Apartment for Rent

Ugh. Looking for apartments is NOT FUN. Sure, there is an excitement level in finding a cool place you can move into. But with the income I have...a NICE place is hard to come by. I was proud of myself for being flexible with location. While I love living in lakeview/wrigleyville, I knew I had to be open. I did find a couple of places in Central Lakeview (a bit north and west of where I live now) but both of the places I decided on ended up falling through. In my search, I found a LOT of shitholes. I didn't realize how nice the place I live in now really is. I am sad to be giving it up.

Let it be announced that on the 25th day of July, 2007 I have paid my deposit and first months rent on my new living space. For the first time in my life I will be living ALONE! I am surprised that at age 28, I have yet to have my own place. But I've always really enjoyed having a roommate and enjoy even more saving money on rent/utiltites.

Something tells me that most of you will find this funny. I will be living on N. RETA. Yes, RETA. Laugh it up y'all. Laugh it up. Ironic? Yes! But let the countdown begin. I will be getting a key on August 7th. T minus 13 days!!!! WooHoo!!

Signed with Love,
Rita Mae

Chicago's World Series Qualifier

Raiiiight?

From behind the bar...

This is officially my first blog from behind the bar at halsted's. I have been here for 2 hours and have made 2 dollars. Thank god jordan had his phone on him as it allowed the time to pass a little quicker as I had someone to converse with.

So for those of you who know me you know of me love for the reality tv show big brother. Season 8 started up last week and for the second time I was a semi-finalist. Obviously I did not make the show as I am writing this from behind a bar. This cast seems like a week one thus far....their "twist" is putting people in the house with enemies. But they only did the "enemies" with 3 groups of people...unless they introduce some more people to the house its a pretty stupid twist. Of course the two fags who hate each other are from chicago. They are lucky I don't know them or it would require me to be extra hateful.

Fortunately they have two hot guys to look at this year. One is nick, a former pro football player...the other mike....a hot hot dark featured white boy. if I were to pick a winner this far out....I would have to go with jameka. The only reason I am picking her is that it is too early to see everyones strategies and I think she is the bomb. I want mike to win but he is already being dominant and will have a hard time not being targeted early on.

Jen??? I loathe the bitch....she is hoh now and I can't wait for her to go home!!!!

Leave a comment with who YOU think will win. In a few weeks I will do it again!

I am going with jameka for a guess at week one.

Along came....

I admit...I give Ms. Quicksell a hard time about her Debbie Downer entries sometimes. And i'm starting to think that the reason I don't write as much as I'd like to is that I don't want to be writing about downer stuff all of the time. It gets hard. I feel comfortable saying that I am pretty lucky in life. I was born into a loving family, I'm healthy and I've got an amazing group of friends. And with all of that...it is still so hard to keep positive spirits all of the time.

I am having an extreamly rough day. I'm sad, I'm lazy, I'm broke and I'm just not happy with a lot of things in life right now. I could go into the deep dark details but instead, I am simply going to let out a big....WAAAAHHHH WAAAAAAAH. Today is my Debbie Downer day and I'm broadcasting it to the world. Ok, to the few people who actually log onto here from time to time.

There is really only one thing I HAVE to do....I have to get off my ass and make good things happen. It is the Summer of Fun Raaaight? I love you Debbie but I don't really have time for you this summer.

I'm off.

From 30,000 Feet.

Its been awhile since I have written from 30,000 feet, I had hoped to write an entry on friday morning on my journey to the hamptons but was going on 3 hours of sleep. Having boarding group A (yes, I am flying the dreaded southwest airlines) I quickly found a window seat towards the front of the plane and KNOCKED out.

So my trip to the hamptons was amazing!!! The group I traveled with was so cool. Often times traveling with a group can be dreadful. Not this time...everyone was laid back, good spirited and there to have a good time. And that we did. The hamptons were not exactly what I had expected. In my head it was going to be one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. That it was not. But there was definitely a ton of money in the city. We got to eat some really good food, see a lot of places and spend a lot of time on the beach. The club scene was ridiculous. We had bottle service at both clubs we went to and spent A LOT of money on these bottles. You would think you'd get more than a small coffee table for your table service.....raiiight? Wrong. And the drama of even getting through the doors was crazy. I am glad to have seen it but it is not for me.

My favorite part of the trip that I am bringing home with me??? The basil hayden mint julip from nick and tony's. The bartender showed me how to make it and I am quite excited to share this drink with everyone....so please....next time you come over ask me to make you one. They are amazingly good!!!!

2007 Toronto Cup Champions

My first post was from Toronto and less than 2 years later I was back. My goal was to visit another country before going back to Toronto but on the spur of the moment Aaron and I opted to be pick up players with the Jackhammer team. Boy are we glad we did. We had a FANTASTIC time. Stayed at a B&B and won the tournament. And met some AWESOME people...thanks jackhammer for letting us join you!

Minerva has gone Worldwide!!!

It's official. Minerva is making it around the world. This cast is called the ss Minerva Cast. And look at how minerva it looks? It was obviously named that for a reason, IT'S MINERVA!!!!

Good Mornin' Y'all

We're Tired Y'all

Total Eclipse of the Heart

vBlog 2.33

Ivey & Steve vBlog v1.0

We actually did it. And it only took one try!!!

Just 2 more days!!!!

I feel I often over use the term "bestfriend". I have 4 people in my life that I use these words with regularly. There have a been a few times when I've been called out for having too many best friends. Doesn't "best" mean one? Ok by definition I'm not using the word correctly but these 4 people will always hold a special place in my life and I feel are worthy of being called "bests". If they have a problem sharing the title they can take it up amongst each other. It'd be an interesting battle. So while I have four bests i only have one Grace in my life. I think every gay man has that one woman in his life that he puts up on a pedestal above all other women in the world. The girl who understands him and who he can share his darkest secrets with. This woman to me is Jennifer Ivey. Yes she is the girl pictured above and yes she will kill me when she's see's the picture I have chosen to post. This picture was taken on February 4, 1999 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I will give photo credit to Ms. Shirley Ivey. I have no clue what we are drinking but I can assure you that we are WASTED. Moments later I think i was holding Ivey's hair back while she was throwing up in the bathroom.

So kill me Ivey Jo. But you gave me attitude that there was no mention of your arrival. Now there is mention....a picture....and here goes the announcement......WE WILL BE DOING A DAILY VIDEO BLOG WHILE SHE IS HERE so stay tuned!!!!

And let's go back to the picture above. Does it look like she's wearing a strippers coat? What's up with that?

Love you girl! See you in two days!
Chill

We Survived!!!

So I have to say this weekend was an amazing one and quite adventurous. I had planned a 25 mile trip down the lower wisconsin river over 2 days. The boy and I both woke up with a cold and I decided that instead of leaving at the crack of dawn....we should sleep in so that we were better rested for day 1. We left land around 4pm and headed downstream. With the late start and a leisurely pace we only traveled about 7 miles on day one. We set up camp on an island in the middle of the river and had about 60 minutes from our arrival on the island until sun down. We worked very well as a team...the tent was up and the fuel for the fire was collected all before sun-down. We built the fire, made chicken tortellini (sp?) and laid under the stars with our cocktails until we finally moved into the tent for a nights sleep.

This is where the fun began. I was raised camping on the Missouri river and am quite aware that the river level can rise quite quickly with rain upstream. To our knowledge there was no rain North of us. When I unzipped the front of our tent I noticed that the island we were on had changed drastically. THANK GOD we moved our tent to a better spot before we settled. Or we would have slept underwater. Our kayaks were beach bound when we went to bed. WERE beach bound. One of the kayaks was gone and the other was barely stuck in shallow water. I grabbed a life jacket, water through the water to the kayak and took off downstream while the P built a fire. Surprisingly I found the other kayak about a mile or so down stream, tied it to my boat and paddled upstream. Paddling upstream sucks...especially against the wind with a 2nd boat tied on. Luckily the fire was started, we made some oatmeal, packed back up and headed downstream. Our total trip was about 14.5 miles. We'll be back to do a 25'er and then the 90 mile trip to the Mississippi River.

