Finally...

I know I promised photos a while ago, but it took me a little while. Dun Da Da! (Please disregard the big stomach. I'm working on it . Swear, especially after seeing these photos.)

(You can see them in a larger size if you click on them.) It came out pretty well if I do say so myself. It took about 12 hours to get it done and it was not pain-free. (Near the end, I thought the artist was going to puncture a lung or something.) I am very happy with it and everything came out great, from the Japanese waves to the water lilies to the koi itself. I realize that koi have become something of a common tattoo, but they are intricate and easy to mess up. I took a while to find the guy I wanted to do it and then saved up to get it done. (He wasn't cheap!) Thanks Jeremy.

This being Pride Week, I finally have some days off. I have been enjoying the film festival and just having some time to get errands done. Pink Saturday is fast approaching and then the parade and main stage are on Sunday. I am, in writing, committing to a much less intoxicated year than 2009. Everyone got really sloppy last year and I am not quite sure how I made it home safely. I awoke close to midnight to a splitting headache, a dry mouth that tasted of midori margarita, and a forceful argument for survival between my head which did not want me to move an inch and my survival mechanisms that knew without two liters of water immediately, I might not regain consciousness again. Thankfully, I managed to claw my way to the bathroom where I consumed water and enjoyed my soothing cool concrete floor for the next hour before having the strength to find six ibuprofen and swallow them. Like I said, this year will be better. Food is a good thing to add to the consumption of a liter or two of margaritas. (On a side note, I think we cost some poor guy his job at CPK that night. Sorry whoever you were. Hope you enjoyed the cosmos at least! We lost track of you near the bathrooms and hope the manager was in a forgiving mood when you no-show'd your shift that night.)

School finished up and I scored 2 A's in my Oceanography and History classes. How sweet is that? I sent in my check to Cal State East Bay last week confirming my place as a part-time transfer student starting in the fall; pretty snazzy if I do say so myself. I decided to take the summer off from classes as I was super burnt out after the last few months of burning the candle at all ends. I have been taking some informal Spanish conversation classes a couple of days a week in the city and it has been helping me get reacquainted with Spanish which was much overdue. (How many perfective tenses can a language have? Oy vey.) I've never really studied grammar in Spanish, so it is cool to go over it and be forced to use it in exercises. Usually I just babble along with the root of the verb and then look questioningly at the person I'm talking to. They then will nod saying they understand what I'm trying to say and I skip ahead without properly conjugating the verb. No more free passes... I have to buckle down and learn this stuff properly.

Also, I have some exciting news to report on the work front. I was offered a supervisory position within the department. I still have not quite come to grips with the whole concept of me being in charge of anyone, but I suppose that will come with time. Mentally, I feel like I am still the 22 year old kid who was late to work everyday for YEARS. lol. But I am not anymore. (Try fifteen years and twenty extra pounds later.) I realize that this new role is going to be a challenge for me, but it also is going to be a great learning experience and an opportunity for me to have a greater say in the direction of our department within the organization. So it's good news, not to mention a small bump in the paycheck. Wish me luck!

Well, that's about it from me for now. Hope you are all having a terrific summer so far. Happy Pride week to all of my fellow gays. As one person eloquently stated this year, Pride is important because it is about us, as a queer community, celebrating for those who cannot; those who cannot come out and who live in a constant state of fear or shame. We hold all of you up and look forward to the day when you will be able to join us.

Cuidate.