Blogging away..

2006-11-10T03:42:00.000-05:00

I start my new job tomorrow, and i'm excited :-)

new job

2006-11-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

starting my new job tomorrow. i'm wicked excited. sad to leave the boys at banknorth, but its such a great opportunity for me!

Hiking

2006-08-23T06:31:00.000-05:00

So me and Bruce are doing a hike every weekend, at least while the weather holds out. This past Saturday though was the hike of all hikes for me. We went up to Cannon Mtn (up in the White Mtns). I have never been on such a steep trail before in my life. It was so vertical, you had to use your hands and arms allot to actually pull you up on stuff. The lower part of the trail was mostly switchbacks (zig zags in the path to make it up extremely steep terrain). The upper part was mainly rocks that you had to climb up on. At one point there was even a wooden ladder that you had to use to make it up a part.
We made it to the summit where there’s a ski lodge and a cable car that brings people up. So it was kinda weird to have gone on such a rugged hike; sweat poring off of me and my shirt soaked, and seeing families with kids and strollers even, lol. While we were eating lunch one woman started talking to us and asked if we walked up. She actually said in amazement “there’s trails up here?”. Its like what! You’re on a mountain and you don’t think there’s hiking trails!? Lol
So the way down was grueling too. We took a different trail but it was just as steep, if not more so. And yeah, hiking down steep terrain is easier on your heart than going up, but hard on your knees, joints, and well, everything! Its allot of work too, even with gravity on your side. So anyhow, it turned out to be a 5 hour hike, up and back. I probably sound like I’m complaining about it, but honestly I’m not. Just emphasizing how rigorous it was; I’ve never done such an extreme hike in my life before. But I loved it, I thought it was awesome. I probably wouldn’t wanna do one that difficult and extreme every weekend, but every few weeks is pretty cool. It felt good, like I accomplished something that day
Next week though I’m taking Bruce to a trail in North Adams that I used to do allot. Its cool cause it has a big waterfall at the end of it. Its not as hardcore as the last one he picked, but it’ll be fun anyhow

Support ticket

2006-08-16T11:49:00.000-05:00

An actual ticket in our queue at work. You can't make this stuff up, lol.

______________________________________________________

User unable to print to local printer (LPT1). Had a paper jam and cleared it but not responding at all now.

Joanne called back because while she was trying to fix the machine, her earring fell in where the ink cartridges are. She needs her earring back as well

Text not working

2006-08-07T12:10:00.000-05:00

Well I was orignally loggin on to post that my phone's text messaging is flakey. Since Friday my phone to phone messages have been fine, but when people email my phone its been messed up and instead of show from the sender's email address it would show up as "from" the 1st word of the message. So instead of showing up as "from: friend" "Message: hey how's it going", hey'd get "From: Hey" "Message: how's it going". So i can't tell who its from. So i was going to post that here so my friends who email me would know that they should put thier name in as the 1st word so i know who its from.... but now things have gotten worse in that i'm not getting ANY sms text messages to my phone now. Gotta fucking love sprint *sigh*..... So if anyone's sent me a message and I' haven't replied, don't take it personal, either I didn't know it was you...or now i'm just not getting your messages. UGH

Hmmmm....

2006-07-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

I recently came to the conclusion that brazilians don't close doors. I don't know why this is, but EVERY time a brazilian comes over to visit they will leave both front doors open. Sometimes they will partially close the 2nd’ door, but never fully. I don’t know why….

2006-07-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Yay, going camping this weekend! I can't wait. Its lineing up to be an awesome weekend too!

2006-06-30T06:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, i have to by i'm VERY impressed with the new Code M. The new location is great & more so though is that Tony runs the place so professional

2006-06-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

So today is Code M's grand reopening. I haven't been there in months. They even have a off location now. Hoping it'll be cool but we'll see.

2006-06-29T09:24:00.000-05:00

So busy at work. I need a drink already...

Kiko

2006-05-24T14:11:00.000-05:00

Kiko's coming home Sunday!!!!! YAY!!! I can't wait, I miss him. He's been gone since the 11th.

2006-05-20T23:41:00.000-05:00

Some say the measure of a man is his friends. To some extent I would agree that it is true. Its especially apparent to me now, with Kiko gone for a few weeks, how valuable true friends are and how close some people really are. It’s good to have some people close to you that you know are more than just acquaintances. People I know I can count on when I need an ear, when I need to talk, when I need……a friend. I thank Darok and Chris J for always being there when I text msg and also for when I need company. Nial for hanging out and getting some dinner with me. Bruce and Walter for taking me out to the movies and better yet, coming to my place to see a movie. And of course I thank all of them again for more than just what is mentioned. Most tend to take friends for granted. But its true friends, friends that are there when you need them; though good times, bad times, and even mediocre times, that make life enjoyable. I feel good knowing that there are people I can count on; and not just for pity, but people that I like and like me and are always reliable. They’re not just people that I kind of know, but people that I feel connected to.
So yes, in some ways a measure of a man is his friends; if he has REAL friends, then he has proven himself as a man….

Rain sucks

2006-05-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

So I went to my parent's house today for mother's day. It all went well, I gave her her gifts and I ate dinner there. I didn't get to talk to Kiko today, so that sucked. I finally get home around 8pm and decide to do some laundry. I go downstairs and the basement is flooded!!! With about 6 inches of water!!!! I'm the only one in the house (Kiko's mom who lives upstairs is in Italy too) and I can't find the damn pump or even know what really to do. so I unplug everything near the stairs (just in case) and role up my pants and have to wade through some pretty cold water. I eventually find the sump pump, which is tiny. I set it up and have to go back outside barefoot and in the rain to get the hose from the back yard so I can hook it up to the pump and pump the water outside. So I get the pump going but I dunno if it'll be enough to get all that water out (there's a lot of water and of course it's still raining). And to top it off there's 2 furnaces and 2 water heaters down there, so that's 4 pilot lights that can be extinguished by the water. So I decide to go to Wal-Mart or Home Depot to get another pump and a carbon monoxide detector (just in case the pilots are extinguished). Well its 8:45 and they're all close, I even tried going to the super market and it’s already closed too!!! So I have to just hope I am still breathing in the morning. After I get back home I check to see if the water is going down any, and luckily it is just a bit. I check the water heaters though and both their pilot lights are submerged and of course out. So I might as well turn both of them off since I don't want to fill the basement up with natural gas once the water lowers enough. So that means no hot water and no shower in the morning in addition to all this headache. So by the end of the night, I’m wet, a little cold, no hot water, the potential of carbon monoxide poisoning while I’m sleeping and I’m here in the house alone with no Kiko. this night sucks.....

day 1...

2006-05-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

How sappy and lame am I!?!? Kiko's only been gone a few hours, hell his plane hasn't even landed in Italy yet, and I already miss him. I think its because I know its going to be weeks before I see him again, so its getting to me. I'm just not used to being wihtout him. Not that I'm "dependant" on him, but he's become a normal part of my life, and its just strange and lonely without him. Tonight should be interesting falling asleep alone.
I wanna thanks Niall for thinking of me though; offering to get dinner together. i would have have taken ya up on the offer, but i already ate and I was beat. But thank you.