We got back to chicago about 30 minutes before the Mika concert we had planned on attending for his birthday. We unloaded the jeep, changed as fast as possible, and arrived at the concert smelling like dirty river water. the concert was amazing!!!

Camping with Rhode Island...not IN Rhode Island

So I'm headed to Rhode Island for a 24 mile kayaking/camping trip. We should be back Monday night. If I end up missing one of us has killed each other. Sauk City here we come! Here's to hoping it's an amazing weekend!!!

Happy May Day!

So I grew up always looking forward to May 1st, what my family knew and celebrated as May Day. While a lot of the country celebrates this holiday with a May Pole we always followed the tradition of making May Baskets for our neighbors. My mother and I would always go to the grocery store together to purchase a bunch of strawberries (so we could use the little green baskets for our base), pipe cleaners (the handle to the basket), and then a bunch of various candies to fill each basket. While I always loved making our May Day Baskets (most of the neighbor’s used Dixie Cups), my favorite part of the tradition was delivering the baskets. The tradition is that you are to try to deliver the baskets without getting caught. We'd ring our neighbors bell, leave the basket, and RUN!!! If you got caught they'd have to kiss you.

So i'm curious....has anyone out there ever heard of this tradition? When I moved to the south for college people thought I was crazy...and i've yet to see this happen in chicago. I looked the Holiday up on Wikipedia and was happy to see that this is a recognized tradition that's unfortunately been fading since the 20th century. SEE BELOW...and please leave comments to tell me how you celebrated the holiday.

WIKIPEDIA:
May Day is May 1, and refers to any of several holidays celebrated on this day. May 1 was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures, and many elements of these holidays are still celebrated on May 1 today, such as the Maypole. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer: hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was "midsummer."

In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, Mary's head (in works of art, school skits, etc.) will often be adorned with flowers. Another May Day tradition (fading in popularity since the late 20th century) is the giving of May baskets, small baskets of candy and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps.

My Get-A-Way to Denver

Here I sit on one of the bumpiest plane rides I’ve been on in a long while in route from Denver back to Chicago. My former roommate Rich flew me out on miles, so sweet, so that I could come visit him and his boyfriend. I could not have asked for a better trip. It was very low-key and relaxing which is exactly what I needed. I had met his boyfriend, Brian, on several occasions but always briefly so I didn’t really know the guy very well upon arrival. He was gracious enough to change his work schedule so that he could pick me up from the airport and then he and I spent my first few hours in Colorado together as Rich was still at work. I can confidently say after getting to know him better that he is SUCH A SWEET GUY and perfect for Rich. I am so happy they found each other. I also met several of their friends as we had people over for dinner last night…all good people.
I would have to say that the highlight of my trip was Rich and my adventure to the Red Rocks. Our hike was a light one that lasted just a couple of hours as we spent our time hiking in and around the Red Rock’s Amphitheatre. It was AWESOME! It was a sight that I have always wanted to see as so many bands I love talk so highly of the space. Now, I just need to find a way to see someone like Dave Matthews, David Gray or Keane there. It’d be pure bliss. Rich and I got a little camera happy and took about 160 pictures between the two of us. You can click on the album cover at the top right corner of my page to view a portion of them. Enjoy!

The Affair

Today I Feel Pretty!

Ok, so maybe I don't look pretty in the picture above and we know Aaron certainly does not, but I felt this picture best fits the mood I am in at the moment. I left work early last night as we were overstaffed and not busy. I know this is a stupid thing to do as I only have 3 shifts left before we close the door for good. But when I made the decision to leave I promised myself that I would do something good for myself after I got home. And that I did...i got all dressed up and ready to go for a jog on the lakefront. As I was walking out the door the boy called so he ended up joining me.

Chicago is AMAZING. It's kinda hard to believe that in a city this size, you can find such an awesome escape. He and I walked to the lake from his house in Uptown and then jogged towards downtown, sat on the waterfront for a short while and then jogged back home. It's really hard to believe, but we did not come in-contact with ANY PEOPLE the entire run down the lakefront. We did however see 4 raccoons', a few duck and several rodents. An incredibly peaceful and romantic jaunt. (I know you're all puking right now..sorry) We woke up this morning, made breakfast and then I took off to get some stuff done for myself. And on top of all of this, it's finally sunny and mild outside which makes me feel pretty. Oh so pretty!

vBlog 17April07

Ross the Intern w/Steve the Croc Hunter

This has got to be one of the funniest video's I have EVER seen on YOUTube. My face hurts from laughing so much!

I am in LOVE with this woman!!!

Alanis Morissette "My Humps" video parody

This is freakin' hilarious!!!

What Does "Minerva" Mean???

So i got a comment from an anonymous person asking.....what does "minerva" mean. Will this person please email me or give me there contact info....i'd love to chat.

vBlog 12Apr07

I swear I didn't mean to say "Ladies and Gentleman" so many times....if I could I would re-record...but that would take the fun out of it. I just pushed record and talked....trying to recreate would take away from the freeness of my thoughts.

Minerva Snow

This is what I just woke up to. MInerva.

A Little Easter Cheer!

You Call All Breath Cleaner Air!!!

It's official. As of yesterday, you can all bring cleaner air. A few months ago I received a notification in the mail from the State of Illinois saying that I needed to complete an emissions test. It was mid November when i made the journey to the emissions testing center only to find that my 2002 Jeep Wrangler FAILED. I was giving until March 20th to fix the three things listed on the computer print out they gave me or my drivers license would be suspended.

When I had taken my vehicle in, there was a light lit on my dashboard. It was the Multi-Function Indicator light. After reading the manual it basically said it could be a number of non-severe things acting up with my jeep. I had already been to the dealer with this light issue and it was taken care of..but the light still comes on and off when it feels like it. Unfortunately, it was on when I went to get my emissions test.

To make a long story short...i HAD to have paper work from a certified emissions shop stating that i had the problem fixed and a receipt to prove it. Of course my light was off when I went to the dealer....I had to pay $112 for them to look at my jeep and say that none of those things were really wrong just so I could pass this test and keep my license. MINERVA. And to top it all off...they gave me a list of about $1000 worth of shit that needs to be fixed on my wrangler. WAAAH WAAAH.

Off to work I go.

Happy 27th Birthday Jordan!!!!!

He's going to kill me for posting this pic but that's what Birthday's are for.....RAAIIGHT? For those of you who know this special man....please with him a happy 27th today (March 8th....I posted a few minutes early. Yes....i know...it's sick...he's only 27th. But he looks FIFTY!

Operation Transformation 2.0

Ok. I have gotten so LAZY this winter that it is now beyond ridiculous. It should be so easy for me to go to the gym before I go to work as the earliest i have to be in is at 4pm. Unfortunately, I've gotten really good at staying up WAY TO LATE (I can't ever fall asleep) and then sleeping in way to late. Three days ago I promised myself that Operation Transformation 2.0 was going to start on March 1st. Well it was thunderstorming on day one so I decided to skip the gym...day two...it was snowing hard so I decided to skip the gym.

Today is day three and I have a headache. It is 2.5 hours before work. I'm unfortunately creating excuses not to go BUT today is not the day. I hearby pledge to do my best at making Operation Transformation 2.0 a success!

