Vote Suki 2012!

Admit it, she's much cuter than most politicians right?  And she could probably do a better job.  Well, when she wasn't napping.  But hey, you have to have priorities.  Not the best photo of me, but oh well.

So we went down to the Mall today for a long walk.  She was ecstatic.  New smells.  New places to mark her territory.  And I must have had a dozen people who wanted to pet the puppy.  She's 10.  She's not a puppy.  But whatever.  

They were doing some work on the mall, so the walk was a bit boring, but it was fun.  And the weather was perfect.  I was almost too hot in the long sleeve shirt I was in.  

We also did a quick tour of the sculpture garden which was nice.

Suki Goes To The Beach

So Museum Man, Suki and I did a road trip last Saturday.  We headed out to the eastern shore to go to Rehoboth and Dewey Beach.  I'm fairly certain that John never got a chance to take Suki to the beach and since the weather was going to be almost decent (61 degrees), we decided to go to the beach.  

We had lunch in Rehoboth Beach and found an out door cafe where we could sit with Suki and have lunch.  Needless to say she was thrilled about sitting there while we ate, but she was good.  After that, we headed down to Tower Beach which is the northern part of the Delaware Seashore State Park.  We got there around 130PM and it was empty.  Seriously.  I think there was may be one other car in the huge parking lot.  So we get out and Suki is glad to be free from her cage.  John had a soft carrying container for her that we used.  She tolerated it during the drive, but was happy to get out.

MM and I ditched our shoes and made our way to the sandy pathway that lead across the dune and down to the beach.  Suki was confused about this ground that moves when you walk on it.  She would paw it, then step, then paw it again.  And then finally decided that she could just walk on it.  

It was a clear crisp day and the temp was perfect.  And there was no one on the beach.  It was so cool because it felt like our own private beach.  Off season you can take your dog on the beach, and let them off the leash.  So I took Suki off the leash and we made our way down to the water.  Suki was very interested in the water and made a beeline for it.  And as she chased a wave that was rushing back to the sea, she got hit with a wave coming in.  Not a big one, but it definitely got her wet.  And it was cold.  And that was pretty much all it took for Suki to determine that she didn't want to go swimming.  Which is just as well.  But the problem now of course is that I've got wet dog.  Running around on the sand.  

But she was in heaven just wandering every which way.  Constantly stopping to sniff something to see if she could eat it.  She said no to the jelly fish (good call) and the dead crab.  I let her run for quite a bit and then I would have to go chase her down whenever she got too far away.  And let's be honest, it's not like she's going to turn around and come back to me just because I called her name.  It was really a fun afternoon and I think Suki had a good time.  I tried to brush as much sand off her as I could, but I figured out that she would probably require a bath when we got home.

The trip back wasn't bad.  As long as you appreciate that wonderful wet dog smell.  :-)

Bathing Suki.  Well I had never done it before.  But how hard could it be, right?  Oy vey.  So Suki does not like to be in the tub.  She kept trying to get out and then would slip on the slipper tub.  So not a good start.  I put some shampoo into her coat and start to rub.  It's an anti-shedding shampoo. Which apparently means that all of the loose dog hair comes out in the bath.  So there was lots of dog hair in the tub.  I finally rinse her off, and I lift her out of the tub so I can dry her off in the bathroom. And no sooner were her 4 paws on the ground than she proceeds to shake herself dry.  Flinging water dropplets everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  My bathroom was just drenched.  Now I know why I take her to the grooming salon.  It's definitely worth the money.

Grief Aftershocks and Suki

I call them grief aftershocks.  The moments when I remember, oh too vividly, that John is gone.  When I realize that all of the hopes and dreams we had together will never happen.  And usually these aftershocks start with something really minor, something stupid, that just hits me from out of no where and it just sort of implodes within me.  And I start to cry.  And cry.  Grief aftershocks.

So I'm going to try to blog again.  I want to tell stories about John.  I want to capture who we has to me, and the good, and bad, times we had together.  I want to put it down into words to make sure I never forget, but also to help me move forward.  Atleast, I think this will help.

