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Hiya, folks,
In case you don't know, a man by the name of Lt. Dan Choi was just recently fired from his position as a linguist with the Army for being gay. He's fighting it, and could use your help.
Please go to this website and sign their online petition so he can deliver all of our signatures to Speaker Pelosi.
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/RepealDADT
With dignity and love,
Travis
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Hiya, gentle readers,
It's been a while since I've posted, and I've got some great stuff. :)
1. I am officially a homeowner. Escrow closed on "la casa de Travis and his cats" last Friday. My hands shook and I could barely talk in cohesive sentences while signing loan documents, but it's all done. I have the keys and everything. :)
2. The cats are safely esconced in the new place, although Phred tried to kill me during the move, and he almost is too heavy to carry. I really have to figure out how to get him to lose some weight without the other two cats getting frighteningly thin.
2. Last night, I did the final walk-through with the landlord of my old place. After 17 years between my ex-wife and I, the place is finally back in the hands of the landlord. I've spent at least 12 of those years worrying about how that particular meeting would go because let's face it, the house isn't in the best of shape, even though I did make many repairs myself over the years. I've carried a lot of shame and guilt over that, so transferred much of that onto this final walk-through. As life would have it, the meeting was uneventful and the landlord was very nice and friendly and didn't complain about anything. When I left I thought, "that was anticlimactic AND a waste of 12 years of worry."
3. I had a great audition for the part of Charlie Brown in Snoopy the Musical. It's my first singing audition in probably a decade, and I did really, really well.
4. P.S. -- I found out Saturday that I'll be playing Charlie Brown in said musical. It's the first time I've been in a musical theater show and have my own song since I was in high school. Wahoo!!! I rock!!!
5. I sang at my friend Louahn's piano party for her piano and vocal students on Sunday. I sang "What More Can I Say" from Falsettos. I got a tad bit scared when I saw how many children were there, and more specifically their parents, some of which I was told were very conservative. The song is a gay song, and I was going to talk a bit about gay pride which was coincidently the same day here in Los Angeles. Seeing all the kids (and their parents) though, I changed my mind and just basically sang the song, and let it speak for itself. I don't know why. Perhaps it would have been more politically correct and helpful to chat about it a bit. I guess inate fear of conflict stepped in. The next day, Louahn said that the most straight laced and serious of her kids said that my song was his favorite, and that he wants to learn how to play it on the piano. She wonders if he is questioning his sexuality. I felt really good when I heard that. If he is, maybe I helped to let him know he's not alone.
Anywhosy, I've got a pile of filing on my desk about a foot high. Gotta get back to it.
Take care.
Travis |
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The happiest of birthdays to
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) vlredreign
We'll find somebody suitable to spank you later. ;)
Travis |
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May 29, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Re: Marriage and Civil Equality
President Obama,
I am writing to express to you my strong personal support for marriage equality and civil right for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered minorities in this country, and how very important it is to me and others like me to put our national attention on these important issues.
First of all, I hope that you and your family are doing well adjusting to your new household and duties in Washington, D.C. I doubt that you’ll actually have the time to read this letter yourself, and that is understandable, given the magnitude of your job. However, I hope that whichever of your staff members gets to read this will pass some of this information along to you, as I truly feel it is important.
You don’t know me, Mr. President. I am neither rich nor powerful nor do we run in the same circles. By way of introduction, I’ll say that I’m a fairly ordinary man living life and following my dreams in the big city of Los Angeles.
As a teenager, I discovered that I was gay. It was quite the shock for me at first, and eventually for my family when I told them at the age of 19. I always figured that although I was romantically interested in members of the same gender, I would follow the same general life paths as my brothers and sister. You’re familiar with those paths, I’m sure: spouse, career, house ownership, joint checking account, worrying about the bills, a pet or three, the difficult choice of whether to have kids or not, how to take care of my parents as they get older, and making my difference in the world. The list goes on.
