LittleBuddhaTW

Well, today was my first day at my new job. The commute is about an hour each way, which really sucks, but I only have to tough it out for a month or two until I can get my own place. That should cut the commute down to 20-30 minutes. The work is actually quite complicated and there's tons of stuff to remember, a complex computer system and series of databases to learn, etc. I'm very familiar with the translation industry and linguistics (which is important for quality control and just knowing how the business operates), but the management and technical side of it is going to take some time to learn. Oh well ... at least I'm getting paid pretty decently. I found out, though, that my health insurance doesn't include dental, which kinda sucks. I also have a ton of forms that I have to fill out tonight, and then even more to do tomorrow. I HATE paperwork ... A good thing, though, is there's this really HOT Latino guy who works in our office. I don't think he's gay (my gaydar is VERY accurate), but at least he's a nice piece of eye candy, and I have been known to be able to convert cute guys if I really put my mind to it ... Chapter 26 is now posted. Writing SOOTB has been a lot of fun, as well as a great learning experience. It's also given me a chance to meet some really great people, and I've learned quite a bit about editing along the way, which will actually be a big help in my job. I hope everyone enjoys it! I'm not sure when the next story will start posting ... my job is going to keep me quite busy, and I'll be even busier when I start getting ready to find my own place and move out (I can't wait!!! Living with my parents, albeit briefly, is driving me absolutely nuts! Anyway, that's it for now. Enjoy the last chapter of SOOTB!

Here it is ... http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/SOOTB/SOOTB26.php Many thanks to Kitty and Sharon for editing! I was originally going to do an epilogue, but I liked the way this chapter ended and want to leave the rest up to the reader's imagination, so this is it. Enjoy!

I've been looking forward to this story for a while, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Once again, Vance highlights a very sensitive yet important topic, one that most people would rather not think about or admit -- child abuse. Unfortunately, it's much more widespread than most people would ever imagine, and just as brutal as Vance depicts it. There are lots of kids out there like Ian (or Shane) who have to suffer silently day in and day out, living in an environment even worse than hell. Is it hard to read about? Yes. Is it something we need to read about and be more aware of? Most definitely. Anyway, very good job, Vance! I noticed that there isn't a physical description of Ian so far ... I'm wondering what he looks like ... *Hugz* Buddha

Chapter 26 has been sent to Kitty and Sharon for editing ... not too much longer now!

I just got a call from the translation company I interviewed at about a month ago, the first interview I went on. They called me last week to tell me that they were about ready to bring me on board, but just needed to check out my references. Today, they called me with the official offer to be their new project manager, and will be paying me $40K a year, plus benefits, free parking, etc., etc. I'll be starting next Monday, and I'm VERY relieved to finally have something. It's not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, but at least it's in an industry that I'm familiar with and enjoy. He also said that if any Chinese-English translation projects come through that I'd be interested in, I'm welcome to do those myself and make some extra money. The company seems very laid-back and casual, and the work will be interesting. So ... YAY ... I'm really happy about that! And now I can also start officially counting down the days until I can get my own place! It'll probably be a month or two, because I need to save up a little money, but at least now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! For those of you who have been patiently waiting for the last chapter of SOOTB, I'm VERY sorry that it's taken so long. The good news is that I'm almost finished, and the last chapter (+ epilogue) should be ready to send off for editing this week. I did a lot of writing last night, and now that I'm feeling all happy and stuff about the job, I'll be in a better mood to write. So, thanks a bunch for being so patient, and I'll do my best not to disappoint!

The answer is "4" ... where's my prize?

You really need to demand a raise, Sweet Pea ... you deserve it!!! Oh, and don't forget about my advice on adding the EVOO to your turkey!

