christmas bells are ringing....

It's exactly one week until Christmas. Everywhere you turn there are decorated trees, holiday lights, Santas, and signs wishing everyone a happy holiday season. And yet, I miss Christmas.

One of my earliest memories of Christmas is sitting in the floor of my grandmother's (Nannie) house and opening up presents on Christmas Eve. After eating too much with the ENTIRE family there, we would move on to my other grandparents and then head home where my sister and I would be able to choose ONE present to open before we went to sleep. (My family never really had Santa, I always knew it was my parents...they didn't hide it. This troubles some of my friends, but clearly I've survived.) The next morning, the second my eyes opened, I went to wake up Mom, Dad, and Amy and we would begin the process of handing out the presents and ripping through paper while our adrenaline raced. This was the culmination of weeks of spending more time with my family, carefully planning what everyone needed or wanted most. It was Christmas, one of my favorite times of year.

Now, I'm less than two weeks shy of being 28 and Christmas is something that for the most part, I dread. Now, a few days before Christmas I get on a plane (without my husband) and go home to see my Mom (THE BEST PART). If it were not for her, I am unsure of whether I would actually go back home, but I love her more than life itself and any time that I can spend with her, is worth more than gold to me. Still, I have to leave Derek (my family) behind, it's just too complicated down there. I spend most of my time in AL with Mom, but then I must make the trip to see my Dad and Sister, a trip that gets harder each passing year. And especially hard this year as now everyone knows I'm gay and married. I will see them this year on the 22nd and do Christmas with my Mom/Sister/Niece on the 23rd and then Christmas will be over, even before it technically begins.

I went shopping yesterday to find some things for my Mom and Niece yesterday and wanted to go nuts. All around were people getting upset over sale prices, rushing through lines and generally boiling with impatience. It mad me really sad. I know many people believe the holidays have become more and more commercialized, but it only takes one trip to a mall on the weekend before Christmas to quickly believe they may have something right.

As far as Derek and I are concerned, we almost backed out on giving each other anything this year in an effort to be more fiscally responsible. Thankfully we didn't. And lest I sound present happy, it's not about the presents to me. He could give me a $5 gift card to McDonalds and I would be thrilled. It's just the experience of waking up on our "designated" Christmas morning and sitting by the tree (or trees in our case this year) with our dog and opening gifts so that I can see excitement on his face. He's my husband and I want to give him something he will enjoy.

Other than seeing my wonderful mother and my niece that is exciting to me is being able to see Kate, Tonya, Brady and Marcy and having Christmas/New Years with them. I think there is a theme; I enjoy the pieces that are left if they have to do with children or my Mom. There is an innocence and joy in the kids that reminds me of how it used to be and how much I used to love this time of year. For my Mom, it’s the joy of seeing her children come home and be in the same house, if only for a few hours. I miss my entire family. I hate that my life is so complicated to them that we have built a barrier that I doubt will ever come down. I miss living so far away from my Mom that I have to buy a plane ticket and plan a vacation just to see her. I miss my beloved Nannie and spending Christmas Eve getting to carve her turkey and help her in the kitchen. Most of all, I just miss Christmas.

your daddy's son....

It's really like having a child. I would like nothing else than to go to a bar after I get off work and have a nice drink to relax, but I have to go home and "rescue" my dog who is probably sleeping in the bathroom, but has been alone the entire time I have been at work tonight. Would he be okay if I took a detour on the way home and met a friend for a drink? Yes! Would I have fun and not worry about him constantly? Nope. For all intents and purposes, he is my child, my little boy who I love so incredibly much more than I probably should. From the day I picked him up I have pretty much given my little heart to my dog. Well let's be honest, my husband has my heart, but that little puppy has a pretty good chunk of it too.

Back to my point, the ability to have spontaneity in my life has significantly decreased. Now, I have a living thing to worry about and be responsible for. D can take care of himself so I don't have to do that for him, but for the first time I am responsible for something that lives and breathes. It's a lot of pressure. Take for instance today. It's Saturday, I can finally sleep for as long as I want too. 8:47am, Beau needs to potty so up we go. Luckily when he was finished he agreed to come back to bed and we slept until about 1030am today. As soon as we get up I head upstairs to fix his breakfast so that he can take his medicine. I sit on the couch and decide to finish my Christmas cards, check my email and watch some TV. Can I really do this? Sure, as long as I am able to keep my lap clear, cause that's the only place Beau likes to really sit if I'm on the couch. I decide to watch a movie, but midway through I have to pause it so that I can harness Beau up and take him on a walk for the day. Back from the walk it's time to give him a little lunch and prepare for work. And on it goes...my point is that everything I do now is affected by my dog.

Sometimes I get frustrated and wish I had never pushed so hard to get a puppy. But then two seconds pass and he looks up at me with those puppy eyes and I know for a fact that I wouldn't give him up for anything in the world. And besides, I have vodka, wine, and beer at home....who says I can't have a post drink work tonight? =)

fantasies come true.....

I’ve worked at the Kennedy Center now for about six months. In that time I have gotten to know some pretty amazing colleagues and work on great projects for the Center. But if you had told me a year ago that I would soon be at the Kennedy Center Honors in the physical presence of Ms. Dolly Parton and a host of other celebrities, politicians, and business leaders, and that would be part of my job, I would never have believed you.

Last night was quite possibly one of the most amazing, overwhelmingly wonderful nights I’ve had in a very very long time. To go into detail about who all was here and what they did and what they were wearing would take ages and if you really are interested just ask and I will tell you, but let’s just say it was much more than a small town boy from Alabama could ever imagine.

I feel like a bit of a dork, but it’s hard not to be star struck when one of your top musical talents walks beside you. And hearing more about her life and listening to those who know her best, honor her….made me love her more….she has an amazing heart and deserves all of the accolades that are constantly thrown at her.

P.S. Barbara Walters gets extra make up for TV :)

come on....take my test!

Create your own friendquiz here

Another opening of another show....

I sometimes wonder why my ability to socialize is so drastically changed depending on the situation. Let's look at two examples....

Example 1: I met some friends out at a bar about two weeks ago. I have just recently met this friend I was hanging out with and this was the first time we intentionally met up to hang out. I had a great time, the conversation flowed easily and I quickly became acquaintances/friends with two other guys that I would have no problem being able to say hello and hang out were I to see them out and about.

Example 2: Saturday night was Opening Night for the show my husband has been music directing for the past month or so. After the show we went up for the reception and I suddenly felt like I was the awkward kid in High School that no one wants to play with or talk to. It was no one's fault, everyone was friendly, etc. but for some reason I simply clammed up. I felt unable to carry on a conversation with anyone other than the general "hi, nice to meet you too".

I wish I understood more about myself. I want to know what internal switch gets flipped that renders me incapable of general conversation and social abilities. Why do certain situations intimidate me and others do not? I'm in development, I should be able to be charming and engaging at a moments notice, no matter the situation.

I can be engaging, right?!?!

thank you for the music....

I was up until almost 2am on the night of the elections and with every hour that passed the music of change got louder and more exciting. Thank you for going out and voting and sending a message to our leaders both Democrat and Republican alike that we see the need for a new direction and are ready to go. I urge all of the the Democrats elected to not take this opportunity lightly and develop solid plans for our future and show the American public that they made the right decision. Congrats on taking back all of Congress....job well done!

VOTE!!!

I’m taking a brief detour from the general tone of my life and times and sending out a plea to everyone whose eyes may come across this blog. This Tuesday, Nov. 7th, will be one of the most important days in the next 2-3 years. We have the chance to make some dramatic changes in the structure of our government and balance the power of Republicans vs. Democrats. For the past few years (since Bush took office) we have been under complete Republican control as the Reds controlled both arms of Congress and the President’s Office. Now is our chance, RUN DO NOT WALK to your polling place and VOTE! It may take 10 minutes; it may take an hour, but GO VOTE. I especially urge anyone who lives in a state where a Republican seat is up for grabs to push anyone and everyone they know to go with them to vote. If there is an amendment concerning gay marriage or gay rights on your ballot, GO VOTE!!

