I believe this photo was taken in 2005, right after Rene and I took my parents down to the Paper Heart gallery to show them where we were going to get married. Afterward, we all went out to Rula Bulla’s on Mill Avenue where we enjoyed several pints of Smithwick’s (’smith-icks’), my mom’s favorite beer.

Below is a voicemail I’ve saved in my phone for the past year (it was so precious). It’s of my mom singing Happy Anniversary for our second year together. She certainly celebrated all the important things in life. Thank you mom! We love you.

I’ve wanted to try absinthe for a long time. Last night, the opportunity presented itself. And, while I would have been perfectly justified in not going out, I followed Rene’s lead and met Marcos and Darlene at Digestif in Scottsdale. The maître d’ was great! He had a passion for serving and appreciating absinthe. He had the presentation down, the history, the legend, the lifting of the recent legal ban. Earlier in the evening, I had surreptitiously passed him a T-shirt denouncing Scottsdale mayor Mary Manross that a local activist had handed me in the street. He was thankful for the shirt and came by several times to chat.

While we did not have any psychedelic experiences from the drink, its affects did add to the relaxed atmosphere. A parade of classic cocktails put Darlene at ease about a meeting she’ll be having today (good luck!). The drink emboldened me to offer carreer advice to Marcos as his new “life coach”. Evidently, it did not prevent Rene from revealing my scandalous “porn name” which, if divulged widely, I may never live down.

It’s kind of tough to allow myself some levity these past few days. But Rene’s been great; leading me around our own neighborhood and uncovering new tastes and sights among the familiar.