It was the summer of '09

It was a rough few days after Leo told me he was positive, but I couldn't dwell on it because he wanted to tell everyone in his own way on his own time.  I couldn't be depressed and pouty because our group of friends would have known that something was up.  I went on with my life and tried to put it out of my head.

It was easy to forget about it, at least for the summer, we had all kinds of things planned.  I can honestly say it was one of the best summers of my life.

There was trip that Leo, Blake and I made to the Komo Zoo...(I love flamingos)

..."Christmas in July" with my family back home...

...the night that me and a friend went to the premier of "Paper Heart" in Minneapolis and met Charlene Yi and Jake Johnson...

...gay day at the Twins game...

...my cousin's wedding...

...the state fair...

...and FINALLY the most amazing mini vacation with my besties!

Leo, Blake, and I decided to get out of town for a while and drive to Duluth and up the North Shore.  Anyone that knows me knows that the North Shore is one of my favorite places in the world.  It's so peaceful and beautiful and some areas just seem so untouched.

We left for our trip in the middle of the night because Leo and I had to work until 11pm.  We ended up getting to Duluth around 4am.  We were tired we weren't ready to go to bed yet so we convinced the night person at the front desk to let us sit in the hot tub.  It was just what I needed to start of the relaxing weekend.  We ended up going to sleep around 6am so we got off to kind of a late start the next day.

When we woke up I wanted to stay in bed, but it was beautiful outside and the shores of Lake Superior were calling my name.  We drove out to the Glensheen Mansion and paid for the walkthrough tour.  I had been a few times before so it wasn't anything new to me, but Leo and Blake had never been so I took it upon myself to tell them about the murder that happened there (this is something the tour guides won't talk about).  After the tour we walked around the mansion's gardens and down to the shore to watch the small waves crash on the rocks.

We drove back into Duluth and went for a walk around the pier and walked out to the lighthouse.  We had dinner at a quaint, family owned Italian restaurant on a hill overlooking the lake.  After dinner we did what any gay boys and fag hag would do, find the only gay bar in Superior and take over the dance floor.  (In hindsight I think I may have been a little over dressed in my zebra print mini dress.)

We woke up a decent time for our second day adventure up the North Shore.  We decided to drive all the way up to Grand Marais and eat at Sven and Ole's pizza.  For years I had wondered why every other car in Minnesota had a Sven and Ole's pizza bumper sticker, what was so great about a pizza place in the middle of no where?  Could Scandinavians be any good at making pizza?

We took our time getting up there because I love to get out of the car at random places on the old highway and climb around on the rocks and look at all of the waterfalls.  Blake was totally with me but Leo seemed to be in some kind of hurry or maybe he was just annoyed because he couldn't find the simple pleasure in hopping on rocks.

Before getting to Grand Marais we stopped at Lutsen Mountains, a ski resort.  During the off season they set up cement tracks on which you have to ride a specially designed sled.  We paid for our sleds and rode the ski lift up to the top of the hill.  From the top of the hill we could see for miles.  Leo and Blake decided I should go first.  I jumped on my sled and took off down the hill.  Before we got on the ski lift they told us the sleds had hand breaks, you just had to pull up and you would slow down.  I wanted to go as fast as I could and feel the cool breeze in my hair so no breaks for me.  I was going so fast that I almost flew off when I leaned to far one way after seeing a racoon just hanging out less than a foot from the track.  Before I knew it my ride was over.  I jumped up and threw my sled off the track because I wanted to see Leo and Blake fly down the hill.  I tried to get some photos, but just like me they were too fast.

We contimplated paying for another ride, but it was getting late in the afternoon and we were hungry.  We drove into Grand Marais and found Sven and Ole's right away, it wasn't too hard considering there's really only one street that runs through town.  We got up to the counter and order a couple pizzas and breadsticks.  Our food took forever to get to the table, I didn't mind so much because I was busy looking at all of the crazy stuff on the walls.  When the pizza arrived we inhaled it.  I still don't understand what all the hype is about, I mean I thought the pizza was OK.  I think people just go there for the ambiance, whatever that might be.