Good morning

2006-04-25T07:17:00.000-05:00

It really is the little things that make life good. This morning I’m just in a great mood, and nothing spectacular even happened. It was just a good morning. Me and Kiko got to wake up at the same time (he’s been opening allot this past week getting up at 4am, so we didn’t see each other in the morning). So we both got up, I took a shower while he brushed his teeth and got ready. We got to make coffee, talk, be goofy, and just have a nice easy going morning together before work. Its times like this that reminds me just how good we are together and makes me truly appreciate what I have with him.

Bad morning

2006-03-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so trying to get back in the habit.

Today hasn’t started off good. Turns out my ringers site (www.dbringers.info) is down again. Went over my bandwidth for the month already. Ugh. I’m going to have to limit access to it and make it a members only site…..blah

Then on the way to work today I had a Carnation Breakfast shake; took a big swig of it and yeah, it was chunky and sour! I had to spit it out the window. It was so nasty!!

I’m hoping the day gets better….

Back

2005-12-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

So its been forever since I posted anything. I just thought i'd say a little something to let people know I'm still alive. Just got back from Athens, Greece Sunday. Had a great time, was an awesome trip. No bad stuff, yay!!! Now back in time for Christmas. There's so much to write about, just don't have the time right now so I hope to play catch-up later

Peace! :-)

A Picture Share!

2005-12-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

Beautiful sunset to start our trip. Heading to greece for the week!

2005-12-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

Going to Greece today (flight at 6pm). So excited! Never been to Europe before. Going to be gone for week, coming back next sunday

stressed out

2005-11-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

I'm stressing out a bit. I have no money and need lots of it. My NH car
registration is gonna expire, which means I have to register in MA now. Its
gonna cost me so much! $340 just for taxes (MA really rapes you on this, I
bought the car in a different state 2 years ago, so of course they want
their part of it), then $50 for the "title" fee (which is just plain made
up), $36 for the plates, and $30 for inspection! This isn't even considering
the insurance I need and can't afford.
What makes this harder is the timing. Its Christmas time, how can I afford
all this!!!!??? Also I'm going to Greece the 10-18th. Kiko really surprised
me this year with getting us a trip to Greece. He really went big for my
birthday this year! I can't wait to go; I'm wicked excited and appreciate it
VERY much. Just makes the money situation tighter though.
All this is just stressing me out today, I only have a few days left to get
my car situation all set...ugh
Maybe I can go sell some fluids......

My boy is sick

2005-11-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

Kiko seems to have the flu. He kinda gets sick often, I think its because he doesn't have immunity to lots of our germs in America yet. He started having a bit of a sore throat and stuff late Sunday and more so Monday. Yesterday he left work early because he back was killing him and he just overall didn't' feel good. After I got home I made him some soup and stuff and he mainly slept...poor boy. When I did bring him to bed (he feel asleep on the couch) he seemed wicked hot, so I took him temperature. He had a fever of 102!!! Gave him 800 mg of Advil and some Theraflu. He woke up this morning and was feeling better, and temp or a normal 98.6 so he went to work. He just txt me a little while ago telling me he's got a temp of 101.2 again. I'm trying to convince him to just go home, but he says after lunch..... I feel so bad for him.

Not sure if I'm going to Code M tonight now, I might stay home to take care of him depending on how he's doing.

2005-11-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

Well the weekend was cool. I had my birthday party. Oddly not as much "energy" as the Halloween party, but I still had a good time. And its great to have friends come visit like that, and for that I'm really grateful for all the friends I have. It was fun

Monday was a long evening. I left straight from work and went to code m to drop off the 2nd public use computer and finish configuring it. Did that then Bruce asked me to help him move some furniture for his aunt. There were 2 couches, 2 tall entertainment towers and a HUGE entertainment hutch. We had to basically swap the stuff from a room on the 2nd floor with one in the basement. The entertainment hutch was a bitch. Got it to the landing on the stairs but couldn't get it any further. Had no dolly, no straps, no nothing; it was just too heavy and big to bring up; so we had to leave it on the ground floor. I was sweating my ass off.

So after that Bruce said he'd buy me a drink at Margarita's, he was going to meet some people there anyhow. So we get there and talking to the waitress. We order drinks and she asks for my ID. I give it to here and she says she can't take it because it's expired. I didn't realize that in NH your license expires on your birthday, not at the end of your birth month like in MA. I figured I had until the end of the month to get my MA license. She asked if I had a passport or military id or anything because she couldn't take it. I dunno why it bothered me so much, but I was pretty upset; kinda pissed and oddly embarrassed. So I said I didn't and I just told Bruce I was going home and I left. Bruce later txt me and asked if I was ok and if I wanted to go somewhere else, but I was already on the road; and I figured it was just as well, I didn't want to take the risk of getting turned away again.

So I went home and Kiko make me a quick dinner and called it a night....

NIN Show

2005-11-09T09:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, NIN was cool, but I had the WORST seats conceivable. We were on a floor I didn't even know existed in the Garden. The only thing higher than us was the ceiling. I think there was actually less oxygen at that elevation. Other than that the show was great, NIN was tight, and played most of there best stuff, lots of the classics. Lots of energy too. Next time though I'll know to spend the extra money and get the floor seats.

2005-11-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.8
Mind:	7.2
Body:	7.8
Spirit:	5.9
Friends/Family:	5
Love:	7.7
Finance:	6.1
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

2005-11-01T12:26:00.000-05:00

Yippie!!!! Got my replacement phone in finally! I can take pictures and download ringers again!

Halloween party

2005-10-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Me & Kiko had our Halloween party this Sat. I thought it went great. Had over 40 people (40 in costume for the contest, plus a few uncostumed straglers) and some GREAT costumes. I was really amazed by how good some people looked. Darok & Chris helped decorate for it and I think we did an amazing job, the basement looked great. We had 5 prizes in all, $100 gift cert for a spa, $50 Visa Gift card, $30 Blockbuster card, $20 for a lingerie shop, and a dinner for too at Oasis). All and all I thought it was allot of fun, a pretty sucessful party. I love Halloween!!!

We got SO much beer left in the basement now, everyone brought some, but then ended up drinking mostly mixed drinks.

Tuesday...blah...

2005-10-25T09:55:00.000-05:00

The weather sucks today! So damn cold, rainy, and depressing. Is this from Wilma? Anyhow, it really sucks; made driving horrible today. Also I can't find my wallet today. Not sure if its totally lost yet or what.

I'm working in Burlington today, so I'm gonna go meet Niall for lunch at the mall, so that's cool at least. I can't wit to get home this evening and just cuddle with Kiko, its that kind of day...

Cell Phone Woes....

