stebo

My nonno visited from Italy for three weeks. It was less than stellar. Every time we interacted seemed to be an argument. Shortly after his arrival, I was supposed to leave for California for work. However, I believe that he may have thought his trip to be a burden (I was displaced to a pull-out sofa bed while I was there; he slept in my room) and may have added to the distance.

Los Angeles was a completely different experience for me this time around. My first experience in LA was when I was 19, shortly after I'd started dating Charles (when he went to San Diego to do amateur porn). The trip left a lot to be desired, and considering how poorly it went, it's still surprising to me in retrospect to see how long I stayed with him. This time was different. I stayed with a friend and coworker on ANTM who happened to live in a very colorful part of town (Melrose). I had a wonderful time going out and getting to experience the city.

Except for being stranded out in a hotel, far away from any sort of nightlife, working on ANTM was awesome. The hotel was double-booked with people going to the Latin VMAs, and I got to run into Nelly Furtado in an elevator. The girls on the show were a very unique bunch, but I guess that's what makes good television. It was exciting to be a part of it, especially when the girls weren't around and I got to stand-in for the production crew. All-in-all, I'm ready to go back next spring and do it all over again.

I left for San Francisco after Casting Week was over, only to find that my best friend was only there for one night, and his husband had already left for LA (it was his birthday that weekend) before I'd gotten there, meaning I was basically on my own the entire trip. I'd made plans to meet up with my cousin, Kevin, but that happened to be the busiest week of the year for him regarding work. So I called up some friends I'd made last year and ended up going out a few times, eventually meeting up with Kevin and his partner and staying with them for a night. Little did I expect that I'd be nearly deathly allergic to Kevin's pet bulldog, Paco. I can't even begin to explain how miserable I was when I woke up the next morning after sleeping at their place. I've forgotten that, although I've owned a dog most my entire life, I'm allergic to dogs – my dogs are a hypoallergenic breed that don't shed. Thus began what would be several instances of sick I've experienced ever since. I did get to see Steve and J one more time before I left, and it was so good to see them.

The month started off on a tough note. My dog Maddie had been having bouts of sickness for a while, lung problems that made her breaths shallow, like she could never catch her breath or rest, and I was concerned that something would happen while I was away in California. After being gone for several weeks, I'd decided it was time to go back out into Atlanta and see my friends one weekend. I'd gone out Friday night only to wake up Saturday morning to find three text messages, one from each of my parents and my sister, sent early in the morning saying that Maddie had died. I immediately got dressed and raced back home. I'd never seen my mother so sad before. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying all morning. She was with Maddie when it happened, up all night by her side until she passed. I couldn't even look at my mother without starting to cry, and I did. A few days later, the vet's office sent a card. Maddie being sick, she'd been numerous times and the vet clinics had all gotten pretty fond of having her around. I had to hide the card from my mother.

To try and cope with her loss, my mother very quickly started looking for bichon breeders in the area. Getting a new puppy would pretty much be the only way my mother could cope with losing her dog. Around the same time, I met someone most unexpectedly. His name is Mike from Minnesota, and it's almost scary how similar he and I think and how much we have in common, considering how we still barely know each other. I find myself more drawn to him each day, which is especially difficult because he doesn't even live in Georgia... yet. His work has had him in Atlanta every week this year, back and forth, and he moves into a condo in early January. Which is great news for me, because we can finally start cooking together and stop trying to worry about places to eat out. I'm really excited about him, but terrified beyond all reason at the same time. I'm scared of doing anything that could fuck up our romance. He's almost too good to be true, and I'd really like to hold onto that.

Soon after I met Mike, Gracie came into our lives. Gracie is our new puppy, and she's quite rambunctious. Our other dog, Max, is not a fan. She's a handful. Literally. She fits in your hand. She's fucking tiny. She needs to wear a bell so we don't step or trip on her. Bless her little heart.

Almost immediately after we brought Gracie home, we brought my nonna home from the airport, as well, visiting from Italy like my grandfather several weeks before. They're old Italians, and I'm pretty sure they hate each other. But they're Catholic, so they won't divorce. That's love right there. Nonna brought her little dog with her, as well, Sammy (affectionately called "Mo" by me). Having Nonna around was nice, but she's become too old to cook for us like she used to, which was somewhat of a let down. She stayed with us through a rather uneventful Thanksgiving, and soon she was off to Connecticut to visit my aunt and her family.

I spent last weekend in Chicago, visiting a friend for his 30th birthday. The trip was alright, for the most part, but I certainly wasn't expecting to play babysitter. At 30, I expect you to know your limits with liquor, and I certainly expect a heads-up if you're going to ditch me at the bar to go bring someone home, leaving me to in the dark to find a cab home. But that's life, I guess. I'm surprised at how good I acted while I was out of town, considering how many propositions for sex I got (four times). All the while I was in Chicago, I couldn't stop thinking about Mike. When I got back to Atlanta, he picked me up from the airport and I stayed the night with him. It's crazy how much I like him. I ended up canceling a date with him last week because I was afraid I was coming down with another cold, and rather than going out downtown and risking getting sicker in the cold rain, I figured it would be a better idea to maybe stay in and not get either of us sick again (happened in November).

Tomorrow is my last date with Mike before the holidays, meaning I won't see him again until 2010. I've been fretting over exactly what to do, as Monday nights are fairly awful in the that respect. I'm thinking of doing something memorable, along the lines of going ice skating before grabbing either dinner or a celebratory drink. Neither of us has seen the other drunk, and it might be fun to try a little and see how far we can get each other. Either way, I can't stop looking forward to seeing him before the holidays.