I finally made it home -- after virtually three full days (4:00 AM to 9:00 PM) working on handling the just passed nor'easter. There are times I hate working for the government.

What made it worse? No power at my house until about an hour ago. I have spent the last hour throwing away several hundred dollars worth of spoiled groceries.

Now I am just tired -- and I have to ho back to work tomorrow.

Did I make any picks in mikeinbama 's game this week?

The nor'easter sitting over the east coast is having a definite impact on Norfolk. Tides this morning were more than 6.7 feet asbove normal. Streets throughout town are flooded -- and it is going to be worse tonight. 

It's that time of year when I start thinking about the need for a winter vacation. I plan on one every year, knowing that I will need a break from winter by mid-February. So now is the time that I have to start thinking about where to go. Normally, this is not a huge issue, but this year it is.

The reason?

Jamaica. I was strongly considering a trip to Jamaica, but given the rampant homophobia there, i am considering boycotting Jamaica and looking at another place -- like the Maya ruins in Honduras. But, Jamaica does sound appealing and I am at least a little drawn by the idea of a week on a beach . . . but that damned homophobia . . .

So that's my dilemma. Any thoughts?

I am in Boston, wishing that things had turned out better than they did. I am here for a conference -- I spoke at a session on Thursday. I had hoped to be able to get together with Shane while I was here. We talked last week-end and discussed getting together. He made no commitment, but I still hoped. As of tonight< he has not bothered to call or email. I know I have no right to feel let down, but I do,

Walking around this evening, I could not help but think of the people I have known in Boston whom I am unable to connect with. I realize that bothbrettford7579 and danielspice have left Boston, but it wopuld be nice to have been able to get together with a friend while here. I am feeling a little lonely tonight I guess.

THe conference has been fun. Today I had the opportunity to have lunch with Michael Dukakis, the former governor of Massachusetts who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was leading a mobile workshop/tour of Brookline. He told great stories and was very personable. He even apologized for losing to Bush I in 1988, saying he felt responsible for Bush II as a result of having lost that election. He was incredibly hunmorous.

Tomorrow, I plan on walking around Cambridge (thinking of another friend, Beth, who is no longer in Boston). I head back to Norfolk tomorrow night.

He backed down! I received a letter tonight from my landlord acknowledging that "as an accommodation, my rent would be [the lower amount I was originally told it would be in August rather than the higher amount I was quoted in October.]" He was quick to blame the August amount on an error and insist that it was not the violation of State law I pointed out his actions represented.

I could less about that. He clearly was wrong and is now simply hoping I won't turn him in to the State. I wonder how many times he does this? Regardless, I got the rent I was originally promised so I am no longer pursuing this.

I'm not sure why, but I am dreading the week ahead. I am only at work two days and then I head off to Boston for a conference. I should be looking forward to the break from work, but I'm not. I have this odd sense that things are going to go horribly wrong while I am away.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice on the issue of my landlord deciding he wanted to collect $25 a month more from me than what he put in writing when my lease was renewed. At your advice, I discussed the issue with an attorney, who advised me that the request is a violation of Virginia's Landlord-Tenant Relations Act and, because of the number of properties leased by my landlord, it is also a violation of Virginia's Consumer Protection Act.

I also shared the letter with other real estate professionals whom I know. They told me that it was a violation of the National Association of Realtors' Standards of Practice and of teh Hampton Roads Area Association of Realtors' Code of Ethics.

Needless to say, I have written a letter pointing these issues out to my landlord and advising him that I will pay the rent as described in the original letter. I am letting him also know that I will refer the matter to the Virginia Office of Consumer Protection if he would prefer.

Wish me luck.

or should I say H1N1 (?) has hit my office. Our receptionist came in with what she described as a cold yesterday. She held on through the morning, but at noon gave up and went home. She called in today. She has been officially designated as having H1N1. Lovely. How many other people will now come down with it?

As promised, I am posting a few images from the National Equality March. Let me acknowledge that it was a moving experience. I felt that it was important to be there because we have been pushed to the side for too long. I don't want to do that any more.

Standing in the crowds of people of every race, sexuality, age, gender identity and expression, was overwhelming. We were not the incredibly homogeneous community we are often protrayed as being - white, middle-aged, well-off men -- we were a beautiful reflection of our diversity.

The mood was not the celebratory, party atmosphere of Pride events, but reflected that so many people are, just like me, tired and impatient but ready to keep working and wanting movement on the causes we care about. And the issues ran the full gamut, with signs calling for repealing DADT and DOMA, passing a fully-inclusive ENDA, marriage equality, immigration equality, healthcare, poverty, and everything in between. And the many different chants were equally moving, reflecting a level of commitment I rarely see in Virginia.

