Great weekend

Friday:
Went to Universal Studios with Jack Off Buddy and his boyfriend. The 3 of us see each other 2-3 times a week usually at the gym as we all go to the same one, or whenever I'm over near JO Buddy's house. Universal was quite fun. JO Buddy determined we were a good match because of our personality types. JO Buddy is INTJ, his boyfriend is ENTP, and I'm ISTP. Being an INTJ was why JO Buddy needed a navigation system as opposed to his boyfriend and my directions; if only he'd listened to us as his navigation sent us in a circle more than once. JO Buddy had been to a training the day prior about the Briggs Personality Types and applying it and its characteristics to clients. There were 4-5 times where we joked that we were doing things a certain way during the day because we were INTJ or ISTP or INTJ. We also picked out the "j" kid sitting next to us who was definitely the judgemental type who knows it all and has to get his way. HAHAHA

We got to Universal and stopped at each one of those spots they take your photos because JO Buddy said it was only $9 for all of your photos to be emailed to you that they shot that day. We got about 6 pictures of us on various rides. The lines were super long due to the King Kong ride opening on Universal's backlot. Most lines were about an hour. We had a good time talking about our coming outs, activities we like to do in our free time, and things like that. JO Buddy's boyfriend had a really interesting story about his life and addiction. We listened to stories about drugs, sex, and stuff like that. Also got to check out Wisteria Lane- Desperate Housewives- I've been on the tour 4-5 times and everytime we just drive past Wisteria Lane, so I was excited to go down it.





For dinner we went to Samba, the Brazilian Barbecue restaurant. It was soooo good. We had about 7 different types of meat. We all had the same favorites- bacon covered chicken, the chicken, pacolli (spelling?), and beef ribs. The pork ribs, sausages, and tri-tip were alright. We had a $10 off coupon, which was cool. It was fun since it was sooo good and there were lots of jokes about meat going around. There's just so many different types. Thick meat. Round meat. You get the idea.

JO Buddy's boyfriend drove us home and it took 45 minutes to get from Universal on the 101 to the 10- maybe 10 miles? And this was at 11:00pm on a Friday night. I told him to take the 10 because of all the construction late at night where the 60E is shut down to 1 lane on Friday and Saturday nights. I was going to suggest the 134-210 to get home, but I wasn't driving, and so it didn't bother me too much. The extra time in the car just meant time for good conversations and singing to the Glee soundtrack. 2 really macho men and myself singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart." JO Buddy has a pretty dang good deep voice.



Saturday:

Got all of my bank cards and license in the mail. I'm back in business after having my wallet stolen. Yay for shiny new cards! They should spend better.

Went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Darla and several of our friends from our college. Gonzo was sick sadly, so I felt a little alone. No, actually it was cool. I had a fun time. Everyone has finally graduated. Most are going to a local med school to get their masters in public health since that's the "in" thing to do. I kind of like being the strange English guy in the bunch. Everyone else is science oriented.

My food was very disappointing. I've never been impressed with anything I've had at Cheesecake Factory with the exception of the cheesecake. I had the chicken dala, which basically a chicken pounded thin and with a batter on it to make it like chicken fried steak with no sauce. I used some of the ranch at the table to dip it in. I ate everything on my plate and was still hungry. The Cheesecake Factory has huge ungodly portions and I ate everything on the plate including the mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Darla didn't want dessert because it was too fattening. Her reasoning was her dinner was 1000 calories, the cheesecake was 1000, and she was planning on drinking 1000 calories, so she'd have to burn at least 1500 calories at the gym today, and that would take 2 hours. She does the fatburner on the treadmill. I told her the cardio is good and you do burn calories, but she keeps talking about getting toned, and I told her that is where weight training come in. She seemed convinced the treadmill was the all-encompasing-do-it-all workout machine. Too funny!


Sunday:

I went to a barbecue at The Guy's house. My parents and sister were in San Diego and a pipe under the sink cracked in the kitchen. I got under and conquered that. It took a lot of looking and then panicking, but went to Ace Hardware, and thanks to a friend from high school I fixed it myself and only took a couple trips. It left me short on time to The Guy's place. I only mention this because The Guy asked me if I was near Jeff's house because he needed a ride- I wasn't- I was willing to drive 10 minutes out of my way to pick him up, but he didn't pick up his phone.

The Guy asked me to bring alcoholic pear cider and ice. I picked up the pear cider yesterday because I happened to be near a liquor retailer that has everything- I'd never heard of that- it was ciderlike, but ok. That saved me time and I made it right to The Guy's at 3.

I get there, I shake Robert's hand- The Guy's new boyfriend, and put the cider in the fridge. We talk about random stuff- I ask what they've been up to, and they've been playing WOW. The Guy is sauteeing some mushrooms and running outside to grill the bell peppers. I get some time to talk to Robert. We talk about work, how we both deal with kids, and some of the areas he works in. We've probably crossed paths and never knew it- he looks so familiar, so I'm thinking we have. It was cool to talk to him, especially when The Guy tells me he is so shy. We chat about where we live, and I bring up the city I live in because I saw on his facebook he is from here. I find out he lives/lived in the poorer area of the city, but I tell him the high school I went to. He asked if I knew Tami, Reagan, and other random kids, and I knew all of them. The Guy was surprised, and I know Robert and i both got a kick out of it. I asked Robert if he was a soccer player since all of them played soccer, but I didn't realize that the people he mentioned always hung out, and that's how he was introduced to them. That was cool.

