Friday, November 29, 2002
Friday. Managed some sleep - yay! Caught up with Rich after work having been down to claim my prize from SX, one of the gay rags over here. What prize you ask? Well, they have a section at the back of the mag called NFP - Not Fit to Print. Basically they print a pic of someone in a bit of a state to humiliate them, and then say that if you're brave enough to go into the office they'll give you a prize. I did mention the photo being taken back on the 13th... and it duly appeared. Anyhoo, I got 2 CDs and a CD single which wasn't too bad. Except of course one of the CDs didn't have the CD in - doh!
Rich and I wandered round Gowings planning what to wear for the Bad Dog party - I think we're almost there. Then we had coffee at Battuta and I ate. Wandered home in a foul mood still. Decided there was nothing to it but to go for a walk to Newtown, via Broadway. So I did. Had a quick beer in the Newtown and chatted to square jawed Michael and friends. Home and bed.
Not much to report today. Finalising housewarming party numbers and in a better mood. Not much planned before Sunday other than sleeping and gym. Let's see how we go...
Rich and I wandered round Gowings planning what to wear for the Bad Dog party - I think we're almost there. Then we had coffee at Battuta and I ate. Wandered home in a foul mood still. Decided there was nothing to it but to go for a walk to Newtown, via Broadway. So I did. Had a quick beer in the Newtown and chatted to square jawed Michael and friends. Home and bed.
Not much to report today. Finalising housewarming party numbers and in a better mood. Not much planned before Sunday other than sleeping and gym. Let's see how we go...
Thursday, November 28, 2002
Thursday’s child has far to go. Allegedly. I’d settle for just as far as my bed and would happily collapse there. My last two nights’ sleep have been shot through with mosquitoes and dreams… and my overactive brain.
Did indeed do the gym on Tuesday night, though I ended up chatting to Andrew for about 20 minutes! Home and then over to Rich’s for an impromptu dinner which was lovely. Home and to bed at a reasonable time, but not to sleep, oh no. Apparently it was 31C at midnight that night, so not surprisingly a little hard to sleep. We had the balcony doors open in an effort to get some air in, but only really succeeded with the mosquitoes. Bugger. And Rich had given me a couple of herbal sleeping tablets to try and knock me out. So, after more fitful sleep I awoke yesterday morning feeling a little disorientated and thinking the pills had done their stuff. However, that wasn’t the case. My weird feeling was because, in a fantastic repeat of about 6 months ago, my left eye was almost closed due to my eyelid having swollen up. Great. Such a good look. Last time it took for ever and spread to both eyes (chalazions), leaving me with attractive purply puffy eyelids with a little hard lump in each. So, in an effort to head it off at the pass I decided to go to the Eye Hospital. Via the Post Office to pick up the ADSL kit for the PC. Via a little café for brekky. Anyway, the hospital gave me the same antibiotic cream as last time and some drops (even though I’m convinced it’s drops that might be interfering with my eyes’ natural production of something which is stopping the glands in my upper eyelid flowing freely). Anyway, having been prodded and poked and dyed I rang work and asked to take the rest of the day off and did so. Home and set up the ADSL on the PC and had a bit of a play for a while before going to Broadway for a bit of shopping. Home and out to dinner with Rich, Adrian and Charles. It was nice – it would have been better had David the Canadian not joined us – I’m sure he has some redeeming features but when someone uses one of your mates it’s hard to give then the benefit of the doubt. Anyhoo… $5 steaks later we adjourned to Battuta for coffee and planning of our Bad Dog Christmas party outfits. Hopefully there’ll be photos. The lovely Dave wandered past – looking very cute in his specs – and he tarried a while to say hello. Then it was home and a quick chat to Garry, play on the net then a chat to Tim Red Shoes before bed.
As previously mentioned, dreams and mosquitoes. One pleasant, one not. The dream was nice – Dave (see above) and I were snuggling on the small sofa and decided to move to the bigger one to get more comfortable. That’s it! Short, sweet, but nice. Second dream in three nights of him. Weird. Ended up sleeping with a towel over my head to thwart the mosquito’s attempts at ear dive-bombing. Into work at 8.30am and had one of those mornings when I didn’t actually get anything done until about 11am. Caught up for lunch with Jane which was nice and then here we are. Am listening to Alternative by the Pet Shop Boys: the most apposite lyrics/song titles for me and my overworked bonce. ‘It Must Be Obvious’, ‘We All Feel Better In The Dark ‘, ‘Losing My Mind ‘, ‘Music For Boys’, ‘Miserablism’, ‘Shameless’, ‘Too Many People’, ‘Decadence’, ‘If Love Were All’, ‘Some Speculation ‘. Enough already.
