doktor2be

More family weirdness

2009-08-26T22:20:00.002-05:00

So today my sister-in-law told me that my niece(not her daughter) had seen my profile picture on Facebook and asked her parents why I had my friend(actually it's Kip) in my picture with me. Her parents said they didn't know. Anyways, I found out that my niece is no longer friends with me...so, I believe her parents have access to her account and deleted me as her friend because she was asking questions about me and Kip. If it's true that her parents defriended us, it's just sad that my only contact with my niece has now been severed. Did I mention my niece is 14? My sister-in-law also said that my brother(to clarify, not her husband) told her he needed to start having a relationship with me and have a talk with his family. Maybe this defriending is only temporary until he tells his daughter. Who knows?

Letter to a "friend" about health care

2009-07-26T18:54:00.003-05:00

An old high school friend sent me this email:

This is the first time I've ever done a mass email stating my opinion and asking someone to do something, but I really feel like this is important and I hope that if anything, this helps us all become more politically aware and active in our communities, whatever our opinion.

I don't know what your feelings towards President Obama's proposed health care plan are, but I am not for another government run program. I think it would be great if everyone had health care and was able to receive medical services as they needed, but I do not feel it is governments role to dictate that.

For the most part, we are a smart people and we have the right to think for ourselves, make our own choices and be accountable for the consequences. We also can be and often are a charitable people. Government should not have the right or power to make our choices or our charitable contributions for us.

I urge you to sign the following petition not against health care for everyone, but against government taking over our right to choose.

I responded with this:

There's really no other way for everyone to get health care coverage other than the government to take a stand and ensure that every American has health insurance. So if you truly believe that "it would be great if everyone had health care" you would support President Obama's plan. Anything else is being hypocritical, unless you can honestly think of any other way that this can be accomplished. One thing I am sure of is that we can't rely on "charitable people" to solve this issue unless you are referring to President Obama and the other leaders in Congress who are trying to help those less fortunate who aren't able to afford their own health insurance. That seems pretty charitable to me.

As a doctor I see first hand what it means for people to not have access to health care because they can't afford health insurance. That's why I'm so passionate about this issue. Though it may sound cliche, the health care system is truly broken and President Obama has proposed a way to fix it. If anyone else would step up and offer another solution, I'd gladly listen, but no one has, and I'm not willing to wait any longer.

If you really understood the issue, you would realize that under Pres. Obama's plan if you're happy with your own insurance you can keep it. Your right to choose your health care is not affected. If you are one of the millions of Americans who can't afford insurance, the government will help provide you with an affordable plan. Other insurance companies will have to end their selfishness(they really are only out for money, after all) in order to compete. This will help us all in the end. Besides the obvious positive that everyone in the country will be able to have a family doctor, thus preventing disease as well as preventing complications from disease, in addition taxpayers will no longer bear the burden of uninsured patients going to the ER for non-emergent cases and not being able to pay for their hospital bills. Another likely effect is that more doctors will be encouraged to go into primary care, an area of medicine facing a desperate shortage.

Hope that helps,
Dave

So readers-why is it that Republicans always speak of relying on the charity of others to solve the nation's problems while not realizing that their party is not the charitable one? It's so ironic. They also do not realize how many programs the government does run. Medicare and Medicaid are a complete joke, I realize, but I blame that more on the insurance and pharm companies hijacking them more than the fact that they are government run. There's no reason to fear a well-run government program. We just need to be vigilant that special interests don't take over the government-run health plan.

These were just some of the reasons I thought of to support health care reform. I know there are many more. There are also negatives but I think the positives outweigh them. Things need to be changed and President Obama has proposed a real solution. He deserves our support for that.

No longer a MoHo

2009-07-08T20:52:00.004-05:00

It is with great pleasure that I write this post. As of today(or within the next few days) I will be recognized by the LDS Church as no longer a member! A while ago I sent a letter to Church Headquarters telling them I was resigning from the church at which point legally I understand I was no longer a member, however, they sent me a letter shortly after that saying that it was a local ecclesiastical matter and that the bishop in the ward where I lived would be contacting me to discuss the matter. Well a lot of time passed and I didn't heard anything further when finally tonight a missionary and his local Mormon companion for the night came knocking on my door. They said they were updating the records and asked if I was still a member of the church. I said no and they asked if I had my name removed from the church. I said yes and they said they'd update the records. They asked if I wanted any visits and I said no. After a little small talk they were gone. The whole motivation for me to finally resign was the church's involvement in getting Proposition 8 passed in California. I could no longer stand to have my name associated with the Mormon Church and at last it no longer will be.

Me on my mission during P-day(we got to wear normal clothes since it was our day off of proselytizing)

Wisconsin domestic partnership

2009-06-15T09:09:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it's been since November since I've posted. I apologize to all those who used to read my posts. I hope there are still some of you out there who'll read this! Facebook definitely stole the spotlight over the past few months and most things that I wanted to talk about I posted there and failed to post on here. Here's to turning over a new leaf:

Kip and I give Milwaukee a hard time because we liked Columbus so much but there are exciting things happening in Wisconsin for our family. :)

Last Saturday the Wisconsin Assembly passed a new budget that includes domestic partnerships. Now it has to pass the State Senate(where Democrats hold an 18-15 majority) before Governor Doyle can sign it. (And he will as he's the one who put it into the budget in the first place). The Senate is expected to vote this week.

Some excerpts from the budget bill:

Declaration of policy:
The legislature finds that it is in the interests of the citizens of this state to establish and provide the parameters for a legal status of domestic partnership. The legislature further finds that the legal status of domestic partnership as established in this chapter is not substantially similar to that of marriage. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as inconsistent with or a violation of article XIII, section 13, of the Wisconsin Constitution.

If a hospital has a policy on who may accompany or visit a patient,the hospital shall extend the same right of accompaniment or visitation to a patient’s domestic partner under ch. 770 as is accorded the spouse of a patient under the policy.

“Member of the family” means spouse, domestic partner under ch. 770, child, sibling, parent or legal guardian.

I already sent an email to my representative who voted for the budget thanking him for his vote and an email to my senator encouraging him to vote for it. Now all I can do is wait for the vote and start dreaming for the day we can enter into our domestic partnership!

Prop 8 Protest in Milwaukee

2008-11-16T13:28:00.004-05:00

I stood out in the cold on November 15th to join in the protest against Prop 8 and discrimination(Wisconsin has an amendment that bans gay marriage and civil unions). Unfortunately Kip had to work so I had to go alone, but I did put our picture on my protest sign that said "Our Love is Stronger than Your H8".

The organizer said there were 400 people there. I estimated about 200 and the article in the newspaper said "more than 200". There were a few speakers and we did some chanting.

The protest didn't last too long though because of the temperature(40 degrees) but after the bulk of the crowd had left 20-30 of us stayed after to stand in the median of the street for a couple of hours. We got a lot of supportive honks and I only saw one driver do a thumbs down sign and one driver slowed down and held a Bible up to the window. We all had a good laugh about that one. Interestingly two missionaries drove by. I found it fitting that they had a McCain/Palin bumper sticker on their car. Someone called out after them, "They lost!"

It felt really good to be out there with other people supporting the cause. I really want to be able to marry Kip legally one day. I hope I don't have to wait too long.

Election results

2008-11-05T18:41:00.002-05:00

Let's start with the positive-Barack Obama is the new President! I am so happy and can hardly believe that we actually have a Democrat back in the White House. I'm confident that things will be better in this country, generally and for GLBT people. I'm hopeful for an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, passage of ENDA and the Matthew Shepard Act. Ad what a commanding victory! Indiana? Are you serious? I'm happy that it was Ohio that made it clear that Obama would win.

Other positive things as reported by HRC-A Democratic majority in the New York state senate bringing the possibility of same-sex marriage in New York. Connecticut didn't approve a constitutional convention(which could have made same-sex marriage illegal) and same-sex marriages begin next week. The Democrats have made major gains in the U. S. House and Senate as well.

Now for the negative-Obviously the biggest disappointment is that although No on 8 hasn't conceded it looks like Proposition 8 will pass. What was half of California thinking? Did No on 8 supporters stay home and not vote because Obama was clearly going to win? I am so angry with the Mormon church for what they did to help this pass. They need to stay out of political issues or at the very least not help spread lies in order to get their agenda passed. Constitutional bans on same-sex marriage were also passed in Arizona and Florida. It leaves me sickened that we still live in a society filled with such hate and discrimination. I'm tired of being marginalized by society.

Unfortunately my dad lost his Utah state House of Representative race by 60% to 40%. He was the best candidate by far and he worked so hard to get support. The only reason why he lost is because he was running as a Democrat in Utah County and the majority of people there think that voting Democrat is evil I'm convinced(again the fault of the Mormon church). My dad did get 4500 votes though so that's pretty impressive. Can you believe Chris Buttars was re-elected? I guess I shouldn't be surprised...after all it is Utah.

Maybe now I can get back to my normal sleep habits.

Another Word Perfect co-founder donates...unfortunately to Yes on Prop 8

2008-11-03T18:26:00.003-05:00

Connexion.org reports that Alan Ashton of Utah recently donated a million dollars to Yes on Proposition 8. He was one of the co-founders of Word Perfect. I've been in his house when he lived in my grandparents neighborhood. His daughter was in my high school class. It's disgusting that this man would donate all this money to promote discrimination.

Another Word Perfect co-founder Bruce Bastian who is gay donated a million dollars to No on Prop 8. He lives in my parents neighborhood. I bet Ashton just wanted to negate his former business partner's donation. What a terrible person.

Countdown to the election

2008-11-01T16:27:00.006-05:00

We are so close now, I can't believe it. Just a few more days left now. I can't hardly wait. I'm feeling pretty confident that Obama will win, though I don't want to jinx things. But the way the polls are going up to now it seems pretty clear that Obama is favored. I'm so happy that soon we'll will have a Democrat in the White House again. I'm feeling good that things will really change for the better in this country in the next four years especially with regards to the war in Iraq, health care and GLBT issues. I have a feeling we'll know Obama has one pretty early on in the night when he wins Virginia. I just hope that this doesn't keep the No on Prop 8 people from going to the polls. It really shouldn't though because Californians should be used to the fact that their electoral votes will go to the Democratic nominee no matter what anyways.

Now that I think the presidential race is all but over, my attention in these last few days is squarely on Proposition 8 in California. I am sick over this. I will be so disappointed and sad if Prop 8 passes. On the other hand I will be so happy if it fails. It will be such a great feeling knowing that the people of California support our rights and that we are accepted. It will be so amazing that we stood up to the Mormon church and won. If Proposition 8 fails it will help our cause so much throughout the country. I hope I'll be able to stay up on Election Day long enough to find out that Proposition 8 didn't pass and that same-sex couples will still be able to marry.

There are a lot of other exciting races I'll be following as well. Of course I'll be interested in the same-sex marriage bans in Arizona and Florida. I emailed my little sister in Arizona and asked her to vote no on Prop 102. Maybe she'll listen to me but it looks like this amendment will pass. The Florida amendment has to get 60% of the vote to pass so I'm hopeful that it will fail. I'll also be following my dad's Utah state legislature race. I think it'll be pretty hard for him to win as a Democrat in Utah County but a lot of people like him so we'll see. Maybe they'll but their silly superstitions about the Democratic Party to rest and realize he is the best candidate. I'll also be keeping track of the Senate races to see how many seats the Democrats can pick up. Hopefully two of those will be Senator Stevens and Senator Dole's seats. The Washington governor race is going to be a close one, a rematch of the really tight 2004 race. I think people might punish Gregoire for the way things are going since she is the incumbent. Also important is the Delaware governor race because when Joe Biden becomes vice president the governor will pick his successor, so it needs to be a Democratic governor to pick a Democratic replacement. I think the Democrat is favored though. Democrats are also favored to pick up the governorship in Missouri.

Other things of importance to watch: If Connecticut votes to have a constitutional convention, they may be able to add an amendment banning gay marriage which was recently legalized there. Also if New York gains two more democratic seats in the state legislature they will likely approve some sort of same-sex recognition.

It's going to be an exciting night on Nov. 4th. Here's hoping things turn out the way they should. GObama and No on Prop 8!

Brush with fame

2008-10-23T16:51:00.004-05:00

Last night(10/22) I came to Columbus to see the So You Think You Can Dance tour with my friend Erika. It was fun to see all my favorite dances from the TV show and to hang out with Erika.

Today(10/23) I went to the Wexner Center on campus to see the Andy Warhol exhibit. As I was looking around I saw a blonde girl with a black ski cap on who looked famous(she had movie star good looks). I looked at the girl next to her and I realized these were dancers from the SYTYCD dance tour! It was Kherrington, Chelsi Trail, Gev and Jessica. I was soo excited. I said I saw your guys' show last night and I thought it was great! I started shaking their hands and telling them their names and they asked me my name. I told Gev that I was from Orem and asked where Chelsie Hightower was. She didn't come, but wanted to meet up later tonight, Chelsi T. said. She was like, I'm the only Chelsi here! I said oh it's fine I'm from Orem so I wanted to give a shout out to my fellow Oremite. Then Gev asked if I grew up there and was just here for school. I said yeah I grew up there went to BYU then here for med school, I'm graduated now and am back for homecoming. I should have told them that I came here for the show which is true(as well as for Julie's birthday). Somehow it came up that they're glad they had the show last night and could spend the day here. I told them again that I loved the show and that I'd let them get back to the art show and that it was nice to meet them. There were probably some other things said but I can't remember them now. I was so nervous and star struck I was just trying to from words into sentences. I sneaked a couple of pics on my camera phone as they continued looking at the art. Kherrington came right by me again when I was reading the Andy Warhol booklet.

I wish I would have had my real camera, but I left it at my friend's house for the day while I was out. I should have gotten their autographs or gotten my photo with them with my camera! I should have asked them where they were going out tonight and invited them to Union which is where I'm headed tonight. My friend Dave knows Thayne from SYTYCD but he doesn't have his phone number anymore so I can't get a hold of him.

Email from the AMSA LGBT Listserve on Proposition 8

2008-10-19T07:51:00.001-05:00

I think this email was very well written and since I don't think I could do a better job, I've copied the email for you all to read:

"Dear Friends,

Like many of you, I’ve been captivated by the excitement of this year’s presidential race. What some of you may not be aware of is that another measure will be put to the voters on November 4th, one of utmost importance to the nation. I am speaking of Proposition 8 in California, the proposition which will write discrimination into the California State Constitution, eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry.

As many of you know, gay marriage became law in California on June 16, 2008, when the Supreme Court of California overturned the ban on same-sex marriage. In his ruling, California Chief Justice Ronald M. George (who happens to be Republican and first-appointed by Ronald Reagan) said:

“retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise – now emphatically rejected by this state – that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals.”

