TATTOOS and the people who ask about them

I have a lot of tattoos. I'm not saying that I'm covered face-to-hands or anything, I still have a LOT of work left to do. But I have some ink on every day-to-day-visible part of my body. I understand that even as tattoos become more common, there are a lot of people who don't have them or are curious. I'm already the sort of person who doesn't enjoy small-talk with random strangers in my daily travels so having people constantly asking about my tattoo work is annoying.

Facebook - go like

If you like what you read and want more, help a brother out and go "Like" my page on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/h0motexan

Also, if you can "Like" the posts over there, that will really help my organic ratings.

*shameless plug: over*

ST PATRICK'S DAY IN DALLAS

Let me start by just admitting that I am now a wussy when it comes to day-drinking. Or any long-term drinking. I just don't drink like I used to and really need to build that tolerance back up. St Patrick's Day in Dallas, TX is sort of like gay pride, but for straight people. Well, all people because we always have a group of gay guys out there. And, remembering John's seemingly incessant obsession with waving to a guy (that he may or may not know) across the street, we discovered that there were definitely other groups of guys who happened to be gay. We also discovered that we could high-five well over 450 people in a very short amount of time (more on that later).

MEN OF SUBSTANCE

I have had some interesting discussions lately about meeting "Men Of Substance" or "MOS" for short (also can be used for "Man Of Substance"). As with most things, this entry will be based on perception, and the perception of the day is... MINE!

DANCING

When I was younger, I went out a lot. I mean a LOT. I grew up in a small town that had nothing going on as far as a night scene. Luckily, we were about an hour outside of Dallas. Which I wasn't allowed to drive to haha. But I did. I went to clubs and couldn't believe the music and the people and everything that was happening. I went to college in another suburb outside of Dallas, actually pretty far to drive and we still came to Dallas to go out. The clubs in Dallas were incredible. There were so many places to go and we could see (hear) incredible artists from all over the country and world. I'm really lucky in that I had no idea that it WASN'T like this for everyone, everywhere. Even then I loved dancing and letting it all go. Anything that was bad didn't really exist there. I met tons of people and even to this day some of them are in my life. I'm no world-class dancer by any means, but I dance with abandon.

SCHOOL

I don't have a degree. Shocking, I know. But it is true. I had a misspent youth and also couldn't afford to support myself and go to school, so I dropped out and started working. I have had some ups and downs and am extremely lucky to have worked my way up in a company that is very successful (albeit a little 'wheels off' sometimes). I have a great career and work with some incredible people so I don't "need" a degree to advance there. It is always something that has bothered me about myself and I finally decided to do something about it. I decided to just go back. With my lackluster academic history, my advisors and I decided it was best to wipe out my previous work and start over. In Texas we have "academic forgiveness" if you haven't been in school for 10 years so it allowed me to start with a clean slate.

Animals and the people who eat them

Ok, get ready. I am so tired of seeing part-time animal rights activists. This Japanese dolphin shit is about to wear me out. You either care about animal rights or you don't, it is very simple. This post might be too much to handle, if you are not fully in tune with the realities of the meat that you so dearly love, please do not continue reading.

Trinity Groves Fail

My cousin Erin just moved to Dallas (yay!) and I thought it would be nice to get together with some of the guys and have dinner. Brad and John suggest something in a new area of Dallas called "Trinity Groves". I was excited about this as this place is blowing up with restaurants and "everyone" has been talking about it. It also happens to be right next to my house. Well, "right next to" as in less than 15 minutes away and on the same side of the Trinity River. I live in the 9th largest city in the US, this isn't Mayberry RFD.

HAIR

I'm really lucky to have great hair. I say this with a complete absence of narcisissm, just an observation. When I was younger I used to color it tons crazy colors and patterns (blue was my favorite, I did everything from the British flag to leopard prints), cut it in weird or unusual ways (mohawks, spikes, suburban mom bobs), let it grow out (my hair also grows incredibly fast). I have truly had just about every conceivable hairstyle imaginable. Between you and me, some of them looked TERRIBLE, but at least I wised up and moved on. These days, I am much more tame. I did let it grow out for almost 2 years in an attempt to look like Jackson from Sons of Anarchy (early seasons), but instead I ended up looking more like Hurley from LOST. So I buzzed off 9 inches and gave myself a high-and-tight. If the rest of my body were as great as my hair, I would look like an Olympian god. Ok, maybe that was a teense narcissistic. Pun intended. Kudos to anyone who gets that joke and can correct me. I have a trendy fade these days and when it is freshly cut, I get lots of compliments. I only offer this information as a foundation for what I'm about to serve up...

