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Posted on June 3rd, 2008 by Jim.
Categories: General, Event Reviews.
This past weekend provided 2 opportunities to enjoy some time to volunteer for local events with some important impact.
My first opportunity was as a bartender for the AIDS Emergency Fund’s First County Fair. This event was held in Golden Gate Park at the County Fair Building (I never knew there was a County Fair Building in the park until this weekend). The weather made for a beautiful day to head over to the park and the venue was the perfect size for the event, easily accessible by car or by train and bus. First and foremost, the event had large contingency of volunteers. This fact alone showed how much work was involved in make this event a reality. The fair had a venue in 3 parts. The smaller of the three areas was the outdoor area with a seating and a bar and food service. Next to that, the second space had an old fashioned mid-way with carnival games, cotton candy, seating, a bar, silent auction, and a stage for showing off some entertainment. Finally, the third space was an indoor area with a stage and dance floor with a bar and seating. It was great to see a well run event, with a lot of volunteers and good cooperation between the AEF and Sundance Association of San Francisco as well common faces of volunteers I have seen at many other events. Sadly, the one thing missing was a more formal representation from the Bay Area Chapter of the GSGRA, which in many ways seemed a logical fit to the country dancing and the bull for riding. The event was well attended and it was a lot of fun for me to be a bartender in the country dance venue. I want to express my appreciation to the team of volunteers and to Ed, for wrangling me in as a volunteer to this event, and a special round of applause to Tyrone for working countless hours in his role with AEF to make this event come to life. I look forward to seeing how this one grows.
The second opportunity was a fourth year of participating in the Otter Pop Stop on day two of the AIDS Lifecycle. Once again, my friend Kyle took the time to arrange a group of volunteers to drive down to Mission Soledad and set up a booth at the water stop at the 75 mile mark (of 105 miles traveled) in the Mission parking lot. In this space we erect a colorful structure, have great music and fun people dancing about in tutu’s being silly, and most important are able to share a few moments with some of the over 3000 riders doing this amazing fundraiser. This event has now completed the fourth year of giving out over 2000 Otter Pops (the little fruit flavored ice in a plastic sheathe) and it appears to be going strong. In fact, I would say we have become an institution on the ride. Many riders look forward to seeing us now on that day two of the ride, when it is usually hot and they are dealing with lots of wind. This year was certainly cooler than the last 3 and the winds were the highest I have seen, which may be why we did not have as many revelers to dance and celebrate this year. However, the event was still fun and memorable and to quote Kyle “enough to keep you going all year”. There is just something about these folks, from the serious riders to the more casual, that brings an energy that infuses your spirit as they pull into the water stop. Some of the riders come in tired, some of them sweaty, some just getting a quick break, some staying to linger in the company and music. Whatever the case is, this is one event that really does live up to being a lot of fun. Feel free to check out the few pictures I posted as well.
So two days, two great events, two wonderful opportunities to volunteer. I am a bit tired after all of this volunteer work, but it was very worth it.
Posted on May 22nd, 2008 by Jim.
Categories: General.
According to Webster’s Dictionary –
1. A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage; 2. A locality inhabited by such a group; 3. A social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.
Now, what do I think? What is community? What I propose is to dive away from just the definition and talk more about what community means to me, and maybe others.
We have communities that we live in, while others exist for gathering for a common bond or goal like prayer, worship or recreation. We all belong to many communities at any given time. We transverse through these communities all the time, sometimes joining in new communities and other times are leaving communities for various reasons. However, I believe many people do not understand what communities are and many others do not know how to exist in those communities or when it is time to move on.
While I would not want to belabor anyone by trying to define, defend, or defile any communities on line, I do want to provide some thoughts on people who it seems have the sole purpose of destroying communities. They are aimed at tearing down the pillars of these communities because of some feeling of exclusion, betrayal, loss, or any number of other things. This leads me to my example, and the thoughts I want to share.
