I like 30 so far!

Wow, being 30 is pretty cool. If this is how it's going to be, sign me up!

Somehow I have been lucky enough to have an entire week of birthday celebration. I am such a lucky guy.

Last Friday Steven, Millie and I went to my parents place in Sandwich for the weekend. My mother surprised me with a giant basket full of presents. 30 of them, to be exact. It was the coolest gift idea and it was fun to open up so many gifts. On Saturday we went to a great restaurant, Amari, and had a fab meal and a great time.

The fun continued on Wednesday - Elizabeth and I went to Kennedy's. I enjoyed a delicious corned beef sandwich. The meat was steamed in beer, which gave it a tasty flavor. Later, I met Steven at our favorite haunt, The Last Hurrah. We had a drink there and Steven let me in on the deets for the evening. Next, we made our way to Spire for a glass of champagne mixed with chambord. Yummy!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we walked to No. 9 Park. This restaurant is amazing. The service is out of this world. I mean, really, it's way over the top. We gorged ourselves on oysters and shrimp raviolis before our main course, which was scallops for me and halibut stuffed squid for Steven. Our table was in the corner which provided the perfect perch for us to watch the other diners (just in case Jack Welch or Mitt stopped by, we wanted to make sure we had a good view).

After dinner we walked through the park to Finale. I was completely stuffed from dinner, so I had a coffee. Steven had a beautiful small nibbly something. You can't go wrong there. We noticed, however, that we were probably the oldest people in the place. Apparently it's a big hit with the younger crowd.

The fun continues today, believe it or not. We are going to have lunch at the Good Life. They have an outstanding Cuban sandwich that I'm dying for Steven to try. After that we are going to see The Devil Wears Prada. I am dying to see this movie as I recently finished the book. After that we're meeting some friends back at the Last Hurrah, then dinner at Figs.

All I can say is this:

* I feel like the luckiest person alive

* My cholesterol is going to be 300 by next week

how much is that doggie in the carriage?

Steven and I went to the Derby Street Shoppes on Sunday. Specifically, we were there to visit Smith & Hawken to see about a thermometer for our deck. When we first entered the store we were chatting about something and I laughed. Hard. Mid-laugh, I turned around and was face to face with a woman pushing her small dog in one of those carriages made specifically for pooches. She and I made eye contact (I was still laughing from whatever Steven had said). It all happened in a flash, but I immediately knew that the woman thought I was laughing at her silly doggie carriage.

Now, normally I would laugh at a site such as this, but never on the outside. Or I would wait until I was safely alone and chuckle. Whatever, she must have known how silly she looked.

Fast forward a few minutes and Steven and I were at the register purchasing cedar planks. The woman who was ringing us up said to me 'I saw you laughing at that woman'. I was HORRIFIED! She totally busted me. But she didn't really, because I wasn't really laughing at the woman, but just like I thought, it looked like I was. I explained to her that it wasn't the case, but I'm certain she didn't believe me. Luckily, she thought the dog carriage was pretty ridiculous, too.

P.S. One cool thing about Smith & Hawken (besides all the cool outdoor gear) is that they store all of your purchases in their system, so if you lose a receipt they can look it up. I wish all stores did that. Receipts are stupid.

I am SOOOO excited

I am so excited. Yesterday, Steven and I took a lunchtime walk over to the aquarium to look at the harbor seals. We both love to watch them play in their pool. They are like dogs, very animated and happy. Steven bought us tickets to play with them on September 9th. The aquarium sells daily tickets for 3 people to join the trainers behind the scenes and play with the seals. I cannot wait for this. The aquarium encouraged us to bring a camera, and I am eagerly awaiting our big day.

They also have a half-day program where you can join an aquarium biologist to study the seals. I'm not really interested in studying the little guys. I just want to pet them and feed them fish.

Franklin Cafe is moving?

I hard a rumor that Franklin Cafe is moving from their quaint Shawmut Ave haunt to a newer, larger space on Harrison Ave. Thank God! I know I am not the only person who had too many cosmos while waiting two hours for a table. I remember one time when we had to leave because both Steven and I were in no shape for dinner after waiting so long for our table.

Everyone loves Franklin Cafe. Part of the charm is the ridiculous wait, I guess. I wonder how they will fare on Harrison. That area is very up-and-coming, but will the locals around the Shawmut area make the 3 block trek over to their new digs?

At least we will all be a little but more sober while we enjoy our meals!

DAMN! It's hot

But I still prefer this to the cold weather.

I think I am a hypocrite

I just decided this morning that I might be a hypocrite.

Last night we met some friends at Fiore in the North End. Fiore has a roofdeck and you can smoke up there. We love it.

I try to be conscious of my non-smoking peeps. Many of my friends smoke, but when I am out somewhere, I am very aware that not everyone is cool with cigarette smoke.

Last night there were a bunch of people smoking cigars. The roofdeck at Fiore isn't tiny, but a bunch of cigar-smoking machismos made it pretty stinky up there. I couldn't help but comment on how disgusting cigars are. But then I though: I am a smoker. Who am I to pass any sort of judgment?

And that's when I realized that I am a hypocrite. Muah muah.

What a jackass

from The Cape Cod Times

Osterville man faces bogus bomb threat chargesOSTERVILLE - Barnstable police arrested a man who allegedly called in a bomb threat on several real estate institutions because he was late for a real estate exam yesterday.

Richard J. Burrill, 24, of Osterville called Barnstable police at 7:30 a.m. yesterday threatening real estate exam centers across the state, according to Barnstable police Sgt. Sean Sweeney.
The Woburn real estate testing office was evacuated and the Barnstable office of Kinlin Grover Real Estate was closed down for a short time because of the threats.

Barnstable detectives worked with the state police anti-terrorist unit to trace the calls to the White Hen Pantry in Osterville.

Burrill admitted to calling Dartmouth police to report a suspicious car with men of Russian or Middle Eastern descent in the parking lot of the Dartmouth real estate testing office, Sweeney said.

Burrill was apparently scheduled to take a real estate exam at the Dartmouth testing center.
Investigators traced the phone calls to the White Hen Pantry and were able to track Burrill down within twelve hours, Sweeney said.

Burrill was charged with communicating a false report of a bomb, which is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He was held overnight on $2,500 cash bail at the Barnstable police station.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court today

I just realized that I am a big pussy

Why hadn't I discovered this before?

Steven and I have very different styles of dealing with our dog, Millie. Steven is firm, yet fair with her and she listens to me. I, on the other hand, treat her like a person and give her way too much space. It hasn't been much of an issue until recently.

The last few times that I have been walking Millie she has gone crazy. The first time she lunged at these cute small kids who were standing some distance away. They asked if she was a boy or a girl and what her name was. As soon as I said her name she lost her shit and bolted towards the kids (she was on a leash, so she didn't get far). Naturally, the kids screamed and ran away, presumably to tell their mother about the crazy gay dude and his sicko dog.

The next day it happened again, except this time her intended target was a cute puppy. And by puppy I'm talking about a 12-week old little guy. She ran for the puppy, teeth and gums all aflutter and literally dragged me with her. I was so embarrassed (and scraped-up). The puppy's owner was cool about the whole thing, but there is another neighbor to add to the list of people who think I have a sicko dog.

The sad part about all of this is that Millie is a very sweet dog. She just has bad manners with other dogs when I am around. I am working on being stricter with her. As Cesar Romero says: there aren't problem dogs, only problem owners. I am the poster child for problem owners.