LittleBuddhaTW

Well, I made it back from San Francisco safe and sound late last night, and was back to work bright and early this morning. First of all, the business part of the trip was a big success, and although I worked long hours the whole time, it was well worth it. The hotel we stayed at was VERY nice, and I met lots of cool people in the industry. I also got to do some interpreting, as there were some representatives from Chinese companies there, and it worked out well since they didn't speak English very well ... MAJOR brownie points for me with my boss! Now, on to the other stuff ... first off, Dan and Trebs were amazing. I wasn't expecting too much, especially since I had to work a lot and wouldn't have a whole lot of time to hang out. Fortunately, I tweaked my schedule so that I had Friday evening and Saturday afternoon/evening to hang out with them. They were excellent hosts, extremely good to me, and showed me all around the city (pictures to follow later when I have a chance to upload them). Trebs was as friendly and kind as I expected, and Dan and I were like two peas in a pod. As for the specifics, we went to the Castro district on Friday night, and while Trebs occupied Joey, Dezlboi, and ShadowGod at Starbucks, my new best buddy Dan and I made several trips to the bar next door to do shots of tequila. And yes, we were pretty sloshed by the end of the evening, especially considering I had a few drinks before I went out (part of the whole business trip thing, doing deals and stuff, ya know). On Saturday, Trebs and Dan picked me up from my hotel and showed me the sights. We drove all around town, walked around Fisherman's Wharf, went to see the bay and the Golden Gate bridge, got some great Ghirardelli (sp?) chocolate, drove around some more to see the city, went to dinner (excellent restaurant choice, Trebs!), then drove up to Twin Peaks to see the city at night. The highlight of the afternoon, though, was going out to the beach and watching the sunset. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and I don't know how I could possibly describe in words how moving it was. THANK YOU SO MUCH, TREBS AND DAN! And I'm sure many of you are wondering ... yes, Joe is VERY HOT in person. Unfortunately, I think I scared him a bit on Friday night since I was so drunk and obviously staring at his (cute) butt the whole time (but Dan was, too!). However, being a little more sober on Saturday, I found out that Joe is a very sweet guy, and it was a real pleasure to finally meet him. I also got a great good-bye hug from him that made my knees buckle ... And, not to leave anyone out, Viv, Snowy, ShadowGod, SunGod, and the rest were also very nice and friendly, and I really enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them. Anyway, thanks again to Trebs and Dan for their AMAZING hospitality. They really spoiled me while I was with them, and made the trip that much better. Thanks to Joe as well for the hugs and for putting up with me on Friday night. I can't wait for the next get-together!

The title of this blog says it all ... I'm exhausted! I've been working at least 50-60 hours/week for the past couple months, and it's really wearing me down. For those of you who are wondering when the next chapter of "When I See You Again" will be posted, it's probably not going to be until I get back from San Francisco in early November. It's about halfway done, but I've just been too exhausted to do much writing over the past few weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to going to San Francisco next week. Even though it's a business trip, it will be pretty laid back, and my boss has some fun activities planned for us while we're there. I just found out yesterday, though, that our flight leaves from Dulles at 8 AM next Wednesday, and since my boss and I live so far apart, and he's closer to the airport, I'm probably going to spend the night at his house the night before, and we'll leave from there at around 5 AM (which is gonna suck, but at least he's driving, so I can sleep in the car). He lives waaaay out in the boondocks, so maybe I'll get some target practice in on Tuesday evening. I'm also really looking forward to meeting those of you who will be out there next weekend. I've already given my cell phone # to some of you, so feel free to call me when you get into town. I'll be "working," but I can take calls anytime, and we might even be able to get together for drinks or something before our originally planned Saturday evening get-together. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and haven't stopped writing.

Sorry for the long delay, but I've been putting in really long hours at work and trying to get ready for my business trip to San Francisco that's coming up in about 10 days or so. Chapter 4 is about half-way done, so hopefully a new chapter will be up before I leave.

I'd just be thrilled to have a kid to begin with; I wouldn't worry about something so trivial as their sexuality.

