2008...

It’s 3.19pm, 31 December 2008.  I’m sitting here at work and I have not done anything (in a work sense) since about 9am.  But I wanted to post this as my final post for the year. 

I remember  my lovely friend Englishman Abroad posting a comment on my last New years Eve post – in it he said, Monty, 2008 is going to be your year!  And you know, it has been!  I started a fabulous new job which is still great fun, and of course, I met my gorgeous boyfriend McBrad.  I know that you, my long suffering readers, are no doubt sick to death about hearing of McBrad, but words can’t express how lucky I feel to have him.  It has been a wonderful year overall for me, starting with my little holiday romance with Mick, followed by my Mardi Gras affair with The Tourist, after which, I met McBrad.  Who’d have thought that Monty, the tart that I was, would be able to stick to just one guy for 9 whole months!!!  But I have and there are no regrets. 

I have had a great holiday in Thailand with my brother and friends, a lovely holiday in Port Douglas with my gorgeous McBrad, and a FANTASTIC Christmas with my man as well.  Next week, we depart for Fraser Island, followed by a long weekend in Perth and than a weekend in the Hunter Valley. 

I remember thinking a couple of years ago, that 1988 was my best ever year!  In that year, everything was going well…it was just a sensational year!  I was 17 and nothing was going to stop me.  Well, 20 years on, I’m 37 and finally I’m feeling like I am LIVING my life!!!  I am ME, I have no regrets, and I am deeply in love with the most wonderful man alive. 

Thank you to all of you, my lovely readers, who’ve been there for me…in your comments on my blog, in your emails to me, and for a few of you, in person.  I hope you all have had a great year, but I hope that 2009 brings you Love, Happiness and lots more blogging! 

Talk to you all Next Year!

Monty! xxx

Christmas card...

"Hi handsome, What a lovely year knowing you and having you in my life - I'm a lucky man I know...

Thank you for all your love and kindness. Looking forward to growing together more in 2009.

Love McBrad x"

What a gorgeous man. No wonder why I love him so much!

Hope you are all having as wonderful Christmas as I am.

Monty! xxx

Bling...

Well, here it is, me in all my bling glory! (and a pair of Dame Edna specs).

:-)

Christmas...

Christmas is upon us and I have been very neglectful of my poor blog. In my defence, it's been BUSY!

Kylie was last Tuesday and it was a fantastic concert! She did an awesome version of Slow, and the audience went off for Better The Devil You Know and I Should Be So Lucky! But you know what, the best aspect of the whole thing for me was the fact that I got to see it with my gorgeous McBrad. He actually was studying hard for an exam the following day, and in fact, was going over his notes while I drove to the concert. He was a bit stressed about going, but still came along because he knew it meant a lot to me...and it did! Just a sweetheart!

We had our work Christmas party on Friday night...it was themed Bling. I went a little OTT (bet you're suprised by that) and hope to post a pic of my outfit soon. It was lots of fun, and despite my earnest endeavours to avoid drinking too much, I did! I hadn't planned on spending the night at McBrad's because he's not keen on me turning up at some ungodly hour, pissed as a newt. But, bless his heart, after the 26th sms to him, he relented. I left the part at 12:30am so it wasn't that late, but could I find a bloody taxi? NO! So I ended up walking back to his place (Surry Hills) which actually was quite good - gave me a chance to sober up a bit. Of course, I was still fully kitted up in my bling and so got quite a few comments on the way home.

Saturday, we hosted our first "Our Party" which was pretty exciting for me. It was a mix of his and my friends so it made for an interesting bunch - I think there was about 30 of so in total. Fellow blogger Mike made an appearance, as did my lovely friends Evan (though, McDreamy was unable to come along sadly), Dan and Jacqui. A couple of ghosts of Christmases past were also there - namely my first boyfriend Dane and PC - just to keep it interesting. And from what one hears, some of the guests got on better than expected! :-) It was a great night and McBrad and I both thoroughly enjoyed it and I think everyone else did too!

This week, it's been all about last minute shopping - wee giftettes (as McBrad likes to call them) to purchase and wrap and I have to tell you, I'M OVER SHOPPING! Bring on Christmas I say!

We're here for Christmas day and so I'm cooking my first ever Turkey - it's an orphan's Christmas dinner. Thankfully, Tom, our resident culinary king has come to the rescue with some cooking instructions and stuffing recipes! so cross your fingers that it turns out ok.