After John passed away, I asked his sister if I could keep Suki.  She had spent quite a lot of time at my house, the summer palace, we called it.  Especially when John was traveling or working long hours.  So she was used to my place and I thought keeping her would be good for me.  And she has been.  She's gone through her own process of depression.  But I think she's doing okay now.  And she's been a good thing for me.  I've probably transferred all of my love of John to Suki which I'm not sure is the best thing.  But it's been good.  I love her a lot and taking care of her is something that I know John would appreciate it.

Since I'm not working today (shocker), I decided to take Suki for a long walk down along the mall.  She loves car rides and so we drove down to the mall area.  I couldn't find parking near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial at first, so I continued on to Haynes Point where we got out for a walk.  Suki was intrigued by the water.  It was high tide and the wind had kicked up the waves.  So water was spilling over the low sea wall and she was just fascinated by that.  So we had a good walk there.  And then as we drove back, I scored a parking spot near TJ's so we got out and had a second walk.  Here we are at the steps of the TJ Memorial.      

John Deery Crocetti

April 17, 1972 - May 27, 2012

John Deery Crocetti was born in Tacoma, Washington to Mario and Sally Crocetti on April 17th 1972. As an Army brat John moved around the country quite a bit which is where he probably picked up his passion for adventure and travel. An Eagle Scout, in 1990 he graduated from Stevens Point Area High School in Stevens Point, WI. He earned both his Bachelors of Science (1994) and Masters of Science (1996) in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville TN. While in Nashville, John co-founded Wild Dog Technology, LLC, a data base consulting company and taught graduate and undergraduate Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering Management at Vanderbilt. A founding member of the Nashville Predator’s Booster Club, John was very active in the Nashville hockey community. In 2004, John left Nashville to attend law school at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord NH, one of the top intellectual property law schools in the country. John earned his Juris Doctor (JD) on May 19th, 2007. While still in law school, John interned as a summer associate at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP and accepted an offer to join Finnegan in 2007. At Finnegan, John’s unique electrical engineering background, technical knowledge, and management skills proved crucial on a number of cases regarding wireless communications, smart phones, and cell phone handsets before the International Trade Commission. Outside of work, John had a passion for travel, good food, and good wine. John traveled frequently around the world to experience the best life has to offer, from the Disney International Food and Wine Festival, to the jungles of Belize and Guatemala, to the streets and cafes of Paris. John worked hard and played hard. John’s love of the good life was legendary from five star hotels and resorts to Michelin rated restaurants. John lived life to the fullest. John was a man of unique character, intelligence, love, integrity, humor, and compassion and will truly be missed by all who knew him. John is survived by his sister, Kate Crocetti, his beloved dog Suki, and his partner, Trey Rhiddlehoover.

I love you.  And I miss you every day.

16 Candles, Bathsheba Syndrome, and the Craig's List Congressman

Jake Ryan. Sigh.

Flashback to 1984. I worked at the movie theater in Colorado Springs and I must have seen 16 Candles a thousand time. Such a great move and seriously, Jake Ryan? Super hottie. Cute, good hair, and ends up ditching the vacuous prom queen for the dorky girl. A girl can dream, right?

Anyways, the movie company re-released 16 Candles last week for just two nights for Valentine's Day. Just Sunday and Monday night. We went Sunday night and just had a blast. Most of the people in the audience (which was mainly gay men and women) would just swoon when ever Jake was on the screen. And even though I haven't seen the movie since 1984 (and why isn't this on TV like every weekend?), I knew almost all of the lines. And there are some seriously goods lines in that movie! "I think my brother paid a buck to see your panties last night." "Look dear, she got her boobies, and they are so perky!" as the theme from Jaws kicks in as the grandmother begins to grope her. Such a good time.

So I've ditched work this week to go to training. I haven't done any professional development in awhile so I figured I would take a class. The Architect recommended a class at the Brookings Institute which is conveniently located 2.5 blocks from my house. So I'm there. "Ethics in Action." It was actually pretty interesting. We started with Plato & Aristotle and then looked at some eastern philosophy (Confucius) and then back to Kant and some more western thinkers. Our instructor was great and I definitely enjoyed it.

