It's Mardi Gras...

Well, here we are in the middle (or rather, coming to the end) of Mardi Gras season! The parade and party are on Saturday night and it promises to be interesting to say the least!

Weather at the moment is rainy and in the low 20's (degrees celcius) so not ideal for the parade. Cross your fingers that it is only overcast and not rainy on Saturday. Otherwise, it may just end up being the party for me. Tickets to the party sold out last week and, so I'm told, this hasn't happened for years and years! (lucky for me, I bought my ticket a couple of weeks ago) So it's going to be HUGE! I actually can't wait! Last year was my first MG parade and party and it all went by in a bit of a blur. This year, I'm much more prepared for it. I've also got a heap of friends going - friends I've made in the past 12 months so that's going to be great! And of course, I'll be accompanied by The Tourist - he's been sending me text messages all this week from Port Douglas and I'm hanging out to see him again! Ok Ok, there is an element of lust there, but he's also lots of fun so it should be good! Who knows what will happen at the party too! :-)

I have many fond memories of last year's MG party - the best thing to come out of it is the friendship I have with the beautiful Evan! He's such a gorgeous human being, and the odds of meeting and making what is now one of my closest friends at the MG Party I think is pretty low, so I feel particularly lucky that it happened! So it's going to be our one year anniversary of meeting which is very special.

Last year, I had arranged to meet up with 3 guys off Gaydar...but this year, I haven't. In fact, I have quietened down significantly on Gaydar of recent times. But I'm sure that there'll be plenty of boys at the party to keep me distracted! So watch this space for Monty's Mardi Gras Musings! he he he!

Tonight, I'm off to the Bloggers Meet, accompanied by the publicity shy Tom! This, I think, will be his first public "outing" as a Sydney blogger, so it should prove interesting!

Mates...

I had dinner (and one or two beers) with my mate Muzbot tonight. We've not caught up since his birthday in January so there was lots of stuff to discuss. And it was great! More than great, it was fan-bloody-tastic!

We actually met at the first Sydney Bloggers Meet on 18th February 2007 so it's been just over a year! But what a year it's been! And over that whole time, Muz has been there, supporting and advising me, and just being a great friend. I remember the first time we met up after the Bloggers Meet, at the Commodore Hotel, how relaxed I felt with him. He's a very sweet guy; a very honest man and someone who's friendship I value very highly!

So thanks Muz! Thanks for the past year! Thanks for the reality checks you give me! Thanks for the gallons and gallons of beer we've consumed! Thanks for the teary moments! Thanks for the laughs! Thanks for the insights you've provided - insights to yourself, and insights into my own self! You are one in a million!

Monty! x

Blogging meme...

Stole this off Yani...with his blessing of course! :-)

Do you promote your blog?
Not at all. It's mainly come from blogs that I've read - ones that have been linked to other blogs that I read. It's a fascinating way that blogging links are made!

How often do you check hits?
All the time...particularly if I've blogged something really personal (like my rant in January) where I am really wanting some feedback.

Do you stick to one topic?
Hello, have you read my blog? It's all over the place! Well, kinda. :-)

Who knows that you have a blog?
There a couple of friends I've told about my blog, but not the address...just the fact that I do blog. Otherwise, it's just the bloggers! (oh, and my brother Mark)

How many blogs do you read?
Well, the ones that are on my blog-roll...haven't actually counted them.

Are you a fast reader?
Yep

Do you customise your blog or do anything technical?
Have you seen my blog? It's the most basic, dull blog in history. I'm constantly jealous of all these tricky things that other bloggers do!

Do you blog anonymously?
Yep! Except for the fact that I've met more than half of my readers, so to that extent, I'm not exactly anonymous anymore. AND I've posted all these pics of myself!

To what extent do you censor yourself?
Not much at all. If you've read it, you'll quickly see that I'm pretty much out there...
That being said, I don't go into details about sexual stuff. Gotta have some limits.

The best thing about blogging?
Two things. My fellow bloggers - it's amazing to read some amazing stories and to compare notes. I've met so many of them as well, and am truly blessed to have made friends through blogging! The other thing...the ability to get stuff off my chest! As I've commented before, it really helps me to move on from issues I may be having etc. I'm a HUGE proponent of blogging as a form of therapy!

Bloggers Meet...

James O'Brien left this message on my blog and I thought it's not a bad idea...so all and sundry, please come along!

