Flight 68

I'm actually waiting to board flight 2813 to CMH from gate G11. Eleven is my favorite number and this is the 68th flight of 2013. While I've had occasional work travel since the late 90's and regular work travel since 2005, this completes my first full year of constant travel. In fact, I've taken 24 work trips and a ridiculous number of personal ones ranging from weddings to birthday parties to scooter rallies to vacations. According to SPG/HH summaries/vacation itineraries, there were 45 hotel stays totaling 109 nights. That's a lot of sleep a on a strange pillow. This does not include tent nights from the camping trips or the times we stayed with friends. Fortunately, since 100 of those hotel stays were SPG, I hit the Platinum Ambassador level and now get awesome suite upgrades and can pro-actively select my favorite room at my regular work hotel. I just earned this last week and am excited to meet Bonnie, my new SPG person! It's the little things that make the strange pillow bearable. With this last flight I also achieve Platinum status on American. It isn't full time travel but I've earned the #roadwarrior status!

Today was a super fun adventure. It proved difficult to find non-hotel dining options with most places opening in the afternoon or for dinner only. I couldn't commit to a lengthy and expensive sit down option while flying solo. Breakfast ended up being Dunkin Donuts with two homeless dudes. Had they not already gotten their food, I would have treated them! Lunch was a pastry from Starbucks with a bunch of old gay men and an African artist who couldn't get into her studio because everyone else was out of town. She was not using an inside voice for her endless phone conversation(s). Here's a little picture journey of today's selfies:

Travel was painless getting here and the ground was beautifully snow covered at the 8:00 landing time. I slept for most of the 50 minute flight but did catch a few photos of nature's beauty. Once on the ground, the multitude of de-icing trucks and snow removal devices reminded me that ORD is ready for Winter but their on time departures sure make you wonder if they know how to use all that stuff. It's super easy to get to the "L" and $10 provides a full day pass. A taxi would have been faster but there's no adventure in that!

I spent the first few hours taking the L downtown, eating, and walking around Millennium Park and Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" sculpture. I've only ever heard of it referred to as the "bean." I thought beans were from Boston?

Once the ice skating rink opened at 10 AM, I parted with another $10 for the rental and spent about 45 mins skating forward and backwards and practicing my jumps and rotations on the freshly groomed ice. Actually, I spent the first ten minutes trying to stand and the next ten trying to avoid fallen children and foreigners. By the time I remembered how to skate and gained a little confidence, the old legs started to burn from the pain! The last several loops around the track were amazing and I had a BLAST! 

I walked back the the train and selected the Red Line to Boys Town. This mural struck a chord. Perhaps I should have volunteered at a shelter or soup kitchen instead of selfishly hoarding airline points?

Once arriving in Boys Town, I walked past our favorite boutique hotel, City Suites, and then walked Belmont, Clark, and the notorious Halstead. There was only one lunch restaurant open and it was packed to the gills. Every step triggered memories of visits to see our Chicago friends, weekend escapes from Columbus, and general gay foolishness in our youth. Many of the old bars and shops are still there. Had they been open, I likely would have struck up a conversation and ended up with some new friends or made the small-world connections that would undoubtedly link us to a common thread. It was oddly strange to be in the epicenter of excitement and have nobody to talk to. I actually needed this introspective journey. I am thinking. I am thinking a lot.  

I was essentially in the cold all day; the temperature only broke 20 about half way through the trip. Waiting for the cross-town Addison city bus to avoid going back downtown proved to be too cold. I broke down and took a $10 cab ride to the Blue line where my all day L pass promptly delivered me back to the airport. I grabbed a couple drinks in the Admiral's Club and now I'm waiting for the (delayed) flight home. Tim is picking a dinner spot so I hope it isn't too late!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

This past weekend was filled with foolishness and fun as we visited with friends from NY, DC, NC, and WV, went to several parties, and even hosted an impromptu one at home. There was also a drag show, delicious Pho, an anniversary party for Capital City Scooters and several babies to love!

I spent Monday night and all day Christmas Eve with my family. We haven't served a traditional meal in several years. It's become a tradition of our own to mix it up. In the past few there was an Italian Christmas, a Mexican Christmas, and this year we did brunch! It was perfectly lovely. I merged three Gluten Free Quiche recipes into one and served up mini Swiss cheese, mushroom, spinach, kale, and onion versions with an almond crust. I am a big big fan of the new removable bottom pans that arrived via Amazon, directly to my parent's house, on Monday! Here's a pic of the first live tree my parents have put up in years and my nephew rearranging the gifts for distribution! 

Christmas is always a bit anti-climatic as my family celebrates on Christmas Eve; the actual day is frequently a trip home with the lightest roads and cheapest flights. Tim rarely wants to go visit his family and this year we have a wedding in a few weekends where we'll spread holiday cheer in Cincinnati. Since he's working today, I decided to create a choose your own adventure and accumulate the final American points for Platinum status. The cheap Christmas flight and the extra 2014 points potential made it financially worthwhile. It also psychologically provides the "me time" getaway to make this vacationless holiday season a little more exciting. 

Bring on Chicago! Let's see how much damage can be done with eight hours on the ground!

How Hot Are You?

I probably should be posting about how excited I am that this is the last business trip of the year or the @AAdvantage First Class upgrade for the flight home. I could be bi+<#!ng about how horrible the @Hertz return process is at #DFW and how they never have enough attendants and if you do self return in the after hours box they "lose" your car and have no reliable escalation process but to wait until they find it. Yes, that happened this year. I could chat about this whole Duck Dynasty hicksploitation mess or Facebook's inaccurate algorithm that gave me this rodeo ad for Ram Trucks, presumably due to the TX location and a middle age condition. But, I'm not. 

Let's talk about beauty. My beauty to be precise. Ha!

Seriously, here's the back story; I've thought way too much about this in the last 24 hours and need to write some words to get it out of the head. Earlier this year, on some random weekend, I found myself waiting for friends at Exile. I was dressed in the ordinary uniform; a v-neck tee and jeans. The shirt was probably black or dark grey/brown since it was a weekend night. Unless I'm in some ridiculous blouse or the rare tank top when Timmy isn't around to judge, I don't venture too far from that proven formula. I remember feeling particularly happy and attractive that night for no apparent reason. Despite picking up some "Ohio" weight, this has been a good year and forty is proving to be quite fabulous. This particular one was just a good day and gearing up to be a fun night with friends. 

