Category: friends

all about me, friends

sailing… take me away…

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I have some sad news for my five song Friday readers; this week, there will be no five song Friday. I know, I know, you are very distraught, but it is for good reason… We are setting sail to the Bahamas! Okay, perhaps “set sail” isn’t exactly the correct turn of phrase, more like embarking on a journey to the Bahamas? Whatever you want to call it, James and I, along with some good friends, are going to take a trip of sheer indulgence and opulence, and head out on my very first cruise vacation. I am excited to be getting away for some much needed R and R, but I am a bit nervous about being on a big boat; seeing as I have never been on a cruise before.

I hope to take lots of pictures, swim a lot, eat a lot, and see some pretty things. I will probably buy some things in the Bahamas that I don’t need, and I will probably drink way too much; but dammit, I am determined to have a great time. Five song Fridays will resume starting with next week, so if you are hunkering for some music to fill this very tiny void, check out the archives; there are more than 200 songs that I have already featured, and those should tide you over until our return.

One thing is definitely for sure… I will be wearing lots and lots of sunscreen!!!

See you when we get back!

all about me, friends, school

sunburned

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James and I were invited to go see the Tech game this weekend with the lovely Mr. Pbody and hakeber, and after sitting in the direct sun for a few hours, my head is BURNED.

The worst, is that I cut my hear very short (buzzed), and as a result, my actual scalp is burnt. Since we are going on a cruise later on this week, I am going to be sure to pack two things indeed; sun screen and hats. Lots of hats.

Ouch!

In school related rants, I am half way into this Microbiology class, and I am more than over it! The questions on the most recent test were so detailed, and the amount of information required for the test was staggering to say the least. I will be happy when I have this one behind me for sure. The lab midterm is this week, and I hope that I do really well on it; especially considering it is 50% of my grade. Why do they have to do that in these classes? I mean, if you want me to LEARN it, why make it so I have to cram, and am more likely than not, most likely to forget most it? I don’t get it. I am still waiting to hear about nursing school at Kennesaw, so I want to be sure and do well in this class; but I don’t see an A in my foreseeable future, which does stress me out.

concerts, friends, music musings

the presets/cut copy @ masquerade 9-27-08

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dance
Last night, we went to see The Presets and Cut Copy at the Masquerade. Both acts were amazing, and it was a fantastic show. I was more excited to see the Presets, because I have really been enjoying their record for many months now. They totally deliver live, and I was very pleased with their show. The lighting was especially amazing.

I wasn’t really that interested in Cut Copy initially, because for whatever reason, their record just hadn’t meshed with me, but I can say that after last night, I will be spending a little more time with it. They were great in their own right, even though they really didn’t harness the lighting to move the crowd as much as the Presets did. I did state several times during their act that they were much better than their record let on, however, so I was pleased to find them great in concert.

Both acts were fantastic, and the vibe at the Masquerade was awesome. People were dancing, and the floor was literally pulsating from the bodies and energy. It was a great concert, and a great night with friends.

all about me, friends, school

it’s oh so quiet

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It seems like things are quiet on the internets… perhaps I am just tired from coming back to work after 4 wonderful days off? Who knows.

All I know, is that I was humbled by the amount of well wishes, and the AMAZING outpour of gifts that I got for my birthday. I got way more than I was expecting, and I appreciate all of it!!! Thanks to everyone who “hooked me up”!!

It’s funny, though, because now that I am the “dreaded” thirty, I don’t feel ANY different than I did 2 days ago when I was still 29. Eh, such is life.

In other news, I took the TEAS, which is the “entrance” test for application to the nursing program at Kennesaw, and I got an 83%. Considering that the average for other students in the program was at 68%, I feel pretty darn good about my score. I also got 15% over the national average for the test. Rockstar! I am glad that is out of the way; I REALLY hate standardized tests… especially when they are required. Now, my Kennesaw application is complete, and I am waiting on two letters of recommendation so that I can send in my GSU one. Fingers crossed people!!

I also had a bit of a revelation this morning; after some events that took place yesterday. I am going to work on putting up with less bullshit in the future. I have had many discussions with my therapist, as well as with other people, about problems that I experience with my own innate inability to let go of stuff that bothers me that other people do, because I usually don’t address it when it happens. I am going to start calling out bullshit, so that I don’t have to be the one to carry it around anymore. This really isn’t a big “oh shit, he’s gonna get mean” warning, but I guess it means a lot to say something like this publicly, in writing, that I am going to be more forward when I feel like I have had to put up with BS from anyone. Maybe something is different today… maybe 30 means that I will be a little more comfortable with myself by standing up for myself. Who knows… we shall see!

And finally… APPLE; release the goddamned new iPods already! I want a touch with more than 32GB… like NOW. Thanks in advance. Kisses and love.

