SOC: crazy, sexy, boo boo

hey sexy,

4 years, huh? can you believe it's been that long? seems like only yesterday when i was checking you out as you walked into dupont italian kitchen, wondering how IT nerds could be so hot. that was definitely one of the best days of my life. who knew that day would be the start of something special, different, liberating, intoxicating, passionate, extraordinary?

certainly not me. i wasn't expecting you to come into my life. wonderful, handsome, intelligent you.

i was a silly girl back then. so emotional yet distant. a cynic who didn't expect to fall in love. pushing people away and being the opposite of having my heart on my sleeve. that heart was under lock and key. and then your love struck me like a lightning bolt and i was forever changed.

you found my heart and now
it's all yours.

4 years is plenty of time to change. and change we did. i wonder if you've noticed how we went from a couple of crazy kids in love to a couple of adults starting our own family (with kittehs!!!). do we make the best team or what?

you are the perfect package. tall (yes, height is important). funny. smart. sensitive. caring. understanding. hot. strong. what did i do to deserve you? how in the world did i get so lucky?

remember when kate told us we don't know how lucky we are. i think we do. we know what we have. that perfect, elusive combination of love passion friendship partnership. yup. we've got it.

they say it's not the destination but the journey. and i wouldn't change a thing. every step we took to get to where we are now? perfect.

every tear i've cried. worth it.
every glance we've exchanged. soulful.
every hug you gave. comforting.
every kiss we've shared. love.
every touch between us. gentle.
every cuddle in bed. blissful.

i found you when i wasn't looking. the love of my life. i love you today and forever.

happy anniversary

whoa! has it been 3 years already?

It all started with my favorite gays—or rather one favorite gay named Roo Roos. Roo Roos, Dave, and I were like the three musketeers, inseparable and loyal. Until one day, a girl named Kris tried to take my place. One could argue that she was trying to be the 4th musketeer, but then you’d have to dismiss the fact that I felt threatened. As Kris and Roo Roos became better friends, I felt neglected and un-special.

As DC Pride 2004 approached, Roo Roos, Dave and I made plans to hang out to commemorate Pride. Shortly after we discussed plans, I heard from my favorite Party Gay, Jason. Jason was planning to celebrate his birthday with dinner on the patio at Dupont Italian Kitchen during the Pride parade. He had invited me to come along. I assured Jason that Roo Roos, Dave, and I would make an appearance at his birthday soiree.

Everything changed when Roo Roos announced that Kris was joining us for our pride parade festivities. In no way did I want to share my first Pride experience with that friend thief, so I told Roo Roos that if Kris was going, I would be making other plans for Pride. Obviously, this caused a rift between Roo Roos and me. Dave tried to play peacemaker to no avail. Roo Roos did the mature thing and didn’t un-invite Kris. Afterwards, I called Jason to let him know that I would be going to his birthday dinner…alone.

The day of the Pride parade, Jason and I spoke shortly before his dinner while I was getting dressed. Jason knew why I would be going to his party solo, but that I wasn’t worried because I was sure I would end up bonding with one of Jason’s gay friends. Jason broke the news gently, “Umm…Liz, there won’t be any other gays there. Besides you, it’s just my work friends and they are all straight, except for the lesbians.” I started to get nervous. No gays? How would I make any friends? I tried to look on the bright side. “Are any of your work friends cute?” Jason laughed. He said with a chuckle, “Boo, I work in IT. They’re all computer nerds. I don’t think they’re your type.” Slightly miffed, I replied, “Hey, I like geeks.” Really, I do. I think intelligence is sexy…just as sexy as a buff pair of arms.

Jason and I showed up to his dinner first, long before his work friends (who lived in the ‘burbs) showed. We chatted for a while over Stoli Razzes and Sprites. And then, his work friends showed. One by one, they entered the crowded D.I.K. patio. Jason stood up to greet his friends. And then I saw Him. The future love of my life. He was tall, dark, broad shouldered, and sexy, with the largest arms I had seen in a long time. He easily could’ve been mistaken for a pro-football player. I was in awe. Since when did computer geeks start looking like sexy athletes?

Jason introduced me to all of his friends and I only could manage to remember the sexy football player-turned computer geek’s name—Jesse. He sat next to me during dinner and I got nervous (until I ordered some more drinks). The whole time, Jesse didn’t look or talk to me once. I was beginning to think that I didn’t have a shot.

After the parade and dinner, Jason wanted to go to Adams Morgan as all the gay bars would be more crowded that usual. As we left D.I.K., I told him I thought Jesse was hot. Jason said (or slurred rather, since he was already drunk), “Yeah, he IS, isn’t he? Too bad he’s straight. You are SO going home with him tonight.” I laughed off his prediction. “Yeah, right,” I said, “He hasn’t even talked to me.” Knowingly, Jason replied, “Trust me.”