I especially like the information on the Bathsheba Syndrome. Or as I call it, "When Good Leaders Do Really Monumentally Stupid Things" (think Bill Clinton, Mark Sanford, etc). So this is all from the Bible. David (of David and Goliath fame) was a great king. Lots of stories about him in the bible. But he leaves the war (mistake #1), to come back to his palace where he sees Bathsheba, seduces her, and gets her pregnant (mistakes #2, 3, and 4). Then he tries to cover up the pregnancy (mistake #5) and then when that doesn't work, he has Bathsheba's husband killed (mistake #6). See, even back then it wasn't the crime, but the coverup that get you in trouble. Anyways, if David was such a good person, a good king, etc., then why did he do this? Even today we have lots of experience with leaders who did great things in the past and then they got put into a position of leadership and they succumb to the Bathsheba Syndrome. They lose their focus, they've been so successful in the past that they think they will always be successful, they think that they can control every outcome. And they end up losing their moral/ethical compass and do something absurdly idiotic.

This past week we had the perfect example: now former Congressman Chris Lee. What were you thinking? Love the ubiquitous shirtless photo in the bathroom. If you had a good gay in your life, he could have told you that those are totally 2010 and now are kind of creepy. In addition, a good gay would NEVER have allowed you to use your real name. Or your real email address. As a congressman you must know that the NSA/CIA/FBI are always spying on us, you don't have to make it too easy for them.

MOPT Update

So "My Own Personal Thintervention" (MOPT) is not going well.

Oh it started well. I was eating 5 times a day. I was doing my Jackie Warner shake, plus her insane power circuit workouts, plus vitamens and I did manage to lose like 8 pounds.

And then life happened. Which is so annoying.

First I was heading to San Diego for a conference. Which I knew was going to be hard on the program, but I figured that if worked out obsessively that it would help mitigate the business dinners, conference lunches, etc. And I packed my workout clothes and it was all good. Until the plane landed in San Diego, I'm walking off the plane onto the jetbridge and I hit some uneven something that rolled my ankle. Hard. Needless to say it took all of my self control not to scream "F&%K!" But that pretty much sabotaged my work out plans.

My ankle is pretty much healed at this point and I need to get back on the program. I've invested in some whey protein powder, more vitamins, etc and I'm ready to start again. I've got no travel planned until the first weekend in March, so I've got a solid month to work the program. And I'd really like to drop 10-12 pounds before I go home in early March.

So that's the plan. Now I just need to make it happen.

Call Your Girlfriend

Call your girlfriend

It's time you had the talk

Give your reasons

Say it's not her fault

I totally love that Robyn song.

First I loved "Dancing on my Own." Then I loved "Hang With Me." And then I broke down and bought her album. And then I was hooked on Fembot. Call Your Girlfriend. And Indestructible. Totally an amazing album.

LawyerX and I saw her in concert last summer with Kelis. Kelis was okay, but Robyn rocked the house. A short little swedish pixie she was going a 100 miles per hour and just bouncing around that stage like you just can't believe. Such a good time.

Well as I was checking out Jimbo's blog, I saw he was going to see Robyn in Bmore. Really? So I quickly checked and there were tickets still available. Score!!

So there I was. On a Tuesday night. Heading to a concert. On a school night! What a rebel! But it was so much fun. I convinced a good friend of mine from work to go with my since LawyerX had to work. We got up there in time to see the opening act: Diamond Rings? OMG. Just say no. Here's this power twink in gold lame tights prancing around the stage and doing these weird "fight the power" fist pumps. Again. No. Please. No.

But Robyn was amazing. I think it was the exact same show as last summer, but now I knew more of the songs and I think my friend was more than a little bit amused by my singing/dancing to the music. But it was such a great night. We bailed right at the end of the last song and made it back to DC just after 1230. Needless to say I was tired the next day, but so much fun.

And Robyn is opening for Katy Perry this summer and LawyerX has already gotten us tickets. So I'll get to see Robyn again then. In the meantime, I'm totally jones-ing for a "Call Your Girlfriend" remix.