Personally, I belong to several communities, some of which I am deeply involved with and others just on the periphery. One community I do belong to is made up of artists and creative people, some with significant talents to share and others who are only novices in what they know. Like any community there are sets of leaders, instructors, teachers, and sets of students, followers and admirers. Additionally, like so many communities, there are those perceived to be the ones to know and those who feel left out or kept out by others. Clearly, whenever you are dealing with creativity, there is going to be a tremendous of amount of energy involved. Community members get tied to that energy, thrive on it, cherish it, and live for it. Sadly, in this community, certain members make it their sole purpose to tear down the pillars of this community, forsaking the good names of those who are leaders and builders of the community. These community members spend time spreading lies, telling false stories, and exaggerating the truths of their experiences, so as to elicit followers who will believe them and share in their grief. What baffles me is why these members of the community can spend so much energy spreading their negativity, their venom of foul thought, rather than moving on and finding ways to improve the situation. They blame everyone for the discomfort they feel rather than finding ways to improve their situation. Recently, a member of this community has spent more time defiling the name of one specific leader of the community, spreading lies and hate, speaking to people with false information, and even taking time to post these lies about on different platforms. Additionally, this member has taken to spreading lies about another member of the community in the forms of false information about circumstances and situations, playing up that he is something better and far superior to those he is trying to take down. I have even had to reject some of that information here on my blog site from this person, who somehow believed putting a posting comment here would actually get through to the general public.
So why should I care? Well, because these things affect the positive aspects of what communities do. The spreading of all this negativity only works against the good of the community and the ability of the community to be a source of strength and power. It serves no one to have this process of lies and hate continued.
What do I want? Honestly, what I want will not happen. What I want is for this person to move on, find the growth to move forward, turn a leaf and find it in his heart to forgive and forget whatever wrongs he feels was done towards him. While he constantly asks to be removed from these communities, he continues to post his hate, so I ask him, why not just leave? Additionally, I hope this member can find it in himself to seek out help for this hate that ravages his mind. Clearly it would be beneficial to everyone if he was able to put this to rest, most especially for him.
So, this is my rant from the “juice box”. This is not something I plan to do regularly. If you want commentary on the ills of the world, turn on the nightly news, and be flooded with it. However, I hope that you will support your communities in building a place of safety and trust, not allowing one opinion to sway your feelings and perceptions. I hope as a community we can rally to either help this person in fixing what is wrong, or help this person move along to another place where they can find they support and strength they need. Until my next post, enjoy what life has to offer, filter out they hate and evil, and try to find that community spirit for strength, love and growth.
Posted on April 27th, 2008 by Jim.
Categories: General.
Saturday was one of those days you just do not get all that often in San Francisco. The weather was warm and sunny, with a slight breeze; the perfect day to live in San Francisco.
Following a lovely breakfast at Kate’s Kitchen in the Lower Haight, John and I decided it was too nice a day to stay home. So, we went home, worked out some last house chores that needed to be resolved and then geared up to head out to the waterfront to enjoy the sun.
At about noon we headed out and took a hearty walk down Market Street and around the Ferry Building and Farmers Market. We stopped by the farm coop we are part of, Eatwell Farms, to say hello and see what was in the bounty. They are such a nice group of people. Following that we strolled through the Ferry building and then back across the street to the Justin Herman Plaza area and a walk around the Embarcadero Center shopping center. The weather was perfect. From Embarcadero Center we walked over to the Transamerica Pyramid, with both of realizing we had not taken a stroll around that area or building in a very long time. We stopped for some photos and then continued our wondering journey into Chinatown and through the many shops and streets of that area, eventually passing through to the Columbus Street part of North Beach. We stopped in North Beach for a great bit to eat at a restaurant across the street from the Washington Square Park called Piazza Pellegrini. Following a wonderful early dinner we strolled back through Chinatown and through the Stockton tunnel to Union Square, our final destination for the day.
