Ruck in October

What a great way to spend a fall October day. This reminds me of why I love Los Angeles. It rained last night but it only serves to make things greener. We have rugby practice at this great hidden park just below the Hollywood sign. That's another thing I love about LA is that there are all these great places just under the surface you just need to scratch and they are revealed.

We have Mark & Kathy, Skylar and Rivers over for BBQ the other night. I'm so lucky to live close enough to Mark that we get to hang out on occaision. He is my oldest friend and I'm glad I get to know his family and they've been so welcoming with Ruel that it makes it really easy to hang out. Funny how life changes and yet there are still anchors in your life. 

Ruel and I attended the Ms. Quest Pageant last weekend which is organized by the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team. The winner as seen here spoke very well about representing the community and obviously had a lot of fun. It was my first ever pageant and it was definitely eye opening. I've never seen so much audience participation during a contest. The thing about Ruel is that he's full of new experiences taking me places I never thought I'd see. 

The surf

Last fall I went to the Bahamas where I took this photo. I love to look at it and think about getting
back to the beach again. Hopefully, we'll spend some time on the sand when we go to Sydney in a few weeks. 

Bessy

This is my 1948 Chevy Fleetline. I was originally purchased by my great grandfather and was eventually passed down to me. It was my first car. When I turned 16 my mother helped me pay to re-upholster the inside and install a stereo in the glovebox. It's a tank but was a fun car. It has a starter on the floor and four on the column shift mechanism. The trunk is huge and we used to sneak friends into the drive-in in the back.

My nephew worked to restore some of the car that deteriorated after sitting around for years. It's won a few car shows and looks great for being almost 60 years old. 

From the trenches

Who knew that the best part of the Marvel Civil War series would be from the perspective of reporters from The Daily Bugle and The Alternative. I'm really enjoying the Civil War series even though the fanboys have some questions about character consitency and what they term "recon" (retro-active continuity). I know, I know - very geeky but I get these tidbits from the boyfriend. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War:_Front_Line

Better than ambien

Earplugs are an amazing tool. I recommend that everyone always carry a few in their travel kit. They make it easy to take a nap on an airplane, shut out that party down the hall of your hotel, or just provide others sleeping around you with a respit from your snoring. I've tried many brands and these are the best.

A change of paint

Last week we painted our bedroom to make it feel a little more cozy. For years my room had been start with no art or furniture but now it feels great.

I'm a lucky guy

More photos of the LA Confidential house

B is for Bungalow

Today we had a marathon of open houses. It's so much fun to just drive around into new neighborhoods and start exploring. Slowly we're peeling back the layers of the LA onion. The more I dive into the details of Echo Park the more I'm in love with the neighborhood.

We've been engaged in this house hunt for over six months and it's more exciting each week. I remember a month ago we drove up a street and I thought, "Wow that house is perfect. If only it were on sale." Then today when we drove by it actually was for sale.

It's a completely authentic Arts & Crafts bungalow. As we walked past the white picket fence and palm trees up the stoop to the front door I could only hope it was in our price range - not. Billed as the house from LA Confidential it's been impeccably restored. Modern but with all the arts & crafts charm.

Dog Days

I fucking love summer. This weekend may be the formal ending of the season but I plan to drag it out another month or two. That's why I live in LA. It was damn hot in my house today while I worked at home. I work in the sunroom about around 3:00 pm everyday I start gettting a little aggrevated until I realize it's just hot. As I worked I thought about how much fun it's going to be to spend Friday on the beach with Ruel.

Road trip

I love adventure and open to all experiences. Packing up the camping gear and hiking into the San Juan Mountains where I grew up in Colorado is one of my favorites. My other is navigating the narrow twists and turns in the streets of Las Ramblas in Barcelona to find the best tapas bar. Next on the list: Bangkok, Sydney or a week learning how to surf in Hawaii. Road trip?