Facebook passive-aggressive posts

Ok look, we get it, you want some attention. You put something that sounds sad and/or indicates you have been the victim of some bad behavior, for which you were COMPLETELY not responsible. The world is so terrible and you have NO FRIENDS and you want to leave one place or you wish you could be in one place. Then five minutes later you post some bitchy shitty rant about how much better you and your friends are than common people. Then you wonder why you have no friends. Then you post some check-in and tag a bunch of friends. Then you post about some deeply personal problem and watch the sad comments roll in. I'm exhausted just rehashing that and I have touched on approx 9% of the back-and-forth that I witness with some people on Facebook. In fact, I keep some of them around just so I can watch. And it isn't just 1 person, I can name at least 5 or 6 that do this regularly. If you are reading this blog and seeing yourself, please don't stop actin' a fool online!!!! I'd be sad not having that shitshow to watch.

Rebranding

In order to rebrand yourself, you have to actually change something. Besides the name. Brand identity goes deeper than a name or a catch-phrase.

The same goes for people who want to change. I think a little rebranding is necessary as we grow. The things that were important to me in my teens and then my 20s are not the same things that I value now. 

I don't understand the New Year's Resolution. Makes no sense. The change you wanted to make in yourself is tied to a single year? I know it supposed to be the start if something new, but it seems so hollow. I see people make grandiose statements in December or January, where are those ideas in June or October? 

DATING

Why God, WHYYYYYYYYYYYY????? I'm like the 40-Year-Old Virgin. Except I am not a virgin (barely) and I am 35. Ok, 34 today but in a few months I will be 35 and that's pretty fucking old for a virgin. Errr, a not-virgin.

Why is dating so difficult? Why am I so bad at it? A couple of girl friends from work and I were just discussing this subject. On one hand it makes me feel better that I am not the only one, on the other it makes me sad to hear about others struggling.

FREE TV

I have issues. I'm a bit of a pre-Hoarder. Like, if I didn't stay vigilant, I would wind up a full on can't-walk-through-the-house type. Luckily, I am aware and get rid of stuff when necessary. I have been cleaning my house in preparation of my cousin relocating to Dallas and staying with me. While cleaning and fixing up the place, I went ahead and worked on my room. I have this huge open loft shelf thing in my room that would be good for tvs, etc. I have had 2 tvs up there for the last few years (I already told you I have issues). Have I actually turned either tv on? Hahaha no. Maybe a coupla times in the past 4 yrs that they have been up there. Both were old tube (heavy!) tvs, one was a bit smaller and a combo with a dvd player attached.

WAITING

I hate waiting. Like, my hatred knows no bounds. I don't know how to deal with it. I probably need therapy. Basically, this blog is my therapy haha. Life is too short to waste any time waiting.

If I am driving and people are slow and blocking me (TRAFFIC will be addressed separately, this is merely for illustrative purposes), that is waiting. 

Long lines at registers, I can't stop my anger from seething. I made the mistake of going to Best Buy on Black Friday just to see what was there, I found a UFC Trainer game for my Xbox Kinect (that I have been SEARCHING for on sale) and when I got to the front, the line was so long I got ill, dropped the game and left the store. Luckily, I found it a week later EVEN MORE ON SALE. I'm sure you are relieved.

CRAZY CAT LADY

I'm a cat lady. I figured it would be best to just get that out of the way. I didn't think I would ever end up being a weirdo cat person, but here we are.

It all started when I was a kid. After discharging from the Navy (I am a Navy brat), I grew up out in the country where we had tons of animals. I mean all sorts. Dogs, cats, goats, birds, and so on. Then when we got older my sister had hamsters, rats, and I even had a ferret. Cats were never singularly exciting or special to me, just another animal.

