Rich Brown - Living My Life Out Loud!

Tuesday Blues

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:09:37 PDT

I'm a little tired today but that's no surprise since it's a work day. I find that I have too much going on in my life these days to get to bed at a reasonable time anymore. When you sit in the office until 7PM it doesn't give you much time in the evening to do much else before feeling like you 'should' be going to bed. The problem is that I know I should but usually don't which leaves me awake until 1, 2 or even sometimes 3AM before finally getting to sleep.

I'm not all that thrilled with my life at the moment. Somehow things seemed much better last year at this time but much has changed for both me and the rest of the world since then. I know I can't live in the past but it's difficult when you think things should get better over time, and they don't.

Times are tough and I can't say I haven't been impacted. I'm stressed out, moody and miserable that I have to work my ass off just to make ends meet these days. Come and gone were the days of irresponsible spending, travel and unmonitored finances. The move to Los Angeles has been a difficult once since Justin and I now have the overhead of an apartment as well as the mortgage payment on our home in Arizona. I know it's not a unique situation to us, but it's a first for us to feel this way and I'm not sure if things are really going to get better any time soon.

I guess I wish I would have made some different choices over the past few years, but again, I have to deal with the situation as it's now in front of me and do what I can to make the best of it.

I like living in Los Angeles, it's full of nearly everything I've wanted in a city, the only problem is that now I really can't appreciate it the way I might have given a different financial standing. I guess this is life right? Many of our parents were faced with difficult times and now it's the turn of my generation to experience. Knowing this doesn't make me feel any better. I do have some hope that things will slowly get better, as I need something to look forward too these days. Cheers.

I Love The Weather In Los Angeles

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:03:31 PDT

Are you kidding me with this ...

It was so hot in Phoenix this weekend and it's only May. I'm actually glad that for the first year in a long time (about 6 years to be exact) I'm not going to have to suffer through an entire Phoenix summer. I guess things are already looking up for me. Cheers!

My Mom Took Over The House

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:21:35 PDT

So yeah ... After spending the weekend back in Phoenix moving my Mom
into our old house ... She was effective at converting the house back
to almost exactly the same dated way it looked when we bought it 6
years ago. *eyeroll*

Much On My Mind

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:15:05 PDT

It's interesting how much my life has changed in just a few short months. I'm sitting here in the living room of our new 4th floor apartment with the sliding glass door to our balcony open, enjoying the cool night air, listening to the sounds of the city and looking out at the high rise apartments across the way on Barrington Street. It's a scene somewhat like this, which I've played in my mind for some time now, but not something which I expected this quickly.

I'll have to admit that I'm still a little shaken from the quick uprooting of my life from the suburbs of the Phoenix area to the city life of Los Angeles. It's not that that the change was unwanted, it was just unexpected. Unexpected and perhaps not on exactly my own terms which made the entire move a little more difficult. I've been playing the positive attitude, telling everyone how much I love it here, and how glad I am to finally be out of Phoenix, all the while masking the doubt and fear I'm keeping hidden inside myself. Don't get me wrong, I do really like it here and it is 10x better then Phoenix, but it's different and just a little overwhelming to say the least. I became very comfortable in Phoenix over the last 7 years, maybe too comfortable, and while I feel like I've been wanting to escape from there for a while now, I can't help to think that life was just simply easier in Phoenix.

I think Justin and I are both in the same situation here. We both know that Los Angeles is such a better place for us, but we're both nervous about the entire situation. Trust me, it was not easy to leave the comfort of our 4-bedroom home to move into a 2 bedroom apartment. Downsizing and community living is not an easy task after you're used to suburban living. The downsizing and the pure increase in basic living cost of being in a place like Los Angeles both weigh in heavily on our inability to feel completely comfortable in this city.

Like anything I suppose it's just going to take time. I am happy here, which is a good start. I guess it's better then being miserable, which I'm sure is probably the other possibility, but a pretty non-typical emotion for me. In the end, it doesn't really matter where I am, as long as I have Justin and Berg, I'm at home and I'm sure I'll start to feel like Los Angeles is home in no time. Cheers.

Photo of Justin and I from March

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:24:01 PDT

I was looking through some photos from our Atlantis Caribbean Cruise aboard on the Celebrity Solstice in March and I found this one. I think it's a cute photo of Justin and I.