Boxing Day, my brother Mark and his boyfriend Sim, fly in from London for 3 weeks. So we're all heading down to his beach house on the south coast so I am hoping for some decent sunny hot weather! It will be lovely just to relax and chill out, eat, drink, chat, read and go to the beach. I can't wait! I've got a half day tomorrow so I finish at lunchtime. McBrad is collecting me and we'll be doing all the grocery shopping for Xmas dinner and for down at the beach house so that will be one last chore to get out of the way! But then, 4 days of bliss!!!

McBrad also asked me today if I would like to go to Perth in January to meet his brother! His immediate family all live in Scotland however his niece and her husband moved to Perth a few years ago, so McBrad's brother (her father) is out for a visit. So looks like we'll be going to Perth for a long weekend. I'm just a bit chuffed that he's wanting to take me along to meet his brother - it's like a bit of formal acknowledgement to his family of me being his partner.

Well, I suspect that this may be my last post before Christmas so I just want to say that I hope you all have a great Christmas! This is my first one with my gorgeous man and I feel so very lucky to be experiencing it with him. I hope you all have your loved ones around you for Christmas too! Big hugs to you all.

Monty! xxx

Eventful...

Eventful was indeed the word that most accurately describes the weekend just gone!

After celebrating an early christmas with McBrad's god-daughters (who'll be overseas for christmas) on Friday night, Saturday dawned HOT and windy. Given that our party is this Saturday coming, I only had the weekend to finish off McBrad's garden. I had thought that I had left the easiest part to last - I just had a clear up a few rocks and then plant the lawn! Well, I spent most of Saturday afternoon removing stones...many of them had been concreted in by previous owners and so it took way longer and was way harder than I expected. But, by the end of the day, I'd got rid of all the rocks - I was knackered though. But no rest for the wicked - I'd booked tickets for McBrad and I to see Priscilla for one last time. I hadn't thought I'd see it again, having only seen it a few weeks ago with Tom and Dan, however a two-for-one offer was just too good to resist! The Scotsman in me (and no, I'm not referring to McBrad you perverts, I'm talking about my Scottish heritage) just couldn't say no to a two-for-one offer! So we saw it again, excellent seats and McBrad enjoyed it more this time than he had the first time. So it was a great evening. I did sleep like the dead however! I was soooo tired.

Sunday, it was the day to finish up. And finish it I did...by 5:30pm! I have to say it's a very very satisfying feeling to look at the backyard and see it now! McBrad likes it and that's the really important thing!

McBrad also bought a new car on Thursday - Noodle was outgrowing his old car so it was time to upgrade to a larger vehicle. It was a really sweet thing of him - although this was his car and it was his cash, he wanted me to be involved in the decision making process. I had to go and look at all the various cars with him, go through all the pros and cons of the various cars, work out his finances with him and help him come to a decision. He even put me on the insurance and calls it "our car".

It's just one of those things I've kinda not noticed, but more and more, there's less doubt in my mind, less concern about our relationship. Included in all of our conversations is the assumption that we're going to be together, that we share a future and that's a really nice feeling. I just feel so secure in our relationship and the direction in which it is heading!

anyway, this week it's full on preparation for our party on Saturday night, but there's one thing we must do first...KYLIE!!! yes, that's right, after months and months of waiting, she's finally here and tomorrow night, we're going! Wahooo! I'm very excited!

Anyway, I did have a stack of other stuff to say, but I can't remember! Hopeless I know!

Wednesday...

Well, it's Wednesday nigght and it's over a week since my last post! Lots to update. First major update - I'm at home on my new laptop...and before you all ask (as Scotty has already), NO it's not a Mac! But it is an early Christmas gift from my gorgeous McBrad which I am totally chuffed with! He was thinking about waiting until Christmas before giving it to me, but decided not to, due to my previously blogged home PC issues! What a sweetheart! I am the LUCKIEST man alive! :-)

Anyway, what I did want to mention was an episode last week. Last Thursday, I met up with my friend Jacqui and her sister and mum who were visiting her from the UK. We met at Opera Bar, had a couple of drinks and then, it was off to the Opera House. Why, I hear you asking. Because my gorgeous McBrad is not only the hottest man in my life, but he's also very talented. He was performing Handel's Messiah in the Concert Hall as part of the Sydney Philharmonia Choir! It was an extraordinary moment, when I took my seat, my eyes scanning the 500 member choir, looking for him. And when we locked eyes, and he smiled at me, a mix of emotions overwhelmed me! It's very difficult to describe - I was very proud of him, I was excited to see him on the stage, I couldn't help but admire how very handsome he was in his tux, and I could feel just how much I loved him. I was like a love struck teenager the whole concert - everytime he stood up to sing, I couldn't stop grinning and when he'd look at me, I had to struggle not to wave at him. It was an excellent evening!

