Blogger Problem

I clean out my cache and history all the time.  There is a bona-fide problem with a glitch in the layout template or the gadgets that affects comments.  There are many service notes about this... I did what they told me to do and nothing changed.  I created another google account (D@vid @ Another Mile Marker) that I can leave comments with until I figure out what I'm going to do with my blog.

Flogging Blogger

I've been going back and forth with whether to move my blog to Wordpress.  I've been having some problems with comments... mainly posting any on anyone else's blog... I get caught in an endless loop of signing in and word verification and my comments don't post.  They say it's a glitch of some sort caused by the layout of the blog or some gadget layout thingy.  Sometimes, my list of followed blogs don't show up, my counter disappears, etc.  Regardless... I've been silenced, so to speak... and I don't like it.  I'd have to import my blog into Wordpress, hope for the best, and get a new blogger ID to be able to leave comments on other's blogs.

Is anyone having problems leaving comments on my blog?  If so, email me (My Email Address) and let me know.  It will help me make my decision.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

We're definitely the product of our parents.  In my case (and for this exercise), I'm referring to my biological mother... the vagabond, wandering gypsy.  With a man in every port, she couldn't be held down by a boyfriend, job, husband or her kids... she had to keep going, never getting her fill of life and what it had to offer... in her case, instability and about 9 children, but I digress.  If there's anything that I inherited from her, it's this constant state of unrest that I'm in.  Always on the go... always looking for a new experience... always wanting more from life.  Nothing makes me more happy than to be behind the wheel of the car heading in some unknown direction without a plan.  It's about the journey, not the destination, and I've done more than my share of enjoying some great journeys.  While other people amass property or cars or material things, I collect memories and experiences.

With a few goals in mind, I not only wanted to get away and explore, but I also wanted to put some closure on my depressive spiral called 'my move to Vegas'.  Hitting the lowest and darkest point of my life when things didn't work out and standing on the edge (literally, of the Grand Canyon, ready to end 'it'), I haven't been back there since.  That was about 4 years ago... and I've come back from the brink stronger than ever, but I'd like to face my demons in this trip.  I'm going to see a few friends I met out there... visit a few places that have some meaning in relation to that time period... and put it to rest.

I acted too quickly in booking the trip, not thinking about it before locking in the car and flight, when I should have extended the trip a few days, but now can't.  Because of the geographical layout of the Grand Canyon (no easy way around it) and the distance between things that I wanted to do, I had to cut out Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, otherwise, I'd spend most of the days driving 5 hours to each thing.  I was fortunate to get great prices on the hotel and car... and found hotels all under $65 a night that were decent and clean, so it should be a relatively inexpensive trip. 

I really connect to the desert.  It speaks to me.  It's not about what's there... it's about what was there.  You can't help be overwhelmed with understanding of history and time... and a sense of mystery and compassion for the earth.

Here's the final Itinerary:

July 5th… Fly into Phoenix at 11 am… explore Phoenix and Scottsdale, dinner with Ur-Spo and Someone, staying in Phoenix.July 6th … Leave for Sedona (2 hrs away), Verde Hot Springs, etc…. staying in Flagstaff.


July 7th… Leave for South Rim Grand Canyon/Helicopter tour (2 hrs away) or stay to see more of Sedona, etc, staying in Flagstaff


July 8th… Leave for Las Vegas (3.5 hrs away)… see friends there… staying in Las Vegas


July 9th… Tour Death Valley, Mt. Charleston, Lake Mead/Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon… see friends there…staying in Las Vegas


July 10th… Tour Death valley, Mt. Charleston, Lake Mead/Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon… see friends there…staying in Las Vegas


July 11th… Wrap up in Vegas, leave for Phoenix (4 hrs away) via Lake Havasu… staying in Phoenix

