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I am absolutely horrified but what happened today. No words can convey the pain and sadness. All I can offer is love and hope that we will survive and get through this together.
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Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
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I have officially moved out of Mom's house. Flew back to VA last Thursday to pack up all of my stuff. Dad drove a moving truck with me back to Orlando on Sunday. It was a long ass trip! I still am unpacking things...feel more at home now than I have in a long time. I am sooooo sad that I couldn't bring my dogs with me...silly landlord...grrrrr...so Orlando I guess I am here to stay for a while.
In other news, I just found out that they canceled the show Reba! It's Season Finale was last month! ARRRRGH! I am so addicted to the show...it plays all the time on Lifetime...sooooooooooooo FUNNY! No joke.
Finally caught up on Lost, I am officially watching it in real time now. I started watching the 1st season on DVD in January and basically did massive marathon viewings since it's half way through the third season now. THIS SHOW IS INCREDIBLE.
If there are two things you must do...it's watch Lost and listen to the Dixie Chick's most recent album "Taking the Long Way" especially the 'Leave it or Lubbock' Song. Amazing!
Going to a Braves Pre-season game tomorrow at Wide World of Sports...it's a teambuilder for Epcot Events. It shold be blast. The job is going...has it's ups and downs as usual.
Florida Film Festival starts this weekend...I have to pick up my volunteer kit asap!
So glad tomorrow is Thursday and the week is almost over. AMEN!
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Sunday, February 11th, 2007
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| Subject: | February... |
| Time: | 7:10 pm. |
| Mood: | broke. | | Music: | Stick to the Status Quo, High School Musical. |
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I am soooo broke! GAK!
Saw the High School Musical Pep Rally on Saturday with Tovi....love LOVE LOVE that song "Stick to the Status Quo!" I caught the HSM bug....
Signed up for the office intramural softball team...first practice was today and went well.
Going to the Pirate and Princess Party tomorrow with work and then on Wednesday I am helping put on the Vday dinner for Disney Dining Experience as the Living Seas VIP room, should be cool.
Disney is going okay....man I know that I really want to get into journalism and film sooo bad...gotta come up with a plan man!
Everything else is swell except for the scratch I found on my laptop. :(
Dave
PS: I am addicted to Lost, just watch the first season on DVD soooo good. Watch Lost and listen to the Dixie Chicks!
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Monday, January 15th, 2007
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Positives:
Ran 11 miles yesterday...longest I have ever run in my LIFE! PHEW! I am also exercising pretty regularly and hope to keep it up. Moved into a house with Alex and his friend Nate...so much nicer. it's half way between disney and the airport Joined a meetup group for Sign Language and French...really want to be conversational in both by the end of 2007 Met some really cool people at the French Language meetup group...helped me realize that there is so much for out in this world besides Walt Disney World....duh Jules is visiting this week and we be going to Miami that last week of January...yay! free cable and wireless (when it works...been working all day today...alelujah (sp????)
Challenges:
Broke, broke and more broke So many boxes and things to put away from the move...yuck did I mention...broke? the cubicle life my car needs three new tires i hate driving and cars, despise careless city commissions and private developers that function by the philosophy of developing everything, building roads everywhere, and encouraging suburban sprawl...YAY! I am addicted to peanut butter, jars of peanut butter don't last too long around my neck of the woods keeping in touch
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Monday, December 25th, 2006
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| Subject: | Ha.. |
| Time: | 7:41 pm. |
| Mood: | unshaven. | | Music: | The Carpenter's Christmas Album (sooo good). |
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Oh how mellow dramatic I can be in there entries!
AH I am so freaking broke from Christmas! Merry Holidays all ye chaps!!!
Happy old year!
:)
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Saturday, December 16th, 2006
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Am I a sell out, if I say I love you
How do I stand up without breaking down
Forgive and surrender???
cast the first stone you do
so angry
and tired
can't pretend but can move on
steady
holiday
steady
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Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
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| Subject: | Family... |
| Time: | 10:04 am. |
| Mood: | contemplative. | | Music: | September, Earth, Wind and Fire. |
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Instructions for Family:
Love and forgive.
