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Tuesday, April 30, 2002
A homosexual migration
I am still in shock! No Geno and Todd as upstairs neighbors anymore?!? O the horror! It's true, the boys have moved out of my building and have found other fabulous places to live. Geno has lived upstairs for 3 years, it will be strange not to hear him screaming out his window to get my parrot to screech louder and then calling me to tell me "how loud the god damn parrot is." Todd has lived upstairs for about 6 months, it will be strange not to get the call, "IRON CHEF IS ON! IT'S THE LUNGFISH TESTICLE BATTLE!!! I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN!!" Good times, good times. I'm happy for them, though. I could not have been easy to have two adults sharing a studio the size of a port-a-potty. Still, it just doesn't seem right not to have any gay men living near me. That just ain't right! The absolute irony of it all is that there may be a sudden and fascinating turn of events and Conrado, may end up taking that apartment! The gay status quo will be preserved! Personally, I'm SO looking forward to Conrado moving here. Can you say, "yummy yummy home-cooked Adobo!"??
posted by Sandra at 8:52 PM
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Sunday, April 28, 2002
Marathon des Sables: "If I can't have a relationship, I may as well be fast!"
 This was Doug's humorous quote almost a year ago after a not so pleasant break-up. I was howling! It was then that he decided to sign up for the Marathon des Sables (a 150 mile footrace through the Sahara desert) and focus on training. When he said "fast" he wasn't joking! It was the first time he would be competing in a race of this magnitude. He not only finished the race but placed 23rd OVERALL!!! He was the 3rd American to cross the finish line! I was impressed and proud that Doug was even particpating in the MdS. Now, after seeing how incredibly well he did, I am in complete awe of him. He's a celebrity even! He is in the current issue of Sports Illustrated (for subscribers only). The article appears on the SI website and is supposed to be about the MdS in general. When I read it, I discovered the whole article is about Doug!!! Go read it! It is SO fabulous, over the top, dramatic and just all-around funny! Here are some of my favorite "Doug-quotes" with links to articles, pictures, etc."Believe it or not, the craziest part of trying to get yourself acclimated is the tanning," said Gallaher. "I may be the fairest, whitest person you have ever met. So the strategy now is deciding how fried you need to be before you get over there." - SF Gate
"I was crazed; I kept thinking, I ... must ... make ... goggles!" says Gallaher, who would finish the race in 23rd place. "Then the wind picked up and blew my whole project away." - Sports Illustrated
* Doug showing off his sexy knee! - Photobook by Sean
* Doug preparing for the race! - Photobook by Doug
* For some reason, this man is begging Doug to put tape on him... - Photobook by Stephen I'm hoping to get Doug to either post some first hand account of the race here (he has some pretty hysterical stories) or set up a blog of his own. Feel free to send him an email to congratulate him on kicking ass in the MdS or just to say "hi." (PS. guess what boys, he's single and looking!)
posted by Sandra at 5:24 PM
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Friday, April 26, 2002
I don't know why I bother...
I don't know why I get so excited to "cat sit" Geno's cat, Mikasa. It's just an exercise in humiliation and frustration. I have known Mikasa from her kitten-hood but she remains steadfast in her hierarchy of "humans she likes." The order is as follows: loud gay men, quiet gay men, str8 men (loud or quiet), lesbians, and if no one else is available, str8 women. I remain at the absolute bottom. Geno will drop her off, she will look around a moment, acknowledge me with a polite meow and then run under the bed (or in the closet) to "hide." The only time I see her is when SHE decides it's time for bed. She will jump up on the bed and start yeowling at the top of her lungs to tell me it's time to go to sleep - she is probably saying, "If I could turn off the god damn light I would! Since I can't you have to do it!" I will get into bed, petting her (the only time she allows me to pet her) thinking that maybe just for tonite she will sleep with me. The second I turn off the light, she jumps off and goes back under the bed. *sigh* Now the interesting thing, is last time I watched her, Conrado came for a visit. The second she heard his voice she darted from under the bed, meowing the whole time and jumped into his lap. She rolled all over him acting as though I hadn't fed her in a month and had kept her locked in a drawer somewhere! He was like, "Wow, she is SO friendly!!" I was like, "Yeah, whatever."