The paths you may not be as familiar with are those that I didn’t share with my siblings. Learning how to be truthful with my friends, family and the world about being different from the rest of them tops the list. It was a difficult and liberating journey. Learning how to live in the sunlight, rather than in the darkness of secrets, fears and despair took a long time. I dealt with an HIV diagnosis in my early 20's, a subsequent drug addiction and recovery. I’ve not only lived with these issues over the past 20 years but managed to thrive. I tell you these things not for you to feel sorry for me, but to help you understand both the differences and similarities of our lives.
Through all of this, Mr. President, I always hoped and dreamed that I would find the man that could share my heart and my home. I’ll tell you a bit of a secret. I haven’t been that successful in finding him yet. But I keep the hope and dream alive because I’m stubborn enough to believe that if things like HIV and drug addiction can’t kill me or my joy for life, then finding the man of my dreams is possible, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up on that part of a nurturing and vibrant life.
After the recent California Supreme Court decision came down regarding Prop 8, I realized that I had certain assumptions about being an American. The first assumption being that as an American, my fellow citizens considered my constitutional rights and freedoms to mean as much as their own. The passage of Proposition 8 was the latest and loudest of proofs that I was wrong. I also assumed that the American system of checks and balances would be sure that I would not be deprived of those rights. I was quite shocked to find out that even those learned judges assumed differently.
Marriage is a pretty fundamental issue to me. Humans are social animals, and I am no different. The freedom to pair up with another person in love and support in order to face the slings and arrows that the world throws at us is pretty important. When our fundamental relationships are denied, spit upon and preached against by not only the churches, but people at the voting booths, and politicians in office, life becomes much more difficult and hateful than it needs to be. Listening to the constant hatred that is preached and aimed at me and those like me is wearing at best, and life depriving at worst, and I can’t help but wonder how many lives would be saved or able to find more of their potential if we didn’t have to worry about fighting for our right to love and our fundament rights enjoyed by the rest of our society.
Mr. President, I live and work and love in this great country and world we live in, just like my straight brothers and sisters. I need the same rights and protections as they do. It’s not about mere want or desire, it’s about need and fairness.
When you were elected, you were elected as the hope of a country who had lost that hope. I’m grateful to have had that hope rekindled. I still hope. Can you help us so my right to a loving relationship and that relationship itself can be recognized and supported by the government which is made by the people and for the people ... people like me.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Travis Terry |
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May. 27th, 2009 @ 09:33 am
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| » Proud to be Gay |
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Hiya, gentle readers,
I ganked this from joe.my.god.
Travis
May. 17th, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
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| » Finally ... |
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Hiya, gentle readers,
The offer I put in on the townhouse I wanted has gone through, and escrow is opening today.
I'm so grateful and excited ... now just gotta get through escrow.
Travis
Apr. 16th, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
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| » A bit .... |
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Morning, gentle readers,
I'm a bit stressed.
It's hell week, and I have three more rehearsals 'til Fuente Ovejuna opens. It's going to be a great show, but I went up so badly on my lines last night, I had to be fed a line by the director sitting in the house. Haven't done that in years. Hate that.
I'm a bit stressed.
It's been 4 weeks since I put the offer in on a townouse, and I'm still waiting to hear on whether they have accepted it or not. Apparently, short sales and REO's are not the way to go if you actually want to buy a house. They are, however, the way to go if you want to wait and wonder if you're going to buy a house. Have I mentioned I hate waiting and wondering?
I'm a bit stressed.
The job is a bit overwhelming at the moment, for reasons I won't go into.
All of this has made me a bit jumpy, impatient and snappy with fellow co-workers today.
I'm a bit tired.
See above reference to hell week.
So, I'm hereby acknowledging that I'm not playing with a full deck of cards today, and that I'm going to be conscious of that, and do my damndest to not take it out on anybody else.
Pray for me.