Repeat as needed.
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Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
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The Food & Wine Festival has adjourned! What a crazy time...lots of eating and drinking. Cheers to getting back in to shape!
Shame on straight men for dressing metrosexual...it's confusing!
My Dad is getting married in two weeks...I am the best man. Should be a blast and I am looking forward to going home next weekend for a bit. It's been a while.
I can't believe it's the holidays almost...this time last year, I think I was at Cecy's wedding! WOAH! Happy almost Anniversary to Cecy!
I made home-made tomato sauce tonight to put on my noodles...yum yum.
blah blah blah...
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Monday, October 2nd, 2006
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| Time: | 9:56 pm. |
| Mood: | content. | | Music: | Voice Inside My Head, Dixie Chicks. |
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Today I . . .
Had the day off, after the craziness of kicking of the Food & Wine Festival's first weekend!
Tried to convince my insurance company that my eye doctor stole money from me
Had a job interview for an events coordinator at Animal Kingdom.
Walked around Downtown Disney and looked at books and CDS in Virgin (always has the coolest books)
Talked to Julie on the phone about her crazy camp life and the possibility of doing Builders Beyond Borders
Went to Typhoon Lagoon and played in the super cool wave pool
Talked to Mom about my job and her coming to visit in a few days, yay!
Bawled my eyes out watching a documentary about September 11
Had a great day off! Until next Monday!
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Sunday, September 10th, 2006
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So I have been chilling at the aparment most of the day...shelling chickpeas and making hummus. Walked to the grocery store...nice and relaxing even if my annoying ass roommate is off today too.
Anyway...three documentaries were on today: one about gay parenting, one about September 11, and one about Hurricane Katrina. Lord...I have been crying all day.
The first one was about a gay couple who are medical professionals working with pediatric HIV and AIDs cases and also are foster parents for several HIV + children. Apparently, it turns out that one of the kids they have been raising is actually HIV - thus eligible for regular adoption (whatever that means). So after more than a decade of this child living with them, the state of Florida is threating to take away their child and give him up for adoption to a "normal" family (sigh).
Look at the website: http://www.lethimstay.com/index1.html
I was bawling during the 9-11 documentary. It was basically just a compilation of raw footage shot throughtout the day in New York. With the 5th anniversary tomorrow, all the emotion came pouring back.
Finally...I watched "When the Levees Broke" which is about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. This is crazy...we failed this city and continue to do so. I can't believe how horrible the insurance companies are being AND how much FEMA sucks. We let this happen...God, this is such evidence of the racial divide, the gap between the rich and the poor, the beaucracy, and the red tape that holds down certain communities still in modern times.
I remember when I was in New Orleans in January 2005. They told us then and there the place would flood if it ever got hit by a bad hurricane. The thing is the hurricane was bad, but the levees breaking is what did the job. They were never built right.. I remember the poverty was so bad then. Now I think they want to keep everyone from re-buidling and just bulldoze it all down...urban renewal in disguise.
What a day. What am I to do.
On a brighter note...I am in love with Dante's Cove and got an interview with Adventures by Disney...but now I don't know..deep down I want to do more than work in the dopey travel industry...lalala. this journal entry is such a poor representation of the English language. :)
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Saturday, September 2nd, 2006
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Hung out with soon-to-be step-sister Laura and her close friends. FUN TIMES! Laura's friend's daughter, Emma, absolutely loves Snow White and she wanted me to get Snow White to come visit her at their condo - so cute. Went to Medieval Times - crazy place - and of course PIIIII!!!
Was the "token gay boy," as the drag queen put it, at my friend's bachelorette party. HAD SO MUCH FUN! Hooters, Club Paris, and my beloved Pulse. What a Saturday night with the girls!