Did indeed do the gym on Tuesday night, though I ended up chatting to Andrew for about 20 minutes! Home and then over to Rich’s for an impromptu dinner which was lovely. Home and to bed at a reasonable time, but not to sleep, oh no. Apparently it was 31C at midnight that night, so not surprisingly a little hard to sleep. We had the balcony doors open in an effort to get some air in, but only really succeeded with the mosquitoes. Bugger. And Rich had given me a couple of herbal sleeping tablets to try and knock me out. So, after more fitful sleep I awoke yesterday morning feeling a little disorientated and thinking the pills had done their stuff. However, that wasn’t the case. My weird feeling was because, in a fantastic repeat of about 6 months ago, my left eye was almost closed due to my eyelid having swollen up. Great. Such a good look. Last time it took for ever and spread to both eyes (chalazions), leaving me with attractive purply puffy eyelids with a little hard lump in each. So, in an effort to head it off at the pass I decided to go to the Eye Hospital. Via the Post Office to pick up the ADSL kit for the PC. Via a little café for brekky. Anyway, the hospital gave me the same antibiotic cream as last time and some drops (even though I’m convinced it’s drops that might be interfering with my eyes’ natural production of something which is stopping the glands in my upper eyelid flowing freely). Anyway, having been prodded and poked and dyed I rang work and asked to take the rest of the day off and did so. Home and set up the ADSL on the PC and had a bit of a play for a while before going to Broadway for a bit of shopping. Home and out to dinner with Rich, Adrian and Charles. It was nice – it would have been better had David the Canadian not joined us – I’m sure he has some redeeming features but when someone uses one of your mates it’s hard to give then the benefit of the doubt. Anyhoo… $5 steaks later we adjourned to Battuta for coffee and planning of our Bad Dog Christmas party outfits. Hopefully there’ll be photos. The lovely Dave wandered past – looking very cute in his specs – and he tarried a while to say hello. Then it was home and a quick chat to Garry, play on the net then a chat to Tim Red Shoes before bed.
As previously mentioned, dreams and mosquitoes. One pleasant, one not. The dream was nice – Dave (see above) and I were snuggling on the small sofa and decided to move to the bigger one to get more comfortable. That’s it! Short, sweet, but nice. Second dream in three nights of him. Weird. Ended up sleeping with a towel over my head to thwart the mosquito’s attempts at ear dive-bombing. Into work at 8.30am and had one of those mornings when I didn’t actually get anything done until about 11am. Caught up for lunch with Jane which was nice and then here we are. Am listening to Alternative by the Pet Shop Boys: the most apposite lyrics/song titles for me and my overworked bonce. ‘It Must Be Obvious’, ‘We All Feel Better In The Dark ‘, ‘Losing My Mind ‘, ‘Music For Boys’, ‘Miserablism’, ‘Shameless’, ‘Too Many People’, ‘Decadence’, ‘If Love Were All’, ‘Some Speculation ‘. Enough already.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Tuesday arvo and I’m taking a little break from special eventing and replanning all my flights at work. Thursday’s weird mood is back upon me. There a ridiculous amount of stuff going on in my head at the moment and it’s doing me in. Still I hope to do something about it soon and move on up or just move on. I realise that makes little sense to anyone other than a few people who know me well, but I just need to get something recorded without too much detail.. it’ll all come out in the wash. But I’m fine…
Friday night’s alright for drinking. It would seem. Got home and went to the gym I think! I’m sure I did as I like it on Fridays as it’s empty. Then home to change and the Oxford. Met the boys and then the boys arrived. Er time for new abbrevations. No need as Jon and Mark have gone back now and so Rich and Russ retain the full title of The Boys. We had planned tapas, but the restaurant had closed down and so we tried Plan B. Only problem was that we didn’t have a Plan B. We ended up in some not very nice tapas bar on Oxford Street with a shonky drag queen. Not good. Food was average at best. So pretty soon it was down to the Beresford and the Barracks. I’m sure there were lots of people I knew there that night, but my memories are gone. Probably took myself off home around 1am as I was still planning to run Saturday morning at that stage.
The pain 5 hours later took care of that little scheme. If it’s 6am it must be incredible cramp in my right calf. Like excruciating. It was all I could do to stop screaming out it was that painful. It left my calf very sore once it subsided and so I decided not to run. Up at Video Hits o’clock and kind of pottered until I could Potter no more and dragged myself out to brekky with Adrian. We went to Truck so he could ogle some man or other and then we wandered back down the strip. Hooked up with Jon and Mark at Café Comity before Russ joined us and as if by magic we were in the Stonevile. Again. Yikes. It was completely Star Wars bar scene and so we called it a day and Rich very kindly drove the boys to the airport. Thanks for a wonderful time boys. Only 9 more weeks until we do it again in Blighty.
I decided Dave probably wouldn’t ring me for coffee and so I called him. And so I went and got him and we wandered downtown. Dave needed a quick break from work, but we managed to spend an extremely enjoyable two hours downtown in the QVB and then a fantastic new Japanese bookstore (thanks for the tip Andy!). Dave is so lovely. Sigh. Walked him back to his office and then wasn’t sure what to do. Ended up going home and going for a run in the local park before going to the movies with Garry, Rich and Russ to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Fun. Go see. Definite feel good movie. Then we ended up in the Oxford, the Shift and, coz I was determined not to go out, the Pheonix. Bugger. Willpower of a very small thing. Anyway. It was OK. A few people out and about and I guess the thought of not being there and missing out made me stay until around 4am. Bad Davie.