We decided before we left town to walk down by the shore.  It was a lot more peaceful than in Duluth and the sun was starting to set.  There was a little ice cream shop on the corner, and even though our bellies were full of pizza, we each got ice cream and walked through the rocks to the shore.  We tried skipping a few and stacking them in ornate designs.  Once the ice cream was gone we started the long drive back to Duluth.  We stopped a couple more times on the way back, but kept a decent pace because I was ready for a nap.

We forced ourselves out of the car and up to our hotel room.  I closed my eyes and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.  We took just a short nap and then walked down the street to the small casino in downtown Duluth.  I gambled what remaining money I had away and decided to make it an early night.  I left the boys at their slot machines and wished them luck.  As I was closing my eyes that night I hoped that when I woke up I could do it all over again, I wasn't ready for the weekend to be over.

The next morning I found out that Leo and Blake didn't win the jackpot, or anything for that matter.  We packed up our things and headed back to Minneapolis.  Our vacation was short, but one of the best in my lifetime.

7,000 steps in the right direction

Leo and I, along with Harley, drove down to Fort Worth and participated in the 19th annual Tarrant County AIDS walk today.  It couldn't have been a more perfect day, 85 degrees, sunny and a STRONG breeze.  OK, maybe the breeze was a little too strong.  When we got out of the car we were whipped with sand and leaves from the barren dirt parking lot.  Once we crossed the street into Trinity Park, however, it was easy to forget that I had dirt in my eyes and ears.

The park was filled with people; young, old, some with kids, some with dogs, some in wheel chairs or with walkers, from all backgrounds. You could tell the teams by their matching shirts some with their business or church name across the front and others with a smiling photo of a loved one surrounded by words of hope and remembrance.  We walked over to the registration table and selected a t-shirt size.  The t-shirt, a plain white Hanes, had "AIDS WALK" in brightly colored block letters across the front and a long list of sponsors on the back.  We found a shady spot away from the crowds, poured Harley some water, and changed into our t-shirts.

The emcee walked around and talked with people about why they were there.  Doing AIDS walks are always uplifting but when people tell their stories it puts it all in perspective for me.  All of the stories remind me that no one is immune to HIV and AIDS.  It also reminds me that these walks are so important to fund the treatment of the people who's stories are told.  Today there was the man who was walking alone on behalf of his brother who died almost 20 years ago, there was the young woman who was walking for her uncle who died 4 months ago, there was the adult women and her family walking on behalf of her mother who was still fighting the disease, then there was me walking on behalf of Leo and all of the other people I've met with HIV.

It was time to start the walk, the emcee asked us all to gather by the starting line.  We got in line by a couple with a small Shih Tzu and a giant Great Dane.  Harley was so excited, she tried to jump and play with the Shih Tzu, but she wasn't sure what to think about the Great Dane who resembled a small cow.  The countdown began quietly with a few people at the front of the group...5...4...the crowd caught on and joined in...3...the anticipation started to build...2...1...we were off, on a leisure walk.

A few people took off running, but the majority of the crowd started slowly trying to allow the group to disperse a little and find their own pace.  Harley was being difficult, walking in front of people, so we decided to walk in the grass.  The park was full of trees and had a small river running through it.  Even in the middle of a walking mob it was very peaceful.  Almost a mile into the walk we noticed that the park had a small train running through it to a playground.  I would have loved this place as a kid.  Eventually it was time to turn around and walk back to the starting point.

About a half mile away from the end Harley started to walk a little slower and pant a little harder, she was ready to give up.  Even though it was only three miles, I could feel the exhaustion setting in as well.  My shins were starting to ache and I was sweating through the back of my shirt under the overstuffed backpack I was carrying.  We walked up over the last hill, which seemed like more of a mountain and found ourselves back in the park surrounded by our fellow walkers.  I felt a moment of exhilaration and accomplishment as well as an overwhelming feeling to take a nap.

