Since as far back as I can remember there has been a constant struggle between those that feel homosexuality is a case of nurture vs nature; whether a person's sexual attraction is the result of parental influence during the early stages of childhood development or an anomalous human genome. The intent of this exegesis is not to rally support for one theory or the other, but more so to point out that there is much more complexity to what people today would call "gay".
It's interesting to watch the younger generation come into its own and witness first hand some of the major pitfalls of gay society. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that the youth of today are the reasons for all of our troubles, nor am I naive enough to think that these issues are new. It seems as though I am constantly hearing about how easy today's young gays have it. The world is waking up and finally beginning to accept us, mainstream media has begun to feature gay friendly and gay themed content, the christian conservative extremists seem to be losing momentum in politics, and you see more and more kids coming out of the closet at a younger and younger age.
The question that you have to ask yourself now though is, are we really making progress? I'm not so sure. With this influx of young boys entering the gay community it seems as though the general vibe I get is the number of driven, moralistic, and success prone gay men is on the sharp decline. I suppose in some part you could make the argument that at such a young age, the lack of maturity explains away the lack of decency and common sense; however I beg to differ. I fear as though being "gay" has become more of a status symbol than a natural occurrence.
When I came out I distinctly remember how much things changed for me. Suddenly I was popular, I gained a very close circle of friends I could be myself around, I was dressing better, and slowly but surely I noticed myself becoming more and more self obsessed. Suddenly it wasn't about being homosexual anymore, it was a lifestyle. A natural attraction towards the same sex became an identity and slowly began to take a hold of me. If you think about it my experience was arguably the same as the vast majority of people once they come out. The only difference of course is I had waited long enough to where my success as a student and soon in a career had already been built on a solid foundation. The work ethic, maturity level, and ability to reason had all been firmly planted which gave me the ability to continue on my path of success while at the same time enjoying the "gay" life.
Now let's look at how things could have been different. Undoubtedly anyone who has taken a semester in college will agree that the maturity level between a college freshman and a high school senior is so vastly different that they are incomparable. There are of course exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between and usually air on the older person having less maturity, not the younger person having more. The point is, had I come out at 16 or 17 or even 18, there is absolutely no way I would have achieved even 10% of what I have achieved today. There is simply no way, no matter how I try to justify it, that I could enjoy all of my current success while having all the distractions of the gay community. No matter how you slice it there is only so much one person can do. Had I not already built my future on a solid foundation prior to immersing myself into gaydom then I would be much too distracted by the hustle and bustle to build one then.
This is what worries me about the youth of today. In a way, when societies' tolerance for homosexuality was lower, it allowed the gay community to prosper. The reason there are so many successful gay men today is because instead of coming out and becoming fashion obsessed party hopping sex crazed young gay boys they were sitting at home doing homework, getting jobs, and bettering themselves. Now with homosexuality being more accepted and dare I say..."cool", it's not uncommon to see kids coming out as early as 7th or 8th grade. From my perspective and relative proximity in age to the youngest of the gay population I see a vast difference in where the future lies for the community.
Now I know there are exceptions to this, but they are becoming fewer and further between. The natural tendency for any person is to group with people of like backgrounds..."family for a reason" remember? So when kids come out these days the likelihood of finding 10 other kids to hang out with is much greater. The only problem is when you get 10 gay kids to hang out things are drastically different then 10 straight kids; now all bets are off. There is no longer separation of the sexes and with all of those raging hormones floating around there is no where for the friendship to go other than too far. At least with straight kids the group of guys doesn't have to worry about who is fucking who.
There is a distinct difference in being homosexual and being gay. The fact that people are coming out at a younger and younger age is not the problem, it's that people are becoming gay at a younger and younger age. When homosexuality was much less mainstream, even when a kid came out they would become such an outcast that there was really nothing better to do then focus on things like school and work. Sure today there is less hate violence, more acceptance, and a trend towards gaining equal rights, but at what cost? Is the young gay community becoming so self obsessed and shallow that they are inevitably dooming themselves and the future of our cause? Well, I won't go that far, but the days of wealth and success being synonymous with homosexuality are long gone my friend.
