Fake & Bake vs Spray me Orange

Just wanted to relate a little story about my experience tanning. So I'm a pretty pale pasty guy naturally and don't tan well or get out in the sun much to even attempt tanning the old fashioned way. Not to mention tanning is hell on your skin and I don't want to look like a leather shoe when I get older nor do I need to get skin cancer. So my options are either be pale and sickly or go to a tanning salon. It's a pretty common thing to do in LA but I wasn't overly eager. Anyway after enough comments (mostly from May at work) I decided to at least check it out and see what sort of results I could get. I was curious about the whole spray on tan thing because actually nuking my skin on a bed seems scary and just as destructive as laying out.

So I decided to just walk into a tanning salon and talk to them about it. I went into this place in Santa Monica and was immediately shocked by the guy working there. His eyes both fluttered strangely and showed almost only the whites with one eye pointed waaay off to the side. His glasses were super thick and seemed to only be helpful to one eye at a time and had to be held up in front of his face at a distance instead of worn. Eek. Still I was determined to figure this out and get it over with. So I talked to him about tanning and I had to take this strange survey that rates your tanning ability and allows them to make a suggestion about what kind of tanning you should do. Luckily it turned out the beds weren't for me and the spray on tan was best suited to my skin. So I made an appointment and came back after a vigorous exfoliation. I was a little afraid to go back to wild eyes and considered going elsewhere but stuck with it and hoped someone else might be working. No luck...but Wild Eyes was super sweet and remembered me and all. So I went back a few times and Wild Eyes was always there.

I decided a tan might be nice for this big Vegas weekend so I went yesterday at lunch and to my surprise Wild Eyes was gone and in his place was Hotzo. I was excited and shocked all at the same time. I couldn't help but ask Hotzo what happened to Wild Eyes and he immediately knew who I was talking about and we had a good laugh. (I didn't actually call him Wild Eyes but when I asked about the other guy he mentioned his eyes and I knew we were on the same page) Wild Eyes provided a great ice breaker and gave me a chance to flirt a little with Hotzo who I think was flirting back and I left there smiling and walking tall. He even asked me by name how my session was and laughed when I mentioned the gross smell of the chemical. Maybe he just gets bored in there...maybe most of his other regulars are ugly...maybe he actually likes me? Did I mention Hotzo sold me a 3 session tan...it really is a great deal...really. Oh yeah, I'll be back. I just hope Hotzo is working again.

The moral of the story is Wild Eyes was super nice and no reason not to go back to that tanning salon...AND...without him I would have never spoken to Hotzo.

Stupid Turkey Day

So lets see here...it's been a while. My cousin Shawnte has been buggin me to write something new and suggested out trip to Oregon for that stupid holiday that shouldn't be a holiday. An awful American tadition of overeating and remembering how the native americans and pilgrims got along for one meal before we decided to cheat them out of their land and send them off to reservations to learn how to play poker. All the while we eat the most disgusting food imaginable and try to fill up on it? Nasty. I hate dry disgusting turkey, bitter cranberry sauce and mushy stale bread cooked with onions and celery (stuffing). For dessert we have Jell-O and pumpkin pie? Gross. Anyway...not a fan of the holiday but I do love my family and can be easily guilted into doing things with them.

So Shawnte and Lonnie pick me up from my place Wed after work and we head out at 2:30pm to sit in traffic leaving LA. I didn't take time off work for this or get a plane ticket because I got sucked in last minute. So to make the 12hr trip fun I've decided we're going to have to go to drastic measures and create fun where normally there is none. First we dicide to be in uniform which just requires me to change into a white Tshirt since we were all wearing blue jeans. Of course we are already on the road but decide to pull off the freeway just for the costume change. Then we start using my Road Rage cards (basically a spiral bound notebook with funny sayings like "what are you staring at" or "thanks for cutting me off shithead") on the poor trapped motorists on the freeway. This is a group effort since Shawnte is driving and pulling the car up next to our victims, Lonnie is watching for reactions and I'm doing all the sign flashing. We kept it pretty tame and mostly just tried to make people laugh using "cell phone = bad driver" and our own creation "this sucks". Next up we're taking pictures of things along the way like road signs and such so Shawnte can scrap book the whole trip later. She brought her digital camera and while sticking my head out the window to get a picture of the blair witch sign (Tehon Ranch just over the grapevine has a sign with a strange symbol that looks frighteningly close to the little straw dolls seen in the movie the Blair Witch) my cute Wheaties hat flys off my head much to my alarm. Bummer. We finally get there at 2:30am.

That morning we help get ready for nasty turkey day at my Aunt Kim's (Shawnte & Lonnie's Momma) place. After eating we play some twister, yahtzee, guess who and monopoly with my Grandma Darlene's relatives Christopher and Alyssa.