If on Tuesday we have not all casts our votes for change, we simply cannot expect our country to change direction for the better. Schools will continue to go down a dark road of mediocrity, the GLBT community will continue to face discrimination and hatred, and our brave soldiers will still be fighting a war that should never have been driven in the way our current leadership has taken it. This is our chance, our chance to fix those things that have been broken, a chance to take back the rubber stamp and make our democracy a checks and balance system the way it was intended.

GO VOTE!!

Dinner With Friends

Yet again, I'm aware that this is the title of a play and not a line from a musical, but it's still theatre so I'm okay with it...

It's been a long time since I had a good mix of old friends and new friends all in one weekend. Friday night, Marty and Cindy came over for dinner to see our new Capitol Hill apt. since they were in town for work. Marty is Derek's old boss and our good friend and Cindy is a retired teacher from Buffalo, NY who is quite possibly one of the most outstanding people I know. She is extremely intelligent, endearing, kind, and sometimes downright nasty, just like me. It's brilliance. We see Marty fairly often, but it's been since before our wedding last year that we had a chance to see Cindy and it was great to touch base and catch up with her. We will all get the chance to meet up again in Atlanta in January. Nothing will ever beat Kutcher's though. (Remind me to tell that story sometime).

Marty stayed in town for an extra night so that he, Derek and I could all go out for drinks on Saturday night. We wanted to go someplace that wasn't filled with smoke so I took them to the one gay bar I haven't been to yet, HALO. I must say, I think it may become one of my favorites (I have a soft spot for JRs of course and as soon as they eliminate smoking there...I'll spend more time there). We got our vodka drinks and headed upstairs and grabbed seats at the bar in front of a lovely female bartender with great earrings whose name I never got. We had only been there for a few minutes when one of my coworkers walks through the door. We say hello and then I spend the rest of the evening drinking Stoli Blueberry and Tonics and getting to know new friends. We had only intended to have only two drinks and then leave around 11, I had four and left around 1230. It was a good night.

So as I think back on my weekend, I raise my morning cup of coffee and toast all my old friends who I hope will forever be in my life and also to all my new friends here in DC who I hope will one day, probably over dinner, quietly slip into old friends too.

Schadenfreude

Let's face it, sometimes I make some really poor unimportant decisions in my life. Take for example last night. D and I have recently found a mouse in our apartment and so we decided to put down those glue traps as they have worked well for us in the past. Now, for the last two days I was supposed to stop by CVS or Safeway near work, but kept forgetting. When I got home last night I said, "As soon as we finish dinner, I'll go back out and get the traps." And folks that's where it all began....

There is a CVS on Mass Ave pretty close to our apartment so I hop in the car and head down that way. There is absolutely no parking so I drive to the one on 8th and Independence and much to my dismay they don't carry traps. Fine, I'll head further into town and go to a grocery store. Now in my head Whole Foods is a grocery store so I figure, "Hey, they have easy parking, I'll go there and get them." For any of you who are as uninformed as I, WHOLE FOODS JUST HAS FOOD. This was a sad revelation for me.

Fine, I'll just drive the few more blocks over to 17th and go the Safeway tucked neatly in the Gayborhood. Now, as a gay man I feel it is my duty to know about the goings on of my community. Boy, am I out of the loop. Last night was the annual High Heel Drag Race on 17th Street. Now I should know this for two reasons. 1) In case I wanted to go and laugh enjoy a night with my fellow gays/gay-friendlies or 2) To avoid this section of town because driving in it last night was like the 7th circle of HELL. But I digress.

Needless to say we didn't go to that Safeway either. What to do? Oh right, I used to live close to Adam's Morgan, I'll go to the Safeway there, it's just a few more blocks up. Finally, I arrive and fate smiles on me and gives me a parking space right in front of the store. I walk in and head straight for the traps? Nope, I head straight for the beer and grab a six pack of Heineken, it's been that kind of night. Then I proceed over to the traps and what do I find? NO F'ING GLUE TRAPS. So I buy a set of snap traps and my beer and I go home.

You may notice this posting started off talking about poor decisions. I live (according to yahoo maps) exactly (2) TWO miles from a Giant Foods store over near Rhode Island Ave. Why did I choose to drive all over DC when there was a store just 2 miles away? Well, I feel that the Giant is kind of in a sketchy neighborhood, so that is what pushed me away. Poor Decision? Absolutely.

what do you do...PART 2

So my interviewer sent a few follow-up questions so I thought I would post those too...

1.) I know you were President of the AASA? What inspired you to get involved? Along with being president, my main responsibility was being Chair of the Career Development Committee. I joined AASA to meet people in the program and get the most out of the program, but most importantly I joined and took the position as Chair so that I could meet professionals in the arts community in Boston and expand my network of contacts in order to prepare for working in that community.

2.) Were you a performance concentration here at BU? Yes, I followed the performance concentration.

3.) How did you go about scoring your job at the Kennedy Center (aka...did you have a hook-up? were you persistent?) To be honest, I think I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I think there is definitely a combination of luck as well as preparation in getting a job, you need a little of both. As far as knowing someone, I had some connections, through my husband and his work there, to people in the education department here so that when I went in for my interview with the seven people here (yes I had to meet with SEVEN people) I was able to talk about Derek's involvement with the Center and use that connection. The most important thing I did though was prepare. I did a lot of research on the job and on the Kennedy Center as a whole so that I was able to have an informed conversation about the position, show why I chose to apply for THAT position and ask a lot of questions during my interview.

4.) Do you like the city of DC? What do you like best about the capital? I love DC, it's such a unique city with all the monuments, free museums, government buildings, etc. You can always find something to do and I don't I'll ever get used to driving by and seeing things like the Washington Monument out my window. Not to mention there is a restaurant in Dupont Circle called The Brickskeller that carries a 30 page beer menu with beers from all around the world. How great is that?!?


5.) What do you miss about the city of Boston? I miss the convenient apple orchards during the fall and the amazing leaves that you see in New England. I also miss being so close to Maine and taking trips to Ogunquit on a whim. Most of all, I think I miss my friends. Even though I was only in the area for 3 years I met some great people and I miss not being able to laugh and hang out with them now. (That's a hint for all you folks to come visit me, I'll buy you a beer!)

what do you do with a BA in English....

I was asked by my graduate school program's newsletter if I would be willing to be the "Alumni Spotlight" for the upcoming edition. I was flattered and a little excited to be asked. Below is the list of questions that I was sent to answer, with my answers. Just thought some people might find them interesting to read! =)

Where are you from? I was born and raised in Alabama.


What is your current (work) position? I am one of the Assistant Managers in Corporate and Foundation Relations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.


Where did you do your undergraduate and what did you study? I did my undergraduate study at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL and graduated in 2001 with a B.A in Theatre.


What made you choose the arts admin program? After I decided the life of an actor was not for me, I worked for a while as the assistant to a museum director at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Seeing how much work actually went into to providing arts experiences to the public made me realize that arts admin was a way that I could still participate in the arts, but in a way that best utilized my abilities. Honestly, I chose the grad program at BU because of the location in New England and because of the ability to take night classes. I knew my decision was the right one when I met with Rich for the first time and realized how much he and the other professors loved the program.


Which classes really prepared you for your current job? I would have to say that Capital Campaigns, Fundraising for Non-Profits, Financial Management, and Advanced Consulting with Janet were the classes that most prepared me for the position I have at the Kennedy Center. Each of the classes and the professors provided me with the building blocks to understand the scope and importance of development, how to approach donors, the importance of cultivation and stewardship and most importantly how to strategize multiple projects and work with other staff in order to reach your goals.


