SO TIRED

Ok...you're not seeing a reposting on my blog of Spider's 6/28 commentary. In fact, I am wondering if I didn't catch his little "bug." I am so spent right now that I am finding it hard to really focus on a topic for posting. It has been a long day, a long week. Week 8 has gone by, leaving four more weeks of school. There is an incredible amount of work to accomplish in the time left, putting my head into a spin. Hmm! I wonder if this might explain why I am feeling a tad tired. Heck maybe it also explains why I have had a rash of migraines over the past to weeks.

In the four weeks left of class, I have a portfolio layout/format to generate so as to assemble photographs of my boards, renderings, draftings, etc. I have a mock taped interview to perform (oh yippee!). I have a portfolio book to obtain and place a physical book together of my work. And lastly I have an electronic version of my portfolio to pull together. Not that easy when you have to pull images and work together which requires corrections, reworking, copying, and to be imaged so it can be integrated into a layout. Then I have that mixed-use commercial/residential project. I have to finalize the occupants of the building, place the spaces appropriately within the building while meeting American Disabilities Act and program requirements, and spaceplan 10,000 sq. ft. of the 50,000 sq. ft. building. Sssschew!! I am tired having written these few sentences let alone think about the task at hand.

Or perhaps I am tired given I seem to survive on 3-4 hours of sleep a night as of late. I am just happy today is Friday and that there is no school for me. Hope to get a gym/weightlifting workout completed too. Then the schoolwork starts.

Ok...so I am back where I started. I think I am tired, thanks to Spider! Maybe it's time for a nap!!!!

WHO'S UP FOR A BLOGGERS' GATHERING IN ORLANDO / A MOVIE SUGGESTION

OK...
I am a bit pressed for time since I was up late last night and again early this morning to wrap up some concept sketches for my 50,000 sq.ft. mixed-used commercial/residential project. They just love loading the work on the senior students. I have no concept of this size space and realistically what fits into it. But I guess I am going to learn real quick.

Anyway - on to my blog post. In Spider's post a few weeks ago, he put out the idea of a bloggers' get together in August, specifically August 26/27, when Pete from the Shortbus and I will be out visiting and before I head up to New York for some more sights. There has been some discussion of a trip to Sawmill, maybe some tubing on the Ichetucknee, which I think would be great to just kick back and get to know each other (no booze though on the river), and/or rollercosters at IOA. We can pretty much make it anything that we'd like. I believe there have been definite verbal communications from Sorted Lives and Hypoxic that they would be in attendance.

But we would like to put this out again to you all. If there are any others out there that read me, Pete, Spider, Hypoxic, Sorted, etc. and would like to get away to Orlando for a short weekend, we would love to meet you all and make a day or two of fun out of the gathering. I am sure we will also have at least one night where we all get together for dinner. See Hypoxic and I have a date with a concoction known as a pineapple martini!! WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON THOUGH SO THAT WE CAN START INVESTIGATING THE LOCATIONS AND MAKING ANY NECESSARY RESERVATIONS. NOT TO MENTION GETTING HOTEL INFORMATION TO POSSIBLY PASS ALONG TO YOU (UNLESS YOU HAVE YOUR OWN RESOURCES). Partners and boyfriends are welcome to come if they like. So check your calendars. If they're clear, see if you can swing it! For me, it's all about meeting all of you. No expectations - just the intent of having pure fun. The more the merrier.

So, again if any of you are interested in attending the Southeastern Bloggers' PowWow, then get your 'arse' in gear, and speak up. No more lollygagging! You can contact Spider or me by email (our email addresses are part of our blogger profiles) and let us know that you are set to come and if you have any preference in what we all might do. Obviously, we may not please everyone, but remember the point of the gathering is to get to know each other and enjoy each others' company. The surroundings are secondary.

Kelly and YNAGER (Mmm! pineapple martinis 'Y'), can we twist your arms sufficiently enough to get you down here. You'd complete the group. Derek, are you and Mike definitively confirmed for those dates? What's going to work for you - the river? Looking forward to seeing everyone so give it some hard thought. LIVE VICARIOUSLY!!
---------------------------------


Next topic, a movie to go and see! Yesterday I spoke about the environment and ecology briefly. I saw a movie with my Ecology class a week or so ago. I had mixed feelings about seeing it. In the end, I am glad I did. It is AN UNCONVENTIONAL TRUTH with Al Gore. All I can say is there is potentially some scary stuff going on that I think we, as US citizens, need to step up and take the lead over the rest of the world's countries. Maybe it's propaganda and maybe it's not. I believe it's the later. If you see the movie, all you need to do is pay attention to one portion of the movie, if nothing else. It is when they show the before and after shots of key glacier sites around the world. Enough said without giving away any other components of the movie. I truly believe you will find it thought-provoking. Hopefully it inspires you to start making some changes, writing congressman and senators, and so on.

LIGHTING GONE 'GREEN'

Environmentally conscientious, eco-friendly, 'green' ~ all means to describe the latest craze, ecology. I suspect that within the next 5-10 years this will be a major topic of discussion. We already hear and see it with the ever increasing prices of gas and electricity, the increase in the traffic on roadways and the resulting smog, pollutants being washed up on our shores due to what is exiting from storm drains, and contaminated water sources. I could go on with a list a mile long but the point is already established.

We live in nation that has got to start 'pouring the coals to it' before we find ourselves 'caught between a rock and a hard place.' America has become greedy and extremely spoiled in so many ways. Everything has become instant but at many sacrifices. Sacrifices of our time, sacrifices of our health, sacrifices of our natural resources and this country's many rich beauties. This generation of people needs to start making personal sacrifices if we are to make any headway on what is eating away at this environment and if we want to ensure a healthy, clean, and abundant world environment for generations to come.

Where is this whole post leading? To my ecology project, of course. I have to admit that I have been pretty blind to this point on giving any consideration to the subject of ecology. But my Ecology class has actually been pretty interesting and informative. While the content has been broad at times to encompass issues outside of interior design, it is quite amazing how all of the components of this topic are really intertwined amongst the fibers of our society and its daily functions. This past Monday as part of my Ecology project, I was responsible for developing a lamp that, first and foremost, utilized 100% recycled materials with the exception of the electrical lamp kit from Home Depot that we were to purchase. I initially thought this would be both fun and a 'cakewalk' in comparison to doing research and a Powerpoint presentation which the other half of the class had to do. WRONG! OH SO WRONG! I spent so much time on the Internet researching recyclable materials. Plenty of stuff exists, all rather cool. But nothing in small quantities that I might be able to construct a lamp with. The class was finally given some latitude and told that if we could not find 100% recycled materials to approach the project with the next best thing. That could range from products less than 100% recycled, to renewable products, to reused or reclaimed products.

So here is the lamp I made...