Yum; Hot nuts, red wine, and warm towel break before the meal! Did I mention being luxuriously seated in First Class?

The Exile bartender and I struck up a conversation because it was early enough to not be very busy. He complimented me on a tattoo and then said something like, "You are so f'n hot and you probably don't even know it." I was crushed. It seemed he was attracted to me because I was overly white trashy, or poor looking, or bearish, or fat, or some other non-traditional reason that attracts one person to another. This is quite common at a place like Exile where the non-traditional is exhaulted. (Picture three hot dudes making out with a 400 lb man in a harness and kilt). I didn't want to be one of those "other" people who didn't fit the classic definition of beauty or have the confidence to realize they were attractive in some way. I wanted to be a universally beautiful Details Magazine cover boy. You know, the one with great hair, white teeth, a lean muscular body, and youthful sexiness locked down with some degree of fame or fortune. While I didn't dwell on it too long, in some weird way, the incident lingered. It was frustrating and perhaps even subconsciously inspired my late Summer fitness quest. I wanted to be be proud of my masculine beauty and not one who couldn't even recognize his own appeal. I certainly didn't want to be placed in some niche gay classification; I wanted universal acceptance. 

Skip forward to last night. This has been a particular busy work week with major projects, annual reviews, and working dinners giving me little time to relax or clear the head. It was early, about 7:30, when I got out of the office so I decided to change clothes and step out for a bit. I put on 'the uniform' and hopped in my Toyota Tacoma pick up truck rental. It is Dallas. Feeling sexy and butch, I hit the Dallas Eagle for a happy hour cocktail. The place is usually good for conversation with a friendly local or another business traveler without too much Dallitude. However, work beckoned and I sat at the bar with my nose buried in the iPhone responding to email. At least it wasn't in my lonely hotel room where I usually do this very same thing. Bypassing the 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey special, I enjoyed a nice citrus vodka and headed out for a quick dinner at Hunky's. Being relatively early and feeling good, I decided to swing back by the Eagle for a nightcap. The crowd was pretty decent earlier and I hoped to strike up a conversation and forget about work. 

There were several friendly folks at the bar. I positioned myself near some youthful eye candy and ordered a drink. A couple of guys started conversation about living in California and some other random nothingness. They were perfectly pleasant and the conversation spurred some laughter and decent mindless stories. The conversation shifted and I found myself talking to just one dude. He proceeded to tell me how shocked he was that I was friendly and pleasant to talk to because he had seen me earlier, before leaving for dinner. While I was busy working, he was apparently watching me and thinking about how hot and how arrogant I looked. He was just sure that I "knew" how hot I was based on my body language. He knew I wouldn't talk to him or anyone in the bar. I was crushed. While this was exactly the kind of self assured sexy hot I wanted back in the Summer, this man's perception was absolutely not who I think I am or want to be. 

All of this is likely nothing but sometimes we get stuck on perception and what it means. Admittedly, too much brain power has been wasted on these two situations. I want to be hot. I want to have confidence. I try not to care what people think of me as long as they like me. It's human nature even though I hate when people say that. I don't want people to think I'm arrogant or unapproachable or that my ego is too big for my own good. What's different about these two nights and the drastically different interactions and perceptions? I know that I won't ever be magazine cover beautiful or twenty two or have the perfect body but I am ok with this. How do I need to act to ensure a positive portrayal of who I want to be and why should anyone really "act" like anything. If being myself, which I was in both scenarios, leads to such different perceptions, what do you do? Was the work mindset giving me a different demeanor? Was driving a butch truck impacting my attitude? Why have I written thirty five pages on this? Why do I always make a long story longer? Why isn't there some useful life lesson here? Let's see if rambling on helps or if I think about this again. I probably should edit. 

Oh. Sorry about that kilt visual earlier on the post. Some people really get into that and it is totally ok! It's about time to land. I'm exhausted. 

Heigh-Ho Heigh-Ho

Most of our holiday shopping is done after two weekends hitting the craft and artisan shows, the CCAD student sale, Amazon, and a few select mainstream stores. The CCAD sale was my favorite and we ended up with three pieces for our own trailer. One was framed, I framed the second, and the third is out being professionally matted and framed for the kitchen. One of our holiday gifts is also there and should be done on the day I leave for home. Fingers crossed! I'm a huge fan of supporting local young artists and even more so when they are students! The art community also lost Timmy's favorite to cancer this weekend. RIP George Rodrigue. 

The family celebrated Dad's 68th birthday with a huge bonfire in the freezing cold temperatures last Friday. My brothers decorated a hay wagon with lights and we took a Winter hay ride to see Wachtel's holiday display. It is still quite impressive, and highly recommended, but not quite as magical at 40 as it was at 10. I do love their classic Disney and nursery rhyme displays from the early days. 

http://youtu.be/whnn9ReUV04

Speaking of Disney, Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's off to work I go! This will likely be the busiest Dallas trip I've had in months with all three days booked from early AM to late evening. I really need to extend it to Thursday or Friday, and packed accordingly, but will do whatever it takes to avoid traveling closer to Christmas. I suspect the airports will be a disaster as we approach the weekend. There are only three more flights on my 2013 Itinerary. It's been a busy year!

Wachtel's: https://m.facebook.com/pages/Wachtels-Christmas-Lights/319074091457043

The Storm Before The Storm

It's amazing how Dallas freaks out about weather. I guess it's really not amazing and is rather predictable at this point. When I arrived yesterday, several of my employees asked if I was leaving right away due to the big ice storm. Oblivious, I went about my work and didn't have time to check the weather or the news until later last night. With the certainty of 100% precipitation and high temperature forecast for 32 on Friday, I knew it was time to rebook. Fortunately the only mission critical meeting was scheduled for this morning and there were seats on the 7:50 PM direct to CMH. I booked it. 