Which BU teachers influenced your choices (professionally, personally etc..) and how? Janet Bailey had a great deal of influence on me both professionally and personally. Janet has an innate and natural sense of how to approach situations and solve them effectively. She makes you want to succeed and give 100% to the project at hand. On top of that, she has a great sense of humor and takes the time to laugh and enjoy moments of fun.


If you could give advice to any arts admin students what would it be? Never settle! I feel like I live a charmed life sometimes being a small town southern boy who now gets to work for the largest performing arts center in the country. My family and friends have always supported my decisions to move where I needed to move and take the jobs that I needed to take in order to build the foundation I needed. I think not backing down and settling for less than what I really wanted was what helped me to get to the place I am today.


Why is it important to be a crusader for the arts? When you sit down in a theatre, ballet, opera or take the time to walk around in a museum, life has a way of fading into the background. There are so many problems in our world and in personal life and the arts are one of the most effective outlets for expression and escape. If we don't fight for the arts and make sure they continue long into the future, generations to come will not be able to experience that one show, that one piece, or that one song that no matter the situtation, makes you stop and smile.



Fun Questions:
What are your favorite hobbies? I love to cook, travel, visit the theatre, and play with my fantastic new mini dachshund puppy Beau!


What is your greatest accomplishment to date? As corny as it may sound, I feel like my life as a whole is my greatest accomplishment to date. I have a talented, wonderful, loving husband who makes me smile everyday, a mother who loves and supports my every move, friends across the country that have given me some of my favorites times and memories and a great job that allows me to assist in providing some of the greatest artistic and educational programs in the nation.

Where did you meet your partner? Derek and I met through our ex-roomates who had gone to college together. We first met a year before we got together while I was on my way to NH for a seasonal job and then reconnected a year later at the cast party of Mame at North Shore Music Theatre and started dating.

How long have you been together? We have been together for almost four years. We were married in MA last year in August and just recently celebrated our first year of marriage.


What words would you use to describe yourself? dedicated, friendly, and ready to laugh at all times.

at the 25th annual.....

This weekend Derek and I had a chance to go see the current National tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, one of my favorite shows currently running on B'way. It always fascinates me to see the differences between the B'way production and its subsequent tour. For example, the show was originally done off-Broadway in proscenium, then to Circle in the Square as a thrust and now in tour back to proscenium. It was nice to see it both ways, and it completely works. However the size of the Hippodrome in Baltimore in much larger than Circle in the Square, and for a show like this, I think it loses a lot. Don't get me wrong, the show was still, for the most part, extremely witty/well done/on point, etc., but there is an essence to the show when performed in a tight, small space. You feel much more that you are in the gym participating in the event rather than sitting in a large theatre watching a show.

D and I knew of the guy playing Chip from his work around Boston when we lived there (D also went to Emerson college at the same time as Miguel). He was the only one that I feel could move into the B'way show if needed. The others were all great, but just didn't have the complete package, or maybe I am just extremely biased toward the OBC. My biggest disappointment was in Barfee. The actor on tour couldn't commit to either being a copy of Folger (who was brilliance) or making the character one uniquely his own. As a result he spent the entire show going in and out of Folger's created voice, but trying new line readings when he felt like it. It just didn't work for me. I either needed him to be the character that Folger created, which is just fine...some characters need to just be recreated or put an ENTIRELY new spin on it. What he was doing, just didn't work.

So that's my theatre critique for today....I'm off to, hopefully, see A Chorus Line and Martin Short:Fame Becomes Me and maybe Grey Gardens in NYC this weekend. Maybe I'll write about those next =)

Oh, and if you are in the DC area, go see Nine Parts of Desire at Arena Stage. I had the opportunity to see the final dress last week and Heather Ruffo is outstanding. The show is extremely heavy, but so very well accomplished and the subject matter is simply fascinating to listen to from this woman (women's) point of view. Arena should also get kudos for the great set/lighting and costume work for the show. I could explain all the great things that worked but it's so much better to go and experience it for yourself!

harmony and understanding...

About three weeks ago I started taking a weekly yoga class that was offered through work. I had really forgotten how much I enjoyed doing yoga and how much better it really makes me feel. I bet if I got my lazy ass to the gym then I would feel even better, but this is a good start. For some people it doesn't do anything, but its the one time that I can really just not think about anything and totally relax for an hour. By the time the practice is done and we are in our final breathing state I can feel myself just seconds away from being in a wonderful deep sleep. And for those of you that know how much I love sleep, that's a wonderful thing.

On a completely separate note, I have decided that I don't like peaches. At least not ones that have not yet been peeled. Everytime I try to bite into one I get the shivers because the fuzz freaks my mouth out.

i want more...i want more....

Let me preface this by saying I have absolutely no right at all to complain about my life. I have a wonderful husband who thinks the sun rises and sets in me, I have a fairly new job with better pay and more enjoyable responsibility than I ever have, I'm back living in a city that I adore, and I have a new puppy who, at times, may be difficult but makes me so happy...and yet.....I want more...

I feel like I am in a bit of a rut. D and I have gotten very comfortable in spending our evenings at home or venturing out to do errands or shopping, but we don't ever really step outside of our pattern. We see our theatre here and in NYC, we play with our dog, we buy our groceries, but we don't really go out and make new friends. I'm not really sure why. I take that back, I do know why...Making new friends and stepping outside your box is hard. It's at times uncomfortable and who really wants to be uncomfortable when you can sit on your couch in boxer shorts and eat fruit snacks watching The Golden Girls while your adorable puppy sleeps with his head resting on your leg. (That's me in a nutshell folks, take it or leave it!)

Lately though, I'm scared. I don't want that to be all there is to my life. I don't want to wake up in twenty years and fight with D because our life has just become about each other and no one else. I want us to have full lives, lives that extend beyond just each other.

Like I said, I shouldn't complain..I have it so much better than most. If my life stayed just as it is, I would die happy and fulfilled, but sometimes....I just want more...

working 9 to 5......

so not a musical yet, but it's coming so i figure it counts...

Today we were told the 2006 Kennedy Center Honorees and sent all the press releases off about it. I would like to take a moment to thank the KC Gods for making me the happiest southern homo ever. On December 3, 2006 I will be in the same room as MS. DOLLY PARTON!!! If I could find a way to meet her during the Honors weekend I will be able to check one of those "want to do before I die" things off my list.

The other honorees for 2006 are Steven Spielberg, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Between who will come for Dolly, those for Mr. Spielberg, and the Broadway folks that should come out for Andy this could be quite an exciting star studded event in DC.

Today my friends, is a good day!

i'm flying home....

Labor Day weekend D and I went to visit my favorite Mother/ Daughter/ Dog trio Tonya, Kate, and Emma Latifah in NY. They are quite possibly two of the greatest people in my life, bar none. We took Beau to meet them and I think Beau kind of fell for Tonya and even after that, I still like her! =) On Sunday we met up with Tonya's sister Toni and her husband Jim and visited with them and their kids Marcy and Brady who are awesome too. They own a hot air balloon and so we went with them to a nearby field and got to "tether" with them. The weather was too shaky for us to take a full ride up in the air, but we got to go about 50-75 feet in the air and see a glimpse of what it would be like. It was excellent!! The picture that you see here in D, Kate, Jim and I right before we lifted off the ground.

IMPORTANT!!

Take a look at this wonderful puppy. As a result of some recent health issues and a problem with our breeder, DANYA DUFOUR, we believe he was the product of a puppy mill. Basically a breeder who is only out for the money and breeds more puppies than they can possibly take care of properly. We have spent a lot of money in the past week and a half to get our little one back to health as he was having an allergic reaction, had an infection/cold, and had coccidia when he was given to our care. If you are ever interested or hear of anyone interested in getting a puppy from a breeder in MA, DON'T CONTACT DANYA DUFOUR!! Below is an email that I sent to Ms. Dufour as a result of the problems we are having with Beau. She clamied to be having heart problems, which she very well could have been, but proper care was not given to the puppies and he is my concern. If just one person reads this and it helps keep her from doing what she's doing, it will be worth it!! (Beau is doing wonderful now and will soon be back at 100%!)


