Raleigh MaidPro Service is not Trustworthy

Seems that MaidPro in Raleigh is a poorly run division. They offered a GroupOn discount for a home cleaning, but then refuse to provide the service or even to allow for scheduling. When a purchaser of their GroupOn offer contacted them, he was told to call a "special" number to schedule those, but that number does not work, and return calls to the main number go unanswered and no call back.

Seems to me that if you sell a service, you should honor that sale. If not, it should be reported to the BBB, and have blog postings so people can evaluate them. Any company that plays ethics in this manner is not someone I would invite into my home when I am not there.

I've had maid services, been ripped off too, and that was from companies where I personally knew the franchise owners and trusted them completely. If the owners of MaidPro in Raleigh run a disreputable service, and practice avoidance of customer complaints, and do not honor their commitments, there is no way in hell I would ever trust them to enter my personal space.

Ocracoke, NC

Visited Ocracoke island on the Outer Banks this past weekend. It was okay, but if I have to give it a short description it would be: Nice quiet place, but the locals do not smile much or friendly and the tourists are mostly married young couples or lesbians, each of which are in their own worlds. It's expensive beyond reasonable for a tourist town. Rating: 1 star.

However, a big bright point seems to be Manteo and area. When we drove through there a local waved and smiled at us as we passed. And kept waving and called his wife over to wave too through the rear view mirror. They want us to come visit, so I'm going back!

Dates

Have you ever had a date where the next day you thank god you screwed it up? Well, that was my new years date. I think someone is looking out for me.

I first chatted with Karl about a month ago, and we've talked a few time since on the phone. We decide to meet in person for some coffee on new years eve day. Show up at the coffee shop and it's closed early. Okay, so go next door to the sports pub.

We introduce ourselves and say hi and all the pleasantries. And somewhere in all that he said something referring to how I think. I said, and I'm paraphrasing here, Please stay out of my head, I don't like that. So don't you know that the rest of the night he was inside my freaking head, asking me emotions and feelings and analyzing. Like wow, that got deep real fast. (And yes, I am that shallow!)

Try changing the subject to anything but my head... Q: I like doing outdoor stuff, what do you like? Answer: Oh everything, hiking and biking and going to the beach and working in the yard to lots of stuff. Q: Oh, you like to go biking, mountain or road? A: Oh, you like being outside because you feel free? What do you think about that?

Argh!

So I went out last night all by myself. For the first time ever I really enjoyed the floor show. And the new people that I met. And I really liked the guy who came over to tell me I had the cutest ass he'd seen in a long time! Finally brunch today with some of my best friends made for a perfect holiday and the perfect start to the year.

Oh yes, 2010 is going to be a great year!

Appalachian Trail

This was out in the western part of the state and up into Tennesee. While driving on the way back we saw a sign that said "trail" and so we hit the brakes. If I had continued to follow Guinan on this trail, we would have ended up into Maine and we could also head south from here, down into Georgia. Now that is a long walk!

You Came to Mind Recently ....

Just a little bit ago, I was talking with a co-worker about some problem or another and some management decision that we could expect to be seeing soon. You know, the usual stuff.

Then he mentioned he watched a food show the other day and it reminded him of me. I like to cook and experiment, so it seemed natural. Food, me, okay. But that's not where I came to mind.

He was explaining about some chef on a show who goes out and tries various types of foods. Exotic meats and veggies and just plain odd foods to the typical westerner. Things like monkey eyes. I asked "Monkey brains too" and oh yes, that too. Like I said, I like to experiment with food, and try pretty much any food at least once, so that must be when he thought of me. Nope, not yet.

He continues to tell me about the show. This episode had the chef visiting Costa Rica, going well into the non-civilized part of the country. Came to mind because of my stance on hispanics in the U.S.? Nope, not that either.

So the chef is dragged into the middle of some cave, slogged through mud and grime and wet and uncomfortable and just plum tuckered out. So he goes to sit down and rest for a moment. The guide grabs him before he can sit down and tells him, "No, there are parasites all around here. They are anal seeking parasites. You do not want to get them in you."