Gay? Lesbian? Bisexual? Transgender? Intersex? Maybe you have a blog, are thinking of starting one, or just like reading blogs?Then don’t miss an informal “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex Bloggers Meetup”, in the lead up to this year’s Mardi Gras. It will be a great chance to catch up with some other people whose blogs you may (or may not) have read, It’s totally non-political and non-pretentious. In the midst of “our season”, let’s just catch up and meet in a life beyond the computer screen.
When: Thursday February 28, 5.30pm
Where: Courthouse Hotel Beer Garden, 202-204 Australia Streets, Newtown 2042. Tel: (02) 9516 4103. The pub is located on the corner of Lennox and Australia Streets, opposite Camperdown Park. It’s just a brief walk (a few hundred metres) from Newtown Station, off King Street. Directions on Google Maps.

There will be a sign on the table indicating the blogger meetup. It’s a great pub with a terrific beer garden out the back. They charge normal prices for beer and food. More info…. http://jamesobrien.id.au/glbti/

Hope you can come, and please pass this on to other bloggers who might be keen.

"Wild Wednesday" challenge...

A couple of weeks ago, the Superchilled Trevor put out a "Wild Wednesday" challenge - to post a self-taken photo. So, albeit a bit late, here's my entry!

The story behind it...29 September 2006. I flew out from Sydney and after around 20 odd hours of travel, landed at 6am in London. Tubed it in to Parson's Green station, where I was collected by my brother Mark. Back to his place, he was in the process of getting ready for work. We had a quick chat and then he was gone. I had the whole day to myself and as tired as I was, I was also excited. I hadn't been in London since 2002 and so there was lots to see! I also knew that I had to stay awake the entire day so that I could start getting my body clock aligned with European time instead of Aussie time. Had a quick shower and jumped on the train into central London. I spent the day basically walking around taking photos. I didn't want to go into any museums or churches or anything, as I was pretty much a zombie and wouldn't appreciate it. So it was just a case of walking to stay awake. It was a lovely day which helped too.

Anyway (there is a point to this story) I walked along the Embankment right up to Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and walked around it as I wanted to get a photo of the statue of Richard the Lionheart. After taking the photo, I kept walking around it and came to two gates; one entry and one exit. The entry gate had a sign "In" and the exit gate's sign was (suprise surprise) "Out". As soon as I saw it, I knew I HAD to get a photo with it. Why? This was my official "coming out" day. You see, I had planned to tell Mark that night that I was gay. And although I had taken my first few steps into the gay world in the previous month, I knew that once I had told Mark (being a member of my family), there was no going back. It would be a fait accompli.

So, it's my official Coming Out portrait! :-) I look like crap because it had been about 48 hrs since I had last slept properly and was dead on my feet, but hey, it makes for an interesting story! Feels like a thousand years ago, and yet, feels like yesterday.

Monty's Miscellaneous Musings...

It's amazing how effective I find blogging for getting things off my chest. I had my rant in January but once I had posted, I just felt better. I got back to feeling normal; I'm having fun; I'm revelling in my singleness, my health, my fabulous new job, my overall situation in life. Yes, I haven't found Mr Right, but I've got plenty of good things happening at the moment.

Last week, I was quite sad when I said goodbye to Mack, but y'know, once I'd written about it, I felt better. It was a lovely few weeks but that's all it's been. He's not the love of my life; I've not just finished a long term relationship. And so, I'm not moping around devastated...in fact, I have just had a great (if somewhat exhausting) weekend. It just seems that putting digit to QWERTY helps me sort things out in my own mind...helps me get some perspective - and your comments certainly help.


But back to the weekend...it all started on Valentine's Day (Thursday). I had arranged to go to dinner with a couple of friends however they had to pull out at last minute. It had been quite a full on week and I really felt like just going out for a drink. Jacqui, my friend at work, is newly single and was in need of some cheering up. And we pursuaded one of the Risk Executives attached to my new team, John, to join us. John is gay too, and is quite cute, about my age, and we've been conducting a very mild flirtation over the last couple of weeks. But Thursday night, things certainly ramped up a notch or two. We went out to Ivy Bar, intending to have a couple of drinks. But Ivy, being the latest bar opened in Sydney, is full of good looking men - unfortunately they seem mostly straight. And so, with such a cornucopia of visual delights, we just had to stay and have another drink or two. A few bottles down, I feel lips on my neck! John's lips to be specific. And before you know it, John and I were snogging like there was no tomorrow! And I must say, he's a fabulous kisser! That's as far as it went - but that was a pretty major step for me, snogging a guy (an Exec from work mind you) in the middle of a straight bar only a block or so away from my office! Typical Monty thing really...just your ordinary Valentine's Day kiss is just not enough - I've gotta go to the extreme!

