leftovers

So these are the states that, as of today, I have visited in my lifetime.  I would much prefer that they all be colored in, but I think I've done pretty well for myself so far. As a kid, when we went on vacation, it was always west of the Mississippi.  I'm not sure why, and I also think it's common, that people who grew up in the US always wanted to travel west.  Most of the states that are north, south, or west of Kansas, I visited on family vacations.  I think Oregon is the only exception, as I only visited that for the first time on tour with Shitting Glitter. As for the states east of Kansas, those were all visited in college or later.  Brandon and I went on a road trip with Randy, and that's how I knocked off Illinois and Iowa.  Georgia was because I attended a journalism conference there in college.  New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts were accomplished during the trip Dylan and I made to celebrate the states that had ma...

Wow, it's been a long time since I've done a How I Fell In Love With and this is the first time I've done a city (or even a location). Since I'm gearing up for a fun-filled Vegas mini-weekend, I thought it was a great time to blog this. My obsession with Las Vegas began even before I had ever set foot on the Strip. Back when I was in college, I still hadn't been to many places outside of Kansas, but my parents had taken a few trips to Vegas and I loved hearing their stories about all the lights, casinos, slot machines, entertainers, and the general excitement they seemed to feel towards the city. They would bring back big plastic cups from various casinos, from back when every casino actually had coin slot machines. It's gross to think now that we actually used those cups to drink out of, but back then we thought they were so exotic! When I first discovered the internet, one of my first "online boyfriends" was a kid who lived in Vegas. We had met...

We woke up in the beautiful Star Light room and were immediately sad that we would have to be leaving. We got up early enough that we didn't really need a late check-out. We just took our time packing up and enjoying the last few hours there. The maid had left the door to the next room open, which was the room Tiger, Brandon and Angela had stayed in a few months back, so we had to go in and sneak a peak. Then we took a little video of our room so I could post it on YouTube. After we got all packed up, we checked out and then had brunch at a nearby Denny's before hitting the road back to LA. I drove since Dylan had driven on the way up. It actually went by pretty fast, and since it had been nighttime when we arrived, we actually got to enjoy some amazing scenery on the way home. Back in West Hollywood, I had to immediately get to work on arranging songs for the Devin Tait & the Traitor's acoustic holiday show which is coming up soon. "Paper Sea" is a son...

I woke up to hear Dylan calling the front desk to ask for a late check out because he said “it’s really hard to wake my man up.” I told Dylan later I had to wake up at that point because I couldn’t roll my eyes while they were closed! Really though I just knew it was time to get up so we could actually go enjoy the hot tub, and since he had gotten us an extra hour I didn’t want to waste any of it. It was only around 10am at this point anyway. The hot tub was refreshing - we had the whole pool area all to ourselves, and it’s at the very top of the property overlooking the whole valley. The pool and hot tub are beautiful, and there is a cool waterfall built into the side of the hill. We then got all our stuff packed up and went to have brunch in the Copper Cafe, where we had Turkey Salad Sandwiches and I had a glass of Madonna Inn wine. Then we went shopping in San Luis Obispo although I didn’t find many gifts (I did get a couple). After that we decided to drive up ...

Weehaw!!! Dylan and I started our little mini vacation today - more on that in a second. This morning I went to the Egyptian Theatre for a joint meeting of the Planning Department and the CRA. Both entities are working on plans for Hollywood - CRA's "Urban Design Guidelines" and the Planning Department's "Hollywood Community Plan." Both documents aim to specify the type of development that can happen in Hollywood moving forward, attempting to set standards that will make sense as the community continues to grow and redevelop. It was interesting hearing the plans, but it seemed like a lot of the community members were not happy about certain aspects of the plans. I guess that's inevitable. I got to leave work a little early so I could ride the subway up to North Hollywood to meet Dylan. We had decided to take a little trip up to San Luis Obispo, to stay at the Madonna Inn and see Margaret Cho, who is one of Dylan's idols. I love her too, but mu...

