Unhappy Birthday, Rick Santorum!

Rick "Man-on-Dog" Santorum's birthday is May 10, but we can all wish him a very unhappy birthday year-round. With help from Liberty PA, I may have a theme for my next house party!

This fall, Pennsylvania will elect fair-minded leaders! Goodbye, Rick!

Center City Fun Run

On June 12, I re-started the Monday evening runs with the Frontrunners Philadelphia. Four people showed up, including me, for the first run. Participants grew to 5 by June 19, and 6 by today, June 26.

I call this the "Center City Fun Run" since it starts and ends at Kahn's Park (11th and Pine Streets), and the pace is a little slower than the Frontrunners Saturday morning run, which is on Kelly Drive.



When I first joined the Frontrunners, I was a little intimidated. Everyone ran at his own pace, so I consistently came in last. I decided to make the Monday night run a little friendlier. I encouraged the group to stay together if possible. If someone fell behind, I would slow down my pace to stay with that person.

The Frontrunners Philadelphia used to hold this same Monday night run, but it was dropped about four years ago due to low interest. I intend to keep showing up, keep promoting it, and keep on running.

Confessions of a Wannabe Swimmer, Part 2

Twenty-five percent of my regular blog readers (1 out of 4) asked me how I was doing with my swimming, after my first swim-related post two weeks ago.

My swimming has improved a little bit the past two weeks. My arms reach. My shoulders rotate. My mouth breathes in when my head comes up.

What I'm still working on: hip rotation, left arm motion, consistent leg motion, and shoulder position.

The coaches and other members of the FINS are incredible supportive. No, I'm not ready for swim meets or triathlons, but I'm having fun knowing that I'm improving.

Show Me the Money!

My next marathon on July 22 will be my first offcial race organized by and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning communities.

To mark this special event, I am fundraising for the Human Rights Campaign, whose mission is to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Please show your support by making a financial contribution by following the link below


http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/teamhrcgaygames/fundraising/anhphl-766015

Thanks!
Anh

Are you retarded? (APICS Master Planning of Resources)

I'm going through a certification program by APICS, The Association for Operations Management. I have to pass five exams to be certified as an Operations Management professional. I passed the first exam last year.

It took me a full 12 months to sign up for the second test, Master Planning of Resources. Someone once told me that these kind of tests are so easy it's difficult to fail. This person claimed that these tests consisted of one question:

Question:
Are you retarded?

Answer:
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe

Well, if this were true, I almost picked answer "b" or "c". I barely passed the second test this morning. I took a three-day prep course earlier this month, but hadn't studied much until last night. Partly because of poor time management, partly due to my overconfidence, I didn't give much thoughts to setting aside time to study.

Even after I signed up and personally paid for the exam registration fee two weeks ago, I kept having higher priorities such as running, swimming, and attending social activities. Not until 10 0'clock last night when I seriously sat down with a cup of Vietnamese iced coffee to review the study materials. I studied until 3 a.m. Woke up at 5:30 a.m. and studied for another hour before heading out for the test.

It was a close call. I could easily fail and would have to wait at least 30 days before I would be eligible to take the test again. I called my sexy shaved head friend Chris and we went to Continental Midtown for brunch.

Philly Gay Calendar: Behind the Photos

This is a work of fiction. Although reference is made to real persons and events, the dialogue, actions, and context are products of the author's imagination only.



Anh: Can I be a Philly Gay Calendar model?
Steve: No!
Anh: Please!
Steve: No!
Anh: But Mike has offered to shoot me!
Steve: I'm the director of Philly Gay Calendar. I make the calls!
Anh: Fine!


A few days later ...
Anh: Hi, Steve. How are you?
Steve: I'm bummed out. My PGC model hasn't shown up for his photo shoot.
Anh: I wonder how that could possibly happen. It's so sad that people don't keep their appoitment. What are you going to do?
Steve: Don't know.
Anh: I know of a model who could be ready in 10 minutes.
Steve: Who?
Anh: Me, silly!

Tell Someone

Did you know that Anh skipped first and second grade because he was in a communist detention camp?

Did you know that Anh reads all his magazines starting from the back cover?

Did you know that Anh is single for the first time in about 10 summers?

Now that you know. Tell someone.

Confessions of a Wannabe Swimmer

I recently joined the FINS Aquatic Club, which is the Philadelphia's predominantly gay and lesbian masters swim team. As a requirement to join the FINS, I paid a fee to be a member of the United States Masters Swimming (USMS).

While that may sounds like I'm a competitive swimmer, here is the honest truth: I can't swim freestyle from one end of the 25-meter pool to the other. This is my latest personal challenge. My modest goal is to be able to swim freestyle IN GOOD FORM for 25 meters.

While I can do decent breast strokes, I can't seem to swim freestyle to save my life. I've taken lessons several times. I sort of know what to do, but I can't put everything together under water. Everything I do is wrong, including:

• keeping my shouders high, so my feet sink
• my arms don't bend
• my shoulders don't rotate
• my hips don't move
• my arm rotations are not smooth
• my head comes out of the water too high
• my kicks are not wide enough
• my hands stay in the air too long and don't reach to force my body forward

I swim in Lane 6, the slowest lan, and can't even keep up. Sometimes I look over to Lanes 1 and 2 and view competitive swimmers almost as if they were a different species.

I've known the coach and about 10 other swimmers prior to joining the club, so I feel right at home. Everyone is every supportive. If this isn't the perfect environment for me to learn freestyling, nothing else is.

Let's get soaking wet!