2007...

I'm not really going to do a review of the year that was...if you've been reading my blog, you'll have a fairly good idea as to what was good and bad about 2007. But a situation yesterday kinda represented to me the past year.

Firstly, I met up with the entertaining and ever fabulous London blogger Darth Gateau who's here on holidays with his gorgeous partner TOH! I've been reading DG's blog for around a year now and met up with him (plus many more London bloggers) when I was recently in London. And so when he told me he was coming out to Sydney over Christmas/NY, I was very excited. At last I would be able to repay in some small way the hospitality and welcome that the London bloggers had shown me. In fact, DG is the 2nd London blogger to visit our fair shores this month so it's been great.

Anyway, met up with DG and TOH and of course, Muzbot yesterday afternoon at the Opera Bar - perfect day for the Opera Bar...27 degrees C, buckets of sunshine, a flawless blue sky. The Opera House was glistening in the sun, the harbour was a gorgeous blue, with the Harbour Bridge dominating the scene. Great bar to take tourists! So we had ourselves a couple of shandies but by that stage, we were getting a little hot in the sun and so decided to go to Green Park Hotel.

So we turned up there and watched as the pub progressively got more and more crowded! It was absolutely pumping! But as the evening progressed, a strange (for me anyway) thing started happening. Looked over and saw a guy that I had shagged early this year. Waved hello to him. 20 mins later, saw another prior shag. Waved hello to him too. In total, I saw 5 guys that I'd shagged in the past year! It was my Shagging Ghosts of Christmas Past! Felt quite strange to be in a bar and whichever way I looked, there was a past shag standing there. It's probably not such a strange phenomenon in Sydney, with a relatively small'ish gay community...after all they say there's only 2 degrees of separation in the Sydney gay community. But it had never happened to me before. And so, on the 30th December 2007 - the end of quite a momentous year for me - what a more appropriate thing to happen to me than to see all these guys there.

It's a completely different situation from last year. So much has changed in my circumstances (I know I keep rabbitting on about this, but it never fails to amaze me), I have become so much more confident a person, much more comfortable in my own skin and in my own sexuality. Although I came out in 2006, for me, 2007 has been more of a watershed year because it's been when what I started in 2006 really has impacted on my life.

I just can't wait for 2008 now! I'm starting a new job at work, I've decided to join a gym (gasp, yes, you heard it right, Monty is joining a gym!), and there's maybe one or two other things up my sleeve as well. EIB sent me a Christmas card this year and in it he said "2008 will be your year!", and you know, I really think that is true! Bring it on!!!

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS New Year and I hope that 2008 brings you success and happiness. Lots of hugs to you all.

Monty! xxx

Time on my hands...

I'm a bit at a loss at the moment. I had deliberately not scheduled anything for this weekend, as I had pretty much booked out the rest of December and so really felt like just having an unplanned weekend - just flying by the seat of my pants, see what happens kinda thing. And it's bitten me in the butt. (now how's that for mixing my metaphores? lol) Anyway, I find myself on a Saturday night without plans and I really feel like doing something! Most of my friends are out of the city at the moment, and the ones I have here are either busy, or haven't responded to messages! sigh...this was not part of the plan! :-(

Post-Christmas...

Well, I'm back in Sydney and I'm well rested, extremely relaxed and just a touch sunburned. Nothing too dramatic, just the back of my legs, my lower back and a patch on my left shoulder blade where I obviously missed putting the sunscreen on.

But I did have a great time down at the South Coast. Weather was pretty damn fine - apart from a big storm Christmas eve, it was sunny and warm. I made my Beer-up-the-bum Chicken on Christmas night, as well as a strawberry pavlova for dessert so we were feeling very fat!

Mark and Sim rang us Christmas night, and we opened our respective presents whilst on the phone. And what did they get me??? Yes, the present that finally dragged me into the 21st Century, an IPod Nano! I was very excited about that! I've spent half of today trying to download songs to it and I've mostly succeeded. So it has been the BEST present!

