Off for the Weekend

I am off to the Mt Shasta area for a weekend retreat. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cuidate.

Random Thoughts of the Week

I worked over the weekend, but nothing too major. Less is more in my line of work. One question. Since when did baseball bats become such a weapon of choice? And who knew people just had them lying around everywhere? I am astonished at the amount of calls I get every day with people stating, "Yeah, these three kids just ran by my house with bats in their hands." Huh? Being gay, I can assure you I do not have any bats lying around my apartment.

Marcel Marceau died over the weekend. As one gets older, it is sad to watch people pass on that you have vivid and important memories of. Anne Bancroft died in 2005 and I still have not quite accepted it. I was not an enormous Marcel Marceau fan, but NPR had a tribute page to him on their website. I was curious to hear Marceau's voice because I had not heard it before. I half expected his voice to be very high (almost like Mickey Mouse), but it was not. If any of you are curious, click on the link below and then click on the interview with Scott Simon from 2000.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14641781

Simon's interviews have a somewhat haunting quality to them anyway, but this one was truly remarkable. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. There is something to be said for listening to other people's experiences and the obstacles they overcome in their lives.

There is a part of me that feels so blessed to have led the life that I have up to this point. Just having your health, a wonderful family, supportive friends, and people who love you is so much more than most people have. Add to that a nice apartment, clean water, indoor plumbing, ample food, and a light workload relatively speaking. Working with the public to the extent that I do, you see and hear so many horror stories each and every day. It makes you take stock of your life and realize that you have it pretty darn good compared with other people. I have no idea what it must be like to live in a poor country in another part of the world where you live in a small dwelling with a lot of people and each day is a struggle just to survive. That type of existence is so far from my level of comprehension. When one see video footage or still photos of these countries in crisis, it truly is horrific.

I am taking Spanish as one of my online courses this semester. I have spoken Spanish for several years now, but never formally studied it. The course is something I likely should have done a long time ago. I am now able to (gasp) spell words and I am beginning to conjugate verbs properly. The best part of the course is it is filling in a lot of large gaps. I could always get my point across in conversation with people, but now I will be able to express myself with a much more complete vocabulary. ¡Que bueno!

Indian summer has arrived in San Francisco. The days are gorgeous, warm with blue skies and scattered clouds. The nights are getting chilly early this year, but that is fine with me. This is likely our most beautiful time of year and autumn has always been my favorite season.

The song Whine Up by Kat DeLuna featuring Elephant Man has been playing non-stop in the clubs and on the dance radio station around here. It is quite possibly the catchiest song this year. Not to take anything away from Umbrella, but we needed a new song. Summer is over peeps. It strikes me as funny, but the clubs and dance radio are also playing Britney Spears' new single. So much for her career being dead! The homos always need someone to makeover, it appears they have their latest candidate.

I am tired and babbling. Cuidate.

Haunted by Diego

My favorite artwork is the world has to be the body of work created by both Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Lately, the images of Diego have been burned into my skull. When I close my eyes, they appear. Diego was a Communist, famous for creating images of common Mexican people in their daily lives. He is also likely the most famous Mexican artist of our time. In addition to his portraits, his murals are famous the world over. Luckily, Diego liked the "gringitos" to the north and painted several murals here in the Bay Area. The most famous and elaborate is located at City College and is known as Pan American Unity. Admission is free and it is one of my favorite spots in the city. One can sit and stare at the mural for half an hour, an hour, or longer and just take it in. The creativity and vibrance of his work has no equal. His wife Frida Kahlo is likely the most famous contemporary female painter of our time. Here are just a few of the paintings of Diego.






Have a great weekend all. Cuidate.

More Random Questions

I like doing these. They make me think.

1. If you could be a character in any novel, who would you be?

I would be Mark from Rent. (It won the Pulitzer for best book!)

2. What outdoor activity do you consider the most dangerous?

Hunting...or maybe archery? Both of these involve "accidental" death more than one would like.

3. What is your favorite genre of movies?

Documentaries.

4. How good is your long-term memory, on a scale of one to ten?

I would say an 8.

5. If you became president of the United States, what is the first measure you would enact while in office?

I would close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp.

