Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 162 (Real Life)

Is there such thing as a blog that really tells it like it is? I mean, one that isn't anonymous, anyway. Because, when I started this, I totally told myself that it was going to be brutally honest so that people could see all of the dirty little details of what it's like to be in seminary, let alone what it's like being a gay guy in seminary. But, the truth is, that may people that I go to school with and other people that I don't go to school with but am very close to, read this blog. I'm not saying that I've ever lied on this blog, it's just that I have to edit some stuff out.

I can't have a private conversation with someone and then blab all about here, as interesting as that might be for some of you to read. There are political things that go on with the school, things that students do that professors may or may not know about, and certain things that people say about other people that I simply cannot in good conscience put out there on the Internet for everyone to read. Remember, we are seminarians, not saints. Besides, I probably wouldn't have very many friends after a while. I do feel that I am a trustworthy person and I want people to know that. I suppose they must if they are aware of this blog and they continue to tell me things in confidence.

There are thoughts that I have that I simply cannot share here. Yes, as open as I am trying to be, there are some things that are just too personal, especially when they are thoughts about other people.

I hope writing this doesn't disenchant anyone who has been reading this blog.

It makes me sad that I can't represent the fullness of what it is like to be here, but there are more things that I have to consider than what would make a juicy read. But, Oh! how I wish I could tell it all!

In other news:

We had our last actual Hebrew class today. Bob gave us tomorrow off to study, so all we have left is the final on Wednesday. A decent sized group of us got together at Holy Grounds to study. I'll be back there tomorrow (with a bottle of red wine to take the edge off) to continue studying.

I showed those same people the movie Tank Girl when we decided it was time for a break. I guess you could say it did not go over well. I did warn them that it was not going to be some deep intellectually stimulating experience. It's just a fun, silly, crazy mess of a movie, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Not everything has to be serious. It's a movie from my youth and I will always love it for it's irreverent sense of humor. I must mention, however, that watching it again now, it was obviously created by some not-so-gender-issue-sensitive men (or at least I think it was). Being acclimated to the environment at SFTS, even I was a little uncomfortable with some of the scenes in the movie. I feel like I should write a paper on it now. What is graduate education doing to me?

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 11 (Trader Joe's Thwarted by Charles)

I went to Trader Joe's this morning and bought all the wine. Neither of the people who would not let me buy the wine yesterday were there. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do if the cashier was there, but I did toy with the idea of going through his checkout and reminding him of who I was. Had a nice glass of Trader Joe's Old Moon Old Vine Zinfandel as I read The Lovely Bones. It was in fact lovely. Only five hundred bottles of wine to go before I can finish my wine cork board...

I had planned to go to the farmer's market today, but I noticed an Asian market on my way back from Trader Joe's and wanted to check it out. Pretty limited selection, but I did buy a whole catfish, head and all. I got back to the apartment and made catfish sinagong, a tamarind based soup. Ate the head, including the eyeballs for old times sake... kinda gross, but I wanted to see if I could still do it, LOL.

Which reminds me, I should be working on that Filipino cookbook...

Basically had a really lazy day reading, which I kind of needed because this week had been pretty crazy. Seminary stuff starts up full swing next week, so I need to make sure I'm ready for that. But, if it ain't broke, don't fix it... gonna read for the rest of the day and deal with the serious stuff tomorrow. Peace out yos!

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 10 (Thwarted at Trader Joe's)

My roommate and I spent a pretty hectic day cleaning and getting everything organized one I was able to figure out that the extra stuff in my room didn't belong to him. Apparently, his last roommate left a lot of stuff behind all over the apartment that I guess we are the proud new owners of. The apartment is actually quite lovely now. While I was going through all of my things, I came across a Visa gift card that some of my co-workers had given me as a going away present and I decided I would splurge on some bottles of wine since I had left all of my wine at home. I didn't want to bring it and risk having to keep it in my car where it might have gotten too hot.