I had originally planned on coming back today (Friday) however yesterday was a bit overcast and I was really fanging to get back to Sydney and to life! So I took off early, and I have to say, the drive back was good. The traffic southbound however was absolutely chokka block, stop start all the way. I would not have wanted to be in their shoes!

Today, after a sleep in, I cleaned up around home, did my washing, and sorted some stuff out. And then, hit David Jones' half-yearly clearance! And bought up a storm! Got myself a new suit (to match my new job which I start on the 7th) and a new shirt and tie. I still want to buy another suit and some more shirts/ties. Also got some more wine glasses, tumblers and a dinner set. So I was pretty chuffed about that.

So it's been a great Christmas, and this weekend should be pretty good too. And then, NYE! I can't wait!

Oh, and thank you to all who sms'd me xmas wishes over the past few days. It was lovely to hear from you!

I guess it's Christmas...

Well, it's 11.50am on Christmas Eve. I'm sitting here at work...it's dead! Which is a very good thing. We're on skeleton staff but thankfully, the clients have decided to get themselves on holidays and are not bothering us! So, I've done a little bit of work - just the finishing up of a couple of outstanding matters - and have chatted to some colleagues, played some games online and have read a few blogs. I'm leaving around 1.30pm and am driving straight down to the beach house so I should be there pretty early! It's going to be an interesting Christmas - I'll be spending it with my brother's ex-boyfriend Phil and Carter so it's a bit of an orphans' Christmas - but it will also be fun! I'm also making my internationally renowned Beer-Up-the-Bum chicken which the boys are looking forward to! And I am sooo looking forward to just chilling, going to the beach, lying in the sun, drinking beer and champers and relaxing! Lovely!

So, I will be offline for a few days - returning to Sydney on Friday 28th. So, I want to say thank you to all of you, my readers, for your contribution to my blog over the past 12 months. I have learned lots from you and appreciate every single comment you make. Have a great Christmas everyone!!!

Lots of Aussie hugs to you all

Monty! xxx

Dinner Party...the next day

What a night I had! The dinner party was excellent; I really had a great time. The food - well, the veal was a little, ummm, well cooked shall we say. But the entree and dessert worked perfectly. We managed to consume 6 bottles of wine between the 6 of us, which is impressive considering that three of the party were driving and so the burden of alcohol consumption fell mainly on the remaining three of us.

But I think the best part of the night was simply the enjoyment of friendship! Four of the guests - Evan, McDreamy, DG and Jacqui - have played a significant part in my life in 2007, being there for me, supporting me, laughing with me, providing shoulders to cry on (figuratively and literally), and so it was very special for me to have them over. One of the guests was a new friend (and fellow blogger) Mike and it was great to see that everyone got on very well; there were plenty of laughs throughout the night.

I was exhausted by the end, but also energized and exhilarated. I love spending time with friends, and when you can do it in relaxed surroundings, it's just fantastic. I think last night was a great way to say goodbye to 2007 with those guys, as we're all going our separate ways for Christmas and won't all be together again before next year.

Today was the clean up and was there lots of that!!! But it was very worthwhile!

Dinner Party...

Well, it's 3pm Saturday and I've been up since 6am and I'm just a touch weary! I got up so early (which is so unlike me) as I had to go to the flower markets out at Flemington. Unfortunately, it seems that most of Sydney had the same idea...traffic was appalling - had to queue for about 15 mins on the highway just to get in the gate! Anyway, I bought up big and have done up two arrangements. One is for the table, the other is on my hall stand. I'm hoping that they'll last until Christmas, in which case, I'll take 'em down to the beach house.

I then went grocery shopping. Now I normally don't do groceries until the afternoon (my mornings are usually devoted to sleeping in and then getting some breakfast and reading the paper) and so I didn't know whether it would be busy or not. Of course, it's the weekend before Christmas so it was crazy! But I battled through the crowds and into Woolies! And then I realized why I don't go in the mornings...there's all these flipping old people doing their shopping! And they are soooo slow!!! I'm sorry to all the old people out there, but they have all the time in the world DURING THE WEEK to go and yet, leave it until I'm needing to rush around on a Saturday! Grrrr...