Sunday morning was way to early and I had no desire to do very much of anything. Managed to sort out papers, mess around on the net and finally dragged Garry for brekky at the local café. That done, and a bit more vegging lead to me feeling like I should do something, so at 4.30pm I went to the gym and had a pretty good workout. From there it was down to the Palace (bumping into Rich and Russ on the way) where it was a bit dead. So, to the Shift for Gary’s (of Max and Gary’s) birthday drinks. It was fun, though too much vodka was consumed. I nipped out partway for Hungry Jacks and I was over the whole thing by around 11pm. There was a lovely guy called Neil there – I knew I’d met him before though wasn’t sure where. Luckily, he remembered me and we worked out it was through Martin. Spent most of the night chatting to him – he’s the only other person I’ve met who’s bought Sunscreem’s New Dark Times (only available on the net some three years ago). Quite how we got onto that, I’ve no idea, but…
Monday I woke a little hungover, which would have been bearable had it not been 5am. No more sleep for Davie but I was well on time for my 7am session with Liz. We did legs. Ouch. Work was work – but an incredibly hot day (36C) meant it seemed like it dragged. It did perk up in the afternoon slightly when I had the sudden feeling that Graham, the Brisbane Daddy, had mailed me. I went and checked and there it was – a note from him. How weird. Anyway he was all flirty and lovely and that put a smile on my face. Home quite late and play on the net. Garry’d bought Kylie so we kind of watched that, then I went for a walk, rang Dad, ate and then messed on the net until Queer as Folk. Chatted to Rob for the first time in a while and started to get excited about going back to the UK. Bed around 11.15pm.
Slept fitfully again. Decided there’s too much going on in my brain. I wish I could turn it off, but that so rarely happens. The rest of the time it’s analysing and analysing and analysing, then over-analysing before analysing some more. Joy. Up and in work for 8.15am so will be leaving on time tonight. Not sure what the night has planned. I should gym. Having lunch with Pete tomorrow then $5 steak with Rich and Adrian and Charles tomorrow night and not much else planned until the housewarming at the weekend… let’s see if things stay quiet. It’d be nice if they did…
Oh, and vodafone have just texted me to say I’ve won something in a competition, but the claims number is busy right now. I think it’s either CD vouchers or a movie pass. Cool!
Friday night’s alright for drinking. It would seem. Got home and went to the gym I think! I’m sure I did as I like it on Fridays as it’s empty. Then home to change and the Oxford. Met the boys and then the boys arrived. Er time for new abbrevations. No need as Jon and Mark have gone back now and so Rich and Russ retain the full title of The Boys. We had planned tapas, but the restaurant had closed down and so we tried Plan B. Only problem was that we didn’t have a Plan B. We ended up in some not very nice tapas bar on Oxford Street with a shonky drag queen. Not good. Food was average at best. So pretty soon it was down to the Beresford and the Barracks. I’m sure there were lots of people I knew there that night, but my memories are gone. Probably took myself off home around 1am as I was still planning to run Saturday morning at that stage.
The pain 5 hours later took care of that little scheme. If it’s 6am it must be incredible cramp in my right calf. Like excruciating. It was all I could do to stop screaming out it was that painful. It left my calf very sore once it subsided and so I decided not to run. Up at Video Hits o’clock and kind of pottered until I could Potter no more and dragged myself out to brekky with Adrian. We went to Truck so he could ogle some man or other and then we wandered back down the strip. Hooked up with Jon and Mark at Café Comity before Russ joined us and as if by magic we were in the Stonevile. Again. Yikes. It was completely Star Wars bar scene and so we called it a day and Rich very kindly drove the boys to the airport. Thanks for a wonderful time boys. Only 9 more weeks until we do it again in Blighty.
I decided Dave probably wouldn’t ring me for coffee and so I called him. And so I went and got him and we wandered downtown. Dave needed a quick break from work, but we managed to spend an extremely enjoyable two hours downtown in the QVB and then a fantastic new Japanese bookstore (thanks for the tip Andy!). Dave is so lovely. Sigh. Walked him back to his office and then wasn’t sure what to do. Ended up going home and going for a run in the local park before going to the movies with Garry, Rich and Russ to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Fun. Go see. Definite feel good movie. Then we ended up in the Oxford, the Shift and, coz I was determined not to go out, the Pheonix. Bugger. Willpower of a very small thing. Anyway. It was OK. A few people out and about and I guess the thought of not being there and missing out made me stay until around 4am. Bad Davie.
Sunday morning was way to early and I had no desire to do very much of anything. Managed to sort out papers, mess around on the net and finally dragged Garry for brekky at the local café. That done, and a bit more vegging lead to me feeling like I should do something, so at 4.30pm I went to the gym and had a pretty good workout. From there it was down to the Palace (bumping into Rich and Russ on the way) where it was a bit dead. So, to the Shift for Gary’s (of Max and Gary’s) birthday drinks. It was fun, though too much vodka was consumed. I nipped out partway for Hungry Jacks and I was over the whole thing by around 11pm. There was a lovely guy called Neil there – I knew I’d met him before though wasn’t sure where. Luckily, he remembered me and we worked out it was through Martin. Spent most of the night chatting to him – he’s the only other person I’ve met who’s bought Sunscreem’s New Dark Times (only available on the net some three years ago). Quite how we got onto that, I’ve no idea, but…
Monday I woke a little hungover, which would have been bearable had it not been 5am. No more sleep for Davie but I was well on time for my 7am session with Liz. We did legs. Ouch. Work was work – but an incredibly hot day (36C) meant it seemed like it dragged. It did perk up in the afternoon slightly when I had the sudden feeling that Graham, the Brisbane Daddy, had mailed me. I went and checked and there it was – a note from him. How weird. Anyway he was all flirty and lovely and that put a smile on my face. Home quite late and play on the net. Garry’d bought Kylie so we kind of watched that, then I went for a walk, rang Dad, ate and then messed on the net until Queer as Folk. Chatted to Rob for the first time in a while and started to get excited about going back to the UK. Bed around 11.15pm.
