You're in a game, but do you know (Part 19).....

 Board Games!

The game of Life.  *SIGH*  Not my favorite game ever but man did us neighborhood kids play the hell out of it circa 1980.  Here, the box cover looks like that classic game that we played, but the board itself looks like the newer version.  Twenty years ago, or so, Ag and I thought of playing a game of it, but I no longer had mine, so I went out and bought one then.  It was the newer game, and there were things changed about the game and board and look of it and neither she nor I really liked.  So we played the one game and then it's been just put away on a shelf ever since. 

POLT

 Today is the 25th Anniversary of my first trip to Toronto!

My Fairy Godfather Mark (who's originally from Michigan) was going to Toronto to meet a friend of his Paul who was traveling there from Michigan.  He asked me to go along, cause he said three to a room would be cheaper than two.   I had never thought about Toronto, never thought about going there, but it had been several years since I'd taken a vacation anywhere, so I said, eh, what the hell?

So we packed up and off we went: a four hour ride through PA, a four hour ride through upstate New York, crossed the border and then a two hour trip on he QEW and we were in Toronto!

And I was almost immediately in love.  I was certainly in love by the time we left four or five days later.  We checked out a bunch of stores in gay ghetto along Church Street, ate at several restaurants in the downtown area, visited several gay bars, and had fun at the big strip club.   And I had insatiable desire to return.

Which I did.  I made it to Toronto 20 times in the last 25 years...although since I bought the house 13 years ago I've only been there twice (2009 & 2016).  So in 12 year I went 18 times, and that seems about right since I was going twice a year, usually in April and October.  (can't go as often now because I have a mortgage and such).

Anyway, I went through my Toronto Photo Album and found some photos.  The first batch are from my first trip there, 25 years ago in 1997.

The Hotel Selby, where we stayed.  It was in an old mansion with a bunch of additions to it.  It was kinda run down and had seen better days, and it was several blocks north and east of where any action was, so I never stayed there again.  But it was fine for a first visit.  After going through several different changes, the mansion part is all that remains and it's a fancy-schmacy French restaurant called the Masion Selby. 

The red brick part and the concrete part too are the additions made to the hotel to expand into.  Our room was in the concrete part in back, along the street on I think, the third floor.  Underneath both of these was a huge gay dance club opened in the 80s and open until the early 2000s called Boots Warehouse.    Unfortunately, now, everything you here has been torn down and some high rise building is there going up many many stories.  I think it may be a Clarion hotel, but it may also be a business building...not sure.

While we were there, we stumbled upon a Caribbean Festival behind the Ontario Legislature building.  Lots of music, food, smells, and eye candy. 

The Eaton Centre, that huge shopping mall, four or five stories on an entire block of downtown Toronto.  Have always had a great time there, even if I never bought anything.

We made it to the CN Tower, although I could never go up to the top.  Mark and Paul did.  I stood on the ground and took this pic.

Next to Mr. Sub, is Remington's, imo, Toronto premiere gay strip club.  Spent lots of time (and money) in there over the years.  This as well as everything else on this block, is gone now.    Google street view shows me that there's not a high rise apartment building or office building or something like that here instead.

And see that rhino on that tarpaulin over those steps?  That's the entrance to Woody's Bar, the premiere gay bar in Toronto.  Spent lots of time in there too over the years.  It's also, incidentally, where they did some filming for the American version of Queer As Fold 20 years ago, as was also done in a lot of other areas  of Toronto itself.

After a couple years of the ten hour drive straight through, Ag, my travel companion, changed out route to go through Bradford PA, where Johnnie was attending college. and it also cut our entire one way time down to 8.5 hours.  And we spent the night in Bradford both going up and coming back and it broke the long trip up.

In Bradford, we found two great places to ear: Beefeaters, which is where one can eat the BEST DAMN STEAK OF THEIR LIFE!  I guarantee it.  And then the next morning, we have a great breakfast at the European Pastry shop. 

Beefeaters

European Pastry Shop

And I also found pics of my friends who accompanied me to Toronto over the years.  (I could not find one of Mark and Paul on this first trip, I assume I didn't take any pics of us.  And Ghostie went one time, but I can't find any pics of him there either.  I assume I took those with my digital camera and they were on some computer that has since died and I was not able to get the pics off beforehand).