My lamp project ended up being a structure of mixed used items. My inspiration came from these 2"x2"x 1/4" sample 100% recycled glass terrazzo tiles that I had. The colors were those of nature and in particular, reminded me of beach colors...amber, off-whites, tan, brown, blue, turquoise, green, etc. I had a concept in mind, and given that my sister and brother-in-law were in Kauai/Hawaii where I wanted to be, I opted to name my lamp, THE TROPIC. From there I thought of other components of the tropical environment, in particular, bamboo, a fast-growing, renewable resource. This became the component I used in my lamp shade. I envisioned a lamp that was somewhat sculptural, thus the off-setting cubes. I used non-toxic glue to hold the cubes together, and recyclable metal wire, to hold the lamp components together. Mind you the projects tended to be a little more on the crude side since we aren't your mass-producing factory line. But that was not the point of the exercise as I am sure you can sense at this point. I had to finish out my project with a scaled schematic drawing of my lamp along with a typed design concept statement and a short class presentation.

It was interesting to see some of the results. Many of my fellow students who were involved in lamp designs shared the same frustrations but managed to devise some clever concoctions. I have no idea at this point how I did but at least my project is over for the quarter. And I did gain something from the process. Now I just have to sit back and listen to Powerpoint presentations and take the final at the end of July. SWEET!

A MOMENT'S REFLECTION...THEN READ "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? (#8)"

Read on to post#2, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?, when you are done below.

Stonewall has been but one of a number events representative of injustices this world has seen. For some it may be viewed as .....perhaps not as vicious and large in scale as the Holocaust of WWII.... perhaps not as degrading as slavery during the American Civil War. But I beg to differ if not merely on a different level. Clearly the later events were perhaps far larger in scale. But any form of hate destroys the very fiber, the very essence of our being. I hope we each take a moment to reflect the past and how each of us can make a difference by simply doing one thing a day that is contrary to our "first reaction, " if I am making sense here.

Hold your head high! Let the essence of this day ring forever. Thanks again Kel for bringing on the challenge of the flag to get us all to remember who we are.

HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? (#8)

Can someone tell me what today is? It's Tuesday! It's Tuesday! And that means it's time for HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? Time to drum up all the smuck and lay it all out on the line. It seems that most of the posts for this segment have been predominantly light-hearted so today I thought I'd mix it up with something a bit more serious. Some may not necessarily be in a state where this is likely to happen but I am sure you have had prior experiences, so feel free to share your thoughts based on those circumstances.

So today's questions goes as follows: How do you like to receive news of a pending breakup ~ with immediate gut-wrenching pain like having a bandaid suddenly ripped from one of your hairy arms and legs OR slowly, likened to studying how painful it could be if I pull the bandaid off slowly, tugging carefully so as to minimize and cover-up the pain being experienced. I must say, I would want the breakup to happen immediately but hopefully the person separating would be classy and dignified in the manner with which he conveyed the breakup.

How is this question hitting each of you? Have you personally experienced this yourself? As always, use my comment section to share with us your thoughts!

PSI. I am looking to do that post on my eco-friendly lamp tomorrow night. Sorry.

ANOTHER SPECIAL DAY ~ HAPPY 4OTH BIG GUY!!

You all know that my dearest friends mean a lot to me. I may not be able to shower them with the moon at this time when it comes to gifts. But I sure can find the simplest ways to tell them how much I care and appreciate them. So today is a special day for yet another special person in my life.

I have a friend in San Francisco who happens to be stepping up in the world. Today he joins the hot 40's Club! Nothing could be finer than the guys who make up this group. His name is Rob and he happens to be a blogger as well. He writes under Roblog. Some of you may remember him from BrettCajun's when he was covering our SF Blogger's PowWow in April of this year under his blog. Rob and his graduation/housewarming party kind of set the tone for getting the ball rolling on the PowWow.

I have to mention a few words about Rob. Rob was my first blogger buddy and one of my first gay friends as I began my journey 'out.' I know him personally. He is truly one of the most genuine, kindest, intelligent, trusting, trustworthy, and sexiest of all the friends I have. Not to mention having that killer 'muscle bear' look. Rob I hope you don't shot me for posting your picture, but it is one of my favorites of you. See Rob has this thing about smiling for the camera...you generally have to do a sneak attack to get one of him with it. But man when he smiles, his face lights up. OK ROB ~ HAVE I TOTALLY EMBARRASSED YOU. WELL, IF I DID, I'M SORRY BUT I DO MEAN EVERY WORD OF IT BUD! There is a long history behind Rob that I think is best saved for those that might choose to venture to his blog and endeavor in some time reading through it. I know that you will recognize what an incredible person he is once you do. Rob happens to be partnered to an fantastic guy who thinks the world of Rob and who Rob feels the same about. Rob calls his partner his "Hairy Arab" and his name is Fuad. And boy is Fuad built. I told Fuad via a post on Rob's blog that he has the biceps and forearms I would die to have. I guess it helps to be a personal trainer and to be genetically blessed.

So now you have met another of my friends. Rob, Happy 4oth big guy! I wish I could be there to say it in person. A BIG 'BEAR' HUG! I wish you nothing but 'smooth' sailing through your forties and much, much happiness. Nice to know that the world is populated with yet one more "DADDY BEAR." Hehehe! I just had to do it again Rob.

To my fellow blogger friends, I hope when you have a moment today that you stop by Rob's blog and wish him a happy birthday. Tomorrow, I hope to post my eco-friendly lamp that I had to create for my Ecology class. Working on the schematic diagram portion of the project at this moment. Later.

GRADUATION HAS COME AND GONE ~ WHY SO BLUESY?

So the graduation ceremony has come and gone. I started my day at 7:30am to leave plenty of time to get to the hotel by 9:45am. Lots of luck. I swear I must have been in slow-mo! I was running out the door at 9:25am, having just ironed my graduation gown. I had just pulled it out of the box only 5 minutes before the pressing.

It was neat seeing all of my friends in one spot for the first time in quite a while. Our schedules change up each quarter as not everyone gets the courses they want so eventually our class paths change and we only see certain classmates on a more routine basis. Lots of hugging along with the introduction of classmates to family and vice versa. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to introduce my family to some of my professors.

Just prior to the ceremony there was a sit down brunch so that the graduates would have an opportunity to mingle with family, friends, and other graduates seated at their tables. Then came the ceremony. The ceremony included graduates from both the Bachelors and Associates Degree programs. There were five awards given out amongst the 75-85 graduates. The two highest awards, the Most Likely To Succeed and the Most Creative, went to two close friends of mine at school. In fact, all five awards went to most deserving candidates. We did have a keynote speaker, but I will not mention her name as I am sure none of you would know of her other than the work she has done. Once the ceremonies were over, the class pictures were taken along with the traditional tossing of the caps.

The celebration, for most, then moved on to more personal venues with family. I went back to my sister's place where some of my family from the Bay Area were staying. Lots of chatting, a very light snack along with champagne, and then the opening of the family graduation gift to me. It was a nice leather portfolio in which I can carry my drawings and marker renderings.

After that I seemed to go into a 'funk.' I can't explain it. As you know from Friday's post, this whole graduation ceremony just seemed anti-climatic to me. I have no idea if this feeling/mood simply carried over to yesterday's graduation or not. Maybe it was the thought of all the classwork that I still have to complete within the next three-four days on projects due this week?! Maybe it was simply me beginning to wonder what lies ahead for my future? Some people thrive on the unknown. I just don't. Give me a glimpse into the future and I'd be better prepared and most likely, happier.

