Today was my big neighborhood event, a cleanup of the streets around Cherrywood Park. It has been bugging me for years that leaves and dirt and everything else just piles up on the street, decomposes, congeals, and grows. I was originally going to go out with a bucket and a spade and spend 30 minutes every Saturday for the next 2 years until it was done, but then I went to a neighborhood Garden Club meeting.

I mentioned to the association leader that I had this idea for a project and he was like, great, can you organize it all? Yeah … I can. So I set out figuring out what to do. First I contacted the city, and that turned into a ton of conference calls. Just to pick up dirt. But I got our congressperson involved with his office, Code Compliance, and Parks and Rec. They have a tool borrowing program, so I got 5 shovels, 5 rakes, 5 brooms, 5 trash pickers, 100 bags, 15 gloves, and a leaf blower delivered to my house on Friday.

We advertised it through the neighborhood association and garden club and about 30 people showed up this morning from 9-11. I thought it would take us much longer, but people really worked hard and scraped up every bit of dirt on the street. They even met with the homeowner whose house we were essentially cleaning and got permissions to trim her shrubs back so you could actually walk on the sidewalk. Am I really the head of the Dallas Walkability Council now?!

It was a lot to put together, but honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Daniel asked me last night as we were going to bed if I was nervous, and I laughed and said YES. Why do I keep doing these kinds of things? Why do I put myself in these situations? And he said, “Because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut at your fucking garden club meeting.” And you just have to admit, he’s totally right. So we’ll see what I end up planning next! Stay tuned!

On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Daniel’s father, Paul passed away. He had been sick and was in hospice care, but all the same it was unexpected. Paul had moved up to Bellingham to live with his wife, both for better climate and for a little assistance.

Daniel planned a trip to go see him and spend some quality time. They had made reservations at different fancy restaurants for every night of the week. But when he got there, he quickly realized that probably wasn’t happening. The situation was rapidly declining, so he extended his trip and I bought a plane ticket to join him Friday after work so I could help out. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his illness sooner than expected. I changed my ticket to the earliest flight the next day and headed up.

Any way you slice it, it’s about a full day to get up to Seattle and then up to Bellingham. When I landed, I checked the big board for my gate information for my connecting flight only to see the word, “CANCELED.” Not delayed. Just canceled. I was really trying not to be a burden but I was like wtf do I do. His mom will typically not fly between cities, but take a bus charter instead. I got the details for the bus, bought a ticket immediately even if it wasn’t going to work, and then set out trying to figure out where to go. You would think the website would have some instructions, but no. I called the number and this nice man stayed on the line as he walked me through where to go. The bus was waiting and I got on board and not 15 minutes later, we were set out for our 2 hour drive up to Bellingham.

I got there by like 8pm. Daniel met me at the Sheraton 4-Points hotel. We said hi to his mom standing in the rain and then went to our fancy hotel. Everything in Bellingham pretty much shuts down at 9pm, so we had to rush to the restaurant next door, and apologize to the wait staff because we were the last ones there past closing, but they were very nice about it. My goal was to just be a fly on the wall, provide emotional support, and help out in any way I could while the family sorted out the most immediate concerns.

Really, I thought we could have short stints of a nice little weekend, and we did. Bellingham is a cute town, although way far left of my comfort zone – and that’s saying a lot! Our hotel was really nice, overlooking the water, far from the train tracks, and quiet. One morning, we ran into Lucien Laviscount, who played Alfie in Emily in Paris, that godawful TV show. I didn’t recognize him immediately, just said good morning as we passed on the elevator, but then I paused thinking, do I know him? I turned to Daniel and his jaw was on the ground. Rumor is that Tyler Perry was in town filming a movie with John Cena and Michael Buble. We even saw a helicopter over the water performing what looked to be repeated fake rescue operations surrounded by boats potentially housing cameras? When the next Tyler Perry movie comes out we’re going to go see it and if it doesn’t have Lucien in a water rescue scene we’re gonna feel like idiots.