2005-10-24T16:10:00.000-05:00

*sigh* My phone is messed up. It can't save anything to itself anymore. When I go to take a picture it says "saving", then it reboots. Same thing happens if I try to download a ringer or screen saver. It looks like the Flash drive they use to store stuff on the phone died. I brought it to sprint and they did a firmware update and other stuff, but it looks like the patient won't make it. They're ordering me a new one; should be in Thursday. Its not too bad, I can still talk on it, do txt, receive pics, and do internet. Just can't store anything on it. The only thing that sucks though is in the process of trying to fix it myself, I thought maybe I had a bad download on it so I deleted EVERYTHING except my phone book. Now I can't put anything back on it, so I have generic rings and no screensavers/pictures. How ghetto...

Friday

2005-10-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

Going to go play laser tag tonight. haven't been in so long, and the last
time sucked because the place was ghetto and the guns didn't work right.
this time should be fun though.
also got the code m halloween party tomorrow. i'm hoping there's a good turn
out....we'll see.......

Thursday Morning Wrap-up

2005-10-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

Code M turned out to be kinda cool last night. I thought we'd just be decorating for the Halloween party, so I didn't bring ANYTHING, no cards, no video games, no nothing. And it turns out Jon and Angel did decorating during the day, so we had nothing to do at Code M. But it turned out cool though cause we put a movie in; and I got 2 new PC's to set up for the center to replace the crappy ones that are there already.

I thought it was very cool of Eric to help me out. I liked that 1^st off he offered, just came over and asked if needed a hand. Not a huge deal, but it did strike me as a nice thing. Also, he does IT too, is it was great to have someone that knows what they're doin, he was really helpful. Ironically we didn't get the computers up and running yet (weird technical stuff I won't bore anyone with), but it wasn't our fault. I'll have them finished though next time I go.

After Code M a bunch of us went to Margarita's for a drink which was cool; there were 7 of us. There was a table of wicked hot women as we were going up the stairs; if I was straight I would have been drooling...lol. The cool part is that Bruce said they checked us out as we went by; women love homos, even if they don't know it ;-) lol

The only downside is by the time I got home Kiko was already in bed. I felt bad cause he got up before I did that morning, and I didn't stop home before Code M; so I didn't get to see him at all yesterday. So I just snuggled up with him for a while and fell asleep. We made up for our lost time this morning though :-P Hehe

Ok, off to finish my lunch now, I'm having some rockn' chowda and its just too good to let get cold

2005-10-16T17:10:00.000-05:00

For dinner on my way back from North Adams i stopped at a Kentucky Fried Taco Hut. How classy, lol

North Adams weekend

2005-10-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

Going to North Adams today. The weather is really discouraging though. Been
raining for literally the past 8 days, its almost biblical now. So no hiking
or anything outdoors while I'm there. I'll get to visit family though. This
is going to be my first night away from Kiko since we've moved in together.
I'm gonna miss having him next to me. I really do love him SO much. Its hard
to describe how much he really means to me. He's everything to me. I'll be
back tomorrow though, so its not the end of the world.lol.
Guess I should get going now..

job offer...

2005-10-13T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well they got back to me...and I didn't get offered the job in Waltham.....*sigh*. such is life

2005-10-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

My Kiko has been really cuddlly lately. I like it :-)

Party Saturday Night

2005-10-09T17:26:00.000-05:00

Had an awesome party Saturday night. The kind of parties I like; friends
hang out, drink, play some games (kings is so much fun, lol) and just have
fun. I get kind of bored of the dancing and acting like it's a night club
type of parties sometimes. This was a cool get together, have fun, and
socialize with friends thing. It was me, Kiko, Darok, Chris, Bruce, Niall,
and his friend Larry. All real good guys. I got pretty lit, but not too bad
like last week's camping trip, lol. I got the shot roulette wheel of death
twice!! Ugh, talk about harsh; one of the shots ended up being straight
tequila. After we played kings some of played this board game I got called
True Dare; like shoots and ladders with drinks and dirty talk involved (and
mild stripping on some blocks). Between playing True Dare and the "never
ever have I ever" rule in kings, you get to find out some interesting
tid-bits about people...hehe

Feeling restless

2005-10-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

It may sound really odd, but lately I keep feeling restless. Like I'm on the edge waiting for something (but I don't' know what) to happen. I really don't like this feeling, and I don't know why I'm like this. It's very unnerving. This has happened to me a few times before like when I was in my teens; so I know it will pass. But it's just weird that I'm feeling so restless lately when everything is going so good for me. We're settled into the new place. Me and Kiko have been doing great, so I don't know why I would be so edgy, or what it is that I feel like I'm waiting to happen.

I know, I sound like a freak now...lol. But maybe if I just put it out there, it won't be weighing on my so much and may just pass.

Highlight of the day

2005-10-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

YAY!! My Halloween costume came in today!!!! J

U2

2005-10-05T11:15:00.000-05:00

Monday night me and Kiko went to go see U2 at the Banknorth Garden in Boston. I've never been a huge U2 fan, I mean I like them, they're good, but I'm not a huge fan. But now I can see why they've been so huge for 20+ years. They can really put on a good show! Bono knows how to work a crowd. They had so much energy and stage presence. Also the visuals for the concert were amazing. They had a round stage that had a larger ring around it, so that they could would on this ring into the audience (and in return the people in the middle of the open area were "surrounded" by the stage. The rings had some cool lighting effects on them as well as a really cool LED type of "curtain". Its really hard to explain, but cool!

We also had suite tickets! Kiko got us some good stuff! It has its own room with sink and stuff, private bathroom and balcony seats that faced out directly to the stage.

I definitely enjoyed it! Even more than I thought I would. Like I said, I can see what there big appeal is, people love them for their live shows.

Camping Weekend

2005-10-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

Camping this past weekend rocked! It was supposed to be a Code M event, but ended up just being camping with friends, which probably was better anyhow...lol. Unfortunately Kiko couldn't come; he had to work real early Sat. So it was me, Bruce, Nial, and Chris. It was a great time. It was cool because it was different camping than what I'm used to. Usually I really kinda rough it in Vermont with NO amenities, just a few scattered outhouses and the nearest town is about 12 miles away. This place was walking distance to the beach in Old Orchard Maine. You could actually hear the waves from the tent. We went to the beach for a while to hang out then went to town for dinner. It's one of those cool boardwalk ocean-side towns, got pizza and fries. Then hit the hot tub, yes a hot tub while camping...not roughing it, but NICE! Then the usual campfire/drinking thing for the rest of the night. So it was cool that the weekend had different "themes" to it that you don't normally have in 1 weekend. And it was great to hang with the boys; no drama, no issues, just fun.

I was just SO tired the next day, but it was worth it

catching up

2005-09-30T14:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd take some time to catch up now.

