As many of you already know, I'm making a triumphant return trip to New York at the end of June for Pride and, hopefully, some job interviews.

In my zealous rush to book my flights before JetBlue jacked up the prices AGAIN, I forgot about Leif. With Hillary in Europe and Brandon in New York, I'm without one of my regular catsitters.

If there are any faithful readers who live or work around the east side (Pima/Wilmot area), and are willing to come over every day for a week to give Leif some food and attention, please e-mail me.

He really is a darling man-pussy, and I'd be happy to make a modest but reasonable contribution to your gas fund. He doesn't generally bite the hand that feeds him, though some initial hissing may be in order. He'll get over that quick when he's starved for affection.

Leif would need a caretaker from Friday, June 27 through Wednesday, July 2. Please and thank you!

Labels: Leif, New York

My New Year's wishes for all my loved ones are more or less the same wishes I have for myself: a life well-lived, full of love, bliss, grace, compassion, success and peace of mind.

2008 is going to be our best year yet. I can just feel it. My most sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you faithful readers for helping me through 2007 and making it memorable and mostly positive. May we each continue on our individual paths of personal growth and fulfillment in 2008, with new breakthroughs and ever more profound epiphanies.

I send my love to you and to those who only read rarely or not at all. We create our own destinies, and 2008 will surely be a year of fulfillment of those amazing, terrific, empowered destinies.

Please use the comments to set your intention for the year and share it with others so that we may all be inspired by it. My biggest intention for 2008 is to manifest the resources and the courage to create the life for myself that I want to lead, which may or may not take me to NYC permanently.

Your turns.

Labels: celebration, growth, hope, moving, new year, New York, opening to grace, personal, strength, success, transformation, wisdom

From Spring Awakening:



Can you tell why I loved it?

Labels: musicals, New York, theatre

Link to full album here.

I figured I'd do the slideshow here rather than individual pictures. I'll be adding captions to some of them. I'll also probably weed out some of the not so great pictures. Anyway, without further ado, Goodbye 20's, Hello NYC!

Labels: birthday, New York, personal, photos

My flight arrived about a half hour earlier than scheduled. Jason and Brandon came to pick me up. I'm home now with a very appreciative and affectionate cat. That helps me be less sad about being back in Tucson.

I have to extend thanks yet again to Miriam for her hospitality throughout the last week, to Damon and Tamara for traveling from Philly to spend time with me, to Marla for helping me ring in my 30's just the way I wanted to, to Debra for the wonderful birthday massage, to Mell for dinner and the great conversation, to Teddi and Jack and David for being so pleasantly surprised to see me, to Mitch for being Mitch, to Hillary for taking care of Leif and taking me to the airport - I literally couldn't have taken my vacation without her, and to Jason and Brandon for being the friendly faces I needed to see when I got back to Tucson.

On the flight home, I kept getting a little teary. Not out of sadness at returning, mind you, though I would rather still be in New York. No, I'm misty even now at the realization at just how lucky I am to have people like these in my life, even if I rarely get to see them. I'm fortunate to have the means to take a trip like this. I'm truly blessed in so many ways, and I'm so fucking grateful for all of it. Cat included (he's sitting next to me purring as I type this).

When I was in JFK waiting to board and searching desperately for New York anything-edible to bring in for my client, I realized why New York's siren song calls to me. There's just an sense there that anything is possible, which, coincidentally, has become my mantra over the past year. It's a hard feeling to hold onto in a place like Tucson, where the options tend to be limited. I'm trying to stay positive here, because I've certainly managed to create wonderful opportunities for myself out here. But am I truly living up to my full potential? Or is there more for me?

My 30's are going to be the best decade yet for me. To make that happen, I have to be positioned appropriately. It's like Tucson is missionary and I like more kink out of life. There's nothing inherently bad about the missionary position - it gets the job done. It's just not always the most fun way to do it, and it's certainly not very imaginative.

I've said it before on this blog, that I moved to Tucson for the wrong reasons. But moving to New York feels so right to me. I'd be moving for me. Now all I need is a job when I get there and at least $5,000 in the bank. How hard can that be?

I should probably just go to bed. I'll upload pictures in the morning. Pinky swear.

Labels: celebration, challenge, change, friendship, hope, Jason, Miriam, moving, New York, sex, strength, success, Tucson

OK, so I'm no General MacArthur, and this isn't southeast Asia, but the sentiment is the same.

I'm in the terminal at JFK, using one of jetBlue's FREE wifi hotspots (no wonder the legacy carriers are dying the slow, painful deaths they so richly deserve).

This has been the best trip I've ever taken - and the best birthday present anyone could have given me. Truly terrific. I can't wait to plan my next one here - or my move here. Hopefully that'll go better than my intended move to a new apartment in Tucson...

