Let Love Be Genuine

Well, it is that time again. Here is the sermon for tomorrow. I am not pleased with it, but sometimes we all write clinkers.

We Just Might Get A Woman For President

Not that I would want to wish death or health problems on anyone, but by a strange twist of fate, the Republicans may be responsible for the first woman president.

Heaven forbid Mr. Obama does not get elected, but if he doesn't , then that would mean that Ms Palin would become the first woman VP. And if Mr McCain were to forget where the White House is and wander into traffic on Pennsylvania Ave... Well, thanks to the Republicans, the United States may have their first woman persident.

Kind of boggles the mind, huh?

Then again, maybe that was the plan of the Master Mind "W" all along?

EDIT: Doesn't Gov. Palin look like a Stepford Wife?

And These People are allowed to breed

I saw this over at Fail Blog. (I just love that place!)


see more pwn and owned pictures

Text reads:

I was watching inconvenient truth the other day and theres the bit where it shows the sea level rising really high and flooding most of the world. Well i live near the sea, and don’t want to drown, so i got to thinking. Maybe if we lower the sea level a bit, when the water level rises then it won’t rise high enough to flood.

Anyway, heres the plan. Everyone who can should take a bucket of sea water and pour it down the sink. If lots of people put the effort in, we could lower the sea level substantially and create a better world for our children to live

Submitted by hahsnow

A McSame Button I would wear

Thanks Jay!

I Want To Believe Again

Wow. I just got done watching Barak Obama give his acceptance speech. I was truly impressed. It has been so long since I have been proud to call myself an American. I really feel this is someone who has a new and energetic vision for America, not just the same old rehash of ways to make the rich richer.

It feels good to have a person to believe in again.

Ideal Christmas Gift

(Photo thanks to Joe.My.God)

What better way to greet Christmas morning than with the JESUS PAN! What better way to remind people that

(Thanks To Fail Blog)

Just makes me proud to be a Christian!

Starbucks Supply

Still nothing new on the job front. But I will be acting as supply Barista in Ann Arbor tomorrow. It shouldn't be too bad.

More Info on Work

In my attempt to figure out what is happening with my job, I decided to go to the other Meijer Starbucks to find out exactly what was happening.

The story so far:

When the Starbucks at the store I was working at closed, I was supposed to first work for the deli but then I was told that I would be working for the Remodel. This was ok with me.

BUT

I got a call from the other Meijer Starbucks saying that they thought I was going to be coming over there to work. I said that I had not heard about it. But a few days later, the manager offered me the job and asked if I could start the next day.

I said I didn't think I could be I would ask about transferring and she should check about the transfer process. I talked to my store manager and he said that they should get back to him but I would have to spend the rest of the week at the store.

So, this week, I was told that I am still in our store. I was supposed to work Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat. Then I got a call telling me that I had to work Monday.

So I get to work on Monday and no one knows what is happening.

So I was told that I needed to fill out some forms at my store. When I went to my store, I was told they had no idea what the other store was talking about. They would have to get in touch with the other store.

So, I am working tomorrow and Saturday and then I am not sure what is happening.

Ain't life great?

My Continued Thoughts On Work

Day of Frustrations

Oy Vey!

I felt like such a Drama Queen today! I really hate the way my job makes me. I hate the level of frustration that just seems to be part and parcel of my job as of late.

Today was no exception to the rule. I was told last Friday that I would be working Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat of this week. This was nice since Nick had Monday off and I would too. And I didn't have to be back to work until 2 pm on Tues. Then I got a call saying I was already scheduled for the deli on Monday at 1pm. This was upsetting in that we would not have the time together, but I could deal with it. So I got to work today and no one knew what was happening. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing in the deli and I was only going to be there for three days. But the team lead wanted to teach me how to work in the deli. WHY? I was going to be leaving soon.

Then I found out that no one had any idea about my going to the other Starbucks. So that whole thing is again on hold. Then I talked to the manager for the remodel where I was supposed to be working and he put me on the schedule after I had already left for work.

I really don't want to be working full time. We can make do on half time at the store and the quarter time call.

Well, to say the least, I was not getting any straight answers. I was not getting anything that makes sense. I almost quit right there. Finally, I did get some answers and a schedule that is workable. I finally get some time off and some time with Nick.

But it just seems like work is one kick in the crotch after another. When I come home, I just hate myself. There has got to be some other way to get through life.

