Random Ramblings
Greetings, all! Well, it's been five months, so I guess it's about time I updated my journal, since there has been much that has occurred. As usual, it's so long, I will be breaking it up for you into digestible segments...
We did, indeed, go to the world premiere of Stoners at Coney Island. While it was not a huge gathering, it was wonderful fun. We rode the Wonder Wheel, on one of the swinging cars; I was sitting immediately in front of Rod as we took off and he said, "I hope I don't puke." Thank goodness he didn't -- I'm sure I'd have hated the rest of the day if he had... He also had sense enough to keep his delicate stomach off our next ride, which I told him that for him was probably a very wise choice.
We also got to ride the Cyclone, despite the face that their website says they close on September 30th. Those of you who know me know I LOVE a good roller coaster, and after having ridden the Hulk, the Dueling Dragons, the Revenge of the Mummy (awesome coaster) and that most of the wooden roller coasters I've ridden since childhood were modeled on this very coaster, I was quite excited to get to ride it, but was expecting something a little tamer than the stuff I've been riding for the last few years. Do not be so deceived if you make the trip -- that's a wicked little coaster, and I loved every minute. Jaye said it was a little rough even for him, but I thought it was great. :) If you'd like to see some pics from the gathering itself, you can take a peek over here.
Jaye has discovered that he *loves* New York City. His only trip there before was with a friend who took Jaye only to his old hang-outs and pretty much kept him in the Village. We stayed in central Manhattan, and kingohugs (Matt) took us on a wonderful tour on Friday night, with a fabulous dinner at a place called Angel's, which is right under the 69th Street bridge. I was humming the Simon and Garfunkel song all through dinner. I went to the Lush store there and stocked up on fresh stuff I couldn't get shipped -- oh, what a glory a Lush store is! We wandered around by ourselves a lot and got to see many, many things that we've only seen in movies before -- which I think was part of the reason that Jaye left the city saying he was in love with it.
In November, I took a trip to England to go to a wedding. I believe I have mentioned my Stone brother Gary a few times in here; I'm not sure I've mentioned his beautiful bride, Kris (who is terribly smart and hilariously funny). The wedding was lovely, and Auntie M put on her full drag (makeup and everything!) for this event. If you'd like to see some of the pictures, the link can be found here.
Since my baby brother Gary (I think it's hilarious that my Stone brother and my biological brother have the same name, and as you will probably notice from pics, similar taste in brides) and his wife, Meredith, are now stationed in the UK, I spent most of my time at their house. It's in a little suburb of London called Weybridge, which just happened to be where the wedding was held. The two couple seem to hit it off, and I hope that they will continue to keep in touch with each other (more on that later). I really enjoyed my stay with Gary and Meredith, too -- they are really wonderful together and fun to be around.
For those of you who know the state of my mental health and my cyclical depression, I have gone back to the doctor and am on meds again. It was interesting this time, though -- I had originally thought about making an appointment just to get me something to help ease my anxiety on the flight over, but while I waffled on that, I realized that I was in feeling the way I usually did just about two years before the bad depression would hit (and in the cycle, I'm just about due for a major depression in about two years). So I made an appointment with a psychiatrist who is literally 60 steps from my house, and discovered that the diagnosis of "chronic cyclical depression" I've been saddled with is probably WRONG. Dr Greve (why must I choose a doctor with names who are funny in light of their specialties?) has diagnosed me with bipolar II (a milder form of what they used to call manic/depressive disorder). He told me it was very rare to have a patient come in while they're in the "hypomania" phase -- most wait until they're already depressed and are misdiagnosed (well, that explain *that*, now wouldn't it?). In the ensuing months, I believe we have got my medications balanced, and I am no longer having the wild mood swings or the depressions that would keep me in the house for days at a time.
We started December with our annual trip to Orlando and Universal Studios (Mr Disney is still on time-out until that jackass Eisner is gone). As usual, that trip was a great deal of fun, and I got to visit with my cousins, Big Andy, Little Andy and KT. The rest of the month was uneventful -- I hate Christmas and all that goes with it, though I really did like the little "magic christmas tree" my brother bought me in England. It's a little cardboard "tree" that you stand in some special mixture, and crystals grow to form a beautiful, delicate little fir. This is the first time we've ever had any kind of Christmas tree in our house, and I thought it was wonderful.
