A Better Day

As I mentioned, I had a bad work week. Those of you who have been to my myspace may have noticed an indicative change in song (at least one of you did). It's changed again.

I actually wrote a detailed post about work, but had the foresight to send it to my Dad for editing before I published it. Given that someone from work could google my name and find my blog, he thought it was a little too specific and could be problematic. So it sits in the Posting bin -- you may yet see it in a milder form.

Today was my equivalent of a spa day. I got up and did the puzzles in the Union-Tribune over coffee and a pastry. Then I got a haircut (a little too short, unfortunately -- my usual guy was closed). Then off to the gym.

I've been pretty good lately -- for about 7 weeks I've lifted at least twice a week (usually 3x) and have done cardio at least 4 times, including the SF trip (though I counted walking). A friend of Sue's that I had met once in Hawaii and ran into in SF told me I already looked bigger:). Sadly, the weight hasn't changed much.

Today was a "flexors" day. Back x 3, Rear shoulders x2, Biceps x2, Calves, and Hammies. Since I didn't have to work, I also did Abs x 2 and 40 minutes of cardio to work on the gut and work off tonight's trip to Flicks. The hottie trainer was there and we chatted briefly, so I was feeling pretty good.

So good, in fact, I decided to add one more thing. Right now, I'm benching 145 X 12, 165 X 10, and 185 X ~5. That's about as good as I've ever been, though I'm on the rise. One thing I've never done, though, was bench my weight. I decided to try. Sadly, all of the benches were in use, so I used a machine. I set the bee-hotch to 200 (a little high) -- no warm ups. I was able to do about 6 of them.

Feeling like the bomb, I came home, cleaned up, and did some manscaping. And, for some odd reason, took pictures. In DanNation style, I leave y'all today's gratuitious picture of, well, me. (It's also a bit of a tribute to one of my favorite former sites, Gay Muscle Boy in Training.)
Check it out now, because it will probably come down when the endorphines wear off.

Maybe next time I won't have to cover the gut with the flex.

Elephants, elections, and the environment

Despite a busy and crappy last week at work, I had a good gym week. I judge this by how many magazines I get through on the cardio machines. I usually do NewsWeek first, then the Advocate. If I get through those, I usually buy Time or US News. I had to get Time this week, so I read their cover story, "The Last Temptation of Al Gore". I highly recommend it.

I haven't really gotten active in any campaigns yet. I've been quietly supporting Sen. Edwards, watching to see if Sen. Obama is for real, and steeling myself to support Sen. Clinton if Giuliani looks like he's for real (because the Dems will have to win NY). I really had no interest in seeing Al Gore run. Until now.

I don't really have a soft spot for Gore -- I think he blew the 2000 election in a variety of ways. Most notably, he ran away from Bill Clinton's record and support. I find it hard to believe that Clinton couldn't have delivered Arkansas for Gore, and that would have been enough to win.

What intrigued me was the issue more than the man. It reminded me of two books that I read some time ago -- Don't Think of an Elephant (George Lakoff) and What's the Matter With Kansas? (Thomas Frank). Gore has done a wonderful job of bringing the issue of Climate Change (AKA Global Warming, Climate Crisis) to the forefront and organizing a broad coalition of interested parties, from the Sierra Club to investment firms. So wonderful a job, in fact, that the democrats may have a way to get the "heartland" back.

In What's the Matter With Kansas, Frank discusses how Kansas went from an open-minded old west state with a radical streak to a dependable victory for religious conservatives. Especially when the status quo requires people to vote largely against their own economic interests. To grossly oversimplify a good analysis (admittedly for my purposes), Americans have a desire to be part of something bigger or more important than themselves (which is great, by the way). Through a series of savvy moves and coincidental events, many people in Kansas decided it felt good to vote to protect fetuses, more so if it involved sacrificing their own interests.

