This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Rosie doesn't do a bad job and Celine is awesome as always!
Enjoy!
Over and "Out" from Toano, VA
Tuesday Morning Male Beauty
10 minutes ago
November 29, 2006
The Magic of Christmas Day
November 28, 2006
What a Weekend!
Thanksgiving is over, Black Friday and the weekend that followed was as busy as the management team at Value City Furniture, in Newport News, VA promised. The store had an all time record day on Friday, and yours truly was the #1 writer (written sales) for the day!
There was an article in the Virginian Pilot about the 1,500 people waiting to get into the Best Buy store (at 5:00am) that is adjacent to ours. 1,500 people? The line wrapped around the building and the walkways were all covered with remnants of their chilly wait; Coffee and hot chocolate splattered, chunks of foreign debris (that I don't want to know what it actually was), cups, gum, and other tracks of smeared substances unknown to mortal men. When I arrived at 7:30am there was no one in line, just the mess they left behind... Yuck...
Saturday was not as busy, but we remained steady through Sunday. Yesterday things eased up quite a bit and we (on my sales team) were all counting down the hours until 3:00pm.
I am off for the next two days and have a few things to accomplish that Jim wasn't able to get done on his days off. I hate not having time off together, but we do seem to get more things done in tandem than we do when we are both home.
While reading my favorite blogs, I ran across a post in one of them that referred to a new show on ABC called "Ugly Betty". I went to the ABC website and watched the last episode and totally agree that this show has the potential to become the next "Will and Grace". While the lead character is not a gay man, the supporting cast includes a "Jack-like" assistant and a young gay nephew, not to mention an awesome ensemble of regular faces. I will definitely be tuning in to see the next one...
I guess I should have posted this in chapters, as I have not maintained any semblance of order, sorry folks... I still have a lot on my mind, and 3 cups of coffee in me (I promise not to leave any trash on the sidewalk)...
Over and "Out" for now, from leafless Toano, VA
There was an article in the Virginian Pilot about the 1,500 people waiting to get into the Best Buy store (at 5:00am) that is adjacent to ours. 1,500 people? The line wrapped around the building and the walkways were all covered with remnants of their chilly wait; Coffee and hot chocolate splattered, chunks of foreign debris (that I don't want to know what it actually was), cups, gum, and other tracks of smeared substances unknown to mortal men. When I arrived at 7:30am there was no one in line, just the mess they left behind... Yuck...
Saturday was not as busy, but we remained steady through Sunday. Yesterday things eased up quite a bit and we (on my sales team) were all counting down the hours until 3:00pm.
I am off for the next two days and have a few things to accomplish that Jim wasn't able to get done on his days off. I hate not having time off together, but we do seem to get more things done in tandem than we do when we are both home.
While reading my favorite blogs, I ran across a post in one of them that referred to a new show on ABC called "Ugly Betty". I went to the ABC website and watched the last episode and totally agree that this show has the potential to become the next "Will and Grace". While the lead character is not a gay man, the supporting cast includes a "Jack-like" assistant and a young gay nephew, not to mention an awesome ensemble of regular faces. I will definitely be tuning in to see the next one...
I guess I should have posted this in chapters, as I have not maintained any semblance of order, sorry folks... I still have a lot on my mind, and 3 cups of coffee in me (I promise not to leave any trash on the sidewalk)...
Over and "Out" for now, from leafless Toano, VA
November 24, 2006
Black Friday
I have been in and around retail for most of my professional life and have always wondered why it was called that... Yesterday morning on the Today show it was explained that the Friday after Thanksgiving is when most retailers' ledgers/books go from the red into the black. It's kind of like that day of the year when your salary starts being yours, you know, the day where up to that point all you have earned is enough to pay all the taxes you will owe by the end of the year and all you want to do is go to Banana Republic or Target and celebrate!!