Travis
Apr. 14th, 2009 @ 10:28 am
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| » So, I just love these things |
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Hiya, gentle readers,
I just love watching these types of things. Maybe it's because I'd like to believe that we live in a world where an entire train station could simultaneously break into dance and song.
Travis
Apr. 2nd, 2009 @ 04:41 pm
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| » Funniest damned thing I've ever seen |
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Gentle readers,
This had me laughing so hard, I was sobbing with tears running down my face.
Travis
Mar. 31st, 2009 @ 03:31 pm
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| » I am man, hear me roar |
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Good morning, gentle readers,
For a long time I've had problems with my kitchen faucet. It leaks, and then it stops leaking, and then it pours. It eventually gets to the point where I call the landlord, and maybe, if I'm lucky, manage to get him out to fix it. It seems to always coincide with weather changes, and I have no idea why, anymore than I have any idea why the lock on my front door knob stops catching in the spring and fall, but is fine in the winter and summer.
Anyway, two days ago the hot water side of the faucet started leaking, and very soon started pouring so badly that I had to turn the water to the house off to stop it or I was going to get a friendly visit from Noah and his collection of heterosexual animal pairings in their new, state of the art, cruise ship.
So yesterday, I gritted my teeth, called the landlord and left a message, letting him know about the issue. You see, I was secretly hoping to schedule his plumber type person to come out early this morning to fix it. Because yes, indeed, I do work for a living between the hours of 9 and 5 and waiting for said plumber-type person for the entire day is difficult, at best, especially if landlord wants to receive monthly rental payment.
Please note that said landlord still has not returned my telephone call.
This morning I turned the water back on, and started doing dishes, making sure to carefully watch the level of water in the sink to make sure nothing overflows. Because remember the faucet can't be turned off. After a close call, I finally said, "screw this! I don't care if I have to call in late to work, I'm going to get this frickin' faucet fixed." Even though I've never actually seen the inside of a faucet. In my defense working faucets are rarely used on the sets of theater stages, although I did see one in a production of Macbeth on Broadway. I digress.
Hmmm, how do I do this? Aha! That's why the Goddess made the internet! Now, you might argue that She made the internet for porn. I concede that information about how to fix a leaky faucet might hvae just been a secondary benefit to the whole internet phenomenon.
I googled "how to fix a leaky faucet," and after briefly reading the steps involved, I decided to bravely sally forth. I turned the water to the house off, and pulled out my handy-dandy tool kit. My brilliant plan was to pull out the old deficient parts and take them with me to Home Depot, get the exact same parts and bring them back. Relatively stress-free. I might even keep what little hair I have left on top of my head. This could work!
So, I take the handle off the faucet. Easy enough, it's only one screw, and, voila! the handle comes off. Yay! Step 1 done.
Then comes the hard part. I have to unscrew the thingy-mabob that's attached to the whatchamajigger. Yes, those are the technical names for it. If they aren't, I don't want to know about it. Got that? Good.
Anyway, I pull out one of my shiny, bright and only once used pair of pliers and unscrew the thingy-mabob. It comes off pretty easily, which surprises me a little, because I'm expecting all the screws to get stripped. That's just the way I roll. I pull out the thingy-mabob and look at the bottom. The screw that's supposed to be holding the hard rubber ring in place is barely hanging on. I have the brilliant idea to tighten the screw so everything is all snug. I think to myself, "That can't possibly be the answer, but might as well try it." So, I screw the thingy-mabob back onto the whatchamajigger, screw the handle back on, and with the tiniest bit of hope, I go outside and turn the water to my bungalow back on.
I come back in, and guess what? Not only is there not a leak, but there is not even the tiniest of drops of water coming out of the faucet. I've never seen it so drip-free. I put my tool box back, and begin to do the ancient tribal man dance around the kitchen, while singing, "Oh yeah, who's your daddy?"
I think I definitely deserve a day at the spa maybe getting a massage or a mud bath, or something. Maybe a manicure?