Since VP Gore has pretty much sold the nation on the facts, I think there is now an opportunity to hi-jack the same American urge to benefit the environment, and thereby the democratic party. The Republican party can NOT highlight abortion this election cycle. Two of their top candidates are pro-choice (Mayor Giuliani) or used to be (Gov. Romney). In addition, the "partial birth" abortion decision by the Supreme Court (and the sexist "reasoning" behind it) might just remind the majority of Americans who support Roe vs. Wade what will happen if a Republican nominates John Paul Stevens' successor.

So fill the "cause" void with a socio-religious spin on the environment -- something to vote on and feel good about, even (or especially) if it involves a sacrifice. The nice thing is that if it works, even a little, it will just keep getting better. In Don't Think of an Elephant, Lakoff has already labelled the environment as a slope issue (or something like that -- I lent out the book and don't have it to look up). The idea is that it will create a positive political feedback for "liberals". It goes something like this:
-- People pick up the enviroment as a issue
-- Environmental groups get more money, which goes to liberal politicians
-- People use alternative fuels
-- Oil companies have less money, make fewer donations, and lose power
-- Other causes get included -- new products lead to better HEALTH CARE, jobs, etc.

VP Gore would likely be the most effective person to bring the issue to the front. And his conversion to a cause driven man of principle has done a lot to enliven his image from its boring, wooden, Naomi-consulted cellar. But is he the only one who can pull it off? Or would he serve the issue, and thereby the party, better as unfetterred issue teacher.

The problem is that there is another obvious top issue -- the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, it's too splintering -- even within the party. Did you vote for the war? Did you vote for the new funding? Are you supporting the troops? Can you keep us secure if we pull out? Gore may be the only one with the clout to make the environment trump the war as an issue (or put them together) and make 2008 an easy democratic victory. Otherwise it will be a tight race, and polls out this week show that Sen. Clinton doesn't beat ANY of the top three republicans head to head.

Go Al!?!

Rambling Thoughts

I'm one week into my two week work swing, but I got a little break this afternoon. For some reason, I'm in one of those moods when I don't feel lame for not going out, so I thought I'd post something. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything on the tip of my tongue (fingers). So here are some random thoughts from the past couple of weeks.

-- When did pregnancy again become the worst result of unprotected sex? A couple of weeks ago, I had "The New Adventures of Old Christine" on as background noise. I don't really know the players, but the thrust of the episode was that Christine had slept, unprotected, with a man (I think her ex). I came in late, but the entire episode was about her fear of pregnancy, and how a pregnancy would affect here swinging single life. There was no mention of HIV, AIDS, or STD's. On the heels of this, I saw the trailers for "Knocked Up". I obviously haven't seen it yet, but the entire trailer was about a hook-up that produced a child. No obvious concern about STDs.
I know these things are downers for a comedy, and I wouldn't expect a full episode on them (though it could provide your Emmy/Oscar clips), but come on, show a little responsibility. Heterosexual transmission is real. By the way, it's not hard to make a visit to a clinic amusing-- have you seen "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"?

-- I really wasn't ready to admire John Ashcroft. I don't plan to put him up for sainthood, but the recent reports of his strength against domestic surveillance are impressive. To paraphrase: "Don't resign until I can resign with you." Damn. I would have drawn my line in the sand/constitution in a different place, but ya gotta respect his stance at his line.

-- I avoided internet dating for a long time -- it just didn't seem natural to me. When I moved to San Diego, I joined a few sites as a way to meet people. I've met some seemingly nice guys, and things seem to go well by e-mail. Then they send me their phone numbers. At which point I wig out and don't call. Why am I comfortable talking on-line or in person, but not on the phone? Any budding psychologists or experienced gay boyz with insight?

-- Is "I can't ever remember to take my pills" a reason to keep someone in the hospital on intravenous medications?

-- I may keep HBO just for "Real Time".

-- The only thing politicaly weirder than admiring John "Cover Those Breasts" Ashcroft? Agreeing with Newt Gingrich. But there it is. His idea of 9 weekly dialogs from Labor Day to Election Day, 90 minutes each with two candidates (at least) and no moderator, is brilliant. Check it out at www.newt.org. (I know, I'm linking to Newt. It's only fair. Trust me, I won't vote for him. Except, perhaps, in a cross-over primary so he can get crushed by John/Hillary/Barak).