Getting Settled in Los Angeles

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:42:10 PDT

It's been a hectic few weeks here. Not only did Justin and I finally gather our belongings from our house in Phoenix, but we already moved into a different apartment in Los Angeles. I'm not sure what we were thinking but apparently our 4 bedroom house didn't consolidate down into a 1-bedroom apartment very well. After trying, and I do mean trying, to fit everything into the 1-bedroom, we found out a much larger 2-bedroom just up the hall from our apartment came available. It was perfect, so we jumped on it and took it, which means we once again had to move.

So with that said Justin and I have been spending the past 2 weeks between moving, unpacking and more unpacking. It's going to take some time, and we have a year that we're committed to here, so we're taking our time. I'll be glad when everything is done and we can just relax.

Other then that I'm still loving every minute of being in Los Angeles. I find new things to love about the city every day. I have quite a few stories already, but that will have to wait for another day. Cheers!

Black Party at the Factory

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:58:01 PDT

On Saturday May 2nd, Justin, Cody, Jenna Marx, Greg & I went to the Black Party at the Factory in West Hollywood with DJ Paulo spinning. It was of course a great time.

A friend of Cody's, who is a professional photographer, took some photos before the party ...

Rich, Cody & Justin before the Black Party

Jenna Marx and Cody

I have to say it's an interesting change to have so many options in your own city. I mean to be able to just go over to a club to see someone like DJ Paulo on a random night without it really being a special event is definitely one of the perks of living in a city like Los Angeles. Cheers.

This is My Life ... Take it or Leave It.

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:07:07 PDT

Well if you haven't been privy to what's been going on in my life over the past few months you're probably a bit lost. That's alright, because I think I'm a bit lost too. Hmmm Lost in Los Angeles ... maybe that will be my new blog title, but I digress.

Anyway here's the short and sweet of it all. Things have been going great for the past 2 years. I was working for myself, happy and living the dream. I, like many others, thought my business and my career were going to be recession proof. Perhaps someone forgot to tell that too my clients when business dried up in December. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was unexpected and a bit of a shock. So I was left at that time with a major decision to make. Go out and find new clients, or look for a full time job. Full time job you say? I know the horrors right? Well you have to do what you have to do when you have responsibilities to shoulder. Finding a full time job was going to be a shorter turnaround then looking for new clients in a recession.

I first thought what was happening was a bad thing and was very emotional about it all. Whoa is me, why me, all that. But now that I look back on everything that happened and I realize that things had to happen exactly they way they did in order for me to end up back in California, something Justin and I have both been longing for over the past few years. Back to a big city and back to a place for some reason just feels more comfortable to us. I was told by one of my clients, who I also consider a friend, that sometimes something which appears negative at first glance is often really a positive when the entire situation is reviewed. This couldn't be any further from the truth.

After deciding to look for a full time job and put myself back into the market I also decided to take a break from my blog and actually take it offline for a while. I didn't think it was appropriate material for potential employers to know about me before first meeting me. I've always been upfront, honest and out there about my life and feelings, but something that's not conveyed by just reading my blog is the fact that I'm also qualified and skilled in my field and I've spent too many years of my life building up experience and a good solid technical background to let it be ignored by a bad first impression sometime may derive after finding and reading my blog. I'd rather someone meet me first before they decide to make any judgements about my professional qualifications. Ideally I shouldn't care, but that's a discussion left for another day.

So I started my search and much to my dismay and perceived marketability, the search started out pretty slow. I was getting hits in Phoenix, but nothing substantial, and nothing with much interest to me. So after waiting out the holiday season and then looking around Phoenix for a few weeks, I felt it was time to expand my job search. What the hell I thought, I had nothing to loose, so I decided I was going to take a no-holds barred approach to my job search and explore options wherever they come up. I started talking to people in Washington D.C., Chicago, Boston and other cities throughout the United States. The job search started to look much more promising. I thought well hell if I'm getting all these hits outside of Phoenix, I might as well focus on somewhere I really wanted to be ... California. Justin and I had a long discussion and I decided to start seriously looking at jobs in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I applied to a few jobs and much to my surprise I received a call from a recruiter with a position that fit my background so tightly it was almost as if it was tailored for me from the start. Long story short, after several conversations with this company, a face-to-face interview, reference checks and a personality test I received an offer and was on my way out to Los Angeles, and that's the story of how I got here.

