Hope

Another day gone
Lost in the mist
Another dream crushed
Another dead kiss

Another tear cried
Another cheek scorned
Another night I wish
I'd never been born

Hope keeps you alive
Such painful suspense
The only thing holding me
Over the edge

It gives just enough
To let you go on
And opens the door
To help your grief spawn

Numbness is ugly
But death is secure
It's hope that unravels
Unfeeling's cold cure

I'm tired of hoping
But find I can't quit
Decay is consoling
Yet I jump from it

I will explain the meaning of this poem in a later post.

My Next Post

My adventures in Gay City have been many and wonderful, and I will be sure to write all about them once I return home to Southern State.

I am once again in Gay City Public Library, so the amout of time that I can spend at this computer is limited and certainly insufficient for a decent blog post.

Rest assured, though, that my vacation has been fantastic and that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have fallen in love with this state for so many different reasons, all of which I will lay out within the coming days.

I will be back soon.

Blogging From Movie State

The last few days have been so busy that I've not had time to write in my diary, let alone post blog entries here.

We arrived in Movie State at approximately seven o'clock in the evening Western Time, or about ten o'clock in the evening back East.

It took us about an hour to find our luggage and get out of Gay City International Airport, after which we promptly went to a hastily-selected Italian restaurant just south of Gay City and sat down to a delicious meal at what would have been one o'clock in the morning had we been back home.

The food waa really exquisite, among the best we've had since coming here, and it's a shame that we were too tired to really stop and enjoy it. By the time that I'd gotten through several pieces of sourdough bread and a plate of veal topped with mushroom sauce, I was so exhausted that it was all I could do not to fall over onto Powell's shoulder.

The owner of the establishment, who'd let us in at the last moment despite the fact that he was getting ready to close when we arrived, seemed pleasantly surprised when we tore through our scrumptious dinner in the course of about twenty minutes and were then quickly out the door.

I'd like to go back to that place before we leave, although such an excursion would be unlikely, so that I could enjoy its dishes at a more leisurely pace.

Following our departure from there, we checked in to a hotel very near the airport, hauled our luggage upstairs, and prepared to go to sleep.

I had planned on falling into bed immediately, but Powell wanted to explore a little bit and so we went down in search of the pool and "spa" that we'd heard the hotel would have.

This effort proved to be futile, as the pool was disgusting and the mythical spa, which looked as if it hadn't been properly cleaned in about a year, all the more so.

We left early the next morning and drove down to Impossibly Beautiful City, a West Coast town an hour or so south of Gay City that is one of the most stunning places I've ever had the honor to visit or experience.

Powell and I started joking about simply staying here when the trip was over, an idea that Aunt Crazy seemed inappropriately supportive of.

"Really, though," she said on Wednesday afternoon as we arrived at our second hotel. "All you'd have to do is not get back on the plane."

Her eyes twinkled with wistful adventurism. "That's what I'd do if I were your age."

"Mom," Cool Cousin has laughed at this overt encouragement. "Don't tell them that."

She seems to think that Aunt Crazy is just humoring us. In truth, though, there's nothing joking about her sentiments, which makes them so much more funny.

On Wednesday we stayed the night at a smaller hotel, so far the only place that has given us free Internet access (our current location charges $5.95 per fifteen-minute session, which is why I'm doing this from Gay City Public Library).

The computer monitor is telling me that I have six minutes left i this session, so I have to leave, but I'll post more later.

Movie State

Powell Checking Out of Our First Hotel
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Here are photos from our trip. Enjoy.

In Native State

Me
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Powell and I are back in Native State at our gandmother's house. I don't have much time to write here, seeing as her home computer is very slow and I'm doing this from a public library while she and my brother pick a movie for us to watch tonight.

Our flight leaves around noon tomorrow, something that I still can't quite believe. We're going to Movie State!

I uploaded a ton of photos to Flickr so that I can clear my camera out for the upcoming journey. I'll show you as much as I possibly can.

Native State is here...somewhere.

Can you guess where I am? I'd never tell you.


Southern State is here...somewhere.

And, Grand Ma's house:


This is Grand Ma and Powell getting ready for the trip.

What I'll Be Doing the Next Few Days

Hair
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Wow, I'm busy.

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated you, but I promise that a full-length post is coming as soon as I can create it.

The probelm is that over the next few days I will likely not have access to a computer. Powell and I leave in a matter of hours for Native State, where we will stay two days with our grandmother before getting on a plane at Native and Marble International Airport to head for Gay City, Movie State.

I've never been to the West Coast before (in fact, I've never been past Country Music State, where two of my cousins live), and so Powell and I are both very excited. Accompanying us on this trip will be Cool Cousin, a professional in her mid to late thirties who once lived there and knows the area well, the oft-lauded Aunt Crazy, and, of course, my grandmother.

It promises to be a gay old time.

The last week or so has been enormously eventful, and I will let you know all about it very soon.

We leave for Movie State on Tuesday, return to Native State on June 18th (Pie's birthday), and then are back in Southern State on June 19th.

I've told prospective employers that I'm good to start work on June 20th. A party that I'm supposed to attend at a friend's house some forty-five minutes away from Mountain Town on the 21st promises to complicate things immensely.

Please look through all of my pictures and let me know what you think of everything.

By the way, I'm sorry that the Journals Sections have been so late. August of 2002 should now be posted in its entirety, but September and October will have to wait until after I get back.



Before I go, though, I'd really like to share something that Pie did the other day. She enjoys jumping around in my bed in the afternnons and evenings, dancing to favorite artists Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera (the former of whom she actually, at the tender age of four, turned me on to and who is now my favorite singer).

She was doing this one day with particular gusto when I looked over and said, "Pie, you're crazy."

"Actually," she responded through gulping breaths as she soared above the mattress and pillows. "I'm a nut."

This is something else I call her.



Oh, and we recently experienced a power outtage that lasted from approximately two to eleven p.m. on the day it struck following a fairly violent storm.

Here are some pictures from that event:

Powell's Graduation

Blonde Boy and Powell
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Powell graduated from Mountain Town High School today, and during the reception at our house he shared an intimate moment with Blonde Boy, his best friend.

A reception later on was attended by Blonde Boy; Uncle Responsible; Aunt Crazy; Cool Cousin; my grandmother Normal Family; and mine and Powell's birth-mother, Anne.

Upon reaching our house, Anne presented my with the digital camera I requested for my birthday two months ago. Enjoy the photos, and please feel free to browse my Flickr profile!


Me
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

At one point I snuck off to the bathroom to take this picture.


Aunt Crazy
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Aunt Crazy chatted it up in the kitchen and had some food.


Our Dining Room
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

My parents set up the dining room for the Powell's reception. My mother made ridiculously good crab dip.


My Grandmother Normal Family
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

Grand Ma Normal Family lounged on the deck.


My Father
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

She passed some time with my father.

Grand Ma Normal Family will be staying with us for the next week.