Well when we last left Andy (my car remember?) I had been told by the insurance company that he was a total loss. Now if you look at him sitting there on the road in front of the house, you notice a little dimple in the side panel and the scratches on his bumper from the impact and truly that is about all. Well I found out today from Cheryl at the insurance company that Andy actually had $7,826 worth of damage to him, underneath the car!!!!! The frame is bent along with a LOT of other things. It made me sad.
BUTTTTT!!!!!!!! the good news is they are going to pay him off. I was SO afraid they wouldn't. So now, I get to go out and look for something else, and to be honest with you, I think I may have already found him, and he comes in metallic orange!!!!
I can hear your thought now, "why does that not surprise me?"
I'll keep you updated!
later!
1/5/09
Seems Just Like Yesterday.....
Time sure flies when you are having fun, so I'v heard!! It must be true because 22 years ago today, I left Casper,Wyoming headed for Palm Springs,California and it truly does seem like it was just yesterday.
I had lived in Casper for just over a year and a half, I had moved there to put some kind of order back in my life. When I moved there I was really just a shell of the person I had always been up to that point. I was 32 when I moved to Casper. The year before had been one of the most devastating years of my life. My marrage of 10 years had come to an abrupt halt. Everything I had work for the previous 10 years suddenly dissolved into thin air in what seemed like over night. One day it was there, the next day it was all gone. When my exwife decided to leave me, she planned it well and when she was ready, she took our two kids, and everything in our home, and left. Seriously, it was pretty much that way. The next few months were not pretty and I slowly went deeper and deeper in a depression. When it was over, all I had were my personal belongings and my car, and lots of debt. The depression went deeper. At that time my maxium weight had been 155 lbs (o how I long for that weight now!!). The day I left to move to Wyoming, I weighted 118. Like I said, it wasn't pretty.
My sister and her husband (Jim) lived in Wyoming because of his job. He was a Directional Driller and worked for a major oil field company located in Casper.
They had come home for a visit just about the time my divorce was final and my sister tried her best to get me to come back with them and start my life over there.
I told her I just couldn't go and leave my kids, I got to see them once or twice a month and I could not lose the chance to see them. She really did her best to convince me to come back with them but I wouldn't. As the next few weeks passed on my depression continued to get worse. My Doctor finally told me that if I did not do something soon I would have a complete nervous breakdown. I so remember the day I decided I had to do something about my situation. I was at work and I could barely function outside of my daily routine. I remember thinking, I just can't do this anymore and I walked over the phone at work and called my Mom. I told her to please get Jean to call me, I just couldn't handle anything anymore. This is a tough place to be when you are only 32. I stood there by the phone and in just a few minutes my sister called and I told her I would come, I just had to do do something or I did not think I could handle it anymore. Looking back at myself at that time, it really scares me that I was ever in that place. Within two weeks, I had given up my apartment, boxed up what little I owned and was on my way to live in Casper, Wyoming. My brother in law flew down, picked up a company car in Houston, and drove us back up to Wyoming. I took us 3 days.
I will always believe that my sister and her husband letting me come and live with them there truly saved my life. I was not allowed to work for 3 months. They paid what bills I had and provided me with a truck and a gas card for those 3 months.
Slowly I started getting better. Like I have said before, my sister and I are crazy fun when we get together. She and I traveled all over the State. She took me up close to Yellowstone where we roamed around the mountains and saw some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Over those 3 months I returned to being more of the person I had been before. But also during those months, I started coming to grips with my being Gay. I was really surprised to find the Public library there had numerous books on being Gay (now remember this was 1985). By accident I met some really nice Gay men who in turn introduced me to other Gay people and before long, even though I was deep in the closet still, I had several Gay friends who helped me realize who I truly was. Several of these people and I are still good friends and keep in contact to this day. It was through some of these freinds I met, Calvin, who would become my first partner, but that is story for a future time.
In November 1986, I flew to Palm Springs to spend a week with my very good friend, Lola Milburn. Lola and I had met one night when I had gone to pick Calvin up from work at the Mall and she was working in a store next to where he worked. I went into her store one night and we struck up a conversation and we have been close friends ever since. She had live in Palm Springs once before and decided to move back to work in a resort. After she had moved she invited me to come out and visit and I did!