After the walk they had a a raffle drawing and a Michael Jackson impersonator.  Everyone started to slowly trickle out of the park, it was time to leave.  We got Harley into the back seat where she promptly plopped down and fell asleep.  We drove home with the windows down and music playing.  The perfect way to end a perfect day.

Mourning the living

I watched Blake walk back into the apartment to get ready for the block party.  Everything went silent and still.  I may have even stopped breathing.  I knew what Leo was going to say next.  I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears and hum.  I wanted to get up and run away.  I wanted to put my hand over his mouth.  Anything to stop the words from coming out.

"I'm positive."

My mind wasn't silent anymore, I was screaming inside my head.  I didn't know what to say.

"Are you serious?", is all that came out.

"Yes.  I didn't want to tell you earlier in front of everyone else and I didn't want to ruin your day."

I was quiet.  Leo was quiet.  We sat there and sipped our margaritas, I lit a cigarette.  It felt like an eternity sitting there waiting for someone to say something.  It could have been me but someone started crying.  We talked a little bit, but the conversation was a blur.  I hugged Leo and didn't want to let go, but we had to pull ourselves together, it was time for the fireworks and Blake had no idea what was going on.

As we sat in Loring Park watching the gold, purple, blue, red flashes in the sky I thought to myself that maybe it wasn't real, I was having a bad dream.  I reached over and grabbed Leo's hand and squeezed it, he squeezed back.  It was real.

I've always been a very logical person and know that the treatments for HIV are very successful in battling the onset of AIDS, but my mind couldn't help but remember all the movies and TV specials I had seen about the AIDS epidemic.  I could picture Leo laying in bed with sores all over his thinned body.  I could see him experiencing cold sweats.  I could see myself being by his side through all of this and I was scared.

Leo and I decided to skip the block party.  We returned to the backyard of our apartment and our margaritas.  We talked about what was next.  What kind of treatment, if any, he would have to go through.  We talked about when he may have contracted it.  We talked about how he was feeling, if he felt sick at all.  We cried some more.  It was like we were mourning the living.

Rays of sunlight started to peak through the trees and spill across the rooftops.  I was exhausted, I had never had such an emotional night in my entire life.  We decided it was time for bed.  It was mid morning before I was finally able to close my eyes and sleep.

I have something to tell you

I have to apologize before continuing this blog, I got a little bit confused about some dates in an earlier blog.  In the blog "Close living quarters" I posted a picture of Pride 2009, but Leo and I lived together in our small apartment during Pride 2008.

I woke up the morning of Pride 2009 almost as excited as I was as a child on Christmas morning.  It was my second Pride so I knew what to expect, I was ready to let loose and have a wild time.  We started that Sunday on Hennepin avenue for the annual parade.  Of course there were more politicians than any Gay Pride parade should have, but it also had the usual; drag queens, leather daddies, and twinks in underwear. The marching bands are always my favorite part of any parade.

I had to get out of the sun, I was starting to look like a tomato so we stopped off at a friends house for mimosas before heading to Loring Park, his birthday is always the same weekend as Pride.

Loring Park was buzzing.  There was live music, food vendors, and hundreds of booths selling things and/or giving out freebies.  Of course we tried to hit up every free booth we could including the usual stop at the Target booth to get our Target Pride tattoos.

Leo had decided, about a week before Pride, that he was going to take advantage of the best free booth at Pride, the free HIV and hepatitis screening booth.  We separated ourselves from the rest of our friends and found the booth on the far side of the park.  I sat on a small patch of grass and waited for him.

It wasn't long before friends were texting and calling wondering where we were.  I couldn't hide from them so I told them were I was waiting.  A small group had gathered before Leo made it out of the tented testing area.  I felt bad because I knew he wasn't expecting them all to be there.  Everyone was anxious to find something to eat, but all I wanted to know about were the test results.  He told us all that he was clean.

