This past weekend treated

This past weekend treated me splendidly.

Friday night, before attending the opera, Furious and I met up with Azita to eat at Chive, one of my favorite restaurants. To start, we had escargot served in a puff pastry alongside grape tomatoes and peas; superb! For the main course, both Furious and I chose the same dish because, as we said, you just can't pass up a spice-crusted lamb loin when you see it on the menu. I must get the recipe, as it was simply marvelous! Sadly, we didn't have time for dessert... I'm sure it would have been incredible.

We ran to the opera to see Thérèse Raquin. It was my first opera experience, and I was not disappointed. The staging was magnificent. The story was tragic. The colors were brilliant (see photo above). Do not pass it up if it comes to your town. You just have to take my word on this one.

After the show, we met up with a few friends at Bourbon Street for some drinks and giggles. There were plenty of each to go around. Bourbon Street is a very high-quality bar that gets extremely packed before the crowds disperse to the nightclubs. Standard garb is Abercrombie & Fitch or department store semi-casual. Furious and I were in neither of those. He was in a cream-colored suit with a rad-ass stripped tie in the salmon end of the spectrum, I was black and white in my favorite Gaultier. I had never gone out to a bar like that dressed to the nines. I've gone to a leather bar, and a few 'indie' bars in a suit, but not A&F land. Surprisingly, I think you stand out more there than at a leather bar. I'll have to experiment more.

Saturday, I had planned to do nothing but stay inside. Plans don't always hold tight.

I cooked dinner for my father and stepmother. It was a new pasta recipe I had created a week earlier, and I wanted to try it out on them. They loved it, and I loved it. I started us out with a really good salad of baby arugula, fava beans, asparagus, and toasted walnuts. I should start posting my recipes to this site. I think you just might enjoy them.

Later that night, I met up with Cesar and Jonah to go to Club Montage. Neither of us had been there on gay night in a long time, and we got the urge. It turned out to be a good thing, since I ran into a guy I met a long time ago at the same club on straight night. He is very nice and very cute. We danced together (which I normally don't do at all, but he was so cute I couldn't resist) and had a finger-flicking fight. It was ridiculous, but fun. We pondered why we never ended up going out together way back when, and he came to the conclusion that I owe him a date. I agreed. It will be interesting to see what develops.

Sunday was finally my day of rest. I slept until noon. Rose for a half-hour to eat pizza, and went back to sleep until 5. After waking again, I went for a run around the park near my house. I came to home a dinner of Filet Mignon and a '97 pinot nior from the Russian River valley in Sonoma. I can't remember what winery it was, but any red from that region in '97 is bound to be pretty good.

After dinner, I went to Jonahs house again for the tail end of their barbecue. We sat around and watched a show on MTV called Boiling Points. Watch it. You'll laugh. I swear.

Well, that's the ineloquent paraphrase of my weekend. I should really learn that small, more frequent posts suit me much better.

March 31, 2003 | 4:23 PM | Link | 0 comments

Pump me full of Cadbury.

Very near to my home is one of the trashier Vons grocery stores. The lights are dim, the produce rotten, the meat?well, the meat is just downright putrid. Normally, I shop at Whole Foods for their friendly staff and the quality of their produce, meats, and fine chocolate selection. If I am in a rush, and do not need any perishable items, I go to Vons.

I also go to Vons if I want to see the hot cashier, Justin, lean his manhood on the checkout counter. I do believe he wears no underwear. I mean, darling, you can see details. Nothing gets my blood boiling like a bulging crotch. I turn into an animal; a carnivore drowning in the saliva that rushes down my cuspids. I want this man. Naked. Panting.

Last night, in between two great movies, twin Michael and I paid Vons a visit. When we entered the door, I was happy to see that he was working. Michael would finally get so see the man whose crotch I have been so adamantly after since I first laid eyes on it. I wanted to make conversation, but that was hopeless, since Michael and I had just polished off a bottle of wine.

My eyes turned downward, as they do, and caught a glimpse of what I consider to be one of the nastier chocolate candies. Cadbury Creme Eggs. The softish milk chocolate that coats the gritty white and yellow #6 filling. A shadow of what may have been a tasty treat the very moment it comes off the assembly line, but at no other point is worth ingesting.

I wanted them all.

