10 Gay Things That Made Me Happy During Pride Month

Gay Pride Month is coming to a close.  I've already given an account of our fun weekend in Salt Lake City at the Utah Pride Festival, written about the supportive note left on Brian's car for sporting an Equality sticker, and praised JCPenney for their support of marriage equality... but what else made me particularly proud to be a gay man this month?

1.  As if I needed another reason to love an Oreo, the cookie came out in full support of the LGBT community when it posted a photo of a rainbow-filled cookie on its official Facebook page on June 25th. The photo said, "Pride," with the accompanying status reading, "Proudly support love!"  I will proudly support that delicious cookie with a tall glass of ice-cold milk!

2.  Ben Long, a Mormon friend from my home ward in Colorado, posted on Facebook, “I would like to clear any confusion.  I fully and whole-heartedly support gay marriage and all that it stands for.  Seriously people, a person's happiness shouldn't affect how you feel about yourself and the world you live in.  It's their life, not yours.”  Just like the Mormons who marched in the Utah Pride Parade, it's great to see that Ben is an open-minded individual who supports equality and justice for ALL Americans.

3.  Entertainment Weekly recently came out with an issue of their magazine with the headline "The New Art of Coming Out."  The article, entitled "By The Way, We're Gay" by Mark Harris, discussed the way celebrities are coming out of the closet in a quiet way nowadays.  It mentioned when Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian in 1997 it was huge news, but today celebrities are simply mentioning their homosexuality in passing as if daring the public to make a big deal about it.  The gay celebrities mentioned in the article included Chris Colfer, Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Neil Patrick Harris, Wanda Sykes, Andy Cohen, Matt Bomer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and many others who are hugely successful on television.  Apparently being gay isn't as damaging to one's acting career as it once was.  The article ends with this quote:  "In 2012, it's still worth pausing for a moment to celebrate the people who are paving that road and, strange as it sounds, the approach of a day when news like this is so much a part of the fabric of everyday life that it won't merit the cover of this magazine."

4.  At work I spoke to a lovely girl named Flo who was shopping for an engagement ring.  I helped her find the perfect one, and when I asked who it was for, she said, "My future wife."  I pointed to my ring and explained that I was engaged to a man and we instantly felt like we had something in common.  She was there with who appeared to be her father and little sister, and I was happy to know she had family support.  Flo went on to tell me that her plan was to propose in Santa Monica, CA on a vacation with her girlfriend.  She had even gone so far as to hire a flash mob to aid in the proposal!  Isn't that awesome?

5.  President Obama came out in support of gay marriage recently, so it was no surprise when he recorded this video officially naming June the month of LGBT Pride.

6.  After posting the question, "Who on Facebook would be interested in going to Brian's and my wedding next year?" I was overwhelmed by the positive responses.  Over 50 friends and family members either liked the status or left a comment expressing their support of us as a couple and a desire to be in attendance for our big day.  I can't wait for 2013!!

7.  Superhero Green Lantern, aka Alan Scott, is now a gay man in DC Comics' new series Earth Two.  In an article in RollingStone Magazine, the creator of the series, James Robinson, says,  "Alan Scott is super-heroic, he's super gallant, he’ll die for the earth, he’ll die for its people, he's everything you want in a hero. I imagine he’s such a Type A character that when he realized he was gay, he was like, 'Okay, I'm gay, now I'm just gonna go on with my life.' He's so accepting of it himself and he's such a compelling person that the world knows Alan Scott's gay. He's such a leader, he's such a good man, that the Justice League don't care. And that's a healthy depiction of a team and how it should be."

8.  My dad has been penning some supportive and loving stuff about me lately, as evident in my Father's Day tribute to him.  But his kind words just don't stop.  He later said, "It's because of his integrity that he had the courage to 'come out' and reveal his true self amid the fear of the unknown consequences, and I truly admire him for that."  It makes me feel good to be admired!