I sighed a HUGE breath of relief and told Leo how lucky he was considering some of his past.  I always hounded Leo about getting tested because he didn't get tested regularly so finding out that he was fine meant I could stop bugging him for a while.  Even though Leo was in the clear something was pulling at my mind.  I was able to calm my nerves after eating a gyro and finding the beer garden.  We hung out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon and worked on our sunburns.

Leo, Blake, and I crawled back home in the late evening to rest before the block party.  After a quick, but satisfying nap, I mixed up some margaritas and we went to sit in the back yard to enjoy the warm summer evening before headed back to the park for the fireworks.

"Chye, I have to tell you something."

It's Hammer Time

Shortly after Leo, Blake and I moved in together I won tickets to the Kalahari Water Park to see none other than MC Hammer.  Both me and Leo had to work until 11pm so we took off on our 4 hour trek to Wisconsin Dells in the middle of the night.  We couldn't check in to Kalahari until the next day so we sprung for the fanciest hotel we could find....

Hey, at least we didn't sleep in the car!

We woke up early the next morning and checked in to Kalahari, it was like it's own small indoor town.  Even though it was a blizzard outside we were snug in our tropical temperature hide away.  They had 5 restaurants, a movie theater, amusement park, water park, and over 900 rooms.

We spent the afternoon acting like 10 year olds going down all the brightly colored tube slides and floating down the lazy river.  Leo even convinced me to try body boarding on the flowrider, lets just say I'm not the most graceful and surfing will never be a hobby of mine.

Eventually we couldn't walk up one more set of stairs and it was time to shower and change for the MC Hammer show.  We got all dressed up, went to dinner at one of the many restaurants and then headed to the bowling alley.  Yes, MC Hammer performed at the bowling alley bar.  It was definitely a trip to see him "all grown up" still bouncing around doing the side to side quick step that his name became synonymous with.

Our trip was so random, ridiculous, and unbelievable that I sometimes think it wasn't real and that I made up the whole thing in my head.  I mean who goes to a water park to go to an MC Hammer concert in Wisconsin?  It was real though, obviously I have the pictures to prove it.  This was one of the best vacations I EVER had and it was only two days long.  The best part was being able to share this experience with my two favorite people.

Accidental friend

When Leo and I went out he would introduce me to all of his friends, ex lovers, and acquaintances.  It wasn't long before I couldn't go to a gay bar in Minneapolis without someone recoginzing me.  We'd spend Monday nights at The Townhouse drinking $2 beers, weekdays at either The Gay 90's for the drag show or The Saloon for karaoke.  Weekends we spent at The Saloon dancing our butts off.  We mixed it up a bit, but we pretty much had the every night of the week planned out.

Sure we spent a lot of money going out so much, but we also made friends with a lot of bartenders who knew how to treat us well.  It was easy for me and Leo to go out and spend less than $100 (most of that being a tip).  We also got into our fair share of conundrums.  There was the night that we went dancing and Leo ripped his pants while popping, locking and dropping it, we change the name of the dance to "Pop, Lock and Rip It".  There was the night that I ripped my pants to the same song, mine was a little worse though because I was going comando that night.  (Thanks to Damian and Leo I made it downstairs and out of the club without anyone seeing anything.  There's nothing like being surrounded, literally, by gay men.)  There was also the night that Leo and I got free VIP tickets to the Chris Daughtry concert during the Republican National Convention where they had an open bar.  I ended up peeing in a construction zone and we had to call Dry Drivers to come get my car.  (WARNING YOUNGINS: Drinking is bad!)

It was a very typical night out when I met Blake.  Leo introduced him to me over cocktails at The Saloon (I think).  It sounds horrible but I don't really remember meeting him because it seemed like Leo introduced me to somone new every time we went out.  One day Leo asked if I would like to join him and Blake for dinner at Applebee's.  I can't turn down a Perfect Margarita so of couse I accepted.  Blake was kind of quiet and reserved but silly, I could tell he was a total sweetheart.  We had a couple drinks while Leo and Blake told me about their history.  They were ex boyfriends, Blake was the first boy Leo ever loved and that they were just good friends now.