Friday I played a little 42 with my parents and Grandma Love and then we went into Medford for roller skating and dinner. Lonnie was all into the rollerskating and was supposed to be meeting friends there but they all bailed on him. Loser. So now its this big group of us there who just went for something to do. My Mom and Dad both decided to rent skates and Shawnte and I get In-lines. My Mom was pretty decent and never crashed while my Dad fell only once but stayed off the rink most of the time to avoid "busting his ass". I never did learn how to go backwards but I was dancing on my skates and played tag with Lonnie a little who works at a skating rink down here. I fell twice once after doing a loop and the second time trying to tag Lonnie (and yes I got the little bastard). We had dinner at a cute little place where the waitresses sport attitudes and it ajoins a bar and smells of smoke. Cute.

Saturday we went for a ride on the quads through the puddles and mud and I seemed to be the only one who knew that its more fun if you get wet and dirty. Finally we dropped off the kiddos Christopher and Alyssa (who had begged to come with us) and picked up Shawnte for the real riding. We were having a blast and already quite wet when I went into this big puddle and tried to turn and flipped the Quad and sent myself and Shawnte flying face first into the mud. We got up startled, laughing, soaked and freezing but unhurt and flipped the Quad back over happy to see it still ran and headed home. I broke the speedometer big time but my Grandpa Love thinks he can straighten out the bent bars. D'oh! Send me the bill. We had to try and peel off our soaked muddy clothes before going in which was a challenge with our fingers completely frozen. Let it be said ALL my extremities had turned an unnatural purple color that worried me. After we warmed up we played some more games like dalmuti and scene-it.

Sunday we woke up early and headed home once again in uniform and playing with the Road Rage cards. My Wheaties hat was replaced by Shawnte but I didn't wear it home. Unfortunately the camera ate shit in the Quad crash so we didn't get any photos of the ride home. Thats about it.

Incubus...is that you?

Yesterday while grabbing lunch with Peter at the Quiznos on Olympic and Sawtell I saw Brandon Boyd walk by outside. It was weird. Thats all.

Cleaning, Deocrating & Lots of movies...

Saturday I woke up after a very loooong night of drinking (On The Waterfront Cafe), volleyball (on the beach out front of the bar), more drinking (Rick's, followed by the Abbey), dancing (Ultrasuede) and late night jack in the box (at Emmie's place). I decided before I got too into the cleaning and decorating of my place for next weekend's Halloween party I wanted to go see a movie while it was still matinee. So I called up Brandon who couldn't go. So I went and saw Waiting with Ryan Reynolds from Lions Gate Films. Great movie! Funnier, more clever and far more engaging than I expected. Of course I'm a sucker for any ensemble cast movie with pretty people and clever dialog. Then I went back home and got to work on the place. Brandon called a little later and wanted to come hang out and help me clean and stuff since it's been waay too long since we've gotten to hang out. (Not my fault...he has an open invite to come to our wednesday Top Model nights but his hermet nature prevents him from coming. Sometimes I even call him as I'm heading over and remind him. He only lives a block away...) So anyway, he is helping me move furniture because I have some very bizarre ideas for my party and he sees this mirror I bought forever ago. I explain I've never taken the time to put it up and he says we should do it right now "really quick". So I'm like okay and I get out my power tools and tape measure. (Yeah for some odd reason I've bought some strange tools and stuff even though I never use them and the 1 time I tried to use my screwgun was a nightmare) So he gets all excited and goes to town using my studfinder (I told you I have weird stuff). We start marking the wall and realize we're VERY bad at this and they should have a reality show with gay guys trying to figure out how to do manly things because it would be pretty damn funny. Well we get the mirror hung with only minimal problems and then I ask if he wants to tackle hanging my shelves. So we put a bunch more holes in my wall and argue a little over the need to use only where the studs are vs putting things where I want them visually. Then he says he wants to go see The Fog so we check times finish up and head off. (We have to drive because of course Brandon doesn't like walking and doesn't want to walk home in the dark after seeing a scary movie...I'm cool with that since I'm already hot from all the work) The movie was alright, decently entertaining, some scary things, cool characters, nice effects and an almost too happy ending. The next day I go and play games with my brother (Necrons-me vs Space Marines-James & Fernando) and I win! I win big actually...then when I get home I decide to watch my netflix movie Love Actually. I love it! Huge ensemble cast of lots of pretty people, interweaving storyline that never loses you, happy and sad points...its the perfect romantic comedy! (Plus its an all-star cast) Thats about it...now I'm at work. "Yaaaay...and there was much rejoicing" -obsure reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail