Sunday, September 30, 2007

I'm a winner!


So, this past Wednesday I attend the So Cal Social Club out here in Los Angeles.

It is run by none other than the gorgeous Luciano Costa, who also leads a double life (not in a negative way) as a bartender at The Abbey in WeHo.

Anyways, so I got there pretty early despite the mixer starting at 7pm, people (of course) showed up fashionably late. Things didn't get busy until 8pm or so. I was completely apprehensive as everyone traveled in packs of two and how are you supposed to mix when everyone's got a wingman? As I said to Luciano later on that evening it was like "gay mafia."

So after three martinis (along with a $50 bar tab), the discussion panel started which was great as the topic of discussion was "Finding THE one," not to mention when asked the talking point of something no one knew about you, mine was to say that I had unofficially been out since October last year, but officially out the last month and a half. After that, had a talk with Luciano about the organization and what have you. I also got to meet a few great guys from the panel and got to talking to a good number of them.

Then came the raffle drawing. I was joking with another attendee about what one would do with $700 worth of Kiehls products. And they draw a number, but that person didn't claim their prize. Then they drew a second number, it was MINE!!!


So all in all, the event ended well despite being completely lame in the beginning. I thought I would need the martinis to give me some courage, but in the end me just being myself was all I needed to do. Definitely hope to check out the next event!

fI

P.S. Plus, I'll need to tell you more about my work conference...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Vlog 01...

Since Blogger recently launched this new feature, I thought I'd try it! The mash up word, vlog, sounds so foreign...German perhaps?! Anyways, here's my first, half-assed attempted at doing a quickie video blog of the hotel room I stayed in for my work conference. Okay some of you may not bat an eyelash at what you see, but I honestly don't ask for much and being set up in such nice digs, is and will always be a definite surprise and priviledge for this boy. Enjoy!



fI

P.S. NOTE: By "decked out" I meant the amenities: like the HDTV and the LCD at the bathroom sink, and not that it had a shower and a bathroom. Smart asses. Oh and if you figure out what hotel I was staying at...um...I dunno, you win a prize?!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

100!!!

So in the tradition of what I've seen other bloggers do when you reach your 100th post, here are 100 things about me (or this blog) or what I'm thinking at the moment that you may or may not know! (I will count down from 100 to 1, from the most obvious to the most obscure...or I'll try at least!) Here goes:

100. I love musicals!
99. I love singing!

98. Despite loving both musicals and singing, I have never been in a musical.
97. I have performed in front of various size audiences (largest was at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, which seats nearly 700)
96. Speaking of performing, I have done a few plays, in particular, my crowning achievement would be a culture night at the aforementioned theatre.
95. In college, I was in seven different organization; and the most at one time: 5.
94. 5, that's also the number of years it took me to graduate.
93. Reason being, I switched majors in the middle of my junior year.
92. I started college majoring in computer science, then I switched to a humanities major.
91. I took about 4 years worth of Japanese.
90. Am I fluent? NO WAY!!! (You would think, right?!)
89. This fascination of the Japanese culture started in sophomore year in HS.
88. All this fascination and I have not yet been to Japan.
87. I used to watch Japanese Animation...alot.
86. My favorite Japanese Animation is/are/was Dragonball Z and Tenchi Muyo.
85. Speaking of shows, I'm watching Mythbusters as I'm trying to come up with 100 things.
84. This episode: Superhero Myths.
83. I actually saw this episode, partially, while on my Jetblue flight to New York the other week.
82. I had the best time in New York; one of the best times I've had on vacation on my own.
81. Despite being in New York, I didn't meet any New York bloggers.
80. But I did see what a New York blogger was talking about in one of his blog posts (reference: Brechi Reborn)
79. I have finally been on Top of the Roc, which I have to say, is waaay cooler than the Empire State Building!
78. While in New York, I saw 9 musicals...Yes, 9.
77. Five of those nine, was Altar Boyz.
76. Did I mention I'm an Altarholic?!
75. In total, I've seen Altar Boyz seven times...Yes, 7 (twice when it was a regional production in Long Beach and the aforementioned).
74. Why do I love Altar Boyz so much? I think it's the catchy lyrics, comical aspects, religious references, the dancing and singing.
73. Reminds me, I need to post the video of me dancing and singing with Ryan J. Ratliff, who plays Mark in the musical.
72. I also shot another video of me singing with another actor from the show, Matthew "Bucky" Buckner, which is showcased in a previous post.
71. I may be obsessed about Altar Boyz, but I made three awesome friends due to the show!
70. Speaking of friends, I'd like to say through this blog I've befriends some awesome people.
69. Dan of My Life in the Slow Lane.
68. Drew of Superdrewby.
67. Bobby of Bobby Vanquish/Bobby's Body.
66. AA of The Accidental Activist.
65. The bloggers were genuinely concerned and kept in contact when I was diagnosed with my (thankfully) benign brain tumor last December.
64. This brain tumor, has changed my life for the better.
63. I am more vocal about my opinions.
62. I will not take anyone's shit.
61. Allowed me to live my life without any regrets.
60. The only regret I have at the moment, is that this frivolity makes me spend money.
59. And not to mention, I am quite a bit short due to having transitioned jobs.
58. Nearly a month of not getting paid can screw you up financially...Seriously.
57. New job though; I am getting paid more.
56. But I feel I should have been hired as a manager and not something parallel.
55. So I plan to speak up about this disparity with the director that hired me, next Thursday.
54. Lying on your resume and out loud to those you manage is not good.
53. My manager could learn a thing or two about that.
52. See what I meant about being vocal?!
51. I think this new vocalness (is that even a word?!) may get me in trouble in various respects and capacities.
50. I know it has with ToBF on a few occassions.
49. OMG how do other bloggers do 100 things about them?! I can't even think of another 48 in particular that stand out.
48. My guilty pleasure: I love Fergie's album!
47. My musical tastes are eclectic.

