Behr Blather 2010 Look Back

I am not sorry to see 2010 leave. It's not been the worst year of my life but it also hasn't been the best. I believe that it can be a good thing to recap or review the year...we realize our accomplishments and failures and it helps us to enter the new year. So briefly here is my Behr Recap:

The first month of what was then the new year set the tone for 2010 and it sucked. My PC and laptop both crashed on me. The upside is I bought a Macbook (and I'm loving it). Unfortunately with the crash of the PC, I suffered a loss of some fantastic pictures. Here on Behr Blather I shared my story Love, Not Love. It was a cathartic experience and one into which I hope I have gained some additional insight.

In the February I had the opportunity to do sound for a production of "Almost, Maine." It was a wonderful show and a tremendous experience.

Not much happened in March. Boring month. I attended a one-day seminar training (it's part of a longer training) for work but other than that I can't remember much.

In April I took my first 2010 trip to SF for work, which was fantastic! I am so thankful for those friends who make time in their busy schedules to see me. I had dinner at favorite places, reacquainted myself with "the wild wood weed" and of course saw my favorite bear in the world.

May brought a new first for me: I hired a gardener. He mows and trims and it saves me from doing it. He's also cleaned out flowerbeds for me and he's always trying to get me to improve the quality of plants in my yard. I'm just thankful I don't have to do the lawn; it's always been the bane of my existence.

June was a busy month, being involved with another theater production and participating in the Arthritis Walk again. On the career front, I co-facilitated a soft skills class so that was an exciting experience.

July was the catalyst for a couple of events and changes in my life. Toward the end of the month I began experiencing sharp pains in my head. I had x-rays of my sinuses and a CAT scan of my head for probable causes.

August brought my second trip to SF for work, just a quick couple days. It ended up being a waste of time, work-wise. However, I again visited favorite restaurants and had the opportunity to cuddle with my favorite bear. I also underwent endoscopic sinus surgery to remove a cyst and straighten my septum. It was quite an experience and I can honestly say that 4 months later I am very glad I had it done.

September saw some recovery time off from work. Other than that, nothing exciting happened.

In October I a sonogram of my carotid arteries done to see if that was causing some dizziness. I also participated in the National Kidney Foundation walk at the Rose Bowl. I obtained some valuable information. I also had the opportunity to do lights for a theater production of "12 Angry Jurors." A lot of fun. I made my annual trek to Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights with my friends M, C, K and M.

I started using vacation time in November. I silently celebrated being in my house for 9 years. There are days I still cannot believe this is my place. It's not the Taj Mahal but it's home.

December has been an emotional month for me. On the work front, a not good thing happened to me. I had to move out of my office into a cubicle to make room for a higher level officer. This was naturally a blow to my ego and also has me fearing for my job, despite what my boss says. I do not look forward to returning to work in the new year. Despite the rest of the year being fine, this new change has really shaken my confidence, drastically changed my attitude, and has increased my stress level. On the other hand, I took three weeks of vacation during which I had a new garage door installed, cleaned out the garage, made a little dent in cleaning out the spare bedroom, bought a new chair for the living room, and basically vegged out.

In looking back over the year, among all of the changes one stands out way on top: I quit smoking. With the exception of one cigarette I have been smoke-free since the end of August. I've had very few cravings and don't miss it at all. Yay me!

There you have it....Behr Blather's 2010 Look Back. My wish for today is that everyone has a safe New Year's Eve. I want you all around for 2011.

BEHR HUGS!

Another Wet Wednesday

Since it is raining again here in Southern California, I thought a wet bear was in order.

Hand him a towel, please.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Movie: The King's Speech

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm quite the anglophile. When I first heard about The King's Speech I was excited, especially since it stars the incomparable Colin Firth who is - imho - long overdue for international recognition. That means he deserves an Oscar. His portrayal in last year's A Single Man was nothing short of brilliant. But I digress. Yesterday afternoon I saw The King's Speech, which incidentally has been nominated for seven Golden Globes.

Quick Plot Outline: George V (Michael Gambon) is ruling but asks his second son, the Duke of York (Firth), to make a speech. Albert (or "Bertie") stutters terribly and makes a laughing stock of embarrassment of himself because of it. To help her husband for future speaking engagements, the Duchess of York (Helena Bonham Carter) employs Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to help the Duke overcome his stutter. In the meantime, the King is becoming weak and the heir apparent, Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) is dating a divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), who he wants to marry but can't if he is to be king. George V dies, Edward abdicates, Bertie becomes King, and Parliament declares war on Germany. Bertie - now George VI re-enlists Logue who eventually helps him with his first war time speech.

The film is rated R for language; evidently the Duke of York does not stutter when he swears! The language isn't directed at anyone, isn't gratuitous, and is definitely one of the humorous highlights. In fact, the movie is full of bits of humor although it does hit a serious note or two towards the end.