I'll upload my pictures when I get back to Tucson, but I did capture some great memories. Last night I saw my cousin Dave perform at Caroline's, met a guy I'd only ever chatted with forever who moved to New York about two years ago, then ended at a bar in Brooklyn where I saw a very dear friend from college who I haven't seen in almost six years.

And though I love it here, I'm also surprisingly OK with going back to Tucson. I guess it pays to have a cat that I miss!

Now I'm going to grab a quick bite before they start boarding.

Fear not, New York, I shall return!

Labels: birthday, friendship, moving, New York, personal

So November was great. I was a little apprehensive about Nathan Lane in a straight (no pun intended) play, but his performance was remarkable. The whole small cast, really. And the lighting design was by a well-known (for that kind of thing) Ithaca College alumnus.

After the matinee, I came back to my hotel room briefly. I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to make the most of my City Pass and haul ass over to the MOMA. I love that place!

The icing on the cake though was when I walked out of one of the galleries and was admiring an interesting piece of art (a black-framed mirror with a light floating in the middle of it), when I noticed a vaguely familiar face. Not wanting to stare, I realized who it was after a couple of furtive glances.

It was John Cameron Mitchell.

Ohmygodohmygodohmyfuckinggod!

This man is a creative genius and he was right there next to me. I had my camera out because I was snapping photos of the art I particularly liked, and I didn't have the nerve to ask for a picture with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ack indeed!

Ah well. I'm waiting for my uncle to get here so we can make our 7:15 reservations. Tomorrow: possibly the Today Show, that 11:00 AM massage, the Natural History Museum, and then Caroline's (I think).

What a fabulous whirlwind!

Labels: birthday, New York, personal, theatre

I'm having a great time in New York. I got to spend time with my friend Damon, who I lived with my senior year at Ithaca and who I haven't seen in a few years. I've been spending a lot of quality time with Miriam, which is wonderful. (I forgot to add that we went to see Hannah and Her Sisters last night at the Film Forum...there really is nothing like seeing a Woody Allen film on a big screen in NYC) Tonight I'll have dinner with my uncle and then see my friend Marla.

So far I've been to the Met and the Guggenheim and we went to see Spring Awakening on Friday night. I'm about to head down to the TKTS booth to buy a matinee ticket to David Mamet's new play, November, starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.

Tomorrow (my birthday!), I may just try to get to the Today Show (Dad really wants me to). Then I have a deep tissue massage scheduled, thanks to my sister (thanks Deb!). I'm going to try and get down to the MoMa tomorrow too. Then tomorrow night, my cousin David is performing his stand-up act at Caroline's.

I said I was going to make the most of this trip, and damnit, I am! When I get back, I'll try to start doing a better job of saving, because I've been reminded of just what I'm missing in Tucson!

Labels: birthday, Debra, Miriam, musicals, New York, personal, the arts, theatre

I've arrived, in one piece. Miriam met me at the airport. Actually, she was a little late because the train was only running local, and then she got a little lost once she got to JFK, but what a trooper for venturing out so early in the morning! I'm blogging from her bed right now, while she's at work. I'm heading into Manhattan in a few to dick around there until she gets done with work, then it's off to dinner and who knows what.

Needless to say, I've been swamped getting ready for this trip and making sure life was in order enough that I wouldn't return to chaos next week. I've been derelict in my blogging duties, I know. I completely missed blogging both my homoversary and my yogaversary. So happy both of those to me!

I brought my camera and will hopefully have pictures to post, if not while I'm here, then definitely when I get back to Tucson.

And I am still taking souvenir requests.

Labels: birthday, homoversary, Miriam, New York, personal, yoga

I feel selfish posting this, but here's a wishlist of what you can get me to help me further enjoy my birthday trip to NYC:

1. The Big Apple Helicopter Flight
2. New York, New York Helicopter Flight
3. The New York Pass
4. New York CityPass
5. NYC Soul Food and Jazz in Harlem
6. Monty Python's Spamalot On Broadway
7. Legally Blonde On Broadway
8. A Chorus Line On Broadway
9. Curtains On Broadway
10. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee On Broadway
11. Spring Awakening On Broadway
12. New York Dinner in Style with Broadway Show - Private Tour
13. Xanadu On Broadway
14. Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Lyndhurst
15. New York MealTicket™

Labels: New York, personal

Spectacular Room

Be seduced by the view exclusive to floors 31 to 57. Feeling like a mini ruler of the big apple, take in the sensuous details, like the luminous amber colored tables and provocative lighting. Toast your realm with cocktails from the minibar. Establish a soft back beat with a CD from the library. Link in with High-Speed Internet Access, put your feet up on the floating glass desk, and phone home with the dual line phone (one is cordless). Then delight in the sexy touches, like the sleek plasma TV, glass-enclosed voyeur shower and floating sinks. Invigorate with the legendary Bliss lemon + sage Sinkside Six. Then sink into the comfort of soft terry robes and the W signature king or two double beds, wrapped in silky 350-thread count linens, our custom pillow-top mattress, featherbed, down-filled duvet and goose down pillows.

