A little Reward

Recently I was on vacation in lovely Fort Lauderdale, one of the accomplishments of '06 has been to lose a lot of weight -- I needed to do it if I wanted to be around for more than five years -- so part of the changes in my life have included going to the gym on a regular basis.

While on vacation going to the gym can really be challenging because you never know what facilities are available . . . and heck it's easy to make the excuse that there simply wasn't time. On this trip I did not fall into that trap and as a reward for my commitment and dedication I got to workout along side members of the Minnesota Vikings.

I'm not much of a football fan but I really appreciated the time spent with the men in purple. It charged me up because here I was working out along side these professional players; they were very polite and friendly. I only wish I knew more about the team . . . I do recognize the guys from the Vikings website. It will be a memory that I will treasure for many years. Whenever I wonder whether I should bother to workout while traveling I can always think of the time I got to share sweat with the Vikings. Who knows one of these days I might just get something in their team colors.

The other part of the story that is fun is that I called a few friends of mine that are totally into the Vikings -- they were drooling -- asked if I could get an autograph or two -- I'm just not that king of person. Maybe one day while in Minessota I'll check out a game -- that would really be cool.

Looking Forward

Well, the new year is here and so am I. Over the past few weeks I've been thinking about my blog and how I haven't taken the time to maintain it. Frankly I don't think I have that much to say but . . . and there's a big but -- just because my output isn't massive it doesn't mean that I should just forget about it.

So among the many resolutions that I'd like to consider and attempt to satisfy in the coming year is to post my ramblings . . . whatever; whenever . . . so get ready and if you find anything of interest or not I hope you enjoy my scrambled thoughts.

Ya'll come back soon . . .

Everything in Print

Life is so unusual sometimes. I was recently thinking about my job and how bizarre it is that I work in publishing – it's bizarre because I happen to be legally blind (that means that my eyesight on a good day is 2200/20 as opposed to 20/20 or something similar); I happen to also only have sight in one eye.

I have an uncanny ability to discern colors and often find myself dissecting everything visually. I watch tv and try to figure out the color themes of shows; when I go to the movies I get hung up on the font that is being used for the title and credits.

To me fonts and how they are used are part of the overall visual message . . . down deep I know I want to know what is being said on all levels. I feel that because I am limited in my perceptions (with only one eye, I don't see in 3d) I need to take it all in. In our fast world you only get one chance to say exactly what you want.

Sometimes I think that I appreciate the world around us more because I have the opportunity to see it in my own unique way. For example, because I only have sight in one eye I build 3-d vidual cues from the lighting and placement of objects in my line of sight. When I go into a museum and see a well executed painting (and by well executed I mean that the perspective and light placement are in balance) I can mentally step into that world – who said this blind man can't travel . . .

One of my favourite movie titles is the one for the movie TRUE LIES. I love how they take the letters TRUE and rotate them 90° and place the word LIES on top. When I saw the Matrix and saw the green monitor font I was hooked – it told me what I needed to absolutely know about the story.

Well enough for now . . . who knows what font will drive me . . .

Choices and more choices

I was just replying to an email; the topic of our conversation was "how things never seem to happen fast enough." Upon reflection I thought just how true that is and how ironic it is that time passes at different speeds for all of us.

My email buddy was commenting on how at his young age he can't seem to get his life going. He's in his mid-twenties and can't seem to get things to happen. I was all but flustering in my mid-twenties and it wasn't until I turned 26 that I realized I wanted to do something with my life. I suppose that this is what happens when you are able to cruise along life without having to worry about where you live or what other responsibilities you might have.

My parents urged me to be happy in whatever I did. I managed to make a living but it only went as far as keeping me in my creature comforts. The reality is that since I did not have a need I did not realize what was missing.

For me the biggest motivator was that at 33 I woke up and felt alone. I did not have a partner; while I loved my work (and still do) it did not completely fulfill me.

It's almost as if I were following a script of my own life and did not realize I could make choices that would bring me more fulfillment. Until I realized that there was a choice to be made I could not move forward in life and within.

I complimented my email buddy and told him that he was lucky he knew that there were paths to be taken and choices to be made -- how lucky to be aware of all that life can offer. It's almost like finding out that there's more than vanilla and chocolate -- that there are at least 29 more flavours.

Dancing up a storm.

Just got back from the Pride Party hosted by the Big Men's Club of NY. It was great, I had a lot of fun. There were lots of people having a great time.

I took lots of photos and one gentleman stood out because he was wearing a lovely silk robe with the pride colors. He was dancing up a storm.
I love to see people dance; it's very revealing . . . It says quite a bit about their self-image and their sensuality.

At some point I caught the gentleman looking for a bit of help. He wanted to know where the dessert room was. I offered to show him and we started to talk. We had an engaging conversation about dance and how it tells a story about all of us.

We looked at the great assortment of desserts and settled on the cheesecake. We continued to converse and both agreed that sometimes dance is just as good as sex and that most good dancers are good lovers. Dance lets you speak to our inner selves. You can dance with joy or dance with the darkness within you.

I love dance because it's another way to ride life. When I am down I put on a cd and let the music take me away -- I dance to the rhythms and let it carry me to the next plateau. Dance has a way of letting me communicate without words.

We both agreed that the body language that dance conveys can be sensual, erotic, revealing and most of all it can offer a window into who we are at a deeper level.

So the next time you hit the dance floor think about what message you are sending and how others respond to you -- dance is the secret communique of how you feel and what you really want.

I was just thinking that it's time I join the blogging community. I have plenty on my mind and hey it is time to share and maybe, just maybe make sense of it all . . . or at least have fun trying.