Busy Week with a Full House

So my parents arrived on Tuesday. I do not know why, but before I meet my parents these days I always seem to develop a bad headache. It must be the Catholic guilt or need to prove that I am good enough or successful enough in their eyes. My other big issue is that we are so diametrically opposed to each other on political and social issues. Maybe I was a product of the milk man visiting a little too much while my dad was on deployment.

Early Tuesday morning, the house cleaners I hired arrived and went to town cleaning my apartment. They finished up and I grabbed a cab to the airport where I picked up a rental car and then headed over to the terminal to claim my parents. Each time I see my parents, they seem to age a bit more. Granted I only see them once or twice a year, so duh. My mom is 67 this year and my dad is 72. Since I drive a Mini Cooper, I thought I would give my parents a break on climbing in and out of Hector and I rented a bigger car which turned out to be a Toyota Highlander. (I like renting from National Rent A Car because you get to choose what kind of car you drive. They have a line of cars ready to go and you just pick what you want.) I was really excited to drive one because I have been eyeing a bigger car for my next purchase a couple of years down the road. I am leaning towards something more environmentally friendly, either a Highlander Hybrid or one of the Mercedes or BMW diesel mid size SUVs that will be imported in the next couple of years to California. Hybrids do better with local driving, but I do a good bit of freeway driving and that is where diesels excel. The Highlander is a lot cheaper though, around $33-35,000. The German diesels are about $45-50,000 and that is a nice chunk of change. I am years away from this decision, but I was mighty impressed with the Highlander. Comfortable, roomy, and one can never go wrong with a Toyota.

So my folks and I headed back to my apartment. They really liked it and we chilled for a bit, chatted, caught up on the latest goings on. We headed into San Francisco and had dinner in North Beach. Michelangelo's has always been a favorite, but they changed their menu! It is pared down, but still good. I am thinking they might be having some budget issues. The bowls of gummy bears have been replaced by side plates of them, still fine, but not nearly as festive. After dinner, we headed over to Cafe Greco for a cappuccino. Good stuff. We headed back to my place for an early night as my parents had been up traveling most of the day.

The next morning, my parents were up at the crack of dawn. Granted, their biological clocks were set to east coast time, but still...yuck. I had not thought to put my earplugs in, so here I was awake at 7:46 AM. I was horrified and nauseous. I do not see my parents often and I can take one for the team with the best of them, I suppose. My dad managed to get hold of my satellite tv remote and found Fox News. Ok, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. We needed to get out of the house quickly. I decided to head over to Marin and give Muir Woods a shot. I have taken my Dad to Napa before and my mom is not a big drinker, so I did not think she would be a big fan. They have also been to San Francisco several times, so scratch the cable car and Alcatraz stops on the tour. Muir Woods turned out to be a nice day trip. It is one of the last intact sections of redwood forest in northern California. We walked amongst giant redwood and sequoia trees that are close to 1000 years old and as high as 260 feet in the air. It is very quiet and peaceful and we had beautiful weather. After this, we drove over to Stinson Beach and then back towards San Francisco. We headed over to Fifth and Mission and had dinner at the not very swanky Bloomingdale's Food Court. I like eating there, you can find anything you want and it is good for people watching. Parking at Fifth and Mission has gotten expensive though. Are they trying to discourage traffic into the city these days? $6 for two hours? Come on!

On the way home, I dragged my parents to the Diego Rivera mural at City College for a quick visit. Usually, the theatre is quiet with not much activity going on. Today, however it was Ghetto High School graduation day. I am thinking it might have been some kind of GED program because the students seemed be from a broad group of ages and backgrounds. Anyhow it was not quite the best (read quiet and reflective) environment to view the mural, but it is an incredible sight no matter what.

Thursday morning, I brought the folks to the airport and got them checked in to standby for flights to Tokyo. Ah the smell of SFO in the morning. It is kinda creepy to be back at the airport after being away for so long. There is a small part of me that misses the action, but I do not miss everything that goes along with it. Hostile work environment, miserable employees and passengers, no service, no salary, pathetic benefits, and on and on. I dropped off my folks and headed into the city. I rendezvoused with my friend Kellie and I set up the computer at her boyfriend's house so she could do some work stuff. We grabbed some greasy pizza in North Beach and then my parents called to let me know they did not get on either flight to Tokyo. I headed back to the airport, grabbed them, and headed back to the East Bay. After a quick lunch, we headed home and they both passed out. I had to work at midnight, so I headed out and worked a few hours of OT. Got home this morning, picked them up, and dropped them off at SFO. I headed home and dropped off the rental car in Oakland. I get home and there's a message on my machine that my cell phone was found in the rental car. It must have slipped out of my pocket when I was checking the car to make sure I did not leave anything behind. How ironic. So I go back to Oakland Airport to claim my phone and then return home to crash out for a few hours. I wake to find my cell phone filled with messages. My parents have not made it on yet again. I was surprised because the loads looked good today, but apparently there was a diverted flight from Chicago to Tokyo and some other stuff going on. We have now reached a quandary because the loads for the next few days do not look good. It must be the time of year with students heading back to Japan or something. The loads are pretty darn full. I picked them up at BART and carted them back to my apartment before heading to work tonight.

