HELLOOOOOOOOOO FAITHFUL READERS!

If I could tell you in a paragraph what I have been up to this whole time I would. But that is just ridiculous. I am the worst blogger in the history of all bloggers. I know. I apologize. Here's the deal. Facebook has RUINED my blog because I post constantly to the FB and neglect the old blog. It's unfortunate because I can go into so much detail with the blog as opposed to the facebook. Everything is pretty awesome with me. I love my job. I love my friends and I love my life. Key West is fantastic, hot, sweaty, and full of surprises. I have two new roommates, I really can't call them roommates, John G has been one of my best friends for over 9 years and Dane A used to work on the schooner Liberty Clipper with us. We are all very happy in our sweet ass downtown apartment. Loud as it may be, we have all invested in ear plugs and are quite content. At this very moment Jon G has come out of his room wearing only a striped towel stolen by Spaz from the Westin Resort... he headed to the bathroom. He is talking to me from behind the door but I have no idea what he is saying. And there he goes.. back to his room. Aww... What a sweet angel. I love my gays. I sure hope everyone out there is doing well, I hope to find the inspiration to start writing the blog again. I promise to try. CHEERS! I have tomorrow off. Yesssssssss!

A poem for today...

"lying under your despair
i cried
for things lost
things driven away
things left behind

scattered and strong
i needed you to believe

and so
this is why I searched through my words

for I could not hold your hand"

- Kylie Johnson

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!

Morning people! I actually woke up before 10 today! Gettin' my day started with a few phone calls from friends was nice. One from one of my best buddies in Sedona, AZ, and one from my long time friend Chris here in TX. We have big plans for this evening! Chris and I used to run around together in college when he was Rodeo buddies with a guy I used to hang out with in high school. Turns out, Chris and I got along a lot better than my high school friend and we kept in touch over the years. He is picking me up this afternoon and carting me over to Ft. Worth for a night of drinkin' and dancin' at the Ft. Worth Stockyards. Quite possibly my favorite place to go dancing in the world! Click HERE to check it out. I am so excited!

Needless to say we wont be driving back to Dallas tonight, so Chris will drive me home in the morning, then it's time to get things ready for christmas eve bbq dinner! :) Oh, today's lunch fare: Mini Deep Dish Pizzas.

Once again, a pack of crescent rolls. Some pre-made pizza sauce. I use the kind in a squeeze bottle. Some FRESH mozzarella. Mini pepperonis Shredded cheese. (your choice) Just smash out the crescents in the muffin tin. It won't be pretty. Who cares? Squirt about a tablespoon of sauce in the cups. Sprinkle as many pepperonis as you want on the sauce. Top with a nice slice of mozz. Sprinkle with the cheese blend. Pop in the oven at 350 for like 15-20 mins, just like the casserole from yesterday. You don't have to worry about the center being cold because I took them out when the edges of the crescents got brown and the cheese on the edges were crispy and the center was like MAGMA! Enjoy!

Suzy Homemaker.

I tend to get in the baking/cooking mood when I come home. This trip is no different! (Not to mention my new obsession, Pinterest.com )

I created a baked potato casserole today out of some leftover mashed potatoes I found in the freezer. Super easy.

I had about a cup of mashed potatoes, maybe a little more.
Half a cup of shredded cheese.
2 big thick cut strips of bacon, cooked.
Half a can of reduced fat crescent rolls. (Reduced fat. LOL why??? Who knows.)
I chopped up the bacon and mixed the potatoes and cheese in with them.

Preheat your oven to 350, not 375 like it says on the rolls. I did this because I was worried about the crescents being cooked and the potatoes being cold because those little guys bake up so fast.

Line a little greased baking dish with Crescent rolls. Plop in the potato mixture. I left enough crescent rolls hanging over the edges to bring them over the the top about an inch all the way around. Then I sprinkled some more cheese all over the top and edges of the crescents. Put it in the oven for about 20 mins, just watch it, when the top of the crescents get nice and brown and the cheese on the edges are crispy, it's done!

This is what it looks like. And it was freaking delicious. 

The only thing that I suggest is that you warm the potato mixture on the stove before putting it in to the crust. Mine was hot as hell on the edges and just warm in the center. Which was ok with me because I was starving. I think warming it before hand will eliminate the temp difference.  Other than that, it was great!

I am still laying low at home. I didn't even get out of my pj's today. It was awesome. I love vacation. 

Merry Christmas to me!

