What If...?

I've achieved an amazing feat (so far) this summer! I've lost some weight! I've lost seven pounds so far, and  will continue to lose this unnecessary fat. Take that, excess fat! Besides, I need to look good for my sophomore year of college. Duhh.


New York passed their Marriage Equality bill! Yay! I was so happy to hear about that, and I'm so glad that the gay community is starting to see some light in our situation. I sure hope New York is not our last victory!

I wrote the third and fourth chapter of my fan-fiction. And here they are! If you haven't read the first two, and would like to, just click the tab at the bottom (or top) right of the page, and go to the first chapter.

So I have something kind of personal to talk about today. In my experience as a gay male, I've noticed it's a bit hard. I feel like I don't get respect from other males (other than a given few), and that it'll be harder for me to find someone to date. I'm not saying I have it the hardest, and I'm not saying gays have it harder than anyone else to find a partner, I'm just stating how I feel. I just always find myself liking straight males. I feel like I can't ever just go and flirt with a guy because I'm interested in him, because I have to take the extra work to figure out if he's even gay, first. 

What I'm trying to get at is, if I were born a girl instead of a gay male, would I have it easier? I could actually flirt with a guy without him saying "Ew you're gay, back off." Then again, I might have to deal with "You're ugly", but at least my life would be a bit more straightforward. I wouldn't be treated different by people of the same gender, and I wouldn't struggle (as much) with finding someone.

After thinking about it, though, I think I'm content with being a gay male. If I was born a straight girl, or a straight male for that matter, how would I act? Would I even support this much needed cause that I feel so strongly for? Would I hate the gay community? I feel better knowing that I AM one of the people I'm fighting so hard for, and I don't think I'd have it any other way. 

Before you ask, no, I would not get a sex change, because I just don't like the idea of getting one. I'm fully supportive of anyone who gets them, though, because if that makes them happy, I think they should go for it. To me, it just wouldn't feel the same. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my super deep thoughts. So deep, it's mind-blowing, right? Yeah, I know.

By the way, I wanted to share this with you, because I'm probably going to be jamming to it for the next thousand months. Roly poly, roly roly poly! (There is a video for it, but it's like, twelve minutes long, and there are no subs for the speaking parts, so I figured I wouldn't bore you with that.)

Anywho, thanks for reading! Don't jam too hard to this song! I know it's impossible, though.

Stuff 'n Stuff

What's funny, is that's what I used to call one of my friends in band, because one day, while we were in Canada, she was all like, "Yeah and then we can get some stuff 'n stuff." Then we all laughed. She had also said "Tomorrow-morrow" at one point too. That was a fun trip.


Anywho, life's been pretty slow lately. I finished the second chapter of my fanfiction! If you'd like to read it, here you go!  Chapters 1&2 (make sure you go to the bottom and change the "Chapter 1" tab to "chapter 2" if you've already read the first one. If not, read the first chapter first! Duh). The third chapter is in progress, so be lookin' out for it!


So I did go to a baseball game over the weekend, which was pretty cool. We went for my Aunt's birthday, and we ate at a mighty delicious Asian restaurant called Pei Wei before we headed to the game. They have this AMAZING soda machine there that let's you pick a variety of flavors for your soda. I usually get raspberry Sprite, but there are sooo many other things you can get with it.

The first time I ever saw it, my sister and I tried like, every single flavor (almost) and decided that raspberry Sprite was the best. I'm determined to try every single flavor that sounds delicious, though.


So at the game, many awesome things happened! My Aunt and I sat behind a very big-haired lady, who made us angry (for many reasons). She got up and left after the first or second inning, and we were like, "Yes! We can see!" Then she came back later, thwarting our fun with her giant hair yet again. Oh, and that wasn't the end of it. She decided to use some strange liquid on herself toward the end of the game, squirting it all over the back of her neck. Basically, it smelled like a peppermint gone bad. My Aunt and I were just about ready to hurl. I kid you not, that smell did not go away until we left the game. I'm sure she made her significant other very happy by smelling like moldy mint, wherever that man was, or if there even is one.


