Aloha Detroit

Today's entry is jam packed with information. I jump from topic to topic quite randomly too so apologies in advance. I'm off from work today due to some plumbing work needed on my toilet. It started out as an innocent fill valve that needed to be replaced that turned into a slightly more complicated job where everything but the tank itself was changed. But it's finally fixed, which is a relief.

Moving on...

I wanna go to Hawaii! Eugene's back from his vacation/reunion with an old college friend. He's been ranting and raving about his time there. The hiking, the sports outing, the dinners, the visit to the former BayWatch set, the luau parties. Sigh. It sounds like so much fun. He also talked about the Samoan men, who are oh so hot! I got a taste of some of the men watching last Sunday's Extreme Home show on ABC where they were helping this large Samoan family that recently lost their father. The oldest son....hot damn! He was smoking hot!!! All I could think of was how many women (and men...if he swings that way) were going to be hitting him up after the show.

Oh yeah....I did have a brief encounter with a Samoan-like man on my return trip back from L.A. earlier this year. You know, the guy that offered me his nuts.

I totally want to go to Hawaii next year. In fact I think I want it to be my next trip. I need to start saving.

So does anyone have the hook-up as far as timeshares or places to stay that won't break the bank? Heh...it's rhetorical but I'll take donations.

My Thanksgiving holiday was okay. As usual I wound up helping my parents out during my trek. I took my Mom on some shopping errands and helped hook up a new computer for my Dad. The latter proved to be frustrating since we couldn't get the sound working. I felt bad too because I was feeling frustrated over not being able to figure it out and my Dad thought I was frustrated because he was asking me for help. What was frustrating too was that his last CPU (which is actually his second PC) lost the sound and was only operating on Safe Mode. I even cleaned out the hard drive using the recovery CD he had and it still would only work in Safe Mode.

So it was strange that the new CPU (which actually was on clearance at Micro Center) also was acting up on sound. So it got me frustrated mainly because I wanted to have the answer to why it was acting up but couldn't figure it out. In the end just before I made my trek back to Chicago, we drove back to Micro Center and exchanged CPUs with a newer one. That did the trick. I was so relieved.

My Dad has so mellowed out. Years ago he would've smacked me upside the head for my frustration. It's also cool seeing how patient and sweet he is to my Mom. They truly care and love each other in sickness and health. His arthritis is creeping up on him, which slows him down some. He's contemplating leaving the job he semi-retired from years ago completely. But he has so many financial concerns. I try to help when I can but wish I could do more, including moving them away from our ghetto neighborhood.

My Mom is such a J. Actually I think she's an ISFJ. She's on her own schedule and likes things to be done right away. It's a constant source of conflict that my older sister Tasha and her have. My Mom's from the school that if you see something that needs to be done, you do it right away. But Tasha is more from the school that it'll get done when it gets done. Tasha is extremely sensitive too and can get riled up over the smallest things (though I can be guilty of this too at times as my F is strong). Needless to say there's a lot of conflict going on.

Part of the conflict too is that I know Tasha on some level is frustrated that she's still living at home. Years ago she fell into the credit card trap and was forced to file bankruptcy. A lot of the debt was forgiven but she still has to pay some of it off. So she's been struggling with that.
Though how much she's struggling with that is unknown (even to me).

That unknown is what frustrates my parents. They're wondering when she's going to get things together. She's basically living rent free and only pays for phone, electric, and gas. I believe the water bill is combined together and my Dad pays for it.

Tasha has mentioned to me recently that she's started saving money in a interest bearing account and hopes to increase what she's saving once she's done paying off one of her bills. She's hoping that within two years that she'll be able to move into her own place. But I don't know if she's told my parents that so I kinda hinted about it, which eased their minds a little bit. But I know the conflict will continue.

Bringing things back to me...it is my blog, right...*LOL*...Hemingway! I almost came out to my parents this weekend. Before going to Detroit, I chatted with Sally, who makes it her mission everytime we talk to ask if I told my parents yet. But it wasn't because of Sally. Just like with Sally, I've been feeling like I want to get it off my chest. I even went to the cemetery visiting a former colleague/friend that passed six years ago (I'll have to blog about her sometime...but both Sally and I knew her from our previous job) to do some soul searching. I wound up calling FordRock (and I'm totally gonna have to come up with another alias for him...but let's see if he's still here in the 07...*LOL*) while in the cemetery and we had a nice conversation about it. He made the point that the timing for my reveal probably wouldn't be ideal considering it's the holiday season and the association of it being that holiday when I came out. And yeah, yeah, yeah, arguments could be made that there never is a good time. But I think he actually had a point so I put it off for now.

My rational for telling is that I'm tired of always being on edge wondering when I'll get asked about my dating life. Also the fact that my Mom asked me earlier this year about my sexuality makes me think that I need to confirm it. I think the short-term risk is worth the peace of mind I gain from just putting it out there. It'll probably be in 2007 sometime when it happens. I'll keep you posted.

Moving on...the family also decided to do Secret Santa this year despite last year's fiasco...*LOL*. Like last year, though, my Mom and Dad already discussed who they had. This year I picked from the hat my Mom. She's tough to shop for because she's very conservative, plus I don't know the first thing about women's fashions (despite being gay...*LOL*). But I definitely want to get her an actual gift and not a gift card like I've been doing before. I'll think of something.

I topped my return trip yesterday with picking up a speeding ticket from officer cutie (who I actually found was featured in an article cracking down on speeding motorists) that I'm totally contesting. And no it's not so I'll see officer cutie again, though that'll be gravy. I feel like I was entraped (and yes that's the wrong terminology). Coming into Indiana from Michigan, the speed limit is initially 70 mph. As officer cutie entered I-94 (from Exit 26 I believe), he was trying to get over in front of me in the middle lane but I was maintaining a constant speed so he wasn't quite able to. I finally slowed down a bit so he could get over. So everybody around me suddenly slows down as he makes his way to the left lane, which was amusing. I myself was a bit guarded but at the time the speed was 65-70 mph so I was focusing on maintaining that speed. I wound up passing officer cutie since he slowed down to 55. I was constantly looking at my rear view mirror at his car while trying to maintain 65-70. So this goes on for a couple miles and all of a sudden he gets over and turns on his sirens to pull me over.

I was livid. About 1/4 mile ahead of where I was pulled off, there was a speed limit sign that said 55 mph. Officer cutie pulled me over because I was going 70 mph. He seemed to have an attitude with me saying that I should've been driving slower knowing that he was nearby. I then went off saying that I was going the speed limit, which was 70 mph. I told him that I didn't see a sign saying it changed to 55 (with the exception of the one that was 1/4 mile ahead) and he said that it changed 1 or 2 miles back. I think that's a bold face lie, though, because if that's the case, why didn't he pull me over a mile or two back. So Hemingway he wrote me a ticket. I have to call some number to get the fine and court date if I want to contest (which I plan to). That means I'll have to take time off from work. Maybe I'll make a day of it since I always wanted to go to Michigan City, IN, which is near the speed trap Portage, IN where I got pulled over. I'll probably have to spend the night before at a hotel since I can't see myself trying to fight traffic (and possibly getting another speeding ticket...*LOL*) driving an hour and fifteen minutes to Portage.

At this point I am aware that I may have to pay more if I'm found guilty but at this point it's principal for me. Plus maybe I'll get to see officer cutie again...*LOL* Whatever.

Assuming I'm forced to pay the ticket, this will be my first one in nearly three years. My last one was given at...you guessed it...Portage, IN.

I hope you guys had a good holiday.