So at the “Toast to Surviving the Holidays” party the other night my cat was being passed around like a pack of cigarettes. It’s what happens. She’s my little show stealer. Anyhoo, somebody kept telling me about a Siamese cat they had had, “just like this one but with blue eyes”. It was making me crazy. I kept explaining how it was too dark in the room we were in but my cat’s eyes were totally blue. It never sunk in, but here: for my own sanity, look at those baby blues!

tagged: party cats pets versace siamese proof blue eyes

daniel · late at night · 1 comment · ping it

Well the Holidays have finally wrapped up here at dp.com. I know, I left the hottie Santa up much longer than usual. If you are still experiencing Christmas please *click here* and you should be good to go.

So with the end of New Year’s I finally got a decent break from work. A 4 day weekend! Richard was home New Year’s Day and so we did a “mini” New Years Eve. Chinese food, champagne, a movie, and a kiss. Awwww! It was nice. We saw Up. It was adorable and I teared up twice. If you haven’t seen it and are in the mood for something fun, get it. On Saturday we had my little Post holiday party. It was a “toast to your survival” theme. We got lots of bubbley and we encouraged the guests to bring a nibble to share. We ended up enjoying some great snacks! My friends rock yo. It turned out to be an interesting mix of people but all seemed to get along and I think everyone had a good time.

The next day found Richard and I a bit over-hung as it were (champagne is mean like that). We figured a greasy yummy brunch was just what we needed. Off to Urban MO’s! The food was good the atmosphere better. We ended up staying right thru the end of the Charger Game! I swear it was one of my butchest moments, watching the game with the boys… LOL Later we went out AGAIN and had a boozy time at the Bar Named After a Body Part (as I call it) with a good friend of ours.

Too much fun. Today was errands and stuff so that tomorrow, our last day off, will be restful. Well, right after we go to the gym anyway… THAT is one thing I have’t done enough this week. I don’t wanna have to make a resolution or anything about it!

tagged: twitter party friends hangover champagne bar boozy

daniel · early evening · 2 comments · ping it

Dude. I have to say, I really think Cinco de Mayo is becoming one of my favorite holidays. First, there is booze. Gotta love a holiday that encourages that. (Wait, don’t ALL holidays include booze? Or is that just my family?) Secondly, the food. I love nothing more than Mexican food. Really, given the choice I always choose Mexican. Finally, my third reason. This is a new discovery for me. It is like *no problem* to get time off work! Amazing! I mean, I work retail. So it is literally ALWAYS a bad time to take time off. But the past 2 years I have scored for Cinco de Mayo. This year I was off May 4, 5, and 6. Awesomeness! And I think if I remember to request it, I could have the entire week next year! This is like a total hidden gem for me. You have no idea. I am going to discuss this with my man and get to planning next year. We could take a week, go on a cruise or something…. have a party… who knows!

Oh and speaking of Cinco de Mayo, mine was absolutely fab. The weather was amazing. We drove around all day (with the top down) hunting for a mystical item called a “Taco Proper”. We eventually found them after seeing more of Chula Vista than I ever had intended… Oy! Later, Joelle and Mike came over for some patio time. We had tacos, ceviche, salsa, and margaritas till the sun went down. Then we enjoyed Mexican pasteries. Perfect way to finish the day.

Oh, and I made the ceviche! Shocker I know… Did you know that the fish up in there isn’t cooked? Well it kinda is.. but not with heat. You soak it in lime juice overnight. That is what “cooks” it! What? Not surprised? I was amazed! It was sooo good too. Kudos me.

tagged: work party fun cinco de mayo joelle mike chula vista ceviche

daniel · evening · say it · ping it

Okay. No it didn’t. Well it kinda did.

You see, our good friend Fred was going to skip pride and drive down to LA for an event. After much debate and confusion Richard and I ended up tagging along. The itinerary was this: Leave San Diego by noon, drive to LA, check into hotel, go eat, go back to hotel to get pretty, go to Outfest movie premier, and hit after party at a club. After that there was no set plan other than an eventual return to SD on Saturday no later than 5:00 PM.

