Where's The Harvey Milk Of Today?

Today I watched "The Times of Harvey Milk". What an awesome documentary. I knew a little bit about Harvey Milk, mainly from my visit to San Francisco and the Castro. But this documentary shows what a really power politician he was.

If we look at the politicians we have today, how many of them can we say are truly charismatic? How many truly care about making a difference rather than scoring cheap political points? So far, despite a deep love of politics, the only politicians I have any respect for are in the Shepway Liberal Democrats! We need someone to come along and lead us all. We need a Winston Churchill, an Abraham Lincoln, a visionary!

Jim was telling me the other night about how much he disliked this country. It is fall of cretins and it isn't pleasant having all those boring, miserable kids standing around on street corners. But I don't hate the country. I hate the current set of politicians who are so out of touch and unable to bring themselves to condemn the way our country's culture is heading. We need someone who stands up and says "There is a better way. Things don't have to be like this. We can get rid of crime, we can get rid of disillusionment. We can get this country together and move forward".

Tony Blair has failed. We need a change. We do not need that plonker David Cameron. We do not need Gordon Brown. And we do not need, and I hate saying this, Menzies Campbell. We need a political revolution that will herald true change for once. Not more of the same.

Or we could just have this guy as PM... I'm easy...

Just Another Day In The Life Of Jae

Last Jim took me out for noodles and beer (beer being had at the Ashburnham Arms). I will also, grudgingly, admit that I also consumed a kebab. I hang my head in shame.

Today after work we had a couple of drinks at the Rose before I headed back to Jim who needed a hug. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Oh My God.

Today I suddenly thought... next year I'm 24. As you may know Dear Constant Reader I put importance into seemingly innocuous events and places. The 26th February for instance. Or the alleyway between the tennis courts and Stripes in Folkestone. Don't ask me why I assign importance to such random things, I don't really know myself. And the age of 24 is one of those events. G was 24 when I went out with him. It seemed like the watershed between youth and adulthood proper. I never wanted to be that old.

Now I know you, Dear Constant Reader, can sometimes be quite a bit older than that. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being older than 24. I just never thought it'd happen to me.

And there's nothing I can do about it. No reverse gear to turn on and head back the way I came.

That annoys me greatly.



Oh well this picture is soothing. Ryo Nishikido... Asian and he has the kind of hair that screams "run your hands through me". Growl...

People Are Stupid

Ever watch an episode of Star Trek and think, "Humanity has a chance"? If you have you are woefully idealistic. There's mountains of paper filled with writings about the wonder of humanity, how beautiful, intelligent and wonderful we all are. Let's face facts people; we are nothing more than animals. Sure individually some people might rise above that. But the human race as a whole will never do so. Want some evidence?

Murder. The fact that people murder other people seems not to perplex anyone at all; "It was a revenge killing" "Oh well that explains it". No it doesn't! Murder is completely incomprehensible. Check out this story. Does this not lead anyone else to believe the world might be a better place if we all just disappeared?

There's been several stories this month about people using their car navigator. It isn't the fact that these people followed the instructions to the letter. It's that they follow through with them!! So you turn onto the motorway facing the wrong way because you weren't paying attention. Stupid and dangerous, yes. But forgivable. Then you continue to drive the wrong way in the fast lane... for twenty miles. Or in the case of this German man you drive through a building site, up a stairway and into the small toilet shack. And you think these are isolated incidents of stupidity? I work in customer service... trust me... people are dumb, lazy, arrogant, mean and deeply offensive.

Today I was on the train on the way home. At Deptford three girls got on. Normally I don't consciously judge people by their looks; but these girls were hideous. They got on and started talking (read shouting). One girl put her radio on. Full blast. Rap music. On a British train this is akin in offensiveness to taking out your breasts. She did turn it down so one of her friends could answer a phone. And when she got off she said "It was just Sandra".

"I turned my fucking radio down for that waste of space??"

"That's my mother you're talking about"

"I know... she's a fucking bitch".

Up the radio went.

I'm glad I was only on their for 40 seconds more... otherwise I would of had to grab their radio and smash it in their pug faces. Grrr... bastards... But you know I really wouldn't. I'm too polite.

Anyway I'm off back to Jae's fantasy land to escape from these idiots. Mmm... it's 1984 and Arnie's just finished on the set of the Terminator... oops... wasn't supposed to write that... ;op

Tuxedo Jae - Redux

I really was trying not to look like a flaming queen. Success was elusive.



The Bonobos however were in plentiful supply.



My new no snack eating rules have entered into force as of today.

You Know

So yesterday I headed into the deepest, darkest parts of Kent where monsters roam and the wild things are. Getting off the train (after a journey with a woman who said "You know" well over 300 times... I counted) in Westenhanger was refreshing; the station was empty and the walk into Lympne peaceful and personless. Strange, when you live in London you fall into this strange belief that the world is full of people. Lympne's full of cows.

I scared some innocent lady who was in my parents house looking after their new puppy Noodle. I don't think she was expecting a 6'9" bloke to walk up behind her and enquire as to why she was in the house... :)

The puppy is a Jack Russell and although cute barks endlessly...

I was pleased to get out of there and head into Folkestone. Went first to Cheriton and had some drinks with Henry at the Royal Cheriton, after which Zoe and Ray came and got me and we went out for dinner at Kalala. As we left lightening was striking in the hills worryingly regularly... Sam appeared and him and I headed to Safeways to get money... by the time we were about to head back to the car the rain had become torrential and within seconds the water was rushing past the car at the same height as the pavement kerb!!

Being driven by Sam is always an exciting experience (imagine strapping yourself to an unguided rocket) but during a downpour it's a bit scary! :)

We made it to Newington Town Hall for a Lib Dem Race Night! Alcohol, gambling and the Lib Dems... who'd've thought it? Had a good night.

Sam drove me back to Lympne where I didn't sleep at all due to the constant yap yap of the puppy...

It was nice to have a break from London and now I'm back a little refreshed...

Pictures of Tuxedo Jae and the Bonobo will follow tomorrow... but for now..

Tuxedo Jae

Last night was my companys industry awards. Stationery is the industry so you can well imagine what fun it was.

The Tuxedo fit me. Darn it. I was sooo annoyed with that... my final chance for a possible escape from having to wear the bloody thing scuppered... Sadly pictures will follow.

Sat drinking beer in the office while wearing a tuxedo, which was one of those surreal moments that give you pause. The other guys in the office started undressing and, being a good boy, I didn't look. This was made rather difficult by comments such as "Wow... you must work out" and "With pecs like those you could...". That guys is called "cruel". Really cruel.

We got a cab from work in Vauxhall to take us to the Royal Lancaster Hotel near Hyde Park. Instead of heading over Vauxhall Bridge the cabbie told us it was closed and thus began a long tour of the backroads of Lambeth in search of another crossing. Needless to say he didn't find one so 15 minutes we were back at work. This time we headed to Vauxhall Bridge which was in fact open. Grrr.... we then had wonderful time sitting in traffic for 20 minutes before finally reaching the hotel. Thank God.

The place was jammed packed with stationery "grey" people all getting in my way, so I beat a path to the bar, got some wine and hung around with my mates until we were lead into the hall.

The first speaker was the head of our trade federation, who made such hilarious jokes that I began contemplating suicide via butter knife. Thankfully his speech was short enough to avoid this fate and the food began to arrive. For what it's worth the two mouthfuls I managed to get from each course were ok. But the portions were TINY. We joined at dinner by several chimps who we'd taken from an unsupervised stand just outside the hall door. I've named mine Bonobo... I'm sure you Dear Constant Reader will know what a Bonobo is...

Paul Ross was our guest MC for the evening, regurgitating jokes about his brother and five year old email circulars...

Our company did win the award for Dealer Excellence which was nice. Got ratarsed in the bar after to celebrate.

My head hurts.

Thank you Randy Orton

Yesterday was this blogs busiest day ever, with over 950 visitors. That's more than it used to receive in a month! It all seems to be Googles for Randy Orton, that hunky wrestler I sometimes show pictures of. I think the new RAW spawned all the searches so thanks to him!!