posted by Sandra at 2:23 PM
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Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Whole Foods and paranoia
So I just got back from a trip to Whole Foods. You know, I've heard that the place is very "cruisy" though for the life of me I cannot imagine picking someone up at the grocery store. For me, I prefer to not be in the store any longer than ABSOLUTELY necessary! Go in, buy groceries, leave. So I find it rather unnerving when people feel this need to stand near you and look in your shopping cart. It makes me very suspicious that they are trying to garner some kind character evaluation based on the things you buy. I was not in the best of moods to begin with so all this "produce prying" just started to get on my nerves. 3 different men came to shop next to me, smiled, and peered into my cart. By the last guy, I had this irrational urge to scream, "YES, I'M BUYING A POTATO PEELER! THAT'S RIGHT, I DON'T HAVE ONE! I'D PROBABLY HAVE ONE IF I HAD A BOYFRIEND BUT I DON'T HAVE ONE OF THOSE EITHER! AND LOOK! THE CARROTS AREN'T EVEN ORGANIC!!" However, I decided they might just be curious about what other people buy and what was SO interesting in my cart that I was trying to hide it from them, so I just hurried off to finish my shopping.
posted by Sandra at 2:43 PM
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My theory on potato peelers and boyfriends
I suddenly realized today that I do not own a veggie peeler. This in itself is not a big deal as one could argue a paring knife works just as well.... unless you are me. After inadvertently ending up with diced carrots and almost amputating a finger I decided I needed to go get one. The big question I had for myself, was why didn't I have one to begin with? Isn't that something most people have in their apartments? I'm pretty sure I USED to own one. Then I realized - I don't cook! I have no need for anything more than a fork, knife and plate! While looking thru my utensil drawer I found the following: a potato masher, a brita filter (don't know why that is there), some plastic paddle thing with holes in it (for pasta maybe?), some metal contraption for smashing garlic I think, a paint brush (????) and a can opener (I know I bought this one!). What I realized is that these are all things that past boyfriends have bought for me (actually for them seeing as my cooking skills are pretty much non-existent). So, I know I've had peelers in the past but only during times I had a boyfriend. I guess pasta paddles and garlic smashers get left behind when a relationship is over but the potato peeler is sacred and must be taken with them...
posted by Sandra at 2:24 PM
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Tuesday, April 23, 2002
"amatuer straight guys"
Yes, this was actually a keyword search that landed a few people on my site. I often wonder about this. What exactly IS an amatuer straight guy? Also, if there are amatuer str8 guys out there does that mean there are "professional" str8 guys as well? Hmmm... maybe it means they get paid to be str8? Perhaps this is something I need to clarify when I meet a str8 man...
Me: Are you gay?
Guy: No, I'm straight.
Me: Are you professionally straight? or just an amatuer?
Guy: Well, I'm currently an amatuer but my life long dream is to one day be straight as a profession.
I think they need to modify personals ads so that when you check off sexual orientation it reads:
People come to this site searching for some VERY odd things sometimes.
posted by Sandra at 3:03 PM
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Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Note to self...
Must remember.... never EVER go play pool with someone who has just turned 21!!! 'cause about ten BILLION tequila shots later you start to remember that you yourself are NOT 21 anymore! Sage, you are EVIL! :-) BLECH! Also, although HTML is, in itself, and strange and mysterious thing it becomes even more so when drunk. I just discovered that <Qe4P%f> wahfuf </wP^Lu> is not a recognized tag in HTML 4.01.
posted by Sandra at 1:28 AM
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Friday, April 12, 2002
MdS - Stage V: a rest day??
So since stage IV covered a day and nite, they considered that next day a "rest day". BUT that is only if you actually finished it during the night. A lot of people didn't make it until the next day so they sure didn't get very much rest. Anyway, today, Friday was Stage V, a "mere" 26 miles (42km) but I guess after the 71km they just ran, this seemed like a joy. I just checked and Doug placed 23rd today!! Were it not for the re-enactment of Dune for Stage IV, Doug would have been in the top 30 overall AT LEAST!! One more day of running and then we'll have a first-hand account of race! WAY TO GO DOUG!
posted by Sandra at 4:13 PM
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Lies and slander!!