Anyway, I've come home, made the dessert, made the main, and prepared the entree. Now I'm half-way through cleaning my apartment. It's just so hot and sticky today that I needed a bit of a rest...hence this post.

At Campbell's request...the menu.

Entree - Lightly steamed asparagas spears, wrapped in smoked salmon, with shaved parmesan and a sweet balsamic dressing
Main - Veal Scallopine with a fresh garden salad and baby potatoes
Dessert - Brandied Apricot Trifle

I've got champers to start with the hors douvres, a nice WA Chardonnay Verdelho with entree, and the bottle I'm fanging to try out - 2002 Grant Burge "Holy Trinity" Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre - will accompany the mains. I've also got my last bottle of Lamont's Navera which I will serve with dessert. And of course, I suspect that my guests will probably bring some more wine and so I have a feeling that this will end up being a bit of a lush evening! Wahoooo!

Well, my rest time is over...back to the cleaning! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :-)

This week...

I am feeling rather strange actually. The best way I can describe it would be that I'm feeling rather bemused. This week is totally dragging...this feels like the slowest week for a really long time! I am really fanging for the weekend to come...but it's still only Thursday. This weekend, I'm having a dinner party for a few of my good friends and I'm really looking forward to it. I love doing dinner parties, but never get the opportunity. So, it should be lots of fun. I just wish this week was OVER!

I did a personality test...

...and here's the results...

You have a strong will, not dependent on others and gives an impression of being a lone-ranger. You are extrememly curious and sensual, living a clear headed modern life. At first glance, you place yourself on a pedestal, and are difficult to get along. But once others talk to you, they know you are easy going and when the relationship develops, they realise you are affable. You have an androgynous charm which makes you popular with all genders. But you don't like your weak side to be seen. You might look cool but beneath it all, you are really passionate. Only people who know your true self can maintain a long lasting relationship with you.

And you know, it's actually quite accurate!

It's raining here in Sydney...

...and all I want to do is snuggle! It's a Sunday night, it's been raining solidly for the past hour or so, my favourite TV show, Spicks and Specks (the BEST music quiz show in the WORLD) is on in 30 minutes time and the only thing that could make it better is having someone here to snuggle with! sigh...

Coming out...

This is a bit of a self-indulgent post, but I just wanted to get this off my chest.

I'm not sure why I started thinking about this, but today, I was ruminating on last year's events, specifically my coming out. It's one question I can guarantee will be asked on every date..."So why did it take you so long to come out?". The answer I always give goes something like this..."It wasn't until I was 28 that I had my first experience with a guy and it took me several years to come to terms with my sexuality - to feel comfortable within myself and then to build up the courage to actually face the world and say I'm gay. I come from a very conservative Christian family as well and I knew that they would react badly to my coming out and so that was also a factor in the delay from when I first knew until I actually came out".

And that is the truth. But I was also thinking that whilst those external factors were there, it also was because I lacked the courage to do so. I was scared about disappointing my family and friends, and I was terrified of losing them as well, because I did know with absolute conviction that they would react the way they have. I was also being a bit selfish, because I had a good "straight" life, had lots of friends, was enjoying life, whilst at the same time still indulging occasionally in a bit of man loving on the sly. So I had the best of both worlds. I felt I wasn't hurting anyone so it didn't matter, but with the wisdom of hindsight, I realize now that I was hurting not only my family and friends, but also myself. I re-read an email that one of my closest friends sent me after I told him and I think it sums it up...

