I've Moved
Topic: I've Moved

My Footprint

Please come visit me at my new blog, My Footprint. If you have been kind enough to have a link to me on your blog, please be sure to update the name/URL. Thanks!

Now Playing: Moving Soon
This is a struggle I tell you!

Tripod/Lycos is the host for my blog. Their blogging tool sucks. I suppose they are attempting to make it work, but in so doing they keep screweing with our ability to actually access and utilize their blogging tools. My calendar has been stuck on 7/22 (and still is as of this posting) since... well... 7/22. Today is the first day since my last posting that I have actually been able to get into my management tool to add a new post.

I am going to see what I can do to use some other tool like blogger or something but still have it on my domain. I really have no idea how to do this but I am sure gonna give it a try.

Since I am wanting to keep the same URL/name I will probably have to delete my current blog in order to put the new one on here. I don't know this for sure but I can't imagine how else that might be done.

Having said this, if all else fails, I will simply kick up a new blog with a blogspot url. They allow you a lot more customization anyway.

Mood:  cheeky
Topic: So many scenarios...
The carpet cleaning guy showed up the other day to clean the traffic areas. You know you always see the commercials or the advertisements for the guys, they are always shown as being real hunky with huge bulging biceps. But when they show up at your door you get the crack exposing plumber types instead. Not this time! I didn't get Mr. Bulging Biceps but the adorable guy that did show up more than made up for it. He was just that, adorable. I snuck a few snapshots of him through the living room window. I doubt he would have let me take pictures of him while he was cleaning my carpet. Besides, I was so busy fantasizing about him while he was in my home that I wouldn't have remembered to snap the pictures.

Sadly though he was very quick and efficient. I hope that was no indication of how he was in bed. Instead I was hoping he was more like a bunny rabbit wanting to make quick love over and over and over again.

I wonder if I should spill something on the newly cleaned carpets.... Nah, Mr. Plumber type will surely show up next time.

100 Things
Mood:  accident prone

Why does it have to be a 100 list? I got to 40 and started struggling. It has taken me a few days to compile this but hopefully it rounds out who I am. So here we go:

1. I am one of 4 children (older sister & brother and a younger brother)
   
2. I was born in San Diego, California
   
3. I have lived in 9 different states (California, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, and New Mexico)
   
4. I currently have 2 kittens (Ithia and Fez) and a 46 gallon aquarium full of fish
   
5. I have one tattoo, located on my head
   
6. I took second place in the tribal category at the International Tattoo Convention 1996 held in Miami for #5
   
7. In 1979 I was the Junior Iowa Bible Quiz Champ
   
8. I now couldn't quote scripture if my life (soul?) depended on it
   
9. My favorite hobby is photography
   
10. I love to read fantasy
    
11. I own more VHS and DVD movies than any one person has a right to
    
12. I am a massage therapist
    
13. I don't think 13 is an unlucky number
    
14. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico
    
15. My favorite holiday is Christmas because I enjoy putting up decorations and seeing others
    
16. The ornaments for my Christmas tree are so heavy that if I would put all of them on the tree the limbs would sag to the floor
    