46. I listen to Japanese R&B.
45. Yes, I do understand some of the lyrics from time to time (remember #91?).
44. My dream job: being an A&R Rep for a music label.
43. Speaking of jobs, I have never worked a retail or food service job (full or part time), ever.
42. Why? I've always managed to get an office job somehow, someway.
41. Where I want to be in the next few years: a managerial then a directoral position.
40. Then what? Maybe some grad school or likely an MBA.
39. It's all a part of my grandoise plan.
38. A few years in Southern California, then Northern California. Grad/MBA and then relo and spend the rest of my life on the East Coast.
37. Speaking of which, I grew up in New Jersey for about a year or two when I was younger.
36. I remember the tiny sub-apartment my parents and I occupied.

35. The bed in my room, was on an elevated section, and well, I don't think it really was a room.
34. I remember when my parents would spin records on the record player.
33. Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling.
32. Whitney Houston (pre-crack headed Bobby Brown days...when she actually made amazing music).
31. I am a product of the 80's.
30. I love all the throwback 80's songs and all the top 40 songs on the radio that sample music from the 80's.
29. I talk about music alot.
28. I could probably find a song that is appropriate for every moment of my life.
27. With that song having very appropriate lyrics to fit the mood and occassion.
26. I know what song would fit for the jerk of an asshole I thought I had fallen for last October.
25. 20 Fingers - Short Dick Man.
24. Not to mention he had the nastiest looking uncircumsized penis.
23. It looked like the worm in the sand pit from Star Wars.
22. Yes...I'm not kidding.
21. Yes...I'm brutal, I know.
20. Now if you're wondering...I'm cut.
19. But I wasn't circumsized at birth.
18. I was circumsized when I was 11 or 12, because my mom thought I had difficulty peeing.
17. Dammit! What was my mom thinking?!
16. Speaking of my mom, I remember when we lived in New Jersey still she was taking/picking me up from pre-school and she had slipped on the pavement.
15. It was the middle of winder and the pavement froze over.
14. I also remember my uncle closing the window on my fingers...It hurt.
13. My aunt and uncle got in a fight over that incident.
12. I was pretty quiet as a kid.
11. I also had straight hair then.
10. What happened in both instances?! hah
9. I had a stuffed yellow, green and blue monkey that had a mini shirt on that said "I [heart] Bryan".
8. I named him Elmo...I know, he's not Red or a furry monster. Get over it.
7. I have a scar on my right, middle knuckle.
6. Got it from scraping my hand across the backyard wall while riding my bike, which at the time, still had its training wheels on.
5. Injuries: I have also cut my left hand, in the meaty part, pretty deep with a utility knife as well.
4. I have never broken a bone in my body.
3. I am deaf in my left ear....completely deaf. And no I'm not ignoring you if you're talking to me from my left side.
2. They ruled out that my hearing loss was the cause of my tumor. Yes, the tumor was in the same vicinity of my left ear drum/canal. But they said the tumor had to have been growing for 10-15 years before hand.
1. Some great (I think) offical news, below.