This whole veil debate is rather stupid isn't it? A case of What Not Wear on a nationwide scale. Is the Government serious about it's concerns about peoples dress sense (and religious beliefs)? Come on Tony! Get your priorities right... there are homeless people on the streets, people who can't afford to stay in their home towns, British people dying in the name of Americas fight against terrorism... and you're playing Trinny to Jack Straws Susannah?? Next week the Prime Minister expresses concern for those who choose to put milk in their coffee...

And then you have the Christians... so it's not alright to have an advert suggesting a link between religion and homophobic violence, but it's ok for them to continue preaching Leviticus in which God orders all homosexuals to be executed?? Right... that makes no sense now does it??? I'm going to phone in a complaint to the ASA... about the Bible. Oh wait no I won't because I believe in freedom of speech... unlike the bloody fundamentalists... or should that just be mentalists??

There's Too Many Lonely People In The World

Sometimes I read news stories like this and wish I could have intervened. One innocent boy murdered by one messed up boy who really needed someone to give him a slap round the head and a hug. As far as I can see it wouldn't have taken much more than the right words at the right time to have avoided this awful murder... if only huh?

I got a letter today! A proper hand written letter from my Great Aunt Joy. I never get hand written letters, but I love them so. She was giving me some helpful notes on recent family history... I shall write back tomorrow... I haven't written a letter in such a long time. I've barely handwritten anything substantial in recent years... that needs to change...

Charles Dera is Jae's Man Of The Month



All the things I could do...

That advert for the Daily Express is annoying "We stand for traditional values"??? Richard Desmond? Values??? HAVE THEY LOST THEIR MINDS????

I Miss Folkestone

It wasn't that long ago that I dreamed of the day of escaping my hometown, Folkestone, and fleeing forever to the big city. You would never have convinced me I'd miss the godforsaken place. But I do, at least a little.

Folkestone was... simple. Don't get me wrong, I love London and London holds some great memories for me. But Folkestone holds some too. And it has the sea (which I miss like mad). And it has loads of people I miss, like Zoe (and Ray), Combat Sam, Laura, the TVW crew, Becky and a few more...

So I WILL be coming back this weekend... even if it's just for a day (depending on where my room is at the moment last I checked my brother had moved into mine and "my room" is now his old one). Any Folkestone people reading this CLEAR YOUR DIARIES. I want no feeble excuses for not seeing me like "I'm ill" or "I'm in South America" or "I'm working".

Let's go out, paint the town red and point at people and exclaim how they are far too young to be drinking...

The Devil Wears Prada

Today I watched The Devil Wears Prada. It was really very good. Strange really considering I thought it'd be a bland chick flick. It turned out to be funny and engaging despite it's very formulaic plot. Meryl Streep was awesome as the sad Dragon lady, whose entire life is work.

If there's one thing I've learnt in my first year in London... there's a bloody lot of these sad individuals who have no life, and get very snotty when they find out that you do not share the same aspirations as they do... bless their small little brains.

Calling All Brent Corrigan Fans

Your idol needs you! I know a lot of people end up on my site searching for Mr Corrigan.. click that link and you will find him. Just remember to donate a couple of dollars while you're there!!

The Rest Of The Day...

Jensen Ackles rocks my socks.

After my moany post yesterday things got better. One the trip the tuxedo hire place couldn't have gone better (WOO...) and then the night out at Chakalaka was wonderful.

Firstly the staff. One word: cute. The food was delicious. I have a perfect mixed salad for a starter and ostrich fillet with chicken liver on mashed potato which was GORGEOUS. A tad on the quiet side. Putney isn't too hard to get to and my God it's got some hot guys in it.

Today... the trains from Greenwich were cancelled due to "overcrowding" (how did they think this would solve the problem?) so I got the DLR (and got to use my Oyster card for the very first time!) which was suffering severe delays. So I changed to the Jubilee line which was packed and then got a train from Waterloo (where some foolish people tried to walk through me... big mistake). Am at work finally after an hour and halfs journey to cover 4 miles. Joy... I should have walked.

One Of Those Days

I'm having one of those days. Problems are still spilling over at work from last weeks mess up which is obviously stressing me out.

Then Jim's jsut told me the landlord is going to our flat today for kind of boiler service... flat is a mess. I'm sure we're supposed to have got 24 hour notice? Grr... so that's stressful.

And finally I'm not getting a lunch break today because I've got to go get fitted out for a tuxedo so I can then go to an awards ceremony I don't really want to go to next week. Which is stressing me out as well. I'm not the kind of guy who likes dressing up to start off with. People in tuxedos tend to be 1) common (I think tuxedos are probably the most common article of clothing you'll see on ITV for instance) and/or 2) rude so I'm not the biggest fan of the well dressed.

Plus I'm not exactly your normal guy (44 inch inside leg) so trips to a tailor or clothes hire shop are stressful in the extreme... I have this wonderful feeling that it's going to involve some jokes at my expense (tall jokes just crack me up...), some embarassment and a high likelihood that I won't be able to get one and will have to tell my manager which shall lead to more stress and GOD I HATE HAVING TO GO TO THIS THING... grr...

Now tonight I'm going to Chakalaka tonight... wish me luck as I'm sure something awful will happen... it's one of those days.

The Stuff That Scares You

What scares you?

I wouldn't say I have any phobias really. When I say phobias I mean the kind that stop you from doing things; that are so powerful that they actually have a physical as well as mental affect on you. However I do have things that "concern" me.

For instance windows and doorways. I know it sounds silly. But I cannot sleep if the bedroom door is open. In fact if I'm left alone at home for a night I will make sure all the doors are closed. Similarly when I lived with my family if I was left alone for a weekend (as I was, gloriously, very often) I would ensure all the curtains in the house were pulled... all day long. I cannot stand the idea of windows. I hate looking out of them (if I want to see the outside... I can go outside) and I hate the very idea of someone looking in on me (especially at night).

One of my worst childhood memories is sleeping in an old monastery, on the ground floor with NO NET CURTAINS. Just window. And darkness. *shiver*

I really must overcome this, as it's a little silly. Last night I was watching Supernatural and one scene had a clown standing at a window... it was too scary for words...

Battlestar is BACK

Oh joy of joys. I've realised why life has seemed to lack something of late. Battlestar Galactica hasn't been on. Jim said the latest two episodes didn't hold his attention. But I thought they were great. From the opening music... through to the cliffhanger end of Precipice... marvellous.

And of course Lee Adama is back... YUM!



And tonight I'm going to settle down and watch the first two episodes of Supernatural Season 2... and have some disgusting incestual thoughts about two "brothers"... :o)

Honest This Is The Last One

I've had complaints that my posts have got depressing this last week... so normal service will resume tomorrow.

I often visit hate sites. White supremacists, Christian fundamentalists and anti Homosexualists. Why? Because reading their hate reminds why I'm a libertarian, believing in freedom for all rather than for specific groups. It also reminds me that the world is full of stupid arseholes and I need to keep on my toes (as if my job in customer service wasn't an hourly reminder of this fact).

So today I saw this article about how gay men "are paedophiles". This put me in the mood to go buy a powerful rifle, set up position on a church steeple somewhere and start shooting. I'm sick and tired of this old debate. I'm gay. I like MEN. Men with big muscles, and big other things, being my favourite type of male. Homosexuality isn't paedophilia.

But of course the San Francisco Chronicle came to my rescue with an article basically rubbishing the argument. The Chronicle is thus responsible for saving a large group of innocent (comparatively) Christians somewhere in this country from death by righteous gunfire...

...for now.

Following In The Footsteps of Cameroon and Uganda...

...the American Democratic party?

So supposedly the Democrats want to publish a list of all the gay staffers in Congress (strangely mainly Republicans... could this be a partisan move? Nah... couldn't be...) on the net. Hey why not give away their addresses? Or better yet make them all wear Pink Triangles??? That'd be even better!

There's a flimsy argument for unveiling the sexualities of elected officials (if you believe some people don't have a right to privacy that is). But of their staff?? I think not.

American politics makes me feel ill. Another reason to be pleased to be British.

And also we have rugby which leads to men who look a lot like this (although this ones Aussie)...

