Janie and I just spent a long weekend relaxing on our couch. On Monday, the only reason we had for getting up was to go to the bathroom. This is what a long Labor Day weekend should be, people. Sitting on your couch, watching that Tori Spelling reality show marathon. I totally cried when her dog, Mimi La Rue, died. I’ll be honest, I find this show and Tori Spelling to be sweet and genuine. I feel like they’re a normal couple with an …

After much ado, I made it to Seattle’s Qwest field to see the Dalai Lama on Saturday. His visit to Seattle over the past five days has been a part of the Seeds of Compassion, a gathering to “celebrate and explore the relationships, programs and tools that nurture and empower children, families and communities to be compassionate members of society.” It wasn’t solely a Buddhist program, but who better to bring knowledge of the spiritual importance of compassion than the Dalai Lama. You can’t get that shit …

A little over three years ago I wrote my parents a letter telling them I was gay. My friends and I referred to it as The Letter and we set a deadline for delivery of The Letter and referred to it as The Deadline. Well, The Deadline passed and The Letter hadn’t been sent as planned and I spent another year in bi-weekly therapy contemplating the unknowable circumstances that may arise from actually sending The Letter to The Parents. My therapist assured me, and said I would …

October 31st was Halloween, that time of year when children dress up in costumes and cover them up with warm coats and hats and embark out in to the dark and cold October night when every person who opens a door to throw some candy into their plastic Safeway bags has to ask, “What are you?” It is also my dad’s birthday and this year he turned 66 years old, and now bears the mark of the devil. Someone best get to church!
My dad and I have always been …

There’s not a whole lot that I recall from my childhood. I remember exciting moments as general experiences, like going to the dump with my dad. He would pack his blue pick-up truck full of trash and we’d zip to the transfer station in Shoreline. I wasn’t allowed to get out of the car once we got there, but I’d watch excitedly as he’d toss bags of our garbage into the deep abyss. I’d look on as huge yellow machines pushed down other people’s trash, compacting …