Monday, April 26, 2004
The Weekend...
Friday night, we had Witch come over to our place to play some games with us and Jon. We had a good time. I was teamed up with Witch and he made us lose the whole time. (Bitch!) LOL...nonetheless, we had a good time.
Saturday, early afternoon, KT took me to Bowie. We had lunch at Chik-Fil-A. (mmmmmm!) Then, after that, he drove to the mall and parked in the back. His surprise for me was to go rollerskating. Gosh, I haven't rollerskated in what...20 years! I tried rollerblading some time ago but just couldn't get a handle on braking...which is located in the heel area. Well, we skated up and down the parking lot before crossing the street to skate on this long winding sidewalk. KT got a good balance and was already skating like a pro. (Mofo!) Me...my arms are all like jerky and making small circles in the air...trying not to fall. Well, I thought I was confident to cross the other side. KT went first. Then, me went next....I was fine...til I reach the curb and boom, down I went! (Embarrassing!) I was like...ok, this is not good because I was supposed to be somewhere to meet up with RAD executives and the committees. I didn't wanna go in with bruises and not able to move. So, I got up and tried my best to go slow. I was kinda freaking out because there were broken glass on the sides. I was thinking, if I fell down, this isn't gonna be good. KT must've seen the worriness in my face cuz he was like...let's just go. I was like...whew! But, we'll have to do it again.
Then, later that afternoon, I met up with the RAD people at the hotel for the tour. It was nice to see them once again. After the tour, we all went to 17th St. Bar & Grill for dinner. Most of us walked from Chinatown to the edge of DuCi (Dupont Circle). As we were walking, I was vee'ing people who were carrying signs for the abortion protest. I vee'd this one group of guys. They were all like redneck hillbillies. They all had long beards and wearing overalls and were carrying anti-abortion and religious signs. I was thinking...my goodness, you would have never thought these guys were religious.
Anyways, we got to the restaurant and we were just having a grand time. I, being one of the youngest member of the RAD 2005 committee, was interested in the other people's coming out histories. I'm always curious about people and their past. It's interesting. To me, there's like 2 different kinds of people, in regards to this older generation. There's this one group of people who didn't come out until near their golden years. They followed the traditional role expected of a man...to get married and have kids, etc. Some waited until their wives died or they were divorced. They knew they were gay themselves but wouldn't dare come out for fear of losing family, friends, jobs, etc.
The second group were like "who fucking cares" and they never did hide their sexuality. I was amazed because I thought that the gay thing was taboo back in the old days. Well, it was but it didn't stop them. They were talking about the "pre-AIDS" days and how wild things or places used to be, especially San Francisco, New Orleans and NYC.
In some ways, that still rings true in today's generation...in regards to Deaf Gays. There are those that already came out before or during Gallaudet. Sadly, a lot of them don't come out until after they've graduated from Gallaudet. Again, fear of losing friends or opportunities. Also, fear of someone knowing them and telling their families, especially among those from Deaf families.
Pressure from others is just weird. You're pressured from your family or society to assume the traditional expected role of your gender. But, if you're gay, you're pressured from gays to come out. For some time, I was out to my friends and some relatives but not to my parents. I remembered, during my days at Gallaudet, being pressured to come out to my parents and get it over with. It's easier said than done. It wasn't until I started dating KT that I become comfortable with the idea of coming out to my parents. I came out to my parents in Christmas of 2000. It wasn't easy! Of course, I told my mother first. (She was like...I knew it all along.) At first, it was emotional as the truth finally emerged and them making sure I was alright. Then, came the religious lectures. So from that point on, I made a mental note, to myself, to not pressure others to come out...until they feel they're comfortable.
Anyways, overall I had a good time with these people. Now that I have a clearer picture of my role, I can roll up my sleeves and get busy for RAD.
Sunday was just a lazy day for me. Did some light cleaning. Added the Vitruvian Man picture on my blog. So far, I like it. Perhaps, in the near future, I'll have it expanded and re-design my blog. I think I'll be fine with it...for now.
Watched QAF (Queer As Folks) last night. Good show! Forgot to mention it last week, they changed their intro...it's black and white...looks good. In one part of the show (KT knew I was gonna talk about this), Brian has started his own advertising business (last week) and is struggling to get some clients. However, he remembered that a client of his was supposed to meet with his former job for some new ads. This client produces medicines for those with HIV. Brian came up with an idea that ads out there put out an image of positive people being "on top" of things. They look healthy and are climbing rocky mountains or running marathons. Brian's goals was to present "honest" ads...such as "helps me live another day" or "some days, I feel like hell but I'm still here", etc.
It's interesting because...looking back at HIV medicine ads, it is true. They make the ads all sexy and athletic when in fact, that's not always the case. It made me realized that ads can be misleading...as if I didn't know that already. Sometimes, you just need a reminder here and there about things and reality.
I also enjoyed the other part of Michael and Emmett going to a Radical Faeries gathering. Cute and funny.
So, now, I'm back at work and getting ready to start on things. Just 4 more days until my oral surgery. Emergency! I'm already fidgeting!