17. I have a huge CD collection and never listen to any of them except my "massage music"
    
18. The last CD I bought was 2 weeks ago, Matson Belle, a local band in Austin, TX
    
19. I have had photos I've taken printed in "Bound & Gagged" magazine
    
20. I want to get a part time job in a book store so that I can get an employee discount
    
21. I rarely do "hook ups"
    
22. I guess I am a borderline romantic
    
23. I have been on AOL since 1993 and declined to buy stock in the company
    
24. Kicking myself over #23
    
25. I've sewn my own quilt with matching pillows
    
26. I once enrolled in a culinary school but dropped out because I am not a very good cook
    
27. I love to bake but they wouldn't let me take just the baking course by itself
    
28. My favorite flower is the rose
    
29. My favorite color is green
    
30. I am a Gemini
    
31. I like going to the movies and attending the latest showing available
    
32. I want to go to Egypt, Africa, and to the Orient
    
33. I don't read blogs that tend to focus on the person's sexual conquests
    
34. I love Italian food
    
35. Second favorite is Chinese food
    
36. I want to take a wine tasting/appreciation class
    
37. A client once told me that my home is overly decorated and said he meant it in a nice way (???)
    
38. I laugh every time I see one of the kittens carrying one of their foam balls around in their mouth
    
39. I think Brent is one of the sexiest bloggers out there
    
40. I love to garden
    
41. I'm not very good at keeping potted plants alive (except african violets)
    
42. I find it annoying when people sit online with their away message on the entire time
    
43. I am having difficulties getting the cloudy water in my aquarium to clear up
    
44. I built my massage website myself by looking up free html tutorials on-line
    
45. I have had one LTR that lasted 5 years and we have been best friends for the past 8 years after breaking up
    
46. I have seriously dated (6 months to a year) 4 other guys; Mark, Daniel, Randy, & Perry
    
47. Perry used to write me poetry
    
48. My least favorite job was when I worked at Hardee's. I was a senior in high school and I quit after 6 weeks
    
49. My favorite job is being a massage therapist
    
50. Guilty pleasures include ice cream and potato chips (not at the same time)
    
51. I like bubble baths but I rarely take one
    
52. I don't have a favorite book, movie, musician/singer, or actor
    
53. I am very much a bicep man
    
54. I have been to 8 different major theme parks
    
55. I type 89 wpm with 97% accuracy
    
56. I rarely listen to the radio when I am in the car
    
57. My best friend's Dad was a cop and I was terrified of him
    
58. At age 12 I watched that same Dad drive by the school bus stop dragging his dog, Misty, from the back of the truck. I chased Mr. Smith all the way back to his house and pointed to Misty, he broke down crying
    
59. I use an average of 30 - 45 minutes a month on my cell phone
    
60. I've never broken a single bone in my body
    
61. The first time I had sex was in a college dorm room when I was 19, it was with a man
    
62. I have never had sex with a woman
    
63. I played the b flat clarinet in high school
    
64. My dream job when I was in school was to be a professional singer
    
65. I am easily moved to tears; Hallmark cards, Folgers' commercials, holiday specials
    
66. I find car commercial repetitive and annoying and female hygeine commercials gross (sorry ladies)
    
67. My favorite birthday gift when I was 4 years old was a toy camera
    
68. The last birthday gift I got from a family member was when I turned 10, it was a 10 speed bike
    
69. The most expensive extravagant gift I ever bought myself was a $1500 diamond and sapphire ring. An ex-roommate stole it when he moved out
    
70. I don't like body piercings
    
71. I am a vegetarian that eats chicken in moments of weakness
    
72. When I lived on the farm in Iowa I raised rabbits
    
73. I enjoy putting together puzzles
    
74. I like to play Mahjong
    
75. I used to whistle all the time, not so much anymore though
    
76. I like watching hockey games
    
77. I could probably get into watching football games
    
78. I love going to the zoo
    
79. I drink a pot of hot tea almost every morning
    
80. I have a fear of marionettes
    
81. I was a crossing guard in elementary school
    
82. When I was 15 I stole a Playgirl magazine from a store and shoved it under my coat. On the way to the car it dropped to the ground and my Dad saw it
    
83. I had a serious crush on my 7th grade Health teacher, Mr. Betzel
    
84. I stutter when I drink too much
    
85. If I were to make a career change it would be to become a veterinarian
    
86. I think tighty whities are sexy
    
87. The movie Trilogy of Horrors freaked me out as a kid
    
88. When I was 4 years old I almost drowned in a public pool
    
89. I still can't swim
    
90. I currently have 12 different bottles of cologne
    
91. My first pets were 2 parakeets, Samson & Delilah
    
92. I want to learn to play the piano
    
93. I love thunderstorms
    
94. I currently have 3 pairs of sneakers, 2 pairs of sandals, 1 pair of cowboy boots and 9 pairs of dress shoes, oh and a pair of knee high mocassins
    
95. I go around barefoot as much as possible
    
96. I am a homebody
    
97. I have a stuffed talking dog named Burney Bernard that my mother owned
    
98. I once owned 2 ferrets, Ratt and Poopsie
    
99. I own way to much crystal
    
100. I sleep on my stomach

Top 10 Referrers
Mood:  vegas lucky

I am surprised to see how the hits keep racking up on my blog. I checked the referral stats and saw that I get a few hits due to some very interesting web-searches. But what really caught my eye was the sites that are referring people from their blogs over to mine. So, to thank them and hopefully return the favor I have made this list of the top 10 referral sites for first time hits (if the person comes back to my site as a repeat visitor the hits after the first go to another category.)

