Oh look! I DO have a blog!

How is life? Mine, well, pretty good actually. My parents just left Saturday after a fun 7 day visit. Yes, I did say fun. My parents are young for my age as well as young for their ages (it makes sense, think about it). So we were on the go every day. I woke up early, well early for me, every day and took them on an adventure!

Saturday, after fetching them from the San Diego Airport we stopped off at C Level to toast their arrival and enjoy the view. Sunday we headed off to Old Town, where to my surprise there was an Art Festival! We looked at everything. After we were done there, Mom insisted on a trip to the Swap Meet. Ew… we capped off the day with dinner at the Turf Supper Club. Awesome place! What better way to follow up a meal in a dive than a trip to the shishy-est sky bar Altitude?? Monday was all about rest and a home cooked (by me!) meal. Tuesday we did the Geocaching with dad, since it was Richard’s day off. Plus, we wanted to try it with our iPhones. It works! So now we have a log in at the site and 7 caches under our belt. LOL. Obviously Mom had other plans, and was off for a Shopping Day with one of our friends. Later we de-parented at the big SDTweet-Up (#sdtweetup). That was, as always an amazing time! Wednesday my folks and I were off to Temecula Valley Wine Country for a day of tasting and scenery. Fantastic! Thursday was more Geocaching around town. That Geocaching is a great way to see some great sights you wouldn’t otherwise… That night I was pooped so Dad manned the grill and we dined out on the patio at home. Friday was when I finally had to sleep in! Well, till 9:30.. we lazed at the house till Richard got home. He had ditched work early so we shopped and hit up Bing Crosby’s Piano Lounge until it was time for the crowning jewel of the visit: dinner at Kous Kous. My folks got to eat well (very well! you MUST go to Kous Kous!) and meet up with our friends and generally have a great night out. Although we had drinks first at Martinis Above 4th, where the owner stressed me out when he KISSED Richard hello in front of my father. That’s when my father realized we had taken him to a GAY bar. OMG OMG OMG. He never would have known otherwise… Oh well. No harm was done. All was erased by the amazing food at Kous Kous!

As for Saturday… Well that was for packing and the Airport. Buh-bye!

You know what?

I already miss them. 

tagged: richard gay san diego blog shopping mom parents wine surprise dad

daniel · late afternoon · 1 comment · ping it

Okay. No it didn’t. Well it kinda did.

You see, our good friend Fred was going to skip pride and drive down to LA for an event. After much debate and confusion Richard and I ended up tagging along. The itinerary was this: Leave San Diego by noon, drive to LA, check into hotel, go eat, go back to hotel to get pretty, go to Outfest movie premier, and hit after party at a club. After that there was no set plan other than an eventual return to SD on Saturday no later than 5:00 PM.

Well kids, it was exactly as planned. The drive to LA is about 2.5 hours. Thankfully Richard and I had our iPhones. More thankfully than that, Fred’s car has multiple power outlets. Heh. So the drive up passed pretty quick. We checked into a surprisingly nicer than expected Days Inn. It wasn’t great, but not horrible either. It was right next to an In-N-Out Burger, which became the immediate solution to our second task upon getting to town. I refused. I was trying to be as flexible and non-bitchy as possible. I know I don’t travel well, so I tried to be nice about it. It was a fine choice for them, but I’d still need to eat soon too, and I won’t eat burger. Luckily, after I carefully got that out on the table, Fred’s innate Cruise Director Instincts took over. He suggested a trip to The Grove. Brilliant. Many food choices for everyone. We hit the road. Of course as soon as he pointed it out, we had decided on The Whisper Lounge. It is pure glamour. An open-air establishment with drapery and pretty people and.. I can’t describe it really. It’s just fabulous. So we went in and proceeded to order up snacks and cocktails. I don’t remember when he noticed, but Fred made us aware that Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott were behind us with their family (we assume). OMGOMGOMG!!! As soon as he said it I could HEAR HER. I mean, she has a distinctive voice. OMG. We tried not to make a scene. I *really* wanted to get a photo, or talk to her… Something. Fred wisely reminded me that I need to “act normal” and treat her like anyone else. “We don’t want to ruin her time, right?” He’s good like that since he knows people. I took his advice and refrained. Richard staged a bathroom trip so he could ogle them. I sat and listened in. We stayed a long time… Tori and crew had several bottles of champagne. Well, at least 2. LOL. Finally our time was up and we had to go get pretty. Richard insists that Tori smiled at him as we left… OMG!

