Tag Archives: BosGuy

Contemplating switching teams

Posted on January 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

I have a slight problem at home.  My Dell PC has been having all sorts of issues, and I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that I need to upgrade my home computer when I get my tax return.  While I’m not excited about dropping a wad of cash to buy a new computer, I know I’ll be very happy once everything is in place. 

With the exception of my time at college, I’ve always used a Personal Computer (PC).  On a few occasions, I’ve had to use a Mac and truthfully, I’ve found them difficult to use – mostly because what comes naturally to me after years of working on a PC does not always translate with Apple computers.

However, I’m now seriously considering switching teams and jumping on the Mac-bandwagon.  Frustrations with computer viruses and several other annoyances have really started to tip the scales.

As a marketing guy, I can appreciate the dogmatic loyalty that Apple users have for the Mac and I have been impressed by the way the company has consistently brought consumer-savvy products to market that seem to be both easy to use and even easier to integrate into their computers.

However, as enamored as I am with Apple’s product line, I still have worries about PC applications converting easily since I use my home computer as a back-up to help me do editing and other work during the week. I am also unimpressed by the cost of the Mac.  However, I’ve decided to remain open minded until I make a visit to the Apple Store on Boylston Street to see what they have to offer (and what it will cost me).

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Is it a pink slip?

Posted on January 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

For more than a year people have been talking about the constricting economy and mounting job losses.  I have sympathy for people who find themselves suddenly out of work, because this happened to me back in August 2001. It is easy to lose your confidence and grow despondent, but adverstiy does not have to equal failure.  As with all challenges there are opportunities – maybe they are not apparent and require  us to “get creative”, but they are out there.

I recently heard about the movie, Lemonade, and thought this was worth sharing.  I’ve included the movie trailer.  There is also a blog that I believe is written by the director of the film called Please Feed The Animals, which is worth checking out.  Lawson Clarke is the name of the gentleman atop this entry. After he was laid off he started his own copywriting business. He had an interesting quote on the blog mentioned above which I thought I’d share for those who may be looking for work and feeling a bit lost.

“Don’t be the person looking for a job.
Be the person doing something interesting.”

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Posted in Video, Work

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How big is Pete Bouchard?

Posted on January 20, 2010 | 2 comments

Check out Pete Bouchard’s weather forecast.  Pete is the meterologist on Boston’s NBC local news program.  I love how his eyes dart to the side after he says deviously, “almost as big as me”.

This video was removed from YouTube. 
Too bad it was very funny.

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Posted in People say the funniest things

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Posted on January 19, 2010 | 2 comments

Massachusetts is holding a special election today to fill the two years remaining in Sen Kennedy’s US Senate seat.  Anyone who follows my blog or knows me will be able to surmise who I voted for, but rather than dwelling on a candidate of choice, I’d like to suggest that if you are a MA resident to go and vote.  Regardless of outcome or impact in D.C., it is the one act of civil service anyone over the age of 18 can exercise. 

I voted around 10:30 this morning and inquired from the poll workers if the snow had impacted voter turn out.  I was told emphatically that turn out (at least in Ward 7 – Boston) has been quite high.  If you have not voted – stop what you are doing and vote today before the polls close.

20-JAN UPDATE
Unless you live under a rock, chances are you have heard that the Republican Scott Brown has won the open seat in the US Senate to fill the remaining two years of Sen. Kennedy’s seat.  This represents the first time that a Republican has been a US Senator from my state since 1972.  Brown was not my candidate of choice, but I do wish him well and the best of luck. I hope he is as moderate as he portrayed himself when running for office.

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Tweet tweet: twitter.com/BosGuy

Posted on January 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

Do you happen to use twitter? You can follow me at twitter.com/BosGuy

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What health reform means to me

Posted on January 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

The heated debate over health reform has not ended but some of the “heat” from the debate has subsided. Whether this is because people are exhausted or disgusted is not clear to me, but lately I’ve been thinking about why I favor reforming our system. I’m not a fan of the legislation in Congress right now, but I’m not interested in criticizing it. If you have an opinion on drug re-importation, malpractice, insurance reform, pay-for-performance or anything else hit me up – I have an opinion I’m happy to share.

