That scene took many takes....but Heath didn't mind. 

Like this? With or without the tongue? 

I just love the new martini glasses. 

It's Shake 'N Bake....and I helped. 

The password is...."Vagina"

Is my head really that big? 

LittleJohn 

All I want for Christmas are my patent leather high heel boots from "Looks of Atlanta" 

Unlike Eric, I really did get into the drag suitcase. Watch out PTown Barbie.....really should have thought about stretchin' the hamstrings first though. 

Hottie McLegs 

How cozy is this place? 

The stocking were hung. 

Way Down Under

I know, it has been a week since my last post. And I honestly do not have an excuse. I guess I could say there was nothing interesting or exciting happening in my life, but you can ask Beck-Yeah and that is definitely not the case.

which brings me to today, time for the monthly Nurse Practice Council meeting. I have come to enjoy these meeting as I get to dress up in something other than scrubs and listen to a group of women with very strong opinions argue over such stupid things as which Rectal tube will save the hospital the most money. Yuck.

As I sat there in the foundation board room this morning, listening to the council reports from each of the different areas, I realized that I had nothing to talk about. Let's see.....I could talk about the 100K lives campaign. No. I know, the new Patient Transfer device we are currently trialing.....no. Then I remembered. I scrounged through my bad and there is was. Just last week in my team leader meeting I was given the literature on a new device that is designed to hold back FUPAs for procedures in the cath lab and interventional radiology departments. If you remember, a FUPA is a Fat Upper Pussy Area, seen frequently in our morbidly obese population. Well it seems that someone has capitalized on the idea and invented a FUPA sling if you will. According to the website, "the KangarooWeb improves femoral site access by retracting the abdominal pannus (or FUPA for the layperson, who knew there was a technical term?) away from the groin area, without the use of cumbersome tape or expensive strapping products."

The company claims that the Kangarooweb will effectively:

• Provide secure, reliable access to the femoral crease in less than one minute. Now I know of several Paulding and Douglas County specials who will be asking if they can take this strap home for personal use. After all, they did pay for it. No more broomsticks when it comes to having sex with your partner. In less than a minute, muff diving shall commence!
• Eliminates complications from tape and razor burn on degraded skin. This is commonly seen on moist FUPAs as the wet skin sets the patient up for yeast infections and skin breakdown. Remember to always dry your FUPA.
• Improves patient comfort and dignity. Comfort: yes. No more stretching the FUPA with large amount of tape that can cause further skin tears. Dignity: I think not. How embarrassing would it be to have two nurses strapping your abdomen in a sling so then can get to your groin? Ick.

My favorite part of this product is the tool used to market it. The brochure shows a Kangaroo with a rather large pouch in the front, or FUPA I guess. But my favorite thing is the catch phrase: The KangarooWeb: "Helping Doctors See Down Under"! Below is a demonstration on one of our Paulding County Specials.

A few tugs of the strap....and Voila! 

Before applying the FUPA holder 

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

I guess it was about six months ago when I decided to get a home phone. you know, one of those voice-over-IP things. seems it is all the rage with the kids these days. and it has worked out well until about one month ago, when I came home from work to find there was no dial tone. And it wasn't until yesterday that I finally got around to making a service call. Now customer service is very important to me. It seems that everywhere I go I just get apathy and attitude, whether I am at the Drive-Thru (take that Erik), the bank, or the parking deck at the gym. So when I placed the call to PurDigital Media yesterday to report my service outage, I was shocked to find a very friendly and helpful voice on the other line. The customer service representative said, "we will send someone out to your condo tomorrow, and I will place special instructions on your work order for the technician to replace your ATA box and make a call from you home phone to your cell phone to make sure it is working properly". I was shocked. What a novel idea! I hung up the phone very satisfied.

On the way to work this morning, I left a key release at the concierge. And I went about my daily business of stomping out heart disease. It was a very busy day with all the paulding county specials and moist FUPAs. So I arrive home this evening to find that yes, indeed, the ATA box has been replaced with a new one. (which is much bigger I might add, but that is beside the point). And sitting on the counter is the work order, and in the "notes" section are the aforementioned "special instructions". I go over and pick up the receiver..... to find, once again, no dial tone. Nothing. nada. I tried to troubleshoot the situation, but the line is still.....dead. Now it may just be that the phone is broken, though it is brand new. But what about a call from the technician? Did he or she even check to see if the new ATA box was working? I have gone from completely satisfied to utterly frustrated.