With only one night in town, I decided to step out for a decent meal and joined a colleague at CBD for a downtown dinner. It's a restaurant at a fancy pants hotel so why they call it the Central Business District escapes me. Such is life as the Cuban Sammy was delicious. We followed dinner with a cocktail in the Library Room at Woolworths. Pretty cool place but it might be trying too hard. The waitress was a doll; too bad she tried to sell us "beg nets" for dessert. We really should have educated her on the pronunciation. If her day job as a hair stylist doesn't work out, she'll need the tips from the larger checks of people who know how to pronounce and order beignets. 

This morning kicked off with a First Class upgrade confirmation (happy happy), followed by a flight cancelation and then a notice that no available flights could be rebooked. I immediately got on the horn with travel and secured the 2:50 flight. It's delayed. I'm writing this on the ground, waiting for de-icing necessary due to the earlier than expected freezing rain. As you can see from the photo, I'm in a crappy seat, next to the crapper. This does not matter because at least I won't be stranded in Dallas! 

The airport was swarming with people trying to get out. There was even a line at TSA Pre✔️ and for the Admirals Club. This was most unusual. I did enjoy watching the 70 year old woman wheel her 90 year old mother into the bar.  As she adjusted her wig and asked for a vodka soda, I knew we'd at least be friends if my flight didn't take off. I love talking to old people that drink!

Here's hoping for a nice snowy Columbus weekend with lots of fireplace activity and little movement from the sofa! 

Village Lights

Off to Dallas with an on time departure. I have three iPhone/iPad chargers in my bag but no iPad. In my pre-trip excitement to try the new remote access for work, I used it last night and didn't put it back in my bag. #travelfail

It's been a great week starting with some gold additions to the orange tree to Christmas it up a bit and a successful open house during Village Lights. It was great to see several friends from our jobs, the scooter world, the neighborhood, and long time pals. Everyone truly enjoyed the Makers Mark Mulled Cider recipe, even my Mom with the virgin version! I enjoyed hosting people but since I was the only responsible one, there was no opportunity to take turns hosting and participating in the German Village events. Perhaps next year we'll do a pre-party only or just participate in everyone else's events! 

If I can make it there...

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere, It's up to you, New York, New York!

Last week's travel debacle detoured me through LaGuardia. This week, it's my destination. I generally avoid holiday travel but made a special exception to celebrate Tim's cousin Robin's 50th birthday in the Big Apple over Thanksgiving. I was initially hesitant as I thought it would be an important holiday being the first without Grandma and the family farm. I was apparently wrong as my parents aren't even doing the family event. They are headed South to see my late Aunt Elizabeth's family. Hopefully I'll see everyone at Christmas or for the family winter hayride to Wachtels lights. Yes, that's a thing. 

Due to the horrible storm system over the Northeast, and uncertainty about holiday travel volume, we got to the airport an hour and forty five minutes early. I was the first through security 20 minutes ago and there is still not a single person at the gate. I guess there's not a plane either. My Delta App says gate C51 but perhaps we should check the monitor?

Safe travels to those on the roads, rails, and airways and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happiness and Continued Travel Hell

I find myself thinking a lot about happiness lately. What is it? How is it achieved? What's the difference between a fleeting moment of it and the type that endures for a lifetime? 

This isn't really travel worthy talk but sometimes the mundane cycle of work, sleep, run, repeat in Dallas forces me to spend a lot of time looking at myself and others around me. I hope I'm happy and I make others around me feel the same way. That's all we really can aspire to achieve, regardless what it looks like. 

Right now I'm just hoping my daughter had fun at tonight's Marine Corps Ball with her boyfriend and my flight doesn't change again to arrive any later so I can be in bed for at least a nominal amount of sleep before my early AM appointment with Trainer Nick! Of course, the fourth delay now has us arriving at 1:20 so we'll see. At least the free drinks in the Admiral's Club are taking my mind off the issue. 

 

The perfectly ordinary post above was written on Thursday evening at DFW. It's now mid day Friday and that is not a picture I should be adding to the post. After yesterday's delays, my flight was canceled, I ran two terminals away to catch an overnight connection via Chicago, then another, both of which I couldn't make. Covered in sweat, and told by both American and by my corporate travel agent that there were no connecting flights left last night and no direct flights until Saturday, I felt utterly defeated. 

I grabbed four hours of sleep at the Westin and am connecting through LaGuardia today. So far, my ticket was canceled and they took the seat, my connection was delayed. We're finally seated on a puddle jumper and will hopefully take off soon. I certainly don't want to have to update the post with any more adventures. I'm ready for the weekend!

Travel Hell

Sometimes traveling is easy and other times everything goes wrong. Guess how my Monday turned out?

We had a superb weekend with more people from DC, a birthday celebration, family in town, and a wedding where we re-connected with friends we haven't seen in 9 years. Crazy fun. 

Monday morning I had to print out my boarding pass at the airport because I couldn't log in online. I went through the TSA Pre Check line, as always, but didn't realize my ticket didn't say it today. The agent said my ticket wouldn't come up on her screen with expected codes for regular or pre-check so I got pulled from the line for having a suspicious ticket. A ticket that the airline had just printed for me. It was a sign.  

When I got to the gate, I realized there was no plane and the previous flight hadn't even boarded. That's when I learned there was an incident. Apparently, the previous inbound flight had a threat as described in this article. http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1520724#bmb=1 - I was not ready for this but was happy it wasn't my flight until it was. Concerned about my security situation with the ticket, I went to the gate agent. She suggested putting me on the earlier flight since the schedules were messed up. It wasn't scheduled for a few more hours (yes hours) but I could possibly get to Dallas in time for work. The concept of boarding a plane that had just been searched for a bomb for several hours was not appealing. To top things off, my laptop wouldn't connect with my wireless card so I was stranded with only a phone to access work email. Monday was not productive and I didn't get to my hotel until 6 PM. No office time for me. Fortunately, we arrived safely to DFW. 

Interestingly, after landing, I get another text message from the airline indicating my canceled flight could not be re-booked. I guess they didn't realize I was already here. This hopefully won't impact my return trip! #frustrating

Airplane Mode!