A bit of a crazy night, but the next day, things were fine, and he actually messaged me over the weekend wanting to see if we could go out one night. So you just never know! The crazy thing is, it was last February when I hooked up with the Cute Gay Work Guy from my old team...so it seems like February, Monty and work are one hell of a combination!!!

Friday night, we had a work dinner with my old team - we were the top team in NSW last half and so my old Executive Manager took the entire team out for dinner. It was a great dinner, nice to spend time with my old team but once the party broke up about 11pm, I was in the mood for celebrating some more. (the fact that we'd been paid our bonuses from last half the day before may have contributed somewhat to my exuberance) So I grabbed a cab to Oxford St, walked into Stonewall, walked straight to the bathroom (I really needed to pee), came out, walked past this really cute guy standing at the bar, he smiled at me, I smiled back and that was it. Monty's fastest ever pick up! Turns out he's an Anglo-Irish tourist, here for the Mardi Gras festival. I ended up spending the night at his hotel. The next day (Saturday), I did a bit of a tourist's guide to the main sights of Sydney with him and I found him to be a lovely guy! With a wicked smile, the gift of the gab and the Irish charm. I had already organized to have my mate Dan over for a dinner and dvd night and The Tourist had bought himself a ticket to the Pool Party so we went our separate ways late in the afternoon.

Sunday, it was Fair Day and after a coffee and croissant, I toddled on down around 2:30pm. Caught up with Evan, briefly saw McDreamy (he was on duty at the Medical tent), ran into Mike and Bondi, said hello to Simon, and then met up with The Tourist. We spent the rest of the afternoon together. I brought him home last night for a quiet night in...home delivered Italian food and TV. Just what I needed. I was thoroughly smashed.

We caught the bus into town this morning and I went to work, he back to his hotel. He flies up to Cairns and Port Douglas tomorrow and will be back in 10 days, in time for Mardi Gras. I was totally knackered at work today, not really having got much sleep, but I've gotta say, it's been one HUGE weekend!

Weekend...and Mack...

We went down to the beach house over the weekend - we being myself, Evan, DG and NSSG. It was the first time DG and NSSG had come to the beach house and so I was hoping that it would be a perfect weekend. Unfortunately, La Nina had other ideas and so it was raining all Friday and Saturday which meant that 4 guys had to hang out inside! We certainly kept ourselves entertained, with papers to read, Trivia to Pursue, DVD's to watch and food and alcohol to consume (and Jenga to challenge us late at night, after a few drinks). So we managed!

But Sunday dawned bright and sparkly which excited me no end! So, after a relaxing breakfast cooked by DG and NSSG, Evan and I indulged in a spot of gardening and thence to the beach! Evan, sensible man that he is, went for a walk, wearing long sleeves. Me, on the other hand, saw the hot surfer dude in the surf and planted myself on the sand in easy viewing distance, ditched the shirt and clad only in my Aussiebums, proceeded to read my book. Not that much reading was done, as the surfer inched closer up the beach toward me. Eye candy plus plus plus! He was HOT!

Time forgotten, Monty lost in pleasant thoughts of surfer dude in the dunes. 90 minutes later, he picked up his board and left and I awoke from my reverie. Unfortunately, with no sunscreen on, my lily whites became ruby red!!! OUCH! 'twas a Monty in pain that drove home Sunday night!

But, I was at home Sunday night, reviewing the pics on my camera and as I went back through them, the previous pictures I had taken came up on the screen. Pictures of Mack. And it all came rushing back...the feelings! I had deliberately not thought about him (not an easy task) since our breakup, but seeing him again on my camera just brought him back to the front of my mind. And I sighed... It's amazing how you remember every detail of what was happening, what was said, when looking at a photo.

I had actually organized to meet up with him last night (Monday) - we originally planned to go (and had book tix) to the OpenAir Cinema a few weeks ago when we were dating and so we thought, seeing as how he leaves this week, that this would be a good opportunity to say goodbye, as friends. Turned up yesterday at Mrs Macquaries Chair, where the cinema is, and saw him coming toward me, through the crowd. God, he's so cute, and gorgeous, and tall. We were there about 90 minutes early and so we grabbed some food, a glass of wine and chatted whilst viewing the sun set behind the Opera House. It was a delightful balmy night and it felt just so relaxed to be chatting to him. The movie started after sun-down, which was about 8.30 or so and there was a bit of a chill in the air. I foolishly had only worn jeans and a thin shirt, due to my rather painful sunburnt back. But as the movie progressed, I did start to get just a little bit chilly. He noticed and took off his jacket and gave it to me. What a gentleman! I gratefully accepted it as I was really starting to feel the chill, but then, when I had it on, I could smell him. Oh, what a rush of memories that gave me. I loved snuggling with him and lying in the crook of his arm, with my head on the top part of where his chest becomes his shoulder was the best, as it allowed me to breathe his scent in all night long. So the last part of the movie was lost in a daze of fond recollections.

