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April 27, 2006
Flames in Castro (and not the men)
This has been a fucked up evening. After work I raced home planning on hanging out with a friend tonight. After booking plans on top of plans none of them called which left my evening open. I had wanted to go to dinner with Josh and his friend anyway, so I'm kind of glad none of the other plans panned out.
I raced home for food, laundry, shower (not necessarily in that order), talked to a friend from Rochester who is now considering moving here. I raced out the door to meet Josh under the flag and had a few minutes to spare so I grabbed coffee at Starbucks.
I came back to the corner to drink it. After sitting on the corner for about 10 minutes, waiting for Josh and using the instant messenger on my phone to chat with a few people, I heard the crash.
Not thinking too much was involved but curious to see, I looked down Castro. There, engulfed in a cloud of smoke were the flames of what I believed to be a car on fire.
I watched for a bit from afar as the flames continued and the bang of small explosions continued one right after another. It was bigger than I thought but wasn't prepared to get a closer look.
Josh showed up and we all went to dinner. We were originally going to eat at one of the restaurants that were participating with the Dining Out For Life benefit but they were all packed. We ate at Azteca which I never mind good burritos.
I separated from Josh and his friend and headed back to Castro hoping to learn more about what happened. I never expected it to be so bad. 6 cars burnt as well as two motorcycles. I'm still not sure what happened but I did learn how great one friend is.
Tonight my friend Sir Tony, was in his sister gear. He's a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and a man with a huge heart. Tonight he was across the street at the cove when the accident happened. Dressed as Sister Gladys Pantseroff he pulled one guy out of the car. The guy had a pulse and he proceeded to administer CPR. They lost him. He truly is a sister and a wonderful person.
With that said it reminds me of my dad when I was about 13. I ran into a friend of mine who couldn't find his 4 year old cousin. My friend Allen had spent the night and we were driving him home.
As we went down the hill a crowd had gathered. We stopped to see what was happening the way small town people flock to the scene like a magnet to metal. They think they saw the 4 year old boy in the marsh in the woods. No one was brave enough to go look No one except my dad.
My dad jumped out of the car, ra into the woods, pulled the boy out, gave him CPR but it was too late. The boy was already dead. I guess those moments there keep me loving my dad for being the great guy he is. I may get pissed at him, I may not call all the time, and I may not show how much I respect him but knowing who he is and remembering how courageous he was keep me loving him all the more.
With that said I'm going for a cocktail.
Posted by Des at 05:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 26, 2006
Treo 650
I dropped my treo 650 over the weekend and was amazed at how durable it really is. The battery case flew off as it hit the cement ground. I thought it was a goner but the only thing that came out of it was this little scratch on the bottom corner. I must say, I was amazed.
Posted by Des at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 25, 2006
Easter Sunday (photo by Daddy Tony/Sister Gladys)
Posted by Des at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday Fun
Sunday was a good day. I got the energy to go to the gym early enough where as I normally say "fuck it" if I haven't motivated myself by 11. I got left around 9:30 and was there until 11.
I did my normal speed walking on the treadmill, which didn't really seem to be doing much for me. I decided it was time to pick up the pace, so I spent 5 minutes on the treadmill jogging. For most this probably isn't the most drastic change in routine but for me, I don't run.
The last time I remember running was when I lived in Rochester. Josh had decided to start his morning jogs again and I thought it would be a good idea to join him. I nearly died. To this day I still joke about how he tried to kill me that day.
As I was in the gym, I got a call from my friend Matt who wanted to go to breakfast. I had also been waiting for my friends Brad and Steve to call since Steve was picking him up from the airport. I haven't seen Steve in about a month and Brad was flying in from NYC.
We all agreed it would be best to grab food together so we went to Bagdad Cafe. It was just what I needed after a workout.
When food was done, I went with Steve and Brad over to Mr S. Man I dream of winning the lottery. There are so many great toys there and I want em all.
Finally we went to beer bust. It was quite busy since it wasn't raining and I did a great job at getting sauce all over my shirt. Matt showed up and fixed that by taking my shirt off.
Rick got drunk and was all smiles as only he and Margaret Cho can do. Matt drank water and watched me turn into the mess I was, Steve and Brad paced themselves enjoying the sights, and Ben finally showed up to see me in the drunk state of a normal Sunday at the Eagle.
I finally got the nerve to talk to this guy Daniel who I've been wanting to say hi to for a while. I've always been shy so it’s always been a quick how are ya.
Will showed up and told me he thought I was cute. I was floored again since he is VERY hot. I wanted to find out more about him since I heard he had a boyfriend, but didn't get the chance.
Finally the afternoon was through and on my merry way. Matt and I stopped by the Hole In The Wall for a quickie and I once again played the part of the drunken guy on Muni.
I got home and went straight to bed.
Posted by Des at 11:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2006
A Trip to the ER
I just took my first trip to an SF hospital this evening. A friend of mine got himself into a bit of trouble and another friend asked me to come with them to the hospital. I won't sum up the details however the emergency room has been interesting.
First an Asian woman needing an interpreter decided to cause a scene. Security had to come over just to get her to move away from the window where she was arguing with the admissions clerk. The show begins.
After waiting a bit longer, Security comes over again. This time, not for the same woman who I noticed went back to the window to argue, but for a different woman sitting at the window with a knife. They took it from her and suggested the psych emergency room.
