Happy Memorial Day!

Wow. I cannot believe that May is already over. As I sit here enjoying a Red Snapper at Belcourt after having a fantastic brunch, I decided to have some personal time with my blog. So here we are.

Usually before writing a post I have a reason, or at least a plan in mind. Today, not so much. Maybe it's the Gin talking, but I'm gonna try a stream of consciousness thing today. So hold on to your hats, this may be a bumpy ride.



Yummy brunch cocktails. All gone!

I feel like Memorial Day is the official start of summer. I can now wear my white pants... I can now run at the park instead of the gym (not that I ever go to the gym anyway)... And I have to start using makeup to cover up all of the unsightly bruises that cover my legs so I can wear my cute shorts.

I also see Memorial Day as a second New Years. Time to make some resolutions for the summer. To make some positive life choices and really think about where life is heading. Summer is also a big time for me because it means I made it through May...

I don't know about any other Hemophiliacs out there, but I have problem months. Months where brushing up against a table causes a hip bleed where as if I fall down another month, I stand up unscathed. May is one of those months for me, so if I make it through without a hospital visit... I'm a happy camper. (Literally, because then I may go camping in June... GET IT?!?! MAY go camping in JUNE?!?! I'm so punny).

So although we need to remember the true meaning of this holiday and remember all of those brave men and women who have helped us to be free (although I can't get married...), I urge people to also think of Memorial Day as a new beginning. A time to move past all of the winter drama and shed not only our coats, but our insecurities as well.

It's summer, baby! Time to live it up! But don't live it up too hard... Because then you'll have to infuse and that's a big buzz kill. Literally cause this Red Snapper got me buzzed...

Till we meet again...

Location:E 4th St., New York City

3,000!

Okay. So this is just a quick blog post that will have more photos later. I am in a show entitled "Naked Boys Singing." It is an Off-Broadway musical review about being naked and gay. Basically. Well. Although I have only been a cast member since September, The show has been running for TWELVE years and tonight (well, last night) we had our 3,000 performance which is a big deal in theatre terms. I will be posting professional pictures with links as they become available, but my boy took this one. I hope all is well. Talk about liking the dream huh? ANYTHING can happen if you let it. Even a bleeder in an Off-Broadway show celebrating a milestone.




Till we meet again...

Location:E 72nd St,New York,United States

But MOM!

Okay. So this is one of those fabulous stories about how embarrassed I used to get as a kid involving my mother.

Now here is the deal. My mother is (and always has been) an amazing mom, and I would not be here today if it weren't for her. That being said, she was just a LITTLE over-protective of me as a kid.







My mom and I on Christmas in 2010 at 30 Rock

Many kids growing up with Hemophilia had to wear helmets and pads. It was just a way of life. (See Straight Talks 101 post for pics). My mother also put this amazing avocado vinyl padding on ever corner in the entire house. Yes. Avocado. It had to match the refrigerator. Come on!!!

Anywho. This story brings me to around age 11. And a friend of mine was having a rollerskating party. Yes. Rollerskating, not rollerblading. There was this awesome rollerskating rink where Birthday Parties were held with video games and all that stuff in Honesdale, PA (where Wet, Hot American Summer and Blue Valentine were filmed).

Now I have never learned how to ride a bike, let alone roller-skate. So I asked my mom if we could go up early so I could learn. My mom used to do Roller Disco so I knew she could teach me all the moves. So we make a date to go up to the rink so I can learn. Well, I knew that I was going to have to wear some more pads. My elbow and knee pads of course. The helmet. Maybe some wrist guards. Boy, was I wrong.

My mother pulls out an egg crate. You know. Those things you buy when you're in college to make those horrid beds sleepable? Yeah... You can see where this is going. She begins to cut this foam up and starts duct taping it around my arms and legs. But she doesn't stop there. She then proceeded to make a kind of vest and duct taped that to me as well. Needless to say I didn't fit into any of my own clothes. So off I go, in my brothers sweatsuit, looking like the kid from A Christmas Story, to the skating rink. And just FYI, I had to lay down in the back of the car because I couldn't bend my legs.

I do not have any pictures of this. I soooooo wish I did, but I have a picture of me bowling around the same age so you can get an idea of how attractive I looked (and look at how my fingers aren't in the holes because they weren't allowed to be. Finger bleeds...)