It was another scorcher - once again, the thermometer registered over 100 degrees. It was too hot to do anything productive and I was just so ready for Dylan to come home! After work I had to go up to Ben’s house in Granada Hills to get my drums, since Invisible Material will be rehearsing in a new space tomorrow which is just an empty studio space belonging to someone Robin recently met (a drag performer who I’ve heard of and I think have even seen perform before). Since Dylan was flying back, I just decided to time it so that I could go to Ben’s and hang out for a little, load up my drums, and then take the 118 over to the 5 to the Burbank Airport. I had just seen the sign for the airport on the freeway when Dylan texted and said he had landed. It looked like the timing would be perfect! I made it to the airport and he had texted saying he was waiting for his bags. The Burbank airport is relatively small, and you can see into the baggage claim area from outside, but...

My phone alarm started going off at 10 so that we'd have time to get around and pack up to be out of the room by noon, which was check out time, but I kept hitting snooze and didn't get up until 11. I got showered and dressed but everyone else was still sleeping so I had to start opening the curtains and rousing them. I didn't think there would be any way I could get them out of there on time, but noon came and went with no calls from the front desk or visits from housekeeping, so we seemed to be OK. We finally got everything gathered and moved out about a half hour late. We decided to finally go downtown since we hadn't made it last night. Jason had told us about a place called Mermaids that he said we should check out, and Dylan and I always like to go to Fitzgerald's since it has the rainbow. We found Mermaids right away and had a brunch of deep-fried oreos and twinkies, and hot dogs. We didn't have much luck there on the slot machines though, so after ...

It was father's day, so Brandon and I were walking out to his car because I thought I left my bag of clothes in his car (I didn't; it was in Dylan's). While we were walking down the hallway in the Riviera, we both called dad to wish him a happy father's day, but Brandon beat me to the punch and I got the voice mail. Brandon put me on the phone with dad when he was done, but dad thought he was supposed to hand the phone to mom so I just ended up talking to mom but then the call was dropped. Then Brandon and I went to this deli in the casino to get some food; I got some spring rolls and a slice of coconut cake - yummy! Dylan, Brandon, Angie and I got our swimsuits on and went down to the pool for the afternoon. It was pretty sunny and warm, but there was also a nice little breeze. The pool was pretty nice and we had a good time relaxing. Eventually, Luther and Andy made it down but they were wanting to go eat at a buffet so they didn't join us. After the pool, Bra...

Dylan and I had to get up and around - before 2pm! - because we were going to a time-share presentation, which is how we had gotten the three night free in the Riviera. We drove down to where the presentation was, which was very near a condo we had stayed at for our 5 year anniversary (in 2007) and also had gone to a time share deal, although that time we were lucky and the guy told us to go have fun because he knew "we weren't going to buy anything." I guess looking back maybe that was sort of an insult but we didn't care, we were just glad that we didn't have to sit through it. This time we were both a little irritated with having to do the time share thing... we've done many of them before and I guess we are just to that point where it's just really annoying. We got there and the place was so busy that they stuck us in this room with a video projector showing this reel about the resorts they have and these families talking about how great there lives...

I could not wait for work to be over today, as much as I'm enjoying my new job. Invisible Material is playing in Vegas tomorrow so I was so excited to get on the road. After I left work, it took FOREVER to get home! I was surprised at how much traffic, and how my few extra block to the new office ended up taking me so long. It took almost a half hour just to get home, which is insane considering I'm only 3 miles away. I had been trying to find cymbals but I just didn't have any time today so I decided I'd do it in Vegas, as well as buying my outfit for the show. Talk about leaving things until the last minute. I got home and Dylan was pretty much ready to go, so we headed across town to meet Luther and Andrew at Brandon and Angie's place. They decided to all ride together in Brandon's SUV but we had plans to trade passengers at some point along the way so we could switch things up. While we were still leaving LA, we pulled up beside them on the 210 freeway,...