Local Color

That's the phrase that LawyerX and I use when we run into the occasional crazy person here in DC.

Yes, it happens enough that we have a phrase for it.

In addition to the phrase, there are rules: Do not look at them. Do not engage them. Do not let them suck you into their crazy.

And of course, there are times when you forget. Like I did yesterday.

A long day at work. I head home. Once I get into DC, the traffic gets worse. I'm heading north on 18th St getting ready to turn right onto H St. The guy in front of me does a right turn on red and I move up to take his spot and see if I can turn right also. As I do, a guy is walking into the cross walk and he puts his hands up to motion me to stop. So I stop. Well clear of him. And then I look left to see if there is any traffic or if I will need to wait for the green light before turning.

And I hear something. Some voice over the techno music I'm jamming to in my car. I look over and see the guy. And I'm not sure, but I think he's talking to me. So I look at him.

And then I hear him say clearly (which must be fairly loud since I can hear him over the radio), "That's right I'm talking to you!"

But I'm confused. I didn't hit him. I stopped. Well clear of him. So I look at him.

And apparently my looking at him is some how construed as challenging him.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be."

And I'm in my car going, dude, I just want to get home.

And the light changes, and I hear him again.

"I'll show you."

Well I start to turn left and as I turn I take one last look.

And he's in the process of pulling his pants down so he can moon me. I know. Nice.

But he hasn't figure out that I've turned, so he's aiming in the wrong direction.

And by the way, the weather here? Kind of cold.

You know what we say?

Local Color

All Hail Aphrodite!!!!

Bow down before the Goddess!!

So I got up at 0355 AM on Friday AM so I could be online for the pre-sale for Kylie's North American tour. No road trip necessary this year, she's coming to DC. Or rather, Fairfax. The pre-sale was only via her site and started at 0900 GMT. And I was hoping all of the other gays wouldn't know what GMT meant so I could get online and get tickets while they were all sleeping. But even working three windows on the Mac, my iPad, and two windows on my work laptop, it still took me almost thirty minutes to get through the web site and grab some tickets. I originally wanted seats in the middle area, but my request wouldn't go through. So I tried the side seating area and scored. And I think I scored big time. I think we have front row seats for that section.

I'm so totally excited. I can't wait. April 30th. And Lawyer X finishes all of his trial crap so this will be the perfect way to celebrate that!

All Hail Aphrodite!!

MOPT Update

So I got on the scale this AM and I had lost 2 pounds. Yea. I guess.

I was sort of hoping for more. And then I started thinking . . . . about the chips, salsa, and fajitas I had for lunch on Saturday; . . . . . . about the fish tacos I had for dinner Friday night; . . . . . . about the dim sum dinner and oh so tasty white wine/St Germain sangria that we had. Yeah. I really wasn't that good this week from a dieting perspective, so 2 pounds is not bad at all.

I'm going to try to do better this week, but LawyerX has friends coming into town this weekend, so I know there will be eating and drinking. Smart choices. I just need to remember to make smart choices.

I did make it to the gym this AM, and this PM, but the weather is just killing me. I can't take the bitter, bitter, wind. Baby it's cold out there!

Can't wait for Glee to come back!

Robyn and Diex Du Stade

So if you haven't bought Robyn's last album, you are missing out on some of the best music around. It's like candy for the ears, with kickin beats and some really catchy lyrics. I'm particularly in love with "Call Your Girlfriend". But it's all good. And I've got a great "Dancing On My Own" & Glee "Teenage Dream" mash up video on heavy rotation for my gym workouts. Such good music. I'm thinking of adding this one to my iPad, but I'm not sure if it's really appropriate for my SECG.

Speaking of not appropriate, I've been adding new work out routines to my fitness app on my iPad based on the workout in Jackie Warner's book. It's cool that you can add exercises to the app, but you have to put a photo in as well that demonstrates how the exercise is supposed to be performed. But I don't have that. So I've been putting in some aspirational photos that have nothing to do with the workout, but definitely are motivating me. Like this:

Hello gorgeous! He's in this year's Dieux Du Stade calendar. "Dieux Du Stade" is French for: hot, mostly naked, rugby players. Or something like that.