I was moved by the experience. I was moved to see the two gay men in their 80s who were beaten at Stonewall -- and still push for their rights. I was moved by the cast of Hair, who gave up payment for two performances to attend. I was moved by the kids from DC who wore facepaint saying "No to H8." I was moved by the people who came from Florida, California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Texas and all states in between. I found myself tearing up more than once -- seeing the mother who carried a sign asking why her two children were treated differently, the couple who have been waiting for decades to marry, the soldiers (some in full uniform) who simply want to serve.

I left the March feeling recharged and not alone. I felt like I was part of a community --standing with thousands of other people with similar goals was a statement. I am glad I helped make it the event it was. Even with all the controversy about the March and debate about its effectiveness, it was worth it.

I just got home after spending the weekend in Washington.

I was one of the 150,000+ who joined in the National Equality March. There were a handful (fewer than 10) of religious righjtists carrying huge anti-abortion posters I chanting anti-gay slogans. I talked to one of them -- an older man who was tehre with his wife. I asked him why he was so virulently anti-gay. He told me the Bible condemns men lying with other men. I noticed there was a woman with his group wearing make-up and with short hair. I asked him if she was with his group. he confirmed she was his wife -- so I picked up a stone and handed it to him. I reminded him that Leviticus condemns women who cut their hair or paint their face to be stoned -- and equally condemns the men who fail to carry out the Biblical commandment. He looked at me blankly -- so I asked him if he no longer believed in the Bible. He walked away from me, saying only that he had a right to his opinion.

I have pictures, but am too tired to post thm tonight -- maybe tomorrow.

I have packed my bags. I leave very early tomorrow morning for Washington for the National Equality March.

I know that Barney Frank has said we should not march because the Obama Administration will come around on our issues, but I hope to see some of my friends in Washington on Sunday.

I am annoyed tonight. I wanted to move at the end of September, and turned in my notice to my landlord on August 2 that I was going to move. My lease has had a provision that I would give my landlord 60 days notice before moving. In the past, my landlord has sent out a notice 10 days in advance of the expiration of the 60 day period, advising you that you had to turn in your notice 60 days before the lease expired. This year, my landlord decided to not send the notice out, because the rental market is very bad. He assumed that sending the notice out would remind people they had to give notice well in advance of the expiration of the lease.

It worked. I turned in my notice on August 2, a day late, because I had expecetd the letter that has been traditionally provided. On August 10 I received a letter from the president of the management company for my building rejecting my notice that I planned on moving because "it had been submitted after the deadline." The letter went on to state that he had extended my lease by twelve months, as Virginia law allows him to do, at a monthly rental rate of "x," which was $25 les sthan I have been paying for the past year.

I accepted the fact that he was legally correct, so advised my new landlord I would not be signing the lease and cancelled the mover.

On October 1, I submitted the rental payment for the amount described in the letter I received on August 10. On October 5, I received a phone call from the leasing agen for teh building, questioning why my rental payment was for less than the amount specified by the lease. I explained the letter I had recived from her boss, the president of the management company, specifiying that the lease amount for the coming twelve months was "x," the amount I had paid. The leasing agent said she would lok into it.

Today, I received a notice that I was being charged a late fee of $25 for the $25 difference between the amount of my former lease and the amount I was told by the president of the management company was the amount of my lease.

I am pissed. Why did I recive a letter telling me my rent for the coming twelve months was "x," only to be assessed a late fee for paying "x" when the amount the leasing agent wanted was "x+$25." Am I wrong to feel as if I should only be paying "X"?

I am very pissed.

Admittedly, he has been inconsistent this year, but you have to admit that he is purdy to look at it.

Happiness is getting a completely unexpected postcard out of the blue from someone you have not heard from in a very long time. It is always nice to find actual mail in the mailbox -- and postcards from friends who are traveling is a nice statment that they are thinking of you. So, thank you seekup78, you made my day.

The ones in bold are the ones I have seen.