Danya,

I am writing you to discuss some serious problems we have been having with the puppy that we purchased from you. According to the contract that you and I signed, dated August 19, 2006 the puppy was, to quote the contract, "guaranteed to be in good health to the best of our knowledge at the time of sale, which has also been confirmed by our veterinarian through your puppy's health records and health certificate". We were never given any records from the vet you were supposed to have taken him to and you told us that you had given the puppy his vaccines yourself. I suspect that you never took him to a vet while in your care, and if so I would like to request his records from that vet in order to add to the current records we are building for him. I realize you were sick during the time that this puppy was in your care, but if you are unable to take care of your puppies properly you should no longer breed these wonderful creatures.

Upon picking up the puppy from you on Saturday the 19th, we began the drive back to Washington, DC. We soon realized that the puppy was not well as he was extremely lethargic and having a bad case of diarrhea. After calling the vet, we were recommended to take him to the nearest 24 hour vet hospital for fear that a puppy of his size with diarrhea could succomb to dehydration which can be fatal. After taking him to the Connecticut Vet Center, the doctor there realized that he had a few health issues. For one he was having an allergic reaction to the vaccinations you gave him. She further said that the wetness coming from his eyes indicated that he probably had some type of infection. She gave him a shot of Benedryl (Diphenhydramine) for the allergic reaction, a shot of Penicillin for the infection, as well as some Nutra-Cal and A/D wet food to make sure that his fluids were kept up to avoid dehydration. Additionally we were instructed to keep a cold compress on his swollen leg to help the site of the allergic reaction.She added that she felt he was extremely overstressed and should never have been given his first vaccinations on the same day that the puppy was sent home. The total for this vet visit was $xxx.xx. She further recommended that we should take him to our home vet the next day for a thorough examination.

The following day, Sunday, August 20, 2006 we took him to the Dupont Veterinary Clinic in Washington, DC. Our vet did a full examination and it was determined that he indeed had a type of infection that we were given antibiotics to control. She was also concerned about his diarrhea and did an in house fecal exam to examine his white blood cells to check for Parvovirus. It was concluded that his white blood count indicated he did not have Parvo, but she asked us to bring him back in next week with a full stool sample in order to test for other parasites he may have. She also gave us a further supply of the special diet food in order to keep his fluids up. The total cost for this visit was $xxx.xx.

When we went for his check-up today with his stool sample it was concluded that he had coccidia in his stool and we were given Albon to get rid of the infection. Please check your parents and the other puppies you have in order to make sure that your entire stock doesn't have them as we learned this is where they typically contract the illness. We were told they take 10-13 days for the coccidia to be noticable so since we just picked the puppy up 8 days ago, the coccidia had to have been present before we picked him up. The total cost for this visit was $xx.xx.

The total for all of our vet bills is $xxx.xx. I have the medical records from all of these vet visits and would be happy to send them to you should you want them for your records. I am requesting the this sum be refunded to us as we were not given a puppy that was in "good health, as confirmed by your veterinarian" as stated in our contract. This puppy was supposed to be taken to your vet and given a clean bill of health before being turned over to our care and this did not happen. This has been a very stressful time for us as we worried about the health of our new puppy and have had to constantly give him medicine and nurse him back to health.

Again, I am sorry if you are in poor health, but if you are unable to care for your puppies you should make sure that your puppies are moved to somewhere where they can recieve the proper love and care they deserve. I entered into our contract with the assurance that I would be given a healthy puppy, but instead I was given a puppy that was extremely sick and in need of immediate health care and medication. Please also make sure that you take your entire stock to the vet to be treated for the coccidia to ensure that this problem does not continue into future litters.

You can either send the payment in the form of a money order to my home address which is located in our contract or you can send it to me via PayPal at xxxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com. I am also including our mailing address in this email in case you have misplaced our contract.

I will do whatever necessary to ensure that this matter is taken care of properly.

Tim Prestridge
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Washington, DC 20002

you're my best Beau......

He's officially our baby boy. Yesterday we brought home Beau, our new Mini Dachshund puppy that I have been posting about for a while. He's had a rough couple of days and had to go to the puppy hospital on our way home, but he is on the mend and we are confident he is well on his way to recovery as his fever is gone, he is eating on his own and taking his medicine without complaint. The worst part right now is getting him used to his crate. Derek is already in love with him and I have to pull him back from spoiling Beau. He hates hearing him cry.... =(

On another happy note, today is Derek and I's first year anniversary!!! One year ago today we were married in Danvers, MA. It has been an amazing first year and I am as happy today as I was one year ago today when I said I would love him forever. Happy Anniversary D, I LOVE YOU!!

bring him home......

Here is one of the updated pics that puppy lady finally sent me. Beau is the one sticking his head out toward the camera. Things seem to be moving better now with the lady, but I've made myself nervous about the situation and will not be totally satisfied until Beau is in my hands and we have him on the way back home.

But isn't he soooo cute?!?!

I'm moving on...

This is the weekend. Tomorrow morning at 845 am D and I will hopefully be on a plane back to MA to pack the Uhaul and bring the rest of our stuff down. No more living in a hotel for me kids! We are hoping to have everything packed up on Saturday so we can get up Sunday AM and begin the long drive back down. Basically we have to get down to DC and get everything out of the truck because I have to be at work on Mon...sigh...i'm going to be absolutley pooped. But, the good part is that I will work out that week and then we will be on our way to our week long vacation in Ptown with Tim, Steven, Marty and Jay (with some others thrown in here and there). I can't wait, we are going to have such a great time hanging out, eating good food and just enjoying not having to do anything.

Update on Beau...I'm not sure how things are really going. It has been over a week since we paid the deposit and finally today I recieved an email from the breeder's daughter telling me that her mom had been in the hospital and that everything was fine. I am still not 100% convinced, but I keep my fingers crossed that Beau comes home with us on Aug. 19 and we will truly have him. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

and i layed my visa down.....

Things are going well in Tim's World. Here is another picture of the wonderful puppies that I get my choice of. After much thought D and I put a down payment on our choice last night. (We don't have to actually choose until we meet them next month). Already though I am gunning for the one you see here who seems to be trying to bite his brother. I think that shows spunk and I like that in my dog. I think this picture is great because of the lady's hand in it, you get a little bit of prospective on their size. They are sitting in an office chair and the photo is taken up close. If you look at the "average" adult size of a mini dachshund they are only 5-8 inches long and generally only weigh about 12 pounds or so!

On another happy note, I am meeting with the guy tomorrow to pick up the keys to our new apartment. I will be so glad to have those in my hand and know that indeed I have somewhere to live. I have the lease and all, but there is nothing like holding that key.

UPDATE: faithful friends....always near me

So the set of puppies that are on the previous post didn't work out. I could have had one, but they were pretty expensive and D didn't want to spend that much. So I started doing some more research on breeders and decided to see if some that I had seen from a breeder in MA were born yet. They are the cute ones you see here. They were born early July. I sent the lady a puppy application and was approved for one of these!! This particular breeder is very good it seems. She sends them home with all their vet certificates, a guarantee on their disposition, a puppy starter kit complete with food, heart guard, toys, and treats and will provide lifetime assistance should we need anything during the puppies life. All for about half of what we would have paid for the other puppies. AND, these dachshunds are fairly unique in their white/black coloring. She called them Piebalds (a term I'd never heard before). Let's hope this set continues to work out!!

faithful friends...always near me

Take a look folks! One of these adorable puppies may very soon be mine! I have been emailing with a lady about an hour west of DC about the puppies you see here. They are all males and with a down payment I can have my pick of the litter. I am going to talk to D tonight and see about going out to visit them this weekend so that we can choose one and put down the payment on him. I also want to go out so I can see where they were born and what kind of puppy breeder this lady is just to make sure I am getting a quality puppy. How cute are they though??

it's like a constitution, the insitution of dear old baseball

Saturday I went to the first professional baseball game I have been to in over 10 years! D's Dad and sister came down and we went to see the Baltimore Orioles play the Texas Rangers. The Orioles won 8 to 1, glad to see one of my local teams can kick some ass.