Thintervention

So I was obsessed with the Bravo show "Working Out" when it was on a couple of years ago. And this fall, they did a short series called "Thintervention" where Jackie Warner (seriously fit uber lesbian) works with a bunch of overweight people to help them lose weight. One of the people is a gay guy who is looking to lose 60 pounds. Now while I don't need to lose that much, I totally identified with him. And it was pretty impressive to see him work out every week on the show and really start to see him change his life. At the end of the series (which I think in real life was 14 weeks), he had lost 66 pounds. In 14 weeks. How impressive is that?

So I bought Jackie Warner's book: "This Is Why You Are Fat (And How To Get Thin Forever)". Nice subtle title, right? So I read it, and studied it, and I figured it was time for My Own Personal Thintervention (MOPT).

So I sort of started before New Years, I figured once I got home from the holidays, I might as well start. So I started taking vitamins, working out, trying to eat 5 meals a day. And despite the pizzafest on New Years Eve, and the fabulous and very alcohol heavy brunch New Years Day, and the nice dinner at the Kennedy Center, I still managed to lose 4 pounds my first week.

So I'm totally pysched. I'm really looking forward to the next week on the program. I do plan to cheat on Saturday (we're allowed 2 cheat meals), but if I follow the program properly, I should lose atleast another 4 pounds. Or atleast that's my goal.

My long team goal? I want to lose 30 pounds by the summer. And in addition to the losing the weight, I want to build some muscle back up. Lawyer X and I are going on another cruise with teh gays, and I want to be in the best shape possible.

Hate at Bali Hai

The Kennedy Center is doing some great shows this season (Hair, Follies, Wicked) and last night Lawyer X and I went to see South Pacific. It was great of course. And our box seat rocked. But here's the thing, when I think of South Pacific I think of swaying palm trees, great songs, and dancing sailors (and no that's not gay at all). For some reason I sort of skip over the big racial plots or the fact that the polynesian woman is basically pimping out her young (very young) daughter to the LT. I was sort of stunned when the female lead can't get over that the French man has children who are "colored" or when the LT realizes that he'll never be able to take the polynesian girl back to Philadelphia. He's a Princeton man after all.

After the show, I made a comment about this to Lawyer X and he said South Pacific had caused quite a stir when it came out in the 1950s. I guess so.

Now the music is awesome: There's Nothing Like A Dame, Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening. But it's the song the LT sings when he realizes that he can't take the girl home that really just made the back of my neck tingle:

You've got to be taught to hate and fear,

You've got to be taught from year to year,

It's got to be drummed into your dear little ear,

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made

and people whose skin is a different shade,

you've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,

Before you are six or seven or eight

To hate all of the people your relatives hate,

You've got to be carefully taught.

Wow. Not exactly a warm fuzzy song. But oh so true. True in 1950s. And just as true now.

In the cold of winter, it's hard to remember that last March we were in Kaui where they filmed the movie version of South Pacific. You could actually see the mountains that inspired Bali Hai from our resort. Ah, doesn't it just look like paradise. I wish we were there now.

But It's on Sale

Date: 26 December 2010

Location: Nieman Marcus, Cherry Creek Mall, Denver, CO

After some power shopping at Nordstroms, we decided to check out the rest of the mall and made the mistake of going into Nieman Marcus. Who shops there?

I find a nice red T-shirt. It's soft. A good T-shirt. It had a word written on it. Gucci. In black letter, in cursive.

Original price: $225.00

Marked down to $196.99.

But it was on sale for $154.99

YHGTBFKM!!

If Today Is Your Birthday

You have a distinctly dual nature that, at your best, makes you versatile, and at your worst, downright confused (and confusing!). While a great lover of peace and harmony, you are also determined and fiery. While idealistic, you mostly have your feet on the ground. In relationships, the need for partnering and cooperating is strong, but freedom also matters to you. You are a natural counsellor, offering excellent advice. There is usually quite a bit of drama and colorful emotion in your relationships, whether it's because you bring this to the table or attract these kinds of people. Famous people born today: Frank Sinatra, Edward Koch, Connie Francis, Jennifer Connelly, Bridget Hall, Bob Barker, Dionne Warwick.