Wish Me Luck

Last night I went bowling at Elephant and Castle on our regular work night out. Came second in the one game we did finish... the other game I can't quite remember what happened. Nick really must stop racing me in beer drinking. I always win anyway...

Kallie, JP and I finished the night with a Chinese. YUM!

Today at work is going to be hell (I won't give away company info but let's just say our customers shall be EXTREMELY upset today). Don't make me go in!!!!! Please...

I don't know what's funnier... this old councillors feeble attempts at humour (Biblical humour has been done to death, hardly original) or the Lib Dems suggestion that "diversity training" might stop him being homophobic. Diversity training???? WTF!! Yeah that'll change him... Good thinking that Lib Dem...

Leave him alone, it's punishment enough just being him... the crap sense of humour, the pomposity and the looks.

Sometimes I Wish I Was Straight

I love being gay. I really do. Men are so bloody gorgeous and Jim is a dream come true. In some of my lowest moments my sexuality was the only light in the dark.

However sometimes I'm sick to death of the "politics". I hate feeling constantly on the defensive when reading the news. I hate being hated by some religious nuts out there. I just hate the whole fact that other people make my sexuality a negative issue. I'm not saying I'm attacked personally (it'd be a foolish person who personally attacked me... the words "mashed" and "bloodied" come to mind) but the constant drip drip of hate in the news and in political debate is disturbing.

I can understand people who join the ex-Gay movement (although still don't really like them all that much)... they are seeking sanctuary, simplicity, certainty.

I want to help make a difference... I want things to change... I don't want anyone else to have to put up with idiotic hetrosexual prejudice.

That's why I've got a Voodoo doll of George W Bush and I've started poking him with needles... :oP

Grr...

So the whole sex email scandal rumbles on in America and I'm glad to see that the Democrats are keeping it in perspective...

Something really pissed me off about this... the word "Pedophile" is mentioned. Several times. Now excuse me if I'm wrong but I believe the age of consent in D.C. is 16? And that, in fact, no sex actually occured involving anyone that young anyway? So erm... "pedophile"???? WHAT THE FUCK?! For years us gays have had to put up with the pedarist/pedophilie accusations. Enough is enough. The Democrats are just as bloody homophobic as the Republicans!

Now get him for sexual harassment or something like that but don't fucking call him a paedophile (I couldn't continue spelling it US style, it looks silly).

Oh and to be perfectly honest what those who are above the age of consent do with each other be it sex or just smutty emails shouldn't really bother anyone else... so Democrats move on and actually find yourself a platform to fight Bush and the GOP!!! Stop relying on smut peddling...

For once I'm secretly hoping the Democrats are fucked over at the mid terms...

Come on Libertarian Party...

So What Have I Learnt About Me?

So it's been 2 weeks since I started delving into my family history. Have I uncovered any excitement? Nope. Which is kind of reassuring. The parts of my family I've located seem to have spent generations in exactly the same place; the Witherdens in Biddenden, Kent, the Winchs in Filmwell, Sussex, the Barrows and Waters in Kilndown, Kent and the Bristows in Dartford, Kent.

Now some might find this dull and disheartening. But to me it just makes me feel ever more Kentish. Now I know the Kays are probably from Yorkshire or Lancashire (northern blood... noooooo) and the Bristows and Coles probably come from up north too. But let us not worry about that... Kent rules after all.

Ooo... Filmwell is part of Ticehurst, Sussex and I love what the Wikipedia says about that

"Locally, the people of the area have a fairly bad reputation, most notably in the nearby parish of Wadhurst, where the people of Ticehurst are considered to be aggressive, ill cultured and violent."

The people of Wadhurst sound a bit boring (except for one of my Wadhurst relatives who married into the Filmwell lot...)

329 people in my tree as of now.

Now everyones favourite man of Kent is...



In the news... the American Democrats have got all excited because a Republican Congressman exchanged smutty messages with an office junior. A 16 year old one no less (in this country we call that flirting, over there it seems to be some kind of crime up there with murder). Nice to know our Democratic "friends" are so keen to play the homophobic card... I agree with Blogcritics... the gay Republicans need to grow a pair. But the Democrats need to stop relying on scandal to get ahead in the polls and MAYBE START GETTING SOME GOOD POLICIES TOGETHER.

The Clip Show

In case you missed it...

My name's Jae and I moved from Folkestone, Kent to Greenwich, London in May 2005. I live with my boyfriend Jim (FIX YOUR BLOG JIM! ;) ). We own an aquarium, several oversized spiders (well ok, they moved in with us and despite constant attempts to move them they just keep coming back) and possibly some mice. The word that best describes our flat is "messy".

I work for an online stationery store in Vauxhall and spend much of my time dreaming of a better job involving naked men, Diet Coke on tap and nice customers. I'm thinking pimping? (contact me if this can be arranged!).

I'm incredibly clumsy and have so far broken many things around the flat since I moved in... including a Powerbook G4 which now lies in a cupboard in several pieces.. sorry Jim. And I loved that Mac...

I own way too many iPods.

Jim and I own way too many DVDs (again... fix this Jim!)... at the moment loving Frasier Season 8, NCIS and Monk.

I'm a sci fi nut, I'm researching my family tree and I just can't get enough of blogging... 5 years... woo!

London In The Evening

Londoners sure are slow. They seem to find great pleasure in walking at about the speed of a... bollard? Yeah... that slow! Now it also seems to please them to wander at an angle across the path so as to maximise the annoyance they cause to everyone else.

I headed to town with Nick after work to the Apple store, which was less cool than I would have thought. I suppose my pathological hatred of shopping doesn't help. I did buy a cover for my video iPod though. Better late than never!

I wandered home down Oxford Street, Regent Street, through Piccadily and Leicester Square until I reached Charing Cross. I can remember many times wandering that route before I moved to London, it holds so many nice memories. Now all I need to do is get rid of that religious guy at Piccadily (ok, and everyone else who gets in my way) and the walk would be perfect. London is a beautiful city, filled with huge buildings that close in on you like a warm comforting blanket.

It's strange you'd think they'd make you feel claustrophobic.

If you haven't signed up to Blogmad yet, do so now. And if you have, have you registered for eXlinks yet?

It's the weekend. Be HAPPY!

Police drop anti-Gay leaflets charge. Yay for freedom of speech! Now let's go picket this mans pickets with anti-Christian pamphlets. "God Kills Millions in Flood". "God destroys entire city because a few citizens attempted to rape some angels" etc etc...

Here I am supporting a Christians right to freedom of speech, to effectively gay bash. And they go and stamp on our rights of freedom of speech. Pot calling kettle! It's ok to insult homosexuality but hey hands off Christianity...

I'm sure Jesus taught them to turn the other cheek...



There are words to describe this boy.. but I can't seem to remember them right now... brain fuzzy..

Yoinked from Male and Beautiful

My outeverywhere membership is up for renewal. Erm... no thanks! On gaydar they are shallow. On outeverywhere they can be NASTY. Try Blooplanet instead...

Just The Few Of Us

I was reading an interesting article in Gay Times today. Twas about the probable overestimation of the amount of gay people in the world. Supposedly it's now thought that just 2 - 4% of the male population is a little bit poofy. That's not to say the infamous 1 in 10 remark doesn't have some merit. But it sure brings things in to perspective... I'm getting more unique by the minute!

Let's face it... I'm over 6'8" (exactly how tall can be a matter for debate at some point) and a Wiccan... that must put me in a really small percentage of the population and then factor in the homosexuality... is there anyone out there quite like me? :o)

But seriously... who cares how many there are of us? All I care about is that I'm gay, I know that, and no one can convince me that there's anything wrong with that just because there's not that many queers.



I love this guys body shape... very meaty. Yum. I know a lot of guys go for slim waists... but this kind of guy really does it for me. Yoinked from All Aussie Beef

Thanks for all the... erm... stuff

Tony Blair made his final Labour Party Conference speech of his premiership... hopefully.

When Mr Blair took power I was 14, I'd grown up in a Tory household and I was worried he'd destroy the Union. But gradually, as I learnt a little more about the Tories and lot more about myself, I fell head over heels for the New Labour Government. Here was a group that was dedicated to fighting poverty, bringing about equal rights and rebuilding the toothless House of Lords back to a working part of our democracy (hey it'd only been 90 odd years waiting for a good kick up the bum).