So say what you want

Well, the weekend has come and left us. And rather than a recap, I want to talk a little music. Plus, I am sure you can read johnbrown's website for my whereabouts. I had a little motivation to work on a new CD thanks to yogajason. As I erected my Christmas tree on Sunday, and decorated it with tacky hand-me-down ornaments courtesy of my parental units, I managed to multitask and throw together a new mix. So , for a limited time, you can download my new mix here.

And, here is the tracklist:

1.Ian Carey & Mochico featuring Miss Bunty - Say what U Want (Ian Carey Club Mix)
2.Stevie Wonder - Jammin (Southside grooves vocal mix)
3.Mohito featuring Howard Jones - Slip Away (Monofonic remix)
4.Narcotic Thrust - Waiting for You (Steve Mac Classic mix)
5.Sun - Ends of the Earth (Eric Kupper Club mix)
6.Black Fras - Moving into Light (Freemason Vocal mix) TUNE!!
7.Jamiroquai - Don't give Hate a Chance (Freemason Mix)
8.Who Da Funk - the Night (Erick Kupper Remix)
9.Red Carpet - Alright (Brad Carter Remix)
10. The Freemasons - Love on my Mind (Shapeshifters Remix)
11.Garbage - Bleed like Me (Eric Kupper Klub extravaganza mix)

Any comments are greatly appreciated. Buh-Bye.

Come one, come all

yesssir, it's that time of year again. Time for the 2005 Piedmont Hospital Annual Craft Bazaaaar! You see, we were a little slow this morning, so I grabbed my coworker, Sue, and we headed over for a stroll through arts n' crafts land. Sue is such a gem, a 5_ year-old southern belle from Anniston, Alabama. If they had a casting call for Steel Magnolias here in Atlanta, well, Sue would easily have made the second cut. She has one of those beautiful southern draws where she can simply turn any one syllable word into two. After grabbing a piping hot cup 'o Joe from the Snack Shack, we began our Christmas shopping experience. Now I am not one to spend much time at this craft fair, as it is usually filled with extremely tacky things: pickled vegetables in mason jars with white lace doilies, just about every variety of wicker basket w/goodies, and then there are the holiday sweatshirts with iron-on magnolia leaves outlined with gold glitter glue. pretty. Today was different. There were beautiful twall handbags, furry scarves in various colors, and lots of hand made jewelry. I quickly found a furry scarf that I just knew my sister would love.

A few moments later, Sue says, "let's go over they--rrr". Something had caught her eye. And it was a 3/4 length fur coat made of red fox hair. I held Sue's coffee as she tried on this interesting coat, and her eyes lit up. I knew what she was thinking. (she wondered how it would feel to parade around her apartment wearing nothing but the aforementioned coat). The lady running the booth wanted $1000 for the coat, but Sue simply batted her eyes and talked her down to $850. Who would have known that the craft bazzaar would have such a lovely piece of clothing? Only in the South I tell ya.

On the work front, it seems that the par levels of gay guys I work with is on the rise. This week two new hires have started. One being on the far end of the nelly-meter, and the other is the ultimate-straight-actin' kind of gay guy. Coming from Grady as a paramedic, he is all of 27 years-old with the face of a 16 year-old boy. Eye candy for sure. Work is good. Life is good.

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.

I hung up on you

I really love three day weekends. Even when they arrive unplanned and unexpected. So Thursday night was Supposed to be a quiet evening, you know, the Trevor Project event then maybe a drink at Halo. But when you go out with YogaJason, things can change....very quickly. Back to the Trevor Project. It was a nice crowd (cute and all) but I really expected a higher turnout. By Design is a nice space, but the different rooms provide for a party that is too spread out. I didn't even realize they had started the raffle until half way into it. But the reason we were there is a good one. Teen suicide. One of the speakers shared his experience about coming out in high school and the ridicule he faced. He befriended a girl who turned out to be a lesbian, then years later he finds out that shortly after high school she had committed suicide. Now I don't know what it is like for the kids these days, but growing up in South Georgia, I know it would have been tough for me back then. And many of the schools do not support the Trevor Project, so we must spread the word to kids across the nation that help is there 24 hours a day.

We went by JohnCasey's house for a quick drink then it was off to the opening of the new WetBar. It's real real nice, complete with two revolving dancefloors and a beautiful outdoor patio and garden. It should be nice as we have been waiting for almost 2 years for this transformation. Well, wouldn't you know that I lost track of time and the next thing you know it is 1:30am. Seeing as I was to work early, I made the executive and irrational decision that I would not go to work on Friday. I allot myself one of those "call in sick days" a year, and I hadn't used mine thus far. Let me remind you that Diane loves when you call in sick. So, once I put that behind me, it was off to The Assistant's for a libation or two.