With all that said, I can now say I'm actually very happy to be here in Los Angeles. When I said everything had to happen exactly as it did, I truly mean that otherwise I wouldn't have been able to gather the support of my family and friends to make a move of this caliber. I don't think it was divine intervention, because I don't really subscribe to that, but I do think a little bit of positive thinking didn't hurt.

The first questions everyone had on their mind were ... "What about Justin?", "What about Berg?", "What about your house in Phoenix?" As it turns out it's not really as complicated as we originally though it was going to be. Justin decided to speak with his management at BofA and immediately started pursuing the option to transfer to a position within the bank in Los Angeles. After a bit of back and forth, I'm happy to say that he was able to finally get the transfer approved and will be moving out to join me in Los Angeles in the matter of a few weeks. Berg will be coming out with Justin and as for the house, we've decided to keep it for the time being and just have my Mother move in there to take care of it for a while. It's a win/win situation for everyone.

I'm not going to say that the past 2 months haven't been difficult. Finding my way around a new city, and being without Justin and Berg have been really hard to stomach but unfortunately a necessary situation. Justin and I were willing to make the sacrifice in the short term in the hopes that everything would work themselves out in the long term, and that's exactly what appears to be happening.

So far I love Los Angeles, and I'm really looking forward to having Justin and Berg with me to start our new life in La La Land. It's going to be quite an adventure for us and hopefully will be a positive new time in our lives, something we both desperately need right now. So, I hope this entry answers a few questions and brings some clarity to what's been going on in my life lately. I'm looking forward to the future and continued writing. Cheers!

I'm Back.

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:11:59 PDT

Yes it's true, I'm BACK!. There is so much to tell, so much to talk about, but all in due time. Let's just say that 2009 is setting itself up to be a very memorable year for me.

There have been a lot of changes in my life, including the fact that I'm now living in Los Angeles! Shocked? Yes me too too, sort of, but that's a long story better left for another day. All in due time.

With that said, I really wanted to redesign my blog before coming back online but with everything going on in my life at the moment I simply have not had time yet. I have decided that it's important to me to start writing again, so here I am and I'll eventually get to the redesign sometime this year.

So stay tuned and I'll fill everyone in on what's been going on in my life over the past few months very soon. Cheers!

Taking It Offline For a While!

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:01:08 PDT

I would like to take a moment and thank everyone who, over the past 10 years, has ever stopped by this website to read my blog and follow my life. Started by me in 1994 as a technical test site, this website eventually evolved to become a chronicle of my life and gave hundreds of daily readers a little insight into the mind of Rich Brown.

I've hit a point in my life where I've decided to embark upon some major changes, both personally and professionally. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but at the present time I've decided to temporarily shutdown my blog while I start out on this new chapter in my life. I thank you for your patience & understanding during this time and please check back periodically for the release of my new blog and the complete redesign of my website.

If you have any questions or comments please email me at rich@cyrek.net and I�ll be more then happy to get back to you as soon as possible.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:09:09 PST

Well like I fool I put all my eggs in one basket. I've been working for one main client over the past two years and on Tuesday I was told there was no more work. It wasn't all that unexpected, I just didn't think it would happen before Christmas like this. Now I'm sitting here scrambling to find a new contract or a new position to hold me over. On the positive side there seem to be many technology contracts available for someone with my advanced skill set. I'm probably going to have to take a position out of Phoenix for a while if not permanently which is absolutely fine with me anyway because I've been looking for a change at this point anyway. I'm just irritated this happened right before Christmas. Cheers.

I Love My Blog But ...

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:43:42 PST

I'm ready for a change. This is somewhat symbolic of the way I've been feeling towards just about everything these days, but I think I'll start with my blog and take if from there. Obviously as I said the other day I haven't been posting that much over the past month or two, but as of late I've been in the mood to write, I'm just ready for an overhaul of the website and blog template. Sometimes I wish I were unskilled and lazy because then I could just pop in a new blog template and be done with it, but unfortunately as a former web developer, I take pride in coming up with my own website design and I also use it as somewhat of a showcase of the fact that I still have some web design skills. Doing this design takes some thought, time and energy, none of which I've had for any personal technology projects once I'm finished with my normal work day. Anyway, work with my clients might be facing a bit of an unfortunate slowdown here soon, so I'll have a little time to get back in front of the computer for some personal time to redesign my website and the template that drives my blog. Cheers!

