Mikey Phone Home

My buddy told me today that after living here for four years he STILL does not feel like this place is "home".  I was surprised because there have been so many little things about this city for me to fall in love with that it has turned into my new homestead within the time of ONE YEAR!

The moment I knew I was falling in love with this city was the day that my friend Curtis had come up from Atlanta and we were taking the Ferry boat to P-town.  As the boat pulled away I looked at my city, with the sun shining down and the wind in my hair and just knew, this is the place I will now call home.  It was the most gorgeous weather that I have seen since being here and it is the day that I keep fresh in my mind throughout the groggy winter.  The summer months here in MA are what help tide you over.  They make it all worth while.  Just give it one summer in Muggy Ol' Charlotte to know that breezy days are worth fighting for.

Just a few other things that have helped me to become accustomed to this wonderful (still) "new" town of mine...

Sunday Brunch at Stella in "SOWA" - Even if it is just to make fun of the ridiculous looking gays - but also a great way to have a place to wear a cute outfit, especially if you didn't get a chance the night before because instead of every other weekend you used your better judgement and stayed home!

Walking around South End/Back Bay - If the weather is nice then the attractive people are out and about.  Don't be fooled, Boston is no New York, so...NO CRUISING ALLOWED!  

When the weather is warm one of my favorite spots is by all means Newbury Street.  Today we talked about whether or not the fashionable people are really fashion conscious or just living out loud.  I think it is interesting either way to see what people's take on a designer's runway intent has to offer.  You can learn a lot from the people on Newbury.  Also, last year while walking down Newbury I was lucky enough to see a guy getting arrested.  His car was pulled over by two police officers.  They had him cuffed and were pulling a variety of goods out of his car and putting them on the roof.  One bag of white powder.  One Bag of Grass.  Two small vials of God-only-knows-what and a syringe.  You would NEVER see this up close in CHARLOTTE, ESPECIALLY not at SOUTHPARK MALL!  NEVER!

Duck Tours - The "ConDUCKtors" (Guides) are goofy as hell but it makes for a memorable historic tour.  Not to pricey at $30 a ticket considering how much history and site seeing is crammed into one hour and a half.  Its a helluva lot better than some fat dude in a grey wig talking all Quaker colonial on a mother-fckr, right?  Plus, as an added bonus you get to SIT the ENTIRE TIME!

My Shady Parking Lot - I mean, I know that I don't own the lot or anything, but I do feel so inclined to call it my own, given that I park there every time I go into the city (along with everything else that has happened in that lot).  

Fritz is my favorite bar to have a beer and relax.  Although I still look more dressed up than the typical patrons I am at my lowest of keys.  Fritz is where I taught myself how to watch baseball and basketball.  When you are new in a city for some reason no one talks to you.  In Charlotte I used to think it was because I was promiscuous and disrespectful but who knew...they thought I was just visiting!?!?  Nonetheless, GO SOX, GO CELTS!

One Night I had decided to grab a beer by lonesome.  It was one of those nights I was tired of catering to Steve's list of demands and had decided that no friend was better than shit friend.  When I got to the bar I sat on a stool all alone.  The bartender started a conversation with me.  Where from, what do you do and so forth.  He was nice, even though he said that he had never seen me in the bar before.  I let him know that it was one of the only bars in Boston that I frequented and had been doing so for nearly a year.  Time passed while I sat and we intermixed conversation with him doing his job and serving the other patrons.  I finished my beer and had planned on only having one, as money was tight and I was driving home.  He slipped me a beer, gave a nod and a wink, and it made me feel special that the bartender was hooking me up.  We said our goodbyes, he was sad to see me go.  Not sure if the plan had been to get me drunk enough to take me home by the end of his shift, but I was sure as shit not ready to wait and find out.  On the way back to my car (in my shady parking lot) I passed a group of three gay dudes that were being loud with laughter and just having a good time.  They passed a homeless woman that asked them for a cigarette and the man gave her the one that he had just lit for himself.  His friends cheered cause they wanted him to quit anyway and the homeless lady thanked him endlessly.  They hooted and hollered, and the lady acted crazy.  This made me laugh and was another notch in my belt of loving this gosh-darned city of Boston.

I have plenty more where these came from.  Tales of being romanced by this wonderful town, but I will save them for later since this is the year that I have committed to showing my friend Mikey how to really LIVE in BOSTON and begin to call it home.  

weather you will, or weather you won't

A different dream I had a couple of nights ago, I would assume stemmed from the horrible weather here that is taking forever to GO AWAY.  

The snow has melted but the rain is here for now.