Ag, God rest her soul

In, I think, 2001, a group of us went: My Fairy Godfather Mark, me, Ag, and Johnnie

One trip, Poodle went with Ag and I (his real name was Scott and I worked with him at Borders, but we all called him Poodle)

And in 2009 and 2016, Michelle went with me (and in 2009, she and I went to another Toronto landmark: Casa Loma)

In Toronto, I met two famous people.

On one trip, I met Shawn Ashmore (Iceman of The X-Men movies).  I met him on the street, he actually stopped and we had a short conversation: about the X-Men movies, about Toronto, and Canada in general, where I was from, etc.  He was very nice and pleasant.  And he even allowed me to take a photo of him when I asked.  Great guy.

And on the 2009 trip, Michelle and I got to meet Canadian, Puntabupeep, and all around great gal, Tam, and her purple iPod.

And also, in Toronto, hooked up with many MANY people.  (Ag and I would always say since everyone was so cute and sexy in Toronto, people that were fat and ugly like us were desirable here!)  A few of them I hooked up with on multiple trips there.  And I got pics of those too.

Sam.  He was Iragi, he got me into some gay clubs without paying because he knew the bouncers, he took me to both the apartments he lived in both times we hooked up, and was a voracious bottom!

Ed was Philippino, but had grown up in Canada.  He worked as an International Banker.  He and I hooked up on several trips.  He was planning to come visit me on his trip down the East Coast, but then 9-11 happened and he canceled the trip. 

Fizul was of Indian descent.  He worked in his father's import-export business.  We met up on two trips and then just by total chance, I ran into him on the 2016 trip more than 10 years later.  His father had passed and HE was running the business now and was doing VERY well.

But all of this stuff I talked about happened on subsequent trips.  Twenty five years ago, in 1997, I just had a very fun time with Mark and Paul (and by myself) and fell in love with the city. 

It boggles my mind to think it's been 25 years!!

POLT

Like a top ten song, I can hear it all (2021 version)....

 Top Ten Of 2021

So, it's the last day of the year, and it's time to go over the top ten things of my 2021 year.   There were several things that didn't make the cut: my A/C failing and getting a new one; my vacuum failing and getting a new one; being at my job for 25 years; a horribly boring Super Bowl; Spider-Man No Way Home kicking ass; very frequent sinus infesctions from allergies; the attack on the heart of our democracy on January 6th; mouse infestation in the basement and dealing with traps and dead mice;  my first write up at work after 25 years for a stupid petty thing; meeting a cute lil fuckbuddy in February who I played with 2 to 3 times a month until he moved in July; all the TV shows I binged this year (Queer As Folk, Star Trek Deep Space 9, Star Wars Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Doctor Who, all the Ninth and Tenth Doctor episodes); getting to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with mom, unlike last year; the snowstorm in February.

But these are the ones who DID make the cut.

10. Ag died

Longtime Palace readers with remember Ag.  She was, for the span of a dozen years or so, my best friend.  we saw or talked to each other practically every day (her living on the floor below me made that easy).  As a travel agent we took many trips she arranged together: Philadelphia, DC (Pride celebrations and two Madonna concerts), and countless trips to Toronto.  

But after she married, we naturally drifted apart.  In the last 13 years, other than polite "hi how are you great talk to you later" kind of things in public, she and I have had no conversations.    She died December 15th at the hospital. She died of COVID.  Went into the hospital on Monday, died on Wednesday.

I'm sad at her passing...but considering how close we once were, I'm also sad at not being sadder.

She was only 57 years old.

9. Biden sworn in 

Thank GOD!  And of course the orange shitgibbon skulked off to Florida as the craven, pathetic piece of pus he is.  But it was great to see democracy survive and our government continue...at least for now.  And it was eyewatering sometimes when I saw our first woman be sworn in as Vice President.  It just so great to have a NORMAL White House again.

8. Washer/Dryer

After buying the house in 2009, I used part of the First Time Buyers $8000 tax credit (thanks Obama!) to get a new washer and dryer to replace the who-knows-how-old pair that were in the basement.  Well after 12 years of faithful service, the dryer wasn't drying as well as it should, so in May I decided to get a new set. 

And damn, the barrels on both of them are freaking HUGE!  And they're working fantastically well.

7. New Flooring

 

When I moved in to the house, this was the kitchen linoleum flooring: 

Fake brick.  meh.  it was cold, it was old, it was peeling in place.  And just in the last couple months, a crease had formed and started coming up right were I walk.  So I said, that's enough.  And I got a new floor put in: 

It's padded, it makes the room so bright, it's even got a lil bit of cushion to it.  I LOVE it.