It was this same court that first overturned the ban on interracial marriage in 1948 in the Perez v Sharp case – a case the held that “marriage is a fundamental right in a free society.” At the time, that decision was labeled as an act of “judicial activism” and was overwhelmingly unpopular in public opinion polls of the day. Yet, 60 years later, the idea of a ban on interracial marriage is inconceivable
to the average American.

Many of us (myself included) have assumed a discriminatory effort to deny gays and lesbians a basic right, like Prop 8, would be easily defeated. Confident in the progressive politics of California, I’ve focused on the horse race of the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the extreme religious right has identified Prop 8 as THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTORAL ISSUE THIS NOVEMBER. Funded largely by the Mormon Church in Utah, a massive national fundraising campaign has been organized with one purpose: to distort public perception about what Prop 8 means. The airwaves and billboards are flooded with deceiving ads about children being forced to learn about gay sex in school, churches losing their tax exempt status, and the “degradation of our society” that will ensue if Prop 8 is not passed. To date, this campaign
has raised $25 million from over 60,000 contributors – most of whom live outside of California. We are $10 million dollars behind and will surely lose this election without at least matching them dollar for dollar.

While initial polls showed the voters were likely to defeat Prop 8, the religious right’s campaign of hate is working. Public opinion polls have shown increasing support for Prop 8 (the most recent showed
47% in support, with 42% opposed), and its passage looks increasingly likely.

But the battle is still winnable.

Right now there are many resources needed to fight this battle. Equality California has challenged fair minded people to raise $1 million dollars by Sunday at midnight. Philathropist Steve Bing will match dollar for dollar every contribution up to a total of $1 million dollars.
www.eqcapac.org/challenge Even $20 will make a difference.

Also,volunteers are needed to phone potential voters, and you don’t have to live in California to participate. You can find out more at www.eqca.org and www.noonprop8.com.

Think about it. This is the moment that will define the LGBT civil rights movement for the next 50 years. If Prop 8 is defeated, the people of the most populous state in the Union will have upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry. The inevitability of equality begins with the defeat of Prop 8.

In twenty years, how will you answer the question, “what did you do to help defeat Proposition 8?”

Please spread the word and pass this on to your fair-minded friends and neighbors."

Jason Kauffman
Bryan Hopping

Horrific BYU(Mormon church) conduct again!

2008-10-17T14:24:00.002-05:00

This time BYU has denied giving a degree to someone who completed all of his requirements just because the Mormon church excommunicated him a few weeks before graduation(for publishing a calendar showing returned missionaries shirtless).

Read the full article here.

This is why I wasn't out while I was at BYU. I was scared of getting kicked out and not getting my degree on time. (Now I'm kind of scared of them revoking my degree anyways).

Response to a former friend(who's Mormon) about my support of gay marriage

2008-10-14T13:24:00.001-05:00

I thank God every day that I had the courage to be true to myself even when everything I was taught growing up told me that I was less than a person for feeling the way I did. I am so grateful that I am gay because it made me realize how wrong the Mormon church is. Had I not been true to myself I would never have met my soul mate and been happy like I am now. I can't expect you to understand because you are not in my position and you have no reason to go against the church like I did.

Same-sex marriages should be allowed for the simple reason that everyone should be treated equally. Remember when the Mormon church was persecuted? Gay people are still being persecuted to this day when we are told that we don't deserve the same rights as straight people.

As for my parents, don't feel bad for them, they are kind, loving parents who are proud of Kip(my boyfriend) and my relationship. Of course it took time for them to reach this point but through our example their feelings on the matter have changed dramatically. I hope my example can help many more people see that there are many kinds of families and Kip and mine is one of them and is just as valid as more "traditional" ones.

How to find out who donated to Vote Yes on Proposition 8

2008-10-13T21:04:00.005-05:00

To see a list of those who have donated to "YES ON 8, A PROJECT OF CALIFORNIA RENEWAL" go to the California Secretary of State page.

Click the "contributions received" bubble under the "View Information" section. Below that there's an option to download the Excel sheet of donors, so you can then alphabetize the list(I alphabetized the list by city).

I found out my uncle and brother that live in California both donated $100. How upsetting that they would donate money. I can only guess how much time they've donated. At least I know where they stand now.

UPDATE:
Today HRC was doing 100% matching of donations, so I made a $100 donation and that was matched, so I've now donated more than my family members donated to "Vote Yes". I do feel a little better, but there's so many people against us.

UPDATE:
This is a much more user friendly way to find out who has donated money to Prop 8:
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/?Search+Again=

UPDATE:
I found out that my uncle has donated a total of $1000 dollars in support of Proposition 8. I can't compete with that kind of money.

Letter from the Obama campaign on GLBT issues

2008-10-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

I'll admit I was offended/saddened by the segment on gay marriage in the VP debate. But I think this is a good time to share a message that I received from the Obama campaign when I asked them to share Obama's views on GLBT issues.

"Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting Senator Barack Obama and Obama for America with your thoughts on LGBT rights. We appreciate hearing from you.

Senator Obama supports economic, social, and legal rights for gays and lesbians. He supports full civil unions, expanding hate crimes statutes, fighting discrimination at work and in housing and other places of public accommodation, and wants to increase adoption rights. He opposes any Constitutional ban on gay marriage, opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, and opposes the current “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, which weakens us in a time of global challenges.

Barack is a global leader in the fight against AIDS. He traveled to Kenya and took a public HIV test to encourage testing and reduce the stigma of the disease. In late 2006, Barack Obama worked to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, one of the largest sources of federal funds for primary health care and support services for patients with HIV/AIDS.

Senator Obama has consistently supported LGBT rights, and will continue to work for an open, tolerant society where people of all sexual orientations are protected and their contributions are valued. Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

Obama for America

---------------------------------------
Paid for by Obama for America"

So hopefully this cheers you all up as it does me, that under Obama there will be far more equality than under McCain.

Good Tagging Fun

2008-09-28T22:08:00.002-05:00

My sister sort of tagged me(she wrote, "I tag anyone who wants to play...come on I want to know about your life!!"). So here goes:

Ten years ago I was:
1. In my first month of college at BYU
2. Not out
3. Dreading that I'd have to go on a mission soon
4. Loving such songs as "Save Tonight", "My Favorite Mistake" and "Believe"
5. Attending church weekly

My to do list:
1. Pick an article for journal club
2. Plant the tulip bulbs
3. Iron my clothes
4. Put in my vacation request for March
5. Run the Milwaukee marathon next year

Favorite snacks:
1. Dreyer's 1/2 Fat Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2. Twizzlers
3. Baked Lays, Ruffle, etc.
4. Gummi Bears
5. Chips and Salsa

If I had millions of dollars I would:
1. Travel to everywhere I want to go
2. Pay off my debts
3. Buy a new car
4. Give a lot of money to my favorite siblings
5. Donate to Obama's campaign, HRC, Vote No on Proposition 8 and The World Wildlife Fund

Places I've lived:
1. Milwaukee, WI
2. Columbus, OH
3. Orem, UT
4. Provo, UT
5. Spain

My jobs:
1. St. Luke's Medical Center: Transitional Year Resident
2. BioMedics: Phlebotomist
3. SuperTarget/Macey's: Cart attendant, cashier
4. SCERA pool: Swim teacher, lifeguard
5. Deseret News: Newspaper carrier

I tag anyone who still reads this blog!

My Mosaic

2008-09-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

I got this idea from my sister and was bored so I thought I'd do it.

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search .
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. Save your mosaic and then add it to your blog like a regular photo.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your nickname.

Answers
1: David-Perhaps my favorite famous David..for obvious reasons!
2: Mashed potatoes and gravy.
3: Ohio State for med school. My favorite school experience so that's why I chose that school.
4: Blue. I picked this picture of a Steller's Jay because I like wildlife and I remember seeing this bird all over when I lived in Monterey.
5: Cristian Ronaldo, a Portuguese soccer player.
6: Historically my favorite drink has been Bacardi Razz and Sprite.
7: Barcelona, specifically the Sagrada Familia...have wanted to go there ever since I lived in Spain.
8: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream...Dreyer's brand but the 1/2 fat kind.
9: Radiology, probably abdominal imaging.
10: My laptop.
11: Gay :). I liked this one because it's in Columbus.
12: Leon, so I got a lion(leon in Spanish). My sister calls me this and she's the one I got the idea to do this from so it was perfect.

Now it's your turn!

Vote No on Proposition 8

2008-08-22T15:01:00.002-05:00

This whole issue is a very sore topic for me as I am obviously a strong proponent of gay marriage and hope to one day (in the not too distant future) to get married to my boyfriend of almost 3 years. I was elated when the California Supreme Court's decision allowed for gay marriage in the state and was saddened when I heard Proposition 8 was going to be put on the November ballot(though I figured that was inevitable). I was extremely disappointed again when I found out that the LDS Church sent a letter to the members of the church in California encouraging them to do all they could do to help get Proposition 8 passed.

The other day I got invited by someone on my Facebook friends list who is Mormon to join a group supporting Proposition 8. I of course declined and then sent him a message telling him no thanks. He wrote back that he was just trying to his part since the church asked him to. This made me think how influential the Mormon church is in this whole issue. I think most members will feel obligated to obey the church and make sure this Proposition passes. I wish they would have stayed out of this political question and let the individual members decide for themselves. My brother lives in California and I'm scared to think that he is involved in getting this Proposition passed.

I came across this letter posted on a blog from a volunteer with the Mormon church and it's scary how much organization and effort is going into this:

"July 28, 2008

Dear Presidents:

Yesterday a wonderful meeting was held with the eight Area Directors in Northern California. These are amazingly powerful people. The Area folks represent the grassroots effort for the passage of the Proposition and their responsibility overlays each Coordinating Council. This was a great and powerful meeting. I assure you that the LDS folks who work closely with or who are on the Board directly of the coalition are very impressive and politically experienced folks. It was great to see.

I have a few answers to frequent questions that are being asked and I feel that if I were you, I'd wanna know. Hope that this helps:

Organization, it' s a little confusing!? Answer: The Brethren have felt that the best way to organize and pass the Proposition is to have an Ecclesiastical arm and a Grassroots arm to organization. Elder Dalton, Area Seventy and Chair of California for every thing, reports to the Brethren. I assist him. We work with coordinating councils, all 17 in California and then Stake Presidents and Bishops, rank and file. The second leg to organization is grassroots. This is done so as to engage as many like minded folks who are not LDS, but whom will help. The senior folks who run the grassroots are LDS at the coalition and are headed by Gary Greener and Gary Lawrence. These folks are assisted in Nor Cal by Boyd Smith, and in turn by Area, then Regional Directors. The regional directors overlay Stakes. Below are Zip Code Supervisors by wards.

What is the role of grassroots? Answer: The grassroots folks in each Stake, Regional Directors will train zip code supervisors. Their goal, is to find the voters who will vote yes. It is not to persuade others ... but to find those who will vote yes. The ZCS will seek, with the RD help, to encourage as many as the ward members and like minded people as possible, to accept eight different responsibilities, all from walking a precinct to determine folks opinions (not to sell), to calling, to placing signage, to a myriad of essential tasks that Area Directors will oversee. Please know Presidents, that the RDs/ZCS's will be contacting many many people to accept responsibilities. We hope that you are fine with this happening without the Stake President or Bishop approving each assignment! We assume that you are ok with that!!

Will like minded people from other congregations really join with us? Answer: There was a conference call last week with 1200 pastors in California with James Dobson as the featured speaker. This Thursday, there is another conference call with 2000 California clergy. It appears that the effort on the part of like minded people is huge compared to eight years ago. The Area Directors and Regional Directors will be aware of contacting the congregations for a joint effort. Walking the precincts in particular is where we all may have an opportunity to grab a good friend of another religion and walk with them. If LDS people want to participate in that conference and know of the site of broadcast, they are welcome to go.

What is the timeline from here for the next few weeks.? Answer:

1. Congregations of LDS all having been taught the doctrine in July so that they may see the importance of fundraising and grassroots participation. Some Stakes have called all Stake Council and wives as well as several folks who may be able to contribute not on the Council. The Stake President, in that Cottage Meeting, has asked for their support. A great part of a fund raising effort, accomplished in one night.

2. August 1st: All Regional Directors have been called and contacted by Area Directors for training.

3. August 3rd: Training of Regional Directors commences by the Area Directors

4. August 1st-10th: Zip Code Supervisors are in place and are to be trained by Regional Directors..

5. August 16th: The First of three Saturday precinct walks are to be held under the direction of the Regional Directors.

6. August 23rd: The Second of the Saturday precinct walks are to be held.

7. Sept. 22nd: One million signs will be put up in yards around the state at 7:00am.

Other timeline events will be planned and executed and you will be updated.

That's enough. if I caused more questions than answered, please hit me back.

Thanks for all that you and have on your plate. The Lord will make up whatever we all feel we are lacking.

Brother Packer"

I also found this link to mormonsformarriage.com which is a group of Mormons who believe in gay marriage and seems to be a good resource for fair minded Mormons who support gay marriage but don't know what to do in light of the church encouraging them to fight for Proposition 8.

I feel like I should do all I can to make sure Proposition 8 does not pass including talking to my brother and everyone I know in California, hoping my example helps them understand why Proposition 8 shouldn't pass. We'll see how this all unfolds.

Rep. Tubbs Jones, you will be deeply missed

2008-08-20T22:11:00.002-05:00

The AP writes: "EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress and a strong critic of the Iraq war, died Wednesday after a brain hemorrhage, a hospital spokeswoman said."

I am so saddened by the news. She was truly a great woman and a great representative for Ohio. I was privileged to have seen her stand with Hillary Clinton at a rally at Ohio State. I don't know how she'll ever be replaced, she was such an advocate for everything I believe in. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully at least Obama will be elected so some of her ideals can be brought to pass.

New Intern

2008-06-24T15:37:00.002-05:00

I started my first day of my intern year yesterday. I am on an inpatient general medicine service for my first month. I feel like I'm already getting the hang of things and that I'll be able to handle intern year just fine. I like being in charge of my own patients and writing orders. I will have my first overnight call on Thursday so I am nervous for that. Unfortunately I'll be on call for the 4th of July so I'm sad that I won't get to celebrate with Kip that day. We'll have to have a BBQ the next day, I guess.

Mormon church at it again with their hate

2008-06-24T15:29:00.002-05:00

Here is an article from The Deseret News which talks about a letter the leadership of the Mormon church sent out to their California congregations which encourages the membership of the church to support the amendment banning gay marriage in California which will be up for a vote in November. When will the church stop discriminating against gay people? Why do they care if gay people are allowed to have civil marriages? Why can't they let the California members decide of their own free will whether they will or won't support the amendment. I wonder how my brother who lives in California will vote.