Friday night, I stopped by Jody's for a celebratory glass of champagne. He closed on his new condo at Spire, and I must say that the building is quite beautiful. And I am not jealous...well, maybe just a little. I was sad to hear that a water pipe burst on the 12th floor ruining several units.

I met ChrisHeard, Kelli, and Holger for drinks at Midcity Cafe. Such a hidden gem this place is, and on Friday nights, my friend Jefferson spins house music. This place has sort of become our friday night spot, and we have become friends with some of the regulars in the place. Such a nice mix of straight and gay, and when I say straight....I mean metrosexual and hot. Jefferson's set was nearly perfect, so he invites us over to a house party he was spinning in the Fourth Ward, and we obliged. What a good time. I managed to chat with just about the cutest straight boy who shares almost identical tastes in music as I do. We talked, I smiled, I flirted, and he liked it.

And then there was Saturday. Bret came over sometime after 8pm in a white wedding dress, and I was his date in a lovely blue Tuxedo with ruffles, you know, Italian Wedding Style. The Halloween party was much fun. We met up with Erik, little john, johnbrown, and hottie mcLegs for a little dancin in the schoolhouse. My favorite track at the party had to be "Do I look Like a Slut", and I thoroughly enjoyed dancing to this song with none other than P-Town Barbie. She was wearing a lovely new hair piece. It was a blonde afro with a pretty White bow up on it. Klassy gal she is.

Then we all went back to WetBar to dance a little more. Though the place wasn't crowded, it was real real cute. And when I say cute, I am talking about the boys and not the decor. The highlight was joining Erik and P-Town Barbie on the revolving dancefloor with the extremely hot Italian sailor. Then we all took turns going to the middle to show off our signature move. I somehow forgot to perform "the worm". As I was telling Erik yesterday, Saturday night was nothing but fun.

I avoided all the calls on Sunday to go down to East Purnt' for a Chili and Bourbon party. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything more caustic to put down my esophagus. I mean that is a great set up for a commercial about heartburn. or erosive esophagitis. or whatever. no, I spent the day inside (though it was quite beautiful out). Feelin' a little antsy, I did make it over to The Mayor's for a salad and pizza.

The more I hear the new track by Madonna, "hung up", the more it is growing on me. Sure, people are going to like it simply because it is Madonna, but I really think this album has the potential to score high in the Billboard Charts. Only 15 days and counting.

My House on the Nile that's right

It never fails that when the seasons change, so do my tastes in music. And with all of the new house music coming out these days, it had me thinking today about my passion of music and exactly where that comes from. Of course, during the summer when the weather is warm and bright, I tend to go for more vocal summery songs, perfect for playing while sitting out by the pool You know, that warm Ibiza feel, with drums and horns and a certain latin flare. I have even become quite fond of Missy Elliot's production work, and there is no doubt that her music is influenced by early rap and hip hop. Then, as the days get cooler, I find myself listening to more progressive house tunes, with driving basslines and beautiful melodies.

Today I was thinking about my breakdancing birthday party I had as a child growing up in Valdosta, Georgia. For such a young age, I was fairly advanced in my drive and passion for music. I mean, how many people did you know growing up that had a party complete with a Jambox birthday cake, professional breakdancers, and groups of young kids dressed up in parachute pants waiting to break out their signature move on the piece of linoleum purchased from Color Tile. As I was flipping through the pictures (I am bringing one in to put on the board at work where you try to guess who the person is), I must have laughed for almost 10 minutes. As completely foolish as it looks, it was pretty damn cool at the same time. Here are a few pictures from that special day.....

Me and my gang from the neighborhood 

my Jambox cake 

Me doing "the worm" 

I ain't afraid of no ghost

Ahh....the weekend. It comes and goes so quickly. Here is what happened....

Friday evening, I joined the group over at Brad and Joel's for a delightful dinner consisting of pork tenderloin, salad courtesy of the Sharley-Turnbulls, and potatoes. Well, I guess they were really big fries so to speak, in both the regular i-da-ho and sweet varieties. Baked of course. The downpour of rain kept us out of the pool and on the porch, but that was fine because I knew that cool weather was on the way. I am with LittleJohn on this one in that I love the cool, crisp, autumn air. Reminds me of my days back at UGA drinkin' Jack and Cokes at 11am at the ATO house on game days. good times indeed.

After dinner, I dropped by LittleJohn's and joined Erik, the Mayor, and HM for a little porch gathering. or was it voyeurism? Not sure, but entertaining nonetheless.

The better part of Saturday was spent on the couch. It was one of those cloudy fall afternoons that made me feel quite lazy. I did manage to watch the GA-Arkansas game and catch up on the usual Superstation 80's films.