Last weekend was mine and Kiko's 4 year anniversary. We went out to eat at the Olive Garden. Our waiter was our friend Ricardo; who at the end of the dinner surprised us with a candle light tiramisu and all the waitresses and gay waiters singing to us. I turned so red; its always embarrassing to get sung to, but it was very sweet of him. One of the waiters even made a point to congratulate us himself. It was cool. We also exchanged gifts that night. I got Kiko the DVD box set of Desperate Housewives and Lost. He got me a shirt, some jeans, and the new Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks game. The game turned out really cool because unlike most MK games, its not a fighting game, its an action/adventure game with a co-op mode so we can both play together. Kiko's not too big on video games unless they're co-op (like gauntlet). So we've been spending quite a bit of time playing that (more than ½ through now I think). We were up late on Sunday playing. Then Monday was a real good day too. After I got out of work I got home and had some awesome "quality time" with Kiko, had dinner, then stayed up until 1am playing the game. It doesn't get much better than that...lol. Life has been real good lately and I truly appreciate all that I have.

Thursday we went back to Olive Garden again with Darok, Bruce, and Chris; kind of our return to going out on Thursday nights. Again Ricardo was our waiter, but luckily there was no singing this time.

This Saturday we're going camping up in Maine. Me, Bruce, and Nial are definitely going. And Kiko might come if he can get out of work early enough. Chris may be coming too I think. It should be fun; might be a bit chilly, but I'm looking forward to it. The place is near the beach, I guess there's a hot tub and plus I haven't been camping in like 2 years; so I'm pumped about going.

Anyhow, back to work

The long lost act of being friendly

2005-09-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

So I feel semi compelled to comment about something that happened to me yesterday. It’s actually a good thing, which is odd because most blogs are all negative. I was in the checkout line at the supermarket yesterday and this old man gets in line behind me. He was about 60 or so, looked like he should be retired, but had a work shirt on. He started chatting up with me about how I was carrying one of those baskets instead of a shopping chart and how I was starting to do the heavy leaning stand (too much stuff in the basket making me tilt). We talked about how us guys always end up doing that; getting a basket and then getting more than we expected and then having too much in the basket. Then the cashier told me us that it might take a while for a price check so I moved to the next line. Well his line ended up moving faster again, so he actually told me to get back in front of him and check out, since I was there first. I know this is no big deal; but in this day in age, especially in the Boston area, to have someone act friendly and neighborly was sometime I have long forgotten. As cliché as it sounds, that simple gesture really put me in a good mood. I felt good and was in a neighborly mood now too, and actually felt like being nice to others. So often these days people are all too content to ignore anyone around them; not talk to them or even acknowledge them, let alone be nice. I think its important to actually appreciate the good things in life, even little things like this. Life is too short to dwell on the negative. I don’t wanna sound overly sappy or like one of those annoying HR reps that say stuff like “practice random acts of kindness” but I do admit that this made my day and was so refreshing.

2005-09-14T06:51:00.000-05:00

On my way to Maine for a meeting on having meetings, lol. At least i get paid for my mileage :-)

2005-09-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

Is it possible to be too stable? Like when friends take for granted you'll be there for them &be thier anchor that they're not there for you...

Hate my company

2005-09-08T07:54:00.000-05:00

I'm so disgusted with my job and company. Months ago when I had my pseudo review I told my boss that I thought I should be promoted to a tech 2 position. I'm way over qualified for my job (I'm not just patting myself on the back, but I do have a bachelor's in CS and have almost 3 years experience programming; way more than what's needed to be a printer jocky) and I do more than what a tech 1 is supposed to do. My boss agreed and said that he'd get the ball rolling. Long story short, about 4 months later after nudging him several times I finally get an answer. I got a long-winded email that basically states, we can't all be tech 2s. Someone has to be a tech 1, and since I'm the new one, I'm it. There's only so many positions available and they have to be filled accordingly. So I guess someone has to be the bottom rung, and that's me. After only a year and a ½, I've plateaued, there's not place to go already. I'm so pissed. One this shows that my boss isn't willing to fight for me. He'll tell me he agrees and I'm a great worker, but no way in hell is he saying anything to HR that goes against the status quo. Also this really tells me that here I'm just a number. I'm not a person. It has nothing to do with me, if I'm a good worker or a bad worker. It doesn't even matter what I do; its simply there's X number of slots open and I have to be put into one of them. I'm just a job position, not an individual.

I know this tech 2 position is only a ridiculous 50 cent raise, but it's the principle...but I guess I really have no value here. So now when they ask me to do more development work on the technology website, or next time a server needs to be configured, I'll just tell them I can't do it, tech 1's don't do that stuff. I don't get paid enough to program here, and if they only want a body to fill a position I guess I should oblige. Its great how this place has just beaten my down, I used to care, I used to strive to do well, I used to love to go the extra mile..but now why should I care if they don't......

2005-09-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

I love using those CoinStar machines that count up you change and give you cash. I feel like i'm winning from a slot machine, lol

2005-09-07T12:51:00.000-05:00

I've used 1272 txt messages since aug 23 :-)

I'm just a boy...

2005-08-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

So its weird that everyone at work has this habit of referring to me as "the boy". Not in condescending way, but more or less because I'm the youngest field tech, and I guess I kinda look young (I don't really think so, but most others seem to guess my age wrong). It originally started when one of the other techs was asking a user who installed Office XP on here PC and she could remember my name, so she said "it was the little boy". Then another person again couldn't remember my name, and she referred to me as "the little kid". So the smart ass guys I work with (they're actually 3 great guys, so much fun) now have this running gag of calling me the boy. Sometimes they mix it up with "the little guy" too...lol. Hey, I suppose it could be a lot worse...lol

2005-08-26T08:26:00.000-05:00

Ugh, gotta work late tonight, probabaly until like 10pm. I'm so not into that, lol. At least I'll get some overtime. I definately could use it.

Thursday

2005-08-25T08:18:00.000-05:00

Getting more stuff done at the house. Found out that the sink leaks out into the cabinet below, but also found out that's because the drain hose from the dishwasher is supposed to be hooked into it. The contractor must have it all hooked up wrong. At 1^st the dishwasher wouldn't pull water, but the sink didn't leak. So I think when he "fixed" it he hooked up the hot water correctly, but hooked the drain hose to the cold water (cause it doesn't drain) and then didn't hook the cold water hose to anything, leaving the socket where the drain is supposed to go open. Anyhow, I'll try fix it when I get home tonight, didn't have time this morning.

Also have Darok, Bruce, and Chris over for dinner and drinks tonight. The place isn't totally ready, but me and Kiko wanted to say thanks to them for helping us move and paint. Also gives us an excuse to unwind for a change...lol. Also it's been a while since we've been able to do our normal Thursday hang out thing with the boyz.

Moved in!

2005-08-24T12:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a long weekend. As everyone knows I've been planning on moving in with Kiko and the apartment was being renovated. Kiko stayed over my place with me Friday night and Saturday morning we got up and headed down to the new place to finish up some odds and ends. We figured we paint some of the trims we missed and such while the contractor finished his stuff. Well we get down there and the contractor is done with our apartment, YAY. That's good. But then we also find out that he already started work on the upstairs apartment (Kiko and his mom lived in the upstairs apartment and his mom wanted to have work done on her place once Kiko moved out) and had already tore down one of the walls in Kiko's bedroom. Well I guess that kinda makes us have to move at least his stuff down. I'm glad we got to move, but I wish there was a little bit more warning, or more so, not so much of a rush to have to get his stuff out. So we start getting all of the contractors tools out and start cleaning, un-boxing our new furniture and then start moving all Kiko's stuff down. His sister Catia, her bf Felipe, and our friend Rose came to help too, which was VERY helpful.