After that night I saw Blake almost every night that Leo and I went out.  He had "accidentally" become one of my best friends.

Before we moved into our small apartment, Leo and I agreed it would only be temporary until we could both get back on our feet.  We were both getting sick of living in such a small place and after a few months, decided it was time to move.  Around the same time Blake was getting sick of living in a studio apartment so we started looking for a three bedroom in Uptown.

After a couple weeks of searching we found the cutest two bedroom (plus sun room) apartment a couple blocks away from Calhoun Square.  It was in a old brown stone building and when I say old I mean it was probably built in the 1930s.  It had its problems but it was charming and very homey.

We rented a Uhaul and moved my and Leo's things first, then we headed over to Blake's to help him move.  It was amazing that we finished it all in one day especially since it was the middle of the winter.

We were a family.

Another treasure

I found another post from MySPace that I HAD to share because this one goes right along with my post "Close living quarters".  Maybe I won't have to write anything new for a little bit I'll just repost from MySpace.  Just kidding, I have three more stories in the works but here is one to tide you over until I finish the new ones.  I hope you enjoy.

Posted on May 14, 2008

I'm moving to Uptown. I'm a little nervous because I don't know if I will fit the "Uptown lifestyle". But really, what is the "Uptown lifestyle"? It's such a mixture of people, ethnicities, backgrounds, statuses, hairstyles.... What I'm really looking forward to is the fact that I can roll out of bed with a monstrous hangover, raccoon eyes from my killer make-up the night before, dressed in PJs and walk to the Uptown Diner for a much needed grease intake. 

On days that I'm looking for something to do outdoors, its just a matter of walking down the street to take in the scenes....random hippies singing and playing guitar while walking, multiple homeless people (all with different signs that explain their misfortunes), an ongoing bohemian/punk rock fashion show, and of course the misplaced "visitors" of Uptown that seem to try so hard to fit in when there really isn't such a thing (yes, that will be me for at least the first month).

The nightlife, you ask?.... While, there can't be anything better than having a liquor store in your "backyard" (When I say backyard, I mean if you go pasted the garages and through the alley.), but on those warm summer nights I'll probably be hitting up the roof-top bar at Stella's or The Drink. On brisk evenings, I might not drink (what???), but sit in a quite coffee shop for some free internet surfing. The possibilities are endless in Uptown.

As previous explained, Uptown does have quite a lot to offer including TONS of apartments. The apartment search was a little too much to handle toward the end. Me and Leo tried Craigslist (no one ever calls you back) and Apartment Search (Joe, the guy that helped us search, was a moron!). We ended up looking at about 30 different places (not including the 50 some that we just called), but not one of them had everything that we wanted.... inexpensive, off-street parking, utilities paid (except electricity of course), clean, free of vampires.... I mean we weren't asking too much!

We finally found a place with exactly everything that we wanted. Except for the vampire situation, but the landlord assured us that they are "taking care of the problem". The apartment is a very quaint place that will be "a killer pad" when me and Leo are done decorating. We'll have a party as soon as we can.

I found a pic of our tiny apartment, this is taken from the living room.  That area to the right is the kitchen.   I told you it was small!

I found a treasure

A long time ago there was a social media site call MySpace.  Everyone that was anyone had a MySpace page including myself.  We all know that the monster Facebook as basically made MySpace obsolete.  Well, back in the day when it was cool I posted blogs on MySpace.  Recently I've been reading some of my old posts and found one that ya'll might like.

Posted on Feb 19, 2008

Ok, lets talk about the adventures of Leo and Chye.  A lot of you know Leo, so the things I am going to say will not surprise you in the least.  Some of you have no idea who this guy is and what I say about him might scare the crap out of you.  To give some of you an introduction: Leo is my best friend.  We hit it off from day one when he said that he loved me because I could talk as fast as him.  He has more energy than I have in my left pinky (and that is A LOT!).  We are rock stars.  Now, I can't very well explain all of the things that me and Leo do on a daily basis because that could take a few days to write.  I'll just give you a few key milestones of the last few months.  If you would like me to expand further, you will have to ask.