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Jim got up early (6ish) and started baking. By the time I woke up the house smelled wonderful. He made pumpkin rolls, buck-eyes, and devil-dogs for the Thanksgiving deserts... We watched the Macy's parade in HiDef and then headed over to our friends home for a scrumptious meal. I made spinach and artichoke dip and the green bean casserole. This was only the second year in the past 20 or so that I wasn't cooking "the bird". It was very nice, thanks Leah and Patrick, for including Jim and me.
Today I work 8:00am to 9:00pm, tomorrow 9:00am to 9:00pm, Sunday 11:00am to 6:00pm, and Monday 10:00am to 3:00pm. I hope the projections our store management have been ranting about do come true, even though the commissions for them won't be paid to me until January '07, I can use a good month or two, to get myself into the "black".
I hope everyone reading this had a terrific Turkey Day... Now get your butts out there and spend some money at your favorite retailer (or furniture store)...
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Jim got up early (6ish) and started baking. By the time I woke up the house smelled wonderful. He made pumpkin rolls, buck-eyes, and devil-dogs for the Thanksgiving deserts... We watched the Macy's parade in HiDef and then headed over to our friends home for a scrumptious meal. I made spinach and artichoke dip and the green bean casserole. This was only the second year in the past 20 or so that I wasn't cooking "the bird". It was very nice, thanks Leah and Patrick, for including Jim and me.
Today I work 8:00am to 9:00pm, tomorrow 9:00am to 9:00pm, Sunday 11:00am to 6:00pm, and Monday 10:00am to 3:00pm. I hope the projections our store management have been ranting about do come true, even though the commissions for them won't be paid to me until January '07, I can use a good month or two, to get myself into the "black".
I hope everyone reading this had a terrific Turkey Day... Now get your butts out there and spend some money at your favorite retailer (or furniture store)...
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia
November 22, 2006
Thanksgiving Eve Day
I have been remiss in my timely posts...
My life has been a little stressful these days, trying to sell enough to make ends meet when business has been really slow... Having to deal with my pending hearing (divorce) in December... Trying to find a new job... And dealing with family...
Yet I am very grateful for my family, friends (bloggers and real life), and my Love. I have so much to be thankful for, on this Thanksgiving Eve...
I was reminded the other day, by my friend Philip, of the first Thanksgiving in "My New Life", last year. I was renting a room from another good friend (Lee) and he decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at the house. He invited me, which he did not have to do, and about eight other men (all "family"). We had a wonderful time, we ate well, we drank well, and we had some great conversations and some marvelous stories were told by all. We remembered our Sky Diving adventure and watched the video that Lee had purchased of his jump. Four gay men jumping from a perfectly good airplane? What a blast that was... Thank you all.
Life in Toano has been good. I can't believe it's been three months since my exodus from city life in Richmond. The bar and club scene, the traffic, the men... I am so content here (personally) and Jim is the best thing to happen to me in years. He makes all the stress, pain, and remnants of my old life seem less hurtful... He does so much for me, I only wish I had the means to do for him, what he does for me... Thank you Baby... I can't imagine life without you.
My children, two in Miami (28 and 26) and two in Richmond (20 and 18), are my legacy. They are each challenging in their own way. Some talk to me regularly, some don't. I am thankful that they are mine, and hope that they all know how much I love them...
My Mother and two brothers (and their respective families) who I don't speak to enough, are always in my thoughts. My Mom has been through alot this year after she lost her husband, but she is my inspiration and more than likely is where I got my optimism from. Thanks Mom, I love you! Thank you Skip and Pat, I know you have had to deal with alot from your older brother this past year, I love you guys, your wives, and my nieces and nephew...
To my blogging friends: You all have made my journey this past year so enlightening. It is so nice to know that complete strangers can connect and impact the lives of each other in such a positive way sometimes... What a lucky man I am to know all of you! Thank you for your input, your comments and your support of "My New Life" and me personally...
There are many others in my life that have supported me and continued to care for me through all my ups and downs. To all of you: Thank You!
I will be thinking and thanking everyone for a wonderful year and life, as Jim and I spend our first (of many) Thanksgiving together...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia, USA
My life has been a little stressful these days, trying to sell enough to make ends meet when business has been really slow... Having to deal with my pending hearing (divorce) in December... Trying to find a new job... And dealing with family...