9.  Chevrolet put out a print ad in a Detroit-based LGBT publication that featured a Chevy Volt "coming out" to its parents saying, "Mom, Dad, I'm electric."  Beneath a rainbow border, the caption read: "So, whatever revs your engine, we support you 100%.  Happy Motor City Pride from the entire Chevrolet family."  This makes me want to go out and buy a brand-new Chevy Volt!

10.  In an interview with The Independent, Carrie Underwood made a statement in support of marriage equality.  Although many celebrities have expressed this opinion, it came as a bit of a shock from the Christian country singer.  She said, "As a married person myself, I don't know what it's like to be told I can't marry somebody I love, and want to marry.  I can't imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love."  But how does this coincide with her Christianity?  She added, "Above all, God wanted us to love others. It's not about setting rules, or [saying] 'everyone has to be like me'. No. We're all different. That's what makes us special. We have to love each other and get on with each other. It's not up to me to judge anybody."

So there you have it, the 10 gay things that made me happy during Pride Month!  Now I'm off to eat some Oreo cookies while driving my Chevy Volt and listening to "Jesus, Take the Wheel."

Summer is Heating Up: Chihuahua Comics NEW July Schedule Announced

That's right.  I decided to up the ante this July and give you not two, but THREE new Chihuahua Comics every week.  So instead of the Sunday/Wednesday schedule that June followed, my comics will now be appearing Monday, Wednesday and Friday! 

I know.  You're speechless.  You can thank me later with some pretzel bites or a caramel chai frappe.  Or you could just read the boys' adventures and tell all your friends to read them too.  July has some fun stuff in store.  There's a tribute to A Streetcar Named Desire, a trip to Ikea and even some new characters!  Get pumped, because the summer is heating up!

Chihuahua Comics 2012:8

Chihuahua Comics 2012:7

Riley's Wedding

My coworker Riley married her fiance Chance yesterday.  My manager Jen and coworker Kate went to the ceremony, held in the backyard of Riley's family home, while Mineh and I worked at the store, so unfortunately I wasn't able to see them say their wedding vows.  I heard it was beautiful though.  Kate sent me a text that said, "Riley's wedding was adorable!  I cried."

"You did?" I asked.  "Aw..."

"Yeah," she said.  "I'm all sensitive and shit."

Hee hee.  Aren't my coworkers fun?  Anyway, they came to the store later to relieve Mineh and I so we could attend the reception.  It was in Payson (aka out in the boonies) so Mineh and I got to drive on long stretches of dirt road to get there.  We got slowed down at one point because some horses had gotten loose and a bunch of people were trying to get them off the road.  Fun times.
 
The reception was very nice with strings of lights and paper lanterns against the night sky.  There was a very romantic yet laid-back feel:  a true country wedding.  Riley looked absolutely stunning in her wedding dress.  Her hair was down and curled instead of in some fancy up-do and she wore turquoise jewelry with her white dress which gave her a "Santa Fe" kind of look.  It really suited her.  Of course Chance looked handsome in his tux and teal blue tie.  They really are a cute couple and I'm happy for them.

Mineh and I were there just in time for the cutting of the cake, the tossing of both the bouquet and garter belt, and the couples first dance.  It was very sweet.  Riley's dance with her father afterwards almost had Mineh and I in tears.  Almost.  Riley even invited me to dance with her and it was a lot of fun.  "I've never danced with a bride before," I mused.  I tried dancing with the groom too, but he wouldn't have it.  Just kidding.

Mineh and I also ate some dinner, took photos in the photo booth and then wandered around eating cake.  Jen and Kate returned to the party after they were finished closing, which Mineh and I were grateful for because we didn't know anybody else in the wedding party besides the couple.  The highlight of the night for all four of us would have to have been when a sexy, shirtless cowboy came out of nowhere and began taking the ice sculptures away at the end of the party.  "It doesn't hurt to look, right?" asked Mineh.  We were afraid the ice would freeze to his nipples...

