Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Gay: How We Met

Happy Valentine's Day Bloggy Friends,

I hope this post finds you well and deeply in love. We're not typically the mushy Valentine's Day types, but we like to play along as much as we can. If we were a hetero couple it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but since we're gay we're whoopin' it up just because we can. We may be denied the basic right to make our relationship "legal," but no one can tell me that I can't call Alan my Valentine.

Did you do anything special for the holiday? We decided to celebrate last night so we could take it easy and bypass the crowds (and the set priced menus) on Sunday. We tried a new restaurant called AUGUST, an Italian infusion BYOB just around the corner from our house. Our meal was phenomenal. We started with a bottle of Pinot Noir and an appetizer made with artichoke hearts and sauteed, sun-dried tomatoes. For an entree I had the pan seared tilapia and Alan had a striped sea bass dish. They were both fantastic, but I think I chose the winning plate. My fish was so rich, tender and just flat out mouth-watering. I loved every bite. We finished the evening with a shot of espresso each and a chocolate truffle torte. The experience couldn't have been more perfect.

Today we did our usual chores and now we're home waiting for dinner and listening to Nina. Alan is making barbecue salmon with mashed sweet potatoes and a brussel sprout/cauliflower concoction. Lately we've been trying a lot of different salmon recipes but barbecue salmon is how Salmy Sunday began, so we thought the throwback would be a nice way to celebrate. It's hard to believe, but this will be our sixth year together. Valentine's Day may be a cheesy, marketed holiday but it does remind you to think about what you have and to trace the steps backward in the attempt to remember how it all began:

For us it started while I was working in a raw foods juice bar in San Francisco. Alan strolled in, struck up a conversation and invited me to see a Dolly Parton cover band later that night. He had me at Dolly Parton, but another intriguing aspect to our relationship is that we grew up within 200 miles of one another and ended up living in three of the same cities at the exact same time, but didn't meet until we were both in San Francisco. Funny, huh?

So much has changed since then, but one thing remains unaltered: I am so thankful he walked in that night. I can't speak for him, but I can truly say that he has enriched my life in an innumerable amount of ways and I love him tremendously.

Have a great night Bloggy Friends. I'll chat with you very soon.

Love,
Josh


In case you missed it, here's some of the work I did for City Paper this week!:

4 comments:

Unknown said...

its so wonderful that u found each other.
six years is a long time.
here's many more valentines to the both of u.

Bill Fogle said...

I remember hearing the juice bar story in a juice bar! (Portland) I love how the brain has these associations and places it goes back to. So, I'll forever picture you meeting ... in Portland Maine!

Glad you two had a lovely meal and yay! for beating the set prices. That fish sounds like it was just perfect!

(I love you both but you need to get over this not loving white wine thing ... I'll forgive you having red with fish this time ...)

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Ellie said...

I'm somehow two weeks late to read this, but just wanted to throw my "Awwwwww" in with the others. You guys are so adorable. What a great love story.