Getting Married...

First, to answer your questions:

No, it's not legal in llinois.

No, he didn't propose.

No, we're not going to Iowa or California or any other state to make it happen.

I was just thinking about it, and we were talking about it in the car again. I always get stuck on the colors. His favorite color is purple. My favorite color is green. My second favorite is orange. None of which make good combinations. So...I dunno. I'm stuck there. I thought maybe we could do black and white with an accent color. That's still pretty high in the running, but then you run into the problem of what the accent color would be and why.

It's all so messy.

Destination wedding? No. I already put the axe to that one. I don't want people to have to pay or go WAY out of their way to be there. I'd like everyone I love to be at my wedding.

In my wedding? Well...that's another sticking point. There's one person I know I want to be IN my wedding (besides Robb, of course), and that's David, to play the organ/piano/whatever. But as far as bridesmaids and groomsmen...even the terminology isn't right. What do you call them? Attendants? Groomsmen and groomsmen? But they're not going to be men, largely. Robb doesn't really have that many close guy friends. And I can't decide who I'd want up there with me. I wouldn't want anyone to feel left out...

Best man? Maybe my brother? I dunno...

Being that its a gay wedding, I think that there are people who may not feel comfortable attending or being IN it. My brother is in the Army. Would he want to be in a gay wedding? I'd like to think he would be in my wedding no matter WHO I was marrying, as long as they treated me right. But, I dunno.

How do you pick who will be in your photos for all of time? Hell, I can't even decide on a COLOR!

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Serously, Target? Seriously?

Check this article out:  Target Paints Bullseye With Anti-Gay Contributions.

I'm getting sick of my favorite stores being dumbasses about equal rights.  Now where do we shop?!

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Pride...

It's coming!!!

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Weekend...What?

So...Friday I did this puzzle of my favorite city:



God, you can really see my OCD nature.  My phone is lined up exactly with the edge of the puzzle.  The coaster is lined up perfectly with that, and the box is lined up with the edge of the puzzle, too.  Oh, man...I'm bad about that...

...and then Robb and I went out with friends to Boystown, where we hit up Roscoe's, our favorite bar up there.  It's really the only one I've been in where I've felt completely comfortable.  I'm not really a bar kind of guy, honestly, so I was dreading going just a little bit.  But oh my gosh, we had a great time, despite some awkwardness.

See, I ran into my ex there.  Steve.  We broke up over 4 years ago after dating for 2 months.  It was mostly because he didn't pay me enough attention and also because he lived in the city and I was moving back to E-town with my folks.  So...not worth the drive, really.  But yeah...we were sitting in one of the lounges chatting with our friends Jim and Mike and Randle, and this guy walks in and turns away to go out on the dance floor.  I turned to Robb and I said, "Er...I think that might have been my ex."

So I texted him, because we're not on bad terms, and sure enough, it was him.  He hasn't changed a bit.  We chatted, caught up, he met Robb, showed everyone a photo of his giant...well...anyhow...he had it on his cell phone.  Awkward.  But it was nice to see him.  He's still as socially awkward as when I met him.

Right around that time, one of Robb's co-workers showed up with his date who looked really familiar.  Still not sure why.  But it was nice finally meeting this person who I've heard so much about.  Hopefully we'll get to hang out with them again soon.  They're good people.

Oh, and this guy who worked there, who I thought was really cute with his red hair and stubble (I'm a sucker for red hair), came up to me a few times to collect our empty glasses, and he says to me once, "I like your glasses.  Are they Prada?"  I told him, "No.  Actually they're Randy Jackson."  He made this really hilarious face, like, eww.  And he says, "Oh, well they look like Prada."  Umm...thanks!  Hooray for compliments from strange and cute boys...

Anywho, that was Friday night.  Saturday was the collage party for Script Frenzy.

We met at the Library, Ho:



It's pretty much that ghetto. 

But the writing center is gorgeously painted!



So, we baked for 4 hours in the heat, but we made a lot of progress!  I've got an idea now, that I'm sure I'll talk about later.  I came home and Robb and I got custard, and then I came home and took a nap, since I'd been out until 3 AM the night before.  I missed hanging out with my friend Paul.  Whoops.  I slept until 8 PM, then grogged about, watched Airplane, and went to bed.

Sunday morning we went to church:



And after lunch at home, we took a walk, where we ran into THIS:



Yes.  That's a raccoon on a leash.  It was so cool!  The guy said he got it at a breeder's in Indiana (where "they'll breed anything, those crazy fuckers.")  His name was Miko, and apparently he's a chick magnet.  Well, he certainly attracted the gays, too.  Or maybe the guy who it belonged to had something to do with that...