I have to say however that I am not overly impressed by Baltimore as a city. The inner harbor section of town is really cool with a lot of different restaurants and places to shop, but it is so full of people that it's hard to get around and I hate playing dodge ball with people all day. We ate at J. Pauls and I had some of the better BBQ I've had since I moved up North.

Today D and I went to Fairfax and went to, quite possibly, the largest Wegman's we've ever been to. I got to weigh my vegetables again!! It's the small things, folks!

And for those of you that haven't heard yet, D and I did get our new apartment on 4th St. that you see the pictures of below. One step closer to my puppy! ;-)

goodness flows from you like a fountain....

So there is a fountain hidden in DC that most tourists I don't think ever really know about. Unless you go to see the Sculpture Garden in the National Gallery you never know its there, but I think it's one of my favorite places on a hot summer day. I wanted to write about this last week when D and I went, but it took me a while to finally upload my pictures. On a hot day if you are walking around looking at museums, etc you can stop by this fountain, take a load off and soak your feet in the bacteria free chlorinated water and just relax....I highly advise it when you just need to sit, relax and maybe read a book for a little while.

PS. I think we got the apartment....Keep your fingers crossed for a few more days....

the house of marcus lycus.....

And the search is on for our new abode. This photo is of the "living room" area of an apartment that we are hoping to get in DC. We have been looking at places since we got here and we think we may be the lead on this place. It's a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath that is split level. It is in the Capital Hill section of DC about 4 - 5 blocks from Union Station. Perfect for my commute.

This second photo is the one that sealed the deal for D. He has always wanted a spiral staircase in the place he lived. The lower floor has the two bedrooms (carpeted)and the upstairs has the living room and kitchen. We fell in love with the place just minutes after being there. The downstairs is carpeted and the upstairs is hardwood and tile(kitchen). It has a washer/dryer in the apartment, central A/C, and a dishwasher.

And here is what sold ME on the apartment. After we had looked at the apartment we decided right away to call the manager back and show interest in the place. This was when I had to ask the scary question... "Do you take pets?" Without reservations he said, "Pets are fine." If it works out....I CAN HAVE A DOG!!! Finally I can get Beau....

We are not going to get our hopes up too much. He is faxing over the paperwork tomorrow and we have to go through the credit check, etc...but it sounds like we may be at the top of the pile, so keep your fingers crossed us!!!

I start my job at The Kennedy Center tomorrow. Wish me luck.

i'm flying home....

I must admit that my expectations for Superman Returns was pretty low going into seeing the movie. I didn't see what the fuss over Mr. Routh was all about, and I was afraid it would just be a bad adaptation. Derek and I took one of his favorite old students (Ben W.) to see it last night. I have to say I had a really great time. The movie was extremely well done and I think it was one of the better superhero movies made in a while....and now I understand the fuss. Superman is quite hot/charming in this movie. Not to mention that Parker Posey is in the movie and that alone (most of the time) makes the movie worth going to see. She did not disappoint, her comic timing was right on point.

What made it even better was that we went to the IMAX theatre near our house and got to see about 4 of the scenes in 3D. Imagine Superman basically flying into your lap...not a bad way to spend an evening if you ask me.

the internet is for.....

Customer Service is not an easy job. I am well aware of this. I worked as a Customer Service rep for a check printing company for a total of about 4-5 months and promptly quit because of the rude people and lousy situations you get put into. HOWEVER, I think computer customer service people are, on the whole, the most unhelpful, unqualified people EVER. Allow me to set the scene.....

About two months ago my wireless internet connection started to go out. Since that time I have been back and forth with people from Dell and people from Verizon to fix the problem. Dell would tell me the router was fine and it was my connection and Verizon would tell me the router was the problem and my connection was fine. Back and forth I would speak to people from India to god knows where pushing every button on my computer to fix the problem. On more than one occasion after trying the same 5 steps over and over again (isn't doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result one of the definitions of IGNORANCE) I would get frustrated and just hang up on whoever I had that day and give up.

And finally last night....SALVATION....in the form of a lovely Dell representative named Kathryn. If I knew they would make it overseas I would bake something lovely and send a care package to her. Anyway, at first it seemed she would be unable to help because the router is over a year old and out of warrenty. However, she asked if we had purchased any other laptops or anything that were still in warrenty so I gave her the code from D's new laptop. (Wasn't that nice of her???) Once she was able to get in there, she took me through some initial steps and said that indeed the router was communicating and asked if I would mind her transferring me to Verizon so they could verify it was fine on there end. She said after I spoke with them, she would call me back in a hour or so to see if that had resolved the problem. I was like, wow, great, sure...pass me over. So she did and this other guy from Verizon (who was equally helpful) established a sharing session with my computer and started to work. Right as he was able to have it communicating hardwired (but not wireless yet), we got disconnected and everything fell apart. I called back to Dell got different lady who was useless and told her I wanted to talk to Kathryn again. As she put me on hold I got disconnected. I WAS SO CLOSE TO BEING RESOLVED, WHY IS IT GOING DOWN THE TOILET??? DO THE COMPUTER GODS HATE ME?? Frustrated I gave up and went to go watch Kathy G. on Tivo. All of the sudden my phone rings and my favorite Dell person Kathryn was on the phone asking if Verizon had fixed the problem. I explained the situation and she went to work. Within 10 minutes she had finished troubleshooting and everything was fixed. I am wireless again!!!!

Kudos to Kathryn for a job well done. I got her supervisors number and shall rain praise on her. Isn't it sad when we get so excited because someone does their job correctly for once????

last sunday in june....

I am well aware that the title is not the lyric from a musical, however it is the title of a play and that's good enough for me this morning.

Derek and I spent this weekend up in Maine with some friends of ours. Mark and Robert (gay neighbors) have a house up in York, ME and so we packed an overnight bag and drove up there on Saturday to get away and have a nice evening with friends. Tim (our doctor and marriage officiant) and Glen met us up there and the six of us spent the evening having cocktails, eating a great meal, and just chatting and enjoying the peacefulness of York. After almost 1 1/2 gallons of Vodka had been consumed we all decided to call it a night. We woke up the next morning and Robert fixed a great breakfast of bacon, eggs, and french toast which was a perfect end to the York weekend. What made it all the more better was that Marty (Tim and Glen's Golden Lab) came up for the weekend too! I got to play with a puppy all weekend long. It makes me want my puppy now!!! Finding an apartment in DC cannot come fast enough!

After we showered and got ready for the day, D and I decided to drive the 7 more miles up to Ogunquit for one last time before we move. We had lunch at Bessie's and then took a walk along the beach. (It was really overcast and a bit chilly, but it was still nice to get out in the sand and walk.) Before we left we picked up some salt water taffy that I will send to Mom and some goodies at the bakery in town for us.

The countdown begins before we head to DC....12 days to go....

say goodbye to the freaks....

The wheels are set in motion folks. After July 8th, I will no longer be living in MA. D and I sent out an evite today to tell people to stop by on July 4th from Noon to whenever to have a beer and say goodbye to all of our MA friends. So if you reading this and can make it, please do so! This is such a bittersweet time for us. We have made so many good friends here that we hate to say goodbye to, but are extremely excited about the new opportunities that await us in DC.