Yet I am very grateful for my family, friends (bloggers and real life), and my Love. I have so much to be thankful for, on this Thanksgiving Eve...
I was reminded the other day, by my friend Philip, of the first Thanksgiving in "My New Life", last year. I was renting a room from another good friend (Lee) and he decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at the house. He invited me, which he did not have to do, and about eight other men (all "family"). We had a wonderful time, we ate well, we drank well, and we had some great conversations and some marvelous stories were told by all. We remembered our Sky Diving adventure and watched the video that Lee had purchased of his jump. Four gay men jumping from a perfectly good airplane? What a blast that was... Thank you all.
Life in Toano has been good. I can't believe it's been three months since my exodus from city life in Richmond. The bar and club scene, the traffic, the men... I am so content here (personally) and Jim is the best thing to happen to me in years. He makes all the stress, pain, and remnants of my old life seem less hurtful... He does so much for me, I only wish I had the means to do for him, what he does for me... Thank you Baby... I can't imagine life without you.
My children, two in Miami (28 and 26) and two in Richmond (20 and 18), are my legacy. They are each challenging in their own way. Some talk to me regularly, some don't. I am thankful that they are mine, and hope that they all know how much I love them...
My Mother and two brothers (and their respective families) who I don't speak to enough, are always in my thoughts. My Mom has been through alot this year after she lost her husband, but she is my inspiration and more than likely is where I got my optimism from. Thanks Mom, I love you! Thank you Skip and Pat, I know you have had to deal with alot from your older brother this past year, I love you guys, your wives, and my nieces and nephew...
To my blogging friends: You all have made my journey this past year so enlightening. It is so nice to know that complete strangers can connect and impact the lives of each other in such a positive way sometimes... What a lucky man I am to know all of you! Thank you for your input, your comments and your support of "My New Life" and me personally...
There are many others in my life that have supported me and continued to care for me through all my ups and downs. To all of you: Thank You!
I will be thinking and thanking everyone for a wonderful year and life, as Jim and I spend our first (of many) Thanksgiving together...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia, USA
November 16, 2006
November 12, 2006
Ramblings
Well, it took about three days to re-adjust to the east coast time zone... We got back Tuesday night, I worked a 12 hour shift Wednesday, then was off Thursday and Friday... Thank God!!!
I didn't realize until Friday morning that I was still somewhat sleep deprived. I usually get up with Jim around 5am and spend time with him before he heads out to work. I couldn't get my lazy ass out of bed on Friday, and ended up sleeping until about 8.30... Never even heard him leave... What a sloth I am.
Yesterday I was supposed to work an 8 hour stint, but went in for the full 12... I was astonished to see and hear that Christmas was installed while I was gone. I forget sometimes that I work retail and that "the season" accounts for so much of most retailers profits. With the Veterans Day holiday mixed in, we were pretty busy, which is also a good thing...
I know I promised some Vegas stories, and I will deliver them, I swear! But for now I am going to just get something on here, as many of you must think I went AWOL after my return...
I did follow the election results, and like most of you am pleased to see that Congress will be shifting aisles... I was thrilled for those in AZ that managed to defeat a proposal to amend their constitution defining marriage, while we here in VA just reinforced our already provincial ways by adding one to our constitution (written originally by Thomas Jefferson). That's in case we didn't already know it was against the law for same sex couples to marry. In doing so, we have also created a legal mine field of new questions for the straight couples of our commonwealth that prefer not to marry, for what ever reason. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few years.
Otherwise life is good in Toano. While I have not been posting all that much, I have been reading my favorite blogs. Keep up the posts guys and gals!!
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia
I didn't realize until Friday morning that I was still somewhat sleep deprived. I usually get up with Jim around 5am and spend time with him before he heads out to work. I couldn't get my lazy ass out of bed on Friday, and ended up sleeping until about 8.30... Never even heard him leave... What a sloth I am.