6. Who should be this year's person of the year?

This one is really hard! Al Gore.

7. What are your two favorite sports teams?

Come on. Like I watch sports.

8. What part of the world do you yearn to travel to?

I have always wanted to travel to New Zealand, but I have this sinking feeling that when I get there it is going to be Canada with less to do and bad food.

9. If you have been in the hot sun for twelve hours, what would quench your thirst most?

A Jamba Juice Strawberry Surfrider.

10. Fill in the blank. "Sure I'd like to join you, but I really need to _____.

"grab some cash." I never carry more than forty bucks on me.

11. What is your favorite board game?

Hmm... Scattergories, Clue, Trivial Pursuit. It is hard to choose just one.

12. Whose mind, besides your own, would you like to control?

The idea of controlling someone else's mind does not appeal to me. I would like to talk some sense into GW, but somehow I fear there would not be much to work with upstairs.

13. If you were to add one room to your house, what would it be?

I would add a koi pond. Not really a room, but I am not one for huge homes anyway.

14. What issue are you sick of hearing about?

Illegal drugs. Americans are way too uptight about stuff. Just legalize it already and be done.

15. How many times a week do you read your horoscope?

Just depends. I would say once or twice a month at most, I do not see it often in the things that I read.

16. On a scale of one to ten, how adventurous are you?

Seven.

17. If you were to name the home you are currently living in, what would you name it?

Urban Loft in Tragic Surroundings.

18. What single group of people do you feel the most compassion for?

Child sex slaves.

19. What is the most exotic food you have ever eaten?

Probably chicken's feet.

20. On a scale of one to ten, how funny are you?

I'm a nine. On a good day and with the right crowd, I am a ten.

Have a great weekend all. Cuidate.

September 11th

No matter what one does to try and forget the horrible day of September 11th, 2001, it does not work. I sincerely hope that I will not see another day like that in my lifetime. Whenever footage from that day appears on television, I either change the channel or leave.

It is hard to believe that it has been six years since we all woke up in disbelief to what was happening. Living in San Francisco, my phone started ringing with concerned friends and relatives calling around 6 AM. I was a flight attendant for United Airlines; so many people were justifiably worried. I was actually supposed to fly that morning out of Oakland, but I had traded my trip to attend some kind of training with the company the next day. When the video footage of a United Boeing 767 flying into the South Tower began to be played again and again and AGAIN, it was clear that we had lost colleagues and friends. I went over to my friend Brian's house and we sat watching the television dumbstruck. Everyone with any inside company information began spreading rumors of which employees were on which flights. (In cases of major accidents or crashes, the company immediately blacks out employee access to the crew and passenger manifests. So unless you knew exactly what flight someone was on that morning, there was a lot of anxious waiting and a lack of information until the next day when names were released.) Looking back, did we really need to replay the same footage over and over and over again? I think we got it when the towers had collapsed by the second run through.

The emotions of that day still sit so raw with me. As time passes, it gets harder rather than easier to speak about them and ponder them. My entire life and the course of the lives of most of my friends and colleagues at that time changed in an instant. Our training for any type of event like this was nonexistent. While we were trained in hijacking scenarios in our initial training, it had been so many years since anyone had attempted to hijack a U.S. aircraft. The idea of it happening to me was not even a realistic possibility in my mind. A good number of my colleagues were trapped all over the country in remote locations or overseas for up to a week. I thank the Lord that I was fortunate enough to be home when the September 11th attacks occurred. At least I had access to my friends, my cell phone, my car, and my bed. These things kept me sane.

It is hard to remember what life was like before. No TSA, no taking your shoes off before going through security, being able to carry a Coke in your bag, and the worst thing possible happening was an obnoxious drunk passenger on one of your flights. The airlines declared bankruptcy shortly after the attacks and our entire lives as airline employees continued to change traumatically. Pay cuts of 30 percent or more, our pension plan collapsing, half of the airline workforce seeking anti-depressants, therapy, and more. I was a good flight attendant. Check that, I was a great flight attendant. I enjoyed what I was doing and my co-workers and I were looking forward to gaining seniority, making more money, and being able to fly more international. I do not know if I would have been a flight attendant forever, but I truly loved my life pre-9/11. I have friends who have stuck it out with United and many (like myself) who chose to move on. For those that continue to fly, it is a struggle. They fly more hours, make less money, and have little to offer passengers in the way of in-flight service. The company has and continues to treat its employees like garbage. In my case, I felt like a battered spouse when I left. I had reached my limit and I refused to take being treated inhumanely anymore.