Oh, yes.  He was pretty, with sweet blue eyes and a good smile.  And a raccoon!  A RACCOON, Y'ALL!  I pet a raccoon.  How strange.

So, altogether a strange and wonderful weekend.  I hope yours was even half as good!

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Census 2010...

I've never participated in the U.S. Census before. I think I just didn't get the forms or something. I don't know. But yesterday the forms came, and I happily tore open the envelope. And honestly? I was a little let down. I was expecting more, I think. It was done in two seconds and I went, "That's it?"

But I did have the joy of marking the box that said that Robb was my unmarried partner of the same gender. That was monumental and made me feel more visible.

Of course, according to the guy at the donation center at Goodwill yesterday, I'm not being visible enough with my Human Rights Campaign sticker on the back of my car. Umm...okay, assface. I'm not going to plaster my car with rainbows. I think that's tacky. He practically accused me of being in the closet. At first, I didn't know what to feel about it, but now? I think it was really rude of him to tell me, "Nice sticker," and genuinely mean it, but then to follow it up by telling me I wasn't doing enough. Bah!

But I got to see Aaron, who works there, and he's always a sweetie. I miss seeing him at the bank. Anywho...it's off to my magical day of nothing.

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Gar Gar Gar...

If you read my other blog, you'd be treated to my rant about change and redesigning my blog and growing a beard...but it doesn't really apply, here. So...if you'd like to see all of that, look here (click me).

Instead, you get the rest.

The boy is at a funeral today. He looked really good before he left. Funerals are hard, because on one hand, I want to be there for him. On the other hand, I never knew the person and a lot of his extended family doesn't know he's gay. So...it's awkward for both of us if I'm there. I asked him if he wanted me to come with.

I guess I'm staying home again.

But I've got an appointment with career services at 2 this afternoon, so...I won't be sitting home doing nothing ALL day.

I still haven't heard from the unemployment office. Do they just...call? Or something? I dunno. This not having an income thing is really a drag, and I got paid today! I think I've got one more paycheck coming for the two days I worked this week. And then? Nada.

Ugh. Anyone want to loan me their job?

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Jump Drive Dump...

I was clicking through my jump drive and I came across some great photos.

Defective signs are one of my guilty pleasures.  Any time we're out I look for them.  We once saw one that was supposed to say Randy's Market.  It said "Randy's Ma."  Love it!

And then there was "Road anger."

And this one:



That's right.  The Abbott Ho.  That's in the north side of Chicago, sort of near Boystown.

So great! 

And I don't know if I'm the only person to love these buttons, but I take pictures of them all the time:



I just love that it's two men.  Maybe I should sell this image to some kind of gay gaming blog...it would be pretty much perfect.  I've got about eight of these pictures (from all over the country), and they never stop amusing me.

And lastly, here's a picture of me squinting in the sun...in my old glasses...after not having shaved for three days.  It's not pretty.



Yikes.  Why do I do this to myself?

Anywho...there's that.

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The Gay Rodeo...

I know what you're thinking:  Really?  The GAY rodeo?  Isn't that just a bunch of queens mincing around trying not to get too dirty as they ride semi-sedated cows around in a circle to Lady GaGa tunes?

Just the opposite, my friends.  It was some serious competition!  Danger!  Excitement!  Fried food!  Exclamation points!!!



The presentation of the Anmerican, Illinois, ILGRA, rainbow, and Canadian flags started the ceremony, followed by the ceremony of the riderless horse. 

The first event was calf roping, but the setup wasn't great for taking pictures, so we didn't take many.  Chute dogging, where contestants try to wrestle a biggish calf to the ground and have the nose and all four feet pointing the same way at the end, was really exciting.



And far away!

There was calf roping on horseback:



We were sort of worried it would rain, but we ended up getting pretty badly sunburnt afterall.  Stupid lack of sunscreen...

And we'd have felt better if we'd had one of these:



I think we were some of the only people there without cowboy hats.  Next year we'll dress differently...tight Wranglers and western shirts with a hot stetson and cowboy boots.  Mmhmm.  We'd fit right in.

The Chicago Spirit Brigade was there, too.



Come on!  It WAS a gay rodeo, after all.

Our favorite event was goat dressing, where to people run down the field and catch a goat.  One of them lifts ist rear legs and the other tried to put a pair of briefs on the goat.  They have to stay on the goat until the team makes it back across the starting line.  Very fun!



The goats didn't agree, I think...