Okay. So we get there, and I go inside and everybody just turns and stares. See, this was the next town over. Everybody in MY town would have expected this, but here, I looked like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man wearing a wrestling helmet (with fabulous stickers might I add). We rent a pair of skates, and like I said, I couldn't sit down so you can imagine how hysterical it was for me to try and get these skates on not being able to bend my knees.

We finally get me in the the rink and my mom had to just keep pushing me because, in reality, I couldn't skate without use of my knees. We did this for about fifteen minutes and then I started crying and begging her to take me home. It took 30 minutes to get me into my pads. 20 minutes to drive up there. But only 15 minutes for me to have a break down.

I went to the party, but didn't skate at all...

I used to tell this story to friends as a horror story. Whenever I would get mad at my mom I would throw it back up to her. But now, I look back on this and realize, she could have said no. Maybe my mother was a little over protective, but she wanted me to feel like I was doing what the other kids were doing, even if I looked foolish. There is NO WAY I would be as active or as healthy of a human being today if it hadn't been for the way she raised me.

So let's all tip our helmets to our moms and dads and brothers and sisters. We may not like the way things happened growing up (or right now in the present for some younger readers), but it was all because of love.

I may have wanted brand new roller-skates, but my mom had the brand new key. (Come on. Did you not think I was going to quote that song after talking about Roller Disco? What kinda 'mo do you think I am?)

'Till we meet again...

Location:E 72nd St,New York,United States

Clothes "Get Better" at Old Navy

So I was looking for inspiration for a blog post, and I came across this...

Old Navy Debuts Gay Pride T-Shirts For It Gets Better

I could not be happier. THIS is where America should be heading. A major brand, major label, releasing a series of shirts for Pride much like they do for Independence Day. I can only imagine the uprising that is going to happen in Middle America, but with the proceeds going to such an AMAZING organization as "It Gets Better," it's hard to get angry about the cause.

I am really surprised it has taken a major label such as Old Navy to finally jump on board with stores such as American Apparel which has had the "Legalize Gay" shirt out since everything happened with Prop 8.

It's one of those things that really excites me for purely selfish reasons. Part of me can't wait until the first kid gets sent home from school for wearing something "inappropriate" and the conversation and dialogue that will sprout from that will be priceless.

I always try to bring things back around. We all know controversy will stem from this decision, but if someone was wearing a shirt with a giant blood droplet on it that said "Donate Today" or "I'm a Hemo," no one would say a word. But still just as important to the person wearing it as a Pride 2011 shirt. We are all moving forward. I can feel a shift happening in culture. People are becoming more understanding about peoples differences and are willing to accept them more more openly. I couldn't be happier.

So that's it for today. Short and sweet. Not very witty though and for that I apologize. If I don't blog again until after the weekend I hope EVERYONE has a fantastic holiday and enjoys the long weekend. I'm going to brunch on Monday ;-)

Till we meet again...

Crying Wee! Wee! Wee! All the Way Home

So I try to write these blog posts because I think I have something quasi-important to say. But only quasi... I'm not that special. But every once in a while I write something because I know I was in the wrong; doing something stupid involving treatment or just about me screwing up my life in general. So this is one of those, a semi-cautionary tale, because sometimes the smallest parts of out body can be a big problem (That's what she said...).

Okay, so kind of unrelated, I got this idea from a commercial. One of my favorite commercials of all time. I'm posting it below...

So sometimes I enjoy drinking a bottle of wine. It's a good time. I enjoy trying new wines I don't know and when it comes to something bubbly or effervescent, much like my personality, I go a little overboard, again, much like my personality. So when I've been drinking I get a little rowdy and... well... enough about that. Moral of story, the other night I was drinking a little and stubbed my pinky toe, no harm no foul. And I went to bed.

Next morning, I woke up and my toe was all red, discolored, and I had a blood blister under my toe nail. "It's just my pinky-toe," I thought. No harm, no foul. And off to work I trudged.

Bad idea. By the end of my shift I could barely walk, and after popping 6-8 ibuprofen at a time, my stomach was doing somersaults. It's silly. As a mild-mod Hemophiliac I don't jump the gun to infuse right away, but I usually am OVERLY cautious about RICE. My toe is still a little swollen and hurts like hell, but I think any bleeding has stopped, even though the entire ball of my foot felt like I was walking on glass and not my fabulous metallic P.F. Flyers.

