Pride Pride Pride...

We went. We thought we saw all of the parade. We ate. We realized the parade wasn't over. We wandered. We left.

A friend of a friend got in a fistfight with a not-so-nice lesbian that was standing near us. Granted, he was drunk and obnoxious and antagonistic. He deserved to be headlocked and body punched repeatedly. He probably deserved to be led away by the police, which he was. And he probably deserved to be told off at dinner for being a perfect ass. Being. Not having. Read carefully, folks.

We tried to get there an hour early, but...we were thwarted, somehow. We got stuck in a time warp that had us crammed into a an el train with no room to jump to the left OR step to the right. And forget putting your hands on your hips. And then...crowds. Crowds. Crowds.

I still don't know what happened with the two hour cushion we built in to our travel. It's been three years since we've been subjected to the huge, crazy crowds. Usually we get a spot near the barricades an hour early and get to ignore the crowds. This year? we got stuck between a large black woman with her children and the tallest Asian man that God ever made. Not to mention the glitter-throwing kids behind us...there's still glitter in the carpet at home.

But honestly, Robb and I had a good time hanging out, meeting people, talking. Dan's a wonderful conversationalist and a great friend. I only wish he wasn't three hours (four with creative detouring) away. And now I have some new book and music recommendations to look into. What more could you ask for from a weekend? Sun, parade, laughs, music, books...what more is there?

Oh...this: It's not Katy Perry's "Firework" anymore.

"Baby you're a dinosaur,
Come on let me hear you roar..."

What a fun weekend!

Out

Chicago Pride 2010...

Sunday, as you may know, was Pride.  At least...in my neck of the woods it was.  Robb and I got up at the crack of 7 AM to get ready to leave, since we drove to Midway and took the Orange Line in.  It's proven to be the most reliable, and we swore off the Blue Line after being stuck two years in a row for almost an hour, which made us late to the parade.  But I digress.

You probably came to see photos.  I've got photos. 

(This is the part where I upload and hope they finish and give me enough time to do it before 9:30 when I have to start getting ready for work...*crosses fingers*)

Okay...I've got only a few minutes to do this, so...PRIDE MARATHON!




We got there, and it was POURING!  So, Robb bought an umbrella.  Immediately thereafter, it stopped.  So, yes, we are single-handedly responsible for stopping the rain, in case you were wondering.

We waited for an hour and a half for the parade to start.  Yeah...we got there early and there was already a big crowd.  Shortly thereafter, Dan (danlang) and Tyler showed up.  And shortly THEREafter, Jeremy (upandoutward) and Nick showed up.



The parade started, and the grand marshal was Chely Wright!  How's that for cultural relevance!



That was kind of fun.



The boys of ROTC.  Always a favorite.



We actually ended up dancing next to this angel guy later in the night at Roscoe's.  I had no idea I'd seen him before until I looked at my pictures.



Is that Marc Giangreco?  I think it might be...



Chipotle was back this year!  We got a BOGO coupon from them and a tiny little stuffed burrito.  How cute!



This was the saddest thing I saw all day, and that includes the fifty year old drag queens.  Her sign said "Two sons in love.  Only one can marry." 



The Windy City Cowboys?  Yes please!!!

We watched this apartment nearby with a keen interest.  They were having breakfast and getting ready to go out, getting dressed, wearing towels, etc.



You can see why.



Yum.



Floats and floats...



The Miller Lite float always has some nice men.



There's my favorite bar's float.  Why's it my favorite?  It's the only bar in town I go to.  If you know me, that's a big statement.  I don't do bars, mostly.



I loved this guy's tattoo.  It's the Hyrulian Crest from Zelda. 



The Red Queen was there.  Down with the bloody big head!



Dan and I decided that the Corona guy was gorgeous.



And these boys?  They were...just...yum.  They were across from us in Minibar the whole time.  So...we watched them a lot.  I think I might have even gotten a video of that.  They switched out boys every half hour or so...it was like a buffet!

The parade was three hours long, and I have 450 pictures.  So...you know...I left out a few things.  Jeremy and Nick split about 45 minutes from the end, and Tyler got us a table at Nookies right behind us just before the parade ended.  What a sweetie!



They're adorable.

We ate a meal that wasn't Nookie's best, which was kind of disappointing, but understandable, since they were SWWWWAAAAMMMMPPPEEEDDDD!!!  So...meh.  We wandered around and shopped.  We showed Dan and Tyler some of our favorite shops and just some stuff around...it was laid back and fun.  Then they split and Jeremy came back to town.  We wandered around a little and ended up at The Center on Halsted.  There's a beautiful view of the skyline.



Gorgeous!

And then?  After a hassle involving a bag and a Papa Bear and Roscoe's staff, we were inside, people watching and having a good time! 



