HALLOWEEN Gratitude: Mark

Well, I weighed myself this morning, and am literally five pounds heavier than I was on Friday, due - I'm sure - entirely to this weekend's Halloween-related drinking.  

• I'm specifically grateful that when I went back to the second bar - Simon's - on Friday night, that my cell phone was still there, exactly where I left it with half of my drink.  Yes - to your unanswered question, I did take another sip of said drink upon reunion with my phone because: we were all there, so why not.

• I'm oddly grateful for the naked party held at the Call (divey gay bar in A'ville)yesterday.  To be clear, it's a non-sexual naked party (though a LOT of sex follows).  It was a surprisingly fun crowd - many of whom I was specifically glad to see naked. Being gay is normally ridiculous, but it's even more so at a Halloween naked party.  "Oh, another naked cowboy. How original."  (That was me, saying that, even as I was in cowboy boots and a bandana.  Orville Peck was not threatened).  It was actually a blast on an otherwise ho-hum afternoon, and maybe I made some new friends?

• My mom's Halloween costume arrived yesterday. I am very grateful for this because I didn't realize until Friday afternoon that her memory care facility is having a Halloween party today.  I emailed my sister and said, "SHIT."  She replied "FUCK."  I went to amazon.  They had a perfect pajama-style flamingo costume - the wings are what really makes the whole thing amazing.  Having a parent in memory care seems in many ways like having a child in daycare, and you realize - at the last possible minute - "holy shit, I was supposed to have done x, y, z," today - and I'm ALWAYS just under the wire (except for when I miss it completely).  I'm grateful that Artis plans holiday activities, and that this one is going to have a flamingo as part of the flock.  

Friday Morning: Mark

•  Tommy: "Shut up, Mark. It was a reciprocal question."  Do you mean rhetorical?  "I SAID SHUT UP MARK."

• I have a crush, and it feels so good, and he's crushing back.  Also, his name is Jack which is fun for seasonal jack-o-lantern puns.

• My niece Eleanor (age 4) called me on Wednesday afternoon on the way home from school to report that Bob, the gecko who lived in the pre-school lobby, died.  It's her first reckoning with death.  She was *shook* and explained, in detail, what she'd learned while on speaker phone.  "Bob is DEAD.  His body stopped working, and he's GONE." We talked about how it made her feel, and when she was done asking questions, there was a pause.  "Marky." Yes?  "Why aren't you married?"  Well, I'm not dead yet. Grateful for this hilarious little moment.

Monday Night: Mark

• OH MY GOD I'M SUPER EXCITED TO HAVE LOGGED IN AFTER A WEEK OR SO OFF, AND I'M SO GRATEFUL PATRICK HAS BEEN GRATEFUL.

• I'm also weirdly grateful for this astrology podcast I listen to that just informed me that I'm going to be over tired and need a lot of rest for basically all of the next four weeks (honestly, any excuse to take more naps is THRILLING).

• I'm also super excited about this guy Jack that I have a second date with tomorrow night. I hope to jack him off.  Quote me on that.

Friday afternoon, Patrick, pt. 2

•  Oh, and I nearly forgot: I am super grateful for Erin Meade's LinkedIn professional head shot, which features a popped collar on a camel-colored overcoat(?)/wool jacket(?).  Kudos, Erin Meade.

Friday afternoon, Patrick

• I am grateful for audiobooks and hound dogs, and the virtuous combination of listening to audiobooks while walking hound dogs, and how I've managed to read/listen to dozens of books in the last couple of years and learn many new things.
• I am glad that Jesse is home from Stockholm and will be home for a (relatively long) while until he's off again to Israel for some reason or another.  (Jesse being super into business is ... disorienting.)
• I appreciate adulthood in that I do not have to spend time with my brother at Thanksgiving if I don't want to.
• I am happy to be going to hang out and house-hunt in the countryside this weekend and look forward to communal living at some point in some fashion. 

Sunday Evening, Patrick

• Thankful for the concept of margaritas, as well as this specific margarita with a tajin rim and giant ice cube in the middle.
• Appreciating these ridiculous chalices, which just recently became our margarita glasses.
• Enjoyed reading the early Shieldsy gratitude posts whilst drinking a margarita from this particular chalice. 
• Quite enjoy the silly dance that Emmy does to try and conjure up dinner time.  But she has a point; it's dinner time.
• Cheers to you, Mark(us); thanks for leading us into this endeavor.

Monday Morning, Mark:

• Genuinely grateful for this little gratitude practice that is already good for changing my internal narrative when it needs a refresh.

• I think I will soon be grateful for my new progressive lens glasses, which are helping me see better and move into the "I need to wear glasses all the time" phase; but also they're making me just a little nauseous right now.

•  Thankful for an unplanned sunday afternoon with friends at a couple of neighborhood bars.  It was a good bit of community, and also positive affirmation (I think) from a couple of different suitors.  Like, I still haven't found what I'm looking for, but it's nice to be goosed a bit here and there along the way.

• I got a really good night's sleep last night, which felt restorative.