sluggobear

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Just returned from an awesome visit to Georgia and Tennessee. I was able to spend some quality time with shortstackbear and cubatlanta... then we enjoyed a long weekend in a cozy log cabin near Dollywood in Tennessee. Hung-out with LJ'ers p00kitty, gibbo67, zacwolfdotcom and non-LJ'ers Jeff, Jack, Thad, Bo, John, Charles, Ray and Dave. (And cameos by benjiej, Billy, Shawn, Jamie & Jim, just for good measure.)

I had a marvelous time! The weather was cold and wet on the day we went to Dollywood, but it didn't dampen the fun. It's a beautiful little park, with outstanding theming (and of course, a little campiness.) And I've gotta say, the three coasters are truly kick-ass!

Our cabin was awesome... a three-story, six-bedroom on the side of a mountain... and offered a stunning view of the Smoky Mountains.

Click here to see a slideshow with 40 photos from the trip.

Nick & Rob tied the knot last night! OMG, so happy for you guys!

And so happy to have you guys both in San Diego now!

(Rob = crimsonsaint, Nick = HskyRxBear)

Be sure to check-out Season 5 of Top Chef...

The 619's very own hottie Richard Sweeney will be a contestant!

(In case you needed another reason to watch besides the food, the drama and the hunky Tom Colicchio...)

Rich is the Executive Sous Chef at Downtown San Diego's Confidential, a swanky nightclub and tapas bar... not to mention a part-time bartender at Pecs (where the bears tend to hang-out, not to mention the same bar that employs kingfuraday and maverick1303.)

You may also remember a little music video I posted showing Rich and Matt guest-bartending at Confidential last year. (YouTube, 1:30, work-safe.)

(And, for those who asked... yes, he is family.)

Woo-hoo!

Featuring the aamazing Aaron aaka aairplane aaka xtreem_aaron!

A bunch of us went riding bikes out in Balboa Park this week. We're gonna try to ride at least twice a month.

My friend Rich Howell passed away a few hours ago.

I miss him already.

Rich (in the middle) and his partner Dave (right) called Tinton Falls, New Jersey home. Rich had been battling cancer for quite awhile. I spoke with him on the phone just a week ago. He sounded upbeat, despite the doctors having told him he had 4 to 6 weeks to live.

With Rich's condition deteriorating fast, Dave said he wouldn't make it that long... and he was right. Dave called and let me know that Rich passed away peacefully in his sleep tonight.

Rich and Dave are very special to me. I met them back when I lived in Connecticut; they are both roller-coaster lovers, but especially Rich. (Few people are more hard-core coaster freaks than I am, but Rich was definitely one of them.)

We'd meet-up at theme parks, or visit each other in Jersey or Connecticut. Or meet in New York City. They came to visit San Diego a couple of years ago, and met some of my local friends. (Needless to say, we hit Six Flags Magic Mountain with a vengeance...)

Sometimes while at work, I'd get a random TXT from Rich, just to say hello. Often he'd TXT me while he was in line for a roller coaster... he'd tell me how the ride was, how the lines were, how the weather was.

When I went with Dave & Rich to visit the Six Flags park in Jersey, Rich bought us the front-of-line passes to make sure we could ride as many coasters as possible, in the short amount of time we had.

Rich loved quoting from Joe Rogan's standup comedy... my favorite was when he'd say in his heavy Jersey accent... "dude... you got a great ass!" He could always make me smile, and we bonded by geeking-out about coasters and parks. He was a sweet man.

The three of us flew to the Cedar Point amusement park in the summer of '04 and spent some time together, while basking in the glory of a beautiful park with some amazing coasters...Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, and like 13 other coasters. (Later, Dave and I did a tandem-jump on that swing-cable contraption they call Ripcord. There are a dozen pictures from that trip below, plus three pics from New York City circa 2006. Or refer to Flickr.)

At this point I'm sure I should be saying something much more eloquent, but this is all my fingers can hash-out at the moment:

I miss you Rich.

Per kingfuraday's request. (Taken from a photo from our trip to Europe a few years ago.)


(And yes, this was a rush-job, I coulda done it much better.)

A bunch of us went to see Sex and the City: The Movie on Saturday. I'll admit, I enjoyed it a lot.

Before the show, a bunch of us met for cosmo's (not gay!), then went to have either a manicure, a pedicure spa, or both (also not gay!). Actually I had pink lemonade. Which is definitely not gay.

