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Anniversary Observed
Aug. 22nd, 2004 02:16 amMy HIV anniversary was completely uneventful. No emotional repercussions whatsoever. EGN came out to Silver Spring to pick me up, after trying to follow Yahoo's unfortunate driving directions. We went out to Alexandria tonight for the monthly HIV social and had a good time. Will, our host, had a lovely home with a deck, and the weather was conducive to lounging out there, sipping drinks and hanging out.
I left the party with a guy named Bryan, and he took me to de Lounge, a bar near the Wheaton Metro station. It has a patio, dance floor, bar and a pool table. It looked very nice, and it had a diverse crowd -- more diverse than I've ever seen in Baltimore/DC. If any one group predominated, I'd have to say it was Latino, although there were Caucasian, Asian and African-American patrons as well. There were many Latino men in drag, although I don't think that's the right word for it -- they weren't performing or anything, that's just what they were wearing.
Wednesday, DM picked me up at Rob and Mike's house to take me to a heart circle, where men gather to share whatever they feel comfortable. Our host was Jerry, and he opened the circle with a nice visualization. He has a very soothing voice. We used the concept of the talking stick, although our token was a little stuff moose. While the man with the moose is talking, nobody else speaks; you're not soliciting advice, you're simply sharing.
I found the heart circle surprisingly comforting, and although I was a little anxious (just a smidge) about sharing personal things, it wasn't that big a deal, really. After all, I exercise even less control over who reads about my life here.
After we returned from the heart circle, Rob and Mike prepared a dinner for DM and me. We had ribeye steaks with baked potatoes, cucumber salad and homegrown tomatoes. Yum!
Rob and Mike left Friday morning, and Beau took it a little hard. He made this sort of sobbing howl shortly after they drove away. It didn't take him long to figure things out! Unfortunately, my boss called a little later, asking me to come into DC, so I had to abandon them for most of the afternoon.
Friday night was my first night in the big bed with the three animals. Rob and Mike told me that the animals are used to sleeping with them, and I had to sleep in their bed, because Beau can't launch himself into the guest bed. I'm still getting used to sharing my bed with animals. I was especially surprised at the cat, Iago. He came into bed and wanted some strokes, but I ignored him. He went downstairs and howled a little, like he was upset that I had rebuffed him. Mike told me that Iago halfway believes he's a dog, but this was definitely un-catlike behavior.
I left the party with a guy named Bryan, and he took me to de Lounge, a bar near the Wheaton Metro station. It has a patio, dance floor, bar and a pool table. It looked very nice, and it had a diverse crowd -- more diverse than I've ever seen in Baltimore/DC. If any one group predominated, I'd have to say it was Latino, although there were Caucasian, Asian and African-American patrons as well. There were many Latino men in drag, although I don't think that's the right word for it -- they weren't performing or anything, that's just what they were wearing.
Wednesday, DM picked me up at Rob and Mike's house to take me to a heart circle, where men gather to share whatever they feel comfortable. Our host was Jerry, and he opened the circle with a nice visualization. He has a very soothing voice. We used the concept of the talking stick, although our token was a little stuff moose. While the man with the moose is talking, nobody else speaks; you're not soliciting advice, you're simply sharing.
I found the heart circle surprisingly comforting, and although I was a little anxious (just a smidge) about sharing personal things, it wasn't that big a deal, really. After all, I exercise even less control over who reads about my life here.
After we returned from the heart circle, Rob and Mike prepared a dinner for DM and me. We had ribeye steaks with baked potatoes, cucumber salad and homegrown tomatoes. Yum!
Rob and Mike left Friday morning, and Beau took it a little hard. He made this sort of sobbing howl shortly after they drove away. It didn't take him long to figure things out! Unfortunately, my boss called a little later, asking me to come into DC, so I had to abandon them for most of the afternoon.
Friday night was my first night in the big bed with the three animals. Rob and Mike told me that the animals are used to sleeping with them, and I had to sleep in their bed, because Beau can't launch himself into the guest bed. I'm still getting used to sharing my bed with animals. I was especially surprised at the cat, Iago. He came into bed and wanted some strokes, but I ignored him. He went downstairs and howled a little, like he was upset that I had rebuffed him. Mike told me that Iago halfway believes he's a dog, but this was definitely un-catlike behavior.