**Leo choses my hairstyle and proceeds to tell the hairstylist exactly what it should look like while I stare in the mirror and agreeably nod my head.

**We take off from downtown, trying to get home, and end up driving down Nicollet Ave.  (for those of you that don't know, Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis is not a public street, only buses and taxis can drive on it, otherwise it is for pedestrians.)

**Leo looks better in my accessories than I do.

**Halloween costume shopping.

**Trying on girl pants and someone freaking out about what size they wear.

**Pop Lock and "rip" it.

**Rock Band w/our very own Gene Simmons.

**Nipples.

**Boob licking.

**The "O" face.

STAYED TUNED FOR MANY MORE ADVENTURES OF LEO AND CHYE.

I am happy to say that Leo as moved beyond his "wearing girl pants" stage...thank God!  It's kind of neat to read this because my mind immediately goes back to that time in my life.  Oh the good old days.

Close living quarters

Leo and I made our small one bedroom apartment work.  The bed room was just large enough for my queen sized bed to fit with less then a foot of space on each side of the bed and about 4 feet at the end.  The closet was the length of the room, so at least we could fit all of our clothes in there together, of course Leo took up more room than I did.

The bathroom had a tiny sink, toilet, and smaller than average tub/shower.  The shower wall had a window that wasn't painted with water proof paint so it was necessary for us to have a shower curtain to cover it which made it seem even smaller when I showered.  It used to remind me of a scary movie when the victim finds themselves in a room full of hanging tarps (why do so many scary movies take place in places where people are hanging pastic?) and can't figure out where the bad guy is and all of a sudden he jumps out or grabs them and wraps them in the plastic...yeah, I know, creepy.

The rest of the apartment was a room about 10 feet by 15 feet.  There was a stove, sink, and fridge in one corner and a row of street level windows on the opposite wall.  We put my old couch against one wall and a small TV stand across from it.  It was OK that the apartment was so small because we didn't really have anything to put in it.

Where did we each sleep you wonder?  Leo and I resorted to sharing a bed.  When Leo slept over at my townhouse he always slept in my bed, so it wasn't anything new to us.  It wasn't long before we couldn't sleep alone anymore.

Our apartment was right behind a liquor store so it was easy to make it to the liquor store before it closed to grab some libations.  We also lived just blocks away from Loring Park where the Minneapolis Pride festival is held there every year.  We only had a few blocks to stumble home after a few cocktails and a sunburn.

Minneapolis Pride, 2009

Believe me, it wasn't always easy living in such close quarters with Leo.  We faught constantly about having people over, it was impossible to invite a "love interest" over.  We didn't have counter space, much cupboard space, and no dishwasher so we always argued about who's turn it was to do the dishes.  I'm surprised we didn't kill each other.  I miss our little apartment.

California here we come

The first few months that Leo and I knew each other were a whirlwind.  We lived rockstar lives, working evenings, partying all night, and sleeping until noon everyday.  We were constantly surround by people and thrived on being the life of the party.  We would skip out of work early to go shopping for new outifts to wear for the nights activities which usually included dancing at the Gay 90's or The Saloon.  There were very few nights that we didn't invite people back to my place to have an after party.  We spent so much time together that pretty soon Leo was basically living at my place.

This was a weird point in both mine and Leo's lives.  We both dyed our hair black, we dressed punkesque/ghetto and somehow convinced ourselves that we were invincible when it came to running out of money.  Shortly after Leo moved in he met Trey, a self proclaimed Native American shamen.  Trey was a nomad of sorts and would end up staying at our place a lot.  Pretty soon he was living there too.  The three of us lived a pretty free life when all of a sudden reality set in and we realized we were broke.

In an effort to keep our rockstart lifestyle we decided it would be a good idea to move to San Diego.  Leo had a few possessions from his one bedroom apartment, Trey a large box of odds and ends, and I had a townhouse full of "things".  We decided to sell everything except for what could fit in my car.  We posted an ad on Craigslist for a moving sale, set up shelving and tables in my large living room, priced everything, and turned my townhouse into a used goods store for a couple days.

