Tag: summer

Margaritas to Monday

Jamal Miller2 Comments

The weekends never feel like weekends anymore. Indiana summer has finally arrived and we already feel like every weekend is booked. There’s never any escaping a full summer schedule when you’ve spent all of winter and parts of spring hibernating. I’ve come to terms with this and love any chance to be social nonetheless.

 

Change has ruled the past couple months for S and I. The both of us struggled to stay engaged at our current jobs, but patience proved to be rewarding as we’ve both been promoted – and thank goodness for that. Though S is busy finishing up his master’s in accounting, we finally feel like we can breathe and make some personal progress – as in projects and hobbies – while we navigate professional success.

 

We’ve taken to retreating to the pool after grocery shopping on Sunday mornings. The secret is getting to the pool before the neighborhood families burst zen’s bubble and steal all the good lounge areas. The sun is at its most cruel between the hours of 10am and 2pm. We show up at 11am with towels, sunscreen, and some form of low-carb-alcoholic beverage. It’s the perfect way to relax and dread Monday’s mundane arrival.

 

Sweating out the weekend’s toxins by the pool always leaves me feeling detoxed and refreshed. S will eventually get in the water to cool off, while I continue to bake under the sun – nose buried deep in GQ Magazine most likely. I don’t avoid the water because I haven’t learned to swim. Occasionally I will take a dip and hang in the water with S and/or friends. There’s just something about hanging out by the pool, hiding behind shades, and taking an amazing power nap that complete me in those moments.
Finding time for each other is extremely important. We’re great at hanging out on the couch after a long day of work, but to engage in some summertime relaxation together – even if it is only once a week –  has been pretty nice. S could definitely win an Academy Award for Best Performance in the I Don’t Want Monday to Come category… I just wish I could bring my margarita along when I leave for work Monday morning.

Minnesota Wrap-Up

Jamal Miller4 Comments

A few weeks ago, S and I traveled to Minnesota to visit a great friend of mine.  Whenever I meet up with ST, no matter where we are, it’s like no time has passed. Immediately we picked up right where we left off, and the shenanigans to be had weren’t far behind.  We would party pretty hard in college, being part of Big Ten marching band (Go Hoosiers), so it was no surprise that the liquor store was our first stop on the way to his gorgeous new house.  S and I had been anticipating the trip for a while, and were excited to hang out with ST and RG more. We don’t have very many gay friends in Indianapolis – we could make more of an effort, but we stay tired, and like saving money – so being able to kickback with another young, fun and professional, gay-married couple was an instant highlight for 2015’s itinerary.

None of us were the going out types anymore. ST and I have always been partial to house parties, so we talked about going out to a gay bar, but opted for a brewery tour instead. A good beer, day-drinking and gays are always an instant win; even more so when you get to flex your queen muscles with your clique to ward of the hurt feelings of young queens in your tour group.  Long story short, one guy in the group, clearly gay, made a fool of himself with his overly animated reactions to our tour guide, and we may have laughed and poked some fun at him; all in good fun. Surly Brewing Company turned out to have pretty amazing beer, and the tour was very cool for S and I since we do some home-brewing with friends back home.

Minneapolis is beautiful. It reminded us of a more “hip” Indianapolis, but I definitely understood what ST and RG meant when they explained “Minneapolis wants to be Portland so bad.” They have a point there, but the city was cute and chic nonetheless.  Most of the trip was spent hanging out, playing with their beautiful puppy Daisy – a Rhodesian Ridgeback – drinking, and nerding out with a few rounds of Pandemic. Don’t ask me how we cleared a handle of Kettle One vodka and a handle of Jameson in four days, but we did it. We all felt the pain after doing shots, and realized we had evolved when we were all popping multi-vitamins before passing out, to combat the hangovers that would greet us the following mornings. I don’t know if we thanked them for that tip, but we SO appreciated it. August will mark ten years of ST and I knowing each other, and I’m already looking forward to another visit to Minnesota, a couple’s trip somewhere together, or hosting them in Indianapolis. It was fun boys!