So I got a new camera.





It's 3 megapix and it takes better pics at night, but I'm still learning how to use it. It's going to be great for night time Mardi Gras pics! I am going to have to get a monopod to hold it steady enough, I think.

and I have to remember that I still can't hold a lit cigarette while taking a picture, bwahahahaha! duh.


I took a few pics at work...

here's the wine and beer section of my department.


and a close up of the label for the Zamarano cheese that we carry. It's a nice label and a very good sheep's milk cheese from Spain.


There will be many more pics from this camera, I like it a lot so far. It's a Kodak DX4330, about half the size of my old DC280 and it uses the tiniest memory card... It also has a 3X optical zoom and much better low light sensitivity. I wanted a smaller camera and I really liked the Canon S230, it's tiny and very sexy and compact, but it was 100 bucks more, and I happen to like Kodak's color sense; the pics just look better to me. (This is hysterically funny, when you consider my partial color blindness! But there it is.) This camera is small enough, and it's good enough and I like it. And it was affordable, (ie... I wanted a toy and there was enough money in my account). I take a lot of pictures every year, hey I deserve this...

O.K. Why do I need a new toy...

It's that time of year. It's now been eight years since Bill died, and you know, I don't think about him all the time anymore, and he doesn't visit me in dreams that often, (he used to be such a regular), but no matter how busy I might be and how pre-occupied with work or whatever, I find myself feeling cranky or just sad, maybe a little sick, and then I remember. It's funny, the body, or the sub-conscious or whatever it is, remembers; I wake up disturbed, uneasy, missing something. And then, I finally remember; it's the smell of him, his prescence and warmth, his physical being that I'm missing. I'm alone in bed and that's not right. Once I realize what it is, it's not so bad anymore. I can deal with it, but it seems that there is no way I can ignore it, this dreadfully sad anniversary. This grief is a strange thing.

So I buy a new camera. I've worked hard enough for it over the last few months, the overtime will more than pay for it... I will take beautiful new pictures. And I will be happy again. At least after the crying thing; I did that Monday night. Still don't know how to get past that part of it. This year, when I finished, I thought, "well, there, that's over with.", so I guess that's an improvement.

And that's enough of that, I think.


A great day at work.

Besides taking pics with the new camera, and working with two new employees who look to be stellar additions to our team, I met our national president and got to talk to him for five minutes. He's on a tour of our area; he did three cities today, and probably talked to a thousand people, but it was nice to meet him. Like most of the guys who run our company, he's very unassuming, but very focused. When he walks into a store, (and our's is a very new one) he somehow knows a great deal about who and what is happening there, and yet you would be hard pressed to pick him out of a group of people as the head of a dynamic company. (He started as a grocery bagger... and there is no entourage, he walks around by himself and just starts talking to people. Not one customer would have guessed that he was the main guy.) Our regional president wears shorts all the time and has shoulder length hair, looks like a hippy from the sixties... and he was when someone asked him why he was wearing shorts to work, which pissd him off. He went on to become the regional president, and of course, people in our region can wear shorts to work. (He lives in Colorado and wears shorts all year, even in the coldest part of the winter..)

I don't think any of these guys actually own suits... and I like that. They "walk the walk". It's not just business as usual, it's business as unusual. Make no mistake, these guys care about the bottom line and they are very good at finding it and meeting it, but they also care how that profit line is met. The fact that our company has made the Fortune 500 Best 100 Companies To Work For list for the sixth year in a row shows that, and the fact that they've done it while maintaining extremely high customer service standards and product quality standards is amazing.

It's great to be working for a company that makes sense. I love it. It's a renewal of my working life and my passion for food, as I've said before in this journal.

Now where is that man who is going to fill up the rest of the space in my life?

Some people may not have that space in their lives, at least not yet. Love opens that space, where there was no space before. Nothing can close it.

btw, thanks Trip for your e-mail, (and to you peter in tampa...) and thanks to all from the recent chat sessions: trip, lucy, jeff, jazz, b, and others... thanks to Bryan from ChaosInAustin.! for your comments about the message board on the GayCams msgbrd... and thanks Bry for the encouragement you gave me about the journal when we talked in Vegas; it meant a lot coming from someone who did it first and best.

Soon it will be Mardi Gras!



"It's the time of your life, so live it well.
It's the time of your life so live it well...
You may only go 'round one time,
Far as I can tell,
It's the time of your life,
So live it well! --Randy Newman

durlx

Vegas Wrap-Up!

Well, it's taken a few days for me to get to this; I got home Wednesday night about 9 PM and got up the next morning at 3:30 AM to go to work... and quite frankly, Vegas is not the best place for a rest cure! I've gotten through the last few days, which were very packed with business and lots of hours of work and tomorrow, I have a day off. I fully expect to do absolutlely nothing. ahhhh.

But before that, I wanted to get a journal entry done. After all, there is quite a lot to tell.

