Trina's page of Blogginess

It's no wonder why I love to read Tales of the City, I'm living in my very own version!

Happy Pride Weekend.
(a.k.a. one of 3 weekends when we don't move our cars)

I took a quick walk around the neighborhood this morning. I had to go to the bank, drop off a prescription, etc.,

This is Pride weekend, so Castro Street is pretty packed. I thought I'd extend my walk to see what's going on in the neighborhood. There's a lot of people, a lot of balloons, lots of music, et.,

But, here's the topper:

As I walked past our local pet store, I noticed something new. All week, they had a window display of little plush dogs wearing rainbow-colored angel wings. Today, there was disco music blaring out of the store, and the little dogs were replaced...wait for it...with topless men, in go-go shorts, wearing the same rainbow wings. Now, I wouldn't have thought anything of this if it were almost any other store, but, um..... It's the pet store!

I couldn't help myself. I had to take a picture :)


Only in San Francisco, and only in The Castro...

Labels: life in the castro, my life is a sitcom, san francisco

...and your little dog, too!

Our downstairs toilet has been dying a slow death of the past few months. We realized a couple of weeks ago that the time had come to put it out of its misery, and to buy a new toilet. (exciting stuff, isn't it?)

The prospect of buying a new toilet had us more excited than you would think (and more excited than anyone should really be about buying a toilet.).

When we were in Japan last year, we were in utter amazement of their toilet/toilet seats. You know the kind: they have seat warmers, and are a toilet and bidet in-one. (Is this bordering on T.M.I.?) Some models even have more crazy features!

Anyhow, we decided that if/when we ever needed a new toilet, we'd try to get one of these cool ones from Japan.

...and that's what we've done.

We found out that the same company that made the toilets that we saw in Japan (Toto), also had a US Brand. So we ordered a new toilet, which is nice and all, but you know, still a toilet.

We also ordered a washlette, which is really what it's all about.

We just had our plumber in to install our new toilet and washlette. I have to say: it's pretty cool, and it really does crack me up that we're so darn excited about a toilet.

I mean, at the end of the day, it's still a toilet.
But somehow, it may be able to help make your day just a little bit better. :)

I'm guessing that the people who read this blog post will either think that we're a little crazy, sharing too much info, or this may make you want to go out and buy one for yourself!

Labels: home life, just trina, my life is a sitcom

Although I do not watch the show, I'm happy to read that Apolo Anton Ohno has won Dancing with the Stars.

I have a few friends who are fans of the show, and they've told me how great he was on it. When Tammy and I drove to Ohio, she mentioned to me that he was her favorite. I said, "Yeah, he's a really nice guy, too". This comment almost caused her to pull the car over to the side of the road. "You know him?" Well, I don't know him, but I have had the opportunity to meet him, and to speak with him for a few minutes. He was one of our guest celebrities at one of the Always Dream Foundation events a few years back. That was when he had just recently won his first gold medal. Anyhow, my Dad and I had a chance to meet him, and talked with him for a bit, and had our picture taken with him.


Henry, Apolo & Trina

I did catch a few minutes of Dancing with the Stars last night, when I was checking to make sure that our Media Center was set to record the season finale of Heroes. I happened to catch it from the very beginning of Apolo's free style dance that they did to "Bust a Move". He was fantastic, and really fun to watch. So, I was happy to hear that he won tonight.

Labels: my life is a sitcom

At least he does in my neighborhood....

This morning, I was treated once again to one of my favorite Easter in the Castro sights:

A big bear of a man, dressed in a full pink (and furry) Easter Bunny suit, (ears and all) wearing a big black leather jacket, drove up on his big, phat Harley bike. He hopped off his bike, and toted his easter basket up the stairs to the home of one of our neighbors.

One of these years, I'm going to have to snap a picture of him...

Labels: holidays, life in the castro, my life is a sitcom, san francisco

Today I will be attending a Mad Tea Party, hosted by my friend, Alan Greenspan. (No, that that Alan Greenspan, this Alan Greenspan.)

My friend, Alan Greenspan, is the genius behind all of the amazing hats in San Francisco's famous Beach Blanket Babylon. If you've never seen it, you really should. It's a San Francisco institution.

Alan has been designing and creating the hats since 1978. It comes as no surprise, then, he was nicknamed "The Mad Hatter". He eventually embraced this nickname, and started to collect Mad Hatter paraphernalia from the Alice in Wonderland Stories.

I met Alan a few years ago through our mutual friend, Andrew Tabbat. When Alan started his collection, Andrew taught him some of the ins and outs of building a collection.

Every year, on or near April Fools Day, Alan hosts a Mad Tea Party. I've been to one before, but it's been a few years. It's a real treat, full of wackiness and fun.

Each year that I receive an invitation, I'm always amazed at the creativity that goes into them.

This year's invitation came in the form of puzzle pieces. Once that puzzle was put together, it showed a scene from the Mad Tea Party, with a clever rhyme inviting the recipient to the party.

My sister will be attending the Mad Tea Party this year with me. We're really looking forward to it.

Happy April Fool's Day!


My invitation to the Mad Tea Party!

Labels: A day in the life, friends, my life is a sitcom

Yes, you read it right. I was on the Home Shopping Network this morning.

Okay, I wasn't physically on the show, but I was on the show via telephone. I was asked to call to give a personal testimony on the featured product.

What was the product? Why, Karen Neuberger Pajamas, of course!

Isn't that hysterical? I received an email about a week back asking if I would be interested in calling in to give a testimonial. They said they were looking for "great customers, like yourself, to speak about the Karen Neuberger brand and your experience with our products".

How did they know that I'm such a fan? It's probably because I placed an order with them over the Holidays, but it's also possible that they may have seen my blog posts here, here, or even here.

I am nothing if not consistent. :)

There was a nice incentive involved, so I figured, "Why Not?". After all, I am a genuine fan of their product, and I've certainly been an advocate of their products to my friends and family over the years. They sent along my contact info to HSN, who then called me with the time and info of when I should call into the program. I had the choice of calling in at midnight last night, or at 7:30 this morning. (I opted for 7:30am.)

So, how did it go? Pretty well, I think. I was only on for a couple of minutes (thankfully). I said pretty much the same things that I've talked about here on my blog: I'm addicted to the brand, it's the only brand of PJs that I wear, and, since I work from home, I tend to wear them all day long. :) How's that for a testimonial?

What a funny way to start the day.


My one-minute of fame.

Labels: my life is a sitcom

On today's episode of "Gay Boyfriend"....

(fade in)

Christopher and I were down in the kitchen about 15 minutes ago, having a little chat. All of a sudden he asked me, "Are your boobs really big right now?"

What?!

He said, "Your boobs look really big in that shirt!"

Really?

I said that I was just wearing a normal bra that I wear often - it isn't a padded bra, or a push-up bra.

Then he asked me, "Are you wearing an IPex?"

OMG. Now we're a Victoria's Secret commercial!

That's when I realized, "Yeah, wait! I think this is an Ipex! Check the label!"

So I lifted my shirt up in the back, and he checked the label, and it was indeed, an IPex bra from Victoria Secret.

We were practically rolling on the floors howling at each other.

I also remembered that (I think) this is the same shirt that I wore to Pete and Richard's house for dinner a couple of years ago. That was the night that Pete told me that my boobs looked huge.

It must be the shirt. (just a basic turtleneck sweater, I swear!)

I should've bought one in every color. :)

(fade out)

Labels: gay boyfriend, my life is a sitcom