"pointless", all about me, friends, happenings, mixed media, shiny stuff, the catch-all-egory

update, I guess?

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It seems like I don’t have much to post about these days… or perhaps it is that I only have mundane things to post about? Either way, I feel like I could at least do a bulleted update list or something, to give y’all the 411 on what’s going on in the wonderful world of duane.

  • I have officially ran out of classes to take for my pre-requisites. I am taking Microbiology this fall, and after that, I just have to wait to get into a program. I am really anxious about getting into one right away, because I REALLY want to get moving on this nursing degree. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
  • Speaking of taking that one class, just getting the random holds off of my account at GPC was more than a headache that lasted from early June all the way through this week. Currently, things are okay, but it was REALLY frustrating to deal with… especially when you call the registration and administration services offices at any of their campuses, and all it does is ring five times before you get a voicemail. Is anyone working there? I mean, they have extended hours for crying out loud! Ugh, I am just glad I have things squared away with GPC.
  • I have officially applied to Kennesaw and Georgia State. I am awaiting my friendly “you got in, yay” packet, so that I can then apply to each one of their nursing programs. I REALLY want to get in and start taking the next steps to becoming a nurse. I am so freaking ready it isn’t even funny.
  • I mentioned a while back that I wanted a new lens for my birthday, but I ended up getting that before I went on my NYC trip. I have decided to wait a little while and see what Apple is going to do, but I have pretty much promised myself that I will be obtaining an iPod touch in the near future. I hope that they come out with one that has more than 32gb, and is cheaper than $500. It would be awesome to throw a camera on that thing too; because I think that the iPhone is awesome, and I would like to have everything BUT the phone. Hurry Apple! I’m anxious!
  • We are still loving the counter tops, sink, and new faucet. I literally walk into the kitchen every time, and cannot believe that it is my house. It was the last thing about our house that we wanted to desperately change, and it has been done… I love our house even more now!
  • Other than dealing with trying to get transcripts out, holds taken off of accounts, applications in, and other whatnot, I have been hanging out with friends and having a pretty good last few weeks. My mood seems to be in an upswing, and I am not complaining about that in the least. I just wish I could get rid of my extreme sensitivity to heat. I really feel like people think that I am making it up sometimes just for attention, which is far from the truth. The other night, we were at a cookout, and I had to leave really abruptly, or pass out. Seriously, I sat in the car for like 10 minutes with the AC on full blast just to keep my food down, and my self conscious. It was awful. I just wish that it didn’t bother me as bad as it does.
  • Lastly, I guess, Soul Calibur IV, while it may make me REALLY frustrated at times when the opponent is a seemingly perfect god of moves and penetrating skills, is an amazing game. They have improved over the Soul Calibur franchise considerably, and the graphics are nothing short of jaw droppingly beautiful. It is also a hoot to play as Yoda, because he says a bunch of his little catch phrases, and well, he’s just so damn cute! It’s a great game, and a must for any fighting game fan. The Xbox 360 continually impresses me with it’s graphical prowess.

Alright, that’s it for now. Back to life…

flickr, friends, happenings, hotness, movie musings

weekend recap

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Well this weekend was a lot of fun.

A lot of drunken fun (Friday night at least).

John, Michael, Justin, and I decided to get shitty and head out to the local gay watering hole, Mary’s for ManShaft. It proved to be a night of drunken debauchery, however, being the modest one that I am (no seriously), I managed to maintain my composure enough to stay fully clothed; even though my fellow friends didn’t always manage to do the same (it was all fun though… I mean, no one got nude or anything!). There were sweaty, hot, mostly naked men, and needless to say, it was a FANTASTIC night. I love nights out like that… we closed down the bar, and had a lot of fun.

One “highlight” of the evening for me, was seeing my ex out, and the interchange that we had. As he was walking by in the crowded bar, I poked him on the shoulder, and he leaned in to me and said, “hey… do I know you?”. LOL! Well, I knew that I looked different, but not that different! My response to him was, “well, you should, since we dated for a year and a half”. Needless to say, he had a little egg on his face at the moment, but it made me laugh. I mean seriously. However, he seems to think that we only dated for 11 months, which I was quick to correct… the last 6 months of our relationship were definitely something I won’t forget (not in the good way), so let’s not make light of them, alright?

Either way, the night was fun, as was the rest of the weekend. We ended up going over to Rich and Darron’s for horrible movie night, where we were exposed to the absolute horror that is Xanadu. Wow, movies that bad really shouldn’t be allowed onto DVD, but alas, I am sure there are those out there that love it. It was really, really bad. However, one thing I did learn from watching it, is that Gene Kelly is one handsome man! I mean seriously, he was really hot for an older man in that film, and looking back, he is quite the looker. I have added some old musicals to my netflix so I can see him in all his glory. I guess it is fitting that a horrible “musical” could open my interests to older, more well praised musicals, right? Either way… Gene Kelly, hot; Xanadu, not.