Well since we're moving Kiko's stuff in we might as well move mine too, right? Get all the stuff in there on one weekend so we can finally start getting settled in there. So I hurried out and rented a Uhaul for the next day to get my stuff.

Me and Kiko spent our first night at the new place. Sunday morning comes and I go to the Uhaul place to pick up my truck. Well what a surprise to find out that the place was broken into overnight and in addition to the cash the thieves stole all the truck keys! What else can go wrong..lol. But they were helpful and had my reservation transferred to another Uhaul location, in Lawerence, a couple towns away. So anyhow we drafted my Chris and Bruce to help us move my stuff. The big screen TV is a bitch to move, very big (50") and fragile. Long story short (I know, too late) we moved all the furniture in and started living there. It was all of a suddenly rushed, but at least it's done now. The past 2 nights we've had Felipe over helping us fix some stuff, mount stuff on the walls etc, he does carpentry and has been an invaluable help, he's been great! Now to get stuff settled...so much stuff, its hard to even get started.

2005-08-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

Do straight guys use (or even know of) the term "size queen"? One of the guys at work used it, properly even, and it makes me wonder....

Change of view

2005-08-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

With all this stressing and such I've been doing about working on the new apartment and preparing to move; I'm almost lost focus on what its all for. I've been almost thinking of this as a huge pain in the neck, forgetting that it's all so I can move in with the man I love. Finally me and Kiko will be starting our lives together. We've been together and committed for almost 4 years now, but living in separate places (even thought we've seen each other pretty much daily). In some ways thought it's also been feeling like our lives together have been put on hold, there was always something up, or some reason we couldn't take the next step. Finally we can begin our life together. I actually am really excited about it. Some people worry about if they can handle living together. I have no doubt we can. We're very good together, plus I've lived with my ex gf for like 4 years, so I'm not totally blind about what I'm getting into.

So I guess instead of dreading stuff, and worrying about all this little details; I should do what needs to be done, but keep in mind the bigger picture and what a good thing it is.

...

2005-08-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I realized I even bored the hell out of myself with my last post. Sometimes I just get bogged down in something and I think of nothing but it. This whole getting the new place ready thing has pretty much consumed all of my time and thought this whole month. And then just posting about us painting and such is so damn dull that even I don't care about it...lol. Do I have not have anything interesting to say anymore? Ugh. Well I at least I can take comfort that this will all be over soon.

I feel like this whole month though is passing my by with all this painting, cleaning, preparing, etc. I haven't been involved in Code M much at all lately; which bothers me a bit because I miss seeing my friends there. I've been trying to keep in touch with people as much as possible (txt messaging is handy), but I guess there's always that fear that I'll be come a forgotten acquaintance; I'm afraid I'll no longer be relevant to some people's lives. I've actually been texting Jason a whole lot lately, so at least I have 1 link I won't loose right away, lol. I also haven't been to the beach at all this summer nor have I gone camping; and I feel that time is running out. Weekends have all been "booked" up for a while and I just sometimes feel like I'm spread way too thin....then before I know it I'm ironically left with nothing to do.

Time passes by so fast these days. They say that tends to happen as you get older; but I'm only 28 (I know I'm not a kid anymore, but I'm not that old either). And I thought that was supposed to happen mainly when you have kids (which I really wish I could; but that's another ball of wax). Weeks fly by; often before I know it I realize its Thursday or Friday. Weeks turn into months and before you know it a whole season has past. It's just so odd.

Speaking of time, I should get back to work now......I've done enough rambling for now J

Getting close...

2005-08-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

Well finally the painting is done in all the major rooms at the new place. There's like only 2 small patches near the closet in the spare bedroom, but that'll take a second to do later. The front porch interior needs to be done, but at least we can start moving stuff in as is. The contractor is almost done too, he's just hooking up the dishwasher/sink and the cabinets. Then install the electric heater in the basement. The place is starting to look like a home. We got some furniture coming in today too, so Kiko's waiting for that. I'm thinking this weekend I can start moving down my big stuff too. Can't wait, its finally starting to come together.

Hopefully soon we can have our housewarming party

disenchanted

2005-08-10T07:11:00.000-05:00

Well I guess I need to realize that my opinions are exactly that; just my opinions. And that for the most part no one else wants to hear them or gives a damn. I guess its like my friend Cory used to say "Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and they all stink". So mental note that fore sure.

And I don't think this whole blogging/reading blogs thing is for me. Don't think its quite my style. I mean honestly, how much do you really wanna know about your friends and acquaintances. I think if you dig into it the answer is surprisingly little. Also, for what point and to what end!?

Sometimes this little cyber world gets a little too dark and moody for my liking. I guess sometimes it's good to just take some time and take a step outside for a while....

2005-08-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Feeling oddly melancholy today. I'm not sure why. Hope it passes soon though....

Soft Balls

2005-08-05T11:35:00.000-05:00

So I'm at Butcher Boy (a market/deli in North Andover) getting lunch, then I hear the guy behind the counter say to the girl next to me "Just so you know, my balls are soft today", so of course I spin my head over to see what's up. And he's handing to her over the counter a container of mozzarella balls. For real.....LOL

Painting.....

2005-08-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

I'm so damn beat and tired today. Me & Kiko were painting until 10pm last night. I was so hoping we could finish it all last night, but not ever close. We gotta do a whole lot more today, so that the floors in those rooms can get laid down for tomorrow. So I can't go to Code M this week either. Hopefully we won't be working as late tonight as last night; we're going to finish the rooms that are scheduled to be floored tomorrow, and then do that hard-wood floor rooms Thursday.

All this is in hopes of getting stuff done for the weekend and maybe hopefully move in Sunday, but I honestly don't think that's gonna happen. Even if we get all the painting done by Friday (which Kiko is really pushing for) I don't think the contractor will have all his stuff done by then. So I'm thinking I can start moving stuff down over the week, after work, and do the real moving in next weekend. The only thing with that is now I have to push camping back another week...lol. Ah, it'll all be worth it once we're all moved in.

2005-08-02T02:59:00.000-05:00

So freaky. Just woke up and swore i saw someone standing near my bed, i even reached out to hit him. Freaky ass dream...

Back from Montreal

2005-08-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

Got back from Montréal last night, around 5. It was Montréal's pride weekend. Me and Kiko went a few months back and wanted to go again so this seemed like a good weekend to go. Chris, Darok, and Bruce went with us this time too. Had a good time; but honestly I think I had more fun the 1^st time me and Kiko went. Probably just because it was new and different then. But don't get me wrong, I still had a real good time this time around too. The clubs were good but so packed.

