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Back at It

Sunday, April 30th, 2023 No comments

Yes, I’m still tired. I just woke up from a nap. I’m starting to get back into my normal level of social activity after taking it easy for a little while.

I went to see Muse with Evanescence and Highly Suspect. One of the best concerts I’ve been to.

Yesterday, I went to see a drag show in Pioneer Square. I saw Modest Mouse perform there last summer I think. It was a celebration of drag and trans rights. Lots of great performances and speakers. We may not have any issues with legislation in Oregon right now, but who knows what could change. The event was hoping to raise $3000 for OutMemphis, but it raised over $7000.

We got went into full summer mode weather wise for a few days, but it cooled down tonight. Looking forward to actual summer.

Life is good.

Christmas 2022

Friday, December 30th, 2022 No comments

This Christmas season was bittersweet. I couldn’t help but think that it’s the 1st Christmas without my boy Reese since 2007. Max is a great companion, however.

I had Thanksgiving dinner with Josh and Aaron again this year. We watched Disenchanted after we ate. We had ‘dim the lights’ at work the first part of that week (work from home, no meetings) and of I was off Thursday and Friday.

I was ready for Christmas this year. I listened to more Christmas music. I saw some holiday commercials on TV and at the movie theater that made me a little emotional.

We had a ‘dim the lights’ week at work the week between Christmas and my birthday. We had Christmas dinner at Josh and Aaron’s, but there was about 7 of us this time. We played video games and did our while elephant exchange. On Christmas Day we had Chinese Dinner and my friend Nir’s place. There were about 5 of us, 2 who I had never met before.

I started feeling a little sick late on Christmas day. I’ve been sick since. Covid tests have all been negative. When one things starts to feel better, something else starts to get worse. Overall, I’m better than I was at the beginning of the week. It sucks because this was my vacation week and I’ve spent it all isolated inside. I’m probably going to miss the NYE party I’m supposed to be going to tomorrow.

I didn’t get as much this year as normal. I still have 3 exchanges that were moved to January because of the hectic holiday season. What did I get?

  • a rainbow-colored beanie
  • several video games (purchased for myself)
  • God is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler
  • Arboretum board game
  • Finding Me by Viola Davis
  • some soaps and creams
  • Nike gift card

Update: 12/31/2022
I realized that I usually give end of year thoughts in the Christmas post and not in a separate post like I thought. At the past few years I’ve done it that way. So I’m updating this.

2022 has been challenging, most because of death. Reese passed away and exactly 1 month later one of my oldest friends died. My aunt passed away last month and last week we lost a cousin (I think he’s a cousin, but I’m not sure. I have a large extended family). Some people who I knew of in the local community passed and of course some celebrities I liked did to.

It wasn’t all bad. I got a new job, which is an FTE position like what I was hoping to find this last year. I’ve made some progress and adjustments healthwise and I still have a long way to go. I started playing guitar again. I incorporated PDX Gaymers as a nonprofit. I’ve met tons of cool people. And so much more.

I’m a little bummed out that I’m too sick to go out tonight, but the rest will be good for me. I know that likely nothing will be different tomorrow, but I am looking forward to seeing what 2023 holds for me.

Halloween 2022

Sunday, October 30th, 2022 No comments

As has become common, Halloween season was busy this year.

I didn’t do a PDX gamers party this year. I just wanted to enjoy myself and not have the responsibility of putting on a party. Also, the place where we’ve been doing our private events lately raised their prices a lot.

My friend Aaron had his annual Halloween party and Jeremiah had his as well. I didn’t really dress up because I’m so having trouble finding costumes in my size. I had a great time even though I felt weird not having costumes. I do wear a wario hat to Jer’s party but that was about it.

I’ll try to come back later and fix the typos and this and elaborate more. I just wanted to get some thoughts down while I was still thinking about them

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Summer’s End

Wednesday, August 31st, 2022 No comments

Summer is approaching it’s end. Part of me thinks it can’t come soon enough because of all the heat, but part of me isn’t ready for it to end.

We’ve had so many hot days this summer. We didn’t reach the records of last year, but I believe this year has been more consistently hot.

I’ve had a lot of fun this summer. It doesn’t seem like I’ve done as much as last year. I think last summer people were glad to finally be able to do things together again, so we made up for lost time. This year people have been taking it more easy, especially with covid variants and monkeypox going around.

Xander came to visit in early June and we spent a couple of days in Bend. It was my first time and we had a lot of fun!

A bunch of us went to Seattle in July for Alan and Austin’s belated bachelor party. So much fun!

Last weekend we had a corn themed party at Cory and Chris’s.

