Right Now

I'm supposed to be in Chicago right now. But I'm still in Austin.

I went to the airport as scheduled early early this morning to learn once I got there that the flight was delayed 1.5 hours. So I got some breakfast and settled in, even took a cat nap in the uncomfortable lounge area. When I woke, I learned the flight was delayed another hour. And then another. And then ANOTHER. There were multiple reasons given: there were tornados in the Dallas area last night, keeping flights from coming into Texas, there was a hail storm in Austin this morning, damaging some aircraft, and our flight crew was MIA.

Eventually, it got to the point where I wouldn't be getting into Chicago until the end of the day, missing all the meetings I had scheduled. Tomorrow's day was already truncated, with the plan to head back to the airport around mid-day. It didn't seem worth it to go all the way up there for a half day of meetings, so I asked for the credit for the flight and headed into the office here.

When I lived in NY, I heard so many NYers stories of where they were on 9-11-01. There were several near misses -- people missed their train or bus, a child was sick or something else kept them from showing up to the World Trade Center building on time. It reminds me that we don't have the overall picture. While the horror and tragedies that occurred that day are still hard to comprehend, those near misses make me think that sometimes, we aren't supposed to make that plane, or we're supposed to be in traffic.

What if you're exactly where you're supposed to be RIGHT NOW.

It's My Birthday

Just enjoying the day, which started with a 6:30 a.m. bike ride. I am NOT a morning person, but the endorphins from exercise do make for a nice start to the day.

Had lunch with a dear friend, who brought me a balloon. :-) It's a red, helium-filled balloon, and it makes me feel like a kid again!

My coworkers got me cupcakes, and I'm looking forward to dinner with my sister, niece & nephew tonight at a Japanese hibachi restaurant.

And I'm also looking forward to the year ahead! Exciting things in the works...

I've Still Got "It"

Although 40 is looming like a dark storm on the horizon, apparently, I don't look it.

When I was leaving in Honduras from vacation, I struck up a conversation with two guys in the exit tax line. When they heard I was going to Austin, they asked if I was in school at the university here. I laughed and said no, explaining I was a BIT older than that.

And then getting asked out on a date this week...I knew he was younger than me. I just didn't know he was THAT much younger. Ah, well. We had a nice time. He's mature, and we had a great conversation. So I accepted his invitation to dinner on Friday, too. It's hard not to like the attention from a younger guy.

A Date!

I have a date tomorrow! It's just drinks, but after such a long dry spell, it's pretty exciting.

I went to a friend's party a couple months ago. Many of his gay friends were there, and I enjoyed talking to everyone I met. It was a great party! Towards the end of the night, I was talking to one of the few straight guys there. I didn't think much of it -- he's younger than me -- but we had a good conversation (although I can't remember about what now). He did ask for my phone number, but I forgot about it.

And then he sent me a text message, saying "I'm not sure if you remember me, though I definitely remember you." and asking if I wanted to go out for drinks. So, we are. Tomorrow.