Homer'sWorld

Pool volleyball starts Sunday. What sort of cake should I take? Please vote in the comments:

A). Mango chutney upsidedown cake.
B). Chocolate cake with maple frosting
C). Lemon poppy seed cake
D). Yellow cake with raspberry ice cream

VOTE!

I acted as the ex-boyfriend's mostly unpaid rental agent from about May 2005 through July 2009. During that time I found him four different sets of tenants and organized repairs and improvements to the house. Twice it was very difficult to find tenants, and I would get phone calls accusing me of not doing enough. I put up signs and paid for advertisements, and each time I found him tenants. During this time, he collected over $50,000 dollars in rent for his very pricey home in a nice neighborhood. He gave me a check once for $250 and a plane ticket to visit him way up north. There were two other times when he wanted me to come visit and arranged for plane tickets, but on both of these occasions he abruptly changed the schedule at the last moment- once I was told I was going to get off the airplane in Seattle, attend a gay circuit party cruise, take the train north, and then return the next day, spending one night in a airport hotel. The other time he shortened the trip because he was selling his house up there- I would arrive Friday night and leave early Monday morning. In each case, he spent somewhere between $50 and $90 rebooking the tickets, which were from his frequent flyer account.

Last year he decided to have a big gay wedding and he wanted me to come and gave me another plane ticket. I was supposed to camp out on his deck next to the ocean for that week. I bought a tent and sleeping bag. Two days before I was supposed to get on the airplane he sends me an email telling me that the plans had changed, again, and that he was going to have me stay with some friends of him with several other guests, although he had yet to ask them whether we could stay. A week spent in stranger's house who didn't know I was coming. And by the way, I would need to rent a car and pay for a ferry, etc. I canceled. This happened right around an incident involving the rental house in which I was told I was biased against him and a terrible person because I dared tell him he was inconsiderate to have the floors re-finished right days before the tenants were to move in, delaying their ability to do so despite the fact they were already paying rent.

The ex was not happy I canceled attendance at the big gay wedding. I received a particularly interesting email. I had a friend read it. He said to me, in amazement, "This guy thinks he is your friend?" One aspect of the email was a demand that I give back the plane ticket and when I responded that he had given it to me for taking care of his rental house for four years, he flew into a rage and sent me a second email, which I discarded after reading the first sentence. I used that lovely plane ticket to visit Portland a couple of months ago, and let me tell you, it was a lovely trip and I had a wonderful time with Mark and Rodger.

The relief that suddenly passed over me after deleting the second email and deciding that I was through with him, knowing that I would never have to deal with him again, was immeasurable. For years this man had questioned our friendship. A few months would pass by and no phone calls would pass between us, and then he would call me and tell me I was a terrible friend because I never called. Of course, it was always because I didn't call, it didn't matter that he hadn't called either. After a few years, I really didn't want to call, because what was the point? I was lectured on this and that, told I could be doing better in my job or that I should lose weight, since I was not the skinny guy he knew back in the 1990s.

I sometimes asked other people who knew him what they thought, and they would ask me why I bothered. They had all decided he was a pain in the ass. I guess I remembered the good times back in the 20th century, before he became so obsessed with money. When he was fun to be around, although always a bit emotionally manipulative. As the years past, I saw that he was becoming more like the mother he used to tell me about.

So anyways, the last tenants I arranged to live in his house are good friends of mine and he apparently hates that, so he is forcing them to move out on trumped up reasons. Really, I am so glad I never have to see him again, because he has become a monster.

It's that time of the year when the giant beetle shows up at my porch light.
























Beetle!

The monsoon rains are heading to Tucson, it gets cloudy in the afternoon. The pollen is making my eyes burn. The window-mounted AC unit makes me sleepy happy.

Mama Cat is doing poorly. She is just skin and bones, but last night she purred as she sat on my lap and I combed her and washed her face for her. I mostly let her be, she sleeps in her favorite spot and I put her in the litter box so she can remember to pee. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, so I'm hoping that maybe she will just fall asleep and not wake up.

Pink eye. Made a return visit, always the lower right eyelid.
