1 Brokeback Mountain (2005)
 2 Shelter (2007)
 3 Latter Days (2003)
 4 Milk (2008)
 5 A Beautiful Thing (1996)
 6 Get Real (1998)
 7 Maurice (1987)
 8 Were the World Mine (2008)
 9 Trick (1999)
 10 Juste Une Question D'amour (Just a Question of Love) (2000)
 11 Big Eden (2000)
 12 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
 13 Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
 14 Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom (2008)
 15 Broken Hearts Club (2000)
 16 Angels in America (2003)
 17 Longtime Companion (1990)
 18 Jeffrey (1995)
 19 Sommersturm (2004)
 20 All Over the Guy (2001)
 21 Mysterious Skin (2004)
 22 Philadelphia (1993)
 23 Burnt Money (2000)
 24 Birdcage (1996)
 25 Edge of Seventeen (1998)
 26 My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
27 Boy Culture (2006) 
28 Parting Glances (1986)
 29 Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
 30 The Trip (2002)
 31 Shortbus (2006)
 32 The Boys in the Band (1970)
33 Yossi and Jagger (2002)
 34 Another Gay Movie (2006)
35 The Bubble (2006)
36 The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
 37 C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
 38 Coffee Date (2006)
 39 Making Love (1982)
40 Prayers for Bobby (2009)
41 East Side Story (2006)
 42 Love Songs (Les Chansons D'Amour) (2007)
 43 Mambo Italiano (2003)
 44 Adam & Steve (2005)
 45 In and Out (1997)
 46 My Own Private Idaho (1991)
 47 Rent (2005)
 48 Eating Out (2004)
 49 Mulligans (2008)
 50 Transamerica (2005)
 

When I first said that I was going to visit Montreal, seekup78suggested that I could take advantage of its proximity to Montreal and also visit Quebec. So my last day in Canada I took his advice, rented a car, and headed up the road to Quebec.

My first stop was actually just a few miles up the road from Quebec -- le chute Montromency, or Montromency Falls. A full 30 feet higher than Niagra Falls (as I was often reminded), Montromency Falls were pretty, but not nearly as impressive as i had expected. despite that, I am glad that I took the time to see a little bit of natural Quebec.



From the falls, I headed straight for montreal, the only UNESCO World Heritage City in North America. The only walled city still standing in North America, Quebec was a beautiful city and a most historic city. Hard to realize sometimes, but the battle fought here in 1759 between the British under Wolfe and the French under Montcalm determined that North America would be dominated by the English and not the French. It makes you wonder how the world would have changed had the French won this battle.



Towering over Quebec is the Chateau Frontenac, a hotel that dominates the cliffs of the upper city.



Personally, though, I preferred the narrow streets of the lower city -- the area along the St. Lawrence River that marks the original site of Quebec. The shops were pretty neat, though far too crowded. The character of the area, however, made up for the crowds.



I am glad that seekup78 suggested the dive up to Quebec. It was a nice diversion from Montreal.

While walking to the Metro station to get to Olympic Park I realized why the strange guy was walking behind me the other night. I walked only one block from my hotel before coming onto a large homeless encampment in a Montreal park. It was a little sad to see so many people curled up in sleeping bags less than a block from one of the major tourist attractions in Montreal -- the Vieux Montreal. I would never have expected to see such a large encampment -- there must have been 20-30 people curled up in sleeping bags. It was a very depressing way to start the day.

The Metro was fast and dependable, but beginning to show its age. There was some graffiti on the cars, suggesting a lack of funding to clean them. There were even a few more homeless people sleeping in the station. The trains were comfortable though -- and relatively inexpensive.

I arrived at Olympic Park and immediately went to the Montreal Observatory. I got in line to ride the funicular up to the obseervation deck for what was supposed to be an incredible view of the city. I was one of three people in the car -- which went up about 30 feet and ground to a halt. We were stuck in the car for around half an hour before they brought the car back to the ground, gave us our tickets back, and advised us to come back at a later time. They acknowledged that they had no idea when the funicular would be running again, but they hoped it would not take too long.





I decided to walk up the hill and visit the Botanical Garden while I waited. I am glad I did. The gardens were beautful. I wandered through the Chinese garden, the exhibition gardens, the sensory gardens, the First Nations gardens, and the Japanese gardens. They were all beautiful. The colors of the flowers were breathtaking -- and they were decorating the Chinese garden for the Festival of Lanterns which was a fun way to celebrate Chinese culture.



After spending an hour or so wandering through the gardens, I headed back to the Observatory -- but the funicular was still not running. I then walked next door to teh Observatory to check out the Biodome. It was interesting, but was very crowded with families and small children. I then went back to the Observatory and tried for teh third time to get up the funicular -- it was still not running.

I gave up and hopped on the Metro to go back into the city. This time I explored downtown Montreal. The skyscrapers were typical of any modern city -- nothing too exciting. The Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World, was pretty, but opportunities to explore were limited by the wedding going on. I finally just wandered up to the McGill University campus. Lots of cute guys running around playing soccer and catching some rays -- and a whole group of students carrying brooms and wearing t-shirts that read "McGill Qidditch;" I had to wonder if Harry Potter has taken over the world.



