Nut case

I read an article today about a court case in Georgia. Some right-wing nut job sued the school board to ban the Harry Potter series of books. She believed they were promoting a lifestyle of witchcraft to young children. The case has worked its way up to the Georgia State Supreme Court because she won't accept all the verdicts that say she's a nut case.

They are fully expecting her to appeal again. The article on ABCnews.com ended with the following two lines:

At Tuesday's hearing, Mallory argued in part that witchcraft is a religion practiced by some people and, therefore, the books should be banned because reading them in school violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

"I have a dream that God will be welcomed back in our schools again," Mallory said. "I think we need him."

The reporter obviously caught the hypocrisy. The scary part is that the religious nut cases don't. They don't really want separation of church and state, they want separation of churches they don't like, and state.

Bouncer

This was my first weekend on security detail at the club. My intent is to work front door, and maybe eventually bartend. But they start you out on simpler things until they know how well they can trust you. So, I was on back door Friday (making sure nobody sneaks into the club through the smoking patio) and roaming Saturday (keep an eye on the crowd to watch for trouble, drunks, etc.). There was really nothing serious that happened. The most I had to do was wake someone up that fell asleep on the couch. There were no fights, and only a couple sloppy drunks.

Friday night, a group of the Brazilians showed up. Junio and Cris were included. Kevin was there, too, so Junio was friendly but had that look of "sorry, I wish things were different" in his eyes. Cris was dancing with them, and having fun, and was surprised that I was working there. I had forgotten to mention it to them. I told him I'd be there Saturday, as well.

Saturday, a group of the Brazilians showed up, again. Ronny was there this time. He seemed to think the job was too 'boring' for me to do. I kind of missed being able to dance with them, but it was still an interesting way to spend the evening. Brad and Cris came in, and I said Hi, then wandered back to keeping an eye on things. A while later, I wandered into the front bar, and Brad was sitting there with a friend having a drink. I stopped by to chat a little (the roaming guy can do a fair amount of visiting), and Brad was like "why aren't you dancing?" I laughed and pointed to the embroidery on the shirt, and said "I'm on duty." He was surprised. He was not aware I was working there now. I replied that I had told Cris last night. Brad got rather serious, and asked,
"So, Cris was here last night??"
"Uhh, well, yeah." (At that point there was no reason for me to lie.)
"Hmmm, that's funny. Because when I asked him today if he'd been here last night, he said no."
"Ohhhhh, I'm sorry."
"No, no. He lied. Right to my face."
They left, fairly suddenly, shorty thereafter. Ronny came up to me, all concerned, and was like "you TOLD Brad that Cris was here last night? You never tell Brad..."
I explained it was an accident, that I just mentioned that Cris knew I was working already on Friday.
I feel really bad about the whole thing. I mean, I know that I didn't do anything wrong, but I was still the spark that led to another fight. As Brad's friend, I'm concerned about him. As someone quietly harboring feelings for Cris, I must admit there is a little piece of me that would be happy if they broke up. Again, as Brad's friend, if I did hook up with Cris, that would probably blow Brad's mind a little too much to maintain a friendship with me. And, especially now, since I could be viewed as prodding the break-up.
"My life is a drama - with a beginning, a middle, and No End..." - Club 69

Frustrated

Two weeks ago, I had two phone interviews. One led to a face-to-face interview. I have not heard back from either one. I should have by now. Which means I was passed over. They could have at least had the decency to tell me.

And, it has been eons since my last showing, so I am biting the bullet and pulling the listing. I called the realtor and gave a de-list date so I can refinance and cut my payment. I would so much rather have just sold the F(*#^$(*&^@$)@&*@(*ing place, but I am still here, so time for plan B, I guess.

And in follow up to a previous comment I made about getting to go out on a date, that never happened either. He switched to calling while I was at work, which is an evasive move. So, I emailed a "hey I'll be around this weekend, let's plan something" and never heard back again. So, yet once again I got dumped before even meeting.

Sometimes I just can't take it...

Work work work

I got a part-time job!

