Behr Pick: Windows

As I mentioned the other day, I had a long weekend. I've already shared Friday's adventures. I'm not ready to talk about Saturday in its entirety because I'm trying to wrap my head around something that happened. But I do want to share one thing in particular.

A few years ago I met P at a party. Looks were exchanged and compliments passed but that's all that happened. Recently I found him on a bear social networking site and we've reconnected. In our "getting to know you" exchanges I found out that he works at a gay youth center here in my hometown. I had no idea one existed.

He told me that there's also a gay men's discussion group for gay and bisexual men aged 27 and better. He invited me to attend Saturday's meet. On a whim I decided to go. I had a really nice time and met some really nice guys. I went with the intention of keeping my mouth shut. Ha! Fat chance. I talked a lot. But it was good. One of our topics of discussion was "what have you done to make you proud to be gay." We only numbered about seven but we were a diverse group: one Asian (I think technically Korean, I'm not sure), two Caucasians, and four Latinos. Three were in their late 20's, I'm in my late 40's, one was in his early 50's (guessing) and I'm not sure about the last guy. I am looking forward to participating in this group. I honestly never really had much of a support group when I was younger and being able to talk to other men about my experiences as a gay man is cathartic. It's also empowering to hear others' stories. And it's not going to be all talk; this coming weekend we're planning on a hike in the local hills.

Yesterday afternoon I got into a weird mood after returning home from visiting my folks. I ended up culling my FB friend list. I cut 36 people. I still have 128 "friends." My criteria for keeping someone was whether or not I knew him/her in the flesh. For those who are "cyber" friends, it came down to the amount of interaction we've shared. I'm happy to say that ALL of my blogger friends made the cut!

And here we are back to Monday again. Oh joy.

BEHR HUGS!

Sunday Favorite: 54

I'm still dumbfounded about my amazing yesterday...so kindly talk amongst yourselves.

BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Tim

As I mentioned yesterday, I had the day off. It was a really good day. I did the laundry and ironing to get it all out of the way. I went to the movies in the late morning and in the afternoon I met chat friends at Disneyland Resort.

Since laundry isn't that exciting I'm going to skip over that part of the day.

I went to see The Black Swan starring Natalie Portman. I'm sure some of you have see it and possibly have blogged about it. I'd been wanting to see it before the awards season officially started and now with the Golden Globe wins and Oscar nominations in place, I had to check it out.

If I were to describe this movie to someone I would say it's The Turning Point meets Identity. In other words, a ballet movie that much of takes place inside one of the character's mind. Maybe I didn't get it but I had unanswered questions at the end. And usually that annoys me but with this film I thought it was a good thing since it allows each person watching it to walk away with a different thought as to what really happened. Listen to me making it sound like a whodunit. Really though, the question remains: was Nina crazy crazy or just so overwhelmingly pressured that she went crazy.

The supporting cast is terrific: Mila Kunis as the sweet bad girl who you like and hate; Vincent Cassel as the brilliant yet slimy director; Winona Ryder as the tragically replaced principle dancer; and Barbara Hershey as the overbearing, somewhat psychotic, passive-aggressive mother who blames her successful daughter for her own failures. I believe Kunis and Hershey were both overlooked for deserving Oscar noms. So I'm recommending The Black Swan. It could be a Netflix/cable movie but definitely check it out. For me there was enough grace, elegance, and thrills to make it watchable and enjoyable.

In the afternoon I met R & K at Disneyland Resort. R and I have been chatting for a while on a bear social networking site. It was nice to finally meet him and his husband (they're one of the 18,000 legally married gay couples in California) and spend time getting to know them better. We rode a couple of rides and mainly spent time talking. It was nice.

So that was Friday.

Today's behr pick, Tim, comes to us probably from some social networking site where I discovered his amazing countenance. Hope you find him as woofy as I do.

It's Saturday....go enjoy it. BEHR HUGS

Behr Pick: Long Weekend

There are advantages to working for the company I do; if a Federal holiday falls on a Saturday we usually get a "floating" holiday in lieu of. That float day must be taken any time 30days before or after the actual holiday. So today I am enjoying another 3-day weekend, thanks to New Year's Day.

Last night I had a blind date.

I recently joined yet another social networking site, one that caters to men of a larger stature and their admirers. I like this site for the fact that - with a basic, non-fee paying membership - one can still see who is looking at your profile. I've had several messages already from men of varying attractiveness and in varying geographical locations.

I usually won't meet someone if they don't have a profile picture or fill out the basic information. But this guy - let's call him Jack - didn't have a picture and only listed his age and CA residence (no city). He messaged me and asked if I would like to meet. Based on his age - I'll talk about that momentarily - I thought that the missing picture was due to his not being out. I was correct. He was a nice kid. It surprised me that he is Asian primarily because of the agreed upon meeting location is predominantly Hispanic. He attends a nearby community college, works (I didn't quite catch the name of the business), and has been here in the U.S. for three years. His accent is a bit heavy and the usual jokes of replacing "R" and "L" is not too far off the mark. I cannot remember now what he said but in my head I was laughing because I knew what he meant despite the wrong consonants and vowels being used. He's 25, lives with friends although his family is somewhere nearby, and he is in the closet. We talked for about 2 1/2 hours. I imagine he'll contact me again just to hang out.

I'm hoping this weekend to catch at least one if not two or three of the Oscar-nominated films. I also hope to do a little work in the yard and meet up with friends at Disneyland. It's been a long crazy work week and I'm ready to relax. Oh waiter! I'll have another cocktail now!

BEHR HUGS!

Behr Pick: Brian

Thanks to those who weighed in on yesterday's blog question. I am pleased that it's not just pictorial interest that brings you here. Speaking of, today's featured bear is Brian. Not sure where I found his picture but I'm glad I did. He reminds me of someone (no, not S) although that someone is handsomer. Not that Brian here is ugly. Oh no, not by a long shot. I have a thing for the shaved head-full beard look. And the body fur drives me crazy. Love. It.

Yesterday was a crazy work day. Between class participants who wouldn't STFU in the morning and the test system not working in the afternoon, I had my hands full of temperamental colleagues and miscommunication with my boss (it wasn't a big deal), I was ready for the weekend. One more day - today - then I'll be enjoying a long weekend.

I have yet to tune into American Idol; I think I'm passing this season. Or maybe I'll tune in after the audition process is over. I watched RuPaul's Drag Race 3 on Hulu (I don't have cable) and already dislike half of the dragtestants. I'm rooting for Delta Work because she's the local gal and I've met her boy persona. I also like Raj; I liked his comment about making new strides as drag queens. Loved his cyclops hat.

That's about all I have for today. I don't say it often, but THANK YOU to all of my followers and the occasional dropper-inner. I appreciate your feedback and that you come here. Have a thrilling Thursday!

BEHR HUGS!