How did Mr Blair do? Erm... ok. He started off great but he has since lost his direction.

Who cares about fighting poverty when you can fight the bad guys with our American cousins?

Equal rights? Equal, but different is Tony's way. I hope one day people will realise civil partnerships are just scraps thrown at the gay community to keep them quiet (and keep the religious bigots happy). And they overly complicate things. I got a letter the other day about my pension. Reading it is difficult because every time it mentions marriage it has to also mention civil partnerships (i.e. your husband/wife/civil partner... widow, widower and surviving partner of a civil partnership). What a hash job!

And rebuilding the House of Lords? Hell why not just fill it with cronies? YAY!

Goodbye Mr Blair... it's time for a change.

Ask Jae

Anything you want to know?

The Weekend Is Over - Hurrah!

We've had the kids this weekend. Woo! I don't really mind them... they're quite amusing. However there is one part I hate about them being here... no not that you dirty minded people... but I'm too much of a gentleman to bring it up here. Let's just say I'm glad it's over.

Oh and for Nick... here is every kind of homosexual insult I can find...

Gay, chutney ferret, poo pusher, uphill gardener, shit stabber, turd burglar, shirt lifter, fudge packer, chod nobber, arse bandit, sodite, sod, bugger, "nature has played a cruel trick on him", not as other men, pederast, fag, faggot, sausage jockey, driver of the chocolate motorway, queer, homosexual, backpassage stalker, gentleman's gentleman, toilet trader, Quentin, Marmite driller, brown pipe engineer, plumber who comes in the tradesman's entrance, one who bowls from the Pavilion end, brown hatter, one who tarnishes his bobbies helmet, rear gunner, rear admiral, pork swordsman, tail gunner, pusher of the cheesy wheelbarrow, wind jammer, navigator of the windward pass, gender bender, one who strolls down the Bourneville Boulevard, botter, pillow biter, sponge, stone, chocolate speedway rider, man who rears the chocolate starfish, ginger beer, hoop stretcher, jobby jouster, kakpipe cosmonaut, muddy funster, one who prefers to dock with the rear unloading bay.

I think Polari says it best though...

"Is he so?"

Jim has got me obsessed with NCIS. It's a brilliant show. I'm also totally obsessed with Abby (see Paulys blog). She is the coolest character EVER created on the face of this Earth. I think I want to marry her... :o)

My family tree is up to 209 people!

I Love You Dear Constant Reader

I have become lax this week with posting. I've been taken up in the genealogy craze that's sweeping... my chair... and just can't find the time to blog. I will find the time! I now have 148 names on my tree and the list seems to grow by about 50% everytime I really focus. It's much easier than I thought.

In the real world... what is it with stupid people? Do they think they can somehow get away with it, without being stared at viciously? This morning I join the queue at the train station ticket machine. Hmm... that guy in front is taking his time... HE ISN'T EVEN BUYING A TICKET... just browsing... oh he spots the queue behind him... he wanders off to read some "important" notice without even a by or leave getting into everyone elses way as best he can.

This is why I am against gun control.

Last night I went out to the Benihana in Swiss Cottage for Nicks birthday along with Sam America, Kallie, Nicks girlfriend Alex and some girl from Utah... Why am I always the only Brit at these things? Hmm... We had difficulty finding it until a helpful bus shelter appeared which gave directions (the world truely is a marvellous place). I was promised a fine dining experience with fire and excitement. I was also hoping for a cute Japanese chef (you know how I love Asian men). I got none of the above (our chefs name was Adam and he wasn't cute/Japanese). The food was good. The service was great (and the waiter was fairly cute). But it was a big let down. I wish people wouldn't build things up... I have low expectations, so if you don't build things up for me I will enjoy it! ;)

Breasts... now this is random... am I the only person who doesn't really notice them? I mean I notice them on a woman just as I notice... say... ears. But I rarely find them distracting, or even note worthy. I have friends with large breasts (hey Becky!) and really it's just not an issue. I mention this because last night a woman wandered into Benihanas with huge breasts. I wouldn't have noticed unless Sam hadn't sat there going... "OH MY GOD... I can't stop looking at her breasts". Everyone was at it. I gave her a look but really... not that interesting. Give me HUGE arms any day of the week...

Jae Is Not A Happy Bunny

Firstly let me say this as a disclaimer for my wonderful other half (who does worry sometimes). I love you Jim and you make me happier than I deserve so nothing about my current mood is in anyway caused by you.

Now... I am going to be looking for a new job. Just saying that upsets me. I hate change. I like stability. I like having a good salary (which I do) and good workmates (which I most assuredly do). And I risk (and expect) to lose both. But my salary is in no way large enough to compensate for having to work in customer service. It'd need to be closer to six figures for that! I remember on my first day at Eurotunnel (4 years ago, is that all???) being a naive believer in humanity's inate goodness. That is gone. My heart is now a twisted, bitter respresentation of it's original self. And I hate that. I liked being nice (one ex once told me being nice gets you no where... no but it makes me feel good so NER!). I hate thinking the worst of everyone I meet. Something else that disturbs me... I swear. I mean swearing is just not me once upon a time I'd only swear just before pulverising someone... but I get so angry nowadays that I swear all the time. That makes me unhappy. So uncouth.

But here is the clincher. I need money to survive. I have zero skills except for the fact that I am a totally skilled customer service bod. I want to go back to university. I thought I could stay at my current job until next years clearing. But really that idea fills me with dread. So to the universe as a whole I scream "PLEASE SAVE ME!" I'm a good learner. I pick things up very quickly and hey, let's not beat around the bush, I have an IQ of 129. Jae no stupid. So Jae begins a search a new for something to keep him sane... and in a house with Jim. Wish me luck... :(

OH but something that is making me happy (beyond Jim) is my new found interest in genealogy... REALLY interesting and so satisfying. Just found out two of my great grand parents were related. EWWW... see that's fun to know isn't it?

Something else makes me happy too... Tom Welling...

Why Do I Love The Queen?

Just back from seeing the Queen. Click the link you fools, the movie not Her Majesty! It was rather good. I mean the acting was good and the writing sharp. The picture quality made it look like a made for TV movie (circa early 1990s) but we'll gloss over that minor glitch. I think I missed the point of the movie as I spent the whole thing sympathising with Helen Mirren's Elizabeth II. I suppose I always thought the outcry over Diana was a bit of a case of "The whole world has lost its senses". It finally made me realise why I like the Queen.

In this day and age, with idiots free to be stupid and tactless as and when they see fit, it's nice to have someone in the country who has some class and provides us with a sober and dignified centre. When everyone is so obsessed with celebrity and pouring their hearts out on telly we need someone who is strong and at least pretends to be above the normal human condition.

Now I'm a libertarian. I am not big on the whole "hereditary rule" thingy. However... our American cousins have taught us some valuable lessons in the pitfalls of a democratically elected ruler (i.e. the one who gets our PM's attention by shouting the highly dignified "Yo... Blair!" springs to mind). And they taught us that having a partisan in charge isn't always good for national unity. I think hedging our bets on a randomly generated ruler taught from birth to conduct business of state compares fairly well. As long as said ruler doesn't hold any power and is more a figurehead than a dictator I don't see the problem.

And the Queen sure does carry it off well. Nobody would want her job, and she deserves our respect for managing to put up with having us lot as subjects.

Long Live The Queen!

*STATEMENT OF WARNING* I tend to fly from arch Royalist to plotting republican once per week so you have been warned!

OH MY HEAD

Today I am in a bad mood. This is because my cold has moved from annoying me to making my head groggy and making everything seem difficult. I went and got a haircut which always puts me in a bad mood. No I'm nothing like Samson. It's just I'm not into the whole barber ritual... waiting in a room with a bunch of men, all desperately trying to avoid any eye contact while keeping tabs on who's left ahead of them in the virtual queue, and then subjecting my hair to mutiliation by some woman who would rather I wasn't there as she tries to make small talk with me about what's on telly (No I don't know How To Solve A Problem Like Maria).

