I'm feeling compelled to write. I feel like there is some impending disaster about to happen. I don't know if it is terrorism or a natural disaster, but I feel it very strongly. I have no idea when or where. But it feels big. Earthquake comes to mind.
I met with the guy in charge of beach cleanup operations at Heal the Bay (very cute by the way.... says he has a girlfriend, yah ha?). I am now the official Emergency Response Team Santa Monica Beach Captain for Heal the Bay. The guy in charge is new in his role and this does not seem to be a priority for him. The list of "volunteers" for me to call is small and over a year old. I'm going to try and recruit people at work and at my building so they can help me with the next rain..... I also have KNBC 4 to call to get the word out for volunteers next big storm, and I have access to a volunteer center here where I work, so I should be able to muster the troops in time of battle.
I close my eyes and breathe deeply,
let out a satisfying sigh.
The Holiday is upon us
so "be happy and thankful."
Friends, family, hours of nothing
something, everything, life.
Hear the gentle voice beckon,
reminding you of who you are.
We're all going to the same place.
Let's all learn to get along.
If not now, later. Why not now?
Blue skies, oxygen, water, the ocean.
My kitty, my sight, food, a job.
These are some of the things I'm grateful for.
Good health, optimism, hope for life eternal.
My body, temporary, but *I* go on.
Where I go next enthralls me.
My soul tells me there are millions/billions (more?)
of spiritual beings around us, watching, managing
the Universe.
I want to talk to them. I want to help.
I want to do what I was put on this planet to do.
What is that?
Is there really a Grand Portal?
Can I help discover it?
Now or next time?
I'm not afraid of the answers.
Please tell me.
Monday, November 25, 2002 :
Walking tour of downtown Los Angeles.
The place is nicer than I thought.
Saw Mama Mia at the Pantages.
Almost got up on my seat during "Dancing Queen."
Heal the Bay has found me.
They want me to be the Santa Monica Beach Captain.
Next thing you know I'll be running for political office (NOT)
Tuesday, November 19, 2002 :
I've come to live vicariously through my friend Scott. At the age of 42 he gets more social and sexual action than most good looking guys even in their 20's. And he has that much sexual energy to go with it. He is into both men and women, and he takes advantage of every opportunity, believe me. He is one of these guys who has a full head of hair (NO receding hairline) has a great body (six pack) and is one of the sweetest, most unassuming, fun guys you'll ever meet. That's why so many people like him. He had a date with a very cute, smart, young women on Friday and yes, they made out. Saturday he had a date with his friend Robert, who I think he is falling in love with. Sunday he had a date with a women in the choir he sings in.
Well, Robert, Scott and I are going to Puerta Vallarta! Yippeee! I just made the reservations and will be going to PV the week before Christmas and staying at the Blue Chairs gay hotel there on the beach. I own a timeshare and we'll be taking a trip down. I can not wait! It's been a couple years since I've been.
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 :
The city of Santa Monica "Waste Management" guy contacted me today and set me straight (as if that's EVEN possible) on why he thought there was so much garbage on the beach. Apparently whenever So. California gets it's "first big rain" all the garbage that's been collecting in the catch basins gets washed down the storm drains and runoff systems and gets funnelled into the ocean. Welll that's a damn shame! I was at least happy he called me. I explained to him that, yes that makes sense, but this is Tuesday, the storm ended Saturday night, and the trash is still there. He said he'd go down today to look it over and see what he could do to fix the problem. Yay me, I'm all civic and everything.
Today I go get out the stiches I got when they cut out some basil cell cancer thingy I had on my face (thus ended my career as a model). I'm also getting this laser lite thing done where they smoothe out the face and get rid of some of the sun-damaged redness there. Hmmm, maybe my days of modeling are just beginning? I'll let you know if my love life improves or not.
Monday, November 11, 2002 : I woke up Sunday morning to the first day of sunshine after several of rain. We needed the rain badly and it certainly did the job on cleaning out the air. Living on the beach as I do, I simply had to go for a walk and take in the beautiful morning. Much to my grief, I got to the shoreline and was greeted with tons and tons of garbage. Apparently, the wise city officials of Santa Monica did not believe the constant warnings of extremely high tides and surf, and failed to pull the hundreds of trash cans back above the high tide line. Every one of the trash cans from Venice Beach to way north of the Santa Monica Pier, were turned over during the storm and dumped all their contents. Now understand this: I am not an environmentalist. But I am aware that one (that is O N E) plastic bag has the potential of killing a Dolphin or seal if eaten. And when they die and their carcus rots, the bag gets reintroduced into the environment to kill again. And so with the tons of trash (I saw broken glass, condom wrappers, and everything in between) I was witnessing what was tantamount to an oil spill - a huge ecological disaster.