I’ve always found it curious that I am encouraged to see my dentist every six months, but my doctor only once a year.

What I would prefer to talk about is making our system more nimble and innovative. I would like our system to provide incentives for people to check-in regularly depending on their age and health status. Checking-in doesn’t necessarily mean seeing a doctor – it could be meeting with a nutritionist, talking to a trainer or seeing a therapist. I realize that this brings to mind a whole host of practical questions related to co$t but as we grow older and more people are living with chronic diseases (i.e. diabetes, heart disease, etc…) This is the type of care that can actually help people.

I’ve always found it curious that I am encouraged to see my dentist every six months, but my doctor only once a year. Certainly my body is more complex than my teeth. How could a mid-year check-up with a nurse or clinician to review my prescriptions, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc not be beneficial? For the past year the debate about healthcare reform has been shaped by competing interests.  Reform has become a dirty word for some and the Holy Grail for others, but for me it is about re-thinking how we provide care, what constitutes “care” and how to make care accessible to everyone.

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Posted on January 13, 2010 | 2 comments

Work is getting a little out of control as deadlines are hitting faster than a Lindsay Lohan / Paris Hilton smack down.  I do find some solace in the fact that my entire team is completely stretched so I don’t feel as if this is either just my imagination or I’m the only one struggling here.

I suppose it must be that time of the year.There is a lot that needs to get done and with the holidays sadly a thing of the past, life goes back to business as usual.  Fortunately, I lack hobbies, dislike most of what television is offering these days, and I do enjoy my work.  However, I can’t help but feel as if my desire to move forward has left me feeling a kinship with the saying in the photograph above… Am I alone here or is anyone else feeling the same way these days?

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Posted in People say the funniest things, Work

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Brian’s birthday party in Austin

Posted on January 12, 2010 | 1 comment
This past Friday I surprised a friend who now lives in Austin, TX, and as near as I can tell – he had no idea. As you may recall, I visited this couple back in October. I wrote about that trip and included some photos in my entry, Weekend in Austin.

The birthday weekend was filled with a lot of laughing, eating, drinking (and crashing from either too much eating or simple exhaustion).  Laura and Brian certainly pulled out all the stops, and I shudder to think how many empty beer and wine bottles are sitting at this moment in their recycle bin on the sidewalk.  No doubt the neighbors must be seriously considering an intervention.  However in their defense – there were a lot of us at the house. I’ve included a group photo from Saturday night after we gorged ourselves at a smokehouse / BBQ called the Salt Lick.

Brian, I’d like to wish you a year of good health and happiness, and Laura thank you for all your hard work – it was fantastic, despite some bone-chilling temperatures (check out the photo below to see what cities were actually warmer than Austin on Brian’s birthday).  Lastly to the friends from San Francisco, Houston and elsewhere it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to see you again soon.

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Posted in Friends

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A Haiku for You

Posted on January 7, 2010 | 1 comment

Casual encounters

a random meeting
the handsome smile is trouble
temptation abounds

This was a poem I wrote quite a long time ago which I found while reorganizing files on my PC.  Since I’ve been posting a bit of poetry lately, I thought I would include it.

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Changing my diet (just a bit)

Posted on January 6, 2010 | 1 comment
I’ve joined the masses with a renewed commitment to making my health a priority in 2010.  Age is playing a cruel joke on everything from my metabolism to my physique which makes staying in-shape even more of a challenge. I am trying to make sure I go to the gym regularly and modifying my diet slightly by abstaining from eating after 10pm and changing some of the products I buy.  For example, I just purchased Soy Milk (with no sugar), but I have to admit I’m afraid to try it in my Life cereal maybe I’ll muster the courage to try it tomorrow morning.
Recently the New York City Health Dept. made news with the commercial I’ve included below, which encourages people to skip the soda.  I’ve never liked soda much, but it got me to thinking about things I could easily modify in my diet (i.e. no need for a muffin every morning).  Who knows how long I’ll be able to maintain my “no muffin” policy, but if the scary no-sugar, soy milk turns out to be yummy and I can decrease the amount of processed sugars and preservatives I eat – I’m doing my body good, right?  I’m no nutritionist but it seems logical.