July 12th… Fly out back to Pittsburgh 10 am

Phoenix or Bust

I finally had 5 seconds to sit down and think about my quickly-booked trip to Phoenix.  After taking a look at the places that I wanted to see (Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and Las Vegas), I'm realizing that I either need to cut things or add time... which the latter isn't too much of a reality.  I'm kind of locked into my flight and car... and booked my hotel the night of my arrival into and departure from Phoenix.  The thing that makes it so difficult is all of those spots are, on average, 4 hours from each other... which means a lot of really early morning driving to get to them and still have a decent amount of time to actually see them.  The other thing that I'm realizing is that I need to choose how physical I want to get at these places, taking into consideration the time that I'll have allotted... do I do the car tour, or do I do some hiking?  Five hours hike down into the Grand Canyon and 7 hours out can't be done in one day.  The other thing weighing my decisions down is that the physical location and size of the Grand Canyon... with no easy way around it... adds time to the trip and could possibly add a lot of backtracking if I don't make the total loop.  It's difficult to eliminate points of interest when you have to pass them to get to another one... you might as well stop if you're passing.  I have to figure it all out.  The three pics are the Grand Canyon... with Zion to the right of it... and Bryce underneath.

I had a shitty night at the Blue Moon on Friday... especially after I heard the neaderthal ask how to make a vodka martini... that's what you learn the first 6 minutes of the 40 hour bar tending course.  What an idiot.  Anyway, I called and quit on Sunday, but didn't realize that the Manager called and told me they got rid of him and offered me Friday and Saturday night permanently at the front bar... so I accepted.  Without the idiot there, it should be fun again.... we'll see.  I'm less apt to put up with bullshit now.

Back to the grind at work... getting a lot of things done with the weather being nice, although hot and humid.  I really only have a few more days of mulching and planting before I'm down to my regular one or two days a week maintenance.  Next week... building a deck.

Weekend On-The-Go

I haven't posted since Thursday... the last couple days have been a blur.  I worked all day Friday then went to work at the bar... Saturday, my friend Eddie (who is in town from Philly staying with me since Friday) and I went to breakfast in the Strip District (kind of like the farmer market area of town), then we hit the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Arts Festival and then went to the Pirates/Phillies game at PNC Park for an evening game.  It's the second game that I've been to at the park... which is really a great stadium, with the views of the city right across the river.  It was a good game... exciting right down to the end but, alas, my friend's team lost.  Of course, like everything in Pittsburgh, they had to shoot off fireworks.  It made for a great evening.  I met up with some friends at the bar last night... and Eddie and I are going to check out the Rivers Casino today before I wisk him off to the airport to head home.

It's been a full weekend... with staying up late Thursday, Friday and Saturday... and with the humid weather and constant running, I'm beat.  I need a day off from my days off...

I'll Take Potpourri for $100, Alex

I went from having nothing to say, to having too much to say, so I'm doing a 'tids and bits' sort of entry...

-  The other day, my palm was itchy... no big deal, I thought it was just hair sprouting on my palm from inappropriately touching my weiner too much (is that an old wives tale or for really?)... but I went to the mailbox and there was a check from Uncle Sam... apparently paying for other people's children to go to school through additional taxes... while adopting my own children is frowned upon... and having to file 'single' since I'm not allowed to marry, paying higher taxes... and paying employer taxes as well for owning my own business earned me some sort of rebate check from the government... the poor, gay, childless spinster deduction... I didn't care... I ran to cash the check before the U.S. went bankrupt and it bounced.

-  My friend, Eddie, from Philadelphia is coming tomorrow to stay with me for the weekend.  I have to drag him to the bar (I'm sure he won't go kicking and screaming) while I work on Friday night... and Saturday, we're going to the Pirates/Phillies game.  It's always a great to sit in the stadium, facing the city... and eating a weiner or two (the meat-by-product kind).  Of course, like everything in Pittsburgh, they'll shoot off fireworks every time they get a home run.  Fortunately for the neighbors, the Pirates don't get many home runs.