Please...feel free to ask me how it's going? I'd love to be tested.

iRod

My buddy Doug emailed me this image this morning. I got a nice chuckle out of it so I thought I'd share it with the rest of you! Enjoy!

David's a HOAR!!!!

Yes...she bought the same shoe's as I did. Payback's a bitch. But at least now we're even.

Oh yeah. This picture was taken after she "left for the airport". I knew better. So, I waited about 10 minutes before leaving the hotel room to catch her at Kenneth Cole trying on and then purchasing my pretty shoes!

CODE ORANGE!!!!

Does anyone else out there think that the Homeland Security Advisory System is as stupid as I do? I remember shortly after 911 being in Asheville, NC with Ivey and Toombs. When we awoke in the morning the Homeland Security Advisory had raised the level to Orange. So Ivey, Toombs and I dressed in Orange clothes to go out for some lunch and a little shopping. All day long we'd scream Code Orange at people. Ever since, it's been our little joke when something is elevated to call a code orange.

During my travels this week to and fro NYC, I realized we are in the midst of a code orange at the airports. I was quite sad that I wasn't even aware of this prior to my arrival at O'Hare...or I would have dressed in my orange.

The video above has been posted for 2 reasons:
1. I missed out on dressing in ORANGE at both O'Hare and LaGuardia airports
2. Ivey called and left me a CODE ORANGE message last night. Dave Matthews will be appearing on next week’s episode of House on Tues. night at 8pm. (Apparently that's worthy of a code orange alert)

MOFO

From 30,000 Feet.

Wow, what a trip! Not counting my first trip to NYC, I think this was my favorite visit to the Big Apple. The last few times I’ve been here I got caught up in spending my free time socially in the bars and nightclubs. Not this time. I went and saw a third musical last night. Finally, I was able to see Avenue Q. Aaron met me at the Cheap Tkts booth in the Broadway district after he got off and there were only 4 shows to choose from as it was Monday Night. Rent – been there 100 times. Les Mis – Da-lish…but no thanks. Phantom of the Opera – I’m not sure why but I really have no desire to see that show. I think I know it’ll always be around so when I’m ready to see it, I can. And Avenue Q – YES PLEASE.

Aaron had already seen the show in its first year out so I was very thankful he choose to see it again with me. So our tickets were $55 and we bought them just a few hours before show time. You’d think we’d have bad seats right? WRONG. We were in the fourth row center. I have had first and second row seats before….usually to the side. NEVER have I had such great seats as these. AMAZING. And for any of you that have not seen this show…..GO SEE IT!!! My face hurt from smiling and laughing so hard for so long.

So after the show Aaron wanted to go to the bar. Not just any bar…he wanted to go to Splash. KILL ME!!! I loathe that place. And to top it off…it was show tunes night. We have this same night at Sidetrack in Chicago. It’s miserable so I couldn’t imagine having to live this at my least favorite place in NYC. Wow was I in for a surprise. The show tunes were actually really enjoyable. Sure, there were several videos I didn’t know, a couple I could have lived without but for the most part they played all of my favorites. They even played the Dreamgirls performance with Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce that was recorded the night before. It got better. Suddenly a stage lights up behind us. And they’ve brought in some wanna-be pop singer, Kelly King, who is going to sing some Broadway tunes for us. I dreaded it. I was convinced it was turning into Monday night Karaoke. She opened with a song from Dreamgirls, And I am Telling You, and DAMN could this girl sing. She could give Jennifer Hudson and Holiday a run for their money. Aaron and I were in for yet another show and WE HAD NO IDEA! (Yes David, that was said in your voice) Some random girl came up for a quick song after the opening and was really good. Then they did a duet from RENT. It just keep getting better and better! So yes….it was a weekend of shows. They are telling me to turn off my electronic device so I guess that wraps up this blog. There's nothing worse than wrapping it up before you're ready.

Next entry? David’s a HOAR for buying the same shoes as me.

NEW YORK CITY BOY!!!!

So I've got to say....I'm just over half way into my NYC trip and I'm having the time of my life. Aaron and David have been incredible travel companions. First let me explain the picture listed above. I posted that pic as it best describes the mood I have been in the entire day...including now. I took a half a Norma Jean about 35 minutes ago and I'm struggling to stay awake.

So back to my trip. David and I's adventure began bright (it wasn't bright yet) and early on Sat. morning. I had worked the night before so I didn't get much sleep before david arrive at my house at 5am and david never sleeps. There explains the Norma's. I ought to buy stock in that company. They are heavenly. Upon our arrival, we checked into our hotel, relaxed for about 15 minutes and then went down to the lobby for a DA-LISH breakfast. And David was happy to have asparagus pee the rest of the afternoon so it was a double-win breakfast. We left pretty immediately after breakfast and made our way to the Spanish Art Exhibit. IT WAS AMAZING!!! I think we were there for over 3 hours. We could have stayed longer.

Ms. Brost arrived shortly later and met us at a bbq joint just a short cab ride away from our hotel. We all ordered salmon and we were all pleased. However, I noticed they charged WAY TO MUCH to my credit card. Their accountant is calling me tomorrow morning. After dinner we went to see Spring Awakening - A New Musical. David and Aaron loved it. I was a bit disappointed but have learned to love the music. In fact, I'm listening to it right now. Can anyone believe DAVID was the one to purchase the cd? What have we done to her?

Today has been amazing. The three of us went shopping after breakfast and then went to find cheap tiks. They didn't have any Chorus Line tickets offered at a discount rate so Aaron and I were bummed. That is what we both wanted to see. So we discussed a few other options and decided on Grey Gardens. As we dig our wallets out to pay the 50% off price...the man behind the counter informed us that the lead was an understudy. WOW WOW WOWWWWW Grey Gardens was out.

So we took our chances at the Lottery happening about 30 minutes later at the Chorus Line theater. Ms. Brost was confident as her cab driver told her she needed to play a lottery while she was here....he knew she was feeling lucky. David, Aaron and I all put in our names....i tried Tom's Elphaba chant but apparently that only works for Wicked tickets. 2nd to last name called????? Ms. Brost. I jumped up and down like a little girl and made a fool of myself.

The show was AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!!! And tomorrow????? Who knows? I'm hoping for Avenue Q. (I know...i've still not seen it) or maybe Grey Gardens is playing? *fingers crossed* Hairspray? God I'd love to live here for a few months!

Prez Day is Now Ivey Jo Day!!!

My Favorite Holiday!

MyNERVAFaves

Alright...so cell phone companies have the tendancy to piss me off. I think I've expressed that in some of my past entries. However, I have been very content with T-Mobile. The service is FANTASTIC and they bill me correctly. That's really all I ask of a carrier. Give me a service that works and charge me what you say you're going to charge me.

Over the past month I have been noticing the T-Mobile MyFAVES promotion in a lot of print and tv ads. Basically with this plan you pick 5 numbers which you can then call an unlimited number of times for an unlimited amount of time per month. They can be land lines or even non Tmobile numbers. Pretty cool right? I would say that i use the majority of my minutes calling the same 5 numbers. However, as i rarely go over my minutes is there really a need for me to change plans? Why change if I'm happy? Of course THIS MONTH I GO OVER MY 1000 anytime minutes. Doh! So suddenly there is a need for a plan I already think is pretty cool.

Unfortunately, Tmobile has peev'd me for the first time in my 2 years of being with them. One would think you could simply switch your plans and call it a day. Oh no...that'd be too easy. In order to be in this promo....you not only need to switch plans....you need to have a MYFAVES phone. WHAT???????? A MyFAVES phone???? They know who i'm calling with the cheap ass phone that i have learned to LOVE. By requiring me to purchase a new phone....i then get stuck spending an assload of money on a new phone....or I get suckered into signing a new contract. NO MA'AM. My biggest pet peev about cell phone companies....the dreaded contract. I have a hard enough time commiting to a man....now you want me to commit to another 2 years with your service? Not going to happen...especially since I know that the iPhone is being released in a few short months and it will not be offered with tMobile. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. MYnervaFAVES!