It looks like I am going to be driving my parents to Travis Air Force Base early tomorrow morning to try and get on some military flights to either Japan or Hawaii and hopefully get them headed in the right direction. My parents are both Aquarians and no matter what I do, I always get roped into some scheme driving them here or there. (Aquarians are dreamers, they always want to see what is beyond the horizon. With my parents both being Aquarians, we moved multiple times when I was a kid. My older brother and sister attended over ten schools growing up!) I remember when I was living in Memphis, I drove them to Wichita, Kansas somehow. Granted I worked for an airline and they could fly for free. My dad still convinced me to drive him ten hours somewhere. My dad has his own way of thinking and always has some kind of a scheme on the brain. Usually it involves getting up at 2 AM to start driving somewhere. "We'll avoid all of the traffic!" he'll state with enthusiasm and glee. Not that I am opposed to staying up late, but my father takes it to another level somehow. He also loves counting every last penny when it comes to purchasing gas. He will drive ten or twenty miles out of his way to find the cheapest station in the area (in most cases using up a gallon of gas to find the station).

I love my parents dearly, but I am afraid I am not used to having to deal with stuff interfering with my work day. I get home at 7 AM, turn off my cell phone, and sleep most of the day. If I am on work days, I do very little beyond work and save the going out and doing errands for days off. Bless their hearts, I am hopeful they will get out on a flight soon so I can get a decent day's sleep.

**Continued a day later... Thankfully, my parents made it to Honolulu yesterday on an Air Force flight. They continued on to Japan today and should be there now.

My recovery following LASIK is doing well. I can see 20/20 if not a little better and the halos are still there at night, but they are becoming less and less as the days pass. I can still see 20/20 at night, it's just a bit different when I'm sitting in traffic. The funny thing is during the past week or so, I have started to reach for my glasses to take them off. I did not do this the first week at all, it is funny that I have started to do it now. I would recommend the procedure to anyone considering it. Don't go cheap on choosing a surgeon, make sure you have a qualified doctor who has a good number of procedures under his or her belt. Still, it has been very rewarding for me.

The tattoo is healed up nicely too, still peeling a bit. I am really enjoying having it and I feel that it has helped me to get a fresh start and outlook on things.

Cuidate.

I Can See Clearly Now...

Yesterday was a very cool day. My friends Eliot and Kellie and I all had a lovely dim sum lunch downtown. Lately, it seems like all I crave is ethnic food. Dim Sum, Thai, Chinese, taqueria... The difference between Kellie and I is she is more Yank Sing whereas I am more Good Luck. The less English spoken and the cheaper and ruder the service, the better I like it. Kellie is more about the presentation and the cleanliness. Probably because I worked in restaurants for so many years, I realize that nothing is ever really clean. (I am so bitter and jaded at times.) Eliot gamely tagged along as he always does. He is allergic to shrimp and it is nearly impossible to find any dishes on the dim sum carts that do not contain shrimp. We made a valiant effort, but some mini ones made their way into one of his dumplings anyway. Good thing he is a good sport. Still, the place we ate was decent and the company even better. Good times, good times.

After lunch, I dropped Eliot back off at the hotel and headed east across the Bay Bridge to my casa along with Kellie. I dropped off my car and we headed to San Ramon for my LASIK procedure with Dr Scott Hyver. (Another shameless plug, but he does great work and is a really cute guy to boot.) We arrived promptly at 4 PM. The office staff verify your prescription once more and perform a series of tests. They then bring you into a room with a large machine. You lay down on a bed, they cover one eye and tape the other open. They numb your eye and then hold it open with a metal clip. Then the doctor makes the incision with a laser and goes to work. Total time for each eye is likely less than five minutes including prep time. The doctor and his staff was extremely professional and explained exactly what they were doing throughout the whole procedure. Modern medicine is truly amazing. After the procedure, they put a pair of Yoko Ono shades on me and I walked out. My vision was corrected almost immediately. It was blurry in spots, but much better than I expected. From several of my friends, I had heard stories of bad irritation and burning sensations, feelings of sand or other types of particles in your eye, and more. I am pleased to report that I did not experience any of these things. I got home around 6 PM, Kellie left around 7 PM, I called a few friends, listened to the radio, and then crashed around 9 PM. (You have to wear goggles while you sleep for the first couple of weeks.) I woke up at 2 AM, administered some drops and crashed back out. I woke up around 7 AM and my vision was nearly perfect. My eyes feel slightly tired, but nothing unbearable at all. I have been administering drops per the doctors instructions and went in for my follow up visit this afternoon. Everything looks good and I am seeing better than 20/20! Impressive stuff. They say your vision improves gradually over your first month, but I have no complaints. Everything is crystal clear now, so I cannot ask for more than that.