Happy Anniversary! 8-Years Today!

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:47:09 PST

May 2001, Justin and I in San Francisco a few months after we started dating.

That's right it's that day again, December 12th. Today is my 8-year anniversary with Justin. It's been a crazy 8 years filled with both good times and bad times. In the end the good times have far outnumbered the bad times, which is why we absolutely love each other and continue to have so much fun together. Justin is not only my partner but also my best friend and my life wouldn't be complete without him. I love you Pickle and I'm looking forward to many more years together.

Oct 2008, Justin and I during the White Party on the Atlantis Cruise to Mexico.

Milk The Movie ... Go See It!

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:26:46 PST

Last night Justin, Jerry and I went to see Milk. After living for a few years in San Francisco I was already familiar with Harvey Milk and his story, but none the less this was a very emotional and touching movie. What surprised me most was that many of my emotions were triggered as a result of the detailed portrayal of the Gay Rights Movement of San Francisco which Harvey Milk basically led, and took place during this time frame in the late 1970's. I feel like we've lost so much ground in the 80's and we're just now starting to get back to the basics and starting to become motivated again to fight for our civil rights.

Anyway, Sean Penn did an absolutely phenomenal job in his portrayal of Harvey Milk and the movie was well done. Surprisingly the movie theatre was packed, and from what I could tell a majority of the people in the movie theatre were trying to pull themselves & their emotions together as they left the theatre. I personally was a mess throughout the movie, and found it very difficult to contain my emotions because this movie hits home in so many ways. I would highly recommend going to catch this movie if you have the opportunity. Cheers

Day Without A Gay

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:07:22 PST

Today It Stops

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:25:08 PST

Obviously I've been too preoccupied with my real life these days to actually sit down and write much more then a few status updates on Facebook, or so it seems. I've been so disgusted and depressed with the state of things lately. The economy, my retirement account, faltering friendships, the passing of every hateful marriage amendment on the ballots, my career and just life in general. I just haven't found the energy or will to want to write about anything. Aside from the forced smile and attempt at portraying being happy and in a good mood, I've really been self-loathing and borderline depressed over life.

Every time I've considered writing, I've questioned myself, asking what is there to write about that everyone doesn't already know. The economy is in the toilet and while the election of Mr. Obama brought about a glimmer of hope, it was overshadowed in the LGBT community by the the passing of new amendments in California, Arizona, Arkansas & Florida which restrict my civil rights as a gay man and human being. I've had the feeling that my opinion doesn't matter anymore and the only words that seem to come to mind these days are words of disgust, anger and bitterness.

I'm finally coming to the realization that this negativity which I've been carrying around with me for the past few months has to stop. I need to stop preoccupying my time worrying about the future and engaging in self destructive behavior that's never really going to fulfill me in the end, and get back to doing the things that enrich my life and allow me to be truly happy again.

I've decided that today is that day that all this stops. Today is the day when I stop looking behind me, stop worry about whats going to happen tomorrow and start living my life again. Today is the day when I once again choose put aside all the anger, fear and hate, and return to become a happy, healthy and productive member of society. Cheers!

Prop 8 - The Musical

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:31:49 PST

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I Just Don't Know Anymore

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:38:40 PST

Yes I'm back from vacation and the trip was amazing as always. I've just been laying low and recovering over the past few weeks. I'm not going to talk about the trip because frankly I'm still tired. It's been a draining week for me.

The election this week is bittersweet because while we made history by electing Barack Obama to the American presidency, there were civil rights losses around the country for LGBT Americans. After reviewing the demographics, they said the Latino & African American communities were energized to come out and vote for Barack Obama. What I can't even imagine is how these communities can come out and be so supportive of change, but yet by high percentages still overwhelmingly voted for constitutional amendments in California, Arizona and Florida. I wonder how the feeling would have been had the wording been "marriage is defined as a union between one WHITE man and one WHITE woman?"

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not a racist by any means, but it really bothers me that a group of people who were the target of such ridiculous civil rights laws as little as 40 years ago were so quick to vote in favor of enacting new laws to take away the rights of LGBT people. I guess as it goes, LGBT Americans, regardless of race, really are at the bottom of the barrel. It's sad.