On the bright side as society eases its stance it allows people to finally be themselves and not to be afraid to live life how they want. In a way what can be more noble and beautiful than that. Even further as time progresses the "average" gay personality will become apparent. It is obvious that the definition of gay will change given the fact that the gay community is able to diversify. People who before may never have come out are joining the ranks.
I guess the point of all this is to urge today's gay youth to be cautious of entering the gay community so quickly. Your strive to join in with the grown-up crowd is only blocking you from growing up yourself. Soon enough and ideally after you've built a solid foundation for the rest of your life to stand on you'll be able to enjoy what those of us who have worked hard to get where we are enjoy.
"The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins." ~Bob Moawad
Don't just be another gay.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
50 bucks and a bag of charcoal
So I had a bizarre day today, definitely blogworthy...
This morning I attended an award ceremony at City Hall for the 16th annual water conservation and pretreatment compliance awards put on by the city of Austin. In the past 16 years my company has won an award in one of the categories nearly every year. Today we received awards for water conservation (at our Oak Hill site we implemented a project to save nearly 120 thousand gallons of water per day), and pretreatment compliance (our third consecutive win in this category for our Ed Bluestein site). It was fun to have free breakfast and see City Hall for the first time. I must say I really liked the architecture.
After breakfast some coworkers and I headed out to the Ed Bluestein facility to take a look at some waste collection systems that were recently put in place. While on the tour I noticed something on the floor in the hall...something green. There were a lot of people around and everyone seemed to be passing over it like it was nothing, I however stopped to pick it up. It so happened to be two 20's and a 10.. totaling $50 for those who can't add. Needless to say I was pretty stoked about it.
I had planned to spend the rest of the day out at Ed Blue, but a chemical spill at our Oak Hill site called me away...luckily the spill had been remediated and did not cause any environmental compliance issues, but it did take several guys in level B HAZMAT suits with SCBA's to clean it up.
After work I decided to make a stop at HEB because I needed to pick up a few groceries for the week. After checking out I walked to my car and unloaded the cart. As I was putting the cart away I noticed the cart sitting in the space next to me had been left with a brand new bag of charcoal in it!! glancing around to hopefully catch the person that had left it I realized quickly that they were nowhere to be found. I grabbed the bag and headed for home.
All in all it was a pretty luckily and odd day for me. I must admit, I felt guilty about the $50 but had I seen someone drop it I would have gladly given it back to them. Sadly though attempting to return the found money to someone without seeing them drop it would have proven a pointless waste of time, as just about anyone would lay claim to the lost fortune.
So sitting back, 50 bucks and a bag of charcoal richer, I bid you adieu.
This morning I attended an award ceremony at City Hall for the 16th annual water conservation and pretreatment compliance awards put on by the city of Austin. In the past 16 years my company has won an award in one of the categories nearly every year. Today we received awards for water conservation (at our Oak Hill site we implemented a project to save nearly 120 thousand gallons of water per day), and pretreatment compliance (our third consecutive win in this category for our Ed Bluestein site). It was fun to have free breakfast and see City Hall for the first time. I must say I really liked the architecture.
After breakfast some coworkers and I headed out to the Ed Bluestein facility to take a look at some waste collection systems that were recently put in place. While on the tour I noticed something on the floor in the hall...something green. There were a lot of people around and everyone seemed to be passing over it like it was nothing, I however stopped to pick it up. It so happened to be two 20's and a 10.. totaling $50 for those who can't add. Needless to say I was pretty stoked about it.
I had planned to spend the rest of the day out at Ed Blue, but a chemical spill at our Oak Hill site called me away...luckily the spill had been remediated and did not cause any environmental compliance issues, but it did take several guys in level B HAZMAT suits with SCBA's to clean it up.
After work I decided to make a stop at HEB because I needed to pick up a few groceries for the week. After checking out I walked to my car and unloaded the cart. As I was putting the cart away I noticed the cart sitting in the space next to me had been left with a brand new bag of charcoal in it!! glancing around to hopefully catch the person that had left it I realized quickly that they were nowhere to be found. I grabbed the bag and headed for home.