In my dream, my friends and i were searching for our car.  As it turns out the car was BURIED in the snow and we had to dig our ways into the car through the snow.  I remember sitting down on the snow and using my hands to scoop up the snow beside me and kept pushing my feet down in the snow, the way you push on the sand with your feet when you are laying out on your beach towel.  Finally the snow below me caved and I found myself plop down in the backseat of my friend's car.  Snow caved in on top of me.  I yelped and started scooping snow out the side door.  My friend did donuts in the parking lot with my door wide open while I shoveled snow off of my lap with my hands and into the street yelling "Snow Go Away! Snow Go Away!"

With dreams like these, I think I need a vacation.

My Dirty F-ing Mouth

I had a dream last night.  It was taking place while I was visiting home.  (I am getting ready to go in May).

The whole family was altogether watching a movie or something like that.  Actually now that I think about it we were all watching a movie and then we were all in this huge body of water.  There were bouys with different family memebers and I was swimming from bouy to bouy.  Finally we all separated because there were waves.  It was strange because we were in the middle of this body of water, so it was not ocean-like.  Then all of the sudden we all stared up into the sky and these Huge TV screens lowered and images and messages and sounds came across them.  This was some kind of famous water park where they displayed a light show and then the waves and the water started acting up.  I remember looking to my brother and saying "Is this really what they are famous for?" I was not impressed.  

Later on at the house when I was in my room my brother came in and said that he did not like my language.  I tried to reason with him and tell him I understood but it had embarrassed me because someone else was in the room that I didn't know that well.  We fought about it a lot and I slammed the door on him, but then opened it to talk to him more about the situation.  I plotted that for the entire weekend I would not talk to him for the rest of our time there.

It was a weird fucking dream.

Mr. Clean

I guess I am just lazy.  You could call me a sloth.  I just hate the idea of cleaning.  

When I think about everything finally being cleaned I get depressed.  This means that there would be nothing left to do.  Once it is all done there would be nothing to do accept sit around and look at your clean apartment.  You would not be DOING anything in your apartment because you would be exhausted from cleaning it that you would not want to have to do this anytime soon.  So you would look and not touch.

Another scary part about cleaning is that once you start you cannot stop.  If you clean up and get to a worthy level of ultimate clean, then the problem is that you have to maintain it.  You have to get in the habit of cleaning it all the damn time, over and over, it never stops.  If you just leave it messy, well, then it is ALWAY messy.  Maybe I fear inconsistency?

I would prefer to be always messy, than to either CONSTANTLY be cleaning up, or Never fully satisfied with the level of clean.  When it comes to cleaning up, the thing that really sucks is that there is always something else you can do.  

Take the bathroom, for instance.  First.  Put away all the product scattered on my counter.  Move all decor and clean bathroom counter.  Sweep the floor.  Mop the floor.  Launder Bathroom rugs.  Clean the toilet.  Change the toilet paper roll.  Empty the trash can.  Clean the Shower.  Clean the Shower curtain.  Change the wire rack from shower that is rusted with soap scum.  Windex the bathroom mirror.  

If this wasn't enough.  Go through cabinets and throw out old or expired products.  Finally get rid of all the almost empty shampoo bottles.  

I mean this is just too much.  

By now most my friends have realized that they do not go into my bedroom or bathroom unless they have to.  The close ones have become accustomed to my lifestyle and accepted me for who I am.  I cannot tell if this is a good or bad thing.  Seeing as how these are the only ones who would be honest enough to hold me accountable.  Luckily their rooms are messy as hell also.

I'm All Set

if you never noticed it before, you sure as shit will now.  i hear it time after time, i cannot tell you how much in one year I have heard the phrase "I'm all set" uttered from a local's mouth.  They say it all the time; "You, all set?"  

Am I all set with what mother fucker?  What are you people talking about?  I think it is hilarious and I love to say it now.  I AM ALL SET.  Bitch.

It can be meant as an endearing term or a gesture of fuck you.  It can be said in anger or out of sheer sincerity.  I personally like to say it to everyone when I have had too much to drink.  

The phrase "I'm all set" can let a homeless person know you don't have any money and do not want to hear their pitch.

"I'm all set" can let a commission salesperson know that you do not want them to "bother" you or that you just want to purchase what you have already selected, not what they are about to show you.

"I'm all set" can let your waiter or waitress know that it is time to bring your check or possibly that you are completely finished with your meal.

"You guys all set?"  Can be asked when the party is ready to leave the establishment.

"You all set?" (and raised eyebrows) is meant as fighting words.

"You all set?" (with raised eyebrows and a flat hand gesture) can let your girlfriend know that you saw her flirting with that guy and that you will be breaking up with her in the car ride so she needs to be "all set" and get his number because you, on the other hand, are all set.

