What’s Next?

A resounding thank you, thank you for the belated birthday wishes. Alas, I didn’t take any pics while down in lala land. I’m horrible w/remembering to take the damn camera. You’ll just have to take my word for it, a good time was had by all.

I did get a few admonishments for not announcing my birthday up front. Well, pay attention. How much plainer could I have made it? *g* Joking aside, I normally don’t make a big deal over my birthdays. So what if I’m a year older. I survived the childhood from hell. Nothing since has ever been that difficult. My life continually gets better1 so I’m not complaining. Sure the vain part of me is beginning to notice I’m not young anymore; I have a few wrinkles here and there. My hair is ever getting shorter.2 And the boys aren’t as quick to look my way. But hey, that is the nature of life so why should I resent it?

I’m still in the best shape of my life. Oh, I whine about my muscle loss but that is minor compared to when I was uber skinny. I also have a job that pays the bills and allows me some room for playtime. My career of choice is on track albeit a bit slow. My health is good for my age. What’s to complain about? Oh sure, I could have been hung rich, pretty, or all of the above. Hell, I could have been a lot of things. And if a frog had longer legs he wouldn’t bump his ass either. My point here is I learned, somewhat painfully, to worry about what-is vs. what-might-have-been. I try to make the best with what I got. And frankly, I think I’m doing a pretty damn good job of it.

In simpler terms, I treat this body like a rental! I won’t be going to my grave some pristine corpse. Oh no, I plan on skidding into the grave a 60 mph a tore-up-from-the-floor-up, used and abused husk! I may not get my deposit back but that’s ok too. I’ll be able to say “what a ride!”

1 *Crossed fingers* it stays that way.
2 As I get older, I realize it is not falling out, it is falling thru!

Touched

No, not there. I was especially touched to get home and discover the wonderful birthday cards in my mailbox. A few were expected but the majority were from bloggers. A big thank you to everyone who sent cards.

A special thank you to Joe in MI. Joe sent a card and as a present, he made a donation to the trust fund for the fallen officer. That made me cry w/happiness.

I’m Back!

Yes, I’m back from LA. I had a great time celebrating my 36th birthday. Everyone keeps asking “Why LA?”. It wasn’t planned. We just decided to go on a whim. It was fun getting down to WeHo (West Hollywood) and seeing how the other side lives. This was the first trip together for the roomie and I. I can report we make pretty good traveling buddies. Actually, we got along beautifully1.

While in town, we did the bars, the clubs, you know the whole S&M (stand and model) routine. OY, so much effort so little time. The bars/clubs were ok but everyone seemed overdressed. Not overdressed as in formal but just too much. Everything seemed so contrived as to present a look. What happened to going out to just enjoy yourself? Anyway, I had way more fun just hanging out visting the local hang outs. We did not get to see a filming of Wisecrack. I checked and they just weren’t filming.

The name “urban sprawl” most definitely applies to LA. Besides WeHo, we hit the Valley, Silverlake, Hollywood, and parts of Pasadena. Way too much driving. Made me homesick for SF. I love being able to walk or MUNI everywhere.

I’m proud to say I made it to the gym while in town. Oooohhhhweee! The WeHo Gold’s was a cornecopia of hot menses. I even scoped out some celebs. My roomie pointed out Fabio too me. I’d like to apologize here. Fabio doesn’t look gay in person at all. I always thought he was a bit of a “nelly”. I’ve made more than a few disparaging remarks about him. Seeing him at the gym, he is actually quite masculine. Now, if he’d just cut that damn hair. I got to see Rubert Everet as well. He, on the otherhand, did not look so good. Maybe he had a hard night. Or, maybe he just had a “hard knight”? (Ok, no more cheesy comments.) I’m also convinced I saw the kid from the original Never Ending Story as well. He was quite grown up and not half bad either. If it was him, I always knew he was gonna be gay. I saw a few other famous folks. Since I don’t really know their real names, pardon me for no more name dropping.

Ok, now to the juicy part.2 *Warning NSFW*
Continue reading I’m Back!

Weeeeee!

I have a 4 day weekend starting tomorrow. The roomie and I are headed down to LA to see some friends and see what kind of trouble we can get into. I haven’t been to WeHo in like years dude.

Wish me luck?

Congressional Honor

Convicted Lawmakers may lose Pensions

(full story) The Senate on Friday voted 87-0 to strip away the pensions of members of Congress convicted of white-collar crimes such as bribery, perjury and fraud. That could result in benefit losses of more than $100,000 a year.

Wow! Finally some good news to come out of Congress. Say what you will about our gal Nancy but, she is spearheading some serious reform legislation. Who knows, maybe we’ll actually be able to trust politicians again? Ok, I know that is stretching it but one can hope.