All of the performances were wonderful. I especially enjoyed Gambon as George V and Claire Bloom as Queen Mary. Firth was wonderful, and Rush is as always the consummate actor. The big surprise was Helena Bonham Carter as Elizabeth. She returned to her Howard's End days in this performance. She was quite proper and spot on as the (future) Queen Mum. And a word about Eve Best: the only think lacking in her portrayal as Wallis Simpson was the mole. She was scarily spot on!

The movie is just shy of two hours but it doesn't feel overly long. Everything about the film - the acting, the costuming, the set design - is pitch perfect. I highly recommend The King's Speech for anyone who has an interest in British period pieces. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a full 5. I'm no expert but I saw no flaws or drawbacks. Definitely the movie I'll be rooting for at Oscar time.

BEHR HUGS

The Monday After

This is how happy I am that we're through with the holiday....yesterday I de-Christmased the house! It's true: I can be a Scrooge when it comes to the holiday. My heart just hasn't been into it for the past few years. I don't know why this is, but once again it didn't "feel" like Christmas to me. I've had a difficult time "catching the spirit" if you know what I mean. I often chalk it up to being single. While I don't necessarily mind being single - and actually have accepted my singleness - I think the holidays are more enjoyable with someone in your life. In the past ten years, the three Christmases that stand out most are those when I was dating someone.

I have no New Year's plans. I've never been a big NYE person; some years I go to the movies but usually I stay home and play it safe. My friends Dan and Mark usually have a New Year's Day party but they've had to cancel this year due to health issues. I'm sad but of course I completely understand.

I'm on my last week of vacation. I am not finished with my garage project or front bedroom project but have made a little leeway. Not sure if I mentioned this (and I"m way too lazy to look back at my previous posts) but I had a new garage door installed. I had the old heavy wood door secured with springs replaced with a galvanized steel door that is on rollers and a pulley system. This is something I've been wanting to do and I finally took the opportunity. It all worked out well - from the estimate to installation. The new door really makes a difference to the property, too. So although it isn't something really exciting, it is an improvement to the property. It's also a helluva lot easier to open the garage door now, too! (Go on...admit it...you're jealous at the excitement that is my life.)

During my final week I want to hit the movies and Disneyland as well as continue working on the garage/front bedroom projects. Hopefully we'll have more days of good weather than bad. I'm afraid the week will fly by but so be it.

The best part has been that Winston loves that I'm home.

BEHR HUGS

He Sees You When You're Sleeping....

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S!

Thank you one and all for following Behr Blather. You don't know what your support means to me. I'm proud and happy that you find something here.

Whatever your beliefs, whatever your dogma, whatever your stance...I hope the season brings you happiness and joy.

BEHR HUGS!!

Behr Pick: Christmas Angel 2

This is the angelic companion of yesterday's post.

You know you're hoping for a heavenly visitation now, aren't you?

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Christmas Angel 1

Christmastime is full of imagery, both secular and non-secular. One such image, of course, is the angel...from the Angel Gabriel to the angels heard on high. This "angel" definitely looks as if he's heaven-sent. He could bring me the "good news" any day of the week.

Angelic BEHR HUGS

Hump Day: Santiago Aragon

Santiago and I want to wish you a happy hump day!

So last night was my annual Christmas dinner with two friends, R and L. R is a straight, married female and L is a straight single female. Both are older than I (what's age but a number, right) so occasionally when the conversation revolves around television shows from the 50's I'm lost. The three of us met at the theater and I'm not sure how long we've been doing this annual dinner. Over 20 years, at least. I missed one year because of health issues but otherwise we've been going strong since the late 80's.

When we started this tradition there were four of us...the fourth was a gay single male. I do not wish to speak ill of the dead so suffice it to say that his participation was often sporadic. He passed away about five years or so ago from complications of AIDS. The sad commentary is that he turned from a fun-loving guy to a bitter and obnoxious hater who was difficult to be around.

For nearly a decade we've met at Portofino's, a fine Italian restaurant. The three of us always do it proper, with a starter, bottle of wine, entree, and dessert with coffee. The wonderful thing is that we are not rushed and usually take about two hours for dinner, conversation, and gift giving. Last night was three and a half hours! This was primarily due to a delay between starter and our salads but it gave us time to chat.

I always look forward to this meal with friends; we've all agreed that it's nice to spend a couple of hours with good friends and forget the holiday madness. I hope it's a tradition we continue for many more years.

What special time do you take for the holidays?

BEHR HUGS

Animals Sing Jingle Bells

Hilarious....I played it over and over and laughed and laughed. Winston approves as well.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Sunday Favorite 51

Love knows no color, size, shape, or gender.

It doesn't know if you're a banker, retail clerk, mechanic, doctor, or soldier.

Love just is.

BEHR HUGS

Random Hotness

Tis the season for many holidays and traditions based on many religions and ethnicities. In honor of that, here is a cross-section of hotness, which as you can see comes in all colors and forms.

BEHR HUGS

Friday Fur: Black and White Edition

Here I am at the end of my first week of vacation and I wonder where the time went. I'm starting to panic again about the projects that I feel are hanging over my head. I know how I can procrastinate and how long it takes me to accomplish things. Little things keep cropping up that cut into my time. At least I'm finished with my holiday gift shopping and gift wrapping. That's a big relief from earlier in the week. I suppose it's just a matter of taking each day as it comes, eh?