We are going down to DC June 30 - July 2 to visit and start looking around. We had already had this weekend down scheduled as a mini vacation for us, but now it will be a bit more serious as we pick up some of the local papers and begin scouting for a good apartment. If anybody knows of anything affordable, let us know!

tonight i gotta cut loose.....

I'll write more and give more details later, but I GOT THE JOB!!!! Starting July 10 I will be the new Assistant Manager for the Corporate Fund at The Kennedy Center!! Thanks all for listening to me stress and whine for the last few weeks!

.....

My anxiety is through the roof now. The Kennedy Center said they would be in touch "early" this week to let me know about the job. Now, the logical part of my brain knows that this is a very vague term that could mean through the rest of today and even part of tomorrow really, but my stomach and the other part of my brain is going nuts. I'm starting to debate whether this is actually going to work out the way I once thought. Maybe they have encountered a problem, or someone else sent in a resume that is a better fit than me.

I will be disappointed if this is true, especially after the recent conversations I have had with them, but at this point I just want to know. It's hard to focus on things when all I want is for the phone to ring. My stomach has been in knots for weeks now over this job situation and I just need some sort of resolution. If the answer is no, then let me cry and I'll get over it and move on to the next opportunity, but if it is meant to be, then call me and let me rejoice and actually enjoy eating a meal again!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

he wanted to say....

It never ceases to amaze me what a difference a few hours or a few days can make on someones life. This has been a whirlwind of a weekend and it doesn't really show any signs of slowing up anytime soon.

Friday afternoon marked a change in my family life. For years and years now, my father and sister have not known a lot about my personal life. They were not aware that I was gay and of course not aware that I am now married to Derek. There was so much I wanted to say to him to help him understand, but I knew it would be fruitless. It's just not something he or my sister will ever understand. I had not told them for a multitude of reasons. Mostly I guess because I knew it would hurt them and they would be disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed of who I am. I've spent 15 years of my life coming to grips with it and realizing that who I am is who I am. I can't change, nor do I want to. I'm proud of the man that I have become. I'm just sad that the rest of my family will never truly understand or accept me for who I am. I have no doubt they will always love me. If there is one thing my family is great at, it's letting each other know we love them, even if we don't agree. I guess that's so much better than many people have it, so for that I'm grateful.

Now while I am grateful that everything is finally out in the open, I am disturbed about how it all came about. I will be the first to admit that I should have told my father and sister a long time ago, but fear makes you hide things like that. However, I will never understand how a third party outside of my family feels it is okay to talk about my life to my family without speaking to me first. This all came to light because someone I knew from a long long time ago (when I used to go to church camp as a child) stumbled upon some stuff online about me. This person sends me a friendly email saying hello and a quick word or two as if nothing was wrong. And then a couple of weeks later, my Dad knows everything and even tells me it was through this certain site that things were found out. Did my father need to know? Absolutely. Should this guy have been the one to tell him? Absolutely NOT. At the very least, if he was so concerned he should have emailed or called me to talk about it. But even then, I don't really see how it is any of his business.

He proves one of my points about SOME, not all, of the people involved in the church. They will preach and be the most upstanding Christian and then will turn right around and do things behind your back in the name of "concern for my soul" and "God". That's disgusting to me. Don't use a God who loves as a way to cause problems in someone else's family and do things behind someone's back without speaking to them first. If my Bible memory serves, Jesus and his followers confronted people one on one. If they were concerned they talked to the person they were concerned about, not someone else. I believe if Jesus were alive today, and he was upset with something I was doing, he would come to me and only me....not my father.

I haven't really talked about that part of things yet, and just needed to get that off my chest.

And if that stress isn't enough, my car started having problems this morning. I think something is messed up with the brakes or something, but it wouldn't drive, felt like everything was locked up. I had to have it towed to a repair shop and now I am just waiting for someone from the shop to call and let me know what's wrong and how much it's going to cost to repair.

The Kennedy Center needs to call me with good news soon. I don't know how much more bad news I can take this week.

i just can't wait.....

Just a quick FYI....

My interview in DC with The Kennedy Center went really really well yesterday. I met with seven different people and was there for over 2 1/2 hours. I feel pretty confident that I did all I could possibly have done to secure the job. There were a lot of unique connections with the people there, so I think that may work in my favor, but who knows. I'm trying not to get over excited before I know anything. Now, we just wait....

to believe my own eyes...

In all the excitement and stress of the job situation, I completely forgot to write about the highlights (well one highlight) of my weekend. For any of you that know me at all, you know that all I have wanted for the past few years is a funny asian lesbian friend. (AKA Sandra Oh in Under The Tuscan Sun.) This weekend I had a chance to actually see Ms. Oh in person. I went to see her in a production called Satellites at The Public Theatre in NYC. The play was mediocre, but she was great. I got a brief glimpse of her later as she was leaving the theatre, but didn't want to intrude as she was with some friends. It was great though to actually see her on stage.

Now the next day was not so exciting for me, but of course D loved it. D is an aquantince of Deborah Gibson's because she worked at NSMT and they became friends. (Derek has liked her since he was like 11, so...) She was doing a show in Stamford, CT along with a great performer we know (Montego Glover). It was a bad show, but Derek made contact with her before the show and we went backstage to say hello to everyone after it was over. Much to Tonya's chagrin, I actually had to hug her before we left. While I don't think she is all that crazy talented, I will say that she was very nice to us.

Not a bad weekend all in all....

one....singular sensation....

So I have one interview down and one interview to go. I met with Blake West, Director of Development, at the MCC Theater this past Fri. MCC Theater is the place that is currently doing Some Girl(s) with Eric McCormack (Will and Grace) and Fran Drescher (The Nanny). The interview went really well I think. We spent an hour and a half in his office talking about my background/experience and then talking about the theatre as a whole and what he envisioned the position doing on a daily and long term basis. I admit I was not as enthusiastic about this job when I was going down on Fri., but after meeting with him I am confident that I would be happy there if the position in DC doesn't work out.

I just want this search to be over. Finding a new job and deciding which city to move to is way too stressful. My stomach has been in knots since last week. I just want to get there on Wed., do a great interview, get the job that week and beging making plans for the move. Let's work that out folks!

give me a bottle of bourbon and half a chicken and I'll conquer the world...

An update...

The interview with the Kennedy Center went really well. They offered to fly me down to DC to meet with them, so I am going down next Wed, June 7th. That sounds promising right?!?! They wouldn't pay over $400 to fly someone in for an interview if they weren't interested in them. At least that's what I'm going with. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I have higher hopes than I probably should that this is going to work out, but based on my conversation with them yesterday I think if I work at it, I have a shot at getting that job.

On a side note, as I was talking to them the guy from the MCC Theater in NYC left me a message and wanted to talk to me about the position they have there. So I called him back and we talked for about a half hour about the job, etc. He wants me to come down either this Fri or Mon to talk about it because he wants/needs to make a decision ASAP. I called him today and asked how rushed that timeframe was so I could make a decision before I go any further. He said he could give me a little time, so I am trying to find a way to get down there this weekend to meet with him. The job at the Kennedy Center is a better position, with better pay and more experience for me. I don't want to have to make a decision before I have the chance to really talk to them.

It's either feast or famine with my job hunt. Personally, I like the feast....

something just broke....

Okay, so I realize the title doesn't really have much to do with this post, but it's from Assassins which is partly about Oswald, who shot Kennedy, and I am talking about the Kennedy Center....so work with me...its the best I can do on a Tues after a long relaxing weekend.

