Fun and Games Dept

I zipped home for my lunch hour and spent the time sitting on the patio with Tom.

Flickr Link.

Earl is off to Atlanta tonight, so I am home alone with no one to play with. I’ve been home from work for no more than 15 minutes and I’m already sitting in the kitchen in my underwear chowing down on a bowl of popcorn. Life is good.

Tonight’s downtime is probably a good thing. This past weekend was busy: it was bear night at the bar Saturday night. Earl and I coordinated the event along with first Earl; it was our biggest to date with guys coming in from all reaches of the Empire State. Our next bear night is Saturday the 2nd of August. Mark your calendars now. In addition to co-hosting duties I was also the DJ for the night. I managed to DJ and simultaneously sell raffle tickets. The wonders of modern technology. I also talked the owner of the bar into keeping it open an hour later so guys could have some coffee and a snack to sober up before heading home. We got to bed rather late.

Yesterday was our jaunt to Syracuse to pick up the washer and dryer we gave my sister years ago; after living in both Toronto and Syracuse for a couple of years, she is moving to Toronto full-time at the end of the month. Earl and I are headed to Toronto on Thursday morning to visit with them for a day or two and then we move onto Yonge Street for Toronto’s Gay Pride. I hope I can get all my gear across the border without making the customs officials blush.

So tonight it is fun in the sun until sunset and then I’ll be working in the basement on various projects. One of these days I’ll get the projects done to my eventual satisfaction.

Earl and I have decided to take a little vacation next week. We are going to visit my sister and her boyfriend Thursday and Friday in Toronto and then it just happens to be Gay Pride weekend in that beautiful city. We’ll be staying on Yonge Street.

Now there is something to look forward to.

Flickr Link.

Tonight I went to my first Saranac Thursday Night of the season. Earl was out to dinner with his boss so I made the trek alone. I met up with friends from work.

It was two weeks ago that there was a good sized fire at the West End Brewing Company. The fire took out the bottling area of the plant. The F X Matt Brewing Company is in the process of rebuilding. Saranac Thursday Nights didn’t miss a beat and it seems like there’s more people there than ever. Throughout the city and neighboring villages, business have signs up that say “Get Well Soon Schultz and Dooley!” Some details of the fire can found on my blog entry from that night.

One of the things that I love about Saranac Thursday Nights is that people from all walks of life are there: blue collar, white collar, executives, biker chicks, gay, straight, fat, thin, big, small; it doesn’t matter. I feel a sense of community whilst I’m there.

Tonight I chatted with my friends Shirley and Christine and John while I downed three Utica Club drafts. I recently replaced Christine at work, she is wicked smart and is pursuing new employment opportunities after earning her Master’s Degree from the New School. Shirley and John still work at the telecommunications company I work at. I enjoy chatting with them off hours. I need to get better about not talking shop.

I’ve posted more pictures from tonight’s fun; I tend to take random shots with my iPhone when I have the opportunity. You can see them here on Flickr.

Here I am all duded up for the occasion.

Flickr Link.

Earl and I are back from our weekend at Hillside Campground (actually Earl is still out on a golf tournament, but more on that in a minute). This little camping trip was entirely different than any other we’ve gone on in the past twelve years: Earl went on Thursday and left on Saturday, I went on Friday and left on Sunday. It’s all a question of scheduling. It worked out well for both of us.

Since it was our second weekend in a row on the same site at Hillside, last week we were able to leave the camper relatively set up for the week. Earl didn’t have as much to do getting things ready on Thursday night when he got there. I don’t think he had experienced a weeknight at Hillside before, which is entirely different than a weekend night. He said it was very relaxing and quiet and just what he needed, at least what he remembered from the experience; apparently he had some cocktails with our friend Robert from New Jersey during the course of Thursday evening.

So it was Friday afternoon when I blew in and while there were several campers heaving tarps, stringing lights and arranging flower pots (gay camping priorities are a little different), we were sitting pretty watching all the action. Site 70 affords us prime manwatching space, so we were cordial and watched the guys walking to and fro to various parts of the campground. We took a few walks to see who was setting up home (living on the side of a hill for a weekend does wonders for your cardio health) during all this commotion before inviting Robert to join us for supper. He was kind enough to bring the wine and the 3/4 of the bottle that I drank pretty much fueled my mood for the rest of the night. Later that evening, Earl lovingly added a few cups of beer to my mood at the campfire while I chatted with Joe, Chris and Aaron. Since we had missed GB5:NYC this year, it was good to see some of the guys again. I would have brought the canned cheese if I knew they were going to be there. I suppose some of my conversation sufficed.

Saturday morning Earl took off for home and my friend Greg from Connecticut came in for the night. A last minute decision, it was Greg’s first time at Hillside so I gave him the grand tour and such before we attended a few parties and another night at the campfire. There are always quite a few parties on any given weekend at Hillside. This weekend was no exception. I stuck to beer and found my bearings to be a little more even than on Friday night. I’m a beer guy at heart I guess.

This morning Greg was on his way back to Connecticut relatively early and I had the task of packing up the camp. I’d never done it alone but it went better than I expected. I was on the road by noon. A quick stop at Burger King and I was home by 2:30 or so. The drive flew by courtesy of my iPod and some Russian trance music my friend Dave had introduced me to.

One of the most important things to remember when heading home is that once you past through the gate back to “the other side”, clothing is no longer optional.

So Earl and I are back from camp and getting ready for our week. Since we are camping two weeks in a row, we secured the same site and was able to leave the camper for the week. It made the journey home much easier. Next week, not so much.