I’ve been doing tons on PDX Gaymer activities. A bit more than normal. We’ll slow down after this month I think! I also started putting together a board earlier in the year and started the process of becoming a nonprofit.

I made the decision not to go to PAX this year, which is where I would have been this weekend. I just wasn’t looking forward to it at all, especially after being in Seattle so recently. I know that I often dreading a trip and have tons of fun anyway, but I decided to save the money and spend it on a different trip.

Work is going well. I’m finally starting to see where I fit in on this new team.

I’m ready for football and rain.

R.I.P. Dustin

Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 No comments

It seems like there’s been a lot of loss in my life lately. A few weeks ago my friend Dustin posted on Facebook that he’d had a heart attack and a surgical procedure. After a few days at his parents’ house, he was back home in Nashville recovering. A few days later (exactly 1 month after Reese passed), he died.

I first met Dustin when I was finishing grad school in 2005. I was when I was meeting my first gay friends and beginning the process of coming out. We were introduced by a mutual friend and Dustin introduced me to a lot of people who became great friends. We hung out a lot in those days. I remember going out drinking, going to parties at his place, or going to watch TV or movies at his place and not being able to stay awake. I was an early riser because but most of them got to sleep in. That first year he was having a birthday party (or anniversary party as he liked to call them), and when he found out I was about to graduate, he started telling the guests that we were also celebrating my upcoming graduation, which I thought was really nice. For some reason he kept inviting me along for stuff, even a 3-hour trip to Memphis to go to a gay bar.

Dustin was hilarious, smart, and kind. Sometimes he could be the mean, sassy gay guy with his jokes but looking back I don’t think he ever meant any harm. I don’t have any pics of us together, but I took this pic below at his place, which I think was dubbed Casa de Barnes that night. [They were playing in the rain, but I was keeping dry] Dustin is the 2nd from right.

Dustin was the biggest Mariah Carey fan I know. He was obsessed! If you look at his Twitter and Facebook pages they have Mariah on them. I guess a lot of people were mentioning her when remembering him because on the day of his visitation she posted a message saying she wishes she could have had a chance to talk to him.

Although we follow each other’s lives on social media, it had been 2 years since we really talked. He was an editor at USA today. I looked back through old messages and saw us quoting Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Strangers with Candy.

I’ll miss you, Dustin. Rest easy.

Time Marches On

Thursday, March 31st, 2022 No comments

I’m feeling pretty positive about life lately all things considered. Work is going well. I’ve had so many great experiences with friends this past month or so. I’m once again grateful for the friendships I have and it’s nice to be out and about again post Omicron peak. My friend Cody and I were both saying that we weren’t going to let the pandemic take another year from us. I’m taking precautions, but I’m out enjoying my life.

The biggest negative is that Reese has taken a bit of a turn for the worse. I’ve had almost 5 months to get used to the idea that he will be leaving. I take solace in the fact that he won’t be sick anymore.

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A Decade in Portland

Tuesday, February 15th, 2022 No comments

As I’ve been saying on social media, today is the 10th anniversary of my arrival in Portland. Moving here is still one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was brave, picking up everything and moving so far away from everyone familiar. I don’t regret it.

There are so many more career opportunities available here than where I was. I might still be working for the university, but I’d be bored. I’ve had a chance to experience some exciting things here.

There are so many cool things to do here in Portland. I was pretty bored in Starkville. Portland gives me a city feel without being too big. And I’m not that far from several major cities. There’s so much going on that I can’t do everything I want to.

Last, but not least, I have met so many great people that I would not have have met otherwise. I’ve never felt more accepted than I have here. I love my Portland family.

I’m looking forward to the next 10 years here. I’ve grown so much personally and professionally in the past 10 and I think there’s more to come.

Linked below are my posts from 2012 about my moving experience.

Christmas 2021

Friday, December 31st, 2021 No comments

I remember thinking a while back that I was going to really get into and enjoy this holiday season. Reese’s diagnosis and the omicron variant put a damper on that. Reese has mostly good days, but he’s been very needy. If I go to take a shower I can hear him wining when I get out. I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep for a while. But it wasn’t all bad. I put a tree up for the first time in a while. At work we got gift cards for GrubHub so we could have a meal together on Zoom one day

I had my first Christmas dinner on the 23rd with my friends Aaron and Josh and some mutual friends. We ate a lot of food, played Bomberman and that Exploding Kittens like Star Wars card games, and did a secret elephant exchange.

I spent Christmas Day with my friend Nir doing the Chinese dinner on Christmas Day thing again, except this time we ordered takeout instead of dining in a restaurant.. My friends Robert, Alex, and Jer were there as well along with one of Nir’s friend who I didn’t know. We played Codenames and chatted and ate so much food. We never got around to watching a movie.