So getting ready for the Premier was pretty stressful since I had forgotten a belt. My outfit NEEDED a belt. I tried to con my man out of his, but he was having none of it. So we went out on the town with me already feeling kinda insecure. I mean really. LA? Without a belt? As soon as we arrived at the Ford Amphitheater I forgot all about it. Not only is the venue gorgeous, but there were soooo many pretty people. Pretty boys… I mean it *was* Outfest, right? So anyway, the theater is backed up to a hill, and the natural landscape is the main feature of the place. It’s really awesome, actually. We headed up to the top, where they was a concession stand, as well as the entrance for the celebs… Red carpet people! Wich in this case was a red mat taped to the sidewalk with an “Outfest” logo’d backdrop. Hrm. Fanceh. But whatever. We hung out, sipping our drinks. Fred found a photographer friend of his that chatted with us a bit and snapped our picture. Woo!

So the movie was Mulligans. It was actually really good. I liked it, tho the story was painful. But a movie that makes you feel anything has done it’s job. Plus the actors were a pretty bunch. Heh.

After the movie we headed over to Eleven for the VIP after party. Fred was on The List. Richard and I hadn’t been to a nightclub like that in years. It was a big time. Especially the part were we got to go upstairs to the VIP area and hang out with the cast of the film. Again, Fred was on The List. It was awesome… I got to meet Reichen Lehmkuhl who was also at the after party. Let me just pause a moment to let that sink in…

OMG!OMG!OMG! REICHEN!!! OMG!OMG!OMG!

Okay. So after we got tired of the madness of the club we headed to some sidewalk bar/restaurant for a bit. That was a great time as we got to watch the crazies of WeHo pass by as we ate and enjoyed a few more cocktails. We made it back to the hotel by like 2:30ish. LOL

The next day (Saturday) we didn’t want to rush right out. Obviously a bit of sleeping in and hydrating were in order, plus the traffic going down to San Diego (Pride morning) could be icky… So we left the hotel at checkout time and had an amazing brunch-ish meal at Hugo’s followed by a trip to the old Xanadu site and another trip to The Grove, for shopping. A perfect morning. My friend Fred really is an excellent Cruise Director. Plus he knows his way around. AND he drove. Really, really awesome. As we cruised slowly to the freeway Fred spotted a familiar face. As he pointed out Ms. Doris Roberts, she bent over right on the side of the road to pick up… A COUPON! LOL! Classic! Once on the freeway, on the way home, we sang songs from the Xanadu soundtrack with the windows down in traffic. Just in case people weren’t already aware that the car was full of ‘mos. LOL

Fred pulled up to our house to drop us off at like 4:57 PM. Three minutes to spare. Talk about sticking to the itinerary! 

tagged: richard people shopping party omg photo house fabulous pretty boys

daniel · early evening · 2 comments · ping it

We were out shopping today, mainly because I saw this great little table at Crate & Barrel… We used to have a little glass table that butted up to the couch that we loved. It was space saving and convenient. We also don’t have traditional end tables, so it’ nice to have a place to set a beverage while you watch TV. Sadly the cats broke that table and we have been looking ever since for something similar. I thought that little table in brown would be perfect.

Well, once we got there we kinda loved the green. It’s just so different! But, to go with the green we obviously had to re-toss-pillow. Of course. So we did. They also had these great striped pillows with the brighter green as well as some of our other colors. The old pillows never matched anyways so I figured we should try them out. So here is the before picture (old camera, obviously):

UPDATE: The new pillows didn’t make the final cut. So sad…

And one more, closer…

Is it too bright? Too different?