Match Day

2008-03-22T07:57:00.002-05:00

Match Day turned out to be very different than I thought it would be. Kip and I ended up matching in Milwaukee, WI. I'm really happy that we matched together, but I wanted to either go to Phoenix or stay in Columbus and definitely didn't want to go anywhere colder that Ohio. I feel really bad that I had 4 years to make that happen and I failed and that I let Kip down. I really did enjoy the program when I visited so I am glad about that, although I honestly didn't learn that much about it because I didn't think there was any way I would end up there. I'm getting more used to the idea now and I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end. We'll enjoy buying our first house together and exploring a new city. Milwaukee is only a cheap Skybus flight away from Columbus so that'll be good. I'll miss Columbus!

My comment on a post on a fellow gay med student's blog

2008-03-01T11:38:00.002-05:00

I've recently found a blog that I find very interesting and well written and today I posted the following comment on one of his posts so I include here for you to read:

"I always enjoy reading your blog and this post especially hit very close to home for me as I too am going through the application/interview process for residency(Radiology) and happen to be gay. I am couples matching with my boyfriend and it got very tiring explaining that Kip was in fact a boy, not a girl like everyone assumed(has anyone ever heard of a girl named Kip anyway?) and eventually I just stopped correcting the interviewers because I got tired of them not understanding(with one interviewer I had to say it three different ways before he finally got it). If I could do it all again I would have been more clear expressing myself and not letting them make me feel uncomfortable for being gay but at the time I just let it slide because I didn't want them to look upon me negatively."

I think one of the main reasons most of the interviewers assumed that I was straight was because they all knew that I was Mormon-being from Utah, going on a mission and graduating from BYU-so that made them assume that Kip would have to be a girl. I found it rather impossible to let people know that I am no longer a Mormon so it was very frustrating to have to carry that misconception around just because I'm from Utah. I will find out on March 20th where I matched so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out especially since the program director at my #1 choice is Mormon.

Done with residency interviews

2008-02-01T09:36:00.000-05:00

Now that it's February I can relax for a couple of days. I did 30 residency interviews in 12 different states over the past few months. I did have some fun times-going to the driving range in Scottsdale and going to the beach in Charleston stand out right now but traveling and interviewing is a tiring process so I'm glad it's over. I can't wait for Match Day.

I went home for about 5 days over the Christmas holiday. I had a pretty good time hanging out mostly with my Mom and Dad as my brothers and sisters all have their own families now. I think I would have had a great time if I hadn't been missing Kip so much. I am relatively lucky to have the parents that I do. My mom seems to be doing a lot better handling the fact that I'm gay and even said that she'd be ok with Kip staying at our house if we came to visit. I'm definitely proud of the fact that my parents are Democrats and it was nice to have a couple of people on my side when the conversation of politics came up. I'm considering going back over the summer so we'll see.

Up next for me is my last clinical rotation working with homeless people so it will definitely be interesting.

November update

2007-11-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

This month I've been doing a month of radiology at the Cleveland Clinic. I've been staying with Julie's parents while I'm up there. I'm up in Cleveland during the week and in Columbus on the weekends. It's been fun learning about radiology again and the Clinic is huge. It's cool to be at such a world-renowned hospital. Being away from Kip for up to a week at a time has made me realize how much I love him and miss him when I'm not around him. It definitely makes me want to be able to match in the same place for both my prelim year and radiology residencies because I don't know how I'd handle living apart from him for that long.

Interview season is in full swing. I have 15 radiology interviews lined up so that's a good number. I've had my interviews at Case Western and OSU so far. I'll find out on March 20th where I'll end up for residency.

After this week I only have 3 months of rotations left so graduation is rapidly approaching! It will be sad to say goodbye to my roommates and other friends that I've made since I've been here.

What AMSA thinks of the surgeon general nomination

2007-08-04T23:21:00.000-05:00

I read this in an American Medical Student Association(AMSA) newsletter and it reminded me why I'm proud to be a member.

As the nation's largest, independent medical student organization, AMSA felt the need to stand up and oppose the United States Senate's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger to be the next U.S. Surgeon General. A report, "The Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," prepared by Dr. Holsinger in January 1991, regards the sexual practices of homosexual men as biologically pathological that inherently lead to, "a diverse and expanded concept of sexually transmitted disease and associated trauma." The paper continues to state that men and women have a sexual "complementarity" that speaks for itself, comparing male and female reproductive organs to pipe fittings.

"It is unacceptable to permit a physician who furthers a position that runs so contrary to contemporary medical practice to serve as Surgeon General," says Daniel Murphy, AMSA legislative affairs director. "Even in 1991, Dr. Holsinger's paper was unscientific and decades out of date."

My Birthday Week 2007

2007-07-15T11:06:00.000-05:00

This week my birthday was on a Wednesday and also happened to be opening day for the latest Harry Potter movie, which is exciting because I am a big Harry Potter fan. I only have to work 4 days a week on my rotation, so the day I didn't go in this week was Wednesday. It was nice not having to work on my birthday. I didn't do much during the day except run some errands. I did meet with the researcher I'm going to do research with in September, though, and it was great to meet him and hear some ideas of what I might be working on. I'll be doing abdominal MRI studies which is awesome because that's one of my areas of interest. It sounds like I'll at least have an abstract done by the time I'm done which would be awesome. I went to 7/11 to get a free Slurpee. Also of note, I went to Giant Eagle and my bill came to 7 dollars and 11 cents, so that was exciting. Kip, Lindsey, Ryan, Julie, Chris and I went to Pesto for dinner and then to see Harry Potter. The movie was good but the third one is still my favorite. Afterwards we went home and ate yellow cake and ice cream.

My family was again good with wishing me a happy birthday. My Dad called and sent me a card with some money. Tom and Emily emailed me. Andy called and sent a gift card to Best Buy which is nice of him. Amy and Katie called. Matt sent a package with Winger's sauce and some other stuff. So the only ones that didn't acknowledge me was Brad and Darla(like last year). I do miss my family, and it looks like I'll go a full year without seeing them since I don't really have a chance to until November/December.

Dave forgot my birthday but he's not the best at remembering stuff like that. I did talk to him the day before though and he moved to New York so I'm going to try to go see him in August.

On Saturday I went to Union with Chris and Julie to celebrate my birthday. It was good times. Then Chris and I went to his friend Ben's housewarming party.

Tonight Kip is taking me to Barcelona for my birthday dinner. Kip gave me my presents after dinner. He gave me a book of pictures of Columbus, a scented oil thing from Pottery Barn and some clothes from Ruehl. They were very thoughtful.

Marion, OH

2007-07-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

This month for my first rotation of 4th year I am in an internal medicine outpatient clinic in the small town of Marion, OH. My preceptor is an awesome lady who reminds me of my mom(they even share the same birthday, weird). I don't love the 2-hour round trip commute, though. One cool thing though is that the 29th President of the Unites States, Warren G. Harding lived in Marion and there's a nice memorial there. An since I love history I visited it one morning and was surprised by how beautiful it is. Here's some pics:

I'm now a Med 4

2007-06-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

Well it's hard to believe but I am done with my third year of med school. It was a really tough year and I'm glad it's over. We only had 3 weeks off the whole year. I never missed a day of a rotation! I even went the day that school was cancelled because of the snow storm! There were rotations with long hours and some rotations with easy schedules. I did OB/Gyn at OSU, I did two busy inpatient months at Children's and I did two hard services at OSU in medicine. I can't really complain about my surgery services though waking up at 4:15 AM every day for a month wasn't my favorite thing to do. I am proud of my accomplishments this year and proud of what I've learned about myself and about medicine over the past year. I learned for certain that I want to be a radiologist. I entertained the thought of maybe being an anesthesiologist or a pediatrician but I just enjoyed radiology more than anything else. Now to start the application process all over again!

Mitt "Romney's Disappointing Campaign"-article from Time

2007-05-31T08:19:00.000-05:00

I came across this article in Time magazine today and I thought it was a great description of Mitt Romney, so I wanted to post it on my blog.

Here it is:Romney

My surgery rotation

2007-05-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post something really quick about my last rotation of third year-surgery. Last month I was on cardiothoracic surgery so i saw a lot of cool surgeries like CABG's, valve replacements, VAD placements, aneurysn repairs and even a cardiac tumor excision. The hours weren't bad at all for a surgery service.

Now I'm on Surg 2 which is a lot of colorectal, anal and bariatric surgeries. I have a lot more responsibilities on this service now so I'm a little stressed but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I have to wake up at 4:40 AM tomorrow to get to the hospital in time to round onmy patients and be ready for rounding with my residents. Really the only thing keeping me going is the fact that 3 weeks from tomorrow is my last day!

Well it's 8:30 PM which means it's bedtime for me. Wish me luck that I'll survive these next 3 weeks.

Easter

2007-04-09T14:13:00.000-05:00

I had a good Easter this year. I woke up to find that Kip had left me an Easter basket to find with candy, a stuffed animal and a cute card so that was really nice of him. It reminded me of when I was back home and the "Easter bunny" would hide easter baskets for all of us kids to find on Easter morning.

I went to Kip's church which is the United Methodist church on King Avenue for their Easter service. I had been to that church once before around Christmas and I told Kip I'd go back with him on Easter. The first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was. There were greeters at all the doors to welcome everyone and ushers to help you find a seat. The whole church smelled really good with the Easter flowers that everyone had bought. The opening hymn was "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" which is also a hymn that Mormons sing so it was good that I knew it and was able to sing along. They had an opening prayer and had the new babies be brought up by the parents for the congregation to see. There were two baptisms and it was interesting to see how they were done. They brought the kids up to the front where there was a basin of water and the pastor and assistant pastor(a woman) each baptized one child with a few drops of water. Then the pastors took the children around the room to introduce them to the congregation. The pastor gave a short talk on the resurrection and then there was a closing prayer.

I'll have to say I did like it especially the feeling of inclusiveness that exists in that church. There are a lot of gay people that go to the church and one in front of us had his arm around his partner and whispered periodically in his ear. It's nice to know that Kip and I wouldn't be judged there as we would be in the Mormon church. Also men and women have equal rights in the Methodist church as proven by the fact that women can be pastors as well as men. In church I always loked the songs the best and always "felt the Spirit" when I listened to Church music. Well the Methodist church has a lot of the same hymns as in the Mormon church with a lot more as well and I felt the same good feeling when I sang them there. They also had a band playing with the music which was nice to listen to. One thing I did feel a little uncomfortable about was when the collection plate came around but still when you think about it that's a lot better to have a voluntary collection plate than requiring everyone to pay 10% of their earnings.

I have to admit I think I could get used to going to a Methodist church and raising my child(ren) in that church because I think it would be a good way to teach them about God while at the same time teaching them to love and accept all kinds of people no matter their race, sexual orientation, etc.

Back to blogging

2007-03-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting for such a long time. One deterrent to blogging is the fact that one of my administrators reads this blog, but maybe he's forgotten about it by now and if he hasn't, I won't be writing anything too personal on here anyways so it'll be fine.

So to update you all on my life, I am about to start my fifth rotation of third year which is my ambulatory rotation. I have one month in a family practice clinic and one month of radiology. I'm excited for ambulatory because the hours are a lot better than my last rotation and I finally get to do radiology which is what I'm planning on specializing in. After ambulatory I only have one more rotation which is surgery. Third year has been going well and I've learned a lot. One of the most exciting things of the year happened to me on the last rotation-I got to do my first chest compressions. It was a very touching experience.

Things are going well in my personal life as well. I'm still dating Kip, so it's been close to a year and a half that we've been dating. My family is doing well and I have 15 nieces and nephews with two more on the way. I haven't really been keeping in touch with them too much but I have talked to my Dad a couple of times since Christmas as well as a couple of my siblings. My brother called me last week to talk about one of his friends who recently had brain surgery to remove a tangerine-shaped tumor. I told my brother that the prognosis depended a lot on what type of tumor it was and where it was located but I didn't really have that much to offer him since he didn't know the specifics of the case. It makes me a little overwhelmed that my older brother is calling me for medical advice but it feels good that I could help him a little to talk out what he was going through.

We're soon scheduling for fourth year and things are a little nervous among my fellow classmates regarding matching next year and what needs to be done to make sure everyone matches in what they want to do. I'm definitely feeling nervous about that as well. I have a lot to worry about because I want to match in a competitive specialty and because I also want to do couples match with Kip. I have to worry about interviews for radiology and transition year and ending up at the same place for both so that I won't be without Kip for a year while he's doing his residency somewhere else while I'm doing my transition year. I'm also worried because I haven't gotten honors in any of my rotations despite doing well on some of the exams, so I won't be loking very good as an applicant. Well we'll see how this all works out.

I will try to post more often so stay tuned for more....

Countries I've been to

2006-09-28T17:30:00.000-05:00

create your own visited country map

States I've been to

2006-09-28T17:26:00.000-05:00

My sister and I used to talk about who between us had been to the most states. Now I have an easy way to see which states I've been to(not counting layovers):

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

My first overnight call

2006-09-13T21:43:00.000-05:00

I thought I should mark this milestone by writing a post. Tonight is my first overnight call ever. I got to the hospital this morning at 5:20 AM and I won't be leaving until tomorrow morning, probably around 9 or 10 AM. So that's a long time. I am on ob/gyn right in Labor and Delivery. Things are going well and I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's really amazing being there to help deliver a baby. I'm not saying I want to be an ob but it has opened my eyes a little to being something other than a radiologist. I've especially had my interest piqued in anesthesiology because they do get to see patients and talk to them and be in surgeries, but don't have to deal with clinics or stressful procedures.

Nothing's going on right now but I'm hoping to see some deliveries tonight. I'll have to wait and see.

Shakira concert

2006-08-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

I've waited for six years to finally Shakira in concert and it was amazing! Our seats were on the floor right in the center, 19 rows back. I can' believe how close I got to her. At one point she came into the audience, down the right side and she was probably within 10-15 seats of me. She sang mostly in Spanish and sang most of my favorite songs from all of her albums. Her part lasted about an hour and 40 minutes. These are the songs she sang:

Estoy Aqui
Te Dejo Madrid
Don’t Bother
Hey You
Antalogia
Inevitable
La Tortura
Si Te Vas
No
Ciega, Sordomuda
Para Obtener Un Si
Whenever, Wherever
Underneath Your Clothes
La Pared
Pies Descalzos
Ojos Asi
Hips Don’t Lie

My birthday week

2006-07-16T11:55:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday was my birthday so I celebrated with different activities all week long. It was nice to celebrate in Columbus for the first time.

On Tuesday I was supposed to shadow a physician at the MS clinic, but the program coordinator forgot to tell me that the physician was in India. So I had the morning off and in the afternoon I arranged to shadow a radiologist which was fun. I got some pointers on applying for resideny and stuff. I still like radiology a lot. I had lunch with Julie and Lindsey before heading over to the radiologist. After Kip got done with work he picked me up and we went to Chili's for my birthday. I wanted something fast and had been craving Chili's for a while, so it was good. We met Julie at Graeter's and got delicious sundaes. Kip gave me a lot of thoughtful gifts-a massage gift certificate, a CD, a Pound Puppy and a shirt from Abercrombie. I was really impressed. I was impressed with my family. Everyone except the oldest remembered my birthday by emailing, calling or sending a card.

