Mikey Pod

Hey There, yes I am still alive and doing well, life has a way of getting in your way sometimes of the things you would really like to be doing, I have allot to catch you up on and some adventures to share with you and I promise to that very soon on here. I have been out having some fun times and I want to let you know what I have been up to!

But right now I want to introduce you to someone I think you will enjoy, his name is Mikey Pod!!! No, no not really...his name is Michael Harren and he as a great podcast that is called Mikey Pod. Now I first started listening to Mikey Pod about 3 years ago. I had just found out that there were several Gay podcasts on iTunes and it was through one of the podcasts I started listening to that I came across Michael.
To be really honest, Mikepod soon became my favorite podcast and has stayed in that spot ever since.

Mikey Pod is different from many Gay Podcast in that it is made up mainly of music
that Michael comes across from many different musicians and he shares that music with us through Mikey Pod. In his early podcasts Michael would do sound tours of different places in the area where he lived. But over time Mikepod has evolved
into mainly music and trust me, that is not a bad thing.

Michael and I became friends after I emailed him once and let him know how much I enjoyed the music he shared. I really enjoyed it because I was getting introduced to music I would not normally listen to and also learn of different musicians I have never hear of, and most likely would not have. From time to time we would start talking online and soon a nice friendship developed. A very close friend of his, Eve Beglarian, wrote and debuted a piece she had written for the LA Chorale and Symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall a few years ago. One day on his podcast Michael was telling us about this when all of the sudden he said on the air, "Wow, Jaymes in LA, you have to go see this!! I was actually driving to work when I heard him, so I got online when I got home and he was online and he gave me the info and I was able to get one of the last available tickets to the performance.
I was super excited because I was going to get to attend something at the Disney Concert Hall, I had not been there before, and I was going to be able to witness the debut of a major new work. I was in awe of the Concert Hall but I was totally
captivated by Eve's work. I would never have had this experience if it had not been for Mikeypod.

After my Mom passed away, I went through a period of time where I just sorta pulled inside myself, and I stopped listening to most of the podcasts I had listened to on a daily basis. I lost contact with many of my online friends because I just did not have it in my to keep up conversations when I was online. After a while things started easing up for me and my everyday life gradually got back to normal. But it had been many months since I had spoken with my online friends, to be honest I was really embarrassed that I had not done a better job of keeping up with them.
But once I got online again, Michael was "Hey long time not see", no questions or anything, he was just glad to see me again.

I really wish you would take time and listen to my buddy Mikeypod. Michael has a very interesting life story, he is a fellow Texan too, and trust me, he is very easy on the eyes!!!!!!

You don't have to have an iPod to listen to him, you can listen to him on his website also. Go over to http://mikeypod.com and give a listen, I know you probably won't like every song he shares with you, but I know there will be one or two that you will love!! Go on, give a listen, do yourself a favor and visit Mikeypod..
you might even end up having a new friend in New York City too!!

later!

p.s. you can click on the link in the side bar and get to his site, go on...I dare you!!

AHH Saturdays....

It is a cool,cloudy, rainy Saturday morning here today. I love Saturdays and I love cloudy rainy days, so for me, today is really awesome. Patrick has gone off to Dim Sum with his family and then to take the nephew to get a haircut so he will look "cool" for his graduation on Friday. He will be graduating from Jr High to High School. The niece will be graduating too next friday, into Jr High. They are sure growing up fast.

Looks like it is gonna be a pretty quiet weekend, which is nice!! Next week this time I will be in Palm Springs visiting with some my long time friends that live there, LB and Jakie. LB was one of the very first friends I made when I moved to California back in 1987, and we have been close allies every since!! We have to be close allies, we know way too much stuff on each other!!! Jakie and I have been friends since 1987 too, but I met him later that year. I am really looking forward to it.

Enjoy your weekend!!

later

Pictures Past...

After my Mom passed away, I inherited alot of photos of my past. I have tried to sort them out before and get them scanned into my computer and put into photo albums, but to be honest, seeing all the old images and remembering when and where they were taken became a little too painful for me so I just packed them all way. But recently I have felt the need to try and do it once again, we will see how far I get this time. But I came across a couple today that made me smile alot.
One of them I do not remember but one I do. The first one is of me and my Dad, actually it was the first picture he and I ever took together. My Mom told me he was so proud when I was born, I was his first boy! (My Mom had been married before and had my sister, but Daddy always considered her his daughter).