Oh well... it's all gone now.

So as I'm not in the mood to move I've been researching the family history... the Witherdens, the Waters, and the Kays of Eccles, Snodland, Biddenden and numerous other places. God Lord... we BREED!

Drinks At The Riverside, Vauxhall

Last night was a customer service night out. It's not a good night out unless one person ends up in a coma and I really think we achieved it last night. Thankfully I wasn't the comatosed individually although JP and Nick caused me to giggle so much I thought I might start to bleed out my ears. I can be such a giggling girl some days.

It was a great laugh and a brilliant opportunity to get to know some of the new people better.

I have caught a hideous cold off Jim which means I've got the sniffles and a bad temper at the mo. This was made a lot better on Tuesday when I got an anniversary card and chocolates from said cold infection carrier. Mmm...

Today I miss The Balcony

Did you know the treasonous bastard who shot blanks at the Queen was from Folkestone?? I didn't either...

I Love Jim

Today marks two years since I met Jim. This song says it all...

Buffy - I Love You

I watched Buffy last night (I haven't seen that IN AGGGGGGGGGGGGEs) and remembered something... Buffy RULES. I know I sound like a geeky fanboy. But God. I remember when watching Buffy was my only escape from my oh so typically depressed teenage life. It was the main shared love between me and Stephen (although he wanted to be a vampire and I wanted to marry Xander, that relationship was doomed wasn't it?). The gorgeous men (I defo like the geeky types... Xander, Andrew... but hey Angel and Riley had their places in my heart too). The jokes. Tara and Willow (thank God for the best gay couple on telly ever).

What really stands out is that Nicholas Brendon is my only ever non real person crush (i.e. I've never seen him in the flesh) ! Now as I tend to get crushes as often as most people get hot dinners that's quite an achievement! I love you Nicholas Brendon and all those at Buffy for making my teenage years that little bit more tolerable.

Who Does Jae Remind You Of?

Would you think of any of the following?



I was pleasantly surprised...

5 Years On

Yesterday I watched Discovery's Inside The Twin Towers. It tells the story I've been wanting to hear... what happened to those inside the buildings on September 11th?

It starts at the beginning of an ordinary day... and then proceeds through the events we all know too well. The North Tower, the South Tower, the collapses. Inside not everyone makes it out. Watching this documentary is totally heartbreaking and reminds us of the brutal truth of what happened that day... people were murdered in a hideously scary manner.

As it is confirmed one last time that Saddam was not behind the attacks I wonder why nobody seems to care about finding Osama Bin Laden. Bush and Blair barely mention catching Bin Laden, it's all about Iraq and the Taliban. How can the American public have let their Commander in Chief off so lightly for not bringing to justice the man behind the attacks? How can they defend him over the Iraq War when it's been 5 years since the attacks and he hasn't used EVERY ounce of America's strength to seek out Osama?

Tony Blair is leaving office. Is it not time he stopped doing what Bush wants and spends the last year of his term of office using Britain's forces to find Osama? 67 Britons died. Who's seeking justice for them?

Why is no one asking these questions?

Looking Ahead

My life right now is kinda of... treading water. My job currently pays well but is completely unfulfilling. I'm not looking for 100% satisfaction here but a little bit would be nice.

So yesterday morning was spent reading the UCAS clearing list wistfully and I MUST APPLY FOR CLEARING NEXT YEAR AND THAT IS FINAL! Back to university for me... even if I can't afford it. I need to move on.

Bowling last night. Elephant and Castle was it's usual forbidding self. I won a teddy bear though for the second week running which made the trip more than worth it. I was joined at bowling by Sam America, Nic and Kallie from work; Tamara formerly from work; and John and Vixie formerly of the Join Me Brighton Meet and other adventures. I won a game! Yet again. My bowling is sooo much better than it used to be. Was ruthlessly mocked all night by a Nic and Vixie double act. I didn't speak to Nic for one whole second in total protest at this hideous lack of respect. ;o)

Today my blog was top of the blogs in the London Lite newspaper. I would like to thank... me! Oh and you, of course, Dear Constant Reader.

His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton

You've gotta love some people who seem to go out of their way to make life that little bit more interesting. There we are plodding through life and then suddenly there's a flash of colour, a scream or a slight whiff in the air as a true eccentric wanders past.

The Lord of all eccentrics was London born, San Francisco based Emperor Norton I, "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico". I vaguely heard about him a little while back, but really fell in love with him after listening to this Sparkletack episode.

The really beautiful thing about the Emperor is that San Franciscans not only took him to their hearts, they took him quite seriously. They accepted his currency, they appreciated his patronage ("By Appointment to his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton I of the United States.") and got emotional when he was arrested and practically held a state funeral upon his death.

His decrees are wonderful...

"Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco," which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars."

During the civil war he suggested Abraham Lincoln marry Queen Victoria to bring Britain to the Unions aid. He actually corresponded with Her Royal Highness on several occasions.

You just don't get too many characters like him... that is why the death of Steve Irwin caused such a stir... he was the Emperor Norton of Australia. A truely interesting human being.

Speaking of which here's short video on a really interesting fellow I've actually seen with my own eyes! The World Famous Bushman

GAYS! Serve thy hetrosexual butt master... or else...

You have gotta love people who write articles like this. I mean... they are so far up their own bums that they have this idea that whether they agree with someone elses lifestyle or not is relevant...

Okay, everyone knows the facts about homosexuality, otherwise known as the “free choice of gays” by now, right? Highest AIDS rate, the lowest average life expectancy amongst the males, family issues, destruction of lives of young children because of the same-sex home, highest drug addiction rates....so on...and on...and on...these are some of the characteristics of a typical gay lifestyle. Still we continue to claim that everybody has the choice to be gay. Let's analyze this “choose to be gay rant” that we like to parrot, shall we?

Well I'm glad we got that straight. Hetrosexual relationships don't lead to any of the above and homosexual ones TYPICALLY do. YEAH... right. And who is claiming we have choice to be gay? I don't have a choice. I do not, can not, find women attractive nor does female companionship make me happy in the same way male relationships do. As Archbishop Tutu says... only a loon would choose to be gay!! Not that it isn't an absolute blast...

Now I don't have anything against gay people struggling with homosexuality (and it is a struggle from what I understand)

Oh good. Love the sinner hate the sin? And yes it is a struggle... a struggle to keep our arguments decent when faced by facist creatures like you. No wonder gay men turn to drugs so often (based on your hypothesis anyway), putting up with this kind of comment day in and day out really wears you down.

Then why not try and help gay people overcome this problem instead of encouraging them in this unnatural and deadly lifestyle? Come on now, someone has to call this one out. Being gay is NOT natural! The root cause of this is most of the time something else. Something like trauma through a person of the opposite sex that almost forces a person to become gay! Or extremely low self esteem that makes one believe he/she would never be accepted by someone of the opposite sex (I personally know people who've fallen into homosexuality through both of these reasons).

My secrets out... I once got turned down by a prospective girlfriend when I was 6 years old (she wouldn't share my ice cream) and since then I've liked being done up the arse.

UNNATURAL?? Erm... exactly how??? Anything that is possible is natural. What you meant to say is "Being gay is not moral, in my not so well informed but perfectly valid opinion".

LISTEN UP PEOPLE. I'm sick to death of putting up with articles like this which presuppose us queers have some moral duty to conform to the writers prejudices. Can't we just get on with our lives, in peace and quiet with all the rights of a normal citizen???

Jae Agrees With The British National Party

I am aghast. There I was reading my normal Google News when I stumbled across a story about Stephen Green, homophobic prat that he is, being arrested for distributing leaflets. I felt affronted that such an illiberal action had been taken out in defense of the LGBT community, of which I consider myself a part.

Then I read this homophobic tirade from the BNP. And I actually agreed with them. I feel bad to agree with the BNP. Really bad. Disgusted. But honestly... the gay community knows what it is like to be oppressed, knows what it's like to be hated and hunted by the police. We must not allow ourselves, with our increasing freedoms, to become the oppressor or at least the oppressors queeny sidekick.