So as the title says, I just don't know anymore. I'm frankly tired of the argument, tire of this even being a debate. I'm just tired of it all. As one of my friends said "We've lost - there is a black cloud of disgust above my head"

5 Days and Counting

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:32:49 PDT

Only 5 days and counting and I seriously cannot wait for this trip. I'm in dire need of a long vacation with no cell phones, no computers, no television and no attitude.

The only thing I'll miss is Berger. He's tends to stress out a bit when we get out the suitcases, but he'll be fine since whenever we travel we always have someone stay with him here at the house while we're gone. Yes he's spoiled as well. Cheers!

Vote No On California's Proposition 8

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:55:44 PDT

I hate to get overly political on my blog because I assume that most people who read my blog are intelligent people who follow the news, however the recent political issues I have discussed have a directly correlation to my future quality of life, so I'm going to continue posting topics I feel relevant and of which people need to be aware.

It's funny because the same thing that's going on here in Arizona is going on as well in California. The religious nuts just aren't happy living their lives, they're trying to force everyone to follow their outdated and misguided beliefs. If you live in California and you aren't aware, the religious nuts are also trying again to pass a state marriage amendment which will eliminate fundamental rights for people in California. Please make yourself aware of this, get out and Vote No on Prop 8.

From the Vote No On Prop 8 Website:

Proponents of Prop 8 are distorting the facts. Prop 8 seeks to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Prop 8 isn't about schools, religion, children, doctors or courts. Prop 8 is about eliminating a fundamental right to marry for gays and lesbian couples, some of whom have been together for years. They are our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers and our family members. State law should not single out anyone to be treated differently under the law. We should not vote to eliminate their fundamental rights.

Regardless of how you feel about marriage, we should not eliminate fundamental rights for ANY Californians.

An E-Mail I Received:

I don't normally send political messages, especially since they are off topic, but this is a very important issue that effects all of us.

Proposition 8 would amend the California constitution and permanently define marriage as between a man and a woman, thereby reversing the recent California Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage. If this prop passes, the door could be shut forever.

At one point, we were winning, with 53% of voters surveyed saying they would vote no. Unfortunately the churches all ran out and got money from millions of out of state donors, including the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. The churches are all fighting hard, donating millions, and they are outspending on their ads. They are falsely spreading lies saying that kindergartners would be forced to be educated about same sex couples if the initiative passes.

Please do your part to help us defeat Proposition 8 today!! If you live in CA and are not yet registered to vote, you still have until October 20th to do so. REGISTER! And Vote NO! This could be very close. Even if you are disgusted with the presidential election and don't want to vote for president, please get out and VOTE NO ON 8!

Also, you can help by talking to EVERYONE you know. Make sure all your friends, family, coworkers, etc understand how personal and important this is to you, make sure they are registered to vote, and make sure they vote no.

Last but not lease, donate! NO ON 8 needs to fight back with TV ads clearing up the facts about Prop 8. Every dollar counts, go to the NO ON 8 web site now and donate as much as you can without breaking your piggy bank. :)

Another An E-Mail I Received:

[Regarding Prop 8] I've made more small donations than I could really afford, all summer. I'll donate more, by the time this is all over. I'm so annoyed with those [redacted] Mormons. The most amazing thing is, they're showing themselves to be complete hypocrites, even with regards to things they say they believe. The fact that Christians have been cherry-picking the only least ridiculous parts of the Bible to hold up as God's unassailable law, for generations, is old news. (Sure -- that passage in Deuteronomy that says something about gays should be engraved on an ivory tablet and hung in every courtroom behind every judge, but other scriptures mere verses away from that one, about stoning adulterers, sacrificing sheep when you sin, etc., get gleefully ignored...)

Mormons have always been proud of the fact that they follow their "revealed scripture" to the letter (they, too, disregard the embarrassing parts of the Bible, passing them off as "translation errors" or things which have already been "fulfilled" or some bullshit) but now, it appears, history is catching up with them. Tables have turned, and thoughts it once seemed necessary to canonize for all to remember, are now just as easily ignored as most of the Old Testament. In particular, in the church's Doctrine and Covenants, a book of "revelations" "received" by Joseph Smith, has a section on government, religion, and spells out some pretty clear rules about the mixing of the two. (Here: http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/134) Particularly apropos this year:

9 We do not believe it just to amingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.

Thirty six little words which could not be more clear -- and yet, from active, believing, tithe-paying Mormons, church headquarters has managed to squeeze out no less than TEN MILLION DOLLARS for the express purpose of mingling their religious influence with my government, and are about to deny me, a citizen, my individual rights.

