I LOVE that I woke up in Paris on the first day of December.
Even if it was just all in the airport.
The French announcements overheard in the PA system made me feel so cosmopolitan.
I love it! Je t’aime Paris!
***
My first meal in England was fried sea bream (besugo in Spanish, FYI) and rice.
It was my sister’s cooking, and she’s so proud of her pinakurat vinegar; as if we don’t have pinakurat in America. Haha.
***
For welcome dinner, my brother-in-law volunteered me to cook adobo.
He has just brought home some chicken meat from the store.
They didn’t have vinegar and achuete so I have made yet another version of my famous adobo.
***
My nephews decided it was very good.
The oldest, a foodie, was the hardest to please, I was told.
So I asked him if he was just being kind to me.
And the boy stopped what he was doing (washing the dishes), looked me in the eye, and said, “No, I really like it!”
See why I love my nephews and nieces?
***
My brother-in-law caught up with me in the kitchen while I was cooking my adobo.
He had a beer, Corona.
What the heck?
I mean, sure, it was brewed in the UK; but it’s a freaking Mexican brand!
***
I had a Mulled (from the bottle), a spirit-based alcoholic drink (8% volume).
This one had cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and citrus fruits infusion in it.
It’s served warm/warmed(?).
Well, I know what mulled wine is; like, I can make some from scratch.
But do you heat up something from the bottle?
So anyway, I like a mulled drink.
It’s like a sangria, but for the winter.
***
Brother-in-law and I talked family updates.
The recent deaths in the family (from COVID, and non-COVID causes).
And plans for my stay.
He’s already planning an outing with me to Newcastle (but that’s more likely Newcastle upon Tyne) which is over a three-hour drive from their place.
And I couldn’t really care.
***
I mean, I’m still jet lagged.
I’m still exhausted from my trip, all 14 hours of it or something.
And the stress anxiety with all these COVID precautions, and my pending tests (so I can come out of my self-quarantine).
***
Still, I couldn’t sleep on my first night in the UK.
I was just too excited to be in another part of the world.
And I’m anxious and excited too about what the next three months will bring:
The places I’ll visit, the people’s I’ll meet, the boys I’ll take to bed.
***
Checking on Grindr, I just noticed the Grindr boys here are less talky, and are pretty direct.
No smart profiles like the ones I see in the US.
Most are just blank profiles.
***
Random check: Of the 12 first squares of the Grindr grid right now, six of them have no photos.
And this has been a trend since I checked it out last night.
***
Let’s look at the 12 squares.
#1: “Karl”, with face photo.
#2: “Ere We Go Again”, with body photo.
#3: no name, with body photo in towel.
#4: “Terry”, no photo.
#5: “Fun Discreet”, no photo.
#6: no name, no photo.
#7: “Fun Right Now”, no photo.
#8: “Accom Now”, with photo.
#9: “Hi (top arrow)”, no photo.
#10: no name, no photo.
#11: no name, bedsheets photo.
#12: no name, with face photo.
***
#1 is 68 feet away from me.
#12 is 4226 feet away from me.
It’s too soon to say whether I’ll sleep with any of these men/boys.
I mean, by the time you read this, maybe I would have bedded a few of them already.
***
And then again, there’s the COVID fear.
If they’re not afraid of COVID, I am.
But also, when did fear ever stop me from having a sex life?
***
I also mean that because I am taking PrEP, a pre-exposure prophylaxis to HIV, maybe I’m better protected from other viral infections like COVID-19.
***
These are trying times for everyone.
My Facebook friends, upon learning that I am in Europe, and perhaps relating this to the news of omicron infections, remind me, “Please be careful.”
***
And I reply, “We should all try to stay safe… wherever we are in the world.”
Because the worst is not over yet.
We just don’t know.
And whoever says s/he does is truly lying!/PN