Slept fitfully again. Decided there’s too much going on in my brain. I wish I could turn it off, but that so rarely happens. The rest of the time it’s analysing and analysing and analysing, then over-analysing before analysing some more. Joy. Up and in work for 8.15am so will be leaving on time tonight. Not sure what the night has planned. I should gym. Having lunch with Pete tomorrow then $5 steak with Rich and Adrian and Charles tomorrow night and not much else planned until the housewarming at the weekend… let’s see if things stay quiet. It’d be nice if they did…
Oh, and vodafone have just texted me to say I’ve won something in a competition, but the claims number is busy right now. I think it’s either CD vouchers or a movie pass. Cool!
Friday, November 22, 2002
Friday afternoon – half an hour until the weekend. As yesterday I’m hanging to get out of here for some reason. The prospect of nothing for 2 whole days is almost too much to cope with.
Didn’t make the gym last night. Got home to find Garry had rented Tales of the City on DVD and so that was it! Watched that for a couple of hours – it’s amazing how I never get tired of it. Interestingly enough, different bits of dialogue relate to different things going on in your life at different times and this time was no different. Hey ho. Showered and out to meet Jon and Mark at the Oxford. Good to catch up with them, though Mark was somewhat mesmerised by the Turkish Wrestling on the video screen! We ate at Wattle again (J and M’s treat – thanks guys!), where Adrian was also dining – how small is Sydney exactly? On to the Shift for a couple more beers. Chatted to the lovely Rod, resplendent in his volleyball gear and also square jawed Michael (who I snogged the same night I met the other Michael). Fun. Stumbled to a cab around midnight.
Meeting the boys again at the Oxford tonight and Rich and Russ also. Going for tapas and then will see what the night holds. Only things planned for the weekend are a run in the park tomorrow at 9am with Ians assorted and Allan, coffee with Dave if he calls (tentatively arranged) and helping Gary celebrate his 40th at the Shift on Sunday. Yay. It’s going to be nice to play things by ear.
Didn’t make the gym last night. Got home to find Garry had rented Tales of the City on DVD and so that was it! Watched that for a couple of hours – it’s amazing how I never get tired of it. Interestingly enough, different bits of dialogue relate to different things going on in your life at different times and this time was no different. Hey ho. Showered and out to meet Jon and Mark at the Oxford. Good to catch up with them, though Mark was somewhat mesmerised by the Turkish Wrestling on the video screen! We ate at Wattle again (J and M’s treat – thanks guys!), where Adrian was also dining – how small is Sydney exactly? On to the Shift for a couple more beers. Chatted to the lovely Rod, resplendent in his volleyball gear and also square jawed Michael (who I snogged the same night I met the other Michael). Fun. Stumbled to a cab around midnight.
Meeting the boys again at the Oxford tonight and Rich and Russ also. Going for tapas and then will see what the night holds. Only things planned for the weekend are a run in the park tomorrow at 9am with Ians assorted and Allan, coffee with Dave if he calls (tentatively arranged) and helping Gary celebrate his 40th at the Shift on Sunday. Yay. It’s going to be nice to play things by ear.
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Thursday. Weirdday. Am all over the place today. Am not going to blog anything right now, as I want to see how long this feeling's going to go on for. Actually hoping for not too long. Cryptic I know, but...
Had a very civilised evening with Andy last night. He came over to give the apartment his seal of approval and then to the Wattle for dinner. Very nice. Can someone buy me the pictures on the wall there? They'd go lovely in the new place. Thanks. Across to the Grumpy Baker for coffee and then home. Chats to Scally on the net and then Garry when he got in. Bed.
Dinner with Jon and Mark tonight, so meeting at the Oxford at 8pm post gym. Treading water day at work. Really can't be arsed. Chatted to Adrian, mailed Russ and Rich, Gary, Pete, Murray etc. Spoke with Dave - Happy Birthday mate! Hanging to get out of here today. Not interested at all. Even though I got promoted again on Tuesday. Yay me. Suppose I should do some work really...
More news as it happens. So can't wait for this weekend... and doing nothing. At. All.
Had a very civilised evening with Andy last night. He came over to give the apartment his seal of approval and then to the Wattle for dinner. Very nice. Can someone buy me the pictures on the wall there? They'd go lovely in the new place. Thanks. Across to the Grumpy Baker for coffee and then home. Chats to Scally on the net and then Garry when he got in. Bed.
Dinner with Jon and Mark tonight, so meeting at the Oxford at 8pm post gym. Treading water day at work. Really can't be arsed. Chatted to Adrian, mailed Russ and Rich, Gary, Pete, Murray etc. Spoke with Dave - Happy Birthday mate! Hanging to get out of here today. Not interested at all. Even though I got promoted again on Tuesday. Yay me. Suppose I should do some work really...
More news as it happens. So can't wait for this weekend... and doing nothing. At. All.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Oh yes, and pics of the Citizenship Ceremony now on Scally's website... bless him! He thought I'd be embarrassed, but I actually quite like them!
Just to fill you in on last week’s stuff in relative brevity:
Wednesday night David and I just had a quiet meal in Potts Point on Macleay Street. Weirdly when we met here two years ago, we were both staying just a stone’s throw from the Macleay Street Bistro where we ate. Also, when I came back here almost 18 months ago now the Bistro was the first place Tony took me to eat. Fond memories. Ahhhh. Obviously an evening down there isn’t complete without bumping into people and so tonight we said hello to Dave, Brett and Chris. After a very nice meal as David’s treat (thanks!) we headed slowly back home with nary a glance at the Oxford…
Thursday was a phone free day at work, meant to help me work more. Obviously that was the day I spent half an hour on the phone to Dave, then Adrian called, and also David was out buying my new PC for me and in regular phone contact. Oops! I left work to pick up the new computer and very lovely it is too. Thanks to David for all his help in getting that organised for me.