I spent a wonderful week with her and her daughter and while I was there I just knew deep down inside myself that this is where I needed to be. I kinda brushed it off thinking it was just because it was such a beautiful place is why I was thinking that. So when my week was up, I flew back home to Casper. Well, I couldn't get it off my mind. It was all I thought about. So one day I mentioned it to my sister she told me she figured I would want to move there!! She really did not want me to go but she would not tell me not to go. So after a few more days of really mulling it over, I decided I would move to Palm Springs and follow whatever it was that was telling me I needed to be there. My friend Lola told me I could stay with her until I could get a job and a place of my own.
So on January 5,1987, I took out in my old 1972 International Scout loaded with everything I owned and headed for Palm Springs California, with my first stop being, Salt Lake City, Utah!!
to be continued.....
later!
I had lived in Casper for just over a year and a half, I had moved there to put some kind of order back in my life. When I moved there I was really just a shell of the person I had always been up to that point. I was 32 when I moved to Casper. The year before had been one of the most devastating years of my life. My marrage of 10 years had come to an abrupt halt. Everything I had work for the previous 10 years suddenly dissolved into thin air in what seemed like over night. One day it was there, the next day it was all gone. When my exwife decided to leave me, she planned it well and when she was ready, she took our two kids, and everything in our home, and left. Seriously, it was pretty much that way. The next few months were not pretty and I slowly went deeper and deeper in a depression. When it was over, all I had were my personal belongings and my car, and lots of debt. The depression went deeper. At that time my maxium weight had been 155 lbs (o how I long for that weight now!!). The day I left to move to Wyoming, I weighted 118. Like I said, it wasn't pretty.
My sister and her husband (Jim) lived in Wyoming because of his job. He was a Directional Driller and worked for a major oil field company located in Casper.
They had come home for a visit just about the time my divorce was final and my sister tried her best to get me to come back with them and start my life over there.
I told her I just couldn't go and leave my kids, I got to see them once or twice a month and I could not lose the chance to see them. She really did her best to convince me to come back with them but I wouldn't. As the next few weeks passed on my depression continued to get worse. My Doctor finally told me that if I did not do something soon I would have a complete nervous breakdown. I so remember the day I decided I had to do something about my situation. I was at work and I could barely function outside of my daily routine. I remember thinking, I just can't do this anymore and I walked over the phone at work and called my Mom. I told her to please get Jean to call me, I just couldn't handle anything anymore. This is a tough place to be when you are only 32. I stood there by the phone and in just a few minutes my sister called and I told her I would come, I just had to do do something or I did not think I could handle it anymore. Looking back at myself at that time, it really scares me that I was ever in that place. Within two weeks, I had given up my apartment, boxed up what little I owned and was on my way to live in Casper, Wyoming. My brother in law flew down, picked up a company car in Houston, and drove us back up to Wyoming. I took us 3 days.
I will always believe that my sister and her husband letting me come and live with them there truly saved my life. I was not allowed to work for 3 months. They paid what bills I had and provided me with a truck and a gas card for those 3 months.
Slowly I started getting better. Like I have said before, my sister and I are crazy fun when we get together. She and I traveled all over the State. She took me up close to Yellowstone where we roamed around the mountains and saw some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Over those 3 months I returned to being more of the person I had been before. But also during those months, I started coming to grips with my being Gay. I was really surprised to find the Public library there had numerous books on being Gay (now remember this was 1985). By accident I met some really nice Gay men who in turn introduced me to other Gay people and before long, even though I was deep in the closet still, I had several Gay friends who helped me realize who I truly was. Several of these people and I are still good friends and keep in contact to this day. It was through some of these freinds I met, Calvin, who would become my first partner, but that is story for a future time.
In November 1986, I flew to Palm Springs to spend a week with my very good friend, Lola Milburn. Lola and I had met one night when I had gone to pick Calvin up from work at the Mall and she was working in a store next to where he worked. I went into her store one night and we struck up a conversation and we have been close friends ever since. She had live in Palm Springs once before and decided to move back to work in a resort. After she had moved she invited me to come out and visit and I did!