To My 3 Favorite Chicks!!

As much as I love country music, I despise the Country Music Industry. The CMA awards were announced and presented just a few months ago and somehow the Dixie Chicks managed to be nominated for...well, nothing. The chicks have managed to piss off the industry over the years by standing up for themselves, by writing music THEY feel passionate about, by protecting their asses by creating their own record label and finally by choosing to use their freedom of speech to express how they feel about the cocksucker we have running our country. So apparently, in the country music industry individualism is frowned upon.

Having owned their latest album, Taking The Long Way, since the day it was released, I was dumbfounded that the industry choose to ignore this record. I am looking at the various categories and the stuff nominated shouldn't even stand a chance against this album. Ok fine...let's just say I'm biased (I am) and the album is really not that good. They weren't even nominated for Vocal Group of the Year? I'm sorry Allison Krauss & The Union Station....I like your music but you suck balls next to this album. And who is Little Big Town?

Well the Dixie Chicks got to say a big "Fuck You" to the Country Music Industry earlier this week as they were the big winners at the Grammy's taking home all of the top honors with a total of FIVE GRAMMY'S! Yes...Record, Song and Album of the year.

With that said please watch the trailer to the movie Shut Up & Sing. I believe it's coming out on DVD on Feb. 20th. Enjoy!




This commercial was banned from television. (What kind of fucked up country do we live in?)

Happy Valentines Day!

What a beautiful day it has been. I polished off a pot of coffee while watching a peaceful fall of Lake Effect snow. The sun and a bright blue sky were to follow. With the bitter cold weather we've experienced here in Chicago these past few weeks it was nice to have a big snow fall followed by a moderate day and bright sunny skies. While I'm not a huge fan of winter, I'm always a sucker for a big snow fall. If it's going to be cold out, it might as well be beautiful. Now let's just hope spring is right around the corner.

Today is Valentine's Day. Typically a day i have a hard time enjoying. In the 28 years I've been around, I can only remember one Valentine's Day I've been able to share with someone. I've been fortunate enough to have already celebrated a wonderful time this year. I spent the past two days in a friends Lake House on the border of Michigan and Indiana with my special someone. Me, Him, The Wilderness, a Fire...nothing to distract us but each other. We had an amazing time. And now, as i get ready to go serve romantic dinners to couples of all kinds....i can do so without the normal bitterness I usually possess on this Halmark Holiday.

Happy Valentine's to anyone reading this!

A Tribute to....MINERVA!!!!

Minerva, the Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. The name "Minerva" is likely imported from the Etruscans who called her Menrva. The Romans would have easily confused her foreign name with their word mens meaning "mind" since one of her aspects as goddess pertained not only to war but also to the intellectual. Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter and Metis. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music. As Minerva Medica, she was the goddess of medicine and doctors. Adapting Greek myths about Athena, Romans said that Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather Jupiter had a horrible headache and Vulcan opened up his head and out came Minerva dressed in armor and holding a shield; this image has captivated Western writers and artists through the ages.

This looks FUN!!!

Where do i Sign Up?

From 30k Feet

OK, It has been months since my last blog entry. I'll just be straight forward. I wasn't feeling it. And I'm still not certain I am. But here goes nothing. I am sitting on SouthWest flight at about 30,000 feet overlooking the Rockies. I just finally opened my eyes after trying to sleep for the last 2 and a half hours. Yes, trying. I feel asleep hard and FAST. Those are two words that often times go well together...when referring to sleep, they are wonderful. It isn't often I am able to fall asleep so quickly. But having only 2.5 hours of sleep last night I was a goner. Unfortunately, I was unaware at how quickly I'd knock out and ordered an Orange Juice with the stewardess walked by 5 minutes earlier. The gentleman sitting to my left, was kind enough to wake me from my slumber. Needless to say, I never really feel back into a good stage of sleep.

Let's back up a bit....to this cattle-call they refer to as SouthWest Airlines. Is the 3 group boarding thing really a more effective way for them to board their aircrafts? I learned a little trick after bitching to one of my customers a few months back. And the trick with southwest is.....ALWAYS CHECK IN ONLY EXACTLY 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE TO YOUR FLIGHT. This will assure you a boarding pass A. Boarding Pass A I can handle. I'll sit back and wait for everyone in that boarding group to herd through the gate....and then i leisurely make my way past all of the pour souls in B, find my seat and go into ignore mode. (There is nothing worse than having to talk to the person you're sitting next to.)

Now lets discuss my comfort level right now. On a Scale from 1 to Uncomfortable I'm easily at an 8. I am not sure how I'm going to last on my trip to Brasil. I believe a blue bippity (an advanced Norma Jean) and a few cocktails will have to be induced to help me sleep the majority of the trip away. I can't talk about the person sitting next to me as I feel he can see my screen. But Minerva. A nice guy I can tell....but again...MINERVA. I didn't notice until after I fastened my seatbelt....but i've got an extremely young asian girl sitting directly in front of me. This should have been observed as I eyed my seat but I was just excited about the window seat and didn't observe my surroundings. Miraculously, this is the most well behaved child on the face of the planet. GOD BLESS THE ASIAN CULTURE FOR RAISING WELL BEHAVED CHILDREN!!!! And damn God for infecting the woman behind me with a severe case of the whopping cough. I swear she's leaning forward and coughing directly in my ear. "Why don't you just PEE directly on my FACE??" Thank God for iTunes. I have been cranking music ever since her 2nd attack. Lastly, I chose to wore the most uncomfortable pear of blue jeans possible. My underwear are shoved so far up my ass that I'm about to choke on them. I have a 3rd degree burn from the severe chaffing going on in the genital region. I'd stand up and pull them out of my ass but i'm sorta pinned in here. (ie...the man next to me is spilling over) I hope he's comfy.

With all of that said. Expect to hear more from me very soon!

From 30,000 feet. I'm out.

So Cool

Depth charge detonation.



It's 2:38am. I just got off work and logged onto youtube and stumbled accross this video. I'm not sure why I find it so facinating but I had to share. Enjoy.

It's Time to Vent.

For the sake of saving this poor unfortunate soul a lifetime of embarassment, his name has been withheld and his eyes boxed out. (translation: I found this picture by a quick google image search...the alternative was to take a picture of myself with the shirt collar up. NO MA'AM!)

Ok... I have been holding this back for WAY TO LONG! It is time I speak out.

I was driving North on Sheffield the other day when I noticed a 50+ year old woman on the sidewalk walking her dog. It was a beautiful day and a pleasant sight to see while driving home right? WRONG!!! As I observed this woman closer I noticed she was wearing a pink polo and her COLLAR WAS UP!!!! What the hell was she thinking???

This has been going on way to long. This being the Shirt Collar Crisis (SCC). Being a man in my upper 20's I remember in the 80's when it was "cool" to put your collar up. Notice I put "cool" in quotes as I'm not sure it was really ever cool...but for the sake of this argument let's go with it.

Fads happen...I'll admit I poured buckets and buckets of Clorox bleach over my jeans, I jumped on the Livestrong bracelet (until I nearly lost my arm from it) bandwagon and I even proudly wore a permed mullet. One might think it doesn't get much worse than a permed mullet but I have to disagree. Did we not learn our lesson in the 80's with the shirt collar? How have we let the SCC return? And for so long?

