Jerry Timms

Friday night Jerry and I finally got Vicky to come out with us. We walked to the Arizona Center where we had dinner and wine at Uno, and then continued walking to Amsterdam afterwards for drinks. It was interesting to walk around downtown again and see the progress on the light rail. It seems like it’s almost done, but I guess there are still power lines lines to build and street and traffic direction infrastructure.

Walking on the light rail tracks down Central Avenue

When we got to Amsterdam, it was a light crowd, and Vicky even asked if it was closed down right before we went in. We found a larger crowd on the patio, and took some seats on the balcony. Jerry got awkwardly hit on by a lesbian. The vibe of Amsterdam has definitely changed since the opening of Burn, and I think it’s also being affected by the restrictive construction all around the building.

Aw, I missed Vicky!

Saturday night was Mark’s birthday dinner at Fate, where everyone had a delicious dinner but consistently disappointing martinis. One tasted like a margharita pizza (with tomato juice and basil) and one tasted like lemon pledge (with fresh ginger juice). The coconut curry is still my favorite dinner there, even if it does look a little like pea soup sometimes. After Fate we went back to Mark and Andrea’s place for a bit before heading back out to Burn, where we all had jello shots and vodka drinks. Rich and Justin stalked some of the waiters and Mark got appropriately birthday-drunk. Afterwards we hung out some more at Mark and Andrea’s before calling it a late night.

Andrea, Mark, Rich and Justin at Burn

Earlier in the week, Daren and I went to Seamus McCaffrey’s for some drinks and discussed the recent developments in our dating lives. Daren is back with Phaedra, but I’m pretty much out of luck with the original Mr. X’s. As I mentioned before…one is moving away and one really doesn’t seem to be interested at all, so that’s that. There are some possibilities out there still, and I probably won’t really go into them until I see where they’re going.

Diet and working out are still going well. I really like the supplements I’m taking - all from German American Technologies, which seems to be a pretty quality brand. Me and a lot of my other friends are taking the XC4 creatine, and I’ve also been taking the Stenandiol 3.0 system. Oh, and EAS 100% whey protein shakes. Overall I think they’ve helped me put on a little more muscle, and I’m happy to report that I don’t look totally hideous in a tank top anymore.

It’s hard to take pictures of yourself!

Yesterday was one of those days where I did so much, with so many people, that I feel like I’ve just returned from vacation. That was only one day? Well, I had a really great time and I’m just taking it easy right now in preparation for the core event tonight!

So, where to begin? I went to Chelsea’s Kitchen at around 5pm to meet Bernie, Justin, Rich, and Mark and Andrea. Bernie is a coworker and friend who was in town from Denver because he wanted to meet Mark, who is interested in working with us. I drove up with Rich (who, remember, works with me now) and we took a diversion along the way so that he could show me a house he and Justin like in the Willo neighborhood. The house is gorgeous, and it’s on the cutest cul-de-sac ever with medium sized historic homes and lush landscaping. But, I digress.

So, we get to Chelseas Kitchen on Camelback Rd. in Phoenix (sorry, SEO moment) and Mark, Andrea and Bernie are already there. Everyone is kind of low-key when we get there, and I remark how interesting it is that most of us hung out last weekend, and now are hanging out again in more of a work-employment-professional context.

This is Mark and Andrea yesterday at Chelsea’s Kitchen

This is Mark and Andrea last weekend at Burn

So, you can see how I’m sitting there and thinking wow, everyone acts much differently depending on the reason for the social gathering. I mean we were basically the same group of people, just with the addition of Bernie and a pretext of hiring Mark as a consultant. Now I’ve gotten pretty crazy with Bernie, so when I’m with him at a bar I don’t really think of it as “work.” Anyway, maybe you get what I’m saying and maybe you don’t. I tried to explain it to everyone at the table and I just got some blank stares, so I’ll just leave it at that.

We all had some drinks, talked shop, and played Bernie’s “hot tub game” which is a game where everyone has to pick famous people to be in their make-believe hot tub party. I picked Eddie Cibrian, but nobody knows who he is.

At about 9pm we decided to split up a little…Bernie and his sister Laura decided to eat dinner at Chelsea’s, Mark and Andrea decide to go home, and Rich and Justin and I decided to go to Ticoz for some dinner. Ticoz was good, and I nearly fell over in my chair after seeing our waiter who looked exactly like Eddie Cibrian.

Eddie Cibrian

Eddie Cibrian is best known for his role as a pensive firefighter in Third Watch, as well as a park ranger in the sci-fi TV series Invasion last year, and of course But I’m a Cheerleader, a 1999 movie where a naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian. But, I digress!

Yes, I probably looked like a stuttering idiot when the waiter asked for my drink and food orders.

So after dinner and some martinis, Bernie and Laura meet us at Ticoz, and follow us to Amsterdam. Laura, being new to the Jerry Timms blog, requires a proper introduction here. She is Bernie and Anthony’s sister, and is great fun whenever she’s out with us. She also looks a lot like Alyson Hannigan, best known for her role as Willow the cute and charming lesbian witch on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Which is slightly interesting that we were just talking about Willo (the Phoenix neighborhood) earlier in the evening…also cute and charming, but in neighborhood format.

Alyson Hannigan

Laura’s personality kind of reminds me of Willow, too…not the lesbian part, but the cute and charming part. So, we get to Amsterdam and take a tour of the place before getting our drinks and doing some dancing in Club Miami.

Justin and Laura dancing

Bernie and Me

Bernie, showing off his new purse

Rich and Laura - we’re totally taking her out again

So, now that brings us to a little past 1am, and Bernie and Laura decide they’re bushed and want to go home. So I’m hanging out with Rich and Justin on the patio, and Daren calls and decides to meet up with us. So I show him around the bar, and we get fresh rounds of drinks.

Rich, Justin and Daren

We stay at Amsterdam until about 2:30 (Redbull is amazing, isn’t it?) and then decide to call it a night. Thanks everyone for a great time!

The weekend seemed to go by fast, but I had a great time and feel amazingly well rested! I was so verbose with my last post, that I thought I would tell the story of this weekend in pictures.

Thursday I went to urban nightclub Sky Lounge with Justin, Rich and Mark

Friday was Cheuvront for dinner, and then Amsterdam with Justin and Andrea…

…Philip and members from his support group…

…Rich and this hot guy in glasses.

Saturday afternoon was Body Worlds 3 (see last post)

Saturday night was Burn with Rich, Philip and Justin…

…and all the hot dancers.

And in the end, Berger and I were almost the only ones to not pass out!

Check out Rich’s blog for another perspective!