A Trick Mind

Celebration Time

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:04:40 GMT

Happy Birthday Richard ideasasopiates

Birthday Greetings

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:59:46 GMT

Happy 28th Birthday Jase slavetopassion

With much sadness

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:57:37 GMT

For those who knew Simon, mr_spunk, David's animator's beloved husband and partner, I am sorry to tell you that Simon passed away last month after a short illness.

Please keep David, Simon, the boys and all the brothers in your thoughts and prayers.

Leap Day

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:36:29 GMT

We are back in Belgium. Actually, we have been back all week.

We had a great time in Florida playing house. We managed to buy some of the furnishings we wanted and placed orders for some of the stuff. When I have the time I might post a run down of the stuff we bought/ordered/received, etc. We're nowhere near done shopping. We have lots of stuff to acquire still.

I did get about half the stuff I want for the kitchen. I bought enough stuff to cook simple meals but will have to order some of the more esoteric gear. Williams-Sonoma and Sur l'table will be happy to see me coming. I want to spend some time here in Europe looking at kitchen gear to see what I can find. And if I get the chance at some point to go to Cordon Blue or Escofier or the like, I want to see what ordering options I might have through them.

So this is it for February - the last day. I won't miss it. I am ready for warmer weather and the start of gardening season. There is nothing I would like more than to go out to the garden to pick a nice ripe, juicy tomato and make a tomato and mayo sandwich. Yum.

I hope everyone has a pleasant Friday and a great weekend.

It's ours

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:05:34 GMT

YAY!!! The new house is now ours. All we have to do now is pay for it. {{Gulp}}

Michael Mouse

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:45:08 GMT

I thought I would mention that I finished reading Armistead Maupin's book, Michael Tolliver Lives and I enjoyed it immensely. It was wonderful to read again about Mouse, Anna Madrigal, Mary Ann and all of the characters from Barbary Lane made famous in Maupin's six volumes of Tales of the City. While Maupin claims this book is not a continuation of the series, it can be taken that way. Within just a few pages, the reader is transported back to the characters and locations so well-loved from the past. And Maupin provides plenty of backdrop for anyone who might be a bit shaky on the details. However, his latest effort does reflect the times. There is far more graphic sex and language in this latest tome. I don't expect Michael Tolliver Lives will be translated to the small screen for PBS, as happened to the first three books from Tales.

If you never read Tales of the City and the companion books, give them a go. At least rent the videos. And if you are a Michael Mouse fan, pick up Michael Tolliver Lives as well.

Two days until the weekend

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:19:30 GMT

7 AM. Time to go to work.

Everyone must have the winter blahs. Very few LJ updates over the last few days.

I feel like doing something special today but I am not sure what that might be. I'll have to think about it on the way to work.

It is just above freezing this morning. 34F/1C. Supposed to hit the mid-40s today. From the sound of it, our weather is much better than back stateside. What did they say? Something like 70 tornadoes! Holy cow. And 50 dead. Kind of unusual for February I think.

I hope Barack and Hillary can pound out their differences. We need all the democrats to be rowing in the same direction. Otherwise, we will face at least four more years of republican tyranny. Heaven forbid.

If it's Tuesday this must be Brussels

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:01:06 GMT

I bought something today and I learned something today.

I bought Armistead Maupin's latest Tales of the City adventure, Michael Tolliver Lives. I saw him on an interview segment and he said his motivation to write the volume was his realization that with the advent of the HIV/AIDS drug cocktail, there was no reason that Michael "Mouse" shouldn't still be alive. I loved the six volumes of Tales of the City, so I am really looking forward to reading this one. "Mouse" was my favorite character in the series.

I learned something today too. Remember the kids toy Lincoln Logs? I had a big set as a kid and it was one of my favorite toys: I liked it much more that I did my Tinker Toys or Legos. Maybe that was because they were made of real wood. I can still remember how they smelled. What I learned was, who the inventor of Lincoln Logs was - John Lloyd Wright, son of famed architect and inventor Frank Lloyd Wright. For some reason I think that is really neat and it puts a smile on my face.