It was a good 3-4 years ago when "the gay's" and metrosexuals started flipping their collars....and then it was EVERYONE. I feel as though I should be blaming Abercrombie and Fitch for this but I'm not one to point fingers. (ok...maybe I am but i'm not going to here...we're the idiot's who bought into their marketing efforts). Anyway, from day one I was angered by the view of the uplifted shirt collar. I really wish I could just ignore it but it sends chimicals of hatred throughout my body.

Let's fast forward a year. The SCC was still in full effect. With a trip to Andersonville I noticed that even the lesbians had jumped on the bandwagon. WHAT?????? Lesbian's don't jump on fashion bandwagon's. The only good thing about this was that the gay boys started putting their collars down when the lesbian's started putting them up. Any good fag know's that lesbian's have no fashion sense.

So now here we are in the final stretches of 2006 and I am still seeing people with their collars up. PLEASE! Do me a favor...if you are reading this post....spread the word....or do what i've done too many times.

1. Approach the victim affected by the SCC with a staight face
2. Politely Put their collar back in the normal collar position
3. And say to them as if they had toilet paper attached to their shoe "You're collar was up"

Trust me.....it works. Ask any of my friends who've witnessed me helping the community. My favorite experience happened in Nashville over Easter weekend Ms. Brost can share that story.

Storms Hit Chicagoland

Ok...so most of you know I have an infatuation with thunderstorms. So it should be no surprise to you that last night was AWESOME. The storm came right as I started dinner so the back window and door were immediately opened so I could keep a close eye on the storm moving in. Fortunately the most exciting part of the storm came in time for me to shut off the kitchen lights and enjoy my dinner in the doorway with the bright sky above me.

While a beautiful picture of lightening in the sky is probably most appropriate for what I just wrote.....that is not what you get. Below is a pic and caption posted on NBC5.com. Forwarded to me by a good friend Doug. We both think it's HYSTERICAL. Hopefully you'll see the humor in it too. Enjoy!



"I got my keys, I'm ready to get into my car, and I'm like, 'Daamn! There's a whole tree on it. I can't move a whole tree,'" he said.

A Good Day...

I feel the need to write and post that today....was a good day.

So Operation Transformation is in full effect. I met Ms. Brost at the Multiplex last week and to my surprise...a lot has changed. I noticed it the moment I walked in. The first thing I had noticed was that smoothie/snack bar in the lobby was different. It looks as though it is in the process of its transformation so I felt comfortable as I made my way up the stairs to the locker room.

As I first walked in I wasn't sure what was different but it had a totally different feel. I felt as though they had ripped up all the carpeting and it was now just bare tile but i'm still not certain. If I were to put money on it, that would be my final answer. I efficently found a locker and got dressed for my work out. On my way out of the locker room I decided to step on the scale that was so conveniently located. It was not good. Following my workout I made my way back to the locker room, stripped to a towel and could not resist stepping back on the scale for a final look on my way to the shower. I had lost 11 pounds since I quit working out. ELEVEN POUNDS!!!! This was when Operation Transformation began. I was down to 154lbs. Today I rang in at 153.5. I'm not cool with that.

Fall seems to be the time of the year when I go through the most change. While the change is always a bit hard for me to cope with....it always seems to work out for the best. I ended up in Nashville, I ended up in Chicago, I'm on my 2nd awesome roomate in Chicago....and I am about to have a 3rd on Monday.

Anyway...the reason for this post is to announce that Operation Transformation is in full effect. I'm taking the next few months to focus on myself. This summer was A TON of fun...but it's time to get serious. I feel i've got a lot of good things a head of me....and i'm going to use this fall to make sure i'm ready.

Along Comes Debbie Downer

So i know it's not very creative to just add video's to my site but with the day that i am having I thought this was only appropriate. This skit makes me so happy! Enjoy! WOW WOW WOW.

So NOT Pretty

Ok...she's so NOT pretty but I can't help adoring this commercial. It makes me think of Tammy T everytime. AWESOME Commercian Nike! Here's to "the pretty girl" getting her ass handed to her in the finals today by Justine!

RAGE Takes 1st Place Again!!!

Wow...what a weekend. Our softball team returned to Milwaukee this weekend to defend our title at the Dairlyland Classic Softball Tournament. This year, however, we played under a different name. Roscoe's RAGE. Thank you Roscoe's for the sponsorship!

We started the tournament very poorly. We actually didn't play so badly, but our record indicated differently. We lost all three of our pool play games, got a poopy seed in the bracket and then to top it all off....lost our first game in the double elimination tournament. For those of you whom have played in a double elimination tournament. Being the first team in the loser's bracket is SO NOT where you want to be. So with Saturday coming to an end....we were 0-4. Can someone give me the Debbie Downer noise please? WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! Not only that, we had to be back at the fields at 8:15am as our first game was at 9am. WE WERE DETERMINED to win this game. Losing meant being completely eliminated from the tournament by 10am. It'd be similar to Ms. Brost being the first one eliminated from Elimidate. Huge expectations and a huge disappointment.

Fortunately, we turned it on and played our asses off from 9am until just after 5pm. Games are 50 minutes long and each new game was scheduled to start on the hour. So this meant we had just 10 minutes between each game to do the line up, rest and get our heads back into the fight fight fight mentality.

I honestly thought we wouldn't place after the day we had on Saturday. And as the day moved on Sunday and we got closer and closer to bringing home hardware....i slowly began thinking it was really possible for us to win it all. We made it to the championship game along side New York City. However, being in the losers bracket still....we had to beat them not just once...but twice to win it all. Otherwise we were going home with a 2nd place trophy. We dominated the first game winning by quite a margin. The second game was much closer. Fortunately, we had a good inning and were able to maintain the lead to go home with the championship trophy. I must say....EACH AND EVERY PLAYER on our roster had a huge part at making this happen.

Oh yeah...thank you Ed for pitching!!!! GOD I MISS PLAYING SHORT!

Skrimps

Wow. I got lost in blog world for awhile tonight and came accross this picture. I HAD to post it. It made me laugh way to hard.

We've Got Friends in Low Places

United Airlines DC-10 Flight 232 crash

I was just sitting here thinking about the past. With the air and water show taking place right now in Chicago the loud noises i am hearing from all of these planes made me think of the plane that crashed in my hometown. It will be a day I'll never forget. United Airlines DC-10 flight 232 crashed in Sioux City killing 112, but 184 on board survived. The plane lost all hydraulic systems over Iowa, and attempted crash landing. Miraculously, there were more survivals than casualties.

stevegcole.com Turns One!!!

So today is the day. "A Random Collection of Thoughts" has turned One Year Old. I was about to type that "I can't believe it has been a year already" but honestly, it's felt much longer. I was just sitting at David's the other night discussing this very same thing. It seems we are so quick to say that time flies. While i agree with this statement, these less than 3 years i have been in Chicago have gone by very slowly. I feel like Davey and I have been friends for years and years..and that i have lived in Chicago for a decade. I am the luckiest guy in the world to have the friends that I have in Chicago. And to think that making friends was one of the things I worried about most with leaving Nashville. I was terrified I was going to be lost in a city of this size. It's kinda funny to think about in retrospect. I seldom walk down the street without bumping into someone I know. It makes me think I was meant to be here. I have been thinking about that a lot these past few days. My mother booked a flight this week and is coming to visit me in September. I am so excited for her to see my apartment, the city i live in, my nieghborhood and most importantly to see two of the most special people in my life. My sisters. It is very important to me that my mother knows I am happy. She's good at worrying. Isn't that what mom's do best? Fortunately, I feel confident that by just meeting Cook-a-reta and Betty...she will find comfort i knowing that I've got a little family of my own in the city that has been so good to me.

Ach Mein Gott

Leave it to Ian to take me out of my NERVA mood. Jordan & I have just instated the FUITH and MINERVA warning levels using the jacked up state of self defense 'code system' as our guidelines. I was well into code Yellow Minerva and working my way up to Code orange when Ian sent me the video below.....THANK YOU IAN for taking me into GREEN...free of all minervaness.

When Good Concubines Go Bad.

So the title of this entry sounds a little "Girls Gone Wild" but I assure you, it's not. My little concubine Connie moved to Chicago less than a week ago. (First off, thank you Momma for giving him the perfect nickname.) I am SO happy to have him back in town. I spent nearly every summer Sunday with James last year and am looking forward to doing it again this summer. Ah the memories.

So back to the concubine going bad. James and I had so much fun on Sunday that we decided to continue the fun into Monday. I had the day off so he and I went and played 3 sets of tennis. aka Connie went wrong. BAD CONCUBINE. She whooped my ass in tennis 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. (I blame the hot guy two courts down for the 6-0 set...where's my ridalin when I need it?)

We are off to play again tomorrow morning at 10am...assuming the rain holds off. He's one heck of a player...i look forward to him running my ass back and forth. I have a league match on Friday so this will be good practice for me.

It's bedtime.

Lillian Fontainne & Lady Lychee Present....

Latest Video Posted

I can't believe I'm posting this. I may even decide to remove it after a few days. Ms. Brost and I caught our infamous act on tape...enjoy while you can! Click the image above this post to view the movie.

Norma Jean & Nair

You know you have good friends when they plan an evil plot against you, and then forewarn you of their strategy. I got a phone call from Tammy Delusian this morning to inform me of his evil plan. He told me the next time he, Ms. Brost & I go out...they are going to slip a couple of Norma Jean's in my drink (aka Ambien) and then NAIR one of my eyebrows out.

I honestly was a little scared by the tone of Tammy's voice. She was WAY TOO EXCITED about this. I could not help but bust into laughter...it was too funny!

(please read this next bit sentence as if you had carrie bradshaw's narrator voice) So that made me wonder...What would I look like with a missing eyebrow?)

Thank you photoshop for allowing me to see this HORRIFIC sight.

Tammy & Ms. Brost.....I would do EVIL EVIL things if this "were" to ever happen!!!!!! FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!!!!

Love,
Steve

It's 3 am I must be lonely.

"she says baby
it’s 3 am I must be lonely
when she says baby
well I can’t help but be scared of it all sometimes
says the rain’s gonna wash away I believe it"

So it's 3am and I just got home from work. I am still a bit wired as I had a pretty busy night. I was just sitting out on the back deck watching the rain fall lightly and the lyrics to matchbox 20 entered my head.

I have two softball games in the morning. We play Buck U's and Crew Crush. Afterwards I think we are going to head up to Andersonville for the Midsommer Fest. Here's to looking forward to a good Sunday.

And Monday you ask??? Gay Great America!!!! WATCH OUT!!!

What the HELL is a Hoosier?

So I was chatting with a friend online today, whom we will from now on Call HoosierManKnx, and we got on the topic of sports. While we agreed on one team, the Volunteers, we didn’t really have much else to go with as far as supporting each other’s teams. All was good until HoosierManKnx dissed the Cubs.

This led me to the question in which I’ve asked many many IU fans over the years. While I was on edge a bit with HoosierManKnx’s blow to the cubs…I will be forever greatful for his response to my question.

HoosierManKnx first responded with….”Are you sure you want me to tell you the two stories?” I begged him….i have long been awaiting this answer…I had learned what a Sooner was….and FINALLY…after years of mystery…I have learned what Hoosier is…and it COULD NOT BE BETTER!!!! Now I know why Hoosier fans always “claim they don’t know”

Story #1
< HoosierManKnx > the original settlers of indiana came up through kentucky, settled southern indiana, and of course had a hillbilly drawl
< HoosierManKnx> and they all used to live in log cabins, like miles away from their neighbors
< HoosierManKnx so, when someone knocked at the cabin door, they kentuckians used to say "who's there"...which in their accent sounded like "who's ere"
< HoosierManKnx which became Hoosier

Story #2
back in the pioneer days, people used to be a little rough, you know
< HoosierManKnx and they'd get into fights and whatnot
< HoosierManKnx > well, legend has it that someone pulled out a knife in the heat of the moment, cut off someone's ear...but in the melee, nobody knew who's ear it was
< HoosierManKnx > so, again, in southern indiana speak, it became "who's ear"
< HoosierManKnx> Hoosier

RAGE

So it’s official. I suck at keeping this blog updated. I have started to write several entries but each time something comes up which causes me not to finish. This is going to end today.

Life is GOOD. A lot has happened since my last entry. Probably the biggest of these happenings is that I quit my “real job” at Special Events Management. I had a good time working there and learned a lot. But it was time to move on. I had grown to loathe it. So now I am working full time at XO. Not really what I want to do when I grow up but it will work for the time being. I am having a really good time there and it will allow for the perfect summer.

Speaking of summer, softball is in full swing. I am blessed to be playing with an amazing group of guys this summer. We’re a great team and we are having A BLAST together. We won our first game this weekend. I believe the score was 27-1. After losing close game after close game….it felt really good to have such a strong win. We needed it. And will be getting two more next week! ;)

If not…I think Chad said it best….”At least we’re pretty.”

"Arena"

So leave it to my good friend Ian to provide me with a crazy random Wednesday night last week. He called me last Wednesday afternoon while I was still at work and asked me if he could come over and shoot a scene for a 10 minute movie he was working on. I am a camera whore, and Ian knows this...we were standing in my kitchen shooting before I knew it. GOOD TIMES!!!

Click on the image above to see "Arena".

Opening Day at Wrigley

Wow! It's hard to believe that baseball season is already here. The cubs just had their opening day at Wrigley yesterday as they stomped on the Cards beating them 5-1. Today they came back at the end to beat them 3-2. My oh my how my neighborhood changes with the start of baseball season. I LOVE IT!!!! However, I do not love the parking situation.

I slept a record 16.5 hours last night as I was exhuasted from a week of too much work and too much partying. Last night I took a nap from 7-9pm woke up for a short while to bail out of a pre-bar party and then went back to bed and slept until 11:30am. Unfortunately, in this deep slumber, I forgot that i lose my parking spot during Cubs game. My roomate Tommy and I were in the kitchen sipping on some coffee this morning when we heard a loud knock at the back door. WTF??? Both of us were like...who the f*ck would be knocking on our door at this hour? It was one of the men in charge of parking cars behind our house. He said...welcome back to baseball season! To which i replied....i'm so sorry..i'll be right down to move my car.

It was just after 12 and the game started at 120pm. I was screwed. i somehow managed to find a parking spot one street over on Wilton (Thank God I own a jeep....i can fit into ANY spot) and was back home within 15 minutes. For those of you who know my neighborhood during baseball season...parking can be an hour long job. I thank you Gladys for taking good care of me. (For those of you who don't know...Gladys is the parking God...if you are good to her...she'll be good to you. Kinda like Momma in the musical Chicago.)

And with that...i must get ready for my cocktail shift at X/O. Stop in and see me!

Super Size Me

So I just finished watching the movie SUPER SIZE ME. Wow. I had heard all the hype when it was released but never got around to seeing it, that is until tonight. I'm disgusted. I couldn't have watched the movie at a more perfect time. I've been in a bit of a funk lately, as you may have noticed from the lack of blog entries. And with this "funk", came plenty of fast food. I'm not sure if it was the ease and laziness of picking up fast food or the cheapness and lack of money i've had these past few months that have led me back into the trap of fast food but after watching SUPER SIZE ME... It's about to dramatically come to a halt.