Thursday night, my friend Joe called and said let's hang out! We ended up at the club for a drink. He works there, bartending and barbacking. As we were visiting, enjoying our beverages, he was also talking with the bartender, who had quit the day before, and was just filling in for someone. Joe suddenly got a flash of inspiration, and had the barkeep hand over the application forms. He said they are rather short-staffed right now because a couple people left, and they were a little desperate for help.

Joe started as a barback and had to work his way up to bartending. I told Joe I had no interest in barbacking, and he said they needed someone on door, too. So, I figured, ehh what the hell. I filled out the application (my masters in engineering coming to good use!), and entered door/bartend in desired position.

Friday afternoon the owner called and we set up an interview for Saturday afternoon. I stopped by, interviewed with Ron (kind of co-manager) and then the owner. They liked me and offered me the job on the spot! He said he still had to put next week's schedule together, but would call me to let me know when I should come in.

Saturday night was the game night. Dave (bit player mentioned previously) was there with his roommate, Vinny. Vinny apparently also works there, and is dating the owner. So, I already know a couple people there! After game night started winding down, a bunch of us all went to the club. Joe was barbacking, and at one point dragged me in the back, and showed me the new work schedule. So, I am on the "security" list for Friday and Saturday, 10pm to close. I do not know at this point what exactly I will be doing. It did sound like they were more interested in putting me on the door (one of the "security" posts) instead of strict security (gay clubs don't really need "bouncers" since there are rarely any fights). The fact that I have a decent day job, and don't Need the money makes me less likely to steal from the till!! The owner also has an engineering degree (from WPI - but I didn't sneer in front of him during the interview...) and a materials QC background, so we had that instant BOND! Too bad I didn't realize at that point that I somewhat even knew his boyfriend.

Games we Play

Saturday night was another gay men game night. This one was at Brad's house. I invited my friend Phil, because I know he likes playing various games. It turns out he was kinda into Brad. Tall, blonde, geeky, and into board games was quite his type. Having already hear about my side interest in Cris, (who Phil agreed is quite attractive) Phil decided we need to break them up! They were actually fighting again last night, and at one point Brad expressed his exasperation. So, who knows where anything there will end up.
Cris apparently also invited ALL the Brazilians, because they all showed up, too. Including Junio, who was very quick to point out that his bf was coming later.
Phil was wearing a tight black T-shirt that said "Keep it Gay!", and a number of people took the opportunity to touch his chest. The first being Ronny. (Numerous people have noticed that he can be a bit touchy-feely.) I wasn't really paying it much attention, though. All of a sudden, I didn't see Phil anywhere. Then I realized I didn't see Ronny anywhere. I mentioned I didn't see either of them. Dave (secondary character, don't worry about it) wandered down the hall, and saw them making out in the 'den'. He's just like "Don't go back there..." I had a feeling that once I couldn't find them, that something like that was going on. But my reaction was just "it doesn't make sense"! I was a little confused. As my friend, Phil was always doing the "he's not good enough for you" schtick that your friends do for you after a break-up. Phil can be rather acid-tongued, though, so I thought it was fairly true that he disliked Ronny. Apparently not... Ronny had also been fairly unimpressed when they had met, but must have seen him in a different light this weekend.
The three of us went to IHOP this morning. Phil asked if it was "weird" for me, and I said Oh yea. He asked if it was inappropriate, and I said, no not really.
But yeah, definitely kind of weird.
Though, Phil did say the Ronny thing would be more a fun time thing, while the Brad interest was more compatibility-driven. Phil had brought a bag full of games to the game night, and as Brad was looking through, he exclaimed, "Oh you have 'Diplomacy'!" Phil replied in surprise, "You've played that before?? I rarely meet anyone to play that!" Brad said "I HAVE that game!" I think that was moment Phil was smitten.

Brazilian redux

I should have posted this already, but seemed to keep forgetting about it.