Louis showed up shortly after (a friend of The Guy's that I hadn't seen since 2008 and is living back at home in the area now). The 4 of us make more random conversation and joke about stuff. The Guy's brother and his girlfriend show up too, and we chat.

The Guy finishes up the chicken and we all make our chicken sandwiches with mushrooms, onions, munster cheese, and chicken. We also have some delicious bruschetta that The Guy made. We sit around and talk about random stuff, mainly bad wine I think if I recall right. After we eat The Guy's brother asks me how I've been, and I tell him great, just enjoying summer, and sad I go back to work in about 15 days. He asked if I was a teacher, and I told him sub. We talked about the subject matter i want to teach, then we talked about something related to that, and then talked about direct instruction and how it is being used for the wrong reasons. The Guy's brother is very conservative, from Orange County, and of course holds almost all conservative viewpoints on education, but we found ourselves agreeing on a lot of things. We discussed direct instruction (think recitations and very structured drilling lessons,) and how that sucks out the creativity, and that is a negative trend in education for English classes. We actually had a constructive conversation and I learned a few things from it- he is one of those really well versed people- just like The Guy. We talked about the Department of Education and why it was not necessary- I think The Guy and I were able to convince him that it was necessary because we need some sort of precedence to follow for standards to make sure that all students in all states are at least learning certain things. We all felt that education should be more localized, and as long as the standards are being met.

I also pointed out how in California to be eligible for the Race to the Top funds from the federal government we are being asked to basically dumb down our California state standards for all students because they don't fit in Obama's framework. Don't get me started on Obama's education ideas, but sticking to the topic, California has some of the highest standards for students in the nation. The states with the highest standards for students are California, Texas, and Indiana. Basically what it all boils down to is that California expects a lot out of our students, and by trying to compete for the Race to the Top funds, we would be dumbing down our standards, classrooms, and students, which is wrong.

I enjoyed talking with The Guy's brother because he was reasonable and receptive, which so many people, especially those not in education tend to be so rash when it comes to issues about education and teachers. He was very praising of teachers.

We chat about the importance of PE, and Louis wants to teach PE, so that was interesting to hear about his stories.

The Guy decides we should all head to the pool. I borrow a swimsuit from The Guy because he didn't tell me to bring one- it did cross my mind. I did blame him and showed him my text evidence. Everyone else had theirs. We go out in the jacuzzi in the 90 degree heat. It was not bad, but after a while got to be a bit much. We went back and forth between the pool and jacuzzi. We mainly sat around talking about swimming and coaching, as The Guy, his brother, his brother's girlfriend, and Louis all were into swimming and all have coached it. Robert and I didn't say too much. We were out there for probably an hour.

When we go back in we sit around and play with the dogs a few minutes, and then his brother and girlfriend take off. The Guy suggests we go get yogurt, so after some confusion we take my car and I drive to the yogurt place. I turn the car on and 100.3, The Sound, is playing Billy Joel's Piano Man. Robert and The Guy sing along. It was cute. I get some green tea and acai yogurt, and am happy. We had fun joking about random stuff like soda wine that was in the yogurt place. We talk about Louis hating living at home and his parents, and other stuff. I have it so easy. My parents just kind of understand I do my own thing and have my own life.



We go back and look at movie trailers for shows like "Red," and then The Guy shows us Robert's WOW character who is on level 70 or something. We hang around until The Guy and his boyfriend decide they want to play, we all hug and then take off.

I left about 8:30 and had a good drive home. I realized some of the reasons I'm not into Rick, and when I got home it was even more clear. He is one of those "drama" types. For some reasons email confirmations aren't being sent to my email via facebook, so I didn't know, but Rick posted on his facebook to the effect of someone he likes hasn't messaged him all day, and that person was me- it wasn't hard to tell. He texted me 3 or 4 times while I was at The Guy's, and it wasn't appropriate for me to text then. His brother sent me a message on facebook. Rick also sent me a message about how I'm so unavailable for him. Come on, fight your own battles, if you have a problem approach me. That's what I didn't like about him that I got that I wasn't able to pinpoint until tonight. He seems to have 4-5 really good friends who, while nice, seemed leery of me for whatever reason, and protective of him, and it seemed like they would take his side on anything regardless. Now I have nothing against that- it's great he has that support system, but when it comes to a personal matter between 2 people 3, 4, or 5 don't need to be involved.

I was thinking while driving home about what I look for in a guy, and I don't see a lot of it in Rick. I like a guy who is grounded- Rick isn't. I like a guy who is educated- Rick is. Physical attraction is important- there isn't a lot with Rick- he's a good looking guy, just not my type. I don't like the whole air your drama on facebook. I like guys who are mature about issues and can be open, and if I'm going to be blasted, even indirectly on things like facebook that's not cool.