I was approached by a drunk hooker

I was just approached by a drunk, blond hooker in her 40s.

I just left my friend's house, and I was walking up the street to catch my bus. I was listening to Bob Dylan on my MP3 player. All of a sudden, this hideous, skanky looking woman appears out of the shadows and walks up to me. She had straggly blond hair, thick, black eye liner, and tight pants. I pause my music and take out my earbud so I can hear her. She said to me, "Why the fuck are all these stores closed? I want a beer!" I commented that the store directly across the street from us was also closed. She said, "Well, they need to open the fuck back up because I want a beer!" As I slowly back away and attempt to escape, I said that one of the stores around here must be open. She muttered something about the store up the street, but I really didn't care. She asked me if I had a cigarette, and I told her I don't smoke. Then she asks me, "Well, do you have $1.50?" I told her that I just had what I had. And she turned and looked at me and said, "And what's that?" I said, "Enough to get home."

She continued to mutter something, and then proceeded to walk up the street in the same direction I was going. I walked behind her, far enough so I didn't have to associate with her. I put on my music again and continued to watch this strange woman in front of me, and Dylan's words were right on cue, almost as if this were a scene of a movie and his words were the soundtrack:

"And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?"

As she was walking up the street, a blue car stopped and she ran up and got in the vehicle. The car drove for about 15 seconds, and then pulled up to the corner. The woman got out of the car and continued to walk up the street. As the driver took off he shouted, "GET OFF THE FUCKING STREET!"

I was already at the bus stop watching all this happen, and thank goodness she continued going in the other direction instead of turning and going my way. Two minutes later, the bus arrived, and I was relieved to be off the street. As soon as I got home, I called my friend immediately and told him what happened. He laughed and said, "You sure know how to attract them! People tell me these things that happen to them all the time. Nothing like that ever happens to me."

Great. Why do I have to attract all the freaks?

Taking a tumble

You often hear stories about people slipping and falling in the shower. As far as I know, it's never happened to anyone I know, and I never thought it would happen to me. Needless to say, I was surprised when I went face first this morning.

I had just finished my shower, and I was holding onto the curtain rod for no more than a few seconds when the whole thing just collapsed and fell off the wall, and down I went, to the floor with a crash. I'm glad I just relaxed my body and just let myself fall instead of resisting, because if I resisted the fall I would have hurt myself even more. As I got up, I dried myself off and checked for injuries. I felt a few bruises, but nothing major. When I looked down at my knee, I saw a nice bloody gash. It didn't hurt or anything, although now that I'm cleaning it off it does sting a little. I began to laugh because of the ridiculousness of the situation (the curtain rod coming off the wall) and the fact that it took me by surprise. I thought it was such a strange incident that I decided to mark the occasion by taking pictures of my bloody knee (I know, I'm strange).

Now I have a nice little gash on my left knee and a bathtub without a shower curtain. Now I'll have to take baths instead of showers.

Moral of story: Never hold onto the shower curtain rod, especially if you're uncertain how stable it is.

Winter in Syracuse

My last blog entry was six months ago, in the summer. It is now the middle of December and Christmas is right around the corner. Winter has arrived in Syracuse. This city is know for it's cold, brutal winters. The weather here sucks. Fortunately, it is still early in the season and things aren't that bad yet. The worst is yet to come. Syracuse only has two seasons: Winter and road construction.

Right now it is clearly winter. Here's what it looks like out on my street at 12:50 AM:

Pride '08 under the blaring sun

I meant to write this blog sooner, things have just been so busy around here. There have been a lot of people coming and going. Now that the bodies have finally filtered out, I actually have a chance to sit down and write.

Central New York GLBT Pride was on Saturday, June 7. This is my tenth year going to the Pride event. Donny went with me for the first time. Some of his teachers and fellow students went, as well, and he got to see them there. He knew more people there than I did! He marched in the parade with me and Jonathan, and he had a blast all day. I took lots of pictures.

The only problem was that it was so hot. Walking around in 90 degree weather all day can be tiring. We did a lot of walking, because after wandering around the Pride event for a few hours, we also went to the Youth Pride event at the Q Center. I've never seen Donny have so much fun! I'm glad he came along. Later, Jonathan and I came back to the festival to watch Sister Funk perform the last few songs of their set. Most people had gone home by then. So we went home to relax in the air conditioning. It was a fun weekend.

The beginning of this week was a scorcher. It was so damn hot. And then the storm hit us suddenly, and left just as quickly as it came. The downtown farmer's market started Tuesday, and I'm glad I went through there when I did, because if I had stayed there another 15 minutes, I would have been blown away. When I went into work, I was up on the 10th floor and there were plastic bags and things flying around. Potted plants were tossed about. People raced to save their fruits and vegetables. I feel bad for them. I hope they didn't lose too much money. What a bad way to start the farmer's market season. I hope next week is better for them.