Travis
Mar. 17th, 2009 @ 08:09 am
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| » Did You Do Your Homework? |
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Good morning, gentle readers,
Last Saturday, I attended the opening of a new one-man play called Did You Do Your Homework, part of Camelot Artists New Voices series.
Written by and starring Aaron Braxton, and directed by one of my favorite artists, Kathleen Rubin, Did You Do Your Homework, is the journey of one substitute teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Braxton plays multiple characters flawlessly and fully, regardless of gender or age or racial background. My favorite character was Loquita, an outspoken, attitude-ridden and emotional teenager. Without giving away the plot, Mr. Braxton’s all-out emotional portrayal of her reaction to an event in the play without the use of one single prop or costume change left me breathless with admiration and empathy for her. Even more admirable was Mr. Braxton’s back and forth switch to and from his own character trying to comfort her in the midst of an outpouring of emotion.
Ms. Rubin’s direction of Mr. Braxton as well as her use of the sparse stage, along with minimal but extremely effective use of minimal props, and costume changes were something of a marvel.
The thought that occurred to me as I was watching this show is that governor and the entire legislature of the State of California, which seems hell bent on cutting more and more much needed funding to our education system, need to take an evening off their busy schedules of budget cutting and educational short-changing, come see this show, see what the experiences of a real teacher are, and get an idea about what the reality of today’s public school system is. Maybe they’ll understand that cutting educational funding is NOT the way to guarantee California’s future generational contributions, because if the reactions of the teachers in the audience are any indication, Mr. Braxton has it right, and attention needs to be paid immediately.
Did You Do Your Homework is running Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 through March 28, 2009. The address is The Beverly Hills Playhouse Research Space, 254 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. To make reservations, call (310) 358-9936 or visit www.plays411.com. Running time is 75 minutes.
Travis
Mar. 11th, 2009 @ 11:56 am
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| » Christopher T. Wood |
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Hiya, gentle readers,
Here is a clip of my friend, Christopher T. Wood, doing a standup routine about how expectations for black men have changed after Obama's election. Very funny. Chris is a very talented actor, writer and comedian and used to be a successful lawyer.
Travis
Mar. 3rd, 2009 @ 09:35 am
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| » Beautiful eyes |
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Good evening, gentle readers (and you too, Steve ... you're not gentle),
I saw this posted on joe.my.god's blog, and couldn't help but repost it on my journal.
Sweet song, and really beautiful, romantic real images of all kinds of folks in love.
l
Although it offends my jaded cynical heart to say it, Happy Valentine's Day, y'all.
Travis
P.S. -- the title of the post refers to the Singer/Songwriter Tom Goss, whose eyes are remarkable.
Feb. 13th, 2009 @ 07:58 pm
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| » Doctor bill |
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Gentle readers,
I went to a new doctor at UCLA in November, which I had transferred my insurance to a PPO in order to do. I thought it would be a bit more expensive, but well worth the better care.
I spent 45 minutes with her, and had a bunch of labs drawn, as is usual with my care.
I got the bill today. Turns out that I'm responsible for 40% of the cost of the labs and a deductible. My portion of the bill came to $1,353.31, which is every penny of money that I have and then some.
Looks like I, in my collossal stupidity and ignorance have managed to price myself right out of healthcare until October when I can change back to an HMO and go back to what I've already done. It also means that I can no longer afford to have blood drawn, and it means that I will have to cancel any further appointments with a doctor that specializes in liver disease and HIV disease.
I am a true and complete asshole.
Travis
Jan. 27th, 2009 @ 08:15 am
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| » An indication that I might have lived in the city too long |
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Afternoon, gentle readers,
Last night about 1:30 a.m., two people from the bar up the street were standing in front of the fence to my bungalow, talking very loudly, and keeping me awake. Obviously, alcohol had been added into the mix. When the woman said something about "the smallest vibrator in the world", I had had enough. I got up, stuck my head out my front door and yelled, "SHUT UP!!" I closed the door and on my way back to bed, I heard the guy say, "Now, THAT's funny."