-  I'm no stranger to doing things by myself... case in point, the upcoming trip out west... but I have always wanted to see Wicked... so I bought my ticket to go in September when it's here in Pittsburgh... by myself.  Sometimes you just don't want to be bugged by someone else's agenda or the wrapper of their hard-tack candy.

-  With landscaping back in full swing with the weather being great, albeit 90 degrees and humid, I'm getting a lot done.  I'm drenched, parched and full of heat stroke... but I'm productive.  Today, it was only 70 degrees... absolutely beautiful weather to plant annuals... and that's exactly what I did... except for a special visit by a cute guy named Alan, which led to a nice getaway luncheon. It's common knowledge that I don't like to talk about people that go on a date with on the blog because it seems to jinx it... but he seems like something special.  Time will tell.

-  One of my best friends got married today, but it wasn't a joyous occasion.  Unfortunately the guy she married is a complete ass and she basically feared for her life if she didn't marry him.  That's a long story... but the point is that I have never felt so helpless in my life... anything that I would have done to intercept the situation would have made it worse for her.  I feel like her heart and soul were ripped from her body today.  It's a sad, sad day.  It's amazing how one person can control another.

-  The other day, I broke down and got the iPhone.  Blah, blah blah.... bells and whistles this... gadgets and widgets that... it's all smoke and mirrors.  My other phone was more productive, with some basic necessities built right in.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around updating my phone through a music app, iTunes.  It pisses me off that I have to buy an app to do things that my old phone did for free.  One noteworthy app is Vlingo.  You just speak into the phone... "Text so-and-so... What up, bitch (question mark)".. and it does it all for you.  "Search one-eyed monkeys".. and it pulls up the browser and searches the internet.  I tell you, it sure takes the tedium out of trying to eat your Big Mac and text and drive all at the same time.

I feel like the Droid/Windows crowd are the people that get things done... and the Apple people just want to look good trying to get it done, worried more about their hair and which Banana Republic outfit they are going to wear to do it in.  Even the whole naming convention... " i ".... suggests a self-absorbency.  I did, for my money, get an Apple sticker that I'm supposed to put on my truck, to show that I am one of the chosen few elitists... I'll put it right beside my Sarah Palin sticker when I get that... NOT.   

I've posted this video before... it's hilarious... but I love how it captures the epitome of the Apple consumer... I guess now, myself included.

Gay Pride Month

The gay days of June are upon us.  Every weekend is filled with a gay parade up and down the eastern seaboard... ours being next weekend.  I tentatively told the bar that next weekend will be my last (although the manager is working on getting the shirtless thug to the back bar and me to the front), but they wanted to use my truck in the actual parade... with some workers and drag queens in the back.  Should be fun.  Last year, we had a great party in the streets in the daytime with vendors and info booths... and probably 15,000 gays/friends of gays/etc.  This year, Aretha Franklin is our performer... should be interesting.  To usher in gay June... here's some gay-themed humor... (be sure to watch the video at the end)



Phoenix Rising

Well... I got the bug.  It bit me, and I scratched.  I just booked a trip out west.  I fly into Phoenix on July 5th, and return July 12th.  I'll be staying in Phoenix a day or so, then I will head up to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and some of the other places to see up there before returning to Phoenix to fly out a week later.  Just me and the open road with no itinerary... just the way I like it.  Since my trip to Rehoboth got cancelled, this will be a great alternative... albeit hot (it's a dry heat, which I'm familiar with having lived in Las Vegas over the summer period).  I'll get to see a few friends that I still have in LV... and just wander around.  Other than Dr. Spo.... which I hope to see while in his back yard... who else is out that way?

Happy Memorial Day

Today is a day of remembering those lost... but it seems moreso that it has become synonymous with the kickoff to Summer.  Pools open, people have picnics or hit the beach... and the true meaning gets lost somewhere in the shuffle.  My Dad goes every year to the graves and cleans them up and plants flowers.  It's been a long time since I've done that.  For me, it always cues my birthday, since it always falls on this weekend.
 