However, all this wedding stuff just got my mind reeling about what I want Brian's and my wedding to look like.  Ours will be in the late fall, so it won't be outdoors like Riley's was.  I'm not sure if I want an ice sculpture, but a photo booth could be fun.  I think I want live music.  And we could have Brian's work cater.  Maybe an open bar.  With all the screaming kids running around at Riley's wedding, I'm thinking I might even make a no-kid rule... but who knows?  Kate says that makes me sound snobby.  Brian and I have been called pretentious a number of times so I'm getting used to that.  All I know is I want our wedding to be classy yet fun.  Upscale but not stuffy.  Oh, and we're thinking 20s inspired! 

A year and a half seems so far away, but really it's not.  I've got to start planning!  Pinterest, here I come!

"Oh crap," Kate says.  "We've got another bridezilla on our hands."

Chihuahua Comics 2012:6

I Thank God For My Father

My father is an amazing man and I love him very much.  Like the rest of us, my father has made mistakes and learned from them, fallen in and out of love, risen and fallen, and over time has become an example of humility and Christlike love.  Through his ministries at the Springs Rescue Mission where he works with the homeless and needy, he gives people hope for their futures and a firm foundation to build their lives upon.  He empathizes with the plights of others and is ever compassionate.

I still remember how nervous and scared I was when I sat on the floor of my shared room, arms wrapped around my knees as my trembling fingers pushed the buttons to call my father and tell him I was gay.  Just like a tiny grenade can unleash a powerful explosion, I knew that a little sentence--"I'm gay"--could have an equal effect on a father.  Fathers want their sons to be strong, to be manly, to be tough.  Fathers don't want gay sons.  And with his strong Christian faith, I knew that my words could invite a hailstorm of righteous anger and biblical reprimands.

But instead, my father gave me the greatest gift he could ever give.  He gave me love.  It was hard for him to handle at first, as is change of any kind, but ultimately he has given me unconditional love and support.  He sees the good in me, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Recently my dad wrote a comment on one of my other blog posts, but seeing that most people don't read the comments, I decided to quote him here.  This is what he had to say on my "coming out" and what he believes should be the Christian response: 

When Jack came out that he was gay, I have to admit that my world was rocked with 100 magnitude earthquake. My initial response was to appeal to his love for God with passages from Romans. I prayed incessantly for God to change my son and make him straight. God made changes all right. He changed me. Though I still struggle with a lot of the theology around this issue, I am certain that God has spoken to me and revealed that I don't know everything. I have come to realize that God looks past our gender and directly to our hearts. Jack's heart is beautiful. Jack loves God. Jack seeks to bless others. I am proud of my son, Jack. I can only hope that my heart will be as beautiful as Jack's.

Christians like to say that the United States is a Christian nation, then go full steam into a biased rhetoric. The Judeo-Christian values we find in our society can be found in other societies, as well. The truth of the matter is that this is a free nation, which allows me to be a Christian, and everyone else to follow whatever religion they choose, to believe in God or not. It is also a nation that should view all of her citizens as equal with regard to rights. This is the basic question of the gay marriage issue. When I look at Jack and Brian, a couple who love each other and want to express that love through marriage, I don't see two gay people asking for something I have but they shouldn't even dare to request; rather, I see two American citizens who want the same rights as I. How in the world can I allow my preference to be superior to theirs? How can we as a free people prevent others the same benefits of citizenship because they love someone of the same gender?

I pray that Christians will learn that the most taught lesson in the Bible is to love one another. God is teaching me what that looks like. He is also showing me that He will truly be more inclusive regarding those who will live eternally with Him than we are.

I love you, Jack. I am proud to be the father of such a wonderful human being as you!!!!!

I love you too, Dad.  I thank God for blessing me with a father like you.

And while my father mentions gay marriage, I think it's as good a time as any to make an announcement.  As I'm sure everyone knows, Brian and I have been engaged for almost four years now with no wedding date in mind.  That has changed.  We have decided to get married on November 2, 2013 which will be our five-year anniversary!  I look forward to having my father--and the rest of my family and friends--in attendance.

Happy Father's Day!