The goal of heading to Union Square was our destination for the night because the Temple of Poi was hosting an event called the Temple of PoiGeek 2008 Fire Dancing Expo. This promised to be a wonderful evening of fire performance, something John and I really love. We were early for the show, about 90 minutes, but that gave us time to people watch and get great seating for the show. At 8PM the show kicked off and we were delighted with the singles, couples and group performances. Most memorable were those by a talented performer from Meghan Claire Pike Scotland and Yuta from Japan, and of course a wonderful show but Glitter Goddess Isa. This was the perfect cap to a beautiful day. The breeze was just picking up, no fog, fire performance, and a day and night to remember. John and I hopped into a cab at about 10PM and headed home to call it a day.
I love these times in San Francisco. Everything is so perfect and reminds me of all the reasons I love this great city.
Peace and love to you all.
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 by Jim.
Categories: General, Event Reviews, Travel.
Spring arrives to many fun events. The weather is improving and overall attitudes improve too. This year, as Spring has arrived, I find myself travelling more, dealing with some new challenges, and finding that life throws you lots of curve balls.
Let’s begin with the challenges.
Shortly after returning from Sydney, I received a call from my dad, letting me know that my mother was in the hospital, having suffered a major stroke and minor heart attack. The good news is she is well, and suffered very little physical issue. However, she has had significant brain trauma and is dealing with a level of aphasia. I am happy to report she is home, but many things have changed. Mom has some challenges with expressing herself, and seems most challenged in stressful situations. She is working with a speech therapist and a physical therapist, and is slowing getting her life back together. Her friends have been a source of amazement to me, as they prepare meals for my parents and visit on a regular basis. My dad is holding up pretty good and has been sending out a daily blog email of status on my mother’s health, which I think is ultimately a great deal of therapy for him. Keep them both in your thoughts.
Now with that going on, let’s talk travel - this year has been full of fun trips.
The most recent has taken me to New York, where I was able to catch up with my good friend Greg and enjoy a lovely home cooked meal with him in his new home. Additionally, I was able to celebrate my friend Noah’s birthday and have some fun times out with him (funny thing is that Noah lives in San Francisco, a former resident of New York, and I see him more in New York than I do in San Francisco). Later during the week, my traveling buddies (Steve and Leif) arrived and we all met up with more friends and we attended the annual Rites XXIX: Black Party event in New York. It was a great joy to have my two close friends with me and have us all share in that event together.
This past weekend I was able to enjoy a little time in Palm Springs for the annual pilgrimage to the White Party. The events were certainly more fun this year, the music happier, the crowd friendlier. As remarked by one friend, hopefully this is a change towards a better time in these community events. I really enjoyed this weekend time with my good friend Dan and his partner David at the lovely home they have in Cathedral City - the environment is relaxing and refreshing. Additionally, I was able to hang out with my buddy Eric who lives in Palm Springs and I was able to catch up with my good friends from Calgary, Neal and Denis and their friends Tom and Rome.
Soon, I will be jetting off to my first trip to London. I am very excited and looking forward to relaying what that trip is like.
Finally, other things in life are stable.
Coming soon, my partner John and I are planning a great European travel excursion on the Atlantis Barcelona to Rome Cruise, so stay posted for more to come on that.
Until my next post, Happy Spring.
Posted on December 21st, 2007 by jim.
Categories: General.
It is hard for me to believe that 2007 is almost over. The holidays have come so quickly and I just can not get my head wrapped around the fact that we are now heading quickly into 2008.
As I look back at 2007, I have many fun times to put into my book of memories. Lots of travel, time with friends, and time with family. Overall, 2007 was a rather good year, and 2008 is shaping up to be pretty good too.
So, as you approach the midnight hour on New Year’s Eve, I hope you find yourself with someone you care about and love. I am excited to know that I will be spending my NYE with friends and with the love of my life, watching the old year pass and the new year start.
Here’s to wishing you the happiest of holidays.