Our Thanksgiving

It’s been a really busy Thanksgiving for us. It’s funny how the days you are not working can seem more hectic and stressful than work days. This has been a good time for me, and a time of reflection. You know how you go through a long period of your life and it all seems to be on the same plane? Well, it’s been that way for me for a long while. But I’ve come to realize that I’m in a period of change.

Work has changed a great deal for me. My staff is completely different now. It’s been a big adjustment for me. I don’t think I realized how difficult it was for me to get used to the new people that work with me. For one thing, I’ve worked with the same people for a very long time. I got used to them. And, I didn’t feel the need to guard what I say around them. Strange, isn’t it? I view myself as a totally open gay man in every single area of my life. Yet, when confronted with new people, I find myself wondering how much of my personal life I should share with them. I find myself guarding what I say.

Then, I come to my senses and realize that old habits die hard. The days that I will allow myself to feel shame for my personal life are gone. I’m beyond that. But more specifically, my personal life deserves the dignity of truth. So, when I’m asked what I did for the weekend, I tell them that my partner and I did this, or that. They don’t seem to be surprised. Maybe I put out gay rays or something. At any rate, I’ve dealt with it. Now it’s their (society’s) turn to deal with it.

This Thanksgiving, we have been busy. We decided not to cook. We went to the Inn at Mystic for Thanksgiving (remember that place Mary and Sandra?). We had a great time and they serve up a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner that really is just as good as home made (and that’s saying a lot coming from me). We stayed the night in Mystic, and on the way home, Kent wanted to go by Westfarms Mall. He wanted to go by there because he felt that I needed a new computer.

A few months ago, my Sony Vaio died. It was running Windows XP. It technically didn’t die. The computer runs fine. But it’s been getting slower and slower (something that happens with Windows). One time when it went into hibernation, it never came back. I suppose I should have fixed it, but I was honestly tired of using it. So, the reason that we went to Westfarms Mall specifically was because they have a Mac store. I ended up getting a MacBook Pro. I have to say, I love it! It’s so much nicer than Windows, and I never really thought that I would find myself saying that. It’s hard to describe really, but it’s a whole new way of looking at how you work. So, this is going to most likely be my Christmas present. Anyway, this is my first blog entry with it. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to process photos with it.

In a few days, my new XM radio should arrive. It’s portable and will hold up to 50 hours of recorded programming. I’m looking forward to it. Too many gadgets in my life...

Other than that, I’m enjoying a few days off. We’ve decided to stay home this year for Christmas, and will most likely go to Arizona sometime in March to see the folks. It’s just too much of a hassle anymore to travel over the holidays, especially Christmas. You have to fight the crowds and when you get there, you are exhausted. It’s not worth it to us. Better to go later.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!