I keep looking at a woman who has been sitting here a while. She is an Asian woman who does not speak English. She keeps looking at me with a devilish look. She hates me for some reason, which will go unspoken (at least in English).
A man to my right is on his cell phone telling a faceless person to "saddle up and come down here". He's got his socks and shoes off and telling the person how bad it is.
A man asks me for a quarter. A woman is outside asking for a cigarette.
The highlight you wonder? A lot of cute cops in uniform.
So much for the guy from NYC I met within 5 minutes of being at the Lone Star. I don't think I've ever clicked so quickly with someone and just as quick as we met, I had to leave. Hopefully I will see him at beer bust tomorrow.
Posted by Des at 07:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 21, 2006
hmmmmmm
Posted by Des at 05:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
The Ups and Downs
Things have been busy and one of the things that tends to get cut is my blog time. With it, I always seem to be playing catch up with my life.
First, our stove. Our stove broke about a week ago and I called the landlord to fix it. Her brother (who always needs to be consulted) came over and fixed it before he left for vacation for a week. His method of fixing it, leaves our electric stove on high regardless of what you set it to.
So I called the landlord back only to find out she has misinterpreted the lease and seems to think these repairs should be up to the tenant.
The lease states:
"MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS: Tenant shall, at Tenant's expense, at all times maintain the Premises, furnishings, and appliances, if any, in a clean and good condition and shall surrender the same upon termination of tenancy in the same condition as received (excepting normal wear and tear). Tenant understands that Tenant is responsible for the cost of repair of ALL damages in or about the Premises whether caused by Tenant's guests or invitees.
Somehow the landlord is looking for us to pay for the repair to the stove. So that is one struggle.
On another note I've been fighting with my bank for overdraft charges to my account. I tend to run short at times and last week I needed to pay a bill that was past due. Josh wrote me a check for the current bills and I was going to use that to pay Sprint.
To explain my set up, I live in Castro. In Castro there is US Bank (my bank), Citibank across the street (the bank the check was written from), and a Sprint store a few doors down from that (the bill that needed to be paid).
Now what I should have done was waited until after work, cashed the check at Citibank, and went to pay Sprint. All would have been fine.
Instead what I did (since I needed cash for the day anyway) was go to US Bank, withdraw $40 for the day, and on a separate transaction completely, I deposited the check and withdrew the money for the Sprint bill. I have a Sprint near work and figured I'd run down there at lunch, pay the bill, and not have to run around after work.
With this, US Bank held funds from the check (which mind you cleared that same day), but because they post the days end from highest to lowest, it made not only the money I withdrew for the bill overdrawn, but also the $40 I took out for the day (which would have cleared if it wasn't for their posting system).
So I'm upset at US Bank for allowing their ATMs to allow me to take out funds from an ATM deposit that would have been more than what was available (even though it truly was in there). I received 2 overdraft charges for that and when the automatic withdrawal for the gym came through, they paid that and slapped me with a 3rd overdraft fee.
On a more positive note, I’ve been working out. I lost 5 pounds and believe I’ve dropped a size in pants since they are now hanging a bit lower on me. Its comforting knowing that my tummy and waist are feeling smaller while my chest and arms are feeling a bit bigger. It’s been a month and I can’t wait to see what happens after 3 months.
Several quick things that don’t require stories (perhaps some do).
a) I’m meeting someone for tea at Samovar who I’ve had great chats with online. He is moving here for a few months if not permanently (If he can talk his bf into coming too).
b) I’m heading out tonight to Powerhouse to help Daddy Tony pass out flyers for his benefit and demo.
c) I was a missed connection on craigslist. Someone I smile at, who smiled back, put an ad out on craigslist and found me. We talked for about 20 minutes last night and he seems like a nice guy.
I can’t promise to keep anyone up to date here but as always I will try my best.
Posted by Des at 05:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 06, 2006
Reflections Of Life
Its funny how everyday events can reflect life lessons. This mornings lesson is "you have to go to the bus, the bus won't come to you".
A man I almost ran into as I was getting off Muni at Van Ness, stood on one side of the bus stop. I on the other. The bus came, I got on, but the older gentleman didn't.
As the bus pulled away, I saw him from the window of my seat. He was yelling for the bus to stop. The bus didn't.
I think to myself "you can't wait for things or people to come to you. Sometimes they just don't see you till its too late".
Posted by Des at 09:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Quick Entry 1
So there have been several new people coming into my life lately and I've been grateful in succeeding at building closer ties with the friends I had. Some will remain aquantances but others I feel will always end up a part of my life.
I realized how much I needed this. To be able to focus on people and friends rather than putting them off because I felt I had to check in to see if it was ok.
I appreciate the friends like Jay, Rick, and Matt who helped me through so much recently and the new people such as James and Spike are proving to be great people to have as friends.
Another person that has come into my life is Daddy Tony, who I met last weekend. He has been in the leather community here about 11 years, and has the best sense of humor. Im hoping to get to know him better as well.
The more I look around my life these days, Im finding more and more people who love me for who I am. Im finding more friends than I thought I had, and more people who want to get to know me (as well as spend time with me). Life isnt all that bad.
Posted by Des at 09:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack