So Cal/ So-So

Back at home from my trip to LA and SD. The highlights/lowlights are this: I ended up meeting with the my crackhead ex's ex (let's call him O.L. for short, to make the story clear) in Silverlake, LA where the intervention for my ex was supposed to take place. It turned out that the night before I arrived, my ex had stolen about $200 from O.L., which meant there was no way he would be showing his face back at his appartment anytime soon; ergo, no intervention. It was interesting to actually meet O.L., since I had always known bits and pieces about him; he was a techie who made millions in the dot-com boom, had worked his way through college as an underwear model and was an "A-Gay" in San Francisco. And although I had seen pictures of him from as recently as 3 years ago, we never actually met. So, when I met him on Friday, I honestly couldn't have ever imagined this was the same guy. He was dressed in blue sweats, about 100lbs overweight, and thus reminded me of an Oompa-Loompa from Willy Wonka. NOTE: I'm NOT making fun of people who are overweight and I am NOT a hater. I'm just saying this is what jumped out at me, most likely because he had never given me any notice that he was in this current state, so I assumed he'd look like his "latest" pictures.

O.L. himself was not doing well at all; he was recently released from the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Apparently, through a series of bad mistakes and judgement he lost his fortune, house, social life and most notably, his looks. When he talked, his eyes shifted nervously and he shook constantly (maybe from alcohol withdrawl, or maybe he was also very nervous to meet me in person). I bought him dinner and he told me all about what had happened to my ex and why the intervention had failed etc. Then he went inot his own details that I just mentioned. At first I felt extremely sorry for him, but the more he talked, the more I could sense he was a really shallow and self-centered person. Only now, lacking wealth, prestige and looks, noone really gave a fuck. He kept bemoaning his situation talking about, "how low I've sunk" over and over, specifically about where he lived in Silverlake and what a "shit-hole" it was. Well, the fact is I used to live 2 blocks from his place when I came back to the US in the mid-90's (Lucile Ave). Silverlake/Echo Park hasn't changed at all. And I can thank God that I no longer live there. I'm sorry for O.L., but all I can hope for is that this is some cosmic lesson in humility that he needs to learn and overcome in order to move on to the next stage of his life. As for my ex, it is now evident to me that he is a lost cause, and I also thank God that he never got an opportunity to take me down with him.

Phase 2 of my trip was much better. Back in the mid-90's as a lad just getting my bearings in life, I met a guy who I'll call "Underdawg" at the gym. He was a trainer at 24-hour (before I started going to Golds), and was pretty much the closest to physical perfection I had ever seen in my life. He was half-Italian half Cherokee, 6', very muscular but not extreme or out of proportion, and had an 8 1/2" VERY thick cock. Underdawg took an interest in me and we ended up having sex a lot. But at some point I realized he was much too much of a partier and ne'er-do-well to ever be anything serious, even though he was about 10 years older than me. Underdawg eventually moved down to San Diego where he started doing porn and dancing at clubs and private parties for drunken closetted sailors and marines (yup, better believe it...even been to one). But now he's a home-maker with a boyfriend, a huge dog (German Shepherd), a cockateel and a nice quiet house south of San Diego near the beach. He still looks good in his mid-40's, and while he is "legit" in the sense that he works at a gym again, he still has a very party-like atmosphere and drinks a LOT. The first day I got to his place, we went out sight-seeing, then to a dinner party at another friend's house which lasted for 8 hours (it took over an hour for him to actually LEAVE the party from the point where he first said to the hosts, "OK, we'd better get going then").

I don't know what it is, but other people's animals usually "go for" me, and to Underdawg's amazement, their faithful dog slept downstairs next to my couch the entire night (I notice family cats tend to do that too). And I'm no Dr Doolittle, but that cockateel was WAY cool and would sing everytime it saw me until I took it out of its cage. I had that bird on my shoulder pretty much the whole time I was there, to the point Underdawg and his boyfriend joked that they'd need to check my duffle-bag as I was leaving to make sure I didn't sneak the bird out with me. That same day, I also finally met Underdawg's 20-year-old gay nephew who had just moved out from Florida to look for work in San Diego. This is one of the nicest kids I've met in a long time. He's sincere, interesting and you can tell he doesn't have a malicious bone in his body. Unfortunately, at 6' he's also about 150lbs overweight and I can tell he also has issues with low self-esteem. We hit it off immediately, and by the night time because of everyone talking about the severe cold (weird for San Diego) he started offering to share his bed rather than have me sleep on the downstairs couch again. At first I made excuses like keeping him up all night snoring (but seriously, I never snore) and such. But he'd counter saying things like, "that's OK. I'm used to loud noises. I'll be fine". Finally, Underdawg saw my situation and although extremely drunk, made it clear to his nephew that he didn't want ME sleeping in the upstairs bed with him (thank you, Underdawg).

Here's the thing; Underdawg's nephew is a really great kid. He has a very nice face (he looks like a dark-haired version of Will Wikle from "Another Gay Sequel"). But for his own health AND self-esteem, he needs to get himself in shape. I HATE the thought of this 20-year-old kid missing out on the prime of his youth, or potentially being victimized by someone because of his low self-esteem. I had a long talk with Underdawg about this the following morning and he assured me he was trying to get his nephew on a diet and set up with a colleague of his at the gym to get a program set out. I would consider it a blessing if the next time I went down there, I was met by a buffed, dark-haired younger Will Wikle that made me salivate, so he could tell me confidently, "Hey, Suave, you had your chance".

So, that's pretty much my trip; ups and downs. It's just as cold and rainy now back at home as it was in San Diego, so this will be a gloomy week meteorogically speaking. But it's good to be home.