All in all it was a pretty luckily and odd day for me. I must admit, I felt guilty about the $50 but had I seen someone drop it I would have gladly given it back to them. Sadly though attempting to return the found money to someone without seeing them drop it would have proven a pointless waste of time, as just about anyone would lay claim to the lost fortune.
So sitting back, 50 bucks and a bag of charcoal richer, I bid you adieu.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The big move
Well everyone...the move is mostly complete!!!
So if you didn't know already Austin and I decided that downtown was too expensive and we wanted more for our dollar. We have spent this entire week moving to a house out in South Austin near Westgate and William Cannon. We have more square footage, an extra bedroom, a HUGE backyard, wood floors downstairs, our own garage, and amazing neighbors. It is also much closer to work for me and I must say I'm really satisfied with the house we decided on. We are planning a move in party sometime in August so keep your eyes open for an invite :)
Basically I got back from Atlanta late on the 15th and starting the 16th we began the big move. We still have quite a bit of cleaning to do at the old place before we turn in the keys but we have since turned off all the power and trying to save on utilities. Luckily where we are we will be saving roughly $400 a month on rent which should pay all our bills and I can start saving to buy my own place in a few years. Of course, I had to promise Austin's parents no more moving until I'm buying something.
You realize when you move how much crap you can accumulate in such a short amount of time. I for one, love it because it gives me the opportunity to go through and get rid of a lot of the pointless crap that I don't need. Through goodwill and a trash can I was able to dump so much stuff, it's like getting rid of old baggage...you'll never use it, it looks bad, and you feel so much lighter afterwards.
So anyway I'm really excited if you can't tell and once everything is unpacked and we are settled feel free to stop by and see the place! and of course with that being said, I have a 7:30 breakfast ceremony thingy at City Hall. Freescale is winning several environmental awards from the City of Austin and I am going to the ceremony. I will likely be sitting with the mayor as well as as several other prominent city officials! I'm pretty excited and of course, I plan to dress to impress. So I had better get to bed since it's getting late.
Good night
<3
So if you didn't know already Austin and I decided that downtown was too expensive and we wanted more for our dollar. We have spent this entire week moving to a house out in South Austin near Westgate and William Cannon. We have more square footage, an extra bedroom, a HUGE backyard, wood floors downstairs, our own garage, and amazing neighbors. It is also much closer to work for me and I must say I'm really satisfied with the house we decided on. We are planning a move in party sometime in August so keep your eyes open for an invite :)
Basically I got back from Atlanta late on the 15th and starting the 16th we began the big move. We still have quite a bit of cleaning to do at the old place before we turn in the keys but we have since turned off all the power and trying to save on utilities. Luckily where we are we will be saving roughly $400 a month on rent which should pay all our bills and I can start saving to buy my own place in a few years. Of course, I had to promise Austin's parents no more moving until I'm buying something.
You realize when you move how much crap you can accumulate in such a short amount of time. I for one, love it because it gives me the opportunity to go through and get rid of a lot of the pointless crap that I don't need. Through goodwill and a trash can I was able to dump so much stuff, it's like getting rid of old baggage...you'll never use it, it looks bad, and you feel so much lighter afterwards.
So anyway I'm really excited if you can't tell and once everything is unpacked and we are settled feel free to stop by and see the place! and of course with that being said, I have a 7:30 breakfast ceremony thingy at City Hall. Freescale is winning several environmental awards from the City of Austin and I am going to the ceremony. I will likely be sitting with the mayor as well as as several other prominent city officials! I'm pretty excited and of course, I plan to dress to impress. So I had better get to bed since it's getting late.
Good night
<3
Friday, July 18, 2008
Sweet Georgia Brown
Oh sweet georgia brown....
So two weeks ago (plus or minus a few days) I took a road trip with some friends off to Atlanta, Georgia to visit my other friend Brendan who is a student a Georgia Tech University. It was such a blast...