Your Birthday Year Forecast:

The opportunity to grow through your love and social connections this year is especially strong. You are seeking intensity in love, and are especially aware of the importance of healthy relating and intimacy. You could renew and deepen love commitments or social connections. Strong and stimulating--even motivating--attractions to others are likely. Secret loves or attractions may develop and existing relationships tend to rise to a higher level of insight and understanding. Romantic relationships and attractions have a fated quality to them this year. This could be a year when you fall in love, and this could be with a person, an activity, or a cause! Meeting someone who transforms your life, and more specifically your values and attitude towards love, is possible. Strong existing relationships are likely to grow and transform in rewarding ways, as you are more open than usual to intensity and passion. Your finances could also improve dramatically this year, generally due to your increased ability to strategize and cut out frivolous expenses.

An instinctive need for change is with you, and you could find that you're eliminating a lot of waste, both literally and figuratively speaking. Your intellectual curiosity knows few bounds and it tends to lead you in the right direction. Learning and communications can take you into new territory and afford you the opportunity to make the right connections. This is a year of renovations, eliminating bad habits, and ridding yourself of outworn attitudes that have previously held you back from moving forward. Your attitude now is one that more readily embraces changes.

There may be a project, idea, or person that demands much of your attention or occupies many of your thoughts. It's a strong year for any project or studies that require concentrated effort. You are especially resourceful.

It's possible that you may be argumentative and particularly impatient with vagueness. You are quick to take the initiative and to put your thoughts into action. Adventuresome travel may be part of the picture. You may be more actively involved with young people.

Your ambition is strongly stimulated--you are determined to meet or exceed your goals. You can bring great discipline and meaning to your life this year. You won't take "no" for an answer this year. You might totally revise an important project or area of your life, or you could be bent on getting rid of something in your life in order to move forward. The tendency to be too forceful or wilful this year should probably be avoided. You should also watch for overdoing to the point of exhaustion, or trying too hard to win others over to your point of view. This can be a compulsive time when power struggles are more likely. On the other hand, it can be a time when you enjoy a strong sense of purposefulness, focus, and determination.

This is a strong period for eliminating bad habits and for adopting a "new and improved" attitude towards life. You are very sharp and easily motivated this year, but you need to avoid a tendency towards obsessive or compulsive behavior. Love relationships are stimulating and growth-oriented.


2010 is a Number Nine year for you. Ruled by Mars. This is a year of completion and transition. It is a time when we need to let go of things that no longer serve their purpose, and hold on to things that have a future. It is a time of cleaning out dead wood, not necessarily for new beginnings. It can be a time when a burden has been taken off your shoulders, and it can be a year of giving of yourself. Advice - let go of things that are holding you back, give of yourself and express your sympathetic, compassionate side.

2011 will be a Number One year for you. Ruled by the Sun. This is a year of action. The seeds you plant now, you will reap later. Others might find you less sociable, as you are busier than ever and you focus on your activities and your needs. Still, you are outgoing and your initiative is stronger than ever. Advice - Stand alone, take action, start fresh, express independence.

Location: Denial, Nice

So I’ve finally broken the code. The way to travel in Europe, especially France, is to be basically be in denial the whole time. Just think of everything in dollars and just forget about the exchange rate. So a Coke is 4 euro. A coke at a bar in DC is going to be 4 dollars. So it’s the same. Remember, denial, denial, denial.