What part of this doesn't make sense to them?

Not to mention how I'd feel if I were one of those believing, tithe-paying Mormons -- and my bishop came asking me to open my checkbook, again, to engage in a little non-scriptural financial bullying, I'd probably tell them to suck it, and ask, WWJSTBDO? "What would Jesus spend two billion dollars on?" which, is, apparently, two solid city blocks of shopping mall, eight levels of parking and three mixed-use office, residential and hotel towers in downtown Salt Lake City. They've got money to spend on THAT, but the members, poor things, after already footing the bill for that little project get shaken down again for the anti-gay "cause." ... Of course, the fact that I would say things like that is a pretty good indicator of why I'm not *in* church anymore, but whatever.

So back in the good old days, when the Mormons were being driven from state to state (one time even under an "extermination order" from one Gov. Boggs of, I think, Illinois) for their "anti-american," society-destroying beliefs, they set down in writing what big fans they are in the separation of church and state, and how important it is to be left alone to live your life and worship and live the way you see fit, as long as it's not hurting anybody. (Not all that unlike the Summer-of-Love "do your thing, man, it's cool" attitude in San Francisco 1967 -- kind of groovy of them, in fact...) It is interesting they didn't stop at merely stating the state should not meddle in the affairs of the church, though -- no, in a gesture of fair-mindedness the modern Mormons would never consider, they even go on and state the importance of religious influence not being used to affect civil government to trample the rights of others.

So they build their $2,000,000,000 shopping mall and toss another $10,000,000 at the anti-gay bills in California and everywhere -- is any one among them wondering where that money could have been better spent? Coming from a church? A professed religious fellowship, a spiritual body supposedly following the teachings of Jesus Christ who most likely would *not* spend such largesse on a big temple full of money-changers and the enshrinement of inequality and hate in a society, but, here we are. Tell me again why churches are tax-exempt? Business is business and they should be treated like business.

[redacted] hypocrites!

=================================================

Ok ... well I guess enough said. Like I said before, I'm sure I'm not going to convince anyone to change their mind here, but if you have friends and family in California please talk to them and get out the message about this campaign of hate being pushed by the so called "love thy neighbour" religious nuts.

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another
hath fulfilled the law.

For an interesting read from someone who has studied the Bible in depth and has an interesting view about what the bible does and doesn't say about homosesuality check out the Soulforce Website Read it if you have the time, I did and it's quite enlightening.

Regardless of your faith or your beliefs, understand that all first and foremost we absolutely do not care about your acceptance. Live your life as you see fit, that's your business. All we desire is for people to stop trying to force their beliefs on others and to have the basic fundamental legal rights that are afforded to everyone else in this nation. Cheers.

*NOTE* One last note on this posting. Do not comment on this post unless you have something favorable, positive or uplifting to say. I am not posting this entry to prompt debate or argument, so please don't bother to post any comments regarding this entry in an attempt to push your hate agenda, argue with, anger or incite me. That may sound closed minded but trust me I've heard it all and frankly I've just grown completley tired of the lies, hate, religious rhetoric, and distortion of the truth. This is my blog, not an open forum, so I will delete any comments to the contrary of my beliefs.

Our Current Financial Crisis

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:35:56 PDT

With each passing day as I sit in my office and watch the market drop I get a little more sick to my stomach. I fight the urge to look at my 401k and investment portfolio because I know I'm now not only loosing the gains my portfolio made, but also the hard earned cash which had funded these accounts. I can only take some small comfort in knowing that I'm not alone and most people are in the same situation. I also take a little additional comfort in knowing that my monthly investment contribution will be able to buy more now then it did 6 months ago.

I think I can speak for most Americans when I say I never realized our economy was so volatile, but I guess in some small way, we all knew that just as everything can go up, it can also come down. I just don't think any of us expected it to fall so quickly. We're all watching eagerly to find out if we've hit bottom yet, or if we still have more drops to go.