Saturday night, I helped Brandon with an event he was producing at Compound. The Coca-Cola company rented out this once scene-and-be-seen nightclub to celebrate the new Aluminum bottle beverage that unfortunately, will not be available in the United States. Makes perfect sense to me, but I'm just saying. Meredith and I worked the "trendsetter VIP list" which was a lot of fun except that the hot security guys could not seem to get the outdoor heaters to work. Luckily, I was dressed appropriately. The front room featured one of the DJs from Hed Kandi so I did have a chance to hear some quality house. Shortly after 10pm, however, things changed very quickly. As we say in health care, "things took a turn for the worse". The music changed to hip hop, the 95.5 the Beat van showed up, and gaggles of overweight girls from Lilburn donning acid washed Palmettos and Nextel two-way radio cell phones strapped to their belts formed long lines to come in and party. I think I may have even seen some flashing necklaces purchased at Spencers gifts as well. I managed to spend some time with Yoga Jason and The Assistant, who was busy hammin' it up on the dancefloor with the girls from the office.

And then there was Sunday. Bret, Klyph, Trey, and I went for a long bike ride down the Silver Comet trail. 20 miles later, were were ready for some food and a beer. We had a pit stop by Bret's for one of his signature Brownies cooked in his new stainless steel oven. Then it was off to Joe's to mingle with the gays. And there were out in full force. Table upon table of them. Every shape and size. The Assistant was in a particularly sassy mood, even going so far as to strut the porch at Joe's as if he were trying out for America's next Top Model. We ate, we drank, and we laughed incessantly, thanks to the brownies of course. At one point I was in tears. Klyph and I decided that a stroll through Blake's was in order, seeing as it was still early and all. And that was real fun. Though I started pounding the Skinnys like they were water and flirting with Daddy McDadderton who I later thought would be fun to hook up with as he is old enough to be my father. Then things get a bit blurry. I remember placing a call to 4th Street with no answer, and finally realized it was time to go. It is always a good feeling to wake up on your couch fully clothed with a half eaten triscuit sitting on your chest. neat. but 11 hours of sleep = no Diane.

And now, for your Friday viewing Pleasure....

Jamie
Young Jamie from Survivor: Guatemala. yummy....

Never a Dull Moment

The past two days at work have been much more than interesting. Very high tooth-to-tattoo ratio in terms of the patients I have treated, fixed, repaired, saved, only to have them mess it up all over again. Quite frustrating, but then again, I guess it is just job security for me.

Yesterday morning brought us 65 year-old Betty Jo from Douglas County. You see, Betty Jo was taken to Wellstar Douglas hospital when she began actin' funny at home, and her astute husband, thought that she might be having a stroke. The CT scan was negative for a stroke, but the ER nurse thought the patients just wasn't acting right. Upon obtaining a more detailed history, brother boy admitted to giving momma some pain pills for a backache. yes, she was simply sedated. Urine tox screen in the ER showed Betty Jo testing positive for amphetamines, barbituates, and opiates. I just love a grandma who likes to party.

Today brought us yet another Paulding County special. Young 41 year-old Christopher is a brittle diabetic with an extensive cardiac and drug history. He suffered his first heart attack at the age of 37 and just didn't see the need in follow up or preventative medicine. He lives with his brother and does not work. He is only able to afford his medicines part of the time, with some help from his family. But he can afford his cigarettes and heroin. He has chronic back pain because he hasn't seen his pain specialist in quite some time. Christopher is still waiting for his disability check. He is also looking for someone to pay for his coronary bypass operation so let me know if you want to make a donation to his fund.

This keeps me asking, "Where do you find these people?"

Have a very blessed Day.....

....as heard from none other than Dorothy Huggins, the Piedmont Hospital cafeteria cashier. And I did have a blessed day, thankyouverymuch. And i am happy to report that there are still no signs of Diane. I think she may be over at Erik's.....just a hunch.

The weather in Atlanta this weekend was simply beautiful. It really reminded me of P-Town. After spending almost 5 hours helping Joel transfer his important files from his desktop to his shiny new laptop, I met Anthony and Kelli at Midcity Cafe. What a little hidden gem this place is. Like a tiny Halo, with very expensive drinks in small glasses with a lot of ice. But the scenery is great, and I mean great. My buddy Jefferson was spinning some house tunes and I was not disappointed.

Dori and I rode our bikes over to Atlantic Station on Saturday to check out the matinee. I was surprised to find that nearly all of the stores are open; Banana Republic, West Elm, Dillards.... And there was no one there.