Thence to Newtown to meet Tony. We had food at the Peasants’ Feast which was great, then back to the Newtown Hotel. Always nice to catch up with Tony, and we had fun at the Newtown – some more than others Tony! :oÞ
Friday ended up being quieter which was probably just what the cliché ordered. Beresford for beers and then we didn’t even make it onto the Barracks. Ended up eating with David for one final meal at Café Comity quite late and then home, chats and final PC tweaks before stumbling bedwards around 1.45am.
We were up early on Sat am (5.30am!) as David left for the airport at 6.30am. I stayed up and then Adrian arrived and we had brekky before heading off the the airport – it was Brisbane time! Met all the gang at the airport and by 2.30pm local time we were there. We had coffee with Adrian's sister, then some food and suddenly it was time to get ready! Obviously we were almost the first there at around 9.30pm, but it soon started to fill. The venue was actually quite fun and the music pretty good - our friend Jason lightened his set a bit from Black and it seemed to go down very well. A much more mixed crowd than Sydney but still some familiar faces. Enough sexy men to dance and flirt with which was fun. Much chest rubbing :o)
Left at 5am and showered changed and hit the Wickham for recovery at 7am. Fun. Very up music meant we stayed until 3pm! Yikes. Finally slept from about 4.30-6.30pm Sunday and then again for an hour or so after some food. Then on to Family - and the Sunday night called Fluffy :o) A lot of fun. Handbaggy music, great venue, quite a young, mixed crowd (boo!) but fun. More fun for me as I picked up the only Daddy there. Very sexy man indeed. Thanks Graham for a great evening and some top notch kissing! So, more fun and not much more sleep. Finally headed back to the hotel around 10.30am Monday... think Adrian was starting to wonder if I was ever coming back! Actually, I wouldn't have minded staying with Graham...
Home and relaxed. Bought food from Broadway and had a quiet night. Work kind of passed me by yesterday and then last night Rich came over for a cuppa after work. Cooked pasta thereafter (that rhymes!). Had 8 hours sleep for the first time in recent memory.
Managed a productive lunchtime today – post office, chemist, opticians, bought Bad Dog tickets and managed lunch all in an hour. Go David. Tonight it’s dinner with Andy Palmer after the gym. If I ever get out of work that is. Jon and Mark are back from Cairns today too, so dinner with them tomorrow hopefully and then a couple of beers Friday and then sleep for a week or two!
Wednesday night David and I just had a quiet meal in Potts Point on Macleay Street. Weirdly when we met here two years ago, we were both staying just a stone’s throw from the Macleay Street Bistro where we ate. Also, when I came back here almost 18 months ago now the Bistro was the first place Tony took me to eat. Fond memories. Ahhhh. Obviously an evening down there isn’t complete without bumping into people and so tonight we said hello to Dave, Brett and Chris. After a very nice meal as David’s treat (thanks!) we headed slowly back home with nary a glance at the Oxford…
Thursday was a phone free day at work, meant to help me work more. Obviously that was the day I spent half an hour on the phone to Dave, then Adrian called, and also David was out buying my new PC for me and in regular phone contact. Oops! I left work to pick up the new computer and very lovely it is too. Thanks to David for all his help in getting that organised for me.
Thence to Newtown to meet Tony. We had food at the Peasants’ Feast which was great, then back to the Newtown Hotel. Always nice to catch up with Tony, and we had fun at the Newtown – some more than others Tony! :oÞ
Friday ended up being quieter which was probably just what the cliché ordered. Beresford for beers and then we didn’t even make it onto the Barracks. Ended up eating with David for one final meal at Café Comity quite late and then home, chats and final PC tweaks before stumbling bedwards around 1.45am.
We were up early on Sat am (5.30am!) as David left for the airport at 6.30am. I stayed up and then Adrian arrived and we had brekky before heading off the the airport – it was Brisbane time! Met all the gang at the airport and by 2.30pm local time we were there. We had coffee with Adrian's sister, then some food and suddenly it was time to get ready! Obviously we were almost the first there at around 9.30pm, but it soon started to fill. The venue was actually quite fun and the music pretty good - our friend Jason lightened his set a bit from Black and it seemed to go down very well. A much more mixed crowd than Sydney but still some familiar faces. Enough sexy men to dance and flirt with which was fun. Much chest rubbing :o)
Left at 5am and showered changed and hit the Wickham for recovery at 7am. Fun. Very up music meant we stayed until 3pm! Yikes. Finally slept from about 4.30-6.30pm Sunday and then again for an hour or so after some food. Then on to Family - and the Sunday night called Fluffy :o) A lot of fun. Handbaggy music, great venue, quite a young, mixed crowd (boo!) but fun. More fun for me as I picked up the only Daddy there. Very sexy man indeed. Thanks Graham for a great evening and some top notch kissing! So, more fun and not much more sleep. Finally headed back to the hotel around 10.30am Monday... think Adrian was starting to wonder if I was ever coming back! Actually, I wouldn't have minded staying with Graham...
Home and relaxed. Bought food from Broadway and had a quiet night. Work kind of passed me by yesterday and then last night Rich came over for a cuppa after work. Cooked pasta thereafter (that rhymes!). Had 8 hours sleep for the first time in recent memory.
