Xmas
Xmas was really tough this year; not surprising since there's so much cultural pressure to be interminably happy and with close friends and family the whole time. As usual, many of my friends went away to visit relatives far away; and the ones that remained were almost without exception pretty sketchy this year. Christmas Eve was a really dreary evening at home, alone, moping, and woeful, until Jay texted me and we realized we were both doing nothing. He was supposed to be at a party with his new roommate and roommate's boyfriend, but lost his cell phone and didn't know where the party was. In a strange only-in-San-Francisco twist of events, it turned out I knew the couple -- Fred and Thomas, who were good friends with my Ex!! — and I ended up having a fantastic evening at Fred's house, staying up until 1am just enjoying the company of new friends.
Xmas itself was weird too; I think no one knew who to invite for an Xmas party because of the divorce; so, nothing big happened and instead Tom and Darren had me over for the day, while Michael had most of my other friends and the Ex in his apartment *downstairs*. Which meant that, while the day at Tom's was really fun, it was peppered with my Ex's booming laugh from downstairs every hour or so. Very strange. Actually the best part of the evening was watching ShowGirls for the first time. What an awful movie and I can't wait to see it again.
Birthday
My birthday was much easier and much more fun. Cocktail hour / housewarming at my house was really great; again, not many people are ever in town for my birthday but I had a great time with the ones that were able to make it. Afterwards we traipsed into the Castro for some drinks, and being my birthday it was hard to resist the shots from every bartender in town. This was trouBle, especially since I was supposed to drive eight hours the next day! But worth it. Apparently I shouted some epithets at my Ex at 1am as I was jumping into a cab. Hopefully no permanent damage done — Yay, I'm 39 now!Road Trip Part I - San Diego
So Saturday the 27th, I cleaned up the party carcass best I could, synced my new iPod, hopped in my car, and drove south on the I-5. I pulled into San Diego around 9pm and met my friend Rick for drinks. We went to Pecs — do any of you watch Top Chef? The big bear dude that got kicked off on episode 3 this season is a bartender there. Yummy!!
Sunday through Tuesday we did all sorts of SoCal adventures. Rick hooked me up with a bunch of his friends down there and we all got in as much trouble as possible. It was really sunny and warm so I managed to sneak in a beach day, a bunch of frolicking at local watering holes, and lots of time with Rick and his two daughters. It was super relaxing and great fun. I even had the worst gay cliche moment EVER, when a guy waved at me from across a crowded bar, and I didn't recognize him but figured what the heck and went over to say hi. He apologized and told me he was trying to get the attention of the guy behind me.... ouch!! So, the universe still knows how to keep my conceit in check. I am now truly living the mostly unfabulous life of Ethan Greene, if any of you remember that comic strip.Road Trip Part II - Palm Springs
And then off to Palm Springs for New Years Eve at Christina's glamorous house. She's the one with the huge pool, jacuzzi, and a private Casita for guests. Cocktails in the big house followed by a night out on the town, where I was hit on by a pornstar couple — YIKES I think I'll pass on that for right now, thank you — and then back to the house for relaxing by the pool and hot tub. It was not the wildest New Years Eve but it was certainly a great time with good friends. Sweet.
New Years Day I managed to nurse my hangover pretty well and we even did a quite grueling hike in the mountains just above the city. Later that day I met up with Srinu (yes, from Cornell! He lives in PS now) and his boyfriend Christopher and we had a hilarious night out at Wangs, the Chinese restaurant / gay bar (strange combination) followed by more trouble at the bars. Srinu looks like a million bucks, the desert air must be good for him... I want to know his doctor.San Francisco
But all vacations do come to an end, so after Palm Springs I felt like I had done what I set out to do — a week away from my complicated life at home, just hanging out with good friends and following my nose. I originally planned on visiting another friend who's now in Long Beach on the return trip, but by Friday I was pretty much beat from all the good times and just hit the I-5 and came straight home.
The good news is, recent arrival Sparky was also back in town early, so we did the town up a bit over the weekend too. I'm not sure how he managed to get me to hike to the top of Twin Peaks on Saturday, but he did. He also helped me do some big-box shopping on Sunday as I continue to settle into my new pad; this time I found an A/V stand for the electronics and some long-overdue new sheets & towels from Bloodbath. One In-n-Out Burger with onion & cheese fries, and one unbelievable pizza later, and my vacation finally wound down just in time for a good night's sleep before heading back to work today.Thus ends the longest blog post ever. The blow-by-blow was a bit long-winded, yes, but the meta message is pretty clear: I needed an awesome trip away, and I think I got just what I wanted.
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