Also, when I moved in, mom gave me a purple rug she had in her house to put in my living room.  And after being in my place 12 years (and God knows how long in hers), the back of it was disintegrating into dust/sand/dirt.  So I got a new purple rug:

 It's bigger than the other one, so it covers more of the floor. And I had to rearrange some things in the room so it makes the entire room look bigger than it did!  I love it.

6. Marvel TV Shows

I had my doubts, but I should have known better.  Marvel in it's movies have never left me down, and they didn't in the TV shows on Disney+.  Wandavision, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Loki, What If?, and Hawkeye.  Just amazing!

Not only were the shows themselves amazing, but so was what they set up for the future of the Marvel movies/TV shows!  My favorite was WandaVisions (and not JUST because of "It Was Agatha All Along"), followed closely by Hawkeye (which surprised me, cause Hawkeye was always my least favorite of the Avengers).   Then was F&TWS.  What If? was interesting and fun but uneven.  And finally Loki....it's first two shows were great and then....well, then it kinda went downhill and got too convoluted.  But as I said, what it sets up in the last episode has great repercussions for the future of the universe (showing up in Spider-man No Way Home).

5. New Phone

I had my previous phone since the summer of 2016.  The battery was basically non-functional: plugged in, the phone worked fine, but unplugged, I could barely turn the damn thing on without it just shutting down.  So in February, I just happened to be driving past an AT&T store, and just decided to go in.  And when I left less than a half hour later, I had an iPhone SE (no, not the latest model,  but I don't need all the bells and whistles.  And I wanted a home button, so...)  And it's working great!

4. Work Issues

These are usually three people in my department.  The end of October, one of them moved to South Carolina, and they've not yet replaced him. So we've got two people doing the work of three.  And then, the other guy had a bunch of use or lose leave he had to take.  So, starting the day after Thanksgiving, I had to work 12 work days straight all alone.  I made it through, and didn't pull any of my hair out, and that's really too much for one person too long.  so much stuff I had to continue to put off and I still haven't caught up on some of it, now a month later.  

Plus, I had the whole month of July off (see below), and since I've come back to work, even before my coworker left....I'm just so weary.    Nothing specific has been happening but, man, little stuff that used to never bother me just nag the hell outta me now.  And I'm just....just so weary with it all.

But one must carry on....until I can retire....whenever that may be.....

3. Vaccinated

First shot: January 3rd; Second shot: January 24th; and booster on October 25th. 

It's free, it's everywhere, and no appointment necessary.  

Thank God for modern medicine.

2. Health Issues

I had SO many health issues this year: My eye (see below); my first colonoscopy; a AV block Mobitz 2 block in my heart; broken tooth and a crown that keeps falling off; chest pains right before Christmas Eve that had me in the hospital for an overnight; continued sinus infections; continued back pains; a scrape on my leg that took forEVER to head up; continued issues with my diabetes in my feet; nerve pain in my groin and then later in the year, nerve pain in my hips and outside of my legs (all attributed I and my urologist believe, to my diabetes).

I have seen more doctors this year than any other year of my life: urologist, retina specialist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, doctors in the urgent care, doctors in the ER, doctors in the hospital, and my regular family doctor.

Thanks GOD I have great insurance!

1. Eye Issues

In February my regular eye doctor sent me to a local retina specialist to have a look at my eye.  I have a macular edema.  The treatment was shots of medicine directly into my eyeball.  But that's not the worse. Since I was a perfect candidate for it, I joined a study they were running where they'd put a port in my eyeball with six months worth of medicine in it.  That way, I'd only have to get a shot every six month, instead of every month without the port.  So....yeah...there's this.

So I got the shots for four months, then the end of June, I had surgery (where in I was sedated and numbed but awake...don't ask) to put the port in.   But the non-port eye was getting bad too.  So I have to go every month to get the port eye checked out (for the study) and a shot in the non-port eye.  And then every six month a refill in the port eye.

None of it is fun.  At all.  And I don't enjoy it.  At all.  But hey if it preserves my eye sight...well I have to do it.

My eye after get a shot in it.  It's so numbed up that I dont even feel it...but it's still very cringe worthy.

After the surgery while mom was driving me home.  Had to sleep with that damn thing on for like 5 days.

And do you see that lil black dot just above and to the side of my pupil?  That's the port.   In my eyeball.  *cringe*  

Remember I never said the Top Ten were all good things.

Onto 2022 now.

POLT