The second picture is of me on my 6th birthday. I am standing at our kitchen table in Silsbee. My Mom baked my cake. One thing I remember that you can not tell from that picture, the table top was BRIGHT red, I so loved that table and chairs.

Mmmmm Mmmmm GOOD!!

A peanut butter sandwich, bag of potato chips, a banana and a diet coke....is that not a great breadfast or what???!!!!!

Day of Decision..

Yesterday the Supreme Court of California upheld Prop 8, taking away our rights as Gay and Lesbian people to be able to marry. This decision did not come as a big surprie to our community, but we are very saddened and angry about it. Thankfully though, those who were married during the time it was legal, will stay married. But that in itself creates two diffrent kinds of people, Gay and Lesbians who can be married, and the rest of us who can not. This is far from over. Last night, I joined around 1500 other sadden and angry Gay and Lesbian people, and our supporters, who marched in protest in Long Beach. Our friend Timmy joined me there as we marched down Broadway in protest of this ruling. In the coming months we will be working to get Prop 8 overturned at the ballot box, so stayed tuned, as I said, this is only the beginning.

The Protest...

A Little Time Away Does A Body Good.....

One day back in April, I realized I needed to take a few day off from the office and recharge my batteries so to speak. Not that I struck or screamed at any of our patient's or anything, but I had gotten off the phone with one of our patients who had called me for the third time that day about something I could to help her with, and I realized I was a little aggrivated with her, something I usually do not let happen. It was then I realized I need to step away from the office and the phones and the patients for just a few days and recharge. So that afternoon, I requested May 20,21, and 22 off , Wednesday-Friday, that would give me a nice littel get a way for 5 days, and then I realized we had Monday off too for Memorial Day so that would be 6 days!!!!! even better.

So when the time came for my time off, I really did not have any real plans of what I was going to do..and that was a good thing! Patrick did not take anytime off during this time, he is going to take a few days in June. So what did I do on my first day of my mini-vaca? slept in to close to noon!! Now for those of you who have know me for awhile, you know I never sleep in like that, but it was great, just what I needed. The rest of that day I spent going to lunch, going over to Glendale to the Brand Library/Museum (www.brandlibrary.org) and that is about it. I was home when Patrick got home and we just veged here at the house.



The next day I did the one thing I had actually planned to do on my days off...went to the Laguna Art Museum.(www.lagunaartmuseum.org) Of all the museums I like to go to, this one is by far my favorite. My favorite Artists are the early California Artist from the late 1800s to the 1960s. The Laguna Art Museum only show work from these Artist's and it is a beautiful Museum too. So I drove over and toured the Museum for several hours and then went to a park close by that over looks the ocean and ate the lunch I had brought with me. It was a spectaluar day to be in Laguna. I decided to drive Hwy 1 back home so I could stay close to the ocean and to see what it was like along the way. It was a great drive. (something to know if you go to Laguna...there are parking meter everywhere and they only take quarters. It is a dollar an hour,for those meters along Hwy 1. The meters on the side streets over looking the ocean...are $2 an hour!!)

.
I got up Sunday morning and I really did not have anything planned to do and Patrick was going to be away for the day. I knew I did not want to spend another day at home so I decided to go to see my old friend (only old in that we have know each for for a number of years!!) in Joshua Tree, Patrick #1.(Now for those of you who do not know, Patrick #1 and I were in a relationship in the early 1990's. We were actually together for about 2 years. After we ended our relationship we have always remained the best of friends. So as to distinguish between my ex and my Husband, we call the ex Patrick #1) The last time I had been out to see him I had left my somethings there so I thought it would a nice day to drive out. Before I left it was decide I would just stay over and come back the next day. Patrick #1 and I had a nice time,
he lives 17 miles outside of Joshua Tree in the middle of no where. The peace and quiet where he lives is truly wonderful. Another great thing about where he lives is all the stars you can see at night!! We ended up driving into town and having Pizza, coming back to his house and watching the movie "Latter Days". The next day I met up with my BFF, Goya,in Palms Springs for lunch before I headed back to LA.

It was really a great few days off. I got alot of rest and got to visit some of my very favorite places and hang out with some great friends. I was actually ready to head back to work, until the next time my batteries need to a recharge!!!