It's Miller Tyme

New York NY, June 17-28

Jerry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:04:12 +0000

I headed to
New York City on Wednesday, June 17. We were scheduled to open a Titanic exhibition there on June 24. Production was behind when I got there and logistically, it was impossible to make up any time.

Since we were in Times Square, it was difficult to get materials, supplies, etc. No parking, no waiting on the streets, two dock doors for all deliveries…chaos. We had to put off the opening until the Friday, 26^th.

As always, I had a great time in New York. I have been there about a half dozen times now and I always have fun. I made time for myself and thoroughly enjoyed the city. On Monday, June 22, I went to “Phantom of the Opera” with two colleagues. I love that show.

We also got a backstage tour of the set. We saw the wardrobe and wig rooms. The sets were hoisted in the air (there was no room backstage for the sets).

We went down into the “basement” where we saw the air mattress that Raul lands on when he jumps from the bars. They put blue neon lights around the perimeter of the mattress so when he looks down, through the smoke and trapdoor, he can tell where the mattress is.

We saw where the candelabras raise and lower…and the infamous boat. I always thought the boat was on a track in the stage, but it’s actually maneuvered around the stage by a remote control offstage.

I wanted to go to “Mamma Mia” but there was only so much time I could make for myself. After all, I was there to work.

I drove my HR Director to Foxwood’s in Connecticut for a check-up. We have a Bodies exhibition up there and I hadn’t done a check-up on them since the opening. She went to do some harassment training. When we got back to NYC, we parked the car at the same parking garage that I had parked at several times during that week.

When I came out on Sunday morning, with 2.5 hours to get to the airport, I went to pick up the rental car and was told “the car’s not here.” Yes, apparently, the garage was also a drop-off location for my rental car company, so when I parked the car there, they checked it in and re-rented it. My new GPS (remember, I just lost one in the St. Paul vandalism) that I just purchased 2 weeks prior was in the console. Livid was not the word for it. I have been pissed off before, but this sent me into a dimension of pissed off I don’t think I’ve ever been in. I didn’t have time to argue with the attendant, as I had a flight to catch out of JFK in a couple hours. So I caught a cab to the airport and stewed on the debacle all the way home…which, anyone who knows me, knows it not good for me to stew on anything! The more I stew, the madder I get, and the madder I get, the more irrational I get.

After 4 days of arguing with the rental car company, and e-mailing a 3.5 page scathing letter to the President of the rental car company, I finally got confirmation late yesterday that they were going to credit the entire rental invoice, cut me a check for the cab ride to JFK, cut me another check for my GPS, and if I wouldn’t cancel my account with them, they would give me 3 free rental days too. Sometimes it pays to take a problem up the corporate ladder.

Anyone who knows me also knows that my biggest pet peeve is customer no-service. Well, that and unruly brat-ass Spawns of Satan whose parents don’t make them mind. Ooops…did I say that?

Anyhoo…..I will erupt instantly like Vesuvius if I get bad customer service. After all, I HAVE been ejected from a Wal Mart. LOL. In the words of Jimmy, “you have to be some sorry-ass trailer park trash to get tossed out of a Wal Mart.” But that’s another story….

I guess I’m all updated now. Thanks for reading my blog. Bookmark it and come back often. I try to update it as much as possible, but with my travel schedule, it’s difficult sometimes.

PS: I love reading your comments, too.

St. Paul MN, June 9-14

Jerry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:58:49 +0000

I left Tuesday, June 9, for
St. Paul, MN. We opened a Titanic exhibition on June 12.

Having lived in St. Paul for 1.5 years about 10 years ago, I was hoping to look up some friends and hang out. I did get to have lunch and coffee with a very good friend, Khai, but was unable to locate anybody else. So much changes in 10 years.

The weather in St. Paul was beautiful! I remembered that the summers were great. The winters were absolutely brutal when I lived there, but the summers were great.

My rental car was vandalized while parked at my hotel in downtown St. Paul.

They stole my GPS system. Thank goodness I didn’t leave my iPod in it. I would have been devastated. Love me some iPod.

I left St. Paul on June 14 and headed home for two days before heading to NYC on June 17.