Which doesn’t completely work in Nice. My last full day in Nice I decided to hit the plage (the beach). The beach runs down the full length of the bay in Nice. It’s not a very deep beach, maybe only 20-30 yards, but it’s all rocks. A mixture of little pebbles and decent size rocks that makes it tricky (not to mention painful) to walk on. I decided to opt for one of the private beach areas. I got a “discount” from my hotel for the Sporting Club de Plage so it was only 17 euros. Plus 5 euro for a towel. But I got a lounge chair, an umbrella, and waiter service. I got settled in, lubed up with my various SPF leveled lotions, and then proceed to just read, tan, and slowly fall asleep. I had the Out magazine with Kylie on the cover and I pretty much read every page of it. In the article about Kylie, the author says something like Kylie is like Glenda the Good Witch of the South. I love that. After an hour or so, I decided for an adult bevage. A mojito. 9 euros. Then I pulled on the little rubber beach shoes I had bought and went into the ocean. The waves weren’t bad, but there is no way to gracefully enter or exit the water while walking on all of the rocks. Just not possible. After I dried out from my swim, I had lunch at the Sporting Club restaurant. Pizza and a couple of glasses of wine. 22 euros. Then it was back to the lounge chair where I finished off the book I had brought with me. It was really good. Then it was time for another adult beverage (9 euros). More tanning, more rolling over, more sweating, more listening to my iPod. Oh, and more people watching.

We are talking about some seriously good people watching. The really pale people, the really red people, and then the really tan people. And the really tan, leathery people. I’m glad I only “lay out” 4-6 days a year. And I always use sun screen. Lots of thong bikinis and banana hammocks. Ugh. But I did see some board shorts and some hotties in square cuts. Overall I have to give the people watching a solid B. Anyways, after a good 6 plus hours on the plage, I headed back to the hotel to cool down, clean up, and then head to dinner. So how much did my day at the beach cost? 62 euro. Which is about $85. See, it’s all about denial.

The tour book recommended the La Petit Maison as a good cheap place to eat where Elton John sometimes comes to eat. So the hotel made reservations for me for 730 PM. At 730PM I’m there, and I’m like the third customer. But where do I get seated? At a table that is basically in the street. Cars would go by and the napkins would ruffle. When there was a back up, I could have passed the grey poupon to the guy in the car next to me without even having to stretch a bit. The zuchinni blossom fritters were outstanding. And the calamari was really good. Dessert was pretty awesome also. So a good meal food wise, just not experience wise. Oh well.

The next day I had a massage at the spa at the hotel. I have mentioned that it’s hot, right? Well, it’s not really a good idea to get a massage when it’s miserably hot. She did a good job, but she used a lot of oil and with it being so hot, it didn’t really seep into my skin. I had to use a towel to “dry” myself. Ugh, pretty disgusting. After that, I went up to my room, finished packing, and then hit the train station to catch my train to Toulon. It’s time to go to work!

Matisse, Chagall, and the Eagle

So there is a bus stop relatively close to the hotel, so I caught the number 22 bus up to Cimiez which is where the museums are. Cimiez is the high rent district. It's up on a hill over looking Nice and the neighborhood was nice, really nice. It kind of reminded me of how the Phillips Collection is located in Dupont and that there aren't a lot of tourist trappy places nearby. And like the Phillips, the Musee Matisse was in a old home (villa) that had been modified to be a museum.

The musuem was quite good. The major exhibit was on Lydia (some weird slavic name) who was Matisse's muse. She was his assistant, executive secretary, studio manager, etc. And there were all of these paintings, drawings, and pictures of her. Now, there was a Mrs. Matisse (Amelie I believe) but no drawings of her. So I assume that Lydia was also his mistress considering how many nudes he drew. And I wonder what Mrs. Matisse thought of that? I know, I know. It's a French thing. But still. Overall the collection was good, but a lot of nude women. Not really my thing.

After an interminable wait for the bus in the blistering sun (obligatory heat reference #1), I took the bus down to the Chagall museum. It's actually the Musee National Biblique Marc Chagall. So how do you get a national museum named after yourself? You give all of your art to the state. And voila! So I got my ticket and made a beeline to the cafe to get lunch before I did the collection. This not drinking sodas is not fun. I had peach tea which I'm sure have a 1000 grams of sugar. Oh well. So did you notice the extra word in the name of the museum? Biblique? Well originally the collection was made up of biblical paintings. Which is something that I didn't realize Chagall was known for. A Russian Jew, he considered France his home country and after touring the exhibit it's amazing at the number of religious paintings or even religious symbols in his works. Unlike Matisse, Chagall's use of color is extreme, dark blues, deep reds, fiery oranges. It was really quite amazing. And in addition the religious symbols in the paintings, there were also many references or depictions of the plight of the Jews in Russia, France, and Palestine (as it was then known). The whole collection was fascinating.