Start Thinking About Gift Giving

(Thanks to lolcats)

Desiderata

I had forgotten this song. I really don't know why it came back to mind, maybe it has something to do with the general situation of my life. What I do remember is having the "chorus" resonate with me, even when I was seven years old. My mom tracked it down with me when I was in kindergarten but the record (RECORD!) store was out of it. I have finally purchased the song from iTunes, 36 years later. I guess this is definitely a situation of "Better late than never."

"And who do YOU say that I am?"

Sermon for this Sunday is here.

Chocolate Bacon On A Stick

Jen, over at Kids of Queers, suggested that this title was a good way of increasing web traffic. So I decided to try it. If you are just dropping by to check out the chocolate bacon, be sure to leave a comment to say, "Hi!"

Since Ignorence of the Law is No Defense

Here is a little information you all should know.

(Edit note: The link was incorrect. It has now been fixed.)

The Starbucks Boy Lives!

Well, I guess I am back at Starbucks. I decided to take the Starbucks job at the same place where Nick works. I decided I would rather do what I knew instead of getting place in the remodel crew and guessing what I would be doing. Besides, with the remodel, I would be working full time. With Starbucks, I have the possibility of working less. I really want to get some time off.

Today we paced up the store where I worked. With all the posters, signs and menus down. And with the "We are closed" sign out, we still had almost 10 people ask us if we were open. Someone actually walked over the rope and past the sign and began to order. I told him that I could take his money and drive down road to get his drinks for him. Then he looked around and said, "Oh."

So now, I get to work at the deli for two days and then I go to the other store. I had suggested that I could take the two days off so I wouldn't need to get a new uniform shirt. But they decided I wanted to learn the deli for two days and they gave me a shirt for those two days.

Do people who are in leadership roles even think?

So, since I still work at Starbucks, the boy in the Starbucks speedos continues to grace the web!

Last Day @ Bucks

• No, Starbucks is not closing us down, Meijer is.
• No, I do not know why.
• No, we do not have vanilla.
• No, we cannot make a Caramel Macciato.
• Yes, I know there is a new Starbucks opening in Brighton.
• No, we cannot move to the new Starbucks.
• No, we do not have have any sleeves, that is why we double cupped the drink.
• Yes, we are closing today.
• No, we cannot make any cream based drinks.
• No, we cannot make any Vivano drinks.
• Yes, I am upset also about us closing.
• No, we are hired by Meijer, not Starbucks.

Oy Vey!

Fireflies

I was feeling a little nostalgic. I remember when I was younger going out into the country and finding a field of soybeans. Then, turning off all the car lights and looking over the field, you would see an undulating blanket of fireflies. They would be beautiful. And with the crickets in the background and the dew beginning to settle, the moments were just magic.

So I went out tonight to try to find a field. I found one that would do, but the fireflies just didn't seem to be around. There were some, but not the blankets. The crickets were present, the dew was settling, but the fireflies were just not there.

Then, as I stood there looking over the field, some other things came to mind. Just over two years ago, I left my former congregation. Just under a year ago, I left my house. So many things have changed. And still, so many things need to change.

Kind of like the fireflies. They are still there, just not the way I remember them.

Well, maybe life is not like the fireflies, but it sounded good.

Looks Like A Good Idea To Me!

Thanks to lolcats!

Whats Been Happening

Hey folks,

I haven't written much of substance lately. Maybe the trauma of being an international criminal has just been too much for me.

Well, things have been happening here, 20 Minutes North of Hell. I finally found out what I am doing at work. I am going to be working with the remodel team. This would be doing things like putting stuff on shelves and getting the new departments ready. I will have Sundays off which would be a good thing.

I also heard that I may be able to get a Starbucks job in another store. What was odd about this is we got a call from the other store asking if we had someone who could cover a shift there. Then the person said, "and we are supposed to be getting one of you working over here, right?" Well, I had talked to the supervisor over there, but that was the last I heard. So now they are going to talk to me tomorrow about starting over there.

Truthfully, I don't know if I want to continue to do the Starbucks thing.

I also have a lead on another job. One of the "usuals" at Starbucks gave me some information on a job. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun. A lot of traveling, but also a lot of fun.

I have been dealing with collection agencies. I think there should be a separate ring of Hell (and not the one 20 minutes south of here) for people who work there. They have to be some of the most manipulative people I have encountered. How can they sleep at night? By the time I was done dealing with them, I just wanted to do anything to make them hang up.