Conjunctivitis.

The eye drops make the cornea blindingly white and take away some of the lingering discomfort.

A bunch of lizards hang out at work. They do little push-ups when they are looking for sex.



















Collared lizard.

Last night, after having supper with Mark who is fresh back from Australia, I came home and made a Sour Cream and Raisin Pie from the Cowgirl's Cookbook



















Sour Cream and Raisin Pie.

I had a big piece last night and you will never guess what I had for breakfast.

Facial hair of the Ransom Brothers.

Back row: James (chin goatee) and Benjamin (goatee).
Front row: Elijah (moustache) and Alvorado (goatee).
























Circa 1880, click on picture twice to enlarge.

I note that I have the same thing that Alvorado has going on- one side of my beard is turning whiter faster than the other side.

Elijah is my great-great grandfather, 1848-1921.

Whatever I did to my right thigh decides to hurt with a preposterous amount of pain, mainly when I sit on the couch. So don't sit on the couch! Apparently I tore a muscle somehow.

I went to Bisbee for Gay Pride on Saturday and my pictures did not turn out particularly well. So you will have to imagine me watching Cobban and Ray sing karoake, a delicious meal, seeing Chris and Joseph for too little of time, and the guy with the best moustache in Arizona for not long enough.

On the way back I stopped at the Fairbank ghost town and wandered over to the dried-up San Pedro River. I've never seen it completely dried up. I hope it comes back, but the growing population in the area is probably sucking away the water.
























Under the trees.

I wandered back to the school house and chatted with the woman volunteering there. Her dog Butch was almost as excited to see me. I bought two books to give the volunteer something to do.

I came home and watched a wretched zombie movie and the leg only hurt a couple of times. I had a quiet evening and read a while. Tonight I worked on a newsletter article, finally figured out that the guy was illegitimate, and altogether it was also a quiet evening. I need to study up on German Chocolate cake for Christopher's 30th birthday on Saturday. And the month of June is whizzing by like lightning speed.

I traded emails on facebook with Judith M., an avid supporter of the National Organization for Marriage. Here are some of the statements she made to me:

- "I didn't say homosexuals, as individuals have done nothing for the world. I said their RELATIONSHIPS provide nothing positive to the world. In fact, all signs are that they are a burden based on their higher morbidity rates and shorter life expectancies."

- "Marriage is a special right and it has been defined as a union between one man and one woman for millenia."

- "In fact, I would counsel them to stay away from the homosexual lifestyle. It is possible to live celibately and have same sex attraction. I've personally known two guys who first lived a decadent homosexual lifestyle and then became celibate. Both of them told me their health and mental state improved dramatically after they became celibate."

- "I don't give a rip what you do in your bedroom. But marriage is not a private matter, it's a public one."

- "But tell me, if you can, what good has come from homosexual unions to date? Did it make homosexuals...monogamous? Did they "settle down" and stop showing participating in public displays of lewdness, a la Folsom Street? Please name one thing that accrues to SOCIETY, that comes from homosexuals getting "married"."

- "It's actually a burden on society to make companies give same sex couples health benefits as if they were married, because homosexuals tend to be an unhealthy bunch of people and the cost of companies covering them causes their rates to go up."

My final response: "You really are a nasty person. I really feel sorry for you."

My dinner with Jose. We tried to go to the Ethiopian restaurant but it was closed, and then the first Indian restaurant was also closed, But Ghandi's was open and we had a nice meal.
























Jose.

Jose was an Indian food virgin. I think he enjoyed everything except the yogurt sidedish. Maybe we can Ethiopian food on Friday!

Chocolate malted cupcakes with vanilla malted frosting.
























I only ate two.

Weirdly cool temperatures for June here, it is like spring again. The pollen in the air makes my eyes red.

























Poor Mama Cat is better, but now when she gets in the litter box her hind end hangs out and she pees on the floor. Big ole sigh. I clean up the mess and hope she gets more sensible about it.

Tomorrow: cupcakes!

One of my great-great grandfathers, David Chandler (1847-1929).


























David.

I think he was a very handsome man.