I opted for the pedi; I'd never had one before. (My feet are always a bit dry and needed a little work, though I opted not to have my toenails painted... unlike some of my buddies! They are decidedly not gay.)

Above, Brian relaxes whilst gettin a pedi. More pics if you click any photo. (There are about 20 in the set.)

A little image play, ganked from kingfuraday (and ottocub). Basically you use photo editing software to modify an image from the Flickr photostream of a friend.

Here, Henry unwittingly does an impression of the British fire exit stick figure! (I added the sign, in case it wasn't obvious.)

Check-out more of the recently-started "Foto Fun with Flickr Friends" pool on Flickr.

So I had a great birthday week. Many THANK YOU's for the well-wishes!

It's been awhile since I had a full-on, name-dropping, show-n-tell, what-I-did-this-week narrative, and since it's my birthday, I'm going to take that liberty now.

Here's pretty-much how the week went down:
( Behind the cut )

OK I'm done.

Congratulations, Brodie nfotxn on getting the new job!  (And you look hot in your Indy outfit!)

Happy San Diego Pride, boys!

OK, so my Thursday Tip is a little late... and is specific to San Diego this weekend.  (Sue me!)

A few notes about Pride weekend:

• Parking can be a real bitch! So be ready. (See the note below for information about free parking & shuttle).
• Don't forget that University and 6th are closed to automobile traffic during the parade.
• Rich's is open during the parade, so you can stop-in for a drink, or just cool-off. There's no cover from 11am to 3pm. (This might also be easier than getting alcohol at the Festival, where you have to go into one of the beer gardens.)
• There's an admission charge to get into the Festival. You might save yourself some time by buying your ticket along the parade route. They only take cash.
• The lines for beer gardens can sometimes be long. (If they're still doing the wristband system, get a wristband EARLY, even if you don't plan to drink early.)
• There's no smoking permitted anywhere in Balboa Park (city ordinance).
• Be ready for the "return trip" back from the Festival... here are some options: 1) a long walk, 2) get a cab, 3) hire one of those bike-rickshaw things (careful, they can be pricey... and they often charge per person), 4) park somewhere in between the parade and the park, 5) use the free shuttle, check the website below for more info. (You might have to transfer to another shuttle to get "all" the way back to the parade starting point, but hey... it's free!)
• Don't forget your sunblock.

Saturday night - LL Bear:

• Rich's is sure to be a mob-scene on Saturday night. If you want to get in, I STRONGLY suggest you get there when the doors open at 9pm.
• Yes, it IS still an LL Bear event, and there is an out-of-town guest DJ playing (DJ Kimberly S).
• Since this is a special event, it appears that the cover will be $20.
• It appears that you can buy advance tickets online, and avoid waiting in the line. Visit richssandiego.com for more info.

Pecs and The Hole:

• Arrive early or expect long lines! (Which are particularly painful once they reach capacity, because then the lines move REALLLLY slow...)
• Me and
• liquid_wayno and I plan to hit The Hole on Sunday afternoon, so hopefully we'll see y'all there.
• maverick1303 will be bartending at Pecs on Saturday and Sunday evenings, so be sure to harass him!

More info on Pride:
http://sandiegopride.org/

Free shuttle:
http://sandiegopride.org/165/Park-n-Ride.htm

Had a really nice visit last week from my friends Nick & Rob. They live in Connecticut, so I don't get to see them as much as I used to.  But if I'm lucky, I'll be seeing them a lot more next year... as they're looking at moving out west!  They are awesome guys and amazing friends, and it was great to spend some time with them.

Took a few photos, and I was playing with Picasa's special effects... some of them turned-out pretty neat.  Click the photo for the resulting 9 photos, if you're interested.

From Brian... an awesome group shot...


(Click either picture to get at the whole set of photos from Pride.)

Well I was gonna post about the simply FABULOUS weekend in West Hollywood, but kingfuraday and e_ticket have done a lovely job of telling the story!  So I shall be lazy and a link to their detailed accounts of the events:

• livejournal.com/users/kingfuraday/74239.html
• livejournal.com/users/e_ticket/127023.html

By the way, garycotti and aairplane fucking own West Hollywood.  They own it!!!  (And they are the best dancers ever!)

For the background story, check out ShortStackBear's journal! (GRRRR, I hate that this happened to such a sweet man.)