At 5:30pm my family took me out for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in Dana Point (CA.). It was a nice, intimate dinner rather than a bunch of fanfare. The big shindig may come toward the end of the summer though it is still up in the air. So I managed to get through dinner but the funk was still there. I wasn't very talkative and I am sure my mom was wondering what was up. Given I was feeling a bit bluesy, I had hoped to talk to a couple of friends on the phone last night. But I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Today is another day. Time to pick up on another chaotic run of work due for this week. A special thanks to those of you who extended me well wishes on my graduation. They meant so much coming from you guys. So I leave you with some gosh awful graduation pics of me.

FEELS SOMEWHAT ANTI-CLIMATIC

At 10am this morning I will graduate from my Interior Design program with yet another Bachelor degree, this one in an entirely new field. Graduate? Well sort of! I still have five more weeks to go in the current Spring/Summer quarter along with one class and an internship next quarter. Oh, and lets not forget that one little blunder the school forgot to mention to me when I came into it nearly three years ago - I need to take an outside Art History class to complete the GE requirement portion for my degree. That I will most likely take on-line and probably after my last quarter.

But I have digressed...back to the point of my post ~ graduation. I qualified to participate in graduation and since it only occurs once a year, I had no desire to come back to school next summer to go through ceremony. So today I will do the official graduation 'walk' and receive that marvelous 'dummy' sheet of paper. The real sheepskin probably won't be in hand until Spring 2007. The walk also seems silly given a school blunder. Because of the mistake, the students are graduating midterm rather than at the end of the quarter. Just what one wants to do. Go back to school for another 5 weeks when you have gone through all the pomp and circumstance. It just all seems so anti-climatic!!

If I had to chose between which of my two Bachelor degrees mean the most to me, I probably say my first. I guess your first experience, perhaps at 'anything,' is often your most memorable. But I suspect I should be proud of myself for taking 3 years of my life, at the ripe ol' age of 43 (then), to achieve a dream. I just hope I will be blessed with the reality and successes of it. Thanks to each of you who have given me encouragement along the way. I hope you will be there until the end of my journey, at least, in December. I'll need the support based lately on the way I have felt about school. So was graduation from high school/college a proud moment for you? Any fond memories?

Ya'll have a good weekend!

JUST A TAD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN MIXED WITH INTERIOR DESIGN

I first wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who had well wishes for me today regarding the submission of my thesis paper. Mind you this paper in no way remotely comes close to the thesis work done in a masters program. But it was crucial for me as it was suppose to describe what I perceive as my design philosophy. And I am sure some of you might be thinking, "a piece of cake." NOT. I thought that too and this turned out to be one of the hardest papers I have had to write since starting the program. But the paper and presentation on my project design objectives are over. I survived and the instructors liked my design thesis of DESIGN FOSTERING COMMUNITY WITHIN A COMMUNITY. I just need to prune some of the extraneous stuff as I had a pretty aggressive and comprehensive plan. Unfortunately the time allotted for the quarter to work this project is just not sufficient to allow proper build up of my topic. Of course, all this work was for my Senior Project I class.

I also had a personal logo and a revamped resume due today for my Senior Portfolio class. I had several concepts of a personal logo that I started with and went through one round of commentary with the instructor to get input towards revising my logo. I wish I could show you the original sketches I had of the process I went through designing the logo but the graphic artist has them. Once I had my concepts and logo colors in mind I opted to have a graphic artist pull the logo together for me. I unfortunately did not have the appropriate software to generate what I desired. The artist came back with about 16 different variations of what I wanted and some with a few extra twists. Ultimately there was one logo in the bunch that was suitable for what I needed between my resume, my letterhead, and my electronic portfolio.

Yes I did pay a price for the logo but it took so much stress away from me. Had I had to complete the logo on my own ~ well lets just say, I would not have been turning in my logo or my thesis paper today. Something would have had to give.

So without further proclamation, here is the logo I chose (my initials). The instructor was actually quite please with it. It suits its purpose for now.

I AM BUSHED ~ NO REAL POST OTHER THAN SOME FUN

Well guys. I am making this a quickie! It's 12 midnight and I am still working on the second paper of two that I need to have for tomorrow's 9:00am Senior Project class. Lots of interruptions today when it came to writing in part communications with a graphic designer who was working on my personal logo for yet my other design class, Senior Portfolio. I think I may call it quits shortly, sleep for 3-4 hours and get up to hopefully finish out the rest. I hope that isn't a mistake doing that. I tell you, to put it bluntly, life just seems to SUCK right now. Well enough of my venting.

Thought you might enjoy seeing WHAT TIME OF DAY YOU ARE! Here are my results:

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Guess it suits me pretty closely though I really don't have time to cook for friends these days. Heck I still owe my sister and brother-in-law a couple of gourmet dinners for letting me stay at there place my first year in design school. I've yet to pay them back by preparing those dinners. So it's time for me to get back to the paper. I hope I can stay awake in tomorrow evening's 6pm class. Yikes.

Post those What Time Of Day Are You? answers in the comment section.

MY DESIGN CERTIFICATE CLASS ~THIS IS WHERE IT BEGAN

When I entered my interior design school, everyone had to go through the Design Certificate Program first. I was advised that upon completion of the program successfully and satisfactorily that my certificate credits would apply toward my associates/bachelors degree. I knew what the intent was behind the class. It was an over-brief of all the classes one would be exposed to in the degree programs, all condensed into 12 weeks. But it was designed for more. Its intent was three fold - to weed out those that really did not have an interest in design; to provide a quick training for those people who merely desired to do design as a personal hobby within their own home; and lastly, to provide the foundation for those with aspirations of being a working interior designer.

In the certificate class, we had 3-hour training sessions in the likes of color, design business principles, furniture history, terminology, textile construction, spaceplanning guidelines, elements of kitchen and bath design, and much more. There was also studio work involving drafting, presentation board layout design and construction, and an actual final project presentation.

When we began the studio, we were advised to create a client. I chose my client to be a widowed, 57 year old, marketing executive who was preparing to retire in three years. He had a small beachfront vacation home on the island Maui in Hawaii that he was looking to have converted into his personal home space after retirement set for three years down the road.

The next thing was that we drew paint chip colors out of a bag. These were to be our client's favorite color and not all would match a student's scenario, i.e. a student having created a male client who selected PINK as his client's favorite color. Well, I got nailed with a funky, grayed orange. I honestly hated it at the time. It was an orange color that was not envogue. I looked high and low and ultimately only found one piece of material that matched almost identically. The problem now was that I had to use at least 20 percent of that fabric on the furniture in the living/dining space. It was a material that was also a little more feminine based on the pattern in it. So I got real creative. I only used it on the front and back of the top portion of the dining chairs. I then and placed a contrasting welt on the exterior of the top cushion (a welt is the tubular piping that you often see at the end of cushions or pillows). The welting fabric was also used on the bottom cushion of the chairs. From there, I worked in warm neutral colors with a pop of blue for a few pillows. Quite a challenge, as I had to also put a book together for the client that was a photo and written synopsis of what furniture and accessories were selected along with color selections, etc. By the way, the design style that I chose for the house was Plantation Style. It generally is traditional but with a more casual island feel, where old and new furniture pieces were mixed.

