Friday Night Recap

I never made it to the galleries last night. Mike called on his way home from work to see if I wanted to go to dinner. He stopped by his house to pick up Chris and drove around the corner to pick me up. I made him put the top up on his Beemer because I was sitting in the back seat and the temperature had dropped significantly since sunset. We ended up at a Mexican restaurant next to Floyd’ barber shop on Broadway. I don’t remember the name of the place, but I’ll never forget the margaritas, which were so strong they could have stripped the varnish off the table. The food was good and our conversation mostly centered on a pink flocked Christmas tree that they found in their yard on Friday morning. Mike and Chris think Julie dropped off the three because she left a basket of gay porn on their front porch for Easter. I suggested a few other people. I never told them I regifted the tree. The mystery of the tree remained unsolved, but they are going to save the tree and put it in their yard next year.

After dinner we stopped by Cap City to see Lena. Her posse hadn’t arrived. Lena was having dinner with Matt, her roommate, and slamming down shots of Jack. Matt is a hunk of straight hotness. He used to bartend but now teaches yoga. Who’d ever guess that a 25-year-old straight guy would be roommates with a 49-year-old lesbian? After a few shots of tequila it was time to call it a night as Chris had to work on Saturday. I was home a little after nine and in bed by eleven.

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No Plans

It’s Friday afternoon and I’m listening to a new Kate Bush CD and downloading songs to my iPod. I accomplished more today than I did all week even though the IT department was closed and I was on furlough. I went to the tailor this morning to get the sleeves shortened on the coat I bought in Paris in October but I thought $35 was too expensive. I’m now in search of a new tailor. I exchanged a shirt at Nordstrom’s and managed to stay out of Neiman Marcus since I’m not getting paid this week. After lunch I took down the holiday decorations, registered my new Tumi backpack that K gave me and managed to get in a reasonably good work out at the gym.

I’m looking for something to do tonight. I don’t feel like staying home spending another night in front of the TV. I thought about checking out the shows at Pirate, Zip37, Next, Edge, Core and Spark. I asked Lena to go with me but she’s got plans to hang with her friends at Cap City. I left a message for Mike but you never know where he will be or when he’ll call you back. I got a text from Carlos but I don’t feel like going to his house because all he will want to do is smoke a bowl and watch a sci-fi movie. I guess it’s cool that a straight personal trainer twenty two years younger than me wants to hang out but I don’t feel like getting stoned tonight.

I’ll probably end up getting a quick bite at the counter of the Mexican restaurant on Santa Fe that serves brain and tongue tacos before hitting the galleries. Most likely, I’ll go with chicken or beef but someday I’m going to try tongue tacos.

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Maternal Drama

K and I had a low key Christmas. He got home on Thursday night and left on Monday afternoon. We went to Aimee and Steve’s for Christmas Eve and decorated ginger bread houses with the kids after dinning on green chili and tamales. We had a lazy Christmas morning and spent most of the afternoon getting ready for Christmas dinner. Lena came over with Pat and Dave for dinner. I was a wonderfully relaxing dinner.

The only drama was caused by my mother. I called on Christmas and spoke with my mother. She told me that my sister had driven her to start smoking again. Never mind the fact that she never fully quit. My mother told me she would fill me in later on the event that drove her over the edge. Then my mother ended the call.

I called my brother on Monday to see if he knew what happened. He didn’t know I called on Christmas. My mother didn’t tell anyone I called or relay the happy holiday message I asked her to extend to the family. It was as if it was a secret that I called. I talked with my mother on Monday afternoon. She never told me what drove her to start smoking. She was upset with my sister for wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts to dinner but nothing else she said seemed significant enough to cause her to start smoking. I was expecting to hear about a huge fight but it was all petty annoyances. It was nothing but manufactured drama. I was disappointed with my mother. I don’t know why mother felt the need to give the impression that my sister ruined her Christmas and caused her return to full mode smoking.

I am so glad I chose to stay in Denver for the holiday season.

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Beware Of Set Designers Bearing Gifts

Lena brought this pink flocked Christmas tree to dinner last night. She struck a set earlier in the day and saved the tree from the trash pile. Lena thought the tree would make a perfect, if not comical, addition to our holiday décor. I think I’ll regift it to Mike.

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8 Inches So Far

It started snowing around five yesterday afternoon. There was at least an inch of accumulation by the time I walked over to Tom and Sheila’s potluck winter solstice party an hour later. Their fireplaces in the living room and dining room had roaring fires. Sheila’s holiday decorations were tasteful and festive. Many bottles of cava were being opened. The small group consisted of a wide variety of very interesting people. One man spent his career in the NFL and was now working for the Broncos. There was a young woman who recently graduated from George Washington University with a degree in international policy but wanted to pursue an art career. A woman of a certain age who burst in the door like Rosalind Russell’s Auntie Mame was wearing black suede four inch heels, a red flared A-line skirt printed with martini glasses, a black turban and a strand of silver pearls the size of jaw breakers. I spent most of the evening in the living room talking to J & L, current and former opera singers, while they drank like college students on spring break. Auntie Mame joined us shortly after she arrived. It was amusing to watch J and Auntie Mame banter back and forth. Pretty soon the whole group was gathered around the fireplace in the living room while J held court telling tales of her long singing career. Sheila joined in with amusing stories from her opera career. It was like watching a Noel Coward play. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. It was too much fun for a Wednesday evening. I wish I could have stayed all night but I had to go home since I needed to get up at 5:30 for work.

The snow was about five inches deep when I walked home. I was on a party high even though I only had one glass of cava. Even stepping barefoot in cold cat puke in the master bedroom didn’t damper my mood. I was soon in bed alone drifting off to sleep with memories of another fun party at Tom & Sheila’s drifting through my mind.