The trip started as a long 17.5 hour drive from Austin. We left on a thursday morning and were there around 3 am on friday (easter time). It was a long a grueling drive. While we were there we saw the Aquarium, Olympic Park, various restaurants and bars, five points, decatur, midtown, etc. I can safely say it was one of the largest city I've ever been to and quite an amazing trip.
Gay districts:
Midtown was sort of the gay district so to speak. There were several small neighborhoods full of very cute little houses tucked in amongst a bustling metropolis. Tall buildings and condos surrounding Piedmont park where cute boys could be seen walking their Schnauzers and Chihuahuas lol. Rainbow flags were a-plenty, as was amazing food and bars. We went to a great organic place the first morning we were there and had mimosas and breakfast.
Tornados:
So perhaps you heard a few months ago about the tornados that ripped through downtown Atlanta? The evidence was obvious. Many of the tall buildings were riddled with broken windows, and there was lots of repairs going on at the time. While we were downtown Brendan gave us a great tour of the Georgia Tech campus and it was really cool. We also took the chance to tour CNN headquarters (which I must admit was quite disappointing...and no we didn't get to meet Anderson Cooper :(
The Aquarium and other Highlights:
I must admit the aquarium was quite amazing. The high point of the tour was when a southern bell walked up to the exhibit of the large spider crabs and yells in a rather heavy souther draw, "look at the size of them cuuuurrrraaaaaaaaaaaabs!!"...."Them's good eatn'"
I just about died laughing...lol...so anyway the aquarium was really really cool and minus the large crowds, definately worth the money. Also while we were there we stopped in a local coffee shop where they hold competitions for latte art. It was really spectacular and quite possible the best Caramel Latte I've ever had in my entire life.
The ride home:
So on the way back we decided to try and make the trip as fast as possible. I averaged a healthy 85 mph for my 6 hour leg of the journey and we were able to make the trek in just under 15 hours. I thought that was impressive considering the monsoon we had to drive through between Dallas and Waco to get back.
All in all I must say thanks to Brendan, Sara, and Sarah for an amazing trip and a very memorable summer vacation. I felt so refreshed coming back to work that it really made my year.
So two weeks ago (plus or minus a few days) I took a road trip with some friends off to Atlanta, Georgia to visit my other friend Brendan who is a student a Georgia Tech University. It was such a blast...
The trip started as a long 17.5 hour drive from Austin. We left on a thursday morning and were there around 3 am on friday (easter time). It was a long a grueling drive. While we were there we saw the Aquarium, Olympic Park, various restaurants and bars, five points, decatur, midtown, etc. I can safely say it was one of the largest city I've ever been to and quite an amazing trip.
Gay districts:
Midtown was sort of the gay district so to speak. There were several small neighborhoods full of very cute little houses tucked in amongst a bustling metropolis. Tall buildings and condos surrounding Piedmont park where cute boys could be seen walking their Schnauzers and Chihuahuas lol. Rainbow flags were a-plenty, as was amazing food and bars. We went to a great organic place the first morning we were there and had mimosas and breakfast.
Tornados:
So perhaps you heard a few months ago about the tornados that ripped through downtown Atlanta? The evidence was obvious. Many of the tall buildings were riddled with broken windows, and there was lots of repairs going on at the time. While we were downtown Brendan gave us a great tour of the Georgia Tech campus and it was really cool. We also took the chance to tour CNN headquarters (which I must admit was quite disappointing...and no we didn't get to meet Anderson Cooper :(
The Aquarium and other Highlights:
I must admit the aquarium was quite amazing. The high point of the tour was when a southern bell walked up to the exhibit of the large spider crabs and yells in a rather heavy souther draw, "look at the size of them cuuuurrrraaaaaaaaaaaabs!!"...."Them's good eatn'"
I just about died laughing...lol...so anyway the aquarium was really really cool and minus the large crowds, definately worth the money. Also while we were there we stopped in a local coffee shop where they hold competitions for latte art. It was really spectacular and quite possible the best Caramel Latte I've ever had in my entire life.
