Home of the Happiest Rat on Earth

(Thursday March 9th - Saturday March 11th)

In an attempt to catch up, I've decided to post my multi-day stays in particular cities into individual blog postings.

The drive from Atlanta into Orlando was pretty uneventful. There was smoke in the air for a while just south of Atlanta. I didn't hear about any wildfires of any kind so I assume it was a control burn of some kind.

Orlando is old home for me. I lived there for 18 1/2 years (except for 15 months I lived in Dallas between late 1995 and early 1997). I've lived in Orlando longer than any other place in the world. I like Orlando. I moved to the Phoenix, AZ area, not because I hated Orlando, I was just bored with it. I also wasn't looking forward to going through another hurricane season. Three hurricanes in 6 weeks during 2004 was more than enough! Also I thought I might enjoy the dry/hot weather and mountains of Arizona.

I wasn't able to do everything I was hoping to do. Specifically there were a few people I wanted to see, plus I was hoping to meet the owner of my old home to see what changes he had made to the house. Unfortunately I just didn't have the time.

I did, however, get a lot done. I arrived in Orlando about 1:30 in the afternoon. I spent some time driving around checking out the changes that had taken place in town. Mostly it was the same, however there were some slight changes: a new building here, a torn down building there, a changed business name, a new paint job for a house here and there.

I had stopped by a couple of friends' homes but they weren't in. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend Alan was home. Alan and I have known each other for close to 20 years. We used to attend MCC back in the day (before I gave up god for lent) and were roommates, twice. Alan and I talked for a while, went to lunch at my favorite BBQ place (Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ), then drove around downtown and checked out all of the new construction that is going on down there. In a few years I probably won't recognize the Orlando skyline it'll change so much! Then my friend Jason and I got together for dinner.

My friend Jason is a great guy. I tease him about being my token straight friend. But honestly, he's one of the most intelligent, sensitive, and generous people I've ever known. He put me up while I stayed in Orlando and we had a very nice visit. His blog is linked off of my blog. It's called 'Scarbrowed'.

Friday, I spent more time driving around seeing friends. My dad was staying up in Fruitland Park which is about 50 miles northwest from where I was staying in Orlando. I drove up there and spent some time with him and his wife. That area is also where I used to work so I stopped in and visited some of my former coworkers. I've officially came out to them because I gave them the link to my blog. Maybe they're reading this even as we speak (well...I guess we're not technically speaking).

After I drove back, I had lunch with my former trainer Curt. We had a bit of a mixup getting together, but eventually we got it all worked out. We had a very nice visit over lunch at Smokey Bones restaraunt. Then he and I went over to the Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Community Center (http://www.glbcc.org) and visited there. It's the first and oldest GLBT community center in Florida, having opened in 1987. I was part of the team that started the center. It's one of the things I'm proud to have been a part of.

After that, Curt and I parted ways then stopped by my ex-boyfriend John's home. We dated 2 years ago while he was living in Houston and I in Orlando. He originally was going to move to Orlando, but changed his mind. We broke up because I wasn't willing to move to Houston. After my disasterous move to Dallas in 1995, I really couldn't see myself living in Texas again. I still do care for him, he's a great guy. (You can check out John's blog at http://www.myspace.com/gamera32804.) Anyway, we spent some time together, then we hooked up with Alan, his significant other Mark, my friend Jason and the 5 of us had dinner at Alfonso's, and Italian place in College Park (an district of Orlando). Then we all went for a walk around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. It was a beautiful night and we had a nice time. After that, I dropped John off at his home, and went to Jason's and went to bed.

Saturday, Jason and I spent the day at Universal Studios, and Universal Islands of Adventure. We like going there just to ride the rollercoaster type rides. We make sure to get into the front seats! That is especially fun for the Dueling Dragons ride because it has no floor and at times it's as if you're flying. While standing in line for the Hulk, I ran into an old friend Rich and his lover Tom. It was great to see them, though we didn't get a chance to talk much. I got their phone # so I need to give them a call.

After Jason and I left the parks, we stopped at a video store in College Park and I ran into a couple of lesbians (who used to be a lesbian couple) that I knew. It was a great day for running into people I knew. Jason and I left there with The Ring Two on DVD. We watched it while I did some laundry. It wasn't very good (the DVD not the laundry). After the movie and when the laundry was done, I started re-packing up my stuff. Unfortunately, I left the door open to the room I was staying in, and one of Jason's cats decided to mark my bed as its territory. UGH!!! I was not amused. Unfortunately I had to clean all of my bedding. The worst part was, it was kind of late and I was planning on leaving at 5:00 in the morning!

Well, we got through it and I got to bed at about midnight. I was tired after a busy day!