Definitely time to move.
Travis
Jan. 26th, 2009 @ 03:30 pm
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| » Letter to my aunt |
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Aunt ______,
Thank you for the message that you left on my cell phone voice mail the other day.
I haven’t responded because I haven’t quite been sure how to respond, and needed to put some thought into an appropriate and honest answer.
The question was am I still mad at you after our e-mail exchange about the forwarding of conservative political e-mails to me during the election, which I had asked you not to do. The short answer is that I’m not still particularly mad at you.
The longer answer, and the answer that I have been struggling to put into words, is that I am indeed angry. I have been angry, incredibly hurt and grief-stricken ever since the election and the passage of Proposition 8, which took away, however short-lived, the right for me to get married to a person of my choice legally (not religiously) in California. I’ve been angry at the millions of people who voted for the Proposition. I’ve been especially angry with the religious and civil “leaders” who have led their flocks on this issue with outright lies. I’ve been angry at the religious leaders who continually belittle people like me, compare us to criminals, pedophiles and other things even more horrible. I’ve been hurt by the hatred thinly veiled by “we love you” directed towards me and people like me. I’m continuously frightened by the increasing amount of people who think that it’s okay to abuse me and those like me with hateful words, fists, bats and guns. I’m increasingly angry at religious folk who continuously beat me over the metaphorical head with their own interpretations of sacred writings. I’m also in awe how the legal protection and recognition of a partnership between two mutually consenting adults can compare to the issues such as poverty, disease, homelessness, and violence which are rampant in our world, and which are willfully ignored by the self-professed righteous and pious. I’m angry at the people that I know personally, who I have had personal relationships with, who know me, and my story, who publicly and loudly voted to strip me of a fundamental equal right. Lastly, I wonder how many precious lives would have been saved from suicide and disease if gay relationships had been recognized and supported.
I’ve been struggling since the election because I am finding it hard to follow what I believe is the highest commandment communicated to me, and that is to love better and more completely. Love, a word much bandied about in our society, is difficult at best, and downright impossible at worst, and I’ve been on a long journey to learn how to implement it into my life. Proposition 8 took the wind out of my sails, and I found myself so angry, hurt and scared that I wondered if I had permanently lost the ability to love and trust. Fortunately, I’m not easily broken, and I’m slowly regaining those abilities.
I’ve spent the past twenty years keeping my mouth shut out of “respect” for people who believed that I’m a sinner because of the gender that I’m attracted to. Those days are over. My fondest hope is that I can be respectful about it, but the purpose of this e-mail is to at least give you the opportunity to understand what the outcome of the passage of Proposition 8 did to me and to people like me.
Today, we swore in a new president of the United States, and I found myself praying for the first time in a long time. My prayers, 90% of the time, are simply “thank you for the abundance in my life” and “please help me to be a more loving, kinder and gentler man.” Let’s just say that if I had a dollar for every time I’ve prayed those prayers, I could probably own my own state. Today, those prayers included a hope for our world. I pray that Mr. Obama can help lead us to a more just and understanding society. One in which I don’t have to feel like people like me are the last acceptable repository of hatred and violence.
Be well, and I’ll see you soon.
Travis
Jan. 20th, 2009 @ 12:40 pm
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| » Small stuff |
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Morning, gentle readers,
Just a couple of things.
I've been pre-approved for a home loan and got all my financial ducks in a row, and I just started working with a realtor to find me a home to buy. Cross your fingers for me.
I gave a call to that agent, and was told to send in my headshot and resume, and to put on the outside envelope that Cal had referred me. I did that. Now, we play a bit of a waiting game. I'll probably wait for a week or two, and then give them another call.
Exciting New Year so far.
Travis
Jan. 9th, 2009 @ 10:12 am
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