Pray for Tucson - Part I

[eggwards]

Down in the Valley

I got off my flight, somewhere around 10:30am, mountain time. I didn't change my watch, not then, not for the rest of the weekend. I guess I was just being stubborn. As soon as the cell phone came on, it immediately corrected it's time, as well as announcing it's roaming status.

This is Phoenix, and was not the final destination. I left the gates and was greeted by Tom (invisiblebear) who was to be my chauffeur to the event. I had been waiting a long time to meet Tom. Here he was in a leather jacket, and I was in a short-sleeve shirt, wondering if I'd packed incorrectly for the weekend. As we left the airport, Tom gave me a kiss and we were on our way.

Tom wanted to show me around Phoenix, so we went through the gay district, out to the suburbs, and back downtown. A lot of the town looked new. It had definitely been growing over the last 20, 30 years. The other aspect I saw was the fact that everything was beige, everything. There wasn't much in the way of green, and because of a drought, even the sagebrush was a dusty grey. I also remarked on the mountain ranges that surrounded the town, framing the area.

We had lunch at Bank One Ballpark, and even though the grass has been removed, continuing the beige theme. I discussed the differences between this park and Minute Maid Field (formerly Enron Park) back home. When we got out into the park from the restaurant, the roof was closing. Now it was time to get on the road.



My iPod kept giving me trouble as I couldn't get the FM transmitter to change for a bit, but I finally got it going. Tom had made a mix CD that included "Milkshake" by Kellis. The Bear Run brings the boys to the yard...the bears are waiting...

Tucson is also in a valley. The sun was up, and the air was dry. One thing about these desert cities is that they are flat. Not the land so much, but the buildings. There are very few two-story buildings in the area. Everything's low to the ground and spread out. The billboards rose above this, and there were several white billboards with large, black lettering, "PRAY FOR TUCSON". Given the social situation I was about to enter, it was an appropriate sign.

I'll take that Sledgehammer

The hotel is actually three stories. We parked and went in, and the first person I met was Steve, Kevin's (sonoranbear) partner. He greeted us with a warm hug and kiss. It was a pretty warm welcome from someone I had never met before. Tom and I got situated and got everything out of Jerry (the car) and got it placed in the room.

Dinner was up next, and I didn't know too many people in the lobby. Fiesta is nice, but it's not an easy run for the newby. It seems that everyone already knows each other. The weekend attracts a crowd that has been here before, some 3 or more times. There's a cliquishness to it that isn't off-putting, but it does take a little bit to get in the groove. It's exactly the problem I was worried about. The whole weekend would be my test of networking skills.

Tom and I decided not to go for dinner with the crowd, which actually worked for us. As we chilled in the lobby others joined and I was actually having a good conversation...well, a conversation. Tom stayed pretty quiet, as is his way. Along came urso, whom everyone calls Urso. I've heard he has a real name, but I certainly don't know it.

After a little bit, in bounded Matty (mattycub) and John. The two of them seemed pretty well matched. I didn't get to meet John when he was in Dallas, so I introduced myself, it was another of many, many introductions. John's really nice, friendly and warm, and I can see why Matty likes him. I asked if they had gotten dinner, and they hadn't, so we waited for them to get settled, and we went out.

Tom drove me and we went to a place called Grill. Not The Grill, just Grill. It was a late night diner, and the service wasn't anything more than the basics. The party was Steve, Matty, John, Tom and myself...oh, and Craig. we talked about anything, joking laughing. When my sister Laura called, Matty reminded John that i was the brother he didn't meet, and Chris' boyfriend. I confused Laura by telling her that I was in Tucson, as she was hoping I could get on-line and order BNL tickets for an upcoming show in Dallas. Craig sat next to me and ordered a shake, since he had already gotten dinner. I found that he was from Washington DC, and that he was currently out of a job. He, as everyone else at the table, had been to Fiesta before.