And THAT is when I popped into his head.

But on a positive note, Ms. California, whose religion makes her not approve of gay marriage, has photos floating around on the internet of her flinging her titties for the camera!

Train Trail

You know I love following trails, will hit lots this summer with a tent. But a trail doesn't always have to be through the woods in state parks. In this case, it's was the railroad tracks with my whistle.

Spur line where I entered...



Bridge to go down to the greenway...

Desk

It's part of the game and computer systems, too.

Birthday Party

Went to a birthday party for Anthony last night. It was a fun evening, reminding me of what it's like to go out and enjoy myself.

Anthony has a beautiful apartment near Cameron Village. The rooms were all huge and his taste in decorating is interesting and delightful. It was almost a museum air in the decor, which made perfect for mingling.

The outdoor patio was 3 floors high, and the popping of the beer and the cap bouncing around on the pavement were perfect mood setters. There was plenty of drink and smoke going around out there. It was quite festive.

The mix was eclectic. There was the woman from downstairs who had the most wonderful idea, setting aside a day of the week for just reading. The guy who was making up some of the most ingenious crap and the ghoul who egged him on. Then there was the 20 year old who decided he wanted to explore being gay, with some of the funniest things coming out of his mouth as he flirted with the hostmaker guy.

Yep, it was a fun evening.

NC Parks Survey

The North Carolina Parks and Recreation department has a survey posted asking for input as they make plans for the coming years. It's a short survey and takes only 15 minutes or so to complete. I voted for more land acquisition plus improvements to existing parks.

The survey can be found here.....

Over the past couple of years I've become a big fan of the hiking and biking trails in the area. It started when I joined the Triangle Hiking and Outdoor Group (THOG) at Meetup.com.

I love to go hiking, and the rougher the better. Well, I say that knowing that I've not really done too many of the advanced hikes. And bike riding has also become a favorite pasttime. I've done several hundred miles of country road riding, plus the greenways here in town. A couple weeks ago I went to Crabtree trails for some mountain biking and that was fun (and I'll be going back soon!)

Next summer, I think it might be time to explore more rugged terrains, plus maybe some campovers. That will give me the opportunity to sleep under the stars.

Kitchen Bar

Saturday was a very interesting day. I spent the morning purchasing firearms, and the afternoon shopping for furniture. I could have rounded it all out by going to a fund raiser, but I figure I'd already been at each end of the spectrum that day.

I visited several furniture stores, looking at the variety of choices. I have no idea what exactly I want for the living room. I have a bare idea of what I want for the dining room, which involves a table that is higher than the norm. I want a table I can stand at to eat or work, with appropriate stools or benches for seating (bistro tables?). The table pictured was an interesting triangle, but I just didn't like the color.

But one thing that I really want is some sort of a bar area between the kitchen and dining room. There is no wall between the two, so they flow together fairly easily. One store that I visited is for gaming furniture, such as pool tables, card tables, and of course, bars. But every bar that they had was huge, or at least much too big for the area I want to fill. They did have two small ones, but the only acceptable one was already sold.

But I did find this kitchen island at a clearance store. I think it will fit the bill very nicely. It's been stressed, and I like the large working area. So tonight on my way to Durham I am going to stop and take another look and measure it. I will probably put a deposit on it too, to hold it while I decide what I'm going to do.

Furniture shopping. This time I'm going to furnish my home with some style.

Apache Deal

Well, it's a done deal, except for the bank giving me some money. I have a new home. I had it inspected today and it came through fairly well. The worst is some termite damage that'll need treating and repair. That's really about it.

I did get a "Sold" sign put onto the house. You never see those signs on houses outside of romance movies. This picture is the one on my home, and that is Daniel Loges, my realtor who found me this cute cottage. (Daniel, you are welcome to use the picture any way that you like!)



Hooo, boy, this is going to be a big lifestyle change. I hope I'm ready for it.

Metal Water Bottles

Okay, so I am one of those people who drinks lots of water. From a bottle. I use the store-packaged water bottles occasionally especially when driving or about town. And I even fill it up at the kitchen tap (I like my well water), plus at various places like businesses.