In the end, after my final presentation was done, my instructor selected my boards for the school's Hall Of Fame ~ my first selection of many more to come. Thought I would give you a glimpse of those boards. Bear with my photo'ing of the boards please. The top board contains some of the fabric elements, flooring, window treatment, furniture, and accessories that I chose. The bottom board, its layout partially cutoff, contains the interior spaceplan, a photo of the locations sunset, and an inspiration piece. Enjoy.

P.S. I love ORANGE now!

HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? (#7)

Boy does time fly by. We are already at another HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? Tuesday. It's funny ~ time is flying by for some things but for me, not fast enough in school. I need that summer vacation NOW! Enough said.

So this week's question is a humdinger! I've opted to leave the choice section out of the question and leave the question open-ended. Will we have inventive answers? Creative concoctions? We shall see. (I am playing off something Spider started last week.)

Here goes...how do you like your banana split 'served?'

Oh, I love when the soda shop takes the time to chill their glass dish bowls. It ensures that the ice cream stays 'firm' and all those delicious syrupy treats stay 'extra thick and goopy.' YUMMMM! Now I can think of one more incredibly delicious, sexy way to serve it. Wahoo! I can't share but of course I can't stop you from guessing. I'll just have to leave the answer to your imaginations.

So as always, spill your heart out to us in my comments section as to what way soothes the tummy and your fancy.

THOSE SOUTHERN BOYS DO IT TO ME EVERY TIME!

Picture from this site.

I am sure each and every one of you has something that just lights the fire under you! Something or someone that just gets you giddy every time you are around it/him.

For me, it has always been a person with all that warm southern personality and oh, that sweet southern drawl ~ music to my ears! And at the moment I am going bonkers as I have three friends in my life that all have that commonality. All I can say is "GRRRRRRR!!! - HOT!" I won't hide the fact of who they are ~ Spider, BrettCajun, and Derek. Most of you know I met Brett in person at the San Francisco Bloggers' PowWow this past April. Needless to say his blue eyes and 'twangy' voice had me at the get go. Pure melting butter. Then came my first phone conversation with Spider. The very first 'instant' thought in my head when I heard his voice was, "Oh my gosh! He has a southern 'twang too, just like BrettCajun (be still my heart)." Well with that ever flirtatious way of his, again I was absolute putty.

And now the latest. I had decided to pass my phone number along to this person, merely in the event of he or I needing to discuss the upcoming blogger's pow wow in Orlando in August. Well, out of the blue Saturday afternoon, some 30 minutes after I sent my email response I got a call from Derek at Past, Present, and Future. OK ~ Spider was so right in his post this past Friday...Derek has this incredible slow, deep, manly, sexy southern drawl. (Am I embarrassing you yet Derek?!?!) Woof! He bowled me over. All I can think of is that line from the Wizard of Oz that the wicked witch says as water is tossed on her, "I'm melting, melting, melting, mel.........." Hehehe!

So a dear friend of mine got wind of this and made a funny remark about the coincidences that had me laughing and quite frankly, put a devilish smirk on my face...let's just say I won't repeat the comment here. I swear, if I meet one more person with a southern drawl, y'all are going to have to send me off to a cloistered abbey. Lordy, lordy.

Do any of you have someone or some special thing that sends you over the edge?

A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY WISH

Dear Dad,

Where ever you are seated amidst heaven's shaded fields, I know you are in total peace gazing down on the life you left behind, waiting patiently for your wife and children to join you so that you can share the abundance of joy you are experiencing.

On this special day of all days for fathers, know that I miss you terribly. If my arms could reach the infinite distance that you are from me, they would be tightly wrapped around you with the biggest hug a loving son could give. Alas, I know that is not physically possible. But I can say that I will go to sleep tonight and in my dreams I will give you that much needed hug and utter those long sought-after words, "I love you!" Happy Father's Day Dad!

**Guys, if you can and I know there are exceptions for some, take the time to tell your dad that you love and appreciate him.** A special happy father's day to Scotty over at the Other Side of Straight. I think a good many of you know Scotty already but for those of you who do not, Scotty is a father of three and a gay man that loves his children dearly, who clearly realizes that they are above all things. My hat is off to you bud!

AM I FLIRTING?

In my post yesterday, I happened to mention that I was having a telephone conversation with a friend a couple of nights ago. Of course I mentioned that we had brought up the topic of nicknames. During our chat, he asked me how it felt to have so many people after me?!?! I sort of paused and then said somewhat candidly, maybe naively, "Who's after me? I don't have anyone after me?" My friend began to point out a few. My friend said, "Tony, you're such the flirt." I started to chuckle. I have never perceived myself as flirting with anyone intentionally, except for two people I can think of currently.

I really just try to be myself and have fun. I am often shy and quiet initially but once I get comfortable with someone or with my surroundings, I loosen up. Perhaps that is an allure for some individuals. If someone somehow sees that as flirting, maybe I should be flattered, maybe I should be a bit more cognizant and careful (only to ensure I don't hurt someone's feelings because they have misinterpreted my actions). I don't know ~ other than to just be myself.

I happened to stumble across this little quiz. You know I just love these little quizzes, if not for their accuracy but for the fun, light-hearted conversation they stimulate. It's a quiz on what kind of FLIRT you are. I landed a Natural Flirt response. I actually think its fairly accurate. I'd love to know what type of flirts you are so take the quiz and share the results with us in my comments section. And well, if you disagree, then speak up! Hope you all are having a great weekend.

You Are a Natural Flirt

Believe it or not, you're a really effective flirt. And you're so good, you hardly notice that you're flirting. Your attitude and confidence make you a natural flirt. And the fact that you don't know it is just that more attractive!

What Kind of Flirt Are You?

THE BRUSH'S COLORFUL DAUBS ~ MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS #5

Another school week comes to an end for me and Friday begins my weekend so to speak. But don't worry I have enough work to keep me occupied through next Thursday when the next project deadline comes due. I don't have an a mind tonight to really blog about anything exceptional. Here are the miscellaneous pieces mulling around in my head.

Nicknames: I happened to be talking to a friend last night and while 'shooting the breeze' the topic of nicknames came up in our discussion. I had to stop and think for a moment. I told my friend initially that the only nickname I had above my formal name of Anthony was Tony. Then it hit me. I told him wait a minute, I did two others. The first evolved in my last job during my first job promotion. I had moved up to being a Bodily Injury Claims adjuster. Most my good friends know that I tend to start off on the quiet side and in a professional environment, generally tried to maintain the same quiet, even-keel demeanor. I was for the most part successful in retaining it while handling the stress in the job. Oh, if you only knew how nasty some people would get when it came to money over injuries. Let's just say that on occasion, this quiet boy learned real quick who to elevate his voice to make a point but not come across to nasty. Well, my fellow claims adjusters began to call me ANIMAL. I still get the biggest chuckle over the thought that anyone even put me into that classification. Com'on, me an ANIMAL! So do you have any memorable nickname. Let us know in my comments section.