Since we already did the "What kind of English do you speak?" thing, I thought this was pretty interesting, especially since we have a few N'awlins (New Orleans) people here ... Ya know ya from N'awlins when ... Ya know that a Zephyr is an old rollercoaster and a baseball team! You proudly claim that Monkey Hill is the highest point in Louisiana. (You know it's not but you'll fight anyone who don't believe ya.) You drive your car up onto the neutral ground if it rains steadily and heavily for more than two hours. You have flood insurance. Someone asks for an address by compass directions and you say it's Uptown, downtown, backatown, riverside or lakeside. Your idea of a cruise ship is the Canal Street ferry, and your idea of a foreign cruise ship is the Chalmette ferry. Your burial plot is six feet over rather than six feet under. You know the Irish Channel is not Gaelic-language programming on cable. You can pronounce `Chop-a-tool-is' but can't spell it. You don't worry when you see ships riding higher in the river than your house. You get on a bus marked `cemeteries' without a second thought. You have no idea what a turn signal is or how to properly use it. You can cross two lanes of heavy traffic and U-turn through a neutral ground while avoiding two joggers and a streetcar, then fit into the oncoming traffic flow while never touching the brake. You can consistently be the second or third person to run a red stop light. You know how long you have to run to a store, get what you need and get back to your car before you get a parking ticket. You got rear-ended 10 times by people with no insurance. You make a `right-hand turn' instead of a right turn. You get off the stoop, walk down the banquette and cross the neutral ground to go get a sno-ball in the summertime. You judge a restaurant by its bread. The white stuff on your face is powdered sugar. You visit another city and they "claim" to have Cajun food -- but you know better. You have the opening date of any sno-ball stand in your Daytimer. You know that a po-boy is not a guy who has no money, but a great-tasting French bread sandwich. The major topics of conversation when you go out to eat are restaurant meals that you have had in the past and restaurant meals that you plan to have in the future. You judge a po-boy by the number of napkins used. You consider having a good meal as your birthright. The four seasons of your year are crawfish, shrimp, crab and erster. A seven-course meal is a pizza and a six-pack of Dixie beer. The waitress at your local sandwich shop tells you a fried oyster po-boy dressed is healthier than a Caesar salad. You know the definition of `dressed.' You put Tabasco sauce on your Hershey bar. You can eat Popeyes original chicken, Haydel's kingcake and Zapp's while waiting for Zulu. Then you go to Jackson Square for a Central Grocery muffaletta with a Barq's while sucking hot crawfish and cold Acme oysters, hurricanes and several Abitas. Then you can ride the St. Charles Avenue streetcar home past Camellia Grill for a chili/cheese omelette ... without losing it all on your front stoop. You have gained 10 or 15 pounds permanently, but you don't care anymore. Ya stood yaselfs in da line by Galatoire's. You think `drinking water' when you look at the Mississippi River. You know better than to drink hurricanes or eat Lucky Dogs. Someone at a crawfish boil says, `Don't eat the dead ones

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Yikes, it's been a long time since I've updated this ... Anyway, so I've been watching the Little League World Series. The final game was today, and Team USA (from Columbus, GA) defeated the team from Kawaguchi, Japan, with a final score of 2-1. I was pulling for the team from Oregon to win (since that's where Kitty lives! ), but they were defeated in the US Championship game. There were a couple really outstanding players from both teams, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them in the majors a few years down the road. I've read a lot of stuff from sports 'commentators' who have been complaining that the LL World Series shouldn't be televised, how it put unnecessary pressure on the kids, was just an avenue for them to show off, blah blah blah. After seeing the incredible displays of good sportsmanship by the Georgia team when they won (and from many of the other teams), I think the LL belongs on ESPN a helluva lot more than so-called 'professional' baseball, where steroid abuse is rampant and the players make millions of dollars to act like arrogant pricks. The kids are much more genuine, are excited about the game, displayed incredible sportsmanship (I think the Georgia team hugged the Japanese kids more than each other), and are out there to have fun. No wonder attendance at big league games is so low, and the games at the LL World Series were all jam-packed. The LL program is excellent, and I'm glad that I had that experience when I was a kid. I still haven't found a job yet, and I have to admit, I'm getting very frustrated. The whole experience has put me in a bit of a funk, and I think that's a big reason why I haven't gotten Ch. 26 of SOOTB finished yet. I can't write when I'm in a crappy mood. It's almost halfway done, though, so it shouldn't be too much longer. But the job thing ... *sigh* ... it's really dragging me down. Everyone I talked to before I made the decision to come back told me how I'd have people beating down my door and how many jobs there are for fluent Chinese speakers. Well, the latter is true ... there are quite a few jobs ... but I haven't gotten any of them yet. And it's making me very moody, cranky, grouchy, frustrated, and bitter. I do have a few leads, but nothing very firm, and probably not anything serious for a while. Ugh! Anyway, that's about it for now. There really isn't much to blog about, as my days are quite boring. On a positive note, my diet is going extremely well, and I've now lost a grand total of 19 lbs. so far. I'd like to lose about 11 more lbs., and then I'll be back down to a much more reasonable weight. I've lost one or two pants sizes so far, so I may need to get some new shorts pretty soon ...

I'm not that surprised by my results ... ***Your Linguistic Profile:*** 60% General American English 15% Dixie 15% Yankee 5% Upper Midwestern 0% Midwestern What Kind of American English Do You Speak? And for Vance ... 40% yankee is pretty darn 'hick,' so don't worry ... you're still the champion hick boy here at GA!

