Dancing with the Semi-Stars

When Mom asked me if I wanted to see Dancing with the Stars I immediately said "no, thanks." But when I realized she didn't mean the TV show, I was curious. Then, I learned that my friend Danny would be one of the "stars" and knew I couldn't miss it.

Danny and I have been friends since I was in middle school. Mom was directing the high school musical and I was at nearly every rehearsal of Damn Yankees to see him perfectly cast as the Devil.

So I knew Danny could dance, but it has been a while since either of us were in high school...to say the least! For this show, he was so lucky to be paired with local dance celebrity Theresa Ferguson. I actually took some classes with Theresa when I was younger. She taught class just like Debbie Allen in Fame and I loved every minute of it.

The charity event began with the usual rigmarole of introductions and thank yous and then the couples hit the floor. You could tell they were trying hard, but there was nothing exciting happening. The couples danced slowly, their mouths counting out the beat and their brows furrowed in concentration.

Then, Danny and Theresa stormed out in a flourish of sequence to the Latin beat of the rumba. They were en fuego!! I can't even tell you how proud I was of my friends or how loudly I yelled my encouragement. Easily the most exciting moment of the night: Danny lifted Theresa up over his shoulders and swung her around his head. WOW!

Did I mention Theresa is 60+?

Schoolhouse Rock!

I've found a place to live and I'm just thrilled. It's an old elementary school from the 1920's and it's very me.

Moving into a new apartment is not fun for everyone, but I ADORE it! OK, so carrying all my crap to the second floor was not fun, but now that I'm in, it's all good. My view isn't bad, either.

Now I just have to find a place for everything. Man, I love projects!

I Did it My Way

Well, I made it back to Missouri just in time for my birthday and used the geographical opportunity to gather some of my very best friends for a celebration - my way.

First, I spent the afternoon with Kimmy getting our nails done. Then, as we were getting ready for our night out on the town, she put together an amazing spread of prosciutto, grapes, brie, baguette and champagne complete with wild hibiscus flowers. She is the best boyfriend ever!

At dinner, guests arrived to find green crocodile place cards with glitter and antique buttons, blood-red Gerbera daisies at each place, cigars and free-flowing champagne. We ate at my favorite restaurant, Le Fou Frog.

It was such a great mix of old and new, friends and family. My parents joined in, and of course the Tribe was there and so was my Aunt Nat.

Those who couldn't make it for dinner met us down the street at Anthony's for serenading by the infamous Frank, shots of VO, and the absolute best toasted raviolis (served by the hunky Vito). There were lots of laughs, many at my expense, and lots of catching up with friends.

Anyway, it was certainly a birthday to remember - and the first in a long time that I've spent in Missouri. It was awesome!

Quote for Your Day

Harry Flugelman:

"Do you boys know what the word nada means? In all those Mexican movies you made, did you ever hear that word?

Dusty Bottoms:

"Isn't that a light chicken gravy?"

Some New Respect and a Power Punch

So, for those who do not know, I have had a storage space in Houston ever since Hurricane Ike decided to ruin my previous living arrangement. I haven't even attempted to look inside for the past year, but recently decided I should move all of my crap to a more centralized location - Missouri.

The unloading of the space was pretty quick. Thanks to my dear friend Scott and his assistant Michael, we had that place cleaned out in about 45 minutes.

I think that perhaps it is a bit sad that my entire life fits into a 5'x7' room. I'm guessing at this age most people have more "stuff" to show for their lives. I've never really been a stuff-needing person, but if anyone has a couch they don't mind parting with...

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I wasn't really aware of the magnitude of this undertaking until about 2:30pm on Sunday when I found myself behind the wheel of a 14' U-Haul truck towing a flat-bed trailer with my car holding on for dear life.

As my adventure began, I was holding onto that steering wheel with my vice grip fingers watching my rear view mirrors with furrowed brow.

Then, just as it was getting dark, lightening started crashing down from the heavens with a vengeance. It was really incredible to watch until several strikes hit a bit too close for comfort. I pulled into a rest area just as the sky unleashed the most ridiculous rainstorm I have ever encountered. Even though I was sandwiched between two big rigs, my moving van started shaking and swaying with the immense pressure of the wind and water.

The visual that accompanied my thoughts of ill-fated endings to this predicament can be summed up with this:

I could just see me trapped inside this damn U-Haul flying through the air with my poor car following behind. However, we survived and I even slept well - after the storm subsided, of course. The truck was big enough that I could stretch across the front seat quite comfortably.

At the crack of dawn, I pulled back onto the interstate and continued my journey home. I stopped briefly that morning to get gas and saw this restaurant:

Although Jim Bob is quite the prophet, I decided against chicken fingers for breakfast. Then, as I was pulling out of the gas station, a very large bald man looked up at me and gave me the power punch of respect.

Yes! I am so bad ass for driving nearly 1,000 miles with everything I own.

Adios, amigos.

It was hard to leave David, Hildi and Onslo behind as I drove away from Atlanta this morning. I've had a great time here and will miss the fact that my good friend was just downstairs if I needed anything.

As a capper to my time in Atlanta, David and I enjoyed a "date night" of sorts: We watched Mommie, Dearest. It was absolutely perfect!

NO WIRE HANGERS EVER!

Late last night I heard some rustling around and found Onslo in my suitcase. I had to get a photo:

Then this morning, as soon as the door opened, Hildi bounded up on the bed for the morning kiss fest.



How am I going to survive without these three friends of mine??

AIDS Walk Atlanta

Yesterday, Team Disco Inferno once again participated in AIDS Walk. What a great day!

OK, so this year our team was a bit sparse...2 to be exact. David and I walked proud, though, and really enjoyed the day. The weather was ideal, sunny and cool, and the park and surrounding neighborhood we were walking through were just fantastic. The people came out of there houses to wave at all of us. There were thousands of Hot-lanta-ians with us on the walk. It was so cool!

One of our favorite walking companions was this guy:

Yes, that's a pink fur coat. I have no idea what his theme was, but he was hilarious and the mullet (seen here in low ponytail) was just the icing on the cake.

I have to thank everyone who donated to my team - nearly every person on this list is a repeat donor and I can't even tell you how appreciative I am of their support. My 2009 AIDS Walk Atlanta donors are:

Jesus Diaz

Bob & Cindy Creager

Travis Jenner

Laura Hall

Pennye & Leon Hall

Warren & Jenny Nichols

Anna Smith

THANK YOU!!!

Anyway, David and I finished the walk in 53 minutes (not bad!) and had a great time.

My favorite part of the day, though, had to be just as we crossed the finish line and saw the gal in the Delta airplane suit.

She had the biggest smile on her face...no really, it was freakish. I pointed it out to David and he agreed she was smiling way too much. So, I asked to take a photo with her. As I neared the plane, I could hear a slight humming noise. Then, as I grabbed onto the wing, I felt some pretty serious vibrating. Apparently, the suit has a constant air pump to keep it perky. I turned to the smiling Captain and said: "Wow, this thing is really vibrating!" "Yeah," she answered and flashed that smile again. "No wonder you're smiling so big!" I replied.

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it...