Quebec City, June 3 - 8

Jerry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:54:04 +0000

What a quaint little place! I arrived in
Quebec City around 10pm on Tuesday, June 2. I didn’t get to see much that night. After leaving San Juan at 7am and arriving at my hotel in Quebec City at 10pm, all I cared about was a shower and a comfortable bed.

I went to the venue Wednesday morning and was very impressed with it. We were preparing to open a Bodies exhibition on June 5. It’s a beautiful stand-alone building sitting on the bay…plenty of queuing space, a really nice retail area, loft-look, and a huge office area.

I hung out with a couple of colleagues on Wednesday and Thursday, but then they both left and I was on my own for the weekend. As expected, I didn’t get to do much sightseeing on Saturday, opening day. But on Sunday, I ran by the venue first thing in the morning and saw that everything was going smoothly there, so then out for my walking tour of Quebec City.

I took a lot of pictures. Try are in an album on my Facebook account:

facebook.com/itsmillertyme

I headed home on Monday, but just for overnight, then leave for St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday morning.

San Juan PR, May 30 - June 2

Jerry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:49:57 +0000

The morning after Josh’s graduation, we left for
San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was my fifth trip to San Juan and Jimmy finally decided to go with me. As a graduation gift to Josh, I bought him a round-trip ticket as well. A four-day weekend for all three of us!

Thank you, Jessica, for babysitting Sebastian and Isabelle. I’m sure they loved their day the the park:

My flight left about a half-hour before theirs, so after splitting up in the Atlanta airport, we met up in the San Juan airport four hours later. When we arrived at the hotel, I had to go to the venue and get started on the close, so Jimmy and Josh went about their day without me. We met up for dinner and ate at Tijuana’s. If you ever take a cruise that docks in San Juan, walk about a block to the west and have dinner at Tijuana’s…it’s good stuff, and a couple of the waiters are hot too.

Typically at the closing of an exhibition, there is no time for anything personal. It’s truly work, work, and more work. So on Sunday and Monday, I didn’t have any time to get out and see San Juan with Jimmy and Josh. They took a lot of pictures, all of which are posted on my Facebook account. I owuld post them here, but it’s SO much easier to put them in an album on Facebook:

facebook.com/itsmillertyme

Like all my other San Juan trips, we stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan. It’s nice, and this time, since I was sharing a room with Jimmy & Josh, I got us a junior suite…very nice.

I left San Juan Tuesday morning, June 2, at 7am, headed to Quebec City via Atlanta and then Detroit. Jimmy & Josh’s flight didn’t leave San Juan until 149pm and was a direct flight to Atlanta. I arrived in Quebec City a little after 9pm and was at my hotel by 10pm. Needless to say, it was a long day.

Josh’s Graduation, May 29, 2009

Jerry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:39:35 +0000

On Friday, May 29, my “Little Man” graduated from High School. With me standing a mere 5’9” and him standing 6’2”, he’s not very little anymore, but he will always be my little man. I guess it’s typical that I would sit in the audience and have memories shoot through my mind one after the other.

Memories like…the day he was born. They were only in the operating room for 15 minutes when I heard Josh let out a shrieking cry and I knew that, at that very moment, I had become a daddy.

Memories like…Mom standing next to me outside the operating room saying, “Damn, he’s got a good set of lungs on him”.

Memories like…counting his little fingers and toes to be sure all of them were there.

Memories like…the day the neurosurgeon told us that Josh had fluid on his brain, and the many visits to follow at Egleston Children’s Hospital at Emory.

Memories like…the day he was playing in the back yard in just a diaper and stepped into an ant hill. By the time we got to him, he had them all over. All Ronda and I could think to do was turn the garden hose on him. It worked, but not before he was bitten all over his little body. Ronda stopped counting the bites at 100.

Memories like…me graduating from DeVry when Josh was 5. As I walked across the stage to get my degree, a little voice yelled out, “That’s My Daddy!” He ran down the aisle and up onto the stage and I carried him back to his seat…one of the most precious memories I have.

Memories like…the day Ronda told me they were moving to
Montana and the day I had to say good-bye to him. To say I was upset would be a gross understatement.

Memories like…the day Ronda called me in Minnesota (she was in Montana) and told me that he had fallen down the stairs and had a concussion. I was a 14-hour drive away and had no money to go see him.