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Nana’s poetry

Posted on January 3, 2010 | 4 comments
My grandmother, “Nana” loved to write poetry, but I never realized this until I opened an e-mail from my mother with the poem below. It is dated February 29, 1988 and was written shortly after our family had visited our grandparents who were at that point spending each winter in sunny Florida.
According to my mother, Nana was always writing poems.  It is amazing to think how much she continues to touch my heart even though she is no longer here. 
Little Drummer Boy where did you go?
The tv is quiet don’t you know
You all left so quickly or so it seemed
We loved all you children to break the beam
Of quiet that’s here or so it seems
And quiet Robbie who is creating a story
And sweet dear Beth who’s doing her own thing
Susan like a record who goes round and round
Helps Tim tap with a rythmical sound.
It really was quiet on the following day
No kids to talk to and show them the way
to keep on loving us we hope and pray
As we love you all every day.

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Posted in Family, Nana

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Posted on January 3, 2010 | Leave a comment
In 5-months I will be flying to Paris, France to celebrate my birthday for a quick 4-night vacation, and I can hardly wait.  My preference would be to stay in Le Marais, but I have not booked anything yet.
Le Marais is a centrally located Parisian neighborhood packed with fantastic restaurants and cafes and is easily accessible to the Notre Dame, Centre Pompidou and most of the gay night life in the city.  No doubt I will be looking online and reading what people have to say on TripAdvisor.com to try and figure out where I want to book my stay.  If you have any suggestions – please send me an e-mail here or through my profile on TripAdvisor. 

Until then I think I’ll just have to rent out Baz Lurmann’s Moulin Rouge a few more times… 

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My 2010 resolutions

Posted on December 31, 2009 | 2 comments
With only hours remaining until the start of 2010, I wanted to acknowledge my partner, family and friends and say thank you for making 2009 a wonderful year for me. I am excited to see what changes happen in the coming year and hope it is filled with health and happiness for me and those I love.  Although I’m making several resolutions to change certain behaviors, I thought I would also write down a few things about myself that I resolve not to change and promise to continue doing in 2010.
  1. I promise that I will continue to smile at strangers and say “hello” or “good morning” anytime I make eye contact with someone whether I know them or not. 

  2. I will not forget that opening a door for someone or saying “please” and “thank you” is something I was taught by my parents and makes me think of them every time I do it.

  3. I will value my personal relationships with family and friends but not to the exclusion of meeting new people and building new relationships.

Doing these things makes me feel better about myself.  Fortunately, these are also things that come naturally to me now and will require little in the way of “will power” unlike one of my more traditional resolutions (to stop biting my fingernails).  If you are making resolutions this evening, consider what things about yourself are worth preserving for 2010 and start the year celebrating what makes you special rather than what needs to change.

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My 2009 retrospective

Posted on December 30, 2009 | 1 comment

One of the reasons I started my blog was to record my thoughts and with the year drawing to a close I wanted to include a retrospective. This includes some of the places I’ve been fortunate enough to visit, interesting things that have happened and pictures from 2009.

Although there were no Broadway shows this year, I still managed to see all sorts of performances ranging from the funny Pam Ann who started her U.S. tour here in Boston to the beautiful performance from the Alvin Ailey Ballet. All told I believe I probably saw 6-8 plays and musicals (including a very bawdy drag show at the Sydney Opera House). Although its not quite Masterpiece Theater, here is my favorite video from YouTube in 2009.

Travel

I travelled a bit this year too. I started 2009 in a very snowy Provincetown with Dr. Sergio and his boyfriend at the time. The drive will be memorable if only because it took us 7 hours to drive through the blizzard to get there. I went back to Cape Cod three more times – Provincetown in May and July and Brewster in October for my cousin’s wedding. I also visited Ogunquit, ME staying with friends on both visits in July and October (for halloween).