I heard a rumor that it's more than halfway done and will hopefully be out within the next couple of weeks ... Not sure how reliable my sources are, though ...

I've been making progress on Chapter 26. It'll still be at least a few days before I'm ready to send it off to Kitty and Sharon, but I'm working on it. To whet your appetites, though, here are a few small 'teasers' ... 1) Ryan celebrates his 17th birthday 2) Connor performs the song "So Sad the Renegade" 3) Trent Lomax makes an appearance again *Hugz* Buddha

Sorry, Ch. 26 is still gonna be a little while. The whole chapter is mapped out, but I'm having a little trouble transferring the thoughts from my brain onto the paper ... errr, screen. :wacko:

That is definitely the greatest line from a movie ever! Nope, can't say that I've seen that one ... The person below me has had to take a boyfriend to the doctor or emergency room after a sexual escapade before ...

That movie L.I.E. totally creeped me out ... I don't think I'll be writing anything based on that movie ...

I've had a few ... The person below me thinks Leland from "Dog the Bounty Hunter" is TOTALLY HOT!

Check out http://domluka.gayauthors.org That should keep you busy for a while ...

I guess we have a pretty good idea of who the 'photographer' was now ... David. But we're still not any closer to figuring out the mystery ... And Mr. Crook, the volunteer sheriff, was totally icky. I think the 'first kiss' scene has become Dom's trademark. The kiss between Frank and Oliver in this chapter was written sooo well. I think Rory and Seth's first kiss in DD is still the champ of Dom's kissing scenes, but this was also extremely well-written -- the hesitation, trepidation, anxiety, and acceptance. What's surprising is that prior to this, there had really been very little to hint that either Frank or Oliver would be gay, other than David's vague comments to Oliver in the very beginning. And it's worth noting that the term 'gay' didn't even come up. I like reading stuff like this, a really good story that doesn't revolve around the sexuality of the characters, although it's still there in the background. Fabulous chapter, Dom!

Well, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't any HOT LESBIAN ACTION in this chapter, nor did Kyle show up at the door buck naked and ready for some serious partying ... With that said, this was an incredibly sweet chapter. Cameron has made almost a complete one-eighty since the beginning of the story, and he and Cole seem to fit so perfectly together. I'm not big on the whole "family" concept, but it was nice to see that Cameron seemed to come to some kind of rapprochment with dear old dad, and that Kyle is thinking for himself instead of just spouting off his dad's crap. Excellent chapter, Vance!

I'm thinking that Kyle is straight, but likes boy-boy sex. Trust me, it's possible! *spanks Vance's pasty white bottom and runs away giggling* LB

Condi Rice? The person below me is having trouble deciding who is more adorable: Ben or Vance ... hmmmm ...

I had a phone interview today with a large translation firm. They're looking for a Project Manager. The interview went well, and they asked me to go in on Tuesday afternoon for an in-person interview. The pay isn't that great, and it would be a lot of work, but it might be a good place to start, and the benefits are pretty good. If I get the job, I'd have to go through a government background check for a security clearance, since about 50% of their work is government contracts. I shouldn't have any problem with that, though. I've also got another good possibility at my dad's bank. Since he knows people, he managed to get me in touch directly with one of the district managers instead of having to go through the bank's HR department, which would save me waiting for at least a few weeks. That would also be a position as a manager. I'll have to see which would offer a better salary. The translation company said $35-$45K a year, but I wouldn't be able to start out at the highest end, since I haven't done that kind of job before. $35K wouldn't be enough to live off of, so hopefully they'll be willing to pay $40K ... if not, I may have to turn it down. We'll see ... I've made some progress on Chapter 26 of SOOTB, but it'll still be a few more days at least until it's ready to send off to Sharon and Kitty for editing. I think it's turning out to be a good chapter, though. EltonJohn.com has released another new song from the upcoming album The Captain & The Kid, this one called "Postcards from Richard Nixon." It's a pretty good song, but like "The Bridge," I don't think it will go over very well commercially. According to an e-mail I got from EltonJohn.com, though, "The Bridge" entered the charts at #36, which isn't too bad considering Elton isn't as popular as he used to be ... Anyway, that's about it for now. Wish me luck with the job thing! If it doesn't work out and I can't find anything here, maybe I'll be tempted to take Dan up on his offer ... I've always wanted to live in California. Lots of cute boys out there!

Congratulations, Nicko! I knew you could do it! Can't wait to read Ch. 3 of Bodega Bay! *Hugz* LB

I think either Mousebert is about to get eaten, or we have the makings of a potentially VERY kinky story here ... Good job, Kurt! LB