For those of you keeping track of my Brazilian escapades, last Friday's activities were followed up on Sunday by some socializing. (Friday Recap: flirted heavily with Carlos who is kind of flaky, and with Junio who is taken. Also, Cris was a lot more touchy/feely than usual. I didn't mention this before, but it was a little odd. The other night at the club I accidentally almost Kissed him instead of the meaningless kiss-kiss that goes with gay greetings and partings. I didn't think he noticed, but since then, he's been more approaching, and Ronny out of the blue asked if I Like Cris.)

Saturday I joined Brad and Cris, Ronny, and Brad's friend Rick for tapas, and then we watched a movie. I stayed home after they left, but apparently Ronny and Cris went to the club again. I figure I probably didn't need to be around Cris again without Brad there, anyway. So, Sunday I went to the gym and bought groceries, and called Mom (that was Mother's Day). Ronny called to let me know he wasn't working, and we could hang out if I wanted. I got bored that afternoon so called him back and said I needed to go to Target, we could stop by Coldstone Creamery if he wanted. He said Junio wanted to go, too.

So, Ronny and I went over by Junio's to pick him up. His roomie, Cristiano (not to be confused with Cris of "Brad and Cris") then decided to come too. The four of us headed to Coldstone, but with that big of a crowd, I didn't go to Target. Maybe tomorrow I'll do that... The ice cream place is next to a movie theater, so they started clamoring for a movie. There is nothing playing right now that I want to see, so I talked them into going back to my place to watch a movie. (Already seen Spiderman, for those of you about to object.)

On the drive back, Cristiano rubbed my head and said something along the lines of "how soft". Ronny then rubbed my head, too. They told Junio to rub it, but he wouldn't. They were like C'mon, and he said he couldn't. When pressed as to why he can't rub my head, he said if he did that he'd get a hardon. To which I replied, "So?" My first thought was that I was driving, he was in the back seat with his roommate, and there wasn't anything that could happen anyway, so it didn't matter. I did realize that it could be interpreted as meaning I wanted him to. I kind of did. He repeated that he has a boyfriend.

Back at my place, they decide to watch To Wong Foo, and I ended up on the couch next to Junio. He seemed rather awkward / uncomfortable, but kept asking me if I was OK. So, nothing happened. He was there with his roommate, and I dropped them off at home, and I think he mentioned his boyfriend again. Sort of like a talisman... And I know what everyone will say about the whole Brazilian thing ("NO"), but I am not gettin' much attention from anyone these days, so I am not going to turn away any flirtation or displays of interest.

Feel Like Dancin'

Went out to the club again tonight. I called Brad, he said they might go out, so I called Joe, he put me on guest list. Then Brad called, said Cris hadn't shown up, so I said well how about the two of us just go out and have a drink. He said Yeah. But then at 10:30, Cris did show up, so I met up with the both of them at the club. Brad stayed at the bar and played on the little video touch game thing and drank, while I danced my little heart out, again, surrounded by Brazilians. (Oh, like you're SURPRISED...)

Carlos showed up, as did Junio. Junio was being flirty, and I decided to be flirty right back. He mentioned he "has a boyfriend" and I said I knew. He said he "couldn't ..." and I said I knew. But as we all left he said "Call me". I mentioned I don't have his number, and he said to get it from Cris. I said he should tell Cris to give it to me, so he knows it's OK. (I still don't have Mateus' number because Cris won't give it out without Permission.)

I was trying to be flirty with Carlos, as well. He was there with some guy, Philipe, but I am not sure if they are together or just friends. They seemed to stick together a lot, but then during the stripper show, I started gently brushing my hand against him, and he leaned back into me, and I held him through the show. And Philipe was right there next to us. But then later when I said "Pode falar conmigo?" (can you talk with me?) he said yes, but then got up, and pulled me over to the dance floor, and drifted away. Mixed messages... He exclaimed, again, how cute my dimple is (yes, just the one), but would not move beyond scattered flirting.