Justin, slightly surprised, informs me how much the whole box will end up costing. I agree with no hesitation. There is no stopping me when I know what I want. He smirks, and pours the box out onto the counter to tally the total. I am only slightly aware of the reactions around me. I think there was laughter... or irritation. I was turning more and more red with each egg that was counted. 42. 42 Cadbury Creme Eggs, and I don't want to eat a single one.

As we were leaving Vons, I muttered to Michael, "I'm sure he'll remember me now," and thought to myself that his memory of this evening may not help me get him into bed. {I must apologize to myself if I am misquoting myself, but I had drank myself loopy.}

Michael and I went back to my house where I put a classy spin on a favorite matini. Two parts Belvedere Vodka, Half part Frangelico, and one gently frazzled vanilla pod. The vanilla pod makes this a pricey martini, but it's worth it. Go ahead, you deserve it.

Today, I am left with a box full of nasty little candies that nobody seems to like. I've successfully given away all but 39 so far. Next time, I am steering clear of the impulse items. Just as Michael and I decided, my next purchase from him will be condoms and a zucchini. That'll send him the message!

March 25, 2003 | 10:45 AM | Link | 0 comments

Ew.

"I had hemorrhoids for five years. Nothing gave me relief. But six months ago I started drinking half a glass of my urine every morning and I am practically healed."

As I said before: Ew.

March 21, 2003 | 3:57 PM | Link | 0 comments

If I'm so evil, how can I feel so happy?

It's a good thing that Sean lives on the other side of another country. 'Cause if he were here, I would hug him so tight that his tongue would fill up with blood and explode in my face... and I just don't feel like cleaning up a mess like that right now. He wrote a song that makes me want to sip a martini in the back room of hell.

Listen to Satan's Choice.

It's an ode to my psuedonym, Jean-Pierre Satán. I have toyed with the idea of legally changing my name over the last few years. Sean thinks I should definitely do it.

What do you think?

March 21, 2003 | 1:28 PM | Link | 0 comments

International Male

Yesterday, my colleague Claudia brought back chocolates and funk from Germany. Today, it's Fresh (well, fresh baked Tuesday) scones from Scotland. Damn, this is a really good scone. Nothing like your typical American scone.

Claudia is my international food mule. I hope that isn't where the funk came from. Ew.

March 20, 2003 | 9:30 AM | Link | 0 comments

Leftovers from Karneval

I think I just ate some German dirt...
It was definitely German funk of some kind.

Don't ask.

Update: It was most definitely funk. I have no idea what kind of funk, but it was funk nonetheless.

March 19, 2003 | 1:30 PM | Link | 0 comments

Blogger's being a bitch.

So, I'm trying to set up a new blog for my friend. When I try to publish, blogger tells me "Oops, your blog was not quite ready to be published. Please try again."

It's driving me insane! Even when I try to create a new blog for myself, I get the same error. Earlier this morning, blogger wouldn't even allow me to post here. It kept telling me that I had illegal characters. Interesting, since my entire post consisted only of the word test.

Does anyone out there know what the hell is wrong with blogger??

March 18, 2003 | 11:06 AM | Link | 0 comments

A little, green depressant.

It's the end of a crazy weekend, and the start of a whole new week in the office.

I can't remember another weekend where I slept so much. All day Saturday, and half of Sunday were spent sleeping. Even now, all I want to do is crawl under my covers and dream the day away.

Though Saturday evening didn't turn out quite as planned, it ended up being a great time! Janelle and I drove around a little bit looking for a party I was invited to by twin Michael. It was the second party I've been to that included him. I don't normally like parties, but any situation is made fun in the company of my twin. In lieu my usual g&t (gin and tonic), I drank cape cods made with really good vodka from a really pretty bottle. Michael showed Janelle and I around the place, introducing us to various friends and acquaintances.

After some time, we made our way upstairs, where I was offered some pot. It had been so long since the last time I smoked, I actually had to be re-taught on the intricacies of a bong (it was only my fifth time ever, so this wasn't too surprising).

Janelle and I left the party shortly before midnight to find Dear John and his friend out at Shooterz. We sat in the bar for about a half hour. This was easy, since pot makes me very quite and passive. Neither of us had hit an ATM that evening and it was so wet outside we didn't want to. As a result, neither of us went into the club, which is where John and his friend ended up being. That may have been a good thing since John seems to really dig her. The excited tone in his email last night brought a big smile to my face. I hope something happens with them! He can't pass up a girl who enjoys sipping a good g&t over a game of Addams Family pinball!