"I'm feeling angry, and hurt: I'm feeling angry with myself: I can't help think that I didn't try hard enough to get to the inner core of Monty, to find out what really made him tick, to see past the veneer and to boldly push through those tough outer defences. I'm annoyed because whilst N (another close mutual friend of ours) and I often discussed their existence, we often found it too difficult to scale the walls. I wonder if we'd made more of an effort, things may have been different. I'm feeling puzzled and disoriented, and perhaps a little cheated: the Monty I thought I knew is just the tip of a much larger iceberg which I know lurks beyond the surface but cannot be seen: and I feel like I'll never see it. That's a disconcerting feeling because generally speaking, we bared our soul to you and only got so much back: I feel like you've stared at us all through a keyhole and we've just seen an eye glinting back at us."

I know I did put up walls...it was the only way I could keep the two sides of my life separate; the only way I could avoid losing it all. But in the end, I have left lots of hurt family and friends behind because of my deception. This I cannot do anything about - what is done is done. I do regret the hurt I caused.

But it's one thing I have learned - and it's something I suppose all of my current friends see - I'm very open about my life now. Sometimes too much, I think, but I would prefer they know me warts and all, than knowing just the tip of the iceberg. (though an iceberg is not how I would describe myself...I would like to think that I'm a bit warmer than that)

I remember whenever I considered the issue of coming out, my stomach would be in knots...just the thought of losing all my friends and family made me physically ill. I considered trying to do it step by step, doing it in stages. I thought about not telling my family...it wouldn't be a difficult thing to conceal really -they live thousands of kilometres away and Mark, my brother, has managed it successfully for the past 17 yrs or so. But, when it came down to it, I knew that I would have to do it all in one fell swoop. I couldn't do it in stages, because I know that it would've allowed me to back out if I wanted. I knew that when I came out, I would literally HAVE to burn my bridges to prevent me backing out. And so, that's what I did. I came out to the my family, my friends, my church, work, the world, all in the space of about a month. It was a killer, but I survived it. And since then, I've realized that I'm much stronger than I thought. I feel rather proud of the fact that I was able to muster up the courage to tell everyone; that I've been able to rebuild my social life; that I've been able to gather a nice group of friends around me. I've really enjoyed the past few weeks since returning from overseas and am looking forward to a fantastic summer (well, as long as this flipping rain stops).

Meme...

Haven't done a Meme for ages, and saw this one on both Muzbot and Darth Gateau's blogs and it's quite a good one...so here goes...

1. When you were born, how much did you weigh?
I was around 8lb - I was the heaviest of mum's babies, ironic given that I've always been the lightest of her kids ever since!

2. What's you're sugar poison?
I maintain a lolly jar on my desk at work - I'm such a kid sometimes! I love those candy Teeth! I also love donuts!!!

3. If you had to choose between meat and cheese for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Then be specific.
Cheese! As much as I am a carnivore, I LOVE cheese! I'll often make me a yummy cheese platter on a Sunday evening and that's all I'll have for dinner! Prefer the aged cheddars, particularly Mersey Valley Sharp 'n Crumbly!

4. What, in your opinion, is the worst song ever?
Achy Flipping Breaky Heart

5. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
Miss Robertson, my high school music teacher. She was lovely - I absolutely adored her and actually kept in contact with her for a few years after.

6. What personal activity, when performed in public, bothers you the most?
Spitting! I think it is a vile habit!

7. Ok, there's a $50 bill lying on the ground. You pick it up. Dumbfounded by your incredible luck, what do you selfishly purchase?
I'd probably buy me a CD or two...

8. Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.
No not really. I rarely remember my dreams, and the ones that I do are generally nice ones!

9. Name one place on Earth you've never been, but vow to visit at least once.
Scandanavia - not only tall, blonde, built guys but I would love to see the fjords!

10. You notice that question #9 wasn't really a question. You feel smart for catching such a small detail. What else can you do really well that reminds you how smart you are?
I have a knack for remembering dates (as in birthdays, significant moments etc, not the romantic date kind). And all sorts of useless Trivia...I'm the king of Trivial Pursuit.

Aches and pains...

I've written previously about my Hunky Masseur who unfortunately moved to London in July this year. I actually met up with him while I was over there and we spent the day at St Paul's Cathedral and wandering the streets of The City Of London. But since his departure, I've not been able to find me a decent masseur.