It was...pretty much friggin' amazing, as you can tell from Jeremy's face. 

All in all?  Good pride.  It was a different feeling form other years...a little less rowdy and a little more fun, honestly.  I think the rain scared some of the crazies away.  Either way, it was a blast, and I'm happy to have been able to finally meet Jeremy and Dan and their respective boyfriends.  How fun!

Out

Holiday in the City...

Monday, Robb and I both had the day off (hooray for bank and government work), so instead of sitting around the house bickering, we decided to go out and bicker.  Actually, we had a lovely time in Chicago.

We took the train in, which is one of my favorite things to do.



The train windows make for awesome color washes.  It was a long-ish ride, but we got there.



We normally just hop on the el once we get into the city and head on up to Boystown for some thrift shopping and sightseeing.  This time, though, we decided Michigan Avenue sounded nice.  I convinced him to take me to Millenium Park first, though, since I'd never been there in the winter.

We visited the bean; yes, it's overdone, but it's a must.



He started it.



And, of course, I followed suit.  I could take pictures with this bean for hours, but my camera likes to tell me its battery is dead in cold weather, so I stopped.

We watched people biff on the ice skating rink:



It looks like it was nasty out in this photo.  Winter will do that.  It was actually just a little foggy but mostly blue skies and sunshine over the lake.  There were two hot Navy boys in uniform skating around the rink, too.  We had to stop and watch them for a while.

The boy bought me hot chocolate (which was amazingly good for concession stand quality), and we headed down Michigan Avenue, stopping at the river to take some photos.



The ice looked so cool all broken up in the river.  There was a surprising amount of trash and goose poop spread over the top, though.

While we walked, I passed something that made me laugh, and I had to go back and take a picture.



It's the Victoria Secret store.  And look juuuuuust inside the door.  That would be the hetero waiting room.  There were about 6 guys in Carharts and boots just standing in the foyer between the two sets of doors, trying not to look awkward.  Well, epic fail.

We shopped around for a while, hit the Banana Republic store, where, as I said, I got a $60 sweater for $13.  It was pretty awesome.  Oh, and I got these 30% off, too:



I wore them to work yesterday with my green argyle sweater that the boy bought me for Christmas.  It was out of control. 

We cruised Water Tower place, got some free chocolate from Godiva, and saw these:



Do they have these in the public bathrooms where you all live?  It's a Dyson Airblade.  You stick your hand in the top and it just blows like hell, and when you hands come out, they're dry.  It takes about five seconds and is AMAZING.  I washed my hands twice just so I could use it again.  I know, I know...I'm a dork.

It was a nice night on the town.



We ended in Boystown at our favorite restaurant:  Nookies.  It's a family style place with great food, great service, and cute waiters.  I love it there! 

It was a lovely day in the city, and we were home before 10:30, too!  All told, a great time!

Out

Over The Hill...

Yesterday I crossed the halfway point. There is no going back. There will be a novel this year. It might be silly and odd and maybe a little sacrilegious (but not really...I don't dispute or change the character of Christ), but it's SO FUN TO WRITE!

And after I crossed the halfway point, we loaded up in the car, got drugs for various instances of bizarre medical weirdness, and went into the city. Hooray for good friends and great food! And thrift shopping. We decided to put a two dollar limit on ourselves and try to find the ugliest, tackiest, never-going-in-my-house thing we could find. We're going to exchange them at Christmas. So fun!

We ran into an old friend of Robb's from LA...in a porn shop...in Boystown of Chicago...buying lube. How strange. And really, it was more of a novelty shop than a porn shop. But how odd is that?! I swear we could fly to the moon (possibly with Jesus) and run into someone we know.

And then Robb packed. This morning he left for a week to visit his bro in Albuquerque. And my medical weirdness is going away. Thank God for that. Let's never speak of it again.

Today? I'm going to work all day. Boo. But I might have time catch up with y'all later tonight after I get done writing for the day.

Have a great one! Who knows...maybe you'll run into a cute long-lost friend in a porn shop in the gay district of your city.

Out

Meeting an Internet Goddess...

Yesterday I hopped a train to go meet the boy after work.  We headed up to Skokie for some free cake!

If you guys have spent any time at all on the Internet, you may recognize this guy:



That would be a naked baby with a mohawk riding a carrot, or a Carrot Jockey, which they are affectionately called.  They are the (now) official mascot of Cake Wrecks, a blog featuring professional cakes that have gone horribly, hilariously wrong.

They have just released their first book, and they were having a presentation and signing by the author and blogging goddess, Jen Yeats.  When we got there, there was already a fairly big crowd.



Appropriately, we were in the cooking section.  Cruelly, we were next to the dieting section, as was the huge Carrot Jockey cake.  Yes, friends, it was a cake!  Donated, even!  Shortly after we staked out a spot, Jen and her lovely husband John took the podium and shared some Cake Wrecks mythos with the crowd.