Janelle and I left Shooterz en route to Los Panchos to chow down on some of the best carne asade burritos in town. I guess smoking the pot had given me the munchies, because after dropping her off, I almost went back to get another one (these things are filling). Lucky for me, my 'fitness mentality' kicked in and I decided to just go home and go to bed.

*sigh*

And how was your weekend?

March 17, 2003 | 10:04 AM | Link | 0 comments

Oh, my god!

Last night!

That's all I have to say.

I'm going to bed.

March 15, 2003 | 8:16 AM | Link | 0 comments

Fresh.

This week has been all about fitness (well, almost). On Tuesday, I trained for the first time with my new coach. He seems pretty good. On top of the all-around gymnastics training, we'll be working on my nutrition, as well and my general fitness. I am completely ignorant when it comes to nutrition—completely.

On wednesday, I decided to go for a run after work. I also did this last night. It feels great to finally be active again! I'm sore as hell. I can barely move, but I love it! I'm considering training with my coach two times a week, but I just have to sort through my finances before deciding to do that.

Though I had every intention to keep this week purely health-driven, all it took was one phone call from Dear John to bring me back to the dark side. We did the usual club 80's thing at Shooterz, and twin Michael and I hopped over to Eagle for a while. Lucky for us, they weren't playing their normal leather-circuit crap music, so I invaded the juke box. Queen, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Robert Palmer filled the air.

Michael and I discussed our plan to have a Michael-Mykol-Jon birthday party at the Eagle. All three of us have birthdays in the first six days of September (the first, fourth, and sixth, respectively). We're going to crowd the hell out of that little leather bar! Be there or be square, boys and girls, it's going to be very.

March 14, 2003 | 12:35 PM | Link | 0 comments

Style.

Logan, one of the more rad people I know, threw a party for his birthday/three-year anniversary with his boyfriend Jesse. Talk about being multi-talented! Logan & Co. have done an awesome job on their home. The living room had an installation of glowing particle board. The kitchen had glass countertops that revealed the silverware drawers. The backyard was layered wonderfully with a deck, a pond, and a lawn.—the place screamed personality!

I went to the party with twin Michael, who was looking fabulous in a vintage white tee shirt and jeans. We shared a drink (or two)... we shared a burger... we munched on veggies and dip.

Christopher was wearing a shirt I am most fond of. It is a frazzled tee from the 1982 World's Fair. For some reason, I find world's fairs to be quite romantic. Christopher's friend Christian formed a sash out of pink paper party ribbon, and Christopher made me a sash-ish-y type thing out of a pink plastic lei.

I returned home to help my dad bring in the first part of the new bookcase he is building, and to eat Osso Buco, which my step-mother had made. We finished off dinner with a decadent near-flourless orange chocolate caked I had mad the day before.

All in all, it was one of the better Sundays I'd had in a very long time.

March 10, 2003 | 11:00 AM | Link | 0 comments

Last night had to have been one of the strangest in a while. None of us could figure out why, but something was very weird.

Dear John and I went to a friend's birthday party. We brought the wine and champagne¹. Twin Michael, looking exceptionally great in Vivienne Westwood, had prepared baby artichokes. Word to the wise: Don't let beer spill into your garlic-butter dip. The results are most heinous!

When I picked up Janelle, she had already consumed one rum and coke. She was already showing signs. She was the quiet, smiling type of buzzed. She tried to keep a secret from me, so I played pissed to get it out of her. We don't have any secrets.

Twin Michael and I went over to get our usual shot at the Eagle, but we instead had two gin and tonics. We didn't get anyone to show us their cock?our weekly goal. Sir Nicholas said he might, but he did not. Even so, I offered to fix Sir Nicholas' video system in his dungeon. He said there will be ungodly acts being acted out while I'm there, because "how else [am I] going to see if the system really works?"

As I drove everyone home, we all discussed what an odd night it had been. None of us could figure out exactly what it had been. I have a feeling that, at least for me, it was just my mood. I wasn't in the best?I still don't feel that I've gotten enough rest lately. I'm counting the minutes?Nay, the seconds until my trip to New York finally comes to pass.

One of the Jons was eager to point out that what I brought was not champagne, but sparkling wine. True, that, but if the bubbly is a true methode champenoise, I have no trouble referring to it as champagne in casual conversation. Don't ever question me about champagne! ;-)

March 9, 2003 | 11:48 AM | Link | 0 comments

This day is taking forever

This day is taking forever to end. Lucky for me, there are games like this out there to keep me entertained.

