Open Questions for 24 Hours

This was an activity on facebook where for 24 hours anyone could ask me any question and I had to be honest with my answer. Here are the questions and the answers ....

Q: How are you feeling as July 17th approaches? :)

A: Not as freaked out as I think I will be come January/February. We've pretty much got everything that we can get done...done. Just have to figure out centerpieces for the reception. I'm pretty good at planning events, plus I have a great book to guide me.


Q: when did you know your were gay?

A: Funny how I've gotten that question a couple of times today. Hmmmmm.

I started to be more aware of my same sex tendencies during middle school and high school. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was different from what my other friends were experiencing. In addition, I was raised Southern Baptist, so I had a few issues to deal with as the Southern Baptist Convention isn't too keen on the "ho-mo-sexuls".

In classic form, I did have a huge crush on the captain of the football team. He's been my "type" all my life. sigh..... If only he were on facebook.

I came out to myself my senior year in college and then began to come out to friends and family during grad school. I'm happy to say that my family has been supportive of my life and love Matt.

Q: In college or grad school, did you have a secret crush(es) on anyone(s) we both knew and if so, who?

A: What an awesome question... OF COURSE I had a secret crush in college. Actually I had a few. The remainder of this answer has been redacted to protect the innocent.


Q: What's the most embarrassing question you've had to answer as part of this endeavor?

A: See previous question. :-)


Q: do you actually like teaching and why?

A; I do really enjoy the actual teaching part of the job. I love the feeling I get when a student understands a concept for the first time. I love the laughter that I experience when my students and I engage in the silliest conversations. I love working with my coworkers and sharing war stories. I love being able to share Washington D.C. with my students.

What I don't enjoy are the hoops that I have to jump through to satisfy the state for various things. I also wish people would understand that classrooms are a real world setting and not the idealized places that are often referred to by "experts". Guess what, we have kids with ADD, ADHD, students who come to school hungry, sleep deprived or burdened with having to help raise their brothers and sisters. We are juggling 20 things all at once. Ok, enough venting about that.

But overall I do enjoy my job. Sure there are days when I really don't wanna get out of bed, but I do and once the day starts, everything seems to get better. :-)


Q: Okay, if you could do anything on earth today without any negative repurcussions, regardless of money, distance, or any other limiting factor, what would you do?

A: Hmmm, this is a challenging one. I would love to travel to see the great monuments of the world (Great Wall, Machu Pichu, Angkor Wat, etc).

If it were a job, well the obvious choice for me would to be a police officer. Again, the coolest job that I don't have the intestinal fortitude for. But a boy can dream. :-)


Q: OK, really a two part! How did you meet Matt and define "engaged" since our government has yet to allow you your right to marry? Have a great rest of the week!!

A: Matt and I met the old fashioned way ---- newspaper personal ad. LOL I had just moved to Iowa City from Tallahassee and put an ad in the local independent newspaper. He answered, we chatted on the phone, met for dinner a few days later, and have been together ever since. :-)

We are officially engaged as Iowa does allow same-sex couples to marry. We have a progressive Supreme Court (7-0 decision) and it is very difficult to amend the state constitution!


Q: When did you decide you were gay and how did it happen?

A: For me being gay has never been a choice, it's just simply who I am. It wasn't an issue of one morning waking up and thinking, "hey, I think I'll like guys." I think as one grows up, they just become aware of what they are attracted to. I know there are people who believe that being gay is a choice, and I respect that belief. But I do ask them, "when did you decide that you were straight" or "if it were a choice, why would I decide to be something that carries such a stigma." The second question I don't use too often now-a-days.

Ain't it funny how a melody....

can bring back a memory.

My friend Heather, a very successful professional basketball player, sent in a few requests to Matt's radio show. One of the songs, "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx, took me back to the summer after I graduated high school.

In the summer of 89 I met a girl named Florence. She was a foreign exchange student from Dijon, France and we hit it off. Of course I hadn't begun to deal with you know, being gay, but that wouldn't come for a few years. Anyhoo, Florence and I spent a lot of time together and I developed feelings for her.

When Florence went back home, "Right Here Waiting" had just been released and every time I heard it I thought about her. To this day, when I hear the song I go back to that summer and the fun we had.

Reality

I started sending out "save the date" magnets for the wedding next summer. As I dropped the envelopes into the mailbox it dawned on me that this is going to become a reality. In less than a year Matt and I will be legally wed. Over the past few weeks I've been making arrangements for the ceremony (the hotel, save-the-date magnets, centerpiece stuff, wedding party) and it really hadn't sunk in until I dropped the magnets in the mail.