Now I think I will throw another log on the fire, open a bottle of Burgundy and read about what "Mouse" has been up to for all these years.

Pinch his tits

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:19:56 GMT

OMG! You gotta see this one. Ganked from lackingquality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb3mshCWmgA

Look who is 28

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:44:09 GMT

Happy Birthday Larry larrysphatpage

More house photos

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:07:46 GMT

Here is a closeup of the front of the new house.

Kind of a crappy, washed out photo of half of the kitchen.

And part of the library/den.

Ok, I guess that is enough photos. It will give you a better idea of the place.

Happy Birthday

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:32:00 GMT

Happy Birthday Chris B. blackc2004

5 AM musings

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:13:44 GMT

Here it is going on 5 AM in Brussels and I am still awake. So I might as well write a LJ update. It seems like I rarely have time to write in this journal. I suppose that is not entirely true. More like I rarely take the time to write. One can always make time if the mood really strikes. Besides, I really have been busy. Aside from the month or so in the states spent working, vacationing and buying a new house, I have also been busy since I got back to Brussels. I had two trips to Berlin, along with a couple big dinner parties. One was formal, which required Rick and I to wear our tuxedos. The other was just suit and tie. The food was great in both instances. I especially like going to the Italian delegation parties cause the food is always awesome and plentiful.

Well, the house is almost ours. We'll close in mid-February. We could do it earlier if we could make it back stateside sooner than that, but Rick and I are both just too busy right now. At least we are together for a couple weeks before Rick has to zoom back up to The Hague. Anyway, back to the house. Construction and tweaking are finally done. Landscaping has been completed. So has the title search, contract review, insurance acquisition and all the other administrivia that goes with home ownership. It is nice to be married to a lawyer. Saves a little money. Now all we need to do is get home next month, sign everything and exchange a very large check for the keys, the alarm codes and the garage openers.

Here is a photo our Realtor sent to us. It is a bit dark but if you look close enough you can see many of the different roof lines. It must have been difficult getting all the roofing shingles on perfectly. It seems kind of funny that our Fairfax house is a large two story and the new place is a single story but the new place is almost double the size of the Fairfax house. I am sure we will come to ~~regret~~ appreciate the differences as the monthly mortgage payments are deducted from our bank account. lol After spending the past few years here in cloudy, gloomy, damp Belgium it will be worth it when we are finally stretched out by the pool, soaking up all that Florida sunshine.

I wish I had a good photo of the kitchen. You all know how much I love to cook. I can't wait to get in the kitchen and cook up a storm. We'll have to shanghai some people for dinner because I am sure I will cook up enough food for the Salvation Army and band. lol I think I'll make a pasta dish with homemade noodles and sauce with lots of garlic and cheese and maybe we will grill some steaks on the built in grill in the summer kitchen. Or maybe a rib roast would be good. I am going to have to figure out how to use a convection oven. I know they take less time to cook than a conventional oven but I am not sure how much less time. There is also a conventional oven so I could use that. Oh well, I will dream about what to cook. Russ thinks I should be a chef or write about food or cooking or something. He might be right. I do love it all, even though I look like
i have missed too many meals. ha!

Well, there is about an hour until it is time to get up and get ready for work. I think I will climb back in bed and at least rest a bit before then. Maybe I will see if I can make Rick's morning before he goes out to do his daily run. :)

I hope everyone has a good week.

Birthday Greetings

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:18:47 GMT

Happy Birthday Chris

Happy Turtle Day

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:12:07 GMT

Happy Birthday Paul turtleinashell

Shabbat Shalom

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:43:51 GMT

It's Friday. I hope everyone has a great day.