Memories like…the weekend I went to Montana to visit him. It was Easter. We went to the city park and flew a kite until it started snowing. We had an Easter egg hunt inside the hotel room.

Memories like…estrangement from each other for 3 years. Moving on…

Memories like…watching him at his football games and track meets, hearing his name announced over the PA system…what a proud Daddy I was.

Memories like…him getting pulled over by Forsyth County Police on his 16^th birthday to verify the validity of the dealer tag on his car. LOL, he was scared &%$#less.

Memories like…him buying his first laptop with money he earned working at Czarnowski during the summer of 2008.

Yes, anyone who knows me knows that I am an extremely emotional boob. This blog entry hasn’t been easy to type. I’ve had to stop several times…if you know what I mean.

Maybe some day he’ll be doing the same thing that I’m doing now. Maybe not.

All I know is…my “Little Man” is all grown up. What a fine young man he has become and what a fine adult he will be. After all, he’s my son.

Mmm Mmm Good…Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Jerry — Sun, 24 May 2009 10:32:30 +0000

I have guests in town from Charlotte this weekend, so I decided to make one of my favorite desserts. It’s so good, it’ll make you smack yo’ grandma!

Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Crust:

        1.5 cups of crushed graham cracker crumbs
        1/4 cup sugar
        1 stick butter, melted

Mix together and press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan

Filling:

        Five 8-oz pkgs cream cheese (room temperature)
        3/4 cup sugar
        1/2 jar peanut butter (room temperature)
        1 small tub whipped cream
        1 cup crushed unsalted peanuts

        Cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
        Mix in the peanut butter and eanuts.
        Fold in the whipped cream.
        Pour into the pan and smooth-out the top.

Topping:

Sprinkle with more crushed unsalted peanuts
Drizzle with chocolate syrup or fudge topping.

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

YUM YUM GIMME SUM!

June is going to be a BUSY traveling month

Jerry — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:12:13 +0000

I’ve booked quite a bit of travel for June. We close San Juan on May 31 and that starts the whirlwind tour. After San Juan, we open in Quebec City, St. Paul and New York City. Then…it’s off to Foxwood’s in Connecticut and Las Vegas for check-ups on already existing exhibitions. Right now, it looks as if I will only be home on June 15 & 16.

                May 30 to June 2 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
                June 2 to June 8 in Quebec City, Canada
                June 9 to June 14 in St. Paul, Minnesota
                June 17 to June 25 in New York City
                Foxwood’s and Las Vegas (not booked yet)

                Whew!

I’m going to try to take pictures and update my blog after each trip, but I’m not sure how successful I’ll be. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Until I write again, y’all take care!

It’s time to vent again……….brace yourself.

Jerry — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:56:25 +0000

Everything was perfect this morning. I was in the sunroom, relaxing in my recliner, watching The Golden Girls, drinking my coffee and eating my Raisin Bran. Jimmy was still in bed and both dogs were sleeping on my lap. The waterfall from the koi pond was dribbling in the distance and the birds were chirping outside.

Then it happened.

I got a Facebook invite to join some group called, “Marriage: One Man, One Woman.” EXCUSE ME? Let’s look at this invite from my perspective:

Jimmy and I have been partnered for almost 8 years and even if we wanted to get married, we couldn’t. Digging into the relationship a little further, you would find that not only do we share a bed TOGETHER, but we share a home TOGETHER.  BOTH of the mortgages have BOTH of our names on them, HE is a 50% beneficiary on MY life insurance, BOTH of our names and BOTH of our vehicles are on the SAME car insurance policy, etc., etc., etc.

When my mother was hospitalized last year, Jimmy was right there at her bedside with me.  At the end of this month, my son graduates from High School and we BOTH will attend the ceremony.    When my niece got married earlier this month, and I was out of town on business and unable to attend, Jimmy went. Sounds just like a heterosexual marriage to me.

Suffice it to say that we are more than boyfriends, acquaintances, butt-buddies, or whatever else straight people decide to call us.  We are PARTNERS in this thing we all call life….for good and bad, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, etc.