I spent a wonderful week with her and her daughter and while I was there I just knew deep down inside myself that this is where I needed to be. I kinda brushed it off thinking it was just because it was such a beautiful place is why I was thinking that. So when my week was up, I flew back home to Casper. Well, I couldn't get it off my mind. It was all I thought about. So one day I mentioned it to my sister she told me she figured I would want to move there!! She really did not want me to go but she would not tell me not to go. So after a few more days of really mulling it over, I decided I would move to Palm Springs and follow whatever it was that was telling me I needed to be there. My friend Lola told me I could stay with her until I could get a job and a place of my own.
So on January 5,1987, I took out in my old 1972 International Scout loaded with everything I owned and headed for Palm Springs California, with my first stop being, Salt Lake City, Utah!!
to be continued.....
later!
1/4/09
Breakfast at the Whole Foods!
So after sleeping in a little this morning, Patrick and I decided to head out and take care of some errands we have been needing to do. I don't know about most of you but after about mid morning I need to eat something if I have not had breafast yet.
So we decided to try and find somewhere to have a bit to eat that we have not been to before, you know try a little something different for the New Year. So as we were driving around trying to figue out just where that might be, we passed the Whole Foods Market on South Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. We have been there shopping once to check it out and they have a very large section where you can eat there so we decided to give it a try. I mad a big U turn and headed back. Now if you have not been in the Market, it is beyond HUGE and super nice. We made our way to the second floor to the Cafe they have there. They have a pretty good Sunday Breakfast menu so after looking it over a bit we ordered and found ourselves a table. It is all open air so it feels like you are eating in the middle of a grocery store because, well you are eating in the middle of a grocery store. ("Coffee refill on Aisle 12")
Now I was going to be adventuresome and order the Tofu Scramble but I settle instead for the Ranchero Bowl (breafast potatoes, sauteed peppers, scrambled eggs(my choice), ranchero sauce and cheese). Patrick ordered Eggs Florenine(english muffin,spinach, tomato, porched eggs, hollandaise sauce) and we both had a big mug of Orange Juice. I have to say we both enjoyed it and it didn't break us either.
We will do it again I am sure.
They also have an Asian Express Menu and Mediteranean Wraps. So if you are in the mood for something different than you usually have, give them a try. I think you will like it!
later!!
One Of The Best Times of My Life.....
I know we all have them, an event that has happened in our past that we think back on and say "Man that was one of the best times of my life." Hopefully, we all have several of those kinds of moments that were so special that when we think about them we are right there again, enjoying the time once again.
The picture you see today was taken of me back in 1987,January 4th to be exact. I know the date is correct because it was the day before I was leaving Wyoming to move to California. The picture was taken by my sister, Jean, on the backside of Casper Mountain. That is Muddy Mountain in the background. If you ever wonder where that one got its name, go over there after a rain storm or when the snow starts to melt, you'll know! Those of you who may not know or for those of you who knew but forgot, this is in Wyoming.
The town of Casper, Wyoming where we both lived sits at the base of Casper Mountain.Going up on the Mountain was a favorite thing for my sister and I do whenever we both had some free time to hang together. So we decided since it was my last day in Wyoming and our last time to hang out together there, we would head up to our favorite part of the Mountain to take picturs and spend some "us"time before I left the next day.
If you can not tell from the picture, there was ALOT of snow on the ground.This was January for pete's sake, EVERYTHING was covered in snow!! And you can tell from the way I am dress that it was VERY cold. Our favorite place to hang out was on the backside of the Mountain. The forest were beautiful and you could see over to Muddy Mountain and beyond. It was my favorite place to go and listen to it snow.
(Now for those of you who have never seen snow or been anywhere while it is snowing, snow really does not make any noise when it falls) You stand there at the edge of the woods and you look out over the unending landscape and all around in every direction, these large beautiful snowflakes are falling by the millions and all you can hear is the quietness all around you. It is truly a beautiful experience.
