I VOTED!

Yes, as of noon yesterday, I have already officially cast my ballot for the general election in November. Naturally I voted for the “Rent Is Too Damn High” party. 

I kid!

I voted for Hillary– not that my vote is anyone’s business but my own.  She is not my favorite democratic nominee (I really liked Obama) but I do think I like her better than Dukakis. And Kerry.

And, no, my vote isn’t “against Trump”, although by default it sort of is.  My vote is for the candidate that I think will move America forward on issues with social impact.

Especially with respect to impending Supreme Court decisions. 

She is very much in line with my more liberal social views and I am confident she will advocate for more equality across the board in areas of education and civil rights.

And I absolutely DO think the wealthy need to pay more in taxes, to help pay for all the shit they enjoy– like safe borders and roads to drive on and police/fire protection and an educated workforce and a steady power/water supply and….

So yeah.  It’s done. I’m done. My vote is cast.  No take backsies.

Now I patiently wait for November– provided the election actually ends in November.

P.S. I didn’t even watch the debate last night. Nor do I plan to watch any of the future ones. I have no interest in the sideshow. 

Chamber Singers

Once again I am singing bass in the chamber singers (a smaller ensemble selected from the chorus).  The group tends to sing more classic repertoire and is used for smaller concerts/outreach opportunities. 

It’s also a joy to sing in because everyone is good.

We had our first rehearsal last night and since most of the group is returning from last year, we sort of just picked up where we left off. We sight-read a few new pieces, and one has caught my ear already as something potentially special. 

I’m glad we hit the ground running because this year we have a special November chamber concert to prepare for, which adds a lot of music to the already sizeable chunk that the chorus has to do for the Christmas concert. So I have a busy fall ahead. 

I think it’s good I’m not doing band. (PS, they haven’t reached out to me at all- it’s like I never existed even though I was the trombone section leader.)

Plus, truth be told, I always hated Monday night rehearsals. Monday’s usually suck at work, sonit just makes for a long day. So far I’ve been enjoying my Monday nights off. 

Anyway- that was the extent of the excitement for my weekend. Hope yours was fun. 

Light Show

Boy howdy did we have a storm last night!

They kept predicting storms ans flash food warnings were scrolling across the TV screen all during prime time– but where I was we were missing it. It was all just to the north. 

For awhile. 

This is what the radar looked like for a few hours. The heavy red area got like 6 inches of rain in 2 hours. And more overnight. 

I kept watching for the storm but all we had was wins and lightning. LOTS of lightning. There was basically a flash a second– like the paparazzi were out in force. 

Then this happened:

I live at the blue dot. 

Yeah, we eventually got hit. And my building was hit by lightning, too!  Boy did it scare Miss Phoebe. She was on my chest all sleepy then BAM!

My chest is a mass of claw marks today. 

We only lost power for like 5 seconds. But it killed the building’s internet and evidently fucked up our elevators too. 

The thing is, we’re already like +6″ of rain for the year and we have rain in the forecast for the next 5 days. There’s probably gonna be a bit of flooding. 

And bike riding has been seriously curtailed. 

Woofy Wednesday

Time for your weekly flesh feast!

This one is my favorite. I am a sucker for the beardy nerd look….

And again, a little extra flesh to feast on that isn’t quite so work appropriate…

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Chorus!

Yes, the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus has again started up for the 2016-2017 season. It feels almost odd going back after the whole GALA experience. 

But also good to go back.

The time away has been short, but full of reflection. I’m returning as the Basssecrion leader and as of right now I’m also returning to sing In the Chamber Singers. 

This should keep me fairly busy musically, but not overtaxed– especially since I’m not currently doing band. I may try to add a bit of extra involvement by participating on the production committee. 

This fall actually looks pretty good so far– we have a good core of returning members, we added one back from leave of absence, and also added two newbies from the audition process. This greatly excites me as I don’t think we’ve added a Bass since I auditioned in 2014. 

The only drawback is that we are preparing the holiday concert(s) which means singing Xmas music in September. 

Not my favorite thing to do.

But it looks to be a good season overal, with a spring collaboration with the Heartland Gay Men’s Chorus (Kansas City).

Naturally I’ll keep you all posted. 

Another Weekend

Meh. 

This was one of those weekends where we had good weather and I really wanted to be out and about with friends… only I was by myself. 

So I did what I usually do: gym, laundry, cleaning, bike rides, etc. here was the bike from yesterday– not including riding to the gym:

Pretty decent ride, with wind no less. I did some more maintenance on the Holdsworth on Saturday, and took him out for probably one last long ride before storing him for the winter. 