Also, there was this group of people another row ahead of moldy mint lady, that took pictures of themselves the whole entire game. They took pictures in about fifty different poses, self portraits (myspace pic style), photos of all three of them (also myspace style), pictures of just two of them, pictures of just themselves, and so on. They did not stop. They even made me take two of the pictures! Seriously, guys, how many interesting pictures can you take at a baseball game in which you're just sitting in your seats?


That's about all I have for now, but I just thought I'd share those interesting stories from the weekend. Oh, the people you encounter at baseball games.

Good Deeds

Life updaaaaates! Just imagine me singing that in a very high pitched, opera voice. Anyway! I've been watching a lot more Supernatural lately, and it was MUCH harder to find full episodes online than I thought it would be. No really, I was hunting for almost half an hour. On that note...I wrote the first chapter of my Supernatural fanfic! A New Addition. Click it and read if you'd like!

Also, I learned how to make my favoritest (I realize that's not a word, but this is just very deserving of a made up word) cake in the whole wide world. Oh dang, right when you take a bite of this delicious cake, you just can't help but get another slice. I forgot to take a picture of it, however, but next time I make it, I will. Here is, essentially, what it looked like.

Delicious, right? I know. My stepmom, my sister, and I did a pretty good job.

So one morning, we were on our way to my little brother's game at 8:30am (note, I'm not even up at this time on a daily basis), and we see a man standing on the side of the road. You don't usually see any homeless people or beggars on this street, but here this man was, just standing there. He was very frail, and he looked like he could just fall over at any minute. He was holding a sign that said "Will work for food", which tugged on all of our heartstrings (stepmom, sis, and I). You usually see people asking for money, or trying to guilt you into giving them money by bringing their starving dog, or saying that they're ex-military. However, this man was willing to give his time and effort just for some food, despite how frail he was. My stepmom knew she couldn't just see that and not do anything about it, especially since we would be stuffing our faces that evening because of my aunt and stepgrandma's birthday, so she stopped at a nearby Burger King and got him some food. When my sister and I went to go hand it to him, the poor guy was shaking so hard, I thought he was going to drop the bag. That's when he revealed that he hadn't eaten in two weeks, and has been unemployed for a year. He said "God bless you" to us, and enjoyed his meal.


After seeing this, I realized that it really isn't that hard to touch someone's heart. We act like these deeds are so much strenuous and tedious than they actually are, but it was just as simple as providing him some food. It also showed me that there are more honest people out there than we think. It really touched me, seeing that he'd be willing to give something in return for the food he'd be receiving. It was just a touching experience for the weekend.

Stereotyping

I know that there's plenty of people who feel the same way I do about this, but I felt like I needed my own say in this. When someone hears the word "gay" in reference to a person, a plethora of things come to their mind. "He/She probably dresses like a man/woman." "Show tunes are their thing!" "OMIGOSH YOU SHOULD BE MY GAY BOYFRIEND." Oh, and my personal favorite. "I'm cool with them, as long as they don't hit on me." When I hear all of this, I personally feel degraded.


The gay community has been striving to gain equal rights for many years, and it hasn't been an easy journey. We, technically, are considered minorities, seeing as we won't be allowed the same rights as anyone else. And no, I'm not saying gays have it the hardest, but I AM saying that we don't have it easy. We can't show affection for our partner in public without feeling as if some form of discrimination is upon us. I'm sure I speak for the whole community when I say that we want to just be able to openly show that we love someone of the same gender, just as heterosexual couples show that they love their partners without being judged.


Not only that, but we're discriminated against when it comes to getting a job. If the boss doesn't approve of someone being gay, he'll surely just fire them, or not hire them if he finds out when they apply. What difference does it make? How on earth would that affect job performance? Oh yeah, that's right. People believe stereotypes.



First off, just because I tell you I'm gay, and you HAPPEN to be the same gender as I, it doesn't mean I'm attracted to you. I don't want to get with every man I see, just as you don't want to get with every woman you see. I've had a friend ask me, every time I looked at a guy, "Would you do him?" No, I wouldn't, because I'm not a slut.