This is my first flight after implementation of the new FAA permission to keep devices in airplane mode from gate to gate! My flight to Dallas was restricted but the return flight provides the sweet taste of freedom. I decided to read a book on my iPad while listening to music and taking photos on my iPhone! Baby I'm having it all on this flight! Despite the somber photo, it really is exciting!

The work week was uneventful with a repeat of run/work/sleep every day. I did shave a full minute per mile off my 3.5 mile run this AM. It might be a 2013 PR! Running in the cold weather (30's) always makes me faster. I also love running past people in parkas while I'm in slutty running shorts and a t-shirt! 

Mondays dinner reminded me that I am a) in Dallas and b) eat at Schlotzsky's too much. The perfectly pleasant drive thru lady recognized me. I don't eat fast food at home and hate chain restaurants but my life has come to this. I need to read this article and make more time for me. http://wearemammoth.com/2013/11/long-hours

I'm very excited to return home as two DC peeps arrived last night. We get to play through Saturday and then the extra long Veteran's Day weekend still gives another two days to rest and recover! Thanks to all the military Hero's out there including my Dad! I might just take the new Benz for a spin to visit him this weekend. I called yesterday to find out checkup #3 confirms he's still cancer free! I also found out that his Veteran's Day weekend includes plans to scour Ohio's free food deals for veterans! Sounds about right. It's weird to be in week two of new car ownership and realize I've really only driven it to work once. The garage door isn't even programmed yet!

The Morning Train

It might be a plane and I might not work 9-5 but Sheena is on my mind today! If only I could get away with wearing that green jump suit! 

Off to Dallas after a delightful five day Fall foliage, friends, and family road trip to Indianapolis and St. Louis. If time permits, I'll retroactively post that trip. For now I'm just ready to board into my First Class upgrade seat and sleep for a few more hours! 

http://youtu.be/huNejF17gzg

Halloween Road Trip - Day One

First and foremost, this beautiful and magnificent piece of art is now in my garage! Her name is Edina. Despite being a little sad to bid farewell to Gertrude the G-Wagon, it was a great week! We decided to take Patsy on the road trip as there is a small chance we'll get a few sunny hours to throw on a scarf and throw off the top! 

We both worked Wednesday and then kicked off our Fall foliage, friends, and family road trip! The ride to St Louis was only moderately rainy but there definitely wasn't any sun. The Sheraton City Center upgraded us to a huge suite but it was early 90s fabulous. That property could sure use a facelift. It appears they've started in the garage and common spaces but until they have refreshed the guest rooms, I wouldn't recommend it. 

We met up with some great old friends and neighbors from our early 20s in a hip downtown spot called Revolucion. They apparently have a Tiki Bar in the back but we just ate up front and spent several hours catching up. Food was super affordable and quite delicious. We tried to recruit our friends to move back to Columbus but that doesn't seem likely. After dinner, we were exhausted. The combination of dreary weather and a long day took us back to the hotel bar where we could barely finish a cocktail but we did get a good sleep!

Sister, Get Up!

I don't know what to say. We always have such an amazing time with our DC family. It's even better when we come together to celebrate life's great moments! Congratulations to Bunny and Special "T." We wish you a lifetime of happiness! Every one of us made it the chapel early enough to pose for a group picture. It may have been the only wholesome thing we did all weekend!

I could talk about beers with the Mother of the Groom, long chats with old friends, dive bars, museums, filing the marital bed, after hours clubs, anticipation of the smoking purse, great conversation with the amazing family and friends of the happy couple, but I'm only going to elaborate on the Brazilian Naval ship and the hot men swabbing the decks and gaurding the entrances. Seriously! What a treat to come across such magnificence near the end of my Saturday morning run!

Our friend, Cat, coordinated a lovely jazz bring for Sunday afternoon. It was good to see more of the Chimneys. I am thoroughly exhausted and super thankful for this big comfy first class upgrade for the short flight home. 

Selfie!

The Ohio Chimneys are boarded for a wild weekend in DC and Baltimore where we'll raise a glass (perhaps more than one) at our great friends' wedding.

Shenanigans are imminent! Stay tuned!

Smoky Dreams

Not the hazy ones...the ones where you dream of smoking. I keep having them and it is really frustrating! Still smoke free in real life but not in my sleepy time. 

Perhaps eating this last night before bed (in bed) didn't help. I just couldn't resist! 

Excited to have my cousin visiting for a wedding even though we leave tomorrow for one too. I guess we're just trading states for the weekend! My flight is delayed but I should be at the gate soon!

My Weekend Wife & A Kiki Life

I thought it was going to be a boring weekend but as you can see from the above picture, it was Marvelous! We decided to buy a four top table and Meet/Greet passes for Ana Matronic's appearance at Axis on Saturday night. She is the female face of Scissor Sisters. While my boy Jake will always be my favorite, I also love Ana! Let's have a Kiki! 

Rewind: I woke up at 5 AM Saturday to find my friend M on FB. We decided to run together. I ran from OSU to her house then to ours. Six miles total for me and five for her. After a quick shower and breakfast at Skillet, we raked her leaves and went to Easton. She sold her van to CarMax and I went for a ride in a Q5 and the new CLA. Sadly, I think it's time for Gertrude to go. Daddy needs a new sedan! We did some shopping at Michael's for picture frames as we're both working on our trailers. M and I had lunch at Adobe Gilas after our first choice, the Ocean Club, didn't open until 5. It was definitely not the fancy martini lunch we planned but who doesn't love queso and margaritas? We each went home and met up Saturday night for a house party and the aforementioned shenanigans at Axis. To keep the weekend theme, we also met on Sunday for brunch. While I hated that T had to work twelves on Saturday and Sunday, it was fun spending time with my fake weekend wife! 

Now that another amazing weeend has come to an end, I'm off to the big D for work!

Plane Pic

Not much to blog about from the last few days as I've been work/run/sleep/repeat. I captured this pic on the way to Dallas earlier in the week. It's kind of neat but I haven't had time to figure out what river it is. Perhaps the iPhone grabbed GPS...not sure if it does that on airplane wifi only mode. 