Leaving McGill, I jumped back on the Metro and headed to Montreal's gay village. It was a very comfortable place, with lots of green and yellow (the colors of peace and acceptance) cut-out t-shirts hanging over the street and large yellow clothespins, marking this area as a "great place to hang out." I felt totally at home here.



I wandered down the street, finally stumbling on a park with giant chess boards and dozens of people playing chess. I tried one game, but was badly outclassed by the guy I played against. he beat me badly.



I liked this area of Montreal a great deal. I wandered back toward the Metro stop, planning on going back to my hotel because I was feeling tired. I happened upon a sports bar, though, and went inside to watch US college football and drink some very good Canadian beer. While there, I decided to succumb to peer pressure from whitman22and tried some poutine, French fries topped with gravy and cheese; I was stunned -- they were incredible. I should never have doubted his advice.

I planned on coming back to the gay area of Montreal later in the evening, but I was feeling very tired after the long day. My back and legs ached and I could feel a cold coming on. I went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

I swear I believe that the Canadian government does not want American tourists. I have crossed into Canada twice this year -- once by land at Windsor, Ontario and now by air at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Quebec. In most countries, I have found that the entry process is fairly simple -- but not in Canada. I was grilled both times -- why am I in Canada? why have Ireturned so soon after my last visit? who will I be meeting while I am in Canada? This is so unlike what it was like just a few years ago, when it was very easy to cross the border. I wonder if this is a reaction to the increased security by the USA. In any case, it does not make visits to Canada as easy as they used to be.

I arrived in Montreal around 1:00 PM after a short layover in Chicago. I will acknowledge that Air Canada makes US airlines look really bad. I enjoyed the flight a great deal -- Air Canada reminded me of many European carriers.

My hotel, the Hotel Champs du Mars is in Vieux Montreal, the old city. I knew I wanted to stay here because of the history, crowds and architecture. My first stop after checking in was a sidewalk cafe for a wonderful lunch of vegetable soup, spinach quiche, salad, and a super Quebecois beer. After eating, I wandered through the Vieux Montreal, just checking the area out and enjoying this part of teh city.



I endede up at the Museum of Archeology and History. That was interesting -- I made it there to see an exhibit on pirates that was very weel done. I then walked back along the St. Lawrence River, enjoying the park along the river. I could not help but notice that most of the couples sitting together in the park were either two guys or two women; I was not expecting that.





I made it back to the heart of Vieux Montreal, the Place Jacques Cartier, for a late afternoon drink at one of the many cafes fronting on the plaza. I wandered up to the small plaza across rue Notre Dame from the Place Jacques Cartier and stumbled on some Canadian filming. I have no idea what the plot was I am guessing it was a tv show), but it involved a police officer whose pants kept falling down as various people approached him to ask questions. It was odd, but funny at the same time.

I made it down to the Notre Dame Basilica for their light show And then there was light. The show was spectacular, but the real star of the show was the church itself. What an incredibly beautiful place!



After the show, I wandered back through the Vieux Montreal, eating dinner at one of the cafes on Place Jacques Cartier -- an incredible grouper dish that melted in my mouth. The whole area was even more beautiful at night than it was during the day.



I will admit that my experience as I headed back to my hotel was a little disconcerting. I was walking along a quiet and somewhat dark street when I realized I heard footsteps behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw a very scruffy looking guy approaching me from behind. I flashed back on getting mugged in Lisbon. I picked up my speed and turned the corner of rue Berri and my hotel a few steps ahead of the guy behind me. It was a scary way to end a long day.

I must admit that I find myself very frustrated by the many baseless arguments being raised by opponents of health insurance reform, but none of them irritate me more than the suggestion that the President's program should not be approved because it will give faceless government bureaucrats the ability to decide whether or not a person qualifies for certain types of care. Ironically none of those who argue this position ever seem to object to the fact that a faceless group of corporate actuaries make those decision based on the effect the procedures may have on their pofit margins.

And to those who object to the public option, why are they afraid of competition? They can only be afraid that the private sector insurers will be unable to compete with a government provided program.

I don't remember if I have posted this, but I have made travel plans for Labor Day. On the advice of blusteel  and seekup78 I am going to Montreal (Yes, I realize that  they are the Canadians on my friends' list, so they may have had motives for urging me to visit Canada). I was actually originally inspired by whitman22 's dscription of his trip and it has been a long time since I was there. I am looking forward to it.