I like it, I think. Richard is not totally sold on it. 

tagged: shopping green pillows crate & barrel table opinion

daniel · mid-afternoon · 8 comments · ping it

Where have I been? Well. Lemme see…

Friday I took the day off. Such a good idea! I started at the gym. I really haven’t been as regular about that as I should.. Then I went home and dressed in a new outfit. I’ll just admit it now. I wore manpris. Like capris, but for men? Yeah, those. In white. I looked really good tho. I promise. Anyway, once I was dressed I went to the mall for some shopping. I wasn’t looking for anything really. I just don’t like to sit out in the sun, so I get my outside time in the big outdoor mall. Heh. I did end up finding this really awesome portable bug zapper for the patio at the Restoration Hardware. Only 40 bucks! After shopping, I picked up Richard (who HAD been sitting in the sun all afternoon) and we headed up to The Prado for afternoon cocktails and appetizers. Then we met up with Sheila and proceeded to paint the town. Luckily we only got to part of the town as we had to rush off to meet someone. Someone that ended up not even being there… Anyhoo, it was a fun night regardless.

Saturday morning someone got spoiled rotten… Saturday afternoon we had decided to have a BBQ at our place and spent the morning getting the house and yard pretty for guests. Fred and Sheila came over and we enjoyed Fountain of Youth martinis while Richard manned the grill. Dinner was Bistro Style Turkey Burgers with an array of traditional BBQ sides (read baked beans, ect...) Fun night!

Which brings us to today. So far I have made coffee. Oh, and blogged! See? Still blogging. 

tagged: richard blogging gym shopping bbq night friday pretty today mall

daniel · mid-morning · 1 comment · ping it

Ow. My head…

One thing I have been doing to loose weight is avoid sugar. There is a lot of sugar in booze. So, I have been avoiding booze. Well last night I was in a celebratory mood (OMG iPhone!!) so I had Richard whomp me up some Appletinis. I had 4. Four doesn’t really sound like a lot. Well, it does… but I had 2 before dinner and feasted on tacos before I had the last 2. Apparently that was more than enough to render me useless this morning. I slept poorly. I am sure due to all the sugar my body isn’t used to. My head hurts. I am dehydrated. I probably smell.

Ew.

I am missing the big breakfast with ‘the group’. Luckily no one was really expecting me for that. Everyone knows I am NOT a morning person. So now I have an hour or 2 to rebuild myself and get cute. I AM expected for shopping.

Where’s mai Advil?

tagged: richard iphone shopping morning breakfast booze advil tacos head   Dannii Minogue - I Begin To Wonder    
  regretful

daniel · late morning · 6 comments · ping it

I was thinking about this. I have wanted Richard to post about the accident all day. The hard part is that there really wasn’t much of a ‘blow by blow’.

We had just finished our errands up with a celebratory lunch at the Corner Bakery. We always get lunch after a grueling day of household shopping. Target is soo exhausting… So since it was a bit early to be heading home, I suggested a leisurely drive to the beach and look at the ocean in the new car. We took the 8 west to Ocean Beach. That was apparently the big mistake. 2 blocks later we were cruising down Sea Cliffs Road (or blvd. or st.) it was fairly bumber to bumper traffic, but moving along. We both saw her coming towards us in the opposite direction. She appeared to be looking up at something, paying no attention to her surroundings, and was veering out of her lane into ours (direct quote “the fucking hoor"). Richard honked, but she kept coming. It was a two lane road and the curb was lined with parked cars. Richard had no way to avoid her. She hit us and dragged her car the full length of Richard’s car. The sound of it was unreal. The scraping and crunching of the metal. We weren’t jarred really, but the poor car. The bystanders were shocked. It was almost comical to see their faces of sympathy. All she could (and would) say was “I am sorry”. Info was exchanged. Calls were made. The drama. She was, of course, a tourist. El Cheapo Insurance is the company that holds her policy. Of course.