T is working all weekend and I have no plans. Trying to brew up some fun!

There was another funny memory from last Saturday. People were off the chain at the Tremont when we made a late night appearance! Perhaps it was their new sign?

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Mathematically Impossible

Several friends and I met for breakfast on Saturday and scooted to Worthington North Library for the annual Touch-A-Truck event. Dozens of children get to climb on buses, firetrucks, tractors, utility vehicles, and because we showed up, scooters! It was great fun. Out of respect to the chirrens I won't post many pics but this dude trying to put on my giant full face helmet was just too precious! It's always a better day when you can help make some kids smile!

Unfortunately there were no smiles on Saturday night when the Crew lost 0-1 to Sporting KC. Our dreams of sneaking into the playoffs are now shattered. I even showed up with a jar of hope but it is no longer mathematically possible, regardless the size of the jar. The good part was hanging out with many friends. We swapped four tickets from other matches and took along some friends. It's always more fun in a group!

By the time we land in Dallas I will be 10 days smoke free! I almost caved on Saturday night but thankfully made it through! GIANT thanks to some friends for keeping me on track during a moment of weekness. Here's to staying strong!

Girl look at that body

Just Call Me Redfoo or Skyblue; I work out! I actually did it twice this week after a lengthy hiatus. I also plan to run tomorrow and scheduled time with the trainer on Friday. It goes well with the non-smoking lifestyle. 

I've been waking up to "Muscle Addiction" from the Naked Boys Singing soundtrack for several weeks. I hoped it would pump some motivation into my body but found it just made me hit snooze a little faster on most days. With this week's attitude, I woke up at 5:00 AM Tuesday and went for a run around Lake Carolyn. This morning I went to the gym for 50 minutes at 5:00 AM. Who am I? I like the no excuses, focused, winning attitude. With my workload, I need to balance out with fitness. Otherwise, it would be too many Martinis to cope!

Headed home but already booked trips for next week and the following. I hoped to move travel from every other to every third week for the Summer/Fall but I guess that didn't work. 

For closing smiles, here's a picture of this week's rental car. My team makes fun every day in their fancy luxury and go fast cars. I often pick a small one but have been reserving compact over the past several visits. Hertz started renting Fiat 500s and it makes me smile to try the tiny cars. It's also green! This week was a Spark; way too small and underpowered for Dallas freeways. Back to mid size for awhile. 

Fresh Breath!

Nobody likes to smell a smoker. That's perhaps the most compelling argument to quit smoking. That, and the slow uncomfortable death while clinging to an oxygen tank. That's also fairly unapealling. My life is pretty great. It isn't perfect, but I certainly can't complain and can think of a million better ways to die. I want to go in a fast car, on two Italian wheels, or on some great adventure. I don't want to die a smokers death so I quit. Again. 

The last blog was filled with attempts to quit and a lot of whiny discussion about it. This time it is a done deal. I signed up weeks ago with a quit smoking program. I have a phone coach. I have a local sponsor who promises I can call her day or night. I have cases of nicotine gum and an e-cig for emergencies. Today is my quit day but I accidentally quit on Saturday. Yes, accidentally. I had a cigarette at 5:30 at the antique market and just haven't picked one up since. 

According to my daily tips, I've done everything I'm supposed to do in preparation. I haven't smoked in the house for 15+ years, the car for at least 9 years, and I quit smoking during the work day a year ago. I don't smoke in the morning, and I don't do most of the other things they tell you to stop before the "quit date."  My objective isn't to dwell on it here or in life. I just want to be done. 

Last Saturday we had a super fun visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright Wilcox house in Springfield. I was exhausted but T wanted a little road trip on our day off together with no plans. We also toured a quite bizarre personal rock garden. Looking forward to more achitectural adventures at the end of October on our long weekend road trip. For now I'm off to Dallas for work...as soon as this delayed flight is ready to go. 

I love to skip!

Actually, I do! Picture a 40 year old man skipping down the sidewalk! Seriously though, I'm referring to my last flight. I was far too exhausted after Scoot-A-Que weekend to even pick up my iPhone or iPad to post on the way to Dallas. I'm now on the return flight home. Super excited to check out the Flatiron Bar & Diner tonight to celebrate T's 42nd birthday. Work obligations, mine and his, prevented any celebration on his actual birthday earlier in the week.

Here's a pic from the Saturday lunch provided by @MyPiada, the presenting Scoot-A-Que sponsor. Their Bexely location has a fantastic parking lot for all the scoots and their generous sponsorship for the second year in a row was greatly appreciated. You'll frequently find the Columbus Cutters in line at one of their many locations!

I won't recap all of the week's events but one of the highlights was the fourth annual Corsette! We hosted two of the riders and I was pleased to find time to both send them off on Thursday morning and welcome them back Friday afternoon. Eight women started, six women finished, and the top three places went to first time riders! I was given (temporary) ownership of a winner's tiara for this shot with the top two!

We had houseguests from two states and the District of Columbia and visitors from two others over the weekend. The actual rally had people from at least 10 different states. It was awesome, as usual! Can't wait for #17!

I finished the weekend in the Emergency Room on Sunday night. While I actually sliced up my leg on Sunday morning, there was too much going on to stop for medical attention until the full day of socialization and tearful goodbyes was done. The ER doc couldn't understand why anyone from German Village would go to Whitehall for dinner. He apparently hasn't tried the Pho from Indochine Cafe! I love when we find a hidden gem. 

Time to shut down for departure! 

Dallas Pride!

Three long work days and then I got to see my BFF. He rolled into town with three peeps from Austin. We started with a respectable dinner at Dish and the night went downhill from there...in a good way! We passed through JR's, Zippers, witnessed a foam party at BJ's NXS, and ended the night at the Eagle. A solid effort!

I missed Saturday brunch but caught up with the boys at the W Hotel for Dick's "Get Wet" pool party. It was a little awkward to check in on FB but I can't help the host's name. It only sounds bad!