I finally got a chance to call my credit counselor and she told me that putting $1300 on a credit card to get the collections folks off of my back was NOT a good idea. Nick seconded her suggestion.

Church went well this morning. The people seemed to get a lot out of the sermon. This is probably one of the hardest scriptures to preach on. The only other one I can think of is the divorce scripture.

Nick and I spent the after noon at the Melon Festival before he had to go to work. The boy asleep on the hill was probably the most interesting thing we saw. Kind of a yawn actually. (Get it? Sleeping boy...yawn?)

Now I am just sitting here pondering the pros and cons of keeping a job with Starbucks. If I get the other job, taking that would be a no brainer. But I don't know if I want to do something else or stay with the coffee job. If I stay with the coffee job, I could continue to post the Starbucks Speedo guy!

Jesus calls woman a dog!

Sermon for Sunday August 17, 2008 is here.

Economy

The economy is getting pretty bad when we need to start selling used toys to make money.

Field Day

Nick and I both had a day off, so, of course, we needed to go on an adventure!

I have to admit that I find casinos interesting. I am not a big gambler, I am way too cheap. But I find the whole casino experience and design to be fascinating.

So, Nick and I were wondering what we were going to do. Sitting at home doing nothing would have been fiscally responsible, but who wants to be fiscally responsible. We were thinking of being more fiscally irresponsible, but I got a speeding ticket yesterday and that took a larger chunk of cash than I care to think about.

So, I decided we wanted to go to the casinos in Detroit. They have done a lot of work on remodeling the casinos, so I thought it would be fun to see them. And, as I said, I am really cheap when it comes to casinos. I only spent a dollar on slots.

Nick made the mistake of joking about going to Windsor, Ontario. (He should know better than do something like that around me!) Since I have never been to Windsor, (I have seen it from the US side) I readily agreed.

SO... Off we went! We became big international travelers! We crossed the Ambassador Bridge and got over to the other side. Now, we were not planning on going to Canada, so we did not have any "Proof Of Citizenship." And then when we said we came over to Canada just to explore, the guy looked at us like we were nuts. (He obviously does NOT know me! I love to explore!!) They then decided that we were international terrorists or something and had us pull off to the side.

The border patrol then looked through the car. Nick joked they should have taken a vacuum with them and they could have vacuumed while they looked. They even took the spare out of the trunk. Yes, two somewhat dumpy gay clergy are really trying to take over the country. (Besides there was not patrol men that I wanted to perform a cavity check.)

And really, if we were going to do something illegal, would we risk blowing the whole thing at the border by not having our paperwork in order?

The Caesars Windsor was pretty cool! Big, over the top, statues. (Some even anatomically correct.) The nicest of the three we went to.

We had lunch/dinner and then headed back.

At the US border, after driving under the Detroit river (That was kind of freaky), we had to answer a bunch of questions to again prove we were not going to blow up things. Not that we just didn't drive through a tube that was under a river. (If we were going to do terrorism, wouldn't it be better to blow up the tunnel?) After telling the border patrol where we had lunch and all the games we didn't play at Caesars, he let us through with a warning to bring a birth certificate or passport next time.

So, being back in the states, we returned home. Not a bad day.

"You are so open..."

I had someone make this comment to me today. At the time, I didn't really think anything about it. Why shouldn't I be open? I am gay, that is all there is to it.

I know the person did not mean anything bad by the comment. I just find it interesting that a comment like that would even need to be made. Heterosexual folks don't have to be closeted, why should we? The only reason being gay has to be "the love the dare not speak its name" is because we choose to keep it that way.

I don't know...

Of course I am open. I had spent 40 years in the closet. I am SICK of the closet. So, I am not going back there just because some other people are not comfortable with their sexuality. Let them deal with their own problems and not put them on me.

Until I can get a closet like the one pictured above, I ain't going back!!

The Courage To Get Out Of The Boat

The sermon for this Sunday can be found here.

Meme from Spo

Do you know how to play bridge?

No, I had some friends try to teach me in seminary. I also got a "Grand Slam" even though I didn't know that it was something that is very rare.

Were you forbidden, as a child, a certain thing that everyone else was had?

I don't think so. We were Roman Catholic so there were the Lent meat related things. But I also think there were less "gotta have it" things when I was a kid as there are now.

Have you been to Mount Rushmore?

Yep, in the early 80's. I tried to think of it as a piece of art at which it kind of fails. It is very big though!

What is the oldest item in your pantry?