In January, we went over to Houston for a visit with my family for Christmas. We do this in January mostly because that's when I have to go over to get my car inspected and relicensed (you all know how reluctant I am to give up my Texas citizenship, even if the doofus in the White House embarrasses me). We also went because Gary asked me to be there for a surprise he'd lined up for us. Well, there was a lot of tension in the house at Galveston, which I blame on stress on all parties involved, but Gary and I did come to the conclusion that I have to get off my ass and take up some of my duties as co-trustee of the family trust. So I have something like a job, and will be coming over to sit with the lawyer while he does the stuff for us he should have been doing the last three years.
But that wasn't the surprise -- the surprise was tickets to see Cirque du Soliel's Varekai, under a big tent in what used to be the Astrodome parking lot. (It's now part of some huge sports complex, and looks so small compared to the other facilities they've added that Jaye thought it was the big top we'd be seeing the show in.)
Varekai was fantastic, and only you who have seen them live will really appreciate this -- seeing them on TV or tape is just not the Cirque experience, which is full of amazing energy and magic. It was, I believe, one of the best Christmas presents I've ever had.
We came home to discover that (are you ready for this?) a new Lush store had been installed on Decatur Street, a mere four blocks from my house! Oh, heaven! Oh, bliss! Once I get the stuff with the lawyer squared away, I am going to be applying for a part-time job there, just to feed my habit. I have already talked to one of the managers, and I think she was ready to hire me on the spot, just because I knew so much about their product and demonstrated it that day.
We were supposed to go over to Houston for me to do the lawyer stuff last week, so that we could kill two birds with one stone -- get the work done and miss Mardi Gras at the same time. Well, the lawyer's mother is in ICU and very touch and go, so we've postponed that trip until after Valentine's Day. So we're stuck here in Mardi Gras Hell -- it hasn't been too bad, though we have had one screaming match with a guy pissing through the gate, and believe me, we're prepared for the NEXT one we catch. We've been invited to a large party on Mardi Gras day, on a balcony just off Jackson Square, so all we'll have to do is get across Bourbon Street, which isn't too bad down by his house.
I had a little root canal work, but the less said about that, the better. Suffice it to say that I like my doc -- he's doing this in stages, rather than all at once, so the pain and discomfort are minimized. Go, Dr. DiLeo (who pronounces his name as in "what's the dillio?"...)!
Then we both had the "creeping crud" -- lasted all last week, and we're both better now, but it was nasty around our house for a couple of days. I guess it was jut as well that we couldn't go over, because I'd be dying on top of the lawyer, which I'm sure would have been both distressing and uncomfortable for us both.
The London premiere of Stoners was held on the 3rd of February, but since I'd gone to the wedding, I couldn't be there in person. I did, however, send Gary and Meredith as my emissaries, and they had a good time with my Stoner friends and enjoyed the movie, too. My British friends didn't let me down -- they held the after-show gathering in a place that served Mexican food and had big Texas flags hanging everywhere. I believe that Stone-brother Gary will be putting up a collection of photos from that -- if you follow the wedding link above, then go out to the galleries there, you'll probably see one marked London Premiere or something like that -- it will probably be the gallery right next to the wedding pics. :)
But it seems that at least one of the attendees was less than happy with the movie. A newcomer to the game decided to make her third post on the Community boards a review of the film. You may read that here. I think it's unnecessary to say that she did not endear herself to many of us, and she has failed to reappear to answer anyone's comments on her "review." We all found it strange that though she professes to be "obsessed" with the Stone, she failed to find and attend the gathering, or even get up and introduce herself to Rod, whose name seems to be the only one she retained from viewing the film. As she would say, "whatever." (If you check out her friends list, you'll find one for "choochie," which is the name she uses on the Stone. I would bet that's a much more accurate pic of her than the one on the review page...)
We now have an IMDb reference, for the movie, where I am featured in the summary. We're still working on the cast list, as the IMDb has some fairly strict rules about who can be considered cast in a documentary, but I will be appearing there in the cast list soon. Woo-hoo!