Two side panels and the entire door will need to be replaced. Not to mention the rear rim, which was scratched pretty bad. I know this because as soon as we were done ‘at the scene’ Richard drove directly to the VW dealer for a body estimate. Poor guy. He had had the car for exactly 2 days. Early this morning he had just switched over his insurance, thank gawd.

I feel so bad for my boo. 

tagged: richard shopping drama morning lunch traffic car hoor crash accident   Johnny Hazzard - Deeper Into You    
  shocked

daniel · evening · 7 comments · ping it

Hot for words, that is! I swear, Marina is the best thing since Webster. Since high school, even! Seriously. If you aren’t watching her, you need to. Get it going sister! You could will learn something! Plus even the gay folk like myself find her hawt. Sizzling hot.

But really, I had mentioned to my semi-local web guru that I needed a Marina button a few times, and I think Santa was the one that finally tied him down and forced his creative juices to flow. Wait. That wording sounds dirty. Reminds me of a naughty bit of holiday on the web I saw somewhere (don’t look, really. you’ll hate me.) ... Ew. Anywho. The brilliant Brian hooked us up with the one and only original Hot For Hot For Words button. It is not yet officially endorsed, but I am sure my Marina will love it.

I so want to take her shopping and carry everything she buys. Is that weird?

So, yeah. If you want a Hot For Words Button, swipe it and upload it yo. Give her the link love. Just don’t hot link. Cause dp.com frowns on that. And you will be cursed with like 18 years of bad juju. So there. Merry merry! 

tagged: gay holiday hawt shopping hot brian santa words hot for words marina

daniel · the wee hours · 2 comments · ping it

We had to run out to Ralph’s today for some necessary grocery items. The traffic on the Friars Road was gone. The news finally broadcasted that the Q was totally stocked with supplies and volunteers. I think that helped a lot. We got to the store in a normal amount of time.

Shopping was a different story. People are just buying in bulk right now. People with full carts were roaming the store grabbing anything they could think of. The produce section was emptying fast. The water aisle? Totally bare. It was kinda creepy. I hope they don’t run out of food. I have been off of the news broadcast lately. I was getting a headache from it. Are there freeways still closed? Last I looked there were two.. Hmm.

Anyway. I think I’ll install an update to my blog software. Nothing like breaking your blog for a while to distract the mind. 

tagged: san diego shopping firestorm 2007 fire ralphs

daniel · late afternoon · 3 comments · ping it

I actually bought new jeans. I hate shopping for jeans, but I stuck it out.

And, they’re Levi’s. I have never owned Levi’s. 

tagged: shopping success levi's levi's

daniel · early evening · 1 comment · ping it

My three day weekend has come to a close. Sigh. I am always so upset when my personal time is over… I think because it’ll be 2 weeks before I get two days off in a row again. Bah. Retail.

Anyhoo, what an action packed three days it was! First, on Saturday was our super glamorous BBQ. That was BLAST! I do however, have one lesson that was re-learned. Alcohol is a very dangerous drug. But I wasn’t driving anywhere, so yeah. The next day, after the big party was when we decided to go and price real patio furniture. We never do things in order around here! It was a fruitless journey. Patio furniture is damn expensive people! I did finally get to see the Westfield Shopping Mall at University Town Center. It’s nice enough. I mean, a mall is a mall and a Westfield Mall is a Westfield Mall. Right?

That brings us to today. It was all about getting into the gym and being active! I was up pretty early and actually saw the inside of my 24 Hour before noon. Everything was pretty much the same, I was just surprised to be there that early. Later I met up with my good friend Fred for some geocaching. I am still at that ‘tag-along’ stage. I need to get past that and get registered at Geocaching.com. At least then I’d get credit for all these caches I help find. I really want a GPS tho… Of my very own.. But not until after I get an iPhone. Heh.

OMG and I also drove by the Q and saw how packed the American Idol auditions were! I can’t even wait till the next season…

tagged: shopping party bbq weekend alcohol geocaching utc

daniel · early evening · 2 comments · ping it