Christmas time

I cannot believe that it is already almost Christmas time. Time really flies by when you are having fun. It's been a great year, a lot of changes. On Christmas day I will be doing my usual, going to the union rescue mission and serving Christmas dinner to the homeless.

We started doing this several years ago and now make it a regular thing to do. It only takes a couple of hours in the morning and it is the most rewarding experience you will ever have. I challenge anyone to do it. It makes you appreciate what you really have if you go and help feed the homeless.

It isn't all just dirty old drunk men like you think either. There are families and children and all types of people there. I usually spend about $100 worth of groceries to donate and then stay and serve dinner for about 2 hours. It's very sad to see the children with no home and no Christmas gifts. Last year I went out and bought some gifts for this little girl. She and her mother were living in their car because the Mom had lost her job. They had no other family and the father was killed in Iraq. The military is hopelessly slow and they were waiting on the death benefits to come through but still haven't gotten them. My friend JR who is the hotel manager gave them a room for 5 days after Christmas. That at least gave them a place to go. After that they were able to go stay with a cousin of the lady's in Ohio. Our Church gave them gas money to get there. It was horribly sad.

My point about all this is give. Most of us have so much, that if we gave a little it can really change someone's life. We received a letter from the lady back in July. They finally got a place and were getting the benefits from her dead husband. But there are many more people out there like that and it doesn't take any time at all to help. Please help if you can.

Vacation

Yay! It's almost the new year and even better in January I become eligible for vacation at my job. I get to go somewhere in January and thank God, because it has been almost a year since I have been anywhere. I have 2 options and I cannot decide which one to chose.

First, I can go to Disneyworld in Orlando and stay for 7 days. They have great package deals which include hotel on Disney property, park tickets and 2 meals a day for 2 people it would be about $1000 which is awesome. Or I could go on a cruise with my lesbian friends. My friend Kit-kat sets up these cruises kinda like Rosie O'Donnell and gets lots of friends to go and we get a great deal. That would cost $287 per person for double occupancy and includes a room with balcony for 5 days. We would cruise from Miami to Puerto Rico. There would be multiple lesbians and a couple of gays other than me and Chris.

So I cannot decide. Hard decision. But the main thing is that I am going somewhere. I am leaning toward Disney because I love theme parks and love Disney. It's great in January because no one is there and the weather is awesome. Not too hot and not humid and no lines to stand in. Oh well, what to do, what to do.

Project Runway et al

It's been a while since my last post, and I have been very busy. My birthday was Nov 22 (Thanksgiving) and it was awesome. Of course we had a big family dinner with everyone in attendance and that was great, but it was the next day that was fun. Chris and I went to Nashville and stayed the weekend. Even though it has only been since April that I moved away, it seems much longer. I miss living in the city and may move back soon.

My friend JR is the GM of the Radisson in Nashville, so he gave us a FABULOUS suite for the weekend. It was very nice and we were able to take the dogs with us. He turned on the pay-per-view movies so we watched several movies for free. Stephen, our choir director came over and brought a nice bottle of Vodka. We had several cocktails with him and just kinda hung out on Friday night watching movies.

Saturday was spent shopping. We shopped till we dropped. We really didn't want to go Friday because it was black Friday and we didn't want to fight the crowds. It was much nicer on Saturday. We didn't buy any Christmas gifts, just stuff for ourselves. I know that is selfish, but it was my birthday and my money. I wanted to spend it on me. I had set $1500 aside and spent most of it. I did get many new outfits and was very pleased.

We came home Sunday and just vegged out, did laundry and things like that. It sucked getting back to reality, but it was nice to get away. Lately we have been watching Project Runway. I love, love that show. There is so much I could talk about, but I will leave that to the boys at project rungay. They do it so much better than me. I did love the menswear show that was the most recent episode. Of course most of those queens complained about it, but I thought it was great and has been one of my favourites so far. If those designers have ANY talent at all, they should be able to do menswear.

Well, bye for now. See you soon.

Sparkle and Maddie

I guess I should take a minute and explain why my blog is called Sparkle and Maddie. These are my dogs, they are both miniature Dachshunds and both are black and tan. Sparkle is the oldest, she is 8 years old, she will be 9 on Easter. Since I got her when she was 2 years old, I never knew her actual birthday, but they told me she just turned 2 and that was on Easter. So I just celebrate her birthday on Easter.

Maddie is 2 years old, her whole name is Madison, but I call her Maddie. She is my baby and my shadow. I have had her since she was 6 weeks old and she is my best friend. I love Sparkle dearly too and care for her deeply, but her personality is that of a bitch and she tends to be moody. Maddie, however, just loves me so much and is exicted every time she sees me. She is always by my side, no matter where I go and is very much a Daddy's girl. She knows I love her and she works it. She can do no wrong in my eyes and she is just my baby. I don't know what else to say, except she is very loved.

Both dogs are spoiled rotten, they sleep in the bed with me, they ride in the car with me and never do they want for anything. Sparkle barks to be gotten down from the bed and barks to be let in and let out. She has me trained. Maddie barks a lot at anything that moves. Sparkle only barks when she needs something. Once I get some pics on this computer, I will upload them.

Feeling better

Now that is has been several weeks since I have "detoxed" I feel great. However, I do miss being high sometimes. Strange how you can love and hate the same thing all at once. Things are going well, leaves are turning and falling. I have to get out and rake my yard soon. That sucks. Oh, wait, I have a blower. I will just blow them away. Still it sucks.

I am at work now, I am always at work it seems. Gosh I can't wait until January. That is when I will get vacation and go to Disney world in Florida. Can't wait. I haven't been since 2003. It is going to be a blast.

Detox

If anyone has ever had an addiction, you know how horrible it is to come off of that addiction. I have arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome and I am in constant pain. I recently decided I needed to get off of the pain pills for a while since I had been on them for so very long. Including oxycontin, lortab, and roxicodone, I have been on them a while.

Let me tell you it was horrible, I have never, ever been through such an experience. I thought I was going to die for 3 days. I couldn't sleep, but I was so tired. I was nauseated and had diarreaha(sp?). I was sweating and just in horrible pain. I never want to go through that again.

It was the worst thing ever, but it is over now and I feel much better. I don't know how long I will be able to stay off of them though. The pain is coming back.

My first post

Well I have thought about getting a blog for a while now, but now I have actually done it. I am more than likely just writing to thin air because I don't think anyone will be reading this at all since I am not that interesting, although I do have a few stories to tell.

Where to begin, I guess the begininng, my life has been a trip to say the least. I graduated high school at age 17 and moved away from the country. Back then, I hated living out there, absolutely hated it. Being a young, gay man, there was nothing for me out there at that time. I wanted the bright lights and fast pace of the city and nothing was going to stop me from getting it.

Since I am at work right now, I cannot write too much today, this is just a start of a comprehensive review of my life. More to come.....