Chihuahua Comics 2012:5

JCPenney's Father's Day Ad

JCPenney has become quite the gay supporter recently.  First they hired Ellen DeGeneres to be their spokesperson, then they featured a wedding cake with two little men on top in one of their wedding registry fliers, and now they've got a 2-page spread in their Father's Day catalog of gay dads playing with their children.

When I first saw the ad, which is circulating like crazy on the news and internet, I assumed the family pictured was composed of paid models.  However, I stumbled upon an article from a website called Advocate where I learned that the family pictured is a real family.  The man on the left is named Cooper Smith and he's the founder of a public relations and social media firm called Cooper Smith Agency.  He's also the founder of an e-zine called Gay List Daily and the gay-parenting blog 2 Daddies, 1 Love / 2 Mommies, 1 Love.  His partner of 13 years (on the right) is named Todd and their children are Claire and Mason, aged 3.

The experience of being in the ad has been a positive one for them.  According to a quote in the Advocate article, Cooper said:

We’ve received hundreds of emails, Facebook posts, Twitter comments and cards in the mail from everyone from long-lost friends and classmates to complete strangers in remote parts of the United States and beyond, each filled with heartfelt sentiments of support and acceptance.  Sure, there have been some pretty hateful comments and notes, too. But they’re nothing we haven’t heard our whole lives. More importantly, they’ve been eclipsed at least 100-to-1 by the positive ones.  Personally, it’s warmed our hearts and renewed our faith that most Americans are fair-minded people and that there’s a helluva lot more love out there for families like ours than we ever knew.  And that’s the greatest Father’s Day gift of all.

 With that being said, I want to wish all the fathers in the world an early "Happy Father's Day!"

Traffic Cones

Traffic cones are like pimples.  If a person has normally flawless skin and then suddenly gets a big, bright pimple on their face, you notice it.  It stands out.  But some people have bad skin with faces just covered in acne, and over time you stop noticing the pimples.  Sure, they are still there... but it's just become the expected.  It's the norm.  It's unremarkable.  Those bright pimples have suddenly lost their ability to stand out and draw attention.

So how is this like a traffic cone?  Well, in an area not familiar to road construction, an orange traffic cone probably catches everyone's attention.  But where I live, traffic cones are as plentiful as zits on a horny teenager.  They are everywhere.  All the time.  No matter what road you turn on, there are more orange cones dotting the street and redirecting you.  We've all become accustomed to them.  So when I walked the few blocks down to where I catch the bus to work, I didn't pay much attention to the fact that there was a little orange cone at the base of the bus stop sign.  I also didn't really notice that the street from which the bus turns was also littered with orange cones.  There was even a sign that said "ROAD BLOCKED," but again, what's one more pimple?

I stood waiting for my bus for what seemed like forever.  I had my earphones for my phone and was listening to music while I waited, so it wasn't too horrible to have to stand there.  I would occasionally peruse Facebook or read an article from my New York Times app.  But after a while I began to notice that I had been there well over a half hour and the bus was supposed to go by every 15 minutes.  That's when I noticed the cone near my feet.  That cone, led to the realization of all the other cones on the intersecting street.  The orange traffic cones merged together to form a clear message in my brain:  the bus has been rerouted, idiot.

Crap!  What was I to do?  So I began walking in the direction of the mall where I work, knowing full well that I wouldn't make it there in time.  It was now 9:15 and I needed to be there at 9:30.  So I gave my coworker Riley a call and said, "Can you please come rescue me?  I'm stranded on State Street."  She said she could.  I was near a Sonic Drive-In so I told her to meet me there.  After some breakfast and a chocolate cherry Coke, she finally arrived at about 9:45.

"Sorry it took me so long," she said.  "I went to take the Center Street Exit but it was blocked off by traffic cones.  I had a hell of a time getting to you!"