I had a wonderful time! As usual with these meetings, everyone got along so well and had such a good time... for those of you who might think that this gathering of people from the net is somehow odd or terribly unusual, well, it is. It's odd because you would rarely go to a party in your own home town and meet so many different, yet compatible people and have such a good time.

So, to pick up where I left off...

First, a pic from our first dinner together at House of Blues, Sunday nite.
Bok, GC, Beau...


...and we met on the bridge...


We did have dinner at Hamburger Mary's before we went to the CyberSocket party. Beau, Dazed, Zilla and I did interviews for the documentary about Bry and the web during dinner.

At the party, we sat right behind Matthew Rush and another porn star... the banner says
"Porn Is Good". teehee.


Later that night....

We ended up at GC and Bok's pool-side apartment and everyone loosened up with a few drinks...




Bwahahaha, it looks much sleazier than it was... but everyone had a good time. I think the thing you should get out of these two photos is how much fun everyone is having... and those people who were there but don't appear on camera were having a good time too.

So then we went back to the hotel...

ET, Pebs, Luca, Zilla and I went back to Circus Circus, (where we were staying with many families w/children), and Pebs, ET and I decided to go downstairs to the casino for a few nitecaps. I broke several of my rules and lost 45 bucks in the slots. We all had a lot of heart-felt conversation and then we went back up to our rooms and jumped on luca, who was not amused. At least not as amused as we were, hehe.

The next morning, we awoke, (somewhat groggy...) and went once again to the fabulous breakfast buffet! (luca scored us all free breakfast buffet passes!)

At this historic breakfast was luca, ET, Pebs, Alex and Zilla... and me. We went from there to the car, and then to the Venetian to park, and then to the Bellagio, to go to the Faberge exhibit. (The one is New Orleans is almost as good, especially with respect to the crystal flowers...) Then we went to the Paris and did the half scale Eiffel Tower, and after that, we went back to the Venetian. (btw, the Venetian seemed to have the most convenient parking...). Alex, Zilla and I had a lovely little lunch at Wolfgang Puck's place and luca, Pebs and ET viewed the Guggenhiem Exhibit. Who says Vegas don't have no cultcha?!

We had all planned to take naps, but by the time we had dropped Alex off at the Luxor and got back to our suite of rooms, there was only time for a brief rest and then off again. We collected Zilla, and headed back to the Venetian to park and meet at the bridge so we could get organized for the Tuesday nite party, which was being held at a private estate. Rumor had it that it might be at Siegfried and Roy's house... (actually, I started that rumor...hehe), but it wasn't.




The party was at an incredible house way up the side of the mountain in a very exclusive developement with an amazing view of Vegas... We took a shuttle bus up from the Mirage. The place was unbelievable! We arrived early and the front door to this stunning multi-million dollar house was open and we just walked in. The caterers were there... and they offered us drinks and we made ourselves at home on the patio. After a while, more people arrived and the party got into full swing.

This house was amazing! 10,000 sq. ft. of glass and stone on the peak of a mountain... and the biggest master bath I've ever seen...


Bryan finally showed up after his helicopter ride over Vegas with his documentary guy, (who was very nice, btw...) and he and Pebs posed for this very sweet pic...



So it was fun!

I can't show all the pics, some people don't wan't to be seen on the net... but then, if you had been there....

It was so great. If you had been thinking about doing this gathering and wondering if you should or not, well just do it next year. You won't regret it.

Thanks to et, pebs, and luca; my roomies, and zilla, a true gem, (let's open that brothel!), Dazed, (lovey!), Beau, Doc, GC and the ever lovely Bok, who treated us all like treasured guests...


Now remember, New Orleans is also fabulous place to visit!

Shopping, gambling, (if you want it), amazing architecture and ambiance, and 25 rather amazing gay bars within walking distance, (or a short cab ride) from your gay guest house or luxury hotel.

And coffee and beignets with durlx....

Vegas!

Got into Vegas around 7 PM on Sunday and luca, pebbles and et met me there. We drove to the hotel, dropped things off, picked up zilla and went to Mandalay Bay to meet GC, Bok, Beau, Jim, Doc, Dazed and his friend, Eric! We had dinner at the House of Blues, then people went off to the show at Cirque du Soliel. I went back to the hotel and crashed.



Today we got up, had breakfast and then headed out to the Valley Of Fire in the desert. Luca, pebbles and ET and I had a great day in the desert! The scenery was beautiful and the company was scintilating!

The extremely elfish pebbles peeking out of a hole!


luca studies the petroglyphs and added his name to the wall destroying years of ancient history!




We got back just in time to meet on the bridge at the Venetian.



In attendance was GC, Dazed, luca, Pebbles, Jim, Beau, Doc, ET, Bryan and Alex, Eric who writes for Bry's column and the guy who was filming Bry's documentary. We had dinner at Hamburger Mary's and did interviews for the documentary, and then went to the CyberSocket Awards party at Gipsy. Nobody we know won... but the party was fun.

Tomorrow, the Faberge exhibit, lunch, the Guggenheim exhibit and then to a private party at a private estate... this should be really hot!

Details to follow....

durlx