So, Amber came by again, my unofficial guide to Marin County, so we could do some shopping and then catch a movie. We got to Trader Joe's, one of my most favorite places to shop, and we went through the wine section and I was trying to teach Amber about wines. It looked like they were out of that happy face wine, so I went to one of the cashiers and asked if they were out. He called over the manager and he said that they were out of it. I thanked him and kept shopping. We got to the register and the cashier, the same guy I had asked about the happy face wine, asked to see my ID. I was kind of surprised because I'm not usually carded. Then he asked to see Amber's. Amber is about 2 weeks away from being 21. I tried to explain that Amber had nothing to do with the wine; she doesn't even like wine and I was buying it for myself. He said that since he had seen her handling the bottles, he could not sell us the wine unless she was 21 as well. He called over the manager, the same manager I had asked about the happy face wine, and he said that they could not sell us the wine because I could be buying the wine for Amber. He told me that they had to go to meeting about it and that the term for it was "tag-along sale" as if telling me the term legitimized the ridiculousness of the situation somehow. As if I would EVER buy alcohol for a minor!!! I remember one time, some guys came up to my little brother Brian and asked if I would buy some for them, and he told them to not bother asking!

I had picked up some milk, lettuce and laundry detergent as well, but I just left everything there and walked out of the store cuz I was so pissed. Amber kept apologizing, as if it were her fault; I had to keep telling her not to worry about it. This is like the time I couldn't buy alcohol because my driver's license expired, as if my birth-date were suddenly invalid. The stupid thing is that I'm just going to go back tomorrow to buy all of it, so all they accomplished was wasting my time. I think the thing that pisses me off the most is how much I actually love Trader Joe's. If it was a different organization, I would just boycott it for the rest of my life, like Blue Cross or Citibank.

oh well...

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 5 (sake!!!)

You know, going away can be kind of fun if you do it right. Everyone wants to take you to lunch and/or dinner. There's party's, BBQ's and other get-togethers. There's movies, and shopping and hanging out with people. It's actually pretty cool!

I've noticed I've been doing a lot more drinking than normal the last month or so. Wine gives the best buzz, of course. Tequila kind of sneaks up on you. Beer and Sake you kind of have to drink a lot of to get a good buzz going.

We had sushi tonight; with sushi comes beer and sake. My birthday is tomorrow, so the sushi chef gave me a bottle of sake to drink for myself. A few years ago, I never would have thought I would have been comfortable drinking a whole bottle of sake by myself. But, it's my birthday and I'm leaving and I was surrounded by family and friends, so I thought "What the heck?"

A little advertisement for the local sushi bar here: Yama Sushi freakin' rocks!!! I always get my special roll, which isn't on the menu. It has spicy tuna inside, with avocado on the outside and eel sauce and hot chili oil drizzled on top. DELICIOUS!!!!!

It was a totally random night; all these people we knew kept showing up and pretty soon we had a rockin' party goin'.

I leave in 9 and 1/2 hours. Hammie is packed to capacity; the rest of my stuff is gonna have to go in my parent's car. Madonna Inn, here we come!!!

Gay Guy in Seminary: Day 4 (Wine and Chocolate)

T-minus 2 days.

Trying to spend as much time with my family as possible. Just got back from The Time Traveler's Wife with my mom and sister. We brought a bottle of wine and a box of expensive French chocolates to eat while watching the movie. Movie was OK; I've been watching a lot of movies lately, so it had a lot to live up to. Eric Bana is pretty, but not really the best actor.

Disneyland rocked! I was finally able to pass on my knowledge of the hidden Mickey on Pirate of the Caribbean to someone else, namely my sister and my friend Stacey. I was also able to show the hidden mickey on Indiana Jones to Stacey, but after 3 times on the ride, my sister still couldn't find it. In her defense, it's pretty hard to find. Shout out to the Shuelkes for showing it to me in the first place! XD

It's hard figuring out what to pack and what to leave behind. For some reason, I decided to start collecting shot glasses this year, but I'm only going to bring two of them. Believe it or not, there may actually be opportunity for them; I toured the "Intentional Christian Communal Living House" last year, and their "communal" alcohol was proudly on display for all to see. Not to mention the "Men of the Cloth" calendar in the kitchen. Before any of you freak out, the calendar is very tasteful. The only skin visible is hands and faces, and no one in the pictures is in any kind of compromising situation.

Lunch with my best friend Carly tomorrow, dinner at Yama Sushi for the last time in probably a really long time.

Gonna do the last of the packing tomorrow and load up Hammie as much as possible. Gotta leave at 8:30 if we want to get to the Madonna Inn by lunch.

So, that's it for now. Tomorrow, more fun with AT&T!!!