I also hopped on a plane a few times in 2010 and visited three new destinations: Puerto Rico in late January, Austin, TX in October and Australia in November & December.

Changes in 2009
This year my cousin Bill passed away. His passing was relatively sudden which in hindsight was a blessing since he did not suffer much and he did live a full and happy life so even though I’ve thought of him often in recent months it has been mostly wistful memories rather than sad thoughts.

I was also sad to see my Senator, Ted Kennedy, pass this year. Many despised the man but I have nothing but admiration for him. I recall seeing him speak when he received the Gerry Studds award from Fenway Health in 2008. I miss having such a powerful voice in Washington, D.C. Truly the GLBT community was dealt a horrible blow when his voice was silenced. I think his leadership has been sorely missed in the Senate these past few months as Congress struggles to enact meaningful health reform and expand coverage.

Fortunately, this year has not been about missing those who have passed. A lot of excellent changes were welcomed into my life as well, but probably the highlight was the birth of my niece Abby Dion. She is quite adorable.

My parents built a second home up in the lakes region of New Hampshire and construction more or less finished in August. This was a dream they shared for quite some time and seeing them make this a reality is really wonderful. It also shows me that through a lot of hard work (and a bit of luck for sure) dreams no matter how large are attainable – and in this case it was a big dream. Mom & Dad’s Lake House

Other things of note
This is sort of my catch-all to comment on all sorts of things, and one thing that I need to record (although I’ve not forgotten) is that in January 2009 I celebrated my 10th anniversary with my partner. We both have strong wills, short fuses and a flair for the dramatic so if I were a casual observer waging on this relationship at the start, I’m not sure I would have bet it would have lasted beyond its first year – let alone an entire decade.

My other half had his parents join us for 3 weeks this summer and I was sorry to see them leave at the end of their stay.  I do feel a sense of guilt that my partner lives so far away from his family, but I feel this sense of separation with his parents is hardest of all so I do love having them with us and enjoy spending time in Brazil visiting.

Something else I wanted to comment upon and had previously posted is my cousin Matt’s book Lifeguard on Duty. This was his first book and it was a labor of love for sure. He is fast at work on his next project which I’m sure will be quite beautiful. 

Thank you for the memories 2009… I look forward to 2010.

Click to play this Smilebox photobook: 2009 retrospective

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Posted in Family, Friends, Music, Video

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Christmas holiday with friends

Posted on December 29, 2009 | Leave a comment
Unlike many, I find the Christmas holiday very relaxing.  However, this year I did not know what to expect as we were hosting two houseguests (one of whom we had never met).  As it turned out it was one of the best holidays in recent memory due in part to the wonderful time we had with our houseguests. During their 4-night stay, we hosted our annual Christmas Eve dinner; spent Christmas day at my parent’s in New Hampshire; and joined a great dinner party on the 26th to celebrate Boxing Day. Spread over three evenings – Christmas cheer seemed to be in abundance.  Each night we were up late chatting and laughing at nothing in particular and each morning I enjoyed exploring my hometown with our guests… Why is it I only do this when people visit from out of town? 
On Sunday morning, I stood on my curb waving goodbye to Joanna and Alicia as they drove off, and walking back to our apartment both my partner and I were commenting on how sad we were to see them leave only to get a message on our home phone from a friend we had not seen in 3+ years.  She was visiting Boston from Rio de Janeiro and was hoping we were in town so we could connect. Hearing Priscilla’s soft Brasilian accent speaking through the answering machine was like receiving a late Christmas present – completely unexpected and appreciated all the more precisely for that reason.
Sunday turned out to be like an extension of the Christmas holiday and today waking up to go back to work I found myself more relaxed than I had expected (considering how late I’d been up each night) and extremely content.  I’m sure it is natural for people to think back at the close of each year and I’m no exception.  The past few days have made me realize three things which I already knew but perhaps had not thought much about lately.  1) Good friendships are not always easy to come by 2) If you really value them you’ll make the effort to stay in touch 3) Spending a special time of year (like Christmas) with friends really does bring you closer together and make the holiday memorable.

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Posted in Christmas, Friends

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