I logged onto Gaydar over the weekend and noticed this quite hot guy had left a track and so I had a look at his profile and it turns out, he's a masseur. Interesting, but I gave it no further thought. Until Monday, that is. About lunchtime, I realized that my right shoulder was incredibly sore. And as the afternoon progressed, it got stiffer and stiffer (my shoulder, that is, you with the dirty minds).

I have not experienced this kind of muscular pain before, this overwhelming agony, where I did not even want to use my arm. And so, when I got home, I remembered this guy's profile and sent him an urgent message requesting an urgent massage! Thankfully, he could fit me in on Wednesday evening and so last night, finished work right on 5pm, raced home for a quick shower, and then over to his apartment.

I've gotta say, he's probably even hunkier than my original "Hunky Masseur". And the massage...well, it was BRUTAL! But I knew that it wasn't going to be one of those stress-relief-nice-and-easy-feel-good kinda ones, given the pain I was in. So I was mentally prepared, but HOLY CRAP! Pain city!!! But beneath the blinding waves of pain, I could feel my shoulder relaxing, the muscles loosening...and his magnificent 6pack (he rested my hand/arm against his stomach briefly when he was stretching my shoulder). And so I left there feeling waaaay better!

Today, my shoulders are a little sore, but it's the good sore...not the tight, uncomfortable feeling, but just residual soreness from the pummelling I got last night. I think I have found me a new Hunky Masseur! Wahooooo!

PS Before you ask, NO, I did not get a "happy ending"! :-)

What a difference a year makes...

I was invited to a BBQ yesterday but before I went, I actually was thinking about the last few weeks and this past week in particular; how busy my social life has been since I returned from overseas. And I couldn't help but think back one year and the difference in my life.

At this time last year, I was relatively recently out to my parents and friends, and as a consequence, had been cut off by both my parents and a significant portion of my friends. And so I had very few friends and thus, my social life had plummeted quite dramatically. I had only a couple of gay friends and a couple of straight friends and so although I was seeing them regularly, the bulk of my social contact was gaydar dates. Although I was having fun, last December was a bit of a struggle for me as I was missing my family and friends big time!

Whereas this year, although naturally I still miss my family and friends, I've made lots of new friends and so my social calendar since returning has been non-stop! Most of my social life is now with friends, with only the odd Gaydar date which is much better! Walking into the BBQ yesterday, I looked around and instead of knowing one or two guys, I knew probably about 10 guys which was great!

I've gotta say, the support and friendship I've received over the past year from my new friends has been overwhelming. I'm feeling like I'm in a really good space at the moment - loving life and having a good time!

Busy busy busy...

It's a crazy time of year! And I'm tired already! I've had a big week, granted, with my promotion and all. But it's just been flat out socially! I've got a couple of different friends over here from the UK and so two nights this week have been spent with each of them respectively. I went to Carter's place on Tuesday night for dinner - Carter is the friend of my brother Mark's, who was on holidays in the UK at the same time as me. Carter wanted to show me his brand new apartment as well as all of his purchases from the overseas trip. So it was great to catch up with him. Last night, I caught up for dinner with my gorgeous friend Evan. It's always a delight to spend time with him; we're very relaxed in each other's company and there's always lots to talk about! Tonight, it's the second of our work christmas parties followed by SG's catch up drinks at the Columbian - will be great to see him again!

The thing is, I don't have any nights free until next weekend! And I really feel like an easy night at home...I NEED an easy night at home! I'm totally whacked out! Even the days this weekend (which I normally keep sacrosanct for Monty time) are booked out with lunches/picnics/BBQs!

And one other thing that has been keeping me busy is FaceBook! It's suddenly kicked into life in the past week and it's almost a full-time job keeping up with all of the things on it. I'm playing 3 Scrabulous games at the moment (and getting my arse thoroughly whipped by Tom on one of them) plus I'm still uploading my holiday pics.