Managed a productive lunchtime today – post office, chemist, opticians, bought Bad Dog tickets and managed lunch all in an hour. Go David. Tonight it’s dinner with Andy Palmer after the gym. If I ever get out of work that is. Jon and Mark are back from Cairns today too, so dinner with them tomorrow hopefully and then a couple of beers Friday and then sleep for a week or two!
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Aagh. Ugh. Tired. Monday night's quieter night didn't actually turn out that way, in a shock move. We decided to meet in the Oxford before eating, and suddenly that gang were all there, including Adrian Avenue... who in a shock move had hooked up with one of the guys Rich met over the Games week. Odd. But fun. Then it was back to the Oxford for more beers and then finally stumbling home in a drunken stupor.
You'd think we'd learn, but no. Left work yesterday at about 4.45pm as it was the day of my Citizenship Ceremony.Got up to Paddington Town Hall nice and early and oddly I was really nervous. Wasn't sure quite what to expect and also started to realise that it is quite a big deal to pledge your allegience to a country that you didn't grow up in. I've never been particularly patriotic but still. I think it would have been a bigger deal too if I'd had to actually give up the British citizenship rather than hold both concurrently. A few familiar faces started appearing at the Town Hall which was odd - and then as it transpired we kind of knew by proxy 3 other people being done that day! So, in the crowd with me were David Scally, Garry and Rich and Russ. Also present: Gregg and Matt, Des, Graham and Phil, Brain and Anthony, Ian... you get the idea. I registered and signed up to vote and then we all took our seats and the Mayor said a few words. Then it was Pledge time (and I don't mean going around with a duster!). I said mine without any reference to god - that was our choice. Then one by one (all 110 of us) we went and collected our certificates and then it was time for a quick burst of the National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair. And that was it! I'm an Aussie - officially! It's the weirdest feeling, but good. Russ and Rich had bought me some things to help me fit in - a hat with corks round, a flag (which was then tied to the hat in a Wonder Woman cape kind of way, some Aussie flag boxers (which I had to wear over my trousers), some thongs (flip flops to most of you), a jar of Vegemite, a stubbie (can of beer), some Aussie flag socks... etc. Garry did the decent thing and bought me a CD! Thanks guys...
And then the champagne started flowing and the finger food came out and we stayed and had a bit of a laugh. Finally though, well on the way, we adjourned to the Oxford. More beers. Photograph taken in aforementioned ensemble for the local gay press. Oops. That could ruin everything. Over to T² again for $5 and then more drinks. Ugh. Ooh. No wonder I've felt like someone's replaced my brain with cotton wool for most of the day. I left the boys to it around 11pm completely exhausted. Home. Bed. Sleep.
Tonight I'm wondering if I can face the gym. We'll see. If not, quiet night, nice food and some relaxation. Either way tomorrow will, for the first time in a while, not involve me feeling like crap!
You'd think we'd learn, but no. Left work yesterday at about 4.45pm as it was the day of my Citizenship Ceremony.Got up to Paddington Town Hall nice and early and oddly I was really nervous. Wasn't sure quite what to expect and also started to realise that it is quite a big deal to pledge your allegience to a country that you didn't grow up in. I've never been particularly patriotic but still. I think it would have been a bigger deal too if I'd had to actually give up the British citizenship rather than hold both concurrently. A few familiar faces started appearing at the Town Hall which was odd - and then as it transpired we kind of knew by proxy 3 other people being done that day! So, in the crowd with me were David Scally, Garry and Rich and Russ. Also present: Gregg and Matt, Des, Graham and Phil, Brain and Anthony, Ian... you get the idea. I registered and signed up to vote and then we all took our seats and the Mayor said a few words. Then it was Pledge time (and I don't mean going around with a duster!). I said mine without any reference to god - that was our choice. Then one by one (all 110 of us) we went and collected our certificates and then it was time for a quick burst of the National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair. And that was it! I'm an Aussie - officially! It's the weirdest feeling, but good. Russ and Rich had bought me some things to help me fit in - a hat with corks round, a flag (which was then tied to the hat in a Wonder Woman cape kind of way, some Aussie flag boxers (which I had to wear over my trousers), some thongs (flip flops to most of you), a jar of Vegemite, a stubbie (can of beer), some Aussie flag socks... etc. Garry did the decent thing and bought me a CD! Thanks guys...
And then the champagne started flowing and the finger food came out and we stayed and had a bit of a laugh. Finally though, well on the way, we adjourned to the Oxford. More beers. Photograph taken in aforementioned ensemble for the local gay press. Oops. That could ruin everything. Over to T² again for $5 and then more drinks. Ugh. Ooh. No wonder I've felt like someone's replaced my brain with cotton wool for most of the day. I left the boys to it around 11pm completely exhausted. Home. Bed. Sleep.
Tonight I'm wondering if I can face the gym. We'll see. If not, quiet night, nice food and some relaxation. Either way tomorrow will, for the first time in a while, not involve me feeling like crap!