1. Tales from the Gym
   
2. Diaryland
   
3. Cheap Blue Guitar
   
4. BMW: Ultimate Blogging Machine
   
5. Chaos in Austin
   
6. Irish Paperboy
   
7. Corky
   
8. Outlet Radio Blog List
   
9. Hot Toddy's Toaster Oven
   
10. Water Colour Boy

Thanks for all the referrals guys & gals! Hope this helps return the favor.

Gay, Gray, and Segregated?
Mood:  d'oh

I'm not sure about this. Evidently there are about a dozen or so developers across the country that are either pitching or already building "gay retirement villages". Most say they are gearing themselves towards gays and lesbians in the 55 -72 age range, the "gay and gray" of our diverse community.

Our neighbor to the North, Santa Fe, has just such a community in the project stage. Rainbowvision Properties, Inc. is trying to build a 146 unit condo and individual residence community. First, did they HAVE to name themselves "Rainbowvision"? Is being ultra-gay part of the fabulous living to be found in such a development? Do we really want to segregate gay individuals into a certain part of town like this? Are we not making them easy targets for acts of vandalism and such?

Sure I hope that we are past such petty worries as somebody vandalizing our car or house or lawn just because they know that we are gay, unfortunatly it still happens. It is one of the most horrible things to discover when you are walking out to your car on the way to work with a cup of coffee in your hand and find "FAGGOT" in dripping white paint written across your new VW Jetta. (In this case the car was the give-a-way.)

On the other hand, to go into my Golden Years among people of the same bent as I isn't such a bad idea. Lord knows that the older generation of gay people in our communities are usually shunned. If you are considered old at 30, what does that make you at 55?

We have our little gay market & club areas and little gay neighborhoods so I supposed this is just the next logical step. Still, I worry that we will just be self segregating ourselves behind 9 foot fences like zoo animals on display to the regular people. Does it have to be "RainbowVision"? Can't it just be a normal company name that caters to the GLBT community? Do we have to fly rainbow flags and have pink and black triangles painted on every other fence column? Why not just plant a tree every 20ft like other developments?

Where Pimping Mistakes Go
Mood:  bright

I went to see Spider-Man 2 last night. I enjoyed it! Personally, I think it was better than the first movie. The storyline was much better, more graphics, and the movie had 'heart'. Yeah, the CGI was a bit overdone, but that's ok, it was a comic book movie. The sounds weren't the best, often times over done as well, and that wasn't quite as ok.

I went to the Century 14 Theatre in downtown Albuquerque. This is only the second time I have gone to the movies since I moved to Albuquerque, and this is the first time I went to a first run theatre, the previous time was a $3 theatre (yikes). Century 14 is of the 'new order'. Huge lobby with Disney style carpeting, digital marquis above the ticket counter, rocker seats with swing up arms in the theatre. The place was really nice, just slightly dingy. You could see that the people working there just didn't care quite enough to keep the place sparkling. The employees pretty much just acted bored. But I am sure they are only paid minimum wage so it's probably a bit difficult to keep your spirits too high.

The theatre had a bit of a cold musty smell (fairly typical). What I didn't like is that they pumped some kind of artificially sweet air freshner into the place and it was almost enough to make you gag. You know how you buy a new air freshner for your car and for the first week you have to roll down the windows because its just too strong? That's what it was like.

The next block behind the theatre there is a parking garage. Since this was my first visit I am not sure exactly how it all works, but when I got there at 9:30 the garage was wide open so parking was free. Upon entering I discovered who was attending the movies with me. I was suddenly surrounded by cars that had attempts at being 'pimped' made on them. Now, I have never seen the show "Pimp My Ride" but I have seen the head Pimper, rap star Xzibit, interviewed on both Leno and Carson. Cool guy and the rides they showed were pretty awesome, if a bit (ok a LOT) overdone. But the cars I saw last night would have put Xzibit into seizures.

I saw attempts at stylized window tinting gone very bad, wheel covers PAINTED chrome and flaking, striping that was nowhere near straight, and colors that not even a peacock would wear.

There were bright spots though. As we were walking from the garage to the theatre a muscular hispanic guy was in front of us. Wearing only a skin tight white wifebeater and sporting a shaved head under a well worn ballcap. YUMMY! He was with his wife and 2 small children though, but still major eye candy! Then he appeared in the theatre just 3 rows down from us, great shoulders! Got to walk behind him on the way back to the garage and watch his denim encased bubble butt. *sigh* Also, just before the movie started (how can anyone stand to miss the previews??) a young, early twenties, gay couple entered the theatre. When the movie was over they were behind us on the way back to the garage and were only parked 2 cars down from us, cute cute cute. Was I ever that young?