Went to PI with Jon who preceded to get horridly sick and throw up until like 4 a.m. Let's just say I didn't get to bed until 5:30 in the morning and had work at 9:30. :-D It was all my fault for buying him a Victoria's Secret, haha.
Met Nanette's Mom and dinner with them and Wes at Restaurant Marrakesh. So cool! I want to come up to New York in December! Totally!
Random adventures with Susie and Rosa from work. They are so great! Rosa and her boyfriend John had us over for dinner last night. It was so delightful. He has such a fun place in the city. We drank wine and ate great food and laughed a lot. Such a wonderful evening for such a shitty week at work...
All I can say about work is eccentricity...micro-management...lack of communication...work-a-holics (more than me)...confusion....control-freaks...drama...age and experience-biases. DAMN!
I mean I think what I do is so cool, but man you gotta put up with some stinkin' shit sometimes to get through the day. Nobody is perfect and we all have our moments I guess...
This weekend...I am relaxing and soakin' up the sun...gotta celebrate the end of summer.
PS: I am deteremind to go to Miami and Key West before I leave Florida. :)
PSS: My next mission is to move to California and work for Adventures by Disney. Applied for a super cool job...I want it sooo bad. I would help plan the trips and all. If that doesn't work I was thinking about getting a job in transportation or city planning. If you want to know why...ask me later.
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Sunday, August 20th, 2006
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Don't you love those mornings after a night of drunken debauchery...when everything you did the night before slowly comes back to you in spurts. You'll be in the kicthen making eggs and toast...AND THEN BAM! ::memory:: REGRET REGRET REGRET!
You remember moments that seemed completely harmless at the time, but now are absolutely embarassing and will warrant many apologies, promises that you'll be on good behavior next time you go out, and even swearing off drinking to become the eternal DD. Kind of like an "I slapped Sierra and Jon moment" or "I made out naked with a certain someone in Julie's bedroom on one of her last nights in O-town."
Fortunately, I did not do anything too crazy, nothing unsafe...just made a big fool of myself. Imagine that!
Last night, I went to a charity martini party. It was for the Drum and Bugle Corps. Funny, I gave money for a cause I did not even know about. Yikes...I think at one point I might have gone off about how the party could have been for a better cause. I hope I didn't say that too loud.
God, I spilled my martini all over myself after only being there for 10 minutes. Completely sober!!!! I don't balance martini glasses well. They make me nervous...that and the fact that I was the only early 20ish person there made me nervous. There were a lot of gay men...older gay men.
I was so afraid of seeming immature. I guess that hurled me into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Oh...throwing up in the bathroom probably wasn't a good thing either. I think I walked out with a little spittle on my shirt. SHIOT! And the car ride home was so painful...car movement is NOT good for drunk people!!! When we got back to homebase, I threw up out the side of my friend's car for like 10 minutes...it was like a martini waterfall with a few hour d'ovres thrown in there.
Man...I would have been fine if I hadn't mixed the martinis amongst themselves. I don't think the gin and tonics helped much either especially since I made them and probably put too much in. Oh my god...I was so out of my element and sooo immature. This behavior would have been perfectly fine at Pleasure Island or something, but not amongst a bunch of thirtysomethings at a fancy, smancy martini party in a nice house with newly done floors.
God...at one point I was just sitting by myself in the corner in a drunken stupor. The College Program ruined me. I never know what to do with myself when there is free alcohol! I hope my friends don't hate me....AHHHH!!! I am bad....very very bad.
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Monday, August 14th, 2006
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Man...I hate shaving.
I am so happy...I re-discovered some of my old favorites. Dolly Parton, Beyonce, Hilary Duff, Rent, and Camp. WONDERFUL! :-D
Lately, I have been all kinds of nostalgic and busy. I think I was moving through pretty fast for a while and wasn't thinking much about all the change that's been going on. It's like a domino effect where you see everywhere you've been from some moment you remember...it's like wow. Everything has changed...cool but scary.
I miss Virginia Tech. The mountains were so beautiful. Orlando is so flat and touristy. But there is A LOT more to do here... A LOT!