On Wednesday I got my board scores back and was pleasantly surprised by how well I did. I'll be able to do radiology now, so I'm really excited about that.

On Thursday night I joined the boys for their weekly Union Station night. We started at Aaron's and had a fun time playing kings and quarters. They got me a birthday cookie so that was fun to blow out the candles. We went to Union Station where Julie requested Hips Don't Lie so I got really excited and started dancing on a chair. They told me to get down so I went up to the stage and started dancing. Some lesbians started putting dollar bills down my pants so I took my shirt off for them and ended up making five dollars. We didn't stay too late because Kip, Julie and I had to work the next day.

On Saturday I had a birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo with Erika and all of our med school friends. Erika's birthday is next week so we decided to share our birthday dinner. The food was really good and we got a big jug of wine to share. Kip's friend made me a delicious rasberry filled cake with this cream cheese frosting. Everyone loved it. After dinner we went to Gasworks, but they wouldn't let Sean in because he was wearing a jersey so we went to Novak's. Julie and Lindsey bought us all two shots and then a tequila shot for our birthday. It was really hot in there so we went outside to the patio for a while. We left there and went to Lodge Bar. We sat at a table for a while then they started playing good music so we went to dance for about a half an hour. It was really fun. The highlight was Julie and I dancing dirty to "Hang On Sloopy." Everytime the said O-H-I-O we would grind into each other and then bust up laughing. It was nice to get to dance with everyone and it was a good way to cap off a great week.

Sorry for my long absence

2006-07-08T09:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry to all my readers who've been anxiously awaiting another post. Things have been crazy around here while finishing up my second year of med school, taking the boards and starting Med 3.

We were to start Med 3 on Monday but when I showed up at my assigned Neurology clinic the nurses told me that the doctor I was supposed to be working with wasn't seeing patients that day so they told me I could go home and they'd call me. I went home and called the coordinator of the program and she told me that I could take the day off and start on Wednesday. Monday also made nine months since our first date, so Kip and I went out to eat and then to see the big fireworks show that Columbus puts on.

On the Fourth of July we went to two barbecues. One was with my med school friends at Brad's house where we ate hamburgers, brats and I made strawberry daquiris. We shot off some fireworks. At night we went to another barbecue at Sanjida's apartment. We grilled chicken and had mojitos. We went back to Kip's apartment and watched more fireworks from his window.

On Wednesday morning I went to shadow a neuro-oncologist which was interesting. We saw a good number of patients with brain tumors. I did more at my first preceptorship last year than I did with this doctor so that's not what I expected from third year. He gave me a packet of articles that he wrote to read. Thursday I was in the neurology clinic but I only saw one patient all day and it was with a resident. Friday was better, I saw three patients with memory loss with an attending and got to see a full neuro exam for the first time. I've had every afternoon off except for Wednesday when we had a lecture, so it was a pretty easy week to start off my third year.

LDS church encourages members to support the marriage amendment

2006-05-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I'm studying for Step 1 of the boards right now so that's all I've been doing.

I had to post today though because I came across this article and it literally brought tears to my eyes, I don't know why it hit me like it did, I know the LDS church doesn't support gay marriage, but maybe it's because I just went to my sister's wedding and thinking that my family belongs to a church like this, it makes me really sad. I'm considering emailing them all and telling them my feelings, but part of me just says leave them alone. We'll see.

The article says,

"Voice your support for a federal marriage amendment, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints urges in a letter to be read in LDS sacrament meetings Sunday.
The letter, sent to priesthood leaders in the United States, calls on Latter-day Saints to contact their senators to support a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would limit lawful marriages to those between a man and a woman."

The church is actually encouraging all of its members to actively support the marriage amendment and they're announcing that during the Sunday services. Words can't express how upsetting that is to me.

Protestors arrested at BYU

2006-04-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

The Soulforce Equality Riders visited BYU's campus this week. They are visiting conservative colleges across the country to protest the treatment of gays. Here's an article about the visit from today's Salt Lake newspaper.

Five BYU students participated in the demonstration and were arrested for trespassing(I guess). I don't really understand how they were trespassing at their own school, but I don't really know the legalities of it all. I thought it was interesting how the Honor Code deals with homosexuality, I don't remember ever reading it before. The Honor Code says, "Brigham Young University will respond to student behavior rather than to feelings or orientation. Students can be enrolled at the University and remain in good Honor Code standing if they maintain a current ecclesiastical endorsement and conduct their lives in a manner consistent with gospel principles and the Honor Code. Advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle (whether implied or explicit) or any behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in nature, are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code." So I would have gotten in trouble for even saying that it's ok to be gay. No wonder I lived in fear of getting kicked out while I was there.

This story appeared in the Utah County section of the newspaper on Tuesday. It deals more with the aspects of being gay and a BYU student. It quotes a story recounted by a gay student that after an accident his mother told him, "it would have been better if God had taken [you] from the Earth rather than leave [you] here to be gay." This is the kind of thing gay Mormons have to deal with. Luckily my mom would never say that to me, but she definitely isn't ok with it. But I'm glad that Soulforce brought attention to BYU's discriminatory treatment of gays.

Spring Break '06 "wooh, wooh"

2006-04-08T13:26:00.000-05:00

I had a great trip to D.C. for Spring Break. It was a lot of fun to be able to spend so much time with Kip. I was really glad that we went. Sarah was our gracious host again. Kip and I drove down in my car and Brad, Erika and Lindsey drove in Erika's car. Julie flew down on Sunday so we met up with her in D.C. The weather was bad most of the drive to D.C. so that wasn't fun. When the storm hit in D.C. it blew off a lot of the cherry blossoms that were in bloom, but they were still pretty when we were walking around the monuments. Monday night we went to eat dinner in Dupont Circle at Front Page. While we were eating dinner, our friend Ryan called to tell us that another med student in our class has been missing since last Friday. None of us are really good friends with him but we all know him and have spoken to him before. We were all pretty freaked out and it was hard to think about anything else all night and we kept talking about it the rest of the trip. We called all our other friends to see what information we could find out. We tried to get on with our night, so we headed to Buffalo Bills to play pool and watch the NCAA championship game.

On Tuesday we went to the Holocaust Museum which I hadn't been to for eight years, so it was touching to see everything again. We ate lunch at the Old Post Office and then went to the Spy Museum. It was interesting but I don't think it was worth 15 dollars when there is so much else to do in D.C.(like shop at H&M which I didn't get to do). Dinner was in Dupont Circle at a Mexican restaurant. I was impressed because they had some Spanish dishes and the first song I heard there was "Las de la Intuicion" by Shakira. We had lots of margaritas and sangria. After dinner we headed to a bar in Adam's Morgan and had some "booty fun, booty fun" before heading to another bar for karaoke.

On Wednesday Kip and I were supposed to wake up to stand in line for tickets to the Washington Monument. I was too tired though so we stayed in bed. So I still haven't been up that yet. We had lunch at Capitol City Brewing Company near Union Station. The food was delicious but the service, as we experienced throughout D.C., was awful. After lunch we began our marathon walk from Union Station to the Capitol to the National Museum of Natural History to the Jefferson Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial to the Vietnam Memorial to the World War Two Memorial and then back to the metro near the Washington Monument. It was a sunny but windy day and we were all tired and freezing by the end. Still the museum was interesting and it was fun to see all the memorials again. We went to dinner at Rhodeside Grill, Julie's favorite D.C. establishment. We had a large group of Julie's friends from med school, college and high school. Kip and I went to bed early while the rest went out to a club in Georgetown.

Thursday we packed, ate lunch at Cosi and headed back to Columbus.

Off to DC for Spring Break

2006-04-03T07:16:00.000-05:00

Well on a sort of last minute decision, Kip and I have decided to head to our nation's capital for Spring Break with four of our friends from school. We'll see if I finally make it up the Washington Monument. Today is also the six month anniversary of our first date, so I'm excited that I get to spend it in the car with him and then in DC together. This is our first trip together so that's exciting. I'll let you know how it goes.

Botellones in Spain

2006-03-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

Spain has been on my mind lately since it was exactly a year ago that I was there last for Spring Break. I was pleasantly surprised when Yahoo! News posted this article on Friday about 25,000 people at a botellon in Granada to protest a new law aimed at stopping these drinking binges. I knew the date was around when I had my first botellon in Granada, but it wasn't until I looked at my journal that I saw that it was the exact same date, just one year later, so I thought that was an odd coincidence. The one I went to probably had less than 200 people at it, but it was a lot of fun to be hanging out in a mall parking lot drinking Tinto de Verano with a whole bunch of Spaniards. I was hoping to do one again the next time I go, so I hope this law doesn't put an end to them.

The likes of him ain't welcome in these here parts

2006-03-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

My little sister is getting married in May. She's my last sibling to get married. We were always close growing up and were often referred to as "The Twins." The only negative thing about our relationship was that I couldn't tell her what was going on in my personal life since I wasn't out to her. I hoped that our relationship would be made stronger when I came out to her last year. But as you can read here, she didn't take it well at all and our relationship has deteriorated to the point that I've only spoken to her once since Christmas.

When I found out she had chosen the date of her wedding I called her to ask if I could bring Kip. She didn't really think about it before saying yes. She just wanted to make sure that I really cared about him and that I wasn't bringing him to try to make my parents upset. I told of course I cared about him. I asked Kip if he would come with me and he agreed. I was so excited that Kip was going to meet my family and Dave and see where I grew up.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to last Friday. I was calling my dad back after he left me a message to call him. My mom answered and we chatted for a minute before she blurts out, "We don't want Kip to come to the wedding." I should have seen it coming, but I wasn't even sure they knew I wanted to bring him yet, so I was caught by surprise. Over the next twenty minutes she proceeded to explain why:because they weren't ready for it yet, because Katie changed her mind and I can't take attention away from her on her special day, because my mom doesn't want Kip to come and she not be able to be nice to him. She says she's trying to understand the decisions I made but hasn't been able to deal yet. Keep in mind I came out to them eight months ago. I think a normal family would have been able to deal by now. I don't see how she's ever going to be ok with it because she believes I won't be happy in the long run and that I'm ruining my life. I'm reminded of why I hate the fact that my family is Mormon.

So Kip's not coming with me to the wedding anymore and I have to face my extended family all alone. I'm sure he's relieved and I guess I am too a little just because I don't think my family could have treated him the way he deserves to be treated just because they don't approve of our relationship. I thought about not going at all but I know I'd regret it. It just won't be very special if I don't get to be there with Kip. After the wedding I don't know if I'll ever want to go back.

Who I'm rooting for at the Oscars

2006-03-05T10:46:00.000-05:00

I'm attending an Oscar party at Chris' and I have to say I'm excited for this year's show because of all the gay movies up for awards and the opportunity to see Dolly Parton perform "Travelin' Thru," her nominated song from Transamerica. It will be fun to watch the show with a lot of my friends and Kip.

Here's who I want to win for some of the awards tonight:

Best Picture-Of the nominated films, I've seen Brokeback Mountain and Crash. I thought Crash was an amazing film. But I think and, of course, hope that Brokeback Mountain will win for getting the nation to talk about homosexuality.

Best Actor-I hope Heath Ledger wins just because he portrayed a gay cowboy, but I didn't think he did an amazing job, and his accent really annoyed me. I saw Walk the Line and I thought Joaquin did a great job of portraying the "Man in Black."

Best Actress-This will be a tough race between Reese and Felicity. I loved Reese's bubbly personality, vocals and the way she helped Johnny Cash through rough times. But I hope the Oscar will go to Felicity Huffman for playing a man transitioning into a woman. Transamerica was an amazing movie that impacted me even more than Brokeback Mountain did and Felicity deserves to be awarded for the way she made me appreciate the difficulties of being transgendered.

Best Supporting Actor-I liked Jake's character much better than I did Heath's, so if only one of them gets the Oscar I hope it's Jake.

Best Supporting Actress-I love my Jen Lindley from Dawson's Creek and I'm so happy she has a hot man and had an amazing role in this movie. I hope she wins. Of the others nominated, I also saw Rachel in The Constant Gardener. It was a good movie and she was certainly beautiful, but I don't think she should beat out Michelle.

Animated Feature-I'm not that big a fan of animated movies, but I saw Corpse Bride and enjoyed it.

Original Score-Brokeback Mountain

Original Song-"Travelin' Thru"

We'll see what happens tonight!

Another update on Utah bill to ban Gay-Straight Alliances

2006-03-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

The Utah legislative session ended at midnight last night. According to the Deseret News, "lawmakers, by not voting, killed a bill that would have allowed school districts to ban student clubs that deal in some way with sexuality — the goal to get rid of the current gay-straight-alliance clubs."

So it looks like this bill will have to wait until next year unless it is brought up again in a special legislative session that may be convened at a later date.

Leaving the church

2006-03-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all the people who leave comments on my blog. Elbow left this comment on my blog: "I think that leaving the Church is just as huge as coming out to your parents." It made me think about my reasons for leaving the Mormon Church and I decided to create a post about it since I've already talked about coming out to my parents.

It's kind of hard for me to explain just how big a deal it is to leave the church. I was raised Mormon until I left home at 23, so it's all I knew growing up. My parents and seven siblings are all still in the church and believe that I will not be able to live with them forever if I don't follow the teachings of the church. It is a huge disappointment to them that I no longer attend church or have a testimony(belief that the Mormon Church is true). When I go home I feel like an outsider with my family members.

At the same time for me it was not a big issue at all. I never developed a testimony like so many other gay Mormons out there, so I didn't have to ever reconcile my testimony with my feelings for guys. Not that I didn't go through a period of self-doubt and wishing I could be straight and normal, but that didn't take too long to resolve. It just didn't make sense to me that the church could teach that acting on gay feelings could be wrong since I didn't choose to be gay.

Eventually I came up with the plan that as soon as I came home from my mission and moved away from home that I would stop going to church. When I moved to Ohio in 2004 I went to church here for about two months and then I found gay friends to hang out with so I stopped going to church because I didn't need the instant friends that I gained by going to church. I also had to stop caring about what my Mormon classmates thought about me, which wasn't that hard since I had just met them a couple of months prior. As soon as I was ready to not care about what my family thought of me, I came out to them and told them what I thought of the church. I knew I had to do it because making them happy was not worth lying to them anymore. I am really happy with my decision to come out to them. I am so happy now that I don't have to waste my time going to church. I still believe in God and will always try to be a good person, but I don't need to go to church to do that.

Go Huntsman!