Usually though I have a heavy duty plastic water bottle, pictured here. It's okay, insulated so that it doesn't sweat when I have ice water, and generally just fine. I read something back awhile ago about chemicals from the plastic, but I figured whatever.

Then I came across this article about stuff white people like, concerning the water bottle. Low and behold, I find out that what I'm really supposed to be doing is drinking out of a metal water bottle. I don't know, it's a stature thing I guess. I guess I need to go find me a pretty metal water bottle, like one of these.

But really, the purpose of this post is to tell you about a blog called Stuff White People Like. It is a riot, and you really must go read it!

Enjoy!

The Right Path?

This blog post is pretty interesting, and it plays into where my head has been for quite awhile now. The whole house hunting thing is an outgrowth of my trying to be independent. This is the path that I've been following, and it sums up one aspect fairly succinctly:

Mainly, I could have been a better employee to former employers and living below your means allows you to do “stupid” things like quit your job and start your own business. It’s an adventure and trying at times, but most things worth doing aren’t easy.

The key in that statement is the living below your means. I've been doing that for several years now, and it has been paying off. With a new house, I will be cutting the final line, the mortgage.

By the way, the house I wrote about did not survive the inspection, so the deal fell through. The house almost fell through itself, literally. The inspection uncovered some serious structural deficits. So it's back to more house shopping.

Offer Accepted

Well, my offer for the new house was accepted, no counter-offer or anything. That makes me wonder just how low I could have gone. And it is also leaving me seriously wondering if I am doing the right thing.

For instance, I love the house I'm in now. The new one is almost 1/2 the size and it is next to the highway. Plus, I will have actual neighbors. Here is my current home:



And then there is the pool that I would be walking away from. This picture is from the pool party I had last summer, and I plan on having another this summer, just with more people, plus booze. If you are reading this, you are probably invited....



So here is the issues that I need to work through. I like the idea of living in Raleigh. And this house is considerably less expensive, leaving me with about 10k of mortgage plus whatever fixin' up I do. But I really love this house in the country. Even with the pool needing some repair, as it sprung a leak last spring.



But I've borrowed some waders so I can go in while it is low and patch the hole.



I really don't know what I want to do. At present I am continuing down the path I originally started, which is purchasing the house. I had also expected to spend the next 2-3 months fixing it up to get ready to move into. That will take me into the summer, and that's when I can hold my pool party.

I have about 1 week to make a final decision on whether I want to go through with the deal, or back out and get a refund on my earnest deposit. It will be inspected next week, and the offer indicates that if repairs are more than $2000, the offer can be rescinded. There is at least that much in repairs if done by a professional.

The idea I am toying with right now is to go ahead and make the purchase. There are several things that need doing that I can do myself. It can be my learning place for home remodeling. Those could be my weekend projects. It also gives me lots of blogging material as I do the projects...something this blog could really use.

That also puts me into the city during the weekend so that I can socialize and meet more folk. Plus, when there are events and parties that occur during the week in Raleigh, and there are quite a few, I can go to them and then crash overnight at the house. And there is a certain cachet in being able to say "want to go to my place in the city or to my country home."

It'll be a bit of a stretch financially, but there is the renter. He's been there for 6 years now, and I am sure quite comfortable. The rent covers almost covers half my mortgage payment.

In the end, it'll cost less than an apartment would, gives me a place to live in the city, and allows me to keep some of my current lifestyle like the pool and peace and quiet when I need that.

I still need to think through a lot of this. What I've written seems to just scratch the surface of the whole deal. I'm excited about doing it, plus stressing big time. I've changed my mind about 27 times today about it. But I will come to some decision, eventually.

New House

Okay, so it's not really a new house, but it will soon be mine if the offer is accepted. This is the front of the house, a 1950's style home, with 1/2 acre for Guinan to play. As always, you can click on a picture for a larger version.



The one requirement that I had was that the home is within the I-440 loop inside Raleigh. It happens to be within walking distance of NCSU, plus lots of other city things!