As we were walking towards Adams Morgan, the boys were talking sports. Jason brought up baseball. I just so happen to love baseball. I figured that this was my In. Jesse started talking about the Yankees. I told him that I hated the Yankees and asked him if he was a fan. Jesse said with a tone of surprise, “No, I don’t really like the Yankees either.” I got the impression that he wasn’t used to talking to females about sports. So I guessed who his team was: “Do you like Boston?” Jesse replied, “They’re alright. I’m actually an O’s fan. I always cheer for the hometown team.” So then I talked to him about Camden Yards and what a great park it is. From baseball, we started talking about college football and then California, my favorite topic.

The conversation flowed freely as we walked to the bars. We got to Felix and he bought me a drink. Soon we got bored at Felix and we walked over to Millie and Al’s to see Ted, my bartender. As soon as Ted noticed me in the crowded bar, he pointed at me and took my order. The first round was on me. I got Jesse a beer, which I handed to Jason to give to Jesse. Jason told me later that Jesse was shocked. Jesse had told him, “No girl has ever bought me a drink before.” Jason replied, “Yeah, well Liz isn’t like other girls. She’s special.”

I was definitely feeling Jesse but still not sure if he was feeling me. We hung out at the Reef until we headed to Tryst, where I tried to get Jason to sober up. After Tryst, we decided to call it a night, as Jason couldn’t really walk without assistance. As the suburbanites tried to locate their car somewhere around Dupont Circle, I told Jason, “Boo, I need to get a cab so I’m going to walk over to the Circle.” Jason said, “But it’s dark and you’re alone. JESSE! Jesse will make sure you get home ok.” Jason almost shoved Jesse in my direction as we said goodbye to his friends.

We quickly grabbed a cab and headed to my place. He ‘called’ one of his friends to see if he could crash with him after the cab dropped me off. He couldn’t get a hold of the alleged friend. I felt bad about sending him home. Jesse told me that he lived in Centerville. I didn’t know much about the ‘burbs back then, so I assumed if it wasn’t Metro accessible then it’s just TOO FAR. So I told him he could spend the night…on my spare Aerobed.

Well, I could tell you right now that the Aerobed wasn’t used. And I could also tell you that I was on the receiving end of the best cuddling ever.

In those three years, Jesse and I have gone to every Pride parade, bought each other drinks many times, and cuddled until dawn. And despite our difficulties lately, I wouldn’t change a thing (well, except maybe one little thing…).

And today, on our 3 year anniversary, I love him infinitely more than I did three years ago, and I continue to love him more each and every day.

i’m going back to cali, cali, cali

I mentioned a few weeks ago how much I missed home. And I still do. I miss home so much my heart aches. Especially when I get phone calls from my 2-year-old niece, Serena Rose.

A few days ago, my sister called me. Unfortunately, I was working and the call went to voice mail. When I finally checked it, I heard this…

My sister: Hi, Liz. I don’t know where you are right now, but we just wanted you to know that we were thinking of you. Someone wants to tell you something.
Serena Rose: (muffled sounds) Hi, MAH-NEE-NAH…MAH-NEE-NAH!
My sister: Go ahead, Serena.
Serena Rose: OK, bye-bye.

* Not only am I Serena’s aunt, but I am also her baptism sponsor, AKA her godmother. The Spanish word for godmother is ‘madrina.’ Obviously, Serena couldn’t say it right so she called me her ‘manina.’ It was the first time I had ever heard her call me that (which probably means she just learned how to say the word).


I gave her those sunglasses. Doesn't she look like a little diva?

Needless to say, that message just about broke my heart. I saved it, just so I could hear it over and over again. It pains me that all of these milestones keep happening and I’m not there to witness them.

Besides moving, what are my options? Well, I could visit. Jesse and I had been thinking about going somewhere for our upcoming anniversary. Last year, we had gone to San Francisco and we had a lot of fun there. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Since I desperately want to go home and Jesse and I want to travel somewhere that doesn’t involve a wedding, Jesse and I are going to Cali!

So, we’re going to catch an Angel game and a Padres game since I love my Angels and they’ve been kicking ass lately. I’m sure we’ll hang out in San Diego (Jesse’s favorite city in Cali). We’ll hopefully go to Catalina Island and stay somewhere romantic to celebrate the anniversary (belatedly, but that’s ok). And of course, we’ll spend some time with Serena. Hopefully, she’ll be a little less afraid of Jesse this time around.

I CAN'T WAIT!

how saturday became the best pre-anniversary/gay reunion EVER

Remember my bitchy post on Friday? The one where I whined and whined about how Jesse and I would need to share our pre-anniversary celebration with his friend’s birthday? Well, turns out Saturday ended up being all about us (and all of my favorite gays).