2006-02-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

According to The Deseret News Governor Huntsman plans to veto a couple of bills sponsored by Sen. Buttars including the one that I wrote about in my last post that would ban gay clubs in high schools.

Regarding these bills Governor Huntsman said, "If they look and feel like they did in earlier incarnations, I will veto them. We'll have to see what they look like when they reach my desk."

Update on Utah bill to ban Gay-Straight Alliances

2006-02-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

The Utah legislature is in session now and I just read an article in The Deseret News that talked about a bill sponsored by Sen. Chris Buttars which he hopes will put an end to Gay-Straight Alliances in Utah high schools. He's not even a representative of Utah County where the Provo High School Gay-Straight Alliance was formed, so I don't know why he felt it was his obligation to get this law passed, besides being a self-righteous bigot.

Here's part of the article:

A bill to tighten controls on clubs at Utah high schools passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Monday, prompting tears from students who fear the bill would effectively shut down Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools.
SB97, sponsored by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, directs schools to deny clubs if their charter or activities would encourage criminal conduct, promote bigotry or involve human sexuality.
Buttars altered the definition of human sexuality Monday to a toned-down version saying any club "advocating or engaging in sexual activity outside of legally recognized marriage or forbidden by state law." Previously, the bill also disallowed "self-labeling" by students as to sexual orientation and "disclosing attitudes or personal conduct" regarding sexual orientation.
But Buttars made it clear to the committee, which voted 4-2 in favor of advancing the bill to the Senate, that Gay-Straight Alliances were still a primary targets of his legislation. Those groups, he said, are indoctrinating students with a "new morality."
"It's pulling down the traditional pillars of morality," Buttars said. "If you say there is no morality because we can do anything we want to do sexually, that's not something we want to do in America."
Buttars, who had missed weeks of the session due to an undisclosed illness, also had a parent speak about how his niece was "targeted, recruited and indoctrinated" by a Gay-Straight Alliance.

What an awful man! He's trying to ban a support group for gay people in high schools because he feels like it would ruin America. Isn't that a violation of church and state and also discriminating against a group of people? I hope that if this bill does pass that somehow the club will be able to continue at Provo High. We'll wait and see.

Traveling meme

2006-02-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

Aaron tagged me to do this meme, so here it is:

Here are four items for each category:

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

* Paperboy

* Lifeguard at Scera Pool

* Cashier at SuperTarget

* Phlebotomist at a plasma center

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have:

* Latter Days

* Eating Out

* Mean Girls

* The Princess Bride

Four Places I've Lived:

* Orem, Utah

* Sevilla, Spain

* Granada, Spain

* Columbus, Ohio

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:

* Grey's Anatomy

* Desperate Housewives

* ER

* Survivor

Four Places I've Been on Vacation:

* Spain

* Yellowstone

* New York City, New York

* London

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

* soapoperafan.com

* OSUMC mail

* Hotmail

* shakiramedia.com

Four Favorite Foods:

* enchiladas

* paella

* hamburgers

* mashed potatoes and gravy

Four Places I Would Like to Visit:

* Africa

* Australia

* France

* Florida

Four People I am Tagging with this Meme:

* Mathiew

* Sanjida

* David

* DC

For those who say the Bible condemns homosexuality

2006-02-15T17:57:00.000-05:00

I came across this hypothetical letter:

Dear President Bush,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I
have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose
and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.

As you said "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a
woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.When
someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply
remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an
abomination... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements
of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend
of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you
clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I
tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus35:2
clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill
him myself, or should I ask the police or someone else to do it?

5. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.
I disagree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

6. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by
Lev.19:27. How would you chooses that they die?

7. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me
unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

8. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different
crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of
two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to
curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the
trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16.
Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we
do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and
unchanging.

In Jesus name, Consolidated People Who Are Less Than Pure in America

You Know You're From Utah when...

2006-01-24T18:15:00.000-05:00

You Know You're From Utah When...

Green jell-o with carrots mixed in doesn't seem strange.
You can pronounce Tooele.
The U is not just a letter - Neither is the Y.
You have actually eaten funeral potatoes.
You've gotten both heat and frost burns off your car's door handle in the same month.
You are not surprised to hear words like "Darn, Fetch, Flip", "Oh, My Heck" and "Shoot".
Your tulips get snowed on three times after they come up and twice more after they bloom.
Hunting season is a school holiday.
The largest liquor store is the state government.
You can go skiing and play golf on the same day.
30% humidity is muggy and almost unbearable.
Somewhere in your family tree is a polygamist.
You know the difference between a 'Steak House' and a 'Stake House'.
The elevation exceeds the population
You've broken down on the highway and somebody stops to help you
You can see the stars at night
You have a bumper sticker that says "Families are Forever."
You were an aunt or uncle before you were three.
Your family considers a trip to McDonald'd a night out..
You feel guilty when you watch Monday Night Football.
You drink Coke from a brown paper bag.
You consider a temple recommend a credit reference.
You believe that you must be 18 or older to order coffee at a restaurant.
There is a similarity between a ward basketball game and the L.A. riots.
You think Jack Daniels is a country western singer.
You can make Jell-O salad without the recipe.
You've heard about BYU football in a testimony meeting.
You have two gallons of ice cream in your freezer at all times.
Your father-in-law thinks Ronald Reagan was a liberal.
A member of your family wrote in Lavell Edwards for president in the last election.
Cars in the slow lane are traveling the fastest; cars in the fast lane are traveling the slowest; cars in the middle lanes are always trying to exit.
Sandals are the best-selling shoes.
You have to ask for the uncensored version of "Titanic."
Hotel rooms all have the Book of Mormon.
You buy your wardrobe at the local grocery superstore.
You learn about the Mormon Church by taking history in elementary school.
You live in a state where Democrats always come in third place, unless a zoo animal is running. Then they come in fourth.
You're on your own if you are turning left.
Schools stay open, even if two feet of snow falls overnight, but close for the opening of hunting season.
People wear shorts and T-shirts if the temperature rises above 32 degrees.
There is a church on every corner, but they all teach the same thing.
The most popular public transportation system is a ski lift.
People drive to Idaho to pick up a gallon of milk so they can play the lottery.
In-state college football rivalries are bigger than the Super Bowl.
Beer drinkers don't shop on Sunday.
You don't have to breathe cigarette smoke until you walk outside a building.
The cost of living rises while your salary drops.
Every driveway has a minivan and a pickup truck.
When you buy a new vehicle, cigarette lighters are optional equipment but gun and ski racks are standard.
Every time a new family moves into your neighborhood, the local elementary school has to hire a new teacher.
Your paycheck has an additional 10 percent deduction.
"Temple recommends" is acceptable identification for cashing a check.
More movies are filmed in your town than in Hollywood.
You've never had a Mormon missionary knock on your door.
Your neighbors complain about where they live, yet refuse to return to the state they moved from.
You make a toast with red punch at your wedding reception.
You have more raw wheat stored than some Third World countries.
Your idea of a good time is playing Pictionary in the cultural hall.
Your idea of a wild party is a six pack of Pepsi and a PG-13 movie.
You and all your friends come to your mother for a haircut in her kitchen.
You measure Kool-Aid by parts per million.
You think "You're a 10 cow wife" is a compliment.
You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Utah.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here

More cool things for your blog at
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Sarah's Weekend Visit

2006-01-18T19:16:00.000-05:00

I wanted to put up a quick post while I take a break from studying for my GI test on Friday.

This past weekend Julie's friend Sarah who we stayed with on our trip to DC came up to Columbus to visit. She is hilarious, so we had a great time. We went to Brazenhead on Friday night for apple martinis, then to Axis where we did some booty droppin' and got our free CD. On Saturday we went to eat at BD's Mongolian BBQ and then to Spice Bar. Julie's brother came down from Cleveland to hang out with us too and kept buying me shots. On Sunday we went to an all-you-can-eat German buffet in German Village that was delicious. I had my fill of sausages, meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and apple sauce. After dinner we went to have a few drinks at Zeno's. Kip came back from Pennsylvania on Sunday night so on Monday Kip, Julie, Sarah and I went to Union Station for lunch before Sarah left for the airport.

I love you, Sarah!

Brokeback Mountain

2006-01-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

Others have already posted about the movie theater in Utah that decided against showing Brokeback Mountain but I wanted to add my two cents on the matter since I haven't blogged in a while. Thanks to Chris for emailing me some quotes about this issue.

So Larry H. Miller, a prominent Utah businessman decided to pull Brokeback Mountain from his movie theater that had been set to show the movie. The ensuing media attention caused the only theater(a small artsy theater) in Utah showing Brokeback to get a lot of business. The GLBT community in Utah called for a boycott of all of Miller's businesses(which includes the Delta Center where the Utah Jazz play). Heath Ledger even spoke out about this issue: "I heard a while ago that West Virginia was going to ban it. But that's a state that was lynching people only 25 years ago, so that's to be expected. Personally, I don't think the movie is (controversial) but I think maybe the Mormons in Utah do. I think it's hilarious and very immature of a society. If two people are loving . . . I think we should be more concerned if two people express anger in love, than love."

I of course think that it's awful that Miller decided to pull the movie from his theater just because the movie is about a gay love story. Mormons aren't allowed to watch rated R movies(although this rule is kind of like drinking Coke, it's followed by a lot of Mormons but won't keep you from getting into the temple if you don't follow it), so if Miller was being a good Mormon and not showing the movie because it was against his beliefs he shouldn't show any rated R movies at his theater. He was just being a bigot. Still I don't see why it was made out to be such a big deal(although it turned out to be good for that little theater that got all the resulting business) because think of all the theaters that decided not to show Brokeback in the first place. We aren't calling for a boycott of all those theaters. It comes down to what the theater owners thought would be good business and in Utah showing a gay movie probably was seen as not good business. But I'm happy to report that the Cinemark 16 at the Provo Towne Center Mall is now showing Brokeback Mountain, so all those repressed BYU gay boys can drive down the street and see the movie.

I saw the movie with Kip(yes, we're back together) and enjoyed it a lot. It was amazing(and hot) seeing these two famous actors portraying a gay love story. It wasn't my favorite movie though because somehow I wasn't impacted as much as I thought I'd be, I didn't cry, for example. Still, I thought the scenery and acting were amazing. I was a little weirded out by seeing The Princess Diaries' Anne Hathaway and Jen from Dawson's Creek show their breasts but oh well. I'm glad the movie was made and that this powerful gay love story was brought into the mainstream.

Trip to New York City

2006-01-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

I got back last night from a fun trip to New York City for New Year's. I drove with Chris and Nate in my car on Thursday, arriving at about 8:30 PM to our hotel which was right off of Times Square. The drive was great until we had to wait in traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel. Thursday night we hung out in Chelsea after meeting our friend Will in the hotel. We ate at an Italian restaurant and then had dessert at another place called Rafaella's with two of Chris' friends. On the way we passed by Sarah Jessica Parker's brownstone apartment, so that was cool. We got to bed early at around 2:00 AM since we had had a long day of driving and knew that Friday would be a long day.

On Friday we ate lunch at a pizza place with some of Chris' blogging buddies. Then Chris, Will and I headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Van Gogh drawings. It was fun to see all those works of Van Gogh. I wish we would have had more time to see the rest of the art in the Met, but we had to rush off to meet our other friends from Columbus(Rob, Aaron, Sanjida, Amy, Donny and Steve) for dinner. Dinner was at a delicious Cuban restaurant called Havana. No one wanted to split the paella with me but I had to get it even though it was really expensive. Chris and I shared a pitcher of delicious strawberry mojitos. The paella was amazing(as good as I've had in Spain) but I could only eat half of it, but I took the rest back to the hotel. After dinner most of use went to see Avenue Q. It turned out to be a really fun musical. There was especially one song that I really like called "There's a Fine, Fine Line." After the musical we went back to our hotel to get ready to go out. We got our drink on with rum and coke and then headed to Opaline on 39th. It was an awesome club with five floors and lots of people. We had a fun time dancing until we left at about 3:30 AM.

We woke up late on Saturday morning and Will and I rode the subway to meet everyone for lunch at a sushi place on 7th and Christopher St. We sang Sanjida happy birthday and the brought her a cake with a candle on it. The food was delicious. It was snowing/sleeting by the time we left. I stopped at Jamba Juice to get a Mango-a-Go-Go drink while everyone else went to Starbucks. Then Aaron, Chris, Will, Sanjida and I headed to Ground Zero. There's not much to see except for a big hole in the ground, but I'm glad I got to see it and reflect on what happened there on September 11th. We headed back to the hotel to relax and get warm before going out for New Year's Eve. We walked to the end of our street and listened to a band play and saw the crowd at Times Square so we could at least say that we had done that, although Aaron and I and apparently Sanjida wanted to come back to watch the ball drop. We headed out to dinner which ended up being at a tavern with Middle Eastern food. I enjoyed my chicken kebabs. We split from the other group after dinner and headed to a house party of one of Aaron's friends. The party was fine but I didn't know anyone but Aaron, Chris and Will and had no interest in the guys that kept talking to me about stuff I didn't care about. I also wasn't drinking because that morning I had decided to eat the rest of my paella from the night before after it had sat out all night and so my stomach was a little upset(but it was totally worth it because it was so good, even cold). I also knew I had a long drive ahead of me the next day and didn't want to have to do it hungover. One of my goals though was to drink a glass of champagne on New Year's and I did get to do that for the first time ever. I found out that Sanjida and everyone else had gone to Times Square and I regretted not going there to see the ball drop. It was a little ridiculous seeing the ball drop in New York City on a TV screen instead of in Times Square. I got back to the hotel room after an interesting cab ride at about 2:00 AM. I didn't sleep much though because everyone kept coming in and leaving the rest of the night as people arrived home, packed their bags and left for the airport.

I drove back with just Nate since Chris is going directly to Connecticutt for work. We got lost trying to get on I-76, but other than that we had a nice trip, arriving home at about 7:00 PM. I was glad I got to spend time with my friends in New York City for New Year's. I only wish Mathiew and Kip were there like they were supposed to be and that I had gone to Times Square for New Year's Eve. Time will tell if 2006 is better than Jan 1st was.

Dave's Birthday

2005-12-24T18:53:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night Dave and I drove up to Salt Lake to go to karaoke night at the Trap, one of the gay clubs in Salt Lake. I love going there on Sunday nights because they play Latin music, but tonight we were just going to sing songs and get drunk. And we did, thanks to drinks beforehand at CJ's and vodka Jello made by Dave's friend Saia. Dave and I sang "I'll Cover You" and "The Boy is Mine" and were backup singers for a lot of the other people doing karaoke. We had lots of fun and brought Dave's birthday in with a bash. We slept over at CJ's house, and when I got home I got lectured by my dad for not telling them that I was not coming home.