ANYWAY, I got a call today from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC about a resume that I sent to them. I have a phone interview tomorrow at 4pm for the Corporate and Foundation Relations Assistant Manager job. I sent in my paperwork last Thurs. and got the call at home today. DC is the other city (along with NYC) that D and I are considering moving to. A job at an institution like the Kennedy Center would pretty much seal the deal I think. It's hard to turn down a decent paying job with major growth potential in a city we both love. He is already working with the KC during the month of July, as a musical director for Mulan Jr. (an education program), so ideally I could start around the same time so that we would be put up in the hotel room already provided by the KC for D, and we could look for an apartment for that month and work at the same time. Now if I can just get them to see it that way! =)

On a side note - I made Watermelon Martini's yesterday with fresh watermelon.....I highly recommend them on a hot day when you are grilling...

close your eyes and relax, think of nothing.....

For the first time in months, the sun is shining bright here in MA and we are quickly approaching 80 degrees. My work energy and ethic have flown right out the window. I took Meredith out to lunch (it was the last day of her internship with us) and now all I want to do is go to a beach, read a book, and take a nap. Work on a georgeous day is highly overrated, do they really expect me to get anything done?!?!

On that note, it looks like a group of us will be getting a house in Ptown for a week in August. Tim and Stephen, Marty, Marty's friend, and D and I are going to rent a house for the week of Aug. 14 and just relax and get away from all work/life obligations. It will be the first real vacation I've had since my honeymoon. Also, we will get home the day before or the day of our anniversary so we can celebrate with everyone that weekend and then have our day to ourselves.

By the way, thanks for the book suggestions, I have a few Augusten Burroughs books, The Alchemist, and a book called The Line of Beauty all that were given or suggested to me by people so I have plenty to keep my busy for the next few months!

I wish I could go back to college...

Never will you hear me utter those words! I am finished, DONE! Yesterday I put on that lovely outfit you see and happily got my Masters degree. Despite the horrible weather, my Mom, friend Tricia, husband Derek, and even my inlaws Roger and Alida came to see me walk. If you want to see more pictures you can check out my Flickr photo album here!

let's walk.....

So I must give a plug to one for one of my dear friends. Meredith is a friend from graduate school who is also working temporarily with me at Stoneham. On top of all that she works for the Breast Cancer 3-Day as a Coach. She inspires and leads many of the men and women who will be walking in Boston to raise money to find a cure for Breast Cancer. And wait, we aren't done...She will actually be walking the 60 mile, 3 Day walk in San Diego this fall to raise money on her own. She is one of those rare people who puts their heart and soul into what they believe in and is willing to make a commitment to fighting such an ugly disease that affects so many families. I am proud to donate money to her walk and I hope you will consider it too. Please take a moment to click onto her donation page and give what you can.

BTW, does anyone notice my cleaver titles that for the most part, match song titles/lyrics from musicals? I think I'm just entertaining myself! =)

school's out for summer......

Today is it folks! My last day of classes for my Master's degree!! After I leave BU tonight all that will be left is to put on that awful robe/hood combination, shake the Dean's hand, and happily walk away with my degree in hand!! Free time is mine again! Any suggestions on books I should read now that I can read for pleasure again??

Mr. President....

This is a outstanding collaboration by Pink and The Indigo Girls called Mr. President, that is in response to President Bush. I already think Pink and The Indigo Girls are excellent, but hearing this collaboration that says everything I feel about that disgraceful man endears them to me even more! I don't know how new/old this song is, but excellent work ladies!

"I hope I get it, I really hope I get it"...

I have an interview today for a potentially life changing job. It is a long shot because of the number of years that I have "officially" been working in Development, but I hope to show that through my past experiences and my recent graduate school work that I am the right person to grow into the job. The position is a Major Gifts Officer at WGBH in Boston. For my Capital Campaigns class I was required to interview an organization that is undergoing or just finished a campaign. After failing to reach my first organization I selected WGBH in Boston and interviewed the Campaign Director and the Director of Major Gifts, Ellen Frank. After it was over Ms. Frank asked me about my background and then asked if I would be interested in submitting my resume for the position. After a couple weeks of talking it over with people, I was nervous because I didn't think I had the background, I sent in my paperwork. Last week they called!

I have an interview at 2pm today with Ms. Frank. This job would essentially double my current salary, which I recently discovered is extremely low for the type of work I do =( and allow D and I to be much more comfortable. He could continue to freelance and I would be able to finally get a new car. It would also be wonderful as my school loans are going to begin repayment in December and that's going to HURT! Beyond that, having a Major Gifts Officer position with WGBH on my resume would be door opening. Fundraising professionals are rare, especially those with experience in raising major gifts/capital campaigns. It would make any move that D and I decided to make in the future much easier as I would have a much much easier time of finding another good job. Please have great thoughts for me today, it's a long shot, but why not me right??

are we there yet????

If I wasn't so close to graduation, this would be me.

red wine makes me think....

So after the show came down tonight I went next door to KroMel's with one of our Board members Pat, my boss David, and the House Manager Barbara for a glass of wine. And that's where it all started. It was so nice to have a glass (I've stopped since I've been sick lately) that combined with my mellow mood after today's massage, I thought I would come home, have another glass and finish reading The Tipping Point for class. Don't try to follow the logic.

I finished the book tonight and now under the influence of two glasses of red wine it's making me think a lot about the people that I have in my life. Most of my friends that I've made over the past 10 years are spread out all across the country. From AL, to WA, to DC, to FL, to NY there is someone there that I miss having around. Moving around has allowed me to experience a lot, but it has forced me to leave behind so many people that have had a major impact on my life. My life has become so busy because of grad school and my current job that I don't have near enough time to talk with people and let them know how much I miss them. I may not say it often, but I think of you often...and miss you more than you know.

seasons of love....

Tonight was full of a couple of interesting events. Derek was asked for play the piano for Anthony Rapp, of RENT fame, at the Wang Theatre tonight as part of his book tour for Without You. Derek had met him previously through other things so it was great for him to see Anthony again. I only had a brief opportunity to meet him, because of work, but Derek introduced us and he was very sweet and congratulated us on our marriage, etc. It was cool to hear him read from his book and sing his part of Seasons of Love live.

After I left there, I had to go to the Bay Room at the Hotel Commonwealth for the launch party of the Boston Magazine Concierge edition. I went, had my complimentary glass of wine, and promptly left. It was a nice bar and a nice event, but I was there for work and there really wasn't anyone that I needed to connect with or introduce myself as most of the people were from random businesses in Boston that have no connection to the arts or to our marketing plans. Hey, I got a nice glass of wine and some few fun eats so I guess it's not all bad right?

when you just want to unwind....

A friend of mine introduced me to the music of Michael Buble. I think there are probably plenty of people who knew about him, but I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. After listening to a few of his songs repeatedly I decided to finally go and buy both of his CDs. I must say that I really enjoy listening to him. He is the perfect music for when you just want to relax in a hot bath or simply lie around and rest. I highly suggest listening to Home or Song For You. They are my favorites at the moment!

a person can develop a cold....

In an effort to fend off a cold I have been drinking Green Tea with Echinacea and sucking on Cold-EEZE drops all day. I don't think it is working. The longer I am at work, the worse I am beginning to feel. I have gone through so many kleenex/napkins that I think my nose....well you don't need to know the details.

It's very rare that I get sick. I get the sore throat/cold sniffles maybe once a year and then I am good to go. I think that is why I am so much more whiny and pitiful when I actually do get sick. I'm just not used to it. All I want to do is lie on the couch with something warm to eat/drink and have D sit and cuddle with me. Now I realize this lends him to getting sick too, but frankly if he hasn't gotten it yet, chances are he is safe.

I have plenty of sick time built up at work and could very easily take a day, but there is so much work to be done with the show opening next week that I can't make myself take the day. If I did I would be checking my email constantly and worrying whether or not the program was going to meet its deadline, etc. I know! I know! If I don't take the day, I shouldn't complain.....

what do you really think of me.....

Do me a favor, go to the following website (http://kevan.org/johari?name=Timothy+D) and click on the five or six words that you think best describe me. PLEASE BE HONEST. I think the best way to see into one's self is to see how other people view you. Thanks in advance!

the rules of the game....