I think twelve-year-olds are a lot more "mature" nowadays than we were at that age (although I recall knowing that term back in middle school). When I was teaching English to junior high schoolers in Taiwan, I remember being shocked nearly every day at how much they knew, and they weren't nearly as "advanced" in maturity as their American counterparts. I think 11-12 has become the new 14-15 ...

Chapter 3 is now posted ... http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/WISYA/WISYA3.php Many, many thanks to the wonderful Sharon for editing! Enjoy!

What if none of them are gay? I know lots of straight kids who go through some serious issues of questioning their sexuality at that age and through their teens, only to turn out straight in the end ...

Oh, c'mon, since when have I ever created a "random" character! One other thing ... was Brennan jealous about the kiss? Wasn't he the one who pressured Grady to play 'truth or dare'?

So, I had my annual performance review and salary review at work. I got "Above Average" on my rating, which I think I definitely deserve, since I work my butt off for them, and the salary isn't as competitive as other companies in the translation & localization industry. They did give me an 8% pay raise, and I should be getting between $1,500 - $2,500 for a bonus at Christmas time, which will help. They also want to move me into middle management within the next 6 months to a year, which will increase my salary, benefits package, and bonus package. Hopefully that will happen, because my plan is to start looking for a house this time next year, and once I have that, I would really like to explore the possibility of adopting a child. My parents aren't really keen on that idea, but I've been feeling my biological clock really ticking for a while now. I've sent Chapter 3 of the new story to Sharon for editing. She's been doing a great job so far, and we're lucky to have editors here at GA like Sharon who are willing to donate their time to read through the messes some of us authors send them, to hopefully make our stories better. I know I've been saying since the beginning that it would probably be two weeks between chapters, and so far it's been once a week. But, after Chapter 3, I think it will actually be two weeks before I post Chapter 4, since I haven't even started writing it yet (the outline is done, though) ... but, we'll see. I'm also going to be releasing the first chapter to Nifty this weekend. I always keep the chapters at GA ahead of Nifty, but posting to Nifty has its benefits, mostly in bringing more people over here. The Detroit Tigers are pretty much out of the hunt for the wild card spot now, which is really disappointing. They were the best team in the Majors before the All-Star break, and then they just fell apart. Hopefully, their GM will do some stuff in the off-season to get their starting pitching in better shape (I'd really like to see the Tigers go after Johan Santana, who will be a free agent -- and they have the money to do so now). Fortunately, they have a good GM/CEO, so I think next season will be a good one. The Florida Gators are also off to a great start, but they're going to have a few big tests in the next couple weeks, namely Auburn and LSU. Tim Tebow, the Gators' star quarterback, has been absolutely phenomenal and has almost single-handedly carried their offense so far this year. He's only a sophomore, but is #1 in contention for the Heisman trophy. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Very good guess ...

Just to throw something else into the mix here ... could it be a song title??? And no, it's not an Elton John song ...

I haven't received much feedback on the new story yet, and as dkstories says, "Feedback is an author's lifeblood." So ... please contribute to the discussions, or even shoot me an e-mail to let me know what you think. We authors don't get paid for this stuff, so having feedback is the only inspiration we have to keep writing ... Thanks! LBTW

Chapter 2 is up ... http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/WISYA/WISYA2.php Thanks again to Sharon for editing! ENJOY!

Haha! I kinda figured you'd like that ... you won't have to wait too long, though ... I just sent Chapter 2 off to Joe, so it should be up shortly. *Hugz* LB

I admit it, I'm a fairly heavy smoker (about a pack or so a day). I didn't smoke at all in high school, and only started when I first went to China when I was 20, and it seemed like everyone there smoked (I smoked this horrible non-filtered local brand called "Golden Monkey" ... they were pretty nasty). When I was living in Taiwan, I was up to two packs a day, but am now down to about one per day, and I smoke Ultra Lights (I know, I know, they're still just as bad for me, but it helps me feel less guilty). There have been a number of VERY heavy smokers in my family (my grandmother smoked 3 packs a day), and not a one has had any problems from it. So, I guess I'm hedging my bets on the side of genetics ... again, bad idea, I know. I will quit one of these days ... maybe Sharon and I can do it together ...