After all of the excitement Friday, I am glad that Saturday night was tame, and that Sunday was even tamer. The new counter tops are being installed tomorrow, so expect me to squeal like mad over them for the rest of this week… seriously, I have wanted new counter tops since day one of moving into this house, so I couldn’t be more thrilled. Stay tuned for pictures!

How was everyone else’s weekend?

all about me, friends, happenings, mixed media, near and dear, photography, show the love, that is so gay, venting

new york city: the trip, the story, the post that follows

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As I mentioned in my previous two posts, we went to NYC for a little vacation, and despite a horrible 10+ hour delay in LaGuardia, we are back. Fun was had, sweat was shed, feet were hurt, subways were ridden, food was eaten, money was spent, and all of that made for some great stories and good times. I have decided to give you a list of the highlights of the trip, so here we go:

downtown

  • I got engaged. James proposed to me on the top of the 30 Rockefeller building, also known as the “Top of the Rock”. It was amazing being up there, and seeing all of NYC, and then being surprised by a beautiful ring (which I picked out), from a beautiful man. I don’t know when the date is going to be set, but I need to ask him in return, so I need to come up with something as romantic as his proposal (which was uber sweet).
  • When I say above that sweat was shed, I meant it. NYC is fucking HOT in the summer. Top all that heat off with the lack of A/C in a lot of places meant that I took no less than 3 showers a day, and changed clothes at least 2 times as well. All in all, we started to acclimate by the end, but that was pretty much pointless, as we were headed back to ATL at that point. I would like to go back to NYC in the fall next time; I have only ever been when it is scorching hot, or freezing cold… I would like to see it during a happy medium.
  • When we got to our hotel, I committed a bit of a gay snafu, if you will. Upon arrival, we checked in at the desk, and I needed to ask the clerk something, so I addressed her by name; or so I thought. Her name was Liza, and I thought, “it can’t be pronounced Lie-za, it just can’t be”, so I called her Lee-za. The best part, was that she corrected me by saying, “no no, honey. It’s Liza. With a Z.” Needless to say, we got a big laugh out of that one, even though I probably lost a few gay points for not knowing the correct way to pronounce Liza.
  • As a result this trip, I’ve pretty much given James and ultimatum; the beard has got to go back down to a van dyke. The reason being, that while we were in NYC, almost every place we went, people asked us if we were twins. Now let that sink in for just a second; not just brothers, but twins!?! I know that we are both guys with beards, but seriously, twins?? I don’t see it. Either way, I don’t want to look just like my lover, so I want him back in the goatee ASAP, so we can curb this “brother” nonsense.
  • We saw two shows while in NYC: Legally Blonde the Musical, and RENT. First of all, Legally Blonde was AMAZING. It met and greatly exceeded my expectations. I saw it on MTV last fall when they broadcast a performance of the show, and when I found out that Laura Bell Bundy was still in the show on Broadway, I HAD to see it. SHE. WAS. AMAZING. If you like the movie, you owe it to yourself to see the musical; it is just as fun, and the songs are delightful. I am so happy I got to see this show with the original cast. Also, we saw RENT, which I have loved for many, many years, but I had never seen on Broadway. As with all traveling shows, they just don’t compare to the Broadway version, and as such, I had to see RENT before it ends on September 7th. RENT was one of the first musicals that I got into, and it was great to see it on Broadway. It too, was excellent.
  • As I mentioned before, walking around really was painful on the old feet. I realized that I need to get back in shape, and I am committed to doing so; especially after suffering during the trip. I hope that I can make a permanent foray back into working out regularly; and if anything good comes out of our trip, that would definitely be a great one.
  • While there, I got to hang with one of my best friends, Steve Yockey, which was awesome. I also got to meet a fellow flickr friend, Michael, for the first time, who accompanied us to a sunny afternoon on the pier, followed by dinner. I wish I could have spent more time with each of them, but time didn’t permit.
  • Overall, the trip was awesome. John was great, and a lot of fun to hang out with. We got to see pretty much everything we wanted to, and felt like we saw it all (even though we really didn’t). It was awesome seeing such spots as the Stonewall Inn and the Brooklyn Bridge, and took a lot of pictures (expect them to trickle onto flickr in the coming days!). I had a lot of fun in NYC, but I am so glad to be home; it was a great vacation, however, I need a vacation because my vacation tired me out so much! Oh well, that’s how it happens, right?

all about me, five song friday, friends, happenings, photography

I want to be a part of it…

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New York

New York!!!!

James, John, and I are heading to the Big Apple for a fun filled 5 days. Lookout New York, we are coming for ya!!