I'm all for aggressive, violent homophobes being arrested and locked up. Violence is not something anybody should have to put up with. But as long as Mr Green was conducting himself in a polite, unobstructive way what right do we have to shut him up?

I'm not Christianity's biggest fan (I mean their most likeable member was Jesus and he was Jewish anyway [and died nearly 2000 years ago, 2000 years and no ones come close to being that nice]) but nevertheless their right to free speech (even if it does upset me) is sacrosanct (as is my own, HOMOPHOBIC TWATS WILL GO TO HELL!).

Come on Queers of the world... we're supposed to be the enlightened ones fighting for freedom and justice. And with this Government in power we've got a lot of fighting to do.

Steve Irwin RIP

Reports are coming in (i.e. I'm watching BBC Breakfast) that Steve Irwin has been killed. The world just got a little bit more dull.

Jae Passes Round A Hat

Why not visit my current tenant? Currently there's some handy dandy (and rather amusing) tips for both sexes when dressing. However I do believe the writer has never met me... I'm gay and I wouldn't know style if it slapped me on the arse... Visit and see if you agree with the fashion faux pas'

Why not give Blooplanet a go? It seems to be a bit more easy to navigate than OUT and less heavily monitored. And on the other side it's a lot less sleazy than Gaydar. Go on... there's even different profiles for whether you're just looking for friends (like me) or looking for something else. If you know what I mean...

A Very Random Series of Events

Yesterday I was pleased to find out I had become a member of Nic's "Kingdom of Losers". Pleased? To be a loser? He basically described a loser as someone who was happy being a little nerdy and not someone who was image obsessed and arrogant. I don't mind that tag at all. In fact I was made a member of the council and renamed Chief Sparkling Water. :)

Ickle Ben texted me today to ask if I wanted to meet up some time this week. I haven't seen him in donkeys years and that would be fab.

Combat Sam also texted me. We've got the kids this coming weekend so I'm a little busy but I'll come down to Folkestone and see you soon!

Today we got up early (*SOB*) and headed to Hemel to pick up Ian and Becka. We then proceeded to drive. And drive. And drive all the way to within kissing distance of Wales to see the Red Bull Air Race. However when we were 30 miles from Longleat we discovered the end of the queue. Deciding it would be foolhardy to sit in the traffic and seeing the weather turning we decided just to get lunch and drive ALL the way back.

We pulled off the road and opened our picnic basket to discover... more food than we could eat in a week!! Sandwiches, a GIANT pork pie, crisps, chocolate eclairs, chocolate muffins, Caramels, Rocky bars, sausage rolls, sausages... we barely ate half and still felt full!! As anyone will tell you I rarely feel full...

Hours later we arrived in St Albans and dropped the kids off at Castaway Kids, a play area/childhood fantasy land of greatness. I wish I'd had one of those places near me when I was shorter than 4'10" (sizeism is evil...).

We are now home, and tired and glad to find the air race was cancelled anyway... we feel much better about turning away.

Tomorrow I'm not doing anything... at all. It's amazing how tiring sitting in a car and doing nothing for 8 hours can be.



Red Bull Air Race

Bowled Away

After a few chats with Morgan by email I was reminded of our regular weekly bowling matches that hadn't been very regular for quite some time. So I took it upon myself to email around and try to muster a group.

That was how Sam America, Tamara, Nick and myself found ourselves in Elephant and Castle. Not only did I win 1 game and come second in another, I WON A TEDDY FROM THE GRABBING MACHINE. Tamara named her Chloe the Hermathrodite Huskie.

I also foolishly engaged in much alcohol consumption and we had an obligatory pre game noodle bar experience.

it was Tamara's last day with us and I was very sad to say goodbye. Tamara sat next to me at work for the last 4 months and I will miss her quite a bit.

A Belated Blogday

Something passed me by a few days ago... my blogs birthday (which coincidentally was exactly two years after Bloggers Birthday).

As always check out the original blog. 5 years, more templates than I can count, and 1129 posts later and I'm still here. And so, thank you very much, are you Dear Constant Reader.

Please leave me a comment today if you're passing by... even if it's an insult, an anti homosexual tirade, a smutty story or spam....

Allsorts

It has been a busy weekend.

Saturday included: breakfast in a cafe by the station, shopping at the market (mmm.. dried mango), the kids arrival, and we restocked the aquarium with many fish (speaking of which check this out)...

Sunday: breakfast at McDonald's, shopping, the kids departure drinking at the North Pole and the Richard the 1st and a Chinese for dinner.

Monday: another cafe breakfast (even Jae had eaten too much at this point), Jim's mum's departure and a relaxing evening.

Today we had some drinks at the Ashburnham Arms and some fish and chips. Why are all take away staff sooo nosey? I mean where I live and who I sleep with should be my own business (and of course yours Dear Constant Reader) but every take away near here could give you a run down on my life. NOSEY! The best question is always to me when Jim is about "Is he your Dad?". Well actually...

Happy Bank Holiday

To all my British readers... have a brilliant Summer Bank Holiday!

While my British readers are off at do it yourself stores stocking up on goods for home projects that will never happen I would encourage you to visit Strawberry Kiwi. Although the blogs writer says her entries are slightly amusing they are actually fairly diverting. Good for a laugh or two anyway. Check it out!!

Friday

Hmph. Yesterday proved even half a day of customer service is a living hell. Anyhew... after I stole away at 2pm I headed to the train station to meet up with Jim's Mum and take her to her hotel. Had a couple of pints with her in the Attitude Bar. Got home, had a shower, and then out again with her and Jim to Il Bordello in Wapping.

Il Bordello is my favourite restaurant in all of London. It's an Italian, with wonderful service, awesome food and portions that make even my eyes water. Trust me if you don't like it, good food is probably not your thing.

And the area it's in is lovely at night time. Wapping is so peaceful and somehow the old dock buildings and the moody lighting make you feel like you've gone back in time to the days of Jack the Ripper. Wonderful (not the Jack the Ripper part, but you know what I'm trying to say!)

Let's end the day on a song... all together now...

It's A Little Bit Funny

I've spent most of the life of this blog, and a long time before it's birth, moaning about wanting to get away from Folkestone and start a new life.

Well it's been 15 months since I finally did it, and it's a wonderful new life I have. But I never expected to miss Folkestone. I used to complain no end about what a horrid place it was. The rude boys (aka the proto-chavs), the whole of Hythe and Michael Howard all joined together to make it a throughly unpleasant place to be.

I got a message from Ben this past weekend to tell me our joint friend Becky had given birth (a little girl called Emily Grace) and I felt a little pang of homesickness. For them, for Laura and Zoe and Sam, for the TVW crew and for sightings of MT (and the sexy bouncer). I actually miss the Leas Club, Wetherspoons, Skuba and Gees. I've not quite found somewhere that I feel quite as much at ease in as I did in those places.

I suppose in a way I don't miss Folkestone per se. More I miss familiarity, friendships and comfort. I think it's about time I got myself back down to Folkestone for a couple of days to catch up. CALLING ALL FOLKESTONE READERS (i.e. Dear Not So Constant Reader ;) ) any dates your all free?

It's funny how you can't go home again, but that'll never stop us trying.

The Shadow People Redux

My conversation last Thursday must have freaked Sam out as she discussed it with the rest of her team. I found this out this morning when the new marketing girl came up to me and told me how she'd seen shadow people too. She was just as baffled as I was and a bit annoyed that I didn't know anything more about them than she did.

She said she'd been staying in a friends room with two other girls, and sleeping on the floor when she was quite young. In the middle of the night she woke up with a start, opened her eyes and found a shadow standing over her. She didn't feel scared but turned to face away from him, to find another one "patting" one of her sleeping friends. She soon fell back to sleep. In the morning she put it down to a dream and didn't mention it... until her other friend said "I don't want to scare you, but last night there was a shadow man standing next to you while you slept". At least my story I can sometimes, in the bright light of the day, convince myself I'm a loon. She had witnesses.

A couple of years later she saw a shadow again in her room... this time he was acting quite menacing and she was terrified. EEK!

See... I'm not the only insane one.