Learned a little about Jehovah's Witnesses last night...think I probably insulted my friend with my questions. Gotta go to work! PEACE!
-Dave
"They don't know, don't show, or don't care..." -Boyz 'N' The Hood
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Saturday, August 12th, 2006
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Heard this on NPR this week and looking it up online. In early 2001, FEMA listed the three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing the United States.
1) A terrorist attack in New York City 2) A hurricane hitting New Orleans 3) A massive earthquake in San Francisco
I wonder what they are now...
Houston Chronicle 12/01/01
KEEPING ITS HEAD ABOVE WATER New Orleans faces doomsday scenario
By ERIC BERGER Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Science Writer
New Orleans is sinking. And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster. So vulnerable, in fact, that earlier this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country. The other two? A massive earthquake in San Francisco, and, almost prophetically, a terrorist attack on New York City. The New Orleans hurricane scenario may be the deadliest of all. In the face of an approaching storm, scientists say, the city's less-than-adequate evacuation routes would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under 20 feet of water. Thousands of refugees could land in Houston. Economically, the toll would be shattering.
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So I as just thinking how I really wanted to update my journal when I saw a message from Jules teasing me about not posting...
First off, I am sore as heck! This week I went to this boot camp circuit training thing at the Y with Alex. PHEW! I hate lunges and squats, and it has been sooo long since I jumped rope. But it was a good work out, slowly getting myself back in the work out game! BOY! My butt and hamstrings are yelpin' a bit today.
Things are tentative as always, though I found a place to live and a job for the time being. They both expire pretty soon. I am going to move again at the end of August so I don't have to move when the apartment lease I am currently sub-leasing from ends during the festival.
My job with the Food & Wine Festival ends Nov 18 and I really want to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and take a break. But I don't want to run away from Orlando, because if I can't get my act together here I ain't going to get it together no where else. I know I want to write, photograph, design, travel, be creative, and not be caught up in corporate bull shit.
I am hanging in there. I was crazy impulsive this past Thursday and spent a decent amount of money, drank a little too much, and did something a little scandalous. But the good news is I bought a great gift for my Dad and his fiance'!!! I am excited about going home in two weeks to be with Mom and here sisters for their birthday. I am really looking forward to that and want to spend some time with Papaw too.
I miss my CP friends who left a lot...Sierra, Jules, John, Carlos, Nanette, Lourdes, Jon, and the list goes on and on. I got to spend some tiem with Tovi, Robin, Traci, and some of the PIs this past week which was nice. It's also been cool seeing Alex a lot more, but I think this will be short-lived once we have to moved to other things again. We'll see. I think the Food & Wine festival will be great, but it's not truly what I want to do so I gotta get my act together for real.
PHEW! Motivation! I need it.
Goals for the summer in no particular order: 1) Volunteer at least two times at The Enzian before Sept 1 2) Attend two silent dinners and Malia's last sign language class before Sept 1 3) Publish an article in Orlando Weekly before Sept 1 4) Meet and Greet with a staff member from The Ezian before before Oct 1 5) Meet and Greet with a staff member from Orlando Weekly before Oct 1 6) Meet and Greet with my city council person before Sept 1 7) Work out twice a week 8) Eat sugar/chocolate only once a week 9) Find another apartment before the end of July 10) Research and target 3 potential jobs and 4 graduate school programs 11) Write a close friend or family once a month 12) Call a close friend or family member once a week 13) Volunteer at Give Kids the World at least twice before Sept 1 14) Go home for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) 16) Visit Pittsburgh/Canton in December 17) Visit New York City in December 18) SAVE SAVE SAVE! 19) Go to either Mexico or Europe for a month after Christmas and spend New Year's Eve somewhere fun( maybe that's a little nutty) :) 20) Create and complete my portfolio by Oct 1 21) Buy a new Mac computer 22) Buy the Adobe Creative Suite, Dreamweaver, Macromedia, After Effects, and Final Cut Pro 23) Buy a new camera
PS: Support the Dixie Chicks
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So I wrote my Congressperson today...I probably sound like an idiot, but I am glad I took some time to actually be a pro-active citizen for one.
