Housekeeping

I've been away for a week and a half on a meth binge. No, I'm not doing crystal meth. I've just spent the past two weeks talking to health officials, users, dealers and the like for a special feature on crystal meth and the gay community.

It's been a dark two weeks.

For the weeks leading up to the feature my editor and I have been arguing over the severity of crystal meth. I think it's been overplayed by the media. Buddy said no.

I was wrong.

It's amazing what people will do on this drug. I've always had a fairly liberal and libertarian view on drugs. But unlike pot or coke or even liquor, people who do meth can't walk away. That's not true. Very few people can walk away.

For the most part, however, people who just experimented once with meth find themselves turned into junkies within a year's time. And these aren't necessarily lower income people with little education. These are boardroom excecutives and lawyers and other well-educated folks.

What's worse is the aftermath. IF users were able to come clean, they found themselves: infected with HIV, STDs, homeless, penniless, having no teeth and sometimes having minds so fucked up that they will never go back to normal. Plus, they struggle EVERYDAY with not doing the drug YEARS after their last bump of crystal.

It affects the gay community a lot because the drug is highly sexual in nature. And gay men love their sex. They're men after all. And since American society loves to tell gay men how evil and despicable they are, it's easy for gay men to become despondent. Often gay men have issues with sexuality because they hear nothing but negativity. So it's easy to turn to drugs to make them feel comfortable doing something that is natural to them--having sex.

Anyway. I wrote about 4,000 words on the subject and feel like it's a cursory look at best. I wish I could have had an additional 4,000 words to write on the subject and a little more time to research it. But I also had four other stories to write, so I can't complain too much. I have to thank Buddy a lot for clearing out more space in the magazine than originally planned. And Erin did a beautiful job laying it out. I'm glad the whole affair is over. I do not want to have to talk or think about meth for awhile. The article comes out next Thursday, so be sure to check it out online next week.

BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY INCREDIBLE VALENTINE'S DAY

I went over to Joe's house after work and felt like a scrub. He greeted me in a suit and tie and looked incredibly sexy and hot. So, I jumped in the shower to clean up. When I got out of the shower, I could smell something really good cooking. As I was shaving, Joe ran into his bedroom and turned on the radio -- Pearl Jam was playing. And it wasn't something you'd hear on the radio like Jeremy or Evenflow, it was Hard to Imagine. A really pretty slow song.

After shaving I went into the kitchen to see assorted pots steaming up some great seafood. Crab legs, shrimp and lobster tail. YUM! So I drank a beer and watched him cook. As this was going on, more Pearl Jam was coming out of the radio. And it was all really good slow songs -- spanning the last ten years. I was amazed and touched.

We had a nice dinner and talked about his day (he had an interview). Then he jumped in the shower and put on his PJs. Then we exchanged some presents. He got me a Pearl Jam DVD and this kick ass Phoenix Suns sweatshirt. I gave him a mix CD that took me DAYS to make. I couldn't get the right flow and I kept adding and subtracting songs. I've decided I'm not very good at it. Then I got him some Starbucks beans and a coffee bean grinder -- because he's addicted to Starbucks. And I gave him some pictures and a frame to put them in.

Then to cap off his themed evening (the theme was "An Ode to Things Ted Likes"), he bought the DVD for The Long Kiss Goodnight--one of my all-time favorite movies--and we watched that. Gena Davis just kicks ass and the writing is really crisp.

So, it was just a wonderful wonderful evening.

I wish I could do something really cool like that for him sometime. I often get little ideas but then I don't follow through. I DEFINITELY have to follow through with SJ. He's just so amazing that I want him to feel half as special as he makes me feel.


FINALLY
I want to thank everyone for helping out with the MS Walk. I REALLY appreciate it. I'm going to get a list from Lorraine and send out thank you cards. I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. It was unexpected but definitely appreciated.

Thank you all very very very very very much!!!