I am very fortunate as for the most part, I eat whatever I want. I would consider myself to be under the average weight for a man of my age and height. For this, I should be thankful. But we can't help but notice our every. I hate the gut I've acquired. It's probably something I'm pretty much destined to always have with me. It's just the way my body is designed. I have gotten myself back into the habit of the gym for the most part this year, but have continued to eat like crap. While I am happy to be the heaviest I've ever been in my life (164lbs), I still dislike the way my body looks. It's time I do something about it. Not just with fast food, but with all of my food in general. I'm lazy. And when you are lazy...it's easy to eat crap. So here’s to being more away of what I stuff down my throat. (I’m still talking about food here.) ;)

So with that said, I am setting a goal. You read it here. If you see me eating the foods below from now through the month of April. PLEASE CALL ME OUT!!! Summer is right around the corner.

#1 - McDonalds (even after a severe hangover)
#2 - A Toffee Almond Bar from Starbucks. (This is going to be tough...but I can manage as long as I still get my coffee)

Let's start out slow. This is going to be a tough one. DAMN I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS MORNING'S TOFFEE ALMOND BAR WAS THE LAST!!!

Harry Potter and the Brokeback Goblet

Broke MAC Mountain

Feliz Aniversário

Need I say more?

Long Overdue

Where do I begin? It’s been way to long since my last posting. I’m not sure what happened. I guess I just fell out of habit. There have been many times when I said “self, you need to include that in your blog” only to let time and the idea slip away. Here I am. Ready to write…with nothing to say. Kinda figures eh?

I am currently sitting on the floor in the international terminal of the o’hare airport waiting for my flight to board. It’s 4:57pm. My flight was supposed to take off at 5:05pm. The board currently reads U5 602 5:45PM St. Petersburg At 5:45p. Kinda makes it look like it’s a 5:45PM flight that is ON TIME. Not so much. But I’m not bitter. Ok, maybe just a little.

For some reason, my mood has plummeted since boarding the train for O’Hare. Perhaps it’s the DARK DARK skies and the massive amounts of wetness. I know what you are thinking….Steve is complaining about something being DARK DARK and WET? And yes….you are right. This is a first.

But I am slowly turning my frown up-side-down. J I’ve got my ipod jammin’ some Ana Carolina in my ears. I have no idea what she is saying as it’s in Portuguese but it’s soothing none-the-less.

I am concerned. This is officially going down as the most boring blog entry yet.

THIS WEEKEND: I am headed to Tampa Bay for a softball tournament. Ms. Brost and I are playing with the Philadelphia Woodys yet again. An amazing weekend is ahead of us. First the first time ever…the forecast calls for SUNNY SKIES!!!! I am still in disbelieve…especially since it’s thunder storming in the skies I see….and apparently the water is turning to ice on the ground. That 80-degree weather couldn’t sound any more appealing. I think this calls for a Tammy style “Da-LISH.”

Oh yeah….And who wants to know why my sleeve has been rolled up? I somehow managed to jack up my arm/shoulder/triceps a few weeks ago….and JUST IN TIME for the softball tournament. Oh yeah…it’s my throwing arm baby! It’s going to make those throws from short to first awfully fun. I’m not quite sure how paintful it’s really going to be as I’ve been resting my arm in hopes of it being back to normal by this weekend. Normal is not going to happen. But I “think” I should be able to play.

Anyway, in addition to the ice, heat and medication….i have been using this stuff called Tiger Balm. If you haven’t heard of it….think of Ben Gay….and multiply the feeling you get when you use that by 756,000. That is Tiger Balm. It’s quite helpful on the pain relief. But has an incredibly potent scent and stains your clothing. So for the last week or so I’ve had my sleeve rolled up at work. Some thought I was sportin’ a new look, some thought I was showing off my slightly larger muscles and others didn’t think anything differently….just a simple “he’s crazy.”

Eu sou muito louco.

Creative Lunch

Ok...so I was feeling like being creative at lunch today so I put together this little slideshow. i think one thing came out of this.....there will be more to come! I wish I could have spent more time on this one.

The photo's are in no particular order.....just a little clip of my last couple of months.

Enjoy!

I Love Kite Flyers!!!!

CRIBS - Chicago

Ian & Steve decide to shoot a random film on a moment's notice! Good times!!! Welcome to Steve's CRIB.

Click on the image to view the film!!!

Powered by Castpost

It's a Small World

First off. I'd like to announce that this is a double de-virginizing entry for me. (I know what your thinking....there aren't many things left that will de-virginize steve) but it's true. This is my first blog entry made from 30,000 feet, as well as my first entry composed entirely on my crackberry....u can thank Ms. Gina for that one. And if you could see who was sitting next to me on this plane....you'd know there are a few other "firsts" I'd like to try. DA-LISH. (Mom, if you are reading this...this would be one of 6548927 reasons why you don’t want to continue reading this site.

So I can't stop thinking about how small of a world it is. No matter where I go, I always bump into people I know when I travel. Some of you may already know that I had to hop an emergency flight home causing me to arrive at midway by 550am the day before I was supposed to fly home. Caffeine-free I was not in the best mood for flying the friendly skies. Midway could have sucked my friendly sky for all I cared...nobody deserves to fly southwest at 6 in the morning without an ounce of coffee. Nobody deserves to fly southwest during xmas period.

Where was I? Oh yea....so never in my right mind did I expect to see 3 friends aboard my flight to Omaha Nebraska. Last time I saw one of these guys at 6am we were still out dancing!

So I an sitting in the floor waiting for the horrific cattle call of a boarding sw has so kindly gotten me used to (yes, I was on the floor) when I noticed a guy I recognized in front of me. To make a long boring story short....it is the guy who introduced Ms. Brost to her former bf of 5 years. During our talk to girl next to me chimes in to tell me she lives 5 houses north of me and is also from my hometown, Sioux City, Iowa.

I could tell story after story but my all time favorite is this....

I am at the airport in NYC for work with 2 work colleagues. We are picking up our bags from luggage claim and getting ready to grab a cab to Manhattan when a limo driver walks up and offers to take is to the city in style. While this sounds great I notice signs on the wall that say not to do this so I try to weasel our way out of it....the next thing I know I am sitting in a limo with 2 work buddies, and a family of 3. One of my colleagues thinks the young boy with his parents is cute and starts to stare. I smack his leg and remind him that this boy is with his parents. After a few more reminder smacks he stops staring.

As we are going over the bridge into the city I look up to notice the boy staring at me. For fucks sake, I thought. I ignore the stare but of course look again after a few minutes pass to see if he is still looking. At this point the boy says, "is your name steve?". I am baffled and cautiously reply..."Yes". At this point the boy flips over his sidekick phone to reveal a black and white picture of me on his phone.

I swear to god time stopped for at least 30 seconds. Me and both of my friends jaws dropped to the bottom of the limo. The boy then said in a chipper voice "you're my friendster!!!". I still had no clue. ..I was positive I had never met this kid before....finally it clicked. "Ian?" I asked. YES!

I indeed had never met this kid in my life...here is how I became Ians friendster....I moved to Chicago and knew very few people....about the same time Jordan moved to LA and began dating this guy named Eric....well Eric had a friend in Chicago and told Jordan to tell me to IM this guy....uhhhh random party of one? I added Ian to my buddy list and after a week or two finally said hello. Yes it was awkward but Ian is an extremely laid back guy who probably thought nothing of it. He invited me to join friendster and we kept talking about how one day we should hang out.....probably 6 months later we met, in the limo in NYC. Who knew he'd be so quick to introduce me to his parents.

So it is a small world, after all!

Mary Crotchmas!!!

Wishing you a Mary Crotchmas and a Happy New Year!

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

I-O-W-A Iowa all the way!!!