Now to get back to the day we were there. It was both a somewhat sad and happy day for us. Both of were a little sad that I would be moving away and at the same time happy that I was going on an adventure like I had never been on before. But regardless we were both in a super good mood and we are really crazy when we are together anyway. So we had taken several pictures all around the area and we decided to walk over across this little clearing to take a few more pictures, so my sister, being the brave soul that she is, takes out across the clearing and I was following a little ways behind her, walking in her footsteps. She was just talking away to me as she walked when all the sudden the ground beneath me gave way and I fell into the snow drift up to my arm pits. Now picture this, my body from my armpits down are in the snow and all that is sticking out are my arms, shoulders and my head. My arms are stretched out on both sides of me,I look like the letter "T" My sister
continues to walk away from me and when I got my senses back (ok, what little I have) I started yelling at her and she keeps talking and walking away. Then she turns around to tell me somthing and she is looking to where my head should be and
she stops and slowly looks down to where my heard actually is. We just looked at each other, neither of us saying a word and then we both start to giggle, and the giggles turn to laughter and then the laughter goes into crying while you are laughing and that gets so bad we both lose our breaths.
Thankfully, the drift was no deep and I was able to climb out (not sure I could do that now!) and she came over and helped me dust the snow off. We were both talking at the same time (something we still do to this day!) and everytime our eyes met we would start laughing again. This went on the rest of the day. We started making up funny things about what could have happened. We truly laughed about it the rest of the day. It was one of those special moments for both of us. To this day when one of us brings it up, we both start laughing all over again.
later.
ps. Here's a little trivia for you, Casper Mountain is the only mountain in the US to run east to west, all the other mountains in the US run north to South. Thought you might want to know in case you are ever on Jeporady.
1/1/09
Hang On!! Here We Go................
Well here we are, first of day of 2009! I don't know about you but I am very excited about this year. As I said in my previous post, 2008 was not one of my favorite years. And even though I am starting the new year on kinda of a down not with my car being totaled, I think this year has the promise for many good changes to come.
Well Christmas is OVER at the Lee-Neff household. The trees are down and all the decoration are packed back in their boxes and put away in what we loving call, the Christmas Shed. Yes we have so many Christmas decorations they have their very own storage shed where they live all year long until it is time to drag them out and make everything look beautiful once again. We would usually wait another week to do this after we got up and go going this morning, we thought today was the perfect day.
We had a pretty queit day around here. We slept in some, went to dim sum with Patrick's family and them came home and started on de-Christmasizing the house. With both of us working at it, it didn't seem to take long. But one of us had to have a nap, won't say which one it was except that it wasn't me, so that did slow things down just a tad. Now Patrick is over watching "The Dark Knight" with the kids and I am going to go upstairs in a little while and watch "Second Hand Lions". A great way to start off the New Year, mostly vegging.
Hope you will stay tuned this year and I have some ideas for some different kinds of post on here. When I first started this blog it was a way for me to share with you all about my adventures as I check out different places and LA and around Southern California. I will be doing more of that as I venture out and I will be sharing some places I discovered this past year but did not get to share with you, so please hang in there with me and PLEASE, leave a comment so I will know someone is actually reading this!!
Have a fun weekend and I hope this year will bring each of you fun and excitement as we experience this new year together!!
later.
12/31/08
Wrapping Up the Holidays
Well here we are, the last few hours of the last day of 2008. I for one am glad this year is ending. As years go, this was not one of the better ones.
When I last left you I was fighting a really bad head cold. It lasted for over a week, worse one I have had in a very long time. I even stayed home from work one day and stayed in the bed most of that day. That was my first sick day since I started my new job over a year ago!! I probably should have stayed home for 2 but I am not one for staying home if I can manage to get around.
We finally got our tree and the tree at Patrick's parents house up and decorated, but we decided not to do all the out side decorating we do every year. We did think about doing a last minute outside decorating effort when we would drive around and see how pretty some of the other houses were, but it just never happened. We vowed to get an earlier start next year, say around October!!