Saturday afternoon included a late lunch at Hunky's, an over-priced shopping stop at ES Collection, a long nap, and then dinner at Thairriffic. The name is not representative of the food or the service. That's a restaurant that simply doesn't know how to staff for Pride weekend, or really any Saturday night for that matter. Fortunately we were exhausted and didn't mind a quiet two+ hour wait for a simple meal in a virtually dead restaurant. A few quick cocktails at Woody's and we were all off to bed. 

I walked around Cedar Springs this morning to see all the lesbians tailgating for the Pride Parade. They seem to come out early and in force. Took a sweaty walk to uptown where I met the last two remaining Austin friends and a Dallas friend for brunch a Common Table. It was brilliantly done! The grilled cheese was to die for! We took a taxi back to gayville and watched a few hours of the parade. It was hot as balls. Lots of horses, lots of cowboy hats, and one dude taking a bath in a tub in the back of a vintage truck. Interesting but too hot to watch the whole thing. 

I tried to catch an earlier flight but it was sold out. The people on my flight will be pleased the Admirals Club has showers; the sweat needed to go! A clean outfit, a sandwich, and few glasses of the free wine should set me up for a good nap home! It was a superb weekend and only would have been better if T was here too. 

Too many things!

We must never forget 9/11. I stole this pic from my friend Holly.

Once again, so many things have happened since the last post. 

I always love when my Sister and Nephew come down. Two weekends ago was particularly fun as we met at Easton after work on Friday and then went to Build-A-Bear. I assumed that place would be expensive like the American Girl madness but was pleased they offered a wide range of options. It was hard not to upgrade to the beating heart but he loved the build just the same. Apparently you can build more than bears! His fluffy puppy is named, "Cloud," but I called it Mr. C! On Saturday we got a personal tour of Columbus Station 14! It's the Elvis themed station. Our visit was made better by the fire pole demonstration and the fact they had to zip away on an actual run. That night we went back to Build-a-Bear too buy a firefighter outfit for Mr. C. A great weekend overall!

Labor Day weekend we went to Bentonville, VA for Camp Chimney! I sure do miss my DC friends and it was fabulous to catch up with them in such a casual and relaxed environment. The weather was great except for a little rain the last night. While others scrambled for ponchos, T and I decided to head to bed early. I was grateful we were well rested for the drive home on Monday! Seven years of camping with our tiny 3 person tent and it finally gave out. The screens have been a little stretched for the last few trips so it was a relief when a pole snapped. The decision was made and we could plan a new tent. 

This past weekend we ventured to Harrison for one night to visit T's Mom. She finally got her new house finished and moved in. It's super nice! His sister also bought a new house. The 50s charm impressed me. The best part of the trip was a stop at REI. I can't believe we don't have one in the Bus. I can't wait for the next camping trip as we can actually stand up in the Hobitat! We also tricked it out with a bunch of options! Stay tuned!

Finally, this work trip was delayed a day because of the #USAvMEX match! Our win secured us a spot on Brazil and the #DosACero tradition continues as we beat them two to one again! It was a good time tailgating, people watching, and most importantly, winning! Off to D where I'll work for three days and then stay for Dallas Pride! My BFF is headed up from Austin with a posse so it should be a great weekend!

Insufficient Sleep

It was a hell of a week! I was too tired to post coming back from DC. The city is amazing. With a few hours notice, fourteen friends showed up for dinner and or drinks on Wednesday night after two gruesome work days. I also found a few other old friends along the way! Despite such a short trip I was able to enjoy the Oyster Po Boy at Hanks, the meat board at KBC, a boozy milkshake at the Satellite Room and some shots of Jameson at Duffy's. I just wish it wasn't raining because Andy has a sweet new patio! Bobby even made a guest star appearance from Philly! God I miss DC! Thankfully, I chose water as my late night drink of choice, made the flight on Thursday morning, and got two solid days of work at home.

I'm excited to spend tonight and tomorrow with my Nephew and even got to Build a Bear with him at Easton. Hoping for a quiet weekend because Labor Day will have us back on the East coast for Camp Chimney on the Shenendoah. I love being able to spend time with my DC family. 

Taking First

I took a few firsts since the last flight. My good friends were married in Pittsburgh over the weekend and it was my first wedding to mesh Indian and Louisiana cultures and traditions. Super sweet! Timmy wasn't able to join so I shacked up with some friends at the Westin; points, of course! The bride and groom even threw beads from the balcony at Pearle but no skin was exposed by the attendees. Not at the reception anyway! The after party and the after after party were fun too! If I ever get married, there will be a rally patch!

My daughter moved into her Freshman dorm apartment. It's actually more of an apartment and nicer than any dorm I lived in. Times change and now I'm a college parent. It's not my first time feeling old but this is a big one to stomach! I'm learning just to embrace it. Go Bucks!

Finally, I took a free First Class upgrade on my first work trip back to DC since leaving last October. I haven't sent a shout out but hope to find time to connect to a few friends. It's always good to be seated in First Class when your boss is essentially in the back with the luggage!

India Meets New Orleans!

The title is exciting but it's where I'm going next and unfortunately not where I've been all week. This was a particularly stressful week of work but I thankfully am able to come home early for a few more days with Gladys before heading to Pittsburgh for an undoubtedly fun wedding that will bring an Indian friend and a Louisianan friend together. I'm really looking forward to their culturally diverse wedding and especially the Robot themed Raas-Garba! More about the wedding in the next post.

I haven't had much sleep so there won't likely be Wed or Thu night shenanigans like last weekend. Having our good friend, Gladys, in town has been adventurous! This pic is representative of the foolishness that ensued over the weekend. Yes, that is a pristine 1985 Lincoln that Cynthia climbed up on like she owned it! In reality it belongs to some good friends and was quite fun to roll around in! There may or may not have been classy Tool Box strippers involved?

There was also dancing, of course! We enjoy the Barracks at AWOL! It was a little slow on Friday but that gave these boys room to flail around like frat boys (or girls as the case may be)?

The real weekend dance fun was at the Garage on Saturday night! These two posed all sexy but I got to dance with Andrea Cambern! 

I should be landing soon. Until the next plane ride...