Jon, welcome to the blogging world! :-)
Until then, ta ta...
|
Saturday, early afternoon, KT took me to Bowie. We had lunch at Chik-Fil-A. (mmmmmm!) Then, after that, he drove to the mall and parked in the back. His surprise for me was to go rollerskating. Gosh, I haven't rollerskated in what...20 years! I tried rollerblading some time ago but just couldn't get a handle on braking...which is located in the heel area. Well, we skated up and down the parking lot before crossing the street to skate on this long winding sidewalk. KT got a good balance and was already skating like a pro. (Mofo!) Me...my arms are all like jerky and making small circles in the air...trying not to fall. Well, I thought I was confident to cross the other side. KT went first. Then, me went next....I was fine...til I reach the curb and boom, down I went! (Embarrassing!) I was like...ok, this is not good because I was supposed to be somewhere to meet up with RAD executives and the committees. I didn't wanna go in with bruises and not able to move. So, I got up and tried my best to go slow. I was kinda freaking out because there were broken glass on the sides. I was thinking, if I fell down, this isn't gonna be good. KT must've seen the worriness in my face cuz he was like...let's just go. I was like...whew! But, we'll have to do it again.
Then, later that afternoon, I met up with the RAD people at the hotel for the tour. It was nice to see them once again. After the tour, we all went to 17th St. Bar & Grill for dinner. Most of us walked from Chinatown to the edge of DuCi (Dupont Circle). As we were walking, I was vee'ing people who were carrying signs for the abortion protest. I vee'd this one group of guys. They were all like redneck hillbillies. They all had long beards and wearing overalls and were carrying anti-abortion and religious signs. I was thinking...my goodness, you would have never thought these guys were religious.
Anyways, we got to the restaurant and we were just having a grand time. I, being one of the youngest member of the RAD 2005 committee, was interested in the other people's coming out histories. I'm always curious about people and their past. It's interesting. To me, there's like 2 different kinds of people, in regards to this older generation. There's this one group of people who didn't come out until near their golden years. They followed the traditional role expected of a man...to get married and have kids, etc. Some waited until their wives died or they were divorced. They knew they were gay themselves but wouldn't dare come out for fear of losing family, friends, jobs, etc.
The second group were like "who fucking cares" and they never did hide their sexuality. I was amazed because I thought that the gay thing was taboo back in the old days. Well, it was but it didn't stop them. They were talking about the "pre-AIDS" days and how wild things or places used to be, especially San Francisco, New Orleans and NYC.
In some ways, that still rings true in today's generation...in regards to Deaf Gays. There are those that already came out before or during Gallaudet. Sadly, a lot of them don't come out until after they've graduated from Gallaudet. Again, fear of losing friends or opportunities. Also, fear of someone knowing them and telling their families, especially among those from Deaf families.
Pressure from others is just weird. You're pressured from your family or society to assume the traditional expected role of your gender. But, if you're gay, you're pressured from gays to come out. For some time, I was out to my friends and some relatives but not to my parents. I remembered, during my days at Gallaudet, being pressured to come out to my parents and get it over with. It's easier said than done. It wasn't until I started dating KT that I become comfortable with the idea of coming out to my parents. I came out to my parents in Christmas of 2000. It wasn't easy! Of course, I told my mother first. (She was like...I knew it all along.) At first, it was emotional as the truth finally emerged and them making sure I was alright. Then, came the religious lectures. So from that point on, I made a mental note, to myself, to not pressure others to come out...until they feel they're comfortable.
Anyways, overall I had a good time with these people. Now that I have a clearer picture of my role, I can roll up my sleeves and get busy for RAD.
Sunday was just a lazy day for me. Did some light cleaning. Added the Vitruvian Man picture on my blog. So far, I like it. Perhaps, in the near future, I'll have it expanded and re-design my blog. I think I'll be fine with it...for now.
Watched QAF (Queer As Folks) last night. Good show! Forgot to mention it last week, they changed their intro...it's black and white...looks good. In one part of the show (KT knew I was gonna talk about this), Brian has started his own advertising business (last week) and is struggling to get some clients. However, he remembered that a client of his was supposed to meet with his former job for some new ads. This client produces medicines for those with HIV. Brian came up with an idea that ads out there put out an image of positive people being "on top" of things. They look healthy and are climbing rocky mountains or running marathons. Brian's goals was to present "honest" ads...such as "helps me live another day" or "some days, I feel like hell but I'm still here", etc.
It's interesting because...looking back at HIV medicine ads, it is true. They make the ads all sexy and athletic when in fact, that's not always the case. It made me realized that ads can be misleading...as if I didn't know that already. Sometimes, you just need a reminder here and there about things and reality.
I also enjoyed the other part of Michael and Emmett going to a Radical Faeries gathering. Cute and funny.
So, now, I'm back at work and getting ready to start on things. Just 4 more days until my oral surgery. Emergency! I'm already fidgeting!
Jon, welcome to the blogging world! :-)
Until then, ta ta...
|