Then in my 20s...

BEARDS

I love beards. There, I said it. I love looking at them, I love touching them, I love uhhhh making out with them (well, with the face attached to one). I love how I look with mine, I love growing mine. Although, I do shave it completely off once a year just to see what my naked face looks like. This tends to shock the shit out of people who know me. I do it because I don't want to be some 60 or 70 yr old dude and FREAK OUT if some weirdo shaves off my beard in my sleep. Old people have very delicate realities.

I LOVE GUYS WITH BEARDS. I can't help it. I have been slightly beard obsessed my entire life. Well my life as far back as I can remember. Which is pretty far. I cannot actually recall the very first man I saw with a beard but I can tell you that they have always enthralled me. I used to look at beardy men and wish that I could grow one, especially when I saw really cool indie rock types with beards. I was an EXTREMELY late bloomer and didn't even shave until I was 19. Freaky, right? Hey don't call me names!!

BC DALLAS

Just as "FC DALLAS" means "Football Club Dallas", "BC DALLAS" means "Book Club Dallas". I know that probably isn't a linguistic leap many of you would make, but don't feel bad, just try and keep up. "BC DALLAS" is the name of my book club, I mean that as in "the book club in which I participate."

GYM

The gym. Like many (I won't say "most" but the stereotype is pretty accurate) gay guys, I spend an unseemly amount of time at the gym. Unlike many gay guys, my body cleverly disguises all of my exhaustive efforts by making me pork-sausage-shaped. Brilliant!! I mean, I wouldn't want to be that guy with the highly-advanced intellect, a gorgeous face, incredible hair AND a kickin body. Ugh, yes I would actually.

The gym is like this bizarre microcosm of society. I have my own weird ways of behaving but that is another story. As I am an experienced observer, I see a lot. 

Facebook break

HELLO FACEBOOK FRIENDS!! I expect my page views to jump up as soon as I post a status about the blog. Welcome, get comfy.

I can only be on Facebook for 11 mos of the year. I always get a myriad of responses whenever people discover I am not in their friends list anymore. From "Why did you delete me????" to "Are you  alive?" to "WHAT HAPPENED!!??!!!"

Whoa. Slow down. It is just Facebook, not life. I do this every year, some people notice and others don't. I'm alive, I assure you. Don't you ever feel like taking a break? Absence makes the heart grow fonder and my heart needs that growth every year. 

I love my friends. And family. And random friends of friends. And random hot people that I stalk and creep on. However, all of that connectedness piles up and overloads me and I don't always know how to deal with ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE. Rather than lose my shit on people (ok, I lost it on a few of you, I can't lie), I choose to dial it back and cool out for a bit. 

One of my personal development goals is to not let myself get bogged down in other people's baggage. This is something that I have to work on because the world will always spin and if it bothers you, you have the problem, not the world. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We made it!! Another year over, another year just beginning. I do tend to get a bit sappy/nostalgic during these annual shifts. A year. So much can be done in a year yet they can also go by so quickly. I like to look back at the past year and reflect on what happened. Or didn't happen. Not everything about this reflection is AMAZING or AWESOME, sometimes I face myself and things I don't necessarily like so that I can make the next year better. I also like thinking about all of the great things that happened, the cool new people I've met, the old friends that I catch up with, time spent with my family, the food that I've eaten, the places that I've seen and the tattoos that I've gotten.

I'm also thinking about the coming year and what I plan on doing, what I'm open to have happen and how will I improve my life. One of those things is this blog. I have decided to commit to publishing at least 5 posts a week for the next 6 months (feel free to hold me accountable). Also, don't judge me if a post or two are a bit suspect. At the end of 6 months, I will be able to see how the blog had grown and progressed and evaluate. So, hopefully you are enjoying my dumb stories and will tell a friend. Yes, I love a good shameless plug. You can sign up for email notifications here (look to your right if you are on the web), Instagram is @homo_texan and Twitter is @homotexan so get out there and follow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, WORLD (AND EVERYONE IN IT)!!