We had some good meals, a few cries, and provided some useful help to his mother. Daniel is the first from our generation to lose a parent, and it was a reminder that we are entering that chapter of our lives. Paul will be deeply missed but always remembered.

Last night we attended a charity gala. I wouldn’t say we’re exactly gallerinas, but this one was pretty fun. We got some “free” tickets because my dad had made a donation in honor of his late brother, so there was some obligation to go. Plus this is one of the charities I’ve worked with in my side gig and I know the founder well, so … we put on suit jackets despite the 100+ temperatures and set out for a warehouse venue near the Galleria.

What was funny is that it was on some random street we’ve never heard of or seen, and yet just the night before we were like 3 doors down. We went and saw a traveling exhibit of the Trump Epstein Files Reading Room. They printed out all 3 million pages of redacted released files, and put them into volumes on rows and rows of book cases. We promptly started pulling books out and leafing through them looking for a previously unnoticed gold nugget. Some dude came up and said, “I don’t think you’re actually supposed to touch the books.” Which then made us paranoid so we stopped. But it was called “reading room” so I don’t get what the hell else you were supposed to do there. It ended up taking like 10 minutes to get thru and then we went to dinner.

Anyway, the gala was fun. It was very inspiring to be in a room full of people who care about other people when that seems to be in low supply these days. Some of the residents of the homeless shelter program even took the mic and spoke about their experiences, which was moving. I got a little emotional when one by one they said how terrible things had gotten that they googled for help and found this organization #1 in the list, because I’m the one that got that all set up and working. So that was cool to remember that things you’ve done previously can continue to have a ripple effect.

Great meal, good conversations, made a little donation in excess of what we do monthly (and doubled it using my employer), so all in all I’d say it was a wonderful evening.

My brother sent out this picture to my whole family. He said that he and his wife weren’t really dressing up as anybody in particular, they just both chose wigs they liked so they could wear them to a party. But when he sent out this picture, he said he was going as me for Halloween. Flattered and a little impressed. It’s always nice to know what you’re going to look like 5 years from now. I have to say tho, Krista doesn’t look a thing like Daniel. I don’t think I’m going to dress up this year, so I’ll also be going as me. I’m not even sure that I’ll be doing anything this year. I already missed the block party downtown.

But I celebrated in my own little way. I bought a pumpkin and roasted the seeds with a sprinkle of clove, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Delicious. Then I also bought two eating pumpkins (they’re small and green) and I cut them up and roasted them. So delicious. While I was in Australia, we had pumpkin a few times and I grew to love it as more than a canned pie filling. So that was awesome even though I sliced a couple fingers open. Those fucking pumpkins were like rocks. I finally had to just cleaver them open.

But more important than Halloween, New Year’s Eve is coming up and I want to do something fun outside of Dallas. I was really thinking like a cabin on the lake with a few friends and a keg. But I really couldn’t find anywhere within driving distance that I would want to go. Does anybody have any ideas of something fun they’ve done in the area? Lemme know. Kthanks.

If you haven’t ever seen Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, I suggest you go rent it immediately and bask in it. Just bask. I rented it last night when Blockbuster didn’t have Strangers with Candy (so lame). So now I’m sitting home alone with a bottle of Patrón chilling in the freezer thoroughly enjoying myself. I got dressed up for no reason, fried some dinner in butter and life is good.

I remember the first time I saw Block Party. It was when the ever lovely Miss Lesbie Ann B■■■■■ was in my hizzell and we wanted a drizzell in the mornizzle, like you do. After drinking breakfast at the Gecko we went to Studio Movie Grill and laughed our asses off at this movie in between martinays. Loves it.

On Monday I have to get up at 4am. I have a 6am flight to Manassas, VA. Well, there’s no airport in Manassas, obviously, but it is right near Washingtown, DC. I have to be there for a week with work. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was looking forward to it. I’ve gotten in a rut lately, if you haven’t noticed. I hardly ever leave my apartment. I never go anywhere or do anything. That is one downfall to dating. You just get comfortable and stop trying to look around for fun things to do. So now I’m going to Manassas. If I weren’t dating Daniel then I’d say I looked forward to getting some asses in Manassas, but it’s just a tag line now.