Now the weather is nice. The sky is bright, blue, and clear, and the temperature has cooled off significantly. I guess we needed that storm to break the heat. Now all is back to normal. Not only has the weather quieted down, my apartment has quieted down, as well. I've had a lot of company lately. But at least now my apartment's clean. It looks great. I can actually have guests over now. But for now I need some peace and quiet for a few days.

And Then There Was One...

After a long battle with the management, my neighbors have finally moved out. It's been a long, stressful process, and I've been a good, supportive friend to them through it all, as I always am. It is so quiet in the apartments on both sides of me now. It's almost like a ghost town. I don't hear Chris's music in the middle of the night. No more waving goodbye to Skip when I leave for work. No more hanging out with the neighbors and knocking back a 12-pack. It was fun to actually have people to hang out with that were literally right next door. As suddenly as they moved out, there are people getting ready to move in. I hope I have good new neighbors.

Skip and Chris found a 2-bedroom apartment. It's not too far from here. I'm sure I'll help them move in. I can't wait to see their new place. Most of their belongings are downstairs in the storage room here. Skip is using my storage room. They will be moving out their stuff soon enough. As soon as their stuff is gone, I will also begin the moving process. It's time to say farewell to this tiny dump.

Going co-Mando

After much research online and several visits to Guitar Outlet, I finally decided to buy a mandolin. The gentlemen at the guitar shop were very helpful and informative. I also learned that it's best to try out several instruments before I decide which one I want.

That's something that I failed to do when I bought both of my electric guitars. The first one I bought at Media Play before they went out of business. Since the store was closing, everything was marked way down. So I scooped up the cheap electric guitar thinking only of saving money (which is, unfortunately, probably the last thing you should think of when buying a musical instrument). The guitar, which wasn't that great to begin with, soon broke when something became loose and a wire broke inside. And, of course, the store's closed, so I can't take it back. I could always get it repaired, but I don't want to invest more money in a hopeless guitar. The second electric guitar I bought at Guitar Outlet. My mistake was that I got the first guitar that was handed to me instead trying out others to be sure which guitar feels right, sounds right, etc. The guitar doesn't have the greatest tone, and the strings rattle. I think I'm going to trade it in for a better one, even if I pay a little more.

This time, however, I did my research. I took several trips to the store and looked at all the mandolins. Several were way out of my price range, but I looked anyway. I picked them up, made some chord shapes, strummed and plucked. I inspected the instruments to check for damage or flaws, and sure enough, there was one with a broken neck that had obviously been repaired. It was only $99. I wouldn't be getting that one. The older gentlemen showed me some mandolins and explained to me the differences in quality. The really nice ones are all hardwood and the cheaper ones are laminate. The hardwood ones are sturdier and have better tone. He also recommended a brand name.

I continued to look at the other instruments and ultimately went with the gentleman's recommendations. I bought a Kentucky KM-150 (click the link to see it on the Saga website). It is a beautiful instrument. I am very happy with it. It is a very well-crafted instrument. The quality is superb. The gentlemen told me to keep the receipt, and if there are any problems with it, bring it back and they'll fix it for free. You can't argue with that. He also gave me the number of a mandolin teacher so I can get lessons.

I've had my beautiful mandolino for 4 days now and I am in love with it. I am learning to play some songs already. It is a welcome addition to my musical arsenal. Maybe one day, I'll get a new electric guitar. And some bongos. And maybe some more things. And a place to put it all.

I'M BACK!

Hello, old friends! Happy Spring! It's been a while since I've visited my blog. I know... I've been negligent. How could I keep away for so long? The truth is that I've been a busy man. I've been cleaning my apartment and getting ready to move, although I'm not sure where. Anywhere but here. Someplace on the bus line. My neighbor and I are looking into sharing a 2-bedroom apartment. It will be easier on both of us because we can split the rent and utilities. He's a good, trustworthy friend, and also the CLEANEST person I know. He's very neat and orderly, which is a good influence on me.

I've put my music project on hold in the meantime until I can get some things done and get into a better place with more room. I couldn't possibly make music here. I barely have enough room for my guitars as it is. Also, Stacy has moved yet further away, making it difficult for us to get together. I miss her, although she is doing well. I talk to her occasionally.

I've also started dating... SSH! Don't tell anyone! My friend Jon and I have started seeing each other again. We're taking things slow and casual. Rushing into things with high expectations, and going way too fast, head first, will only lead to disaster. So I want to keep things fun and lighthearted. No pressure, no stress. It will be nice to have a companion, since my *other* companion is so far away.