I had given thought to LASIK for several years, but I did not find wearing glasses to be a big overwhelming burden and I was waiting to make sure people would not be going blind years down the road. I am very pleased with the results thus far and I will test my night vision tonight as I drive to work for some late night overtime.

Hope you are all doing well. Cuidate.

Number 14

Just got word from Japan that my niece arrived early on May 14th with little fanfare. Another Taurus, just what the world needs. (Love you Mike!)

Here are the first photos of Sayuri from the lovely piece of American real estate known as Yokota Air Force Base.




All are reported to be faring well and my mom and dad will be paying a visit in the next couple of weeks to see their 14th grandchild. I think she looks like her mom. Good show all around.

Congrats to the Japan gang!

Cuidate.

And then there was Mary...

So I took the plunge today.

I have to plug the shop because they did an amazing job with my tattoo. Homeward Bound Tattoo on the El Camino Real in Redwood City. The owner of the shop, Reverend Todd, prepped my arm just before 1 PM and went to town. His speciality is religious art and I wanted an Our Lady of Guadalupe Tattoo. When he showed me what he had sketched today, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant. Initially, I was looking for more of a literal interpretation of the famous work and his sketch was not quite what I had in mind. Still, I had been asking my spirit guide to watch over me and make sure everything turned out ok. I also brought my favorite rosary from Italy with me in case the situation required help above and beyond what my guide could do. The other thing was, the sketch was in black and white and I see now that the color and shading is key. Once he started to add the blue to her coat, I relaxed and began to enjoy the process more.

Every one's big question...did it hurt? The arm is one of the least sensitive spots to get a tattoo, so it was not bad at all. As he started the outline, I would compare the sensation to someone drawing on your skin with a ballpoint pen. Really nothing too big. Near the end of the tattoo as he was completing the shading, my skin got a bit more sensitive and it did hurt a bit. Overall though, I would say the pain never more than a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1-10.

After getting such a cool tattoo, it really does open the floodgates. At the end of the the session, I was already thinking, "What else could I get?" Never fear to the more conservative (and concerned) family and friends, I am not planning another trip to the parlor anytime soon. Still, this piece of artwork will be on my body for the rest of my time on Earth. There is definitely a nostalgic and special feeling to getting a tattoo. You give a lot of thought to what brought you to this point and where you will go in the future.

I know some of you may be saying, "Uh...Mark. Any reason you chose to get the Virgin of Guadalupe?" I have several reasons for getting a tattoo of the Virgin Mary. First, I have deep respect and admiration for the people of Mexico. The Virgin appeared to Juan Diego centuries ago as the Spanish were arriving in the New World and it is believed to be the first appearance of her in this hemisphere. Culturally, I feel very close to Mexicans. I love speaking Spanish and I find such a warmth and vibrance from Latin people in general that I have not found in my own culture. As far as my preference in men goes, yeah that tends strongly skewed in favor of Latinos. Quien savais? Secondly even though I may not practice Catholicism, I do have a strong spiritual connection to everything around me and I know that Mary has been a strong presence in my life from a young age. By having her image on my body, I feel that I pay tribute to her and in return, she is a part of me and provides me protection from harm. Lastly, my mother is going to FLIP when she finds out I have a tattoo. This will likely be up there with me coming out. I figured getting a tattoo of Mary might be a way to soften the blow for my devoutly Catholic mother. Love you Mom.

Well, that is all I have. LASIK surgery tomorrow. The drama continues.

Cuidate.

My So Called Mid-Life Crisis

For various reasons (some explainable and some unexplainable), I am in the midst of a serious makeover. I feel like I am a contestant on The Swan. Some things I have been planning for quite some time, other things have come up more recently. I have been speaking with friends recently and each one commented that I was holding out information from him or her. Well no more secrets people, this is my disclosure e-mail.

I have been wearing my Invisalign braces for a little over a month now. After a few days, you do not even realize they are there and I am really excited to get my teeth all straightened. I am on my third set of retainers and even in this short amount of time, I can see where my teeth have shifted in certain spots. I have a fantastic dentist (not to mention cute and fun) and I could not ask for better care.