Now…let’s just stop and think for a moment. Let’s say I was in a car accident while on a vacation in Honolulu with Jimmy.  Let’s say I had to be air-lifted to the hospital, unconscious, unable to make any medical decisions for myself. Let’s say Jimmy is battered a little, but is at the hospital, at my bedside.  He tells the medical staff who he is. They tell him that, in essence, he has ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHTS. He cannot legally decide or advise them on ANYTHING related to my health or medical treatment.  I’m laying there, possibly dying. The medical staff can’t reach my son, my mother, my sisters, my brother…nobody. Even if they could, Honolulu is a 9.5-hour flight from Atlanta. but Jimmy is right there, standing right in front of them, and because of YOUR heterosexual laws and beliefs, I could DIE while some stranger tries to contact a member of my family to get information that Jimmy could give to them right then and there!

Now….let’s stop and think about another situation….let’s say one of us has died and we have no legal documents as to the distribution of our assets. In a heterosexual marriage, the surviving spouse gets everything, decides everything, etc. In our relationship, neither of us have any rights to the house that we bought together, paid on the mortgages together, installed new windows in, laid hardwood floors in, decorated together, winterized together…the list goes on and on. Instead, the family of the deceased comes in and takes the house away from the surviving partner.  I know they wouldn’t, but let’s just say they do. Neither of us has any rights to the house or anything in it. In this world we all live in, Jimmy and I have NO legal rights.

We don’t want to get married. We don’t want to march down the streets of Atlanta every June and declare our homosexuality.  We don’t want to strut our sexual preference in people’s faces and we sure as hell don’t want to talk to you about what we do behind closed doors.

We have one of the nicest homes in our neighborhood. We have a meticulously manicured lawn which will only add value to our neighbors’ homes. We participate in the neighborhood yard sale every year, and you know what, you won’t find any dresses, wigs, high heels, or pearl strings in it either.

NOTHING has been given to us. We both have jobs. We both work VERY hard to provide for our gay selves. We pay our gay taxes just like everyone else. We spend our gay money in the same stores that everyone else does. Jimmy drives a pick-up and I drive a Hummer. Neither of us drive pink Beetles. We live our lives every day just like heterosexual couples do, except…we are two men who go to bed together at night. That’s the only difference.

It’s a shame that heterosexual spouses have every legal right to “take over” if something happens to the other. And all of this is because they are allowed to get married. They are allowed to have a piece of paper hanging on the wall that says they are LEGAL lifelong partners. But in our case, we are freaks. We are sex-crazed maniacs who are given a toaster oven every time we “convert” a hetero person to homosexuality (for the record, I have only one toaster oven, and I bought it with my gay money at Wal Mart, thank you very much).

No, as gay lifelong partners, we have to draft document after document after document just to decide what medical attention each other should get, or just so that we can keep what is ours, and what we have worked for years to obtain…TOGETHER.

Jimmy and I have no intention of ever getting married, but why can’t we be given the same rights and privileges as married heterosexual couples?

…and then I get a Facebook invite to join some fucking group called “Marriage: One man, One woman.” Do you still feel that gays shouldn’t have any legal rights? If so, you are cold, heartless, shallow, and not worth any more of my gay time.

I finally made it home….after 4 weeks of travel!

Jerry — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:21:07 +0000

Yeah, I’m finally home after 4 weeks of solid travel. Since my last posting on April 5, I’ve been to San Juan PR, New York City NY, Ledyard CT, Providence RI, and Las Vegas NV.

On April 13, I left for San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was my fourth trip there and I STILL didn’t get any pictures. It seems I never have any “Jerry-time” when I’m there. I went to San Juan to assist with the transition of management. Our manager there was transferred to Ledyard CT, so I had to reconcile the cash-on-hand and make sure the new manager was off and running, so to speak. All went well. Five days of temps in the upper 80’s and nothing but sunny skies. I headed home to Atlanta on Friday, April 17. I landed at 730pm. My flight for Ledyard CT left at 730am on Saturday morning. This means I had only 12 short hours to get to baggage claim, get my bags, get to the car, get home, get a shower, unpack, pack, sleep, shower, get back to the airport, check in, fight security, and get to the gate. WHEW!

I was supposed to go to Ledyard CT on April 18, but since nobody else was going to be there until the 20th, I decided to drive down to New York City for the weekend. I stayed at the King’s Hotel in Brooklyn. It was newly-remodeled and was actually very nice. It was very clean and I felt safe. That’s what matters to me when choosing a hotel. It wasn’t that long of a drive to Manhattan, either.

And speaking of Manhattan….