BEHR HUGS

More Holiday Humor

I missed these in my earlier post. I especially like the snowman cartoon.

BEHR HUGS

Blake Edwards (1922-2010)

I just now read that Blake Edwards has passed at the age of 88. Best known for his slapstick comedies - the Pink Panther series, for example - he also directed the iconic "Breakfast at Tiffanys" starring Audrey Hepburn. His other comedies include S.O.B. and Victor Victoria (one of my favs).

Edwards' wife - the iconic Julie Andrews - was by his side at his passing.

Check out his IMDB page here: Blake Edwards

R.I.P.

Tattoo Thursday

If you're like me, you're thinking...."What tattoo?"

Try to guess which is my favorite.....

BEHR HUGS

Holiday Humor

I received these from a friend via e-mail...there were more but these are the ones I had not seen before. Enjoy!

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Treasure Trail

Alice had her rabbit hole.

We have the treasure trail.

Both lead to wonderland.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Jason Sokody Redux

There seems to be a rash of Jason Sokody posts lately, here on Blogger and elsewhere. Since he's a personal favorite, I thought I'd jump on the band wagon.

This picture is unlike anything else you've seen him do: the shaved head, the furry chest, and the massive arms and chest that look as if they're bigger than ever. This is Jason at his absolute daddy best.

Enjoy.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pain

I woke up this morning with a migraine.

Just my luck...it's the first Monday of my vacation and the forecast is for beautiful weather. Ugh. I'm fairly certain a lot of it has to do with my panic over Christmas. Plus the stress of last week's work situation.

So today is a brief post.

BEHR HUGS

Sunday Favorite: 50

This is the 50th post of Sunday Favorite...kind of a milestone in a way that I've done such a post for nearly a year. Where does the time go?

I found this picture over on Dark Flex. Once again, if you have a hankering for "dark" meat this is definitely the blog to visit. Spectacular photos of spectacular men. I know that black and latin men aren't everyone's cup of tea; yet there is still no denying the exquisite beauty of these men. Today's example is one I can sit and just stare at for a very long time...the black and white photography only heightens the sensuality and beauty of this unnamed model. The light and shadows dancing off of his ebony skin is brilliant. I've never been a true muscle worship fan...but this is one time I will make an exception.

BEHR HUG

Xmas Funny

A friend sent this to me and it made me LOL.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: TGIFF

Thank God It's Furry Friday!!

I've had an extremely rough and emotional work week. The only saving grace is that after 12 noon today I am officially on vacation. Imagine it...three weeks of sleeping in. Can you say heaven?

BEHR HUGS

Hump Day

I like how these two look as if they've been interrupted.

Go on guys, it's okay... continue.

I like to watch.

BEHR HUGS

Muscle Monday

Happy Monday....may it be quick and painless.

BEHR HUGS

Sunday Behr Blather

Yes it's me. I know I've been away this past week. My absence was due to a busy work week and feeling over tired. There was little to share and I just stepped back from my usual online presence. It's also that time of year where I fight to keep my inner demons at bay. Thanks to those who inquired after my well-being.

Alright, that aside, onto some bits.

The other evening as I was headed toward the escalator to go to the lowest level in order to catch the subway bound for Union Station, a very cute papi stepped onto the escalator. He started down and glanced up at me and there was a "moment" that our eyes kind of locked. After I made the U-turn to get onto the same down escalator he turned around and looked up past me as if he was looking for someone...then he locked eyes with me. He then turned away and that was that. I know if I had smiled perhaps the "missed connection" would have turned out differently. But since I didn't smile at him he probably assumed that I wasn't interested. But he did check me out. And he was cute.

Another evening on the subway I saw a woman who definitely is a drag queen wannabe. She has short red hair that has blond highlights. It's cut in that style where the bangs on either side of her face are long but the back is shaped short. Plus it looked like she had had Botox injected into her overly done lips; her lip liner was about 10 shades too dark for the lipstick. To top it all off, she either glued caterpillars to her eyelids or her mascara barfed on her eyelashes. There wasn't time to take a picture of her. I was amused.

One more week of work! It should prove to be somewhat easy going as well. On Monday is the divisional holiday party (I work in HR) and on Friday the team holiday party (Training Dept). The other days will be spent finishing curriculum that I will debut in January. Other than that, it should be a quiet and uneventful week.

I tried yesterday to get into the holiday spirit by pulling down all of my Christmas storage tubs from the garage and taking them into the house. In doing so, I popped out my left knee again so of course the tendinitis is back. I set up the fake tree in the living room. I haven't decorated it yet; I think I'll wait and give Winston time to acclimate to its existence again. He's been sitting under it and biting the fake limbs. And probably swallowing the fake needles. To top things off, he's been a real wuss-puss; I swear his picture is under the dictionary definition of "scaredy-cat." He seems to jump at and/or run away from everything these days.

That's about all I have for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. BEHR HUGS