A minute to update

So the meetings are going well. Some of the stuff I sat in on today was a bit over my head, phyto-sanitary issues - eeek - but it went well. Had a great lunch. Just to emphasize how open my workplace is (or the government in general I suppose), I was sitting with a bunch of guys (30's and 40's) and we started talking about traveling. One guy who is a VERY high ranking official in his Department starts telling us how he had just started dating his partner when he invited him to go to Rio where he was staying for a month and he ended up dancing in the Carnivale parade. We were joking that it was either true love or the guy would have been staring at his dust. Talk about throwing your relationship in the deep end. I'm so glad I work in an environment where he didn't have to hide that story because it was entertaining as hell.

I then took a quick wander downtown. Well, in a town of 15,000 "downtown" is relative. LOL Everything closes at 5:00. I ended up getting a couple of things at the Christmas shop (I need more Christmas decorations like a hole in the head but I adore those shops) and got a small ceramic kitten and got my daughter a Pittsburgh hockey themed item as she is a fan. I also got her some banana flavoured peanut butter so she can always have peanut butter and banana sandwiches without the banana. :-) I really don't feel like going out so as I passed a grocery store I picked up some fruit and snacks and I can just relax in. We had such a nice lunch I'm not really in the mood or another big meal. Beautiful day here, too bad we were inside all day.

So tomorrow we head back to the airport at 3:30. I'm hoping I can move my flight up otherwise I'm stuck wit a 3+ our wait. On with the reading.

Sea of Sin by India Harper (50 pages)

Every year, closeted cop Chris goes on a gay cruise and fucks as many young guys as he can in 7 days. The first day he meets is next door neighbor Kieran who had no clue he was signing up for a floating orgy and is also older like Chris. He's not interested in the twinks but finds Chris' indulgence amusing. He indicates he might be up for something with Chris but keeps putting him off until Chris is so crazy to know what it will be like he gives up on the young guys and they end up in Kieran's cabin for three days with dick rash. At the end Chris wants to stay in touch but Kieran won't even tell him were he lives or his name as he says they both have careers neither is going to give up. They make some vague promise about Christmas in Cancun. I liked it up until the ending. Seriously, you don't even know the guy's last name and you want to meet in Cancun. Do you have any clue how BIG that city is? I don't need a HEA, HFN works but this wasn't even that and yet it hinted at more than erotica. I was left distinctly unsatisfied and would have preferred to read about Chris fucking everything that moved and in multiples of 4 and then going home. I wouldn't have felt kind of ripped off which I did.

Pinky Swear by Lynn Lorenz (113 pages)

Lane and Matt have been best friends forever, always swearing allegiance with pinky swear. Eventually Matt's dad beats him up yet again and kicks him out for being gay, Lane's family takes him in and raises him. Although Lane knows Matt is gay he doesn't tell him until at university and never reveals he's in love. At university they are room mates where Matt is a total slut, which kills Lane but finally 3 days before Matt is leaving for California for a job, he gets drunk and they have sex. He wakes up to find Matt gone and feels used and dumped like one of the myriad of men that passed through their apartment. Lane moves to New Orleans and 5 years later it's Katrina time. His elderly landlord refuses to leave so he stays with him. In the aftermath, Lane's newspaper sends him to NO to cover the story and he tries to find Lane and get him supplies. After Lane punches him (yay Lane) they talk and Lane finds out why Matt ran. Anytime someone makes another person feel like a cheap piece of crap it breaks my heart. I'll admit I shed a little tear for how badly Lane felt when Matt ran. You figured out why, but I still felt badly. Lane's landlord, an old queen was a riot and offered some good insight to Lane, I liked him a lot and I liked Matt too and you're happy they got their HEA, but I was also happy he got punched in the face. LOL Sometimes a guy just needs a punch in the head. I liked how the story followed their friendship from about age 12, showing how the relationship changed and the descriptions of NO post-Katrina were vivid and heart wrenching. All in all another great read from Lynn. Oh I won this, two Lynn Lorenz in a row. Hope she has another one coming soon, I'm on a roll. :-)

The Guilty Verdict Vol. 1 by Katsura Izumi (250 pages)

Toya is an editor for a publishing company and gets to be the editor for his idol, mystery writer Hodaka. His company is in financial trouble so they want him to pressure Hodaka to write another book sooner. Hodaka refuses until he comes up with a proposal, if Toya can beat him at pool, he'll write a chapter, if he loses he gets his body. (Has anyone told new editor JenB is this how it works?) Of course, engaged "straight" Toya is clueless until Hodaka ... ummm, has his way with him. He continues in this vein claiming it's for work so doesn't count although eventually he starts to go to Hodaka for sex voluntarily. He's treated like crap and after nearly having a breakdown withdraws as the editor. Eventually he determines the reason Hodaka treats him like crap is because he's socially retarded so he confesses his love and Hodaka confesses his ... like? There is a book 2 and 3. Did I like it? It was alright but Hodaka was a giant dick, but then Toya was your typical clueless straight guy. What did you think "use your body" meant? To do laundry? And the whole Japanese mindset of "must perform at work no matter what" gets a bit annoying. I would have told my boss what Hodaka was pulling and sued him or sexual harassment. LOL But I suppose then I would have missed out on twu wuv. It shall begin it's world tour with vol. 2 and 3 to follow.