Ok, I'm going to interrupt my unnatural fascination and coverage of the Marathon des Sables to set the record straight. Contrary to what Todd claims, I'M NOT ADDICTED TO DUNGEON SIEGE!! I just really, really, really, really LIKE it is all! :-) I have to admit, so far I'm really impressed by this game but mostly, I'm just really confused. I just don't think I'm coordinated enough to play it. :-) And don't even ask about those first-person shooters like Counter Strike or Quake! Mostly I'm cannon fodder and the player that everyone laughs at as I'm stuck in a corner somewhere. Anyway, I'm not sure that Dungeon Siege will be the new D2 but it's pretty cool. Haven't played much with the online multi-player aspect of the game. However, James and I tried to play online but set the game up wrong and his character kept chasing mine around and killing her. I didn't think that was very nice at all!
posted by Sandra at 3:30 PM
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Thursday, April 11, 2002
MdS - Stage IV: the stage from hell
Finally got news on this last stage. I was worried that maybe Doug did not make it. Over 20 people dropped out in this stage alone. Two Americans are still lost and there will be many that do not make the checkpoint in time. From all the accounts I read, this 71 km leg was a complete nightmare. Raging sand storms, HUGE dunes, and no visibility. I was relieved to see that Doug made it and somewhere in the middle of all the racers. WOO HOO! Looks like he will get his "corpse repatriation deposit" back! :-)
posted by Sandra at 2:33 PM
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Mds - Stage IV: monster sand dunes, monster sand storms!
There was no new info on the Marathon des Sables website today about the 44 mile leg of the race due to bad weather and technical problems. The latest word is "One of the most difficult stages in the history of the Marathon des Sables is being lived out". They started running Wed morning at 9am, into a sand storm. This is the longest stage of the race and the only part of the race where they will have to run well into the night, even sleeping out on the course! Doug, I'd suggest you find a camel and hide under it!! So the strong winds I guess have reshaped the dunes making them even steeper. hehehehe, like running up a sand dune wasn't bad enough.
Mother Nature: Oh so you think running over a 150m high sand dune is easy? FINE! I'll just make it even steeper - how 'bout a sand WALL? AND, since you don't think there is enough sand I'll just put a bit more in the air so that it will not only get in your shoes but up your nose!
One of the required pieces of equipment is an emergency flare. Racers have passed others on the course that have just sat down and fired off their flares to call for help. Hell, I would have fired off that puppy on the first day when I realized it was 120 degrees! Hopefully I'll hear word on how Doug is doing soon.
posted by Sandra at 12:42 AM
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Tuesday, April 09, 2002
MdS - Stage III: Can I have a little MORE sand with my desert marathon?
 OK, like there isn't even sand in the Sahara Desert, runners had to do the third stage of this race in a sand storm! I have this feeling Doug will be finding sand particles lodged in his body for months to come!
The 4th day of the Marathon des Sables is a grueling, full-scale marathon in itself 44.2 miles (71km). I hear that most runners do not even arrive at camp until after nightfall.
posted by Sandra at 11:43 PM
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MdS - Stage II and III
Stage II was 23 miles (38km) and Stage III was 19 miles (31km)... and guess what! DOUG IS KICKING ASS!!! I can't tell you just how amazed and in complete awe I am! He's a rockstar!! At the end of Stage II, Doug came in 12th place!! And at the end of Stage III, he came in 27th place. If I'm reading this all correctly, Doug Gallaher is now in19TH PLACE overall!! He's now run 59 miles through the Sahara desert. So incredible and yes, a bit crazy. With 615 runners, and this being his first time in the Marathon des Sables, I figured I'd be going thru many pages to find his name. NEVER expected to see Doug on the first or second page of the rankings! People have been doing this race for years and are happy to just finish it. Of the US runners, Doug is #3! GO DOUG GO!
You know I hadn't really read the Road Book they give to the runners before. I know understand why people often get lost in the desert during this race. As Todd pointed out, the directions are less than specific. Here are some of the directions:
Km 6 : Small dune and grass for camels
Km 9 : Big dune on your right. Small dune.
Km 17,6 : End of vegetation
Km 18,6 : Band of sand
Km 18,8 : End of band of sand
Km 24 : Enter dunes W/SW direction (compass point 249°)
Km 25 : Exit dunes. Flat ground.