Well kids, it was exactly as planned. The drive to LA is about 2.5 hours. Thankfully Richard and I had our iPhones. More thankfully than that, Fred’s car has multiple power outlets. Heh. So the drive up passed pretty quick. We checked into a surprisingly nicer than expected Days Inn. It wasn’t great, but not horrible either. It was right next to an In-N-Out Burger, which became the immediate solution to our second task upon getting to town. I refused. I was trying to be as flexible and non-bitchy as possible. I know I don’t travel well, so I tried to be nice about it. It was a fine choice for them, but I’d still need to eat soon too, and I won’t eat burger. Luckily, after I carefully got that out on the table, Fred’s innate Cruise Director Instincts took over. He suggested a trip to The Grove. Brilliant. Many food choices for everyone. We hit the road. Of course as soon as he pointed it out, we had decided on The Whisper Lounge. It is pure glamour. An open-air establishment with drapery and pretty people and.. I can’t describe it really. It’s just fabulous. So we went in and proceeded to order up snacks and cocktails. I don’t remember when he noticed, but Fred made us aware that Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott were behind us with their family (we assume). OMGOMGOMG!!! As soon as he said it I could HEAR HER. I mean, she has a distinctive voice. OMG. We tried not to make a scene. I *really* wanted to get a photo, or talk to her… Something. Fred wisely reminded me that I need to “act normal” and treat her like anyone else. “We don’t want to ruin her time, right?” He’s good like that since he knows people. I took his advice and refrained. Richard staged a bathroom trip so he could ogle them. I sat and listened in. We stayed a long time… Tori and crew had several bottles of champagne. Well, at least 2. LOL. Finally our time was up and we had to go get pretty. Richard insists that Tori smiled at him as we left… OMG!

So getting ready for the Premier was pretty stressful since I had forgotten a belt. My outfit NEEDED a belt. I tried to con my man out of his, but he was having none of it. So we went out on the town with me already feeling kinda insecure. I mean really. LA? Without a belt? As soon as we arrived at the Ford Amphitheater I forgot all about it. Not only is the venue gorgeous, but there were soooo many pretty people. Pretty boys… I mean it *was* Outfest, right? So anyway, the theater is backed up to a hill, and the natural landscape is the main feature of the place. It’s really awesome, actually. We headed up to the top, where they was a concession stand, as well as the entrance for the celebs… Red carpet people! Wich in this case was a red mat taped to the sidewalk with an “Outfest” logo’d backdrop. Hrm. Fanceh. But whatever. We hung out, sipping our drinks. Fred found a photographer friend of his that chatted with us a bit and snapped our picture. Woo!

So the movie was Mulligans. It was actually really good. I liked it, tho the story was painful. But a movie that makes you feel anything has done it’s job. Plus the actors were a pretty bunch. Heh.

After the movie we headed over to Eleven for the VIP after party. Fred was on The List. Richard and I hadn’t been to a nightclub like that in years. It was a big time. Especially the part were we got to go upstairs to the VIP area and hang out with the cast of the film. Again, Fred was on The List. It was awesome… I got to meet Reichen Lehmkuhl who was also at the after party. Let me just pause a moment to let that sink in… 

OMG!OMG!OMG! REICHEN!!! OMG!OMG!OMG!

Okay. So after we got tired of the madness of the club we headed to some sidewalk bar/restaurant for a bit. That was a great time as we got to watch the crazies of WeHo pass by as we ate and enjoyed a few more cocktails. We made it back to the hotel by like 2:30ish. LOL

The next day (Saturday) we didn’t want to rush right out. Obviously a bit of sleeping in and hydrating were in order, plus the traffic going down to San Diego (Pride morning) could be icky… So we left the hotel at checkout time and had an amazing brunch-ish meal at Hugo’s followed by a trip to the old Xanadu site and another trip to The Grove, for shopping. A perfect morning. My friend Fred really is an excellent Cruise Director. Plus he knows his way around. AND he drove. Really, really awesome. As we cruised slowly to the freeway Fred spotted a familiar face. As he pointed out Ms. Doris Roberts, she bent over right on the side of the road to pick up… A COUPON! LOL! Classic! Once on the freeway, on the way home, we sang songs from the Xanadu soundtrack with the windows down in traffic. Just in case people weren’t already aware that the car was full of ‘mos. LOL

Fred pulled up to our house to drop us off at like 4:57 PM. Three minutes to spare. Talk about sticking to the itinerary!

tagged: richard shopping party photo omg house pretty fabulous boys movie

daniel · early evening · 2 comments · ping it

For the first time since we have lived in San Diego, Richard and I are off for Pride Weekend. So what do we do?