We met up with my boys Dave and Enzo for pre-parade food and drinks. We were in the mood for the margaritas so we dined at La Frontera on 17th on the patio. Unfortunately, we were not seated under an umbrella, so we were melting as quickly as the ice in our margarita pitchers. After lunner (lunch + dinner), we claimed a spot to watch the parade. Soon after, we were visited by my favorite party gay, Jason (the friend that brought Jesse and me together), and we settled down to watch the parade.

Jason, Jesse, and me…reminiscing on that fateful day 3 years ago


Mayor Fenty shows his love for the gays (random photog got in the way of my shot)


The be bar school bus seemed to be a popular hangout


The Freddie’s Beach Bar float was soaking the crowd.


Support from the PFLAG-ers makes my eyes teary every year


The Remington’s boys are always a crowd fave.


The Results Gym float celebrated the upcoming opening of their new location on Connecticut and L St.


How cute are the Zipcar peeps?


Speaking of cute peeps…here are Jason and Jesse…


And my boys, cuties Dave and Enzo


Finally, to wrap up my gay reunion, here I am with my boo, Rene, who finally got to meet Jesse


Three years later and we’re right back where we started…

AND he still gives me butterflies!

We didn’t quite make it to the birthday party (which had a little something to do with my tripping on the sidewalk and scraping up my leg pretty bad). Instead, Jesse and I went home and he bandaged me up and took care of me.

Even though I’m still in some pain because of that fall, it was still the most fun I’ve had at the Pride Parade since I met Jesse.

For the full set of pics from Pride, please check out my flickr page.

it’s my pre-anniversary and i’ll bitch if i want to

As the big 3 year anniversary approaches, that means two things—first off, Pride is upon us and secondly, the pre-anniversary is here too. What is a pre-anniversary? A pre-anniversary is this thing I made up when Jesse and I were trying to figure out what date our anniversary should be. Should it be the day that we met, in order to commemorate how special it was to meet during Pride and how it all started when I took Jesse home with me (YES, I took him home with me that very same night and if I hadn’t been a slut that night, who knows where we’d be.). Or should it be the day when Jesse and I had our first official date (which was the following Saturday), a romantic dinner cooked by the future love of my life? Because I did not feel comfortable telling our future grandkids that grandma took grandpa home for some bedtime fun the night we met, I proposed that our anniversary should be the date of our first date.

However, because of the (in my opinion) extraordinary way that Jesse and I met (come on, what straight person meets the love of his/her life at gay Pride?), I wanted to commemorate that in some way. Hence, the Pre-Anniversary was born. The actual pre-anniversary date is the 12th but every year since Jesse and I have been together, we’ve celebrated by going to Pride and watching the Parade (regardless of the date).

This year, I expected to celebrate by doing the usual—dinner and/or drinks at Dupont Italian Kitchen (the site of our infamous meeting) followed by parade-watching fun with friends. It’s almost a re-enactment (yet not exactly because even that would be a little too cheesy for me). But the point is, whether we celebrate just the two of us or with our friends, the day is about us and how that day is our day because it changed everything.

Except this year, it’s not going to feel like our day (and yes, I’m being a pouty brat about it). Apparently, Jesse’s friends have decided to throw a surprise party for one of their friends (don’t worry, she doesn’t read this blog so the surprise won’t be ruined) on Saturday. I don’t really expect Jesse’s friends to know that Saturday is the day of the Pride parade meaning it’s OUR day (Jesse and me, that is). But did they really have to time the party to coincide with the start of the parade? And does the party really have to be in the ‘burbs? They’re making it really difficult to make an appearance at both.

Obviously Jesse is torn. He feels obligated to go to his friend’s party as he wants to celebrate her birthday (which is perfectly understandable). But what he really wants to do is celebrate us and our milestone (just in case you were wondering if I was the only one who was excited about our pre-anniversary). So what do you when there are two obligations going on at the same time? Well, if you’re Jesse and me, you compromise. Boo.

So this means that we have to sacrifice our celebration for this birthday party. The revised plan is to go to the Pride parade for a while and then leave to go to the birthday party. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see the whole parade (which sucks because usually the good stuff is at the end). And we’ll miss the big surprise moment at the party (I’m not too heartbroken about that though). So we’re going to miss the good parts of both of our obligations. AND we both have to sacrifice what we want. Ugh. Whatevs.

I needed to vent, so what better venue to do so than my weekly visit with my shrink extraordinaire, Dr. W. I preempted my story by telling her, “Look, I know that it’s incredibly selfish and self-centered of me to feel this way, but…” Dr. W patiently listened to my story and when I was done, she said, “Well, it’s completely understandable that you feel that way. All you wanted to do was dedicate the day to celebrating your relationship.” She gets me. She really gets me. I told her, “Thank you so much for validating my feelings.”

It’s great that Dr. W told me that it’s ok for me to feel the way I do, but it still doesn’t make me feel any better. Oh well. Looks like I’m just going to have to make the most of it.