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Snakes on a Plane

I saw it last night. I wasn't disappointed. It was the best movie ever. It won't rock your world. But it will entertain you for an hour and a half. There's cute guys for me and tits for everyone else. And there are snakes.. on a plane. So Cool!!!!!

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The Consumer Culture

I hate consumers. Customers I don't mind. We're all customers. Consumers are a whole different ball game.

We all know consumers, you might even be one yourself. Consumers seem to believe that because they are paying for a service or product they deserve to be treated as Gods, and get pissed off when they don't in such a major way that I sometimes worry that they might suffer some form of heart failure. Their expectations can sometimes be completely unreasonable.

For example. They'll ask for a standard next day delivery (and yes there is a priority option on my company's website) then moan when the goods get to them late afternoon THE NEXT DAY. What is that all about? No one suggested the goods would get there early, it says next day by 5pm. If it was just one or two people I'd just put it down to them being arseholes. But everyone seems to be at it.

Everywhere I go I see consumers who WANT WANT WANT and there's no arguing with them. They seem to forget that the faceless companies they moan at for no valid reason contain numerous fellow human beings who are just trying to make ends meet. I cannot stand the attitude people take with those who serve them, they treat them like slaves without any respect. They shout at them, berate them, make fun of them, make unreasonable demands of them and generally act like 5 year old prima donnas.

Now I know a lot of you are reading this and going "Yes well I've been treated badly by service personnel." I'm sure you have. But statistically what do you think is the more frequent scenario. The customer being an arse or the "servant". I don't often see shoddy service in shops for instance (I mean it'd take a lot to get the checkout procedure wrong) but I see bad customer attitude EVERY day.

Am I the only person who thinks about others when in a shop/cafe environment? I smile at and thank everyone who helps me. I ask polite questions if necessary. I make sure I always have my money ready when I get to the till rather than hold up the queue by hunting around for my money only when asked for it (as if the concept of handing over money in a commercial building is a novel concept). I avoid bothering members of staff unless absolutely necessary (I will always take the automated option rather than inconvenience someone else). It's just polite.

So next time I hear someone being sarcastic to a member of staff for no reason, or belittling someone maliciously, I'm going to get involved. All 6'9" of me. I cannot stand back and let people treat others in any other way than is proper. What right do I have? The right to live in a country without the scum that seems to permeate our lives with their selfish attitudes, their thoughtlessness and their ability to hold up the queue I'm in by starting an argument.

Wiki Wiki Wiki

I love Wiki's. The Wiki Index is an absolute treasure box.

So there's a Star Trek one and a Battlestar Galactica one. Fair enough... but then there are one's for... the Muppets, the X-Files, the Simpsons, the O.C., and Buffy... there is a wiki for everything

Gotta love it.

It's Such A Coincidence

It is amazing the amount of celebrity (or at least infamous) men who end up (quite by chance) in gay bars. Obviously they don't have a problem with this, and they appear to make a lot of friends quickly. Without fail these same men end up inviting a guy/some guys back to their house to continue the evening.

Often a time back in Folkestone I'd go down a gay bar and make such good friends with strangers I'd invite them back for some completely innocent chats. It's a completely normal thing to do. After chatting we'd play scrabble.

That's why I'm shocked by the innuendo in this article about a former member of the IRA who has been viciously attacked by some gay men. Can't a man just go to a local gay bar for a few drinks and make some friends without it being suggested he's into S and M??

Sarcastic? Moi? Some mistake, surely?!

Digging It

Robin Williams plays Spore!!!



Ok... I'm really sad. But Aren't this wonderful?

Ricky Gervais does Microsofts training video. This is wonderful.

When The Family Came To Call.

Today we were visited by the family. As is our custom we spent the whole morning tidying the house. We were terrified by the doorbell three times thinking they'd turned up early to find it was only the postman, Jehovah Witnesses (my first set in Greenwich... will work on them next time when I'm not busy) and the gasman.

Being the wonderful host Jim is, we soon had piles of sandwiches, wraps, crisps, bicuits and profita rolls ready for Mum nd Beth's arrival.

After we'd polished off those we had a few drinks at the Ashburnham Arms, perused the market and had some drinks in Attitude at the Novotel (in the company of a Ghanan wedding party who looked absolutely fantastic). George and Tony finally appeared from a successful Millwall match, polished off a chicken and then everyone went home and we could relax one more.

This guy is so hot I thought I'd show another picture of him...

Shadow People

You are going to think I'm insane. Bear with me, I just want to get this down for any future me that might forget.

Yesterday at lunch the conversation turned to spooky happenings and I told my scary story. This started me wondering again about the mysterious Shadow People and so I went off on a mad trip around the net through many scary and downright weird sites looking for info. All sorts of the same old rubbish.

Yet something freaked me out on one of them. It had an article about two hooded shadows. What was freaky was... I've seen them. When I was a child I thought they were two witches. I'd often see them running past a window, or just catch them running down a hill outside, or along the overgrown abandoned road next to our house. I'd see them for a good few seconds, it was a fleeting but certain sighting on many occasions over a number of years. I'd always thought they were figments of my imagination. They were fairly short, like children. I never saw them looking at me (they tended to have their backs to me as they fled), so I couldn't see their eyes and so I never really connected them up with the Shadow Man. But freaky! Scares me SILLY. I hope I sleep tonight.

Today was a good day at work. We had a new starter. This usually makes me happy as it means I get to train them up and not do any real work. But he was so funny and intelligent that by the end of the day, sitting in the Riverside Pub in Vauxhall, I was smarting from laughing so hard.

And an email was sent to me with the following picture... it made my day ;op

Ask Brent

The gorgeous Brent Corrigan has set up an Ask Brent feature. Go check it out!!

Ouch... My Head Hurts

I'm going to say it just the once; I'm never drinking again.

I went out last to Floridita in Soho with work for an accounts do. Service was so slow to start off with that I thought I might manage to make it to midnight sober. Alas. It was fairly cool if a little quiet (in a bad way).

Several people got way more drunk than me so woo... I did not embarrass myself.

Had to wander home down Old Compton Street. Within seconds two teenage hustlers had cornered me, they couldn't have been 16 yet, looking for work. I gave them my newly developed "Leave me alone smile" which is a normal smile with just the right amount of "If you don't back off I'll tear out your throat with these teeth" added to it. It worked a charm.

It was also good at clearing my way through the yobs who were noisily making a nuisance of themselves all the way down Charing Cross road. When I used to come up to London from home I must have worn ruby tinted glasses... I never used to see this much scum back then. Nowadays London seems to be populated by idiots who shout and sing badly. If they were doing it in a pleasant happy way I wouldn't mind, but they tend to be shouting threats of murder and singing about acts of violence against the guys walking in front of them. Joy.

Today I work up with a lovely headache and caught the train with our neighbour Melissa. She spent the whole journey telling me how bad I looked. :)

The Future - Part 2

Hmm... so... kind of randomly I went on monster.co.uk. I've been thinking about my future but I wasn't seriously considering a new job right this instant. However logging on reactivated my account.

Monster allows employers to search for CV's of prospective employees. Despite my CV being a year out of date my phone rang at least 10 times today with people seeking to contact me (which made my head grow a little. Nice to know I'm sort after!)

Anyway, it's prompted me to decide to update my CV. Wednesday evening. Just in case.

It's not that I hate the company I work for. I love the people and the company has taken good care of me. I'd rather not leave it. But I can barely maintain my professional attitude towards customers any more. Some people are so rude/stupid/bizarre it drives me potty. I need to escape customer service...

Here's My Bright Idea

It seems bizarre to tarnish an entire community just based on the actions of a couple of dozen people. But that's what the BBC seems to want to do. Today BBC News 24 kept referring to the "enemy within" and wondered whether we'd feel the same about our Muslim neighbours after the current terror alert. Then it had people commenting on how terrorists are created by alienation from society and we should try and engage with Muslims more.

Terrorists are criminals. Just as I laughed at the idea of a gay man becoming a burglar because of homophobia only an idiot would believe these guys suddenly become terrorists just because they were faced with prejudice and felt unloved by the "white folk". I'm sure that terrorists rationalise things that way, but it's a joke.