Control or Balance

A coworker commented on how he thought I was a perfect fit for my position as a Union Steward today. Not only am I not afraid to speak up but I’m also knowledgable about policy/procedure. And by the reaction of several supervisors/managers, I’d say I’m having an affect. One supervisor in particular won’t even speak to me now. I found out it is because he thinks I’m assurping his authority. Whatever the hell that means. I see it more as a check and balance to the system. I am here to add balance into an obviously unequal style of treatment.

It sorta got me to thinking though. Why do I like it? I don’t get paid for it and it certainly adds to my already heavy workload. Here is what I came up with.

One, I have a deeply rooted desire to ‘fix’ things. I’ve never figured out where it comes from but it’s true. I see a problem and I immediately wanna fix it. I get such a sense of accomplishment when I do “fix” something too. I’m also sure my willingness to overshare information stems from the same place.

Two, I’m a little bit of a control freak. I was always taught “if you want something done right, do it yourself“. A side rant to that, I also believe if you bitch about a problem you should be part of the solution.

Three, I have a strong desire to help people. I think this one stems from all of my own neglect as a kid1. Sort of a reverse behavior trait. I think it also gives me my sense of fair-mindedness. It is perfectly normal to have your own best interests at heart and I’m no exception however, playing the underdog often allows me to accomplish both goals in one.

Four, I’ve also wondered if it stems from my subconscious need to belong as well. Maybe all this time the ole id was trying to tell me something. Something I was missing but just didn’t know it.

Or, maybe it’s a bit of all of the above mashed into one person? I’m willing to go out on a limb here and think the latter is the truest answer. What say you?

1 Every time I mention my “tragic childhood” now, I think to myself, “Jesus Moby, are you ever gonna quit beating that horse”? I may eventually just not today. *g*

Ignunce, Texas Style

No jail time for drunk driver who killed 18 year-old

A mother is outraged after hearing the man found guilty of killing her son in a drunken driving accident won’t serve any jail time for the crime. “The drunk driver could have stopped 300 feet away from my son; instead he plowed into my son. He had over twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system.”

read more | digg story

1) This story is obviously missing some details.
2) A clear reason why I don’t live in Texas anymore. CC is one of the most repressive back asswards there is in Texas so I’m not sure why I’m surprised.

Cough Sniffle…PUSH!

It is downright cold in the city today. It is in the low 40’s. BRRRRRRR. I know for some that ain’t bad but for here that is pretty damn cold.

I’m still feeling a little icky from the cold or flu I’m fighting off so didn’t go to the gym today. I went yesterday and had a pretty decent workout. I’m starting a new routine working complimentary groups and then 1 or 2 finisher exercises. I’ve been looking around for a trainer and haven’t quite found one I like yet. Er..Um..well I like several of them however, I need to focus on their skills NOT their bodies. hehehe.

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I watched a documentry called “Why We Fight” last night and I was more than a little mad when it was over. I’m pretty optimisitc however, after watching this little flick, my view of the future isn’t very rosey. I was particularly struck by Karen’s story. The American people need to wakeup and realize what is going on before it is too late. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you watch it. If you are Bush supporter, even remotely, you might just change your mind after seeing it.

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I drove another hybrid vehicle the other day. This one had a “synergy drive”, whatever that means. I really liked it. I find I’m using zipcar more and more often. It’s just so darn convenient. So anyway, the car was uber quiet, it had surprisingly good pick up, and I especially like the ratio of gas to miles display on the panel. It does take a little getting used to though. The dashboard layout is completely different from most cars. The gear shift is a short lever that sticks directly out of the dashboard and to park you just stop and punch a button. The only thing I didn’t like was the hatchback. It interferred with my rear view. A small complaint for an overall superb vehicle.

Hipo What?

An anonymous reader called me a hypocrite today. Now before all my “homies” start yelling “oh no he didn’t!“, hold on a sec. If I consider myself anything, it is that I am fair-minded. Mr. Anon had a problem with my rant on stanky steam rooms (see below) and my comment on Joe My God’s blog about Gold’s gym getting busted by the Dept. of Health.

So, I thought about it to see if I really was being a hypocrite. I’m not seeing it. And, if you actually read my response1 you’d see I didn’t speak out against the issue. I did rant about Gold’s lack of consistency and my own observations. A clear distinction and not the least bit hypocritical. I think the real issue is Mr. Anon has a problem w/my behavior in general. I have no intention of trying to convince you I’m right. Nor will I make any apologies2, I am a grown man and take responsibility for my actions. If you know me, you know I often describe myself as an “opportunist.” Meaning? Why I never pass up a good time if it presents itself of course. Yes, that sometimes might include the steam room. The error in your judgment is that my self-indulgence is at the expense of other people’s comfort.

Lastly, you didn’t have to be anonymous. I encourage disagreeable comments as long as they are respectful. While a bit accusatory, you were respectful. I will add here it diminishes a belief in your convictions when you remain so “anonymous”.

1 I hate haloscan for this reason. It is too hard to link directly to my comment. Instead click the link, bring up the comments and then do a search for “moby”.
2 Since your email address was fake, I felt the need to redress your comments here.