to celebrate the holiday today and are both busily putting software and data on to our new laptops. I'm hoping that this will mean more blog posts as I have really struggled to blog without a laptop.

Weekly Roundup

TRAVEL AND MORE TRAVEL – I’ve survived 12 individual flights in the past 1.5 weeks, the last of which landed Jason and I in Dayton at 11:00 pm last night. HOME – Yes; it feels good to be home. The cats were extra happy to see us upon our return. PRIDE – Today was the beginning of Cincinnati’s Gay Pride festival. Several years ago, several gay bars in Cincinnati started a friendly rivalry involving a race in high heels. The Cincinnati “Drag Race” tradition is alive and is documented quite well on Jason’s blog. I am proud and I will be sharing more pictures throughout the week! MONTRÉAL – The mystery weekend was a success. Jason and I both had a blast! More pictures and stories to come soon! BOSTON – Jason and I took an extra day to visit Boston. Beyond more powershopping, we also managed to see Georges Island, one of Boston’s many harbor islands. You can expect two new photo galleries from me in the next week for Montréal and Georges Island. BARBIE BOO BOO – I decided to buy some Barbie Band-Aid bandages today. I think my coworkers will like the look tomorrow. Problem is the bandages are made for small GIRLS apparently. Geesh. Almost too small!