Long Way Down...

Well, it seems I have surfaced from the chaos in my life. Been real real busy you see, so I haven't had time to write about it...just livin' the dream as they say. Let's backtrack a little, shall we?

I ignored all the calls to venture out for hedonism MCXVIICXVIIII and opted for a rather quiet evening with the Mayor. We dined at Two Urban Licks which was very good. I still believe it has one of the most beautiful interior decors. The smoked salmon chips were a great starter. I had the seared tuna and the Mayor chose the pork shoulder. I learned the next day how strong the infused vodka cocktails really are, plus I think we may have split a thief of wine. :)

Thursday was an absolute blast with the entire family down in Columbus, GA. Such a gorgeous day it was, with the high near 70 degrees. 35 of us joined together for an afternoon of wine, food, and generally catching up. It's funny, my mom is still so scared of the family finding out that I am gay, like it reflects poorly upon her as a mom and parent. But, I know that everyone knows. I mean, no longer do I get the questions like, "Are you dating anyone", or "I know this really cute Paulding County girl who works at my office". No sir, instead, I get, "When can I come stay with you at your condo and go out?".

After a delicious meal with desert, I headed over to Joel and Brad's for more wine. A fine group of friends spent the day over on Clemont drinkin' and socializing. ChrisGorman even brought his adorable new black pug puppy named Elfie. I, for one, or five, am not loving the name, however, she is very very cute. Then the night becomes a blur: I swing by Mark's to get Bret, then Halo, then WetBar.........So glad that I was not working on Friday.

Friday night, Beckyeah, Amy, and I went to PieBar for dinner. The food was excellent and very affordable. We stopped by Halo and of course, my favorite friday night spot Midcity Cafe. Summer was there and as usual was pouring stiffies from behind the bar.

Saturday was spent on call and in the hospital. realfunletmetellya. Four emergencies from the usual various spots: Paulding, Cherokee, Douglas, then Paulding. I never managed to make it home for more than an hour before the pager went off again..and again...and again. I was clearly over it when it went off a final time at 4:30am. Which bring me to Sunday, the busiest travel day of the entire year, and I was set to leave for San Jose for a job interview. Long story short: I made it (at 10:30pm) and the rest is history. I will keep you updated...

Aunt Carolyn, looking fabulous at 70 

Me and the family 

Mom's sister and her family 

Me and Molly C 

You're Beautiful

Last night we gathered at Krog Bar for a birthday celebration for Eric. Such a cute space for a wine bar, though a bit small. Perfect for a glass of wine before going out to dinner. We did sample several of the appetizers including a roasted red pepper hummus that was divine. But what was even more tasty was the waiter. He had that Vancouver-Canadian- boy look with the short-brim hat and lots-o-charm. Plus, he was very knowledgeable about wine.

I arrived home to find that YogaJason had dropped off a little package for me at the concierge. It was some of his chili he made on Saturday night and a copy of the James Blunt CD that I have been so eager to get my hand on. A few weeks ago, he let me hear a few songs off of this CD and I immediately knew I must have it. Jame's voice is so unique, almost a cross between David Grey and the lead singer from Five for Fighting. The entire CD is good, but the first two songs are definitely my favorite. The second track called You're Beautiful almost brought me to tears. So I thought I would share it with you...

You're Beautiful

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by
.She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,I will never be with you.

Check out his website here.

You push me

Last night, JohnBrown and I were listening to the new Madonna CD....again. You know, playing out favorite tracks on the CD and dancin' around in his living room that is covered with plastic. home renovations, of course. Anyway, we soon found ourselves going through each individual track and really noticing how much sampling there is on this CD. And I'm not talking just about other artists, which there is, but really older Madonna songs. There are the more obvious ones such as the Donna Summer "I feel love" bassline. Yet, a closer listen reveals the rolling bassline from New Order "Blue Monday". The police are sampled in one track, with the same harmony as "like a prayer". We even heard "justify my love" and "erotic". Now, I am sure that many music snobs will find criticism in this type of rehashing of the past. They will claim that it lacks originality. But one must not forget how many songs in the electronic dance community are remade, remixed, and resampled. It has been this way for years and will continue into the future. I think it is brilliant and shows her creativity as an artist. Anyone care to comment?