I - O - W -A Iowa All the Way!!!! What the @#$& does that mean??? One of the random songs I learned as a child and can't seem to forget. The sad thing??? That is only the first line of the song....I know the rest...and the sign language to go with it.

So yeah....greetings from Iowa. Home of....well...ME! I am not sure what else is actually FROM FROM here besides Sioux Bee Honey, which I'm not sure I've ever had.

As I'm feeling not so fun and creative tonight.....instead of reading my babble....i will supply you with some not-so-fun facts on Iowa. GET OVER IT!!! At least you didn't have to live here for 18 years!

---Iowa became the 29th state on December 28, 1846.

---Capital City: Des Moines

---Nickname: The Hawkeye State (It sure beats Illinois....the Bottom state. We could have been less fortunate and been named the Browneye state.)

---Iowa Quarter: Nation’s Only Education Quarter (This wins most boring fact of the year award!!!)

---State Flower: Wild Rose

---State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch

---State Tree: Oak

---State Rock: Geode (Is that crackrock because I had to sign a waiver just to purchase a 10pk of Claritin D???)

---State Car: This is not official but I will dub thee as the 13 year old Rose Colored Cadillac I'm driving around town. HOT!!!

Jordan Does Chicago

I am very excited to have been asked by Steve to write a guest blog entry. Thank you!!!! What better place to write this lovely entry than from 30,000 feet in the air somewhere between Chicago and Orange County with the Pussycat Dolls song "Don't Cha" playing proudly from my iPod-superior-portable-music-device. Oooops! I need to be careful, my husband has a very successful business selling iPod's and related products. (I'll elaborate on this more in a minute).

Wow! What an amazing 4 days! They went by sooooo quick! Probably because we were sober only about 1/6th of the time - whooops'a'daisey!!
My 97 hours in Chicago was filled with a little sight seeing, pie hole, bar hopping, Brazilians, a little shopping, Brazilians, Coffee hour at the CruzzieBou, dancing at Charlies (that brought back all too many CH memories), welcoming another to the CrackBerry clan, Brazilians, meals at 5am at Melrose Cafe (where a thrown butter packet almost caused the Queer Civil War), Brazilians, Movie Theater (Bareback mountain: 2 out of 5 stars), Brazilians, Bowling league, and pitchers of fluid from Roscoes that didn't taste like they contained booze (side note - they do... I have pictures to prove it)..... If anyone out there in blog land is sleeping, wake up. The next sentence is important: BRAZILIANS RULE!!!!!!! Quenda Mona in the picture above! That was taken at Roscoes during our Long Island incident. I call it an incident because the Roscoes experience concluded with me ball-room dancing with Fabiano on the dance floor. Bless his heart for playing along, I'm sure he was like "what is this crazy Californian making me do?" Also his roommate Marcio and I were married shortly after....on the street, in front of a wedding gown in a shop window. Classy eh? Odd how the party and dance came before the wedding ceremony. Wait a minute....Maybe that is what we (The Gays) have to do in order for The Straights to be comfortable with the marriage issue. Reverse the ceremony and party? Why not? It makes sense to me.... WRITE YOUR CONGRESS REPRESENTATIVE! But all in all, the Brazilians really made my Chicago trip amazing: Fabiano, Marcio my husband, Diego, Sweet Marcio (yes there are two - isn't that Delish?!?!) and all the other Brazilians I met and cannot remember your name because too much booze causes short term memory loss.



Also of importance was the Turkish and Armeanian dispute talks which were held on 12/18/05 at an Irish Pub mediated by non-other than her honor Steve Cole. David and I came to the conclusion that Turks and Armenians can indeed live in harmony regardless of the crud acts many many eons ago. As a jester of kindness, David has agreed to allow the bowling team "Spare Me" resume utilization of the term "Turkey" when an individual obtains three strikes in a row. Thanks David, I'm glad others beside Turks and Armenians are able to benefit from this union.

Lastly, I want to personally thank Miss Brost for becoming un-overwhelemed on Tuesday evening and spending some time with me. Even though I think she was there more to resume her fabulous bowling than see me, we enjoyed each other's company. For Christmas I am going to present her with a book "How Homos Dress". Yes I know it was sub zero and she was layered, but she walked out of her house wearing Blue Jeans ticked in to a white t-shirt with (...gulp...) no belt. At first, this horrible fauxpa was not evident, but as she begin to perspire as a result of her she-woman like bowling skills, she shed her outer layers and the shocking truth was revealed. Her beautiful eyes could only distract me for a few seconds (side note: they truly are amazing....slurp) Me, being the kind person I am, pulled her aside and loaned her my brown leather belt (which I may add matched my Brown leather shoes perfectly). This was a temporary fix to a very tragic scenario. All of us were content with !
the solution - including Bradford. Mike (of the Mike and Ryan duo) witnessed this transformation and felt the need to correct me, as he felt my brown leather belt didn't match my black shirt. Oh well...Mike, I'm guilty as charged (pardon the pun), but at the end of the day, leather is leather...... Right Ryan?

Thanks again everyone, I cannot wait until next time!!!!!! And remember, when things get rough think to yourself "Es' Okay.... Es' okaaaaay!!!!!" [Blink + Smooch].

~Jordan

Pack yer bags!!!

I am feeling like a little girl on Christmas morning. I would say the countdown has begun but it DONE BEGAN days ago. Aunt QUENDA is coming to town in just over 18 hours!!!!!!! WATCH OUT CHICAGO, it’s going to be a wild and crazy weekend! Can someone put and APB out to the strippers at Madrigals and Cocktail? Jordan will be here in no time!

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We got our first big snow of the year on Thursday and I had no clue it was coming. I went to lunch around 1 that day and the sky was clear and sunny. By the time I got back to the office it had started to flurry. Unfortunately, I work down in a dungeon with no windows. Ok, there are a few windows but it's that REALLY thick glass that you can only see shawdows through. Not so helpful on seeing the snow fall. When I got back to my desk I made a quick visit to weather.com to see what the radar looked like. It showed a snow storm headed directly our way. However, it said it was only going to drop 1-3 inches. These were CERTAINLY NOT AOL INCHES!!!! 3 Hours later there appeared to be a good 5 inches on the ground and it was still coming down HEAVY. I went back to my office and continued to work as I knew traffic was going to be a nightmare. I was correct. I left around 6 and got home around 7. THANK GOD I'm not AB...it took her 4 hours to get home....NO WAY!!!! I live two miles from work. I was thankful for having the wrangler but wished everyone else in the city was also equipped with 4WD. Not so much. I think total snow fall at midway was 11-inches and a plane off the runway.....and more like 8 in my hood.

Anyway, the night turned out to be quite fun. Fabiano, Marcio and I went to Roscoe's to have a couple of pitchers and then made a long walk up to IHOP for a little breakfast. GOOD TIMES HAD BY ALL!!! There is something so awesome about the first big snow of the year.

Wicked - Front Row

So my buddy Tom came to visit me this past weekend from Philly. He could not have picked a colder weekend to visit. Can I get a MINERVA? Basically.

With it being so cold outside we were limited in things to do. "Limited?" How ironic now that I think of it. Fortunately, Tom did his research prior to his arrival and learned that a couple of hours before every performance of Wicked they action off 20 seats in the front row for $25 bucks. Tom informed me over dinner on Saturday night that we were going to be taking a trip downtown in the morning to put our name into the Witches hat.

He is one lucky bitch!!! They drew 10 names. Tom was #8 for two tickets. Me? Not so lucky...but I was with the lucky bitch!!! ;) When we going to Vegas Tommy?

A Perfect 10???

Click on the image to find out for yourself!!!

Personally, I think she's Olympic bound....

Powered by Castpost