I got my sister’s name in our annual xmas gift exchange. She’s a 30-something news anchor, soon-to-be-mother of two with a brand new house. Give me gift ideas. I am not having any ideas pop into my head.

Like I said, not too many hilarious stories to tell from the couch unless you want me to recount my favorite episodes of Family Guy…. No? Then FUCK YOU. I’m out. Peace.

So remember how I told you all that I had overdrawn my account $750? My dad wasn’t very happy about that. He called me on Friday night but I declined the phone call in favor of having a good time one last night. But I talked to him on Saturday. It was the usual speech about how I don’t have unlimited resources and credit cards were not free money, yadda yadda yadda. I think he was more upset about the fact that I wasn’t upset than he was about the money. But in reality, I realize the errors of my way.

Anyway, being the loving father that he is, he decided he would temporarily help me out with my financial woes under one condition: I am not allowed to spend another dime.

For those of you that know me, hang out with me, eat with me, shop with me, or are present while I surf the web, you will know that poverty is not the life for me. I spend money constantly. If it’s not a new 60 dollar shirt, it’s a Time Life DVD collection. If it’s not a clever trinket from eBay, it’s a decadent midafternoon meal. If it’s not a 70 dollar bar tab, it’s another freaking pair of shoes.

No more. From now on I am living the life of a poor college student. I’ve vowed to not spend so much as an extra penny beyond what is absolutely necessary to live. So far today I haven’t spent any money. And it’s not been easy. I drove to campus to eat lunch, and then took my leftovers home in a box to eat for dinner. I also took my ATM card, check card, and credit card out of my wallet, so I can only use them when I really seriously need it. I have 3 dollars in cash and a semi-full change bucket to see me through. On the plus side, though, this means I’m automatically on a diet, can’t smoke, and can’t drink. Maybe poverty is the key to healthy living.

Oh and about the chastity thing… I just figure nobody wants to fuck a poor guy.

I’d have to say that everything about yesterday sucked. There was nothing good about it. Not one thing. I woke up around 9:00. I don’t want to go into too much detail or get too graphic, but lets just say that my body was trying to expel fluids as rapidly as possible. There are 3 ways for your body to do this, and mine was doing all 3 at once. This continued all damn day. For the first 9 hours or so I couldn’t so much as take a sip of water without violently dry heaving it back up. At one point I passed out in the bathroom cause I was so hungry and dehydrated and throwing up took a whole lot out of me. I was in bed for a total of 27 hours. I just woke up and I think I’m feeling better. You should see these darkass circles around my eyes, its kind of scary. But really I haven’t eaten anything in about 40 hours. I might give that a try soon. Hopefully it will stay down.

Thats why I didn’t update in a timely fashion. I was busy with other more important things. But I do have stories from Friday night. I went to a party at Arash’s place with Ryan and Brandon. It was like a Halloween party. It was really fun. But thats not the story I’m telling. A few of us were out on the porch and I hear this truck completely revving the engine, so I look and I think to myself, “Damn, that truck is going REALLY fast.” I’m not a good judge of this, but I’d say it was doing at least 40mph thru the parking lot. Next thing you know, this truck has jumped a curb and run into a parked car full speed. It not only destroys one car, but nails it into a second car which also gets fucked up. It was so crazy. Doesn’t end there though. This truck throws it into reverse and PEELS out of there and they are gone. It was a frickin DWI hit and run. I’m not sure if anyone got the license number, but I hope so. Those guys are bastards. It really broke up the party too, which sucked. Since the cops were obviously going to be there soon and there was all sorts of underage drinking going on, everyone just kinda meandered home. I took Brandon home cause he was going to Austin for an early appointment, and then I went back to the party for a while. Believe it or not, I didn’t drink the whole night, so those of you who would blame my stomach flu on a hangover are dead wrong. I wish I had drank though, maybe it would have killed whatever disease was floating around in my body. Thats the update for tonight. I will talk to you have nots later.