Frying Eggs On The Driveway

It’s been hotter than hell here. Over 100 yesterday. It’s time to fry eggs on the driveway.

It’s also been an unrealistically difficult week at work. My client is less than nine days away from their first major product launch since exiting bankruptcy. Major outages have yet to be corrected. There’s a lot riding on this launch. The company is also entering its last fiscal quarter so this launch has high expectations regarding revenue projections and maintaining financial stability.

I’m headed out to the galleries tonight. There are two very promising shows at Space Gallery and Spark Gallery.

See you on the back side.

Read Full Post »

There’s A New DILF In Town

After torturing the neighborhood with an eighteen-month renovation, the family across the street listed their house for sale. The house was pulled from the market after a month. Six months later the house was relisted at a slightly reduced price. The house sold in two weeks.

On Saturday, the family moved out. There was no going away party. No neighbors wished them well. The general consensus was all were glad to see them go as they were a constant interruption to our quiet neighborhood. There was a revolving door of guests and cars. Even though they built an underground garage, their five cars were almost always parked on the street. I think I heard a chorus of angels singing when the moving vans drove off.

I was mowing the yard yesterday afternoon when the new owners arrived along with the movers. They’re a young couple with two young daughters. I did not introduce myself as there was an army of movers trying to get the family settled. I noticed the woman was stylishly dressed for a moving day. The man looks like he knows the inside of the gym very well along with being very handsome. There’s a new in DILF in town and he lives across the street. I think I heard another chorus of angels singing.

Later that evening, I was talking to the woman who lives next door to the new neighbors. She also a handsome husband. She told me she was waiting for the new neighbor to strip off his shirt and jump into their pool so she could get a better look. Her house sits higher on the hill so she has a prime view of the pool. She agreed to invite me over if she sees him in the pool. Now, that’s a good neighbor.

Read Full Post »

You’re Fired

This morning my team lead announced the departure of the VP who runs the division. The VP was asked to leave the company. A half hour later, a friend who works in IT, called to let me know the woman, who is the director of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), has also disappeared. I had not seen her for a week or two. Her office is now cleaned out which usually means the person has been fired. I’m not sure what is going on. The company has started to quietly acquire small companies so there’s a lot of M&A work to do. The M&A work I do is the most interesting and challenging right behind new product introduction. I can only hope the new VP and Director, who have yet to be announced, like to employ contractors.

Read Full Post »

Art Fot Saturday

Clifford Ross, Hurricane Wave LXVI, pigment print. On display at the Denver Art Museum.

Read Full Post »

Work, Media and Art

I haven’t been motivated to write a post. I’ve been overwhelmed at work as a result of my client’s team in India who don’t understand how to do their job. They have created more work for all the associates in the States. Yet all the executives see is a cheap labor pool. Never mind the fact that the cheap labor pool is creating a lot of work for the onshore expensive labor pool.

Also, the events that have been slashed across all forms of media have left me feeling like there’s no end to scandals. I been trying to limit my online time as it often leads to reading sensationalized headlines.

On the bright side, I attended the premier of a new photography exhibit at the Denver Art Museum last night. New Territory: Landscape Photography Today is a stunning exhibit. He’s a description from the museum’s website:

New Territory: Landscape Photography Today is a survey of contemporary landscape photography from around the world. The exhibition of more than 100 photographs will explore how artists stretch the boundaries of traditional landscape photography to reflect the environmental attitudes, perceptions, and values of our time.

The works revive historic photographic processes as well as use innovative techniques and unconventional equipment and chemistry to depict landscapes in surprising ways. Taken individually and as a whole, the photographs will show how about 40 artists have manipulated materials and processes for expressive purposes, blurring the distinction between “observed” and “constructed” imagery. The exhibition challenges us to see photography differently, and contemplate our complex relationship with the landscape.

Marco Breuer, Untitled 2014,Chromogenic paper, embossed and scraped.