I'll be staying there for four nights.

Labels: birthday, New York, personal

It's official, I bought my JetBlue tickets this morning. I'll be in New York December 20-25 (leaving on a redeye at 11:59 PM on December 19). I'll take souvenir requests, but I'm not making any promises.

Thanks to Hillz for watching over the furball while I'm gone, till she heads back east herself. And thanks to Miriam for putting me up part of the time I'm there. The rest of my nights will be spent in a Fabulous Room (that's really what it's called, I swear!) at the glam W Hotel Times Square.

Labels: birthday, Hillary, Miriam, New York, personal

Excuse me, 'debt with disabilities'.

Since getting laid off at the end of July, I've been avoiding looking seriously at my financial picture because I was afraid of what I might see.

You see, thanks to my severance package and a lucrative consulting practice, my bank account has actually been healthier than it's ever been. And I like having that extra cushion. So I have been a little slow in paying some bills. That's not really new, but the beefed-up bank account has been helping me psychologically through an uncertain period of quasi-employment.

But the persistent and obnoxious calls from my creditors was starting to be too much to handle - there are only so many times a day I want to be interrupted in what I'm doing so I can hit the ignore button on my cell phone.

So I sat down tonight to look at my finances through the end of this calendar year. Turns out, I'll continue to be fine. I can afford to take that birthday trip, and I could also, as it turns out, afford to pay off one of my credit cards entirely. Combined with paying off my computer last month, I'm now back down to one credit card with a balance on it, and I may even be able to pay that one all the way off by the end of the year too.

Financial insecurity, which plagued me most of the time I've lived in Tucson, when I made far less than I was worth at a job I stayed at far longer than I should have, is now a thing of the past, at least for now. And I attribute this newfound freedom at least in part to my yoga practice, which has taught me the fine art of letting go and flowing with grace.

I should write a book.

(I am, actually, writing a book proposal, but that'll be on communications strategies for smaller non-profits)

Labels: finances, New York, personal, success, yoga

As I really started getting down into the nitty-gritty of planning this NYC trip, I started having some anxiety around money, which I think is understandable given that my employment after the end of this calendar year is not certain.

So rather than giving in to the anxiety altogether, I started loosening my criteria for this trip to find cheaper airfare and hotel combinations. Right now, I'm looking at flying JetBlue on December 19 (a red eye arriving December 20) and staying at the W Hotel Times Square until December 25. I really love flying on Christmas Day because it's the only day of the year when there is actually elbow room on the planes. That's right, goyim, give me that one day where I don't have to deal with all of you in travel hell! Ha!

I think five nights is plenty. Now I just need to find someone who will actually still be in Tucson to take care of Leif while I'm gone...

Labels: birthday, Leif, New York

I don't really have enough on any single topic to justify posting, so here are a few droppings on an assortment of things. Now with linky-goodness in almost every bite!

I'm edging closer to making reservations for my birthday trip to NYC, I just want to make sure I can afford it. You only turn thirty once, right? Unless you're my mother, in which case you just keep turning 29 year after year.

Speaking of Phyllis: her latest quip that made me uneasy, from a couple of weeks ago. When they were back east, they decided that instead of getting buried in caskets when they die, they will be cremated (to save us kids the money and trouble, of course). As mom put it, they're going to get "crispy-fried". She kept repeating "crispy-fried crispy-fried crispy-fried" with almost a southern twinge, like she was trying to channel the Colonel.

It will be public knowledge soon enough, so I think it's safe to leak it on the ole blog first: I've been named Outstanding Advocate of the Year by the Men's Anti-Violence Partnership of Southern Arizona. I'll receive my award along with five other honorees at the MAP Gala on November 18 at the Westin La Paloma. I'm deeply honored to be among such an amazing group.

Yes, Wingspan's Executive Director resigned after less than a month on the job. No, it's not the end of the world. Wingspan was around before Kent Burbank and Joseph Bodenmiller, and it will be around after them. The strength of the organization lies not in its figurehead, but in the community that has built and sustained it over the last 20 years. The sky is not falling. This too will pass. Chill.

Speaking of Wingspan, the Annual Benefit Dinner is September 29. Have you bought your ticket yet? I hear they've sold out.

I really love being a consultant. No, really. If I can figure out how to do this and continue making a good living, I'm totally doing it. Health insurance be damned!

Patreus or Betray Us? The Republicans are just grumpy because MoveOn came up with a pithy rhyme and Republicans hate whimsy as much as Germans love David Hasselhoff.