So there you have it. That's all the news that's fit to print since the last update. I shall try to make it back for another update more timely than the last -- try, she says, try... :)
Love ya all!
We did, indeed, go to the world premiere of Stoners at Coney Island. While it was not a huge gathering, it was wonderful fun. We rode the Wonder Wheel, on one of the swinging cars; I was sitting immediately in front of Rod as we took off and he said, "I hope I don't puke." Thank goodness he didn't -- I'm sure I'd have hated the rest of the day if he had... He also had sense enough to keep his delicate stomach off our next ride, which I told him that for him was probably a very wise choice.
We also got to ride the Cyclone, despite the face that their website says they close on September 30th. Those of you who know me know I LOVE a good roller coaster, and after having ridden the Hulk, the Dueling Dragons, the Revenge of the Mummy (awesome coaster) and that most of the wooden roller coasters I've ridden since childhood were modeled on this very coaster, I was quite excited to get to ride it, but was expecting something a little tamer than the stuff I've been riding for the last few years. Do not be so deceived if you make the trip -- that's a wicked little coaster, and I loved every minute. Jaye said it was a little rough even for him, but I thought it was great. :) If you'd like to see some pics from the gathering itself, you can take a peek over here.
Jaye has discovered that he *loves* New York City. His only trip there before was with a friend who took Jaye only to his old hang-outs and pretty much kept him in the Village. We stayed in central Manhattan, and kingohugs (Matt) took us on a wonderful tour on Friday night, with a fabulous dinner at a place called Angel's, which is right under the 69th Street bridge. I was humming the Simon and Garfunkel song all through dinner. I went to the Lush store there and stocked up on fresh stuff I couldn't get shipped -- oh, what a glory a Lush store is! We wandered around by ourselves a lot and got to see many, many things that we've only seen in movies before -- which I think was part of the reason that Jaye left the city saying he was in love with it.
In November, I took a trip to England to go to a wedding. I believe I have mentioned my Stone brother Gary a few times in here; I'm not sure I've mentioned his beautiful bride, Kris (who is terribly smart and hilariously funny). The wedding was lovely, and Auntie M put on her full drag (makeup and everything!) for this event. If you'd like to see some of the pictures, the link can be found here.
Since my baby brother Gary (I think it's hilarious that my Stone brother and my biological brother have the same name, and as you will probably notice from pics, similar taste in brides) and his wife, Meredith, are now stationed in the UK, I spent most of my time at their house. It's in a little suburb of London called Weybridge, which just happened to be where the wedding was held. The two couple seem to hit it off, and I hope that they will continue to keep in touch with each other (more on that later). I really enjoyed my stay with Gary and Meredith, too -- they are really wonderful together and fun to be around.
For those of you who know the state of my mental health and my cyclical depression, I have gone back to the doctor and am on meds again. It was interesting this time, though -- I had originally thought about making an appointment just to get me something to help ease my anxiety on the flight over, but while I waffled on that, I realized that I was in feeling the way I usually did just about two years before the bad depression would hit (and in the cycle, I'm just about due for a major depression in about two years). So I made an appointment with a psychiatrist who is literally 60 steps from my house, and discovered that the diagnosis of "chronic cyclical depression" I've been saddled with is probably WRONG. Dr Greve (why must I choose a doctor with names who are funny in light of their specialties?) has diagnosed me with bipolar II (a milder form of what they used to call manic/depressive disorder). He told me it was very rare to have a patient come in while they're in the "hypomania" phase -- most wait until they're already depressed and are misdiagnosed (well, that explain *that*, now wouldn't it?). In the ensuing months, I believe we have got my medications balanced, and I am no longer having the wild mood swings or the depressions that would keep me in the house for days at a time.
We started December with our annual trip to Orlando and Universal Studios (Mr Disney is still on time-out until that jackass Eisner is gone). As usual, that trip was a great deal of fun, and I got to visit with my cousins, Big Andy, Little Andy and KT. The rest of the month was uneventful -- I hate Christmas and all that goes with it, though I really did like the little "magic christmas tree" my brother bought me in England. It's a little cardboard "tree" that you stand in some special mixture, and crystals grow to form a beautiful, delicate little fir. This is the first time we've ever had any kind of Christmas tree in our house, and I thought it was wonderful.