Read Full Post »

Rainbow Flags and Rain

Friday night I hit a few galleries early in the evening. Mai Wyn opened a new show featuring Julie Anderson and Tommy White. I really like Tommy’s paintings. My favorite was $4,500, which is out of my reach.

After the galleries, I planned on meeting Double A before stopping by Bearracuda. I called Double A only to hear him cancel as he wasn’t feeling well. I decided to persevere and go the dance party by myself, which, is something I would normally not do. The party was fun but I didn’t know anyone there. Has my peer group aged out of the party circuit only to be replaced by the next generation? I recognized two guys from the gym but they ignored me just as to do at the gym. Some things never change. After a few hours of guy watching and entertaining go-go bears I headed home.

Saturday afternoon I met Morgan, and his partner, along with two other friends to check out the pride celebration in Civic Center Park. The ride downtown on the light rail was quite entertaining as the passengers were a mix of LBGTQ and Comic-Con attendees. There’s nothing like seeing a seven-foot tall drag queen dwarfing a man dressed as Captain Kirk from Star Trek on public transportation. After a few hours of food, beverage and booths it was time to head home. The ride home was just as entertaining as the ride to downtown.

Late Saturday afternoon, I attended a party hosted by an artist friend and his girlfriend. They hired a really great jazz band for the party. The party was a lot of fun as the crowd was mostly artists and patrons from the local art scene. Oddly, I was the only gay in attendance. I went from being surrounded by the LBGTQ community to being the lone gay at a party in a matter of hours. The party was a lot of fun. What can beat good music, tasty food and an entertaining crowd?

I was home by a little after 8. I started to binge watch the second season of Goliath on Amazon. I was in bed early so I could have a full night of sleep before resuming the celebration on Sunday.

I was up early on Sunday and out of the house by 9 to see the Pride Parade. Mike cancelled as he had a therapy appointment. Skipping the parade for therapy was good choice in my opinion as he seems to be having a hard time dealing with the end of his relationship. The parade was epic for Denver. It lasted a little over two hours. Governor Hickenlooper, Congresswoman Diana Degette and Senator Michael Bennet were in attendance as were most of the Democratic candidates running for office. Former Congressman, Jared Polis, who is running for Governor, had a block long group of supporters. By contrast, the Republican contingent was very small. Planned Parenthood received rousing applause as did PFLAG and the #Never Again group. It was an emotional and uplifting experience.

I headed home after the parade to have lunch and hit the gym. The rain arrived mid-afternoon which put a damper on the celebration. The rain continued the rest of the day and into the night. None of my friends wanted to go to beer bust because of the rain. My pride celebration was over. I didn’t mind since I had my fill of pride. I continued to binge watch Goliath, fixed dinner at home and went to bed early.

Another Pride celebration has come and gone. I had my fill of rainbow flags for a while.

Read Full Post »

I Was Tempted

I was tempted to send this card because I couldn’t find a card about an emotionally unavailable, distant and uncommunicative father. I sent a simple happy Father’s day card along with a gift basket.

In other news, it’s Pridefest weekend in Denver. Double A and I are planning on going to Bearracuda tonight after the art tour. It’s billed as a fun, friendly party for bears, cubs and other wildlife. Saturday brings the first day of celebration at Civic Center Park which is promoted as a family friendly event with food and vendors selling everything under the sun. Morgan, my gym friend and I are going on Saturday along with a few of Morgan’s friends. Mike and I are planning on going to the parade on Sunday which starts at Cheeseman Park and ends at Civic Center Park. The gang is also planning on hitting beer bust at The Wrangler on Sunday afternoon. There are events all over town this weekend. It should be a fun weekend. Organizers are expecting 400,000 people at Pridefest this year and it’s projected to have a $25 million impact on the local economy. Pridefest has received great press coverage. It’s just too big to ignore.