Photographer Compliment: I had to laugh yesterday. Just before my Senior Portfolio class, I was picking up my presentation boards that I had given to a photographer last week. They were being photographed for my portfolio, an electronic version. At the same time I picked up my boards, I gave him three, built models to be photographed for next week. The photographer really began to scrutinize the detail on my models. Then he came out with the remark, "You must be one of those over-achievers!" I chuckled and said, "Yes, but all three got into our school's Hall of Fame." He came back with, "Why am I not surprised." I took it as a compliment. By the way, I spent $455 on those board photos and still have about another $100 to pay on the models. Ouch!!!

Graphic Artist Help!: Well, I have a resume and personal logo design (for letterhead, envelopes, etc.). My logo design right now is so rudimentary based off of WORD. I have it all visualized but need to get it generated. I sure could use a good graphic designer (but reasonable) to pull it together for me. I just can't use the computer efficiently yet to produce it! Anybody a graphic art aficionado that might want to pull it together for me with proper visual aids and instruction provided, via the Internet?

Blogger Heaven: I can't believe that I have been blogging for only a little over six weeks and I am ready to break the 4ooo hits barrier. Unbelievable! I would never have imagined it. And I have already gone beyond 50 posts ~ I have yet to miss a post though admittedly, I still have to give some serious thought to cutting back, given what schoolwork is on my plate. To all of YOU, continued thanks for taking such an interest in my blog.

TO A FELLOW BLOGGER BUT MOST OF ALL A SPECIAL FRIEND, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is all about a special person! If you already didn't pick this up from BrettCajun's site or you aren't a reader yet of his blog, today is Brett's 36th birthday. Yes he is slowly attaining "GRANDPA" age status. Hehehe! Guess we all must reach that state at some point. Just kidding Brett! You're as handsome as ever.

Just feel compelled to say a few words. A good many of you know Brett via his website and his infamous Jiggy Dances, perhaps email and IM exchanges. But I have had the pleasure of getting to know Brett on a more personal level and of meeting him in person. He truly is the person you read about on his blog, with perhaps the sassy, southern boy image stepped up a bit more on his blog.

To me Brett is genuine, personable, open, fun, sensitive. My friendship took off with Brett on a whim email I sent him. It pertained to a subtle comment he made in one of his posts back in late January of this year ~ something along the lines of being a 'good Catholic boy' (anh-ha!). He responded without hesitation and was genuinely interested to know if I was the Tony that had been posting recently in his blog. Our friendship has grown ever since that time. And need I say it gets stronger with each passing day. I find myself hoping that Brett finds all the happiness in the world as each day passes.

So on this day devoted to one BrettCajun, a fellow blogger but most of all a very special friend, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May the goals that you envision and the dreams that you dream, unfold before your eyes. Brett ~ a big 'bear' hug and embrace. Wish I could do it in person. If you get a chance to wish Brett a happy birthday, do so.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE THINGS UNDER CONTROL

Proud to fly this today.
HAPPY FLAG DAY!

Photo: Care of Rambling Along In Life...

I am sure you have all had moments, days that you felt totally in control. On top of the world. That you were in your "groove 'thang."

Well yesterday morning I woke up feeling I was in utter control. I had gone to bed the night earlier with a plan for yesterday. And I had it in full swing at 8am yesterday. The alarm went off at 7:30am. I hit the snooze button once. Now shame on you guys. You probably thought, "Here he goes again ~ another one of those days not getting out of bed until 11-11:30am." WRONG! I was up. I spent about a half hour scanning some of my favorite blogs and reading a few new emails from blogger buddies. But I was out of bed at 8am. I did a few odds and ends around my room, which by the way is looking like those early pictures I posted of my room in its "OSCAR-state." I started to look up some class information on recyclable materials for my lamp design. Then I remembered my little dilemma from the night before where my car gas tank was nearly on bone empty and not being able to get the gas lid open to fill the tank.

Oh, did I say I had everything in utter control?!?! Someone please clock me upside the head. This is where my day fell apart. I had and still do as of today, have a number of preliminary things due this Thursday between two classes and a sh*tload of work due next week. I had planned on getting a good chunk of it done starting yesterday morning. But at 10:30am, getting creative in my attempts to figure why my fuel lid cap would not open, I placed a call to my local Nissan dealership. I explained my problem to the service manager on duty. By the time I was done, he was quite confident I had a defective sonar release system on the fuel lid. Great, I had been driving a number of miles already with the tank registering empty. The manager told me that the car part was in but that the likelihood of them completing out the work by day's end, given the time it was already, was very slim. I told him I would get it down there.

My next dilemma. I had a dental appointment at 12 noon. So I went scrambling to call my little sister who I knew was at my nephew's kindergarten graduation. As expected no luck on the initial call. Message left. I called my other sister. I got my brother-in-law who works from home. Dear sis was at the local high school putting in her donated service as school nurse. Thank goodness, the brother-in-law was free. He picked me up, drove and dropped me off at my dentist's office. Thankfully little sis was now available to pick me up at the dentist, swing me back by my apartment, trail behind me to the car dealership, and then take me home once I left my Nissan Murano at the dealership.

So what's the car in for...a new sonar release for the fuel deck lid, a 30K mile servicing (went ahead and slated this while I was there) and 2 small recall issues that I had not been notified were in place. Now I just have all that homework to complete timely. As usual, I did try to make light of the circumstances by simply letting my mind drift off to distant places of relaxation or cities that excite me. Thought you might all get a kick out of the American cities that best suit me according to this little quiz. The actual results aren't too bad. Just would have figured NY City to be in there. Someone or something knows I am set on Hawaii. The top listing was Honolulu. Oh yah baby ~ Hawaii!

So take a moment to see what cities best match up to you and post them along with any other comments or thoughts. P.S.: A big Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Sorted Lives on his blog!!!!

American Cities That Best Fit You::

70% Honolulu

65% San Francisco

60% Atlanta

60% Los Angeles

60% Washington, DC

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? (#6)

Yeah! It's Tuesday. It's time for HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? time, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? time, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? time, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? time (*singing it to the music of It's time for Howdy Doody time...am I gay or what?!).

So let's get started. With summer just around the corner, this week's question is: How do you like your beer ~ from the tap, from the bottle, or from the can? Quite frankly, the only way to have a good beer is to have it from the tap, served up in a tall, frosty mug. Thank goodness the Germans/Austrians really know how to whoop it up in that area. Frosted Litre Mugs. Wahoo! But if I need portability for the beach, I much prefer an ice-cold bottled beer.

And being sensitive to those non-drinkers out there: How do you like your coffee/tea ~ black/with nothing in it or with all the fix'ins (sugar, creme, a shot of booze, lemon)?

OK, time to share with us! Spill the beans.

INTERIOR DESIGN - MY PERSPECTIVE DRAWINGS

A couple of weeks ago, on a May 20th posting, I discussed my Marker Rendering class as an aspect of Interior Design training. I had mentioned that my Perspective classes were a prerequisite to the Rendering classes. I finally located some of my perspective drawings so I thought I'd share what I found. These are not my best but they will give you an idea of the class and my capabilities.