But the horses...they got a few words in.



They were pretty rowdy, actually.  One lady almost got trampled, and I swear a guy got his balls stomped...but he got up.  I guess it was just a close call.

About halfway through, we went and saw the Windy City Cowboys perform.  And boy did they!



They looked great in their boots and hats and matching shirts.



And they could move!  Granted, they danced to These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (the Jessica Simpson version...ugh), but they were HOT.

This photo is having issues loading, but we'll see if it shows up...



If not, oh well...just a hot shot of them pointing their fingers like guns.

The last event of the day was what they called the "wild drag race".



Guys dressed accordingly (this is "The Church Lady") had to ride a young bull across a line on the field, which sounds easy but was very, very difficult.



We got to see a lot of big wigs in the dirt.  So funny!

After all was said and done, people retired to the dancing tent, where they were playing two steppers. 



We watched some drama unfold, watched some cowboys get all sweaty on the dance floor, and wished we could dance.  Even Happy Jack (bottom photo, back) got a spin around the floor by a really hot cowpoke.



It was a really great day, and despite being a little nervous abuot going, I'm glad we went.  It was so much fun!  If you're interested, www.ilgra.com is the place to be.

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Day 10: Part 2 - Walks are Cheap...

I'd just like to point out that this is my 100th post. No fanfare necessary...especially considering my 1000th post on my other blog is less than 25 away.

Moving on...

When last we left off, we were headed to the pride festival. 

We followed the throng of parade spectators,



float personnel,



lovers,



and men in rainbow beads...



...to the gates of the festival. 

We learned that it was $20 per person to get in.  And then you pay to drink, eat, and do whatever else you'd like.  There was live music, none of it anything we wanted to see, and more things to spend cash on.  By this time in the vacation we were strapped for cash (more so than we thought we'd be, seeing as how Robb's paycheck didn't direct deposit and his new credit card never came), so we opted out of going in.  Instead, we toured the area (which I liked better, anyway). 

We crossed that viaduct from day 9 on foot, pausing to take photos of the skyline.



And then we ended up at The Museum of Man, hosted in this building:



The area really was gorgeous, very Spanish Mission feeling.



That girl was gorgeous in her cute skirt, let me tell you.



We stayed to hear the bells toll, had a little fight about something stupid, and then decided to head back towards Hillcrest to find food, seeing as how we hadn't eaten in our rush to get to Pride.  On the way we saw lawn bowling.



It was all very civilized with their white outfits and quiet clapping. 

We fought against the crowds of men going the other way,



passed some local art,



and back to the gayborhood.  And who was waiting to give my tired feet a ride? 



Him.



And them.

But we walked around Hillcrest,



And we ate Chipotle.  It was the best I've ever had, honestly.  As we were leaving the neighborhood we saw this place:



I love that the awning highlights the words "World's Largest Hot Dog."  A little ironic in the gay neighborhood.

We didn't stick around long after wandering the streets and visiting some shops, because we needed to find our new hotel, since the one we were at had no free rooms for the next night (shame we'd have to leave Ben, the night desk guy).  So we headed off, getting lost thanks to my VZ Navigator being set on pedestrian mode instead of something NOT stupid.  Whoops!

But we got settled in our new hotel and headed back out because I wanted to see the sunset from the beach.



As you can tell, we didn't quite make it, due to...breaking in...the...hotel room............*ahem*

Anywho.  We headed back to Mission Beach for a great night of wandering through the sand.  On the way we passed this place:



I'm sorry...does that say "BALLS" in the window?  Anyone want to explain that to me?

Once on the beach we saw these performers playing with fire and eachother:



We walked down the beach and saw some people enjoying a chilly night:



I paused to draw one of my birds in the sand, demonstrating the transience of art...



And then we headed back to our car after a very romantic little walk.



When we got back near the lot, these guys wer STILL performing:



He was being held in the air by this guy:



And then they got an audience member involved:



It was pretty neat!  We decided at the car to go see the Giant Dipper, the roller coaster near the beach.  I unexpectedly treated Robb to a ride on it, since wewouldn't be back that way, maybe ever.



We had a good time!  Candy stores and carnival rides make for a nice night:



And we ended up here:



That would be The Wave House.  It's an outside bar with a man made wave to ride.  We sat and watched the surfers do flips:



And wipe out, too.  It was a great night.  Spectacular views, too.



And after flirting a little with our favorite surfer, we headed home to our hotel to sleep it off and get ready for who knows what the next day.  While day 10 didn't turn out as expected on any account, it was still one of my favorite days of vacation!

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