Skip town! Really… We are going up to LA tonight for a bit of Outfest ‘08 and an after party. Fred mentioned it to us and I think Richard caught him off guard when he said he wanted to go. Now we are both going! We’ll be back sometime Saturday so we aren’t missing everything. Heh. I just think it’s funny we are leaving town.

tagged: richard party weekend pride saturday

daniel · late morning · say it · ping it

Drunken Watermelon On Tap (via).

tagged: party booze project idea faucet watermelon

daniel · early morning · say it · ping it

I admit. I left the party kinda early. But srsly tho. I lasted longer than I thought I would. It was actually a housewarming, not a ‘garden party’ like I mentioned earlier. But it was in our Sheila’s backyard, which is becoming garden-like. Whatever. You get the idea. I embellished about the garden party. So it was a great little gathering! It’s always fun to meet your good friend’s other friends, right? It was a fun group. Kinda awkward in my regular group though, since there are those we haven’t seen much in a long time. Like a really long time. Like months. It was like hanging out with new people. Plus, I was a bit introverted as it was, what with all the meeting of new people. I don’t ‘meet’ well. That’s Richard’s niche. I can bond, but meeting is tough… Not that I can’t be social, but there is a difference with that. It’s more fake and totally temporary. THAT I am good at. Meeting people I may see again is like total pressure.

Anyhoo. So one of the people at the party I had met a few times. She was getting a bit tipsy, granted. But still, with all the touching! She was constantly touching me. (And swearing. I mean, I love a good f-bomb, but that is a separate issue and a whole other post)

What is with the touching? First of all, I have nothing against people touching me, in most cases. I am not a germ-o-phobe. In fact, there are good friends of mine that I just can’t hug enough… And I get that a ‘hug’ is a friendly greeting totally appropriate among acquaintances. However, it’s the assumed closeness that bugs. Just because you are standing behind me does not merit a hand on my shoulder, as an acquaintance. And wrapping your hands around my face is a bit too much… In fact, way too much. I pulled away saying “oh, that’s.. okay” as I removed her hands. Dumb thing to say, but I was trying to not be rude. I had a Home Ec. teacher once that did that (not actual Home Ec. It was ‘Single Survival’, I am not that gay…) , and I removed her hands from my person and loudly insisted she “DO NOT TOUCH ME”. In the middle of class. Don’t assume you can touch me at random after like 3 meetings.

Anyways, later she tried to hug me again. More touching. Ugh. Our hostess with the mostess caught me backing away… I felt bad, but dude. I was done with it. I had already started strategically placing myself away from this woman to avoid it (and the swearing). I tried to smile, hugged half-heartedly,  then I ran for it…

tagged: party touching housewarming garden touchy-feely

daniel · evening · 1 comment · ping it

Today we are going to a garden party on Coronado Island.

Doesn’t that sound grand?

tagged: party coronado sheila housewarming island

daniel · lunch time · 1 comment · ping it

My alarm went off at three. I am up, having coffee, and generally getting ready for work. I went to bed at 9 so it’s not so bad.

Across the street they had a party that is still going on. I can see them across the way…

I hate that. Not that I’d be partying if I were off today. I’d still be asleep. Heh.

tagged: work neighbors party three am

daniel · terribly early · 3 comments · ping it

Well, I have to say. I think the post-holiday Holiday Party was a success. At one point we had 14 people. Fourteen. In my house. I have never had that many people over in all my life. But what a way to close out the season and ring in the New Year! All of our new friends, some we’ve had for a while, and some that have become like family gathered together like that. It was a blast. Thank you to all that attended. It meant a lot to us. And I love that I can say that there were guys making out on the stairs at my party! Makes it sound really wild, eh? Heh, it just sounds that way. It was a very classy event! I just wish I had taken pictures. There are tons that our friend Sheila took. As soon as I get copies I’ll put them on the Flickr.

Today we have been removing the holiday trim and tree. That is a big ass job! There were a lot of balls on that thing, let me tell you! Of course there is glitter everywhere. I have swept, washed, vacuumed, and wiped. I can still see red sparkles out of the corner of my eye… But the war on glitter will have to wait. My body has finally given in to this cold. I thought I was coming out of it, but today is another story. I am so glad I didn’t get drunk last night or I swear I’d be dead right now. A hang over with this sinus mess? No thanks…

Okay, time to curl up with some tea and a movie.

UPDATE: Got a few shots onto the Flickr.

tagged: holiday party love pictures flickr family glitter mess tree balls

daniel · lunch time · 5 comments · ping it