What did I get for Christmas and my birthday this year?
  • Nike shoes
  • plates
  • Sagrada (board game)
  • Mulholland Dr (Criterion Collection)
  • Wayfarer Series
  • protein pancakes with bourbon-aged maple syrups
  • Trailblazers calender
  • Captain America mug
  • chocolate candy
  • Star Trek pride shirt

    I didn’t really treat myself to anything this year like I normally do. Over the summer I got a new TV and receiver, both of which support 120fps so my gaming consoles will be able to live their best lives. Maybe I can count that.

    Overall I would say that this was a pretty good year. It was great getting out and being able to see people, go to events, and be social again. It’s hard to describe just how much that has meant, especially after 17 months of isolation.

    There’s been a damper later in the year. Reese’s diagnosis, a friend passed away, Betty White died today.

    Next year I have to make health a priority again. I was making so much progress, but the last few weeks my diet has gone to crap again and I haven’t been exercising at all. And of course I struggles getting around most of the year like when I went to Rose City Comic Con.

    I also want to make getting a fulltime job with benefit and PTO a priority. It’ll make me feel a little more at ease and I’ll actually be able to have some real vacation time. I’ve had 2 contracting jobs this year. Hopefully, I’ll be an FTE someone by the end of next year.

    Speaking of vacation time, I hope that my travel plans don’t get screwed up by one thing or another. I’m supposed to be going to Chicago in April. Let’s hope that happens.

    As usual, I want to wish everyone a happy New Year. Take care of each other!

  • Thanksgiving 2021

    Sunday, November 28th, 2021 No comments

    Thanksgiving weekend is ending. It was a good weekend.

    I worked maybe an hour on Thanksgiving and 2 or 3 hours on Friday. Monday – Wednesday were pretty light at work as well. I’ll be glad when I’m working full-time again and don’t have to work on the last 2 days of that week at least.

    I had Thanksgiving with my friends Aaron and Josh in Tigard, who I’ve been spending more and more time with lately. They ordered a pre-cooked dinner from New Seasons and all they had to do was warm it up. It was delicious. We played Xbox games and played a Star Wars themed card game that’s a lot like Exploding Kittens. I played games on my own at home before and after. The only thing I didn’t get around to doing was resurrecting my tradition of working out early on Thanksgiving day. At one point I thought I would work out at home after I got back from Aaron’s but I should have known that wouldn’t happen.

    Friday – Sunday, I was at home pretty much the whole time playing video games, watching TV and movies, reading a book, and making sure Reese was okay. It was a nice, relaxing weekend for the most part.

    I am fortunate.

    Checking In

    Sunday, October 31st, 2021 No comments

    Wow, time flies. It’s been a while since my last post, so I figured I’d pop in with an update like I do.

    Life has been great. Between spending time with friends and PDX Gaymers events, I’ve been busy. October especially with all the Halloween things. My friend Aaron had a Disney-themed party this year. I dressed like a Sith Lord and everyone seemed to like it. PDX Gaymers had a Halloween game night again and my friend Jer also had a party. I’ve come to enjoy Halloween these past few years. I sympathize with those who don’t get into it but have to watch as everyone else is excited about it. It’s kinda how I’ve felt about Thanksgiving and Christmas most recent years.

    Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it feels like a sprint from October until the end of the year. So much happening and work usually has end of the year deadlines. At least I have a few weeks to catch my breath though before things really pick up again.

    Work at Nike is still great. I’m not sure that there’s any chance of being hired full time. Not on this team, at least. I received an offer from a team at Intel to return there. A generous offer. I didn’t even have to go through an interview process, probably because I was recommended by one of my old managers. I ended up turning it down, mostly because I didn’t think I would like the work and I would be unmotivated to come to to work every day. While this was going on, a team that includes some of the people I last worked with there also wanted to make an offer, but they couldn’t because of the other offer. It’s nice to feel wanted. I still feel the mental effects of that year of unemployment I had.

    I got my covid booster on the 20th. Thank goodness for vaccines. So glad that I’m able to go out and have fun again this year.

    I went to see the Trailblazers play the Clippers on the 29th. Aaron got tickets through his work. Floor seats! So weird being that close to all the action.

    Oh, early in the month I went to see a Bianca Del Rio show. Wendy Ho opened for her. They were both so funny. I’ve never seen the early seasons of Drag Race, but I want to go back and watch them.

    There’s more stuff coming up, but I’ll save it for another time. Happy Halloween!