SIDE NOTE:  Have you ever been at a point in your life when you believe that all of your "things" are SO important and they make you who you are?  I was that way until I sold everything.  I will admit, I was (and still kind of am) a pack rat.  Since selling a townhouse full of "things" I have found that I enjoy a more minimalistic lifestyle.  There's something so freeing about letting it all go.  OK, back to the story.

At the end of our two day sale the shelves were fairly empty, but we still had a lot to get rid of.  That's when we invited out friends to come in and basically take whatever they wanted.  I still had a bed and a couch to get rid of but we decided to keep them and rent a Uhaul to get to California so at least we had some furniture when we got there.  We had a box full of cash, a full gas tank, and nothing holding us back.  We had a going away party with all of our close friends and decided that the following week would be when we would take of the California.  Or so we thought.

It happened is if one morning we woke up and became logical adults and California didn't seem like such a good idea.  We were only a few days away from our schedule departure from Minnesota when we decided it was best if we stayed.  Even though it was the best decision, we now had a lot of things to consider.  Where were we going to live?  We wanted to live close to downtown Minneapolis, could we afford it?  What was I going to do with my dog?  How were we going to move the furniture that was left from our sale?

It's a good thing that Leo and I work well under pressure.  Within days we had found a VERY small one bedroom studio apartment in the uptown area of Minneapolis that we could afford, found a wonderful adoptive family for Edgar, and we rented a Uhaul to move the tattered bed and couch that was left over from the sale.

I would like to admit that this experience taught us that we couldn't continue to live the rockstar lifestyle but it didn't.  We continued to spend outside of our means, but we lived life as if it were our last day every day and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

You can talk just as fast as I can

Over three years ago I met my best friend.  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  I was a beautiful day, Damian and I were leaving work.  His friend, Leo, decided to take a smoke break and followed us to the car.  We were all talking back and forth when Leo interrrupted me and said "I love you, you can talk just as fast as I can."  The rest is history.















Did you really think I would end my story like that?  Come on!


To tell the truth I wasn't quite sure how to feel about Leo when I met him.  I thought he was full of himself and obnoxious.  (He's still full of himself and obnoxious, but I tolerate it now...LOL)

The first time Leo and I hung out was for Damian's birthday.  Damian had planned to celebrate by having a party at his apartment.  I was nervous because I didn't really know many of Damian's friends.  I felt a little more relaxed when I saw Leo there.  Sure, I wasn't great friends with him, but at least I knew him.

Sometime during the festivities Damian was trying to give directions to some friends of his that couldn't find his apartment.  He decided to go find them, the rest of us continued to party.  After a while we realized the birthday boy wasn't there, I was outside on the patio when I heard a voice from inside the apartment yell "Who's black high hells are these?"

"Mine."

"OK, I'm wearing them."

The door to the apartment opened and closed.  A couple seconds later I see Leo prancing through the parking lot in my heels.  I was annoyed, I'm very protective of my shoes and didn't want his big man feet to stretch them out, but I didn't care at the time, I was having fun.

Over twenty minutes had passed since Damian had left and Leo hadn't returned either, it was time to send a search party.  A few of the party goers threw on their shoes, I put on Leo's, and we headed out the door.  We found him talking to Damien who was just hanging out in his friend's car.  We all made our way back to Damian's apartment, me back in my heels.

Leo and I had a chance to get to know each other pretty well since we basically stood on the patio smoking and drinking all night.  I found out that he had the same passion as I did for music and loved to sing.  He told me a little about his crazy family.  He talked about old friends.  He was basically an open book.  I loved that it was so easy to talk with him.  I knew I'd see him a lot, being Damian's friend, so I knew we'd become close.  Little did I know it was the beginning of a crazy and profound friendship.

The night continued without any further disruptions.  I had good ol' time, ended up praying to the procelain gods and passed out on an inflattable mattress.  I woke up the next morning and snuck out the door.  I'm sure I made quite the impression on Damian's friends.  Damian and I had a good laugh about the nights events the next day at work.