After work today, I went grocery shopping at Fresh & Easy for Brandon and Angie to come over and have dinner since it's been awhile since we really got to hang out. I ended up making some white fish with tomatoes and onions, a salad, some vegetables and I got the ahi tuna poke that you just put the sauce on. It ended up being really good; everyone seemed to love it. We visited a lot and then decided to watch the Episode of Modern Family where they go to Hawaii. Sometime before that though, Dylan and I got in a really stupid fight about the record player, which we realized much later was a huge misunderstanding. Anyway I felt really stupid about it. Hello 2010, goodbye junk! NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 158 QX International Magazine, Dec. 2003. I picked this British gay rag up when I was on my first trip to the UK but it's not really something I need to continue to keep with all the countless other magazines I've saved through the years.

It was sad waking up and knowing that we had to exit the beautiful country of Canada. We set the alarm early to the point of naivety. Considering all that we had done, and what little sleep we had done it on, obviously we should have known we were not going to rise and shine. We were sort of hoping that maybe we could take R up on his offer of giving us a more in-depth tour of Winnipeg, but after I hopped in the shower, he called and said he ended up having to work today at the pub where we had gone last night. The girls were getting ready next door and told us they were all going down to the Elephant and Castle for brunch and they wanted us to join them for one last meal together in Canada, but Dylan and I really wanted to go hang out with R one last time so we got a taxi over the river. Remembering the record store from last night, I decided I wanted to go check that out first, to hunt for a rare Voice of the Beehive "best of" album which was only released in Canada and ...

I woke up to the gentle Winnipeg morning light shining in through the front windows of Chad's house. Dylan and I had slept on a mattress in the living room that was SO comfortable I completely drifted away and forgot all about last night's troubles. Dorothy came to pick up AJ and Laura (Red had stayed at her place overnight) so they could go to Mother's Music to rent guitars, bass, and to buy drum sticks. She also had Canadian cash for us so we could exchange our money. I gave Laura some cash to get me a tambourine if they had one for rent. Dylan and I watched Canadian TV and were surprised to see their version of 'Cash Cab' which we often watch when we get home from work on the rare days we have nothing else to do. Soon, Dorothy and the girls came back and we decided to walk over to Perkins for brunch. Most everyone ordered breakfast stuff, but as usual I was feeling more like lunch so I got a french dip sandwich. After that, Dorothy drove Dylan, Red and I to ...

I've had some crazy days but this was one of the craziest. Amy and AJ came to pick Dylan and I up around 9:30 in the morning, which wasn't that bad - we were actually ready to leave by the time they pulled up. I had packed most everything before so I just had to take a shower, get dressed, and throw my toiletries in the suitcase. We got to LAX behind Red and Laura, who had already gone through security by the time we checked in and printed our tickets from the automatic kiosk. I had been worried about the tickets because one of them had Barb's name on it instead of mine, but it turned out to be fine as well all got checked in with now problems. The line for security seemed infinite, but we made it through in an hour or so, from beginning to end. Then, Dylan and I met Red and Laura in the McDonald's by the gate because we were starving; AJ and Amy went to a different restaurant where they could drink (I didn't want to waste my money on alcohol before getting to C...

I sat my alarm early cause I wanted to wake up and cook breakfast for everyone before we had to go to the airport, since I had bought artichokes to make artichokes benedict and I knew mom wouldn't use them if I didn't. So I got up and tried to make breakfast as quickly as I could for me, mom, dad, Dylan, and aunt Sharon. I ended up just making eggs benedict for most of them but I put a steamed artichoke out on the table for everyone to share and then I had one myself so it went over really well and everyone liked it. But, then I had to rush to get ready and finish packing; I had pretty much gotten everything packed the night before, though. It was a whirlwind getting out of the house and I had to hug Royal goodbye of course and then we all loaded into the Highlander and headed up 35 which was completely backed up so dad exited and took some street further north so when we finally got back on interstate it was moving again. I told mom she couldn't cry when we said goodbye...