The major downside is that the street borders the loop, and down at the street, down the hill is the actual highway itself. When I look again today I'm going to make doubly-sure that I am okay with that.



Here is the back yard, nice and sunny and it faces east (the house faces west). This is what the kitchen and dining room see, and not the building on the left:



I really like the kitchen/dining room area, also bright and sunny. The countertops are going to get replaced, not sure yet about keeping the original cabinetry. I will also be tearing out a wall between two bedrooms, 'cause my king size bed will not fit otherwise. Debating on the living room wall.



The windows off the kitchen and dining room (on the left in pic) look out onto this deck, and into the back yard. Notice the other building and door, that is a mini-apartment with a kitchen and another room (bedroom/living room I guess). It has a renter/tenant who has been there for 6 years. He is cute so I will probably keep him! This close to the school campus practically guarantee I will always have a renter, except maybe summer.



The street dead ends, with a bike or hike trail at its end. The other end of the trail is at an underpass, which makes the fairgrounds and RBC bike ride distance, or maybe even walking distance.



I'll be making the offer this afternoon, and if we negotiate a good deal I expect to spend 1 or 2 months doing the renovations.

I'll finally be living in a city again. I figure if I can handle living in the 2nd, 3rd (LA, Chicago) and 4th (Houston) largest U.S. cities, I can manage Raleigh!

Gay Days 2007

Over the weekend I traveled to Orlando to join the Gay Days fun. It was my first visit to the annual pilgrimage of gay men and women to Disney, and I had a blast!

A group of us from Raleigh started talking back in January about making the trip this year. Nine of us went, and we had our own Gay Days t-shirts printed up. Stayed at the same hotel and had a little caravan of cars on the drive down.

This was my first visit, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew from past years that the religious fanatics would protest, and talk radio would always be buzzing, so I expected to see at least a couple of neanderthals. But I didn't see a single one. I guess I just wasn't looking into the right crack in the sidewalk!

It was a very festive time, with everyone friends with everyone else. The day started at IHOP and Marie, pictured, serving us. She was sassy and fun! At the park, during the raft trips to Tom Sawyer island, people on each raft were waving back at the other raft, always ending with the queens wave, of course. And it was truly a sea of red shirts at the Magic Kingdom, especially around the 3:00 parade. It was all fun and games, and practically any and every type of person was to be found somewhere.

A lot of the t-shirts had something written on them, from cute to arrogant to everything in between. What I found funny were these 2 lads, wearing their phone numbers on their shirts. When they turned around, Justin turned out to be the spitting image of Stephen Fry. They both had handkerchiefs in their pockets, but since I couldn't remember what the colors stood for, I ask them. "Nothing, we make a rainbow when everyone is around." According to the Hanky Code though, Matt would be a bottom and Justin is up for anything, anytime. Funny!


After the park, it was back to the hotel for a disco nap, shower, then off to Parliament House. That place is huge, and it was packed! There was a dance floor of course, plus several satellite bars. There is a pool, but I can't say that I saw anyone actually in it, this being late in the night. Out back there was a "foam party", something completely new to me. Basically it is a pool of foam about 3 feet deep, similar to the bubbles from dish soap. Guys will strip down to a swimsuit, or more commonly their underwear. Into the foam guys would plunge, and use your imagination about what happened next!

We did a lot of other things of course. I spent all day Sunday at Sea World while several others decided to attend MCC services. We got a late start to Sea World, seeing as we stayed up all hours the night before at Parliament, and I was whooped by the end of the day. Several went to Parliament House again and I think they closed it down. There was the trade show with so many companies showing their wares along with their corporate gay awareness. On the 3rd floor of the hotel was a leathermens club offering any information and education that you were willing to receive. I declined to participate in the 9 o'clock closed door seminar.

As is always the case when dealing with couples, things weren't always smooth. Of the 3 couples, there was at least one time each when things became very strained with at least one of the partners. One the boyfriend disappeared for a bit too long at the bar. Another got drunk too fast and was flirting a lot. The third I didn't realize until I scanned my pictures after returning, and I'm not sure anyone else saw it.