If you can do simple math, you should have figured out that this means I will be OOT on Friday, and as such, there will be NO FIVE SONG FRIDAY this week. I know you are sad, but look back over the glorious five song Fridays of the past, and reminisce. They will commence next week, however, so you don’t have to worry too much my dears!!!

Here’s hoping we have a great vacation, and get to take lots of pictures, and that it isn’t toooooo hot. I can’t wait!

friends, hmm interesting, is it just me?, venting, wtf?!

the wrong way to act

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I have been experiencing what seems like a big “fuck off” from customer service people lately. Perhaps it is because it is hot outside, or maybe something is in the water, but I feel like it has been happening more and more.

Specifically, places like the Kroger at Edgewood, the employees are consistently rude and flat out disrespectful almost every time I shop there. I have had employees run into me without saying excuse me, and have noticed more often than not that they roll their eyes when having to do something for you (such as check out); especially if you ask for something in addition to their normal routine. All in all, it is annoying, and I wish there was more kindness out there, especially in service employees, but again, maybe it is just a reaction to the heat or something that is driving this problem.

Well, none of that applies to the complete freak out that I witnessed last night. Some friends and I went for dinner at Machu Picchu up on Buford highway, and we were excited to be getting together and trying Peruvian food. What followed, however, was one of the WORST dining experiences I have ever had in my entire life.

I won’t go on and on about it, but the long and short of it was this: our food was ordered by number, because the names of the dishes were in a different language. The waiter, when bringing out said dishes, kept asking us “who had the fish”, when most everyone had ordered some variation of fish (or seafood, not even fish); but all were different and all were ordered by number. When we laughed at the confusion, rather than getting angry like some tables do, the waiter flipped his shit and started YELLING at us. Let me reinforce that for you; he was yelling, not just talking louder to get our attention. I have never seen anyone flip the fuck out like that; especially not someone who is supposed to be serving you, and is definitely working for tips. He yelled at us not once, or twice, but a minimum of 3 times. It was almost like an out of body experience, because a few people at the table tried to calm him down, but he just kept getting more and more belligerent.

As I discussed with the table last night, I have waited tables before in my life; all in all I did it for about 5 years. I have taken a mountain of shit from people, and as such, I respect people that work in the service industry more than most. However, I cannot understand what this man thought was okay with his actions, and I was completely taken aback when his “apology” simply put the blame for his yelling on our unwillingness to claim the fish dish that he had no idea what it was or where it went.

All in all, people seem to be getting more and more rude these days, but I have to say, that I haven’t seen anything like this before. Here’s hoping that’s the last of it too. Needless to say, I yelped that experience, and I am sure my fellow foodie group will as well. It’s a shame that he made an ass of himself to a table full of bloggers/yelpers, isn’t it!?

all about me, friends, music musings, the catch-all-egory

the day after sunday always comes again

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No matter how much one wishes the weekend would go on for at least one more day; it never seems to. Oh well. Here’s some random shenanigans that are running through my brain; which seems to typify every Monday for whatever reason.

  • Weezer’s new album comes out tomorrow. I am very excited about it, because they are one of my favorite bands. I am listening to it now, and it is definitely different than their previous records, but I think that I will really like it in the end. I always get excited when my favorite bands bring out new records… so far this year, it has been Portishead, Death Cab for Cutie, and now, Weezer; what next!?!?!?
  • I went to the EABF this weekend with Brody and Aimee, and I had a blast. We joked that it was more of a “white wine spritzer” fest for us, because we found ourselves drinking the equivalent; pear ciders galore. Hey, it was hot as fuck, and those damn things are just so tasty and refreshing. I finally tried Purple Haze (I always see it at the store and wonder about it), and it was gross. I am glad I never got any before this weekend. Overall, the day was HOT, but lots of fun. After the festival, Brody and Aimee came over for some Guitar Hero/Rock Band, and some pizza. After that, I tanked (at like 7), and didn’t wake up until 10:30. Sometimes, I think I could literally sleep forever. Either way, it was a kick ass day, and I am glad that I had such a great time with great friends.
  • I think that my ears might be almost healed. If not almost healed, they are definitely getting close. I can’t wait until I get some new jewelery for them!
  • I don’t do as much photography as I want to… I need to figure out how to remedy that; fast. We are going to Chattanooga for James’ thirtieth this weekend, so I am sure that I will be taking lots of nature pictures, so I guess that is something to look forward to with regards to that.
  • The Mole starts tonight, and I am having over some friends that I have known since high school to watch it. I can’t wait, because I LOVED this show back in the day… I just hope that it is just as good post-Anderson Cooper.
  • I felt like I had more than that, but I guess that’s about it. Hmmm… Not a lot going on with me these days, I guess.