Then on December 20, as we were on our way to see the LA Gay Men's Chorus Christmas Concert, some one decided to rear end us on the freeway. It was an experience neither of us want to do again, but looking back it could have been much worse. We were in the right lane getting ready to exit when out of no where, someone slammed into the read of my car
They actually pushed us for a short distance but when their bumper fell off their car, it sent us
spinning around on the freeway. Fortunately we spun to the right and ended up on an exit ramp, had we spun the other way, it would have pushed us right into the on coming traffic. Whoever
hit us never stopped. We never saw them coming, so we have no idea who hit us. But they did leave behind their front bumper with the license plate attached, the Highway Patrol said they would make good use of that.
So for the past week or so I have driving a rental car, a nice car, but not my car. I have a close relationship with my car, I love it alot. I have alway wanted a Ford Focus since the very first one I say several years ago. You could say it is my dream car. Andy, yes that is his name, is a hatch back, they don't make the ones like him anymore.But he is my Baby. But when I got home this afternoon, there was a message on our phone that told me that they were going to total Andy and not repair him. It was like someone had left a message telling me some one I love a great deal had died. I don't get to talk to the insurance people until Monday, so all weekend I get to see Andy sitting out in front of our house and know that soon he will be going away. I am not sure
just what kind of car I will even look at, it was something I was expecting to do for a very long time. But I am sure I will find just the right one when we do start looking. It has always worked out that way for me when I have needed a car, just the right one comes along!
So tonight, Patrick and I and the kids and our close friend,Timmy, are waiting for the ball to drop and the new year to begin. We have been munching out of a while now and in just a couple of hours, 2008 will be done and a brand new 2009 will begin. I don't know about you, but
I can hardly wait. A brand new year will thousands of new adventures await each of us
I believe it is just the start of a big new beginning for us.
Happy New Year!!
later
When I last left you I was fighting a really bad head cold. It lasted for over a week, worse one I have had in a very long time. I even stayed home from work one day and stayed in the bed most of that day. That was my first sick day since I started my new job over a year ago!! I probably should have stayed home for 2 but I am not one for staying home if I can manage to get around.
We finally got our tree and the tree at Patrick's parents house up and decorated, but we decided not to do all the out side decorating we do every year. We did think about doing a last minute outside decorating effort when we would drive around and see how pretty some of the other houses were, but it just never happened. We vowed to get an earlier start next year, say around October!!
Then on December 20, as we were on our way to see the LA Gay Men's Chorus Christmas Concert, some one decided to rear end us on the freeway. It was an experience neither of us want to do again, but looking back it could have been much worse. We were in the right lane getting ready to exit when out of no where, someone slammed into the read of my car
They actually pushed us for a short distance but when their bumper fell off their car, it sent us
spinning around on the freeway. Fortunately we spun to the right and ended up on an exit ramp, had we spun the other way, it would have pushed us right into the on coming traffic. Whoever
hit us never stopped. We never saw them coming, so we have no idea who hit us. But they did leave behind their front bumper with the license plate attached, the Highway Patrol said they would make good use of that.
So for the past week or so I have driving a rental car, a nice car, but not my car. I have a close relationship with my car, I love it alot. I have alway wanted a Ford Focus since the very first one I say several years ago. You could say it is my dream car. Andy, yes that is his name, is a hatch back, they don't make the ones like him anymore.But he is my Baby. But when I got home this afternoon, there was a message on our phone that told me that they were going to total Andy and not repair him. It was like someone had left a message telling me some one I love a great deal had died. I don't get to talk to the insurance people until Monday, so all weekend I get to see Andy sitting out in front of our house and know that soon he will be going away. I am not sure
just what kind of car I will even look at, it was something I was expecting to do for a very long time. But I am sure I will find just the right one when we do start looking. It has always worked out that way for me when I have needed a car, just the right one comes along!
So tonight, Patrick and I and the kids and our close friend,Timmy, are waiting for the ball to drop and the new year to begin. We have been munching out of a while now and in just a couple of hours, 2008 will be done and a brand new 2009 will begin. I don't know about you, but
I can hardly wait. A brand new year will thousands of new adventures await each of us
I believe it is just the start of a big new beginning for us.
Happy New Year!!
later
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