Next Tuesday, I have an appointment for LASIK surgery. I have considered LASIK for many years, but my prescription is not severe and it was one of those things I swore I would get to one day. A couple of my friends have both had excellent procedures from a well known San Francisco eye surgeon and said surgeon is offering a 24 month interest free payment plan until the end of May. The stars seem to be aligned right now and I am very excited about living glasses free for the first time in ten years. One less thing to have to worry about.

Lastly, I will be getting a tattoo on Monday. I must admit, this is the thing that scares me the most. I will post some photos when I get it done. The idea for this particular tattoo came from an episode of Miami Ink on TLC. My life has changed so drastically in the past few years and I am looking at this as a celebration of my good fortune and a tribute to the spirits that watch over and protect me. The artist has worked on my friend Daniela and she gives him rave reviews. He also specializes in the type of tattoo that I want. Getting tattooed and pierced can seem a bit extreme to people who know me. I guess I have never seemed the type to want to do something like that. I have been craving a tongue ring for years.

My friend Christi and I were speaking about this the other day. I am not sure if it is the Catholic guilt or growing up in a military family or just parental pressure in general. Even though I am thirty three years old, I still have this sense that I should not disappoint my parents. Considering that I did not get a degree or go down the straight and narrow (pun intended) and produce grandchildren, I definitely have the sense (rightly or wrongly) that I have failed my parent's expectations in some sense. Granted life is a crap shoot and very little ever turns out the way we planned it to. Christi commiserated with me about the guilt factor. As I think back on it now though, after my maternal grandmother died, my mother had a big conversation with me about the guilt she had felt from her parents. Hmm... Guilt, the gift that keeps on giving! I am sure that my new tattoo will add a few more gray hairs to her head.

I have just made a conscious decision that I am going to take the Edith Piaf approach to this whole thing. Non, je ne regrette rien! That is the skinny on me and what is coming up in the next couple of weeks. It has been warm this week in the Bay Area, getting up to the low 80s where I live. May and September are our two hot months, so I am looking forward to cooler June. Gorgeous summer nights with the fog rolling in over the hills thick as pea soup.

Cuidate.

Cloudy Friday

So I drove home in the rain this morning. There is something about the rain that I adore. I am not quite sure what it is. I know some people cannot stand it when it is not sunny, but for me I feel like it brings some balance to the bright sun which my ancestors apparently never saw. My skin is pretty fucking white, pardon my French.

So I had lunch with my cousin on Sunday in Honolulu, then rented a car and explored the island a bit. I headed over the North Shore and explored Kailua and Kaneohe. In a few years, I will likely try to get some property on Oahu and I would like to start getting some ideas.

On Monday, I drove to the airport and headed for the terminal. Unbeknown to me, the Atlantis Gay Cruise passengers had disembarked in Honolulu that day and were all flying home. The airport was filled with tanned homosexuals carrying pineapples and leis home to the mainland. Pretty funny coincidence. I flew home on ATA and was pleasantly surprised. The aircraft (a 737 NG) and the seats were very comfortable. There was no service to speak of, but they showed Casino Royale which was surprisingly good and flying into Oakland versus San Francisco is always a nice option as I live about ten minutes from the airport. The other issue was the traffic tie ups due to the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge in Emeryville. Flying into Oakland helped me to avoid that mess entirely.

I returned to work on Tuesday and have settled back into the routine nicely. This week has passed quickly and tonight is my last night on for a few days.

I have been wearing my Invisalign braces for about a month now. I must say, they are proving to be quite remarkable. Your dentist cements small brackets to your teeth and then the plastic trays snap in against your teeth. The first couple of days, you definitely feel like there is a large foreign object in your mouth. As you get used to them though, you almost forget they are there. You put in a new set of trays every two weeks. As the two week period reaches its end, your retainers pop in and out quite easily because your teeth have shifted into alignment with the retainer. When you place the next set in, the retainers are very tight and you start the process over again. Within a couple of days, the retainers start to fit easier and you go back to forgetting they are in your mouth. The good thing about the retainers is that you cannot eat or drink anything besides water with them in. So they force you to eliminate a lot of the random snacking that one might do throughout the day or evening.

I made it onto The Fernando and Greg Show Wednesday morning on 92.7 with my stellar knowledge of Steel Magnolias. (I was never a huge fan of the film, but living in Memphis for two years certainly gave me an education. Gays on the Coasts watch Madonna Truth or Dare. Gays in the south watch Steel Magnolias.) I correctly identified Darryl Hannah's character as Anelle and shared some favorite phrases from the film. It was fun.

My parents are coming to visit in a couple of weeks on their way to visit my brother in Japan. It will be fun to have them here in the Bay Area and they always seem to have a good time here.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Cuidate.