They're so cute, y'all!  We talked about their favorite wrecks, the most controversial ones, and the way her little anonymous blog just happened to blossom into an Internet phenomenon.  It was a ton of fun, and we all laughed a lot!



Her husband has great comedic timing...

After all was said and done, they got to judge the wreckplicas, cupcakes done up to look like replicas of the wrecks featured on the site.  Check them out!



There's a great story behind this jump drive cake...

And this failure of a baseball diamond...complete with lace doily!



Then there was this absolutely tasteless gem!



Oh yes.  It's misspelled.  And exploding.  How appropriate to honor the memory of those who died.  And this one was originally a cake, an ACTUAL CAKE, sold by a bakery.  No lie. 

Then things got questionable with these last two:



A watermelon?  I dunno...looks like a frog with a vagina to me!

And...another reason why I love firemen:



Yup.  That one ended up winning the contest, and the woman who made it got a free Cake Wrecks apron.  The two runners up got Carrot Jockey necklaces.  So neat.

We stood around for cake, and I saw some girl walk by with a slice of the baby's head.  Creepy!  And...I got to try my first taste of fondant.  I always wondered what it was like.  It sort of tastes like a circus peanut...you know, those huge orange monstrosities made of styrofoam?  But the cake was amazing and delicious!  AND FREE!!!

And after we had our free cake, we waited in line to get my book signed, where we met a woman who lives right across town from us!  How strange to meet a neighbor 50 miles away from home, randomly, in line.  Life is funny.



I had Jen sign "HUGE ME" in it, in honor of my favorite Cake Wreck, a conversation heart cake that was supposed to say "Hug Me".  It was so cool!  They've got five stops left on their tour, so go on over to the website [click here] and check out if they're going to be in your area!  Free cake, y'all!!!  Go!

But seriously, thanks to Jen and John for providing all of us Wreckies with so many laughs over the last year and a half-ish.  It's been a slice.

Out

Top 5 Tuesday: Home Edition...

This week I have the honor of guest blogging over at Tearing Up Houses.  The gracious and lovely Kelly thought so much of Top 5 Tuesday that she suggested I share it with her readers.  So, upon her suggestion--a good one, I might add--this week I'm featuring the top 5 places I'd love to live.  It seems an appropriate subject to piggyback off of last week's dreams of future jobs.  I mean, what good is being a backup-dancing runway model who teaches college lit and blogs on the side if you have to do it in a location you hate?  Right?

So, without further prattle on my part, I give you this week's Top 5 Tuesday:  Home Edition!

5)  London



This one used to be at the top of my list, but a lot has changed since high school--finding out it's gloomy there as a rule sort of put a damper on plans for Oxford.  Being solar powered, I need my sunshine.  The thought of waking up to fog-coated streets and buildings older than my entire native country is romantic.  And having the world's largest Ferris wheel can't hurt!  Don't even get me started on the accents!  I could listen to a native Londoner read from the phone book and I'd be content, no matter the climate. 

4)  Toronto



There's something charming about Canada.  I haven't quite put my finger on what it is, but it's sort of akin to that kid in the neighborhood who you know is just different enough from you that you'd get along great.  Maybe he wears bright yellow velcro shoes and smells a little like a pine tree every day, but he's charming!  But Canada is a big country, and picking a place within it to call home is almost as difficult as picking a place in the U.S., but my money is on Toronto.  They've got great nightlife, culture, that CN tower dealy, and, like the rest of the nation, healthcare.  That's a huge draw for someone without health insurance. *points at self*  Plus, I hear it's a really diverse city that's friendly towards the gay population.  I'm always okay with that.

3)  Chicago



But Justin, you might say, don't you already LIVE in Chicago?  Well, sort of.  See, although we visit fairly often, we're still about 50 miles away.  Honestly, I live in a cornfield next to a Wal Mart.  It's a good hour to where we like to be.  If I could live in the city, though, I'd be there in a flash.  They've got Wrigley Field, Comiskey (don't get me started), Boystown, the Magnificent Mile, and the best pizza you've ever had!  And that's not even mentioning the museums and parks and great places to people watch--OH!  And Nookie's Tree, my personal favorite restaurant.  I could go on and on!  And here you sit wondering what two places I could possibly love more than Chicago!