I drove him home and we had a bit of a snog...but it wasn't a sexual thing, it was just sweet, gentle kisses, mixed with a touch of sadness. I'm not going to see him again, well, for at least a year or so anyway. And so it was a bit emotional for both of us. It's hard, when you find someone that you think had all the potential of being "the one", letting him leave your life. Even for a just a year. Who knows what will happen in the next twelve months. But one thing I know, we'll remain friends, and we'll both have a very special, very lovely few weeks of shared memories to look back on. Monty is a bit melancholy today.

Apparently, I'm Carrie...

You're quirky, flirty, and every guy's perfect first date.
But can the guy in question live up to your romantic ideal?
It's tough for you to find the right match - you're more than a little picky.
Never fear... You've got a great group of friends and a great closet of clothes, no matter what!

Romantic prediction: You'll fall for someone this year...
Totally different from any guy you've dated.

Which SATC character do YOU most resemble???

It's working out...

I had my first proper session with my Personal Trainer Greg today. I thought I had proper sessions with him already, but today, I realized he had been toying with me! He was cajoling me with compliments, luring me with light workouts until I was hooked...but then today, he had me pushing and pulling and pumping and squatting and lunging like there was no tomorrow. And boy did it hurt!!!

But I think I'm kinda getting into this whole exercise/working out thing! It's been raining solidly all day here in Sydney but what did I do after my session? I walked home - in the bloody rain! The harbour was dark and seething and looked quite magnificent actually. There was very limited man candy jogging the bridge (too sensible to do that on a day like today) so it was just me and Robbie (on my iPod). But, unlike last time, when I could barely lift one foot after another, today I actually walked it quite comfortably, only getting sore and tired in the last 10 minutes when it's all uphill.

So, I know that I will be sore all over for the next couple of days...and on Wednesday, I have another torture session...but I'm hoping that the shock to my system is diminishing each time.

One good thing...my appetite is huge! Well, maybe not huge, but it's certainly significantly improved!

All good things must come to an end...

Yes, it's over. This thing with Mack that is. We had a chat about it last night and with his departure less than 10 days away, it's all started to hit him. He told me that he's becoming too attached to me and with him having one farewell party after another, he's struggling to cope emotionally. Naturally, I would have preferred that "we" kept going right up until he left, but I can understand where he was coming from. Even when we were talking about it, I could see that he was becoming emotional and the last thing either of us wanted was for this "relationship" to be anything but enjoyable. I don't want to put additional pressure on him and as much as I would love to see more of him, it's just not fair...on either of us. Even in the 24 hours since we've talked, already I'm missing him. The chemistry that we had between us was amazing; I found him unbelievably attractive and he told me that he was totally into me. We enjoyed each other's company, had lots of laughs and have become friends, even in the short time that we've known each other. It's been an intense few weeks and I don't regret any of it. He's a top guy and we've agreed to keep in contact via email while he is overseas. It is ironic that I find someone who I think has all the hallmarks of being "the one" AND who reciprocates my feelings, and he's moving overseas.

Oh well, all good things must come to an end. ...sigh...

So, it's back on the dating treadmill for Monty! As much as I don't feel like it at the moment. I really feel like going home and watching sappy movies and eating icecream all weekend, but that won't get me anywhere!

On another note, I had another appointment with my personal trainer Greg on Wednesday. Apparently, I also have very good posture and technique, which is somewhat attributable to my core strength...or something. We worked mainly on my upper body this time which felt good at the time. BUT I had to sign some papers at the end of my session and could barely lift the pen! I've signed up to see him twice a week for an hour a time - every Monday and Wednesday afternoons! Eek! I fear I will just be in pain 24/7 for the next month or so until I get used to this!

The good thing on Wednesday was that I could walk the bridge home without any difficulty; my legs were fine though Jacqui walked home with me (she lives around the corner) and so I couldn't power my way as I would like to. I had to moderate my pace for her. But it was a lovely walk home again. But today, my arms are aching!!! My arms AND my heart! Monty's a bit miserable today...