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Rushing To Judgment

I may have been too quick to judge a person. I received an email this morning from the woman who invited me to the benefit. She feels awful about the misunderstanding and has invited me to dinner as an apology. Now I feel bad for assuming the worst about a person when it may have been a simple misunderstanding. On the bright side, my opinion of this woman has been restored. I’m glad I didn’t send her a rude email reply last Friday. I would have been the one ruining the relationship.

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A Busy Day

I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours last night. I finally got up and took half of a sleeping pill at 2 a.m. I was not happy when I was awakened this morning by a hungry cat walking all over me at 8 a.m. I’ve had breakfast and a cup of coffee and a cup of tea yet I still feel like going back to bed. I’ve got a lot to do today. I need to clean the house, plan the holiday dinner, buy K a gift or two or three and go to the gym. The Broncos are playing today so I’m hoping it will be safe to head to Cherry Creek after the game starts. I’m also hoping most people stay home to watch our newest media whore, TT, win the game in the final minutes. Cherry Creek could be mess again today. Yesterday, the occupy protesters closed down First avenue between Neiman Marcus and Hermès. I guess they figured the last minute 1% shoppers were out in force. However, the police quickly broke up the protest. Perish the thought of a public demonstration getting in the way of commerce. Thankfully, none of the Mercedes, BMWs, Audis or Bentleys lined up for the mall valet parking sustained any damage from the protesters. Yes, I am being sarcastic.

It’s time to get cleaned up or I’ll spend too much time surfing the net today.

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Just Another Disappointment

A few weeks ago I agreed to accompany a female friend to a charity benefit because her boyfriend was going to be out of town. She emailed the event information to me while I was in Ft. Lauderdale. I replied to her email informing her I was visiting friends in Florida but would buy a ticket to the event when I got back to Denver. My friend acknowledged receiving my email. Shortly after returning to Denver I bought the ticket. The event is tomorrow night at the Grand Hyatt downtown. This morning I emailed the friend to finalize our plans for tomorrow night. She replied that she made plans with her friends because she hadn’t heard from me. I was perplexed. I told her I would go with her and was going to buy a ticket. Why did she not check with me before making other plans? And she throws the ball in my court by saying she hadn’t heard from me. I was pissed. I wanted to rip her a new one, but instead, I took the high road and sent her an email wishing her a good time. At least I got a tax deduction and charity got a few bucks to spend on needy children.

I was trying to help out a friend but I can’t help feeling burned by her actions. She’s just another person in my life who has disappointed me. Why don’t people follow through with their commitments? I’m wondering if I expect too much from people.

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Sad News

A friend of Cindi’s committed suicide last Thursday. He was a local restaurateur and philanthropist. Cindi saw him at a charity event on Wednesday night and he seemed to be in the holiday spirit. He hung himself in the basement of his house the next day. He was found by his wife.

Cindi attended his funeral which received a lot of media coverage and was heavily attended by politicians, law enforcement, business leaders, representatives from many charities and socialites. Cindi had to stand for the two hour service because she arrived late and the cathedral was packed to the rafters.

I didn’t know this man but have eaten in one of his restaurants. I’m sad this man chose to take his life. He was always giving and supporting people and charitable causes. I can’t understand why this man didn’t reach out for help. He was always helping others. Perhaps he didn’t know how to ask for help.

I can’t image what his wife is going through. The horror of finding her husband in the basement is something she will never forget. The holiday season will never be the same for her or the children. I hope his wife will be able to focus on her husband’s good will and not his final act.

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I Said Nothing

Sunday was a busy day. I got up a little before eight, had breakfast and then prepared for my day. I had a good chat with Mary about holiday gifts for her grandkids. I headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up a children’s cookbook for Max, one of Mary’s grandsons. My next stop was the Children’s Hospital benefit at Blake Street Glass. I chatted with Dmitri and Kit for a while and bought a few hand blown ornaments for holiday gifts. After leaving Blake Street I drove down Blake Street and headed south on Broadway past the Denver Rescue Mission. There were crowds of homeless people queuing up for lunch. It was a sad sight. My next stop was Meininger Art Supply. I picked up gifts for Eliot and Tanner, also Mary’s grandsons, and then headed home. I called Mike when I got home because he wanted to run some errands since his partner, Chris, was working. Mike picked me up and we headed downtown to Patagonia. The traffic was horrendous because it was an hour before the start of the Bronco’s game. We changed directions and drove to a jewelry store in Centennial. Mike dropped $11k on a new Rolex. We had to drive a few blocks to Cherry Hills Village so the salesman could hand deliver the watch. Mike avoided paying 8% sales tax on the watch by having it “delivered” outside of Centennial. I was uncomfortable with this scam but didn’t say anything. By this time the football game had started so we drove downtown to Patagonia. I helped Mike pick out two sweaters and a shirt for Chris. He spent $450 on these items. Our final stop was the Tattered Cover on Colfax and then we headed home. I fixed dinner and watched the Amazing Race finale and a few other shows before heading to bed.

I’ve been really bothered by the Rolex tax scam. I don’t understand why Mike did this. Mike makes good money and is financially sound. He tides to his temple and attends a lot charity benefits. Why did he feel the need to avoid paying $880 in sales tax? I’ve known Mike for over twenty years. I know he can afford to pay the sales tax. It’s his second Rolex so it’s clearly a luxury purchase. Tax revenues are down and social service organizations are suffering due to budget cutbacks. I drove by hordes of homeless people earlier in the day. I can’t help thinking about how $800 would change their lives. I watched my friend participate in a tax fraud scheme and I said nothing. I’m not feeling very good about myself today.

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