2008 - a good year filled with change, politics, some sadness and hope

2008 is coming to a close, and here I am again to share with you the highlights. Years seem to come and go so fast these days, that reflecting how much happened within the year helps me see that each year brings so many great and exciting things, as well as changes that you wouldn't have anticipated at the beginning of the year. So here it goes.

During January, my close friends from choir put on our own little version of "Into the Woods", the Stephen Sondheim musical. For those who know me really well, you know that one of my big life goals was to be in a stage musical. Although this was a quasi concert, staged version - on book and off book, it was an amazing experience. I played Jack (a.k.a Jack and the beanstalk). We did one amazing performance in front of our friends and families, and that was it. Totally worth it.

In March, my parents invited me to come meet them in Hong Kong for a week. They were on the tail end of a 1 month trip where they started in Australia, New Zealand, and a cruise to a bunch of other places around there. So I met them in Hong Kong. The unfortunate and scary thing was that my dad wasn't feeling well when I got there and actually had to go to the emergency room and found out that he had a touch of pneumonia. He spent lots of time resting, but fortunately was able to still get out and do some stuff. It was a lot of fun, especially since we got a bunch of tailor made clothes. I got 4 suits, 4 slacks, and 4 dress shirts! and that doesn't include all the other clothes that I bought there. Everyone was my size there, and everything just fit.













Then of course softball season started. Back with my bears playing on the same team the F-Liners. Another amazingly fun year of practices, games, fundraisers, and just hanging out together all the time. And once again, at the near end of season, our team hosted the Switchhitters Ball, which is a fundraiser for the softball league filled with drag queens and mini skits, etc. The theme of the event was country hick, or something like that. We started off the night with our number, which was "It's Just a Little Bitty Pissant Country Place" from the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. We were basically male country western hookers with our drag Dolly Parton. Good clean gay fun!

As for our softball playing, we came in first place this season, and qualified to go to Seattle for the Gay Softball World Series.




The World Series was a total blast, like gay spring break, but we got our asses kicked in the games. We lost every single game, and the last one...buy a LOT. But we played as a team, we did played as hard as we could, the other teams were just better. As for me, I officially moved out of the catcher position into a much more exciting position, 2nd base. And for a couple games I was even put at short stop! I found that I love playing the infield!


After the Series was over, I even joined the softball fall season because I was so amped on playing. That was a blast too, although my 36 year old body is starting to show its limits, with sprained ankles, almost breaking my nose, almost breaking a finger....ugh.


As for my dating life, I was still with Ken throughout most of the year. As you can tell with the past tense of it all, we did break up in September...on Labor Day. The day after I got back from the World Series. Our relationship for the most part was amazing. He to the day we broke up was the kindest, most loving person that I've ever been with. However after the first year of dating, we did start to hit some barriers, mainly our lifestyles. He is a serious Buddhist recovering alcoholic. His life, outside of work, revolves around Buddhism and AA. My life, outside of work, consists of playing softball with some of the biggest partying bears around and hanging with other friends around a cocktail. We started realizing that there was not much overlap in our lives aside from work and hanging out together. However the big issue that he had was my lifestyle related to drinking. For him, this relationship couldn't last in the future because of this. So it ended. The break up was as mature and kind as the relationship itself. But...it still hurt.


So life went on. And my time was shared between hanging with "the Pocket" and "the Bears". The Pockets are a group of friends who are small and thin...I'm actually the biggest of the pockets. Pockets stemming from the term "pocket gays". And the bears are obviously my softball team.



























So the year had all it's fun events. A couple important and notable ones were:

My brother Ron got married to his longtime girlfriend, Dawn Hartman. The first wedding in the Chiu Family, and a huge deal for my parents. Although I missed all the planning of it, I had a big role in the wedding, as singer, best man, backup wedding coordinator, and even personal shopping to the bride and the groom. It's hard being the gay son. =)

Bay to Breakers - which is a big San Francisco "race" from the Bay to the ocean, where the majority of participants dress up in costume, drink a ton of alcohol and walk the race route. My co-workers and I did a group costume of "Dodge Ball, The Movie"
The of course Pink Saturday, which is the Saturday before Gay Pride Sunday.
And then of course the mother of all San Francisco holidays, Halloween. I got the ultimate joy of wearing my first wedding dress, doing my best Carrie Bradshaw - photographed with my new friend Scott, also a co-worker, dressed as a condom.
Then of course, the politics...with the election. For me this was an incredibly important election. Not only the presidential election, but Proposition 8 in California was on the ballot, which would TAKE AWAY the right for same sex couples to marry. In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that a previous law preventing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, allowing same sex couples to finally legally marry. And the weddings began. However on election night, Obama won and Prop 8 passed. So I finally got the President that I supported and believed in, but same sex couples had their fundamental civil right taken away. It was a bittersweet night for me and my friends.

The passage of Proposition 8 resulted in candlelight vigils, protest marches down Market Street of San Francisco, and plenty of anger and sadness. I shed many tears about this and still am in disbelief. However civil rights doesn't happen overnight, and the fight continues. The California Supreme Court will hear several lawsuits against Prop 8 in March. So all we can be is hopeful right now.
It was hard times at the end of this year. Many of my friends have already lost their jobs, with many very concerned that they will lose their's shortly. My housemate Maria is planning on moving out because she can't afford the mortgage during her unemployment. Many stores in the Castro have closed or will close soon.

UCSF Medical Center will have a hiring freeze then layoffs.

I feel secure in my job, but the strains of the economy are incredible right now and it has tainted my view of this holiday season.

But now I realize that the holidays are about family and good friends who you love and love you. It's about being thankful for everything that you have. I feel lucky.

So those are the highlights of my year. Amazing how much happens in what is starting to feel like shorter and shorter time period. It makes me excited for the next year - as excitement is just around the corner.