2)  San Diego



If you'd really like to know how I feel about San Diego, start by clicking [here].  I just got back from spending two weeks in this place in July.  Anyone who regularly reads my blog is probably going, "Oh, gawd!  Not this again!"  Well, this again.  I would move here in a heartbeat, because San Diego is the most beautiful place I've ever been.  The people are friendly; the weather is perfect; the bay is gorgeous; the ocean is close enough to drive to; and the city is just chock full of things to do.  Want food?  Little Italy.  Want a great view?  Anywhere--but the best view is from the top of the Hyatt.  Want nightlife?  Gaslamp District.  Ghosts?  Old Town.  Adventure?  How about a harbor tour?  And palm trees, palm trees, palm trees.  It's so perfect there, even the bums smile.  They've got great public transportation and even better destinations!  I can't say with enough emphasis how much I would recommend living here!  It's my favorite place I've ever been.

"But Justin, there's one more on your list," you say.  "How can that be your favorite if there's something else at number one?"  Well...

1)  Anywhere with the boy



Crappy apartment in the Bronx?  Fine.  High rise in Montreal?  Okay.  Flat in China?  Bring it on.  As long as Robb is there with me, any place feels like home.  It's a funny thing, finding someone who feels like home.  We always tell each other before a big move that we can deal with anything and make any place feel like home as long as we're together.  I know, it's sappy.  I know, you're probably going to send me a carpet cleaning bill from barfing up breakfast.  But it's true!  I would live in Alaska for him if that's where he wanted to go.  And I know he'd do the same for me!  Anywhere on earth is home, as long as I'm with the boy.

And there you have it.  My Top 5 Tuesday list of the places I'd most like to live.  Join us next week when who knows what will happen!  Top 5 flavors of pancakes?  Maybe.  Top 5 country songs to play backwards?  Who knows?  As always, I'm happy to take suggestions for list ideas.  Thanks for reading, and have a lovely week!

Out

Busy...

I wish I were here, instead of off to work all day.  I had a dream that I could see downtown Chicago from my street.  It was glorious. 

Out

Day 13 - Homeward Bound...

I woke up with a sore throat and shook my fist at L.A.

Our plane left at four, so we wanted to be at the airport by two.  That meant half a day to kill before we left.  We decided to see the things we wouldn't be able to see at home:  Mission Beach and In-n-Out.



It was a gorgeous day at the beach, busy for what I would have expected on a Tuesday, and warm.  Our luggage was in the car, and our feet were in the sand.

We wandered down past the area where we'd turned around a few nights prior.  There's a point where the beach goes from nice and peaceful to a little bit ghetto at night.  Bit in the day, there were people all over.



If you look closely at this photo, you can see a little toddler peeking out of that hole that hot dad is digging.

We people watched, tried to stay dry, and took photos.



Since it was still kind of early, there were shells people hadn't scooped up yet.



We wandered for a few hours just enjoying the last time we'd be able to wade in the Pacific for a long time.  And when we were sufficiently hungry, it was off for food.



Yum.  I miss it so much.

After that, we waited around in the rental car office for a ride to the airport, sharing the tiny space with this guy who had horrible B.O.  It was great.  Finally, we were off, though. 

I started feeling like crap about this time...weak and dizzy with a headache.

Security was a breeze, so we ended up having almost two hours to kill.  And what is there to do at an airport?  How about...people watch!



So we did.  Those two guys down the way were making eyes at us at one point.  They were cute.  And a cop kept coming to talk to that woman seated next to them.  Apparently there was some problem he was trying to resolve.  I couldn't really hear, and it was hard to pay attention to words when all I could focus on was how tall, dark, and handsome the cop was.  Wow. 

Before long, we boarded, and we were on our way home.



I said a little prayer as we left the ground, and settled into my seat.  By now I was feeling like absolute garbage.  I was so sick, my skin hurt.  No lie.  But I soldiered on taking photos as we left my new favorite place on the globe.



We swept out over the ocean and headed back toward land.

I took one last look at the bay:



Our original little bayside hotel is right there by the docks...

When we flew over Coronado, the scrubby little hills on one side of the beach finally made sense to me.



Enlarge this one...you'll see CORONADO on the beach.

I loved this shot of the bay bridge:



So pretty!  And then it was cornfields and clouds as I tried not to die on the way home.



We passed this in the desert:



It looks like several tracks designed to test cars...but there were no major roads leading to it at all, just a tiny little building.  I wonder what it was...

I was fading out, and Robb was scoring us extras by flirting with our gay flight attendant...but I managed to get a photo of one last sunset:



Goodbye, San Diego.

Hello, Chicago.



I stumbled along to our bags, ready to just curl up and die.  We rode back to Robb's dad's house to get our car, which wouldn't start.

After that was all cleared up, I slept on the ride home, wishing I could float.  I'm sure I had a fever, and I cursed L.A. the whole way home.

We got to bed finally around 2 AM, and I had to work at 7 the next morning.  Isn't my boss lovely?

Yeah...but I made it.  And I am finally getting over my cough.  After what...three weeks?  A month?

Remind me next time we go to California to stay away from L.A.

Overall, it was a great time.  Thanks for coming with me, everyone! 

Out