This goes out to all of you who have read my blog thus far and is a testament to those of you whom I have become amazing friends with. The friendships I have made through this blog to get me along some of the roughest times in my life thus far is something I truly cherish! :D It has been 11 months since I started this blog and have come a long way. The anniversary of this blog is nearing and will definitely look back upon this last year. Also, to commend this 100th post, I'd like to officially say I am 100% Gay. I have finally come to terms to my issues and have the confidence to embrace that this is who I am.

More soon...I need to finish my recollection from my NYC trip, before it becomes cloudy...

fI

P.S. I can't belive I came up 100 things...well I kinda cheated. I was starting to get on a roll. I have alot of childhood factoids and memories. Probably the next 100th post I'll do more then...

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Totalled...

09.17.07 - Car Accident

**Updated: gMaps view of the accident site here.

fI

Monday, September 17, 2007

Balance...

To balance out the dismal, previous post:

My most recent crush...

Cheyenne Jackson (and Kerry Butler) singing "Suddenly" from
Xanadu the musical...




fI

Solace...

It is with a heavy heart that I post this. I did not know the person at all, but did interact with someone they were close with.

Upon reading Dudetube this morning, I came across the news of Danny Roddick, of Colt Studios/Buckshot fame, had passed away on Thursday, September 13th. May his friends and relatives find peace at this time. Having had interaction (read: wrote an email and got a response back) with his former partner and coworker, Alex Chandler, I felt compelled to post this news on my blog. Danny was a handsome fellow, and from what I recall from Alex writing about him, that he was gorgeous not only on the outside, but definitely on the inside as well.

I'll leave this post with links to different stories and articles...

fI

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Reminiscing, Part 02...

Day 02, September 01 -

This day was awesome cause I got to sit down and talk with the creator of my favorite musical (Altar Boyz!!!) of all time, Ken Davenport!!! I was uber excited as he agreed to meet me half an hour before having to street time for his other new production, My First Time. I piqued his interest in the duration of our conversation with the knowledge I have on the advertising industry, in particular Google AdWords. I got to ask him questions as well about nuances of my fave musical and what have you. It was definitely a great meeting of the minds, normally it would have cost me "wafers" (see here for the "wafers" reference) but I got lucky! :D Anyways, I digress. Us street teamers finally headed out of the office towards Broadway clad in shirts that say "Ask Me About My First Time." Quite awkward if you ask me! But in the spirit of things...It wasn't so awkward...I think the looks I got while wearing the shirt and trying to pass out flyers and pins were worse! Haha! Not to mention the heat that day with a black shirt was definitely not something one should do...I think they need to get white shirts from now on...theyr'e cheaper too! :X So after two hours of that, we headed back to the office on 49th and I talked a bit more with Ken! Even got a free ticket to his new show My First Time (more on this later but let me tell ya it was great!). If you're ever in New York and want tickets to the show, wander down Broadway and 46th, next to the Bank of America ATMs and ask for Jeramy, one of the street teamers with binders and tell him Bry sent ya! :D He has discounted tickets for both Altar Boyz and My First Time!

Later that evening I went to see another musical (yes I know...this would be #3 during my vacation) called Naked Boys Singing. And they were NOT kidding when they say Naked!!! 7-8 guys show up on stage wearing NOTHING at all. With only their wits about them, they pranced, danced, pirouted around stage with their willies hanging out for all to see and oogle! My mouth (not for that reason you perverts!) was agape the whole time! It was a sight to see! There were two (one of which I will get to in a second) that were well endowed! But one in particular really caught my eye; his name is Spencer Gates. He was quite the looker! He was gorgeous! Drop dead! (More about him in a second) Anyways, show lasted about an hour, hour and a half as a musical reveue of various different songs about being naked, getting circumsized, masturbation...you name it, it was probably a topic of one of the songs they sang! It was better than seeing Thunder Down Under I would think, but I have yet to compare the two (I will by next February for a bachelorette party!). So that show ended and I was out in the lobby when Spencer makes his way out, avoiding any eye contact and looking towards the ground. Again my mouth was agape; frozen, wanting to ask him for a photo, clothed, but felt like the ultimate pervert if I did. The gaggle of 'Mos who were also in the lobby, giggled in delight as Spencer made his exit. How do they do it day in day out? Lucky for them, Naked Boys Singing only plays on Fridays at 10:30PM & Saturday at 6PM and 10:30PM.