It was a full on week for both of us - we are both very busy at work at the moment and he was either rehearsing or performing every night last week and so Sunday night after the final performance, we just wanted to have a quiet night in. Which we did. We also had our hands full over the weekend, as Noodle had a friend sleeping over. Archie, another Groodle too, but he's white, was there for four days and nights, as his owners had their daughter's wedding to attend. So it was quite a busy weekend, trying to manage two increasingly large dogs whilst trying to keep all the new gardens puppy free. . . unsuccessfully as it turns out, but no lasting damage done. Anyway, so it was a tiring weekend.

I was out at lunch today trying to get some small presents for McBrad's two god-daughters and I noticed that there were lots of kids out. I don't want to offend any parents here, but seriously, children should be banned from the city! Clogging up the streets, running all over the place, screaming and yelling - just drives me insane!!! Let them go to the Westfields or something, anywhere that I am not! Grrr... Anyway, I managed to get a couple of small gifts for each of them, so that is one less thing to worry about.

I also went to Myer and did something very sappy...I ordered a couple of baubles to hang off his Christmas tree...one with my name on and one with his on! I know I know...it's horrifically sad, but it's our first christmas together and I wanted to commemorate it somehow.

Anyway, there's about 34 more posts still in my head and I really don't want to make this a 5000 word thing. It's a challenge not being able to post at work as I often will think of something to post there. In times past, I'd just put it straight down but now, having to go home and post is much more difficult. I'm tired after work, need to cook and eat and after that, I just want to chill. So it will require more discipline on my part.

Well, that's it. I will post more soon. Promise.

Thaw...

I didn't blog about this when it happened, as it was quite an emotional incident which took me a while to digest. Most of you, my dear readers, would be aware that my parents didn't take my coming out very well and so cut off communication. Well, on the day of my last birthday, back in April, my dad rang me. This took me by complete surprise! It was a somewhat stilted conversation, quite awkward in fact, but I was touched that he had rung. It was more of a "just checking you're alive and you're well" kinda conversation with the inevitable "so have you changed your mind about living 'this lifestyle'?" question at the end. Of course, I told him that nothing had changed in that respect. And so at the end of the conversation, it was a "we'll call you" type sign off. It wasn't an ideal ending but I was heartened by the fact that they had made an attempt to contact me. I still knew however, that I wasn't welcome in the "bosom" of the family.

Today, dad rang me again. But this time it felt a lot different. We had more of a fluent conversation - yes, we did deal with the weather, my health, work, housing market and fairly generic stuff. But it actually felt a bit more like a normal conversation that I used to have with him (pre-outing). And more importantly, there was no Big Question at the end. It kinda felt like they were going with the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. Even though the pink elephant was still in the room, it was like they were coming to accept that the pink elephant was here to stay. It's not ideal, but it does feel a bit more like a thaw in our relationship which is really really great! I don't know how things will progress, but at least it seems like progress has been made...it'll be slow, but...! :-)

On a completely unrelated topic, I mentioned how I was unable to view or write my blog at work now due to new filters. Well, it's all very strange. You see, I can log on and read Tom's blog, Muzbot's blog; in fact, most of my regular reads I can still read. I just can't read mine. When I do attempt, the filter provides a reason why I have been blocked...in the case of this blog, it's because it's a "Personal Blog" and "GLBT content". So, apparently my blog is overtly gay whereas most of you, my dear readers, are NOT! How interesting! And annoying! Anyway, so my blogging is still somewhat hit and miss, even though my commenting on your blogs may still continue.

On the weekend, I made Stage 2 and Stage 3 of my garden project at McBrad's. It's very exciting...there's only Stage 4 before it's finished. Already, he's very impressed with how things are looking and I'm quite thrilled. It's been such fun to get my hands dirty and very fulfilling to see the end result. I do promise I'll post some pics when it's done!

Anyway, that's it for the moment. Hope you are all having a good week!