And my toes, watch them curl....

After Stan ran off last week in search of a new lover and possibly some esophageal dilitation, I wasn't sure if I would ever see him again. I felt like we had become so close since our return from Provincetown, but you never really know what Stan is thinking. Most of the time it comes out muffled. Anyway, today I arrive home to find not only Stan, but his new lover Barry. Barry is a male nurse, complete with stethoscope and a clipboard, though he won't show me what is written on it.....he keeps mumbling something about HIPPA laws. Stan like Barry because he takes care of his every need, if you know what I mean. Such a handsome couple, don't you think?

Well, it seems someone out there on the interweb has solved the mystery behind the quote from last night's post. It is indeed The Beastie Boys "The Blue Nun" from Check you head. very, very good. That album brings back some memories of growing up for sure.

Tune of the Day: Dark Monks - Wishing. Out on Phonetic record label, this catchy tune is big on my list. I played it for JohnBrown last weekend and he told me it is a taken from an old Flock of Seagulls tune. Anyone? Discuss.

Gaylo anyone?

Stan and Barry 

Clutter

It seems the older I get, the more, disorganized and clumsy I become. Note to self: you turn 30 exactly two months from today....yikes.. And with this lack of order in my life comes the clutter. Now, maybe it has to do with living in a condo the size of a shoebox, with little room for storage and organization. My main problem has to do with the piles of paper that seem to accumulate on my counter in the kitchen. What starts as a small hill of bills, papers, and countless credit card offers turns into mountains of useless information that just serve to take up space. Instead of sifting through the useless information, I just add other piles. soon, I have piles of paperwork that I know can be discarded, another pile that needs to be looked at again in the next week, and yet a third that can be filed away in my file folder but hasn't due to the fact that the file folder holds old papers from previous years....that should probably be shredded. was that a run on sentence? remember, I was not an English major. no sir. so what do I do about this uneasiness in my life?

"What's the Secret Peter? Naturally, I'll say it's the wine. Hmm... Delicious again Peter".
Anyone who can tell me where that quote came from wins a personal DJ JT mixed CD from me, and you can pick the tracklist..... Here is a hint: it is from a song....shocker.

My hump, my lovely lady lumps

I have never thought of myself as a good writer, or even a descent one. English and grammar were never my thing. I can't even finish the crossword puzzle in the AJC on a Monday, which is clearly the easiest one of the week. They only become more difficult from there. I can, however, finish the Sudoku puzzle in a reasonable amount of time. And I have become addicted to the latter, probably because it just makes sense, the numbers and all.

Having said that, I did create this blog to share the stories of my life, what I am thinking, feeling, and all that jazz. And of course there is the music element that is so important to me. The title and idea behind my blog came from a friend who once told me that the stories I have to tell are sometimes so crazy and funny that they almost seem made up. Well, they are not, but it has become clear that I can tell a better story in person than on paper. The other day at work I was sharing story about growing up with a co worker. After explaining that my family had a gay poodle named "Rick" who my mom would take to the groomers every month for what she called a "clip and dip", only for Rick to return with painted toe nails and bows twisted in his ears. After much laughter, my co worker turned to me and said, "you know, you really should have been a professional storyteller". I laughed, but inside I didn't know if I should take that as a compliment or not. My point is that I do have funny stories to tell, but lately, I read some of my posts and they seem sort of...well, ...stupid. I just don't have the jargon or descriptive words to really convey the hilarity of the situation. After the fall of J-flyrising last week, I began to wonder if Liner Notes would survive. or if i even wanted it to survive. It seems that lately all I blog about is my weekend recap, which can be reiterated in both johnbrown and erik's blog, both of which are much better writers than I am. So I have been doing some thinking: I will try to take this blog back in the direction in which it started, you know, MUSIC. It doesn't mean that I won't share some things going on in my life from time to time, but I want to bring to the forefront the music that I am feeling right now. After all, I am a DJ. Let's see what happens.