On Thursday night for Dave's birthday he wanted me to take him grocery shopping at Walmart since he doesn't have a car. Then we went to the gym for three hours, working out for two hours and sitting in the hot tub/pool for an hour.

We also went out Friday night to the Sound. It opened since I moved away, but I've been there once for New Year's Eve last year. It was a fun night. There was a drag show and the music is really fun there, a nice change from Axis' music. It was fun to dance and get crazy with Dave again. He smuggled in a bottle of Smirnoff in his sock and we bought some Sobe at the club so we could mix it in the bathroom. We are so cheap, I love it. I'm so glad Dave and I are still best friends even though I live so far away and that I got to be here for the start and end of his birthday.

Home for the Holidays

2005-12-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Salt Lake at around 10:00 PM last Saturday. I could definitely tell I was flying to Salt Lake because half of the plane was filled with hot young guys. The disturbing part was that it seemed like they all had their Books of Mormon with them. The guy next to me read his the whole way from Phoenix to Salt Lake.

My sister picked me up from the airport. She brought her boyfriend with her so I got to meet him. They're planning on getting married next May. They just met last July. Mormons typically move really fast. He seems nice. She seems happy though so that's good. Pretty soon I'll be the only non-married one of all my siblings. Looks like I'll be taking another trip back here in May. I got home and said hi to my parents before going to bed.

My dad made waffles on Sunday morning and asked me to go to church with them. I told him I would go next week on Christmas, but I wasn't going today. While they were at church I went to the store and visited my best friend Dave. It was good to see him again. I was glad I didn't have to go to church when I didn't want to like I had done for so long.

Things are going well with my whole family. It seems pretty normal, like before I came out to them. I'm glad they've had time to get used to the idea. My nieces and nephews are totally cute. I went shopping with my sister-in-law which was a lot of fun. I got to talk about my life in Ohio, which my other family members don't really ask me about. I think they kind of block out the fact that I'm gay, which is how they deal. But Sage told me some family secrets that were pretty surprising. Just goes to show we're not the perfect Mormon family like everyone tries to portray. Although things seem back to normal with my family I don't really like hanging out with them for too long. I'll be excited to go back to Ohio. It makes me not very excited for Christmas this year.

Last night I went with my parents and my sister and her boyfriend to Salt Lake to eat at Crown Burger and see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. Dinner was fun but I didn't like walking around the temple because it reminded me of all the things I don't like about the church. For example, I won't get to see my sister get married because it will be in the temple, and only Mormons who follow all the rules of the church are allowed to go in. Everyone was coupled up and I couldn't help but think how I wouldn't be able to hold hands with a boy there. Utah can be fun but I haven't been able to go out yet. Hopefully tonight Dave and I will go out with some of his friends up in Salt Lake.

Update on the Provo High GSA

2005-12-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

The Provo High School Gay-Straight Alliance that I talked about here
and here is in the newspaper again. This time a state senator wants to introduce a bill in the next Legislative session to ban the club. One of his arguments is this:

In my mind, if you are in the chess club, what do you talk about? Chess. If you are in the dance club, what do you talk about? Dance. If you are in a gay club, what do you talk about? I just don't believe members of sexual orientation clubs should be sanctioned by the public schools — what they are talking about even a part of the public schools. They should not be allowed to have that on school property at all. It's just wrong.

You can read the rest of the article for all the arguments for and against this proposed bill. I don't think it will stand up in court and that the club will still be able to meet. Just goes to show you how messed up some people's(i.e. Mormons) view of sexual orientation is.

On Saturday I'm heading home to Utah for Christmas. I'll be there for ten days. I hope I survive. And although I love my family, I can't wait until I'm back in Ohio.

[Update]
The governor of Utah gives his opinion on the proposed bill.

Survivor: Guatemala finale

2005-12-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Survivor finale. The final three were Danni, Rafe and Stephenie. Rafe and Steph should have taken Lydia with them to the final three so that either of them would have won the last immunity challenge, then taken the other to the final two. Rafe went behind Steph's back and made a promise to Danni that he would take her to the final three, so Lydia was voted out. At the challenge Rafe was the first out and it came down to Steph and Danni and the way the challenge was set up Danni won because she was so tall, she had no problem leaning against the pole. It was heartbreaking to see Steph give it her all but finally fall down. Rafe was a good sport and told Danni she didn't have to take him to the final two even though she promised him she would. I was so close to having my dream finale of Rafe and Steph. Danni decided to take Steph with her to the final two because she thought she had a better chance of winning against Steph because Steph had backstabbed so many people. I had mixed feelings about Steph being in the final two over Rafe but I have loved Steph ever since Palau, so to see her make it to the final two was awesome. I just wish she could have gone with the gay Mormon that played an amazing game. But it is Rafe's fault that Danni won the last immunity challenge and he was the first one out of the challenge, so I think Steph deserved to be in the final two. Unfortunately, the jury voted Danni the winner. What a disappointing end to my favorite season of Survivor. Steph deserved to win. Maybe she'll be back for another season.

SSA should not mean Same-Sex Attraction

2005-12-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

I take a pause from posting about my personal life to bring you this article from my home state's newspaper.

Gives you some insight into the way the Mormon church works. I'm so glad this didn't happen to me as much, but my heart goes out to others out there who are struggling as Matis did. I hate how the Mormon Church labels being gay as SSA to make it sound like a disease that can be cured. Also check out the part that says,

After a sacred experience Fred says he had in the temple in the hours following their conversation with Stuart, he and his wife prayed together there and "turned Stuart over to Heavenly Father." The details are too personal to recount, but a certain peace came to them, they said.

Basically this poor man's parents let him commit suicide after receiving inspiration in the temple that it was ok to let him go. How scary is that! I personally don't think God was behind that.

I bet I know what a favorite gift among my family will be this year for Christmas.

SSA really stands for sulfosalicylic acid and is used to test for protein in the urine. (I'm studying for my Renal exam.)

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

2005-12-03T09:05:00.000-05:00

Survivor fans will recognize the title of this post from that reality show. I am a huge Survivor fan. This season the players are in the Guatemalan jungle. There're two characters in particular that I like-Rafe, a gay Mormon and Steph, who I fell in love with when she was on Survivor:Palau(they brought her back this season). I will be happy if either wins. For those who don't remember the premise of Survivor, 16 people are put in a remote location, they learn how to cope with little food and water, going through a series of competitions and voting off one person each show until the last two people remain. At that point it's up to the jury composed of the last seven players voted off to choose the Survivor who is most deserving to win a million dollars. We are now down to five players, Judd being voted off at the last tribal council.

Lately I can't help but feel like I'm playing my own version of Survivor. The winner earns the chance to be with Kip, a prize I'd much rather have than a million dollars. There are only two players in this version of Survivor. We both have different factors working in our favor. I happen to live in the same state as Kip, for example. The other player got the advantage this week, but it's far from over.

It's getting down to the nitty gritty and I'm trying to keep myself from getting paranoid like so many Survivor players do. I have no idea how this will ultimately end and it's tearing me apart. I wish the other player would realize that he needs to step away from the game. Everyone has their first love that they feel like they want to be with forever, but he needs to move on and let Kip be happy. In the meantime I'm giving Kip the space he wants, hoping the time we shared was enough to help him see I'm the one he should choose.

Many of you probably think I shouldn't wait around for Kip while he decides who he wants to be with. But this week apart has shown me even more that I don't want to be without Kip, I like him too much. He makes me so happy when we're together. I know he's going through a rough time right now and I need to give him the time he needs to work through it all.

I prefer watching Survivor on TV where my own feelings aren't involved. The winner of Survivor:Guatemala will be decided mid-December. I think I'm gonna have to wait longer than that to see who wins Survivor:Ohio.

Still dealing

2005-11-30T09:45:00.000-05:00

Ok maybe I'm being too emotional about this whole thing, but I still can't stop thinking about him and crying. I'm trying to figure out how to get over the man of my dreams dumping me for no good reason.

Julie has to keep demanding that I not contact him until Day 3...which is tomorrow. But I already slipped up yesterday and texted him a few times. Maybe there's hope in the future for us, but how do I get through this time when I'm still dealing with the breakup? I miss him.

Goodbye, Love

2005-11-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Getting your heart broken really sucks. The thought of not being with him makes my stomach hurt and my eyes water. I've never really had this happen to me before. Usually I'm the one to break up with the other person. I've never felt so strongly for anyone in my life. He was as close to the perfect guy as I could have hoped for. I knew I wanted to be with him for a long, long time. We had so much fun together.

I wish I was an amazing enough person for him get over all of his issues and decide to be happy with me, but I'm not. Maybe some day if I keep working, I'll be that kind of a person. Until then it's back to being single. I don't know how I can ever be happy in a relationship with someone else.

We're talking again today after class, but I know it's going to be our last conversation as a couple. It's so painful to know how much this person cares for me, yet not want to be in a relationship with me. I wish he could have realized what he's giving up. Maybe one day he'll come around and we'll be able to be together. Excuse me while I go throw up.

Four Years Since My Mission

2005-11-23T11:31:00.000-05:00

Being allhookedup's number one outgoing link is a lot of pressure for such a novice blogger as myself. But it is exciting knowing that people are reading my blog. So to not keep my readers waiting I decided it was time for my next post.

Monday, Nov. 21st, marked four years since I returned from my two-year mission from Spain. It made me think a bit about my experience and how much I miss Spain and the people I met while I was there. It also made me feel really old that I've been home twice as long as I was gone for. The mission represented a huge obstacle in my life that I had learing in front of me all through my teenage years. I knew that as soon as I got that part of my life over with I could finally start being the person I wanted to be. And slowly but surely I have made a lot of progress since getting back.

Reflecting on my mission always makes me think about whether or not I regret my decision to go. I went to keep my family proud of me and now, four years later the illusion that I created is now destroyed anyways. Was it really worth six more years of my family's approval? Definitely not worth it if that was the only thing I gained. I realize now that after leaving high school I should have been myself and not worry about what my family thought of me. But I don't think I was ready for that. I was really only ready to tell my family the truth after living in Ohio for a year. So I don't think it was worth making my family happy, but I did learn a lot about myself while I was out there. I learned how strong I was and that I could overcome anything that came my way. I mean who would have thought I'd be able to live without my family for two years just so that they would still love me? But two years passed miraculously and I was left with the good experiences that I had, while the bad experiences have largely faded from my memory. I loved seeing the sites and becoming fluent in Spanish. I also probably wouldn't think Shakira was so amazing. Living out of the U.S. gave me a whole different perspective on the world than I had before I left. So I don't really like to say whether or not I regret going, I just say that it happened and think about all the good things that came out of it.

I still keep in touch with several of my Spanish friends and have been back twice since I got home to visit them. After living there for two years it felt like my home away from home. I always miss Spain and know that I will return as often as I can throughout my life. My dream is to have own a house on the Cadiz coastline. We'll see what happens. Here's a picture of me in my mission clothes in a national park in Cadiz:

Someone asked for an update on Kip. I don't really want to talk too much about my relationship with him, but I will say that after a shaky weekend things are now really good between us again. We saw Rent on Monday and The Rocky Horror Show yesterday. We're going our separate ways for Thanksgiving but I hope that some day in the future we'll be spending the holidays together. I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with.

Trip to DC

2005-11-14T18:42:00.000-05:00

Since we had Friday off of school and we just finished our Cardio division, Julie and I decided to head down to DC for the long weekend. She had friends from college down there and my brother and his family had just moved there for the Air Force. I hadn't seen him or his two children for two years so I was excited to spend time with them, though a little nervous since I hadn't seen them since I had come out to my family.

On Friday morning I went sightseeing around the Mall with them and Julie and her friend Sarah. My brother was acting very stern the whole time and didn't iniciate one piece of conversation with me. It was so uncomfortable. Luckily the kids were cute and my sister-in-law was nice, but it hurt that my brother acted that way towards me when we had always gotten along well together in the past. Well my sister-in-law told me that I could come down for Thanksgiving but I told her I didn't think I'd be able to.

I was glad to see Julie get plenty of action. It was weird watching someone else hook up while I pined away for Kip back home. He forgot his phone charger in Ohio while he was in Pennsylvania visiting a friend. So not only did I not get any sex, I couldn't even talk to my boy on the phone. At least I don't have to hide anything from him so that feels good.

On Saturday we went to Charlottesville to see UVa where Julie went to undergrad. It's pretty down there. I had a good time hearing about Julie's college life, eating at some of her favorite places and learning about the history.

Nothing else too exciting really happened. I just had a fun time bonding with Julie and meeting her friends that I hear so much about. I'm glad I was able to go with her. It's gonna be hard to leave Kip for ten days though when I go to Utah for Christmas, besides having to be around my whole family for that long.

Elections

2005-11-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

I'm proud to say that I voted yesterday, so I'm 3 for 3 in elections since I moved to Ohio. Things didn't go my way with Issues 2-5 which didn't pass but a lot of the Democrats won their races such as Lori Tyack(my friend Erik's roommate ran her campaign), Mary Jo Hudson(big lesbian) and Mary O'Shaughnessy(handed me Panera sandwiches after my triathlon this summer) plus Democrat governors won in Virginia and New Jersey so that's good.

Also yesterday the Provo District School Board passed a policy that will allow the Gay-Straight Alliance at Provo High School to continue meeting. What a pleasant surprise that the Board reacted this way instead of banning all noncurricular clubs.

Everything's coming up Dave

2005-11-06T09:24:00.000-05:00

So my life has been going really well lately. I have lots of reasons to be happy. I reconnected with my sister-in-law Sage. She sent me a Halloween package with this funny note(which talks about giving blow jobs and stuff):

So I called her this week to thank her and we ended up talking for an hour. It was a great conversation and Sage filled me in on the family gossip and what they all think about me. The big topic of conversation was whether I drink or not since I was "such a big health nut". Well I informed her that I did, indeed, drink.

My other sister-in-law Darla finally wrote me back about me visiting them this weekend in DC. I haven't seen my brother or his family in over two years since they moved to Korea. I'm excited to go sightseeing with them on Friday.

But I guess the main reason why I'm so happy is because I finally met a guy that's worth settling down with and who wants to do the same with me. I could go on and on about how much I like Kip, but I think I'll spare you all and just say that I'm very lucky. Here's us with the pumpkins we carved on Halloween.

Happy Birthday, Julie!

2005-10-26T06:51:00.000-05:00

Monday was Julie's 25th birthday. To celebrate a group of us from med school and Chris went to Martini's for yummy Italian food and martinis.

We love you, Julie!

Shakira's new album cover

2005-10-24T22:08:00.000-05:00

Sony realeased the cover art for Shakira's new album:

Shakira looks hot as Eve.

This all-English album will be released on November 29th.

Shakira rocks!!

2005-10-17T19:26:00.000-05:00

So I came across this article on shakiramedia.com:

To break the record or not to break the record -- that is the question on
Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, and it won't be answered until next week.
For now, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz have to be content with holding the
No. 1 osition on this chart for the 19th non-consecutive week with "La Tortura".