Now let me preface this post by saying that I in no way think that heterosexual sex is disgusting and gross. It's not my cup of tea, but Tonya, D and I were laughing and joking during the weekend and the following developed as a result of our joking around. If you are easily offended or faint of heart, might be best to skip this one.

D and I have both had experiences with girls before coming out of the closet. Mine was limited to a finger, whereas my husband was in for much more. Tonya likes to tease us about that time in our lives. Recently we were talking about that part of the female body and I refered to it using my favorite word, "cooter". Things progressed and we began to reference my finger as "the cooterfinger". The term has now come to mean the condition one has if they have had relations with a woman. We decided that there should, however, be an expiration date on how long you can teased for having cooterfinger. Below are the rules:

I will use myself as an example. My one and only incident that resulted in cooterfinger happened when I was 18 years old. My cooterfinger will not go away until I am 36 years old. In other words you have to wait double the age of the last event.

Let's say you are gay, but feel that one day a girl might turn you on and you decide to try it again. (We are no longer using me as an example here kids!). So if, at age 35, you get the cooterfinger again after a 15 year hiatus, you then must wait for expiration until age 70. It's a sad day for a few of my friends!

We haven't really delved into what this means for girls. I mean I imagine most masturbate so that pretty much gives them permanent cooterfinger right?

Happy Birthday.....

I am leaving this weekend for Pittsford, NY to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite little people. (No!, not that kind of little person.) Kate is our best friend Tonya's daughter who will be celebrating her 6th Birthday. She was the flower girl in our wedding this past summer and has has grown into such an intelligent little grown up. Her memory is so good that she gets Uncle D, Uncle Tim and Mommy in trouble way too often for remembering things we have said. Next month they are going to take a trip out here to see us so that we can visit NYC to take Kate to the American Girl Store and to a Broadway show. (She and Uncle D are going to see Beauty and the Beast while Mommy and Uncle Tim sneak over to see Mr. Connick, Jr. in his PJs.) She is already in love with certain musicals and will never forget the day when Stephanie J. Block called her "sweet sugar" at the stage door of the Wicked tour in Toronto. I count myself very lucky to be her "Uncle Tim".

Also this weekend we will be seeing a production of Miss Saigon in which her cousin Brady will be playing Tam. Brady and his sister Marcy were adopted from overseas by two great parents who are giving them a life they never would have had before. I get to see these kids at least a few times a year and it is always some of my favorite weekends. They have such an amazing spirit and innocence that reminds me of how great life can really be sometimes.

Mr. Prestridge Goes to Washington

Growing up, I was never involved in politics. It wasn't until I came out of the closet and became heavily involved in the arts that I started paying attention to how government worked. Now, I'm all fired up. I just spent the last few days in Washington at a Arts Advocacy conference. I had the privilege of meeting with the Arts Legislative Assistants from Rep. Tierney, Rep. Markey, and Rep. McGovern's offices. It was amazing to be able to sit down with them face to face and talk about the impact that the arts have had on our state, their district, and specific organizations like Stoneham. It really made me want to become more involved in the political side of the arts and policy legislation/appropriations.

On a more exciting note, I got to meet Alec Baldwin on Monday. I went to an ArtsPAC Fundraiser for Americans for the Arts and he was there. I introduced myself and we ended up having a good five minute conversation about the theatre, etc. It was a very cool experience. I felt like such an adult this weekend, not a bad feeling.

Tagging is such a dirty word......

My friend Joe did it to me, so I pass the torch onto those I've tagged. So the rules are, once you've been tagged you have to write a blog with 6 weird things/habits about yourself. In the end you need to list 6 other people to tag and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment saying "You've been tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog...

1. I have an unhealthy obsession for fruit snacks. - You know those packs of colored gummy type things that can be Scooby-Doo, Dora the Explorer, or Disney Princesses. Yep, I eat em all. I get very sad when I look in my cubboard and there are none to be had.

2. I want a funny, Asian lesbian friend. - This stems from my love of the movie Under The Tuscan Sun. I guess in all truth I would like Sandra Oh to be my friend, but a funny, asian lesbian will do. She must resemble Sandra's character in the movie though. If anyone knows of where said lesbian can be found, send her my way.

3. I still sleep with a stuffed animal. Now, when D is home, the animal stays beside the bed on the chest of drawers. However, if alone, my Pound Puppy, "Puppy Dawg" (pronounced DAWG in your best southern drawl) crawls into the bed with me to keep me company and keep the bad things making noise in my kitchen at bay. Yes, I'm 27 and being alone in the dark still freaks me out a little.

4. Airports make me cry. So I suppose this is more of what goes on there. I am usually at the airport to go home to see my Mom and when I have to leave AL and my Mom, I always cry. It's always the same scenerio, we say our goodbyes and pretend like we are not about to lose it and then I turn and run to security so that we both can cry. It's not pretty. Also, D proposed to me at an airport and I cried then too. See it's a pattern.

5. When I was little I thought I was a Care Bear. I lived in the deep country of AL surrounded by a horse pasture and a very large yard and then the woods. One Christmas I was given Champ Bear of the Care Bears. After that I had a slight obsession and would proceed to step onto our front lawn, raise my shirt and try my damndest to do the Care Bear Stare. Many evildoers were eliminated in Borden Springs, AL due to my supernatural gifts.

6.I laugh at so many inappropriate things. This one is quite similar to my friends Joe's but very appropriate to me too. My friends and I, especially Tonya, Marty, and Lindsay revel in all this inappropriate. I could list the many horrible things that we find amusing, but surely writing them down would cause me to burn in everlasting torment. For example, at Thanksgiving we went to Tonya's sisters house. I was surprised to learn that I would be going to mass that morning. I was not raised Catholic and have no idea of the practices and to top it off I haven't stepped in a church in over 8 years. The whole experience struck a chord and we chuckled all through the service. I couldn't help it.

I've tagged Alex B., Dan M., Kevin M., Jimmy P., Daniel M., and Mandy C.

at last.....

Here I am, Sunday, the final day of my two weeks of hell. I am sitting in the box office awaiting a meeting with the gentlemen who set today's Italian American event at the theatre in motion so that we can be able to go through the VIP tickets and make sure that everyone is sat where they should be and no one will get offended. A feat I really don't believe is possible. However, once the everyone picks up their tickets and the reception starts the bulk of my load will be finished. At that point the Event Committee will have taken over and will be serving shrimp and chesse and getting everyone all wined up for the show. And once the show comes down, we clean up, I go home and sleep better than I have slept in weeks. No more huge projects looming over my head...well at least for a couple weeks. To make this even better, next week is Spring Break for Boston University so I will have Monday and Thursday night free next week which is truly a novelty.

Next weekend I fly off to Washington for the National Arts Advocacy Conference. I will get to hang out with Kevin M. for a day or so and live up my old stomping grounds complete with a night of Showtunes at JRs. It will be great to see all my old friends and have a few drinks with them. I really miss most of my friends. Moving up to the Boston area was the best thing for my career and of course for my wonderful husband, but since graduating from undergrad I have been constantly moving and leaving behind some really wonderful people in my life. Some I have had the opportunity to reconnect with and some I fear I will never see or hear from again. Jim D. if you by some chance stumble upon this, give me a call okay!?!

it's out of my hands...

On Wednesday I electronically submitted my grant and then drove the support materials down to the MCC headquarters. It has been a very long time since I have felt a sense of accomplishment that large. I wanted to do a little dance right there in the middle of the MCC lobby, but I restrained! That's the first stage of my week of hell over. Next up I have a big special event on Sunday night for the Italian American community. Once those two events are over my life will be so much more relaxed. Spring Break is next week and I have a lot of catching up to do as far as school is confirmed. I have been so focused on the grant and this event that I haven't had time to really focus on the client project for consulting. Send me love!