Chihuahua Comics 2012:4

Chihuahua Comics 2012:3

Bumper Stickers

Brian's gotten a little sticker-happy on his bumper lately.  I'm not the biggest fan of bumper stickers, so I was a little hesitant to the idea of papering his car with propaganda.  But Brian was all for it, and after all, it is his car so I didn't voice any objection.  You see, the Utah Pride Festival hooked us up with a lot of free stuff including, but not limited to, bumper stickers.  In the parking lot of the Sheraton before heading home, Brian stuck each and every one onto his car.  There's one that says "Proud Democrat," another one for The Human Rights Campaign, Equality Utah and even one that says "Utah for Obama 2012."  It's probably the most liberal Toyota Corolla in all of Utah County.  Or as my friend Wes said, "That's the gayest car ever."

The stickers haven't gone unnoticed.  Yesterday we were driving back from a wedding reception in Lehi when Brian noticed something flapping on our windshield.

"What is that?" he asked.

There, tucked under one of the windshield wipers, was a handwritten note.

"I told you we'd get crap for those bumper stickers," I replied.

"What do you think it says," he asked me.  

"I don't know.  All I can see is the word equality.  Do you think it's positive or negative?"

My gut was telling me it was negative, but Brian was determined to read it.  We took the nearest exit and pulled over.  Brian got out of the car, picked up the note and looked at it.  His expression didn't change at all, so I still had no idea what to expect.  Upon returning to his seat he handed me the note.  It read:

Thank you for being brave enough to have that sticker.  We all deserve equality.

I smiled.  "So it's a good note!"

Brian smiled too.  "It's a good note."

Driving the rest of the way home, we tried to figure out who might have left it for us.  The note was written on the back of a receipt.  Whoever wrote it got gas at Top Stop in Centerville, Utah yesterday at 5:21 PM and paid with a Visa.  Centerville is an hour away from us, so even if the driver headed south to Orem directly after filling up, there was no way they got to our car before we left at 6:30 for the wedding reception.  That means it couldn't have been any of our neighbors or anybody who might have seen Brian's car parked at his work or at the mall where we had lunch.  It had to have been somebody at the wedding reception.  Considering it was an LDS wedding reception with the majority of the guests being conservative Mormons, I'm feeling really good about this note.

I'm also feeling really good about those bumper stickers, especially the equality one.  I guess Brian had the right idea about bumper stickers after all.

Action Louder Than Words

After making a donation at the Equality Utah booth at this year's Utah Pride Festival, we were given a t-shirt in appreciation and asked to pose for the cameras.  The photographer said, "Make it cute," and on the count of three, Brian turned and laid one on me!  Such a cute photo!  I love it!

For those who don't know, Equality Utah is an organization dedicated to the equal rights and protections of LGBT Utahns and their families.  In order to do this, Equality Utah drafts legislation and lobbies to get that legislation passed.  They focus on a variety of issues, such as hospital visitation rights, relationship recognition, HIV/AIDS, hate crimes and nondiscrimination ordinances.

Currently they are trying to pass a bill called SB51 which will make it illegal in the state of Utah to be fired or evicted based on sexual orientation.  Although various cities have passed such ordinances on the local level (such as Salt Lake City), there isn't a statewide law to protect LGBT citizens from discrimination everywhere.  Places like Orem or Provo, where Brian and I live and work, can fire or evict a homosexual person for no real reason at all.  Forty-three percent of lesbians, gays and bisexuals responded in a survey that they have experienced discrimination in housing and employment.  The percentage is even higher--67%--amongst the transgendered community.  Equality Utah has proposed statewide legislation to protect LGBT Utahns from discrimination in every legislative session since 2008.  Brian and I signed a petition while at the Utah Pride Festival, and hopefully this time around the bill will be passed.

Because I want action louder than words!

Chihuahua Comics 2012:2

Utah Pride Festival: Sunday

Saturday night at the Utah Pride Festival was fun, so much fun in fact that we all woke up exhausted the next morning in an inexplicably destroyed hotel room.  One of us was missing a tooth, a baby was crying and there was a ferocious tiger in the bathroom that may or may not belong to Mike Tyson.  Or was that 2009's The Hangover?  Hard to tell.