I am back in Belgium and Rick will be flying in from The Netherlands in a couple hours. So YAY for that. We have been apart for too long. I spent a couple extra weeks in the USA after Rick had to go back to Europe. I had an appointment for some laser eye surgery that ended up not happening due to equipment failure. So as it turned out, there really was no need for me to stay in the USA so long. Now, I have the laser surgery scheduled to happen over here on Tuesday the 15th. At any rate, it will be good to have Rick back home with me for a couple weeks.

Sometime around the end of January or first week in February, we'll be back in Florida to sign over our lives for the new house. That will be exciting. I can't wait to get the keys, take lots of measurements and start the decorating process. Hopefully we will be able to place some furniture orders and make appropriate arrangements for delivery and setup. I have a feeling that we may have to have a couple pieces custom made as well as arranging for custom installation of the home theater audio/video components in the theater room. Rick's mom is going to come down and see the place and make some suggestions. She is an interior designer and has access to all sorts of furniture and accessories that we don't. So that will be a big help. Hopefully, by next Thanksgiving, everything will be acquired and in place and all the family will be able to come down to celebrate in our new home. For now at least, we will be keeping our home in Fairfax, VA as well. As time and events progress, we'll decide on our future housing needs in the DC area.

So, that is it for now. Enjoy your weekend.

Happy Birthday

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:03:03 GMT

Happy Birthday Brandon branman1975

Merry Christmas

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 04:59:09 GMT

Merry Christmas

to all my LJ friends who celebrate.

Naked Boys Singing

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:50:39 GMT

I just downloaded and watched a gay movie musical called Naked Boys Singing. I really enjoyed it. It was one of the best gay productions I've seen. The performances were all really good from I Beat My Meat to I'm a Perky Little Porn Star from Skokie, Illinois. There were several tender performances that were really excellent. And yes, most of the performances were done full frontal by a good looking all male cast. I down loaded it from a website called Super Torrents. I suggest you download it too or maybe add it to your Netflix queue. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:50:43 GMT

First and foremost, Happy Holidays to all who celebrate this time of year. And to all, we wish you peace and happiness.

I guess it is way past time for me to post a LJ update. I have been neglecting LJ for quite some time now. I've been so busy with work and travel requirements that I just haven't had time to myself. A couple weeks ago I was in six different countries in the space of one week. I know some people do that on vacations but this was strictly for work requirements. I did send a few emails out from airport lounges while awaiting various flights. At least I hope they got sent to some of you. When stealing bandwidth sometimes it is hard to tell if messages get dispatched or not.

We came back to the USA a couple weeks ago for both business and a vacation. We spent a few days in Fairfax, VA, our home, to see family and friends. Rick and I both had meetings to attend with our respective organizations - he with his law firm and me with the Company. Then we drove down to Charlottesville for Thanksgiving with Rick's Mom an Dad and several other relatives. From there we drove down to Florida to see my Grandma and have Thanksgiving again with her and several of her friends. I did most of the cooking, which was a lot of fun.

While there, we also looked at several houses we were interested in. Most of you don't know that Rick and I decided that when my work with the Company is over and done with, maybe seven - ten years from now, we want to live in Florida. And both of us really like the area where my Grandma lives. It is landlocked but it is also safe from hurricanes for the most part. It is a small city but there are always things to do and we are close enough to other attractions throughout the state that travel is easy. There are also several universities in the area so if I decide to teach, I can most likely find a job. Rick will have no problem finding a job with a law firm. His experience now virtually guarantees his a partnership within many law firms.

Anyway, we have had our eye out from afar for just the right kind of place. Despite the current housing market problems, real estate is a good investment if you find the right place at the right price. My grandma sent us a photo of two different places, both in the same development and while we were there, we toured them and loved them both. Naturally we liked the most expensive one the best. Ha! So we set up financing, put a deposit on it and are going through all the stuff one does when buying a place. We even managed to get the place covered with insurance. That was a major factor since so many companies pulled out of Florida after all the hurricanes hit the state back in 2004. They really took major financial hits and many dropped their customers like a hot potato. Try to insure a house along the coastlines. IF you can get coverage, you probably can't afford to pay the premiums demanded and still buy the place unless you are Donald Trump. Now, we are just waiting until the process reaches conclusion and the house is ours.