I don't think we have a pantry. As far as cabinet, not too much, we have moved so often that we tend to throw a bunch of stuff away as opposed to carting it elsewhere.

Despite many attempts, what can’t you understand?

Finances. I just don't get it. And NASCAR. Someday I want to understand how a six pack of Bud and NASCAR can be the definition of a "good weekend."

Can I get you a drink?

Glenlivet, neat.

Have you seen someone die?

I have seen people die in the emergency room and in their own room. Being a hospital chaplain will do that to you.

What A.A. Milne character are you?

Sometimes Eeyore, sometimes Piglet, and on my best days, Pooh himself.

Were you ever discriminated or turned down from a job because of who you are?

Well, I guess losing my church would count. Granted, I chose to leave. But it was either live a lie, quit, or be kicked out.

Do you own a fondue set? And do you actually use it?

No fondue. I have been to a fondue party and it was fun, but I have no desire to own one.

Go back in time and tell yourself “please oh please don’t do…….”

Humm... That one is tough. There are a lot of *cringe* "don't do that" events like not locking the back door. But "please oh please don't do...." There are some things in my life that have caused chain reactions that have had some painful consequences, but I still would not undo the events.

Is there anything you are or do that you actually thought you would be doing?

Not a damn thing. I could NOT have foreseen this trajectory for my life. I guess the only thing would be that I am a clergy being. Although I thought I would probably be a Roman Catholic priest, not an Episcopal priest.

Who made you smile today?

Nick, he always makes me smile! (Aw, how mushy is that?)

Edina Monsoon or Patsy Stone?
Never watched AbFab.

Bonus question –

You are on holiday. Do you

a) see the sights

b) go shopping

c) hit the bars

d) lounge by the pool

e) partake in physical activities like hiking or skiing or boating

A of course! Stores are stores. Pools are pools. Bars are bars. But, seeing a 1/8 scale model of the Eiffel Tower, well, that is priceless!!

(Thanks to Ur-Spo for the meme and the pix!)

Life Here In MI

I guess I have been putting some "fluffy" posts up lately because I really don't feel like going over what has been happening in my world.

The whole thing with Starbucks closing is getting me totally frustrated.

Some things to remember:

• Starbucks is not closing us down, Meijer (pronounced "Meyer") is closing us down.
• Our store is remodeling and in the process of the remodel, the Starbucks is going to be taken away and a "new" coffee shop is going to be put into place. (I use the quotes around new because Meijer has tried this before and it tanked.)
• This "new" place will be opening in late October.
• Our Starbucks will be closing on Aug. 19.
  
• Others in the store will keep their job titles and just move into there new areas when the departments are completed.
  
• The five of us that work in Starbucks will lose our job title and be moved to a different job.
• Meijer and the union do not consider this losing our job.
• I, and the people I work with, consider this losing our jobs.
• NO ONE had given us a straight answer.

On Tuesday, we had our District Rep from Starbucks show up with a bunch of other Starbucks/Meijer folks. They were roaming around taking down serial numbers and taking pictures. One person was along and I feel her whole job was just to schooze us workers.

This woman came up to me and introduced herself. She asked me how I was doing. I said, "Wonderful, I am losing my job. How 'bout you?" She asked me a question or two and then walked away before I could answer. If you are going to ask a question, at least pretend to be interested in the answer.

Speaking of pretending to be interested; our manager gave us all availability forms to fill out so we can be placed in a new position. (Yes, we are getting new jobs, No, we are not losing our job. Q: If you get a new job aren't you by definition losing a job?) After these forms were filled out, they sat in our area for over a week, waiting for our manager to take them and see where we might be able to move. They finally were taken by another manager and placed in our manager's mail box. Yes, what happens to us is so VERY important to our manager.

It may seem like I am beating a dead horse here, but out of the hundreds of employees at this store, we five are the only ones that will have a our jobs disappear. I don't think it is too much to ask for a little consideration in keeping us informed. Our Starbucks is going to close in less than two weeks and I still have no idea where I will be working or what my hours will be. And our manager has been avoiding us so we can not even ask him anything. Needless to say, the tension around the "box" has continued to grow. And since we have time to stand around and talk, the less we know, the more we get pissed.

I should have known that this was going to be a fiasco in the way it was announced. We knew there was going to be a remodel, and we were told that Starbucks was going to move to a different part of the store. Then, at a meeting of the store, we were told that Starbucks was going to close. So instead of letting us five know that we were going to be moved, we were told in front of the whole store. Kind of reminds me of the scene from The Meaning of Life where the Head Master is announcing things to the student body and ends with something to the effect of, "Oh, and Johnson, your father died."