I was so beat when we got back though. Got back to the hotel real late on Saturday and got up fairly early on Sunday, on top of that a 5 hour drive, lets just say I was ready for a nap when we got back, lol. I was in bed by 10:05 and out cold by 10:10. Even with catching up on sleep last night, I somehow still managed to be late for work today....go fig...

2005-07-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Can't wait, going to Montreal for the weekend. Getting out of work at noon today :-)

Been busy lately....

2005-07-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while; just been busy and haven't thought to do I. So I guess I'll do a bit of a summary here.

Been busy lately getting stuff ready at the new place. Me and Kiko should be moving in together in a few weeks. I can't even explain how excited I am about that. It'll be great to live with him, and I'm excited about the new place too. The apartment is still undergoing renovations, but we should be able to start painting it soon. Kiko's already been buying some new furniture to go in addition with the furniture I already have. So we've been to Home Depot and various furniture places that I think either of us would like...lol.

This past weekend I went to North Adams, but for work actually. I had to go out Friday to help with the new teller system that's going there. I left Saturday, but too late in the day to make it for Niall's poker party though, so that kinda sucked.

This Sunday was Rose's Birthday Party; which was cool. The weather was perfect for a cookout/pool party J

Next weekend is Montreal too!!!! YAY

2005-07-20T23:22:00.000-05:00

Finally finished the Da Vinci Code....
Great book

2005-07-18T23:19:00.000-05:00

I need a lunchable. I know they're made for kids, but they in SO GOOD with wine :-)

2005-07-18T22:36:00.000-05:00

The Da Vinci Code is SO good. Almost done with it.

2005-07-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

Going to training classes all this week. Should be an interesting change of pace. Commuter should he shorter too :-)

2005-07-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm up to 1333 text messages and i still have a week left on my billing cycle.
Sweet!

Code M cook out

2005-07-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

Tonight at Code M we're doing a cook out at Greely Park instead of the traditional game/movie night. I think it should be pretty cool, assuming enough people show up. I've been nudging several guys to go, so hopefully. Kiko will be there anyhow, so I'll be cool.

Also at the Code M meeting on Monday we discussed that we really gotta focus on fund raising again, to pay rent. Without the drop in center there really won't be much of a Code M. That would be really sad too to loose the group. Its come so far and I've actually meet some really cool guys there. I do believe that its really helped some guys come out or at least come to grips with themselves, it would be a shame to loose it.

2005-07-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

Back to work today. Back to real life *sigh*

2005-07-02T18:02:00.000-05:00

1 bag each of Rose's and Catia's luggage ended up being sent to Jacksonville. They'll deliver them, but luckily mine is here..
:-)

2005-07-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

Ugh, We're here 4 hrs early. Kiko looked at the wrong time. Our flight is 11:45 and not 9:45

2005-07-02T05:54:00.000-05:00

Saw War of the Worlds last night, it was an AWESOME movie! I'll have to write more when i have time. Getting ready to go to the air port now...

Code M Night

2005-06-30T07:51:00.000-05:00

Went to Code M last night. I like the group of people there. Jon says there's a chance though that they could be loosing the drop in center; which would be a shame. It would surely cause the group to fall apart if there was no place for everyone to get together. Its still up in the air, so lets hope for the best.

It was good thought to talk to Bruce and find out he's not mad at me..lol. Not that he had any reason to be mad, just that he's been real quiet lately and I haven't heard much back from him. I was wondering if something was wrong. Turns out everything is fine though, we actually hung out quite a bit last night. I actually consider Bruce one of my closest friends these days.

I won't be able to go next week though, going to be in Florida, but I think that's a good trade-off J

2005-06-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

Just spent like 3 hrs pulling up carpet. The worst was pulling out all the nails & staples out of the hardwood floor. Sweating so bad...

2005-06-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

In a better mood now...

Bad Mood

2005-06-28T08:01:00.000-05:00

Today just isn't feeling like a good day. I woke up with a headache. My pants don't seem to be fitting right; I had them hemmed but they're still to long. Also there's no cell phone pocket in them and the regular pockets are "dusty" because I forgot to wash them before wearing them. My contact lens I think is torn and is irritating my eye and I need a haircut. Not to mention its still muggy as hell outside amongst other things (Chris M knows, he got me worked up on a topic last night). Oh and my other site (www.dbringers.info) is down right now, and I can't do anything about it (database stuff, just gotta wait until they fix it). So nothing in particular happened today, just a bunch of little things and I'm just overall very irritable. One of those days where I'm pissed for no reason. Hope I snap out of this mood soon, I hate being like this

Weekend wrap-up

2005-06-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

Boston is in a heat wave....so it feels at least. Since Saturday its been hotter than hell. I was actually in North Adams over the weekend, but it was just as steamy there. Lucky for me my cousin Joe (who's house I was staying at) just went out and bought 2 air conditioners, so it wasn't too bad for sleeping. But visiting my dads was grueling hot. Also partied with my cousin Sherry and her girlfriend Angela. Was a relatively small party, but all the people there were real cool. I LOVE their friend Rocky, she's so damn funny and a crazy bitch too...lol. Played some cards and did a little bit of night swimming in the 3ft inflatable pool they have.

While heading home Sunday I swear forces were conspiring against me to keep me from getting home soon. First it started to down-pour; a very sudden and very hard thunderstorm. Could barley see the road and hence had to drive slow. After that finally started to break, traffic stopped, literally. I think there must had been an accident further up on rt 2, because traffic in our lane was not moving, and the west-bound lane had no traffic on it either. After about a ½ hr they started to let people cross over the grassy medium and get onto the westbound lane and find an alternate route. I spent a good 20 minutes going through gardener looking for Rt2A. Finally found it and then had some more traffic there (because 2 was closed now). Finally made it home much later than I should have, but hey, such is life.

Overall was a good fun weekend in North Adams. It'll probably be a month or so before I can go back and visit family again; just got so much planned for this summer.

Weekend plans

2005-06-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

Going to North Adams tonight. I haven't gotten to see my family in a few months, and with my summer being so busy this will be one of my few chances to go. The only thing that I'm not looking forward to is that fact its supposed to be around 95-100 this weekend; and no one I know in North Adams has AC L. Looks like I should be sleeping in my car. Hope to get to hang out with some friends Saturday night as well.

Weds notes

2005-06-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

Not much to comment on this week. Like I mentioned before it was Kiko's birthday over the weekend. I updated my website (www.donblay.info) with the pictures from the party. I like my new gallery setup there because people can leave comments now. Semi related to Kiko turning another year older; I got my hands on some of his old baby pictures, and just added those to the site too. He was so adorable as a baby J

Speaking of my webpage, I got it so my latest blog entry, newest moblog picture, and latest photo gallery automatically show up on the main page. Not too exciting to non-geeks I know, but like I said, not much else to talk about today

Well back to work for now. Going to Code M tonight, hang with the boys

Weeked wrap-up; Kiko's birthday

2005-06-20T12:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend was pretty good. Went to go see Bat-man Begins on Friday. The movie was awesome. I was a big fan of the original (hated the last ones) but this one blew it away. It had lots of depth both in the story and in the characters. Everyone was multi-dimensional; unlike Spiderman where Peter Parker and his Aunt were pure as snow...not a bad thing about them. Real life isn't like that, people have problems and people have layers. Even the villains had reasons, they weren't just lunatics, they were like real people. I thought the casting was great, the writing was witty, creative, and realistic; Christopher Nolan did a brilliant job as director and co-writer. You don't even have to be a super-hero fan to enjoy it. Also the story line was pretty plausible; not overly far-fetched as some Comic-to-movie films can be. I highly recommend this movie. I might even go see it again.