I have had a bit of a medical adventure while back in the states. One morning I woke up, opened my eyes, and what did I see? There was substantial blood inside my right eye and I could see it blocking part of my vision. I was lucky to get in to see my ophthalmologist who took the time to schedule me for later that morning for a laser session. Because of my diabetes, I have a profusion of new blood vessel growth on my retinas and they used the laser to "spot-weld" them. In the first session they zapped me about 500 times. Same for the second session. And I have one more to go. It is amazing what they can do these days. Most likely some time after I get back to Europe, I will have to have the left eye done too since he said that it was just as bad as the right one. Hopefully, once I am done I won't have further trouble for awhile.

Right now I am still in Fairfax. Rick flew back to Brussels a few days ago and I drove his BMW (very fast HA!) back to VA from FL. I'll be flying back to FL to take care of some more of the paperwork on the new house purchase and will then fly back to Brussels once that is done. When it is time to write checks, we'll come back to Florida for that. One of the best parts of it all is that my Grandma is going to sell her house and move in with us once it is all furnished and she'll live there while we are in Europe. Since it is new construction and built of concrete block, stone, brick and stucco and meets all the latest hurricane codes, it is much safer for her than her older home. Plus, the development is gated and guarded so her personal security will be much greater.

So, anyway, those are the things going on with us. I miss Rick and can't wait to see him but I am enjoying being home and am super-excited about the new digs. Photo ahead....

Here is a photo of the place taken before it was quite finished. They were in the process of laying the sod on the lawn the day the photo was taken. The place is huge, about 6800 square feet and some of the ceilings are over 20 feet tall. There's also an enclosed pool, spa and summer kitchen out by the patio. The place sits on just over an acre of land.

So that's it from here. Once again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Tim

Happy Birthday

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:50:37 GMT

Happy Birthday to kaijuman

Happy Birthday

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 04:20:18 GMT

Happy Birthday to

Thanksgiving

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:37:58 GMT

We will be on our way home in a couple days. We both have business to conduct when we arrive and then we will be free to spend Thanksgiving with Rick's family down in Charlottesville, VA. That will be a lot of fun. I am not sure how long we will stay there. Probably through Saturday I think and then on Sunday we are going to drive down to see my Grandma in Florida. Rick can't wait to get back behind the wheel of his BMW and hit the road. I hope he doesn't get too many speeding tickets. lol

It should be a fun drive south and then back again and it will be good to see Grandma again. She sounds like she is doing pretty well but at age 94, we don't like to go too long between visits. I told her that I would cook Thanksgiving dinner, so on Sunday, we'll have another feast at her house. I suggested that if she had some friends without family, she should invite them to dinner as well.

It will be so nice to be home again. Back in the USA. We like living in Europe but we do miss home as well. I can't wait until we can get Bush out of office and start rebuilding this country. I still find it hard to believe that moron has driven us $9 trillion into debt - and that from a surplus when he took office. How can anyone continue to support him? Oh well, that is off topic and I would rather not think about republicans right now.

I don't know if we will take a laptop home with us. If not, this may be my last post until early December. I hope everyone has a chance to have a happy Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie.

Turkey Dinner

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:37:14 GMT

I am hungry for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, bread and pumpkin pie. Oh, and cranberry sauce too. I think I might cook a scaled down version this weekend. I know it isn't long until Thanksgiving but I just have a craving for the classic dinner. We are hoping to make it home to spend Thanksgiving with Rick's family if we can and then go see Grandma. Time will tell.

Missing Comments

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:27:09 GMT

Looks like LJ might be having some problems. I've seen comments that I've never received via email. Or maybe the problem is with Hotmail. I've no idea. Anyway, if you have written LJ entries but have not seen any comments via email, that might be the reason.