As I've mentioned before, I think Shia LaBeouf (the cutie from "Transformers" and "Disturbia") is TOTALLY HOT!!! TMZ posted an AMAZING picture of him today, so if you wanna see it, click on the link below: http://www.tmz.com/2007/09/17/labeouf-in-labuff/ How that can be the same kid from "Even Stevens," I'll never figure out ... *fans self*

I'll address a couple of points now since I didn't think this would be an issue ... 1) If you're wondering if the whole story will focus on their lives at the age of 12, take a look at the title of the story and think about it for a couple minutes ... 2) Kids that age DO drink, and it's becoming a more and more serious issue/problem. 3) I wasn't planning on "sex" between anyone this early in the story, although it *may* happen later in the story (for the "age issue," refer to item #1 in this post). Hope that clears a few things up, and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the story. I may post Chapter 2 as early as this coming weekend, but please don't hold me to one per week after that! *Hugz* Buddha

So, the first chapter of the new story is up, so check it out! http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/WISYA/WISYA1.php Many thanks to Sharon for editing. Don't forget to stop by the discussion forum to post your thoughts! ENJOY!

Hey all - The first chapter of my new story, "When I See You Again," is finally posted: http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/WISYA/WISYA1.php Many, many thanks to Sharon for editing! ENJOY!

I'm glad you enjoyed the story, Chads Box! I'm not sure about writing an epilogue, but you never know ... maybe a sequel someday. In the meantime, though, I'm working on a new story, and the first chapter should be posted by the end of this week. Not sure if it'll be as popular as SOOTB, but one can only hope!

Well ... some good news ... Chapter 1 of the new story is ready to go (it's called "When I See You Again" -- same title as a previous effort I made, but totally different story, characters, etc. ... I just liked the title ... hehe). Sharon has finished editing, and I'll be sending it to Joe at the end of this week once I have all of the pages for my site updated. Chapter 2 has also just been sent to Sharon for the first edit, then I'll revise it some more and send it back one more time for a final look-through. I doubt I'll be able to keep up the pace I did last year with SOOTB, since I don't have as much time to write as I did back then ... but, I'll try to get two new chapters posted per month. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that everything is on track. I'm pretty nervous about this one, trying to catch lightning in a bottle for a second time isn't easy, so I hope the story isn't a total flop. *sigh*

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally started working on a new story. No promises as to when I'm going to be able to start posting (I'd like to have at least a few chapters done before I post anything), but it's off to a good start and I seem to have found the inspiration I needed. It will also depend on if Sharon is still willing to edit for me ... *hint hint* All I'm going to say about it so far is that baseball is a pretty major theme, and there are also some similar themes to SOOTB (although no re-curring characters and no music). Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I really like it so far, though. On to other things ... I had a week-long vacation this past week, which I really needed. I didn't really do anything, just watched a lot of baseball, rested, and enjoyed a break from everything. It's going to be a nightmare when I go back to the office on Monday, though. That's always the problem when I take time off work ... things seem to always get f**ked up when I'm not there. And, my trip to San Francisco is getting closer. Even though I'll be there for work, I'll still have a little free time, and I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the folks from GA who are going to be there. I'm a little shy in person, though, so I'll probably be clinging to Dan and Trebs for much of the evening, but it should still be fun. I took a break from watching baseball last night (since the Tigers game was in a 4-hour rain delay) and watched "Disturbia". I really liked it, and as I think I've mentioned before, Shia LaBeaouf is H-O-T!!!!! *fans self* Anywho, that's it for now. I'll keep everyone updated on the progress of the new story. Hopefully it won't be long now!

That's actually not a bad idea ... perhaps we could plan something to coincide with "Gay Day" at Disney the first weekend in June .......... I went a couple times when I was in college in Florida and it was a ton of fun.

Getting the chance to meet me (and see my sexy new buzz cut and goatee) isn't enough encouragement? Anywho, I'm definitely going, considering my plane ticket has been bought and I have my hotel reservation already (and I think I mentioned in my blog that it's a really nice hotel and I have the room all to myself ... ).

Ooooh, I want to ride a cable car! Oh, and I'm not scared to meet Kevin either ... he'll get a big hug too!