It's official! I am home in Dallas, TX for Christmas! I flew in last night at 9:30pm. My brother picked me up and immediately took me to Taco Bell, then home to my parent's house. It's pretty chilly... it was 36 degrees this morning... Whew! Yesterday was my 29th birthday, so Jeff is taking me out for drinks some time while I'm in town but I was so exhausted yesterday I didn't feel up to it. Maybe tonight but I'm still tired. Mom even put the tree up for the first time in 3 or 4 years. :) YAY! Merry Christmas y'all!

My new plant.

Her name is Carly. :)

Before and after.

I LOVE IT!!! That's my friend Joseph facebooking.... lol

I'm a lot of things...

But I'm not a liar. Nor am I a person who misplaces my most prized possessions. As some of you know, I have been missing my passport for over a month.... I knew it would turn up. I felt it. I put off the extensive  and expensive process becauase i knew in my heart that there was no way!!!! no way!!!! i would have let that most important document out of my sight. so there i sat. then I moved. then i prayed. and then i got on  line.... then i prayed some more.... then i absolutely gave up. I asked my best friend in boston to help me report it stolen after I asked mom. mom did give me me a helpful address.... I decided to just get a local id...... procrastination..... To put it into the most basic terms.... Chris Hennessee, Saint Christopher, Wait, I have strings, Wait there's a passport in this pocket, oh, must be where I keep important things. must be my guitar case. True story.

It's a beautiful day....

For a bike ride in the cemetery.

Before and After! My Little Kitchen in Paradise!

I have been HARD at work on my new place in between work and fun! I have also spent some pretty good money at home depot and the local hardware store. It's so fun and pretty much instant gratification when it comes to home repairs. This is my first time actually fixing up a place on my own and I am having a blast! Yesterday I finished my kitchen floor!

Here are the old cracked and holy linoleum floors...

And my new and improved faux hickory wood laminate! Wow! It comes in individual planks just like real wood!

It took me about 2 hours to cut and lay it all. Not bad! Now for the rest of the house!

Here are the crusty bar stools I found before...

And after!

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I painted the kitchen a color called "grasshopper wing" LOL! It's awesome. Now it's time to finish those old cream colored counters and get some new knobs for the cabinet doors and I should be just about finished!

My New Place - Before...

Time to decorate this blank canvas! Any suggestions?
The first picture is the view off my balcony looking down charles st., towards Duval st. That's Irish Kevins at the end of the street. Lol. Here we go!

Feelin' Fresh, Feelin' Fly!

Ahhhhhhhh......

  I just had the most relaxing 3 days off in a row. I can't remember the last time I had that much time off! (besides when I was unemployed for 2 weeks a few months ago!) And let me tell ya, it was awesome. I did absolutely NOTHING. I watched too much tv, played on the internet waaaaaay too much, and somewhere in between naps I found a new place to live!

I have been working at two really awesome restaurants here in ole Key West. I absolutely LOVE both of them and the people I work with! It's been pretty tiring because the one place does breakfast and lunch only and closes at 5pm, whereas the bar opens up at 6pm and closes at 2am. The days I have to to both are the worst. but thats just thursday and friday.

Speaking of the bar, and my living situation, my new apartment is directly above my bar... lol! So convenient! It's a great deal. A friend of the owner comes into town one weekend a month and wanted to rent a place so he didn't have to find a hotel all the time, and I needed a cheap place to live, so we worked out a deal where we split rent! I get the bedroom and I can decorate however I want and when he is in town he will sleep on the futon! I tell you what, the universe is always throwing amazing things my way. Just when I think, "oh man, this is it, im really in trouble now, the universe has finally stopped providing for me!" BAM! Right on my lap on a silver platter. Guess it comes with karma. Don't be an asshole and good things will come your way. I will send pictures of the apartment when I get moved in.

Well, I am gonna grab some lunch and get ready for work!

I will leave you with this...

This is one of the MANY awesome Dia De Los Muertos tiles that line the bar at our favorite new local Mexican spot. Amigo's Tortilla Bar! I love them!

Movin' up and Movin' out!

Great news! I just locked down a new apartment, right downtown, right above my bar! I am so excited! A great price too! THANK YOU UNIVERSE! Now I just need my passport....

Hello There!

How y'all doin'?

Things are a bit crazy down here in old Key West! As per usual... It's slow season here, which makes the locals go a bit nuts. This is the time of year that people start getting cranky, mean, stressed out, and downright weird. The lack of people in town and the lack of money coming in creates a riff that is only cured by season coming back around. This time of year is my least favorite.

Finding things to do that you can do for free proves difficult on an island that is fueled by swirly frozen drink machines and electric cars.