Saturday night, I went with the Mayor and a few others to the Fancy Pants party. Turns out, the pants I borrowed from johnbrown were a hit. I received many compliments, and the matching shoes and jacket worked perfectly. I think I may have concocted this idea from Stiles Caldwell......

Sunday morning was the AIDS walk brunch at Laslie-Williams. Though the turnout was not as large as in previous years, it seems that everyone had a great time and we still managed to raise over $3000. The rest of the afternoon involved party hopping: Todd's, Hank's house for Tea, then Blake's where the line was out da door. We passed and went to Red Chair which was completely dead. Home in bed by 10pm, unlike some of my friends....

I put my hand upon your hip

6:30 came very early this morning as I realized that I had a Nurse Practice Council meeting at 7am. i had to be there, as I am newly appointed to this position and have missed the past two meetings. for good reason, of course, we are simply too short staffed. so i arrived today in the foundation boardroom only to be greeted to about 20 estrogen-infused women. yes sir, i am the only male on this council. and about two hours into the meeting, I realized why it takes such a long time to change any of our policies, procedures, or standards of practice. they simply cannot make a decision....and so they send the issue at hand to these little sub-committees that only meet on the second thursday of the fifth month on even years. jeesh. talk about going in circles. it was exhausting. i got bored and started counting wedding bands, trying to determine exactly which girls had fallen victim to the "single nurse syndrome". was it the 300lb woman to my left in the homemade scrubs who was sweating the entire time? or the cutesy nursing administration gal to my right with the plaid wool sweater complete with matching tights and a full set of veneers? i give up.

on the music front, word is that the "Dub" of Madonna's new track called "Hung Up" is floating away. that is just what I heard. Next gig: Laslie-Williams AIDS walk brunch.

This Little Light of Mine

This past weekend, I decided to make the long overdue trip to Charleston to visit Becky. I left behind the barbecues and hot tubs, the Greek Festival, and even Wendell's 40th Birthday party that I heard featured several members of the varsity squad as well as a few still in "try outs". It was my first time in Charleston, and I was real real excited. Everyone I talked to in the weeks leading up to this trip had such wonderful things to say about this city. Well, they were right.

The drive up on Friday afternoon was less than fun. It took me well over an hour to make it out to God's country in Conyers. You know, out amongst the enormous strip mall religious institutions that feature slogans such as "God in the Now". Five hours later I pulled into Becky's driveway on James Island. A qwik change later, and me and 5 girls headed to dinner at Blossom. I had the seared tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. After dinner, we had drinks at The pavilion Hotel on the rooftop bar. I felt like I was at a middle aged wedding reception as all the women were real drunk and dancing....very badly. a couple of skinnys later and we called it a night.

Saturday morning we had brunch at Sweetwater and then headed downtown to shop. It was then that I realized what a beautiful city Charleston really is. The architecture, the boys in uniform, the restaurants, the boys in uniform, the shopping, the boys in uniform. you get the picture. We stopped by the Coach store to check out the latest selection of purses when Edward McCuterton helped me decide that I really did need a coach wallet. he was tall and handsome so it was an easy sell. and I am not disappointed.

After a stop by Publix for game day essentials, we came home to watch the Bulldawgs beat Tennessee. A couple of Citadel boys that Becky knows stopped by to watch the game with us and that was just fine by me. Oh if only to be that young again..

Many beers later, we headed out for drinks. funny how that happens. First, we went to Henri's where the guido factor was a bit much so we retreated upstairs to lounge on the plush couches and listen to some live music. I vaguely remember making out with Becky's roommate Amy, shagging with Becky, and thinking that the half eaten plate of hot wings sitting on the table next to me would taste really good right about now. We were later joined by Edward McCuterton and decided that we needed to get our dance on at the gay bar. so we stopped the next random car coming down the street, and the driver, Pat, allowed the five of us to pile into his Accord. Pat was new to town having just moved from Boston. He was real cute and nice, so we invited him to join us for a cocktail at Club Pantheon. and he did.

For the next two hours we danced. Well, some of us kissed. I remember looking over at Amy on the dancefloor as she was "lip locked" with a certain "straight mortgage broker" who just happened to have gone to the gay dance club. Acting as a lady should, Amy didn't ask for his number, but he did enter her info into his Blackberry that was strapped to his hip. neat.

Sunday found us at Mimi's Creekside for a little lunch before I was to head back to Atlanta. The crabcake sandwich was very good but not greasy enough to scare away Diane. So, I made room for her in my car and we rode back to Atlanta together. This time, however, I made the trip in just over four hours.

Becky really enjoyed my definition of "Buford Highway". 

9 beers during the Georiga - Tennessee game and I still manage to hold it together.