In January, we went over to Houston for a visit with my family for Christmas. We do this in January mostly because that's when I have to go over to get my car inspected and relicensed (you all know how reluctant I am to give up my Texas citizenship, even if the doofus in the White House embarrasses me). We also went because Gary asked me to be there for a surprise he'd lined up for us. Well, there was a lot of tension in the house at Galveston, which I blame on stress on all parties involved, but Gary and I did come to the conclusion that I have to get off my ass and take up some of my duties as co-trustee of the family trust. So I have something like a job, and will be coming over to sit with the lawyer while he does the stuff for us he should have been doing the last three years.
But that wasn't the surprise -- the surprise was tickets to see Cirque du Soliel's Varekai, under a big tent in what used to be the Astrodome parking lot. (It's now part of some huge sports complex, and looks so small compared to the other facilities they've added that Jaye thought it was the big top we'd be seeing the show in.)
Varekai was fantastic, and only you who have seen them live will really appreciate this -- seeing them on TV or tape is just not the Cirque experience, which is full of amazing energy and magic. It was, I believe, one of the best Christmas presents I've ever had.
We came home to discover that (are you ready for this?) a new Lush store had been installed on Decatur Street, a mere four blocks from my house! Oh, heaven! Oh, bliss! Once I get the stuff with the lawyer squared away, I am going to be applying for a part-time job there, just to feed my habit. I have already talked to one of the managers, and I think she was ready to hire me on the spot, just because I knew so much about their product and demonstrated it that day.
We were supposed to go over to Houston for me to do the lawyer stuff last week, so that we could kill two birds with one stone -- get the work done and miss Mardi Gras at the same time. Well, the lawyer's mother is in ICU and very touch and go, so we've postponed that trip until after Valentine's Day. So we're stuck here in Mardi Gras Hell -- it hasn't been too bad, though we have had one screaming match with a guy pissing through the gate, and believe me, we're prepared for the NEXT one we catch. We've been invited to a large party on Mardi Gras day, on a balcony just off Jackson Square, so all we'll have to do is get across Bourbon Street, which isn't too bad down by his house.
I had a little root canal work, but the less said about that, the better. Suffice it to say that I like my doc -- he's doing this in stages, rather than all at once, so the pain and discomfort are minimized. Go, Dr. DiLeo (who pronounces his name as in "what's the dillio?"...)!
Then we both had the "creeping crud" -- lasted all last week, and we're both better now, but it was nasty around our house for a couple of days. I guess it was jut as well that we couldn't go over, because I'd be dying on top of the lawyer, which I'm sure would have been both distressing and uncomfortable for us both.
The London premiere of Stoners was held on the 3rd of February, but since I'd gone to the wedding, I couldn't be there in person. I did, however, send Gary and Meredith as my emissaries, and they had a good time with my Stoner friends and enjoyed the movie, too. My British friends didn't let me down -- they held the after-show gathering in a place that served Mexican food and had big Texas flags hanging everywhere. I believe that Stone-brother Gary will be putting up a collection of photos from that -- if you follow the wedding link above, then go out to the galleries there, you'll probably see one marked London Premiere or something like that -- it will probably be the gallery right next to the wedding pics. :)
But it seems that at least one of the attendees was less than happy with the movie. A newcomer to the game decided to make her third post on the Community boards a review of the film. You may read that here. I think it's unnecessary to say that she did not endear herself to many of us, and she has failed to reappear to answer anyone's comments on her "review." We all found it strange that though she professes to be "obsessed" with the Stone, she failed to find and attend the gathering, or even get up and introduce herself to Rod, whose name seems to be the only one she retained from viewing the film. As she would say, "whatever." (If you check out her friends list, you'll find one for "choochie," which is the name she uses on the Stone. I would bet that's a much more accurate pic of her than the one on the review page...)
We now have an IMDb reference, for the movie, where I am featured in the summary. We're still working on the cast list, as the IMDb has some fairly strict rules about who can be considered cast in a documentary, but I will be appearing there in the cast list soon. Woo-hoo!
So there you have it. That's all the news that's fit to print since the last update. I shall try to make it back for another update more timely than the last -- try, she says, try... :)
Love ya all!