And this older hot guy whom I met at a party once, and see at the gym now and then, was there. He seemed by himself this time. (He was coupled when I first met him.) I think he was checking me out, but then he disappeared as well. Sadly, that usually means he went to go smoke. I saw him talking with one of the Brazilians, which only confirmed my suspicions... (Again, you should not be surprised.) Hopefully I will bump into him at the gym, and can say hello. Of course, it will take a surge of chutzpa to get myself to say hello. I can only seem to manage that trick once every three years or so (the cruise director being the most obvious instance, and that was blatantly assisted by alcohol).

On the positive side, I burned a hell of a lot of calories! Last week I stepped on the scale again, and it was 168 (I told you!). Today I checked again, and one said 167, with a little fluttering towards 166, and the other scale said 166.5 pounds. I have been eating fairly well this week (after an ice cream attack on Monday). Losing a couple pounds also aids the chutzpa. The fatter I think I am, the more shy I get.

Boston

Last night was Nish's 30th birthday party. (I found this great card - the front has a classic calla lily photo and a nice script saying something about "My deepest sympathy in this difficult time" and just says Happy Birthday inside! It totally has that sympathy card vibe going, I laughed when I read it!!)

Originally, Mark had scheduled to have it at Machine (gay club in Boston). But then a friend offered to host, and they moved it to Bel's house. He's Brazilian, and good friends with Sergio. I debated not going, because I figured Sergio would be there, and things are still awkward. I tried reconnecting as friends, figuring it would be therapeutic, and help relieve the tension, allowing me to hang out with Nish and Mark in Boston more often. But Sergio has not replied to me in two months, so it's still rather awkward...

I did end up going. I decided to be a man, and deal with it. For Nish... But it turns out Sergio didn't show up anyway. He did come up in conversation a few times, since a number of people there - including Bel - knew the history. And Bel was telling me how he tried to get Sergio to reconsider breaking up with me because he thought it was a dumb idea. But, he admits, Sergio is rather unhappy, confused, and doesn't know what he wants out of life, so seems to need to be unhappy. It was very similar to what I said to Sergio when he dumped me...

A lot of gay guys were there. I found two of them cute. Scottie, who is white and very skinny, was the first. He has a pet mini greyhound, and totally fits the axiom of pet owners looking like their pets. He (true to form) is in a relationship; his boyfriend was back home, studying. But fear not, I have not completely lost my old habits. The second one, Derek, was a cute black boy! He, however, was there with his boyfriend, who just moved in with him. So, I scored two for two on being interested in the unavailable ones! Bel kept mentioning how he becomes good friends with Sergio's ex'es (Mark being one), so he gave me email and phone number when headed to leave.

I need to get out more, again, but I am unsure if I can handle developing a social circle with all of Sergio's friends.

Hot

I was at the gym the other night, and my dark meat sensor started flashing. I look up at the TV, and there's a hot black guy and a hot latino guy making out! On ESPN!!

Upon closer scrutiny, it wasn't really making out... It was apparently a clip of some promo trash talking between Oscar de la Hoya and something-or-other Mayweather. They are apparently having a big boxing match soon, and HBO is trying desperately to get people to watch. So, they have produced some really involved show detailing the lives of the two boxers leading up to the big fight. Mayweather is actually really hot, but has that not-too-bright aura about him. (There is no audio when I see something on the gym TVs, so I can only go by facial cues.) De la Hoya, on the other hand, has been a favorite hottie for quite some time... They do apparently have little to no personal space issues!

Long shot

I had an interview tonight. Phone interview with the HR guy. Went poorly... And if it goes poorly with the HR office, it isn't likely to go better with the hiring manager. The company does castings of aerospace parts. I have little/no experience with casting or aerospace. And I'm not good at lying...

On the flip side, my interviews with Saint Gobain and Tiffany & Co. seemed to go really well, and neither of those went anywhere. Maybe I need to have a lousy preliminary interview.

And I got a call from the HR lady at another company that got my resume and wants to do a phone interview, as well. Maybe something will turn up, after all!

AND, someone from Match actually called back! There's a slim chance I might actually get to go on a first date before being rejected!

I guess it's worth taking a step back away from the ledge...