September 07

I'm very fortunate to have a circle of friends who, if a little peculiar at times, are really nice and thoughtful people.

My friend Marion decided this morning that I needed a surprise party, so she got together with the rest of this bunch to throw something together -- no mean feat on a Federal holiday, a day I was working, and in a public place. Her method was rather elegant; she invited me to dinner at the Prudential Center Food Court, a place we've gone several times.

Once there, while I was distracted ordering, she texted the rest of the miscreants, who were waiting on the outdoor terrace, to let them know my arrival was imminent. They lit up the candles and we were drawn to the right table by the flames billowing forth. The candles burned brightly, and as we were slightly delayed, they did a number on the cake itself (see above).

Still, it was a lovely party, and really a most marvelous surprise. Gay people often say that they're lucky, in that their friends are their family, and they get to choose that family. I'd point to today's surprise party as proof that the sentiment rings true.

250/365 -

June 06

Anna, my friend and the Young Adult Librarian at the West Roxbury Branch Library, procured an easel to advertise my Photo Workshop on June 24th. Of course, finding something to fill the easel was another issue entirely.

I frankly don't have the money to go have an enlargement of my letter-sized flier made, so I was left with the issue of filling all that space. I considered posting interesting photos around the flier, but that was ... well, boring.

Then I remembered I know how to rasterbate.

The idea of the big poster is to get people's attention, so I looked through my selection of photos for something eye-catching. This photo of Belynda was perfect, and it served as a perfect surround for the flier. Additionally, it's a cheap solution.

I love it when I'm able to come up with a good solution to an unusual problem.

157/365 -

April 11

If you're wondering why Belynda is hiding behind a drinks menu ... well, join the club.

Belynda had a birthday last week, and Marion (of Script Frenzy fame) decided that she needed a little birthday party. After batting around various ideas (visiting the IMAX theater, Jasper White's Summer Shack, etc.), we settled on going to Longhorn Steakhouse for chicken parts and assorted dinner stuff.

We took two separate cars to get there, and our original party of five expanded a bit with the anticipated arrival of Tom's girlfriend. After originally requesting a table for seven, we hurriedly revised it to eight after I realized that, being a liberal arts major, I couldn't count straight. (I rarely do anything straight.) Eventually, eleven people showed for the party -- and honestly, I couldn't have had more fun while remaining sober.

Our waiter Jason (nicknamed Spunky almost immediately) was pure eye candy. A nearby waiter, Duane, was nicknamed Studly for similar reasons. When Sparky the Waiter appeared, and one poor unattractive man we called Scary, we had a virtual platter-carrying boy band on our hands.

I got Mary Anne, who is very shy and says she's sexually frustrated, to leave her number on a napkin for Spunky, with the entreaty to call her. We very nearly got Marion, who has a thing for somebody else, to leave her number for the cute waiter Studly, but she demurred. Happily-married Belynda settled for pressing her girly parts into me for a couple of minutes (eat your hearts out straight men!), and to coin a phrase, a good time was had by all.

Considering the widely-held opinion of Script Frenzy and National Novel Writing Month participants as socially-awkward, it's amazing how much fun we can really have when we let loose. :-)

101/365 -

March 28

The little black letters on this pitcher of apple margaritas says "DRINK RESPONSIBLY."

It was my friend Marion's birthday party today, so naturally, I brought a camera with me when invited to the party. And, I have to admit, it was pretty fun. Marion is a self-admitted geek, and the unusual combination of her friends from NaNoWriMo/Script Frenzy, the Aquarium (where she works with snakes), and her job as a waitress, meshed together pretty well. Belynda, Brandon, and I took devilish pleasure in warping some of their young minds, and even more pleasure in learning how warped the rest of them really were.

I even indulged in a couple of drinks myself. I'm sure the photos of me with the two prettiest ladies in the place sitting on my lap will make it to somebody's facebook page. Meanwhile, it was their keeping me out later than midnight that caused me to be late posting this POTD. But that's OK -- it was totally worth it.

87/365 -

March 15

With enough of these pictures, I might appear to have a social life.

I've been attending "edit-ins" for National Novel Editing Month -- my friend Anna is the Queen of Edmo. Marion, Belynda, and Brandon were there with us; Randy and Arika weren't able to make it because Arika hurt her foot. Still, we had a good time, even if there wasn't a lot of editing going on. There was enough laughter to make up for it.

I have to say, I'm quite pleased with this group pic. It came out pretty well for an informally-posed picture; I guess it pays to have attractive friends.

74/365 -

February 01

Here I am, surrounded by beauty and brains. Belynda is in purple, Anna in orange, Marion in blue and me in front. Belynda and Marion are taking over the municipal liaison duties for Script Frenzy (SF) in the Boston region. Neither Anna nor I have done well with SF, and while I actually enjoy setting up events for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the scriptwriting competition just wasn't as interesting for me.

We all met to chat and catch up, since Belynda and Marion are NaNoWriMo alumni and both a lot of fun to hang out with. Of course, Anna and I were also there to offer advice and support for our replacements, and also to coordinate sharing of certain materials useful to both NaNoWriMo and SF (since duplicating our purchases would be wasteful).

The photo itself isn't really POTD material. It was taken without tripod by crowding around a table and setting the camera right on the Cold Stone Creamery countertop. It does capture some of the fun of the afternoon, and that's the important thing, isn't it?

32/365 -