With a long weekend, parades and even the big gay picnic in North Park, the only memory I will have of this holiday is working.... all day Friday, Friday evening at the bar... 3 hours sleep... 10 more hours landscaping, Saturday night at the bar... 5 hours of sleep and more landscaping yesterday... and I'm off to cut grass for 8 hours, including a new house that I picked up of the rental person here at our townhouse community... the one that offered me the contract here.  With insurance and probably having to buy a bigger mower, it didn't make sense... but maybe next year it will.  I'm finally winding down with my Spring clean up, mulching and annuals... by the end of the week, I should be just down to my one or two days a week maintenance. 

Yesterday it was 90 degrees and humid as hell.  We went from Winter to some sort of ark building competition to the dead heat of Summer.  I hope everyone has/had a great weekend!!  Enjoy!!

Bloody Buggity Blogger

Is anyone having trouble posting comments on people's blogs?  For some reason, it tries to make me anonymous... then asks me to sign in fifteen times on an endless loop and I, stupidly, keep doing it like it's going to catch one of these times. 

Is something going on?  Can anyone help?

Blogger friends... I'm reading and trying to comment... just not having any luck.

I'm so close to moving my whole blog to Wordpress.

It's Nano Your Business What I'm Listening To...

This song, originally by Fleetwood Mac, was covered on Glee this season... it's definitely my favorite one they did all year...

Bargain Basement... Prices Slashed for Quick Sale

So, I'm back to being not-so-special today as my birthday wraps up.  It seems like birthdays should be longer... maybe a few days or perhaps a week... after all, it took over 9 months to make me from scratch... shouldn't that miracle have more spotlight than just 24 hours a year?  I had a really nice day, having nothing planned at the start and it turned out being packed with things before I knew it.  I had an unplanned lunch with Julie... and an unplanned dinner with my friend Anna, and a bunch of things in between.

Speaking of unplanned... regarding my adoption and it's correlation to my possibly having the blood disorder Factor V Leiden, I got the test results back and I don't have it.  And while I'm happy that I don't have a disease that could kill me, it doesn't shed any light on the mystery of my birth father.  Although I suppose it's possible that I could still be his and not have inherited it through him, it would have put to rest the theory if I did, and saved me $500 for a DNA test, should I want to proceed to get a definitive answer.  At this point in my life though, after all the research that I've done, there really is no way of finding out now except the DNA test... so I will just have to find some peace in my uncertainty... something that has become a recurring theme in my life and the bedrock of every part of my existence, influencing every move I make and thought I process.  And although it shouldn't matter where I came from, in essence, it would have been an odd feeling for me to finally put it to rest and not think about what other people take for granted as normal.  I'm starting to think I dropped out of the sky.

I spent the last couple of days on my knees... no, not in the alley working my mojo (this time, at least)... planting some 400 annuals.  It's kind of nice, propelling life of an innocent flower... giving it what it needs to grow into something more beautiful that will provide pleasure to so many.  And I get to be left alone with only my iPod Nano, 3 cute Italian guys (Il Volo) serenading me... and mother earth.  I have another 400 or so to plant this weekend, along with finishing up the mulching, which leaves my holiday weekend looking like landscaping work during the days through Tuesday and bartending at night, both Friday and Saturday this weekend.  After the holiday, I should be past my spring stress time of trying to get everything completed.  I have a few decks to build, and some odds and ends projects... by July, I should be through all of that and down to my two days a week maintenance through October.

Another Another Mile Marker

Well, today is the 15th time that I'm 29 again.  You'd think that I would get it right by now.  I guess I have gotten some things right, over time.  It seems to be a recurring theme in my life... the third times a charm (or the 15th, as it may be in this instance).  I feel like I've done a lot of growing this past year and I'd like to put it all into play this coming year with many things planned.

A special thanks to two special people for their eloquently-written posts today honoring my birthday... Robin at Life in Queue and Sean at Idle Eyes and a Dormy... as well as all the wonderful friends that left me birthday wishes both on here and Facebook.  I'm surrounded by great people.