Tomorrow marks the release of Madonna's new album, "Confessions on a dance floor". So I get a message today that E.D. Records received 10 advance copies of the CD today, and they were holding one for me. It pays off to become friends of the guys who own the record store of course. I have since listened to the entire CD twice, and I really believe she did a great job with this one. Most people have heard the first single, "hung up", which really didn't do much for me until I heard the track several times. Here is a very brief description of a few of the tracks.

Track 2 sounds so much like a mixture of underworld, jupiter ace, and gus gus with the heavily synthesized melody. Beautiful track.

The bassline from track 4 sounds similar to "I feel Love" by Donna Summer with a certain Ray of Lightesque type of sound without becoming too hard. Love it.

I am totally digging Track 7 called "Forbidden Love". What a stunning track. Of course no dance album is complete with the synthesized voice distorter....Is that Cher? Aaaw Shit.

Jump is a great track. Very reminiscent of tiefschwarz, the beat that is.

Is it me or does "Push" almost sound like an old Police track? Every breath I take?

I am sure it will take several more listens to really grasp a feel on this album, but so far I am impressed. Feel free to post any comments you may have.

this week: an interview, a car wash, a haircut, and hopefully a glimpse of at least one of my two new crushes.......

Bright Lights, Cold Steel.....

In my line of work, that is a pleasant way of saying that we can't fix you here. I guess we could say "ma'am, now we shall take you to the operating room, crack your chest open, stop your heart, slice your legs in search of the perfect vein(s), and bypass all of your blockages." The former expression is just easier i guess. I hope I never see bright lights and cold steel.

And then there was the weekend. Friday night I convinced Bret to join me for dinner at Chow Baby. I'm glad to see this place is doing well, as we had to wait for a table. Yet it became obvious that hordes of straight people from Scarietta with real big appetites have discovered this place as well. Honestly, half of the restaurant must have gone back for seconds.

After dinner, We joined JohnBrown and Erik at MidCity Cafe for a few drinks. Turns out, my hidden gem is catching on with the gays. And my straight boyfriend I met the week before made a cameo appearance, and we sat at the bar talkin' music and stuff. Then it was on to WebBar which was completely dead and then a twirl around the Heretic, which was a hottie collectible wonderland. Pocket gay central if you will.

I was very unproductive on Saturday, only venturing out for a late lunch with a friend who was in town from Seattle. 11 hours of sleep on a Saturday night does a body good. So Sunday was all about riding my bike and eating. An early breakfast with the Mayor, and then a long bike ride with Bret And Trey through Atlantic Station, down past fraternity row at GA Tech, then downtown to check out the Aquarium. That place is enormous. I mean it has a 6 story parking deck attached to it. They were real busy, you know, cause it is set to open it about two weeks. On we biked, down by the Carter Center then stopping for lunch at Neighbors. I was happy when we sat down on the patio only to hear them playing Widespread Panic. I felt like i was in Athens.

Drinks at Joe's later turned into the coolest Salon opening complete with a DJ and some of the finest break dancing I have seen in years. head spins, windmills, back flips, graffiti artists, tattoos, piercings, .... you name it. I loved every bit of it.

I think I may have gone to Blake's then later let my fingers do the dialing......bad idea.

Super Size Me

I was reading an article in USA Today about the obesity epidemic and how many doctors are afraid to address this topic in the office. The emotional impact this discussion can have on the patient-doctor relationship can be devastating. People don't like to be labeled as "obese" or "fat", but it is imperative that physicians address the topic in the most compassionate way. I believe that this responsibility starts with the pediatrician, as studies show that overweight children will most likely remain overweight in adulthood. With nearly 2/3 of adult Americans being overweight, the number only seems to be growing, and the article discusses adding the BMI (Body Mass Index) to the normal set of screening tools like blood pressure, pulse, etc. There is no doubt that some people are genetically predisposed to being overweight, but we must educate the public about the ways to eat healthy and exercise. There are simply too many health risks and problems that accompany obesity.

Yesterday, a real nice Paulding County gal came in for her procedure. When got on the scales, the meter tipped all the way to the right. Now, for medication purposes and to avoid breaking the procedure table of course, it is necessary to have an accurate weight for each patient. As patient safety is our number one priority . I could not, however, imagine the embarrassment when the physician had the patient rolled over to the loading dock to have her properly weighed.