And so while tourists and locals alike blissfully walked over and past all the trash I decided to try and do something about it! I walked to a nearby lifeguard headquarters and talked to a fireman who was washing his truck in the early morning sun. He offered to call in to the city, but admitted he did not think anyone would respond since it was a Sunday. He said he knew the city was aware of the problem, since he had seen city workers picking up the trash cans the day before. I went back to my aqpartment and tried calling the city, but they were closed. I tried calling the local news stations but could not get through to anyone. I left a few messages. I got online and emailed to some of the "news tiplines" that I could find, but even to this day I have not received any messages or calls back.
Meanwhile, I got my camera and got some shots of the mess. I also kept trying the phone and finally, somehow, I got through to the Assignment Desk of KNBC Los Angeles and spoke directly to the guy in charge. He liked my story and decided he'd send out a camera crew to meet me! And so it happened. The "crew" arrived and we went out on the beach, I told them my story, they got a bunch of shots and that was it. As the news came on at 4:30 what do you think was the top story? The news opened with a lady broadcasting live from Santa Monica Beach. "Local Santa Monica residents woke up this day after the storms hit Southern California to find a big mess on the beaches due to overturned trash cans......" and my concerned face and a quote or two from me about how this whole thing is a disaster, and some shots of me and the trash..... So hey, I'm a star. But! It did not have the affect I wanted. The story was a "storm" story, and not about how we are in the midst of an ecological disaster. This morning the trucks were raking the beaches to make the sand look nice, but they were not raking the trash that was right next to the shoreline! If the trash is still there tonight, I don't know what I'll do, but I will definitely be PISSED!
Friday, November 08, 2002 : Is it the weekend already? It's 5:00 p.m. on a rainy (now dark) Friday afternoon and I'm ready to head out the office door. I'm meeting my friend Scott for a drink and then I have to decide if I really want to come back to campus to see a show I have tickets for -- a student production that starts at 7:30 p.m. Part of me just wants to go home and watch t.v. and another part of me really wants to see the show -- i've heard it's fantastic.
This week was quite successful in terms of work. I'm quite pleased with the results.
Monday, November 04, 2002 :
You'd think that since I'm an "IT Professional" that I'd be able to be a tad bit more sophisticated with the whole blogging thing. Over the past several hours I finally figured out how to add links. So look down at the bottom box on the left to find some of my other blog sites I like. More to come!!!!
Not much to say about Mika and David's visit. They ended up quite late (arriving in the L.A. hour about rush hour on a Friday?) and so I ended up cooking dinner and they arrived about the time it was ready. We hung out mostly near home and we visited the gay bars both Friday and Saturday night. I ran into my friend Carlos and his boyfriend and some other of his friends on Saturday and we got caught up. My friend Scott had a retreat this weekend with his fellow choir members which includes his love-buddy Robert and Robert's lover Mario. I'm still waiting for the update on all the frolicking in the woods..... I'm sure it is all much more juicy than my weekend.
Tomorrow I'm going in to have some cancer removed from my face. Considering how important a girl's face is to her, they are going to do a "special" procedure to make the scarring as minimal as possible. Yikes. There goes my career as a face model.
Cheers. Don't forget to vote (if you're in the U.S.) tomorrow.
Friday, November 01, 2002 :
Mika is a cute Finnish guy I met several years back when I first came out of the closet and moved into the Castro in San Francisco. At the time he was pretty much drunk all the time I was with him. I was quite fond of him and was concerned for his health because of his drinking. Anyway, some years have past, he's moved on, and yet we have stayed in touch via email over the years. He and his boyfriend are coming over tonight from their home in Las Vegas. They have visited once before and so this is their second visit. So this boy is entertaining guests this weekend! Yippeee. Gotta go, see ya! I'll tell ya how it went.
Oh, by the way, he doesn't drink anymore, and now I'M the one who I think has the drinking problem!
Formerly "A Day in the life of a Gay Guy", I've changed the name to reflect more of how I'm thinking. Being Gay is not the focal point of my life. I'm a guy with interests like everyone else, I just happen to be Gay.