The baby hummingbirds at work have hatched. Mama is feeding them and doesn't mind us watching her.
























Babies. Click on picture twice for full size.

I find myself ignoring the news at the moment. There is nothing I can do about the oil spill. There is nothing I can do about Israel murdering people (if I never heard another word about the Middle East I would be happy).

I'm back to the gym. While my mother was here I gained weight- I'm up to 205. Frowny face. Shirts are tight again. So aerobic exercise again, and watching what I eat. NO SNACKS!

Patrick's new pool was very nice to sit in when it was 105 degrees yesterday.



















Patrick.

He invited me over for a dip, which was nice was I was busy sitting at home feeling dull and listless.
























No longer listless.

Patrick had a bunch of pretty light shades to put up, so I used what little Gay Decorating Genes that I have to pick out colors.
























Patrick installing shades.

They light up his new patio nicely.



















Pretty!

I had some beers and sat in his hammock, after which we had beans and rice and a store-bought coconut cream pie (I know, but there wasn't time to make one from scratch).
























Hammock!

We then watched Thoroughly Modern Millie on the telly (Patrick's favorite movie), which made me laugh at appropriate moments and wonder why Carol Channing always looked like she was 80 way back in 1967.

So Arizona's reputation as a haven for racist folks just keeps growing. Now artists have been asked to "lighten" the skins of a Mexican-American and African-American children depicted in a mural in Prescott, a town located in central-northern Arizona. I was surprised that the artists are complying with the request, but I suppose mural-painting jobs are few in Prescott.

So let's review what's happening:

1). Dark-skinned children in a mural are not allowed

2). The governor has signed legislation banning school programs based on ethnicity or race. So it is now illegal to have a class devoted solely to Native American history or a club devoted to African culture. Classes devoted to White history (e.g., American or World History) are of course fine and dandy, and in fact are typically required.

3). The Arizona Board of Education has banned teachers with accents or poor grammar from teaching English. Exactly who decides what constitutes an accent (I have a northern Michigan accent) or poor grammar (lord knows I am sometimes puzzled by apostrophes) has not been defined. But basically this is meant to fire a bunch of Spanish-speaking teachers that were hired a while back to help Spanish-speaking students learn English.

4). And starting next month, Arizona police officers have to ask for identity papers for anyone they suspect might be in the United States illegally. And if you can't provide them, you get arrested. I note that a driver's license or even a birth certificate does not prove citizenship, so there are going to be a lot of innocent people arrested and dragged to jail, and a lot of people who will not be calling 911 because they are scared of the police.

Ironically, Arizona was supposed to get a 9th Congressional seat after the 2010 census was completed. But many people have left the state and many others are avoiding the census takers. The end result, Arizona may not be getting that 9th seat after all. Which serves the fucking racist Republicans just right.

Outside my office window this morning. One of several cottontails hopping about having brunch.
























Cottontail.

They won't go away. The nasty Africanized bees. I sealed up all the cracks along the guest house roof with very unattractive foamy stuff, and now they have decided to build a honeycomb on the underside of the roof.



















Bees!

There is a double-fist-sized lump of writhing bees around a white, waxy comb. Now I wouldn't mind a nice hive of bees in my backyard (honey!), but having them on the underside of the roof is a pain in the butt.

That and Mama Cat still peeing all over the place, my life is all discombobulated.

Well it was a busy weekend and I am sporting a tan and an extra pound. Yesterday I took Jim and George down to Cobban and Ray's fabulous house and we went skinny dipping in the pool. It was fabulous. Then I returned them to the airport and away they went. My house is quiet now.

Something is up with Mama Cat and she has decided to pee everywhere except in the litter box. Moments ago I was sitting right here and I heard a strange noise and turned and there she was peeing on the rug under my chair. Of course that explained the vague urine smell that I had been puzzled about, because after I put her on the litter box I lifted the rug and discovered it had been peed on repeatedly. I hope she is just a bit confused and not getting all demented.

UPDATE: Poor Mama Cat has a urinary tract infection. She is on an antibiotic for ten days. I've learned to go find her every couple of hours and put her in the litter box so she pees there and not next to my desk!