Anyway, we dragged our sleepy butts out of bed, showered and dressed, and then began the ever-enjoyable activity of locating all our belongings and repacking.  Coaxing the tiger out was probably the hardest part, but we managed by using Brett's rainbow-colored boa as a lure.  Before checking out of our room we enjoyed breakfast at the 5th Street Grill of the Sheraton Hotel and then hopped on the hotel shuttle.  Other pleasant people joined us on our way to the parade route, and the building excitement for the event was palpable.

This feeling only increased as we stepped onto the sidewalks and found ourselves a nice, shady spot on 200 South to view the parade from.  There were thousands of people all around us from every walk of life.  People with rainbow mohawks or angel wings, shirtless gay couples, older couples in chairs, straight couples, and even families with strollers.  People of all ethnicities, economic statuses and sexual orientations joined together to support the LGBT community and I was very happy to be a part of it.

The day was sunny and the parade was awesome.  Brian and I went to the parade a few years ago on a gray, rainy day and I remember being disappointed with the parade.  This year, however, the atmosphere was jubilant and the parade seemed longer and more interesting.  The parade's Grand Marshall, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (known for Milk and J. Edgar), led the parade full of church groups, gay rights organizations, various LGBT clubs and groups, local businesses and publications, and larger corporate sponsors.  A couple of floats featured live music or dancers, drag queens in all their glory and even a sneak peak of an upcoming performance of Chicago at the Egyptian Theater in Park City.

The first group to march in the parade, Mormons Building Bridges, was also the group to create the most media buzz.  Basically it's a group of Latter-day Saints who believe in showing love and support to the gay community and who do not take the Church's stance on homosexuality as individuals.  As a former Mormon myself, it meant a lot to me to see them marching in the parade on my behalf.  I was thankful I was wearing sunglasses, because I was moved to tears.  They had signs like "Love one another" or "I'll walk with you, I'll talk with you, that's how I'll show my love for you" from the LDS children's hymn.  And the gay community was grateful, as shown by the enthusiastic applause and cheers from the sidelines.

Here's a YouTube video somebody posted of the group in the parade:



After the parade, the four of us followed the crowd back to the festival grounds where we checked out all the various booths, signed some petitions, made some donations, ate some food, got lots of free swag, and even got a demonstration in how to use a condom.  Not a bad way to spend a sunny afternoon.  In fact, the whole thing wasn't a bad way to spend a weekend.  Walking back to the car, Brett and Wes talked about how great it was to see all the support and love.  They mentioned that it was nice to feel like they were part of a community where they could truly be themselves.  Where they could be unashamed.  Where they could be proud.

I'd like to thank the Utah Pride Center for sponsoring the festival and for all they do to change hearts and lives for the better.

Utah Pride Festival: Saturday

Brian and I thought it would be fun to go to the Utah Pride Festival this year.  And in my desperation for some kind of vacation, I thought we could make it an overnight trip and stay in a hotel even.  Salt Lake City is only an hour away and feasibly we could have driven back and forth, but where's the fun in that?  And what could be more fun than getting friends together to go?  So we invited our friends Brett and Wes along to join us in the festivities.

All four of us had to work on Saturday, but as soon as we clocked out we threw our bags into the trunk of Brian's car and headed up the freeway to our weekend of gay frivolity.  We checked into our hotel room at the Sheraton at about 7:00 PM, freshened up a bit, and then headed to Washington Square where the festival was being held.  We got there just in time to see the talent provided by the Utah Pride Center this year: Prince Poppycock of America's Got Talent fame and Frenchie Davis who appeared on both American Idol and The Voice. 

Prince Poppycock was a hoot painted all in gold with a fabulously shiny wig.  He sang a variety of numbers, beginning with the operatic "Marriage of Figaro" and ending with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."  His performance was campy fun and the audience ate it up.  Frenchie Davis performed next and she was phenomenal!  A large woman with a shaved head and a big voice, she belted her heart out on numbers from Cee Lo Green to Lady Gaga to her own single "Love Has Got A Hold of Me."  She was so fantastic the audience cheered her on for an encore.