Read Full Post »

Misfits

I was talking to a friend about my attempts at dating. I made the statement that they guys I’ve been meeting seemed to be from the land of misfit toys. He asked me if I ever wondered if I was from the land of misfit toys too. His question was alarming. Am I as damaged as some of the men I’ve met? I really don’t know the answer. Perhaps I don’t want to admit that I am damaged, or acknowledge that I’m too picky and have unrealistic expectations for a mate. I’ll have to ponder this for a while. Don’t expect an answer anytime soon. I’m not sure I want to know the answer.

Read Full Post »

Helping A Friend

I spent most of Sunday with Mike. He picked me up after meeting with his therapist (I’ve never known a therapist with office hours on Sunday). It used to be couples counseling but the partner stopped attending the sessions. The sessions have been migrated from couples counseling to individual therapy for Mike. The partner is now the ex. It was a tough day for Mike because he now realizes he single but still supports his unemployed ex.

Mike treated me to an early breakfast/late lunch in the Tech Center near his house. Mike didn’t open about a lot of the details but we did talk about being single after a long-term relationship, dating later in life, living in huge house as a single man and being cautious about inviting guys over to his house which is in a swank neighborhood filled with very expensive homes.

Mike was really down and out of sorts but does a good job of masking his feelings. A major issue is the relentless pot smoking by the ex and his inability to find a job he likes. The ex quit his last job three weeks before Christmas. He moved out of the house into a studio apartment which Mike pays for. The ex turned in his car at the end of the lease now relying upon Uber to get around.

After breakfast, I helped Mike plant the pots on the patios of his house. More plants were needed so we headed to the garden center. A stop was made at the community pool to meet some of the neighbors and check out the local action. Mike’s neighborhood has a large percentage of hot DILfs and the pool did not disappoint.

After introductions and conversations at the pool, I helped Mike pick out suitable plants for the patio pots. The ex used to take care of these things but he’s no longer willing to help even though he’s receiving support.

After the pots had been planted, watered and placed back on the patios, Mike drove me around the neighborhood to check out the new construction. The homes keep getting bigger and bigger. He also showed me two houses were guys he found on Grindr live. One was young twentysomething living with his parents while the other was a fortysomething father of four. I advised him to avoid any contact with the Grindr guys. There’s no need to be involved in a neighborhood scandal.

Mike drove me home late in the day. It was good to spend time with him. He’s clearly hurting. I think he needs his friends now more than ever.

Read Full Post »

Ending Friendships

I had a great time with Cindi last weekend. It was as if I had never spent a day apart from Cindi. I have known her since the early 90’s. I have never had an argument or cross word with Cindi. I have vacationed with Cindi in Europe, P-town and Mexico many times. There has never been any tension between us. I cherish my friendship with Cindi.

By contrast, I no longer have a friendship with Perry. I will never speak to her again. Perry has been telling people I assaulted her at the museum the night we had words. The night she was taking pain pills and drinking. Perry has told people I tried to hit her with her cane that night. She has also told people the woman, who is charge of individual giving at the museum, urged Perry to call the police so I could be arrested. I admit to raising my voice and telling Perry she should have stayed home. I also told her she should not be drinking while taking pain pills and driving. I did not try to assault her.

Perry has also told Paddy I have been spreading rumors about him. Sadly, Paddy could not clearly explain what was said. Paddy believes I told people he can’t manage his money and other stuff. The other stuff was explained as, “you know, stuff”. I admitted I told Mike I believe Paddy should be saving money if he truly hauls in twenty grand a month. I told Paddy the same. I never said he mismanaged money. Paddy accepted my apology but has not spoken to me for two months. I never had a chance to counter the other allegations because Paddy’s limited communication skills do not permit him to articulate his thoughts, or relay what was said in a conversation. Stuff will remain stuff.

I’ll never know what Perry told Paddy. At this point, I don’t care. If he believes Perry, there’s nothing I can do about it. A four friendship has been ruined. I’m responsible for damaging the friendship by talking to Mike about Paddy. One could argue it was never a very good friendship if one disagreement in four years ruins a friendship. As for Perry, I will never forgive her. I don’t want people in my life like Perry. I don’t like liars. I will stick with my good friends, like Cindi.

Read Full Post »