I bought my Avenue Q ticket! Yay! And I bought it as part of the LGBT&S Alliance Fund benefit, so it's going to a good cause. The internet is really really great...

I have a new favorite TV show. Mad Men on AMC. I love anything mid-century Americana, but this has an edge of realism that I particularly admire. Television Without Pity has it on their recap roster.

I also recommend Moliere, which is playing at the Loft. In case you don't know, Moliere is often referred to as the French Shakespeare. Which I'm sure the French love.

And finally, my yoga practice was thrown off by being out of town last weekend and by meetings in the evenings throughout this week. In the last 7 days, I only made it to yoga class twice. Saturday's 3-hour yoga practice has been canceled due to a major event at the studio. I hope not all of the classes are canceled, or I may be one very grumpy yogi when Monday rolls back around.

Labels: birthday, career, jobs, MAP, mom, musicals, New York, personal, Republicans, television, theatre, Wingspan, yoga

Today is important for two reasons.

First, take some time today to remember that awful day six years ago when more than 3,000 people had their lives senselessly stolen from them. Mourn them and the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have had their lives stolen in the names of those who perished on 9/11.

Then, if you live in Arizona, go vote in the primary. There is no greater act of civic involvement, and no better way to honor the memory of the victims of September 11th, than going to your polling station and casting a ballot.

Labels: 2007 City Elections, New York, September 11th, vote

First, Merry Christmas to my many goyim friends.

Yoga Oasis was offering a free class this morning, so I figured I'd go. When I got there (only a couple of minutes before the class was about to start), the parking lot was packed. Busier than I'd ever seen it, though my frame of reference is admittedly small. Rather than staying, I decided to practice at home, which I ought to be doing anyway.

On my way home, I stopped by Casa Video to see if there was anything there I wanted to rent. For my four-year anniversary at the Center Against Sexual Assault, some of my colleagues chipped in and bought me, among other things, a Casa gift certificate. I've only used it once, so today I figured I might as well take advantage of my credit.

I rented Oh! Calcutta! and the second season of Little Britain. I was going to rent this other movie with Elijah Wood (who I've had a little crush on for years, Lord of the Rings nonsense notwithstanding). But the cover said it had extreme violence in it, and I'm not in the mood for that right now.

Side note: Hair is often credited as being the first Broadway musical with nudity, but it was actually Oh! Calcutta!. My high school chorus teacher frequently pointed that out for some reason. Also noteworthy, Oh! Calcutta! counts among its authors John Lennon and Sam Shepard.

So I came home (after nearly an hour of wandering around Casa), laid out my yoga mat, and proceeded to practice as best I could. I did all right. In fact, I did better than all right: I did a backbend rather effortlessly! Backbends are supposed to be good for stimulating the thyroid and pituitary glands and for heightening mood. Given how I feel right now, I'm inclined to believe it.

As I was typing this, Miriam called me to ask for a ride home from the airport later tonight. I'm so excited to have her back (for however long it lasts till she moves to NYC for good). She's usually my birthday buddy - what else would two Jews do on Christmas Eve but spend it together going to a movie?

This year I went to see The History Boys at the Loft by myself. I did enjoy the movie. I especially appreciated the reminder of the future subjunctive tense - that which may or may not happen. Seemed rather a fitting concept for me to think about on my birthday.

I also want to thank Hillary for spending so much time with me this weekend. She had an extra ticket to see the Arizona Theatre Company production of Ella on Thursday, came to my party on Friday, and went to yoga class with me on Saturday, after which she treated me to brunch at the Blue Willow for my birthday. And then she sent me a happy birthday text message yesterday.

I feel really blessed - as blessed as an atheist can feel - to have such light and love in my life. In the year ahead, I commit to remaining open to grace.

Labels: birthday, British comedy, celebration, Hillary, Miriam, musicals, New York, personal, relationships, Tucson, yoga

Still not really wanting to be absorbed into the MySpace evil empire, I popped over to see if I could find my friend Miriam's blog to read it without signing up. As luck would have it, I can read up on her adventures in NYC without selling my soul.

I always knew Miss M could write, but I never knew what an incredibly talented scribe she is. She's in New York visiting her sister (hi Ryvka!) and all her friends who she claims have deserted her by moving to the city. And now she's contemplating moving there too.

I'd miss her terribly, but I think it could be a good move for her. New York City is a frenetic, vibrant metropolis that I think would really suit her. I'd of course be terribly bitter and jealous, but I can also be a supportive friend. Really. I know I could.

I anxiously await Miriam's return to Tucson so she can regale me with all her wild tales of adventure and drunken revelry. Until then, keep living the dream, Miss M, keep living the dream!

Labels: Miriam, New York, personal, Rupert Murdoch's evil empire, social networking