It is 12:30am here. I have been asleep for like 4 hours, coming home after a bit of day drinking to take a nap ended up becoming my first half of tonight's sleep. Tomorrow starts my 2 days off before the "work week" begins. I'm going to stop drinking I think. Don't quote me or anything but I've really been on a roll this month. Stressed out about moving to a new place and work being slow and other things = self medication. A.K.A. Drinking.

I'm starting to think that booze is not the answer, more like the common denominator.

That was a pure rant.

Sorry.

Ok, back to the fun!

I have a ridiculously fun new bartending gig here on island. The people are great, boss is awesome and the money is good, not great, but it's a new bar and it's getting there. I really think I've found a good spot. I also work at at little restaurant that just does breakfast and lunch but it's closed till October 6th because it's slow season. When that swings back into gear I am gonna be really busy. Working 7 days a week is going to be tough but I'm hoping it keeps me out of trouble, lol!

I haven't been out on the water lately, sometimes we forget that it's one of the main reasons we live here. I did go to the beach with Ryan the other day, maybe I will do that again...

Ugh.... this is the lamest blog post I have ever written.

Sorry. I have zero inspiration. I am going back to sleep. Hopefully for a week.

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACK!

Yall help my old friend...

Mr. Mike Mezuel is an amazing individual I met back when I was in high school. He was a year younger than us and played Ice hockey. On the side he chased tornadoes in his mom's ford taurus station wagon... haahhahaha! All joking aside.. he is a great photojournalist and talented human being all together. If you have time please take one minute and vote for this kid and lets send his ass to the north pole. Lord knows I don't want to go... :)
Click that link down there... CLICK WHERE IT SAYS "FIND OUT MORE" the other areas don't send you to the right spot.

http://

Mac Crash 2010

Hello folks!

My computer has the grey screen of death and my hard drive is kaput. Along with all my pictures from the past 5 years, my STCW license, my ENG 1 license, my frequent flier numbers, my logins and passwords for countless crew services and web pages... basically my life is in ruins. My job sucks, the weather turned cold, my ex keeps weaseling his way into my life and my house, I don't know what I want to do with my life, I can't afford to take my captain license course, I can't afford rent, I quit drinking, I gained a ton of weight, and I need to take pictures of these fucking flat Stanley dudes but I don't have a camera or a phone with a camera on it... basically it's pretty bleak right now.

You wanted a blog? You got one.

Now you see why I don't write when I'm not happy??? Nobody wants to hear you or me bitch and moan. It's not fun is it? There ya go.

I will write when something good happens.

I do need to write about Fantasy Fest but I don't have the pictures... gee.

R.I.P. RV Beaumont a.k.a. Timothy Swain

God needed a good Drag Queen. He got one this evening.
Cancer is a bitch. The end.

Key West and it's characters.

Being back on my little crazy island has it's ups and downs.

It's so nice to see all my old friends and catching up with them as we stumble across each other. I ran into my old friend Josh tonight who used to live with me and 6 Fury employees in the "Fury Frat House" back in 2004, that was fun. (Can you feel the sarcasm?) I also ran into my good friend Mandy whom I lived with for a long while before I evacuated after hurricane Katrina.

I came home and got online to see what I had missed on my happy hour excursion into town. I noticed my drag queen friend RV Beaumont was online. Now, I knew that RV was diagnosed with cancer but I thought she was doing ok, fighting through it and getting better. I had seen pictures of her recently in drag and doing events so I didnt think much of it. But I figured I was home, and I just made tacos, and who doesn't like tacos? So I offered to bring her one. She told me her address (which just so happens to be just around the corner) and a walked over, foil wrapped taco in hand.

I skipped right past the house and into the 801 Cabaret where I asked the door girl Marilyn where RV lives. She said "you walked right past her!" I backtracked to the lamp lit porch where a skinny, bald man with big lumps on his head sat smoking a cigarette. I said, "Is RV here?" and to my surprise (for fucking real, SURPRISE) he said "It's me bitch!". Oh. Oh my. I ran over and hugged him because it was the only thing I could think to do other than burst into tears. He is a shell of his former self. I've never seen anything like it. Last time I saw him he was HEALTHY looking if you know what I mean. I can't really put it in to words my feelings. I just try to imagine what my mom had to go through seeing my father go through the same thing. RV has melanoma and bone cancer. They didnt catch the bone cancer when they caught the melanoma and its caused large tumors to grow on his head and spine. We sat on the front porch and watched people walk by as they watched us on the porch. We laughed and talked about them as they looked at us inquisitively. It's good that he keeps his sense of humor. I'm going to keep visiting him. I think he enjoyed having me there. He's still fighting. They are doing an experimental chemo on him and I hope it works. I told him we need to start designing his fantasy fest costume for next year... he just looked at me like I was crazy.