You'd think that by the time I've turned 27 I would understand how to take care of my body, it's just that sometimes, I still don't want to admit to myself that something is wrong. That I'm bleeding. That I'm not normal. It's just easier to pretend everything is fine, even though I am in excruciating pain.

So don't be stupid. Even if you've had a couple glasses of wine or are with someone you have neglected to inform of your condition, just be honest with your own needs and do what's best. And for all my non-bleeder friends out there, the same goes for you. I'm not saying make a mountain out a molehill, which my anxiety disorder causes me to do one too many times, but don't just sweep the little stuff under the rug. Sometimes you need to act upon it. Because if not, it could turn into a disaster, and the the Beyonce Beautiful kind... Just a plain old disaster.

Take it from one who knows... but that's a WHOLE 'nother post. So don't let the little piggy cry all the way home, even if he loves the pinwheel...

Until we meet again...

Born This Way

Yeah, yeah. I know. Everyone is Gaga'ed out. Her album came out to #1, she's been on every talk show known to mankind, and if she says "I was Born this Way" in one more interview I might die...

But I love her.

It's true. She's amazing. And after watching her on "The View" today, I have so much more respect for her.

Yeah, the Gays love her 'cause she's all about owning who you are and about how everyone should respect that, and maybe it is because I'm a big ol' 'mo, but it's really easy to buy into all that. But watching "The View" today, and seeing all these women, over 30, putting their "paws up" made me realize there is so much more to her message than just loving those of us who love purple unicorns...

It really is true this mantra that she sings of... We are all Born This Way.

When I was in elementary school, there was a male health teacher I had who was trying to explain the basics of genetics to a bunch of 11 year olds, and he basically boiled it down to this analogy:

"It's like playing cards. We all get dealt a hand at random, and then we all have to play the game in front of us. Some of us get some lousy cards, but doesn't mean we still can't win."

And that really hit home for me, as I sat there in class wearing my helmet. I didn't choose to be different, I just was. I was dealt a not so great card, the hemo card, but that didn't mean I couldn't do ANYTHING I wanted to, and so from that point on I decided to never let it get me down. And I haven't.

And it blows my mind that while going out to Splash and dancing my ass off to "Born This Way," I haven't even thought about it as anything more than just a new Gay Anthem. Instead, it's kind of like the new "Free to Be, You and Me." (For those of you too young to have ANY idea what I'm talking about.... click here for a YouTube Clip)

So thank you, mother monster. Although it's something I have known for a while, it's good to put it out there in a different way, so that everyone knows, that we are all Born This Way. There is nothing wrong with it. Just pick up your cards, play your hand, and come out the winner, because cards may be a lot of luck, but it's mostly skill and strategy that will get you through the hand, and win you that giant pot of cash (or, in my case, pennies because I don't have enough money to actually play in the big leagues).

Till we meet again...

Talk about Spring Cleaning!

Hey Y'all!

It's time! I'm unveiling a new logo and a new twitter account! YEAH! It's time I finally make the dedication to this blog.

So here's the new logo:

So tell me what you think? I love it.

The logo was created by Brandon Clark at Wrapid Impressions.

Check out his AWESOME work here. He has a great eye!

Also, I have a new twitter account as well! @TheHemoHomo is the new account to follow for all the stuff relating to Hemophilia and Gayness... Of course, you can still follow me here.

PLEASE tweet me ideas and conversation starters and continue to follow! SOOO much more to come!

Till we meet again...

Well it took me long enough...

So I now realize I suck at blogging! Hahaha. It has been over a month since my last confession and I have no idea how to say the Act of Contrition anymore, but I do apologize anyway. Please stick with me and I promise I will be getting better.

I have left one of my 3 jobs, so I will now have time to write a post AT LEAST once a week... Hopefully a lot more than that.

I wish I had more to say this week, about how glamourous my life has been since my last post, but that would be a lie. I'm just exhausted, but such is life. I promise I will impart some witty words of wisdom in the near future. I also have a new logo I will be unveiling as well as a separate twitter account so things are getting exciting!

Welp...

Till we meet again...