-- Less than two months to the next Harry Potter movie. And book. Also, I agree with the person who posted on my myspace -- Peter Jackson should direct "The Hobbit".

-- Is "my myspace" redundant?

-- Should I continue to drink my stash of Sonoma wine while I blog (and listen to The Jimmi and Dan Variety Cast), or should I save it for a more special occasion and buy cheap stuff for the former. Or, did we have a drink together if I drink while writing and you drink while reading?

Dear Cingular and Papa Johns,

I just wanted to let you know that I can read AND do math, sometimes simultaneously. Also, I have some general knowledge of business practice.

For instance, my experience has been that when one buys in bulk, one pays less per item. So Papa John, I will not be buying Two Large Two Topping pizzas for the privilege of paying a dollar more than twice the price of one Large Pizza w/ Up to Two Toppings.

Honestly.

With regard to your generous offer of a discounted new phone, Cingular, I was touched. That BlackJack for which I've been jonesing for only 149.99. Wow! After almost 5 years as a customer, most recently with two phones, it was nice to know that you placed a value on my "loyalty".


Curiously, though, I saw a recent TV add offering ANYONE a BlackJack for 149.99. By my math:

$149.99 [normal price] - $149.99 [my price] = $0.00 [benefit of loyalty]

I'm less touched. I may have to come get the BlackJack now, though, before you learn business practice from a pizza chain and try to charge me more for loyalty. Or maybe I'll skip the pizza and the phone and donate some money to the school system that leaves anyone susceptible to these offers.

Sincerely,

Doctor Joel

Thomas Wolfe Can Kiss My Ass!

When I took my new job, I switched my schedule around with some of my colleagues. It didn't matter much to me at the time, so I didn't pay attention to the dates. When I looked at the schedule for another reason, I found out I had last week off. I talked to Sue, who told me to come up and take her to wine country. In floating the idea to some of the SF crowd, I found out it was a good friend's 25th birthday. That clinched it.

I went home again.

With all appropriate apologies to Mom, Atlanta, and San Diego, San Francisco is, for now, home. It felt like I hadn't missed a beat -- which was wonderful in some ways, and downright frightening in others. It was nice to be caught up on the gossip and drama in just a couple of days; it wasn't so great to be caught up in it. I enjoyed seeing all of my favorite bartenders; but didn't need the returned intensity of my unrequited crushes (nor the predictable random meeting after a night of sappy proposals to him). It was exciting to meet a beautiful man at The Mix again; not so great to have to take him to Beck's motel. I really wish I were kidding about that last one.

Part of me didn't want to leave. It reminded me of my first trip home from college. Erie seemed welcoming, and comfortable, and easy. Baltimore, back then, seemed lonely, and foreign, and hard. Like San Diego now, in some ways.

But just like Erie, I left San Francisco for a reason, and it hasn't gone away. As with my crush, it would probably come quickly to the forefront as soon as the welcome home party wound down. I needed a new job, and new challenges. The nice thing is that if all goes well, I'll probably be able to go back to SF someday.

So, thanks to Sue and Bob and "J and K" (and Becks, of course) for putting me up. Thanks to my old friends, including but not limited to: Chad, Dan and Donnan, Kel, Nick, J-C, Pauly, Phillip, Wes, Kyser, Arthur, The Sins, The Pups, The Mix and Badlands (and bartenders, two in particular) for showing me great time and putting up with me. And thanks to all the new people I met who have given me even more reasons to come back. I had a great time, and hope to see you soon.

BTW -- Some of you could f*****' come to SD -- I have a guest room and a guest bath w/ whirlpool jets. Hell, we could even meet in LA.

I actually shot this photo on the way to SF. I saw the sunset from I-5, but there were no exits or turn-offs coming up. So I snapped this from my window going 85 mph. Not bad, eh?