Row your boat. When the weather is nice it is such a pleasure to get out on the little lake in Roath Park and have a row. I'm not great, and we don't go very fast, but grab a few drinks and bring a picnic and you have for yourself a wonderful afternoon. The lake is peppered and seasoned with ducks and geese and swans and sea gulls, though to Tony and I sea gulls are the rats of the sky. I used to love them when we visited the coast of Texas, but they have gone to far here! Little moments like these: rowing on a lake together, hating sea gulls, these are the reasons why I still feel a buzz when I'm with him.
Last week I performed my End of Year Assessment which was very well received by all of my peers and was a pleasure to perform. The basis of the material is in Plato's 'The Republic' when he mentions the allegory of the cave. It was very exposing both emotionally and physically (no nudity, though). I experimented physically with shackles and chains and interaction with the empty space. It was only half an hour and ran very smoothly and clearly. Now that that is over, I can now focus on my next two performances, but more importantly, on the 17th of June. This is the day that Tony and I are going to officially stand in front of our close friends and share with them our love for each other. I don't know what TRUE love is necessarily or what that even means. I'm too young to assume that I know any absolutes about love. But- I can easily say that I am convinced that Tony is the one man I've ever met that I can be honest with and bare - in time - all my secrets and wishes. I'm excited about building a life together. Saving money for the future and traveling the world together. These are dreams that I'm confident will come to fruition and not fizzle out like so many lost dreams floating above the clouds. Our intentions are clear and while life is always uncertain, I'm certain that I have someone here with whom I can sort it all out. Our small ceremony will consist of a few close friends and we'll exchange vows and rings. We will keep everything simple and try to let the day unfold so that we do not feel rushed or forced into any schedule that detracts from our joy. Its been nice to be able to plan things out between the two of us and not have to battle the suggestions and emotions of our parents since they will not be joining us on the day of our ceremony. This saddens me to an extent, but also gives me a sense of freedom to live my own life. The days are becoming fewer and I can see the gold ring on my finger already. I'm a very happy man. Tony is a very happy man. I can only assume we are doing something right. X Alan