People from the airline biz who I run into now always ask me, "Don't you miss it?" The answer is yes. But I do not miss the job that they do today. I miss the job that I was hired to do and the job that I was a success at. I miss my old hangouts (Okonomiyaki in Osaka, the Star Ferry in Hong Kong, the Flower Market in Amsterdam, The Telephone in Bangkok, The Marais in Paris) and habits (red beans and rice in New Orleans, fish tacos in San Diego, clam chowder in Boston, and shopping in Toronto). I miss the companionship and the wacky personalities of people from all walks of life that I came to love, admire, respect, and hate (Dee Dee Vecherelli, I know you are out there somewhere). I miss being a part of a workforce of people that were so diverse. Everyone is a flight attendant for different reasons. Some people love the travel benefits, some people do it for more time off, mothers like being able to tweak their schedules and others do it for the benefits (or lack thereof these days!). I became a flight attendant because I loved airplanes and working at the airport ticket counter paid very little. I have always been fascinated with aircraft and that continues to be true. Whenever I board an aircraft these days, the smell of the airplane hits me and the memories come flooding back. Jet fuel fumes in the morning, chopping ice, passing out pretzels, working business class galley on the 777, spilling coffee on an ANGRY coach passenger, Isaac Mizrahi telling me the glitter on my face was fabulous, and being purser of a 747-400 heading halfway across the globe. These (and many, many more) are memories that I will have for the rest of my life and that I treasure. I also met most of my closest and dearest friends through the airlines. All in all, I guess it was worth it.

September 11th is and quite possibly could be the most traumatic day of my life. It drastically altered the course of our nation and it personally affected my life in a profound way. My prayers and fervent wishes for peace go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones six years ago. We will never forget those who died on that day.

Cuidate.

If Larry Craig were Gay

Having recently seen Avenue Q for the first time, this made me laugh even more than usual.

A Fun Night Out

I played hooky from work Thursday night and caught Avenue Q with my girlfriend Kellie. The touring company is finishing its run here and moving on. I had tried to see the show in New York a couple of times, but never been able to get tickets.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable show. It was definitely written by and for Gen X and younger. If there is one quality that Gen X will leave the world with, it will be in your face, not for the faint of heart humor. Previous generations of humor danced around making people feel uncomfortable or taking on topics such as sex, homosexuality, or racism. Avenue Q addresses all of them head on. The song titles alone are enough to make you laugh. Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, What Do You Do With a B.A. In English?, Schadenfreude, If You Were Gay, and There Is Life Outside Your Apartment are just a sampling. The show stars both humans and puppets. One of the coolest things about the show is the puppeteers who are visible with their puppets. As a first timer at the beginning of the show, your eyes are drawn to the performer singing. As you continue to view the play, you almost lose the sense of the performer and begin to believe that the puppets are characters themselves. The performers in this show have an enormous amount of skill and talent. Several of them operate some of the larger puppets together during the show and I cannot imagine how many hours it takes to perfect and synchronize their movements.

Avenue Q took home the Tony for Best Musical several years ago. Considering how modern and edgy some of the material is, I would not have thought it would be appealing to the older Tony voting crowd. Throw in puppets having sex and you now have something on a completely different level than Phantom of the Opera. Kudos to them for not being afraid to step out of the box.

Yesterday also marked my dear friend Eliot's birthday. As the days, months, and years pass by in a blur, Eliot is one of those constants in my life that I appreciate, admire, and hold dear. I wish he lived closer, but we are fortunate to see each other often and he is never more than a phone call away. As the saying goes, a best friend is somebody who knows every last thing about you, yet still manages to like you anyway. Glitter and all, my boy Eliot still puts up with me. I could not ask for a better friend. Happy Birthday Mr. Bacolii. What are you? You are fabulous, ba ha ha.



Have a great Labor Day weekend all. Cuidate.