Gay Days was wonderful, especially loved going to Pleasure Island with Mom and Marilyn. Many great memories, but boy do I have a lot to do now, moving in with Alex this week!
Here is the letter:
Hello!
I just wanted to write you with a few concerns:
1) The Immigration legislation 2) Iranian Nuclear Enrichment Program 3) Gay Marriage Ban 4) Gas Prices and Sub-urban development 5) CO2 Emissions 6) Osama Bin Laden
1) First, with the current immigration leglislation, I feel it is completley biased towards Mexico. If we are going to have legislation that closes up our borders, we should be doing it in Mexico AND CANADA, not just Mexico.
I believe firmly that America is a place that was meant to be home to all people. None of us were here first, except for maybe Native Americans. We all immigrated at one time or another, and to make it difficult for hard-working and able people not just from Mexico, but from all over the world, to come here will only hurt this country in the long run. The more diversity the better.
There is a book I recently came across called "Flight Capital" that I would recommend you and your staff read, America is slowly but surely losing its edge in the technology and education race, and it will get worse if we drive out immigrants and send them back to their native lands to be successful there instead of here.
2) Secondly, I am really bothered by how the U.S. is pressuring Iran to not use nuclear energy or uranium enrichment technology, yet we continue to use nuclear power with our own fuel and military processes. If we should expect other countries to disarm and be nuclear free, we need to do this as well. I hope that you can encourage your colleagues to co-operate with the rest of the world to be fair, compromising, and non-hypocritical.
3) The Gay Marriage Ban has no place in the Constitution. The Constitition is not meant to restrict, but rather to protect rights. Though everyone has differing opinions on sexuality, we cannot impose this on one of our most sacred documents. It's bad enough how rampant homophobia continues to be in our government, we are suppose to be a nation that prides ourself on the separation of church and state. This not only protects the gay community but also any practicing spiritual or religious person. To continue to allow the government to enforce the religious dogma that is fueling the gay marriage debate would jeopordize any person's freedom of worship and speech and their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Please consider your constituents who will be unjustly affected by this measure. We are normal people leading normal lives, times are hard enough to have something like this hanging over our families and our community.
4)The government seriously needs to addres the oil company lobbies and find out what fuel technology is being held up by their patents, lawsuits, etc. I have a fueling their are a lot of fuel alternatives out there that are being swept under the rug by the oil industry until they feel they can't make any money off of it anymore. Moving to other energy sources would also radically change our relationship with the Middle East and other countries who we depend on for consumption.
We also need to examine our sub-urban development and mass transit. Communities across America are expanding rapidly with little infastructure except highways and parking lots, we need to implement new urbanism techniques and mass transit, we need to be more effective in how we plan and build communities. Developers should not be allowed to dictacte our communities. They just want to tear down as many trees as they can and make a big buck. We are alienating our youth and our senior citizens by forcing them to drive everywhere. We need to make it a national effort to build pedestrian-friendly communities where people can walk to work, to the store, to school, or take a bus or train. With gas prices the way they are and global warming, we must stop relying on cars as much as possible. How are you guys exploring urbanism and mass transit as ways to curb the gas prices and pollution issues?
5) How are we working with the rest of the world to reduce CO2 emissions? I am really concerned about how we pulled out of the Kyoto Accord. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER. We have to encourage the automobile industry to re-consider their SUV production, our car consumption habits can not afford to stay this way.
6) What is our progress with Osama Bin Laden? I have not agreed with the Iraqi War from the beginning especially because it seemed to divert our attention from Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. Have we stopped looking for him? Was Iraq a decoy to help Americans forget about him? What was our justification for going to Iraq, have we been proven wrong.?
How are we helping out the wounded soldiers that are coming home from the Iraqi War? How many soliders have been wounded since the beginning of the war? How are you and your colleagues responding to the reality of this being a rich man's war and a poor man's fight? So many soldiers seem to be young, lower-income Americans? Is this fair?
