Soon after San Diego it was time to board a plane to Boston on a 6am flight out of Palm Springs (PS). My dear friend Saya’s sister was turning 40 and her family decided to throw a surprise party for her. I love her family and was touched that they invited me to come out and share the occasion with them.

The party was orchestrated wonderfully. To set the stage her mother mentioned to Saya’s sister that on Saturday they would have a small get together with friends and family at the nearby home of a family friend. This annoyed her as she was expecting a bit more for her 40th. It was a great way to set her up for what would turn out to be a great surprise.

We arrived at the house in New Hampshire after a morning of constructing about 120 spring rolls in Saya’s kitchen in Boston. Saya left me there to fetch Seana, her sister, and was going to text me when they were near so we would know when to hide. We all crammed ourselves in the bedroom and bathroom and waited for the signal from Saya’s mom. As soon as we got the OK we marched out in a single file line to greet the flabber-gasted guest of honor. At the sight of every new person emerging from the back room her “Oh my God’s” grew louder and her level of surprise intensified to the point where I thought she might pass out. There were friends dating back from kindergarten all the way up through her college years. Some of her newest friends were also asked to join the surprise group and share the evening. The food was great, the wine was great and her family was amazing. Thank god they ate those blasted spring rolls; there were so many of them!

I had the best time hanging back and watching the dynamics of somebody else’s family unfold and play out in front of me; it was a front row seat to a family movie with no obligation for interaction required.

Her family unit is certainly one to behold, they are kind, funny and intellectual without being stuffy and they love each other very much. They all live or have lived in this small town of Peterborough and hearing them talk about their family and the locals is so warm and sweet.

The next morning they had a brunch for the birthday girl. This was a great idea since there were so many people at the event the night before it was nearly impossible for Seana to really interact with everybody. That aside, there were many people from out of state so having a second, more intimate, get-together was ideal.

I arrived in Boston on Friday evening and by Sunday morning I was shot from jet lag, a drastic temperature change (can you say three inches of snow?) and an evening of indulgence (mostly cake) I could barely keep my eyes open as she opened her gifts Sunday morning. It wasn’t long before Saya shared in my exhaustion and became time to wrap it up and return to the mad city.

Being here in Boston has been very bitter sweet. This is the first time I have come as a visitor in many years. Walking around the South End made me just a little sad. There was a time not long ago when I lived a quiet life with no responsibility to a mortgage or a car payment and was never required to think about anything further from the day at hand. I woke up, walked two blocks to the gym, came home and walked across the street to work at Aquitaine. Life was simpler then and I that is something I miss.

I also miss the interaction and social buzz that living in a city brings. Nobody walks in PS, and there is certainly no sort of social interaction brought on by trips on the subway and walks around the block to the coffee shop or nearest cafe in a pedestrian city. I am a people person and even though I enjoy solitude very much, having the option of being involved with masses if I so choose is very important to me. That is something I completely miss out on by living in PS.

Having had the opportunity to be around a family tied strongly together with strings of love and bonds so deep that their adoration echoed made me miss mine, very much.

I suppose that is good. I have a family much like Saya’s and I am fortunate to have my dearest friends share with me the blessing of family. While I am actively involved with my family from a distance, I am beginning to think something must be done about my day-to-day life. For some things there are no substitutions.

Saya, Sarah and Seana

For weeks I had been looking forward to visiting beautiful San Diego for an advertising shoot with Rufskin Denim. I have long admired their clothes and was very excited to be a part of the good work they do.

My good friend Mike let me stay with him. It was so nice to see him again. It had been just about a year since he was sharing my tiny space with me in Palm Springs. Now I was sharing his tiny space - it was so small that there was not even enough room for the internet. That’s not true, it was more about money than space, but I was without the web. After the initial shock I was happy to be relieved of it and the responsibility it carries.

The weather was sublime and my shoot/appearance was so much fun. I am so digging these Rufskin guys. Their style is comfort meets sexy meets Rockabilly cowboy from the city. Just my bag. The shoot took place in a backyard that sang with trees, shrubbery and wind chimes. Two cats meandered around the set taking notice of the commotion sometimes with lizards in their mouths. The supplies were simple: a man behind the camera who happened to be one of the owners, a camera on a tripod, a small reflector and the other partner in his business and his life. They were impressed with the ease and flow of my interaction with the camera and I was impressed with their effective styling and kick ass camera. The pix came out sooooo great. The first two are of me in some of my stuff. I know, I know. It’s coming, it’s coming.

Later that night it was time to turn it out at Bacchus House. These things are cool and fun. Mike showed up with Tyler Riggz with his bf Reed, the guys from Rufskin and some local friends made it a fun night of free drinks, laughing and me dancing in a shower on the dance floor. People remarked to me how fun I was and actually used the word “ham” to describe me. They also commented on how different the guy was on stage compared to what they had expected. I can never hear that enough.

In the end I realized that I like San Diego. I like it a lot!

Tyler and Reed

Lumberjack Mike

Hubert, co-owner and creator of Rufskin

In the tub

Having friends down here on my home turf is something I really enjoy; and it doesn’t happen enough - believe me. So I was quite pleased when Boy Wonder said he would be able to come out for a visit this weekend. We had a project to work on and many things to discuss, but that was just the side salad to our main course of relaxation and fun.