As constant as my birthday is coming each year... was the call that I would get from my ex, John... who recently passed away.  At 12:01, that fu@k would call me and wake me up to wish me a happy birthday, being a smart-ass.  I didn't get that call this year... I would have done anything to have my sleep interrupted.  It's the little things in life that you miss the most.

Someone Turn the Hose On Me

It's probably better that my progrums are all coming to an end with their season finales, and all.  I've been working so much that I haven't had any R and R time (and by R and R, I mean ruckus and romping), so it's no wonder why I am a little randy lately... and probably need the garden hose turned on me.  My buffet of boys has been on the TV screen, where I have managed to fall in love with someone from every show (as well as various cat food and razor commercials, as well).  Each having their own adorable qualities...

Josh Bowman plays Max on Make It or Break It, a show about a gymnastics team at a gym in Boulder, training and competing for nationals and worlds and, hopefully, the Olympics.  Max just came onto the scene this season, and is already pining for the attention of Payson Keeler, the wholesome girl... and Lauren, the tramp.  He's sweet, caring and a gentleman... or does he just like the gentlemen?  On the season finale (and I'm pretty sure I wished this to come true), it was revealed that he was bi (and by revealed, I mean he planted a big kiss on another guy).  I was so happy that I did a front round off, flip, flip, double twist, twirl, spin, spin, jump, tumble, twirl... right down the upstairs hallway.  In real life, he has a British accent but, sadly, has dated the likes of Amy Winehouse (wtf) and Miley Cirus.  His taste in men is much better... and I think once he gets a taste of the weiner buffet, he'll be giving up fish, even on Good Friday.

Next up is Cody Longo, also from Make It or Break It.  He left the gym to go train somewhere else last season, but I have 'Longoed' for him ever since.  He recently played someone who gets eaten in the movie Piranha.  He wasn't gay or bi on the show... just hot.  I see a recurring theme here though... fish... and being eaten by fish... are bad.  Weiners are good.


Lastly, as I was watching American Idol, the Italian group Il Volo came on and I fell for the cute chubby one on the right... I think his name is Ignazio Boschetto.  He has the greatest smile, complete with rosie cheeks and dimples (best seen in the video below at 1:20 and 2:00).  I'm a sucker for a guy that sings to begin with... and one that sings in Italian on top of that... that was it... I was hooked.  Watching the video, you can't imagine that the voices are coming out of the bodies... and he looks like he's having such a great time, with his cute dancing.  You can't help but smile with this kid as he looks more like he's singing GaGa rather than an Italian standard.  Definitely husband material... or at least a date sharing a spaghetti noodle (minds out of the gutter, people). 

YUM !! (Barefoot Boys)

Rain, Rain, Go Away... And Don't Come Back, Bitch

With a lull in the bad weather over the weekend, I was able to get a lot accomplished and the target is slowly approaching on the horizon.  Soon, I will have my one or two days a week maintenance routine and that's it.  I have a few side projects at the Marriott, one of them in the picture... I tore out close to 30 overgrown, dead, nasty-ass bushes and trees a replaced them with some smaller bushes and rocks.  I still have an ornamental tree to put in the bare spot... and once the grasses grow to their normal height of 8 feet or so, it will provide the perfect backdrop for the new bushes and the annuals that I have yet to put in.  Unfortunately, you can't even begin to understand what this area looked like before from the picture, and I forgot to take a 'before' one.  This is one of the things that I love about my job... the creative side... when I get to tear out and rebuild.  Sadly, I am usually harnessed by a budget and other people's stale ideas, so it's never what I would really do.  Free rocks that I pick up on the side of the road add some texture, but it's no where near what I want.

The weather is supposed to be spotty this whole week, with scattered rain and storms.  Looks like more of dodge-rain landscaping this week to get what I need done.  We're about to get hit in an hour or so with a storm... I'm off today, so I, like the honey badger, don't give a shit.