The Flip Side: Damian meets Chye

Chye readers,

I’m Damian and Chye asked me to think back and share our meeting experience from my perspective. I had been working for a different company and after three months decided that I was not happy with the job. So my best buddy, Leo, who lived down the hall from me, helped me with my resume to apply for a customer service position in Best Buy. I got the Job of course and met Chye in my training class. 

There were about 30 people in the training class and the class room we started in was not large enough to hold us all for computer training. We were split into two groups. Chye ended up in the other group so we didn’t really get the opportunity to chat with one another until we got smoke breaks and lunch. I think the first thing I remember about her is a nick name she shared with the class. It was one that she’d given herself and I was immediately intrigued. “Who would call themselves tot?” I though. I had to know more about this girl. Hour long lunch breaks gave us plenty of time to get to know everything we needed to about each other. We quickly bonded over conversation about only god knows what. I knew one thing; this girl had a lot of energy, she was funny, and totally focused on what she wanted in life. So like a moth to a light; I was hooked. 

I had been planning a party for my 20th birthday which was coming up and our month long training class was about to end. I decided to invite some of the people from the class that I’d gotten to know. Chye was at the top of my list and I was very excited to find that she had been a bartender previously so she would be shaking up some tasty treats. 

The night of the party came and chye and I shared a ton of laughs over boys in the kitchen. A side note: Why does everyone always end up in the kitchen at a party? Anyway The night was a fantastic blur and Leo was also there. This was the night they a really got a chance to connect and it was awesome The three of us hung out all the time. Chye showed me how to become more comfortable with myself and I showed her what my life was like in the gay culture. 

We’ve been sharing things with one another ever since and I’m very happy to say that she is one of my best and most dear friends. We always have a good time and catching up is never hard to do. That’s how you know a real friend. Thanks for asking me to share my recollection of this. I was a nice walk down memory lane. Love ya. 

Xoxo Damian

Move your body like a cyclone

Around the time that Todd and I broke up I decided it was time for a career change.  I was working for an appraisal company at the time and wanted to work for a company that had more room for growth.  I found a job posting for customer service representatives at the corporate offices of Best Buy.  I jumped at the opportunity to work for one of Minnesota’s largest corporations.

Our training class was HUGE so at first it was really difficult to remember everyone’s names.  There was Steve, the middle-aged man who thought he knew everything, Sally, the eccentric one with the infectious laugh, Michelle, the “blonde” brunette, and Damian, the outgoing and always smiling gay man.  There were about 30 of us, so I can’t write about (or even remember for that matter) everyone, sorry guys.

There were so many of us that we had to be split into two groups for our computer training, Damian and I were in different groups but very once and a while we would all get together.  Whenever we did, I seemed to gravitate toward Damian.  He was funny, kind, and one of those people that everyone wanted to know.  He was unlike anyone I had met before.  Pretty soon we were going on our lunch breaks together and hanging out after work.  We would spend our afternoons driving around listening to “Press Play”, smoking cigarettes, and gossiping about anything and everything.  We were besties.

Damian took me to my first gay bar, The Gay 90’s.  He wasn’t old enough to drink yet so we’d “pre-party” before we left for the bar and dance our butts off when we got there.  I can honestly say those were some the best nights of my life and I’ve never sweat so much!


Damian actually introduced me to Leo (Yes, my current roomie...more on him coming soon).  He worked in the same department as us at Best Buy Corp. but started there a few months before we did.  Leo helped me and Damian get settled into the call center that had about hundreds of employees and showed us around.

Damian was my first gay friend and is still a HUGE part of my life even though he lives in Minneapolis while I’m here in Dallas.  He is one of the people that I credit with opening my eyes and making me into the woman I am today.  I was able to hang out with him for a short time when I was back home for my niece’s birth and we picked up like we’d never been apart, that’s when you know it’s a true friendship.  Damian will make an appearance throughout my blog.  J