Since the all-time record for longest stay at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs tally
is the 20-week reign of "A Puro Dolor" by Son by Four in 2000, Shakira and
Alejandro could tie the record next week and surpass it in two weeks.

"La Tortura" is Shakira's fifth Latin chart-topper. "Ciega, Sordomuda" spent
three weeks on top, starting in November 1998. The follow-up, "Tu," led the
list for one week in February 1999. "Suerte" held sway for seven weeks,
starting in October 2001. "Que Me Quedes Tu" also had a lone week in pole
position, in March 2003.

I hope she does break the record because that song is amazing.

[UPDATE]

She did it! 21 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1!

Columbus Marathon

2005-10-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I ran the Columbus Marathon. Today I'm trying to move as little as possible. My legs are killing me right now.

My mom came into town to watch me run. I made her stay in a hotel. I'm glad she did. I can only stand her in low doses. Not that she's not a nice person, she's just annoying at times. But I guess it was nice to have her support.

I woke up at 6:00 AM on race morning, got ready and headed over to my mom's hotel to pick her up. Julie was good to wake up bright and early and meet my mom and I at the finish line to drive us to the starting line. We arrived at around 7:00 AM. We stayed warm inside Starbucks until I went to find a bathroom. The line for the port-o-potties was way too long so I wandered down to the YMCA and thankfully was able to use the bathroom there. On the way back to Julie and my mom I saw Jared, Lindsay and Jen, Jared's sister. Jared, in my class, was also running the marathon. We had a joint carbo-loading party the night before. I left them to find my mom and Julie, which I did after a brief panic since they had moved outside. I gave them my warm clothes and went to the starting line right around the 7:00 minute/mile people.

I was a little bit rusty at the start, but after a couple of miles I was feeling really good and staying under my 3 hour target time pace. I found a group of three guys that I ran with until about mile 14. At the half marathon point I was at 1:27, three minutes under my target time, so I was really happy. Julie handed me a Gu packet and I continued on my way.

Coming up High Street, after I saw Mathiew, Jonathan, Ryan, Alison, Aaron, Chris, Chris, Zack, John and Beth, I started slowing down. After Lane Avenue there was an uphill until Dodridge. I didn't really pay attention to my pace, but right before Dodridge I saw that I was a minute or two over pace. I was upset, but by that time I was starting to feel tired. I tried to pick up the pace but I couldn't. Erika handed me a cup of my favorite Gatorade at the corner of Dodridge and High. Lindsay and Jen handed me Gu and an orange on Ackerman. Kip was waiting at around mile 20, then Julie and Mom were right before I turned down Lane. I continued to slow down, going 8-minute miles. It was discouraging when the 3:10 pace group passed me and I couldn't keep up with them. I saw Erik, Kristi and Alison on Neil, then Chris, Zack and John on Park. Don was right near the finish. By the end I was at 9-minute miles. I ended up going 3:15.44. I guess I needed to train more so I could keep up my pace for the whole marathon. I needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston, which i did last marathon.

It was fun to give everyone a hug at the finish and have my mom meet all my friends. As I was finishing I was so happy. I knew I hadn't got my best time but I had finished another marathon, in my new hometown, with my new family helping me along the way. It was an amazing experience. Thanks to everyone who came to watch. I always had such a big smile on my face whenever I saw one of my friends. You helped me make it 26.2 miles. Next time I will break 3 hours and I hope you're all there to watch.

Forming a GSA in a Utah County high school

2005-10-11T07:03:00.000-05:00

Oh no, what will those conservative Mormons in Happy Valley do now? Here's an article in the Deseret News about a student trying to form a Gay-Straight Alliance at Provo High School(one of my high school rivals).

Days update

2005-10-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

So now that my test is over I've been able to start catching up on all my shows that I have DVRed.

Wednesday's Days of Our Lives was a great one. Austin is back looking hot as always and giving eveyone advice. Lucas got a cute haircut and was visiting his new niece in the hospital. He suggested they name the baby Kiki. Philip said that if it was a boy they were going to name him Luke after Lucas, so that was cute. Sami pulled all of her old wedding dresses out of her closet. There were three from failed Austin marriages, one from Franco, one from Brandon and one from Lucas, plus the one she was wearing. It was hilarious.

This is a great quote and the reason I love Sami so much: “I’m telling you Austin if that crazy bitch[Nicole] isn’t gone when I get out, I’m gonna tear her bloodshot eyes out.”

Mean Girl

2005-09-28T12:57:00.000-05:00

I love this movie, and it's one of the few I happen to own. I don't think I'm really too much like Regina though, but oh well.

Regina George

Which Mean Girl are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Sorry for not posting something substantial, but I'm going crazy right now with school. Hopefully I'll be better next week.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Citizenship test

2005-09-26T16:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't been keeping up on blogging, I had a week of practically no Internet in Minneapolis. I had an amazing week, and now I have to catch up on pulmonary for my test on Friday.

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Me as a blog component

2005-09-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

After getting blasted for a recent post, here's something on the lighter side so I don't strike any nerves:

If I Were a Blog Component, I would be the DATE / TIME STAMP.
I love activities and I revel in day-to-day life.Which Blog Component Are You?
Take This Blog Quiz at About Web Logs!

Something good about BYU in the media

2005-09-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

I recently bashed BYU for their anti-gay stance, but today I found out that BYU was named the nation's fittest college campus, so that makes me a little prouder that I graduated from there.

That is one good thing about my Mormon upringing-I was taught to always take care of my body. As I train for the Columbus Marathon, I thank my parents for teaching me that.

Letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger

2005-09-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

A touching letter to Governor Schwarzenegger that I completely agree with.

California lawmakers legalize gay marriage

2005-09-07T06:43:00.000-05:00

I happily read this in my daily New York Times email:

"California lawmakers on Tuesday became the first in the country to legalize same-sex marriage, with the State Assembly narrowly approving a bill that defines marriage as between "two persons" instead of between a man and a woman.

The 41-to-35 vote in the 80-member Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, was along party lines, with no Republicans supporting the bill."

For those gay people who vote Republican because they "don't let their sexuality decide who [they] can vote for" (I heard this Saturday night) this is proof that Republicans do not support gay rights. How can you be gay and continue to support that party when they refuse to support gay marriage? It doesn't make sense to me, unless you hope we will never have the same rights as our heterosexual friends.

Let's hope Arnold will sign this bill into law. As for me, I'm California Dreamin' all over again.

So with this post I finally did one of the things that I set out to do last November.

[Update]

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto the bill permitting same-sex marriages, his press secretary said this afternoon.

Schwarzenegger had hinted that he would veto the bill. Even if he had signed it, it would have faced an uncertain legal future because of Proposition 22 in 2000, approved by 61% of voters. That ballot measure said: 'Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.'"

That's upsetting, especially when I think of the millions of dollars the LDS Church put into the campaign to get Proposition 22 passed.

Embarrassed for BYU

2005-08-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

Two lists from The Princeton Review of the nation's best colleges that have come out in the past week have made me again embarrassed that I went to undergrad at Brigham Young University. BYU was again named as the country's most stone cold sober school. Drinking does go on at BYU but you have to be really sneaky about it. I usually went up to Salt Lake to enjoy my non-sober nights.

The other list which is the more important issue is that according to the Princeton Review, BYU is in the Bottom 10 among universities' acceptance of the LGBT community. I completely agree with that ranking. I had a few friends that were kicked out of BYU when it was found out that they had participated in homosexual activities. I was very careful about not revealing my sexuality all through college for fear of being kicked out and losing my scholarship. I lived in a sort of constant fear of someone telling on me. I never signed on to gay.com while at BYU because I often heard that people working for the university would put up fake profiles on the site, search for BYU students and turn them into the Honor Code office when the students were discovered. I also heard that people would go up to the gay clubs in Salt Lake and search out the cars in the parking lots with BYU parking stickers and turn the drivers into the Honor Code office for discipline. Besides the threat of being kicked out of school, there is the issue that the student body is close-minded and does not understand what it means to be gay, although there are a lot of closeted Mormons at the school. If I had the chance to do it all again I would have gone somewhere where I could have gotten the same high quality education I received there, but also be appreciated for who I am. It's been amazing to come to Ohio State where nobody cares that I'm gay even among such a conservative profession. Now my friends love me for the person I really am, not some lie I created to fit in.

Long Days Update

2005-08-25T16:58:00.000-05:00

Last night Chris and I saw Four Brothers. I liked it a lot. I sat by Erik and Kristi today. It was good to be back down near the front, paying attention and taking notes. After class I went with Julie and friends to W.G. Grinders. It's fun to eat lunch with med students now. I went to the pool today and swam and studied. I hope my legs get to feeling better so I can run the half-marathon on Sunday. The last two times I have gone running they have killed.

On Today's Show:
Sami visited Bonnie Lockhart to see if see could have her wedding reception at Bonnie's country bar Alice's. I love that place because whenever a scene takes place there they play country music. Trick Pony even did a performance on an episode last month. Bonnie agrees to have Sami's reception there. Before Sami leaves she has a run in with Mimi who came to tell her mom that she almost slept with Shawn D. Sami gave her a hard time over that before leaving.

Shawn helps Belle and Phillip get to the hospital so Phillip can be fitted for a prosthesis for his amputated leg. Shawn is finally accepting that he's lost Belle. Now Belle needs to get over Shawn. It's kind of backwards because it's Belle who's decided she can't be with Shawn. They talk about Shawn and Mimi's relationship and he says they are just friends. Shawn goes to use the pay phone. Sami sees Belle looking longingly at Shawn and they have a heart to heart. It was cute to see them talking again. Sami told Belle to get over Shawn. But Belle says she can't. Oh Belle is finally starting to show so that's fun.

Shawn calls Bonnie who offers him a job as a bartender. Mimi just asked for a job as a waitress so now the two of them will be working together. So I've often wondered why the characters always use the pay phone at the hospital instead of their cell phones. Shawn said that he'd call Bonnie on the pay phone since you're not allowed to use cell phones in the hospital. So that was interesting.

Hope arrives at the hospital and starts saying what a problem child Chelsea is. Billie defends Chelsea and Hope and Billie get into an argument. Billie lets it slip that Chelsea is their daughter. Bo says that they're at the hospital to confirm that. Hope apologizes. Billie and Bo receive the DNA test results. Billie opens the envelope and says, "I don't believe it."

Amnesia patients: 1 (Marlena, but I'm glad she wasn't on the show today)
Dimera hostage count: 0 (All the hostages were freed and now Tony is in jail)

Back to school

2005-08-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

Well I've started my second year of med school. Hard to believe I'm already here. We are studying our fourth division of neural science. Yesterday we had the clinic orientation for the first years. We divided them into nine groups and went over what they'd be doing at the clinic. I'm having a little problem figuring out where to sit this year. I wanted Erik and Kristi(who I sat with all last year) to move up to where Julie and her friends sit, but Erik said it would be too distracting. So I've sat with Julie the past three days, but I'm having separation anxiety form Erik and Kristi. But now someone has stolen my seat by them. So tomorrow I have to get there early and steal my seat back. I think I'm gonna try to swithc back and forth between the two groups. I just love Kristi too much to not sit by her ever. Erik is in my PCM small group this year so I'm excited about that.

On Today's Show:
Chelsea went on today about how Billie could never be her mother. Meanwhile Billie and Bo are at the hospital awaiting DNA confirmation that Chelsea is their daughter. It was funny because they are just gonna use the test results from thei previous blood transfusion. Sorry but that blood is long gone, they would have to draw new blood to run the DNA test. Kate went to see Tony. She let him use her cell phone so he called Sami to come see him. Sami arrives in a funny disguise-black wig and a slimming black business suit. She pretends to be Tony's lawyer. Kate and the police don't recognize her lol. So Tony gets Sami to help him with his plan to escape. I can't believe Sami is digging gherself deeper and deeper. Kate goes into use Roman's computer to look up dirt on Sami. Lucas catches her in there and pulls her away from the screen as Kate wheels back and they go back in forth a few times. That was hilarious. As Sami leaves Tony's cell Kate does recognize her. She yells out to Lucas, "Luuucas com here, Luuucas come see this" but of course Sami is gone by the time Lucas appears. Jack continues to hook Jen and Frankie up. So Jen and Frankie end up slow dancing in front of Abby, Chelsea and Jack. So annoying. Chloe continues to whine about her scars. Why can't Brady understand she doesn't want to have the scars at her wedding?

Amnesia patients: 1 (Marlena, but I'm glad she wasn't on the show today)
Dimera hostage count: 0 (All the hostages were freed and now Tony is in jail)

Orientation

2005-08-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

Last night was an orientation party at Lodge Bar. It's hard to believe I'm a Med 2 now and that one year ago I was just moving to Columbus, still going to church and caring what the other Mormons thought of me. It was a fun time with country music and free beer. I hung out with Erik and Kristi and Julie and her group. I ran into a guy from BYU who I had a class with. I felt a little silly drinking a beer, but he didn't say anything. I always thought he was a loser anyways. Erik rode the mechanical bull which was fun to watch. I had fun checking out the Med 1's seeing if there were any new prospects. There are a bunch of hotties but probably all straight. After the Lodge Bar a bunch of us went to Skully's. Alison made sure I made it there safely. I ran into Chris there so that was fun. It was fun to dance with the Skully's med school crowd.

I ran today for 54 minutes so I'm feeling a lot better about my training. I hope I can keep it up.

On Today's Show:
The dramatic irony is killing me. We(the audience) all know that Chelsea is really Georgia. Finally today Patrick suggested this theory to Billie. Billie's not too smart but I've liked her character ever since she first came on the show, though it was a different actress at the time. She should have figured out the true identity of Chelsea when she was the only match in Salem for Chelsea's rare blood type. She needs to do a DNA test. It was sad to see Billie cry after getting ripped apart by Chelsea who told Billie she should stop looking for Georgia because she would be an awful mother. Chelsea had a hot sex scene with Max but they didn't seal the deal maybe because she mentioned how much she loved Patrick. Victor is back in Salem and confronted Nicole about her trying to kill him. Brady and him kicked Nicole out. Shawn D and Mimi are trying to comfort each other for the loss of their loved ones. They were doing fine until Shawn heard through the air vent Phillip and Belle having sex. Dr. North and Marlena continued their creepy get away in the romantic mountain cabin.

Amnesia patients: 1 (Marlena)
Coma patients:1 (Jan was mentioned today)
Dimera hostage count: 0 (All the hostages were freed and now Tony is in jail)

Fun weekend

2005-08-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

I had a good weekend. Last night Zack, Jamie, Robert and I went to Virginia West's drag show. We had a table on the front row so that was fun to be in all the action. It was a slumber party massacre, and by audience vote my favorite drag queen, Monique Devoreaux, was named the killer. Afterwards we went to Union for the cast party and had a few drinks.