All the perspectives were done as a practice exercise for my Residential I class in which we had to design a two story New York loft for three generations of ladies ~ daughter, mother, and grandmother. The class was told they could be down on any residential spaces. I happen to do many on my sister's home where I had just finished living at the time. These happen to be of interior spaces of the live exterior pictures I posted of my sister's several weeks ago. These are fore the most part free-handed drawings with some clean-up work in a few areas using a straight edge. The first drawing is of the bar area off my sister's family room. The second picture happens to be of a portion of the main hallway powder room. And the last drawing is of my sister's living room. I apologize that the drawings aren't clearer but when they are scanned, some quality is lost.

The first quarter of Perspective drawing taught us the basics on how everything translates back to the visualizing all spaces evolving from a box. You would be surprised, if you have reasonable mechanical inclinations, how you can actually acquire drawing skills. Sure, perhaps you won't be a Leonardo Da Vinci but the whole element is to have fun with it. I was amazed at how much people had improved by the end of the first Perspective class...and I am referring to those who had no real drawing skills.

The Second perspective class was geared more towards free-handed drawing rather than with straight edges. It also worked in developing our speed. For me, I am good but I definitely need to practice more frequently to increase my speed. If I could, I probably could make a hefty some of money just specializing in this area.

Well, I hope you found this aspect of my schooling interesting, and if you have ever had a desire to take a beginner perspective class, take the chance. I think you might actually be amazed at how much you can pick up from doing it. Later.

MORE OF THE SAME

Yesterday was just another carry over from Friday. Another migraine headache as Friday, up out of bed at 11:00 am, and then off to do some errands. I needed to get funds transferred from my liquid CD over to my checking account. This month is my 'bill hell' month. I have car and homeowners 6-month insurance payments due along with storage, medical/dental, electric, gas, water, cellphone, Visa, and rent payments. Not to mention the usual miscellaneous such as groceries and gas. Darn account is shrinking quicker than a guy 's (well we won't go there). OK Tony, breath deep, the funds will come from somewhere. Just keep telling yourself that. LOL. I also needed to locate a small paperback book that I had already read for my Senior Project class. When I found out I was going to have to write a critique on it, I decided it would be better for me to reread some parts and have the book to refer back to when writing the paper.

From that point on, I did nothing constructive from a studies standpoint. I think the picture above speaks a thousand words. Don't I just look too comfortable?!?! The darn migraines and medication just zapped me physically and mentally. And so I did nothing but sit around today, with my eyes closed, out on my sister's backyard patio, and made several phone calls, one to my brother, one to each of two of four sisters, and to two dear friends. I did manage to sneak in some blog reading. Thanks to Kel over at Rambling Along In Life..., I got a good laugh at the satire below of the theme song from Moulon Rouge. I just had to borrow it and I realize there may be one or two of my readers that have seen it. But I had to make sure it's viewing made it out to some who haven't seen it. I thoroughly thought these plus ladies, Velveeta, Cotton Candy, Big Kim, and Mayo (don't you just love the names), were thoroughly entertaining. I got a bigger kick out of watching the reactions of some of the stars in the audience.

Anyway, I hope the headaches don't surface again today.

ANGELIC OR EVIL ~ WELL I DID MY GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY

This past week of school activities and the thought of what lies ahead in school work over the next two weeks just plain tuckered me out. I crashed Thursday night but for only two hours. Woke up at 2 am Friday and didn't fall back to sleep until about 4:30am. The alarm went off at 7:15 am. I had intentions of getting up early, working out, and pushing myself to get started on schoolwork early. Instead I shut the alarm off, thinking I'd be up in 20 minutes. WRONG! I dozed off and did not get up until 11:40 am. I seldom sleep in this late. I'd say this is the fifth or sixth time in my entire life that I have ever slept that late. I typically believe you can't have a productive day getting up this late. But I am sorry...my body and mind are simply worn out.

What did I do then? My sister happened to call me at about noon, twenty minutes after I woke up. She was in the car with my sick nephew after dropping off my niece for her last day of school. My sister was rushing back home because she had forgotten her portion of the party stuff for the kids' event at school. The parents each had something they were responsible for bringing. Well my sister mentioned that my niece was upset because she could not stay for the party like other parents were doing. I felt bad. I insisted that she was going and told her I would come right over to watch my nephew. My brother-in-law was out of town on business. So I spent my early afternoon babysitting but did get constructive, in the sense that I was able to slip in a weightlifting workout up in my sister's home gym.

By the time I had worked out and also taken a couple of personal phone calls, my sister and niece were home. I showered up and then sat in the backyard, listening to the yard stereo. I know...I sound like I was really productive then. LOL. My brother-in-law then showed up, home from the business trip. He slipped into the yard and started to chat with me. Then he gives me an oh-so-familiar look. Then the oh-so familiar line, "What are you doing this evening?" I already knew what was coming next so I merely said, "Where do you want to take T***y for your anniversary dinner?" Funny how I am not even married/partnered and I know some of the idiosyncrasies of my brother-in-laws.

So me be the great brother and brother-in-law that I am, not to mention the fact that I am a romantic anyway, conceded to the evening with my niece and nephew so the two love birds could coo a bit. And that is how my day came to an end with the exception of one much needed phone conversation. I'm such the 'angelic' man.

Speaking of angelic, here is a fun little test to see just how evil you are. Answer truthfully and let us know the results. I was rather surprised at mine. I answered as truthfully as possible. There were only two questions I had to think through and I didn't want to over-think them. So I went with my first response. Interesting. So are you a little angel or that little devil?!?!

You Are 10% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

WERE YOU READING MY MIND

Guess ya'll managed to weather the 'burps and belches' that Blogger was throwing your way Tuesday and yesterday! What a royal frustration. I had posted an article that was encouraging you to stop by two other bloggers' blogs and here you couldn't even leave any commentary. Don't be bashful about reading back through my post from yesterday. Then stop by Rambling Along In Life...With a Stern Point of View and CityWOOF and leave some commentary or words of encouragement.

I had thought about not posting today. Plain and simple ~ I had a crappy day yesterday and didn't feel too motivated. A migraine headache for most of the day; followed by a sh*t load of work dumped on me between my two classes, all due over the next two weeks; some in-between class scrambling to finish out a small project and pack up some presentation boards for photoing; and topped with news that just didn't sit well with me. One long day! So as I arrived home from class last night at 9:30pm, I pulled together a quick bowl of clam chowder, just to get some food in my stomach. I then went to my bedroom, put one of my favorite CDs in the stereo, and began opening email. I usually put this particular CD on when I am running stressed or when I really need to think, more like contemplate my life. Yes, it was one of those moods. (Snap out of it Tony...life goes on.)

Amongst my sorted email, I had received one from Derek. I opened it and started to read. OMG! I nearly freaked out. He was responding to something I had left in another's blog and it was about the very CD I was listening to at the time, THE PRAYER CYCLE, by Jonathan Elias. Was he reading my mind?!?! Of course I emailed him back to let him know I simply loved this particular CD but did not mention the coincidence. I figured I would let him read it here. Surprise Derek!!! I sometimes wonder if he and I are on the same wavelength.