Monday, November 11, 2002
Ah yes. I left you with a veiled reference to the UnderBear party… well what a surprise that turned out to be. The thought of your average Joe with the somewhat fuller figure parading around in undies doesn’t really to it for me I have to say. However, as Rich and I found out, it’s more than just Bears that go hunting for Bears… There were a few familiar faces from the normal Bears night at the Beresford on Fridays (Max and Gary, Michael (formerly known as Adrian’s) Colin ‘BlueyBluey68’ and boyf, Kevin Dishwasher Daddy), and a few welcome others that we’d not seen before – obviously word had got to the international travellers. So off we went and soon there was nothing but underwear on view – a bit weird, but fun nonetheless. And the more people drank, the more fun it became. Suffices to say I got up close and personal with a couple of people I’d had my eye on for a while… :o) The only down side to this was at 2am when it finished and suddenly 350 people wanted their clothes back and wanted them now! I for some reason detoured to the Shift and then again on the way home…
Lions, tigers and bears. Oh my!
So little sleep, so many parties. But then it’s not Gay Games Week every week. Just as well! Thursday was probably the most eagerly anticipated of the lot – Black: the Men Only party. And as it turned out, it was pretty good. We got there and I showed the UK boys around so that they could get their bearings and then we danced in the Hordern as Jason was playing. His set was OK – very Sydney music and certainly our UK friends weren’t overly impressed. After that it was Wayne G, and I have to say his set really didn’t do it for me. Too much of his ‘clever’ remixing until it got to the point where it was really too repetitive. We stayed until the end and then went to the Shift to recover – however we got stuck in the queue so took an hour to get in. Fortunately it was worth it! Great music, lots of fun and sexy people… but boy was it hot. I’ve never sweated so much in my life. Weirdest bit for me was at one point coming out in to the recovery area and seeing the last three people I’ve really fancied – Michael, Dave and Andy – all stood together talking. Headf*ck! We stumbled out of there around 11.30am and went and lay by Rich and Russ’s pool in the sun. Lovely. From there Adrian disappeared off with someone he’s picked up and me and the boys decided to go to the Colombian for a drink. Then on the way to grab some food we came across Rod (bless him), still dressed in harness and chaps, arse hanging out, trying to get a cab to stop for him. Not a good look for Oxford Street at 3pm in the afternoon… We took him back to the boys place and waited until Tony came and got him. Bless..!! Had food and finally went home. Slept from about 8.40pm until 10.10pm and then me and Scally went and had a beer on Oxford St. We’d planned a trip to Newtown, but in the end were too tired. Home and bed around 12.45pm.
Slept in Saturday until 9.40am and Video Hits. We sat around and chilled and then Scally and I did brekky at the Feedback Café (as the local is known). Nice. Up to Oxford Street and as if by magic we were in the Stonewall having collected Jon and Mark. As were Rich and Russ, Adrian and Michael and David the Canadian. We stayed in there for 4 beers and and a laugh, culminating in drunken digicam pics up people’s trouser legs. Ahem. As you do.
Home and I decided it would be a great idea to have some food and then go to the gym! Weird. Actually I felt OK afterwards and was ready for the Farewell party around 10pm. We went via Rich and Russ’s to collect everyone and soon we were back at Fox Studios with it all going off. Lots of people there and fun – all the areas were open. It was a bitty party though. I ended waiting for Garry for over an hour, which isn’t a lot of fun let me tell you. Finally decided I couldn’t wait any longer and joined the boys in the RHI – where Garry arrived about 15 minutes later! The music was great until just after Tina Arena sang and the DJ changed. Well done Alex Taylor, yah boo sucks to Paul Goodyear. Not a good set. Well not for my anyway. We ended up playing ‘chase the song we like’ so went round and round and round…
I also lost a contact lens which didn’t help. We called in a day (well Scally and I did) at 6.30am and hit home, showered and picked up Mark before being almost the first people in the Shift. Russell joined us and off we went again. Again the music was better and we lasted until 11.30am. Home. Snoozed between 1-4pm and then Scally headed to meet mates and Garry got up and we listened to music and chilled. Down to the Palace collecting Max and Gary on the way (as the Beresford was empty). A couple there as it was also quiet and no sign of Dave DJing. To the Shift. Packed. Fun. Lots of flirting with Max and Gary and lots of vodka. Finally left there at around 10.30pm. Home. Bed. Sleeeeeeeeeeep!
Into work this morning where I’ve hardly been the life and soul of the party. Been too busy being that all last week! Looking forward to a quieter week, though already got things happening tomorrow night (Citizenship Ceremony – how odd is that?) and dinner with Tony and Scally on Thursday. Tonight we’re getting together for $5 steaks at T² as no-one can be arsed to cook! More news as it happens through the week…
Lions, tigers and bears. Oh my!
So little sleep, so many parties. But then it’s not Gay Games Week every week. Just as well! Thursday was probably the most eagerly anticipated of the lot – Black: the Men Only party. And as it turned out, it was pretty good. We got there and I showed the UK boys around so that they could get their bearings and then we danced in the Hordern as Jason was playing. His set was OK – very Sydney music and certainly our UK friends weren’t overly impressed. After that it was Wayne G, and I have to say his set really didn’t do it for me. Too much of his ‘clever’ remixing until it got to the point where it was really too repetitive. We stayed until the end and then went to the Shift to recover – however we got stuck in the queue so took an hour to get in. Fortunately it was worth it! Great music, lots of fun and sexy people… but boy was it hot. I’ve never sweated so much in my life. Weirdest bit for me was at one point coming out in to the recovery area and seeing the last three people I’ve really fancied – Michael, Dave and Andy – all stood together talking. Headf*ck! We stumbled out of there around 11.30am and went and lay by Rich and Russ’s pool in the sun. Lovely. From there Adrian disappeared off with someone he’s picked up and me and the boys decided to go to the Colombian for a drink. Then on the way to grab some food we came across Rod (bless him), still dressed in harness and chaps, arse hanging out, trying to get a cab to stop for him. Not a good look for Oxford Street at 3pm in the afternoon… We took him back to the boys place and waited until Tony came and got him. Bless..!! Had food and finally went home. Slept from about 8.40pm until 10.10pm and then me and Scally went and had a beer on Oxford St. We’d planned a trip to Newtown, but in the end were too tired. Home and bed around 12.45pm.