Not every gay male is feminine. I know and have seen plenty of jock-type gay guys. We don't all want to be women.


Ladies, as flattered as we are by you loving us because we're attracted to guys, stop. We have more than one dimension, and we won't be your "gay boyfriend". That doesn't even make sense. I've had a personal experience with this one. I had a friend who would constantly talk about how I'm gay. She would always bring it up in conversations, almost as if she was reminding me. One day, while we were eating lunch, I said something that was funny (I think...) and her response was "Oh Jeff, I don't think I would love you if you weren't gay." Well, yeah, I'm sure you would, because I would probably be the same person, just attracted to girls. Being gay is not the only thing I want to be thought of, and I'm sure I'm also not alone on that one. Anyway...more stereotypes...


Oh, here's one. And yes, I have been asked this before. "Do you get turned on when you look at your own penis?" I won't even go on about how stupid I feel that question is.


There are many other stereotypes out there, these are the ones that just irk me the most. I will say that, yes, there are many people that fit these negative stereotypes (well, most of them), but it has nothing to do with the fact that they're gay. If some guy is hitting on a straight guy, knowing that he is flirting with a straight guy, this has NOTHING to do with the fact that he's gay, it has to do with the fact that he doesn't know his boundaries. 




I just feel like the gay community is never going to be taken seriously because of how we are viewed by society. We're seen as girly, horny rainbow-crazed freaks who run around having sex with other men and dressing in women's clothing (a dramatization, of course). I don't think that this means these people need to change the way they portray themselves, but rather how people judge them. There are always gonna be the few who act exactly the way society views them, but that doesn't mean gays, as a whole, are stereotypical. We're never going to be treated the same at that rate, which would mean that, like we all are taught, our opposers need to see beyond the stereotype, and not let that cloud their vision of the people we truly are inside. I certainly don't want to live in a world where I'm prohibited from marrying the man I love, and I most DEFINITELY don't want to live in this world knowing that I'm judged because of the one thing people see me as. Gay.




To end this entry, I'll share a picture I feel is very accurate. 

Writers Everywhere!

Life hasn't changed much since I posted last. Haven't cooked any more delicious food, and I haven't started my fan-fiction yet...but all in good time, will this happen!


I found the most ADORABLE picture of my current obsession. Well, the characters of the show "Supernatural"...but come on. We all know I'm posting it because I find them highly attractive.

Oh...yes. Highly attractive. I've been watching this show religiously (kind of) since the beginning of summer. I will do my best to finish EVERY EPISODE by the time summer ends. I'm hoping to do that much sooner, but, well, you never know. It's contributing to my fan-fiction research...because...this will be what my first one is about! Supernatural, baby. If you're interested in reading it, hit me up, and I'll make sure you will be able to read it!


So today, I was just eating pizza with mi familia at this Mom and Pop pizza restaurant about fifteen minutes away from our house (It's called Rochelli's Pizza House, and if you live in the Phoenix, Arizona area of the world, you should try it out, because it's the only thin crust pizza in the world I can say that I absolutely adore). We're somewhat connected to the owners because my aunt knows them, and my family hangs out there a lot now. I knew I would eventually be meeting this owner, Mark Smith, and talking to him about the usual things like where I go to school, summer plans, major, and all that mumbo jumbo. Though, as if the heavens above were sending me a message, I never expected him to come out and say, (after I explained to him that I wanted to be a writer) "Oh! I've written a sitcom! You should read it. Here ya go!" This motivated me. Like, a lot. I don't know what it was, but hearing about all the work he had put into it, and all the times he's tried to get it produced, it just made me want to be a successful writer even more.


This also taught me a very valuable, and exceptionally different lesson of "never judge a book by its cover". Never in my life would I have walked into a pizza restaurant, talked to the owner, and thought "Oh, he's probably done some really cool things in his life, like written a sitcom!" It's things like these that make me realize that people have their own stories, and they've done a lot more than what I see on the surface. I better get to writing, because, you know, I want to be able to slip "Oh hey! You should read one of my works" into a conversation at an appropriate time. I'd feel pretty awesome.