Next, I saw My First Time. It was great how there was audience participation in the sense that when you went to sit in your seat there was a voluntary questionairre you could fill out with a branded pen. You filled it out about your sexual experiences and an usher came around to pick them up from you. If your story were good enough, it may be chosen as one of the ones read by the actors on stage. Interestingly enough, they compiled all the date you filled out and throughout the show they had a slideshow that had updated information about how many virgins were in the theatre, percentages and stats across the board. It was interesting! The two male actors, Bill Dawes and Josh Heine, were hot as hell! Especially Bill, who was popping out of his read t-shirt and sport coat. Dreamy! The stories were retold in the style of the Vagina Monologues and consisted of stories ranging from gay and straight, abuse, pleasure, situations, etc. All the recollections were used from a website that people around the world submitted anonymously. It was definitely an interesting show to say the least!

This day was one of my longer days as I was out of the place I was staying for most of the day. It was great seeing both these shows, especially Naked Boys Singing! *gushes* :D

*EDIT: I forgot to mention the rest of my evening: dinner with the boys and Fat Cat in Chelsea! Will add it tomorrow!

Next on the plate, Day 03...but that's for tomorrow! Hope some of you are enjoying the recollection of my trip, otherwise for posterity!

fI

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Reminiscing, Part 01...

My trip the other week was amazing (to say the least)!

I honestly had the best time, albeit by myself mostly. I got to explore the city and just clear my head of my tribulations back home. Definitely a welcomed change and going after what I know I want.

Day 00, August 29 –

Pinchy (former coworker) got me to the airport around 8PM for my 9:15PM (Pacific Time) flight. Upon checking my luggage in, I was told that we had to make a lay over to Salt Lake City due to the heat for refueling before we headed directly to New York. We board the plane, and then taxi onto the tarmac. We sit on the tarmac for an hour, when the pilot announces that there was some instrumentation issue they were trying to fix so they were in the process of resetting the system to see if that would resolve the issue. Unfortunately, it did not and we had to taxi back because someone wanted to get off the plane; so back we went. Oh did I mention we had no running water, so people were just using hand sanitizer to wash their hands with. Now, me being a bit OCD, I didn't not find this situation too sanitary and kind of felt sick to my stomach at the thought; but what was I gonna do? Anyways, we got back to the terminal, let the person off and refueled. By the time the captain finished all the paperwork he had to fill out, 3 hours had passed. We finally took off either at midnight or at 1AM; I'm honestly not sure as all the waiting made me stir crazy and delirious.


Day 01, August 30 -

Arrived in NY by 8AM (Eastern Time). I barely got any sleep on the plane, but I was completely excited by being somewhere I could escape all the troubles that awaited my return back at home. I took the AirTrain to the Long Island Rail Road into Penn Station. Got to my friend's GF's place (from herein, Tranny -- long story short, friends named her that on a trip to BevMo this past 4th of July...) near Herald Square after sweating myself over the two block trip from Penn Station. Took a 2 hour nap and then grabbed lunch with Tranny's childhood friend at Hard Rock Cafe in Time Square. Gotta scan and upload the picture...

*picture from Hard Rock Cafe here*

Tranny came home in the afternoon and graciously cooked us dinner. It was AMAZING!!! Cous-cous with grilled veggies, Broiled Pork and a simple garden greens salad with (I forget what kind of) cheese, some dried cranberrys and a vinagrette (sp?) dressing. It was SCRUMPTIOUS I tell ya! She's an amazing cook! Gotta have her teach me how to cook that good! :D Anyways, that evening marked the first night (and first time, out of five mind you) of seeing Altar Boyz off-broadway at the New World Stages. Awesome show as always! I got the premium tickets, which were $126...BUT it included the ticket plus a souvenir booklet (paid another $5 to get the signed copy), the soundtrack CD, a t-shirt and button. And better yet, it also included a VIP meet and greet with the actors inside the theatre, before they exited out into the "stage door" area (read: theatre lobby). Afterwards, met up with Tranny and her friend for some amazing desserts at Billy's down 22nd and 8th. Ate a lemon bar with some milk and also bought a buttercreme cupcake, which I saved for later. Good times!

I'll have to continue this post in Part 02, as it's getting near my bed time and I need to be up at 5AM again tomorrow for more gym! w00t! :D

To be continued folks...

fI

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Empty...

How is it, that I had the time of my life over the last week and a half, felt liberated and free to express myself, totally and completely accepted only to come back and be haunted still...?

fI

For now...

"It's 8:30AM and I am about 5 hours from my leave from the most amazing trip I've had in a while (dare I say ever?!)! The impending sadness of loss of proximity looms..."

He probably won't see this for a while (or who knows)...But thank you M (and J) for being the most gracious hosts this weekend! I love you and can't wait to be back! *hugs* :)

fI