If you have never heard this particular CD, it's a must. I came across it one day when I was looking for a good instrumental/new age CD to purchase. The ablum is neither. I listened to two songs at the music store and that was enough to get me hooked. The album's music is melodic, entrancing, mind-shifting, perhaps spiritual. The songs are sung in different languages inclusive of Swahili, German, Latin, Italian, French, Hungarian, Hebrew, Mali, Spanish, and of course, English. Some of my favorite artists sing on the Prayer Cycle, including Linda Ronstadt, Alanis Morissette, and one of my all-time favs, James Taylor. Truly a beautiful choral symphony! If your tempted to hear the content, stop by iTunes.

Well, it's time to wrap this post up. I just want to let you know that with my schoolwork really intensifying, moreso than I ever anticipated, I may be reducing my posts to 2-3 times per week. If I do, trust me, it will be painful. I have grown so use to posting daily and look forward to the daily feedback that I receive from each of you. Y'all mean a bunch to me! But getting through these last two quarters of school are so crucial for me ~ something inevitably must give. In this case, the logical choice is the amount of blog writing I put forth.

As they say, TGIF!!!

THE BRUSH'S COLORFUL DAUBS ~ MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS #4

Working on some projects again that are due today. Yikes, but it isn't as bad as last Wednesday. Yes the eleventh hour routine that I swore I would not do again. Things feel a bit more controlled this time. What can I say. The summer is here and boys will play. Did I just say that? Well never mind, my playtime is my playtime.

First of all, let me say that you are all my type of kissers. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed your posted commentaries on this week's HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? question concerning the type of kissing you each enjoy. If some of you came in early on that post and never got back to see the responses of others, take another gander. I am finding this segment of my blog to be the best and it really gives me an opportunity to learn a bit about each of your personalities.

Next, I initiated my first DESIGN post yesterday on color. I hope you found some useful hints in it. Color is such a broad segment. I may have a follow-up post on it to help give you guys ideas on how to work with complimentary colors. I have also been hoping to post another segment on what I do in school. The next will be about my Perspective class. Unfortunately I am having scanner access problems at the moment. Hoping to show you some of my drawings.

Now I want to send some acknowledgment and kudos out to a couple of bloggers I happen to read and enjoy. First of all, if you have a moment please stop by CityWOOF's blog. I have mentioned his blog once before. But my main reason for directing you over there is to congratulate him on his quest to quit smoking. He has had several big tempting scenarios that would have allowed him to cave but instead he has resisted. The biggest temptation came Tuesday night. CW briefly mentioned it in his post yesterday, HEY MR. DJ. I just had to bring it to the forefront because I want him to succeed. So give him some words of encouragement. And it seems CW may have someone he likes too. What does one expect when you have one sexy bear!

The other person I want to acknowledge is Kel over at Rambling Along In Life...With A Stern Point Of View. He has pushed this Pride challenge and it has taken off. It truly is a great means of promoting pride in our community this month. The other thing is that Mr. Kel has another fun challenge on his blog under his Wednesday post. Seems as if he gets at least five bloggers, each asking a question about him, he'll answer them. Well let's blow him away and get some more people over to his blog with questions. Kel is a great guy ...and I'll be perfectly blunt, one hot, handsome guy. Let him know it too, if you are so inclined. Plus I want to know more about him ~ don't you?

Let them know I sent you (unless either one, or both, gets to this post first).

Oh, and JUNE seems to be birthday month for two of my dearest friends and blogger buddies but I'll save the hoopla for when the time gets closer!

The last item I want to throw out your way, if Derek and Spider won't have my head on a platter for doing this, is that there are some rumblings of a possible SOUTHEAST BLOGGERS' PowWOW brewing. It most likely would be at the end of August, possibly August 26 & 27, Orlando ~ Florida style. Keep that in the back of your heads if it is something that interests you and should you be interested in attending. As it develops, I am sure one of us will do more posting about it.

That's it. I need to get back to my homework and projects. Lord help me as usual!

DESIGN ~ THINK COLOR IN YOUR SPACE

Color can do so much for a space visually. It can create warmth and vitality. Choose colors in the red, orange, and yellow spectrum. It can create a sense of coolness and calm. Choose colors falling in the green, blue, or violet range. These color choices can really effect your mood if you tend to live in a place that has frequent cold weather or the opposite, a hot, sunny climate.

When looking at a space, you need to assess several things to establish the effect and direction you would like to take the space. Observe such things as the overall shape of the room ~ small, large, square, or long and narrow (these tend to be the more common room shapes). Are you working with standard 8ft. high ceilings or are you dealing with high ceilings? How much light exists in the room? Are there architectural features, such as a fireplace, alcoves, molding and trim that need to be featured verses made to recess (or fade into the background)? What is the space being used for ~ rest, eating, activity?

Solutions exist that help create a specific effect in a your space.
1) Small spaces can be made to feel bigger by obviously using whites and off-whites but if you are brazen enough to use color, go with a much lighter hue of a chosen color.
2) Desire a large space to feel smaller, more intimate, more cozy ~ then go with a darker, deeper color hue of the chosen color.
3) Should you have a long, narrow room you can make the far reaching walls have an appearance of being much closer together by going with a darker variation of the chosen color on those opposing walls or by using a darker color of some other complimentary choice.
4) Effect #3 can also work on ceilings. You can make a room appear to have more volume by going with a lighter color on the ceiling. I often go 1/4 to 1/2 shade lighter of the color being used on the walls. You can also simply use an lighter complimentary or compatible color to the walls. Have incredibly high ceilings and need to make the room feel more intimate. Then select a dark color for the ceiling. This will give the appearance of the ceiling being lower than it really is.
5) Perhaps one element people are familiar with in color choices is when a room does not have an over-abundance of natural light. This is when you want to use lighter color choices that work with what limited light already exists so the room does not appear gloomy. Adding some mirror accessories in the room positioned on walls opposite the natural light also allow the light to bounce off the walls toward the darker areas of a room.
6) With respect to architectural details, if you want the feature to stand out then choose a color that contrasts well with the wall color. If you desire the feature to become less prominent in the room, then by all means simply carry the same color from the rest of the room over to the architectural feature as well.
7) Moods within spaces can be set too. If you desire a bedroom to be restful, calming, and tranquil, then use neutral colors such as tans, light beiges or grays, white or off-whites or variations of softer greens and blues. In spaces of daily activity, you may desire to use a bolder color or color combination.
8) If you have a space where you are restricted to white or off-whites, such as in an apartment or leased property, then strongly consider bring in your color through accessories. Find an inspiration piece that you can draw your colors from to complete the room. Examples of an inspiration piece could be a fabric, a painting or color photograph, a vase, etc. I think you probably have the picture.

There are so many other solutions that exist with color. In fact, I could easily go into so much more detail and direction with color. For now, in order for you to digest some of this information, I think I will stop here. But it really is 'food for thought' if you are looking to do your space right and feel comfortable in it.