…yeah….$90 for not wearing a seatbelt. But the cop was HOT! ssssst. Man, everything costs a lot in NYC, even the eye candy. If I was single, I would have tried to get out of that ticket. LOL. I just kill myself sometimes!

Anywhoooo….I left NYC later that day and headed to Ledyard CT. This trip, from April 20 to May 3, was for the opening of Bodies Revealed at Foxwood’s Resort & Casino. I had to go up there to interview and hire staff and get the exhibition ready for opening day (May 1). I had an outstanding management staff there. All three were seasoned professionals who already worked at other exhibitions prior to Foxwood’s. This was the fourth venue for the General Manager, the third venue for one of the Floor Supervisors, and the second venue for the other Floor Supervisor. They made my job so much simpler.

They took this picture…not too bad for 44 years old. huh? I look so business-like. ROFL. Whatever!

I didn’t get to do all the driving around that I wanted to do. I did manage to make several trips from Ledyard CT to the Providence RI airport to pick up colleagues. I think I made four trips to the airport.

I went to Mystic Pizza with two colleagues. It’s apparently the setting for a Julia Roberts chick-flick from 1988. It is located, of all places, in Mystic CT:

I also didn’t make it to my niece’s wedding. I’m sorry, Kassie. Flights were over $600, so Josh and Jimmy went in my place.

I got home from Ledyard on May 3. I spent May 4 & 5 at the corporate office, then headed to Las Vegas NV on May 6. Premier made some staffing cuts and the Director of Operations out there was a casualty. I had to go to Vegas to be sure the transition went well and to get the lay of the land. We have a Bodies…the Exhibition and a Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the Luxor. They are now my venues, and they are permanent venues to boot, where most of our venues are temporary. I spent a week there, talking with the management staff, watching the operation, and meeting with Luxor folks. That venue is a well-oiled machine. I was very impressed with the local management. They will make my job much easier, managing two Las Vegas venues from Atlanta.

Mother’s Day came and went and I was not in Atlanta to spend it with my Mother. I sent flowers like the good son.

If nothing else comes up in the next couple of weeks, I am home until May 30. Josh graduates from High School on Friday, May 29, and I will be in town to go to the ceremony. On Saturday, May 30, me, him, and Jimmy all head to San Juan for four days. I am going there to close down the exhibition, Jimmy is going simply because he hasn’t gone yet and this is my fifth trip, and Josh is going as my graduation gift to him. They will be able to hang out while I’m working. Hopefully, they will finally be able to take some pictures for me.

On Tuesday, June 2, we all head back to Atlanta, then I head on up to **Quebec City. It is the capital of Quebec, Canada. I will be there until June 8, opening Bodies…the Exhibition.

Things appear to be looking up for Premier. Cuts were made, like at most companies, and I was spared (thank goodness…the two mortgages on the house aren’t going to pay themselves). Jimmy hasn’t experienced any cuts at NS yet, so I guess life is good for now.

I’m not sure when I will be able to update my blog. With the D/O in Las Vegas being cut, and me assuming his venues, things will get even busier than before.

Y’all take care, and I’ll try to update this blog as often as possible.**

Looking Ahead….

Jerry — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:57:30 +0000

I will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from April 13-17. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to finally take some pictures. I believe this is my 4th or 5th trip there and I still have ZERO pictures. I guess we’ll see.

On April 18, I head to Ledyard, Connecticut. I will be there until May 5, opening an exhibition at Foxwood’s Resort & Casino. Hopefully during this trip, I will be able to drive around New England. I’d love to visit Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont…maybe even Maine…while I’m there. It all depends on how much free time I get, which is usually not much. I also wouldn’t mind getting in a day trip to NYC. You all know I LOVE me some New York City!

On April 25, in the middle of my trip to CT, one of my nieces is getting married back down here in Atlanta. Hopefully, flights will be reasonable enough to fly down to ATL on the wedding day, then back up to CT that night. We’ll see.

Mother’s Day creeps up on May 10, and we ALL know how much of a Momma’s Boy I am! hehehe.

Josh graduates from High School on May 29. I hope he knows how proud of him I am. He has been accepted at Kennesaw State University, and plans to start there in the Fall.

I’ll try to keep updates a comin’…but no promises. Life’s finna get busy.