After that, I headed back to the hotel to hit the roof top pool. The thermometer at the pool said it was 32 degrees. Translation: fricking hot (obligatory heat reference #2). So I just relaxed and let the sweat drip off me. Ugh.

For dinner, the concierge recommended a couple of places in the pedestrian section of downtown. The first was right on the main strip and looked very seafoody. The second was down a small alley to this charming little courtyard with flowering vines covering lattices that provided some shade with candles everywhere. Totally charming. I'm in. And what a good call. For my starter, I had the tartine of something. It was a small slice of bread with chevre cheese spread thick, really thick, on top of it. Toasted. With little slices of figs on top. On top of a bed of arrugla (my new favorite green). With prosciutto on one side, and this delicious piece of bacon on the other. I was in heaven. My main was penne pesto with a creamy parmigiano reggiano sauce with shaved smoked corfu ham. A-Maz-Ing. So, so, so good. With a couple of glasses of the local wine, I was feeling good.

So good that I decided to try to hit the Eagle. So I went back to the hotel, changed, and then took a cab to the Eagle. Where it was foam night. Yes, foam night. Hello, Miami is calling from 1998 and they want their foam night back. A foam party? Really? And how wrong to have a foam party at the Eagle. The Eagle? Needless to say I was dressed incorrectly. And that was fine with me. I had a beer. Then bought a T-shirt and was back at my hotel by midnight. So that was my adventure at the Nice Eagle. Kind of lame, but then again . . . .

I'm not complaining!

I'm not.

But it's hot. Africa hot.

I'm eating dinner and the sweat is dripping down my back like it's Niagara Falls. Totally gross.

So maybe I'm complaining a little.

Yes I'm hot, but here I am eating dinner at a cute little outdoor cafe on the Promenade des Anglais on the Cote D'Azur. So I guess I really shouldn't complain.

But I'm so good at it!

The flights to Nice were fine. United upgraded me on the flight to Frankfurt, but two gentleman decided to talk the whole flight and even with ear plugs I could hear every single word. Ugh. Frankfurt Airport is a mess. I definitely prefer Munich. I landed at the Nice/Cote D'Azur airport, took the bus and then a taxi to my hotel.

The Hotel Splendid is not Splendid. It is close to the beach and it has a roof top pool. But the rooms are small and dated and the AC does not work well. Have I mentioned that it's hot? After a tortuous disco nap, I went to check out the roof top pool. It's small, but nice and I hunker down on one of the chaise to get my vitamin D and to read. Since I have my iPad, I only brought one book. Big mistake. Oh well. I laid out for a bit and then got cleaned up. The conceirge recommended a little cafe down the promenade so I walked down to check it out. Even at 730PM, the beach is still hopping and the promenade is packed. The sun is still unmercifully beating down on my so I work up a good sweat walking to the cafe.

My plans to hit the "trendy gay club where the fashion conscious under 35 crowd dance to pumping house music" kind of fell apart. I'm tired. And old. And it doesn't start until 11PM. And I set my alarm so I could get up and go, but I was just exhausted.

This AM I got up and went on a walkabout. And as typical of my walkabouts it turned into a death march. Down the promenade. Then up the hill to the park where there used to be a fort. Then back down the hills, with a couple of wrong turn down dead ends, and into the marina/harbor area. Then back around the point, down the promenade, and back to the hotel. What was supposed to be a hour or so walk turned into a three hour death march. And have I mentioned the unmerciful sun and the heat?

So I've discovered two types of Brits. The drunk and pale Brits, or the drunk and freakishly red Brits. Seriously, these people do not tan. And I guess they haven't caught on to the use of sun screen. Nor are they ever sober.

This afternoon it's museum time. Hopefully it will be cool in the museums. I'm just so tired of sweating.

More later.

Jesus said . . . .

My church rocks!

Aloha

More later. ;-)