Terrorists tend to be young and male. They are in my opinion similar to the white yobs loose in the country. I.e. they are nasty, stupid idiots with nothing better to do with their time than cause upset and misery. It just happens that these home grown terrorists of ours want to use bombs instead of broken bottles and knives to make their mischief. Just look at the kind of people involved in the Troubles in Northern Ireland... yobs, criminals and the stupid.

I really think we should stop calling them terrorists (I think theand just refer to them as murderers, attempted murderers and the new term "power crazed bastards". That way we can all remember that whatever they say they believe they don't speak for the majority of Muslims in this country who have been loyal subjects for many years from the days of the Raj to the 21st Century. So would our media stop attempting to break up our country into seperate "communities".

On a lighter note...

Travel Chaos In Perspective

While most of us have expressed concern over the "averted terror attacks on planes" (inverted commas as none of this has been discussed in a court of law so we only have the polices word for it, not that I don't trust them...) I'm glad to see travellers in our fair nation have managed to keep things in perspective.

"We're less worried about the security situation and are more concerned about if we're going to be compensated, especially if we now have to get to France by Eurostar" Phillip Edwards, 55, from Uxbridge. This Dad has his priorities in the right place.

"I'm not scared about flying, I'm more worried about whether it's going to cost me extra and the fact I've got a 24-hour flight with nothing to read." Courtney Vane, 21, from Australia. BBC News brings us such interesting angles on these kind of crisis. I really was wondering if anyone had considered all those poor bored people who'll be flying home tonight.

"When we reached the check-in they told us our flights had been cancelled and we weren't allowed to take on our hand-luggage on to the next flight.

"We then had to buy £109 suitcase to put our hand luggage in. I'm travelling with my jewellery and can't take it with me on board. I hope it arrives home safely." Carmen Lopez, 40 from Ohio, USA. Well I'm sure in an expensive case like that your jewellery would survive a cataclysmic explosion on your plane, so don't you worry a bit!

"I can understand how people are worried about security but the airline has not been helpful.

"We should at least have been given something to eat and drink, as well as money to phone home to tell our families that we will be delayed." Charlotte Demant, a 25-year-old make-up artist from Denmark. You're so right Charlotte how thoughtless of them. All those lazy airport staff sitting around with nothing better to do could come and wait your table and give you some pocket money. Heaven forbid you'd have to fend for yourself in the wilds of Heathrow.

It's not that they felt these things. It's that the BBC used our money to bring us these insightful views. Thanks so much.

Heathrow

It's Not Just The Government Who's Invading Our Privacy

So the police are investigating allegations of phone tapping on calls from the Royal Household at Clarence House. These possibly (IMO probably) involve the News of the World.

I can barely conceal my anger at the current state of the Governments treatment of privacy. I don't need to conceal my anger over Rupert Murdochs obvious disregard for our laws and privacy... this is disgusting!!!!!!! I'll watch with interest to see if the NOTW is implicitly implicated.

Imagine the New York Post tapping the Vice President's phone. Heads would roll.

Eerie

Oh... how I miss this prog..

The Future - Part 1

It really is time to get off my arse. Customer service is a fulfilling and useful occupation. It is also a slow and painful form of torture. Hell is other people. And other people seem to want to drive me insane by phoning me and being rude.

So... what do I want to do? If I asked my family they'd suggest joining the police (I think my poor eyesight means I can't) which would fulfil my Nan's dreams. If you asked my Mum she'd inform you there is nothing in the world I'd rather be doing than bobbing up the Amazon in a raft studying the flora and fauna. She is of course omnipotent and quite correct. But I really think that particular dream of mine is about as likely as my dream of winning the lottery, having a harem of hung, muscled tops and making the world a better place.

So ideas on a postcard people. Give me some ideas... inspire me!

The Confederate States of America

Today I saw C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America. Ever since I first saw Ken Burn's Civil War I've had a quiet interest in the American Civil War. I'm also an alternative history freak. So I was looking forward to the movie. It was okay. I very much doubt slavery would have survived into the 21st Century, and I also doubt whether the Confederacy would have annexed the North. They didn't like the Yankees to start with, why would they want to occupy their territory?

But it was somewhat interesting as a look into the strange society slavery produces. The mind boggles.

Technorati : america, confederacy, movies

News of the Queers

Oh.

A Welsh burglar was spotted for a novel reason, and had an even more novel excuse. Out of the four participants in a burglary he was the only one apprehended because the victim recognised his distinctively camp walk. Being the "only gay in the village", as the press has predictably named him, must be hard. So hard he blames it for his criminality!! "His lawyer, Eugene Egan said Williams was reacting to 'being teased about his sexuality. He is an openly gay man and quite camp. The local youths all know what he is like and they tease him mercilessly.'"My heart bleeds.

Either Brent Corrigan has gone insane and returned to the arms of Cobra and those who have used him or Cobra's "King Cobra" has given up his sanity in his quest to discredit the Brent. I'm guessing it's the latter. Yesterday I received an email from Cobra (I don't actually remember signing up but probably did) claiming Cobra and Brent Corrigan were still working together. If any of you have seen the pictures and videos on Cobra's not-so-official Brent Corrigan page he'd be crazy to get back into bed with a company that obviously wants to make him an object of disgust and amusement. It's hard to make a naked Brent Corrigan seem disturbing (being the gorgeous man he is) but Cobra sure are trying.

No official response from Brent yet but I suspect he'll have a few things to say. Go send him a shout out of support.

Looks like 2006 is going to be the year of the gay movies Shock to the System, Another Gay Movie, Quinceanera and The Night Listener. Hollywood is mainstreaming homosexuality, just as America's sending it back to the closet. Banning gay marriage is nasty. Why not just not have it??

Gay man jailed for passing on HIV. I know this is an area of controversy and a lot of AIDS workers are concerned it'll criminalise the HIV/AIDS infected community and set back the cause of sex education. However, surely knowing you have HIV/AIDs but continuing to have unprotected sex (even protected sex) with people who haven't any idea of your status is at the very least immoral? Sure it takes two and both parties are responsible. But both sides need to be equally well informed to make responsible decisions don't you think? Knowingly spreading HIV/AIDS is assault in my opinion.

Technorati : aids, brent corrigan, burglar, cobra, gay, hiv

Avenue Q

Last night I headed out to see Avenue Q with people from work at the Noel Coward theatre. Despite not having been there before I knew where it was, but would anyone believe me? Oh no... so after much arguing we finally arrived (and gee... it's where I said it was!) and settled down. I was in the back row of the stalls with no one behind me... for a socially conscious tall person this is known as BLISS.

Having had the music from the show stuck in my head for the last month I knew all the jokes and the plot. However this did not deflect from the fact it was a blast. So much energy and enthusiasm all up on stage. Christmas Eve (played by Ann Harada) was awesome and the guy behind Princeton (Jon Robyns) was a cutie.

Pictures here

I loved the show, go see it.



Technorati : avenue q, london, musicals

The Queens Speech

Last month marked one year since I restarted this blog. This month marks 5 years since this blog was born. A lot has happened so I think it's time to take stock.

As you can see from the image below my blog has gone from strength to strength in the last year, visitor wise. This is mainly due to the Kevin McDaid debacle, being linked to by The Guardian, Brent Corrigan and some helpful links from many a good blog. In fact all this linking means I've got a higher page rank than the company I work for!! Yay! I'd also like to thank every man who has gone topless for photographs... you've really helped bump my Google Images results up! :o) Last month we broke 100,000 visitors (70,000 in the last year) and 11,000 visitors in one month.



Over the last five years this blog (and a few pretenders) has been my constant companion. It's been there for me for me to dump on through suicide attempts (how immature), run away successes, changing jobs, dumping boyfriends, being dumped, multiple "shags", that time at uni and many a visit to a strange town. I know this is all a bit navel gazing and self important. But, Dear Constant Reader, this is my diary. No one forces you to read this stuff. It's all about ME. My blogs entire purpose in life is to be selfish, arrogant and inward looking.

I've always hated those who poo-poo blogging. Blogging is what you make it.

Nothing Much To Say

I'm at a loss today, so tell me something interesting or just say
hi!!! The comments facility isn't there just for fun... it's there so
you can make me feel loved. ;op