Saturday was Kiko's birthday. I got him a face plate for his phone, some sneakers, shorts and a 17" flat panel monitor J. I hope he likes it, he's so hard to shop for. This was one of the few things I remember him saying he wanted but didn't end up getting for himself already. We spend most of Saturday running around to get stuff ready for his cook-out party on Sunday. But Saturday night we all went out to Buzz in Boston. Kiko's sister and her friend Pamela went too, always fun to have some straight girls around too...lol. Also Tati and Monica as well as some other friends that came with us and others we met down there. Had a real good time there too; music was good, and just the crowd was decent. Was SO tired when I got home though.

Sunday was Kiko's birthday cook-out. At first the weather was a bit cool and cloudy, but it luckily the weather warmed up when the sun came out a bit after we started cooking. I'm also starting to think that my phone's face plates have some effect on the weather...lol..but that's another story ;-) Didn't get home until after 9, hadda let my buzz go away...

But now I'm back to work......*sigh*....

2005-06-17T17:31:00.000-05:00

Going to see Bat-Man tonight :-)

My boyfriend's smile

2005-06-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

My boyfriend's mom (Odette) got out a ton of old pictures from Brazil; lots of pictures of Kiko, her, and Catia. The pictures go as far back as Kiko's first baby pictures and then up to when they first moved to America. It was really nice to see him throughout the years. There was lots of him and Catia as little kids, back when they both still had blond hair. A few of him as a toddler. Lots from Brazil in his teens and Italy in his early 20's. I got to see a great range of his life, though all his different phases and different looks. One of the consistent things throughout all this huge time span and different times was his smile. Even as a kid he had the same great, honest and pure smile. Not just a smile you put on for the camera, but a smile that comes from within; a smile that shows real happiness and joy. It just reaffirmed in me how honest and genuine Kiko really is. Kiko was even telling me that Odette cried a bit from looking at the pictures, just reminiscing (you know how moms are). It may sound wicked sappy, but I just really love my boyfriend's smile.

shopping spree

2005-06-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

I spent WAY too much money at Abercrombie & Fitch last night, ugh. But hey, its not often that A&F has stuff on sale for only $20, lol.

Angry no more...

2005-06-16T07:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not normally an angry kind of person; so I really don't like it when I am. I have an issue with someone in particular; I know they know it, but I don't think they really know about what or why. Anyhow, I really don't like feeling like this, its not healthy and its just not me; besides life is too short to be angry, so I'm working to just get past it. I'm doing good at just letting it go. Also currently working under the philosophy that if you don't think you'll like and answer, don't ask the question... its not the healthiest or "right" thing to do, but in this particular situation it works

Monday and Weekend Recap

2005-06-13T11:29:00.000-05:00

Ugh, today has been such a crazy day. Woke up WAY late, (7:45 when I'm supposed to be at work at 8). For some reason my alarm wasn't set...ugh. And this morning there was just all kinds of stuff crapping out at work. But at least the day ½ over already, times flies.....

This weekend was real fun. Like I posted earlier I went to Niall's on Friday for cards. At first I was a bit intimidated that everyone was going to be like a card shark (never played by real poker rules before) but everyone was really cool and friendly. I had a good time. I hope I can go again soon J

Saturday morning didn't do much of anything, but Kiko got out of work around 3-ish. I went down there and we swam in the pool for a few hours and then went to go see Mr & Mrs Smith at the theaters. It was a very cool movie. Lots of action, and the story was good. Plus both Angelina and Brad are unbelievably HOT!! So the eye candy was good..lol. Seriously though, it was more than just that, I'd recommend you go see it.

Sunday we did a cool out at the Kiko's. Spend like the entire day in and out of the pool, drinking and eating steak tips and chicken. Was just one of those perfect days. Sit by the pool, get too warm, jump back in...lol. Had quite a few friends over too, it was just an all around good day.

Now back to my Monday..... *sigh*

2005-06-12T18:47:00.000-05:00

Skipped pride yesterday.
Spending the day at Kiko's, swimming (lots), drinking, and cookout. Love days like this :-)

2005-06-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

Going to Niall's tonight to play cards. Hoping i'm good enough, lol.
Boston Pride is tomorrow, but i don't think i'm gonna go.

Coming out at work?

2005-06-09T11:43:00.000-05:00

Going out for drinks and food with the boyz tonight (Kiko, Darok, Bruce, and Chris). Our normal Thursday night thing; well semi-normal anyhow, we been skipping some weeks. Its Darok's turn to pick this week.

Thinking about coming out to the guys at work soon. I know they're all cool with gays; so its not a big deal, but waiting for the "right" time. Hoping to have them all together (so I only have to do it once) and just looking for the opportunity for it to "come up". I've been working with these guys for over a year now and really close to them all. I hate keeping stuff from them about my personal life. Like what I do on weekends or vacation, stuff like that. I don't like "filtering out" stuff for them. I'm moving in with Kiko soon, so I'll I hope to do it before then.....

Anyhow, lunchtime....

New personal web site

2005-06-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

Only one in the office again. It's a beautiful day out, like in the 80's....too nice to be there.... *sigh*.

Spent a big chunk of yesterday moving my personal web page. I never really liked geocities as a host; and since I have a web host I've already paid for (I moved dbringers to a "free" server) I thought it would be good to move www.geocities.com/donblay to a there. not only will I have more room, but I can do better features because I can use PHP and such on it. I already converted my picture pages to new format using Gallery. Now not only is it TONS easier to upload pictures (auto thumbnail and gallery arrangement and integrated uploaded) but now visitors can rate and comment on pictures. I though that would be really cool. So I'm excited about adding a lot of new and cool stuff soon. I got to get myself another domain name now, like donblay.com or something. Right now the page is at http://69.61.56.90/~donblay/ which isn't all that easy to remember.

Anyhow, back to work....for a bit....