Free Detroit Family

I'm going to start with a mini-rant instead of the normal journal entry. It frustrates me to see people complaining about free apps and services like Facebook or Gmail. They are FREE and you are not contractually bound to keep using them. If you don't like the new Gmail ads, close your account and choose a new service. It's simple. Unless we're paying for something, it is quite difficult to justify complaints about changed layouts and functionality. Now that I've vented here I don't have to delete that friend on FB!

T-shirt display at the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. I picked up some sweet holiday gifts! I think this might be my next FB profile pic!

So much has happened since the last work trip! Tim and I spent a delightful weekend in Detroit and my baby Agador is running like brand new! We were conflicted on accommodations since everyone was so spread out this year. We considered the amazing Hostel Detroit but it was so far from the venues. I'd always go back the the Book Cadillac but it too was not geographically ideal. The camaraderie of scooter rallying is intensified when there is a rally hotel or at least a few folks stay together. Since this wasn't the case, we put a shout out to Rover friends and had an offer to crash. It was great to spend time with J/J and they have nice guest accommodations. We got to know them better and had fun playing with their 8 month old baby! So much fun! Detroit has some super amazing people! Now I just need to remember to mail that thank you card!

  

The closing party was at a sick space called Jam Handy on East Grand Boulevard. It's basically an abandoned warehouse that has been used for various purposes over the years. Some dude bought it for pennies a few years back and uses it for events. Eerily quiet on that street filled with abandoned commercial places, no street lights, and downtown looming nearby.  While none of us won the raffle bike, we sure did have fun posing with it! Thanks to JG for this pic! I also took my social media responsibilities seriously and actually tweeted a few pics for the Cutters. This one was from the party. 

We had my Dad's family reunion on Saturday at the farm. Only a few folks showed up but it was quality time. It's quite the contrast from my Mom's family that literally gets together in some way at least once a week. It did remind me to reach out to my cousin in CMH. It's a shame ten months passed before I saw him to say we moved back. My baby girl was stuck in Wooster hospital over night and missed the reunion. She has a pretty gnarly infection from her wisdom teeth extraction. I'll spare the gory details of the doc opening and draining the puss filled pockets. That description alone about makes me want to hurl!

Finally, our friend, EH, from Albuquerque is visiting for a week and a half. He's on his final break before graduating with his economics degree. We missed the Crew match on Saturday due to the hospital issue but did manage to get in quite a bit of weekend fun. I even danced with an old news anchor at the Garage. While we have many mutual friends and used to cross paths quite frequently, I really never got to know her. Memories of my baby girl with her starstruck eyes when the "lady on the news" would show up with our friends was priceless. I do love a local celebrity, especially when they are genuinely nice people! I was sad to see she moved out West before we returned to CMH. 

Time for a little nap. I wasn't supposed to head out until Monday night but responsibility beckoned and I'm a loyal employee so off I go. Hopefully will be able to get back early on Wednesday for some quality time with EH before next weekend's adventures. 

I sleep!

It still amazes me that I can fall asleep before a plane even takes off. Unfortunately this often means I miss beverage service. I am quite ready to go home after six long days in Dallas. My 7/31 deadline seems to be doable after a bunch of hard work by the team. Here's what I know:

There is more than one Bolsa in Oak Cliff. While the Mercado might be a great cafe, wine bar, and market, your friends are probably at the restaurant having a delicious meal and proper cocktail. http://www.bolsadallas.com/

Working on a Saturday isn't so bad if you relocate the management team to a place for the idle rich in Uptown Dallas and find $7 carafes of mimosas! (Picture above!) http://www.idlerichpub.com/

The Dallas Dirty Bird isn't so bad for Happy Hour! You can get cheap drinks and make great friends and it goes late enough for those working long hours to catch. The bird is, however, quite dirty on a Saturday night. http://www.dallaseagle.com

Dallas has pool parties. Despite being a glamorous name for an enormous apartment complex, the Village Country Club throws one hell of a frat boy style free weekend afternoon pool party, complete with DJs and cheap drink specials! http://www.thevillageapts.com/club/

Being away from family during rough times makes you feel guilty and alone. My Dad fortunately made it through a rough spell in his recovery and came home today. I'll get to see him after my daughter's wisdom tooth extraction tomorrow. 

There are big beautiful blind drag queens in Dallas! I didn't remember how huge a space or how fun S4 could be. It's actually worth the little $5 cover. http://www.station4dallas.com/

Le Meridien at the Stoneleigh is a fantastic property. When it shows up with a reasonable price again, I'll book more business trips to stay there! http://m.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3895

If you have too much to drink because your friends offer to be designated drivers, it's easy to lose your car once and leave your credit cards twice. I'll let you guess which of the above places align with such challenges. Thankfully my recovery mission the following day was successful on all counts!

Optimism

Jay is once again on a plane. If the rough math is accurate, I've logged 1,200+ miles in the car over the past week with a trip to the DC Rally and to Cleveland for Dad's surgery. I'm not sure there's been any nights with more than four or five hours of sleep and there's no end in sight. Hopefully won't have to work all weekend and hopefully won't have any issues getting back on Tuesday before my daughter's surgery. I know she's smart and I know she's clever, but I didn't realize how wise she is. W apparently has five impacted wisdom teeth. While I was perhaps six or seven years older when all four of mine were removed, the experience will undoubtedly be unpleasant and I need to be there for her. 

Here's a pic of W and Dad before his surgery on Wednesday. His spirits were high and my brothers, Mom, Sister(in-law), Uncle N, and a few folks from Dad's church were all there by his side. Others wanted to visit last night but he was pretty tired so we encouraged them to wait until today. A close family is such a blessing. The chemo has apparently been working and the latest lung tumor shrunk. The Doc still removed it but was able to take a smaller portion of his lung. According to the scans and what she could see inside, no others are currently growing. Despite the fact this is surgery number three in three different places, we're optimistic this "stage 4" cancer is now under control. We could use another 13+ years of remission because these last few years have been terrible. He'll quickly heal from the immediate pain. It's the unknown that is hardest to stomach. 

Off to work soon! Time for a nap before we land. At least there are hot young men sitting all around me. Apparently that's when they travel? I'm generally stuck on a Monday flight with cranky old business men; like myself I suppose?