Adrienne drove us over to Katie's parent's house so we could go swimming in their pool. It was a gorgeous day and I pointed out to Dylan how nice a Kansas City afternoon could be poolside! Katie's parents had several dogs who all enjoyed swimming, and so did Katie and Dan's dog Cuzco, so we wanted Maddie to swim too. It took her quite a while to warm up to the idea but she was a natural at it. At first we would have to sort of push her in, and then she would just start swimming as fast as she could to the other side, so we would have to turn her around so she could go back to the steps so that she could get out. But eventually we would be in the pool and Adrienne would call to her and she would just jump in on her own and swim out to Adrienne! It was so cute. I felt so happy to be there for her first swim just as if I was watching a kid take his or her first steps. For now the Strecker family is content with dogs in lieu of children! We swam there for most the a...

Adrienne woke up early to go get a spray tan so Dylan and I tried to sleep in but Maddie and Rocco apparently like to just bark all day while Adrienne and Emily are gone. So it was hard to actually sleep in. We got up in time to help Adrienne clean up her house when she got home and bring everything in from the backyard. Dylan had done a bunch of the dishes last night so it was actually pretty easy doing everything else. We packed Maddie up in the car with us and drove to mom and dad's in Olathe which is just about 15 minutes away, stopping at Dunkin Donuts on the way since we don't have those in LA and Dylan and I love their coffee after we had it in Boston. Ronnie, Lisa and Caitlyn had already gone back to Hays so we missed them. When we got home we just had time to get ready to leave for Lawrence with mom. We were going to meet all the Strecker cousins for lunch. We joined them at Free State Brewery, one of my favorite places in Lawrence, and all of the cousins with t...

Marc came and took us to the airport and we made it through security relatively quickly and soon we were on our way! The flight was delayed a little bit because of thunderstorms near Kansas City so we had to fly around in circles for awhile until the airport was reopened. Then we didn't end up getting in to Kansas City until after 6pm. Mom and Dad were there to pick us up and it wasn't raining anymore by the time we got there. Ronnie, Lisa and Caitlyn were at mom and dad's house waiting for us with Adrienne and her dog, Maddie. Royal and Maddie were very excited to see us and they both seemed to love the gifts we brought them, which was a little blue California bear for Royal and a purple California hippo for Maddie. Mom had made "Chipotle" style burritos for everyone for dinner and we all ate out on the back patio. Dad had just built a privacy fence around the back patio because their yard slopes down in the back so that everyone else around them who's...

I can't believe it's my last day and then I have a whole week off!!! I got a ton more resumes so I printed out the ones I liked the best out of all the ones we've gotten, and then we had an Executive Committee meeting at 3pm where they discussed how they wanted to proceed with my replacement. They decided they want Susan and I to send them resumes, they will look through and pick out their favorites, and then we will interview them together when I get back from Kansas. We got caught up on Glee before we left in between packing, and Marc agreed to take us to the airport in the morning, so I'm all ready for the trip! Hello 2010, goodbye junk! NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LOG ENTRY 144 "Sidekicks" by Thompson Twins, cassette album. I got this for Christmas, probably in 1987 or 88, from one of my siblings. Why did they shorten the name of the album (from "Quick Step and Side Kick") but increase the amount of songs - adding all those bonus remixes. Funny, h...

Journal Entry May 8, 2010 I slept in pretty late, thinking that Amy or AJ was going to call or text when they were going to brunch at Hamburger Mary's since we had made plans the night before. When I finally got up, I hadn't heard from them so I texted them. Still no answer, so I just decided to cook brunch at home which was fine since I had milk, eggs, and veggies. Finally when we were almost done, Amy texted saying they were at Hamburger Mary's but they were already done eating. So much for that I guess. Then I started working on the computer and got pretty deep into editing on one of my songs. Sometimes I get on a roll and today was one of those times, so when Amy called later to invite me over to Rich's (from Chachi) to jam with them I had to decline. To continue our weekend with Revenge Club, we were playing with them again tonight only this time in San Diego. Dylan didn't want to go down there and back in one day, and Marc was dog sitting for Princessa ...