I don't think I was that young or if I was it was a LONG time ago. I almost died when after asking the ticket agent for 2 tickets she told me "Eighteen Dollars". CRIPES! $9 a ticket?? Geesh, I AM old.

Previes I saw that I want to be sure to go see:

The Village
Blade Trinity (that is a guilty pleasure which I will probably wait to arrive on DVD)
Christmas with the Kranks

SM-2
Mood:  lazy

It's a few minutes after midnight, so officially it's early Wednesday morning. I am SO bored right now and the kittens are tearing the hell out of the place.

Going to see Spider-Man 2 at 9:45pm tonight. I've heard mixed reviews on the show, some overly violent scenes that really aren't suitable for children, but I don't think that's going to be a problem for me. Going with a friend, catching one of the late shows. Have to watch Kingdom Hospital before heading out to the movie.

Watched Big Brother today for the first time. Wow, they got some hotties on that show.

Picked up season one of Sex and the City the other day. Watched the first 6 episodes today, that show is hilarious. Well, maybe not hilarious, but it is DARN funny. And so much of the humour parallels into the gay community. There are several seasons of S&TC out so I'm sure I'll be buying those up pretty quickly. Gotta pick up season 2 of Stargate next though.

Well this isn't an exciting post and I can't think of anything amusing to share with you, so I will end this and finish watching Conan O'Brian.

Rolly Polly
Mood:  silly

Remember when you were in elementary school and you would play with anything? One of the frequents that me and my best friends, Danny & Randy, would play with were Rolly Pollys. We would 'borrow' some chalk from the girls playing hopscotch and would draw a small circle on the playground, maybe 2 inches round. Then we would draw a much larger circle around the small circle. This was done by somebody sitting at the center and simply turning in a circle while holding the chalk to the ground, resulting in a large circle maybe 3 feet around. We would then take our 3 rolly pollys and race them. You put your racer in the small 2" circle and the first racer to cross the boundary of the outer circle was declared the winner. Sometimes this was a quick race lasting under a minute, other times it could take upwards of 5 minutes.

The wood-louse (as I later found out rolly pollys are actually called) are cousins to shrimp! They are terrestrial Crustacea of the Isopoda order. They are usually found under fallen leaves, twigs, and especially bark or fallen trees. When I amended the soil on my patio (I have about a 12" x 8' dirt area) I mixed in 3 parts top soil to 1 part organic mulch. This was a smorgasbord for rolly pollys! Although they are good in helping to further breakdown the mulch and thus put nutrients into the soil, if you have emerging seedlings or tiny tender plants the rolly pollys may nibble on them. But I usually buy more adult plants so I didn't have this to worry about. Whenever I water the plants there is a race to see how fast they can reach either the concrete or the wall to climb up out of the water.

Now to gross you out. You can actually eat them! Either by simply picking them up (and rinsing them off) and popping them into your mouth and chowing down. They are supposed to be of the same flavor as their shrimp cousins only better. You can also make them into a sauce. I know some of you are eager to find out how to make this Wood-Louse sauce so don't let me stand in your way, here is the recipe:

Collect a quantity of the finest wood-lice to be found and drop them into boiling water, which will kill them instantly, but not turn them red, as might be expected. At the same time put into a saucepan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a teaspoonful of flour, a small glass of water, a little milk, some pepper and salt, and place it on the stove. As soon as the sauce is thick, take it off and put in the wood-lice. This is an excellent sauce for fish. (Recipe was found on foodreference.com, and no, I have not tried eating them, either raw or cooked.)

Cat & Mouse
Mood:  bright

The kittens have pretty much destroyed 2 of their little foam ball toys. I thought maybe they could use something that they could sink their teeth into without it coming apart quite so easily. So I went to Petco and picked up a soft plush mouse. They both love it and it doesn't hurt that it has a soft rattle sound to it as well.

Ithia likes the mouse the most. It was truly a game of cat & mouse & photographer when I was trying to get a decent pic to post here on the blog. Ithia figured if the mouse was being moved or focused on, then it was fair game to play with. I suppose she is right, after all it's her toy. Neither man nor foe should come between a cat and her mouse.