It's all fun but thank goodness christmas is coming up - I'm going down to the beach house for about 4 days and it will just be lots of lazing around in the sun, going to the beach, drinking and eating. PERFECT!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!!

Monty's Miscellaneous Musings...

I was talking to my mate Dan the other day. Dan also works for the Bank, in a different division, in a different building. So we email each other quite a lot. We're trying to tee up a night to go out and actually catch up, because we haven't seen each other since I returned from holidays.

As it happens when you email, invariably you start chatting about stuff instead of storing it up for when you meet. And so I was telling him about my holiday, and particularly he was interested in my, ummmm, success with the gents. And so I told him. His reaction was "Monty, you are a Slut with a CAPITAL S". He said this jokingly, but it did get me thinking about something that had been on my mind.

I have this internal conflict - one the one hand, my friends keep telling me "Monty, you're young(-ish), single, and you've been out for not quite 18 months. Go out and have some fun!" And for all my faithful readers, you'll know that I've certainly endeavoured to take this advice very seriously! :-) And it's been lots of fun! BUT, on the other hand, I have been brought up in a very strictly moral family, with very traditional values. Growing up, I was determined to remain chaste until I got married. And I did, until age 28 when I had my first sexual experience...with Andy! But even after that, I had terrible feelings of guilt and was abstinent for months and months after that. Eventually, I couldn't stand it and had another encounter, but then the guilt feelings would happen and it all started again. This happened for years, until I finally accepted the fact that I was gay, and then made the decision to come out. And of course, since then, I've made up for lost time. But still, in the back of my mind, sometimes a little voice is telling me that I shouldn't sleep around so much, that I should control my urges. I don't particularly want to be known as a tart or a slut or any other similar epithet. And I do know that my friends don't really think badly of me when I do have my little bit of fun. But sometimes, it still concerns me.

I also know that I would very much prefer to be in a monogamous relationship - that's my ideal. And it's something that is inherent in me...I've grown up with monogamy being presented as the only option and whilst things have changed, I still seek it. Even when I was seeing C3 and Bruce, the minute we started dating, I cancelled any other dates I had planned, and was happily monogamous for the duration of our relationship.

This is a bit of a ramble I know, but it's just something that has been niggling me.

I'm a little bit excited...

I had met with the Executive Manager of another section of the Bank before I went on holidays, as a couple of my former colleagues (including my friend Jacqui) worked for him now and they suggested that I would be a great addition to his team. So we met, had a chat and that was about it. There wasn't a job on offer at the time, but he told me he'd keep me in mind. When I got back from holidays, there was an email waiting for me, from the EM. He told me that there was a likelihood of a job coming up and would I like to formally apply. Naturally, I applied. We met about 2 weeks ago, along with his General Manager for a formal interview.

Today, he rang me to formally offer me the job! The Contract is still to be drawn up etc, but based on what my new EM has emailed me, it represents a 25% payrise which will come in very handy. I'll be performing pretty much the same job as I am currently, however with significantly fewer clients, but who are of much higher value to the Bank. It's a senior portfolio within our Private Bank and so it will be much more challenging, but also quite interesting! So I'm just a little bit excited!!!

5 Fundamental Rules for Gay Men...

FIVE RULES FOR GAY MEN TO FOLLOW FOR A HAPPY LIFE

1. It's important to have a man who helps at home, who cooks from time to time, cleans up and has a job.

2. It's important to have a man who can make you laugh.

3. It's important to have a man who you can trust and who doesn't lie to you.

4. It's important to have a man who is good in bed and who likes to be with you.

5. It's very, very, very important that these four men do not know each other.

McDreamy emailed this to me and I thought it was rather amusing so decided to share it with you!

My country...

We've been chatting on Tom's blog about one of Australia's most celebrated poems, My Country by Dorothea MacKellar. Everyone assumes that the first verse of her epic poem is...

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons
I love her jewel sea
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me.

This is fact, the SECOND verse of the poem. The first verse just doesn't get the same publicity.

Notwithstanding this, in today's SMH, there was a free Leunig calendar. The first cartoon (for January) was his version of the famous verse which I find hilarious!