I also got my green coffee from Sweet Maria’s, so I roasted that on Saturday morning. Damn does it smell good!!

I also read a lot and just relaxed. Which is good, but… lonesome.  Since so many people had Vikings game plans, it was difficult to get together with anyone. 

Oh well– it’s Monday and I’m back at work. Yay.

Beef

I got a real beef with the jeans industry. Why can’t you make a good jean that works on guys with muscular thighs and a meaty ass?  And why they gotta be so goddamn expensive?

God, shopping for jeans sucks right now. Absolutely nothing fits me right now. Everything is still geared for skinny jean couture, for some ungodly reason. 

I can’t wear skinny jeans. One of my legs can’t even wear skinny jeans. And even if I upsized the waist in order to get in a pair, they are unflattering as fuck because the inseam length is exaggerated, and the ass looks like you are dragging around a loaded diaper.

Plus they don’t go over my calves.

And don’t even get me started on how stupidly low the pockets are being placed!

If I do manage to find a “roomier cut” jean, thencrotch is low, it looks like the leg hole’s are eating my feet and I look 40 MORE pounds overweight. 

And then there are the slouchy jeans, which perpetually look like you need to give them a good, upward yank.  Which makes me uncomfortable just to look at!

Seriously, when did the skinny/slouchy jeans looks become popular?  And why??  The cuts are definitely NOT flattering.  I mean, c’mon people!

To illustrate, I give you three choices of men in jeans….
Example A:

Example B: 

Example C:

I don’t know about you, but ass A is a hands down winner for me. The jeans grip the ass, and the pockets don’t extend beyond the curve of the buttock. Plus, it doesn’t look like his ass is melting. 

But just try finding a pair like “A” nowadays!  Grrrrrr!
OH!  And jeans cost about 8 bucks to make. There’s like 4 dollars in cloth, and 4 dollars in Chinese child labor there. But jeans companies charge us like 80 bucks (and that’s for the inexpensive shit!). Ain’t no WAY I’m paying over 100 for jeans!  Fuck THAT! Not even if they fit like Chris Hemsworth!

And I’m not even touching on the excessive use of “stretch denim”.  What a fucking abortion.   I’m sorry, but any jeans with over 0.5% “stretchy fabric” look like those goddamn pajama jeans. 

So, here I am– getting low on my denim supply, with no prospects looming on the horizon. 

Woofy Wednesday

I saw this series of pictures and just had to post them:

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

It’s Monday, and I don’t think I’m going to band rehearsal.

For the past 6 or 7 years I’ve played in the Plymouth Concert Band.  It is definitely one of the better Wind ensembles in the Twin Cities. Rehearsals ever Monday and four concerts a year — unless you count the summer outdoor concert series.  Mostly I’ve enjoyed it. 

Except for last year. 

In previous years, the repertoire has been mostly sight readable and semi boring, but with some challenging pieces that I actually had to work on a little. And some of the easier pieces were at least beautiful music– and making them dynamic and pretty was challenging enough. 

But last year?  The entire year it felt like the group took a step backward. People not prepared each week. Rough rehearsals. Some rough concerts. And not ONE piece was interesting or challenging to me. I was bored the entire season. 

It’s hard to get motivated for a 2 hour Monday evening rehearsal (plus 45 minutes commute time) when you don’t like any of the music you’re playing. And when the group is starting to piss you off with lack of musicality. 

So, as of right now, I’m taking a hiatus. I won’t be going to the first rehearsal this evening (and I’m a tad bit bummed out). I mean, I really like playing my trombone and being musical, so I am sure I will miss it. 

But I won’t miss the frustration. 

Perhaps if they notice my absence and the director would like me back, I may go. But only after seeing a list of the music. 

I just can’t be bored again for 2 hours each week.  

Getting old(er) sucks

And I don’t mean from a numbers perspective. Most days I feel like a 15 year old (intellectually… And sexually).  But physically?

I feel old.

Or oldish.

It’s mostly the aches and pains. I try to be fairly physically active. I bike to work (and go for long rides on weekends).  I work out like 5 days a week at the gym. I walk at lunch. I take the stairs option when possible.

But lately I’ve been noticing some more ailments. I have an ankle that bothers me. I have a bad shoulder. And recently my lower back/hip have been giving me fits. 

This week, it’s been my back. It’s better today, but damn if it hasn’t hobbled me. And it makes it difficult to keep active. 

Ugh. 

When do I get my AARP card?