My biggest challenge is yet to come. At some point in the next few weeks I will officially come out at school. I've been in my current position for 8 years now and I'm a respected member of the faculty. I have a feeling that coming out isn't going to be a shock to a lot of people. Almost all the faculty and staff members in my building know and I have to think that it's pretty well known among the students (they never ask if I'm dating anyone). I guess the thing that I'm worried about is any parents who will be like villagers at the castle wall with pitchforks and torches.

The wedding is the reason I'm coming out to my kids. A few of our staff members have kids in the district, and when the save the date magnets go out, I can imagine that the kids will talk. I'm fortunate in that my boss is supportive of me 100%. We're going to meet with our district superintendent to plan my "outing". My goal is to be proactive with this because in our district rumors can spread very quickly.

School starts in less than two weeks. ACK!

Good Clean Fun

The last time I watched a soap opera on a regular basis was way back in college when I was hooked on "All My Children" and "Days of Our Lives". I gave em up when I actually had to get a job and plus there was that whole "Marlena gets possessed by the Devil" storyline.

There have been gay storylines on daytime soaps for quite some time. I never got into them because they simply weren't interesting to me, then came "One Life To Live". Last week I discovered the story of Kyle and Oliver that is currently playing out on the show. Oliver is a closeted member of the Llanview Police and Kyle is the guy that he had a relationship with in college, who is now back in his life. Over the past few months Oliver has struggled with his sexuality (and his relationship with "girlfriend" Layla). Things finally came to a head on this past Friday's show when Kyle kissed Oliver.

Any of my friends can testify that I have a HUGE weakness for cops, so this story arc really appeals to me. I can also relate to what the character is going through in his coming out process. In addition, the actor who plays Oliver, Scott Evans, is an openly gay actor. He also happens to be the younger brother of Chris Evans.

Of course now this means that I'm going to be taping OLTL every day to follow the story. Oh why does school have to start in a week and a half!

Me as Mad Men

I love, love, love, love the show "Mad Men". In preparation for Season 3 (premiering August 19th on AMC), amctv.com allows you to create yourself as a "Mad Men" character. So of course, I was in. It actually came out pretty good, even Matt agreed that it looked like me.

Feel free to create your own at MadMenYourself.

Rainy Days and Fridays?

I'm in a funk today for some reason. I felt it coming on last night and it's just hung around today. I went to meet Andy to workout this morning. He was running late and so I just walked around the track. After 15 minutes of walking, I decided to head on home. I just wasn't feeling it today.

I don't know how best to describe how I'm feeling. It's like there is a pit in my chest and everything is being pulled into it, almost a hollow sensation.

We're going to an Iowa Cubs game tonight with friends. I'm hoping that will help cheer me up.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

I DO! I DO!!!!

So it was a busy weekend of trivia (and travel).

On Friday, Matt and I were in Kansas City. By passing an online test, Matt had been invited down to audition for Jeopardy! He was nervous to try out and I was nervous to wait 2 hours in the hotel lobby for him. For his audition he took another 50 question test, interviewed with the contestant coordinators and then played a mock version of the game. Following the audition, Matt wasn't sure about how he did on the test, but felt very good about the interview and game play. He's now in the contestant pool for the next 18 months. He could be called any time between now and December 2010! When I auditioned, it was only 6 weeks before I was called to be on the show. So our fingers are crossed.

Yesterday, my friend Pete and I returned to Kansas City to audition for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". We showed up at 6:30 in the morning at the Ameristar Casino to take the Millionaire test. There were 375 people in our testing group. We had to take a 30 question, multiple choice test that covered a lot of different topics. They also had us take a 30 question movie test for the Millionaire Movie Week.

Those of us that passed either test were then scheduled for interviews in the afternoon. I passed both tests and Pete passed the main test. There were two levels of interviews. The first one involved talking to one of three contestant coordinators. If they liked you, then you were sent on to the video interview. Pete and I both got to the video interview. Woohoo! We'll find out in 2 to 3 weeks if we will be placed in the contestant pool.

I think Pete has a really good shot at making it. From what he told me the interviewers loved him. I was asked a lot about being engaged. They are doing an engaged couples week on Millionaire and it wouldn't surprise me if they asked me and Matt to be on together. Again, crossing my fingers.

So that was my weekend. This morning it was back to the gym for a workout with Andy and then physical therapy on my left leg. Tomorrow it's spinning class! yeah!