Halloween is just around the corner!

What's a fella to do? We are not having a Halloween party this year and it appears none of our friends are either! What are a couple of middle-aged gay men to do in suburbia?

Decorate the house!

OK, this is T's thing, not mine. I'm the Christmas guy in the neighborhood. However, I got to go on the roof and put up the Halloween lights. Who has Halloween lights anyway? Us and the crazy old couple that has a hundred blow-ups in their yard every holiday!! They do look nice...a pre-cursor to the Christmas energy-use extravaganza! However, it seems in these troubled times, a respite from reality is still a nice diversion!



Hope everyone enjoys themselves and has a devil of a time!

How YOU doing?

Next week I get to start giving my annual performance appraisals to my 18 employees. As much as I love the thought of making them sweat, this is actually not that much fun for me. I do like getting with folks and having a nice chat, but I have discovered that most government employees aren't going to change a thing about what they do unless some adverse action is at play. Good employees will continue to perform well; bad employees will use all of their leave and complain about why they aren't getting promoted.

This will be my sixth go at this event. I think I'm prepared and that my points will all be valid. I talk with folks all the time throughout the year, so nothing should be a surprise. Yet, it inevitably happens that someone will think they are much better than I gave them credit for, and the discussion gets ugly. We have a new appraisal system where folks must get outstanding in at least 2 of the 4 elements in order to be eligible for an award. Before, you just had to be in the top 20-30% of a unit in order to get an award (and that criteria was VERY subjective). This should be interesting as I only have 3 folks who will be considered based on the new system.

We shall soon see how this goes over!

Charity-a-palooza and a Pound of Flesh

My checkbook has taken a beating!! I have had several friends (and T.!) approach me for donations for all the charity events happening in the Seattle area. Vuboq was asking for donations as well, and I was going to help out there, but I realized I am not a multi-millionaire who donates to make his name look better after a bad scandal. My trough is empty, alas!

It's interesting how we all say we want to do good and help out the world in some way, but that pesky standard of living we try to maintain gets in the way. Since I work for a social agency, I know that many folks live on far less than I make, but I still have to wonder how much more I could do if I didn't have to spend my money on frivolous desires.

Speaking of frivolous desires, last night T's sister had another figure competition. We got to drive to Bellevue and see lots of spray-tanned, half-naked flesh! T's sister has been doing these competitions for two years now, and she really works hard at it. She eats chicken and vegetables and egg whites and protein bars, and very little sugar, and no pasta or cheese (pretty much no dairy at all), and she says she enjoys life! I could not do that to myself, but she does look good.

(PS...the spray-tan looks great on stage, scary up close!)

T is on a crazy "let's not eat much" diet, too, but he is already too thin. I, alas, am carrying a few extra pounds who seem to have taken up permanent residence. Let us just say that when his family comes over, we pretty much only talk about dieting and exercise. Granted, I used to be a fitness instructor, but I no longer have a job that allows me to devote 2-3 hours a day on my appearance! I feel like singing "One of these things is not like the other" whenever we have a family function. I am trying my best now to exercise, but my metabolism isn't what it used to be. We shall see what happens!

So, in closing, for all of you who are raising funds for charity, your efforts are applauded and I hope you all exceed your goals! And for those who want to become figure competitors, I wish you a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese (in theory of course! You'll have to make do with some soy and broccoli!). Oh, what the heck...I'll eat it in your honor!

Can you make wine out of sour grapes?

Alas, I did not get the position that would have furthered my career to new heights. Although I will carry on and smile and do the best job that I can (I'm funny that way), I also have to consider what went awry. What did I do wrong? What am I lacking? How can I develop myself so that I might not be overlooked next time?

Sadly, I don't have an answer for that. I thought I was doing very well and have been told so by all of my bosses.

Without sounding like I'm bearing a grudge or being bitter, the fact remains that I am a young (ish) white male and it seems that this is quickly becoming a bad thing in our society. Granted, I am all for affirmative action, but even then, merit should still be a factor. Not that I am saying we have brought total equal rights into fruition by any stretch of the imagination, but I fear that when we try to be overly PC, we tend to minimize the efforts of everyone. Had I received the promotion, there are those who might say it was because I am a white male. I am sure there will be talk about the Hispanic female who got the job.

My employer states that they take diversity very seriously and our workforce should reflect the public that we serve. If you looked at the actual workforce statistically, you would notice that it does not accurately reflect (at least with current percentages) the population at large. I am a minority (and not because of my sexual orientation). I have never received any privileges because my parents were Caucasian, nor have I benefited from any type of public or private assistance because of who I am. However, I am sure that some would think it of me because I have done all right for myself, and they would still begrudge me any success.

Oh, well, I'll stop whining now. I guess my point is that we still have a long way to go in truly becoming equals. I would never minimize the struggles that people have gone through to achieve the freedoms they have now, but is it right to stack the deck so the perception is that all is well in the world? GayProf stated it much better than I did here, but diversity still is an interesting topic.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering why I thought I was a better candidate...I have three years seniority, I was a sergeant in the army, I am the go-to guy when anyone else needs assistance...and I helped train the selectee.

Go figure!