Starbucks' hands are not totally clean on this either. Before the Starbucks/Meijer folks showed up, we recieved an e-mail from our District Rep telling us to be "Grand Opening Ready" and be ready to answer quetions about the new "Vivano Nutritional Blend." And that the Starbucks/Meijer folks were coming becuase we were an exemplary store.

The lead barista wrote back asking Andrea (said in the best Valley Girl accent) if she knew we were closing in two weeks. She responed, "Oh, I didn't think you knew."

WHAT! DIDN'T THINK WE KNEW!!

So, let's just lie to the workers. What were we supposed to think when all of these people descended upon us and started to copy serial number? Where they going to do all that and then walk away and say, "Oh, and Johnson, your father died"?

Andrea said, "Of course not, if you did not know, we would have come up with something to make our actions seem plausable." (A more succinct answer would have been "We would have LIED"!)

So, in just over a week, my job will end. I have no idea what I will be doing. My management is telling us nothing. The Union has been useless, telling us that there is nothing they can do. And it feels like no one cares.

"Oh, and Johnson, your father died."

A New Olympic Sport?

This just looks like too much fun!

My Kind of Holiday

Wow! I didn't know this existed!

Happy National Underwear Day!

Today, I am wearing Charlie Brown Christmas Boxers.

Ah, Yep!

(Thanks Fail Blog!)

Nick's Going To Kill Me For This!

Aren't they cute?

New Poll

I found that the proper pronunciation for the last poll would be closest to "Ear Rock." Nick found that out by asking a person form the area how they pronounce the name. I guess they should know!

Now we have another questions. This one has bothered me for quite some time. Please make your choice carefully! And know, I know who votes for what!! (Just Kidding!)

Pentecost 12 Year A Sermon

The sermon for this Sunday can be found here.

The Big Read

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they’ve printed below.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you read part of but never finished.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Strikethough those you hope to never read again, and sometimes wish you could un-read.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night / What You Will, Henry IV, part 1, Henry V, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

(h/t to The Electronic Replicant)

Nick's Birthday

Yesterday was Nick's 60th Birthday!

He posted some of the events on his blog, so you can look there.

I had a fun time planning for his birthday. Sixty is something to celebrate! I would have liked to do more, but finances did not allow. Oh well.

In some ways, it was kind of a comedy of errors. You know, those "best laid plans" kind of things.


I felt bad waking Nick yesterday morning. But I had bought a French Press coffee pot for him since he had mentioned he would like one. I had to be at work early, so if I wanted to give him the pot, it would have to be somewhat early. But I think he did not mind.

Then there was the plans for dinner. I had planned to take Nick to /'Aut/ for dinner. This is a VERY gay friendly restaurant and bar in Ann Arbor. I made reservations for Friday night. Then I bought a cake and was going to take it to the restaurant so it could be brought to our table. I called to make sure this was ok, and was told that they would supply a cake, but they would not deliver a cake bought elsewhere. Then the guy on the phone checked for the reservation and realizied we were not in his book. So he again took our reservation and decided that they would deliver the cake. (I think he was embarrassed that reservation got lost.)

I got off work early and picked up the cake from the store where I worked. As I turned around after paying for the cake, Nick was standing behind me! (Now, remember, the cake was sitting right there, in a clear case, with "Happy 60th Birthday" written bigger than life.

Well, it saved me a trip to Ann Arbor to take the cake to the restaurant! (Nick, I know you will be reading this: I was never upset! I find the whole situation to be quite funny!) We also got to spend the afternoon together. (I was supposed to work until 5, but got off early to run to Ann Arbor.)

We made it to Ann Arbor and had a wonderful dinner. Then we killed a little time around town and went to the local dance club called Necto. Friday night is "Pride Night" so we hung out with the local college crowd. They also had $2 Long Island Iced Teas until 11 pm. We also got in free because we "Old Farts" got there early. So, with cheap drinks and no cover, I plied Nick with alcohol and proceeded to show those young bucks that Sexy Gay Men come in all shapes, sizes, and ages!

Well, we headed home and had a piece. (Of the CAKE! You sick puppies! ) BUT!!! After the cake...

Oh well, it was a wonderful day. I got to spend time with my sweetie and got to celebrate a milestone in his life.

Life is good.