The ride home:
So on the way back we decided to try and make the trip as fast as possible. I averaged a healthy 85 mph for my 6 hour leg of the journey and we were able to make the trek in just under 15 hours. I thought that was impressive considering the monsoon we had to drive through between Dallas and Waco to get back.
All in all I must say thanks to Brendan, Sara, and Sarah for an amazing trip and a very memorable summer vacation. I felt so refreshed coming back to work that it really made my year.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
New Additions
I guess it's been a while since I last posted huh?
Here are the general updates.
Family Reunion:
Did the family reunion thing in Albuquerque, NM a few weeks back. Between the Castor's and the Galleghers there were nearly 100 ppl there. It was great to spend some time with my cousins I hardly get to see and overall the weekend was quite exciting. I suppose it was nice to have a very short weekend break from work (although I did spend the entire weekend working :-/).
House Hunting:
Austin and I were finally able to find a house. Luckily it's one we both liked and it's in a great location!! 1587 sq feet. 3 bed 2.5 bath. The downstairs is all living/kitchen and is wood floors and tile. Upstairs are the three bedrooms and short of ironing out who gets which room, we will be moving in starting the 16th, so I'm looking forward to that...
ALSO be on the lookout for an invite to the BYOP&B (Bring your own pool and beer) party, as well as the many more to come A&RSMS (Austin and Rob's Summer Movie Series).
New Additions:
I am sad to say that this past week we had to have my kat Cinnamon put to sleep. He was 16 years old and a big part of my life growing up. I'm pretty upset about it and I'm really going to miss him. He was getting quite old as you could imagine and wasn't eating anymore. Last night my parents went out and bought two new additions to the family because we just can't bear to be without our kitties. their names are Boo and Dan (taken from the food Boudin). My sister named them and I must say they are very cute. I posted some pics below for you to enjoy.
All and all I guess it's been pretty uneventful since I've last posted. Not much new really. I've been working damn near 60 hours/week and plan to go to Atlanta, GA this week to visit a friend. It will definitely be a long needed break from work. Anyway I hope all is well with you and may your week be as great as mine is looking up to be!
Cinnamon: 1992 - 2008, you will be sorely missed.
Left to right: Dan and Boo. Welcome to the family <3...hopefully the coyotes won't get you like they did the last two.
Click Here to view more pictures
Here are the general updates.
Family Reunion:
Did the family reunion thing in Albuquerque, NM a few weeks back. Between the Castor's and the Galleghers there were nearly 100 ppl there. It was great to spend some time with my cousins I hardly get to see and overall the weekend was quite exciting. I suppose it was nice to have a very short weekend break from work (although I did spend the entire weekend working :-/).
House Hunting:
Austin and I were finally able to find a house. Luckily it's one we both liked and it's in a great location!! 1587 sq feet. 3 bed 2.5 bath. The downstairs is all living/kitchen and is wood floors and tile. Upstairs are the three bedrooms and short of ironing out who gets which room, we will be moving in starting the 16th, so I'm looking forward to that...
ALSO be on the lookout for an invite to the BYOP&B (Bring your own pool and beer) party, as well as the many more to come A&RSMS (Austin and Rob's Summer Movie Series).
New Additions:
I am sad to say that this past week we had to have my kat Cinnamon put to sleep. He was 16 years old and a big part of my life growing up. I'm pretty upset about it and I'm really going to miss him. He was getting quite old as you could imagine and wasn't eating anymore. Last night my parents went out and bought two new additions to the family because we just can't bear to be without our kitties. their names are Boo and Dan (taken from the food Boudin). My sister named them and I must say they are very cute. I posted some pics below for you to enjoy.
All and all I guess it's been pretty uneventful since I've last posted. Not much new really. I've been working damn near 60 hours/week and plan to go to Atlanta, GA this week to visit a friend. It will definitely be a long needed break from work. Anyway I hope all is well with you and may your week be as great as mine is looking up to be!
Cinnamon: 1992 - 2008, you will be sorely missed.
Left to right: Dan and Boo. Welcome to the family <3...hopefully the coyotes won't get you like they did the last two.
Click Here to view more pictures
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