March 7, 2003 | 4:04 PM | Link | 0 comments

I wasn't planning on going out last night, but then Dear John called and made a wonderful speech convincing me otherwise. I'm glad he did, because I ended up having a great time. I also had to see the new skirt Janelle had finished making just before we went out. It looked great. You could see her enormous devil-tail tattoo poking out from under it.

As usual, I ran into twin Michael who, as usual, looked fabulous. We ended up hopping over to the Eagle to get our usual shot of Jager. The place was empty, so we didn't stay long.

Back over at Shooterz, I saw the most beautiful bearded boy! We kept making eye contact, but he was enclosed in a circle of conversation with his cock-blocking friends. Boys, never close in a hot-and-single friend like that, because it will just keep him from making hot new friends, like me!

I opted out of my usual post-party munch on a carne asada burrito, and went home with a clear head. On the drive, I made many humorous observations. If I could remember them now, I would share them with you. Just trust me, you would have laughed your ass off.

March 7, 2003 | 12:48 PM | Link | 0 comments

Finally!
I can't believe it's been almost an entire year that I've been out of gymnastics. I feel gross—unhealthy. I tried an adult class a few months ago, but I realized I am totally a private lesson kind of guy. There's no focus when you're working with other people; advancing happens too slowly.

This morning I officially found a new coach, so come Tuesday, I'm a gymnast again! I can't wait to get back on that bar and do some giants... to feel my feet leave the floor as I fly up into the air... to do some circles and scissors on the pommel horse. Talk about an ab workout—Regular gyms are for pussies! ;-)

I only wish my lesson were on the weekends, since the gym is so much less busy then. When Sergei was my coach, we were typically the only people in the entire gym. Nothing felt better that having the whole place to myself. He'd even leave me there sometimes to do some conditioning on my own, and I'd just lock up when I left. It was hard to leave on those days. I would just stand in the doorway for a few minutes staring at the empty, silent gym.

I doubt that will be happening with my new coach, but he does seem pretty good. For now, I have to start thinking about my goals. It's pretty easy... I only want to be the best in the world.

March 6, 2003 | 12:05 PM | Link | 0 comments

Breaking point.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I feel like I need to snap at someone. I mean, I really just feel like going off on someone... for something they do, or will do, or don't do.

I'm going to lunch. Maybe stuffing my face with good food will make me feel better.

March 4, 2003 | 11:34 AM | Link | 0 comments

Yippee!

Look what I just bought! I found it on whowouldbuythat.com. I took one look at it and knew I had to have it! I mean, how could I not buy something like that?

I can't wait for it to arrive. Will I be a 4, a 10, a 25? The suspense is killing me!

March 3, 2003 | 2:08 PM | Link | 0 comments

Bury me before you make me watch Queer as Folk.

Last night saw the highly anticipated premiers of Six Feet Under and Queer as Folk. I'll start with the good:

Six Feet Under just might be my favorite show on television. I love the characters, the conflicts, the bodies, and the always-entertaining guest stars (Catherine O'Hara = God). It opened up with a bang I would have never thought of in an eternity! This show is well written, well shot, well acted, and well rounded. Definite excellence!

Now, where can I start with Queer as Folk? I really enjoyed the first season of this show. It had a realistic portrayal of certain aspects of queer life. Unfortunately, in the second season, the writers seemed to have already run out of ideas, and threw out any interesting character development for endless, pointless sex scenes. Basically every episode the show has ever had revolves around these few certainties:

Brian is an asshole who can't show his true feelings
Michael is a sap who wants love, but is too close to Brian
Melanie and Lindsay will always be happy for a couple episodes, then angry for one
Justin is a spoiled little brat who is sensitive, but stupid

Queer as Folk is your typical bad queer movie disguised as a good queer show. And here I thought gay people were supposed to be creative—instead, it appears, we're just shallow.

March 3, 2003 | 10:01 AM | Link | 0 comments

Couldn't have said it better myself!

I could write about what a fantabulous time I had last night, but twin Michael already said it so well. I must add that his outfit was, in fact and by all means, fierce!

Note to self: next time at Eagle, start looking for overweight, balding, excruciatingly hairy leather daddy to fill spot for oh-so-almost-nude photoshoot in Balboa Park.