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Exaltation — It's a stately word often reserved for kings and queens, but not a word to be tossed around by peasants like us. Tradition has reserved this word for those elite few with enormous wealth and far-reaching power, but for some of us, there comes a time when tradition must be broken. Exaltation of the self occurs when one has reached a state of intense well-being yielded by his or her own noble efforts, not by gaining power, nor by inheriting a fortune from the deceased, nor by buying a flashy overpriced home in an expensive city.
 Needs Water Daily  | | Kiss me in my Garden | This exaltation of the self is happening to me, and I cannot hold it in any longer! As my month of May progressed, I began to realize just how rapturous and content I was feeling. I began to reach this kind of happiness sometime toward the end of last year, and I can truly declare that I feel more enriched than ever before. This state of being is mostly a product of my several passions— classical music, true-to-life friends, flying, writing, and above all else, a very healthy lifestyle.
I have spent the last seven years in San Francisco like a fish out of water, rejecting the shallow status-based culture which abounds in most world-class cities. I rejected the premise that one must own an expensive house and a nice car to "fit in" with the affluent gay scene. Many, if not most, San Franciscans are wound up in this thirst for status, especially in the gay scene. I only needed to dig a little deeper into these easily-unraveled social circles to realize just how phony and ridiculous they really were.
I found that drug abuse and personal turmoil was so prevalent that I could hardly meet anyone who wasn't connected to that morbid trio of clubbing, drugs, and less-than-safe sex. Even so-called physicians, attorneys, and grad students were part of this self-destructive culture, which was just surreal to me. I tossed these lost souls aside and slowly discovered a very endearing network of genuine people who now make my life complete.
I have remained true to myself through my entire thirty-six years on this Earth, and for that, I have finally been rewarded. As I have stated many times in the past, it is now my duty to carry others through tumultuous times, to help them discover their true selves, and to help them learn how to love the world around them.
I hope that I have helped to lift a few spirits over the years, and you can be well-set that I will always have something inspiring for you with each visit! Now that I've either totally enthralled you (or completely bored you), here's what happened last weekend, and what's supposed to happen this weekend...
Last weekend, my good friend, the composer John Bilotta took several of us to the premier of another one of his recent works. It's always refreshing to hear a piece of music brought to life for the first time... few other experiences measure up to it! Afterward, we celebrated with tea and coffee cake. I spent most of Sunday tending to my garden, and I figured I would share a few photos of our lush little hideaway. And to keep that anticipation dragging on and on (from that last post), I had a very fun and rather messy encounter, which you'll just have to read about in a protected entry on Monday. 
This weekend, I am going to attend a concert at the San Francisco Symphony, of course! This week's guest musicians are the Labeque sisters, a piano duo from Paris, and all concerts this weekend are sold-out. John (my composer friend) kindly gave me two tickets for the best seats in the hall so that I wouldn't miss them. I offered the second seat to a recent acquaintance, but he will be stuck working at Zuni Cafe through the evening, which just begs the next question...
 | Twenty Fingers
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The Labeque Sisters and the San Francisco Symphony
Haydn Symphony No. 98
Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos
Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos
Ravel La Valse
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Awesome garden
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by Stan Koontz |
posted June 6th, 2006 around 12:14 AM
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I'm a gardener in St. Louis, and I must say that your garden blows all of ours away! Enjoy summer.
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