Yesterday I was supposed to work an 8 hour stint, but went in for the full 12... I was astonished to see and hear that Christmas was installed while I was gone. I forget sometimes that I work retail and that "the season" accounts for so much of most retailers profits. With the Veterans Day holiday mixed in, we were pretty busy, which is also a good thing...
I know I promised some Vegas stories, and I will deliver them, I swear! But for now I am going to just get something on here, as many of you must think I went AWOL after my return...
I did follow the election results, and like most of you am pleased to see that Congress will be shifting aisles... I was thrilled for those in AZ that managed to defeat a proposal to amend their constitution defining marriage, while we here in VA just reinforced our already provincial ways by adding one to our constitution (written originally by Thomas Jefferson). That's in case we didn't already know it was against the law for same sex couples to marry. In doing so, we have also created a legal mine field of new questions for the straight couples of our commonwealth that prefer not to marry, for what ever reason. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few years.
Otherwise life is good in Toano. While I have not been posting all that much, I have been reading my favorite blogs. Keep up the posts guys and gals!!
Over and "Out" from Toano, Virginia
November 8, 2006
What Happens in Vegas...
All I can say is WOW!!!
It had been almost 18 years since I had been to Las Vegas. While a few things there were the same, there were many things that have changed dramatically. Here are a couple of photos for now, I will post some Vegas stories after my body gets used to Eastern Standard Time again:
It had been almost 18 years since I had been to Las Vegas. While a few things there were the same, there were many things that have changed dramatically. Here are a couple of photos for now, I will post some Vegas stories after my body gets used to Eastern Standard Time again:
^^^
This is the Stratosphere Hotel, Casino and Tower
where I had to try the 3 Thrill Rides
at the top!
^^^
This is where we stayed, the MGM Grand.
The picture was taken from New York, New York
right across the street.
^^^
Finally, for today...
Jim and I in front of the pirate ship
at Treasure Island.
Over and "Out" (for now) from Toano, VA...
November 3, 2006
100th Post TGIF!
It's Friday, and this is my 100th post! I can't believe I have that much to say...
Tomorrow morning we (Jim, his business partner, her husband, and I) get up and out at "O:dark:30" and head up to RIC for our flight through Dallas to Las Vegas!
Tomorrow morning we (Jim, his business partner, her husband, and I) get up and out at "O:dark:30" and head up to RIC for our flight through Dallas to Las Vegas!
What a surprise...
I am looking forward to the time away from Virginia (and yes we have already mailed our absentee ballots), work, and everything. We have tickets to see a few shows while we are there including Celine (yahoooo)!
I will update upon return...
Over and "Out" from Toano
November 1, 2006
Autumn in Toano
Ok... Ok... We'll get to the answer in a minute (some people are so damned impatient)...
Just a word or two on my favorite season though, this is what I see right now from the deck as I type this entry:
Just a word or two on my favorite season though, this is what I see right now from the deck as I type this entry:
My Weatherbug says it's 65 degrees, the sky has a few poofy clouds in it and the fall sun is brightly warming the air around me. I sit here with a cup of coffee, in my bare feet, wearing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt... Those of you in colder/warmer climates... Eat your hearts out!
LIFE IS GOOD, today in Toano Virginia!
Now on to the revealing of the frightening sight we witnessed on the Ghost Tour Saturday night.
As I remember, I mentioned I had seen a blue glow coming from a window on the side of one of the "most haunted" houses in Colonial Williamsburg. After Jim and I fell back from the crowd to investigate, we could see as we got closer that the light was pulsing. The old structures are raised up quite a bit from street level (I suppose to avoid flood damage in the low lying area), so it was difficult to determine at first where this mysterious light was emanating from... As we got closer and closer, the glow got brighter and brighter. Just as we got to a small rise in the landscape we witnessed the most ghastly, horrifying spectacle...
A clip of G.W. BUSH making some type of speech, on a wide screen TV inside this 18th century home!!! HOW FRIGHTENING IS THAT?
That's all there is for now kiddies!!
Over and "Out" from Toano, VA!