I put the taco in the freezer. He promised he would eat it when the indigestion subsided and before the next round of radiation on tuesday. I told him he could freeze it forever if he wanted.

This is a video of his before he got sick. Actually he was sick here, he just didn't tell anyone.



And this is a classic RV Yoedel skit. LOL



You can find his YouTube channel here

http://www.youtube.com/user/rvbeaumont

Anyway, just letting you know what I did today. I need some sleep now. Hope you and yours are healthy and happy. I feel so blessed that mine are.

Wasting away again in Margaritaville!

Well hello there...

So here I am, sitting in my enormous comfortable bed in my huge air conditioned bedroom in my amazing new house waiting for my hot tub to heat to the perfect 99 degrees in beautiful Key West, Florida. How did I get here? I asked myself that same question recently while lounging poolside sipping a sweet tea vodka cocktail while my long time friends ordered our third round of jagermeister shots. It's simple really. As the late great Hunter S. Thompson once said, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

Lets take it back a few notches. Last you heard I was on a boat sailing. Somewhere between Portland, Maine and Boston. My brother came to visit me in Boston and it was so awesome! We had a great time and I took him to Provincetown to meet Will and all my buddies there and we had a blast. He really seemed to enjoy it. I am so happy we got to spend some quality time together. After he left I went up to Portland to work on a catamaran for a few days. Well, after the Portland episode I went north to Camden to hang out with the Schooner Appledore for a week before deciding to come back to Key West after having a very short, to the point conversation with my best friend. I called her on the brink of tears, not knowing what to do or where to go and she basically said, "go home." and hung up on me. Thank god for friends. I booked the flight and packed my bags. After a whirlwind road trip back to Boston I celebrated my good friend Alaina's 21st birthday with her and my buddies then hopped my plane to Key West.

My 7am flight from Boston got diverted to NYC when the dude in front of me decided to have a heart attack. I know. Just my luck. So we were stuck there for almost 2 hours. Got to Miami in time for my connecting flight to Key West only to find out it was delayed for an hour and a half. By the time I got to my little island it was 3pm. My good friend from Texas, David and his bird Marquesa picked me up and took me directly to Dante's pool bar at the Key West Bight where we met up with our friend Raggs, a local legend. As the conversation goes, Raggs asks me if I have a place to stay to which I reply, "no" and he just so happens to have 2 rooms available in his amazing conch house. Well, I just so happen to need 2 rooms for Ryan and I, he takes me to see the place and done deal. Housing situated. That same day on my stroll down Duval St. I stopped into a local bar to see if a friend was working. He wasn't but the manager happened to be standing next to me and asked what I wanted with him. I replied that I just got back into town and wanted to say hello. I mentioned that I was looking for work and he asked me if I had time to fill out an application and have an interview. Long story short, I am gainfully employed at a very busy Duval St. bar. My life just amazes me sometimes.

(Side note: Ryan is an ex-captain and very good friend of mine who is coming down to be my roommate.)

Being back in Key West is so good for me. In the week I have been back I have lost 5 pounds just from walking around everywhere. As soon as I get a bike it will be even better. I was a size 4 when I left Key West a year and a half ago and I am waaaaaaay bigger than that right now. I can't wait to get back into all the clothes I brought with me!

The only negative thing that has happened since I got back is that I dropped my brand new Droid phone in the ocean... Damn.

On the relationship (or lack there of) front, I met a really great guy who is in the Navy but I'm not so sure that's going to work out. He is deployed till November and then goes back to NYC for two years and I'm here and I just don't know how it's going to pan out. I told him I would come see him in November and we would see how that goes. I feel really confused and stressed about it because I feel like he's someone I could potentially have a wonderful relationship with but there are so many things standing in our way right now I'm having a hard time seeing around them.

All in all, I think I made the right decision coming back here. I have a great circle of friends who I think of as family and I feel blessed to have so much support around me.

I will post pics and info more regularly I promise. I have internet at home so I really have no excuse now do I???

I hope you are all well, happy and healthy.

(photo at the top was taken at the reef just before I dropped my phone in.)

I'm out sailing :-)

Live. Boston. Block party.

Dinner with Spaz

Set the creep'sle! Fort independence under a fogging sky!

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Live from the park

Good morning from Lilly's El Camino!