Slept in Saturday until 9.40am and Video Hits. We sat around and chilled and then Scally and I did brekky at the Feedback Café (as the local is known). Nice. Up to Oxford Street and as if by magic we were in the Stonewall having collected Jon and Mark. As were Rich and Russ, Adrian and Michael and David the Canadian. We stayed in there for 4 beers and and a laugh, culminating in drunken digicam pics up people’s trouser legs. Ahem. As you do.
Home and I decided it would be a great idea to have some food and then go to the gym! Weird. Actually I felt OK afterwards and was ready for the Farewell party around 10pm. We went via Rich and Russ’s to collect everyone and soon we were back at Fox Studios with it all going off. Lots of people there and fun – all the areas were open. It was a bitty party though. I ended waiting for Garry for over an hour, which isn’t a lot of fun let me tell you. Finally decided I couldn’t wait any longer and joined the boys in the RHI – where Garry arrived about 15 minutes later! The music was great until just after Tina Arena sang and the DJ changed. Well done Alex Taylor, yah boo sucks to Paul Goodyear. Not a good set. Well not for my anyway. We ended up playing ‘chase the song we like’ so went round and round and round…
I also lost a contact lens which didn’t help. We called in a day (well Scally and I did) at 6.30am and hit home, showered and picked up Mark before being almost the first people in the Shift. Russell joined us and off we went again. Again the music was better and we lasted until 11.30am. Home. Snoozed between 1-4pm and then Scally headed to meet mates and Garry got up and we listened to music and chilled. Down to the Palace collecting Max and Gary on the way (as the Beresford was empty). A couple there as it was also quiet and no sign of Dave DJing. To the Shift. Packed. Fun. Lots of flirting with Max and Gary and lots of vodka. Finally left there at around 10.30pm. Home. Bed. Sleeeeeeeeeeep!
Into work this morning where I’ve hardly been the life and soul of the party. Been too busy being that all last week! Looking forward to a quieter week, though already got things happening tomorrow night (Citizenship Ceremony – how odd is that?) and dinner with Tony and Scally on Thursday. Tonight we’re getting together for $5 steaks at T² as no-one can be arsed to cook! More news as it happens through the week…
Thursday, November 07, 2002
OK, so how did the last week get away from me? I'll tell you how - Gay Games shenanigans, that's what! But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Thursday night last I met up with Tess and took her to eat on Stanley Street. It was lovely to see her again, and as always it's great to catch up with people from the UK, and in the case with Tess, with someone I've known for almost half my life. We met Rich a little later on for coffee and the street was very busy with tourists ready for the start of the games. We put Tess in a cab and hit the bars. Or tried to. It was so busy, everywhere was queueing and we finally got into the Barracks. Not as much fun as the Oxford, so we switched. Had a couple more drinks then called it a night.
Friday was a busy day at work - that's about all I can remember. I forced myself to go to the gym and much beyond that I can't remember. Ah yes... a few people came to ours for beers - Jon and Mark, Mat and Pank, American John and Steve (who I'd never met). Adrian and Rich and Russ were meant to come too, but they bottled out. Garry was home too, and before long we piled down to the Beresford to see who was about. The answer was - everyone! It was very busy, and soon we were spilling out onto the laneway. Lots of people there and lots of fun. On to the Barracks and more drinking was had by all. I finally stumbled home probably around 2am.
To bed, and all was well until Scally arrived at 8am. Actually things were still good, but I was at that point dealing with a headache. Scally has blogged what happened next, so go read it. See the entry for 5th November. Right, remind me to blog the UnderBear™ party details as Scally wasn't around for that last night... but right now I'm almost ready for home and the Black (Men Only) Party tonight. Ay caramba.
Thursday night last I met up with Tess and took her to eat on Stanley Street. It was lovely to see her again, and as always it's great to catch up with people from the UK, and in the case with Tess, with someone I've known for almost half my life. We met Rich a little later on for coffee and the street was very busy with tourists ready for the start of the games. We put Tess in a cab and hit the bars. Or tried to. It was so busy, everywhere was queueing and we finally got into the Barracks. Not as much fun as the Oxford, so we switched. Had a couple more drinks then called it a night.
Friday was a busy day at work - that's about all I can remember. I forced myself to go to the gym and much beyond that I can't remember. Ah yes... a few people came to ours for beers - Jon and Mark, Mat and Pank, American John and Steve (who I'd never met). Adrian and Rich and Russ were meant to come too, but they bottled out. Garry was home too, and before long we piled down to the Beresford to see who was about. The answer was - everyone! It was very busy, and soon we were spilling out onto the laneway. Lots of people there and lots of fun. On to the Barracks and more drinking was had by all. I finally stumbled home probably around 2am.
To bed, and all was well until Scally arrived at 8am. Actually things were still good, but I was at that point dealing with a headache. Scally has blogged what happened next, so go read it. See the entry for 5th November. Right, remind me to blog the UnderBear™ party details as Scally wasn't around for that last night... but right now I'm almost ready for home and the Black (Men Only) Party tonight. Ay caramba.
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