Thursday is my birthday... of which I'll be 44.  Woo hoo!!  Big deal.  I usually go away for my birthday weekend because it falls around Memorial Day weekend... but this year, I will be working at the Blue Moon Friday and Saturday and don't have much else planned.

Tids and Bits - Rapture Rap-Up

Well, I don't know a ton of Bible-pounders to be able to tell if anyone was plucked up... but I'm pretty sure that Rapture came and went without occurance, except confirmation that the guy that concocted this theory, now in his 2nd or 3rd attempt to predict this sort of thing, is bat-shit crazy just as I suspected.  I have to admit that I took a minute or two (tops) to put some thought into it as to whether or not I'd be 'picked' (especially after receiving a comment on my post Raptor, and the person offered that joking about this suggests that I am scared and that's how I was dealing with it).  It brought back memories of grade school where I was the skinny kid chosen last for the dodge ball teams.  And then I grew up and realized that being chosen wasn't all that it's cracked up to be.  You'd really have to care about the sport and have a respect for the rules and have a sense of participation for the outcome of win or lose to really matter.  This obviously isn't me... then or now, whether dodge ball or belief in some higher being.  So, while I would imagine that the people that are invested in religion should have been a little worried today... I really didn't give a shit... and, more so... the only thing that I remain scared of are people that would truly rationalize the whole thing as being realistic... but at the same time, admiring them for their sense of imagination.  I mean, we're just talking about a man walking around talking about his theories of things that may/might not... happen/have happened... it's not like they're going to put them in a leather-bound book and put them in every Motel 6 nightstand.  What are the odds of that happening?  Believe what you want to and  live and let live, as I always say.  See you in 2012 for the next 'hasta la vista' extravaganza!

I got some of my test results back today.  Everything came back pretty normal.  My cholesterol was slightly higher than normal, which can be attributed to my protein shake mix and raw egg that I blended in each morning until earlier this week.  I also haven't been doing much cardio lately with work and all.  Everything else is good.  As soon as I get caught up at work, I plan to get back to the gym and do a few spinning classes.  That should help clean it up a bit.  I'm still waiting for the Factor V Leiden test results.

I went to the Blue Moon last night and worked.  There's the front bar, where everyone hangs out... and the back bar, which is dead.  They want to make me the permanent back bar person and bring this 20-something muscle head guy in to work up front, thinking that he's going to bring business (mainly the young people (who actually have no money to spend on alcohol)) in.  First of all, he's not that cute... secondly, he has absolutely no personality and is straight... so while he took his shirt off trying to get more tips, he doesn't want to be touched by anyone, which you can't have both ways in a gay bar.  It's a little insulting that he thinks that we are that stupid... that he should make more tips just because he took his shirt off.  Lastly, being straight... he has no following to bring anyone into the bar.  Aside from all that, he went to bartending school 6 years ago but has never stepped foot behind a bar.  He was totally lost last night, even working at the front bar in between me and the manager.  It amazes me how some businesses stay open.  Anyway, we didn't get out of there until 4 am... I was in bed at 5 am and up at 7:30 to go do landscaping.  I made $120 dollars for 8 hours work.  Not worth it.  It will get worse when I am in the back bar permanently next week, probably making half that.

I've come to the conclusion, based on the fact that I don't need the money, don't need to pin down my weekends for a job that I'm thrown scraps behind some talentless neanderthal and I'm not gaining anything...  that I'm going to help the manager train the new guy and get settled with staff and quit, probably in 3 or 4 weeks.  I don't want to screw him over, but isn't he basically doing that to me?  Why am I always Scooby's idiot cousin, Scrappy-Doo?  Why do I always worry about filling someone else's needs before my own, to my own detriment?  Those days are gone.

It's Nano Your Business What I'm Listening To...

With Rapture right around the corner, I thought I'd load my iPod Nano with some music that was apropos, thanks to my friend Bob.  Since I'm not going to be one of the chosen ones, I'll have plenty of time to enjoy the playlist... currently, listening to "I did it my way" by Frank.