Thank you,
Dave
Good enough...feel a little better after being so complacent for so long.
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It's official...I have been in Orlando working for Disney for a year and a few days, haha.
Gay Days also begins this week, it is funny how my year anniversary will always be around the time of Gay Days. I remember being so excited last year when I came down to Orlando because of Gay Days. Too bad I was too broke then and I am too broke now to really take part in any of the major festivities.
But Mom and Marilyn will be down here for the weekend, which should be great! I am very excited about them visiting especially during Gay Days!
Still kicking my but trying to find a job! YIKES! It is stressing me out so bad. I think I am going to move in with Alex in a week or so when his roommate moves out. She needs someone to sub-lease so it would be perfect. I am excited about the chance to spend more time with Alex again. Got to see him for his birthday which was cool.
Who knows what's next...Jules and Andy are heading back up north which is bittersweet. I hope they enjoy it, it is a new adventure for them. Seems like there are still so many places to go and people to see, I don't think I can stay in Orlando too much longer, yet staying down here for another summer would be great.
Peace and best wishes,
Dave
PS: My computer crashed again so I am never freaking online. I swear between my ipod dying, my computer crashing, and my car needing major maintainance...technology is the death of me.
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A couple words to describe my state at the moment: apathetic, dreaming, worn out, hopeful, stressed, behind, broke...(my computer ain't working and my car I swear is going to die any moment now).
So I saw Rent on Thursday and I fell in love with the music..."No Day But Today," "I'll Cover You," "Take Me or Leave Me," and the lists goes on. It was a heart wrenching experience. I was so affected by it! Reminded me of Christy and Toby from Tech and how they always talked about how much they loved Rent, haha.
With a thousand sweet kisses...
Reading "The Danvinci Code" so that I've read it by the time the movie comes out. Also, just finished "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and "Night" by Eli Wiesel, both very powerful works.
Can't wait for X-men 3 to come out!
I feel like I've just been flying by lately, and there's so much to take care of at work, at home, etc...
I miss a lot of people right now, there are a ton of folks I want to get in touch with.
Talked to Karl Precoda on the phone the other day which was awesome.
I'm tired of my job, don't feel like its getting me anywhere. I swear I've put effort into networking, but maybe not! There's only so much freaking time in the day!
A year after graduation and yet again I'm running around trying to figure things out, haha. I think I'm going home for real this time to Richmond for the summer at least when my internship ends in June.
Disney doesn't have much room for interns looking for jobs. You have to bust your butt sucking up to people, meeting everyone and their brother, and just hope something opens up. If I go home, I'll miss being on my own and having lots to do, but I think it will be worthwhile.
I hate to admit it, but I'm homesick and tired of being away from my family and friends. I'm sure this will wear off once I go back home, but at least I will have been home for a bit. I doubt I'll find another chance to do this for a long time. Summertime in Virginia seems to appealing to me...maybe I could live with my grandfather for a bit or something, spend some quality time with him and help him out. The one person in the world I haven't told I'm gay, not by my choice...my family is silly and thinks it could cause him to have a heat attack if I said something.
If I don't find a job with Disney in Orlando, there's not much else keeping me there professionally. It's sad because I've met some wonderful friends, but there is so much more in the world to see. I could always come back. If I get a job I want to do something that pays me a living wage then I'll consider staying. Again, I'm tired of doing something, I want to be something...
I think I might just move out to California in the fall, something I've always wanted to try. I think it be fun to give it a whirl. I need to buckle down for once and find the career that I am truly passionate about, no settling.
My thoughts and desires feel like a million little pieces struggling to focus long enough to make something happen, haha.
My trip to Disneyland was crazy and wonderful, made me want to move out there but then I was glad to be back in Orlando too, so weird. It's cool to see Sierra chasing her dreams, something I need to do more of.
Things are good, just hectic as is life.
Take care,
Dave
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