We all had fun, and I will probably go back. Maybe not next year, but it is something to be repeated. The only real thing I would change next time around might be the location of the hotel. I think I would like to be nearer to the center of the activity, possibly at the Gay Days host hotel, The Plaza, or maybe at the nightlife epicenter, Parliament.

I took lots of pictures, and once I've cleaned them up and sorted through them, I will post an entry to them.

Getting Past Hangups

For this particular entry, I will be going in a slightly different direction. Or maybe it is more of a revelation into things unseen from me. You see, there are some activities that I do that I haven't talked about directly, although some have been alluded to in various writings here.

In my opening entry for this blog, I said there were a lot of things that I would be writing about: Entertainment, finances, and fitness. And "getting over any remaining sexual hangups" that I felt I had. So just as I have been diligently working on getting fit, bicycling, weights and all, I have also been working on sex.

Go back a few years and you would find that I wouldn't even think about having sex with someone unless we had dated for awhile. Since dates were few and far between, actually getting laid was about as rare as a santorum in Saudi Arabia! Add in that I wasn't getting out and being social much and it was looking like a complete dead end.

So that's when I decided to make some major changes. I had already undergone Lasik, and that helped, upgraded a bit in work clothes and paid off all the remaining bills. The BIG change came from stopping smoking and getting fit. The beef that I put on from that gave me the courage to get out to more social events and meet people.

The problem with going to the social events is that I am still mostly introverted and quiet. I'm taking that problem as a 2 pronged approach to overcoming. The first is getting out to more social events and meeting strangers. The second is one-on-one with people, especially in a sexual way.

My first (and last) experience with one-on-one was through the more "classic" routes that frustrated men engage in. It was an experience, but one that I am not going to repeat any time soon. It was, how shall we say, utterly useless!

MyThis is where Gay.com comes in. I had written earlier about the "talking chests" that I had experienced. That picture actually turned out to be a turning point during chat. I had other pictures up prior to that, but they sucked. After posting that picture I started getting hit up by some of the very men I was really interested in meeting.

I've had a couple of interesting encounters and expect to have more. The worst had to have been the gym bunny. Not the worst in sex, just the least satisfying. I think part of that came from his most likely being on Viagra or other similar drug (instead of a real aphrodisiac). Near the top came the guy who smoked a lot. I enjoyed that day quite a bit, except that when I got home I had to shower to get rid of the smoke smell.

And that brings me to finding out that almost everyone has hangups. Some of those can be funny as hell! For instance, there was one guy, 31 years old at Gay.com that had been hitting on me most every weekend for over a month. We would chat a bit, but in the end I just wasn't all that interested in him. Then one day I figured sure, why not. He seemed nice enough and it could be fun.

That's when his hangups became clearer the longer we chatted. He had said he wanted to get together because, in his own words, he "really needed to be fucked." That sounded clear enough to me, and as it turns out, he meant exactly that.

Except....

It had to be in the dark. (This was daytime, so there goes my bedroom with the bay window opened to the woods!). In the bed. Under the sheets. On our sides. On our left sides! He was concerned that his balls weren't shaved and was that okay? Huh?!?! But he explained that I didn't have to suck him. That's a relief, I suppose?!? And he want to know if I had a lot of pre-cum. What?!? It seems he doesn't like that. Good Grief!

Interspersed with all of those details was that he was nervous and didn't want to. I said okay not tonight then, and he was right back with needing to get fucked. He always used "needed". That whole not today, yes, no, yes, no got real grating. He asked if I was "very aggressive?" By that time I'm thinking "boy, you've got me so ticked by now that I might hurt you in my aggression!"

But I knew long before then that nothing was going to happen. That was just too many rules and hangups to have to deal with.

I know I have a few hangups, but nothing that would make me that dysfunctional. Or at least none now that I am out actively seeking out both friends and copulation, and hoping the two come together some day!