Km 27 : Enter series of dunes.
Grass for camels?? THAT is a landmark? Will there actually BE camels there? They do not say! What happens if you mistakenly see camels somewhere else? Would you end up chasing the camels in the hopes of seeing grass? And, "Exit dunes. Flat ground. Enter series of dunes." I mean really, aren't there a whole hell of a lot of dunes in the Sahara?? Now if two of the top runners can get lost, I really wonder how many others are just running around aimlessly in the desert!! Hey, send Doug another message of encouragement (Doug Gallaher #375)!
posted by Sandra at 1:41 PM
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Monday, April 08, 2002
Guaranteed trip home...
So, the Marathon des Sables is known as "The Toughest Footrace on Earth." HOW tough you ask? "The seven-day, six-stage race is so grueling that competitors are forced to pay a corpse repatriation deposit along with their $2600 entry fee." A "corpse repatriation deposit"?? Umm, EWWW! Hope you get that deposit back Doug!
posted by Sandra at 7:48 PM
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Marathon des Sables
The Marathon des Sables - loosely translated from french as the Marathon of Crazy People Who Run 150 Miles Through The Sahara In 130 Degree Heat. I have to admit that I have an unnatural fascination with "adventure racing." I find things like the Eco-Challenge completely riveting. I amazed at what the human body can endure and I guess how the MIND can push the body to endure it. Well, I am SO excited because I actually KNOW someone that is participating in one of these "adventure races"!! My old co-worker, Doug, who mind you is a gay web developer is actually running in the MdS!!! Boy, talk about breaking stereotypes all over the place! And who said that all geeks just like to sit at home and play video games! (oops, I like to do that... OH MY GOD, I'M A STEREOTYPE!) Anyway, I was surprised to find out one day that Doug was a very accomplished runner and has done lots of marathons and triathalons. Last year, he signed up to do the MdS. It's been a year of waiting and now he is there in Morocco!!
The race started yesterday. I have been glued to the website in the hopes of hearing word about him. I wish there was live coverage. Stage I finished yesterday and it was 26km (16 mi). DOUG RANKED 33RD OUT OF 600+ RUNNERS!!!! You GO Doug!! You can actually send a message to runners, though I'm not sure how they get them. Maybe they print them up and give them to the runners each nite. Anyway, send off a little message (DOUG GALLAHER #375) to the Sahara wishing him luck so he knows there are other web geeks cheering for him!
posted by Sandra at 2:34 PM
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Thursday, April 04, 2002
sex geno exam
OH MY GOD! This has GOT to be the best search keywords used to find this site! "sex geno exam"?? Geno, is there something you are not telling us? Do you have a sidejob perhaps that we don't know about? Or maybe you have created a new flash game online? The "Sex Geno" Exam? Very odd.
posted by Sandra at 3:33 PM
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Wednesday, April 03, 2002
S.C.G. in a B.S.C. and the Outback
Went for a ride in Sage's (aka SCG - Small Chinese Guy) brand new Audi S4 (aka BSC - Big Silver Car) today. That is one nice car! Sun roof, heated seats, adjustable lumbar support...mmmmmm... We tooled around town and he was nice enough to drive by a pet store so I could run in to pick up parrot supplies.Me: When I was paying for the bird food there was this dish on the counter with these giant, white worm-looking things crawling around in it!
Sage: Maggots?
Me: Ewwwww, NO! They were whitish and kinda looked like tree bark! Not slimely or anything.
Sage: That's SO bad!
Me: No no no, they were cool, they were SILKWORMS!
Sage: So THAT makes them ok? Hmmmm... that really made me think. So if they are maggots they are gross. However, if they are still giant worm things BUT produce something from their butts that we use to make expensive clothes then they are suddenly ok? He had a good point. So anyway, after driving around, we ended up at the Outback for dinner. We had a polite but funny waiter and we ended up eating way too much food. While slipping into a "food coma" the waiter came to take our plates away.Waiter: Would you like to take any of that home?
Me: Yeah, actually I'd like to take that baked potato. (it can be a parrot dinner)
Waiter: OK, I'll bring a container so we can wrap that up.
[waiter returns with a container and a large piece of foil]
Waiter: (holding out the large piece of foil) Just drop the potato onto this and I'll wrap it up for you.