A co-worker of mine invited us over for dinner Saturday night. His boyfriend cooked a traditional French dinner, a tarragon turkey breast with country style potatoes. It was delicious and very heavy, it was French after all. After that we all went over to Hunters for a little outing. We were sitting outside and my friend Michael remarked that he loves raffles and always wins; we were about to be asked to participate in the raffle they were having later. The man did not ask Boy Wonder or me to purchase any tickets, but gave Michael and his partner two for free. Michael shouted with glee and proceeded to tell us what he has won in the past. He really has won quite a bit. At about 11:30 they began to announce the winning numbers. Michael got the tickets out of his pocket in a confident stride and asked “So what am I winning?” I had no clue since I was left out of the pool. The first number was drawn. Not his. The second was announced and as cool as a clam Michael said “Ok I’ll be right back, I won” I didn’t believe him as he walked towards the table in the front to claim his prize. He returned moments later with two tickets to “Taste of Palm Springs”, sponsored by Kaluha. It is a dinner event with food and wine donated by local restaurants and wineries; it is a chance for them to showcase their products to the public in the hopes that they will either return for dinner or keep them in mind when choosing a wine for their next party. It should be really cool and since Michael won’t be here I get to go for him!

Sunday it was time to work, but not before a little brunch. I do not eat out here so the choice for brunch was left to an unverified recommendation from someone. “A Bit of Country” is what the place was called, but soon after we were seated I thought it would be best if it were re-named “A Bit of Crap”. Our cutlery was a step above plastic and the chairs were clearly designed for different tables; I almost asked for a booster seat. Our waitress was either completely swamped or completely oblivious, either way I was not happy. I gave her thirty seconds to come back for our order after arriving earlier to take our drink requests. After seeing her race frantically from front to back several times all the while apologizing to the tables around us for just about everything I began to count a little faster. She came back at 26. We gave her our order and she asked if we wanted anything to drink - again. We told her just coffee. She giggled and apologized - again.

Everything came to the table at about 15 min thereafter. Boy Wonder was pleased with his waffle and was happy to see the butter was melted, probably because she forgot about the dish sitting under a heat lamp. My eggs were scrambled with Chorizo and resembled Kibbles and Bits. This was not what I had envisioned and it reminded me just why I cook at home.

After that culinary insult we were off to the Aerial Tramway, a huge rotating cable car, (the largest in the Western Hemisphere) and Palm Springs’ main attraction. It goes right to the top of Southern California’s second highest peak. Going from 75 degrees, flip flops and palm trees to snow, pine cones and boots was something. I had been up there before, but that did not help me remember to wear boots; I had socks with my athletic sandals thinking it would be sufficient. As my feet began to get wet with snow I cursed myself for such a stupid oversight. Still we had a nice hike and the ride is always fun - definitely a “must-do” when you’re here. Just get a load of the view.

Lunch was better, kind of, at least for me. We ate Mexican. Not because we wanted to, but because we couldn’t come up with a better idea when we discovered the vegetarian restaurant we wanted to try is closed on Sundays. I had fish tacos and Boy Wonder was brave and ordered the ceviche. The fish was not so fresh. He craved bread, anything to try and remove the memory of the pasty dish. Right after that near mid day disaster meal it was time to get to work for the next 4 hours. I think it went well, time will tell, but I can’t right now because it’s a secret.

I am happy to report that dinner went very well. We had tapas at “Azul”, a cute little outdoor space that serves till 2, every day. Poor guys. We had deep fried wonton blue crab ravioli over shitakes in a light cream sauce, beef skewers and a cold tomato, eggplant napoleon with Buffalo Mozzarella dressed with Balsamic. We hashed around ideas, talked about what we liked and what we didn’t about our work day and grooved to some really great tunes.

It was a great weekend even if the food wasn’t.

The GAYVNs this year belonged to Michael Lucas and Lucas Entertainment for “La Dolce Vita.” I have not seen the movie except for the trailers at the show, but after winning more awards than any other movie in GAYVN history, it is on my short list to watch.

I did not take home Best Sex Scene. I lost to Brad Patton and Brian Hansen for their performance in “Manly Heat: Quenched.” It only makes sense since the two seem to be very much in love (or at least very hot for each other) and that is the kind of energy one needs to create an award winning anything.

My personal highlights were of course the always entertaining Kathy Griffin and seeing François Sagat take the award back to France for Performer of the Year. Watching Kathy throughout the evening proved to me that her role was much more than to MC the show. She took a hold of that room by the shorthairs and never let go. Her impressive impromptu and witty, razor sharp humor only solidified my respect for her as an artist.

Probably the best part of the show happened while my buddy Tyler Riggs was presenting the award I was up for. The audience cheered him to take off his shirt. He took it partly off and explained that he didn’t want to take off the cufflinks. Of course, Tyler LOVES an audience and soon submitted. He then realized that he was stuck; he could not pull his wrists through with the cuffs secured. Kathy saw the opportunity and jumped out on the stage in a sort of cougar-like crouch. She then approached Tyler and got down on her knees in front of him, giving him the diversion he needed to free himself. It was so impressive. That is why she is so good at what she does. She was worth every penny.

It was pissing down after the awards and as BW and I walked back to Kevin’s to dry off and change for the next event we commented on how great the evening was with Kathy. It could have been better and it could have been much worse. Losing the intermission was the best byproduct of the massive technical problems they had at the beginning.

I must say having BW around this weekend at all the parties was most helpful and enjoyable. His presence provided a guarantee of some fun with somebody amidst the crowd of new faces. I tend to become rather unsocial at events like this. BW also knows a lot of the same people I do and a lot of people I should. He likes to “steer” me in the right direction.

The after party was thrown by Naked Sword at a venue aptly called “The Porn Palace.” I got to see some good people and was able to meet some of our distributors and make some friends and allies in the world of Internet Porn. It was a good party, but we slipped out once the Tequila started to overflow from the plastic shot glasses held by the drunken hoard.

We met up with Kevin and some of his friends at my favorite bar Moby’s. What a dramatic shift! With that group we could relax and enjoy ourselves. The hours flew by and before we knew it we were gobbling down delicious pizza and laughing our asses off. It was a fucking great weekend.