Matty mentioned the hot tub as we were leaving and I thought that was a good idea. Since it was Thursday, there weren't as many people around, so the hot tub wouldn't be just full of people. Most times during the weekend the hot tub was packed, and even then there seemed to be a constant of about three people - whomever they were- in there. I went to change, and Tom, who had been up for a while, decided to chill out in the room. I had been up since 4:30 that morning, I could have used the sleep, but I thought I'd try to keep working on the socialization.

I got out to the pool, and saw Randy (lostncove) and his friend David (mnsourcer) who had decided to join us at the hot tub as well. They introduced me to Chris (cpratt) whom I didn't know, in fact I didn't realized who he was until this morning. Chris was nice enough to say that he read my journal from time to time, which I didn't even know he did. He has a pretty snarky sense of humor, which is actually pretty good.

As Matty reached the pool area, you could see he was working the crowd a bit. I can't remember all of who was there, but Matty seemed to know. I tried watching him for hints of how i too, could be the life of the party. Somewhere during this time I met Kevin (sonoranbear) who was even better looking than I had thought. He was nice, but he was running all over the place all weekend, since he was one of the committee members, with the copper badge. he rarely had time for a conversation.

About the badges, they were pretty big, and were to be worn at the hotel so the security guards could tell you belonged there (I really don't think they'd have a problem telling, but I'm sure there's times when you want to make sure everyone paid who was using the hotel, and if anyone did get rowdy, you have to be able to cover the group from lawsuits). Mine had my name, and said that I was Eggwards from Live Journal. Others had email addresses or something quippy to say (Tom's said that he was a quite and unassuming man, and Steve's mentioned that he was now cuddlier than ever, and you could get a free trial - which I think I still need to pick up). I think next year I will try something better, maybe something with the whole Icon mess.

Randy mentioned that Matty had come down to actually swim, so swim we did. The pool was heated, so it was a comfortable temperature, but the air, wasn't, so you kept low and stayed in the pool. Craig came by and saw me swimming there, sans shirt. If you don't know me, you should know that this is highly unusual. I'm not one to often take his shirt off in public. Something about the closed in pool and being with friends convinced me that this was safe territory. Craig gave me a little "woof" and I probably just stared at him for a moment. then he did it again. Who me? Woof? Please, this couldn't be a cute guy telling me I look good. I held that feeling while he went off to change into swim trunks.

By the time he came back, we had moved to the hot tub and were joking right along. He sat down right in front of me, and i tried giving him a back massage. i really ought to pick up a book on back massage, it would come in handy. Still, I did my best. I think I lost the connection a bit, as he started to talk to other friends in the tub, and i kept talking to Randy, Matty, john and David. Eventually he moved over to talk to someone, and David offered me a backrub...so i took the offer.

eventually, it rolled down to 1 am, and i couldn't figure out anything more to do. I was tired and others were leaving, so i told craig goodnight, trying to indicate that i'd like there to be more. I wasn't sure I got through, so I let him know my room number (307, with a beautiful parking lot view) and worried about Tom later. Really I was so tired, i needed the rest more than anything, anyway.

I woke Tom up as I came in the room, and I was freezing now, I hopped into my bed, as Tom was asking how my evening went, and I told him that I thought Craig was interested, because it took him releasing a sledgehammer to my head to get me to notice. I didn't notice his flirting at dinner. I guess I was interested too, (OK, so I was interested) but I didn't know how to close the deal...certainly an issue I would have for the remainder of my time in Tucson.

I had put the "do not disturb" sign outside, since I knew I wouldn't get up early enough to go on a tour.

More, later...

Comments

[theevilnub.livejournal.com]

That's Phoenix for you... sometimes even the sky is beige.

I found when I had a light gold colored car, the dust was hard to show on it. :)

[robearal.livejournal.com]

Along came urso, whom everyone calls Urso. I've heard he has a real name, but I certainly don't know it.

He has had his name legally changed to Urso, so it is his real name now.

I saw someone call him by the name his parents gave him in a comment in his journal about 2 years ago and it took me about 5 minutes to realize it was referring to Urso.

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

I'd seen pix of Craig before, since he and Tom are good buds. I had no clue he was that attractive, though. Go you!