We stopped in Binghamton at Applebee’s for some lunch. We were seated, noted that the busboy was very attractive (and surprisingly, in a wheelchair, you don’t see many busboys in Applebee’s in a wheelchair) and gazed over the menu. Ten minutes later, we walked out as no one bothered to help us. We had no server stop by, there was nothing for the attractive busboy to clean up and we were parched, so we just walked out.

We drove up Front Street one block to Quizno’s. The place was relatively quiet, I noted a gay couple with a young daughter and another man and woman sitting near the door. I ordered and looked around. It was then that I realised that one of the guys with the daughter looked familiar.

I went to college with him over 20 years ago. He had a very musical name (and it’s wicked easy to remember), was a fantastic trombone player and was coaxed out of the closet at the end of our second semester together by yours truly. We never did anything though. He just needed guidance.

We shook hands, couldn’t believe we were seeing each other and made a little small talk. We’ll probably see each other again when we’re 60.

The meal at Quizno’s was prompt and delicious, by the way.

It is Saturday morning here at Hillside Campgrounds. We kicked off another camping season with our arrival yesterday afternoon. We are focusing on relaxation this weekend.

The camper decided that it needed a little TLC. When I hooked up the water and turned it on, the hose from the water supply to the sink broke, which in turn spewed water all over the camper. I needed to mop anyway. Earl ran to the nearby town of New Milford and picked up a bunch of parts to make the repair. They didn’t have the exact pipe that we needed but he was able to MacGuyver something close. Everything was fine 90 minutes later. I guess I need to do a better job of winterising in the future.

It’s a relatively quiet weekend here. There are a number of sites available but then again it’s still early in the season. I think the weather forecast scared a few away; it’s been raining steadily this morning. The sound of the rain on the camper makes for great sleeping. The forecasters are promising thunderstorms this afternoon. I always love a good thunderstorm, especially in the middle of the dense woods.

Last night we hung at the campfire with our friends Sean and Jeffrey, Don and George (all from Albany) and Brad, Brian and Robert from New Jersey. It was good to see all the guys; it has been too long since we had last seen them. Today we are all going to Brian’s 40th birthday party at their site. It will be a good time.

Here’s a little video I made.

Earl and I are on our way to Hillside Campgrounds for the weekend. I’m looking forward to the downtime as I have had a busy yet very enjoyable couple of days. I plan to do some blogging from camp tomorrow in between naps and meals. It should make for an interesting read.

The new cleaning crew arrived right on time this morning. After a second walk through of the house, with three members they still thought it was going to take almost the entire day to give the house a thorough cleaning. I can only do so much between classes and assorted activities. Truth be known, I guess I haven’t done that much in the way of cleaning as of late.

Since I’m not starting work until next week (I don’t know where yet) and I have no scheduled classes today, I wasn’t about to sit around and watch the cleaning crew do their thing and feel guilty in the process for not joining in, so I sold off some prized valuables to put some gas in the car and hit the road.

I’m currently sitting in the Panera in the scenic city of Canandaigua. This appears to be a brand new location. There are no crayon marks on the wall from wild children. The furniture looks new. The carpet is fresh. (I smelled it to make sure, just kidding).

The women sitting next to me are lively. I believe they are in theatre. They are talking about theatre classes and stage performances. I hear those theatre types can be lively. They’re talking about their husbands (though one hasn’t specifically mentioned the gender of her partner) and getting them to do stuff for them. The conversation hovers around performing, photography, videography and husbands. They’re both very animated. They’re getting a little feisty too. I hear those theatre types can be feisty. I find them enjoyable.

I decided to do a little exploring around Rochester on this road trip. We were just here last Saturday and here I am again. I kind of forget about Rochester as a destination of sorts. Passing through on the Thruway you can see it but you don’t feel the city at all. The Thruway sort of bypasses it. So I made the detour and drove around the apparent artsy- and gayborhoods. The parts I have seen thus far are very clean and have a ‘chic’ feel to them.

A very hot man has joined the ladies at their table. He is lively too. I’m betting a theatre type as well. He is very animated. I hear those theatre types can be animated.

Ah ha! As I continue to eavesdrop I confirm that one of the ladies is a lesbian! Should I start singing “We Are Family” or wait until the regional meeting? Her name is Eleanor.

Back to Rochester. Each of the “Thruway Corridor” cities have a distinct personality, at least as I see it. Working right to left I’ve never been a big fan of Albany. It’s functional and I suppose very governmental, but it’s always seemed like a mish-mash of cities thrown together. I guess that’s why they call it the Capital District. I’d live there if I had to (which is always a possibility given the location of Earl’s second office and the fact that I’ll most likely be working for a state agency someday), but if we had to move to the Capital District I’d be picky about where we settled down.

Utica lost whatever little personality it had years ago. I’m surprised the lights are still on.

Syracuse seems to be full of hearty stock. Since Syracuse receives the most annual snowfall of almost any city in the world I guess that makes sense. Syracuse is very proud of the Orange and it’s very apparent. The color orange is everywhere. I equate Syracuse with sports and family, probably because I’m from that area originally.

Rochester is all about the technology. The smart people live in Rochester. Driving about the streets Rochester is a pretty cool city. As I mentioned before, I’m not overly familiar with it but it seems clean and more progressive than the other cities along the corridor. I’m looking forward to bringing Earl back here for more exploration. Oddly, I’m finding exploring alone a little boring. That’s not like me.

Buffalo is very blue collar to me (and that is not a bad thing at all). It’s where the workin’ man lives. They’re proud of their sports teams as well. Buffalo Bills stuff is everywhere. Like their counterparts in Syracuse, they seem pretty hearty. I guess it’s the snow. There’s signs of progress as well. I think they’re doing their best to cope with the economy.

All in all, it’s a gorgeous day for a beautiful drive. I should probably stop chattering on the internet and get out and enjoy some sun.