Chicago:  The Windy City! The Broad with Big Shoulders? Or something like that.  It's been almost two months since I've moved back to Chicago after living in Los Angeles and Seattle.  Here are some first impressions.

In my opinion there are not enough words that can describe the beauty… Read full post »

There was no tornado.  A house didn't land on a wicked witch.  I didn't get to wear ruby slippers.  There was no yellow brick road.  But the past several years definitely felt like a trip over the rainbow.

I landed in LAX on October 11, 2006.  The sun was shining.  In… Read full post »

There was something in the air in Seattle yesterday.  The day started with a buzz about an impending snow storm.  The local morning news had their weather and traffic people out in full force.  What they wanted to instill in everyone watching, with no trace of fear-mongering you might… Read full post »

There's something about gloomy cold weather, when the air feels pregnant with rain, that calls out for either a good nap or a good book.  This is where J and I are a perfect match.  He's got napping down pat, having written his doctoral thesis on the varied forms… Read full post »

What is it about the urge to pass?  I've lived in Seattle for just over six months and I often wonder if I pass for a proper Seattleite.  In Los Angeles, pedestrians dutifully wait at the curb for the WALK signal before crossing the street.  And because of this… Read full post »

My entry today is a simple one: Live.

I've been thinking about my own history with antigay bullying and what I went through during the better part of my teenage years.  I wanted to write that I came out of it for the better.  I wanted to write that… Read full post »

In the past couple of days a curious thing happened in Seattle.  Something to which I have grown unaccustomed.  Summer is turning into Autumn. (Contrary to what my British friend Josh believes, we heathens and philistines in the Good Ole' U.S. of A do refer it to as Autumn, as/… Read full post »

Our things finally arrived from Los Angeles: 

And it looks like J and I aren't the only ones who are happy about it:

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It's just past midnight and the house is quiet.  Both J and Sophie are sawing away at logs like they're professional tree cutters befitting our new Pacific Northwest digs.  I'm looking outside our windows at people going home from a night out at bars and restaurants that dot our vibrant… Read full post »

Early this week I received a call about a possible temp job with a local bank to do some rudimentary accounting work.  I was pleased at the thought that my term of unemployment might be over, however temporarily.  I was not pleased by the salary; about half of what I… Read full post »

I had an appointment with a temporary accounting agency yesterday.  I was dreading going.  I feel stuck between wanting to go to work again and taking time off to reflect.  Before I met with the recruiter, they had me take a test on basic accounting principles, general ledger work, exc… Read full post »

   I walked from my apartment to the Seattle Central Public Library.  It was mostly downhill and took about twenty minutes.  It was nice to get out into the open and breathe in the outside world.  To feel the sun's rays and crispness of the wind on my skin.  To see… Read full post »

When you look back at your life, when you peel the layers of memory, when you think about your younger self, what do you often see?

For me, and I think for most people, memories aren't just events that occurred in the past untethered and floating in time.  They are anchored… Read full post »

J and I and our menagerie spent the 4th of July sleeping snugly in bed.  Well that was the plan anyway.  There's a park across the river from the hotel that was hosting its annual Independence Day fireworks extravaganza.  We thought, when the time arrived for the really really big show… Read full post »

It's another Sunday morning and, as per usual, J and I are doing laundry at the Crystal Cleaners laundromat in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.  It's a chore I do not relish.  I miss having our own washer and dryer.  Erol says that laundrettes (he's British after all) are filt… Read full post »

Today I emailed my friends and family to ask them what makes them happy.  I came up with a questionnaire I hope would help me learn something about what makes people happy.  

I thought I'd share that email here: 

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I'm experiencing a crisis.  Not a crisis of faith, I gave that up a long time ago.  It's a crisis of me.  Being unemployed this past month has given me a tremendous amount of time to reflect on my life and to think about the path I want to chart.  While… Read full post »

Memorial Day is the day we commemorate US soldiers who have died while in military service.  It's a three-day holiday weekend which officially marks the beginning of Summer.  All across this nation of ours, in large backyards to the smallest of balconies, Americans will enjoy this day by ba… Read full post »

5:02am PST: Woke up.  Stayed in bed and checked social media outlets on cell phone:  email, Twitter, Facebook, Interpals.

5:47am:  Must have fallen asleep again.  Woke up to one of the cats pleading for breakfast only as cats can do:  incessantly jumping on your chest and pee… Read full post »

It's grey and raining in Seattle. On days like this I often remember my time studying in London with fondness...

 I was a late bloomer. I think most gay men of my generation or older are late bloomers. I like to think we paved the way for the young… Read full post »

At the best of times we may feel we have our insecurities under control.  That our own unique brand of batshit crazy is safely tucked under the veneer of a nice pair of just pressed pants and a stiffly ironed shirt as you make your way to work.  But what happens… Read full post »