If you have simple basic, general questions, feel free to leave them in your comments and when I have time I will try to answer them in a combined response post down the line. In the meantime, don't be bashful about using color.

****I am hoping to provide simple general design tips or thoughts every now and then on my blog, time permitting. Hopefully you will find them useful in your daily applications around your personal spaces.

HOW DO YOU LIKE IT? (#5)

It's my favorite time of the week where I get to read some great responses. So are you ready for "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?" I am.

The question for this glorious June week is: How do you like to give and receive kisses from your significant other ~ passionate and sensual, 'rough and smutty,' or deep and penetrating?

It would be easy to say I like them all, 'cause darn it, I DO! If I have to choose one, it is passionate and sensual. Perhaps its the romantic in me. But if I can cheat, I'd say deep and passionate. (**smirk**) OK, y'all spill your bloody guts in my comment section. Spare no details or risk banishment from this blog. Hehehe! Have I done a good job of convincing you? I'm trying.

Oh, by the way, this nasty little insect has been insisting that I never shared in my "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?" post#3 what type of underwear I liked. I thought I did but perhaps I was sharing comments more than what I wear. If you must know ~ trunk-style briefs (as opposed to boxer briefs but I do wear those too). Must be that Latin blood in me!

TWO FOR ONE

We all love it when we can get a sweet deal, especially when it involves two for one. Two ice creams for a buck. Two cartons of eggs or milk for the price of one. We get this inevitable feeling as if we have conquered the almighty world of consumerism. A euphoric state.

But does this concept of two for one apply to everything in our lives? Have you ever wondered if you could be interested in and or falling for two people at the same time. Are you thinking impossible? I don't know about this being necessarily true. Can't two people possess similar or, for that matter dissimilar qualities that you find equally attractive? Can't they both be equally engaging? Can't you be equally drawn to them physically for very different reasons?

While I realize that only one can win out (*word choice not intended to mean a competition in the literal sense but rather a final choice) in the end, I do believe that you can find a caring relationship, perhaps love evolving itself, while getting to know and or dating two separate people. The hardest decision in my mind comes when one needs to ultimately decide which relationship he (or she) will focus his (her) energies so as to ensure that the relationship flourishes. To make that sudden disconnect with one of the two individuals, knowing that the bond, the attraction has been just as strong and passionate as the other relationship, would seem to be so painful. But I guess our choices in life aren't always that simple. (I should clarify in this last statement that I do not mean that a friendship must be given up when choosing one over another.)

So for me, I find myself taking one day at a time, keeping my heart open, my ears in check. And will see where and if I hop off the 'train' at one of the two destinations. Perhaps the destination is still further down the 'track.' But, oh, the sights are so beautiful!

Y'ALL EITHER A YANKEE OR A REBEL?

Hey guys! Hope y'all are having a great weekend. I had a great Saturday. The weather here in Southern California was 92 degrees where I live with the coast bringing in mid 70 degree temperatures and a nice warm breeze. Today is suppose to be more of the same. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to bask in the sun around my sister's pool ( it was in one of the pictures I posted a week or so ago). And then I finished my Saturday evening off by having incredible phone conversations with two friends, Pete and Spider.

My post today stems from a post that another friend, Rob, had run on his blog a little over a month ago. I was reminded of it today, as I was reading through Danblog, a new blog for me.

So the big burning question of the day is: Are y'all either a Yankee or a Southern Rebel? Click here to take the short quiz. Then fess up and share your results with everyone in my comment section. Don't be bashful about letting us know if the quiz nails your personality or not. I sure want to know.

As for me, my result was 60% DIXIE. Barely in Dixie. Now who would have guessed it...me having a slight southern side to me. And I have barely been out of the state of California most of my life (when speaking about the U.S.). Perhaps it's the bad influence left on me by that handsome southern duo of BrettCajun and Spider. Bad influence, nah! ~ just joshin' you two hunks!

SPIDER'S SUMMER MEME VIA SORTED LIVES / SOMETHING DARING

I had seen this meme on Spider's Monday, May 29th post. I saw the subsequent run of it on Sorted Lives blog with the addition of his five questions to Spider’s meme. Since I have yet to participate in a meme, I decided to take the plunge, picking up from Sorted Lives’ subsequent post. The initial instructions from Spider state that if we were to use this meme on our site, we were to respond to the initial questions and any subsequent questions added to the original, depending on whose blog we pulled it from. Also, I have added five new questions of my own, as instructed. If you would like to simply participate here at this blog you may do so under the comments section. But if you decide to borrow the meme and post at your site, please answer all 20 questions listed below and add five more questions of your own.

Have fun with it…

SPIDER’S INITIAL QUESTIONS:

• Best Summer – Summer of 1982.
• Best Car Ever Owned – My Plymouth Conquest.
• Best Cruising Song – Dreamer by Supertramp.
• Favorite Meal – Veal Scallapini.
• Favorite Season – Spring.
• Most Proud Accomplishment –Achieving my Bachelors Degree in Business along with presently working on my Second Bachelors in Interior Design.
• Best Christmas Gift –My father getting through his first bout of cancer alive, 2002.
• Embarrassing Moment – Almost losing my swim trunks while water skiing. Lets just say I was mooning the public for a spell while being pulled into the upright position.
• Best Slow Dance Song – Over the Rainbow, version of the song by Eva Cassidy
• Best Night –A Saturday night on the island of Maui in April 2002 with my family on an all out fish/steak grill with tropical drinks flowing and wine. This was part of our last family vacation with my father before he passed away in November of that year.

SORTED LIVES ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

• Best/Favorite Summer Drink: Without a doubt, a premium margarita on the rocks with salt.
• Best/Favorite Thing To Do In The Summer: Waterski and wakeboarding
• Best/Favorite Summer Memory: Spending 5 weeks in Europe after my college graduation with 40 other incredible people from across, the U.S., Europe, South America, Japan, and China.
• Best/Favorite Place To Visit During Summer: Without hesitation, Hawaii.
• Best/Favorite Evening In Summer: Saturdays at my sister’s house barbequing and eating outside by the pool.

MY FIVE ADDITIONS TO THIS MEME:

• Best Summer Memory As A Child (under age 15): Camping with my family and relatives in Lake Tahoe – generally 30-35 would camp between 2 campsites.
• Best ‘Watering Hole' That You Have Been To: The Lonestar in San Francisco. WOOF! GRRRR!
• Craziest Summer Thing That You Did: Rode a Waverunner butt-naked out in the middle of Lake Tahoe. What an absolute incredible sensation!
• The Sexiest You Have Ever Felt: Talking on the phone with two incredibly sexy men in one day (yesterday –6/2/06).
• All-time Favorite Comedian: Hands down, Robin Williams, with Steve Martin as a very, very close second.

A QUESTION TO ASK YOU: Have you ever known anyone to be so brazen as to drive down a highway through a toll area on his way home clad only in a jockstrap and or butt-naked while having a conversation with a friend on the cellphone? A bit steamy here! Let me just say that I do and drop it there. *wink* And no, it wasn't me!