Saturday Zack and I went to a party at Pete's house where we got to hang out with our law school friends for a bit. Then we went to Havana to hang out with Jimmy and friends. It was a nice change of pace to hang out with the older crowd.

On Friday night we went to a party on the Scioto River and then went to Axis. It was a fun night at Axis. Zack and I got our groove on. We ran into Aaron, Donny, Rob and Steve. Don was also there with his friends.

I talked to Natalie on Saturday night for two hours on the phone. It was great to catch up with her again. I'm flying out to go to her wedding in Minnesota in September. She is my ex-girlfriend and the first non-gay person I came out to, so we are really close even though we live far away.

Yesterday I went running for 45 minutes. I have a renewed desire to train for the marathon. I need to get a training plan and stick to it. I just hope I have the discipline I need to train. I signed up for a half marathon in two weeks. That's my favorite distance so it should be a good time.

My newest nephew Asa Baugh

2005-08-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

I felt much better today after my nap. I went for a thirty minute run. I love my Ipod shuffle that I got for my birthday (*smooch*). I used to be one of those that said I'll never listen to music when I run, but now I enjoy it. I hope my motivation is back up to run the marathon in October.

I went to Betty's for dinner. It was pretty good, just a little too salty for me. Then I went to see March of the Penguins. It was an interesting movie because I like animals and such but I was tired and almost fell asleep. It reminded me of my choice many years ago to not pursue the career in biology that I had wanted to do since I was a kid but to instead become a doctor. I still think I made the right choice even though one of the main reasons I chose to become a doctor now doesn't apply to me(providing for a family).

I called Andy to wish him a happy birthday and he happened to be at the hospital visiting my other brother's new baby. I found out his name is Asa. I talked to Matt for a little bit to congratulate him. This was the first I had spoken to them since my trip to Utah.

On Today's Show:
Not too memorable of an episode. Billie is off to help Bo rescue Hope. She ran into Kate at the hospital and it was nice to see her comfort her mom. Caroline spat on Tony. Mimi reminisced about her high school crush on Shawn. She still hates Belle.

Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 0
Amnesia patients: 1
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 3 (Caroline and Victor, who were actually on the show today, and Hope)

Fun at Blondie's

2005-08-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

Blondie's is just two blocks from my house, but last night was the first time I went since I went almost a year ago on one of my first nights in Columbus. It was a fun time. I had a nice buzz going when I got there that turned into full-fledged drunkenness by the time I left. Though I live only two blocks away, Dan and I managed to stumble around for 30 minutes in the wrong direction (east on Hudson, for example) before he called his roommate to come pick us up. I sang Whenever, Wherever karaoke for everyone at the bar. I didn't do Shakira well in the singing category unfortunately, but I thought I made a fine ass shaker. Next time I'll have to sing a song that showcases my vocal abilities.

Before Blondie's I played a nice game of Monopoly with Zack, Jamie and Robert. Zack and I made a great alliance since between the both of us we owned all but four properties. Well people got tired and we declared Zack the winner, and though they refused to say it, I was clearly in second place. Zack and I have been getting along really well these past couple of weeks since I've been home so I'm really happy about that.

I went to dinner with Jim, who is a radiologist. I've been talking to him for a while, but this was the first time we had met. I think knowing him will help me get the radiology residency I so desperately want. I need to get my act in gear and shadow him in my free time. Talking to him made me excited again to be a radiologist. Maybe I will be able to handle going back to school in less than two weeks.

On Today's Show:
On Days yesterday Marlena continued to annoy me with her amnesia. John was being ridiculous in defending Kate for her actions. Roman is right for not wanting to be with Kate anymore after what she did. I absolutely hate Belle for what she's doing to Shawn. It was great final scene when she told him she never wanted to see him again and they grasped hands. The camera zoomed in on their hands and as their hands came apart in the background was the S & B that was carved into the wall on the roof.

Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 0
Amnesia patients: 1 (Marlena is being so annoying)
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 3 (Caroline and Victor, though they are hardly ever shown and now Hope)

In other news I got a call from Matt yesterday saying that I'm an uncle for the 15th time. Sage had an as yet unnamed baby boy yesterday. I'm glad they're both doing fine.

Drama-filled weekend

2005-08-08T15:16:00.000-05:00

So I guess I'm not dating anyone again. I love when it ends by the other person ignoring you for two days. Can you not be civil and talk to me about things? I really can't be too upset about this though because it's not like he was my dream guy to begin with. But I did have fun while I was with him. I had so much fun at Aaron's and at Axis with my friends. I'm glad I dragged Zack along.

Lucas proposed to Sami today which made me happy. I'm starting to feel bad for Kate but she does deserve everything she's getting. Marlena is just being ridiculous. Not only does she have amnesia, she forgot how to act like a normal person. She's so bitchy to John. Lexie ripped the buttons off Tek's shirt while they were having sex. I don't know how he made it out of the hospital without someone wondering what happened to his shirt.

On Today's Show:
Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 0 (here's to hoping Sami gets her hooks back in Lucas-looks like she has for the moment)
Amnesia patients: 1 (Marlena is being so annoying)
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 3 (Caroline and Victor, though they are hardly ever shown and now Hope)

My "Saved By the Bell" personality

2005-08-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

Pretty close to my personality:

Which "Saved By The Bell" Character Are You?

Mathiew and Ruben came over to watch Days with me. The show was amazing today. Definitely one of my top ten episodes ever. It's always hard to believe when something actually happens that you've been wanting to happen for so long. Lucas finally heard the proof that Kate set up Sami. Now Lucas and Roman have to decide what to do about Kate. I don't think Lucas and Sami will be happily ever after just yet. It was great seeing Sami on fire, finally getting her revenge on Kate. I was so happy for her. Kate looked like the biggest fool.

On Today's Show:
Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 0 (here's to hoping Sami gets her hooks back in Lucas)
Amnesia patients: 0 (Marlena wasn't on this show)
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 3 (Caroline and Victor, though they are hardly ever shown and now Hope)

Last night was a fun time at Skully's for 80's night with Mathiew, Nicole and Ruben. They played a lot of really fun songs. Went to Barcelona, finally, which was so amazing. I had yummy gazpacho that made me miss Spain. Then saw fireworks at the state fair and visited Mathiew at Cup O' Joe. He looked so cute in his yellow worker shirt.

Sami gives Lucas his birthday present

2005-08-03T13:49:00.000-05:00

Today I finally got to see Sanjida after almost two months. We ate Quizno's and watched Days of Our Lives, as she is an old fan of the soap. It was fun getting her up to speed on what's been happening lately and then watching today's episode with her. The suspense is killing me of Sami finally getting her revenge on Kate. She's built it up so much at Lucas' birthday party. She finally gave Lucas the tapes at the end of today's show while Roman, Kate, Belle and Phillip look on. Patrick seems to be up to no good. Billie catches him holding Max in a headlock. Max overheard Patrick on the phone with someone talking about something secretive.

Last night we went out to Wall Street. I had a fun night. I stayed up until 4 AM to take Chris G. to the airport.

On Today's Show:
Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 1 (thanks Kate)
Amnesia patients: 0 (Marlena wasn't on this show)
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 2 (Caroline and Victor, though they are hardly ever shown)

Sami surprises Lucas

2005-08-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

On today's episode Sami gets help from Julie and Maggie with planning Lucas a surprise party. She gets him a huge birthday cake and jumps out of it in a spaghetti-strap dress. Lucas and Sami start making out as Kate looks on in horror.

On Today's Episode:
Amnesia patients: 1
Car accidents: 1 (Abby and Chelsea appear to have gotten in an accident)
Dimera hostage count: 2
Comas: 0
Use of the word "hooks": 0

Blogging About Days

2005-08-03T05:02:00.000-05:00

So tonight while eating my delicious Cold Stone ice cream my friends mentioned how they were trying to find my blog now that they know I have one. I thought that was funny since it's really not that complicated-it's my OIC or most of my AIM name. They suggested that I should blog about my favorite summer show-Days of Our Lives.

I decided to take their advice and write something about what is going on in Salem these days. My favorite story line is Sami and her desire to win Lucas back. She is searching in the sewer for the tapes she knows will prove that Kate set her and Brandon up the night before her wedding with Lucas. I can't wait until Kate goes down for that. I want Sami to be happy but I'm sure it won't be happily ever after for her just yet. Sami is working with Nicole to get back at Kate. It's a hilarious pairing because they hate each other. Nicole is drunk and says some funny things to Sami. Besides the Sami storyline the whole Roman/Kate/John/Marlena situation is very fun to watch. I wonder who will end up with who when everything is said and done.

On Today's Show:
Use of the word "hooks" as in "getting your hooks into someone": 0
Amnesia patients: 1
Comas: 0
Car accidents: 0
Dimera hostage count: 2

My Trip Home 2

2005-07-27T09:01:00.000-05:00

I also spent my birthday in Utah. On Sunday night, my birthday eve, I went up to Salt Lake to Dave's apartment. We had a few drinks with some friends and Dave's boyfriend. Then we all went to the Trap Door for Latin night. I was happy that Dave came because lately he's not been very excited about clubbing but he agreed to go because it was my birthday. It wasn't quite like the old days, but I still had a great night. They let me in the club free because it was my birthday. Then I ran into Todd. He has sort of a monopoly on the gay clubs in Salt Lake. Well he likes me so he got a shot for all my friends and I got drinks all night long. The music was great, they played a lot of my favorites including Shakira. I ran into an old friend Derrick who turned out to be my birthday makeout, so that was fun. The next day which was my birthday I went to lunch at Taco Bell(I had been craving it for a month while I was in Peru) and the Fantastic Four with my newest fag hag Marie. We stopped for a free Slurpee at 7/11. For dinner I had a BBQ at my house with my family. We had lots of good food with a few of my favorite salads that I had missed. It was a fun time with my family, though in the back of my mind I knew things would never be the same between us.

Sure enough, later in the week I came out to my family. I knew I was ready for them to know. I wish I would have had the courage to do it when I was younger but I wasn't living on my own or confident enough to do it earlier. I almost lost the courage this time. I decided to tell Katie first, since we are the closest. I thought she would be fine with it, or more accepting than anyone else. Boy was I wrong. She was the most preachy of all my family. Let's just say that apparently she thinks very highly of the Church and doesn't want me to live in sin. All this while she was crying. It was awful causing her so much pain. I wish I could make her understand that everything she believes is a lie but I guess that's for her to discover. I went up to Salt Lake to stay with Dave and let Katie have some time to digest it. The next morning I came home and she wanted to talk more. She had skipped work the night before because she was so upset. She wanted me to tell my parents right away. They were on there way to California to visit my uncle. I told her I would call them when they got to California. I went to lunch with Marie and Katie called me to say she had told my parents and they were driving home tonight to talk to me. I called my parents and tried to get them to turn around and go back to California, but they insisted on talking to me in person. Before they arrived my brother came over and I told him what was going on so he wouldn't be surprised when my parents came home. He told me I was too intelligent to think being gay was right. I told him exactly I am intelligent. I know who I am. He left because he didn't want to be around when my parents came home. My parents arrived and we sat in the living room and talked about my decision to leave the Church. My mom cried, but my dad was calm, asking me questions about why I believed the way I did. It wasn't too painful. I talked to them for about an hour then had my friend come pick me up and take me to Salt Lake. I stayed with Dave until I left Utah on Sunday. I suppose by now all my family knows. Everyone has said they still love me but will never understand why I "decided" to be gay. I can only hope in time they will see things from my point of view. I guess I'm glad they know now. At least I won't be living a lie anymore. I just feel like I've given up my family. Things will never be the same between us. I don't want to have much to do with them anymore. Even Katie seems like a stranger to me now. Oh well, I'm in Ohio now and they don't matter right now. I'll give them time.

I have to thank Dave for all he did for me. He was great. I'm so glad I met him almost two years ago now when I was first going out in Utah. He helped me so much this trip when I needed support and encouragement. I know we will always be friends no matter how far apart we live or who we're dating. When we were together on this trip it felt like we hadn't been apart for 6 months. We just picked up right where we left off. We'll always be Dave and Dave.

My Trip Home

2005-07-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Utah on July 2nd, just in time to go to Stadium of Fire with Katie, her friend Stacey, Andy and Kayli. I had to cry big tears in order to get on a flight early enough to make the patriotic celebration after my flight from Lima was delayed 3 hours. I was happy to be there with my brother and sister after not having been with family in 6 months. The celebration was fun with Mandy Moore and Lonestar performing and lots of fireworks.

I had a great 4th of July. I woke up early and met Katie and Stacey at Kiwanis Park to pick up our race packets for the 10K we were running. I started this tradition a couple of years ago to run in the race on the 4th, so I'm happy that many of my siblings and their spouses were able to participate this year. Matt, Brian and Emily ran the 5K, and Amy, Andy and Kayli did the mile walk. I ran the 10K in 40 minutes, which was a good time for me, although I felt like I was going really slow. After the race was the parade. I sat with Matt and Sage in prime shade along the parade route. Then it was time to go home and get ready for the Baugh Family reunion at Scera Park. This is a yearly tradition for my Dad's family. My grandpa cooks hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone brings their favorite salads to share. Then there are games such as volleyball and bocce. After spending all day in the park, Matt and I had some bonding time going up to the Real Salt Lake soccer game. It was a fun game. Our team came back from a 2 goal deficit to tie the game in the last 12 minutes.

Family Fun

2005-05-23T19:19:00.000-05:00

My second oldest brother Tom, his wife and four kids are visiting my parents in Utah. They have lived in Guam for the past year so I haven't seen much of them during that time. I was excited to get to talk to them while they are staying at my parents.

So today I decided to call my sister Katie on her cell phone so I can talk to everyone. Katie is nice, she tells me about going to Star Wars and eveything, then she puts Madison, my 10-year-old niece, on the phone. Madison is so cute and told me a little about Guam. Then she says, here's Katie. Katie says that basically Tom's too busy to let me talk to anyone, so I told Katie I'd talk to her later and hung up.

So basically the point is that I feel left out of my family. No one except for Katie calls me, supposedly because they don't have cell phones. I always have to call them and that hasn't happened too frequently in the past few months. The last time i was home was for Christmas break.

Well this just makes me only want to visit home for two weeks or less this summer.

[Update]

I called home today in between classes to tell my dad that I didn't have his Star Wars DVD's (Katie had told me he was wondering if I had them). My brother Tom aswered so I got to talk to him for a minute before my dad got on the other phone and my brother hung up. I told my dad I'd call back later to talk to Tom.

So I'm gonna try to be a blogger

2004-11-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone....a friend gave me a link to this Web site and I thought I like to keep a journal, so maybe I would like to post some thoughts on this Web site. Oh and that friend has some crazy views, so hopefully I can post some rebuttals.