Rafting weekend

2005-06-06T12:05:00.000-05:00

Rafting was so much fun this weekend. I had gone once before, like 10 years ago, but his experience was so much more memorable. Went with Kiko, Darok, Bruce, and Chris on the Dead River in Maine. We had a different type of boat than everyone else, it had a pointier nose on it, which apparently makes it trickier to maneuver. You have to keep it very straight or else it easily tosses you. Our guide never had used this type of boat before either. Shortly before the first set of big rapids I got bounced out (I was in the front, and there's no place to put anchor your feet). I got back in and started to paddle again, and then we all took a dump-truck; guide and all were tossed out. We had hit it sideways and the raft stood up and tossed us all out. It was chaotic, but looking back it was very exciting. I came up from underwater and realized everyone was gone...but found the boat. But at that point I was so exhausted from just getting bounced out a few minutes ago; I could barely pull myself up. Luckily Darok had gotten himself in, and then helped the guide in, Diane. Diane then pulled me in and we got the rest of the guys in. Bruce lost his glasses though. We maneuvered a good chunk of the river with only 3 paddles, because most were lost in the dump. We luckily got another paddle from another boat. It ended up being pretty good having only 4 paddles, cause then we had equal numbers on each side, and one person could take a break and we alternated. By the time we hit the 2 sets of big rapids towards the end though we were like pros. Going into it I could tell some people were nervous, but once we got into it it was just amazing. We all knew we had to keep it straight, and went through the worst part of the river with no more spilling, hitting each wave and not loosing it was great. I got to be right up in front for that too, and loved it.

It was quite an experience. I got such a workout from it...lol. After you get back to the lodge they show you a slideshow of pictures they took, and the 1^st picture spot was where we dumped it. So needless to say they had a TON of pictures of us falling and in the water. I'm going to be ordering so many!

That night they also have a cool party with a bon fire and live band. Its fun, but I think I was just too beat to party too hard. Ended up going to bed around 12:30-ish.

My body is still sore from it..lol. But it was one hell of a weekend!

2005-06-05T22:30:00.000-05:00

Got back from Maine today. Rafting kicked ass! I'll write more tomorrow though. Too tired
I miss Kiko sleeping next to me on nights im alone :-(

2005-06-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

So busy today. Trying to get everything ready to in rafting in Maine this weekend.
:-)

Thursday Morn before rafting

2005-06-02T08:35:00.000-05:00

Its odd, I'm the only one in the officer right now. All the other guys are out on location somewhere. I guess its good cause I won't get tied up talking, we can easily waste a whole morning doing that...lol. I have to set up a web server anyhow.

This is a really short week for me. Monday was a holiday (came back from Montreal that day), Tuesday I called in cause I didn't feel too good (wicked stuffed up and scratchy throat), so I worked yesterday and today and I'm off tomorrow (rafting). So a 2 day work week isn't too bad J

Speaking of rafting, I can't wait! Should be so much fun. Going with Kiko, Bruce, Darok, Chris, and probably Justin. I gotta pack and everything tomorrow, won't get to tonight because I'm staying at Kiko's. I feel bad for him though, he has to work tomorrow morning, so won't be able to catch up on sleep for the trip....my poor boy.

Weds Night

2005-06-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

hung out with the boyz at code m tonight. bruce, naill, his boy mark, chris, and jason. we ended up watching White Noise. it was ok, but not what i had hoped it was. the plot was very scattered. it left nothing but loose ends, nothing was explained. and in the end, it doesn't have very much to do with "real" evp. it was a sespence movie that at times made you feel creepy, but overall wasn't what it could have been. but in the end i'm just glad i got to hang out with the fella's. i actually like the guys there. i met several frineds there that i wouldn't have met if it wasn't for the group. i guess that's the purpose of the group really.....to bad more guys don't realize it. i guess its growing still

anyhow, off to bed.....

Montreal Trip

2005-06-01T09:13:00.000-05:00

Well me and Kiko went to Montreal Canada for the long Memorial Day weekend. It was my first time out of the country. We had a GREAT time! Did lots of shopping, the stores up there really reminded me of New York's 5^th avenue. We did a bit of clubbing on Saturday night at Unity 2. The place was PACKED, you could barely move, but the music was great! We also hit all the strip clubs; they are much more revealing than they can be down here in the states...lol! It was defiantly fun to check them out though. Also the environment around St Catherine's street was just great! It's a very open place. I've never been to such a gay friendly place before. Its was great cause not only could you walk holding hands and such, it was just that no one cares too. Like being gay is just a very normal thing and no one thinks twice about it in public. Unlike New Orleans (which is a city I do love) it's a very good place for couples as well as singles. New Orleans especially during decadence is very much geared towards singles looking to hook up. Montreal has bath houses and such for that, but also has many other attractions (clubs, strippers, shopping, and a much more relaxed atmosphere) making it feel to me much more of a place where couples can go to have fun as well.

Anyhow, we had a great time. We had originally invited some other friends to join us, but in the end I'm kind of glad it ended up just being us. We got to discovery the city together and had some great quality time. I feel cheesy using that term "quality time", but to be honest it was. We got along great the whole time, had fun together and in some ways got closer. It was the best. We definitely plan on going back before the summer is up, perhaps for Pride.

2005-05-28T08:59:00.000-05:00

Going to Canada for the weekend. Kiko's like a kid on Christmas. Got up at 5:45 and showered and ready to go. This is my 1st time out of the US.

2005-05-26T16:04:00.000-05:00

Moving my ringer site (www.dbringer.info) to a new server. Hopefuly will finish it tonight; just got to work on the database stuff

Catching up

2005-05-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

So blogging seems to be like jogging to me. I keep up on it for a little while, then totally fall out of the habit again...lol.

Well, its been a while since I wrote anything, and most of that was abstract generalized thoughts. So now a little something more concrete. Kiko got his green card issues!!!! YAY. I'm so happy and much relieved about that. Now I know my man is here for good. That's the issue I had eluded to in a pervious post, about thinking about having a love taken away. I was so worried that he wouldn't get it; but I didn't wanna come out and say it in my blog. Now that he can travel out of the country (and be let back in), we're going to go up to Canada for the long weekend. Should be fun, I've never been there before.

Also gearing up for what looks to be a busy summer. This weekend is Canada like I mentioned, next weekend is white water rafting in Maine, then at some point this summer is camping, plus lots of birthdays and hopefully more than just a few trips to the beach and a tentative trip to FL for the 4^th of jully

Anyhow, I guess that's enough of my rambling for now, things are going good for me and overall I'm happy.

having love

2005-05-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking allot lately about love, and how it is to actually have found it. Been thinking about how tragic it would be to have it taken away....
When you finally find someone that you can truly love, and they can love you back, it's a such a great thing. Many spend their entire lives never finding it...always settling for something lesser, or not even know what it is they seek. Once you have it, its something you should never take for granted or become complacent about. Not that you need to everyday over analyze your love, but never let it slip away; never let it not be noticed. Someone once told me, "when you find someone that can actually make you smile, hold on to it". Its simplistic, yet makes sense.
I never wanna loose what I have.

finding self

2005-03-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

This may sound overly analytical, but have you ever tried to find out who you are? What kind of person you are, what drives you; is your perception of who you are really who you are. Do you see you as others do, and do they see you as who you are inside? Sometimes I think about this. I sometimes feel that I'm always trying to find out who I am, who I really am. I feel like I'm always closer, getting deeper, but never quite there. Is it because I'll just never grasp it? I think perhaps I'm just always changing; a constant work in progress. I guess if this is the case, its not a bad thing. Its good to keep evolving, hopefully becoming better; but who knows. Maybe one day I'll find me, maybe not........