Bulls & Cancer

I have so much work to do. If it wasn't for Dad's hospital stay starting on Monday and his surgery to fight the big bad C on Wednesday, I'd stay in Dallas through the weekend. 

The only good part is making time to catch up with some Turnbulls DC and other East Coast scooter peeps at the second annual Running of the Bulls. Since I was on the planning committee last year, it will be great to just sit back and relax for this one. 

#exhausted

Note: this was spoda post last Thu but I must have shut down before it went out. Will update when I'm back at the computer...

Quality or Quantity?

Here we go on the road again to Dallas for a long work week. I am scheduled to return on Thursday but the calendar is already filled and Friday might be more likely. This could prove problematic as the DC Turnbulls' Running of the Bullls Rally is next weekend in Breezewood, PA. Hopefully this year I won't jam a shock through the frame. Forty year old vintage scooters weren't exactly engineered for motocross trails! Speaking of scooters, I rode Agador for the first time today after ten months of downtime due to repairs and maintenance. More details on that later but he's faster and better than ever. Surely worth the wait!

Now to the subject of this post. Since my last trip, there have been countless activities to discuss. Sometimes I wonder if we should do less with less people? I love all my friends and don't want to miss anything. How do people decide what approach to take? For example, we had great friends visiting over the Fourth of July. We had brunch, caught the Doo Dah with the lesbians, squeezed in two parties, fireworks, then met other friends from out of town out later that night. We saw "everyone" on the Fourth and truly had a memorable time but...should we have picked one party? Should we have fully embraced one group of friends over the other? Did we nurture our deep lifelong connections to any of them by trying to have it all or do they think we're just fleeting and noncommittal to any of them? Does it matter? How do we maximize both connections and happiness? 

That said, here are some other things from the last few weeks:

My brother, sister, and nephew spent the night. We essentially chatted, ate, and lolly gagged around the village after a haircut at Niko's. My nephew would look so cute in a Mohawk but I restrained myself!

I "passed" my annual physical with a clean bill of health and learned by old Doctor moved into the "castle" in GV. Awesome! There's more work to do with the cholesterol levels but overall good as a 40 year old can be. 

We met friends for Comfest but were essentially rained out and didn't have the patience for the crowds and miserable weather. That weekend ended with a bear pool party and dancing at both the Barracks at AWOL and dancing at the Garage. I may not be the world's most refined dancer, but it sure makes me smile. Oh the memories of the old Garage. The new place is flashy and the bartenders sport ridiculous matching temporary tattoos all over their bodies, but it still has the spirit of the 90s and I felt 22 again. Fantastic!

This weekend was fairly low key with an outing to Sommerfest at the Germania Club. Perhaps I had a few too many shots of Yeager or pitchers of beers. For some reason I felt compelled to join a German Social Club. I told myself it was sustaining a piece of history as it is the last remaining one in Columbus but on reality it might have been grasping for my German heritage. I suppose it pairs nicely with our planned 2014 trip to Germany. Not surprisingly, two neighbors also joined. 

We also caught day one of the 50's exhibit at The Ohio Historical Society Museum. This is kind of funny since it will be there, complete with a full Lustron house, for the next five years. The WOSU Member Card got us in for half price and our teacher friend got in for free. Pretty nice museum. I highly recommend the "Controversy" Exhibit. Timely with the tragic George Zimmerman verdict as there is plenty of room for thought. 

This feels like enough journalling for now. Off to Dallas!

Farewell to the Family Farm

I didn't get on a plane to get there but was transported to a far away emotional place. My earliest memories come from visiting my Grandparents at the family homestead. It's been in our family for generations and tonight was divided into several parcels and sold at an old school auction. We might not own it now, but as a great friend reminded me, our precious memories can't be sold. It gives me peace to know that many new families will now have a beautiful place to make memories of their own. The Holmes County Amish sure have deep pockets! The proceeds will provide a nice contribution to my Mother and her siblings' retirement accounts. Grandpa and Grandma would be proud that their hard work allowed them to pass on a little something to their children. I'm sure the money will be nice but the memories are priceless. 

DOMA is Dead!

I probably don't need to say any more than the title! It's amazing that this decision has instantly removed a layer of inequality that I frankly thought would be with us for a very long time. 

A decision like this doesn't help the homesickness I often feel for DC. It would have been fantastic to hit the streets which were undoubtably alive last night. I surely could have found many friends to celebrate. Instead I was stuck in Dallas. I wasn't going to let it get me down so I went in search of activity. I found a rally in the gayborhood where I met a group of lesbians. We had a few beers after listening to some speakers. It was, frankly, too hot to be outside. Despite the fact I didn't rally long, it was comforting to know it was there. 

Cedar Springs was full of happy faces and friendly people. I've never encountered such camaraderie in Dallas. It felt nice and I made a few new friends. Now it is time to go home to Columbus. With the 4th of July holiday and a vacation day on the 5th, I won't be back to hot hot Dallas for a few weeks. 

Back to the grind...

I wish this flight was taking me back to South America. I really need to find a remote position so I can live wherever my heart desires! We had a busy weekend with friends from WV in town and all of the Gay Pride festivities. It is amazing how this event has grown in the eight years we've been gone. One local news outlet estimated the crowd at 300,000! It sure felt like it! I went to bed early on Friday but did give a full day on Saturday starting with a champaign breakfast at 8 AM, volunteering at the festival, watching the parade, and then we went out, albeit briefly, on Saturday night. We took a Pride break to see the Crew lose 2-1 to the Fire. Sunday was a lazy sofa day so no Bat-n-rouge for us. I attribute the exhaustion to the post Peru cough and recovery time rather than old age. Hopefully next year we'll catch more events.

Today I'm back on the road to Dallas. The good part of work travel is finding out your schedule is going to make it difficult to maintain the standard biweekly trips. It looks like I might, fingers crossed, be able to go every third week throughout the Summer months. Since the schedule can change at the drop of a hat, I'm not holding my breath. A boy can dream!

At present we're delayed 35 minutes. Thankfully there is no connection so whenever it gets there works for me. I will sleep on this flight!