(this was taken from a true story, I actually observed this one first hand between the couple at a party)

It is a great ending to a fight.  It is the "Fuck you" of open ended questions.  It is a way to sound as though you are sincerely concerned while letting the opposite person know that you want them to pack their shit and leave, because then, and only then, will you, yourself, be all set.

Crazy EM

I loved her so much.  I always do.  The crazy little girl.  I fall for them easily.  I want to help them.  Take care of them.  I'm gay, so I don't fuck them.  But you know.  I don't know.  It feels good to be needed.  Although I have had times when I pulled myself away because I knew that things had gone a little to far here and there.  

I had this friend.  Em.  She was cute.  Really fun.  She's a great girl and means well.  She is destined for disaster though.  I think that her mom lived a rocky life and because of it Em suffers.  I remember this being something that we briefly touched on.  Of course the subject wasn't one of her favorites to discuss.  

We met at work.  We will both admit that we never really cared for one another before actually working in the same department with one another.  Then love ensued.  

We both thought the other was quite annoying.  We laughed about it once we each confessed.  

It started out slowly.  But then we became thick as thieves.  We did everything together.  I did wind up loving her.  I cared for her dearly but she decided to keep giving her heart out to people who didn't want to fully respect her in regards to what she deserved.  She is beautiful and should take more pride in herself.

She went crazy.  Out of control.  That is when we lost touch.  This is the point at which it becomes easy for me to walk away.  I told her to make her own decisions, I wouldn't be apart of the bad ones.  

People have to make up their own minds when it comes to dealing with the cards life deals.  It always pisses me off when people say that they have it worse than someone else.  

WRONG.  

The dealer deals.  You play your hand.  We all get dealt cards.  Figure out how to play them.

Move on.

Everyone.  In.  Sameboat.

That is how I see it.  So that is why it is easy for me to abandon people when they deliberately choose NOT to follow the path that is obviously right.

We spent most of the summer together Em and I.  We laid out at the pool.  We found a pool in a high class neighborhood that was at the lake and would drive nearly 30-45 minutes just to lay out there.  No one was ever there but it was the nicest pool to lay out at in Charlotte.  We bought these drinks called "Peels" at the store because they were alcoholic beverages with REAL FRUIT JUICE in them!  "Live After 5" in Downtown Charlotte was a regular occurance.  We had our picture taken with a tin man at one of them.  It was one of the best summers of my life and for that I am thankful.

I miss you Em, wherever you are, good luck with that, I'm all set.

It's Official, I Live here Now

I just realized something.  I live here.  

No, but really, I live here now.  Last year I never felt that connection.  I was ready to leave and go on to something else or I was ready to give up and end up right where I started but now, I live here.

Now.

I realized this when I thought of how fun it will be to take some friends of mine, from here, around my hometown on my next visit.  They are excited to go because they have heard loads of stories from "various" locations throughout the "Queen City" and they are ready to see for themselves.  

I also came to the realization that in this year I don't have the connection to my friends from Charlotte that I felt last year.  I am connected here.  I am excited about my friendships and they that is what they are turning into.  They are not just people I have met, they are people I have gotten to know and become closer friends with.  I feel lucky to have met the ones that I have managed to maintain.  It is tough moving somewhere new because it is easy to give up.  

I know what had worked for me in the past, I know what had not worked.  When you see these character traits in someone from the beginning it is hard to give them enough time to manifest into something more than a mere acquaintance.  All in all this one rule will translate no matter where you are:  the ones that are worth keeping, will always stick around.  It's true.  I have managed to find some really great people to surround myself with up here and I cannot wait to take them to Charlotte and show them a few little nuggets of life that have helped me get to where I am now.  

On previous visits to my hometown I was fleeing my surroundings and trying to submerge myself in what had once felt so right.  With each visit this feeling slowly faded and now the tables have turned.  I am going as a vacation, not as an easy out.  I am the most excited about spending time with my family.  I have missed my mother and father very much.  I have not even gotten to see my sister-in-law or my new niece Daisy since I first saw her when she was born (She was born the January 19th, 2008, while I was up here looking for an apartment).  I only got to hold her once before moving and since then her and her mother have been ill everytime I have ventured home.  I have warned my sister-in-law that she is NOT to be ill and to keep that baby healthy cause I HAVE GOT TO SEE HER CUTE LITTLE FACE!

It's a lot better feeling when you look around and have the peace of living somewhere instead of just moving.  2008 I was in a constant limbo of wondering which world I should strive to connect with.  Now I am happy with where I am at.  Well, at least as far as my friends are concerned.

My wallet, that is another story altogether...