This is a beautiful visual representation of the Debussy’s piano song Claire de Lune. I thought it apropos because Andy and I bumped into each other at the Claire de Lune coffee house in San Diego on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and then got to know each other at a pool party on Memorial Day.

Some people make fun of me for posting photos of my food (my husband included). No, wait– people make fun of me for taking photos of my food. The posting part is beyond belief. Other people say, "I love your food pictures!" Or, "Thanks a lot, Daniel. Now I’m hungry!"

I like taking photos of food because food is beautiful, food is delicious, food is comforting and nourishing. Eating is not being hungry. Eating healthy food is being healthy. A good plate of food is supposed to delight your eye and make your mouth water. A good plate of food is an accomplishment– it means you earned your food, you planned your meal (or improvised it), you prepared (and/or cooked) your food, and you plated it with love and gusto.

This meal was a collaboration between me and my husband. He marinated the chicken while I was at work. After I came home, he grilled the chicken while I soaked some croutons in Caesar dressing, tossed in some bagged romaine lettuce, and shredded some parmegiano reggiano cheese. While I was slicing the rind off part of the cheese, I nicked my thumb and drew a bit of blood (it didn’t get on the food). Andy put a bandage on my thumb and I put it up to his lips so he could "kiss it and make it better." I smiled and said, "That was almost worth getting a boo-boo for." And then we ate our meal together.

So I take this photo to celebrate the glory of food, to express thanks for the food I receive, and to remember the love, humor, and partnership that went into making this simple meal. It is a blessing.

Andy & I had already been married by our rabbi at Dor Hadash in San Diego on August 8, 2004, but we jumped at the chance to make our partnership legal in California the first Saturday they performed these civil marriages: June 21, 2008. We were married at about 5:30 PM by a deputy named Michael, whom I recognized from the gay community. My friend Paul took this video with my Canon G9 camera, my mom and Andy’s friend David were witnesses, and also present were my mom’s friend Honey and David’s boyfriend Rich. There was an assistant in the room as well.

At the time we were married, this file was too large to upload to YouTube, I didn’t have the software to facilitate closed-captioning it, and YouTube didn’t yet allow for captions to be uploaded to accompany videos. Now, a year later, “we have the technology” (to quote from the opening sequence of The Six Million Dollar Man), and I have the honor of reliving this moment and crying at the wonder of it all.

I just want to say this: Love is gr8. Repeal Prop h8!

This little thing slips over my husband’s ear and makes our relationship different from any relationship in the history of the world– up until a decade ago. Okay, not just our relationship, but everyone’s. Just think of it– when else in history could a couple spend their whole commute home from work talking together in separate cars? We can now tell each other about our day, plan our evening, list things to do… sometimes we even discuss how we feel about each other and say anything that was left unsaid the last time we saw each other. By the time we get home after one of these discussions, we’ve moved past all that and are ready to settle into a comfortable evening together. Mobile phone technology and Bluetooth headsets have changed our lives, and I’d say for the better!

I took this photo in response to a monthly theme / challenge in the Gay Photographers (Family-Friendly) group titled "Belonging to Your Beloved." The object is to share a photo of something belonging to your beloved with a brief description of the item’s significance.

Andy & I are so blessed! We had a great Valentine’s Day and a double date with our friends Sean & Cody at Mi Pátio. This photo was taken by Cody with my camera.

Florence was our last stop in Italy. Tomorrow in Villefranche / Nice. Next update in Barcelona!

I’m posting this on the one-week anniversary of our legal same-sex marriage in California. Since I took it with my Sidekick and uploaded it to Flickr right after our civil ceremony, it’s been viewed (as of this writing) 199 times, had received 53 comments, and 6 people call it a favorite.

A million thanks to all who made it possible for us to get married legally!

Andy & I first laid eyes on each other five years before the day we posed for this photo during our camping trip on Mount Lemmon. We’re still in love and as happy to be together as ever– even more so.

We bumped into each other getting in line for coffee at Claire de Lune coffee house in North Park (San Diego, California) on a Saturday morning, May 24, 2003. About all we said was “Hello!” and “Good morning!” and I wanted to meet him but I was busy having a meeting with a friend and he was busy having a meeting with some friends. Luckily, we met two days later, May 26, at a Memorial Day pool party. And we’ve been together ever since. This is the first year since we met that the days and dates we met coincided again.

This song sums up how I feel about meeting my life partner, Andy, five years ago this weekend.

The song is “Lucky To Be Me” by Leonard Bernstein from the musical On The Town. The lyrics (edit: by Betty Comden & Adolph Green) are:

I used to think it might be fun to be
Anyone else but me.
I thought that it would be a pleasant surprise
To wake up as a couple of other guys.
But now that I’ve found you,
I’ve changed my point of view,
And now I wouldn’t give a dime to be
Anyone else but me.

What a day,
Fortune smiled and came my way,
Bringing love I never thought I’d see,
I’m so lucky to be me.
What a night,
Suddenly you came in sight,
Looking just the way I’d hoped you’d be,
I’m so lucky to be me.
I am simply thunderstruck
At the change in my luck:
Knew at once I wanted you,
Never dreamed you’d want me, too.
I’m so proud
You chose me from all the crowd,
There’s no other guy I’d rather be,
I could laugh out loud,
I’m so lucky to be me.

A few notes on my performance: I know I have affectations in my singing and acting. I don’t know how to get rid of them. I feel like a parody of myself. And I know my pitch isn’t perfect. This was the 11th take, and there’s only so much time I can spend on this. There are other ways I can show my love for Andy, such as helping to pack for our camping trip this weekend.

I’m not saying this because I’m anticipating anyone’s criticism, and I’m not saying it to fish for compliments. I’m just saying it because it may be what’s holding me back in my performance, and I need to get over it. It’s more important for me to share this song the best I can sing it for now than to wait until I’m perfectly satisfied with it. I’ve been planning to sing this song, recorded it, and share it on the web for weeks now, and I won’t let my imperfection stop me.

I’m usually in on this myself, but it was great to be able to grab our point & shoot and get this little video of Buxley & Lady playing with each other and one of their daddies.