More Smart Car

Y'know, I keep coming back to the new Smart Car from DaimlerChrysler. Back in January I wrote briefly about the car, before segueing into talking about getting excited about buying a crotch rocket motorcycle. (I compromised and bought a bicycle instead!)

Today in the WSJ is an article bringing more details about the Smart Car coming to the U.S. United Auto Group is taking $99 deposits from people who want to pre-order the car for 2008. They already have 12,600 people on the waiting list, which is interesting because they only expect to sell 16,000. But then they don't actually expect all those people to really buy the car:

Mr. Pordon says the company doesn't know how many people who have given deposits will follow through and actually buy a Smart two-seater, but he expects the retention rate to be high. The company only plans to sell 16,000 Smart cars next year in three configurations -- the base "Pure" model, the upgraded "Passion" model and the "Passion" cabriolet.

After looking at the 3 models, here, I figured the Passion would be the bare entry level, since it is where A/C is introduced. In NC, you need A/C! The cabriolet might be fun, since it is a convertible.

The car will be on tour throughout the U.S. this year for those that want to take a test drive. I am definetly interested in at least looking at one. My main draw is that it is very unique in appearance. To me, almost all cars on the road look alike. The tour hits 50 cities starting on the west coast, and will be in Raleigh in September. Schedule here.

A Possible Stock Opportunity

Recently while perusing various fitness information, I somehow ended up at Wikipedia after googling the word "anaphrodisiac." (How I got there I cannot remember, somehoe related to testosterone). From there I followed a link to aphrodisiac, curious as to what it had to say.

From there, I came across the following statement:

Bremelanotide

A new drug called Bremelanotide (formerly PT-141) seems to be the first real aphrodisiac. It stimulates sexual desire in both men and women, and clinical trials are currently testing it for the treatment of sexual arousal disorder and erectile dysfunction.

That sounded very interesting to me. Everyone has heard about Viagra and it's brethren. But the problem with those drugs is that they affect the cardiovascular system. Basically they cause an erection from a physical perspective. And although an erection can make a man feel sexy, the better course is where feeling sexy causes an erection. Or at least, that is my theory.

Or to put it into an analogy: Current drugs are like putting air into a balloon. This new drug is like putting gas into a balloon. One will fill it up and make it eassier to float, whereas the other will cause it to float, bouncing along the air currents.

What makes Bremelanotide interesting is that it affects the sexual urge, or the mental urge. That just seems more natural. Or, in other words, an actual aphrodisiac.

Since sex sells, I see an opportunity here. The first prescription aphrodisiac. It is in the testing phase now, having passed phase II and entering III any day now. The company that is developing the drug, Palatin Technologies, is trading at a ridiculously low $2. I've scarfed up a bunch of shares and plan to hold until the end of the current testing phase.

One interesting trivia about this drug is how it was discovered. They were apparently testing a sunless tanning product when they noticed that men were sporting an erection. Now there is a side effect I've never heard in the TV commercials!

Sticking Smell

Okay, I guess I have finally joined the stereotype of ex-smoker and am starting to preach the non-smoking gospel. Why? Because at the moment I smell like an ashtray!

On the way into work this morning I saw I had forgotten my coffee mug. So I stopped in at a convenience store a fixed a cup. I was only in the store about 90 seconds, but after walking out I could smell the cigarette smoke in my clothes. It's the first thing, and I'm going to be stuck with it all day!

This comes after last week when I met someone and we went on a date. I spent some time in his apartment (actually, a lot of time), and even though he didn't smoke any while indoors, I still had the smell in my shirt when I got home.

I guess I am just super-sensitive to the smell. I am also coming closer to supporting the smoking ban that is making its way through the legislature here in N.C. Actually, I'm not for the ban, because I figure establishments will put their own restrictions in place over time. But after my brief foray into a store and ending up stinking, I am not as forgiving at the moment!

Am I the stereotype yet? Well, not yet and I expect I won't be anytime soon. Still, sometimes it is all I can do to keep myself from lecturing and proselytizing on the subject.

PS: To all of those people in my past that were subjected to my smoking -- my deepest apologies!