[I place the potato onto the foil and he begins rolling it up in the foil]
Waiter: WOW! This is like rolling a GIANT doobie! he he he he For some reason this just struck me as incredibly hilarious. Only in San Francisco! One minute you have a waiter calling you "Miss" and the next, he is rolling a giant, aluminum joint out of your baked potato for you!
posted by Sandra at 11:14 PM
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This is what happens when Geno doesn't eat
The time is 9:00pm...Geno: I'M STARVING!!
Me: You haven't eaten dinner yet?!
Geno: no....I'M STARVING!!
Me: Well I'm going to the corner store to get some sodas and snacky things, you want to go with me and get a sandwich or tv dinner?
Geno: ok.
[arrive at corner store]
Geno: Oooh look! Baby carrots! That sounds good!
Me: You're going to have a bag of baby carrots for dinner?!
Geno: No! I'll find something else to go with it.
Me: You can always get one of the Marie Callender tv dinners. Those are good.
Geno: Chun King Mini Eggrolls!! That's what I'm going to get!
Me: You're going to have a bag of baby carrots and mini eggrolls for dinner?!
Geno: Yeah!! That's sounds good.
Me: That's disgusting.
[Paying for food]
Geno: Geesh, you are the only person I know that does their grocery shopping at the corner store!
Me: (like I should take criticism of my shopping habits from someone eating baby carrots and mini eggrolls for dinner)
[10 mins after arriving home. IM from Geno.]
Barbalut: something scary about my mini egg rolls other then them just being scary in themselves. it says to use white paper towels not blue, not pink, not black - only white
Barbalut: i think the Chun king company knows something about colored papertowels that we don't!
S Wakai: hmmm so you cannot use colored paper towels? I wonder why?
S Wakai: maybe the dye mixed with the eggrolls will cause them to explode
Barbalut: cuz Chun King is against the evil empire of colored paper products
Barbalut: they imprisoned Chun King's father and brother This clearly demonstrates the very serious delusional state that can be caused by the lack of food.
posted by Sandra at 10:20 PM
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Monday, April 01, 2002
In memory of an "ex"
It's really strange that just yesterday I was telling a friend how sometimes I find myself thinking about something/someone or even dreaming about them and wonder why. More times than not, I will get an email or call from the person I'm thinking about - that usually happens with my mom. I know that this happens to everyone at some point and I always joke that maybe we're just picking up on some errant thoughts or "vibes". Anyway, I've been finding myself thinking about a certain ex of mine from many years ago. Back in '97 (or there abouts) I went out with another "internet professional" (as we called ourselves back then), Ted Resnick. I think our relationship was always doomed as he was in marketing and me in programming - natural enemies by nature I think. ;-) But, it was fun to date another internet person as we had the same love of all things geeky. We had computers set up side by side in his apt so that we could hang out AND work on the weekends. Ted worked for a search engine called Magellan which was later bought out by Excite. He then landed at Women.com where he stayed ever since. He was very active in the internet community, being a part of BAIUG (Bay Area Internet User Group - don't think they are around anymore) as well as W3.org. Seeing as he kept popping into my mind for no reason lately I thought I would do a search for him to see what he was up to, see if he has written anything on the web lately or was speaking at any web events. I think that for as much as an "ex" may have annoyed you WHILE you were going out, it's still nice (at least for me) to find out what they have been up to and that they are doing well. I visited his site which hasn't been updated for years and then did a search for him. I was shocked/horrified/devastated to find that Ted was killed two weeks ago in Berkeley by a drunk driver. It took a long time for that to sink in. I just didn't WANT to believe that the news articles were referring him. I kept hoping it was a different Ted Resnick. He was only 33 years old. This is the last thing I ever expected to find and feel for his family (whom he was very close to) and his friends. What enrages me and makes all this even worse is that, according to one article, the guy who who killed him had his license suspended 6 times and was arrested 4 times for drunk driving. It breaks my heart that THIS is what it takes for the legal system to do anything about it. Ted was also an editor for the Open Directory Project and I'm glad to see that they put up an "In Memoriam" page for him so that he'll be remembered and will always continue to have a little place here on the web.
posted by Sandra at 1:57 AM
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