I wasn't cool enough to record any of the performances, but luckily other people did.  Here are some vids that I found on YouTube from the festival:





After the performances, a Latin dance party commenced so we moved to the front of the stage and danced our little hearts out.  With the awesome lights, pumping music, and hot dancers shaking their booties on stage it was a pretty exhilarating night out.  Exhilarating and hot.  And by hot I mean sweaty, and not in a good way.  Eventually we had to get away from there and head back to our hotel room.  None of the hot Latin dancers wanted to come home with us, so we spent the rest of the night playing cards and... well, what happens in Salt Lake stays in Salt Lake.

Chihuahua Comics 2012:1

Goodbye May, Hello June

May was a pretty decent month.  The best part of it was that I wasn't in school!  I almost took a Spanish course over the summer, but I was unable to obtain summer financial aid and the class would have cost me $1000 out of pocket.  No thank you.  So instead I'm just working and when I'm home I have time to clean the apartment, hang out with Brian and work on personal projects.

Apart from working on the upcoming Chihuahua Comics (the first month and a half are already scheduled to post), I've been doing some writing.  At first I was combing over the first draft of Jacky Boy and improving upon it, but it wasn't really working for me.  So then I decided to start completely over and I'm enjoying this version a lot better.  It's the same story, but I'm approaching it in a different way.  I thought my first draft said too much at the beginning, so I'm withholding more information to be more mysterious.  It's been fun to do.

Here are some other highlights from May:

• We threw a Cinco de Mayo Party at the beginning of the month and invited a random grab bag of people.  Some friends from my old Cinemark job, some Zales coworkers, Brian's family, and an old mission companion came over to eat shrimp tacos and converse with one another.  It was pretty low-key, but it was fun.
• My friend Wes came home from school and we caught a movie and had some lunch.  We even looked at some scooters because he's thinking of buying one.  I'm starting to wonder if I should get a scooter... or a car... or hell, a broomstick even if it will fly me to work!  Brian's sister Amy just got a new car and I'm jealous.  Sometimes relying on the bus or organizing rides with coworkers gets annoying.
• Mother's Day was enjoyable.  I called and spoke with my mom and my stepmom, which was lovely, and then we had dinner at Brian's parents' house.  Brian's mom loved all her gifts, including The Help on DVD which we all watched with her.
• Brian and I had a particularly enjoyable date night.  He wanted to surprise me so I didn't know what we were doing.  He took us to Macaroni Grill and then we went to paint pottery at Color Me Mine!  It was so fun!  Brian painted a sundae dish and I painted a mug.  They both turned out really great.  However, I must say that dating these days is really expensive.  Between dinner and the pottery, we spent $100 on one night out!
• Jenny's sister just had a birthday and closed on her new house around the same time.  Congrats!  May brought other moves as well.  My brother moved into an apartment with his girlfriend, which is a big step for them.  Now that they have an empty nest, my dad and stepmom moved into a new apartment as well.
• My sister found out the baby is going to be a girl.  She's naming her Amaya!
• Brian started taking art classes on Wednesday nights with a friend of his named Renae Bonsteel.  He's really been enjoying them.  One night after his lesson, Renae and her sister Candace came over to watch Spirited Away.  Brian popped some Parmesan and black pepper popcorn and it was a lot of fun.  Renae had once been to Japan so she had a lot of insight into the movie.
• Speaking of Japan, Brian has been obsessed with Japanese cuisine lately.  He's been poring over a Japanese cookbook and watching this crazy internet cooking show called Cooking With Dog.  A new Asian Market opened up in Provo recently and Brian spent a sizable portion of our grocery budget there!
• May didn't come without its share of drama.  My friend Michelle and I had a falling out and are no longer on speaking terms.  Brian's family is going through some stuff as well.  And at work, I missed my monthly sales goal by a measly $65 or so.  I was so close!!  Oh well...

Now I'm ready for June, which is Gay Pride Month!  To start it off, Brian and I are going to Salt Lake City's Pride Festival tomorrow with our friends Wes and Brett.  I'm hoping for a fun weekend.