I love a sunburt country
A land of sunburnt plains
Of sunburnt mountain ranges
Of droughts and sunburnt rains.
I love her sunburnt horizons
I love her sunburnt sea
Her sunburn and her sunburn
This sunburnt land for me!

Redoak...

The Redoak pub on Clarence St has some lovely memories for me. Last year, on my last day at work before heading overseas (for "Monty's Shagging Tour of Europe), my friends James and Jacqui took me there for a couple of drinks. Earlier this year, after a few drinks at work one Friday evening, James, Jacqui, the Cute Gay Work Guy and I retired to the Redoak for a couple more beers before I took CGWG home with me for a highly pleasant shag-a-thon! But I haven't been back there since.

Until last night, that is. I've been talking to this guy on Gaydar and he seemed very nice. And so, we finally arranged to meet up on Friday night. He worked near King St Wharf and I work near Wynyard. And he somewhat cryptically stated that he preferred if our meeting was "discreet". I read this as meaning that he probably wasn't fully "out", if at all. So, I suggested the Redoak...conveniently situated for both of us, and quite a straight joint. He also mentioned in one of his messages that he was not after a relationship or anything, just wanting to meet with friendship as the aim. That was OK for me - yes, I am after something more, however he seemed like a nice guy and this was before I had my Wednesday evening with the, errrr, generously aged guy I blogged about a couple of days ago.

Well, he turned up about 30 seconds after me and I was impressed. Tall (always a good thing in my books), handsome, and a very gregarious personality. He's 28 but has travelled quite extensively and so seems quite mature in his outlook. In fact, he told me later that the fact that I had travelled a fair bit was a serious attraction for him. And we ended up talking mostly about travel - I can never have enough travel and he's much the same. But after a couple of beers, I start asking him the inevitable questions about his sexuality..."why are you 'discreet'"? As it turns out, he's not "out"! No real surprise there...he's as blokey as they come (he even is a season ticket holder for the Bulldogs rugby league team). "Are you gay?" He also confesses that he's actually undecided as to his sexuality. It all starts making sense then.

But we're getting on fine and I'm thoroughly enjoying the evening. It's great to be able to talk about rugby league with someone who sleeps with guys (even if not exclusively)...there's not a lot of gay guys who are really into their league! But I did expect that the evening would end there.

After 3 pints, I was starving and so I mentioned that. I was somewhat surprised when he suggested that we find somewhere on the North Shore (where I live) to eat. Not being one to miss an opportunity, I countered with, "Why don't we go back to my place and we can order some home delivery". He readily agreed. We grabbed a taxi and before long, food long forgotten, were happily ensconced in my bed, going for it like there was no tomorrow! And I've gotta say...sensational!!! I'm a bit of a fan of bi-guys now! (the fact that he told me he enjoyed kissing me more than any chick was also slightly gratifying) And yes, Soul Seared Dreamer, he too was a great kisser! LOL

We actually lay in bed for about an hour afterwards, continuing our conversation from the Redoak. It was actually really enjoyable. He's probably the most blokey guy I've ever slept with...and I've gotta say, I was liking it excessively.

He didn't stay the night, but he definitely would like to see me again. This is nothing more than a physical thing - he's been very upfront about that, and I'm not expecting anything else. But I have to say, the physical thing is rather marvellous! He's certainly Mr Right Now, but he's also a very entertaining person to talk with, so he has good friend-potential. And unlike his dating predecessor, I actually wouldn't mind putting in the effort to get to know him better. Who knows, it may be difficult to have a friendship, considering the "straight" life that he leads. But even on a discreet basis, I certainly wouldn't object to a night or two here and there in his company.

Anyway, tonight I'm off to see my good friend DG - he's a bit run down from a heavy workload (and I suspect from his recent breakup) and so we're just going to get some home delivery and watch a DVD and catch up. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again as we've not seen each other since I returned from holidays. So it'll be a good evening, with good food, good conversation and a good friend!