I'm anxiously awaiting the upcoming election because I think once the new president is elected, things will finally start to stabilize out. I hope.

Scandal Columbus Weekend

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:54:30 PDT

Unfortunatly since Justin and I are laying low until our cruise, we won't be able to make it out to this party, but if your going to be in Los Angeles for the long Columbus Weekend, make sure to check out Scandal at the Fonda hosted by Mike Nava & David. Mike & David are great guys who know how to throw a party & our friend DJ Alexander will be spinning, so it's guaranteed to be great music and a good time. Cheers!

Exactly 2 Weeks Until The 'Big Gay Cruise'

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:57:36 PDT

Rich & Justin from the 'Big Gay Cruise 2007'

That's right, the Atlantis Cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico is what we've dubbed the 'Big Gay Cruise' and it's coming up on us very quickly. While all the rest of our friends decided to forgo going this year in lieu of other responsibilities or trips, Justin already had the vacation time planned and set aside, so we decided to go anyone. We're both extremely looking forward to the vacation, getting away for a bit and being able to completely disconnect from cell phones, computers and work to relax and enjoy a week with new friends. Last year was a complete blast, and I expect that this year will not be any less exciting.

If you're unfamiliar with Atlantis Cruises, they are primarily gay cruises put on by Atlantis Events and are quite possibly the perfect and most relaxing vacation you will ever have. Cheers!

Vote No On Prop102

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:07:58 PDT

For starters, if you really want to understand the proposition, the people behind it, and their mindset read the Arizona Ballot Propositions 'Publicity Pamphlet' sent out by the Arizona Secretary of State to all registered voters. You will quickly realize the ridiculous claims and hidden hate of the supporters of this proposition.

I really have so much to say about all this, but honestly I'm just tired of it. I feel like it's just a waste of time. If you know someone gay, have a gay family members or friends, ask them to have a conversation about it. Sit down with them, talk to them and hear what they have to say.

Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I don't have any morals or values. Being gay is only one aspect of me as a person, and while I've come to terms with my life these days, it's not something I ever choose. Unfortunately you cannot choose your sexuality. While there are many members of the opposite sex that I truly love as a sibling, I've known my entire life, after trying to date and live a heterosexual lifestyle, that I could never truly live that way as I would be lying to myself and everyone else. We are not criminals, animals or deviants. I hate to be the one to break it to the world, but we're normal human beings just like everyone else.

In the end, people are going to vote for what they feel is appropriate and nothing that I write on my blog is going to change anyone's mind. People have already made their decisions based on their life experiences, beliefs, preconceived notions, and desire to cast or not cast judgement on others lives.

I'm so tired of this debate that while I would be discouraged to see this proposition pass in Arizona, it would only give me and my friends more of a reason to take our families & our six-figure incomes and finally move out of Arizona and go somewhere where love, diversity, acceptance and inclusion are not buzz words, but truly a reality. Cheers.

Follow Up: Matthew Mitcham Takes The Gold

rich@cyrek.net (Rich Brown) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:25:13 PDT

Fortunately enough when I was back home in Pennsylvania in August, I had plenty of time to sit around and watch the Olympics. I'm not what you would consider an avid sports fan, but honestly, ever since I was introduced to the Olympics on television as a small child, I love watching them.

I publish a posting back in July about Australian swimmer Matthew Mitcham, the first openly gay Australian to go to the Olympics. After coming out, Matthew was the topic of much discussion in the community, and even appeared on the cover of numerous magazines across the globe. This 19 year old from Australia suddenly turned into the symbol of inspiration for the entire gay community.

So for most of the two weeks of the Olympics, I was glued in front of the television catching both the Men's & Women's events in Gymnastics, Swimming, Diving & Track & Field. I watched each of Michael Phelps Gold winning races, China's amazing sweep of gold in gymnastics, and Matthew Mitcham's Gold winning demonstration on the diving board. While I think it's a great accomplishment for all the athletes who made it to the Olympics and went home with a medal, I think it's a tremendous test of courage for someone like Matthew Mitcham to be openly gay, head to a country like China which is known for homophibia and repression, and all the while pulling out a gold medal.

Matthew is a shining star in the LGBT community, and hopefully an inspiration to other gay & lesbian youth, showing them that you can come out without fear and still reach your goals. Is there any wonder why we love those Aussies. :-)